(EXT. The outside of Chris, Darren, and Ashley’s new house. It’s early in the morning. The camera zooms in slowly, focusing on a balcony on one side of the house. It gets closer and closer until the shot moves to the interior, where boxes are stacked everywhere. It ends up looking at a king-sized bed, which Chris and Darren are sleeping in the middle of. It’s quiet, until Chris bolts upright, gasping and startling Darren)

DARREN
Chris? What’s up?

(Darren sits up and wraps an arm around Chris’s waist)

CHRIS
(whispers) Are you real?

DARREN
Of course I’m real. Did you have a bad dream again?

CHRIS
(obviously lying) No. Just go back to sleep.

(He looks down at Darren and runs his fingers through Darren’s hair, smiling. Darren shrugs, kisses his bare shoulder, then sinks back under the covers.)

DARREN
Lay back down, baby.

CHRIS
Just a minute.

(Chris lets out a long sigh and pulls his knees up, resting his arms on them. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days. Running a hand over his face, he lays back down at looks at Darren, who is watching him through half-closed eyes.)

CHRIS
Tell me I look awful.

DARREN
You look beautiful.

CHRIS
Darren, you’re a horrible liar. I look like shit and you know it.

DARREN
Would you stop degrading yourself and kiss me?

(Chris smiles and leans forward, kissing him slowly, his eyes open the whole time as he watches Darren’s eyes close. They stay like that for a minute before Chris pulls back.)

CHRIS
You’re just lucky I love you.

DARREN
(smirks) And you should be honored that I love you too.

CHRIS
I am honored. And I would be honored longer, except I have to get up. We’re finished the rest of my scenes for the movie in the next couple weeks.

DARREN
So soon? We just got done unloading the moving van last night.

CHRIS
I told you that I was going back to work as soon as we moved back.

DARREN
(sits up) But Chris, we’ve still got to unpack and get settled.

CHRIS
Maybe we’ll wrap early tonight. We’ve only got two scenes scheduled. Then I’ll come home and help you unpack, ok?

DARREN
I just don’t know if you’re ready.

CHRIS
Look, if I thought I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t go. But I have to work, Dare.

DARREN
But what about the people? What if someone scares you or something?

CHRIS
No one is going to scare me, Darren.

(Chris rolls over and climbs out of bed, then turns back to face Darren)

CHRIS
I’m fine, Dare. Stop worrying.

(Chris heads into their adjoining bathroom and Darren is left looking after him, worried, no matter what Chris says)

. ~ . ~ .

Blaine hated seeing Kurt like this. Acting and looking sickly for the show were one thing, but it was starting to interfere with his living. Blaine noticed little things about Kurt that were different lately. He was sluggish and tired. He forgot lines easily and he stopped doing everything at home except for sitting around in Blaine’s sweatpants and watch old cartoons. Whenever Blaine tried to confront him about it, he always got the same response.

“Hey, Kurt, do you wanna maybe help me with dinner?” Blaine asked one night, entering the living room cautiously.

“Not really,” Kurt replied. “I’m not hungry.”

“Are you ok?” Blaine asked, taking a hesitant step towards the couch where Kurt sat.

“No,” replied Kurt. “But I will live.”

“Kurt, will you please go to the doctor?” Blaine moved closer and sat on the arm of the couch, looking down at Kurt.

“No. He’s just going to tell me the worst news possible and I can’t handle it, Blaine. I can’t. Just leave me alone.”

And then no matter what Blaine said after that, Kurt remained silent. Blaine let out a long sigh and left Kurt alone, wishing he would face up to the truth. The longer that Kurt laid around the house moping, the unhealthier he looked, the worse he was at work, and the more distant he was. He was less affectionate than he’d ever been, and Blaine felt like the only thing connecting them was the engagement rings they each wore on their fingers. Blaine proudly wore his on his left finger whenever they weren’t filming, but Kurt always kept it on his right, like he didn’t quite want people to know.

But no matter what Kurt did or said, Blaine would always love him and he’d always want to marry him, so he let Kurt deal until Kurt was ready to ask for help, and he had a feeling the time was coming close. And fast.

. ~ . ~ .

Episode Two: Queen Chris Approximately, Part One
Scene 3

(EXT. Chris is sitting at a picnic table on the set of the movie. He’s staring down, and slurred, fuzzy voices are heard around him until a hand waves in front of his face, startling him and bringing the voices in clearer)

ASHLEY
Earth to Christopher.

CHRIS
What? I’m sorry…what?

ASHLEY
It’s time to work.

CHRIS
Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I was just…thinking.

ASHLEY
Thinking about how we had to put a layer of padding under your shirt to make it look like you hadn’t lost an insane amount of weight in the last two months?

CHRIS
Shut up and get me a hamburger if you want me to gain weight.

ASHLEY
Don’t snap at me because you’re miserable. You should’ve listened to Darren and went to see the damn therapist.

CHRIS
I don’t need a fucking therapist. I need to finish filming my fucking movie.

ASHLEY
Now you’re being ridiculous. You almost died, Chris. You can’t handle that on your own. How can you even trust people? You were almost murdered and that bastard is still out there right now!

CHRIS
I’m aware that I was nearly beaten to death, Ashley, you don’t have to remind me. And I can’t very well let myself be terrified, or I’ll never be able to live. I’ve barely slept at all because that man haunts my dreams, but I have to pretend like nothing bothers me.

ASHLEY
No you don’t. We understand if you want help.

CHRIS
I can’t. I can’t let Darren worry.

ASHLEY
That’s what this is about? Darren? He’s not a little kid, Chris. He wants you to get help.

CHRIS
I have to be strong for him. Now let’s just get to work and forget about it.

ASHLEY
You know, Chris, when you can’t do this anymore, we’ll be here. We’ll be ready. All you have to do is ask.

(Chris glares at her, then grabs his script and can of Diet Coke, then holds his head up high and walks away)

. ~ . ~ .

Kurt and Lauren were busy filming a scene outside while Blaine sat in his trailer, contemplating just what he was going to do about Kurt’s stubborn refusal to see a doctor. He was steadily getting worse. He was sick and Blaine was so close to just calling the doctor and begging them to come to the set and just tell Kurt what was wrong so they could start convincing him to get treatment.

But Blaine couldn’t make Kurt do anything, so he was forced to sit back and watch the love of his life fall.

Sadly, he didn’t have to wait very long.

The next day, they were filming a scene for an upcoming episode. Usually it was one of Blaine’s favorite kind of scenes, where he got to spend his day cuddled in bed with Kurt, being sweet and romantic and channeling his love for Kurt into his character. But Kurt was making it impossible to enjoy said scene, constantly find things to complain about from the way the sheets on the bed on the set made his skin feel to how Blaine was holding him.

Just when Blaine thought he couldn’t take Kurt’s complaining anymore, Kurt started coughing madly. Blaine patted his back and helped him sit up, calling for someone to get water. He rubbed comforting circles on Kurt’s back as he motioned for them to hurry and bring him a water bottle.

“Kurt, come on, drink some water,” Blaine whispered, holding the bottle to Kurt’s lips. Kurt reached up with a shaking hand and took a sip, only to cough right as he was swallowing, spewing the water all over the bed they were sitting on. Blaine looked around worriedly, not really knowing what to do as Kurt’s face turned bright red and he wheezed for air.

Kurt grabbed his hand and tried to speak. “I…” Coughing fit. “I’m…” More coughing. “I’m fine.” Still more coughing.

Before Blaine could comfort him further, Kurt grabbed for his throat as he made an awful choking noise, like he was about throw up and swallow at the same time. He coughed and sputtered and the next moment, Kurt’s mouth was stained with blood as it oozed from the corners of his mouth.

Blaine’s eyes went wide with panic and he heard someone behind them calling for an ambulance. Kurt wiped his mouth and stared at his blood covered hand in horror. He glanced at Blaine, his shoulders quivering as he realized what this meant. This was exactly as it had happened before. One moment he was performing his favorite scene, belting out a spectacular high note that always brought his audience into a standing ovation, and the next moment he was on his knees with Rachel beside him and blood staining the stage floor in front of him where he had coughed.

Kurt grabbed at Blaine’s hand, looking over at him with fear in his eyes. He’d been dreading this moment for so long, but now it was here. Kurt had to confront his problem.

And a big problem it was.

. ~ . ~ .

Episode Two: Queen Chris Approximately, Part One
Scene 5

(INT. Darren is alone in the bedroom unpacking boxes. He doesn’t look very happy. He glances at the clock he just set on the dresser, frowning when he sees that it reads 12:54 AM. He’s tired and wants to sleep, but he won’t until Chris gets home. His cellphone beeps and he fishes it out of his pocket to see a text message from Chris. The message reads “just wrapped. Be home in 20”. Darren lets out a long sigh and pulls a few framed pictures out of the box in front of him. They’re pictures of Chris and his family when he was young. Darren smiles as he looks at the small, freckle-faced boy in the pictures. A young and awkward looking boy. Darren marvels at how it only took Chris a few years to go from that to what he looks like now. He picks up one picture of Chris when he was fifteen, hugging his sister and smiling, but the smile not quite reaching his eyes. Darren runs his fingers over Chris in the picture.)

DARREN
(to himself) What did I do to deserve someone as beautiful as you?

(He sets the picture down in front of the others, right beside a picture of him and Chris together. Darren smiles and moves on to another box labeled “Chris’s scarves”)

. ~ . ~ .

Episode Two: Queen Chris Approximately, Part One
Scene 6

(INT. Chris and Ashley come in the front door, smiling and laughing quietly about something. They head upstairs and he waves to her as she heads off to her own end of the house. Chris heads towards the master bedroom, opening the door and finding the light off and the bedcovers turned back, but no Darren. He smiles when he sees the doors to the balcony open. He goes toward them, looking out to see Darren curled up, sleeping on the very comfortable chaise lounge Chris had picked out. Smiling, Chris takes off his shoes and tosses them inside, then quietly walks over and lays beside Darren, spooning him.)

DARREN
(startled from sleep) Chris? That you?

CHRIS
No, Dare, it’s the boogie man, and I’m here to eat your brains.

DARREN
The boogie man doesn’t eat brains, silly. Zombies do.

CHRIS
My mistake.

(Darren rolls over slightly, smiling up at him. Chris runs his hand through Darren’s hair, pushing it away from his forehead so he can press a gentle kiss to it.)

DARREN
How was work?

CHRIS
Long. Tiring. But we’re almost done, actually. The shot a lot of material when we were in Clovis, so it should only be another week or so.

DARREN
Good. I miss you in my bed.

CHRIS
You miss having sex.

DARREN
I just like to cuddle with you. (snuggles into Chris’s chest as if to make a point)

CHRIS
It’s ok, Dare. I miss having sex too. It’s been months.

DARREN
It’s a shame you’re so tired.

(Chris laughs and kisses Darren, then hugs him tightly and closes his eyes)

CHRIS
Guess you’ll just have to settle for my cuddles tonight.

DARREN
I think I can make that work.

. ~ . ~ .

Blaine paced the waiting room, feeling the heavy tug in his heart at the familiarity of this scene. He remembered filming the season one finale of Bring on Tomorrow, acting as Darren who was so worried about the love of his life. He’d channeled everything he had into that role, putting himself in Darren’s position and imagining if it were Kurt in there, getting operated on and not knowing if he would be ok.

He never thought it would actually be a reality.

“Blaine, he’s going to be fine,” Lauren said from behind him. Blaine didn’t even offer a response. The waiting room was empty save for Blaine, Mercedes, Lauren, Patrick, and Puck who had gone with then to the set because Kurt had planned to go shopping after they wrapped for the day.

As soon as they got to the hospital, nearly seven hours prior, Blaine had called Kurt’s parents, and then called Finn and Rachel in New York. They were all incredibly worried, and declared that they were dropping everything to fly across the country to be with Kurt as soon as they could. Blaine found it admirable, but his mind was too occupied with thoughts of Kurt. What did this mean? Was his tumor back? Would he be able to work after this surgery? What if it changed his voice? What if the tumor was really cancer and Kurt had to go through chemotherapy?

“It’s been seven hours. How long does it take for surgery?” Blaine asked impatiently.

“Kurt said the last time they operated on him, it took fifteen,” Mercedes said. Blaine let out an angry, impatient growl and turned around to continue his pacing. He looked down the hallway and saw a group of vaguely familiar people heading towards them, looking worried. Blaine recognized Burt, Carole, Finn, and Rachel, but there were a small group of people that Blaine didn’t recognize.

“Oh, Blaine, honey, is he alright?” Carole asked as she approached, pulling Blaine into a tight hug.

“I don’t know. He’s been in surgery for seven hours and still no news. He just started coughing and coughing and then he made this awful noise and he was coughing up blood,” Blaine said, sounding worried. He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers getting caught on the curls. Rachel hurried forward and hugged Blaine.

“It’s just like last time,” Rachel said, hugging Blaine hard as though she could offer some sort of comfort. The only thing that could possibly comfort Blaine at that moment was Kurt coming out of the operating room good as new.

“Who are they?” Blaine asked, pointing to the people behind Finn.

“Some friends of Kurt’s from the theater department at NYU. We were all in the musical with Kurt when this happened the first time,” Rachel explained. Blaine nodded and offered them all a smile. A couple of the girls commented that they liked him in Bring on Tomorrow, but no one was really fully up to giving compliments of any kind. They were worried about Kurt.

“Thank you guys all for coming. It will mean so much to Kurt to know he has so many people supporting him,” Blaine said, ushering everyone into the waiting room. He introduced Mercedes, Lauren, Puck, and Patrick, then resumed his worried pacing.

Four hours and several dozen cups of coffee for everyone later, a surgeon in blue scrubs strode into the waiting room.

“Family of Kurt Hummel?” the doctor asked. Blaine, as well as Burt and Carole stood. The doctor looked skeptically at Blaine for a moment, his eyes darting down to the ring on his finger, then cleared his throat. “The tumor was benign. And still fairly small. We managed to catch it before it did any more serious damage. He won’t be able to speak for a few days, but he should begin to regain function quickly after that. He won’t be able to sing. Even if he can, doesn’t mean he should. Between the strain on the vocal chords and what appeared to be a, quite frankly, horrible job of removing the tumor last time, it grew back fairly quickly.”

“So does that mean it won’t come back now?” Blaine asked, hopeful.

“Benign tumors often do come back, however we were able to remove all of it and repair some of the scarred tissue from his previous operation, and it looks good,” the doctor told them.

“Thank goodness he’ll be alright,” Carole let out as she turned to Burt to hug him.

“Can we see him?” Blaine asked. The doctor nodded and Blaine remembered walking this walk, but only then it had been acting, and it had been Darren going to see Chris and then, Chris had nearly died. Blaine felt something in his heart. Kurt wasn’t going to die. It was just an operation on his throat. It wouldn’t kill him.

When they reached the private room that Kurt was in, Burt and Carole stopped, reluctantly letting Blaine have a moment alone to see Kurt. As he walked through the door, he saw Kurt sitting up, his eyes closed, breathing evenly. He was still asleep. Blaine went over and sat beside the bed, sliding his hand into Kurt’s. It had been hard when it was just acting, when it was Chris lying there and not Kurt, when he wasn’t really hurt. But now here he was, damaged and patched up and sick looking.

“I love you, Kurt,” Blaine said, feeling tears burning his eyes. “Always and forever.”

He lifted Kurt’s hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to his knuckles.