Chapter 1: Left To Wonder

When his phone rings Wes is sitting in his college dorm room, hundreds of miles away from the boy just stumbling, wrapped in the arms of another, into the emergency room of the Lima hospital.

xxxx

Blaine is covered in red dye.

On the whole drive over, Kurt had never once stopped clutching his boyfriend close to his chest.

Brittany had insisted on driving, rambling on about her mean motocross skills for once being handy, so Santana had given in quickly, simply handing over her car keys, not at all in the mood for an argument. They could have that later.

As they sit and wait to be taken in, Santana fills out the paperwork with instructions from Kurt and answers carefully coaxed from Blaine, given with whimpers and half-cries filled with so much pain, Kurt feels nauseous hearing them.

After all the screaming in pain, in the parking lot, Blaine in the car had grown all too quiet too quick.

Kurt fears Blaine is in a state of shock, and only the way in which Blaine is still clutching his right eye with one hand and holds on to Kurt's left with an almost crushing grip, half buried in Kurt's chest, tells Kurt Blaine has not passed out.

Kurt finally manages to pry Blaine's now madly shaking hand away from his right eye.

Kurt wants nothing more than to spend Blaine focus, warmth and comfort. But today there seems to be no way he can take away the pain.

Kurt begins to cry, realizing that for fear of hurting Blaine only more he cannot even do what he knows always helps Blaine.

He so badly wants to press his forehead against Blaine's, to calm Blaine down. Like he has done so often since they got together. To bring Blaine back from highs, out of lows.

The tears though seem to unexpectedly be good for something, be just what he needs, as they clear out the fog standing in Kurt's mind. He finally can see what it is that he needs to do, what he can do, for Blaine, for the two of them.

It is what they always used to do for comfort, in the very beginning, even before they were boyfriends.

Kurt reassuringly takes hold of Blaine's hands with his own.

Pain and emotion stirring, mixing in Blaine's whole body has tears flow thickly from Blaine's eyes. And at first Kurt thinks the red being washed down Blaine's cheeks with the fresh tears is red dye.

Then he sees the difference between the right and the left eye. "Santana, please, get a nurse."

"It hurts so much," Blaine chokes out, the pain now so strong it is pushing him out of his state of shock. Fresh waves of pain Kurt can see washing over his boyfriend's face making the tears come harder still, the red growing deeper where it shouldn't and Kurt's fears with it.

Blaine begins to sob and is slowly growing borderline hysteric, almost fighting now to pry his hands from Kurt's to press them back against his eye.

"Love, please, I, you are ble....The pain is going to stop soon, Love. We are going to make it stop," and the grip of Blaine's hands on Kurt's is a desperate plea to please gosh please soon, I can't anymore.

Blaine does not need to voice these thoughts for Kurt to understand. Kurt begins to run his left hand up and down Blaine's left forearm over and over, in the desperate hope to provide small relief with the distraction.

Rachel and Finn arrive moments before Santana comes back with a nurse to take Blaine in.

"Can I come with him?" Kurt's eyes are pleading.

"I am sorry Sweetheart, only family," the nurse replies genuine regret in her eyes for having to do this to the pale looking boy in front of her after all he must already have been through that night.

Rachel's hand appears on Kurt's shoulder but when Kurt looks up to catch her eyes he notices her looking intently at the nurse, "It's okay Kurt, I'll be with him. I'm Blaine's sister."

"Okay," and Kurt is not sure whether he exactly likes that there is not the slightest of hesitation or question in the nurses expression as she says it.

Kurt insists on accompanying Blaine to the examination room, never letting go of his boyfriend's hands once, but placing them as softly as he can in Rachel's and a kiss to each when he is send out.

Left to wonder.

As he steps back out into the emergency room, himself now covered in red dye all over, he finds his father standing next to Finn, who is clearly trying to explain and even more clearly failing judging by the expression Kurt is met with when Finn nods in his direction and Burt's head snaps around to find Kurt.

For a moment he sees horror he does not understand flame in his father's eyes.

Kurt, following his father's line of sight, looks down on himself.

His leather jacket is hanging half-open. Kurt cannot recall when that happened. "Kurt, oh my goodness, is that blood. Are you hurt too?" Burt asks coming to a halt a few feet away from Kurt, wanting to hug him badly, but right now not daring in case Kurt is injured and he would make it worse.

Kurt glances down at himself once more.

"Kurt?" Burt's tone is urgent, "Are you hurt?"

His voice is as thick with tears as his eyes are full of them as he looks back up at his dad, "This shirt was white, before. It's red dye and..." what follows wrapped in hesitation is a whisper, "I'm alright."

But Burt knows that look, that tone, he had seen it over and over on his son's face after his own heart attack.

Whenever they had begun to disagree on something, whenever Kurt had been afraid he might upset his dad too much, he had tracked back. It is that look that makes Burt doubt, "Kurt, we both know that is not what you wanted to say. What is it?"

"It's red dye, it's just red dye," Kurt says looking down at himself again, fingertips shakily tracing over some darker stains Burt only notices now.

"And blood," Burt finishes what Kurt can't bring himself to say out loud.

Kurt nods, eyes closing, pressing shut, tears rolling thick again, even thicker now that Kurt with his dad here finally can let go, does not have to worry about causing Blaine yet more distress.

Only a handful of tears make it all the way down Kurt's cheeks, as Kurt, eyes closed tries to push away the images, the fears and pain.

All tears that follow get caught in the material of Burt's shirt, as Kurt is enveloped in his father's warming embrace and instinctively buries his face in his father's chest. Both hands fisting into the fabric, increasingly wet with tears.

"Blaine's blood," Kurt sobs into his father's chest. "He was in shock all the way over, and then sitting down in here, he started crying and it was all red, all blood, from his right eye. I couldn't tell him, I couldn't freak him out more, so I just, I just held his hands, and when I helped him into the treatment room he leaned into me and I got his blood on my shirt."

Suddenly Kurt becomes frantic, almost jumping out of Burt's arms and begins with unzipping his jacket completely as he half-sobs, half-shouts with a trembling voice, "I need to take this off. Now. Blaine is going to freak if he sees me like that. I can't upset him more."

Kurt's leather jacket hits the floor as Burt gets a hold of him again. "Shh. Shh, Kiddo. It's okay, you are okay, and he will be too."

Burt, pulling Kurt back into his arms, turns to look at Finn, "Get some spare clothes for Kurt, will you?"

"Sure!" And with that Finn is gone.

For once Kurt finds himself grateful, immensely so, that Finn, most of the time, is not one for many words, or big ones.

Burt, hand running over Kurt's hair asks, "Why aren't you in there anymore? With Blaine I mean."

Kurt stills completely under Burt's touch. And suddenly Burt feels so stupid for not thinking before opening his mouth. Of course, Blaine is a minor, and Kurt not related, "They won't let you. I hate this kind of unhelpful bureaucracy. I will wait with you until you have seen him."

The "Thank You," Kurt murmurs into Burt's chest is a muffled sound when it reaches Burt's ears.

Burt lets out a deep sigh before he asks, "Please tell me Blaine is not alone in there."

"Rachel is with him." And Kurt does sound unmistakably bitter.

"How?"

"Dad, have you...right you haven't. Seen them together lately I mean. It has been a while since they were both at the same time over for Friday Dinner."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Burt looks so confused when Kurt pulls a little out of the embrace and looks up at his father.

"I don't know how but they look more alike every day. They so could be sister and brother, so when I was denied permission Rachel was quick to interject so Blaine would not have to be all alone. I actually am grateful for that. I just really want to be with him. He needs me. I need to know he is going to be okay."

Burt isn't sure if now is the right time, but he guesses there won't ever be one of those with this, "So what exactly happened? Finn tried to explain. I did not get it."

There are new tears running down Kurt's cheeks as they sit down together. Kurt is not actually sure he ever stopped crying, does frankly not care either.

He simply does not have the energy to hold them back right now, so he has given in and now instead focuses on bringing order into his own thoughts.

Taking a few deep breaths he decides on the simplest version of things for now. "There is this guy, a Warbler, only since this school year at Dalton. Neither Blaine or I knew him until about three months ago." Burt nods for Kurt to continue. "He has been trying for a while to break us up, because he wants Blaine for himself." Burt's brow furrows at this new piece of information then he asks before Kurt can go on, "I don't get it. Why would he hurt Blaine?" Burt looks much angrier all of a sudden, "What did he do to Blaine?"

"He threw a slushy in his face, and there must have been something in it, because Blaine was screaming in pain for minutes before he went into a state of shock, and just stopped. I don't know what scared me more."

Burt's hands are balled into fists, "It was meant for you. That slushy. He was trying to hurt you." Nothing in here is a question, but Kurt finds himself nodding in silence anyway.

Seeing the utterly devastated look on Kurt's face Burt tries hard to let go of his anger. It is not of any use right here, right now. I will get back to that later, he thinks to himself as he unclenches his fists and pulls Kurt back into his warmth, "You are shaking, I hope Finn brings something warm to wear."

They sit in silence Burt not once letting go of his son until about twenty minutes later Finn comes back and Kurt, thankful, takes the clothes offered and disappears wordlessly into the nearest bathroom.

Once he is back, wearing black jeans and a big fluffy blue jumper that he is very grateful for right now, it takes almost another thirty minutes until Rachel comes back. Kurt keeps glancing at the clock on the wall, worry and exhaustion growing together, pushing Kurt closer to a state of desperation once again.

Kurt jumps up, grasping her hands staring at her expectantly, hopeful, and so full of fear.

"They have moved him to a room, he has to stay the night for observation, mainly because of the strong pain killers they gave him. They did some tests, and said something about more follow ups tomorrow, but for now they have to wait for the first test results to be sure what best to do next," if there is a rest Kurt does not hear it.

He sinks back into his chair, suddenly feeling so incredibly drained.

"Kiddo? Kurt!" Burt tries to get through.

"It is all my fault," Kurt sobs out.

Santana and Brittany, who have been sitting, quietly waiting, so uncharacteristically quietly that Kurt had completely forgotten they are there, speak up.

"Kurt, he, Smythe, threw that drink at the two of you," Santana's tone is angry. And Brittany kneels down in front of Kurt, resting her hands on his thighs to gain his attention, "Forget about that idiot. Blaine is what matters now."

And just like that Kurt is back on his feet, "Can I see him?"

"As I said he was loopy and exhausted when I left, but I don't think he is asleep. Painkillers can only do so much."

"Room Number?" Kurt half yells as he already rushes past Rachel, Burt at his son's heels.

"228" Rachel for once leaves out all unnecessary commentary, she is usually such an expert in delivering.

Kurt throws one grateful glance back in her direction only to see Rachel buried deep in her boyfriend's embrace.

Kurt is shaking again when he reaches for the door handle, hesitating.