"He fell asleep just before you got here," Burt said, and Blaine silently cursed himself for not walking in sooner;

"It's okay, Mr. Hummel. If you'd like, you can go home now. I'll stay with Kurt," he offered.

Burt lifted his baseball cap and scratched at his balding dome;

"Mmm, yeah…alright, kid," the man said, "just make sure you keep an eye on 'em." And he flashed Blaine a stern glance.

"Yes, sir. I will. I promise."

With a loud crack, Burt stood and gave Blaine a grateful pat on his shoulder;

"Thanks," he said before trudging out of the room.

Blaine placed the colorful flowers on the table next to Kurt's bed and quietly pulled up a chair. He stared at his boyfriend, watching the elusive movement of his eyes dance behind their lids.

Blaine caught sight of a bead of sweat as it glinted upon Kurt's forehead. That's odd, he thought as the droplet slithered into Kurt's brow and disappeared.

Kurt's lips began to curve at the ends, revealing a trembling frown. He let out a small whimper and Blaine reached for his drenched hand, gently caressing it.

"I'm right here, baby. I'm right here," Blaine breathed, planting a subtle kiss on the boy's palm. Kurt dug his short nails into Blaine's wrist and shot up, his face filled with panic;

"B-Blaine! The blood, Blaine! Make it stop!" he begged as he grabbed at the wires protruding from his arm.

"You're okay, Kurt! Everything's okay. Look at me!" Blaine stood up and cupped Kurt's chin in his hand, forcing Kurt to focus on his eyes;

"Do you see me? Just take a breath. You're fine," he said as he brushed back Kurt's damp hair.

Kurt's chest rose and fell with each jagged intake of air and Blaine kept their gaze locked, waiting for Kurt to regain his composure.

"There you go, sweetheart. Tell me what happened. What did you dream?"

Before he could answer, Kurt let himself fall onto Blaine, and he embraced him.

"Oh, no. I g-got my slobber on your s-shirt," Kurt stuttered, his hot gasps grazing Blaine's neck, sending shivers up his spine. Blaine chuckled and kissed the tip of Kurt's flushed ear.

"No worries. That's my job, to be your personal tissue," he joked as an attempt to lighten up the mood. He felt Kurt wriggle with laughter and relished in that small moment. Blaine didn't know how many more moments they would have, so he wasn't taking anything for granted.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what…there was just so much blood. So much," Kurt said, leaning back against his lumpy pillow.

"I know, honey. Was that your dream?"

"Yeah. I couldn't stop getting sick, and I-I could feel all of the pain, and you weren't there…and."

Blaine moved to the edge of the bed and took Kurt's shaky hands;

"I will always be here. Do you understand? Always."

A weak smile made its way to Kurt's lips and Blaine leaned in to kiss them once more. Kurt tangled his fingers in Blaine's curly, unkempt hair and uttered a husky "I love you" before letting him go.

"I love you, too," Blaine replied as he returned to his rigid chair. He felt his eyes getting ridiculously heavy and looked at the aged clock that was barely hanging on to the wall. 12:00 AM is what it read. Midnight.

"Blaine, why don't you get some sleep? I'm fine," Kurt promised.

"No, not until you go to sleep first."

Kurt sighed at Blaine's defiance, but didn't bother to start an argument with him. That's the last thing he wanted to do right now.

As the minutes gradually ticked by, Kurt watched Blaine as he fought to stay awake, his head bobbing from being lured in and out of consciousness. The boy yearned to feel Blaine's body next to him, to feel the soothing heat of another human.

He glanced at his arm again and was reminded of the wires that kept him imprisoned. Kurt desperately wanted to yank them out and run to Blaine, who was now asleep, his mouth agape. Kurt's heart fluttered at the sight of his boyfriend's innocence, and he couldn't stop himself from speaking;

"Hey, sweetheart?" he cooed, feeling and inkling of guilt as Blaine's dark-circled eyes fluttered open.

Blaine coughed out a drowsy "yeah?" and casually wiped at the drool that had collected along his jaw line.

"Will…will you come lay with me?"

Kurt felt a pang of stupidity as he heard the words roll off of his tongue.

"Yyyeaaah. Of course," Blaine replied, suppressing a yawn. He willed himself out of the chair and sluggishly made his way over to Kurt. Blaine hesitated before lying down, suddenly aware of the liquid-filled tubes that surrounded the sickly boy.

"Don't worry about those. Just lay here and you'll be fine," Kurt said, patting the left side of his unyielding bed. Blaine nodded and carefully slipped next to Kurt, making sure to lie on his back.

Kurt turned and nestled his head into the groove of Blaine's neck, letting out a satisfied sigh;

"Thank you," he whispered, his breath tickling Blaine's skin.

"You're more than welcome, my dear," Blaine replied, the last of his sentence turning into a mumble as he quickly drifted back to his dreams.

Kurt was thankful to feel the comforting warmth of Blaine next to him, and he hoped that it was enough to keep away the macabre nightmares that lurked in every corner of his restless mind.

Pacified by the rhythmic breaths of Blaine's slumber, Kurt's eyelids began to surrender to the darkness as well. He allowed them to close and prayed for pleasant visions.

But of course, he would have no such thing.