Chapter Five; A Visit and A Virus

"Marley can you get the door?" Yelled a voice from inside.
Kurt worried his bottom lip as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, he had not told Marley he was coming home for the weekend. As she opened the door he took a step backwards, and said "Afternoon Pingu".

"KURT!" Marley launched herself out the door and into his arms as he held onto the porch rail in an attempt not to fall flat on his ass. "What are you doing here?" she grinned.

"Can we go inside?" he asked, also grinning and hugging her back just as enthusiastically.

"Yes. Yes. Oh my god. Mom! Kurt is here!" She bellowed back towards the stairs.

"Yes I know dear, I think the whole street heard actually. Hey Kurt." Millie smiled as she walked through the hallway towards the living room.

"Hi Millie. Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah we're doing good, I trust Marley has kept you updated plenty?"

"Definitely. It's good to see you though."

"Of course, how come you are back?"

"Ah well I needed to see my favourite girls of course!" teased Kurt. He grinned, "I also had something I needed to see my dad about in person so, figured I would make it a round trip, see everyone in the borough while I'm at it!"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah will be fine, I would just rather not tell him over the phone y'know?"

"Of course. Well send him my best, I'll leave you and Marls with some peace."

"Aha thanks Millie, have a nice day." She smiled and walked through the door leading to the garage, as soon as she was gone Marley pounced.

"What in the world is so important that you had to come back here just to tell your dad?" she started, but he held up a hand.

"Marls, this is gonna suck enough that I have to say it please give me a second."

Her eyes turned to concern as she looked at Kurt closely. She noticed how pale he had become, even skinnier than the last time they had seen one another and that was only a month ago. Not long after that night, ever since which Kurt had been acting- not strange. Just not quite himself.

"Kurt?" she prompted after a few minutes more.

"You know when I last came home, and I started getting that fever just before I left?" he said, looking fixedly at a spot on the rug in front of him.

"Yeah."

"Well I went to the doctor. I- had a bad feeling. So I went to see Dr Q and- and he-" Kurt stopped talking for a moment and wrung his hands on his lap. "He told me I needed to take some medication. For everything you know? I-"

"Kurt, what's wrong?" asked Marley.

"HIV."

He didn't look up from his spot on the floor, so Marley sat down on the floor in front of him and pulled his chin up so he could look at her.

"HIV" he repeated, and then he crumpled.
Tears poured down his cheeks and his body shook, racked with sobs. Marley didn't know what else to do, but to put her arms around him and hold on as tight as she could.

"Would you come with me to tell my dad?"

"Of course I will Kurt"

"Thank you"

And then the tears started again.

"Dad?"

"Hey kiddo"

"I need to talk to you."

"Sure come in," said Burt, pulling open the door to his office and smiling when he caught sight of Marley behind his son. She had been such a good friend to him over the last few months.

"Dad this sucks and I don't want to tell you but I- I know I have to."

"That doesn't sound good. What is it kid?"

Kurt glanced at the closed office door.

"Nobody will interrupt us Kurt. But I guess I wonder why you're worried about that when your friend is here too- no offence Marley" Burt smiled at her.

"I'm here for moral support Burt."

"Dad I have HIV." Burt- who had been turning to take a drink of his coffee- dropped the mug down his front. He stared at his son who, no he wasn't poorly. No, this was a bad dream. The coffee didn't even hurt, this was some bizarre dream. Too much cheese before bed, that was all. Right?

Burt looked to Marley, who was looking at him with concern on her face, and then back to his son who seemed to be frozen to his chair.

"Oh my god" he gasped, then he lurched forward to hold Kurt in his arms.

It wasn't a dream. This was the worst day of his life. Worse than the heart attack and the cancer and- just worse.

"They gave me medication dad I'll be fine"

"And we caught it early"

"I'm going to be okay I promise"

Burt heard everything as though it was being said underwater.

"I'm going to kill that Anderson kid!" he fumed, and stood up quickly.

"Dad! Stop."

"No, he cheated on you and- he hurt you and- he gave you-"

"It wasn't Blaine!"

Now that one threw him for a loop. Not Blaine? Wait, his little boy had slept with… not just Blaine?

"Dad please sit down, because neither of us is going to like this but I- can't change it now."

"You cheated on Blaine?"

"What? No!"

"Oh. So you have a new boyfriend?"

"No Dad"

"Well then-"

"Dad. Please." Burt sat quietly for a moment, then looked towards his son, his baby, for some explanation. "It was after Blaine and I broke up, not long before I came here last- remember I had that fever coming on as I went home? Well I went to the doctor- not just a fever. When I- Brody and Rachel took me out for my first night in New York as a single man and- there was a guy. I was completely plastered and I just didn't do anything sensible that night at all and by morning i wasn't thinking about it because I had- well some other more important things were on my mind. Then i noticed the fever and a wound wasn't healing despite being weeks old and i started to put two and two together so i went to see Dr Q and he confirmed and I- I'm so sorry dad. So sorry- I just-" Kurt broke off as Burt pulled him into another hug.

"It's going to be okay, son."

"No dad, it isn't"