Hey guys *hides and waves* I'm SO SORRY about the wait. Like really and truly. I've just had the most difficult year of my life, but I'm happy to announce I'm now a qualified social care worker with a part time job that I love. Anyways, I know I've said this before but I really don't have any more committments at the moment and I really will update soon. I'm also writing oneshots at the moment (Blangst of course) which will be on a screen near you soon. I'd love reviews so much. I hope you enjoy.

Last chapter:

As Blaine finally started to calm down again, they heard a knock on the door before a young nurse entered. "There's a Carole Hummel waiting outside to see you. She said she has news about your friend's surgery. Should I bring her in?"

Chapter 13: The Tough Conversations

"YES, please," Blaine interjected, before his dad got a chance to say otherwise. Joe didn't say anything, just glad that his son was showing some enthusiasm about something again, even though he wasn't incredibly happy about what the something was.

Without a word, the nurse left before returning again a moment later with a dazed looking Carole following closely behind. Without a word, she walked over to the bed and enveloped Blaine in a motherly embrace, mindful of his injuries.

"Carole, what's happening? How's Kurt?" asked Blaine, once she'd pulled away.

"He's still in surgery. They're closing up. He got through it, Blaine. He's going to be okay," Carole responded, her voice wavering with emotion. Joe and Kate let out a breath they'd both subconsciously been holding. No matter what he'd done to Blaine, they knew it would be much more damaging to their son's psyche if he died and never got to tell him that what he'd done had been a horrible mistake.

"Did they get that thing out of his head?" Blaine questioned, still frantic.

"They think they got all of it, but they can't be sure. They'll do another scan once he's woken up and see what it shows. The good news is that it wasn't cancerous. If they have all of it, he should be okay."

"Should be?"

"Well, this was very serious. The tumor was quite large. Once Kurt wakes up, they'll assess his memory and his motor skills to make sure that none of it was affected. Our old Kurt will be back soon though, Blaine." Blaine smiled softly. He wanted so bad to believe it; he wanted his Kurt to come back more than anything.

"I'll let you get back to resting, Blaine. I'll keep you guys updated. I better get back to Burt." Carole gave Blaine another hug, smiling sadly upon feeling how tense he was, before leaving the room.

"Carole's right, Blaine. You should get some rest. You look like you haven't slept in a month," Kate agreed, smoothing some of Blaine's curls down on his forehead.

"I'm not tired," he replied stubbornly. The worried parents shared a glance over his head as they noticed his desperate attempts to hold back a yawn.

"Why don't you want to sleep, baby? You're clearly exhausted," Kate quizzed softly.

"I can't go asleep. What if I fall asleep and Kurt wakes up and asks for me? I have to be there," Blaine mumbled wearily in reply.

"Blaine, it's going to be at least a few days until Kurt's up to seeing anyone. Heck, it might be a few days before he even wakes up," Joe explained. He tactfully left out that he wasn't even sure that he'd be letting Blaine see Kurt again. This wasn't the time to upset his son; he'd already been through enough. They could talk about it when the time came.

Burt and Carole stood up quickly as Kurt was wheeled back into the room. Burt fought back a sob as he caught sight of the bandages encircling his son's head, as he noticed the bald spot where his beloved hair had been carelessly shorn off before the operation. He looked so pale and fragile, so different than the Kurt he'd seen just yesterday, verbally attacking his cowering boyfriend. He stroked Kurt's cheek gently with a calloused finger, sobbing as he felt the warm comfort of Carole's hand enter his own.

"He looks exactly like her," he stammered. Carole didn't need to ask who, knowing that her husband was referring to his late wife, the mother of his child. She felt a pang in her chest, knowing how difficult this must be for the man she loves. "Why Kurt? Why us? Why again?" Carole just shushed gently, not even trying to come up with answers. That wouldn't help. There were none.

"Don't focus on that, Burt. He's still here, the tumor's gone. Your Kurt is back."

"Yeah, and how's he gonna feel when he wakes up, huh? When he asks for Blaine, and we have to explain to him that he's spent the last god knows how long beating the crap out of him? How are we going to tell him that? What if we don't even have to tell him? What if he remembers? What's that gonna do to him, Carole? He loves Blaine," Burt implored, nausea washing over him. Before, all he was thinking about was Kurt getting through the surgery alive. Now that he had, endless more issues were arising.

"Burt, we'll take it all as it comes. We'll get through this as a family. We'll help Kurt get through this as a family. Blaine still loves him; it was as clear as day when I told him about the surgery. They can come through this too," Carole comforted, stroking her thumb along the back of Burt's hand.

"I'm not sure if I want them to come through this. We can't just think about Kurt's wellbeing in this, Carole. What about Blaine? Would it even be healthy for him to take Kurt back after what he did? I love my son, but you didn't hear the way he spoke to that boy yesterday. And it wasn't just yesterday, it's apparently been going on for weeks, maybe even months. If the circumstances were reversed, tumor or no tumor, I wouldn't let Kurt near him again."

Despite the heartache she was feeling, Carole felt her love for the man in front of her grow even more than she ever thought possible. He was so considerate of others. Here he was, sitting with his son who'd just had a life threatening tumor removed, and he was thinking of others. He was always thinking of others. That's why she'd married him.

"Carole, I need to tell you something and I'm afraid you won't be able to look at me the same again after I say it," Burt struggled, looking more troubled than she'd ever seen him.

"What it it, Honey?" she questioned, worry encapsulating her.

"When the doctor said that Kurt had a tumor, I... I." Burt was cut off by a harsh sob, followed by another one. Carole didn't say anything, just continued rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. He didn't need her interrupting, he just needed to know she was listening. "When the doctor said Kurt had a tumor, I felt relieved. I was glad my son had a tumor." He broke off again. Carole tried to hide her surprise. She knew the type of man Burt was; she knew there was a good reason behind his feelings.

"I just... All I could think of was how he treated Blaine yesterday, and how he spoke to me when I confronted him. And then Blaine admitted that it was Kurt who put him in hospital. I just... I was glad because there was a real reason for why he did it. And the fact that it was a tumor gave me a way to get my boy back," Burt sobbed. Carole had never seen him this upset before. Moving her chair closer, she closed her arms around her husband, trying to give him all the comfort she could as her own tears fell.

"It's okay Burt, it's okay. It's completely understandable that you felt like that. I would have too. You weren't happy that Kurt had a tumor, you were just happy that he was still your little loving boy. You don't need to feel bad about that Burt. You're a good father, Kurt and Finn both love you. Everything's going to be okay." With that, she stopped talking and just let her husband mourn.

"Joe, we need to talk about what we're going to do about this," Kate whispered across the hospital bed which her son had finally fallen asleep on, unable to keep his eyes open for a second longer.

Joe just nodded, eyes not leaving Blaine for a second. Even in sleep, he tossed and turned and his mouth was turned down at the corners, almost giving him a pouty look.

"What are we going to do when he asks to see Kurt?" she asked, voice troubled.

Joe finally looked across at her, not even thinking minutely as he answered "We're going to tell him he can't, of course."

"You think it's going to be that easy? That we can just forbid him from seeing his boyfriend and he'll just agree to it and start focusing on getting better?" Kate questioned, not impatiently.

"Well what do you think we should do? Look what that boy has done to him. Do you know how much damage domestic violence does to a child? That's what he is; a child. He's ourchild. We need to do everything we can to make sure that this doesn't happen again."

"He's going to need to see him sometime, Joe. He's not going to take no for an answer. And maybe it really was just because of the tumor that this happened," Kate tried to empathise. Joe snorted a bitter laugh.

"I'm not willing to take that risk."

"You can't place all the blame on Kurt, Joe. While we're on the topic, maybe we should talk about our part in this. Why do you think Blaine was so easily convinced of all those terrible things that Kurt said? Why do you think he so easily believed what Kurt told him about our feelings towards him? Why do you think that we didn't spot that Blaine's boyfriend has been beating him up for weeks now?" Kate's voice rose, almost hysterically. She couldn't stop the guilt from enveloping her everytime she looked down at her son. She couldn't stop thinking of the look of complete shock when they told him they were taking time off work until he felt better. She kept seeing the look of suspicion on his face when they comforted him.

"Stop, we're not talking about this. We've never laid a finger on our son, and we never would."

"It's not just about physically hurting him, Joseph. When's the last time either of us have told him we loved him before today? When's the last time we've gone to one of his plays or performances? When's the last time we actually went home from work on time to eat the dinner that he makes for us every single day without fail?" Kate's voice trembled with the effort of holding back her tears. Blaine always came across so confident, she'd never realised how much those things phased him. She'd always just assumed that he knew how much they loved him; just like they knew how much he loved them. Then again, Blaine was a lot better at showing it than they were.

"When did we stop trying?" Joe questioned, whispering as his son tossed again on the too-large bed. "He's the best thing in our lives. How did we let ourselves lose track of that?"

"I don't know, but it stops now. We need to get our priorities straight. We'll hire a few more people who can take on some of our workload. We're not missing anymore dinners, or performances, or anything else that Blaine wants us to be there for."

"We're not going on any more business trips unless he has some time off and can come with us," Joe added. "Thursday night is family night. We'll go out for dinner, we'll go bowling or to a movie, or do whatever Blaine wants to do."

Kate smiled softly at her husband. It was going to take a long time for Blaine to trust them, but they'd be a family again eventually no matter what.

Like I said, I'd love some reviews but I can't really ask for anything after how long I've kept you waiting. I really am sorry and it won't happen again