Chapter 36

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Yep, this fic's not dead.

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"I don't believe it." The expression of shellshock gracing Rachel's features was an uncharacteristic one, seeming at odds with her usual ferocity in a way that it didn't quite fit. "I just…I don't believe it."

Expertly nestled in the locks of her softly curled hair, the crystal prom queen tiara shimmered under the dull lights of the choir room, such a weirdly insubstantial thing, considering how savagely people had been going after it. In Sam's fine opinion, the entire thing was stupid, and he was glad for it to be over.

But moreover, he was glad Kurt had chosen Rachel – a non-cheerleader, non-football player, nonconformist champion of the people. In retrospect, she was the best choice.

"The people have spoken." From his seat beside the new prom queen, Kurt looked happy as a clam, one eye fixed to Rachel as though he were waiting for when the immensity of the situation would hit her. "Surprised me too, but-"

"But - people have good taste!" Finn cheered, keeping up his stance as the proud, papabear boyfriend. Aside from crowning and Rachel's first dance, Finn hadn't left his girlfriend's side, had kept his arm firmly wrapped around her shoulder in a show of ultimate pride and support. "This is awesome Rach, you really deserve this."

"More than us," Sam added.

Really, out of every contender, Sam deserved it the least – seeing as he was 1) a dude and 2) invested purely from a misaligned effort to provoke Dave (wow, had that so very much not worked) – but with the whole creeper-queen thing Quinn had going down, and Santana's…well, viciousness, Sam was glad it was Rachel.

From their position over by the piano, Santana dramatically rolled her eyes even as she nodded in agreement, and even Quinn (who had handled Kurt's decision better than Sam had expected) gifted Rachel a tight smile, the cheer not-quite reaching her eyes.

Well, you couldn't have everything.

"I'm still kind of surprised they picked Blaine for prom king," Artie added his two cents with a great deal more genuine gratefulness than any of the prom candidates. "Not incredibly surprised, seeing as you've been running him around to like, every club in the school – but still kind of surprised."

"It's kind of weird they picked a junior too," Sugar's musing was more entertaining than insightful, a sour pout still fixed on her features from the moment they had announced prom queen. Jesus, the only royalty she would ever be crowned for was the 'Empress of Delusion', if she had actually thought she had a horse in that race. "And Blaine. I thought you were pressuring everyone into voting for Dave?"

She aimed the last part at Quinn, who graciously ignored it, the slight twitch in her eyebrow the only giveaway that she had heard Sugar's question.

"Miracles happen," Sam offered, which- okay, so not the nicest thing to say because he didn't really mean to imply that Blaine could only win by magic/Kurt-rigged elections, but the whole blackmail scheme had been in place for a reason. "Looks like the whole New Directions 'follow your heart' mentality finally caught on."

"Bout damn time," Puck muttered, arms firmly looped around each of his dates in a look of protectiveness, relieved to be free of the spotlight so he could just touch them without fear of persecution. "Long as we kept it in-house, who cares? Glee club still wins, go team."

"Yay!" Brittany clapped her hands together spastically, overjoyed by the opportunity to get in some good old-fashioned celebrating. "And no one got slushied. Which means we can actually have some for post-prom celebrations."

"Assuming there is a celebration," Mercedes murmured, arms folding across her chest in the purest expression of 'I am not happy and I WILL destroy the next person who questions this'. "I'm not going anywhere until we find out what happened to Karofsky."

"Cheers to that," Rory spoke up, dipping his head in that strangely cordial way that only he managed, defusing the tension in the room that came from the stronger personalities (Kurt, Rachel, Mike) racing to agree with that statement, much more forcefully. "We're a team, eh? We'll stay here, even if they try to kick us out of the school."

"Be grateful that it won't have to come to that." Sebastian's reappearance was like a catalyst, the lean brunette posed against the entrance of the choir room and disrupting whatever anxious goodwill they had managed through their waiting game. Quinn was upon him before Sam could even get to his feet, but Sebastian seemed to be expecting it, having the gall to sidestep her fluttery rage to sweep into the room proper, hands tucked into his pockets in a comfortable swagger. "Before you release your misplaced rage, anyone who's a part of Dave's prom party should get out to their limousine. He's waiting for you there and no-" Sebastian aimed a heavy gaze at Quinn. "-he's not in handcuffs. But he would like to evacuate the premises as soon as possible, so if you really want the story, you can get it from him."

It could be a wild goose chase, it could be a lie, but what would it get Sebastian but time? Eventually, Quinn would find him if he was wrong, and no amount of witty repartee was going to save him from her wrath.

Quinn considered him, eyes narrowed and hands tight against her sides, fingers twitching with the urge to curl into fists before she was nodding, a deft, rigid movement, and turning on her heel, exiting the room in a furious billow of fabric before she was gone.

Finn gathered up the others with a few surprised blinks, tugging Rachel out of her chair and pressing Kurt forward when he seemed too thrown to realize what, exactly, had happened. Blaine was the one who ended up leading them into the hallway, probably long used to Quinn's rapid pace through life, and soon the room was down five people more, and Dave was still gone, and Sam still wanted to punch Sebastian in the face.

"Plea deal," Sebastian explained with a spread of his hands, as though realizing the very precarious balance his physical appearance hung in. "He gets community service, they get Juvie which, frankly, should have happened a long time ago."

"And you didn't feel the need to share this plan?" Sam couldn't help how angry he sounded, how pathetically violated he felt when he marched in front of Sebastian. "Couldn't have spared us some heart attacks?"

Now that he had a chance to really process it, the weight of the evening crushed down upon his shoulders, the anxiety squeezing his chest tight enough that he wanted to cry, would if he hadn't felt so damn tired, tinged with hysteria and disbelief and the continual surprise that this was somehow his life when he knew better, they had done enough crazy shit that he should be well-versed in the ways of going with the flow, he had reenacted a soap opera, for goodness sake, he had well jumped the shark.

"Would you have allowed it?" Sebastian cocked his in an expression of pure challenge, in that stupid haughty way he got when he knew there was zero percent chance of Sam being correct. "Would you have really allowed for that risk? A risk that obviously needed to be taken? Those fiends-" he spat out the word, and for some reason, that stopped Sam, held him still when he realized that this anger wasn't a show, it wasn't a lecture, this was actual rage from Sebastian. "Have assaulted all of you on multiple occasions, some to distinctly psychotic extents. The very idea that those videos shouldn't be shared, that there shouldn't be some kind of recompense due for their grievous transactions, is ludicrous." He stepped around Sam, holding his gaze carefully to- to what, show respect? Sam didn't know, couldn't figure it out as he addressed the rest of the room at large, standing tall and regal. "I could protect him, but there's absolutely no reason any of you should have trusted me to do so, so I took matters into my own hands."

"Why?"

Sam didn't mean to sound lost, didn't mean to sound broken or small, but he knew he must have to some degree, with the look Mike gave him, eyebrows furrowed and sorrow dipping into his expression.

He didn't wait for Sebastian to look at him as he walked to the brunette's side, hands shaking against his legs. "Why did you do it? What did you have to gain?"

Sebastian dismissed him with a vague wave of his hand, but Sam didn't let him step away, only moved forward when he tried for a casual retreat. "Think of it as part of our bargain. We can't destroy Vocal Adrenaline if half the club is at risk of being assaulted. This is simply a countermeasure to ensure our victory."

"Or you've gone soft." It was Puck who said it, victorious grin slowly stealing onto his face as he stood up, Mike and Tina following after him with growing smiles of recognition. "Face it, Smythe, we've corrupted you. You like us."

"I most certainly do not." Sebastian's dramatic eye roll said he was annoyed but the fact that he wasn't immediately insulting Puck for his suggestion said it was actually true, and-

"Holy shit," Sam muttered. "You do like us."

"That's what I said," Zizes groused, sounding distinctly put out by the concept. "You used to be a killer, Sebass, but this new exercise of empathy definitely detracts from your appeal."

"I think it's charming," Artie proclaimed, loud enough to earn delighted squeals of applause from both Sugar and Brittany, Joe looking on behind them with distinct approval in his eyes.

"Never thought I'd see the day," Mercedes murmured, looking up to the sky as though God himself would confirm this very drastic change in their world. "Seriously, never-"

"That's great, and all," Sebastian's tone was dismissive and superior in a way that normally had everyone on edge, but now that they had his number (Sam was still trying to process that, but it- a lot of things made sense now, agreeing to Puck and Tina and Zizes in their prom party, the dinner, the clothes the- the peptalks), Sam could see through it, could see the show that hid his true intentions. "But now that we've given them enough of a head start, I think some of us might need to approach a certain David Karofsky. For their mental wellbeing, of course."

'Not because I care' was what he didn't say, but Sam was onto him now.

"Party at Rachel's?" Puck asked, because- yeah, that was where they would most likely be going, seeing as Dave and Rachel lived there.

"We'll give them time to settle down," Sebastian decided, because even if he wasn't owning up his new friendship status (and hey, if he liked them now he couldn't get away with making fun of Sam anymore because they really were friends and this was awesome, it was like discovering a new super power), he was still taking care of them, doing what was best. "Twenty minutes? Then we'll arrive."

"Gives us time to get our gear together," Santana drawled, eyes narrowing in obvious suspicious, unwilling to completely trust Sebastian just yet.

Sam marveled at her for it, but knew that there was no gain Sebastian could possibly get that would justify the amount of work he had put into protecting them. The jig was up, Sebastian was one of them.

"Exactly." Sebastian nodded, didn't even look at her, because it'd give it all away. "Let's head out."

He grabbed Sam's hand and started walking, and the blond was kind of too busy ogling at that site to pay attention to Puck and the others following along behind them, general grumbles from Zizes about losing a fellow badass and Tina's melodic giggles mixing with Mike's sighs, relieved ones and it- Sam couldn't quite believe that they had really made it this far okay, but they had, and Dave was- he'd be fine. He'd be fine. He had to believe that.

"You're thinking too loud," Sebastian muttered. His eyes were forward, nowhere near Sam but- the blond could see it now, could hear it, the concern he downplayed. The legitimate interest in his wellbeing.

"Can't help it." Sam squeezed his fingers tighter, the grip warm and reassuring, and nothing Sebastian necessarily had to offer. "I've been bamboozled."

"To much more positive results," Sebastian countered. "This time."

"Right."

And he decided not to think of that as salt being rubbed in the wound of Dave's manipulations, of Sam's own stupidity, he decided to take it for what it was – an optimistic call to the future. A note that things were looking up.

Sam would take that. He could live with that much.

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"That was…that was not how I expected that story to go." Finn offered this with a dazed expression, and not even the free ice provided by the limousine could pull him from his stupor as he tried to digest Dave's recounting of Sebastian's plan.

Dave didn't blame the guy. He had been present and he still couldn't believe what had happened, how he went from delinquent to character witness in what would become one of the biggest trials to hit Lima in what he had come to understand was basically forever. Dave's plea bargain and subsequent community service were a godsend, above anything, and he wasn't sure if it was worse that Sebastian had been the one to fix the mess he had created for himself, or that Dave hadn't thought to do the same sooner.

The only consolation he could rightly take was that Sebastian's father was a state attorney, which granted him a familiarity with the inner workings of the legal system that Dave could never hope to be privy to. It wasn't much of a distinction, but it was one, and that was the thing Dave held onto in this very overwhelming storm of emotions and intense gazes – Rachel, Quinn, and Kurt ripping him apart from sheer need alone.

He had spent the ten minutes waiting for them outside McKinley scrolling through Facebook to witness a varied plethora of updates that scaled from positive support to his total condemnation, half of the school still arguing the status of his sexuality, and those who did claim him as gay split between apathy, support, and malicious promises of hellfire, which was probably to be expected in this town. The only bright side of that fiasco was that most of his would-be tormenters were now safely behind bars, but that wouldn't save him from the likes of the hockey team, or even the lacrosse club, or-

"That wasn't how any of us expected that story to go," Kurt said lightly, finger tapping against his chin as though lost in thought, his attention firmly elsewhere. "Still, it was most likely the best possible outcome."

"We're going to have to start planning for damage control," Quinn muttered, her fingers dancing across her phone screen like lightning. She hadn't actually stopped texting since they entered the vehicle, but she had deigned him with the occasional inspection of doom, eyes narrowed as she took in his story as though searching for any secrets Dave may have hidden away. "The whole school knows that your mom turned you out now. We can spin it as something different, but if you wanted to come out, now would probably be the best time."

She said it as though it were nothing, just another rung on the ladder they needed to climb to reach their destination, but that didn't stop Dave's heart from stuttering, pulse building speed at the idea of something Kurt had done a long time ago. That Sebastian lived without fear of disapproval – so firm and brave and happy as himself. They were both stronger than Dave by a longshot, but Quinn was right, it- it needed to be done. Dave was halfway there anyway and he hadn't even said anything himself.

"We can handle their responses, Dave." Quinn eyed him above the edge of her phone, gaze bright and blue and sharp like a killer. "Spin this the way we want to, but I'm not gonna force the issue. We're close enough to the end of the year that it doesn't matter. We could just as easily stall for time until this becomes another legend of McKinley."

"No." Dave shook his head. He had already been given too many free chances, he didn't deserve this one. He didn't need the pass. "I'll do it. I can…I can do it."

"Think on it," Quinn determined. "We've got at least half of Sunday before we need to start responding. You have time."

"But-"

"Dave." Kurt rested a hand against his knee, that one light touch speaking volumes of comfort Dave greedily soaked up. "It's not a decision to be made lightly. You have to do what's best for you."

"Don't compare yourself to us," Blaine added, leaning around his boyfriend so that Dave could have a clear view of him, eyes stupidly earnest and doe-like in a way that only Blaine could ever manage. "It's not a contest. Keeping your privacy doesn't mean less of you."

"It feels like a lie." Dave hung his head, hands fisting against his knees. It had always felt like a lie – just, a manageable one, once he had accepted it. A load he could bear if needed, when the anger and helplessness of the situation had faded.

"Hey," Kurt's tone urged Dave to look at him, so he did, was met with that same fierce Kurt Hummel who had stolen his heart away years ago. "You know who you are. That's what matters. Everything else is inconsequential."

"Exactly," Rachel echoed. Dave was surprised she had held her silence for this long, but her gaze was determined, and it was likely only Finn's arm around her shoulders that kept her from crowding Dave's side of the limo so she could pull him into a hug. "Think about it. Do what's best for you."

"And before you object, you do deserve what's best for you." Quinn didn't even look up from her phone when she said it, it was an argument they had far too many times for Dave's comfort, and the way the rest of them seemed to hum in agreement made the back of Dave's neck flush. They knew him well. Too well. It was frightening.

Swallowing, Dave changed the subject, in desperate need of a reprieve from the heavy emotions that had overtaken the evening.

"I think what will be best for me right now, is pizza," he offered, and that had Finn whooping, grin bright as they brought up a subject he could really get behind.

"We'll get vegan, of course," Finn rambled, consoling Rachel's objection before she even had a chance to voice it. "But I could really do with some meat lovers right now."

"A-freakin-men," Quinn drawled. "That is the best plan I've heard all night."

"I brought supplies to make cookies." Kurt's smile was fond and aimed entirely at Finn, who seemed to be practically vibrating in his seat. "And no, before you ask, they are not vegan. They are delicious and you will appreciate them."

"There's two kinds of chocolate chips," Blaine added, his intense enthusiasm implying that he may have been looking forward to this slightly more than anything else this evening. It earned a suspicious look from Kurt, but Dave couldn't stop laughing, couldn't feel the tension slowly ease from his chest once he realized they had really gotten through the night unscathed. They were alright.

Finn blinked in awareness, gaze sharpening outside the window. "Looks like we're here," he declared, already scrambling to open the door despite Quinn, Kurt, and Rachel's objections that the driver would get it. "No offense to you guys, but I want to get out of this suit as soon as possible."

"Speak for yourself," Rachel grinned, fingers tracing along the curves of her tiara. "I think I'm going to wear my dress all night."

"Or at the very least, your crown," Dave added and he- he didn't know how it had happened, if Quinn had rigged it or if McKinley really had voted Rachel as prom queen, but he didn't care. She was happy and thriving and would get to keep this victory for the rest of her life, and that was what truly mattered.

They exited the limo with quiet banter, bidding farewell to their driver as they made it down the sidewalk to Rachel's house.

The others were still laughing and cheering when Dave caught sight of a familiar silhouette and stopped, heart tight in his throat.

Sitting on the doorstep of the Berry abode was his mother, face cradled in her hands and waiting- for him, clearly, and distraught.

He felt his words leave him as the others came to a halt behind him, heard Rachel's quiet gasp and Quinn's muffled curse and tried not to find fondness in either of them. Not now. Not like this.

The chatter seemed to draw her attention, and he lost his breath at the look of resignation on his mother's features, coupled with disappointment and sorrow, tear tracks visible on her cheeks even from this distance.

Though he had longed for this day with a desperation he couldn't quite describe – the day his mother acknowledged him again – he knew with that while these conditions were most likely unavoidable, he had hoped, however futilely, that their reunion would be under more favorable circumstances. Even after all this time, he had still hoped.

There was very little in him that could ever stop wanting to be the son of Susan Karofsky, no matter how poorly she regarded him.

"David," she said quietly. Her voice was thick but achingly familiar, something he had clung to for such a long time he couldn't fight the urge to close the distance between them, shaking off Kurt's arm as he made his was to her. She rose to meet him, but didn't say anything when he stopped a few feet short, the lump in his throat too great for him to speak around. "They said you're a delinquent. Is that true?"

"Mom-" Dave's voice cracked, heat welling behind his eyes in imminent tears. "I'm sorry, I-"

"So it is true." She sounded so resigned, so hurt and wounded he had to swallow down a sob. "First, your perversion and now this-"

"He isn't like that anymore, Mrs. Karofsky." Rachel was by his side in an instant, her voice a determined fury that Dave was too detached to appreciate. "He took responsibility for his actions-"

"That doesn't stop them from occurring in the first place." His mother didn't look at Rachel when she responded, eyes fixed solely on Dave as though he were the only person in the universe. "You were raised better, David. Now I see that you respected none of our teachings-"

Dave's heart beat a furious tempo in his chest. "That's not true-"

"Is it?" His mom countered, sorrow giving way to anger, to fire. "You would rather be here then try to better yourself; you would rather attack innocent children-"

"Mom."

How could he describe how angry he was? How could he put into words how much he hated himself? How much he had wanted it to go away? What he had done – even before he had singled out Kurt – it wasn't forgivable, but he had been terrified. Knew, deep down, that that he was different from his friends, broken somehow, and he couldn't- he couldn't fight them, couldn't steer them in another direction, because it could just as easily be him getting thrown into dumpsters.

They lived in a world where the prey with obvious flaws were attacked without mercy for the mere crime of being unique. Dave hadn't wanted that to happen to him. Thought that if he fought back enough, if he was strong enough, maybe he could stifle his own flaws.

He had spent so much time refusing to address even the possibility of his attraction that the only thing he had left in him was rage, at himself, at the world – that he could be like this and, in a smaller, less-addressed way, that being like this was somehow wrong.

It didn't seem fair.

"His sexuality is not a crime." Kurt sidestepped in front of Dave so quickly he almost missed it, the shorter teen barely covering Dave from his mother's fury but not for lack of trying, Kurt seemed to will himself into a more impressive presence through his own determination. "It's simple biology. God made him that way."

"God," his mother hissed. "Gave him a trial. One he has chosen to fail."

He could feel the heat building viciously behind his eyes and knew just as well that he was powerless to stop it – knew the tears were inevitable just as much as he recognized the tightness in his throat, that unyielding lump, was too great for him to speak around. Were it not for the others, this would be a very one-sided conversation.

Lucky for him, his current company had more than enough individuals to step up to the figurative plate.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Quinn's tone was cold and threatening, and she didn't seem the least bit apologetic for aiming it at Dave's mother. "The only reason homosexuality is stigmatized is because it is the most effective form of contraception. Lord knew if we protested everything that stood in the copulation, there would be a lot of men and women out there who are unable to conceive being harassed because of biological predisposition. But they aren't because objection to homosexuality has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with conforming to patriarchy. So unless you've thrown your son out for some other reason, why don't you own up to the fact that maybe you've been conditioned to support complete malarkey."

"I didn't come here to listen to this," his mother snapped, fingers quivering with anger that caused her whole frame to shake, looking at the group of them as though they were all lowlifes. Looking at Dave as though-

"Then what did you come for?" Kurt leaned into her personal bubble, most likely trying to pull her attention to him and him alone, but his mother was unimpressed, gaze boring into Dave as though peering into the depths of his soul.

"To say this." Her chest rose in a steady breath, new tears leaking down her cheeks, but not wavering, never backing away, never doubting. "You're not my son, David. I had thought maybe you could come home but- not now. Not after this. I hope you do well. I'll always love you but-" She swallowed raggedly, and Dave felt his heart break, shatter into a million irreparable pieces. "But you've chosen your own path now."

"Mom, please-" He reached out for her, but she turned away, sidestepping their group as she started off towards her car.

"Goodbye, David."

"Mom."

It wasn't- it wasn't fair. It wasn't right and he knew he didn't deserve this – intellectually knew - but a part of him would always think he did. Part of him would always believe this was the axe that had been hovering over his neck, if glee club didn't hate him, if the school didn't condemn them, if he wasn't thrown in juvie, if he still got a happy senior year- then this was the one thing he couldn't have, and damnit if he would gladly trade the others just to have his mother back in his life, just so he could wipe that ashamed expression away for good.

He was crying openly, Rachel tucked against his side, trying to provide comfort that he couldn't register. He couldn't take his eyes off that retreating back, knowing it would be gone for good, that he'd- he'd done this, he'd earned this-

He almost missed the sounds of an approaching vehicle until the passengers were spilling out of it, until his mother's head whipped to the side in time to catch Sam's prom party approach the house, the blond's face a mess of concern and need, twisting into shock when he recognized Dave's mother.

For one terrifying second, Dave's heart seemed to stop, held completely still as he envisioned the oncoming calamity and felt dread twist with desperation, with sorrow and resignation. As bad as things had come, at this point, they would only get worse.

"You." His mom redirected her course immediately, crossing the lawn with a few angry steps to point an accusing finger at Sam. "This is your fault. You lured my David into your bed of sin-"

"Mrs. Karofsky-" Sam was reeling, still trying to catch up with what was happening, gaze turning between her hatred and Dave's grief, overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. "I didn't-"

"It was you," She continued, voice rising. "I never should have let you into our house. Is this how you repay his kindness? Or did you even need his help at all? Did you just want to get close to him-?"

"That's enough, Mrs. Karofsky." Sebastian slid in front of Sam like a quiet barrier, not a single damn hair out of place as he faced down Dave's mother. "You're clearly hysterical. You need to go home before things get out of hand."

Dave should be the one stopping this. It was Dave's mother on a rampage, it was Dave who had damaged Sam at every turn, it was Dave who had all but shoved the blond into a corner when the only crime Sam had committed was being attracted to Dave – who had been completely incapable of handling it. That, if anything, drove the point home that above all else, Dave was his own biggest enemy. If he had just stayed silent, none of this would have happened. He could've have faked heterosexuality until he moved out. He could have left Kurt alone. He could have saved Sam from wounds he truly didn't deserve.

He should stop this.

But damnit, he couldn't. Couldn't get his feet to move from where they seemed rooted to the ground, tears streaming down his face in ugly rivulets.

Sebastian could probably weep and still look like a model, like art in motion.

"And this," his mother snapped, heedless of Sebastian's warning. "How long did it take to replace Dave? How long before you showed how much you cared-?"

"Susan." Dave almost jumped at the stern voice of Rachel's father behind them, Hiram stepping into the night with LeRoy just a step behind him, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the picture with obvious concern. "You need to go home."

It was wrong. It was all wrong and there wasn't anything he could do to fix it.

"I need justice," his mom snapped, head twisting so quickly Dave was afraid she'd get whiplash.

"Not quite." Hiram walked past the group and LeRoy started beckoning them inside, motioning for Sebastian and the others to follow in suit while his mother's attention was shifted. Finn had to pull Dave into a stumble to follow them, but he didn't turn away, kept his head turned over his shoulder so he didn't miss one thing. "If you think you can come here and denounce any of our children, as though you've got the right, you are sadly mistaken. This is private property and you're trespassing. Leave before we call the cops."

"Call them!" Windows of neighboring houses were beginning to light up in interest, a few even spilling out the front door to see what the shouting was about, adding to Dave's shame. "What does it matter? What does any of it-?" She cut off with a sob that stabbed the intact pieces of Dave's heart, freezing him in place.

This would be the last time he saw his mother. He had brought her to this, and he wouldn't hide away from the consequences of his actions. It seemed like the least amount of penance he deserved.

It wasn't until LeRoy was pulling him inside that he managed to move, when Sam and the others had made their way past his raving mother and Hiram's calm back.

"Inside, kids," LeRoy urged, motioning them into the relative protection of warm hallways. "Now."

It was an order he could easily follow, but not one that helped his heart. That soothed any of the pain that would last beyond this lifetime.

The axe fell in one neat blow. There was nothing left but to repair the damage as best he could.

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Endnotes:

We interrupt your plot movement for some more ANGST. Because there had not been enough of that. I'm sure we're all agreed on that point ;D

Had this planned for a while, and though I feel like it's still missing something, maybe, I think it is more than serviceable to deliver the necessary drama to the few of you that are still waiting on updates for this thing.

Until next time :)