When The Ship Docks

Chapter 7: Illusions

He hummed in contentment. Someone was rubbing the back of his hand where they held it, though he thought Blaine had gone back to his suite in the middle of the night-

Bolting up from where he'd been resting his head on the side of his father's bed, he gaped in shock.

"Hey, kiddo," His father's gruff voice came out more scratchy than usual. Kurt burst into tears as he lunged at his father for a hug, being as careful with him as he could in his happiness. He hid his face in his father's neck as he sobbed. Had he been able to form words, he wouldn't have known what to say.

Tap Tap

Kurt pulled away, quickly wiped his eyes and turned to welcome whoever was at the door.

"Blaine!" he exclaimed brokenly before realising that there was now a witness. "Mr Anderson, I mean, what are you doing here?"

Blaine smiled pleasantly, "I just came to see if your father had made any progress. It seems that he has."

"Oh, yes." Kurt nodded as he turned back to his father. "Father, you've met Mr Anderson," he introduced.

Burt nodded, "I have."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Blaine said, "Well, I should be going," He couldn't stay if Burt was awake; he would ask why and there's only a certain amount of polite concern you can show before they start to get suspicious.

"Oh, okay." He tried not to sound disappointed as he watched Blaine leave but with the look his father was giving him, he'd probably not done such a good job of it.

"Now tell me why he was really here."

Kurt's head shot up with raised eyebrows from where it had slumped, landing his gaze near his feet. "H-he was concerned about your poor health, that's what he-"

"I know what he said Kurt but no rich stranger worries over a working man like me, especially when we only very briefly met over dinner," Burt cut him off, giving his son a stern look as if to say 'Don't try to bullshit me'

Kurt sighed, he couldn't tell his father the whole truth but he'd try to get close. "He asked me to draw some pieces for him and I guess you could say we've become friends." Burt still seems a little suspicious but doesn't push the issue further. "So how are you feeling? Has anyone told you what happened yet?"

Burt laughed, "The nurse on duty came and explained what they think happened just before you woke up, so yes I do know what happened and I feel as good as a man whose only just woken up from a coma can feel."

Kurt smiled. "Good."

_______________________

Quinn Fabray had been waiting for this opportunity for a while, she had needed to find a way to be invited into the Anderson-Berry suite to scope it out so that when she starts her plan, or more accurately her father's plan, she can go in and out without being noticed. She lingered by the doorway once she'd seen both Rachel and Blaine leave the room and once the coast was clear, which meant having to wait to see if any staff would emerge, she used a bobby pin to fiddle with the lock until she could turn the handle. Swiftly she closed the door behind her, she'd have to work fast if she wanted to be successful and trying to lock the door behind her would just waste time.

She made her way around the living space trying every door that she could see. Bathroom, no. Closet, no. Bedroom, yes. She closed the door gently behind her and started looking through the dresser, being careful to put everything back as she had found it. If the room looked like it had been ransacked, her plotting and precise execution wouldn't have been worth it. Next, she shuffled through the wardrobe until she found a safe.

'Interesting,' She thought, she was sure what she was looking for would be inside. She spun the dial around to both Rachel and Blaine's birth year but the lock wouldn't budge. About to start looking for the code, she was interrupted when the door to the suite slammed and muffled voices could be heard getting closer. Panicking, she climbed into the wardrobe and hid behind Rachel's large expanse of dresses. Maybe she should have waited for a better opportunity to snoop through their things, she'd been too eager and she was about to pay for it. The door to the bedroom opened and Blaine walked in, she could see through the slight gap in between the doors.

"I just needed to get something Kurt, you didn't need to come with me," Blaine shouted back to someone, assumedly Kurt.

"Well what if we decided on a change of plans," Kurt replies, appearing in the doorway.

"As much as I would like to stay here with you Kurt, I do want to get to know you better outside of an intimate relationship."

Quinn's jaw dropped, 'intimate relationship?' she thought. Did he mean what she thought he meant?

A sigh could be heard from the other room as Kurt relented. Blaine laughed at his dramatics and left the room. Quinn hadn't realised she'd been holding her breath until she heard the click of the lock as they left.

She climbed out of the wardrobe after waiting to see if there would be any more disturbances, but when no footsteps grew closer or paused by the door she decided it was safe. "Phew, close one," Quinn whispered, still cautious about being heard. Reaching to open a drawer, she paused. Did she really need to do anymore? If her inferences were correct, she already had a great deal of blackmail material. But who's to say it would be enough? Yes, their words had been damming but she could have easily been making it up. Would It matter if she had no solid evidence? Rumours and gossip could be damaging even if they were completely false. 'I will play the long game,' she decided, 'If I have anything to do with it the Anderson name will mean nothing by the end of the year.'

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{27/06/21}

[A/N]: Hi, apologies for the really late update but, as you can probably tell, I struggled massively with this chapter, which is why this is significantly shorter than previous chapters. I hope this will suffice until my next update :)

Word Count: 1039

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