When Kurt wakes up the next morning, he finds himself in a tangle of limbs and blankets. Blaine's face is so close to his own and he ends up staring longer than he means to. After a moment, he tries to wiggle out but Rachel -sleeping on his other side- grumbles something under her breath and throws her arm around him. It takes another moment to peel her off, but Kurt finally frees himself and stands, looking at the siblings with a smile.
But then he remembers the night before and his eyes immediately filling with tears. He rubs at his face, hoping Papa will pick him up soon.
"Kurt?" a voice speaks up quietly. He turns and finds Mr. Anderson and Mr. Berry standing in the doorway, looking at him with concern. "Your father just called. He said he'll be here soon. How about you get washed up and have some breakfast?"
Nodding, he hurries to do as he's told, brushing his teeth with a borrowed toothbrush and washing his face. He changes out of Blaine's extra pair of pajamas and leaves them carefully folded on his bed, before dressing into his own clothes from yesterday. When he sits down at the dining table across from Mr. Berry, the man looks up from his newspaper and smiles.
"Did you sleep well, Kurt?"
"Yes, thank you," he replies politely. It's an automatic response, but an honest one. He slept better with Rachel and Blaine than he has in a long time.
Mr. Anderson sets a plate down in front of him and smiles cheerfully. "Eat up now. I hope you enjoy it."
It's his favorite: waffles with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. But delicious though it is, it doesn't taste the way Mama makes it. The very thought turns each bite into sand in his mouth, leaving him no choice but to leave the rest of his plate untouched.
As Mr. Berry clears the plates away and gets up to wash them, Rachel and Blaine finally wake up. They demand to go with Kurt too, but their fathers point out they have to go to school and -besides- visits to the hospital are usually only for family.
When Papa comes for him at last, Burt thanks them for taking care of Kurt and helps him into the car. Kurt stares out the window at his friends. Rachel fights back tears while Blaine looks on sadly. Kurt doesn't look away, even when they turn the corner and he doesn't see them anymore.
The hospital is an awful place. it smells weird and the walls are too white, but everyone looks either too serious or too sad. Kurt hates being here.
Clinging tightly to Papa's hand, he looks away as Burt stops to speak with the doctor. Doctors are useless. Mama's been sick for such a long time and nothing the doctors do make her feel better. A tug on his hand makes Kurt look up at Papa, who looks down with a question in his eyes. Kurt nods and follows him into Mama's room.
Mama is thin and sickly, her once beautiful auburn hair lying limp around her face. But her eyes brighten as she holds her arms out to Kurt. He pointedly doesn't look at the tube attached to her skin and hugs her, holding her as tight as he dares. She pulls back with a smile and brushes his hair out of his face. "I heard you had a sleepover last night," she says. "Did you have fun with your friends?"
"Yes." He thinks of Rachel and Blaine, which causes his heart to swell with happiness at having friends. "They're really nice."
"Good," she says, hugging him tighter.
Suddenly, it occurs to him that something is not right. He pulls away slightly to stare into Mama's ocean green eyes, just like his. "Mama, when are you coming home?" he asks, voice small.
Her expression turns stricken. "Oh, honey." Burt, sitting in the chair next to her bed, places a hand on his shoulder as Mama explains like she's done many times before. And, like always, he listens, but he doesn't understand the words. He won't understand. Any other option is too horrible to think about.
He refuses to believe that Mama will never set foot in their house again.
The rest of the visit passes in a blur. He dimly recalls kissing her frail cheek as they leave the hospital and Papa playing Mellencamp the whole drive home (which he would have complained about, had he been in a better mood). But then he's suddenly in his bedroom, burying his face into his pillow to muffle his sobs.
Kurt knows Mama has been sick for a very long time. And even though the doctors haven't been able to help her, he never thought about losing her. Because he knows, deep down, there wouldn't be any way to get her back.