AN: Since I don't own Glee, I have no clue what might change between now and the show ends. Is it too soon to be writing this fic? LOL. This should be fun, nonetheless. Based on pairings as of Sectionals (and a little shipping XD).
You could say the story of our glee club came full circle the day a blond haired girl named Caroline walked into Arthur Abrams' Biology class, but the seeds had long been sown.
At that moment, I'm sure I was all the way on the other side of school, introducing the freshman to the finer points of Spanish. It still scares me that the kids these days don't remember 9/11 and definitely don't know anything about why those glee club trophies from 15 years ago are on display in the hallway. I've done this routine so many times by now that I don't really notice anymore.
I come alive whenever I meet a talented student like Finn or Rachel or Kurt or Mercedes. I come alive at lunch, when I got to see some of my old students and how well they were doing for themselves. I was excited all morning, anxious to catch up with the summer's news and I definitely didn't catch too many new names. As soon as possible after the lunch bell, I cut through the thick crowds, towards the staff room. My smile rose as I pulled the door open and saw the two ladies already sitting at our usual table. "Hey guys," I said, sliding into the chair next to them.
"Oh, hey," Brittany blinked, confused for a second. "Will. How was your summer?" It was still strange to see her as a teacher here, but she made a great guidance counselor, because she really cared about the kids.
"It was pretty good. Emma and I went to California for a few weeks."
"Man, I still miss her around this place," Mercedes said with a smile. She had calmed down a lot since high school and now she was one of the most popular music teachers McKinley had ever seen. I was always glad to have the help with glee club.
"She likes it over at Lima High School. Plus, I think it's good for us." I blushed a little because they all knew just how much drama I'd gone through with Terri, so me and Emma had decided to play it safe.
"No doubt," Mercedes nodded, still having problems with her on again, off again boyfriend.
"Hey, where's Artie?" I looked around. The halls were practically empty now; he should be here by now.
"You know it takes him a long time to get through the crowds." Mercedes shrugged.
"I saw him before," Brittany just looked around blankly.
I turned towards the door again and it was right in time to see Artie pushing himself through the door breathlessly. "Oh, Mr. Schue, I've been looking for you."
"Artie, great! Come join us." I laughed. "And how many times have I told you to call me Will?"
"I know, but-"
"How is she?" I chuckled, almost positive this is what he'd been anxious to tell me.
Artie sighed and raised an eyebrow, "who?"
"Your baby?"
"Oh," he shook his head. "She's great. Looks like Tina." He smiled a little. It was his third kid, but I had never seen him not like this over a new delivery. "But Mr. - I mean - Will. Quinn's kid is in my class."
"What?" All three of us shouted so loudly that a lot of the staff looked up at us. I actually stood up.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure, but how many Caroline Febray's do you know?"
"Oh my - wow," I sat back down, the shook setting in. "I can't believe she's in Lima."
"Why not?" Brittany asked simply.
"I really thought she would have left after what happened..." Artie trailed off, his head shaking.
We all sat there for a few minutes in silence. Suddenly, I stood up again. "We should find her!"
"This is perfect!" Mercedes gushed with a huge grin. "Kurt just told me he's coming through town next month. He has this huge conference in Chicago, but I think he feels like he's got to see his father."
"And?" Poor Brittany didn't exactly get what was going on.
"And you know what this means?" Mercedes asked, shooting a look at Artie.
"Glee reunion!" He answered and they shot each other a high five. Even I had to smile. This could be fun.
"Vote for Finn Hudson for your State Assemblyman! Because Northwestern Ohio needs to be represented by a guy like you!" Finn was smiling and pointing at me from my TV.
"Won't you turn that junk off?" Emma laughed as she looked over from her latest crochet project: a baby blanket. She hadn't officially told me yet and my skeptical side told me not to make assumptions. Maybe it was for her cousin. Heck, maybe it was for Artie and Tina's baby. Emma always liked those two.
I clicked the remote if only for Emma's sake. How had I gotten so lucky? I never would have gone for a woman like Emma if it hadn't been for Terri and yet, Emma brought out the best in me. She was adorable at times like this, just staring at me with half an afghan in her lap. "What?" She finally asked.
I shook my head. "You think Finn will win?" I nodded at the now blank TV screen.
"I don't know, he's got a pretty good campaign going." She shrugged. "Maybe you should call him."
"How do you always read my mind?" I chuckled and crossed the room just to kiss her lightly on the forehead.
"It's pretty obvious. You've been looking at the ads again." She looked down to the newspaper and sure enough, it was open to a full page spread for Louie's Best Used Cars. There was Noah Puckerman, surrounded by polished cars and beautiful women, including Brittany and Santana. The ad had already been pulled twice from the newspaper, but it had also made Puck the most successful used car salesman in the state.
"Quinn's kid is in Artie's class."
"Really?" Her eyes grew even wider than usual and I sat down on the arm of her chair.
"Yep. And Kurt's coming home next month, so it could be the original 12 again." My mind flashed back to all the troubles, the controversy and the glory that those 12 kids faced. It would amazing to get them together again. Sure, Mercedes and Artie and Tina came over to jam every Sunday, but it wasn't the same. We'd even got Puck to join us a few times, but everyone else had begged off for various reasons. We all knew the real reason: Quinn Febray was gone and New Directions would never be the same. "Do you think we could get her back?"
Emma actually laughed at me. "No."
"That's you, isn't it, Mr. Abrams?" Caroline Febray stared into the clear glass trophy case in the front hallway of McKinley High.
"How did you know I was here?" He chuckled, wheeling himself the last few feet up to Caroline.
"I could hear your wheels squeaking." She turned towards him, but only for a second. She was studying that controversial yearbook picture that sat framed besides their 2009 and 2010 trophies.
Artie didn't need to lean closer to know that picture. "Yeah, that's me. I was kind of dorky." And really, he hadn't changed much, he admitted to himself.
Caroline chuckled a little. "My mom never told me she was in any club besides the cheerios."
He wasn't really surprised, after all that they had been through. "She's the only reason we got those trophies. We never would have gotten enough kids to qualify otherwise."
"Oh wow," she breathed and kept looking. "And that's my dad. My mom has a picture of him in her night table. What kind of club was this anyway? You guys all look so... different."
Artie's smile grew to legendary proportions. "That's a long story."
