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Kurt Hummel was sitting in his French class when Mr. Schuester and Miss Pillsbury pulled him out. He got up and followed them to the guidance office with a questioning look.
“Is everything okay?” He asked, concerned by their somber demeanor.
“Kurt, honey, why don’t you take a seat,” the counselor suggested.
Kurt and the glee club director sat in the chairs in front of Miss Pillsbury’s desk, and the counselor stood in front of them, leaning back on the desk.
“Kurt, we just received some bad news,” Mr. Schue started.
“What? Did something happen?”
Emma sighed, “Your dad had a heart attack and is at the hospital.
Kurt felt like the world had stopped spinning, “I’m sorry?”
“We’ve been permitted to take you out of school and bring you to the hospital, is that something you’d like to do?”
“My dad, is he…?”
“We don’t know,” Will said, “They couldn’t tell us anything over the phone.”
Tears welled up in Kurt’s eyes as he sat frozen in his chair. He looked up and saw Miss Pillsbury offering him a tissue. He accepted it gratefully, rubbing at his eyes. He felt Mr. Schue’s large hand rub his shoulder gently.
“Do you want us to take you to see him?” The teacher asked.
Kurt nodded, knowing that if he said anything, he’d probably start crying. Emma and Will brought him to his locker to grab his bag since they didn’t know how long they’d be gone. Once they checked out in the office, they got into Emma’s car and drove to the hospital, staying quiet the whole way there.
After a while of sitting and waiting, a doctor finally came out to update them on Burt’s condition. Burt was in a coma, and there was no way of telling if or when he would wake up, which scared Kurt greatly. The doctor brought them all back to Burt’s room, telling them not to be frightened by all of the tubes and wires.
Miss Pillsbury and Mr. Schue gave Kurt some time alone with his father, stepping out into the hall but keeping an ear on the boy just in case he needed anything.
“Dad, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand,” Kurt said quietly, holding his dad’s limp hand tightly.
After a moment of silence, Kurt repeated himself, hoping that his dad could hear him. After five minutes of his father not responding, Kurt started to get hysterical.
“Dad? Please, dad, squeeze my hand,” He said as tears started to make their way down his face, “Daddy? Please wake up, you can’t leave me, you can’t!”
Will and Emma came running back into the room upon hearing Kurt’s cries for his father. Will took the sobbing boy into his arms, hugging him tightly as Emma stood next to them rubbing Kurt’s back. As Kurt broke down, the adults looked at each other, feeling bad for the poor boy.
“Why won’t he wake up? Why wouldn’t he squeeze my hand?” Kurt cried into his teacher’s shoulder.
Neither WIll nor Emma knew what they could say to the boy to calm him down. They wished they could provide him with some answers, but they also didn’t know why Burt wouldn’t wake up. They felt horrible, not being able to give Kurt some comfort.
Kurt managed to calm down, although he was still crying. Mr. Schue tried to get him to sit down in the chair next to Burt’s bed, but the boy clung to him, refusing to let go. Will decided to let him be, sensing that he clearly needed some form of physical comfort.
“Kurt, honey, do you have anyone else you want us to call? Maybe one of your friends or relatives?” Emma asked.
Kurt looked up at her with glassy eyes, “Can you call Blaine?”
“Who’s Blaine?”
“My boyfriend, can you call him from my phone though? He won’t answer if it’s someone he doesn’t know,” Kurt mumbled, sniffling quietly.
Will and Emma looked at each other in shock. Neither of them knew Kurt had a boyfriend, he never mentioned it. They couldn’t help but wonder why.
“Of course, can I have your phone?”
Kurt dialed Blaine’s number and passed the phone to Emma, who went out in the hall to talk to Blaine. Kurt tucked his face safely back into Mr. Schue’s shoulder and closed his eyes as his tears continued to fall. Will heard him let out a small whimper, so he tightened his arms around him.
“It’ll be okay, Kurt,” He said.
Kurt didn’t respond, he just shook his head and looked at his dad, wishing he would wake up soon.
Out in the hallway, Emma waited for Blaine to answer the phone. He did after the third ring.
“Hey, Kurt!” He said cheerfully.
“Um, hi, Blaine, right?”
“Yes, this is he. May I ask who’s calling? Is Kurt okay?” Blaine asked, confused as to why someone else was calling from Kurt’s phone.
“My name is Emma Pillsbury, I’m the guidance counselor at William McKinley High School. Kurt’s father is in the hospital, and Kurt asked if I could give you a call.”
“What?! Is Burt okay?! Is Kurt okay?!”
Emma sighed, “Kurt’s upset and wanted to know if you could come to the hospital. I understand that you probably have school, so-”
“I’m not at school, Dalton had a teacher’s conference today and gave us all the day off. What hospital are you at?” Blaine asked.
“Lima Memorial, I can wait in the lobby for you if you’d like,” Emma suggested.
“Yes please, that’d be great. I’m on my way, I should be there in a half-hour. Please try to keep him calm, Kurt passes out sometimes when he gets really overwhelmed. It hasn't happened in a while though, but there's always a chance.”
“He does? Oh goodness, I didn’t know that.”
“Where is he now? Can I talk to him?”
“He’s with Mr. Schuester,” Emma said, “I can put him on the phone if he’s up for it.”
“Yes, please. I need to talk to him.”
Emma hurried back into Burt’s room, where Kurt was still nestled in Will’s arms quietly sniffling. He looked up when he saw his counselor standing next to them, holding his phone out.
“Blaine wants to talk to you,” She said, handing the phone over.
Kurt clutched the phone in his hand as he answered, “Blaine?”
“Kurt, baby, what happened? Are you okay?”
“My dad… he’s in a coma. He won’t wake up,” Kurt said as he began to cry again.
“Shh, don’t cry, okay? Take a deep breath, don’t work yourself up. I’m on my way right now, so stay with your teachers until I get there.”
“Please hurry, I need you,” Kurt cried quietly into the phone, “Please.”
“I’ll be there in a half-hour, baby. I have to hang up now so I can drive, okay? I love you,” Blaine said.
“Love you, too.”
Kurt hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He closed his eyes as his tears continued to fall, feeling Mr. Schue rub his hand on his shoulder soothingly. Kurt was glad that his teachers were with him because he didn’t think he’d be able to get through this alone. He just hoped Blaine would get there quickly.
Twenty-five minutes later, Blaine came bursting into the hospital room with Miss Pillsbury following closely behind. For the first time in almost an hour, Kurt left Mr. Schue’s embrace and threw himself at Blaine, sobbing into the crook of his neck. Blaine guided him over to the chair beside Burt’s bed and sat down, pulling Kurt onto his lap. He gently rocked his boyfriend back and forth as he combed his fingers through Kurt’s soft chestnut hair.
“I want my dad,” Kurt choked out, nestling himself closer to Blaine.
“I know, baby, I know,” Blaine whispered, dropping a kiss onto the older boy’s forehead.
After a few minutes, Kurt managed to stop sobbing and the only sounds that could be heard in the room were his soft hiccups and the beeping machines that were attached to Burt. Since Blaine thought Kurt had fallen asleep, he figured he might as well talk to Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury, who were in the corner of the room on their phones. Blaine went to scoop Kurt up in his arms so he could stand up and place him on the chair, but Kurt bolted upright and clung to Blaine like a koala, startling him and the adults in the room.
“Don’t let me go, please don’t let me go,” Kurt mumbled frantically.
Blaine shifted the boy in his arms so they could be face-to-face. He reached his hand up to cup Kurt’s cheeks, wiping away his tears as he leaned their foreheads together.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby. I promise. I won’t let you go until you want me to, okay?”
Kurt nodded, brushing his nose up against Blaine’s. Blaine smiled, pressing a quick kiss onto Kurt’s lips. When they broke apart, Blaine held his boyfriend close, humming quietly to try to put him to sleep. Once Blaine was certain that Kurt was asleep, he turned his attention to the two adults.
“Excuse me?”
They looked up at him with questioning eyes.
“I feel like I should formally introduce myself. My name’s Blaine Anderson. I’d offer to shake your hands but, um-”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Blaine. I'm Will Schuester, his glee club director,” Mr. Schue said as he stepped forward.
“It's nice to meet you. So, what happened to Burt? I don’t really know the details, but I saw him yesterday and he seemed fine.”
“He had a heart attack at work this morning,” Emma said, “We pulled Kurt from class as soon as we found out.”
“Did the doctors say anything about when he’ll wake up?”
“No,” Will sighed, “They have no idea.”
Blaine held onto Kurt tighter, kissing him on the forehead before looking up at the teachers again, “He can’t lose his dad. His mom died when he was eight, he can’t lose his dad, too.”
Neither Will nor Emma knew what to say to that. Luckily, they didn’t have time to respond because Blaine continued to speak.
“I guess it’s a good thing he’s resting now,” he said, looking at Kurt, “He’s not going to be able to sleep tonight. He worries a lot.”
“Speaking of tonight, does he have anywhere to go? He shouldn’t be home alone,” Emma said.
Will spoke up, “I know Burt is dating Carole Hudson, maybe Kurt could stay with her and Finn?”
“No,” Blaine said, “I’ll stay with him at his place. I know Kurt, he won’t be comfortable staying with the Hudsons right now. He’ll feel like he has to bottle up how he feels. Luckily, it’s teacher conference week at Dalton, so we have off. I can stay with him for the week and take care of him.”
“Blaine, honey, are you sure? It’s a big commitment,” Emma asked.
“I know, but I love Kurt. I’d do anything for him.”
Eventually, visiting hours were almost over. Kurt managed to sleep for two hours, and once he woke up, he kept his father’s cold hand clutched tightly in his own. He stayed on Blaine’s lap, finding comfort in his boyfriend’s alarms wrapped securely around him. Occasionally, he mumbled words to his dad, but they were barely audible to anyone else in the room. Will and Emma stayed with them, offering to run for coffee or food whenever the kids needed something.
Unfortunately, Burt’s nurse came in and told them all that they had to leave now.
“No! I have to stay in case he wakes up! He can’t be alone when he wakes up!” Kurt said frantically, jumping off of Blaine’s lap and shuffling closer to his dad.
“I’m sorry, I really am, but I can’t let you stay overnight,” the nurse said, “I’ll be here all night though, so I promise I’ll call immediately if something happens. I’ll give you five minutes to say your goodbyes.”
Kurt froze when the nurse said the word ‘goodbye’. His eyes teared up fast. He turned around and threw himself into Blaine’s arms, who was standing now.
“Kurt, sweetie, I know you don’t want to leave, but we can’t stay,” He whispered, rubbing circles on Kurt’s back as he felt the boy tremble.
“I can’t say goodbye,” Kurt cried. As soon as the words left Kurt’s lips, Blaine knew exactly what the problem was. The way the nurse spoke made it sound like it would be the last time Kurt would see his father. Blaine knew that the last time Kurt had to say goodbye to someone in a hospital was when his mom died.
“Oh, baby, no,” Blaine said, “You’ll see him again tomorrow, I promise. We can come as soon as visiting hours start in the morning, okay? We can stay all day.”
“But what if-” A sob ripped its way up Kurt’s throat before he could finish his thought.
“No ‘what ifs’, baby. He’ll still be here in the morning, and the nurse said she’ll call if anything happens. He’ll be okay overnight, I know it.”
“How?”
Blaine held Kurt’s red, teary face in his hands, “Because your dad loves you. He’s probably fighting so hard to wake up because he loves you too much to leave you. I also know that he wouldn’t want you crying over him.”
Kurt let out a sad chuckle, “Yeah, he’d laugh at how red my face is.”
“Come on, let’s wipe away those tears now, and when you’re ready you can give your dad a kiss goodnight, okay?”
Kurt nodded, using his sleeve to wipe off his cheeks. He took a deep breath before turning back to his dad. Kurt leaned over and kissed his dad on the cheek.
“I love you, Daddy,” He whispered.
He walked back over to Blaine, grabbing his hand and nodding. They followed Will and Emma out of the room, Kurt’s eyes staying on his father until he was out of sight. Once they all made it to the parking lot, Will and Emma walked the boys to Blaine’s car, making sure they’d be okay, before leaving. Blaine opened the passenger door for Kurt, helping him in before getting behind the wheel and driving home.
The ride back to the Hummels was only twenty minutes long, but by the time Blaine pulled into the driveway, he could see that Kurt was asleep. He quietly put his car in park and turned off the engine. Kurt’s head slowly popped up.
“‘Re we home?” He asked, his voice slurred with sleep, as he rubbed his eyes.
“I thought you were asleep? You were out cold less than five minutes ago,” Blaine said.
“Felt the car stop.”
“Well we’re home now, so we’ll get you to bed soon, okay?”
As soon as they stepped inside the Hummel household, Kurt made a beeline for the stairs. Blaine followed him quietly as he went into his dad’s room. Kurt dug through his dad’s closet for a few minutes before pulling out a worn t-shirt with the Hummel Tires and Lube logo on it and a large pair of sweatpants. Blaine followed Kurt back to his room and sat on the bed while Kurt used the bathroom. When Kurt came back, he was dressed in his dad’s clothes.
“You look so cute,” Blaine said.
“I, um, I have some pajamas you can borrow,” Kurt said, ignoring the heat climbing up his face and changing the subject. He went over to his dresser and pulled out a set of Christmas-colored flannel pajamas. While Blaine was in the bathroom changing, Kurt stared at the photo of him and his dad that he kept on his bedside table. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t even know Blaine was next to him until he felt his boyfriend’s strong arms pulling him into a hug.
“Are you okay?” He asked softly.
“Mhm,” Kurt hummed, “Just thinking.”
“‘Bout what?”
“Blaine, do you really think dad will be okay?”
Blaine put his hand under Kurt’s chin and lifted it so he could meet the boy’s eyes. Kurt stared up at him with wide, glassy eyes.
“I don’t think he’ll be okay, I know he’ll be okay. And you will, too. You’ll be okay.”
Kurt smiled and leaned into Blaine’s touch, resting his head on the Warbler’s shoulder.
“I love you,” Kurt murmured into the crook of Blaine’s neck.
“I love you, too,” Blaine said, kissing Kurt’s temple, “How about we get some sleep now? It’s been a long day.”
The boys got under the covers of Kurt’s bed and laid down, Kurt’s back pressed against Blaine’s chest. Blaine tucked his right arm under his head while his left was in Kurt’s possession. Kurt grabbed Blaine’s arm and held it close to his chest, cuddling up with it as if it were a stuffed animal. He smiled as he felt Blaine’s lips press against the back of his neck.
“Get some sleep, baby,” Blaine whispered, his lips brushing softly against Kurt’s neck.
“Don’t let me go?” Kurt asked in the same soft tone.
“Never,” Blaine said, kissing Kurt’s neck once more.
Kurt closed his eyes and fell asleep as Blaine hummed quietly. Only when he was certain Kurt was asleep did Blaine allow himself to fall asleep, too.