Revelations and a New World
Across town, David and Mercedes were also having lunch together, but alone in the kitchen of Niff's house. It was the first chance that they had had to spend some time alone together since they arrived in the city, and they had quite a few things that they needed to discuss. Mercedes was pleased that David had the offer of a new job, but deciding on where he should settle was going to be difficult. They had both ruled out Seattle at once, as to them the whole west coast now seemed to be tainted. They had also by mutual agreement ruled out New York, because it would be too easy and comfortable an option. Jeff would offer them a place to stay, and they would soon find themselves right in the middle of their circle of friends. That wasn't totally appealing to them, and it would also bring the glare of publicity down on the quiet West Village street.
So the choice was down to Chicago and Boston; the former was close to their family in Ohio, but there was the drawback of a return to extremely cold winters; living in L.A. had softened them. Boston would be a new start for both of them, somewhere that Mercedes had only been in once for a concert, and that David only knew from his occasional trips in college to see Wes at Harvard. The big advantage for David was that it would be a chance to see a different style of Google culture, as there they were so close to M.I.T.; it also meant that there were other opportunities outside the firm if he chose to move on. Mercedes would also have no problem in doing her work there, and would be close to New York for all the big launch events. No final decision was made though; that could wait until after Mercedes had returned from her tour. The fact that David was now going to be joining her at least in Australia had also made Mercedes smile. It was as they were discussing the arrangements for that that they felt a draught, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, an angel appeared to join them.
"I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to come and see you sooner, but there hasn't been a moment to spare since everything started," apologised Kurt as he folded his wings away. "I've not got that long now either, but it isn't quite as hectic as it was, so my mom decreed everyone needed to get some sort of rest break, as otherwise mistakes would start to happen. Finn is refusing to do so, naturally, but I think in the end he will have to, or he will just drop from exhaustion."
"You do look tired, white boy," said Mercedes with a smile, not drawing any attention to the bags under his eyes, the lines on his forehead, or his untidy hair. "All of that death must take its toll…"
"We aren't getting as long as usual to process people, which isn't great," conceded Kurt. "It's all turned into a bit of a production line. Pick them up, fill in the paperwork, pass it on, then head back for the next one. Finn seems to be more able to detach himself emotionally than Blaine and I; we still get sad with each and every one, whereas Finn seems to be able to just be clinical in the way he does things. True, we have a lot less information on people than we are used to, but you can almost see their lives as you pull the soul from their body, and so many of those bodies are mangled beyond belief. It is like dealing with car crash after car crash. Anyway, enough of my woes; how are the two of you? It can't have been easy…"
"Honestly Kurt, I am still trying to process it. I still have moments when I think that the whole thing has been one long dream, and that any moment now I will wake up in bed in L.A." remarked David. "I don't think I could handle a situation like that again."
"I can't make any promises about that, but what all of this has shown is what we all always knew. When the chips are down, David, you step up and are a natural born leader," replied Kurt.
"And Amen to that! If he hadn't been there with me, I don't think that I would have made it out, and there is no way that Peter would have done," said Mercedes. "Speaking of him, I did promise him that you would keep an eye on his loved ones…"
"I was actually allocated to them, funnily enough. His mom was nearly hysterical when she found out he wouldn't be joining them. It sounds like a cruel reaction, but it is something I see all the time. Once I told her that he was with you guys she calmed down a little, and when we told her that he was safely with Julian, she relaxed finally. She will be able to see him soon, so I guess you will have to let Sebastian know she will be visiting," Kurt responded. Then he glanced at the clock, and sighed. "Anyway, I am afraid that I need to go; I want to see my dad, and I am due back at work all too soon. I am just so glad that you both made it; you see, we only get to see the lists for Ohio usually, and my mom didn't have time to search the lengthy list for California to see if your names were there. We had no idea if any of you would make it until after the event, and that goes for all of us, even Wes…"
The revelation that Wes had not known what was going to happen to them came as a surprise to them both; they had assumed that he had to have been aware, given the visit, but unless he had kept Kurt and the others in the dark… It was a mystery that dwelt in the back of their minds for the remainder of the day, still there when Mercedes received the call that asked her if she would consider singing at a charity concert for the victims of the quake. She had no problem in doing so; she might have lost all her material possessions, but most of it could be replaced and she had the funds to do so. Others had lost far more important things like family…
She was still tired, and that night, after an early dinner with Thad and David, she headed to bed. She hadn't been away long when Thad's phone rang, and he answered it with a smile on seeing who it was. "Hey Mrs Carmichael, how are things at Dalton?"
"They're good thank you… Look, I will come straight to the point as to why I am calling. About five minutes ago I received a phone call asking after David; the call came from Drew."
Thad was silent for a moment, then replied, "I did wonder if he would get in touch at some point; after all, he knew where David lived, and I doubt there is anyone on the planet that isn't aware of what happened."
"It was a brief call; he asked me if David was okay, and I told him that he was, along with everyone else he potentially knew in Los Angeles. He sounded so anxious until I told him that, and once I had I could hear him sigh in relief. I asked him how he was, but then he said he had to go, and hung up. He told me he was in a call box, which I didn't even know still existed. What is significant of course is the time. It's the early hours of the morning over there…"
"He will have to have snuck out of the house to use one, and that speaks volumes," said Thad with a sigh. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know."
"It isn't a problem. If it is any consolation, he did sound okay once he knew David was. All I can wonder now is what he would have done if he hadn't been. Would he have come back? I must confess that I was so tempted to lie and say he wasn't just to get that poor boy away from her, but then I realised that he might not be able to, and a lie would just make things worse for him."
"That much is probably true. I very much doubt she would let him come home for a friend's funeral when he isn't even allowed to keep in any kind of touch with his best friend…"
When Thad eventually ended the call, he was silent, and for a moment that lack of noise in the room was deafening. Then David spoke. "I'm guessing that Drew has been in touch about me?" Thad nodded, and his friend continued. "It was good of him to call; brave too, given what we know about his lovely wife. Somehow I think that if I hadn't made it, it would have been like you said. She probably would have done something to him that left him in hospital, just so that she could carry on exercising her control over him…"
Thad nodded sadly, then replied, "I suggest that we keep the fact that he called at all to ourselves. The Carmichaels won't tell anyone, and it isn't as if it would do anyone, particularly Ethan, any good to know that he had called and had to do so briefly, outside and at dead of night…"
"I agree. Ethan is getting on with his life, bonding strongly with Flint thanks to sharing a house with him, and he is even smiling a little again. It was a surprise when we found out that his bond stretched to going to the synagogue with him, but he seems to find some peace with the world when he is there."
"It would not surprise me at all if he announced that he was converting to Judaism at some point," remarked Thad. "As a group none of us were all that religious at school, although I think that most of us, with the possible exception of Kurt, believed in something. I think that Flint had embraced his faith again because he has found a version of it that is not as stifling as his mother's. Ethan went with him to keep him safe from all the son-in-law hunters, and ended up finding there something that can help him get through all the pain in his own life. Apparently he has also become very skilled and polite in turning down dates with daughters…"
David chuckled, then added, "I have to admit that I am still slightly in dread of the day that Flint announces the date of his wedding. I mean, we have all matured a lot, but the concept of our group of Warblers assembled in a synagogue? I bet that…"
"…would have been one of my worst nightmares?" came a voice, which made both of the young men in the room smile. They turned towards it, but what they saw made their smiles fade just a little from concern. Wes looked tired out, run down, and sadder than either of them could ever recall. Thad was on his feet in an instant and guided him over to the sofa, to sit sandwiched between himself and David. Wes sat in silence for a moment, and then laughed as he regarded the scene. "With you on my left Thaddie and David on my right, all we need now is a proper table and Mr Bangy, and it would be quite like old times."
Thad smiled as he realised that he had subconsciously placed them in the order in which they had graced the council table back at Dalton, but all of that now seemed a lifetime ago. "How bad has it been up there, Wessie? I know you, and I know how much you care, so all of this must have torn at the strings of your heart."
"It did, but not as much as the possibility that David might be hurt, or worse. The lists of the dead were so long, and it was something I had to do in secret, cursing that they are written by time of death, not alphabetically, but I searched them. It took me three nights but I eventually confirmed that Adams, Jones, Puckerman and Thompson were not to be found. I didn't tell the others I had looked; not even Elizabeth, although I think she guessed by the way I looked and how tired I was that I had been up all night. I slept a little easier knowing you weren't going to die, but of course, I did find the names of Peter's mom and grandparents. I was glad not to find his, but all the same…"
"Kurt was here earlier, and he said that you didn't know anything, but to be honest, both Mercedes and I knew that you had to have done. Of course, Kurt was just as desperate to keep people out of Los Angeles and so stopped Mercedes from doing what she wanted," David responded. "So, I have to ask; did you send my brother to keep an eye on Peter whilst he was trapped? He mentioned something about a man called Simon that was around whilst he was waiting for someone to arrive…"
This was news to Thad of course, and he spun round to look at Wes. "Yes, I did send him; although it was busy, I was still able to monitor things, and I saw that Peter was in a really bad way. He was sobbing his heart out, and starting to think about trying to get out himself, which would have been a disaster, given that hole in the floor. Simon wasn't involved in the collection side, as he works in an administrative role now, so I called in a favour…"
"It did the trick, Wes. He was in pretty good shape when we got him out, all things considered. It is still going to be hard for him though; for someone so young, he has so much to deal with now…" said David.
"You all do," remarked Wes. "You all had to deal with situations that no normal person would ever want to be in. You've all seen things that you won't forget in a hurry. You will get through it, but not overnight."
"Well they can count on all of us to support them in getting back to normality," Thad added.
"And once the worst of the paperwork mountain is cleared, I will be around a lot more for a while too. Simon has been keeping a close eye on you for me, David, and he was quite pleased to report that your dad had turned up."
"Yeah, that was good, but it would have been nice to have seen him more before all of this happened," said David sadly.
"I know, but try not to hold that mistake against him. None of the three of us have the best father, but at least yours isn't a criminal," remarked Wes.
"Nor did he as good as disown you for not following in his footsteps," added Thad.
David nodded, knowing that his two friends were right. He had another chance with his father, and if he was being honest, he was actually looking forward to getting to know him all over again…
There was nothing that Wes wanted to do more at that moment than just stay there, sat between his boyfriend and his best friend; to sit there on the couch watching television, letting the others rest their heads upon his shoulders, his arms wrapped around them. It was tempting, but he knew that there was a massive stack of paperwork waiting for him; name after name that needed to be checked off against the lists, reports to made on the current status of each individual and how they were faring. This was normal day to day stuff for him now, but it was particularly heart-rending at the moment, given the identical surnames, and the ages of so many of the new arrivals. The centre for children was bursting at the seams, and even the most long serving and hardened of angels was reduced to tears by the sight of so many young souls entering.
He also had to head back to help Elizabeth in ensuring that Finn actually took a break. His friend had looked awful the last time he had seen him; his mouth set in a grimace, a deep frown on his brow and no life whatsoever in his eyes. The situation was not so bad now, with far fewer collections needing to be made as the backlog dwindled, and soon it would be back to normality for the collectors. For him, his workload would stay high for a while yet as processing took time. In a perfect world, he would be able to co-opt Finn to come and assist, ensuring he wasn't running around for a while, but administration was not where Finn's talents lay. Elizabeth had instead asked Blaine to come and help with the papers, assigning Kurt to work alongside his step-brother.
He also wondered if anyone in the earthly realm had noticed the consequence of the quake for the rest of the nation, and indeed for Canada and Mexico. Would anyone spot the decline in the death rate everywhere else as death was delayed for some until the angelic world could cope once more? Would a cop somewhere note that there had been hardly any fatal auto accidents? Would a hospital doctor notice that patients with terminal conditions were not dying as they had predicted, and that in the E.R., less people were being brought in with injuries that would ultimately be fatal? He doubted it somehow; everyone's thoughts were focused on what had occurred in L.A.
"Well, I'd best be heading back," said Wes with a sigh after a few minutes of just sitting quietly between his two friends. "I will be back soon, I promise. At least I know that the two of you are in good hands, and that all of you are looking out for each other, particularly Sebastian. The stress on him has been hard, but he won't take a few days rest from the show, nor will he shirk any of his duties as an uncle…."
"That's true; he is acting like someone else I know, that never stops worrying about all of us…" said Thad fondly.
"That way of behaving sounds a lot like a certain teacher not a million miles from here," said David, and Wes had to nod.
"Someone taught me well," said Thad smiling. He pulled Wes into a hug, and then allowed David to do the same, before the man he loved headed back to his duties in heaven.
The next few weeks would be busy for all of them. With the worst of the stress generated by the quake over, they could all start to get life back to normal, not that it would ever be the same again. On the first Monday after the quake, Jeff rose early, and with help from Mike, he cooked breakfast for his husband. Nick smiled when he came down to the kitchen and saw it waiting, and enjoyed it all the more because it had been made with love. He had laughed when he had gone to head out the door and saw Jeff standing there with his briefcase and jacket, and even more when he realised Mike was also there, armed with a clothes brush to ensure that he arrived at the office looking perfect.
Then Jeff turned his cheek towards him for a kiss, which Nick gave him; Mike jokingly did the same, and on seeing a certain mischievous twinkle in Jeff's eye, Nick had grabbed Mike and given his startled friend a far bigger kiss than he could ever have imagined. He was still standing there in shock as Jeff closed the door behind his husband. "He's good at that, isn't he," Jeff couldn't resist whispering in Mike's ear, "but to be honest, I'm better…" As Jeff gave Mike just as big a kiss as he had received from Nick, Caleb sat in the doorway, and could only think once again that he would never understand the way his humans acted…
Nick was nervous as he entered his new workplace that morning. He thought that the pass he had been issued would fail at the security gates, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it opened them with no problem. He was conscious as he headed up in the crowded elevator that his shoes looked far too new, his suit was uncomfortable and all of that was marking him out as a raw recruit to some of those he was travelling with. It had been a good idea to come in on Friday at Grace's insistence to take a tour, as he was able to walk out of the elevator with confidence and head straight to the cubicle he had been assigned. This gave him a moment just to sit and relax before his official start time. Opening his case, he took out a framed photo of himself and Jeff on their wedding day and placed it on his desk, the only personal touch allowed; he then logged onto the computer, again relieved that the login worked. He was not surprised to see that he had several E-Mails already, some housekeeping ones, and one which was his first case assignment. He opened it and then the attached file, and began to read. At first glance it was not exactly what he would have liked, but it wasn't too bad…
A glance at the time had him up again, and hurrying to the morning briefing, glad that he was not late or the last to arrive. The assistant that worked for him and four others, an older motherly woman by the name of Valerie Pittman, greeted him quietly, and handed him some notes on what he could expect to be covered that day. He was scanning them when his new boss, Lionel Vallent walked in, and the room fell deathly silent. There were no friendly morning greetings, nor any mention of Nick, let alone an introduction to the rest of the people gathered there. Instead orders were barked out, and some people found themselves being glowered at over some issue or other. Then the boss was gone, and Nick found himself heading back to his desk. When he got there, he sighed. He wasn't sure that he would like working in this kind of environment, but he had to give it a try. One thing was certain, when he was a boss someday in the future, his style would be the exact opposite. Until then though, he just had to work hard and keep his head down and try and avoid attracting too much attention…
On that same Monday, David had also returned to the world of work. Thad had returned to Ohio on Sunday, as he had commitments to fulfil at Dalton; he had however promised to return in a couple of weeks, just to see how David and Mercedes were. It was also looking likely that his return visit would coincide with the charity concert that was being organised for the victims of the quake that Mercedes had pledged to sing at. The rumour was that it would take place on the Monday of that week, as most of the Broadway shows wished to contribute too; the touring cast of one of the big shows had been in Los Angeles at the time, and of a cast and crew of fifty, only six had survived, including two cast members that had been performing on a stage in Broadway only a few weeks before. Others had been less fortunate, and the whole artistic community wanted to come together to mark their loss.
The entire cast of Book of Mormon had agreed to sing, partly out of respect for Sebastian, and Bette Midler was down for the event too. She had appeared at the door of Sebastian's dressing room after the show on his second night back, and he had ended up crying for a while in her arms, although this time his tears were of joy, not sadness.
With Nick out at work all day, and Jeff at the diner, David had felt that he needed to get back to work too and resume some normality; yes, he was in a different city and the office space was very different, but the whole Google ethos was still there, and it was nice to sit once more at a desk, in front of a computer and just zone out a little as he went back to the ideas and concepts that he had been working on just a few hours before his entire world had fallen apart… He had a whole raft of new names and faces to learn. All of the people he was working alongside were kind, and he sensed that it was normal behaviour, not just some special treatment because of all he had been through. The desk next to his was occupied by another newbie in the office. He had only been there for two weeks himself, and was from, of all places, Australia. When David admitted that he would be heading there himself soon, the young man's face had lit up, telling him all of the things that he absolutely had to do and see if his travels brought him to his home city of Melbourne.
When David confirmed that he was certain that it was a stop on Mercedes' tour, there was silence before the young man admitted that he wasn't sure if he was the right David Thompson, but now that he had said that, he had to say that he was an absolutely massive fan of her work, and he had been gutted to arrive in town the day after her show, particularly when he had known she was probably heading to his former home. David smiled, and decided that his new colleague, Kraig, was going to be getting a free ticket to the charity show, and that maybe one day Mercedes could stop by before they headed out to lunch…
Just after lunch on that first day, he was working away when suddenly he paused, as he heard a familiar voice in the room. He looked up, and saw that the manager that had shown him around last week was showing another young woman around… He was out of his seat and dashing over to her in a minute, uttering only one word as he reached the two of them - "Martha!" The young woman spun round, and seconds later the two of them were hugging, tears streaming down their cheeks at the joy of being reunited with a co-worker from L.A., and from the sadness of knowing just how many of them had now gone. Both of them were secretly wondering how they could have been the ones that made it when no-one else had. They were aware that the entire office was watching them, but they didn't care. By the time she left, it was arranged that she would start work the following day, and she would occupy the other vacant seat in the room; just on the other side of Kraig.
By the time the week end, David felt almost back to normal in terms of his professional life; his passion for the work was still strong and a rhythm had been restored to his days. Martha and Kraig had both given him input when asked, and the three of them had bonded as a mini team. On the Wednesday, Mercedes had joined them for lunch, which had left Kraig in raptures; she was able to confirm that the concert would indeed be on the Monday, and also that she could get Kraig and Martha a ticket, if they wanted one… After lunch, whilst Kraig posted excited comments on Facebook, along with a picture of himself with Mercedes, David told Martha about his future plans for the first time; about how he would be joining Mercedes in Australia, and how he eventually wanted to relocate to the Boston office. She confessed that her time in New York would also be limited; she had decided to return to the west coast and the Seattle office, but after a break. She had just wanted to get as far away as possible from that part of the world for a while…
Across town, Nick had ended his first working week feeling, if he was honest, a little conflicted. He had spent much of the week working hard on his first case, and had come up with a good set of arguments for it, but these had then been rejected by his immediate superior. When he asked why, he was told that whilst his arguments were positive, and would win the case, there would be no money for the company in doing so, and as a result, the case was now going to be dropped after a review. He felt angry about that, and returned to his cubicle ready to punch something or someone. He realised now why he had not wanted to come to this kind of firm; the problem with working in a big firm was that the only thing that mattered to those in charge was money, and justice ran secondary to that. At the moment though, he had no option. Yes, he and Jeff had some money, but that didn't mean that he didn't need his salary, especially now they were going to be having a child. He just had to grit his teeth, and carry on, hoping that the next case would have a better result…