Kurt, February, 2011

            Kurt paced nervously back and forth in the foyer, waiting impatiently. His appointment was at 12:30pm and while his ride was normally quite punctual, he was 3 minutes late. Kurt was this close to whipping out his cell phone and dialing, when he heard the tell-tale honk of his ride’s arrival. Kurt whipped open the front door and then locked it behind him. He stomped towards the car, trying to give the driver his most impressive bitch face. It was difficult, seeing as the driver was his very best friend and had the most adorable smile on his face, eager like a puppy.

            Kurt opened the driver’s side door and climbed into the jeep. “You’re late.”

            Blaine’s smile faltered for a millisecond as he checked the clock on the dashboard. Once he realized that the time was not what he would qualify him as late, his face broke out into a smirk.

            “Three minutes hardly qualifies as late, Kurt. Stop giving me that look.”

            Kurt’s bitch face turned into a small smile and he laughed. “It’s late when this 12:30 appointment is going to be the best appointment of my young life, I’m sure.” It was 6 weeks to the day that Kurt had broken his wrist. It was also 6 weeks to the day that Kurt had met Blaine. What Kurt had thought was going to be some of the most horrible weeks of his life, turned out to be his best. Kurt was getting his cast off today. He was going to get to wear his skinny jeans again without having an awkward encounter with his father. He was going to style his hair properly again, while even though he thought he perfected the one-handed styling, it just wasn’t the same. He was also going to get to shower in completely privacy something he didn’t appreciate as much as he did now.

            “Thanks for bringing me today, Blaine. I really appreciate it.”

            Blaine took his eyes off the road quickly to give Kurt a reassuring look. “It’s no problem, Kurt. It’s not your fault that Burt’s important conference and Carole’s sister’s wedding happened on the same weekend. You were okay this morning, though?”

            “Yeah, I was fine. I showered last night and I made sure to get up extra early before everyone left so Carole could help me get dressed.”

            “Before you know it, you’ll be able to do all those things on your own again!” said Blaine, excitedly, looking over at him.

            “I know! It’s so close I can almost taste it.” Kurt sat back in his seat and picked up the non-fat mocha Blaine had picked up for him at The Lima Bean. “Thank you for the coffee, by the way.”

            “I figured you probably didn’t get too much sleep last night.”

            “Well, you figured right. I was too excited to sleep! I should have gotten my dad to book an earlier appointment…”

            “Well, you survived, it’s just a matter of time now,” said Blaine. He reached over and squeezed Kurt’s leg quickly. Kurt looked out the window to try and hide the bright smile and slight blush on his cheeks.

            Ever since Blaine had gone over to Kurt’s house on New Year’s Eve, the two had been inseparable. For the rest of the Christmas break, they were together most of the time. Blaine lived so close to Kurt, so it was easy for them to take trips to The Lima Bean, or the mall. They had marathon discussions from anything to fashion, to Broadway, to future plans. Kurt was inherently upset when Blaine had to go back to Westerville for school, but Blaine promised he would come home on the weekends as much as he could. Westerville wasn’t that far away and Kurt swore once he could drive again he would drive to Westerville once in a while so Blaine wouldn’t waste so much money on gas. (Even though Blaine had told him it wasn’t a waste, Kurt, I want to spend time with you).

            Unfortunately, Kurt still had a massive crush on Blaine. He absolutely tried his hardest to focus on their friendship, instead of his ever persistent romantic feelings towards him, but it was so difficult. He had even had a little mini breakdown when he had a girl’s night with Mercedes and Rachel. They convinced him to wait it out, that if Blaine felt anything other than friendship towards him he would come to terms with it eventually. So Kurt tried to settle down and instead he revelled in his newfound friendship. His new best friend. Although he would never be sure if Blaine would ever want to be more, he was thankful for Blaine. These past 6 weeks would have been awful had it not been for him. He was always willing to talk, no matter what time of day or night. He even drove all the way to McKinley and skipped a class because Kurt was have a horrible day. Blaine spent the weekend and they laughed all day long and cooked and even cuddled on the couch a little. Blaine was forced to sleep on the couch, but once or twice Burt found them leaning against each other, asleep, with the light from the DVD menu flashing on their faces.

            “So Blaine, what should we do to celebrate? Shopping? Lunch at Breadstix?”

            “Actually, Kurt, if you don’t mind, I had a little something planned to celebrate,” said Blaine.

            “Oh, really now? Plan on letting me in on your super secret plans, or no?”

            “Hmmm…the latter,” said Blaine, winking at him.

            “Fine,” said Kurt with a huff. “That means I’m in charge of the radio, if you’re going to be like that.”

            “Kurt, if you’re trying to prove a point, I don’t think it’s going to work. We like the same kind of music.”

            “Shut up, Blaine.”

            After several minutes of playful banter, finally, finally they had arrived at Lima Memorial. Kurt urged Blaine to park closest to the building, (I promise I’ll give you some money okay, let’s just go!) and they rushed into the building. Blaine nodded in greeting at the security guard sitting at the front desk and took Kurt’s good hand and led him to the outpatient registration.

            After filling out the required forms, Kurt and Blaine headed up to the Paediatric floor.  Of course Caroline, everyone’s favourite nurse, greeted them at the desk. As soon as she saw the two of them, she rushed around the desk and practically tackled the boys.

            “I haven’t seen you both since Kurt’s mid-way check-up! Where have you been? How are you? How are things?” she exclaimed.

            “Caroline, breathe,” said Blaine, teasingly. “When I wasn’t at school, I was hanging out with Kurt or performing with the Warblers. I’m sorry I haven’t been by much. I’ve just been busy….ever since Sierra went home, I really haven’t thought of coming much,” said Blaine, sadly.

Kurt could tell Blaine felt guilty for not visiting as frequently as he used to. A few weeks after they had met, Sierra started feeling a lot better and had gone back home to Columbus and getting her chemotherapy done at the outpatient clinic. Seeing as one of Blaine’s best friends wasn’t at the hospital anymore, he didn’t have much of a reason to spend his weekends off volunteering. He instead spent more time with Kurt.

“Don’t worry Caroline,” Kurt cut in, “I’ll make sure when Blaine comes to visit me on the weekends that we’ll stop by.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” said Caroline. “We miss him around here!” Blaine smiled softly and looked down at his shoes.

“I miss you guys too,” said Blaine. “I’ve just been a little preoccupied, I guess.” Blaine looked up at Kurt and winked. Kurt pretended to ignore the intense flush that creeped up on his cheeks and the flutter of his heartbeat when Blaine had said that, fully intending he had been preoccupied with spending time with Kurt.

“Yeah, of course,” said Caroline. She looked at Blaine and Kurt knowingly with a little smirk on her face. Kurt blushed again.  “Now, let’s go. Dr. Robinson is waiting for you Kurt! Excited?”

“Caroline, the emotions I am feeling right now can’t even be put into words,” said Kurt.

Caroline led Kurt and Blaine down one of the halls on the floor into a room that looked more like it belonged in a clinic or Doctor’s office than a hospital. Dr. Robinson was tending to something at one of the medical trays and facing away from them. Caroline knocked quickly on the opened door to notify them of their arrival and Dr. Robinson whirled around to face them.

“Ah! Mr. Hummel, ready to get this pesky cast off?” the doctor asked. “And I see you brought Blaine along for moral support I suppose?”

“Um…” Kurt laughed nervously. “My parents are out of town and Blaine offered to bring me.”

The doctor smiled and nodded at them. “That’s nice. Now, let’s get started. I took a look at the X-rays you got done a couple of days ago and I am very pleased to say that the breaks have healed completely.”

Kurt let out a sigh of relief. “Perfect.”

“Now, I don’t know if you remember me mentioning it to you before, but you will need to do some physical therapy to gain some strength back into your wrist. It’ll be a little stiff when I take the cast off, but I’ll show you a couple of stretches to help loosen your wrist a little bit before you see the physical therapist, alright?”

“Sure,” said Kurt, nodding. “Is there anything I won’t be able to do?”

“The one thing I’m going to advise against is any heavy lifting. No over extension of the wrist, not until your muscles get stronger, okay?”

“But I can wear my skinny jeans again? And perform my moisturizing routine? And shower alone?”

The doctor laughed, “Yes, sir. I assure you that that will all be fine.”

“Good, I just wanted to make sure.”

“Alright, well, let’s get started. Just hop up on the table there and remove your jacket.” Once Kurt had followed the doctor’s instructions, he continued to speak. “Now, this is a fairly simple procedure Kurt. First, I’ll ask you to put on these safety glasses to protect your eyes from any dust that might fly out. I’ll also ask you to wear these earmuffs because the saw is quite loud. Now, this is the saw I’ll be using to cut the cast. It oscillates from side to side, so there is hardly a risk for it to cut your skin, alright Kurt? Do you understand?”

As the doctor held up the cast saw, Kurt blanched. Just the fact that a saw was going to be this close to touching his skin terrified him.

“Kurt,” the doctor said seriously, “it will not cut you, I promise, alright?” Kurt blinked and nodded.

“Okay, I trust you. But please know that I will sue you for everything you have if you do.”

The doctor just laughed.

“Okay, now, once I cut the cast, I’ll break it apart using this instrument here. Once I take off the cast, I’ll cut the padding with these scissors. Once I take a look at the skin and see that everything is alright, I’ll wash it with a light soap, because honestly? This part of your arm hasn’t been washed in 6 weeks. It gets kind of gross under there after a while.”

Kurt and Blaine both made a disgusted face at the mention of Kurt’s arm not being washed for 6 weeks.

“Don’t worry Dr. Robinson, I prepared for this. I brought some of my best soaps and moisturizers. Hopefully I can get my skin back to its normal perfection soon,” said Kurt, determined.

“Alright. Well now, should we get started?” Kurt nodded. Dr. Robinson handed out a pair of safety glasses and ear muffs to both Kurt and Blaine and put some on himself as well. He gestured to Kurt, asking him to place his arm outstretched on the table in front of him. He picked up the saw and looked up at Kurt to make sure he was ready.

“Ready?” he mouthed.

Kurt nodded his head, although he blanched again at the thought of the saw. His good hand started to shake nervously and he was becoming increasingly pale. Blaine noticed immediately and gripped Kurt’s good hand with his own.

“It’ll be fine,” he mouthed assuredly at Kurt. Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He flinched a little at the distant sound of the saw whirring and focussed on his hand in Blaine’s.

Well this is terribly familiar, thought Kurt, scathingly.

Sooner than he thought, he felt the slight pressure and vibration of the saw cutting through the cast. He closed his eyes tighter and Blaine squeezed his hand harder. Suddenly, the sound and the vibrations were gone. Blaine tapped his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see Blaine smiling widely at him.

“All done,” he mouthed. Kurt sighed in relief once again. Blaine leaned towards him and plucked the earmuffs off his head.

“Now, was that so bad, Kurt?” asked the doctor.

“No, I guess not,” said Kurt with a huff. He was kind of embarrassed for acting like a baby about the whole situation.

“Don’t worry Kurt,” said Blaine, soothingly. “I would have been scared too.”

Kurt looked over at his friend and smiled, “Thanks for making me feel like I’m not such a baby after all.”

Blaine gasped in fake horror, “Nonsense!” Kurt chuckled.

“Two more steps left and you’ll have your arm back to normal, Kurt!” said the doctor. Kurt wiggled his toes excitedly.

“Almost there Blaine! Oh my gosh I can’t even believe it.”

“I know, Kurt! I’m so excited for you,” he said as he placed his arm around Kurt’s shoulder and squeezed.

The doctor picked up the cast spreaders and inserted the instrument in the cut running through the cast. With a strong squeeze, the cast popped open and he grabbed it before it fell to the ground.

A rush of air hit Kurt’s sensitive skin and he almost forgot to hold his arm up without all the extra weight holding it down. The doctor snipped through the gauze covering Kurt’s arm and all of a sudden, he was free.

“Blaine, please pinch me to make sure I’m not dreaming, alright?” said Kurt, a little breathlessly.

Blaine laughed and squeezed his shoulder a little tighter. “Kurt, I assure you, you aren’t dreaming.”

“Wow.” Kurt’s arm was finally exposed from the cast it had been wearing for the last 6 weeks. His skin was as pale as normal and yeah, it looked a little gross. Otherwise, it looked normal and the doctor deemed it perfectly fine.

“Try flexing your wrist a little for me,” the doctor instructed. “Wiggle your fingers, move your hand around and tell me if it’s more painful than a stiff muscle.”

Kurt delicately wiggled his fingers and twisted his wrist slightly. He squinted a little at the tightness, but there was no pain. “It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt. It just feels like it was in a funny position while I was sleeping or something.”

“Perfectly normal,” said the doctor. “Keep moving your wrist around, but nothing too extreme. I just want you to loosen the muscles. Your wrist will feel weak for a while, but once you start physical therapy, everything should be back to normal. Now, I’ll leave you here for a few minutes. Go ahead and wash your arm up. Just make sure the water isn’t too hot. Your skin is probably more sensitive than normal. I’d also recommend using something with an SPF in it, just because the area hasn’t had any sun exposure in a long time. I don’t want you to burn.”

“Noted,” said Kurt, nodding excitedly. He was still moving his wrist around in wonder. After having it not functioning for almost 2 months, he was absolutely ecstatic.

“Come on Blaine,” said Kurt, hopping off the table. “Let’s go wash this filth off my arm.”

            Blaine laughed and followed him, picking up Kurt’s bag on the floor as Kurt flounced to the bathroom.

            “What stuff do you want to use?” asked Blaine as he opened Kurt’s bag. Before Kurt had left the house, he had packed several of his most special body washes and moisturizers to take care of his newly exposed skin.

            “Let me get it Blaine, I can do these kinds of things again!” Kurt gently grabbed his bag out of Blaine’s hands, being careful of his weak wrist. He picked through the bottles, taking out two of them, along with a soft towel from his bathroom. He set his supplies on the ledge of the sink and turned the tap on with his left hand.

            “Blaine, look! I just turned the tap on with my left hand! This is insane!”

            “I know man, it’s awesome,” said Blaine, encouragingly.

            Kurt worked quickly to wash and moisturize his left arm. Every time he opened a bottle or turned the tap off created a burst of happiness in his chest that was hard to describe. He was just so happy that this whole ordeal was finally over. He could start dressing as he normally would and styling his hair properly. He could finally drive again! And make his bed nicely. And shower! And do up his jeans on his own! And wear fitted shirts with buttons.

Life was good.

  Kurt had stayed at the hospital for about another half an hour or so. He listened carefully to his doctor’s instructions and met quickly with the physiotherapist. After he had filled out all of the required forms, Kurt was allowed the leave the hospital, cast free, but not before saying goodbye to Caroline and again promising to stop by with Blaine every once in a while to visit. Eventually, they made their way out to the car. Kurt was still buzzing a little with the excitement of buttoning his jacket with two hands (although he was quite practiced at doing it one-handed). Blaine laughed as Kurt practically dragged him to the car. Kurt had hid a bottle of hairspray and a boar bristle brush in his bag. I can finally style my hair properly again! He climbed into the passenger seat and flipped down the visor overhead and exposed the mirror.

            “It’s small, but it’ll do,” he said to Blaine, peering at his own reflection in the tiny mirror.

            “Sorry Kurt, I’m afraid my Jeep doesn’t come equipped with a vanity.”

            “Have you thought about putting one in the trunk? You have some space back there,” he said, teasingly.

            “Kurt, I’m not the one with a Navigator. You’d have ten times more space in your own car.”

            “While this may be true, I’d be driving. I wouldn’t be able to check my hair while I was driving, Blaine. This arrangement works perfectly fine.”

            “Does this mean I’m your chauffeur from now on…? I don’t think I like this arrangement much.” Blaine looked over at Kurt, his eyes twinkling.

            Kurt looked over at him sceptically, “You’ll do for now. Although I do prefer my drivers a little taller. I do like for them to be able to reach the foot pedals properly.”

            “Oh, shut up Kurt! I’m not that much shorter than you!” exclaimed, punching Kurt lightly in the arm. “Can we leave now?”

            “I suppose. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me where we are going?”

            “Absolutely not.”

            Kurt angled his body towards the window of the car, smiling softly at the snowmen littering the yards on the way to Blaine’s secret destination. Not only was this a beautiful day in Kurt’s mind, the weather has decided to go along with Kurt’s good fortune. Not a cloud was in sight and it had snowed a couple of days ago, leaving everything covered in a light white powder of snow. The sun was shining bright, a rare occurrence during the drab Ohio winter. Kurt laughed a little at himself. It wasn’t very often that Kurt Hummel appreciated the beauty of the world around him, especially since it liked to kick him when he was down most of the time. But maybe, just maybe the appearance of a certain Warbler had shown him that the world was a little brighter than Kurt thought it was, even in Lima, Ohio.

            Kurt didn’t think I was possible, but Blaine lifted his spirits. He reminded him of what was good in life. Kurt hadn’t watched Disney in years until Blaine came along. They had silly sing-alongs  when no one was home and watched marathons of Friends and America’s Next Top Model, they brainstormed song ideas for their respective Glee clubs and made list and lists of prospective solos. Their conversations ranged from the most serious to the most silly. Blaine was there whenever Kurt was in an absolute rage over whatever hurtful thing was written over his locker that day or when Kurt was sobbing because his dad was this close to throwing away his mother’s old dresser that still smelled like her, even though his dad couldn’t smell anything.

            Everything had changed for Kurt once he broke his wrist, and honestly he couldn’t be more thankful of it.