"Ok, let's not have a repeat of last night. If they want to talk about it, we listen." Carol had reservations just as Burt did, but they were based on their age, not the love that Blaine and Kurt have for each other. There was no one that could question that.

"It's not like I don't want him to marry Blaine. I do. I don't know…there really is not simple answer here.

"Is there really a question?" Finn added. "I mean, you guys are looking for answers. To what?"


Blaine and Kurt got into the car to head over to the house. "So here's the deal. If things start getting weird again, we leave. Ok?"

"I don't want to go."

"I know you don't. But I think it will be ok. And Finn will be there to run interference for us."

"Maybe we should stop and get something. A cheesecake…some fruit…an escape ladder…."

"Don't worry. Like I said, if things get out of hand, we leave. End of story."

They got to the house, and Kurt took Blaine's hand as they walked up the steps. Carol met them there, and opened the door for them.

"Thank you for giving us a chance to make up for the way we handled things last night. It certainly didn't go the way we wanted it to, boys." Carol hugged both of them as they go inside the door. "You're father and Finn are watching the game. Go on ahead. I'm just finishing up some things in here."

"Do you need some help?" Blaine offered, and Carol smiled softly at him. "It's ok, sweetie. You can go ahead in there. He won't bite". She knew that Blaine was stalling having to deal with Burt.

Blaine walked in, and Burt immediately greeted him. "Come on in, kid. Take a seat". Finn moved over on the couch, and he was now sandwiched between Kurt and Blaine. "How do we always end up in this position? Kurt, switch places. You know how Blaine gets all grabby with me." They all laughed, and Burt had to admit that the three of them were a great combination.

Burt turned the volume down on the television, and looked at the three sitting on the couch. Kurt took Blaine's hand in preparation of what Burt was going to say. This gesture was not lost on Burt.

"It's ok, Kurt. I just want to talk to you both about…your wedding plans".

They sat looking at him, preparing themselves to defend their idea, but were taken by surprise when Burt started to speak to them-

"Kurt, all I've ever wanted for you was for you to be happy. There were so many times when you were lonely, and sad, and I prayed that you would find someone that would love you and be there for you. And then my prayers came true, and you and Blaine found each other. I know he loves you, and I know that he'll take care of you, and what else can I ask for in a mate for my son? In a spouse for my son?" Kurt felt tears rimming his eyes as he listened to his father giving his approval of their plans to marry. Burt continued-

"Blaine, you are an amazing young man. You've been dealt some rough hands, and you still are a caring, thoughtful person. And you love Kurt. When I see you two together, it warms my heart more than you know. And I wish that Kurt's mother could see the two of you together. If there's any way that she can be looking down at the two of you, I'm sure she is. I love you like a son, kid. And I respect the person you are. So, when you marry my son, I know that he will be in good hands. And it will be an honor to give my son to you."

Carol had been standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, listening to her husband speak from his heart. She was proud of him. Kurt and Blaine looked at each other, then at Burt.

"I think it might be family hug time." Finn was the first one up after he said it. "But wait…I was just thinking. Burt, if you're going to give Kurt away, then I want to be the one that gives Blaine away. He's like my brother, and it would be awesome to hand him off to Kurt. Dude, what do you think?"

Blaine didn't know what to say. He assumed that he would not have any family members there. He knew he wanted to invite Mr. Collins, but other than that, his family, really, was in this room.

"Finn, I would love that. Thank you."

"But…then who will be Kurt's best man?"

"I actually think that I would ask Puckerman to do that. And…Mercedes. I think that would be fine. Nice and easy."

Burt was happy to have gotten what he wanted to say off of his chest. "So, gentlemen, we're going to have to work on the "where" part. That won't be as simple."

"Dad? Can we save that for another day? I'm starving, and Finn's stomach is making all kinds of noises."

"No problem, Kurt. You know I love you."

"I know, Dad. I love you too. All of you."

Carol spoke up, "So do we have a date?"

Blaine and Kurt looked at each other and smiled.

"August 20th."

"Ok. We have 60 days. Let's start planning a wedding."


"Blaine, welcome". The New Directions welcomed their soon to be newest member with open arms, and were clapping as he walked in the room.

"So, what number are you going to do for us?" Kurt sat up, not knowing what song Blaine had chosen. He hoped it was something slow—he loved how Blaine sounded doing the slower songs.

"Well, it's an oldie…"

"Kind of like Mr. Shue, huh?" Santana smiled as she said it, and everyone laughed not only at the comment, but also at her bravery.

"Ok, that's enough. Whenever you're ready, Blaine."

"I've asked Finn and Puck to help me with this, if it's ok". They came down and grabbed some stools to sit next to him. Sam sat away from the group, and watched, as the object of his desire got ready to sing.

"Ok, this is a song by Air Supply called "Lost in Love. Guys, on the basic 1-2-3 count, ok?" Puck started playing his guitar, and then it was all Blaine—

I realize the best part of love is the thinnest slice
And it don't count for much but I'm not letting go
I believe there's still much to believe in

So lift your eyes if you feel you can
Reach for a star and I'll show you a plan
I figured it out
What I needed was someone to show me

You know you can't fool me
I've been loving you too long
It started so easy
You want to carry on

Lost in love and I don't know much
Was I thinking aloud and
Fell out of touch
But I'm back on my feet
Eager to be what you wanted

Blaine sang through the rest of the song, and when he finished there was silence.

"That was beautiful, Blaine. Really." Quinn looked at the others. "Well, I don't think there is any doubt that he's in, right?"

Everyone came down from their seats to welcome Blaine to New Directions. He looked at Kurt and smiled, and everyone knew that the song was for him. As Blaine turned around to say something to Finn, he was met by Sam.

"That was great, really. I'm glad you're with us now." Sam held out his hand to Blaine.

"Thank you, Sam." Blaine shook his hand, then walked over to where Kurt was sitting and sat down next to him. Sam's look lingered a bit too long for Finn's comfort, and he looked at him and shook his head. Sam walked back to his seat, just happy in the thought that he would be seeing Blaine more often now. For the time being, that would need to be enough.


They met up at their locker before their last class, both of them feeling awful. "My stomach is killing me. I would blame the school lunch, but we brought our own." Kurt said he was feeling dizzy and had a headache. Blaine felt similar, along with feeling feverish.

By the time they had gotten home after school, they were both too weak to do anything but lie in bed. Thank heaven's it was the weekend.

"I think my head is broken. I can't lift it from the pillow". Kurt moaned a little when he opened his eyes. "Yep. Broken head".

"Kurt, I don't know what this is, but I don't think I'm going to survive. Save yourself." They laughed as best they could, but wondered how they would get through the weekend.

"You know what this is, Blaine? This is a job for Carole Hudson-Hummel, Super Mom."

Kurt called Carol, and told her that they were both sick. "We don't know what to take because we don't know what we have." She let a chuckle slip at the way that Kurt was describing things, and told them that she would be right over.

When she got there, she used the spare key that they left at the house to let herself in. "Boys, I'm here", she called out, but heard nothing. She tapped on Bocelli's cage, and walked towards the bedroom.

When she got to the door, she stopped and covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud. They were both lying in the bed, propped up on the pillows, with the blanket pulled up to their chins. Kurt had a sleep mask over his eyes. Blaine was wearing a winter hat.

"I have to ask…what's with the hat?" She walked over to the bed, and just stood looking at them for a moment.

"I feel cold. I couldn't find my gloves, so I'm wearing a hat to keep the heat in my body."

"And what's with the masked avenger here?"

"You know, just because my eyes are covered does not mean I've lost my ability to hear you."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. So what's going on here?"

"We both feel sick. The light hurts my eyes. Headache, runny nose, I feel hot, he feels cold, and our stomach hurts. Do you think it's fatal?"

"Somehow I doubt it." She put her hand to Blaine's forehead, and he was burning up. The same with Kurt. "Ok, we need to get you two back to the house. You can't stay here alone like this."

"We'll be ok here. I don't want to get anyone else sick."

"This is non-negotiable. When Finn gets home, I'll have him come over to get the two of you. You'll stay down in Kurt's old room until you feel better. Now…can I get you anything before I leave?

"No. We'll just lay here and wallow in our misery until Finn gets here."


Burt got home about 6pm, and when he walked in Carol had some news about Kurt and Blaine. "They're coming here to stay for a bit."

"Are they ok? What's wrong?"

"They have some type of virus, and they are both pretty sick, you know, fever, the whole thing. I told them I want them here so that we can take care of them. They can't afford to miss any more school, so maybe if they rest the whole weekend, they can be in on Monday. I told them they could stay down in Kurt's room so that they aren't wandering around spreading germs all over the house."

"Of course. Do I need to go get them? They can't possibly drive like this."

"No, I told them that Finn would go over and get them. He should be home any minute, and I'll send him right over. Wait…is that him?" She looked out the window and saw Finn pull into the driveway. Before he could turn the car off, she went outside. "Finn, honey…you need to go pick up the boys. They're both sick, and I don't want them staying by themselves."

Finn looked concerned. "What's wrong with them? Are they ok?"

"I think it's probably just a virus, but they are both pretty sick, so I want you to be careful, too." She handed him the keys to their apartment. "They're both in bed, so just let yourself in."

Finn headed out to their apartment while Carol went downstairs to put new sheets on Kurt's bed. It would be nice to have the boys here, she thought, except for the fact that they were sick.

"Burt, do me a favor and grab an extra blanket from our closet, and bring it down here. Oh…we'll need to bring the TV down from our room so that they have something to watch. Poor Blaine…he'll be bedridden and forced to watch "The Sound of Music" again."

"You know he'd watch it over and over if that's what Kurt wanted." Burt was glad that they had ironed out the situation about them getting married. He didn't want there to be any bad feelings with the boys, and wanted them to always know that they had a home with them.


Finn got to the apartment and let himself in. When he got to the bedroom, they were both asleep, with Kurt's head on Blaine's chest. They looked like little kids, and he hated to wake them up.

"Kurt…buddy…come on, I'm taking you home."

"I am home," he said through the sleep haze he was in.

"I know. I meant to our place. I need to get you both over there. Come on, try to sit up, ok?"

Kurt tried, but he felt light headed. "Finn, I really don't feel well."

Finn put his hand on Kurt's head. "Wow. You are sick".

"Can you just stay here with us, Finn? I don't think I can get up."

"That might be easier for tonight. Let me call my mom real quick."

Finn called Carol, and she agreed, based on his assessment on moving them as sick as they were, that they should stay put for the night, and come to the house tomorrow.

"Kurt, I'm just going to run home real quick and get some clothes and my homework, ok? You guys try to rest, and I'll be back in a few."

Kurt curled back up into Blaine, and fell into a fitful sleep. Blaine looked up through sleepy eyes and saw Finn standing next to the bed. He was able to sleep, too, knowing that Finn was there to take care of them.

Finn picked up his things, some juice and fever reducer from Carol, and he headed back to their apartment. They were still asleep, so Finn put on the TV and sat on the couch, getting up every so often to check on the boys. Carol had said to try to get them to take the fever reducer, but he didn't want to wake them up for that.

He fell asleep on the couch, which was not really comfortable because he was taller than the couch was long, but he did the best he could. He heard movement during the night, which sounded like someone being sick, and he called in there once to make sure everything was ok, but there was no answer. He was sure that if they needed him, they would call for him.

Blaine woke up about 7am, and felt a little better. It had been a rough night with Kurt-he seemed much sicker than Blaine, and he had helped him several times to their bathroom during the night. He thought that Kurt would be awake also, so he started talking about their future-

"Kurt, I can't wait to see you on our wedding day. The promises that we'll make to each other in front of all of our family and friends…what an amazing day that will be. Don't you think?"

There was no stirring on Kurt's side of the bed, so Blaine cuddled in to Kurt, who was lying on his left side. He was burning up.

"Kurt, baby…are you ok?" Blaine put his hand on Kurt's face, and it was so hot that Blaine pulled his hand away in shock. He rolled him onto his back, and Kurt's eyes were slightly open, but they were not the deep vibrant blue they normally were. They looked sunken, and pale.

"Oh my God…Finn? Baby, please, wake up…Finn!"

Finn came running to the bedroom, where Blaine was holding Kurt against him. "He won't wake up, Finn. Please…what's wrong with him? He's burning up…"

Finn ran over to Kurt, and felt his forehead. This wasn't good. "Blaine, go get a wet washcloth…make sure it's nice and cold…and bring it in here." Blaine just looked at Kurt, unable to move. "Blaine! Go…get something cool for his head."

"Hey Buddy…can you hear me?" Finn was scared…Kurt looked so sick that he really didn't know what to do next. When Blaine got back, he told him to put the cool cloth on Kurt's head, and to sit with him. Finn ran out to the living room and dialed his house. Carol answered on the second ring.

"Hey Mom, you need to get over here right away. Kurt is really sick. Like, not moving really sick."

"We'll be right there, honey. If it's that bad, call 911 so that we can get him to the hospital. We're on our way."

Finn dialed 911 and told them that he had a really sick person that was unresponsive, and could they please hurry. He then went back to Kurt, where Blaine was holding him, pressing a cold cloth against his face. He was shaking, and on the verge of tears.

"The ambulance is on the way, Blaine. It'll be ok. Just keep doing what you're doing. Finn walked over and unbuttoned Kurt's pajama top, taking a second cloth and pressing it against his chest. Kurt shivered, and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But there was nothing.

"Finn, what if something happens to him? What am I going to do without him?"

Finn handed him the cloths and told him to run them under cold water again, to give Blaine something to do. He heard Blaine in the bathroom, quietly sobbing. He walked in there and stood behind Blaine at the sink.

"Hey...listen…he's going to be ok, and you need to pull it together. If you want them to see how well you can take care of him, well, here's your chance. And I'm right here, ok? If you feel like you're going to lose it, you lose it with me. You want to cry, you cry with me." Finn grabbed Blaine into a hug. "I know that you're strong. Now show them."

Carol and Burt arrived the same time the ambulance did, and it was chaos for a moment with all of the people in the apartment. Blaine felt like he kept getting in the way, and at one point Finn pulled him away from Kurt and stood with his arm around him while the paramedics looked at Kurt. As they put him on the stretcher, Burt grabbed his hand and spoke to him, and then turned to Blaine and asked if he wanted to ride in the ambulance with him. He said yes, of course, and they all walked out, with Finn locking the door behind them.


Kurt was put into the ambulance, with an IV having been started in the apartment. Finn helped Blaine up into the vehicle, and he sat on the bench next to Kurt, holding his hand. His skin felt so hot and dry. As the doors to the back of the ambulance started to close, Blaine looked up and saw Finn.

"Be strong. You can do this. I'm going to ride up front, ok?" Finn got into the front passenger seat, with Carol and Burt following behind them. Burt was beside himself with worry.

"I thought it was just a virus. What happened?"

"His fever must be really high. Once they get him to the hospital, they'll be able to get it down quickly."

Blaine talked to Kurt, not knowing if he could even hear him. "I'm right here, baby. You're going to be ok. I promise. I love you, Kurt. Hang on, ok?" He fought back the tears, knowing he needed to be the strong one this time.

When they got to the hospital, Finn jumped out of the front seat and ran to the back. He had a sense of déjà vu from the day of Blaine's accident, only the roles were reversed now. He opened the back doors, and helped the paramedics lower the stretcher to the street. He then reached up and helped Blaine down. Why do they make these things so high? he thought to himself. They ran inside to the E/R, and Carol and Burt were right behind them.

Blaine got him registered, able to answer every question about Kurt, much to the amazement of the others. Height? Weight? Allergies? Last tetanus shot? Blaine knew it all.

"Can we go in with him?" Blaine asked the first nurse that he saw. "Please?"

"Are you his family?" the nurse asked of the small crowd.

"Yes. We are. We're his parents, this is his brother, and this is his fiancé." Blaine looked at Burt and felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Burt understood—really understood—their relationship now. He felt a calm come over him.

"I don't want him to be alone in there. May I please go in?" The nurse looked at the others, who nodded their head in agreement.

"Of course. Come with me." She led Blaine into the E/R exam area, and over to the bed which now contained his sick Kurt. His pajama top had been taken off, and he had a second IV going. There were wires attached to his chest, and Blaine watched as the heart beat of his partner ticked away on the monitor. It was a sound that both warmed his heart and scared him to death.

"Hey, beautiful", he said as Kurt opened his eyes and looked at him. "You really do have a flair for the dramatic, you know." He took Kurt's hand in his, and it was still so warm.

The doctor came in as Blaine was standing there, and he asked him about the previous twenty-four hours. Blaine explained that they had both felt ill earlier in the day, were feverish, and had basically taken to their bed. He told him that during the night Kurt had gotten sick several times, but that he thought by morning he was feeling better.

"It sounds like our young friend here is dehydrated. We've given him something for the fever, and he'll be getting several IV's to get his fluids back up to normal. It will probably be a few hours or so, and then we can send him home. If you'd like to head home, we can call you when he's ready to be discharged. I have to say, you aren't looking that great yourself. Have you taken anything?"

"No, I'm more concerned about Kurt at the moment. And I'm not going anywhere, if that's ok."

"That's fine. But we do want him to rest while he's here, so just take it easy with him, alright."

"Could you please send the rest of the family in?" Blaine knew that everyone was so worried about Kurt that he needed to tell them right away what was happening. He also wanted to thank Burt for allowing him to be the one to see Kurt first. Things were falling into place-as they should be.

Kurt slept for a bit, and the fever, as the doctor said, began to go down. It was a scary few hours for Blaine, but he had done what he so often hadn't been able to do during this relationship-hold things together. He smiled to himself as he looked at Kurt.

"What's that look for?" Kurt smiled back at Blaine.

"I love you, Kurt. I mean, really love you."

"Was there any doubt?"

"Not for a second."

"Why don't you come up here and lay with me?"

"Kurt Hummel, are you flirting with me?"

"Is it working?"

As he stood up and leaned in to kiss him, Kurt let out a small moan.

Blaine sighed.

"Move over, Kurt."