xp_logs | Kurt and Maddie, in the medlab

Kurt goes to check how she's doing and provides some much-needed comfort.

One moment Madelyn was alone in her office in the medlab, and the next she wasn't, as Kurt decided to come down and check on her. He'd been worried since the announcement of Hank's illness, both about Hank himself and about Madelyn running herself into the ground.

Suppressing a yelp, Madelyn dropped the latest batch of blood tests they'd taken from Hank, blinking up at the familiar blue figure emerging from a cloud of dark smoke. "Kurt?" she asked, despite the fact only one person could make such an entrance. "Um, hi? Anything wrong? Am I needed somewhere?"

He gave her an apologetic smile, bending to help her pick up the samples. "No - I just came to see how you are doing. I am sorry to have startled you."

"Rather dramatic entrance, Kurt... Most people just knock on the door." Her heart rate slowly slowing back to normal, she finished gathering up the collection of sealed plastic vials and placed them on her desk. "I'm... as well as can be expected, I suppose. Worried, about Hank."

He shrugged. "My way is quicker." Then he became more serious, nodding. "Yes, of course. How is he?"

"He's getting noticeably worse. He's having trouble reading, and his vocabulary is suffering. There seems to be something speeding the deterioration up, but we haven't pinpointed it yet..." Madelyn looked and sounded frustrated. "Hell, we haven't pinpointed anything at all, beyond the fact something's destroying his ability to think."

Kurt winced at the implications, and for Hank of all people. "You will find it,” he told her firmly, trying to sound reassuring. "Do not give up hope."

“It’s not hope I need, it’s a break – if we could just narrow it down to what this is, we’d have a chance of stopping it. As it is, we don’t even know if the damage already done is reversible.” Madelyn’s shoulders slumped a little, despite her best efforts to hold it together, and her hand moved to the cross she was wearing around her neck, visible at the V-neck of the blouse she was wearing. “Pray for him, Kurt – we’re going to need all the help we can get on this one.”

He nodded soberly. "I am. And if there is anything I can do beyond that, you know you have only to ask."

She gave him a weak smile, then asked, mindful of Alison’s email about leaning on people: “At the risk of sounding pathetic, coffee and company and non-medical conversation would be helpful sometimes. To avoid me getting all scary obsessed again.”

"Of course", he answered quietly, reaching out to offer a hug. "I can do that easily."

The gesture nearly undid her then and there, but she accepted the hug gratefully, resting her cheek against his shoulder and closing her eyes against the sudden rush of tears. No crying. Crying wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Hank. And if a couple of tears escaped to soak into the material of Kurt’s shirt, then she wasn’t go to bring attention to the fact, even if the hug was becoming a bit of a cling.

He noticed, long used to paying attention to everything around him, and he wrapped his arms and tail around her in an instinctive gesture of comfort. "I wish I could do more..."

The tail around the waist should feel weird, but it didn’t. “You’re helping me now, believe me,” she said with a tired sigh. “I’m trying so hard to hold it together, for Hank, for the kids... You’ve seen me in some pretty not-together states,” she chuckled a little wryly at that, the memory of the Vermont aftermath still slightly embarrassing. “I trust you to be able to deal with me being human, I suppose.”

He nodded quietly. "I am glad I can be that for you. You cannot hold it together all the time, in times like these."

“So people keep telling me. Doesn’t stop me from trying, but I don’t have the time for the spectacular crash and burn this time.” With a sniffle, she lifted her head and gave him a watery smile. “Which I think your ribs would be pretty grateful for this time.”

He chuckled. "Well, yes. Crying is much preferable to hitting, in times of crisis."

“I’m not crying, I’m just… leaking. Yeah, that’s it, leaky eyeballs,” she replied, but not at all seriously. And still not letting go. Hugs were indeed good things.

He looked at her affectionately and found himself hugging her a little closer. "Leaky eyeballs. Of course."

With a soft sigh she relaxed into the hug, letting the tension of the last few days drain away, at least for a little while. "Okay, I can do this," she said, giving him a last squeeze before beginning to disentangle herself. "I need to run those samples - can I rely on you to give me another dash of perspective later?"

"Of course", he answered without hesitation, stepping back slightly as she did. "You have only to call or come to my suite if you need me, and I shall be down to check on you regularly if you do not find me first."

"I don't doubt you will," Madelyn said with a grin.