Klaine Week - ‘Nurse Kurt’ Drabble
Pairing: Klaine
Spoilers: AU
Words: 2,042
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This was written for Day 2 of Klaine Week, but it is kind of really late. Hah. It is super random and probably doesn't really make a lot of sense, but it was just for fun and hopefully you'll enjoy it. Also, I must warn you, this is unbettaed and probably full of errors… like a fool.
“Hello,” came a melodious voice as a young male nurse dressed in teal scrubs walked into Blaine’s hospital room. “I’m Kurt and I’m here to check you over and start your IV.”
“Hi,” replied Blaine softly.
He fidgeted nervously on his hospital bed and watched quietly as the nurse pushed a little cart over to the side of his bed and began getting things ready for the IV.
“How are you feeling?” asked the nurse, turning his stormy blue eyes on him.
“Good, fine,” stammered Blaine, eyeing the packet the nurse (Kurt, he had said his name was Kurt), was holding. “Err, well, I mean. I guess I’m not entirely good or fine or I wouldn’t be here, right?”
Blaine laughed nervously. Kurt just smiled at him.
“Okay,” said the nurse after he was finishing moving items around in the little dividers of the top tray of his cart. “I’m just going to do a quick assessment and then we’ll get this IV going.”
Nervous and uncomfortable as he was, Blaine couldn’t help but admire the shape of the nurse’s nose and the colour of his eyes. He felt his mind drifting as he idly watched the slight bob of the coiffed brown hair of his nurse. Blaine’s eyelids felt heavy. The sound of Velcro caused him to start and he looked over with round eyes as Kurt reached to wrap something around his bicep.
“This is just to check your blood pressure,” explained the nurse, obviously having noticed Blaine’s surprised jolt. “It will get pretty tight on your arm, but only for a few moments.”
Blaine managed a weak nod.
“I’m going to check your temperature, now,” said Kurt as the machine started up, making the band on Blaine’s arm tighten uncomfortably. “Open.”
Opening his mouth, Blaine allowed the nurse to check his temperature, making sure not to bite down and forcing himself not to panic from the claustrophobic feeling of the tightness on his arm. He let out a sigh of relief when it suddenly released.
“Good,” said the nurse, retracting the thermometer and then moving to unwrap the cuff from Blaine’s arm.
Blaine winced at the sound of the Velcro pulling apart. He closed his eyes, now free from the claustrophobia causing cuff and the thermometer in his mouth. Letting his mind wander, Blaine worked on monitoring his breathing.
“I need to check your bruising,” came the nurse’s voice, cutting through his trance.
The nurse’s tone made Blaine wonder how many times he had been addressed before finally hearing him. Eyes still closed, Blaine nodded. The nurse pulled the blankets down and pushed his hospital gown aside. Blaine felt his cheeks heat at the knowledge that he was nude, bruised, cut up and dirty and now on display for the attractive nurse. He kept his eyes shut.
He felt Kurt’s fingertips press softly on his side just under his ribcage. He held his breath as the nurse moved to press his cool fingers against his other side and then again down lower on his abdomen. He let out his breath in a soft gasp of surprise when he felt the nurse press lower, just above his pubic bone. The pressure disappeared and Blaine’s eyes fluttered open.
“Hurt?” asked the nurse, looking at him in concern.
“No,” managed Blaine. “Well, yes, a little, but that’s not…”
The nurse simply nodded his understanding, saving Blaine from having to explain further. Blaine stared at the top of the nurse’s head as he went back to pressing at different parts of Blaine’s lower torso where only hours earlier he had been punched and kicked until he had fallen to his knees and emptied his stomach. Blaine’s stomach gave a disgruntled twist at the memory.
He let out a hiss when Kurt pressed down lightly next to his navel. The nurse clucked his tongue and gave Blaine an apologetic look before continuing. Moments later another nurse stepped into the room. She wore fuchsia scrubs covered in teddy bears. She was tall and wide with gray hair and stress lines that spoke of years of experience. The young male nurse stepped away from Blaine at her appearance and began talking to her in a hushed tone.
Blaine hated how he was left laying nude and on display while the nurses talked, but he tried not to think about it and instead strained his ears to hear what Kurt was saying. He caught something about Transtubercular and Transpyloric Planes and a question about kidneys that the older, woman nurse answered in an equally hushed tone. When the nurses both looked back at him, he tried to look like he hadn’t been trying to listen in on what they had been saying. The older nurse stepped up to him and began to press on the area around his navel that had hurt when the attractive nurse had pressed there.
She pressed much harder and didn’t seem the least bit concerned when Blaine gasped and hissed in pain. Blaine glanced over at Kurt who was looking concerned and apologetic. The older nurse was relentless, pressing her cold fingers into his abdomen and humming in acknowledgment. Finally, she removed her hand from Blaine’s belly and nodded to Kurt.
“I’ll make a note of it to his doctor,” she said to Kurt before turning to flash Blaine a tight smile.
Kurt tentatively touched Blaine’s abdomen again as the woman nurse left the hospital room. Blaine found himself wondering what they had felt when they had pushed down on his stomach. When the stormy blue-grey eyes landed on his own, though, Blaine found himself more nervous over the fact that he had been quiet for so long. Are most patients quiet the whole time? Or did they chat amicably with the nurses? Was he making things awkward by being silent?
“Alright, we’re all done here,” said Kurt with a small smile. “I’ll just get you covered up so you don’t get cold and then we’ll start your IV. Sound good?”
Blaine simply nodded. He cursed himself, then, when he realized he was still being all quiet and awkward.
“I could never do what you do,” forced out Blaine as Kurt pulled the blankets back over him.
Kurt pursed his lips but said nothing in response.
“Seeing people at their worst,” continued Blaine, feeling light-headed. “Poking them with needles. All the blood and guts and nudity.”
Kurt’s back was to him now, as he prepared whatever it was he was preparing at the small car he had brought in. The silence, aside from the faint hospital noises from the hallway, caused Blaine to feel even more awkward. He replayed what he had just said in his head and winced at how it probably had come across. It would most likely be best that he didn’t offend the person in charge of keeping him alive before his doctor could arrive.
“I mean,” he stammered out, trying to fix it. “That it would have to take a special sort of person to do your job, you know?”
He heard Kurt hum in response. Blaine closed his eyes and allowed his fuzzy consciousness to drift for a little bit. He startled when he felt a warm, moist towel wrap around his hand and lower arm.
“We’ll leave this on for a few minutes,” said Kurt. “It’ll help get your veins ready.”
Blaine managed to nod. He let his eyes drift closed again, enjoying the fluffy feeling in his head from the meds he was given when he first came in the ER. It was nice not to think. He knew that once all this was dealt with and he was left to recover, the images of the attack would flood back to be relived over and over.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to be safe from the hate now that he was in New York. Why couldn’t they have just robbed and beat him like any other person? Why’d it have to be because he was gay?
“I’m sorry,” whispered the nurse.
Blaine’s eyes flew open. He looked over to see Kurt standing at his side ready to start his IV but froze to the spot and a sickened look on his face. Blaine furrowed his brow as he took in Kurt’s expression and how pale his face was.
“Oh,” stammered Blaine, in sudden understanding. “Did I say that out loud?”
Kurt nodded, his gorgeous eyes suddenly looking somewhat moist.
“I… um…” Blaine stammered, not knowing what to say and feeling confused over the nurse’s reaction.
Blaine sighed and closed his eyes. His body ached with dulled pain and his mind was too fuzzy to fully comprehend what was going on. Soft fingertips brushed lightly over his forehead causing his eyes to flutter open for a moment. It was only a millisecond but it was long enough for him to see Kurt smile sadly at him.
“This might hurt a little,” came Kurt’s pleasant voice as Blaine felt him remove the warm towel from his hand. “Hold still, just a little pinprick.”
Blaine tensed, wondering why nurses, doctors and dentists alike always understated things. He remembered when he was a kid and he had to go to the dentist to get a cavity filled. The dentist had said ‘just a little mosquito bite’ before sharp, toe-curling, eye-watering pain had pierced his body, starting at his tooth.
He ground his teeth as he felt the sharp pain of the skin on the back of his hand being broken and the claustrophobic pressure of the needle pressing under the surface of his skin. His stomach churned and he felt the room begin to spin.
“Almost done,” sounded Kurt’s beautiful voice, pushing through his panic. “How are you doing?”
Blaine managed a grunt.
He winced at the tiny pull of the catheter as Kurt attached the tubes. When Blaine finally opened his eyes again, Kurt was standing at the infusion pump pressing a few buttons and checking the hanging bag. He shuddered when he felt the cold sensation of the liquid starting to enter his blood vein.
“Alright,” said Kurt, turning over-bright eyes on Blaine and flashing him a smile that looked half-forced. “We’ve got you all set up. Do you want anything while you wait for the doctor? Another blanket? Some water?”
“Water would be nice,” croaked Blaine.
“Sure thing,” said Kurt with a softer, more believable smile. “I’ll be right back.”
He patted Blaine’s shoulder lightly before turning and walking out of the room. Blaine smiled to himself wondering at how nice it would be to be married to a nurse. Kurt’s wife was lucky to have such someone so nurturing for a husband. Sure, he had heard the hours were terrible, but it would be worth it for even a little bit of time spent with a gorgeous, caring husband.
Blaine let out a sad sigh. He hated that he was still single. When he was healthy enough to be sent home, he’d be going home to a dark, lonely apartment with only his cat to keep him company. Maybe if he wasn’t so awkward when it came to meeting new people, he’d have found himself a boyfriend by now. He’d been living in New York for four years, now, with no prospects.
He must have drifted to sleep, because when he opened his eyes after a loud noise from the hallway had startled him, he noticed a large hospital cup with a bendy straw in it sitting on his tray next to his bed. Mouth dry, he carefully sat up in his bed, wincing at the pains all over his body that the movement awoke, and reached for the cup. A small piece of paper fell from the bottom of the cup when he moved it. Curious, Blaine reached for it.
He had to hold it close to his face for a few moments before his eyes would focus on it. Printed neatly in the centre of the small piece of paper was Kurt’s name and a phone number. Blaine’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He stared at the piece of paper for a few minutes before a small smile began to slowly curl at the corners of his mouth.