Reunions and a Proposal.
As David and Nick had very different reactions to their first week working in New York, an important event was also taking place in Ohio. After a prolonged course of treatment in Denver, it was finally time for Jake to be able to head home to his family. Unique had stayed with him, not wanting to leave him on his own until she was certain that he was alright. It had also given her time to make arrangements for a suitable reception when he was given the all clear to head back east. Marley, Ryder and Kitty had all agreed readily to head back to Lima that weekend so that he would be greeted in style. It would also be the first real chance for them all to catch up since the quake, and they would be glad to be back together, although Kitty had threatened the other two New Yorkers with death if they revealed how devastated she had been.
Jake had, as the initial examination had surmised, torn a tendon in his foot, and had also managed to break a bone - in his big toe. That revelation had set both Jake and Unique howling with laughter, a moment of light relief in an otherwise tense situation. As time had gone on, other patients had slowly trickled into the hospital from Los Angeles, but the number had been tiny in comparison to the population of that city on the day the quake struck. On top of that, their injuries were far more severe than those that had been inflicted on Jake. He would recover in time, and be back to the way he was; the others had suffered life changing injuries on top of the trauma of losing friends and family. It was the children in particular that made Jake and Unique sad when they saw them brought in; injured and often orphaned too, lost and alone in a world that would never be the same for them ever again. Unique did whatever she could to try and help them, as did Jake when he was able to move with more freedom. Now as they left Denver, they were both resolved that they would dedicate whatever time and effort they could to any charitable cause for the victims; after all, it could quite as easily have been them that was lying in one of those beds…
Having landed in Columbus, it was a short trip back to Lima in the car that had been arranged for them. It took them to Jake's home, Unique's parents having made their way there to welcome her home. As Jake made his way up the garden path, hopping along on his crutch like a pirate, he couldn't help but smile when he saw that the neighbours were out in force to see him arrive, calling out greetings to him and giving him their best wishes. On entering the house he stopped for a moment, then grinned as he saw his three friends standing there waiting for him, along with the Schuesters and Coach Beiste, all of them so pleased to see him back home in one piece, more or less. Everyone had by now heard all about his part in the rescue of Peter Smythe, and that made him a bit of a hero in their eyes; not everyone would have been prepared to dangle upside down above a deep hole in a shifting pile of debris to pull out a child, not with that potentially fatal drop below if someone made a wrong move. He blushed as he was hugged and kissed, and his hand was grasped and warmly shaken. Then he looked into the lounge, and saw the figure that was waiting there for him, totally unexpectedly. Jake left his friends, and made his way quickly into the other room to stand in front of them.
"Hey, Mr Wade," came that voice.
"Hey…" said Jake, before he pulled Puck into a tight hug. "Thanks for keeping your promise. I knew that you would, because you are the best brother in the world…"
After the festivities had died down, and Unique had finally been persuaded to head home, Jake finally managed to get a few minutes alone with his brother. "I will admit that I was scared," he began. "When the quake came, I panicked; I disobeyed all of the rules about staying inside and got Unique out. That was, as it turned out, the right thing to do. If we had done as we were always told to do, you'd be wearing a black armband…the whole house just exploded, Puck! If we had been inside…"
"But you weren't; I think that our mutual angelic friends saw to that. David told me that he and Mercedes survived because Wes told them to head away from the Bowl on another pretext moments before it all happened. But I kind of do know what you mean about being scared… If that third big quake hadn't come, then the truth is that they would never have let me head to March. That was bad enough, fearing that I was going to let you all down, but then when I was on my way, the damage I could see below me was so bad. Then, when I only saw three people as I came into land…" Puck stopped, and swiped at the tears that had formed in his eyes, as Jake did much the same with his own. "The fact is that I did get you out; your ankle will recover, so that future you always dreamed of is only delayed, not over. My boss still doesn't know that I broke all the rules to rescue you; in fact, there is talk of me getting a promotion. So, it's all good…"
"Yeah, I guess it is. I will need to find a new college now, and that won't be fun. I think I will look at schools in New York this time, if possible, but don't spread that around yet. After all, I might not get a place, and even if I do, I don't know when I will be able to start there."
Jake's woes would diminish as the weeks went by, and by the time that the middle of July came along, he was more than able to manage the journey to New York, to join the others in converging for the first of what would probably be several fundraising concerts for the victims. The quake was now regarded as nothing short of a catastrophe which had wiped L.A. off the map. The whole world was frightened by the statistics, by the sheer number of dead, missing and injured. It was now being presumed that those that were still unaccounted for were dead, but there was little hope of recovering many, if any, of those bodies…
There had been searches mounted by rescue teams that had converged on California from all over the globe, and there had been a few miracle moments when, against all the odds, survivors had been found amongst the ruins. The biggest of those had come late one night, just as the sun was setting over the darkness of what had once been a vibrant city. A rescue team member had suddenly spotted the tiniest shaft of light coming from the ruins of what had once been a major hospital complex. On investigation, they discovered that a basement room had managed to survive with hardly any damage, and that by being there at just the right time, twenty or so people had survived to tell the tale. Even better, the room had been a snack bar of sorts, and so they had been left with food and water, if not the ability to escape themselves from the room. The fact that over half of those in the room had been children and teenagers from the children's wards made it all the more special.
In most of the city now there was only one mission; retrieving what bodies they could as they cleared away the ruins. There was some talk of rebuilding; the President had stood behind a lectern at an Air Force base in Florida and had pledged that he would support the efforts of the Californian authorities to reconstruct the city. No-one believed that it would ever actually happen; there were too many ghosts there now. In any case, many of the things that had sustained the economy of the city were in turmoil. The movie and television industry had lost many stars and crew as they sat in their homes that fateful day; many films that had been completed would never be shown as their cast were now ghosts. As for television, there were problems to overcome, but when James Corden, who had been in England at the time of the quake, presented a new episode of the Late, Late Show from its new home of Seattle, with Betty White as his main guest, the country rallied. The following day saw Ellen return to the screen, and with it a degree of normality for some; the big problem now was that the list of potential guests was a lot shorter, and there was talk that in the long term, they might have to move to New York to get big names that were now scared of being in an earthquake zone…
In the midst of all the turmoil, Michelle had made a trip that she had not expected to. She had been told all about Nick and Jeff's meeting with Albert when they had returned, and she admitted that she had received an invitation, but had not known what to do for the best. A big part of her wanted to support her cousin's uncle, the only real family Wes still had outside of jail from his father's side. The problem was that it was some distance to go, and quite an expense… Then the quake had come, and all the attention of the world had been focussed on it. The one thing it did do was focus Michelle's mind on the issue of family. She had her parents, but that was it apart from Albert; she began to feel that she should make the trip after all, but the wedding was just days away, and it was probably too late. She confessed as much to Santana one night, and added that in a way she felt that she had let herself and Wes down by not deciding to go in the first place…
The next morning she arrived at work to find a reception committee consisting of Sam, Santana, Nick and Jeff. They made her sit down, and then handed her an envelope. "We made a call to Oliver last night, and he found your passport and gave us all the necessary details. We also sorted out all the paperwork with Italy, so you will be able to get in. You are booked on a flight tonight that will take you to Rome, and then on a train that will take you to Florence. There is a hotel room booked for three nights at the same place that we stayed, which is a short walk to the museum, and the church that the wedding is taking place in. So, you should go home, pack and take a nap. You will want to look your best at the ceremony. As for telling Albert you are coming, that is up to you, but it might be a nice surprise for him if you are waiting for him when he arrives at the church…" Nick smiled as Michelle just stared open mouthed at them all.
"As for the cost, the partners all agreed that you deserved a bonus, and this seems a good way to do it," added Santana. "We can look after this place for the next few days, so as Nick said, go home and pack. You're doing this for Wes. He was intending to go, but that was before all of the chaos came to L.A., and now he might not be able to. You are his representative at the ceremony…"
Michelle had to agree with that statement, and so after hugging all of them and pledging she would pay them back one day, she hurried home, to find Ollie waiting for her. He too had a big smile on his face, and before she could speak, he handed her another bit of paper, which turned out to be his own reservation for the flight to Rome that night. "I told them I had a family event, and they owed me the time, so I hope you will allow me to accompany you to the wedding…." The hug that he received was all the confirmation that he needed to have that she was very pleased at the prospect…
After much thought, Michelle decided that Nick had a point, and she did not let Albert know that she would be coming after all. The journey was a long one, and she was glad that she had managed to get some sleep on the plane, as she had been able to enjoy the scenery as the train had roared north from Rome. There had been time on their arrival to explore the city a little, but the journey was catching up, and after a good meal, they headed to bed early. The next day they made their way to the church, and were first to arrive. Ollie went inside whilst Michelle waited for Albert, hiding her face so he would not notice her. He ended up walking right by her, with a man she assumed must be his best man. "That's right, don't even acknowledge me when I've flown thousands of miles," she said, and he stopped…
Albert had been ecstatic to see her, and his best man was rather worried about how close he was to the mystery young lady until he made introductions, and then he had relaxed. It turned out that Albert's best man was actually his soon to be brother-in-law and so he had every right to worry… There was time to introduce them both to Ollie, but it was only after the ceremony that Michelle got to meet the lovely Celia; the two of them hit it off right away. It all made Albert's day a little more special, as did the fact that as he walked out of the church, he had seen for just a second his nephew smiling at him from the other side of the street, giving him a thumbs up for good measure. Michelle saw Wes too, but saw through the smile and into the turmoil inside as he coped with disaster. She could only hope that he would get the support he needed after all his work was done. That was for later though; now she had to help celebrate the long overdue wedding of Albert…
She would return home on the day that the music and theatre communities of New York made the first of their many performances to raise money to help those affected by events in L.A. The federal response had been woefully slow, with some in the Republican Party even suggesting that they should provide nothing, and let the rich Democrats of California shoulder the costs themselves. Even worse was the revelation that whilst many of the biggest businesses in the United States had made substantial donations to those trying to assist, Trump International had not given anything, at least so far. Ex-pats around the globe also donated and backed appeals, not the least the Duchess of Sussex.
The casts of all the Broadway shows had agreed to donate their wages from the Saturday before the concert to the relief funds, which for all of them meant wages from two shows, not just one. Sebastian and his fellow 'Mormons' had taken to asking for donations after their performances; no-one could resist their calls when Elder Price stood there and told them all about his nephew and the ordeal he had just been through. The cast then assembled with collecting pails in the foyer as the audience headed for home, and each night they filled them with coins, and many, many notes.
Those young men were out in full force for the concert, alongside the casts of every single major show on the great white way. The audience was treated to a number of cross over moments; the young men from Book of Mormon appeared on the stage to accompany Bette Midler in the classic theme song from Hello Dolly!, in a routine which saw them high kicking like a line of chorus girls. The applause at the end of that skit was deafening. Cooper found himself wearing two hats that night, performing both as Willy Wonka and Charlie Price, the current actor in the latter role being unavailable due to a back injury. Again, the reception was ecstatic.
The Broadway stars were the precursor to the music stars, with so many big names making the time to be there to sing just one track, sometimes doing so in duet. There were none of the usual riders, or any egos about where they were billed; and the various generations mixed with each other. Sebastian had managed to convince his fellow performers in the show to sing during this section, and all of them had been surprised when he chose to perform Raise your Glass. That surprise was nothing to the shock of Pink herself joining them halfway, and taking the lead over from Sebastian.
All of them had agreed that there was only one person that deserved to close the show, and so Mercedes found herself in the wings as one big name after another performed. Then it was finally her moment; the second she appeared the applause began, and turned into an ovation. The noise grew louder still when David joined her on stage to take a bow - and then the two of them sang a duet which made the audience melt; a heartfelt performance of Endless Love. The audience was left spellbound, and erupted with applause the moment they finished. Then David left, allowing Mercedes to sing alone for a while, with some of her own songs, before she finished with a show tune. Her rendition of And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going from Dreamgirls had the crowd in raptures; as she finished, the applause echoed loudly around Madison Square Garden. As it did so, Mercedes took a bow, and began to prepare herself for what she was about to do next…
Although she was used by now to standing up there in front of a large audience and singing her heart out, it was quite another matter altogether to make a speech. She stood there quietly and waited for the applause to die down, her friends in the crowd doing their level best to try and help, and David also stepping back on stage and gesturing to the audience to try and get hush too. Eventually there was silence, and she began. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is less than a month since I was last here on this stage, in this fine city, on the penultimate stop of my first major solo tour. I was surrounded that night by a group of young, talented people who gave me all the support that I could ever wish for in achieving my goal of giving the audience the best experience possible. We had one last date in this nation before we took a break, then headed overseas to show the world what we could do. As it turned out, that performance would be the finale; of the people that were here with me that night, only one of them survived the quake in L.A. That one person was my boyfriend, the incomparable David Thompson. Without him I would not be here with you tonight…"
Mercedes had to pause as the audience applauded a blushing David, but this time when she held up her hand for silence, it came at once. "Without David, I would have perished as the whole of Los Angeles was reduced to a smoking pile of rubble. The things that I witnessed in the next few days in that city, the place that I called home, will never leave me, just as the faces of those that I have lost will not be forgotten. We were luckier than most; we went on to discover that two of our closest friends had survived the quake too, and then we went on to rescue the nephew of another friend, who was trapped in the ruins of his home. That little boy's mother and grandparents didn't make it; nor did so many of his school friends. He was lucky; his father does not live in the city, and so he still has a parent. So many other children did survive the quake, but have now found themselves alone, orphaned, in an uncertain world. It is for those children that we have asked you to give generously tonight. They, and all the others that survived will need our continued support as they come to terms with the enormity of what has happened. It won't happen overnight, and for some, it may never happen. What they need from all of most right now is love…"
Mercedes paused again, and let the applause begin once more, rising to a volume equal to that she had received for her performances. She took a moment to look into the crowd, and smiled as she saw Trent and Rory; she nodded to them for their help in writing the words that she had just uttered, turning her thoughts into something intelligent and coherent. She was ready now though to go on to a part of the speech that they had not written for her, and had no idea about. She raised her hand once more, and the applause stopped…
"Love is the most important of all the human emotions. It was love that made the four of us take a risk in going to seek out that little boy in L.A., when a more sensible thing to have done would have been to just run out of town. It was love that kept us moving as a group, heading towards a place where we could be rescued by our wonderful Air Force, who suffered their own losses but carried on, fighting to rescue as many as possible and take them to a place of safety, often risking their own lives in the process." She stopped again as the crowd cheered her sentiments. She was thinking at that moment of Puck, not present that night as he was once more on the west coast, but now ferrying workers to the ruins rather than bringing out survivors; instead, he returned to the east with a silent cargo of body bags. She knew that such a task would be eating away at him; behind his tough exterior was a sensitive and gentle soul. She only hoped that when it was all behind them, he would accept the counselling that would surely be offered. It had to be, because that was the least the country owed him.
Once again she had silence and she spoke. "As for me, well I could not be here tonight, on this stage, if I did not have the love and support of someone very special; a man that has been with me on every step of my journey. I am talking of course about the man that sang with me tonight so perfectly; so please, can we have another round of applause for David Thompson!" The man in question blushed all over again as the crowd applauded long and loud; with reluctance, he walked over to where Mercedes was beckoning, and stood at her side. She held up her hand for silence once again, and it eventually came.
"When I first met him, David was one of the enemy, a member of a rival choir in that fearsome world of show choir. As I got to know him, I discovered that he was the most sweet and thoughtful of young men; someone that shared my values and beliefs, someone that knew exactly how he should treat a lady instinctively and not just because he had been told how to as a dapper prep school boy. We've been together for a while now, and I know one thing; I will never find a better man, no matter how long and hard I look. They say that being in a life or death situation changes your entire perspective on life, and on what is important. I also know that my true fans will have no issue with what I am about to do now, whatever the executives at my record label might think…"
She turned to face a now confused looking David, and then very carefully she sank down on one knee in front of him. There were gasps from the crowd, not least from their friends who had not envisaged this happening tonight. Then there was silence with no prompting as David's eyes widened as he realised exactly what she was about to say. "David Thompson, I know that traditionally this would be done the other way round, but sometimes tradition needs to be ignored and altered. So will you do me the great honour of making our love for each other official, and agree to become my husband?"
No-one had been aware of what Mercedes had been about to do; even Kurt stood with his mouth wide open in his spot beside Blaine, and an equally stunned Wes. In the crowd, friends from both the New Directions and the Warblers now waited for a response with baited breath, as did two sets of parents who had accepted what was a surprise invitation. As for David himself, he was shocked, but pleasantly so. Yes, it should have been up to him to propose, and indeed he had been waiting for the right moment to do so for the last two years, but in the end, it didn't matter which of them asked the question. He wanted the whole world to know that the two of them were together for the long run, and as he prepared to speak, he knew he had a surprise of his own for her…
"Well, I didn't know that this was coming," he began. "I guess that after the elaborate proposals we have witnessed from some of our friends, this is just a little simple, but a lot more public. The thing is, I think simple is good. So my answer to your question is, of course, yes. Of course I will marry you, Miss Jones…"
As he helped Mercedes back up onto her feet, the crowd went wild, particularly at the moment that she slipped a simple platinum ring on his finger; then he stopped her for a second, dug into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a ring box of his own. That just made the noise in the auditorium all the louder, and Mercedes soon found herself close to tears as David opened the box, and then gently placed an antique gold ring, set with a mixture of precious stones, onto her finger. That done, he smiled at her, and they both knew they had to give the crowd what they wanted. As they kissed, the world around them faded for them both, the only thing on their minds being each other. They had already committed to each other in private, but now it was official. They would not let anyone come between them, especially not a record company.
It took them a while to escape the media throng after the show, everyone clamouring for an interview with the happy couple, something that they declined to give right now, but promised would be forthcoming in the morning. Mercedes also decided to hid her ring from the cameras too, much to the photographers chagrin. Their first port of call were their parents. David discovered from his parents that Mercedes had asked them for permission to marry him, which they had both granted without a single second of hesitation. Such a move was just a sign of how seriously she had planned what she was going to do. Mr and Mrs Jones were quick to point out that David had also asked for their permission, although in his case it had been some 18 months earlier. To them though it did not matter who had proposed in the end, they were just so pleased to welcome him into their family. The congratulations over, the parents departed, having extracted from them a promise that they would have lunch together the following day. They knew that now their friends would want to add their own best wishes.
As it happened, they had all already left, but there was a note on the table in Mercedes' dressing room, in Santana's hand, with the message 'See you at the Spotlight for an unofficial engagement party' written on it. Underneath were the words 'Or Else!' in a hand that David recognised as Thad's. They left by a side door, and climbed into the town car that had been arranged for them. With the screen up, they had privacy, and could both relax for a moment.
"I'm probably the happiest man on earth right now!" whispered a grinning David.
"Well, that makes two of us, my love. This ring is so beautiful - where did you get it?" replied Mercedes.
"I spotted it in a little store in Oklahoma on my road trip with Thad," answered David. "I knew that it was the one the moment that I saw it on the display, but sneaking back to actually buy it without Thad noticing was hard. I've been carrying it with me ever since; it has never left my possession, thankfully…"
Mercedes smiled, then said "So you are telling me that even Thad hasn't seen it yet? Well, that is something else, given how close the two of you are. Anyway, so I was thinking, we give the first interview tomorrow to Vogue? That's if they want one, of course.."
"That would be the best idea, or you might upset Isabelle," said a familiar voice all of a sudden, and a startled David and Mercedes looked up to see three angels sitting opposite them on the fold down seats. "She will handle it with a lot of sensitivity, and will make it all about your love story, and not what happened in L.A." continued Kurt. Then he leaned forward, and Mercedes knew why; she extended her hand so that he could see it better. "That ring is exquisite. The setting is perfect, and the mix of stones is nothing short of ideal. That had to have been made for a very special lady, and it is only right that it has now gone to another one."
"Can I be the next to congratulate you both," said Wes, jumping in as Kurt fell silent for a moment. "Mercedes, you are absolutely everything that I could ever have wished for my best friend to find in a wife. He is a very lucky man to have won his place in your heart, and he knows that. I take it that the wedding will still be some time away, once you are both more settled, and all your tour commitments are over?"
"I hadn't even begun to think about that," Mercedes admitted, "but yes, it won't be tomorrow, that's for certain!"
"Well, we will all be there; Thad will need my assistance with his best man duties, and Kurt will no doubt wish to ensure that the bride looks her very best. I have an inkling that even now he will be picturing in his mind's eye the dress that you will be wearing…"
"It is already designed, Wes," came the swift reply. "I promise that I will let the bride to be see it very soon…"
Meanwhile, all Blaine could do was sit and smile with contentment. To him it was just wonderful to see that after all the heartache and grief of the last few weeks, something so good and joyful could happen. He wished both his friends a long and happy life together, and they both knew that just by looking at his smiling face…