Once again, Piper wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings, finishing another drawing, with Mercedes leaning against her as she watched her best friend working in silence.

"Mr. Shue?" Finn called, but neither of the girls bothered looking up at him when Mercedes pointed out something in Piper's drawing. "I have something to say. Something happened to me, and I can't really get into it, but it's shaken me to my core."

"Oh, my God, he's coming out." Puck said and, at that, Piper frowned, looking at Puck before watching as Finn stood up.

"Why, yes." Finn said, as Piper's frown just deepened and Mercedes lifted her head from her shoulder to look at Finn better. "There is a man who's sort of recently come into my life, and that man is Jesus Christ."

"That's way worse." Puck mumbled as Piper gasped.

"And I know there's others in here who dig him, too." He said, causing both Quinn and Mercedes to perk up in their seats. "And so I thought, maybe this week, we could pay tribute to him in music. You know, pay tribute to Jesus."

At that, Piper pouted, not in the least happy with that even though her best friend seemed to be. She wasn't the only one to have some type of objection, though, because, before she could say anything at all, Kurt spoke up.

"Sorry, hum, but if I wanted to sing about Jesus, I'd go to church." Kurt said, as Piper nodded. "And the reason I don't go to church is because most churches don't think very much of gay people."

"Or women." Piper interjected, causing Kurt to nod at her.

"Or science." He continued.

"I don't see anything wrong with getting a little church up in here." Mercedes disagreed with her best friends gently as they both exchanged a glance before Piper reached over to place a hand on her knee to let her know it was okay.

"I agree." Quinn nodded, sitting on Mercedes' other side. "I've had a really hard year, and I turned to God a lot for help. I, for one, wouldn't mind saying thanks."

"Thanks for what?" Santana scoffed. "That it didn't come out a lizard baby?"

"Whenever I pray, I fall asleep." Brittany mumbled, as Quinn sent Santana a glare.

"Well, guys, maybe our song selections don't have to be about Jesus." Mr. Schue said, deciding — this week — to actually listen to the children. Piper rolled her eyes then. "We could do songs about spirituality."

Someone else who didn't seem all that happy was Puck, however, and, noticing his dissatisfaction, Finn scowled at his friend.

"You got a problem with Jesus?" He challenged as his best friend shook his head and stood up.

"Oh, I got no problem with the guy. I'm a total Jew for Jesus. He's my number one Heb." Puck said as Piper shook her head, deciding paying this class any attention was pointless and choosing to look down at her drawing again. "What I don't like seeing is people using J-money to cramp everybody else's style, 'cause it seems to me that true spirituality or whatever you want to call it is about enjoying the life that you've been given. I mean, I see God every time I make out with a new chick."

"Okay, okay, that doesn't make any sense." Rachel scoffed. "In fact, it's stupid."

"Are you calling Mr. Billy Joel stupid?" Puck asked, as Piper rolled her eyes.

"What the hell is even happening?" She asked to no one in particular, feeling a bit lost during that conversation.

"At this time, I'd like to continue my streak of doing only songs by Jewish artists." Puck continued as he stood up and grabbed his guitar. "Hit it."

And as much as Piper didn't like or understand that class, she couldn't deny a bit of fun. And Puck singing Only the good die young was definitely fun.

***

Kurt's dad had ended up in the hospital and, as much as everyone had wanted to help, no one really knew how. Piper had been Kurt's first phone call after seeing his dad unconscious in the hospital and, as soon as she got the news, she had gotten her dad to drive her to the hospital as well as Piper held Kurt while he cried in her arms for a second.

Knowing Kurt's mom wasn't in the picture anymore, Piper had also offered Kurt her spare room so he wouldn't be sleeping alone during the night and, considering Burt and Kurt had taken in his daughter the year before after his wife kicked her out, Harry didn't need that much convincing to let Kurt stay with them.

"You can stay as long as you need, Kurt." Harry had assured and, after making the bed for Kurt, he had allowed Piper to stay in the room with her friend as he cried himself to sleep again.

For some miracle, however, the following day, Kurt had decided that he still wanted to go to school, so, even if against Piper's better judgment, Kurt had gone with her and he had gotten through his day, knowing everyone had heard about the news and receiving fake condolences from everyone in the school. Kurt knew, however, that the hardest part of his day would be glee club because, this time, everyone would mean what they said and Kurt thought that was harder to handle than some just polite I'm sorry's. And when Brittany and Santana approached him first, he knew he was right.

"Hey, Kurt." Santana said, as soft as Kurt had ever heard her speak. "We're really sorry about your dad's heart attack."

"Thanks, Santana." Kurt smiled weakly.

"I did a book report on heart attacks, if you want to give it to the doctor." Brittany said, handing Kurt the very colorful paper she had written for him. "I got knocked down an entire letter grade 'cause it was written in crayon."

Watching them go, Kurt handed Piper the paper clearly not in the mood to look it over, and the girl, who was sitting beside him, placed it neatly in her lap, smiling a bit at the sweet gesture, even if a bit misguided, since Brittany had argued that heart attacks were simply from loving too much. She jumped, however, when a very angry Finn marched into the room.

"What the hell happened?" He demanded, as Kurt just glared at him, unamused.

"My dad's in the hospital." He dead-paned.

"I know." Finn argued. "My mom just called me. I feel like I'm the last one to know!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Finn." Kurt rolled his eyes. "It didn't occur to me to call you, because he's not your father."

"Yeah, well, he's the closest I'm ever going to get, okay?" Finn said. "I know it may not look like what everybody else has, but I thought we were... Sort of a family. Look, I... I guess I just... I didn't like overhearing other people talking about it in gym class."

Kurt sighed then, reaching over to grab his bag from the chair beside him so Finn could sit down instead. Before either of the boys could say anything, however — not that either of them would —, Mr. Schue walked into the room.

"Hey, guys." He said. "Our thoughts are all with Kurt, and, hum, I know it's sort of hard to really focus on anything else..."

"Mr. Shue." Mercedes interrupted then, as the teacher nodded for her to continue. "I've been struggling, trying to figure out what I wanted to say to Kurt all day, and I realized I don't want to say it, I want to sing it. This song is about being in a very dark place, and turning to God. It's a spiritual song, Mr. Shue. Is that okay?"

"It's fine." Mr. Schue nodded, causing Mercedes to get up and Piper to bite her lip, already sensing how uncomfortable this whole thing was making Kurt.

"Tina, Quinn, can you help me out, please?" Mercedes called, and as soon as the two girls took their places, they started a very beautiful rendition of I look to you that Mercedes clearly dedicated to only Kurt.

And as much as everyone clapped for her when she was done, Piper could tell Kurt was slightly annoyed.

"Thank you, Mercedes." Kurt whispered, as the three girls moved back to their seats. "Your voice is stunning, but... I don't believe in God."

"Wait, what?" Tina asked, surprised.

"You've all professed your beliefs, I'm just stating mine." Kurt explained, even though Piper didn't think he really had the obligation to. "I think God is kind of like Santa Claus for adults. Otherwise, God's kind of a jerk, isn't he? I mean, he makes me gay and then has his followers going around telling me it's something that I chose. As if someone would choose to be mocked every single day of their life. And right now I don't want a heavenly father. I want my real one back."

At that, Piper reached a hand over to Kurt, placing it on his leg gently to let him know she had his back and, squeezing her hand in his, he let her know he understood.

"But Kurt, how do you know for sure?" Mercedes asked. "I mean, you can't prove that there's no God."

"You can't prove that there isn't a magic teapot floating around on the dark side of the moon with a dwarf inside of it that reads romance novels and shoots lightning out of its boobs, but it seems pretty unlikely, doesn't it?"

"Is God an evil dwarf?" Brittany asked, confused.

"We shouldn't be talking like this." Quinn argued, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. "It's not right."

"I'm sorry, Quinn. But you all can believe whatever you want to. But I can't believe something I don't." Kurt said, standing up as Piper pouted when her hand fell back beside her when he left. "I appreciate your thoughts... But I don't want your prayers."

***

"Hey, hum... Could I sit?"

At the sound of her voice, Piper widened her eyes for a bit before lifting them just to see that, in fact, Quinn Fabray, the captain of the Cheerios, was standing there beside her as Piper sat alone in the cafeteria, with a tray of food in hands and waiting for her permission to sit down. Snapping out of her surprise, Piper nodded then.

"Sure." She motioned at all the empty chairs around her. "Feel free."

So Quinn smiled a bit before placing her tray down on the chair opposite of Piper and taking a seat.

"I just... I know how much Burt means to you, so I just... I wanted to make sure you were doing okay." Quinn spoke up, her green eyes filled with worry as she watched Piper take a deep breath as she tried not to cry. "I know you're trying to keep an eye on Kurt and everyone else is too, but you need someone to keep an eye on you too. Have you been eating?"

At that, Piper chuckled quietly, under her breath, looking away from Quinn as she sighed.

"You heard, huh?" She asked, as Quinn nodded slowly.

"I heard." She confirmed. "But you know what? I'm super proud of you for seeking help. I know it's not that easy. And I'm not asking because I think you need a babysitter or anything. You're just under a lot of stress and it usually triggers episodes. So, I'm just asking... Have you been eating?"

"Not really." Piper admitted, looking back at Quinn with a pout. "But not because of my disorder, I just... Seeing Kurt so down and seeing Burt in that hospital bed, I mean... The man let me stay weeks in his house when my mom kicked me out and Kurt... He doesn't have his mom anymore... If he loses Burt, he... Oh, my..."

Quinn nodded along in understanding because, as much as she didn't really understand the pain of losing a parent to death, she could empathize with Kurt. And, boy, was he going through some stuff right now.

"I can't imagine." Quinn admitted quietly as Piper smiled weakly at her. "I really hope his father wakes up soon. Kurt doesn't deserve going through this."

"No, he doesn't." Piper agreed. "He already goes through too much. He doesn't need to add this to his plate."

Quinn nodded, then, growing silent for a second as she played around with her food, before taking a bite of her chicken and looking up at Piper again.

"Hey, P?" She called, and Piper cursed herself for the way her whole body buzzed in excitement at the way Quinn used her nickname again. Still, she hummed to let Quinn know she was listening. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Another?" She teased quietly, as Quinn rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Another."

"Sure."

"Over our last meetings... I've noticed you tend to agree with Kurt when we discuss, hum... Religion." She said. "Do you... Do you not believe in God?"

"You know, it's funny..." Piper shrugged. "I used to. I grew up catholic. My mom was... Well, she is very religious. So I used to be too. I used to go to church every Sunday, pray every night before bed... But Kurt's right... What is the point of believing in God if he supposedly condemns what I am? Now, I'm not saying religion is against the gays, I just... I've heard my mom using bible verses to tell me that what I am is wrong... Tell me that what I am is an abomination, is a sin... Tell me that she could cure me — that her God could cure me. Now, that doesn't seem like what a good and just God would do, does it?"

"I'm sorry you have to go through this..." Quinn mumbled, frowning at the girl in front of her sympathetically as her heart broke when Piper sniffled. Quinn hesitated for a second then, contemplating if she should reach over to Piper or not. She could see some of the Cheerios at a table nearby watching the two of them suspiciously, but when Piper wiped a tear away from her eye, Quinn decided to ignore that and just grabbed her free hand in hers. "I don't know if it makes any difference, but I don't think gay people are wrong. I don't think they're going to hell. I don't think it's right to use religion to discriminate against them. And I definitely don't think you should be cured, because there's nothing wrong with you."

"You know what?" Piper smiled through her tears. "That actually does help a lot. But, hum... In a way, I agree with Kurt... You have every right to express your believes, but so does he. And if he doesn't want to sing about God, he shouldn't have to. And you guys definitely shouldn't be forcing it on him."

At that, Quinn nodded quietly, letting go of Piper's hand when the girl stood up and started gathering her things — including her practically untouched lunch.

"I, hum... I have to go, though. I have Calculus next and I kind of forgot to do my homework, so I need to ask Tina if I can copy hers." She said, as Quinn smiled slightly, nodding her head as she rummaged through her bag before finally finding what she had been looking for.

"Of course." Quinn nodded, offering Piper a chocolate granola bar before she could leave. "Take this, though. Eat it when you get hungry."

And, at the sweet gesture, Piper felt her heart skip a beat, but decided to cover it up with a teasing smirk.

"What?" She asked, as Quinn raised an eyebrow with a smile, instantly matching Piper's nervous-playful energy. "Do you just carry those around now?"

"I do, actually." She responded, without missing a beat. "In case they're ever needed."

Piper blushed at that, but smiled as she grabbed the granola bar from Quinn and waved it at her a bit.

"Thank you." She smiled quietly, before turning around to leave.

"It's no problem." Quinn whispered as she watched her go. "No problem at all."

***

Kurt had apparently gone to coach Sylvester about the spirituality class that the glee club was having and she had taken it to the board that had told Mr. Schue he couldn't keep up with that theme anymore. So, there he was, explaining to the kids that their spirituality week was over. They weren't all too happy, though.

"Last week we were too sexy, this week we're too religious... We can't win." Tina said.

"Now I know what Miley feels like." Brittany mumbled.

"The real tragedy here is that I found the most perfect spiritual song to sing this week, and now it's been torn away from me like Sophie's daughter." Rachel said, once again making everything about herself as Piper just rolled her eyes.

"Guys, you can still sing whatever songs you like that sum up your feelings about God, about spirit." Mr. Schue said. "You just can't do it on school time."

"I hope you're happy, Kurt." Santana glared at Kurt.

"Having the week of my life, actually." Kurt scoffed.

"Leave him alone." Piper was quick to come up in his defense, smiling at Kurt despite everyone's glares on her. "He had every right to speak his mind. Just like you've all been doing all week."

"Look, Kurt, we're sympathetic to what you're going through, but siding with Miss Sylvester isn't gonna do anyone any good." Mercedes said, as Kurt angrily stood up from his chair.

"It's doing me some good." He said, causing Piper to pout at his hurt. "Now I don't have to sit around listening to all you mental patients talk about how there's a God when I know there isn't one."

***

"I know things have been pretty morose around here this past week, but I want to celebrate some good news for our little family." Mr. Schue said, during their next glee meeting. "Let's hear it for Finn on getting back his quarterback job and leading the Titans to a win in their second game of the season."

Everyone clapped a bit at that.

"Yeah, too bad that Sam kid had to have his arm basically ripped off for it to happen, but it's good to have you back in the saddle, brother." Puck said, as Piper raised an eyebrow at that.

Had anyone been hurt during the game last night? Before anyone could say anything, however, Kurt raised his hand.

"Mr. Shue, if I may?" He asked, standing up when the teacher nodded. "Hum, I wanted to thank everyone for your kind e-mails and queries about my dad, but for your information, his condition remains the same. I need to express myself, so with your permission, Mr. Shue, I've prepared a number for the occasion."

"Of course, Kurt." Mr. Schue said.

"On the day of my mom's funeral, when they were lowering her body into the ground, I was crying." Kurt started, and as soon as he spoke up, Piper knew she'd be getting emotional. "I mean, that was it. It was the last time I was ever going to see her, and I remember I looked up at my dad and I... I just wanted him to say something, just something to make me feel like my whole world wasn't over, and he just took my hand and squeezed it. And just knowing that those hands were there to take care of me... That was enough. This is for my dad."

And as Kurt sang a very emotional version of I wanna hold your hand, Piper found herself struggling not to cry.

***

Quinn frowned when she heard a sniffle and her ears perked up when she recognized the sound. Quickly putting her lip gloss back in her bag, Quinn made quick work of kicking everyone out of the bathroom — oh, the perks of being Head Cheerio in that school — and locked the door before walking toward the only closed stall and knocking on it gently.

"P? Is that you?" She called, frowning a bit when there was no reply. "Come on, P... I know you're in there and I know you're crying. Just open the door for me."

"I want to be alone." She cried out in response as Quinn sighed, feeling her heart break a little for her.

"That's not happening." Quinn shook her head. "I'm not leaving you alone."

"I'm not opening this door."

"Fine. So I'll sit here with you, outside."

"Q..."

"I can't leave you alone, P." Quinn said, as she sat down on the floor, leaning against the locked door. "Can you tell me what's wrong, darling?"

Quinn frowned when Piper whimpered from the other side, but, judging by the feeling she got on her back, Quinn was sure Piper was sitting behind the door as well, just like her, on the other side. Quinn allowed her a moment then, as the girl cried and sobbed quietly from the other side.