The Impossible Children
Complications
So far everything had gone as relatively normally as Dr. Samuels had hoped. Kurt was doing fine, and for such a complicated case, the operation was beginning smoothly, which was a welcome relief. Dr. Samuels hoped afterward for further study to be conducted on the removed structure and terminated life form; he dared to look forward to the results and wondered if Kurt would want to say updated on the matter.
If he knew what was going to happen next, he would have scolded himself with one of his spouse's favorite expressions, "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched." Dr. Samuels and his team had easily located the uterine structure, but once they attempted to remove it what they witnessed shocked them.
The structure began to emit a strange, unearthly glow. Regaining their composure, another attempt was made to cut into it. The glow persisted, growing even brighter and the organ had become apparently impenetrable. No matter what they attempted to do to it; there was no damaging it or removing it.
If he was not in an operating room, Dr. Samuels would probably have buried his face in his hands. "Well, this is one hell of a development," he said, his shock shifting to frustration. What were they supposed to do now? Obviously, they could not do what they had set out to do; this had been proven. Neither could they leave Kurt in his current state for a long time to figure out their next move.
"Okay," Dr. Samuels said, "Plot twist: we can't surgically remove anything, so plan b...We'll just have to close him back up and give up for now, so we can all regroup to come up with a real plan b, if one is to be had at all."
It sounded rather simple when he phrased it that way, but it was anything but. It was frustrating and disappointing to say the least. It was a great big mess in the middle of an already complicated case. He would have to find a way to break the news to Kurt, whom he had promised answers and solutions for, and to Kurt's father, who would likely be understandably furious. He would have to find the words to explain what had happened to them, to two understandably upset skeptics.
For Dr. Samuels, the answer was clear. "Now I have no doubt in my mind that this things is, at least in part, extraterrestrial in origin," he observed silently, "I don't know how or why, but I do know this is the work of something not of this world." He could not get the image of the otherworldly glow emitted from the strange organ out of his mind. To witness something so alien firsthand would have been wonderful if it had not been so horrifying.
How would he put all that into the right words for Kurt?
--
Dr. Samuels had given Kurt as much time as he could to recover before he came to deliver the upsetting (and, he was sure, confusing) news. He had already had several discussions that had mostly ended heatedly with Burt in the interim. By the time it was Kurt's turn to have the conversation, Burt was very begrudgingly accepting Dr. Samuels's account of what had happened.
He was not sure whether to be relieved or all the more anxious when he realized Burt had not yet told Kurt anything. "Hey, Kurt," Dr. Samuels said, coming into the room, "how are you feeling?"
"Really messed up," Kurt replied. He made little effort to put up any of the fronts that seemed typical of him. He probably just did not have the required energy. After a pause, he asked, "So, did everything go okay?"
"There were complications, unfortunately." Dr. Samuels did not want to be so blunt, but he was not sure how to preface this explanation, and he was not going to sugar-coat it.
"What kind of—? What happened?" Kurt asked.
Burt's expression was one of torment, both at the truth he was struggling to accept, and the fear evident in his son's tone. He did not look at Kurt, but he kept a firm grip on his hand. He seemed to stare at a random point in the wall, unable or unwilling to look at anyone else in the room.
"Okay, it's alright, Kurt, just calm down, okay? Try to stay calm, okay? You're not in any immediate risk or danger; it's nothing like that," Dr. Samuels reassured him. Once Kurt seemed less panicked, Dr. Samuels continued, "We were unable to perform the procedure."
"What? Then, what the hell is all this? Why put me on drugs and cut me open?" Kurt was already confused and upset.
"I can only tell you what we saw and experienced; I can't properly explain it, but when we were attempting to remove the uterine structure from your body, something happened," Dr. Samuels explained, "There was this indescribable, unearthly glow and whenever we tried to perform any operations on that organ, it glowed brighter and became impenetrable."
Kurt just stared at him for a long moment. Finally, he asked, "What?" He was clearly in shock and more than a little confused. "So, what are you saying?" The realization was dawning on him, crushing him under waves of terror and growing despair. "So...you're saying that you can't get rid of it? That I'm- that I'm...stuck like this?"
"I'm so, genuinely, very sorry," Dr. Samuels replied, "for now, that is our unfortunate conclusion. We can't remove the uterine structure or abort the embryo. I'm sorry I can't offer a more scientific, professional-sounding explanation; I know I promised you answers, but we will keep looking for them, okay?"
Something new had come over Kurt as the reality of the situation and its implications began truly setting in. "Okay," the boy replied with an air of defeated resignation that broke the hearts of the two older men.
--
Kurt felt like, after all the confused flailing, he was finally sinking. There was no hope. This was a nightmare that kept getting worse, and there was no escape from it. No escape other than death, and he was frightened all the more at how quickly that thought had come into his mind.
"I can't believe this," Kurt said sadly, "I mean none of this even makes any sense at all. It feels like a really weird, really bad dream that I can't wake up from."
"I understand," Dr. Samuels said, "We can discuss where we go from here later, if you want. I know you need your rest now." Kurt gave no indication of approval, but he did not protest either, so the doctor left the room.
Kurt felt so lost. This was impossible; he was trapped in an impossible hell. He had no idea what to think or what he was going to do.
A terror struck him. The thoughts he had previously avoided struck him; they were now frighteningly relevant. This was only going to get worse.
He felt utterly violated; he had no other word for it. This entity, this bodily invader, that apparently could not be removed was a violation to his bodily autonomy. And he was stuck with it. He looked down at his body in horror. It was going to grow; it was going to keep using him. It was going to wreck him and probably kill him.
Something odd and akin to shame crept into his panicking mind. This would only become an increasingly more humiliating condition. How could he tell anyone? No one could take him seriously, and even if they believed him there was still a high likelihood that he would be the butt of jokes.
He would have to tell, at least, Rachel and Santana. The very idea mortified him and paralyzed him with dread. How could he possibly tell them? "They'll find out soon enough," he thought with a mirthless laugh.
The sound startled Burt from either dozing or being intensely lost in thought. "Hm?"
"Nothing, Dad," Kurt said.
Burt considered firmly telling Kurt not to give him the "nothing, Dad" treatment when he knew how very wrong things were, but instead he gently asked, "Do you wanna talk about his thing, kiddo?"
It felt like there was no air in the room. Kurt shook his head, but spoke, "I don't know. Would you? If you were me, would you wanna talk about this with anyone ever?"
"Well, no," Burt answered honestly, "Probably not." After a pause, he added, "But not talking about it isn't gonna make it all go away either, and it's not gonna make it any easier."
"I'm just so scared and confused, and I'm—I don't know—I'm humiliated, and I just feel—I don't even know how to explain how exactly I feel," Kurt confessed. He thought once again about the word "violated", but he did not want to elaborate much further or use such adjectives in front of his father. "And I don't know—I just don't understand why this is happening to me or what is even happening."
"I know, son," Burt said, wishing he could make all this go away or at the very least that he had the right words (if there were any) to make this better, "I understand. None of this makes any damn sense, and- and it scares me, too." He paused, and it seemed clear that he had not really wanted to admit that last part aloud. "If I could take this on for you or if I could do anything to take this away from you, I would."
"I know, Dad," Kurt said. His previous efforts to fight tears had failed him miserably, and now he wiped his eyes and tried to stop more from escaping.
"But all I can do right now is tell you, 'we will get through this.' Okay? We will get through this crazy thing," Burt finished.
"I might not," Kurt silently replied. He did not have the heart to say it aloud, not when his Dad who had already been through so much in his life was trying so hard once again to keep everything together. Once he realized how, if this really did kill him eventually, this would impact his father, he felt himself sink into a whole new depth of despair.
If he knew what was going to happen next, he would have scolded himself with one of his spouse's favorite expressions, "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched." Dr. Samuels and his team had easily located the uterine structure, but once they attempted to remove it what they witnessed shocked them.
The structure began to emit a strange, unearthly glow. Regaining their composure, another attempt was made to cut into it. The glow persisted, growing even brighter and the organ had become apparently impenetrable. No matter what they attempted to do to it; there was no damaging it or removing it.
If he was not in an operating room, Dr. Samuels would probably have buried his face in his hands. "Well, this is one hell of a development," he said, his shock shifting to frustration. What were they supposed to do now? Obviously, they could not do what they had set out to do; this had been proven. Neither could they leave Kurt in his current state for a long time to figure out their next move.
"Okay," Dr. Samuels said, "Plot twist: we can't surgically remove anything, so plan b...We'll just have to close him back up and give up for now, so we can all regroup to come up with a real plan b, if one is to be had at all."
It sounded rather simple when he phrased it that way, but it was anything but. It was frustrating and disappointing to say the least. It was a great big mess in the middle of an already complicated case. He would have to find a way to break the news to Kurt, whom he had promised answers and solutions for, and to Kurt's father, who would likely be understandably furious. He would have to find the words to explain what had happened to them, to two understandably upset skeptics.
For Dr. Samuels, the answer was clear. "Now I have no doubt in my mind that this things is, at least in part, extraterrestrial in origin," he observed silently, "I don't know how or why, but I do know this is the work of something not of this world." He could not get the image of the otherworldly glow emitted from the strange organ out of his mind. To witness something so alien firsthand would have been wonderful if it had not been so horrifying.
How would he put all that into the right words for Kurt?
--
Dr. Samuels had given Kurt as much time as he could to recover before he came to deliver the upsetting (and, he was sure, confusing) news. He had already had several discussions that had mostly ended heatedly with Burt in the interim. By the time it was Kurt's turn to have the conversation, Burt was very begrudgingly accepting Dr. Samuels's account of what had happened.
He was not sure whether to be relieved or all the more anxious when he realized Burt had not yet told Kurt anything. "Hey, Kurt," Dr. Samuels said, coming into the room, "how are you feeling?"
"Really messed up," Kurt replied. He made little effort to put up any of the fronts that seemed typical of him. He probably just did not have the required energy. After a pause, he asked, "So, did everything go okay?"
"There were complications, unfortunately." Dr. Samuels did not want to be so blunt, but he was not sure how to preface this explanation, and he was not going to sugar-coat it.
"What kind of—? What happened?" Kurt asked.
Burt's expression was one of torment, both at the truth he was struggling to accept, and the fear evident in his son's tone. He did not look at Kurt, but he kept a firm grip on his hand. He seemed to stare at a random point in the wall, unable or unwilling to look at anyone else in the room.
"Okay, it's alright, Kurt, just calm down, okay? Try to stay calm, okay? You're not in any immediate risk or danger; it's nothing like that," Dr. Samuels reassured him. Once Kurt seemed less panicked, Dr. Samuels continued, "We were unable to perform the procedure."
"What? Then, what the hell is all this? Why put me on drugs and cut me open?" Kurt was already confused and upset.
"I can only tell you what we saw and experienced; I can't properly explain it, but when we were attempting to remove the uterine structure from your body, something happened," Dr. Samuels explained, "There was this indescribable, unearthly glow and whenever we tried to perform any operations on that organ, it glowed brighter and became impenetrable."
Kurt just stared at him for a long moment. Finally, he asked, "What?" He was clearly in shock and more than a little confused. "So, what are you saying?" The realization was dawning on him, crushing him under waves of terror and growing despair. "So...you're saying that you can't get rid of it? That I'm- that I'm...stuck like this?"
"I'm so, genuinely, very sorry," Dr. Samuels replied, "for now, that is our unfortunate conclusion. We can't remove the uterine structure or abort the embryo. I'm sorry I can't offer a more scientific, professional-sounding explanation; I know I promised you answers, but we will keep looking for them, okay?"
Something new had come over Kurt as the reality of the situation and its implications began truly setting in. "Okay," the boy replied with an air of defeated resignation that broke the hearts of the two older men.
--
Kurt felt like, after all the confused flailing, he was finally sinking. There was no hope. This was a nightmare that kept getting worse, and there was no escape from it. No escape other than death, and he was frightened all the more at how quickly that thought had come into his mind.
"I can't believe this," Kurt said sadly, "I mean none of this even makes any sense at all. It feels like a really weird, really bad dream that I can't wake up from."
"I understand," Dr. Samuels said, "We can discuss where we go from here later, if you want. I know you need your rest now." Kurt gave no indication of approval, but he did not protest either, so the doctor left the room.
Kurt felt so lost. This was impossible; he was trapped in an impossible hell. He had no idea what to think or what he was going to do.
A terror struck him. The thoughts he had previously avoided struck him; they were now frighteningly relevant. This was only going to get worse.
He felt utterly violated; he had no other word for it. This entity, this bodily invader, that apparently could not be removed was a violation to his bodily autonomy. And he was stuck with it. He looked down at his body in horror. It was going to grow; it was going to keep using him. It was going to wreck him and probably kill him.
Something odd and akin to shame crept into his panicking mind. This would only become an increasingly more humiliating condition. How could he tell anyone? No one could take him seriously, and even if they believed him there was still a high likelihood that he would be the butt of jokes.
He would have to tell, at least, Rachel and Santana. The very idea mortified him and paralyzed him with dread. How could he possibly tell them? "They'll find out soon enough," he thought with a mirthless laugh.
The sound startled Burt from either dozing or being intensely lost in thought. "Hm?"
"Nothing, Dad," Kurt said.
Burt considered firmly telling Kurt not to give him the "nothing, Dad" treatment when he knew how very wrong things were, but instead he gently asked, "Do you wanna talk about his thing, kiddo?"
It felt like there was no air in the room. Kurt shook his head, but spoke, "I don't know. Would you? If you were me, would you wanna talk about this with anyone ever?"
"Well, no," Burt answered honestly, "Probably not." After a pause, he added, "But not talking about it isn't gonna make it all go away either, and it's not gonna make it any easier."
"I'm just so scared and confused, and I'm—I don't know—I'm humiliated, and I just feel—I don't even know how to explain how exactly I feel," Kurt confessed. He thought once again about the word "violated", but he did not want to elaborate much further or use such adjectives in front of his father. "And I don't know—I just don't understand why this is happening to me or what is even happening."
"I know, son," Burt said, wishing he could make all this go away or at the very least that he had the right words (if there were any) to make this better, "I understand. None of this makes any damn sense, and- and it scares me, too." He paused, and it seemed clear that he had not really wanted to admit that last part aloud. "If I could take this on for you or if I could do anything to take this away from you, I would."
"I know, Dad," Kurt said. His previous efforts to fight tears had failed him miserably, and now he wiped his eyes and tried to stop more from escaping.
"But all I can do right now is tell you, 'we will get through this.' Okay? We will get through this crazy thing," Burt finished.
"I might not," Kurt silently replied. He did not have the heart to say it aloud, not when his Dad who had already been through so much in his life was trying so hard once again to keep everything together. Once he realized how, if this really did kill him eventually, this would impact his father, he felt himself sink into a whole new depth of despair.