Blaine was so tired of hospitals. No. That was an understatement.

He fucking hated hospitals with ever fibre of his god damn being.

Yet, here he was, again. Stuck in a bed with even less mobility than he'd ever had when in a hospital. Part of it was the medically induced coma they put him into as a means to hopefully save his life. Because when he was brought in, he apparently looked like death had already happened.

Even after a week of being awake, no one would tell him much more than that. He could see how much it hurt Kurt to talk about it, since he always started breaking up because he would start to cry. Burt just looked damned uncomfortable talking about it, and Carole just sucked in breath trying not to cry herself. His friends from the glee club had all visited at this point, and they too, were a blend of discomfort and sadness.

He didn't think he looked THAT bad.

Granted he was now bald - which was horrific in its own right. When he had been brought in, there had apparently been a lot of pressure on his brain due to the beating and the blood pooling and they had to put him in that coma for neurosurgery. He was a multitude of colours all over his body from bruising, and there were cuts to match them. One of his lungs had collapsed but they had apparently "fixed that" even though it hurt like a bitch since he had started to regain feeling, and his right arm was in a cast from being broken.

His dad had managed to outdo himself with this beating. This one, it topped the charts of Blaine's all time beating injuries.

Blaine's father had been the one to attack him. Apparently breaking into your old house when your father hadn't stopped drinking all night was one of the stupidest things he could have done because now he would be in the hospital for awhile. Aside from asking some questions and getting the details of his injuries from the doctors, Blaine was left alone by the authorities and Kurt had told him that Burt was dealing with it and he didn't have to worry about it.

His dad's girlfriend was the one who had made the emergency call he discovered. Apparently the clueless blonde had put it together when his dad had started raging about his worthless gay son as he laid into Blaine that morning, and he didn't stop with hitting Blaine. When she tried to pull him off, he gave her a nice set of black eyes as well before returning to Blaine.

Cooper had shown up later on the day he had awoken, apparently there since he could get a plane in, and had stayed on Blaine's left side most of the time he was in the coma while Kurt stayed on the right side. He had gone out for a nap when Blaine had awoken to Kurt's voice, but had put all his commercials on hold and even forfeited some auditions to come back to Lima after what had happened.

Apparently it took all of the Hummel-Hudson household to hold Cooper back from going to where their dad was being held and beating "the living piss out of him" for what he had done.

Blaine kind of wished he knew more about the legal aspects of the situation. He couldn't imagine that he would get away with breaking and entering either - if that's how the cops would see it. For all he knew, this could be dismissed because Blaine went into the house and maybe his dad would argue it was self defense against an intruder.

And for all the damage on his body, Blaine was still saddened most by the fact that all his little keepsakes and possessions had been removed from his old room. When Kurt was dozing in the chair beside his bed, and Cooper was off getting yet another coffee, that's what Blaine would think about.

When he was healed, he would go to the dump and stay there until he found his stuff. He didn't care how long it would take. He did not just have the beating of his life to end up with nothing out of it.

"Just go home and nap...." He had murmured to Kurt one afternoon as Kurt couldn't seem to hold back the sobs again. Kurt spent more time crying now then he did doing anything else. Blaine felt guilty for doing this to Kurt, and effectively putting Kurt's life on hold along with his own. He had stopped going to school despite Burt's protests, demanding to stay at Blaine's side, and even put Brittany in charge of the senior prom, not even flinching when he was told that Brittany had decided to veto the Castles in the Clouds theme for prom he had worked on with the committee in favor of doing Dinosaurs as a theme.

Dinosaurs would be a pretty fucking cool theme. Much less cheesey than Castles in the Clouds - but he wouldn't tell that to Kurt.

"I'm not leaving." Kurt insisted, as he always did when Blaine prompted him to take a break or go home or go to school. It broke his heart to see Kurt give up his skin care rituals and spend his days in sweats and T-shirts. Kurt's sole focus right now seemed to be Blaine, and had Blaine been someone who didn't enjoy the clinginess, he might have felt suffocated. Instead all he felt was frustration that he couldn't do all the things he wanted to do with Kurt.

So they spent their days in a quiet monotony. Kurt would read to Blaine, they would watch daytime television together, they would entertain the afterschool guests, and Kurt would do homework for the both of them to have returned to the school. Not because Blaine couldn't do the work, but because he couldn't write it down with his broken hand. Despite being beaten within an inch of his life, his teachers still, for some reason, decided he should do homework. Burt had offered to set those teachers straight about the seriousness of what had occurred, but Blaine asked him not to. He needed a bit of normalcy, even in the form of useless assignments from his most dull of classes.

After one of Kurt's sob fests, he had admitted to Blaine that he "was so mad at you."

"Because I went to that house?" Blaine uttered.

"Because you went to that house. You didn't let anyone know about it, and I still don't know why you did it." Kurt whined, fisting the edges of Blaine's paper-thin hospital blanket to help soothe himself as he cried.

Blaine groaned as he reached out with his "good" hand. It wasn't just his skin that was bruised, but his muscles and internal organs as well. The doctor had told him he was lucky none of his organs had been broken by the kicking he had apparently endured, but that didn't stop Blaine from being in complete pain everytime he tried to move.

Kurt grabbed the hand when he saw it was being stretched out and tenderly moved it back into place, holding it down there, "Don't..."

"I... just... I wanted to get my stuff Kurt. I told you that."

Kurt's eyes were consistently puffy from all the crying and sleeplessness, so when he looked at Blaine incredulously, Blaine could barely make out the blues of his eyes. "We got your stuff... and even if you needed more, you know we would have taken you there to get it. Why did you put yourself in that kind of situation even though you knew your dad is a crazy asshole?"

Blaine chuckled a little at his boyfriend's cursing, who in turned just looked irritated by the humor Blaine had found in it. He forced himself to entwine his fingers with Kurt's, despite the pressure that would put on the bruising, "Would being a stupid ass be enough of an explanation?"

"If I had lost you because you went and were a stupid ass, I would bring you back to life and kick your ass myself Blaine Anderson."

Another chuckle fell from Blaine's lips at that, even though Kurt was dead serious about it.

How could he possibly explain the fact that he'd had an inescapable urge that he acted upon? Sure it was stupid as fuck, but that was Blaine in a nutshell. Had Kurt learned nothing about him?

The highlight of Blaine's days were the physical examinations. They poked and prodded at him, which fucking hurt, but right after they'd always give him morphine to numb everything. He liked it when his body went numb and he couldn't feel the constant reminders of a beating he wasn't even conscious for. It also made him much more disinhibited when he spoke.

"You should totally marry me." He had told Kurt after the morphine had taken effect on one evening.

"Mmm-hmm." Kurt responded, much too dismissively for Blaine's liking.

"What? I'm totally serious. We should go to Canada and get hitched."

Kurt set the magazine down he was looking at and smiled sweetly over to Blaine, "Blaine, you're drunk on pain medication. You always propose when you're drunk on pain medication. You also always demand that we get a puppy."

Blaine didn't seem to remember proposing before, or asking for a puppy - but both were good ideas in his mind.

"We should get a fucking dog! And that doesn't change the fact that we should get married."

"Okay. Alright." Kurt said with a hint of amusement behind his dismissive words as he looked back into the magazine.

Blaine groaned and tried to roll onto his side towards Kurt, which caused Kurt to immediately drop the magazine and reach over to push Blaine gently back into the Blaine shaped indentation in the hospital bed. "Stay still or I'll have them bind you to the bed."

"Marry me!"

"Oh my good gods Blaine. Just stay still!"

"Why won't you marry me?"

"Because we're teenagers and I almost just lost you you dummy."

Blaine whined softly and grabbed onto Kurt's hands before they went to pick up the magazine. "I want to marry you, have a puppy, and twenty kids."

It was the first time since he had been in here that Blaine had heard pure, unadulterated laughter come out of Kurt, and it was the sweetest music ever. He might be numb from the morphine, but he knew what he was saying.

"I will definitely NOT have twenty kids with you Blaine..."

"But you will get married to me?"

Kurt groaned and rolled his eyes, "Fine. I'll marry you. Can I read my magazine now?"

Blaine's heart lit up so that it was the one part of his body he could feel - and the only part not in pain. He beamed as he looked at Kurt and tugged at his hands, "You should kiss on it."

Another sweet chuckle and Kurt's lips graced Blaine's, who hummed happily against them even though all he could feel was the pressure from the contact. Because the contact was with Kurt, he knew it was good.

Kurt must have thought Blaine was completely under the effects of the barbiturate, because the next morning when Burt came by the visit, Blaine eagerly announced that they were engaged, and it wasn't just Burt who had wide eyes when that was said.

"What? Blaine? I mean... I said... oh god." Kurt had a hand to his chest as if he just then, and only then realized that he had said yes to Blaine.

Burt had remained silent, bugged out eyes looking from Blaine, to Kurt, and back to Blaine.

"Did you think just because I was on painkillers I wasn't serious?" Blaine noted, glancing over with amusement at the boy he was now thinking of as his fiance.

"I... maybe... yes."

"Then why would you say yes?"

Kurt looked at his dad for answers and Burt gave him a shrug. Even Blaine could see the sparkle of amusement in Burt's eyes, past the 'I may have to kill you' look he was shooting towards Kurt.

When Kurt realized he wasn't getting any help from his dad on this one, he turned his body to Blaine, setting a hand on Blaine's and looking at him hopefully. Before he could even open his mouth to say it, Blaine cut in.

"You are not backing out of marrying me."

Kurt opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, looking at Blaine with, for once, nothing to say. Or at least nothing he could think of to say.

"Well I'm going to get one of those breakfast platters from the cafeteria and let you guys decide what you're doing or not doing...." Burt huffed and quickly retreated from the room.

"Blaine... you have to know I thought you were joking...."

"I would never joke about you and I."

Kurt groaned, tipping his head back and Blaine winced as he felt a stirring in his cock - also sore like everything else on his body. Usually when Kurt groaned and dipped his head back like that....

At least Blaine knew his libido wasn't broken.

When Kurt looked back at Blaine, it was pained, "But we're teenagers Blaine. You know how I feel about that..."

"Just because we're going to get married doesn't mean we have to do it right away.... I just want you to know that's what I intend to do with you."

Kurt made a slight, sharp intake of breath, eyes never leaving Blaine as he looked him over.

"Is this because I'm hairless now? Do you not want to marry a skinhead?" Blaine quipped.

Kurt giggled and shook his head, though reached over to feel the soft stubble on Blaine's head. "No. We can get you a wig until my curls grow back."

"YOUR curls?"

"Mine."

They both chuckled at that. For that instant, it was like they both knew things would be alright despite where they were and what had happened.

"Fine."

Blaine's brow furrowed at that, and again he winced from making his body do things they really didn't want to do.

"Fine?"

"Fine. I'll marry you... by the time we're thirty."

Blaine balked, "Thirty?!"

Kurt nodded, "Yes. Thirty."

"Why thirty? Why so long?"

Kurt smiled and crawled up into the bed aside Blaine, where, despite the doctor's protests, he spent his nights. Sharing the tiny hospital bed was a challenge, but Blaine was happy for it. He didn't want to think of not having Kurt beside him at night.

"Well for starters... that wasn't exactly the most romantic proposal. You could have done much better."

Blaine snorted and huffed. Of course Kurt would hold that against him. He should have gotten a full on orchestra and serenaded him with flowers and all that shit... proposing to him from a hospital bed when his ass hung out the back of his gown and his hair was all gone and he had a catheter up his cock - what was he thinking?

"Also, I will need time to prepare the wedding. Since the proposal was lacking, it will need to be made up for with the wedding."

"But I don't care about that! I just want to be officially, and undeniably yours and I want you to be mine - all legally and officially. We could go to Vegas and get it done in Klingon for all I care!"

Now it was Kurt's turn to snort at that. "We will definitely NOT being doing it in Vegas, and definitely NOT in Klingon. And just because you don't care about the grandeur of the event - I do."

Blaine pouted a little, and even that fucking hurt. He couldn't wait for these bruises to heal all up. Not just because he needed up and out of this sterile prison, but because he needed to be able to physically show Kurt just how much he needed to marry him.

"Fine. But we get married by twenty."

Now Kurt blanched, "Twenty! How is that a negotiation? That's not even halfway."

"But we won't be teens anymore either which I think is your major issue."

Kurt rolled his eyes, fingers playing at collar of Blaine's hospital gown, which so many times he's talked about redesigning so it could at least be fashionable if people were stuck in it for so long. "We'll still be in school. Just college instead of high school."

"So? People aren't allowed to get married in college?"

"Oh Blaine...." Kurt sighs, and it's expressed with such a blend of frustration and exasperation that Blaine holds his tongue and just watches Kurt, not worried that Kurt doesn't actually want to marry him at all and suggesting they get married by thirty was his plan to hold off on completely denying Blaine the engagement.

"I just... think we should talk about this more when you're out of here and not relying on so many drugs to get you through the day and we've both had a decent nights sleep...."

Blaine looks away, his doubts all but confirmed with a statement like that. Kurt is nothing if not a reliable reality check. He talks about fancy fairytale weddings, and romance, but when it comes down to it, Blaine knows he's the romantic - because he's the one willing to take this relationship to what it seems it should be, regardless of their age or immaturity.

"Oh don't look like a sad puppy with your tail between your legs." Kurt scolds him playfully, but Blaine isn't in the mood to play now. His heart feels crushed by the sombering fact that Kurt's maturity makes him less likely to dive into the adult world that Blaine wants to be in. After Blaine didn't turn back to Kurt, Kurt must have recognized the sting was real and wrapped an arm very gently around Blaine. "Sweetheart..."

"I went there to get all the things that reminded me of you. Things I want to keep because I want to show them to grandkids one day.... I didn't want my dad to do anything to them." Blaine choked out and kept looking away because, damnit, he was going to cry. He hated crying like a hormonal pregnant chick, and it seemed like he was becoming one with the amount he was doing it lately.

He heard the little intake of breath beside him, and even though he was looking away from Kurt he knew his face would be shocked with that telltale sound. Kurt's hand held him just a little bit firmer then, and he grimaced, face still away from Kurt.

"But my room was empty... totally empty. He already got rid of all my stuff... as if getting rid of me wasn't enough."

"Blaine..."

"And all the little things I kept... you would think I was a stalker..." He made a soft laugh, distorted by the sobs in his throat.

"Blaine... sweetie..."

"And you... I want to marry you... like it's the only thing I know for sure I want to do."

Kurt's hand reached up, cupping Blaine's chin to turn his head back to facing him. They were both teared up then he saw, and no matter how much Kurt cried, Blaine still felt so awful when he saw it. Even worse when he knew he had caused it.

"I said I'd marry you. I meant it. I just don't want to rush it. We'll be together regardless of whether we're married or not."

Blaine sucked in a breath and nodded weakly. That was okay. That made sense.

"And your stuff? Cooper had it packed up and put away for safe keeping because your dad was apparently breaking things in your room the last time he had visited."

Blaine blinked a few times in surprise. Why hadn't Cooper told him that? It sure as hell would have saved him a broken body.

"I overheard him telling my dad. He didn't tell you because he thought you'd get mad about the broken stuff and he didn't think you needed any of the stuff in there anyhow since you've been alright living with us as is for the past while."

Blaine groaned and dropped his head, and his gaze. His dumb brother had been trying to stop him from getting hurt and as a result, was the cause of him getting hurt. Dumbass Cooper. "Please don't tell him why I went there... he'll feel guilty..."

Kurt probably nodded to that, but Blaine hadn't just looked up.

"I have a deal for you...." Kurt said after a quiet minute.

"Hmmm?"

"How about, we change the order of things a bit..."

Blaine perked up an eyebrow - the hairiest part of him right now quite sadly. He looked at Kurt curiously, waiting for him to expound.

"We'll get a puppy."

Really. People would have thought Blaine was all of five years old the way that got him happy again. "Really? A puppy? Can we get him now?"

Kurt laughed and shook his head, "No sweetheart. First you have to be better enough to go and pick him out and I need the time to convince my folks that this is a good idea."

"Fuck. I will force myself to get up and out of this bed now if it means I can have a puppy now." Blaine said, trying to push himself up into a sitting position on his own even though Kurt was keeping him solidly against the bed.

"You will heal, and then we will get a puppy. Honestly... what's the big deal about a puppy anyhow?"

"Someone to love me... even if you're mad at me." Blaine said so simply and genuinely that he immediately received a kiss from Kurt.

"Just because I might get mad at you sometimes, doesn't mean I don't love you.... but I get it. I get it. And we're going to have a puppy."

Getting a puppy was enough motivation for Blaine to make the effort everyday to try and do a little bit more. He even got Kurt to help him clean himself up every day so he was presentable when people came to visit so he could give the impression that he was getting better.

It was still a few more days since they took the catheter out, and jeezus did that hurt, and then after that he worked on shuffling to the bathroom like a little old man, with the nurses help because he didn't want Kurt to help him with this. He still had some pride after all.

Once Blaine had demonstrated his eagerness to move, a physical therapist came in twice daily to help him regain control over his muscles and joints as they healed. The guy was cute, and not adverse to Blaine's lazy flirting, even though Kurt was there each and every time the therapist was and found the back and forth banter about "flexing" and "using muscles" properly quite amusing, chuckling in the background.

It helped that as soon as the physical therapist was gone, Blaine found himself smothered by Kurt. Apparently Kurt was just as prone to acting on his jealousy too - just in a less violent and more Blaine oriented way than Blaine did.

As Blaine became more functional, he also became more bored. The days didn't go fast enough and he certainly didn't heal up as quickly as he'd like. Kurt tried to keep him occupied with schoolwork and reading. Their friends came by and all gave them the latest gossip so they'd have topic for conversation in the evenings, and the Hudson-Hummel family came to insist Kurt take breaks because now there was a nice imprint of Kurt's ass in that bedside chair since he had been there so much.

The usual drama at school kept Kurt entertained. From Finn and Quinn running together for prom king and queen, despite Rachel's rage, to Puck slipping nair into the hockey players shampoos (apparently Rick "the dick" Nelson was also sporting a bald head these days), to Becky spazzing over not being nominated for prom queen, to Puck failing the test they had all worked so hard to get him to pass.

"Are you sad that I can't come with you to prom?" Blaine asked one evening.

Kurt looked up from the book he had been reading aloud, "I'm not going unless you are."

Brain frowned, running a hand over the sprouts that had started to grow on his head, feeling the scar forming at the back of his skull. "And why the hell not?"

"Because I have no interest unless I go with you. Besides... I'd hate to end up being voted as prom queen again given the school's propensity for write in votes."

Well that settled it, Blaine was going to have to get better by the time prom rolled around.

"Got off those college applications Blaine?" Cooper asked on one afternoon.

"Yes Coop. NYU, Columbia, Pace,..."

"Wow. You must really be tired of me if you're so insistent on setting up shop on the other side of the continent."

"More like my boyfriend has his heart set on one place only and I'm just preparing to follow him there." Blaine said, blowing Kurt a kiss off to the side where he was sitting, ever present.

"Fiance." Kurt corrected, much to the delight of Blaine's heart.

"Fiance? Really? Who asked who? When?"

Kurt chuckled and looked over at Blaine, "Go ahead Romeo. Tell him your all so romantic method of proposing."

Blaine smirked, and proceeded to regale Cooper with his tale of disinhibition and morphine... and puppies.

"You are absolutely insane. How did you get the doctor to go along with this?" Kurt asked as he helped Blaine into his suit.

It really didn't take a lot of pushing on Blaine's part to convince the doctor to let him out in time for the prom. He put on a weepy face, told the doctor that he had been doing so well and certainly the hospital needed the bed he was occupying. Now he was still all sore and didn't have much more on his head than a buzzcut, but he was almost dressed in a suit and tie, taking his boyfriend - fiance to prom.

Everything still ached, but it was now more of a dull ache than an active one. He had promised to refrain from any fast dances, and even limit the slow ones, but he was being allowed to go - which meant Kurt didn't have to miss it either.

Burt had even agreed to let them share a bed. He probably figured that Blaine was too weak and Kurt was too cautious to do anything more than chaste cuddling together.

Blaine intended to prove him wrong.

"God you're always fucking gorgeous..." was Blaine's ultimate response to Kurt's comment on his state of sanity. Kurt clucked dismissively as he finished fixing Blaine's collar so Blaine leaned in to press a kiss to Kurt before restating, "Fucking gorgeous."

"Well.. I'm glad you think so." Kurt murmured, looking a little dazed. He caught Blaine's hand with his own and slowly led him to the front door where Carole and Burt had them pose the best they could, or at least the best that Blaine could, for pre-prom photos.

"I'm going to photoshop my curls in..." Blaine grumbled as Kurt stroked a hand over the fuzz on his head once they were released from the photoshoot.

Kurt checked, helping Blaine into the car. Blaine was having to swallow a lot of pride to do this for Kurt, going to prom that was. He needed help getting washed, dressed, and now even getting into the car. Is this how Artie felt all the time? Fuck. It sucked.

"Somehow, I am going to ravish you tonight." Blaine said as they drove off, causing Kurt to laugh outright.

"And how, pray tell, are you intending to do that dear?"

"I don't know yet. I'll figure it out when we get to it."

Another low chuckle and a shake of Kurt's head told Blaine he had his work cut out for him, but at least Kurt wasn't arguing it.

The prom was anticlimactic - at least from Blaine's perspective. He hung out a lot at the glee club's table, watching songs and dances, and even Rachel get named prom queen even though she wasn't in the running. Both the Hummel-Hudson boys were now coronated as well - Kurt as queen last year, and this year Finn was prom king. Quinn stood up to sing, showing everyone that she was on the mend from her accident, and there were no big fights this year.

"You'd better dance with me before my ass falls asleep Kurt." Blaine grumbled when Kurt rejoined him after coronating Finn and Rachel.

Kurt smiled and held out a hand, "Fine. But you'd better not fall."

Blaine took the offered hand and stood up with a grunt. "Oh baby, I already fell - for you." He wagged his eyebrows and Kurt snorted and rolled his eyes in response.

"God you're a cheeseball..."

Miraculously, Blaine didn't fall. He might have put a fair portion of his weight against Kurt to keep himself up, but he didn't fall.

He and Quinn would really have to work hard to be ready to dance at nationals.

Later on, as he proudly told everyone that he and Kurt were engaged, and Kurt hid his face in his hands, Finn and Rachel both suggested having a shared wedding.

"Ah... somehow I don't think Kurt would be alright with sharing."

"Damn straight." Kurt snapped, looking up from his palms, "My wedding will be MINE."

Laughter rung around the table and someone jokingly questioned if Blaine would be invited even.

"So long as I'm there for the honeymoon, I'm happy."