"How can I help you?" she asked her voice soothing and calm.

"My son was brought here," Burt said, hands shaking. "Where is he?"

"What's your son's name?" the lady – or rather Ally, according to her name tag – asked.

"Kurt Hummel," Burt said quickly, trying desperately to move things along faster.

Ally nodded and turned to the computer, typing fluidly. Burt tapped the desk impatiently. Beside him Blaine was bouncing on his feet with excitement; nerves pulsing through him. He so badly wanted to see Kurt.

"Kurt Hummel," Ally murmured and then smiled and turned back to the group. "Kurt is being held on floor 2, room 304."

"Thank you," Carol gushed as Burt and Blaine rushed off. She, Annie and Edward hurried after them and only just made the elevator, Burt and Blaine already inside and insistently pressing the 'Second Floor' button. Blaine thought that this was possibly the slowest elevator in the world, or it might have just been that his brain was working at four times its normal speed and the world around him just couldn't keep up. Annie put her hands on Blaine shoulders to try to keep him from bouncing but Blaine was bursting at the seams with energy. Kurt was back and he was about to see him. Finally the elevator came to a stop and the door opened tantalisingly slowly. Blaine slipped through them as soon as the gap was wide enough to fit through and looked frantically down the hall.

Everyone else bailed out and followed Blaine's line of vision. Edward was the first to figure which way the room was and took the lead. Everyone hurried after him, peering into the rooms as they strode down the hall.

Blaine eyes widened as he saw police standing outside room 304 and the officers surveyed them as they approached.

"You can't come go in there," one of them said, his voice deep and gravely, holding up a hand to stop them.

"The hell I can't," Burt growled. "I'm Burt Hummel." The officer's eyes went wide and he nodded once. Burt barged past him and into the room. The doctor spun round and marched towards to the large group.

"Kurt!" Blaine called out but the doctor shushed him.

"Please," he said, "I know you're all relieved to see Kurt but he needs rest and quiet." Everyone nodded to show their understanding, Blaine still trying to peek past the doctor to see his boyfriend.

"Kurt was unconscious when we brought him in but he woke up a little while ago," the doctor explained, looking at his clip board, running his finger through along the lines of notes and picking up the key points. "He suffered several injuries from the crash including broken rips and a large bruise on his chest. He has several glass cuts and severe bruising on his wrists and some cuts and scrapes in various other places that we are cleaning out now." Blaine let out an involuntary whimper, his breath catching in his throat. "We've put him on a morphine drip to reduce the pain. He'll make a good recovery from the injuries," the doctor paused, "as long as everything goes according to plan."

Blaine's blood ran cold. "Is there a chance that it won't?" He asked, voice stern.

The doctor gave him a sympathetic look. "It's still early days."

"Can we see him now?" Carol asked quietly, shaking.

"Yes," the doctor allowed. "But remember, quiet and rest." He reminded them, pointing an accusing finger at Blaine, who held his hands up in surrender.

The group nodded and the doctor stepped aside to give them access to Kurt. They crowded around the bed and stared at Kurt with wide eyes. He was filthy. His face was covered with dirt and blood, his hair was a mess with leaves and mud threaded through it. One nurse was picking it all out, Kurt flinching every now and then as she brushed against him. Another nurse was cleaning Kurt's palm that was sporting a deep gash.

"This is going to need stiches," the nurse said gently and Kurt nodded, though Blaine caught a glimpse of tears in his eyes. The doctor approached with a needle and thread and Kurt clamped his eyes shut.

"I'll the numb the area first," the doctor told him, sensing his discomfort and proceeded to just that. Blaine felt a stab of guilt and pain in his heart every time Kurt whimpered and flinched. The doctor stitched Kurt's hand up and all the while, he didn't say a word.

"Kurt?" Burt said softly and Kurt flinched, looking to his dad. "You're OK, buddy," Burt told him, voice gentle. "You're going to be OK."

Kurt nodded and dropped his eyes again. Burt and Carol shared a worried look and Blaine whimpered softly. Kurt recognised the sound instantly and looked to him, his eyes full of emotion. Blaine came forward and stood by Kurt's head. He gently pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek.

"I'm so sorry," Blaine whispered in Kurt's ear. "I'm so, so sorry. I thought I'd lost you, God, Kurt, I thought you were dead." Tears spilled down Blaine's cheeks and onto Kurt. With his good hand, Kurt gripped Blaine's shirt tightly, hand clutching over Blaine's heart and his knuckles turned white with the force of his hold. His pupils bore into Blaine's, willing his eyes to convey what he couldn't say in front of his family.

"Alright Kurt," the doctor said, "we're nearly done and then you can rest."

Kurt nodded but again didn't say a word. They finished cleaning Kurt up, Kurt refusing to let go of Blaine the entire time and the others stood around the bed, watching anxiously. Finally the nurses and doctor moved aside and they crowded around the bed closer. Burt watched with a strain on his heart as Kurt flinched when they all stood so close.

"I'm glad your back, dude," Finn said, voice finally breaking with emotion.

"Yeah," Kurt mumbled. Blaine stroked Kurt's hair and down the most prominent tendon in his neck and was glad to see that he wasn't flinching away from his touch.

"Oh honey," Carol whimpered. "We were so worried."

Both Carol and Annie touched Kurt's leg and he jerked it away, wincing with the pain of the involuntary action. They gasped softly but pulled away and Kurt looked at them with eyes that begged to apologise.

Burt could see that his son was struggling to keep it together and he kept looking at Blaine, lower lip trembling and he kept biting it to keep any sounds from coming out. Kurt needed to let it out and he wouldn't with everyone here.

"Kurt, we're going to get something to drink," Burt said quietly and everyone looked to him. He nodded at them all, giving them a stern look. Annie nodded, catching on and stood, pulling Edward to his feet.

"Don't go," Kurt begged, eyes frantically seeking out Blaine's.

"I'm not going anywhere," Blaine promised.

With one last concerned look to Kurt, they slowly left the room, finally leaving Kurt and Blaine alone.
The dam burst. Kurt broke out into the anguished sobs, wracking his body. It hurt to cry but what hurt more was keeping all of the emotion inside.

Blaine was startled and deviated between moves, trying to decide what to do. He made to lie down beside Kurt, but stopped himself, knowing how much it would hurt his boyfriend. Kurt met his eyes, seeing straight through his actions.

"Please, Blaine, I need you," he begged, eyes pleading. Kurt reached out a weak arm towards him, but retracted it after a few moments. "I-I understand if you don't – don't want me," Kurt whispered, burying his face back into the pillow.

In that moment, Blaine felt his heart tear in two. "No, Kurt, no, baby, I didn't mean that," he assured him, moving quickly to lie beside his boyfriend, scooping him up into his arms gently and cradling him close. "I love you, I want you, I do. Nothing can ever change that. I just don't want to push you. I have no idea what you've been through."

"Hell," Kurt whispered, brokenly, snuggling closer to Blaine despite his body yelling in protest.

"Me too, baby, me too," Blaine replied. He opened his eyes and looked at Kurt. Through his black eye, still-bloody nose and bruised skin, he was still senselessly beautiful. He still took Blaine's breath away. Blaine let his defences, his worries, his nerves fall. It was only him and Kurt – the only two people in the whole world. "I'm so sorry Kurt," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't find you and you could have died and it's all my fault."

"No!" Kurt cried, clutching Blaine tightly, nails digging into his skin. "No! He-he-was going to-to hurt you. I'm sorry-so sorry- I walked o-out on y-you, Blaine." Kurt couldn't speak out anymore, crying too hard to form words.

Blaine held Kurt gently so he didn't hurt his ribs at all, but firmly. He rested his forehead against Kurt's and skimmed his thumb over Kurt's cheekbone, catching his falling tears. Kurt grip was tight on Blaine's shirt, dragging him closer.

"I was so scared," Kurt wept, burying his head on Blaine's shoulder, shaking. Everything was causing him pain but he refused to move from Blaine's arms. He didn't care how much it hurt him; he was never leaving Blaine ever again.

"Me too, Kurt," Blaine whispered, sobbing with him. "I was so terrified; I thought I was going to lose you. I'll kill the bastard for doing this to you."

"NO!" Kurt yelped. "No, don't – you can't leave me. He-he said he'll hurt you, please don't, Blaine, please, I love you," Kurt tried to regain control, quietening his near-hysterical tone, "please don't." He begged, willing Blaine to understand.

"Shh," Blaine soothed. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Nowhere."

"I love you," Kurt sobbed. "I love you so much, I'm so sorry."

"Oh Kurt," Blaine said, more tears welling in his eyes. "I'm so sorry and I love you so much. Your everything to me and I was so scared I was going to lose you forever."

"I don't want to ever lose you," Kurt instantly sobered, staring into Blaine's eyes through his tear-spiked eyelashes. Nothing Karofsky had done would ruin this moment for them.

"Shh, love, you won't," Blaine assured him, holding his boyfriend in his arms. He vowed that he would never take the gesture for granted ever again. He voiced this notion to Kurt, who simply clutched him tighter.

Outside in the hall way, they listened to Kurt's heart breaking sobs and a tear fell down Burt's cheek. He held Carol tightly in his arms as she listened with a pained expression, trying to hold herself together for Burt's sake. Annie had her head buried in Edward's shoulder and Finn was slowly getting colour back into his face.

"I'm going to let New Directions know that Kurt's safe," Finn said quietly and walked away, pulling out his phone. He dialled Rachel's number without thinking. Something in subconscious told him that though it was late, he could rely on her.

"Finn!" Rachel cried, picking up after the first ring.

"Hey Rachel," Finn said, smiling softly at the sound of her voice.

"Any news on Kurt?" Rachel demanded.

"Yeah," Finn chuckled, relieved. "he's at the hospital. They found him."

"Oh, Finn," Rachel sighed. "That's fantastic news."

"It is," Finn agreed. "Can you pass it along to everyone else?"

"Of course," Rachel said. "I have my phone tree at the ready. You can count on me, Finn."

"I know," Finn smiled and Rachel's breath hitched. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Finn," Rachel said and they hung up. Finn stood alone for a few moments to collect his thoughts before heading back to everyone else.

When got back he saw that everyone was standing by the door, peering in to Kurt's room.

Finn looked over everyone – being tall had rare but occasionally useful perks – and saw Blaine was holding Kurt in his arms, gently stroking his hair gently. Kurt's eyes were closed and it appeared that he had fallen asleep, the events of the day proving too much for him. Though the glass was smeared and Finn's eyes were clouded with tears, he could still see prominently that Kurt looked so small. He couldn't image anyone ever wanting to hurt him.

"Do you think he'll be OK?" Carol asked, tearing Finn from his train of thought.

"Who knows," Burt replied, quietly. "But Blaine will see to it that he's as OK as he can be, given the circumstances." He stepped back into the room and everyone followed quietly. Blaine looked up, his eyes red and puffy, just likes Kurt's.

"Please don't make me leave," Blaine whispered, tightening his hold on Kurt who sighed softly in his sleep.

"Never, Blaine," Burt said softly.

Blaine laid his head back down and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of Kurt and thanking everything he knew that his boyfriend was back in his arms.