FIC: Forever Home Chapter 65 of 100
Title: Forever Home - Chapter 65
Author: Shadowc44
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kadam (Kurt Hummel/Adam Crawford)
Rating: R
Spoilers: AU. If you’ve seen Kurt and Adam interact, you’re good.
Summary: Adam is bored, and realizes he needs a companion. He decides to adopt a hybrid human/cat.
Warning: Mentions of past abuse (non-sexual) from other canon Glee characters. This fic is not particularly kind to most canon Glee characters.
Length: About 6,700 words this chapter. About 275,000 words so far.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Glee characters in this story; they're owned by Fox. Any non-Glee characters are my own invention
Chapter 64
CHAPTER 65
Kurt felt better after his nap. If they hadn’t been expecting guests, he might have wanted to change, but he knew it would be more practical to do it later. For now, though, he needed to eat.
Adam and Burt were talking in the living room, laughing about something. He was glad they’d found some common ground, whatever it was.
“Hey, Kurt. Did you have a nice nap?” Adam inquired.
His dad looked startled, then turned his head and smiled at him. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
“Hi. Yeah, I feel better. I think I’ll have lunch now.”
Adam looked at his watch. “Good idea, it’s almost 2:00.”
Kurt sighed. He hadn’t meant to sleep that long. “Well, I’ll just eat lightly at dinner, then have another snack before I go to bed, and I’ll be fine.”
“I left you a small salad, a half a sandwich, and some soup you can heat up, in the fridge.”
“Thanks!” Kurt wanted to check on the progress of his cheesecake anyway. It looked like it was doing just fine. While he heated the soup, he ate the sandwich. He was so hungry, he hardly registered what it was. Some kind of meat and cheese, anyway. Now that he and his dad had talked about it, he thought a bit more about how lucky he was that Adam would feed him even if he slept during a meal, and he made sure to have things on hand that he could snack on during the day or evening. There was nothing like that at New Directions, and he realized he actually did feel a lot better now that he was eating on a schedule closer to what felt natural to him.
He cleaned the dishes quickly, and joined Adam and his dad in the living room.
“Hey, Kurt,” his dad greeted him. “We were thinking, maybe next time I’m here, with Carole, we can meet more of your friends.”
He shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
Adam’s phone rang, and he glanced down to see who it was. He grinned from ear to ear as he answered it, “Hello, April, this is Adam.”
He ignored Kurt’s extended hand and “gimme” face, and walked out of the room. Kurt tried to listen, but Adam had cupped his hand around the phone and his mouth. That wasn’t fair, how was he supposed to eavesdrop now?
Kurt closed his mouth, realizing it was hanging open unattractively. “Do you believe that?”
“Who’s April?” his dad asked.
“April Rhodes, the Broadway star!”
“Oh, your girlfriend.” At his frosty look, his dad amended it to, “Okay, former girlfriend. Crush, whatever.”
“Why’s she calling? And why is Adam talking to her alone? What’s he saying?”
Burt sighed. “Why are you asking me? I don’t have any better idea than you do. But I’ll bet when he’s done he’ll tell us all about it.”
Kurt’s foot started tapping impatiently. Soon his leg was bouncing up and down.
“Kurt, why don’t you take a little jog around the apartment? But avoid the kitchen. Work off some of that restless energy.” They had heard the sliding kitchen door close a minute earlier.
“I don’t know,” Kurt mumbled, wishing he could change then and there, and run all over the house. But then he wouldn’t be available if Miss April - April wanted to talk to him.
“Tell you what, we’ll open the front door, I’ll hold your leash, and you can run in the hallway as far in each direction as you can get.”
“Liable to strangle myself that way,” Kurt bitched, but the idea had some appeal, if he didn’t have to wear the leash.
“So do it without the leash. I’ll be standing right here, Adam’s inside, and nobody else is on this floor except Lily, right? She’s not likely to report you for running around without your leash.”
Kurt agreed, hoping they wouldn’t get in trouble with Adam. He walked into the hallway, and realized he was about half-way down the hall. He started jogging past Lily’s door, and got to the end of the hall. There were emergency stairs located at Lily’s end of the hall, and he made sure to avoid those. He ran to the other end, almost to the elevators, before turning back.
What the hell was taking so long on the phone? Surely Adam and April didn’t have that much to talk about. Or had April misunderstood, and maybe thought he was just Adam’s pet, and that Adam was straight or bi, and interested? And Adam was gay, not bi, he’s made that clear, but April was April, and maybe he’d make an exception? But no, he wouldn’t, he loved Kurt too much, and he’d said he wouldn’t cheat on him. He was running faster now, but still wasn’t winded.
Lily’s door opened cautiously. “Kurt, what are you doing?”
He ran up to her door and slowed down, jogging in place. “Hi Lily, just running off some energy. Adam’s inside on the phone, and Dad’s right there in the doorway, keeping an eye on me, so he says it’s okay if I’m off my leash, and you’re not going to report us anyway, are you? I told him you wouldn’t.”
She smiled sweetly at him. “Goodness, no, dear. I just heard someone running and was afraid it might be some kind of emergency.”
He shook his head, not caring for the moment that his hair was flying all over the place. “No, no. Sorry to have worried you. Just anxious about the phone call, and Adam’s being very mysterious about it.”
“Perhaps it’s a surprise?”
She was too polite to mention that perhaps it was none of his business, but he could hear the unasked question anyway.
“Yeah, I guess whatever it is, I don’t need to know till Adam’s ready to tell me.”
“Do you mind if I go over and speak to Burt for a minute while you’re running?”
“No, that’s fine.”
“Oops!” Lily tried to close the door and block it with her legs, but it did no good.
Kurt stopped jogging and bent down, so he could catch Misty. “Hey, baby girl, how you doing?” He kissed her on the top of her head. She was already purring up a storm. Burt came out of the doorway to see what was going on.
“You need to go back inside,” Kurt insisted, in his “bad-ass Alpha cat” voice, “so your mama doesn’t worry about you. I’ll visit you soon, but for now, stay with your mama.” He handed the reluctant Misty over to Lily, who scolded her gently, but hugged her with love.
Burt walked over to them.
“Hello, Burt,” Lily greeted him, “I wondered if I could borrow you for a few minutes, to chat.”
“Well, sure, but I need to keep an eye on Kurt here -“
They were interrupted by Adam sticking his head out of his apartment doorway.
“What’s going on? Kurt, if you can spare a minute, April would like to speak with you.”
He was there in seconds, with his hand out for the phone.
“Hi April! It’s Kurt!”
Her silvery laugh floated out through the phone to caress his ear. “Hi sweetie-pie! I wanted to talk to you about a little idea I had.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
Burt looked at Lily, and said, loud enough for Adam to hear, “Looks like I have a few minutes for a visit now.”
Adam raised an eyebrow in question, but nodded and retreated. He shut the door, but Burt could hear that he hadn’t been locked out.
“After you,” he said politely. Lily preceeded him into the apartment, still carrying Misty. She set her down in a fuzzy, comfortable-looking cat bed in the corner of the room. Misty looked resigned to take a nap.
“Oh, if you wouldn’t mind taking your shoes off, and leaving them by the door, it keeps the carpet cleaner. Would you like some lemonade? You can join me in the kitchen, through here.”
Burt thought white carpet was incredibly impractical, especially with a cat in the house, but he supposed white hair wouldn’t show up that much. He was more comfortable with his shoes off, he realized.
He looked around the apartment, which was sort of a mirror image of Adam’s, but with more feminine furniture and décor. Hm, Misty did fit in very well. Huh, a decorator cat? Who knew.
The kitchen was bright and clean, a bit larger than Adam’s, he thought.
Lily had already poured the lemonade. “I’m glad we’ve got a little time to talk. I didn’t want to take you away from Kurt, but I was hoping I could tell you how very much I enjoy having him as a friend and neighbor.”
Burt sipped the lemonade. “Yeah, I can see how handy it would be having the Cat Whisperer next door.”
Lily smiled, but shook her head. “That’s not what I meant, though it’s certainly helpful that Misty enjoys his company, and obeys him. What I meant was, he’s such a pleasant young man. He’s very polite, and thoughtful, and he’s been very helpful to me. He came over to do a make-over, and is designing some clothes for me. I have a hard time finding styles I like in the stores. I have a fundraiser coming up that’s very important, and I couldn’t find the right dress. I believe what Kurt will make for me will be perfect.”
Burt cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable. “I hope he lives up to your expectations. He did great on some clothes for himself, but as far as I know, he’s never had the chance to design or sew anything for a woman before. He showed me the designs, and they look good, from what I can tell, but I just wanted to let you know, he hasn’t had that much experience.”
“Well, how else is he going to get experience? This will give him something to work on, and I’m sure he’ll do his best. I do have something I can wear, if he doesn’t get it finished in time, but I think he will.”
“That’s good. What’s the fundraiser for?”
“It’s to raise awareness of how the arts can be a good focus for young people with too much time on their hands. If a lot of the people who have excessive energy and time turned their attention towards expressing their emotions through music, art, dance, writing, or other creative pursuits, perhaps there would be less violence, and less drug usage. Instead of teenagers trying to suppress their emotions with alcohol or drugs, or sometimes violence, what if they had a creative outlet for their feelings? Instead of running from emotions that are too intense for them to handle, they could perhaps try to express them creatively, and get them out in a positive way.”
“You mean like painting a picture or mural of whatever is bugging them, instead of drowning it with alcohol or deadening it with drugs?”
“That would be one way to do it. It’s an art exhibit, of sorts, where we’ll be showing not only paintings and sculptures, but there will be readings of poetry, short stories, and one-act plays. There will also be some musicians or singers, demonstrating ways that they’ve turned their negative emotions into something positive that other people can relate to and enjoy. Sometimes, just having that connection with other people, having someone else say they understand where you’re coming from, can make a huge difference. They may even find there are people of all different ages and races who can relate to what they’re feeling, instead of thinking they’re all alone in feeling that way.”
“Sounds great! I hope it goes well. Seems like something a lot of other cities should pick up on.”
“Yes.” She smiled gently at him, and he felt like she was waiting for something. Did she want him to donate, or -
“What can I do to help?”
<><><><><><><><><><>
They had steaks for dinner. Kurt fixed most of the meal, and Adam grilled the steaks. Kurt only had half his steak, and decided to save the rest for later. Burt seemed very pleased with everything, so Kurt reminded him to leave room for dessert.
“We won’t be having it for about another 45 minutes, at least, so I’ll have enough appetite back by then to have some,” Burt reminded him.
“Oh no! I’ve got to get changed! I barely have enough time!”
Neither of them teased him or argued with him, so he was able to finish on time.
When he came back out to the living room, he was wearing his nice black slacks, a white dress shirt, and over that, the blue McQueen sweater, which fit him better now that it used to. The sweater really brought out the blue in his eyes. He topped it off with the scarf Carole knitted. He also had on the black dress shoes Adam had bought him. He was right, the scarf looked fantastic, and helped tie the outfit together.
Adam concurred. “Kurt, you look smashing! I love your style.”
“Thanks!” It was nice to have Adam’s approval. While Kurt knew he looked good, sometimes his impressions were different than other people, so it was nice when Adam appreciated the efforts he made to dress up.
“Yeah, you look good, kid. I’ll tell Carole how great the scarf looks on you.”
“I’ve got a better idea!”
He sighed quietly to himself as Adam took his phone out of his pocket. He smiled, and put his arm around Burt as Adam took a couple of pictures.
Adam looked nice, wearing black jeans, a light green button-down shirt, and a forest green cardigan sweater.
Burt was also dressed up, in brown slacks, a brown-and-beige checkered shirt, and shiny brown shoes.
“You want to check on dessert one more time?” Adam asked.
Kurt nodded, and checked the contents of the refrigerator. It looked fine. They had already agreed it would make more sense to have dessert at the dining room table, and maybe move to the living room for coffee afterwards. Adam had set the table while Kurt was getting dressed, and he had to admit, now was a good time to use the fancy dishes and utensils.
Kurt had been trying to contain his excitement at the conversation he’d had with April. She and Adam had worked out some details and agreements already, although they weren’t ready to tell him everything yet. That was okay; he trusted them both.
“Is April really coming here this week?”
Adam patted his shoulder. “She is, as soon as we can work out the best time. I’ve been trying to keep our schedule fairly clear, so we don’t overload you - or me - with too much going on at once. But I really do want her to see your concert.”
“It wasn’t a concert,” Kurt protested. “But I’m glad I didn’t know she was going to see it, or I’d have been really nervous.”
“I’m sure she’ll love -“ The phone rang, cutting off Adam’s comment.
“I guess they’re here, or one of them.” Adam answered the phone. “Hello, Dr. Hanover - very well, Gabriel. I’ll be right down… She is? That’s wonderful. I’ll be there in a minute to let you both in.”
Kurt was still a bit keyed up, despite his running around earlier. When his dad put a heavy hand on his knee, he stopped jiggling it up and down. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and practiced the breathing technique Miss Sue had taught him. In a couple of minutes he felt much better.
“How long does it take for Adam to go get someone from downstairs?” Burt asked.
“I’d say at least 5 minutes. It’s a long way down to the lobby, then they’ve got to come all the way back up here. They’ll be here soon.”
Kurt wished he had Harriet, so he could hold and soothe her, but he’d decided to leave all his babies on the bed, where they’d be more comfortable. He could always tell them all about it later anyway.
“Dad, later on are you going to tell me what you and Lily talked about? You and Adam didn’t seem to want to talk at dinner.”
“No, the food was so good, I mainly wanted to eat. Yeah, I’ll tell you later. She mostly wanted to tell me how much she likes you.”
“Oh! That’s good. A lot better than her telling you she doesn’t like me.”
Burt scoffed. “Come on now, do you really think she feels like that?”
“No,” he sighed. “I like having a neighbor who likes me, and doesn’t mind living next to a hybrid.”
“Aw, come on, Mr. Daley is a rude jerk to everyone. He doesn’t hate hybrids any more than he hates everyone else, including me.”
Kurt squirmed uncomfortably. “Really? I guess I didn’t notice.”
“Well, you hardly spent any time around him. I made sure of that.”
“Thanks, Dad, for always trying so hard to protect me.”
Burt shook his head. “You’re welcome. It was my job. Now I guess it’s Adam’s.”
They heard voices in the hall, and Adam unlocked the door. They stood to greet their guests.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Adam introduced everyone. Since it wasn’t a business occasion, Dr. Hanover insisted they call him Gabriel, and Ms. Devereaux insisted on Julia.
“It’s so good to meet you, Congressman,” Gabriel said while shaking his hand.
“Ah, call me Burt, please. I’m kind of surprised to find anyone here in New York knows who I am.”
“I’ve heard of you as well, sir,” Julia admitted with a smile.
“Please, it’s Burt.”
Gabriel answered the question. “I think probably anyone in the country who’s interested in the rights of hybrids, is probably aware of you, sir. Burt. No one else has run on that platform before. It may have helped that you’re also in favor of the rights of the LGBTQ and other minorities. There just don’t seem to be a lot of people who are publicly willing to come out and say hybrids should have the same rights as the rest of us.”
Burt looked both pleased and uncomfortable at the same time. Adam decided a slight change of subject was in order.
“Kurt made dessert, so if you’d like to bring that out, please?” he asked, turning to Kurt. “Let’s move to the dining room, where I think we’ll be more comfortable.”
He’d been a bit concerned about Kurt maybe having a bit of a panic attack with the extra people there, but he didn’t seem too nervous or uptight. The serving knife was already on the table, so all Kurt had to do was bring in the plate with the dessert.
They sat at the dining room table, with Adam at the head of the table and Burt at the foot, with Julia and Gabriel between them. When Kurt brought in the cheesecake, he sat opposite Julia, at Adam’s right hand.
“Is that cheesecake?” Julia asked, her eyes bright with anticipation.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You don’t need to call me ma’am, Kurt. Julia is fine. And I am not even going to think about calories or fat tonight.”
“No diet talk, please,” Burt said.
Adam tried not to grin too broadly. Burt was probably afraid Kurt would suddenly decide that cheesecake was too unhealthy for him.
“It looks delicious, Kurt,” Gabriel added warmly.
Kurt blushed. “Thanks. I hope it came out right.”
“I’m sure it did,” Adam said, hoping he was right. He was determined, though, to eat every bite of his, even if the sugar had been accidentally replaced with salt. He wasn’t about to upset Kurt for anything.
He quickly discovered that Gabriel was right, and the cheesecake was delicious. He was pleased he could honestly tell Kurt it was the best he’d ever had. Everyone complimented him, and it sounded sincere to Adam.
When they were all finished, Kurt started to gather the dishes to take them to the kitchen, but Adam stopped him.
“Don’t worry about those, darling. I’ll do them later. For now, if you’d just put what’s left of the cheesecake away, everything else can wait. Then you can join us in the living room.”
He could see Kurt wanted to argue, concerned about leaving the dirty dishes out, but he bit his lip and nodded.
“It’s okay, Kurt, really. An hour or so won’t make that big a difference.”
He could see Kurt’s shoulders relax as he took the cake away.
“Would anyone like coffee or tea? I can fix both, it’s no trouble.”
After taking two orders of decaf, for Burt and Gabriel, and tea for Julia and himself, and hot chocolate for Kurt, the two of them brought the drinks into the living room.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Adam and Burt sat at opposite ends of the sofa, leaving room for Kurt in the middle. Julia and Gabriel sat in armchairs facing the sofa.
“Kurt, I wanted to ask you. Is that an Alexander McQueen sweater? It’s lovely.” Julia questioned.
“Yes! I was able to get it about 85% discounted because a couple of stitches were dropped in the back. It took about a minute to fix that.” Kurt rolled his eyes.
Burt shrugged. “I don’t know how they figure those things, but I’m just glad he didn’t want me to buy it at the full price. I figured we were both getting a pretty good bargain.”
“I love the scarf, too, but I can’t identify the designer. Is it homemade? Did you make it?” Julia continued her fashion quiz.
Kurt blushed, but looked pleased. “No, I don’t knit. My stepmoth - um, Dad’s wife, Carole, made it for me. She’s never even met me, but she picked just the right colors. Blue is my favorite.”
Burt coughed, and Kurt turned to him and asked solicitously, “Are you okay, Dad? Do you need a cough drop?”
After a moment, he answered, his voice admirably controlled. “I’m fine, son, thank you.”
Kurt’s shoulders dropped slightly.
“Well,” Burt started, “I’m glad you could both take some time to come here, I really appreciate it. I’m happy to meet anyone else who gives a damn about hybrid rights.” He looked startled, like he was going to apologize, but Julia spoke up.
“I’m glad you’re so passionate about the subject, Burt. I completely understand why, as a parent, you feel so strongly. I just wish all parents felt the same way.”
“I don’t know how they can’t,” Burt muttered. “How can you turn your back on your own kid? Hybrid, gay, disabled, green, whatever…it’s your kid, your flesh and blood. I dunno, maybe I feel different because I loved Kurt’s mother, and I guess a lot of people don’t love their pets, even if they don’t mind getting ‘em pregnant. Er, sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Julia said. “Please, speak freely. I would hope we can all speak frankly here.”
Kurt was watching everyone carefully, but he tried not to show how nervous he was. He grasped his knees with his hands, so he could keep his hands and legs still.
Gabriel spoke up at last. “I think there are probably a lot of parents who love their children, who don’t want to give them up, but feel helpless, because it’s the law. Most of the parents I’ve spoken to, when they bring their young hybrid children in, are concerned not only about their health right then, but also worried about their well-being once they’re out of their home. I think many of them would prefer it if they could find out how their child is, who adopts them, and would like to see them again. I’m really pleased the two of you,” he nodded at Kurt and Burt, “were able to reconnect. I’m sure you both realize how rare it is.”
“I kept trying to find Kurt, and see how he was doing, but every pet store I called kept telling me they couldn’t tell me whether he was there or not, then I got a letter from the Hybrid Control Department strongly discouraging me from trying to find out. It was obvious intimidation, and they were trying to make me think something bad might happen to Kurt if I didn’t stop looking. I wasn’t going to risk it, but it also made me want, even more, to make sure he was okay.”
“So how did you find him again?” Julia asked.
Adam explained how that had come about. “I have to admit, if it weren’t for Kurt speaking so fondly of his father, and being so concerned about his health, it might not have occurred to me to try to put them in touch with one another.”
“It didn’t occur to me to ask, just because I’d never heard of that happening,” Kurt said softly.
“I think parents, and their hybrid kids, should be given the option of staying in touch,” Burt added.
“Dad, did you want to get that list you wrote?” Kurt asked, keeping his voice low.
“Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me.” Burt took the list out of his back pocket and smoothed it out. “I was writing down some ideas this morning, for things I wanted to talk to you both about. Some of them are the same issues I brought up in my campaign, and others are things that occurred to me more recently.”
“I’d really like to hear those,” Julia commented, and Gabriel agreed.
“Kurt helped me with some of them, when I asked for his opinion. I bet he might have some more, too.”
Kurt shrugged, not having given it too much more thought after they’d spoken. He had so many things on his mind already.
Burt read his list aloud.
“Wow,” Adam commented, “when you list them all like that, it really makes you realize just how bad it is. I mean, I knew, but hearing it all at once is a bit different.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Gabriel looked around the room. “I think we can all agree on those points.”
“Yes. And there are more things we can add to the list,” Julia mentioned.
“Like…?” Burt asked.
“For instance, adopted hybrids are a lot like full humans who are adopted. The same protective rules should apply. Except it gets a bit murkier when the hybrid is adopted to be a sexual companion rather than treated strictly as a child, or pet. Maybe people need to be more aware of the different ways hybrids are treated, so they don’t make incorrect assumptions.”
Both Adam and Burt looked uncomfortable.
“Wait a minute,” Kurt spoke up. “You make it sound like it’s wrong for someone to adopt a hybrid if sex is part of the reason. I think for a lot of us, it’s the only reason we might be wanted.” He looked at Adam worriedly. “I know that wasn’t the only reason for you, but for some, I think it is.”
Julia hesitated. “I think it depends on a lot of different things. I do feel it’s wrong when someone only wants a hybrid to act as a sexual outlet for them, and they’re essentially ignored the rest of the time. I think if someone adopts a hybrid as a companion, and sex is part of what’s expected, the hybrid should have the option of saying ‘No.’ It would be easier if it were made clear from the start, before the adoption happens, so both hybrid and owner know what to expect. If one wants sex and the other doesn’t, then maybe the owner should keep looking till they find one that’s more compatible.”
Now Adam looked really miserable. “In my case, I honestly didn’t know what I wanted. I started out wanting a companion, not really thinking about the sexual part of things, as I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted. When I met Kurt, I admit, I was very attracted to him, but it took a while after he’d been living with me, for me to be sure that sex would be a part of our relationship. I wanted to be sure it was mutual.”
Kurt had an idea how difficult it was for Adam to make that admission to people who were virtually strangers, and he hoped they appreciated it as well. Not to mention how his dad probably felt.
Julia spoke up again. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad about it, Adam. But I think that does happen, that people don’t always know at the beginning just what they want. The rules are changed, so to speak, and the hybrid might not have much say about the change in expectations. In this case, though, you were clearly considering Kurt’s feelings and respecting his right to say no. But many people don’t do that.”
Burt added, “I gotta admit, when I met Kurt’s mom, Elizabeth, I wanted to protect her, you know, rescue her, from being euthanized, but I also wanted her sexually. I kinda figured that was part of the deal. I didn’t think that much about it, because she was very willing - I mean, it didn’t seem like the idea upset her at all. I wouldn’t have intimidated her or anything, but I’m pretty sure some people don’t care what their hybrid wants in that way.”
“True,” Gabriel said with a heavy sigh, “I’ve seen patients with injuries where it was clear they hadn’t been willing, and had been hurt in the process because of that.”
“But we’re taught to expect that. Most hybrids are trained for that,” Kurt interrupted. “I wasn’t, because the people who ran the pet store didn’t think anyone would want me that way. But as far as I know, all the others there were. Even though the selling point was supposed to be that we were trained to sing.”
“That’s true, the advertisement I saw emphasized the singing,” Adam confirmed. “But the hybrids featured in the ad, the details about them included sexual preference, or “trained to please” or that kind of nonsense. The woman who co-owned the store told me it’s much easier for everyone if the owner respects the pet’s sexual preference, and the pet will be a lot happier that way, but said that not everyone does.”
Kurt sighed. “Yeah, I worry a little bit about one girl I knew, a cat hybrid. She’s attracted to males and females, but decided after the training that she really preferred females. But what if some guy adopts her and insists she have sex with him, and she doesn’t really want to?”
“That’s just the problem,” Gabriel answered. “Many hybrids are trained to be sexual companions to both males and females, unless they express a strong preference otherwise. But some store owners want the hybrids to have training for both, just in case. The thinking is that it’s better if the hybrid has an idea what is expected of them if their owner ignores their preference. But you can see how that can hurt them, psychologically as well as physically.”
“Unfortunately, you probably never run out of patients in that capacity,” Julia noted.
Gabriel shook his head. “You’d be surprised. If I see any signs of distress, I encourage the owner to let me do a full psychological evaluation, and bring their hybrid in for testing. But quite a few of them refuse. They might not want to spend the money. Even when I tell them the evaluation won’t cost anything, some don’t want to do it. They may say they don’t want to put their pet through that, but I suspect in many cases, they’re afraid of what their pet will say.”
“What do you do when you see signs of abuse?” Julia asked with concern. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a complaint with your name as the reporting party.”
Gabriel winced. “I report it to the Hybrid Control Department, as we’re required to do. I’m sorry to say I had no idea there were any attorneys specializing in that area.”
Julia shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I’m not supposed to advertise that part. There are a few other legal advocates, but mostly in the bigger cities. It’s kind of a fine line. Any complaint I get, I’m supposed to copy the HCD on it as well, and usually they say they’ll handle it. But I prefer to be able to follow up and make sure the complaint isn’t just hidden in some file somewhere.”
When Gabriel asked, Adam explained how he’d quite accidentally found out about Julia’s specialty.
“That’s kind of how it works, by word of mouth,” she said. “And I do most of that work pro bono, because of course the hybrids can’t pay me, and the owners aren’t about to do that. There are a few cases I hear about, where it’s not the owner or parent who is abusing or taking advantage of the hybrid. It’s sometimes family friends or neighbors, or someone the family trusts. Occasionally it’s an instructor at the school, or an employee at a pet store. But a lot of hybrids are afraid to speak up about it, even to their owner, for fear of retaliation.”
Kurt was getting angrier by the second. “So how does someone like Santana, if she gets adopted by a guy who wants her, when she’d rather have a female owner, get some kind of help if he forces her? Is she just supposed to go along with it, and be unhappy and angry, and not be able to do anything about it?”
“That’s usually the case,” Julia agreed. “Which is why I’m trying to do something about it.”
“I was thinking,” Adam said, “in Kurt’s case, it was pointed out he might be adopted by a woman, who might want essentially a lap kitty to cuddle, and not expect sex from him, but then, he probably wouldn’t ever have a chance to experience sex. Or if a woman insisted…well, it might be a lot harder for a female to force a male in that instance…”
“You’d be surprised,” Julia snapped. “And how do you think the owner would react to that? Would they be understanding and just give up? Or might they threaten to sell him back to the pet store?”
Kurt could see Julia was trying to hold in her temper.
“I never even really thought about that,” he admitted. “I was more worried about being adopted by some scary, creepy guy that I wasn’t attracted to, and having to go along with it. So I did everything I could to discourage the guys that made me nervous. But a lot of the others at the store, it’s like they didn’t realize, or didn’t care, that someone could adopt them and deliberately hurt them. Some of them did everything they could to convince someone to adopt them. And some of them…one girl cat in particular, she and Santana had kind of a thing going on, they did as much as they could get away with, and Santana really tried to protect her. I’m not sure Brittany would be - she’s kind of -“
He hesitated to find the right words. “She’s more vulnerable, I think, to just going along with whatever someone else tells her to do, without maybe realizing it’s not in her best interests. And it might be, as far as not getting in trouble. But somebody could easily take advantage of her, and Santana or someone else might fight back, or at least object, but I’m not sure Brittany would realize she should.”
He really hadn’t meant to talk that much, but nobody had tried to shut him up or interrupt him, so that was a good sign.
“Kurt, that’s one of the main reasons we’re trying to help all the hybrids,” his father explained. “No-one in this room wants to see something like that happen. There aren’t enough laws protecting hybrids, so a lot of them are hurt, scared, and miserable, and have been told they just have to put up with it, because they’re scared of being punished even worse, or being sold back to the store. And if they can’t get re-adopted within whatever time limit the store sets, they might be euthanized.”
“I would think for some it would be preferable,” Kurt said sadly. He couldn’t help but think that’s what he’d have wanted in that case.
“And in some cases,” Gabriel began, “the hybrid will take his or her own life to get out of an intolerable situation. I’m trying to prevent that as well.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I think the purpose in us all meeting like this is so that we can try to pool our knowledge, resources, and experience, to see how we can best help all the hybrids to be treated more like people, and less like animals. Or lower than animals.”
Burt gave Gabriel and Julia his cards, and they gave him theirs. They also exchanged cards, Kurt noticed.
“We can’t solve all these problem tonight,” Burt admitted. “But we can start networking. The more people who want to help, the better. You never know who might have a great idea.”
“What about Jerry and Daniel?” Kurt asked. “They might not have a lot of influence, but they see a lot of hybrids, and they care.” He explained to Julia and Gabriel a bit about the gym, and the owners’ attitudes.
“Those would be good contacts, too,” Julia agreed. “Anyone you can think of. Maybe we could discuss this more online, exchange e-mails, have occasional chats or something.”
“As long as the government isn’t monitoring that sort of thing,” Adam mentioned with a grimace. “Who knows how far they get involved?”
“You could use a secret code,” Kurt suggested. He thought for a moment. “Like a gardening club or something, and send messages like, ‘I planted a new type of seed today, let’s see how it grows,’ or ‘My hybrid rose isn’t doing as well as I’d hoped, anybody got any suggestions? It’s kind of dying on the vine for lack of attention,’ I don’t know, something like that?”
He saw smiles and dawning comprehension.
“That might be a very good idea,” Gabriel said. “But maybe for now, snail mail might be a better idea, or phone calls?”
“Maybe,” Burt admitted. “I’ll see what I can find out about how much the government sticks its nose into hybrid business once they’re already adopted.”
“I was thinking,” Adam suggested, “our next-door neighbor, Lily, is very fond of Kurt, and is pro-hybrid. She might be a good person to consult as well.”
“And I think she’s got a lot of potential connections,” Burt added thoughtfully. “She’s a very bright lady who wants to help others.”
“There’s Nancy, too,” Kurt commented, “and some of Adam’s friends. I don’t know how many of them would want to get involved, but I bet there are even more people than we realize, who might care and want to help.”
“Hugo is another one,” Adam commented, “and Sonia as well. Why don’t we each make a list of anyone we know, in a professional or personal capacity, who might want to help, and see how many we can come up with? It seems like the more people who want to get involved, the greater chance we have of maybe making a difference.”
They talked a bit more, until Gabriel noticed how late it was. “I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to stay this long. I’d love to keep talking to you all, but I need to get up early for work tomorrow.”
Julia added, “I suppose I should get going, too, but Burt, I wanted to ask you a couple of questions.”
Adam stood up. “Gabriel, let me walk you out to your car. I wanted to discuss something with you.”
Kurt kind of wanted to go with them, but he supposed Adam would have invited him if he wanted him along. Maybe he needed to talk to Gabriel without distractions. But he was feeling very good about the whole discussion. He felt like he not only had a couple of new allies, but possibly new friends as well. He wasn’t sure which was better to have, in the long run, but the more people who wanted to help them, the better.
Next - Chapter 66