Chapter 22

Kurt swept the small clinic for the third time that day. With the winds picking up all morning and no rain for almost two weeks, it seemed that the floor was perpetually dusty. Kurt didn't mind though. He liked keeping things neat and orderly, which came in handy when helping out around Doctor Wilson's office. The doctor, while excellent at his profession, wasn't the tidiest person in the world. Kurt, however, liked to think that if the flu outbreak had never happened, he would have kept an immaculate home, perhaps in a New York City high-rise, a neat, peaceful haven stories above the exciting, bustling chaos of the streets below.

Besides that, it was a slow day. A slow week really. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises and a persistent cough or two, there hadn't been much activity. It was a good exercise for Kurt, to be content in the midst of utter non-excitement. And content he was; things with Blaine were progressing nicely. He hadn't had much trouble getting along with Blaine's wishes. Both of them found that date nights were not only possible, but also the most exciting part of the week. Since traditional dates of the past were out of the question, they both seemed to enjoy thinking of clever, romantic things to do on their dates. Blaine had treated Kurt to a picnic in one of Kurt's favorite treetops one day and Kurt put on a musical performance of the top songs on the radio prior to the outbreak the next week. Kurt finally felt like they were doing things in the right order this time. They were finally getting to know each over.

Kurt was broken out of his daydream by the sound of the screen door scraping open. Mid-sweep, he turned around and was surprised to find a familiar figure standing in the doorway.

"Marina!" he greeted her with a fair amount of surprise. "What are you doing here? Do you have that cough that's going around?"

"No, I-uh, I'm just here to see Doc, is he around?"

"Oh, no, he stepped out to grab a bite to eat a little while ago, but he should be back soon."

Kurt cocked his head slightly, troubled by the way Marina looked around nervously and wrung her hands. She had a look of quiet distress in her eyes that he hadn't seen since they arrived at New Lima together. "Why don't you have a seat while you wait?"

Marina nodded and sat down on one of the chairs along the wall.

"So how have you been?" Kurt asked casually, resuming his sweeping. He wanted to give Marina all of his attention, but he had a feeling that it would just make her clam up. He knew her well enough by now to figure that out.

"Oh, you know, pretty good."

"How's the gathering team treating you?"

"It's a lot of fun, usually. I ran into a patch of poison ivy last week though." She raised her forearm to her chest, exposing a slightly angry looking rash that extended from her wrist to her elbow.

"Ouch," Kurt winced. So that's why she's here, Kurt thought to himself, relaxing a bit. "That can't be fun. Especially in this heat."

"Yeah," Marina agreed. Just then, the screen door swung wide again and Wilson bustled through, still chewing the last bit of his lunch.

"Marina, there you are!" he greeted cheerfully, as if she had just arrived instead of him. He had a way about him that made people immediately feel at ease. Kurt could see the way Marina's shoulders immediately relaxed ever so slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Hi Doc," she greeted back with a small wave.

"How's that poison ivy treating you?"

"It still itches like crazy."

"Did you try the oatmeal paste?"

"Yes."

"How about the cucumber slices? I know it sounds weird, but it really does work."

"I'll try anything at this point," she grumbled, starting to scratch her arm before pulling away, remembering that it would only make it worse."

"Good girl," he said kindly, squeezing her shoulder. "Kurt, I need to talk to Marina for a few moments. Say, why don't you go see if you can snag a cucumber from the garden for Marina here? Take your time with it."

Kurt nodded and immediately went to put up the broom. He was confused about why the doctor would need to speak to Marina in private about her poison ivy, but it wasn't unusual for Wilson to send him out of the office during certain appointments. Kurt was halfway out of the door when Marina's voice stopped him.

"Can he stay?"

Kurt turned around and looked back and forth between Wilson and Marina. All of the sudden, Marina looked like a scared little girl again. The same little girl he met on the night of their escape from the old community.

"Are you sure you want that?" Wilson asked her gently.

Marina bit her lip and was quiet for a moment. She never took her eyes off of Kurt. Finally, she answered, "Yes, I want him to stay."

Wilson motioned to the only other chair in the room, right beside Marina. He searched Marina's face for answers, concern furrowing his brow. When he sat, Marina's gaze fell to her clasped hands in her lap. Instinctively, Kurt reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Do you want to tell him, or do you want me to?" Wilson asked her. The question confused Kurt even more. He was starting to become scared. He wanted nothing more than to scream at both of them and demand to be told what in the hell was going on, but he bit the inside of his cheek to stay quiet.

"I'll do it," Marina answered after a few moments. She drew in a shaky breath before continuing.

"I'm pregnant."

Kurt came back into Wilson's office after walking Marina back to her small room and sat back down in the chair he'd just been in for over an hour while he listened to Marina and the doctor talk with each other. His hand found his way to his mouth and stayed there while Wilson finished up his notes from the meeting.

"Are you okay, Kurt?" Wilson asked. Kurt's hand dropped to his lap and he shook his head, his gaze fixated on the floor in front of him.

"What am I going to tell Santana?" he muttered. The conversation was not going to go well, he already knew. The main reason she'd wanted to escape in the first place was to keep her sister from this exact situation and here they were anyway.

"You're not going to tell her anything," Wilson said firmly. "To do so would be a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality."

Kurt knew the rules. He shook his head, "But this is different, Doc. How am I supposed to act like everything is normal when it's not? I can't lie to her."

"It's not lying, Kurt," Wilson explained. "I know it's hard to understand, but your responsibility in this begins and ends with Marina. She has the right to expect privacy and confidentiality from her physician. And as my assistant, you agreed to the same."

Wilson was referring, of course, to the oath that he made Kurt both sign and speak aloud before he started working for him. So far it had made sense in every situation except this one. Sooner or later, Marina, who Wilson predicted was around eight weeks pregnant, would begin to show. Santana would know that Kurt knew, and Kurt was afraid of the fall out.

"You're right," Kurt finally relented. He couldn't believe the mess that Marina was in. Part of him wanted to go and punch this Jody kid square in the jaw for getting his friends little sister in trouble. At once, Kurt was repulsed by this thought. It seemed so antiquated; as if Marina was some damsel in distress in need of rescuing. But she was anything but that. Marina was strong, smart and resourceful. And if she said she was in love with this guy and that he was a good person, he would have to take her word for that.

"She's barely fifteen," he said quietly, almost disbelieving. "She's still a kid."

"In some ways, yes," Wilson agreed with him. "But she's also had to grow up very quick. All of you have, all of you kids of the outbreak. It's a different world now. You'd be surprised how many teens I've seen in this community travel the same path. And for the most part, they've all done a beautiful job."

Now that Kurt thought about it, it did seem like the young parents in the community were just that—young. That wouldn't matter to Santana though. None of those other teen parents was her little sister.

As Kurt left that night, he felt like he carried a one hundred pound weight on his shoulders. He trudged back to his room, wishing he could go dive into Blaine's arms, but knowing this was not one of their established nights together. Blaine thought it was important that at least half the week they slept in their own beds, separate from one another. Kurt had agreed readily to the condition at the time it was issued, but it seemed unfair to him now.

It didn't end up mattering much, though. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. It wasn't a restful sleep, but it past the time nonetheless. In the morning, he awoke still exhausted, but feeling a little bit better That night he would be reunited with Blaine. And in the meantime, he had to figure out how he was going to hide his knowledge about all of this from Blaine, after their no lies rule had been put into play.

"It's not lying," he reassured himself aloud, echoing Wilson's assurance. "It's not lying."