By Your Side
Fear
An emotion he was used to. Being a gay kid in Ohio pretty much ensured that he would fear for his safety on more than one occasion. And sure at times he feared for others safety, such as his mother's when his father returned home drunk, or when Jeff got it in his head that flipping off a table would be considered fun. But never had fear come in such a high dosage than when the agonizing screams of one Kurt Hummel rang throughout the deserted parking lot.
It froze him to the spot. Legs, arms, his entire body went rigid. The screams kept coming: erupting from his red, stained lips in heart-wrenching howls. Move closer. Comfort him: somewhere in his mind instructed. Blaine, slowly like the first steps of a baby, placed one foot in front of the other until finally he was crouching beside his boyfriend.
One hand reaching out, he placed it on Kurt's upper arm, hoping his touch would be able to calm him down enough to see what the damage was. Speak. "Hey…Kurt, come on babe, can you look at me? Please…honey?"
The screams were now soft, whimpers. And that affected him more than the screams. Blaine vaguely heard Rachel instructing someone to call 911 as he leaned forward once more. "I need you to move your hands for me baby, I need to-I need to see the damage."
"What the hell did they do?" Finn demanded from somewhere behind him.
Blaine sighed and gently tugged his boyfriend into his arms, rocking them back and forth as he softly pleaded with Kurt to let him see. "B-Blaine…" The word was followed closely by a ragged inhale of breathe. Looking down at Kurt, he felt all his fear swirl into full blown anger. Once perfect, porcelain skin was now raw. Gone was the clear skin and in its place were red, splotchy patches of flesh.
He'd done this to him. Sebastian Smythe had caused Kurt all this pain.
Seeing red, Blaine squeezed his eyes shut for several moments in hopes of relieving the urge to run after the tall brunette and hurt him. A hand touching his shoulder was what made his eyes snap open. Tina was crouching beside him now, eyes filled with fear and worry, and he watched as she moved closer to Kurt, voice soothing in attempts to calm the boy and check his wounds.
"Kurt, can you open your eyes for me?" A jerk of the head told her no. Blaine knew there was no way that was a normal slushy because while he'd been told they hurt like hell, it had never been reported to give this kind of damage. "The ambulance is on its way and Burt and Carole are going to meet us at the hospital." She spoke quietly to him.
Kurt whimpered again, knuckles white as his fingers curled and clung to the material of Blaine's leather jacket. Blaine vaguely heard the sound of sirens as he spoke and held Kurt and only when the paramedics were kneeling beside him, did he let go. Two older men quickly checked over Kurt before ushering him onto a gurney and into the ambulance, where they demanded to know if someone was coming with them. Blaine felt eyes on him but he couldn't say anything, couldn't move or speak and it was Finn who finally decided on going.
As the ambulance raced off, Blaine allowed whoever had his hands on his shoulders-he thinks it might have been Quinn-to usher him into a car he knew was Santana's and stayed silent as the car sped through traffic. People were talking around him, voices breaking once and a while and tears either having fallen or on the verge of falling but he just sat there.
Blaine fiddled with the edge of his shirt as Burt Hummel paced the length of the waiting room. Around them, scattered among the hospital chairs, sat the various members of New Direction, their faces masks of worry. All of them had seen the outcome of the slushy, heard the wails of pain escaping their friend's mouth and knew that whatever news the doctor had to bring would probably not be good.
"Is there anyone here for a Kurt Hummel?" Blaine was up at once, feet carrying him over to stand next to Finn as the doctor inspected the sheet before him.
Burt clung to his wife's hand, "Is Kurt okay? Can I see him?"
"Kurt is asleep right now but he should be waking up in a few hours after the painkillers start to wear off. It appears that whatever was in the slushy caused a deep scratch to his right cornea. We had to flush out his eyes and treat the minor burns-"
"Burns?"
"Yes. Whatever was slipped into that slushy caused a chemical reaction and when in contact with the skin, ended up burning. We treated that and it should heal up in a few weeks but I would advise avoiding contact with the area because it is raw and will be painful if touched. The injury to his cornea will need to be operated on. I assure you the surgery will not be long and the time of recovery will be no longer than three to five weeks. I've instructed a nurse to come speak with you later on about the required painkillers and ointment needed for the burns and eye." The doctor offered a grim smile and grasped Burt's hand after Burt had extended it. "If you need anything else or have any concerns just ask the front desk to page me."
Inhaling a deep breath, Blaine prepared himself for the sight of his injured boyfriend before taking a step into the hospital room. Kurt lay still on the bed, one eye covered with a patch and once creamy, smooth skin now pink and raw.
If you had just moved fast enough. Just noticed a bit sooner.
He took in a shuddering breath and collapsed on the chair next to Kurt's bed, the seat still warm from where Burt had been sitting. Reaching out, he grasped his boyfriend's hand and placed a delicate kiss to the palm before sweeping his thump across the skin. This never would have happened if you had just noticed. Kurt never would have been hurt. He would never have been forced into an ambulance. All of this is your fault Anderson.
"B-Blaine…?"
Eyes snapping upwards, Blaine found one familiar and still captivating blue eyes staring back at him. Kurt was struggling into a sitting position, lips pressed tightly together as if afraid to display any kind of sign that he was in pain.
"Hey honey," Blaine spoke softly. He helped Kurt get comfortable, making sure not to brush against the skin on his boyfriend's face and relaxed, only slightly, when Kurt flashed him a tiny smile. "How-how do you feel? In any pain, because I can call the doctor?"
Kurt shook his head, "No…I'm fine," Blaine shot him a disbelieving look. "Okay, not fine but it doesn't hurt too badly."
Taking a deep breath, he glanced around the hospital room before looking back at Kurt: Kurt who was going to get surgery, Kurt whose skin would take weeks to heal and Kurt who could have been saved all this pain if he had just moved faster. "Blaine…are you okay?"
It took him several seconds of confusion to figure out why Kurt of all people was asking him that and then he felt them: the taste of salty tears against his lips and the wetness sliding slowly down his cheeks. "I-I'm s-sorry."
"Blai-? "
"God, if I had just noticed sooner. Y-You wouldn't be stuck here. In pain. I-I'm sorry."
Silence overtook the space as Kurt blinked at him, the one eye wide in confusion. It was several more moments before he finally spoke. "Come here," Kurt grabbed onto one of Blaine's hand and gripped it tightly, thumb rubbing back and forth as he forced Blaine to stare him in his one good eye. "This is not your fault, okay? None of us could have predicted Sebastian's plan. Okay Blaine?" Blaine gave a weak smile and nodded. "I love you."
"I love you too." Blaine placed a tentative kiss on his boyfriend's lips and leaned back in the chair, fingers and hands tangling with Kurt's. He knew the next couple of weeks would be difficult for everyone, but right now, feeling the soft pace of his boyfriend's heartbeat under his thumb allowed a wave of nerves and fear to fall away because it told him all he needed to know; Kurt would be okay.
A/N: So thank you to anyone who decided to read this. I've been working on this story for ages and have finally gotten the nerve to post it. Please know I am nowhere near a doctor and probably what is written medically is not correct-let me know if I can fix any of that. But yes, this is my first Glee story, so let me know what you think in a review? Thanks again.