It was 4:16am. At first Blaine wasn’t sure why he had woken up, until he realized that the bed was empty next to him and the light was on in the bathroom. The door wasn’t closed al the way and he could hear Kurt coughing horribly in there.

Blaine jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom feeling something run through his body. When he pushed the door open he found Kurt sitting on the floor with his back against the tub while coughing worse than Blaine had ever witnessed.

“God, why are you sitting here, baby?” Blaine hurried over to kneel down next to Kurt. Blaine knew that something was wrong, and he was afraid that this was worse than what he knew he could handle.

“I didn’t wanna wake you up,” Kurt said apologetically between the coughs. His eyes were red and watery and his skin was so pale that it was almost white.

“You should have waken me up. You shouldn’t sit out here. You’re gonna catch a cold. Come here, let’s get you back to bed.” Blaine’s voice was so weak from the shock that it was almost a whisper.

Kurt’s lips were almost purple, and when Blaine put his arm around Kurt he couldn’t tell if he was too hot or too cold. His body was shivering, but we was also covered in a thin layer of sweat. Kurt had trouble keeping on his feet so Blaine supported him all the way to the bed.

As soon as he had made sure that Kurt had a lot of pillows for support he tugged the covers closely around him.

“Do you need anything? Should I get some more blankets? Some water? Anything?” Blaine’s eyebrows had met in the middle of his forehead the way they always did when he was nervous. Only this time he could feel that his entire body was telling him off; he was honestly extremely scared.

Kurt tried catching his eyes when he shook his head. He was coughing way too much to get out a sentence, and Blaine knew that he didn’t want to bother him. So Blaine crawled back into the bed next to him. He didn’t know what to do, but he was starting to fear that he wouldn’t be able to get Kurt through the night alone.

Blaine wanted to keep his eyes on Kurt without even blinking, but he didn’t even dare looking at him for a second. He knew that Kurt would be uncomfortable by his attention, and then he would try telling him off and make the coughing even worse.

“Kurt, I think that maybe we should consider calling a doctor. It really doesn’t sound too good -” Blaine tried carefully. He didn’t doubt for a second that Kurt would try and talk him out of it, but he had already made up his mind; he was going to call the reception and get them to send a doctor. He didn’t want to take the chance of letting Kurt continue like this for the rest of the night - maybe even for the rest of their trip.

As predicted Kurt shook his head desperately. His eyes got wide and the coughing got worse, but he still tried talking.

“No. Please - no doctors - you promised - please -” It was painful to listen to him trying to speak, which only convinced Blaine even further. Kurt might get mad at him, but it was something he was willing to risk to make sure he didn’t get any sicker.

“I know I did; and I really don’t wanna do this. But this is too much. We can’t handle this alone. You might get even worse, and I don’t want that happening. I have to call a doctor,” apologized Blaine. He felt like he was trying to rip out his heart; Kurt was begging him with his eyes and he looked like he was on the edge of tears.

“I’m sorry. I am so sorry, honey.” Blaine kept on while waiting for someone to pick up the phone in the reception.

Once he finally got a hold of someone he got them to send a doctor as fast as possible. As soon as he had put down the phone he wanted to run over and put his arms around Kurt but he didn’t. Instead he didn‘t move at all. Like he was paralyzed, or nailed to the spot.

He stood there for what felt like an hour, just watching Kurt cough his lungs out with tears streaming down his face, but in reality it probably wasn’t more than two minutes.

He had no idea what to do about himself, what he could do to help Kurt, so in his desperation he hurried to the bathroom to get a glass of water.

He knew that it was ridiculous, and that a silly glass of water wouldn’t do anything good, but he needed to do something to not feel useless.

He sat back down on the bed next to Kurt, where Kurt leaned in to rest his head against Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine hurried to put an arm around him to make sure he didn’t get cold, but inside he didn’t think he was worthy of sitting there with his arm around Kurt.

“I am so sorry I brought you here, Kurt. How could I do this? I should have known better. You need to be at home close to your own doctors and people who know how to take care of you. I can’t take care of you.” Blaine felt warm tears run down his face now and he had to bite his lip to keep from sobbing. He didn’t want Kurt to see that he was crying, he didn’t need that right now.

Kurt had almost stopped coughing now. Now he was heaving desperately for breath, and it sounded as if every time he inhaled or exhaled a piece of sandpaper was dragged up and down his throat.

He didn’t have the energy to stay up himself, so the only thing that kept him sitting up straight were the pillows supporting his back and Blaine’s arm around him.

“Don’t say that. It’s been amazing. It’s been the best days of my life. You’re my husband now, you could never do me wrong.” Kurt’s voice was hoarse and he had to pause every now and then between the words to breathe or to cough. He had shifted to look up at Blaine and for the first time during their entire trip he looked scared. It was like looking at a little boy who had been told to sleep alone in the dark for the first time in his life.

“Husband,” Blaine said, unable to stop himself from smiling down at him. He let his hand stroke over Kurt’s hair that was moist from the sweating. He wished that he could never stop saying it; husband. He wanted to run through all of Las Vegas and just scream it, that Kurt Hummel was his husband.

As soon as the doctor arrived Blaine tightened his grip around Kurt’s shoulder, but was told to let go even though Kurt whimpered for him not to. Kurt held out his hand to indicate that Blaine should take it, but he couldn’t. He had to leave the room; he just couldn’t look at the way the doctor started taking all his tests.

Blaine had explained the case to the doctor. It was the first time he had said the word “cancer” out loud since he had told his mom about it. It burnt all the way from his stomach, up through his throat, over his tongue and on his lips - he could almost see the word written in flames when he said it.

Kurt had begged him to tell the doctor that he was just having a bad case of lemonier, but Blaine had refused. He knew that if the doctor were able to help in any way they had to know the truth. Kurt had cried and whined and begged him not to say the word and Blaine almost caved in when there was a knock on the door and all he could say was: “I’m sorry.”

However, he had tried making up for it when the doctor had asked him what their relation to each other was. He had looked at Kurt and without even blinking said “we just got married”. The doctor had congratulated them and a tint of red had showed in Kurt’s white cheeks while he struggled to gain up energy enough to smile.

The doctor said that he needed to take Kurt to the hospital to observation for the next 12 hours and Kurt started objecting when Blaine cut through and said that he was going to pack the most necessary things so they could leave straight away. Kurt sent him a sour look, but Blaine didn’t care. He believed that Kurt wasn’t in a position to know what was the best for him at the moment.

*

Once they were at the hospital Blaine hurried outside to call Burt so he could tell him where they were. Blaine was deadly scared to call him after the argument Kurt had with him when they had just arrived. Blaine couldn’t blame him for his reaction; now that he was pacing the halls of the hospital he saw that it was the stupidest thing he had ever done, and he couldn’t understand how he had ever got such an idiotic idea.

Burt started to say that he was going to fly out to go there, but Blaine kept telling him no. It would only upset Kurt more and could make him worse. Blaine promised to try and fix their tickets so they could go home as soon as Kurt was out of the hospital.

After some time with Burt yelling and Blaine panicking, Burt agreed that it was probably for the best to do it that way. Blaine promised to keep him informed with the tiniest details before he hung up and hurried back to Kurt’s room.

When he got back the doctors were done with their tests and questions, and Blaine was let back into the room. Kurt looked awful, like he hadn’t slept for years or been out in the sun in his entire life. Blaine sat down on the chair next to his bed wishing repeatedly that he hadn’t taken him to Vegas. If he hadn’t done so maybe this wouldn’t have happened - or he would at least be close to doctors who knew him.

“Hey beautiful. How are you feeling?” Blaine inquired when Kurt opened his eyes to look at him. He knew that he hadn’t been sleeping, but he was afraid to say anything in case he was trying to.
“Stop. It’s not funny anymore,” said Kurt, shifting his head a little to get a better view in Blaine’s direction.

“You know what I did when I had to sign all the papers?” Blaine asked hoping to get Kurt’s mood a little lighter. It was a cheap trick, he admitted that bluntly, and he couldn’t blame Kurt for being in a dark mood. He just really wished that he could get him better.

“What did you do, Blaine? Hopefully not something horrible -” replied Kurt, wriggling his fingers to show that he wanted Blaine to take his hand; so he did. He let both of his hands close around Kurt’s one, making sure that both of the plastic rings were visible. Blaine almost felt it as if the tiny smiley faces on them were mocking him with their big smiles.

“I signed them with Hummel-Anderson as both of our names.” When Blaine said the names out loud he smiled himself. A different warmth spread inside him by the sound of it and the feeling of wanting to run screaming through the town returned.

Kurt’s eyes looked as if a light had been lit behind a fogged glass and the corners of his mouth dragged a little bit up; very possibly the most he was able to smile at that point.

“You did? I like that. It sounds so official. It’s perfect,” Kurt responded and Blaine could feel that he was doing his best to squeeze his hand around Blaine’s, and he suddenly remembered his promise to Burt; that they had to go home as soon as Kurt was out of the hospital. He didn’t want to tell Kurt - he could already predict that he was going to be devastated that they would lose the last two days of their time in Vegas, so he decided that it could wait.

“Did you call home?” Kurt asked sharply. Blaine was amazed that he was able to know what he was thinking about just by looking at him, but he wasn’t surprised. It wouldn’t be the first time Kurt had nailed him like that. He knew that he had to tell him now, or he would know that there was something he was hiding.

“Yeah. I just talked to your dad. I told him what happened and that we’re at the hospital now. He got mad and started yelling at me,” Blaine explained carefully knowing in which direction he was headed, and when Kurt started showing signs of apologizing he hurried to continue.

“He uhm - he made me make a promise to him. I know that you won’t like it, but I had to. He’s right. I was so stupid to bring you out here. I promised him to fix our tickets so we can go home as soon as you’re out of the hospital. Please don’t get mad. I know it’s sad, but we’re only missing two days, and you should be at home where your dad can take care of you. I feel like the worst boyfriend in the world. I am so sorry for having caused this, Kurt.”

Blaine’s brown orbs were huge and watery, and he was overwhelmed by a desperate need to apologizing and never stopping. But Kurt didn’t look mad.

“Then it’s good you’re not my boyfriend - but it’s okay, baby. It’s probably for the best that way. Don’t kick yourself over it, I’m just glad we had the days we had.” Kurt’s voice sounded as if he had smoked a carton of cigarettes within an hour, but somehow he still managed to make it soft and comforting. He let a hand rise up to stroke Blaine’s cheek before he had to put his arm back down.

For the rest of the hospital stay Blaine didn’t leave Kurt’s side. He stayed in the chair holding his hand, making sure he had everything he needed and sang to him. He comforted him when he cried and took the heat when he got frustrated and had to let it out. The same nurse kept coming back to check up on them and asked them if there was anything she could get them. That was the point where Blaine realized that he would never get used to the looks people sent them.

He had got used to the looks people sent them when they walked down the street hand in hand, and the looks parents would give them when they waved to their kid or passed a playground; the looks of disgust or fear that they would “turn their children gay”. They didn’t care about those looks anymore; they were ignorant and idiotic.

But the looks they got when people passed them and knew that Kurt was sick were unbearable; the looks of sympathy, the looks of sadness, the looks of “they are so young” or the looks of “they are so strong”. Sometimes he just wanted to scream at people that they should look the other way, or leave them alone. Now he understood why Kurt wouldn’t have people knowing about it - and that was where the thought hit him; as soon as they got home they would probably have to tell their friends.

Blaine didn’t tell Kurt, but he started to list the people that should know in his head. He started to feel bad that they hadn’t told Rachel yet - she and Kurt didn’t talk much anymore, but they still cared very much about each other, and every time something happened in Rachel’s life she called Kurt. He had done the same up until he had gotten sick, now he didn’t tell her anything anymore out of fear that she would notice that something was up.

Blaine also felt that he had to tell Sam. Even though Sam and Kurt had only been in school together for a year and he had moved from Lima years ago he and Kurt had kept in touch. Every now and then Sam would even call Blaine if he couldn’t get a hold of Kurt.

Sam had stood up for Kurt and taken fights for him when he had been bullied, and Kurt had been Sam’s greatest support back when his family had lost their house; ever since then they had told each other everything. Kurt had always been there for Sam whenever he needed it; no matter if it was family, or girls, or college. Likewise, Sam had always been there too whenever Kurt needed to talk, and Blaine didn’t think that it was fair to keep him out of something as big as this. He was sure that Sam would jump on the first plane to Ohio if Blaine asked him to.

As soon as Kurt got permission to leave the hospital they returned to the hotel where Blaine let him sleep while he started to call around to figure out how to change their tickets. The second he had solved the problem Blaine called Burt and told them that they were on their way home, and then he started to pack their suitcases. When he was done, Blaine got in the bed to hold around Kurt until they had to leave. They lay like that for two hours before the cab got there and drove them to the airport.

Blaine had made sure that they didn’t have to wait too long in the airport to make sure nothing could happen on the way home, and nothing did.

Kurt didn’t have any energy left at all, so he sat curled up in a seat while they waited in the airport, and he slept almost the entire flight home.

Blaine had called Puck from the airport, and he promised to come and pick them up. As soon as they got in the car he said that Finn was on his way home from college. He had made the arrangements the second he had heard that Kurt was in the hospital and would come home as fast as they could.

*

Even though Blaine knew that it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t stop blaming himself for what had happened. He could see now that everything Burt had been scared would happen when he had realized they were gone, had actually happened, and Blaine felt like going into hiding.

As soon as they returned to the Hummel-Hudson house Burt got a doctor over. He had already received the report from the Vegas hospital so he knew exactly what was going on with Kurt.

The doctor said that he wanted Kurt to be under 24/7 observations, and if he didn’t get any better within a week he should be taken to the hospital.

Kurt kept complaining and said that it was just because he’d been so active during the week, and that it was just his body reacting, telling him that he needed to slow down.

“I’m fine. I’ll just sleep for some hours and I’ll get better in no time,” Kurt insisted.

But he didn’t get better. Blaine sat by his side, watching him sleeping for 10 hours, without as much as going to the bathroom. He hadn’t slept for more than 24 hours himself, but he didn’t care.

“You need to sleep, Blaine. Don’t worry. I’ll stay and keep an eye on him. Get some rest, kid,” Burt said to him when he came to check up on them after Kurt had been sleeping at ease except for when Blaine had to wake him up to make sure he got his medication.

“No. It’s okay. I’m not tired,” Blaine lied, even though he knew that Burt saw right through it. Blaine was well aware that he looked awful; red, puffy eyes and muffled hair, ash gray in the face and a scruff starting to show on his usually slick cheeks.

“Come on, Blaine. It’s alright. If anything happens we’ll wake you up,” Burt insisted and nodded to indicate that Blaine should go to sleep.

“Thanks. Just let me know okay,” Blaine said one more time even though he knew that Burt would tell him instantly if there was the tiniest change in Kurt’s state.

Blaine slid down between the covers and turned to wrap his arm around Kurt. When he moved close to him he could hear the sound of Kurt’s sandpaper breathing. As Blaine closed his eyes he couldn’t stop thinking about how creepy the sound was. Like an evil monster had taken habitat inside Kurt and was now feeding of his vital organs.

When Blaine finally fell asleep it was all he could dream about. Strange little creatures creeping around inside Kurt’s body, using his veins and nervous system as piping to get around, and they had to attack his blood in order to move faster.
Blaine wanted to get inside Kurt’s blood to stop them, but no matter how much he tried they only kept multiplying instead of reducing, while the vicious creatures sent him mocking grins.

After that one night it was all Blaine could dream about and every time he closed his eyes the monsters popped up in his head. It reached a point where he was almost afraid to close his eyes - he kept imagining that the more he pictured the beasts, the more they actually did multiply inside Kurt.

*
They had been home from Vegas for a week and Kurt was still in bed. He wasn’t coughing as horribly anymore, but he had gone incredibly weak. All he did was lie in bed watching movies and musicals with Blaine holding him, or he slept. Kurt almost didn’t eat and when he did, it was under a lot of pressure from people around him. He had no appetite at all and the thought of eating was repulsing.

“Blaine. Come on, we need to do something. If he doesn’t start eating soon he’ll end up anorectic. I mean look at him - he’s so skinny. Whenever he asks me to hold him I’m afraid he’s going to break or something.” Puck’s whisper was desperate. Ever since Blaine and Kurt had returned his brows had been furrowed and a worried expression had been permanently plastered over his face.

In the beginning Kurt had told him to relax and back off, but as the days went on he had only gotten sicker, all energy had been drained and he had given up on fighting it and let Puck’s nerves run wild. Kurt didn’t have the brain capacity to object against their fussing so he just let them be and turned his back on them.

“I know, but what do you want me to do? I can’t force him to eat. Don’t you think I’m scared as well? He doesn’t need to get anymore sick than he already is - shhh, he’s waking up.” Blaine hushed at Puck as Kurt started to move, his eyes flinching against the light escaping the shut drapes.

Blaine had sworn to himself that he didn’t want to let Kurt hear them discuss their worries. He was afraid that if he stressed over that too he would get worse, and Puck had agreed that this would be the best way to go around it.

“Good morning. Did you have a nice nap?” Blaine asked in a quiet voice, looking down to Kurt on the pillow. Blaine let his hand run over Kurt’s lusterless hair as Kurt looked up at him, before trying to drag himself to sit up.

“Hey. What are you talking about that I can’t hear?” Kurt’s voice was thick from sleeping. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, like a child, and his lips were painfully dry.

Puck avoided his gaze by looking at Blaine instead. Blaine panicked he didn’t know what he should say, so instead he spontaneously said:

“Honey. I was thinking - shouldn’t we tell Puck? He deserves to know, and we’ve been home for a while now.” Blaine shifted to glance at Kurt, and did what he could to send him a saying look. Kurt bit his lower lip and let his eyes flicker from Blaine to Puck and then back to Blaine again before he nodded and held up his hand to show that he wanted to have the honor.

“Noah, there’s something we need to tell you. While we were in Vegas we did something - on the very first night actually. It was crazy, but I’m really happy about it - we are really happy about it.”

Kurt let the fingers of his right hand lock with Blaine’s while taking in Puck’s confused expression. He seemed like he didn’t really know whether he should be excited or scared. Then Kurt held up their hands to show the horrible looking ring that suddenly seemed very beautiful in a horrendous kind of way.

“We got married. Please don’t tell anyone. No one knows but you. We’re going to tell Finn later, we just - we wanted you to know,” Kurt said as he waited for a reaction. Puck’s jaw had dropped and his eyes had grown huge as they jumped between his two friends in front of him.

“Are you serious? Married? Like really married? With minister and champagne and wedding night and all that shit?” Puck didn’t even blink. He just sat staring at them in disbelief as if he had heard that Christmas had been moved and now he didn’t know if he could make it or not.

“Aren’t you happy for us? I thought you would be thrilled.” Kurt’s mood dropped abruptly by Puck’s reaction, and Blaine could feel that he shifted a bit uneasy under the covers. His fingers twitched and his face grew paler.

“I am. I am. A lot. I just always thought that - that Finn and I would get to be your best men,” Puck pouted. He looked like someone had grabbed his guitar out of his hands and hidden it from him.

“I’m sorry. I thought so too. It was just one of these things that just happen, you know. But I promise you that you can like - be godfather of our children,” Kurt exclaimed, without even moving.

“Kids? You discussed kids and everything? Wow - that is early, shouldn’t you get over the honeymoon stage first?” Puck chuckled, and fell to the mattress. He looked to the ceiling before he looked back to see Blaine being caught off guard.

“No. We didn’t, actually. But - yeah, I agree. You could be godfather of our children. You and Finn of course.” Blaine felt a sudden rush of affection for Kurt, and just wanted to throw him to the bed and kiss him, but with Puck lying there glaring at them he settled for just squeezing Kurt’s hand.

Not more than a second later a stinging pain hit him in his brain and ran to his chest; what if Kurt didn’t make it? What if Kurt didn’t have a future left for them to have an actual marriage with kids and a house and all those things?

Blaine kept up his smile, but he felt like it had transformed into a fake frown. He really didn’t want anyone to know that he had ever let that thought cross his mind. He didn’t want himself to face that he had thought about it. What kind of person was he to sit and consider the fact that his boyfriend, husband, might not be there with him in the future?

*

Blaine sat down on the kitchen chair in front of Burt with a feeling that he wasn’t going to like what was about to be said.

For the first time in ages he was looking at Burt and really saw him. It suddenly struck Blaine how old he had started to look, almost gray. Or maybe it was just the dimmed light. No matter what he looked so extremely tired - like he had missed sleep for a lifetime.

“I talked to the doctor on the phone earlier today. I told him how Kurt is holding up and all. There’s no easy way to say this so I’ll just do it - tomorrow we’ll get a bag packed up for him and he’s going to get hospitalized. We can’t do this alone anymore. He’s too sick. They want to have him under 24/7 surveillance.” Burt didn’t let his eyes stride away from Blaine’s for a second. He just kept his gaze locked on Blaine’s face.

Blaine couldn’t say that he was surprised. He had known that this would be the next step. Kurt was starting to look sicker day by day, and he was slowly starting to lose more energy. He almost only left the bed to go to the bathroom, and most of the time he was sleeping.
It was painful to witness, and Blaine hated himself for not being able to do anything to stop it.

“I - I guess that’s for the best,” Blaine consented in a thick voice. He looked around the kitchen to gain time to make up something to say, but he couldn’t. All words were gone.

“I don’t want him in there either, but - I’m afraid it’s his only shot. They’re going to put him back in chemo. That stupid project didn’t work at all. They’re thinking that’s why he’s been getting so much worse lately; because there hasn’t been anything to fight the - cells.” Burt almost choked on the word he had tried to avoid saying. It was an unspoken rule in the Hummel-Hudson house that no one was ever to say the word. Ever. Like it was some sort of toxic chemical that would be set loose by the very mention of its name.

“Yeah. I suspected so. I wish he had listened. How could he have been so stupid?” Blaine wanted to jump out of the chair and run to the house of the doctors who had talked Kurt into signing that contract and just beat them up. He needed someone to blame so badly, someone to take the frustrations out on, but there was no one to take the fault.

“He just wanted to do something. He feels so powerless. He can’t do anything but sit around and wait, and hope that whatever the doctors are doing is going to help. Just like you and me, son - he’s scared.” Burt was clearly uncomfortable about the entire situation, so Blaine stood up to try and ease the thick atmosphere in the kitchen.

“Could you like - tell him? I don’t think I can take it if he breaks down or freaks out. I want to be there for him, I just don’t have the nerves for it right now.” The second the words had left his lips he wished that he could catch them and destroy them before they reached Burt. He felt like the most horrible person in the world to ask him this.

“It’s alright, kid. I’ll go do it. You know, whenever you’re out of the room he asks about you. He is worried about how you’re tackling all of this. It’s all he talks about when you’re not there. He cries for you and begs me to get you to hurry back.” Burt sent Blaine a smile that he probably meant to be consoling, but it felt more like watching a piece of his soul die.

“Thank you. I’ll go to Finn’s room. Then just - let me know when you’ve talked to him. I want to be there if he needs me.” Blaine left the kitchen and headed upstairs to go to Finn’s room where he unwound by beating Finn a few rounds on the PlayStation.

It only took 30 minutes until Burt came into Finn’s room. He asked Blaine to come to Kurt’s room, so he hurried in there.

Kurt was curled up to a ball squeezing Blaine’s pillow. He didn’t move when Blaine entered the room, or when he closed the door. Not even when he sat down on the bed next to Kurt. The second he put his hand on Kurt’s shoulder that changed and Kurt flung himself around to curl up in Blaine’s arms instead.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital. I wanna stay at home. With you, with my own stuff, my own sheets, my own everything -” Kurt wept into Blaine’s chest. It was heartbreaking.

“I know, sweetie. But you have to, so they can help you. You need to do this. You’ll probably be out again soon. And I promise that I won’t leave you for two seconds. I’ll stay with you all the time.” Blaine clenched his arms around Kurt. Why couldn’t he just say something comforting instead of sounding like an idiot?

*

The drive to the hospital the next day was horrendous. Kurt had refused to get out of bed and cried and screamed at them to leave him alone whenever anyone tried talking him into getting up to get ready.

In the end, it had been Puck to win him over. Blaine had called Puck in frustration to let it all out, and Puck had offered to call Kurt. After 10 minutes Kurt had calmed down and hung up the phone.

Kurt had left his bed and stayed in his room for 30 minutes behind a locked door before he came downstairs with a suitcase. If Blaine hadn’t known it he would never have guessed how sick Kurt really was. By looking at him, there was no question to why Kurt had been locked in his room for so long. His hair was perfectly groomed, and the dark rings under his eyes were almost gone under a layer of make up. He was wearing his usual every day clothes, and for a second his whole appearance made Blaine wish that it had all been a terrifying dream and they were about to go to school.

Kurt was ice cold in the car. He and Blaine were sitting in the back, but Kurt demonstratively had his eyes locked on the landscape rushing by them, refusing to look at Blaine. He didn’t talk to his dad or to Blaine, and Blaine didn’t dare take his hand. If Kurt needed some space to comprehend what was going on he didn’t want to push him.

When they reached the hospital Blaine came to think that he didn’t know if he this was the time to tell Burt about their trip to the chapel in Vegas or not. On one hand he was afraid that it would make Burt blow up, but on the other he couldn’t stop feeling that Burt would be very happy for them. All Blaine knew was that it probably would affect the signing of papers, and he didn’t want a nurse or a doctor to be the one to tell Burt that his son was secretly married.

Blaine told Burt that he and Kurt needed to talk and asked Kurt to walk with him. They found a quiet place a little from the reception that was comfortably enough distance away from Burt to keep him out of earshot.

“Listen, I think we need to tell your dad that we’re married. Now,” Blaine pointed out. He did his best to keep his tone soft, but still firm making sure that Kurt saw the significance of this detail.

“No, Blaine. I - I can’t right now. He doesn’t need to deal with this now. He’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna kill you,” argued Kurt, but that wasn’t good enough for Blaine. He couldn’t just stand and watch Burt get hit by a shock of that level right now when he was already doing such a painful thing.

“I know. I know. But - he’s gonna start signing some papers in a minute, and then some doctor is going to tell him that your name isn’t just Hummel anymore. Do you really think it’s fair to him to have a doctor tell him that his son is married?” Blaine reasoned uncomfortably aware that Burt was observing them.

“No, of course not. It’s just - I don’t think he’s ready to hear it yet,” Kurt said looking down at the floor while his fingers wildly fiddled with the chain on his waistcoat.

“Do you mean that you’re not ready to tell him yet?” Blaine asked, and put a hand on Kurt’s to stop his frantic playing.

He knew that this was what it was about, and he had seen it coming, but he didn’t think they could avoid it any longer.

“Kurt. Baby, listen, I understand that it’s big, and you’re afraid of how he’s going to take it, considering the circumstances, but I’m sure if he’s gonna get angry it will only be briefly to deal with the surprise of it. Come on, Kurt. Before he finds out on accident,” Blaine pleaded, before Kurt squeezed his eyes shot and then opened them widely with a sigh.

“Okay. Okay! I’ll do it. But if he goes crazy I’m going to hold you fully responsible,” Kurt finally agreed. Blaine smiled warmly and hugged him before taking his hand so they could walk back to Burt together.

“Hey kids. We have to do this now. Let’s just get it over with. The sooner you get in, the quicker we can get you out again,” Burt said, but stopped when he saw the serious look on their faces. He let his eyes flicker from Kurt to Blaine and then back to his son before Kurt cleared his throat to speak up.

“Uhm dad, there’s something we need to discuss first. It’s kind of important.” Kurt avoided any kind of eye contact, but suddenly appeared to have found sudden interest in a plant on the desk of the reception.

“Let’s go over here and talk,” Blaine proposed and gestured for them to go to a group of chairs in a shielded corner where they could talk away from curious eyes and ears. He didn’t think this message was something that should be delivered by public display.

When they sat down Kurt sat as much at the edge of his seat that he just as well could have sat on Blaine’s lap. His fingers were squeezing hard making the ring on Blaine’s finger cut into his skin.

Blaine desperately wanted Kurt to relax, but he didn’t plan on asking him to. This was hard enough as it was.

“Look, we didn’t want you to find out like this - but we thought it best to do it now, rather than having some stranger tell you when they looked over my files. So uhm -” Kurt hesitated and bit his lower lip that was so dry that blood started pebbling out from the soft movement. Kurt didn’t react to it, he squeezed his lips even harder together, letting them transform to a thin line, before he let the bomb drop.

“Dad. Blaine and I are married. We did it in Vegas. It just happened. It was this spontaneous idea, and then before we knew it we were standing in front of this Elvis impersonator making our vows, and putting plastic rings on each other’s fingers.” The words spat out of Kurt’s mouth like a waterfall, and when he finished he ended the stream by exhaling relieved. It was out. He had said it. They were now officially married.

“What do you think I’m blind or something? I saw those tacky rings the second you came home, I just wanted you to tell me yourself, and I knew you would as soon as you were ready. And look now. Guys, I know you’ve been scared to tell me, but there’s really no reason to. I had many years of struggling with the thought that I would one day be getting a son-in-law instead of a daughter - but I gotta say, I can’t imagine any girl being better for Kurt than you are. Welcome officially to the family, son,” Burt smiled as he stood up to hug Blaine before he turned to hug Kurt who had big drops of tears rolling down his pale face.

“Congratulations. Now I guess you’re telling me this because it means there’s something else that needs to be written on the papers. Can I know which combination you decided to go with?” Burt asked in a teasing voice trying to lift the mood a little. The tension between them quickly disappeared as all of them felt relieved, like a big, difficult task had just been completed.

“It’s - I’m Hummel-Anderson now. We are Hummel-Anderson,” Kurt beamed and put his arm around Blaine’s waist. It felt so incredibly good to hear Kurt say it out loud to his dad right after he had given them their blessing. This was all they could wish for right now. Almost all.

They returned to the desk where a nurse had appeared and they started signing the papers, and got shown to the room where Kurt would spend the next unknown amount of days, maybe weeks. Blaine didn’t dare to think that it could even be months, that was too much, too hard.

The first thing Kurt had to do was go through more tests with the same set of doctors that had followed him through the entire period of his illness.

The meetings and the tests went on all day, and Blaine loyally stayed and held Kurt’s hands throughout every single one of them.

Blaine didn’t say anything, but he felt like Kurt was getting paler by being in the hospital environment, though his eyes were shining a little more after they had told his dad the news.
When the doctors heard about their recent marriage they congratulated them heartedly too. Blaine was grateful that Kurt had such supportive and engaged doctors as he knew that he easily could have ended up with a group of grumpy old men.

When it got late in the afternoon, Kurt was starting to struggle to keep his eyes open, and he started coughing severely. He kept refusing but in the end Kurt gave in and let Blaine talk him into going to bed.

When Kurt had changed into his pajamas, he showed that he had brought Blaine’s pillow from back home. This made Blaine feel a sting of affection in his chest, and wished that he could crawl under the covers with Kurt instead of having to sit in the chair next to him.

Kurt looked so small as he laid there in the white bed, with the wires and everything around him. Almost like a child. It was nerving and uncomfortable. Blaine couldn’t help feeling that the ghosts of the hospital were swarming around them, waiting for something to go wrong so they could take Kurt away from him.

“Blaine. Would you please sing to me until I sleep?” Kurt asked in a weak voice. He had curled up on the side so he could have a clear look at him.

Blaine was completely caught off guard, but when he had taken in Kurt’s words he nodded at him in agreement.

“Sure. Of course I will. What do you want me to sing?” Blaine moved the chair a little closer, making their faces within kissing distance, but just the feeling of Kurt’s face close to his was enough. That was all he needed.

“That uhm - that song you sang to me the day we met, but the slow version. I love it so much when you do it on the piano. Please.” Kurt’s eyes had grown big and wet but he didn’t cry. He let his eyes pierce into Blaine’s, not even blinking, as if he was afraid that he would miss something crucial if he did.

Blaine forced a weak smile to conjure on his lips, before he swallowed a lump in his throat and started singing silently as he let his hand caress Kurt’s hair.

Kurt struggled to keep his eyes open, but by the end of second verse he had to give in and fell asleep, with what Blaine thought seemed like a twitch in the corner of his mouth.