This is actually going to be two chapters long, I think, as long as everyone wants another chapter. There was just too many things I wanted to do that they were too long for one. I just had to write this after Michael, Kurt and Blaine were perfect.
Summary: In the aftermath of Michael, Blaine has to go to the hospital, but he's terrified. Missing scenes at the hospital, at Blaine's house, and dinner at the Hudson-Hummel's. Also, a special performance from the Warblers and an explanation of their behavior towards Blaine and Kurt.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, sadly.
Enjoy the story, and please leave a review!
Kurt saw the slushie a second before Sebastian flung it towards him. He remembered thinking Oh shit, my jacket, this is going to take days of scrubbing to get out, if it even comes out at all—
And then Blaine pushed him back and leapt in front of him like he was protecting Kurt from a bullet or something. Kurt felt alarm, sympathy, but admiration, because, yeah, Blaine's eyes were going to sting, but he was taking the slushie for Kurt and no one had ever done that for him before—
But everything else disappeared when Kurt heard the screaming. God, the screaming. He knew at once there was something wrong, something different, because Blaine wasn't a drama queen. Blaine hid his pain as well as he could, he didn't want attention from this, there was no way this was a normal ice-and-red-dye drink.
Kurt's knees shook, he felt his heart pounding in horror as he fell on the hard concrete at Blaine's side. Every scream of pain that came out of Blaine's mouth clenched tightly in Kurt's stomach until he was sure he was going to be sick. He's never seen Blaine like this. Upset, yes, but never…never in agony.
"Blaine," Kurt gasped. "Blaine, Blaine, what is it? What hurts?" Kurt's left hand cupped Blaine's hip and the other stroked the back of his head. Blaine kept his hands in front of his eyes and let out a strangled sob instead of answering.
The sound of his sob practically ripped Kurt's heart out. He was suddenly so angry he couldn't even breathe. His vision blurred red as he rocked up on the balls of his feet to glare icily at Sebastian. Kurt's gaze flitted back to Blaine every few seconds, and he brushed back his hair to soothe him. He looked up to his friends, who were all standing there with shocked expressions on their faces. Santana had a hand over her mouth, and Brittany was biting her lip so hard that Kurt was sure it would start bleeding.
Kurt had never wanted to hurt a person so badly in his life than he wanted to hurt Sebastian right then. He had never felt such intense anger before, not even when his bullies hurt him or any of his friends. Because no, this was Blaine, and Blaine was screaming, crying, and whoever made sweet, caring Blaine cry deserved to be hurt.
Kurt was so close to lurching to his feet and punching Sebastian square in the jaw—but as he was getting ready to stand, the Warblers began to file out of the parking garage. They all had confused, grim expressions, like they didn't like what they had to do. Even Sebastian looked guilty, but that was probably only because he hit Blaine instead of Kurt. Kurt wanted to yell after them, to demand what they put in the slushie, and why the hell would they want to hurt him? Why weren't the Warblers helping Blaine? But he couldn't make his voice work.
Nick was the only one who looked back. Not Jeff, not Thad, not Trent—not anyone else. And Nick saw Blaine writhing and screaming on the ground, but he did nothing to help, to make sure his friend was okay.
Kurt felt such a strong wave of betrayal hit him that he thought he might start crying, too. Blaine was once a Warbler, Kurt was once a Warbler. But more importantly, he thought the Warblers, Jeff, Nick, Thad, and Trent, at least, were their friends. But obviously not. Kurt's breathing hitched, and he tried again to get Blaine to look at him.
"Blaine?" Kurt knew he sounded dangerously close to sobbing. "Blaine, baby, can you look at me? Where does it hurt? Blaine, please."
"M—my—my—" Blaine was stuttering so bad he couldn't even get the words out. He sobbed again, curling against Kurt's chest. "My—my—, oh God, Kurt, make it stop—" Blaine wailed, clutching at the fabric of Kurt's jacket. Kurt whipped his head up when he heard a strangled, angry noise—Santana lunged for the exit, shouting out obscenities in Spanish. Puck grabbed the back of her leather jacket—he was already prepared for her to lash out. Puck's expression was grim and his jaw was set, his eyes flashing. Sam put a hand on his chest, because it looked like Puck was about to chase after the Warblers, too. His friends' anger brought back the fire into Kurt's eyes.
"Rachel." Kurt heard his voice leave his mouth, but it sounded so strange. Rachel's name hissed out of him, his teeth clenched and his tone colder than he'd ever heard it. He was so close to running after Sebastian and clawing his eyes out. Rachel was at his side in an instant, her eyes teary.
"W-why is h-he screaming? It—it was just a slushy right?" Rachel's voice broke. Kurt took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in his own throat.
"I don't know, Rachel. And no, it wasn't. It sure as hell wasn't a slushie." Rachel flinched a little, because Kurt never cursed. "I need you to sit here for a minute. I need you to not let me run after them, okay? I could—I could kill him right now."
Rachel flopped down beside him on the concrete, even though it would probably ruin her outfit, and took his hand.
"I think it's his eye," Kurt whispered in a choked voice. "There was something in that slushie, chemicals or something—"
Blaine cried out again as a particularly painful jolt blinded him even more. Kurt whimpered in response and felt the fresh tears in his eyes. He'd never been so scared in his life—not when his mother died, he hadn't understood, not when his dad was in the hospital, because he looked peaceful, like he could be sleeping. But Blaine was hurting so bad he didn't know what to do.
"That's it," Kurt gasped out. "He needs to go to the hospital. Now."
Santana whipped out her phone instantly, the model of calm, even though her legs were shaking. She had stopped struggling, but Puck still kept a strong grip around her arms until she scowled and shook him off.
"No," Kurt forced out before she could call 911. "I want to take him. He hates hospitals—if we call an ambulance, he'll be even more scared." Santana hesitated, and then nodded.
"I'll drive, so you can sit in the back with Blaine," Finn said softly. Kurt sent him a grateful, teary look. Finn was immediately beside Kurt, helping him lift Blaine to his feet. Blaine swayed once he was standing, the tears flowing from behind his hands.
"Don't cry, honey, you'll make it hurt worse," Kurt pleaded, wrapping his arm around Blaine's waist. Finn supported most of Blaine's weight as all three of them hobbled towards Kurt's Navigator. Rachel and Santana followed after them instantly. Kurt had expected Rachel, but was confused when Santana trailed behind them with a livid expression.
Brittany whimpered and lurched after Santana, and Santana stopped for a moment.
"Britt, go with Tina, okay?" Santana said, her voice soft despite her expression.
"But, San—"
"You're not good with things like this," Santana reminded her. Santana turned for a second to press her lips to Brittany's cheek. "I'll call you later. Go with Tina." Tina nodded when Santana sent her a hopeful look.
"Santana, we're leaving without you if you don't get in this car," Kurt snapped. Santana smiled reassuringly at Brittany before she was jogging towards Kurt's car. She climbed into the back where Kurt sat with Blaine's head resting in his lap.
Finn slammed on the gas and the five of them were out of there in a squeal of tires.
"Finn…" Kurt asked, his voice shaking as he cradled Blaine. "Can you call dad, please?" Finn nodded quickly, pressing speed dial on his phone. Rachel tried to take the phone, she didn't want him on the phone while he was driving, but Finn shook his head at her. He needed to explain this to Burt gently.
Blaine wasn't screaming anymore, but he still had his hands over his eyes and the tears stained his sticky, corn-syrupy face. "Blaine, let me see. Your eye?" Blaine nodded jerkily.
"Ow, ow,ow, it hurts, Kurt, like someone stabbed it—" Blaine rolled so that his whole body was basically in Kurt's lap. Kurt wrapped his arms around him as tightly as he could.
"Okay, okay," Kurt soothed. "It's okay, we're getting help, Blaine. We're going to get help."
"Burt?" Finn spoke nervously into the mouthpiece. Rachel squealed when they ran a red light, but Kurt could care less. Just get Blaine help, nothing else mattered. "Something's happened, can you come to the hospital?" Kurt groaned and widened his eyes at Finn in the dashboard mirror.
"Finn!"
It's not Kurt!" Finn yelped quickly when Burt's voice rose in panic on the other line. "Kurt's fine! He's right here! But…but Blaine…something's wrong with his eye, and we have to take him to the emergency room—you can? Okay, see you."
The car was silent for all of five seconds, expect for Blaine's harsh breathing, before Blaine started writhing and gasping in Kurt's arms.
"Emergency room?" he squeaked. "No, no, I'm fine, I don't need to go t—to the e—emergency—r-room! Kurt, K-Kurt, d-don't make-make me g-go!"
Kurt's face crumbled at Blaine's begging.
"You have to go, honey. They'll make your eye feel better, okay? I'll be right there with you the whole time, I promise." Kurt's comfort didn't really do anything—Blaine was almost hysterical at this point. Kurt knows how much he hates hospitals, especially after he had to go after the Sadie Hawkins's dance. Blaine explained to Kurt what it felt like—everything was cold and they were all prodding at him with metal objects—he felt like he was being dissected or something, and even today when someone mentions the word hospital he can hardly breathe.
"I'm sorry," Kurt whispered. He's crying, too. If Blaine had just let Kurt take that stupid non-slushie than he wouldn't be hurt. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Blaine."
They got to the hospital in less than fifteen minutes, but it still felt like forever to Kurt. And probably to Blaine, too. Santana helped wrestle Blaine out of the backseat, because he was clinging to the leather seats and begging them not to take him inside. Kurt was almost as much of a wreck as Blaine was, so Finn and Santana did most of the work, with Rachel gripping tightly to Kurt's hand.
Kurt slumped in relief when he spotted his dad pacing anxiously in front of the emergency room doors. He must've really been speeding, and Kurt had to smile a little. Burt cares about Blaine, too. Of course Kurt already knew that, but that just reinforced the point. Kurt was basically glued to Blaine's side, where he was leaning into Finn, but he took Burt's hand and pulled him along with them. Burt wrapped an arm around Kurt's trembling shoulders as they reached the reception desk. Burt cleared his throat authoritatively.
"Excuse me, we need to get my kid's eye checked out right away." Kurt whipped his head around to stare at Burt, because he had just called Blaine his kid. He knew it was just a term of endearment that Burt used, but he corrected himself after a moment. "I mean, Blaine Anderson. Blaine needs his eye checked out."
The nurse eyed Blaine up and down for a few moments, and Kurt wanted to scream at her. Blaine was hutched over, almost in half, supported by Finn, and clutching desperately at his eyes and clear tear tracks down his cheeks. Did this nurse not see that Blaine needed help now?
"Is this an emergency?" she asked anyway.
"Yes, God dammit, this is an emergency!" Kurt yelled. "Look at him!"
"Kurt," Burt warned, but he looked angry, too. "Yes, this is an emergency, ma'am," he said more respectfully. The nurse shot Kurt a dirty look.
"Alright, follow me," she said. Kurt tugged Blaine from Finn's grasp and held him to his side as they walked after the nurse. Blaine seemed to breathe just a little bit easier when Kurt held him, and he clutched at the fabric of Kurt's jacket. He was definitely going to stretch it out, but Kurt couldn't care less. He rubbed at Blaine's back and whispered soothing things in his ear until they had to let go of each other so that the nurse could get him in a bed.
She left then, and they all waited anxiously for at least five minutes until a doctor came. But at least they were taking this seriously.
"Okay, Blaine," the doctor said cheerfully (Kurt wanted to punch her). " I'm Doctor Gail. Sorry about that, we had to get you signed in. What happened to your eye?"
Blaine tried to answer, but he could barely get the words out in his haze of pain, so Kurt took over.
"This…this…" Kurt swallowed, "Guy, threw a slushie in Blaine's face, but it wasn't normal. There was something in it, like chemicals or rocks or something—something that would hurt his eyes."
"Are you allergic to dye, Blaine?" Doctor Gail asked. She stepped closer to the bed. "Can you let me see your eyes? Both of them?"
Blaine shook his head to both questions.
"I—I'm not. And I can't."
"I know it hurts, kiddo, but she wants to help you," Burt said soothingly. "You need to try to open your eyes, okay?" Blaine started a little at Burt's voice.
Blaine reached for Kurt's hand, and despite all the people around them that probably would give them dirty looks and call them names in their heads, Kurt took it. His other hand still covered his right eye, but when Blaine slowly cracked open his left, it looked bloodshot and really, really irritated. Like Blaine was allergic to the slushie—but he already said he wasn't. Blaine yelped and closed his eye again when the bright hospital lights hit it.
"Now the right one," the doctor encouraged.
Blaine tried and started crying again, because God it hurt, it hurt so badly.
"Baby, I know it's hard, I know," Kurt said shakily. "But please, please, open your eye."
Blaine managed to get it open halfway for a split second, before he closed it again and cried out sharply. Santana and Finn gasped, Rachel shrieked, Burt let out a strangled sound, and Kurt had to rip his hand from Blaine's so he could clutch at his stomach.
Blaine's right eye was swimming in blood. God, he was bleeding from his eye. Kurt bet over and closed his eyes. Oh God, he was going to puke all over the hospital floor, his poor baby, oh shit—
Burt placed a heavy hand on Kurt's shoulder to steady him and rubbed.
"Alright, bud?" Burt sounded pretty scared himself, and Kurt's worry transferred to him for a minute. His dad should not be placing this much stress on his heart, Kurt should've never told Finn to call him. Kurt didn't answer, but when he felt slightly less dizzy and nauseous, he looked back up at Blaine. Blaine's hand was clamped over his right eye again, and the other hand reached for Kurt desperately. Blaine looked terrified at their reactions.
"I'm sorry," Kurt breathed, grabbing Blaine's fingers again and squeezing gently. "I'm sorry." Blaine just shook his head, because he couldn't think of the words right now, and why was Kurt apologizing?
"Okay," Doctor Gail said grimly, the cheerful expression completely gone. "We're going to need to take him to the ICU, he's probably going to need surgery on that eye—"
"Surgery?" Kurt squeaked.
"We'll see," the doctor said. "We need to at least look at the eye more clearly."
"What…what do you think happened?" Burt asked.
"Probably a rock. Something that would scratch his eye like that. It…it looks like his cornea is scratched pretty badly. But like I said, I need to take a closer look."
His fucking cornea is scratched. Kurt's hands clenched into fists and he tried to breathe.
"Now, who's Blaine's family?"
They were all quiet at the question, and Doctor Gail sighed regretfully. Kurt felt his stomach drop at the look on her face. Did that mean he couldn't stay with Blaine? He had to, he couldn't leave Blaine alone, and he would be so scared.
"I'm his boyfriend," Kurt said hopefully, praying that Doctor Gail wasn't a homophobe. "Please, I need to be with him. He needs me."
"I need him," Blaine echoed tearfully.
"Where are his parents?" Doctor Gail asked. Burt spoke up, because Kurt looked like a deer caught in the headlights. How could he have forgotten to call Blaine's parents? Sure, they usually didn't care what Blaine did, but of course they would care that Blaine was in the hospital.
"I called them," Burt said. Kurt sagged in relief—his dad really thought of everything. "They're on their way."
"I'm sorry," Doctor Gail said, gazing at Kurt sympathetically. "But I can only let family in the ICU with him. Unless…unless you're not a minor. Are you eighteen yet?"
Kurt felt like he was going to throw up again.
"No! But I'll be eighteen in a month…that counts right?" Of course it wouldn't count.
"I'm sorry," she said again.
"Please don't do this," Kurt pleaded. He knew he sounded like a child, but he didn't care. "I need to be with him…he's scared of hospitals, and I'm the only one who knows how bad it is, I need to be with him. Please."
Kurt bit his lip hard enough to bleed when Doctor Gail only continued to look sympathetic. She looked towards Burt. Burt sighed.
"Finn, take Kurt home." Kurt turned to gape at his dad.
"Dad—"
"Kurt, you can't do anything more here." Burt said firmly. "Go home with Finn, I'll stay with Blaine until his parents get here." Finn grabbed onto Kurt's arm, but Kurt threw him off with a glare. Kurt knew he was almost hysterical at this point, and he looked even paler than usual.
"Dad, you don't understand, he needs me!"
"I do understand, kiddo, but there's nothing I can do. You look like you're about to pass out. Go home, get some rest. I'll call you if anything happens." Kurt stood rooted to the spot, still staring defiantly between his dad and the doctor. Santana suddenly grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.
"Go home, Lady Lips," she said firmly, but the usually harsh nickname was affectionate. "Blaine will be okay." Kurt glared at her for a minute, and Santana glared back, before his bottom lip trembled and his shoulders slumped in defeat. He turned back to Blaine, who was gazing up at Kurt's face with a scared expression.
"I'm sorry, Blaine," Kurt said for what felt like the millionth time. "But I have to…I have to go." Blaine inhaled sharply and clenched harder at Kurt's hand.
"No," he whispered. "No, no, no, Kurt, don't leave!" Blaine scrambled, trying to wiggle out of the hospital bed and into Kurt's arms, but Burt, Finn and Doctor Gail moved to hold him down. "No, NO, I don't want to be alone! Kurt, don't' leave, you promised, you promised! Don't let them hurt me!"
Kurt pressed a hand to his mouth, but the tears were already coming.
"They're not going to hurt you, baby," Kurt told him brokenly. "They're going to help your eye not hurt anymore, okay? I would stay if I could, B, but I can't." Kurt could see the panic in Blaine's eyes when the others pinned his arms to the bed and held him there. "Stop, stop!" Kurt begged. "You're scaring him!" Blaine's breath was coming out in short pants.
"He's going to hurt himself," Doctor Gail said. "Nurse!" A timid looking nurse hurried forward with a syringe. Kurt paled. That was a big ass needle.
"Don't," Kurt cried, even though he knew they had to. He reached for Blaine and placed a careful hand on his cheek. "Blaine, honey, calm down—please, please, don't I can—" But it was too late, the nurse was already sticking the needle into Blaine's arm.
Blaine breathed too fast for another few seconds, before his eyes drooped his whole body relaxed against the hospital bed. It didn't make Kurt feel better—Blaine's eyes were still terrified, and his heart was pounding under Kurt's palm where he rubbed comfortingly over Blaine's chest.
"Don't leave," Blaine whispered. Kurt sniffed hard, wiping his wet cheeks with the back of his hand. He didn't want to say he had to, so he just smiled at Blaine in what he hoped was a comforting way.
"I love you," Kurt said instead. Blaine's mouth twitched up in a smile before he closed his eyes. He seemed to forget about Kurt leaving for a minute.
"You too," he sighed before he fell asleep. Or at least that's what it looked like, but Kurt knew it was the drugs. Burt pushed Kurt gently towards the door before Kurt could even kiss Blaine goodbye. Finn and Santana took his arms, and Kurt knew they were trying to help, but he felt like a child. Rachel trailed quietly behind them—she looked as pale and sick as Kurt felt. He allowed himself to be dragged, even though he kept looking back at Blaine until they were out in the lobby.
Since Blaine couldn't see him anymore, Kurt finally allowed himself to break down into sobs. Finn tensed, not knowing what to do, but Santana kept them marching towards the door and out to the parking lot.
"He's such an idiot," Kurt moaned through his tears.
"What?" Finn said in shock.
"Why did he do that?" Kurt whimpered, ignoring Finn. "That slushie was meant for me, and he always has to be the hero, he always has to protect me, God, why, he's so…so…"
"Stupidly in love?" Santana finished for him. "I know what you mean though, I mean, he could have me—"
"Santana," Rachel cut her off in a surprisingly angry voice. Santana ducked her head and had the decency to look ashamed.
"Sorry."
"Why are you here, anyway?" Kurt demanded thickly. Kurt climbed in when Finn opened the passenger door for him. Rachel and Santana got in the back. "Why did you come with us? You don't care about Blaine…do you?" Kurt turned his head to look at Santana in the back seat. She bit her tongue to keep from saying something mean and took a deep breath.
"When we were in the Lima Bean yesterday, when that Sebastian asshole told us that Blaine had told him we were singing Michael…everyone looked so shocked and angry. I guess…I know what that feels like. To have everyone think the worst of you. Blaine's just….trusting. He trusts Sebastian, even though he's a dick, he trusts the Warblers, and I'm sure he trusted them not to steal Michael from us. Obviously it was a mistake, but Blaine wasn't trying to betray us. He's just a…a trusting person. Naïve, too."
Kurt opened his mouth and closed it again, because it didn't sound like an insult.
"I know he went through a lot at his old school, not the details, but I know enough. And that's…really, really rare, that someone could ever fully trust anyone after something like that. But Blaine does."
The four of them were silent for a while. Santana had just basically said that she cared about Blaine without actually saying it.
"Plus, he his idea to 'take it to the streets' was fantastic," Santana said after a minute. "I mean, I helped him think up the idea of singing Bad, but he went along with it just like the perfect bad boy."
Kurt rolled his eyes, but they were all smiling now.
"Do you want me to take you home, Santana?" Finn asked.
"Oh no, you can take me to Tina's house though," Santana said. "Thanks, Frankenteen."
After they had dropped Santana off, Finn wordlessly started the car for the Hummel-Hudson house. He caught Rachel's gaze in the mirror with a worried look of his own. Kurt leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and tried to breathe.
"He's going to be okay, right?" Kurt asked Finn and Rachel. He needed reassurance.
"Yes," Rachel said automatically. "Blaine's going to be fine, Kurt." She wanted to say 'it was just his eye, he's not going to die,' but that made it sound like Blaine was going to loose an eye. And Rachel really hoped he wasn't—she didn't want to think about that.
"Hey, maybe they'll give him an eye patch, since his eye's hurt," Finn said, obviously trying to cheer Kurt up. "Like a pirate! Wait…you think pirates are hot, right?" Finn asked Kurt worriedly.
Kurt snorted loudly, unable to help it.
"Sure, Finn. Pirates are hot. As long as they bathe and brush their teeth on a regular basis." Rachel laughed shakily from the backseat.
"I just…they were his friends." The car got quiet again at Kurt's raw, hurt voice. "The Warblers. They were my friends too, and that slushie was meant for me. Why…why didn't they help him? How…how could they do that?" Finn placed a huge, comforting hand on the small of Kurt's back.
No one said anything, though. What could they say, really? Sebastian threw the slushie, yes, but the others had watched. They had watched, and they hadn't done anything when Blaine was screaming on the ground.
"Blaine's going to be heartbroken when he's okay enough to think about it," Kurt whispered. "They were his best friends."
"You're his best friend, Kurt," Rachel said softly. "And you'd never hurt him."
Blaine desperate plead of you promised, you promised still rang in Kurt's head and made him want to throw the car door open and run back to the hospital. Because Kurt had promised, he'd promised he'd stay with Blaine the whole time, but he couldn't. Kurt wiped more tears from his face and leaned slightly into Finn's touch.
One thing was for sure, though—Sebastian, the Warblers, could not get away with this. They had betrayed one of their own (after all, once a Warbler always a Warbler), and Kurt would not stand for it. That…that arrogant, evil asshole hurt Blaine.
And Kurt had to do something.
What do you all think? I hope it was accurate to what could've happened after the Bad scene. Please review if you want another chapter (or not) with the Warblers, high Blaine, and angry Kurt! Thanks for reading! :)
-hopewithfeathers