I'll Be There

All Previous Disclaimers Apply.

Author's Note: Not really happy with this chapter, but I tried to start it a dozen different ways and this was the only way it would finish. It gets pretty OOC. Please forgive this fact. I included the lyrics to the entire song this time because I thought they were all important. Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! Thanks and happy reading! T.H.


"Kurt, are you sure you're going to be okay here? I can stay a couple more days if you want…" Burt tried not to show just how affected he was by the thought of leaving his son (his baby) in a dorm where there were plenty of other young, some most likely gay, men in a city where Burt wouldn't be able to be there to threaten those same young men away from his son (his baby boy!) with the shotgun he didn't actually own but would be more than willing to buy if it meant that those little creeps would stay the hell away from his kid. He didn't worry about Kurt. Not at all. Kurt was the most sure and confident kid he had ever seen in his life. If anyone even looked at Kurt in a way he found offensive they'd be torn to shreds in an instant by Kurt's sharp tongue. He knew he shouldn't be proud if it, but it kind of made him smile to think that his son could make just about anyone feel about three inches tall in three words or less. Burt had seen grown men reduced to blubbering by Kurt's words. Hell, he'd let his son loose on more than one man just to watch them stammer and shrink under Kurt's intense, focused, heated gaze. So, he was a little sadistic. Sue him. It just made him feel better to know that Kurt had something for his defense other than what little physical self defense Puckerman had been able to force on him. No, it wasn't Kurt that Burt worried about. It was every other little creep far away from his parents and looking to get laid as often as possible with young, innocent, beautiful young men like his son that he didn't trust. Burt sighed and pulled his cap off so that he could run a hand over his smooth head. It was a nervous habit and he knew it was a clear tell about his mental state when Kurt turned from where he was hanging or draping or something and his eyes went all soft and shiny.

"Dad…" Kurt leaned against the desk set at the fairly large window and crossed his arms low across his chest, hugging his elbows, a tell for him, letting Burt know that he was having a hard time as well, "I promise you…I'm going to be fine."

"I know, I know," Burt sighed again, "Maybe the one I'm worried about not being fine with all of this is…me. I mean, Jesus, kid. There hasn't been a single fucking day of your life that I couldn't just reach out and hug you if I wanted."

"And you say I'm dramatic," Kurt chuckled, "Dad, it's college in New York. It's not like I'm moving to Bali to study Gamelan or Paris to be a nude model or anything. I'm only nine hours away. I'll be home for Thanksgiving no matter what and probably before then, too. You can call me anytime you want. I can't promise I'll always pick up, but I promise that I'll always get back to you within the hour whether it's a call or text. Does that sound like a deal?"

"Who's supposed to be the adult here, Kurt?" Burt raised an eyebrow, then smiled when the Cheshire Cat grin Kurt was so good at spread across his face and he simply shrugged. Burt felt the tears slick his throat and couldn't help the low mumble that escaped, "Aw hell…come here, kid." He opened his arms and Kurt moved into the embrace a little too quickly, his eyes just a little too bright. Burt hugged him as tightly as he could, not ashamed at all when he realized that Kurt was hugging back just as hard.

"We're both gonna be fine, kid." He whispered, "You're gonna do great in your classes and you're gonna love it here."

"And you're going to enjoy your newfound freedom," Kurt mumbled against his neck, "You're going to make love with Carole…with…with Mom…" Burt smiled into Kurt's hair. It had taken them nearly a year and a half, but Kurt had finally decided that he was comfortable loving more than one mother figure in his life. He called Carole Mom and Finn called him Dad. They were a family. It took Burt a moment to come back and realize Kurt was still talking.

"…in every room in the house. Just don't tell me if you do it in mine. You're going to sneak unhealthy snacks around her and laugh a lot and have naked dinners if you want…"

"Why does almost everything I'm going to do revolve around sex?" Burt leaned back a little, looked down at Kurt, and laughed. It was either laugh or blush like he was thirteen again and his own father was giving him the sex talk. He chose to laugh. Kurt laughed with him a little, then got quiet again.

"Kurt?" Burt asked gently.

"You've both been too busy raising me and Finn to really enjoy yourselves for years. Now you're dropping me off here and Mom's dropping off Finn in California and for the first time in eighteen years you can both just be yourselves without having to worry about us in the house. You're both so strong and good and I love you so much and…I really want you two to enjoy yourselves. I want you to be happy."

"Damn, Kurt…" Burt pressed a hard kiss to Kurt's forehead, "You…you're so much like your mother."

Kurt smiled at him cheekily, "Which one?"

"Both of them." Burt grinned back, "You don't have to worry about me, Kurt. I just want you to concentrate on yourself for now. That's what college is for. I want you to have the time of your life. And I am going to be happy, kid. Hell, I'm gonna have myself a grand time, too. I'm going to worry about you every day, but that's my job, so don't try to tell me not to. Now, why don't you walk me back to my car?" Kurt pulled away, straightened his shirt and checked his hair with his fingers, then nodded.

But, they didn't make it to the car. They got outside into the early autumn light where the leaves were just beginning to turn colors and Burt was about to say another prayer of thanks to whoever was up there listening that Kurt had ended up choosing a college in upstate New York instead of New York City where Burt would have worried about him all the time instead of just forty minutes out of every hour when Kurt made a little, disbelieving sound from the back of his throat and took off like a shot.

"Kurt, what the hell?" Burt called, then followed where his son's eyes had been. He sighed, not sure if he was relieved or upset, when he saw the bike that he himself had helped rebuild if only so that it meant that Kurt would be somewhat safe on the back of it. It still gave him a little bit of another heart attack to think of Kurt riding on it, but at least he knew that it wouldn't fall apart under him. And it had survived the nine hour ride. That had to say something. Hell, it looked better than the rider leaning against it, his arms crossed and his hooded eyes tired and underlined with bruised colored flesh. Burt watched those eyes, darting back and forth looking for something, someone, brighten into something that was almost happiness when Kurt cried out his name. The tall, strongly muscled form straightened up and opened his arms to accept the smaller man into them.

Burt followed Kurt at a sedate pace, knowing that his kid needed a couple of moments with his boyfriend. He got the same feeling in his chest he always got every time he thought of Noah Puckerman as his son's boyfriend and rubbed his chest just above his heart. In the nearly two years that he had been with Noah Kurt had been happier than Burt had ever seen him. Yes, Noah was a bad influence. He had convinced Kurt to skip more school in his senior year than he'd skipped in the other three combined. Kurt began to stay out later than Burt was comfortable with the day the doctors had declared him fit again. (Kurt always called or texted to let Burt know he was safe, but that wasn't the point!) Yes, the kid had a bad attitude and had no idea what respect was. His default setting had to be sneer and insult and he had done it to Burt more times than he could count. And yes, the fact that Burt knew, like all guys knew, that Puckerman would be attractive to any young gay man didn't help him like the kid anymore either.

But, Burt was loathe to admit it and had no choice but to, he had watched as Noah slowly began trying to change himself while he and Kurt dated. Burt had looked on, amazed, as he began to open doors for Kurt and Carole. The sneer sometimes gave way to a small, but true, smile. With Kurt's help, he'd stopped failing every single class he had so that he actually had a fairly decent GPA by the end of high school and he managed to hold down a steady job that wasn't whoring himself out to desperate housewives. Granted, that was because Kurt had begged and Burt was a more forgiving boss than anyone else would be given the lip and attitude Puckerman gave him, but he was a hard worker and always willing to learn. And, surprisingly, Burt liked having him around. He had a sharp sense of humor when he chose to exercise it and a decent mind, again, when he chose to exercise it.

Burt had worried about how faithful Puckerman would be able to be to his kid, the first boy he had ever had anything other than a platonic relationship with. He wasn't stupid. He knew Puckerman's reputation. The kid slept around with married women twice his age, had gotten Finn's girlfriend pregnant, and valued his badass reputation almost above everything. Burt hadn't been able to trust him, hadn't been able to let himself get to know…Noah…to like him, until Kurt had sat him down one night when neither of them could sleep and set him straight.

"Dad, I know you're just trying to protect me, but, please, you have to stop being so hostile to Noah."

"Kurt, that kid…he…cougars, Kurt, and juvie…and the baby…"

"Dad," Kurt's voice had been hard, "Don't you ever hold Beth against Puck. He made a mistake and he pays for it every day. He thinks about her all the time. He knows that being with her new family is the better thing for her, but you have no idea how much it hurts him not to be able to see her, to hold her, and watch her grow. He's not stupid, Dad, and neither am I. We do actually talk. He went looking for affection everywhere but the right places and when it never made him feel any better he reacted with violence. His dad wasn't like you. He hit him when he cried or when he picked up one of his sister's dolls, so he learned to hide it. That night in the hospital…it was the first time he stopped hiding and it terrified him. He got himself sent to juvie so he didn't have to think about it, so he didn't have to be ashamed by it. And in the end he decided that he just didn't care. Despite everything he's been through in his life, Dad, he chose me. He wants to be with me. And if you can't try to like him for him please try to do it for me. He's an absolute mess, Dad. But, he's my mess and he doesn't mind that I'm a little bit of a mess myself. He…he makes me happy, Dad. Isn't that all you really need to know? "

And it had been. After all, all he wanted for Kurt in his life was that he was safe and happy. Noah Puckerman made his kid happy, Kurt had said he did. And as for keeping him safe…well, he didn't think that Puckerman was the type to let anyone touch what he considered his. From the moment he got out of juvie, the things he considered his included Kurt. Despite his past Noah had remained faithful as far as Burt knew. And he made Kurt smile. He made Kurt laugh with his head thrown back and no thought for what anyone might say. Just a kind word or a certain look from Noah Puckerman could make Kurt sing and dance around the kitchen in jeans and bare feet. When Puckerman had picked Kurt up for the senior prom and handed him a half crushed flower, unable to meet Kurt's eye, the sweet smile on Kurt's face and the blush that had spread across his cheeks were unlike anything Burt had ever seen from his son. While Burt couldn't approve of Kurt skipping school, he had to admit that Puckerman had actually convinced his son to do something that no one else had ever been able to do. He had convinced Kurt to be a kid for once, something Kurt hadn't really been since his mom died. Puck helped Kurt loosen up and live a little. He helped Kurt realize that there was more to life than his ambitions and in return Kurt had helped him realize that it was okay to have ambitions. Burt had seen it as Puckerman started to realize, with Kurt's gentle coaching, that he was not doomed to a dead end life in Lima if it wasn't what he wanted. Kurt was still working to convince him that he could be whatever he wanted to be.

And because he was beginning to believe things for himself, Puckerman was helping his little sister, Miriam, to believe things for herself, too. Puckerman had started bringing Miri into work when Beks pulled doubles at the hospital because there was no money for a sitter and no other choice. At first all the pretty little mouse had done was sit in Burt's office behind his big desk doing her homework. Slowly but surely he and the other guys in the shop had been able to coax her out of her shell until she began to hang out on the bench outside of the office once her homework was done to talk and laugh with them. After about six months she had begun to open up to all of them. Under the gentle attentions of Burt and the other mechanics, the first men she had ever known who Noah trusted enough to bring her around, she absolutely blossomed. Now she came in everyday after school even when Noah wasn't working. It was nice to have a little girl around and Miri was sweet as hell. She sang in a clear, strong voice to the classic rock station, made the rest of the guys laugh, and was starting to get interested in engines just like her brother. Kurt and Carole and, to a lesser extent, Finn loved to fuss over her. Kurt swooped in at least once a week to take her shopping or to a movie. Carole was constantly trying to push baked goods on her. And Finn was the one who was there with board games or other silliness when she started to get bored. (He wasn't allowed near the cars without adult supervision either.)

If he was being honest with himself, and he generally was, he liked to fuss over her, too. It felt…nice to have a little girl who liked to lean over a car engine the way Kurt used to do. It felt nice when she fell asleep on his shoulder, too. He'd always wondered what it would have been like if he and Connie had had more time together and had been able to give Kurt a little sister. He was glad Kurt could at least have a little bit of the experience with Miri. Of course, he knew Miri wasn't his daughter. Beks coming to pick her up every day and the way her bright eyes lit up when she saw her mom reminded him of that. But, still it was probably the closest to a little girl he was ever going to get and he felt privileged that Beks was generous enough to share her. It was funny, but she thought that he was doing her the favor.

But, it was Puck who surprised them all. There were only two people his voice softened for and one of them was Miri. It wasn't uncommon to see their dark heads bent together in concentration over some of her homework or to see her laughing and crying at the same time as he tackled her to the floor of the office and proceeded to tickle her into submission. Everyone pretended they didn't see it when it happened, just like they pretended that they didn't see when Noah dropped gentle kisses to Miri's hair or danced around the shop with her in his arms when the song "Brown Eyed Girl" came on. One the Saturdays that both Puckerman kids spent all day at the shop it was Noah who insister that Miri eat some of the salad along with her pizza even if it didn't taste as good. If Burt had known nothing else about Noah Puckerman, and even if he hadn't been Kurt's boyfriend, knowing how much care and love he had for his younger sister would have been enough to make Burt to hire him and try to help him out as much as possible.

The fact that he loved Kurt and made him happy…well, that was just icing on the cake. He decided he was relieved to see Puckerman there. His kid and the Mohawk were good for each other and there had been so much angst over the summer with Kurt going away to school and Puckerman staying behind in the fall that he'd felt like he was in a soap opera. The last thing he had heard, they weren't going to try the long distance thing. And that had been killing them both. Kurt had moped around the house and Puckerman had moped around the shop until he was ready to slam their heads together and lock them in Kurt's basement with three days worth of food and water so that they would have to work things out. It was good to see that Puckerman had taken the initiative to knock some sense into both of them.

"Noah, Noah, Noah," Kurt was murmuring again and again as Burt approached. The two young men were hugging each other close, Puckerman had his face buried in Kurt's neck and Kurt was running one hand over the Mohawk that gave Burt so much grief and discomfort. Both of the boys were shaking and it hit Burt again as it had in the hospital so long ago. They were in love. The same type of love that he had shared with Connie. The same type of love he had grown into with Carole. A forever kind of love. They might not be together for the rest of their lives. Their personalities might be too strong for them to stay together or they might be separated by time and distance or even death. God, he hoped not death. But, no matter what happened to them in the future they would always love each other.

"I thought you couldn't get the time off. I thought you didn't want to try."

Burt knew they were two very, very different points. Puckerman lifted his head, but kept Kurt firmly enclosed in his arms while he pressed a hard kiss to his temple.

"The boss'll give me some leeway," He murmured, smiling over Kurt's shoulder at Burt, then his eyes closed tightly as if no one could see him saying what he was about to say as long as he couldn't see them, "And I'm a badass, Kurt, not a dumbass. There's no way we're not going to make this work." He kissed Kurt's temple again and whispered something in his ear that had Kurt blushing slightly and laying his head against Puckerman's chest.

"I love you, too," He whispered, then pulled back, wrinkling his nose, "But, you smell. Honestly, Noah, nine hours on the motorcycle?"

Puckerman threw his head back and laughed. Suddenly, leaving Kurt in New York wasn't as hard as it had been just minutes before. There was something about the way his boy came to life around the kid he loved that made him feel like maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be fine.

The sure and content feeling lasted all of two weeks. He and Carole had enjoyed their first two weeks alone and the loneliness of being without their children was just starting to set in, but they were finding ways to keep busy. They spoke to both Finn and Kurt at least every other day and hearing how much their boys liked college life was a little bit of a balm for them as well. It was late on a Friday when he and Carole were on the couch –he refused to call it cuddling- watching a chick flick –he refused to admit that he like it- that the doorbell rang. He tore open the door to find Puckerman standing in front of him, his hands shoved in his jean pockets and his Mohawk missing. The look in his eyes made Burt step outside, cross his arms and say:

"What'd you do, kid?"

"Look, Mr. Hummel," the kid ran a hand over his newly shaved head, "Kurt's always telling me that I can be what I want and I want to believe him. But, I messed up so much in high school…no college is gonna take me like this and Kurt deserves someone…more…more than me and what I can be if I just stay here. He'd come back here after school and trap himself in this town that he hates. For me. And that kills me. It's like a knife in my chest. So, I'm doing what I have to do to…I'm not going to let him be a Lima loser for me."

"Puckerman…what the hell did you do?" Burt repeated, taking a step closer. Puckerman was trying not to show it, but he was shaking.

"I enlisted…"

Burt closed his eyes against the sudden pain that flashed unexpectedly in his chest.

"If I...They'll pay for college if I just…Would you…I…Miri…"

"Christ, Noah," Burt pulled the kid into a hard hug that he knew he wasn't expecting by how stiff he was in the embrace for nearly thirty seconds. Then, he relaxed and let Burt hug him, going so far as to wrap his own arms around him, "You know I'm going to take care of Miri. Have you told Kurt yet?"

"He had a rehearsal today. I…I left a message on his phone. I know him, Mr. Hummel. As soon as he gets it…"

"He'll drive home," Burt agreed, "You're leaving now, aren't you?"

"I'm a fucking coward, but I can't…If I see him I won't go. I, uh, I wrote him this." Noah pulled back and grabbed a letter out of his back pocket, "Could you give it to him for me?"

"Sure, kid." Burt took the envelope and tucked it in his own back pocket.

"Thanks." Noah turned to walk back down the stairs.

"Puckerman!" Burt called, unable to keep quiet. The kid's eyes were bright when he turned around, "Here." He moved down the stairs and pulled the medallion from around his neck. He looked at it for a moment, running his thumb over the familiar figure, before he put it around the kid's neck.

"What is it?" Noah asked, confused.

"It know you're not catholic, but…It's St. Jude. Patron saint of lost causes. Connie, Kurt's mother, gave it to me the day we got married. Her folks were rich and they hated my guts. We were a lost cause, too. Think about that. Just keep it on you, okay? And you keep yourself safe. We'll take care of Kurt. I don't envy you the freeze he's going to treat you to when you get to call him, but…" Burt shrugged. Noah looked down at his feet.

"He can go ice like no one else I know," He laughed, then he looked back up, "Thanks, Mr. H. For Miri and for the medallion. I…I'll keep it on."

"Good. And Noah?"

"Yeah? I mean…yes?"

"You call me Burt or you call me Dad. Got it?"

The shock and cautious pleasure on Noah's face let Burt know he'd said the right thing. He held out his hand and they shook somberly.

"Yeah. Thanks…Burt. I'll call you guys when I get where I'm going."

"You do that, kid."

Burt watched, tears in his eyes and one that he wouldn't admit to running down his cheek as Noah rode away on his motorcycle, his hand raised in farewell just before he disappeared over the hill. He rubbed his chest softly against the pain in his heart. It was the same, he realized. He had only felt it twice before in his life, but it was the same. He had just said goodbye to another son. He turned back to walk back to the house, looking up at the sky and saying a prayer to a god he wasn't sure he believed was there to keep Noah safe and keep the rest of them sane until he could come home to them all again.


You got to leave me now, you got to go alone
You got to chase a dream, one that's all your own
Before it slips away
When you're flyin' high, take my heart along
I'll be the harmony to every lonely song
That you learn to play

When you're soarin' through the air
I'll be your solid ground
Take every chance you dare
I'll still be there
When you come back down
When you come back down

I'll keep lookin' up, awaitin' your return
My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn
And I won't feel your fire
I'll be the other hand that always holds the line
Connectin' in between your sweet heart and mine
I'm strung out on that wire

And I'll be on the other end, To hear you when you call
Angel, you were born to fly, If you get too high
I'll catch you when you fall
I'll catch you when you fall

Your memory's the sunshine every new day brings
I know the sky is calling
Angel, let me help you with your wings

When you're soarin' through the air
I'll be your solid ground
Take every chance you dare

I'll still be there
When you come back down
Take every chance you dare,
I'll still be there
When you come back down
When you come back down

A/N: Because apparently stating it in chapter one was not enough: "When You Come Back Down" was originaly written and performed by the band Nicklecreek. I neither own it nor make any money off of using it here.