...That Causes a Code Red...

At his office, Flint had saved the files that he had been working on as he was still talking to Beats, and as he had hung up on his best friend, he had been putting on his coat and grabbing his satchel. As he ran out of the office, he told his P.A. that he had an emergency, and that he would be unavailable in person or on the phone until at least 2.30pm, before he dashed towards the elevators. As he headed downstairs, cursing how slow the elevators seemed to be, he dialled Ethan, and was glad when he answered quickly.

"Ethan, we have a Code Red Warbler emergency. Beats needs us at 141 Worth Street no later than 1.15pm, and he needs as many of us as can get there. Can you try and get hold of Drew, Skylar, Seth and Edwin? I will call David, then I have several things to gather together."

Ethan paused for a moment, rolling his eyes at how dramatic Flint sounded, then said, "Okay, what kind of emergency?"

"There is no time for semantics; this is a Code Red, so just make the phone calls and get to Worth Street - and tell Drew to bring Evie." Flint promptly hung up, leaving Ethan startled and more than a little bemused. Nonetheless he began to make the calls he had been asked to… Flint meanwhile was making a call to David as he hurried along the street; he repeated the Code Red message, and then asked him to try and get Mercedes to Worth Street too, along with Mike, Tina, Kitty and Artie if they were available. That done, he put his phone on silent. He knew there was no point in calling Izzy, as she was at work, and had a full schedule of procedures that day. Now all he had to do was find a good jeweller, and two rings that looked the part and would hopefully fit. He prayed that he might have a little angelic help with the latter…

As Flint hurried along towards his destination, via a good jewellery store, Grace had made her phone calls as the two soon to be husbands had been seen by the official at the desk. They had both signed the form in front of her, and had shown their ID, watching anxiously as she checked them off against all that Grace had filled out on the form. They had both breathed an audible sigh of relief as she had stamped it as approved; then they had the pleasure of the look on her face when she asked them if they would like to book a ceremony, and Elliott had calmly stated, "We are due in the marriage bureau in Worth Street in 90 minutes, actually…."

She had looked on the computer, and had then looked back at them with a grin. "So I see… I also recognise your names. I heard all about the case you were taking up to the committee, and we have all heard that ridiculous verdict. This proves just how much you care about that boy if you are willing to do this for him… Congratulations, and just so you know, this will annoy the heck out of that stuffy old bunch no end when they find out what you've done…"

Stepping outside the office again, they found Grace standing there, all smiles. "Michelle is sending Dani down with a lunch basket for the three of us - she thought that it would be better if you told her yourself, Elliott, and I agree. As for Dante, I called Mrs Rosenfeld, and she has kindly agreed to go over to the school and collect him, and of course, Lachlan, and bring them back here. She won't be telling either of them why either, and she is trying to get her husband here too, if he can get out of work. As for Rabbi Hirsch, she has a few calls to make, but she will be back in time for the ceremony too; she doesn't want to miss this moment, after all that you have invested into getting this far…"

Ethan had, like Flint, quit his desk citing an emergency almost the moment that he had hung up on the call; the problem was that he had no idea exactly what was happening, or indeed how long he would be… His first call was to Drew obviously, and he was every bit as curious at what kind of dire emergency could require the presence of every available Warbler in the city at 141 Worth Street, and more curious yet, his daughter's… Then it dawned on him, and he gasped out, "Ethan, wasn't today the day that Beats and Elliott had their hearing about Dante? It must be in connection with that; they need our help in convincing the committee."

"That must be it," agreed Ethan, although he immediately worried that their presence was required to perform some kind of diversion, flash mob style, to allow the two of them to leave, go and grab Dante, then head for the hills…

With the knowledge that Drew was on his way, he made his next call to Skylar; he was delighted to discover that he was actually walking home, and was literally in sight of his front door. Ethan asked him to run in and check if the other ex-Warblers were there. As he checked, Skylar remarked that he could hear Kitty shouting at Artie through the wall, telling him where he could find some items that were needed for the baby bag… He then confirmed that Seth was at home, and that he knew that Colin and Edward were both at work. Ethan decided to repeat what Flint had said to him verbatim, and asked him to call Colin and Edward to see if they could attend.

Skylar asked no questions, agreed to do so, then said, "At least with it being at an address near City Hall it is highly unlikely that this emergency will involve us having to perform in a Broadway show…" That made Ethan laugh. Skylar laughed too, then promising he would do all in his power to ensure the four of them were present, he hung up. Ethan smiled to himself, knowing that the four boys should be there. He wondered where Artie and Kitty were going, and if they had been contacted too. If so, would Mike and Tina have been called as well. He decided there was no harm in calling the dancer, just to check…

Back at City Hall, Grace had suddenly thought of someone else they should call, a lady that had been so supportive of their attempts since the first day. She called Isabelle more in hope than anticipation. She was outraged when Grace told her the verdict, but calmed down the moment that she informed her what was now taking place. She immediately stated that she would be there, as this was a far more important issue than the discussion of the latest fashion trends that her 1.30pm appointment was due to cover. She could ask one of her assistants to sit in on her behalf…

Grace returned from making that call to the coffee shop where Beats and Elliott now sat, both of them needing a little lunch before their wedding. "Well, between all of us I think that we have called every person that can possibly get here in time," she said as she sat down. "Yes, there will be some people that can't be here; Cooper and Sam will be getting ready to go on stage for their 2pm matinee; Roderick has gone home to Ohio already for Thanksgiving, although I have filled him in with all the details so he can write all about it first hand for his next article. Rachel isn't answering her phone, and Brittany and Santana are at home in Maplewood, but both send their love…"

Beats sighed, then added, "I feel more than a little guilty about Thad and of course, the Carmichaels; they have been to every other wedding involving our group, and they will be disappointed to miss mine. Then there are Niff and Sebastian, miles away in London, and Trent of course, no doubt finishing a speech for the President to give tomorrow on the holiday…"

"And your parents of course," said Elliott, taking his hand. "We should have considered that this might be the outcome, and planned to do this anyway just as a precaution."

Grace looked at their sad faces, then said, "Well, it isn't possible for all of them to be here in person, but I do happen to have my laptop in my case, and it is set up for Skype calls. I know that all of your fellow Warblers use it, Beats, but what about your folks?"

"Yes, yes they do!" said Beats, a grin spreading across his face. "They can watch… that makes me feel a little better. I had been putting off calling them to say I was getting married, but now I guess I had better bite the bullet…" Beats got up, dialling his parents as he did so.

Elliott was all smiles too as he watched Beats head to a quiet corner, and added, "I think that Santana has Skype, and I know that we have it at the Spotlight. Do Cooper and Sam have access in their dressing rooms?"

"I should think so," said Grace. "You call Santana and Michelle, whilst I work on setting up the group chat, and then calling my husband, so we can be all ready for that special moment…."

As the clock on City Hall came to 1pm, Flint was running along Worth Street as fast as he could, heading for the marriage bureau. He had had an interesting time at the jewellers he had chosen, trying to explain to the clerk that he needed two men's wedding rings for a ceremony that was taking place in under an hour. He had been able to give her the right ring sizes, thank to Kurt, who had stood at his side as she brought the rings out. He had been the one to choose one which he felt Elliott would love, leaving Flint to make the selection for Beats.

With the rings safely in his pocket, he had grabbed a pretzel from one of the street vendors, and hurried onward, eating as he went. 'This is absolute madness!' he thought as he went, but it was also a very special moment, one that he had never envisioned taking place. Beats had always been so adamant that he was never getting married… He did not think that his best friend was making an error in doing so now though; he and Elliott worked so well together, and this would allow them to become an official family along with Dante. His only fear was that they would expect him to make a best man's speech, because he had nothing whatsoever prepared. Still, given the rush, he doubted that there would be any kind of reception, at least not right away.

Flint soon found himself entering the Marriage Bureau, chuckling to himself as he realised that the moment the others found out what 141 Worth Street was, there would be even more confusion. He made his way to the waiting area, and almost missed his friends, as they were sitting in a small nook a little way from there, drinking their coffee; Grace spotted him at the last moment, and called his name. He turned on his heels, and walked towards the man he saw as his best friend, his long term partner in crime, who stood up as he approached. "You have pulled some surprises on me in your time, but this…" Flint said, shaking his head, then stepped forward to pull Beats into the tightest of hugs. For his part, he melted into it, glad that his best friend had been able to make it at such short notice…

They hugged for so long that Elliott began to cough discretely, and Grace eventually piped up, "Will Izzy be needing a good divorce lawyer?"

Beats laughed, then pulled out of the hug, motioning to Flint to sit down, which he did gratefully. "So did you manage to get the two most important things?"

"Yes, I did; I got myself a pretzel for lunch and a box of confetti," said Flint cheekily, before carrying on, "and I did stop off at a joke shop for a couple of novelty rings, left over from Halloween… Of course I got the rings! I hope that I have chosen well, for you especially as it was my choice Beats. I had a little angelic help in selecting one for Elliott, and he also knew what the correct sizes should be, so they should fit." He dug into his pocket, raising a chuckle as he pulled out a tiny morsel of pretzel and a box of confetti first, and then the two ring boxes, each of them a different colour. "I asked the jeweller to do that for me so that I could give you the option of seeing the ring you will be wearing for the rest of your life, or not, before the ceremony; it is down to you…"

Beats looked at Elliott, who shook his head, telling the ex-Warbler all he needed to know. "We will go for the surprise," he said, and Flint nodded.

"That doesn't go for me though," remarked Grace, and Flint laughed. At that moment, Elliott spotted his brother Josh with his husband Scott at his side, and he jumped up to greet him, followed by Beats. That gave Flint the opening he needed to show Grace the two rings, and she nodded in approval. "You and my brother-in-law's husband have good taste between you. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to head down to the marriage rooms; someone needs to be there to greet the hordes as they arrive and wonder why on earth they have been told to come here…"

Grace had barely made it back to the reception desk and found out in which of the rooms the ceremony was taking place when the door opened and Ethan walked in, his having been a relatively short walk across the bottom end of Manhattan. The expression on his face said it all to Grace, and she smiled, and went to greet him. "I thought I was in the wrong place until I saw you," he said to her with a smile. "I thought Flint had made a mistake with his Code Red… I take it that they dragged you here for that too?"

"I was already here, helping them with their case at the committee hearing…"

"Of course you were!" said Ethan, and then his face fell a little. "I take it from the whole Code Red that things did not go as we would all have hoped?"

"Not quite, but I had anticipated the outcome," Grace replied coyly. "They did agree that same sex couples could adopt, but only if they were married…."

"That's…" began Ethan, and then it hit him like a ton of bricks; after all, he had seen the wording on the building as he walked in… "Wait… Are Beats and Elliott… Oh my God! They are! The Code Red is their wedding! When?"

"In about 20 minutes or so, at 1.30pm," said Grace quietly. "So Flint didn't actually tell anyone what they were coming for… Maybe one of us should send out a group text to ensure that they all end up in here, and not somewhere else on Worth Street, thinking the address must be wrong and they need to find the committee rooms…"

"I am already on it," replied Ethan, who indeed had his cellphone out, and was typing rapidly. "I never, ever, ever thought Beats would get married, but he has a very good reason to change his mind. I will say this though; it is going to blow a few minds!"

"Why are we meeting in here?" came a voice at that juncture, and they looked up to see Colin, in his Duane Reed uniform, walking towards them. Grace smiled, and as Ethan carried on typing, she began to explain to the young former Warbler exactly what was going on….

It had been more or less an ordinary day at school for Dante; his classes still had to be taken, and although all of his teachers were aware of what was happening at City Hall that morning, only Lachlan of all of his classmates had any inkling of the situation. The usual pace of work was good for Dante, keeping his mind off the possible impact on his future of what was going on just across town. There had been a small part of him that had considered skipping class and heading down to City Hall, but in the end he had resolved to stay away for two reasons; firstly, it might show Beats and Elliott in a bad light, and secondly, if he was there, the authorities could grab him there and then, and drag him off to the orphanage in the Bronx without a second glance…

He knew that as soon as his two foster fathers knew the verdict, they would communicate it to him, and for that reason, his locker held a holdall and spare clothes he had brought in over the course of the last week. His wallet was fuller than usual, and on his house keys there was an additional set of keys for the beach house in Port Jefferson. He had told Lachlan that if things went bad, he would run at the first chance, and his boyfriend had said that he would cover for him…

When lunchtime came and there was no word, Dante was a bit surprised; Lachlan echoed his sentiments as they chose their food in the cafeteria and then sat down together to eat. He could only think that they were all fighting hard for him, making those old people on the committee see sense. They had finished their lunch and were about to head out of the room when the headmaster appeared in the doorway, then walked towards them purposefully. On seeing him, Dante had frozen, as he knew the man had had been at the hearing…

"Dante, I need you to get your things and head to the main gate; you are being picked up there at once as you are required at City Hall," the headmaster said with no emotion. At those words, Lachlan gave a strangled sob, and all the colour drained from Dante's face. "Lachlan, you are also excused for the remainder of the day. You are to go with him; it is your mother that is collecting you both."

"My mom?" said Lachlan, a little hope back. "Sir, what is going on?"

"I have been asked not to say, but trust me, there is no need to fear. All I will say is that Dante will be back here with us on Monday, as usual…"

Dante got to his feet reluctantly, not entirely reassured by what the headmaster was saying; it could be a ruse to lull him into a false sense of security, making it easier for them to whisk him off. His mother had told him he was just going out for the day all those years ago. His rational side told him that there was no way the headmaster would lie, but then he could be being forced to do so as an employee of the city… "Can I go and collect my things from my locker?" he asked, anxious to retrieve his holdall.

"Yes, of course, but no dawdling. You have to be at City Hall for 1.30pm on the dot."

Lachlan joined Dante, and the two headed side by side for the lockers. As Dante pulled out his holdall, Lachlan noted the size of the bag that his boyfriend was taking out, and jus how packed it seemed to be. "You don't think that my mom is about to betray you, do you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't want to think that, but adults can be funny when there is a higher authority involved. I want to trust her, but I learnt a long time ago not to immediately trust an adult just because they are older and are supposed to care."

"I don't think that she would be like that, and I really don't think she would sell you out," replied Lachlan quietly, "but if she does, then I am coming with you. I would never forgive her if she did it; I would rather live on the run with you than stay with them. I love you…" Lachlan stopped then, realising that he had just used the 'L' word for the first time…

Dante's face lit up, and he replied, "I love you too; whatever happens today, I refuse to lose you. Okay, so let's go and see what is going on, before they come looking for us. We will go with your mom, but if things start to look bad, then we will split. We just tell them we need to use the restroom, and we don't go back in. I suggest we head towards the Brooklyn Bridge, then we can double back and take the subway to Penn Station from one of the other stops down there."

"Deal," said Lachlan, linking his arm through Dante's; together, the two of them marched down the corridor and out of the school to the gates. Mrs Rosenfeld was already there, watching for them and glancing at her watch. On seeing them leave the building, she hailed a passing yellow cab, then she all but pushed the two boys into it when they arrived. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice how heavy Dante's bag was, and her heart broke as she worked out why. He had come to school, packed and ready to run away; she couldn't help but think that had it come to that, her own son would probably have joined him. She said nothing about it though, just gave the driver the address she wished him to head to. As they pulled out into the traffic, she checked her watch again. She just hoped that the city traffic would be favourable for once and not delay them too much on their journey downtown…

By the time that the clock on the City Hall had reached 1.25pm, all those that had been summoned frantically by phone had arrived; having been met by Grace, and got over the shock, they had been directed into the appointed room, and had now taken their seats. Artie had arrived in good time with Kitty and their daughter; thankfully he always carried his camera with him, and he was primed and ready to record the ceremony for those that weren't able to be there or watch. Grace's work laptop had been set up for Skype, and Artie had helped her position it so that they would have the best angle. Niff, Trent, Sebastian, Cooper and Sam had been online for a few minutes; Thad had just joined them, with the Carmichaels sat at his side. To say that they had all been staggered by the turn of events was an understatement, but none of them could argue with the reasoning behind it…

Back in the little nook, Beats had been prevaricating and had put off the call he should have made first; had attempted twice now and got a busy signal. He had made excuse after excuse after that, and had even used Dani's arrival with the lunch basket as one; after all, she had looked ready to hit Elliott with it at first as she realised what was going on, thinking that she had just been kept out of the loop with the plans, but now she was as calm as she could be, ready for her role as best woman. With only five minutes left, Elliott finally lost patience with his husband to be, as did Flint. It was the latter who snapped at Beats, telling him to either do it, or he would…

Beats dialled the number, trying to remember to breathe as the call rang this time in Ohio, and then his mother answered… He managed to talk, checking if his father was home, glad that he was. Of course, they knew all about events with Dante, and the first thing Mr Harper asked when he came to the phone was the result of the hearing… What he had to tell them next left them both speechless for a moment; Mrs Harper burst into tears when he admitted that he was getting married in 5 minutes time, which set Beats off too, apologising for the fact they were not there…

His father broke in. "Son, we are pleased for you both, trust me, and we understand the need for urgency, but not being at your wedding will be hard for both of us to bear…"

"I know dad, and if I could wait until you arrived, or had access to some kind of teleportation device, I would use it to transport you both here right now, but I don't. What I do have is Skype; there is a feed already set up in a group call, and I will give you the details so at least you can watch… It's not the same as being here, I know, but still…"

"And we can always renew our vows next year, in the summer, and have you both there in person," said Elliott, walking up to put his arm around Beats.

"You would do that?" said Mrs Harper, a note of hope in her tearful voice.

"Of course; we can make it a much more special event, combining that with welcoming Dante into the family. We could have it at Dalton possibly…" suggested Elliott, which made Beats smile too, knowing that such an event would delight the Carmichaels as much as his parents. There was no time for anything else to be said then though; Mr Harper promised to go online on Skype at once, whilst Mrs Harper dashed off to change her clothes into something more apt for her son's wedding…