A/N: Hey fellow gleeks, here with a new story. A little bit about this fic, in case you couldn't tell from the tags or the summary, this is set post finale, and really just comes out of my desire to explore the relationships in this show, and one of the first relationships we all fell in love with, Will and his kids, the New Directions. This story will be a mostly canon compliant AU and explore one possible version of the father/son dynamic between Will and Daniel as well as the familial ties that the New Directions have with each other regardless of time. Call it a tribute if you like. Trigger warnings will be present as necessary. As always I don't own GLEE none of it. Just the plot bunny and any original characters which at this point include Daniel's siblings, Emily and the twins.

Chapter One: Making the Call

Now: William McKinley High School For the Arts/Schuester Home

Sam Evans stared long and hard at his phone screen. He had been going back and forth on this issue for a week. He had talked to Miss Pillsbury (He shakes his head then, Emma, Mrs. Schuester, not Miss Pillsbury anymore, not for a long time. But he would always think of her with that name, a long formed not easily broken habit from his years as a student in these halls) and Mr. Schue. He hadn't been enthusiastic: lost in thought, yes, troubled, definitely, but enthusiastic, not even close.

"They have their own lives Sam. You all do." Mr. Schue sighed, his gaze flying over the photographs on his desk, almost unconsciously. A group photo of the New Directions, circa 2015, after that Nationals victory that had cemented their school's security as one of the top performing arts schools in Ohio, and next to that, a photograph of Emma holding a four year old Daniel on her lap. "We'll figure this out. We always do."

Sam couldn't understand how it had happened. He'd known Daniel since he was a bundle of drool and red hair. He'd bought him his first guitar. How could he not have seen it? How could any of them not seen it? It is at this moment when his frustration is at its highest, and when he sees Emma watching him silently from the window just before she walks out the doors to her car, that he pushes the call button and puts the phone to his ear. Own lives? Yeah, maybe they did have their own lives, but they'd always been a family, and right now the Schuesters needed their whole family.

The house was silent. It was just Will and Daniel. Emma had left some time ago to pick up Emily and the twins from the middle school which got out a half an hour after McKinley.

"Hey Dan, how was practice?" Will sat at the kitchen table across from his son who was holding a can of soda, staring down at it. Maybe today would be the day. They all spent their days waiting, hoping to hear the sound of the piano, a lyric, a riff from his guitar, heck Will would even break up an argument. But it had been two weeks… without a word. Not a word to anyone, and it was frightening.

Daniel looked up. His eyes were wide, almost fearful, but as quickly as Will took note, his expression became impassive. He gave a micro-shrug before rising to his feet and heading upstairs. If Will hadn't been looking directly at Daniel he would have missed it. It was this fact that made Will reach for the cordless phone. He kept staring at the staircase as he dialed, despite Daniel being long gone. He still recalled the number, even after all this time. He just hoped someone would answer.

"Will?"

Oh thank god! Will's shoulders shook, but somehow his voice was coming out clear as he explained, and patiently, ever so patiently, Burt Hummel listened.

Now: Hudson-Hummel House

"Burt, who was on the phone?" Carole watched her husband carefully. He was looking down at his cell phone as if he had spoken to Casper himself.

"Schuester…" Burt shook his head, trying to clear it. He and Will were friends, it was true, and the Schuesters occasionally came around to see how things were going especially after Finn. But that didn't mean that Burt had expected a phone call from a clearly upset William Schuester almost six months after their last meet up. And what had been said, it was troubling to say the least.

Carole grabbed them each a drink from the fridge: a can of beer for him, a water bottle for herself. "How are they?"

Burt sighed. "Dan's not doing so good."

"What happened?"

Burt explained, all the while trying to process it himself. Daniel Schuester had gone silent, truly silent. He hadn't said anything, not to the his family, not to his classmates, not even to the Evans kid who ran the glee club at McKinley. He'd never heard Will so panicked. He remembered all the times that Will had supported his boys, helped Kurt and Finn become brothers, helped Kurt find himself, helping his boys process when he had had his heart attack, helping Kurt deal with bullies. In all those times, the roles had been switched. Burt, or Kurt or Finn had been the ones losing their cool, and Will had been the teacher for their whole family.

"Oh Burt…"

Burt knew that look on his wife's face. Her eyes were glistening, her mouth was drawn downwards into a frown. She was thinking hard. And then she straightened, and Burt realized what they had to do.

He dialed his son's number, hoping somebody would answer.

A/N: So, it's been about two weeks of silence. This story will jump around in time, so we will get to see who Daniel was before as well as piece together what happened. Time will be denoted by headings(Usually the words now or then followed by relevant information). In case you are curious, I am picturing Daniel as Justin Tinucci. Let me know what you think. Do you want to see more? R&R