CHAPTER SIX
August, 2010
"So, did you spend your entire summer working a hose?" Santana asked as they walked into the first Glee club meeting of the year, and making it sound as perverted as only Santana could.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Actually, I took a Paramedics course over the summer. I'm not old enough to qualify for certification, but I figured if I started the year long course now, I'd be eighteen by the time I finish." Of course, he didn't plan to be in Lima after he graduated from high school, but he could take the courses, and then certify in New York when he got there, that way he'd have a part time job at least.
"Oh, Kurt!" Quinn said when she saw him as she walked in. "I finally convinced my mom to sign the permission form. I start training on the ninth."
"That's great, Quinn. You'll probably be in the same group as Mike." The football player had turned in his paperwork at the beginning of summer, but had injured his shoulder while acting as camp counsellor before he could begin training.
"What about Puck?" Tina asked, overhearing the conversation.
Kurt shook his head. "He was turned down because of his grades. Besides, he wasn't too thrilled to learn volunteers earn bare minimum."
"You mean you don't get paid?" Tina asked.
Kurt shrugged. "We get minimum wage for the time we're treating and transporting a patient, and hazard pay for fires, but we're not paid for the time we're on call, and search and rescue doesn't pay at all."
"That sucks," Artie said.
Kurt just shrugged again. "It's not bad. Some volunteer programs don't pay at all."
They settled into their seats as Mr. Schue entered the room and began making some announcements. He'd barely gotten more than a few words out though when the fire alarm sounded. They all glanced around in confusion.
"Is this a fire drill?" Tina asked.
Mr. Schue was just as confused. They hadn't been informed of a fire drill at that morning's staff meeting. "I don't think this is a drill." He'd just finished saying the words when Kurt's pager went off.
Kurt ran out of the room, only to be stopped in the hallway by Sue. "No need to rush off, Lady Hummel. There is a fire in the science wing. The building is being evacuated. Wait for the trucks to arrive. I've already notified Aretha's sister to bring your gear."
Kurt nodded. "I'll verify the building is empty while I wait."
He began jogging towards the science wing, moving against the flow of the crowds that should have been rushing towards the exits, but were taking their time instead, unaware of the potential danger. He could already hear the sirens approaching, and Sue shouting at the students to get a move on.
Once he reached the science wing he began checking each of the classrooms to make certain everyone was out. He could see smoke billowing from the next to last room on the right at the end of the hall. Covering his face with the neckerchief he'd worn that day, he kept his hand on the left wall and moved as quickly as he could past the burning room to check the other two classrooms, sighing in relief when he found them empty.
He turned back down the hall, and had just made it a few steps past the engulfed room when he heard the explosion, and felt himself lifted off his feet. He slammed his right side into the wall, and sank to the floor as half the roof came crashing down on him.
…
"Blaine!" The curly haired boy turned at the sound of his name, and smiled when he saw Trent rushing toward him from across the quad.
"Hey! How was Germany?"
Trent rolled his eyes. "My brothers were insufferable, but I did enjoy learning about the culture, language, and cousine."
Blaine laughed. "Did you get your room assignment yet?"
"Haven't checked yet, just got here. You?"
"I was just about to check."
"Excuse me," another voice cut in. "Could one of you tell me where the freshman orientation is?"
Blaine smiled at the younger blonde boy. "Sure, I'll show you. I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson, and this is my friend, Trent Nixon."
The other boy smiled politely at him. "Jeff Sterling. My family just moved here from California."
"Welcome to Dalton," Trent said. "Come on, we'll show you to the auditorium."
"Excuse me, did you say you were going to the auditorium?"
They turned to see another younger boy nearby. "Yes. Are you looking for the freshman orientation too?" Blaine asked.
"Yes. I'm Nick Duvall."
The others introduced themselves, and Blaine smiled when he noticed how Nick seemed a little shy shaking Jeff's hand. They showed the two boys to the auditorium, and then went to check the room listings on the bulletin board.
"Yes!" they both exclaimed when they realized they would be roommates once more.
…
"There's our wounded hero! How are you feeling, Kurt?" Rae asked as she, Mercedes, Quinn and Tina entered his hospital room.
Kurt smiled at them. "I'm feeling really good."
Carole smiled as she adjusted his IV. "The doctor prescribed something to take away the pain. He's feeling free as a bird right now."
"Was he hurt that bad?" Tina asked.
"He has a pretty bad sprain in his wrist and a dislocated shoulder, but the xrays showed no concussion."
"That's a relief. Where's Mr. Hummel?" Mercedes asked.
"He went down to the cafeteria for something to eat. He's been here since they brought Kurt in last night. The good news is they're going to release him later this afternoon. He'll be off rotation for two or three weeks while the wrist heals."
…
"Welcome back, Warblers!" Wes said on Friday at their first meeting of the new school year. "We have a few announcements before we get started. First off, We will be holding auditions for new members on Monday, so be sure to spread the word. Next, the council will be taking suggestions for impromptu performances also on Monday, just remember the rules about appropriate lyrics.
"And finally, the Warblers have been invited to participate in an invitational in Ottawa in three weeks. It's a bit of a drive, but they are the only other a cappella choir in the region at high school level at this time, and I think it would be a good opportunity for the Warblers to see how we compare against another similar group. We are being given the opportunity to perform two songs, and we will be taking suggestions for the group number today, and holding auditions for a solo next week."
…
Kurt was in a bad mood. Apparently the jocks hadn't got the memo about Kurt's sprained wrist, or the part about him being a volunteer firefighter. They'd spent the last week taunting him about the brace, making crude comments about how he'd injured it, while shoving him into lockers. Karofsky was especially rough.
And to make matters worse, Mr. Schue was being more stubborn than usual, particularly about performing a Britney Spears song at the upcoming assembly.
The only bright spot was the fact that he would be back on rotation in just a little over a week, back at the job he didn't realize he'd come to love so much.
Kurt's frustration continued throughout the next several days, coming to a head when Kurt basically called Mr. Schue an uptight prick. Things got slightly better when the choir director finally gave in and agreed to do Britney at the assembly. Unfortunately the older man showed an incredible lack of judgment when he decided to perform a highly suggestive song with the class. The performance itself wasn't too bad, but the riot it caused definitely wasn't good.
By the following Tuesday he was in a much better mood. He had two things to look forward to; he'd be back on rotation on Thursday, and Sing Along Sound of Music was playing Friday night at the revival theater.
Of course the argument he'd had with his dad that morning had been a little bit of a downer, but he wasn't going to let it kill his mood.
He was sitting in third period French class when Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury called him out.
…
"Kurt?" He didn't look up at the sound of Rae's voice, focusing solely on his father, lying motionless on the hospital bed.
"Who brought him in?" he asked.
Rae moved closer to stand beside him. "I did. Mackie was covering your rotation this week. He and I got the call, and as soon as I realized who it was, I did everything I could to stabilize him and get him here as fast as I could, Even beat advanced life support here."
Kurt nodded. "It should have been me. I wasn't there when he needed me."
Rae shook her head. "If you had been on rotation, you would have been too emotionally involved to provide the care he needed."
Kurt frowned. "The reason I went through all this was to protect other people from experiencing the loss I did, but when it came down to it, I couldn't even help the one person most important to me!"
Rae put her hand on his shoulder. "You have to believe in him, Kurt. You have to believe he will get better. He's strong, stubborn, and a fighter, just like you. He will make it through this, and so will you."
"I can't lose him."
"You won't."
…
September, 2010
The next six days were the longest of Kurt's life. He didn't go back to work on Thursday, and put everything in his life on hold to be beside his dad every chance he got, feeling the walls closing in on him as his 'friends' tried to make him believe in something he just couldn't. Sue was the only one who seemed to be on his side through it all. And Rae. She was the one who finally made him see where the others were coming from, that they were each trying to deal with their emotions in the only way they understood.
When Burt finally woke from his coma, Kurt finally felt like he could breathe again. It was Burt who convinced Kurt to get back to work finally, a week after he was supposed to be back on the rotation.
They didn't see much action on Thursday or Friday, just a few grab and goes for various minor injuries. On Saturday, he and Rae were given brush duty, which meant they'd take the rescue truck and clear brush and trash away from some of the rural roads in the area to help cut the chances of fire. In late August, it was hot and dirty work.
They set up signs half a mile in each direction warning of workers on the shoulder of the narrow road, and set to work just after noon.
…
"Good job, everyone!" Wes called out from the seat behind the driver's seat of the fifteen passenger van Dalton had provided them for the trip to Ottawa as they were heading back from the vans were spacious, comfortable, and most importantly, safer than a school bus, thanks to seatbelts. The van had four rows of two seats on the driver's side, three rows of single seats on the passenger's side, and four seats across the back. Blaine was sitting in the first single seat on the passenger side, with Trent sitting directly behind him. David was sitting in the window seat next to Wes, Thad was sitting by himself in the second row of two seats, across from Blaine, Nick and Jeff were seated behind Thad. The other seven boys were spread out among the other eight seats. Normally, the Warblers wouldn't all fit in a fifteen passenger van, but Jess and Frank had LaCrosse tryouts that day, and Greg had a wedding to attend, so they were three Warblers down.
"Blaine, your solo was spot on! If this had been an actual competition, we would more than likely have taken first place. If you keep performing that well, you'll get a competition solo for Sectionals for sure!"
"Thanks, Wes, but let's not forget it was your arrangement of Stand By Me for the group number that really sealed the deal."
They all agreed, and cheered for their council leader.
Their excitement was momentarily interrupted by the sound of sirens as half a dozen State Patrol and County Sheriffs cars flew past them in pursuit of a bright red Mustang that was doing at least eighty in the fifty mile per hour zone.
"Wonder what that was about?" Trent asked.
Wes just shrugged. "Someone is in a hurry to get to their own funeral, it appears."
They all continued to talk excitedly about the invitationals, and the set list they were working on for Sectionals, when the van slowed about fifteen minutes later. "Looks like we'll be taking a detour," the driver called back, pointing out the front windshield to the police car blocking the road, and the officer directing them to turn right on to another road.
The driver pulled up beside the cop and rolled down his window. "What's going on, officer?"
The cop shrugged. "We have a standoff ahead with a suspect in an armed robbery out of Beaverdam. A second suspect jumped out of the original car and carjacked a woman not far from here as well. We're closing off the road in both directions. You guys must have just gotten through before we set up our road block a couple miles back."
"How far out of the way will this detour take us? We're due back at Dalton Academy in Westerville by four. Should I call them and let them know we'll be late?"
The cop shook his head. "It's only about two and a half miles out of the way, you should be fine on time, but you really should get going now."
"Thank you, officer." The driver made the turn onto the side road near the Ottawa river.
…
Kurt took a long drink from his water bottle, and wiped the sweat from his face, glancing back towards the road as a sheriffs' car went flying past, lights and sirens blaring.
"Somethings up," Rae said, leaning on her pitchfork as she stretched a kink from her neck and shoulder.
Kurt nodded. "I hope it's nothing too serious."
They both shook it off and went back to work. They'd been at it for just over two hours, bagging up litter and breaking down and piling up brush to be bundled and picked up and hauled away later that evening.
It wasn't more than fifteen minutes later when a blue Pontiac Sunbird came barreling around the curve, just as a large passenger van came around from the opposite direction. The driver of the Pontiac must have noticed the fire department rescue vehicle on their side of the road, because they suddenly hit the brakes and swerved in front of the van. The van driver swerved to avoid the head on collision, also hitting the brakes. Unfortunately, this caused the van to tip over on its side, and slide off the road, directly into a tree that looked like it had been knocked down in a windstorm. Kurt and Rae had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit as the back end swung around towards them. The Pontiac had righted itself and taken off without even a glance back to see if anyone was hurt.
Once the dust cleared, Kurt and Rae got to their feet, and after making sure the other wasn't hurt, rushed to check out the van. It had come to rest on the driver's side.
"I'm going to radio this in," Rae said, taking in the situation, and the sounds of several young men calling out for help. Kurt just nodded and moved to the back of the vehicle to try and get inside through there. He managed to get one of the doors open, but had to use a broken tree limb to prop it open so gravity wouldn't bring it down on him as he climbed over the other door, which was jammed closed.
"Allen County fire department. Everyone just remain calm, we'll get you all out. If you aren't injured, let me know, and I'll try to get you free first. If you are injured, stay put until we can assess you."
He managed to help the first boy from the passenger side middle seat free himself from his seatbelt. The boy was only about a year older than Kurt, but several inches taller, and it was a little bit of a struggle to get him upright without stepping on any of the other passengers, all of whom were wearing the same navy blue blazers with red piping.
Kurt handed the boy off to Rae. "Bad news," she said. "I couldn't get through on the radio. That Pontiac must have brushed the truck as it took off. The antenna is sheared off, and we're in a cell phone dead zone, too."
Kurt nodded his acknowledgement. "There's a house not too far down the road. Why don't you run down there and see if you can use their phone?" Rae nodded as she settled the first boy on the ground in the shade of a nearby tree. He had a few minor scratches and bruises, but otherwise was unharmed.
"I'll be back ASAP," Rae said.
Kurt had the second boy free as she took off at a jog. He checked the two boys in the seats below them. The one sitting in the aisle seat was fine, and he freed him easily. The boy in the window seat complained of neck and back pain.
"I don't want to risk moving you without a collar and a backboard," he said, wishing he had the ambulance with him instead of the rescue truck. He could use the stokes basket if he had to, but it was risky without at least one other person there to help him move the boy. "Will you be okay if I move on to check the others? Just try to stay as still as possible for now."
"I'll be okay," the boy said. "Take care of the others."
Kurt nodded and carefully stepped over him and moved forward. The next two boys on the drivers side just needed help getting out of their seatbelts and righting themselves. Kurt freed them quickly, and helped them out the back door, careful not to step on the boy still on the bottom.
He'd just freed the boy in the single passenger side seat in the first row from the back when Rae returned. "It'll take at least twenty minutes for anyone to reach us out here. Station49 is closest, but they're out on a call, so they're pulling units from further afield."
Kurt frowned, but nodded. "We've got a bit of a problem." He pointed towards the front of the van. There were two boys in the next double seat, and one boy in the seat in front of them, but they couldn't see how many others there were. A large branch had gone through the windshield, straight down the off centered aisle, preventing them from reaching the front half of the van.
Rae frowned as well. "Looks like we'll need to break out the saws."
…
Blaine could hear voices from behind him, but a rushing sound in his head made it hard to understand what they were saying. He felt strange, confused, not sure where he was, or why he felt like needles were poking all along his left side. He tried to open his eyes, but something was blocking his vision. At first all he could see was a blurry mess. It took a few minutes for his vision to clear, and he realized the thing he was staring at was a tree branch covered in leaves, that was less than an inch in front of his nose.
What the heck?
He heard a moan from behind him, and tried to turn his face to check on Trent, but found that he couldn't move at all. Pain lanced through his left shoulder, and something seemed to be preventing his neck from moving even the slightest. It was only then he'd remembered the accident. He may have panicked then, not for himself, but for the others, but a voice called out calmly from somewhere behind him.
"If anyone in the front of the vehicle can hear me, just remain calm. We'll get to you just as quickly as we can." To Blaine, it was the voice of an angel.
…
They'd decided to risk moving the boy from the back row by using a shovel and a roll of tape to keep his neck and back straight, and helped the two boys below the branch to get out. They weren't too seriously injured, although the darker haired boy who had been sitting beside the window had a broken arm. This gave them some room to work with the saws in the confined space. They'd tried climbing on top of the vehicle to access the passenger side door, but it was wedged under the main portion of the tree trunk.
They'd cleared the branch down enough that they could see one boy hanging from the single seat passenger side. They were very worried about the boy, as it appeared that the tip of the branch might have gone through his shoulder, but they couldn't be certain from this angle. Kurt breathed a little sigh of relief as he heard sirens in the distance, drawing closer. He hoped they were more rescue personnel, and not the cops chasing the idiot in the Pontiac.
Thankfully the first vehicle to pull up next to them was the shiny red engine from station19, their EMT squad right behind them. Kurt was able to move forward enough to see that the branch hadn't actually penetrated the boy's shoulder, it was only pressing into it about three quarters of an inch, but hadn't broken the skin.
"How are the others?" the boy asked. "My friend Blaine was sitting in the seat in front of me. Is he okay?"
Kurt smiled reassuringly at him as he carefully cut the branch away with a pair of hedge trimmers. "We haven't been able to assess the ones in the front couple of seats yet, but the others are all out, and all seem to be in stable condition."
The younger boy seemed to relax at that news, and Kurt cut away the seatbelt and helped him stand up carefully. Before he allowed Rae to lead him out, the boy looked back over at Kurt. "Please take care of Blaine. He's already been through too much pain. He doesn't need any more."
Kurt nodded in understanding, and set to work cutting away another section of the tree branch.
…
Blaine winced as the pressure of someone sawing away at the branch caused a sharp pain in his shoulder and neck.
"I'm sorry," that angelic voice said from behind him. "If it hurts too much, let me know. I can try and see if I can get the power saw in here. I just didn't want to risk injuring the boy in the seat below you or the two infront of him any further by dropping a branch on them."
"It's okay," Blaine said, wincing again. His mouth felt dry. "Maybe you can distract me from the pain. Talk to me. What's your name?"
"My name is Kurt. What's yours?"
"Blaine. You sound really young to be a firefighter."
"I'm seventeen. I've been with the Allen County VolunteerFire/EMT and Search and Rescue program for a year now."
"You're seventeen? I'll be seventeen next week."
"Well, happy early birthday, Blaine. Hold still for a moment, I almost have this section cut, and then I am going to check on the boy below you, okay?"
"Thad. He was sitting across from me. Is he okay? And Trent was behind me…"
"Trent is fine, just a few scratches and a bruise on his shoulder. I don't know about Thad yet, I can't see him. Are you guys all from the same school?"
"Yeah, Dalton Academy. We just came from an invitational in Ottawa."
"Invitational?"
"Show choir. We're the Dalton Academy Warblers."
"Ahh, maybe this isn't the best time to mention this, but I'm part of your competition."
"What does that mean?"
"The New Directions, from McKinley. We're competing against you at Sectionals next month."
"Oh," Blaine tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a groan as another wave of pain rushed over him. "Well, if you'd seen us perform today, you might be just a little worried. We crushed the other three teams."
He heard Kurt giggle. "That's not much to brag about. Ottawa hasn't won a Sectionals in five years, and if the other two teams were Fort Shawnee and Bath, they have a combined winning record of twelve Sectional titles since show choir has been an organized competition." Blaine heard the snap of a branch breaking. "Okay, give me a minute to check on the other boy, Thad?"
Blaine realized that Kurt was asking him to verify the other boy's identity. "Yes."
…
Kurt knelt down, ducking into the space he'd created by removing the branch to check on the boy below Blaine. He was unconscious. It looked like he'd struck his head on the window frame, and most likely had at the very least a mild concussion. Even as he was assessing Thad for any other injuries, his mind was on Blaine. He hadn't seen the boy's face yet, but he sounded dreamy. With Kurt's luck, he'd be straight, of course, but that voice would be making its way into his fantasies for weeks to come.
With the help of Rae and another EMT, they got Thad out and into a waiting ambulance. They only had three boys and the driver left. Kurt turned back to start cutting away the branches from the limb again.
"So Blaine, are you still with me? Can you tell me how badly you're injured?"
"Yeah, I'm still here. I don't know exactly what is hurt. I just know it feels like a bunch of needles poking into my left side in random places, and I can't turn my head. It doesn't hurt, really, it just feels like something is keeping me from turning it."
"You're probably feeling some of the smaller branches poking into you. I should be able to see what's holding your head in place in just a moment."
Kurt cut away a few more smaller branches with the hedge clippers, and suddenly was treated to the site of Blaine's profile. One hazel eye looked up at him, black curls barely contained by gel framing a handsome face.
"Well, hello there," Kurt smiled. "It looks like you have a small branch pinning your head in place. You're extremely lucky, it's caught in your tie, and just missed your throat."
Kurt's hand itched to feel the soft looking hair, as he tried to disentangle the branches without scratching the other boy's face.
"So, what do you want for your birthday, Blaine?" he asked, more to distract himself than Blaine.
Blaine laughed. "Sheet music, and tickets to the Katy Perry concert next month in Columbus."
Kurt smiled. "I prefer Gaga, myself, but Katy's not bad."
"You wound me, sir! Katy is a queen!"
"Well, you can try to convince me of that later. Hold still for a second, just let me get this last branch…"
…
Blaine heard the snip of the hedge cutters near his right ear, and suddenly he felt his head released from it's confinement, but all he could think was that not only did Kurt sound like an angel, but he looked like one too. And that last remark about convincing him of Katy's superiority later, was that just banter, or was Kurt implying that he'd actually like to see Blaine again?
"Okay, Blaine, I'm going to check your legs and left side to make sure you don't have any broken bones or other injuries, and then we'll see about getting you out of here, okay? Just hold still for one more minute."
"Okay," Blaine said, and had to fight back a shiver of awareness as Kurt's hands skimmed over his appendages and side.
"Nothing seems to be broken. You are bleeding in a couple places, but nothing that makes me worried you might have branches stabbing into you. We'll go slow just to be sure, though. My partner, Rae, is going to take my place here so I can hold your head while we move you. She's prettier to look at, but she has a girlfriend, so don't get your hopes up."
Blaine was disappointed when Kurt moved out of his view. The dark skinned woman who took his place was pretty enough, but didn't compare to Kurt's beauty.
"Okay, don't try and help, let us do all the work," Kurt spoke from somewhere above his head. "Just lay there and look dapper."
He wanted to ask Kurt what he meant by that, but as they began to roll him onto a backboard, the pain from all those branches poking into him intensified, and he blacked out.
...
A/N Here is the link to the YouTube video of the group number the Warblers perform in this chapter. Remove the spaces;
w w w .youtube watch ? v= BQ 3Vt ED dM 5k