When Burt took his kid outside to teach him how to ride a bike for the first time, he would've never imagined that things played out the way they did. It was a cloudy Saturday in September. Burt had bought Kurt his very first bike for his birthday four months earlier, but the summer had been too hot to go out and ride it, so he jumped at the opportunity once it cooled down a little.
Elizabeth was inside, cleaning and doing laundry, and Burt took Kurt out on his bike. He'd never ridden without training wheels before, so Burt knew he had to be careful to avoid him falling every time. He made sure his helmet was snug and his seat was adjusted to the right height. Kurt was eager to get riding, so he helped him along down the street for the first several feet, and then he let him go.
Kurt did okay at first; he went about fifteen feet before falling. He wasn't hurt, just discouraged. Burt decided to take him to the walking trail down by the neighborhood park, so that way they didn't have to worry about cars.
Kurt did better there, and even though he made slow progress, the kid was getting the hang of it. He had always been an independent kid, and he learned how to start and stop on his own without needing very much help at all.
Burt was considering going back to the house to get Elizabeth to watch him ride, but Kurt didn't want to stop. He had a little trouble controlling the handlebars, so turning was kind of rough, but at least he could stop.
Kurt was riding the longest stretch he had all day, when a neighbor came around the corner, walking her dog. Burt wasn't sure what happened- either Kurt got distracted, or he turned accidentally, or something, but he and his bike went tumbling down the little hill to the side of the path. There happened to be a dirt ditch just a few feet down, and Kurt fell on the very edge of it, and screamed. Burt darted over to him, and didn't stop until he knelt down by his head, checking for bleeding or injuries.
"Where does it hurt?" he asked. "Kurt, tell me where it hurts." Kurt was crying too hard to talk, but he pointed to his left arm. Burt knew in a second that it was broken. He had to take him to the hospital, but that meant moving him. He carefully moved his arm so it was resting on his stomach, and Kurt howled even louder. Burt then picked him up and cradled him in his arms, like he used to when he was a baby.
"My bike!" he cried hysterically. "Daddy!"
"We'll worry about the bike later," he told him. "Close your eyes. You're gonna be okay. We'll fix it." Kurt cried steadily and struggled to breathe. Burt tried to talk to him to calm him down, but nothing worked. The kid was a mess.
Luckily the park was just one street away from their house. Burt carried him home and set him in the backseat of the truck. "Elizabeth!" he cried. "Elizabeth, come here!"
"I want Mommy," Kurt pleaded, letting out another choked sob.
"Shh, I know," he told him. "Mommy's coming."
Elizabeth Hummel had been sweeping the kitchen when she swore she heard her name being called. She went out the front door to look, and Burt was standing over by the truck, holding Kurt and trying to get him inside.
"What happened?" she asked, going over to them. Kurt reached for her with one arm, and she took him, even though she didn't know what was going on.
"His arm," Burt told her. "He hurt his arm, and won't stop crying. We need to take him to the hospital." Kurt looked up at her, his eyes watery, and she kissed his forehead. She wanted to cry right along with him, but she had to hold it together for Kurt's sake.
"Go get his blanket from his bed," Elizabeth told him. Working at the hospital, even as an accountant, she'd seen many more than a few kids come in with broken bones. Kurt would be fine, but it was scary for all of them. She climbed in the backseat with him and gently shifted him on her lap.
"Hurts, Mommy," he whimpered, opening his mouth but letting out a weak cry. She smoothed his hair back and brushed away some dirt from his face.
"Shhh," she soothed. "Mommy's got you. You're okay, baby. We're going to get your arm all fixed up. You'll see. It'll feel better very soon." Kurt grabbed onto the collar of her shirt and began to hyperventilate. "Kurt, Kurt," she said, trying to relax him. "Deep breath, baby. Take a big breath and let it out. Daddy's coming with your blanket." Kurt struggled to take a deep breath, but he was doing better than before.
Burt returned with his blanket and, and she wrapped it around him quickly so he wouldn't be in too much pain, and then they left for the hospital.
"Burt, be careful going over bumps," she told her husband.
"I know," he said quietly. "We'll be there soon." Kurt went back and forth between crying hysterically and just moaning occasionally. Elizabeth rubbed his back and held him tight so he wouldn't move.
"You're doing just fine, love," she whispered to him. "We're almost there. Then we'll make it all better."
"I wanna go home," Kurt pleaded, sniffling. "It hurts, Mommy." She soothed him every way she could until they got to the hospital. Burt dropped them off at the door and she carried him inside and took a seat. Her husband parked and got Kurt signed in. "I don't like it here. It hurts." Kurt leaned his head on Elizabeth's shoulder. She could tell he was worn out from crying, but in too much pain to stop.
"Mommy, it hurts!" he repeated, crying into her neck. She kissed his cheek and stroked back a lock of his hair.
"I know, darling. I know how bad it hurts. The doctors will know how to fix it right up. Then we'll go home and we can snuggle on the couch and watch Cinderelle. We can watch Snow White and Cinderella all night if that's what you want." Kurt sniffled and nodded.
"Yeah," he said quietly. Elizabeth held him a little tighter, and rubbed his back as he cried.
"I bet Daddy would go to the store and get you some ice cream when we go home. Would you like some birthday cake ice cream?" she asked. Kurt nodded tensely. Elizabeth kissed him again and slowly rocked him back and forth.
"I'm sorry it hurts, love. The doctor going to make it all better. We can go home very soon."
"Is my arm broken, Mommy?" he asked. Elizabeth knew it was, but she couldn't tell him that.
"I don't know, precious. We'll find out. Once we find out how hurt it is then we can fix it."
Kurt huddled in her arms and began to shiver, so she took his blanket and draped it over him. Burt finished filling out his information, and it wasn't much longer until they got to see a doctor.
Kurt refused to be put down, so Elizabeth held him while the nurse looked at his arm. He got worked up and started to hyperventilate again.
"Baby, it's okay," she reassured him. "Look up at Mommy. You're doing just fine. They can help it not hurt so much." Kurt was so upset he could barely choke the words out.
"It hurts, Mommy!" he wailed, breaking down into tears. She rubbed his back and pressed her forehead against his. She hummed to him and gave him kisses while the nurse worked on him. She said he would need an IV of pain medicine to help calm him down.
"No needles, no needles Mommy," he begged. "No no no."
"Baby, you have to get one little tiny needle. It's going to help take the pain away. It'll make it feel better, love. Can you hold onto Mommy for five seconds while she puts it in? We can count to five and then it'll be done." Kurt nodded, and she let him cry while the nurse put it in. She counted to five, and then he stopped. "Good boy. You did so good. You just sit with Mommy while the medicine starts to help your arm."
Kurt had been crying from the pain of his arm combined with the IV, but it all went away. He was calm, relaxed, and even smiled. Elizabeth leaned him back so she was cradling him in her lap.
"You're a good little patient, love. We'll be home very soon." Kurt held onto her as the nurse took x-rays of his arm. He cried when she put him down, so they let Kurt lay his head in her lap. They had to reposition his arm over and over, and Kurt bawled his eyes out.
"Baby, take a breath. Mommy's right here. It's almost over, precious, and then you can sit in my lap again." Kurt breathed again, and finally the last x-ray was over. Elizabeth picked up her baby and cradled him in her lap.
"I feel funny," he whined. She kissed the tip of his nose and smoothed his bangs back.
"It's just the medicine," she reassured him. "Do you feel sleepy?" Kurt nodded and stuck his thumb in his mouth.
After holding him and kissing him over and over until he was calmed down, the doctor came in. Kurt broke both the smaller of the two bones in his forearm, and the doctor said he would need a cast, but no surgery.
"Kurt, you get to get a cast put on your arm. It'll help your arm get better, and you get to have any color you want. Would you like purple? Or pink or green?" Elizabeth suggested.
"Purple," he mumbled, sinking into her arms.
"Good choice," she told him. "Once they put the cast on we get to go home."
Kurt screamed the whole time they put his cast on. Despite being given morphine, it didn't help with his pain at all when they constantly needed to move his arm around. Elizabeth talked him through it right until the end. The nurse took his IV out and prescribed him some painkillers.
"I wanna go home," Kurt sobbed. "I wanna watch Cinderella."
"We can watch Cinderella as many times as you want," Elizabeth promised. She carried him through the lobby of the hospital and took Burt's car keys while he signed him out. "Mommy can hold you the whole way home."
Elizabeth got them both settled in the backseat, and Burt came out a minute later.
"Drive carefully, Daddy," she said softly. "Going over bumps will hurt."
"Got it." Burt backed out carefully, and they were on their way home. Elizabeth covered Kurt in his blanket, and he closed his eyes until they got home. Burt carried him inside, and he whined until she got to hold him again.
"Daddy's going to get you some medicine and ice cream," she told Kurt. "Is there anything else you'd like?" Kurt shook his head, and Burt left again after he put on the Cinderella tape.
"'m sleepy," he murmured, fighting to stay awake. Elizabeth smiled and rocked him back and forth gently. He would have no trouble going to sleep.
Burt returned with ice cream, his prescription, and some of Kurt's favorite candy for him to eat.
"Baby, can you open your eyes?" she said to Kurt, who had been dozing off and on. Kurt looked up and smiled when he saw what he had been brought. He ate a few bites of ice cream and Elizabeth let him have a piece of candy. She had hoped to get him to eat a can of soup or something more filling, but it didn't matter as long as he ate something with his medicine. She helped him swallow his pill, and then took him upstairs to change into pajamas. She was certain she didn't put him down all day, until it was 9:30, his normal bedtime. He was already out like a light due to his pain medicine, so she tucked him into bed without waking him up, and watched over him until she fell asleep in bed next to him.
Author's Notes:
Elizabeth is such a good mommy I wish she were still alive. Seriously, Kurt would've turned out much happier if he'd just had her around. But he probably wouldn't have met Blaine because she would've stopped the bullying before it got as bad as it did. Because no one pushes the Hummels around.