"I'm sorry Mr Hummel. Your cancer has spread."

"What are you saying?"

"It's terminal. There's nothing we can do – I'm so sorry."

Kurt looked peaceful. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling slowly. It had been three months since he'd been given the news that he was going to die and in that time, he'd accepted his fate. He gave a tiny whimper and shifted in his sleep, but did not wake. The room was quiet, except for the beeping of the monitors and the steady sounds of Kurt's breathing.

Blaine was sat in a chair beside the bed, his knees tucked up to his chest. One of his hands held Kurt's as he slept, wanting to offer some sort of comfort, no matter how small. He knew Kurt didn't fear death, but that didn't mean Blaine had accepted it. When he first found out that his boyfriend had cancer, he panicked, of course. But he vowed to do everything in his power to make him better. He used all of his savings and his college fund, putting his money together with Burt to get Kurt the best treatment available. They were determined to make him better. So when Kurt told him that the cancer had spread and that he was going to die, Blaine was heartbroken. For the next few weeks he cried, almost constantly. He found it hard to be near Kurt, but he was determined to stay by him, no matter how badly it affected him. He used whatever money he had left and helped Kurt's family to pay for the best hospital room they could afford, wanting him to be comfortable for the end of his life.

"Hey kiddo."

Blaine looked up and gave a small smile when he saw Burt standing in the doorway of Kurt's hospital room. He walked across the room and sat beside him. He reached out and put a hand on Blaine's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"H-How long does he have left?" Blaine asked in a quiet voice. He'd been avoiding the question for as long as possible, but just looking at Kurt told him it wasn't long.

"Not long. A few days at the most," Burt said in a soft voice. Blaine nodded and closed his eyes, a few tears escaping. "Thank you for staying by him."

He opened his eyes and looked at the older man, confused. "Why are you thanking me? I love Kurt. I'm not going to leave him when he needs me."

"You know he's not getting any better though. The doctors said..."

"I know that the doctors said!" His voice was harsher than he intended, but he knew Burt would understand. "I can't leave him Mr Hummel. Kurt is, and always will be, the love of my life. I... I know I'm going to lose him, but... I'm prepared for what I do afterwards."

"What do you mean? Blaine, don't go doing anything stupid! You know Kurt would never forgive you. I'd never be able to forgive you."

"I know, I know. I just mean... I know how I can deal with it... eventually. It's just going to be hard."

Burt let out a sigh of relief and Blaine was secretly glad he didn't have the ability to read minds.

"Go home kid, get some rest. I'll let you know when he wakes."

"Blaine, dinner will be ready soon."

His mother peeked her head out of the kitchen door as soon as he'd stepped over the threshold, a huge smile on her face. Blaine didn't even attempt to smile back – there was no point.

"I'm not hungry," he muttered before disappearing upstairs. He could hear music coming from Cooper's old room – his brother came home as soon as he heard the news about Kurt, going as far as buying a small apartment in Lima, to support his younger brother. Blaine shut his bedroom door, finally giving in to the wave of emotion he'd been concealing. It was nothing put agony.

Kurt was dying. He'd be stupid if he didn't admit that to himself. Blaine knew he needed to decide what to do when the day came, knowing it would be soon. He grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen, and began to write. He couldn't stop the tears rolling down his cheeks as he did so. It was hard to put thoughts into words, especially when they were painful. When he finished, he sealed the letter in an envelope and wrote a single name on top of it, hiding it in the drawer beside his bed.

"Blaine, can I come in?"

The voice belonged to his father. Unsure whether he had the ability to face him, Blaine remained silent. His father waited for a few more seconds and entered the room.

"Your dinner is getting cold."

"I'm not hungry. I've already said that."

His father narrowed his eyes. "I'm aware that is what you told your mother, but we both know it isn't true. Come downstairs, now. Cooper has travelled a long way to see you, the least you could do is talk to him." When Blaine didn't say anything, he grew angry. "Is this about that boy, Karl, or whatever his name is?"

"His name is Kurt, and he's more than just some boy! He's my fucking boyfriend!"

"That's enough! You know you aren't gay, stop behaving like a spoiled child."

"Oh, I'm not gay, right." Blaine stood up, moving so he was inches from his father's face. Every cruel word he'd ever said came flooding back to him, and it hurt. "That's why I'm heartbroken that my boyfriend is dying of cancer, and I only have a few days left to spend with him.That'swhy I went to prom with him. Twice.That'swhy I gave my virginity to him!" He laughed bitterly at his father's expression. "That's right, I slept with Kurt. I let him fuck me good and hard, and I returned the favour! I don't think a straight, or rather, anormalperson would do that, do you?"

Before he knew what was happening, Blaine's father struck him across the face. He stumbled backwards, his hand clutching the spot where'd he'd been hit. He opened his mouth furiously, but no sound came out.

"Dad!"Cooper was at the doorway. From the expression on his face, it was obvious he'd seen what had happened. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He shoved past him and wrapped his arms around Blaine, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Cooper, don't youdaretalk to me like that!"

"I'll talk to you however I want; you're forgetting that I'm not some kid you can push around anymore. So what if Blaine's gay? Surely you'd be happy that he's in love with someone, rather than just marrying a woman for his parents' sake, like you did?"

Their father let out an angry snarl and turned to leave the room, slamming the door behind him. The two brothers stood in silence for a little while, refusing to let go of each other.

"Why did you do that?" Blaine asked Cooper, eventually pulling away from his arms.

"That jackass has no right to push you around just because you love Kurt. Why do you think I moved out so quickly? I was tired of him telling me what to do – I'm not going to let him do the same to you."

Blaine gave his brother a grateful smile. There was a beep, coming from his phone. He pulled it from his pocket, reading the text quickly.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: 6:37pm

Hey kid, I got your number from Kurt's cell. I hope you don't mind.

He's awake and asking for you. Come by as soon as you can.

The doctor's don't think he'll make it through the night.

Burt.

Blaine read the text several times before it finally sunk in. When it did, he picked up his jacked and started to walk out of the door. Cooper took hold of his arm and stopped him. He took Blaine's phone from his hands, read the message and sighed.

"Come on," he said, releasing his arm and pushing him from the room.

"What?" Blaine asked, completely bewildered.

"I'm driving you to the hospital."