He tried to open his eyes but they were too heavy and just trying to open them tired him out until he passed out from the effort. It was easier to just give in to the pain. He felt his mother’s gentle hands soothing him as he slowly drifted into oblivion.

Kurt finally emerged from the coma three weeks after the bombing. He was confused and disoriented but at least he was awake. The insult to his brain had caused selected amnesia. He remembered his friends and family and everything up to the moment of impact but not the actual explosion. Dr. Steele explained to Burt that sometimes the brain takes refuge from what the body cannot process or handle. Other than not remembering the bombing Kurt’s brain suffered no further permanent damage.

“What should I tell him when he asks about the accident,” Burt asked Dr. Steele.

“I’ve found that the truth is always the best option.
Eventually the brain will recover from the insult the bomb caused and he will probably start to remember. His memories will probably manifest themselves in nightmares or flashbacks and if he knows the truth then he will be able to reconcile these images with what actually happened. However, if you don’t tell him the truth he might not be able to process any information he might remember. Of course, that does not mean that he will ever remember what happened to him but the brain is a scary place that no one can truly understand.”

Burt rubbed his neck in frustration and said, “Thank you for all that you have done Dr. Steele. I will keep your advice in mind when Kurt starts asking me questions. Is he able to fly home to Lima yet?”

“I actually want to see him again in two weeks to make sure his eye is functioning correctly. By that time the swelling in his eye should have gone down enough to see if his eyesight has been impaired. The nurse will come in and take off his bandages and his eye will be sensitive to light so he will be given an eye patch to wear. We will be taking his casts off at that point and hopefully they will have healed correctly. The fact that he was in a coma helped the healing process. Most people that break bones don’t strictly follow their doctor’s advice and start putting pressure on the bones before they are ready to handle the rigors of daily life.”

“Will his legs and arms be okay?” asked Burt.

“We won’t know for sure until we take x-rays once we remove the casts. Since Mr. Schuester’s body took the brunt of the debris Kurt’s bones weren’t shattered just fractured so I expect that he will be fine. If all goes well and I’m satisfied with his progress then I can clear him to fly back to Ohio. Until then, he needs to stay near Los Angeles. Feel free to call my office if you have any further questions. Your son is a very lucky young man Mr. Hummel.”

Burt walked back into Kurt’s room just as the nurse was starting to take off the bandages that had covered up about 75% of his face. He could see that Kurt’s flawless pale complexion was a thing of the past. The left side of his face was a riot of purple and yellow bruises and the laceration that marred his face was puckered and an angry red color. Burt’s heart gave a painful stutter – how much more could life pile on his boy he wondered? How much more would he have to endure before life
completely chewed him up and spit him out?

The nurse gently cleaned Kurt’s face and explained to Carole and Burt how to keep the area clean and what signs to look for that might signify an infection. She put an eye patch on the injured eye and sat back to admire her work. “You look like a pirate of old that was just involved in a mutiny or a battle at sea over treasure worth a fortune,” she murmured winking at Kurt. “This will give you an air of mystery that the ladies won’t be able to resist. They are going to be buzzing around you like flies around a fresh pile of manure.” Burt and Carole laughed at that remarked.

“Great, just what I need ladies - swooning at my feet,” quipped Kurt grumpily. A picture of Blaine flashed in his mind for a second before he had to answer some last minute questions from the nurse who was filling out his discharge paperwork.

“I’ll just go get the doctor’s signature and you should be ready to leave in about 30 minutes.”

“Dad, can I have a mirror? I want to see what my face looks like,” asked Kurt.

“Are you sure kid? Why don’t we wait until all the swelling goes down?”

“Dad, I’m eventually going to run across a mirror between now and my next appointment. Does it really look that bad?”

Carole answered before Burt could reply, “Right now it does look pretty bad because of the swelling and the bruising. You can look in the mirror but your face will not look like that for long. Do you really want to see?”

“I know it probably looks bad but I do want to see my face. If I don’t then I will just be imagining what it looks like and that would probably be worse,” he replied biting his lips.

“Ok but just remember that it will heal with time,” she said handing him a mirror. Neither one of them missed the startled gasp that Kurt could not restrain when he saw his face. Carole was right – it looked bad. Tears started streaming down his face and all Burt could do was hold his son tightly in his arms until the tears stopped.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Since Kurt had not been cleared to fly home the whole family would be staying at his grandparent’s home in Palm Desert. Burt and Carole had taken turns staying at the hospital with Kurt while Finn was already safely ensconced in Palm Desert. Burt had just returned from Lima. He had taken to flying home once a week to check up on the business and to make sure his assistant was doing okay. Carole had taken an extended family leave from the hospital until both boys were settled back in Ohio.

The drive from LA to Palm Desert was a silent one. Kurt sat in the front seat with the seat pushed as far back as it could go so that his legs had room. The trip was a bit uncomfortable since his legs and arms were still in casts but he was glad to be out of the hospital. All he did was stare out the window until his pain medication kicked in and he dosed off.

Kurt was slowly being weaned off of his painkillers and eventually he was able to feel some of the fuzzy edges becoming clearer. Burt knew it was only a matter of time before he would start asking questions. As soon as he saw Kurt’s face the next day he knew that day had arrived.

“Dad, I think I’m ready to finally hear the whole story. I tried to see if I could remember anything but I keep coming up blank. I know you haven’t wanted to give me any details and I’ve been too drugged up to really figure out what are true memories or what are nightmares.”

“What is the last thing you remember, kid?” asked Burt.

“I remember getting to the airport, saying bye to grandma and grandpa and the trying to lug all my luggage to the kiosk. I let everyone go ahead of me since I knew it would take me a while to check in all my bags and that Mr. Schuester stayed with me to help me,” at the thought of the man that had not survived Kurt started to cry. “It’s my fault that he died isn’t it? If I didn’t have to travel with so many clothes we would have been behind the counters and he would still be alive.”
Burt soothed him and let him cry, “None of what happened was your fault Kurt. Never think that. The blame falls on those responsible for the bombing.”

“But…”

“No buts Kurt, I will not sit here and listen to you take responsibility for anything that has happened. I will be forever grateful to Will Schuester for saving your life. He died doing what he loved. He loved you kids and I know that he would not want you feeling guilty about his death. The way to honor his sacrifice is by living your life Kurt not burying yourself in your grief.”

Between Burt and Finn, Kurt was finally able to piece together what had happened on that day. His grandfather had taped some of the news coverage of the bombing and they all sat down and watched it together. Burt didn’t want Kurt to have to turn on the television and be blindsided by the constant images of the bombing especially since they were running footage of September 11th and comparing it to the recent attack.

The number of victims was estimated in the thousands. No exact number was known since they were still digging through the rubble looking for and finding bodies on a daily basis. The bomb had taken out half of the buildings as well as the parking structures. Luckily they had been in the concourse farthest from where the van had been parked. The only option left was for LAX to be demolished and rebuilt.

His grandfather was able to explain how the civilian and military authorities had responded. Investigations were being handled and the President insisted that those responsible for this heinous crime would be punished. His Uncle George practically lived at work since the attack so Kurt was not able to get his take on the bombing.

Kurt’s nightmares got worse after seeing the footage of the attack on television. He kept waking up shaking with tears streaming down his face. He tried to not wake up his parents or grandparents. He did manage to wake up Finn a few times and they both just sat there and quietly talked to each other. Finn was not a stranger to the nightmares. He was also dealing with the horror of that day.

While Finn had not been as severely injured as Kurt, he was still dealing with two broken legs and he was bored and hated not being able to hang out with his friends or participate in any physical activities. He was able to move around with the aid of a wheelchair unlike Kurt who was pretty much stuck in one place until someone was able to help move him. They sat and reminisced about how Mr. Schue had made the whole Glee Club use wheelchairs for a week. He wanted them to learn how difficult daily life was for Artie being confined to a wheelchair. The kids had learned their lesson and were more considerate of Artie.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The day for Kurt’s follow up appointment arrived before they knew it. The drive to LA became a family event. Burt, Carole, Finn and Kurt drove up with his grandparents while his Uncle George managed to get a free day and followed behind with his family. They had all decided to go as a family to the appointment and then to have a nice dinner hopefully celebrating the fact that Kurt would be able to be medically cleared to fly home. While Kurt loved spending time with his grandparents he was more than ready to go back to his old life. He missed his friends and his own home.

“Well Kurt, I spoke to the orthopedic surgeon and he agrees with me that you can have the casts removed. He does want you to wear walking cast while undergoing physical therapy to prevent you from re-injuring your legs. The arms should be fine. The nurse will be here in a few minutes to remove the casts,” remarked Dr. Steele.

“Am I allowed to go back to Ohio now?” asked Kurt.

“I see no problem with you going home. Make sure you follow up with your own doctor once you get there and start physical therapy as soon as possible. Make sure have your eye checked out as well although it is healing nicely and there should be no permanent damage.”

“Dr. Steele, what about the scar?” asked Kurt.

“The scar will probably fade a bit with time but I think it will be with you for quite some time Kurt,” said Dr. Steele. He remembered Burt saying how religiously Kurt worked on keeping his complexion in a perfect state.

“Thank you Dr. Steele. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

“That’s what I’m here for Kurt. Good luck on your road to recovery,” he said shaking everyone’s hands.