Kurt held Finn's hand tightly, even as he slipped into blissful sleep. After a sleep deprived EEG, Finn had expected his brother to drop off much sooner than he did. But Kurt had managed to stay awake much longer than they thought he would, though he'd been grumpy, weepy, and just generally upset all afternoon. Kurt had been awake all through the sleep-deprived EEG, though he did have multiple seizures during the test, two Partials and a few complex Absence, about twenty minutes before they ended the sleep-deprived EEG.
Finn looked at his brother, at where their hands touched. Kurt held Finn's hand in a death grip, both hands clutching at his brother's with all his might, even as he slept.
A few months ago, Finn would have stared at Kurt and left, not even worrying about how it would affect the younger teen. Now, Finn would move the world for his step-brother, and Kurt seemed to know it too. Ever since the Karofsky incident and the wedding, Finn had really started to treat Kurt like his brother, no matter what anyone on the team said or what rumors went around the school.
Finn shifted in his chair, trying to reach the lever that would pick the leg rest up. He managed to get about halfway through the motion when he accidentally tugged at their clasped hands, causing Kurt to grip at Finn even tighter.
"Sorry, Kurt," Finn whispered, as if Kurt could hear him. "Just trying to get comfortable, bud."
He managed to get the leg rests up, and he settled in. His phone charger sat in his lap, ready for whenever he needed it. Finn didn't expect to get a whole lot of sleep tonight, not with how Kurt often woke up, thoroughly confused.
As he sat there, Finn thought about how much had changed in the past year. Finn's mom had fallen in love with Kurt's Dad, and then they'd gotten married. But Finn mostly thought about how Kurt had all these signs of weird activity – seizures or not – throughout school and Glee, but hadn't said a word. He simply suffered in silence.
Finn smiled as a thought came to mind. He remembered when Kurt had walked up to him, looking nervous as he did, and asked if Finn could get him onto the football team. Coach Tanaka had been so against it for the first hour or two, but as soon as he realized that damn, could Kurt kick, the younger teen was on the team. It made sense, now, that Tanaka hadn't put Kurt on the field to actually play, because people with epilepsy aren't normally allowed to play sports like football, where they could get hurt or have a seizure in the middle of the game.
But Kurt hadn't been thinking about that, Finn knew. Kurt had been thinking about how he needed to make his dad proud, to be the perfect son and forget the epilepsy.
Finn couldn't begin to fathom how difficult it must have been for Burt when Kurt began to have seizures; how difficult it must have been for Kurt and for his mother too. Finn had heard the story about Kurt's first recognizable seizure. He'd been at dance, his mother in the ICU. In the waiting area, Kurt had suffered a grand mal seizure and had been sent to the hospital, but not the same one his mother had been in. Burt had spent the next three weeks shuffling between Kurt, Kurt's appointments, and his dying wife.
Kurt let out a small sigh, his head tipping towards his brother. It jerked Finn out of his own head, and he watched as his brother shifted. Kurt moved ever so slightly every few seconds, seeming to struggle with the pain that moving elicited. His head rested on his right shoulder and, though his breathing was still labored and uneven, Kurt looked peaceful.
Finn took a few minutes to just look at his brother, to really look at the younger teen.
Kurt's face was so pale, like it always was. But there was a little bit of color to his face, though Finn knew that it was only from the high fever Kurt had.
Then there was the nasal cannula, pushing 4 liters of oxygen into Kurt's nose a minute. It was taped down to Kurt's cheeks with the same type of tape they used for IV's. Kurt had broken three nasal cannulas in the last 24 hours, and he thought that Nurse Rosa was at her wits end with Kurt now.
There was sweat all over Kurt's face, and a good amount of it had collected at the nape of his neck. Finn had been wiping off as much of it as he could, but it was collecting faster than he could wipe it away.
Finn's eyes looked up at the crown of Kurt's head, seeing the glue and the various wires that had been placed for an EEG. He'd never actually seen an EEG before this hospital visit. Burt often stayed with Kurt, because Finn normally had school and Carole worked at the hospital in 12-hour shifts four days of the week.
Everyone had taken time off to be with Kurt this time.
Kurt let out a groan, the little crinkle between his eyes appearing as Kurt frowned in his sleep. Finn immediately put his cell phone on the bedside table and sat up. The leg rest folded back down and Finn leaned over the side of Kurt's bed.
"It's alright, Kurt. Finn's here. Your dad's at home, I'm watching out for him, just like I promised," Finn reassured. He squeezed Kurt's hand with his own, and Kurt's body relaxed slowly.
Finn couldn't believe he had a step-brother sometimes. But at the same time, he loved it. He had someone he could look out for, and someone who looked out for him. And to be honest, Kurt was one of the best brother's Finn could have had, no matter how bitchy he became.
"I've got ya, Kurt. You just rest. Finn's on the job," Finn whispered. He plugged his phone in and closed his eyes, drifting off to dreamland.
