Warnings: Possible main character death, strong language
Rating: M
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine
Summary: It's Kurt's junior year at McKinley high and things aren't going his way. Karofsky is excessively bullying him, and no one seems to really notice how bad it has gotten. The Hummels and Hudsons just moved in together a few weeks ago and things are a bit strained between Kurt and his dad. Then things start getting worse, there's an accident and things escalate from there.
(This story will be somewhat AU, some things will be the same as the original story, others will not. Blaine for one never went to Dalton, the Sadie Hawkins event happened this school year, Burt hasn't had his heart attack, Kurt hasn't transferred to Dalton.)
Author's note: Oh my gosh I'm so sorry this has taken me forever, but I hope that I might get the next few chapters up faster. It's the end of the school year though so no guarantees I'm afraid :/
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A few days went on like that, with Kurt getting visitors and Blaine hardly getting any. His dad showed up twice, but the man stayed for barely half an hour before he vanished into the hallways and was gone again. It wasn't like it was any of Kurt's business, but he felt horrible knowing that someone as wonderful as Blaine could possibly have parents who cared so little about him. However, he got more than enough visits for both of them, and his friends were quick enough to drag Blaine into the conversations they were having. It made Kurt's heart squeeze with love for his friends, how they instantly included Blaine who seemed to get more and more upset as the days went by and he didn't really get any visitors.
Blaine kept getting better and better, the bruises fading off his face. The more the bruises faded the more beautiful the man became. Kurt had thought him to be gorgeous the first time he'd seen him, despite the bruises and cuts, but now? Oh wow, he didn't even know how to start expressing how perfect this guy was. Not to mention the fact that they'd been getting closer and closer over the last few days. More often than not they would be sitting on Kurt's bed, looking through YouTube videos or a new version of Vogue. It had become second nature to them to be sitting close together and smiling at each other.
It also wasn't unusual for Blaine to be sitting there with his arms around a crying Kurt. Burt still hadn't gotten any better and it was killing Kurt to go in there and watch his dad with all the tubes and machines hooked up to him. After every time he'd been in there, Blaine had to spend the next few hours trying to help him cheer up a little. Kurt's legs still hadn't gotten any feeling back either and he was getting more and more worried that he'd never get any feeling back at all. The thought scared him, and he'd expressed his worries to Blaine just the day before.
At the moment they were just looking through an old favorite issue of Vogue and discussing the various outfits and accessories. It was so nice to have someone like Blaine to just be himself with; not that he couldn't be himself with the guys from New Directions, but none of those guys understood what it was like being him. They tried to be supportive, but sometimes it just felt like they didn't truly care or truly understand the shit he had to go through every day. The constant name calling, the locker slams, the slushies, the dumpster tosses it was all pretty bad and some of it was things his fellow Glee club members were also experiencing, but the worst of it was the fear that one day it might go beyond this, that one day someone was going to actually hurt him. There had been threats, and he'd believed them. That constant fear was the worst part.
A yawn escaped Blaine's mouth and Kurt had to smile to himself, that sleepy look was completely adorable on Blaine. "Tired?" he asked and absently let his hand stroke over the back of Blaine's. It was weird how comfortable and natural it felt being close to Blaine like this. Neither of them had brought up the fact that this was probably beyond what most friends would be doing, but it didn't really matter because they were both so comfortable about what they were doing.
"Yeah, a bit, mostly I just want some coffee. Do you want me to go get us some?" Blaine asked and Kurt smiled a little. He wished more than anything that he could just go get some with Blaine instead, but he knew very well that he couldn't go anywhere. A small sigh left his lips, but he also managed to offer Blaine a small smile. "Yeah that'd be great, I wish I could just go with you instead, but since I can't that's a good second option?" he said sadly. Blaine just reached out to gently squeeze his hand before getting up and moving towards the end of the bed. Once there he stopped and turned back to look at Kurt, sending him one of his gentle and heartwarming smiles. "I'll be back in a moment, alright?" he almost whispered and patted Kurt's foot.
A small gasp left his lips as his foot was patted and he stared at Blaine with wide eyes. "Blaine… do that again?" he asked, and for a moment Blaine looked utterly confused. "Just… just pat my foot again? Please?" he asked, feeling his cheeks burning a little, because he knew it was a weird request. "I... thought maybe… just please?"
Blaine reached out and squeezed his foot again and Kurt's eyes went even wider. "I felt that!" he practically yelled. There was a look of shock on Blaine's face, but he didn't care, he was practically bouncing on the bed. "Blaine! I felt it!" Kurt's laugh just filled the room and probably seeped into the hallways because not long after a nurse came poking her head through the door and looking at them sternly. "I know you're having fun boys, but this is a hospital and you're disturbing the other patients." She said sternly but then a smile crossed her lips at the beaming smiles on both of the boys' faces.
"What's going on in here?" she asked, a lot more gently this time around. Kurt wasn't hesitant about skipping right to the point. "Blaine squeezed my foot and I felt it!" he almost yelled, he was too excited to keep himself calm. The nurse immediately frowned and gently nudged Blaine to one side as she moved to look at Kurt's leg. "Alright Mr. Hummel, I'm going to do some small tests okay? To see how much you can feel. All you have to do is tell me if you feel it whenever I ask." She informed and Kurt just nodded.
Blaine had made his way over to Kurt's side and grabbed his hand because this was exciting, but it also had the possibility to be massively disappointing. Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand and looked at him a little nervously before biting his lip and waiting. "Oh… I feel that… sort of, it's a little weak but I feel it." He said as the nurse started poking his leg. "It feels a bit weird, but I feel it" he added and bit his lip. "Is this… does this mean… does this mean I'll be able to walk again?" he asked quietly.
The nurse frowned a little and sent him a small smile. "It might, but we'll have to talk to the doctor first and see what he thinks. The fact that you've got feeling back in your leg is great. Now we need to check your other one" she added and started prodding it. "Hmm… I think I can feel that even more." He whispered and tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, definitely feel that. It almost tickles a little." He said, and then frowned as he realized she was pinching his foot fairly hard. "Wow... okay I guess I don't feel as much as I thought.. but it's better than nothing isn't it?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course it is better than nothing. Let me go see if I can get the doctor, and he'll take a look, then we'll get someone in to do some physical therapy with you. We'll have to start slow because your muscles will have deteriorated a little, but once we're sure you've got a little strength back we'll help you try to get back on your feet" she promised. "Before I go though, can you try to wiggle your toes for me?" she asked as he looked at his toes. "Uhm… okay" Kurt whispered and then closed his eyes, because he wasn't sure he wanted to see this, and he did what he'd usually do if he tried to wiggle his toes.
There was a small gasp next to him and then Blaine was whispering in his ear. "Your toe wiggled a little." It was clear that there was pride in the guy's voice, pride and happiness. "I did?!" Kurt laughed and then tried again while looking at his toes this time. Sure enough, his toes were wiggling a little, though it took an excessive amount of effort to even get that small reaction. Once he'd wiggled his toes a little bit more he sighed and leaned back tiredly. "Wow… to think wiggling your toes can wear you out." He said but he sounded absolutely thrilled with his new toe-wiggling skills.
Blaine laughed and leaned down to give Kurt a hug. "Well this definitely merits a celebration! I'm going to go get us that coffee and maybe some cheesecake if I can get my hands on some!" he said and hurriedly gave Kurt another hug before he vanished out the door. Kurt just leaned back and let out a soft sigh, his eyes closing and a warm smile crossing his lips. This was a massive step forward, and yes, it wasn't going to be easy to get back on his feet, he knew it was going to take a lot of work, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be happy about the progress he already found himself having.
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Blaine returned a little while later, well after the doctor had been there to check Kurt's legs and given him the good news that he thought Kurt would be able to make a full recovery with enough work. The guy had made sure to tell Kurt it was going to take a lot of time and effort, but he hadn't expected it to be easy, all he wanted was to know he would be able to do it. If there was one thing Kurt was used to, it was to work hard and deal with a lot of shit in his life. Blaine triumphantly held a small try of two Starbucks coffee and a small bag, which clearly held some sort of snack. "I managed to bribe one of the nurses to look the other way while I slipped out the door!" he said happily and went to sit on Kurt's bed. "I don't know what you usually drink, but I figured we both deserved something proper and sugary so I got us both a white chocolate mocha."
Kurt licked his lips and grinned. "I think you could have gotten anything from there and I would have been happy, the hospital food sucks!" he said enthusiastically and cuddled close to Blaine as he sipped his drink. Blaine just put his drink on the nightstand and then rummaged through the little bag. "They didn't have cheesecake, but I got us some massive chocolate chip cookies instead." He said apologetically as he handed Kurt one of the most enormous cookies he'd ever seen. "Cookies are fine with me, they look amazing!" Kurt responded happily and took a bite to prove his point.
They stayed like that for most of the day, just talking and having a good time; the mood was lifted substantially from where it had been just earlier that morning. Both of them were laughing and talking happily by the time Carole poked her head gingerly through the door. Kurt wanted nothing more than to run over and wrap her arms around the woman, but of course he couldn't do that, so he just waited patiently as she walked over to them and then offered him a hug.
"Carole!" he said excitedly and kept hugging her, probably a little longer than what he needed to. "I feel my legs!" he gushed and a warm laugh filled the room again, he still had trouble believing it, afraid that it would be a dream and he'd wake up in a few moments and realize he couldn't move his legs at all. Carole was laughing too and she hugged him a little tighter. "That's great Kurt! What has the doctors said?" she asked, wanting the facts right away. Kurt just smiled and jumped into what had happened and how they'd discovered it.
After a while of talking he looked at Carole and his smile faded. "Any news about dad?" he asked, his voice guarded, as if he was trying not to get emotional. "I'm afraid not, he's stable but critical… just like he's been over the last few days." She replied, looking sad and tired all of a sudden, so Kurt reached out and squeezed her hand. All he wanted to do was say it was going to be fine, but he didn't know if it would and he was terrified.
Despite his efforts to keep himself calm, he finally let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around his middle, looking lost. "Carole…you should just go… check on him." He whispered and she nodded a little. "I'll be alright" he added reassuringly. "Go be with my dad… someone should be there." He added guiltily. "Oh Kurt, you can't blame yourself for being hurt yourself honey" she said gently and hugged him one more time. "I'll be in and check on you a little later, alright?" And with that she was gone, leaving the boys alone.
The moment Carole was gone Kurt let out a small sob and buried his head against Blaine's shoulder. It was so hard to pretend he was fine, when he was so scared for his dad. Yes he'd still have Carole and Finn if he lost his dad, but it wouldn't be the same. His dad was his only blood relative he had left, at least that he had any contact with, and the idea of losing the man that meant the most to him in this world was completely heartbreaking.
Blaine just stayed on the bed, wrapping an arm around Kurt and hugging him close as he cried. He tried muttering soft reassurances, but he knew he couldn't promise Kurt it would all be fine and that completely broke his heart. Instead he muttered reassurances about what he knew was a definite option, about Kurt walking again and about them getting out of this hospital and getting on with their lives. It wasn't what Kurt needed to hear, but the murmur of Blaine's voice against the top of his head was oddly comforting.
Eventually Kurt drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep, only soothed by the soft words drifting through the haze in a voice that was becoming more and more familiar. In his sleep, be moved enough to snuggle up against Blaine's side, his head resting on the guy's shoulder. Blaine just smiled a little and kept gently stroking a hand through Kurt's hair. The smile widened a little as he thought about the day, and he realized that it didn't really matter if he had visitors or not, at least not as long as he had Kurt's company to keep him occupied.
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A few days later Blaine was allowed to go home, and as much as he loved the idea of not having to spend time in the hospital, he hated the idea of not spending every day hanging out with Kurt. So he promised he'd be back the next day during visiting hours. It was hard to leave Kurt because he could tell that even if Kurt was putting on a brave face, he didn't want to be left alone in the room that had become theirs over the last week and a half.
As soon as the door closed behind Blaine, Kurt let out a small groan and buried his head in the pillow. He could feel hot tears streaming down into the pillow, but he tried his best to stay quiet. It wasn't as though Blaine hadn't been bound to get out of there before he did, or as if they were dating or anything, but the loss of Blaine's company in the room made everything feel so empty. Without the distractions of their constant discussions on fashion, Disney movies or any other dorky subject they'd been able to come up with, everything seemed to hit him that much harder.
His mind wandered to his dad and the fact that nothing still seemed to be improving and that was probably the most idiotic thing he could have done, because he found himself sobbing uncontrollably into the pillow within seconds. A nurse came in to check on him when she heard the noises coming from the room, but he just asked her to leave him alone.
Most of the next morning passed like that as well, only interrupted by the physical therapy. The highlight was that the physical therapist told him they could try to work on walking later that afternoon. Kurt actually managed to move his legs a little more now and he could manage to curl up a little better than he previously had. So by the time visiting hours rolled around he was curled up around one of the pillows, his face buried in the pillow.
There was a soft knock on the door and Kurt was about to turn around and as whoever it was to leave him alone, but before he had a chance there was a hand resting on his back as whoever it was had walked into the room. "I brought you a coffee…" Blaine's voice hesitantly drifted through the air. "I'm sorry… maybe you didn't want me to come by?" There was even more hesitation and uncertainty in that statement.
"Oh… " Kurt's voice was hoarse and he had to clear his throat to be able to even say anything at all. "No, it's alright." He added and managed to force a small smile as he looked up at Blaine. It wasn't convincing though, and Blaine reached out to wipe a few tears from Kurt's cheeks. "Kurt… what's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked and gently took a seat at the side of the bed. "No… nothing new… just having one of those days" Kurt tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal, but he knew his face was red and his eyes were puffy.
Slowly he pushed himself into a seated position and smiled reaching over to take one of the cups of coffee and then sipped it gently. "Sorry I'm a mess today… " He whispered and Blaine just shook his head. "Don't worry about it Kurt. You have every right to not be happy about the situation." His voice was soft and warm and the way it washed over Kurt made him feel a little better.
"The physical therapist said I could try walking today." He offered up as he smiled at Blaine and sipped his coffee. "They said they'd be back later." He continued and it earned a bright smile from Blaine.
"Kurt that's great!" Blaine said happily and beamed at Kurt. "Do you know when you're going to do that?" he asked and Kurt shook his head. "Uhm, no… I don't know… " Kurt knew he didn't sound super excited himself, mostly he was just nervous because he was so terrified of this going wrong and getting nothing but disappointment out of it. Most of all he wanted someone to come with him, someone he felt comfortable with, but his dad was still in a coma in the other room and he didn't want to take Carole away from him. His other friends were in school, and he really didn't want to inconvenience any of them.
Blaine was watching him closely and after a while he smiled and reached out to squeeze Kurt's hand. "Hey… it'll be alright, it's probably going to be hard, but you'll do alright, and even if it's not perfect the first try that doesn't mean it isn't going to get better." He said softly and Kurt just nodded, feeling a little numb. "Kurt? Do you want me to come with you? I have nothing better to do today and I mean if you'd rather not go alone. I can go and… be your cheerleader of sorts?" he offered with an amused smile on his lips.
Kurt giggled a little then smiled at Blaine. "I think having you as my cheerleader sounds like the best idea in the world." He said honestly and then blushed a little more. "But only if you're sure I'm not keeping you from anything else. I don't want to monopolize your time or anything." He added and Blaine just shook his head. The rest of the morning was spent talking about everything and anything again and with a lot of cuddling even though none of them seemed to be realizing they were doing it.
-TBC-
