Fic: Slipping Through My Fingers
Title: Slipping Through My Fingers
Author: Rofro05
Disclaimer: I don't own em and don't make any money off of em.
Warnings: angst
Word Count: 1037
Rating: G
Genre: drama
Spoilers: 2x03
Summary: Will and Emma have to break the news to Kurt.
A/N: Written for falafel musings prompt on the angst meme. It's just a shorty.
Will swallowed as he and Emma stepped into the French classroom. How do you tell a teenager that their only family was in the hospital? How do you break the news that the only parent that they have left had a heart attack? How do you say to a child that their dad might be dead before they even get to the hospital?
Not knowing the answer, Will just watched as Emma leaned over and told the teacher that they were taking Kurt out of class. For a moment he watched Kurt in his element as he spouted fluent French at some jock that probably did understand a word that he was saying. Will knew that this could very well be the last moment of relatively carefree Kurt he would ever see if all this turned out badly.
For just a moment after he called Kurt's name things were normal. Kurt smiled his usual smile as their eyes met. And as that smile fell so did Will's heart. As he asked Kurt to come into the hall Will felt his breath catching in his throat. He could see Kurt's hands shaking as the teen gathered his things and the tremors only became more noticeable as Kurt stood and crossed the room towards them.
As soon as the door closed Kurt dropped his bag to the floor, for once not caring if the leather of the satchel was scuffed. “What's wrong?” he asked in a trembling voice that was even higher than usual. “Did something happen to my dad?”
Emma stepped forward and tried to grab Kurt's hand but he just backed away out of reach. She let her hand drop back by her side and took a deep breath. “I'm so sorry Kurt but the hospital just called.”
Before Emma could go any further Kurt's face lost all color and he slid abruptly down the wall. Will fell to his knees and reached out to catch his student. Now Kurt's entire body was shaking violently and Will was worried that the kid was going to pass out. Suddenly to his surprise Emma was kneeling next to him on the floor completely disregarding any dirt that was probably staining her clothes.
Kurt finally looked up at them with tears trailing down his face. He breath was coming in quick pants and Will reached out to tuck the teen's head back down on his knees not knowing what else to do to help and wishing that he could do anything to ease Kurt burden. He had to find a way to calm the kid down so that they could get to the hospital.
“Shh, just take a couple of deep breaths.” Will said as calmly as possible. He wished that he could tell Kurt that everything would be alright, but also knew that making empty promises wouldn't help anything right now. It would be nice if he had a bottle of water to give Kurt but Will wasn't willing to leave the other two alone in the hall. When it seemed that Kurt had calmed a little Emma continued.
“Kurt, I don't have a lot of information but the hospital did call. They really can't say much to someone who isn't a relative.” Emma wrung her hands as she tried to find the words to continue. “I'm afraid that your dad had a heart attack a couple of hours ago. He was at his shop with a customer when it happened and that's all the doctor told me. But Mr. Schuester and I are going to take you to the hospital so that we can find out more information.”
Hearing that news seemed to panic Kurt all over again and his breathing sped up to an alarming rate. All that Will could do was reach out and rub Kurt's back gently. He wished that he could just pull the kid into a hug but Kurt had been pretty resistant to them touching him so far and didn't think he would tolerate more contact than a simple hand rubbing his shoulder. “Just try to breathe a little slower.” Will finally pleaded not wanting Kurt to have to make the trip to the hospital by ambulance instead of his car . It seemed that Kurt was listening because his breathing slowed just a little.
For another moment the three of them just sat there in the hallway listening to Kurt's panting breaths. Then just as quickly as he had fallen Kurt straightened and his breathing evened out. In fact the only sign of his continued distress were the tears that were still rolling steadily down his pale cheeks. It was strange to sit and watch as Kurt pulled up his defenses as he pushed his overwhelming emotions down.
“If you're alright we should get you to the hospital.” said Emma as sh tentatively broke the silence. And she was right, they should get Kurt to the car while he was relatively calm.
Instead of speaking Kurt just nodded as he scrambled up from the floor. Will reached out to help him but pulled back as Kurt backed away. Kurt had never been increasingly tactile with anyone at school and Will was a little worried about breaking the boy's tentative hold on his emotions. Instead he just scooped up the bag that Kurt had evidently forgotten and followed the other two down the hall.
It was heart breaking to watch as Kurt hugged himself tightly, his body craving the comfort that his mind wouldn't allow him to accept from the adults present. He had never been all that religious but Will prayed with everything in his body that Burt Hummel would still be alive when they got to the hospital when they got there. Because if he wasn't Will didn't want to think about what might happen to Kurt.