Blaine awoke to Quinn looking over him. Everything in him ached and his head was throbbing in pain. He could barely open his eyes and could feel every centimeter of his face in great painful detail. His chest felt numb and he tried to turn his head to look down at it from where he lay but stopped short as a sharp pain raced through his neck when he tried to move it it.

"Here. Drink this." She tipped a vile liquid into his mouth which he choked back obediently.

Once his mouth was free again he whimpered, "Kurt?"

"He's fine. He's been waiting me to let him see you now for a couple hours."

Blaine tried to smile through the pain. Kurt was alright. Quinn was still here. The attack must have just been on him and for that he was grateful.

Quinn dabbed a cool cloth gently over his face. "That painkiller I just gave you should take effect soon. You poor thing. You look like a rejected grape."

Blaine inwardly grimaced. He knew he was in pain but hadn't thought about what he must look like until that moment. A small bit of vanity rose up within him as he hoped he wouldn't be permanently disfigured.

"I'll let him know he can see you now. We've patched you up the best we can."

Blaine made a little whimper and Quinn paused in her movements away from him, looking back.

"What if he thinks I'm hideous?"

Quinn smiled gently and went back beside Blaine to smooth a hand over his hair. "Pretend you're sleeping when he comes in... Then you'll know what he really thinks."

So as Quinn left he shut his eyes and remained still. He stayed that way as Kurt held his hand and confessed to him that he would stay and rambled on and on in quiet nervousness. Kurt did not once mention how he looked. Finally Blaine couldn't pretend anymore and he murmured.

"Damn it Kurt. Would you just be quiet already?"

Kurt jumped in spot and stood up, not letting go of Blaine's hand. "You're awake! How do you feel?"

Blaine squinted a little, trying to open his eyes as much as he could so he could look at the man who was giving him the best gift ever - himself, "Like you're going to ensure I go deaf before I'm king."

Blaine felt a flutter in his heart as Kurt learned over him, mouth hovering over his own, but Kurt stopped before he reached his lips. "You know... I love you."

Adrenaline surged through Blaine as he heard that and he lifted his free hand up and placed it on the back of Kurt's head. He became quite aware of his heart as it beat against the wall of his chest with renewed vigor. "Well I obviously love you too." and he pressed Kurt's head down so they kissed. His lips tingling with a mix of pleasure and pain from the contact.

When they separated, Kurt had to wipe tears from his eyes. He sat back down in the chair and smiled at Blaine like a giddy little school boy. Blaine focused on his face through his narrowed sights and revelled in the beauty of the man sitting by him.

"So... tell me again about how you're going to stay with me."

Kurt seem a little startled and then snapped, "You were awake the whole time!"

Blaine just smiled the best he could, hoping it didn't come out looking like a frown or something else. He would have to thank Quinn later.

"You little sneak!" Kurt's face was flushing with embarrassment in front of Blaine's eyes. "You owe me for that!"

Blaine reached out for one of Kurt's hands. " What if I got you a puppy to make up for it?"

Kurt laughed, such a sweet and delightful sound, "So long as he's cute then I suppose forgiveness could be arranged."

Blaine spent the next several days stuck in the same place, moving only when he was moved by medics to clean him, change his wrappings, and suffer the indignity of being helped with a bedpan.

Kurt was consistently with him, even when Blaine argued that he should leave when a medic was helping him relieve himself. He refused to go and while Blaine was at first filled with humiliation over having Kurt see him so vulnerable, over time he became appreciative to see the extent of Kurt's commitment to him.

At one point Kurt had Finn bring Cat to his bed and Kurt showed Blaine the paw that Cat used to attack Hunter with. Cat had suffered a couple minor scratches from when Hunter tried to pull Cat off his face, but was otherwise no worse for wear, curling up on the bed beside Blaine.

Blaine heard through Kurt that Sebastian and Hunter were being held in the dungeon with several guards on watch at all times. They refused to speak except to repeat the message that they had been there to kill Blaine. To keep up the act, the guards watching them were not to reveal that Blaine had survived the attack and with relatively minor wounds compared to what the duo thought they had done. Kurt thought that once Blaine was able to move, that he should go to the dungeon and address his attackers to see if the shock of seeing him alive would stimulate their tongues to reveal a little more.

Blaine was also having a difficult time wrapping his head around the notion that there had been a door to the passages in his room. Kurt explained that now a thorough search of the castle was being conducted which had revealed at least two more secret doors. He also noted that it was likely Blaine hadn't been attacked earlier because they were watched and Hunter and Sebastian had purposely waited for a moment when Blaine had been left alone in bed.

"They were... spying on us...?" Blaine stammered.

Kurt shrugged, "We can't know for sure, but we found a supply of goods and some sleeping bags in the passages near your room which indicates that they may have been staying close to you."

Blaine shuddered at the thought. He was disgusted that those two had been so close for who knows how long.

"I moved your belongings into the master bedroom." Kurt noted then, taking a sip of the coffee in his hands as he watched Blaine over the rim of the cup for his response.

"What?" Blaine pushed himself up a little in the cot, pushing past the pain to sit up. "Why would I want to stay in my father's room?"

Kurt reached out to support Blaine as he sat up, "Because it's your room now. We haven't found anything aside from the drop in that room which makes it safer and the wardrobe is big enough for two."

Blaine found his frown turn into a smile. Anytime he felt himself getting upset, Kurt managed to remind him that he was staying and then everything seemed right with the world.

"Of course I'm going to have to redecorate. The mounted animal heads on the wall are creepy and everything is just so... brown. I may as well be in a mud hut with that colour scheme."

Blaine laughed and tugged Kurt closer to him, "You decorate it however you want, and please, get rid of the heads. They creep me out too."

After six days in the infirmary, Blaine was deemed mended enough to leave. He had no trouble walking since his legs weren't hurt in the attack, but his chest and ribs were still healing and each step he took required him to pause and breathe through the pain. His face had mostly deflated and the bruising had gone from blues and purples to yellows and browns. He could at least open his eyes fully now.

Kurt slowly led him through the building, allowing him to break as he needed until they ended up in his new room, their new room.

Blaine smiled. Somehow Kurt had found the time while serving as his nursemaid to redo the room. The bed had been moved to a spot across from the window. The browns and beige colouring had been replaced with warm reds and defining blacks. Kurt had gotten rid of the heads on the walls and replaced them with wall mounted candelabras to allow them more lighting. The table now had a cloth covering and had a bouquet of flowers in the center, many which Blaine recognized as being the same as the ones in the bouquet he had given Kurt weeks before.

"It looks great Kurt. It truly does. It doesn't even look like the same room at all."

Blaine watched as Kurt's face lit up with pride and he was tugged over to the wardrobe. "And look at this..."

Inside the wardrobe were all of Blaine's clothes, neatly put away and hung up on one side. On the other he saw clothing of Kurt's. His heart melted and he turned and pressed a hot, intense kiss to Kurt's lips.

Kurt let out a soft moan and their tongues intertwined as they explored each others mouths. Their arms wrapped around one another and Blaine was temporarily unaware of his injuries until he bumped his chest against Kurt's and felt the air spike out of his chest, wincing in pain.

Kurt pulled back and held his arms to support Blaine on each side, "Come on... plenty of time for that when you're better. Let's get you into the bed."

Blaine whined, "I've had enough of beds..."

Kurt left a quick peck on Blaine's cheek and helped him lay back in the bed. Their bed. "You say that now... but I think you'll feel differently when you're better and we can maybe..." Kurt began to blush and Blaine smiled, knowing where he had been going with that. With this new commitment, there was nothing holding them back from becoming more intimate with one another.

Blaine looked to the side and pointed out a smaller looking bed, almost a replica of their own, "That... is that for a baby?"

Kurt laughed then and shook his head. "No. That's Cat's new bed. Fit for only the kingliest of felines."

Blaine laughed until his chest couldn't take it anymore.