Blaine had been working for Kurt for a little over two weeks, and he already felt very much at home in his new, if only temporary role. He was sure that his trial period was going well enough that Kurt would have no qualms about extending his contract in a couple more weeks. Gina had called to check up on him a few times, but Blaine knew that more than anything it was just to catch up with how work was going in general, and to inevitably gossip with Kurt about nothing in particular. She'd sounded particularly exhausted in her last call though, and Blaine made a wish every time he thought about her that the baby would come soon so that her poor little body could get a bit of a break.

Kurt had been somewhat distracted for the past couple of days, and Blaine knew it was more his worry over Gina than anything to do with work - Kurt was the consummate professional, and he could do his job standing on his head. This astonished Blaine, as the role he was in seemed like it should be so demanding and stressful, but Kurt took pretty much all of it in his stride. It was the times that he'd watched this first-hand that had convinced Blaine once and for all that Kurt's decision to come to and ultimately stay in New York after high school had been the absolute right choice for him - the only logical choice, in fact.

The phone hadn't stopped ringing all morning, and Blaine had been fielding calls left, right and centre. It seemed that Gina had neglected to inform him that the middle of the month could get a little hectic due to print deadlines, and Blaine was so relieved when the time came for him to divert the calls to the magazine's main reception so that he could take some time out for lunch. He sat back in his chair and squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a long, laboured breath and allowing the temporary peace and quiet to wash over him.

"Kind of a crazy day, huh?" Kurt's voice sighed from the direction of his office.

Blaine sat bolt upright and glanced sheepishly at his boss from the corner of his eye. "I - I wasn't asleep or anything." He said.

"I didn't think that, you dufus." Kurt laughed, coaxing a weak smile from Blaine. "I could just tell you've had a rough morning, that's all."

"What gave me away?" Blaine asked, rubbing his hand across his eyes.

"Well, your pages have been becoming more and more ... um ... interesting as the morning's progressed, for one thing."

"Ah, crap. I'm really sorry, Kurt - I'm just so sick of this phone right now." He grumbled, shooting daggers at the offending apparatus. "I think it's trying to kill me."

"Well, please don't let it. I kinda need you around." Kurt chuckled.

"What for?" Blaine asked in a soft voice loaded with hopeful undertones.

"Uh ... to field the calls when they start all over again." Kurt teased, pouting when he saw how miserable his last comment had made his assistant. "Gina kept this part from you for a reason you know, Blaine."

"To torture me?" Blaine said, only half-kidding.

"No ... she's cruel, but she's not that cruel. She did it so that you wouldn't be scared off."

Blaine chuckled to himself and stretched his arms out in front of him, lacing his fingers together and watching the sinews in his hands contort beneath his skin. "Remind me to thank her for that some time."

"Will do." Kurt nodded, about to continue when a call from reception interrupted him. Blaine picked up the receiver.

"Kurt Hummel's office." He chimed, and Kurt's heart gave a little skip upon hearing his name said so sweetly by his former beau. "Yes, speaking. For me? Me, personally? Uh, OK sure ... send them up. Thank you."

Blaine looked up at Kurt and shrugged. "A delivery for me apparently. Needs signing for in person."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Intriguing."

"Isn't it just."

A steady knock came moments later, and Blaine rose and opened the door, only to be greeted by Michael, sweeping in with a grin and carrying a small manila envelope with Blaine's name on the front. To say he was surprised was a slight understatement.

"Michael! What the ... uh ... I mean ... what are you doing here?!"

Kurt had planned to go back into his office when he'd heard that Blaine was about to receive something personal from reception, but something was rooting him to the spot, and he simply couldn't tear his eyes away from the man currently leaning over Blaine's desk to plant a rough kiss on his lips.

"Hey babe! Thought I'd surprise you during your lunch break." Michael grinned exuberantly. "Aren't you pleased to see me?"

"I ... uh ..." Blaine stumbled over his words, glancing over at Kurt and registering the look of bewilderment on his face. "Um ... of course I am. You just ... I'm just shocked, is all."

Michael simply shrugged back, sitting himself down on the coffee table in the waiting area opposite Blaine's desk like he was in his own house.

"Uh ... please be careful, Michael. That furniture's pretty expensive." Blaine said, once again choosing to gauge his boss' reaction rather than that of his boyfriend's. Kurt was still gaping in Michael's general direction, but closed his mouth when the newcomer looked his way and stood back up.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me to your boss, babe?"

Blaine jumped up and almost sprinted in his race to put himself between the two men. Michael had already begun to stretch out his hand, and Kurt was looking down at it like it was some kind of deadly weapon.

"Of course." Blaine choked out. "Michael, this is Mr. Kurt Hummel. Kurt, I'd like you to meet my ... boyfriend, Michael." The last part came out as barely more than a murmur.

Kurt made an 'O' shape with his mouth, but no words came out. He took Michael's hand politely and returned a weak smile, first to him and then to Blaine.

"Good to meet the guy who's paying my man's wages." Michael smirked. "You're making sure that we have a roof over our heads and food on the table."

Kurt's smile had almost become a sneer. "Oh, well it's the Company who pay Blaine, not me. But if the rest of his trial period works out, he'll be due for a small raise at the end of the month."

"Blaine doesn't do small raises, do you babe?" Michael leered at his boyfriend. "But this is the first I've heard. Better make sure you do some serious kissing-up to the boss then." He leaned in towards Blaine and added in a loud whisper "'Cos he's pretty enough."

Blaine shuffled uncomfortably and nudged Michael with his elbow. He glanced up at Kurt with a look verging on deeply apologetic.

"Michael's studying at the moment. He wants to work on Broadway."

"Oh." Kurt said after a moment, quietly seething to himself but hoping that it didn't show. "Maybe you should put him in touch with Rachel."

Blaine had a moment of recognition and was about to continue when Michael cut him off. "You know someone on Broadway?"

Kurt nodded. "An old school friend. She's currently starring in My Fair Lady. I'm surprised Blaine hasn't mentioned her before."

"Pretty sure I have." Blaine murmured, but Michael's face registered absolutely no recollection of this. "Rachel Berry? From school?"

Michael shook his head. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell. So, wait ... you guys went to school - together?" He looked between the two of them, and Blaine looked down at his feet, unable to meet his gaze.

Kurt nodded, choosing to answer for him, inwardly confused as to why Blaine hadn't mentioned any of this to his boyfriend - or maybe he had and the jackass simply hadn't listened. "Mmm-hmm. For a little while, at least."

"Wow - small world, huh?" Michael quipped, completely oblivious to Blaine's apparent discomfort on the matter. "Well, get on it, Blainey ... I need to meet this Broadway starlet ASAP."

"I haven't spoken to Rachel in years." Blaine said quietly, looking a little dejected. Kurt recalled how a lot of their friends had chosen to pledge their allegiance completely to him when the couple had split up, and it saddened him to think that Blaine had lost more than just him as a result.

"She talks about you a lot." Kurt said with a gentle smile, meeting Blaine's eyes and catching a glimmer of happiness behind them.

"Really, Kurt?"

"Absolutely." He nodded. "I think she'd love to see you again."

"Excellent!" Michael interrupted again, still focusing squarely on himself and his own selfish needs. "So make it happen, babe. This could really help me."

Blaine threw another tired look Kurt's way before answering his boyfriend. "I'll see what I can do. So, what's in the envelope?" He asked, pointing down to the item Michael had dumped haphazardly on the coffee table.

"Huh? The man looked confused for a moment, following Blaine's finger and grabbing hold of the open envelope. "Oh, yeah ... absolutely nothing." He grinned, turning it over and giving it a shake as proof.

"So you lied at reception just to get up here to see me?" Blaine frowned. "Why didn't you just ask them to call me down to meet you?"

"... Because I wanted to see your office. Very swanky, I must say." Michael drawled, picking up a file from Blaine's desk and beginning to rifle through it. Blaine grabbed it from his hand and placed it back on the pile.

"Michael, please don't ... that's important stuff."

"Yeah, well I'm important stuff. When do I get a little attention?" Michael huffed.

"I’m just ... I'm really snowed-under today." Blaine sighed. "I just don't think I have the time for any more of a lunch break right now." He said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Jeez. Everyone needs a break, Blaine." Michael sulked, looking over at Kurt as if he was a complete slave-driver.

"You should go, Blaine. Get a little fresh air. This afternoon will probably be just as hectic as this morning, and you'll need a clear head if you're going to cope with it all." Kurt said sternly, his voice becoming particularly harsh towards the end of his instruction.

Blaine was visibly shocked at Kurt's words, worried that his boss felt that he was struggling with his workload. He contemplated arguing against leaving the office, but thought better of it. Kurt had sounded a little too frustrated for that.

"Um ... how long?" He asked quietly.

"Be back in half an hour. And then I'll need you to get right on to the Graphics department to see if they have those samples for me. It's getting urgent that I have them back." Kurt's voice had deepened even more.

"Of course." Blaine nodded sheepishly. "I'll make sure you get them right away."

"Good." Kurt said, turning to Michael and stretching out his hand again. "Nice to meet you, Michael. Now if you'll excuse me ..." He said, shaking his hand briefly before stalking into his office and closing the door quickly behind him.

Blaine stood for a moment, rooted to the spot and staring blankly at the door.

"You heard him, babe. Let's get out of here." Michael's voice rang out behind him, grabbing his hand and dragging him backwards towards the exit. Blaine took one last look at the clock and made a swift but preoccupied getaway.

***

Twenty five minutes later, Blaine was standing in the main foyer of the office block waiting for the elevator. He usually opted to take the stairs, but the thought of arriving back at his desk all breathless and sweaty because he’d rushed to be back on time wasn’t one he was happy to entertain. He already had a swollen bottom lip, bitten and bruised by Michael as he’d attempted to persuade him to ditch the crummy job that had put him in a foul mood and spend the afternoon in bed. What Michael failed to realise that most of Blaine’s anger was a direct result of him being so tactless at the office.

Thankfully, the elevator arrived quickly, and just a few short moments later, Blaine was sliding himself back into his seat with a sigh of relief. He licked his tender lip and quickly checked his inbox, hoping against hope that there’d be a message from the Graphics department. To his relief, there were two – one from the department with all of the necessary information that Kurt had requested, and one from Kurt acknowledging receipt, both of which Blaine had been copied in on. He sank to the back of his chair again and let out a held breath.

Kurt’s door suddenly opened with a jolt, causing Blaine to jump in his seat and bite down on his lip. He winced in pain and caught his boss’ eye, who looked confused for a moment before straightening his face again.

“Feeling a little more level-headed?” Kurt asked, glancing around the room as if to check that Michael wasn’t lurking around a corner.

“I – Kurt, I’m so sorry about Michael. I honestly had no idea that he was going to show up like that, and … well, he’s just a little outspoken sometimes.”

Kurt raised his eyebrows and nodded silently, still looking tense and ill-tempered. “You’ve checked your emails, I take it?”

“Yes.” Blaine nodded eagerly. “Is there anything else you need me to do regarding those samples?”

“No, I’ll handle it now. Looks like you’ll be fairly tied up with the phone for a while.” Kurt glanced down to the console which was flashing angrily, denoting several messages. “Oh, and I need you to chase up HR to make sure they’re aware of the changes to your contract in the coming weeks.”

“Absolutely.” Blaine affirmed, a worried look crossing his face. “I … um … that is still going ahead, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t expect it to, Blaine.” Kurt answered, his voice still level and unemotional. “And I’d appreciate a coffee when you get a spare moment, please.”

Kurt turned and went back into his office, closing the door behind him. It had been quite rare for him not to leave it open over the past couple of weeks, but Blaine had just assumed that was so that his boss could help him out if he got into any kind of difficulty in his work. It was clear to him now that the honeymoon period was well and truly over.

Blaine rubbed the back of his head and pressed the ‘messages’ button on the phone’s keypad, taking a pen and pad to note down anything important. He rolled his eyes when the display flashed up no less than six new messages to listen to. The first was from the HR department, asking Kurt to get back to them regarding Gina’s return date. The second, third and fourth were all from the main switchboard, asking someone from the department to contact them as soon as possible to retrieve an urgent message. The fifth was from a client wanting to make an appointment, and the last was the switchboard yet again, still chasing up that urgent message. Blaine quickly dialed zero and awaited a reply.

“Global Media Corporation – how may I direct you?” A young voice trilled, obviously not having taken the time to check whether the call was in-house or not.

“Yeah, hi – this is Blaine Anderson, assistant to the Features Editor. I believe you have a message for our department?”

“Um … ah yes, just one moment please.”

The dulcet tones of Britney Spears singing ‘Oops, I Did It Again’ suddenly filled the phone-line, and Blaine huffed. Any other time he probably would’ve sung along with such undeniably catchy hold music, but right now he just wasn’t in the mood.

“Sorry to keep you waiting there … alright, the message is for a Mr. Hummel, and it did sound pretty urgent. A nurse from the maternity ward of St Joseph’s hospital needs him to contact her right away. Her name is Sister Collins, and her direct-dial is 555-917-6729.”

Blaine’s mouth had dropped open, but he managed to croak out a small ‘thank you’ before replacing the receiver. He took a quick sip of water to relieve his dry mouth and paged through to Kurt’s office. There was no answer. He jumped from his desk, grabbing the notepad as he went and jogged around to Kurt’s door, knocking much louder than he had intended but keen to get the point across that what he needed to say was pretty important.

Kurt’s disgruntled voice eventually sounded from behind the door, and Blaine was allowed in. He tried to ignore how annoyed Kurt looked at being disturbed without even the promise of a hot cup of coffee on offer. Blaine strode over to the desk purposefully.

“Look Kurt, I’m really sorry to interrupt, and I promise that I’m not trying to annoy you any more than I already have over the past couple of hours, but there was a message on the answerphone … from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Queens …”

Kurt raised his head, suddenly all ears.

“You’ve been asked to give this lady a call. She works on the maternity ward.” Blaine said, handing over the notepad and looking hopefully between Kurt and his phone.

“OK. Uh … thank you, Blaine. You should probably get back to work now.” Kurt said, half-heartedly. Blaine clenched his jaw and nodded, walking away as he heard Kurt pick up his phone. “… But you can leave the door open … if you need to.”

Blaine did just that, wandering out but leaving the door slightly ajar as he started to brew some coffee. He could hear Kurt’s voice begin to rise in pitch and knew that something must be wrong, and he busied himself straightening the table that Michael had so happily left in disarray earlier.

Everything went quiet in the next room for a while before Kurt suddenly appeared, raincoat in hand and a worried expression on his face.

“So … Gina’s been in slow labour for about thirty-six hours now …” Blaine winced as Kurt spoke. “… and she’s having some complications. She’s been asking for me … sounds like the idiot father’s bailed again.” He sighed sadly.

“Do you need me to tell anyone where you’ve gone?”

Kurt shook his head. “I told HR … anyone else will just have to wait until tomorrow, or call my cell if they're so desperate for something that it just can't wait. But as far as I'm concerned, it's gonna have to." He said, heading out to call the elevator. "But you can call if you need me - I may not be able to pick up right away, but I'll hopefully be able to check my messages from time to time. Oh, and don't worry about anything major work-wise for the rest of the day - just keep on top of the phone-calls and take lots of messages."

Blaine nodded. "She'll be OK, Kurt. I'm sure of it."

"God, I hope so. I'll try to keep you updated if I can. See you tomorrow, Blaine."

Blaine held up his hand in a silent wave as Kurt disappeared into the elevator. He was pleased that Kurt's mood towards him had softened a little, but he was worried about him - and Gina, and her baby. He was also grateful that he didn't have a whole lot of important tasks to carry out for the rest of the day, as he knew that there was no way on earth that he was going to be able to concentrate on much of anything until it was time to leave.

***