The next day, Kurt returned to the hospital. He walked to Blaine's room and ran into Mrs. Anderson who was leaving Blaine's room. "Kurt!" she exclaimed.

"Hi Mrs. Anderson," Kurt greeted her.

"I don't know what you said to him, but Blaine's getting better!" Mrs. Anderson beamed with happiness and pulled Kurt into a hug.

Surprised, Kurt awkwardly hugged her back and then pulled away. "How is he getting better?"

"They were able to take the breathing tube out! He's breathing on his own! And his fever has broken," Mrs. Anderson replied. "Would you like to see him?"

"Yeah," Kurt said.

"Okay! Well, I'm going to get some coffee. Go ahead and enter his room," she said. Kurt nodded and continued on towards Blaine's room. He nervously pushed open the door and stepped inside. Blaine turned his head in Kurt's direction and gave him a small smile.

"Hey," he rasped.

"Hey," Kurt said. He looked down at his feet and rocked a little. Kurt still intended to give Blaine a chance to explain. However, the pain was still fresh and he wasn't entirely sure he was ready to hear it.

"Kurt," Blaine said, interrupting Kurt's thoughts. "Please, come here."

Kurt looked up at Blaine who was holding out his hand. Blaine looked at him, his eyes pleading. Kurt took a deep breath and walked towards the bed. He sat down in a chair, his eyes trained on his hands. He started twiddling his thumbs, not trusting himself to look at Blaine without tearing up.

Blaine frowned. Yesterday had given him hope. Kurt had basically told him that he still loved Blaine but that he was still hurt. That had made Blaine feel sick to his stomach. But then Kurt told him he'd give him a chance to explain himself. Carefully and cautiously, Blaine placed a hand over Kurt's. "Please, stop," he rasped. "Look at me."

Kurt looked up and Blaine's heart clenched to see tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I didn't want to cry. Blaine, I know I told you we would talk but…" Kurt trailed off.

"You're scared. I get it," Blaine said. "We don't have to talk now. I'm just glad you're here."

"Why wouldn't I come? Blaine, Finn said that you could die!" Kurt exclaimed. He stood up from the chair abruptly and began pacing the room. Blaine watched him, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Kurt," He whispered.

Kurt froze and turned back around. He had tears streaming down his face. Blaine frowned and held out his hand. Kurt went back over and sat down, taking Blaine's hand as he did so. "I just… I don't know what I'd do if you'd…"

"I'm so sorry," Blaine said, his voice cracking. Kurt could feel Blaine's pain in the loaded apology he gave. "Kurt…I…"

"I know. Me too. But that doesn't change the fact that you…" Kurt trailed off.

"That I cheated on you… Yeah, I understand. But please… let me explain," Blaine begged.

"I'm just not ready. You almost dying? That's all my heart can take at the moment. Blaine, the pain is still there," Kurt said. Blaine nodded in understanding. He reached up and wiped the tears from Kurt's cheeks.

"I love you so much, Kurt," Blaine murmured.

"I love you too. I'll come back tomorrow," Kurt promised. He knelt forward and chastely kissed Blaine's forehead. Blaine's eyes closed at the feathery touch of Kurt's lips. It felt like hope. He watched as his ex stood up from the bed and started for the door.

"Kurt?" Blaine called out.

Kurt turned and looked at Blaine, raising his eyebrows expectantly. "Yes?"

"Thank you for coming," Blaine said.

"You're welcome. Get some rest," Kurt replied. And with that, he left the room.

When Kurt got home, Finn was waiting for him on the front porch. "How's he doing?" Finn asked as soon as Kurt walked up to him.

"Better. They took the tube out. We talked," Kurt replied.

"Oh… wow! Did you talk about your break-up?" Finn asked. Kurt shook his head and sat down by his stepbrother.

"I couldn't. I mean, I still love him but…" Kurt trailed off, not sure what to say.

"But he hurt you. I get it," Finn finished.

"Yeah. And I don't think I'm ready to hear the details of his infidelity," Kurt replied.

"Infidelity?" Finn asked.

"He cheated on me, Finn," Kurt offered. He loved his stepbrother but jeez, get a better vocabulary!

"Oh… right," Finn answered. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "Can I offer up some 'brotherly wisdom?'"

Kurt shrugged. "Okay…"

"I don't know if Rachel ever told you, but she cheated on me once," Finn began. Kurt looked at his brother in shock.

"She… she did?"

"Yeah. She thought I had slept with Santana, which I didn't, so she went and made out with Puck. It was a stupid mistake, but I couldn't forgive her so we broke up," Finn said.

"Okay but I don't see what this has to do with Blaine and me," Kurt said. "I mean, all she did was kiss Puck."

"But like you said, you don't even know what happened with Blaine. For all you know, all he did was kiss another guy too," Finn said. "Look bro, the point I'm trying to make is, Rachel hurt me. But, we did eventually get back together because she tried so hard to prove to me that she cared about me and was truly sorry. Listen, Blaine has been a wreck since you broke up. Like, during auditions for Grease, he cried after his song. He didn't even want the part of Danny."

"Okay…"

"And he just hasn't been himself in like, forever. He almost went back to Dalton!" Finn added. This got Kurt's attention.

"What?"

"Yeah, he came and told me about it. He sang with them or whatever and said he didn't belong at McKinley anymore," Finn replied. "We were able to convince him not to go, that he still had friends at McKinley."

"I didn't know that," Kurt said.

"Well it's the truth. And Kurt look, I don't think cheating on someone is ever okay. But forgiveness? Forgiveness allows us to move on. It helps us to try and mend what was broken," Finn replied. Kurt stared at his stepbrother in astonishment. This was deep for Finn.

"Wow, Finn. That was beautiful," he said. Kurt turned to stare at the front lawn, deep in thought, while Finn sat beside him patiently. After a few minutes, Kurt turned to look at Finn. "Finn, I'm going to go back to the hospital," he announced. Finn smiled.

"Good. And listen Kurt. Forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean take him back. It just allows you to both move on, if that's what needs to happen."