Will woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. He opened his eyes, and saw Emma fast asleep next to him. Looking next at his alarm clock, he understood why his phone was ringing. It was 8am, and he should have been at school over a half hour ago. He groaned, and reaching over to grab the phone, saw the dried mud smudged on his arm, and the events from the night before came crashing down around him. He remembered Puck coming over, telling him that Finn, one of the closest things he had to a best friend, was gone. He picked up the phone shakily, tears once again in his eyes.
"He-Hello?" he answered tiredly, his voice hoarse.
"William, where the hell is your curly-headed self?" the voice of Sue Sylvester demanded. Will's brow furrowed, not understanding.
"Sue? What are you doing back?"
"Well, Buddy, if you had reported to school like the rest of the teachers, you would have found out that I have taken over as principal. Figgins is unavailable for a while. So, you going to tell me why sleeping with your Raggedy Ann doll is more important than being a teacher?" Will groaned.
"Sue, I am not going to be in today, and neither is Emma," he said vaguely. He heard Sue laugh.
"Of course you are, Schuester. I expect to see your corkscrewed noodle hair and the red head in a half hour, unless you really have a great reason, and it better be a good one."
"Sue, please. Finn's d-d, dead," Will managed, after a few attempts. The word felt so wrong, so final. Sue took in a sharp breath. That was not something she expected.
"Let me get this straight, you're calling yourself and Emily, or whatever her name is, in sick, because Hudson is worm food." Hearing that broke Will, and he began to cry again. Emma awoke and looked at him, both confusion and concern on her face. Sue, contrary to popular belief, did have a heart, and that heart did go out to William Schuester at that moment, and hearing him cry over the phone was not a pleasant thing.
"Alright, Michael Landon, stop tearing up. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't particularly love the kid, but he did help with Jean's funeral, so it does upset me. Take all the days you need. Is there anything I can do?" Sue asked sincerely. Will smiled sadly and thought about it. He took a deep breath.
"Sue, I hate to ask this of you, but I honestly don't think I can do it. Can you please tell Sam, Blaine, Tina, and Artie? Tell them what happened, and that we will be having a meeting after school today in the choir room. But tell them not to tell the new members yet. I do want to be the one who tells them, but tomorrow afternoon. Today should just be the ones he went to school with. If it's too much to ask, just tell me, and I will come in today and do it," Will requested, hoping she would say yes.
"You said meeting today after school in the choir room for original members, right? Yeah, I can do that for you. Again, Buddy, I am sorry. See ya later," and Sue hung up. Will set the phone down carefully and felt Emma's arms around him.
"Will, sweetie? Are you okay?" Without answering her, he squeezed her arms tightly, resting his chin on her wrist.
"I still can't believe he's gone. I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. I'm calling a meeting today for the original members. I am hoping that if I text Rachel, she can let everyone know. I should also call Burt and Carole, offer my condolences, see if I can help at all. So much to do."
"Will, stop." Will just looked at his wife. "You're going into mechanical mode. It's okay to grieve. Don't keep it inside for too long, okay? You've got me to lean on, remember?" Emma's eyes were watery as well.
"Text Rachel and go take a shower. I'm going to go take care of the floor, and begin breakfast for when you get out and Noah gets up." Emma stood up and got dressed and headed down the stairs. Will pulled out his phone and sent a message to Rachel.
'I am so sorry. Meeting with original members in choir room at 3:00
If you can make it.'
Will hit 'send' and took a shower, scrubbing the awfulness from last night off of him. When he was done, he got dressed. He pulled his phone out and saw that he had received a message.
'This is Santana. Kurt, Rachel, Quinn, and I are currently in Detroit on a layover.
We will be there. Will let the others know.'
Smiling slightly at their closeness, he then dialed a number he dreaded calling. On the fourth ring, a man picked up.
"Hello?" The voice sounded exhausted and defeated.
"Hey, Burt, it's Will Schuester," Will greeted quietly. Will heard Burt sigh.
"Look, Schuester, I don't want to be rude, but right now is not a great time," he said sadly. Will wasn't sure how to proceed.
"Burt, I know about Finn, and I am so, so sorry," Will said, his voice cracking slightly. There was a pause of silence.
"How, how do you know about Finn?" Burt asked, surprised.
"I had a late night visitor," Will began. "Puck didn't want to go home, so he's here." Will heard a woman and Burt speaking in the background.
"Hey, can I put you on speaker?" Burt requested.
"Absolutely," Will replied.
"Will," Carole's voice came through. "You said Puck was there? Is he okay? I tried to see him at the hospital, but he had already been released. I was worried about where he would go," she rattled off.
"Puck is beat up. Broken ribs, broken arm, bruising. I am more worried about his emotional state though. He didn't want to go home, so he came here around 3am." Will heard Carole let out a breath of relief.
"Thank goodness he's alright. Keep an eye on him, will you? For me?"
"Of course. And Carole, I told Burt, but I am so, so sorry. Finn was like a son to me, or a brother. He was an unbelievable kid, and I would love to help in any way that I can. We've already told all the original glee club members, we are holding a gathering this afternoon. Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Umm," Carole cleared her throat. "If you guys are able, you knew Finn so well. Can you handle the music? We need four or five songs. And I think he would appreciate it if one was sung just by you, and one just by Rachel. Of course, only if you think you can do it. If not, that is fine. We just, we have so much to do, and I know he loved glee club. It would be fitting." Will's eyes were watering. How was he going to get through a solo song at Finn's funeral? But also, how could he even think of telling Carole 'no'?
"Yeah, we'll take care of everything. I am going to be telling the newer members tomorrow. Just keep one of us posted so we know the times and everything. Again, Carole, Burt, I am so unbelievably sorry. Please let me know if you need anything else," Will could hear Carole sniffling.
"Okay, thanks, Will. Bye." And the phone was hung up.
Will sighed and went downstairs, where he was greeted by the smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Emma had decided to make all his favorites. He tried to put a strained smile on his face as he walked into the kitchen.
"Emma, what's all this?" She turned and gave him a small smile.
"I thought I would make your favorite breakfast comfort foods, and I wasn't sure what Noah would want to eat. Do you want to take over the bacon while I wake him, or do you want to wake him? He shouldn't sleep too long." Will ran a hand through his hair.
"You can stay, I should be the one to do it. I wasn't very helpful with him last night, and I should apologize. We should be out soon," and he planted a kiss on her cheek.
Will paused outside of the guest room door, listening for just a moment. He thought he heard Puckerman stirring, but something seemed amiss. He went inside, and saw him kicking his legs wildly, his face contorted with signs of a nightmare. Will went to the head of the bed, and knelt down on the floor. He gently shook the boy's shoulder.
"Puck? Puck, wake up," Will called softly, and Puck's eyes slowly opened, squinting against the sunlight.
"Mmm," he groaned as he sat up. "Where am I?" He looked at the cast on his arm, and then winced when he put his free hand on his ribs. "What the hell?" Then realization hit him full force. "No. This can't be right. That was a nightmare, not real life. Mr. Schue, please tell me I'm wrong." For the first time in his life, Will could see the little boy Noah Puckerman must have been once. Will clapped a hand on Puck's good shoulder.
"Noah, I am so, so sorry. I wish I could, believe me, how I wish it." Puck's face was hard to read. If Will hazarded a guess, he would say that Puck wanted to cry, but was more alert than several hours before, and did not want to cry in front of him.
"Look, Noah. Emma made breakfast for us. Do you want to stay here today, or go home?" Puck looked at him.
"Does Jake know yet?" Will shook his head.
"No. We have a meeting with the original New Directions this afternoon. I will tell the newer members tomorrow. I figured that was best." Puck nodded.
"I agree. I would rather stay here, but only if that's okay with you? I don't think I can face my mom or Jake." Will gave him a small smile.
"Okay, then. And Noah? I am sorry that I wasn't more comforting or, well, acting like an adult last night. I was just in shock," Will apologized.
"It's okay, Mr. Schue. I was a mess too. And, can we, you know, just keep these meltdowns to ourselves?" Will laughed.
"Absolutely." And Puck gave him an awkward one-armed hug.
"Well, Emma made us breakfast. It looks like she laid out some clothes for you over there," he gestured to a chair in the corner. "Why don't you pull those on then come get something to eat. You need to eat before taking any pain meds. We also have to talk about our meeting today, but only if you're ready. I guess I'll just let you get to it," and Will stood up, his knee cracking (when did he suddenly feel so old), and walked out of the room.
Five minutes later, Puck emerged and joined Will and Emma at the table. Emma filled up a plate, handed him a glass of orange juice, and placed two tablets in his hand.
"Eat a little first, then take these," she instructed, kindly. The trio ate quietly for a few moments, none of them wanting to be the first to say anything. Emma was finally the one to break the silence.
"Did you hear back from Rachel?" she asked, looking at her husband. Puck's head snapped up from his plate. Will swallowed slowly.
"Um, no. Actually, Santana answered me back. They're in Detroit right now, heading home. They will be at the meeting today. Sue is letting Artie, Tina, Blaine, and Sam know. I'll tell the others tomorrow. And, um, I talked to Burt and Carole. They want us to provide the music for Finn's funeral," he finished quietly. Puck just nodded in his direction, approving.
"Well, I guess there's a lot to do then. Let me know if I can help at all, okay? Help either of you." And Emma started clearing the plates. Will looked at Puck.
"Want to help me pick out music? I don't think I can do it alone," Will asked.
"Okay," Puck said simply. They both stood up, and Will led them out of the dining room and into the study.