Happy new year everyone. I hope you had an awesome 2019 and that you'll have an at least as awesome 2020.
Thanks to Alex B. Goode for reviewing.
Sorry for not updating. This crazy writer's block just won't leave me be.
I've done this twice before years ago. After I'd been bad with updating I wrote one new chapter for each and every story. Then left it until I had finished them all and updated all stories at once. I've decided to do that same thing again and hopefully that will make a change as of how much I'll be able to update more afterwards… I guess only time will show. I hope you like this chapter
At the end of every year I gathered the whole glee club and along with their families we gathered at William McKinley High school, put tables and food in the choir room and all got what we wanted- I would never ever be as full as I was after these times because the goal was to have everything eaten by the time we left the school and no matter how many we were meeting someone had always ordered too much.
Someone had came up with the idea a few years ago and it was the highlight for every time the school ended for the summer.
And then, since we were in the auditorium someone would get up on the stage and give a more or less emotional number…
And we would be eating and watching and watching and listening and then eating some more and be talking and lord knows how we could it all at once.
"Mr. Schuester…" It would be all of the family members that could come, Ryan's mum was in a wheelchair and I thanked whatever higher powers that Artie had been here so that she could join us too for whatever she wanted. "Those three… Who are they?" She pointed.
"That is Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson-Hummel, parents of some of the original glee club members. And their fos… their daughter."
"Foster daughter?"
Damn! I had said it too quickly. This should have been private and…
And well, I couldn't take it back now.
"Yes."
"What's her name?"
"Caitlin. Caitlin Romero"
Mrs. Dunbar suddenly turned pale, I saw in front of me how, if she hadn't been sitting like she had she would have collapsed because she certainly looked as if she was about to.
"Mrs. Dunbar?" I tried and laid my hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." At my touch she nodded. "I'm fine… Ryan? Where did you go?"
As quickly as anyone in a wheelchair ever could she turned and wheeled away to her son while I turned to turned to see our newest arrivals.
"There are a bit many here that I need to talk to. Sorry. Hey guys… How are you guys today?"
My stomach clenched- there was that thought about what I'd have to say before we went home today. If I didn't do it today I might never.
"Listen Cai…" I drew a deep breath- here goes nothing. "There's something I have to tell you. And I'm afraid that if I don't tell you now and right away then I might never."
And just like that, when I started telling. The pictures in my head took me back to fourteen years ago…
Flashback
"Maybe like this." I showed Terri some moves while on the street between downtown and our home. "And like this…. Step- slide-step, what's that?"
"That is the noise of the noise of me getting sick and tired of your constant singing and dancing. Don't you ever get tired of it?"
"Sch." I showed her to be quiet, stopped in my tracks and looked over the river. "Hear. It's a baby's crying."
Terri raised an eyebrow- she did hat a lot but I couldn't blame her this time. A baby right here. On a way we had walked a million times before and…
There was a baby's scream. I could barely hear it over the streams but it definitely was. And when I turned and tried to see anything… where did the baby's cry come from?
"What on earth…"
I could hardly believe it. But there was a basket floating on the river…
Something I had read flashed by. Or something I had heard about… something from the bible and his mum and…
But this wasn't the bible, the baby in the basket wasn't Moses…
"Will?"
It was unusually cold to be July but I threw my jacket and my sweater off, then took my shoes off and ignored Terri's shout when I threw myself in the river.
"NO. WILL. What are you doing? You'll drown in the stream. "WILL?"
The basket of where which a baby's crying came from was drifting away and I swam as fast as I possibly could. Why had I been so stubborn not to take those swimming lessons my mum was talking about?
I forced myself to concentrate on everything but what had happened before in my life and was here and now and nowhere else…
"WILL." Terri shouted again. "NO. IT'S SOMEONE TRICKING YOU."
I had heard about these scams. For someone to just put a speaker somewhere with a baby's crying so one would follow it to somewhere they wanted.
But I just couldn't take the chance.
As soon as I was close enough to the basket I reached out my hand as far as I could, managed to grab the banister of the basket and pulled it closer to me while I trod water to check if there really was…
Someone wouldn't just leave a baby like this would they? The baby could have drowned…
My stomach turned when I saw what really was in the baby.
"IT REALLY IS A BABY." I shouted back to my wife. "Call for the police. Someone have left her here."
It was harder swimming back, against the stream and holding the basket in a steady grip not to lose it. If I held it too hard it would tip over and the baby would fall out and drown, if I held it too light then I'd drop it all over again and if I stopped fighting to swim we would both be pulled away by the stream and probably drown before we reached land again.
"Come here." At last I reached the side of the river and could crawl onto the land. "Did you call the police?"
"Why would I?"
"Because someone left a baby on the river. And who knows what happened to her before that… maybe she was kidnapped or maybe it was even her parents leaving her there. It's okay baby." I rocked the baby carefully in my arms. "It's okay. We're safe now."
"She has a note with her."
Terri was right, with the baby laid a plastic envelope with a note in and with shaky hands I unfolded it- was reason could there ever be that was good enough to just leave a baby like that.
My name is Caitlin July Romero. I was born fourth of July. Mummy and daddy can't take care of me.
"Caitlin?" I stroke her little hand. "It's okay. I'll make sure you're safe now."
Safe?
If I had just known how far away from safe Cai had been since then…
End of flashback
When I'd stopped talking no one said anything for a long while. Around us people were chattering and laughing together. Cai just stared at me, then stared down on her hands that she held in her lap.
"I never forgot what I did and what happened that day and I doubt that anyone would. But I barely ever thought about it. Then until Carole and Burt called that you were lost and I recognized your name and there you were again. And that baby I'd seen that day almost fifteen years ago had grown up, I met you a while later… and it seems that you and that baby are two different people…"
That baby was just another normal baby. Now you've spent a whole life with people not wanting you and you've turned into this.
"Why are you feeling so strongly about this Mr. Schuester? And why are you so nervous? It wasn't your fault whatever my mum or dad did to me. The only thing you did was to save me and did all you could… Thank you."
The way Cai looked so grateful… her eyes really looked like you could see all the way into her broken, hurting soul…
"I've always wondered who it was that saved me in the river that day. So… thank you. Thank you for telling me."
Maybe one after the other her soul could be just a little bit healed…
I tried to figure something to say next. And for one moment I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and hug her. But it was what Carole had said some time that she couldn't stand being touched that was the only thing to keep me from it.
"Mr. Schue…" Before I had done that I heard a voice from the stage and looked down and found all the seniors standing there. "We just have one final song to do for all of you so… if you could listen up for a few minutes… and then if no one else has got anything it's only your song left afterwards…"
"If it's so little left then I won't ever let you do your song. "
Even from where I sat I knew Unique had tears in her eyes, I could hear the slight shiver in her voice and I knew Jake was feeling more than he would let anyone else show and I knew Marley was one of the glee club most sunshine- stories from where she had changed from her shyness and not daring to show what she'd written to anyone and how she didn't talk to people and here she were and Unique who had been broken apart from boys constantly bullying her for reasons- including which bathroom she used…
I couldn't help it- both for the beauty of the song and knowing what all of these students had been through for the last four years and until this last song…
"Mr. Schue." They all, and some more were laughing shortly as I stood up when they had reached the song. "You're crying."
"Don't even try it." I tried smirking and wiped the tears with the back of my hand. "I'm not… Wow you guys." We all clapped our hands for the group of graduates as they came from the stage. "Wow." I had to wipe a tear from my eye. "I'm just going to miss you guys so much…" I stood up, then went down and hugged each of them. "I'm crying more than you guys are… here we go…"
I stayed where I was for a moment and watched the group go in one line and towards the chairs.
"Go on Mr. Schue." I heard Trisha from the other side of the room. "The rest of us are done and we want to have our summer holidays yesterday."
"No please don't." Unique interrupted and begged. "I don't care about the rest but as for the glee club I just don't want this to end…" I saw a tear roll down her cheek- then another one, and another one. "I just wish I could turn the clock back so I could do it again and again and again and again…."
I had to say I agreed with Unique on this.
But then that was how I felt every year, knowing that this was the best glee club I could ever have and didn't know how I was going to make it for the next year without them. This year it was- except for Unique, Marley, Ryder and Jake. And they had all just come so far since they joined the glee club. As far as I'd never expected them to while I saw them doing their audition, when Ryder danced at the football field and Jake hit the microphone stand in anger…
And then, while I gazed over the group I looked at Cai and remembered the day by the river and how much I had wished ever since then the baby I had found would be kept safe.
"As usual I guess I'm supposed to give you all a speech for the end of the year and for some of you forever… and I just couldn't figure anything to plan it… I just want to say you guys… I just want to say how incredibly much I love all of you. And how incredibly much this year's glee club have been the perfect for all of us."
They were perfect every year…
"Yes. We did lose at regionals this year. But for every year I'm reminded time again that I already won. Because I won so much better and so much more important than any paper article or trophy… Because I won all of you. And as we all know- I'd like to keep all of the glee club for the rest of their lives only getting more and more… but when you graduate after your senior year you'll all go in different directions."
The day I'd found baby Cai floatinng in the river was still playing in my mind with the way Cai was today and how different things could have turned out if she had ended up with someone like Burt and Carole instead of being thrown into one home after the other like she had…
After all I just wanted to go back and make sure I took care of her…
Just like I wished to take care of all of my kids. Even though I only had them in New Directions and McKinley for a few, short years I just wished I could show that I'd never forget a single one of them…
"No matter what you do in life. You will all be a part of my family. And you always have my phone number. And if there's anything at all then I'm only a phone call away." I smiled as reassuring as I could, then looked over all of them, including Cai who sat at the back of the group.
And with it I once again remembered the words someone who cared for her had left with her all those years ago.
With that I looked back on Brad who read the sheet music and started playing. I took a harder grip of the microphone as if that would help me mean my words more than if I had one taped on my cheek.
And with only that acoustic piano, my voice and a microphone it all just seemed so real. I had meant every word I said no matter what instruments had been used but this was simple and even though the rest of the group would be quiet when someone did any song there were a song here and there where the rest of the world had just disappeared.
Oh how I wished I could make this song true for each and every one of the students I ever had.
Glancing over the group I came to Ryan and his family. Mrs. Dunbar still looked like she was thinking about something important and I couldn't help to wonder what it was.
Well… I knew that if my own kid was passing half of high school I would feel weirdly and like time had just flown by too.
And with that I moved on my vision to where Marley sat leaned against her mum's shoulder, to both Laurie, who had two younger siblings whether Tyrel, six years old was sitting on their dad's lap. And Trisha, who also came with her whole family but only had one little sibling. To Kai who had brought his aunt and also joke- whined that he couldn't take the dog into the school.
And up at Cai with Burt and Carole- probably the two most parental and caring people I knew.
They would be okay right…
I will keep you safe…
"I guess." As the last tone had rang out and so had the clapping there was nothing more to say. "I guess you will have to move on. But remember those lyrics and remember that I'll always be here for you if you need me… now." I smirked not to break down just like I did every year."To you seniors. I wish you all luck in the future for wherever life will take you. And for those of you who will return- see you then. Get out!"
People clapped their hands again as they stood on their feet, Ryan helped his mum to get out of the room (and I thanked whatever higher power there was that Artie had been here as one of the original glee club members so places in the audience and ramps had been put here) and the whole auditorium went quieter and quieter…
Right before she went out my vision caught the back of Cai's checkered shirt and blonde hair as she made her way up the stairs in between the stage and the hallway. I couldn't help but think that it could be strange about how some people we would meet again, while some people we wouldn't…
And once again the picture of that day fourteen years ago flashed by for my inner vision.
And then, at last the door fell closed behind Unique and I was left with only one thought and wish…
Just be safe when you walk out of here everybody.
Be safe.
See you later.
Playlist
(Seniors Marley, Kitty, Jake, Ryder, Unique) Graduation (friends forever)- Vitamin C
(Mr. Schue) Safe- Westlife
Random fact
Seniors singing that song… well. It was pretty much a given because at a school I went to all kids graduating that were in the choir would sing it… Yes. I was in the choir… and every year- including our year there was someone crying haha.
Eighth chapter finished for the-update-all-of-my-stories-at-the-same-time-project. Only two to go.