Just a heads up, the main purpose of this chapter is to explain diabetes, so it can probably be skipped if need be.

Kurt gazed at Blaine in silence, watching his shaking hands slowly fall still and the merest hint of rose begin to paint itself across his cheeks. He felt such a strange array of emotions; a pinch of pity, a dash of admiration, throw in a few leaves of worry and you've made yourself a lovely Kurt's mindset salad!

"I still don't really understand, though," he uttered. "I mean… you're sick. And that obviously links with this afternoon… but I don't really see how."

Blaine let out a shuddering breath, frowning slightly, unsure how to explain. "Kurt, have you ever seen Panic Room? Jodie Foster, Kristin Stewart before Twilight…?"

Kurt shook his head. "That movie always confused me."

"The little girl was diabetic… Look, basically my body can't regulate my blood sugar level. Your cells need the sugar – glucose – so that they can get energy. Insulin is a hormone that tells the cell to take up the glucose. My body no longer produces insulin."

Kurt frowned slightly. "So why are you not dead?"

David grinned. "Oh my God, Kurt, you can't just ask people why they're not dead!"

Wes snickered. "David, did you just quote Mean Girls?"

"Wes, did you just recognise a Mean Girls quote?"

"Touché."

They all laughed.

Blaine smiled. "So, I have to inject myself with insulin. Usually just twice a day. But it makes balancing my sugar really difficult. Especially with all the other hormones and stuff running around."

Comprehension dawned on Kurt's face. "So that's why you use cinnamon in your coffee? And you only eat little amounts? And… yeah, that does explain a lot."

Blaine nodded. "I have to eat certain amounts at certain times, yes. If I don't follow it, I get ridiculously sick. If I exercise, I have to eat more or cut down my insulin. And sometimes my readings just aren't normal for no good reason. Those days suck."

"So that number you asked Wes for… 25?… Was that normal?"

"Hell no. I'm meant to be between about 80 and 140. When I was diagnosed, I was about 650, barely alive. But today, when Wes tested me, I was barely conscious because my brain couldn't get enough sugar to operate."

"And how did they know what the number was? I know they did something, but I was too worried to actually watch them."

Blaine grinned, pulling out a small black case from his bag. "I've always got this close by." He unzipped it, revealing a small machine, some strips and a funny looking stick thing. "You want me to test your blood? It doesn't hurt."

Kurt drew back, shaking his head, and the boys laughed at him.

"It's okay," Blaine cooed. "I should check my levels again anyway, you can watch." He stuck one of the strips into the machine, then drew the stick thing back and pushed a button, causing the tip of his finger to bleed, which he wiped on the stick. It started counting down from ten as he sucked his finger clean. Then it beeped and a large 60 flashed on screen.

"60, Kurt. What does that mean?"

"That… you're low?"

Wes nodded. "I'll go get you a sandwich."

"That's right!" Blaine praised Kurt. "Now, I've just had a soda, so the sugar might still be taking effect. But I need some longer acting carbohydrates to stop me going back low again later on. So a sandwich is perfect right now."

"Wow, these two really know what they're doing, don't they?" Kurt turned back to the black boy sitting opposite him. "If I know Blaine, I'll bet you had to learn the hard way, didn't you?"

Wes materialised at the table and slid a plate across to Blaine. "Learn what, Kurt?"

"What to do with me," Blaine squeezed around his first mouthful.

David laughed. "Oh, the stories we have to tell you. Why don't we start now, while our lovely patient is busy stuffing his face?"

A/N: So... I wonder what stories we'll hear?

Sorry for the (ever-so-slight) delay. I had an exam today, so I couldn't really afford the time yesterday to sit down and write. Apologise again for how dry this is... I felt like it needed to be written, and I tried to not make it just like a lecture. I'm not sure how clear this is to people though, so if you need clarification on anything, or you don't understand, please please please ask me and I'll explain, whether in a coming chapter or privately to you.

I'm working a ridiculously early morning shift tomorrow (I have to leave the house at 5 am) so I'm not going to post another update tonight. I do have a fairly good idea for the David's first story though, so hopefully I'll have that for you in the next couple of days!

If you have any questions at all about the story or about diabetes or, well, anything, feel free to ask. I'm writing this, and I'm drawing from my own experiences, and from those of my friends, so I'm pretty comfortable talking about everything!

Thanks to all the lovely people who have alerted/favourited. It's seriously the highlight of my day, seeing those alerts! Shout out to xFang's Angelx and a special shout out to Different Child for the lovely words!

Love it? Hate it? Want to steal my anatomy books so I'm busy distracted trying to find them and hence can't write any more for you? (Yeah, it's convoluted... see where my mind's at?) Please let me know!

Keep smiling! :D