After receiving the devastating phone call from Kelly, Elizabeth knew she had no choice but to rush to the hospital. Burt offered to go, but he had to go to work in the morning, so she threw some clothes on and went alone.
She felt like a parent, sitting anxiously in the pediatrics waiting area. Once she arrived, Kelly assured her that Kurt was doing better, but that she wasn't able to see him yet. The PICU was for family members only.
"He has no other family," she tried desperately. "I'm the only one who's even come to check on him this whole week."
"We all know how much you care about him," Kelly said sympathetically. "It's the hospital's rules, not ours. We all agreed we would let you in if we could."
"Can I not see him again until he's well enough to be back in a regular room then?" Elizabeth asked, placing her hands on the counter in frustration.
Kelly pulled something up on her computer. "We got ahold of his social worker, and she's going to be stopping by today. Technically she is his guardian right now, so she's the one that can give us permission to let you go back and see him. She said she would be by around ten, so if you want to wait, you can."
Elizabeth checked the clock on the wall behind her. It wasn't even four yet. But she couldn't leave Kurt alone. Even though they couldn't be together, she was going to be there for him.
"I'll stay," she decided, and tried to rest in the waiting room, even though there was a constant stream of activity that prevented her from dozing off. But then again, she was too worried about Kurt to turn her mind off.
Ten o'clock passed, and the morning transitioned into afternoon, with still no sign of Kurt's social worker. Kelly left, but some of her other nurse friends showed up. Elizabeth called Burt to update him, and he agreed to come by after work if she was still there. Spending all day just waiting was exhausting.
She eventually wandered up to the gift shop, and looked for something special for Kurt. He was probably too weak to play much, but she saw the tall helium tank in the corner, which gave her the perfect idea. Balloons were cheap and simple, but Elizabeth was certain Kurt would love them. She got him blue and purple, feeling slightly guilty for not knowing what his favorite color was.
It was just after two in the afternoon when a woman entered the waiting area, and signed herself in as Tammy Walden. Elizabeth jumped at the opportunity to introduce herself, but was determined to make a good first impression.
After several minutes of introductions and explanations, Elizabeth expected to be on her way into the PICU. But that wasn't quite the case. Mrs. Walden asked her several questions about how she knew Kurt and whether or not she was a friend of his parents, but when Elizabeth had to think about the possibility of not seeing Kurt, she was willing to do anything the woman asked.
"I just have some forms to fill out," Mrs. Walden said. "You can sit with Kurt while I complete them, but no longer."
Elizabeth thanked her more than was necessary and shook her hand a little too hard. She received a nametag that enabled her to enter the intensive care unit, and while Mrs. Walden headed off to talk with Kurt's doctor, Elizabeth made her way over to the little boy who looked like he was feeling absolutely horrible.
"Miss 'lizbeth," Kurt sighed in relief, reaching up to hold her hand. The child looked like a human pincushion from all the needles coming out of him. He had a cannula in his nose, and a pulse meter clipped to his little finger.
Elizabeth placed the balloon bouquet next to his table, took a seat by him and held his hand. Kurt's blue eyes immediately welled up, and he began to cry weakly, hardly even able to produce tears.
"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Elizabeth asked, afraid she had done something wrong. "I'm right here. I've been out in the waiting room all night."
Kurt sniffled and wiped at his nose. "I m-missed you." He let out a nasty cough, ten times worse than the one he had had the past few days. He drew in a sharp wheezy breath and let it out slowly.
"There you go, just breathe," she instructed, adjusting the cannula as it tried to slip out of his nose. "I came to the hospital as soon as I heard you were sick. I've been here the whole time, honey. They just haven't been able to let me in. But Mrs. Walden is here, and she let me come back and see you. You haven't been alone, Kurt."
Kurt looked up at the blue and purple balloons next to his bed, and he reached out to poke one. That seemed to calm him slightly.
"Blue's my favorite," he admitted timidly, as if he might get in trouble for saying that.
Elizabeth sighed in relief. She liked seeing him come around, even though he felt so sick. She moved the balloons closer to him and let Kurt poke at them all he wanted.
"Those are just for you," she told him. Kurt looked up at her with wide eyes, in a state of disbelief.
"No," he finally said. "Mommy never let he have presents. She'd be mad I took your books and videos and b'loons. You can have 'em."
Elizabeth hated Kurt's parents more and more each time Kurt mentioned something about them.
"Your mommy wouldn't be mad that I gave you balloons," Elizabeth assured him. "These are a special present, from me to you."
Kurt seemed reluctant, but he finally accepted them with a weak smile.
However, his happiness didn't last for long. Kurt's chest hurt him every time he coughed, which was often. Elizabeth tried to help him by giving him drinks of water and patting his back when he needed it, but Kurt quickly grew tired.
"I don't want you to leave again," he pouted, eyelids heavy and already half shut.
Elizabeth knew Mrs. Walden should be wrapping up her visit with Kurt's doctor, and she was afraid to break the news to him.
"I can't stay for much longer," she told him. "But I'll come back as soon as I can. I know last night was scary, but you're going to get better. You won't always feel this bad."
As if on cue, Mrs. Walden appeared at the foot of Kurt's bed to walk Elizabeth out. She quickly tried to wrap things up with him, and make the visit last until the next time she could see him.
"I promise I'm going to come back," she said, looking the boy in the eyes. "You know I don't break my promises, okay? You have your balloons to remind you of me. Just try to feel better, Kurt. It's going to be okay."
Elizabeth managed to sit with him while Mrs. Walden asked him how he was feeling and other general questions, before they both knew it was time to go.
"Bye," he whimpered, holding onto her hand for as long as possible. Elizabeth would have rather seen a tantrum come out of him. Kurt shouldn't have been that used to being left alone.
Mrs. Walden led Elizabeth back to the waiting room, and she was already itching to be back with Kurt again. She knew he was terrified of everything about the hospital, just by his mannerisms.
"Where is he going to go, once he's all better?" Elizabeth asked suddenly, breaking the silence. The woman turned to her and adjusted her thick glasses.
"Kurt will be placed in a foster home, unless someone comes forward willing to adopt him. Ideally it would be nice to place him with a relative, but he seems to have no grandparents or aunts or uncles willing to take him. For a child of Kurt's age and wonderful health, he could be adopted right away or just remain in foster care until he ages out of the system. Each child is different."
"Well, my husband and I have been looking into adoption for some time," Elizabeth explained hastily, trying to sound professional and not too crazy. "We're unable to have a child on our own, and if there's anything we can do to adopt Kurt, we would love to have him as a part of our family. We'll do whatever it takes."
"Adoption is a big step, Mrs. Hummel," Mrs. Walden warned, as if she wasn't mature enough to make such a decision. They had walked out to the main lobby, and were about to take the elevator to the parking garage. "It requires much consideration. And, even if you decided you definitely wanted to adopt Kurt, you would still have to go through the entire process, which could take several months. Kurt will need a place to stay until then, so foster care is really unavoidable for him, no matter what you do."
The social worker dug around in her purse as they rode in the elevator together by themselves. She handed Elizabeth a business card with her name, phone number, and email address.
"I would love to help work with you throughout the process," she said, smiling for the first time. "Give me a call on a weekday to talk about things, if this is really what you want."
They stepped out of the elevator, about to go their separate ways. Elizabeth slid the card into her wallet and thanked the woman, who wasn't quite finished yet.
"Oh- and I talked to the head nurse. It's quite obvious Kurt adores you, so I gave her my permission to let you visit him in the PICU from now on. Have a good day, Mrs. Hummel."
Elizabeth stood there in disbelief for several seconds, and then debated between going back up to Kurt or just heading home. She figured he needed some rest, so she went on home to relay the information to her husband.
Burt arrived at the house shortly after she did, and Elizabeth immediately told him what Mrs. Walden had said to her about adoption and the process and the foster system. The thought of it was all very exciting, except for how long it could potentially take.
"I just don't like to think of him going into a foster home," she worried, after gushing about how this could actually work out. The reality was that Kurt could wind up staying with a family he liked even better, and wouldn't want her and Burt to adopt him. Elizabeth knew she was worrying about it much more than she should, but couldn't help consider it.
"No, don't think like that," Burt said, placing his hand over her shoulder reassuringly. "You've only known the kid a week, but it's obvious he loves and trusts you. He'll never find anyone like you in some foster home. You're doing the right thing."
Elizabeth nodded, not entirely convinced, but let her husband hug her. While she was normally so independent and headstrong, thinking about Kurt wanting someone else made her feel horrible, like she needed the little boy to finally feel like real parent.
It was hard to remain optimistic, but it was their only option if they wanted Kurt to be their son someday.
Author's Notes:
This one's a little short, but I'll make up for it later, I promise! I hope you like it so far. Picturing tiny little Kurt scared and alone in the hospital is just the worst. But keep reading!