A/N: And I bring you chapter two. The response to this story so far has been awesome and I plan on continuing this, as Chapter 3 is already formulating in my brain. I've also got the ending all planned, as well, so I need to now fill in the middle. I hope you enjoy and again, Read&Review is greatly appreciated! It motivates me to write more for you guys! Thank you, again, Nicole, for reading through and being my beta (:
Disclaimer: I do not own Will, Emma, Rose or Rusty. That's all RIB's. However, I did create Clarissa Schuester.
Chapter 2: Promises, Promises
July 7, 1959
Emma,
I know it's been a month since I left. I told you I'd write, but I couldn't. Your confession at the pier just before I left caught me by surprise. I didn't know what to say or how to respond to that. Do you know that I love you, too? I love you, too. I'm sorry I didn't say it back, but I couldn't. You were so heartbroken. I could see it in your face, and I couldn't break you any further than I already did. I know it was an awful thing of me to do, asking you to be my girl the day I'm leaving for war. It was a jerk move, and I hope that I didn't make you feel forced to accept. You could have said no if you wanted to – you could still back out now. If you choose. I wouldn't be surprised. I'm betting there are boys all over you in your summer clothes. But if you want to still be mine, I'd like it.
Call me crazy, but I think I would pretend you're mine whether you choose to back out or not. You've been the one constant in my life since we were seven and nine, Em. You've been there for me when my mother wasn't, and you've done so much for me, even though you're so much younger. Do you know that you saved me from myself after my mom died? You did. You do. You're my reason to come back home to Ohio. I promise I will, Emma. I've been keeping up with the news. I know what's going on and I know they're saying the chances of us boys coming back home are slim, but I'm going to prove them wrong. I'm going to come back to you – I still owe you a date.
Thank you for spending my last day in Lima with me. I couldn't stay home with my Grandmother and prolong her anxiety and sadness. She'd been fussing over me since I got the letter about being drafted. My last day needed to be with you. I had to suck it up and tell you that I was leaving. I couldn't do it sooner, Em, and I'm sorry that I sprung it on you. But I couldn't break your heart sooner than it needed to be broken. You'd be worrying for the rest of the time I had home, and I know you'd've treated me differently. Like I was a wounded puppy instead of your best friend. Now your boyfriend.
Did you do anything for Independence Day? I bet you looked so beautiful by the glow of sparklers, your face coloured different shades in the night sky as you looked up at fireworks. Just like you were last year, and the year before. We didn't do much here at boot camp. They did a small barbeque, but nothing major. It's not like you'd be here with me. I'm getting sort of nervous. We ship out in just under three weeks now. I heard a few of the officers saying it was regretful that they were all training us to walk straight to our death. It scares me, if I can be honest with you. I don't like that our superiors are already doubting us, but they don't know what we have to return home to. What I have to return home to. You. Your beautiful face.
Do you remember that time when you'd just started high school and I met you outside the building on your third day, and you said you didn't want to go in because you didn't look like all the other girls? You said you dressed funnier because you were more proper, and I told you that you looked beautiful and to stop your whining. I realized today that every day, you still find something to nitpick about yourself and I always have to tell you you're beautiful. Stop whining. I'm not there to say it, but every time you start nitpicking, just know I'm over here going, "Stop nitpicking, Emma. You're beautiful. Stop whining."
God, I love you. You're beautiful.
Your Traveling Soldier,
Will
P.S. Tell Grandma Clarissa hi for me, please. And I love her.
Emma stared down at the paper. It was limp from having been folded and refolded dozens upon dozens of times. The letter had arrived three weeks ago, and she'd hastily responded, putting a letter in the mail the very same day. How often was their mail being delivered to them? She hoped it didn't get lost.
A tear fell down her cheek as she swung on the porch swing, her fingers running over the paper. A weight next to her brought her back to Earth and she looked to her left to find her older brother, Christopher, sitting next to her. Chris was a ginger, just like she was, but in the summer months, his hair looked more blonde than anything. He had brilliant blue eyes and a genuine smile that he reserved specially for his baby sister. He'd graduated from college a few weeks back and decided to move back home to Lima while he tried to get his footing in the career world. He'd arrived home hours ago, but Emma hadn't been in a very cheerful mood.
"Hey, Em. I brought you something."
Chris held out a box and Emma gave him a small smile, untying it and opening it. She pulled out a necklace with a crystal heart on the end.
"Saw it and thought of you."
Emma looked over at him again and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Chris. I love it." She unclasped the necklace and put it on, fiddling with it for a moment before sitting back on the porch swing. Chris fell silent and sat with his sister for a bit before eyeing the piece of paper in her hand.
"You want to tell me what's going on, Emma?"
"I'm sure Mom and Dad have filled you in."
"I don't want to hear it from Mom and Dad, Em. I wanna hear it from you."
Christopher looked at his sister sadly. She was usually so spirited around him; they were as close as siblings could get. He knew she admired him and she knew he cared about her more than anything. It bothered him that she was being so quiet and so distant. Their parents had filled him in, but not very much. They said it was Emma's place to tell what was happening. His lips twitched into a small smile as her amber eyes finally met his.
"Will got drafted. He left about a month and a half ago, and I miss him terribly. He's written me once – I got it a week ago." Her eyes fell to the paper caught between her fingers and her thumbs. She watched as her thumbs ran over the paper like little windshield wipers, wiping away the wrinkles.
Christopher wrapped his arm around his baby sister and pulled her close to him, kissing the side of her head. "I'm sorry, Emmy. I know you two were close. Attached at the hip since you were seven."
Emma nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "He asked me to be his girlfriend."
"It's about damn time! That boy was dragging his feet. What finally pushed him to do it?"
Emma bit her lip and took a breath, feeling tears coming to her eyes. They always came when she thought of him leaving that day.
"Leaving. The weekend after he left, we were supposed to have a date and he was going to ask me then, but he – he had to the day he left instead."
Her eyes closed, trapping the tears behind her lids, her teeth catching her lower lip momentarily. She felt her brother's breath catch and he nodded, hugging her tighter. "I'm sorry it wasn't sooner, kid. I'm surprised it took this long, honestly. Will worshipped the ground you walked on, even back when you two first met. You could see it in his face."
Fourteen year old Christopher Pillsbury was sitting at the table in the kitchen doing his algebra homework. He had a bowl of grapes in front of him and he was absentmindedly popping them into his mouth as he worked out the Pythagorean Theorem problems on his worksheet. He sighed after a few problems and rubbed his eyes, getting up to get a soda. He walked to the fridge and grabbed a coke, cracking open the bottle and slamming the door shut. Just as he did, his little sister, Emma walked in, followed by a little boy.
"Chris!"
She ran over and gave her brother a hug, smiling up at him and then over to Will. Chris laughed and hugged her back. He loved his sister more than anything.
"See! I told you he was big and super cool!"
Christopher laughed and shook his head.
"You little weirdo." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Who's your friend, Emmy?"
"His name's Will. He takes care of me." She shrugged slightly and looked down at her dress, smoothing out the skirt of it.
Christopher looked at Will and his face twisted into a grin. He pursed his curved lips to prevent a laugh from escaping. The young boy looked to be just older than Emma. His head was covered in curls and he was staring at his little sister with the biggest grin ever. It was clear this kid had a crush on his baby sister.
"Takes care of you?"
"Yeah, at school. He reads with me, and takes care of me like Mommy tells you to."
Will's eyes flitted from Emma to Chris and he nodded. "Yep. She's tiny. Gotta make sure she doesn't get hurt."
Chris laughed once and nodded. "Alright. Well thanks for that. That better mean that you won't hurt her." He was kidding. Partly. Sure, Emma was only seven, but he was a whopping fourteen years old. In his mind, he'd been around long enough to know that you protect sisters from boys. It was in all the movies they watched. The brother told the boy to be nice and not hurt her. Chris knew this sort of thing.
"I won't hurt her. If I do, I'll never be Jesse James again." Will nodded decidedly and his eyes returned their focus to Emma, a smile immediately returning to his face.
Emma sniffled and shook her head, "Don't. Chris. It doesn't help to hear that, it just makes it hurt more that he's gone and we couldn't actually be together but for a few hours."
Chris nodded. He remained quiet and started swinging gently, holding his sister close to him. He didn't know what he could say or do to make her feel better. It was lucky that he didn't get called to service. She still had him, but something told him that fact wouldn't comfort her any. It might just make her angry.
"What did Mom and Dad say about it?" It was Emma who broke the silence.
"They said you're too young to be going through this and it's because you were too free-spirited around Will. But they wouldn't say much more. They said it was your story to tell."
Emma sighed quietly. "I am too young. But so is Will. Christopher, I watch the news and I read the papers. This has been going on for a year already, and they keep saying that people aren't coming back. At least not as many as there used to be. What if he doesn't come back, Chris? He's my best friend. He's my boyfriend, too, I guess, but he's my best friend. I can't live without my best friend and – and…" She took a deep breath and looked at him, her brow crinkled in fear.
"Emma, stop." His voice was stern and he held his sister's face in his hands. "What does that letter say?" If he knew Will at all, it was something pertaining to coming home.
"It, uhm, it says he'll come back. He'll come back to me, even if they say he won't come home, he'll prove them wrong."
"Has Will ever broken a promise to you?"
Emma shook her head, her eyes searching Christopher's face. She wasn't grasping what he was saying; that she shouldn't worry because Will had promised.
"Then he will be home. My bet is he'll be gone one year – two at the most with the way they say the war is going – and then he'll be back in Lima, running up to the front door on Saturday mornings to go on your usual park thing you two do." He kissed his sister's forehead. "Don't worry."
Emma nodded and gave her brother a small smile, moving to rest her head on his shoulder, her eyes gazing out towards the street.
"Thanks for the necklace, Christopher. I really like it."
"Only the best for you, Em. I love you. Even if it's not cool to tell your sister."
Emma let out a laugh. "I love you, too."
Silence fell upon the brother and sister once more as the sun began to set on Lima, Ohio. They stayed on the porch long after the sun was set and the crickets came out, chirping back and forth, contributing to the evening symphony of bug noises. Emma just needed time to think. Christopher didn't want to leave his sister alone. Their time together was interrupted by the front door creaking open.
"Emma, Chris. It's dark, kids. Come inside." Rose Pillsbury's head poked out of the door, staring at her children in the dark. "I made dessert for you guys. It's Emma's favourite."
Emma nodded and stood, Chris standing after her and grabbing the empty wrapping from her necklace. They followed their mother inside and to the kitchen where their father was reading the paper.
"You kids have a good time out there?" Rusty Pillsbury asked, setting the paper down and removing his glasses.
"Yeah. I'm glad Christopher's home." Emma smiled genuinely at her brother and sat next to her father.
Rose brought over a plate of strawberry shortcake for each of them before sitting across from Rusty. They all started to eat their dessert in silence until Rose spoke up.
"I ran into Clarissa Schuester at the market today."
"Oh? How is she?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrows and taking another bite. Clarissa was Will's grandmother. She'd moved to Lima to take care of him after his mother died and she took wonderful care of Will. Clarissa also loved Emma and often had her join them for dinner.
"She's good. She's just as worried as you are about Will. She wants you to go over tomorrow if you'd like. She says just because Will's not there doesn't mean everything should change and she'd love to have you over for dinner." Rose smiled and took a tiny bite of a strawberry.
Emma nodded. "Okay. I'll phone her tomorrow morning and let her know I'll be there."
Soon enough, everyone finished their dessert and Emma dismissed herself to her room. She placed her letter from Will on her desk, then changed into her pajamas and brushed her hair and teeth before crawling into bed. She closed her eyes tight and curled up under her blankets, suddenly very tired.
XXX
Emma knocked gently on the front door of Will's house, taking a small step back as she waited for it to be opened. She brought a plate of home-baked chocolate chip cookies she'd made earlier that day. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a sweet woman in her early sixties. A smile was on her slightly wrinkled face and she stepped out of the way to let Emma in.
"Emma, dear. It's good to see you!"
"Thanks, Mrs. Schuester. It's good to see you, too. I made these for you this morning; had a bit of free time." Emma smiled and held the plate of cookies out to Clarissa.
"Now, if I have to tell you one more time not to call me Mrs. Schuester, Emma Pillsbury…I've known you far too long for that formality."
Emma laughed. "Sorry, Grandma."
Clarissa had always wanted a granddaughter, but she only had the one grandson. She still loved Will with all of her heart and spoiled him rotten, but there was always the desire to have a granddaughter running around as well. She remembered when Will brought Emma home during one of Clarissa's visits when they were smaller. Clarissa was enamored by the little girl. She was so tiny and polite; exactly how she'd imagined a granddaughter would be.
Clarissa was sitting in the living room with her daughter-in-law, Melissa, waiting for Will to get home from school. She'd made a surprise visit to see her daughter and her son for the day and couldn't wait to see the look of surprise on his face. When the door opened and revealed Will, she was surprised to see a tiny ginger girl trailing in behind him. She had huge doe-eyes that made her look so innocent and sweet. The two were laughing and it took a moment for Will to register that there was a surprise visitor. He did a double take and gasped, running over.
"GRANDMA!"
He ran to her and hugged her tightly and Clarissa kissed his cheek sweetly. "There's my man! I've been waiting for you all afternoon!"
"I missed you!"
Clarissa smiled and nodded. "I missed you, too, William." She hugged him again and her eyes glanced over at the young girl standing awkwardly in the doorway. Her hands were clasped before her and she was chewing on her lip.
"And who might this be?" Clarissa asked, gesturing towards Emma.
"That's Emma. She's my best friend." Will smiled over at Emma and Clarissa raised her eyebrows at her eleven year old grandson before returning her gaze to Emma.
"Well, Emma, come on over here, sweetheart. I'm Will's Grandma Clarissa. It's nice to meet you, honey."
Emma walked over nervously and gave her a shy smile. "It's nice to meet you, Ma'am."
"Aren't you the cutest? But you don't have to call me ma'am, dear. Call me Clarissa."
Emma bit her lip and shook her head gently. "I can't, ma'am. My Momma always says that I am supposed to address my elders as sir or ma'am, unless they're relatives."
"Well how about Grandma, then? I always wanted a granddaughter and any best friend of my little man here is a best friend of mine." She smiled warmly at Emma and her grandson and Emma nodded, a smile cracking on her delicate face.
The pair moved to the dining room where Clarissa had set out a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with a side salad and garlic bread. They took their seats, said grace and began eating.
"Oh, this is so good." Emma said, a napkin held over her half-full mouth. Clarissa was an amazing cook.
"Thank you, sweetheart. I'm sure your cookies are just as delicious. How've you been?"
Emma shrugged slightly, swallowing her mouthful and taking a sip of her water. "I've been alright. Christopher's back from university and trying to get a job. It's summer so there's not much to do without Will around." She sighed. "My Saturdays are so dull now. How about you?"
Clarissa nodded.
"Well I've been alright. It's quiet around here without William singing through the house or you two doing your thing most days, but I'm alright. Sometimes the silence is nice." She paused. "I know I'm no Will, but if you want company, you are always welcome over here, Emma. I love having you around and I'm sure it would quell our loneliness."
Will was all Clarissa had. Her husband died years ago from a heart attack. Her daughter-in-law passed on and her son disappeared years ago when Will was only four. She considered Emma family by this point and would love her companionship.
"If you're sure I wouldn't be a bother…"
"I'm sure. My grandson told me before he left that he was going to ask you to be his girlfriend. Now I'm assuming this has happened, and if so, he would find a way here to kill me if I didn't take care of you like he's been doing for the past nine years." Clarissa's eyes glistened as she smiled, taking a long drink of water.
"You're right on all accounts. Tomorrow, uhm, well, tomorrow' s Saturday. Usually, Will and I would go to the park and walk around, then lie under a tree and read books. I don't know if you'd be interested, but –"
Clarissa cut off Emma with the wave of her hand. "But nothing. It sounds wonderful, Emma. I'd love to."
Emma smiled and finished up eating her dinner, as did Clarissa. They both stood and started doing the dishes together. Just as they were finishing up and drying the dishes, Emma remembered the post-script in Will's letter and she looked over at Clarissa, drying off one of their glasses.
"I got a letter from Will about a week back."
"Oh? How is he?"
"He's good. He misses us. He, uhm, he asked me to tell you he misses you, and he loves you." Emma nodded, putting the glass away.
Clarissa smiled and nodded, hanging the dish towel she was using to dry. "That's my little man. Always leaving some love for his Grandma. When you write him next, tell him I return the feelings. The house is lonely without him around here."
"I promise I will." She glanced at the clock hanging above the stove and sighed. "I should probably get home, but thank you so much for dinner. It was wonderful to see you."
Emma took a step forward and Clarissa opened her arms, embracing Emma gently. Emma returned the gesture.
"It was wonderful seeing you, too, sweetpea. I'll see you tomorrow at noon?"
"Sounds perfect."
They walked to the door and Emma stepped outside, turning back and smiling. "Thank you, again. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, dear." Clarissa closed the door and sighed before going upstairs to her room. She was so glad Emma came by to see her and was looking forward to seeing her the following day.
Emma walked down the steps and headed to the street, walking down the middle of it towards her house a few blocks away. Her meeting with Will's grandmother was lovely and she was excited to see her again the next day.
Upon arrival home, Emma stepped through the unlocked front door and toed off her shoes on the mat just inside. She closed and locked the door behind her and went upstairs to her room, planning on taking a shower. As she walked passed her parents' door, she heard whispering and she stopped just after it, craning to hear what was being said behind the cracked door.
"Rusty, I just don't like this. She's going to get her heart broken. Coming out of left field with promises of love – it's never been mentioned before!" That was her mother, always being pessimistic.
"Rose, she's fine. She's upset, yes, but you would be, too, if your boyfriend was going through this. The news that they care so deeply for each other is nothing new, Rose. This has been going on since the day she brought that young man home when they were in elementary school and you are full well aware of this." Emma nodded in agreement with her father.
"She's not fine! You read that letter; he's promising her that he's going to return, and you and I both know the chances of that are slim. That boy is going to die, and it's going to kill our daughter in the process!"
Silence fell upon the pair in the room and Emma chewed on her lip, her breath held in her chest as she strained to hear more. After a few minutes, her father spoke again.
"You should not be wishing death on Will. He is a good kid and he's always taken care of Emma. He is giving her hope and he is giving himself hope. They've seen the news; they both know full well what could happen."
"She's going to get hurt."
"Rose, she's already hurt. We just need to try and keep her heart together until Will can get back here and do it himself. He promised her."
"Promises mean nothing in war, Rusty."
"They do when you have something worth fighting for."
With that, their bedroom light flicked off and Emma could hear them settling into bed for the night. She tip-toed to her room and closed the door behind herself, walking over and sitting on her bed without bothering to turn on her light. Her mother infuriated her sometimes. Why couldn't she look at things from a positive perspective? Why couldn't she just hope and pray that everything would go well? He'll come back, she thought to herself.
"He'll come back." She spoke into the darkness determinedly, "He promised."