Blaine packed up all of his books and threw them into the car as he raced over to the hospital. Thankful there were no police around, he sped a little over the icy roads and pulled up outside the emergency room of the Lima County Hospital.
“I’m looking for Kurt Hummel” he gasped to the nurse behind the desk of the busy emergency department. Catching his breath, he watched as she flipped through her patient book and shook her head. Why would Kurt tell him to come if he wasn’t here? Running his hands through his hair with a loud sigh, Blaine turned around and scanned the waiting room. When he saw Kurt with a cut about his eye and a bandage just under the collar of his shirt, he knew it was Claire that had been hurt.
“Blaine...”
“Where is Claire?”
“She’s with the doctors; we were in a car accident”
“A what? What the hell happened?”
“Mr Anderson?” A doctor called from the doors of the waiting room. Looking around, he waited for Blaine to turn around and make his way toward him “Blaine Anderson?”
“Yes, where is my daughter?”
“Please come with me”
As much as Kurt wanted to go with them, he stayed back in the waiting room and watched the doctor lead Blaine through to the examination room where Claire was. Blaine gasped softly at the sight of his little girl lying on the hospital bed with tubes in her arm and bandages everywhere. He could still see a small amount of blood caked in her curls from whatever was now covered by a large white gauze pad just above her ear.
“What happened?”
“From what... Kurt could tell us” the doctor began as he looked down at Claire’s chart to see what Kurt’s name was. “The car your daughter was travelling in had to make a sudden stop and due to the icy roads, the back wheels swerved. A car travelling beside them was not paying attention and crashed into them. Kurt suffered minor whiplash and a cut over his eye from hitting the steering wheel on impact but Claire was on the side of the car that was impacted the hardest”
“Just tell me she’ll be ok, I just need to know that Claire is ok”
“She will be, she’s a tough little one” the doctor chuckled softly but Blaine’s worried expression never changed “Claire’s got some cuts and bruises from the impact but what is concerning me at the moment is the displaced fracture in her arm. It doesn’t need surgery but I will need to set it which means sedation. Once I’ve put the bones back where they should be I’ll cast it. She will be wearing the cast for at least 6 weeks” he continued “I would like to keep her overnight for observation just so we watch the bruising on her torso from the seatbelt as well as her arm. Claire has been through quite a trauma and will be in some pain for a few days but I will prescribe something for that”
“Can I see her?”
“Of course”
The doctor opened the door to Claire’s room and let Blaine in, warning him of the cables and that the little girl was in pain. Nodding silently, Blaine sat down in the seat beside the bed and took his daughter’s hands gently.
“Hey baby” he tried to smile as Claire opened her eyes and saw him. Holding back his tears, he couldn’t scare her any more than she already was.
“I, hurt”
“I know baby girl, these nice doctors and nurses are going to make you feel better, I promise”
Blaine sat with Claire until it was time for them to set her arm and cast it. Holding her hand til she was asleep from the sedation, he watched the nurses wheel her bed to a procedure room. It would be another hour or so before she would be back after more x-ray’s to ensure the bones have been set properly and they were able to cast it.
Taking the opportunity to call his parents, Blaine knew they wouldn’t cut their Indianapolis trip short but he wanted to at least know what had happened. Blaine walked out into the waiting room and saw Kurt still sitting there with Finn, Santana, Quinn and his sister Emily beside him.
Blaine wasn’t in much of a mood to talk to anyone but the doctors weren’t telling them anything about Claire so he had to tell them she was going to be alright. Making his way over to the small group, he didn’t make eye contact with Kurt or even really acknowledge he was there.
“They want to keep her overnight for observation” Blaine began as the onslaught of questions came from everyone “She’s got bruises on her chest from the seat belt and cuts and grazes everywhere. She’s broken her arm too; they’ve sedated her now so they can set it and cast it”
“I’ve already called Mom and Dad” Emily spoke up softly “They weren’t planning on coming back early until Andrew threatened to fly back alone so they’ll be here tomorrow morning”
“Thanks Em” Blaine smiled weakly. He was lucky to have such supportive siblings when his parents didn’t seem to care “I should go see the nurse, paperwork to sign”
“We’re all here if you need us Blaine” Quinn insisted and squeezed his hand.
“Thank you”
Blaine shuffled back toward the doors to the waiting room where a nurse was waiting in Claire’s room with a mountain of forms for him to sign. Unsure of what was going on, Kurt followed him through to the corridor before stopping him.
“I would like it if you left, Kurt” Blaine said calmly as he turned around and crossed his arms. Kurt was the last person he wanted to deal with right at that moment.
“Blaine...”
“Leave”
“Blaine I’m sorry”
“I said leave” Blaine snapped “My daughter is sedated and having her bones put back into place because you weren’t watching the car in front of you. She’s in this pain because of you”
“I was watch...”
“I really don’t care Kurt. I thought you were looking after her”
“I was...”
“Then how the hell did she end up on the hospital?”
“Blaine...” Kurt sighed but Blaine was already walking away. Bursting into tears, the bronze haired teenager collapsed against the wall and slid to sit. This was his fault and now Blaine would be happy if they never saw each other again. It was him driving so he was to blame for Claire lying in a hospital bed in pain.
Collecting himself a little while later, Kurt made his way back to the waiting room but he didn’t leave. This was his fault and he would stay there all night until he knew Claire was going to be fine. Joined by Emily and Santana, Kurt never moved from the waiting room all night. Others came and went bringing clothes and food but Kurt, Emily and Santana stayed in case something happened.
When Claire was taken up to a room on the Paeds ward with a brand new pink fibreglass cast on her tiny arm, Blaine stayed by her side. The 18 month old little girl had a restless sleep having to keep one arm elevated while the other had her IV. It was uncomfortable and the pain killers were helping but not enough.