Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 31st cycle. Now cycle 32!

Hear that little bird twitter! Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!

"The Heart Wants"
Will & Beiste, Will/Emma

She had not realized how quickly he must have been knocking those drinks back, but then she saw how tipsy he was getting, and then he was definitely drunk. She wasn't about to send him home without letting him recover a bit, so she sat by him, putting him on a water only service.

"Come on now, Schuester," Beiste patted him on the shoulder with a chuckle. "We're both going to feel bad in the morning," she nudged the water toward him, waiting until he drank.

"I… really like this place," he spoke, seeming like he meant to be looking at her, but missed the mark.

"Glad I could help," she nodded. After this, he got quiet. At first she thought he was just nursing his water, but she looked and saw he had his head on the bar top. She worried that he'd passed out, moving to look in on him. "Will? Hey, buddy, are y..." His head sprang up so fast she had just a split second to pull away without getting a head butt.

"I messed up…" she barely managed to hear him say. She blinked, watching him chug down the water before giving the bar a few taps with the empty glass, like he was beckoning someone to refill him. "Messed… up…"

"What did you mess up?" she asked, though she wasn't sure how to respond to this. He stared at his glass, in his own world.

"What was I supposed to do? I was married…" he lazily pointed at his – empty – ring finger, "… and I was going… going to have a family… But before that, I was completely married, you know?" He frowned. Beiste stared back, though she didn't have any clue of what he was going on about.

"Right…"

"But I could feel it, from day one… Day… one," he poked the bar.

"Feel what?" Beiste tried, but he went on.

"That hair, those eyes, the way she walked, everything… Everything was perfect. So we hit it off, you know? We were perfect, because it was… it was natural…" he shook his head. "She understood. She wasn't one of those that didn't care, no, she cared," he pressed the word.

"Yeah," Beiste nodded.

"Then I had a shot. A real, actual shot to be with her, but am I?" he looked around, like he would find this girl of his, but then… "Not here," he shook his head, chugging more water. "She's not here, and that's my fault."

"I'm sure you didn't…" she tried to speak, but…

"No, I was an ass," he cut in, and she went back to quietly listening, seeing as he seemed to know what he had that needed saying. "I didn't mean to be, it just… I… For being in a steady relationship for years, married too, I… I don't have too much experience, and I panicked, or… I don't know… But I know we could have had something and I blew it, and then some guy with a toothbrush swept her away," he motioned.

"Ah…" Beiste nodded. She'd suspected for a while now that it was Emma Pillsbury he was talking about, but even if she'd asked he probably wouldn't have answered, just kept on rambling.

"It's funny, isn't it? This started and I was married, and she was pining after me… Now she's the one who's married, and I'm the one… hopelessly pining. And even worse is I've tried to wreck that for her… I did… I tried to get her back, after she finally had something good, after what I put her through."

"Yeah," Beiste nodded, and it was the first time Will actually turned and acknowledged her.

"But then even if I back off, I'd still be happy if she ended up single again. It'd be all I could think about… that, and getting her back… I shouldn't think like that, should I?" he sounded like a –drunk – little boy.

"You love her," Beiste managed a smile. "It's bound to involve some judgment issues," she nodded. "But I think you can tell the difference." He stayed quiet. "But something like that, it… can't be helped," she promised.

"Yeah…" he spoke, though his mind was already somewhere else.

"Come on, I'll get you home…"

THE END

PICK A NAME! - ROUND TWO
New character currently in development, and I'm being indecisive, so I'm putting it to all of you lovely people!
Please send via message if you can, the name you like best... [Once you've voted in round two, you can't change it ;)]

After the bottom three were eliminated, we get this! So you have a new vote!

Brendan
Ewan
Neal
Rory

Thank you! :)

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!