Is everything okay?
How is Kurt's dad?
Can I send food or something?
Seriously. I'll send all the food.
Blaine looked at the texts, unable to make himself reply.
Sweetie, it's Dana. How is everything?
Blaine couldn't exactly ignore David's mom, so he unlocked his phone and began to type.
He's been in surgery almost two hours. They should be giving an update soon.
Love you, sweetie. I'll give everyone an update, David's mom typed almost instantly.
Love you too. Thanks.
He slid his phone into his pocket and glanced at Kurt, who was rocking a sleeping Melody in his arms. It seemed to have calmed him down. The fact that he wouldn't let himself cry in front of Melody probably helped—Blaine knew that for himself, at least, sobbing uncontrollably always made him feel worse. Things seemed a bit more bearable when the crying was over.
"You okay?" Blaine whispered.
"As okay as I can be." Kurt whispered back.
Blaine stood and went to Carole, who had been just as quiet as Kurt.
"Can I get you water or coffee or something?"
Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. "I should be here."
"I'll go get it and bring it to you." Blaine offered a sad smile.
"No thank you." She shook her head.
Sit with her, Kurt mouthed. I'm fine.
Blaine took the seat next to Carole, putting his hand over hers.
"I wish Finn was here." She said softly.
"He's on his way." Kurt whispered, careful to not wake Melody.
"I know." She sniffled. "I'll just feel better when you're all here."
"Our flight was fast. An hour and ten minutes." Kurt reassured her.
Carole burst into tears. Kurt had been like a statue and now here he was, trying to comfort her.
"All four of you kids are just so wonderful." She cried, trying to be as quiet as she could. "This family is p-perfect and… I don't know."
Blaine moved to hug her (as much as he could, at least) when she covered her face.
"I'm here, Mom. I'm here." Finn ran over, one of his shoes even untied and some spit up on his shirt.
Blaine moved back, letting Finn take over.
"You've got spit up on your shirt." She said, somewhere between a laugh and a cry.
"I always do." Finn forced a laugh. "If I changed shirts every time it happened, I'd never have clean clothes to put on."
"You three boys." Carole sniffled after hugging Finn. "Burt and I always talk about how lucky we are to have you all. He's proud of all of you."
Kurt forced a smile, although hearing Carole cry had made him so… sad. He'd never seen or heard her cry—he really hadn't seen her upset excluding the pregnancy blurbs she'd sometime had. Kurt felt like protecting her but unfortunately the only thing that would help would be his dad pulling through the surgery.
Finn walked over. "Here, my turn."
"Thanks, Finn." Kurt forced another smile and shakily stood to pass her off.
"You okay?" Blaine asked, at his side almost instantly.
"Yeah. I just sat in that position too long, I guess." Kurt reassured him. "Carole, I'm going to run to the restroom."
Carole nodded.
Blaine followed him out of the waiting room.
Kurt leaned against a hallway wall taking a deep breath. "I'm so tired."
"You can try to sleep." Blaine whispered, stroking the underside of Kurt's arm to soothe him.
"I can't. Not until we know he's okay." Kurt whispered back, eyes following a nurse that was heading in another direction. The purple scrubs were so… blah. Everything about hospitals, especially ones in Cincinnati, were so blah.
"It's a long surgery… Three to six hours."
Tears filled Kurt's eyes and he took a deep breath.
Blaine tugged him outside. It was still dark out and they sat on a bench with a distant view of ambulances coming and going.
"I can't do this again." Kurt broke down in tears.
Blaine pulled Kurt to his chest, rocking back and forth.
"I-It was so h-hard t-taking care of him. H-He was so sick a-a-and—"
"Shh."
"I'm not ready to lose him." Kurt began to sob, harder than Blaine had seen him sob before.
"Get it out. It's okay." Blaine continued to rock him, kissing his hair every so often. "It's okay, Kurt. It's okay. I love you so much. It's okay."
Kurt clenched Blaine's tshirt in his fist, pulling Blaine closer and crying into his shoulder to try to keep others from hearing. He didn't want anyone else to see him completely breaking down. He only trusted Blaine enough.
"I love you so much. It's okay." Blaine kissed his hair, rocking. "It's okay, Kurt. It's okay."
It must have been the same thing for nearly twenty minutes before Kurt settled down.
"It's okay." Blaine whispered, hand moving to stroke his hair.
"Thank you." Kurt choked out. "Thank you for being here a-and for being you."
"Thank you for being here and being you." Blaine murmured, kissing the top of his head.
"He's out."
Kurt hopped up, hearing Finn's voice. He wiped his face. "What'd they say?"
"Nothing yet. They're waiting on you." Finn said. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Kurt wiped his face again, looking to Blaine.
"Let's go."
…
"I thought he was waiting for me." Kurt said anxiously about ten minutes later.
They were in an office very similar to the one he'd been in last time but it seemed much smaller—probably because it was he, Carole, Blaine, Finn, and a sleeping Melody.
"The nurse said he was checking on Burt and would be up right after." Carole whispered, patting his hand. "Finn, we can put Melody down."
"I've got it, mom. I'm used to not being able to feel my arms by now." Finn said.
Blaine couldn't help but snort which made Carole crack a smile.
"I didn't mean it that way but it's true." Finn looked sheepish.
"Poor Rachel. Will she be okay all alone?" Carole asked.
"You can't keep Quinn, Mercedes, and Santana out of the house since the baby was born. She's fine." Finn shifted Melody's weigh to his other side.
They fell silent when the door opened and a middle-aged man in scrubs came in—the same doctor that took Burt down to surgery in front of Kurt and Blaine.
"He's doing good." He started before even having the door closed.
"Thank God." Carole let out a long sigh. "Thank God."
"It's not going to be easy but for his age and this being his second heart attack, I was nervous going in, but I don't think it could have gone better. We finished earlier than normal if that tells you anything. There wasn't quite as much damage which could very well have saved his life." The doctor sat behind the desk.
"So, uhm, last time he wasn't here very long after." Kurt said.
"Four days, yes." The surgeon nodded. "That was partial blockage and he was considerably younger. He'll be in here longer for sure… two weeks at least but we'll have to see how he's doing. The next few days will be telling."
"Is he awake?" Carole asked. "If he is, we'd like to be with him."
"It'll probably be two to four hours before he wakes but we can talk about that. He's in the ICU now for his post-op watch. He's being closely monitored."
"And they'll call you if anything is wrong, I know." Kurt said. "But what's going to happen?"
"I remember you." The guy gave him a kind smile. "Your son is very to the point."
Carole put her hand on Kurt's thigh and squeezed.
"It's different than last time because he had surgery, so I want to give you an idea of what you'll see. It looks very scary but if you know what it is, it helps. He's on a ventilator helping him breathe—once he's been awake for an hour or two and we're sure he can breathe on his own, we'll take that out. There's going to be a tube going from his nose to his stomach so there is no bloating. He'll have a catheter, so we can closely monitor his urine—he did have that last time. There will be chest tubes to prevent fluid accumulating in the chest cavity; it drains stuff out. Once there is no drainage, they come out. There is a plastic needle in the artery of his arm so we can monitor his blood pressure and get blood samples without sticking him with needles so many times."
Kurt had most of that stuff after his lung surgery, Blaine thought. This surgeon clearly didn't know they'd seen most of this. Nor that Blaine and Burt had gotten this same talk several years ago—nearly word for work. Like it was rehearsed… it probably was.
"Tomorrow we will have him on a clear liquid diet and may be able to give him some solid foods if he can handle it. He'll be moved out of the ICU and into his own room where he'll stay. Usually the day after tomorrow we would have him stand up and try to walk two to three times a day. It was a serious heart attack though, so we'll have to go from there."
"Shortest time he could be here?" Kurt asked.
"If he does excellent, I would be comfortable with a week." The doctor answered.
"Longest?"
"A month."
Carole's mouth dropped.
"Different people heal at different speeds. We'll have more of an idea once we hit the three day post-op mark for Burt. The important thing is he's not going to die. He will be able to fully recover from the heart attack this morning and that's what I encourage you all to focus on as a family."
"Can I see him?" Kurt stood up.
"We'd like to limit it to one or two people for now. I think it would scare your daughter though." The doctor looked between Kurt and Finn.
Blaine put his hand over his mouth, trying to keep his expression unreadable. He couldn't tell which was funnier—Finn's cluelessness to the situation or Kurt's horrified facial expression.
"How long ago did you two get her?" The doctor asked.
"Uh, I dunno… Almost six years?" Finn looked at Kurt, confused. "Right?"
"You two adopted awful young."
"I'm going to stop you here. Finn is my brother and Melody is my sister. Blaine, back there hiding his face, is my partner. And you don't get a human. You adopt them." Kurt sighed.
"It's okay. We won't bring her in." Carole stood before Kurt could get any more worked up. "But after he's been moved to his own room, can she see him?"
"Of course." The doctor made a beeline for the door. "A nurse will bring two of you up in a minute."
"Kurt, you really don't have much patience for doctors in Ohio." Carole whispered as she grabbed her purse.
"Well anyone that pegs Blaine straight in that shirt he's wearing probably shouldn't be asking when anyone got a human." Kurt retorted.
Carole patted his arm, leading them out.
"You and Kurt should go first, Mom." Finn said, passing Melody off to Blaine who she was sleepily reaching for.
"That's fine." Carole nodded, going over and rubbing Melody's back as she fell back asleep. "Finn, could you call Burt's parents? They're probably awake by now. Let them know he can't have visitors for a while but we'll keep them updated."
"Sure, Mom." Finn nodded.
"And make sure Rachel's okay. If he's out of the worst of it and she needs you…"
"I want to stay for a while." Finn interrupted.
"Of course you do." She touched Finn's cheek as a nurse came up.
"Take a deep breath before you go in." Blaine said, remembering how scared he'd been seeing all those machines on Kurt. "It's a lot at first."
"Thank you." Kurt whispered, making eye contact.
"I love you." Blaine forced a smile.
"I love you too." Kurt attempted to force one back but didn't quite succeed.
"We'll be out soon, boys." Carole said and put her hand on Kurt's back. "Are you ready, hon?"
"Yeah."
…
"I don't think I can do this."
Carole looked at Kurt, who was looking through the window to where his father was. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
"Oh my God." Kurt turned the other way, looking like he was going to be sick.
He didn't know what it was—remembering waking up with that ventilator down his throat in the ICU so many years ago or the image of seeing his father like that. Knowing how horrible and uncomfortable it felt; how much it hurt to get it out of your body and how long it took to talk or drink without your throat burning.
"Hon, you don't have to do it."
Kurt kneeled over, beginning to throw up.
"Kurt, sweetie…" Carole bent down, wrapping an arm around him and making soothing noises until he finished.
As soon as he was done, a janitor was mopping it away without a word—like it happened every day, maybe even multiple times a day. Having a violent bodily reaction to seeing someone you love with tubes big and small going throughout a loved one's body.
"I really hate hospitals." Kurt whimpered, wiping his mouth as the janitor moved on.
"I know, hon. I know." Carole hugged him and then grabbed his hand. "Let's go see him, okay?"
Kurt nodded and followed Carole into the 'room' Burt was in.
She let out a soft sigh, sitting in one of the two chairs by the bed. Kurt followed suit but looked anywhere but the bed. But when he looked at other beds in the ICU they had other people too with the same machines and the same worried family members.
"I worked in a hospital once." Carole said quietly, looking at Kurt. "When I actually practiced nursing."
"You were a nurse?" Kurt asked, turning his attention to her.
"Yeah." She nodded. "It wasn't for me. This part here always got to me… more so than the other nurses, I guess."
"I couldn't do something like this." Kurt spoke softly, glad for the distraction.
"It takes a certain type of person." Carole agreed.
"How long did you do it?" Kurt asked.
"Until Finn was three. It took its toll so I resigned. One of the nurses I worked with is married to the doctor that runs the office I work at now. The experience helped there but I didn't have to get involved with patients. It works well." She forced a smile.
Kurt glanced back up at Burt, a sinking feeling in his stomach every time he saw the tube going down his throat. Knowing what it was doing… that without it, his father could die.
He tried hard not to have flashbacks to when he got the tube taken out—he'd had a tough time with it. Burt had been right there, though, half on the bed behind him, messing with his hair and grunting that Kurt could do it until it was over. And then he'd said how proud he was of Kurt and had kissed the top of his head.
"It's hard not to think about it, isn't it?" Carole whispered.
"I don't want to."
"I'm thinking about it too." She admitted. "I'm sorry you're back here again."
"I'm sorry you're back here again too." Kurt whispered back, letting his body relax into the chair.
"We'll get through this." Carole looked at Burt as she spoke. "He's not leaving us yet, Kurt. I promise."
Kurt nodded when Carole looked back at him. He was surprised when Carole took his hand in hers and more surprised when it felt like a load was taken off his shoulders.
…
"Hey, kid."
Blaine, who was sitting next to Burt's bed several hours later, looked up from his tablet. Since Kurt was fast asleep in the chair next to him and the others had made a quick run to the house, he'd figured he should work on some stuff.
He instantly stood, going closer. "How do you feel? Should I get a doctor?"
"Upgraded my room finally, did they?" Burt attempted to joke but ended up coughing a bit.
"Yeah and then everyone else abandoned you." Blaine joked back.
Burt glanced over at Kurt, who must have been very tired to sleep in the scrunched-up position he was in.
"I tried to get him to sleep in the supposed-to-be couch but he wasn't having it." Blaine explained. "Carole will be back soon. She was taking Finn and Melody home. Finn's going to stay overnight with Mellie and bring her back in the morning."
"Which morning?" Burt asked hoarsely.
"You had surgery at 8 this morning and it's been about 12 hours, so Saturday morning." Blaine explained. "Do you want some water?"
Burt nodded.
Blaine poured some in the glass and helped Burt drink from it—he'd had lots of practice when Kurt was in here.
"Thanks." Burt made eye contact.
"You're welcome." Blaine said, not exactly sure if Burt was talking about the drink or earlier—knowing Burt was asking Blaine to take care of Kurt in the event he died without Burt even having to get the words out and reaffirming when Burt had said them anyway.
"I meant it all." Burt rasped. "Every word, Blaine. I'd do anything for you. You're just like Kurt and Finn to me. I love you."
"I know." Blaine nodded, eyes suddenly very wet but unable to say I love you too back. Not yet. "Me too."
Burt reached up, ruffling Blaine's hair a bit. "I've always wanted to do it. Figured now that we know each other's true feelings, I'm allowed."
Blaine let out a watery laugh and wiped his eyes.
Burt grinned a bit and it grew when he looked to the door.
"You're awake." Carole smiled, coming over.
"Don't worry. My child's too asleep to take care of me, but Blaine stepped up to the plate." Burt joked.
"He's not been too excited has he, Blaine?" Carole asked.
"No." Blaine shook his head.
Carole bent down and kissed the top of Burt's head. "Kurt has been out since they moved you in here a few hours ago."
"He wanted to make sure you came off of the ventilator okay and were able to be moved up." Blaine added.
"I'd tell him to go home but he wouldn't." Burt said, squeezing Carole's hand. "You're so beautiful."
"Stop." Carole laughed. "I look horrible. You just think that because you're drugged. Get some more rest."
Blaine took his previous seat, smiling to himself. Burt was always telling Carole how pretty she looked even if she'd just woken up or had been cooking for Thanksgiving all day. It was sweet—especially how her face would light up every time.
"I will." Burt sighed. "If Kurt wakes up, tell him to go to the house and get some real sleep."
"You know he won't." Carole took the chair closest to him holding his hand.
"I'm his dad. Gotta say it even if he's not listened to me since he was ten." Burt chuckled a bit and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, when Carole was convinced Burt was asleep, she looked over at Blaine. They hadn't had a real moment alone since—well, since before he'd gone to Harvard.
"Sorry. It's my professor." Blaine whispered suddenly and then exited the room.
Of course Blaine would be contacting his professors on a weekend… and of course Blaine was likeable enough that they'd actually respond. It was no surprise that he'd contacted people already, either. He was very on top of things. He and Kurt both.
He stepped back into the room and quietly closed the door behind him so he wouldn't wake Burt.
"Everything okay?" she smiled.
"Yeah. I can at least stay through Wednesday at this point." Blaine fell back into his chair and yawned.
"How is school?"
"Almost over." Blaine responded, laughing a bit.
"You'll get some rest over summer." She turned towards him some more.
"I don't know how much. I'm working this summer too." He laughed again and then rubbed his face. "They offered me a job once I pass the bar."
"Blaine!" she exclaimed (as quietly as she could, being in a hospital). "Hon, that is so good!"
"Part of me wishes they'd waited until graduation so I could catch up on sleep this summer." Blaine admitted. "I'm mostly joking."
She reached over, squeezing his thigh. "I'm so proud of you. We knew you could do it."
Blaine's smile turned sheepish. "Thanks."
"What have you been up to? Anything exciting outside of work?"
"No. I even got roped into doing orientations for new law students this summer." He covered his face. "I can't say no."
"It's an excellent quality." She beamed. "Congratulations, Blaine. Really. When everything is settled down we'll have to throw a party. If you have time."
Blaine laughed again. "I probably won't."
She squeezed his thigh again. "Did you have a good birthday? Kurt told us he was going to surprise you."
"Yeah." Blaine got a silly smile on his face. "He's so sweet. I had no idea. I planned on just studying and eating girl scout cookies."
This time Carole laughed but not loud enough to wake Burt or Kurt. "You have to learn to tell them no. I know they're cute."
"It was late on the last day of the thing and there were so many and they just looked so excited when I even stopped… I shouldn't have stopped." Blaine shook his head.
"Where did Kurt take you?"
"I didn't want to go anywhere really so we walked around some and then just laid in my bed watching movies until my friend Adrian and his boyfriend came for dinner and cake." Blaine shrugged. "It was really nice, though. I like birthdays a lot more than when I was at home."
Carole nodded. "Did David come?"
"He couldn't make it. He was on call and it was too busy to let him go." Blaine shrugged. "I'll see him soon, though. We never let too long go between birthdays without seeing each other."
"Good." Carole smiled. "Are you and Kurt doing okay?"
"Yeah." Blaine gave another sheepish smile. "It's been great. We're doing really, really well. The whole thing feels… I just love him so much."
"You two are head over heels." Carole shook her head. "He loves you very much too, Blaine."
"I know." Blaine said, who could have very well had literal hearts in his eyes. Because that was Blaine when it came to Kurt, after all. Heart eyes and love.
Carole smiled at him.
"He's my person." Blaine glanced at Kurt, who had shifted a bit and let out the tiniest of snores.
"Well he's a good one." Carole looked over as the door opened. "What's this?"
"The Thompson family sent over flowers and some cookies." A nurse smiled, sitting them on a small table and going to check on Burt's vitals.
"David's family." Blaine said, feeling the sudden urge to cry.
"How sweet!" Carole went to the table and looked at the flowers and cookies closer. "That is just so sweet. We've never even met them!"
"They're really good people." Blaine went over to look too, seeing David's mother's pretty script on the card. "They played a really significant role in raising me. I… lived with them and Wes' parents on and off after some stuff happened. They were all really good to me when not a lot of other adults were."
Carole did not ask questions, just smiled and squeezed his arm a bit. "You should call them."
"I will soon." Blaine promised and then fell silent for several moments.
"We were so glad you still came to holidays, Blaine." Carole said. "We all missed talking to you weekly when you and Kurt first fell out and Burt worries about you just as much as Finn and Kurt. Especially after that first visit to Harvard."
"That was a, uhm, really bad week." Blaine said softly.
"I wanted to call but we didn't know that you wanted us to as much as we used to… and we didn't want to hurt you." Carole frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't check on you after that visit, though."
"It's fine but can we maybe not talk about that?" Blaine picked at a loose thread in his sweater, trying to push Preston and that whole hellish week out of his mind.
He knew Carole had no idea what had happened, just that he was upset, but he didn't want those thoughts to even try to resurface.
"Of course." Carole patted his leg. "Tell me about the good stuff. Kurt says you have a new roommate."
"Yeah." Blaine perked up a bit. "She's awesome. Wes is actually dating her now which was only a surprise to them."
Carole laughed.
"They always share the same room, though, so AJ and I have been trying to talk Adrian into moving in with us. His roommates just got engaged and he never wants to be there anyway." Blaine explained. "And coincidentally AJ and Adrian went to Boulder together and met in a sign language course and have been best friends since their freshman year. Well, if they're not best friends they're pretty close to it."
"He is the one that you always partner up with?" Carole asked.
"Yeah and we have the internship together too, plus we're in the same study group. May as well live together, right?" Blaine laughed a bit.
"It would be a way to save money." Carole agreed. "How's your brother doing? Are you two still talking?"
"He's actually moving back to the states once his wife has their second baby which really could happen any time within the next six weeks. He's looking in Rhode Island so we've seen each other every time he's been in the states." Blaine nodded. "They're doing really good."
"Wow, I didn't think you two would get that close but that's wonderful."
"It's comfortably close I think." Blaine said, feeling completely at ease again. "Plus, we bond over the mutual hatred of our parents. Only my parents don't hate him quite as much as they hate me, sooo…"
Carole shook her head. "Well your parents are insane to feel anything but love and acceptance towards you."
Blaine shrugged.
"Do you think they'll come around?" she asked. They'd touched on his parents before in passing but nothing to this extent.
"If they did, I wouldn't be there to know it. They did some pretty horrible things."
"Finn told me about the camp." Carole admitted. "That was before we were closer and I never… wanted to bring it up. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault or… anybody's but theirs, really." Blaine chewed on his lip. "I think they did me a favor, though. If they hadn't treated me as badly as they did, I never would have ended up in Dalton. I met my two best friends there and I ended up meeting Kurt. As much as it sucks, I think it got me exactly where I'm supposed to be."
Carole looked sad but smiled.
"How is Melody doing?"
"She's doing very well in all of her classes. She's reading at a fourth-grade level." Carole's smile grew. "I think she's going to be a lot like Kurt was as a child, though."
Blaine glanced at Kurt, who was still fast asleep, and snorted. "I don't know. I've heard pretty funny stories from Burt of how he was growing up."
"He had the largest mall in the state of Ohio shut down for four hours when he was seven. I don't think I could handle Melody doing something like that when I'm this age." Carole laughed. "Twenty two is different but once you pass forty…"
"Wait, he did what?" Blaine tilted his head.
"Burt didn't have all of the details but the police department was involved. Kurt was with Taylor and Paige when it happened but apparently Andy cracks jokes about it every holiday." Carole shrugged.
"I really need to know how this whole thing went down." Blaine looked thoughtful.
"Kurt says he doesn't remember it, so you may have to wait until the next big holiday and ask his aunts." Carole laughed a bit.
"If Kurt shut down an entire mall he remembers." Blaine scoffed. "I will get this information before the week is out, Carole."
Carole laughed once again. "I'm counting on you, then. I think we could all use a good laugh."
Blaine flashed a smile and then stood. "Horrible hospital coffee?"
"Sure." She smiled. "Thank you, hon. Do you need money for it?"
"Carole, it's almost summer. I have like $12 left of my last school loan left so I think I've got it covered." Blaine winked and left before she could reach for her wallet.
***LTC***
"Morning, squirt."
Kurt blinked his eyes open, cramped and uncomfortable in the hospital chair.
"Don't call me squirt, Dad." He whined, stretching his limbs out. He sat up straight and looked at the room—right, they were in the hospital. How long had he been asleep? Morning?
He vaguely remembered his father being moved into a regular room. He also remembered puking his pizza from Friday night all over the ICU hallway floor which obviously wouldn't be a highlight of his life. Past those two things, he wasn't clear on too much else.
"Get some good sleep?" Burt chuckled.
Kurt clambered over and bent down, very carefully hugging his dad.
"I'm okay, kid. I'm gonna be okay." Burt mumbled into Kurt's ear, raising an arm to rub up and down Kurt's back a time or two.
"Dad, it's not good." Kurt pulled back. "It was—."
"I know. I've talked to the doctor. It's not good but I'm gonna be okay." Burt said.
"I missed the doctor?" Kurt sighed.
"He said he'd be in to go over it all in 'extensive detail' later." Burt chuckled a bit and then coughed.
"Good." Kurt responded, either not catching Burt's sarcasm or choosing to ignore it. "Where's Blaine?"
"He took Mel for a walk around the block. She was getting restless." Burt said, starting to get a bit breathless. "Listen, Kurt."
"Are you okay?" Kurt asked sharply.
"I need you to know…" Burt paused.
"Dad?" Kurt's stomach dropped.
"That Blaine is my new favorite." Burt grinned.
"Dad, that's not funny." Kurt's face fell.
"Come on. Sit by me." Burt gestured for Kurt to sit next to him on the bed, much more serious.
"Please don't joke right now. I can't handle it. I'm exhausted and scared and…"
"I'm sorry, Kurt." Burt looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry you had to come here and I'm sorry for the things I had to tell you but I was scared."
Tears filled Kurt's eyes just thinking about it.
"I never wanted to have to say those things to you… especially not now. I wanted to sit you kids down in twenty years with Carole's and my will in hand with you telling me to quit acting crazy but this happened again and here we are." Burt sighed.
Kurt nodded, wiping his eyes.
"And for so long it was me and you, kid. The thought of leaving you alone has scared me more than anything my entire life. Where would you go, what would happen…" Burt took a deep breath. "But I need you to know what it meant to me when you showed up that night with Blaine by your side because I'm not scared anymore… if something were to happen."
"Dad…" Kurt shook his head and sniffled.
"Yesterday Blaine knew. I didn't have to say a word and he knew."
"I know." Kurt started to cry again because he had understood the non-conversation that had happened the morning before the surgery between his father and partner. "He already does, though, Dad. He takes care of m-me in so many ways and…"
"Kurt, you're not going to find someone better. Never. I meant it—he's more than I ever could have wanted for you. The way you two love each other. I'm so damn glad you're with the guy I walked in on hung over in your bed."
Kurt couldn't help but laugh, sure his face looked a horrible mess. "I thought there was no chance for him after that."
"Me too, kid." Burt shook his head.
"There isn't anyone better, Dad." Kurt shook his own head, picking at a loose thread on the hospital blanket. "If soul mates exist, he's mine."
"It meant a lot, though." Burt said after a few minutes of silence.
Kurt, who had been replaying the conversation back in his head, sniffed and nodded. "It meant a lot to me too."
Burt coughed a bit, taking a cup of water that Kurt had ready before the coughing had even stopped.
"You should try to get more rest, Dad."
"I'll be getting plenty of rest. I want to talk to you." Burt took a drink of the water and then handed the cup back to Kurt.
"What?" Kurt set the cup back down on the table.
"I'm gonna be okay. Take a few days and then go back to school." Burt said.
"Dad, I'm not leaving." Kurt's voice was firm.
"I'm going to be in here a few weeks, Kurt. The year is almost done and you're doing too damn good to pull out because of a silly little—"
"Serious, rather large heart attack." Kurt interrupted.
"Carole is perfectly capable of taking care of me." Burt held up a hand to silence Kurt. "You finish the semester and then you can come home. But I don't want to this get in the way of school. You've been offered how many sponsorships since Christmas, Kurt?"
"Three total but I'm not even interested in any of them, Dad." Kurt crossed his hands over his chest but sat back in his chair. "And Blaine doesn't know about the last two, so don't say anything."
"I won't tell Blaine but I think you should. And if you don't like the offers, that's alright but you're not going to be stuck in Lima, Ohio when the one that you want does come up." Burt coughed again.
Kurt hopped up again, cup in hand. "You're getting stressed out."
"Stay a few days and go back to school, Kurt. Carole may be alone with me for a week if that. She used to be a nurse. She can handle it." Burt looked Kurt in the eyes. "But you are not to leave school early. Can you promise me that?"
"What if it's worse than they think?" Kurt asked.
"Then I'll be in the hospital a little longer, so you'll have more time to work with."
"I want to be here." Kurt stared at Burt, not blinking.
"I want you here too, kid, but school is important. These opportunities keep coming up for you and you're doing so damn well. School has to come first. There's nothing you can even do here. If I was really bad off it'd be one thing, but the surgery went much better than they thought it would. I'm going to be okay."
Kurt swallowed hard, tears filling his eyes.
"I'm not saying I don't want you there taking care of me. I just don't want you there until you can be." Burt reached out and grabbed Kurt's hand. "Alright?"
"I'm heading home after my last final presentation." Kurt sniffed, nodding. "But I really can stay."
"You can't and I won't let you." Burt shook his head and then reached up, patting Kurt's cheek. "You are definitely your mother's son."
Kurt pulled back and wiped his eyes, swallowing hard.
"It's just a few weeks and you'll call me every day anyway." Burt gave Kurt a tired smile. "It'd help me rest better if you told me you won't come back until summer."
"I won't come back until summer." Kurt grabbed Burt's hand and squeezed it tightly. He felt a little better when Burt returned the squeeze, just as tightly. "Get some sleep, Dad."
Burt nodded, loosening his grip on Kurt's hand. "I love you, squirt."
"I love you too, Dad." Kurt sat back against the chair and sniffled.
How was he going to make it through the rest of the school year without taking care of his dad? And how was he going to break the news to Blaine that he probably wouldn't be 'essentially' moving down to Cambridge during the summer?
They'd figured everything else out, though, so he knew they'd be okay.