Sitting down and leaning back into the couch, Burt Hummel grabbed the remote and turned on the evening news. The thunderous downpour outside made the sky seem much darker than six thirty, and Burt hoped that he could get at least the news and this week's Deadliest Catch in before the rain caused the power to go out.

Looking over into the kitchen, he saw that his son Kurt wasn't even chancing using the dishwasher, instead cleaning the dishes from their dinner by hand. It had been a pleasant dinner between the two of them; Kurt wasn't letting loose on his promise to make Burt eat as healthy as possible, but thankfully the word 'flavor-free' had been removed from their fat-free, sodium-free meals.

The news began, teasing stories about an emergency airplane landing, the President's visit to some African country, and the Ohio governor's veto of the civil rights bill. "Last time you're getting my vote," Burt thought.

It was the fourth story mentioned that made Burt choke on his glass of water. As the WOHN anchors introduced themselves and started reporting the plane landing, he found himself impatiently tapping his foot, wanting to hear more about that last story, and wondered why it was less important than Obama bowing to another nation's leader.

The doorbell rang, bringing Burt out of his momentary trance. Who would be at the door now, in the pouring rain, no less?

"I'll get it, Dad," Kurt yelled from the kitchen. He wiped his hands free of the suds from the sink and walked over to the door. The ringing of the doorbell had been replaced by anxious knocking. Looking through the peephole, he saw a drenched face and two very red chocolate-brown eyes. It was those outrageous triangular eyebrows, though, that made Kurt realize who was outside, and he quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

There his boyfriend was, standing on the front step, white Dalton Academy oxford drenched to the point where Kurt could clearly make out the pink FCKH8 on the T-shirt underneath.

"Blaine, what are-"

Kurt's question was cut off by Blaine bursting through the doorway and wrapping his arms around him, enveloping him in the tightest hug humanly possible. Kurt hugged back, clearly stunned. He could feel Blaine shaking beneath his fingertips, and chalked it up to the freezing rain. That is, until he heard Blaine's raspy gasp for air.

Blaine was crying. Sobbing. Kurt pulled the taller boy in closer, ignoring the fact that the rain and tears would probably ruin the designer sweater he had on. There were some, albeit very few, things more important to Kurt than fashion. Blaine was one of them.

"Kurt, I-" Blaine tried to start, but he couldn't stop crying long enough to continue. He kept trying to talk, but could barely get past Kurt's name before giving in to his sobs.

"It's okay, Blaine. I'm here."

Kurt exchanged a worried look with his father on the couch, as the punditry between the anchors and some guest commentator seemed to fade into the background.

"Kurt, I love you."

Burt's eyebrows shot up. He knew that the two boys had already professed their love for one another a few weeks ago from Kurt, but it was still strange to hear those words out loud.

"I love you, Kurt, you know that, right?" Blaine asked, still quietly crying. Kurt nodded, unable to control the smile on his face. Blaine wasn't smiling at all; he looked completely serious about what he was saying.

"I love you, and your dad loves you. You know that, don't you, Kurt?" Blaine was finally able to talk again, and didn't waste a moment of it, rambling at a rate that Kurt could barely decipher.

"He loves you, and Carole loves you, and Finn loves you, and your friends love you. You're not alone. You know that, right? Oh God, Kurt, please tell me you know that."

Blaine was starting to sound like those It Gets Better videos that The Trevor Project had put out, and although Kurt was confused as to why he felt the need to talk like that, he nodded. "I know that, Blaine. I love you, too."

Realizing in a moment of horror that he had said those three words in front of his father, he turned back to look at him. Burt was deeply engrossed in the television, looking very tense.

"Blaine, what's going on? Why are you saying all this?"

Blaine looked off into the distance, visibly trying to find the right words and stop himself from crying again. He failed, and broke down sobbing as Kurt found himself practically holding his boyfriend up.

Blaine was usually the strong one in the relationship, offering comforting smiles and warm hugs as Kurt would whine about his dad spending too much time with Finn or feeling under-appreciated in the Glee club when another of his dream solos went to Rachel. Blaine always found a way to stay strong no matter what problems he was facing, and worked to help Kurt see the same strength in himself. Kurt had never seen Blaine so much as tear up before, and here he was, Kurt's mentor, lover and best friend gasping for breath as he blabbered incoherently through the sobs.

Over on the couch, Burt finally heard the story he was waiting for. But after a moment, he jumped out of his seat and dropped the remote as if it had shocked him. He looked from the television to his son and Blaine, everything suddenly becoming clear to him.

"You know, Blaine…" he said, making his way over to the couple. Both boys jumped slightly and turned to look at him, Blaine grabbing Kurt's hand tightly. They watched him, the taller still silently crying as Burt tried to find the best way to go about the situation. "I… the rain is too dangerous to drive in. I think you should stay the night, if that's alright with your folks."

"Dad!" Kurt gasped, surprised and completely confused. But Burt decided to make eye contact with Blaine instead, hoping that his son's boyfriend would realize that he knew the reason for his tears. Blaine looked from Mr. Hummel to the television, drawing a sharp breath, and looked back nodding. Burt thought he could see the hint of a sad smile as he replied, "Thank you, Mr. Hummel. I really appreciate it."

"That's settled then," Burt said. "Kurt, I'm pretty sure there's some of Finn's clothes in the dryer. You should find something for Blaine to sleep in. I'm going to grab the air mattress out of the closet."

"Sure, Dad," Kurt replied, slowly leading Blaine to the laundry room. Burt watched as the two of them left, then turned his attention back to the news story he had been waiting for, listening to the last few lines:

"…a spokesperson for the academy expressed his condolences on behalf of the faculty and administration, and has stated that the school does not believe the emails came from any students in the school, but police are still investigating. Sadly, Dalton Academy has joined the ranks of Rutgers and Johnson and Wales University as gay rights supporters around the nation mourn the death of Kevin Gorman."