Emma stared at her open closet, trying to figure out what she was going to wear to the cabaret. The day of the fundraiser had finally arrived and she was excited to be going to support the glee club, but she was even more excited to get a chance to hear Will sing – his voice always soothed her and made her feel happy. She finally decided on a sleeveless black cotton dress, pulling it off the hanger gently and laying it on her bed. She also decided to leave her hair down instead of putting it up as she stared at the reflection in her bedroom mirror and carefully applied her makeup.

She had not seen Will in the last few days leading up to now, he wasn't in his office or in the teachers' lounge during his free periods at school. Tonight however, Emma couldn't wait to see him again. She slipped her dress on, zipped it up in the back, then reached for the silver necklace on her dresser and fastened it around her neck, the crystal heart pendant sparkling as it caught the light. Emma then went over to her bed and sat down to put on her shoes, then picked up a small black clutch purse that held a tube of lipstick, a pair of plastic gloves, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Satisfied with how she looked, she went into the hall and put on a black coat – it was cool outside – and reached for her keys before stepping out of her apartment.

The drive to Magnolia wasn't far from her complex. When she arrived at the club, she pulled into an empty parking space, got out of her car and walked to the main entrance. The first person she saw when she entered the main lobby of the club was Kurt, who was wearing a black button-up shirt, black pants and a red tie. She showed him her ticket.

"Good evening, Miss Pillsbury, we're so glad you could make it," he said. "Please follow me." Emma followed Kurt through the lobby and into the main room of the club, which was already filling up. Some people were at the bar, others were at their tables chatting with one another, and more were checking out the silent auction prizes. The glee kids were making the rounds of the tables offering drinks and hors d'oeuvres – the boys dressed in the same outfit as Kurt, the girls in red blouses, black skirts and black tights. Soft recorded music was playing over the sound system, lights twinkled in all the plants and the stage was lit softly. Emma thought that the entire room felt very magical.

"Here we are," said Kurt, stopping at the table closest to the stage. Purple orchids sat in a small crystal vase, a candle flickered in a purple glass holder, and a single red rose sat in front of a place card that read Reserved for Miss Pillsbury in neat gold script. Kurt held out the chair for Emma, and she sat down. She reached into her purse and got out the bottle of hand sanitizer, smoothing a couple of drops into her hands.

"Miss Pillsbury, welcome," said Quinn as she approached the table, a tray of drinks in her hands. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I'll have an iced tea, please," Emma replied. Quinn smiled as she took a glass of iced tea off her tray and set it down on the table.

"Dinner should be coming around shortly," she said to Emma, "and then the entertainment will start when we serve coffee and tea."

"Thank you very much, Quinn," Emma replied. She watched as Quinn walked away towards the next table, then started to take a sip of her iced tea.

Dinner was incredible. Santana had brought her a bowl of soup for her starter, then Mike came around with the main course – the kids had obviously notified the caterers of her problems with dairy products – which was a pasta dish with roasted vegetables. Dessert was an array of fresh fruit brought to her by Mercedes, and Emma had as much as she could. As Brittany, Matt and Tina made the rounds for coffee and tea orders, the recorded music stopped as Rachel walked onto the stage with a wireless microphone. The room quieted down as she began to speak.

"Good evening, and welcome to the first annual McKinley High Glee Club cabaret fundraiser," she said as the crowd applauded warmly. "On behalf of myself and the rest of New Directions, we'd like to thank you for coming out to support us, the turnout tonight has been amazing and we've all worked very hard to put this fundraiser together as we prepare for our regional competition. The prizes for the silent auction are out in the lobby, we will be taking bids until the end of the night, at which time we will announce the winners."

Emma accepted a cup of tea from Brittany, her eyes still focused on the stage.

"And now, we have some great live entertainment lined up for you," Rachel continued. "Our glee coach, Mr. Schuester, has graciously agreed to perform for you all tonight, so let's give him a warm welcome." The room filled with applause as Will walked out on stage while Rachel walked off. Emma smiled as she took him in, he was wearing a black vest over a white dress shirt and black tie, dark blue jeans and black dress shoes. Will picked up the guitar resting on the stand, sat on the stool and began to strum the opening part of his first song. Emma closed her eyes as she listened to him sing in a clear, haunting voice.

Here I am
Lost in the light of the moon that comes through my window
Bathed in blue
The walls of my memory divides the thorns from the roses
It's you and the roses

Touch me and I will follow
In your afterglow
Heal me from all this sorrow
As I let you go
I will find my way when I see your eyes
Now I'm living in your afterglow

Emma felt the words Will was singing calm her. It was as if he was singing to her and nobody else. When the song ended, she applauded loudly. It appeared that his song made an impact with the entire crowd, as they applauded just as loud as she did. As he began the next song, Will caught Emma's eye and smiled at her before he started singing again.

Emma smiled back.