Organisation

Back in Lima, people were arriving from across the states to congregate at the Hummel's house. First to arrive was Wes, who had driven non stop, in a rental car from Harvard overnight. After accepting a cup of coffee from Carole, he had crashed out on Sam's bed. Puck and Quinn had also arrived early to offer to drive to and from the airport to pick up arrivals, to relieve the pressure on Burt and Carole. The spare bedrooms of all those in Lima had also been prepared. Sebastian had arrived and immediately embraced Cooper, the two of them still shocked from the rapid pace of events. He was followed closely by Nick and Jeff, who were initially so quiet that it scared Wes when he woke up. He sent them off with Sam and Rory to fetch lunch for the growing crowd. To see those two boys so quiet and subdued was just so unsettling for everyone else.

By the time that lunch was served that day, the house was filled to its capacity. At first it had been silent, but then after prompting from Wes, Nick and Jeff had begun to act like their usual selves, which lead to an outbreak of laughter. A reminder from Sam to the assembled group of Blaine's demands for a happy funeral, of a short period of mourning, also aided the flow of conversation. As it did, smiles began to appear on faces that had been so down and so upset only hours before. The combination of good food and good company worked its magic.

After lunch, of course, the conversation had to turn back to matters in hand - firstly, who should carry the coffin into the church. No-one was forthcoming as a volunteer and so it fell to Burt to suggest a way to decide - nomination of the first pallbearer by himself, then each in turn nominate another until the required six were chosen; the only caveat being that he himself could not be chosen. There was agreement to this, and so Burt began. "I nominate the obvious choice; the only person related to Blaine by blood - Cooper. I know that he will find it hard to do, but it is the final duty that he can perform for Blaine."

Cooper for his part nodded, then spoke. "I nominate my little brother's best friend, the other half of Blam - Sam. He was the person closest to Blaine. He loved him like a brother. And though he didn't volunteer, I know that he will want to do this for him."

"It would be an honour to do it. Coop's right, guess I would have volunteered eventually. Now for the person I nominate. This guy is the reason that we ended up with Klaine in the first place. He sent Kurt to spy on the Warblers and the rest, as they say, is history. My choice is Puck."

There were nods of approval, which made Puck blush. "Count me in. For my nomination I chose someone who meant a lot to Blaine, who helped him, made him the Warbler's lead soloist, and pushed for Klaine as much as I did. He remained his friend right up until he died - Wes."

"Good choice," said Sebastian. "The most decent and honest of all the Warblers." His statement was greeted with nods from all his fellows.

"I accept on behalf of the Warblers, and of Dalton. My choice is for another man who assisted Blaine, who helped him steer his course through life at McKinley, and listened in the aftermath of his mistakes. I'm talking about Will Schuester. He was like a father to him when his own failed. There is no better choice."

For his part, Will nodded. "So the final choice then is mine. I chose someone that Blaine admired both for his skill at something that he did not always excel in himself - the ability to move effortlessly across the floor in dance; and for his kindness and compassion in most things. I'm talking about Mike."

Mike blushed. "I had no idea that he felt that way. I mean, he was always asking my advice about a step or two, and I'd taught him how to waltz properly for his…" He stopped short, realising what he was about to say. He had said enough for everyone to know what he was talking about.

"One set of decisions made," said Burt. "I think that we can all agree that the choices were good…." He ignored the murmur of 'No women..' from Santana. "Now we need to chose who should be waiting for the coffin to arrive at the end of its procession."

"If I'm carrying the coffin," said Sam, "the Mercedes should be there, as she was asked to help organise things." There was no dissent to that. "And might I suggest Tina and Brittany as his nominated speakers be there too?"

"Good idea Sam. Might I add Rachel? And perhaps Wes could select another of the Warblers given that he will be carrying the coffin?" said Burt.

"If we are all in agreement on that, can I suggest David?" said Wes. There was no voice raised in argument.

"The last four should place something on the coffin to signify the man inside," said Sue, who had been sitting quietly in a corner. "It would be fitting."

"A Dalton blazer and tie, to signify the special place that he will always be held in, in the hearts of the Warblers," said Trent.

"The puppets," said Tina. "When he went to New York, and I went to Brown, he gave me his Kurt and Blaine puppets. They meant a lot to him, and to me.." There were nods of agreement to this, along with some querying looks from Warblers.

"The Unicorns," said Brittany, gaining a smile from the whole room. "It wouldn't be right if Kurt and Blaine Unicorn were not there."

"A photo to show them at their happiest," said Rachel. "The one from Kurt's senior prom where they were riding on that dinosaur…" She paused, as she took in the raised eyebrows of the former Warblers. "You had to be there…also, it is the only picture we have of Blaine without hair gel…."

There was a collective gasp of shock from the ex-Warblers at that. "Madam, you mock us!" exclaimed Thad, "It cannot be so…" There was a moment of silence and then someone began to laugh. No-one was sure who, but within a few moments the entire room had joined in. The laughter increased when Carole retrieved a photograph album from a drawer, and found said image.

"Dear Lord, we never knew that his hair was like that," said Wes. "It was always gelled down so well - and looking at that, I can see just why it was."

"Kurt loved it so much when he didn't though. He was always so proud of his bushy haired fiancé," said Rachel sadly.

The mood in the room darkened again slightly. It was as if any mention of their names together was enough to break their spirits. "Well, moving on," said Sam, "there is to be no black worn at his funeral, not even so much as a pair of black socks, though I suppose that we can make an exception for black shoes. I do have one other suggestion on this subject, from Tina…"

"Blaine loved his bowties. He had so many, one for every outfit it used to seem." There were nods and smiles from everyone. "So, I thought that we could honour that part of his character by all wearing a bowtie at his funeral. I suggested this to Sam before he left New York, so he brought all of Blaine's with him. We could all chose one, unless you have one of your own instead…"

"That is a beautiful idea," said Cooper. "A little memory of Blainers worn by each of us. I want that…."

The afternoon moved on with discussion of the songs on Blaine's list. Some of them caused surprise - at McKinley, only Sam had been aware of Blaine's love for British comedy, something that he had gained at Dalton. Decisions were made on who would sing what songs, sometimes with ease, and sometimes with a lot of arguing. The running order also caused much debate. Artie, for his part, had taken the photograph album from Carole, finding it full of pictures of Kurt and Blaine, from the first days of their friendship, right up until that fateful night. He had an idea for a tribute of his own, and these would form the ideal basis for what he wanted to do. Taking Carole aside, he explained what he wanted to do. She agreed, and after swearing her to secrecy, she placed the album into the bag on Artie's chair, so that he could work on it at home later.

It was dark by the time the final decisions had been made. They had an early start on rehearsals in the morning - Sue had informed them that the school would be opened and the auditorium made available from 6am. Her offer to make a speech at the funeral had been accepted with no qualms. Her emotions had been exposed by the tragic nature of recent events; no-one was expecting any hint of nastiness in her speech this time. Before they all left, Sam had brought down a large box from his room. The bowties he produced from it nearly covered the Hummel's dining table. He chose his own first, then opened the field to everyone else. All took time to chose with care the little tribute that they would wear to their friend.

The following day saw the united group undertake one rehearsal after another in both the auditorium and the choir room at McKinley. They had only one goal - perfection. Not one error in the singing or the choreography could be allowed. They were united by a determination to achieve Blaine's wishes. It was a task that was never going to be easy. For once, petty squabbles and old rivalries were put aside, but there were still moments when something would happen to trigger tears, and a halt would have to be called to proceedings. But by the time the sun set that evening, they were ready for their task; prepared for another difficult day, when they buried a friend less than two weeks after the last.