Soon You’ll Come Home Chapter 21
Summary: Blaine and Kurt are married with two kids and at the point of their lives they would never imagine having another child. But then Blaine meets a young girl in the most unlikely way and after he learns about the abuse she suffered he can’t help but want to give her the family that loves and care’s for her like she needs.
Warning: mentioned child abuse, and Bullying, and self harm (nothing graphic), depression
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It’s a few days later. Blaine and Kurt are comfortably sharing the sofa, both doing work quietly, well Blaine is doing some work quietly as he tries to ignore Kurt’s socked foot that keeps inching slowly up his leg. The kids aren’t home. Sam took Sophie, her new boyfriend Luke, and Oliver out to do touristy things to show Luke the city. Sam promised to keep them away all day, and Kurt has been flirty since they closed the door behind them. “Kurt,” Blaine warns slowly, with no threat to his voice. “I’m trying to work.” “Then keep working, don’t let me distract you,” Kurt teases moving closer to Blaine to start kissing at his neck. “I need to get this done,” Blaine stutters out, trying to keep back a moan when Kurt hits the spot that drives him mad. “Don’t make me beg, Blaine” Kurt whispers against his skin. “I’m not, I’m honestly trying to work,” Blaine laughs. “It’s been so long that it probably won’t take that long,” Kurt reasons. “Is that supposed to turn me on?” Blaine teases but stops short when he can’t help let out a wounded strangled sound as Kurt shoves him down onto his back and shuts him up with a kiss. Blaine finally gives in and sets his work aside, not bothering to remove his lips from Kurt to watch where he places the papers and pencil. Blaine both hates and loves that Kurt can make him feel like a teenager in love with one kiss. He knows they should move their make-out session to somewhere more appropriate than their living room couch, but he also likes how young making out on the sofa makes him feel. “Papa! Dad!” Blaine hears his kids shout once Kurt finally gets his shirt off. They scramble to make themselves decent as he hears them run into the living yelling about the television. Blaine can’t help the shameful look on his face when they stop short and give him a disgusted look. “Sam! You promised me all day,” Kurt hisses at Sam who is not even polite enough to hide his amusement. “Sorry bro, but this is urgent, you need to turn on channel 22” Sam explains. Kurt reaches for the remote to turn on the television as Blaine tries to smooth out his shirt. They watch quietly as the story unfolds before them, all Blaine’s brain process is they found her, identified her, and she is in critical care. His ears are ringing. “I made a call back to the chief and had the new photos and documents you gave me faxed over. The chief then made a call to the station who found Riley and they were able to identify her. They haven’t made the arrest yet, but he’s hopeful with this new information,” Luke says hesitantly. He stays frozen in his seat, his eyes glued to the television. “It’s her?” “Yeah, Dad, it’s her,” Sophie says putting a hand on his shoulder. Kurt doesn’t say a word as he gets up, grabbing his phone and moving into the same room. “I left a voicemail to the station requesting they call me back on my personal number to give me details in her condition,” Luke says, “I can’t make promises that they will allow me to have that information, but I’m hoping since we gave them information they may share their information with us.” “We’re going to bring her home, right Dad?” Oliver asks, eyes wide and wet. Blaine can’t say anything. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen. He sighs in relief when Kurt comes marching back into the living room. “Blaine, why are you still sitting here? You need to pack,” Kurt berates before turning to his attention to Sam. “Sam, can we leave you in charge for a couple of days?” “Sure, however long you need” He answers without hesitation and Kurt begins to shuffle around the living room looking for papers they may need. “Papa, no we want to be there,” Oliver begs. “No, you need to stay here,” Kurt answers, leaving no room for argument. “What about Luke and me? We can help,” Sophie asks. “Luke has connections, and I can read all the medical jargon for you.” “Wait why does she get to go, and I don’t?” Oliver cuts ins. “I never said she was going, Sophie, you stay here. The fewer people, the better,” Kurt explains to them. “Blaine, we need to get going, what are you doing?” Blaine still hasn’t processed what exactly is happening. He knows he’s just sitting there looking stupid. Kurt calmly sits next to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, “One of us needs to book a flight and call a cab while the other packs,” Kurt says slowly, asking Blaine which he would like to do. “You pack, I’ll book the flight,” He decides after taking a deep breath calming himself down.
When they get to the hospital, they are denied any information and are told they are not able to see her. Kurt immediately began calling their lawyer trying to get her to fax the paperwork they need to have custody of her again, even if it’s just temporary custody, while Blaine tries everything to convince the nurse to let them back; she doesn’t once hesitate or budge on her answer. They have no choice but to sit and wait. They take turns waiting by the reception desk for an answer, but Blaine is losing hope on getting any answer to their questions. Blaine takes a deep breath and chances a glance at Kurt, who had been reassuring the whole trip. He finally notices in all the hours they have been waiting Kurt hasn’t said anything. The first reaction Blaine has is to worry more, but he sees the way Kurt’s leg is bouncing and how he is picking at his nails. He just knows Kurt is trying to fight off his weird rituals he takes on when he gets stressed over something he can’t control. Blaine can’t do much, so he grabs Kurt’s hand and gives it a tight squeeze. “Am I too bouncy?” Kurt asks shyly, looking as insecure and unsure as he had when Blaine first met him. “No, I just needed some grounding” Blaine explains. “This is the worst,” Kurt says in a strangled voice, “What if she-?” Kurt’s cuts off shaking his head. “She’s not. They would have told us,” Blaine says doing the best to pull Kurt closer to him despite the armrest in-between them. “Look, I know sitting in a hospital just waiting isn’t helping your stress, maybe you should go check us into the hotel, take a shower, have a nap and bring back some dinner and coffee?” “No, I couldn’t leave you or her, I’m fine,” Kurt says doing his best to stay composed. “I’ll call you as soon as they tell me something,” Blaine promises. “I want to say,” Kurt’s voice is small, barely above a whisper, but Blaine doesn’t push. He gives his head a quick kiss. It’s little over another half an hour of pacing and waiting and worrying when two officers approach them and offer to escort them back to see Riley. “It’s not like that last time,” one officer specifies. “She seems not to have any fight left within her. We are not sure if she is just sick and weak or if she has removed herself from this world.” “We just want to warn you that she may not respond to you,” the other clarifies. They quietly head into the room and find her asleep. Riley isn’t as skinny as she once was, but she is thinner than when she left them. The left side of her face seems to hold a lot of damage; it’s multi-colored and swollen. Her neck has a red ring around it that is also bruised and swollen. Her nails are covered in dirt and blood. Blaine freezes at the sight of her, Kurt swallows hard and moves to her side, placing the beloved stuffed rabbit, they retrieved from the foster family, under her arm. “Ask the nurse for soap and a cloth to wash her off,” Kurt demands in a calm voice that almost frightens Blaine. “Kurt, we should let her sleep,” Blaine says quietly. He knows Kurt only reacts like this to keep himself busy, so he doesn’t have to feel the pain, but they were also instructed to leave her be. “She is covered in mud and filth. She needs to be clean.” Kurt bites. Blaine sighs and finds himself unable to argue further. He slowly makes his way to the nurse’s station, glancing back to see Kurt fussing with the sheets and blanket. The nurse is older with a warm smile and soft eyes. He wishes he had the energy to smile back, but he just tiredly repeats Kurt’s request. She reassures him that she will be right in with the water and a cloth to wash off if he doesn’t mind waiting in the room for her. He makes his way back in the room and takes the empty seat in the corner of the room. “You’re just going to sit there?” Kurt asks, probably harsher than he intends. “What would you like me to do?” Blaine tiredly asks. “Call the kids? Email the lawyer? There is plenty of stuff that needs to be done, Blaine,” Kurt answers. “No, I’m going to sit right here so that way when she wakes up she knows I’m here,” Blaine states, no argument in his voice. “So, I have to do everything?” Kurt complains hands on his hips. “No, you can sit here with me,” Blaine answers calmly. There’s a beat, and that’s when Kurt breaks. Blaine’s not sure why Kurt does this to himself, but he expected it. “I’m sorry,” Kurt whispers, hugging himself. “Sit with me,” Blaine requests. Kurt nods and moves the other chair in the room to the area Blaine in sitting in. It doesn’t take long for the nurse to arrive with the water and cloth, along with two water bottles she hands to them. “I’m nurse Anne,” She introduces herself, “now, I understand you are working on temporary custody?” “Um our lawyer is in the process of handling the paperwork,” Kurt clarifies. “Once we receive everything, I will have the doctor come in and go over all the details with you, for now, would one of you like to help?” She asks, holding the wet rag in Kurt’s direction with a knowing smile. Kurt nods and takes the rag and water and begins to gently clean off the dirt, while Nurse Anne starts to check her temperature. “Will she be okay?” Blaine asks quietly. “It’s too soon to tell,” she answers honestly, “but we are doing everything we can to help her.” Blaine observes her reaction to the thermometer, she frowns and hums writing something in a chart before turning her attention towards Kurt. “When you’re done you can just leave the cloth and water by the sink, someone will be in the collect it later,” she instructs before turning and leaving. Kurt keeps working slowly, the water turning darker and darker each time he dunks the cloth in and rings it out. “I should have never let them take her,” Kurt says in a broken voice after a while. “Kurt,” Blaine warns not to go down this road. “I didn’t know what else to do,” Kurt sounds so defeated, it doesn’t help the pain in Blaine’s heart. “We weren’t given an option,” Blaine tries to reason. “I should have fought harder and found an option,” Kurt’s breath hitches and his voice sounds wet. “It’s my fault she’s back in this place, that she is hurt all over again.” “That’s not true,” Blaine says softly but sure. “You did everything you could, if we didn’t follow their rules we would have been in a lot more trouble, they could have taken Oliver from us. You were looking out for your family.” Blaine watches carefully as Kurt hugs himself and starts to crumble. “Besides, all that matters now is we found her, and we can help her get better,” Blaine tries his best to reassure Kurt, but he isn’t sure if he believes his own words. “I’m going to get some air,” Kurt states walking out of room suddenly. Blaine knows it’s his way of saying he needs a moment to compose himself. It doesn’t take long for the silence to begin to effect Blaine’s nerves. He needs something filling it. He moves over to sit next to her and holds her hand lightly. He hums the first few bars of her favorite song before even realizing what he’s doing. He sings softly, his voice crackly slightly from the emotion. “I know this is going to be hard for you,” Blaine whispers after he is done singing. “I know you’ll have trouble trusting again and readjusting, but I won’t give up on you. Okay? You just need to get better, and we can take you home for good. No one will take you away this time.” Blaine must have made too much noise because his words cut off when he notices her blinking her eyes open. At first, she stares up at the ceiling. She stares so long that Blaine wonders if she is awake, but she eventually turns her head to look at who is holding her hand and talking to her. “Hey, Angel,” Blaine smiles holding back tears. She doesn’t react, just stares. There is no fear like there was before, there is nothing behind the looks she gives Blaine. It’s as if she is looking right through him rather than at him. Blaine knows she is probably heavily medicated, but it seems like she has given up and it hurts so much more than he was ready for. “I’m here,” he tries, “I’m here, you’re okay.” She doesn’t change the way she looks. She doesn’t move. All Blaine can think to do is repeat his words over and over until she falls back to sleep.
Once their temporary custody is granted they receive all her medical information. She is extremely ill is all they explain; high fever, severe cough, fluid in the lungs. She’s also dehydrated and malnourished. They go over her injuries; bruises, cracked ribs, chafing around the neck. They are not sure of her brain activity. The scans show no severe damage, but she hasn’t responded to any form of interaction. According to Kurt, it’s like she is in a living coma. Riley's awake, she can see, hear, speak if she wants to, but she’s not. They have both tried to get her to acknowledge them, but they know not to push. The doctors worry that her fever hasn’t gone done and explain it will only get worse if she doesn’t get better. It takes them over a week before they get the approval they need to take her home. The doctors seem to disagree with the idea, but they promise once she can eat whole foods and her fever goes to at least a manageable degree that they can take her home as long as a nurse comes in daily to help take care of her. “Come on Angel; I know you used to like the Jell-O over the crackers.” Blaine tries to reason to get her to eat something. It’s progress. She used to do everything mechanically, not fighting just accepting what they needed to do. However, this is the third day of trying to keep solid food down, and after all the times she threw up she has learned that eating upsets her stomach. Kurt promises it was one of the medications they had her on, that it made her stomach queasy and after the switch, she should be okay, but now she won’t eat anything. “Just one bite, and if you don’t want it after we won’t eat anymore,” Blaine begs, feeling Kurt’s judgmental look. “You’re not helping,” Blaine mumbles to Kurt, giving up on getting her to eat and setting the Jell-O and spoon down. “I didn’t say anything,” Kurt defends. “You don’t need to,” Blaine accuses. “Let me try,” Kurt asks more than demands. “I was always more stubborn than you were when Sophie had refused to eat.” Blaine gives in because it was true. Kurt could hold out for hours on getting Sophie to eat or at least try the food. Blaine also hates being nauseous in any way, so that’s why he gave in quicker. Kurt gets up, grabbing a packet of crackers, opening them and placing them next to the Jell-O cup. “I know you don’t like eating, but you really need to eat something. You can have some crackers or some Jell-O,” Kurt instructed in a soft, calm voice. Blaine watched carefully, ready to step in since she has turned away from Kurt before. Kurt didn’t watch her or even wait for her to eat. “Has our realtor put the bid on the house we wanted?” Kurt casually asked. “Yeah, we are still waiting to hear back from their realtor,” Blaine answers “It will be nice to have the pool in the summer,” Kurt says dreamily. “You don’t swim or tan,” Blaine laughs “Yeah, but you do both, and maybe I just want to see you in a swimsuit again,” Kurt teases. “It’s been a long time I don’t look the same,” Blaine says shyly. “I know you don’t, doesn’t mean I’m any less attracted to you,” Kurt explains. They keep up their casual conversation, talking about what they still need to pack and things they need to have done before moving. It takes a while but eventually Blaine see’s Riley carefully leaning over and slurping the Jell-O out of the cup, coughing a little when it goes up her nose. Kurt quickly shushes her and wipes her face gently with a napkin. He signals Blaine to feed her with a spoon as he documents the time and what she ate, Kurt insisted on keeping detailed records of his own to see her progress for himself. “Once you finish eating we can give you a quick bath and then you can have a song or story before getting some more sleep before your next therapy session,” Kurt instructs. Blaine is worried it’s too rigid and structured, but he knows it helps, so she knows what to expect next, no uncertainty. This could quickly turn into something for Kurt to obsess over, it’s a fine line they are walking. Once she finishes her Jell-O, Kurt asks Blaine if he wants to try bathing her since they have the permission to give her a real bath, but Blaine shakes his head. He knows he shouldn’t be as scared as he is, but he can’t help his fear of losing her again. Blaine is in the middle of straightening out the sheets when he hears his name being called from the bathroom. He pokes his head and see’s Kurt shaking, and Riley sitting in the corner trying to cover herself. “I, they didn’t say” Kurt stutters. Blaine is about to ask what Kurt is talking about, but then he catches a glimpse of the bruises on her inner thighs. He takes a deep breath and reaches to hand Riley a towel. “Do you want to continue or talk to the doctor?” Blaine asks once he is positive his voice will be under control. “She wouldn’t let me, I got her pajamas off, and she started to cry and fight me,” Kurt explains. Blaine nods and tries to think of the next step. The doctors probably already know, he doesn’t understand why they didn’t tell them. “You go find her doctor, and I’ll get her cleaned up,” Blaine suggests more than instructs. It doesn’t take Kurt more than seconds to march out of there and Blaine knows he is more than furious with the medical staff holding back this information. “It’s alright, Angel,” Blaine says calmly, “He’s not mad.” She shrinks back further into the corner when Blaine even inches closer. He sighs and takes a seat in the doorway. “I’m not going to hurt you, no one is ever going to hurt you again,” he says as calm as possible. “You remember, don’t you?” She stays in her corner refusing to look at him. “If it makes you feel better we can just put on some fresh clothes and go back to bed,” Blaine offers, reaching in the bag for some clean pajamas and underwear. She refuses to look at him but nods and numbly allows him to dress her and carry her back to bed. Blaine carefully lays her on top of the covers and blankets and quickly prepares a bucket of soapy water and some towels. He is careful and mindful of his movements, aware of how tense she is. Blaine tries singing to calm her down, but he isn’t sure if it is helping this time or not. He doesn’t clean her as well as he would like but he does what he can before he tucks her under the covers. “There now, that must feel a little better?” Blaine asks with a smile. “Now how about a movie before nap time? I brought your favorite,” Blaine suggests pulling out his tablet and turning on Tarzan. He waits till she is zoned into the movie before guiding her thumb out of her mouth, replacing it with a pacifier. As they quietly watch the movie, he leaves his hand just out of reach of touch. To his surprise Riley takes it and looks at him, silently asking him something. Blaine waits before taking the risk and gently sliding next to her in bed, allowing her to cuddle up close to him. When she is finally asleep, he gently places a kiss on the top of her head. He knows he should probably move out of the bed, but he stays put. Kurt walks back in, and Blaine can see the tension and stress in his shoulders, but it melts away at the sight of them. “She just got to sleep,” Blaine whispers. Kurt smiles and takes the seat next to the bed, leaning in and gently taking her hand. “They tried to give me pamphlets,” Kurt scoffs after a while. “They withheld the information, and they think pamphlets are going to help us.” “We’ll find better resources once we get her back into the house,” Blaine says. “Once we get her home,” Kurt corrects. “Kurt,” Blaine sighs because he can’t go through this again. “It’s her home,” Kurt says surely, his tone leaving no room for argument. “We’re her home.” Blaine nods silently, he needs it to be true, but he isn’t ready to give in yet. “And our new home out of the city will be good for her, I’ve already set up interviews with home care nurses,” Kurt says pulling out his phone to show Blaine the profiles he has saved. “Ollie suggested a therapy dog,” Blaine states knowing Kurt has always had a no pets rule. Kurt nods but doesn’t say no, so Blaine considers it progress. “Have you called your agent back?” Kurt asks with a hint of something Blaine is not sure of in his voice. “I’ve been busy,” he excuses. Since they have found Riley and been in the hospital with her Blaine has set his new start to his music career on hold. He already rescheduled his recording dates, and he knows the rescheduled date is approach hence all the calls from his agent. “She’s asleep you can go now,” Kurt suggests. “She needs me,” Blaine says protectively. “We’ll be fine for an hour or two while you meet with your agent and get together what you need to record,” Kurt answers. Blaine does his best not to fidget with Riley cuddled close to him, but he can’t help it under Kurt’s stare. “Blaine,” Kurt sighs, “You can’t use the system like this, your fan base will feel betrayed, and you’re going to cost the producer more money.” Blaine knows everything Kurt is saying is in reason, but he feels himself losing his composure, “What if she pulls away from you again or acts out?” Blaine tries to reason. “You need to get some work done, we’ll be alright, she’ll get used to me again,” Kurt explains. “I’m not the one who gave her up. She needs me.” Blaine regrets the words as soon as they come out of his mouth. Kurt looks physically stricken by the words, and Blaine wishes he just looked angry rather than hurt and betrayed. “You said you forgave me and understood,” Kurt says slowly. “She won’t understand,” Blaine says, and he doesn’t know where his filter is. Blaine wishes Kurt would cry or yell. He keeps staring like he’s waiting. Blaine finally lets the anger deflate from him. “Kurt I,” he begins, but Kurt shakes his head cutting off his apology. “You’re going to need more than a guilty apology to make up for that comment,” he says with calm anger. “I get you like being a Dad, Blaine,” Kurt continues not letting Blaine have a chance to speak. “I get that you’ve missed it since our children have grown. I get that you love her and want to take care of her. But, you’ve made another commitment, and you need to ride that out before you can go back to being just dad.” Blaine stays silent and keeps his gaze away from Kurt’s, ashamed of himself. “If you want me to leave then I’ll pack up and go back home,” Kurt says after an annoyed sigh. Blaine still doesn’t say anything, he knows Kurt is right, Kurt is always right, but he can’t just leave after they have her back. Kurt waits, and his look begins to worry the longer Blaine takes to respond. He finally nods and begins to gather his things. “Kurt, don’t go,” Blaine pleads, easing himself off the bed to be at Kurt’s side. “Why? You, clearly, don’t want my help,” Kurt says annoyed. “I can’t just work and forget about her,” Blaine tries to reason. “You don’t have to forget about her,” Kurt says, apparently still upset. “She’ll think I gave up on her or something,” Blaine says, worry in his voice. “She won’t. I won’t let her,” Kurt reassures. “Besides she sleeps most of the day with the medication she is on.” Blaine nods slowly, “I’ll call tomorrow, I don’t think I can handle it after all the news we got today on her condition.” “Tomorrow,” Kurt agrees, releasing the tension from his body. “I think I’m going to go for a walk,” Kurt says after a while, and Blaine knows he’s still upset about the argument. “Kurt I- “Blaine starts to apologize, but Kurt shakes his head. “We’ll be okay. I just need time,” Kurt clarifies and strolls out the door. Blaine reasons that it is probably more than their argument, and reminds himself Kurt likes his space and time alone. Kurt grew up handling his own problems alone while his dad was at work. Blaine blinks as Riley’s face scrunches and she whines in her sleep. The only thing Blaine can think to do is stroke her hair and whisper “Hush now; everything’s okay. I’m here. Your Daddy is here” reassuringly. His words shock him, but that’s what he wants. That’s what he is, a father.