Aug. 12, 2013, 12:34 p.m.
Healing Hearts: A new day, a new life
E - Words: 4,075 - Last Updated: Aug 12, 2013 Story: Closed - Chapters: 35/? - Created: Sep 12, 2011 - Updated: Aug 12, 2013 1,229 0 2 0 0
Damn. Almost time to get up. He turned to lie on his back and smiled as he felt Blaine snuggle up to him, snaking his arm around Kurt's waist.
"Hey…" Kurt whispered into the darkness.
"Good morning…" Blaine answered in a sleepy voice. He tightened his grip around Kurt and yawned. "Damn… I wish we could stay in bed all day."
"Me too, baby… but we've got work to do and kids to heal."
Blaine nodded and pressed a kiss against Kurt's shoulder. "I know."
"How are you feeling?" Kurt asked softly, bringing his hand up to play with Blaine's curls.
"Better…" Blaine let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry for last night. I don't know what came over me."
Kurt frowned. "You don't? Because I do… You'd just been betrayed by your parents and you were pretty much blown away by it. Stop apologizing for being human, Blaine."
"I'm sor- I love you." Blaine corrected himself.
"I love you too, baby." Kurt nestled himself closer to his boyfriend. "Blaine, I know you're afraid of losing me. I don't blame you, considering how life has been a bitch to you these last years."
"Kurt…"
"No, let me finish sweetie." Kurt turned on his bedside lamp so he could actually look into his boyfriend's eyes.
"Look, I really, really love you. I never thought I would ever feel this way again about anyone. And I want to promise you we'll be together forever…", He brought his hand up and smoothed his thumb over Blaine's cheek, "but I can't… because… well, after Sam… I don't believe in forever anymore. Life isn't a fairytale; however much we want it to be."
"I know… believe me, I know…" Blaine answered, his voice tinged with sadness.
"I know you do." Kurt lowered his hand from Blaine's cheek onto his shoulder and gripped it firmly "We've both lost too much to take things for granted. I can only promise you that I love you and that I want this to last forever. I may not believe in fairy tales… but I believe in us… I'll do anything I can to make this work. That's all I can offer to you."
Blaine's mouth quirked into a tiny smile. "It's all I could wish for." He closed the small gap between their faces and kissed him passionately. Kurt kissed back, pouring all his feelings into the kiss.
They broke apart and groaned in frustration as the alarm clock started to chirp. Kurt silenced it with a slam of his fist.
Blaine laughed. "How is that thing not broken?"
"It can take a punch." Kurt shrugged, turning back towards Blaine. "We need to get ready. Will you join me in the shower?"
Blaine smirked. "Always."
7:55 AM
Rose planted two mugs of coffee on the table and took a seat next to Kurt. "There you go. Hot and strong. Just the way you like it." She winked.
Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Are we still talking about the coffee or what?"
"You tell me." Rose giggled.
She reached out to grab a couple of cookies from the jar and tossed one to Kurt, who caught it without batting an eye.
The others had yet to arrive for the morning meeting. Blaine had made a detour to his office to pick up some documents and to make a phone call.
"So how are you feeling? Rough day yesterday, huh?" Rose asked, dipping her cookie in her mug.
"That's an understatement." Kurt snorted mirthlessly. "I'm okay, I feel better now. I had a talk with Karofsky after Blaine found me on the roof… I think we'll be fine, for now. And then I told that bitch Stephanie off." He smirked. "That felt REALLY good."
"Oh my God! I honestly don't get that girl. I don't understand why she tries to hit on Anderson. I mean, she knows you're together so she knows he's gay, right?" Rose shook her head in exasperation.
"Um… yeah." Kurt had to remind himself that nobody on the ward knew about Blaine's past. Nobody besides Stephanie.
The door opened and Blaine and Dr. Taylor bustled in, followed by the three other nurses.
Kurt greeted everybody except for Stephanie. She didn't acknowledge him either, and took a seat at the opposite corner of the table. Blaine was talking to Dr. Taylor in a hushed voice. The other doctor nodded in apparent approval at something Blaine said, while they both took their seats.
"Right…" Blaine spoke. "Before we start, I have a little personnel related announcement to make."
He turned his gaze to Stephanie. "Stephanie, as of today your internship on this ward is over. You can go get your things out of your locker and go to the orthopedic ward on the first floor. You'll spend the rest of your internship there. They're expecting you for the morning briefing, so you'd better hurry."
Kurt had to suppress his laughter when he saw Stephanie's expression. It was priceless.
"Excuse me?" She fumed. "You can't do that! I've been assigned a spot on this ward! Who the hell are you to meddle with that?"
The rest of the team gasped at her insolence. This was no way to address a doctor.
Blaine's eyes hardened.
"You ask me who I am? I am Dr. Anderson, and I'm the head of this ward. And I don't want to see you here anymore. Got it? The children here rely on our team of nurses to take care of them. I will not allow anyone to undermine that by stirring trouble in this team!"
"You can't do this!" Stephanie repeated.
"I already did." And then Blaine went in for the kill. "My father isn't the only one who can get things done around here, Miss Desmarais."
Stephanie looked utterly shocked. She clearly hadn't expected Blaine to be aware of how she'd gotten her internship. Her shock turned to anger, and she threw Blaine a dirty look. "Fuck you!"
Emily yelped in disbelief at the expletive, while the others gasped again.
"Stephanie!" Jenny cried out.
Stephanie turned to Jenny and the others. "Fuck all of you, you bunch of hypocrites…"
Her eyes fell on Kurt. "And you, honey… remember what I told you. Enjoy it while it lasts. He'll be fucking girls again in no time."
"ENOUGH!" Blaine roared. "Get out! And if you dare to come near this ward again, I'll toss you out of this hospital myself!"
Stephanie stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her, leaving everybody wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
Emily was the first to break the awkward silence. She leaned towards Rose. "Am I weird for being extremely turned on by Anderson right now?" She stage whispered.
Kurt snorted.
Rose shook her head. "You're weird alright. But yeah, that was… wow. I didn't know our doctor had it in him." She leaned towards Kurt. "So I take it we weren't only talking about the coffee then."
"Oh my God, Rose!" Kurt hid his face in his hands to keep from laughing out loud. It would be inappropriate after what just had happened.
Blaine pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I'm sorry about that, people. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that…"
"Are you kidding me?" Jenny piped. "I think we were all two seconds away from slapping her silly. She had some nerve!"
"Yeah!" Emily nodded. "Nice one, Dr. Anderson! I'd high five you, but I don't want to get another one of Jenny's speeches on doctor-nurse etiquette."
Blaine scratched his hair and looked at his boyfriend. "Kurt, are you okay?" He asked worriedly.
Kurt lifted his face from his hands and gave Blaine a bright, loving smile. "Thank you." He simply said.
Blaine gave a small smile in return. Then he turned his attention back to the others.
"Look… about what she said…" He took a deep breath. "I'm sure she will be spreading rumors, so I want to be honest with all of you." He looked at Kurt, who gave him an reassuring nod.
"I'm not going to fill you in on all the details of my past or private life, but I might as well tell you that, yes, I have been married to a woman. We're divorced, and now I'm with Kurt." He said the last part in a tender voice. "That's all you need to know about that. As for my family situation… I have a 3-year-old daughter. She's called Lily, and she lives with her mom in London."
"Oh my! A daughter? That's so cool!" Emily flailed. "I bet she has curly hair just like you!"
"Well, that's unexpected." Jenny said. "Thank you for telling us, Dr. Anderson."
"Now I understand why you were so pissed off about Stephanie hitting on Blaine…" Rose whispered to Kurt. "So, wait… does that make him bi then?"
Kurt gave a slight nod.
"And she knew?"
Kurt nodded again.
"Damn." Rose breathed. "That crazy bitch."
Jenny sighed. "Look, Dr. Anderson, I'm not sad to see Stephanie go, because obviously she has some serious mental problems," Kurt snorted again at this "but she did do a good job here. And frankly, we needed the extra pair of hands."
Blaine nodded. "I know Jenny, but I have good news for you. I've received a call from Barry. He will be returning as of next Monday."
"Yaaaaaaaaaaay!" Emily shouted; and she high fived Rose.
"Oh my God..." Kurt whimpered, shaking his head.
"What? Oh come on, Kurt, you like Barry!" Emily grinned.
"Yes I do, but he's even crazier than you two. I fear for my sanity."
Rose laughed. "Face it sweetie, if you want to work with us, you need to leave your sanity at the door."
"Well, Kurt, I don't know about you, but I'm glad that cow is gone." Emily said.
"Em, language… the kids can hear you." Kurt tutted. They were standing in the corridor, preparing to enter the next room on their round.
Jeremy's room.
"Um… do you want me to go inside?" Emily looked at Kurt with a worried frown. "Rose told me you had some kind of trouble with the kid's dad. Another homophobe?"
Kurt took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, not a homophobe… someone I had some issues with in the past. Thanks Em, but I've got it." He grabbed Jeremy's file and an IV-bag from the cart and gave a sharp knock on the door before opening it.
Kurt entered the room and managed to keep his cool as he saw Dave sitting next to his son's bed. He was wearing his police uniform and looked tired.
"Hi Jeremy." Kurt said in a chipper voice. "David…" He nodded politely.
"Hi Kurt." Dave smiled awkwardly.
Kurt started his routine; taking Jeremy's temperature, pulse and blood pressure. The boy was watching cartoons on the flat screen TV hanging on the opposite wall.
Dave cleared his throat. "Um, do you want me to step outside while you're busy in here?"
"That's not necessary. Parents are allowed to stay in the room at all times." Kurt said, checking the thermometer and scribbling down the result in the file.
"No, I know that." Dave said "I mean, do you want me to leave while you're here? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
Kurt paused and stared at Dave.
"No, that's not necessary." Kurt repeated. "But thanks for asking…" He added, quirking the corner of his mouth slightly.
Dave shrugged and smiled back. He eyed the small IV-bag Kurt was preparing to hook up. "What's that?"
"It's the first round of chemotherapy." Kurt explained. "It should be finished in about 4 hours."
"Oh…" Dave paled. "Is he… will he get sick?"
Kurt nodded. "He'll probably get nauseous, and feel bad. It's like having a really bad case of the flu. Will you be staying with him this afternoon?"
"Yeah. Lisa will be back tonight. I sent her home to have a shower and get some sleep. God knows she needs it…"
"That's good." Kurt adjusted the IV flow rate. "If you want to be able to take good care of your son, you need to take care of yourself in the first place."
"DADDY!" Jeremy shrieked giddily. "Look! A Sjmurf! A Sjmurf!"
Dave chuckled. "A Smurf? Where? Where's that Smurf?"
"There daddy! Look, a Sjmurf!" He pointed at the Smurf pin on Kurt's breast pocket.
Kurt smirked. "You like the Smurfs, Jeremy?"
"Yes. Can I have?" He answered, reaching out his hand and wiggling his little fingers.
"No sweetie, you can't, I'm sorry." Kurt said. "It's sharp, you'll hurt your finger." He grabbed Jeremy's hand and tickled his palm, making the little boy giggle.
"Sorry about that." Dave scratched his hair. "He's crazy about those little blue creatures. Lisa and I had to take him to see that movie three times. I think I slept through most of it the third time around, I'm not sure."
Kurt grinned. He checked the IV one last time to check if it was running smoothly.
"Okay, I'm going to continue my round. If there's anything, just push the button and we'll come." He said, taking the file and smiling at the boy. "See you later, Jeremy."
Dave rose from his chair. "Kurt… can I talk to you outside for a second?" He jerked his head toward the door.
Kurt hesitated for a second. "Um, yeah sure…"
They exited the room. Kurt placed the file back into the cart and disinfected his hands. He looked at Dave. "What did you want to know?"
Dave looked upset. "I'm sorry, but I didn't want to talk about this in front of Jeremy." He sighed. "Is it true, Kurt? Is he really going to lose his leg? I mean, isn't there anything they can do for him?"
Kurt frowned. "Wait, didn't Dr. Anderson and Dr. Taylor talk about this to you and your wife?"
"Yes, yes, they did… I just… I want your opinion, I guess."
"My opinion?" Kurt shook his head. "David, I am not a doctor. I can't give you a medical opinion."
"I know you're not a doctor. But frankly, I'm sick of talking to doctors. Half the time I don't even understand what they're saying. I just need to hear it from somebody else… please. I trust you to be honest with me." Dave was practically begging.
"Okay, I guess I can understand that." Kurt answered. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms.
"Look, I'm not going to lie, David, Jeremy is really sick. The chemotherapy can only do so much. We need to take the tumor out before it spreads through his body. If we're lucky, the chemo will shrink the tumor so we don't have to amputate above the knee. Saving his knee means he'll be able to move, walk and run with a prosthetic leg without much hindrance."
"But what if he loses his knee?" Dave asked.
Kurt shrugged. "Then he'll be able to do the same, but it will be harder... But the main goal right now is to get that tumor out, and get him better."
Dave nodded dejectedly.
"I know. It's just tough…. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I counted his fingers and his toes, like any father does." He looked away and smiled fondly at the memory.
"You know, I've always thought his little feet were the cutest things ever. Every time I changed his diaper he would just swing them in front of my face and then I would pretend to bite off his toes. It always made him laugh." His smile faltered, and his lip trembled slightly. "I just can't imagine him losing his foot."
He shook his head. "I'm rambling and keeping you from your work. Thanks for explaining, Kurt. I appreciate it." Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and went back into the room.
"You're welcome…" Kurt whispered to the closed door.
He honestly felt stunned by the way Dave had acted and talked just now. It was a side of him he'd never seen before. He only knew the bully, the monster that haunted him in his nightmares. To see him act like a decent human being was certainly something of an eye opener. It inspired a sense of hope; that maybe one day, Kurt would be able to forgive Dave for what he had done, and that they would be able to move on.
But first, they needed to have a serious conversation about what had happened. And also about Dave himself.
Kurt needed to find out who the real Karofsky was. The jock who had attacked him and made his life a living hell in high school; or the loving, doting family man who seemed to be genuinely sorry about what happened, and who was now suffering because of his son's health condition.
Kurt wanted to believe Dave had changed, but he needed more proof. He needed answers. However, it would have to wait till after Jeremy's surgery. Getting that little boy through this difficult period was more important than anything else right now.
"Do you want to stop by my apartment for dinner tonight?" Kurt asked, buttoning up his shirt, and throwing his uniform into the laundry basket next to the lockers.
"How can I resist such a tempting invitation?" Blaine called from inside the shower stall. "Delicious food, exquisite company and a cosy atmosphere, what more could I ask for?"
"I'm not going to comment on how you put 'delicious food' first" Kurt laughed.
He threw on his jacket and grabbed his backpack.. "Blaine, I'm ready so I'm going to leave; I need to get some groceries. See you at my place?"
"Okay baby, love you!" Blaine shouted happily.
Kurt smiled. "Love you too!"
After dinner, they curled up on the couch.
"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Kurt asked, pointing towards the TV.
Blaine angled his body towards Kurt and leaned in. "Or something would be nice. The food was delicious, as always… and now I'd like to enjoy some of that exquisite company I talked about…" he grinned and nuzzled Kurt's cheek.
Kurt grabbed him by his shirt and in one swift move Blaine was lying on top of him. "I like the way you think, Dr. Anderson…" He said in a seductive, low voice.
"Shut up and kiss me, nurse Hummel." Blaine growled.
Kurt laughed breathlessly. "Oh my God, this sounds like some cheesy porn movie…"
Blaine chuckled. "Well? Is it turning you on?" He gave a sharp thrust with his hips.
Kurt moaned. He tangled his fingers in Blaine's curls and pulled him down into a hungry kiss.
Unfortunately, right as their heated make-out session started to progress into something more, and Blaine's hands were fumbling to unzip Kurt's pants… the doorbell rang.
"Oh fuck!" Blaine cursed and he lifted himself off of Kurt, who quickly adjusted his clothes – including the bulge in his pants – and jumped off the couch to get the door.
"If that's my neighbour from downstairs again to nag about that stupid doormat in the hallway, I'm going to kill her." Kurt muttered to Blaine as he walked out of the living room.
He yanked the door open. It wasn't Mrs. Benson from downstairs.
"Finn? Rachel? Hi!" Kurt smiled in surprise. "Come in! I wasn't expecting you guys?" He stepped back and gestured for them to enter.
"Yeah sorry to barge in, Kurt, but we needed to tell you something, you see, Rachel-" Finn grunted in pain as he received an elbow punch from his wife.
"Finn! Let me tell it!" She beamed at Kurt. "We actually wanted to ask you something important." She said as she walked into the living room, followed by the men.
"Oh hey, Blaine, you're here too! Excellent!" She waved at Blaine, who had taken a seat in a chair next to the couch; sitting cross-legged and blushing faintly.
Rachel and Finn sat down on the couch and Kurt perched himself on the arm of Blaine's chair. "Can I get you a drink?" He offered.
"No that's fine." Rachel waved her hand. "We just had coffee at your parents' house."
Kurt chuckled. "Okay, so now I'm getting really curious. What did you want to ask us?"
Blaine didn't miss how Kurt said 'us'. He smiled inwardly and studied Rachel, already having a sneaking suspicion about what was going on.
"Well, it's very important, as I said." She looked at Finn and then back at Kurt. "Finn and I would like you to redecorate one of our bedrooms!" She blurted out.
Kurt blinked. "Um… okay? That's… nice? Are you sure you want me to do that though? I mean, I don't think we have the exact same taste, and frankly, your living room looks like as if My Little Pony had a gruesome-"
"Come on Rachel, tell him!" Finn whined.
"It's a nursery!" Rachel squeaked. "We want you to turn one of the rooms into a nursery!"
Kurt gasped.
Blaine smiled.
"You're PREGNANT?" Kurt shrieked.
"YES!" Rachel squealed.
"Oh my GOD!" Kurt jumped off the couch and threw his arms around Rachel, hugging her tightly. "Rachel, that's fantastic! I'm so happy for you."
He pulled back and cupped her face with his hands, kneeling in front of her. "God, sweetie, you're going to be an amazing mom…" He said, smiling tenderly at his friend.
He let go of Rachel and pulled Finn into a hug. "And Finn, you're going to be an awesome dad. Congratulations!"
Finn smiled and hugged Kurt back. "And you're going to be the coolest uncle ever. And Blaine, you too! Our kid will have two gay grandfathers and two gay uncles! How great is that, huh?"
Blaine had to blink back a tear. They were talking about him as if he was part of the family. It was a wonderful feeling. "Congratulations, Rachel, Finn… I'm so glad for you two." He said.
"Thanks man!" Finn said. "You're going to help me out, right? I mean, you have a kid, so you're an expert!"
"Yeah… I guess I am." Blaine smiled a bit awkwardly. He hadn't been a part of Lily's life that long actually.
Kurt gave Blaine an affectionate, apologetic look. He turned back to Rachel.
"So, are you sure about me decorating that nursery? Because I don't do pink walls or golden stars, just so you know." He giggled, clutching her hands.
"I trust you'll do an amazing job, Kurt." She said in a soft voice.
Finn started talking to Blaine about how he would teach his son or daughter to play football, and soon they were involved in an animated discussion about the current football season.
"Rachel…" Kurt whispered. "I don't get it… two weeks ago, while we were having dinner with our parents, you were talking about how you wanted a little girl like Lily… and now you're pregnant? How far along are you? I mean… Finn seemed shocked then. Did you know already?"
Rachel sighed and looked down at their entwined hands. "I'm almost four months along.. Kurt, I only told Finn two days ago. I didn't want him to be disappointed in case… things went wrong." She was still looking down.
"Rach? What do you mean?" Kurt knew she was hiding something.
Rachel looked up and met Kurt's eyes. "I had a miscarriage last year in May.." She admitted. "I was almost three months along. Finn was devastated about it. The doctor said things like that happen and it wasn't my fault but Finn was so heartbroken and…" She choked back a sob.
"What?" Kurt breathed. "But why didn't you tell me? Why didn't I know?"
Rachel shook her head. "You were still grieving for Sam. We couldn't burden you with that on top of it all. You were suffering enough as it was."
"Damn…" Kurt said quietly. "I've really been wrapped up in my own misery these last years, haven't I? I'm so sorry Rachel. I wish I could've been there for you and Finn when it happened." He squeezed her hands.
Rachel nodded and smiled through her tears. "I love you Kurt. You've always been my best friend. I've missed you so much."
Kurt smiled and wrapped her in his arms. "I love you too; and I'd be honoured to decorate the nursery."
He gasped and pulled back. "Damn! I'll have to go buy some magazines tomorrow, so I can get some inspiration. I haven't got a clue what the latest trends in baby decoration are! And I'll need to see the room and take measurements."
"Hey you can do that on Saturday night." Finn said. "We're inviting everybody over to announce the good news, and have some drinks and maybe play videogames. You and Blaine are coming too, right? It'll be a blast! Mercedes and Mike and Tina are coming over; and Brit and Santana. Oh, and Puck and Quinn might too, if they can find somebody to babysit the kids."
"That's a wonderful idea, actually." Kurt looked at his boyfriend. "Blaine, what do you say? I would love for you to meet my friends."
"Sounds like fun. Let's do it." He winked at Kurt.
"Perfect!" Rachel clapped her hands. "I'll show you guys my new music room then. There's a stage and everything. Oh! We can have a little singing contest!"
Kurt facepalmed. "Oh dear…"
"Not again…" Finn groaned.
Blaine nodded excitedly. "Sounds awesome!."
Comments
this is such a fantastic story! i am so drawn into it. i'm just waiting for blaine to pop the question (at least, that's my hope!). and i know this is kind of late, but i think you have written dave quite well. being an optimist, i'd like to think that dave has changed over the years and especially since he became a father. it's nice to see that dave's trying to atone for his mistreatment of kurt in the past. i hope that kurt isn't to hurt or scared to recognize dave's gestures and does finally forgive him. baby suggestions: first, make rachel pregnant with twins. boy-girl twins, that way she can have her daughter and finn can have his son. second, color schemes. i'm not into the blue for boys & pink for girls. you should do either a soft rainbow palate including pink and blue regardless of if it's a boy, girl, or twins. if not, i also like a palate of soft yellows and greens and maybe even purples. as for names...how about melody or harmony for a girl and maybe william christopher for a son?
Thank you so much! I'll think you'll be particularly happy with chapter 19, as far as Dave is concerned :D As for popping the question, it's a bit soon for that, but I have high hopes for the future ;) Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take them into consideration!