Making It Work
Chapter 14 – How Do You Get That Lonely?
"Sammy, are ye' feeling better?" Rory asked as he watched his boyfriend's shoulders start to slump and his eyes begin to droop.
"Mmmhmm, just sleepy now," Sam answered, scooting over on the exam table and raising his head to look at Rory. "Will you come and sit with me?"
Rory looked nervously at Burt wanting his input. He didn't think he was supposed to sit on the exam table since he wasn't sick or hurt and he didn't know if the hospital would find it inappropriate.
"I'm sure it's fine," Burt answered reassuringly. He didn't really know, but decided that worst case scenario Rory would have to get down when the doctor came in.
Rory smiled, crossed the room, and climbed up on the table next to Sam, pulling the blond into his arms and kissing the top of his head.
"Thank you," Sam murmured softly as he snuggled against Rory's chest and quit fighting the urge to sleep.
A few minutes later Dan the nurse came back in to check on Sam. Dan was surprised to find his patient sleeping in the brunet's arms and his face clearly showed his reaction.
"He asked me t'sit with him," Rory explained, trying not to feel intimidated. "I hope that's okay?"
Dan registered surprise again as Rory spoke and he realized for the first time that the teen wasn't American. He just shrugged and decided it was none of his business. "Sure, I just wanted to see if the medicine had kicked in. Looks like it has. The doctor is busy with an emergency case so it'll be awhile longer."
"Thanks, Dan," Burt said. "We're fine and Sam's out cold so no rush on us."
Dan nodded at the man and then briefly glanced at Rory and Sam again before leaving the room. He was curious about the nature of their relationship and had begun to suspect that contrary to his original assumption it seemed to be more than just platonic based on the way that Rory was holding Sam. Dan didn't particularly care either way, but he had never seen a gay couple so young before and was intrigued.
After Dan had left the room, Burt smiled at the Irish youth. "I'm proud of you, Rory."
Rory looked up at him, surprised. "Thank ye, but why, sir?"
"I know it's not easy for you to be open about your feelings in general, and I know just doing it in front of me is hard enough. I bet it's even more intimidating doing it in a strange setting like a hospital, and in front of a stranger."
Rory blushed. "It is scary, but I didn't want t'let Sam down.
"You won't let him down. Especially if you're honest with him about how you feel," Burt answered, making sure to establish eye contact with Rory to make his point.
Rory smiled nervously and looked down, embarrassed by the attention.
"It's okay, Rory, like I said, I'm proud of you," Burt emphasized. "Anyway, this Rick kid that hurt Sam, that's the same guy who's been bullying you isn't it?"
"How did ye' know?" Rory asked snapping his eyes back up.
"The boys," Burt answered laughing slightly. "Sam, Kurt, and Finn, none of them want to see you being bullied. It bothers them; they talk."
"They talk about me," Rory said, frowning and looking down at his sleeping boyfriend feeling a little bit betrayed.
"Not in a gossiping kind of way," Burt assured him. "Just to try to figure out how to stop it."
"I can handle it meself," Rory stated.
"You shouldn't have to," Burt responded. "And now that you're with Sam you have to take that into consideration too."
"I already feel bad enough about what happened t'him. If it weren't for me he'd be fine," Rory said feeling his earlier guilt resurface.
"He is fine, and I doubt he'd trade you for a pair of undamaged hands," Burt joked.
"Mr. Hummel, can I ask ye' something?" Rory inquired after a few seconds.
"Sure"
"Do ye' think I should...ye know...come out?" Rory asked whispering the last part of the question.
"Sure, when you're ready, but don't rush it. Especially not for Sam. He wouldn't want that."
"But I should stand by him," Rory answered, tightening his grip on the sleeping guy.
"I think you already are," Burt countered.
-000-
"Oh god," Kurt gasped, looking down at his phone in horror.
"What is it?" Finn asked, still tense from his earlier confrontation and already concerned by the tone in Kurt's voice. Kurt didn't answer, instead he just handed his phone to Finn. Finn examined it and realized that Kurt had pulled up Facebook and was looking at Dave Karofsky's page. It was covered in hateful, homophobic remarks. As Finn glanced through them in disgust he realized that several of the comments even encouraged Dave to, "Do the world a favor and kill yourself," or questioned, "Why not end it now, fag? You're going to hell anyway." There were several others along the same lines.
Finn passed the phone to his mother and then turned back to Kurt. "Do you think he..." Finn didn't want to finish the question.
"Yeah probably," Kurt answered in a broken voice feeling a rush of painful emotions swallow him.
"This is bullshit!" Santana declared reading the screen from over Carol's shoulder.
"Is Kurt getting really bad reception?" Brittany asked, trying to figure out why everyone was so upset by Kurt's phone.
"No babe, a bunch of assholes told Karofsky to kill himself and it looks like he pussied out and tried it," Santana explained to her girlfriend, unsure if she felt angrier at her ex or at the people who had taunted him.
Kurt shot her an angry glare and opened his mouth to say something. Unfortunately the words seemed to get caught in his throat and he didn't trust himself to stay calm, so he stormed off to the restroom instead.
"Look, let's just go Britt," Santana said as soon as Kurt had left. "I'm sure we'll find out how all this drama ends sooner or later." She stood and began walking to the door without any further hesitation or explanation.
"Will you take Rory home?" Brittany asked Finn as she rose to her feet.
"Of course," Finn agreed, perplexed by Santana sudden insistence on leaving.
"Okay, bye you guys," the blonde said, smiling at Finn and his mother. On her way to the door she also gave Paul Karofsky a small, encouraging smile.
A few minutes later Kurt returned to his seat. He was still visibly shaken up but he seemed to have gotten himself under control. Finn wanted to say something but had no idea what and before he had a chance to figure it out two hysterical women suddenly rushed into the ER at almost exactly the same time.
"What happened?!" They demanded in unison, though to different people. They briefly turned to each other and exchanged confused glances before Mary Evans hurried over to meet the Hudson-Hummels and Nancy Karofsky quickly crossed the room to join her husband.
"It's okay, Mary. He's still waiting to see the doctor, but they gave him some pain medication and he's asleep. It looks like he has a broken finger, but nothing too serious," Carol explained, quickly filling Mary in on the condition of her son. "Finn, text Rory and tell him to ask Burt to come out here so that Mary can go back and sit with Sam," She instructed her son before turning back to the other woman. "They don't like the waiting rooms to get too crowded. The doctor on call is apparently a stickler about it too."
"So how did it happen?" Mary asked, relieved that she would be able to see her son soon.
"From what we understand a couple of bullies from school attacked him in the restroom of a grocery store," Carol answered.
"Oh god, how terrible!" Mary exclaimed. She felt her heart drop as she imagined such an awful thing happening to her little boy. "But why?"
"He's a faggot!" Nancy Karofsky screamed, glaring at her husband.
"What!?" Mary Evans spun on her heel, looking for the source of the slur.
"She doesn't mean Sam," Carol assured her quickly, grabbing her arm. "That's Dave Karofsky's mother. Dave's gay and it looks like he might have tried to commit suicide."
"Dave Karofsky is gay?!" Mary exclaimed, looking back and forth between Carol, Finn, and Kurt, all of whom were nodding in confirmation. As far as Mary Evans knew her son had only been in a couple of fights in the last few years – one of them of course had occurred earlier that same night – but by a bizarre coincidence the other had been with Dave Karofsky as a result of his homophobic bullying of Kurt. Of course Mary hadn't liked the fact that her son had been fighting, but she was proud of him for defending his friend and standing up against prejudice. It never occurred to her that the boy he had quarreled with might be gay himself.
"I can't believe this!" Nancy shouted at her shell-shocked husband. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" she demanded.
"Can I guess?" Mary remarked sarcastically to Carol under her breath.
Paul Karofsky stood up and quietly said something to his wife as he tried to take her arm.
"I will not!" Nancy yelled, pulling away from him. "Our son has become perverted by homosexuality and now it's literally killing him. We have to fix him, Paul! We have to fix him now!"
Fury flashed across Mary Evans' face and her eyes narrowed on Nancy Karofsky.
"Mary wait!" Carol said, trying and failing to stop the angry woman. It seemed to her as though all she was doing tonight was trying to stop people in her group from fighting with the Karofskys.
"You know what's wrong with your son?" Mary asked Nancy in a loud voice as she approached the arguing couple. Nancy and Paul both turned to the blonde woman in surprise.
"He has one crippling problem to overcome: his mother," Mary shouted dramatically as she pointed an accusing finger at Nancy.
Nancy gaped at her, too surprised to respond at first. When she finally did open her mouth to speak Mary cut her off.
"You want to know why your son is in the hospital? Why he tried to end his own life?" Mary demanded, her voice dripping with hostility. On some level she knew that she was being mean, but she was too angry to care. When she was only a little bit younger than Sam was now she had lost one of her best friends, also gay, to suicide. For him it was a second suicide attempt and there was no doubt in Mary's mind that it happened because of the pain and humiliation his parents caused him after the first attempt. All she could think about was the possibility of history repeating itself with the Karofskys. She'd be damned if she was going to stand in this hospital and listen to Nancy spewing dangerous, vitriolic nonsense instead of taking care of her son.
Nancy glared at her and felt tears starting to sting her eyes. Who was this horrible woman attacking her when she had just been through so much? "Please, just-"
"I'll tell you why this happened. It's not because he's gay; it's because he was scared and devastated by the reactions of people around him. People just like you. People who treat him like he's less than a person because of his feelings. His normal, natural, unchangeable feelings."
"But he can change. He can-" Nancy tried to continue speaking, but Mary talked over her.
"No, he can't, and he shouldn't anyway. There's no reason for him to. He's fine just the way he is. You're the one with the problem, lady. Now shut up and get your head out of your ass and start being a mother before it's too late."
Everyone in the room was looking at Mary in shock. Paul was surprised to realize that he actually felt grateful to the stranger and that he even agreed with her assessment of the situation. "I think we should try to support him," Paul whispered as he led his wife back to their seats.
As Mary turned away from the couple, Burt was just re-entering the main waiting room, having missed all the excitement. When Mary saw him she gave him a small nod, but instead of stopping to speak with him she simply walked through the door from which he had exited, deciding that she would find her son on her own and needing a few moments to calm down before she spoke to anyone.
-000-
Rory was nervous. It was one thing for Sam to say that his parents wouldn't be mad about their relationship but in a few minutes he would be coming face to face with Sam's mother, whom he hadn't seen since Christmas. Rory liked Sam's mom a lot and cared about what she thought of him. The idea of her being angry at him or holding what happened to Sam against him made Rory feel queasy. He would have felt a lot better if Sam had at least been awake, but his exhausted boyfriend was out like a light.
Rory felt uncertain about what he should do. Should he lay Sam down on the table and go back to his seat so that at least Sam's mother wouldn't catch him holding Sam? Or should he stay put to show his resolve and commitment to Sam? Rory decided that he would stay put. Letting go of Sam would feel too much like abandoning him and would also feel too cowardly. Rory decided he would just face the consequences.
However, when Mary Evans walked into the room a few seconds later Rory's resolve immediately wavered. The woman was obviously fuming and it looked like she might start spitting bullets at any moment. It was all Rory could do not to let go of Sam and run. Fortunately, that didn't seem like a completely viable option either since he found himself frozen with fear of what she was going to say or do.
Mary Evans strode into the room and took a deep, steadying breath as she took in the sight of her son. She instantly noticed his swollen, discolored hand and though she knew that there was no logical reason why he would be unconscious due to his injuries – that he was simply resting instead – the fact that he was out bothered her deeply.
"Oh Sammy," She exclaimed as she rushed forward and enveloped her sleeping son in a tight embrace.
Rory awkwardly let go of Sam and moved away as she held him. He had to admit that in hindsight it made sense that Mrs. Evans was more concerned about her son than she was about anything to do with him. Rory felt relieved but he was also starting to feel a bit like he was intruding on a private moment.
"I'm sorry," the Irish boy muttered quietly, at a loss for what else to say but desperate to say something to break what for him was a very uncomfortable silence. He spoke so softly that if Sam's mother hadn't been so close she wouldn't have heard him at all.
"About what, dear?" she asked looking up at him and noticing for the first time just how upset he seemed to be.
"About what happened t'Sam," Rory answered, not making eye contact and putting as much distance between them as he could without actually jumping off the table. Rory had dismissed that possibility already. To do so would require going somewhere else, and he had no idea what to do with himself.
"It's horrible," Mary agreed, pulling her sleeping son closer. "To think that someone could hurt my sweet boy like that."
"It's all my fault," Rory said sadly as he stared at his shoes and felt another wave of guilt consume him. Sam was indeed sweet and good and it was horrible that anyone would hurt him. It was horrible and it was also all Rory's fault.
Mary's eyes snapped up to take in Rory's agonized expression. She didn't understand what he was talking about but she hated to see him looking so upset. "Your fault? What do you mean? Of course it isn't."
"If it weren't for me Sam wouldn't 'ave been a target," Rory answered, feeling ashamed of himself. "He'd be leading a normal life. He would 'ave never had feelings for a guy, and no one would hate him." Rory felt his heart breaking as he thought about how true his statement was. Sam had done everything for him and all he'd done was draw a big target on Sam's back.
"Rory honey, you're a sweet boy and I hate to say this, but that's a big load of crap," Mary said, giving the teen an encouraging smile.
"What do ye' mean?" Rory asked, surprised that Sam's mother didn't seem to agree with him. He was sure that she'd at least be a little bit mad at the role he had played in her son's torment even if she didn't blame him directly.
"It's not your fault you're gay, dear. And it's certainly not your fault Sam developed feelings for you. There are obviously a bunch of idiots and jerks in this godforsaken town, but you're definitely not to blame for that either."
"So ye're-"
"Happy for you, dear," Mary assured him. "Actually, I've suspected he had feelings for you since Christmas. Dwight didn't believe me about Sam; he didn't even think you were gay. But I knew. A mother always knows." Mary decided to ignore the fact that apparently Nancy Karofsky was clueless about her own son.
"So ye're really not mad?" Rory asked one more time just to be completely sure.
"It sure doesn't sound like she is, babe," Sam piped up, opening his eyes for the first time and smirking at Rory.
"Sammy! Ye're awake!" Rory's jaw dropped slightly in surprise.
"Oh you naughty thing!" Mary chided, kissing Sam's forehead and squeezing him.
"How long have ye' been awake?" Rory asked scooting closer on the exam table again and patting his boyfriend's knee.
"Since she told you you were full of shit," Sam answered, grinning and smiling back and forth between them. "But I didn't want to interrupt. Especially since I had already told you that you were full of shit on this topic. It was mom's turn to tell you."
"Well I didn't phrase it quite like that," Mary defended herself.
"I read between the lines," Sam answered, shrugging and throwing an arm around each of them.
-000-
It was very late, or actually very early in the morning, by the time the gang was finally done at the hospital. When Sam's X-rays had at last been reviewed by the doctor he confirmed that in addition to having been dislocated, Sam's middle finger was indeed broken as was the one between his middle finger and pinky. The rest of his fingers on both hands were deemed intact if a bit bruised and scrapped. By this time Sam felt no discomfort in his crotch whatsoever so he decided not to mention it to the doctor. While his fingers were being put in a splint and he was fitted with a cast – which he would have to wear for the next six weeks – Sam consoled himself as he thought that though he had decided not to mention his groin injury to the doctor he was pretty sure he'd be telling Rory all about it later for sympathy.
"You okay?" Doctor Jensen asked as he continued working on Sam's hand. "Looks like we lost you for a minute there."
"Oh um, yeah I'm fine," Sam blushed a deep shade of red and tried to clear his thoughts. His thoughts about sympathy had continued until he was imagining Rory kissing his wounds and making them better. Those fantasies were probably better left to ponder at a more private time. Not that it would be easy to enjoy 'private time' at all thanks to the state of his hands. Sam's cheeks flushed again as he considered the fact that he really might need Rory's assistance. Would it be okay to ask for that? Sam wasn't sure. They had already taken their relationship in that direction, but he was still nervous about doing anything that might make Rory feel pressured or uncomfortable.
"Did you hear me?" Doctor Jensen asked, annoyed that his patient had apparently checked out of reality again.
"I'm sorry, what?" Sam asked giving the irritated man his full attention.
The doctor sighed and frowned at Sam. It had been a long shift and his other teenage patient had barely pulled through. He was in no mood to put up with a spaced out teenager. "I said you need to avoid using this hand as much as possible. Don't try to write or type with it. If you move the bones they won't set properly and we may have to re-break it and start over."
Sam shuddered at the thought. "Yes sir, I'll be careful. Thank you."
"I'll get you a form for school. In a couple of days your left hand should be fine and you can try to write with that if you like." The doctor stood up and walked to the door deciding he was done with the boy whom he had deemed 'blond' in every connotation of the word.
As soon as Dr. Jensen stepped into the hallway he came face to face with yet another teenager who was demanding his attention. However, this one seemed physically unharmed and therefore not someone whom he saw the need to spend any of his valuable time with.
Kurt had been waiting outside to speak with the doctor since he had first walked into Sam's room. So far he had been unable to get any information whatsoever from anyone about Dave's condition and he was sick with worry. Kurt would have even braved asking Mr. Karofsky for news if he had seen him, but Dave's parents were now nowhere to be found. He didn't even know if Dave was still alive at this point. He kept picturing him lying in the morgue, cold and discolored.
"Doctor, is Dave Karofsky going to be okay?" Kurt asked as he purposely stepped into the doctor's path to try to impede his departure.
Dr. Jensen scowled at him and tried again to move past him but Kurt quickly stepped to the other side of the hallway. The doctor gave him a sharp glare. He had things to do and he was in no mood for games.
"Please move, young man. Your friend will be fine as long as he doesn't use his hand," Dr. Jensen stated, not paying attention to the name Kurt had given.
"No, not him, the..." Kurt steeled himself and decided it was best to be blunt and to the point. "The suicide attempt. Is he okay?"
Dr. Jensen paused and looked at Kurt more carefully. He had simply assumed that Kurt was with the unnecessarily large group of people who were here for his last patient. He found it thoroughly irritating that so many people were cluttering up the busy ER over something as trivial as a broken hand and he hadn't felt any inclination to be particularly nice or friendly to any of them. The suicide attempt on the other hand was another matter entirely. That was very serious and the troubled teen needed as many supportive people in his life as he could get. If this boy was here about him then the doctor decided he could spare him a little kindness.
"I'm sorry, Son," Dr. Jensen said much more gently. "I thought you were here for someone else. He hasn't regained consciousness yet and he's still in the ICU, but he's stable and I think his chances are good. I wish I could tell you more, but unfortunately at this point I can't. But come back tomorrow afternoon and you'll probably be able to visit him yourself. Now please excuse me."
Kurt stepped back to let the doctor pass as he took a deep breath of relief. The fact that Dave was still in ICU and still wasn't conscious obviously wasn't good, but at least he had pulled through the first few hours. That had to be a crucial first step, right? Besides, Kurt suspected that doctors and other medical professionals wouldn't say things like 'his chances are good' unless they truly believed it since otherwise that could give people false hope.
"Kurt what happened? Who's in ICU?" Sam asked from the doorway. He had walked out just in time to catch the tail end of Kurt's brief conversation with the doctor.
Kurt and the others had already filled Burt and even Rory in on what had happened with Dave – despite the fact that Rory had never actually met the guy – but they hadn't told Sam yet because they didn't want to give him anything else to worry about until he was done getting his hand patched up.
"Dave Karofsky," Kurt said, deciding that now was as good a time as any to explain what happened. "People at his new school found out he was gay and harassed him so much he tried to commit suicide."
"Oh my god!" Sam exclaimed stunned. "Why?"
"Why what?" Kurt asked, not quite sure what Sam meant.
"Why...why?" Sam blinked trying to figure out in his own head what he was asking. Part of him was simply shocked to hear that someone he knew was in ICU, another part of him simply couldn't wrap his head around how people could be so cruel to someone to push them to that point. Mostly though Sam couldn't understand how someone could even get to that point. He had never known anyone who had tried to commit suicide and it just wasn't something he understood. "Just...why?"
Kurt looked up at Sam with sad eyes. "The world is full of hate, Sam. Sometimes it seems like no one understands you. Like you have no where else to turn." Kurt's voice hitched as he tried to continue, his eyes starting to sting. "Sometimes you reach out for help, but no one listens."
"But someone would listen," Sam insisted. He felt like he had to be right. He had to be for the world to keep making any sense. "There's always someone you can turn to, someone who would understand. You can't ever really be that alone."
Kurt felt himself trembling. He had been fighting to hold himself together for the last few hours but he couldn't take it anymore. He slumped against the hallway wall and a strangled sob escaped his throat. Sam was alarmed by his friend's reaction and he immediately reached out with his unbandaged hand to touch Kurt's shoulder but as soon as he did the teen flinched away as though he had been burned. Kurt knew that Sam hadn't intentionally hurt him, but his words had cut Kurt to the core. Sam's declaration that there was always someone who would listen was like a slap in the face to Kurt. Sam was right, or at least he should have been. Dave shouldn't have been alone. He should have had someone to turn to. And he had tried. He had tried over and over to tell someone how he felt, but that someone hadn't listened. Kurt hadn't listened. And now Dave might die because of it.
"This is my fault," Kurt said quietly as he slid down the wall and sat on the cool floor, drawing his knees up to his chest. He wasn't sobbing or audibly crying at all. Instead the tears were silently trickling down his face.
"What? No, it isn't Kurt. Of course not," Sam insisted as he sat down on Kurt's left and awkwardly draped his right arm around the smaller guy's shoulders, being as careful as possible to avoid hitting him with the cast. "It wasn't your fault."
Kurt didn't answer, couldn't answer. Instead he just looked at Sam with a haunted look in his eyes and nodded his head solemnly.
Sam didn't know what to do. It couldn't have really been Kurt's fault. He knew Kurt too well to think he would have outed Karofsky or made fun of him, so it didn't make sense that he was to blame for any of this, but somehow his friend seemed to truly believe that he had done something very wrong and it was obvious that the pain and guilt were crushing him. Sam pulled Kurt further into his arms and leaned the brunet's head against his chest.
"Tell me what happened," Sam said soothingly as he patted Kurt's shoulder with his semi-good hand.
Kurt took a deep breath and leaned his face against Sam's chest, trying to compose himself before he started. He wished Blaine were here with him now, but in another way he was also glad that he wasn't. It would have felt less awkward if he had been doing this with Blaine instead of Sam, but somehow he knew that he would have also felt even more ashamed of himself.
"You know how Blaine and I went to BreadstiX for Valentine's Day?" Kurt asked in a shaky voice as he continued wrestling with his emotions.
"Yeah," Sam confirmed, softly rubbing Kurt's shoulder with his forearm having given up on trying to use his hand.
"Well Dave was there that night. See, I thought it was Blaine, but it was Dave," Kurt blurted out in a rush. He knew that very likely none of that made much sense to Sam, but he also felt like he was close to tears again and he was desperate just to get his story out while he could.
"You thought Karofsky was Blaine?" Sam asked perplexed. He didn't want to upset Kurt again but he had no idea what he was talking about. Blaine and Karofsky looked nothing alike and surely Kurt of all people could tell them apart.
"Yeah," Kurt said. "See earlier in the week I had gotten these unsigned Valentines, so I thought it was just Blaine being romantic. Then one of them asked me to BreakstiX for Valentine's night...Well then Blaine asked me later that same day. I just thought he was being cute."
"Oh, but the unsigned stuff was actually from Karofsky? So you were basically double booked for V-Day and you didn't even know it?" Sam asked for confirmation.
"Exactly." Kurt was pleased by how quickly Sam saw where he was going with his story. "So of course Dave was embarrassed. I was embarrassed. Blaine was embarrassed...and a little jealous. But he gave us some time to talk anyway, and Dave explained how he had feelings for me. How he thought Blaine and me had broken up."
"Why did he think that?" Sam asked.
"He saw us arguing at Scandals," Kurt answered.
"But what was so scandalous?" Sam asked, confused.
"No, not scandalous. Scandals. It's a gay bar," Kurt clarified.
"Wait, how did you get into a gay bar? Do you have a fake ID?" Sam inquired.
"Sam, that isn't the point," Kurt snapped pulling out of Sam's arms and glaring at him. Kurt couldn't understand why he was getting so fixated on details at a time like this. "He saw us arguing and somehow jumped to the conclusion we broke up or were on the rocks or whatever. I don't know. I don't care. It's just what happened."
"Okay okay, I'm sorry," Sam said, attempting to placate him.
"So anyway while we're having this big conversation about everything this guy from the football team at his new school overhears and confronts us. I think he must be the one who outed Dave."
"Whoa! What a douchebag!" Sam exclaimed.
"Yeah," Kurt agreed. "Well anyway all day Dave has been calling and calling...and calling. But I didn't answer or call back. I didn't know what to say. I mean I just...Well of course I didn't think that...this..." Kurt broke down and started crying again.
"Hey it's okay," Sam said, quickly pulling Kurt back into a tight hug. "You didn't know."
"I should have answered," Kurt muttered sadly. "I was the only person he had to talk to about this stuff."
"Kurt, it-"
"No! It was my fault, Sam!" Kurt shouted as his despair turned to anger and he pulled away from Sam again balling his hands into tight fists. "I'm the person he tried to reach out to when all of this happened and I shunned him too. Just like everyone else."
"Kurt, shut up and look at me," Sam ordered in a firm, even voice as he grabbed each of Kurt's shoulders, ignoring the stab of pain he caused himself in the process. He didn't speak again until Kurt's blue eyes had locked with his green ones. "This was not your fault."
"Yes, it was. I should have-"
"Kurt," Sam silenced him in a sharp, commanding tone. Kurt had never seen Sam act like this before and the unexpected behavior compelled him to quit arguing and listen. "You showed Karofsky more kindness and compassion than anyone else ever did. It's no wonder he developed feelings for you, but that's not your fault either. You did absolutely everything you could for him. You forgave him and befriended him when very few people in your place would have even considered the idea. So yeah, in retrospect I'm sure you can pick out things you wish you had done differently, but there's no point in picking apart the past, Kurt. Ultimately Dave is responsible for his own actions, not you. If anyone else is to blame it's the prick who outed him and the assholes who taunted him, but not you. You're hurting and you feel bad and that's normal, but this isn't on you at all. Okay?"
Kurt averted his eyes and nodded slightly.
"Okay?" Sam prompted him again.
"Okay," Kurt agreed softly, looking back up at Sam again.
"Good," Sam declared giving Kurt another squeeze. "Now let's get out of this damn hospital before they start charging us rent."
-000-
"Are you staying over, Mom?" Sam asked on the way home. He was stretched out in the back seat of his mother's car while Rory was riding shotgun up front. He had just taken a second dose of medication and he was starting to feel a little bit loopy. At this point he was simply doing his best to keep his eyes open until he got home.
"Yep, and so is Rory," Mary answered cheerfully.
"Really?!" Sam exclaimed in what would normally have been an enthusiastic voice, but which came out sounding more like a yawn.
Rory laughed as his boyfriend's muted excitement. "Yeah, Sammy, we worked it out while they were mending ye'r hand. Ye'r mum is going t'take ye'r bed and we're going t'sleep on an air mattress on the floor. Finn and Burt 'ave one from camping. I already cleared it with the Pierces too."
"I thought Burt and Carol wouldn't let you sleep over anymore?" Sam asked, frowning as he remembered the rule.
This time Mary laughed. "I think they assumed that with me in the room you boys would behave."
"Aww crud, I guess we will have to," Sam said in a disappointed voice. He was too drowsy and spaced out from the medication to realize how he sounded.
"Sam," Rory chided in an embarrassed tone as his cheeks flushed crimson and he turned to stare out of his window.
"Wait, what did I say?" Sam asked, raising himself up on his elbows and trying to figure out what he had done to upset his boyfriend.
"I think it's more how you said it, dear," his mother remarked, amused by the amplifying effect the medication was having on Sam's already generally guileless nature.
Sam shrugged and lay back down, still unsure of what he had done wrong.
"I'm really happy that you guys are staying. It makes me feel a lot better," Sam said sweetly, deciding that it was time to ingratiate himself with both people in the front seat. "Thanks for coming all this way, mom, I love you. Thanks for being such an amazing boyfriend, Rors, I love you."
"I love you too, baby, I'm just glad you're safe," Mary answered. She was well aware that Sam was doing damage control, but she didn't mind. She hadn't seen nearly enough of him the last few months. If he wanted to suck up a little that was fine with her.
"I love you, Sammy," Rory called quietly after a few seconds as he turned in his seat and smiled at his boyfriend. He was embarrassed saying it in front of Sam's mother, but he knew he would have felt worse not saying it at all. Like Mary, Rory also realized what Sam was up to, but he decided that Sam was being too cute and sweet to stay mad at...even if he had just made lewd and embarrassing implications in front of his mother.
Sam smiled to himself, satisfied that he had apparently made up for whatever faux pas he had committed. "Nga yawne lu oer," he babbled happily in Na'vi.
"Nga yawne lu oer," Rory and Mary called back in unison. All three of them started giggling and by the time they had stopped Sam had drifted off to sleep.
When they arrived at the house they decided to get everything ready before attempting to wake Sam. Finn and Burt got out the air mattress and inflated it while Rory brushed his teeth and helped himself to a pair of Sam's pajamas. Meanwhile, Mary got the spare bedding from Carol and began making up the temporary bed for the boys while Rory and Finn went back out to the car to get Sam.
"Sammy? Sammy, we're home," Rory said softly as he opened the car door, careful to make sure Sam didn't fall out. Sam just groaned and muttered something incoherent before rolling over in the seat.
"Watch out, Rory," Finn said as he stepped past the younger teen.
"Sam, you gotta get up and go in the house," he said, hooking his arms under Sam's and pulling him out of the car.
"Ennn! No," Sam argued petulantly as Finn forced him onto his feet. Rory quickly got on Sam's other side to make sure he wouldn't fall.
"Come on, Sam," Rory coaxed, pulling Sam's arm over his shoulder and hooking his own arm around his boyfriend's waist. "Ye' can go back t'sleep once we get inside."
"Too far," Sam muttered slumping against Rory and letting his legs go slack again. Before he could drag the lighter boy down, Finn pulled him back to his feet and latched on firmly.
"Just try to stay on your feet, Sam. We'll do the rest," Finn said, leading them toward the house. Between the two of them they half-carried, half-dragged Sam into the house and to his room where Mrs. Evans was just finishing making up the air mattress.
"He's always been a sound sleeper once he's out," Mary remarked when they carried her son into the room.
Maybe I should freak out and fall on top o' him, Rory thought to himself with a snicker. That usually does the trick.
"I'm going to go brush my teeth," Mary said as she left the room.
"You need help undressing him?" Finn asked Rory awkwardly as he realized Sam probably wouldn't be very comfortable like he was.
"Um, yeah, kinda," Rory admitted.
Finn sighed but resigned himself to his task. "Okay, I'll hold him and move him around, you undress him."
After a few minutes of struggling the pair eventually managed to strip a mostly unconscious, but partially grumpy Sam down to just his briefs. Then they wrestled him into a comfy old t-shirt and decided to claim their efforts as a victory.
"Thank ye', Finn Hudson," Rory said gratefully as they eased him all the way down on the air mattress and under the covers.
"You're welcome, Rory Flanagan," Finn answered, smirking and patting Rory's shoulder. "Good night."
"Night," Rory said as Finn left the room.
Rory got in the inflated bed and moved Sam into as comfortable looking a position as possible before wrapping his arms around him and kissing him softly on the lips. A few minutes later Sam's mother returned, dressed in her own night clothes and ready for bed.
"Good night, Rory," Mary said as she climbed into bed and turned off the lamp.
"Good night, ma'am," Rory said politely.
"Rory dear, I wanted to tell you again how glad I am that you and Sam are together," Mary added as she remembered the mental note she had made earlier in the evening.
"Really?" Rory asked, feeling his stomach flutter at her approval.
"Absolutely," Mary affirmed. "Just be good to him, hun. That's all I ask."
"Thank ye' so much," Rory said, overwhelmed. "That means so much t'me."
"Nothing to thank me for," Mary answered. "It's just the right thing. And you know I'm not just speaking for myself. Dwight is delighted too and we've been waiting for you and Sammy to tell the little ones, but you know they're going to be thrilled. They haven't liked any of Sam's friends or girlfriends nearly as much as you since Quinn, and just between you and me, I'm pretty sure you've already edged her out."
"Wow," Rory murmured. He felt like another one of his dreams was coming true. The Evans' family really did like and accept him. Of course he still hadn't talked to Sam's father or siblings in person about it yet, but if Sam's mother said they would be glad then that was enough for him to finally believe it.
Mary chuckled softly to herself at his reaction. "Good night, sweetie," she said as she shut her eyes.