Aug. 27, 2012, 5:27 a.m.
A Fresh Start
A Fresh Start: Chapter 3
E - Words: 1,531 - Last Updated: Aug 27, 2012 Story: Complete - Chapters: 36/36 - Created: Aug 25, 2012 - Updated: Aug 27, 2012 1,823 0 1 1 0
Kurt entered the room with his usual confidence and smile, but almost tripped over his own feet when he took in the sight before him. (Holy hell, this man is gorgeous!) Thankfully the other man was too busy fussing over his little girl to notice as the doctor quickly steadied himself and regained his composure.
"Well hello there, Adelaide! I hear you're not feeling very well. I'm Dr. Hummel. We're gonna make you feel better really soon, ok?" Kurt did his best to hide the flustered high school boy thoughts about the man standing next to him, as he focused instead on his small patient.
"Addy," the small girl croaked as she gave Kurt a weak smile.
"I'm sorry?" Kurt cocked his head in confusion thinking he had misunderstood.
"We call her Addy," Blaine filled in. "I save Adelaide for when she's in big trouble." The little girl giggled quietly at her father's teasing.
Kurt smiled at the interaction. "Well then, Addy it is. Can I look at your ears and your throat, Addy?"
The little girl nodded politely and complied with no complaint. Barely even a whimper when Lisa came in to get the throat culture. Kurt was quite impressed actually. He had adult patients that whined more.
After handing Addy a sucker as a reward for being so good he turned to Blaine. "Well, there is definitely an infection in the right ear and quite a bit of fluid in the left. We'll see in a moment what the strep test has to say but I'd be shocked if we weren't dealing with that too. Let's get her started on..."
"Omnicef," Blaine interjected with the brand of antibiotic. "She's built up a resistance to Amoxicillin and it just doesn't cut it anymore. We will need a referral to a local ENT too I'm guessing." Blaine sighed in frustration as he ran his fingers through his tangled curls.
Kurt raised an eyebrow and held out his prescription pad and pen as an offering. "Would you like to take over," he asked teasingly.
Blaine stopped short and looked the doctor fully in the eye for the first time, cheeks blushing in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to sound so presumptuous. It's just that we've been through this before and I'm also a nurse so I'm familiar." He shrugged apologetically, hoping he hadn't completely offended the man before him. Blaine had worked with more than one doctor in the past whose arrogance caused them to completely disdain any nurse or patient who voiced their own opinion on diagnosis and treatment options. Never mind Blaine was currently both and would most likely have to work with this man in the future.
Apparently that was not the case with this doctor, however. Kurt only shot him a winning smile. "Please don't be sorry. I was only joking. I should know better than to try and tease a sleep deprived parent. Goodness knows I've been there," he stated kindly. "Omnicef it is. Aaaand here is your referral to Lima Memorial's pediatric ENT. You're absolutely right. With her history both tubes and a tonsillectomy are a possibility." Kurt handed over the two slips of paper before leaning back onto the counter with arms crossed over his chest.
"So, a nurse. Not looking for a job are you? Over the last month we've lost three different nurses to maternity leave. We're pretty short handed right now." Kurt desperately hoped that he was sounding merely friendly and not flirty. Put aside the fact that it would be completely unprofessional, this guy had to be straight and would probably not welcome another guy's advances. Kurt had come to terms with the fact the he was most likely the only gay single dad in all of Ohio.
"Uh, I actually start work here tomorrow. Scratch that," Blaine groaned as he glanced at his watch, "in four hours."
"Really," Kurt exclaimed. "Well, let me be the first to welcome you aboard." Kurt offered his hand which the shorter man shook warmly. "My name is Kurt. I look forward to working with your obvious talent."
(What the frick! Cool your jets! He's gonna sue you for sexual harassment!) Kurt attempted to follow the sentence with a nonchalant expression in order to seem less creepy, but it ended up as a sort of grimace. Kurt was really bad at nonchalance.
Blaine, however, seemed flattered rather than offended by the remark. As he scooped his little girl up into his arms, noticing that she was starting to drift off, he turned toward the doctor with a grateful smile. "I'm Blaine... and thank you! I'm glad to come in knowing at least one person!"
Lisa chose that moment to knock lightly on the door before poking her head in and saying, "The strep test was a strong positive, Dr. Hummel."
Kurt thanked her as she stepped back out and turned back to Blaine as he pushed himself off of the counter. "You can get that prescription filled at the hospital pharmacy downstairs. At this time of night you shouldn't have any wait. Get home and get some sleep before you need to be back here," he offered with a sympathetic look.
"You start feeling better, Addy." Kurt patted the small girl on the arm as she nodded sleepily before snuggling down into her father's shoulder.
Blaine also nodded his thanks and toed open the door as his arms were quite full. He stopped and turned when Kurt spoke to him once again. "Um, I apologize if this is weird and none of my business, but how are you going to handle work tomorrow with your daughter being sick? I'm sure daycare is out of the question since she will be contagious for the next 24 hours and I couldn't help but notice that you are the only parent listed on her medical forms..." Kurt trailed off lamely and bit his lip. Well, if he didn't appear creepy before he certainly did now. (Geez, know a guy for 20 minutes and then admit to committing his personal information to memory. Stalker much?)
Blaine stared for a moment with mouth agape and Kurt's nerves began to get the better of him, convinced he had totally weirded him out. The doctor was greatly relieved to hear the next words out of the curly haired man's mouth. "Oh, wow! Thanks. That didn't even occur to me yet. I'm so exhausted what with the move and sick child. And yeah, it's just me, " Blaine finished quietly, almost as if he was reminding himself of the fact. He let out a deep breath of frustration trying to think of his options.
"Well, it just so happens that you now know someone with some pull here at Lima Memorial," Kurt quipped with a wink. Momentary panic set in when he realized that he'd done it again without even thinking. (Lord, man! Keep it in your pants!) Clearing his throat nervously he continued in what he hoped was a much more professional tone, "Go get her meds. Go home and both of you get some much needed sleep. You won't be any good to us here if you get sick too. I'll let the nurse manager know what's going on and make sure your shift for tomorrow is covered. Do you work the next day?"
Blaine stared at the brown haired man in slight shock. He hadn't expected this type of kindness. No doctor at his old hospital in Columbus had ever been this caring. He shook his head slowly unable to find the words.
"Great. Your daughter should be well enough by then to be in someone else's care. Just call my office if that's not the case though. Both so I can see her again if she's not getting well and so I can take care of your schedule for you if necessary." Kurt slid his business card containing the direct line to his office phone along with his cell written on back into the nurses' already full hands.
After accepting the card Blaine finally found his voice again, "I, wow, that is so nice of you! You really don't have to go to all of this trouble." He was looking at Kurt oddly by now and the doctor was certain that the unintentional flirting that seemed to be oozing out of him tonight had been recognized.
"Hey, we ER staff have to stick together right?" Kurt mentally kicked himself one final time before quickly ducking out of the room with a "Be seeing you!" He barely acknowledged Blaine's response of, "Absolutely! Thanks again!" He headed straight to the break room where he promptly leaned back against the wall and slowly banged his head multiple times. O.k., where was the mature professional that normally claimed his body and what had the emotionally immature high school boy that was in his place done with him? Sure, the guy seemed really great, was obviously a wonderful father and topped it off with being adorably handsome with the crazy curls, but that didn't give Kurt the right to ogle and flirt every chance he got. Not only did they have to work together, the chances of him actually being gay anyway were slim to nil. He would just ignore the attraction. Yup, no problem.
He was screwed.
Comments
loving it so far! the fan fiction that i just finished let me heart broken and i wasnt sure if i should read another soon but im glad i am. im sure there will be ups and downs in here but im hoping it ends well. looking forward to finding out!!