Kurt wasn't ready. He stared at himself in the mirror, and he realized how unprepared he was. They were in New York City, competing at Nationals, and he was getting severe cold feet. He was blanking on the dance moves, and he knew he was only going to cost them the competition. On top of all the stress, he woke up that morning feeling awful. He wasn't sure if he was just exhausted from the trip, but he was sore and chilly and had no appetite whatsoever. He felt a little dizzy and lightheaded, but there was a lot riding on him. He had to do perfect. He wished Blaine were there. He would make him feel better.
"Are you ready, baby?" Mercedes came up and asked him. He faked a smile.
"Yeah," he lied. "We're gonna do great." He didn't think he sounded convincing. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and told himself he could make it through the performance, and then he could relax somewhat.
Throughout the performance he was becoming more and more exhausted. His knees felt like jelly, and he could hardly sing without feeling lightheaded all over again. Every time he opened his mouth he got scared he would throw up, but somehow he made it. After Finn and Rachel shared their big kiss, he told himself to just get through one more song. "Light Up the World" was fast-paced and upbeat, and he struggled to stay on beat. The bright lights made him feel hot, but he was also shivering and sweating. He knew something was wrong and that he was going to throw up inevitably, but the song was almost over.
After bowing and shuffling off the stage, he began to stumble.
"Kurt? What's wrong with you?" Mercedes asked.
"I'm okay," he breathed, still winded from singing and struggling to dance. She put his arm around him and led him back to the dressing room. He hunched over, arms wrapped over his stomach. Everyone was buzzing around talking, but he just wanted to sit. "'Cedes-" he knew he was going to be sick. He pressed a hand over his mouth and pointed to the trashcan in the corner. She rushed to grab it for him, and he leaned over just in time to throw up. He moaned, his throat burning and stomach cramping. He felt all eyes on him as he got sick again. His head pounded in his ears, and he felt dizzy as he closed his eyes and leaned over.
When he opened his eyes he was staring up at the ceiling. Everything seemed to be spinning. The whole glee club was crowded around him, just looking at him. Finn and Mercedes were down by his head, Mercedes stroking his hair.
"Hi, baby," she cooed. He couldn't find words to talk, but he tried to push himself up on his elbows. Finn pushed him back.
"No, dude, don't sit up."
"I'm cold," he finally managed to say, his voice sounding small in his ears.
"Someone get him a blanket, or a jacket or something," Quinn said.
"Wha' happened?" he asked. He remembered being sick, but his mind wasn't really putting the pieces together.
"You threw up pretty bad, and then you blacked out and fell over," she explained. "You've got a really high fever. Puck went to get Mr. Shue, and you're gonna go back to the hotel," Mercedes informed him. Kurt closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than a nap. Finn moved over and Kurt sat up enough to rest his head in his lap. Mercedes took his hand, and someone draped a blanket over him. He felt like he would throw up again, but thankfully the feeling passed after several seconds.
"Did… did we win?" he asked.
"We don't know yet," Quinn said, sitting down on his other side. "I bet you we did." Kurt grinned a little bit. Winning Nationals would be good. The rest of the group backed up as Puck came in with Mr. Shue. Quinn got up so he could bend down by him.
"Hey, Puck told me you passed out. How are you feeling?" he asked him, feeling his forehead.
"Cold," he mumbled. "My head hurts. And my stomach. And I'm sore."
"You've got a fever. When did this start?" he asked.
"S'morning. I wanna sleep," he begged.
"Yeah, we'll get you back to the hotel so you can rest. Coach Sylvester will take you," he told him.
"Mr. Shue, can I go with him?" Mercedes asked nicely.
"Yeah, you can go. Make sure he calls his parents to let them know what's going on." He saw Mercedes nod and she squeezed his hand. Coach Sylvester came into the room and talked to Mr. Shue for a minute. Kurt closed his eyes again and shivered. Mercedes was good at taking care of people. He would be okay with her.
"I don' wanna walk," he whined.
"I can carry you if you want," Finn offered.
"No." he couldn't let hundreds of people see him being carried outside by his stepbrother. He'd rather walk it himself.
"Let's go, Hummel," Coach Sylvester ordered. Even though he still felt a little out of it, he noticed she skipped calling him "Porcelain."
Mercedes helped him walk outside the building and get in a taxi. It was freezing cold outside, and he was shaking uncontrollably.
"Coach, should we take him to the emergency room?" Mercedes wondered.
"No," he croaked, his voice hoarse from singing. "I don' want to."
"Not right now, but we'll take him if he gets any worse," she told her. Kurt leaned heavily on Mercedes during the ride, desperate for warmth. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his hair.
Once they finally stopped in front of their hotel, Kurt realized he had to walk all the way up to their room. They were all in one room, so he would have no privacy whatsoever when the rest of them got back. He leaned on both Mercedes and Coach Sylvester as they walked through the lobby, and once they too the elevator they walked what seemed like a mile to their room.
"Get him in bed," she ordered Mercedes. "I'll be back." She sat Kurt on the bed and started unbuttoning his vest.
"How are you doing, baby?" she asked. He was so exhausted he didn't even want to talk, he just wanted to sleep.
"Tired. I can undress myself," he insisted.
"Well you're not going to. Just sit still and let us take care of you." Kurt pressed his lips together and rubbed his eyes as Mercedes unzipped his suitcase. She popped a T-shirt over his head and started working on unbuckling his belt.
"I can do it," he argued, pushing her hands away. She sighed and got him a pair of his favorite sweatpants as he undid his belt. He changed into his sweats and promptly lay down on the pillow. She covered him up snugly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Don't leave, please."
"I won't leave," she promised him. The mattress sank a little as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Coach Sylvester barged back into the room. Kurt slid a little deeper under his blankets.
"Here you go, take this medicine and go to sleep," she ordered, holding out two white pills for him. Mercedes helped him sit up a little so he wouldn't choke. Once he got them down, he burrowed back under the covers. He heard her leave and breathed a sigh of relief. She just wasn't very comforting to be around.
"Do you want me to rub your back?" she offered. Kurt thought about it, and then nodded as he flipped over onto his stomach. "You're gonna be feeling better real soon." Kurt closed his eyes and tried to relax. Mercedes hummed softly and subbed his back soothingly, and he finally felt comfortable and warm for the first time all day.
Author's Notes:
Well, a lot of people wanted me to write Kurt collapsing, so here you go!
I love Kurtcedes. The crush she had on him in season 1 was a little creepy, because I think it was a little more than obvious that he's gay, but I love her anyway. She's so sweet to him and is like a mother to him when no one else is around to take care of him.
And just in case you're wondering, I called Sue "Coach Sylvester" just because it was Kurt's point of view and I'm sure he wouldn't call her Sue to her face.