Breaking Hearts

Back in Lima, a pressing issue was being raised once again by Sue. "Who is going to tell the other kids? How do we handle this?

"Not by text or phone," responded Will. "Even skype is out of the question here. This has to be done in person, because this is going to leave them feeling like Cooper, like us; destroyed, all over again."

"Agreed. Problem is that they are scattered all over. And let's face it, this is going to be all over the internet pretty quickly, if I know Lima PD"

"They're not as scattered as you think," said Burt, who had left Cooper in the care of Carole and Emma. "The younger kids are all in town, as are Puck and Quinn. The older ones are still all within a couple of hours of New York - they wanted to stick together after Kurt…."

From this, a plan was quickly formed. Firstly, Burt and Sue would use their positions as congressman and principal to persuade the sheriff to keep the events of that morning off line for 24 hours. Next, Will would call a meeting of the former New Directions still in Lima in the choir room at McKinley, on the pretence that the club was to be started up again in memory of Kurt. Puck and Quinn would be invited to attend too. At the same time, the New York contingent would be summoned to the loft at Bushwick. It was Burt that came up with the angle to facilitate this without letting the news out. A text from Blaine's phone to Sam, saying he was on his way to New York to apologise and could he get everyone together. Burt knew that even after everything that had happened, Sam would do that for his best friend. The only problem was that they would be getting a visit from Sue and Emma instead.

And so it was that as Cooper sat, still sobbing, that afternoon in the Hummel's house - he refused to go back to that place in Westerville - the Lima based New Directions were making their way in to the choir room, greeting Puck and Quinn who sat there, waiting. They were chatting happily about the prospect of restarting the club and if it was too late to apply for sectionals. Mr Schue sat quietly, Coach Bieste at his side. It was Quinn who noticed that he was shaking - when she mentioned it quietly to Puck, he took the situation in and whispered to her "There's something not right here, something going on. I mean everyone's here, and he hasn't started. It's as if he is waiting for a signal…" At that, Will's phone buzzed with an incoming text; he read the message, then called the room to order.

The message had been from Emma, to say that she and Sue had arrived at Bushwick and were standing at the door, preparing to knock. About to spread fresh heartache to those poor kids. Inside, unaware of this, sat everyone that Sam could gather. In some cases, he had to beg and plead with them to come, but he had won. Mike and Tina, Sugar and Joe, Mercedes and Artie, Santana and Brittany, Elliot, Dani and Rachel. All there, all waiting for an apology that most of them, in their hearts, did not need to be given. They had all come to understand why he was acting the way that he was. If this public apology helped him, then good. But both Mike and Santana had warned that if he kicked off again… Sam was relieved to hear the knock on the door and rushed to answer it.

A broad smile on his face, Sam yanked opened the door, and could only stare. At Sue and Emma. At first he thought that they had brought Blaine, and that he was just out of sight. Then he noticed the small parcel and the envelope that Sue was holding. The parcel was addressed to Brittany, in handwriting that was unmistakeably Blaine's. so where was he? And was that his name written on the envelope? And why did the two of them look so sad, as if they were about to break bad news….? And a little voice in the back of his head said, 'Because they are. Blaine isn't coming; he won't be coming. Not ever. It was all a rouse to get you in one place, to tell you all together, that he is….'

Sam stared into Emma's eyes; eyes filled with pain, with sympathy. This couldn't be happening, not again. Not another one of his friends, his best friend. He was aware that he had started to tremble, that his mouth had gone dry, that he couldn't speak. Could only mouth the words "Not Blaine. Please not Blaine" at Emma. Who looked back at him with damp eyes, and nodded. That nod was all it took to confirm the worst, to cause Sam to collapse into Emma's arms, his body wracked by silent screams as his heart shattered into a million pieces. Not Blaine as well, he couldn't be gone too. Observing the scene, Sue sighed, and left the distraught boy in Emma's care. 'One down,' she thought, 'several more about to go.'

"Come on trouty, get him in here and shut that door, the draught is…." Santana stopped short as Sue walked into view. At first the room was filled with incredulous stares. They were expecting Blaine, not the current principal of McKinley High. Why was she here? Confused looks all round. Apart from one person. One person who looked straight at Sue and spotted her inner turmoil. That she had come instead of Blaine for a reason - one so sad, but at the same time, it did mean that there was a reason to be very happy.

"My unicorns are back together, aren't they? Blaine has gone to be with Kurt, and that's sad. But I think that he and Kurt will be so happy…"

All eyes were fixed on Brittany as she spoke, then slowly they turned to Sue. Awaiting confirmation, which she gave with a wan smile. "Yes, they are back together again. Blaine has gone to be with Kurt…" As realisation hit, the room fell deathly silent at first, then the tears started. This time there was no distinction in the reactions of Mike and Tina, both sobbing and clinging to each other for dear life. Mercedes was quietly praying as tears streamed down her face, Joe joining her in both word and action. Artie held Sugar to his chest as she wailed. Elliot, Dani and Rachel clung to each other. Brittany held an inconsolable Santana, stroking her hair, and telling her they would be ok. She alone was dry eyed and smiling, because her unicorns had been reunited, and surely that was a reason to be happy.

At that moment, a similar scene was taking place in the choir room at McKinley - in the end, Will had broken down in tears before he could even deliver the news, and so it was left to Coach Bieste to shatter hearts still grieving for Kurt. To watch as Marley, Jake, Ryder, Kitty and Unique clung to each other in a circle and sobbed. To observe Puck try and hold it together as Quinn fell apart in his arms - and see him lose the battle. To hold Will as he cried silent tears of frustration and anger. And to ensure that the skype link was on and ready.

Back in Bushwick, Rachel had left Elliot and Dani to find Sam. She stood in silence for a moment as she watched him, lost and fragile, clinging to Emma for life. Then she walked forward and took his free hand, before pulling him into her arms. They had all been so fond of Blaine, but Sam had loved him. Now he was falling apart, and needed their support, to avoid him following Blaine and Kurt. His life was balanced on a knife edge - if he fell, then it would be more than anyone could stand. With Emma's help, she slowly walked Sam into the room with everyone else, sitting him down next to Tina, who swiftly grabbed his hand. Artie was suddenly there too, clasping his other. Sam looked up and opened his mouth, to ask the question they all wanted to; "How did he die?"

Sue and Emma looked at each other; then Sue took a deep breath and began. "There's no way to sugar coat it, so I'll just come right out with it. His father kept a revolver in his study desk; Blaine took it and drove to Kurt's grave… I saw him do it. I was just too late. And that will haunt me." She stopped to observe - the looks of horror and shock on the faces of the young adults before her were heart wrenching. "I guess he just couldn't live without Porcelain. And as Brittany said, we should hope that they are reunited somewhere. Grieve for yet another loss, but rejoice in their reunion in the afterlife."

"Has anyone told Puck, Quinn, the new kids?" said Mike.

"Yes," replied Emma. "Will brought them all together to tell them, and we have a skype link ready if…" Before she could even finish, Rachel had her laptop switched on and had logged in to Skype. Her call was immediately accepted, the camera switching on to show a red eyed Puck, and then a room as grief stricken as their own. "How's Sam?" said Puck, knowing that he would be the one that was hardest hit.

"It hurts Puck, so much. I just keep thinking, if only I had stayed with him, maybe I could have stopped him. But as the smartest girl in the room said, her unicorns are back together, so we should be happy." Puck smiled, as did Quinn. Suddenly, Sam was struck by another thought, and turned to Sue. "We all know now, but what about the Warblers - who's telling them?"

"We forgot them," sighed Emma. "How could we forget Blaine's oldest friends?"

"I have Wes' number," said Santana. "I'll call him," activating her phone as she said it. It was answered with a shout of "Satan!" from Wes. She explained that she had to talk with him urgently about Blaine; he was in the middle of a group skype chat with the Warblers. Santana asked if she and the New Directions in Lima could join in with the chat, giving Wes the relevant usernames, and switched on her own laptop. One by one faces appeared on her screen; Wes, David, Thad, Trent, Nick and Jeff, and finally, Sebastian. Then Santana's courage failed her. She couldn't do it. Not again. Sam gently pushed her aside, and sat down, switching on the camera.

The multiple cries of "Satan!" were replaced by one of "Sam?" "Hey guys, Santana had to run off for a minute, so you've got me."

Suddenly Jeff, who had been studying Sam's face carefully, started to shake and cling to Nick, saying "Oh no…" causing Nick to look at him with concern.

"So," said Wes, "what's Blaine done now? Is he worse?"

Sam took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "There isn't an easy way to say this.."

Now Jeff started to cry, startling Nick - and then suddenly it dawned on him…

"Blaine is dead - he shot himself this morning." said Sam. "I guess he just couldn't go on any more." And on camera Nick began to cry alongside Jeff; David and Thad buried their heads in their hands; Trent and Sebastian just stared straight ahead as tears rolled unchecked down their cheeks; and as his heart broke, Wes broke down in a series of gulping sobs.

For a few minutes no-one spoke. Fresh tears fell in Lima and Bushwick. Then Sebastian spoke up. "When? He was upset when I left him yesterday, but Cooper was convinced that he could calm him down."

"Just before 7.30," said Sue, who was trying to hide the fact that her own eyes were moist. This revelation brought a gasp from Rachel and a look of horror to Sam's face.

"That's when Sam… when Sam just stopped talking mid sentence, and dropped his glass of milk…."

"And I suddenly felt as if my life had changed in some way, so that nothing would ever be completely ok again. I guess that my soul knew that it had happened. That I had just lost my best friend…."

"He really cared about you, Sam," said Sebastian. "After he found out about Hunter Clarington being behind Kurt's death; once he realised that he might be behind Finn's death too, his only thought was to get protection for you and Trent…" Sebastian tailed off as he realised that most of the people listening had no idea what was going on.

"Nice one, Sebastian," said Trent sarcastically. "Guess there's no point in hiding it now. Sebastian as you might know was in London on the night of Kurt's murder. He got a text at 11.30pm, London time, telling him that Kurt and Blaine had had an accident. London is five hours ahead of New York, so it was sent before they even got to the party. Therefore, it had to have been sent by the person behind the attack - Hunter. He had threatened myself, Sam, Blaine and Finn in the Lima Bean, two days after he was expelled from Dalton as a result of our exposure of the steroid scandal. He said then he would destroy our lives. Blaine joined up the dots…. Hunter has been arrested, but until his gang are all rounded up, Sam and me, along with our families, are under police protection."

Sam lifted his head back up as Trent finished. He looked around at the stunned faces of his friends, both in the room and on screen, as they took in the enormity of the statement. It was Puck that broke the silence, his voice rising in anger as he spoke. "It was all planned….none of it an accident, all worked out in a deranged mind, all because he got caught cheating in a show choir competition? I hope he gets exactly what he deserves - just gimme five minutes in a room alone with him, and I'll see that he does…" There were murmurs of agreement from Mike, Santana, Quinn, Thad and Nick.

"If they'd let you, I'd join you," said Sue, "but they won't. If we're lucky, they'll give him the death penalty; it's what he deserves."

"In the meantime," Sue went on after a brief pause, "I have two tasks to carry out for Blaine." She handed the small parcel to Brittany, who quickly tore the wrapping open.

"He's sent me back Kurt Unicorn…" She picked up the note and read it out aloud.

Dear Brittany,

I'm going to see my real Kurt again, so I need someone else to love Kurt Unicorn for me. I know that you will love him just as much as I did, and as much as I love you. Be happy for me, Love, Blaine xx

She got up, leaving the toy behind to go to her room - moments later she returned with an almost identical toy, the only difference being that this one had hazel coloured eyes. "Kurt Unicorn, meet Blaine Unicorn. I'm going to look after both of you forever."

There wasn't a single dry eye as she finished, placing the two toys next to each other in her lap. Sue composed herself and handed the envelope to Sam. He quickly wiped his eyes and tore the envelope open, pulling out two sheets of paper. In silence, he quickly read the first, pausing frantically to wipe at his eyes again twice. Then with a deep breath, he turned his eyes back on the assembled people. "Ok, I'm going to read this out" and he began.

My dear, sweet Sam,

If you are reading this then I have had the guts to go through with it. I'm so sorry Sam. You have been through so much in the last two weeks and I know that you have been so upset by it all. But I just can't carry on the ways things are. Ever since I lost my Kurt, my soul has become heavier and darker. I am no longer the same person. I have to do this, Sam, in the hope that I will be reunited with him. Just the thought of seeing his smile, his eyes, feeling his arms around me - it lightens my heart. I have to try and get back to him.

I want you to promise me something. Do not spend too much time mourning me. The best thing you can do for me, after having a good old cry, is to pick yourself up and be you, Sam. Lighten everyone else's hearts and make them smile like you made me every day. That is something I will miss Sam, your smile - it always melted my heart. I know I said some terrible things to you, but I didn't mean them - in fact, it was the wake up call I needed to realise what I was becoming - evil Blaine - or worse, turning into Sue Sylvester.

I am putting you in charge of my funeral Sam. I want colours, celebration and happy songs. No black and no formality. Maybe Mercedes can help you out; I think that she would be good at that. And I'd like you to say something about me. Make them smile by telling them about all the goofy things I've done. Perhaps Tina, Brittany and Wes could speak about me too. Because I want smiles, not tears, at least for a while.

I love you Sam. Always will. It breaks my heart to hear how much you have been crying, especially when a lot of it is down to how much I hurt you. At least when I am gone, I can't hurt you anymore - if I stay, I know that I will. Couldn't cope with that. I am going to Kurt and I will be happy Sam. Keep that in mind - I will be the old happy Blaine again. I promise you that when you come to join me in many, many years time, we will be waiting for you with open arms - me, Kurt and Finn. Until then, be happy Sam, for me. It's the best way you can remember me,

All my love,

Blaine xx

"I am all yours in any way I can be," said Mercedes, coming up to hug Sam. "We are going to give Blaine what he wanted - a happy, fitting memorial to him and to Kurt."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that the Warblers are completely at your disposal too, Sam," said Wes, nods of assent coming from them all.

"And you can make full use of McKinley to practice whatever you need to, whenever," said Sue, "just to prove that I'm not that evil…"

Sam was gratified to see everyone else nodding, even Sugar, who was on her phone, talking quietly. When she rang off, she explained. "I suddenly thought of Rory. He was close to them and was devastated to miss Kurt's funeral because his boss wouldn't give him time off. This time, however, he is coming. He's going to tell his boss to shove his job, and he'll be on the first flight he can get from Dublin in the morning. As he sees it, no job in politics is worth more than coming here to be with us and show his grief for the loss of two of his best friends."

"He's giving up his job, his life, to be here?" said Sam.

"Yes, he hates his boss anyway - as he said, he can find another mug to sit up half the night, wading through the proceedings of the United States Congress," smiled Sugar.

"So he is familiar with the workings of our government then… I wonder…," said Sam. He noticed that everyone's eyes had turned towards him, so he explained about the resignation of Burt's assistant, and how that job might just be ideal for Rory. If he wanted it, and if he could stay in the US to take it. And more importantly, if Burt would accept it.

By now it was getting late. Emma and Sue had a flight to catch back to Ohio. Much as the companionship of the room appealed to the others, time to be alone with their individual thoughts seemed good too. Arrangements were made to meet up again to begin discussing the arrangements for Blaine's happy funeral. Phone numbers were swapped and the task of breaking the news to those outside the close circle - and invite them to join - were allocated. Skype was closed down and soon only Mercedes and Artie sat in Bushwick with the four usual residents. Tentative suggestions were being made for the placing of songs, the content of the speeches and for those who should carry the coffin into the church. As they talked late into the night, Brittany was so engrossed that she failed to notice the two figures watching them, holding each other close, from the far side of the room. Sorry for their friends, but so happy to be back where they belonged - at each other's side.