Ends and Beginnings : Part IV
The following day was once again of the same pattern for Wes; he rose early, had breakfast, then popped into the office to finish off a report that he had started the night before. Then it was off back to the court, passing Elizabeth in the corridor with just the briefest of greetings. Finn was waiting for him at the court; Elizabeth had discovered that he had absented himself from Wes' company at the end of the previous day's proceedings and had carried out a couple of collections, despite the fact that he had been told to take a week off. She had not been best pleased, although she understood where he was coming from in disobeying her. He was lonely, and needed something to occupy his time, particularly when Wes was sitting in the office working away. She had threatened him that she would make it a two week holiday if he did not follow her instructions for the rest of the week, and Finn had reluctantly agreed. He did however hope that today's proceedings would move on from yesterday's topic, as it had made Finn feel quite uncomfortable. He was excited though about the prospect of meeting Louis and Connor for the first time. He had heard a lot about the two young men though, and was anxious to discover if they could hear him; so far they only heard Wes to their knowledge.
As they had been held up a little whilst Wes finished his work, the two angels arrived at the court to find that the five mortal witnesses had already been seated in the public gallery. Wes said hello as he arrived, and then apologised for being late. The two new arrivals smiled broadly as they heard their old friend once again; those smiles grew wider when Finn also greeted them all, proving that it was not just Wes they could hear for the first time. They had already been brought up to speed on the events of yesterday by the others. It had also been in the newspapers, of course, along with the confirmation of their assumptions from the previous day. The test results which showed that he had contracted the STD came from a free clinic in Cleveland, not the family physician in Columbus. As the judge arrived, Wes took a deep breath as he stood up and prepared himself for the worst. He had a funny feeling that his name was going to come up quite frequently that day.
At first though, it appeared that they had all been mistaken. All of the evidence concerning the various charges of fraud and deception was presented to the court, but through all of it, Randy made no comment whatsoever. It appeared that the revelation about his condition and his pillory in the media as a result had taken away all of his cockiness. All of that changed after the first hour of the day. It was then that Randy was called to take the witness stand himself to answer a few questions about his involvement in the family firm, and the operation of the fraudulent part of the business in particular. To the shock of nearly everyone there, he freely admitted, with a smug grin, that the whole thing had been his idea, and that he had started the process without the knowledge of his father, stepmother or brother. He told them with something verging on glee that Albert had resigned from the firm the moment that he had found out what was going on. He informed them all that he believed that was a good thing anyway, as Albert was useless in his opinion; he lacked the ruthless streak that was essential for a good businessman, being obsessed with love and morality. His father had been shocked and horrified when he first found out, but then he had shown him the bottom line. After that, his father had not been worried about the fact that the scheme had serious implications for the family firm's reputation if it was discovered, which proved what he had always suspected; his father was only interested in money. The same he already knew to be true about his stepmother, and she had added to the fraud that was taking place on a massive scale. After all, she was obsessed with money, status and power; that was why she had been so keen to marry his father after all…
"Before she came along, when mom was still alive, we were a happy family. I was good and honest. She was a bad influence on me at a time when I was an emotional wreck. That woman made me what I am now; she used me to get what she craved in life. The only complication in her little scheme was Wesley. I doubt that she had planned for him. That little goody two shoes was the bane of my existence from the moment that he was born. He deprived me of the love that I deserved and craved, and drained the family money, which forced the whole fraud scheme into existence. He might not have been aware that his expensive education at Dalton Academy was being financed by the defrauding of clients, but it was, trust me. If he had not come along, then the whole scheme need not have existed. My little half brother was the cuckoo in the nest; the cause of the problems which have destroyed us all. He is to blame for all of this. If that little bastard had not been born, we'd all have been so much better off. I am glad that he was run over and killed - it is just a great pity that it didn't happen so much sooner. If he had done, then we could have kept the money from his trust fund in the hands of those that really deserved it - his family. Instead, it went to a bunch of spoilt prep school boys that clung on to him like leeches. Then again, if my stepmother had seen sense at the time and just had him aborted like all the others when she discovered she was pregnant… In my opinion, the world would have been a much better place if the saintly Wes had not existed. I know that my world would have been better. He was the worst thing that ever happened to the Montgomery family, and trust me when I say that truck driver did the world a favour when he destroyed him."
As his father's last words rang out, Wes took a moment to glance for the first time at the faces of those sitting with him. Michelle looked placid enough, used by now to the abuse that was thrown at Wes by the people that were supposed to be his family, having sat through his mother's trial the week before. Finn and Mitch were both sat there just shaking their heads, but neither of them looked as if they were about to explode. However, it was a very different case when he looked at the three former Head Warblers, and that was a worry. Each one of them was a different shade of red, and all looked as if they might stand up and scream at Randy at any moment, which would not be good. Fate was looking out for them though, and at that precise juncture the judge called an early recess for lunch. As the rest of the court made their way out for the break, the three young men kept their counsel, and expressed none of the righteous anger and indignation that they felt until they were the only people left within earshot.
"That thing is a monster," hissed Gabriel, breaking the silence. "How can anyone just stand there and calmly say that another human being, who had never committed any kind of crime, deserved to die? The fact that he said it would have made him happy? He isn't a human, he's an ape!"
"Right now, I would happily head to whatever room that they have him in, and kill him with my bare hands," said Connor, earning the normally most placid of the three young men a raised eyebrow from Gabriel and Louis. "I strongly suspect that I would not be going in there on my own either, guys. I think that a group of Head Warblers, each one armed with a gavel, could just start battering away at that pathetic excuse for a man…"
"I'd prefer to be armed with a Louisville Slugger if I'm being honest," said Louis, "But yeah, I would be in there with you. How can anyone stand there and say that Wes deserved to die; that the world would be a better place if you had never existed? You were the best thing that ever happened to the Warblers; you managed to create a unity, order and loyalty that the three of us couldn't. I am so proud to be able to say that I knew you, Wes…"
"And in immediately seconding that," added Connor, "I would only say that we miss your physical presence. To hear you is great, it truly is, but sometimes… It's like when you are feeling low, and somebody calls you up, intent on making you feel better, but it just isn't quite enough to lift you out of the depression you are in." As the young man finished, he lowered his eyes to the floor, trying to hide the moisture in them. Louis and Gabriel, sitting on either side of him, placed an arm each around his shoulders, having heard the sadness in his tone, knowing that he might break down into tears at any moment.
"I can't condone murder. I am an angel, and murder is one of the gravest of sins, no matter how justified and appropriate it might seem. He is going to get the punishment that he deserves, I am certain of that. Killing him would end his sorry excuse of a life, but it would also destroy each of your lives in the process. I'd like to think that he has a long spell in jail coming to him, and that he will suffer greatly in is time in incarceration. Also, if I'm being honest, I don't think that gavels would hold up for very long under sustained use…" Wes finished, trying to inject a little humour into the sad situation.
With a small snort of laughter, Connor raised his eyes again, and conceded "No, I don't suppose that they would… It would be symbolic though; a gesture that showed the world that no-one crosses a Dalton boy, especially not one that still insists on wearing his old school tie with his suit…" His voice stopped, and he let out a gasp of shock.
"There is only one way that you could know that Wes was wearing his tie…" Mitch whispered to a stunned looking Connor, as on one side of him, Gabriel broke into a radiant smile.
All eyes now turned to a very quiet Louis, who was staring straight ahead of himself, mouth open wide. He spoke softly. "I see that your shoes still outshine all of ours… It is so good to see you again Wes. So very good…" He sniffed then, and swiped at his treacherous moist eyes.
"Well, Wes, I think that there is one more thing that you have to do at this juncture," Gabriel added; Wes nodded at him, and unfurled his wings. That was all it took to have Connor burst into happy tears, but Louis just stared again, and then burst out laughing.
"You have Dalton school colours on your wings! I can't believe that you have Dalton wings! I mean, I know that you loved the place, just as we all did, but isn't that taking it a little too far?"
"Not at all," came another voice, and Louis jumped as suddenly Finn moved to stand beside Wes. He had forgotten that there was another angel in the room. "When you get your wings, they either reflect some physical attribute, or your mood, or what you love the most. That's the reason for it, so they tell me. It doesn't explain why my wings are light brown…"
"So, guys, this is Finn Hudson, Kurt's stepbrother, and my close friend and ally in a world where Klaine can be all too prevalent. He is also the hardest working angel that I know, though he would always deny that," added Wes.
"So it isn't just you that we will be able to see then," asked Connor, his tears now abating.
"No, it is all angels; we can invite Kurt and Blaine to join us later just to prove that point. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am hungry, so I think we should keep further discussion until the rest of today's proceedings are over. However, before we go, I think there is just one more thing that I need to do…." At that point, Wes rose up from the spot he was standing with his wings outstretched, to hover in the air above them. It caused all four former Warblers, none of whom had ever witnessed him in flight before, to gasp in delight.
"All he needs is his gavel, and he is Jeff's drawing! I knew that he had asked you to actually pose for it!" said Gabriel with a grin. "Ok, so Wes is right, it's time we got something to eat, to fortify ourselves for an afternoon of listening to his toad of a father digging himself a bigger hole, just to ensure that he remains in the prison cell he belongs in all the longer. Then once this is done, we can all head back to my place, and we can spend an evening communing with the angels." At his side, Louis and Connor nodded, and the plan was made.
As those in Boston headed out to get a quick lunch, a confused Elliott was making his way from one side of Manhattan to the other. It had been another hectic morning at the Spotlight, the place starting to pick up later as the students had finished the school year and now had time for a spot of brunch; plus there was the fact that the tourists had arrived. It had been busy, but he had found the time to complete all the tasks in the office, so that everything was ready for Dani when she came in later to take over from him. He needed to be away quickly as he had an appointment to view an apartment which filled all of his needs bar one - location. He had finally taken the decision that his need to live with his brother again took precedence over where it was, but he wasn't looking forward to making the journey.
His plans for the day had however been turned on their head when just after twelve, Mike had walked through the door, with Nick at his side, both of them there to work. This was a surprise as Mike was not rostered to work for another three hours, and Nick was not noted down for a partner shift. "We have actually come here just now with specific instructions from Wes," said Nick. "Both he and Michelle are concerned that you are working far too hard and that as a result, you are not as able as you should be to keep up with developments in respect to your housing needs. It so happens that Wes has become aware of a place that is about to be put on the market this afternoon that would actually be ideal for you. He knows that you have an appointment to view somewhere this afternoon, but this place has all the things you want, including location. It is in the West Village, so it is walkable, instead of that lengthy train ride that you are dreading. The rent they are asking should also be achievable, given that you will have an input from Beats, and a contribution from the de Marko's in respect of Scott. So we have made a few calls, and the upshot is that you have an appointment to view it right now; the owner is waiting for you. The address is written on here, so go and grab your jacket and head over, or you will miss out!"
Before Elliott could protest, Mike held his hand out for his keys. "The two of us can keep the place ticking over until Dani gets here. So go, before someone else finds out about it and snaps it up!"
Less than two minutes later, he had been on his way, still shaking his head in disbelief at the turn of events. He knew that Wes and Michelle were busy in the court, but surely they had a break for lunch. One of them could have sent him a message, or heck, Wes could have come himself, so that he would have been better prepared. He mused on that fact as he walked across town, not in any particular hurry; he was sure that the owner would wait for him, and would rather have him cool than sweating like a pig. As he entered the street on which the apartment was located he glanced at his watch and realised that he had been walking for less than twenty minutes, which was no time at all, and would be ideal for his work. He checked the address once more, then paused outside the brick built building. It was gorgeous, and in a wonderful area. It was far too nice to ever be in his price range; either that or it had some hidden defect. Nonetheless, he was here now, so he rang the bell - his heart jumping the moment he saw it was of the old-fashioned pull variety. If nothing else, he was about to see inside a grand period house…
When the door swung open to reveal Jeff standing there, Elliott could only stare, which made the blond man laugh. "Yeah, I told them that you would be shocked! I've just rustled up a pot of coffee - come on in and have a cup whilst I tell you what's going on, right from the very beginning." Elliott found himself walking in, not in so much of a daze that he failed to notice the grand staircase that he was walking up. When the property had been divided up, the architect had decided to leave the majority of the original entrance hall intact as the entry to the two new properties, with storage space underneath the stairs. Jeff walked him into the main living room of the upper apartment, which overlooked the street, and motioned to him to take a seat. He did so, and Jeff poured him a coffee, handed it over, and begin to tell him the full story. He made it as short as he possibly could, but earned himself a number of gasps, and then big grins from Elliott. "So, in conclusion, Nicky told you that you were meeting the owner of the property, and you are. I think that the apartment we are in would be just what you have been looking for in vain for months. It has four bedrooms, although I am guessing that you will only need two in the long run; two full baths and a shower room; and a big kitchen with space for a table. There is also a garden at the back which you will share with the other three apartments in this house and the one next door. Artie will be living on the lower floor; we are intending to offer Flint and Ethan the one immediately below you, which will make Beats very happy; and eventually, Mike and Tina will live in the duplex at the top of the other house. So you will have good neighbours. There is only one little catch to the whole thing…"
"The rent," said Elliott with a sigh. It did all sound perfect; too perfect. "This is such a nice area, and you could get a lot of money for a place here is you marketed it properly. Even with all the extra money that you guys have factored in, I doubt that we could make the market rent on this place."
"Possibly not, but that isn't the catch I was talking about. The house on the other side, the one between this one and the one Nick and I will be living in - we will be renting that to six young guys that you know; Luke and Duncan need a new place too, so we will offer it to them, sharing with Seth as now, but also with Colin, Edward and Skylar. They will need a mature adult to look out for them. Our little joke last month proved that Nick and I still don't really qualify for that role, so we were thinking that you could be that responsible adult and in return, we would give you a rebate on the rent."
"I guess I could do that, but even so, my finances aren't that great."
Jeff smiled, and wrote something down on a piece of paper. "This is the figure that I was thinking of charging you a month. The thing is, that if it wasn't for the issues around tax, I would just be giving you this place as a gift to thank you for all you've done for us all. I can't, so the rent is much lower than you might expect. The thing is that we would love you to live here; all of us would."
Jeff handed Elliott the piece of paper; he looked at it, blinked twice, then shook his head in disbelief. "That's… I can't Jeff, I just can't rent it for that little!"
"You can, and if you won't, then I am sure that Beats would rent it for that instead and ask you, Josh and Scott to move in with him…" Before Elliott could think of a suitable retort, Jeff continued. "I know that it is ridiculously cheap, but as I've already said, if I could, I wouldn't be charging you at all. I would let all of my friends live here for free. What I am trying to create here is a tiny corner in the middle of the metropolis where we can be around our friends, the people that love and respect us. Also, by filling these five houses with people that I like, and are either in, or just plain love, the arts and music, I am sending my late father a signal that he has lost; he tried to break us all, directly or through Hunter, but he has not succeeded. He neglected the most important part of his role as a father, which in my opinion is to love your child unconditionally, just as your father did with first you and then Josh. Gordon would be so unhappy if he could witness what I was doing here, and that thought makes me glad. Coming to live here, Elliott, will give you and Beats the start that you need in your life together, away from the place where the plaster on the wall is still cracked at the spot that Beats' head smacked into it. It allows you to achieve what you crave the most; having your brother living with you, and it also gives you a space for Scott to join you; a separate room from your brother at that…"
Elliott chuckled at that, and replied quietly "Like that would ever be possible now! Still the fact that it exists would keep his mom and dad happy. This place is perfect in so many ways; it is close to NYU, a short walk from the Spotlight for me, but I still don't know…"
"Well, it would be wrong of me to try and influence your decision or force your hand in any way, but why don't we take a quick stroll around the place, just as a way to pass the time. After all, you would have to agree that it would be silly to make any kind of decision without checking everything else out first…"
Elliott had to agree with that, and he got up from his seat, and followed Jeff as he showed him round the rest of the house. He gasped out loud at the sheer size of the kitchen diner, which he hated to admit was actually bigger than the whole of his current apartment. Next door was the first of the bedrooms, which had a small shower room next to it. As he looked at it, he could picture it as the guest bedroom, allowing them privacy on the floor above. That was were their feet now took them, heading up the stairs to the upper level. The main bedroom was above the lounge on the floor below, and had an en suite bath. Elliott walked over to the window, and took in the view; as the houses on the other side of the street were slightly lower, he had a good view over the rooftops in the direction of midtown, and that made him smile.
"If you look to the right, you should be able to see the Empire State Building," said Jeff from where he stood in the doorway, and a quick glance in that direction confirmed that was indeed the case.
The other two bedrooms sat at the back, and shared a Jack and Jill style bathroom, which made it perfect for his brother and his boyfriend; it looked as if they had their own rooms, but in theory, they were easily connected. The view from the windows of those two rooms was southward, and the new World Trade Center and the other tall buildings at the tip of Manhattan were clearly visible. "This whole place is spectacular… I could never hope to afford something like this; the boys certainly couldn't, and even Beats isn't rich enough to be able to afford this on his own at a proper market rent. If I am being totally honest with you, Jeff, any moment now I expect to wake up and discover that everything so far today has been a very pleasant dream. What is happening - it just can't be real…"
"Well, trust me when I say it is. I really hope that you will agree to come and live here with us. You really would be doing me a favour, and the boys that I mentioned earlier as well, come to it. However, I understand if you need time to think about it…" said Jeff.
"Actually, when I was standing in that huge master bedroom, all I could think about was one of those old sayings, about not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Now that I am standing in here, imagining the faces of Josh and Scott on seeing these rooms, I realise that sometimes you just need to forget about your foolish pride and grab something with both hands. I don't think that I will regret what I am about to say; I think I would regret it if I didn't say it. Yes, I will take it! I have a feeling that if I say no, and Beats, Josh and Scott find out, they would all start hitting me and calling me an idiot…"
Jeff smiled happily, then said "Well, we are planning on moving in next week, so anytime from then on, you can think about moving in yourself. Now, the other thing is that Nick and I haven't told anyone else about this yet, with the exception of Mike obviously, and Artie and Kitty. I would ask you to keep quiet about all of this too at the moment. We are intending to make a proper announcement to everyone at the weekend, when we can assemble as many people as possible in the one place at the one time to save ourselves having to repeat things over and over. So, just now, keep this to yourself; don't even tell Beats or Josh. We want to wait for the news to come out once nearly everyone is finished school or college and are free to talk about things."
"Ok, I guess I can go along with that, given what you are giving me here. You are giving me back my brother. It will be so good to have him living under the same roof for the first time in months. This place is kind of a dream first home for me and Beats as a couple too, and the fact that Flint will be just downstairs will be a big bonus for him. The only thing I will say is that Dani will be very jealous when she finds out about this place and how gorgeous it is…" Jeff nodded, and began to wonder if he could find a small corner somewhere for the young lady in question to move in to, if she wished…
When Elliott returned to the Spotlight a short time later, he was immediately greeted by two eager young men, desperate for an answer. He laughed as he walked straight past them and into the office, then laughed all the more when he realised that he had been followed. "That husband of yours is one lucky man," he began, turning to face Nick. "Not only does he have a loyal, loving husband, adoring friends, a ferocious talent and a cute cat, he inherits something that was never meant for him due to the poor use of words by his psychotic father. It is quite a nice place that you have there…"
"Yes, it is," answered Nick. "Trust me when I say that I am the lucky one…"
"So, Elliott," said Mike, with a touch of impatience, "Are you and I going to share a party wall at some point in the future?"
"Well, like you, I would have had to have been mad to have refused the place, wouldn't I? It is perfect; far too cheap, but I get where he is coming from with the rents. He feels, I guess, that he does not deserve to have had such a stroke of good fortune, and to reconcile himself to that, he wants to share it with as many people as he can. He knows how much I want to live with my brother again, even if it is just for a short while whilst he is at school, and so he has very generously given me that chance."
"That is exactly how it is; my kind hearted husband just wants everyone to be happy," admitted Nick proudly.
"Of course, I know that the whole thing about me being the responsible adult around the young ones next door was just a ruse to get me to agree and say I'd take it, but I will do that happily. Now it is finally happening, it is all happening very quickly… I can't believe that I will only be able to tell Beats and Josh on Saturday, and then move in myself the following week. I thank whoever it was that allowed me to meet Kurt Hummel, because if I hadn't, I would not be in this enviable position now. I would not have had a new home, a job that I love, and of course, probably no Beats either. His face is going to be a picture when he sees the place…"
Nick and Mike looked at each other, and smiled in agreement. There was no doubt in their minds that Beats' face was going to be a picture, because neither he, nor any of the other people that would be assembled on Saturday, would be expecting what they would be told at all…