As he struggled to get up in the darkness, he felt a heaviness in his head like no other. That must have been some dream, Kurt. Your forehead is still cold. Rehydrate. Get yourself that water.

He slowly walked in the dark suddenly aware that the ground underneath him was feeling vastly different from usual on his bare feet. He and Blaine had carpeted floors, but the base beneath him however, felt cold and hard like concrete. He touched the sides of the wall, noticing they were brick and rough and felt his heart pace a little faster at the new discovery. This is not my room. This is not my house…

Finding it very difficult to maneuver in the dark, Kurt held onto the wall and felt his way around. A loud clang indicated that he had knocked into something – a tray perhaps? – but that didn’t make sense at all… I need to find the door outta here. I need to get myself out.

Kurt made it to the door okay. A glass door in fact. Inches thick with a locked handle that wouldn’t budge. He peered outside and as his eyes adjusted stared into the dimly lit hallway. He finally recognized where he was all right.

He was in a cell.

A cell in Lima State Hospital.

Kurt tried to contain himself but it was proving difficult. “Hello? Somebody help me!”

He began furiously trying to work the handle but it wouldn’t budge; the door was shut tight. Kurt started to panic, banging on the glass doors.

“Hello? Hello! Is anyone there? Please, somebody!! I need help!!”

It didn’t seem like anyone could hear him.

“HELP ME!! LET ME OUT!”

But Kurt was sure to make a lot of noise until they could.

~.~

The Head Nurse of Lima State was a woman who had been in the position for over fourteen years now. To say she had seen some crazy things during her course of stay here was an understatement. She worked at a hospital for the criminally insane – it did not get any crazier than that.

But whether it was because she had been here so long, or whether it was because her patience was simply running thin, Head Nurse Sylvester was starting to find that she was at the end of her rope.

“Yes, Brittany, what is it?”

“I don’t want to take my medicine.”

“And I don’t want to see Figgins fall asleep at his post again, so it looks like we’re both stuck.”

Brittany sighed; she looked pouty and upset but there was a hint of seriousness in her voice. “What are my options?”

All professionalism aside, Sue actually snorted, “Sorry darling – you just don’t have any. Either you take this medicine on your own—,” she gestured to the small white pills in the even tinier clear plastic cup, “—or I page Nurse Beiste here to stick this very needle in your arm and you take the medicine anyway.”

Brittany scrunched her eyes closed, trying very hard to think about it. While she debated both scenarios in her mind, Sue took a moment out to think too. Not that she would ever tell anyone, but Nurse Sylvester had a soft spot for Brittany S. Pierce. The girl was - different. She may be in an asylum but she had only wiggled her way in so she could spend time with her girlfriend, the Loony Latina, who was undeniably crazy. But Sue kept an eye on Brittany, because there was something about the way she said odd things that ended up coming true. After fourteen years, Sue had never seen anything like it.

“Fine,” Brittany finally relented, “I’ll take your sugar pills.” She picked up the plastic cup and dry swallowed both tiny white tablets. Sue handed her some water.

“Oh they’re not sugar, Britt. They’re wonderful magic tablets that are going to help you relax and think a little clearer. You’ll be thanking me later.”

Brittany finished her water and lent in very, very close to Sue and started whispering. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I was you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sue asked immediately.

“If you really want to know, I have a few demands.”

Thank God the room wasn’t bugged. Sylvester may have been here a while but despite the fact that she was the head honcho around here, even she could get in trouble for the simple two words she was about to say.

“I’m listening.”

Brittany turned around to make sure there was no one behind her even though it had been just her and Sue for the past half hour in Brittany’s cell. When she was certain they were alone, she started talking.

“You’ve left the crayon boxes empty which is confusing. What kind of hospital runs out of crayons? It isn’t very American of you. You get me my crayons, Nurse, and you keep that creepy kid who’s coming, away from me and Santana, and we have ourselves a deal. Also, I want a can of soda. Santana loves soda and our anniversary is coming up and since there isn’t a lot of choice here, I want to give her that soda.”

“Done,” Sylvester agreed, although she was confused herself. Brittany often left people feeling that way. “But I’m going to need more information about this kid you want me to keep you away from… I need to at least know what they look like so I can keep them away from you.”

Brittany furrowed her brow as though Sue had asked her to solve a complicated algebraic math equation, which contrary to popular belief - Brittany was actually quite good at. She then nodded. “Okay, so he’s got brown hair, and pale skin, and real baby features because he’s pretty much a kid, voice from out of this world…and he um…”

Sue was amazed. She knew exactly who Brittany was describing…. But maybe she was also jumping to conclusions too quick. There was no way that Brittany could be talking about him. There just wasn’t. None of the patients knew that Kurt Hummel was here yet. It was classified information.

“Brittany, I—”

Sue’s pager started buzzing and she quickly looked down to see the word “Urgent,” flashing across her screen. It was sent from Figgins. She rolled her eyes. Becky Jackson, Sue’s personal assistant, could do a better job guarding this place then Figgins could.

Sue took out her portable receiver, hit the little red button, and spoke into it. “This better be good, Figgins. I’m a busy woman, you know. If this has to do with another dead rat I swear I’ll ask Beiste to personally escort you from the hospital without your badge!”

She let go of the button and allowed Figgins to speak. Surprisingly, his little Indian accent wavered with confidence. “Trust me Sue, you’re going to want to hear this. Sleeping Beauty is awake.”

~.~

It was a good fifteen minutes of yelling before Kurt saw a familiar face walk the halls and though they didn’t share a close business relationship the way he shared with Schue he was sure glad to see her.

“Nurse Beiste!” he called loudly, banging against his door. “Can you hear me? Please let me out!”

Nurse Beiste slowed and eyed Kurt with her arms crossed. “Well, since you asked, I think everyone in this whole damn hospital can hear you. You’ve been yelling a lot since you woke up, Mr. Hummel.”

“It’s Doctor Hummel actually. Now please, open the door.”

Just as she had previously, Nurse Beiste ignored his second request. “I can’t call you that Mr. Hummel. I start calling you doctor and then before you know it, everyone wants to be called doctor. You sit tight and relax, Nurse Sylvester is on her way.”

“Good!” Kurt snapped, seeing he was getting nowhere with Beiste, “I can’t wait to see her!”

Nurse Beiste stood outside Kurt’s cell silently, almost as if she were exclusively guarding it. Sue had told her to meet her here for patient assistance except although she knew better, Kurt looked harmless. He was pale and thin and why exactly Sue couldn’t handle him by herself was beyond Shannon.

Kurt didn’t have to wait long before Nurse Sylvester finally joined them. She looked flurried.

“Morning Porcelain,” she greeted, “Good to see you’re awake. What do you reckon, Shannon, fifty milligrams?”

It was then that Kurt noticed that Sue was preparing a syringe and since he was the only patient in sight… it could only mean that syringe was for him.

“Fifty milligrams? Are you being serious right now? What are you trying to do?” he demanded , “Kill me? Where is Blaine? I want to see my husband!”

At the mention of Blaine, Kurt soon realized that Sue hadn’t arrived here by herself. She had in fact arrived with Sebastian.

“Are you serious? Sebastian Smythe? Now I really want to know what the hell is going on!”

Sebastian placed an arm on Sue’s shoulder. “Do you ladies want to wait outside? I’ll take it from here.”

But Sue didn’t like the sound of that idea at all. “Listen here, wounded meerkat!” she said bossily, “I ain’t going nowhere till Porcelain takes his meds. Do you really want to take me on when I have Beiste standing right next to me?”

“Fine!” Sebastian said impatiently, “But fifty is a bit too much. Distribute thirty instead.”

“I’m not taking anything!” Kurt yelled out loudly, “Not till someone tells me what’s going on!”

Sebastian looked desperate. “Look Kurt, I need you to calm down. How are you feeling?”

Was this a joke? This had to be a joke. “How do you think I’m feeling? I don’t want to stay calm, I want an explanation! And I’m still waiting to see Blaine!”

Sebastian tried to gesture his sight towards the nurses standing behind him in a way so that only Kurt could see him do it. “Why don’t you take your medicine first and then we can have a chat?”

Kurt got the hint. Unless he agreed, Sue and Beiste would not be leaving him alone with Sebastian. He sighed. “Whatever. But I don’t want an anticonvulsant. At least give me Valium.”

Sebastian turned to the nurses, as if requesting permission from them. Sue nodded and so Sebastian was able to agree with Kurt, but when Sebastian handed it to him, Kurt looked like he was a Jewish man being forced to eat meat that wasn’t kosher.

“How much is in that?” Kurt asked furiously, “I’m not taking thirty, I’ll take ten milligrams and that’s it!”

Sebastian was outwardly tired. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. If the bags under his eyes were any indication, it may have even been a week. “Kurt, just please take the damn pills or they’re going to have to force the anticonvulsant on you and it’ll be outta my hands. Twenty – and that’s my final offer.”

He handed Kurt the water and after a few moments pause, Kurt finally took the medicine. Satisfied, Sylvester and Beiste then left, locking the door behind them.

The harder Kurt was trying to put everything in perspective, the more desperate he became to do so. He stared silently at Sebastian trying to study his face. There was no sympathy there. Or maybe too much of it.

It nerved Kurt to no end. “How would you feel if you woke up in a cell dressed exactly like your patients?” he asked angrily. Sebastian couldn’t answer him.

“Kurt, this is really awkward. Technically, I shouldn’t be treating you but with a combination of my psych minor and with Dr. Schuester being able to miraculously pull some strings together in this place, the court has granted us a waiver until you’re transferred. I want you to know that you can talk to me. Nothing you tell me will leave this room.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Kurt said flatly, “I want to talk to Blaine. I want to see my husband!”

Sebastian looked down at the floor avoiding Kurt’s gaze but it was the way he looked down that caught Kurt’s surprise. It left Kurt momentarily speechless.

“Why do you keep saying that?” Sebastian asked quietly. “You asked Sue and Shannon and now me – why do you do that, Kurt?”

Kurt tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

“I realize your marriage isn’t annulled,” Sebastian continued, still just as quietly, “But you and Blaine separated over six months ago.”

…WHAT? No, no, no that wasn’t right, that wasn’t true, that wasn’t possible…! How much of his memory had he lost in here already? He may be struggling to remember how he got in here but surely he’d remember if he and Blaine were separated?

“There was no trouble in my marriage!” Kurt spat out confidently.

“Are you sure about that? Why don’t you sit down and have a small think about it.”

Kurt sunk back down into his chair and his whole body shook tensely as he did exactly that. He was right, he knew it, there was no other option! Sebastian was messing with him for sure!

But then…

Just before the accident, he remembered that he had been paranoid that Blaine had been avoiding him and keeping distant. And last time Blaine had done that it was because… well, it had been because he was trying to get used to what life would be like without Kurt.

Kurt was starting to piece things together. The dinner at Will’s house? Shue’s wife had recently become a couple’s counselor…

…That’s why you and Blaine were going to see them on Wednesday.

So maybe Sebastian wasn’t lying. In fact…

“Hey, it’s me, can you hear me okay? Are you finished yet? Wonderful. I might be a little longer than I expected, I had to detour—”

“It was you I tried to call that night.” Kurt suddenly realized out loud, “The night of my accident.”

“Yes.”

“We were having an affair.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You were legally separated. You weren’t… cheating. ”

“But I was technically still married, Sebastian. You’re a lawyer, you should know that.”

“Kurt, we have to put a few things in order before we can proceed any further. How long have you been in here?”

Kurt stared at him blankly, “C’mon Sebastian! What is this?”

“Humor me,” he said simply.

“Wait – ” Kurt asked, needing to make sure of one thing first, “I am a doctor, right?”

Sebastian nodded, “Yes. A great one in fact.”

“Okay,” Kurt nodded, “You tell me. How long have I been in here?”

Sebastian’s pause was only very brief, “Five days.”

“What?”

“You were admitted to the neurosurgical unit seizing violently. That lasted three days. Scans revealed left-sided weakness, numbness and severe frontal lobe deficits.”

Kurt closed his eyes. He was trying very hard to see how that would be possible. Suddenly, flashes of… something… started sifting their way through his memories. He could see himself with his arms and legs thrashing. A white wall. The floor. His head moving out of control. Doctors trying to hold him down…

Sebastian’s voice continued in the background. “You tested negative for phencyclidine, underwent extensive hypnosis, and received amytal sodium injections.”

Kurt stared down at his wrists. They were reddish and sore. He looked back at Sebastian. He didn’t need to ask.

“You were tied down for a day and a half so you wouldn’t hurt yourself and then you— I don’t know how to put this lightly— you were catatonic. This is the first time I’ve heard you speak since you were admitted.”

They continued to stare silently at each other until Sebastian kept going. “You’re the most logical person I know; you set the bar where it sits so highly now. You remember events and phrases more accurately than anyone around and have an unconfirmed photographic memory… Why am I telling you this?”

“You’re establishing my personality,” Kurt answered swiftly, “You think I’m fairly intellectual and don’t consider me impulsive or emotional…”

“And would you consider that a fair assessment?”

“Yes,” Kurt said slowly, “But why do I have the feeling that you’re about to reveal a traumatic experience that has rendered my psychological profile completely useless?”

“Because,” Sebastian answered calmly, “That feeling would be correct.”

“You think I’m in denial. That I’m only saying this to cover some unbearable emotion I’m hiding. Why?”

“Don’t try and analyze yourself. Just try to remember Friday night.” Sebastian stopped, pausing to wait patiently for Kurt. On his part, Kurt was a wreck. He was not used to being on the other side of the therapist’s table.

“I remember Friday night,” he said slowly, “I was driving home. It was raining and there… there was an accident. There was a boy… I took him to hospital, right?”

“There was definitely an accident,” Sebastian confirmed, “You were detoured by Sheriff Wesley. But there’s no report of any boy.”

“No, Wes was back on Main Road with the fallen pole. I saw the boy after that. He was hurt.”

“Let’s backtrack a little. You were driving home. You were detoured by the police. Forget the boy for just a second. What else do you remember?”

Kurt shook his head, “I don’t know… Sebastian, what aren’t you telling me?"

Sebastian glanced down at his watch. All he wanted to do was reach out and hug the man he hadn’t seen in almost a week but he really couldn’t afford to get too personal with Kurt. No matter how much of a big shot he was, if Schuester made the call, he’d never see Kurt again while he was in here.

“Who’s Peter Eristavi?” Sebastian asked flatly.

Kurt shrugged. “No freaking idea.”

The look Sebastian gave Kurt when he answered annoyed him to no end. “Really Sebastian? I can’t believe you right now! I’m sorry that I can’t help you further because amongst trying to figure out how the hell I got myself into this predicament in the first place, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Blaine and I aren’t married. Oh yeah and that the affair I seemed to be involved with was with you of all people! How desperate was I?”

“Kurt!” Sebastian warned, the hurt evident in his voice. “Just don’t. Before you say something you regret.”

Kurt smirked, feeling an almost-win. “Are you threatening me, Sebastian?”

“No, I’m not. I’m just saying you’ll regret it because before this all happened, you told me that you loved me.”

A deafening silence pierced the room. More flashbacks sifted through Kurt’s memory. Being shoved against the wall in pleasure. Lips on lips. Lips on his collarbone. His fingers running through soft brown hair, touching, tasting, feeling, skin on chest… Sebastian’s voice whispering into his ear that he, Kurt, was beautiful…

Kurt looked at Sebastian timidly. It was so hard to read his face and Kurt had sworn to himself that he’d never psychoanalyze anyone close to him but he could tell that Sebastian was hurting. And that he’d screwed up royally.

“Look Sebastian, I’m sor—“

“Who’s Peter Eristavi?” Sebastian repeated, interrupting Kurt.

“What?”

“Peter. Eristavi.” Sebastian repeated the name again, even more slowly. “Who is he?”

Kurt shrugged, “I don’t know. I have absolutely no idea.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes!” Kurt insisted. “What does he have to do with anything anyway?”

“Damn it Kurt! I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU!”

“Well, I’m telling you the truth Sebastian!! I have never heard of this man before in my life!”

Sebastian didn’t say anything at first. He studied Kurt as if trying to see if he had an angle or what his agenda was; Kurt had recognized the look as the one he often gave his patients. But one thing was obvious – Sebastian didn’t believe him. And Kurt was exasperated. He didn’t know how else to convince him.

Sebastian took out a piece of paper from within his briefcase and showed it to Kurt.

“Do you recognize this document?” he asked, his voiced cracked ever so slightly as he said it.

Kurt tiredly looked over at the paper. He didn’t have to read the whole thing. He recognized his and Blaine’s names and signatures and saw the Certificate of Marriage license title at the top. He slowly nodded.

“Dr. Hummel,” Sebastian said slowly, “Who officiated your wedding?”

Kurt’s answer was instantaneous, “I… I-I don’t remember.”

Sebastian remained silent and pushed the document further towards Kurt. With increased dread, Kurt peered over at the paper.

He flung his hand to his mouth and shook his head over and over again, “No… No! That’s not right… that’s not right…”

Peter Eristavi.

“Right so fine!” Kurt finally said openly, realizing what he’d done by saying he didn’t know the man. “But I promise I’m not trying to incriminate myself! It’s been Hell since I woke up and I’m sorry that I made things harder for you by not remembering the name of the man who officiated my wedding! Now tell me – what the hell does it have to do with anything?”

Sebastian let out a long deep sigh. His expression again was unreadable. “Peter Eristavi died last night. You killed him.”
---