“I can’t believe him!” Blaine slurred as he knocked back his forth shot. “How dare he just…just swoop in and pretend to be my savior? I can take care of myself.”

“I know sweetie,” Josh smiled at him and handed him another shot. 

Josh was one of the younger guys Blaine hooked up with. He was in his early thirties, fit, and good looking. He was also incredibly wealthy and was able to score the best stuff. 

“He always does this,” Blaine drank another shot. “Comes in and tells me how horrible and wrong I am. I hate him.”

“Let me make you feel better,” Josh mouthed at the skin below his ear and picked up the syringe he had made. “I’ve got a big one for you.”

Blaine’s body shook as the rubber tie was wrapped tightly around his arm. He moaned softly as the needle slid into the crook of his elbow. 

The rush of pleasure and joy overwhelmed him and he sagged forward blinking away the black. The world began to move in slow motion and he felt Josh lean him against the headboard. 

Shit.

He tried to blink as his vision began to dim. 

Maybe he took a little too much…

With a shaky breath, his vision went black. 

~*~

As horrible as hospital food was, the smoothies weren’t half bad. 

Carole took a long sip of her strawberry-banana smoothie and went back to writing up her charts. It was an uncharacteristically quiet night in the ER and all the nurses were using it to their advantage. 

Laura, another nurse, smiled at her as she deposited the charts back in their slots. 

“Quiet today right?” Laura said happily, ponytail bobbing. 

“No!” Carole gasped, pushing her friend’s shoulder lightly. “Don’t say that word! You’ll jinx it!”

They both stayed silent for a few minutes before bursting into giggles. The loud beeping of their pagers made them sigh and start running for the emergency room.

“What have we got?” Dr. Paul Lewis shouted as he ran in. 

“Seventeen year old male with heroin and alcohol overdose,” The paramedic announced as they whisked in the gurney. “No breathing and low heart rate on arrival. Administered narcan in the ambulance and he’s coming back. Heart rate back up and he is breathing. Vomited and had a seizure that lasted twenty-three seconds in the bus.”

The boy on the gurney looked far too small. His dark hair was soaked with sweat, his face was white except for the smears of eyeliner, and his limbs still jerked slightly. 

“Can you hear me?” Paul leaned over the boy who didn’t respond. “Bud, can you hear me?”

When the boy didn’t answer he pressed his knuckles into the boy’s sternum and rubbed hard until he got a whimper in response. 

“You’re in the hospital,” Paul continued as they administered another dose of the antidote in his arm. “You’re going to be okay. Can you tell me your name?”

The boy moaned weakly again and tried to roll over. Laura quickly grabbed the bowl on the side as he threw up violently. The young nurse gently rubbed his shoulder as he shook and vomited. 

Carole took a wet cloth and gently wiped at his chin and the boy wrapped trembling fingers around her wrist. 

“It’s okay,” She said softly and he finally looked at her. His eyes were almost all hazel with a small pinprick of a pupil but the recognition hit her like a bus. “Blaine?”

He gasped in a shallow, shaky breath and nodded miserably. He began to shake again, closing his eyes tightly against the pain.

“Okay, give him one more dose,” Paul nodded to Laura who brought over another syringe. 

“No, no, no,” Blaine choked out, voice frail. “No more. Please, it hurts.”

“I know Blaine,” Carole smoothed back his sweaty hair. “But it’ll make you better. You’ll be okay.”

Tears began to stream down his face and he whimpered in pain. Carole’s heart broke and she moved behind him to cradle his head as he shook. 

“His vitals are getting back to normal,” Paul nodded to the monitor. Gently pushing Carole aside, Laura placed an oxygen mask over his face and they waited until he was breathing regularly again. “Alright, move him into a room. We’ll keep him for observation. Carole?”

“He’s my stepson’s ex-boyfriend,” Carole whispered, staring sadly down at the boy. “I know it’s not protocol…but could I call his family? It might be better coming from someone that knows him.”

“Sure,” Laura dug the boy’s cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “We’ll move him.”

Carole waited until Blaine was set up in a more comfortable bed before she walked into a family room and dialed “Home” on his cell. 

“Blaine, where the fuck are you?” A man’s voice snarled after a few rings. “Get home now or I swear I will fucking murder you!”

“Um…I’m not Blaine,” Carole laughed nervously. 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” The man said softly. “I just assumed from the number…”

“It’s fine, I’m calling from his cell phone. My name is Carole Hummel and I’m a nurse at Lima Memorial in the emergency room,” The shaky inhale made her sigh sadly. “May I ask who I’m speaking to?”

“I’m Cooper, Blaine’s older brother. Is he alright?” 

“He was brought into our hospital after experiencing an opiate overdose. After giving him three doses of antidote he finally stabilized. He is currently in a room for observation,” Carole sat down in one of the plastic chairs. 

“I knew this would happen,” Cooper sounded so sad that tears pricked at her eyes. “Will he be alright?”

“We can’t know for sure but he was lucky. Is there any way you and your parents can come down?” Carole asked. 

“My parents are out of the country but I can be there in ten minutes,” She heard the jingling of keys and a car engine starting. “Just out of curiosity, you said your last name was Hummel?”

“I’m Kurt’s stepmom. I got to know Blaine very well when they were dating. He’s such a sweet boy,” Carole bit her lip at the heavy sigh. 

“Yeah…he was. Thank you for being there. It’s nice to know someone he knows is there,” Cooper’s voice was soft. 

“I’ll be in the waiting room to meet you,” Carole stood up. “Now hang up before you get in an accident talking to me.”

“Yes ma’am,” Cooper chuckled softly. “See you soon.” 

Carole sighed and tucked the iPhone into the front pocket of her scrubs as she walked into the waiting room. She really didn’t have to stay long before a young man burst through the doors. 

“Cooper?” She asked, noticing how similar the Anderson brothers looked. His body relaxed and he hurried up to her. “I’m Carole.”

“It’s so nice to meet you!” She smiled. “Thank you again, so much.”

“I can take you back. The antidote is extremely painful and he might not be all there but you can sit with him,” Cooper nodded quickly and Carole led him through the emergency room. 

“This one,” Carole stepped aside and Cooper made his way into the room. 

Blaine was curled up, still trembling and breathing heavily. His eyes, now cleaned of their eyeliner, locked on them and he let out a whimper. 

“Christ B,” Cooper was pale and walked over to place a hand on Blaine’s back. 

“Are…are you going to yell at me?” Blaine said weakly, voice cracking. 

“Later,” Cooper ran his fingers through his hair. “You just rest now.”

“Carole?” Blaine tried to sit up and collapsed backwards. 

“Yes sweetheart?” She walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. 

“Please don’t tell Kurt,” Tears flashed in Blaine’s eyes. “Don’t tell him. I don’t want him to know. He can’t know.”