IMPORTANT A/N: Sorry, I screwed up. I named him Jason, but his name was supposed to be Justin. Jason is the part he played in Bare. Also, Jason is too close to Mason for me to properly work with ;-). So keep in mind, what was previously Jason is now Justin!

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If I could understand this better
I might be a little closer to you
Brushing my face with her hair
As she pushes past towards the door

- Snow Patrol - Make Up -

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Justin and Kurt talk a little, Kurt wondering how his former friend ended up as a nurse in the children's ward, if he'd done any theatre after their revival of Bare and how his love life was getting along. Turns out he was already studying to be a nurse when they did Bare, he'd quite acting as a profession after he got his degree and he is still, happily so, very unattached.

"So this is little Liza? My god she's grown," Justin says after minutes of catching up, nodding to the bed.

"Really?" Kurt smiles only a little, "she's never looked smaller to me."

"Right," Justin says, "I'm sorry, of course she does. If it helps I think she still looks as beautiful as she did two years ago."

"Thanks."

"What exactly happened?" Justin asks, "This is not my ward. I work at the regular children's ward, I'm just here to pick up a patient that doesn't need 24 hour watch anymore," he explains.

So Kurt explains how she, Carole and his dad were in a car crash, he tells Justin that Carole is fine and out of her cast and that she is taking care of Burt at Rachel's place until he is cleared for travel, how Finn is currently staying over at Cooper's place and he takes as long as possible to talk around the subject of Liza's condition. He knows how it is, he knows the facts and the chances but it's still another thing to say it out loud to someone who's not his father or his husband. Even if the guy is a nurse and will probably understand everything he says without much questions about it.

He does get to it eventually, tells Justin how she hit her head pretty hard, how a piece of glass and penetrated her skull so fiercely it stabbed into the frontal lobe, how some amazing neurosurgeon got it out one piece without doing too much damage. He tells Justin how the internal bleeding in her stomach is completely healed and that, if she were awake, she'd be allowed to eat solid food by now. He tells her how the swelling in her brain had taken very long to subdue, but it's completely subdued now. He tells Justin that they took her off the breathing equipment a few weeks ago and that he was so, so happy when she was able to support herself. He tells Justin that they took her up for an MRI just four days ago and that the brain function is slightly improved. He tells him that she has been off the medical induced coma for three weeks now, but that she still hasn't moved or woken up.

"Wow, that must seem pretty hopeless for you, that really fucking sucks," Justin says as Kurt finishes his story.

"Is that what you tell all the parents?"

Justin starts to apologize again, but Kurt stops him.

"Don't," he says, "please don't apologize. It's nice to hear someone be so honest. The doctors keep telling us they have 'good hope', and my dad keeps saying 'it'll be alright kiddo'. It's nice to hear someone say the truth."

Justin offers Kurt a comforting smile.

"Does it?" he asks, "does it seem hopeless to you?"

Kurt shrugs.

"I have to be the strong one. Blaine lost a brother Liza's age and he's pretty sure she's going to die, so I have to believe she'll live. Someone has to."

"You don't have to do anything, Kurt."

"She'll live," Kurt says.

Someone in a nurses uniform pops their head around the door.

"Justin, are you coming or what?"

"Right, yeah, I'll be right there," he says with a little wave and turns back to Kurt, "listen, I've got to go now, but I have lunch break at one. How about we meet then and talk some more?"

Kurt considers it, but quickly shakes his head.

"I can't," he says, "I promised my son I'd be home for lunch."

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Right before lunch Kurt discovers he's left his phone at home and hopes Blaine won't skin him for it, but as he enters the apartment he's actually surprised with a completely set table, Jimmy patiently waiting on Liza's kiddie chair and Mason in the box behind the couch, Blaine just walking from the kitchen to the table with a plate of fresh bread.

"You forgot your phone, so I figured you were at the hospital," Blaine says with a smile that would seem sincere to anyone but Kurt.

As Kurt sits down, Blaine's smile becomes more genuine.

"Anyone else there?" Blaine asks and Kurt considers telling Blaine about Justin, but he knows Blaine isn't talking about that, he knows Blaine is asking if anyone he knows who decided to visit Liza rather than Mason, so he just shakes his head.

"Guess they're all at work," he answers, "they'll be there this afternoon, want to come along?"

Blaine agrees, they'll bring Jimmy and Mason, too, so they'll be in the hospital once Santana calls.

They eat their lunch mostly in silence, just answering any questions Jimmy has and asking each other to pass the milk or whatever it is they need.

It turns out they don't have to wait for Santana to call at the hospital, she calls just before they are headed out anyway.

So instead of visiting Liza first, they go and see Santana, Ellen and Jimmy's new sister (Emma). Kurt feels a little guilty about letting Liza wait, but he's also pretty confident that Justin might be in Liza's room to wait for him and he doesn't want Blaine and Justin to see each other. He doesn't know why precisely, but something tells him it's not a good idea.

Not now, not now he and Blaine are on the rocks and Blaine knows about the crush Justin used to have on him, so he's sort of relieved to get to see Emma first.

Which of course, is amazing. Emma is a perfect bundle of a tiny baby who's perfectly asleep on her mom's chest. Santana is soft and sweet like they know Santana used to be when Jimmy was just born.

They sit at Santana's bed, don't ask her to hold Emma because they know they'll just get a 'bitch how dare you ask' glare, instead praise Santana for doing such a good job and telling both her and Ellen what a beautiful little girl they have.

Kurt is there, but not entirely. Sure, he appreciates spending time with Santana and Ellen, but seeing Emma like this while Blaine is holding Mason, something is off for him. It's probably just the fact that he and Blaine are tense around each other and don't talk about the fact that there were a few weeks where they only paid attention to one of their children, or maybe about the fact that they haven't slept in the same bed since they last had sex together (and that just sounds really off for a couple who's been together for over ten years), but there's something else tugging at his heart.

Something that's completely off and has him excusing himself and running down the hallway to Liza's ward. It's not that he doesn't want to be around Blaine, it's just that at this moment he can't. He knows he's mostly the one at fault, he's the one who has been distancing himself, sleeping on the couch and maybe what he's about to do is horrible and wrong and so incredibly stupid, but he does it anyway. He runs down the hallway towards the desk across from Liza's room and asks to speak to Justin, the nurse who was here earlier.

The girl behind the desk is nice and oblivious to the turmoil going on inside of Kurt's head, she pages Justin and he's at Kurt's side in mere minutes.

"I'm sorry," Kurt says, "I'm sorry that I blew you off today, how would you feel about lunch tomorrow?"

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"What was that about?" Ellen asks after she's sort of gotten over the shock of Kurt running out just like that.

Blaine shrugs as he tries to put Mason's pacifier back in his mouth.

"Are he and Mason alright?" Santana asks, "or was seeing Emma too much of a trigger?"

Blaine shrugs again, because really, he doesn't know.

"Wait, what?"

Santana looks caught and on the verge of crying, which is of course ridiculous but, you know, hormones and all that shit.

"No, Santana, it's nothing I'll explain."

So Blaine tells Ellen everything, about how after the accident he stopped seeing Liza and Kurt stopped looking after Mason. He doesn't say 'stopped caring' because he knows that isn't true. He tells them about how after they had a huge ass screaming at each other fight (you guys never fight) they had had sort of make up sex and how things seemed to be better the next day, how Blaine had stepped over that emotional threshold that kept him from seeing Liza, how Kurt had rushed to his side and took Mason over from him, how they started taking care of both their kids again.

"But..?" Ellen and Santana ask in unison.

"But ever since we haven't really talked. He doesn't sleep in bed anymore, instead he sleeps on the couch and we just, we care for them. It's like we don't care for each other anymore."

And now Santana is full on crying.

"Come on Santana," he eyes her strictly, but his face softens as she kisses the top of Emma's head, lips wet with tears.

"No," Santana cries and Blaine knows she doesn't really want to him to see her like this, but he also knows she sort of has to and can't stop herself. He remembers how she cried full on for three days after Mason was born.

"No, Blaine, you sound like you've given up and you can't do that."

Blaine's not sure what she meant, he hasn't given up, he told that himself a hundred times. But maybe the fact that he has to tell himself a hundred times should've given him some warning. Because if you have to tell yourself, it means the other thing has crossed your mind as well. At least a hundred times.

"You're Kurt and Blaine," Santana cries, "You're Kurt and Blaine and you don't break up. You can't break up. You're Kurt and Blaine."

Ellen rushes to Santana to kiss the top of her head and comfort her, but now the words started flowing and Santana takes in Blaine's confused look she continues.

"You're Kurt and Blaine, you know. Blaine and Kurt, Kurt and Blaine. KurtandBlaine."

"I'm sorry, but you're not making any sense."

"Klaine." She full on sobs and Blaine freezes. He hasn't heard that term in ages. He's pretty sure they stopped using nicknames for couples after Rachel and Finn (Finchel, he corrects himself), so that has to have been at least 9 years ago.

"You're Klaine, you know, the only couple that still has a nickname."

"Santana," he starts but once she's going she won't let anyone interrupt her (and Blaine knows not to interrupt a new mum).

"No, Blaine, you don't understand. Me and Ellen, we don't have a nickname. Rachel and every one of her conquests don't get nicknames. No one gets nicknames anymore because that was a silly High School thing, you know. You're a silly high school couple and well, you're the ones that made it."

He's starting to see where she's going, but it is making him a tiny bit uncomfortable.

"When I was eighteen and I graduated, I thought that was it, you know. Love at first sight. Tina and Mike, Rachel and Finn, Me and Britt," Ellen fidgets slightly in her chair, "you and Kurt."

Blaine smiles, because even if everything is horrible and what Santana is trying to say is really sweet, but not helping, reminiscing the old days will always bring a smile to his face. Back when they were young, naïve and so in love.

"then Tina and Mike broke up and I thought that would never happen, but the rest of us were still together, you know, so I went with it. Then Rachel and Finn got divorced and I still think they're absolute morons for getting married at that age but they were Rachel and Finn and I thought they'd make it in the long haul and they didn't. Then it was just the two of you and Britt and I and I was so freaking proud. I imagined going back to a reunion with the four of us and showing that stupid school that, you see, gays and bisexual people aren't all sluts, in fact they're the only ones who made it but we didn't. Britt and I, we were stupid once with that stupid threesome and I got pregnant and I had to realize that I didn't want to raise kids with her, no matter how much I loved her and we didn't make it. You and Kurt are the only ones who made it this far, Blaine, with two gorgeous kids and a beautiful house and money to spare. You have to go to that reunion in September and show the world that you can make it."

That's the first time in his life Blaine makes a promise he doesn't know he can keep (apart from his marriage vows, but those sort of go together with this promise).

"We will," he says and promises himself to at least try his hardest, before he gets up and envelops her in a careful hug with two babies between them, "I'll leave you two alone," he says immediately after, noticing the way Ellen is staring so lovingly at her girlfriend.

He doesn't know where he's going, yet, because it's definitely not home or Liza's room, because both could mean running into Kurt and he's not ready for that.

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When Blaine and Mason get home two hours later than Kurt did, Blaine says nothing and settles at the table.

"He's asleep, I thought I'd just let him," Blaine explains as Kurt eyes the stroller, so Kurt nods.

They sit and eat in silence, Kurt doesn't ask how Santana was the rest of the day, or how she even held out with company for so long (Kurt's pretty sure Blaine just spend time in the park to avoid getting home), and Blaine doesn't ask why Kurt ran out of the room without even saying goodbye to Santana and the rest.

They eat in silence, Kurt feeds Mason his bottle when he starts to cry and they spend some time on the couch watching something on the TV. Neither of them even register if it's something they actually like, because it's mostly staring ahead and avoiding talking to each other.

It's completely awkward and they both hate it, but neither seems to be able to start up a conversation. Blaine tries a few comments at whatever tv-show they are watching but they are completely off and it might even be a comment about how this girl shouldn't have auditioned if she can't sing while project runway is on. They don't know, because they're not watching it.

They're not watching each other, either, they are doing their very best at not watching each other. Blaine knows he has to do something, though, try the way he promised Santana he would. Or told Santana he would.

He told her they would make it and he's not sure they will.

"Santana called us Klaine today," he says and this seems to get a smile from Kurt. Probably the same thing happening to him that happened to Blaine, just reminiscing the old days brings up a smile.

"She said she's so proud of us that we're the only couple who made it after high school." Kurt's smile falls.

"Can you please sleep in the bed tonight?" Blaine asks and Kurt still doesn't respond, not in words anyway, but the way he tenses sends the message anyway.

"I love you," Blaine whispers and Kurt tenses even more, "I love you so much, Kurt, please just hold me tonight."

It seems like Kurt doesn't need much more convincing and even if his muscles don't actually relax, he scoots closer and pulls Blaine against him.

"I love you, too," he whispers in a broken tone that only Blaine recognizes as utter heartbreak and just the fact that it sounds painful gives him hope. Kurt must still care.

They make it up to the bed, but just barely before Blaine caves and kisses Kurt in a try to drown away the tension. Kurt kisses him back, only pulls him closer actually and starts taking off his shirt.

Opposed to the last time they had sex, these kisses are all gentle and caring and trading words of I love you, I care for you, please stay with me and somehow Blaine thinks they might work things out.

They take things slow and have what Kurt would call proper sex for the first time since before Mason was born.

Kurt holds Blaine close after he pulls out, kisses hair and they cry together. Something feels different and Blaine's not sure if it's for the better or not, but the fact that something has changed must be good. Because if things stayed the same they would've been doomed.

And the fact that they just had sweet, loving sex (we made love, he can hear Kurt say), gives him that tiny spark of hope that things will turn out to be okay.

As far as okay goes when your three year old is lying in a coma.

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"DOCTOR!" Ellen yells down the hallway from Liza's room. Santana needed some time alone with Emma, so she took Jimmy to see Liza and even after he fell asleep on the bed next to her she made no effort of moving him, secretly melting by how it seemed the were just both asleep when they lay next to each other like this.

That was until Liza cracked open an eye.

"Hi baby girl," she said before she understood what this meant.

That's why she's standing in the hallway right now screaming for a doctor, even if it's probably better to stay at Liza's bedside while she's in there all confused.

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