"Oh, I'm sorry? I think you've walked into the wrong room. I'm expecting George." Blaine (at least, that's who Kurt presumed this was) stated firmly, but not unkindly.�
"Right here, Blaine!" a voice called from behind Kurt, effectively pulling him out of his reverie. Sweet mother of god, he'd been staring openly at this man without moving. How could he not ogle, though? Those curls, that tan skin, those eyes that seemed to have �no bottom to them, and the sure but sweet smile was a winning combination, to say the least. He was wearing a deep red polo that showed off his toned arms and navy slacks instead of the usual gown that patients wore. Kurt quickly sidestepped from the door to allow George to walk in.�
"Hey Blaine! This is Kurt. Kurt, Blaine. Blaine, Kurt's going to be your new nurse, now that you're ready to start with physical therapy. Anything to report on the old knee, Blainers?"
"Nothing new. It's a little stiff, of course, and it hurts from time to time, but nothing I haven't seen before. No use in idle whining, eh?" Blaine replied, winking at Kurt.�
"I-uh, yeah. Sure, I guess," Kurt mumbled. Damn, winking should be illegal or something. He looked to George with a question in his eyes.
"Oh, Blaine came to us from service with a shattered patella and fractured tibia and fibula. Our only option was to clean out what we could, set in a metal replacement kneecap and stabilize his leg until the two longer bones healed. We just took his cast off yesterday, and weeks of disuse have probably left his limbs sore and weak. I think it's best if we start with a few stretching exercises for today. We can build up the intensity later on."
Clearing his mind, Kurt joined George and helped Blaine hop off his bed and wobble to his wheelchair.
"Kurt, you know where the equipment room is, correct?"
Nodding, Kurt replied, "Yeah, I passed it on my way up."
"Good, can you take Blaine there? I've got to check in on another patient. She'll be joining us as well."
"Yeah, no problem."

Kurt wheeled a happy-looking Blaine out of the room and down the hall.�
"So, you're new to Cincinnati?" Blaine asked, attempting to start a conversation.�
"Erm, not really? I mean, I'm originally from Lima, but I thought this would be a good place to recuperate. Not right next to the family, but they're still reachable."
"Recuperate?"
"I just finished my service time. Iraq."
"Oh wow, I was deployed in Afghanistan, but of course, had to be sent back home because of the leg. I don't think I'm going back, though."
"What happened?"
"Roadside bomb. I was pretty lucky, actually. Shrapnel only hit my leg. Three others in my unit were killed."
"Oh Blaine, I'm so sorry to hear that! I know how it feels, losing people that shared so much with you. Watching them die."
"Yeah, well." Blaine's voice was harder now, he blinked his eyes furiously and cleared his throat.�
The remainder of the short trip was spent in silence, as neither man knew what to say to console the other. They barely knew each other, after all.�
When the duo finally reached the room, there were already people there. Some were testing out new prosthetics, and others were exercising sore joints. Soon, George walked into the room as well, pushing a small Asian woman with two prosthetic legs, both connecting just below the knee.�
"Kurt, this is Tina. She's been going through therapy for about two months now, and has made very good progress! Since you have experience already, I'll let you stick with Blaine while I work with Tina. If you need any help, I'm right here!"

Kurt and Blaine chose to work in a corner of the room where no one else was. It would help them interact with each other if there was just a little bit of privacy.�

"Alright, Blaine. I'm going to need you to slowly stretch your leg out and then make small circles, moving in a clockwise direction," Kurt instructed
With a low grunt, Blaine complied, gripping his armrests for support, making his biceps ripple and causing the veins in his forearms to stand out. Kurt knew he shouldn't be noticing these small details, the way Blaine's eyebrows furrowed, and the small frown from exertion, but he couldn't help himself. Kurt was getting more and more attracted to Blaine with every passing minute.�
"Wow, talk about out of shape..." Blaine muttered below his breath.�
"It's alright, we just need to loosen you up first," Kurt smiled gently, taking Blaine's leg and resting on a nearby chair while he massaged the stressed tendons around the knee.
"Oooohh, Kuuurt that feels wonderful," Blaine moaned.�
Kurt mentally scolded himself for letting the noises coming out of Blaine's mouth arouse him. He stopped caressing immediately, feeling self-conscious about how long this would take to become inappropriate.�
"Come on, let's see you try counter-clockwise now," Kurt said, trying to divert his mind from the scene that had occurred just a moment ago.
"Argh, this actually sucks. Like, a lot." Blaine mumbled
"Hey, if you do this, I'll bring you ice cream for lunch!" Kurt hoped this would motivate Blaine, at least.�
"Hmm, bribery. I like it," Blaine grinned, winking again. "So you'll have lunch with me in my room?"�
"If you want me to, I have to go pick up my uniform first, though." Kurt replied.�
"Fine with me, it'll give me time to get settled."

They continued the exercise session well into the afternoon, enjoying each other's company through shy glances and pleasant chatter. At noon, George informed the two that it was time for lunch, and asked Kurt to meet him in the faculty lounge to pick up his uniform.�

-------------------------------------

"Don't forget you promised me ice cream!" Blaine called as Kurt gently shut his door to leave for the faculty lounge. Chuckling to himself, Kurt briskly walked into the lounge, where George was already waiting for him.�
"Hey Kurt! How was the first session?"
"It was great, actually. Blaine's quite something."
"He is, isn't he? Poor kid, didn't deserve all that pain, he still manages to be so happy all the time, though."
"Yeah, I guess it's how some people cope with life. Happiness can outshine sorrow, and it's better to look forward to new beginnings rather than mope over old endings. Anyway, have my uniform for me?"
"Yeah, right here," George said, handing over a set that was the same shade of dark blue as the shirt Kurt was currently wearing. "You can change into these right now, if you want, or you can wait until tomorrow. I have five more sets for you waiting to be picked up at the end of the day. If you choose not to wear this today, I can put it back with the others."�
"That'd be nice, thanks. I'll stick with what I'm wearing today. If that's all, I'll go get lunch now, yeah?" Kurt asked, handing back the uniform and walking towards the door.�
"Yeah, that's all. You can go, Kurt."

In the cafeteria, Kurt decided to buy something simple from the sandwich aisle. After looking carefully through all of the options, he finally settled for a vegetarian wrap, he wasn't feeling very hungry anyway. Then, heading towards the ice cream bar, Kurt bought himself a plain vanilla bar, and stopped to think what Blaine would like. His eyes immediately fell upon the cookie dough bar, and he bought it, smiling to himself.�

------------------------------------

"Oh, you actually came!" Blaine exclaimed, grinning as Kurt gently opened his door and set his tray on the countertop.�
"Of course I did, silly. I promised, and I don't break my promises. Why do you eat in here instead of the cafeteria?"
"Oh, I guess I just like the privacy? I dunno... It's really peaceful in here."
"Nah, I get what you mean, it's nice. Here's your ice cream by the way, chocolate chip cookie dough good?"
"That's... actually my favourite. How did you know to get it?"
"I chose on a whim, let's say I'm a very good guesser," Kurt smirked playfully.�
"Alright, so tell me about yourself," Blaine said, sitting up straight in his bed and staring intently.�
"Oh well, I'm not really very interesting. Let's see... I was born and raised in Lima, went to McKinley High-"
"Oh I went to Dalton! Didn't you guys have a glee club? I remember competing against them, being a Warbler myself."
"No, really?!? You guys were so good! But of course, we were better!"
"Pshaw, you wish. Anyway, high school?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, I was planning on going to New York to study fashion, but decided to postpone my plans. I didn't want to put too much of a stress on my father. You see, he had a heart attack when I was in high school and I didn't want to agitate his health. So I joined the army for a few years to get started financially, ended becoming a nurse."
"That's really sweet of you, Kurt. The not wanting to put stress on your dad, that is. I don't really know why I joined... I guess I was just frustrated. My father wanted me to go into business and take after him. I guess I just needed to do something that was my own decision before I spent the rest of my life in shoes that had already been molded for me, you know? You learn so much though, being out there."
"You really do. And it stays with you. I still have-" Kurt's voice broke.�
"Hey, what's wrong?" Blaine asked gently, reaching over and resting his hand on Kurt's arm.�
"I still see everything, Blaine! All those poor people who gave up EVERYTHING. People like you, who came in to me, broken. And sometimes I couldn't help them, I just had to watch them die. Right in front of me. I still dream about it. I wake up screaming and sobbing at night." Kurt was sobbing at this point, not even caring about being so vulnerable in front of a very attractive man.�
"Kurt, it's okay to remember. It just shows how much you cared, and that you care still. It's because of people like you that people like me are able to continue serving. It's okay to hurt, but you have to remember that it's not your fault. Crazy shit happens out there, it's a messed up world, and you can't blame yourself for things beyond your control. You do the best with what you have, and that's more than anyone could ever ask for."
"Thank you, Blaine. You're the first person I've ever admitted that to, and that's probably the best thing anyone could have said," Kurt sniffled, gently wiping away his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "It was really nice having lunch with you, Blaine, but I have to go now to help the other patients. Will you be here all day?"
"No, I leave in about forty-five minutes. George usually comes in to take inventory on my progress and then my chauffeur picks me up."
"Oh, okay. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course. Hey Kurt, can I have your number?"
"Oh, sure! Here, give me your phone, and take mine," Kurt tried very hard to suppress his excitement. He hadn't had anyone ask for his number in a very long time. He left soon after they had both returned their phones and exchanged goodbyes.�
That night, Kurt had difficulty in sleeping. It wasn't that he was upset or anything, he just wasn't tired. His cellphone began to ring at 10:30 PM. Surprised, he picked it up and saw Blaine's name flashing on the screen.�
"Hello?"
"Kurt! Hi! Did I wa-were you asleep?"
"No, no, you're fine. I'm actually strangely awake tonight."
"Me too, oddly enough, you up for some pointless chatter?"
"I'm all ears."

-----------------------------------

Kurt didn't even notice the time passing while he was on the phone with Blaine. He turned in his bed to look at his bedside alarm clock and almost dropped his phone in shock.�
"Blaine! It's 2:30 in the morning!"
"Is that a bad thing?"
"We both have to be up in the morning. And I have work!" Kurt groaned. Tomorrow was looking like a double coffee kind of day.�
"Yeah, I guess you have a point. So we should sleep now, huh?"
"That would be a good idea, I'm sure" Kurt chuckled.�
Blaine pretended to huff. "Well, good night, Kurt. Or good morning, rather."
"Good night to you too. Oh, and Blaine?"
"Yeah?"
"I really enjoy talking to you."
"... I really like talking to you too, Kurt."�