The guy was finally coming around. From what Damien had heard, they'd found his parents thanks to the license in his wallet and they were on their way. Meanwhile, he was just glad to see that the dude wasn't going to go into a coma on them. "Hey... you awake in there?" he inquired, already pressing the button to summon a real nurse. Candy stripers were trusted to do a lot, but dealing with patients in a medical capacity wasn't really one of them. "Your parents and your brother are on the way, okay? Doc said they were in the car before he even finished calling them." It was really too bad the patient - he glanced at the chart, //Finn// - had gotten himself so banged up. He was pretty cute under all the bumps and bruises.

"Kurt?" Finn woke slowly, his eyes fluttering open and taking in his blurred surroundings. If he thought his jaw ached before, then it was nothing compared to the all over pain that greeted him. He focused on the figure before him and, with a heavy heart, realized it wasn't Kurt after all. "What the hell happened?" he asked, lifting his head with a groan. //Hospital? Shit!// Finn vaguely remembered getting into his car and driving off into the night. If he'd thought lying to Kurt was the stupidest thing he'd ever done, then he'd gone out of his way to top it.

"Not to be rude, but a big ol' dose of stupid. Don't tell the nurse I told you that, huh? They keep telling me to be nice to the patients." Damien shrugged. He liked being honest with them more than being nice. "Wrapped yourself around a telephone pole, man. Banged the hell out of your car and you from what I heard." The young man stepped aside when the nurse arrived but continued to hover near the bed. It struck him suddenly why the guy's name had sounded so familiar. "Hey... you go to school with my cousin. Noah? Uh, 'Puck'," he amended, making air quotes with his fingers.

"Puck? Yeah, we do... I think..." Finn couldn't guarantee he actually knew anybody with his head seemingly filled with cotton. Hearing that he'd not only totaled his car but nearly killed himself in the process sobered him up quickly. "My car!" Finn tried to sit up, only to tumble back into the starched white sheets wincing in pain. He should have felt lucky to be alive, except Finn wished he'd been left to rot in the car when he started to imagine what Burt and his Mom would do to him.

"Dude, you're alive. Fuck the car." Damien looked abashed at the glare the duty nurse fixed on him as she entered the room to check on the patient.

Apparently hoping to smooth over any offense the young man might have given, the grandmotherly nurse patted Finn's arm. "You'll be alright, dear. Your family is on their way, and we'll have you patched up in no time. By the time they're here, the doctor should be in to check on you. If you need anything until then," she looked over at the other boy reluctantly, "tell Damien." With that, she bustled out of the room to check on the next patient.

Leaning in a little closer to the bed, Damien observed, "She sounds like Angela Lansbury, but she's a total bitch."

"Yeah?" Finn actually felt a smile trying to form, only to have it disappear with a sudden whimper of pain. //Okay, if I can't even grin then I must be seriously fucked up.// He finally chanced a look down at his body and found his right arm in a sling while his right leg was elevated in a fresh cast. His torso was wrapped tightly in bandages. Finn quickly assessed the situation which turned out to be a small feat considering the apparent whack he'd taken to his alcohol fuzzed head. "Sprained arm, broken leg, cracked ribs?" He glanced up at Damian. "Did I miss anything?"

Damien crossed over and grabbed the other teen's chart, scanning over it. "Possible concussion, but otherwise, you've got it. You're the poster boy for not getting behind the wheel when you're drunk off your ass." He opened his mouth to say something more and was stopped by the doctor coming into the room and shooing him away.

"Come back in an hour or so and you can help the nurses take vitals."

Damien gave a salute and flashed Finn a quick smile before heading into the hallway.

"If you're up to it, Mr. Hudson, your family is here and they would very much like to see you," the doctor explained with a smile that made it seem as if he'd somehow conjured them up himself.

Finn groaned not only from the pain but also over the idea of the hell he was going to endure from his family. "Yeah, I'd better face the firing squad now," he decided, steeling himself the best way he knew how. Having morphine on hand to pump into his veins helped considerably. He found himself pressing the button for another dose when the doctor ushered everyone into the room, and Finn's heart sank like a stone at the sight of Kurt and Blaine walking in together.

Just inside the door, the doctor put a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "I'm sorry, son - it's only family for now."

Kurt bit his lip and nodded, giving Blaine's hand a squeeze before letting it go. He followed their parents looking pale and worried as he approached the bed. It was a relief to see Finn's eyes open and realize that he was awake and alert, but the sight of the bandages, the bruises, the wires and the IV still brought back more than a few bad memories. He unconsciously drifted closer to his father as they approached the bed. "Hey," he managed in a soft tone, not wanting to encroach too much on the time he was sure Finn's mother wanted with him but unable to resist reaching out somehow.

It alternately elated and depressed Finn to see Kurt. It brought back in a rush of startling clarity the how and why he had gotten behind the wheel of the car; running from Kurt and his feelings for him. Even with Burt and his Mom hovering nearby, Finn wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Kurt and kiss him senseless. "Hey," he echoed, unable to glance away from his stepbrother. Maybe it was the morphine surging through his veins, but Finn managed a light joke at his own expense, "Don't even start on how bad I look right now."

Though his smile was slightly tearful, Kurt managed, "I was going to suggest some foundation..." He stepped in a little closer, comforted by the fact that Finn was able to manage a little banter. Still Kurt let Finn's mother go in first, kiss her son on the forehead and take his hand. //So stupid...// Kurt wasn't sure which one of them he was thinking of. He should never have told Finn to go out when he was upset and had been drinking - even if he had thought his stepbrother was smart enough to get someone else to drive. A glance over at Burt revealed that he was probably thinking about the same thing in an entirely different way. Kurt reached out and gave his father's arm a squeeze, which seemed to derail the train of thought for a moment. His father gave a nod of silent understanding. There would be better times to ask Finn why he was such an idiot. "Does it hurt much? The doctor said... a broken leg and ribs and..."

"Only when I breathe," Finn replied, somehow finding Kurt's genuine concern more painful to deal with than his injuries. "Don't worry, I'm taking full advantage of the drugs." He nodded toward the machine at his bedside, which whirred like something out of a cheesy scifi movie.

"Finn, what on Earth were you doing?" Carol's voice made Finn wince. The anger and worry lacing his mother's words just added another twist to the knife sticking in his heart. "The police said you'd been drinking. That's not like you at all."

"I'm sorry, Mom," he apologized feebly. "It was stupid. I'm breaking a record for stupidity this week." Finn glanced back up at Kurt, knowing he was the only person in the room who could possibly understand.

"You're going to have to talk to the police, Finn - the police," she added, looking both disappointed and frightened. "And you could have... you could-"

Before things could get worse, Burt put his arms around her shoulders and Kurt stepped in. "Didn't the doctor say there were still some forms to fill out?" he suggested almost hopefully. His father picked up the cue like a champion and led Carol out of the room to deal with that and give herself a breather. "She's not wrong. Even if you hadn't been driving, underage drinking...." Kurt sighed and stepped up to the bed. He wasn't feeling quite bold enough to take Finn's hand, but he did want to be closer. "More than that, you scared us half to death. They wouldn't even tell us how you were over the phone." Fighting valiantly, Kurt just barely managed to keep the waterworks from starting again.

Grateful for the momentary reprieve, Finn found himself suddenly anxious being alone with Kurt. "You were really that worried about me?" Kurt's shimmering eyes were sore from crying and it was apparent even to someone as self-consciously dim as Finn Hudson that his stepbrother might burst into tears again at any moment. It only made him wish he could crush Kurt to his chest that much more. "When I started driving, all I could think about was you - you and Blaine, me and you," he confessed softly. "What we talked about, it kept going round and round in my head. I don't know, maybe I wanted something bad to happen. Kinda figured I deserved it after all the crap I've put you through."

"No! Oh, Finn..." Kurt did indeed reach for his stepbrother's hand at that and squeezed it as tightly as he dared. "You don't. Honestly. You... we both acted impulsively. I don't want anything to happen to you. Ever." He searched Finn's face, hoping he understood just how horrifying the very thought of it was. "If you weren't okay..." The tears were falling again, and Kurt made no attempts to stop them. "Promise me you won't do anything like this again," another squeeze to the bruised hand he held. "Promise."

How could Finn possibly deny a heartfelt request from Kurt? "I promise," he replied, returning the squeeze of his hand with one of his own. "Come on, don't cry. You know I can't stand it when you do that." Finn even managed another crooked little smile. "You'll never forgive yourself if you make your eyes even more red. You’re too pretty to cry." He didn't feel nearly as awkward as he thought complementing Kurt, and Finn had meant what he'd say earlier that night; he'd never been attracted to another guy before. Kurt was beautiful inside and out, there was no denying that.

"Well," Kurt allowed, "I suppose you have a point." He sniffled but offered Finn a genuine smile. "I guess I should let you rest. Are they taking good care of you?" He didn't like the thought of Finn being in the hospital alone, but they'd already been cautioned rather sternly about letting him get his rest. Badly as Kurt wanted to linger, he wanted even more for Finn to get better.

"I haven't been awake long enough to really know," Finn replied, aching at the idea of Kurt leaving his side. "Erm, there's this dude, candy striper... seems cool, I guess." He held tightly to Kurt's hand, giving it a gentle tug. "Do you have to go? Can't you stay a little while longer?" Somehow he couldn't face being alone. Being helpless did not sit well with Finn. It was his own damned fault, of course. Every breath was a painful reminder of his foolish actions. "Unless Blaine decides to come in and steal you away?"

"No, he'll wait," Kurt agreed. Even more remarkable was the fact that Kurt knew Blaine would understand. At least until Finn's mother wanted to take over her fair share of his time, it wouldn't be right to leave him alone. Kurt pulled over one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs the hospital provided and sank down into it before taking Finn's hand again. "I could sing something for you. Anything you want... though I'll warn you that my Poison impersonation is rather poor."

That produced a soft laugh from Finn, who instantly groaned in pain as his ribs protested. "I wouldn't ask you to do that," he assured Kurt once he could speak again. "You can sing anything you want. I know I'll love it." Brushing his thumb over the top of Kurt's hand, Finn added with a gentle smile, "Thanks for staying, even if it's only for a little while." //Selfish? Yeah, but I can't let him go yet...//

"Of course," Kurt answered, blushing and trying to be as casual as possible when he felt anything but. He cast about in his mind for something soothing and finally seized on the Jewel cd he'd listened to obsessively a few years before.

All through the night I'll be watching over you
And all through the night I'll be standing over you
And through bad dreams I'll be right there baby
holding your hand, telling you everything's going to be alright
When you cry I'll be there baby
telling you were never nothing less than beautiful
So don't you worry
I'm your angel standing by

"It is going to be okay. If you lose your license, I can give you a ride and the rest... can be figured out. You'll be healed in no time." The idea that Finn might not recover fully was frightening. He needed to be in good shape to continue to be quarterback. Finn wanted to go to college, and football really was his best bet. The sound of the door opening drew Kurt's attention, and he rose as Carol came in again. "I leave you in her capable hands. Get... get some rest, okay?" Kurt slipped out of the room just as his father headed in to offer his wife some support.