February 19th 2014: Testimony of Rachel Berry Part Two
"When Kurt came home with Blaine on the night of the Gay Pride parade, the two of them were whispering away to each other; there were little smiles and giggling whenever I turned my back. I just thought that they were happy and slightly drunk. They were being unduly secretive too, telling me very little about what they'd seen and done. They headed off to bed pretty early. The next day, the two of them had left the loft before I woke up about 7am. They came barging back in just after ten, by which time I was just about to head out and Santana had just stumbled out of bed. She said "Well?" - Kurt and Blaine smiled at each other, and then Kurt squealed "Got it. The last one!" I was still none the wiser until Blaine said "We're getting married. We've got the licence." And that was when the whirlwind started. From that moment on it was nothing but wedding, wedding, wedding. Everyone was really up for it, even Burt eventually. They had no money, but it didn't matter. They would do as much as they could for themselves. They made their own suits - I still remember their screams of joy when Isabelle Wright, Kurt's boss at Vogue, presented them with a set of patterns. Before I knew what was going on they were making groomsman's suits, grooms maid's dresses. I helped were I could - we all did. Some helped more secretly than others - when they asked the Warblers to be their ushers, Wes immediately suggested that they wear their Dalton uniform. He had heard from me that they were making a lot of stuff already, and didn't want to burden them with any more. It would all have been so beautiful - just the burst of joy we all needed after Finn…."
"They kept me out of the alley. At the time I was desperate to run to them, to try and help them; but from what I've been told since, I'm glad that Santana got Puck to stop me. Because I'd probably just have collapsed in shock and been a nuisance. Puck also made sure that as Kurt was wheeled past, I saw nothing. When I saw Blaine come by, only with Sam - I had to go, had to be there for one of them. I felt so cold when I saw how he looked - so bruised, so small, so helpless. I remember sitting there in that waiting room, praying for them, hoping for good news. Holding Sam's hand when he came back from washing the blood out of his hair. Then the doctor came and broke my heart all over again. In some ways it was so much worse than with Finn - I hadn't shared every single day of my life for nearly a year with him when he died, whereas Kurt was my best friend, my constant. He was so happy to finally be getting married. It was his dream come true. And now that was all gone. All that was left was a handful of physical reminders - the suits, the dresses. As for going back to the loft - the place was so full of memories of Kurt; he had found it, planned the layout, furnished it. He haunted it. I didn't want to be there anymore, but what could I do? I was stuck in the place, unable to escape because of the high rents elsewhere. So I made an agreement with Sam and Santana to stick it out for Blaine's sake, so he had the chance to come back to the place he had been so happy with Kurt. Sam was even prepared to remain there with him permanently if he had to. In the end, that wasn't going to be necessary."
"We had barely got over Kurt's death - his funeral had been awful and then Blaine lost it at the wake, firstly at Puck and then at me. It was understandable - I knew how I had felt after losing Finn, although it wasn't the same. But the more I heard, the more concerned I became. After what he said to Santana I was deeply worried and then came the midnight knock on the door - and Sam was back in Bushwick. He was pale, lost and in tears. When he told me why the next day, when we were alone, I knew that the time had come for professional help. Cooper was doing his best, but maybe that just wasn't enough anymore. The news then came that he was getting better; he had stopped lashing out. We all thought he was over the worst. Each morning, Burt or Carole had been calling me to update me. Then one morning, the call didn't come. Instead, Sam got a text to say that Blaine was on his way to New York. It didn't seem right to me, but I never believed that it would be a blatant lie. When our former teachers arrived instead to break the news - it broke us. I knew that Sam would need the most support - he would feel so guilty, think that he could and should have done more. We all felt exactly the same, and that will haunt us for the remainder of our lives."
"The thing is that Finn, Kurt and Blaine had become so central to all our lives. Finn was the unofficial leader of the New Directions, the link between all the original members, and those that came from the football team and the cheerleading squad. He was Puck's best friend, Quinn's ex, Mike's team-mate. He brought Sam into the club, defended Santana and helped Artie with the occasional mobility issue. He was our big, gentle giant. He loved Kurt and Blaine to death. Ironically, he died because of his belief in the glee club and his desire to make it the same safe haven for the new kids as it had been for us. Kurt was loved by all of us too. He was Mercedes' boo, supported Santana when she was coming out of the closet, was my greatest and most favourite critic. He was Brittany's unicorn - he and Blaine were her dolphins. He was a fashion adviser to all of the girls in the New Directions, and some of the guys too. Everyone wanted to protect him and defend him from harm. The same can be said of the Warblers - he wrapped all of them around his little finger too. He had so many battles in his life - it was so cruel that just when he was finally on the cusp of getting what he had dreamed of for so long, it was all snatched away. I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying his last moments must have been…."
"Then there was Blaine - initially, we all loved him because of how good he was to Kurt - he must have been horrified though, as I think everyone threatened to end him if he ever hurt Kurt. We all came to love him for himself too. He was someone that I wished was straight, because he would have been the perfect boyfriend. He was Sam's best friend and constant source of encouragement. To Tina, he was Blainey Days, her confidant and secret crush. He was just that kind of person. He left Dalton, his safe haven, to be with Kurt, and nearly lost his sight trying to protect him. He stayed on good terms with most of the Warblers - he helped them out when he could too. He pushed for the enquiry into the steroids, and he probably saved some of their lives as a result. He knew at the end of his life that his actions had unleashed a chain of events on us - but he had saved his other friends. His only regret was that in doing so, his sweet, innocent Kurt was unwittingly embroiled, and ended up dead. He never forgave himself for that."
Thus ended Rachel's testimony, her eyes moist, her face downcast. She felt drained, but it was over. The defence had no questions to ask of her. Her evidence was pure sentiment, and had added little new, but it backed up what everyone else had said. The world had lost three good, kind men and was a colder, darker place for it. It had been a dramatic performance - not one that would be reviewed by the New York Times, but a bravo performance nonetheless. The judge decided to adjourn the court early, but before doing so announced that there had been a requested to alter the order in which the witnesses would be called. Sebastian had been due to appear next, but now it was to be Cooper, at his own request. This made those in the public gallery glance at each other in some surprise - this was totally out of the blue. He was sure to have a reason though - they all just hoped that it was a good one. Sebastian for his part had not objected to Cooper's request. He was not particularly looking forward to being on the stand. He kept trying to convince himself that it was really no different from standing in front of the other Warblers and singing the lead. You were front and centre there, just as he would be in court. The difference was that in a show choir competition, it was not necessary to bare your soul. He would have to confess his sins to the assembled people - the things that nobody knew - but he hoped that it would justify a lot of his perceived actions around Hunter. That no-one would look at him any differently or be too judgemental. He had to live with his mistakes. He knew one thing though - none of the three angels hated him for it. That was a source of great comfort.
Nick and Jeff had invited him and Dave to join them for dinner at the Heartland Brewery under the Empire State building that evening. Neither Sebastian or Jeff would drink - the other two limited themselves to one each to accompany their meal. This was the first time that Dave had been to New York, and despite having been to the city for numerous visits and having lived in Bushwick for three months, Nick and Jeff hadn't done anything touristy. So after they had finished their meals, Sebastian suggested that it was time to do just that, and he was paying. So it was that on a cold February night, they found themselves on the 86th floor, staring out at the scene below them. They separated, Nick to stand with his arms wrapped around Jeff, looking south towards the buildings of the financial centre, and in the distance, the floodlit Statue of Liberty. A symbol of justice and freedom, and a reminder of what they were fighting for. On the north side, Dave had his arm around Sebastian, pulling the boy close as they looked out at Central Park and the bright lights of Broadway below. He knew that the next few days were going to be tough. That was why he had come, because he liked the Meerkat boy. Really liked. Once all of this was over, he fully intended to let Sebastian know just how much. That he wanted to be with him, if he would have him. He hoped that he would, or it would make his transfer to NYU a bit pointless…"