Pairing, Character(s): Kurt, Finn, Puck, Sam, Artie, Matt, Will, Mercedes, Glee Girls, Burt, Carole, OMCs, OFCs, Kurt-Centric. Matt/Kurt (mild).
Rating: R
Word Count: 2142
Spoilers: All of season one, season two up to episode 2.04. Probably AU after that.
Summary: Every year, the football team has annual party where every member of the team participates in a bonding exercise. Usually, it's just a night of drinking and an epic, creative prank. This year, it's something different.
Warnings: Violence, language, adult themes, sex (nothing graphic).
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews:) I'm currently on part five, so I should eventually finish the story. I'm thinking it will be about ten parts. I should warn you guys that this somehow turned into Matt/Kurt, but its only mild slash.
Part Two
The slender redhead lying on top of Will Schuester was sexy. Her name was Rochelle. They had met earlier that evening singing Karaoke. She strategically kissed his neck, wearing nothing above her waist. Rochelle was sassy and dominant. Will didn't really know how to handle her. It didn't really matter, since she was more than willing to control things. He had four Tequila shots and two beers in his system.
Rochelle abruptly stopped kissing his neck, craning her head towards his jacket. "Your phone is ringing."
Will grunted and reached for her hands. "Ignore it."
"It's almost midnight," Rochelle reasoned, "and it's Lima. If someone's calling you this time of night, it's probably important."
"You're right."
Will rolled off the couch and stumbled over to his jacket. "Hello?"
"Mr. Schue!" It took him a second to recognize the panicked greeting.
"Finn?" It had to be something bad, if Finn was calling him this time of night.
"We're at the hospital," Finn yelled in panic, "they won't let any of us see Kurt because we're minors and none of are really family. Our parents are in Florida-."
"Finn!" Will interrupted, "Why are you at the hospital?"
"Kurt's hurt," he sobbed, "Really bad. Will you come to the hospital so someone can be with Kurt?"
"I'm leaving right now," Will promised, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. If you need anything before I get there, call me."
"Please hurry."
It had to be serious. Finn sounded desperate and scared. Will didn't have any details about how Kurt was injured, but he had a sinking feeling it wasn't something like a car accident or a mishap at the garage. Rochelle had her bra and top back on. The redhead collected her purse, car keys, and leather jacket as she followed him out the door.
"You're in no shape to drive," she said, "I'll take you. It sounds serious."
Will smiled and climbed into her silver Mustang. "I'm sorry about this."
"Don't worry about it," Rochelle shrugged, "It's a shame this town doesn't have an all-night diner."
"Why?" He hoped his question didn't come out as slurred as he thought it did.
"Coffee," she sighed, "You people have no idea what you're missing."
Will couldn't remember if she lived in Lima or not. Judging from her expensive clothes, he figured she was probably just visiting family. They fell into an uneasy silence during the short drive to St. Rita's Memorial Hospital. They had only known each other for about five hours.
The stoplights constantly flashed yellow and red. Drivers were expected to yield this time of night, and it made the trip longer than usual. Will regretted drinking so much at the bar. Drinking wasn't a regular past time for him, but lately the apartment started feeling lonely without Terri, Emma, or April around. Nights were slow and weekends dragged.
St. Rita's Memorial Hospital was a drab, two-story building on the east side of town. The parking lot was almost deserted. Rochelle pulled up to the curb and said she would see him inside once she parked. She promised to find a strong cup of coffee as Will hurried into the Emergency Room.
Finn, Artie, and Mike sat in the corner of the waiting room, talking to two uniformed police officers. Kurt was nowhere in sight. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the small teen's absence made him feel on edge. Lee and Ae Sook Chang stood on the other side of the room, dressed in silk pajamas and looking haggard. Will morosely waved at Mike's parents as he headed for his three students. They looked shocked, scared, and devastated as they took turns speaking to the police officers.
Finn spotted Will first and launched out of his seat, surprising him with a tight bear hug.
"I'm happy you're here," Finn's voice cracked, "They won't let us see Kurt."
"My parents are on the way. Kurt didn't want to let go of my hand." Artie cried, sniffling into his shirt sleeve.
"We don't even know if the others are all right," Mike said, covering his face with his hands, "Sam and Puck aren't answering any texts or calls. None of us have Connie or Jeff's number in our phones."
Will hugged Finn tightly. The teen's tears soaked his t-shirt. "What happened?"
"Are you family?" The tall black cop asked softly as he jotted down something on a small notepad.
"Will Schuester," he said, "I'm their teacher."
"I have no idea what's going on," Will repeated, "will someone fill me in?"
The petite blonde haired female officer went over the situation with him in a concise, professional manner. Will listened carefully, becoming disgusted and horrified when she described Derek Thorne and some of the other football players had planned to do to Kurt Hummel. Suddenly, he felt a lot more sober than he had ten minutes ago.
"There are officers on scene at the Thorne residence," she finished, "but it was chaotic there. The paramedics are also on sight, treating the wounded. I can't tell you anything more than that, except that no one's been killed."
"I guess that's good news," Will sighed, "but I hope we'll be able to hear about some of the other students involved. I can't believe Jeff Tremble and Connie Voss intervened like that."
"It's really not that surprising," the other cop said, "the Thorne's and Voss's have been feuding for years. We've responded to several incidents on both properties."
Will couldn't imagine why two families would fight like that. All that mattered was making sure Kurt wasn't scared and alone while he was being examined. The head nurse agreed to escort him behind the big double doors since Carole Hudson and Burt Hummel were in Florida, and couldn't be reached at the moment.
"I'll give you guys an update once I find out what's going on with Kurt," Will promised, "Hopefully, Puck and Sam aren't seriously injured. I'll be back out in a little while."
Will felt guilty for leaving them behind, especially Finn, but Kurt was the priority at the moment. The Intensive Care Unit was quiet. Kurt had already been through x-rays and wheeled into a room. The night staff was in the middle of moving him into a bed when Will entered.
Kurt looked awful; thick white gauze was wrapped around his head and ugly bruises marred the entire left side of his face. There was a purple cast on his wrist and another one on his right ankle, and he was wearing a thin hospital gown, but Will could see the bandages wrapped around his midsection and felt his stomach lurch. An IV line was attached to his good arm, with two bags full of clear liquid dripped from the metal pole.
"Dad?" Kurt's voice was a hoarse, dry whisper.
"I'm right here, Kurt."
Will cried as he approached Kurt's bed and latched onto his hand-the one that wasn't wrapped in a cast. The small teen blearily stared at him and tried to focus on his face.
"Mr. Schue?" He squeezed his hand too hard, but Will didn't dare say anything.
They had been in the same hospital together five weeks ago, but it wasn't anything like this. Kurt had been upset, scared, and worried over his father. Even when he was teetering between despair at the possibility of losing his dad, Will had never seen him look so…broken. It was so unfair, because Kurt was one of the bravest and strongest people Will had ever known.
"I want my Dad," Kurt pleaded, "Mercedes-she was here earlier."
Will ran a hand over his face, remembering the all of the girls' excitement at the prospect of spending the weekend in Columbus. Mercedes had invited all the girls to stay at her Aunt's estate for the weekend. The older woman was having some kind of celebration and wanted to meet Mercedes' friends. He'd overheard Kurt turning down the invitation, opting for a quiet weekend at home. It was obvious the boy was exhausted and running on fumes. Will had found him sleeping in the library during lunch earlier that week. Later, Kurt had fallen asleep in the middle of practice. Kurt always insisted he was 'fine' whenever Will tried to talk to him about it. The head injury and the painkillers were probably making him so confused.
A tall gray haired woman dressed in blue scrubs walked into the dimly lit room. She was holding a clipboard. "I'm Doctor Frasier."
"Will Schuester," he looked at Kurt, "I'm his teacher."
"I know," she smiled thinly, "Leanne says you were here last month, when Burt Hummel was in here."
"He's had a hard month," Will kept a firm grip on Kurt's hand, "He shouldn't be here."
"No, he shouldn't," Frasier agreed, "But, barring any unforeseen complications from his injuries, I think he'll be all right in time."
Will took a deep breath and asked, "How bad is it?"
"He's got a broken fibula, two cracked ribs, a fractured ankle, and a concussion, which required twelve stitches," she flipped through his chart, "his brain isn't swelling, which is a good thing. Confusion and disorientation are common with this type of injury. He was in shock when he arrived, which really isn't all that unusual, given the circumstances and the pain he was in."
"How long are you going to keep him here?"
Kurt gripped his hand a little tighter, but Will wasn't sure if he was really awake.
"A few days at least," Dr. Frasier said, "we need to monitor his progress and make sure there are no other complications from his concussion."
Will nodded. "I'm sure his father will be on the first flight out of Florida."
"He's pretty shaken up right now. I know he's got people waiting to see him, but he was extremely distressed when he arrived," she paused, "he was shrieking at the paramedics to let him go. I think we need to let him rest for right now, and once he's calm enough to have visitors, let him decide who he wants to see."
"I know his friends want to see him. Would it be all right if they stepped in for a second?"
Finn would be extremely upset if he couldn't see Kurt until the morning.
"The nurse just gave him some very potent pain medicine and a sedative so he can rest. I'm sure he'll be asleep in a few minutes, but if he'd like to see someone, I'll allow this time, since his only relative is out of state at the moment, but only one of them can visit. He doesn't need any more stress right now."
"What do you think, Kurt?" Will gave his hand a light tap. "Finn wants to see you."
"No!" Kurt hitched, "I want Mercedes."
"She's in Columbus, Kurt," Will frowned, "Finn, Mike, and Artie are waiting outside. Would you like to see one of them?"
Kurt considered the options for a moment. An array of emotions swept across his battered face, but Will couldn't figure out why he looked so uncertain about his options.
"Artie," Kurt whispered, "he can come. Matt too."
"Matt moved to Cleveland, remember?" Will said patiently, wondering why Kurt didn't want to see Mike or Finn.
He knew Kurt and Mike weren't very close, but he was pretty sure Kurt considered Finn a close friend. "Why don't you want to see Finn, Kurt? Aren't you two friends?"
"No," Kurt answered sleepily, "not really. He's hurt me before."
Will stared at the soprano, confused by his reasoning. Finn wouldn't hurt a fly. There was no way he'd lay a finger on Kurt Hummel. Maybe the concussion was confusing him, and he just thought Finn had done something to hurt him. Will didn't know the reasoning behind Kurt's request, but he'd honor it regardless. "I'll go get Artie."
"Wait!" Kurt latched onto his hand again. "I don't want you to leave."
"I won't," Will rested a hand on Kurt's bare forearm. "I'm sure Dr. Frasier can ask Artie to come in."
"Of course," the woman smiled, "I'll be right back."
The lanky doctor left the room and Kurt's breathing evened out again. Will noticed the short, shallow breaths and grimaced. How could anyone do this to another human being, especially some of his students? Will had always believed most of the students at West McKinley high were good kids. The brutality of their attack said otherwise. Sue Sylvester was going to have a field day this. She would definitely crack some heads. Even though she would never admit it, Will knew she had a soft spot for Kurt Hummel.
Kurt leaned his head against the pillow, drifting off into drug induced sleep. Slumping in his chair, Will tried not to worry about the massive fall out to come.