A/n: Hello everyone I'm back with yet another story. I know this has been done before but I thought I'd take a shot at it. Hope you enjoy!
Emma didn't think much of it when she didn't see Will that morning. He'd been avoiding her after all, not that she could blame him. She'd been a terrible friend, no a terrible person, lately. Will tried to keep it together around her and he managed pretty well up until Christmas.
But it had been a week since they had been back at school and the most Will said to her was a "hello Emma". He didn't even ask how her vacation was.
Again, not like she blamed him.
Without even realizing it she'd go off about Carl, most of the time not noticing how the brightness completely drained out of his face when she would mention the 'C' word.
Ever since her marriage she tried to be more conscious of the way she talked about Carl in front of Will. She couldn't bare to see that look in his eyes, the look of complete and utter heart break, the look she had seen on him after she told him about her marriage.
But over New Years she had made a silent resolution to be a better friend to Will, to stop talking about her married life altogether except when he was the one to ask about it. She wouldn't treat him like the man who broke her heart almost a year ago but as her best friend who she loved spending time with.
Will, however, wasn't making it easy for her. Every time she'd call to him in the hallways he'd pretend to ignore her and walk in the opposite direction. He never ate lunch in the faculty lounge anymore and the one time that she tried to talk to him in his office she found the door locked. She contemplated knocking but she had a feeling Will wouldn't open the door.
She felt a small stab of hurt at his blatant disregard for her but she had brought it upon herself really. When Will was there she only pushed him away and the harder he fought the more she ran and now that he was finally giving up she missed his presence around.
She was a horribly selfish woman.
Truthfully she didn't even deserve Will as her friend. He deserved a lot better than to have his heart ripped out every day upon seeing her and that ring on her finger.
It hurt her to know she was hurting him so but she had stepped deep in it and there was no getting back now. Anything she could ever do from this point on would only hurt Will more.
Unless...
No. She couldn't do that. She loved Carl and being his wife is what she wanted to be.
At least thats what she told herself everyday to try and get past the sinking feeling in her stomach each time she'd get a glimpse of Will's slumped shoulders and his pale and tired face.
So despite her desperate wishes to make Will's pain go away, she felt useless for there was nothing she could do.
The whispers are what first caught her attention that day.
Most of the school carried on as normally, students chatting in the hallway, flirting (and making out) by the lockers, kids getting slushied, jocks tormenting nerds but there were a few students that were unusually quiet.
Twelve kids who all share a common interest in the performing arts.
The tight knit group usually chatted happily about anything and everything as they wandered through the halls of McKinley but today they only whispered quietly amongst each other, their faces all wearing a matching frown. When Rachel passed Emma in the hallway the two females locked eyes, Rachel's eyes pooled with sadness and she dropped her head shaking her head as she flew past Emma. Rachel's odd behavior wasn't the oddest thing to happen either.
Some of the faculty scoffed at her as they passed her in the hallway, some even giving her dirty looks. Emma almost asked them what the looks were for but most of the staff scared her even after she proved to most of them that she could stand up for herself. Even Shannon Beiste, who was usually very friendly with Emma seemed to snub her off.
AndSue Sylvester actually smiled at her in the hallway, giving her a rare 'job well done' look.
Emma was floored and a little anxious as to why she had everyone reacting that way. What had she done to receive dirty and ashamed looks from the students and faculty and an approving look from Sue Sylvester.
That thought is what scared her the most. She had no idea how she could have done something so wicked that Sue would be pleased.
Her answer came when she went to use the ladies room. Just as she was about to leave the stall and head to the sink to wash her hands the door opened and two of the faculty, one woman from the attendance office, the other an english teacher, walked in. Emma retreated back into the stall and reluctantly took a seat on the toilet, hoping that the two women would be done soon.
"Did you hear what happened to Schuester?" Ms. Levy, the woman from the attendance office asked immediately catching Emma's attention. Emma held her breathe and listened closely.
"No," Mrs. Signa, the english teacher responded with deep rooted interest. Despite Will's slight downfall as the resident school "man whore" last year, he was still the most well loved teacher at the school, especially among the female faculty. "What happened?"
"He's in the hospital." Ms. Levy answered softly and a hand flew to Emma's mouth to restrain a gasp. She started wide eyed at the yellow stall in front of her, trying to keep her heart rate and breathing even as she listened to the women talking.
"Oh my god." Mrs. Signa gasped. "Is he alright?"
"I don't know." The other woman replied, a hint of worry in her voice. "I don't know the details but apparently he was found this morning in the park."
"The park?"
Emma fought desperately to control the tears that sprung to her eyes. She bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from making any noise at all.
"He was passed out cold on one of the benches. From what I'm hearing it sounded like he was there all night and someone found him this morning and couldn't wake him up."
Mrs. Signa suddenly gasped again. "Now that you mention it I do remember passing the park this morning and seeing a bunch of cop cars. I thought the police were just arresting some drunk homeless guy." Her voice softened as she let out a little sigh. "I wonder what he was doing out there."
"He's depressed Kathy." Ms. Levy explained, her voice oozing with sympathy. "One can only imagine what is going on in his brain, the poor guy."
"But to freeze to near death in park?"
"You've seen him around lately Kath, he's like the undead. He always greeted me with a smile and cheerful wave when he'd sign in in the morning. No matter how bad of a morning I had getting my kids up for school seeing Will Schuester walk in with a smile on his face would cure all the negativity." She paused for a second and sighed wistfully. "I haven't seen that smile in almost a year and now he won't even say hello. I think the only thing keeping him here is his paycheck."
"And his glee club." Kathy added. "He loves those glee kids."
"You're right." Ms. Levy agreed. "Whatever lasting energy he does have he puts into prepping those kids."
"He's even letting his teaching slip." Kathy sighed. "Maria told me that all of Schue's kids are coming to her now for spanish help. Will was the best spanish teacher in Allen County."
"The things the heart can make you do. I've never seen a man so enamored before."
"And now she's married? Oh, my heart breaks for him."
Emma's heart leapt into throat and she suddenly felt very sick to her stomach. It felt like the pasty yellow walls of the bathroom stall were closing in on her and she struggled to control her sudden erratic breathing.
The two women continued to talk but it was all a jumbled mess of words to Emma.
Will was in the hospital.
Will was in the hospital because he was depressed.
Will was depressed because of her.
Hot tears burned at the back of her eyes and she doubled over her knees trying to suppress the horrible feeling of nausea that was bubbling in her stomach. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to keep her even deep and even.
Somewhere in the distance she heard the two women wish each other a good rest of the day as they left the bathroom, letting the door slammed closed behind them.
Finally when she was alone, a sob burst from Emma's lips and she grabbed the handle to the stall door, yanking it open and stumbling out.
She collided with the sink, gripping onto the white porcelain tightly and staring down at nothing in particular as she tried to catch her breath.
She slowly lifted her head, facing her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks were stained with tear marks, her hair seemed even more dead than usual...but that is not what she saw.
The only thing she saw staring back at her was a monster.
Will, her best friend, the best loved teacher at this school, the paternal figure to more than one of the glee kids, the man who was too nice and too sweet for his own good, had nearly frozen to death alone on a park bench.
And it was all her fault.
She found herself running through the halls, ignoring the looks she was getting from the people in the hallway and bursting into Figgins' office.
The principal was about to scold his employee for bursting into his office without an appointment but then he saw the look on Emma's face. If it was one thing that Figgins hated it was to see a woman crying.
He had asked what was wrong and Emma blubbered out a response and as soon as she mentioned Will's name Figgins dismissed her immediately, telling her to go to him.
Emma kept her tears at bay the whole drive to the hospital, keeping her focus intensely on the road, trying not to think of Will.
Halfway through her drive she realized she had no idea what hospital Will had been taken to.
With her heart pounding wildly in her chest she pulled over to the side of the road, not truly caring that she was in an unfamiliar neighbor hood and broke down against her steering wheel.
She cried until her tears soaked the collar of her blouse and until her head felt like it was about to implode.
She finally calmed down enough to realize that crying on the side of the road would not do anything for Will.
She had to know if he was okay.
Wiping at her eyes furiously and taking a deep breath, Emma pulled back into traffic and headed towards the nearest hospital, hoping and praying that Will would be there.
When she found a parking spot, she practically leaped out of her car and took off in a run towards the entrance. The cold bit harshly at her lungs and the wind whipped furiously against her tear stained cheeks but she could care less.
She stumbled into the entrance with a violent cough, looked around adamantly for the main desk and practically flew over there.
"May I help you?" One of the nurses behind the desk asked sweetly, seemingly not surprised by Emma's hysterical appearance.
"There was a man brought in here..." Emma bit out between a sob. "A few hours ago...William Schuester."
"And your name?" The woman asked, already pulling up Will's file.
"Emma Pillsbury." She answered without hesitation, the second part of her now hyphenated last name completely escaping her thoughts.
The woman nodded as she bit her lip, her eyes darting across the screen as Emma anxiously tried to sneak a peak at Will's file.
"Ah, Emma it appears you're listed here as Mr. Schuester's emergency contact."
"I am?" Emma whispered, befuddled. "Why didn't I - why didn't I get a call?"
The nurse turned to look at her with a furrowed brow and another nurse who sat behind the desk turned to them. "I remember making that call, Miss Pillsbury. It was a man who answered the phone."
Emma stared at the nurse in panicked bewilderment. Why would a man be answering her...?
Realization suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.
Carl.
Their landline had rung this morning.
Carl had answered.
She was in the bathroom and called out to him asking who it was.
He said it was the wrong number.
"Oh my god." She whispered as new and fresh tears pooled her eyes. She suddenly found it very hard to breathe and it felt like the room was spinning.
One of the nurses was instantly at her side, holding onto her lightly and she could barely register that they were calling her name. They led her over to one of the waiting room chairs and she doubled over again, the incredibly nauseous feeling building once more in her stomach.
She breathed deeply in and out for several minutes as the nurse rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Miss Pillsbury?" The nurse questioned softly once Emma was calm enough. "Would you like to go and visit Mr. Schuester now?"
Guilt swarmed inside of her at the mention of Will's name but she nodded her head, taking a deep breath and slowly rising from her seat. Not bothering to wipe the tears away from her face she followed the nurse numbly through the bright white halls.
They took the elevator up to the third floor and turned down many other hallways before they finally stopped in front of a room. The kind nurse gave Emma a sad smile as she opened the door to Will's room.
From where she stood Emma could hear the constant beeping of all the machines Will was surely hooked up to and she froze to the spot, staring horrified into the room.
For the first time she was actually realizing where she was. She was in a hospital, filled with germs and who knows what kind of sick person had been standing in the same spot she was.
Her breathing started to become erratic and the nurse gently placed her hand on the small of Emma's back to comfort her.
That snapped Emma back to reality and she slowly stepped into the room, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, afraid of what she might see.
A low cry escaped her lips once she laid on the man in the bed. The only visible part of his body was his blueish face, the rest was covered in many, many blankets. She brought a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries and more tears rolled down her cheeks as she approached his bed.
The nurse followed in behind her, grabbing Will's chart off the edge of his bed. "Judging by the state we found the patient in we believe he has a case of moderate hypothermia and we found traces of alcohol in his blood. We're doing everything we can to flush out his system and regulate his body temperature and if no other complications arise we believe Mr. Schuester will be just fine."
Emma could barely register anything the nurse said as she stared down at Will, her hand still tightly pressed over her mouth.
The nurse noticed Emma's knees starting to wobble and she quickly grabbed one of the chairs from the side of the room and pulled it up the side of Will's bed behind Emma. Emma, catching her movement out of the corner of her eye, collapsed back into the chair burying her head in her hands, letting her tears fall silently.
The nurse placed her hand over Emma's shoulder comfortingly for a few fleeting seconds and then slowly backed out of the room, leaving the two alone.
A few quiet sobs burst from Emma's lips and she brought the chair so it pressed up against Will's bed. She placed her hand over the thick stack of blankets that covered Will and sought out his hand. She could barely make out the outline of his fingers but she rested her hand there protectively and bravely brought her gaze up to Will's pale face.
"Will." His name tumbled from her lips in a helpless whimper and she rested her forehead against his chest.
"I'm so sorry." She cried into his blankets. "I'm so sorry."