It was a normal working day for Will Schuester, he was standing in the teacher's lounge having another shouting match with Sue Sylvester. Will did not know why the cheerleading coach hated the New Directions so much. Okay, the principal had taken away some of her Cheerio's funding and given it to the choir, but it was so little, she probably would not even have noticed. However Sue never tired of sabotaging the glee club wherever she could. Today she had been especially creative and released two live skunks in the choir room. The man wondered if it was anything personal, had he or any other member of his family ever done anything to make the woman hate them so much? Had any of the glee kids bothered her? While he was still deep in thought he managed to only catch half of Sue's last sentence, something about banning all arts education from public schools and preparing students for the dull lives that lay ahead of them.

"See, that's what I don't get about you, Sue. How can you hate performing arts so much? I know you watch musicals with your sister all the time. I know you even sing together. Jean loves songs, they make her happy!"

"Jean died yesterday." Sue replied, her face expressionless.

"Oh my God! Oh God… Sue… I'm so sorry."

"Well, if there's nothing more for us to discuss I'll leave now. I have a meeting with the Mothers Against Performing Arts group later and I also have a funeral to plan."

"Sue… if there's anything we can do to help you… you know we all loved Jean." Will ran his hands through his hair unsure of what to do or say at this moment.

"I know, Jean was impossible not to love." Sue turned and left without another word.

When the father informed his family that evening everyone was beyond shocked. Emma, Brittany and Kurt started sobbing and all the other children got very pale and quiet. Even Santana finally showed a different emotion than anger for a change, even though it only lasted very briefly.

"This is completely unfair!" the latina yelled.

Puck reached for her hand and she allowed him to hold it, silent tears ran down both their faces.

"Is there anything we can do for Sue?" Emma asked.

"I asked her, she didn't reply. I think she wants to be left alone."

"Nobody should be left alone at a time like this." Sam whispered. Everyone agreed.

"We'll think of something." Emma said. "When is the funeral?"

"I don't think there is a date yet. It didn't seem like she'd started planning yet."

While the family was still discussing ways to help Artie had moved his wheelchair close to their porch exit. He waved for Kurt to follow him. The little boy untangled himself from Brittany's bone-crushing hug and followed quietly.

"Where are we going?" the younger one asked when they were outside.

"I think you and I should go visit Sue." Artie replied

"On our own?" Kurt was not quite as scared of the woman anymore, but that did not mean he wanted to be alone with her again.

"Yes, just you and me."

"Why us?"

"Cause I think out of everyone we are the ones who understand what she is feeling right now. You and me bro, we know what it's like to lose someone… to lose the person that meant the world to you."

Kurt swallowed audibly and looked at his older brother with tears in his eyes. Artie was right, if anyone knew what Sue was going through right now, it was the two youngest Schuester kids. The blue-eyed boy nodded at his brother and the two of them made their way to the Sylvester house.

Sue was surprised when she opened her door to find the two small boys. She had expected Emma to come over sooner or later, maybe to try out some of her best pamphlet slogans. She also thought that Will was probably not quite finished with his comforting speeches. Oh and that Berry girl from down the road was probably already preparing a moving ballad of some kind. The boys were definitely unexpected visitors. She was so surprised she did not even try to send them away, instead she helped to move Artie's wheelchair into the house.

"Wheels, Porcelain, what brings you here?" she questioned once they were inside.

"We want to help you." Artie replied.

"All of our family does." Kurt piped up.

"Yes, but us two especially."

"Why you? What's so special about you?"

"We know what it feels like to lose the most important person in the world… to lose a piece of your heart." Artie croaked, tears shining in his eyes.

"We both lost our parents and we all loved Jean. Please, we want to help."

Sue looked at the two children. She could not help but be moved by their words. She pointed at four large boxes in her living room.

"That's all of Jean's belongings, would you help me sort through them?"

The boys nodded and they silently began to work. They made one box for things Sue wanted to keep, one box for the trash and a last one for things she could donate back to the home Jean had spent most of her life in. The boys were shocked to discover that the woman really did not intend to keep very much.

"I have every memory of my sister in my head." Sue explained. "I don't need this stuff to remember her by."

Kurt was even more surprised that when he held up the necklace he had made for Jean, Sue asked him to put it in the box for keeping. He could not suppress a small gasp.

"She loved that necklace. Giving it to her was the last time I saw her truly happy. She thought she looked like a model." Sue smiled at the memory while Kurt began to cry.

The cheerleading coach surprised both boys and herself when she pulled the little one in for a hug.

"Thank you." she whispered.

The doorbell rang at that moment and Sue opened it to find Will.

"It appears I'm missing two of my children." the man stated with a small smile.

Sue opened the door and ushered him inside. The teacher was surprised to find his two sons sorting through Jean's belongings. If it had not been for the tracks of Artie's wheels on the wet ground he would have never thought of looking for them here. And the woman actually seemed glad to have them.

"I have spoken to Emma, Sue. We really want to help you with the funeral. We want to help with the reception, Emma is really great at organising stuff like that. And my children would love to sing for Jean at the service."

Sue Sylvester did not trust her voice enough to respond vocally, so she simply nodded. The man offered her a hug and she accepted.

"I am really proud of you guys." Will said when he walked his children home.


Kurt did not sleep at all during the night before the funeral. He was beyond nervous. He hated funerals and was really not looking forward to going to the cemetery and then his foster father had actually given him a big solo in the song they were dedicating to Jean in the service. He had not sung in front of a real audience in all his life and he knew he really could not mess this up, he owed it to Jean and to Sue.

The service was held in a small church not far from their homes. Their was a large portrait of Jean next to the altar and everything had been decorated according to the theme of her favourite movie "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". Sue tried to hold a speech, but her tears soon won and Will had to take over for her. Then the Schuester kids and their friends got up and moved to the front.

"This song was Jean's favourite." Finn said.

To everyone's surprise Tina spoke the first words and did not even stutter once:

Hold your breath

Make a wishCount to three

Then Kurt began to sing with the voice of an angel:

Come with me

And you'll be

In a world of

Pure imagination

Finn took over the next lines:

Take a look

And you'll see

Into your imagination

Then Tina sang:

We'll begin

With a spin

Travelling in

The world of my creation

Artie continued:

What we'll see

Will defy

Explanation

All of the kids sang:

If you want to view paradise

Simply look around and view it

Anything you want to, do it

Want to change the world?

Kurt:

There's nothing

To it

Tina:

There is no

Life I know

To compare with

Pure imagination

Kurt:

Living there

You'll be free

If you truly wish to be

Together:

If you want to view paradise

Simply look around and view it

Anything you want to, do it

Want to change the world?

There's nothingTo it

Then Kurt and Artie finished the song, tears shining in their eyes:

There is no

Life I know

To compare with

Pure imagination

Living there

You'll be free

If you truly

Wish to be

Sue cried as Will held her in his arms. After the service she thanked all of the children. Then it was time to leave for the cemetery.

Kurt really hated this part. He had only ever been to two funerals in his life before. The first one had been for his mother. It had been a cold, yet sunny day and his father had dressed him in his finest clothes. He had held his daddy's hand the whole time and the man had told him it was okay to cry. Watching his mother's casket being lowered into the ground had been a painful and traumatic experience, but somehow holding his father's hand had made it all better. He had believed that these hands would be there to keep him safe and support him for the rest of his life. His father's funeral had taken place only a few months later. It had been early June and it was hot but rainy. His clothes had not been nearly as nice as they had been for his mother's funeral. He had had no parent to hold his hand that day, only a social worker had been there to accompany him. She had kept her hands on his small shoulders but he had never felt so alone in all his life.

Now Kurt Hummel was standing in a cemetery for the third time in a year. He was standing between Emma and Santana holding tightly onto their hands. He could not keep his mind from racing, three people he loved had died in such a short time. For seven years he had lived in a happy little bubble and then it had burst and now people just kept dieing. What if Jean had not been the last one? Who would be next? The little boy did not think he would survive losing another family member. He began to panic and hyperventilate. Tears were running down his face, so he could not see. He was scared and wanted nothing more than to leave this place, the place that took his loved ones from him. He let go of his sister's hand and clutched Emma's blouse.

„Mommy, please take me away from here. Please, take me home." he begged.

Emma was shocked. Her son had just called her mommy for the very first time. She had dreamed of this moment, but in those dreams it had always been a happy occasion. In her dreams the child had been smiling. Right now her little boy was nothing but a sobbing mess and he was definitely breathing way to fast. She lifted the child into her arms and rubbed his back.

„Shhh… it's okay. We can go. Please don't cry, baby."

She carried the boy to her car. Puck, Santana and Brittany followed, while the rest of her family stayed with Sue. She managed to calm the boy down enough so he would let go of her for the ride. He clung to Santana instead while Brittany gently rubbed circles on his back. Puck tried to lighten the mood with some jokes, but the boy did not appear to even hear those. When they arrived at home Kurt had exhausted himself, so she put him right to bed. He asked her to stay with him until he fell asleep and she did, holding her youngest and telling him just how much he was loved and how many people cared about him. His big family, the glee club and their friends would always be there for him.

When Will and the other kids got home they were greeted by Noah and the girls, Emma and Kurt were fast asleep. The man decided not to wake them up and took his children over to the reception in Sue's house alone. Everything had been prepared beautifully, Emma had outdone herself once again.


Two weeks later the family was sitting down for dinner when the phone rang. Will answered it and went to the living room, talking in a very serious tone. Emma and the children could not make out what was being said, but they knew it must be really important. After about ten minutes the man called for his wife. The two adults were discussing something for about fifteen minutes. Again the children could not make out any words. Then the parents seemed to have come to a decision. Will gave a nod and then left the house.

„What's going on, mom?" Finn asked.

„I can't tell you just yet, kids. Your dad has gone to have a very serious talk with Sue."

„About what?"