The next morning, Finn was in Kurt's hospital room, reading a sports magazine. Kurt was currently napping. Finn was glad that Kurt managed to sleep for twenty-five minutes nightmare-free, however, deep down, he knew it couldn't last forever. Kurt began moaning and sobbing in his sleep, screaming and crying.
"Somebody help me!" he shrieked out. "God, stop! Please! Please! Get of off me! Stop it! Ahhh! Somebody help me, oh God!"
Finn jumped up from his seat and sat on the edge of Kurt's bed, grabbing both of his shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze. Kurt's eyes shot open. Tears stung in his eyes, and he bolted forward, throwing his arms around his brother's neck as he cried.
"Shhhh, Kurt. Shhhhh. You're alright. You're safe." Finn just rubbed circles into his back gently.
Suddenly, Kurt's vision went fuzzy, and he immediately started gasping for breath, despite the oxygen mask over his nose.
"Kurt? Kurt, what's the matter? Are you okay?" Finn asked him.
"Can't . . . breathe!" Kurt gasped out.
Obviously, he was starting to have a panic attack. The doctor said that was very common, especially after an assault.
"It's okay. Take a deep breath. It's alright. You're okay," Finn soothed him until Kurt's breathing evened out. "Better now?"
Kurt nodded against Finn. He was just glad he had his brother right here with him. A sharp knock interrupted them. A female officer then came walking in. The two immediately broke apart. Finn went back to just sitting next to Kurt.
"Hello. I'm Officer Perez. I understand there have been some complaints about Officer Paladino's behavior," she said. The tone of her voice sounded as though she honestly cared. That made Kurt feel a little better.
"He was being very disrespectful and rude. He didn't have a compassionate bone in his body. He was actually suggesting that Kurt was making it all up and gave himself the injuries," Finn said.
"Yeah. I know that. He trained me when I got the job. I've disliked him quite a bit considering he feels he can break the speed limit and do whatever he wants. He's already been suspended at least five times. And he tries to make me look bad," she said.
Officer Perez asked Kurt the questions, some of them being personal. Finn just held onto his hand, squeezing it occasionally. Occasionally, Kurt would start hyperventilating before even answering the questions. Kurt hated talking about the fact that he was forced to breathe in poison and that he was being starved, and that the only food he had was leftovers, mostly half-eaten tuna sandwiches that sat too long, but he was so willing to eat anything that he'd eat the rotten food, even if it did cause him to throw up at least an hour later.
"Okay, honey. You're nearly there. The boys also smashed your head into glass, thus causing the blood loss, right?" Officer Perez said gently.
Kurt nodded his head.
"Okay, hon. Next time you need questioning I'll make sure that you get me. And I personally apologize about Officer Paladino. I'll make sure that his boss is notified. Feel better, sweetie," she said softly.
After she left, Finn wrapped both of his arms around Kurt and held him close, brushing a kiss against his temple. "Do you wanna try sleeping again?" he offered.
Kurt shook his head. He was obviously afraid of the nightmares.
"What do you wanna do?" Finn asked.
Kurt shrugged as Finn reached for the remote. He turned it on to find Oprah interviewing The Voice judges. Finn was just glad Oprah was on so Kurt could have something to watch that didn't bore the both of them to death.
By the time Burt came to his son's room, he quietly opened the door to see his son fast asleep, Finn asleep in the chair next to him. The TV was playing quietly, and Kurt looked wiped out. Kurt had circles around his puffy eyes, proving he must have been crying. He could only guess Kurt had a hard night. He turned off the television and went over to his son's bedside, leaning over and kissing his forehead tenderly. Finn had dark shaddows around his eyes from lack of sleep, and smelled like he hadn't had a decent shower in the past couple days. He couldn't believe Finn was putting Kurt's needs before his own. It just proved the incident in their basement was a year ago and only a distant memory. He reached for a blanket that was hanging over another chair and wrapped it over Finn
