Again, I thank you for reading my story and all of the encouraging reviews that I've gotten.
Again, I'm not sure if this chapter is quite the way I wanted it but I hope you enjoy it.
Please review, I like reviews.
Sadly I do not own these characters but I love to play with them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
When the doctor came into the waiting room, calling out Burt's name, he was surrounded by a large number of people. However, Burt was standing in front of him wearing the anxious look of a worried parent. Before he could ask him any questions, the doctor tried to at least lead him away from the group. Burt resisted and said that everyone here was Kurt's family and they all needed to know. Looking at all of their faces, the doctor shrugged and started talking.
"Mr Hummel, you're son is in a stable condition but it was very serious. He has a mild concussion. Luckily he came around in the ambulance and was able to tell the EMTs that he had hit his head on something. Now, he does have other injuries. His nose is broken and he has two displaced ribs, one of which pierced his lung. We had to insert a tube to release the air which in turn allowed the lung to reinflate. We will continue to monitor his breathing and oxygen levels throughout the night. He also has a broken wrist and some other cuts and bruises."
The doctor stopped talking and looked around the group again. They all looked to be in shock. All the girls and most of the boys were crying. The adults were the same.
"Can I see him?"
"Of course, but only two of you tonight and only for twenty minutes. He's been given a substantial amount of pain relief and is sleeping so he won't even know that you are there. He needs to rest most of all."
"Mum, you go in with Burt."
"No, I think Blaine should go in. Is that ok Burt?"
Burt nodded but he was already following the doctor. Blaine quickly made his way through the group, thanking Carole as he passed her. Finn wrapped his arm around his mum and placed a kiss on the top of her head before walking her over to a nearby chair. Sitting next to her, he didn't let go of her hand. He knew how much she loved Kurt and how hard it would have been to let Blaine go into the room but that was what his mum was like. Always thinking of others. Rachel came to sit on his other side and she took hold of his other hand. Finn let his head fall back and he shut his eyes. How had things gotten this bad? He played ball with these guys. He should have seen it coming.
When Burt and Blaine entered the room, they both drew in shocked breaths. Kurt looked so small lying in the hospital bed with tubes sticking out of him. Burt sat in the chair next to his son and placed his hand over Kurt's. Tears were streaming down his face. He should have been able to protect his son, not be sitting here, by his hospital bed. How had things gotten this bad?
Blaine stood at the end of the bed, staring at Kurt. He couldn't believe that it was only this morning that he had been watching him sleep. His beautiful Kurt, they had been so happy. They were starting a new journey together. One that would take them to all kinds of places. He felt like tracking down these guys and showing them that not everyone was as easy to intimidate. How had things gotten this bad?
Twenty minutes later, a nurse quietly entered the room and politely told them that their time was up and that would have to leave. She did however ask him if he could go to reception and get some paperwork sorted out. Burt nodded and they both made their way out of the room and back to the waiting room. Blaine held the door for Burt so he could go in first. He was immediately surrounded by the others. Blaine held back and tried to slip away until Mercedes caught his eye. She walked over to him and asked him to stay. He nodded and walked over to a chair and sat down.
This was where David and Wes found him. Sitting next to him, they clapped him on the shoulder and asked him how he was holding up. Blaine just shrugged, he couldn't seem to speak. He was barely holding it together, he needed to get out of here, get some fresh air. Standing up, he went to walk out of the room but Dave and Wes also stood up, as if to follow him. Blaine told them to stay, that he needed some air and would be back soon. Reluctantly they sat back down and watched him walk out of the room.
"Should he be alone?" Wes asked.
"Probably not but he doesn't want us there. All we can do is be here for him when he's ready to talk. He'll come to us when he's ready."
"He looks pretty cut up. He seems to have fallen pretty hard."
"Yeah I know. It's a tough situation."
Both boys stopped talking when Mercedes walked up to them.
"Hi there, my name's Mercedes."
"Hi, I'm Wes and this is Dave."
Mercedes smiled at them both, noticing how good looking Dave was.
"Do you know where Blaine is?"
"Yeah, he just went outside to get some air."
She thanked them and went to find him, however Dave stopped her briefly by saying, "He wants to be alone."
"No he doesn't, he just doesn't know that he needs to talk to me."
When Blaine reached the footpath, he took a deep breath and headed over to the water fountain which was the main feature of the patient's garden. When he sat down, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. That was when he started to cry. At first they were silent tears but soon he was sobbing. His shoulders shook as the sobs overtook him. The boy, who had come to mean so much to him, was lying in a hospital bed because of him. He had told Kurt to confront Karofsky, not to run but to call him out. If he hadn't done that, Kurt wouldn't be in this situation. Sure, Karofsky would probably still be bullying him but he wouldn't be in the hospital. His sobs were loud enough that they masked the sound of Mercedes footsteps as she made her way over to him. She sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. He looked up but quickly looked back down. He couldn't look at her. Once she found out his part in this whole debacle he doubted that she would be so comforting. She'd blame him, just as he blamed himself.
"Blaine, he's going to be ok."
"I'm so sorry Mercedes."
"Why? You haven't done anything wrong."
"It's all my fault. If I had just kept my mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened."
"Blaine, what are you talking about?"
"Mercedes, I told him to confront Karofsky. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be lying up there in a hospital bed."
"Blaine, it's not your fault. These jerks have been acting like idiots for ages. You can't blame yourself for their actions. Kurt doesn't blame you either. I'm sure of it. I've never seen him happier. Whenever he speaks of you, he lights up. You have brought so much to his life. Don't ever doubt that. Now, he's going to need you, so you can't go anywhere."
"You don't understand Mercedes, I do blame myself."
"I'm going to say this one last time and then I'm gonna get nasty. It is not your fault. If you are going to keep going on about it I will have to find another way to get it into your head that you are wrong."
Her voice had gotten louder with each word and Blaine could see why Kurt had warned him about getting Mercedes angry. He then remembered that Kurt had told him how Mercedes had thrown a rock through his front windscreen when they had had a slight misunderstanding not long after they had started in glee club. He decided that the best thing to do was to agree with her so he nodded his head and tried to smile while wiping the tears off his cheeks.
Mercedes stood up and held out her hand. He could see how she and Kurt had become such good friends. They were both direct and full of love for others. As they walked back into the emergency room, Mercedes held Blaine's hand.
"So, is Dave single?" She asked, which brought a genuine smile to his face. He really liked this girl.
The waiting room was a little emptier when they walked back in. Walking up to Finn, Mercedes asked where everyone was. He told her that Burt had told them all to go home. None of them had really wanted to go but he told them that he or Finn would call them if anything changed. When they still didn't want to go, he told them that they wouldn't be able to see Kurt until tomorrow at the earliest anyway, so they really should go home and freshen up. They had all reluctantly agreed that they would go home and they had said goodnight. Blaine noticed that David and Wes were still sitting on the other side of the room, so he walked over to them.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming and waiting but I'm going to stay here. Can you let someone at Dalton know?"
"Sure, we packed you a bag. Thought you might like to change your out of your uniform."
Blaine looked down and realised that he was indeed still in his uniform so he gratefully accepted the bag and headed off to the bathroom to change. He stared to unbutton his shirt as he went. When he entered an empty stall, he took his trousers and shirt off, replacing them with jeans and a white t-shirt. The guys had even put in a pair of runners and some fresh socks so he sat down and changed them before returning to Dave and Wes. In his absence, Mercedes had joined the boys and was chatting to Dave. Blaine stopped and watched them. There was definite chemistry between them but he knew that Dave wouldn't let it go any further, not while he was still dating Chrissie. But he'd keep an eye on them. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Burt. He looked drained and Blaine started to get worried all over again. Kurt had confided in him that he was scared that he might lose his dad. Blaine encouraged him to sit down and took the chair next to him.
"How are you sir?"
Burt smiled, "Still with the sir. Call me Burt. I'm not that great. How are you holding up?"
Blaine was touched by Burt's concern. This man was in all sorts of pain yet he was worried about how he was.
"You know what. I'm gonna be fine, so are you and so will Kurt. He will fight, he will get better and then we will all move forward."
Burt was touched by what this boy had just said. He was right of course. They would get through this. Not only did they have Carole, they also had Finn and the other kids and now they had Blaine. He and Kurt would come through it and they'd both be stronger. Burt nodded and asked Blaine if he was intending to stay. Blaine immediately nodded his head. Burt patted his shoulder and said that he'd be back. He got up and walked over to Carole.
"You know what sweetheart. I'm going to stay, why don't you and Finn go home."
Both Carole and Finn were quick to respond. Neither of them wanted to leave. Of course Burt knew that neither would go so he asked Finn to drive Mercedes home. Finn stood up and walked over to where Mercedes was sitting.
"Mercedes, I'll take you home."
"That's ok Finn. David and Wes are going to take me home. You stay, call me if anything changes and dad will run me over straight away."
Finn looked at the two boys. He had of course seen them earlier but he hadn't really paid any attention to them. He didn't know who they were.
"I don't know Mercedes."
"It's fine Finn, they're friends of Blaine. I'll be fine, really. Go back and be with your family. I'll see you tomorrow." Giving him a hug and a quick kiss, she walked out with the two guys.
"She'll be fine. Wes and Dave will look after her. They're good guys."
"If you say so. Are you staying?"
"Yeah, I don't want to leave him."
"You really care about him, don't you?"
"I do, very much. I can't explain it. I know it hasn't been long but its real."
"I believe you and I think Kurt feels the same way. Come on, come sit with us. We're all Kurt's family after all."
Blaine was grateful that Finn was including him as a part of the family. He really liked these people. They had accepted him wholeheartedly. Now they were all waiting for Kurt to make a full recovery and Blaine wouldn't leave until he did. Until he could hold him and tell him that he would always be there for him.