A/N: Another fic featuring Cooper :)

Rating: Darker Themes, T

Cooper didn't do much these days.

He liked watching the flowers, or the grass and the bees – the dragonflies that skipped their way across the lilies. He sometimes liked to watch the children play. He wasn't really watching though. He'd see the colours and he might focus on them, but usually his eyes stayed glazed and dull.

His eyes were once a sparkling green, but they'd been reduced to grey orbs these days.

"Coop?" Blaine entered the room quietly – knowing that his brother hated loud sounds.

Blaine couldn't contain his excitement though, and he bounded into the room, stopping in front of Cooper's wheelchair with a bright smile.

Cooper saw him – his eyes flickered for a second, and his head followed the movement of Blaine's body. He recognized him – his voice, the colours his body made and the shape of him.

Blaine understood these signs now.

"I've got some news…" Blaine grinned, wheeling Cooper around so he was facing the bed.

Blaine jumped up onto the mattress, playing with his fingers as he mulled over what he was going to say. He was still in his blazer, and Cooper stared at the emblem, barely blinking.

"I met someone today at Dalton." He said softly, looking up into Cooper's eyes. "His name is Kurt Hummel."

Cooper blinked.

"He was…he's gay, like me. And he's been tormented at school…" Blaine smiled fondly. "He's a little like me…"

Cooper's fingers tightened around the arm rests, and Blaine quickly amended his statement.

"Hey, hey, they're not…it's not as bad." Blaine leant forward, touching Cooper's arm gently until his grip loosened. "But he's having trouble. I think…I've been thinking about going to school with him and seeing the people there…maybe I could talk to them?"

Cooper was still staring at his emblem. Blaine nodded to himself.

"School was good today. The Warblers did 'Teenage Dream' in the commons. We're going to be fantastic at Sectionals." Blaine went quiet, toying with a thread. "I kind of wish you could be there."

Blaine went silent again with a small sigh, and lay back against the mattress.

A knock on the door sent Blaine spiraling back to the room. He sat up, and a nurse poked her head in.

"Hey Blaine…" she greeted warmly. "It's time for another blood test, sorry."

Blaine smiled.

"That's alright. Is it okay if I stay with him?"

^.^

"Cooper, I kissed him!" Blaine exclaimed, bursting into his room.

Cooper was in bed this time, sitting up staring at his hands. He looked over at Blaine when he walked in, his eyes flicking to the loose curls in his hair. Blaine noticed.

"We kissed! And his hands were through my hair and it was perfect!"

Blaine's smile was about as wide as his face as he gushed, pacing the room with giant gestures and weird hops.

"I just…" Blaine slowed down and plopped into the wheelchair. "He was decorating Pav's casket today – remember how I told you he died? Yeah, well, he was sitting in the commons and I did my speech to him – the one I was practicing yesterday…and we kissed!"

Blaine gave a giddy laugh of delight and looked up to Cooper, where he was giving Blaine the slightest of smiles. Blaine's eyes widened and he danced to the bed, scrambling to give his brother a hug as tears filled his eyes.

"I knew you'd be happy."

Cooper didn't smile much anymore. It was kind of a big deal, and Blaine held his brother close, his eyes closed.

"I think you'd really like him. He's got a great sense of fashion, unlike myself." Blaine grinned. It had been two years since the incident, and without Cooper constantly putting him down, he'd learnt to do it to himself to compensate. "He's funny and smart, and gorgeous and…"

Blaine just smiled happily and sat back on his haunches, still on the bed.

"I just…I don't know if I should bring him in or not." Blaine said softly. "I don't know if you'd be able to…cope…with anyone else."

Cooper was still smiling – it hadn't faded, and Blaine took it as a good sign.

"I think I will…I mean…I love you Coop…and I want Kurt to know about you." Blaine fretted a little more. "But maybe I'll wait. I mean…we only just started dating."

^.^

For once, Blaine was weirdly quiet as he visited Cooper. He just sat on the bed with a wide grin. Cooper was unsettled – Blaine was rarely quiet – and his eyes flicked around the room at an alarming pace.

"Coop…" Blaine said softly, and his eyes settled. "You okay?"

"B-Blaine..." Cooper managed, and Blaine grinned.

"That's so good, Coop…you're speech is so good." He encouraged.

Cooper hadn't talked since the incident – the nurses had started on speech therapy – and after three months of it, it was finally working.

"S-s-s…Qu-Qu-iet." He whispered, and Blaine blushed.

"Something amazing happened Cooper, but I don't think you want to know." Blaine laughed.

"T-talk." He paused, and Blaine watched him try and force his mouth around the worlds. It almost killed Blaine to see him so reduced, but he knew he couldn't let it show on his face. "M-musi-c-cal…"

Blaine blushed again, and stared at the ground again, before finally taking a breath.

"We…Kurt and I…we did it…after the show." He couldn't look at Cooper. "I mean, West Side Story went amazingly…McKinley is so talented…and it went amazing…and remember how I got drunk…and…?"

Cooper managed a tiny nod and Blaine continued. "Well, I apologized and we went back to our place and…" he grinned.

Cooper was half-smiling again.

"H-Happy. F-for y-you."

Blaine grinned widely, shaking his head and toying with his fingers.

"What do you think about me bringing Kurt in to see you?"

Cooper hesitated, and Blaine was worried he'd gotten distracted – the train of thought getting lost within the trauma. But finally, Cooper nodded ever so slightly.

"B-Bl-Blaine…ha-happy. K-K-Kurt's…" he had to pause, his eyes fluttering closed. "G-good."

Blaine's eyes threatened to fill with tears as he grinned, moving up to hug his brother.

"You're the best brother in the world, okay?"

"O-O-Okay." Cooper managed softly, his hand twitching.

Blaine pulled back and took that hand, squeezing tightly.

^.^

Blaine hurried down the corridors of the hospital, nervously fidgeting.

"I didn't know your brother worked in a hospital." Kurt said in wonder, looking around at the hallways and rooms.

Blaine took a breath in. He hadn't exactly told Kurt the situation. He just told Kurt they were going to go meet him.

"Kurt…Cooper doesn't work here…"

Kurt stopped mid-step. "Oh, is he…sick?"

Blaine bit his lip. "Kind of. Look, Kurt, okay…" God, he was nervous. "I need to tell you what happened."

Kurt noted the seriousness of Blaine's tone, and he nodded.

"My dad…he's always been abusive. Even when he was sober. He used to hit Cooper and I…all the time…" Kurt's eyes widened.

They were always careful to not talk about Blaine's past – it was still fresh in his mind and Blaine generally didn't like talking about it.

But this was different.

"The Sadie Hawkins dance was…it was basically the start of the problems. I was in hospital for a while, and Cooper was the only one who knew that I was gay. Dad didn't know why I was beaten up, and we intended to keep it that way. But then Dad got drunk and started rambling to Coop about…about reasons why I was a target." Blaine's eyes closed, and Kurt took his hand. "Cooper got sick of it, and just told him I was gay…"

Kurt waited in silence, his mouth parted slightly.

"Dad was going to come to the hospital…to kill me, or beat me up…or something." Blaine waved his hand dismissively. "He was drunk, and Cooper was trying to stop him…so he tried to kill Cooper instead." Blaine's voice was quiet, and he was squeezing Kurt's hand. "Thank god for my mother…she came home…and Cooper was bleeding and dying and she just…she called the neighbours and the police and the ambulance and she saved him…"

Blaine swallowed hard, tears streaming down his cheeks. He wasn't aware when he started crying, but he took a shuddering breath and tried to continue.

"Coop's…he's basically a vegetable now. He was almost brain-dead…but they saved him and he's…it's like…everything in his brain is slow. He can't recognize the new nurses, and he used to have trouble keeping focus. They're…re-teaching him. They teach him to talk, and to read…but he can't walk…and he can't move much."

His words were disjointed with sobs now, and Kurt had moved to hug him, letting Blaine's chin rest on his shoulder.

"But…you're important to me…and he wants to meet you."

Kurt was silent for a little while, squeezing Blaine gently.

"Will he know who I am?"

Blaine managed a smile, wiping his tears. "Yeah. I talk about you every single day…"

Kurt nodded, taking Blaine's hand and squeezing it firmly. "Alright. Let's go meet him."

Blaine smiled nervously and nodded, leading Kurt the rest of the way to Cooper's room. He knocked gently and poked his head in the door. Kurt was nervous too – would he live up to Cooper's expectations?

"Coop? I've got Kurt with me today."

"B-Blaine." Cooper said softly, a tiny smile gracing his features.

Blaine stepped further into the room, gently pulling Kurt in with him.

Kurt was smiling the second he saw Cooper – it was Blaine with less curls and a more defined jaw.

"Hello Cooper." Kurt said softly.

"K-K-Kurt." Cooper said softly, and Kurt nodded, smiling at him.

Blaine didn't skip a beat, choosing a chair and sitting on it.

"I think I failed that test today Coop." Blaine said sadly. "I should've been studying while I was talking to you."

Kurt grinned, watching their interactions. Cooper was studying his brother, his eyes raking his figure. His eyes darted back and forth, until they finally flicked to Kurt.

"Blaine." Cooper managed his name the first time, and Blaine stopped mid-sentence.

"Yeah Coop?"

"M-make…s-su-sure…I…ge-get…t-to…y-y-y-your…we-wed-wedding…"