When Kurt woke up the next morning, he felt awful. His face and chest ached, and his nose was blocked up. He hid his face in Blaine's chest as his fiancé woke up,
"Don't feel well,” he mumbled, feeling miserable. His forehead burned hot against Blaine's skin.

"Kurt, you're burning up..." Kurt nodded sadly.

"Uh huh. Stupid cold..." He snuggled into Blaine's side. "I don't have to get up, right?"

"No, you don't. I'll go make you some chicken noodle soup, okay?" He kissed Kurt's head, then disappeared into the kitchen. Kurt curled into the bed, shivering under the covers when his phone went off.

Jeff Sterling: Me and Nicky are coming to visit! See you in five minutes!

Kurt groaned. He knew there was no way he could put Jeff off, they'd freak out when they saw his face.

"B-Blaine-" He broke off from the shout, coughing. Blaine immediately came running through the door.

"What's going on? Can you breathe properly? Do you need something?" Kurt shook his head.

"I'm fine..." he mumbled. "Actually, that's a lie... my face and chest hurts. But Jeff just texted me, he and Nick are on their way.” Kurt’s voice was raspy, he was slowly losing it.

"Crap," Blaine muttered. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed Nick's number. "Nick?"
"Hey Blaine! We're almost at your apartment!" he said happily.
"Don't come here," said Blaine. "Kurt’s sick. It's pretty bad." Nick told the information to Jeff. Suddenly, Blaine could hear fighting over the phone and Jeff came onto the other end.
"We're coming anyway, Blainers!" Jeff chirped happily. "We can help look after him! Okay? Bye!"

"Jeff!" Blaine squealed before the line went dead. "Fuck..." he muttered.

"It's okay..." Kurt mumbled tiredly. "Let them come..." He sniffed the air weakly. "The soup's burning..."
"Oh shit!" Blaine ran out to save the soup. It wasn't burned, so Blaine poured it into a bowl and went into the bedroom again. "Baby? I have soup for you." Kurt sat up weakly and took the bowl in his lap. He tried to take a spoonful of it and frowned as his hand was shaking too much. He turned to Blaine.

"Would you put it in a cup for me? Sorry..." Blaine picked up the bowl and curled down next to Kurt. He held up the spoon to Kurt's mouth.

"Or, we do it this way." Kurt smiled and took the spoon into his mouth.

"If you don't mind…" He smiled. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Do you want me to send them away? I mean, Jeff can be a kind of energetic..." said Blaine after feeding Kurt with another spoonful of soup. Kurt shook his head.

"I kind of want to see Nick, and Jeff will sulk forever if we don't let him in."

"Okay, baby." Blaine put down the bowl and went to open the door. "Hey guys!" He hugged both of them and let them inside.

"How's Kurt?" Nick asked, shrugging out of his coat which was soaked with rain. "How'd he get ill?"

"He was outside in the rain. His immune system is very weak." Jeff nodded, his eyes even brighter and happier than normal.

"I got kicked out of my house!" he chirped happily. Blaine smiled, this was actually a good thing.

"Are you moving in together now?"

"Um... Kind of." Jeff held up his hand, grinning radiantly. Glinting on his finger was a brand new silver wedding ring. A matching one shone on Nick's hand.

"We got married! Sorry we didn't invite you, it was kind of short notice! We eloped."

"Guys!" Blaine squealed. "This is amazing! Congratulations! You have to tell Kurt. He'll love it!"

"That's why we're here," Nick smiled. "Is he in bed?"

"Yeah. You have to be careful though," he said, glaring at Jeff. "He's in pain and he's just generally sore."

"Why's he in pain?" he blonde asked. "You said he just got caught in the rain!"
"He-" Blaine looked down at the floor. He couldn't lie to their best friends. "I don't know if Kurt wants me to tell you." Nick frowned, pulling Blaine through to the living room and pushing him onto the couch.

"Talk. You know he's going to tell us anyway, but it'll be easier on him if you do." Blaine sighed, knowing that they were right.

"Okay..." Then he started from the day when Kurt's mom had called and told them the whole story.

Nick was shaking by the time Blaine finished, his hands clenched in fists. His face showed just how furious he was. Jeff just looked sad.
"Poor Kurt..." he whispered, locking eyes with Blaine. They both knew that Nick would never understand how it felt to not be wanted by your parents.

"He's been a wreck ever since. He's sick, there’s the Sebastian incident and he almost drowned in the bathtub last night..." Blaine let out a humorless laugh. "I'm the worst fiancé ever!"

"You are not," Nick argued. "You're here for him, that's as good as anything. Now do you want to go out and take a break for a while? We can look after Kurt if you want?"

"N-no..." Blaine shook his head. "I know you'd look after him, but I- I can't leave him..." Nick nodded understandingly, he wouldn't have been able to leave Jeff either.

"Okay. Let's go in and see him then." When they entered the room, Kurt was barely awake, hugging a pillow like it was a stuffed animal, his normally flawless hair all over the place and his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"Hey buddy," Nick whispered. "Heard you were ill." Kurt nodded.

"M'fine... S'just a cold..."
"Looks like a pretty bad one." Jeff grinned, sitting on the end of the bed. "Hey Kurt, guess what? Me and Nicky got married!" The younger boy’s eyes widened and he tried to sit up, wincing as he did so.

"That's amazing!" he said weakly, but enthusiastically. Blaine sat down next to Kurt and took his hand.

"Don't sit up, baby..." Kurt nodded, curling on his side.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked curiously, staring at his best friends.

"It was kind of spontaneous actually... But it feels so right," said Nick and kissed his husband quickly. Kurt smiled happily.

"Congratulations!" His smile flickered slightly. "Did... Did Blaine tell you what happened to me?" Nick nodded.

"Yeah... We're so sorry, Kurt. You don't deserve any of it." He squeezed Kurt's hand lightly. The boy shrugged.

"It's fine,” he whispered. "I should have expected it."

"No." Jeff shook his head, serious for once. He sat down on the bed and rubbed Kurt's knee. "Parents are supposed to love you, no matter what, and if they don't, then they aren't worth your time. That's what I figured about mine."

"Jeff's right, baby," said Blaine. "She doesn't deserve to call you her son. You're so much better than that." Kurt nodded sniffling weakly.

"Okay..." he mumbled. "Do you think she'll come back?"

"If she does, I won't let her in. I promise, honey." Blaine kissed the top of his head softly. Then he suddenly had a thought. "Babe, we could disappear. We could move to another city! She'd never know where we were and we could start over. Start our life together for real." Blaine hadn't forgotten that Nick and Jeff were still in the room, but he didn't care if they heard. Kurt bit his lip.

"I... I mean, I'd like that but... Our friends, Blaine." He lowered his voice. "How could we just leave them?" Before Blaine could reply, Nick spoke up.

"Kurt, all we want is for you to be happy and safe. We'll still be your friends and we'll come visit all the time." Jeff nodded.
"I agree. As long as you're happy, we're happy." He smiled kindly. "We'll always be here for you anyway." Kurt looked down.

"I don't... I don't know..." 
There was a loud knock on the door and Kurt's eyes flashed to Blaine. A voice called through and he froze.

"Richard!" he hissed.
"Come on you little bitch! Your Mom said I had to talk to you!" Blaine gritted his teeth.

"I'm not letting him in. No fucking way." Kurt was shaking, tremors running through his body as Richard kept pounding on the door. Nick's jaw was set angrily and Jeff looked worriedly between Kurt and the door.
"What do we do?" he asked.

"Ignore him," said Blaine. "He'll go away eventually." Kurt shook his head, climbing weakly out of bed.

"I don't think he will..."

"Kurt, you are not going anywhere," said Blaine firmly. "Go back to bed, I'll take care of him. Will you help me, guys?" he asked Nick and Jeff. The two boys nodded and followed him out to the door. Blaine took a deep breath and opened it. Richard seemed disorientated for a minute, he hadn't expected them to open the door, but he soon rallied, squaring his shoulders.

"Are one of you the faggot's boyfriend?"

"I'm Kurt's fiancé," Blaine gritted through his teeth. "Would you be so kind and leave right now?"

"Really?" Richard raised an eyebrow. "A fag with balls, interesting. But I'm not going anywhere. Lizzie wants me to come and talk to the bitch, she said he wanted to apologize."
"You're the one who should be fucking apologizing," Nick growled. Blaine was grateful for his friends.

"You're going to leave right this second, or I'm calling the police. You can't beat the crap out of a man just because he wants to be happy. Leave or police. Your choice." Blaine was pretty sure he'd never been this angry in his entire life.

"Look, mate." Richard tried to sound friendly. "I can't leave here until I've spoken to him. I promise Lizzie, you know what girls are like. Just let me see him alright?"

"No way." Blaine shook his head. "You're not going even close to him." Kurt appeared in the doorway, shaking heavily and wrapped in his duvet. His legs were barely holding him up.

"What do you want, Richard?" he forced out. Blaine immediately slipped an arm around his waist to keep him steady.

"Kurt, you should be in bed..."

"Can't even walk,” Richard chuckled quietly. Jeff's eyes flashed.

"That tends to happen when someone with weak lungs walks home in the rain,” he snapped, none of his usual good humor present in his voice.

"That's not my fucking problem!" Richard exclaimed. Blaine threw him an angry look, his eyes sparkling with fury.

"Say what you have to say and then leave." Richard rolled his eyes and looked at Kurt, his face automatically contorting in disgust.

"Your Mom says you're ready to apologize. And she said that I have to bring you home to live with us. I don't want a filthy fag in my house, but apparently I don't have a choice. She assured me that you won't be a problem, and that I can punish you." Kurt let out a weak laugh which turned into a cough.

"I'm not going anywhere with you,” he spluttered out. "And it isn't your house, it's my father’s. He was actually a man, you're a pathetic child." The older man let out an angry snarl and moved towards Kurt with his fist raised. Blaine let go of Kurt and stepped in front of him.

"You need to leave right now. He's not going to apologize, you freak! You're the one who should apologize for nearly killing him! We're not going to take your crap anymore." Jeff came up behind Kurt and steadied him as soon as Blaine let him go.

"You're being really over dramatic," Richard said slowly, as if he was talking to an idiot. "I didn't nearly kill him!"

"Well, he came home and fell into my arms, barely able to breath and his face completely fucking messed up by you!" Blaine took a step forward. "You're not touching him again."

"Oh, for fucks sake! He's just a fairy! I told him you'd leave him once you found a girl you can fuck." He lowered his voice confidentially. "You're not like him, you look like you could be normal."
"Just get the fuck out!" Nick spat. "We don't want you around Kurt!"
"Is the little slut even fucking you at all?!" It was all too much. Blaine couldn't stop himself. His fist flew out of nowhere and hit Richard over the eye. Blaine stumbled backwards and looked at his fist. He'd never hit someone before. But that fucking bastard earned it. He looked up at Richard with furious eyes.

"Go. Leave now." Richard swore, holding his eye.

"Fine! The whore isn't worth it! But Lizzie won't be impressed."
"I don't care," Kurt mumbled weakly. "Tell her to stay away from me."

"Don't you dare come back," said Blaine and then slammed the door close after Richard. He immediately turned to Kurt. He hoisted him up into his arms and carried him to their bedroom. He tucked his fiancé down under the covers and then snuggled up next to him, knowing that this was what Kurt needed. Comfort, warmth, love and safety. He knew Nick and Jeff were still there, but he also knew they'd understand.

"Sorry," Kurt mumbled into Blaine's shoulder. "I know you told me to stay in bed..."

"Yeah," Blaine whispered. "And you should have." He went silent for a while and just held Kurt. "I-I hit someone today..." Blaine whispered and let out a sob. "I caused someone physical pain..."

"I'm so sorry," Kurt whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around Blaine. "You didn't have to do that for me."

"N-No... I did have to, I just... I've never done that before," he sobbed. "I told myself that I'd never. B-But it's okay. I'd do anything to keep you safe, honey." He wrapped his arms tighter around the sick boy and cried silently. Kurt curled into him.

"He won't come back, right?"

"I have no idea", said Blaine honestly. "But I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Nick peeked inside and saw the two men curled up together.

"Let's just give them some space," he whispered to Jeff. The blonde nodded and linked his fingers with Nick's. Before they walked out the door, Jeff spoke up.

"Nick?" The brunette turned to his husband.

"Yeah?" he prompted.

"I love you so much", said Jeff quietly. The events that had happened had brought up a lot of bad memories for him. "Thank you for everything." Nick smiled and reached out to touch Jeff's cheek.

"I love you too." He pulled Jeff in for a tight hug, both of them surprised by the sudden emotional feelings. They pulled back to share a sweet kiss.

"Let's go," said Jeff and walked out with Nick's hand tightly grasped in his own.

Kurt lay with his head on Blaine's shoulder. They were silent for a while.

"I hate that he's my dad's replacement. My dad was an amazing man."

"He'll never be your dad's replacement. Not if you don't want him to be. And I'd never want him for a father myself." He planted a soft kiss to the top of Kurt's head. "Kurt... Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"I just... When I proposed to you, you said that you wanted to start a family with me... Did you mean that? Do you want kids?" Blaine asked nervously.

"I want children so badly it hurts," he blushed. "But I understand if it's not what you want." Blaine's face broke out in a huge smile.

"Of course I do. As many as you want, as long as I get to raise them with you." He turned to kiss Kurt on the lips. "I want everything with you." Kurt smiled blissfully into the kiss.

"Do you think they'd let us adopt?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Blaine smiled. "We're fabulous after all," he winked and kissed Kurt again. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Kurt giggled. "And maybe... Maybe we should move away?" Blaine nodded

 "I know it'll be hard to leave our friends, but I think we should... It would be good for us. You could start collage, any collage you want. I'll work at the same time to support us. It would be perfect." Kurt bit his lip.

"I'd never get into college, Blaine... And I want to work and do my bit..."

"Kurt... What's your biggest dream? What do you want to do with your life?"

"I want to marry you and have a family. But I guess I... I want to act," Kurt mumbled. "And sing." Blaine smiled.

"Any special place you want to sing and act at?"

"Broadway," Kurt whispered, flushing red. "I know it won't happen. What about you? What do you want to do with your life?"

"Then I guess our kids will have to grow up in New York," Blaine grinned. "And they'll be so proud of their dad when he's a huge Broadway star. And you know what? I'll be ever prouder of him. He's quite amazing."

"You didn't answer me," Kurt whispered. "What do you want to do? You didn't go to college and I know it was because of me..."

"I guess... My dream is to start a law firm. I want one that specializes in cases where people have been assaulted and harassed because of their sexuality. I want to make a difference." Blaine blushed. "I-I know it's stupid and unrealistic..."

"More realistic than my dreams," Kurt smiled. "You should apply for law school, we both know you'd get in easily."

"I want to, but... I have to work, too. Law school is demanding. I wouldn't have time for either you or work... I don’t know if it's worth it." Blaine smiled sadly.

"Go," Kurt insisted. "You put your life on hold for two years for me, it's my turn. You go to law school and I'll work. We'll make time for each-other and I'll audition around. If nothing's happened for me by the time you've finished law school I'll go to college." Blaine eyed Kurt carefully.

"I... Are you sure this is what you want, Kurt?"

"I want you to be happy. And I don't want you to have to put your dreams on hold again because of me. You're just as important as I am, if not more." Blaine hugged Kurt again.

"Thank you... I'm going to make you so proud, baby." After a moment, he pulled back to look at Kurt. "But you're just as important, Kurt. You're so talented and I bet Broadway will love you. You'll get there, I know you will."

"Maybe," Kurt shrugged. "But I'd be just as happy being a house husband and looking after our kids while you helped people." His eyes shone with honesty. Blaine smiled.

"That's plan B. Plan A is Broadway." He let out a small laugh. "Do you realize that we basically just planned our entire lives? Our life together, Kurt!"

"I know. And it makes me so happy. Should we move before or after the wedding? We'd have to go there to marry anyway..."

"Before is probably better," Blaine agreed. "How about over summer? Like, now? I mean I could start law school this fall and-" A sudden thought struck Blaine's mind. "I'm so stupid." Kurt's eyes widened and he let out a cough, his body shaking with the effort.

"What is it?"

"We can't move right now... We have the trial with Sebastian coming up, plus the fact that you are far from healthy right now." Blaine looked at Kurt with tears in his eyes. "Sorry, baby." Kurt bit his lip, trying to hide the disappointment from showing. He looked away so that Blaine wouldn't see his tear filled eyes. He'd been looking forward to starting their new life, to living somewhere where he wouldn't always be The kid who used to be blind. To being somewhere where Lizzie and Richard couldn't get him.

"Baby?" asked Blaine and wrapped his arms around Kurt, hugging him from behind. "It's okay... If you're feeling better after the summer, maybe we can move then," he whispered. "It's all going to be okay. You know why?"

"W-Why?" Kurt asked softly, cursing the way his voice shook.

"Because I love you and you love me and whatever happens, that's not going to change. I promise that I'll stay with you until the day I die, and even after that." Blaine turned to face Kurt again and reached to lace their fingers together. Kurt sniffed and the tears finally flowed down his cheeks.

"I know... I just... I want to g-get away from p-people who hate me... Everyone h-hates me in Ohio." Blaine kissed his forehead gently.

"We'll get out of here soon. It will all fall into place, I know it will." He squeezed his fiancé's waist lightly and let him cry as much as he needed to. Kurt sobbed into Blaine's shoulder unhappily.

"Everyone thinks I'm a cripple," he cried. "They can't see past the fact I used to be blind." Seeing Kurt cry made Blaine so miserable. He fought back his tears, he needed to stay strong for Kurt.

"What everyone else thinks doesn't matter... They don't matter. They're just ignorant bastards, all of them."

"I know..." Kurt nodded. Blaine had been telling him this for years. "I know, but it still hurts..." Blaine nodded, he understood the feeling.

"Come here," he prompted, wanting to have Kurt even closer. Kurt curled closely into Blaine's chest and relaxed a little as he felt his fiancé's arms wrap more securely around him.

"Go to sleep, sweetie. We can talk more about this tomorrow. You look exhausted." Blaine loved the feeling of Kurt close to him. He felt safe, knowing that Kurt was safe.

"'Kay," Kurt mumbled. "You have work in the morning, don't you?"

"I do. I won't wake you up though. I'll make you some soup and put it in the fridge. Sleep for as long as you can." Kurt nodded. He didn't want to be alone, he'd always hated being alone when he was ill, but he knew that Blaine needed to work. He snuggled into sleep miserably.

"Night, honey,” he whispered.

"Night, baby." Blaine didn't fall asleep for a long time, and when he finally did, he slept worriedly and woke up several times by nightmares.