Chapter 4: Beth

Carole and Burt waited in the hospital hallway as Kurt and Blaine tried to explain the entire situation to Ava. They tried to be strong for her, but it was hard, and once Blaine, who was feeling responsible for the whole tragic mess, started to cry, Kurt and Ava both couldn't help but shed a few tears too.

"I think it's time," Kurt finally said. He looked from his husband to his daughter, eyes settling on her and waiting to gauge her reaction. "I'm pretty sure I would have heard if it were too late already," he said, glancing down at the cell phone in his hand which had not received any new calls since Puck had first left the hospital. "So um, while we still can…"

"I'm ready," Ava told him. She turned to Blaine. "I'm ready to meet her."

"Alright," Kurt said, wishing Ava was still a few years younger, so that it would still be appropriate for him to grab her hand and hold onto it tightly. Instead, he simply stood in front of his twelve-year-old and said, "Let's go find out what floor Beth is on."

"I'll see you two later," Blaine said.

Kurt turned back and nodded, then wiped away a stray tear that had still been lingering on his own face. By the time Kurt had turned back toward Ava, she was already a few strides ahead of him, heading toward the information desk, ready to find out what room her sister was in.

Kurt had almost caught up to her when he spotted Karofsky heading in his direction. "Ava, Honey?" he called out. "Can you find out where she is while I tell Papa's lawyer what's going on?"

"Sure, Dad," she replied. Karofsky smiled at the interaction.

"Damn," he commented. "She looks just like you."

Kurt blushed. "Um, thanks." He always felt equally proud and guilty whenever anyone mentioned that his daughter looked like him, because he wished she could look like Blaine too. But he quickly pushed those thoughts from his mind. "Blaine's in room 408," Kurt told him.

"Yeah, I just found out," Karofsky replied, gesturing toward the information desk that Ava was currently in front of. "So, Blaine wasn't drinking, was he?"

"No."

"Okay, good," Karofsky said. "I was looking up some case rulings and in Tampa, Florida there was a case exactly like this last month that got ruled just an accident, so I'm hoping I can convince a judge-"

"Dad! It's just one floor down!" Ava yelled from two yards away. Kurt felt his cheeks turn slightly red due to his overly loud daughter making a bit of a scene in the hospital hallway. She was already pressing the button on the elevator.

"I have to go." Kurt awkwardly told his old acquaintance. "You can discuss all of this with Blaine, though, for sure. Sounds great. Thank you so much."

"Of course," Karofsky replied. He looked over at Kurt's daughter who was now impatiently holding the door open for her father.

"Dad! Come on!"

"I'm coming!" he called back, a little quieter.

Karofsky headed toward Blaine's room as Kurt and Ava disappeared into the elevator. Kurt glanced over in time to see Burt and David awkwardly exchange glances of recognition with each other. Then, the doors shut, completely blocking Kurt's view.

Ava began to ask, in a very small voice, "Have you ever talked to someone who was dying before?"

Kurt immediately pictured that fateful day when he'd been only eight years old. "Yeah. When my mom died," he said softly. The memory was burned into his mind.

"What did you say?"

Kurt blinked his eyes shut and thought about how best to answer this question. The elevator doors opened back up for them and they headed out into the third floor hallway.

"It was different," he finally told her. "She was my mom. You… you've never met Beth before." He willed his voice not to break. "So, I'd focus on how this is a first time for both of you, not a last. Just say hello. That you're glad to be meeting her," he said with a smile. He didn't know which room she was in, but he was following his daughter, who seemed to be paying attention to the numbers. "This will be really hard, but I'll be right outside. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

They stopped outside a room and Kurt saw Shelby inside. He had only seen her a few times before in his high school's hallways, plus more recently in a few of Rachel's photographs. He also saw the injured nineteen-year-old girl in bed, so pale and fragile, shivering under a blanket despite it being fairly warm in the hospital. Kurt's memory jumped back to when Quinn had been in her car accident in high school and he'd come to visit her. Quinn hadn't looked quite this bad, but somehow this still felt like déjà vu. Puck was right; Beth did have the same chin and nose as Quinn. She was also the right age to look remarkably like the Quinn he remembered from senior year. And despite how he'd never seen Quinn or Beth when they had been middle-schoolers, he realized Puck was also right to think that Ava had those same features. In some small way, this was a glimpse into his daughter's future and how she'd look when she was all grown up.

"Let me ask Beth's mom if it's okay for you to see her, okay?" Kurt said, looking back down at his beautiful daughter. He and Blaine had already warned Ava that they had not talked to Shelby or Beth about this yet, and that it would be a surprise.

Ava nodded as Shelby first noticed the pair standing outside of the door. Shelby got up from the chair at Beth's bedside and started heading toward them.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked harshly, glaring at Kurt. He had been bracing himself for the woman to not be kind or understanding, but he still didn't feel prepared for this kind of attitude from her. He was actually surprised she recognized him at all. They had never had a conversation before, but then he realized Rachel probably had shown her plenty of photographs over the years.

Kurt tried to remember that anger was only natural at a time like this. Her daughter was dying. Any reaction was understandable, including this one.

"I wanted to ask your permission for, um, Ava to meet Beth," Kurt started to explain. "I mean, they're technically related. Biologically," Kurt hastily added, hoping the woman who was now approaching age sixty would understand. He started to pay too much attention to how her hair looked; it was the same as it had always looked. He let himself get distracted, wondering when she had begun dyeing it. It must be dyed.

"Okay," Shelby replied, pulling him out of his irrelevant thoughts. "What did you say your daughter's name was?" she said, glancing down at Ava.

"I'm Ava," she answered for herself, speaking up. She reached out a hand for a handshake, and Shelby grasped it.

"And I'm Shelby," she replied. "Go ahead, you can talk to Beth. I'm sure she'd love to meet you."

Ava walked inside of the room nervously as Kurt and Shelby both waited by the door.

"Hi," he heard his daughter's high-pitched voice nervously greet the girl in the bed. "I'm Ava. I'm your half-sister," she explained softly.

Kurt saw Beth smile and although he couldn't hear what she replied, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Ava sitting down in the chair Shelby had been in and pulling it up close to the bed. They had a hushed conversation that was too far away for Kurt to hear. Everything was going fine. They were talking, and smiling, and was that Ava laughing? Kurt glanced up at Shelby and saw that her facial expression had softened. She was looking on at the girls with a sort of fondness that Kurt was also feeling. The only thing these girls had in common was their birth mother, and Kurt was surprised at how even without Ava having met Quinn, these girls could instantly bond over that simple connection.

One of the monitors Beth was hooked up to started beeping loudly, and Ava's face flashed with terror. Kurt's eyes went wide as he stepped out of the way for a doctor to enter the room. He waited for Ava to re-join him outside, but Ava stayed in the room, not seeming able to budge. Beth's eyes were still open, but she was gasping for breath. Kurt hoped the doctors could do something to help her. He hoped Beth would be able to hang on until Quinn got a chance to see her. The beeping slowly started to quiet down as the beeps became farther apart. Kurt cautiously became hopeful. Beth appeared to still be awake, despite the fact that she now had an oxygen mask on her face. Maybe it wasn't the end, not just yet. He saw Ava smile hugely and walk over to Beth. She said something quietly and then proceeded to turn around and head back out of the room, toward Kurt. Behind her Shelby sat herself back down in that chair and lovingly placed her daughter's hand between both of her own. Kurt looked back down at Ava and realized she was shaking.

"I think we need to let her rest now," she informed her father.

Kurt nodded and led her a few steps away from the room. Then he pulled her close to his body in a comforting embrace. "You did such a good job," he said softly. "You were so strong. I'm really proud of you." He felt her start to shake more, clearly beginning to cry. He kept holding onto her, waiting for the worst of the tears to pass.

After a minute, Ava broke away from the hug, sniffling. "I told her the story you and Papa always tell me about how you came up with my middle name."

"Elizabeth," Kurt breathed.

"Yeah, after your mom who died," Ava reminded him, knowing that fact all too well. "But I told her since her name was Beth too, that now I'd always remember her too whenever I thought about my middle name."

Kurt felt a tear escape from his eye. "That's a really good idea, sweetheart."

Ava smiled, clearly grateful he agreed. Her crying had transitioned into a silent cascade of tears. "Is she really going to die?" she asked, reaching up with her hand to attempt to dry her face. "The doctors helped her breathe again. Maybe she'll be okay!"

"Yeah, maybe," Kurt replied in a not-very-convincing tone. "But let's not get our hopes too high, okay?" he said softly.

Kurt led her back toward the elevators, watching as she slowly stopped crying altogether.

Puck and Quinn ended up arriving back at the hospital right around the same time the judge had entered Blaine's hospital room for the sake of his bail hearing. They had texted Kurt to let him know and Kurt was glad they had made it there in time. He looked back at the judge. He was wearing a typical black robe and Kurt half-expected him to have one of those gavels seen in the movies. He seemed out of place, and there weren't enough chairs in the room, even with his parents having taken Ava home already, and the judge was pulling over the tray used to serve bedridden patients their meals, wanting to use it as his own desk.

When Quinn had said Karofsky was the best lawyer in town, Kurt hadn't quite known what to expect, but as he watched the man argue that a bail hearing was ridiculous in the first place because Blaine shouldn't have been charged with a crime, Kurt was awestruck. He glanced over at his husband whose facial expression reflected a similar sentiment. Karofsky was good. He knew exactly what to say. He wasn't just bringing up last month's case in Tampa, Florida, but also many similar cases in which someone had run a red light in Ohio over the past five years that had also been ruled accidents, sometimes when the drivers had even consumed small quantities of alcohol. Kurt felt sure Karofsky would succeed in his argument. He was probably very expensive too. How could Kurt have forgotten to discuss how much he'd be paying Karofsky? It was David's fault. He was the person who was supposed to have brought it up. Getting paid was supposed to be his priority. Kurt tried not to think about that right now.

The judge seemed to consider his options carefully. He looked at Blaine, and Kurt hoped Blaine was giving off 'definitely didn't commit any crime' vibes. Maybe they wouldn't end up having to pay bail. Maybe all charges would be dropped.

Unfortunately, right before the judge seemed prepared to make his ruling, a young cop entered the room. He couldn't have been much older than Beth herself. He approached the sorry excuse for a court "bench" and leaned in to whisper something in the ear of the man who held all of the power. The judge nodded.

"Alright," he announced. "I have just been informed that Beth Corcoran, the victim in this case, has died."

Kurt took a few steps in order to get close enough to his husband to grab his hand.

"The set bail in Ohio cases for Vehicular Assault is $10,000," the judge continued. Kurt clasped Blaine's hand tightly, and glanced down at him, who now was shaking a little, utterly terrified. Kurt's chest felt tight with his own feelings of fear tangled with fresh grief.

"However, with her death, charges have now been changed. Blaine Anderson, you have been accused of involuntary manslaughter. The typical bail for this crime is $30,000." Kurt gasped. How could bail be so much? They didn't have this kind of money!

Karofsky quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper and then handed it to Kurt as the judge kept talking.

"I appreciate that Blaine might be innocent, but that is what the due process of a criminal trial is for. A jury of his peers, or a single judge - it is your choice - will be able to hear all of the facts and then determine if a 'not guilty' verdict is deserved."

Kurt read the note that was now in his hand.

With a bail bondsman, you will only have to pay 10% of whatever bail is set.

Kurt nodded appreciatively, although Karofsky was now busy looking at the judge. Three thousand dollars would still be a lot, but at least he wouldn't be forced to find thirty thousand.

"Blaine Anderson, I now declare your bail set at $30,000. Since you are a Canadian citizen, please realize that you must remain in this country until the date of your trial, which has been set for one month from today on Tuesday, August 21, 2029. Your doctor informed me that you will be released from the hospital on Thursday?"

Blaine nodded to confirm this fact. He was supposed to be able to go home the day after tomorrow.

"Well then, you will be transferred to a county jail, unless your husband has paid your bail by then."

Blaine nodded again.

"Sir, you need to verbally confirm that you understand what is required of you."

"I understand," he said.

"Thank you. Court is dismissed," he concluded, standing up from behind the hospital tray and proceeding to leave the room. He paused briefly.

"Dave?" he called out casually and suddenly Kurt realized this judge and lawyer knew each other personally, and that without the pretense of professional roles they were required to play between them, they were friends.

"What's up?" Karofsky replied, heading over toward the man. Kurt realized he shouldn't eavesdrop and turned back toward Blaine.

"$30,000? I'm stuck here for a month in jail, then," Blaine said with a resigned sigh. "I wouldn't have been able to start filming for Modern Greek Gods anyway," he said with a mirthless laugh, gesturing toward his foot.

"Hey, hey," Kurt said, stopping him. "David passed me this note." He handed it to Blaine. "We can get you $3,000. My dad can probably help out since we're here in the states. Don't worry. I'm not letting you go to jail."

Blaine smiled weakly. "My parents probably should help out with that money, not yours. I'm the one who's going to end up in jail otherwise. And who knows what they do with guys who can't walk when they're in jail?"

"They put you in a wheelchair in a disabled ward of the prison," Karofsky explained, having returned to their sides. "They are equipped to handle that situation, but you don't need to worry about that right now."

"So involuntary manslaughter," Blaine commented. "How much prison time am I facing if I'm found guilty?" he asked, nervously.

Karofsky shot him a sympathetic smile. "Worst case scenario? For a third degree felony like this, five years."

Blaine closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"That's not going to happen," Kurt quickly said, trying to reassure him. "Right?" he asked Karofsky. "You'll make sure that doesn't happen?"

David nodded. "Well, we have a few options here. If you're found guilty here, the minimum sentence is a year. If you plead guilty, that's what you'll get. It'd be a year here, though, in a prison far away from your family," he explained to Blaine softly, shifting his gaze meaningfully toward Kurt. "I could argue for you to be allowed to go back to Canada, so that if you end up in prison, it'll be the closest prison to your house."

Kurt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Prison was a real possibility that Karofsky didn't think they could necessarily avoid. Blaine would end up in prison? Kurt would have to bring Ava to visit him in prison?

Karofsky continued, "The equivalent crime you'd end up being charged with in Canada is Criminal Negligence Causing Death, and I'm not an expert on Canadian law, so you should probably consult with a lawyer in your city of residence just to be sure, but from what I can tell…" he shuffled his papers around, looking for something specific. "Yeah, you'd likely get under two years for this kind of crime, if found guilty. If the death had been caused by a gun, it would be a minimum of four years… but you didn't use a gun, so yeah, under two. However," Karofsky added, "the maximum sentence here in the U.S. is five years for this crime. In Canada, there is no maximum sentence, so technically it is possible to get up to, um… 'Life', which up there means ten years without a chance of parole."

Kurt's head was spinning, and he imagined Blaine's was too.

"For now, let's work on getting you out on bail," Karofsky commented softly. "We can deal with the rest of this another day."

A few hours later, Kurt was preparing to leave the hospital. Burt and Carole had taken Ava home in Carole's car, and Burt had left his keys with his son. Kurt was glad to be able to transport himself where he needed to. He had to go meet Blaine's parents at the bail bondsman's office before the place closed for the night. Smith Bonds & Surety seemed like the place to go if you were in any city or town in the state of Ohio and happened to need help getting your family member bailed out of jail.

Kurt was nervous, never having gotten along very well with the Andersons. They were polite enough; they just didn't seem to fully respect Kurt. He'd always suspected he had been just a bit too flamboyant for their taste, and that they had never met any other men in their life who skirted acceptable gender norms or pursued a fashion-related career. He also could tell they had never quite gotten over the fact that Blaine had not turned out straight, and they had seemed disappointed when Ava was three and had begun to look too much like Kurt to be biologically Blaine's.

Kurt had tried to tell Blaine they had the equivalent of five thousand American dollars in their bank account for emergency situations such as this one, but the doctor had told Blaine it'd be six weeks before he could even begin putting weight on his foot again. This caused Blaine to worry that he might be replaced as the lead in his new show, and with Kurt still being unemployed, Blaine thought asking for help was the wise move. They should save their rainy day funds for paying for groceries just in case both men remained jobless for a few months. But Blaine had insisted they be asked to help him.

"This is what parents are for, right?" he had then said. "To bail you out of jail?"

Kurt shook his head. "You should remember you that that when Ava gets into crazy trouble as a teenager," he teased.

Blaine laughed. "Yeah, right."

Blaine began physical therapy to learn how to use crutches correctly, including if he had to use them to get up or down stairs. The young cop outside the room had temporarily removed the handcuff. Kurt stared at his husband's wrist for a few moments, which was beginning to look very red and raw. Kurt's heart ached for him and he hoped Blaine would be officially bailed out early the next day so that he would no longer have to torture his wrist like that.

"Do you want me to stop back later?" Kurt asked.

"No," Blaine replied. "I'll see you tomorrow. You should go back to your dad's. Get some sleep on a real bed."

"Alright," Kurt replied. "See you tomorrow."

When he got down to the hospital lobby, he was surprised to see Shelby still in the lobby. Puck and Quinn likely had left hours ago, but here she was. She had a distant look in her eyes, like she hadn't cried yet. Like she was still in complete shock about what had happened to her daughter. Nervously, Kurt walked up to her.

"I heard about Beth," he said simply. "I'm really sorry."

"It's your husband who should be sorry," she snapped back harshly.

Kurt stood his ground. "Blaine didn't… Blaine never would have meant to do this. People run red lights all the time," he tried to explain, remembering Karofsky's legal arguments from earlier. "It was just an accident. Please, drop these charges," he said quietly. He didn't want to beg, but if there was even a slight chance it might work, he had to try. "You just met Ava. Don't you think she deserves for her father to not be in prison?"

Shelby quietly considered what he said, and Kurt was surprised she was listening to him at all. He waited patiently, wondering if thoughts about Beth were distracting her from actually responding to his plea. Finally, she looked at him carefully.

"Okay," she said, sounding defeated.

"Okay?" He was confused.

"Okay," she repeated, before elaborating. "I'll tell the police to drop the charges. I guess you're right. Beth liked Ava. She wouldn't have wanted this."

Kurt couldn't believe it. This was actually happening? Shelby was relenting?

"Um, I'm gonna go back and tell Blaine," he said, spinning in his tracks to return to the elevator. Gosh, he didn't want to keep the Andersons waiting and make them dislike him even more than they already did, but this was news.

While he waited for the elevator to arrive back at the lobby level, he turned to look back at Shelby, wanting to mouth 'Thank you' toward her. But she was looking off into space in another direction. She was lost in a look of fresh grief. Kurt understood. He let her go, ready to tell Blaine the good news.

The next morning, Kurt awoke in what had been his bedroom back in high school, and he felt very out of place. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and opened his tablet, beginning his morning internet routine out of habit. He found new email from Puck. Apparently Beth's funeral had already been scheduled for Friday, which was only a day away. Ava was explicitly invited, as was anyone who wanted to come. The email mentioned that Shelby had expressed permission for Blaine to show up, if he was accompanying his daughter.

Kurt carefully replied with his condolences and said he'd ask his daughter what she wanted to do. He got out of bed and decided to get dressed, since he was only wearing boxers and didn't feel comfortable walking around in front of his parents like this. In the winter, Kurt loved pajamas, and lately had been actually designing and sewing his own, but during hot summer nights, especially down here in Ohio, Kurt preferred to sleep practically nude.

Ava was already downstairs with Carole, who was serving her a second portion of pancakes.

"This isn't like the fancy maple syrup Papa likes to buy," she commented after swallowing a forkful, and Kurt noticed the Aunt Jemima brand 'pancake syrup' on the table, smiling.

"Yeah, well, Canadians are proud of our authentic maple syrup, and your Papa never was a fan of this corn-syrup based substitute, anyway."

"I know," Carole chimed in. "Last summer when he was here in the morning, he said it was too sweet, and didn't have enough flavor."

Kurt smiled fondly, knowing that was exactly what his husband would always say. But then he remembered what he had read in his email before coming downstairs.

"Ava, sweetie," he said somberly.

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I don't know if you know, but… Beth died yesterday afternoon."

Ava nodded sadly, biting her lip. "Yeah, Grandma told me," she said, looking up at Carole, who nodded.

"I talked to Noah," she explained. Kurt knew she probably had been the one to call him, concerned after seeing him in the hospital lobby.

"Alright," he said, glad she already knew and that she'd had a little bit of time for this tragic news to sink in. "So, well, the funeral is being planned for tomorrow."

"Oh. Are we going to go?" she asked.

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you," he replied. "I know you've never been to a funeral before. And you didn't know Beth very well, so if you didn't want to go, it'd be understanda-"

"I want to go," she said, cutting him off. "I really want to be there."

"Okay, well, if you're sure."

She nodded vigorously. "I wish I could have gotten to know her better, but maybe I can learn more about her if I'm there."

"You're probably right, sweetie," Kurt replied, understanding. He looked down at her plate. "Your pancakes are getting cold," he commented, reminding her that she probably wanted to finish eating her breakfast. He thought about Beth and wondered if she had liked pancakes as much as Ava did. Kurt was never a big fan of them, preferring a less rich, simple meal like a bowl of Cheerios with cut-up strawberries. He wondered if it was possible that Ava had gotten her love of pancakes from Quinn. And if maybe Beth had acquired a similar taste. They'd both never know, he sadly realized. He had always thought having Finn as a brother for less than three years hadn't really been enough. But his heart now ached for his daughter, who'd ended up gaining a sister for less than three hours. He and Blaine had named her Ava Elizabeth and Quinn's first daughter hadn't even crossed their minds. Life was funny that way, sometimes. Beth. Elizabeth. She had ended up with a name that honored her sister too, and it hadn't even been purposeful. He realized he, too, wished to learn more about Beth. He felt oddly grateful that he would be able to attend her funeral too.