It felt like an age later before anyone else disturbed the quiet of the waiting room. Carole and Burt both stood as a doctor in a white coat made his way over to them.

"Are you here for Kurt Hummel?" he asked checking his notes to make sure the name was correct.

"Yes we're his parents" Carole confirmed. Okay maybe technically that wasn't true but in every way that mattered that's how Carole felt.

"How is he?" Burt needed to know, now.

"He took a pretty hard blow to the head and he's still unconscious. " Carole's hand automatically went to her mouth at the news. The doctor continued though "However we've run some tests and it doesn't look like there's any bleeding on the brain or any kind of permanent damage so we just need to wait for him to wake up in his own time".

"How long will that be?" Burt asked.

"Sometime tomorrow I would expect, if it takes any longer we may have to run some more tests, but we'll just have to wait and see".

Burt nodded his head at this, waiting for the rest of his sons injuries to be explained.

"He has quite a few significant cuts and bruises but the one we are most concerned about was the piece of glass that was embedded in his thigh, I'm afraid it nicked a fairly major artery and it took us awhile to stem the bleeding, we're on top of it now but we'll need to give him some blood to replace what was lost. He's also got a couple of broken fingers, but again they we're easy to set. All in all Mr Hummel despite appearances he came out of this not too badly".

"You're joking right, that all seems pretty serious to me" he said to the young male doctor in front of him, incredulous that the man was making this seem mundane.

Burt bit back a sob. People he'd never even met had done this to his son and Burt figured he had a pretty good idea why. Kurt should be able to be who he wants to be and date who he wants to without narrow minded yobs trying to kill him for it.

"I'm sorry, I just meant that considering the nature of his injuries they're all quite easily treatable and with time he should be as good as new" the doctor tried to make ammends.

"I doubt that" Burt muttered under his breath. The other man didn't seem to be taking into account how traumatic this attack would have been and Kurt's mental state at all.

"Can we see him?" Carole asked the next question that was on Burt's mind.

"Of course I'll get a nurse to take you to his room".

Carole thanked him and he left.

A nurse showed up within minutes and led the shell-shocked couple through the seemingly endless corridors to the side of their injured son's bed.

Burt immediately took his sons uninjured hand in his being careful not to jostle the IV that was taped to the back of it. Looking down on his son he was taken aback by how young he looked just laying there, his small, thin frame seemed lost in the vast expanse of the hospital bed. Unlike Blaine Kurt's face wasn't too badly bruised and he really did just look like he was sleeping.

Carole stood behind her husband and placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to reassure him just with her touch.

"Oh God Carole" Burt choked on the words "he's going to be okay isn't he?"

Carole only hesitated for a split second before she told the man she loved what she knew he needed to hear.

"He's going to be just fine, once he wakes up we'll all be here for him, to help him no matter what he needs".

Burt leaned forward until his head was resting next to where his hands loosely grasped his son's much more delicate one and they all stayed like that for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Carole watched the slow steady inhalations of the boy she'd come to love as much as her own son. Looking at the hospital gown she smiled to herself thinking about how horrified the fashionable young man would be at the thought of anyone seeing him dressed like this, especially Blaine. Oh God Blaine, she realised with a twinge of guilt that she'd completely forgotten about the other boy.

"I need to go find Blaine" she whispered to Burt squeezing his shoulder gently.

"Ok" Burt's voice was muffled.

Giving the pair of them one last look she left them alone closing the door gently behind her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seemed to take forever for Carole to find her way back to where she knew the treatment area was. She was looking around for someone to ask where she could find Blaine when she spotted the nurse that had led him away earlier.

"Excuse me" she called rushing to catch up with her before she disappeared around the corner.

"Yes?" the young woman turned with a polite smile on her face before she remembered who she was "oh you we're with Blaine".

"Yes can you tell me where he is?"

"Follow me I was just heading back to him" they started to walk down the corridor together. "How's his..." she trailed off not sure what the connection between Blaine and Kurt was.

"Boyfriend" Carole filled her in. "Kurt's his boyfriend and I think he's going to okay we'll know more when he wakes up though."

"Oh good that's all Blaine would talk about, maybe now he'll let me have a proper look at him."

"What do you mean?" Carole asked concerned.

"He let me clean and stitch the cut on his forehead but other than that, nothing. In fact he wouldn't even let me take his clothes off to check him over."

"Can he do that?"

"Well I can't force him and I don't think there's anything too major hiding under there but I would feel better if he'd at least let me have a look. Well here we are" she stopped outside a cubicle and pulled the curtain aside revealing a very different looking Blaine to the one Carole was used to.

He was normally so well put together with his slicked back hair and dapper demeanour, sometimes it was easy to think he was much older than he actually was. But right now he just looked like a lost little boy. His face was now clean of blood which just made the bruising stand out more and a fresh white bandage was taped to his forehead hiding the wound she'd seen earlier. The gel that normally kept his curls controlled had mostly gone and a riot of curls stood up all over his head adding to the little boy look. Carole wanted to take him in her arms and hold him but remembering his reaction earlier she held back.

"Blaine" she said gently to get his attention from the bed that he was sitting on, even that one word seemed to make him jump though.

When he looked up and saw who was there he only had one thing on his mind.

"Where is he? Can I see him? Is he awake yet?" the questions came thick and fast and Carole barely had chance to process them all.

"He's not awake yet" she saw the way Blaine's shoulders dropped at the news so she quickly added "but the doctors seem to think it shouldn't be too long."

"So he's going to be okay?" Blaine couldn't keep the hope out of his voice and Carole once again found herself in the position of deciding to tell someone what they needed to hear.

"Yes I think so. But what about you Blaine, the nurse here says you won't let her check you over" she watched as Blaine's eyes flicked over towards the other woman in the cubicle with a look of betrayal on his face.

"That's because I'm fine" he said and Carole raised her eyebrows at him.

"I mean Kurt's the one that got hurt, I just really need to see him. I swear they didn't hurt me" Carole could see how hard Blaine was trying to convince her that he was okay, even though he stumbled over those last few words. She could see the carefully constructed mask he normally wore slipping back into place. She'd never realised before how much of an act this boy put on, always polite and well spoken, trying so hard to please everyone. Now she's seen below it though she found herself wondering how well she really knew this boy or even how well he knew himself.

She rubbed a weary hand over the back of her neck putting aside all the questions she had for now, there would be plenty of time for them later and she realised that if she was being honest with herself she really didn't have the energy to deal with any of it right now.

"What about your parents Blaine, have you rang them".

"Yes" Blaine seemed relieved that she was letting it drop for now.

"Are they on their way?" she asked when he didn't volunteer any more information.

"They're in Italy" he explained looking down at the bed again.

"Oh I guess it'll take them a while to get back here then". Blaine didn't answer so she took that as a yes.

"Can I please see Kurt now?" Blaine pleaded.

Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to convince him to get checked over she turned to the nurse " Is that okay?"

"Well if you don't want me to check you over" Blaine shook his head again "then yes I guess so." she didn't seem very happy about it, but what could she do.

Carole watched as Blaine gingerly eased himself down from the bed and took note when he refused her offer of help.

Carole led the way as they made their way back to Kurt's room in silence.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------