Burt walked through his door and called out tentatively, “Kurt?” When no one responded he relaxed, Kurt was probably asleep then. He really hoped that Kurt was asleep anyway because there was a station wagon parked out front that looked so much like Blaine’s it was creepy. Burt’s heart had even skipped a beat, for a moment believing that Blaine was here. Until he remembered that with all the brain damage the kid had he probably wouldn’t be driving, let alone even be awake yet. Still somehow, Burt hadn’t been able to stop himself from peaking in the driver side window just to make sure. Yet when he saw that Kurt’s ascot (at least he’s pretty sure that’s what it was called. Anyway it was a scarf thing) wasn’t tied to the gear shift, he knew it couldn’t be Blaine’s. Burt plopped down at the kitchen table and put his head in his hands. As hard as this was on Burt, he knew it was a million times harder on Kurt.

Burt wanted to kick himself. Wanted to go back and time and change everything. He wished he hadn’t extended their curfew that night. Wished he had insisted they see a different show. Wished he hadn’t let them go in the first place. Wished the world wasn’t such a sick and cruel place that his son couldn’t love who he loved without being beaten within an inch of his life. And sometimes, Burt was selfish enough to wish that Kurt and Blaine had never fallen in love with each other. He was never quite selfish enough to wish they had never met, but even that came from a selfish place, because he had the sneaking suspicion that if he hadn’t come along when he had that Burt would be out of a son at this time. But yes, Burt was selfish enough to wish that Kurt hadn’t fallen in love with Blaine, because this was eating away at Kurt. Literally. Kurt had been in a coma for three weeks. His arm was broken. His femur snapped completely in half. Several of his ribs were cracked. Two of them splintered and lodged in a kidney, rupturing it. It wasn’t until two weeks ago that Kurt could even move about without the assistance of someone else.

But that wasn’t even the half of it. Kurt was just so depressed. For the first week and a half that he had been awake, Kurt had to be fed through an IV, refusing to open his mouth for anything. When he was deemed fit to go home, all he did was hound people to take him back to the hospital. All he wanted was to be there with Blaine. It was a pathological need to be there. And Burt understood that, understood that more than anyone else probably, but he had to do what was best for his son. And watching his boyfriend waste away in a hospital bed was not exactly it. Eventually, Kurt had agreed to stay at home on the condition that the Andersons call him if there were any changes. Thus far there had been no calls. And Burt was pretty sure that was going to be the death of his son. Kurt rarely ate, and when he did it was only because Burt would bring the food to his room and stand there until he ate every last bite. Kurt would never admit it, but Burt knew his son wasn’t sleeping. Burt wanted to believe that it was the nightmares, that they were the reason he was being kept up at night. Part of him though, knew that wasn’t the case. He knew it was because he could no longer sleep without curling up next to the vertically challenged, bow tie sporting boy. Burt sighed and checked his watch, upon seeing that most of his lunch hour had passed, Burt stood and grabbed a pen off the counter, scribbling a note to Kurt should he ever venture out of his room.

Kurt started awake when he heard the door close, he tried to sit up but was held down by a warm weight. Kurt glanced down the length of his body to see he was tangled with Blaine and he smiled softly. Even if this wasn’t his Blaine, and he wasn’t Blaine’s Kurt, Kurt was happy to have him back in a way. And a part of him trusted the deal he had made with Blaine about telling each other everything, trusted it enough to think that maybe this would go somewhere. And the best part of all, Blaine still got his brand of weird.

Kurt tilted his head a little and caught the alarm clock on his bedside table, ‘2:03’. Kurt groaned internally, he knew that if Blaine wanted to make it home in time to escape his parents, he’d have to leave now and Kurt really didn’t want that. But he also knew that if he wanted this to work he’d have to make sure they didn’t get caught. Kurt ran a hand through Blaine’s curls, sighing once before really attempting to wake him. Kurt brushed his hand down Blaine’s bicep, “Blaine?” Blaine mumbled but didn’t stir, “Blaine you have to wake up.” Blaine just grumbled and nuzzled deeper into Kurt’s chest, “Blaine, pancakes!” It was almost comical how fast Blaine’s eyes flew open, Kurt smiled, “Hey sleepy head.” Blaine grinned sleepily, “Mm, Kurt.” Kurt chuckled, “Blaine you’re really going to have to get going if you want to make it back before your parents.” Blaine sighed and rolled over onto his back, “Right. Parents. Um. Hey Kurt?” Kurt sat up, “Yeah?” “That song that I sang at the Gap, was it called ‘When I Get You Alone?” Kurt felt like his heart was going to stop beating, “Uh--yeah. How’d you know?” Kurt choked out. “I dreamed about it,” Blaine replied simply. Kurt’s eyes flew open wide and it didn’t seem to dawn on Blaine what had just come out of his mouth, Kurt cried, “You--you dreamed about it?!” Blaine shot up into a seated position, his still recovering injuries protesting a little, “I did!! I dreamed about it! And you were there and so were all the Warblers and I think--Kurt I think I even remember their names!”

Kurt felt his heart tug a little bit. This was it, they could do this. Was Kurt so foolish as to think it was going to be this easy? Napping together and magically coaxing memories out of that hidden corner in Blaine’s head? No, Kurt knew better than that. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but he wanted it. Wanted all of it, every day, forever. Just like they had promised each other all those months ago. Kurt grinned, “Blaine!! That’s amazing!” Blaine looked ready to jump up and down, “There was Wes--and---and David! And Thad and Nick!! And Jeff was there too!! And Ca--” “Blaine, as amazing as this is, if you don’t leave now you’re going to get caught,” Kurt cut across him. Blaine’s face fell a little bit, “I don’t want to leave.” Kurt felt like a petulant child as he whined, “I don’t want you to go either.” Blaine crossed his arms, “Then why do I have to?” Kurt sighed, “Because if you don’t your parents will catch you, they’ll probably make it impossible for us to see each other ever again.” Blaine huffed, “I hate when you’re right.” Kurt laughed, “Unfortunately that happens a lot. Now get going, up!” Kurt nudged Blaine and rose from the bed with him.

Kurt led Blaine to the door and held it open for him, “Well---I’ll see you---um...?” Blaine smiled uncertainly, “Monday?” Kurt grinned, “Monday sounds great.” Blaine stood there awkwardly for moment, “Um, Kurt...what am I allowed to do now?” Kurt lifted an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” Blaine bit his lip, “I don’t really know...waving or shaking your hand feels too formal, and hugging you seems like it’s not enough...” Kurt shrugged, “Look this is gonna take some time. We’re gonna have to relearn our boundaries, the perimeter of our relationship...and I wish it wasn’t going to be, but this is going to be hard. So for now, just do what feels...natural,” Kurt stumbles for words, wanting to sound self assured when on the inside he was anything but. Blaine kicked an idea back and forth in his mind, on the one hand he felt that the natural thing to do would kiss Kurt lingeringly on the lips. However, part of him desperately wanted Kurt to feel safe and loved and secure, and somehow launching himself on to Kurt didn’t sound like the best way to do that, especially if Kurt was having issues with physical contact. Blaine smiled reassuringly, reached up slowly to twine his arms around Kurt and pulled him close. It took a moment, but Kurt returned the hug and Blaine squeezed tightly. Just before pulling away, Blaine kissed Kurt’s cheek, trying to pour all of his love into that single gesture of affection. Wait---did that really just run through his head? Did he really just say love? Does he love Kurt? Somehow it seems absurd seeing as Blaine only technically met Kurt a couple of hours ago...but yes, Blaine can already tell he’s so deeply in love with Kurt.

Without any words, Blaine left Kurt standing there in the doorway. Kurt stood there for a minute before finally making his way to the couch. Kurt plopped down and carded his fingers through his perfectly coiffed hair, effectively ruining it. Kurt took a minute to run through the events of the day. How anxious he had been about meeting Blaine, worrying over what to wear, questioning every decision he made, What if he doesn’t like this shirt on me anymore? Worrying about ordering his coffee, what if Blaine doesn’t like the way I drink my coffee? Worrying about talking, oh God, what if he doesn’t like the same things anymore? Worrying about being alone with him once Kendra left, what if all the sudden he hates me? What if he blames me for the accident? Worrying about the drive home, what if he suddenly remembers everything following me home? Worrying about being in Kurt’s room, what if he doesn’t like my decor? What if he asks why I’m downstairs? The last one was quickly squashed by the memory of the fact that Blaine can no longer remember their entire relationship.

So Kurt glances at the clock on the mantel and estimates that he has five minutes to figure out how he feels about the course of today’s events Kurt chewed his lip intently. Half of him was so full of hope that it physically hurt. Half of him was so terrified to hope, so afraid of having that tiny sliver of hope taken away from him. Half of him was feeling so light just from the fact that physically, Blaine was going to be just fine. He had spent so many months wondering if he was going to even be able to talk to Blaine again, and now that he could, Kurt felt like he could fly. The flip side to that was that even in his wildest imaginings where Kurt had allowed himself to hope for just minutes at a time that he might be able to be with Blaine again, he had never once thought about the fact that Blaine might have memory loss. Kurt began to feel a tight sinking in his chest as he is faced with the fact that Blaine may never remember him.

Part of Kurt wanted to just focus on the now. On the fact that Blaine blindly trusted him. On the fact that they both had issues with physicality after what happened, yet somehow they found solice in each others arms. Somehow, even though Blaine didn't know Kurt from Adam, Blaine still felt safe in Kurt's arms, at least he had said so. Kurt closed his eyes and he could still feel Blaine's head against his chest, the phantom weight that he had woken up to almost everyday the past three and a half months. Knowing that the weight could be real again, made Kurt want to bolt for the door. Bring Blaine back. To never let him leave again. Kurt could feel his throat tightening as he thought of how many things could go wrong now that Blaine had left. What if he got in an accident? What if his parents found out? What if someone tried to hurt Blaine again? What if Blaine forgot about him by tomorrow? What if Blaine was no longer interested in learning what happened in the past year and a half? What if?

Kurt ran through so many scenarios of what could go wrong, he barely noticed the breath escaping him. He didn't realize he was struggling for breath. The gasping noises he could hear, didn't register as his own. That was until he felt something gripping his wrists, which frightened him more. It was all coming back to him now. In full on color, playing behind his eyelids. The man that knocked him to the ground as he reached for Blaine. Blaine struggling to reach Kurt. Watching as a pipe collided with the back of Blaine's skull. Feeling the feet that kicked his ribs harshly. Hearing with an almost comical clarity the snap of his arm, rather than feeling it. Then he could hear the shouts, "Kurt! Kurt!" But they weren't the familiar melody of Blaine's voice, but a gruff voice that was slowly pulling Kurt back to the present. Burt came slowly into focus in Kurt's line of vision, "Kurt, buddy, relax. Breathe. Come on. 1, 2, 3, in. 1,2,3, out. Sh, it's alright. You're safe. Everything's okay---" Kurt watched as Burt flinched, because as far as Burt knew everything was not okay. But Kurt couldn't bring himself to tell Burt that Blaine was awake.

Kurt couldn't quite explain it to himself just yet, but...he just wanted to figure out some things on his own. He knew when it all came out, Burt and Carole would be furious, because they were worrying over Blaine almost as much as Kurt had been, but Kurt needed to work this out first. What ever this was. Kurt knew that that something they always had between them was still there, but he also knew that each of them had changed drastically. He needed to know if Blaine still wanted to be with him. Whether or not they could still love each other over everything. Kurt knew one thing beyond all belief though, that he still trusted Blaine implicitly. Kurt can still remember when they had gone to see The Vow.
"What if that happened to us," Kurt said quietly,throwing an arm around Blaine's shoulder.
"If one of us couldn't remember the other?" Blaine replied.
"Yes."
"We'd find our way back to each other."
"How do you know?"
"Because Kurt, that's what you and I do. We find each other. You found me that day on the steps at Dalton. I found you when you were hiding from the rest of the world. And I know that no matter what happens, we'll find each other. And I know that no matter what happens we'll find each other always. Do you, um, do you believe in like past lives?"
"Uh...I don't really know. Why?"
"Because I feel like that's what we are. I feel like we've known each other before this lifetime. And I feel like if there's a next time, even if we're born in totally different dimensions the next time around, we'd find each other again. Because that's what we do."
Kurt didn't say something, just squeezed Blaine tighter.

Kurt held on to that memory like it was all that was keeping him alive. Slowly he could feel himself coming back. Focusing on breathing. Feeling his throat relax. He let out a gust of air and sucked it right back in as he wrenched his hands from his father's grasp. When he saw the hurt flash across his dad's eyes, he instantly regretted it, "Dad, I'm sorry, you just---" Burt put up a hand to stop him, "No kiddo, I get it. Don't worry about it. I wasn't thinking. You okay?" Kurt chewed his lip, but nodded. No matter the flashbacks, now that he didn't worry so much about Blaine, he felt better ten fold. Burt gave him a shallow grin, "Great. So what do you want to do for dinner? Carole said it's your turn to pick?" For the first itme in weeks, food actually sounded good. Kurt felt like he could eat through ten brick houses if allowed the chance, "Um, can we do that parmesan, chicken, garlic thingy? You know the one she made for your birthday?" Burt tried not to let his shock show on his face, his son hadn't been the slightest bit interested in eating, let alone what it was he ingested, for more than twenty weeks. So Burt tried to chuckle it off, "Sure, kid." Kurt grinned, maybe not all the way to his eyes, but it was lighter, no longer forced. Burt couldn't tell what had changed, but something had, "Oh, and can we do mashed potatoes? And maybe that broccoli cheese covered stuff?"

Burt could see something bubbling under his son's surface, and Kurt could see the calculating look in his eyes. Kurt tried to figure out what was making his father suspicious until he remembered, he hadn't been this interested in eating since...well that night. The ribs that Kurt could practically count every time he bothered with a mirror were perfect proof of that. "Kiddo, did something happen today," Burt asked uncertainly, he couldn't quite place a finger on it, but something in Kurt had changed. Kurt froze for a second, he needed to tone this down a lot. "Um, no, just really hungry," Kurt said, "Feels like I haven't eaten in weeks." Burt kindly refrained from mentioning that he actually hadn't eaten in weeks, just patting him on the knee, before remembering not to, "Well kiddo, I'll go tell Carole. Why don't you turn on that Design On A Dime thing you like so much, I'm not in the mood for the Housewives tonight." Kurt just nodded, grabbing the remote.

That night at dinner, Blaine struggled to conceal his odd mixture of anger and bizarre joy. He desperately wanted to read his parents the right act. To tear them limb from limb with vicious, cutting words. He wanted to ask them how someone could be so...just sick in the head that they would outright lie to their amnesiac son. Why would they keep details of his life from him that would help him. Help him put back together his sham of a life. But he couldn't. He couldn't scream and shout as he so desperately wished. Because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he said anything about knowing the truth, they'd do something to stop it. He didn't know if they would try to tell him it was all lies. Or if they'd take away any chance he had of ever seeing Kurt again. He just knew that he couldn't possibly risk it. All he could do for now was count down the long agonizing hours until it was an acceptable hour on Monday to show up at Kurt's front door.

Blaine promptly excused himself from the table after several brief attempts at small talk. They had asked what could be done about the tattoo. He lifted up his shirt to reveal a piece of gauze he'd had the foresight to apply, claiming that Kendra had removed it and said that it needed to stay bandaged for a couple of days. He tried to be normal and ask his dad about his day at work. Ask his mom if anyone had bought the old Smith place, but the inconsequential woes of a lawyer and a realtor could not interest him for very long. Soon he found himself laying on his bed, stroking his tattoo under the gauze on the verge of giggling like a schoolgirl.

Whereas just this morning he had been questioning everything about himself. Questioning everything he knew and things he didn't, now there was certainty. Did he remember anything? Except for a brief flash of the 'Gap Attack', no. Did he know how this was going to work out? No. Was he scared? Definitely. Did he know if Kurt would even take him back? Nope. All he knew for sure that somewhere in him, Blaine still loved Kurt deeply, and not even the Kurt he had never, and maybe would never, known. But the boy he had met today. The boy that was seemingly scared of his own shadow. The boy that had rings under his gorgeous blue eyes. The boy that had the most kind smile Blaine had ever seen. The boy that for some reason, appeared to be that thing Blaine had been missing each time he attempted to fall asleep. The boy that had the prettiest voice Blaine had ever heard, could only be compared to that of an angel. The boy that had a witty remark for everything. The boy that Blaine could see was guarded. But somehow, Blaine knew he would be the one to get past his guard if Kurt would let him. Blaine desperately wanted that.

Blaine wanted more than anything to have Kurt in his life. For a reason that Blaine couldn't explain, he felt like Kurt was a part of him. And he wanted to be a part of Kurt. He wanted to..to know everything about Kurt. Everything that he used to know. He wanted to learn things that he had never known before. He wanted to know if Kurt noticed when he scrunched his nose just a little bit. He wanted to know if all of Kurt's skin was as soft beneath his lips as his cheek had been. He wanted to know if Kurt had always been so skinny. In the pictures he appeared slender, but today he had seemed downright boney. But still, he was the most beautiful think Blaine had ever laid eyes on. And Blaine would happily spend the rest of his days learning the man like the back of his hand. As Blaine's eyes slipped close, he smiled as he remembered it was only a couple of days till he could see Kurt.