"Did you know that Russia has a larger surface area than Pluto?"
"I-no, I can't say I've ever heard that one before."
"And that Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire?"
"Blaine-"
"And Nintendo was originally a trading card company?"
"Blaine-"
"And that there are more stars in space than there are grains of sand on every beach in the world?"
"Okay well that one's kind of-"
"And for every human on earth there are 1.6 million ants?"
"Blaine!"
"Sorry."
Blaine and Kurt had been on their way to dinner with the Hummels when they got into a wreck. Blaine had been fine, for the most part-he had managed to come away with just minor cuts and bruises, but Kurt had been driving and he had taken the brunt of it.
When he looked up from his seat, he saw Kurt slumped over in his, a small shard of glass protruding from his eye. It was enough to make him want to vomit.
Passing cars had stopped when they saw them and within seconds an ambulance had been called. Blaine was able to pull himself out of the vehicle but he was too scared to touch Kurt. Although he wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch his fiancée, and tell him that everything would be okay, he was too scared to touch him; too afraid of breaking him. So, instead, he waited at the side of the road and paced until the ambulance arrived.
He had been looked over at the scene, and was allowed to ride with Kurt in the ambulance, where he rang Burt, hands shaking and voice wavering.
Kurt didn't wake up in the ambulance, and still hadn't stirred by the time he was rushed into surgery. Burt met Blaine at the hospital and immediately pulled his son-in-law to be into his arms. They were shown into the family room and left in silence.
Blaine tried to pretend like he was fine; like he wasn't scared, but judging by the fact that he had been reading useless facts from a webpage out to him for the last hour, Burt was willing to bet that it was all just a façade.
"Hey kid, you know Kurt's going to be fine, don't you?"
"But you didn't see him, Burt."
"No, that's true."
"Then how do you know he'll be fine?"
"Because I know my son. Kurt always finds a way of being okay-he's stubborn, just like his mom was. But he's gonna pull through this, trust me. Besides-he bought a new shirt the other day and he hasn't had chance to wear it yet. He's not just gonna waste it, is he?"
He chuckled, and looked down, realizing that he had been playing with his thumbs subconsciously.
"What if he can't remember though? What if these past few years just-disappear from his mind? What if he doesn't remember me when he wakes up?"
"Then you guys will make new memories. Blaine, man-he fell in love with you the minute he saw you at Dalton. He got home and just wouldn't shut up about you. If he fell in love with you then, he'll fall in love with you now. And you two can start again, until he remembers. Love is love, Blaine-and no amount of amnesia-however temporary-can get in the way of that. You hear me?"
He nodded and Burt nodded back-"Alright, good."
They both looked up when they heard another set of footsteps enter the room.
"Family of Kurt Hummel?"
"Yeah-yeah, that's us."
They both stood up to face the surgeon. He was old-older than Burt for sure, but his stance filled the two of them with a confidence they didn't know was possible.
"How is he?"
"Mr Hummel is going to be fine. We've patched him up and from what we can see, the majority of his injuries should heal up nicely within the next few weeks-months at the most-"
"Woah-woah woah. The majority of his injuries? What do you mean by that?"
"Mr Hummel suffered some damage to his right eye in the accident. Now, when we took him into surgery, it became clear that the glass went deeper than we first thought. It's nothing to worry about, though; we managed to remove all of the glass without any further injury, but we're worried that the damage may have already been done. We won't know for sure until he wakes up and starts to heal if the damage is going to be permanent or only temporary, but for the time being we're going to keep his eye covered and hope that in a few months his eyesight will start to return. His left eye should be fine though."
"W-what about his brain? Is he going to remember everything?"
"Well, unfortunately, that is something we won't know until he wakes up-however, I can tell you that Mr Hummel has been incredibly lucky, and I can't think of any reason why his memory should be affected, but if that happens, then we'll deal with it. Let's just cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, shall I take you guys back?"
"Please."
They followed him down a long corridor and into a small room. Kurt was hooked up to too many machines, and the bruises on his face were a stark contrast to the bed sheets he lay on. They watched his chest rise and fall steadily and for a moment they were happy just doing that; as long as he was breathing he was alive.
The doctor left them alone with a promise to be back the minute he woke up.
They each sat down on a chair next to the bed and took one of his hands in their own.
After a few hours, Burt felt Kurt's hand twitch and he shot up.
"Kurt? Can you hear me buddy? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."
He squeezed again; a little harder this time, and Burt turned to Blaine, "Go get the doctor kiddo!"
Blaine did as he was told and shot off in a flash.
The doctor arrived a minute later and after a quick evaluation, determined that Kurt's memory would be-just as he predicted-absolutely fine. He left them after taking his vitals and told them that the minute he was needed, they were to call for him.
Blaine sat back down and sank into the chair, grasping Kurt's hand once more.
"Hey…Blaine…"
"What's up?"
"Do you…know…what…this means?"
"No…"
"It means that we…can be…pirates…together."
"Sure does sweetie. Why don't you get some rest?"
"Mmm…kay…"
He watched him sleep and kissed his hand, looking up to find Burt smiling at the two of them affectionately.
He blushed.
After a few moments of silence, Burt spoke up.
"Hey, Blaine?"
"Yeah?
"Did you know that September 29th is International Talk Like a Pirate day?"