Summary: Sugar gets a Birthday surprise, Blaine and Sebastian revisit the beginning of their relationship and Blaine figures out what will be the most important thing he will ever do.
Notes: Song lyrics have been changed to fit the narrative.
The officials (and Will) ran toward the stage but stopped when they heard music and a spotlight shone on the now semi-famous Cello Brothers.
"What's going on?" the President asked.
"You'll see." The Officials (and Will) and the New Directions turned in confusion to find an exceedingly smug Sebastian and the Warblers standing behind them. "And Sammy Boy, keep your eyes on the stage."
Sam (and the Officials and…) turned to see another spotlight with Keith Urban playing guitar.
"What's going on!" This time the President wasn't asking.
Sebastian laughed as he walked over to Sugar and pulled her and Brody in front of everyone. "Happy Birthday!"
The lights came on and Blaine with his acoustic guitar plus a bassist and drummer had joined the brothers and Keith. How they all got on stage so quickly was probably a question never to be answered.
Blaine looked over to Sugar and held up his pinky, causing her to laugh and cry at the same time. He had pinky promised he would see her later…"Is this the song I asked for my birthday?" she asked Sebastian.
"It's Blaine we're talking about. Did you really NOT expect his gift to be over-the-top?"
She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stare too long, I'd probably break down and cry
Whoa, oh, oh
Sweet child o' mine
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine
"Stop this!" Will yelled at the Officials.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that."
"Rachel?"
Adam had gone to the audience feeling Rachel would be helpful. He also talked to Cooper and came back with two of his guys…just in case.
"Yes, it's me, Mr. Schue and that screaming crowd is full of Blaine fans. There are at least 10,000 phones filming the stage right now. Try to stop him and it's all over the internet."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I'm the one who suggested it."
She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by
Whoa, oh, oh
Sweet child o' mine
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine
"Rachel, you don't understand."
"I understand completely" she almost spat at her former mentor before turning her attention to the Officials. "What I don't understand is how you could let him take out his petty jealousy on the people your Association is supposed to be celebrating."
"You don't know what you're talking about young lady" the President told Rachel but he was uneasy to what she was hinting at. His assistants looked ready to run. But all that was pushed aside when Keith's guitar solo ended and the sound of drums filled the venue.
The entire USC Drum Corp was walking down the aisles toward the stage.
First things first
I'ma say all the words inside my head
I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh
The way that things have been, oh-ooh
Second thing second
Don't you tell me what you think that I can be
I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh
The master of my sea, oh-ooh
I was broken from a young age
Taking my soul into the masses
Write down my poems for the few
That looked at me took to me, shook to me, feeling me
Singing from heart ache from the pain
Take up my message from the veins
Speaking my lesson from the brain
Seeing the beauty through the...
Pain! (The entire crowd jumped with the Boom of pyrotechnics going off at the same time)
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain! (Boom)
You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer
Pain!...I let the bullets fly, oh let them rain
My luck, my love, my God, they came from...
Pain! (Boom)
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
"What the hell is he…"
"Shut up!"
I was choking in the crowd
Living my brain up in the cloud
Falling like ashes to the ground
Hoping my feelings, they would drown
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing
Inhibited, limited
Till it broke up and it rained down
It rained down, like...
Pain! (Boom)
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
As the crowd sang the chorus after hearing it only once, Sebastian turned back to Will. "You might want to listen closely to this next part. There's a special message for you."
Last things last
By the grace of the fire and the flames
This is the face of the future, with ice in my veins, oh-ooh
Ice in my veins, oh-ooh
And it will rain down, will rain down, like...
Pain! (Boom)
"What is that even supposed to mean."
"It means he, and we (pointing at the Warblers), know you're behind everything that happened to us this week. And you…" facing the Officials "…let it happen."
"None of what you think you know matters" the President told Sebastian. "The Warblers are disqualified."
The smile on Sebastian's face was pure Smythe when he saw his dad. "Yeah, I don't think so because there's something you didn't count on. Our lawyers are better than yours."
"The Show Choir Association told Dalton Academy Blaine Anderson was barred from performing at Nationals and the Warblers were barred from performing anything Blaine Anderson had a hand in creating" Xavier said, not bothering with introductions, and handing the Officials a highlighted copy of the Cease and Desist Order. "However, as you can see, this document states Mr. Anderson cannot perform with the Warblers specifically and not at Nationals generally. There are no grounds to disqualify the Warblers."
By this time Blaine had finished and made his way to the others. His friends were cheering him but it was plain to see the situation was going downhill quickly. Not to mention the calls for an encore…of which he had none.
Until he did.
"Everybody just needs to calm down because none of this is fair to the eight other teams who competed today. I'm going back on stage and sing one more song to quiet the crowd. While I'm doing that, someone go get the Old New Directions and Warblers and Jean-Baptiste from Throat Explosion. Right Sam?"
"I knew NightBird would pick up on the clues."
"What do you think you're doing?!" The President demanded.
"I'm saving the integrity of this Association and your fucking asses." As Blaine walked back on stage, he unexpectedly grabbed Sebastian's hand and drug him with him.
"Hello everyone" Blaine said into the microphone as Sebastian stared at him, not having any idea what his boyfriend was up to. "Before we go any further, I'd like to thank the band who accompanied me including my friends Luka and Stjepan, The Cello Brothers."
*Hold for applause*
"And, of course, Mr. Keith Urban!"
*Hold for screaming applause*
"When my single with Andrea Bocelli dropped before Nationals, the Association had no other recourse but declare me ineligible." All those in the know wondered what the hell Blaine was doing because OF COURSE the Show Choir Association had other recourses. "However, they knew a lot of my fans, wow, that is strange to say, would be here so asked me to perform something special for you. Because of their kindness, sometime in the coming weeks I will be releasing the second song I performed today, Believer, as a single with all proceeds going to the National Show Choir Association."
This confused Blaine's family and friends even more but by this time Adam and Brody were rounding up those in the audience so they could go backstage. Hopefully, they would have answers soon.
As the applause from the announcement waned, someone yelled "What about the first song?"
"Sorry, that song doesn't belong to me. It was a gift for my Sweet Baby Cousin's Birth…"
If he would have been paying attention, Blaine would have seen Sugar running across the stage before she practically knocked him over. After a hug and a kiss to each cheek, she turned to the microphone. "Since it's my song, I say DO IT!"
The chant of DO IT! took over the venue. "Guess you got your answer, Killer" Sebastian chuckled, changing the chant to cheers.
"Alright, alright, but it will be a while before I can get in the studio with Sam."
On cue, Sam walked across the stage, giving Blaine a slight nod, signaling they had delayed long enough. Once the crowd settled again, he said "You did not write the guitar lick on that song."
*pause for laughter*
"I did" Blaine insisted, earning him cocked eye brows from not only Sam but Sebastian and Sugar as well. "Fine, Keith tweaked it."
"I can live with that" Sam said as he took Sugar by the arm and rejoined the New Directions.
Meanwhile, Sebastian still hadn't figured out why he was on stage. "Blaine, why are we here? More importantly, why am I here?"
"I'm here to say the announcement of winners will be at 4 PM. You're here to sing a song with me."
Huh? "What song?"
"Well, I know that I'm not the only one with fans here…we have fans here. I also know some of them have quite vivid imaginations. Wonder what they would think if they knew we became boyfriends when I asked you with a song."
"That your mom made you sing to me in your kitchen on Thanksgiving morning."
"Because she knew I was writing it for you but wouldn't admit it."
"Because you played it on guitar and hadn't admitted to anyone you played."
The two of them were lost in each other, remembering the day they proclaimed I'm In.
10,000+ people vanishing into the background.
"Sing us the damn song!"
Blaine and Sebastian laughed, recognizing Santana's voice, but never broke eye contact. "This time you can ask all you want." Blaine told the audience "You're not getting a recording."
In something that never happened, as Blaine began to strum the first notes, phones went down throughout the venue. It was like the audience knew it was witnessing a private moment and didn't want to ruin it.
You and me were always with each other
Before we knew the others was ever there
You and me we belong together
Just like a breath needs the air
The fans were silenced, mesmerized by the performance but Blaine and Sebastian's friends and families were fighting emotions. Well, some were fighting, most were failing. Despite all obstacles there were the boys, standing in the middle of the Nationals' stage, singing in perfect harmony.
It was all anyone had wanted for them. Not the way they saw it happening, but somehow…better.
They say everything it happens for a reason
You can be flawed enough but perfect for a person
Someone who will be there for you when you fall apart
Guiding your direction when you're riding through the dark,
Oh that's you and me
After Blaine and Sebastian finished it still took another 20 minutes for everyone to assemble in a large conference room. In the meantime, Xavier went with one of the Assistants to sequester the judges and confirm they were reminded the only thing the Warblers were to be scored on was their Sympathy for the Devil routine and nothing Blaine (with or without Sebastian) performed. Once the door was shut, Vincent (the scariest looking of Cooper's guys) appeared, announcing he was volunteered to keep an eye on the door.
The Assistant shrugged and walked away, leaving Xavier to wonder…
Back in the room, the majority of those there had no idea why. That didn't mean they didn't suspect Will was behind it, especially when he turned to the President of the Association and said "This is a long time coming between The New Directions and The Warblers. I'm sure you have hundreds of other things to attend to."
Blaine shook his head. "And I'm pretty sure he'll want to hear what Sam and JB were up to? I know I am."
"What do you mean?" the President asked. "Are you saying we had two teams conspiring against the others? That's terms for disqualification."
"Is he just going to disqualify everyone?" Joe asked, causing the rest of the New Directions to stifle giggles. For the Good Christian to comment in the tone he did, it showed how unreasonable the quote/unquote adults in the room were behaving.
"Actually, it was nine teams conspiring against you" Sam told him, Jean-Baptiste standing by his side. "Blaine wouldn't tell me what went down but that didn't mean I wasn't able to find out."
"And who gave you this information?"
"I did."
"Jeff?" Blaine asked as the Blond Warbler joined his co-conspirators. "But the Warblers promised to keep…"
"So, the infamous Word of a Dalton Boy is really a crock of shit?" Will huffed, reminding those involved of when Jeff was allowed to monitor Blaine for the Diva-off.
Out of nowhere, Brittany was in front of her former advisor and slapped him across the face. "Don't you ever…EVER say anything bad about any of the Warblers! They are honorable…NOT LIKE YOU!"
"Britt-Britt" Blaine was instantly next to her, putting their foreheads together like he did when she saw him earlier. "I promised you, I've got this taken care of." Although his dad had yet to arrive and he was getting a little anxious. "You trust me, right?"
"Of course"
"Good" Blaine waved for Santana and Quinn to take Brittany aside and calm her down. He respected Artie and Tina as Captains but they were not equipped to handle her like this.
He was also happy to see Mike join the Unholy Trinity. He was taking his role of future leader of the NYCND (New York City New Directions) very seriously. Hopefully, it didn't cause problems for him and Beat if Mike found out the secret the Warblers were keeping. This was the one pairing Blaine always worried about since Meat was the only actual relationship of their group and not just friendship.
The one other person who could have handled Brittany was Sam but he, JB and Jeff still had some explaining to do. It would probably best to get back to that before people got over their shock and wanted to know what the hell set Brittany off. "Jeff, we agreed to keep this inhouse."
"And I did after we agreed."
Flashback…Last Monday
"Son of a Bitch! Are you sure that's what she said?"
"Yeah, the door to the commons wasn't shut all the way and I could hear Rachel perfectly. Why would Rachel fly back to Ohio to lie to Seb's face?"
"You don't know Rachel Berry like I know Rachel Berry."
"I agree and I'm convinced, how did she put it, "Sent rival to a crack house, Rachel" would lie to him but you could tell this Rachel really wants her friendship with Seb back. You've got to calm down, Sam."
"Not fucking happening. Jeff, you know this is just as much to fuck with me as it is with Blaine."
"I do know. And I know you've been around Blaine long enough to have had some of his evil genius plans rub off on you."
"JB was pretty pissed too so I'll see if he wants to work with me. And if someone from NYADA is on every team, maybe, if necessary, I could get their numbers or something…but only if they don't think Carmen Tibideaux is forcing them to help because of her love for Blaine. That's not fair."
"Sounds like a plan. Now Sam, I need you to do something. I need you to make me swear, as a Dalton Boy, not to tell anyone, even Nick or Seb or Blaine, that I told you what I overheard."
"Huh…oh…oh, it's like a command that prevents you from saying anything. Like on the first season of The Flash when Barry, the one who looks like Seb, asks Gideon not to tell Thawne they were in the secret room and she said of course and he asked why and she said he made her…"
"Sam! Sam! Sure, something like that. Just make me promise…as a Dalton Boy."
End of Flashback...
"I do not look like that guy!"
"Sorry, but you do, Sebastian" Marley, of all people, chimed in. "But if it helps, everyone is always telling me I look like Super Girl."
The President turned to Jeff and asked "And what supposed information did you tell…Sam."
"That the Warblers weren't allowed to use anything Blaine had created."
"And since we already planned on performing Rise, I wondered if that meant we were going to be disqualified too. Blaine would have been the person I asked because he is like totally anal…oh, sorry Dude."
Blaine took deep breaths to prevent himself from blushing. It had been a long time since Sam tripped up on a gay reference. "Sam…"
"Yeah, so I called JB."
"And I said it shouldn't be a problem except the Show Choir Association bylaws state any stipulations put on one team have to be put on all."
"Which I learned meant, if one team has to do it, or not do it, then all teams have to do it, or not do it." Sam smiled, seeing in Will's expression that he had underestimated him.
"So, we got ahold of the rest of the teams. Whether it was out of fairness to the Warblers, or they thought you would try to screw them as well, they all agreed to use a song written by Blaine in their performance. Which means, according to your bylaws, all nine teams must be disqualified" JB added. "Or, seven since you've already disqualified Throat Explosion and The New Directions. You're right, Sam. This is fun."
"That's not what we meant" the woman with the tablet stated with an obvious quiver in her voice. It didn't go unnoticed. "We meant whatever the Warblers' had prepared to that point."
"But…" Sebastian grabbed the Cease and Desist order to make sure he was correct "That's not what the order says. So, if by Show Choir bylaws, all teams must be held to the same guidelines AND if you just took credit for Blaine's performance, meaning it is in no way tied to the Warblers' performance, then the Warblers are the only team who followed your arbitrary rule. By default, we won."
The room stood in stunned silence until a solitary slow-clap rang out from the back. "Like my son said earlier" Xavier said proudly with a huge smile across his face. "Our lawyers are better than yours."
"So, the Warblers win?" Doug asked. He might be a genius but like the rest of the participants he was thoroughly confused.
"I don't believe Mr. Schue or his friends got that particular memo."
A strong Irish accent caused all heads in the room to turn to the previously unnoticed boy in a corner. "Rory?!" Several stunned voices called out in unison.
"Aye. My flight was late and before I could find you guys I saw Brittany. She had been crying and when I asked what was wrong, she said Mr. Schue had turned evil. She asked me to use my leprechaun magic to sneak back here and find out what I could."
"Did you find anything?" Xavier asked.
"I heard Mr. Schue say something along the lines of knowing the winner before the Warblers were on stage. And I'd bet you a case of real Irish Whiskey, not the piss you Americans drink, that man calling himself the President has the envelope."
Before anyone could find out, four new arrivals drew attention, one Blaine was especially happy to see. "Dad!"
"Sorry, Kiddo. We took longer than we thought."
"Did you get what we needed?"
"Signed, sealed and delivered" Charles said with a smile similar to the one Blaine used to get when one of his Consequences came together.
"Dads?" Sebastian had told Rachel Blaine's dad had a plan but she didn't know her fathers or Burt Hummel would be involved.
"It's ok, Honey" Hiram told her with a twinkle in his eye. This made her even more confused. Hiram was the conservative one of her two fathers and she had problems seeing him involving himself in this mess.
Leroy…all day, everyday…especially since this involved his son, Blaine.
Charles walked over to where Will and the President were standing so he could speak softly. "Since we have a room full of children let's keep this civilized."
"How sweet of you to think your son is still innocent" Will snarled. "I've heard things…"
"Oh, I know Blaine has a more than active sex life. He writes songs about it" Charles chuckled before looking over at the assistant holding the tablet. "I also know it comes no where near what you're blackmailing this guy with."
Their expressions of stoic horror let Charles know he had their full attention so he stepped back and let Burt take over. "The Show Choir Association is a non-profit organization, much like the one Blaine has. While this man is the President, there is a Board of Governors." He handed the President, his assistant with the tablet and Will each a document while Leroy and Hiram took one to Xavier and the recently arrived Al Motta. "And the Board of Governors accepted Ford Charities invitation to join their partnership program. You'll see the signatures of all the former Governors on those documents."
"Former Governors" the President eeked out.
"Well, I am a Ford" Charles said like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I would want to make sure there were people I trusted in charge and they obviously weren't keeping an eye on you. So, I'd like to introduce the new Board of Governors, myself, Leroy and Hiram Berry and Burt Hummel. And our first action was to appoint a new Chief Operating Officer."
"It's not you? I thought you were the member of the Ford family."
"He is." Multiple gasps escaped as multiple epiphanies radiated across the room. "But so am I" Blaine said to the President's face "and you and your staff are fired."
"Blaine" Xavier called out "I'd hold off on firing the other assistant. I'm pretty sure he's the one who leaked the information to Rachel's friend."
"Fine" Blaine turned to Will. There were a thousand things he wanted to say but he decided it wasn't the time or place. Will would never be able to advise another Glee Club and that was all that mattered.
In the back of the room, Vincent and the long missing second assistant came into the room. "It's time to announce the winners" the assistant said to no one in particular not having any idea what was going on. "The judges want three teams on the stage…two of them are here and if you, Mr. Jean-Baptiste, would go get yours, we'd have the third."
Thirty minutes later, Blaine was sitting in the audience with his family, waiting for the announcement and processing what happened. He couldn't believe his father had accomplished basically a non-hostile take over of the Show Choir Association in less than a week and he had done it for no other reason than he was his son. They had had a bumpy road the past few years but Charles Anderson never stopped loving him, not for one second…even when Blaine believed otherwise.
And it hit him. It wasn't rock star, writer/producer or even Broadway actor. The job he wanted the most, someday, was to be a father.
Wait…what did Keith Urban just say?
Your 2013 National Champions…from Westerville, Ohio…The Dalton Academy Warblers!
Notes:
Sweet Child of Mine: Rose, W. Axl; Adler, Steven; Hudson, Saul; McKagan, Duff; Stradlin, Izzy 1987
Believer: McKee, Benjamin; Fredriksson, Robin; Larsson, Mattias; Platzman, Daniel; Reynolds, Daniel; Sermon, Wayne; Tranter, Justin 2017
You+Me: Green, Dallas; Moore, Alecia 2014
Yes, the idea of everyone lowering their phones to keep the moment "private" was ridiculous but this is fan-FICTION.
Did you really think the Warblers wouldn't win?
Yes, there are only 2 chapters left