Jan. 16, 2013, 1:43 a.m.
Waiting For The Dawn: Chapter 3
E - Words: 3,536 - Last Updated: Jan 16, 2013 Story: Complete - Chapters: 20/20 - Created: Oct 23, 2012 - Updated: Jan 16, 2013 1,104 0 1 0 0
"So are you going to tell me where he is?" Kurt snapped. He was starting to lose patience, Sebastian was still staring at him and his dad wouldn't talk. The situation was driving him crazy.
"Um, kiddo what do you mean by your 'boyfriend'?" Burt tried to ask cautiously.
"Well, Blaine is my boyfriend and I would have expected him to come and visit me even if I all I did was break an arm and a leg. That's what boyfriends do. So, is he on his way? Or was he in here before I woke up? And Sebastian, please leave. You're going to infect the whole hospital with your presence and I've had enough of you. "
"Okay, stop it now, Kurt," Sebastian almost yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "I know you must be confused to be in a hospital bed but you are just being plain rude. You could at least be polite."
"And why would I do that?" Kurt replied. Sebastian, meanwhile, was slowly becoming angrier.
"Because we're friends! And I'm a person, for fuck sake! Do I need to go over it once again? Seriously, Hummel, you being slow is even less bearable than you being bitchy."
"We are not friends!" Kurt shouted, now laughing uncontrollably.
"Okay, so we're not friends and Blaine is your boyfriend. Very funny, did you eat a fucking clown at breakfast?"
"No, I didn't eat anything, or I think I didn't…. And, yes, we're not friends and Blaine is my boyfriend. Would you all stop looking at me like that?!" Kurt was getting angrier and angrier by the second, both from the situation and to his family. All of this was confusing him and making him feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, boys, slow down. Sebastian, could you go find a nurse and tell her that Kurt is awake?" Sebastian stormed out of the room whispering something inaudible. Burt came closer to Kurt, reaching for a chair to sit on and look at his son. "Kiddo, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not! What is going on? Why is Sebastian here and not Blaine? I need him, dad. Please could you just call him? And stop looking at me like that – you're all looking at me like I'm some sort of crazy person and it's scaring me." Kurt was almost sobbing by now and his father didn't know what to do. Obviously something was off with Kurt but he couldn't pinpoint it. He was afraid to say or do the wrong thing. Carole came closer to both men, smiling warmly at Kurt.
"Don't worry Kurt, the nurse will be here soon. They'll do a quick check up and everything will calm down. I know you must be afraid; there is nothing pleasant about waking up in a hospital. So don't worry, your father is here, I'm here, you're surrounded by people who just want to take care of you."
He was glad that his father was here, and Carole as well. But he wanted Blaine, needed Blaine. He just wanted a hug and the warm, soothing voice of Blaine whispering for him, and just him, that everything will be fine and that he was there for him. But Blaine wasn't there, and Kurt's head was starting to spin again. The nurse arrived followed by Sebastian who was still obviously pissed off by everything Kurt had said.
"Hello, dear, my name is Caroline and I'm one of the nurses that's been looking after you. How are you feeling?" she asked while checking Kurt's pulse.
"I'm fine, a bit dizzy and my head hurts. And I really need to scratch my leg, the one in the cast!" The nurse laughed a little, obviously used to common complaint.
"Do you know what the date is?"
"Well, not exactly. They didn't tell me how long I've been in this hospital, but around the 9th of September." The nurse nodded, though not necessarily in agreement, and continued to check the dilation of his pupils. She decided not to mention that they were currently in mid-October.
"Uh-huh. Of what year?" the nurse continued.
"2012."She quickly looked at everyone in the room. The fact that Kurt's memories were five years behind seemed to have them all in shock and she guessed that no one was going to interfere, so she continued with her question.
"And how old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"Where are you living?"
"In New York for a few weeks now but I'm from Lima, Ohio."
"And can you name the people in the room for me?"
Kurt was becoming more and more inpatient with all of her questions. He just wanted to get a pass to leave this hell hole and go home. But he answered with as much politeness as he could: "Those people are my family except for that guy in the corner… He claims to be my friend but I would say that we're barely acquaintances."
"Thank you for your answers, Kurt. Now you seem to be healing fine - your pulse rate is good and you don't seem to be suffering from any side-effects of the drugs. I'll just need a quick word with your father and we'll be back. Oh, and try not to escape – I know from the face you're making that you're less than happy to be here," the nurse said, smiling widely. She tried to stay calm and to not show her confusion and worry. She didn't want to scare the patient, after all, and knew that the situation was less than comfortable.
They all walked out of the room, making sure that the door was closed and that they were far away enough to talk with fearing that Kurt might hear anything.
"Sir, I think you may have come to the same conclusion as me: your son is currently suffering from memory loss." Burt was looking down, wringing the ever present trucker cap in his hands, and no one dared to say a word as the nurse continued. "If you follow me, I think it would be best if we go to see Dr. Davis."
Sebastian sat in the waiting room while Burt and Carole followed the nurse. They waited only a few minutes before Dr. Davis entered the room, a file in his hands and looking both worried and tired. He sat down and went over the few things that they already knew: the fall, the broken arm and leg, and now the discovery of Kurt's loss of memory.
"Kurt believes he is nineteen years old again, has just arrived in New York and is still in a committed relationship with his former boyfriend. Obviously, we are not going to be able to keep from him that we are, in fact, five years into the future. But I highly recommend that anything that would potentially cause Kurt unneeded stress to be kept from him for now, as to not hinder the healing process. But I must warn you: the brain is not a very well-known organ – it still has a lot of secrets and mysteries. Anything could be the trigger to full recovery, but could also trigger complete loss of these memories forever. So I'm not telling you to keep from him everything that has happened, but just take caution. Keep things simple."
Burt nodded, still silent, and lost deep in his thoughts. He wasn't prepared for that. He would just have to close the shop for as long as Kurt would need him. Or ask Finn to take care of it. He would need to call Kurt's work and –
His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand on his. Carole was looking at him adoringly, and he automatically started to feel better.
"Okay, Doc. Do I… Do I need to tell him? Or do we need to let you do it?"
"I think it would be less traumatizing for Kurt if you were the one to break the news."
"Okay. Okay, I can do that," Burt said, more as a pep talk to himself than for the doctor. "Oh, and, um… What about the, uh, the 'boyfriend' situation?"
"Sir, I'm afraid that is under your jurisdiction. Like I said, everything could be a trigger and you would have to consider that carefully before you make a decision. If you are still in touch with your son's ex-boyfriend, then I would consider calling him and informing him of the situation before involving Kurt."
They sat in silence for few minutes, taking everything in, before Carole decided to take the lead. She thanked the doctor before exiting the room, dragging Burt with her. They met Sebastian in the hall who informed them that Kurt had fall asleep while they were in the doctor's office.
"Sebastian, sweetie? Do you still have Blaine Anderson's number?" Carole asked without preamble.
"Um, yes? Give me your phone." Sebastian entered Blaine's number in Carole's phone before looking at her. "You're going to call him and ask him to come see Kurt, right?" Carole just nodded. Her husband was still out of it but she knew Burt would want to call him.
"This is going to be priceless! Could you put the speaker on? I need to record that shit!" Sebastian choked out between his laughter. Carole crooked an eyebrow at him.
"As charming as you can be, I think you need to go home and get some rest, Sebastian. Thank you for stopping by, though."
"Mrs. Hummel, I have to say your bitchy, sassy self is one of my favorites! You're a quick learner. I can see you took it all from Kurt. Goodnight to you too, and call me if you need anything… Scratch that, don't call me. I need a break from the Hummel family. You're all so sweet it's disgusting." And then, without thinking about it, Sebastian kissed Carole's cheek and vanished from the hall, knowing that they needed to deal with the situation as a family and they would call him if anything happened.
Indeed Carole learned everything from the best and she knew how to act with Sebastian to make him do exactly what she wanted. And being bitchy was unfortunately the only way. She then turned to see her husband and handed him the phone.
"Call him, hon."
Burt, still not completely together, reached blindly for the phone and pressed dial.
When Blaine finally reached home that night, he saw that he had several messages left on his phone. He pushed the button to the answering machine and listened while grabbing a beer from his fridge.
"Message one," the creepy, computerized woman announced loudly.
"Blainers? Are you out? Or still in bed? Shit, what time is it in New York? Well, anyway, I hope you're having sweet butt sex! Or rough butt sex? I don't know which you're more into! I'm having a great time here, so don't worry, and call me back!"
The voice clicked off before the machine announced the start of message two.
"That was Cooper, by the way. Call me! But clean your hands first, okay? I don't want lube all over my phone. Kisses, Blainers!"
Blaine rolled his eyes before deleting the two messages without a thought. Cooper was rude and oblivious to the fact that Blaine hadn't had butt sex (sweet or otherwise) in quite a while now.
"Message three," the machine stated.
"Hey, Blainey! It's Jeff! I desperately need you – one of our singers just called off work tonight and we could really use a charming voice like yours! Nicky is dying to sing with you again, just like when we were in The Warblers. He might still have the uniform, actually…"
"Jeff, put the phone down and don't say things like that! Hey, Blaine! Come sing for us tonight, we're waiting for you at the bar! No, Jeff, give me back the phone!"
"Ouch! Nicky, that hurt!"
"Jeff, say goodbye to Blaine."
"Goodbye, Blainey-boy!"
"'Bye, Blaine! Call us back!"
The machine fell silent and Blaine snorted to himself. Well that was an interesting message, he thought. At least that one was entertaining. It had been years since he had sung for his own pleasure, let alone for an audience. Being a music teacher and a supervisor for the glee club didn't mean he should, or have to, sing. He was still traumatized by one Mr Shuester and he didn't want to impose the same scars on his students. He didn't feel like singing anyway. After so many years out of practice he was also quite sure that he would sound like a dying whale if he even tried to sing a note. He wasn't good anymore; he didn't find relief or companionship in music. His guitar was cover in dust, and his music sheets were long lost. There was no way he would go to Nick and Jeff's bar to sing (much to their dismay).
Blaine put a bowl of noodle soup in the microwaves to eat while watching TV. He wasn't eating because he was hungry, or because he had a particular craving for noodle soup. He was eating for the sole reason that his body needed to be fed – that was it.
Nothing was really entertaining on TV and for a second he thought about calling Cooper back but didn't act on the sudden urge. He didn't need to hear Cooper bragging about whatever city he was in and whoever girl he was sleeping with. He just wandered through the flat, not knowing what to do with himself. He eventually turned off the lights and just sat on his bed, waiting for sleep to claim him.
Blaine's phone went on suddenly, giving him heart attack. He tried to calm himself for a second before reaching for the phone and looking at the screen. He didn't know the number but pressed the green button anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hi, I'm trying to reach Blaine Anderson. Is this the right number?"
Blaine knew that voice, but he hadn't heard it for a very long time and couldn't remember who exactly it belonged to.
"That's me, sir. How can I help you?"
"Oh, great. I'm Burt Hummel, Kurt's father. You know him from highschool?" Blaine wasn't sure if Burt meant that as a question or a real sentence. He sounded tired and anxious.
"I remember Kurt, sir," Blaine said with a chuckle. How could he forget about Kurt when he was dreaming about him every night? "And I remember you as well, of course…. How, how can I help you, sir? Is everything okay?"
Blaine heard Burt sigh and, if the man hadn't changed in the years since their last meeting, Blaine knew the older man would be scratching at his head.
"Look, Blaine… There's been an accident and Kurt is at the hospital." Blaine stopped suddenly, his whole body freezing as panic started to quickly set in. "He's going to be okay! Don't worry! He has a broken leg and arm but physically he'll be okay."
Blaine let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Kurt was okay, it was some broken bones, nothing to be worried about. But why Burt would called him, in the middle of the night for some minor incident? Wait, Burt had said 'physically'…
"Sir –"
"Burt. Call me Burt, son. You didn't call me 'sir' back then and there's no need to start now."
"Well, okay, Burt. You said that Kurt would be physically okay? What do you mean by physically okay?"
"This is difficult to talk about on the phone, but I don't want to disturb you more than this situation needs it. So I'm going to get straight to the point." Burt told Blaine everything that happened – how Kurt had injured himself and what the doctor had said. Not only did telling Blaine the details inform the boy of everything that had happened, but talking about the situation helped Burt to become more in tune with everything.
"I'm really sorry about the situation, Burt. And I can't even imagine how worried you must have been for Kurt. But again, what can I do for you? Do you need a place to stay so you can go see him every day? Or do you need something else? I don't understand."
"No, buddy, there is something else. " Burt stopped, breathing heavily and scratching at his head, before looking at his wife and, at her encouraging nod, starting to talk again. "The knock on his head caused more damage than just a bad cut. He lost memories, Blaine. Not all of them but enough to not remember the past five years."
Blaine froze. That was the reason why Burt seemed so unsure, so worried and anxious. Kurt had lost some of his memories. Five years of Kurt's life was gone from his brain. Five years. Five years.
"Wait, you said five years?!"
"Yes, give or take few months. And I know you're wondering, but no. He doesn't remember you guys breaking up."
All of this was overwhelming for Blaine. He returned to his bed, tried to breathe calmly and to not panic more than he already was.
"So, does… I mean, what… What do you want from me, Burt?"
"I talked to his doctor earlier and… Oh, hell, this is harder than I thought," Burt muttered to himself. "He told me that it was up to me to tell Kurt whether or not you two weren't in relationship anymore. But he also told me that anything could trigger his brain in one way or another. Block his memories for ever or make him remember everything. I decided not to tell him. I don't want to risk anything."
"I understand, Burt."
"Thanks, bud, that's exactly why I called you. I wanted to be sure you would be okay with it. Even if I don't expect you to do anything I thought that was the right thing to do."
"Um, sir? Burt. Would it be okay if I visit him?" A long silence answered him, so Blaine added quickly, "Because if he thinks we're still together it will confused him and break his heart if his supposed boyfriend doesn't come to visit him, don't you think?"
What the hell was he doing? He hadn't seen Kurt in six years. He didn't have the chance to visit him like he thought he could during his senior year. So, before Kurt had broken up with him, they hadn't really seen each other that much.
Kurt doesn't know that I'm not his boyfriend; I haven't seen Burt in years. Why the hell would I ask for a visit?! What am I doing? Blaine was pacing his bedroom floor frantically, waiting for Burt to answer, talk, yell at him… Just waiting for him to do something.
"Oh, god, I hadn't thought about that! I'm sorry, Blaine, I didn't think everything through. This is all quite new and I had to think quicker than I would have liked. But, sure you can come and visit if it's not too much bother for you. Can you come tomorrow?"
"Burt, would it be okay if I come right now? I'm fully awake and I'm sure I won't be able to go back to sleep. Plus, I have to admit, I'm worried about Kurt." Blaine was whispering as he said the last sentence. What would Burt think about him? He just basically told him he was desperate to see Kurt.
"Of course," Burt chuckled, before giving Blaine all the information that he needed before saying a quick goodbye and that he would be waiting for him.
Blaine rushed out of his apartment, stealing a taxi from underneath the noses of two drunken women. Quickly he found himself in front of the main entrance of the hospital and everything hit him. He was going to see Kurt. The one who broke up with him. The one that didn't want to be with him because he was nothing.
Well done, Blaine, you just run to someone that doesn't want you. That doesn't need you, that doesn't love you. His mind is just playing tricks on him. He doesn't want to be your boyfriend, how could he? Look at you! And you just rush to him, for what? To show him what a failure you are?
Blaine was walking backward, eye locked on the building. His mind was racing and his fear growing. He couldn't do it. He couldn't see Kurt. He wasn't ready to see the disappointment in those beautiful blue eyes. But a strong hand caught his arm and Blaine turned his head violently to meet Burt Hummel and his pained smile.
"Blaine, it's good to see you. Thank you for understanding and coming here to help. He needs you, ya know."
With that Burt led Blaine through halls and to theelevator in a relative silence.
How could Burt be so happy to see me? And how could Kurt need me? I can't even take care of a fake plant. This is bound to be a disaster. Oh, god, I'm going to screw up everything and make Kurt's brain close so he'll never be able to remember anything! Blaine thought.
He looked around him frantically, searching for a way to run away. But Burt was in front of him and was talking amiably.
" … Kurt's room. Go ahead, I'll leave you two alone for a minute or two."
Blaine stood in front of the door, slowly taking the doorknob in his hand. He closed his eyes, preparing himself. His breathing was irregular, he could feel his blood pumping near his temples, his legs were weak, he was possibly going to pass out. But he took a long breath, cracked his neck in preparation and stepped into the room.
Comments
This was really good. I loved getting to see Blaine and the part with Nick and Jeff's message was hilarious. I also enjoyed the fact that Carole was not only able to deal with Sebastian but also able to get Burt to call Blaine. It was sad to see just how low Blaine thinks of himself but I am hoping that might change as he begins interacting with Kurt. It is obvious that he still loves him and I would like to think that Kurt loves him as well. I am interested in seeing how the first interaction between Kurt and Blaine goes and it would be interesting to see how Sebastian handles the situation. I really am looking forward to seeing what happens next. This story is awesome.