The End of 2022 Part III
Thad's Christmas Day so far had been quite an eventful one; he would never have imagined when he woke up the previous morning that he would be suggesting that he should be a sperm donor for his brother and sister-in-law. Of course, those words had altered the entire tone of the day. After dinner, he could sense that his brother needed some time alone to sit down and talk to Michelle, so he had decided to announce that he thought he should go and pay David a visit, to see Mrs Thompson as she had been asking for him, if his hosts did not mind. Ollie had agreed it was a good idea at once, knowing exactly why he was going, and grateful to him for it.
Thad wrapped himself up then headed out into the cold of a late December day in the city. He hoped that they would be able to get a good start on dealing with the issues that had come up before it was time for him to head back. He decided to walk across town, the distance from Michelle's apartment to the West Village not being all that great. The streets of the city were still busy, a recognition of the fact that the metropolis was a melting pot of cultures, and thus many people were not observing the holiday. He had just crossed Sixth Avenue when he nearly walked straight into a man coming in the other direction; he went to apologise, but for some reason the words died in his throat. The face looked familiar, but he found himself struggling to place it. In the end, it was the other man that spoke first…
"Oh my God! It's you! You probably don't remember me, but you saved my life, and then changed its entire direction by giving me your metrocard and telling me to go back home…"
Those words were all that was needed to turn the light on in Thad's head, and suddenly he was back on the pier on the Hudson, on the night of Niff's wedding, just hours before Wes would die… "I do remember, Ryan. The whole course of my life was changed later on that day too. You look a lot happier and better than you did that night…"
"I am… After you left me, I did as you said, and took the train back up to my old neighborhood. I decided not to go back to my parents place, but to my uncle instead. He had been mixed up like me in his youth too; I figured that if anyone was going to get it in my family, it would be him. It was 4am when I knocked on his door, but when he opened it and saw me there, wet and bedraggled, he just pulled me into a hug then invited me in. I told him everything I had done, including what I had done to you that night; I had to explain why I was still wet through. He didn't judge me, just fetched me some dry clothes. My folks still didn't want to know, but he did, and so did my aunt and grandparents. My uncle gave me a home, found me a job. Convinced me to go back to school, to learn a trade. I'm a plumber now, with my own place and a girl, and a baby on the way…"
"I'm sorry about your parents; they sound like mine. Make a mistake, do something that they don't approve of, and as far as they are concerned, you are out. Still, you have shown them by sorting yourself out and standing on your own two feet."
"Your parents don't like you? A smart preppy guy? What on earth did you do?"
"Told them I was going to be a teacher, not a doctor like both of them and all my siblings - and of course, the fact that I am gay did not help matters either," replied Thad with a grin.
Ryan shook his head. "They sure do sound like mine, right enough. So have you got a boyfriend, a husband?"
Thad's smile vanished, as he said, "No… The reason that I recall every moment of that day so clearly is because, just a few hours after we met, the love of my life was killed by a drunk driver. It destroyed me, hurt me so much that I very nearly ended it all myself… However, I have good friends who looked out for me, and got me back from the brink. I still miss him so much every single day, but I go on…"
"Wow…" said Ryan sadly. "You know, back then, I would look at preppy guys like you and think that you had it all, but in reality, you are just as screwed by the world as the rest of us… Anyway, I am so glad that I had the chance to say thanks, Thad Harwood. I was down here on a callout, and now I need to get back home to my girl, and my Christmas lunch…" Ryan held out his hand for Thad to shake, but he shook his head, and pulled him into a hug instead; he was glad when Ryan wrapped his arms around him loosely too. Then, with a nod and a smile, their paths diverged once again, leaving a thoughtful Thad to head on to his best friend's current home. He had already resolved that no-one else ever needed to know about his encounter…
He ended up spending several hours with David and his family; Mrs Thompson greeted him like a long lost son, and tried to make him eat a second Christmas lunch. The knowledge that he was currently within the walls of David's house stayed inside them, so none of the others joined them. When he eventually set off back to his brother's place again, the darkness had fallen, but his way was lit by a myriad of twinkling fairy lights strung on trees and wrapped around doors and windows. He walked quickly in the cold, past bars that had Christmas tunes playing, full of patrons sharing a festive drink with their friends. His path took him by the Spotlight diner too, lights on and serving to customers that knew they would get a warm greeting from the staff there. He saw Dani as he looked in the window on his way past, but she did not see him, and that suited him if he was honest.
He was dreading walking back into his brother's apartment though, and wished that a certain angel was by his side, realising that he had so far been absent. He dreaded going back and finding Michelle or his brother gone, or the two of them arguing hammer and tongs… He found that there was silence however, apart from the muted sound of the television. He recognised the channel as BBC America, and the show as Call the Midwife, which now showed its annual Christmas Special on both sides of the Atlantic on the same day. On the sofa in front of the screen sat his brother, with his wife cuddled in beside him, and both of them looked much, much happier than they had been that morning.
He sat down in an armchair, and after a moment, Ollie asked, "How was David?"
"He and Mercedes were both fine thanks, and they asked me to covey their seasons greetings. Mrs Thompson tried to feed me again, as she always does, and as for Simon, he is getting big…" Thad stopped, wondering if mentioning his friend's son was a bad idea far too late.
Ollie smiled, and said, "They do grow up so fast. I see it with the patient's kids all the time, and I guess Michelle sees it with the customers at the diner. Of course, if you really meant what you said earlier, we will see that first hand ourselves soon enough. We have decided that we want to take you up on your generous offer. I have no issues whatsoever with raising my brother's kid…"
Thad was struck dumb for barely a second, before he pulled his brother into a hug. "That is the best news that I have had all day! I want you to be a dad, Ollie; you have to be, so that the non-control freak side of our family has a chance to live on…"
Ollie snorted at that, but he knew exactly what Thad meant. Before he had taken up his post at the hospital at New York, in defiance of his father's wishes, he had spoken to his elder brother, Henry Junior, at least once a week; to his sisters Marcia and Delia just a little less often. Then as his father had spoken out against him, all those calls had stopped; his attempts to call them going unanswered. The Christmas gifts that he had sent his nieces and nephews that first year after his decision had been returned unopened. The message was clear; you defied Dr Henry Harwood Senior, and you were out. He had been treated just as Thad had been; ostracised by his parents and family from the day that he told his father that he would be studying history at UCLA and not medicine….
He only knew what was going on with their family because Eric, Delia's husband, was a good actor, and although he bowed down to his father-in-law's wishes in front of him and his wife, behind their back he did not. He had been sending Ollie letters since just after the split; the old fashioned paper kind, not the sort that could be found in the deleted files on a computer. He in his turn wrote back to Eric's secretary at the medical supplies firm he worked for; those letters had the stamp of a different New York hospital on them. It was one that Eric's employers dealt with, and one at which Ollie had a classmate that would frank the letters for him, as long as he covered the postage. His mind cleared, and drifted back to the here and now, as his little brother spoke…
"I guess that we will need to establish some rules pretty quickly. My only job here will be to provide the, erm, necessary, for the achievement of conception…" Thad blushed bright red as he spoke, and his brother laughed. "Try and be serious! Once that has been achieved, then I am nothing other than Uncle Thad. Now, of course, you do hear about cases were something comes up in the future health wise, and should that occur, God forbid, I would step up, no questions asked. The lucky thing is that an uncle could be the right match as a donor in any case. I will never make any sort of claim on your child; they will be yours…"
Ollie leaned across and took his brother's hand. "I know that you won't Thaddie; you are the most loyal and honourable person I know. This is such a big thing that you are doing for us, and we are both eternally grateful. We will however need to work out the logistics of the whole thing, and there will be a need for complete secrecy. If you start coming to New York every few weeks, or Michelle started going to Ohio, at a regular interval, then people will talk. People would still talk if you met up at a motel somewhere in Pennsylvania…"
"Okay, can I immediately veto a motel in Pennsylvania; it just sounds so tacky and sordid!" said Thad with a grimace.
"Seconded!" said Michelle. "We will find some way to achieve it I am sure, even if we need to resort to freezing it and posting it in a special box…" Thad's eyed widened at that notion, picturing himself walking into the Post Office in Westerville with it; as his sister-in-law saw his reaction, she laughed. "Then there is the question of when we start the process."
"Well, whenever you guys are certain and ready, then I will be too," said Thad diplomatically.
"I ask merely because I have been monitoring things for a while, and well, trying harder at the right time," Michelle continued coyly.
"That explains a heck of a lot!" exclaimed Ollie, as Thad went crimson, almost regretting that he had made the offer. He begged his brother with his eyes to go no further, and fortunately he saw his sign, and stopped…until it hit him. "Wait, the last time you were like that was exactly…"
"Exactly…which kind of means…"
"Means what?" said Thad querulously to his sister-in-law, as he wondered if he had just started living in a French farce.
"It means, to be blunt little brother," said Ollie, "how would you feel about starting the process tonight….?"
That night Thad found it hard to fall asleep, given his level of mortification. When he had spoken that morning he had never imagined that the turkey baster that had been used on his lunch would that night…
"Yes, it did all go quite a bit faster than I imagined it might as well, Thaddie," said Wes as he materialised on Thad's bed.
"It did…" said Thad smiling, but then it faded a little. "I hope that you don't mind what I did, Wessie. I know that we both desired children of our own one day, but I had already decided that I wasn't going to have any now I am alone. Then when Ollie told me he couldn't have any, and I knew that I was okay in that area…"
"It would have been nice if you had asked my opinion first, but then, you already knew what my answer would be. It will make my cousin Michelle so happy, and it will be the making of your brother too. My family and yours, joined at last through a child, as they could well have been had we not been torn apart in the way that we were…"
Thad looked at Wes for a moment, his mind alert and curious. In a quiet voice, he asked, "Do you know more about things than you are allowed to say?"
Wes smiled, and replied, "All that I can say is that Michelle has always been a good judge of her body's rhythms, and you will have to buy a few extra Christmas gifts next year…"
Thad smiled broadly, then said, "I do hope so, because otherwise this is going to be a complete nightmare. I can see why Sebastian was so worked up when he and Santana were going through this! Furthermore, I will now insist that any turkey I am eating, being for Thanksgiving or Christmas, is basted with a spoon, and not one of those things, from now on! Maybe I should just demand beef each year from now on…"
Wes would still be randomly chuckling as he recalled Thad's statement on Christmas night when the last day of 2022 came. As ever, New Year's Eve was a busy one in the angelic realm; there were always more deaths around the end of a year, and of course a major spike in suicides, not that they were responsible for dealing with those. This new year would have more significance for the group of friends than most; in just a few weeks, a decade would have passed since Hunter cut Finn's brakes and sent him crashing to his death. September would also mark a decade since Kurt and Blaine had arrived to begin their new roles.
Wes could not help but start to think of those sad days back in 2013, still so fresh in his mind. It had been the most horrific 12 months of his own life; a series of scandals, betrayals and deaths that had driven him close to despair. He realised now that it had also been what had bonded the New Directions and the Warblers; once sworn enemies were now the greatest of friends, living in harmony and helping each other out in times of trouble and strife.
Some had moved even closer to their former opposition; he immediately thought of Mike, knowing that had been his doing. His old friend truly was an amazing person, performing in his own job twice a day for a large part of the week; helping out Jesse St James with the choreography for the Broadway version of his show, after Sam had asked him, and of course, was also acting as a parent to Caleb whilst his own were away. Not of course that Mike was doing it all on his own. He had Tina to back him up at home, and Brittany was also involved with the musical. Rachel had been sceptical about that at first, but she was actually ahead of them all when it came to ideas, and could work out how things needed to be improved in moments. Wes also knew that something unplanned would come along for Mike and Tina in 2023, and that could not give him more pleasure…
The New Year would of course be celebrated first by Nick and Jeff; the Sterlings and Nick's mom had gone home shortly after Christmas, but Elspeth had stayed on. She had always promised herself when she was at art school that she would go to Paris one day, but her marriage to Gordon had meant that hope, like so many of her dreams, was left in tatters. It had been her sister's suggestion that she should finally realise her ambition whilst she was in England. When the latter had called Jeff, he had agreed, and told Elspeth she had to go, even offering to travel with her. She had declined that offer though, knowing he had a family, and went alone.
She had boarded the Eurostar on the 27th, upgraded to first class by Jeff as a Christmas gift. She had been given François' telephone number and address as an emergency contact, but no plans had been made for them to meet. She knew enough French to be able to get by, and she wanted to explore the city at her own pace. She had spent two days exploring the art galleries, including seeing the Mona Lisa, that most famous of all paintings. She saw the sights too, of course; no-one could go to Paris and not see the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Cœur… Notre-Dame made her sad and regretful, wishing that she could have seen it before the fire, but it was still iconic and beautiful…
She had returned to London on the 30th, still wishing that she had been able to make the trip in her youth, but at the same time, she realised that had her life taken a different part, then there would have been no Jeff, and that was not something that she cared to imagine. She brought him back a new study of Matisse, which he had talked about before Christmas, along with candies and toys for little Wes. Then she made a statement to her son and son-in-law.
"So tomorrow night I will be acting as your babysitter; it is a right and privilege of every grandparent, whenever they are able to take the opportunity. I believe that there is a large fireworks display in the centre of the city around the Thames, and free transport home on the tube afterwards…"
"That is a very kind thought, but the display that you are talking about is ticket only, and they will long since have sold out," said Nick.
"Oh, I know; they told me as much when I obtained these for you," replied Elspeth, taking two tickets out of her purse, and handing them over. "I am not taking no for an answer. After all, this is also your tenth New Year's Eve together as a couple…"
Nick and Jeff didn't have a choice, so they had taken the tickets. The following night, after dinner and tucking their son into bed, they had headed out, taking the District Line train to St James Park. The centre of the great city was already closed to all traffic, and was thronged with people making their way to the main entry point to the display in the shadow of Big Ben. Nick had brought with him two flasks, one with coffee and the other with hot chocolate, along with some homemade cookies. As the security guard checked his bag, she had laughed and said, "This is the only bag that I have seen tonight that is not filled with alcohol; it is nice to see that someone just wants to stay warm."
It was only half an hour later, when Nick offered a sip of coffee to a shivering Jeff that the latter realised what was going on. "Irish Coffee! Nick Sterling-Duval! I am shocked - after what that woman said!"
"Oh, I know," said Nick with a grin, "and there might be a little drop of rum in the hot chocolate too…" Jeff was left scandalised, but not complaining…
As Big Ben struck 12 times, they embraced and kissed in a sea of humanity, as above them fireworks exploded, filling the night sky with bright colours, as random strangers joined hands to sing a chorus of Auld Lang Syne. The main event over, Nick decided to call Trent to wish him a Happy New Year; it was only after he dialled that he realised it was just after 7pm back home…
Trent was not in the least bit put out though to receive the call from his friends, given that his own New Year's Eve was going to be a quiet one. Neither he nor Rory had any plans, having declined their invitations to the various parties that were held by the offices of government, including the one at the White House. Burt had no option but to attend the one that was being held for Congress, with Carole at his side. As the leader of the house, his presence was unavoidable, his temporary role showing no sign of ending. He had become used to it now, but he had already stated that he would not be continuing after the next election, returning to the peace of the floor. There were after all a number of rising stars amongst the ranks that would be more than capable of filling his shoes.
The increased role for Burt had lead of course to a more public role for Carole, but she did not object too much. She was in the spotlight, but she was using all the attention for good purposes. The functions she had to attend were tiresome at times, but she always looked a million dollars, thanks to Kurt being around to help her with her style choices, and Isabelle being able to let her access the Vogue closet. It did mean that she saw less of Cormac than she would have liked; Rory and Trent's son was the grandchild she had always craved, and the fact that there was to be another one, possibly in the near future, was one that she relished.
Having spoken to Nick and Jeff, Trent settled back down to his quiet night at home with his two favourite men in the world. The peace lasted just a few minutes, before the phone rang again. He knew exactly who it would be this time, and handed the phone straight to his husband to answer with a smile. Rory took it, and answered, his nana being the person on the other end naturally. She wanted to wish her grandson all the best for another year, and of course asked how all of the arrangements for the State Visit by President Kennedy to London next month were progressing. Rory laughed, and told her she was still on the guest list, along with Sister Mary Agnes, and would definitely be meeting the President. Whether the Queen would be added to that list was still up for debate. Listening in, Trent smiled, knowing that was not the case anymore, Her Majesty having agreed to attend a reception at the embassy that they would all be at…
When midnight finally came to Manhattan, those of the circle of friends did not head out to parties, all at the age were staying home was a better idea. Beats, Elliott and Dante were joined by Josh and Scott, and also by Evie, her father and Ethan having headed out to Times Square; Drew had announced that morning that he would love to see the ball drop in person for the first time, and Ethan had agreed to go. He would not have headed into the maelstrom of people there for anyone else, but once he was there, surrounded by hundreds of happy smiling people, he had to admit that it wasn't as bad as he had feared, and he could live with it. When the countdown finished and the ball dropped, he found himself wrapping his arms tightly round Drew, his friend pulling him in just as close. "Happy New Year!" he said into his friends ear as noise surrounded them.
"It will be. I am free, and my life is wonderful, and that is mostly down to you. You do so much for me, Ethan; I can never hope to repay you in a million years."
"You don't need to. I love having you here with me. I want you to stay forever, if you want to of course; two best friends, sharing life…"
"Yeah, that sounds good to me," replied Drew with a grin.
Back in the West Village, the toast in the Harper-Gilbert house was family; they welcomed Dante officially to the fold, whilst sharing in the hopes of Scott and Josh now they had found a surrogate. Elliott liked the idea of being an uncle… As for Beats, he was happy to be surrounded by love, to be married to Elliott, and that Evie being there, albeit fast asleep, meant that her father, his friend, was finally free from the clutches of his awful wife…
Next door, the younger men had spent a quiet night together. Both Colin and Skylar had been working until quite late. With Julia on a night shift, Skylar had headed home to see in the New Year for what might well be the last time in the city of New York, and almost certainly for the last time as an unmarried man. Seth had enjoyed a good day, no aches or pains troubling him for once, and was able to join in the quiet celebration of the end of the year without having to act. They drank to the continuation of their friendship, knowing they would soon be split four ways, and to a good year for them all. They all looked pointedly at Seth as they said it, and that was understandable in the circumstances. He noticed it, but said nothing, instead proposing a toast to Julia, which everyone quickly joined in with, glad for a change of subject…
They did not stay awake for long after that, the two couples heading off to bed. Seth watched as Skylar headed up too, then paused to tidy up the kitchen. That done, he headed up slowly himself, but as he passed the door to the living room, he heard the sound of someone crying quietly. Looking in, he saw to his horror that it was Skylar, and he made his way in to sit beside him. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked quietly, putting an arm around his friend.
"Yeah, it's just… I was looking at some old pictures on my phone, and all I could think suddenly was how long? How many more New Year's will my best friend be here for…? It's maudlin I know, but…"
"I think about that too, sometimes," said Seth quietly in reply. "I can't answer the question, but I will try my best to be here for a good while yet. Your kids will need an Uncle Seth after all…"
"Not even married yet," huffed Skylar.
"Exactly. I do not intend checking out anytime soon," said Seth. Skylar nodded, and then hugged him. Seth took a breath, and fought off the urge to cry. After all, he had a feeling that those kids would need to come along pretty sharpish if they were to remember him at all…