Kurt woke up in a chair next to his dad's hospital bed. The nurses didn't have the heart to wake him up once visiting hours were over, though he noticed someone did cover him with a blanket. He stretched his arms over his head and winced as his entire back cracked. Looking at his watch, he saw it was only 7:30am.

Beeping sounds seemed deafening in the otherwise silent room. He frowned as he glanced at his father. Tears welled up as he watched the man he loved most breathe with the help of tubes that were taped underneath his nose. Kurt slipped his hand into his dad's and squeezed tight, willing his dad to squeeze back.

He didn't.

.

Miles away and a few hours later, Blaine sat on the stool with his elbow propped up on the kiosk, chin resting in the palm of his hand. He twirled around in his seat, bored to tears and wishing Kurt would visit soon. Instead of his usual cargo shorts and t-shirt, Blaine opted for a pair of cuffed jeans and a form-fitting dark green v-neck sweater, hoping to impress his friend with his new look.

Throughout the morning, Blaine helped a few customers and witnessed a mom sprint after a toddler who managed to wander away from her. He checked his phone and wanted to text Kurt to see if he was coming, but then thought Kurt might be driving… or maybe it would seem forward for Blaine to ask his whereabouts. It wasn't like they had solidified plans for that day.

As he slid his phone into the front pocket of his pants, he saw someone approach the kiosk out of the corner of his eye. "Blaine? Is that you?" His first instinct was to run his hand through his hair. He was getting used to it, but still felt embarrassed when people he knew didn't recognize him right away.

A grin spread wide across his face when he recognized Mercedes. "Hey Mercedes!" He looked around her to see if Kurt was close behind. "How're ya doing? Are you with Kurt?" He stopped looking around and refocused his attention on Mercedes when she didn't answer right away. The grin fell off his face when he noticed she wasn't smiling. His eyebrows shot up, thinking the worst. "Is Kurt okay?"

Mercedes shook her head. "His dad's in the hospital."

Blaine knew that wasn't good, but he still couldn't help but worry about Kurt. "Oh my god! What happened? Is Kurt okay? I mean, I know he's not okay, but is he okay? Like, is his dad hurt?"

She shook her head again, but couldn't help but give a small sad smile. She could tell Blaine still had it bad for Kurt and legitimately cared about her best friend's well being. "No, he's not hurt. His dad had a heart attack and has been in a coma since yesterday. Kurt's been at the hospital ever since."

Blaine exhaled a breath he didn't even realize was holding in. "Shit. Poor Kurt." He looked up at Mercedes and could see she looked lost too. "Are you okay, Mercedes?" He wasn't just asking to ask – he actually cared and she could tell he was being sincere. Her eyes welled up and she shook her head again, not trusting herself to open her mouth without crying. "Oh, hey! Come here." Blaine quickly stood up from his stool and opened his arms toward Mercedes who quickly accepted the hug. She buried her face in Blaine's neck as he squeezed his arms around her back.

After a few moments, she pulled back a bit so she could look at Blaine. Through glassy eyes, she could see that his were watery too. "Thanks. You're real nice, you know?" Blaine chuckled at this and they separated. Mercedes wipes tears away from the corner of her eyes and hoped she hadn't ruined her makeup. She sniffled and collected herself.

Blaine tugged at the sleeve of his shirt that had ridden up during their hug. "Um, have you seen him?"

"No. No one has. Finn's mom called my mom last night and told her what happened." Blaine's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Mercedes realized he didn't know who Finn was. "Finn's mom is dating Kurt's dad." Blaine shook his head, still not fully understanding whom she was talking about. "Finn is a boy in our grade at school. He's in glee club with me and Kurt."

"Oh," Blaine understood. "Oh! And he's dating that girl who Kurt bought the Tiffany's necklace for a few weeks ago. Okay, yeah." It all made sense now. "But is Kurt's dad going to be okay?"

Mercedes sighed, "I hope so, but no one really knows anything yet."

Blaine frowned. He wanted to do something. Help. Bake cookies. Something. His friend was in need and Blaine had not idea what to do in this situation. "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so, Boo." Blaine sighed in defeat. Mercedes watched as closed his eyes and shook his head.

As he opened his eyes, he caught sight of something out of his peripherals. He knew what he could do. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Mercedes, if I give you something, can you make sure Kurt gets it?" She looked confused but nodded.

.

Mercedes didn't see Kurt until Monday at school. To be honest, she was surprised he even showed up, but since his dad was in the hospital, there was no legal guardian to approve him missing classes.

Kurt looked horrible. He was unresponsive in his classes and walked through the hallways as if he were in a trance. Mercedes, Finn and the other glee club members made sure he got from one class to another, but weren't sure what to say to Kurt. He would snap at the slightest provocation.

It was only after an extremely awkward lunch period when Mercedes remembered she had a package for Kurt from Blaine in her backpack. As they filed into the courtyard for recess, Mercedes pulled Kurt aside. Before he could react, she was shoving a wrapped box into his hand.

"I saw Blaine at Easton this weekend and he wanted me to give you this." Kurt's eyes sparked slightly at the mention of his friend, but then went lifeless again.

He flipped the box over in his hand as Mercedes pat him on the shoulder and walked away to give him some privacy. Kurt slunk down onto a picnic table bench and sighed.

The package was small, but expertly wrapped, much like the box Blaine did up for the necklace Kurt bought for his dad for Carole weeks and weeks ago. Kurt slowly unwrapped the shiny paper to find a Designs by Vanessa box. One corner of his mouth slid up as he brushed his fingertips across the familiar logo. He carefully opened the box and found a folded piece of notebook paper resting atop a tissue paper-wrapped something. He set the notebook paper aside and picked up the wrapped object.

Kurt unfolded the tissue paper to find himself holding the Hippopotamus brooch that he so loved. Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran a finger along the Hippo's nose and across its teeth. He set the brooch back down into the box and wiped away a stray tear before picking up the notebook paper. With both hands, he opened the note and found himself shedding more tears as he read:

Kurt,

Please don't get mad, but Mercedes told me your dad was in the hospital. Selfishly, I wanted to call you immediately but I didn't because I thought you might need some time to yourself.

I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be okay. But I won't. I won't because I never want to promise you something that I can't deliver.

I needed you to know, though, that if you need to talk that I am here for you. That I can promise you.

My mom always tells me to have courage. I don't know if that applies to this, but if there is anything

Sometimes I

Please know that

Man, I wish I was better at knowing what to say (write?). I'm sorry if this is making things worse.

I know the Hippo brooch won't solve anything, but someone I care about once told me that retail therapy helps him feel better.

If you need anything, please, PLEASE, let me know. Call. Text. Send out smoke signals.

You're not alone.

-Blaine

Mercedes watched from afar as Kurt smiled sadly, folded up the note and slid it into his pocket. He carefully unfastened the brooch from its backing and pinned it onto his jacket before burying his forehead into his arms that he promptly folded and rested on the table.

.

Kurt (Monday 7:39pm)

Thank you

Blaine (Monday 7:41pm)

Hi!

Blaine (Monday 7:41pm)

You're welcome

Blaine (Monday 7:42pm)

Are you okay?

Kurt (Monday 8:13pm)

No

Blaine (Monday 8:15pm)

Do you want to talk about it?

Kurt (Monday 8:19pm)

No

Blaine looked at Kurt's response and frowned, but set his phone down. It wasn't his place to pry. He opened his Calculus book back up and turned back to his homework. After a few minutes his phone rang, pulling him out of the steep concentration he was giving his worksheet on limits. He didn't even bother checking who was calling as he picked up his phone and answered, "Hello?"

"Sorry. I shouldn't have called. You're probably busy."

Blaine's eyebrows shot up at the familiar voice as he slammed his book shut. "Kurt? No, no, no, I'm not busy." He waited for the other boy to say something but heard nothing. "What can I do to make this better?"

There were sniffles at the other end of the line. "Can you just talk?"

Tears welled up in Blaine's eyes, but he did his damnedest to hide that he too was breaking down. "Yeah, sure. I can talk."

Blaine talked for over an hour. Kurt chimed in with an "uh-huh" or "mmm" every now and again, but Blaine carried the entire phone call, recounting almost everything he could think of since the time he and Kurt talked the week before and telling him funny stories he hoped would lighten Kurt's mood. Blaine didn't bring up the audition, though, or how earlier that day at school he found out that his glee club voted him to be their lead soloist even though it was his first year with the group. He didn't want to make their conversation about him. If Kurt would have asked, he would have gladly given up the information, but somehow Blaine didn't feel right just throwing his good news in Kurt's face when Kurt was dealing with something so awful.

The call neared an end when Blaine heard Kurt yawning on the other end of the line. "Hey Kurt?"

"Mmm?"

"Maybe we should hang up and you could try and get some sleep."

"Can't sleep. Have to stay up in case my dad wakes up during the night."

Blaine's lips quivered at Kurt's words. He wished in that moment he could reach through the hug and give his friend a hug. "Maybe you could rest for a little bit, though, okay? Close your eyes for a little bit?"

"Mmm."

Blaine heard a rustling sound over the phone and hoped Kurt was settling down into a position where he could maybe get some sleep. "If you need anything, you call me, okay?"

"Mmm. Night, Blaine."

"Goodnight, Kurt."

.

By the end of the week, Kurt still looked like a zombie, but he was warming up to other people. His fellow glee club members were doing their best to make him feel like his whole world wasn't crumbling apart. He texted Blaine or called him every night. He felt horrible for forgetting about Blaine's audition last week ("Oh my god, why didn't you tell me? BLAINE! Congratulations! I feel like an asshole for not remembering!") but was beyond grateful that his friend was always ready to distract him with stories about the other kids at his school. Kurt was thankful that Blaine never once said that he was praying for Kurt. After the week he had with Finn thinking his grilled cheese looked like Jesus and Mercedes dragging him to church, Kurt was relived to have someone in his life that didn't even try to mention how religion would help heal his father.

Friday night, Kurt was sitting next to his father and squeezing his hand. It was so hard seeing his dad look so small and vulnerable when he was used to him being so strong. Kurt was just so tired and so sad. He hadn't given up hope, but he knew that each day his father was in a coma was one less day he got to spend telling his dad that he loved him. Tears raced down his cheeks as he spoke quietly, "I don't believe in God, Dad. But I believe in you, and I believe in us." He squeezed his dad's hand again and almost fell off his chair when he felt his dad squeeze back. He bolted out of his seat, yelled for a nurse, and then spoke to his father again. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Doctors and nurses filed in and out of Burt Hummel's room the rest of the night. Kurt was too tired to really understand what was going on, but too awake to get some rest now that his dad was finally awake.

By time all the commotion settled, it was nearing midnight and Burt Hummel was asleep. Kurt watched through tired eyes as his father's chest rose up and down. The tubes had been removed from under his nose and he was breathing on his own. Happy tears rolled down Kurt's cheeks as he smiled to himself. His dad was back. Though he had a long road to recovery, he was back.

Kurt fidgeted around on his chair to try and get more comfortable. He realized his phone was wedged into his back pocket and was making it hard for him to find a decent position to try and sleep. He yanked the phone out and clicked it on to see if he had any mixed messages. He knew he shouldn't have his phone on in a hospital, but at this point he didn't care.

Just as he was about to turn it off, he opened up his texts and typed a quick message out.

Kurt (Friday 11:58pm)

My dad woke up. Thank you for everything this week

Blaine (Saturday 12:04am)

! and Anytime

Blaine (Saturday 12:05am)

Goodnight Kurt

Kurt (Saturday 9:56am)

Good morning, Blaine :)