A/N: Hello everybody. Thanks again for reading and following this story; reading your reviews puts a smile on my face every time, just so you know. Today we get to meet another member of the Anderson family and there are more coming in the future. We also have our boys being cute together (as always) so be warned. I hope you like it. =)

21.- FAMILY AND FRIENDS PART 2

Kurt was sitting on his bed when he received a text from Blaine saying he had arrived home and was now on his way to Cincinnati with his parents. He could only wait for the right moment to call his boyfriend and hope that Blaine´s grandfather was alright. Blaine loved of all his grandparents but he knew that his boyfriend had a special connection to his grandpa Ed and that he would suffer terribly if something bad ever happened to him.

To Blaine, the car ride to Cincinnati seemed to last forever, even if it had only been a little less than two hours. His mother had been calling grandma Norah every now and then, but the doctors still hadn´t come out to say anything.

"Honey, please calm down. No news is good news, right? It means that he is still fighting, you know this" – William was trying to soothe Victoria´s nerves

"I know, but it´s nerve wracking not knowing anything"

"Well, we´re almost there"

Finally they made it to the hospital. Grandma Norah was in the waiting room and stood up from her seat when she saw them coming. They all hugged and then sat down together.

"Mom, have you heard anything yet?"

"A nurse just came out to tell me that the doctor will be here soon"

At that precise moment a doctor walked in. They all stood up again. Victoria was holding Norah´s hands and William had one of his arms around his wife´s waist and the other around Blaine´s shoulders.

"Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Peterson. I´m the head of cardiology in this hospital and I´m attending Mr. Martin"

"My name is Victoria Anderson. This is my mother Norah Martin, my husband William Anderson and our son Blaine"

"It´s a pleasure to meet you. Please sit down" – They all went back to their seats

"How is he? How is my father?"

"Well, he had a moderate heart attack, it took us a while but we have managed to stabilize him. We are still keeping him under observation but it seems that the crisis had passed. Now we have to wait to see how much he is able to heal and how fast"

"Does this means that my grandfather is going to be ok?"

"We don´t know for sure yet, but he seems to be responding to treatment at the moment"

"But that is good, right?"

"Yes, it is."

"Can I see my husband?"

"I´m sorry Mrs. Martin, but he is at the moment still under very strict supervision and we are running some test to determine the damage. Once all the procedures are finished, we will let you see him. I´m sorry can´t tell you much more right now, but I´ll make sure you get updates as frequently as possible"

"I´m a doctor as well. Is it possible for me to go through the tests and the treatment he has received so far?"

"Absolutely Mrs. Anderson. If you follow me to my office I´ll give you the details"

"Thank you"- Victoria then addressed her family – "William, can you stay with mom, please?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Blaine and I will keep Norah company"

"Thank you"

Victoria gave her mother a kiss and a hug and then walked out of the room with Dr. Peterson. William helped Norah back to her seat and sat next to her keeping one of his arms around her shoulders. Blaine took the seat on the other side and took his grandmother´s hand.

"How are you feeling Norah?"

"I´ve been so scared. It was horrible to see him on the floor like that"

"It´s ok. He´ll be fine. Edward is a fighter"

"Dad´s right Nana. Grandpa is going to be fine. You heard the doctor, he is responding to treatment"

"I know I have to be positive, but all this time waiting for news was a nightmare"

"Would you like to have something to drink or eat?"

"I can´t eat right now but I could use some tea"

"Blaine, please go to the cafeteria and get some tea for Nana and some coffee for your mother, I know she´ll need one when she comes back"

"Sure, dad. Do you need anything?"

"Coffee will fine. Thank you. Also, please call your brother to let him know how your grandfather is doing and ask him if he managed to book a flight"

"Absolutely. I´ll call Cooper and I´ll be back soon with the tea and the coffees"

"Thank you son"

Blaine had called Cooper and given him the update on his way to the cafeteria and now he was waiting for the tea and coffees to be ready when his phone rang. He saw the caller ID and when he saw the picture of his boyfriend smiling at him, he couldn´t help but smile too as a reflex.

B: Hello, beautiful (Blaine greeted Kurt as always buy his voice lacked the happiness it usually carried)

K: Blaine, honey. How are you? How´s your grandfather? Have you heard from the doctors yet?

B: Yes, the doctor came to talk to us as little after we got here

K: What did he say?

B: Well, Grandpa´s heart attack was moderate but they have stabilized him and they are running some tests

K: That´s good news, right?

B: In comparison to the alternative, yes

K: Oh, I wish I could be there for you

B: You are. Thank you for calling, you don´t know how much good it does to me to hear your voice right now

K: I´m here for as long as you need me

B: Thank you

K: How are your mom and grandma?

B: Mom is talking medical stuff with the doctor, grandma is doing ok, I guess. She is still a little shaken up but now that we have some news, she is doing better. I´m actually at the cafeteria getting some tea for her.

K: That´s good to know. Now, (Kurt´s voice was suddenly softer and affectionate) you didn´t answer my first question: how are you?

B: The truth?...I´m still scared… What if he doesn´t get better?

K: Honey, it´s ok to be scared. You love him and you want him to be ok, but he will be fine soon

B: You don´t know that

K: You´re right, I don´t. But I have to believe he will because he is important to you and what´s important to you it´s important to me.

B: Thank you

K: Remember that I´m here

B: I know. Look, grandma´s tea is ready, I´ll take this to her and I´ll text you, ok?

K: Sure, please say hello to your family for me and that I wish your grandfather a soon recovery

B: I will

K: I love you, very much

B: I love you, too, tons

K: Bye

B: Bye

Blaine went back to the waiting room and his mother was back. She was now next to his father and she looked exhausted. He gave everyone their drinks and sat next to his grandmother again.

"Did you find out anything else mom?"

"Yes, the latest tests show that although the strength of the heart attack was kind of strong, the area affected was very small, which it´s good. They also haven´t found any clots so it is most likely that it was caused by an artery spasm. It´s rare, but it happens. Mom, has dad been upset or stressed about something recently?"

"Yes, he has been working long hours for days and he seemed really stressed about it"

"But dad is retired!"

"Well, Joseph called him a couple of weeks ago. Apparently someone in his company was messing with the financial records and the IRS alerted him of some suspicious movements or something like that. Joseph asked for two weeks to find out what was going on before he was charged with anything. You know that your father is a specialist in this kind of things and Joseph said he could trust no one else to do it, so he has been working non-stop to help his friend and last night he finished his report"

"So he found out who did it?"

"I think so, he slept really badly and I heard part of a conversation he had with Joseph early this morning. Everything seemed to point towards Matthew"

"What?! His wife´s nephew?"

"Yeah, do you remember how Joseph always thought that that boy was weird? Well, I think his guts were trying to tell him that Matthew couldn´t be trusted. The thing is that the entire situation really affected your father because Joseph is a very good friend"

"Of course, they are practically brothers. That must be the cause then"

"So what now, mom?"

"Now, Blaine, we wait. His blood pressure is still high which is to be expected and it´s being treated. When grandpa gets better, he will have to avoid stress at all cost"

"Blaine, did you call Cooper as I asked you? – William asked

"Yes, dad. The earliest he can be here is Monday night. He was with some friends on a road trip and he is on his way back to L.A., he has to make several connections to get here but he already booked the flights"

"Good. At least your grandfather is getting better"

"Yeah, Cooper was really worried, he seemed to be in better spirits and much calmer when I told him what the doctor told us. He´s calling you later"

"Ok. Thank you son"

"It´s alright dad"

In the next three hours either a nurse or a doctor would come to tell them that Mr. Martin was still stable and that his blood pressure had continued to come down and that if things kept progressing the way they were, they would move him from the ICU to the MCU and they will be able to see him in a few more hours. They were all sitting in the waiting room, tired but visibly more relax because of the good news. when Blaine heard the most beautiful voice in the world to him.

"Blaine?"

"Kurt?" – Blaine couldn´t believe his eyes. He stood up and ran to hug his boyfriend – "Oh my God! What are you doing here?"

"Aren´t you happy to see me?" – Kurt asked with some humor in his voice

"What? Of course I am. I just can´t believe you´re here"

"Well, you did say you wanted me here, so here I am"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" – Blaine hugged Kurt again even tighter- "You don´t know how much you being here means to me"

"Honey, it´s ok. I wanted, no, I needed to be here with you" – Kurt kissed Blaine on the cheek because he still remembered where they were and everyone around them; he still took Blaine´s hand in his and laced their fingers together giving them a little squeeze, though. Blaine couldn´t stop himself from smiling because Kurt had that effect on him no matter what.

"Kurt! Honey, what a wonderful surprise!" – Victoria came close and gave him a hug. Kurt left Blaine´s hand momentarily to hug her back.

"It´s really nice of you to come all this way" – William said patting his back

"Actually, I hope I´m not intruding"

"Not at all. You know you´re always welcome"

"Thank you"

"Nana – Blaine said once the greetings were over and he saw the curious look on his grandmother´s face -"This is my boyfriend, Kurt Hummel. Kurt, this is my grandmother, Norah Martin"

"It´s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Martin"

"I am happy to finally meet you, too Kurt. I´ve heard so much about you"

"Everything good I hope"

"Absolutely, Blaine wouldn´t stop gushing about you when he visited us for my husband´s birthday a few weeks ago"

"Nana!" – Blaine moaned all red in the face. Everybody laughed. Kurt smiled at Blaine and kissed his cheek again joining their hands together as before.

"So, how is Mr. Martin doing, if I may ask?"

"Grandpa is doing better. He is responding to treatment and hopefully we will be able to see him in a few hours"

"That´s great! I am so glad to hear that"

After Kurt´s arrival the mood seemed to improve in the room. That little fit of laughter they had had, worked wonders in everybody. They were all seated again but this time instead to sitting alone, Blaine had Kurt´s arms wrapped around him and he was resting his head on his boyfriend´s shoulder. Blaine had told Kurt that both his grandparents on his mother´s side were really accepting, so he knew Norah was ok with them being that affectionate in front of her, not to mention that the sweet smile she gave them whenever she looked their way was very reassuring.

"So, Kurt" – Norah said – "Are you driving back to Lima tonight? It seems dangerous"

"Mmm, well. I was planning on staying for the rest of the weekend. Blaine said he was staying here for a few days and I wanted to be around for as long as I could possibly be. My dad gave me permission to stay until Monday midday, if that is alright with you. I booked a room in a little hotel not far away from here"

"Oh, it´s absolutely ok for you to be here. I know Blaine really appreciates it and we do too; and there is no way you´ll stay in a hotel. Our house is big enough for you to stay with us…" – Kurt was about to protest because he had come unannounced and he didn´t want to impose but Norah noticed and spoke before he could say anything – "…and that is the end of the discussion"- She said with finality

"I wouldn´t argue with her if I were you, trust me, it´s pointless" – Blaine said with a chuckle

"Oh, alright. Thank you Mrs. Martin. That´s very generous of you"

"Sweetie please, it´s the least I can do after you drove all the way here to be with my grandson and support our family" – Norah said with a warm smile

"What can I say? I´m kind of fond of the Andersons" – Kurt winked

"Just fond of?" – Blaine asked looking kind of hurt but Kurt knew he was just pretending to be

"Well, I might like you a like bit more out of the whole bunch" – Kurt kissed Blaine´s nose making him giggle

"You were right Tory, they look very cute together" – Norah commented

"Yes, they do"

"Would you two stop it, you are making them go redder by the minute" – William intervened on behalf of both boys and Blaine mouthed a silent thank you. William just winked at his son in acknowledgement.

At that moment Dr. Peterson walked in and they all stood up. Kurt unwrapped his arms from around Blaine and took his hand hoping they were getting good news. The doctor looked surprised to see him there and at how he was holding Blaine but recovered fast and didn´t comment. Kurt didn´t know if the doctor had a problem with them or not because his face was neutral, but he kept Blaine´s hand held tight just the same.

"Well, I have good news. Mr. Martin has continued to improve steadily, still a little slower than what we would like but improving nonetheless so chances of a fully recovery are looking as a real possibility, now"

"Oh, that is amazing to hear" – Victoria said with obvious relief in her voice and everybody else let out the breath they had been holding since the moment the doctor walked in

"Yes, it is. As his blood pressure is almost normal, we are definitely moving him to the MCU within the next couple of hours. I know you have been here for a very long time so I recommend you to rest a little and get something to eat. It won´t do much for our patient if any of you gets ill" – Dr. Peterson said with a smile

"Is my husband awake? When can we see him?"

"He is still resting; his body went through a traumatic experience so it´s normal to be exhausted. He will need a lot of rest to recover both here and at home once he is released. You will be able to see him once we move him but not all of you at the same time"

"Of course. Oh, I´m sorry, this is Kurt Hummel, my son´s boyfriend and we would like him to have the same visiting privileges we get as the patient´s family" – Victoria said signaling to Kurt. Kurt felt all warm inside at Victoria´s words. What she just said was a very nice gesture.

"It´s a pleasure, Kurt" – Dr. Peterson said with a small smile then he addressed Mrs. Anderson – "It won´t be a problem. I´ll make sure he gets a pass as well"

"Thank you"

"My pleasure. I have to go do my rounds so I´ll be seeing you in a couple of hours"

"Thank you again Dr. Peterson" – Norah said with sincere gratitude in her eyes

"Believe me Mrs. Martin, we are glad that your husband is one of those who´d made it. Now if you excuse me" – Dr. Peterson smiled again and walked out of the room

"Oh thank God!" – Blaine said and hugged Kurt, who held him very tight in response. Victoria was hugging her mother as well with William´s hands reassuringly on her shoulders. This was the news they had been waiting for the entire day and now that the worst part was over they could all relax.

"Well, I don´t know about you but I´m feeling really hungry all of a sudden. What do you say if we all go get something to eat?" – William asked and received nods from everybody

"Where should we go?" – Victoria wondered

"I know you´ll probably would like something better, but if it is ok with you I would like to go to the cafeteria. I know Ed is getting well and that he is in good hands but I don´t feel like leaving the hospital just yet. Not at least until I see him"

"It´s ok mom. We´ll do as you say"

"Yeah, besides, I checked what they have there and some things looked kind of good" – Blaine commented

"It´s decided then. Let´s go" – William said before they started walking out of the room

They went to the cafeteria and although there weren´t many great choices regarding the food, they all found something to their liking. They sat together feeling really hungry after hours of worry.

"So, Kurt, I have to say that I am really happy to meet you, despite the circumstances and I appreciate you being here for Blaine, so thank you"

"It´s has been great meeting you too. Blaine speaks about you and your husband all the time. I have to admit that I´ve been wanting to meet you for quite some time. About me being here… well, Blaine is important to me and I knew he needed support so I was driving here before I stopped to think if it was right for me to impose my presence like this"

"What silly thing to say. Somebody who cares about my family the way you do would never be an inconvenience"

"Thank you"

"He is amazing, isn´t he Nana?" – Blaine said with real pride in his voice

"Yes, you´ve chosen well, sweetie" – Norah answered and Kurt was absolutely embarrassed with all the compliments

"Oh, please Norah. Stop torturing Kurt" – William interjected – "look, he is practically a tomato right now. You´re going to scare him away"

"No, no, it´s ok. I promise" – Kurt tried to recover but his blush was so obvious that he failed miserably. They all laughed.

"Alright, I´m going to get some desert. Nana, please try not to mortify my boyfriend while I´m gone" – Blaine said while Norah made the gesture of crossing her heart. When he was content with his grandmother´s response he addressed Kurt – "Do you want something else, angel?"

"No, thank you. I´m good"

"Ok. I´ll be right back" – Blaine said and then he kissed Kurt´s forehead while standing up to finally go to the service area. Norah noticed and before Victoria could stop her she was talking to Kurt again

"Oh, my God Kurt! I suspected it but it´s nice to have it confirmed!"

"I´m sorry Mrs. Martin, I´m not following you"

"Mom!" – Victoria tried

"Oh, Tory, this is wonderful. Our Blaine is in love!"

"MOM!"

"Wait! What?! How did you…" – Kurt was shocked. He had his eyes growing big as plates and if he was a tomato before he knew there was no name of the shade of red he was right now. He was alone, surrounded by Blaine´s family hearing for the first time that they knew Blaine and he were in love. He thought it was something they had kept for themselves, but he didn´t know how Norah had figured it out.

"Kurt, honey, please forgive my mother"

"Victoria, it´s just that I don´t…"

"You don´t know how I know?" – Norah asked incredulously. Kurt just shook his head. He was speechless

"In this family, we say I love you with a kiss on the forehead. Didn´t Blaine tell you?"

"No" – Kurt breathed out – "He didn´t"

"Is that a problem? Hadn´t he said the L word to you? You don´t love him back? Because you could have fooled me" – Norah said with a warm smile

"No, it´s not that. We know how we feel about each other. It´s just that I didn`t know you knew"

"I´m sorry to burst your bubble, Kurt" – William said laughing – "but I think everybody knows. It´s written all over both of your faces. We all knew before we saw the gesture, seeing it happening was just a confirmation"

"Wow… I.. I just don´t know what to say"

"You don´t have to say anything, Kurt. We are happy for the two of you. You know I didn´t feel that way at the beginning, but I´ve been part of the club for quite some time now. We are happy that you both are happy and that´s that"

"Thank you. Does Blaine know you know?"

"He does" – Victoria answered this time – "please don´t be mad at him. He didn´t know he had given it away until we pointed it out. The same as now, he kissed you in front of us without realizing what he was doing. That´s how we knew for sure"

"It´s ok. I´m not mad at him. It´s just surprising" – Kurt´s voice was closer to his normal tone as he was recovering from the shock – "I wonder if my family has figured it out, too?"

"Oh, honey I bet they have. You don´t drop everything and drive to another city to spend countless hours in a hospital for someone you don´t love" – Victoria said while placing a hand over Kurt´s

"I see your point" – Kurt smiled to himself. He had to admit that both Blaine and he had done things that had let their families know how they felt about each other without being aware of it, but it was alright. He was happy and very proud of their relationship, being in love was a good thing after all and their parents didn´t seem to think they were too young or that it was too soon to feel this way, so everything was ok. He did remember something that he would like to talk to Blaine about but now was not the time – "Thank you for the support you are giving us, but I need you to do me a favor"

"What do you need Kurt?" – William was curious

"I need you to please not to tell Blaine about this conversation. He might think that I am mad at him although I´m not and with everything going on, I don´t want him to worry unnecessarily. I´ll talk to him about this at a better time, I promise."

"I think we can do that. I think we have interfered enough, haven´t we?" – Victoria said, directing the last part to her mother. Norah just raised her arms in surrender looking all innocent but Victoria knew better

"Thank you" – Kurt said appreciating their understanding

"Thank you for what?" – Blaine asked as he had just arrived at the table and sat back next to Kurt with a piece of chocolate cake

"Oh, it´s nothing, sweetie. Kurt was just thanking me for letting him stay at our house while he is here, even when I said it was unnecessary to thank me" – Norah covered for everybody, receiving an approving nod from Blaine´s parents and thankful look from Kurt.

"Well, it was a very nice gesture from you, Nana. I am grateful, too"

"Don´t worry about it, sweetie"

They carried on talking about the ranch, school, and other things while Blaine finished his desert. Blaine noticed some kind of change in the interaction between his family and Kurt, but he couldn´t put a finger on it. There seemed to be some kind of complicity that wasn't there before and he couldn´t explain it, but the change was for the better so he let it go for the time being. Blaine decided that the important thing was that his boyfriend was welcomed in his family and that his grandfather was going to be ok. He was happy to know that they will get to see Grandpa Ed soon and he had been wanting him to meet Kurt for the longest of time so in spite of the circumstances, he was happy that it was finally going to happen. Blaine just hoped that being ill would tame his grandfather´s sense of humor a little bit because otherwise, his boyfriend was in for a treat.

A/N: Next time we get to meet Blaine´s grandfather. Are you glad he is going to be ok? I hope so. And what do you think is Dr. Peterson´s deal? How do you think Edward Martin is going to be like?

Thank you again for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it and drop a line if you can. Until next week! =)