Kurt was laughing at something Finn was saying that probably wasn't even funny as Blaine, Mercedes, Rachel, and Santana stepped into the hotel room. Blaine tried to fight the rush of jealousy and anger, and judging by Rachel's expression, she was trying to do the same thing.
"Hey, baby," she said brightly, crossing the room and deliberately kissing Finn inches from Kurt's face. Blaine immediately felt bad for his jealousy as he watched pain flash across Kurt's eyes, so obvious to him and hidden from everyone else.
"Rachel, behave," Blaine said sternly, crossing the room in four strides and pulling her by the waist off of Finn. The baritone gave him a betrayed look. That was probably the farthest he had gotten with Rachel in a long time.
"Hey Blaine," Kurt said with a soft, still-slightly-pained smile, and God, Blaine wanted to kiss him.
"Hi," was what Blaine had to settle for, pushing Rachel back towards Mercedes and Santana. "How did your testing go?" Kurt made a face.
"They spent about two hours making me do the stupidest things imaginable and then made the official decision that there's absolutely nothing wrong with me. Jess was standing behind them, making faces and some rather crude gestures." Blaine laughed. Yeah, that sounded like Jess. "So, I'm officially healed."
"Good. Did they check out the swelling in your head?" Kurt nodded.
"Apparently it's decreasing rapidly, which is actually more worrying than relieving."
"Why?" Blaine asked, sitting down next to him.
"Because if that's the case, my memory should be returning in bits and flashes and... nothing." That was incredibly disappointing, but Blaine tried not to be selfish. After all, it must be even worse for Kurt.
"I'm sorry," was all he had to say. "So, Burt and I came up with a plan-" Why could he only say Burt's name when the man wasn't in the room? Also, where was he?
"How close are you and my father, exactly?" Kurt asked curiously, and for a moment Blaine allowed himself to be proud that he had completely distracted Kurt from his conversation with Finn. Then he felt bad and selfish about his jealousy.
"I..." Well, I talked to him about your virginity on multiple occasions, so... "We both have your best interests at heart," was what Blaine decided to go with. He wasn't sure Kurt had ever known about his conversations with Burt, and he planned to keep them to himself a little while longer. "Anyway, we thought we would start your path to normalcy by reintroducing you to your team."
"Hey, Kurt," Rachel said, stepping forward.
"Man hands," Kurt replied coolly, and Rachel visibly recoiled.
"Kurt, be nice," Mercedes said with a roll of her eyes, and Kurt almost knocked Blaine over as he jumped up and ran to hug Mercedes.
"Merce!" he squealed, grabbing her in what looked like a bone-crushing hug. "How are you?"
"Better, much better than I was when everyone was blaming me for telling everyone about the true father of the baby." Blaine could see a light bulb go off above Kurt's head, and for a moment he hoped Kurt had remembered something.
"How is... Drizzle?" he asked hesitantly, looking at Finn.
"Her name is Beth," Finn corrected him gently, trying his best to remain calm. Beth was still a sore spot between him, Puck, Quinn, and Rachel. "She was born during Regionals, and she was adopted by a loving family whose identity we don't know."
"Oh," Kurt said, and he looked embarrassed. He had forgotten about the time that had passed again. "Right. How are you?" he asked again, turning to Mercedes.
"Excellent. I've got a boyfriend-"
"Who?" Kurt practically shrieked.
"Shane Tinsley." Kurt looked at her quizzically. "He plays football. I hadn't gotten the chance to introduce him to you yet, but he's a great guy. You'll approve, I know it." Kurt nodded, accepting that at face value. "And I get along with Rachel now."
"What exactly makes you desire to always be second place to big-mouth, nose McGee-"
"So do you, bo," Mercedes interjected before Kurt could really get going on his ranting criticism of Rachel, and Kurt's jaw dropped. "Yeah, I know, but you two clicked after you came home from Dalton and especially in New York." Blaine sighed. Information overload.
"What's Dalton? When was I in New York?" Kurt asked, confused, and Mercedes looked guilty.
"Dalton is the private school you transferred to in the middle of junior year when the bullying got to be a little too much," Blaine answered the questions that weren't directed at him, and Kurt's head snapped in his direction. "You spent about a semester there, and that's where we met." Kurt smiled softly, guiltily at him. "That's where I went." No one stopped to question the past tense.
"And we were in New York," Rachel added, sitting on Kurt's empty bed, "when we went to Nationals." Kurt's jaw dropped again, and Blaine could see all the regret in his eyes. He hated that Kurt couldn't remember what had probably been one of the best years of his life. "We got twelfth place out of fifty for the two original songs that we wrote, and you and I broke into the Gershwin Theater to sing For Good together. It was amazing." Rachel took Kurt's hand, and Kurt allowed it.
"We've grown apart a bit," Mercedes admitted, "but the three of us are pretty much inseparable." Mercedes took Kurt's other hand, and the three shared a little moment.
"I guess that leaves me," Santana muttered in Blaine's ear. "Why the hell did you bring me here?"
"Just go say hi," Blaine said, pushing the Cheerio towards the bed and wondering when everyone else should be introduced. Tina, Mike, Sam, Quinn, Artie, and Puck were the remaining people. No one had seen Brittany all summer. Puck and Mike would probably be the people he wanted to see the least... maybe bring in Quinn, Tina, and Artie tomorrow, and wait for the rest until he got home? Sam would be the most confusing for Kurt, because the countertenor had no memory at all of the fake blond.
"Hey, Carmen Sandiego, nice new tits," Kurt said sarcastically as Santana approached. "At least that's one change I could have predicted. What are you doing here?"
"News flash, gelfing, I'm actually tolerable now, and I'm not a spy anymore. I just tell it like it is. Problem?" Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Right. So I'm assuming you and Britt are as firmly in the closet as always?" Blaine rolled his eyes. Kurt and Santana would never really get along without a mediating factor, and that would probably have to be him.
"She's still sabotaging us," Rachel corrected, "but now she's just doing it for fun."
"Damn right. It wouldn't be so easy either, if you guys could all rein it in."
"You're one to talk."
"Hey, I'm exclusive."
"With someone whose existence you refuse to acknowledge outside of the bedroom."
"At least I remember mine," Santana snapped, and her comment was followed by complete silence. Blaine could feel Kurt's gaze on him, but he was looking determinedly at the floor.
Blaine cleared his throat once the silence became unbearable. "Santana, didn't I tell you to behave?" He looked up at the Latina, still refusing to look at... Kurt. Not even his Kurt anymore.
"Didn't I tell you I don't do that well, Kermit?" she snapped in reply, but Blaine could see the guilt in her eyes. It was her automatic reaction to go for the jugular with her comments, she hadn't meant to make the atmosphere in the room any worse.
"Wow, the tension in here now is worse than the sexual tension earlier," Jess said with a grin as she stepped into the room, followed by an amused-looking Dr. Sanchez and an annoyed-looking Dr. Eastlake. Blaine was starting to think that expression of irritation was permanently stuck on his face.
Jess' comment was enough to make Kurt look away from Blaine, and had Blaine wanted to look over, he knew Kurt would be blushing. "Nurse Lewalski, could you at least attempt to be professional?" Dr. Eastlake asked coldly, but in true Jess form, the nurse ignored him.
"How are you feeling, sweet cheeks?" Blaine had a feeling she used the endearment just to irritate the attending. Judging by the little smirk on her face, she definitely had.
"I... dizzy," Kurt admitted, and Blaine's eyes, without the permission of his brain, immediately snapped to Kurt in concern, but Kurt wasn't looking at him anymore. "I just... a little nauseous too."
"Nauseated," Dr. Eastlake corrected his grammar as Dr. Sanchez came over to talk to him. Jess was leaning against the wall, looking annoyed. She and Santana exchanged a few looks that said a lot about how similar the girls were... at least, they were similar in their opinion of Dr. Eastlake. Blaine definitely agreed.
Dr. Sanchez whipped out a little light, checking his pupils before glancing at the chart she had brought in with her. "You're barely on any medications, and none of them have nausea as a common side effect. You're on solid food... have you eaten anything that might have upset your stomach?" Kurt shook his head. "The swelling in your head could be causing the nausea, but it's very unlikely."
"Mr. Hummel's blood pressure, temperature, and pulse are elevated," Dr. Eastlake commented. Blaine could see that everyone in the room was getting nervous. What could be wrong with Kurt now?
"Not to speak up with more qualified people in the room," somehow Jess managed to imply that 'more qualified' did not mean more intelligent, "but could Kurt just be overwhelmed? His body's getting back in order, if he's over-exerting himself mentally it could manifest in any number of ways."
"She has a point," Dr. Sanchez added, making Dr. Eastlake look even more annoyed. "And I can see grounds for him being overwhelmed." She looked around the room, noting the presence of the Hudson-Hummels, Blaine, Santana, Rachel, and Mercedes. "Perhaps we should put a restriction on the number of visitors he can have until the swelling is completely down." Santana did not look pleased with that particular assessment.
"She's right," Burt chipped in before Dr. Eastlake could reply. "It's too much for you girls to be here while his brain's still getting back to normal. As soon as he's home, we can start working on his memory and recovery, but for now he just needs rest and the closest version of normalcy that we can give to him."
Dr. Sanchez was still checking over Kurt, checking his pupils again and annoying him by asking him more simple questions. Dr. Eastlake had stalked out of the room while Burt was talking, and Jess was leaning against the wall, watching with amusement. "Perhaps it's time for you lovely ladies to head out, Santana and people I don't know," she suggested.
"Rachel Berry and Mercedes Jones," Rachel introduced the two of them quickly, with her usual million-watt smile. She wasn't letting her disappointment show, but Blaine knew the girls must be devastated. He was too, because he didn't exactly fit into a good version of 'normalcy,' not in the time Kurt remembered.
"Fascinating," Jess said drolly.
"Come on, ladies, I'll take you home," Blaine offered, Rachel and Mercedes following him to the door immediately and Santana stopping to have a small exchange with Jess.
"Blaine." He was so well-programmed, his body whirled around at the sound of his name in that heavenly voice without his mind fully registering the fact that Kurt was talking to him. Santana rolled her eyes, and Mercedes made a whip sound. "Are you leaving?" Kurt asked shyly as Dr. Sanchez looked over his chart, her brows drawn together in either confusion, concern, or concentration.
"I... I drove the girls here, so they don't have a ride home without me." Kurt looked oddly disappointed, but he didn't stay anything further. Blaine looked to Burt for some kind of advice, but he was focused on the intern catering to his son's health. Blaine caught Finn's eyes though, and Finn winked at him.
"I'll take Mercedes and Santana home," Finn offered. "Rach and I can go to the movies or something, give Kurt some fresh air in here." Carole nodded in approval when her son looked at her for permission. Burt was still occupied with Dr. Sanchez, and Blaine caught a smidgen of disappointment on Kurt's face.
"Bye, Finn... Rach, Merce, Tana," he added once all three girls glared at him. Blaine tried to ignore how love struck his first goodbye had sounded. Kurt was in the middle of his infatuation with Finn, and it was awful.
"I think you'll be fine, Mr. Hummel," Dr. Sanchez announced. "Are you tired?" Kurt shook his head. "Do you have a headache?" Kurt shrugged, which wasn't an answer the intern looked pleased with. "I'll grab you some ibuprofen, and then I'll leave you alone."
"Burt," Carole said once her husband was finished with his concern over Kurt, "perhaps we should get some fresh air too." Burt looked about to object, but judging by Carole's expression, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "We'll go for a walk around the park across the street. If anything happens, Blaine will let us know right away." Blaine nodded on cue, and Carole dragged Burt out of there.
"Are they trying to get us alone?" Kurt asked Blaine once they were alone. "Because if they are, they're not very subtle about it. Very efficient, but not very subtle."
"You're one to talk," Blaine teased with a smile, and Kurt blushed.
"Am I that obvious?"
"Kurt, we all know because that, for us, is old news." Kurt sighed. "Sorry," Blaine said, coming to sit on the bed next to him. "You'll remember eventually."
"You don't know that. There's a good chance my memories will never come back."
"So we'll create new ones," Blaine said with a smile before realizing exactly how that sounded. "I mean, not specifically us, if that's not what you want, I just meant-"
"I get it," Kurt said with a smile. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Anything."
Before Kurt could get around to asking his question, Dr. Sanchez came in, administered Kurt's ibuprofen, and left, leaving a mildly awkward silence in her wake. How exactly was this the closest to normalcy they could get?
"How exactly did Finn go from my... infatuation to my step-brother?" Kurt asked finally, and Blaine decided that for now, some skimming was necessary. If anyone was telling Kurt about The Basement, it was Finn. It wasn't Blaine's place.
"I know you were in love with him, that you are in love with him, if that's what you're skating around." Kurt's jaw dropped. "Yeah, we told each other everything," Blaine said with a soft smile.
"I have a feeling you know me way better than I know myself at this point," Kurt said dryly, having regained his composure, and Blaine chuckled.
"I always have." Kurt smiled. "Do forgive me if I get some of the details wrong, but I wasn't actually here for most of this. Shortly after you joined the Cheerios-"
"I was a Cheerio?" Kurt asked with shock written all over his face.
"I'll tell you that story later. Anyway, you introduced your dad and Finn's mother in the hopes that they would move in together and you would get the chance to spend more time with Finn, seeing this as the pathway to him developing mutual feelings for you. They did move in for a few weeks, but you and Finn had a falling-out-"
"What happened?" Blaine hesitated. He could end Kurt's crush on Finn forever...
"That's for Finn to tell you," he decided. "Anyway, Carole and Finn moved back out. Your parents dated for about eight months, from February to November... I guess that's nine. Anyway, a few weeks after we met-"
"How did we meet?"
"You're just full of questions today, aren't you?" Blaine teased, and Kurt looked a little bashful. "After I finish this story, I'll tell you any story you want, okay?" Kurt nodded. "Anyway, that November, your father proposed to Carole, and thanks to you and your incredibly dexterous and meticulous wedding planning, they were married two weeks later. You and Finn have been brothers for about nine months, and I'd say your little family is doing all right."
"I'm stupid," Kurt concluded, and Blaine couldn't help but laugh at that. Perhaps that hadn't been Kurt's greatest plan.
"You were in love, are in love. People do crazy things when they're in love." Kurt looked at him for a moment, opening his mouth as if to say something and then closing it just as quickly. Blaine was dying to ask what he was thinking, but Kurt had enough going on. "What story do you want to hear?"
"How we met."
"Okay. So, I'm not entirely sure of how this chance encounter went from your perspective, but I was walking around on a normal day, heading to an impromptu performance with Dalton Academy's a cappella show choir, the Warblers, when this incredibly cute boy tapped me on the shoulder to ask me what was going on. He was obviously a spy, dressed in a completely inaccurate version of the school uniform, but he seemed pretty harmless. So, I brought him through my short-cut, half-serenaded him with the coincidentally-romantic song Teenage Dream, and we went out for coffee after with a few of my friends, Wes and David." Crap, he still hadn't texted the Warblers to lay off. "He told me all about the bullying he was going through at his school, and I did my best to give him advice."
"So where do I come in?" Blaine stared at Kurt for a long moment until it clicked. "Oh." Cue blush. "'Incredibly cute?'"
"I was going to say 'absolutely gorgeous,' but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable," Blaine said, half-teasing, half-serious. He wasn't sure how the comment was received.
"So, all those guys who have been texting me who have picture icons in a blue and red blazer..." Kurt said hesitantly as everything clicked together in his head.
"Those are the Warblers. I'll text them to lay off, because while they've obviously heard that you got hurt, I doubt they know what happened." Kurt nodded.
"Thank you."
"No problem. I kind of consider them my responsibility anyway."
"I thought you didn't go there anymore?" Kurt asked, clearly confused, and apparently he had been the only one who caught the past tense Blaine had used while describing his attendance at Dalton Academy.
"Well, all this summer you were trying to convince me to transfer to McKinley so we could spend more time together, and I was going to surprise you by showing up on the first day of school, but since that gesture is no longer romantic and doesn't really mean anything to you, I guess I'm free to tell you. I transferred to McKinley. I'm not sure what's going to happen with my residence, but..." Blaine shrugged. The plan that he had cleared with Burt was that he would live with the Hudson-Hummels and stay far away from Kurt's bedroom, but that probably would only serve to confuse Kurt more. With his parents' money, he could always buy himself a house.
"That doesn't mean nothing to me," Kurt objected when it became clear that Blaine wasn't going to finish his sentence. "I mean... God, this is so confusing." Blaine was about to say something, but Kurt was still talking. "I have absolutely no idea why or what, but you do mean something to me, Blaine. I... I wanted you to stay." There was nothing to say to that. There really wasn't, so Blaine took Kurt's hand and squeezed it, and they sat in silence for a good ten minutes.
"Do you want to hear the story about how you joined the Cheerios?" Blaine asked eventually, just because Burt and Carole probably wouldn't be happy to come back to total, semi-awkward, heavy silence.
"Sure," Kurt said softly, not releasing Blaine's hand.
"As little as you remember, you surely know that Miss Sylvester and Mr. Schue don't exactly get along," Kurt smiled and nodded, "well, once, a week or two after Sectionals, Mr. Schue got fed up with being insulted and returned Miss Sylvester's barb about his ridiculous choice in hairstyle, insulting her hair. Apparently, her expression was devastated, because you and Mercedes went to check up on her. The assignment that week was Madonna, and you and Mercedes were working on a recreation of the Vogue video. So, after she told you some ridiculous, probably completely untrue, and un-recollect-able story about the release of True Blue," Kurt giggled, "you asked to borrow some of the male cheerleaders in return for giving Coach Sylvester the starring role in your video and giving her a makeover. During a conversation with Principal Figgins following said makeover, she decided that instead of changing herself, she would change everyone else, and she made you and Mercedes Cheerios. You performed 4 Minutes at a pep rally, and you stayed on the team until Nationals, where you performed a fourteen-minute Celine Dion medley entirely in French. Mercedes quit after Puck tried to date her for her popularity because he lost his Mohawk and his mojo and... I still don't quite understand that story," Blaine admitted, and Kurt smiled.
"Sounds really fun."
"I bet it was," Blaine commented. "I don't have the videos, but I'm sure we can show you 4 Minutes, Mercedes performing Beautiful at a pep rally after Coach Sylvester tried to convince both of you to lose some weight-"
"Rude."
"I wish you had felt that way then," Blaine said with a laugh. "You also did Fergalicious, but that video got lost, and Santana or Brittany might have a recording of your medley, but I'm not sure."
"What about Quinn?" Kurt asked.
"We... I don't know what's going on with Quinn, but she hasn't been talking to anyone all summer. Neither has Brittany, but Santana said she's on vacation somewhere." Kurt nodded.
"Poor Quinn. I don't remember much, but even I know she's been through a lot." Blaine nodded, squeezing Kurt's hand again. He could have told Kurt about Prom Queen, but there was no reason to make the mood in the room even more somber. "Do you have a video of Teenage Dream?" Kurt asked curiously.
"I... I bet I could scrounge one up," Blaine hedged, because he had been performing, and Kurt hadn't been recording, but there were security cameras at Dalton and they probably kept the tapes somewhere. Maybe someone had recorded it on their phone.
"How long was I at Dalton?" Kurt asked, and after taking a quick look into Kurt's eyes, he was dying to know what the countertenor was thinking.
"From mid-November 2010 to late April 2011," Blaine said automatically. "So, about six months. Why?"
"I'm trying to figure something out," Kurt said, and Blaine was finally getting the insight he so craved. "So, if we met in October and I transferred to your school in November... why have we only been dating for a little less than five months? That would be March or April, a few weeks before I left." Blaine had forgotten how astute he could be.
"That is not only a long story, but also entirely my fault," Blaine admitted. "I was kind of an idiot... repeatedly."
"Eventually, you will tell me that story," Kurt said with a grin.
"Deal."
"See, Burt, Kurt hasn't randomly passed out in the last twenty minutes," Carole said as she and Burt walked back into Kurt's hospital room. Had they really been talking for twenty minutes? "Relax."
"I apologize for being concerned about my son," Burt said, but he was teasing and Carole knew it. "How are you doing, kiddo?"
"Fine," Kurt answered a little tersely. "Blaine's been telling me a lot of stories." It occurred to Blaine after a moment or two of awkward silence. Kurt and Burt's relationship hadn't always been so amazing. Maybe at the time Kurt remembers, it wasn't so great at all.
"Are you okay, Kurt?" Blaine asked softly, trying valiantly to dismiss the notion that he was running familial interference. First of all, he wasn't a part of the family, not really. He had thought that he could be for a while, but recent events were kind of ruining that rather romanticized notion. Second, Burt was perfectly capable of handling his own son.
"Fine," Kurt said, but his voice was too cold and his lips were pulled into a tight line. Not that Blaine's eyes immediately went to Kurt's lips. Not at all. "I'm just tired. Do you think I could maybe have some time to sleep?"
"Of course, sweetie," Carole said gently.
"Alone?" Kurt asked, and Blaine realized Kurt was trying to get them all out of the hospital room. With a quick look at Carole, he confirmed she was having the same thought, and they nodded to each other. Maybe Kurt just needed some time. Blaine stood up off the bed.
Burt was about to object, but Carole placed a hand on his arm. "Sure, sweetie. We'll get out of here and give you some time. Come on, Burt," she said as he looked about to object again, and she practically dragged Kurt's overprotective father out of there.
"Blaine," Kurt said as the tenor was following Carole and Burt out of his hospital room, and Blaine turned to look at him. "I just need some time alone," he said apologetically. "Everything's so confusing."
"I understand. So do Carole and Burt. Burt just doesn't want to leave you because he's afraid for your health." Blaine came to stand beside Kurt as they talked. "I know you'll be all right, and the sooner your head gets itself sorted out, the better you'll feel."
"Will you come back in about an hour and tell me that story?" Kurt asked.
"Shouldn't you take a longer nap than that?" Blaine asked, because the more Kurt slept, the more time his body had to sort itself out.
"I'm not taking a nap," Kurt said, and his tone betrayed a little of his guilt about lying. "I just need some time." Blaine couldn't argue. He didn't have a say anymore.
"Okay. And yes, I'll come back." Blaine stooped and pressed a kiss to Kurt's forehead, which made him blush. "I would say sweet dreams, but..." Kurt giggled.
"Bye, Blaine." Blaine resisted the urge to look back as he walked away, considering he could feel Kurt's eyes on his back. Right outside the door, Carole and Burt were waiting for him.
"Do you want to hang out at the house until you come back?" Burt asked. Carole, upon observation, was texting Finn, telling him to come home rather than go back to the hospital.
"Sounds good," Blaine replied, but he had to ask. "Mr. Hummel?" he asked as Burt and Carole started to walk away.
"Yes?" Burt replied, sounding a little gruff.
"What was your relationship with Kurt like back then?"
A/N: Cliffhanger! Kind of. I apologize that it's been so long since I updated this story, but my life has been hectic lately. So, sorry. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Songs mentioned:
'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry
'4 Minutes' by Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera
'Fergalicious' by Fergie
Reviews are Love.