Slow Fade

Chapter 17

Kurt was not a happy camper. It had been such a long time since he had been sick that it felt completely wrong that it was now bothering him again. Deep down he’d hoped that it was gone for good, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case with him. Wes had put him through a full battery of tests, and of course that included a multitude of needles. The only bright spot was having Blaine by his side throughout his ordeal.

There was another thing that was really starting to bother Kurt, and that was Blaine’s reaction to the reappearance of Kurt’s illness. Kurt was thrilled to have a boyfriend who loved and cared for him so much, but it was beginning to feel a little suffocating at times. Blaine was starting to treat Kurt as though he was made of porcelain, like he would break at any minute. Kurt had always been a fiercely independent person of course, so it was hard for him to rely on anyone, even his boyfriend.

“Kurt, have there been any other symptoms?”

Kurt was pulled away from his thoughts at the sound of his name, and he looked up at Wes. “Not really,” he answered.

“You couldn’t sleep last night,” Blaine pointed out.

Kurt gave him a slightly irritated look before turning to Wes again. “I didn’t think that a little bit of insomnia was a symptom.”

“You may be right,” Wes said gently. “But at this point pretty much anything out of the ordinary can be a symptom.”

“I just had a lot on my mind,” Kurt replied. “My career is being put on hold because of this crazy illness, I’m worried that word will get out to the paparazzi, my boyfriend was nearly killed because of a hit a run driver, and now my own father is calling me twice a day just to check up on me.”

The last remark made Blaine flush and look guilty. But then it was his fault for calling Burt and telling him about Kurt’s recent seizure. Kurt didn’t want his father to worry about him especially when he had his own heart condition, but Blaine was keeping a promise. Kurt wanted to be mad at Blaine but then he realized that he only did it out of concern and respect for Burt, and really Kurt couldn’t attack him for that.

“Even so, I still have to consider everything,” Wes replied, pulling out a thermometer and holding it up to Kurt who opened his mouth. A minute later it beeped and Wes pulled it out to read the results.

“100.2,” Wes read. “You are running a low grade fever.”

“Great,” Kurt muttered.

“That was his original symptom,” Blaine remarked, his brow furrowing in concentration.

“Great so now I’m getting the same old problems all over again,” Kurt said in annoyance. “I wish one of those tests you keep putting me through would actually show something.”

“Kurt,” Blaine started.

“You know what,” Kurt snapped. “I’ve had enough for today, thank you.” And without another word he stood and stormed out without another word.

Blaine sighed and gave his friend an apologetic look, “I’ll talk to him.”

“Actually I need to get going, tell Kurt to call me when he fells up to it,” Wes said kindly, packing up his bag.

//////////

When Blaine found Kurt, he was pacing in his bedroom and looking absolutely furious. Blaine walked over to him and put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

Kurt visibly deflated and turned to face him. He opened his mouth to speak when Blaine silenced him with a searing kiss.

“I know you are frustrated Kurt, but we will get to the bottom of it,” Blaine said a moment later.

“I’m just so tired of all the shots, X-rays, MRIs, and who knows what else,” Kurt said with a sigh. “I just feel like my health keeps getting worse all the time, and I guess I just reached my breaking point. I was always such a diva.”

“I love you,” Blaine said softly, kissing Kurt again gently. “And I don’t care that you are a diva sometimes, it is just part of your irresistible charm.”

“I love you too,” Kurt replied with a small smile. “I never thought I would have such a hot doctor for my boyfriend. Makes me never want to watch Grey’s Anatomy again, when I have my own McDreamy right in front of me.”

They kissed again, both trying to show each other just how much they loved each other through their kiss and it was just getting heated when suddenly Blaine pulled away and pulled out his buzzing phone from his pocket. He looked at it stunned for a long second.

“What is it?” Kurt asked.

“It’s the Los Angeles Police Department,” Blaine replied, putting the phone up to his ear and accepting the call. “Hello—yes this is Dr. Anderson.”

Kurt watched as Blaine answered a few questions and saw that his boyfriend suddenly seemed tense and anxious because of what he was hearing. When he finally hung up the phone with shaking hands he looked at Kurt stunned.

“They found him,” Blaine said breathlessly. “They found the person who hit me!”

//////////

“Hello, I’m Detective Peters, you must be Dr. Anderson.”

Blaine nodded and shook his hand, before turning to Kurt who was holding his other hand. “This is my boyfriend Kurt Hummel.”

The detective’s eyes widened in recognition, but fortunately the cop was very professional. “Please take a seat,” he said, before moving to sit behind his desk.

“The reason I asked you to come down today is because we recently apprehended a suspect on a DUI charge and when we searched his vehicle we came up with some rather curious evidence. Besides this his vehicle had damage to the front which fits with your accident Doctor.”

The detective then set before them three photos.

Blaine gasped, “But that’s my car! And—he had a photo of me?”

“Blaine look, he had a photo of my house too,” Kurt remarked looking at the third photo.

“These were found in the glove compartment of his vehicle, though when we questioned him, he denied all knowledge of the photos,” the detective replied.

“Why would he hurt Blaine, how did he get those photos?” Kurt exclaimed in outrage.

The detective slid a fourth photo across the desk and this one was a mug shot of a grim looking white man with a bald scalp, course black beard, and dark beady eyes,

“This is Frank Webb. He’s had a number of previous charges ranging from DUIs to theft, to assault, but he was also suspected of being involved in a few hate crimes, but there was never enough evidence to full support it,” the detective explained.

“Hate crimes?” Blaine asked, exchanging a glance with Kurt.

The detective sighed, “We think he was involved in three attacks against gay men.”

Blaine shuddered as he looked at the face of the man who nearly killed him. With such an evil man out there it was remarkable that he was still breathing. Next to him Kurt was tense and fuming, but when he looked at Blaine he squeezed his hand reassuringly.

He looked back up at the detective, “So he wanted to hurt me because I’m gay,” Blaine said. “It was premeditated.”

“We can’t charge him with a hate crime since we don’t have proof in the other cases, but yes we agree that it was planned,” the detective replied.

“This is all my fault,” Kurt said, burying his face in his hand.

“No it isn’t,” Blaine protested.

“If it wasn’t for me putting you in the spotlight, this psycho never would have come after you,” Kurt said, wiping his eyes furiously. “I’ve been in the public eye for years, I’m used to it. You didn’t ask for this.”

“First of all how do you know he went after me because of my association with you and secondly I knew what I was getting into,” Blaine argued and grabbed Kurt’s other hand and stared in his eyes. “I always knew that there could be negative consequences, this is not your fault Kurt. I won’t let you blame yourself.”

Kurt sighed and looked he wanted to say something else, but he just sighed and nodded. Together they both turned to look back at the detective who had been waiting patiently.

“There is another problem,” the detective said with a sigh. “We also found evidence that showed that Blaine’s accident was only one part of his plan.”