It was after 11pm when we got back to the hospital, and Doctor Salling had long since gone home for the night. I knew it was a long shot, but I had hoped to be allowed in to see Blaine, just to hold his hand, sit with him, even if just for a while, but the Psych Unit night nurses wouldn't even let me in the doors. I was told quite firmly that without special permission from Blaine's Doctor, I would certainly not be allowed into the ward for the next three days, until Blaine had been taken off suicide watch... and then she added, with a quirked eyebrow, that even if I had permission, visiting hours most certainly did not extend to 11pm.

She gave me a sympathetic smile, and told me to come back in the morning after I had spoken to Dr Salling, then she turned and walked back up the corridor, letting the security key coded doors slide closed silently behind her.

"Okay Kurt" my Dad said gently. "You heard her, let's go home, and we'll come back in the morning. You could do with a good night sleep in your own bed."

We were on the ground floor, right around the back of the hospital, and it appeared to be a very quiet wing of the Hospital. A small waiting room was on one side of the corridor, furnished with cosy looking 2 seater couches and a tiny TV mounted near the ceiling, which was played an old episode of Cheers. Well... it seemed like as good a place as any. I sank into a soft looking sofa and sighed heavily as I gazed up at his weary face.

"No Dad. I need to stay here. I can't leave him again."

My Dad gave me a frustrated, strained look.

"Kurt, he's in a locked ward, and you're not allowed to see him anyway. You're not doing anyone any good by staying here the night."

I shook my head defiantly, even though my tired, aching body was actually screaming at the idea of spending another night sitting up in chair, and I levelled my gaze on my amazing, wonderful understanding father.

"I'm not going anywhere Dad. It's bad enough that I left him once, I don't care that he doesn't know I'm here, I know, and I can't betray his trust by leaving him again. He's just down that corridor, somewhere. He's close by."

"Kurt"

"Dad, I know it sounds stupid, okay? But please, don't try and force me to leave here again? If I hadn't left him alone today, then he wouldn't have tried to kill himself. I need to be near him right now just as much as he needs me, I can't even explain it. I won't be able to relax until I can see him again, and know that he is okay."

My Dad stared at me for a few moments, weighing up my words, then conceded, sinking noisily onto the couch beside me, pulling my body towards his for a hug. I sighed, hugging myself into his side, my arms wrapped around him, the side of my face resting against his warm chest, listening to his heart beat.

He stroked my shoulder with his rough palm, and sighed again in defeat.

"You are so damn stubborn, Kurt. You're just like your Mom. Passionately loyal, she was."

He looked down at me with a lopsided, small smile.

"You know, she would have adored Blaine."

I smiled at the warm fluttering I felt in my chest at his words. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Really, what's not to like? The kid is pretty amazing, and he worships the ground you walk on..." I smiled at that, a blush rising high in my cheeks. "She would have been so proud of you, Kurt; of the amazing man you are becoming. Just like I am."

I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes. "Thank you Dad." I whispered.

I sat up, leaning into the side of the couch so that I could look up at him properly. "You don't have to stay with me, Dad. I'm fine on my own if you want to go home to bed."

The words were barely out of my mouth before he was shaking his head. "No son, I'm not leaving you here on your own all night, sitting in a deserted waiting room. It's okay, I'm kind of getting used to sleeping sitting upright." He smirked at me, meaning it as a joke, but I couldn't help but feel guilty about denying my Dad a good nights rest.

"Sorry Dad."

"Don't be sorry, Kurt. Never apologise for being loyally devoted to someone, okay? A blind man could see how much you love Blaine, but especially after what happened to him, I am not leaving you here alone, unprotected."

I nodded, and reached out to my Dad, gripping his hand loosely in mine to show my gratitude. I had always known that my Dad was pretty incredible, but this past week had proven to me that he was even so much more than that. His acceptance of my sexuality was beautiful in and of itself, but the fact that it came from such an unconditional love for me, such an intense yearning to see me happy and have a wonderful life that he would accept the medical responsibility of my boyfriend, and show so much compassion and concern for him just because he meant so much to me, was just awesome. It blew me away.

Yet, in all this, I wouldn't have expected anything less of him. It was what a parent was supposed to do for their child, wasn't it? In all fairness, Blaine should have been able to expect exactly the same from his own parents, shouldn't he? It seemed unfathomable to me that my own father, who had known Blaine for all of about six months now, could have more love in his heart for Blaine than Blaine's own parents did.

Confused by my own thoughts, angered by the injustice of the world, and yet eagerly excited at the prospect of seeing my boy again in the morning, I shifted my body into a slightly more comfortable position. My head rested on the backrest of the sofa, my eyes slipped closed, and within minutes I was asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Blaine and I were kissing.

His hands, firm but soft, were on my body, setting fire to my skin everywhere they touched. He stroked gentle, lazy circles against my ribcage with his fingers, gripping and releasing, while his other hand cupped my face, fingertips feathering in my hair, palm against my cheek while his thumb tenderly stroked my temple as his lips possessed mine.

I arched up into the kiss, moaning into his mouth, thrilling in the feel of his lips, his tongue on mine, his breath mingled with my own, our eyes saying to each other so much more than just those three little words. Then he moved, sliding against me just a little, his warm, toned body feeling delicious against me as his lips moved from my lips to my jaw, leaving a wet trail as he kissed his way down my neck, stopping there to nibble and suck at a small, very lucky piece of skin, making it hurt just a little, sparks shooting through my body and all going straight to a certain sensitive spot in my groin,as he marked me as his own.

"Kurt."

I felt a hand gently shake my shoulder. "Kurt."

Wait, that was my Dad's voice. I opened my eyes to find that I was still in the waiting room, my Dad beside me, Dr Salling standing in front of us.

"Morning, Kurt. I had a feeling I would find you here this morning.

I nodded dumbly, sitting up and stretching the soreness from my muscles. My Dad had clearly been up for a while, he was nibbling on the corner of a massive vending machine chocolate chip cookie, and I scowled at him and the offending baked goods, momentarily forgetting about the Doctor. My mind was struggling to wake up from that blissfully delicious dream.

Then the Doctor spoke again, and my dream was quickly forgotten.

"Sorry to wake you, but I thought you might like to see Blaine?"

I jumped to my feet in one swift movement, and the Doctor smiled at my exuberance.

"Hold up a sec, I've got to lay some ground rules first."

I nodded, swiping my hand over my face tiredly, and at his gesture, I sank back into the sofa to listen to him, gratefully accepting the coffee my father pushed into my hands.

"I've just been to check on Blaine, and he had a rough night, but he was given a sedative just two hours ago, so he's quite calm right now. He is slightly delusional and unaccepting, and mostly unresponsive... except when I mention your name. At this point, I think it would be beneficial for him to know that you are still here for him."

I nodded eagerly, agreeing with this opinion whole heartedly, and started to rise again, but the Doctor held up his hands to still me.

"Kurt, before you go in there, you have to understand a couple of things. One; Blaine is still on suicide watch, okay. As a general rule, I wouldn't allow him to have visitors, but I believe that Blaine will not break from his current state of mind until he has seen you. But, Kurt, I need you to be careful what you say to him. Don't promise him anything to do with staying with him all the time, I'm working on getting him a private room so you can stay with him, but even then, it won't be all day and night. He's in a secure ward, and there are strict rules to follow, for the safety of ALL the patients, not just Blaine. I can't let you spend nights here with him."

I nodded, but my first thought was 'I wonder what Blaine is going to think of that', but I didn't raise it. At this point I would accept anything, as long as it got me through those doors quicker.

"And two, Kurt, this is important." He levelled a stare at me "Blaine is communicating again, verbally, but it's still limited to just three words. I don't want you to feel guilty about what he is saying, do you understand? I spoke to your Dad about this while you were still asleep, and he agrees. Forcing you to leave the hospital yesterday was probably what caused Blaine to harm himself, but you are in no way to blame for that. Obviously, he reacted more harshly than I had expected, but I still don't see it as a total failure. He is communicating now, which is a huge break in his status from 24 hours ago. I want you to try and keep him talking, if you can. Try and get him to talk to you, about anything. Happy memories are a great place to start, if you get stuck. I have a feeling that you are going to be a monumental part in Blaine's recovery, Kurt. Can you handle that?"

I looked him square in the eye. "Yes, Sir."

"Do you have any questions, before you go in there?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded; nervous about what his answer would be, but too morbidly curious not to ask.

"How did he do it? Last night, when he tried to..."

I couldn't say the words, but I didn't need to. The Doctor levelled his gaze at me.

"He smashed his water glass, Kurt, and used a piece of it to cut himself."

He spoke the words matter-of-factly, direct and to the point, not embellishing on the details, for which I was grateful. I nodded my thanks for his candour.

"Please, can I see him now?"

-.-.-.-

My Dad and I followed him through the secure doors, and down the wide corridor. I was practically skipping to keep up, nervous yet so keen to see Blaine that I couldn't contain my excitement. The Doctor stopped outside a door and hung back, and I preceded him into the room.

There was my Blaine, in the furthest bed, by the window. He was quiet and still, and didn't even look up as I approached him. I slowed dramatically as I neared the bed, very cautious now, suddenly scared of what he would do when he saw me, he seemed so out of it. His gaze was locked on something out the window, and he hadn't even noticed my movements in his room.

I was almost right beside his bed when he finally seemed to snap out of his little trance, and with a jolt, he turned to face me.

"Kurt?" His voice was soft, shaky and questioning. He closed his eyes tight for a second, scrunching them up, before opening them again and refocusing on me. "Kurt?" He asked again.

I reached out for his hand, linking my fingers gently through his, barely applying any pressure to them though when I realised they were all individually bandaged. I was momentarily shocked, but deliberately didn't react, I just smiled down at his beautiful face.

"Yes it's me, Blaine. I'm here."

"Kurt" He said again, a trembling reverence in his voice. He grasped at my hand, raising it to his face, rubbing my open palm against the stubbly skin of his cheek, the side of his nose, the silkiness of his cheekbones, just touching my skin to his own, and sighing, leaning into the touch, tears pooling in his eyes. His right arm, encumbered by the cast, awkwardly moved so he could grasp my other hand in the tips of the fingers that protruded from beneath the plaster, reverently touching my hand, stroking my arm... but it was the look of awe, and the heartbreaking feeling of utter disbelief that radiated from him that shook me to the core. Somehow, it seemed that Blaine had actually believed I had left him, that I could leave him, and now he was struggling to come to terms with the fact that I had returned.

"Kurt" he said again, in a whisper, and finally, he smiled. "Kurt"

"Blaine" I said gently, lowering myself carefully over him to embrace him, pressing tenderly passionate, desperately loving kisses to his face, tasting his tears, quieting his sobs with my lips and arms. He moved beneath me, positioning himself so that I could join him on the bed, realising far too late that I was actually lying between his legs.

I deliberately ignored the proximity of our crotches, but it wasn't easy to do considering my father was watching us intently from the doorway. What I had to say to him, though, was so much more important than where our bodies were, so I pushed it out of my mind.

"Blaine, love. Listen to me."

It took a little effort, but I managed to get Blaine to calm and pay attention to my words. When he was laying still, staring back into my eyes, I finally spoke.

"Don't you know that you are my everything? Blaine, I need you to know with all your heart that I won't ever leave you. I want to be with you, Blaine, and nothing will keep me away from you, Understand? But sometimes, love, while you're in this hospital, I won't be able to stay with you every minute of the day or night. Sometimes, you need to have some time by yourself to rest, and to work with the Doctors so you can get better, okay? But I will always come back to you, I promise."

He stared intently into my eyes, tears pooled in his, gently tracing my cheekbone with a bandaged finger.

"Promise?" He whispered softly.

I just nodded briefly before my lips found his in a soft, caressing kiss. We eventually broke it, both gasping for air, but I couldn't bring myself to move myself off his bed.

"I love you, Blaine."

It wasn't until the words were out of my mouth that I realised I had thrown him a sort of a challenge, daring him to reply in the manner that he usually did when I spoke those words to him. It hadn't been intentional, and after a few seconds I realised that I wasn't going to get my reply, but I didn't give up. Doctor Salling had specified that he wanted me to help Blaine communicate. There was no harm in trying.

So I pressed another kiss to his lips, and then spoke.

"I love you more than Bow Ties, Blaine."

His lips twitched up in a smile at that, and I knew instantly that I was on to a winner with this game. Blaine and I played this game all the time, throwing down the gauntlet with increasingly ludicrous and extravagant things that we demanded that our love was stronger than. Blaine was a champion at the game. I would never admit it to him, but he was way better at this than I was. I guess he had a more extensively exuberant imagination. But this time, I was gonna kick his butt.

I grinned. "I love you more than Non Fat Mochas."

He lowered his gaze from mine for a moment, and when he looked back up his mouth opened, as if he was going to speak, but then it fell closed again.

I wouldn't give up. "I love you more than watching Wicked being performed live at the Theatre."

"Kurt..." His eyes burned into mine, and I waited. And waited.

And I was just about to speak, and tell him that I loved him more than skinny leg jeans, when he spoke. His voice was low, broken and shaky, but full of conviction.

"I love you more than Katy Perry."

I gathered him gently into my arms, kissing him everywhere I could reach, and just let the tears flow down my face.

I was getting through to him.

Blaine was going to be okay.

-.-.-.-.-