"Crawford. Finally. What took you so long?" Santana stood in the doorway waving a mascara brush at Adam. She was wearing a red and white uniform and knee-high red boots.
Adam put up his hands like he was at gunpoint. "Public transport. Please don't stab me with that. How's Kurt?"
Santana realised what she was doing and lowered the small brush. "No change from when I called. Come in. My shift starts in half an hour and I still need to-"
Loud retching noises came from inside and Adam's eyes went wide. "Is that Kurt?!" he asked, shocked. He quickly stepped inside, looking towards the privacy curtain that shielded Kurt's bed from the rest of the loft.
"Yeah. RACHEL, YOUR TURN!" Santana called out loudly. She shouted the last words over her shoulder towards the bathroom. "He already threw up on me twice this morning," she told Adam.
Rachel stuck her head out of the bathroom and mumbled something unintelligible. When Adam and Santana didn't react, she realised why and pulled down her surgical mask.
"I said: Now that Adam's here, he can get it. I can't risk getting Kurt's germs on me, not with the Funny Girl Callback tomorrow." Rachel nodded towards Kurt's part of the loft. "If Kurt was awake he'd understand." She quickly pulled the mask back over her mouth and nose and locked herself in the bath again.
Santana shrugged. "Looks like you're up. Just help yourself with whatever you need from the kitchen, I really have to get a move on. If I'm late Gunther will fire my ass, and this ass needs a job, okay?" She walked to the couch, grabbed her purse, and started rummaging around in it for the rest of her make-up.
Adam nodded distractedly, his mind already on Kurt. When Santana had called and told him Kurt was ill and needed someone to watch him, he had cancelled his Apples' rehearsal and came as fast as he could. Kurt was completely devoted to NYADA and his two jobs, dragging himself there even when he was dead-tired or had a bad cold, so if it was bad enough for him to stay at home -and need looking after- it had to be serious.
Adam pushed the curtain aside and was met with the smell of sick. He wrinkled his nose and took a few shallow breaths through his mouth before going inside. His boyfriend was lying on his side facing away from the curtain, curled up in himself. A bucket stood by the side of the bed. "Kurt?" Adam asked gently. "Are you okay?" There was no reaction, and as Adam came closer, he heard a soft, rattling snore coming from the bed. Adam walked over and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder to roll him onto his back.
"No, no, I'm too young," Kurt whimpered softly in his sleep, moving his head from side to side, his hands balled and his eyes tightly closed.
"Shhhh, it's okay," Adam hushed him, and cupped Kurt's jaw with his hand. He frowned. Kurt was burning up! Adam looked around and noticed a basin of water and a wash cloth on the night stand, probably from when Santana had cleaned him up earlier. He fished out the cloth and squeezed the excess water from it before draping it over Kurt's forehead. It was lukewarm.
"Santana," he called out. "Do you have any ice cubes?"
It was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I think so. In the freezer."
Adam rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously," he muttered under his breath. "Where else would they be?" He was still holding the side of Kurt's face to stop him from thrashing and hurting himself on the headboard, and he was running his thumb over Kurt's cheekbone with slow strokes. The repetitive touch seemed to calm Kurt a little. Adam didn't really want to leave him alone now. "Well, could you please get me some?" he called out to Santana. He could hear her frantic pacing come to a halt.
"Ugh. Fine," she called back, and appeared a few moments later with a bag of ice in her hand. "Maybe you shouldn't have bragged so much about having ahot boyfriend," she remarked, holding the bag open for Adam.
"Right," Adam said, reaching into the bag with his free hand and and dropping a handful of ice into the water basin. He was too worried to find her attempt at humour very funny. He took the wash cloth from Kurt's head and put it back in the water to get cold. "Thanks."
Santana shrugged. "Yeah, well, I really have to go now. If you need anything else, get Berry to help you."
Adam nodded dismissively, his attention already back on his charge. Kurt shivered as the cold wash cloth touched his sweaty skin. "Dad?" he mumbled, his eyes rolling behind his eyelids.
"It's Adam, sweetheart. I'm here. It's okay. It's gonna be okay."
When Santana came back, Adam was still there. He had emptied out the bucket and put a fresh t-shirt on Kurt and even managed to get him to eat some toast and drink some orange juice, but Kurt had only been awake for a moment and he had hardly been coherent. He kept telling Adam to "leave the deaf kids out of it". Adam was very worried. Rachel had stayed inside the bathroom the entire time.
"How is he?" Santana asked. "Did he throw up again?"
"Yeah, I got a load in the face earlier too," Adam remarked, and realised what he had said as Santana's eyebrow shot upwards. "Oh come on, you know what I mean." He brushed a few strands of hair from Kurt's forehead. "His temperature's still too high," he sighed. "If his fever doesn't break soon I'm taking him to the hospital."
"How are you gonna do that?" Santana asked. "You can't take him on the subway like this, and no cab's gonna take him when he's looking like he's about to ruin their upholstery."
Adam shrugged. "I'll figure something out. Maybe I could call one of my Apples."
Kurt let out another pained whine, his pale hands flailing like birds taking flight. Adam caught them just before he could knock something over. Kurt opened his eyes briefly and stared at Adam. His pupils were widely dilated, making his eyes appear almost black. "There has to be another option," he whispered urgently, before his eyes fell closed again and he slumped back into the pillow.
"Right. He's delirious," Adam stated. "I'm calling an ambulance."
But as he made to get up and let go of Kurt's hand, the young man spoke again, the word leaving his lips with a sigh.
"Blaine!"
Adam held his breath for a moment, trying to push away the disappointment and remind himself that no man had influence over his dreams. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. He looked up at Santana. For once, she didn't have a snide remark at the ready, but looked at him with sympathy and pulled up her shoulders. Adam willed himself to move, patting his pockets for his phone and turning away to focus on the call. Kurt's next words made him freeze.
"Yeah. Yes, I'll marry you."
"Oh no, you're not," Santana mumbled. "This is ridiculous." She reached for the basin of icy water and unceremoniously dumped it over Kurt's chest. He awoke with a gasp.
"What? I— Oh god," Kurt managed to let out before flopping to the side and aiming for the bucket. Out came the toast and the orange juice, but his eyes looked a lot clearer when he came back up. He stared at Adam and Santana for a moment and shivered. "Why am I so wet?" he asked, his voice a little raspy. "And what's that smell?"
"That would be you, darling," Adam said, a small smile reappearing on his lips. "Come on, let's get some tea into you, and then it's off in the tub with you."
Kurt gave Santana a sceptical look. "What's she so smug about?" he asked Adam as he let himself be helped up into a sitting position.
"No idea, love," Adam replied, and mouthed a silent thank you to her behind Kurt's back.