Chapter 10

April 14, 2013

Blaine woke up on a Saturday, and Kurt was not there.

Burt, however, was there.

He'd called Kurt in the middle of the night, and they shared tearful happiness over the phone. Burt told him what he knew: that the doctors weren't sure if Blaine would fully recover, but his waking up was a very good sign. Blaine hadn't been able to speak, but he could point to things, and he smiled at the flowers that Kurt had left. There was no sign that Blaine recognized anyone but Cooper so far, a residual effect from the surgery and medication that the doctors said would soon resolve itself. The only people he'd seen were Cooper, his parents, and Burt; and at the least, he let them hug him and talk to him, even if he wasn't sure who they were.

Kurt was flinging his things into a bag when Rachel burst through the front door, heaving six grocery bags along with her. Her face fell when she saw Kurt's suitcase open, and her arms suddenly sagged under the weight of the groceries, as if they would fall any second.

"Is he—"

"He's awake."

She exhaled and clutched her chest, wrinkling her cardigan. "Thank God, Kurt, I thought—" she left the groceries on the floor and dropped to the ground to help Kurt pack. "He's awake!"

"Yes."

They looked at each other for a second, and Kurt's eyes crinkled from his smile, an expression that Rachel had so missed since she opened the door over two weeks ago on a similar scene. Then, he had looked as though the world had ended and he was going to let it take him down with it.

"He's awake," she laughed, and they hugged giddily. Then she pulled away and looked at Kurt sternly. "When did you find out about this, and why didn't you inform me right away? Were you about to leave without telling me? Kurt Elizabeth Hummel—"

Kurt stopped her before she could get too carried away. "Dad called me last night to tell me. I didn't tell you because you were asleep--" Rachel glared at him then, as if to say "that was worth waking me up for, you jerk"—" and because there was nothing we could do until today, anyway. It's not like we could have hopped a flight to Ohio on the spot."

Kurt knew this because he'd tried. The second he got off the phone with his dad, he called every airport within driving distance and asked when the closest flight to Ohio was.

"Well, we could have talked about it—"

"Well, we're talking about it now! What does it matter when I tell you? Rachel, he's alive. He's awake, and I'm..." he finished packing and closed his suitcase tightly, stumbling over his words, unsure of what he wanted to say. "I'm...going to see him," he finished lamely.

Rachel watched him carefully. Kurt's expression was a mix of ecstatic and unsure. "What will you say?" she asked.

Kurt shook his head. "I don't know. But right now I don't really care. I just have to see him."

"I know." Rachel grabbed his suitcase and bounced up on her feet. Kurt followed her to the door. "I'll come down as soon as I can...after my Spring Awakening audition, maybe...wait, I've got critique that week, too." She strained with the suitcase and finally got it out the door. "What did you pack in here, your entire wardrobe?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "No..."he smiled. "Just half of it."

"Only because the rest of it wouldn't fit in a suitcase."

She smiled back and dropped the suitcase to wrap her arms around his neck. "It's so good to see you happy again, Kurt." She pulled away and stared at him for a minute, as if she was preserving this moment. "I'll come to Ohio right after my critique. Tell Blaine I love him, okay?"

"Okay."

Kurt was on his way.