Hello, people! Another chapter a bit late, I know, but I couldn't help it, I'm not home, I'm travelling and so I'm kind of messy with hours and such.

Now... It's Christmas' Eve so I really don't expect anyone to read right away, but if anyone does, I hope this chapter doesn't ruin your Christmas, because, here a warning, this chapter is sad, oh so very sad. Seriously! Be warned!

Chapter 36

For the countless time that day, Mike sighed. Okay, so yesterday wasn't the worst day of his life. Today is.

After talking about three hours with Matt, his mood lightened considerably that was very noticeable. But the next morning, he didn't wake up after another memory dream, no, he just woke up half an hour before sun rise and feeling like shit. He had a very bad feeling for today. It was strange. He knew that kind of feeling, it was the kind he had with Matt, by bonding. But that didn't come from his soul mate.

And so through the whole day he couldn't concentrate. Unfortunately, he had two testes that day, which means he failed both. But that passed unimportantly for Mike. He had other things in his mind. Though that didn't mean his friends didn't noticed.

The first was Puck, who asked exactly what was wrong with him, and made him fail the test too.

"What? Nothing's up" he said innocently. Under his friend's frown, he added "I'm just distracted today, that's all."

Then, later in the math class he shared with Artie, Artie frowned at him, when they were doing the exercises, or were supposed to do.

"Mike? Is something wrong?" the wheelchair boy asked softly.

"No, why do you ask?" Mike replied in the same tone.

Artie shrugged. "You seem off today. Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Nothing to worry about. Thanks, though."

And at last, at lunch, Santana and Brittany delicately as ever pulled him in the janitor's closet suddenly oblivious to some stares they received from random students around.

"Mike, you are bad. Even Puck noticed it. What's up?" Santana demanded.

For a fact, he knew it was impossible to fully lie to these two. Santana was too piercing for her own good and Brittany could clearly sense when he was emotionally unbalanced. So the boy sighed. "I don't know. It's just a bad feeling. I woke up with it."

"Can't you just clean it, then?" the naïve question from the blonde would earn stares from anyone, but those two plus Matt. They understood her logic. Or so they thought.

"I tried, Britt. But, no. I guess I'll just wait it to pass."

Slightly confused, she nodded and Santana frowned, but let the topic go. And like nothing at all had happened, the three of them got out of the closet and went their way, naturally, ignoring every stares they received along the way.

In time for Glee Mike was feeling a little… Okay, very down, he was almost depressed, feeling like that he was about to leave something very important behind. But he had absolutely no idea why.

He walked to the choir room pulling his phone out of his bag out of habit to check it only on classes' intervals. As his attention was focused on another thing, he let the others get in first and then proceed to enter. And while he slowly made his way to the chairs, something got him stuck midway. There was a new message there. Until that it was OK. But what would be your reaction when you receive a message from your father? As in the father that kicked you out of house?

Intrigued, very intrigued and even more apprehensive he opened it. And truth to be told, he didn't know if that was a very good thing to do. At least not standing in the middle of a classroom.

Mike read the message, a very simple and short message. One message that was strong enough to make his heart stop beating, literally, he felt it. If he was anything, sure of his own body metabolism was it, and he felt his heart stop beating and sink like it weighted a ton.

'We are going back to China.'

That. Six words, one phrase. And the world blacked out.

Mr. Schuester was already waiting for the kids when the bell ringed signaling the beginning of classes. The room was filled in just as usual. Some girls walked in together chatting just as some guys did the same. Couples walked in hand in hand and others simply walked in lost with their own thoughts.

He looked up and saw almost everyone was already seated, missing only Mike. He turned around and found said boy standing some steps ahead from the door and frowned. The boy's expression was one he knew he should be worried about. That frown and very unfocused stare were two things anyone who cared for him would be able to notice and be careful with.

But he didn't need to voice his worries for Brittany did it first. "Mike? Are you ok? You've been standing there for some minutes."

Unmoving and breathless he answered through a very slight nod Santana could bet Brittany he was unconscious. Then everyone's attention was on him, just in time to see Mike fall heavily on the floor.

Startled, they all rushed to his side wanting to know if he was ok. Will was the one turning him around while Brittany went to get his things and Santana very delicately –sarcasm insert- backed the rest of them.

Mike was apparently ok, except for the fact he just fainted. Though looking closely Will gasped in realization that the boy wasn't breathing.

"Someone call an ambulance! Now! Mike's not breathing!" he shouted and Quinn got into motion. She stepped away a little so she could say what she needed and then joined the rest of them to take their friend to the infirmary while the ambulance didn't arrive.

Just as they reached the infirmary, the nurse went for the first aid procedures and tried to calm the kids and the teacher. Nothing she did, though, worked and when she turned back to them, the woman had an even more worried expression than before. "His heart stopped" she muttered and looked away, thinking of what to do.

Few minutes later, Will, Brittany and Santana were on the ambulance heading the hospital with, certainly against orders, the rest of New Directions following them on their own cars. The paramedics repeated the first aid procedures and then tried to reanimate him, but with no positive effect. At the hospital, things didn't change much.

In five minutes, they were all very stressed and worried in the hallway waiting as quietly as they could manage for any news, and preferably good news. All the while, most of them were very restless and didn't stop marching or shifting, except for Brittany, who still had Mike's backpack on her back and his phone in her hands.

After ten minutes waiting, Finn blurted stopping his marching "What happened back there? I mean, why did he just faint?"

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't anything like my father. For one, it's common sense Mike is probably the healthiest guy among us" Kurt commented from his seat beside Mercedes and Tina.

"Stress, maybe?" Lauren suggested leaning on the wall.

"Are you stupid?" Santana inquired turning around to glare at the fighter. "His heart fucking stopped! Besides, what I don't have in tact, he has in calm!"

"No need to swear either, Santana!" Rachel argued.

Suddenly, Artie asked from his thoughtful state "Wasn't Mike looking at his phone before he blacked out?"

The others stopped and turned to him.

"You're right. But could it have anything to do with it?" Tina asked him lightly at the verge of tears.

"Who knows… Maybe-" Artie stopped as Brittany suddenly stood up with her hands on her ears.

"Britt?" Santana called worried as the others just stared at her waiting for some kind of break down or anything, but she did nothing. "Britt?" her girlfriend repeated and then the blonde turned back making a shush move with her hand and putting it back on her ear.

They frowned. What was she doing? And as on cue, the girl's face lightened. "Matt?" she asked and turned her back to them again.

As Brittany moved her right hand slightly, they could see she was on the phone. Okay, now that explained her quietness. Santana stood up and went to her; she wanted to know this conversation first-handy.

'Britt? Why are you using Mike's phone? Ah. Never mind! Did anything happen to him?' the girl heard her friend ask and felt his worry and despair.

"Yeah…" she said after a moment still stepping away from the group. "He blacked out a while ago."

'WHAT?' Matt then almost deafened her. 'What happened? How is Mike?'

"I don't know. They said his heart stopped beating."

'His... How? What happened, Britt? Please, tell me!'

"Um… He got a text and… blacked out…" she said uncertain and leaned in on Santana, who hugged her.

'A text? From who?' Matt asked hesitantly.

"His father" Brittany said quickly and lightly, so lightly Santana almost didn't make the words out.

There was a pause from the other side and then Matt asked blankly 'Where are you?'

Biting her lip, she said "The hospital. Second floor, third corridor."

And then, he just hung up. Brittany didn't mind it, though, she knew that would be his reaction. Something people didn't know is that even if she wasn't the most intelligent of people, she said it herself from time to time, that didn't mean she didn't know how her friends worked. Brittany knew when Santana needed a hug or when Mike needed to be cheered or when Matt would be completely serious and cold. She knew a lot of things, just nothing people could see.

Turning to Santana, she nodded and they went back to the others without a word.

It was evening and the glee club was still at the hospital.

Mike had been released from the doctors one hour after they walked in. They managed to restart his heart though he had to be connected to a machine, yet no response. The doctor asked all of them for more information, but the only one who had it was Brittany, and she didn't say anything. Sure they all weren't as close to the dancer as Santana and Brittany, but they still worried about him, he was an important member of their family too. And so they waited. Waited for anything that showed them Mike was alive.

Quick steps echoing on the hallway and approaching startled them, making all fourteen of them look up. The door opened hastily and a dark woman stood on the doorway to the room. She was wearing simple clothes, jeans and a blouse useable to work. Her expression was of pure horror and concern, she was almost freaking out.

"Layla!" Santana called getting up and meeting the woman halfway as she walked to the bed Mike was lying on.

"Santana, Brittany! What happened? Some hours ago Matt simply blacked out and when he woke up he called me totally freaking out saying something bad happened to Mike. What happened?" Layla asked while she got beside the boy ignoring everyone else and checked him looking for anything abnormal, besides the wires connecting him to the machines.

Brittany just tapped her shoulder and showed her a phone, Mike's phone. Layla turned and grabbed it. On the screen was the same message he got when everything happened. She read it and her expression went from freaked out mother to the saddest godmother. She turned back to her second son and sighed. Caressing his face, cold face, she noticed, Layla sat on the edge of the bed.

"We knew it would be drastic" she muttered. "Mike, come back to us. Please" and then she was silent.

Santana and Brittany sat themselves on their previous place on the other side of the bed and stared at their friend feeling a very hard ache at their chests.

The rest of New Directions and Mr. Schuester, though, didn't understand what was happening at all. Being reasonable, Will made the kids be quiet and he spoke. "I don't want to be rude, but who are you?" he asked Layla.

The woman didn't turn to look at him to answer. "I am his second mother. Also known as Layla Rutherford, Matt's mother."

Will raised his eyebrows. "But what are you doing here?"

"Are you deaf?" Layla shot back sounding as calm as before. "I said I'm his second mother. Tell me, Mr. Schuester, if you had a son and someone called you saying he went to the hospital wouldn't you leave everything to be beside him?" the man bit his tongue and swallowed. She was right, he didn't think about that, and considering everything that happened to this boy he should have. "And besides I made a vow to protect him as much as I could" she said tenderly and bent down to kiss his forehead. "Come back, there are a lot of people that love you, Mike. You're not alone. You'll never be alone."

Surprisingly, Mike stirred and opened his eyes just to stare into Layla's. "You know why they moved, don't you?" he asked softly.

She just nodded and put a hand over his eyes. "Later we'll talk. Now you rest and save me from Matt's anger" she didn't try to put any humor, but the message reached its purpose and she felt Mike relax under her touch. Turning to the others, she said calmly "You can leave. I'll take care of him."

Hesitantly, they nodded and went to their houses preparing to hear their parents. Santana and Brittany stayed a little longer and Layla made sure they would be ok with their parents.

Later that night, Layla was humming a melody that always helped her children to sleep and she was happy to notice Mike realized what that meant.

Chapter 36, right? Hey everyone, enjoy as much as you can, we are four chapters from the end of this story! That's right, we are finishing soon. By the way,. I really hope I didn't ruin anyone's Christmas with this very sad, angust chapter. It had to be made and I didn't intend to put this chapter on Christmas time, but it happened and it's not like I am going to do anything to change it. Live with that! xD

And just to finish for today, I wish a Merry Christmas for everyone who's been reading and specially to all those people that have reviewed almost every chapter and also those who put my story in their alert/fav list! Thank you, everyone!

.Atsuko Uehara, December's 24th, 2011.