August 2027: Looking at Future & Past.
On Tuesday morning, Beats returned to his office; although the MTA was sympathetic to his situation, he was also due to present the finished plans for the next stage of the Third Avenue subway line to the management board, and there was no-one else in the office that could present it as well as him, nor answer all the probing questions that would follow. As he headed towards the boardroom, Matthew was at his side. He had been there to greet him when he stepped into the office, and his first question had been about how Dante and Lachlan were doing. "We were all horrified to hear what had happened to them, especially Barnaby; he thought that they were the perfect couple…"
"The good news is that they are both awake now, but that only means that the hard stuff is starting. Lachlan's skull will still need time to heal, which means a lot of bed rest ahead for him. As for Dante, well his wound puts him in a similar position. On top of that, the police will be back today as well, wanting to hear what Lachlan can recall, although it might not be quite as much as they would hope for. I think that his brain has already put a block on all of the worst moments of the affair to help him try and cope with it."
"I don't suppose that you can blame him for doing that," reflected Matthew.
Now they were being called in to stand in front of the board, the most senior staff in the MTA; Matthew had agreed to assist Beats with the presentation in whatever way he could, but he was still glad that when the actual show was over, he could sit back more or less and allow Beats to field all of the probing questions as they dissected the plan bit by bit. The most regular question was on the effects that the chosen route would have on the neighbourhoods it passed through, particularly the negative ones. Beats had known that would be coming and was confident that the route that he had chosen would be cost-effective and efficient, whilst at the same time not damaging to the communities that it was intended to serve and connect…
"The intention of the route that we are proposing today is to deliver a world class subway line that can form a core part of an updated system that will help the city prosper in the 21st Century. What we are setting out here today is a project that the city fathers a century ago should have completed. History does not look back at all kindly at those men now, nor will it look on this generation kindly if we do not press ahead with all speed now. By signing off on this soon, we can take full advantage of the presence in the city of all those that have been involved in the construction of the new tunnels under the Hudson for Amtrak. In time, those tunnels and perhaps some of our own would allow us to expand commuter rail service from the New Jersey side of the river, and we should also be giving serious consideration to whether there is scope for cross Manhattan services operated jointly by NJT and the LIRR. In time, we should be working together across the region to deliver a fast rail link from Newark to La Guardia and JFK airports to increase connectivity still further. We are moving to an era where once again public transit will be the king on our streets…"
As he stepped out of the boardroom after the meeting, Beats wondered if his impassioned, off the cuff speech had been taking things a little too far; as he had gone on, Matthew had looked more and more alarmed and now he thought about it, there had been disapproving glances from some members of the board, who seemed to think he was talking out of turn. If he was quite honest, he did not know quite where all of those words had come from himself; he could only hazard a guess that the sleepless night and the worry about Dante and Lachlan had left him less able than usual to filter his words and actions as a situation deemed appropriate…
It thus came as no great surprise when he was summoned to the office of his ultimate boss when he returned from his lunch break. He sighed and headed upstairs once again to the executive floor, but this time he expected a reprimand for his words, and he knew he would need to appear contrite… As soon as he entered the office of the man's PA, he was sent straight in, and took a seat as directed by the older man.
"Well, my boy, that was quite a little speech that you made to the board earlier; it was certainly enough to have the chairman call me up and express some very strong opinions on what you said. I explained that you were under pressure in your personal life at the moment, although I hear that your son and his boyfriend are both on the road to recovery now, thank goodness…"
"Yes, they are sir, and it has affected me quite strongly. I can therefore only apologise if I caused upset to the board members…"
The man chuckled then, and Beats paused. "My dear boy, you do not need to apologise at all; in fact, what the chairman said to me was that he was impressed that for once someone had the chutzpah to come right out with an opinion and give it them with both barrels. He is in full agreement with everything that you said, and he has thus asked me to get you to head up a dedicated team, reporting directly to him, to develop a long-term strategy for the expansion of our transit systems. Moreover, he has already made a call to his opposite number at New Jersey Transit, and they are agreed that we need to work together to move the thing forward for the first time in living memory! Of course, you will still carry on with your existing role on the Third Avenue project, but we intend to delegate the more minor work to someone else, and the suggestion is that it be Matthew Johnson. Naturally, it is a promotion, so you will both also receive an increase in salary…"
Beats would head to the hospital the minute that he finished work, his head filled with everything that had happened that day, all because for once he spoke his mind… He was going up in the world, and that felt good. However, when he reached the room that his son and future son-in-law were sharing, he did not say a word, as the mood in there was quite subdued. Both Lachlan and Dante had been questioned by the police that morning, and it had left both of them a little tired. There had been a pair of mugshots to look at to formally identify their attackers. It had been simple for Dante, but Lachlan had struggled more, confirming suspicions that he had blocked some of the events out…
The final thing that the police had done before they left had been done only with the permission of the doctors, and with Roderick standing by; they were informed that they were, as suspected, the last in a long line of attacks. It had shaken them both, and as Beats sat down between their beds, Dante spoke out. "They didn't come right out and say it, but they think that we got off very lightly; they believe that something spooked them into fleeing the scene. What surprised me the most was that Mateo has actually come out and pled guilty to all of the other attacks; however, he had told them that he was hearing voices in his cell, telling him what his punishment would be if he failed to tell the truth. He then went on to say that he had heard the same strong voice as he went to stab me and that was what frightened him. Of course, they will be wanting him analysed by shrinks now…"
As Dante shook his head, Beats had glanced over at Elliott; they both had an inkling of exactly whose voices Mateo had heard in that moment…
It would be the end of the week before they would hear from the police again, this time to say that the psychiatric tests that they had run on Mateo showed no signs of mental illness, and they now firmly believed that he had claimed to hear voices as part of an elaborate attempt to escape a long sentence in prison. Although both Beats and Elliott suspected otherwise, they said nothing. The best news was that as he had pled guilty to all of the charges laid against him, there would be no need for Dante and Lachlan to face him in court, much to everybody's relief. It was true that Rudi, his accomplice, had not admitted his part in it all, but they had enough other evidence to tie him to the attacks too, so a conviction was assured in his case as well.
Dante and Lachlan were now at the point where they could be discharged from the hospital and would be heading back to their own place behind the Rosenfelds' Greenwich Village home. Beats' mother was due to arrive on Monday and would take up residence in the guest suite in the West Village street, as Adam's grandmother Joan was leaving on the same day. She had already contacted Ruth Rosenfeld and they had arranged a schedule for the care of the two young men, as they both agreed that doing so would avoid any clashes once Mrs Harper was in place; Beats wasn't so sure…
There would of course be no question of either of them returning to college this semester, but they both hoped that they would be able to return after Christmas, as neither of them wished to get held back too long. What nobody was saying was that in reality, Dante could have returned to college in a few more weeks, but there was no chance of Lachlan being with him, so he had rejected the notion; they wanted to graduate together. He had informed everyone that he intended to use the time wisely and had already begun to read numerous texts as a preparation for his entry to the Jewish faith. True to his word, Flint had also paid a visit and he had brought some simple texts with him, as had been recommended by Rabbi Hirsch. Beats had left them to it to fetch himself a coffee but had come back to find the three men in the room praying together, a scene which made him smile. Dante's first private chat with the rabbi had also been arranged; he also had an appointment for a minor operation in just over a month…
By that time there had of course been a meeting between Adam, his grandmother, and the Hummels. Burt had not told Rory the actual reason why he had requested a meeting with Adam and Joan when he was finished his meeting in Princeton, but he nonetheless made all of the arrangements for him. Carole had been free to come with him, and when she had been asked why she was going by a curious Rory, she had stated that Adam wished to become involved with the charity campaign she was taking part in for the Princess Royal. The Irishman had not really believed that, and thought it would be far more likely that he wanted to help out in the Democrat campaign for the Presidential elections in 2028…
Burt would finally tell Rory everything as they sat in the back of the official car that was conveying them from Princeton University to the coffee shop they had chosen to meet in; he was gobsmacked, and didn't truly believe it even when he was handed a copy of the family tree that Adam had quickly joined up and sent to his employer. "It was quite a shock to me too, but he is such a charming young man," observed Carole. "I do wonder though exactly how Kurt would have reacted to this news had he and Adam made a proper go at their romance, and he suddenly found out that they were related in this way when they had been in a relationship for a long time…"
"He would have been fine with it, I think," mused Burt. "They are distant enough relatives for there not to be an ick factor and spoil things, and let's face it, Kurt always had a fascination for all things British…"
"Of course, you will be wanting to keep this revelation as quiet as possible," commented Rory, ever the loyal staffer. "There are some of your political opponents that would jump happily on the fact that you are related to an English sitcom actor, no matter how distantly…"
"Adam agrees wholeheartedly with you, but he knows whilst he and I will only tell those closest to us, his grandmother is a whole other matter, and she will be wanting to tell everyone she knows back in Surrey, and probably total strangers too… She is that sort of lady I am informed…"
"I am sure that I might act in the same way if I discovered that I was related to say, the current Prime Minister of the UK," admitted Carole.
"My nana tells everyone that I work for Burt too; the whole of Clane knows and probably half of Dublin too," sighed Rory. "All we can hope for is that it stays out of the media until we are ready to reveal it…"
For his own part, Adam too was hoping that his newfound family relationship did not become common knowledge too soon. He had already dealt with his parents' reaction to the news, his father left flabbergasted to say the least by the identity of his new American cousin. "Every time that I hear him mentioned on the radio or television, or read about him in a newspaper, I shall think that he is family, and be just a little proud to be related to a decent politician. Of course, we can now say without fear of contradiction that a member of our family was in attendance at Westminster Abbey for the King's Coronation, and well, that is quite a claim to fame…" Adam had heard those words and blanched, going on to desperately ask his dad not to say anything until he had spoken to Burt.
He had then been left mortified when his grandmother had met Ms Kudrow on Wednesday and had immediately brought up the topic of the other major factual series that she was involved with as an executive producer. "I don't think that our news would be enough to merit me having an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?" Adam had exclaimed, then realised he had blurted that out far too quickly and had ignited Ms Kudrow's interest. He managed to get away without revealing the truth to her, but he knew that she would be questioning him about it at some point now…
On the train down from New York, he had thankfully managed to prevent her from spilling the beans to the on train staff that had recognised him at once as they checked their tickets; he had managed to give some excuse for his trip to Princeton which avoided Joan telling them everything. Once they had changed trains and had boarded the shuttle to the college town's main station, he reminded her once more that she had to keep the information to herself, at least until Burt had informed her that she had his permission to inform all and sundry…
The meeting, when it came, was nowhere near as awkward as Adam had feared it would be. His grandmother did not embarrass him too much, although she was insistent on several photos being taken at once for the family album; Rory found himself pressed into service to take them, so that Adam and Carole could both be pictured. Other than that, she was the very model of restraint and decorum, talking fondly about the older relatives that she recalled, especially her grandmother, whose brother was the common link that they had between them. "I do not know why he felt compelled to leave and after all of this time, I doubt we ever will," she added with a sigh.
Burt nodded, then surprised her and Adam by producing a photograph of the man in question that had been taken in the late 1950s, showing him with his new great-granddaughter, who would go on to be Burt's mother. "My mother sent me this when I told her what was going on, and would love to meet you both someday; she is a big fan of a certain sitcom…"
Adam laughed at that, then let his grandmother speak again. "Of course, in those days coming back home for a visit once you had emigrated to the United States just did not happen, given the time it took and the expense of it all. I suspect that in the absence of any letters home and no mention of his name ever again at home that he must have done something to upset his father. Granny always told me that he was a tartar; very strict and moral. A church deacon and a teetotaller."
"By the sounds of it my great-great-grandfather broke one of those rules; offended his Christian values or liked a drink. He was either sent away or fled to avoid the shame and punishment he would be on the receiving end of," replied Burt. "You have to wonder what our common ancestor would have made of the world we live in now…"
"I can imagine," replied Joan, "but to me, it is the here and now that matters the most. I daresay that he might have a little bit of pride in the fact that one of his descendants was the Speaker of Congress, and I must admit that I feel the same."
"I can tell everyone that I am related to Joan Crawford," quipped Burt, and none of them could keep a straight face at that.
"I have a feeling that Kurt would have loved being able to say that too," Adam said when the laughter had died down, and Burt nodded.
"He would certainly have enjoyed telling Rachel that, but would have left out the fact that the Joan Crawford in question was not the legendary actress; she'd definitely have assumed that, and he'd have let her carry on doing so…" said Carole, and Burt chuckled at the statement, as it was true – and in any case, the angel sitting across from him had gone bright red as his stepmother had spoken, then nodded sheepishly…
Contact details were exchanged when the meeting had to end, as they all valued the new connection that they had discovered. They all wanted to find out more about the family they shared too…
As the final weekend of August began, Nick found himself the first one awake in the West Village house, having woken up at 5am and not been able to get back to sleep. He had carefully climbed out of bed without disturbing Jeff and had made his way down to the kitchen, closing all the doors behind him to avoid waking his husband and son up. He made himself a pot of tea, then sat quietly at the table just contemplating all the events of the past week; it had been an interesting one to say the least, full of both great joy and great sadness. He had been left greatly upset by what had happened to Dante and Lachlan, especially by the fact that it was so close to home; it had been even worse at first, when they all assumed that it had been a bashing disturbed in time. Even now he worried that one of these days he or Jeff might be attacked by some stranger just because of who they were – and he worried about it happening to Wes even more. He couldn't be entirely certain yet as he was still so young, but he had caught little hints that Wes would take after both of his fathers when the time came. That would not be an issue for him, of course, but it did add an extra layer of stress. His biggest fear was that he would end up like Beats and Elliott one day, anxiously waiting at the side of his son's hospital bed, waiting for him to wake up…
He put such thoughts to the back of his mind and recalled instead the letter that they had received from Miss Frobisher the previous day, thanking them once again for giving her the opportunity to be present at a pivotal moment in British history. She had made one point in her letter that had stuck with him, because it was very true; everything that had taken place in the last few years had been down to chance. If he had selected to take the house offered by the UN in Hampstead rather than the one he paid extra for in Kensington, then Wes would never have attended her kindergarten and their paths would never have intersected…
By extension, that would mean that Jeff was unlikely to have bumped into Drew, and the consequences of that not happening did not bear thinking of. He was also less likely to have been drawing in the grounds of Kensington Palace, and therefore would never have been approached by a certain Duchess that was now the wife of the next in line to the throne…
Nick also knew that there would be other small decisions that they made in the future that would have just as profound an effect on all of their lives. Wes was a mature 8-year-old boy, and that meant that in just five years' time, they would be sitting in this house contemplating the big question that Wes would need to answer, namely did he want to go to Dalton Academy as his dads had done? He and Jeff had always agreed that they would give their son that choice, given that they would not have to pay for it due to the fund set up after everything with Hunter, but when the time actually came, would it be such an easy question to ask? If he was being honest, he would struggle with the idea of sending his teenage son off to Ohio, and Jeff would in all likelihood find it even more difficult to accept… All of that was some way off yet, but that did not make it any easier to contemplate.
Nick also had another burden on his mind, namely the fact that he had kept Jeff in the dark about so many things that month. He still knew nothing about Jonathan Anderson's attempts to damage the Coronation in anger at his wife's role in it all; he knew that the time would come when he would have to tell him, as after all, they had always pledged that there would be no secrets between them in their marriage. That was before he had to mention the DVD blackmail attempt, and that was even more complicated to explain. It was easy to keep quiet, but dangerous, as eventually someone would slip up, Jeff would find out, and the hurt he would suffer at not having been told would far outweigh the pain he would suffer if he told him sooner rather than later…
His worry was the fact that he knew Jeff still carried around the deep mental scars that everything that had happened with Hunter had left, not that he would ever admit that to anyone, even Nick. He still felt that he was somehow to blame for it all, feeling that if he had only allowed Hunter to do his worst and inform everyone who he was when he had first threatened him, then all of the carnage that came thereafter could have been avoided. They all knew that wasn't the case, but his beloved blond alone refused to accept that simple truth. That little touch of vulnerability only served to make all the more loving and protective of him. He resolved that he would arrange for the two of them to have a weekend away, leaving Wes in the care of his aunt Grace, possibly to the house in Port Jefferson. There he could break things to him in privacy and thus ensure nobody witnessed the breakdown that would inevitably happen…
The sound of a miaow from the spot by the radiator made Nick return to the present time, but he suddenly realised that for once, Caleb had not been at his side when he opened the fridge door to take out the milk for his tea, and that was most unusual. He got up and went over to crouch down beside the cat's bed, gently stroking him. He was suddenly struck by the fact that Caleb was getting old; he was at least 12 and a half years old, which he knew made him in his mid-sixties in cat years. "Are you not feeling so good Caleb? Maybe we should get Tina to give you a once over; a cat physical…" he said quietly, and he was answered by a miaow, which made him smile.
He knew that there were some treatments available for cats when they reached the senior stage of their lives, food additives that could make their joints less stiff and lessen their aches and pains. He would be only too happy to pay for them; he knew Jeff would approve of them, and to see his husband willing to make the expenditure would please him no end. He knew that Jeff saw Caleb, the kitten he had saved from death in a dumpster, as his child in so many ways. He also knew that the cat's time on earth would be shorter than their own and, in all likelihood, he would not be here when the time came for Wes to decide if he was going to go to Dalton or not…
Caleb had meanwhile been slowly stretching himself, and lifting himself up as Nick pondered the future again; he interrupted that chain of thought with a loud miaow that the brunet knew by now meant, 'Where is my food?' He got up from the floor and walked over to the fridge, followed slowly by the cat; he would rub himself against Nick's legs as he found some pieces of fish for him, and then, on a whim, he poured a little of the cream he intended to use in their dessert that evening into a saucer…
Sounds of contentment filled the room as the food was consumed and Nick made a mental note to take his husband aside later and speak to him about taking Caleb to the vet for a physical; if the humans in the house had one a year, then surely Caleb should too, however much he despised the place… For now, he needed to start preparing for the weekly trip to the supermarket later; that and the visit to the Union Square market was part of their weekly routine. It was no bad thing that whatever else was happening, they still had those little things that never altered…
Along the street, Beats was also awake much earlier than normal that Saturday morning, although in his case he had a partial excuse in being able to say that it had been to see his husband off to work. As soon as he had left, he had booted up his laptop to make a start on the investigation into the potential routes that a new subway line across the Hudson into New Jersey could follow. Now that he had been given the brief with the full backing of the MTA board, he wanted to waste no time in getting started properly on what had once been a pipe dream…
He had already come to one conclusion about the most logical route an extension could take, and that was to build a line in the direction of Bergenfield, Elliott's former home, via West New York and Fort Lee. It would open up an area of New Jersey that was currently poorly connected to the city across the river except by bus service, all of which were subject to hold up and delay in the Lincoln Tunnel, even with the bus lane.
However, he knew that one line would not be as beneficial as three, and he had ideas for two more possible routes that could really open up cross river transit and general connectivity. It was possible that the '1' Train could be extended from its current northern terminus as well, and cross the river there, linking once more to Bergenfield and New Milford, where it could connect with the existing commuter railroad; if he could find a convenient and cost-effective way of also serving Yonkers before crossing the river, then it would be perfect.
He then turned to the other end of Manhattan, where he had also seen a possibility; the 'E' Train, which was already proposed for extension beyond its current terminal point, via Springfield Gardens to JFK Airport at the Queens end, could also extend at its other end. If he could find a way to extend it beyond the World Trade Center terminal and under the river, routing it via the New Jersey end of the bridge to Ellis Island, then on via Bayonne to cross back under the water to Port Richmond on Staten Island, then crossing back to New Jersey and Newark Airport, he would hit the jackpot. Not only would he have created a subway line that would supplement the proposed express train route from JFK to Newark, but he would have provided a subway station in the fifth borough, the Holy Grail… Such a station, with a good connecting bus network, would help to reduce the pressures on the existing ferry service…
As he poured over the geological charts and the navigational charts, then cross referenced to the detailed building maps of the city, so he could see where a deep basement or service line would hinder his proposed subway lines, his mind wandered occasionally onto two other topics. The first of these was, of course, Dante and Lachlan; they had not lost them, but it had been close, and his heart still ached at the very idea of that. There had been a huge part of him that had wanted to demand that Dante had recuperated here with them, but he had to be both practical and conscious of other people's emotions.
For a start, they were up a flight of stairs to begin with, and the bedrooms then up another one, whereas at the Rosenfelds, in the little apartment that he shared with Lachlan, there was only one to contend with, and that was to the bedroom. Dante would have been climbing stairs in the West Village just to get in and out of the house. Mentally, bringing Dante home would have been damaging too, as he would have been separated from Lachlan at a time when they really needed each other close; he would have been happier, but for the two young men, it would not have been beneficial at all.
He had come round to the idea of his mother coming, however; he had to work, as did Elliott, but the idea of having Mrs Rosenfeld as the sole carer for both boys did not sit easy with him. Ruth was a lovely woman, but he could not imagine being around her all day every day without going stir crazy. His mother would give the two boyfriends a little relief from that, and more importantly, she would be able to supply them with an unbiased daily update on how the two young men were…
As for his second issue, that was actually having an impact on him as he tried to do his work and was of a much more personal nature. He hadn't told anyone, not even Elliott, that since that dreadful Sunday night, he had noticed some deterioration in his eyes. His glasses did not seem to be working as well as they had only last week, and he couldn't help but wonder if the stress of dealing with the attack had caused them to degrade a little, although he thought that was a little far-fetched when he really considered it… Nonetheless, he had quietly made an appointment to see the optician on his lunchbreak early the following week…