A/N: The title is a line from Sarah McLachlan's Possession (Piano Version) as are the other italicized lines. If you have never listened to this haunting version of her song, I highly recommend that you do.
Warning: This story deals with the echoing effects of the events of episode 3.14. If reading about attempted suicide will cause you discomfort in any way, please stop here.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor did I create Glee or its characters. I have invited some of the boys to play and will do my best to return them unharmed.
The Sea of Waking Dreams
Boston, Massachusetts
October 31, 2026
The crisp chill of the autumn evening, the same chill that had caused him to insist that his son wear a jacket over his costume, went unnoticed.
The jubilant, high-pitched calls of 'trick or treat' from the flocks of costumed children dashing from house to house went unnoticed.
The gentle tugs on his calloused hand went unnoticed.
It had taken just one glimpse up.
Caught completely off-guard.
Memories trapped in time.
Tyson Colby Smythe had been bursting with excitement the entire day. This year, Halloween fell on a stay-at-home day which was a code he and his daddy used to describe any day that he didn't have to go to school. He liked school. A lot. But he also really liked staying home with his daddies on stay-at-home days because that meant snuggling in pajamas until they absolutely had to get out of bed and be civilized.
But Halloween falling on a Saturday meant that they would get to stay out trick-or-treating even longer because he didn't have to get up for school the next morning. And, even better than that, his almost-cousins had invited him to come with them, even though they were older, and he was only in kindergarten.
So his family had driven over to Uncle Nick and Uncle Jeff's house where everyone ate pizza for dinner and, as a special treat, he'd been allowed to have one cup of soda. Afterwards, he, his cousins, and his cousins' friends had quickly changed into their costumes: his almost-cousins were dressed up as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck. Pierre had asked Uncle Jeff why he wasn't dressed as Goofy. Uncle Nick had said something about Uncle Jeff making a better looking James Bond and then they kissed – which was kinda gross, like when Daddy and Pierre kissed.
Dumbo being his favorite movie, Tyson had wanted to wear an elephant costume for Halloween. But the dumb costume store didn't have one. So Daddy had called another one of his uncles, and a week ago a big box with his name on it had arrived from New York City. Uncle Kurt had made him is very own, one-of-a-kind elephant costume, with big floppy ears and a stuffed trunk. Uncle Blaine had sent a big bag of peanuts and a red bag with a stuffed mouse sewn onto it – because Dumbo's friend was a mouse and everyone knows that elephants like peanuts.
When it was finally dark enough – which took forever, they finally left the house and walked out into the neighborhood. There were lots and lots of kids and parents, and almost all of the houses were decorated with ghosts and skeletons and spooky spiders. Some of the houses had scary music or special lights. And all of them had carved pumpkins lit from the inside. Tyson was having the best time, and tried to remember to always say trick-or-treat, or happy Halloween, and to hold out his bag, and to say thank you after. It was a lot to remember.
Pierre, Uncle Nick, and Uncle Jeff were staying in the street mostly so they could keep an eye on everyone. So it was Daddy who walked up to each of the houses with him, or at least part of the way if the house wasn't too spooky. Sometime his cousins were with him, but sometimes they ran off to the next house before he had gotten his treat. It was okay, though, because his daddy was there.
So when his daddy just stopped halfway up the walkway to the next house, Tyson was confused. He could see the skeleton decorations in the front yard grass, and his daddy knew he didn't like walking by them by himself, even if he knew they were just fake plastic. He tried tugging on his daddy's hand, but that didn't help. He called Daddy's name. "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy!" but that didn't work either.
Tyson gave up. Instead, peering into the darkness, he spotted his father nearby under a street light.
"Pierre! Pierre! Come here, quick!" he shouted. He knew that Pierre would know what to do.
It's fascinating how much a parent can tell about a situation from just the tone of his child's voice. Sebastian Smythe felt the hair on the back of his neck raise at Tyson's shout. Despite being in mid-sentence, Sebastian spun away from his friends, jogging over to where Tyson was still holding his husband's hand.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Before the question was fully out of his mouth, he knew.
His success as a corporate attorney came in no small part to Sebastian's ability to think quickly on his feet and to remain calm in the midst of a crisis. Tonight would tax those abilities to the limit.
Your words keep me alive
Kneeling down, he pulled Tyson into his embrace. "Hey, buddy. It's gonna be okay. I need you to go with Uncle Jeff and collect as much candy as you can. I'm going to take care of daddy while you do that, okay?" He ran his hands over his son's back as much to soothe himself, as to reassure his son.
Jeff's dress shoes appeared in his vision. Hearing Jeff's sharp intake of breath, he knew that Jeff understood what had set Dave off. Standing with Tyson in his arms, Sebastian met his friend's gaze. "Can you take him?" he asked quietly.
Holding his arms out to Tyson, Jeff nodded as the young boy shifted into his arms. "You don't even need to ask, Seb. Come on, Tyson, let's go catch up with the other kids while your daddies have a talk." Jeff let the little guy wiggle out of his arms and took his hand. Turning back to Sebastian, he added, "He can stay the night. We have PJs that will fit."
Sebastian's voice cracked. "Thank you, Jeff. I don't know-"
Jeff smiled wryly. "We've got your back. Take care of Dave. Call us tomorrow, when you can."
A sea of waking dreams.
An innocent Halloween decoration. That was all it had taken.
The suit dressed skeleton hanging by its neck from the second story balcony.
Sebastian knew with certainty that his husband had traveled back to the horrible memories of the spring of 2012 – and the worst decision Dave had ever made. A decision that Sebastian felt partially responsible for – despite the years that had passed, the marital counseling they'd both attended, and Dave's adamant insistence that Sebastian bore no responsibility for Dave's spiral into a depression that led him to attempt suicide.
Stepping in front of Dave, Sebastian used his height advantage to block his husband's line of vision – which was frozen on the horrifying tableau. Wrapping his arms around Dave's shoulders, Sebastian drew him in close.
"You're going to be okay, Davey. I'm right here." With care, Sebastian turned Dave away from the grim reminder of his senior year. He began to lead them back down the driveway and into the street steering them clear of the sprinting groups of kids. "Let's go home, babe. Everything is going to be alright." Sebastian punctuated his words with a kiss to Dave's temple. "I love you, Davey. Me and Tyson, we love you so much. Hold on to that thought, David. We love you."
A group of teenagers, too old to be out trick-or-treating, passed by Sebastian and Dave only to begin making obnoxious comments – loudly. One young man, dressed only in a top hat and diaper, wearing a sash embroidered with "Happy New Year" had just commented, "Who wants to see that? God, they should just kill themselves," when he ran straight into a seething Nick Duvall.
"Mr. Nelson." Nick's angry tone wasn't lost on the boys.
"Oh, shit! Coach Duvall," blurted the boy.
"First," Nick held up a finger. "That is totally inappropriate language to be using in this family-friendly environment. Second," Nick held up another finger. "Those men you just passed – are my friends, gentlemen. What you, Mr. Hall, had to say about them, is personally offensive.
"Finally, you need to understand – all of you need to understand, that your words have consequences. Even when you think you're just out with your boys, and think you're talking to yourselves, but doing it loud enough that everyone around can hear you – those words have consequences. A very good friend of mine tried to take his own life when we were in high school, because a group of classmates decided to out him. And, because that wasn't hurtful enough, they began to call him vile, atrocious names – to his face, and online. People wrote to him, telling him he should take his own life. And he tried to."
Nick could see that he had their full attention now. "Your words carry weight. They have consequences that you might not see. And sometimes, those consequences are permanent. My advice, as your teacher and your coach, is to choose your words more wisely in the future." Making eye contact with each of the teenagers, Nick finished.
"I see that some of you, unlike Mr. Hall, couldn't even be bothered to attempt a costume; and yet, you are all carrying bags of candy while dressed in your school lacrosse uniforms." Nick smiled without humor. "Well, gentlemen, perhaps you feel as if your parents don't care how you comport yourselves in public – and maybe they don't; perhaps you feel as if your school doesn't care how you comport yourselves in public – and maybe it doesn't. But I care, gentlemen. If you represent me on the field, then you represent me off of the field."
"Yes, sir!" came the automatic replies.
"Excellent." Nick clapped his hands together. "Then we can discuss appropriate amends for this evening's asinine behavior, while in uniform no less, while running lines next practice."
The groans were loud, but no one verbalized an actual complaint. They knew better.
"Have a safe evening, gentlemen."
After watching his players walk away, it took a few minutes for Nick to find his family – their neighborhood had quite the reputation for its Halloween spirit, and many people, like he and Jeff and done, offered to host their out-of-the-area friends and family members for the evening events. Beyond that, many of the houses had a tradition of having both candy for the kids and adult-treats for, well, the adults. In some areas, it became wall to wall bodies as people snaked through.
Of course, passing out glo-sticks to all of the kids before they had left the house helped identify which costumed hobbits belonged to him. Spotting Donald Duck holding the hand of a fabulously dressed elephant, Nick realized he in the right area and chose to wait at the end of the driveway for them. He sensed the moment that Jeff moved up behind him.
"Bond." he said in acknowledgment of his husband's presence keeping an eye on the kids' progress.
"That's James Bond, Mr. Jones," replied Jeff.
Nick smiled, though Jeff couldn't see it. "You can call me Indiana."
Wrapping his arms around Nick's waist from behind, Jeff hooked his chin over Nick's shoulder, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're incredible," he said with a sigh.
"I know," Nick answered quickly. "My husband tells me that all the time," he teased quietly.
Jeff stood up straight and used his hands on Nick's waist to turn the other man around. "Wait! You're married?" he asked in mock-incredulity.
Grinning at the man who had stolen his heart almost two decades before, Nick threaded his fingers through Jeff's. "Yes. Married. To the most amazing guy in the universe."
"Really? The universe? You'll have to introduce us sometime," Jeff chuckled.
Following their group of charges who were moving on to the next house, Nick gently ran his thumb over Jeff's knuckles. "Hmmm…I don't know. I kinda like keeping you to myself."
"Flirt." Jeff allowed them to walk in silence until they stopped to wait for the kids. "I told Seb we'd take Tyson tonight," he explained soberly.
Nick wrapped an arm around Jeff's waist tugging him closer. "I figured as much. So? Candy bar pancakes in the morning?"
"Sounds perfect."
End Note: Hi. Thank you for reading the first part of (what I believe) will be a two part story. The genesis for this story really did come from last Halloween when, while taking my kids out trick or treating, we rolled up on a house with a skeleton hanging from the second story balcony. I thought, wow, that could cause someone a lot of unintended pain - given certain circumstances. My muse is apparently fascinated with the Smythe-Karofsky pairing (which surprised the heck out of me at first) and Nick and Jeff just showed up for the party. They demanded a bit of Niff fluff before allowing me to move forward with what I anticipate will be an emotional roller-coaster second part. I have a week's vacation starting Monday, so I anticipate the next portion being up by Friday 4/12. Be safe!