Blaine found his mind wandering often as he did all his homework without any issues. He was blessed with intelligence. So much, he had been hoping to take some courses over the summer so he would be able to skip a grade the following year, being able to graduate the same time as Kurt and only a year behind the people his own age. But this whole thing screwed that up.

His mind drifted to the following Thursday. What was going to happen? He'd already been through chemo before, so he knew what to expect. But he didn't know if he was ready to go through it all again. Would he be able to continue on the Warblers or the soccer, lacrosse, rugby and fencing teams at Dalton? Would he be too ill to go on dates with his gorgeous boyfriend? Would he have to drop out of Dalton part way through chemo because he couldn't keep up with the heavy curriculum? What if he didn't survive? Would the treatment take even after his body had been given it two times on separate occasions? Blaine didn't even notice that he was shaking and quietly sobbing until Kurt pulled him into his arms and began cooing in his ear, rubbing soothing circles in his back.

"Sh, calm down, okay, B?" Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine's forehead as he swayed back and forth with his boyfriend in his arms. Blaine let out a loud sob and wrapped his trembling arms around Kurt's stomach, squeezing him as his nose nuzzled into Kurt's neck. Kurt shivered slightly at the feeling of Blaine's wet nose on his skin before pushing the feeling aside. "I'm here, everything's gonna be alright. I promise." Kurt said, going to play with Blaine's gelled hair. "How about we go see if Carole needs help with dinner, huh? That will help get your mind off everything, right?" Blaine nodded, kissing Kurt's neck before pulling away.

The older boy wiped his wet, bloodshot eyes on his shirt sleeve before standing. Kurt looked at his boyfriend's face. He had tear tracks down his tear stained cheeks and his hazel eyes were rimmed with red, his pupils extremely dilated. His eyes shone with unshed tears. Kurt stood from the floor and went over to shut off his computer before grabbing Blaine's hand and leading him downstairs.

"Hey Carole, do you need any help?" Kurt asked the woman, standing on the side of the kitchen watching her run around the kitchen to make their dinner. Carole sighed, looking up for a second before looking back at what she was doing.

"That would be great, Kurt. But I don't want to keep you and Blaine from your studies." She told him, breaking off pieces of dough before rolling them and placing them on a cookie sheet.

"We're taking a break." Kurt informed him, rubbing circles into Blaine's hand with his thumb. "Blaine got a bit overwhelmed." Carole looked up at the boys, frowning. It was obvious that she knew Blaine and that he normally zoomed through his school work, never batting an eye at it. Sometimes even complaining that it was too easy. The work was more a formality with Blaine, everyone knew that, even the faculty at Dalton. He was never overwhelmed by it. If anything, he would be overwhelmed by thoughts that would enter his mind while doing said school work. Carole noticed Blaine's puffy eyes and immediately stopped making the rolls and walked over to him.

"Honey, are you okay?" She asked him, deeply concerned. In the last couple of months since she met this boy, he had become like a third son to her. And when he and Kurt began dating not too long ago, she had embraced him with open arms. "You can tell me what's wrong." She said, pushing a curl from his forehead that had escaped the gel. Blaine sniffled, looking at the ground, moving away of her touch. Carole was shocked to say the least. Normally Blaine would smile at her affections, embrace it even.

"I don't think he wants to talk about it right now." Kurt informed his step-mother, speaking for Blaine "Can we help you?" He asked again. She nodded, still looking at Blaine.

"Of course you can, boys." She said, trying to smile to make Blaine more comfortable. "I'm going to finish up with the rolls and you two can get everything ready for the turkey skillet. The recipe is on the cork board." Kurt nodded.

"How about you get the recipe, Blaine, okay? We can get everything ready together." Blaine nodded, walking over to the board that was behind the fridge. He took the white sheet of paper that said 'MOROCCAN TURKEY SKILLET' on it and walked over to where Kurt was standing by the island. "So what do we need?" Kurt asked him. Blaine sighed, glancing over the ingredients.

Blaine read out the ingredients before he scratched his head. "Can we use apricots instead of raisins? I'm allergic." He asked Carole. The woman smiled at the boy and nodded.

"Of course we can, sweetie. We wouldn't want to get you sick." She said, tuning back to where he was preparing the rolls. Blaine nodded, biting his lip as him and Kurt focused on making the meal. After a few minutes, Blaine forgot that he was even upset. He and Kurt always had fun while cooking together, even before the two began dating. Kurt would force him to come over to his house and they would make dinner together, or lunch on the weekends. They would always make too much and Kurt would make Blaine take the leftovers back with him so that he would have food to eat when he got hungry at Dalton. Carole put the rolls in the oven and watched her step-son and his boyfriend playing around while making the meal. She smiled before slipping out, leaving a note to tell them she went to the corner store to buy some drinks and some dessert.

Kurt watched as Blaine put the last of the ingredients on to the skillet. He couldn't help but imagine where Blaine would be a couple years down the road, in his own home, making dinner for himself after class. Kurt let him watch the skillet while he prepared some green beans to steam and rice and beans to eat with the skillet. Once the food was done, the rolls ready as well, Carole entered the house again with her groceries, Finn in tow, helping her carry the bags to the kitchen. Carole smiled, seeing Blaine and Kurt setting the table with keeping up conversation about how somebody was better at portraying a character than another person. Blaine was arguing for the 'underdog', a guy to succeeded the other in playing said part on Broadway, but had less ticket sales, whereas Kurt liked the other man, who was a 'Broadway legend' and sold out every show he performed in during his run. Carole shook her head with a affectionate smile. If this had been anyone else fighting Blaine's side, Kurt would have had their head. But he was clearly just bantering, giving his boyfriend a teasing smile during the entire encounter.

They all ate dinner together, Burt having called for them to go on without him because he needed to stay at the shop late. Something about a costumer coming in early tomorrow to pick up his car and he needed to finish it. It didn't escape Carole's attention that Blaine, who usually ate as much as Finn, if not more, had only put a spoonful of the skillet on his plate and a couple of beans. She didn't say anything though as he moved the food around on his plate, taking a bite every few minutes. When it was 7, Blaine stood up, his food barely finished.

"I should get going." He told him, with an apologetic smile. "I have to get up early tomorrow for a rugby tournament. But thank you for dinner." He smiled at the group, passing Kurt, brushing his hand on his boyfriend's back. Kurt got the hint and stood from his seat with a small smile to his family.

"I'll be right back." Kurt excused himself, following Blaine up to his room. He quietly shut the door behind him as Blaine began putting his books into his school bag. "What's up?" Kurt asked, leaning against the door. Blaine looked up for a second before sitting on the edge of the bed, sighing.

"Can you... Can you not tell them yet?" Blaine said simply, Kurt knew what he was talking about without him elaborating. "I want to do it later, when I'm not still in shock and know I won't break down if I said the words out loud again." Kurt nodded, sitting beside Blaine, placing a hand on Blaine's lower back.

"You're the strongest person I know, Blaine." He told him, laying his chin on Blaine's shoulder. "Take all the time you need." Blaine sighed, squeezing an arm around Kurt's waist.

"I have to go if I want to get the David's house at a reasonable time." Blaine muttered, obviously not wanting to leave. He turned his head and pecked Kurt on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay? I'll bring you coffee." He told him, his hazel eyes boring into Kurt's ice blue ones. Kurt nodded, smiling at Blaine.

"I'll see you then. Drive safely okay?" Blaine smiled back, one of the few genuine smiles he's had since Friday. Come to think of the it, all of them were because of Kurt.

"Always." He whispered. Kurt and Blaine went down the stairs and to the front door, Kurt waving as Blaine drove down the street. Kurt sighed, shutting the door before returning to the dining room and sitting down. He glanced up at Carole's curious face.

Finn raised an eyebrow, but Kurt didn't say anything. He just continued eating as if Blaine had never been there, and like there had been no interruption in his meal.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Kurt, is something wrong with Blaine?" Carole asked when they were doing the dishes after dinner. Kurt sighed, drying a plate quickly before dropping the cloth on it.

"Trust me Carole, everything is under control with Blaine. Don't worry." Kurt said, trying not to outright lie, but wanting to keep his promise to Blaine. Carole sighed, turning to her step-son.

"Kurt, I know you teenagers think you can conquer everything alone, but that's not always true. He looked really distracted and ill. You boys need to confine in someone. You never know who may be able to help Blaine in whatever he's going through right now." She told him. Kurt bit his lip, he knew that this was something they couldn't face alone, and Blaine knew it too. But they weren't keeping it from people, Blaine just wasn't ready to make it that much more real by telling Kurt's family.

"I promise, Blaine will explain it all when he's ready. He's just going through a lot at the moment." Kurt assured her, he quickly finished drying the last cup before turning to Carole, "I'm gonna go upstairs now. Blaine and I have a Skype date." He told her and jogged away quickly, leaving his step-mother in a confused haze staring after him.