“Eric—” Blaine called to his husband. 

“Don't,” he barked back, pointing a finger at Blaine and glaring.  “I can't believe you think I would want to go to New York!”  He resumed his pacing around the cramped room.

“I know you have had success here in LA with some acting jobs, but you could get the same jobs in New York while I go to school.  You said you would!”

“Well I didn't think you would get in!” 

Blaine flinched as if he had been hit and looked down towards the floor.  His own husband didn't believe in him.  “You can't mean that.”

“No!  I do!  What the hell are you thinking Blaine?  You think I want to pack up my life and hop on the first plane to go half way across the country to start all over?”

“I did for you!” Blaine snapped, looking back up at his husband.  “I gave up everything to come here with you.  I could have gone to New York last year and gone to school and—”

“And what?  Been buried under debt and completely alone?  Don't act like you had a life outside of us, Blaine.  I remember how your parents treated you.  I remember how they weren't going to pay for college unless you were going for a ‘proper' degree and I remember how they didn't want you to ‘act on your sexuality' so don't even play that card.”

Blaine bit his lip.  “I know I wouldn't have had my parents support, but I still could've gone to school.”

“And how would you have pay for it?  How will you pay for it now?”

“I can get scholarships, Eric.  I'm good enough.  And we aren't poor.  You've been getting well paying jobs and—”

“And that is not money you can use for school,” Eric spat.  “Going to school for acting and music is stupid, and I will not let you use my money on that!”

“Your money?  I thought we were supposed to share everything.  We're married!  We're about to have a baby!”

“You're having a baby.  He's not mine.” 

Blaine sighed.  “You said to use my sample and not yours.  You wanted it to be partly mine.  I told you I didn't care either way.  It was your decision.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn't matter.  He's yours so, he will be your responsibility.  I have auditions lined up.  I'm not cancelling those and moving where I have no connections.  Just no.  I'm not giving up.  Not for anything.”

“I'm not asking you to give up anything.  I'm just asking you to try this for me.  To try this in another city.  There are still plenty of opportunities in New York.”

“Not for me!”

“Eric you do commercials!  You can do those in New York just the same as you do in LA.  And I can't do what I want here.  I don't feel like I fit.  I want to get back into performing.  I want to be on stage.  On Broadway.”

“Like you'll get there.  You have a baby to take care of!”

Blaine shifted nervously.  “So you're not going to help?”

Eric crossed his arms.  “He'll be your child.”

“And you were the one who said we should have him,” Blaine replied, his words barely above a whisper.  “You were the one who said we were ready and it was time.”

“Yeah, well,” Eric shrugged, “I knew you were getting restless.  I thought it would be good for you.  Give you something to do while I was working.”

Blaine saw red at his words.  “You used our son as a way to manipulate me?  As a way to get me to stop thinking about college didn't you?  You don't want me to try to have my own career?”

“Stop calling him our son,” Eric stated, practically ignoring all of the accusations. 

“I can't believe this.”  Blaine ran a hand through his hair, pulling the curls from the gel.

“And I can't believe you actually thought I wanted any of this.”

Blaine's throat clenched and he felt like he was going to scream or sob.  He wasn't sure which.  Maybe both.  “Then why are you still with me?”

Eric groaned.  “I thought you would get this silly idea out of your head.  My career is taking off.  Why do you need to go to school?”

Blaine closed his eyes and clenched his hands.  “So I have something for me and our son.”

“Your son—God I can't do this, Blaine!”

“What?  You can't have this fight?”

“No, I can't keep doing this with you.  I'm sick of it!  I should never have let you go to New York for that audition and I shouldn't have called the surrogate agency.  If I hadn't done that, we'd still be happy.”

“But I wasn't happy,” Blaine groaned.  “You think it's been fun watching you go out on all these great auditions while I can't even get a call back?”

“You should be happy for me!”

“What about you?  Are you not supposed to be happy for me?” 

Eric's face reddened.  “I quit.”  He stomped over to the coat wrack and pulled his hoodie off, knocking it to the floor.  “I'm not going to take this anymore.”

“Eric—”

“No!  This is over.  We're over.”  

A few months ago, Blaine would've run after him.  Stopped him before he made it upstairs to pack.  But not this time.  He looked down at the grainy black and white photo of his son and knew he couldn't keep doing this.  It wasn't fair to anyone. 

He leaned his head back against the couch cushions and closed his eyes.    

Then they flew open as he awoke from his dream with a start.  Well, nightmare more than dream.  He lifted his head, pulling away the sheet music and worksheets that were stuck to his cheek. 

“So much for studying,” he groaned, rubbing at his face.  He pulled his textbook closer and to try again, only to be interrupted by a piercing shriek from the other room.  “Shit!”  He stood and hurried into the living room, panicking about what he would find.    

He definitely didn't expect to find his roommate dressed up in a superhero cape holding his son above his head.  The infant donned his own mini cape and shrieked in joy every time he was dipped.

“Sam,” Blaine sighed in relief before coughing into his arm.  He'd had a nagging cough for a few days and it didn't seem to be going away any time soon.

Sam looked up with wide eyes, stopping mid dip and whoosh.  “Hey!  Sorry, man, I was trying to get him to settle down so we wouldn't wake you but he was having too much fun and I really didn't want to stop.”

“You mean you both were having too much fun, not just Luke.”  Blaine crossed the room and made grabby hands for his son. 

“Maybe,” Sam replied with a smile.  He handed the little boy over to Blaine, who resumed the pretend flying.  “You have to admit it's pretty awesome.”

“Maybe,” Blaine repeated in the same tone as Sam.  He brought his son towards his face so he could give him a kiss.  “Thanks for taking care of him for me while I was studying.”

“You mean napping.”  Sam squeezed his shoulder and nudged him towards the couch.  “You look like you could use a few more hours.”

“I need to study.  But I'm just a little tired.  Luke didn't want to sleep last night.”

“I noticed,” Sam replied with a shudder.  “I could hear how unhappy he was.”

“Ugh, sorry.  He's normally not that bad.  I think Luke just didn't feel well.”

“And now you don't feel well.  You're exhausted, Blaine, not just a little tired.  You fell asleep studying for your composition class, didn't you?”  Blaine nodded.  “Which is your favorite this semester and the one you love studying for.  Yet you fell asleep.”

“Yeah but—”

“You need to take more time for yourself, Blaine.”  Sam sat down next to him and nudged his shoulder.  “Maybe actually let me set you up for a date with my friend Kurt.”

“No, Sam.”  Blaine didn't even look up from his son.  He continued playing with the boy and tried to ignore his friend.

“But Blaine—”

“No,” Blaine sighed, finally looking up.  “No one wants to go out with a divorced twenty year old college freshman with a nearly one year old son.  It just doesn't work like that.”

“Dude, I would totally date you.  Ya know, if I wasn't into chicks.  Baby or not.”

“Well, you're different.  Not many other guys would.”

“But Kurt's different too.  I don't think he would care.”

Blaine held Luke almost protectively against his chest, making sure to stifle coughs so as not to make him sick.  “They always do.  I'm not putting Luke through that.  No one our age wants to deal with all this.” 

Sam looked as if he was concentrating hard for a few moments.  “What if Artie and I found you one of those cougars?”

“What?” Blaine laughed.  “You do realize those are women.”

“Oh,” Sam huffed dejectedly.  “Whatever.  You know what I mean.”

Sam patted Sam's shoulder.  “I do.  And I appreciate the sentiment but I'm going to have to pass.  I have enough on my plate.  Don't need to add that to it.”

“Fine.  But just know the offer stands.  I don't want you to think that you have to do everything alone.”

Blaine just nodded at Sam before turning his attention back to the baby.  “I have this little guy here to keep me company.”  He held Luke above his head before bringing him down to blow a raspberry on his stomach, causing the boy to squeal happily again.  “And you and Artie are probably the best roommates I could have ever asked for.  ”

“We are pretty awesome,” Sam agreed.

“That you are.  Thanks again for taking care of Luke for me.”

“Any time.  I can take him for a little longer if you want to get some more sleep.”

Blaine glanced up at the wall clock.  “No, I've got him.  Besides, don't you have to be at the comic store soon?”

Sam's eyes widened in panic.  “Damn it!”  He jumped up from the couch and all but ran back to his bedroom, knocking over a coat wrack and tripping over a rug in the process.  He emerged a moment later with his hoodie hanging from one shoulder and his bag on the other.  “I got distracted by your son.”

“It's easy to do with this face.”  Blaine held Luke up, who smiled widely at Sam. 

Sam laughed and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead.  “See ya later Lukie.”

“Be careful,” Blaine instructed.  “I know how you are on your bike when you get in a hurry and it's pushing rush hour.  I'd like to see you in one piece tonight.”

“Aye aye captain,” Sam replied in his best pirate voice.  He saluted Blaine before snagging his helmet from the table and heading out.

Luke started fussing a little at Sam's departure, but soon stopped once Blaine began bouncing and cuddling him.  “No need for that buddy.  Sam'll be back in a few hours.  He'll play with you tomorrow.”  Luke's tiny hands gripped tightly at Blaine's shirt and he pressed his chubby cheeks into Blaine's chest.  “Someone needs a nap, huh?  Looks like you didn't get enough sleep earlier.” 

Blaine carefully cradled his son as he stood from the couch and took him into his own bedroom.  There was no point in trying to study any more.  Sam was right, he didn't feel well and there was no way he was going to get any further with the books.  So instead, he gently laid Luke on his bed and quickly changed into sweats.  He maneuvered the sleepy baby enough so he could pull down the sheets and climb in next to him. 

Luke curled up against his side, gripping his shirt once more.  Blaine ran his fingers through his son's hair, gently playing with the curls.  It didn't take long for Luke to fall back asleep.  Blaine lasted a little longer, staying awake and watching his son for a few moments.

“Sam's wrong,” he said softly.  “I don't need someone else.  I have you and I'm ok.  We're doing ok.  We're ok.” 

Blaine wasn't sure if he was trying to convince his sleeping son or himself. 

~~~~~~

“Remind me why I am doing this?” Kurt asked from his place at his closet.

“Because you love me and know how much this will mean to me!” Rachel replied with a smirk.

“Mmm,” he groaned.  “I guess.”

“Oh come on!  It won't be that bad!”  Rachel hopped off of Kurt's bed and joined him at his curtained off closet.  “Just grab an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt if you are that worried.”

Kurt sent her a glare.  “I don't own kid proof clothes.”

“No one does; not even parents always do.  It won't be that bad.”

“But they are covered in everything and I don't want that on my good clothes!”

“Then steal my NYADA hoodie and grab a pair of jeans.  You'll be fine!  It's one night, Kurt.”

“Fine.”  He followed her into her room to get the sweatshirt.  “You are lucky I love you.”

She bounced and threw her arms around his neck.  “I know!  And I love you too.”  She pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving to get her hoodie.  “Here you go.  It's huge on me so shouldn't be too tight for you.  And I don't care if the kids ‘put their grubby hands all over it' like you've been worried about.” 

Kurt glared at her as he slid the hoodie over his head.  “I just don't love kids.”

“I know, but I love that you are helping Shelby out tonight so she can come see me on stage.”

Kurt smiled at her.  “It's fine.  I'll be fine.  I know I'm overreacting.”  Rachel mock gasped in shock at his admission; to which he rolled his eyes.  “How bad can it be?”

“Exactly!”  Rachel started bouncing in excitement again.  “Thank you so much for this!”

“You're welcome, Rach.”  He walked back to his room to gather his things.  “So will Shelby still be at the daycare or someone else?” 

“She and Beth will be there but have to leave as soon as you get there.  Shelby's boyfriend is going to watch over Beth tonight so she can enjoy the show without interruptions.  You'll be on your own at the daycare.  Her other employee doesn't work Friday nights.  Think he has a coffee shop gig on the side or something.”

“Oh, so I'll be alone and completely outnumbered.  Great…”

“Oh stop!”  Rachel smacked his arm.  “It won't be that bad.  They're good kids.  They all like to sing and dance so you'll fit right in!  And those who don't are too young to do either of those things.”

“Wait, there will be babies present?”

“Babies do go to daycares too, Kurt.”

Kurt groaned loudly and flung himself back onto his bed.  “This is going to be a disaster.”

“Well, you won't know until you get up and go!  Which you need to do.  Like now.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”  Rachel pulled him up and pushed him towards the door, snagging his bag for him in the process.  “Now get out of here so Shelby can have time to get ready for my show!”

“Fine.  Break a leg tonight.”  He gave her a quick hug before heading out towards Shelby's daycare service.  He caught the train and made in there on time, despite Rachel's concerns. 

He typed in the code at the door to get into the building and carefully entered, just in case any kids were trying to make their escape.  Though it turned out he didn't need to worry about that.  The door entered into a small lobby and a long hallway that lead to another door.  Once there, Kurt could see Shelby and the kids on the other side.  She caught his eye and rushed over to open it for him.

“Hey, Kurt,” she greeted, adjusting Beth on her hip. 

“Hey.”  He sent her a small smile but couldn't help but look around the room.  There were more kids than he had hoped, but not too many.  That didn't stop the panic from welling up inside of him at the idea of spending the next few hours with them all, breaking up fights, dodging dirty hands, and changing diapers. 

“It's not too bad tonight,” she said, apparently picking up on his nervousness.  She walked around towards a desk sitting off to the side.  “There is a list of instructions and things for each child.”  Kurt's eyes widened.  “Don't worry, there are pictures of the child attached to each one.  There is also a list of who is allowed to pick them up from daycare and contact information for their guardians.  The parents have to ring in and give you time to see them on the intercom.  I've informed them that there is a newbie working tonight so they know to give some detailed information before you let them in.”

“Ok,” Kurt replied cautiously.

She took him around, showing him where everything was and introducing him to the kids.  It was overwhelming to say the least.   

“I promise it isn't too bad.  You'll know if the parents are who they say they are.  The kids, no matter the time or how tired, usually get pretty excited.  But we still have precautions in place.”

“I understand.” 

“At this time of night, we usually just let the kids have semi structured playtime.  They can move to the different stations if they would like or if they are a little older and need to do schoolwork that is fine too.  Just play with them and keep an eye on them.  The older kids ate prior to being dropped off, so there are only a few babies who might need to eat.  We just have Luke, Aidan, and Trish in our baby group tonight.  If anyone asks for snacks, there are snacks available and their papers tell what types of snacks they are and are not allowed to have.

“O-ok.”

“I promise it isn't too bad, honey,” Shelby laughed.  “Is it Beth?”  The little girl shook her head before laying it down on Shelby's shoulder.  “Yeah most of the kids will probably crash in the sleep station in a few hours while they wait on their parents.  It shouldn't be too bad.”

Easy for you to say.  You're leaving.

“Ok, I think I can manage,” Kurt said instead. 

“Wonderful!  I really appreciate this.”  Shelby sent him a smile, much like her daughter had earlier, and went about gathering her belongings.  “Now, I can't really answer my phone during the show but there is contact information for my boyfriend who has helped out here a few times.  He has already said you are welcome to call if you need.”

“I can do that.  Thanks.”

“Now, most of the parents will probably be late if they are performing.  Some mentioned just going to see a show so they may be by a little earlier.  If it starts to get too late, you may want to call them and see if something happened.”

“So just pay attention to the time and to the kids?”

“Pretty much.”  Shelby hoisted her giant bag onto her shoulder, all while managing to keep Beth in place and content.  “I think you've got it covered then.  I really appreciate it!  I marked what time you came in so just mark when you leave so I know how many hours to pay you for.”

“I will.”  Kurt followed them to the door and waved them goodbye.  “Have fun tonight!”

 She sent him one last smile and then was gone, leaving him with a room full of kids who were all going in a hundred different directions.  “Oh god,” Kurt gasped to himself as he looked around the room.  “Ok, you can do this.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” one of the little girls—oh god he'd already forgotten her name—asked. 

“Maybe,” Kurt huffed, running a hand through his hair. 

“Ok, I do it all the time but mommy says to be careful because people will think you're crazy.  Are you crazy?  Because if you are then I guess it is ok.”

Kurt was beginning to think he was crazy for agreeing to cover Shelby's daycare…

He eventually managed to get the girl to go play again and to stop asking him questions.  As Shelby had said, most of the kids were at the various play stations.  The few babies were all corralled up in a playpen, where they were sleeping.  Or at least they were when Kurt had last looked.  But the panicked cry coming from across the room said otherwise. 

Kurt scurried over to the playpen, only finding two of the babies there.  “Damn it,” he muttered to himself. 

“You said a bad word,” one of the little boys teased. 

Kurt didn't even bother saying anything to the kid; he was too worried about the missing baby—Luke if he remembered correctly.  He frantically looked around the playpen and the surrounding area, but couldn't find the boy.  He scanned the floor and some of the play stations to no avail.  It wasn't until he heard another cry that he saw the child.

Kurt gasped as he saw Luke on the play set across the room.  The baby had managed to climb his way up to the second level and was much too close to the edge for Kurt's liking, or his own if the tear stained face was any indication.  Kurt rushed over to him and scooped the boy into his arms before he could fall.

“I've got ya.  You're ok.”  Luke's tiny hands fisted Kurt's hoodie and he buried his face into the fabric.  Kurt rubbed his back and as he continued to cry, trying to calm him.  “It's ok, buddy.  See?”  Kurt pulled him away from his chest to get a look at him, but the boy began crying a little more at that and clung tighter.  “Ok.  It's ok.”  Kurt hugged him again and rocked him.  “You're safe now.  How'd you manage to get up there?  Huh?   Who would've thought these little legs could do that.”  He brushed his fingers along Luke's chubby legs, causing him to hiccup out a few giggles in between the tears.  “Ha!  I see someone is ticklish.”  He ran his fingers along the same spot and elicited a few more giggles.

It seemed as if that did the trick.  Luke stopped crying and appeared to have calmed from his scare.  “Ok, kiddo, time for you to get down and play with the other babies.”  Kurt held him out and was about to set him back in the playpen, but Luke started tearing up and whimpering again.  He reached out and grabbed onto Kurt's hoodie again and tugged at it, making little noises of protest and distress all the while.

“Ok, guess not,” Kurt sighed, pulling the boy back against his chest.  Luke cuddled into him quickly and calmed.  Kurt groaned to himself.  He didn't want to have to hold the baby all night long, but it looked like he would be stuck with him for a little while.  At least he didn't seem to be as sticky as most of the babies Kurt had encountered over the years.

Kurt took him over to the play area and sat down on one of the beanbags so he could watch and talk to the other children.  Luke continued to cling to him, not budging even when Kurt had to get up to get snacks for the others or to check on the two babies sleeping in their playpen.  He seemed content in Kurt's arms, babbling away to him and blowing little bubbles sleepily as the night went on. 

As time passed, Kurt realized he didn't mind holding the little guy.  He had to admit, the kid was absolutely adorable.  His curly hair poked out from under a teal beanie cap.  It matched the t-shirt he had under a dark brown cable knit sweater.  Kurt couldn't help but smile when he finally noticed that the logo on the shirt featured the art from Luke's Diner on Gilmore Girls.  He even had baby sized Chuck Taylors to match. 

Despite how much Kurt had been dreading the night, it passed quickly, mostly due to Luke distracting him.  Parents soon began to pick up their sleeping children to take them home to their own beds.  All the parent's but Luke's at least…

“Well, at least your mom dresses you well, even if she is late,” Kurt huffed.   Luke yawned loudly in response.  “I know, bud.  I'm tired too.”  He cradled the baby close and carefully sat down in the padded rocking chair to wait.  He was nearly asleep himself when he heard the door open.  He opened his eyes, expecting to see a frazzled parent but instead found Shelby dressed in a rather eloquent black dress and heels.  “Shelby?  What?”

“Hey.”  She walked over and squeezed his shoulder.  “How did it go?”

“Good,” he replied around a yawn. 

“No problems?”

“Not really.  Aside from this little guy's daredevil moment.”

“Oh no,” Shelby laughed.  “What did Luke do now?”

“Climbed out of the playpen and somehow got up onto the playset.”  Shelby shook her head fondly.  “And the fact that no one has picked him up yet,” Kurt continued. 

“His dad called me.  He's my employee that has weekend nights off to play music at a local coffee shop.  He passed out during his performance and his friends who could've picked up Luke panicked and went to check on him and deal with everything.  He ended up at the ER and just now got home.  I said I would drop Luke off for him so he doesn't have to figure out a way to.  He sounded pretty sick.”

“Oh,” Kurt replied, biting his lip.  He felt bad for mentally badmouthing Luke's parents—well his dad—for the better part of the last hour.  “Is he ok?”

“He's going to be out of commission for a little while but yeah he'll be fine with some rest and medicine.  I might end up calling on you to help cover some of his shifts if you can.”

“Yeah, sure.”  Luke moved a little in his sleep and snuggled impossibly closer to Kurt.  He looked down at the baby, watching him sleep for a few moments. 

“Looks like someone made a friend.”

Kurt glanced up to see Shelby smiling warmly. 

“He didn't want me to put him down after I got him off the playset.  Guess he scared himself.”

“Probably.”  Shelby ran her fingers over Luke's beanie covered head.  “Well I better get our little Houdini home to his daddy.”  She carefully took Luke from Kurt and settled him in into a spare car seat she kept at the daycare for emergencies.  “Do you mind locking up for me?”

“No, not at all.”

“Thanks again, Kurt.  I'll call you tomorrow or Sunday and see about you maybe covering a few more hours.” 

“Ok,” Kurt replied as he gathered up his own things.  Shelby left to get Luke home.  Kurt watched her quietly head down to the awaiting cab, realizing just how much he was going to miss the kid.  He shook his head and set about locking everything up.

~~~~~~~

“You have freaking pneumonia!”

“Can you lower your voice, Sam?” Blaine asked weakly from the bed.  He tried to burry his face in the pillows to block out everything but it didn't work.  He gave up after a few moments and was greeted by Artie's camera when he looked back up at his roommates.  “What are you doing?”

“Filming you for my documentary for school,” Artie replied casually.

“Do you have to shove it in my face when I feel like death?”

Artie lowered it back down to his lap.  “I'm sorry, B.  I just want to make sure I show the hardships of being a young parent and this is a part of it.  So I'd like to film it.”

Blaine sighed before croaking, “Ok.” 

“No, it's not ok,” Sam continued.  “This is exactly what I've been talking about!”

“What?  Artie filming me?  What?” Blaine groggily asked.

“No, this!”  Sam waved his arms at Blaine in bed. 

“I'm sorry,” Blaine sighed tiredly.

Sam seemed to calm some at the dejected tone coming from Blaine.  “I know.  It's just, I hate seeing you do this to yourself.”

“I didn't think it was that bad.  I thought it was just a bug I'd picked up from Luke or one of the kids at daycare.”

“But it wasn't,” Sam commented, sitting on the edge of the bed.  “You're just doing so much.  Maybe too much.”

“Don't,” Blaine snapped, sending himself into a coughing fit that lasted much longer than anyone would've liked.  Sam leapt into action, rubbing Blaine's back and trying to help him through it.

“You ok?” Sam asked once he seemed to have settled down again.

Blaine only nodded, not trusting his voice yet. 

Before either could say anything else, buzzer for the main door started up.  Artie wheeled over to it and said something that Blaine didn't catch.  But moments later, Shelby entered their door, so Blaine assumed Artie had rang her in somehow. 

“Oh sweetie,” Shelby sighed as she looked him over.  She passed Luke off to Artie, who began cuddling the sleeping baby almost immediately.  Shelby knelt down and ran her fingers through Blaine's sweaty hair.  “You look like you feel terrible.”

Blaine hummed in reply.  “I'll be ok.  The doctor said it could've been worse.  I probably passed out because of the heat of the lights when I was on stage since I already had a fever.”

“Well, either way, you are most definitely on sick leave from the daycare until you are cleared by a doctor.”

Blaine wanted to argue, but knew it was pointless with this many people against him.  So he simply nodded and let it go. 

Shelby left soon after, promising him to check up on him in a few days.  Artie hung around for a moment before retreating into the nursery with Luke, claiming he would just get germs from Blaine and the cycle of sickness would continue if Blaine got a hold of him. 

That left just Sam and Blaine in the small bedroom with an odd silence hanging between them.  Blaine shifted uneasily.  He wasn't used to Sam acting like this with him.  They'd had little spats in the past, normally over who was the best X-Men character, but those were never serious.  This was.

“Sam—”

“I'm sorry I yelled at you,” Sam interrupted.  “I'm just really worried about you.”

Blaine smiled a little in return.  “I appreciate that but I'm fine.”

“No you're not,” Sam replied softly.  He gently grabbed Blaine's arm so that the bandage covering where his IV had been could be seen.  “You have a matching one on your head where you hit it after passing out.” 

Blaine deflated against the pillows and looked down at his sheets.

“Hey, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, man.  I just don't want to see you do this to yourself again.  You are in this like, cycle thing.  You keep doing so much stuff and don't take time for yourself.  And you're great!  I mean that.  You're like this awesome super dad with Luke and kicking ass at Tisch and are the best roomie a guy could ask for—don't tell Artie I said that.” 

“Promise,” Blaine laughed before coughing. 

“But then this happens and you just try to power through it instead of asking for help.  You have us, dude!  Artie and I are here for you.  And you could totally find a boyfriend or someone who would be there for you.  You know I keep saying I have this old high school buddy I could set you up with and—”

“I get it,” Blaine said.  “I know I need to make some changes and take care of myself more.  Waking up in the ER is not one of my favorite things to do.”  He shuddered and pulled the blanket tighter around him.  He remained silent for a few moments before sighing.  “I'll try.”

“Awesome.”  Sam stood quickly from his place on Blaine's bed and squeezed his shoulder.  “Get some rest man.  Artie and I can take care of everything for now.”

Blaine nodded, exhausted from talking and staying awake longer than he should have.  He let fluff the pillows like a mother hen and pull the blankets up around him.  He was already half asleep by the time Sam turned off the lights, completely missing the mischievous smile Sam had on his face as he left the room.