New York City
June 8, 2036

The familiar, comforting sound of traffic outside slowly pulled Kurt out of the deep, dreamless sleep he had been in since the moment his head had hit the pillow the night before. He and Carson had gotten in extremely late, having just returned home from what Kurt would have to say was a fabulous tour of Europe to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary.

Not that they hadn't been to Europe before, of course. Over the ten or so years in which Kurt had been overseeing his own line of men's clothing, he'd been there many times, in many locations, and Carson had come with him as often as possible, although not as often as Kurt would have preferred. This vacation had been the first time in a while that they'd been able to relax and enjoy being there together. It had been the first time in a very long time that they'd had uninterrupted time together at all, actually. Their day to day lives and routines, particularly Kurt's, usually kept them so busy that some weeks it was a miracle if they got even one whole afternoon to spend together. This had almost felt like a second honeymoon.

Kurt let out a contented sigh gently maneuvered himself, settling his head against Carson's chest, gently wrapping his twin's arms tighter around himself, and snuggling in deep. He glanced up at Carson, so relaxed and peaceful in a deep sleep, and he smiled to himself as he gently traced the contours of his face with his fingers. Despite the fact that Kurt never had been able to convince Carson to follow the sort of skincare routine that he himself made an almost religious priority, the years had done almost nothing to harden or distort Carson's features. He'd retained most of his youthful radiance, the dark shadows and slight hollowness that had been a constant presence during his struggle with depression long gone by now. In fact, if not for the few stray creases around his eyes and mouth, it would be almost impossible to know that he was even a day over thirty.

Then again, Kurt thought, he was probably being just a little bit biased when it came to his husband.

You're beautiful though, Carsey, he thought, leaning his face up to press a soft kiss against his twin's lips. You're beautiful and perfect, and you're mine. You've been mine for twenty years, and you'll be mine for twenty more.

He kissed Carson on the nose and carefully extracted himself from his twin's arms, regretting getting out of bed but unable to ignore the plaintive cry from within him that practically screamed "Coffee! Get coffee in me now!" It might have been a lazy Sunday morning, but coffee was an old habit that wasn't going to be dying, hard or otherwise, any time soon. He padded into the kitchen and started the coffee maker that Carson had given him last Christmas, drumming his fingers with anticipation as he waited for his precious drink to brew. It finally did, and he poured himself a mug and shuffled slowly back into the bedroom, sipping from it lazily and gazing out the large window beside their bed that overlooked the city streets. He really loved their apartment. It was their third in all the years they'd been married, and it was also, by far, Kurt's favorite. It was large and spacious, with several bedrooms, an office for each twin, and a breathtaking view from every window now that they lived in one of the nicer neighborhoods in the entire city.

Of course, to Kurt, any apartment would be wonderful, just so long as he was sharing it with a certain special someone who was currently snuffling in his sleep and beginning to stir.

It's pretty good to be Kurt Hummel today, he thought with a smile, sipping his coffee and watching as two little boys on the street below created colorful drawings with sidewalk chalk.

A pair of arms around his waist snapped him out of his reverie, and he smiled and leaned back against Carson's chest as his twin wrapped him in a big bear hug from behind.

"Morning, lovely," he whispered into Kurt's ear, placing his lips on the spot where his neck met his shoulder and kissing the skin softly.

"Mmm... morning," replied Kurt, settling against Carson and tilting his head back so as to give him better access.

"You were up early," Carson murmured sleepily, burying his face in Kurt's neck.

"Not really," Kurt pointed out. "It's already almost ten."

"You could have slept in more, though."

"I know," replied Kurt with a sigh. "I'm afraid that the call of the coffee was too much to resist."

"Is there any left?" asked Carson hopefully.

"Mmm-hmm," said Kurt, turning around and kissing Carson on the lips. "Almost a full pot. I'll pour you some." He padded back into the kitchen, Carson following close behind and sighing in happiness as Kurt handed him a mug of coffee with extra sugar, the way he knew he liked it.

"Thank you, baby," said Carson, taking a long sip and smiling at him over the rim of his cup as he sat down at the table.

"Any time. Are you hungry, honey?" Kurt asked, beginning to root through the cupboards. There wasn't much food in them, since they'd just come back from vacation, but he knew he had a box of pancake mix in there somewhere.

"Not really," said Carson. "I'm still jet lagged as hell."

"Well, yeah, but you also haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon," Kurt pointed out as he found the pancake mix and pulled it out of the cupboard. "I'll make pancakes," he said with a yawn, taking out the skillet and mixing bowl and setting them on the counter.

"Why don't you let me do it, Kurtsie?" said Carson, getting up from his seat and crossing over to Kurt, gently taking the box out of his hand. "You still look tired. You sit down, I'll make the pancakes, and maybe by the time I'm done, we'll both be hungry. How's that?"

Kurt smiled. "Ok." He poured himself a second cup of coffee and sat down in Carson's vacated seat, watching as his husband scuttled around the kitchen and began whipping up the pancakes. He didn't think he'd ever not find it hot the way Carson always insisted on making him breakfast on the mornings he was able to. It had become something of a tradition over the years, especially on weekend mornings. It wasn't unusual for Kurt to wake up on a day off to a tray piled with food being settled on his nightstand as Carson kissed him gently on the eye.

I got really lucky in love, didn't I?

"Did you see something you like?" Carson asked cheekily, sliding the first finished pancakes onto a plate and setting it down in front of Kurt, along with a bottle of syrup and a glass of orange juice.

"Something delicious," replied Kurt, uncapping the syrup bottle. "And I'm not only talking about the pancakes."

"I thought so," said Carson, kissing him on the cheek. "Eat up."

Kurt did as he was told, shoving a forkful of pancake into his mouth and moaning with delight. "Mmm. Edible sex."

Carson snorted over the skillet. "Shades of our last night in the hotel?"

"Hey, I had no idea that Nutella on skin could taste so good," Kurt replied seriously. "I can't believe it took us two decades to try that."

"I can," said Carson, using a spatula to flip the pancake he was currently cooking. "You never wanted to give whipped cream a break long enough to try anything else."

"That's not true, we experimented with chocolate sauce that one time," Kurt pointed out. "Let's, um... let's make Nutella a regular thing, though."

"I can live with that," said Carson.

"Can I at least get pictures?" said another familiar voice, and Kurt stopped chewing his pancake in mid-bite, turning around to see Sebastian standing there grinning, his arms crossed across his chest casually.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Kurt, hurriedly washing down his food with a sip of orange juice.

"Long enough to never be able to look at a jar of Nutella ever again without getting an erection," replied Sebastian, pulling out a chair from the table and sitting down, as naturally as though he lived there.

"Besides being a pervert, what are you doing here?" asked Carson.

"Returning your apartment key," replied Sebastian sweetly, fishing the key in question out of his pocket and sliding it across the table to Kurt. "I made extra sure that your plants were kept healthy and happy while you were away. Lots of water and sunshine and shit."

"Thank you," said Kurt, taking the key and giving Sebastian a small smile. He honestly hadn't even checked on his plants yet, having been so exhausted when he and Carson got home the previous night, but now that he was looking at the one above the kitchen sink, he had to admit that it did indeed look as though Sebastian had done an excellent job keeping them alive.

"Any time," replied Sebastian. "Now, about those Nutella photos..."

"No," Kurt and Carson said at the same time.

"Well, you can't blame a guy for at least asking," Sebastian said with a dejected sigh.

"Oh, come on," Kurt prodded. "You know we love you."

"Yeah," agreed Carson. "We just don't want to show you pictures of us having sex. Besides, we've been letting you watch us make out every New Year's Eve for the past fifteen years."

"True," agreed Sebastian. "I do so look forward to December 31st every year."

"You can have a pancake, too, if that helps," said Carson, sliding a pancake onto a plate and setting it in front of Sebastian with a smile.

"You know what? Don't mind if I do," replied Sebastian, digging in with the fork Carson placed on the plate.

By the time Sebastian had gone and the breakfast dishes had been cleaned up, neither Kurt nor Carson felt much like doing anything else. They spent several hours just lounging around the apartment in their pajamas, Carson laid out on the couch while Kurt sat between his legs, his head rested on his twin's chest.

"What's that you're working on?" asked Carson, stroking Kurt's hair and indicating the sketch that Kurt was painstakingly working on in his notebook.

"It's a sketch for a new design," replied Kurt, sighing and aggressively erasing a line he wasn't happy with. "It's for the new outerwear collection, and I want to have it done by the end of next week, but I don't know." He sighed and threw the notebook down onto the floor, where it landed with a flurry of rustling pages.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Carson cooed in his ear, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head. "You always worry, and it always turns out fine."

"You're right," sighed Kurt, turning himself around so that he was laying on his stomach on top of Carson. "It'll just take me a while to get back into the swing of work, and I don't feel like it right now. We should just enjoy the rest of our day."

"Good idea," agreed Carson, kissing him on the forehead and holding him tight. "I don't feel like working on any of my articles today, either. Although, I kind of really should. I have two that have a Thursday deadline."

"Oh, you can deal with those tomorrow while I'm at work," Kurt insisted. He placed his lips on Carson's jaw and kissed the skin, nibbling on it a little with his teeth as Carson sighed happily and tilted his head back. "Let's do something. Let's go out. It's only one in the afternoon. The day and night are young. Let's make the most out of our last day together."

"Why, are you divorcing me tomorrow or something?" Carson teased.

"You know what I meant," Kurt replied, sticking out his bottom lip in the pout that had never failed to melt Carson once in the past twenty years. "Come on. I'll go make myself handsome, and then we can hit the town."

Carson smiled and brushed a stray piece of hair out of Kurt's eyes. "Ok, ok. You win. But you'll have to get off of me first. Not that I want you to."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to pin you to the bed when we get home," Kurt promised, raising his eyebrows suggestively and carefully climbing off of Carson. "Come, let's get dressed," he said, holding his hand out to help his husband up.

"In that case, I can't wait to get home," said Carson with a grin.

An hour later, they were both dressed, groomed, and on their way out of their apartment building and into their car. They didn't normally use the car all that often, of course. Living in the heart of the city like they did, almost everywhere they needed to go was accessible by walking, and the car was mainly reserved for whenever they decided to take weekend getaways out of the city, or the occasional road trip. What they had planned for the remainder of their day together, though, was out of the city and was definitely going to have to involve the car.

"Did you, um... did you want to take a trip over to Hartsdale?" Kurt had asked him back in the apartment as they'd stood in front of the mirror brushing their teeth. "It's been a while."

Carson had froze mid-brush and caught Kurt's eye in the mirror. "Yeah, it has, hasn't it?" Almost a year, actually.

Kurt had smiled and patted him on the shoulder gently. "I have a jingle bell ball for him. I forgot to place it there last time."

"He'd like that," Carson replied, swallowing the lump in his throat, along with trace amounts of toothpaste.

So now they were en route, stopping along the way at a small shop, where Carson purchased a single blue flower.

"He'd like this one," he said to Kurt when they left the store. "The only thing he liked to chew on more than your shoes was your plants." He said this every time they made this trip, but somehow it helped him feel a little bit better.

Kurt smiled sadly and squeezed Carson's hand. "He would. He'll like that one a lot."

Half an hour later, they were walking hand in hand through the grounds of the pet cemetery, stopping at a small, gray marble headstone that Carson had tearfully picked out four years ago. Kurtsie Kitty, it said across the top, with 2013-2032 in smaller font underneath, and below that, in beautiful calligraphic letters, Your daddies love you.

"Hi, Kurtsie Kitty," Carson said quietly as they gazed down at the headstone. "Hi, baby. I'm sorry that I haven't been here in so long. You know how busy Daddy gets with his job." He felt something pull in his stomach as he knelt down to place the blue flower down at the base of the stone. It was the same thing he felt every time they visited Kurtsie Kitty's grave. A sort of hollow hole deep inside himself that was growing smaller year by year, but still hadn't completely disappeared. Maybe it would never disappear. Kurtsie Kitty had been his baby for nineteen years, and a part of his and Kurt's little family unit for seventeen, and when the inevitable happened, it had felt almost like what Carson imagined losing a child would feel like. At first he had made the trip out to the cemetery every week. That had turned into every month, and then every couple of months, and finally had turned into years between visits. It was less painful that way, but it made him feel bad. Like he was ignoring Kurtsie Kitty or something.

"We miss you, honey," added Kurt, kneeling down beside Carson and placing an arm comfortingly around his shoulder. "I brought you a toy," he added, digging into his bag and retrieving the small, blue jingle bell ball he had mentioned earlier. "I know it's not my clothes or shoes, but I think you would have liked playing with it anyway." He carefully placed the ball on top of the stone and hugged Carson close to him. Carson rested his head on Kurt's shoulder, letting a few tears squeeze out of his eyes and letting out a shaky breath.

They sat there for a while in silence, just looking down at the headstone and reflecting, until Carson finally stood up, holding out his hands to Kurt to help him up.

"Bye, little guy," he said softly, leaning down to stroke the stone gingerly with his fingertips. "I love you. I'll come see you again soon, ok? I promise."

"Bye, honey," added Kurt, blowing a kiss in the direction of the stone. "I love you."

The walk back to the car was quiet. Kurt held Carson's hand as Carson looked down at his feet, trying to get his mind back on happier things. He barely noticed the slight drizzle that started to fall as they got into the car and closed their doors. It had been many years since the sound of rain had so much as ruffled him.

"I have an idea," he said as he fixed his seatbelt and started the engine. "Let's do something romantic."

"Oh?" said Kurt, looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "Have anything in particular in mind, handsome?"

"Actually, yes," replied Carson, his mind turning over the idea that had taken root in his brain suddenly. "Come on, we're driving to Bushwick."

They stopped off at a restaurant first for an early dinner, and then it was off to Bushwick. It had been a very long time since they'd been back, at least ten years, although the area itself hadn't changed very much in all that stores were still there. The building that housed the loft apartment was still there, having long since fallen into neglect and disrepair. The street on which Carson had been struck was, of course, still there and still gave him an unpleasant feeling in his stomach when they drove past it.

He tried to focus on the good things, the reason he had taken Kurt back to Bushwick in the first place. Namely, the fact that one of the businesses that was still there and still fully in operation was a small café called The Rolling Scones. He smiled as he pulled the car into a spot in front of the café and got out, rushing around to Kurt's side to open his door.

"Oh my god," Kurt said with a smile as he got out of the car, closing his door and linking his arm with Carson's as he placed his head on his shoulder. "I can't believe... we haven't been here since..."

"Since our first date," Carson supplied, squeezing him close and kissing his hair. "On a night just like this one, about twenty-four years ago, we arrived at this very place. And you had the very same smile on your face that you have right now. And I was so in love that I couldn't even stand it."

And I'm definitely even more in love now than I was then. If that's even possible.

"And if memory serves me correctly, I dragged you inside so that I could gets my chocolate on, as Santana would put it," said Kurt with a grin, taking his hand and pulling him excitedly toward the door.

"Exactly," agreed Carson, pushing open the door and taking a look around. The place still looked just like he remembered it, almost completely untouched by the passage of so much time. The glass cases of baked goods looked the same, as did the small ice cream section and the dining area. It had gotten a new coat of paint on the walls, but otherwise it looked like no time had gone by at all.

"You got a muffin," said Kurt as they approached the glass cases.

"So I did," said Carson. "And you got an ice cream cone."

"What'll it be, fellas?" asked the women behind the counter. Carson smiled.

"A blueberry muffin, please," he said.

"And I'll have a chocolate cone," said Kurt.

I guess some things never change.

They sat in a booth with their treats and Carson let out a happy sigh as he watched Kurt delicately lick around his ice cream across from him. It really was amazing, he thought, the way that he could still be so strongly in love even after so much time. He'd always read that love settles down a bit after so many years of married life. That it either dies or it burns slightly less intensely than it did in its infancy. That might be true for some people, he supposed.

Not for him, though. As he looked at the beautiful man across from him, he realized that for all the feelings that were threatening to burst forth from his soul like some kind of love volcano, it could just as easily have been their first date all over again. He still looked at Kurt through the eyes of his younger self. He still wanted nothing more than to make him happy. He still would do anything to see him smile. He still felt like a lovesick nineteen year old, and he hoped that he would never stop. He had a feeling he wouldn't. It was probably safe to say that he would feel like that for the rest of his life.

"You're staring. Do I have ice cream on my mouth again?" asked Kurt.

"No," said Carson, shaking his head and smiling."You're just very beautiful."

"So are you," replied Kurt, finishing the last of his cone and wiping his hands delicately on a napkin. "Just as beautiful as the day we met."

Carson snorted. "We were fetuses, Kurt."

"But you were a very, very gorgeous fetus," Kurt insisted, getting up from the booth and taking Carson by the hand. "Remember that ultrasound photo Dad kept on the mantle? The one where it looks like we're kissing?"

"We probably were kissing," Carson mused as they pushed the café door open. "I've literally been in love with you since conception."

"Yes, well, I am pretty irresistible," said Kurt. "Hey... I have an idea!"

"What's that?" asked Carson.

"Well, as long as we're re-enacting our first date," said Kurt, pulling Carson away from the car and onto the street, "I'm pretty sure that park is still there."

Carson caught on immediately, smiling and throwing an arm around Kurt's shoulder. "I bet it is."

It was. They found it after a five minute walk down the street, thankfully just as empty as it had been the night of their date. Kurt darted immediately for the swings, delicately perching himself on one and glancing back at Carson with a smile, his blue eyes twinkling with delight.

"Care to give me a push, baby?" he asked sweetly, batting his eyelashes, and Carson laughed, nodding as he placed himself behind him and gave him a gentle push.

"What was it I said the last time we were doing this?" asked Kurt as Carson pushed him forward with every backswing. "Oh yeah... I'm flying!"

Carson giggled. "And then I did this," he said, stopping the swing from moving the next time it swung back. He held it in place, leaning his head forward as Kurt leaned his back. Their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss, and Carson felt his heartbeat quicken to an almost unbearable pace, almost the way it used to when he had panic attacks. This wasn't quite the same, though. This was delightful and magical, and he felt his stomach flip as Kurt kissed him back, deepening the kiss and bringing one silky hand up to stroke the side of Carson's face. Carson never wanted it to end. He'd happily stand there kissing Kurt forever, if the world would just stop and let him.

"Decades later and you still taste like heaven," said Kurt with a happy sigh when they finally parted from the kiss.

"I love you so much," Carson whispered, sneaking in one more quick kiss.

"I know," Kurt answered, kissing him back. "I love you too."

They left soon after, knowing that they both had busy mornings ahead of them and would need to turn in early if they wanted to get enough sleep. They piled back into the car, Kurt fiddling with the satellite radio controls as Carson drove them back toward the city.

"Five hundred channels of radio, and nothing good to listen to," he sighed, pressing the channel button repeatedly.

"I know," said Carson. "I also find it disturbing that the classic rock station plays One Direction. Are we really that old?"

Kurt snorted. "No. We're youthful and awesome." He pressed the button again and gasped happily as the opening strains of a very familiar song filled the car.

"Carsey!" he squealed as Carson stopped the car at a red light. "It's our song!"

Carson grinned as the familiar music surrounded them. He glanced over at Kurt, who was looking back at him with an expression of complete happiness and love.

"Wise men say only fools rush in", Kurt sang along softly, taking Carson's hand and stroking his thumb softly over his knuckles.

"But I can't help falling in love with you", Carson continued, doing his best to stay in key as he squeezed Kurt's hand back and smiled at him.

For a moment, they were the only two in the world as they smiled at each other.

Carson didn't even have time to wonder why Kurt's expression changed so abruptly mere seconds later. He didn't notice the speeding delivery truck barreling toward them until it was too late.

Kurt didn't even have the time to react while it was happening. One minute he was panicking, trying to gather his tongue together to scream at Carson to start driving, and the next minute everything was reduced to squealing tires and breaking glass. He couldn't see anything. Everything was a big, painful blur. He could only feel and hear. He could hear metal crunching and glass shattering. He could feel their car flipping, his head painfully slamming into various hard, sharp surfaces with every movement. He felt Carson's hand still squeezing his, and then it wasn't anymore. It seemed to go on forever. He thought it would never stop. So many thoughts raced through his head in such a short time, he could barely keep track of them all.

We're going to die.

We'll never see Dad again.

I'll never sleep with Carson in our bed again.

Sebastian. Santana. Rachel.

We're too young for this.

I want to be buried next to Carson. Dad will make sure of that, right?

It did eventually stop, of course. Kurt felt a stillness as the car flipped for the last time, landing on Carson's side and unceremoniously throwing Kurt slightly out of his seat as much as his seatbelt would allow. He opened his eyes as much as he could, his vision clouded with something very wet and warm running in his eyes.

"Carsey?" he whispered, struggling to focus his eyes enough to find his husband. Carson was slumped in his seat, barely visible. His eyes were closed, and he was completely still. And there was so much blood...

"Carsey," Kurt repeated, blindly groping around in the dark wreck of what used to be their car for his twin's hand. He found it at last, holding tightly onto it and gasping with pain at the movement. He waited for Carson to say something. Anything. To answer him in some way so that he could at least know that he was alive.

"Carsey," he said again, as loudly as he was able, and to his relief, he felt weak fingers squeezing his hand.

"It hurts, Kurtsie," a small voice said.

"You'll be ok, baby," Kurt whispered. He felt significantly weaker than he had before, as though he were going to pass out at any second. "We'll be ok... just a little hurt... that's all... have so much left to do..."

He heard a very quiet "I love you" in response, and he summoned up every ounce of strength he could muster, squirming his way as far out of his seat as he could. It was more difficult than he expected, and he briefly wondered why he couldn't feel his legs, but all he cared about right then was getting closer to Carson. He managed to get his face inches away from Carson's, using the last of his strength to brush his lips against his.

"I love you, too," he said, right before he blacked out.

"Kurtsie?"

Kurt slowly blinked open his eyes, wondering where the voice was coming from. It sounded so very far away, and everything in his line of vision was hazy. He could hear various beeping noises and wondered where the hell he was and how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was...

"Carson?" he blurted out, trying to sit up and gasping at the pain that shot through his head when he did. "Carson," he repeated, looking around in a panic.

"I'm right here, Kurtsie," came Carson's voice, and Kurt turned his head to the side, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw his husband standing there over his bed.

Wait... bed? Yes, Kurt realized as his vision suddenly cleared enough for him to take a really good look at his surroundings. He was in a hospital room. Of course. They'd been in a-

"Oh god, Carson, are you ok?" he asked, squinting at his twin critically. "There was so much blood, and I..."

"Shhh, Kurtsie, I'm ok. I'm ok, baby. It doesn't hurt anymore," Carson soothed, brushing his thumb across Kurt's fingers and leaning down to hug him. "You'll be ok, too. You have to be. You have to promise me that you'll be ok."

"I promise," said Kurt quietly. "I do. I want to go home."

Carson nodded sadly. "So do I, honey." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Kurt, hugging him tight before placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you. You know that, right? I'll love you always."

Kurt nodded. "I know. I love you too."

Carson gave him a small smile, kissing him once more on the cheek and squeezing his hand. "I have to go, Kurtsie. I'll be back, ok?"

"Ok," Kurt whispered, feeling too weak to argue, even though he didn't want Carson to ever leave his side again. Carson stroked his hand and then walked toward the door, which opened just as he reached it. He slipped out just as Burt walked in with a cup of coffee in hand, and Kurt felt tears of relief as he laid eyes on the one person he would have missed almost as much as Carson if they hadn't survived.

"Daddy," he said quietly, feeling like a five year old kid as Burt rushed over, coffee forgotten as he carefully wrapped him in a hug.

"Kurt... Kurt, oh my god," his dad muttered tearfully. "It's been days, and I didn't know if you'd ever wake up..." He was shaking, and Kurt did his best to pat him on the back comfortingly.

"I'm ok, Dad," he said. "I can't feel my legs, though." He felt Burt stiffen, and his dad parted from the hug, wiping his eyes and taking his hand.

"You'll be ok," Burt said after a moment, his voice cracking slightly. "At least you'll be ok."

Kurt nodded, a bad feeling stirring in his stomach at the way Burt had said that last sentence. "Can you go find Carson for me?" he asked, hoping to break the feeling. Burt's face took on a strange expression, and if Kurt had been hoping for the bad feeling to go away, he'd been mistaken.

"Kurt, um..." Burt said, stroking Kurt's hand and taking a shaky breath. "I... I can't do that, kid."

"Why not?" asked Kurt. "He's just down the hallway."

Burt shook his head. "No, Kurt. He's not."

"Yes he is," Kurt insisted, in no mood to argue when he was in so much pain. "I just talked to him, so can you please go find him for me? Please?"

"Kurt," Burt began, biting his lip and looking Kurt right in the eye. "Kurt, honey..."

And even though Kurt knew, deep down, what his father was going to say, it didn't lessen the blow at all when he finally heard it.

"Kurt, Carson didn't make it," Burt said, tears spilling from his eyes and his voice shaking as he spoke. "He was already gone when they pulled you out of the car."

The entire hospital could hear the gut wrenching, desperate "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" that tore from Kurt's lips at that moment. He screamed from the depths of his very soul, feeling as though someone had literally tore out his heart and stomped on it. He tried to sit up, and couldn't. All he could do was lay there and cry, sobbing as doctors and nurses rushed in. One of them gave him a shot of something, and everything grew foggy as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

"I love you, Kurtsie," he swore he heard right before everything went black. "I'll come back for you. I promise."