Blaine took a cab to the emergency room. It was nice because he was essentially alone and could zone out in his mind, but it was also awful since he let his thoughts consume him. He kept picturing Kurt in the ICU or fighting for his life. The nurse hadn't made it sound like his injuries weren't life-threatening, but still, what if he took a turn for the worst before Blaine got there? He would have the weight of knowing he yelled at Kurt on him forever.
He looked down at his trembling hands, even though the cab driver turned on the heat for him. Blaine never expected anything to happen to him, Kurt, or Rachel when they came to New York. They were naive to think they were invincible, and now something tragic had happened. Blaine tried to call Rachel once he had calmed down a little, but got no answer.
All he could do was worry. The drive took forever it seemed like. Blaine just wanted to see his boyfriend with his own eyes and know he was alright. He couldn't take not knowing what was wrong. He cried a little, knowing the second he got to see Kurt he'd need to man up and stay positive for him.
The emergency room was crowded and chaotic. Blaine made his way up to the receptionist's desk and handed over his ID so she could confirm he was the same person from on the phone. Every second felt like an hour. Kurt was somewhere in that huge hospital and Blaine just needed to get to him.
"Go through those double doors and up to the third floor," the woman said. "At the nurse's station they can give you a more detailed update. And wear this visitor's sticker."
Blaine hastily scribbled his name on the sign-in sheet and slapped the sticker onto his jacket. He thanked the woman and rushed out to the elevator in the main lobby. He still hadn't heard from Rachel, so he tapped out a quick text for her to call him ASAP.
The third floor was quiet but Blaine found the nurse's station quickly.
"Hi," he said, out of breath from hurrying through the corridor. "Um, a nurse called me about my boyfriend, Kurt Hummel. They told me to come up here, can I see him? Please? Is he okay?"
One of the nurses at the desk pulled up something on her computer. "The doctor's just finishing up with him. Kurt's been admitted for observation. I'll take you down to his room and you can speak with the doctor. I need to adjust his meds anyways."
Blaine thanked her and eagerly followed her down the quiet hallway of patient rooms. He was staying overnight for observation. That didn't sound bad. It certainly wasn't the ICU or an operating room, that was for sure.
As if on cue, an older man in a white coat stepped out of Kurt's room right as the nurse and Blaine got there.
"Is he awake, Dr. Brown?" the young woman asked. "I'm going to see if he needs any Zofran. This is Kurt's boyfriend here to see him."
"Yes, go on in," the man said, turning to Blaine after the girl went on in. "Nice to meet you, Blaine right?"
Blaine gulped. "Yes," he said, shaking the man's hand.
"Kurt was asking me to see if you were here yet. I'm sure you've got a lot of questions, and we don't know the answers to all of them. He was brought into the ER in an ambulance -I was the doctor on-call down there- and he had no ID, he was freezing, could barely talk to us, he looked a mess. The police arrived shortly after and had some security footage of what happened. We took Kurt to get some x-rays and a CT scan. By then he warmed up a little and could talk more, so we got the nurse to contact you, and he was able to give the police a brief statement. His shoulder was dislocated so we were able to re-align it pretty quickly, but he'll need a sling for a few weeks to let the ligaments in his arm heal."
Blaine tried to take in everything the man was saying. He tried to keep up, but so much had gone on he was so overwhelmed. Ambulance. Police. X-rays. Dislocated.
Dr. Brown went on without missing a beat. "His hypothermia wasn't severe, and I believe his temperature is back around ninety-six or ninety-seven now. He was so frozen he couldn't even tell us what hurt since he was so numb. He has an occipital fracture and a moderate concussion. That's mainly why we admitted him: to make sure his symptoms don't get any worse. But luckily he has no memory loss and so far has only complained of a pretty bad headache. He doesn't look great; they got all the blood off of him but his nose is pretty swollen and he has a black eye. We stitched up a laceration in his chin and he fractured two ribs and has a minor sprain in the same arm that was dislocated."
Blaine exhaled shakily. It was like the list of his injuries was never ending. All this had happened while Blaine was just at home, unassuming and annoyed at Kurt for not coming home. All while he was in the ER and getting x-rays done. Blaine's mind was overwhelmed with guilt, a million questions, and an overwhelming desire just to go in there and be with Kurt.
"I know this is a lot," the doctor finally said after Blaine had processed a bit more. "He's doing better than I made that sound. We gave him some strong painkillers and we're hoping he can rest tonight even though we need to monitor his concussion. The only thing he's complained about so far is his headache. And you taking forever to get here."
Blaine laughed a little at the statement and realized a few tears had fallen down his cheeks. He thanked the doctor for talking to him and the man promised he'd be back after a few hours to see how Kurt was doing.
He had wanted all night to go in and see Kurt, but when Blaine pushed the door open, he grew more nervous. What if Kurt was in more pain and Blaine made it worse? He tried to ignore the thoughts and quietly entered, taking in the sight of Kurt that made him want to cry even more.
His arm was in a black sling and resting on a pillow. Kurt looked completely white, especially in the gray papery hospital gown. There was no color in his face, other than the deep bruises around his nose and eye and the stitched up wound on his chin.
"Kurt," Blaine choked, a lump in his throat forming. Blaine blinked back tears; he refused to cry when Kurt was the one who had had the torturous night.
"Hi," Kurt croaked, his voice hoarse. Blaine pulled up a seat by his side, his eyes refusing to leave him.
"That medicine should kick in soon," the nurse said, patting Kurt's free arm which was taped up and down with IVs and monitors. "One of us will come back to check on you soon, but for now you can rest."
Blaine mumbled a quick thanks to the nurse as she picked up Kurt's chart and left. Kurt looked exhausted; Blaine knew the effect those strong painkillers had.
"Kurt, I-" Blaine didn't even know what to say. How was he supposed to make him feel better, to cheer him up when he was so injured? He broke down a little, even though he tried to fight it. "I was so worried about you."
Kurt blinked a few times, and Blaine took hold of his left hand. "You're gonna be okay, though. I just talked to the doctor. Can I do anything for you? Do you want to go to sleep? I bet it's been a long night."
Kurt yawned a little. He was mostly reclined in the bed and looked as comfortable as he could possibly be even with his sling and fracture in the back of his head.
"Um," Kurt peeped. His eyes got watery, something Blaine wasn't expecting. "Could you call my dad? I didn't… I thought if he heard from a nurse he'd get freaked out."
Blaine squeezed his hand a little. Such a simple request, but Blaine would do anything for him.
"I'll call him," he promised, his voice soft. "Do you want to talk to him? Otherwise I'll go in the hall. I bet your head hurts."
Kurt shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. "It does hurt… it won't stop throbbing."
Blaine was about to stand up to go make the call, but Kurt began to cry a little and he paused, just wanting to do anything possible to make his night a little less miserable.
"I know," Blaine said softly. His heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. The bed was just wide enough that Blaine slipped off his coat and gently laid down by Kurt, shushing him and carefully wiping the tears from his cheeks. Even a few hours after the accident he could still feel how cold Kurt's body was. "Don't cry, that'll make your headache worse."
Blaine had had a concussion before. It had been awhile, but he had been miserable and it felt like he couldn't do anything for weeks. Now Kurt had that on top of everything else going on, and he knew he had to feel terrible.
Kurt's breath hitched a little and let out the tiniest yelp of pain, no doubt from his broken ribs as he got worked up. Blaine was concerned since he was only getting more and more upset and it wasn't helping him.
"Ow," Kurt whined, biting his lip and closing his eyes. "I just want to go home."
"Just take a deep breath," Blaine said, his voice hushed. He wanted to cry with him so badly, but couldn't. Instead he held Kurt's hand and stroked his hair back from his forehead, desperate for him to relax. "You're okay, just take a breath. I'm right here, I promise."
Kurt obeyed and paused to breathe, but Blaine knew he was still anxious and just simply uncomfortable. He stroked his cheek until he stopped crying, desperate for him to feel better.
"Close your eyes," Blaine told him, kissing Kurt on the forehead. "You're exhausted and sleep is good for your head. I'll call your dad in a minute, but just rest. I'm right here."
Blaine felt Kurt's head droop slightly onto his shoulder. He got up a few minutes later so he wouldn't be completely trapped in the bed if Kurt fell asleep.
"I'll be right back," Blaine whispered. "I'm just going out to the hall. Just rest, Kurt, you need it."
Kurt opened his eyes slightly. "If I fall asleep will you be here when I wake up?"
His voice was light and dreamy, like the way he always sounded when he first woke up in the morning. Blaine gave his hand a squeeze. "Yeah, I'm not leaving you all night. You're safe now."
Blaine stepped back into the hall and closed the door quietly. The conversation with Burt went about as he expected: he was angry at first, then worried, and Blaine promised he'd have Kurt call again as soon as he felt a little better.
Rachel finally called back as well. She insisted on coming to the hospital, even though Blaine didn't think it was a good idea. It was almost midnight, and Kurt was half-asleep anyways. She wouldn't budge though, and argued that Kurt needed clothes to come hotme in the next day, so Blaine agreed. He wasn't even sure what the hospital's policy for visitors was, but he was just grateful he could be with Kurt every possible second.
Blaine thanked her for coming and hung up, eager to get back to Kurt. He was exhausted himself, but what if he fell asleep and his boyfriend needed something? Blaine had pulled a handful of all-nighters for NYADA, so he could certainly do it for Kurt.
Surprisingly, Kurt opened his eyes when Blaine came back in even though he had been completely silent when he shut the door behind him.
"Kurt?" Blaine said softly. "Why can't you sleep?"
Kurt looked ready to pass out at any minute, but he held his eyes open anyways. "My head..." he mumbled, reaching his good arm up to cover his face.
Blaine crawled back up next to him. "I know," he whispered. "Hey, would seeing Rachel help? She's gonna stop by just for a few minutes here pretty soon. If you're too tired you don't have to, though."
Kurt cracked a tiny smile for the first time all night. "Can you just… ask her to not talk so loud?"
Blaine smiled back at him and kissed his cheek. "Yeah, I can do that. Do you want me to stay here by you or do you want some space?"
Kurt leaned his head over on Blaine's shoulder, and he took that as his answer. He held Kurt's hand, trying to warm up his cold fingers as he finally dozed off.
Blaine sat there listening to the sound of his boyfriend breathing when his phone buzzed with a call from Rachel. He slipped out of the bed to go meet her, but he didn't dare wake up Kurt after it took him so long to get to sleep.
She rushed down the hallway and Blaine hugged her, grateful for another familiar face.
"Is he okay?" she begged. "They wouldn't tell me anything and threatened to not let me back since I'm not family."
Blaine didn't think about that. But he was grateful she made it. "He'll be fine," he said, rubbing at his temples. "He was worn out, though, so I don't think he's gonna wake up to see you. But I think he only has to stay here for tonight."
Rachel teared up a little as Blaine repeated everything the doctor had explained to him about Kurt's injuries and the attack. "I guess those two guys just beat the crap out of him… and left him there with no coat and no phone. He's still really cold."
"He's going to be devastated if he can't audition…" Rachel said. Blaine had been thinking the same thing. He wasn't going to bring it up to Kurt, though. Not when he was so weak. "Finn called me. I guess Burt is really angry, but they're glad he'll be okay. Anyways, I brought him some stuff from home and some coffee for you."
Blaine thanked her profusely. Knowing he wasn't completely alone was a helpful reminder, and it was nice Rachel had gone out of her way to make sure they'd be okay for the night.
"I'll let you know what the doctor says about coming home tomorrow," Blaine promised, hugging her again. "His head just won't stop hurting him. I can't imagine what they could've done to fracture his skull but I don't think I want to know."
Rachel made Blaine promise to call, and she headed home alone. Blaine's spirits were lifted and he was glad she had stopped by, and just wanted her to be safe getting back to Bushwick so there wasn't a repeat of what had just happened.
The night was a long one. Blaine downed the coffee Rachel had brought him, since he didn't want to doze off in case something went wrong. A nurse came in every two hours or so to check on Kurt, and he fell back asleep immediately every time until it hit six in the morning and he started complaining that his head felt worse and that he felt nauseous.
Blaine was especially worried since Kurt already had a high pain tolerance and was on some strong drugs, and it felt like forever until he was able to relax again. Luckily, Dr. Brown came back shortly after that and decided Kurt could go home after they completed the necessary paperwork.
Blaine could tell his boyfriend was excited to leave the hospital, but Kurt wasn't automatically healed. He had to keep his arm in the sling for several weeks, and the bruises on his face were only beginning to form. Oh, well. Kurt would at least be happier back at the loft.
It was freezing and rainy outside and Blaine just wanted to be home. The cab ride back to Brooklyn felt infinitely different than the ride he had had the night before, and once they were back Kurt was grateful. Rachel had even picked up and offered to go to the pharmacy for Blaine so he didn't have to leave again.
He got Kurt settled in their bed. It felt like a lifetime ago they were together in the loft, even though their fight about Kurt's audition had been less than thirty-six hours earlier. Blaine called Burt back and he finally got to talk to his son, which was nice.
"Don't go to sleep yet," Blaine told him. He laid down by Kurt and tried to make him as comfortable as possible, even though it was difficult with his awkward sling and other injuries that were hurting him. "Rachel went to get your painkillers."
Kurt squinted a little, and Blaine got up and closed the curtains on their window before laying back down. "I'm not tired," he insisted. Blaine normally would have disputed that with him, but he didn't say anything. He still felt the guilt eating away at him from yelling at Kurt. They had never resolved it, but Blaine didn't want to act like it hadn't happened, either.
"Kurt, I'm sorry about the other night," he blurted out. He didn't want to keep it bottled up anymore, even if it wasn't the best time to bring it up. He just wanted Kurt to know.
"I-I hate the way I've been towards you all semester," he went on. Don't cry, don't cry. "I wasn't trying to put distance between us, but that's what happened, and it's my fault. You worked so hard to try and spend time with me and I didn't do the same. I felt awful after I yelled at you. I'll never do it again, but I was so worried you were done with me, since you don't need me anymore. That's why I didn't sound interested in your internship, because I was jealous you were already so successful. I just… haven't treated you the way you deserve, but I don't want to lose you."
Blaine took a breath, his eyes a little watery. He couldn't believe everything he just unloaded, but it was all the truth. He didn't want Kurt going another minute without knowing how sorry he was. He also didn't want Kurt to think he was only apologizing because of what had happened to him, but Blaine finally looked up at his boyfriend and couldn't get a read on him.
"I'm sorry, too," Kurt mumbled. Blaine felt guilty as he saw his eyes fill with tears; Kurt was exhausted and he didn't want to make him emotional as well. "I got mad over the littlest things and I never told you how I felt. You were a jerk sometimes but you also can't read my mind."
Blaine shushed him as a few tears fell down his cheeks, but Kurt kept talking anyways. "I just kept everything to myself, and I think I talked more to Isabelle and Finn about our problems than to you. I just wish this hadn't happened…"
Blaine got up and got Kurt some water, but luckily he didn't cry any more. He truly wished he had been the one to get mugged instead of Kurt. Not with everything else he had going on: his upcoming NYADA audition, his job, everything.
"I want you to talk to me," Blaine promised him, giving his good hand a little squeeze. "Don't bottle everything in, especially not now. I just haven't been very approachable, huh?"
Kurt hesitated a little, but he shook his head and Blaine felt like the worst person ever. Kurt had been wanting to talk to him but felt like he couldn't. What kind of boyfriend did that?
"Next semester will be different," Blaine said, and he meant it. "You're coming to NYADA, I know it. We should never be too busy for each other, but I haven't been thinking that way. I'm never going to give up on us. I'm just sorry it came to this."
Kurt smiled a little, surprisingly. He didn't seem fazed by holding such a heavy conversation less than two hours after being discharged from the hospital.
"We've both been… immature," he sighed, and winced a little in pain. Blaine's heart skipped a beat but Kurt just bit his lip, not willing to admit to anything hurting.
"I know we have. I was so worried about you, Kurt." Blaine choked his words out, trying his hardest not to get emotional again. His mind just kept replaying that phone call from the hospital, and every time he looked at his boyfriend he just saw his bruised up eye and gash on his chin.
As if on cue, Rachel returned with the prescription the ER doctor had phoned in for Kurt. Blaine was grateful she was willing to get out so he didn't have to leave, and he gave Kurt one of the pills, hoping to keep his headache at bay.
"It'll still hurt anyways," Kurt said in defeat. "No matter what I do."
"Why don't you take a nap?" Blaine offered. There wasn't much else Kurt could do, anyways. "Sleeping is really good for you when you have a concussion. I'll stay with you."
Kurt nodded just a bit, and Blaine was happy to help. Helping Kurt get comfortable was a near impossible task, but he was eventually too sleepy to care, and Blaine knew he just wanted relief for his constant headache.
Blaine laid there with him, happy to stay put all day if Kurt wanted him to. It was one of their first peaceful moments in a long time- no tension between them, no nurses coming in and out, no performances or assignments to worry about. Blaine's final exams were very last on his priority list, and he didn't care one bit.
Minutes ticked by. Blaine could tell Kurt was fighting sleep, but he wasn't winning. His boyfriend gave in eventually, and Blaine was relieved. He couldn't have a headache when he was asleep. It was hard for Blaine to believe that barely twelve hours ago they were in the hospital, but he hadn't slept anyways so everything felt a little off.
He kept hold of Kurt's hand, even though he was asleep and his fingers were limp. Blaine didn't want to think about what would have happened if those guys had done much more to Kurt. It was a scary thought, but Blaine still felt a sense of guilt. It was like they had essentially wasted their first few months in the city fighting with each other.
There were a lot of expectations Blaine had had for New York City that didn't come through. NYADA was alright, but he didn't feel like he had a place there the way Rachel did. He had a fresh sense of determination to really prioritize his relationship with Kurt. He would rather flunk out of school and never get a degree than lose his boyfriend, or God forbid, ever yell at him again.
Blaine scooted closer to Kurt, gentle enough to not wake him up or hurt him. He never thought Kurt getting mugged and assaulted would be the impetus to make Blaine reconsider his life for the past few months, but it happened anyways. College and "adult" life was difficult. Maintaining a healthy relationship outside of high school was difficult. He and Kurt had never been so close physically but so distant emotionally, and it had resulted in a terrible few months for them both.
"I love you," Blaine whispered, even though Kurt was asleep. He longed so badly for everything to just be okay. Even though NYADA wasn't exactly what he had expected, and living with his boyfriend and Rachel had been a little bit of a struggle, things would get better. Blaine was going to make sure of it. After all, their life in New York had barely begun, and they had a whole lifetime ahead of them to enjoy.
Kurt stirred a bit and opened his eyes slowly. Blaine smiled at him and pulled his blanket up a little higher when he shivered.
"Go back to sleep," he whispered. "I'll wake you up when it's time for more pain medicine. I'm right here."
Kurt closed his eyes, still barely conscious. "Promise?" he mumbled.
Blaine laid his head gently on Kurt's good shoulder and gave his hand a squeeze. "Promise," he repeated. And he meant it.
Author's Notes:
Finally we have an ending! I feel like I wrapped things up a little hastily here, but there is a short epilogue coming soon (it is already written so I won't take another two-week hiatus). Hope everyone is doing well; I graduated college today so congrats to all my fellow Zoom grads out there!