This chapter is a lot less fluffy than the last one, some actually things occur. If you haven't noticed, I like to have character development chapters spread in between plot chapters, so while the last chapter focused on Kurt's relationships, this is... well, you'll read for yourself! Enjoy!
"Hey." Mercedes unusually soft voice came from the door, interrupting Kurt from his own solitude. Not that he wasn't thankful to have visitors, but this entire situation had given him almost no time to think things over by himself. It was strange, really, because while he knew he was sick, he never bothered to learn much about the technicalities of the tumor on his spinal cord. Mercedes looked oddly subdued, and Kurt gestured for her to sit at the foot of his bed, as all before her had done. Things felt awkward, considering his best friend had been one of the last of the people to visit him, when she once would have been there for the entire thing. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Kurt looked genuinely confused, but in reality, he just wanted her to say exactly what was on her mind.
"Sorry that I was avoiding you for a bit. I guess I thought you'd want to spend some time with your new boyfriend, and I just left you alone for a bit." The way Mercedes awkwardly spat this out said a lot more than she probably wished it would. Kurt was beginning to suspect that she may have been jealous of Finn. No, he knew her crush was totally gone, but that didn't mean she couldn't be jealous of Kurt giving his attention to someone else. They had been like a sisterhood of nuns before, worshipping the godly popular kids, only talking amongst themselves, and remaining strictly celibate. Now, though, Mercedes was the desperate third wheel, and even though she wanted Kurt to have boyfriends, she didn't know it would feel like this. Because of the way their friendship was set up, none of this had to be spoken out loud to be made clear, just her simple apology was enough to understand just about everything that had happened. A loud cough was heard from the door, and the best friends turned to see Dr. Yang and Dr. Grey.
"Excuse me, there is somebody here claiming they are your father, Burt Hummel?" Kurt normally would have been choking back insults on Meredith's horrific hair, but now he was just a little bit shocked. His father? Was he actually here, or was this some sick kind of joke? He exchanged a glance with Mercedes that said they both heard the exact same thing, and Kurt began to feel a medley of emotions, all which were surpressed once he nodded his head, and his father walked in the room.
"Kurt, I was so worried about you." Burt moved in towards the bed, and Kurt's glance remained cold. His hand managed to find Mercedes, so the confusion on Burt's face didn't hurt nearly as much. "Um, I thought we could talk, things have been pretty crazy-"
"Are you saying that you physically couldn't help me with this? That you couldn't have come with me, tried to be here for me?" Burt's face pulled into a look of pure guilt, and Kurt knew he found his answer. "Exactly. Well, then we shouldn't talk, because I have absolutely nothing to say to you." He looked over to his best friend for support, but Mercedes gave him a silent plea to give Burt a chance. Yes, they could communicate that much over subtle glances. On one hand, Burt was Kurt's dad, his only remaining parent, and all of these years of care meant to much to throw away over one incident. On the other, though, blood meant nothing if Burt couldn't even leave the shop to help out his only son through a life and death situation. Even Mr. Schuester dragged himself here before Burt did. Kurt wasn't ready to forgive Burt just yet, but out of consideration for Mercedes, he offered Burt the chance to at least try to redeem himself. "Just explain why you couldn't come with me." Burt looked a little stiff, then Kurt realized it was because Mercedes was still in the room, which made him a little uncomfortable. She almost got up to leave, until Kurt's grip tightened, telling her he needed the support.
"Well, the truth is- your mother, she had the same condition before she died." Kurt gaped just a little at this news. He always knew she had brain cancer, but his aversion to hardcore science made him a little reluctant to look into what killed her. Being the romantic he was, anyway, he would rather have read into the life she had before than how she died. "The tumor was inoperable then. They tried drug therapy, but eventually, we learned nothing was working. So, to make things easier for her, I had to take her off of the drugs; it was what she wanted. You know, she was always the strong one, I probably felt more pain through her sickness than she did. The only tears she ever shed were over you, Kurt, a little boy having to lose their mother. She thought it was selfish, wanting to see you grow up and be an adult, but I always felt that was her right that was taken from her by sickness. It got too much, though, the cancer, and her last few weeks were unbearably bad. Her brain was scattered, her motion was limited, and by the end of it, she couldn't put together words." Kurt saw tears building up in his fathers eyes, and then realized he was crying as well. He had never heard his father talk so candidly about his mother's illness. It had always been more of a state of being oppose to an event. The details were made scarce out a fear of being emotional, but now, the caution was thrown to the wind, and Burt was sharing what he always should have with his son. "I was selfish, Kurt. I watched your mother die of the same illness, and I didn't know it was operable; didn't figure out until I heard from the doctors in Lima you were going to Seattle for some intense surgical procedure. I thought you were going to the hospital to die, Kurt, and I didn't want to see that happen." Kurt wasn't sure how he felt about what his father was telling him. He had his reasons, true emotions, but he still chose himself over Kurt.
"I- I don't know how to forgive you, dad." The air became stiff, but Burt Hummel didn't move an inch from where he was watching his sick son. "I mean, you've always been there for me, and then suddenly, I need you the most, and you just left me out to dry." Finn stumbled into the hospital room with two cones of mint chocolate chip ice cream in hand, laughing to himself about something completely irrelevant.
"Hey, sweetie, I got you ice cream, your fav-" Finn turned to see a very confused Burt looking right at Finn, and the faces he was making became more and more frightening. At first it was just pure confusion, then the gears in his head working, after, the realization, and then, a death glare. Finn clearly had forgotten how scary Burt had been after the bedroom incident, but he surely wasn't happy to be reminded this way.
"Finn, would you mind telling me what you are doing with my son?"
"Oh, hell no." The words slipped right out of Mercedes' mouth, and miraculously fit the occasion quite well. Finn looked panic-stricken as his eyes met Kurt's, trying to search for some clue as to what Burt was doing here, then turned to find his potential father-in-law was staring him down.
"Uh, sir, Kurt and I, we're, uh, I, he, we're, he's, dating, and, I like him, so, his boyfriend..."
"You have five seconds to not mutter nonsense and spit it out before I have you banned from this hospital room." Kurt normally wouldn't have minded a threat from his father, but looking over to his desperate boyfriend, he finally stepped up and did what his dad had coming to him.
"No, you have five seconds to leave this room before security escorts you out. You didn't want to help your own dying son out your own irrational fears, and now, the one person who looked after me, my boyfriend, is getting yelled at by you? He loves me, dad, and you're the only one right now who is spitting out any kind of nonsense; it would be nonsense if I forgave you. It's nonsense that there was any reason why you couldn't come with me. And the fact that you couldn't even have the decency to tell me in person, you bitch, is absolute nonsense. So, get the hell out, and please, don't come back." Mercedes let out a tiny gasp, and Finn held his breath intensely. But Burt wasn't about to scream at his only son over yelling at him, because he knew he deserved it. He just hoped he would forgive him in time. So, he didn't try to make some last ditched attempt at bonding; he quietly exited the room, trying to ignore the sounds of Kurt's obvious sobbing.
"This seems like more of a boyfriend-boyfriend thing, so I'll just-" Kurt's grip on his best friend's hand tightened remarkably, making Mercedes sit down promptly. Finn moved towards his shaking boyfriend, then, with the precision of a total mess, spilled one of his ice cream cones right on the floor.
"Uh, I'll just give you the other one, unless you want to share." Mercedes silently prayed she could vanish, because Kurt's sobbing managed to cease with Finn's little flirtation. Kurt was so thankful to have such a selfless person in his life. He thought that Finn was his knight in shining armor back when they first met, but now, this was a total dream. But it never felt like Finn was coddling his boyfriend, acting like a nurse around him, but really it just felt right to look after him. Even before dating, Finn would have done this for Kurt, who he has always seen as a great friend, the definition of selflessness. Finn squeezed in next to Mercedes, who now felt a strange comfort in being surrounded by love birds. She couldn't help but silently pray, though, that things with Kurt and his dad could be fixed again; she wasn't sure how he would be able to go on without the one person who, up until now, had always supported him.
"Hey!" Will was having what felt like his millionth Seattle made cup of coffee, when he looked up to see Meredith Grey smiling at him. The hospital was starting to feel a little bit like home in some ways, with Izzie and all of these great doctors who looked after Kurt with impeccable work ethic and kindness.
"Hey, how's Kurt?"
"He's good, he's... good." Meredith awkwardly spat that last sentence out, which was an obvious indicator she was here to talk about something else. So, the petite doctor sat across from Will, anxiously playing with her hands as she kept on trying to start her clearly rehearsed talk. "Look, I am not sure what is going on between you and Izzie, but-"
"Oh, you two are friends?" Meredith looked at him strangely as she reluctantly nodded her head. How much had Izzie actually told this new guy in her life? As much as she wanted to 'start over', considering everything she'd been through, that would be impossible. Will wasn't liking where this was going, though, because this seemed like the kind of talk that had a 'stay away from her' sentiment, and he wasn't prepared to have to get into fights with the pleasant staff. It would lead to that, though, because there wasn't any reason what so ever that Will could think of for him avoiding Izzie.
"Listen, you may or may not be dating, but-"
"We're dating." Meredith's face gave away quite a bit about what she was thinking at this point. One part of her was infinitely frustrated that at every attempt to talk she was interrupted by Will, which suggested he was quite arrogant and believed his own opinions were superior to others. The other half was just annoyed at how easily he believed he could be in a serious relationship with a woman he just met, who had tons upon tons of emotional baggage. If she hadn't even told him she was friends with Meredith, what else was she withholding?
"Great, just listen. Izzie's had a really rough go of things lately, so-"
"Oh, I know about the cancer, she told-"
"OK, I'm sorry, but I really need you to stop talking over me." The air was suddenly quite stiff, and their own annoyances became more of a real life tension. Meredith hated fighting with patient's family, which the man was practically was to Kurt, but this was Izzie they were talking about; she was her family, even after she so rudely abandoned her. "Everything between Denny, and the cancer, and Alex has been really crazy, so unless you are sure about this, do not keep on letting her on. She needs someone who will be there, who can handle her... needs, so if you can't provide for her, then you should walk away." Will would have interrupted, but he was more than a little scared of Dr. Grey at this point. Once it was clear she was done talking, he anxiously opened his mouth to speak.
"Who are Denny and Alex?" Meredith suddenly looked very anxious, and felt a lot less like talking. Unfortunately, now Will felt a lot more like listening.
"Hey, what's up?" The two frenemies turned to find that Izzie was standing above the table, smiling, holding three lattes in hand, kindly placing them in her friend and boyfriend's hands. Meredith watched Izzie's face and suddenly felt a huge twinge of guilt; she hadn't seen her friend look this way in years. The scarily optimistic girl had grown up in the saddest ways, and recently, had been resembling the kind of 'dark and twisty' personality that Meredith once so boldly inhibited. But it was a little late for regrets at this point, so instead of warning either about the massive fight that would no doubt occur, she threw one apologetic glance at Will Schuester, and left the cafeteria and the couple to sort out their major issues. Izzie turned over to her beau, and laughed a totally bubbly and innocent laugh, the kind that embodied pure happiness. "What's up with her?"
"Who are Alex and Denny?"
"Hey." Rachel softly spoke, a similar manner to how she entered the room, to the two boys who were lying in bed. Funnily enough, it was Finn who was asleep in Kurt's arms, a sight that caused the two rivals to laugh at. Rachel knew she had to move on; maybe it would be easier if she acted so much like she already had, that one day she would wake up and it would all be true. That she could be with anybody else and not think about the boy from Glee who broke her heart. For now, though, if she said that the sight of Finn sleeping wasn't both adorable and heart-crushing, she would be lying. But strangely enough, feelings of anger never arose when she saw the couple, now, or when they just were oozing sexual tension. It was love, who could blame them? Certainly not Rachel, and that wasn't just out of pity for Kurt, but enough self-respect to know that fighting for something already gone is just a useless fight. "How are you doing?" Before now, Kurt had never known how to answer that question. There was the obvious feeling of sadness that a tumor was pressing down on his spinal cord, now that one kidney was diseased and that the other was too inflamed to work by itself. But that never really manifested into an actual emotion; Kurt feared possible death, and understood the risk, but didn't spend a second worrying about right here and now. Right here and now was with Finn, sleeping in his arms, and that is exactly why he finally knew how to answer that question.
"Great. Really, I feel great." Kurt's genuine smile told Rachel that he wasn't being sarcastic, so the girl quickly relaxed, and took a seat in a chair at the other end of the room, oppose to on the bed, like everyone before her. Kurt was starting to notice this experience was teaching her that stars didn't have to be front and centre all of the time to be important; there was glory to be found in being a background person. "Listen, Rachel, I wanted to say- well, this is awkward." Rachel perked up a little bit at hearing the boy admit even the slightest discomfort. He always managed to fit so seamlessly into society, something Rachel envied him quite passionately for. Mentally, though, she smacked herself for her own pleasure in his morality. "It's just- Finn told me about how you ended things, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I've come to the conclusion that you did this for me, well, for us." Rachel kept her lips tightly pursed, so Kurt had his answer. She had almost hoped this would go completely unnoticed. The feeling of doing a good act and not getting praise was pretty spectacular, like having a secret identity; the act itself became the real treat, oppose the thanks that comes with it. Besides, she wanted Finn to think she didn't want to be with him, because as long as he thought that, there was no way for him to chicken out and decide Kurt was just an expression of bi-curiosity. "Well, I wanted to thank you. We've never been close, but I think we're still friends, and- I wanted to say I'm sorry. For taking Finn from you." Kurt genuinely meant every word of what he was saying. He wasn't blind, Rachel obviously wanted the boy lying in the bed, but this far more mature girl was standing in front of him, and Kurt couldn't help but feel warmth towards her. The old Rachel would have slipped on the catsuit and clown hooker makeup if it meant getting her paws around Finn, but this couldn't be more than opposite. Now Kurt felt a little bit like the cavorting skank that he saw Rachel as every time she won Finn's heart. He would be a hypocrite to not feel badly for the girl, especially after he lived Rachel's current position for a ridiculously long time.
"Don't apologize for anything. You love him, he loves you. I love Finn, but I love him enough to know that you are what he wants, not me. If losing him means he gets to be happy- that you get to be happy- then so be it." There was a bit of a pause, but it wasn't at all awkward, just a purely silent moment. Finn's clumsy breathing sent his former and current lover into a state of infatuation, but only Kurt could feel his chest moving up and down inside of his arms. "I- uh, I came to tell you something, and to be honest, I'm not taking no for an answer. I called my daddy, and as you might know, he's a doctor. Well, after talking to him about your kidney problem, I went and did some research about the condition. You need a kidney. So, after getting tested, I am happy to inform you, Kurt Hummel, that I, Rachel Berry, will be giving you my kidney, whether you like it or not."
Big cliffhanger! I hope you liked this chapter, if so, try to review, but either way, I'm just glad you liked it. Have a great day! Until next time!