Fatherhood.
Within a fortnight of the two pregnancy announcements, the baby boom began in earnest. As the cast of Cabaret prepared for their Sunday show, a call came which meant that Santana was on stage with the understudy of Emcee for the first time. Such an event had been expected, and rehearsed for more than once. On hearing the news she had sent a quick message to Sebastian, saying that she was thinking of them both, not anticipating any sort of response. When the interval came, she returned to her dressing room, and switched her phone on, and was surprised to see a reply - 'Your thoughts were appreciated; did they happen to be hurry up? I have a daughter…'
It was indeed a swift birth; no sooner had the news began to spread than the announcement came that they had a daughter. Two new fathers were handed their little girl with broad smiles on their faces; a daughter that would be called Elise, after Sebastian's maman, a decision that they had both agreed on right from the start of talking about having children. All around them were the warm wishes of their friends, and the love and support of their families. However, from the moment that he saw her, Sebastian knew that he was not her biological father; that it had been Dave that had created the beautiful little girl in his arms. She had her father's nose, and hair…
It didn't really matter to him in the grand scheme of things, of course; she would still refer to him as her father as she grew older, but there was just the tiniest part of his heart that ached and was a little jealous of the man at his side. All kinds of irrational worries began to fill his head at that point too; what if, by some cruel biological joke, he was infertile? What if he could never produce a child of his own? Worse yet, how would Santana react if that was indeed the case? He let those thoughts die down as quickly as they had appeared. It was irrational to think like that in any case; they had both had tests done before they began the process, and if one of them had been shooting the proverbial blanks, surely someone would have mentioned it at the time…
At a distance, an angel watched him, knowing that his as yet unconfirmed suspicions as to his little girl's parentage were indeed true, but also knowing that their other notion certainly was not; that in due course, he would get news that would prove he was definitely not infertile. However, that angel also knew that there was someone in their loose circle of friends that was indeed infertile; someone that was aware of the devastating fact, and whose partner was also appraised of the situation. Those two people were resigned to their fate, but they did not have to be, or indeed would be left to that sorry fate, not if the angel in question had anything to do with it…
Santana was quite surprised to discover at the end of the show that Sebastian had not yet announced his news on Facebook to the world at large; she suspected that she was only aware of it because she had taken the time to send him that message, and she had only been able to do that because of his absence from the show. The first priority for both of the new fathers would be informing family that there was a new member in the world. The speed with which their daughter had arrived in the world was a shock too, she guessed, judging by what had been experienced by others in their circle; her first cries had been heard only a few minutes after their dash to the hospital ended. Santana resolved to say nothing to anyone, even her wife, until it was confirmed by the parents…
It was only at that moment, as the shows ended on Broadway, that Sebastian made his first phone call. It went to his brother, as Julian was the closest to him in distance. He was delighted for his brother, although in his head he could hear Peter muttering quietly about the fact that it was another little girl being brought into the world. At the same time, Dave was making a call to his father, who broke down in tears at the news, and that set Dave off himself in turn; both of them knew that had it not been for the swift actions of the older man all those years ago, this story would not be happening. The call ended with Paul stating that he would be heading to New Jersey first thing in the morning on an early flight; as he hung up on his son, he contemplated whether he should call his ex-wife to inform her that she was now a grandmother. He decided against it, knowing full well what her reaction would likely be; neither he nor Dave needed to hear the amount of vicious bile that would come out of her mouth, particularly as it would all be directed at an innocent little girl…
After Julian, Sebastian had called his maman, and her reaction had been the same as Paul Karofsky's. She had begun to cry, and her tears had multiplied when he told her that they were naming their little girl after her; like Dave's father, she told her son that she would be there the following day to meet her little namesake. He then called his father, something that he would not even have contemplated doing just a few months earlier, and he had to admit that he was a little surprised when the man in question started to cry too, telling him that this was the most wonderful news he had received in some time… Sebastian suddenly found himself telling his father his suspicions about the identity of the biological father, not sure how he would react. There was an initial silence, and then came a considered response.
"It doesn't make any difference in reality who the father is as long as you love that little girl with all your heart; she in return will love you unconditionally, and if there is one thing that I am absolutely certain of, it is that both you and Dave will make better fathers to her than I ever was to you and Julian. You have seen the mistakes that can be made in parenting, and you will not repeat them."
"I hope that you are right," replied Sebastian, unsure if that was true.
"I am certain of that, son. You have a heart that will not be defeated, and it has room for so many people within it. I am proud of you for being like that; you have turned out alright in the end, despite my best attempts to alter that…"
When their call ended, Sebastian found his eyes moist; somehow the knowledge that his father thought that of him was the best thing in the world… It was late by then; he considered calling Bette, but he decided that it would be best to leave all other calls until the morning. Instead he headed back into the room where his daughter was sleeping in a crib, with Dave looking at her with the biggest of grins on her face.
"She is so perfect, Sebby; I think that my heart is going to explode with all of the love that I feel right now," his husband said as Sebastian came to stand by him.
"I feel the same… She is yours, I think; little things make me suspect that you are the lucky one…"
"This time, but our second child will be yours. My dad sends his love, and he will be here tomorrow."
"My maman too; my dad didn't say anything, but I suspect he will be here sooner rather than later too."
"It is going to be a big learning curve over the next few months; we have read up on all of the theory, but now it is time for the practical. I admit that the prospect does scare me more than a little; being entirely responsible for another life…"
"We will be fine; sure, we will make mistakes, but there are people that we can ask for advice, and no shortage of folks that will help us out. So, I guess that now our family knows, we should put the news on Facebook; I was thinking just a snap of her on her own, so that she gets all of the limelight she deserves."
"That is more than okay with me; she is asleep right now, and I don't think that we would be too popular round here if we woke her up just to take a selfie," replied Dave.
It took Sebastian just a few minutes to post his message, anticipating that there would be little immediate response, given that it was almost midnight. True enough, by the time that they reached home about an hour later, only Trent, working late on a big speech in Washington, and David, away with work in Seattle, had responded with their congratulations. They had both seen what he had in her face, but they made no mention in their messages. They both knew that their friend would love her no less because he was not her biological father. After all, if there was one thing that Dalton had taught them all, it was the fact that love could conquer everything…
The reaction of everyone else came in the morning, and all of it was extremely positive. Nick was the first of all of them to actually speak to Sebastian, and the new father was glad for the words of someone who had been in that role for two years now…
"It seems like the worst decision that your ever made right now; you doubt that you will cope; your fear that you will hurt them; you will wonder why you gave up on a good night's sleep and a more carefree existence. But then she will look at you, and smile, and you will know that you would never consider giving her back, not for a single second. You will also wonder if you will be failing them when you are working or putting too much burden on your husband, but you aren't. You have to work to provide them with the things they need. In some ways, you and Dave will be luckier than me and Jeff; you will be at home most days, and Dave will be home most nights."
"I am beginning to think that I should take a sabbatical like Cooper though; give her my undivided attention for a few months."
"Things were different for him and Grace though; she could still work from home, something that neither you or Dave can do. I was in the same position with Jeff… What I am trying to say is that there is no harm in having some sort of help with childcare, just for a few hours a week. There are plenty of qualified people out of there after all; your sister-in-law could probably help you find someone."
"That's true, but…"
"But nothing. You are not a superhero Sebastian, and no-one would expect you to be. You will be more hands on than your own dad was, but with all the will in the world, neither you or Dave can afford to be there for her every minute of the day…"
Sebastian was still thinking over what Nick had said to him when Bette called him, having heard the news and wanting to offer her best. As he had done so many times before, he found himself pouring out all of his woes to her; in return, she listened quietly, then agreed with Nick.
"Having children and being a performer, as both of you boys are, is not easy by any means. You might well miss things you might want to see because you are on stage, or on the field. However, unless you want to give it all up and get an office job, or something equally tedious, that is something that you will just have to accept. In my honest opinion, you will probably be better off in our job than any other anyway; you work at night for less hours than a clerk of some sort, and if you give up your matinee shows, you will be able to work around your husband's schedule. You can learn lines with a baby in the house in any case. No, you need to get yourself a helper, but make sure that they are an experienced one. They can help you out with any issues that might arise with the bringing up of a little girl too…"
With two opinions for, he decided that he needed to talk about the issue with his husband. He found that he was now seriously considering the idea himself, and cursing under his breath that they had not considered thinking about this before. If they had, then they could have had someone in place to help them out right now. When he brought the issue up with his husband he agreed that maybe it was not a bad idea, and so they made a call to Isabelle. She laughed, and gave them the number of the woman that owned the agency that had helped her out in her first few months with Sienna. Her agency was one of the most highly regarded in New Jersey, and the short notice would not be an issue for her.
By the time that they were allowed to bring little Elise home that evening, three grandparents had arrived. Mr Smythe had actually arrived first, with an apologetic statement that he could not wait to meet her on his lips. All three of them had been there for the moment that the official confirmation was given that she was Dave's biological child. It didn't matter though; once she was in Sebastian's arms, she gurgled away in contentment as he whispered nonsense to her. Not long after they arrived home there was a knock on the door, and Dave answered it to a reveal a woman in her early fifties that had been sent there by the agency.
Mrs Carr, as it transpired, was a recently widowed mother of two and grandmother of three. Her children lived some distance away in Florida, both having found jobs and partners there. Her son was gay, and he had also made use of a surrogate to give her her first grandchild. She lived locally, which was a great advantage. She was shown in, and introduced herself, then carried on. "My husband passed away recently, and I have time on my hands. I am very comfortably off, and I am not looking for a full time job. I have brought you my resume, and if you think that I would be suitable, this could be convenient for all of us," she stated. It was an interesting proposition to all of them, and after the grandparents had helped them out by checking over the resume, they all agreed that she was highly suitable. She was hired on the spot. Sure, both of the new fathers felt a degree of guilt over doing so, but they had to work to support their daughter, and they would both be around as much as possible…
The fact that Sebastian and Dave had become fathers dominated the month of August for the most part, but the month did end on a different note in a street in the West Village. The day had finally arrived when Josh Gilbert would marry his long term boyfriend Scott, and that meant it was also the day they would move out of the place they shared with Elliott and Beats and into Isabelle's old home. The night before the big day, Beats had taken Scott out with him to the Spotlight Diner, both knowing that the Gilbert brothers needed a chance to say their farewells in private. Elliott knew that he was not losing his brother for good this time; that their parting was only to be a short term one, given that his new place was just a few blocks away. They would still see each other all the time, and the distance would make no difference to their relationship; their fraternal bond was strong thanks to what they had both suffered at the hands of their parents. The fact remained that they were the only family that they had; yes, Scott and Beats were family, but they did not share the same blood or have the same memories.
The plan had been to just sit and watch a movie or two together, but in the end the atmosphere of finality got to them, and the tears began. In the end, they abandoned the movie and just sat and talked to each other. Elliott was pleased to discover that his brother wanted a big family of his own, as that meant that he would have dozens of nieces and nephews to spoil; he also knew that his brother would make an excellent father. In turn, he told Josh all about the letter that had arrived that day from the Department of Children's Services, confirming that he and Beats were now approved foster parents, and that someone would be in touch in due course about their first placement.
"So you are replacing me already, and I haven't even gone out of the door," Josh joked.
"Never! No matter how many kids come through here as a result of this, I will only ever have one kid brother. I am just so grateful that we had the chance to share the last few years together; we can never make up for the time that we lost, but that is in our past. From now on, it's the Gilbert boys versus the world," replied Elliott.
"Always, big bro - and thanks for being there when I needed you the most. If you hadn't been back in my life at that point, well I don't know quite how things might have ended up…"
Elliott just nodded, and then pulled his brother into a tight hug. Just the idea of his brother being alone and homeless on that Christmas Day still made him feel physically sick.
The ceremony the next day was small; Scott's parents and sister; Ms Ramierez, their high school principal; and a handful of college friends joined them, alongside Dani, Jeff with little Wes, Mason, Cooper, Grace and the twins. The vows that the two boys made to each other were uttered with great conviction, and once the rings had been exchanged, the looks on their to faces could have melted the hardest of hearts. Elliott was glad that something that had been lurking in the back of his mind had not happened; an appearance by his sister or parents. There was no grand reception afterwards, just a gathering at the Spotlight, where the place had been decorated for them, and the menu tweaked a little so that their favourite foods were on it. Songs were sung and toasts made to a young couple who had made their relationship official. Thoughts for some of those there strayed to their own wedding days, or indeed to the ceremony that would take place next month when Mike and Tina finally married, in the last such ceremony of their own generation so to speak.
It was about two hours into the reception that Beats' phone began to buzz, with a number that he did not recognise at first; and then he realised that it was the cell number of their contact at Children's Services. He got up, and answered, walking over to a quieter spot as he did so. He listened intently to what was being said on the other end of the line; the word tonight did make him blanch a little, but he tentatively agreed, subject to speaking to Elliott…
Beats and Elliott ended up leaving the reception early, with the blessing of Josh and Scott, and were home by 7pm, awaiting the ringing of the doorbell. As before, it rang right on the appointed time, and they buzzed the lady in. This time however she was not alone; at her side was a teenage latino boy of about 14, who had that haunted look on his face that Elliott at once recognised. It was the one that he had seen on his brother's face that terrible Christmas day, and on his own in a restroom mirror a few years before that.
"So, introductions," began the lady from Children's Services. "Dante, this is Elliott Gilbert and his partner Beats Harper."
"Beats? That is a strange sort of name," Dante said.
"I was the beatboxer in my high school choir; the nickname they gave me stuck, as it is much better than my actual first name, Nathaniel," Beats replied.
"I can see why you would prefer that, dude," Dante replied. "So, you might be my foster parents… I warn you now, I am trouble. At least, that is what my mom used to say all the time before she threw me out; and the folks at the home seem to be of the same opinion. Oh, and I am gay, and no virgin."
"Well, that makes two of us then," Elliott replied. "Beats here is pansexual; I just got lucky…"
"Pansexual; I like that…it's cool," Dante answered with just a hint of a smile. He turned to the lady from Children's Services, and continued, "Maybe I could live with these dudes. They're cool, and let's face it, the West Village beats the Bronx hands down…"
They proceeded to give Dante a quick tour of the rest of the house, including the room that they intended to be his if he chose to stay; the one that had always been, unofficially, Scott's bedroom. His eyes opened wide as he saw the amount of space, making both potential foster fathers realise that it much be much larger than he was used to. When they revealed that he would also have his own bathroom, he stared into the room in disbelief. Then he saw the door on the other side of the room, and asked the obvious question. "Okay, so where does that go? Is there someone else that would be using this room?"
"It goes through to what used to be my kid brother's room; he has just moved out, as he and his boyfriend just got married; this afternoon in fact," responded Elliott.
"Your kid brother is gay too. Wow, I bet that went down well with your folks…"
Elliott noted the sarcasm in his voice, and replied, "Oh, you can certainly say that. They chucked me out when I was just starting out at college, but fortunately the financial aid system let me finish my course. My kid brother was kept away from me after that, and it ate away inside of me; then this wonderful man of mine managed to get in touch with my brother, and get us back together behind their backs. Just as well as it goes; he was thrown out too just a few weeks later, on Christmas Day to be precise…"
Beats continued, "Then, when their father found out that his two sons were back together, he decided he wasn't having it. Fortunately Josh, Elliott's brother was not living with him at that time; his old place was too small, so he was staying with good friends. His father didn't know that, and when he turned up and Elliott refused to tell him where he was, he tried to kill him, and me…"
"Geez…" exclaimed Dante. "My mom at least called someone up when she washed her hands of me… Did your folks chuck you out too?"
Beats smiled, then said, "No. I was lucky; my folks accept me for who I am, as did all of my friends. It is thanks to them that we live here; one of them owns this place, and he lives with his husband and son two doors down."
"This sure does sound like a good place. I would hate to come along and mess everything up for you, after all you've been through."
"Short of having a string of boyfriends calling round the place, day and night, that is not possible," replied Elliott. "We will of course expect you to behave in an appropriate manner when you are living here, and that will include attending school every day for a start."
"I could try, but so far, school and I ain't had the best kind of relationship," said Dante quietly. "I take it I would be going to school around here, not commuting up to the Bronx?"
"Yes; it will be a fresh start in a new neighbourhood, although I freely admit that I am a little hazy on where the nearest school actually is," said Beats.
At that point, the woman from Children's Services, who had been listening quietly, intervened, and told them that she knew where he would be attending if he lived with them, and pointed out that it was one of the best public schools in the city. "Dante is a smart kid, but like so many these days, he just fell in with the wrong crowd. The new school semester starts in a week or so…"
"In that case, we had better get a move on," said Beats, turning to Elliott, who gave him a nod, know exactly what he was implying. "We would both be more than happy to have Dante come here and live with us, subject to your approval, and more importantly, his."
"I'm in, ma'am," came Dante's immediate response. "Only, can we not tell anyone at the home where I am headed, so that none of them can follow me here. If it is going to be a fresh start, then it needs to be a clean sheet. My old friends are toxic, so it would be best to make some new ones."
"That is just what I wanted to hear from you," replied the lady from Children's Services. "I hoped that the three of you would hit it off, and so I took the chance of bringing all the paperwork with me. A few signatures, and we can get Dante moved in here as soon as you are able to have him."
"How does tomorrow suit?" said Elliott, pulling a pen out of his pocket, as Beats did the same. "That way he has a few days to settle in, and can pay a visit to his new school before the semester starts…."
When Beats announced to Jeff later that night that their first foster kid would be arriving the following day, the blond was surprised, but not in a bad way. He had known that it was coming, and how keen both of them had been to get the process started. "His name is Dante Salazar; he is 14 going on 20, and basically he got kicked out by his mother when he came out. Since then he has been in a home, and that is how he ended up going off the rails. He is a good kid at heart, he has been treated like dirt, and we are his second chance…"
"So, given the surname, I shouldn't be at all concerned if I see a Latino kid entering your place tomorrow," said Jeff with a grin, and Beats nodded.
"I am considering introducing him to Santana, just to put the fear of God into him," his friend replied.
"Maybe you would be better introducing him to Jake first. I would suspect that they are from a similar cultural heritage, and he is not a big Broadway star for one thing. He is in the city as well, not out in Jersey, and from what I recall from talking to Blaine, Jake had his fair share of troubles too…"
Beats smiled at his friend, and said, "You might actually have a point there. Maybe we could arrange for them to meet, 'by chance', at the Spotlight over the weekend."
Jeff nodded, then changed the topic of discussion. He knew that when the news got out, there would be much debate amongst their little circle of friends as to the pros and cons of the arrangement. Flint would be as surprised as he was about the speed with which it had happened no doubt, but he would be supportive of his friend. After all, one look at the smile on Beats' face was enough to tell Jeff that this was a dream come true for both him and Elliott…
Dante arrived in the street in the early afternoon with his entire life packed into a couple of holdalls; the very sight of that made Elliott recall that horrendous Christmas all over again. Beats had arrived home just 10 minutes earlier, having explained the situation to his boss. As he was owed time back for the extra hours unpaid he had worked during the heavy snows in February, his boss had no problem in him taking the afternoon off. He had then surprised Beats by telling him about a perk of the job he was unaware of; he was also entitled to two days off paid to deal with the arrival of a new foster child, in line with the paternity leave given to new fathers. This meant that he now had the rest of the week off, which would be useful in getting Dante settled in. Elliott and Beats knew that they could count on the support of their friends in that; Jeff had arrived at lunchtime with a box of homemade cookies, and a red velvet cake, which Nick had baked the night before, and had then frosted before he headed to work that morning.
"He wanted to give your foster child a warm welcome to the street, and one of his cakes seemed like the best thing. The cookies are just plain chocolate chip, made by little Wes and me this morning; like his dad, our son likes nothing more than helping me bake. Admittedly, when he comes home tonight, I will need to have a word or two with my husband over my new nickname…"
Elliott had looked at Jeff curiously then, until a little voice suddenly piped up, "Daddy says that Papa is the Cookie Monster." Elliott had been forced to stifle a laugh as Jeff shook his head in despair, made all the worst by the fact that little Wes was now doing an almost perfect impression of the Sesame Street character in question… The cake took pride of place on the table, along with the tin of cookies; the latter though would wait until Dante was properly settled in.
Elliott and Beats left their foster son to do his own unpacking, having ensured that the dresser and the wardrobe in the room were completely empty and clean, with the exception of a good number of hangers. After half an hour they heard tentative steps on the stairs, and Beats headed into the hall to invite him to join them in the kitchen. "I hope that everything was okay in your room?" he stated with a smile.
"Yeah… I wasn't sure if I am allowed to put up posters and stuff - I have a couple of small ones in my bag…" replied Dante.
"That is actually something that we didn't consider," admitted Elliott. "We can get a pinboard put up for you, or get the posters put in frames, or even both."
"I don't want to be too much bother to you…"
"It is no trouble at all," said Elliott, beating his boyfriend to it. "Making sure that the walls are protected helps to keep Jeff, our friend that owns this place, happy. Incidentally, he and his boy stopped by earlier to drop off a couple of welcome gifts for you earlier…." Elliott stood back from the table then to reveal the cake and the cookie tin. "Jeff's husband Nick is the best baker that we know, and he made a red velvet cake for you before he went to work today; the cookies were made by Jeff with the assistance of their little boy Wes…"
"Red Velvet is pretty much my favourite kind of cake! He couldn't have known, but the fact he made one for me makes me so happy… Could I have a slice now? I mean, if that is okay, because it is nearly meal time I would imagine…."
"Of course it is," replied Beats. "I am still young enough to recall what it was like when I was your age; you constantly crave food! A slice of cake and either a glass of milk or one of juice sound good?"
"A glass of apple juice, if you have some…"
Elliott nodded, glad that he had stocked up with a variety of juices from the supermarket in Brooklyn that morning, a honey crisp apple amongst them. A few minutes later and the new family were sitting around the table, eating Nick's cake, all of them in agreement that it was a triumph…
By the time that Sunday arrived, Dante had met all of the neighbours, and had even joined Nick and Jeff for Friday night dinner. He had no issue with any of them, although he did admit that he found Kitty a little frightening; Beats pointed out that she had the same effect on all of them. He had also admitted that he found the fact that he was living amongst such a creative group of people really cool. He was particularly in awe of the fact that Jeff had actually illustrated one of his favourite books; when the blond man had produced a copy for him and autographed it, he had nearly burst into tears on the spot, but he had managed to hold them back and protect his reputation…
Artie offered to show him how to use his cameras, if he was interested, and a date was quickly set for the two of them to spend a day doing just that. He was less certain about Mike being a dancer, until he saw him in action; then he was keen to learn a few basic steps himself, merely because you got more looks if you were a good mover… In the end, Mike handed that job over to Jake, and afterwards, the two of them had sat down and talked about their experiences in life. After they had talked for an hour, Jake had offered to return another day, and Dante had agreed readily; he was more than ready to spend time with a guy that got him and so many of his issues. His news school had been sorted out, and the teachers he had met seemed really cool; then he had been taken shopping, and his wardrobe was bolstered by a few items. It certainly looked as if Dante was in the West Village to stay, and both he and his foster fathers were only too happy with that…
