Close Enough

By: Mytay

Rating: K+ (While there will be unbridled angst, there's nothing too gory or offensive going on here, just some completely shameless emotional pain inflicted on my favourite character :P)

Summary: There's one person in the entire world who means everything to Kurt and when faced with losing him, Kurt ends up losing himself for a time. But only for as long as it takes his father and his friends to bring him back to them.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own, anything Glee related.

Notes: There are no references to anything post-season one, so this is pretty much a mild AU. But there is, I guess, reference to season 2, episode 3. Stop reading now if you haven't watched that episode and wish to remain un-spoiled.

I had the beginning of this written just after season one ended, way before they showed the promo for Grilled Cheesus. There are a few elements of that episode incorporated into this fic.

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Chapter 1

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Finn thought he had a pretty good handle on Kurt. He had figured out most of the guy's moods: when to stay away, when to ask what was wrong, and when to run like hell. He also learned to deal with Kurt's occasional diva fits – found them more funny than anything else. After all, Finn was dating Rachel Berry, and while he wasn't too sure who was the biggest diva, between the two of them, Finn got plenty of practice in the art of 'sure, whatever you say, right, exactly'.

Kurt was awesome in his own way – like, really his own way because there was no one else like him around and Finn didn't mean gay. Sure, there weren't many gays in Lima, and that sort of contributed to Kurt's uniqueness, but his awesomeness stemmed from his diva-bitch attitude (which when used for you, as opposed to against you, was too cool for words), his killer voice (and having heard Kurt practice scales and stuff, Finn promised himself never to tell his girlfriend that Kurt had more range than she did), and the fact that underneath all that wicked fashionista personality there was something young and kind of insecure about him. It made Finn feel a big brotherly protectiveness at times and, other times, just like a good friend; he could relate to the whole not knowing your place thing (Azimio and Karofsky seemed to like to remind Finn of it daily – sometimes two or three times a day if they could).

Now, Finn couldn't imagine a house without Broadway show tunes blaring at eight o'clock every night or fights over the necessity of stirrup pants as part of the baseball uniforms.

There had been issues and hiccups to deal with, but for the most part, Finn had found that he and Kurt just worked, for whatever reason. Not only that, but Finn was pretty okay with thinking of Kurt as his stepbrother (even though Burt hadn't proposed to his mom, but Finn was sure that it was only a matter of time) – he found himself calling Kurt his stepbrother almost without realizing it a lot of the time.

So, to see the other boy, his almost-brother, trembling and pained, wide-eyed and shaken, had Finn feeling helpless and hurting, because there was nothing he could do about it, even though he desperately wanted to.

All he could do was sit by him, hold his hand, and pray that the doctor would hurry the hell up.

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The thing was, the day had started off so normal, so typical, that it looked like it would be just another boring school day that would blend into the background of the hundreds of others that he couldn't remember.

Kurt had driven them both to McKinley, and Finn had won their 'Best Out of Three' round of rock, paper, scissors which meant that he got to pick the music. The sounds of Bruce Springsteen filled the SUV, and Kurt's lips twitched upwards – Finn smiled to himself and chalked Bruce Springsteen up as yet another rock artist Kurt would never admit to but totally did like listening to.

The sky was a dark grey as the Navigator pulled up into the school and by the time they reached the doors, it was starting to rain.

"Damn it," Kurt complained as they walked to their lockers. "I have this amazing Dolce umbrella and it's currently sitting, useless, in my closet. Why didn't I check the weather? And it would've been so perfect with my jacket –"

"Wait, they make designer umbrellas?" Finn blinked as Kurt reached his locker first. They always arrived at school early enough to take their time, visit each of their lockers, and hang with their friends – usually the other early-starters like Mercedes, Rachel, Tina and Artie – before splitting up to go to class.

"I have this one here." Kurt brandished an umbrella he dug out from God knows where. Finn would swear on his life that Kurt's locker had some kind of Mary Poppins mojo going on, because the amount of crap that Kurt could fit in there . . . Then again, maybe it was Kurt who had the Mary Poppins thing going on, because it seemed nearly all his bags and his closet had the same bottomless pit type quality. Finn got stuck on the image of Kurt with a carpetbag, flower hat and hearing the same superior tone – but even more superior sounding with a British accent. Heh, that's kind of funny.

"But this . . . argh, it clashes. Damnit, damnit!"

"Hey, Kurt, could you maybe rant again – but this time with an English accent?" Finn asked hopefully.

Kurt stared at him with one raised eyebrow and Finn grinned back. It was a show of how well they knew each other that Kurt just kept right on moaning about his lack of matching umbrella and Finn forgot about the Mary Poppins thing as they headed towards his locker, neither of them breaking the rhythm of their morning.

Like he had established earlier: typical, boring day.

The part that wasn't typical was the darkening sky – it went black by second period, and people began glancing out the windows often, including teachers, as the sky spewed out rain and hail, hardcore.

Finn was sitting with the gleeks at lunch and they couldn't help but choose a table by the large bay windows so they could stare as the clouds took on an even more sinister colour – that slightest hint of dark green, a line across the sky.

When Principal Figgin's static smothered voice came over the PA and informed them that they were under tornado watch, no one really blinked – but there was some frantic texting as they checked on their families to make sure they knew.

"Dad is on his way home from the shop – they closed up early," Kurt said as he checked his phone. "No one's going to stop by for a fix-up today, and dad wants to let everyone go home, just in case."

Finn nodded. "Mom's still at the office, but they have a storm shelter, so it's cool."

"Both my dads came home and they want to know if I want to be picked up," Rachel informed them. "But we have Glee today, so I think I'll stay – besides, the school has a storm shelter too, right?"

Artie tilted his head, a slight smirk appearing on his face. "Yeah, there is – Tina and I have –"

Tina elbowed him, not particularly subtly, and Artie backtracked, his eyes widening. "Uh, I mean yeah. There is one. Not that I know where it is. Or anything."

Puck was grinning, waggling his eyebrows. "I do. It's better than any of the closets, eh Abrams? More room to maneuver?" Puck shot Santana a look at this, but she ignored him as she searched through her bag, taking out a nail file . . . However, Finn could see the beginnings of a smug smile pulling at her lips.

Tina was blushing a bit, but Artie just raised an eyebrow in return and gave a short nod to Puck. Finn was trying hard not to laugh as Tina caught it and kicked at Artie's chair – it was a total déjà vu to a moment from this past summer. It seemed that Artie was getting more action than him – and it made him a little jealous; Rachel didn't approve of getting dragged into closets or storm shelters or whatever, unless it was pre-arranged, didn't interfere with classes or Glee club, and she had already scoped the place out for cleanliness. Tina, apparently, according to her boyfriend, had no such hang ups. Finn found out, over the summer (because he was teasing the boy about it and Artie did like to brag now and then) about how Artie and Tina would make out in his van (which also had tons of room to spare) after Tina's tutoring job, and now, during school, in the empty classroom near the auditorium.

He knew an awful lot about Artie and Tina, come to think of it, and Mercedes, thanks to how often she came over.

It wasn't just his new family relationship with Kurt that sometimes made Finn stop and think, but this whole thing with . . . Oh wow, is that a Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownie from Cassidy's Bakery? No way!

"Oh my God, Brittany, I'll give you my soul for that brownie!"

"Really?" Brittany cocked her head. "But, like, what do you do with someone's soul?"

"You put in a safe and wait 'til they want it back, and then make sure they pay through the nose for it," Santana offered absently as she filed her nails.

Everyone at the table turned to stare at her. Then they all broke into chatter, discussing if in fact the brownie was worth a soul (which Finn, Puck, Artie, Matt and Quinn agreed, yes, it was), and if a soul could in fact, be signed or contracted away. Or loaned.

The storm raged on, forgotten.

But Finn would remember one particular large bolt of lightning (it seemed so close) as he watched the wind bend the trees in a scary way. Tornadoes royally freaked him out, and he really hoped that it just ended up being a bad storm, or that if there was a tornado, it was far, far away and this was about as bad as it would get.

And then Mercedes was insisting that the only way you could sell your soul was to a demon, à la that show with "hot brothers" (Kurt's description, not his) Supernatural, and he was drawn back into the argument.

Later that day in Glee club, he watched Rachel and Mercedes sing a badass ballad together and he was grinning like a loon, because it was killer and they were so going to kick Vocal Adrenaline's ass this year. Rachel was flouncing in one of her mini skirts and . . . that was pretty damn awesome too.

Their performance was so powerful he could hear that it was echoing out into the hallway – the door was open because the school was way emptier than usual after hours. Not only were the students totally gone, but nearly all the staff too; there were only a couple of other teachers and Bill, the night janitor, hanging around, waiting for them to leave so he could finish off the choir room and lock up after them. The storm had quieted down to a light drizzle by the time school ended. Finn was in a good mood thanks to the lack of tornado and this epic performance by his amazing girlfriend and Kurt's also amazing best friend.

"Uh, Mr. Schue, I think Mercedes should take it an octave lower – it'll better compliment me that way and I think –"

"Rachel, Mercedes sounds great right where she is, and so do you," Mr. Schuester said patiently. "Don't try and –"

"But Mr. Schue –"

Puck nudged Finn, staring somewhere past their teacher and Rachel. Finn followed his line of sight and saw his mother standing in the doorway, and at first Finn was confused – he gave her an inquisitive, kind of embarrassed smile, the 'this is a non-parent zone, why are you mixing worlds here?' one.

Then he noticed the fresh tear tracks on her face.

"Mom? What's going on?" Finn stood up, silencing Mr. Schue and Rachel's argument. He felt everyone's eyes fall on him, and then his mother, any and all movement stopping.

His mom walked further into the room, belying her frazzled appearance with her calme words. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Mr. Schuester, but I need Finn and Kurt to come with me. I tried to call but . . ." Her voice faded as she wiped quickly at a tear that barely got the chance to slide down her cheek.

"Mom?" Finn felt his stomach drop. "Mom, what's happened?"

She tried to smile, but her lips hardly twitched. "I'll tell you guys on the way, okay sweetie?" Her eyes flickered over Finn's shoulder and stayed there. Finn whipped around, seeing Kurt sitting frozen next to Quinn. Mercedes made her way to her best friend's side, her lower lip trembling, eyes widening.

Finn suddenly got it – at the same time as the rest of the Glee club, who were now all watching the barely-breathing Kurt.

As a matter of fact, Finn was starting to feel a squeezing in his chest area. Oh, no, not again – and Finn wasn't just thinking of himself, because he couldn't remember losing his father though he felt the pain of it over the years (though a bit less now because Burt was so . . . oh man, this wasn't happening). He was thinking of the pale boy before him. He had to swallow down his own fear, his own shock and confusion and his 'oh please, don't do this God's because he had to try and be there for his friend, but his mind was reeling – he still didn't know what was going on, he didn't even know where to start, what to say . . . and it seemed, from the silence around him, no one else did either.

It was his mother who cracked first. "Oh Kurt –"

The boy's head whipped first one way, then another – the movement was jerky, unbalanced, and after a bit it was like he remembered how to shake his head properly, and started doing it again and again. "No. No, no."

Mercedes already had tears of her own escaping. "Kurt, honey, please . . ." Quinn had one hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide – they both had arms coming up to wrap around him.

"NO!" Kurt jumped up from his seat, away from both girls' reaching hands, his breath now coming out in quick gasps, almost wheezing. He looked like he was going to bolt any second, his eyes darting around so fast it was creepy and nausea-inducing to see. Finn's mom swooped in before he could find his escape route, grabbing his arms.

"Kurt, he's alive. Listen to me, sweetheart, he's alive!" She was nearly shouting the last part, but it worked. Kurt's eyes were still plate-sized, but his breathing started to slow down, and he was blinking again.

"He's alive," she repeated, quietly. "And we have to get to the hospital." It seemed the more she reassured Kurt, the more she managed to gather herself and maintain her calm.

"What happened?" Finn asked again, stepping closer to the two. He sort of wanted to put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, but the other boy looked so small and fragile, it made Finn feel big (well, bigger), klutzy and destructive by comparison. Not to mention that he wasn't sure if a sudden movement would break the tenuous hold his friend had on his composure, or if Kurt would welcome the gesture even if it didn't make him breakdown – but there had to be something he could do.

"It was an accident – the storm, it knocked a tree over and Burt . . . it was just wrong place, wrong time – and it's . . ." Her voice wavered once more. "It's pretty bad, but he's in surgery right now, they're taking care of him, and he'll be there for a few hours."

"We have to go," Kurt said abruptly, clearly, with no tears thickening his tone. Finn blinked, turning to look over at Mercedes who had stopped crying, her cheeks wet, and was staring at her best friend despairingly.

Finn watched as his mom nodded, and she stepped back from Kurt, but not before grabbing both of his hands and squeezing hard. Kurt might have squeezed back, Finn really couldn't tell, and then his mom turned to him. "I don't think Kurt can drive on his own right now, so we can leave his car . . . or Finn, if you don't mind –"

"No, don't worry, Mrs. Hudson, I got this one." Mercedes had grabbed her bag and was making her way around the seats. "Let's go."

"Do you want . . ." Quinn trailed off, biting her lip and focusing worried eyes on Kurt. She flicked her gaze over to Finn's mom and then to Finn. He just stared back, still not sure how to react to all of this – it was too fast, too crazy, didn't make sense – shouldn't make sense.

"That's kind of you, Quinn, but right now, I think just us will do –"

"But . . ." Mr. Schue seemed to unfreeze himself, and the rest of the Glee club took their cue from him – they all began to stand and shift around, looking about as lost and confused as Finn felt. "If you should need anything –"

"Thank you, Mr. Schuester. Tell you what – Mercedes can call you all once the surgery's over, let you know when to come by, if you want to."

Quinn nodded at this, Kurt was waiting in the hallway, and again, things shifted way too fast for Finn because suddenly he was with Kurt and Mercedes in the Navigator, following his mom's car as she pulled into the hospital parking lot.

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Author's Note: In No Rhyme, No Reason we had some frantic Burt, worrying over Kurt. This time, I wanted to try it the other way around :)

I have a massive collection of half-written stories sitting on my hard drive, and I rarely focus on just one at a time – in this case, while trying to write chapter 3 of For a Little While, my fingers jumped over to some Kurt-angst. This is the first time I'll be juggling posting two stories at once, so apologies if one gets neglected at certain times while I'm focusing on the other.

Oh, and there are real life concerns too, but . . . meh. I'll worry about those when my essay/tutorial/presentation deadlines are breathing down my neck and I'm walking around, doubting my reality due to lack of sleep :)

Thanks to any and all who stop by to read – feedback is welcome!