Blaine gripped Kurt's hand tighter and trailed his other hand up to rest against Kurt's upper arm. "Shh Kurt," he soothed unconsciously. He looked up to see Burt considering him with an unreadable expression on his face. Blaine cleared his throat and worked up the courage to ask Burt about the surgeon's update, still feeling uneasy that there was something that they weren't telling him.

"Did he..." he started uncomfortably. "What did the doctor say? Did the surgery go well?" Blaine asked nervously.

He watched as Burt and Carole exchanged looks before Burt turned back to address him. Burt sighed heavily before turning back to Blaine. Burt sunk into the chair at the head of Kurt's bed, looking down at Kurt's hand still wrapped protectively in both of his before responding. "He...he's going to be fine, Blaine," Burt answered evasively.

Blaine felt his stomach drop despite Burt's reassurances. He was more sure than ever that there was something else that he wasn't being told. He opened his mouth to say more, but the look of utter exhaustion in Burt's eyes stopped him cold. He'd promised Kurt that he would look out for his dad, that he would make sure that Kurt's illness didn't start to effect Burt's health. Tomorrow, he silently vowed. Tomorrow he'd be braver. Tomorrow he'd find out the truth. But for now, Kurt was sleeping comfortably, his hand locked in Blaine's. For now, that was enough.

Sun streamed through the narrow window of Kurt's hospital room. Blaine was sacked out in a vinyl hospital chair with his head resting against the narrow bed rail that surrounded Kurt's bed. Blaine continued to tightly clutch Kurt's hand, his posture somehow protective of Kurt even in sleep. Carole had left the hospital a few hours ago, deciding to make a quick trip home to gather some of Kurt's things and see that Finn made it off to school on time despite his stepbrother's illness. Burt sat on a couch on the other side of Kurt's bed unable to sleep, his body's circadian rhythms having defaulted to rising just as the sun was coming up despite the fact that he'd gotten precious little sleep the night before. Burt idly flipped through a newspaper, more to occupy his hands than out of any real desire to read about the various tragedies and hardships that had befallen the community overnight. He couldn't help but think that his family had experienced enough hardships and tragedies for a lifetime already.

Burt sighed heavily as his gaze landed on his son's prostrate form. Kurt was sleeping easily for once, a minor miracle after the night he'd had. And through it all, Blaine had refused to leave Kurt's side. This wasn't surprising given that Burt had sensed that Blaine was good for Kurt from the moment that he'd met him. Kurt seemed so relieved to have a friend and mentor, and like Kurt, Burt had been relieved to hear that Blaine was "100% gay."Burt saw how hard it was for Kurt to be the only "out" gay kid at school and he hated that his son was constantly forced to go it alone. But try as he might, Burt had no idea what it was like to for Kurt to be gay, so Burt had been incredibly relieved when Kurt found someone who understood him in a way that none of his McKinley High friends could.

Burt could appreciate Kurt's friendship with Blaine, but their friendship had quickly turned into something else and that...well, that had taken more getting used to. It didn't help that Burt had first been introduced to the idea of Kurt and Blaine together by seeing a very hung over Blaine sleeping in Kurt's bed. But over time, Burt had come to like Blaine quite a bit. Blaine balanced out some of Kurt's more dramatic and flamboyant tendencies and was as equally at home discussing Ohio State football as he was at fawning over musicals or the newest issue of Vogue with Kurt. Blaine was usually confident and self-assured in ways that Kurt wasn't and Burt had been thrilled to see Kurt's own confidence grow over time as Blaine constantly built Kurt up. Although Burt would never admit it, he'd nearly teared up when watching Kurt perform a duet with Blaine at Sectionals. Kurt had seemed so content and so assured in a way that Burt had never seen him be before. That night, Kurt had been more radiant than he'd ever been allowed to be at McKinley. And as Burt had watched the other Dalton boys hug and high five Kurt after the performance, he'd felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Because against all odds, Kurt had found a home, a place where he was loved and accepted for exactly who he was.

Across the room, Blaine began to stir, jerking up unexpectedly, his eyes immediately flying to Kurt who continued to sleep peacefully.

"He's fine, Blaine. Out like a light," Burt spoke.

Blaine's gaze shifted to where Burt sat on the couch. He blushed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, wondering how long he'd been out. He'd planned to stay awake in case Kurt needed him, but must have crashed at some point. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine watched as Kurt's dad dropped his newspaper to the floor and ran a hand over his face. Burt looked exhausted, Blaine couldn't help but notice, making him wonder if Burt had slept at all. His stomach clenched suddenly as he remembered the conversation that he'd had with Kurt's dad the night before. When Blaine had asked about the conversation that Burt and Carole had with the doctor, he'd sensed that there was something that they weren't telling him, about Kurt's condition. Watching Kurt rest comfortably, it hardly seemed possible that anything was wrong, but Blaine still felt uneasy somehow. He bit his lip as he tried to come up with a good way to start the conversation, glancing up to see Burt considering him carefully.

Before Blaine could say a word, the door to Kurt's room slid open and an older nurse in peach scrubs bustled into the room trailing a portable monitor behind her.

"Good morning," the kindly older nurse said with a smile. "My name's Janet and I'm going to be taking care of Kurt today. I just need to take a quick set of vitals and then we'll need to check on his incision and change his bandages." As she spoke, she approached Kurt's bed and connected a small pulse ox monitor to his finger. Kurt barely stirred as she wrapped the blood pressure monitor around his left arm and began to inflate it, snoring slightly as he turned his head towards Blaine before settling again.

Blaine gave her a tight smile but continued to watch Kurt carefully, dreading the thought of waking him up after the night he'd had. It had been well after 4 am before Kurt had been moved from the recovery room into his private room and he'd almost immediately christened his new room by throwing up all over the side of the bed and Blaine. By the time he'd been cleaned up and settled back into bed again, it was after 4:30 and Kurt was beyond exhausted. Glancing at his watch, Blaine confirmed that it as just after 8 am now which meant that Kurt had only had a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Blaine took a deep breath and tried to quell his irrational anger at nurse Janet. He was just tired. And worried. It had been a long night for everyone.

He looked up to see Burt coming around the side of the bed, clearing his throat as he looked to the nurse expectantly. "You said you were going to change his bandages?" Burt asked, his voice slightly higher than usual as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Yes sir, that's right. It will probably take about 20 minutes. Why don't you two head down to the cafeteria and grab some breakfast while I take care of it?" The nurse continued to attach and detach various monitors efficiently, jotting down the numbers from the display as she worked.

Blaine felt his stomach flip again at the thought of leaving Kurt, even for a few minutes. What if Kurt woke up and was scared or in pain? Blaine wasn't particularly squeamish so he didn't see what the big deal was about him needing to leave the room while Kurt's bandages were changed. He was sure he'd seen much worse when he stayed with his grandmother after her hip replacement surgery. Not to mention the fact that Kurt had thrown up on him not 4 hours ago. There are some experiences that tend to bring you closer to another person, and that was definitely one of them.

"Alright Blaine, why don't we give Janet some room to work? Come on, I'll buy you some coffee," Burt said brusquely as he made his way towards the door, gesturing for Blaine to follow.

Blaine looked down to his hand which was still intertwined with Kurt's and felt an irrational pang of panic. Kurt was still sleeping, albeit more restlessly than he had been earlier but still...

"Blaine, he'll be fine. Besides, we should talk..." Burt said ominously.

"Shit," Blaine thought to himself. He was more convinced than ever that there was something wrong with Kurt besides the obvious. As much as Blaine hated to leave Kurt, he needed to know what was going on his boyfriend's health. And so Blaine reluctantly squeezed Kurt's hand before releasing it, stretching as he climbed to his feet on shaky legs that were numb from a night of sleeping awkwardly. He'd just turned from the bed and stumbled towards the door when he heard a moan from Kurt.

Blaine was back by Kurt's side in an instant. "Kurt?" he called quietly. "You okay?"

Kurt let out a slightly louder groan, his eyes still closed as he reached blindly for Blaine. "Mmhmm, hurts," he muttered as he shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "Blaine?" he called uncertainly, his movements growing slightly more frantic as he failed to connect with Blaine.

"I'm here, Kurt," Blaine soothed, taking his hand again. "It's okay."

Burt walked back to Kurt's bed, reaching down to pat Kurt's shoulder. "Hey buddy, how you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Mmmhff awful," he groaned. "So tired..."

"I'll bet," Burt answered. "Listen Kurt, it's early. You should try to go back to sleep if you can, okay? The nurse just needs to change your bandages really quickly."

"Yuck...gross," Kurt muttered, his eyes closing slightly as he yawned. "Where were you going, dad? Do you...have to go to work?"

"Nope buddy, I'm staying here. Blaine and I are just going to go get some coffee while the nurse fixes your bandages. We'll be right outside, okay Kurt?"

Kurt immediately tightened his grip on Blaine's hand. "Can't Blaine stay? I don't want to...I'm sc- I just need... Blaine please?" Kurt pried his eyes open with considerable effort, looking up to Blaine with a pleading expression, his eyes heavy with sleep and pain.

As always, Blaine was helpless to resist Kurt. His pleading seemed to reach directly into Blaine's heart, making him ache with a desire to make sure Kurt was okay. He reached for Kurt's cheek, dizzy with the need to reassure Kurt. "Of course, honey... I can stay."

As Blaine spoke, he remembered the other people in the room and turned uncertainly to Janet. "That's okay, right? I can...I'll stay out of the way."

The nurse sighed heavily before nodding. "It's okay with me if it's okay with Kurt. You'll need to wash your hands and put on a gown though. We need to keep everything sterile."

Blaine nodded eagerly, happy to do anything that would allow him to stay with Kurt. He was slightly confused by the need for special gowns, but assumed that the hospital staff was just being careful, something Blaine had no qualms with. Whatever it took to make sure Kurt was okay was fine by him.

Burt cleared his throat. "Blaine, can I talk to you for a second? Kurt, he'll be right back, okay? I just need him to help me with something for a second. We'll be right back."

Blaine looked up in surprise at the sudden request. Burt's face was stony and unreadable, immediately triggering Blaine's earlier anxiety.

Burt turned to the nurse who was now taking Kurt's temperature. "Janet, if you wouldn't mind, I just need to talk to Blaine for one minute before you get started with the other stuff..."

"Of course," Janet replied understandingly, giving Blaine a sympathetic look that did little to assuage his fears. "I'm just going to get all the supplies prepped and ready to go while you two talk."

Blaine swallowed nervously, turning back to Kurt and trying to seem casual. He didn't know what was going on, but clearly there was something he needed to be told. "Hey Kurt, I'll be back in one minute, okay? Then, I'm going to be with you the whole time, honey. Just try to relax, alright? See you in a second." Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand and stood for a second time, wordlessly following Burt out of Kurt's room, his heart hammering in his chest with every step.

Burt led Blaine into the hall, carefully closing the door behind them before looking up to make eye contact with Blaine. Blaine shoved his hands into his pockets nervously, biting his lower lip as he mind raced through a series of increasingly horrible possibilities for what was wrong with Kurt. Did Kurt have some awful and/or deadly infection? What if they'd found a tumor? Could Kurt have cancer? What if his organs were failing? Was Kurt going to die? Blaine shook his head slightly in an attempt to stop his spiraling thoughts. Instead, he nervously looked to Kurt's dad and with a deep breath, he forced himself to ask the one question he's been too frightened to ask the night before. "Mr. Hummel, is Kurt going to be okay? Is there something you're not telling me or..?"

"Why don't we sit?" Burt directed Blaine, leading him to a row of faded vinyl chairs next to the coffee maker. Once they were both sitting, Burt looked to Blaine, his face softening slightly as he took in Blaine's obvious anxiety. "Look Blaine, I meant what I said last night, okay? Kurt is going to be just fine. Really. But...there were some...complications with the surgery."

"What...what kind of complications?" Blaine asked hurriedly, still irrationally fearing the worst.

"Well, you already knew that his appendix ruptured, right?" Burt asked gently. Blaine nodded in response, silently urging him to continue.

"Apparently when that happens, it increases the risk of infection quite a bit because an abscess starts to form inside. When the surgeon opened Kurt up, he saw that there was a lot of infection, so he had to make an open incision instead." Burt saw a look of confusion cross Blaine's face and rushed to explain. "It means that they had to make one large incision instead of a few small holes for a laparoscopic approach." Burt traced a long line across his abdomen in demonstration of the open incision, helping Blaine visualize what he was saying.

"Anyways, the surgeon tried to clean everything out as best he could after he removed the appendix but he's concerned about Kurt getting an infection called peritonitis. One of the ways that they try to lower the risk of that is by letting the incision heal from the inside out basically. So Kurt's got a drain in his stomach and the incision is packed with gauze but it isn't sewn up all the way. I...I haven't' seen Kurt's incision yet, but Carole showed me some pictures online and...it's pretty gruesome looking." Burt sighed heavily as thought back to the discussion he'd had with Carole and the surgeon the night before.

"But like I said before, Kurt's going to be fine. It's just going to take awhile longer for him to heal and he'll be in the hospital for a week or so and then someone will probably have to come to the house for a few weeks after that to check on his incision. It's just that...well, hell, you know how Kurt is, Blaine. He gets squeamish if I scrape my arm while I'm working in the garage and don't put a band-aid on it right away. I don't know how he's going to do with having a big open wound and drain in for weeks at a time And not that it should matter, but he's going to have a pretty big scar when all's said and done and I could see him getting awfully worked up over that too. I think it's going to take a little adjustment for him and us too probably, but the doctors have assured me that they're going to watch him closely to make sure he doesn't get an infection and that he'll be fine."

Burt finished speaking and looked up, taking in Blaine's stricken expression. Blaine's mind was reeling as he struggled to make sense of what Kurt's dad was telling him. He was so relieved to hear that despite the complications, Kurt wasn't suffering from some horrible disease or fatal cancer. But Blaine knew Kurt better than anyone which meant he knew with a sickening certainty how upset Kurt would be when he was confronted with the evidence of this complication.

"Sorry kid, I know that's probably a lot of information to take in at once. I was a little overwhelmed too at first and Carole had to calm me down. But I just didn't want you to be taken off guard by the whole thing. I have a feeling it's going to be tough to see at first and I didn't think it was fair to you to not know what you were getting yourself into."

Blaine nodded gratefully. "I...I appreciate that, Mr. Hummel. I think it'll be easier now that I'm...prepared for what's going on." Blaine took another deep breath, trying to steel himself mentally and physically to once again be the strong, brave boyfriend that Kurt needed at the moment despite feeling terrified.

Burt sensed Blaine's discomfort and spoke again. "Look Blaine, I just talked to Carole and she's about 5 minutes away from the hospital. She's used to this stuff being a nurse and all. Why don't we just let her stay with Kurt while the nurse checks his incision and changes his bandages? I know that you don't want him to be alone for that, but you don't have to be the one in the room."

Blaine shook his head vehemently. "No, no...I want to be there for Kurt. It...it's going to be tough, but I can handle it. Really, I'll be fine. I need to do this for Kurt."

"Are you sure, Blaine? Look, I'm not a particularly squeamish person, but even I had trouble looking at the pictures...and those were online and not in person. You've done an amazing job of taking care of Kurt so far, Blaine, but you don't have to do it all by yourself, you know?"

Blaine gave Mr. Hummel a tight smile, his resolve to see Kurt through this latest challenge growing with each passing second. "I'm sure... I'm not squeamish. If I could handle Kurt throwing up on me last night, I think I can deal with this. I'll be fine."

Burt gave him an appraising look before nodding his assent. He had to admit that while he'd always liked Blaine, the experience of the last 12 hours had led him to truly respect Blaine as well. He gave Blaine a slightly awkward pat on the shoulder. "Alright Blaine, if you're sure. I'll be right out here if you or Kurt need me. Carole should be getting here soon too, so just let us know and she can take over at any time, okay?"

Blaine nodded as he climbed to his feet. "Okay, I should get back in there, I guess," he spoke tentatively. With a final glance at Mr. Hummel, Blaine disappeared around the corner and back into Kurt's room.

"Hey," Blaine spoke softly as he walked towards Kurt. Kurt's eyes were closed, but as Blaine got closer to the bed, he could see the tears shining on Kurt's cheeks. Shit.

"Kurt? Sweetheart?" Blaine called a bit louder, his stomach twisting with concern.

"Blaine?" Kurt gasped.

"Yeah, hey... I'm here, Kurt," Blaine soothed as he brushed a tear from Kurt's warm cheek. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"Hurts," Kurt spoke simply. "Headache too."

Janet turned around to face Blaine as she tied the protective gown closed at the neck. "He's running a bit of a fever. I just gave him some medicine for pain and fever though, so it should kick in soon."

"Okay," Blaine responded simply, fretting over Kurt's fever as the last thing they needed was yet another complication to deal with. He continued to stroke Kurt's cheek and hair, trying to soothe him in any way that he could.

"I was just about to get started," Janet spoke, addressing Blaine. "You'll need to put this gown on and wash your hands really well with the antibacterial hand soap. Use the dispenser over there. I won't make you wear gloves as long as you make sure that you don't contaminate the sterile field.

Blaine quickly complied with her directions before settling back into a chair at the head of Kurt's bed. He leaned forward, resting his forearms against the edge of Kurt's mattress and capturing Kurt's right hand in his and planting a gentle kiss on Kurt's forehead. Kurt slowly opened his eyes, giving Blaine a tired smile in response. Blaine smiled in return as he reached up and began gently carding his fingers through Kurt's hair. Kurt gave a small sigh at the soothing sensation and allowed his eyes to drift shut once again.

Blaine's momentary peace was shattered as he watched the nurse pull up Kurt's hospital gown, exposing the mess of bandages and tubes below. Not unlike a car wreck that you can't pull your eyes away from, Blaine's eyes were drawn to Kurt's side even though he was filled with dread at the thought of seeing the extent of damage.

Janet worked gently and methodically, her movements careful but efficient as she removed the layers of gauze to expose the incision and drain below. Despite her care, Kurt still reacted to the slightest pressure or tug and his moans and gasps of pain grew in volume and intensity over time.

"Shh, it's okay, Kurt," Blaine soothed as Kurt cried out in pain yet again. Kurt winced and forced his eyes open, looking up at Blaine with a combination of confusion, fear, and misery. "B-Blaine," Kurt whimpered. "What...why is it taking...so long? Hurts...bad... When will it...stop?"

Blaine looked to Janet, giving her a questioning look. She gave him a sympathetic look before shaking her head, indicating that she still had more work to do.

Blaine surged forward, pressing his forehead to Kurt's and cupping Kurt's cheek, brushing away his tears with the pad of this thumb. "Soon, Kurt. Not much longer, okay honey? I know it hurts, sweetheart, but you are doing great.

Kurt shook his head in frustration, pressing his face to Blaine's neck to mute another strangled cry. Blaine could feel Kurt's hot tears pooling in the hollow beneath his collarbone. He continued to whisper words of reassurance into Kurt's hair, fighting back his own tears of frustration and exhaustion. Blaine felt Kurt's hand crush into his as Kurt's body spasmed with pain. Without thinking, Blaine glanced back to Kurt's side and was horror struck to see Janet removing bloodied gauze that was packed deep inside of Kurt's wound.

Blaine felt bile rise in his throat at this sight of the nurse literally reaching inside Kurt's side. Kurt cried out in pain increasing Blaine's nausea tenfold. It was too much. No one should have to deal with the things Kurt had been put through in the past twelve hours. It wasn't fair. Blaine was trying so hard to be the calm, supportive boyfriend that he assumed Kurt needed at the moment, but it was taking every ounce of Blaine's willpower to not run screaming from the room. Blaine slowly blew out a shaky breath and tried to focus all of his efforts on not throwing up or passing out by shifting his gaze back to Kurt's face rather than his wounded side.

Blaine wiped the tears from Kurt's cheeks as he reminded himself to breathe in and out. "I know, Kurt. I know it hurts, baby. Just a little longer, okay, and then you can sleep. You're doing so well, Kurt."

Kurt struggled to open his eyes and gazed at Blaine. He was so tired and it hurt so much that simply looking at Blaine seemed to take enormous effort. Between the headache, dizziness, and pain in his side, it was hard to think straight, but to Kurt, it felt as if the nurse had been poking and prodding him for hours. He didn't understand how changing a bandage had turned into this never-ending torture. He looked to Blaine for some explanation or clue about what was happening or when it might end, desperate for any moment of rest or relief.

Something in Blaine's face scared Kurt. It wasn't just his worry and exhaustion that Kurt saw reflected back in Kurt's eyes. It something more. Something new. Blaine's face was chalky white and he looked unsteady. As Kurt watched, Blaine's eyes flickered from Kurt's face towards the nurse before Blaine's body stiffened and he swallowed hard, forcing his eyes back to Kurt's face. What the hell?

Kurt watched Blaine's face carefully for further clues. Blaine continued to murmur words of reassurance as he stroked Kurt's face and hair, but Kurt ignored his words, instead watching intently for the same flicker he'd seen in Blaine's expression moments earlier. As Kurt waited, a particularly strong stab of pain shot through his side, causing his body to spasm as he cried out involuntarily.

As Kurt tensed against the wave of pain, he saw the same flicker in Blaine's face. This time, he was prepared and followed Blaine's gaze down. And what Kurt saw next would be forever branded in his mind. His gaze landed on his own side which was splayed open, partially filled with saturated gauze with a large tube disappearing into the gaping wound. Kurt felt his body shake involuntarily as the sight before him fully registered and then his vision began to fade as he was mercifully delivered into blackness.