Walking past the choir room to her office that day was excruciatingly painful. Emma felt her heart break all over again seeing the kids hanging out in there before school, minus their leader. That room was full of people but to Emma, it was empty. Will didn't come back with the kids. He was taking a chance on Broadway, because she told him to go. Yes she told him to go with words but on the inside she was screaming for him to stay.
Emma walked towards her office with tears in her eyes. She wanted more than anything to go in that room and congratulate the kids but she couldn't. She couldn't walk in that room and not burst into to tears when she didn't see Will. She wanted to but she just couldn't. Emma made the conscious decision to let the kids come to her.
"Miss Pillsbury," Finn said running out of the room.
"Finn," she said with a small smile, "welcome back."
"Thanks," Finn said, "I know why you didn't stop and see us. It's cool. We understand. Before you head in to your office, um, Mr. Schue wanted me to tell you something. He wants you to know that loves you and he'll see you soon."
Emma looked at him and could feel the tears fill her eyes. The sob built up in her throat and she found herself at a loss for words.
"Oh man," Finn said panicking, "I told him I didn't want to tell you that. We didn't talk about what would happen if you cried."
"It's okay," she whispered trying to force a smile, "thank you. I'll stop by and see you guys later, I just…I just can't right now."
"It's okay. I understand," Finn said gently squeezing her arm, "We're going to be in the auditorium right after school. I guess it's our last official meeting of the year."
Nodding, she turned to walk towards her office. She didn't see the glee kids pop out of the choir room one by one and a huge smile form on Finn's face. They let her walk to the end of the hall before tiptoeing after her.
Emma walked towards her office brushing away a tear that was sliding down her cheek. She couldn't wait until she was sitting at her desk with the door closed. It wouldn't be the first time she had shed tears over Will in that office. In fact it wouldn't be the first time that week she had cried behind the wall of glass. It was just a few days ago that she found herself sitting at her desk, tears falling, having just sent him on his way to New York.
She knew she should have asked him to stay but how could she after all she put him through this past year. Emma didn't have a pamphlet for this. She had tried to write one but couldn't. How could she possibly help someone else when she couldn't even fix this situation for herself or for Will? She thought giving him her blessing to follow his dream to Broadway was the right thing to do but it wasn't what she wanted. She wanted him to be just down the hall, thinking of her while he graded tests, just like she thought of him while working on transcripts. She just wanted him.
Blinded by her own tears, Emma didn't even see the figure sitting just in front of her door. Head bowed with his hands resting on top of his knees, he looked up just as she looked down to reach for the key to unlock her office. "Emma," a voice whispered.
Emma drew a sharp breath, frozen in place. No, she thought to herself, no. That couldn't possibly be his voice. "Emma." The voice said again. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on getting the door open. Fiddling with the keys, she felt a hand gently take her wrist. "Emma, look at me." She felt her belongings slip from her hands and fall to the floor. The electricity that his touch sent through her body told her exactly who was sitting on the floor beside the door to her office. Instead of looking at him, she looked to the ceiling in an attempt to control the sobs that were welling in up in her throat.
"I couldn't do it," he said with his own tears threatening to fall. She could hear it in his voice. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist and rest his forehead against her stomach, "I couldn't do it."
They stood there, Will still on his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, both completely oblivious that they were in a crowded hallway with students walking past. Emma struggled to contain her emotions and could feel herself on the verge of falling apart.
"Will," Emma whispered so softly she wasn't even sure he had heard her say his name.
"It meant nothing," he said holding her tightly, "it meant nothing without you there to share it with me."
"Will," she said again slowly bringing her hand to his cheek. Feeling him nestle his cheek in her palm sent her sobs into overdrive. Her heart raced and her breathing was holding steady with the beat.
"Hey," Will said gently looking up at her the minute he felt her breathing quicken.
"Will, I'm so sorry," she said struggling to breathe between the words, "I'm so sorry."
"Shhh," he said standing up and taking her head in his hands, "It's okay."
"No, it's not," she cried, "I'm so sorry, for everything. I shouldn't have told you to go."
"Calm down," he said resting his forehead against hers. He could tell that her anxiety was only growing as she struggled to contain her emotions. He knew that he had to get her out of this hallway and somewhere quiet. He had to move quickly, he could hear Figgins yelling at Puckerman just around the corner which meant that the Glee Club had followed Emma to her office and were loitering. He was just reaching down to pick up her belongings when the principal rounded the corner.
"William," Figgins said, "You are to be commended, 12th place at nationals...not bad for your first time out." The principal quickly caught on that two of the most respected members of his staff weren't paying a bit of attention to him. His guidance counselor was crying hysterically in the hallway and his Spanish teacher was desperate to calm her down.
Figgins wasn't a bit blind to the feelings these two faculty members had for each other. He knew in his heart it would only be a matter of time before he was changing her name plate yet again to reflect her new married name. Figgins knew that Will was coming back with the kids. He had called in to tell the principal that a substitute wouldn't be necessary. He also told him not to tell Emma. No one, however, was prepared for Emma's reaction to finding him sitting on the floor in front of her office.
"Principal Figgins," Will said scooping up Emma into his arms, "I really appreciate your kind words but I've got something far more important that I need to deal with right now. If you'll excuse us, we've got to get out of this hallway."
Figgins nodded and patted Will on the back. He gently rubbed Emma's back as she clung to Will. He looked over and smiled to the Glee kids before turning the corner. Many heads turned as Will carried Emma down the hallway to the one place that he knew they would have a bit of privacy, the faculty restroom near Sue's office. He knew it would be empty. No one ever went there because she scared everyone into to believing it was for her use only.
Will kicked the door open with his foot and carried Emma into probably the cleanest room in the whole school, next to her office. He gently set her down and turned to lock the door. He never let go of her hand. He turned back to find her struggling to catch her breath through the sobs. He knew at that moment, their future would be a great one, even if the woman he loved was having an anxiety attack before his eyes.
"Emma," he said brushing a lock of hair off of her face, "breathe. I'm here. It's okay. We're going to fix this."
"This is really happening," she struggled to say, "Please tell me that I'm not dreaming."
"Sweetie," he said trying out a pet name for the very first time. He wasn't in the least surprised at how easily it rolled off his tongue. He knew it was meant for her. "You're not dreaming. I'm really here."
"I'm so sorry," she stuttered, "I never should have told you to go."
"I came back for us," he said, "I'm not leaving you ever again."
"Will," she started to say but he put his finger to her lips.
"Shhh," he said taking her into his arms to calm her down even more, "calm down and catch your breath. You don't have to say anything right now."
Emma felt herself wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. His touch always had an instant calming effect on her and he never failed to be there when she needed him the most. She pressed herself into him, allowing herself to relax in his arms.
"I imagine we'll have a lot more tears as we talk this all out," he said rubbing her back, "hopefully no more hysterics though, okay?"
"What are we going to do," she asked not moving from his embrace.
"Well, here are my thoughts and I gotta warn ya, I'm not taking no for an answer," he said looking down at her. When she nodded, he continued. "I think that as soon as school is over today, we need to shut the outside world out and focus on us. First we're going back to your place so you can pick up some stuff for a least a week."
"A week," she questioned.
"At least," he continued not bothering to elaborate, "After that, we'll run to the video store and rent a ton of movies. And I have got to go to the grocery store. My fridge is empty except for a box of baking soda and a shrunken lime. When we get back to my place, we're locking the doors, closing the curtains and turning off the phones. We're going to be completely unavailable to anyone except each other."
"When did you have time to think all of this through," she said looking up at him, a smile slowly forming.
"There's that smile I love so much," Will said running his fingers through her hair, "I started planning the second that I realized I was chasing the wrong dream. You're my dream Emma and I am committed to fixing this, I don't care how long it takes."
"So what you're saying is that we should focus on us, all summer," she whispered.
"I was thinking longer than that," he said.
"A lot longer," she answered.
"We have to get through the school day first," Will said, "are you going to be okay?"
"I don't know. I really want to let you out of my sight," Emma answered shaking her head, "I'm still afraid that I'm going to wake up and you're still going to be in New York."
"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, I promise," he said, "but maybe I can give you a small preview of tonight's performance."
"Will, I'm not…we can't…now's not…," she stuttered.
"I'm not talking about that. That will happen when it happens, when we're ready. I'm talking about this," he said taking her face in his hands and gently pressing his lips against hers. Their lips moved slowly at first and then the love they have for each other took over and the kiss grew deeper. They stood there with their lips dancing together until they were breathless.
"Wow," Emma breathed burying her head in his neck.
"I've wanted to do that for a year, I've kinda been saving up for it," he whispered into her hair. Tears started to pool in his eyes. "I was so afraid I'd never get a chance to do it again."
"You can do it any time you want to," she said stroking his cheek.
"I plan on it," he whispered brushing his lips gently against hers.
"Will, I need to tell you something," she said pulling away as he leaned in to kiss her again.
"Now's not the time to…," he started to say.
"No. I really need to say this. Please let me," she said waiting for him to give her the okay.
"Okay," he mouthed.
"I love you," she said so softly he barely heard her.
"What did you say?" He heard her but wanted to hear her say it again. A smile slowly formed on his face knowing that she was going to say those three magic words to him again. He had been the one to say it first and knew that in her heart, the answer was the same. She was angry then, angry at what she thought was the truth. Tonight, the truth would reveal itself.
"I love you," she whispered again.
"I thought that's what you said." He cupped her cheek gently, stroking it with his thumb. He remained silent because he knew she wasn't finished.
"This time last year, you told me you loved me," she said, "I wanted to say it back so badly but I didn't. I should have said it back but I didn't. So I'm saying it now. I love you, Will. I love you so much."
"I love you too," he said, "We'll be all right, I promise. We're going to talk this out and get us back on the yellow brick road to the Emerald City."
"Okay," she whispered.
"Okay," he said kissing her gently.
"All right."
"Okay then," he said kissing her again. In that kiss they both felt the beginning of forever forming. Home was in each other's arms and they would have stayed that way if it weren't for Sue banging on the door.
"I know you're in there Schuester," Sue said.
"Crap," Will said sighing and resting his forehead on Emma's shoulder. "I guess that's our cue to get back to class."
"I guess so," Emma said tightening her arms around his waist, "but I don't want to."
"Hey, I have an idea," Will said untangling her arms, "why don't you spend the day in my classroom? You can use my computer and pretend to work on whatever. I hate to say it babe, but I don't think you're going to do real well in your office by yourself all day."
"Are you sure," she asked, "I don't want to distract you."
"You'd be distracting me more if you were in your office," he said, "I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about you. Having you there with me would do me some good too. I need you near me. Besides, I've got a few of the glee kids in my first class. They'll keep the other kids in line if they start whispering."
"I take it Noah's in this class then," she said turning to look at herself in the mirror. She was a mess. "Oh my god."
"Here," Will said rifling through her purse to find a small packet of Kleenex, "let me."
"Schuester," Sue said banging on the door again, "you and Esmeralda have thirty seconds to vacate this bathroom. If you don't, I'll make the Glee Club clean it."
"I'm not going to miss her this summer," Wills said gently wiping away the smeared make up under Emma's eyes.
"We won't be available for her or anyone to bother us for a while," she reiterated.
"Come on," he said gathering up her stuff and taking her hand, "the sooner we get this day started, the sooner we can go home."
"Home."
Such a simple word but at that moment, it meant so much to Will and Emma.
