It was seven in the morning by the time Kurt got out of the house that morning. He was going to be late and shot a quick text to Blaine, letting him know he was still going to meet him for coffee before school. Tradition was tradition and even though they went to two different schools, they still met in the middle every morning and afterwards. It was weird being back at McKinley. Not in the sense that he was alone, but Blaine wasn't with him every day, all day. With senior year just kicking off, they were both busy with Glee, school work, looking into college. Time was precious and Finn was making him lose out.

All he did was ask him if he wanted a ride, but his wonderful step-brother couldn't make up his mind and then popped into the shower late. Kurt had told Carol to inform him he was driving himself and raced out the door. His phone buzzed from Blaine, telling him to take his time. Right. Slow down. Blaine wouldn't leave the coffee shop and it was just a few streets away. He had plenty of time. Putting the phone in it's dock, he started the car and backed out of the driveway. Taking off down the road, he reached to turn his ipod on, but it wasn't in it's place. It sat on the floor by the passenger's seat. When Kurt arrived at the next stop sign, glancing to see if anyone was behind him, he put the car in park and unbuckled his belt so he could attempt to get it.

It was also at seven that morning that Greg Stark decided to roll out of bed after drinking all night with his friends. He was still slightly drunk, on his way to being hung over, certainly not awake enough to be driving yet by any means. Still, he got into his car and backed over the bushes at the end of the driveway, taking off down the street before any of his friends were awake.

His radio was blasting and his car tip toed over the line several times. Even the loud music couldn't seem to keep him focused and his head leaned on the steering wheel as he started to fall asleep. He didn't see his stop sign, he didn't even break. 55, maybe 60 down the empty residential road? Greg never even saw the other car, which appeared to be missing it's driver.

Kurt's hand clenched around the ipod, starting to come up to put his seatbelt back on when-

Kurt wasn't in his car anymore. The ipod in his hand was gone, he was standing on a familuar tiled floor. The hospital? Kurt looked himself over quickly, trying to see what might have been wrong, but he looked fine. Felt fine. Maybe a little tired, he needed coffee, but otherwise.

No one seemed to be in any hurry around him, but Kurt remembered this to be the ICU. He'd lived here for the few weeks his Dad had spent there. He even recognized a few of the nurses at the desk, but they were all on the phone or busy. It didn't answer what he was doing there though. Or how he got there so suddenly. Looking up at the clock on the wall, his eyes widened. 9:30! Where the hell had the last two and a half hours gone?

Kurt marched himself over to the desk one of the nurses looking right up at him as he approached.

"Excuse me. My name is Kurt Hummel. This is going to sound extremely ridiculous, but I have no idea what I'm doing here, how I got here..." His voice trailed off as her attentioned move to whomever was yelling down the hall and she got up from her seat. Kurt scoffed and looked himself to see his father and Carol running down the hall of the ICU. "Dad! Dad what are you- What am I doing-" but Burt ignored him. He was hysterical.

"Dad, calm down. You're going to give yourself a heart atta-" but he was ignored again, as he and Carol ran past him to a room down the hall. "Okay seriously! What the hell is going on in this madhouse? Am I dreaming or something?" He pinched his skin, hissing, but he didn't wake up, and nothing changed. It was slightly unnerving. Kurt could feel a knot building in his throat and he hugged himself for a moment, staring down the hall everyone had disappeared.

Somehow, he made his legs move and started off down the hall, glancing in all the rooms. One of them had police officers in it, talking with a man that looked half with it. He looked drunk, started laughing, or was he crying now? Kurt couldn't tell and he walked faster past that room. When he arrived at the room everyone was in, he lingered in the doorway a while, looking at his Dad and Carol's back. They were with the doctor, but his words were muffled.

Taking a few steps in, he froze, recognizing himself in the bed immediately. Or he thought it was him. His body, his face was so mangled, he was attached to all types of machines. His attentioned perked up when he heard car accident and it was like a wave crashed into him. Kurt remembered looking up, seeing the car there and he knew he didn't have time to move the car. The whole dashboard slammed into him, windshield smashed. There was no front seat to his car anymore, he was in the back when the police arrived. It had been so quiet, till the sirens came and that had been when he blacked out.

"-we have him set up for surgery. He's stable, but it's rocky..." Kurt was only half listening to him. Something about his small frame, the impact, internal damage... But what did it mean? The heart monitor was blipping, so he wasn't dead. So why wasn't he trapped in there? Kurt held himself, backing out of the room.

"So what are you sayin'?" Burt asked, his voice so panicked and scared. It was weird. Kurt had heard his father worried before, but this was awful to watch. "Why isn't he awake? What do you mean rocky?"

"Mr. Hummel, we're doing the best we can, but he's weak, nearly bled out at the scene. The next 24 hours are going to be up and down-"

"Are you telling me I could lose my son?" Carol's grip tightened on her husband's arm, looking at the doctor for his answer.

"There is a chance, but we're doing our best to prevent that from happening-" The doctor continued to talk, but it was all so muffled again. Kurt could only watch his father's face grown pale as he sat in the chair beside his bed. His dad looked so lost and scared, he just wanted to leap at him and let him know he was there.

"This can't be happening," he whispered, absent mindedly looking for his phone, but he didn't have it. Ghosts didn't have cellphones. Was he even a ghost?

"Afraid it is kiddo," came a voice from behind him. "But it's all right. I'm right here with you."

Kurt stopped his search for his non exsistant phone. He knew that voice. There were times he cried, swearing he'd give anything to hear it one more time. Kurt whipped around hands covering his mouth.

Long, curly chestnut hair, bright blue eyes, slim frame, the smile that mirrored his own. Elizabeth Hummel smiled proudly at her little boy, hands crossed in front of her. "Look at you. You got so big. You weren't suppose to grow up so fast," she said, reaching out to touch her little boys cheek.

"Mom," Kurt choked, throwing himself at her. He locked his arms around her and she held him back, petting his hair as she laid light kisses on his cheek.

"It'll be okay Kurt," his mother coo'd, holding him and just taking it in. So much time lost between them, being made up for in this loving embrace. "I'll explain everything, I promise."

TBC