Kurt sat in the corner of the shelter, his knees against his chest and his arms folded on his knees, wrapped tightly in the warm wool blanket. He rested his forehead on his arms and tried to fall asleep. He wanted to trust this Blaine guy – but it was too soon and he was too scared. His head hurt so badly and now plus his throat was scratchy and dry from crying. Hed spent most of the night crying. He had managed to get up and find the pile of wood to feed the fire, keeping it going. He was absurdly proud of himself for doing that and wondered if his eyesight would return in the morning.

It was almost dawn before the storm hit, full gale. Blaine must have tied the supports to the shelter tightly because it was holding, but it didnt matter much when the wind finally took the last of the walls made of branches and canvas away. The fire was out and the wind was howling, driving rain into the little island. Kurt got disoriented because he had been out feeding the fire when the storm hit and he couldnt find the shelter or his blanket. He finally just sat down by a tree and held on while the rain hit his back.

Blaine woke up with the first big gale to hit and he called to Kurt. He might be a rude and unpleasant person, but that didnt mean he deserved to be scared in the storm. Blaine tried to find him, which was hard because the fire was out and there was no source of light. Even the moon seemed to be gone.

“Kurt!” he called, then shouted, crawling around in the shelter and finding Kurts blanket. What had the little idiot done now? It wasnt safe for him to be out in the storm in the middle of the night. Well, that last part might not matter, midnight or noon wouldnt make much difference to Kurt with his lack of eyesight.

Leaving the shelter, he walked as best he could in concentric circles, but eventually gave up. He wrapped himself up in his blanket to wait for dawn.

Sitting in the storm, protected by a few trees that grew close together, Blaine had time to think about what had befallen him. He had come to St Thomas when his friend, Wes, invited him. He had finished his residency to become a doctor at NY Columbia, then he was in practice at NY Metro when he ran into the trouble. He sighed. This was probably not the time to revisit that. He was anxious just sitting here. The storm was bad, but not near as bad as the one that had marooned him here. He was shivering a little and wrapped the wool blanket a bit tighter and closed his eyes. He must have dozed a little because when he woke up he could see very dimly around himself and he heard a cry.

Jumping up from the sand, he walked towards the sound, noticing the sky was a beautiful shell pink and streaks of pale orange were showing across the navy blue. He walked quickly to the shelter of another group of trees and found Kurt huddled in a ball, in full panic attack. Blaine went into doctor mode, pushing away any feelings he might have had concerning the dislike he had of this boy.

“Kurt, Im going to touch you now,” he said in his calmest voice and reached out one hand to place it on Kurts back. Kurt exploded, trying to get up and run, but the crippling feeling of not being able to get a breath in stopped him before he made it to his feet.

“Calm down. You are having a panic attack. Do you understand?”

Kurt nodded. He remembered the one hed had when he was with his dad at the hospital, but that only made him think of how his father must be feeling with him missing and his whole chest felt like it was being crushed. He flailed a little, then lay still, curling back up into a ball.

“Kurt, listen to my voice. Im going to touch you to take your pulse. Then you need to calm down and think about taking one small breath. Just one. Can you do that?” Blaine said in a calm, well-modulated voice. He reached over to take Kurts hand, but it was snatched back and so he felt under Kurts chin to his neck. His heartbeat was very high.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asked and Kurt shook his head no. “Okay, Im going to put my arms around you for a few moments to help you relax. I am only going to hold you, nothing else. Is that okay?” he asked, worried that Kurt would reject him once again.

Kurts eyes opened and Blaine could see he was trying to find his face to gauge his sincerity maybe? – but realizing once again that he was blind sent Kurt into a worse space and he began to tremble violently.

“Kurt, can I touch you?” Blaine asked in a firm voice. He would not touch Kurt without permission given the way hed acted last night, but he wanted to help so badly.

“Yes,” Kurt whispered and turned, opening his arms just a bit. Blaine took the boy into his arms, pulling him close to his chest.

“Listen to my heartbeat, Kurt,” Blaine said, guiding the boys head to rest against his chest. “I want you to just listen and relax your body. Start with your head and relax your neck muscles, then think about the air flowing in. The air is going in to fill your lungs, relax your chest so it can go in. There, now relax your arms flowing all the way down to your hands and fingers,” Blaine said very softly and slowly, stroking Kurts back and his upper arms as he held him with his other arm. Kurts arms were wrapped tightly around him and he could hear the beginnings of his breaths slowing, getting deeper. He continued to speak clearly but so softly, lulling Kurt into breathing again. It took a long time and Blaine was shouting underneath, he knew it was working and he had to have patience. He felt Kurts arms and shoulders finally give in, the muscles not so tight. It was working.

“Dont be afraid, Kurt. Ill stand by you,” Blaine said, just talking without thought, trying to think of words that might be calming. Then he got the idea to sing:

“Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you”

Kurts arms tightened just a bit more, holding Blaine with his fists wrapped in the mans shirt. Blaine stroked down Kurts cheek, but he winced and Blaine moved his hand back to running it down his back once again.

“Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And Ill never desert you
Ill stand by you
And when...
When the night falls on you, baby
Youre feeling all alone
You wont be on your own
Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you”

Blaine could see that the panic attack was almost gone, so he skipped to the chorus again, hoping the quiet words would bring about a little trust between them.

“Ill stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And Ill never desert you
Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you”

Kurt took a deep breath, “You remind me of someone...but I cant remember who. I am feeling better, Blaine. Thank you. Im sorry if I was a burden to you,” Kurt said, struggling to get away from the man holding him so closely. Blaine did not want to let Kurt go, although he knew that holding him against his will would just make things worse.

“You are not a burden. We can work together to do what needs to be done. For now, the rain is letting up so lets go clean up the campsite and get some food. We need to put the blankets somewhere to dry, too, in case it rains again,” Blaine said and tried to take Kurts hand to lead him.

Kurt pulled his hand out of Blaines and gripped his elbow.

“This is easier for me, okay?” he asked and Blaine agreed. They got back to the shelter and Kurt asked what it looked like.

“Its kind of a mess. I mean, I had it looking like the prize-winner of Home and Garden Magazine. It was beautiful! An adobe house with trellises full of clematis flowers and a bed of roses, the house had five bedrooms and a view of Mt. Hood. It was stupendous, I tell you,” Blaine kidded.

“Right. I bet it was a sad little shelter of palm branches with a sad little fire and gray skies. I kept the fire going most of the night by myself,” Kurt said, hoping to get some recognition for his efforts.

“You did? Thank you. I would have helped, you just had to wake me,” Blaine smiled. He hoped the smile showed through in his voice.

“I did just fine. I only got confused when the rain came. This morning I couldnt find anything familiar and I guess I got scared. Thank you, by the way, for helping me,” Kurt said. He liked that Blaine was so kind to him when he freaked out, but he was still embarrassed by it and wanted to change the subject. “What do you think we can have for breakfast?”

“Coconuts, and some water. I think I might have seen a banana tree when I was looking for you. Ill go check when we get done cleaning up here,” Blaine suggested. Kurt got down by where the fire used to be, searching with his hands to see if the pit was filled with water. It wasnt.

“I think we can restart the fire if you can find dry wood. That might be a good start?” Kurt suggested.

“How did you know where the fire was?” Blaine asked, surprised when Kurt knelt down.

“I can smell the ashes. Its funny how smells have always bothered me and now my superhuman ability to smell is actually a help. I always thought of it as a curse,” Kurt said, smiling past Blaines shoulder.

Blaine noticed how Kurt was still wincing when he moved his head and closed his eyes from time to time.

“Does your head hurt?” he asked. Kurt didnt answer, just closed his eyes tighter and put a hand over them.

“Yeah, but it feels better if I close my eyes for some reason. That doesnt make sense,” Kurt said, covering his whole face with both hands.

“Ive got an idea. Here, sit still for a moment, Ill be right back.”

Blaine went to look through some of the clothes he had set out to dry on the bushes. He found a white shirt that had less dirt on it than most and ripped it into a long thick strip. He went back to Kurt.

“Here, Im going to put a bandage around your face to cover your eyes. It might help with keeping the sunlight out and it might feel better. Okay?” Blaine asked, hoping the angry and petulant Kurt of yesterday wouldnt resurface.

“Okay,” Kurt agreed. Hed do anything to get rid of this headache. Blaine gently tied the strip around Kurts head and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I think were going to be okay, Kurt. I really do. Now, I need to check the pots I set out to catch rainwater. I could use a drink,” he said. Kurt brushed his fingers over Blaines hand for a moment.

“Thanks, I hope we will be. Can I help with the water?” Kurt offered.

“How about you put the wood in the fire. You know how to make it into a teepee shape and then I have some coconut stuff to use to start it. Ill pour the water into our covered containers. Be right back,” Blaine said.

He walked down to the shore looking for the open bin hed washed yesterday and left to get rainwater. It was a part of the boat, the place where the first aid/survival kit had been. It was metal and about two feet square. It was almost full and Blaine grinned. They would be able to drink a full glass today maybe. He scanned the sky and saw that although it was sunny now, those black clouds hadnt left. He sighed and put the lid on the container, hoping most of it would be safe from evaporation. He didnt see any leaks or anything. Then he found the plastic sheet from the survival kit that he had made a sort of reservoir of by placing the corners on sticks. It didnt hold much, but he filled the gallon jug with the fresh water and another empty container hed found on the beach. It was a large can that had contained tomato juice at one time – he could smell it. He washed it in the sea water several times until it smelled clean, then filled it, too. He drank all he could hold out of the plastic sheet before leaving it.

Walking along the shore for a few minutes, he saw a few tide pools and in one of them were some mussels. He pried them off the rock and put them in his shirt. There wasnt anything else on the beach, so he walked back to where he and Kurt had made camp.

Kurt had finished the fire pit, rearranging the rocks in a circle and putting the dry driftwood in a perfect teepee. Under the sticks was a crumpled piece of paper.

“Hey, where did you get the paper?” Blaine asked. Kurt jumped – he hadnt heard Blaine walk up.

“It was in one of the duffel bags...but I didnt try to light it. I thought I better see if it said something important first,” he smiled in Blaines direction.

Blaine walked over to the paper and looked at it.

“Nope, its a blank sheet. Is there more?” he asked.

“Yeah, that bag had a lot of stuff in it. Some books and clothes, shoes, some cans and what felt like fishing line? Also a book of hooks. Maybe we can go fishing?” Kurt said.

Blaine agreed and turned to see what he could do to fix up the hastily made shelter from yesterday. He was surprised to see that Kurt had cleared out all the debris: branches and leaves that had blown into it during the storm. The trench for the bed had been redug and soft leaves covered it, then the thin blanket.

“Wow, youve been working!” Blaine said, happy to see Kurt was not as depressed as he had been yesterday.

“Light the fire and then is there some water? I was....ah...” Kurt was too embarrassed to tell Blaine what hed been doing.

“What?”

Kurt blushed. “I was licking the leaves. I was so thirsty, Blaine, and I didnt know where the water was or how long youd be gone. So, when I felt that the leaves of the palm trees you used for the shelter were wet, I licked them.”

Blaine coughed, his mind going exactly the place Kurt was afraid it would go. Kurt blushed even more, turning his head from where he assumed Blaine was.

“Smart. I feel bad I left without giving you water, though. I drank my fill at the shore,” he said, going on to explain about the water hed been able to save from the rainstorm while he filled the cup with water for Kurt. He handed him the cup and Kurt drained it in a few gulps and asked if it would be okay if he had more.

“Of course, drink your fill now while we have it to spare. I have the container by the beach covered, so its safe.”

“I also collected more coconuts. I keep tripping over them, so I got the idea to just keep them in a pile over here so we could use them first,” Kurt said. Blaine smiled at him, but realized Kurt couldnt see his smile, so he patted his shoulder gently. Kurt still jumped, but this time he didnt pull away. Blaine called that progress.

Blaine set the mussels on a stone hed put over the fire and they opened. He let them cook a bit more and Kurt started sniffing, his head towards the odor.

“What are you cooking? It smells wonderful!” Kurt said. He had been thinking about the crab theyd had yesterday all night long.

“Mussels. And coconut. Oh, and I stopped by where I thought Id seen a banana tree, and there was one. I got six bananas that were ripe,” he said, handing the shell hed found to use as a plate to Kurt. “Be careful, the mussels are hot.”

Kurt ate the food on the plate, commenting on how wonderful the food was. It really tasted good in his empty belly.

“Thanks, but its just what we found. Im afraid we might get a little more than tired of it by the time were rescued.”

“Speaking of....how possible is it that were going to be found?” Kurt asked. Blaine wanted to lie to him, tell him it might only be a few days, but he couldnt.

“I just dont know. I think we must be on an atoll or a cay, but there are like 3,000 of them in the Caribbean. I think we need to make some effort to make a sign on the beach, then maybe some sort of signal fire? I saw sea-grape on the beach and it has oil that makes it smoke when its on fire,” Blaine said.

“Whats an atoll and a cay?” Kurt asked.

“An atoll is a sort of ring-shaped island made of coral surrounding a lagoon or other body of water. A cay is a small sandy island on a coral reef. For our purposes I think it doesnt matter which. If were here for very long, maybe a few more days, we can go explore. It might be just a piece of land jutting out from a larger island, like St Kit or something.”

“Lets hope thats what it is.”

Blaine had nothing to say to that, so he just got back to work, gathering the blankets from the bushes and folding them neatly in the shelter. Then he began the task of putting more branches on the shelter. Kurt was of tremendous help here. Blaine had saved the cord hed used yesterday and Kurt would hold the branch straight while Blaine wrapped it to the frame. It took most of the morning and into the afternoon to get the shelter to look sturdy enough to last for a while.

“Are you getting tired, Kurt?” Blaine asked. He couldnt see Kurts eyes because of the bandage hed placed there that morning, but he could see the furrows in his forehead where the bandage had slipped.

“Yeah, but I want to get this done before I rest. How much more to go?” he asked.

“I think were about finished. The frame looks steady and we have a double layer of leaves on it now. Lets stop and eat, it must be past noon,” Blaine guessed by the position of the sun.

He took several more bananas and some of the coconut flesh hed pried from the shell and put them on the shell-plates. Kurt took his when he felt it touch his hand and began to eat. Blaine nibbled at his portion, worried about how far from civilization they really were and what their chances were of being found.

“Ive got a headache, Blaine. Mind if I just lie down for a short time before we get back to work?” Kurt asked. He was holding his head in his hands again.

“We can both rest. Here, we can get into the bed and stay out of the sun for a while. I”m worried about you getting sun burned.”

“What about yourself?”

“I dont burn easily, but youre right. I should stay out of the sun for long periods in the hot part of the day, too,” he agreed.

“What does your skin look like?” Kurt asked.

“Ah...well, where your skin is that beautiful Irish pale ivory with pink lips, mine is more of a golden color with dark rosy lips. I have a stubble that is about to become a beard if I cant find shaving supplies. I guess you know Im shorter than you are by a few inches,” he laughed and Kurt grinned.

“Yeah, I noticed that. What did you do before you became a professional Robinson Crusoe?” he asked, but just then there was an acrid scent of fire burning something and Blaine jumped to see to it. Some of the seagrape leaves had fallen off the top of the pile and landed in the fire, causing the black, oily smoke to billow out.

“Ewwww, what is that?” Kurt asked when he didnt hear Blaine rushing to an emergency.

“Some of the seagrape fell in the fire. It stinks along with being very oily and making black clouds. I was gathering it because the fruit is good to eat when its ripe, and the leaves and stems make the black smoke. I was going to put it down on the beach in case we hear a boat or a plane or something,” Blaine said, pulling the last of the stems out of the fire and stamping them out with his boot heel.

“Okay...I think Im going to lie down. My headache is worse,” Kurt said and found his way to the shelter, crawling into the makeshift bed. He heard Blaine follow him in. Kurt was lying on the blanket and Blaine knelt above his head.

“I brought you a cool rag for your forehead and some aspirin. Here, I have a cup of coconut water for you, too.”

“Thanks,” Kurt answered. He sat up and took the aspirin, then lay back down after Blaine removed the bandages from his eyes.

“Here, lie on your front and I can rub the muscles in your neck and shoulders. It might make you feel better,” Blaine offered. Kurt was hesitant, but his head hurt so badly. He agreed and Blaine began to softly rub his neck, humming a song quietly as he moved his warm hands in soft circles and gentle strokes as Kurt got sleepier. When he was done with his neck, he laid the cool cloth there and ran his hands down Kurts back, stroking as he had his neck until the muscles relaxed and Kurt was asleep. He covered him with the blanket – it was still a chilly wind today – and lay down a short distance away to take a nap. Hed barely laid his head down when he was sound asleep, once more exhausted from work and worry.

An hour later, Kurt sat up, shouting and crying out for his dad. Blaine was up in a moment, snapping into consciousness as only a doctor can. He rushed over to Kurt to calm him before another panic attack should start.

“Kurt, its okay, Im here with you. Its Blaine...” he said in his calm voice, though his heart was pounding with the adrenaline pumping through his veins.