Like A Record Baby (2/5)
Summary: It takes months for the dust to settle, and when it does the landscape has changed completely. "So I have two questions." "Shoot." "One, why haven't you gone to see Quinn again, and two, what's going on with you and Bland -er, Blaine?"
Pairing: David/Kurt (Kurtofsky) but contains all of New Directions in one way or another.
Rating: R Spoilers:
Up to 3X14 "On My Way"
Warning: Slightly anti-Blaine (because srsly what was with the looks he was giving Sebastard), some cursing, angst. Also it's sort of ridiculously long AND I have an entire other part in the works. I don't know what happened. This just must be what Glee does to me.Also, this is still un-beta'd.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. If I did Finn and Rachel would've gotten eloped in the summer between seasons 2 and 3 :)
Dave was lounging on his couch watching Casablanca for the third time since 'The Incident' while his dad worked at his desk. Dave knew he was being watched, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about it. He had been telling Kurt the truth when he said he was glad he was alive. Even though he still had that burning feeling of humiliation in his gut, and a small voice telling him how pathetic he was, he kept thinking back to a part of 'Girl, Interrupted' that had always stuck with him. His cousin had recommended the book to him, tears flowing down her cheeks as she described how amazing the story was. Dave had pretended to be disinterested, but Sonia had always seen through him and when they'd spoken the week after, he'd given a full review while she agreed with or disputed him along the way.
Just as Dave was reflecting on the part where the narrator spoke of her suicide attempt as maybe not really wanting to die, but wanting to kill a part of herself, his cell phone started playing, "Born This Way." He reached for it with shaky hands, knowing that yeah, Kurt said they'd see each other again but that was yesterday. He was so in shock it almost went to voicemail, but he pressed the screen and answered with a shaky, "Hello?"
"There's some good news with Quinn," Kurt's voice rang out, and Dave felt his throat constrict. He coughed quietly and smiled a little, glad to hear that.
"Oh yeah? What's up?" he asked, trying to stay cool, calm, and collected. He ignored the concerned look his father shot him when he voice cracked.
"Well the swelling in her brain has gone down, they're putting the piece back on and by tomorrow should be taking her off the sleeping medication. They'll be running MRIs today to check for any physical signs of brain damage, and if, um, once she wakes up, they'll know for sure," Kurt finished, and Dave heard him take in a shaky breath.
"Good, that's great news Kurt," Dave said, and then sort of felt at a loss as to where to go from there. Why had Kurt called him to tell him that? Don't get him wrong, he was upset about Quinn and was glad to hear there was hope, but other than that he was still an outsider in this situation, not a member of their merry gang who deserved constant updates.
"Look, I know this is a little weird-"
"Yeah," Dave breathed out, "sorry."
"What? It's not your fault. Maybe I shouldn't have called," Dave felt his heart sink at that, "but we agreed we wanted to be friends and I really need an objective friend today. Someone I can be around without being reminded of all of this." Dave nodded along, then realized Kurt couldn't see him.
"Yeah, I get that," again it was breathed out, making Dave realize his façade of being unaffected by Kurt wasn't really holding up.
"Plus, I wanted to see how you were doing, David," Kurt said, and this time his tone matched Dave's. Dave, who shivered at hearing Kurt say his name like that.
"Do you wanna come over?" It came tumbling out of Dave's mouth before he knew what was happening, and this time his wide eyes met his dad's, who was still wearing a concerned, but also now also curious, expression. Shit.
"Uh," Kurt let out, seeming taken aback, "would your father be okay with that?"
"Yeah he'd probably be relieved, not having to keep his eye on me for a bit," Dave said, slightly gruff, eyes locked on his dad's. "You don't have to if you don't want- it was stupid, came outta nowhere," Dave rushed out still gruffly, his eyes averted to his socks. Kurt was still silent on the other end.
Just as Dave felt the tears prickling and made to hang up on Kurt and avoid more humiliation, more rejection, (why did he keep setting himself up like this when he KNEW-)
"Text me your address, I'll be over in about twenty?" Kurt spoke gently, and Dave released the breathe he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"You sure?" Dave asked, cringing at how pathetic he probably sounded."
"Yes David, I actually look forward to seeing the cave you dwell in."
When Dave remained silent, thrumming with shock, nervousness, and maybe slight hurt at Kurt's comment, Kurt spoke up again.
"That was a joke," he deadpanned, and Dave shook his head to himself, smirking when Kurt asked, "Too soon?"
"Nah," and Dave let himself chuckle, "I was just kind of surprised, ya know?"
"Yes well, it seems as of recent surprises are around every corner," Kurt spoke dejectedly, and Dave wanted to steer away from depressing subject.
"Kay so, I'll text you my address. Twenty minutes?" he asked, already hopping up and going to change out of his embarrasingly juvenile (shutit he was a nerd, whatever) pajamas, which he'd been wearing since the night before when came had appeared like a dream.
"Twenty minutes," Kurt affirmed. "See you then, David."
"Yeah Kurt, see ya," Dave spoke quickly before hanging up and lumbering to the stairs.
"Dave," his dad's voice rang out, and he froze, having totally forgotten about his audience. "Kurt's coming over?"
Dave felt his skin prickle at his dad's question.
"Is that a problem?" he asked, shoulders tensing. He still hadn't turned around to face his father.
"David," his dad spoke softly, and he heard shuffling steps headed his way before a hand landed in between his shoulderblade. He untensed instantly. "I'm glad you have Kurt."
"He's just a friend Dad," he said softly, annoyed at his father's insinuation. Or maybe he was just being paranoid (READ: hopeful, like maybe his Dad in all of his infinite wisdom knew something Dave didn't).
"Good then, you can never have too many real friends," his dad said before the hand lifted and he heard footsteps shuffling away. "Your bedroom door needs to stay open while he's here," his dad added just as Dave started to climb the step, and he felt himself blush before shooting a look at his father's tight, but genuine, smile. Like he was attempting to act normal about something that, seriously, only in Dave's dreams was it something.
"It's not like that Dad," he gritted out, before taking the steps two at a time. But he couldn't pretend that a weight hadn't seemed lifted at his dad's words. His mom (aka the woman who ran out and whose opinion shouldn't matter (but it really does, and he hates it)) may think he's diseased, but father had barely batted an eye about the gay part. It was more the my-son-almost-killed-himself thing that had almost broken Paul Karofsky, and Dave made a promise to himself that no matter how bad it may get, he'd never do that to his dad again.
Dave was searching through his jeans, looking for his favorite pair (comfy and worn, they didn't fit too tight and complimented his husky frame) when he was struck with the thought that a lot may have gone wrong recently, and he still had an assload of stuff to go through before it was, if it could be, resolved- but he was a lucky guy. He had a great father, and Kurt was coming over in- a glance at the clock told him he had eleven minutes before Kurt's ETA and that sent him scrambling for a clean white T and button up, nerves rearing an ugly head.
-
After Kurt hung up with David he ignored the strange feeling in his gut and his clammy palms and decided he should call Blaine, since on the Glee tree it was Kurt's job to contact him. He wasn't sure why he seemed to need to force himself to dial Blaine's number. There seemed to have been a shift in them recently, and Kurt was still trying to find his footing.
"Hey babe," Blaine greeted him, sounding groggy and stuffed up. Kurt figured he'd had as good as night's sleep as the rest of them.
Kurt preceeded to tell Blaine all he knew about Quinn's condition, and said that they should all be finding out around 4 how the surgery for the skull flap went.
"Ugh, thank God," Blaine choked out.
"Mhm, anyway, everyone left for now, even her mom and sister, not sure if any of Glee, outside of Brittana, will be visiting until she wakes up," Kurt finished.
"You mean 'if' Kurt," Blaine spoke out slowly, and Kurt's blood ran cold. "We should all be preparing for the worst."
"The doctor's didn't say that. Excuse us for wanting to stay positive. You did hear that the doctor used the words 'cautiously optimistic' yes?"
"Yeah Kurt, to be cautiously optimistic IF Quinn does wake up. We can't lose ourselves in false hope, it'll only hurt more."
And a part of Kurt knew Blaine was right, but then he thought back to when his dad was in the hospital, and how the doctor's had told him to prepare for the worst and Kurt had refused, had held strong to the knowledge that his dad was a scrapper and would make it through; just like the future Yale attendee was going to.
"You know, when my dad was sick Mercedes and Qui... well people kept encouraging me to have faith. And I do have faith Blaine. I had faith in my father, and I have faith in Quinn. I think you need to find a little, Mr. Thank-God!" Kurt pitched a slight fit, felt the heat rushing to his face.
"I understand all of that but I still think we should remember the 'cautious' of 'cautiously optimistic' and remain realistic, Kurt. But you know I have faith in Quinn and I am hoping for the best," Blaine said, sounding hurt.
Kurt needed coffee.
"You're right, I'm sorry," Kurt slumped, "but I've been telling myself that nothing can pull our resident HBIC down, and I'm going to keep telling myself that. She's going to pull through this. I don't care how false, Blaine. I am clinging to that hope, alright?"
"I guess everyone handles things different, right?" Blaine pondered, but before Kurt could respond Blaine said, "I think I'm going to call Sebastian to give him the update," like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Sebastian? I know he 'made nice' and all but what right does he have to know about this?" Kurt could actually feel the condescension dripping from his voice.
"Considering I called him last night to tell him, I think he'd appreciate it," Blaine responded shortly.
"So the question becomes why did you call him at all?" Kurt tried to keep his voice from going pitchy.
"Because we're friends!"
"After what he did? Blaine that slushie was dangerous, not to mention-"
"He apologized, it just went too far, he didn't mean for-"
"Excuse me but he MEANT that slushie for me! It was premedita-"
"Like you have any room to talk!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kurt yelled, attracting looks from hospital staffers on their smoke break. He scurried to his car, having totally forgotten where he was.
"You being all buddy buddy with Karofsky."
Kurt stopped in his tracks.
"You can NOT be serious. David just tried to take his own life and I should have been there for him long before this! He apologized, and he transferred, and I shouldn't have blown him off in the first place," Kurt let out in one breath.
"Yeah, you should've gone on a DATE with him instead?!" Blaine asked harshly, and Kurt wasn't sure he'd ever heard Blaine get like this.
"No," Kurt felt himself redden a bit, "but I shouldn't have left it the way I did. Especially not after the guy from his school saw us," said Kurt, shaking his head slowly. He wasn't sure he'd ever forgive himself.
Silence reigned for a full minute before Blaine said softly, "I think we both need to cool off. Tensions are high, I know I had a terrible night's sleep- I really do need to make that call, I feel terrible for laying this on him already."
Kurt just shook his head to himself, about to tell Blaine that he too had things to do, needed to be at David's in - he glanced at his watch - seven minutes?!
"Sure, I'll talk to you later Blaine. Maybe tomorrow, or later tonight if I manage a nap. I haven't even had coffee yet," he let out a few small chuckles at that, wanting to relieve the tension. He really hated fighting with Blaine.
"Explains a lot," Kurt heard the smirk in Blaine's voice and chuckled again. "Talk to you later, babe. Love you."
"Love you too, later," Kurt replied.
It wasn't until he began entering David's address into his GPS that he realized he'd never mentioned where he was going to Blaine.
-
Sarah answered the door and was surprised when she encountered Finn whose paw of a hand was raised in a fist to knock, AGAIN.
"Is Puck alright?" he panted out, and Sarah instantly felt a jolt of worry.
"Yeah, why wouldn't he be? He told me he was going to sleep."
She turned and ran up the steps to Noah's room, hoping he hadn't gone out while she had showered. He had been exhausted!
Finn followed her, his skin crawling with anxiety.
She didn't even bother knocking, she figured he was either not there or asleep, so when she encountered him sitting up in bed and staring at his laptop she looked confused but Finn let out a deep breath and rushed into the room, ignoring Puck's, "Dude, what's wrong?"
"Why the HELL aren't you answering your phone, man! EVERYONE has been trying to call you! You weren't at the hospital, you weren't home when I checked early this morning, no one was, and after we went to the hospital, I dropped Rachel off and drove around to all of your spots looking for your dumb ass!" he exclaimed, shoving Puck hard enough he fell off the bed.
"Hudson, back off!" Puck ground out, biting back the urge to mock Finn for chasing after him, as they wrestled for a minute, Puck struggling to get up and Finn trying to keep him pinned down. "My phone's been on silent in my glove compartment since I didn't want to bring it in to distract from your WEDDING yesterday! Sorry I didn't think of it after all the shit went down."
Sarah didn't mention that Noah had called her about Quinn yesterday or that she'd called him back to map out when he was going to pick her up so she could be his spy.
Finn gave Puck one last shove, then twirled around and sat on the bed, his head in his hands. Puck stood up hesitantly.
"Did something happen?" he asked, still keeping a distance from Finn. Guy seemed more volatile (Rachel's been tutoring him ever since he admitted to wanting to graduate) than usual today.
"Nothing bad, Quinn's going back into surgery to have the skull flap put on soon, her brain seems better," Finn told him, explaining the doctor's plans for the next few days, not knowing Sarah had already found out, and Puck listened for anything Sarah may have forgotten.
When he was finished he stood up in front of Puck, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You good dude?" he asked quietly. Any other time Puck would have shrugged him off but this was his best friend since childhood... He saw Sarah leave the room and figured, what the hell.
"Eh, I don't think I'll be okay 'til she wakes up," he admitted, exhaustion once again hitting him. "I just e-mailed Shelby to let her know what happened."
Finn nodded, squeezing the hand on Puck's shoulder before reaching for his phone.
"I know what you mean dude." He signed and tugged a hand through his hair, which was sticking up every which way. "I gotta get back to Rachel and I'm gonna let everyone know you're alright. You had us all worried but I made them all try to get some sleep," he said reaching for his phone.
Puck had a moment to wonder both when Finn had grown up so much. When they all had.
"Whatever man, ya'll need to stop worrying so much," Puck shrugged. "I'll have my phone by me. Go back to our the littlest JAP, I'm fine."
With a hand-clasp and one armed hug Finn was out the door, and Puck went back to his laptop, turning his e-mail alert sound up high.
Knowing the obnoxious noise would jolt him out of sleep if he got a response from Shelby, Puck finally allowed himself to lay down and wait for sleep to take him far away from all this shit.
-
Dave was pacing in the living room, finally deciding to forego shoes because, hello, he was home and who wore shoes around the house.
Just as he was starting to freak out about his lack of healthy snack foods, the doorbell rang.
He stared at the door, trying to figure out how soon was too soon and how long was too long before cursing under his breathe, schooling his features, and pulling the door open.
"Hey," he exhaled, taking in Kurt's slumped posture and pink nose, sunglasses hiding those beautifully expressive eyes from his view.
"Please tell me you have coffee," Kurt said, and gave Dave a small smile. "I haven't had any yet this morning, and I'm not sure I should be out in society without it."
"Sure, come on in," Dave gestured Kurt in and his dad looked up from his desk.
"Hello, Kurt," he greeted.
"Hi Mr. Karofsky, thanks for, er, letting me come over," Kurt said slightly awkwardly. For a whole second he questioned whether he should have come over at all when Dave's father waved him off. Kurt pulled off his sunglasses.
"You're welcome here any time Kurt, and please, call me Paul. Hope your family's doing well," he said with a friendly smile. Kurt smiled back and gave him a small nod.
"I'm gonna go start the coffee, you like it strong?" Dave cut in, wanting to escape the room. For some reason having his father and Kurt together made him nervous; reminded him of principle office visits.
"Yes, please."
"We only have half & half, though. Nothing like, healthy or fancy," Dave said, and then seemed to realize what he had said.
Kurt's eyes widened imperceptibly before he cracked a smile, giggling a bit.
"Not a problem, I think I'm allowed to splurge today," Kurt chuckled, and Dave felt himself relax.
"Alright, I'll go set it up," Dave said, gesturing towards the kitchen.
Kurt turned towards Dave's dad, as if afraid of being rude by leaving.
"Make enough for me to have a cup please, Dave. This account is driving me insane," Paul asked before turning back to his paperwork.
Kurt turned to follow Dave, who called out, "No problem," over his shoulder and walked through an arched doorway.
Once in the kitchen Dave pulled out a chair for Kurt before turning away quickly to get the coffee ready. Subsequently he missed Kurt's arched eyebrow and the way he sort of harrumphed when he sat down (Blaine didn't pull chairs out for him).
Kurt meant to start with small talk, really he did (but what kind of small talk? How are you feeling? stupid question. What have you been up to? stupid question. really Kurt had no choice but to go big) but when he opened his mouth he asked, "What are you going to do about school?"
Dave's hand froze grabbing the cream from the fridge, the only sound in the kitchen the drip, drip, drip of the coffee maker. Kurt pulled in a silent, slow breath, preparing to retract the question.
Then David turned to him with his deep eyes glistening and shrugged, asking, "You really think I should transfer? You don't think it'll make me look like a corward?" And then he laughed self-deprecatingly. "An even bigger coward I mean."
"You're not a coward David. You were hurting and scared, on top of all of that you felt isolated and you... reacted. If any one judges you, screw 'em, right?" Kurt spoke with a conviction that surprised Dave, and he nodded slowly. "Good. As for schools, I believe you should come back to McKinley." At this suggestion Dave didn't even try to hide his surprise, his mouth gaping open. "You'd have the Glee club there for you, that I'm sure of. I also think a lot of people were affected by the uh, events of this past week."
"The Incident, you mean?" Kurt raised a brow. "'s what I'm calling what I did."
Kurt nodded slowly, not sure how to respond to that.
"Anyway," Dave turned back to what he was doing, "I wasn't sure if you'd want me there." He said it so softly Kurt barely heard, and Dave cursed himself for the nth time today for letting that out. Could he look any more desperate?
"I'm going to go over this just once more- come now, David, I thought you were a quick learner." Dave shot him a look over his shoulder before scoffing and turning back to the mugs and sugar with a shrug. "I want us to be friends, and maybe we could even set up a GSA and/or PFLAG like I had planned."
Dave nodded and told Kurt he'd talk to his dad about it.
"Not to mention I haven't forgotten how well you performed during the halftime show last year," Kurt said after sipping his coffee. "This is really good, by the way. But yes, I also seem to remember Finn raving about how 'cool' you were being and I think Glee would be a good environment for you."
Dave tried to fight against the blush but could barely bring himself to care that he was losing the battle.
"You really think so?" he asked, once again sounding pathetic but not caring. Kurt thought he had performed well.
"Mhmm, so that's something else to think about."
Dave groaned at that. "Yeah, like there's not enough of that going around," he responded.
The conversation flowed pleasantly, and they were discussing future plans, Kurt wanting to hear more about Dave's desire to be a sports agent after giving a ten minute speech on the pros & cons of fashion vs. performing.
"Pretty cut and dry, really." But the sparkle in his eye showed Kurt it really wasn't, though. "I love sports but I'm a better observer than player. Except for hockey, and the longevity of a career in that puts a damper on the idea. But I could scout for a while, work my way up, and eventually represent the future Eli Manning. I think that'd be pretty exciting," Dave told him, letting the words flow. He'd never actually spoken to anyone about this stuff. It was exhilirating.
Kurt smiled widely, seeing how excited Dave got when he talked about his possible future career ideas.
"There's nothing better than building a life by doing what you love," Kurt said. "My dad told me that when we were discussing my plans for college. He loves cars, especially the old muscle car. You obviously love sports, so that sounds great."
"If only I'd spent time thinking about this instead of ways to deflect all my crap on you and I might actually have a chance at it," Dave spoke, suddenly sullen.
"Ugh no, none of that. That end now David Karofsky. I have forgiven you, please forgive yourself. You are a smart young man and you have a great future ahead of you. Are there going to be hurtles? Yes, of course. But you have the power and strength to overcome them," the words came out harshly, but then Kurt's eyes softened. "If you don't believe in yourself you'll be your own, and worst, hurtle. It's a cliché for a reason."
Dave reached out for some of the courage Kurt seemed to exude and grabbed for Kurt's free hand, rubbing it the way he had the night before.
"Thanks Kurt. For everything. Again," he spoke quietly, eyes on their joined hands.
"Thank me again when I'm monopolizing your time to get the GSA and PFLAGS up and running."
Dave's head snapped up.
"You want to do both??"
"Well McKinley needs the GSA and Lima as a whole needs the PFLAG group, so yes, I would really like to."
"You're somethin' else, Hummel. Guess I need something to keep me distracted, so sure. I'm up for it."
"Fabulous," Kurt enunciated slowly, and they both burst out laughing.
Neither had released the other's hand.
-
"So this will be our regular meeting time for the planning, as well as when we can find time in school, yes?"
Dave almost regretted agreeing to help with the groups because Kurt was already like a dog with his favorite chew toy, and they hadn't even made a single plan besides meeting every Sunday.
"Yes Kurt, and believe me if I do end up going back to McKinley, you've gained yourself a shadow.... or something less creepy sounding," Dave mumbled the last sentence, resisting the urge to face palm until Kurt was out of the door.
Kurt just smiled at him and shook his head a little.
"You're an alright guy, David Karofsky," he said before turning to leave. His phone went off and instantly the smile slid off of his face. Please be good news, he thought.
He read the texts and released a happy squeak.
"What's up?" Dave asked, a bit worried considering the marquee of emotions that had played across Kurt's face.
"Quinn is doing well after the surgery. They'll be taking her off the sleep meds at midnight. Should be awake by the middle of the week," he told Dave.
"She's a fighter," Dave said, squeezing Kurt's bicep quickly before grabbing his hand back. "She's gonna be fine."
"Physically yeah, but," he paused and bit his lip, "I just, no one stays the same after something like this. Everything's going to be different." He closed his eyes tightly and seemed to have been talking to himself. Dave reached out and put a hand on Kurt's back, rubbing lightly. "But alas, that's another trail for another day. I don't want to dwell on that right now. I had a good time today, David. Thanks for having me over."
"No problem, like my dad said before you're welcome anytime."
Kurt smiled slightly and turned to leave.
-
It isn't until Friday during lunch that there's a frenzy between the gleeks and one by one they were bursting into exclaims and loud conversation.
"Let's go, let's go, she's awake, get fuckin' moving!" Santana was ushering Kurt from where he'd been standing waiting for Blaine.
"She's awake?" Kurt jumped up, heart racing in his chest.
"Yeah Nikky just texted me, she's awake, well she was, she assed out again already thanks to those wonderdrugs. But Judy's talking to the docs about moving her out of ICU so she can have more than one visitor at a time. He isn't too gung-ho, apparently, but no one says 'no' to a Fabray so hopefully by tonight we'll be able to see her."
None of the gleeks had been in to her ICU room, not even Santana or Brittany, since Judy and Nicole were always there. Not that they minded, especially when the days were creeping slowly by and Quinn still hadn't woken up. The doctors assured them that there was no physical reason she should still be asleep, and that Quinn would come to when she was ready. Kurt figured doctor's worry about covering their asses too much to be wrong about this, and waited it out (almost) patiently.
He spent a lot of time that week at home with Finn and Rachel, who was still a bit of a wreck and susceptible to start sobbing at the drop of a hat. Blaine had come by on Wednesday, and things still felt stilted.
"How's Karofsky," he asked about ten minutes after arriving. They hadn't said more than greetings and talked about how they're been ("eh, tired." "yeah, me too.) before they falling into silence.
"His name is David, Blaine." Kurt rolled his eyes but continued. "He's doing better every time I speak to him. Sounds like he's looking forward to things."
David and Kurt had been texting every day, sometimes holding hour long conversations that made Kurt grateful for his unlimited texting plan.
"Hmm, like what?" Blaine asked, and Kurt didn't detect any malice in the question.
"Returning to McKinley, oddly enough. He starts again next Monday," Kurt told him, and Blaine gave him a pinched look.
"It's not strange. You're at McKinley, why wouldn't he be looking forward to it."
Kurt's brow furrowed, and he still couldn't detect malice in Blaine's voice, but there was definitely something. Was it boredom?
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just that Karofsky's feelings for you are old news, and now you've given him rope and he's gonna ha-"
The silence got very thick and Kurt suddenly had the urge to leave- and they were in his room.
"I told you, his name is David," he said icily, and then sighed. He had seriously had it up to here with fighting with Blaine. "Do you wanna watch a movie?" he asked, hoping a distraction would soothe the tension.
Blaine, who had pressed his lips together to stop the highly distasteful sentence just nodded, sucked in a breathe, and asked, "What are the choices?"
They'd spent the rest of the evening sharing perfunctory comments about the movies and when they said goodbye, Blaine giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, Kurt's stomach was so twisted he couldn't even stomach his nightly tea. (Kurt wondered idly whether or not they were pent up from not having been intimate with each other recently, but he couldn't remember a time since opening THAT pandora's box that he'd been less in the mood)
He was pulled back to the present by Santana jostling him and practically growling, "Hummel if you don't get your ass in gear so help me," and he jumped, moving quickly to follow the rest of the group out of the cafeteria.
"If we can't see her until tonight why are we all leaving now?" he questioned when he caught up with Finn and Rachel.
"Don't ask questions dude, we get to miss school and Quinn's awake. Just enjoy," Finn drawled out, his trademark grin shining down on Kurt. Rachel was nearly skipping and Kurt felt his lips quirking up. Finn was right. Quinn was awake and Kurt felt giddy laughter bubbling in his chest. Maybe hope wasn't such a bad thing after all.
-
The high of the good news died after they'd spent two hours in the hospital, watching the volleys between Judy and various hospital personnel. Quinn had been moved into a room quicker than anyone expected, but Judy had been able to use the doctor's reassurances against them, claiming that if she really was healing as well as they expected then what was the problem, and to hell with hospital policy. Her daughter had a lot of people who've been itching to see her and she deserved to have her first moments of lucidity in a better environment than the hustling ICU.
Brittany had various pictures she was waiting to hang in the room when Quinn was finally given one, Mr. Shue and Ms. Pillbury had brought flowers and Ms. Sylvester had sent a huge arrangement.
So she was moved and the gleeks waited for her to get settled. She woke up just as Judy, Nicole, Brittany, and Santana walked in. She smiled at them, but it was more of a grimace. Then her eyes seemed to glaze over and while she nodded along with what they said, she hardly seemed to notice their presence.
Santana and Brittany left the room, Nicole telling Quinn she had to leave Sunday night because of school but she'd be back for break in three weeks. Once again Quinn nodded, even squeezed Nicole's hand when Nicole clasped it and kissed her forehead. But her eyes were directed out of the window as if looking for something.
When Rachel, Finn, and Kurt walked in Judy had excused herself to go get some coffee, looking like a lost child. Mercedes, Sam, Artie, Mike, and Tina had decided to come the next day to try not to overwhelm Quinn, but Kurt wasn't sure what the point was. He was worried about Puck, out in the corrider pacing endlessly and awaiting his turn.
Quinn glanced up when they walked in and whispered, "Thanks for coming," before turning back to the window.
"Quinn," Rachel whispered, moving towards the bed. Finn followed after her, holding onto her hand as she lowered herself into the chair and reached her free hand for Quinn's undamaged one.
"I'm so, so sorry Quinn," she choked out, tears once again falling down her cheeks. Kurt watched it all from the doorway, the brick in his stomach seeming to make his whole body too heavy to move.
"How was the wedding?" Quinn asked like she hadn't heard Rachel speak. Rachel's breath hitched and she let out a little sob but no acknowledgement flickered over Quinn's face. Her hand stayed limp in Rachel's.
"The wedding didn't happen, something more important came up," Finn prompted.
"Hmm," Quinn breathed out, and that was the last reaction they got out of her for the rest of their visit.
Kurt had kept himself calm, made sure his voice was steady when he told Quinn he'd see her soon, but when he reached the men's room he was clutching the bathroom sink so hard his knuckles were white and his chest heaved with quick, shallow breaths.
He had been right, everything was different now.
Hope you enjoyed. Thank you for readings.
Lots of love,
Meg
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