A/N: Oh man, Char-chan, another Zonie? *high five* I'll be back in Phoenix in about…80 minutes (. I'm glad I checked my email one more time before boarding so I could see your review!

That's right, fools. Forget what I said at the end of the last update, I'm writing this chapter on. the. airplane. Because I'm just awesome like that. Plus I felt bad for posting such a short update, so here's another relatively short chapter, but I think you'll like it.

QotU: What is your least favorite part of airport travel?

My answer to last chapter's QotU is really undecided. I've laughed at the Glee-Twilight crossovers. I'm not a big fan of Twilight, but the two are so ridiculously different, they make for really funny crossovers.

Chapter 11 : You Can't Always Get What You Want

Artie sat patiently as the chair lift on the expensive special bus lifted him up into the vehicle. At the top he was met by Puck, who seemed to be no worse for wear, despite the pummeling he had received the day before. Mr. Shue shut the side door and gave it a farewell pat as everyone looked out the window with worried looks on their faces. They were bringing that annoying Jacob kid with them to serve as a twelfth member to avoid getting disqualified by the lack of a Finn.

They arrived to sectionals on time, just to be informed that they were performing last. Artie didn't really mind, he liked being able to size up the competition before performing. It would give them more motivation.

As they filed in to the auditorium, Artie made a strange request. He wanted to sit with everybody in the row, not in the back on his wheelchair. The girls surprisingly agreed without question, seating him between Mercedes and Brittany who were strong enough to lift Artie over the other chairs. He was pleased with himself, being a part of the group. The bus ride was one step, then this. He really felt like he belonged more than ever. Settling in to his chair, Artie looked forward to watching Jane Adams, even if they shook their… assets a little too much for his liking.

But when the second number came along and the music for I Am Telling You began to play, Artie froze. He didn't dare turn his head, but he looked wide-eyed at Mercedes next to him out of the corner of his eye. He felt like if he disturbed her too much, she would explode like a nuclear bomb.

But then… Artie's soul died a little inside. The Jane Adams girls came out in wheelchairs. And he vaguely heard Proud Mary above the pounding in his head.

"We have a problem! They're doing all of our numbers, the kids are completely freaking out! Artie keeps ramming into the wall and I'm pretty sure Jacob just wet himself," Ms. Pillsbury frantically informed Mr. Shue over the phone. They had an hour before going out to watch Haverbrook… and they knew what they would hear.

Tina was sitting beside a depressed Mercedes, trying to comfort her as best as she could. Mercedes looked over at Tina, her eyes puffy and red. But she frowned at her comforting friend. "Girl, what the hell are you doin' over here with me?" She said quietly. Tina looked a little shocked, so Mercedes jerked her head towards the wheelchair-wall conflict. Tina bit her lip, and looked back to Mercedes.

"I know how much that song meant to you, Mercedes…"

"Oh hush, I only decided to do that song yesterday. We've been planning to do Proud Mary with Artie for weeks. It means more to him than my song meant to me." Mercedes looked over at Artie, who was in so much emotional pain, everyone else in glee was as far away from his as possible, fearing to upset him further. "And I know it meant a lot to you, too." Mercedes continued. Tina looked down for a moment. This was true, if it weren't for the wheelchair number she would have never gotten that close to Artie. Mercedes cut off her thoughts, "You're the only one that can make him feel better, Tina. He needs you." She eyed him seriously.

"Plus, I got this covered," Kurt said, coming up behind the couch that they were sitting on. Tina gave a weak nod, and looked over at Artie.

As she got up and slowly approached him, it seemed like the entire glee club was watching. They all tried to pretend they were looking somewhere else, but their attention was turned to their crippled friend. Tina reached Artie's side, trying to get a good look at his face. She couldn't see much, but his face was definitely red. From tears or anger, she couldn't be quite sure. Bending over a bit awkwardly, Tina hesitantly put her hand on Artie's back. "Artie…" she said, just above a whisper. No response.

As Tina sighed, she felt a light touch on her arm. She turned around to see Quinn, who had carried over one of the office chairs from the conference table across the room. Quinn smiled lightly, looking between Tina and Artie. It was then that Tina realized that what Quinn had said in the Mattressland bathroom wasn't about her stutter, but about Artie. Tina nodded and mouthed a silent 'thank you' as Quinn backed away to give them space.

Tina sat down in the chair, finally level with Artie. She watched him for a moment. It looked like he was crying with no tears. Her heart ached to see him like this. Usually Artie was the picture of optimism, but now he was in a dark place where Tina had never seen him before.

He felt the comforting hand return to his back yet again. He didn't have to look to know that it was Tina. He knew he was scaring the rest of his glee club friends, but he really didn't care. The hand left for a moment, and he feared that she had left him there. He wouldn't blame her, but it wasn't something she would do. But then he felt her hand touch his arm.

"Artie…" She soothed again. "I'm so sorry, Artie." She wasn't sure what she was apologizing for, but it seemed like the right thing to say at the time. When he continued, she felt slightly defeated. But determination raged on, as she went back to softly rubbing his back. "It's okay if you don't want to talk, Artie. But… just know I'm here for you." She whispered softly.

Artie slowed to a stop, head still hanging limply. Tina took the opportunity to move her hand up to the nape of his neck, where she played with his hairline. "I'll be okay, Artie. Somehow we'll be okay," she continued to whisper, scooting closer to him, so her chair was flush against the wheel of his chair. Artie was stopped all together, obviously thinking of what to do next. Tina was close enough now that he simply leaned to the side, resting his head on her shoulder. She smiled softly, and decided to take a little risk. She reached over and gently took off his glasses, folding them in her lap. Reaching around to his shoulders, she hugged him to her the best that she could.

Artie followed limply at first, as if he was just a lifeless puppet. But when she gave him a gentle squeeze, it was like it ignited the emotions that had been buried up until that point. He finally responded, hiding his face in Tina's shoulder, but his arms found their way around her waist. He was suddenly shaking with tearless sobs, and Tina was whispering anything soothing she could think of in his ear, one of her hands now in his soft hair. It was then that Tina chanced a glace around the room. Everyone was watching them until they saw Tina's eyes, at which point the looked just about anywhere else. She smiled slightly. For being such good performers, these glee kids could be bad actors.

Her attention was quickly redirected back to Artie as he managed to clear his throat of all the sobs. He took a deep breath, and without removing his head from her shoulder he spoke, oh so very softly,

"Thank you, Tee."

A/N: Want to know how dedicated I am to this story's believability? I asked an old man in a wheelchair for a hug while I was sitting in a chair at the airport to make sure it was physically possible. I just love my readers that much.