A week later, Kurt found himself standing in the parking lot of the hospital, staring at the entrance. He had to go in. What else was he going to do? He couldn't just sit there and avoid the inevitable. Besides, his dad had already dropped him off, leaving only at Kurt's insistence that being a Congressman was hard work and he couldn't just put off meetings to hold Kurt's hand at the doctor's office.

For reasons he was unaware of, he found himself pulling out his phone and calling Blaine.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Kurt," he said shakily.

"Kurt! Are you okay?" Blaine asked, instantly sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just... I don't know why I called actually. I'm just scared," he admitted, staring at the foreboding doors in front of him.

"Do you need help? Where are you?"

"No, nothing happened," replied Kurt with an unsteady laugh.

"What's wrong?" Blaine responded after a moment's pause.

"What- what would you do if you had to do something that you really didn't want to, but you knew you had to?"

There was another pause before Blaine spoke up again, "I'd remember that it was for the best and that I was strong enough to do it."

"Thank you," Kurt said quietly.

Soon afterward, Kurt found himself sitting in the treatment room, an IV dripping into his arm. He felt strangely calm after his phone call with Blaine. Leaning his head back, he stared at the television, wishing that he had remembered his latest copy of Vogue. But, he thought bitterly to himself, there was always next time.

He stared at the crappy reality show for a while, jumping when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

COURAGE - - - Blaine

Fuck. Why did this stupid guy have to be so fucking perfect? Kurt slumped in the chair, fighting between smiling and crying as he sent out a response that in his mind had a watery smile much like his own at the moment.

You're ridiculous :)

Kurt went about his days as normally as he could- which wasn't that normal if you considered the fact that Burt and Carole tiptoed around him, like they were afraid he would break. He knew that they had his best interests at heart, but it was just really hard. One morning, two weeks after he had met Blaine, he had had enough.

"Stop it!" he borderline shouted, causing Carole to jump as his fist slammed on the table.

She opened her mouth to speak, looking slightly stunned, but Kurt spoke faster, standing up.

"Stop walking around like I'm some delicate little bird that's going to break if you say the wrong thing. I'm not. I- I'm not-" he started, breath hitching with a sob as he found Carole's arms wrapped around him.

"Sh, it's okay," she muttered into his hair, hand moving to wipe the tears that were making their way down his face. She led him to the couch, pulling him down next to her. "Kurt, you're so strong. Your father and I- we're so proud of you for everything you've done and we know you can beat this. I... I'm sorry we were acting like you could break, I didn't even realize. I promise we won't act like that anymore, you're still Kurt. You're still unbelievably strong. You can do this."

He wanted to believe her so desperately, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume, trying to calm down. "I love you so much," he muttered.

"I love you too, honey."

"Can you help me with something?" Kurt said into the phone.

"Sure. Are you okay?" Blaine asked a little hesitantly, probably thinking about the last time they had spoken- four days ago.

Kurt brushed it off quickly, "Yeah, it was nothing. I just have a slight favour to ask of you."

"Go on," he replied with a teasing smile in his voice.

"Could you perhaps give me a ride to the music store?"

"The one I work at?"

"No, because there are just so many music stores in Ohio," Kurt joked.

"Ouch, I'm wounded!"

"Don't you have a car?" Blaine asked suddenly as they drove to the store.

"Nope, don't even have a license," Kurt replied, Blaine turning to stare for a fraction of a second before putting his attention back on the road.

"Why not?"

"Well, I lived in New York for so long that it wasn't necessary. And it's incredibly dangerous. It's like the fifth leading cause of death-" Kurt realized what he was saying, laughing to himself. He had always been afraid of driving for some unexplainable reason and now it just seemed stupid.

They arrived at the store, Kurt turning to Blaine, "Is the trunk empty?"

"Uh yes?" Looking somewhat confused, Blaine continued, "And that matters why? Are you going to be hiding a dead body?"

"Why didn't you ask any of this on the phone?" Kurt smirked.

"I don't know, I just wanted to see you," he confessed, a shy smile on his face.

Slightly flustered by that comment, Kurt answered the previous question. "I'm making a purchase today and I'm going to need some help with the transportation. So no, no dead body."

"You can play an instrument?"

"Nope, I'm going to work on that," he responded.

Blaine just kind of stared at Kurt for a moment, looking startled when a blonde man walked up to them.

"Hey B, can I help you guys?"

"No thanks Matt, I think we got this," Blaine replied with an easy grin.

As Matt walked away, Kurt glanced at Blaine. "B? That's cute."

"If you say so. Pretty sure only Matt and Coop call me that. Anyway, what is this super awesome purchase you're making today?"

Kurt grabbed his hand, leading him wordlessly to the back where the pianos were on display.

"Um, my trunk may be big but I'm pretty sure it can't fit a piano," Blaine laughed.

"Keyboard, Blaine, keyboard. I'm not really feeling like finding a way to transport an entire piano."

Blaine just gazed at Kurt as he scrutinized each keyboard, admiring the way the soft light of the store hit Kurt's face and the intensity with which he looked at each instrument. Kurt walked on, finally selecting a sleek black one in the corner.

"This is the one."

"It's nice," Blaine murmured, not really sure what had just happened.

"So, you're going to help me get it in the car, right?"