Kurt had never met Cooper Anderson in the flesh, and he had to say he much preferred the singing, dancing version he remembered from the Free Credit Rating commercial to the still handsome, but terribly self-absorbed actor who was now nonchalantly laying an arm around Blaine's shoulders while he left Kurt to handle their baggage.
"Good of you to come, little bro," he said, dragging Blaine along to the car that was waiting for them, and proceeded to continue talking about himself for five straight minutes without once asking how they were or even mentioning his mother.
They had come as quickly as they could; Kurt had booked the earliest flight he could while Blaine sat beside him in a state of shock, answering his questions in a monotone, distracted way that showed he was occupied with his own thoughts. But apparently, Cooper hadn't shared too many details, only that there had been an accident, Mrs Anderson was injured, and to come at once.
So they had. And now Kurt was sitting on the backseat, listening to Cooper ramble while Blaine sat there probably silently freaking out.
But once again, Blaine surprised him. He simply interrupted Cooper mid-sentence, asking,
"Coop, how's mom?"
"Oh, she's fine. A couple of broken bones, nothing more than you'd expect when you ride a motorbike when you're nearly sixty."
"She was riding a motorbike?"
"Yeah, her new boyfriend brought her into it. She swerved, crashed into a fence, and the bike fell on her. She'll be fine."
"You...made it seem much more serious when we talked on the phone."
"Oh, I was being intentionally vague. I wanted to study your reaction, for research. You disappointed, though. I was hoping for more emotion."
"I'm sorry to disappoint. The reaction was genuine, though. I'm sure you can use it," Blaine said tiredly, and Kurt could see the resignation that could only come from years-long exposure to Cooper's...eccentricity.
He himself had to fight to keep his mouth shut, and he was beginning to realize there were issues with Blaine's family he had said nothing about.
When they arrived at the hospital, Blaine came back to Kurt's side immediately, gripping his hand for support. Kurt squeezed it and smiled, hoping to silently communicate that they would get through this and he would be with him every step of the way.
He didn't trust himself to speak, though. He was about to meet Blaine's mom for the first time, in circumstances that were less than ideal. She would be in pain, probably, and somewhat cranky, and possibly not in the mood to be introduced to strangers. And he was tired form traveling, nervous, and still rattled from their fight earlier and wondering about the implications and what it would mean for them in the future.
But it felt good that Blaine needed him. Not just for his own self-esteem and identity as a Dom, but also because Blaine trusted him at least enough to know he wouldn't be alone for this.
He put his hand on the small of Blaine's back and smiled as he felt Blaine lean into his touch, then guided him into the hospital.
They bought some flowers in the hospital gift shop, and then a friendly nurse showed them to Mrs Anderson's room. It was a regular room, not in Intensive Care or anything, so Cooper was probably right with his estimate that she would be fine. Kurt still wanted to kill him for scaring Blaine so much.
He kept in the background as they entered the room, not wanting to disturb the family reunion, but he could see that Mrs Anderson was a pretty woman who was currently wearing a sling around her left arm and a neck brace, and a big smile as she extended her healthy arm towards her sons. She didn't look cranky at all.
"Mom, what were you thinking?" Blaine asked as he kissed his mother on the cheek. He still seemed agitated, as if he didn't dare believe that his mom would indeed be fine.
"Now dear, don't fuss," she said, petting his cheek. "It was my own fault. I'll do better next time."
"Next time?" Blaine asked, horrified.
"Of course. Did you think I'd give up after a little thing like this? It was too much fun for that. Now-" with a suppressed groan, she sat up some more, grimacing a little with pain, "introduce me to that boyfriend of yours. It's been long enough!"
Kurt couldn't quite suppress his grin as he stepped forward. He found he quite liked this woman, who had managed to at least distract Blaine without belittling him, and who apart from the initial greeting, had left Cooper standing in a corner, clearly disgruntled at having to leave center stage to someone else for the time being.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said, shaking her hand. "I hope you're well - um, considering the circumstances."
He saw Blaine grinning at his lapse of speech, and he would have loved to glare at him, playfully threatening punishment for his cheek, but he didn't. Though they had made up, nothing was resolved, and he felt still too fragile for something like that, too afraid of Blaine's reaction that he didn't feel sure he could estimate correctly anymore.
Mrs Anderson laughed. "I'm fine, even though this -" she indicated her pajamas and robe, "is not the attire I usually receive guests in. But please, call me Pam."
"Pam," Kurt repeated, smiled, and tried not to let her see he was asking himself why a woman named Pam would take her husband's name at marriage when said name was Anderson, and then even keep that name after getting divorced.
"It's a shame you haven't come to see me before," Pam said. "Blaine sounded quite excited about you whenever we talked on the phone. But so at least this accident has been good for something."
She smiled, so she probably wasn't really mad, and Blaine reacted with a good-natured eye roll. "We promise to not wait until the next one to visit again, okay? Will that do? So you can be careful on that machine of yours and not break the rest of your bones?"
"I promise. It's good to see you, baby, but now I want to have a talk with your boyfriend. Cooper, go and get a coffee with your brother. It will do you good to catch up."
Blaine glanced at Kurt and shrugged as Cooper once again put an arm around his shoulders and left, leaving Kurt stunned at seeing them so unceremoniously dismissed and nervous about why Pam wanted to talk to him alone - because she hadn't even tried to be subtle about that.
He pulled a chair up to her bed and sat down while Pam was still watching her sons go.
Then she asked, "What was he so worked up about? It's only a few broken bones. I'll be clear to go home next week."
Kurt hesitated. "Um...apparently, on the phone Cooper made it sound like you were dying. To study Blaine's reaction for acting research."
"That little shit." Pam seemed genuinely angry, as she should in Kurt's opinion, but she still looked pensive. "I'll talk to him about it -again -, but...don't you think there's more? Blaine looked really...I don't know."
Kurt sighed. Although she was the one on the bed, he felt like on a therapist's couch. He knew that feeling; Elliot was the same way, asking him something and somehow making him want to tell. But he had to be more circumspect with Blaine's mom.
He shifted in his seat. As much honesty as possible would be best, and denying to know anything else didn't seem an option anymore. He had hesitated too long; Pam was watching him with a patient but expectant look.
"Um...we quarreled. We made up right before Cooper called, but...the issue is still there. We'll get over it, but...it has shaken us. And then came the phone call, and with the journey and believing you were..."
"On death's door, I know. God, I'll kill Cooper. No wonder he looked so wrought up. Tell me, Kurt, do you love my son?"
"I do. Very much. I've tried to...be there for him as much as I could, but...I don't know how he feels about all of this. I should -"
He stood up and made to go and look for Blaine, see if he needed him, but Pam held him back.
"You should stay here with me and let Blaine and Cooper talk."
Kurt sat down again; again like with Elliot, there was no way to defy her.
"They have a strange relationship. They don't see each other often, and when they do, they need a moment to get used to each other again. But after that, they actually get along quite well. Talking to Cooper might even help Blaine, if Cooper can get over himself for a moment to listen."
Kurt nodded silently.
"Now," she continued. "You love Blaine. I know that Blaine loves you. He talks about you every time we speak, and he doesn't really hide his feelings. The word 'soulmate' might have been mentioned."
Kurt felt himself blush and put his hands over his mouth to contain a giggle.
"I do know, too, that love isn't actually all you need," Pam said. "Things get rough and relationships break apart. All of mine did, not that I'm sorry for it, in hindsight. And I don't know you. But I know my son, and the way he's been talking about you, I think you have something going. Would you say you are a good match?"
Kurt couldn't help but smile as he thought about all the things he and Blaine had in common, both those Pam could know about and those he'd rather she wouldn't. He nodded.
"So. I don't know what your issue is, it's none of my business, but I think you two have potential, and I think you should talk. Go and find your man, and send him in to me to say goodbye, and then you go grab dinner together or something. Tomorrow, you come back here, but then you go home. I'm fine. Just don't wait as long again to visit."
"Yes, ma'am," Kurt said unironically, and Pam just grinned at him as she waved him off.
"Go. I want my son happy, and at the moment it seems he needs to properly make up with you to be happy. And maybe his brother's head on a spike."
Kurt laughed as he left the room, going in search of Blaine. There were a lot of things they still had to say to each other, and maybe 'I love you' was the best way to start.