Tears from a Robin

Kurt had not stayed in New York as he had another errand to run. He was on his way to his father's office in Washington DC, hoping that he would not be busy with a visitor when he got there. He did not want to have to wait too long - as much as he loved Finn, he didn't want to leave Wes alone with him for too long. He was in luck, finding his dad sitting at his desk reviewing a stack of government papers. He was reading them in the priority order that Rory had already sorted them into - some he had merely summarised the main points off and had already filed the document away. It was a system that worked well for them - Burt had often said that Rory could just take over entirely and nobody would notice the difference. The young man in question was sat in the outer office, his hands flying over the keyboard as he typed up a speech he had prepared for Burt to give at a dinner that evening. Carole had been there with him, but she had just left, to head back to the small apartment that served as Burt's Washington home. Into all of this harmony Kurt arrived. His dad felt the telltale draught from his wings, and looked up, a smile on his face. "Hey buddy," said Burt, "what brings you here?"

"Bad news dad, of the worst kind. There has been a death. I'm afraid that there was an accident yesterday morning, and it claimed the life of Wes…"

Burt closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew the impact this was going to have. He opened his eyes again, and said "Someone has to tell Trent, don't they? And it would be better to hear it face to face from me and his fiancé rather than down a phone line."

"Exactly dad. I've just been to New York to see that the news is broken properly there. Santana was actually called by Mrs Montgomery and told to let people know, as she did not have time to waste on his friends - and also to let everybody know that they have had the funeral…"

"Already! That's not right. He meant so much to so many…"

"The Montgomery family tradition is close family only. They would all have been banned anyway"

"Ok, so I take it he is with you? Silly question, I know, but if he died yesterday, he'd have been in Massachusetts…"

"Yeah, he's with Finn just now. I'm running about from place to place and Blaine is sitting with David and Thad - from what I can gather, David is completely devastated and Thad is far too calm. After I am done here, I am going to go and tell Mercedes, so that she can go and take care of them."

Burt nodded. "I guess that we'd better let Rory know then." He got up and called his assistant in, just at the moment that he had finished typing the speech.

Five minutes later, Rory was crying in Burt's arms, both for the loss of Wes and for the pain that this was going to cause Trent. He knew that if he felt so lost and sad about Wes, then he was going to literally fall apart. He had known Wes far longer after all - had seen him as a big brother, somebody to try and emulate. Trent had struggled through life until he had come to Dalton, and even though he had not officially been a Warbler in his freshman year, Wes had allowed him to sit in on rehearsals, even though Louis, the then Head Warbler, hadn't really approved. It had allowed Wes to keep an eye on the young Trent; they had talked, and Wes had shown him that it was ok to be open about his sexuality at Dalton in a way that it hadn't been at his previous school. He had given the same talk to Jeff earlier that year, and would go on to give it to Blaine the next. He in return had shown Wes that he had strong morals and principals that he would not deviate from; he had done that by refusing the steroids. He also had proved he had the ability to lead, taking over the running of the Warblers in the aftermath of Hunter. When months later, at their graduation day, Wes had returned and told him how proud he was of him, Trent had glowed with pride, so Nick had told Rory. The thought of Niff made him cry all the more; at least Wes had died in the knowledge that they were married; that he and Trent were engaged.

He knew that he had to be the one to tell Trent. He could not abdicate the responsibility to either Burt or Kurt. He knew that it was going to break him, and that time was of the essence. It could only be a matter of hours before the details came out on the internet. If Trent found out after that had happened he would feel let down and betrayed, and that would not be a good start for any engaged couple. He knew that he only had classes that day until 11am. He could be back home by then, waiting for him. The bearer of news that neither of them had expected to hear for decades yet.

Rory sent a text to Trent, asking him to head home straight after class as Burt needed to see him. He had used the easiest piece of subterfuge available to him. Burt had been trying to secure Trent the chance to shadow some congressional officials on a work experience basis, to tie in with his college course. He would return home thinking that was what Burt wanted to talk to him about. Meanwhile, Burt had made a couple of quick phone calls, explaining that he had urgent personal business, a bereavement, to deal with, and that he would be absent in all likelihood for the remainder of the day. Then he and Rory left, the latter still making sure that they had all the documents that Burt might need, and more importantly, a copy of the speech printed off. He was determined that Burt would be there, even if he had to strong arm him into a cab. His instincts would be to support him and Trent, but this meeting was vitally important and on a subject that was dear to Wes' heart - the legal system and the elimination of the inherent injustices within it. He would use that as a blackmail tool if he had to. That, and the fact that the guest speaker was one of Carole's favourite film stars - she might never get the opportunity to meet him again if Burt decided not to go.

Trent hurried home from his class that day. He was glad to be back in the swing of things, not that he had been out of the loop for as long as his friends, having spent six weeks of his summer vacation making up on work he had missed due to Hunter's trial, and having to attend two funerals the year before. It still seemed strange to him that he was now a year ahead of his contemporaries at Dalton in college, but he had never been sold on the concept of a gap year. Nick and Jeff had needed it, it had been right for them and Sebastian, but not for him. This year was going to be good, he could feel it already - Rory, his beautiful fiancé would be with him at school on certain days of the week, as Burt had promised. The fact that his engagement ring had been noticed at once by two of the girls in his class had been a cause for gossip. He had been going to have lunch with them until he had received the text from Rory. He promised the two girls a rain check, tentatively suggesting that they meet up on Wednesday. He didn't tell them, but Rory would be in class that day, and he could join them. Then he was on his way, passing by a guy that was talking loudly about the need for better safety for cyclists after that bad accident yesterday. Trent was in a hurry, so he didn't stop to hear where the accident had been, even though his interest was piqued - these things had a habit of going on for several days, so no doubt he would hear all about it tomorrow.

As Trent was walking up the stairs to the apartment that he shared with Rory, it suddenly struck him that something was off. He was heading home as Burt needed to see him. On a Monday, even with the holidays, Rory had always said that Burt was stuck in the office all day, as they caught up on the events that had taken place over the weekend. That begged the question - why was Burt coming here to see him? Why was he not heading to his office instead? It was odd, to say the least… Maybe he had things to say to him that he did not want Rory to hear, as there was no way on a Monday that the two of them could be out of office at the same time. It suddenly occurred to him that both Burt and Carole saw Rory as a 'son'. They had very much taken over in that respect from Rory's own. Was he about to be subjected to 'the talk'? He knew that Blaine had been given it when he and Kurt had first started dating. It would not shock him in the least if that was indeed the case. He would take it seriously, as Burt no doubt would. He knew that his own parents had asked to see Rory on his own when they had first met, and when he had called them late on Saturday night to break the news of his engagement to them, they had been more than happy, and desperate for the two of them to come and visit as soon as they could. That would be so that they could grill Rory on his intentions again. It would be as light hearted as his chat with Burt was going to be. He put his key in the door with a light heart, and walked in. He hung up his coat, placed his book bag on the hall table and headed into the living room. The moment he did, he knew that all of his assumptions had been wrong.

Burt was sat there in the armchair, just as he would have expected, but Rory was there too, sat on the sofa - and as he grew closer, he could see that he had been crying. He took a seat next to him, and placing an arm around him, asked, "Rory, what's happened? You've been crying…. Has something happened to Séamus or your Nana? Or are your parents causing trouble?"

"No, nothing has happened to any of them, and Burt and Carole are ok…"

Trent smiled as he realised that Rory's parents to him these days were the Hummels, not the couple in Ireland. "Then why have you been crying, sweetheart? Have I done something to hurt you, or is it someone at work?"

"No, no, you would never hurt me Trent, never! Look, I need to tell you something, and it will explain to you why I am so upset." Trent nodded, and pulled Rory even closer to him. Rory took a breath, and sighed. "Honey, there isn't an easy way to tell you this. I can't sugar coat it, and I can't not tell you and shield you from it, much as I would love to. I've been given a piece of very sad news, and it affects you too. In fact, if anything, it is going to hurt you far more than me…"

"Rory, please, just tell me. It can't be that bad, can it?" He looked across to Burt and suddenly notice that the older man also looked upset, and was struggling to meet his eye.

"Honey," said Rory, "do you remember what happened on Sunday? How you screamed for the longest time just before 9am, then passed out?"

"Yes… Oh, God, Rory, you're not ill? Please don't tell me you are sick…"

"I'm not sick. I'm not going anywhere, not now, not ever. At the time you screamed, there was an accident, in Harvard…"

"Harv.. Wes! Oh my God. What kind of accident? Is he ok? Is he in hospital? I need to go and see him…"

"Trent, honey, you can't," said Rory, taking Trent's hands, and holding them in his own. "It was a very bad accident… Wes is gone, my love. He died instantly; he didn't suffer. Kurt told me - Wes is with them now. He's going to be an angel, like them…"

Trent just sat in silence, and stared blankly ahead, not able to speak, to move, to even think. His brain had shut down at the word instantly. He could see Rory at his side, Burt in the chair, but he was elsewhere. He was back in the Senior Commons, on his first official day as an actual Warbler. He had sat next to Jeff, his friend from the year before; on Jeff's other side was his new friend Nick, who had been coerced by Jeff into auditioning at the same time. On Trent's other side was someone else who had just joined - Blaine. He had sat there, and along with Nick and Blaine, had been so in awe of the other boys in the room. He knew them all - after all, he had been coming to sit in on their rehearsals for the last three months of the previous year, at Jeff's behest. The only exception were the two freshmen that had just joined, Jasper and Brad, who sat quietly in a corner.

Then the room fell silent as the door opened and the Council entered - Wes first, followed by the newly elected David and Thad. The meeting was opened with a bang from the gavel. Trent had been so nervous, so unsure of himself that day - it was a big difference from just sitting there unofficially to being a full member, but whenever he had felt scared, he just had to look at Wes. He always seemed to smile at him; helped him with what he needed to do. Wes was always there to help, not just in rehearsal but in general. He had always been so kind, patient and understanding with him; he got him in a way that few other people, until Rory came along, did. He respected Wes, and he had respected him in return.

And now, the physical presence of that most wonderful of friends was gone. He knew that he would still see him, in his new winged form, but it would never be quite the same again. He had planned to ask Wes to be his best man - he had cleared it with Jeff and he had no problem with it. He had pictured Wes there for all of the important moments of his life; his wedding; the birth of his children; standing there in turn when his children married. Their Uncle Wes. Those dreams were just that now - unachievable pipe dreams. He was gone, and Trent's soul had known it. He had screamed in pain and disbelief as the best of them had been snatched away by death and taken to heaven. It was so unfair…

He looked now at Rory, his face reflecting the pain that he himself felt. His heart ached. He just wanted to wake up and find himself back in bed with Rory, the day not even started. But it had happened; it was real; and there was nothing that he or anyone else could do to alter the facts. He suddenly felt Rory wrap his arms around him, and the dam that had been holding everything back broke. His tears began to fall, coursing down his face in an unrelenting stream, dripping onto the face of the man he loved. The person that like Wes, got him, and knew that this was exactly what he needed right now. No words of comfort or sympathy - no words at all. Just to be held close; to feel the heat of his body through his skin. No judgement. He began to sob as his heart fell to bits, as the world around him began to crumble as his vision blurred. He could feel Rory's own tears on his cheek, tears shed both in sympathy for his loss and the pain that he felt himself. Wes had after all made Rory the first ever honorary Warbler. He could see that the young Irishman was going to become a integral part of the dynamic of the group of friends. Rory was never going to leave him, and he would mourn the passing of Wes as much as any of them. In his arms, at that moment, Trent felt safe, protected and loved. Those were all the things that he had always got from Wes. He could never be replaced, but without Rory, Trent would have felt so much more lost that he did right now.

Burt had merely sat and watched quietly as Trent slowly fell apart and as the man he regarded as a son had shown him the love, care and understanding that he now required. He got up and headed to the kitchen, leaving the two young men to grieve in private. He had already called Carole, to tell her what had happened, on the way to the apartment. She had been as shocked and upset as he was; her shopping trip had been cancelled forthwith. He had asked her to head home, although she had offered to come and sit with him and Rory to await Trent. Now in the relative quiet of the kitchen, he made a call to Ohio, to the office of the chair of the board of governors of Dalton Academy - the former Principal, Aaron Carmichael. He and Wes had been close - the former was like a father to Wes, his own being so distant and far away. He knew, unlike many, that the relationship had worked the other way too - and this was going to devastate the man in question. He had lost his own son to meningitis at the age of 18; this death would no doubt bring back all that sense of horror and loss.

As he answered the phone, Burt was tempted for a moment to hang up; let someone else be the one that told him. In the back of his mind, however, he heard Kurt chiding him for even considering that option. So he made small talk at first, and was almost relieved when he heard that the current Principal, Arlene Lefevre, was in his office with him. He asked to be put on speaker phone, and once he had been, he just came out and said it. He heard a high pitched gasp; a low moan which he was sure came from her predecessor. Their outrage was palpable when they heard that the funeral had already taken place. There would be a memorial at the school, that much they confirmed without any hesitation.

It was then that Burt realised that Rory had another, potentially more devastating blow to deliver to Trent. He became aware of shouting from the next room, and concluded that he had just told him.

"How dare they do this! What gives them the right to deny all of us the chance to say a proper farewell. Wes has been sent away like a dirty secret, in private. I mean, how many people would actually have been there? Wes deserved a church, no, a cathedral full of people, all united by the love and affection that they felt for the most generous, intelligent, selfless man I have ever known - instead he got a rushed service, attended by people who probably never gave a damn for him when he was alive! I hope to God that at least his cousin Michelle was there. She loved him. She cared for him. If she was there, then at least… He's have wanted us to sing, to carry him in - we failed him, Rory. It's not our fault, but we have failed him. It just….and what about Thad? What is he going to feel without his chance to say a proper goodbye?" Once again, Trent broke down in his fiancé's arms.

Burt heard those last words as he entered the room again, his main call made. He felt sure that there were other people that needed to be called to be given the news, but that could wait until later - just now his priority was the two boys; and they were still just boys to him, even though both were now out of their teens; in the case of Trent, by barely a month. So young, and yet they had seen three of their generation die already. Trent had been to each of those funerals; Rory only to Blaine's due to his circumstances. Trent had been forced to stand up and give evidence in a murder trial. He had seen far too much pain for someone that was barely out of his teens. Now they were facing up to yet another death, this time of a young man with honesty, decency and integrity as his watchwords. He knew that if they did not have proper closure - all of them, not just these two, but all of the people whose lives had been touched by Wes Montgomery, then they would never be able to heal. They would still be able to see him; that much was true and a blessing, but for all their sakes, they needed to give him a decent earthly send off. Mark their loss with something special.

He crossed the room towards the two boys and pulled them into a hug. He knew what he had to say to them, "I just spoke to Principal Carmichael at Dalton. He hadn't been told what had happened, and I am afraid that my call left him devastated. Don't worry about him though - I spoke to Principal Lefevre and she is going to take care of him. She also said to me that although they might have had the funeral service, Dalton will give him a fitting memorial service. I know that it isn't quite the same, but I doubt that his family would ever have allowed you all to give him the funeral you would have wanted him to have."

"That's true," said Trent, with a sniff. "He once told me that his parents despised the Warblers, and used to write regularly to Principal Carmichael demanding that he remove Wes from the choir. His father never forgave Wes for refusing to give the Warblers up, and they barely spoke. Wes graduated as the school dux, and it still wasn't good enough. I think that was why Wes started to rebel even more after that. It was why he joined the Harvard Glee Club at the first chance he got; why he was auditioning to join the Hasty Puddings? Not to mention the fact that when he told them he was leaving Harvard and transferring to NYU for a term so he could attend the trial, they kicked him out of the house in Ohio on Christmas Day…"

Burt nodded and could clearly recall that Christmas, when Wes had arrived with Sebastian at the Hummel house in Lima, where Nick and Jeff were already spending the holiday. Sebastian had maintained that they had come as he was fleeing from his father. Burt had seen through that lie the moment he spoke. It all made sense now - the sad expression on Wes' face as he had stood there, hidden behind Sebastian at first. He had been the one that was fleeing an unsympathetic family, and Sebastian had stepped up with a plausible cover story so he did not have to admit it. He was pretty certain that was true, but young Mr Smythe would no doubt take that secret to the grave with him. Burt could not help but wonder how that young man would react to the news…