"Burt." He looked up to see Carole, standing in the doorway to Hummel Tires and Lube, her face a mask of concern. "We have a problem."

"What's going on? Is Kurt okay?"

"I don't know. It's Finn. And Puck." She moved in, letting the door swing closed behind her.

He sighed and glanced around the waiting area; only two more customers, and he could close up for the night. It wasn't going to hurt business any if he locked the door now. Burt let his hand ghost over Carole's shoulder as he turned the key in the door. "Tell me."

"They had a fight. An actual one, with punching and screaming. Finn won't tell me any more than that, and I haven't seen Puck yet. I'm guessing he's gone to your house. I was hoping Kurt might be able to tell us what happened."

Carole shook her head, pinching her eyes closed. "This is exactly what I was afraid of. Teenage boys - we can't expect them to stay in relationships at this age. How can we bring Sarah into a mess like this, Burt?"

"Carole," he said gently, "the mess she's in is a hell of a lot worse. She can deal with a little big brother angst. Don't you think this will blow over? Puck and Finn, they've been friends a long time."

She had the same expression on her face that Finn had when he got worried. "I don't know. I haven't seen him like this in a long time. Maybe... maybe not ever."

"Okay. Okay." He took her in his arms and hugged her, not making it about them, but about two parents caring about their kids. Her hair was soft on his cheek. "I'm going to finish up here, and then we can talk to Kurt. Maybe he can shed some light on things."

When they got to the house, Kurt was sitting on the steps halfway down to the basement, holding a handkerchief in his hand. He looked up with red eyes when Carole and Burt came in. They sat on either side of him on the staircase.

"I heard there was a fight," Burt said, and Kurt nodded, sniffling.

"Where's Puck?" Carole asked.

"He won't come out of the guest room. He made dinner and he didn't - he wouldn't say more than two words to me the whole time." He dabbed carefully at his eyes. "I'm feeling a little superfluous."

Carole glanced at Burt. "Don't look at me," he said, holding up his hands. "I don't even know what that means."

"Honey, Puck will come to you when he's ready." Carole's arm slipped around Kurt's shoulders. "It doesn't mean anything about you. He's upset, and dealing with things in his own way."

But Kurt shook his head. "I wish that were true. I realized I wasn't very nice to him about the whole Thanksgiving dinner. He gave me the chance to pull it together, and when it bombed, he didn't say I told you so, he just... fixed it. And I didn't appreciate it the way I might have." He blew his nose and stared at his feet, looking morose.

"I doubt this has anything to do with you, Kurt," said Carole.

"No, it does. He came to me about the baby. And I said I would help fix things, and I didn't. I got caught up in my own stupid drama about the boy at the bar... and I don't care anything about him, I don't... I just want things to be b-better." Kurt buried his miserable face in Burt's shoulder and burst into tears.

"The baby?" Carole asked, over Kurt's shaking back. "Quinn's baby?"

"Puck's baby, now," said Burt grimly, and Carole's eyes widened in alarm. "Yeah. I'll tell you what I know."

Finn sat on his bed, mindlessly playing the same video game he'd already beaten four times. It was about all his brain could handle at the moment. His phone rang and he didn't answer it. Six unanswered calls, it registered, and Finn ignored it.

He ignored the soft knock that came about fifteen minutes later, too, but he hadn't locked his door, and he didn't bother to get up and lock it now. Kurt stepped inside, smoothly closing it again behind him, watching Finn with silent wariness.

"I brought you some dinner," he said. "It's downstairs."

"I'm not hungry."

"I understand," he said, nodding. "I... I couldn't eat one bite, myself. Finn..."

"Just... don't." He set the controller down and propped his arms on his knees, his head between his shoulders. "It wasn't what I wanted to do."

"You lost your temper. People do that."

Finn shook his head. "No. Not people like me. We're not supposed to, ever. We're not allowed to. I can't... I can't do what we do, to ask for the kind of trust you put in me, and then be like this."

"Then you're asking yourself to be superhuman, Finn." Kurt sat on the end of the bed and put a hand on Finn's leg. When he didn't pull away, Kurt touched his hand. "Nobody expects that."

"I do. I expect it of myself." He wouldn't look at Kurt. "I keep thinking of that time when we were doing homework at your house and Puck came over, and he was twitchy, and you got annoyed with him."

"I did," Kurt agreed. "I messed up. I'm not perfect either."

"Yeah, and I took you to task for it," Finn shot back. "This is a hell of a lot worse, Kurt. I'm... I think I really hurt him."

"Maybe."

Now Finn did look at Kurt. His blue eyes were troubled. "Maybe?" protested Finn. "How can you sit there and say that? You love him. How can you even be in the same room as me?"

"You love him, too," Kurt said softly. Carefully, he moved in between Finn's legs, settling in against his chest. Finn felt himself quaking inside with the effort to keep it together. He took Kurt's body in his arms and held on tight. "You do."

"Yeah," he whispered. "I do."

"He needs to hear that."

"I'm... not ready to tell him." The anger was still there, hot and tempting, and when he thought about what Puck had done - he heard a noise come up from inside him, like a growl. "He hurt me, too. He lied to me. He lied to all of us."

Kurt's body rose and fell with his sigh. When he didn't respond, Finn pulled away and looked at him with astonishment.

"You knew?" he shouted.

"Not - all of it," Kurt said. "I didn't know about the paperwork. I didn't know about the lawyer. But he told my dad. He... he did it all behind our backs, Finn."

"And you expect me to just start trusting him again, after that?" His voice was rising, and Kurt tried to put a hand on his chest, to calm him, but he jerked away. "What kind of a sucker are you?"

"You're not angry at me, Finn," Kurt snapped back. "Don't yell at me. I don't deserve it either."

"I can't... I can't talk about this right now." He held out his hands, pushing Kurt away. "Just leave me alone. Please. I'm not ready."

"Okay." Kurt rose and opened the door. "I'm going to head home. Just - eat something, will you? And get some sleep. We need you at Sectionals tomorrow."

I won't be there, Finn thought stonily as Kurt closed the door behind him. You'll have to do it without me.

Kurt slid into the folding seat next to Puck as the lights went down. His leg brushed against Puck's in the dark, and he reached out for his hand. Puck waited a few seconds before taking it. He knew his hand, like his performance during rehearsal, was limp. He just couldn't muster any kind of enthusiasm for anything right now, even for Kurt.

"Sweetheart," Kurt murmured, and Puck flinched away. Kurt sighed, shuffling his feet.

He'd spent the night at Kurt's, but he'd closed the door to the guest room right after dinner and hadn't come out after that. Last night had been nothing but a series of nightmares, followed by two unfortunate hours lying awake in the dark, coupled with trips to the bathroom to throw up. Needless to say, he wasn't feeling his best, but at least he was here... which was more than he could say for some people. He didn't say anything about who, or why. He didn't want to think about it.

And then the Jane Addams Academy girls came on, and all thoughts flew out of his head, because they were performing their songs.

"What the hell?" Mike said, a little too loud, and one of the audience members shushed him.

Puck glanced up at Kurt, whose face was white. "This has got to be a mistake," he said, sounding panicked. "They've got to stop this."

Puck didn't say anything. He just sat back and waited for the situation to get worse. No set list, no director. No leader. We're fucked.

Will was humming the song he'd written for Toby when Emma called, frantic. "They're doing all of our numbers," she said. "The kids are completely freaking out. Will, these kids need a leader right now."

"Just hold tight," Will said, his lips a firm line. "I know what to do."

He was about to make a second call when he caught sight of a figure striding down the hallway. Will stormed after her, letting his voice ring off the tile. "Sue!"

She halted, then turned to face him. He drew up in front of her. "What kind of teacher are you?" he snapped.

Sue was all innocence. "Hey, buddy! I just came by to feed my Venus Flytrap."

"You leaked the set list." He thrust a finger at her face. "And you are not going to get away with it. You have crossed the line. I am not going to sit idly by anymore."

"Bring it on, William," she sneered. "I'm reasonably confident that you will be adding revenge to the long list of things you're no good at. Right next to being married…"

"Don't," he said quietly.

"Running a high school glee club..." Sue's smile was vicious. "And being straight. Can't say I'm surprised; that hairstyle makes you look like a lesbian. But it seems your boyfriend doesn't think much of girls, does he? Not from what he was allegedly writing about in an alleged steamy love letter." She touched two fingers to her lips, then to his. "At least you're getting nookie from someone, even if it's not your wife."

He pushed her away in uneasy disgust. "Get your hands off me."

She eyed him before moving away down the hall. "Sorry, too feminine for you? Or maybe not feminine enough. Toby sounds like he might lean a little toward the girly side of things."

Will clenched his fists and told himself not to get riled up. Right now, you have to think of your kids. You have to help them find their leader.

The school directory gave him Finn's home number, but it was Finn's mom who picked up. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Hudson," he said. "It's Will Schuester. I'm sorry to bother you at home. Is Finn there?"

"He went back to school to clean out his football locker. I think he was trying to find an excuse to leave the house."

Will gazed at the blown-up picture of Glee they'd had taken for the Thunderclap, tacked on the bulletin board above his desk. Finn and Kurt stood on opposite sides of the group, but Puck and Finn were right next to one another, one of Finn's arms thrown casually around Puck's shoulders... and the other around Quinn. He sighed. What a mess. "You know about what happened on Friday?"

"Yes," she said, and hesitated. "I'm not sure how much you know."

"I know about the boys' relationship," he said, trying out the sound of the words, hoping he wasn't saying anything she didn't already know. Kurt had said their parents knew, but who knows what that actually meant?

"Really?" Mrs. Hudson sounded surprised. "Finn didn't... well. I'm glad you know. It's been hard for them, keeping it a secret."

"I'm sure of that," Will said wryly. "Mrs. Hudson, the Glee club needs Finn right now. I know he's hurting, but the group is counting on him. They're in crisis, too. They need their leader."

"Finn's not going to be good for much right now, Mr. Schuester." She sounded defeated herself.

"I don't believe that for a minute," he said. "Finn's stronger than that. If I can get him to help, would you object to me sending him after them? I mean, does he have a car or anything?"

"No car," she said. "He could take mine..."

"I'll take care of it," Will said. "Thank you."

He found Finn in the locker room, stuffing footballs and old jerseys in his duffel. Finn glanced at him once, then looked away.

"Hey, Finn," said WIll. "I just called your mom. She told me you'd be here."

Finn paused. "You heard anything?"

"Yeah. It's pretty bad." He took a breath. "I can't be there."

Finn stared at him, a world of hurt in his eyes. "And I can? I can't even be in the same room as him without crying like a girl, and at the same time I can't look at him without wanting to punch his face off. How in hell am I supposed to sing with him if I can't..." He gave one sharp shake of his head.

"I don't have any more pep talks, Finn," he said quietly. "You know I know how you feel. All I know is that, between you and me—I don't think that they can win without you."

"But that's not fair," he said, not whining, just making a statement. He sounded bewildered. "Why does it always have to come down to me? Why do I always have to be the bigger man?"

Will shook his head regretfully. "Because, sometimes, being special sucks."

Finn sighed, on the edge of tears. "These last few months have been... unbelievable. Like there was this part of me I had no idea was there, and it just came out of me. I know why they call it that now. Me and Kurt, and me and..." He cut himself off. "And now... I just want everything to be like... like it never happened, you know?"

Will remembered being in high school and telling Toby the very same thing. It made him ache. "You really wish that? You wish you guys had never...?"

Finn looked panicked. "No! Not that. I just wish I hadn't... done what I did. I wish I'd never told him that he couldn't have the baby. I wish I'd listened better. I wish... I'd been what he needed."

Will set his keys down on the locker room bench with finality. "Well, Finn…you can't always get what you want." He stood up and headed out the door. "Listen, I'll be in the choir room."

"Oh, Mr. Schue," he heard Finn call after him, "you forgot your keys."

"No, I didn't," he called back.

Toby lingered in the lobby, watching the kids from the School for the Deaf signing excitedly with each other as their parents swarmed around them, offering hugs and smiles. He felt strange, being there; he'd been to dance competitions like this, but always with his kids. None of these kids were his. Will's kids were glaringly absent from the melee in the lobby, but they had seemed agitated when they'd cleared out of the auditorium for the first break.

He stuffed his program into his pocket and downed the last of his soda before he pushed himself off the wall with his foot, and that's when he was nearly run over.

"Kurt - wait!" Toby's head came up at the sound of the familiar name, and he saw a figure dash through the crowd, pushing ahead of himself with stumbling gasps, followed by a worried-looking African-American girl. The boy - Kurt - threw his body on the door to the men's room and disappeared inside.

The girl pulled up short of the door. "You have two minutes and then I'm coming in after you!" She slammed her fist against the door frame, and then sagged against the wall in frustration.

"You want me to get him?" Toby asked, and she looked up at him, startled. Then she squinted her eyes.

"Do I know you?" she said.

"I doubt it," he said, "but my gender matches the one on this door. It'd better be me going inside unless you want to make a fuss."

She bit her lip. "He's pretty upset."

"I'll send him out in as close to one piece as I can," Toby promised, pushing the door open and slipping inside.

"Hello?" Toby said, calling gently so he wouldn't startle the boy. "Your friend is pretty worried; I think she was ready to act as cavalry herself. You okay?"

Kurt turned away from the mirror he'd been staring into, and Toby needn't have asked. His eyes were red and watery, and an angry flush covered his neck and face.

"Oh, darlin', you're so far from okay. Can I help?" He reached into his pocket, around the stiff paper of the program, and held out a handkerchief. "Here. It's more gentle than paper towels."

"Thanks," Kurt said, sniffling into the soft fabric. He hesitated with it in his hand.

"Keep it," Toby urged. "I have more."

Kurt's eyes fixed on Toby's, and they widened to saucers. "Oh my god. You -"

"I'm here to help," said Toby. He leaned gingerly on the wall and crossed his arms.

"No, not that." Kurt shook his head like he had seen a ghost. "You- I- are you Toby?"

Toby considered the young man with fascination. He'd been hearing about him since Will had started directing Glee that fall, about how much he reminded Will of Toby himself when he was young. "What gave it away?" he said, grinning.

"I saw you in a picture at Brad's, and Duncan told me I reminded him of 'Uncle Toby.'" Kurt shrugged and lowered his voice. "And Mr. Schue told me, about the two of you."

"Really." That was a surprise - since when was Will out to anyone? "I guess he felt like he could trust you."

Kurt looked down at his feet, and when he spoke his voice was soft, wistful. "We trust him, too."

"Will told me he wasn't allowed to be here. Something about a mattress?" Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought... if Will couldn't be here, I wanted to come myself, to see you guys perform. But it looks like that's not the only problem you're having."

Kurt was knotting his hands together and pacing back and forth between the two sinks. "It's all a mess. They've got our set list - the other choirs! Those songs they sang, we were going to do them. Now we have nothing." He turned agonized blue eyes on Toby. "And that's the least of it."

Toby nodded, and took a chance, reaching out a hand to still Kurt's frantic motions. Kurt startled lightly but didn't pull away. "Boy troubles?"

"It's Finn," he said, and paused. "Did Mr. Schue tell you? About me, and Finn and Noah?"

"No. He thought maybe, you and Noah? I thought Puck was the one . . ."

Kurt smiled through strained eyes. "Noah is Puck. I just - I prefer calling him Noah, is all."

"Got it. So. You and Noah and Finn. You're a triad?"

"Like Brad and Andi and Laurie," Kurt nodded. His mouth tightened. "At least - we were. Now, I don't know anymore. I don't know anything."

Toby watched for half a second as Kurt's face crumbled, and he barely had a chance to breathe before he had moved into Kurt's space and wrapped his arms around the boy. "Shh," he whispered in Kurt's ear, the way he had when Duncan and Cory were babies. "It's okay." He couldn't bounce-and-sway with a teenager, but he figured the gentle shushing and back-rubbing would work the same.

"We've been working so hard," Kurt cried, barely acknowledging Toby's embrace. "The songs, and our choreography - those wheelchairs, that was our idea. We would have sung the ball bearings off those things. It's not fair." The words were petulant, but Toby could see the pain in his eyes. "What kind of grown-ups would deliberately cheat like that?"

"People who are desperate to win, at all costs," said Toby. "If you're in this business, you're going to come across ruthless, lying, cheating people of all ages. You might as well be prepared for it."

"I just feel so scared." Kurt leaned into Toby, who tightened his hold around Kurt's shoulder. "Now Finn's not here, and we - I don't know how to do this without him."

"Yes, you do." Toby released Kurt and tilted his chin up, so he could look into Kurt's eyes. "You and me, we know how to get through. We know how to adapt, how to survive." Kurt nodded, and Toby wondered if anyone had ever seen that about Kurt before. "You did lots of things before Finn. I know it's not the same now, but you didn't lose that part of yourself. You can find it again."

"I'm not sure I ever knew how to do what Finn does," he said, shaking his head. "He can get everybody to listen - he knows what to say, how to be. He's a leader. I can't do that."

"Darlin'. I'm not sayin' you have to be just like Finn. There are lots of different ways to be a leader. Will told me about the Lady Gaga song you did. Think about how it felt when you were organizing that. That's what you need to do now. Find that energy and passion. That's all you need - that and your sparkling wit - and they'll do what you ask."

Kurt's smile was wry. "You don't even know me. How do you know my wit sparkles?"

Toby laughed. "Kurt, look at me. I think you can answer that question."

After Kurt cleaned himself up, he let Toby direct him back out to his anxious friend. "Mercedes," he said, with a hand on his arm, "this is Toby."

Mercedes' eyes were huge. "I remember now," she said. "You're in the picture at Brad's house."

"I feel like a right celebrity," Toby said, laughing, and he felt lightened by the way Kurt smiled, a true expression instead of the more forced one he'd worn when they'd emerged back into the hall. He caught Kurt's eye and lowered his voice. "You're strong, Kurt. You can do this."

Kurt shook his head slightly. "I can't - "

Toby reached over and squeezed Kurt's hand. "Yes, you can. This is your chance to shine."

Kurt looked at him through watery eyes, and Toby was more than a little shocked when Kurt flung himself at Toby, grabbing him in a tight hug. "Are you sure? I've never done anything like that before."

Toby patted Kurt's shoulder before pulling away and looking square into Kurt's face. "We all have to learn to fly sometime, darlin'. You start now."

Toby watched Kurt and Mercedes walk back to the small group of students by the refreshment stand. He tried to remember Will's descriptions of each of his kids, and match them to the students he saw here. The boy in the wheelchair, he must be Artie, and the girl with him was probably Tina. And - the boy with the mohawk, that couldn't be anybody but Puck. Puck. He shook his head, marveling, at the way he and Kurt completely avoided eye contact, seeming for all the world like they didn't care one bit about each other. That would wear on a body, he thought. I remember trying to pretend like that around Will's parents, and they guessed it anyway.

He felt a wave of unease come over him as he saw the petite redhead walk up to Mercedes and speak with her calmly. Emma. It had to be. He stepped into the crowd, watching her interact with the children, gently communicating with each of them, smiling and listening to their words. For a moment, he considered walking up and introducing himself, but he guessed Will hadn't said a word to her about him. Just as well, he mused, heading upstairs to his seat. Outside this auditorium, I'm the competition.

Kurt pulled Puck into the shadows of the hallway. "You're not going to believe who I just ran into," Kurt said. When Puck didn't answer, he supplied it himself. "Toby's here."

That got his attention; Kurt seemed pleased to have sparked a reaction. "Toby? Like, Mr. Schue's boyfriend?"

"Yes," Kurt said. "And he's fantastic. He knew who I was right away, and he gave me the sweetest pep talk. He's here to support us, since Mr. Schue can't be here."

"Huh." Puck ran an absent hand along Kurt's. "Well, we could use all the support we can get."

"We need to do something," Kurt said. His face looked determined. Puck wished he could feel anything, but Glee just didn't seem all that important right now.

"Talk to the Cheerios," he offered. "They're the ones who leaked the set list."

Kurt stormed off to confront Brittany, Santana and Quinn, while Puck slouched to the back of the room and tried not to be noticed. He really didn't feel up to being on stage right now. It wasn't that he didn't want to help; it was that the eyes on him were almost physically painful. He wondered what would happen if he just walked out the door and didn't come back. Who would actually miss me, really?

The tone in the room changed when Kurt suggested that Rachel was their star, and she smiled gratefully at him. Puck wanted to wipe that smile off her face, to shout, You ruined my fucking life, Berry, and there's no way I'm singing backup to you. But he knew it was pointless.

"We can close with "Somebody to Love," said Quinn. "It's a real crowd-pleaser."

Puck sighed. "Yeah, that and a can of soup will guarantee us third place. They even stole True Fucking Colors from us. We still need another song we can all sing together."

And then the bottom dropped out of Puck's heart as Finn walked in the door. "I have one," he said.

Kurt's face brightened in a way that made Puck want to scream. How can you depend on him? How can you - The question was moot, of course, because even Puck found himself drawn to Finn's calm, steady leadership, as he always had. Nothing else mattered.

"All we have going for us is that we believe in ourselves and what we're singing about," Finn said. "If we can show the judges that, we might have a shot at this thing."

"It's good to have you back, Finn," said Rachel with a smile.

Puck watched Finn surveying the rest of the group, and casually edged up to him, hand outstretched. "Cool, dude?" he said softly. Please. Just touch me. Anything. I need -

Finn's eyes were chilly as they looked him over. "No," he said, and turned away. Puck's hand stayed there, in the air, waiting, for far too long afterwards.

Kurt tracked Finn as he came over to the Glee kids planning choreography, smiling at him, but his smile faltered as he found Puck standing alone in the center of the room. Puck looked away. Don't see me.

All he could do was bear it, now.

"I'm in the balcony," Toby whispered over the phone to Brad. "They're about to come on."

"I'm on pins and needles here," Brad said. Toby could hear him pacing. "These kids have worked so hard. I wish I could have been there."

"Don't worry about it," Toby said dismissively. "I'm here." He laughed, gazing down at the audience below, striped with the bright colors of show choirs sitting together in their matching outfits. "Do you know how Will always comes to watch me at my performances?"

"I know," Brad said, grinning. "I think he thinks you don't know about it, though."

"Yeah," said Toby. He propped his feet up on the seat in front of him. "He's got a weird perspective on the world. I think he doesn't realize anybody notices a thing he does."

"You should see him with the kids, though," Brad said. "He's fantastic. They listen to him."

Toby snorted. "It's because he ain't nothin' but a kid, himself."

"You're robbing the cradle, then."

The lights came down, and Toby whispered, "They're starting - here, listen."

The announcer came out to the stage, and said, "And now, our final team. McKinley High's The New Directions!"

There was a silence, and then the pit struck up an all-too familiar melody. Toby put a hand to his mouth. "Ohhh, dear," he said.

"What?"

"Your diva. Can she pull off Barbra?"

"Sometimes," Brad said. "What is she singing?"

"Don't Rain on My Parade."

Brad was placidly confident. "If anybody can do it, it's Rachel. Just listen."

And, apparently, Rachel could. She flounced and expressed her way down the aisle, sitting in people's laps and giving it her all. The spotlight followed her to the stage, where she looked as much at home as anyone Toby had ever performed with. "Damn," he murmured.

"Yeah," said Brad, with obvious pride. "Like I said."

When the students came down the aisles, to applause and cheers, Toby saw someone he hadn't noticed before, a tall boy with an easy smile. "Who's that?"

"What's he look like?"

"Tall, brown hair. Handsome devil."

He heard Brad suck in a hiss of air. "Finn. That's Finn. Someone must have worked some magic to get him there. Good."

Toby was pleased to see that Kurt looked one hundred percent better, and Puck was - well, he was moving, which Toby figured was good enough for now.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Rachel called out, beaming, as the whole choir joined her on stage. "New Directions."

They started up the next song, and Brad made an exclamation. "What the...? They never... that wasn't on their set list. They didn't even rehearse that song."

"Things went all to hell, Bradley. Kurt said the other teams used their songs. They're doin' this on the fly, all of it."

And they actually sounded pretty good. Toby listened with interest as Finn began to sing. "That's Finn, huh? Not bad."

"Don't ask him to dance, though," Brad chuckled. "It's not pretty. I don't think you'd even be able to teach him."

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, you just might find
You get what you need

Rachel led the girls through a loose choreography. Toby wondered who'd thrown that together. The audience was reacting to their energy, on their feet clapping and dancing along. He didn't think any of the other groups had elicited that kind of response. Toby felt like dancing himself.

"I hear Mercedes," Brad said anxiously, as the group wailed out the last note. "Did they do all right?"

"Listen for yourself," Toby said, and held his phone up so Brad could hear the applause raining through the auditorium. He might not be their teacher, but he was just as proud as he would have been if they'd been his own students.

They closed with the most vivid, joyous presentation of a Queen song that Toby had ever seen from a show choir. "Tell me they've sung this one before," he said to Brad. "It's way too intricate to have been thrown together at the last minute."

"Yes, that's one they did earlier in the year," murmured Brad. "Good choice."

Each morning I get up I die a little
Can barely stand on my feet
Take a look in the mirror and cry
Lord what you're doing to me
I have spent all my years in believing you
But I just can't get no relief, Lord
Somebody, somebody
Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Amidst the final applause, Toby snuck out the back and into the coat closet. "I'm going to give Will a call," he said. "Don't tell him I was here, okay?"

"You two are such drama queens," he said. Toby could almost hear him rolling his eyes over the phone. "This is your chance, you know, now that Terri's out of the -"

"Don't go there, Bradley," warned Toby. "I'll come by after my interview. Mum's the word until we know for sure if I got the job, understood?"

"Okay, okay," he sighed. "Thanks for calling. It was great to hear them perform."

Toby dialed Will's number, muffling the sound of the crowd with the coats.

"Hi," said Will, surprised. "I just got off the phone with Emma. The kids - they pulled it off! They took a terrible situation and did a fantastic job."

"That's great, darlin'. You must be so proud of them. They had a lot stacked against them." He smiled into the phone, and wondered if Will got the same rush from secret visits that Toby was having right now.

"I wish you could be here," Will said. He sighed. "There was... a big blow-up on Friday. Finn cut and run, but I got him to go back. I sent him out there with a secret weapon. I hope they're okay." He laughed. "I hope he doesn't wreck my car."

"He's their leader, I'm sure it was fine. And are you really worried about your car? It's practically held together with string and paperclips, darlin'."

He heard Will's footfalls as he walked; he wondered if he was in the auditorium. "You'll never guess," he said. "Kurt - he's dating two of the boys in Glee. A triad, like Brad. He told me earlier this week. Kind of blew my mind."

"Wow." Toby thought about Kurt, broken and sobbing in the bathroom. "That's - um, a lot for sixteen year olds. I'm glad they felt they could trust you, Will. It'll be good for them to have an ally at school."

"I... I told Kurt about us." His voice was soft, almost awed. "Well, he figured it out. Toby, one of my students knows about us. It's kind of..." Toby waited for it.

"What is it?" he said, breathlessly.

"It's kind of amazing," Will said, and he sounded amazed. He laughed to himself. "Is this how it feels for you? Being... open about yourself?"

"I don't know that I've ever really been in the closet, darlin'. But yes, that is how it feels." Toby hunched over and spoke quietly into his phone, wanting to be talking about this face to face with Will, but doing the best he could to make a public place more intimate. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," he said. "I think... I think I could get used to it."

Toby lowered his voice again. "I love you, Will."

He listened to Will sigh, soft and staticky into his ear. "Toby." His voice sounded choked. "I - God, I love you, too."

"I wish I could talk all day, but I need to be goin'." He thought about the interview, and all the promise it held, and about what it might feel like to hold Will in his arms tonight... but he needed to hold his secrets a little bit longer.

"Hot date?" Will's tone was lightly teasing, but Toby could hear something a little jealous, too.

"No, darlin'. No dates. Just work stuff. The holiday concert, it's coming on too fast and some of my kids are in The Nutcracker with the Colorado Ballet, and there just isn't enough time." There was never enough time, not for his kids, not for Will. And there wouldn't be until he made some changes in his life. Until you find a way to get your ass a job in Ohio, his thoughts echoed.

"I have to go too," Will's voice was regretful. "Ken and Emma are getting married this afternoon."

"They're actually going to - "

"I think I'm the last person who should hold any kind of judgement over anyone else's life, Toby. You've taught me that. They're friends, and they deserve my support."

Toby checked his watch, and stood to straighten his appropriately casual black slacks and green shirt. He tucked his phone against his ear as he made his way outside to the front of the auditorium. "Have fun at the wedding. Will you be around tomorrow? We can have ourselves a right proper phone call, if you want."

Toby pretended he didn't hear Will's snort of laughter that preceded his words. "I'd like that."

"Good," Toby nodded. "Bye, darlin'."

"Bye," Will said, and the love was evident in his voice. "Thanks again for calling."

Toby hung up his phone and stuffed it into his pocket as he strode confidently towards the elegantly dressed brown-haired woman standing alone in front of the main doors. "Shelby Corcoran?"

At her nod he held out his hand and put on his best show face. "Toby Grey." Her handshake was strong, and she didn't blink when Toby used his arm to steer her towards the parking lot. "How about I buy you a coffee before you decide to hire me."