Happy Saturday, my darlings.

Thank you for all the comments on the previous one! We continue with Kurt in this one, but there's a bit more with Blaine as well :)

Shout out to Christine, best beta in the fandom.

Hope you'll enjoy!

As Kurt sat in the hallway, still looking at the closed elevator doors, a nurse slipped into his father's room. He hurried to his feet and followed her inside.

"Hi, I'm Kurt," he said.

"Hi, Kurt. Is this your dad?" She asked, as she approached the bed.

"Yes. Is there something wrong?" His eyes trailed her every move anxiously.

"No, I'm just here to change his IV. I'm on duty until six, so if you need anything, look for me at the nurses' station, okay?" She said gently, as she worked quickly and efficiently. She was done changing the IV as soon as she finished talking.

Kurt thanked her warmly and then sat by the bed again. He felt as if he had been here for a month already. His whole body was heavy with tension. There wasn't much the doctors could tell him, except that all they could do now was wait for Burt to wake up.

Kurt wished there was something he could do to help the process along, to bring his father back. He felt useless.

His phone began buzzing in his pocket and he hastily grabbed it. The caller ID said it was Nick. Finally.

"Where the hell were you?" He asked brusquely. This was the last thing he needed.

"I'm so sorry," Nick said, sounding sincere. "They dragged me into a meeting and I couldn't get out. How's your dad?"

Kurt moved towards the window. He took comfort in the constant beeping of the machines. "He is in a coma. He had a heart attack. They don't know when he's going to wake up."

He couldn't say if.

"Oh shit, Kurt. I'm so sorry," Nick repeated.

"I'm going to need you to bring me some clothes," Kurt said. He needed to think straight. "Some toiletries, and maybe also my computer and my sketch book? I don't know how long I'm going to be here."

"Sure, but wouldn't you prefer to come home and get some sleep tonight? There's no use in staying there, being exhausted… you can go back in the morning," Nick said.

Kurt knew he was trying to be reasonable, but he couldn't deal with reason, not now. What he needed was to be right there, so as soon as his dad woke up, Kurt could grab his hand and hear his voice and know everything was going to be alright.

"Please, just do what I ask. Please."

He also wanted to tell Nick to come and see him, to hug him. He wanted his boyfriend there to support him and make him feel better, because right now all he could feel was fear and despair. But, although he did not know why, he couldn't bring himself to ask him.

Nick promised to be there later that day, and then his boss came into his office to drag him into yet another meeting. They hung up and Kurt resisted the urge to throw his phone across the room.

There was a soft tap on the door, and Kurt turned around. The guy from earlier was there with two cups of coffee and a white food container. He smiled apologetically.

"Hey, sorry. I don't mean to intrude. Here's your coffee," he said.

He had a nice, soothing voice. Kurt kind of wanted to close his eyes and hear him recite the alphabet a million times over until it calmed his nerves enough.

"Thank you so much," Kurt said, standing up and walking towards him. "You're my hero."

"It's really okay," he said, and when Kurt accepted the cup, he offered his free hand. "I'm Blaine, by the way."

Kurt shook it. "Kurt."

He reached for his bag and searched for cash to pay for the coffee.

"Oh, no, no," Blaine said immediately, guessing his intention. "It's on me."

Kurt's eyes widened slightly, shocked by this near-stranger's kindness. "I couldn't! You were so nice to pick it up for me..."

"Please, let me," Blaine insists, a warm smile on his face. "It must be a really bad day for you, I just want to help make it a bit better."

Kurt tilted his head to the side, regarding this man curiously. "Why would you want to do that?"

Blaine's smile didn't fade as he shrugged, but he seemed a bit shy as he said: "I wish someone had been there for me when I first got here with my brother, to help me carry the load. I know how you feel."

"Oh," Kurt deflates. He glances quickly at the bed where his father remains unresponsive. "This is probably the hardest thing that's ever happened to me, and that's saying something."

Blaine takes a quick look at the bed, too. His eyes are nice, sort of almond-colored and bright. "Well, I obviously know nothing about you and your dad, but he looks like a really strong guy. And so do you, Kurt. I'm sure everything will be alright."

Kurt felt a lump in his throat and tried to push it down, determined not to cry. "Thank you. You're really nice."

Blaine smiled again – it seemed to be a reflex for him, or something. "I'll leave you now, I'd better go check on my brother and I'm sure you'd like some privacy. But if you need anything... remember we're down in 216, okay?"

"Sure," Kurt said, forcing himself to smile at him even though it felt wrong to him, like his muscles weren't quite sure of what they had to do. "Thank you so much, again."

"My pleasure," Blaine said. Kurt walked him out of the room and then watched him go down the hallway and into another room.

Sitting next to his father again, Kurt had his coffee – and oh, what terrible coffee hospitals had. When would they learn to stop inflicting unnecessary suffering to people who were already in distress and get good coffee at last? He thought about Blaine, grateful for the distraction he provided, and how kind he was. He wondered why he and his brother were here, and hoped it wasn't anything too serious.

But it was impossible to keep himself from worrying for too long, especially when the subject of his concern was right there beside him. When would his dad wake up? Was there something preventing him from regaining consciousness? What if Kurt never had a chance to talk to him again? He couldn't even remember what the last thing they had said to each other was. What if his last words to his father were something stupid? He should have told him he loved him. Had he hugged him the last time he had visited? He was sure he did, but why hadn't he held on tighter, longer?

The lump in his throat grew heavier.

Doctor Stemberg returned later that afternoon to talk to him and check on Burt again. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything new he could say to Kurt.

"All we can do is wait for him to wake up, Mr. Hummel," he said to Kurt.

After he left, Kurt was once again alone with the beeping machines for sole company. He wasn't good at sitting around doing nothing – he needed to feel useful, but the doctor had just told him there was absolutely nothing he could do to help his father. Was he supposed to just sit there and watch him remain unconscious until he either woke up or faded away?

The idea made him nauseous.

His phone battery was almost dead. There was absolutely nothing that could distract him from his current reality. There was a television in the room, but he didn't feel like turning it on. He wished he had his computer so he could work, something that never failed to keep his mind occupied – many times he had even forgotten to eat or sleep when he had a deadline. That's what he needed now, absolute distraction.

He thought back to this morning, when all he wanted was to find time to go out for dinner with his boyfriend. Now his entire life was upside down. His dad was his anchor – if he lost him, he had nothing. He would be adrift.

"That's enough, Dad," he said quietly, reaching for his unresponsive hand. "You've never been one for melodrama. The best you can do is wake up and get this over with before it gets ridiculous."

Burt stayed exactly as he had been the entire day: quiet, asleep, showing signs of life only through the machines hooked to him.

"There's room for only one drama queen in this family, and it's been me for too long for you to take over that role now," he continued. He felt bone-tired in a way he hadn't felt in years. Maybe he'd never felt this tired before, like life was draining out of him, taking everything he had to give, all the good things, and letting only the bad ones inside him to fester.

He remembered the day his mom left. It had been a bad day. This was ten times worst.

A knock on the door broke his attention away from his dad. He turned on his seat just in time to see Nick walk into the room. He was still wearing his suit, with the tie slightly undone, and carrying an overnight bag and Kurt's laptop case. It was a welcomed sight after such a long, horrible day.

"Hey you," he said, standing up to greet him.

"Hi," Nick murmured, eyes drifting towards Burt and then back to him. He accepted the peck on the lips from Kurt. "How's he doing?"

"Nothing's changed," Kurt replied, heart heavy. "The doctor says there's nothing to do now, except for waiting for him to wake up."

"I'm sorry, Kurt," he said gently. He set the bag down and placed the laptop carefully on a side table. "Are you sure you don't want to go home and get some rest? You look like you could use it."

Glancing at his father again, Kurt shook his head. "No, I... I really need to be here tonight."

"Okay." Nick kissed his temple. "Call me if you want me to drop anything else on my way to work tomorrow."

Kurt blinked at him, confused. "You... you're leaving already?"

"I have a bunch of case files to go through before I go to bed," Nick said, looking everywhere but at Kurt. "Work was crazy today, and I have back to back meetings tomorrow."

Kurt just looked at him, not really knowing what to say.

"What?" Nick muttered. "I can't miss work, Kurt. You know that."

"This is a family emergency," Kurt replied, surprised to have to spell it out.

"But he's not my family," Nick retorted, and at how Kurt took a step back, physically needing to get away from what he had just said, he blanched. "Kurt. You know I don't mean it like that..."

"It's fine. He's just your boyfriend's father," Kurt spit out. "It's not like I'm important."

"That's not what I mean." Nick ran a hand down his face. "Look, we're both tired and looking to get into an argument just for the sake of it. Let's just drop it, okay?"

Kurt sat down next to his father once more. "Fine, I don't care."

Nick sighed. "Just call me if you need anything else, alright? I'll try to drop by tomorrow after work anyway."

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow," Kurt said. He kept his eyes on his father until he heard the door closing. Then he was all alone again.

We all dislike Nick already, right? :)

Reviews are love and a huge, huge motivation to keep writing (did I mention I already started another story that'll be posted after I'm done with this one? Well, now you know!)

Have a great weekend, guys.

Love,

L.-