Happy Wednesday, everybody!

I can't thank you enough for following this story and commenting on it, whether it's by leaving a review here, on Twitter, Tumblr or anywhere else. It's helping me keep my motivation alive to keep writing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Another big thank you has to go to the best beta ever, Christine.

This chapter is for Cam, Daleen and Emily. Thanks for the encouragement and the tweets, and for being part of the We Hate Nick Club. I look forward to your reactions every week.

Enjoy!

It had been a long night. Kurt had spent half of it dozing off in his father's room, and the other half keeping Blaine company as he watched over Cooper. At around four, finally drained, Blaine had fallen asleep, his head tilting down onto Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt had barely dared breathe, not wanting to wake him up.

Cooper had woken up an hour or so later, once again attacked by nausea, and Blaine had immediately jumped into action and taken him to the bathroom. Kurt had stood restlessly at the bathroom door for a while, and then simply decided to give them privacy. It couldn't be easy for a guy like Cooper to be seen at his worst.

So he went back to his father's room, and the first thing he saw upon entering was the small gathering of flowers on the windowsill. The sight made his heart swell, that someone who has going through the worst moment of his life, could take a moment to show this kindness to a near stranger. Kurt had never been quick to make friends – he had always kept mostly to himself, spending most of his teenage years avoiding being too open with others, afraid of the bullying and the odd looks, at least until he and Rachel found the way to make their friendship work, and it had been one of the biggest blessings of his life. It was strange but beautiful, the way Blaine had welcomed him into their world with open arms, no questions asked, no hesitation. He and Cooper had both been incredibly sweet and charming from the beginning, and Kurt kept finding himself falling a bit for these brothers, who despite all the pain and uncertainty, were ready to put everything aside and be with Kurt when he seemed to have no one else.

And, god, it shouldn't have been like this. How come when he needed someone to be there for him the most, he looked aside and found no one? How come the person he had come to rely on so much these past couple of years was suddenly so elusive? What the hell was wrong with Nick?

He fell asleep, all these questions and so many more swirling in his head, curled up on the armchair, the sweet scent of flowers a comforting, silent lullaby around him.

Later that morning, the sun already streaming in from the window, he was awoken rather brusquely when one of the nurses came into the room to check on his father and accidentally dropped his chart. He almost jumped ten feet in the air, and she immediately began to apologize profusely.

Shaking the last remnants of sleep from his system, he asked her a few questions, hoping to hear some good news, but she had nothing new to say. After giving him a small, sad smile, she left him alone with his father again. He approached the bed and kissed his father's forehead good morning, before venturing out into the hallway and down to Cooper's room.

He was happy to find him awake, sitting up in his bed. Cooper looked a bit pale and definitely tired, but he smiled when Kurt knocked on the open door to get his attention.

"Hi Kurt," he said, his voice a little rough.

"How are you doing, Coop?" Kurt asked as he came in.

"Well, my name wasn't in the obituaries today, so I'd say I'm doing great," he replied, flashing him a quick, cheeky grin.

"Oh god, Cooper," Kurt groaned. "I would hit you if you didn't look so miserable."

"Relax, Kurt," Cooper said with a tired laugh. "If I'm not allowed to make fun of myself, I take myself too seriously, and that's even worse than listening to me making cancer jokes. So."

Kurt decided a change of subject was in order, so he asked: "Where's Blaine?"

"I forced him to go home," Cooper explained, and then paused for a big yawn. "He looked worse than me, and that's saying something. He needed some sleep and a shower, and I know he has to stop at the flowershop at some point today. There was no point in him staying here any longer." Cooper eyed him for a few seconds. "You look just as tired. Why don't you go home for a bit, too?"

Kurt dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine. Just need some coffee. I'm going to the cafeteria now. Do you want me to bring you some green tea?"

"That'd be great, thank you," Cooper said with a genuine smile.

Kurt went down to the cafeteria and got himself the biggest black coffee they had available and a green tea for Cooper, before returning to his room. Cooper was starting to look quite sleepy again, so Kurt left him to drink his tea and made him promise he would have the nurses call him if he needed anything. Then he promised to come back and check on him later and went back to Burt's room.

The hospital was like a vortex where the concept of time was different from anywhere else. Every day was the same, and yet it had been a week already since he'd been there. Time was both slow and fast, and it confused him so much. He wanted to fast forward to when his father would be better (because he would get better) and safely back home. He wanted to turn back time and make sure his dad never ended up here in the first place.

He set up his computer on the side table and decided to get some work done, once again the only thing that could help him pass the time, to make him feel like he was doing something, being useful, even if it didn't help with his father. Even if work seemed like the most unimportant thing in the world to him now.

However, he had just logged into his emails when there was a knock on the door, and when he looked up, he saw Nick popping into the room. Something in his stomach began to growl, but not in hunger. Not in longing.

Anger was a living thing inside of him.

"Hey," Nick said, as usual in one of his perfectly fitted suits. It looked like he either came from the office or was on his way there. "How are you doing?"

"Well," Kurt muttered, unable to keep the bitterness off his voice. "Look who's here."

Nick at least had the decency to look chastised, as he stepped further into the room. He kept his hands in his pockets, as if trying to make himself smaller, less of a target to Kurt's fury and resentment. "I know I've been a shitty boyfriend, Kurt..."

Kurt got up and began pacing the room, feeling like a caged beast. "I'm glad you at least know that. I thought you were completely oblivious. You've been avoiding me for days, and you honestly have the worst timing ever for whatever this is."

"How's your dad?" Nick asked, instead of acknowledging what Kurt had just said.

Kurt sighed in frustration and turned to look at his father, still completely unmoving, looking peaceful but not waking up. "No changes." He waited, hoping Nick would say something, anything, that would explain why he had been acting so weirdly these past few days, but when he said nothing, he asked: "Where have you been? Last I heard from you, you were going to have dinner with your sister. You didn't call again. You... god, you keep saying you're busy, that you have work, that you can't come and stay with me because of it... I don't get it, Nick."

"There's nothing I can do to help you," Nick murmured.

"I don't need you to help me," Kurt retorted ardently. "I just need you to be with me."

Nick began fidgeting, and it was obvious there was something he wanted to say and didn't dare. Kurt wished he had the patience to give him time and understanding, but he was tired and angry after being neglected during the most uncertain and difficult time of his life, so he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him hard.

"What, Nick? Out with it," he said.

"Kurt, I really don't think it's a good idea to discuss anything here. I don't want to disturb your dad," Nick replied, his eyes anywhere but on him.

Kurt actually let out a bitter little chuckle at that. "Are you afraid you're going to wake him up? Just tell me, okay? What the hell is going on?"

Nick took a deep breath. "Alright." He gestured for Kurt to sit down on the armchair, and then he pulled the other chair towards him so he could sit across from Kurt. "This really is bad timing. I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but then your dad... I just couldn't tell you."

Kurt arched an eyebrow, as dread began to fill his insides. "Did you cheat on me?"

"What? No!" Nick exclaimed immediately. "Of course not. I... Kurt, I got promoted."

Kurt blinked, because after how cagey Nick had been about things, this was not what he had been expecting. "Oh. Oh, Nick, that's great. But, I don't understand why..."

"The new position is in Chicago. They need a new junior associate and want me to move to their offices there," Nick explained.

"I see," Kurt nodded. This wasn't so bad, just shocking. He understood now why Nick couldn't bring himself to tell him. It just wasn't possible for Kurt to make any kind of life-changing decisions while his father was in a coma. "Well... I mean, this really is bad timing, but I guess we can discuss things? I can work from anywhere, but I can't even think about such a big change before dad gets better. When do you have to make a decision?"

"Kurt, I already accepted. I start next week," Nick replied, and Kurt's world seemed to tilt on its axis, and everything was suddenly out of place.

"You... you accepted? Without talking to me?" Kurt asked, confused. He took a deep breath. "When? When did they make the offer to you?"

Nick looked sheepish. "Last month." He must have seen the anger coming back, because he raised his hands as if to try to stop its waves from reaching him. "I'm sorry. I've been looking for a way to talk to you, but it was never the right time, and the longer I waited, the harder it was."

"How could you make a decision like this without consulting me first?" Kurt said, completely bewildered at the idea that he could be so selfish. But then it hit him. He hadn't consulted him, because he didn't need to. "Oh my god, you're breaking up with me?"

Nick closed his eyes, like it pained him to look at Kurt, but nodded. "Yeah. I thought... you like New York. And I..."

"That's bullshit," Kurt interrupted, no longer able to contain himself. "Of course I like New York, but it doesn't mean I wasn't open to hearing about other options. The least you could have done is talk to me about it, before you decided for the both of us." He got up. He couldn't stay still for another second. "We've been together for two years. We have projects, things we wanted to do. And that's all forgotten, out of nowhere?"

"I need to do this, Kurt," Nick said calmly, which only angered Kurt more. "The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Look, I love you. You've been a great boyfriend, but our lives are just not compatible. We rarely see each other anymore. And don't think I haven't noticed how you started hinting at marriage and all that stuff... I'm not there yet. There's so much more I want to do in my life."

This was all too much. A week ago, Kurt had thought he and Nick had been on the same page, and now, after being distant and cold right when Kurt needed him most, he said it was all over. Nick sounded like he had actually thought about this, but he hadn't given Kurt time to do some thinking of his own. Now he had to sit here and simply accept that this man was turning his life even more upside down than it already was.

"I'm sorry," Nick said quietly. "I know this is not what you need right now, but I'm running out of time, Kurt. I should have talked to you sooner, and that's only my fault. But... I'm leaving on Friday. I already have an apartment set up in Chicago, and I... I really need to do this."

Kurt sat down again. Despite how restless he had felt, now he felt more exhausted than ever, and he couldn't trust his legs to keep him upright anymore.

"I'm going to stay with my sister for the rest of the week," Nick informed him when he said nothing. "I'm going to stop by your place and pick up my things this afternoon."

Your place. The home they had built together. It just wasn't theirs anymore. Now Kurt had to live alone in it.

"I really hope your dad gets well," Nick said, and he seemed sincere, but Kurt didn't want to hear another word from him. "I'm so sorry about all of this."

"Just go," Kurt said tiredly. He didn't look at Nick. He just didn't want to watch him walk away. "Please."

He didn't say another word, and neither did Nick. There were very few sounds in the room: the beeping from the machines keeping his father tethered to life, the soft footsteps, and then the door closing behind Nick.

And that was it. That was two years of Kurt's life suddenly finished and done for.

He stayed very quiet, very still. He focused on breathing, on putting air in his lungs and then letting it go very, very slowly. He focused on not crumbling down, because his father needed him, and he couldn't afford it. He couldn't let himself feel this failure, couldn't allow himself to think about how the last two years of his life had been so meaningless, because the person he thought was walking down the same path as him, had been going in a different direction all along. How come he hadn't noticed?

After what felt like a long time, Kurt stood up, dragged the chair back to his father's side and let himself fall onto it. He reached for his father's hand, and squeezed it, hoping for a miracle, hoping for good news, hoping for something good to come out of this awful day.

His dad's fingers didn't twitch or move, his breathing didn't change. Kurt Hummel's life was never what he wanted it to be, and his miracles were never answered.

He let his head fall down onto his father's arm and allowed himself to weep.

Aaaaaaaaaaand bye, Nick. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way to hell.

I hope you all liked this chapter!

See you on Saturday,

Love,

L.-