hiya ! this chapter is a bit longer, but i wanted to get the ball rolling a little bit. i do apologize if any of the medical stuff is inaccurate; i did my best to research everything, but unfortunately, i have not been to medical school . hope u enjoy !

"Am I supposed to be able to move my face?" Finn mumbled, lightly tapping at the clay mask drying on his cheeks.

Kurt smacked Finn's hand. "Quit moving your mouth so much. It's gonna crack." He turned back to face Sam and continued applying the mask to the blonde boy's forehead.

"What's this supposed to do?" Sam asked.

Kurt paused. Sam was looking up at Kurt with genuine curiosity, unlike Finn, who had been poking fun at Kurt all evening.

"It draws the oil out of your pores and helps prevent acne." Kurt dipped his brush into the cup of the clay mixture and gently spread it around Sam's face. "Because I know you boys are not keeping up with any kind of skincare routine."

Finn scoffed, offended. "That is not true! I wash my face in the shower."

"My point exactly," Kurt riposted. "You shower every other day and use men's 3-in-1. That's basically dish soap."

Sam chuckled at that, and Kurt was caught off guard by the sound. Sam's authentic laugh was so contagious, Kurt found himself laughing at his own joke. As he finished Sam's mask with one final swipe, Kurt felt Sam inspecting his every move; watching as he gingerly placed his brush back in the cup and wiped a tiny splotch of clay off of his forearm. Kurt pretended not to notice as he left to rinse the extra mixture into the bathroom sink.

"Kurt, can I wash this off yet? It's really dry and it's starting to burn," Finn whined from the other room.

Kurt rolled his eyes as he came back into his bedroom. "Fine. You're such a baby, it's barely even been five minutes. Go wipe it off with a warm washcloth."

Finn practically ran out of the room.

Very rarely were Kurt and Sam in a room alone, but they usually got by in comfortable silence. Kurt made himself busy fiddling with the little trinkets he kept on his shelves.

Sam sighed. "So...meet anyone new lately?"

Kurt turned around slowly, confused. "What?"

"I said 'meet anyone new lately?'"

"Yeah, I heard that." Kurt stared inquisitively at Sam. "What do you mean?"

Sam smiled mischievously. "Oh, come on. You don't think we haven't all noticed how you've been glued to your phone all day? I seriously doubt that Blaine is suddenly the world's most interesting texter."

Kurt blushed. Had he been that obvious?

Sam raised his eyebrows at Kurt, prompting him to explain.

Kurt groaned and leaned against his desk. "Okay, yes, I met someone at the music store. But it's not anything serious, he just sends me funny texts."

"'Funny'?" Sam laughed. "Dude, every time you check your phone you either cover your mouth or bite the inside of your cheek. What kind of guy at the music store is that kind of funny?"

Kurt's mouth fell open in shock. Since when did Sam pay such close attention to him? He tried to speak, but only surprised stutters came out of him.

"It's fine. I'm not gonna tell. Your secret's safe with me." Sam patted Kurt's knee as he left to join Finn in washing his face mask off.

Kurt couldn't even form a response before he was left alone in his room.

It was as if his memories were being played in front of him like a movie. Every room in the house brought back something different. Living with two other boys during his senior year had been interesting, to say the very least. The day Finn had come home from a spontaneous day trip to Kentucky with the news that Sam Evans was coming back to McKinley was indeed the same day that he announced that Sam would be staying at their house. Burt and Carole were only upset for a few moments, and only because they hadn't been consulted beforehand.

It had been a difficult adjustment. The house only had three bedrooms, so Sam either had to share with one of the boys or take the living room couch. Most nights he opted to stay in Finn's room, but on occasion, all three of them would hang out in the living room all night, watching TV or just talking.

The most awkward nights were date nights. If Rachel or Blaine came over, or heaven forbid both of them on the same night, things got a bit crowded. Their dining table only sat six and Carole could only make so much food. She never complained, though.

Sam tended to be the odd one out. Until he and Mercedes reconciled near the end of the school year, he was often the seventh wheel. Everyone did their best to include him, but sometimes it was unavoidable. Kurt always felt bad, watching him sit alone in the living room when everyone went their separate ways after dinner.

As Kurt wandered from room to room, he realized how foreign the house felt. He had meant to come back more often throughout the years, but as he got promoted again and again, he just never quite found the time. He knew Burt and Carole were so proud of how quickly he'd climbed the ladder at Vogue after graduation, but he could also tell how much they missed his visits. He missed them, too.

He checked his watch. 8:32 am.

Kurt could only assume Carole would still be asleep at her husband's bedside. She hadn't called. But Kurt was restless and uncomfortable in this house. He needed a change of scenery.

Message from Rachel:

How is he? Any updates? Sending u guys my love

Kurt tapped out a vague response as he headed towards the hospital's cafe. Figuring Carole wouldn't turn down some caffeine, he bought two cappuccinos and made his way to Burt's room.

Carole sat completely still with a blanket laying across her chest and she was staring at her husband. She was gripping his hand lightly, just to let him know she was there. She perked up at the sight of a second cup in Kurt's hands.

"Thought it couldn't hurt." He passed her the warm drink.

"You thought right." She took a long drink and sat up in her chair.

Burt was pale, almost yellow. The tube coming out of his mouth pulled at his face in uncomfortable ways. It was an image Kurt had become far too familiar with all those years ago. He never thought he'd have to see it again.

"Rachel asked about him. I told her he's still unconscious but nothing bad has happened yet. She sends her love." Kurt appreciated that his former roommate cared so much. After all, she was almost Burt's stepdaughter-in-law.

Carole smiled gently. "That's sweet. What's she been up to lately?"

"I'm not entirely sure, actually," Kurt answered. "I think she was doing some recordings for an animated movie musical, but she didn't really give me any details."

"Well, that's exciting." Her voice lacked energy, but it was clear she was being genuine.

Carole was just about to speak again when one of Burt's monitors started beeping. A nurse entered the room and checked the stats. He looked back into the hallway and motioned for Dr. Liu.

"He's hypertensive and his BP is rising. Should we do something?"

Dr. Liu rushed into the room. One look at Burt's monitors and she started ordering nurses around.

"What's happening?" Kurt and Carole desperately asked to be filled in on the sudden crisis.

"Ferguson, get me one milligram of labetalol. Barnes, please get them out of here." Dr. Liu gestured to have a nurse usher Kurt and Carole out of the room.

They were pushed out into the hall and all of the blinds were shut. They were locked out.

The two stood frozen in place for at least fifteen minutes. Neither could peel their eyes away from the blocked windows.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened. Dr. Liu stepped out and removed her gloves. Kurt felt his heart pounding out of his chest as they both waited for her to speak.

"He's stable now. He went into hypertensive crisis, but we were able to get his blood pressure back into a reasonable range." She wiped her hands on her lab coat as Carole breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against Kurt. "We're gonna do a CT scan to see if anything is causing his issues. I have a feeling there may be a clot in his lung that's causing an increase in pressure around his heart. If we can find that and figure out what caused it, we can start fixing this." She gave them a nod and turned to guide Burt's bed out of his room and down the hall to the elevators.

Kurt and Carole were left standing completely still yet again. Dr. Liu had given them a reasonable explanation, and yet they both felt like everything was falling apart.

"It's not right...but it's 'okay.'"

Blaine had all but stormed out of the house. Kurt stood in the driveway, watching Blaine's taillights fade in the distance.

"So I take it he read the messages?"

Kurt jumped. "Jeez! You…" He put a hand on his chest. "You scared the crap out of me, Sam." Kurt sat on the steps of the porch.

"Sorry." Sam pushed the screen door open and sat next to Kurt. "He made a bit of a scene, I wanted to make sure things were okay." He nudged Kurt. "Are they?"

Kurt let out a deep, exasperated sigh. "I have no idea." He looked at Sam, who was looking up at the sky. "I guess I knew I shouldn't have been texting Chandler, but the attention just felt nice."

Sam didn't look at him. "Worth hurting Blaine over?"

"No."

"Then tell him that."

"I tried!" Kurt spat back.

Sam leaned away, raising his eyebrows in a startled expression.

"Sorry. I tried telling him it felt like he never complimented me anymore, and he said I should feel special because he came to McKinley 'for me'." Kurt exaggerated his air quotes on the last bit, making it clear that he thought Blaine was being ridiculous.

Sam took a deep breath. "Well, have you tried looking at it from his side? Has he hung out with anyone besides you, Finn, and Rachel since he transferred?"

"Uh, yeah. Sebastian."

"Okay, and when you told him you weren't comfortable with that, he stopped hanging out with him. Why don't you do the same for him?"

"Because this is just texting!" Kurt could feel himself getting frustrated again. "Blaine was practically going on dates with Sebastian!"

"Listen, Kurt." Sam put his hands up defensively. "I'm not fighting you on this, I'm just trying to talk you through how I see it. Maybe this is just texting to you, but to him, it's a violation of his trust. You hid it from him. People have different limits."

Kurt dropped his head. He knew that Sam was right. "How do you know my relationship better than I do?"

"Sometimes, all I can do here is observe."

They laughed. Kurt looked at Sam, and Sam looked back at him.

"Thank you, Sam."

"You're welcome, Kurt."