In the end, Melissa and Kurt decided to release a statement. Just the bare simple facts.

Former Broadway singer Kurt Hummel has come out of a one-year coma. As a result of his accident, he has suffered permanent damage to his vocal cords and will not be returning to the stage. Otherwise, he is recovering well at home.

Short, sweet, and to the point. Blaine was a little relieved he wasn't mentioned.

...

It was surprising how many friends and former colleagues contacted Melissa's office. Her staff took people's contact information and emailed it daily to Kurt for him to decide whom to contact.

Over the next few weeks, Kurt sent emails to almost everyone, reestablishing many old relationships. He kept it to emails and text messages, not comfortable yet using the tablet in front of old acquaintances and feeling self-consciousness of his physical state. These were people who knew him at his peak, and he wanted a little more time to recover.

Blaine and Kurt had gone back to just being friends. Kurt was stronger week-by-week, and no longer needed help walking.

Blaine still wondered about that night of kissing. It was so out of the blue, and Kurt stopped so abruptly. Had it just been because Blaine was there, convenient? There were times he caught himself staring at Kurt's mouth, his lips, and shook himself out of it before Kurt could notice.

...

One evening, they were watching a comedy and Kurt got an email.

Blaine could tell something was different. Kurt was frozen on the sofa, hardly even breathing. Blaine paused the movie, turning to Kurt.

"Kurt, what is it? Can I help?" Concern for him had Blaine moving closer, putting a hand on his arm as he searched Kurt's face.

Kurt blinked a few times, and then turned his tablet for Blaine to see the latest email in his inbox. It was from Carole Hudson-Hummel. The subject was 'Kurt, I just got your news'.

"That is excellent, Kurt. Right? I thought you two were quite close." Blaine searched Kurt's face trying to determine his feelings about it. He was clearly overwhelmed.

Blaine held out his arms and Kurt burrowed into them. Blaine rubbed his back, making soothing noises as Kurt pushed his face into Blaine's shoulder. He realized Kurt was quietly crying, and his heart went out to him.

"Oh honey, that's right, let it out." Blaine was glad to be here for Kurt, able to support him through all this.

When Kurt finally pulled back, he reached quickly to a side table for tissues, wiping his face and blowing his nose. His eyes were still red and watery, his skin blotchy from the crying. Blaine thought he'd never looked more beautiful.

Kurt stared down at his tablet, still occasionally lifting a tissue to wipe away a tear.

Blaine rested a hand on his shoulder. "Would you like me to read the email to you, Kurt?"

Kurt's big eyes met his, and he slowly nodded, passing the tablet to Blaine. He drew his feet up on the sofa; hugging his knees tightly, tense.

His hand shaking slightly, Blaine opened the email.

Hey Kiddo,

I can barely write this as tears keep running down my face. I just got a message from a friend that you have woken up from your coma. I couldn't be happier with any news in the world. It's so incredible. This is the best thing ever and I have been driving all my coworkers crazy with it.

I have to see you so I've arranged for a flight to New York this Saturday. It is several hours on a bus to get into Bangkok and then a twenty-hour flight. I should be there by noon Sunday.

Please let me know if I should book a hotel or if you have a bed I could crash in. This old lady will be seriously jet lagged and probably barely fit for company for a couple days.

Warning, when I see you, I'll probably hug and kiss you for at least an hour. And then hug and kiss you some more.

All my love,
Carole

As he had read it, Kurt had cried some more, going through tissue after tissue. Blaine put down the tablet and hugged Kurt, letting him cry again. He was shaking, and Blaine stroked his back, holding him tight.

Kurt was practically limp by the time he sat back on the sofa, his eyes still red but a happy smile there as well.

"That is so great, Kurt. It sounds like she didn't get the message we sent when you came out of your coma. But it seems like where she is working is quite remote if it takes hours to get to Bangkok." Blaine smiled tenderly down at his friend.

Kurt typed on his tablet. "Yeah, I visited there, a few months before the accident. It's in a very undeveloped area, and there's very little health care there. Hardly even clean water. But she loves the work and she needed it after Dad passed. Something to take up the huge empty space in her life."

Nodding, Blaine had to get a few of his own tissues to mop his damp cheeks and blow his nose. "There is no way she's staying anywhere but here. How about I move into the den until she is over her jet lag, and then I go back to my apartment for the rest of her visit?" He scoffed. "You wanted to get away from being around nurses so much, and now one is coming to visit you for a while."

Kurt chuckled in his almost silent way along with Blaine. It was a relief to laugh after the storm of emotions that night. "Are you sure, Blaine? You don't have to leave." Kurt's eyes searched his.

Blaine was grateful that Kurt said that, was at least a bit sad to see him go. "I think it's best for now. Carole is your only remaining family and you two need your time together, I think. But I'll be by to visit and hopefully meet her, OK?"

Kurt nodded. "Definitely. Is Sam going to be OK with you moving back?"

Blaine pulled out his phone. "Well, he's not paying rent, so he can't complain too much." Getting up from the sofa, Blaine went into his bedroom to make the call.

...

When he came out later, Kurt was in the kitchen. "Sam is fine with it. And even better news, he's been working on your voice app, or whatever you want to call it, and he wants to show it to you."

Kurt smiled. "That's so great. Can he come over for dinner tomorrow?"

Blaine texted Sam and nodded back a couple minutes later.

...

"OK, Kurt, let's test it out. Just text like normal and hit 'Speak'." Sam was sitting close to Kurt at the kitchen table.

Kurt's hands were shaking as he typed, not able to do it with his usual speed. He clicked the button.

"Hello. My name is Kurt Hummel."

The voice from the tablet was a familiar one, and Kurt met Blaine's eyes.

Blaine nodded. It sounded great. "Sam, that is so good."

Sam grinned, pleased. "We were also able to create a listing of complete sentences you said during interviews that are quite clear. The sentences come out better that way then the ones that are individual words pieced together."

Kurt looked over the list, laughing at some of the sentences. He clicked one. "Fuck you, I'm fabulous."

Blaine chuckled, hearing that line. It was something that had almost become Kurt's buzz phrase, getting bleeped if it was ever played on TV, of course. It summed up Kurt back then, when he was in high demand and took many artistic risks. And the audience had loved it.

Sam and Kurt played around with the app, laughing a lot. Blaine smiled, hearing Kurt's old voice. It was a bit stilted at times, but suited Kurt so much better than the voices in his tablet. The male voices on there were a little too low, and the female ones were too high.

Sam had even sampled different laughs of Kurt's, from a chuckle to a hard laugh.

"Well, I think this will work great, Sam. Can we add more words to it later on?" Kurt used the app to say this.

Sam nodded. "Yes, we had a voice actor record about 300 common words that were missing. His tone is similar enough to yours that I don't think it will be too jarring. We can always record more with him, so just make a list and we can add to it."

Blaine just shook his head at his old friend, setting the roast chicken on the table. "Sam, you really seem to like doing this. Maybe you could market something like this for other people with speech impairments. So many people have lots of home videos, maybe you could do customized voice apps for them too."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe. Although Kurt's interviews were done with professional equipment and we were able to sample a lot of clear words from them. Home videos aren't as well miked. But at least we could get an idea of their tone and match it."

Their conversation flowed as they enjoyed the meal; Kurt's voice frequently a part of it.

...

Blaine could tell Kurt was nervous about Carole's visit.

He hadn't seen many people from his old life yet, besides Melissa who had come over the same day he made contact to hug Kurt and whack him on the back a few times for not contacting her sooner. He had been in email contact with many people, and had gotten into chatting with a webcam. He was able to see the person, but could communicate with instant messages. It suited him perfectly. Blaine was happy to have Kurt tell him about all sorts of old friends over their meals. He was reconnecting with the world.

But having Carole visit was different. Kurt bought lots of flowers, putting them all around the apartment. He brought in lots of groceries, planning to cook up all their old favorites. But mostly, he was a ball of nervous energy.

"Do you want me to go to the airport with you?" Blaine asked. Kurt was still a bit tentative about leaving the apartment. The buzz around him had died down, so it wasn't reporters that concerned him, although he still tended to dress down and wear a hat and sunglasses. He was concerned about using the tablet around strangers.

Kurt nodded. He looked young and insecure, facing this big thing.

Blaine stepped closer, wrapping his arms around Kurt tight. "Don't worry so much, Kurt. It's going to be fine. As soon as you see her, it will be like old times."

Kurt returned the hug, feeling so good in Blaine's arms.

...

Kurt's grip on Blaine's hand was so tight it was bordering on painful. Blaine didn't complain though, knowing that soon Carole would be walking through the international arrivals gate.

His hand was released when a woman walked through on her own. Her hair was trimmed quite short, a pretty silver-grey. Her eyes and smile were large as she spotted Kurt, and they both walked quickly to each other, resulting in a long, tight hug.

After a couple minutes, Blaine walked slowly towards them, not wanting to intrude. He had come prepared, and held out a tissue package to them.

Kurt's eyes were bright with unshed tears and happiness, and Blaine was almost tearing up too at seeing it.

Turning to Carole, he held out his hand. "I'm a friend of Kurt's, Blaine Anderson."

She ignored his hand and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you for being there for my boy." Her whisper was for his ears only, and when she drew back, Blaine was pulling out a tissue to dab at his eyes.

"Well, aren't we a fine mess." Carole chuckled, looking warmly back and forth between the two men.

Blaine just shook his head as he led them out to the taxi stand. Carole was going to be a handful, but just what Kurt needed. A big dose of maternal affection and caring.

On the ride back to Brooklyn, Blaine asked her about her work and was impressed. He guessed her to be in her late fifties, but she was working in some very rough areas.

"I'd love to see your pictures of the area. It sounds rough but beautiful." Blaine turned to gaze back at Carole. She was in the backseat, cuddling with Kurt, and he was soaking it up.

Carole looked at her stepson. "Haven't you shown Blaine pictures from your visit there?"

He shrugged and shook his head. So far, he hadn't used his tablet around her, relying on Blaine to keep the conversation going.

"Blaine, bug Kurt to show you those pictures. All the kids in the village fell in love with Kurt, following him around night and day. There's an adorable picture I keep on my wall of Kurt sitting on a chair with three children precariously perched on his lap, none of them willing to concede their spot to the others. And Kurt's grin is so big you can even see his teeth." Carole shot a fond look at Kurt as he rolled his eyes.

Arriving at the apartment, Blaine carried Carole's luggage inside and got her settled. Even though it was early afternoon, it was a twelve-hour time difference, so around 2 am Thailand time.

After a quick, light lunch, Carole went to bed.

...

By Tuesday night, Carole seemed pretty well caught up on her sleep and was not so jet lagged. After dinner, Blaine hugged Carole goodbye and Kurt walked him to the door.

Kurt was biting his lip, looking a little anxious.

"Hey, I won't be that far away. And I'll come by for some visits. I know Carole is here for a month, but it's going to go fast. Spend as much time with her as you can, Kurt." Blaine said softly.

It was hard thinking of being away for the next few weeks, even if he visited occasionally.

Blaine stepped forward, giving Kurt a quick hug. "Text me, OK?" He whispered it fast, not wanting his emotions to make his voice wobble.

Kurt nodded, and watched as Blaine slipped out the door.