Title: A bruised heart still beats for the one they love

By: blaineandsamevanderson (SageK here, kaitlia777 on LJ and AO3)

Paring: Blaine/Sam

Rating: PG

Summary: Season 2 AU: Sam's fight with Karofsky is a bit worse and Sam ends up in the hospital (nothing too serious, please.) and Sam's parents call his boyfriend too. The surprise is ensured when Blaine arrives at the hospital and no one from the ND knows about him.

"Lay off Finn. It isn't his problem. It's none of your problems actually to thank you for what she did, especially you Sam," Kurtz said in a small, sad voice that made even Santana hurt a little bit inside.

From his seat behind Sam, Mike piped up, "Seriously, the epitome of a leader."

Mr. Schue strolled into the room, late to the party as usual. "What happened to Sam's eye?"

Santana rolled her own eyes at the question as Quinn, who was pressing an ice pack to Sam's face, answered, "He stood up to Karofsky."

"All the guys did," Tina added and Santana had to smirk when she continued, "Well, everyone but Finn."

"Is everyone okay?" Mr. Schue asked. "Do we need to go talk to Principal Sylvester?"

The guys exchanged looks and Sam, who was pale, sweaty and quiet, spoke up. "No, uh, I got in a few good licks too, so we can just call it even…Ugh…."

Whatever he was saying cut off the pained grunt as he curled forward over himself, reacting to a supportive pat on the back from Artie, who held his hands up, startled. "Sam, man, you okay?"

"Yeah," families, struggling to sit up and Santana saw how ashy he was, even those pink, puffy lips pale. "Just… bruises…."

That didn't sit right with Santana. Her father had made sure she'd had first aid training from an early age and, as an athlete (anyone who thought cheerleaders porn hardcore to suck her dick), she had more than one opportunity to employ those skills over the years.

She was out of her seat without much conscious thought, stepping past Brittany and Artie to stand in front of Sam, her hands planted on her hips. "Where's it hurt worst?" she demanded in a tone that brought no arguments.

"My back," Sam grunted, elbows leaning on his knees and head hanging forward.

Heaving a sigh, she reached out and gripped the back of Sam's reddish polo shirt and drew it up towards his shoulders.

What she saw made her draw a sharp breath and Tina gasped.

On the left side of Sam's back, wrapping around his lower ribs, a dark, nasty bruise was blooming. Something about the color structure is wrong and, looking up at Puck and Mike's stricken faces, she said, "Help me get him up. He needs a hospital now."

"Well, Karofsky's been expelled."

Santana looked across the waiting room at Mr. Schue with a raised brow. "I think that's probably the least of his worries," she said, looking over to where Sam's parents were talking with a doctor. Artie and Brittany had taken Sam's little brother and sister to the cafeteria for ice cream, but the rest of the glee club, plus Mr. Schue, Ms. Pillsbury, Coach Bieste, Kurt's dad and Finn's mom were clustered in the waiting area, eager for news. "He could be really hurt. Sam's parents should call the cops."

Mr. Schue nodded. "I think Sue has already spoken with them. This goes beyond bullying, it's assault. With bodily injury."

"He was standing up for me," Kurtz said in a small voice and his father slung arm around him. Kurt looked paler than usual, which meant he looked terribly ill. "This is my fault."

"No, it's not." The Evans' had made their way back to the waiting room. Sam's father, a big, blonde man who looked like he had just stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalog, peered down at Kurt and set a big hand on his shoulder. "You weren't the one who put him here, son."

"But, he only got into it with Karofsky because…."

"From what I've heard about that boy, it would've only been a matter of time," Mr. Evans interrupted. "Stop blaming yourself."

Mr. Hummel nodded at Mr. Evans and asked, "How is your son doing?"

It was Mrs. Evans who sighed. "They're prepping him for surgery. He has a couple of broken ribs and one ruptured spleen, so they're probably going to take it out. There's also some bruising to one of his kidneys, but they don't think it's really damaged… He's going to be fine though."

"Oh, thank God!" The relieved exclamation came from the doorway and Santana looked over to see three boys in school uniforms (though the smallest boy was disheveled, missing his jacket and tie) hovering. The tieless one looked distraught and Mrs. Evans said, "Blaine, sweetie."

When she held out her arms, the boy practically flew into them, burying his face in her shoulder as she hugged him tight and Sam's dad told them both protectively.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, sounding very confused, but the boy stayed tucked against Sam's mom.

"Hi, Kurt," one of the other boys said, voice quiet and solemn. "What happened?"

Oh. These must be boys from Dalton. Kurt hadn't shut up about Blaine since he'd gone there….

"How… Blaine knows Sam?"

The two boys exchanged a look and it was the Asian one who said, "Sam and Blaine were roommates last year."

"Sam went to Dalton?" Kurt asked and Santana thought it showed how worried everyone was that Rachel didn't immediately fly off into some fit of paranoia about potential spies in their midst.

It was clear Kurt had more questions, but the two boys (who introduced themselves as Wes and David) were vague and Blaine wasn't being very forthcoming, as he ended up on a couch with Mrs. Evans, Stacy and Stevie (back from the cafeteria) on their laps. Mr. Evans was talking with the rest of the adults nearby, talking about the bullying at McKinley. Tina and Mercedes had flanked Kurt while Brittany seemed to be stroking his hair as Rachel and Finn talked. Artie, Mike and Puck were huddled in a far corner, Puck clearly leading the conversation…Yeah, she should check on that.

Someone more dominant than Mike or Artie needed to keep Puck from doing something stupid. Not that she had anything against exacting revenge, but he'd totally get caught without her guidance.

About 2 hours later, they were still in more or less the same groupings, though Britt had drifted over to hold Santana's hand (and yeah, to sit on Artie's lap, but whatever), when a doctor appeared.

Sam's parents and Blaine practically leapt at the woman, who was quick to assure them. "Sam's doing great. We were able to save a part of his spleen and his kidney suffered no damage beyond the bruising. He'll have to take it easy for a while, but he's a healthy young man and should be just fine. You can see him once we move him out of recovery."

Everyone present let out sighs of relief (save for Stevie and Stacy, who were napping on the couch) and the chatter in the room grew more animated. Wes and David spoke with Blaine for a moment before saying their goodbyes and heading out. The others began to trickle out soon thereafter, as Mrs. Evans said Sam should probably rest that night and they could visit tomorrow.

Quinn, who had formed an unexpectedly platonic friendship with Sam, offered to watch the twins for the evening so both of Sam's parents could stay at the hospital longer and they gladly took her up on it.

As they left, Santana saw Kurt eyeing Blaine again, but the dark haired Warbler wasn't leaving. In fact, he was the only person to linger behind with Sam's parents.

Interesting.

"Dad, you really didn't need to come with us," Kurt said as he walked down the hospital hall with his father, Finn, Rachel and Carole (who had worked with Rachel to bake Sam a big batch of cookies despite Kurt's musings that Sam probably wouldn't feel up to eating cookies and, even if he did, the blond avoided fat and processed sugar with the same fervor Finn directed at Brussel Sprouts).

His dad shrugged. "Kurt, the kid stood up for you. Now, I know a lot of kids don't bother, so I just want to tell him good job."

Finn flinched a little at that comment and Kurt knew he felt bad about not taking part in the confrontation with Karofsky. In truth, it hurt a little that he hadn't, but Kurt honestly didn't blame him….

Not really….

"That should be Sam's room right there!" Rachel said brightly, clearly trying to move the conversation along.

Potted plant in hand, Kurt led the way into the room and paused just inside the door.

Sam was awake, lying propped up on the hospital bed, pale but smiling softly. Blaine was grinning back at him, sitting cross legged by his side, wearing a too big sweatshirt and yoga pants, his hair a wild disarray of curls. The two boys were holding hands as they chatted, basically confirming a suspicion Kurt had been considering since Blaine's arrival the previous day.

"How are you feeling, Sam?" Rachel asked, plowing forward as only she could. "You're looking much better today!"

Turning his head but not moving the rest of his body, Sam offered her a little smile. "Oh, hi, Rachel, Finn, Kurt and…."

"Burt Hummel," Kurt's dad said, then motioned to Carole, "Carole Hudson. We're Kurt and Finn's parents."

"Nice to meet you," Sam murmured, raising his arm slowly to offer Burt his hand. Immediately, Blaine's own hand shot out, supporting Sam's bicep.

When Sam gave Blaine a look, he said, "You're not supposed to put any unnecessary strain on your ribs or stitches."

After shaking Burt's hand, Sam replied, "My arm isn't part of my ribs."

"The muscles in your arm pull on those in your torso," Blaine pointed out as he straightened his oversized sweatshirt.

"So, I didn't know you two knew each other," Kurt said, unable to keep his eyes from dropping to their intertwined hands. "Neither of you mentioned that."

Sam winced and glanced at Blaine. "Ummm…."

"That was my idea," Blaine admitted, looking a bit abashed. "When Sam told me he was transferring to a public school, I didn't want him to have the same troubles I had, so…I suggested he just fly under the radar."

"I knew you were gay!" Kurt said, feeling vindicated that his initial impression of Sam hadn't been wrong. It was the easiest emotion to deal with out of the tumult he was feeling, so he chose to focus on that.

Sam shrugged and winced at the action. "Uh, no, not really. I like girls too," he said, then smiled fondly at Blaine. "But I like Blaine best."

That earned Sam a sweet smile from Blaine as Finn tentatively asked, "You guys are…dating?"

"Yeah," Sam agreed, visibly squeezing Blaine's hand.

Okay, they were definitely cute together and considering how nice they both were, Kurt couldn't let himself be too jealous over the fact that they were dating. It would look petty…and at least he now knew there was someone else at school with him who understood some of what he was going through (and who wasn't trying to kill him).

"We brought you cookies," Carole was saying and Blaine somehow brightened even further at that. "And milk!"

Kurt tried not to smile when Sam twitched at the sight of the small bottles of whole milk. "It's good for your bones, Sam," he said, causing Blaine to chuckle and Sam sheepishly accepted the milk.

As they nibbled on cookies, the topic turned to Sectionals (which were fast approaching) and Kurt's father left with Carole after about 10 minutes, knowing Kurt and Finn could ride home with Rachel.

It was actually kind of nice to see Blaine and Sam interact, a sweet, loving couple. They embodied exactly what Kurt wanted, so secure and comfortable in what they had…maybe they knew some other nice guy they could introduce Kurt to.

After all, the three of them couldn't be the only gay teenage boys in all of Ohio!