What Brings Us Closer Together

by CrazedLunatic

When Kurt is attacked, Blaine instantly leaves college to take care of him. With one decision, their entire relationship is changed and their futures reshaped. It also makes everyone around them realize just how close they really are. AU.

35. Chapter 35

"You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on-."

"Blaine, I'm trying to get ready." Kurt laughed, moving past Blaine who was trying to dance with him. "I have to be at the garage soon."

"Come on. This song is the beginning of it all, Kurt. My heart stops when you look at me—."

"Oh my goodness." Kurt said, letting Blaine slide one arm around his waist and lace the fingers on his free hands with Kurt's, swaying them to Katy Perry's singing. "A few seconds."

"Just one touch, now baby I believe—." Blaine sang.

"You're such a sap." Kurt moved his arms and slid them around Blaine's neck, kissing him to silence him. "I love you, honey, but I've really got to go. Dad hates when I'm late and I can't afford to get another speeding ticket this week."

"Don't leave me." Blaine pouted, sticking out his lower lip. "Call in sick."

"I wish I could." Kurt sighed a bit and pressed their foreheads together. "But we need money, seeing as Kennedy's isn't giving you as many hours anymore."

"I'm so past caring." Blaine said cheerfully. "I'll find another job."

"You really have to let me go to work." Kurt gave Blaine a sad smile. "You'll see me for dinner though, right?"

"Of course I will. Do I ever miss Friday Night Dinner when you work, Kurt? No." Blaine reached his hand up and stroked Kurt's cheek. "It's a rule. I don't break rules."

"Mmmh, good." Kurt kissed Blaine again and then kissed his cheek before moving away and walking to the counter. He picked up his wallet and keys. "Carole will have dinner done by six so make sure you're on time. Finn's coming. If you're not on time, you probably won't get to eat."

"I'm always on time." Blaine said, grabbing Kurt's water bottle and cell phone off of the table and then holding them out for him.

"Thanks. I'll see you for dinner, Blaine. I love you." Kurt grabbed the items and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

"I love you too. Be careful." Blaine turned and walked towards the living room singing Katy Perry loudly.

Kurt shook his head and left, making sure to lock the door behind him.

…

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I fell asleep. I'm on my way and should be there soon. I'll go straight on to the house instead of the garage since I'll be a little later than planned. Love you, xo.—B

"Shit, shit, shit." Blaine mumbled, tucking his phone safely away before the light turned green. Yes, he shouldn't have been texting and driving. He normally didn't, but at least he had been at a long red light, right? Plus, he didn't want Kurt to worry.

He wasn't sure why Burt and Carole had been extra insistent that Blaine and Kurt make it to Friday Night Dinner seeing as they hadn't missed one all summer bar when they were in Michigan and it was now nearing the end of summer. He had a feeling that something was going on, but he had no idea what it could have been. Kurt may not have liked surprises, but Blaine most definitely did and he was getting excited.

Blaine merged onto the highway, quietly singing along to the stereo and trying not to think about anything frustrating — namely, the new management at Kennedy's and how Blaine was pretty sure his new boss was just waiting for an opportunity to fire him. Which was ridiculous, considering Blaine worked his ass off when there and had covered countless shifts for people… the new manager included.

But he wasn't thinking about that. No. He also wasn't thinking about the fact that David was mad at Wes, putting Blaine in the middle of a heated argument which Blaine wasn't even sure what was about. Blaine hated when they fought. They were his two best friends. Both, equally. He didn't like feeling pressured to choose sides. Of course Wes and David never did pressure him, but he didn't like feeling caught in the middle.

Then again, he vented to them when he and Kurt fought. It was only fair that they vent too. He just felt like it —

"What the fuck are you doing?" Blaine exclaimed, shocked as some woman cut him off. He let out a huge sigh of relief, thinking his car was in the clear, until the woman slammed into his driver's side door, spinning his car until it crashed forcefully against the median wall. Blaine's body jerked forward and his head smashed into the dashboard as his car made a crunching sound. Not good, Blaine thought. This is not good.

"Oh my God." Blaine moaned, lifting his head slowly. He saw the other car spinning several times, as if it was in slow motion, before it finally stopped.

Someone ran to his passenger seat, yanking the door open. "Are you okay?"

"I — I think so." Blaine said, eyes wide. Was he really just in a wreck? He eyed the dashboard, seeing a huge dent where his head had hit. His entire windshield was smashed and glass was everywhere. He even saw cuts on his arms.

"I've called an ambulance and they're on the way. Let me help you out." The person, a middle aged man, crawled into the car after moving large pieces of glass out. "Does your back hurt?

"She hit me." Blaine mumbled stupidly, since it was obvious. He needed to focus. He felt himself beginning to freak out, but that would do no good right now. He pushed everything in him that was telling him to freak out aside and focused on doing what needed to be done to get out of the car.

"Can you undo your seat belt?" The man asked, even though Blaine hadn't answered his first question. Blaine fumbled to do so, nodding. "Alright, good. Just try to scoot towards me. Be careful."

Blaine, sure he was running on adrenaline and shock because there was no way he shouldn't have been freaking out by the amount of blood dripping down his neck from his head, tried to lift his leg. It wouldn't budge, and then he felt it. Intense pain, even sharper than the pain in his head — which was pretty bad when he focused on it. He cried out, gritting his teeth. "I can't get out."

"Just stay still then. Don't move. Is your head okay?"

Blaine blinked several times and then shook his head, trying to make the car stop lurching. It wasn't moving, of course, and he knew his eyes were playing tricks on him. Shaking his head didn't help. "I don't know." He mumbled as they heard distant sirens.

Someone else rushed over. "The operator said to make sure he stays still. His neck could be broken."

"My neck's not broken." Blaine sagged, laying his head on the steering wheel. He just wanted to sleep, but he couldn't. He knew he couldn't because he wanted to so bad. You were supposed to stay awake after you hit your head, at least until a doctor looked you over. He had to stay awake and then they would help him call Kurt and it would be okay.

"Talk to me. What's your name?" The man asked, shaking his shoulder. "How old are you? Are you awake?"

"Blaine." Blaine responded, sitting up so that he was no longer on the steering wheel. He swallowed hard, hoping he wasn't really tasting blood like he thought he was.

"They'll be here really soon." The man said, trying to be reassuring. Blaine appreciated the gesture but really soon was doing nothing for him right now when there was so much blood coming from somewhere on his head.

Blaine heard the sirens in the distance grow closer and, within a few more outrageously long minutes, three fire trucks had pulled up.

"He can't get out!" The middle aged man yelled, getting out of the car. "He's stuck!"

A firefighter rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"I can't get out." Blaine whimpered, trying to scoot even though it was causing him excruciating pain. Not that he knew why he had the sudden urge to scoot again since it hadn't worked the first time. He wasn't thinking straight. He couldn't think much at all anymore because of the pain.

"Hold tight. Don't hurt yourself more." The firefighter crawled into the passenger seat where the other man had been. "What's your name?"

"Blaine Anderson." Blaine grunted.

"How old are you, Blaine?"

"Twenty."

"I'm Craig and the guy behind me is Neil. I'm a firefighter and he's a paramedic. We're going to get you out of here, okay? You're doing a good job. Just sit tight."

"I can't do much else." Blaine responded.

The man gave a small laugh, and for some reason it made Blaine feel a little better. Or maybe that was the simple fact that a fireman and EMT was with him. Either way, this man had done more to calm Blaine in twenty seconds than the other guy had in ten minutes.

"How are you doing, Blaine?" The paramedic asked from outside the car. "Does your neck feel okay? You've been moving it."

"It's fine, but I — I hit my head really hard." Blaine said slowly. "It's bleeding a lot."

"Head injuries do that." The man said in a calm voice.

"I'm going to let the paramedic in the front seat and I'm going to get into the back. I'm not leaving." The firefighter, Craig, said. He climbed into the backseat and a male paramedic took his spot.

"You hit your head pretty hard, huh?" The paramedic, Neil, asked as he pulled on gloves.

"My car… It slammed…" Blaine mumbled, finding that the more he sat the harder it was to focus. His head hurt and he was… he felt fuzzy. Fuzzy and too hot.

"How does your head feel? Can you see regularly?" Neil asked, leaning over him. "I'm just looking."

"Yeah, I think." Blaine cringed as he applied thick layers gauze with pressure to his head, placing tape over them. "I'm really tired."

"You've got a concussion. I need you to stay awake with me as long as you can, alright?" The paramedic asked. "I know you're tired but the longer you're awake, the better off we'll be."

"Am I going to die?" Blaine asked softly.

"Not today." The paramedic said, lifting Blaine's neck gently and watching him. "That hurt?"

"No." Blaine answered.

"Your chest hurt? Can you breathe?"

"No, it's fine." Blaine said as the man put a stethoscope to his chest anyway.

The man looked down and for a minute Blaine was going to get severely crept out, until he realized the guy was looking at his leg. "Try and scoot over here for me." Neil said, holding his arms out.

Blaine gritted his teeth and tried again, but cried out even louder. "Ow!"

"Stop, stop, stop!" The man said hurriedly. "Your leg might be broken, Blaine. Craig, we won't be able to get him out. I'm afraid if he moves, the door will cut into his leg."

Blaine's breath hitched. He was stuck, but he'd not thought of that. There was metal and plastic at his leg. Was his leg cut? Was he going to lose it? "Please get me out of here. Please. It hurts and I — oh my God." Blaine said, now having to shout over outside noises. He cringed, the noise causing his head to throb. He was officially beginning to freak out.

"We're going to get you out." Craig, the firefighter, assured him. "We're going to move your car from against the wall and then we'll get you out, okay?"

"I can't-I can't—." Blaine's face screwed up in pain and he grunted. His head pounded, he felt swollen, he could barely focus but he had to. He was so tired though. The adrenaline was wearing off. Quickly. He could feel it. "I can't get out, though. I'm stuck."

"That's fine, Blaine." Craig shouted over all of the noise outside, causing Blaine to wince even more. "You're doing great. We're going to get you out of here and to a doctor. Are you still doing okay?"

No.

Blaine wasn't doing okay.

His entire body ached.

His leg was… Blaine didn't want to know. He hadn't looked. It hurt. He knew it hurt. It was bad. But he couldn't look. He couldn't.

He felt worse, he felt worse by the minute, and he just couldn't focus. He felt horrible pain. What he would have given to be at a hospital, with drugs, and doctors fixing him. And he hated hospitals.

"Blaine, are you with me?"

Blaine pressed his head against the window, biting his lip hard before choking out, "Yes. It just hurts really badly."

"Alright." Blaine heard fumbling. "I've got this jacket. I'm going to put it over you. We're going to have to pull the car from against the median and then we'll cut into the car to get you out. Okay?"

Kurt.

Blaine just wanted Kurt.

He was scared and Kurt would make it better.

"O-Okay." Blaine braced himself for the noise and, somehow, his car was pulled from the median in a whirlwind of sound. He cried out loudly as his leg shifted, confirmation that yes, something was wrong with his leg. It was more than just stuck. Not that he'd really needed the confirmation.

The noise only grew louder and he could feel the car jerking, but he could also feel the firefighter's hand gripping his shoulder, just like it had been when the man had first crawled into the backseat while the paramedic talked to him. Blaine decided that he really liked that fireman. He would probably be in hysterics if it wasn't for the guy. Maybe he wasn't doing much, but for some reason it just made him feel better. Safer.

"Almost there, Blaine!" The man shouted over the grinding and sirens. "You're doing great!"

And then the grinding was done and another fireman was pulling the jacket off while someone yanked the door nearest him free from his car that was literally in pieces.

"Good job, good job." The new firefighter said. He was joined by another paramedic.

"Does your neck hurt?"

"No. It's my leg." Blaine gasped out. "It—It's…"

Two more paramedics came over, lowering a stretcher onto the ground.

"Your leg is broken." The first EMT said uselessly because honestly Blaine had figured that out long ago even if he didn't want to believe it. "We're going to get you out of here and to a hospital, Blaine, but lifting you out is going to hurt. Are you ready?"

"Just do it." Blaine gritted his teeth as the fireman and paramedic hauled him out of the car slowly. He cried out sharply, hand immediately reaching for his leg but stopped by the paramedic. They eased him onto the bed and Blaine cried out again as they did something — he didn't know what — to his leg. His head pounded like never before and he could feel blood trickling into his mouth. And then his hand, it hurt so badly. Now that he was out of the car, closer to safety, he began to lose focus. Lose it even more, rather. His grip on reality was gone and he was slipping into head space, wanting nothing more than to give in to the overwhelming exhaustion his body was suddenly feeling.

"What's your parent's phone number?" A police officer asked, bending down.

"My — My phone it's… in the… in my pocket." Blaine said, finding it much harder to focus. Everything felt fuzzy and he just couldn't… he didn't even know. He didn't feel right. That was the only way to explain it. He didn't feel right.

The officer grabbed it and Blaine couldn't even feel awkward or embarrassed. He was in too much pain. And too disoriented.

"Kurt."

"Is that your dad?" The man asked.

"No, no, c-call Kurt. Please call him. Not my… Not…" Blaine felt his eyes closing and he tried to fight it but that wasn't working very well for him.

"Buddy, I need you to stay awake." Someone said sharply, shaking his shoulder.

"Blaine? Blaine, I need to call your parents." Another voice said.

"Kurt." Blaine repeated. Focus. He had to focus. It was very important that they get Kurt because he needed Kurt. He needed Kurt right now because Kurt would make it better. Kurt made it better. He needed it to be better. "Please l-let me call him."

"We'll call, Blaine. You're going to be just fine. We're going to get you in an ambulance and we'll have your parents meet us there." This was the fireman — the nice one, Craig. Blaine liked Craig a lot.

"No. L-Let me. H-He'll freak out." Blaine said, well aware that his voice came out much higher than usual. It didn't sound like him… and what had they just put in his arm?

"I need to call your mom or dad." The police man said, bending closer to hear Blaine. "Is their number in here?"

"No." Blaine shook his head, but that only made everything even fuzzier and he had to stop. He licked his lips and repeated, "No."

"He hit his head hard. We really need to get him down there, officer." Craig said. "We don't have time. Just call the Kurt guy. Maybe he'll have the number"

The officer nodded, moving away with Blaine's phone to a quieter area.

"Alright, Blaine. Are you still with me?" Craig asked, bending so Blaine could see him.

"Kurt." Blaine repeated, wincing when something on the stretcher was locked into place beneath him.

"The police officer is calling him right now. The paramedics are going to get you to the hospital and they're going to fix you up, alright? Do you understand?"

"I don't need an ambulance." Blaine said stupidly, wondering why he had even said that. Of course he needed an ambulance. What, was he going to drive himself? At least the driver's seat was intact. Maybe he'd just scoot. Yeah, right.

"Even if you refuse, we've gotta do it. You're in too bad of shape." Craig said calmly, not sounding annoyed. "Is there anything in your car you need? We've got your wallet."

"Please, Kurt. I n-need Kurt." Blaine let out a sob that he didn't even know was there as tears filled his eyes. The shock of the whole situation was beginning to hit him as his head spun. He felt bad. He was hurt. He was seriously hurt. He didn't want to be at the hospital alone. He didn't have parents, he just had Kurt. He didn't want to be there all alone. He hated hospitals. He was scared. Really, really scared. "Can I call — I-Kurt…"

"He'll meet us at the hospital." The police officer walked up. "I just talked to him. He's on his way."

"Blaine, we're going to get you in the ambulance now. It'll take us about five minutes to get you there." An EMT said gently. "Are you allergic to any medicines? Blaine?"

Anything else past 'he's on his way' didn't even register in Blaine's mind, because by that point he gave into his body's demands and let himself shut down.

…

Blaine is in the hospital.

It took ages to process. Blaine? In the hospital?

His Blaine in the hospital?

If this was how Blaine had felt hearing Kurt was in the hospital, or how Blaine had felt when taking Kurt to the hospital a few months before, then Kurt had some serious apologizing to do. His heart seemed to drop to his stomach, his blood ran cold, and he had to steady his hand to keep from dropping the phone.

"W-What?" he asked.

He had heard wrong. Of course he had. Because there was no logical reason for his boyfriend to be in the hospital. He wasn't sick. He hadn't been sick since last year when he'd had Strep. So Kurt didn't understand. Blaine had been 100% fine earlier that morning, cheerful as ever and singing Katy Perry a little too dramatically at the top of his lungs.

"This is the most frequent used number in his phone and he insisted we call you. You do know Blaine? Blaine Anderson, the ID says." A man's gruff voice said.

"Y-yes." Kurt's voice came out a squeak and he stared across the garage at his father with wide eyes. "He's my… he's my boyfriend."

"Listen, we need to get in touch with his parents. There was no number for a Mom or Dad in the phone and —."

"They don't — they — oh my God. Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He had an accident on the highway in Dayton. He's being taken to Good Samaritan Hospital." The voice said. "I really need to get into touch with his parents, sir."

"They haven't spoken to him in months. They won't come. I-I'm on my way. Is he okay?"

"I can't get into that over the phone, sir."

Kurt hung up and dashed out of the office, hands shaking and heart pounding. "Blaine's in the hospital!"

Burt looked up from a Ford Focus he was working on, looking confused. "What?"

"H-He got in a wreck a-and the guy said — he was a police officer — and he — his parents—."

"Kurt, you're not making any sense." Burt said very calmly, coming forward.

"It doesn't matter! I have to go to the hospital! He was on his way here for dinner! This is all my fault! This is — just — I have to go." Kurt ran back into the office, grabbing his keys and wallet. "I have to go."

"Wait, Kurt, wait!" Burt said, following him. "I'm taking you. You're not driving like this."

"Please hurry." Kurt whimpered, all but running to his car and getting into the passenger seat. He watched his father say something to Jeff, who looked concerned and nodded after glancing at Kurt. Within a minute Burt was getting into the car, reaching for Kurt's keys.

"Where is he at?"

"Good Samaritan in Dayton." Kurt said quickly as his dad backed out of the parking lot. He'd been repeating that in his head ever since the police officer had said it. They had to get there, had to get there now. "Oh God, oh my God. He wasn't even the one to call, Dad. What if he's dead? They wouldn't tell me anything."

That hadn't occurred to him. What if he was dead?

"Oh my God, oh my God." Kurt echoed, eyes wide. "What if he's dead?"

"He's not dead." Burt said firmly. "You can't go jumping to conclusions, kiddo. You need to calm down until we know more."

"I don't know what to do. What if he's dead?" Kurt repeated.

"Blaine is not dead." Burt said slowly. "Now I'm going to get there as fast as I can. We won't know what we need to do until we get there, okay? They might not let us see him."

"Why wouldn't they let us see him?" Kurt asked sharply.

"Because you're not related to him. Some hospitals are different than others. Now do you know where his insurance stuff is? Do you have his brother's phone number?"

"In his wallet, I don't know!" Kurt exclaimed, feeling like everything was closing in on him. He was beginning to freak out. The biggest of freak outs. "Why w-would I know where that is?"

"Calm down." Burt said. "Getting yourself worked up will only make this worse. You have no need to freak out until we get there and know what's wrong. He may just need a ride home."

"If he needed a ride home he would have called himself." Kurt moaned, rubbing his face.

"Call Carole and tell her where we're going. She'll want to come." His father said very calmly. "You need to try and think if you know where any of his insurance stuff would be just in case he doesn't have it in his wallet, although he probably does. Now I've got enough money on my card if we need to pay anything, alright? And as soon as we find out what's going on and that everything is okay, I'll call Jeff and we'll find out where his car his and I'll get it sent to my shop."

"I don't care about the car." Kurt whimpered. "I just want him to be okay."

"He's okay, kiddo. He's okay."

…

"What do you mean, you can't tell me anything?" Kurt asked sharply. "His family doesn't speak to him. They don't care about him. They are not going to come. He needs someone back there with him. Me and his two best friends are all he has."

"Sir, it's hospital policy. We cannot give out information on patients without their permission and Mr. Anderson is in no —."

"Is in no what?" Kurt asked. "Why can't I see him? He would want me back there. Where is he? What's going on? And the other guy said is that he might have to have surgery. I want someone to start explaining!"

"Kurt, you've got to calm down." Burt hissed.

"No! Blaine is back there and I want to see him!" Kurt hissed right back. "His parents don't give two shits about him. The only family member who does is his brother."

"Then we need to get in contact with his brother."

"He lives in Italy!" Kurt exclaimed.

The receptionist stared at him, clearly not believing him.

"You can't tell us anything?" Burt asked calmly.

"I'm sorry, sir. It's hospital policy." The woman said, glancing at Kurt who was near tears.

"Bud, we're just going to have to call Alex." Burt sighed, moving away from the window and bringing Kurt with him.

"Why won't they just tell me what's wrong?" Kurt exclaimed.

"I don't know, Kurt." His father sighed again.

"Fine." Kurt stormed out into the hallway. He had Alex's phone number from the previous winter when he was organizing Blaine's trip to Michigan for his Christmas present, and it was a good thing he had kept it apparently.

He pushed the call button, sliding to the floor and closing his eyes tightly. The phone rang seven times before it went to his automated voice mail. Kurt sat patiently through the message and, at the beep, began to speak.

"Hi, Alex. This is Kurt. I'm calling from my cell phone so if you can, please call me back. It's about Blaine. He's been in a car accident. I don't know exactly how bad he is because they won't let me see him yet." Kurt tried to keep himself from crying, but he couldn't stop the sniffles. "I don't want to scare you but I think it's bad. All they said is he might have to have emergency surgery and… and that they would only talk to you or his parents… I just thought you should know, and I have no idea what to do… If you want to call me… well… please call me back."

Kurt took a deep breath after he hung up, trying to calm himself down.

He knew Blaine was alive.

He knew it wasn't serious enough that Blaine had been rushed into surgery upon arriving, but it was serious enough that he still might have to go into surgery.

That was about all he did know though. First of all, the doctors had only very briefly talked to him. They had understood, though, that Blaine's parents would be of no help. Despite the fact that they understood, they still wouldn't tell him anything. Kurt didn't know if they hadn't given him information because they didn't have it or because he wasn't family. He didn't know which he'd prefer, either. Neither one was ideal.

Two minutes passed before his phone rang.

"Kurt?" He heard Blaine's brother ask sharply. "What's going on? Is he okay?"

"They — They haven't told me. They keep asking for your parents."

"No. Don't get them involved." Alex said instantly. "What have they said?"

"It's bad, but I don't know how bad. They won't tell me what's going on." Kurt said anxiously. "They may have to do surgery, but they'll only talk to family."

"Fuck." Alex said, sounding almost as anxious as Kurt felt. "Listen, I'm going to call the hospital and try to talk to them. What hospital are you at?"

"Good Samaritan in Dayton." Kurt said, feeling relieved. "Thank you."

"No problem, Kurt. I'm going to call them, so I'll call you right back. Keep your phone right by you, okay?"

"Thank you so much. Bye." Kurt hung up, going back into the waiting room and sitting in the corner.

Burt, who had been pacing, came over. "What'd he say, kiddo?"

"Alex is calling them." Kurt whispered, staring down at his phone and waiting for the call back. "He said he'd call."

"They'll probably tell him what's going on over the phone." Burt sat in the chair next to him.

"It's taking a long time."

"You just got off of the phone with him." Burt pointed out. "They'll have to put him through to the right person and I'm sure the doctor will go into detail."

"I guess." Kurt fell silent and remained that way for an entire fifteen minutes until his phone rang. "Alex?"

"Hey, Kurt. I talked to them." Alex said, sounding rushed. "I'm going to catch a flight out there. He's stable right now, but it's pretty bad. I talked to the highest up person there and I've given them permission to talk to you and your family about what's going on. Until I get there, you're going to be in charge of any decision. He — He's… He can't make them himself. He's unconscious and he's yet to wake up."

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut. "Is it… Is it bad?"

"He's stable. That's what's important. Look, I have to go and get a flight. A doctor was leaving his office to talk to you as I hung up. I'll be there as soon as I can and I'll text you flight details and stuff."

"But — Is there — If anything happens, what—."

"If anything serious happens, I fully believe that you would know what Blaine would want done. I trust you." Alex said. "Take care of him until I get there, Kurt."

"Bye." Kurt said softly, hanging up.

…

"Hi, sorry it took me so long to get here." A young woman said, coming up twenty minutes later. "Are you here with Blaine Anderson?"

Kurt nodded, wondering why this woman was so young. There was no way she was Blaine's doctor. She barely looked old enough to be in med school.

"Blaine's doctor is a little tied up right now, so she sent me. I'm her assistant for the day."

So she was a medical student. Why the hell was a medical student about to talk to Kurt?

"That's fine." Burt said, looking a bit confused himself. "Can you tell us what's going on? Is Blaine alright?"

"We're concerned with a few things right now. He's been unconscious for a few hours. He was conscious when the paramedics got to him but he kept losing consciousness in the ambulance and he's yet to wake up. He hit his head very hard. It doesn't look as though his skull is fractured but there is some swelling, which has the doctors worried."

"But he's not in a coma?" Burt asked.

Kurt stared ahead as his father spoke, eyes wide and hardly comprehending everything that was going on around him. Brain swelling? That sounded worse than serious? It didn't look as if his skull was fractured? Shouldn't she, as a medical professional, know for sure before speaking to his family?

"No. He's not in a coma. I don't think it's that serious of a head injury but sometimes things do come up."

I don't think? She didn't think?

This just couldn't be real.

Kurt was the one that ended up in the hospital, not Blaine.

Not his Blaine, who had been perfectly fine that morning and had been singing Teenage Dream at the top of his lungs while Kurt had left for work at the garage.

"His breathing is doing okay. We've had to put him on Oxygen a few times, but for right now he's doing fine there. We're… we're very worried about his leg. It was broken in the crash and what we're dealing with right now is trying to determine if it can be fixed without surgery." The girl continued, talking more to Burt than Kurt. "We have him as comfortable as he can be while we wait for a specialist to make it to check on his leg."

"How long will that be?" Burt asked.

"Well the on duty specialist is performing a surgery right now. We've gotten in touch with the on call specialist. Whichever is here sooner will be with him right away. We… We aren't sure how serious this is yet, to be honest. We don't know if and when he'll wake up."

"If?" Kurt swallowed hard, finally reaching his breaking point with this girl. She clearly didn't know what she was talking about, she was contradicting herself, and it was not the time. Kurt was not the person to mess with. Not right now. "Y-You just said h-he wasn't in…"

He felt Burt squeeze his shoulder.

"He should have woken up by now." The nurse said calmly. "We aren't sure why he hasn't."

"Isn't that your job? To k-know why he isn't w-waking up?"

"Kurt…" Burt said quietly.

"Well can I see him?"

"Not yet. He's too unstable. I'm sorry."

"But you just said he was breathing. He was fine, but unconscious. Everything you're saying to me doesn't make sense! You keep contradicting yourself!" Kurt exclaimed. "Either you don't know what you're talking about or you're lying to me about what's going on! And I don't want you working on him either way! And why are you so calm?"

"Kurt, stop." Burt said in a gruff voice.

"I just want to know if he's going to be okay. My definition of okay. Not 'Oh, well, he was breathing when he got here!'"

"Thank you, ma'am." Burt said to the girl hastily.

"I'll have a doctor come out and talk to you soon." She said before rushing off, looking uncomfortable.

"You can't just say things like that to the people taking care of him." Burt said, turning and steering him towards the waiting room.

"That wasn't even a doctor! This is a joke!" Kurt suddenly burst into tears. "I want to see him!"

"I know, kid. I know." Burt sat Kurt down, kissing the top of his head. "It's going to be okay, Kurt. It's going to be alright."

"T-T-They won't even tell me if he's okay! I don't think they even know!"

"They're just humans, Kurt. They're not miracle workers."

Kurt hugged himself, almost wishing Alex hadn't told the doctors to clue him in.

"We're just going to have to wait it out, kiddo. Soon a doctor will come and they'll know more than that nurse anyway." Burt sat in the seat by Kurt.

"I d-don't know w-what to do." Kurt sobbed.

"There's nothing you can do, Kurt. We just have to wait." Burt said, looking up when both Carole and Finn rushed into the room, Carole carrying Melody.

"What have they said?" Carole asked.

Kurt just pulled his feet onto the chair and buried his head in his knees.

"Oh my God." Carole gasped. "No."

"No, no." Burt stood and led her to the other corner of the room. "Some med student came out and scared him. I don't think she knew what she was talking about completely… but whatever it is, it sounds serious."

"It was a car accident?" Carole asked, glancing over at Kurt who had his face buried in Finn's shoulder. Finn was patting Kurt's back, looking worried.

"We drove past the car, Carole. It's… It wasn't good. They had to cut into it, it looked like. The driver's side was slammed into the median. Someone hit him hard."

"Oh my God." Carole repeated as Melody began to squirm and whine. "Shh, Mellie, shh."

"Dada!" she demanded. "Dada! Dada!"

Burt took her. "Shh, Melody. We have to be quiet."

"No!"

Carole went over, sitting next to Kurt. "Come here, hon."

Kurt leaned over, burying his face in her chest and starting to loudly cry.

"He'll be fine." Carole whispered, rocking him. "He is going to be just fine, sweetie."

"I'm s-scared." He whimpered.

"Me too, but he'll be just fine." Carole reassured him.

A doctor — a real one — came over to them. "Blaine Anderson?"

"Yes." Burt said, nodding.

Kurt sat right up, wiping his eyes.

"And his family won't be coming? Someone spoke with his brother about giving out information to 'only Kurt and his family' and he said he was on his way."

"No." Kurt sniffled. "His brother lives in Italy. It will take him a while."

"Kurt?" the doctor asked.

Kurt nodded.

"Would you like to see him?"

"Y-yes." Kurt stood shakily.

"One other person can come if they'd like, but we don't want more than two at a time." The doctor said, glancing at everyone else.

"Carole, you should go. You're closer to Blaine." Burt said, nodding in the direction of the door. "Finn and I will go back separately with Kurt after."

"Kurt, hon, do you want me to go back?" Carole asked, standing also.

"Please." Kurt whispered, walking towards the exit without even waiting for the doctor.

"I'm sorry that the other doctor wasn't very clear with you all. She's fairly new to the whole thing. He's not in any sort of coma right now, but he's remained unconscious for the last several hours. He was conscious when he was picked up from the scene, but the paramedics said he kept going in and out once he was removed from the car. He's got a pretty serious head injury. There are some aspects we won't know until he wakes up, though. His skull is not fractured but there is mild swelling — not a whole lot, but enough to have him under very close surveillance until it goes down..."

"B-but he will wake up?" Kurt sniffled.

"At this point in time, I would say yes." The doctor said, very slowly. "With head injuries, though, you have to understand that a whole lot can happen in a very short amount of time. I'm worried that his condition may change for the worse, but if he stays the way he is now, I think he'll wake up."

"And when he does wake up?" Carole asked.

"We'll know a lot more judging by reflexes and his speech. We'll run tests to make sure there is no brain damage and figure out where to go from there." The doctor answered. "He did hit his head hard, so there may be some memory loss. When they were getting him on the ambulance, though, he knew who he was, he told them where his phone was, told them Kurt's name. So hopefully that won't be something we have to worry about. But if it happens… then we'll work on it."

"But if he was fine then… why isn't he now?" Carole asked.

"Sometimes adrenaline can mask the pain of an injury." The doctor explained. "Also, people don't always fall unconscious right away. It's possible the brain swelling got worse after he passed out. There are a number of things that can and do contribute to loss of consciousness and concussions. The important thing now is to get and keep the swelling down and to keep him comfortable."

"Is… Is he…" Kurt trailed off. "Is he for sure going to… be okay?"

"He's not out of the woods yet." The doctor spoke very gently to him. "But we're going to do everything in our power to make sure he wakes up."

"And… And if he wakes up… will he be okay then?" Kurt felt like a little scared child, but he couldn't help it.

"I can't guarantee that until he wakes up and I see how he's doing, but most likely."

"You said he has other injuries?" Carole asked.

"His leg is broken. We're currently waiting for a specialist to see if he needs surgery or not. The one on duty is in the middle of a procedure, but we have an on call specialist on the way. It will either be a simple surgical procedure, or we'll reset his bone and put it in a cast. His wrist is sprained. He's pretty banged up. It was a pretty serious car accident, so there is some swelling, some cuts, and some bruises. They'll go away with time. He's pretty banged up."

"But he'll be okay?" Kurt whispered, looking in a window as they came to a stop outside of a room. His face screwed up and he didn't wait for an answer, but rushed into the room.

An older nurse who looked very friendly was hooking Blaine up to a monitor.

Kurt had never seen Blaine look as small as he did on that hospital bed, face slightly swollen and bruised. There were even some tiny cuts on his neck and collar bone, probably from glass.

"We're keeping him as comfortable as we can until he wakes up." The nurse said in a soft voice. "He's not in pain."

Kurt nodded, taking a deep and steadying breath. He felt dizzy. Dizzy and scared. He couldn't breathe. This just wasn't happening. All he could think of were the pointless arguments over nothing, all of the times he'd thrown stuff in Blaine's face, all of the times he'd taken his sweet, loving boyfriend for granted. And how, at that moment in time, he would have given anything just for Blaine to open his eyes.

"You can hold his hand if you want." The nurse said, lowering the white blanket past his chest instead folding it back over so that only Blaine's stomach and legs were covered.

"It won't h-hurt him?"

"That one is sprained. Come over on this side. I'll get you a chair, honey." The nurse said, moving to a corner of the room.

Kurt made his way very cautiously, making sure to not trip over any cords, and gently lifted Blaine's hand. He watched Blaine's face for any sign of pain, or anything really, but his expression didn't change. Had he thought the touch of Kurt's hand would rouse Blaine? No, not really. But he might have been hoping a little all the same. "Are you sure… he can't…?"

"He can't feel anything right now." The nurse assured him.

Kurt's lip began to tremble and he looked away from Blaine's swollen face, unable to stare at the bruises any more. He felt a hand on his back and fought the urge to cry.

"That's good, Kurt." Carole said softly. "He's not in pain."

"H-he's not anything then, is he?" Kurt choked.

"Oh, honey." Carole said. "The doctors are going to do everything they can."

Kurt leaned over Blaine, pressing his own trembling lips to his forehead. "You're going to be okay, Blaine. I'm right here. I'm not going to leave."

Both Kurt and Carole looked up as another doctor came in.

"Well, let's look and see." She said in a rushed voice.

Carole quickly moved out of her way.

"You two are fine." The nurse said, giving them a reassuring smile. Carole moved back to her spot by the bed next to Kurt, squeezing her stepson's shoulder.

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand, nodding his silent thanks. He felt like he was in a daze, staring down at Blaine's scraped fingers, but Carole's presence made everything so much easier to handle. He had never been more thankful for her in his life.

The doctor went over to a lighted box, surveying the x-rays silently for several long minutes. "He's going to have quite a recovery ahead of him. If it had been any worse, he would have needed surgery. I think just a cast will be fine for him, though. I'll go on and set the bones now, and you can have him wheeled down for a cast."

"Alright." The first doctor who had originally brought them in nodded. "We can just get his head scans after we're done with that."

"Can I stay with him?" Kurt asked, his voice hopeful. Now that he was with Blaine he really didn't want to leave him.

"When they set the bones, yes. You can't be in the room when they do the scans but you can wait in the next room with the doctor overseeing it and then walk him to the room back here with us."

Kurt felt a sense of relief wash over him. He was going to be with Blaine, even if during the scan he wasn't in the room. The doctors were letting him be involved; he wasn't being kept in the dark anymore.

"I'll set his bones right now and then he can be wheeled down for his cast and the scans." The specialist said.

"After that, we'll monitor him until there are any changes." The other doctor added. "It's just going to be a waiting game to see how it goes."

While Kurt hated waiting, he would take anything over not knowing if Blaine was even alive. With that in mind, he simply nodded and gripped Blaine's hand tightly, refusing to let go even if the grip wasn't returned.

…

Waiting.

Hours and hours of waiting.

With no change whatsoever.

They said Blaine was stable and comfortable. His condition hadn't gotten worse and that fact was something to be thankful for, but Blaine's condition also hadn't gotten better. Kurt didn't like that so much and, he thought to himself, he'd be thankful when Blaine woke up. When his condition improved and he wasn't on monitors. So many monitors and Kurt had no idea what they were doing.

Kurt looked around the room. Burt and Carole were sitting in chairs in the corner of the room, Melody asleep against Burt's chest and Carole's head on his shoulder. Tall Finn was curled up in another chair asleep — the sight was something that would have greatly amused Kurt if the situation with Blaine hadn't been so serious. He would have to remember to describe it to Blaine. Or maybe Blaine would wake up and get to see it for himself.

"What time is it?" Carole asked, sitting up.

"About four in the morning." Burt responded after raising his hand and looking at his watch. He then looked to Kurt, who stared at Blaine helplessly waiting for any response.

And then, finally, after eleven agonizing hours, he got it.

Blaine let out a small whine, his fingers flexing in Kurt's hand, and then rasped, "Kurt?"

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, standing and moving closer to Blaine. Carole sat up straight and Burt stood, passing Melody to her. "Blaine, can you hear me?"

Blaine let out a pained noise, raising his other hand up and covering his eyes. Even though his eyes were closed, the light was still hurting them.

"I turned it off. The light is off, Blaine. Please, open your eyes." He heard Kurt saying, voice tense.

"Kurt?"

"Shh, it's me."

"Ow." Blaine let out the pained noise again, balling his fist.

"Shh, shh, it's okay."

"I'll go get a doctor." Burt said and Blaine heard receding footsteps before a door closed.

"It's okay, Blaine. Shh. Shh." Kurt said, voice shaky and sniffly. "You're going to be okay."

Blaine forced his eyes open in time to see Kurt kissing his forehead. Well, it was really just a blurry mass but he was sure it was Kurt. "What's wrong? A-Are you okay, Kurt?"

"Oh my God, I love you so much. I love you so much." Kurt said over and over, relief washing over him. Blaine was awake. Awake. "Blaine, I love you. I love you."

"I love you too." Blaine closed his eyes, feeling an overwhelming need to sleep. Sleep for forever, or at least until he didn't hurt. Why did he hurt? Wasn't he on medicine? If Burt was getting a doctor, he must have been at a hospital. So why wasn't he on medicine? Or was it that bad? God, he was so tired and thinking made it worse…

"No, Blaine. No. Look at me. Blaine?" Kurt asked. He let out a tiny sob. "Please, Blaine."

Blaine forced his eyes open, only because Kurt asked him to, and he saw bright dots and colors everywhere. "It's all bl-blurry." Blaine said slowly.

"Just look at me. Please." Kurt whimpered. "Don't go back to sleep. Then the doctor can… can make sure… Please, Blaine, I need you to stay awake."

"Not going to sleep." Blaine said, lifting his hand and then hissing.

"B-Be still. Don't hurt yourself." Kurt said, very gently easing Blaine's hand down.

"Kurt, I'm so tired." Blaine whispered, his lip beginning to tremble. "Can I please sleep?"

"No, no, no. It's very important that you stay w-with me."

"But I… It hurts." Blaine swallowed hard. "And it's so hard."

"It's okay, sweetie." Kurt, who was by now silently crying, gently wiped the tears from Blaine's eyes. "I was s-so afraid I'd never see you again, Blaine… Blaine? Are you awake?"

"My h-head hurts." Blaine said after an agonizingly long few seconds.

"It's okay, babe. It's okay." Kurt reassured him, trying as hard as he could to not sound like he was crying. He wiped more tears off of Blaine's face and reached over, grabbing a wet washcloth that a nurse had been using and wiping some blood off of his face. "It's okay, Blaine."

Blaine closed his eyes, almost seeming calmed by the washcloth.

"It's okay." Kurt repeated, his voice firmer as he continued, desperate to calm his scared boyfriend. If he was this upset, he could only imagine how scared Blaine was. "You're fine."

Blaine took a deep breath and shuddered, lip still quivering.

"Shh, shh. You're just fine. I'm right here." Kurt soothed, setting the washcloth aside and rubbing Blaine's shoulder. "I'm right here. It's okay."

Blaine shuddered again and let out a soft whine. Kurt wanted to hug him, to kiss him, to throw himself over Blaine's chest and sob — with relief, with dread, he wasn't sure what with exactly. All he knew was that when Blaine's eyes opened, it was like… like everything was okay, everything was right.

Kurt didn't look away from Blaine until the door opened and Blaine's friendly doctor came in.

"Good afternoon, sweetie. How are we feeling?" she asked, smiling warmly at Blaine. The only response she got was a grunt. "Can you open your eyes for me, sweetheart?"

Blaine scrunched his face up as if expecting pain and then slowly opened his eyes.

The doctor smiled. "You've got lovely eyes, Blaine. Why don't you keep them open for me while I check you over, okay? Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital." Blaine mumbled.

"Excellent. Do you remember getting here? Or why you're here?"

Blaine shook his head and let his eyes fall on Kurt, who hadn't left his side.

"Good. How are you feeling, sweetie? How's your head?"

"It's all fuzzy." Blaine said, voice beginning to slur. "Everything's blurry."

"Stay with me, honey." The doctor said, voice rising a bit. "I need you to stay awake for me, sweetie. Just long enough for me to check you over and then I'll let you rest."

Blaine's eyes shut.

"Are you awake, Blaine?" The lady questioned.

"Mhmm."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"No." Blaine said, voice just under a whisper.

"Honey, if you don't talk up I'm going to have to make you sit up. You can't go to sleep yet." The doctor said. "I need to make sure you're okay to sleep."

"I'm okay to sleep." Blaine mumbled, raising his arm and putting it over his face. Kurt would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. Blaine, talking back to an adult? It was bizarre.

"Can you help me sit him up?" The doctor asked Kurt.

"But… I… yeah." Kurt nodded and bent over. "Sorry, sweetie."

Blaine made a noncommittal noise as Kurt sat him up. Kurt leaned him against the pillows and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Blaine forced his eyes open and blinked at Kurt. His eyes were threatening to close but he tried as hard as he could to keep them open, to stay awake for Kurt. Only for Kurt because he really wanted to sleep, but Kurt sounded worried and Kurt shouldn't worry…

"I need you to tell me how you feel, Blaine. Are you in any pain?" The doctor asked, watching his eyes carefully. She held a small flashlight near his face but he closed his eyes instantly. "I know you're tired but I need you to cooperate with me, Blaine. It will go by faster that way."

"I just want Kurt." Blaine whimpered, ignoring her questions completely.

"I'm right here." Kurt said, sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbing his hand. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm not leaving this room until you do. Okay, honey?"

Blaine swallowed hard and nodded, unshed tears in his eyes. "My head hurts."

The doctor scribbled something down on her clipboard and nodded at Kurt.

"Anything else, babe? Your leg?"

"Not as bad as my head."

"Anything else?"

"I hurt all over." Blaine said, a few tears spilling over.

"Honey, do you remember why you're here?" The doctor asked, voice gentle.

"N-No." Blaine's lip started to tremble as more tears fell. Why didn't he remember? Why was he here? "I'm scared."

"You don't have to be scared." She said kindly, patting his hand. "You're going to be just fine, alright? Calm down and take a deep breath."

Blaine closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and then letting out a long breath. He had to admit, it did wonders for his nerves. Or maybe that was Kurt stroking his arm. Either way, he felt better. Less closed in.

"Good job." The doctor smiled. "Are we a little calmer?"

Blaine nodded, opening his eyes again.

"Okay, I'm going to shine this light by your eye. I tried to a minute ago but you wouldn't let me, so be real still for me."

Blaine sat very still, resisting the urge to look down at his hand when Kurt stroked his open palm. He wanted sleep and he would get it when the woman was done.

"Only his left eye is dilating." She said to a nearby nurse. The nurse immediately grabbed the clipboard and began writing. "Do you feel dizzy, Blaine?"

"I don't know. Everything is blurry, so it's hard to tell." Blaine said, becoming nervous again.

"Any trouble breathing?"

"No." Blaine took another deep breath and felt Kurt stroking the back of his hand now. He leaned over to be closer to Kurt, but didn't realize quite how far away Kurt was. He swayed slightly and Kurt bent down, leaning him back against the center of the bed and kissing him gently. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kurt said, sniffling. "So much, Blaine."

"I'm just going to take a listen and then I'll let you lay back down." The nurse said, moving so she could listen to his breathing after giving them their moment. "Now, Blaine, what is the last thing you remember before waking up?"

"We… Went to…" Blaine said slowly, looking confused. "We went to bed. We watched… uh…" He raised his hand to the back of his head and winced. "Gypsy."

"That was last night. Well, the night before technically." Kurt said, attempting to smile but not quite succeeding. Seeing Blaine this way was hurting his heart in ways he thought it would never hurt. All he wanted to do was take his boyfriend home, lay him down, and snuggle him until everything was better.

"Good!" The doctor said, sounding cheerful and relieved. "Alright, honey. You were in a really bad car accident yesterday afternoon about ten or eleven hours ago. A jeep hit your car so hard that yours turned and your driver's side slammed into the median wall. Do you remember?"

Blaine immediately turned to Kurt, eyes wide with fear. "Oh my God. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Kurt leaned over, kissing the top of his head several times. "I-I'm fine."

"Are you crying?"

"Blaine, I'm fine." Kurt's voice came out even more choked this time. How could Blaine be worried about him? Even if Kurt had been in the car, clearly he was okay if he was with Blaine. He really had the sweetest man alive.

"You were the only one in the car, Blaine." The doctor said and she smiled when he let out a relieved sigh, eyes not leaving Kurt. "You had to be cut out of the car. Do you remember that? A fireman got into the back seat. He put a jacket over you. They pulled the car away from the wall and had to cut into it to get you out because of your leg. The fireman had to help get you out because you couldn't crawl out."

"I don't remember." Blaine swallowed. How could he not remember this? "My leg?"

"Your leg is broken. It's been set and you've got a cast on. You'll have it on for quite some time. You'll probably have to do some physical therapy too." The doctor answered. "You were awake and aware of what was going on during the car accident and before you got in the ambulance."

"Ambulance?" Blaine echoed. Weren't those expensive? He didn't have that much in his savings. How would he pay for that bill? At least he had health insurance.

"Right now you're suffering from amnesia. You'll probably remember within the next 24 hours." The doctor said quietly. "Now, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"It's all blurry still. I don't know. Am I going to be able to see again?"

"You should be able to see again normally within the next little bit." The doctor answered.

"I can't remember anything." Blaine whimpered, rubbing his head frustratedly and trying to make himself remember. But, true to his words, the last thing he could remember was falling asleep the night before — well, what was the night before to him. This was worse than when he couldn't remember stuff from being drunk. That was scary, but this was scary on a whole other level. "Why can't I remember?

"That's okay, Blaine." The doctor said. "You hit your head really hard. There's some swelling and you were unconscious for nearly eleven hours. We were worried about you."

"I'm sorry." Blaine said, looking in Kurt's direction again.

"Shh, don't apologize." Kurt said gently, pressing more kisses to the top of his head. "Don't worry about me, Blaine. I'm fine. Let's focus on you, okay?"

"Blaine, your other hand is sprained but I want you to squeeze my hand with your right one. Squeeze it as tight as you can."

Blaine did as told, wondering when he was going to get to lay down like he'd been promised. He was feeling pretty jipped at this point.

"Good!" The doctor sounded genuinely pleased. "That's very good! Now I want you to wiggle your toes on your broken leg, okay?"

Blaine did as told again, feeling ridiculous.

"Now I'm going to put my hand against your other foot and you're going to push my hand as hard as you can, okay?"

"I'm a soccer player." Blaine mumbled. "That might be too much."

The doctor laughed a bit and pressed her hand against Blaine's foot as he did so. "Good job."

Blaine covered his face with his good arm, exhausted.

"Kurt's going to help you lay down now. If you want, I'll have some food sent up. I bet you're starving." The doctor said.

"'m not hungry." Blaine said tiredly as Kurt gently laid him down. His good hand gripped Kurt's sleeve tightly and he refused to let go. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, babe." Kurt said, stroking his hair back gently as the doctor left.

"You're doing good, bud." Burt said, coming over and patting Blaine's shoulder.

"Mmhi." Blaine's eyes closed.

"Just get some rest, sweetheart." Kurt kissed his forehead.

"Don't leave me." Blaine mumbled sleepily.

"I won't. I promise."

Blaine closed his eyes, too tired and too in pain to hold them open any longer.

…

Kurt couldn't sleep.

It didn't matter that the doctor said Blaine was going to be fine now that he woke up.

For one, Blaine had been so disoriented. If Blaine woke up in the middle of the night, Kurt needed to be there. Right there. Not asleep. For two, what if he wasn't fine? What if something happened with the swelling and he stopped breathing and nobody was there to get a doctor? What if Blaine woke up wanting him and he was asleep? Anything could happen.

Besides, Kurt couldn't sleep anyway. He couldn't get the image of Blaine's crushed and cut up BMW out of his head. He couldn't help but see Blaine's confused and pleading eyes as the doctor asked him questions he couldn't answer. Couldn't help but think of how he'd felt, not knowing if Blaine was even alive for over an hour and then spending another hour battling doctors for information on him.

He had a feeling he wouldn't be sleeping for a while. He almost wished Carole, Burt, and Finn were still there. Finn could only stay a while because he had to go back to OSU for training and it just wasn't necessary for Burt and Carole to keep Melody in a hospital room overnight when the doctor said Blaine would be okay.

Blaine moaned and whimpered, head nuzzling his pillow. Kurt inched forward, just in case he was waking up, and laced their fingers together. Blaine gave a small smile, his fingers relaxing. "Kurt?"

"Hey there." Kurt whispered, leaning over him and turning off an overhead lamp that sat on a counter.

Blaine's eyelids twitched a bit and then he slowly opened his eyes, hesitantly as if he was afraid it would hurt. He blinked several times and then smiled, speaking in a soft voice. "I can see you normally."

"Good." Kurt let out a very relieved sigh.

Blaine rested his head back against the pillows and took another deep breath. "You've been crying."

"No." Kurt lied, shaking his head.

"Aww, Kurt." Blaine said, smiling a bit. "I'm okay."

"No you're not." Kurt whispered, leaning down and brushing back some of Blaine's hair.

"I've got you. I will be." Blaine reached up, touching Kurt's cheek.

"I was so, so, so scared I would never see you like this again." Kurt said, tears filling his eyes for the millionth time since Friday afternoon when he got that call.

"Kurt, shh." Blaine said, struggling to sit up. "Help me up."

"You n-need rest." Kurt said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Ignore me."

"Help me up." Blaine repeated.

Kurt let out a resigned sigh and put his hands under Blaine's arms, helping him into a sitting position. When Blaine was rested comfortably against the pillows, Kurt surveyed him with teary eyes. "Do you — Do you remember the accident?"

"Not yet." Blaine said softly.

Kurt let out a shaky breath as more tears fell. "Are you in pain?"

Blaine hesitated.

"Don't lie."

"Yeah." Blaine finally said, nodding just enough so that it was noticeable.

"Let me get you a doctor." Kurt wiped his eyes.

"Kurt, I don't want a doctor. It's not that bad. I just… just want you to sit with me."

Kurt sat on the edge of the bed, lips trembling. Blaine was too calm. It had to have been the medicine he was already on because Blaine absolutely hated doctors. That, or he was just too exhausted and in pain to care.

"Kurt…" Blaine said, raising his arm and gently tugging Kurt's head down. "I love you."

"I love you too, Blaine." Kurt choked out. "Please be okay. I don't know what I'll do if you're not."

"The doctor said I'll be fine, babe. I'm going to be okay."

"You could barely see!" Kurt exclaimed in a hushed whisper, careful not to hurt Blaine's already aching head.

"I can see now." Blaine said softly.

"T-They wouldn't even tell me if y-you were alive, Blaine. T-They wouldn't tell me anything." Kurt said, tears spilling over. "I thought you were dead. We p-passed that car and I thought 'Oh, God. I hope that person is okay. I hope Blaine's accident wasn't like this' and t-then I saw the l-license plate a-a-and…"

Blaine moved aside slowly and guided Kurt in the bed next to him. Kurt's head went to his chest and he started to cry, balling the t-shirt that Carole had bought for Blaine to wear in his hands (because there was no way he was wearing an itchy hospital gown if he could get out of it).

"I t-thought I'd lost y-you, Blaine. A-And I don't understand why y-you're not freaking out because I am and I don't even hate hospitals like you."

"Because I'm way too drugged to think straight." Blaine joked. "Kurt, c'mon. I'm okay."

"I j-just don't want you to be hurting. I-I wi-wish you hadn't been c-coming to dinner in Lima. T-This is my fault."

"Hey, now." Blaine said. "No. The person that hit me is the one at fault. Never you."

"I'm just… don't…" Kurt rambled, after regaining his composure. "I was so scared a-and… I'm so glad you're awake, Blaine. I thought you were dead."

"All the black clothes you'd have to wear were that terrifying?" Blaine joked.

"No. I was more concerned with being a single parent." Kurt teased, offering the first real smile that he had all day.

"We have a child?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Kreacher."

"I was hoping that was a side effect from the accident. A real baby would have been easier to tolerate." Blaine let out a heavy sigh.

Kurt gently smacked his arm, staring at him. "You've got beautiful eyes, you know?"

"What is it about hospital lighting that makes you say that? This is the second time." Blaine laughed, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder.

"I think it all the time." Kurt admitted.

Blaine smiled and linked their hands together, scooting close. "Vicodin is pretty freaking awesome, Kurt."

"Good night, Blaine." Kurt laughed as Blaine let out a soft snore.

***WBUCT***

"No, I promise I'm fine… There's no point in you guys coming up. They're only letting Kurt and his family in…" Blaine was saying into Kurt's cell phone the next morning when Kurt came into the room, two plates in his hand. He looked up, smiling a bit even though he definitely didn't feel well enough to be smiling.

"Why are they only letting Kurt and his family back?" David asked, sounding confused.

"I don't know… Alex had to get them to let them do that and he's not even here yet."

Blaine knew that he should have told David and Wes to just come, but honestly he had enough people flocking to him already. He felt bad that people kept coming to see him. Besides, he knew exactly how David would be. When you got David into what he and Wes called Big Brother Mode, there was really no getting him out of it. Blaine wasn't mentally prepared to handle both David and Kurt worrying over him. Not to mention Carole, who would be there later and would spend the evening fussing over him as well.

Although, he had to admit that it was nice. The last time he'd been in the hospital with injuries this serious… well, his parents hadn't been very nice to him, to say the least. Then again, they blamed the entire thing on him and just saw it as a waste of money. It was kind of… well, nice to be in the hospital and have people around that genuinely cared about him. Maybe he secretly did want David and Wes there, but he also didn't want them driving all the way out to Dayton just to make him feel better. Blaine would be fine without them there. Even if seeing his best friends would have taken his mind off of the pain—because it was Wes and David, after all.

"Yeah, Kurt told me last night that he was on the way. When is he supposed to make it?" David asked, interrupting Blaine's thoughts.

"This afternoon." Blaine answered, although he wasn't quite sure that was right. Flight availability had already changed three times so Blaine was kind of tuning the Alex stuff out until someone told him Alex was in the state of Ohio. It was easier that way.

Kurt set their plates down on the small table in the corner and gently sat on the edge of the bed, pushing Blaine's hair back and kissing his forehead. After he pulled away, he whispered quietly, "Do you want your plate now?"

Blaine nodded, listening to David ramble on about how he and Wes could at least sit in the waiting room until they let visitors back if it came to that, because they wanted to be there.

"No, David, it's fine. Really." Blaine said, giving Kurt another small smile when he sat his plate on his lap. "I'm kind of tired and really sore anyway. I wouldn't be very interesting…"

"I know, but we want to be there." David said again. "Both Wes and I."

"I want you two to be here too but there's no point in you sitting in a waiting room for who knows how long." Blaine sighed a bit and took a bite of his mashed potatoes, feeling more and more tired the longer he stayed on the phone with David.

"So you're not up to visitors or they say you're not?" David asked, maintaining a quieter than normal voice so as to not hurt Blaine's still pounding head.

"It's both." Blaine said, scooting slightly when Kurt sat on the edge of the bed. If David thought he wasn't up to visitors, he was less likely to drive all the way out there. "I'm just really tired and sore… and the medicine knocks me out as soon as they give it to me."

David sighed a bit. "Is Kurt back yet?"

"Mhmm, he just got back with my food." Blaine answered, voice starting to slur. Blaine had taken to growing very tired when talking too much while on his painkillers and it almost always responded in his voice slurring. That, Kurt knew, was when it was time to end conversation and let Blaine rest. Evidently David knew this too.

"Can I talk to him?" David asked.

"Yeah." Blaine said, shrugging although David couldn't see him. He would have liked to have blamed that on the fact that he was on painkillers but, in all honesty, he did that in even his healthiest of moments. Sometimes he relied too heavily on gesturing in conversations.

"Alright. Get some rest, Blaine. I'll talk to you later today or in the morning tomorrow." David said.

"Thanks. I will. Bye." Blaine said, holding the phone out to Kurt.

Kurt took the phone, kissing Blaine's cheek once again (he couldn't help but be extra affectionate when Blaine was so pitiful and in the hospital), and held it to his ear. "Hello, David."

"Hey, Kurt." David said. "How's the swelling? Has it gone down any since last night when we talked?"

"No." Kurt sighed a bit as Blaine slowly ate his mashed potatoes, leaning back against his pillows. Much of Kurt's night had been spent on his cell phone with Alex, David, and Wes concerning Blaine's condition. He had probably talked to Wes and David over the phone and text in the last several hours more than he'd ever talked to them in his entire life. "They're going to try him on some new medicine later today and they think that might help."

"They said he can't have visitors?"

"Actually, the opposite." Kurt said, trying to not go into details because Blaine could clearly hear every word he said. He didn't quite understand why Blaine didn't want Wes and David there. But then again, he remembered his first stay in the hospital. He'd been very tired and hadn't wanted anyone there but Blaine and his dad. Of course the situations were different, but maybe Kurt understood a little better than he had previously thought.

"So he's trying the whole 'I don't want to be a burden' thing?" David asked, laughing a bit. "I figured. It was taken him a while to come up with those responses."

Of course, Kurt thought. Blaine was feeling better. Of course he simply didn't want his friends going out of their way to see him. That almost hurt Kurt's heart. He knew Blaine was doing okay, but he also knew that David and Wes would have made Blaine feel much more at ease. He knew that Blaine needed them there just as much as he needed Kurt, now that he thought about it.

"Sounds about right." Kurt said quietly.

"Okay. I'm picking up Wes and we'll be there in a bit. Text me the room number." David said.

"Okay. I'm going to get off of here because he's about to fall asleep with the spoon in his mouth. I'll let you know if anything happens." Kurt said in an effort to keep Blaine in the dark.

"You're good at this, Kurt. I'm surprised." David said, sounding impressed. "See you in a bit."

"Bye." Kurt hung up.

"'m not falling 'sleep." Blaine whined when Kurt came over, forcing his eyes open.

"Yes, honey, you are." Kurt said, taking the bowl of mashed potatoes from him and moving it back onto the table.

"I don't know why I'm sleeping so much." Blaine mumbled tiredly, leaning against Kurt when he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Because your body needs rest so it can heal." Kurt said, wrapping his arm around Blaine. He gently guided Blaine's head down until it was rested on Kurt's chest.

"They're really changing my medicine?" Blaine asked, voice muffled by Kurt's chest.

"Adding something to it. It should help with your headaches." Kurt whispered.

"I feel crappy enough with what I'm already on." Blaine sighed, frowning. "I really hate hospitals, Kurt."

"The medicine should help." Kurt said, rubbing his arm. "Try to get some sleep and maybe you'll feel better in the morning."

"I don't think I will." Blaine let out another sigh, this one smaller, and then nuzzled Kurt's shoulder. "Has Alex actually called you back yet?"

"No. We've sent texts back and forth though. He was about to board a flight when I talked to him last. He's trying to get here as soon as he can." Kurt leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Blaine's cheek.

"I almost feel like him coming is a waste because I'm not that bad off."

"Blaine, you've got brain swelling that isn't going down, a broken leg, a sprained wrist, and a serious concussion. You also still can't even remember your car accident. If that isn't bad off, I don't want to know what you're definition is." Kurt said very slowly.

"Well, when you say it like that…" Blaine said, biting his lip. "That makes it sound bad."

Kurt rolled his eyes and kissed Blaine gently. "You ate some and talked to David. I think you deserve a nap, don't you?"

"Mhmm, I'd really like one actually." Blaine nuzzled him again. "Will you wake me if Carole and Melody come?"

"Yes." Kurt smiled a bit. "Of course, Blaine. I don't think they'll be here for a while though."

"That's okay." Blaine balled some of Kurt's shirt in his hand and, within seconds, was asleep. Kurt picked his phone up and gently eased himself off of the bed, resting Blaine against the pillows. His boyfriend whined for a few moments before his face relaxed and he began to let out the quiet snores that Kurt knew well.

He unlocked his phone, went into his contacts, and scrolled until he found Blaine's older brother's phone number. He clicked on Alex's name and sat quietly until the older man picked up.

"Hey, Kurt. I was just about to call you." Alex said.

"Hey." Kurt said quietly. He looked at Blaine, who was fast asleep, and crept into the bathroom of the hospital room so he was less likely to wake Blaine. "You landed?"

"About forty minutes ago. I've been talking to these idiots at the desk about getting tickets to Ohio. The closest I could get is extremely northern Michigan. I'm not having much luck. I can't rent a car because apparently I just can't." Alex said, sounding annoyed. "So I'm stuck in an airport until they can find somewhere for me. The next flight near you guys is in six hours but they can't even guarantee me a seat, much less how the hell I'll get there once I land since I just can't rent a car." Alex sighed. "How is he doing? Is he still holding up okay since your last text?"

"He's been sleeping a lot, but he's been really easy to wake up. Well, they're waking him up every two hours just to make sure he doesn't… you know." Kurt said, unable to finish that statement. "He's in a lot of pain but the doctor is confident that he'll be alright."

Alex let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, good. Does that mean everything is good, then?"

"Not quite." Kurt sighed. "The brain swelling hasn't gone down yet. When he first woke up he couldn't even see but now he can see normally, which they say is a really good sign… I already told you about how they didn't have to do surgery on his leg so he's got a cast on and it probably will be for a while… But the main thing is the swelling in his brain."

"Are they keeping him drugged at least? To help with the pain?"

"He doesn't like to be on medicine very much so he's not letting them do as much as they could. Medicine tends to upset his stomach…" Kurt whispered. "But he's sleeping through most of the pain anyway."

"It probably hurts too much to be awake." Alex sighed again, but this one didn't sound relieved. "I wish I could get there sooner. The doctors laid off on calling Mom and Dad, right?"

"Yes. They want to talk to you about something though… They won't tell me and they don't want to stress Blaine out. I don't know what it is, though…" Kurt trailed off.

"I don't know. If I can make this flight that's in six hours, I should be there by dinner time and then we'll both find out… I feel better, though, knowing that he's awake and everything. Did he say anything about the accident? Whose fault was it?" Alex asked.

"He actually doesn't remember Friday at all yet but he should soon." Kurt said.

"Blaine doesn't even remember Friday at all? It was a really bad car accident, wasn't it?" Alex asked. "Fuck."

"Yes. It was really bad… But the police officer said that it was the woman's fault. She was driving recklessly. They'd had several calls about her. Not long before the accident she had been going ninety five miles an hour. If she had when she hit Blaine's car…" Kurt trailed off again, unable to finish his sentence. Trying to not even finish the thought. Yes, Blaine was doing badly. But it could have been much worse. Blaine could have not made it out of the car alive.

Alex was quiet for a long moment before going, "Was she arrested?"

"No. She probably will be, though… As soon as she's out of here, that is. She was admitted too. I don't know. They've mostly talked about that stuff with Dad because they don't want to in front of Blaine and I haven't really left his side. They don't want to stress him out more than he already it. I don't know if you've picked up on it, but Blaine can stress like no other…"

"Have they said… I mean… with the swelling… will there be long term effects?"

Even talking about it was causing Kurt to become more stressed out, but he could only imagine how Alex had felt. If the roles had been swapped, he knew that texts just wouldn't have covered everything that he would have wanted to know. Blaine was Alex's little brother. For however little of a relationship they had before, it was very evident that Alex had been trying to make up for it for over a year. Kurt knew he must have been scared — and he also knew that Alex must have really cared for Blaine, seeing as he'd been catching planes in an attempt to get to Dayton solely to see him.

"It's at the point where the swelling shouldn't get worse… His memory seems intact because the only thing he can't remember is Friday… They're saying there shouldn't really be long lasting effects, as far as they can tell. He'll have migraines for a while but they should go away with time. He'll probably need physical therapy with his foot though. After the therapy, his foot should work fine. I guess, right now, the biggest worry is what's going to happen after he gets home. How we're going to do school and work with him unable to drive. I just don't even know…" Kurt trailed off, becoming more stressed out as he spoke.

When he was talking to Blaine, keeping him occupied, it was easy to not think of this stuff. He was just trying to keep Blaine at ease. Now, though, Blaine wasn't right there. Blaine was asleep, and it forced him to think of how serious it really was and how he still had no idea what to do after they got back from the hospital. He and Blaine lived alone. Blaine's school was hours away. Kurt had to work to pay rent. So what was going to happen?

Now that the word was that Blaine would get better, those issues kept popping into his mind. How was Blaine going to keep going to school? What would they do about a job? Luckily their apartment was on the lowest floor of their building, so at least he didn't have to worry about that. And physical therapy? That was expensive. Of course, they would have to do it. Blaine needed his leg to properly heal. They had no choice. Even if Blaine didn't want to, Kurt would make him. Kurt worked at the garage. So, what would happen when Blaine went home? Of course Blaine could hang out at the garage, but Kurt doubted he would like that very much. Carole worked on weekdays, so that option was out. Who would take care of Blaine when he was still too sore to move about himself while Kurt worked?

There was so much to figure out. How on Earth had Blaine dealt with this almost two years ago? He had been so much younger and probably under even more stress than Kurt.

Forget feeling bad.

Kurt needed to buy Blaine his cat. Actually, Blaine deserved cats and monkeys and hedgehogs and anything else he had ever asked for if he'd put Blaine through half as much as this.

"Alright." Alex sighed a bit. "Look, my battery is running low so I better go in case you need to get in touch with me or vice versa. I'll text you and let you know if I'm able to get on that flight. If anything happens, let me know. And if I'm on a flight, text me and I'll get it as soon as I'm off of the plane."

"Okay. Hopefully we'll see you soon."

"Bye, Kurt."

"Bye."

…

"Hey, Blaine." David said quietly later that day, leaning down when Blaine blinked at them sleepily. "How are you doing?"

"'Sup, Blainers?" Wes asked, leaning down also.

Blaine stared at them for several seconds and Kurt, Wes, and David exchanged looks. Kurt thought he remembered everything before the accident. And Blaine had definitely talked to David on the phone less than two hours ago and knew he who was. What was going on? Had Blaine gotten worse?

"Mmmhey." Blaine finally said, stretching and rubbing his eyes with his good hand. "I thought I told you guys not to come."

"If you did that on purpose, Blaine, you are such an asshole." David laughed, referring to Blaine's blank stare.

"So are you for not listening to me." Blaine shrugged and yawned, then blinked up at them with sleepy hazel eyes. "I'm shocked you two are standing here together and not killing each other."

"Look at you, bringing us together. Something you can put on your resume." Wes grinned, draping an arm around David's neck. "It's all because of you, Blainers!"

"You've got to stop calling me that." Blaine moaned, covering his eyes with the crook of his arm.

"How are you feeling, Blaine? In all seriousness?" Wes asked, letting his arm drop.

"'m sore." Blaine admitted, lowering his own arm. "And I can't remember the accident… which might be a good thing considering the condition I'm in."

"You'll feel better when you're rested up." David said, his voice still quiet so he wouldn't hurt Blaine's head any more than it was already hurting.

"The drugs are getting most of it for me anyway." Blaine yawned again and then looked at Kurt, waving his hand a bit. He then smiled and said teasingly, "You knew they were coming didn't you? Why did you let them do this? Now they're in Big Brother Mode. The last time this happened I didn't have a Wes and David free moment for weeks."

"Because I know you need them here too." Kurt said instantly. "I can tell."

"Awww, Blaine loves us." Wes cooed. He went to pinch Blaine's cheek but took note of the bruises and cuts and instead settled for ruffling his dark curls. "We love Blaine too!"

Blaine rolled his eyes but it was very obvious that their mere presence had made him feel better.

"You look better than I thought you would." David said, sounding relieved.

"He looked worse last night. He's definitely doing a bit better." Kurt said, watching Wes gesture wildly while he talked animatedly to Blaine, who was watching him intently and even smiling — really smiling, not that forced one that was done in an effort to comfort Kurt.

By the time Blaine's doctor came in, Kurt and David were sat on chairs that were pulled up next to the bed and Wes was sitting Indian style on the foot of the bed.

"This puppy is so loud, guys. And Sarah—that's my little sister, Kurt— she's like, 'You have to use your inside voice, puppy! That way everyone can hear you!'" Wes said, laughing loudly. "Mom has no idea why she says it."

"But you do." David rolled his eyes, not even noticing the doctor.

"She likes to get really loud. Really loud. So I've been telling her that people can't hear what she says unless she uses her inside voice." Wes snickered.

"Well somebody is popular, Blaine." Blaine's doctor said, laughing.

David began laughing loudly when Wes almost toppled out of the bed. Kurt snorted while Blaine just shook his head.

The doctor waited until Wes was safely off of the bed and seated before going next to Blaine. "You certainly look like you feel a bit better."

"Laughter is the best medicine." David said charmingly.

Blaine rolled his eyes and then said, "I feel alright."

"Alright is better than the grunts that I've been getting. I'll take it." She said cheerfully, surveying him. "You've even got more color in your face. We may have to have your friends stay until you leave."

"Don't put the idea in their heads." Blaine said very seriously. "They get Big Brother Syndrome easily."

"Oh no." She laughed a bit and listened to his breathing. "I have a feeling you don't mind that much."

Blaine shrugged when she pulled away, because in all honesty he didn't at all.

"Okay. Your scan came back and we were right. The swelling hasn't gone down." She said, more seriously. David and Wes instantly fell silent, paying very close attention. Kurt, who had already been paying close attention to her, sat up even straighter. "I've got some medicine here. Now you need to take it with food, so I'm going to set the cup here. Lunch should be around in an hour."

"Say he wants food that isn't from here…" Wes said slowly when she was done speaking.

"I heard nothing you said." She said, leaving the room quickly.

"That was a yes." Wes grinned.

"Oh, thank God." Blaine said. "This food is so nasty."

"I'll go get you some real food." Wes said. "What will be your poison? Tacos, chicken, hamburger, sub?"

"Oh my God, really? You're really not joking? Are you joking? I love you so much, Wes." Blaine gasped. "I really, really hope you aren't joking."

"I'm not that mean." Wes laughed.

"Just the first thing you see. If it gets me away from Surprise Meat, I'll take it. You are the best. The best."

"I told you that was meatloaf." Kurt laughed.

"That didn't taste like any meatloaf I've ever tasted." Blaine scoffed, making David laugh.

"Alright. I'll be back." Wes grabbed his keys off of a table he'd set them on. "Does anyone else want anything?"

"No, thanks." Kurt shrugged.

"Come on. You've been eating hospital food." Wes said.

"I'm fine."

"Take him with you." Blaine said.

"I'm not leaving." Kurt said stubbornly.

"Just to get food. You'll go crazy sitting in here. Trust me, I know." Blaine said. "You don't want to leave but you'll feel better if you do."

"No. I don't think I will." Kurt said slowly. "I don't want to leave you."

"It's just on the corner, Kurt. We'll go fast." Wes said, grabbing Kurt's wrist and pulling him up. "I'll return with your lover mostly unscathed, Blainers."

"Don't call me Blainers." Blaine whimpered as Wes tugged Kurt out, giving the smaller boy no opportunity to even begin to protest.

…

"I know you must be shocked that David and I actually keep our cars neat unlike your boyfriend." Wes laughed as he got into his black Lexus.

"Just a bit." Kurt admitted, carefully climbing in as well. He was reminded of the first time he ever got into Blaine's expensive BMW—making sure to open the door slowly, not to hit anything, not to close the door too hard. He tried to not think about the fact that Blaine's car was in a junkyard by now probably.

"How's he really doing, Kurt?"

"He's in more pain than he's letting on… They can't get the brain swelling to go down… His brother should be making it into town today. Dad's heading to the airport waiting in case the plane gets there early… I really think he just wants to feel helpful and doesn't know what to do." Kurt said. "I'll be glad for Alex to get here because I… I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're doing an amazing job. The last time I saw Blaine in a hospital he was a nervous wreck." Wes said, more serious than Kurt had ever seen him.

"It's the medicine."

"I'd say ¼ of it is the medicine." Wes glanced at Kurt. "And ¾ is you."

Kurt took a deep breath.

"We're glad he has you. I don't know if we've ever outright said it. I just don't like to talk about serious stuff that much in general. Ruins my reputation, you know?"

Kurt couldn't help but smile a bit at that.

"But we are really glad he has you, Kurt. When he met you things were okay but before that… he was pretty… hopeless and depressed. He hated himself. Then it was okay… but now, with you… he's happy."

"I want him to be happy." Kurt said softly.

"I know." Wes nodded, pulling out of the huge parking garage. "We do too. And he is happy with you. You even calm him down when it comes to hospitals. Kudos to you, my friend."

Kurt laughed a bit, having to admit that Blaine had been right about getting out of that hospital for a few minutes. Even being in a car made him feel a tad better than being stuck in that hospital. That didn't change the fact that he wanted to be with Blaine, though.

"Try not to worry. I'm sure the swelling will go down soon. I'm sure you're both worrying about what happens when school starts but everyone will come together and figure out what to do to get him to school. He's got more people than he thinks. We'll get everything squared away for him." Wes continued.

"Thanks, Wes." Kurt said, letting out a sigh of relief that he didn't even know he'd been holding.

"It's no problem." Wes said, pulling into the parking lot of a Subway. "Don't make me force you to go in and get food. I know you're probably starving."

"I left my wallet—."

Wes looked at him and actually laughed. "It's very obvious you've never been the person at the hospital with someone before, Kurt. I'm paying. You can pay me back when the woman who is lucky enough to marry me—."

Kurt snorted at this.

"Shut up. When the woman who is lucky enough to marry me bears my child and refuses to let me leave to get real food. You can bring me some food then to pay me back for getting you food now!" Wes finished, not even looking offended. "Deal, Kurtsie?"

"Deal, I guess." Kurt shrugged and got out of the car with Wes. "Hey! You can't call me Kurtsie, Wes!"

"I can't call Blaine Blainers, I can't call you Kurtsie, and I can't call David Daviel. What, do you people expect me to call you by your names?"

"I don't know… that might be a start." Kurt said sweetly, carefully closing Wes' car door.

"Oh my God, Kurt. If there were someone more perfect for Blaine than you, I think I would probably die from shock." Wes shook his head, approaching the restaurant and muttering, "Sarcastic assholes. Their children are going to be horrible."

"What was that?" Kurt asked, smirking.

"I said your children are going to be horrible. They're going to be sassy, sarcastic and confident at an annoyingly alarming rate, my friend… and most of it will probably come from you." Wes responded teasingly. "I knew letting Blaine date you was a bad idea. David and I may have to rethink this."

"He wouldn't listen to you two even if you tried." Kurt teased back. "I can give him something you can't."

Wes turned to stare at Kurt, jaw dropped. Finally he spoke. "All of my respect in the world goes to you, Kurt. All of it."

…

Blaine had been fine. He really had been, until he'd eaten and taken his medicine. The first twenty minutes after finishing his sandwich had been spent with the four chatting about almost anything that would take Blaine's mind off of being stuck at the hospital. Kurt would chat about how Blaine clearly loved Kreacher, David talked about how his sister had eloped with a mobster (Kurt still wasn't sure if he was joking or not), and Wes told countless stories about his little sister, who had to be the most mischievous little girl on the face of the entire planet.

It had been going like that, at least, until Blaine began to feel sick. It happened in an instant. He had been laughing quietly and then his laugh had stopped abruptly and he had grabbed Kurt's wrist, an unmistakable look of pain on his face.

"Blaine, what's wrong? Blaine?" Kurt had asked worriedly, coming closer while David left to find a doctor.

He was fine though, the doctor who was not his usual doctor said. He was just having a "small reaction" to the medicine. Tons of people had it, it would pass, and they should just not worry.

But ten seconds turned into ten minutes and by that point Blaine was crouch over, clutching his stomach and making noises that sent daggers through Kurt, Wes, and David's hearts. Blaine was clearly not okay, at least by their standards. It didn't take a medical degree to see that.

"He was fine ten minutes ago." David said, biting his lip.

"Are you sure we shouldn't get the doctor again?" Wes asked anxiously.

"The other one already said it's because of the medicine." David sighed.

"I don't feel good." Blaine whimpered pitifully.

"I can try to find his doctor." Wes said.

"I know, I know." David said calmly as Kurt stroked Blaine's hair back.

"It really hurts." Blaine moaned, trying to curl up.

"Is it just your head still?" David asked, sounding alarmed. "C'mon, Blaine. Talk to us."

"My stomach." Blaine whined, tears filling his eyes. "It really hurts, David."

"It's okay, Blaine." Kurt whispered sadly. "She said it would pass soon."

"I want it to pass now!" Blaine curled more, as best as he could given his cast making things difficult, and his lip started to tremble.

"Don't you dare do that, Blaine." David pleaded. "Don't."

"I'm hurting and I'll cry if I want to!" Blaine whimpered, tears making their way down his face.

Kurt leaned down, rubbing his back and kissing the side of his face. "It's okay, it's okay. Shh, honey."

Blaine sat up, leaning over the bed and beginning to throw up.

"Get someone, Wes." David said sharply, moving out of the way.

"This — isn't — fair!" Blaine moaned, sitting up. "Why does my life suck?"

He did not remain sitting up for very long, though. He almost immediately leaned over, beginning to vomit with renewed force. David stood, looking anxiously at the door for Wes to come back with his doctor. Several long moments passed before Blaine finally stopped throwing up. David had seen Blaine throw up several times in the past, but he'd never seen anything like that. He was now beyond worried. Something wasn't right.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked worriedly, still rubbing his back.

"Blaine?" David asked a bit louder, shaking his shoulder.

Blaine moaned a bit, swaying.

"Fuck." David said, easing Blaine up. "Don't you dare get sicker on us, Blaine. You're supposed to get better, not worse."

"I don't feel good." Blaine whimpered, sounding absolutely pitiful. He leaned heavily against David, cheek smooshed against David's ribcage.

"I know, I know." David eased him back into a laying position. "Where the fuck is Wes with a doctor?"

"I just w-w-wanna go home." Blaine cried. "Please, Kurt. Take me home."

"Blaine, I can't." Kurt whispered, feeling like the meanest person alive. How did you tell Blaine no when he was crying like that? He was the meanest person alive. "You can't leave until you're feeling good enough to leave."

"I just want to go home!" Blaine said, a little more forcefully. "I hate hospitals and medicine!"

The door opened and Wes came in, followed closely by Blaine's doctor. Wes went into the bathroom, coming back with three towels and began to clean the vomit off of the floor as the doctor questioned Blaine, attempting to calm him despite the fact that he was being extremely grumpy and uncooperative.

After Wes was done and had washed his hands, he saw a nurse putting medicine into his IV and Blaine's eyes drooping shut.

"Thanks." Kurt whispered when Wes came to stand next to him and David.

"Hopefully by the time he wakes up the effects will have worn off." The doctor sighed. "It usually makes people nauseous but not quite that much."

"Medicine upsets his stomach." David said quietly. "That's why he hates being sick."

"With any luck, he'll wake up feeling better and the swelling will be down." The doctor looked down, writing something on her chart. "He should be asleep for at least three hours, but if anything happens just push that button and someone will be right in. I'll have someone check on him in about half an hour."

"Thank you." Kurt said again, his eyes not having left Blaine who was gripping his hand tightly. The tear stains on his cheeks broke Kurt's heart. All he wanted to do was find the girl that had been recklessly driving and give her a piece of his mind — and maybe his fist, depending on how mad he got when yelling. Then again, Kurt was not one for violence. He was so angry, though. The entire situation… none of it was even Blaine's fault. Blaine was probably the most careful driver Kurt had met in his entire life. Kurt was the one that sped, the one that cut in front of cars a little too close, the one that slammed his breaks just as regularly as he gradually slowed down on certain days of the week. So how had Blaine been the one to end up in a horrible car accident? How was that even fair?

"I'm not leaving until he wakes up and I know he's okay." David said as soon as the doctor left, voice leaving no room for argument. "Even if I have to sit out in the waiting room and you text me what's going on. I'm not leaving this hospital until he's okay."

"Me neither." Wes agreed, very seriously. "He was fine when we got here and I thought he was doing alright but now I'm worried."

Kurt pulled a seat up by the bed. Blaine whimpered when Kurt let his hand go and continued to do so until Kurt had scooted right up to him and squeezed his hand. "I can't believe this. I'm still in shock."

"Blaine doesn't have the best luck in the world." David said. "And that's putting it lightly."

"She said he would be fine." Wes pulled another chair up, sitting down and making himself comfortable. "He'll be alright. I still don't feel comfortable leaving until I see proof, though."

"I know everyone keeps saying that he'll be fine, but the swelling still hasn't gone down. That has to be serious. It's brain swelling. I just don't know what we're going to do." Kurt said. "How did Blaine even deal with this stuff when he was younger? How did he just… know what needed to be done?"

"When you were in the hospital and he took a semester off?" David asked.

"Yes." Kurt nodded.

"He didn't have a clue what he was doing." David said quietly, shrugging. "He was freaking out… he just knew that he wanted to do what was best for you and he wanted to be with you so he knew you were being taken care of properly. After that I think he just… took it one step at a time. But, Kurt, there's nothing you can do right now. It's in the doctor's hands."

Kurt let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm his nerves. Blaine was asleep; he was okay. The doctor said it was just a bad reaction, that the vomiting was as bad as the reaction would get, and that he was going to be okay. So there was no need to worry about it. Right?

He couldn't help it though. It was Blaine. His Blaine. He didn't like Blaine hurting. He just wanted to take Blaine home and let him sleep until everything felt better. Until his concussion was gone, his leg was healed, his wrist didn't hurt, and he wasn't throwing up buckets because of medicine that was supposedly going to help him.

But no.

He couldn't freaking do that.

Because Blaine had to stay in a hospital that made him uncomfortable and nervous.

It killed Kurt. It really did.

Of all the cars on that stupid highway, the woman had to plow into Blaine's. The one person who had gone through enough bad stuff to last three or four lifetimes.

"It will be okay, Kurt." David said very calmly, sensing Kurt's frustrations. "He'll get to leave soon and then he'll be able to feel better. Don't worry about anything past that yet until it comes up or you'll worry yourself sick. The last thing he needs is you hurting yourself."

Kurt nodded, chewing on his lip and staring at his boyfriend. "Thanks for coming. I… I know it means a lot to him that you're here. He just didn't want you all to feel like you had to come, I think."

Wes rolled his eyes. "That or he was hoping to get laid in a hospital bed."

"Yes, Wes. That was clearly his motive." David rolled his own eyes. "For some reason, I think sex is the last thing on his mind. I knew the seriousness wouldn't last long."

"It never does." Wes said cheerfully. "At least I'm fun to be around, right?"

Kurt snorted a bit. "That's one way of putting it."

…

Blaine's eyes snapped open and he sat up, looking around wildly. Wes and David were no longer there but he very vaguely remembered them hugging him and saying goodbye at some point or another… that day? Well, he couldn't be sure it had been that day. The room was empty except for Kurt, who was sitting on a chair with his eyes half closed, softly breathing.

Kurt.

Tears filled Blaine's eyes and he let out a choked sob as what exactly had happened suddenly hit him. He stared around the room with big eyes. He was in the hospital because he had been in a wreck. A bad wreck. Wes and David had visited, he remembered Carole and Burt being there, and Kurt was still there.

"Blaine? Blaine, sweetie, what's wrong?" Kurt jumped up, stumbling to the bed. "Honey? Is it your stomach again? Do you need to throw up?"

"They — wouldn't — I—." Blaine struggled to find words. Kurt pulled him to his chest gently and Blaine balled Kurt's shirt in one hand, beginning to helplessly cry. Kurt was there. Kurt was there.

"Shh, honey, shh." Kurt whispered, rocking him gently. "Shh, shh, shh, honey. It's okay."

"I was so scared." Blaine choked out into his chest, feeling like a baby. All of the nerves from earlier were hitting him at once, though, and it was extremely overwhelming. The car slamming into him and his own car being crushed. The fireman getting in his car, them moving it and cutting into it again so they could pull him out. Not being able to reach his phone to call for Kurt until he was out. But Kurt was there. It didn't matter because he was right there. The officer had called like he said he would. And Kurt had come. "You came. You came."

"Of course I did." Kurt said, sounding almost as if he was crying himself. "Shh, everything is okay."

"She just hit me. I t-tried to move, Kurt, but she just slammed into me and my car spun and I — I —." Blaine fumbled for words, desperately trying to find them but his head and stomach hurt so bad that it hurt to focus on anything apart from Kurt's heartbeat. Because Kurt came. He was there. He was going to make it better. He was already making it better.

"Take a deep breath." Kurt whispered.

Blaine inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, letting his grip on Kurt loosen.

Kurt moved to lean him back against the pillows, but Blaine whimpered softly so Kurt pulled him right back, cradling him. "You're okay. It's all over."

"I was so scared." Blaine whispered, watery hiccupping. He couldn't even feel embarrassed though. He was too relieved for that. "I was so freaking scared, Kurt. They kept asking for mom and dad's number and I tried to explain that they — you know — and… and I remember waking up, but I didn't remember the accident… and now I do, and I'm just so glad you're here, Kurt."

"Blaine, it's okay. Of course I'm right here. I wouldn't be anywhere else." Kurt whispered, still cradling him and rocking him gently. "I told you I wasn't leaving until you do and I'm not."

Blaine's arms wrapped around Kurt's waist and he tugged him even closer, face buried in his chest. Kurt could feel the tension leaving Blaine's body as he calmed down which, in turn, eased Kurt's tension.

"The swelling went down." Kurt whispered, not letting his grip loosen. "You woke up before David and Wes left. They did a scan and they said the swelling has gone down almost completely. You're going to be just fine. That medicine did something at least."

Blaine pulled back offering Kurt a watery smile. "Does this mean I get to go home soon? I want to go home so bad."

Kurt pressed their foreheads together. "I want you to go home too, babe. We'll just have to talk to your doctor when she comes back and see. Alex should be here in about half an hour too. Carole and Dad are picking him up. Melody is with Rachel and her dads and Finn's fed Kreacher—."

"And my fish?" Blaine asked, looking hopeful.

"Of course." Kurt nodded. "I called him when he was there to remind him."

"I wonder how they're doing." Blaine said thoughtfully.

"The fish?" Kurt asked, looking at him.

"Mhmm." Blaine nodded.

"I'm sure they're just dandy and swimming their little hearts out." Kurt laughed a bit. "Blaine, do you remember after the accident any?"

"I remember falling asleep after I was out of the car and waking up here." Blaine said, forehead still pressed against Kurt's, watching his blue eyes carefully with his own hazel ones.

Kurt reached up, touching his face very gently to avoid hurting him because his cheek was still slightly bruised. "You lost consciousness in the ambulance; you didn't fall asleep. You hit your head really hard, Blaine. The doctor said the concussion will bother you for a while, but now that the swelling is gone… you'll be okay."

"I remember not remembering the accident and everything." Blaine whispered. "It's really weird."

"You couldn't remember Friday at all." Kurt whispered back. "She said you would remember but I was scared that you wouldn't…"

Blaine looked up to see Kurt had teary eyes.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be okay." Kurt whispered. He moved so that he was standing up, but still leaning over Blaine. He reached down, grabbing his hand and squeezing tightly. "How do you feel?"

Blaine took another deep breath. "Really, really sore."

"What about your stomach? Is that okay?"

"It hurts too but I don't need to throw up." Blaine leaned against his pillows. "My head hurts more than my stomach."

"Do you want me to get a doctor?"

Blaine shook his head, his nose scrunching up adorably. "I don't want more any more medicine than they have to give me after that puking party earlier."

Kurt smiled sadly and spoke in a very calm and gentle voice. "If you're hurting, then you may need more medicine."

"I just hate being on medicine." Blaine said miserably, turning his head away.

Kurt stroked his messy curls, not even caring that they hadn't been washed in… days, at that point. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I know… But I promise that they're only giving you medicine that they think you need."

Blaine screwed his eyes shut and nodded. "It really sucks."

"I know. I remember." Kurt kissed the top of his head. "Soon you'll be off of the medicine and you'll feel as good as new. And now that you have a cast, you'll have an excuse to wear those ugly shorts that I hate."

Blaine opened his eyes, giving Kurt a pitiful smile. "They're really comfortable, you know?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, kissed the top of his head again, and murmured into his curls, "You're my favorite. I love you so much."

"Mmh, you're my favorite too." Blaine gave him a real smile this time, eyes lighting up. "Did you say that Alex was going to be here soon?"

"Yeah." Kurt nodded, stroking his hair.

"I hope you let him know I'm not on my death bed or anything."

"Nah. I thought it would be sweet if he ran in sobbing and you were sitting up eating ice cream." Kurt teased. "I've been keeping in touch with Alex, David, and Wes when you've been sleeping."

Blaine smiled again, leaning his face into Kurt's open hand. "Do you think he's bringing Danny?"

"No, he's not." Kurt said, shaking his head. "When he left, you hadn't even woken up yet. Nobody really knew what was going on… so he's coming alone."

"Oh." Blaine looked a little disappointed. "I like Danny."

"You like any child, Blaine." Kurt kissed him quickly. "Can I get you some food or anything? Are you thirsty?"

Blaine raised his hand up, pulling Kurt's lips back to his and mumbling, "Gimme this."

Kurt rolled his eyes but kissed back, hands on either side of Blaine's face. Blaine kissed back slowly, not pulling away until a throat was cleared.

"Well, someone is feeling better." A familiar voice said.

"Oh God." Kurt said, pulling away quickly.

"Don't let us interrupt, boys." Kurt's father said gruffly as Blaine's brother snorted.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? With all of those monitors you boys are on, we wouldn't want anyone to have a heart attack on top of everything else." Alex chimed in.

"Leave the boys alone." Carole snapped at both of them. She walked out from behind Burt and Alex, hugging each of the boys while looking at Blaine, clearly concerned. "Blaine, hon, how are you feeling?"

"The swelling has gone down." Blaine smiled, although he looked much paler than he had when she'd visited last.

"He had a bad reaction to the medicine that they gave him to get it down." Kurt explained as Alex came up to Blaine.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked Blaine.

"As okay as I can be stuck in here I guess." Blaine shrugged. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way out here and now my brain isn't even swollen."

"Are you really apologizing that your condition that could have been life threatening went away?" Alex rolled his eyes. "I wanted to come and make sure you were okay."

"Thanks." Blaine bit his lip. "I've been better, but I was a lot worse four hours ago. And even worse than that on Friday…"

"Are you comfortable? Have the doctors been nice to you? Have they listened to Kurt?" Alex asked.

"You sound eerily like Mom when you ask several questions at once." Blaine said, rubbing his forehead with his good hand. "Everyone has been nice."

"And they've listened to you?" Alex asked, looking at Kurt.

"Well, they've clued me in on stuff. Ever since Blaine's been awake, they've been consulting with him mostly." Kurt responded, sitting himself back on the edge of the bed.

"So what are we looking at now that the swelling has gone down? Can he go home soon?" Alex asked.

"They're going to talk to him a little later tonight and see how he's doing. Blaine planned to ask about that then." Kurt said, feeling rather good about himself for knowing the answers to these questions. Maybe he was handling this well—even if the whole thing had been and was continuing to be scary. Maybe he was doing a good job.

"Alright." Alex looked relieved. "I'm going to stick around for a while if you don't care, Blaine. I'll handle the car, insurance calls, whatever. We'll just have to figure out what to do about school, and who will do what. Obviously the girl who hit you will have to pay but it will probably be a reimbursement thing. Unless she didn't have car insurance which is a whole other thing. But I'll take care of it."

"Thanks." Blaine said softly, chewing on his lower lip. He wasn't used to having an adult step in and take over things for him. Especially ones that were related to him.

"Thanks for taking care of everything, Kurt." Alex said. "You can help with what you want, of course. I don't want to just walk in and start doing everything. But I'd like to help. So, if you want…"

"I don't know how much I can handle since I'm not family." Kurt admitted, interrupting him. "But I'll do everything I can. I'm actually… I've never dealt with anything like this before. If you can tell me what to do I can do it. I want to help."

"I think most of that can wait until Blaine is out of the hospital." Carole said, squeezing Kurt's arm as Blaine sent him a small, grateful smile. "Or at least until we talk to the doctor again and find out exactly where we are right now."

"That's a good idea." Alex said, nodding.

As if on cue, the door opened and Blaine's doctor stepped in. "How are we doing, Blaine?"

"Better." Blaine responded, and then without a hesitation he added, "Can I go home?"

She laughed a bit and approached him. "So soon? Is it that bad?"

"I feel like I'd be more comfortable at home and that would speed up the healing process." Blaine said smoothly, attempting a charming and sweet smile.

"You must be feeling better." She laughed again. "You're still pretty sore, though?"

"If I say yes, does that mean I have to stay?" Blaine asked hesitantly.

"You're going to be pretty sore for a while, sweetie. Longer than you'll be in the hospital." She responded. "If we kept you here until you weren't sore, it would probably be two more weeks."

Blaine's eyes widened in horror.

"I said if. We won't be keeping you that long." She said quickly. "I'm prepared to let you leave tomorrow afternoon if the swelling stays down. But I do need to talk to your brother alone if that's alright."

"That's fine with me." Alex said, standing up straighter. "Kurt, do you want to come?"

Kurt looked at Blaine, who merely shrugged and reached for his water bottle which Burt handed him. "I don't care. You'll find out whatever it is anyway."

"I'll be right back." Kurt kissed him quickly, following Blaine's doctor and brother out of the room as Burt started talking to Blaine about a game that was about to come on the television. He carefully closed the door behind him, eyes on the doctor.

"It's about Blaine's insurance." The doctor said, looking at Alex. "We didn't want to talk to him about it because we're afraid stress will make his condition decline."

"What about it?" Alex questioned, looking confused.

"His parents removed him from their plan last winter after he was admitted for Strep." She said gently.

Alex gritted his teeth, pulling out his phone. "So what you're saying is…"

"Luckily he was brought here because as an institute, we still give the same care to patients that don't have insurance as the ones that do. We're one of the few." She said softly. "But what I'm saying is that, even though he wasn't at fault, the other woman's insurance is disputing. I'm sure that will be dropped but in the meantime…"

"In the meantime, Blaine doesn't have health insurance and he's been in the hospital, in serious condition, for near four days." Alex finished.

"Exactly." She nodded. "Did he know that he wasn't on health insurance? His old card was still in his wallet and everything."

"He… he thought he was still on the insurance." Kurt said nervously. "He still had his dental, but it's through his school… and I guess he just…"

"There was no reason for him to think he wasn't." Alex said, clearly angry. "Fine. What needs to be done?"

"We can set up a payment plan, see what can be done until the charges are filed and the at fault driver is ordered to pay the bills." The doctor said. "Or cash can be paid outright. Once the woman's insurance pays, that money will then essentially be transferred right back to you by the hospital or by his insurance."

"How much is that?" Alex asked, gripping his phone tightly.

The doctor pulled a sheet out of Blaine's folder and handed it to Alex. A price was circled in red marker. Kurt couldn't make out the number, but he sure didn't see any zeros behind decimals.

"Alright. Can we talk about this in a minute? I've got to call my grandmother." Alex said, already flipping through the contacts in his phone.

"Of course. I'll be at the front desk and if I'm not, the receptionist there will be able to take care of it." She gave Kurt a sad smile and then walked off.

"You're calling your grandmother?" Kurt asked quietly, glancing in the direction of the hospital room.

"I don't have the cash with me. I can't do a money transfer that big overseas. They'll think I'm a drug dealer or something." Alex responded. "I don't have a choice. I won't tell her why. I'll make something up — I don't know what yet. But I don't trust any payment plan. I would rather pay up front and get a check back when it's sorted. Then the hospital can't pull any interest charges out their asses."

"But—."

"Look, I know you don't want them involved. Neither do I." Alex said. "But he won't find out. The money will go right back to me when the girl's insurance pays up. If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it, Kurt. But I can't get into my money without her permission. It's going to me and I'm going to pay for it."

Kurt bit his lip and nodded, feeling uneasy. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I'm not going to let them near Blaine. I can promise you that much." Alex reassured him. "Don't tell Blaine this insurance thing is going on until I've got the money. It's really my money we're using anyway. I don't see any sense in getting him all upset over our parents."

"It's… It's your money? You're just getting some out early?" Kurt asked.

"Yes." Alex nodded. "My money. She just has to sign a paper for me to get into it. That's all."

"Al… Alright." Kurt nodded again, biting his lip. "I'll go sit with Blaine then. What should I tell him?"

"Tell him I'll be right back." Alex said, waving. He took down the hallway, speaking into his phone, "Grandmother? It's Alexander. I need to see you right away."

***WBUCT***

"How did it go?" Kurt whispered three hours later when Alex came back into Blaine's hospital room.

The three hours since Alex had left had been spent anxiously tapping his foot and biting his fingernails. It wasn't that he didn't trust Alex's judgment, but maybe he… didn't trust Alex's judgment. Blaine's brother or not, Kurt didn't have much to go on. Maybe Alex would have good intentions that went wrong. He just didn't know enough about Alex to fully trust him yet and, to be honest, no one else in Blaine's family had proven trustworthy. Kurt half expected Blaine's parents to march in after him, but he inwardly let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that Alex was indeed alone.

"I told her I needed it for preschool for Danny. I don't think she believed me, but I got it. It's taken care of, so don't worry about it." Alex said quietly, glancing at Blaine who was fast asleep in bed with his head rested on Carole's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Carole asked, looking at Kurt curiously. "Did something happen?"

"Blaine's parents took him off of their insurance policy and I had to get permission to pay the bills until the woman's insurance kids in." Alex explained. "But it's taken care of. I already paid and everything. There's nothing to worry about."

"You're kidding." Carole said, looking at Blaine sadly. "They really kicked him off of his insurance?"

"I wish I was. I'm just really hoping she wasn't calling Dad when I left her office because she was calling somebody. He wouldn't know what's going on exactly, but he's not dumb. He'll know that Blaine's involved if he finds out." Alex sighed a bit. "Kurt, Blaine needs to get his own phone plan. They probably haven't realized he's still on theirs yet because they don't pay their own bills. Someone does for them. If they catch wind of anything and think too hard into it, they'll shut his phone off."

"Oh… okay." Kurt said, glancing at Blaine who remained fast asleep. Truth be told, he wasn't very concerned with Blaine's phone. At that point in time, he just wanted Blaine to get better so he could take him home. That being said, it was hard to put that much thought into an iPhone that Blaine was getting sick of anyway.

"Is he on anything else that they would be providing? Car insurance?" Alex asked, interrupting his thoughts

"No. Blaine pays everything else. They only paid health and his phone." Kurt said quietly, leaning over and grabbing Blaine's hand. He then added, "Well we thought they paid his health."

Alex's phone started to ring and he looked down, scowling and shutting his ringer off immediately to keep it from waking Blaine. "She must have called Dad. It's him. I'll be back."

"If they come down here—." Burt began, looking angry as Alex walked out.

"Burt, no." Carole said.

"The last time they were around these boys, Kurt ended up in the hospital and he treated Blaine like he was trash." Burt said, clearly trying to not raise his voice. "I'm not going to let it happen again."

"Please, don't talk about it." Kurt whispered. "I don't want Blaine to know his family's been involved even if all his grandmother did was sign a paper that let Alex get his own money. Please."

"The kid will know if they come down here and start having a go at him again." Burt said gruffly.

"Well until someone marches in here, I don't want him to know." Kurt said firmly, meeting his father's eyes. "So please stop."

Burt looked at him and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and then gave an abrupt nod.

"I'm going to see what's going on with his dad. I'll be right back… If he wakes up, please don't say anything." Kurt let go of Blaine's hand, easing it carefully onto the bed. Blaine's fingers flexed towards him and they only relented when Carole ruffled his hair and whispered something comforting in his ear.

Kurt sighed and stepped out into the hallway to see if Alex was off of the phone, hoping that Burt wouldn't resume his conversation without Kurt in the cramped and cold hospital room. He hoped that he'd walk out to Alex putting his phone into his pocket and heading back into the room to be with Blaine, but instead Kurt walked right into another discussion — this one a heated argument between Alex and Blaine's father… about Blaine, of course. That much was obvious from second Kurt stepped over.

"No, Dad, I'm not going to listen to this trash. You want to cut him off? Fine. That is your call. But I'm not going to let my little brother worry himself to sleep every night over whether or not hospital bills are paid." Alex snapped into the phone, looking furious.

Kurt expected to simply hear a one sided conversation, but Blaine's father's comebacks were so loud that Kurt could very clearly hear each and every word. He tried to not think of Blaine being yelled at by that cold voice, but it was hard to not think about it when Kurt was hearing it first-hand. Then again, it was even harder to picture his sweet boyfriend being yelled at at all. Because Blaine was a sweetheart. What could he ever really do to deserve the words that Kurt was sure he was about to hear.

"If your little brother wasn't such a disappointment, he wouldn't have to worry about it. The faggot deserves everything that is coming to him. He is trash, Alexander. Your brother thinks that it is okay to drop out of school and shack up with that other fairy boy and have sex. If his boyfriend's fag enabling family chooses to let their son do that, fine. But my son will not tarnish my name by doing — doing — those things! I won't allow it!"

Kurt scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring daggers at the phone in Alex's hand. If only he could let Blaine's father know exactly where he could stick those words. Or exactly how much of a disappointment that Blaine was not.

"You never liked Blaine!" Alex protested, sounding very much like Kurt imagined David had sounded when he had confronted Blaine's father. "You always thought he was too loud, too eccentric, too friendly, too nice, and too girly. I didn't see you all much but anyone can pick that up by being in the same general area as you when he was around on Christmases. Every time he would even open his mouth you would criticize him."

"He needed the criticism! I was trying to show him how to be a man and not some — some girl!" Blaine's father said — or rather, shouted. It was now at the point where the man was clearly shouting.

"You waited for the opportunity to turn everyone against him and you took it as soon as you got it, didn't you?" Alex snapped.

"I didn't have to turn anyone against him! Nobody sane wants a faggot in their family! Do you realize the votes your grandmother would have lost? That money she gains as senator goes straight into your bank account when she dies!"

Alex took a deep breath, looking right at Kurt with a 'shoot me please' look on his face. Kurt stood, lips pursed together and feeling blood rushing throughout his entire body. Blaine's father sounded angry? Kurt was angry. He could not believe anyone would ever say such things about Blaine, but then to try to manipulate Alex into the same mindset for money? No. This family was even lower than Kurt thought they were — and he'd thought they were pretty low. How could anyone treat Blaine this way? How?

"See? With your brother out of the picture, all that extra money goes to you. To your son, to pay for college and a good life."

"You couldn't stand the fact that grandpa liked Blaine, could you?" Alex asked suddenly, thoroughly confusing Kurt. "You couldn't stand it. Grandpa always said you were in medicine for the wrong reasons, but Blaine was doing things that he loved. That's why Grandpa was so proud of him."

"Don't you dare—."

"You were afraid that Blaine would get more money than you, weren't you?" Alex continued. "You were pretty concerned with the contents of the will when he died. In fact, I'm starting to think the only two people that were even upset were Blaine and I."

"How dare you—."

"How dare I? How dare you bring that money into this, trying to control me? Everything is about your stupid goddamn money. Don't you have enough money, Dad? Is your house not big enough? Is your car not new enough?"

"Don't you want a good life? Don't you want your son to have a good life?" Blaine's father asked, lowering his voice. He was clearly trying to make Alex 'see the error of his ways' or something. The voice was sickingly in-genuine and Kurt found himself having the strongest urge to go hug Blaine and never let go. At the same time, though, Kurt wanted — needed to hear this. He needed it to understand Blaine, to know what he went through, and to know what his family was truly like — to know first-hand, that is.

"Where's Blaine's good life, Dad?" Alex snapped. "Because he's sure living it up right now. He's in a hospital and he's not even surrounded by his own family. I don't know how you and mom even consider what we have a family! I jumped countries to get away and you don't even speak about Blaine. Yet you want to act like you've got this picture perfect family and while you're hiding behind a stupid doctor's office and a receptionist who you're paying for sex because your own wife looks elsewhere!"

Kurt's eyes widened and he remembered something Blaine said… something about suspicions of what his mom did or didn't do at some point or another… Blaine clearly thought his mother was cheating as well, but he hadn't come out and said it as blatantly as Alex had.

"Blaine would have had family with him if he had made the right choices—." Now Blaine's father sounded angry again.

"Right choices? He has made all of the right choices. Blaine is in school, has two jobs, and provides well over half of the things he needs for himself. On his own."

"On his own? Are you stupid? That boy's family is paying for him. He dropped out."

"No, dad, I am not stupid. Blaine didn't drop out. He took a semester off. He's in the top of his class. He's going to go to law school. And you know what, Dad? You want to punish him for being gay? Guess what? He's doing just fine without you and your support!" Alex sneered.

"If he was doing just fine you wouldn't be in Ohio, would you?" His father snapped right back. "I'm not discussing him anymore. I never want to hear his name again. Do you hear me? I do not want to hear his name again."

"He is your son whether you like it or not." Alex said slowly. "You're supposed to love your children unconditionally."

"He is no son of mine. You want to rush to his aid? You be his father. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have one. And you would do well to not get involved in his affairs either, because if I find out that you are sneaking to get money for him again, I'll have a word with your grandmother about just how long after her death that you'll have to wait. "

Alex snapped his phone shut, fuming. "Fucking bastard."

Kurt gritted his teeth so hard he was afraid he would crack one, resisting the urge to ball his hand into a fist and punch a hole in the wall. How could that man be like that? And what was with his blatant obsession with money? It was not normal. And how could he try to manipulate the one person in Blaine's family that he had? Did they literally want to take everything from Blaine? Did he dislike Blaine that much?

"Blaine doesn't hear about this." He finally said, very softly. "Please."

"I agree." Alex said, anger still evident in his voice. "I'll be back in soon. I've been hit with the strongest urge to call and talk to my son."

"Alright." Kurt nodded and, without another word, turned and went back into the hospital room. He walked to the side of the bed that Carole didn't occupy and, after leaning over, kissed the top of Blaine's head repeatedly. Blaine smiled a bit, nuzzling his head into Carole's shoulder.

It didn't matter, Kurt reminded himself. Blaine wasn't with his family anymore. He was with him. And Kurt would make sure that Blaine was never around his parents again.

Besides, Kurt knew that was his father's opinion. It wasn't a big surprise. Was it painful to hear those words being said about his boyfriend? Yes. But Blaine didn't need that man. Alex was right. Blaine was doing just fine on his own. Blaine was smarter, kinder, and he was going to make something of himself. Without their help.

"They're not coming, are they?" Carole whispered, looking at Kurt sadly.

"No. They don't know where Blaine's at. They just know he's in a hospital." Kurt whispered, kissing the top of his boyfriend's head again. "Don't say anything. Please. He's got enough to deal with right now without adding this on."

"I agree." Carole said, nodding slightly.

"Me too." Blaine mumbled sleepily, stretching his arm out and shifting.

"Are you awake?" Kurt asked, eyes widening. "Do you know what we're talking about?"

"I'm hoping that it's food related."

Carole laughed. "Do you want us to go get you something, hon?"

"I can drive somewhere." Burt said, coming closer. "What do you want, Blaine?"

"Mmhno. That's okay."

"That means yes, Burt." Carole said.

"I'm aware. What do you want, bud? There's a lot of stuff around here."

"I'd love Wendy's." Blaine said, eyes still not having opened.

"I think I can manage that." Burt said. "Is anyone else hungry?"

"I am starving." Kurt admitted.

Blaine sat up, eyes opening. "You — you—."

"Shut up, Blaine." Kurt rolled his eyes, feeling himself beginning to smile a bit. He knew Blaine well enough to know what reaction was coming. It was the same reaction that he got every time he agreed to eat fast food.

"You — will — willingly — eat — fast food?" Blaine asked dramatically, putting his good hand over his heart. "And I'm stuck here in the hospital. Why must my life be this way?"

"I think Blaine is feeling better." Burt chuckled.

"He still needs to take it easy." Carole chastised, nudging Blaine until he was lying again. "Now what do you want from Wendy's, sweetie?"

"He'll literally eat anything." Kurt answered. "Get him a number one with no pickles. And a medium Dr. Pepper."

"What he said." Blaine said, pointing at Kurt.

"Alright." Burt nodded, giving Kurt and Carole paper to write down what they wanted. "I'll be back."

"Thanks." Blaine said as Burt left, reaching for Kurt's hand.

Kurt leaned over, kissing him. "How do you feel, Blaine?"

"A little sore but your dad is bringing me fast food. I have no complaints for the moment." Blaine said, kissing him back.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Where'd Alex go?" Blaine asked.

"He had to call home for a few minutes but he'll be right back." Kurt said, running his fingers through Blaine's curls. "What, am I not good enough for you anymore?"

"Nope." Blaine said, giving Kurt an adorable smile.

"You two bicker too much." Carole laughed. "Do you boys ever get tired of bickering?"

"We only act like we like each other when other people are around." Kurt said, sounding very serious. "In actuality, we hate each other."

"Yeah." Blaine said, stretching. "Mostly because he's so tall. But it's okay, 'cause I'll be taller than him one day."

"Blaine, the chances of you growing past the age of twenty are pretty much nonexistent." Carole said gently.

"I will prove you all wrong." Blaine pouted. "Just you wait and see."

"Okay, sweetie." Kurt laughed, patting Blaine's head. "We believe you."

***WBUCT***

"Look who it is, Melody! Look who it is!" Carole cooed the next morning, coming into Blaine's hospital room. Both Kurt and Blaine were sitting on Blaine's hospital bed, holding hands while looking down at a booklet. "Is it Kurt and Blaine?"

Melody giggled as they both looked up, smiling.

"Who is it, Melody? Who is it?" Carole asked again excitedly.

"Bub!" Melody cooed.

"Is that Bubba? Is it?" Carole smiled and approached the bed.

"Bub!" Melody outstretched her little arms, watching Kurt eagerly.

"Hello, Mellie!" Kurt let go of Blaine's hand and scooped her up. "Hello, precious!"

Blaine reached over with his good hand, tickling her chubby belly as Burt walked in. "Did you tell Blaine yet?"

"Tell me what?" Blaine asked, face falling. "They're not making me stay are they? I knew they were going to back down again. We've been going back and forth all morning."

Carole's smile grew. "No. When Burt was getting Melody dressed to come visit you — oh, you tell Burt!"

Burt chuckled. "I told her we were getting ready to go see you two and she started saying bub—."

"But she's been saying that." Kurt laughed a bit, kissing Melody's cheek.

"But she also said—."

"BAY!" Melody shrieked, toppling onto her side and crawling closer to Blaine.

"Are you trying to say my name, pumpkin?" Blaine cooed happily, leaning down as best as he could.

"It'll take her a long time to get Kurt's. We knew she'd try yours or Finn's eventually because they're easier sounds." Burt chuckled again.

"Bay Bay!" Melody hugged Blaine's arm and pulled herself up into a standing position.

"Just look at you!" Blaine said, kissing her chubby cheek. "Oh so grown up at one year old!"

Melody giggled and fell on her butt before crawling back over to Kurt. She plopped herself on his lap, grabbed his t-shirt sleeve in her little hand, and nuzzled his chest.

"She's been so excited all morning ever since we told her we were coming to see you two." Carole smiled. "She loves her boys."

Blaine laughed and waved as Melody blinked one eye at him, the other side of her face buried in Kurt's chest.

"We're looking at books with cars." Kurt told Carole and Burt. "He can basically get a new car and almost be even with his old payments. Alex brought them over."

"That's exciting at least." Carole said as Burt interestedly came over to look. "Where did he go?"

"He's at my parent's." Blaine said simply, shrugging.

"How did you know that?" Kurt asked, looking alarmed.

"It was pretty obvious when he said he was 'just going out.' He doesn't even live in the country anymore." Blaine shrugged again. "I mean, I don't care. He can see them. I just hope he doesn't bring them back with him…"

"He won't." Kurt said very firmly, mentally adding, I'll kill him if he does.

"Do you know what he's doing?" Blaine asked.

Kurt looked hesitant. Burt and Carole both knew that they'd found out about the lack of insurance the night before, but they had yet to tell Blaine. Kurt wasn't sure how Blaine would handle it even if they situation had been fixed by Alex. One thing he did know: Blaine was going to feel incredibly guilty that Alex had paid his astronomical hospital bill — whether it would be returned to him in full later or not.

"Oh God. What's he doing?" Blaine asked, sensing that something wasn't quite right.

Kurt leaned over, grabbing his hand. Melody, who was on his lap still and didn't like when she was being ignored, scowled and crawled off to the side of the bed towards her father, who picked her up.

"Don't get upset." Kurt pleaded, looking into his eyes.

"What's he doing?" Blaine repeated.

"I'm not exactly sure what he's doing, but I have a feeling that I know what it concerns." Kurt said slowly.

"What?"

"Just tell him, Kurt. He's going to find out after he's home anyway." Burt said gruffly.

"Last night the doctor told him… Blaine… your parents cut you off of their insurance after you got Strep." Kurt said, gently.

"I don't have insurance… and I'm in the hospital… and… shit." Blaine's hazel eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god."

"It's okay." Kurt said quickly.

"Please don't tell me what you're about to tell me." Blaine said, closing his eyes. "They didn't — my parents didn't —."

"No. Alex paid." Kurt said. "Just until the other woman's insurance kicks in and reimburses him. They're trying to fight it, but they're going to have to pay. The woman was clearly at fault. They'd had several calls about her driving recklessly."

"You're telling me." Blaine scoffed. "You promise my parents didn't pay for it?"

"No, Alex paid for it with his own money… He was going today to get you set up on a new insurance plan, he told me, and a new phone plan with the same number… but he was also going to see your parents." Kurt responded, squeezing his hand tightly.

"I hope he tells them off real good." Burt grunted, bouncing Melody up and down.

"No." Carole said. "The last thing either of those boys need is for Alex to break off contact with his parents. Alex is Blaine's only connection to that family and the money he deserves. Who knows what Blaine would have to go through to get that money without knowing someone in the family?"

"You just find a real good lawyer to do it for you."

Blaine rubbed his head, letting out a soft sigh.

"Let's not talk about his money." Kurt said, interrupting their discussion. "It stresses him out."

"We just want to make sure you get every penny you're entitled to." Burt said, looking at Blaine. "You're too nice, kid. I hate to think you'd let them take that from you without a fight because of that."

"I won't." Blaine said, sighing a bit. "Hey, Kurt, did the hospital give you my phone?"

Kurt bit his lip, looking confused. "No. They gave me your clothes and your wallet but that's it. Carole, Dad?"

"They gave everything to you, kid." Burt said, shaking his head.

"But they had it. The police officer took it, or the fireman, or someone." Blaine frowned.

"We'll ask the doctor." Carole said, running her fingers through his hair. "I bet you're excited to go home tonight, aren't you?"

"Extremely." Blaine said, perking up.

"I went up and fed your dog and fish today. The poor dog looks about pitiful." Burt chuckled. "He was whining the whole time."

"Aw, my baby." Kurt cooed.

"I'm your baby for at least a week." Blaine said. "If that dog gets all of your attention, Kurt, I will go and stay with David."

Kurt burst out laughing. "How will you get there?"

Blaine looked at him with big hazel eyes, pouting, "You're so mean to me."

"I cannot believe you just said that, Kurt!" Carole exclaimed.

"We are so over." Blaine teased. "Take your dog and go home."

"Half of what's in that house is mine, you know? I'll take the fishie cup too. I paid for it."

"I'm pretty sure I did." Blaine protested, very seriously.

"No, I did." Kurt shook his head. "I'm taking it with me."

"Well, I guess you can stay." Blaine heaved a big sigh. "I don't want to part with my fishie cup."

"You'll get over it tomorrow when you're shoving your face with cake." Kurt responded.

...

"I can't believe they tried to get me to stay again." Blaine mumbled later that day as he walked out of the hospital doors on his crutches, after having absolutely refused to let them wheel him out to his car. "They didn't even have me on machines. I was just sitting there and waiting for them to bring me pills."

"Well you're signed out now. Don't worry about it." Kurt said, only letting the hospital door shut after Carole and Melody were both out (Melody back to scooting on her butt, which was evidently her transportation mode of choice).

"I just want to get home." Blaine said, trying to move a little too fast and stumbling a bit.

"Don't rush, hon. We have nowhere to be." Carole said quickly.

Blaine let out a deep sigh and re-situated his crutches, eyes squinted against the sunlight. Where were his sunglasses when he needed them? Oh, right. His car. Meaning they were either broke and in a junkyard or not broke and in a junkyard. Either way, they were no longer in his possession.

"I told you that you should have let them wheel you out." Kurt said anxiously.

Blaine shot Kurt a mock annoyed look and took another shaky step.

"You okay?" Kurt asked, standing right next to him in case he fell.

"Having a concussion is terrible." Was all Blaine said, beginning to walk.

"Burt's getting the car so you don't have to rush." Carole said in an attempt to get him to slow down. "Take your time, sweetie."

"I just want to get home. I'm so sick of this hospital. I feel awful and I don't want to be here."

"I know, I know. But you hit your head pretty hard." Carole said. "You just need to take it easy even if they are letting you leave. You have to take care of yourself just like Kurt had to."

"I know, I know." Blaine slowly made his way to the car which had been pulled up. Burt got out of the car and helped him into the backseat. Blaine found that he didn't have the energy to even be embarrassed and maybe Kurt was right. Maybe he shouldn't have insisted on walking out. Now his head was pounding more than it had in two days.

"Alright. All settled in?" Burt asked after Blaine was leaning against the back of the seat.

"Yeah, thanks." Blaine nodded, glad to be off of his aching leg. Maybe he could sleep on the way home… and when they were home… Maybe he could just sleep forever. Or at least until the concussion was gone.

As soon as Burt moved out of the car, Kurt slid into the seat next to Blaine and pulled him down until his head was rested on Kurt's shoulder.

"It's like someone is in my head just pounding on a drum over and over and over." Blaine moaned pitifully, closing his eyes and letting himself relax against Kurt.

"I hate to say this, boys, but we're going to have to put Melody's car seat in the middle." Carole said, looking apologetic. Melody, who was in her mother's arms, giggled and stuck her slobbery fingers in Carole's hair.

"And if we don't want her back here?" Kurt joked, kissing Blaine's cheek before climbing out of the car and tickling Melody's belly.

"Can you snap it in, sweetheart?" she asked, picking the car seat off of the ground with her free hand and passing it to him. "Just run the seatbelt through the bottom and snap it in."

Kurt crawled back in with the seat and attempted to do so. Blaine sat up straighter, opening his eyes and holding the car seat still as Kurt fiddled with the seatbelt and snapped it into place.

"Teamwork!" Carole laughed when the seat belt finally clicked, passing Melody to Kurt.

"That or I'm dumb." Kurt said as Melody wrapped her arms around his neck. Kurt snuggled her close. "Oh, how sweet. You're so sweet."

"She loves her big brother." Burt said proudly from the driver's seat.

Carole carefully closed the door and climbed into the front seat. "Now we can't go anywhere until she's in her seat, Kurt."

"It's not my fault the perfect baby wants to hug her perfect brother, okay?" Kurt scoffed, kissing Melody's cheek. She waved her hand up and down at Blaine, grinning adorably.

"Hey! You are paying attention to me right now, Mellie. Not Blaine. Me." Kurt teased. "Bubba."

Melody giggled and buried her face in his shoulder, nuzzling him.

"Can't we take her home, Blaine? She's a snuggle bunny like you. We'll all three get along really well."

"We'll trade you. Melody for the dumb dog." Blaine said, giving a weak smile at Carole.

"I think not. You two wouldn't last two weeks." Carole said very seriously. "It's much more involved than snuggling her when she's being cute. You should know that after your sleepover."

"Point taken." Blaine squeaked. "Forget I asked."

...

Kurt was glad to be home.

It was nice to be able to lay in bed, snuggled up to Blaine, without a metal bar poking into his side or arm. It was also nice to see how much more cheerful Blaine was at home simply because he was at home.

"Mmh, does this mean you have to help me shower?" Blaine giggled into his arm, half asleep after they had been home for about an hour.

"Huh?" Kurt asked, looking down at him.

"You know." Blaine nuzzled him arm and blinked up at him adorably.

"You have such a one track mind, Blaine Anderson." Kurt sighed, running his fingers through Blaine's short curls.

"Really, though, how am I supposed to shower with this?" Blaine asked, pushing himself into a sitting position and pointing at his cast. "Kurt, do my toes look weird?"

"Oh God." Kurt rolled his eyes. "No, Blaine. Your toes look perfectly normal."

"Yeah but they look weird." Blaine protested, staring at his toes intently.

"Everyone's feet look weird, honey."

Blaine tilted his head and wiggled his toes, looking back up at Kurt. "Why did they give me red?"

"I don't know. I don't think their biggest concern was whether your cast choice of color was red or not." Kurt laughed.

"Are you sure you didn't tell them I wanted red? Seeing as you think it's one of my best colors and all?" Blaine asked, arching his eyebrow.

"Blaine, your cast was the farthest thing from my mind. Plus, I would have said you'd wanted purple if it were me." Kurt said, moving to kiss his arm.

"It's a good thing I have a lot of red shirts I guess." Blaine shrugged and extended his other foot out, looking at his legs. "This is going to suck. When they take the cast off they're going to be uneven. I'm going to look weird."

"You already look weird." Alex said, coming up and standing in the doorway.

"Gee, thanks." Blaine scoffed, looking up at his brother.

"You're welcome." Alex said, smiling sweetly and causing Kurt to laugh into his hand. "Hey, are you two sure you don't mind if I stay until the meeting next week? I can just get a hotel."

"You flew all of the way here because of me and you had to pay my hospital bill." Blaine said. "We're not going to make you spend a week in a hotel."

"Yeah. The apartment is small, but we've got the blow up mattress." Kurt added.

"Did you call and talk to Mia and Danny?" Blaine asked.

"Yes. I had a thirty minute discussion about why he can't move everything in his room into the bathroom." Alex sighed. "He saw some guy make a bed in his bathtub on TV and the child has been slowly migrating his stuff in there ever since."

Blaine snorted.

"And when I try to explain why he can't do it and move his stuff back, he suddenly reverts to an age where he can't speak and just blinks at me." Alex rolled his eyes.

"That's really cute." Kurt giggled.

"It is cute when you don't have to live with it." Alex pointed out and then added, "Well, I guess it's a little cute. Mia thinks it's adorable but she's not the one that has to tell him why we can't. When I took his pillow out of the bathtub you'd have thought I killed his best friend. He cried for twenty minutes."

"Aww." Blaine cooed. "I bet he's fun to live with though."

"Sure, if you don't like sleep." Alex joked. "He's an interesting addition to the family, that's for sure. Apparently Mia really likes him so we can't take him back. I've asked once or twice."

"You'd probably be lost without him." Kurt said.

"I would. Oh man, I've got to get Mia to text me this video from her phone. He's taken to making animal sounds when he's mad because we told him he couldn't yell. You've got no idea how funny it is so have him squawk at you after you tell him that it's bed time. I never thought being a parent would be so damn entertaining." Alex laughed a bit. "Anyway, though, are you sure?"

"We are very sure." Kurt said firmly as Blaine nodded. "I would feel better with someone here with him besides me, too. Just in case anything happens."

"I figured I could head to the store for you two since you haven't been here in a while and we still have to get Blaine's medicine filled." Alex said, nodding.

"Can I go?" Blaine asked eagerly.

"No." Kurt said, looking at him as if he were insane. "You could barely make it to the car earlier."

Blaine moaned, dramatically covering his face with his pillow. "I need movement to survive."

"The doctor said they wanted you to move around as little as possible for the first few days. We don't want you to overdo it." Kurt said.

Blaine lowered the pillow, scowling at Kurt in a way he had never seen before. "This is payback for when you got out of the hospital and I made you stay in bed for two days after you insisted you were okay to be up and about, isn't it?"

"No." Kurt sighed. "I just want to make sure that you're okay."

Blaine frowned. "Please? And you can nap."

"No, Blaine. I know what you're trying to do and I already told you. I don't care that my birthday present was in your car. I don't need anything." Kurt pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're going to be home on my birthday. That's present enough."

Blaine sighed a bit, shoulders slumping. "Fine. I'd make you a cake but I can't make anything that isn't microwavable."

"That's why you found someone that can." Alex laughed from the doorway, watching them. "If you make me a list, guys, I'll go. You should probably stay with Blaine to make sure nothing happens."

"Are you sure I can't go?" Blaine asked. "I'll walk slowly."

"It would take you twenty minutes to make it to the car, Blaine." Kurt retorted.

"Can I at least try to take a shower?" Blaine frowned. "I can put a bag over my cast or something."

"They wanted you to not do that for a while. They wanted you to do a sponge bath until you can't take it."

"Well I can't take it." Blaine said.

"Please just work with me here." Kurt whispered. "At least until your head is feeling better. Then you can shower."

"I really hate this!" Blaine sighed, glancing at the doorway and glad that Alex had excused himself to give them privacy.

"I don't want you standing that long, Blaine. I don't want you to fall and hit your head and be right back in the hospital, maybe even worse!" Kurt said, voice rising a bit.

"Fine." Blaine sighed again. He was pretty sure he'd never sighed so much in his life than he had within the last few minutes of their conversation. "Fine. Don't get mad at me."

"I'm not mad." Kurt slid his arms around Blaine's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. "I'm just nervous about you being home, I guess. Remember how nervous you were when I first came home during senior year? It's pretty on par with that, Blaine."

"Okay, okay." Blaine took a deep breath and nodded. He remembered all too well how stressed out he had been. Being uncooperative was only going to make it harder on Kurt and that wasn't what Blaine wanted at all. Especially not after Kurt had stayed in a hospital with him for days. "I'm sorry."

"I know that you're frustrated. Believe me, I remember." Kurt leaned up slightly, pressing his lips to Blaine's cheek. "Just take it easy for a few days and then we'll get you up and about, okay?"

"Alright." Blaine relaxed against his pillows as Kurt yawned. "Are you tired?"

"Mhmm." Kurt covered his mouth and nodded. "Are you doing okay, Blaine? Is your medicine still working?"

"I've felt better but I've felt worse." Blaine responded.

Kurt laid down, pulling the covers up over both of them. "Take a nap with me"

"I may as well. Otherwise I'll be bored out of my mind." Blaine laughed a bit.

Kurt scooted up to Blaine, arms going around him. "It looks like I get to be the bigger spoon until your cast is off."

"I'm more than okay with that." Blaine relaxed against Kurt and closed his eyes. "Thank you for taking care of me even if I've been grumpy. Sorry."

"I was a lot grumpier than you, Blaine. You're just frustrated and you're not even being mean. You don't have to apologize to me." Kurt whispered. He re-situated himself, running the palm of his hand up and down Blaine's arm. Blaine wiggled until he was just a little closer and let out a content sigh. "Comfy, babe?"

"Mhmm." Blaine gave a tiny nod and yawned. "'m gonna fall 'sleep now."

"Good night." Kurt kissed his shoulder and tightened his arms around Blaine, closing his own eyes.

***WBUCT***

"Firstly… Okay I called the police department and they had me call the fire department. They have your phone. I guess one of the people forgot to give it to you. They actually showed up like two hours after you were discharged, go figure. I talked to a fireman there and he said it was safe and to pick it up whenever you're feeling up to it. It's locked away." Alex said the next morning, of course after wishing Kurt a happy birthday.

Blaine yawned behind his hand, sitting at the table with a bowl of half eaten Lucky Charms.

"Second, I've got you set up on a new insurance plan. All you have to do is at some point within the next few months, get a physical done." Alex continued.

"Mmkay." Blaine said, still clearly half asleep.

"I talked to the car insurance. You'll definitely be able to get a new car. She said to just call whenever you're up to it and she'll go over things with you. They'll even go with you to get a new car if you want and have it driven here since your leg is broken. Your car was worth a lot so, of course, you'll have a lot to put towards your new car. Also, she was really sweet and wished you a speedy recovery."

"Aw, she's always so nice." Blaine said adorably, perking up. "I like her."

Kurt came into the kitchen, sitting down and rolling his eyes.

"Fourth, your hair is… ahahahahaha!" Alex said, beginning to laugh. "I don't know how I made it to the end of the list before saying something but, seriously, Blaine… hahahahaha."

"Hmph." Blaine stood, pushing his cereal aside. His head hurt too much to properly eat anyway and chewing was absolutely killing him. "Fine. C'mon, Kurt. You're going to have to wash my hair."

"Thank you." Kurt mouthed, standing back up and leading Blaine to the bathroom slowly. They could still hear Alex laughing every once in a while when they finally made it in there.

"Hmph. It can't be that — oh, dude. It's like they're mutating into even curlier curls or something. What is this business?" Blaine asked, leaning forward and looking in the mirror. "My hair scares me sometimes, Kurt. And it's probably gross and oily."

"Probably? I think you were in the hospital without a shower for… what, four days? Five? There is no probably about it." Kurt said, glad that he'd styled his hair after his shower but had waited to put on real clothes. He had a feeling he would end up a little wet.

"I don't know how this is going to work. I have a feeling getting on my knees won't be possible." Blaine said, biting his lip and staring at the tub.

"We'll use the sink. It's tall enough." Kurt said. "Let me go and grab a cup, okay?"

"Okay." Blaine sat himself on the closed toilet seat and propped his crutches against the wall, glaring at them.

"After this I want you to lie on the couch, alright? I know you haven't walked too much but I really don't want you to hurt yourself. I can tell you've got a headache but you don't want to say anything because it's my birthday." Kurt said, coming back into the bathroom with a plastic cup.

"The neon green one. Nice choice." Blaine grinned.

"I still don't know why I let you talk me into buying neon plastic cups." Kurt sighed, grabbing Blaine's shampoo and starting the water. "C'mon, babe."

Blaine stood using the sink counter for support and, with Kurt's help, maneuvered himself until he was in front of the bathroom sink. He had to get at a weird angle in order to get to where he needed to be, but somehow he managed. "Next time we're using the kitchen sink."

"Do you want to go there now?"

"No. I'm already here. Let's just get it over with." Blaine said, bending down .more.

Kurt began washing his hair, chatting away. Blaine's attention faded in and out (mainly because of how good Kurt's hands felt) until something caught his attention.

"And they're coming tonight."

"Who is coming tonight?" Blaine asked, unceremoniously moving up and getting water on Kurt.

Kurt blinked a few times in shock and then said, wiping his eyes, "My grandparents."

"Thank God. I thought you said Rachel." Blaine said, leaning back over the counter.

Kurt swatted his shoulder. "She is my friend, Blaine. Let it go."

"Okay, okay." Blaine held his hands up in surrender, although he was rolling his eyes.

"I saw that in the mirror, Blaine…. I saw that too… and that." Kurt said, rolling his own eyes.

"I know not what you speak of."

Kurt giggled, dumping a cup of water on Blaine's head as he stood.

"Kurt!" Blaine shouted, laughing.

Kurt began giggling, tossing the cup aside. "You're all done!"

"Kurt!"

"Y-Y-Your face!" Kurt said, grabbing onto the wall to keep himself from falling over. "That was just as much fun the second time as it was last summer!"

"You know what else is fun, Kurt?" Blaine asked.

"Nothing." Kurt giggled.

"Hmph." Blaine reached for his crutches and, after balancing with them, leaned over and ruffled Kurt's perfectly styled hair. "That's fun too!"

Kurt turned the water back on, splashing Blaine. Blaine, in return, messed up Kurt's hair beyond repair. The two wrestled, rather wobbly because of Blaine's crutches, until Kreacher pranced into the bathroom and growled.

Kurt pulled away, giggling. Blaine giggled also, wiping the gel on his hands onto Kurt's —actually, his stolen — shirt sleeve.

"It's a good thing this is yours." Kurt leaned over, kissing him.

"Is it okay if we lay down for a bit?" Blaine asked after a few more seconds of laughing. "I don't feel very good. My head just started hurting worse."

"Of course." Kurt said, mood instantly becoming serious. He walked next to Blaine, arms ready to dart out in case he fell, and led him to the bed.

"I'll wake up soon." Blaine mumbled into his pillow, hugging it.

"Sleep as long as you need to." Kurt said, laying next to him and rubbing his back.

...

"She had poor Kurt scared to death. The doctors had all of us scared, though. The med student was all skittish and made it sound like he was on his deathbed." Blaine heard Burt saying to someone from another room when he woke up. He relaxed against his — his — pillows and felt Kurt's arm tightly wound around his waist.

"But he'll be okay?" This was… but it couldn't be Kurt's grandfather. Then again, they were coming that day so it probably was.

"Oh yeah. He's a strong kid."

"Poor thing was probably terrified when he woke up." That was definitely Kurt's grandmother. Kurt's grandparents were there to visit and they were definitely both in bed, sleeping. If only his grandmother knew he had visitors but was in bed sleeping. Half sleeping.

Blaine startled as Kurt's grip tightened and he let out a tiny groan, showing the first signs of waking up.

"He handled it alright." He heard Carole say as Kurt's hand moved slowly up Blaine's side until it was rested in his hair, running through his curls. "Kurt was there."

"Hopefully he'll feel better in no time." And this was Alex. Which was way too weird, because it was like… Blaine couldn't even finish the thought. He was too asleep. Something about his real family colliding with his new family… type thing… and Blaine just really couldn't focus enough to finish or be coherent.

"Mmmh, Blaine?" Kurt mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

Blaine closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He hadn't slept well the night before and he had been going in and out during their current nap. He knew Kurt was worried about the night before because he'd heard Kurt calling a doctor that morning when he thought Blaine wasn't paying attention. Blaine didn't want Kurt to worry; he wanted him to think he was sleeping.

"Are you awake?" Kurt's arms removed themselves from around him and he sat up. "Honey?"

Blaine didn't answer, but instead tried to maintain even and shallow breaths. Luckily, it seemed to work.

Kurt leaned over, pressing a long kiss to his forehead. "If you ever scare me like this again, Blaine… I love you." he mumbled and then pressed a kiss to Blaine's cheek before crawling out of bed. Blaine heard him putting on real clothes, obviously able to hear his family as well, and exiting the room.

Blaine sat up and stretched, feeling himself smile a bit. He really did love Kurt.

He sat there, just thinking, for about five minutes before Kurt came back into the room quietly humming the new Lady Gaga song. He stopped abruptly when he saw Blaine sitting up, a smile spreading across his face. "You're up!"

"Happy Birthday, Kurt." Blaine smiled. "Again."

"Thank you. Again." Kurt rushed over, kissing him. "Are you ready to get out of bed? Just a warning, my grandparents are here already. I fell asleep too. They've been here about an hour. And there's cake."

"I'm ready. You'll have to help me get dressed." Blaine said.

Kurt nodded and went to their closet, pulling out a t-shirt and some shorts for Blaine.

"Never mind if it's shorts. I think I can manage that." Blaine laughed a bit.

"I figure we'll avoid pants and jeans as long as we can." Kurt kissed the top of his head and waited patiently for Blaine to get himself dressed. "Ready to go?

"Mhmm." Blaine nodded and let Kurt help him out of their bedroom and into the living room, thanking God that they'd gone with a tiny apartment instead of a larger house. The less walking he had to do, the better.

"There they are!" Annie exclaimed as Blaine and Kurt quietly made their way into the living room. "Oh, you poor sweetheart. You two come sit over here. And I want to hug the birthday boy again — even though I know I just saw you."

Kurt laughed, going over and hugging his grandmother.

She smiled and gave him a squeeze. "Blaine, do you need help sitting down?"

"I've gotten very good at that part at least." Blaine joked, sitting himself down between Carole and now Kurt also. Carole ran her fingers through his hair and then squeezed him arm, giving him a smile. "Hi."

"Hey, honey." She smiled at him again.

"We hear that you gave Kurt quite the scare. How are you doing?" Andy asked, leaning forward in the armchair he was sitting in to talk to Blaine.

"It looks worse than it is." Blaine responded, shrugging a bit.

"The bruises have faded a lot." Kurt added. "He's got a concussion, a sprained wrist, and a broken leg. But they let him come home, so he's doing better."

"Blaine did have to beg, though. He wanted to be home for Kurt's birthday." Burt pointed out. "They tried to make him stay last minute but he was very stubborn about it."

"I told him he should stay as long as they wanted him to, but he refused." Kurt sighed a bit, hand on Blaine's thigh.

"They said I would have gotten to come home today or tomorrow anyway. All I was doing was sitting there." Blaine shrugged again. "I'd rather sit somewhere where they don't keep checking my pupils and telling me I'm still breathing. I could figure that one out myself."

Alex snorted loudly while Burt laughed, shaking his head.

"I bet you're glad to be home, though." Annie smiled at him.

"Very glad." Blaine said, leaning against Kurt.

"And I'm sure it's a nice birthday present to Kurt." Annie said, still smiling as Kurt kissed Blaine's still damp hair.

"Alex is going to be staying a few days to help keep an eye on him while Kurt's at the garage. We kind of figured he was going to need more help in the first few days." Carole said.

"And Carole will probably drive up each day for a week, entirely defeating the purpose of the boys actually coming back to Cincinnati too." Burt added. "I told Kurt he could just take off for a while but the kid wouldn't listen."

"Harry quit. You're short staffed and I don't want you stressing yourself into another heart attack." Kurt sighed, for the millionth time. "Even though all of the unhealthy food you've got stored away here is not helping."

"I am not a rabbit, Kurt."

"No, because rabbits eat healthy." Kurt retorted, glancing at Blaine who had fallen asleep with his head rested on Kurt's shoulder. He lowered his voice considerably, hoping to not wake Blaine up. "This keeps happening. He's not sleeping normally… he just… falls asleep like this mostly."

"Poor thing." Carole sighed a bit. "I hope he didn't come home too early."

"I think he'll be alright." Alex said. "Sometimes being home helps more than being in a stuffy hospital."

"Hey, where's Melody?" Kurt asked, looking around.

"She's sleeping in the play pen. It's in the kitchen because there were more seats in here." Burt said gruffly. "She's been a wild child for two days. I honestly don't know where she's finding the energy. It's so different from Kurt. He was fairly quiet apart from when he was angry."

"She's just a happy, excitable baby." Carole said and then added, "And also energetic. Her favorite time is bath time, you know? Isn't that strange? Finn hated bath time."

"No." Burt corrected. "Her favorite time is 'let's run around the house naked after my bath while Daddy chases me' time."

Kurt snorted loudly, resulting in Blaine sitting straight up and rubbing his eyes with his good hand.

"Hon, why don't you go and lay down?" Carole whispered, ruffling his short curls.

"Mmmhdon'twanna." He said, half asleep.

"You probably should." Carole said, trying to coax him. "Just for a bit."

"No thanks." Blaine said, leaning back against Kurt.

"Don't overdo it." Andy said from across the table. "If you overdo it, you'll have to go back to the hospital."

Blaine whined into Kurt's shoulder as Kurt wrapped an arm around him.

"You can only stay down here until after pizza and cake." Kurt said firmly. "And then you're either going to lie on the couch or in bed. Okay, Blaine?"

"Puh." Blaine scoffed. "Try and make me go to bed before I'm ready."

"He gives me a hard time when he's not feeling good." Kurt informed everyone. "He was horrible when he had his wisdom teeth out. He goes from this to trying to do too much. Give it five days and we'll be arguing over him moving around too fast."

Blaine heaved a big sigh, as if he was annoyed.

"I know. I'm so hard to live with." Kurt laughed. "Oh so hard."

Blaine just whined again and sat up straight, reaching for the pizza box that was open on the coffee table and pulling out a piece.

"Hey! You're supposed to say I'm not hard to live with!" Kurt said, prodding his back as he leaned over the table.

"You don't like when I lie." Blaine said, looking back and grinning. Finn, who had come in the back way, let out a loud laugh. "Hey, Finn."

"'Sup, dude?" Finn asked. "Hello, Kurt's grandparents."

Carole rolled her eyes. "Finn…"

"Hey, we do know that Melody's playpen is open and empty, right?" Finn asked, ignoring her.

"Oh my God!" Carole said, rushing out. Burt followed quickly, muttering that he knew they needed a new one because the baby was too smart for her own good.

"Guess not." Finn shrugged, taking Carole's seat and grabbing some pizza. "Happy Birthday, Kurt."

"Thank you very much, Finn." Kurt said smoothly, standing. "I suppose I should help them find Melody."

"Don't leave me." Blaine said. "Life threatening condition. I could die."

"You'll be okay." Kurt said, leaving the room.

"I'm dying!" Blaine called dramatically.

"He really is!" Finn called.

"Kurt, I'm dyyyyying."

"I think Kurt has it wrong. It sounds like these two would be hard to live with." Alex laughed as Kurt came back in, glaring at both younger boys.

"You don't look dead to me."

"'S 'cause you saved me." Blaine said through a mouthful of pizza. "Wif your presence."

Kurt's grandparents laughed as Kurt stalked from the room. Not two minutes later Burt came in, holding Melody out.

"She and Kreacher were under your bed." Carole said to Kurt as she came in behind Burt.

"I didn't know there was enough room down there." Kurt said, looking surprised.

"Of course there is. That's where I banish him to when you're gone." Blaine said instantly.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this." Kurt sighed. "Sure you don't want to go to Lima with Dad and Carole? It's going to be a constant battle between you two."

"Nah." Blaine gave him an adorable smile. "I want to be with my life partner."

"I think Kurt's reconsidering the life part." Alex joked as Kurt sat down by him.

"No. He's already telling me he wants a ring by his twenty fourth birthday." Blaine snorted, causing Burt to choke on the water he was drinking. "And I think he said kids by… I don't even remember."

"Dude, I am never having kids." Finn said.

"Kid, you're setting yourself up. Just like with the camera. When you say you're not going to do something, it makes it more likely to happen." Burt chuckled.

Kurt took his seat by Blaine again, grabbing his hand and preparing himself for all the questions about school and life that he would without a doubt be getting now that Blaine's accident had been covered.

***WBUCT***

"Go."

Kreacher hunched down on the bed, covering his face with his paws.

"I still see you. Go." Blaine repeated, scowling down at the edge of the bed. He sat up as if he was about to stand, which always made Kreacher run off, and Kreacher sprang to his feet. Instead of running off, though, he pranced up to the head of the bed and licked Blaine's arm. "Kreacher, go."

The dog did not listen, however. Instead he went back to the edge of the bed and stared at Blaine intensely.

Kurt came in with a plate of food and Kreacher turned, growling at him. Blaine's eyes widened in shock and he blinked at Kurt.

"Oh, silly thing. Blaine is fine." Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "You don't need to watch over him."

Kreacher lowered his head down so that it was rested on the mattress, lying while still watching Blaine.

"How cute." Kurt cooed. "Kreacher is worried about you, Blaine. Did he do this yesterday or the day before?"

"No, he's not worried about me and no, he hasn't done this the whole time I've been home. He's just trying to annoy me." Blaine muttered.

"He's clearly worried and being protective of you. This is what he did when I was sick, remember? He didn't leave my side for three whole days when I was in bed." Kurt said.

"Damnit." Blaine mumbled. "You're right."

Kreacher inched forward slowly until he was close enough to rest his head on Blaine's stomach.

"Kurt, take him away."

"C'mon, Kreacher. Blaine doesn't want you." Kurt said, setting the plate down and scooping Kreacher up.

Kreacher let out several whimpers, actually crying — which is something he only did when Blaine withheld treats for bad behavior.

"Fine, fine!" Blaine said, unable to hear a dog cry (which was one reason why Kreacher was gaining weight). "Come here, dumb mutt."

Kreacher licked Blaine's arm happily, snuggling right up to him.

"What, Kurt? I just don't like animals in pain." Blaine said, avoiding Kurt's eyes.

"Uh-huh. I see." Kurt smirked.

"If I had my own kitten, I could snuggle it." Blaine mumbled, pouting. "But you won't let me."

"Oh, God." Kurt shook his head as Blaine scratched behind Kreacher's ears. "We're not discussing this right now, Blaine. We don't have enough room for a kitten."

Blaine picked Kreacher up and made the dog face Kreacher. Kreacher yipped happily, panting. "He wants a kitten friend."

Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head again. "No. He doesn't."

"Blaine wants to discuss it now." Blaine said. "And so does Kreacher. Don't you love us — ack! Kreacher, stop!"

Kurt laughed loudly and Kreacher began jumping up and down, trying to get to Blaine's hand which he was holding up in the air. "He thinks you've got a treat!"

Blaine scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "A kitten wouldn't attack me, Kurt."

"I just bought you a bunch of fish."

"They can't play with me. You're not even supposed to tap the aquariums." Blaine protested. "C'mon, Kurt. I want a cat. I'm on my death bed."

"You've been home three days, you're doing just fine, and you are no longer at risk for anything." Kurt said slowly. "You should have tried that one on me the day you got back from the hospital."

Blaine stuck his lower lip out. "Please?"

"And they say I'm hard to live with." Kurt said, reaching and ruffling Blaine's hair. "Get ready. We've got to go and get stuff done today."

"You mean you're letting me leave the house?" Blaine exclaimed, eyes lighting up.

"Yes, if you can make it out of bed without killing yourself. I'm going to shower and then we'll leave." Kurt turned and left the room.

"Thanks for the entertainment, Kreacher, but I think this ends our relationship. Don't cry, though. I'm sure we'll see each other around." Blaine said cheerfully, reaching for his crutches. "Ow! Kurt, he bit me!"

"Then stop being mean to him!" Kurt shouted from in the bathroom before water started running.

"Next time, stupid dog, I'm letting you cry." Blaine vowed just as he did every time before hobbling out of the room.