Petitions, Plans and Plots. ..
The news that Sebastian had met the Queen provided a lighter moment in a week back in New York that was dominated mostly by what was happening with Dante. At first, the target of achieving 10,000 signatures for the petition had seemed a daunting one, indeed almost an impossibility. It did not of course help that all of the signatories had to live in one of the five boroughs, which ruled out those amongst the close group that commuted in from New Jersey. That made Santana more than a little mad, and left Isabelle feeling that she wasn't doing enough to assist just by having all her staff sign. Without waiting for approval as she usually did, she wrote a page on the subject for the blog that was published on the Vogue website, pointing out that if it was okay for them to foster, then surely they should be able to adopt; and more importantly, why did the city ignore the wishes of the foster child in all of this? Her intervention did not attract universal praise from Vogue's readership, but neither was it condemned out of hand. It did however lead to several very well connected women arriving at the Spotlight to sign the petition, and when that news filtered back to Isabelle, she was very pleased…
The pile of completed sheets at the diner began to mount up; however, it was not until noon on Thursday, when Lachlan's mother delivered another wad of completed sheets that Elliott realised that they had 411 completed pages, and thus enough signatures. He had screamed out with delight, and Michelle had had no problem in allowing him to bundle them all together, and having stowed them safely in a box, head downtown to Grace's office to hand them over. For her part, she had already prepared the deposition that was needed to accompany the pages, and so, after she and two of her colleagues had gone through the pages checking that all was in order - one mistake would invalidate the whole thing after all - she put on her coat, and with Elliott at her side, she had headed for City Hall, diverting via the MTA offices so that Beats could add his signature next to Elliott's on the document.
When they arrived at City Hall, the petitions office was quiet, but all of that swiftly changed. The city government had known it was coming, thanks to all of the publicity they had generated, and so a whole team of scrutineers arrived in a five minute window, to check each sheet for non-city residents or obvious fake identities. They were pleased by the fact that it was a well structured document, and was therefore easy for them to check and count off the names. With confirmation that the correct total had been surpassed, the case was recorded as having been lodged for the attention of the committee. All they could do now was wait, but Elliott prayed that the attention of the city would be quickly forthcoming…
The weekend that followed was a calmer one for them all, with the knowledge that the case had been lodged; they all hoped that given the groundswell of support from across the city, success would be imminent. Neither Elliott or Beats wanted to accept that notion though, reserving their own judgement until the moment came when they had the desired verdict in writing, and in their hands. Dante did seem a little more cheerful though, and that was the most important thing for both of them as they waited to hear what the outcome would be.
In the house next door, meanwhile, Seth noticed that Skylar was up to something. He had found that he now noticed much more that was going on with his housemates than he ever had when he was healthier. He put that down to the fact that he was at home more often now than the others; his assistant's job at the college was well paid, but it was less than full-time in its hours. He had come across the realtor's details for a property in the Hudson Valley as he had taken the clean laundry back to Edwin's room, and he surmised at once that the property in question was where they envisioned their future. He had also come across a letter from Vermont in Luke and Duncan's room, talking about the place they would have at their disposal when they returned home. If they were all going to move out, Seth realised that he had to get Skylar away first, or he would never agree to leave him alone. For that, he had to get him to propose to Julia…
He began to make plans for that scenario, dropping unsubtle hints into the conversation, and for once it appeared that his policy was actually working out for him. As he was putting the laundry away in Skylar's room that Friday afternoon, he spotted a small box in his sock drawer; he didn't open it, but he knew at once that his friend had gone out and bought a ring for his girlfriend. He said nothing about it though when Skylar came home, as it was one of those now rare evenings when all of them were in the house and sitting down together for dinner. As they ate, Seth was aware that all of them had secrets, including himself; for the others, he was a big factor in why they had not just come out and admitted their plans.
After dinner, he retired to his room to read, something he had started to do again, but now he was reading all the books that people were supposed to read as they were deemed classic literature; the books that most people never read. He had to admit that he was finding Crime and Punishment heavy going, but he was persevering, not about to wimp out on the challenge now. As he read, he heard a tap at the door, and then Skylar walked in, closing the door behind him. "You put my socks away for me," he said, "so I am guessing that you might have seen what was in there?"
"I did; if it is what I think it is, then it is wonderful. When do you intend on making use of it?"
"Next month. I intend to get down on one knee at Thanksgiving."
Seth was beyond pleased that his best friend had finally taken the leap to actually be set to propose to his girlfriend. He had no qualms about it at all; Julia was going to be a fantastic wife for him, the soulmate that he needed to guide him through life's stormy seas. Yes, she was going to take him away but only to somewhere that he would still be in close touch with them all; closer to his family as well, and where he would be able to build up the career that he wanted to have. Skylar had worked in one of the big firms in the city for a few weeks over the summer, and he had come away thinking that working there would be so depressing. The uniformity of the design process, the conformity and the lack of individuality in the buildings that he saw planned made him despair. He would not be stuck with that back in Ohio.
Seth would miss his best friend, and vice versa, but he knew that for Skylar's sake he had to loosen the bonds that had kept them close since their Dalton days. He was not going to allow Hunter Clarington to destroy Skylar's happiness from beyond the grave. To ensure that was the case, Seth had begun to keep things secret from him. The attacks that he was having now were worse than before, and more frequent if not more intense. Nothing had been as bad as the night he had collapsed and passed out in the kitchen so far; the time he had spent being prodded and poked by Ollie Harwood the next day, whilst being observed by a bevy of med students had been almost as bad for him. He had seen the sadness growing in the good doctor's eyes as he went on, and he knew that the diagnosis was going to be bad. The words of confirmation, when they game, were not a surprise, but still hurt.
"I am afraid to say that your condition has progressed to the next stage. The drugs that we initially prescribed for you were relatively mild, and allowed you to carry on with your life normally, more or less. The new ones that I will have to put you on now will ease your suffering, but the side affects are much greater. They will not help to stave off the attacks, just mitigate the affects for you. Your life will be much more difficult to run and control; if you asked me now if you were likely to have another big attack like the one you suffered last night, I would have to say yes, particularly if you over exert yourself. You need to take it easy, and you need to begin planning for the worst case scenarios. You need to find a home with less stairs, ideally somewhere on the level…"
"In case I end up in a wheelchair?" said Seth quietly, and Ollie nodded. "In fact, it isn't really a case of if, it's when…"
"Yes, I would say that in a few years your mobility will be severely impaired, so we need to prepare for that. You have always faced the worst case scenario with dignity and bravery, and I am sure that won't change now, and you will face this head on. As for the pain in your shoulder, it might well be that it is just strained from the way you fell after the attack. I can see no evidence that definitively concludes that it is your condition that is affecting it. Now, I am going to make up your new prescription; the pharmacy here can supply it to you today, as I want you to start using the new cocktail of medication right away."
Seth nodded again, glad in a way that his shoulder was not affected, at least, not yet. He was also more than happy to pick up his drugs at the hospital today; he didn't know if he wanted to risk Colin finding out that his drugs had been changed, and making the right conclusion. He wondered if it might be better if he moved his prescription away from Duane Reed altogether; there was a CVS not that far away too…
Those new drugs had kept the scale of his attacks down so far, just as Ollie had promised; so far none of his housemates had noticed that his attacks were coming more often as they were mild as yet. Now that he had Skylar's news, he felt able to say with a degree of confidence what he needed to. "Is there anything that I can do to help you deliver the perfect proposal? My entire array of talents, limited as they are, are at your disposal…"
"Well, my plan is to take Julia out to dinner; she has the actual day of Thanksgiving off, but as she is on late shift on Wednesday and early shift on Friday, she can't head home. I am not going to head home either, but I have invited my parents to come, and I have also invited Julia's; her father sounded non-committal until I said that I also needed to ask his permission to propose; now they will be flying in late on Wednesday, and have a hotel already booked for the two nights."
"Well that is a good start. My obvious question now is where you are intending to have this dinner?"
"Where else but the Spotlight," said Skylar with a laugh. "I actually offered to work on the holiday months ago, and I am not going to let Michelle down now. In any case, none of us can cook a really perfect turkey dinner…"
"True."
"So I guess that your job would be to get Julia there; tell her that I want to have dinner with my two favourite people on such a special day. She doesn't know about the parents coming, and we have to ensure that she doesn't…"
As Seth began to work on ensuring that Skylar's proposal to Julia was every bit as epic as the fabled moment on a staircase at Dalton when Blaine had asked Kurt to marry him, the month of November came along with a storm on the east coast; it was no Sandy, but it still provided a major headache for all of those in the city. Roderick found himself moved upstairs temporarily by his concerned landlord as a precaution, after Cooper had been speaking to the neighbours and had been told that a few houses in the neighbourhood had had their basements flooded back then with the excessive rain. Roderick's home was tightly sandbagged and all of the furniture lifted clear of the floor, out of possible harm's way.
In the West Village, everyone had helped out to ensure that all the drains were free of debris, and an emergency plan was drawn up whereby they would evacuate Artie, Kitty and their daughter upstairs if need be. In the end though, all of the precautions proved unnecessary, as the rainfall total was quite low. The storm did cause chaos in the form of subway and train disruptions, and power outages, particularly over in New Jersey, where the lights of Manhattan could be seen, taunting some of the people on the opposite bank of the Hudson.
Those on the other side of the Atlantic read about the storm, but did not worry unduly, after a spate of E-mails from friends and family saying that all was well, although Jeff did get quite upset when Mike admitted that Caleb had howled whilst the storm was at its peak, and even being cradled in Mike's arms with a catnip mouse had done nothing to calm him. Still, he was glad that his little cat was in New York when he discovered the British tradition of Bonfire Night. Halloween had been much the same as back home, with pumpkins in the shops for carving, and people in costume looking for candy. It was however the first time that they had ever heard of 'bobbing for apples' and although little Wes had declined to do it, the three adults had tried, and had ended up getting soaked in the process.
That the Fifth of November should be the day marked by bonfires and fireworks did seem a little odd to Jeff until Miss Frobisher told to him the tale of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot as he waited for little Wes at the school gate. He had then repeated what she had told him word for word to first Nick and then Sebastian. His husband had remarked that it did seem a little strange to mark the moment that someone had failed to blow up the government of the day by blowing things up, but that was a British idea for you… Jeff found out that there would be a bonfire party in the square on the day before the big night, Friday the 4th, to which all of the children were invited. Little Wes was keen to go, but Jeff was a little disappointed; as the event began before Nick arrived home, he had to act like an adult at the party for once. His husband had baked for the event though, and his cookies and small cupcakes went down a treat after the usual British party fare of sausage rolls and sandwiches.
The fact that there was an effigy being burned on the bonfire did seem a little macabre to Jeff for a children's party, particularly as it was dressed like, and wearing a mask of, an unpopular politician. He mentioned the fact to Drew by text, contacting him as he would have some knowledge he hoped of the traditions, and he responded that it was all quite normal. What he didn't say to Jeff was that if he had still been in Britain and had been making a guy of his own, it might well have resembled a certain female doctor…
On Bonfire Night itself, the little family of three had eaten early, and had then left the house in good time to catch a bus over to Battersea Park; there they joined the crowds that had gathered to witness one of the city's biggest firework displays. There was another bonfire too, this one of a size that made little Wes gasp; even his parents marvelled at it, but relished the heat that it was generating on the cold night. There were stalls selling warm drinks and hot dogs, and they bought the former, before moving on to candy floss, a delightful confection of spun sugar, and treacle toffee. Then it was time for the fireworks, which roared into the sky and exploded with a noise like thunder from so close by. It was a frightening but glorious spectacle, and when it ended after a good 25 minutes, they had applauded like everyone else.
Whilst they had been watching, Nick had been moving them slowly back through the park towards the bus route, and away from the crowds. The moment the applause had died down he had grabbed the hands of his two children, and dragged them away, Jeff protesting the loudest. Nick merely pointed out that now the event was over, everyone would be wanting to get home, so they needed to get to the bus stop and ensure they were at the front of the queue. Jeff had to see there was wisdom in that, and they reached the stop just as a bus hove into view. They boarded easily and got a seat, then observed the wall of people approaching as the bus pulled away. As they walked back into Thurloe Square, Nick told Jeff to take little Wes into the gardens whilst he popped into the house. His husband acquiesced, but was curious as to why. That was answered moments later when Nick returned with a box of matches and a packet of Sparklers. A few moments later, and all three of them were carefully enjoying their own handheld fireworks…
Sebastian missed seeing all the fireworks as he was appearing on stage; however he had had a busy day of his own. He alone of all of those in London knew that Mason and Jane were getting married in 8 days time, and were doing so thinking that only their immediate family and those already in town would be able to attend. Sebastian had agreed to be the best man, but he knew who it should be, and had immediately began to plan on how to get Roderick over, knowing that the young man would never accept charity. He had decided to get in touch with Ethan, knowing that his family connections gave him leeway with the airlines; there would be no problem in getting a flight, it was just building up a story to go with it. Between them, they had managed to make one that was plausible, and had even expanded their initial remit to include Alistair and Spencer. Getting their contact details had not been simple, and in the end Ethan had resorted to calling Emma Schuester at McKinley; she had only handed over the information when Ethan had explained why he needed it. She had been overjoyed for Mason and Jane, and had been completely understanding of the need for total secrecy, resolving to not even speak to Will about it.
There was now a need to create a second story, one that would get those two young men on a plane to London without making them suspicious. In the end, the idea came from Emma, who had been a great sounding board for Ethan. She had given suggestions for all three of them, but on hearing what Ethan intended for Roderick, she had agreed his plan was stronger. He had decided though that her plan for the other two was the best one. She kept an eye on the Facebook pages of all the former New Directions, and she knew from Alistair's that he was fond of entering radio quiz shows. He had been relatively successful in his endeavours with the local stations, but he secretly hoped that one day his name would be selected at random by one of the major national stations; he had sent in his details several times, but so far, they had never called back…
The DJ in question was a man that had a very distinctive voice, but it would be nonetheless an easy mimic for another of the former McKinley group. It did mean bringing Sam in on the plot. When he heard why he was being asked to impersonate the man in question he had agreed to do so without hesitation, regarding pulling the whole thing off as a challenge. It meant that he had to sit and listen to several hours of the man's shows, mimicking his voice, his words and phrases, until he had them just right. With that done, all they had to hope was that Alistair would pick up when he called, and that he would also accept that the show was being pre-recorded for the following week…
It worked so well they could not believe it. Alistair had picked up on the third ring, and once he had got over his initial shock at being called, fell for the scheme hook, line and sinker. He was so desperate to get his big chance on the show that he fully accepted that a big Sunday show would be recorded on the Thursday before. The question that Sam asked had been formulated by Ethan based on what he had read on Alistair's Facebook page, and what music he had been listening to recently. Thus Alistair became that week's lucky winner; he accepted the option of gambling the small prize he had won for the chance to win the big mystery prize. The follow up question he was asked was a sport one; it just so happened to be one about the football team that Spencer played for. Alistair could not believe his luck, and when he heard what the prize was, he was equally glad that it was not a game weekend…
When Spencer came home that evening, it was to find Alistair packing a bag; that was initially heartbreaking and alarming, until he saw that there was a second bag, in which his own clothes were being packed… "Erm, okay, so what is going on?" was all that he could think of saying.
"Remember that big radio show that I listen to every Sunday? The one that has the quiz I always try and enter? Well, they called, and I answered. They pre-record the show, and so I am going to be the contestant on Sunday, not that we will hear it, as my prize was a weekend trip…"
"Well, that explains the cases," replied Spencer.
"The prize was an all expenses paid trip to London, England…"
"To London! Wait, we are going to England this weekend?"
"We are; we fly out tomorrow night and come back on Monday around lunchtime. We are both free, and I thought that as we will have time to ourselves, we could see if Mason and Jane are free on the Sunday to meet up. They have us booked on a city tour on Saturday, and in for a show that night; not Book of Mormon, or Hamlet though."
"We are really going to London? Have you checked this out though? I mean, what if it is all a scam?"
"I thought as much myself until the courier arrived with the tickets and the hotel reservations. I called the airline, and it is true. We really are going to London…"
As Spencer and Alistair were checking in for their flight the following day, Ethan was setting the second part of the plan in motion. He had intended to be heading up to Murray Hill, but he had found out by chance that Roderick would actually be much closer to home; he was babysitting for David and Mercedes again, taking care of Simon whilst she was at a meeting. He would be there until late, as after the meeting she had a party to attend, at which her husband would be at her side. Standing on the doorstep, Ethan got himself into the part that he needed to play, changing his mindset, then rang the bell. Roderick came, and instantly explained that David was out…
"I know; it is actually you that I need to see. I have a major problem, and you are the obvious candidate to fix it," replied Ethan. Roderick looked at him doubtfully, but seeing the panic in his eyes, invited him in to explain. Once they were in the kitchen, Ethan told Roderick all about the McKenzie Trust, and the work it did, and about how he had arranged an interview with the head of the oncology unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital on Sunday, for an article in the organisation's newsletter.
"That is where you come in. The journalist that we had arranged to undertake the interview has cancelled on us at the last minute, and the agency they work for has stated that they cannot find anyone else. The people at the hospital struggle to find time for this sort of thing, and Sunday is the only time they will have free for months to come. So to be short, I need a competent, literate person to carry out an in depth interview in what is quite literally hours - and the only person that sprung to mind that has that capability is you…"
Roderick just stared at Ethan for a moment, then said, "I am flattered that I would be the first person that you would think of; there are far more experienced people that could do the job for you after all. I suppose that I could do something for you, as I have the next few days free, Mercedes and David have no plans, and will be taking care of Simon themselves." As Roderick paused to think, Ethan silently thanked his two friends for agreeing to tell the little white lie to ensure that their sitter would be free all weekend. "So, I suppose that the guy from the hospital will be coming to your place for the interview? Or will it be at the trust's offices? Of course, it being a Sunday, I might just be going to his hotel…"
"Actually," said Ethan, "that is the second and probably most important bit of all of this. You do need to go to him, but he isn't actually in New York. You will have to interview him on Sunday in London…"
Roderick blinked twice, shook his head, then said, "I am sorry, I thought you just said that I would have to go to England to interview him… If you did, well that is a whole different ball game!"
"Yes, I did say that; look, I know it is a big ask, but you really are the only person that I know that would be up for the task, and that is available. I did ask Nick, but he has plans for the day with work, and he can't get out of them; Jeff would have to take little Wes; and it is the only day that Sebastian gets off… It is a massive ask, but Cooper told me that you do have a passport. Also, I am not just going to fly you over to do the interview, then fly you straight back here the same day. You will have to conduct the interview at 11.30am on Sunday, and you have an hour to do it. After that, you are free until the last flight back to New York from Heathrow on the Monday. You could go and surprise Mason and Jane; I know what it feels like to be separated from your best friend…."
Roderick nodded at him with a wry smile. "We do Skype, but it just isn't the same as seeing him in the flesh, day in, day out like I used to…"
"Cooper knew his address in London, and I have managed to book you into a hotel just a few streets away from them. Of course, I will understand totally if you don't want to do it…"
Roderick laughed, then said, "This is one of those situations when the words that come to mind at once are 'gift horse'. I would love to go to London, and see my friends, and a bit of the city, but it was all a bit of a pipe dream, until now… I will do it for you…"
"Excellent!" exclaimed Ethan with a grin. "You are a life saver!" He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Roderick. "So in here are your interview notes, and the codes for the flight tickets and the hotel reservation. There is also a prepaid credit card in there for expenses; I want you to take a taxi to the hotel from the airport, and then you will need money to get around whilst you are there, and for food. There is just one other thing; I will need you to be suited and booted for the interview, so take your best suit, shirt and tie."
"That won't be a problem," said Roderick as he checked his flight time for the following day. It was a day flight, which was no bad thing, meaning he could avoid the worst effects of jetlag. He wondered if he should call Mason and let him know he was coming, but it would be late there now; he could do it once he arrived in England. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of the look on his friend's face when he showed up…
Ethan left the house with a smile, and as soon as he was back home, he sent a text to Sebastian. His part in the scheme was over; he had provided the excuse and the means to get Roderick over to London. Now it was up to Sebastian to get him to the venue in which the wedding would happen; it was of course scheduled for 11.30am, and all that was needed was for Roderick to be told that the venue for his 'interview' had been altered. The wedding was taking place just a few blocks from the hospital, so it wouldn't ring any alarm bells…
Sebastian's reply was swift and coming, and full of thanks, glad that the easiest bit of the scheme had been sorted. The next task was making sure that Alistair and Spencer were kept busy all day on Saturday. To that end, Sebastian had recruited one of the ushers from the theatre to act as their 'tour guide' the next day. She would spend the day with them, taking them from one sight to the next, on to dinner, and then to a show. She would also be there on Sunday morning to escort them to the wedding venue; that done, his plan to ensure Mason and Jane had the wedding they deserved would be complete.
Roderick boarded his flight on Saturday morning, and was immediately concerned that he had been booked into premium economy; he queried it with Ethan, and he replied that it was company policy to fly any contractor in that class, and that only a fool would argue about it for a long haul flight. He had to agree as he settled back in the comfortable seat with plenty of leg room…
Meanwhile, Alistair and Spencer had been met at the airport, taken to their hotel, and had had time for a nap before they were taken on their city tour. It was a whistlestop one naturally, but they still managed to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London, where the Crown Jewels made them both gasp. Given that Alistair was a fan of Harry Potter, their trip to Kings Cross Station was a wow for him, and Spencer had no real issue with posing for a photo alongside him, wearing a Hogwart's scarf, at the supposed entrance to Platform 9¾. They had then enjoyed a nice dinner, before they headed to see The Mousetrap, the venerable play now entering its 70th Year in the West End, a fact which fascinated them both.
That over, they agreed on an early night, and said goodnight to their guide, who told them she would meet them in the morning at the hotel to escort them to their friend's house… As they headed to bed, they had no idea that on the floor below, Roderick was doing exactly the same thing. It had been a massive risk to book all three of them into the same hotel, but it was practical. In any case, the hotel had two entrances, and two separate sets of lifts; that had lessened the chances of an unfortunate "What on earth are you doing here!" encounter….