Kurt still had nightmares about it. The McKinley parking lot lights, the goodbye kiss he gave to Blaine, he even remembered what song was playing on his radio as he saw the crash happen. It had been five days, and the memories continued to haunt him.
It happened on a Thursday night. Glee club regionals were on Saturday, so their rehearsal went until nine o'clock that night. Kurt and Blaine were the last two in the parking lot, so they walked together. Blaine promised to see him in the morning, and Kurt gave him a quick kiss.
"Don't forget your costume!" Kurt joked. Blaine had forgotten his costume for that day's dress rehearsal, and Kurt promised to never let him live it down.
Blaine made a joke back at him, but Kurt missed it since he had already shut his car door. Blaine left first, while Kurt buckled up and adjusted his heater and plugged his iPhone into the car charger. A hot shower and his bed sounded wonderful at the moment, if only he didn't have a French test to study for the next day.
But then it would be regionals, and Kurt and Blaine were both certain they were on the road to nationals. Their choreography was flawless, according to Mr. Shue, and all the late-night rehearsals were sure to pay off.
As Kurt shifted his car into reverse, he saw Blaine turning left out of McKinley. It happened so fast, it didn't register in Kurt's brain at first. The screeching of tires, honking of horns, and the sound of scraping metal shocked him, until he realized that was his boyfriend's car.
He shut off the ignition and ran to the scene. The car that had hit Blaine was a truck twice the size of his Prius. The driver didn't look conscious, but Kurt didn't care. He had to get to Blaine.
The driver's side window was shattered. Kurt reached his hand in carefully. Blaine was conscious, and Kurt breathed a sigh of relief.
"Kurt," he choked, coughing. Blood poured out of his nose. Kurt quickly wiped it away before it reached his mouth. "It hurts."
Kurt was so flustered, his hands trembled, and he reached in his pocket for his phone to call 911, until he remembered it was still in his car, charging.
"I know, I know it hurts," Kurt said hastily. "It'll be okay. I'm right here, stay awake Blaine, stay awake!"
Blaine winced. Kurt blinked back tears. He saw the lights of a third car, and vaguely remembered yelling "yes" when the driver asked if they needed 911. Kurt stayed by Blaine, trying not to cry for his sake, but breaking down anyways when the paramedics showed up and they pulled him from the car.
Kurt had never heard his boyfriend sound like that before. Blaine's left arm was in bad shape, and as the paramedics splinted it, he sounded like he was truly dying. Kurt knelt by his side, crying and holding onto his good hand.
"Did you witness the accident?" one of them asked Kurt, shoving him back a little so he could strap an oxygen mask to Blaine's face.
"Y-yes," he said hesitantly. "It wasn't his fault, that truck driver hit him and probably totaled his car, and-"
"Son," the paramedic said, holding up a hand to pause him. "Save your story until we get to the hospital. The police will need to hear it from you. Let's move him out of here, it's about to rain!"
The paramedics moved Blaine into the ambulance, and Kurt scrambled in after them. He got to sit up by Blaine's head, and when he saw how terrified his boyfriend looked, his heart sank into his stomach. The Blaine he knew was so brave, full of so much courage, yet here he was, victim of a car crash, alone except for Kurt, and in pain and terrified.
"Kurt," Blaine repeated, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask. He reached up his hand, and Kurt squeezed it.
"It's going to be okay," he promised him, kissing his hand. His knuckles were scraped, he noticed.
The ambulance went over a bump, and Blaine squeezed his eyes shut in pain. The paramedic made Kurt let go of his hand so they could start an IV, and after that Blaine relaxed for the rest of the ride, even though he refused to let Kurt out of his sight.
The hospital was like a beehive. A bright, bustling beehive. Kurt could barely keep up with everything, and was eventually forced to sit in the waiting room, which he was not happy about.
Kurt used the time to call his dad and tell him what happened. He kept asking the receptionist for updates on Blaine, but was told nothing since he wasn't family. Kurt tried to argue, but was told to take a seat every time.
It felt like hours that he was waiting. Blaine's parents and little sister showed up, and once the doctor came out to talk to them, the four were allowed back to see him.
"Blaine is certainly a lucky boy. He only suffered some superficial wounds, as well as some broken bones. His left arm has some considerable damage, which will require surgery first thing in the morning. His clavicle is fractured, along with his right patella and fibula. He'll be off his feet for a while, but he's expected to make a full recovery."
The doctor's prognosis sounded devastating in Kurt's ears, but when he walked into the room and saw his boyfriend, he relaxed a little, and watched Blaine smile as he sat down.
"How do you feel?" Kurt asked quietly, as if talking any louder might injure him more.
Blaine shut his eyes. He was hooked up to a few monitors, had a bigger IV in his arm than earlier, and oxygen cannula in his nose.
"I can't really feel anything," he sighed. "Which is nice. It'll be rough when the painkillers wear off, though."
Kurt bent down to give him a kiss. He briefly flashed back to their kiss in the parking lot at McKinley. It felt like so long ago, when in reality only two hours had passed.
"I guess I'm missing regionals," Blaine joked.
"I'll come see you tomorrow," Kurt promised. "It'll be a nice excuse to skip that French test."
Blaine gave a half-smile, and tried to shift slightly in the bed, unsuccessfully. Kurt helped him rearrange his pillows, and covered him in the blanket.
"Your family is waiting out there," Kurt told him. "I'm gonna go. I love you. I'll be back tomorrow."
Kurt only got a mumble out of Blaine, who was no doubt experiencing the effects of his painkillers. He slipped out of the room, talked with Blaine's family for a minute, then got his dad to pick him up from the hospital.
That night was the first nightmare about the accident. He dreamed the accident played out in slow motion, and as Kurt tried to get to Blaine's car, he kept tripping, unable to reach his boyfriend. By the time he got to Blaine, the paramedics had already done all they could for him, and there was nothing anyone could do to save him.
He woke up with a jerk, and it took hours to go back to sleep.
The next day, after Blaine's surgery, Kurt went to the hospital, even though his mom texted him to tell him he was sleeping. Kurt still sat with him for a good three hours, until his dad told him to come home to rest for regionals the next day.
Incidentally, they won. But winning didn't feel the same without Baline.
Kurt went up to Lima Memorial every day that Blaine was still admitted. It took him three days before he was discharged, and then Kurt went to his house to spend time with him. Blaine made slow improvements, like being able to wiggle his fingers on his broken arm, or bending his bad knee for the first time.
He was determined to go to nationals, which meant painful physical therapy to get him standing up and moving again. Kurt got to go with him for a few appointments, even though they left Blaine sore and exhausted.
Even though Blaine was starting to recover nicely, he still had hard days. Sometimes his knee and leg would bother him so much he couldn't walk, even with his boot and brace. His arm took the longest to heal, and he wound up getting his cast off just days before they left for nationals.
And then, they won. And it felt better winning with Blaine there, good as new and still getting better and better every day.
Author's Notes:
UGH this one was frustrating, you guys. I got the prompt "Blaine with broken bones" and I knew in my head what I wanted to do, but executing it was a pain in the butt. Then, I finished it the night before my monthlong trip, and the website wouldn't let me post. So this has been sitting on my laptop for four weeks, and now I'm back in America to post.
In other news, I'm about to start my senior year of high school. I started fanfiction as a freshman, so I feel like I've come full circle. But with that being said, I have the ACT to study for, cross country practices, and college junk, so I will really have a lot on my plate, at least for these next few months. I will try my best to write, since my friend Jess keeps me accountable and feeds me prompts, but thanks for your patience!