Leah POV

Both I and Jonah ended up staying behind with Mr. Schue for planning for sectionals. Jonah and Mr. Schue did the most of the work, I mostly sat by and read a book far gone in the worlds of the characters. But I heard their laughs when Jonah found a pair of pants that he thought that they boys could use for their sectionals outfits and them talking about the songs that would be used.

"Well…" Jonah said towards the end of one day. "I would like to do this song. I know the theme for this year is what is important, and one of the things I think is most important except for friends of course with this other song we might do is to just be yourself. And I'd like… you know that I…. for me… or for anyone actually. It could all be over in a second, and I want people to know that…. That what I've done when it's over is what means the most."

Mr. Schue looked thoughtful. "I was singing, that maybe we could do…" I didn't hear anything else. I left the room telling them I needed to go to the bathroom. Instead I sat down at a bench in the hallway and tried to not think about what Jonah had said. I didn't want to think about the meaning behind it- the last few months I had actually managed to suppress it.

It wasn't exactly news. I had always known, since I was little and old enough to understand what was going on with Jonah's heart and what it meant to die I had known that he could live for another ten, or twenty years- but he could also be dying of a heart attack within only seconds from now.

"Hey." I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up and met Mr. Schue's green eyes. "Are you okay?" I forced myself to nod. "Was it that what Jonah said that he knows that it could all be over?" I nodded and Mr. Schue sat down by me lying his arm around my shoulders in the move. "I can understand this must be very hard on you and your family."

I was on the verge of shouting him in the face that he didn't understand a thing, but he must have seen the look on my face by that. "No, no. You got me wrong! I would never state that I know how this feels for you, Jonah and your parents. But any idiot would get that it is hard on you all!" I smiled at Mr. Schue's bad joke.

"I'm just…. I try not to think about that day is getting closer and closer for every second. But… I do it anyway, and then it's hard to remember that I can't control it and that it should probably be the best if I forgot all about it and just lived like Jonah does. Like there wasn't a care in the world." Mr. Schue let hear a short chuckle.

"Yeah, Jonah is one of those few people that would never let life come in the way of living. Just now he quoted from that book and said I'm in a rollercoaster only going up- but hey, I've got the nicest view!" I laughed and shook my head. There really wasn't a single piece of normal in my brother's body- not one piece!

"So what if…" When I and Mr. Schue came back into the room Jonah sat with paper pieces spread over the floor in front of him. "What if- we in the group number do this thing where we split up in pairs, and then we all go towards the middle of the stage and then we all meet someone we're friends with or whatever there- I and Leah, Lex and Tyler. Etc."

Looking closer I saw that all of the papers had our names on them, and then how Jonah had paired us up. Most of it made sense, me and Jonah, Tyler and Lex, Alice and Johnny and of course- the newest couple- Aiden and Caroline. But then the last two I couldn't help but wonder what Jonah had been thinking.

"Jonah, are you sure it's a good idea to put Teeghan and Sean together- they aren't exactly best friends." I thought back, those two had managed to start discussing something- not seldom getting into fights about every glee rehearsal since… well since the day when Sean did basket case by green day actually. "Sean really annoys Teeghan."

"Everyone really annoys that girl!" Jonah answered. "And no, I just, there were four left. Anna, Jasper, Teeghan and Sean- and maybe it could be good with having those two together. Maybe it could help them to actually be able to be in the same room without starting a fight." Well… if it had only been that well.

"Be careful" Teeghan fizzled at Sean for about the millionth time. But then we had had time, now it was two days left to sectionals and just because of their fighting we had barely gotten any further. Now Mr. Schue had had enough and jumped down from the piano and stepped over to the two.

Teeghan was mostly glancing at the group as usual as if she was thinking how much better than all of us others she was. She was the only one causing the trouble, Sean started first when he was getting annoyed by her. And Sean right now just looked tired and as if he couldn't give a damn about neither glee club nor anything else.

"Teeghan." Mr. Schue stated strictly. "I know you don't like Sean, everyone knows but you need to sort out your problems. You're the one causing the trouble so I need you to sort it out now or we are going to lose on Friday. Do you get it?" Teeghan shrugged. "Okay… well you can leave for today."

"And don't forget guys." Jonah shouted. "On Monday- my birthday, don't you dare miss it!" I laughed and lightly slapped the back of his head jokily. "What- I don't want anyone to miss my birthday would I?" Jonah said as if there wasn't a care about it- just like he would about everything else. "God I'm turning eighteen! This is big Leah."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU" I, mum and dad woke Jonah up on Monday morning. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU" Jonah woke up and then just laid there and smiled at us. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JONAH" Well… to say that it was false would have been an understatement. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU." Jonah smiled and clapped his hands for us while he pushed himself up to sit.

"Happy birthday JoJo" Mum said, handed him the present from her and dad and kissed Jonah's forehead. Jonah just glared up at mum by the silly nickname mum had given him when he was little. "Oh, it seems like it was just yesterday I sat with you in my arms. You were so tiny and… you know… what if I had known then I'd sit here with you today. Eighteen- you're an adult!"

"Yeah, and that would mean you're no longer allowed to call me JoJo!" Jonah smirked. "Seriously, when did I ever like that nickname anyway?"

"Oh JoJo, I'm always going to use that nickname. And you are always going to be my little boy." I smiled at the glare Jonah shot my mum when she said she'd continue to use that nickname. And dad chuckled as he started fixing with the pancakes Jonah always had on his birthday mornings. "So… wheelchair?" Jonah had been using his wheelchair quite a lot lately.

"Duh mum! I wouldn't want to use the chair on what could possibly be my last birthday ever!"

"Don't say that Jonah."

"I always say that mum. I need to say that on my birthday. It's tradition!" Mum sighed and ruffled his hair. "And oh, today Mr. Schue was going to tell us who we're competing against on Friday… I wonder why he waited until now. He knew weeks ago but wouldn't tell us." Jonah turned to his breakfast. "YAY Pancake!"

"What?" Johnny moaned when Mr. Schue admitted that he wouldn't tell us today either- or at all before the competition who we were competing against. "But why not. Mr. Schuester we should get to know who we are competing against so we could rehearse and make sure that we do it good enough to beat them."

"No, Johnny." Mr. Schue answered. "The only thing we need to make sure is that we are rehearsing enough so that we can do our very best on Friday. And if we're doing our best then we can't do any better and that is all we need to do. Today… Is for someone I think have got a special day today… Happy birthday to you…" Mr. Schue started singing and everyone had joined before anyone had had the time to ask any more questions about Friday.

"Happy birthday Jonah. Hurray, hurray, hurray, hurray." We all shouted at last. Jonah sat with a smile from ear to ear only looking around him. Mr. Schuester had a big carton.

"Is that for me?" Jonah asked almost jumping on his chair. Most of us in the room laughed at that and Moa and Lex reached Jonah each present from each of their ways. "Oh, are those for me?" Moa nodded. "YAY." Jonah clapped his hands and took the one from Lex quickly ripping the paper off- in that childish happy way that only Jonah could. "Oh this is awesome."

He unwrapped a wooden board that said "Live love laugh" Well… it was perfect for Jonah. And with the same excitement as before he took the one from Moa. "Oh this is awesome too." He unwrapped a box and unwrapped some sort of leather band with a print made of some sort of thick silver- threads. "Wait… what is it?"

"It's a bracelet." Moa took it carefully from Jonah. "Look, their called Sweden Lapland bracelets or Sami Lapland bracelets. The leather is from reindeer, that thread I'm not sure what it is. And the button- it's made of reindeer antler." Jonah's eyes had gone big while Moa helped him to pull it around his wrist and put it on.

"Cool!"

"We all gave some money to pay for these so it's the presents from all of us." Aiden said. "It was Moa's idea with the bracelet of course. The plaque was Caroline's idea. Then what it is that Mr. Schue have got. That I have no idea of. What is it Mr. Schue?" Mr. Schue reached the big box to Jonah who with big eyes pulled out a white hoodie from the box.

"Last year, we were doing our sectional songs for the fact that Lex's dad and uncle were coming and some of the teachers were standing with money box's to raise money for work to help children that are abused at home. And I decided to make it to a bit of a tradition. This year. You will all be wearing each of those hoodies. Everyone's got them in a big size since I didn't want to go through everyone's sizes. So what do you think Jo… Jonah… are you crying? Did I do something wrong? Don't you like them Jonah talk to me buddy!"

In fact Jonah was crying, he had pulled up the hoodie. Passed it on to me, I pulled up my own, passed it on to Lex and then when he was crying and everyone knew it had stopped. I read the shirt. It had printed a red ribbon and text reading in red "Keep calm and go red for heart disease awareness." Jonah had seen loads of these prints before.

"And I was thinking…." Mr. Schue began and kneeled in front of Jonah taking his hand. "That this year we'll raise money for heart diseases." Jonah cried even harder but still sat with the shirt covering his face. "Jonah… did I do something wrong? Don't you want this?" Jonah looked up with tear- stained cheeks and tears in his eyes.

"I love you so much." Jonah said hoarsely. I reached over and rubbed his back. "It's fine Leah. I'm okay. God I love you so much," Jonah looked around. "I mean…. Leah- of course. Lex, you have been such an awesome friend for Leah lately and I couldn't have been more grateful for it." He chose someone by coincidence. "Teeghan… oh well maybe not you." Teeghan looked surprised. "Okay, okay. I love you too… and Mr. Schuester." Jonah held up the shirt. "I don't know what we would all have done without you!"

"What are you doing?" Lex whispered to me. "What are you…" I shushed her. I was just playing with Jonah's hair in the way mum had done since he was little and needed to be calmed down. I didn't have a comb to do it like mum had learnt that it calmed it down but I slightly pulled the tips of tresses of his hair backwards and Jonah gratefully looked up at me.

"Mr. Schue, this is the best idea. Look… I have spent eighteen years in all of… this! And people don't talk about it or raise money or anything because they believe or whatever- they just take for granted that I don't want to hear anything about it but this. This is just awesome! This is the best idea ever!" Jonah smiled and lied the shirt over his legs and took a good look at the print.

"Oh… wow!" Jonah chuckled and dried the tears. "Aw come on guys." At first I thought Jonah was pulling us all in for a group hug but he was standing up. "Today is a good day…" He started snapping his fingers. "Caroline, Aiden you have got the first solos everyone get up." We got onto our feet and started dancing and singing for what would be our ending number on Friday.

"That is awesome guys." Mr. Schue clapped his hands when we had- for the first time managed to get through the whole number without anyone starting fighting. And actually done it pretty well. "If we do it like that on Friday we're going to beat vocal adrenaline until…" Mr. Schue silent when he realized he had told us who we were competing against.

"Vocal Adrenaline? Ugh" Johnny moaned. "We're never going to beat them."

"Never? Do you remember you said the same last year when we met them at regionals? And we actually beat them?" Johnny scratched his neck and looked distressed.

"Yeah but have you even heard who they have this year? Mr. Schue we are never going to beat them." Johnny walked over to the wall and started hitting his head in the bookshelf jokily. "We are never going to beat them!"

"Jonah?" I span around when I heard someone ask for Jonah a bit worriedly. "Is he okay?" Jonah had pulled on his hoodie, and he had gotten through the number, and most of his birthday. Which was probably going to be his last no matter how much we were trying to get away from that fact. And crying and laughing and singing… and after everything he had fallen asleep and was like sleeping like a baby at the piano.

"Should we wake him up?" I shook my head at Sean's question and pulled my phone out of my pocket to call up my dad and tell him to come in so I wouldn't have to pull Jonah outside and to the car. I wasn't so sure that would be good for him.

"Jonah I'm not so sure this is good for you." I told him a few days later, standing in the choir room- or well, I was standing. Jonah was nervously wandering back and forth. "Sit down, I think you should save a bit so you can dance later without collapsing half through the number." Jonah sighed and sat down by me. I lifted my hand and started pulling his hair again.

"This is my only chance Leah!" I tried not to break down under what Jonah said. "If I mess up here and we lose- I won't get another chance. Because if we mess this up then… I'm not going to be here for next year's competition" He sighed. "And this is like my biggest chance ever to reach out to as many as possible and… I don't want to mess it up."

"You're not going to mess up Jonah. Look around." Jonah looked around. "Look, we are all wearing these hoodies which are like eight sizes too big even for Tyler and Sean who are the tallest. I saw Mr. McKenna and Miss Frond standing with each money box and there are probably at least a couple of more ones standing in the hallway with those boxes. You won't mess it up! We will do great."

"You have done great so far." Lex came over and sat down on my other side. "I am loving these stage clothes. And Mr. Schue says we can keep these hoodies- well what else would be possible. They've each got our names on them." She turned around and showed her "Lex" with red text on the back. "I've never had anything saying Lex before." She seemed way too over- excited over it. "And we all love the songs you have chosen and the numbers and everything"

"Okay." Mr. Schue came into the room. "Vocal Adrenaline are on their finishing numbers, the unitards have already done theirs so next is us and then it will be over. Come on, circle everybody." We all got into the circle and reached our hands into the middle of it.

"AMAZING" We all reached our hands up in the air and then pulled off the hoodies and laid them about where we could- over a chair, on the piano. In a bookshelf… I looked around when we walked towards the stage. Lex really was right- the clothes that Jonah and Mr. Schue had gotten along about were really nice.

We girls were wearing red lace top dresses, black tights and black boleros with red, low converse. And the boys were wearing jeans checkered in red and black, short- sleeved, black polo's, red suspenders and black hi- top converse. And on top of all that we all had each one of those hoodies which we had been taking off now.

Jonah was the first one to walk out on stage, he walked out and sat down on the piano chair starting with just taking the last few tones and singing the words of the song with a power and a way to let the lyrics seem like he knew what it was about for real. He sang and then I walked out, followed by Lex and Tyler, followed by Caroline and Aiden and so on.

Towards the ending of the song, during all those long notes we all stood lined up amongst the stage. Every girl in front of the boy they were paired up with and slightly to the side. I was the only one on my own until the very last tones when Jonah stood up and came over and laid his hands on my shoulders like he should.

Caroline had the first solo of the next song, moving onto Aiden, moving onto Lex, moving onto Tyler and then so. We didn't actually do much of dancing, since with everything we had needed to think about the fact that Jonah must actually be able to do it. So it was mostly walking, meeting up with the partner that was ours and then walking again in a perfectly fitting choreography.

While we still were on stage after finishing the second song Mr. Schue stepped up on the stage. "Well… If you were here last year then you know that those numbers were held because we had a project to get in money and awareness for children stuck with abusive parents at home. And this year… as you might have noticed… I am making it into a tradition and this year… it's for heart diseases. Jonah… would you like to take over?"

Jonah looked up at Mr. Schue, then to the microphone which he took and raised it to his mouth. "Well… I didn't get to prepare myself for this but I'm sure I can come up with something… One question I get asked a lot is- Jonah, what is it like living with a heart disease?" Jonah hesitated- I knew he hated getting that question but he seemed to have trouble finding the right words.

"And I absolutely hate this question because I never know what to answer. I mean seriously? What's it like living without a heart disease?" He took a deep breath. "You wouldn't be able to answer that because you don't know what it's like living with one so you couldn't compare. And neither can I answer what it is like living with one because I've never lived without it so I couldn't compare them." Jonah bit his lip and his eyes looked in that way they only did when he was far gone in his own thoughts.

"And then, when people have asked about that they believe that I don't want any more questions. That they annoy me and whatever the questions asked they are going to ask they will ask the stupid questions. But- there's a Swedish saying-" Jonah glanced back at Moa. "There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!" Moa smiled and Jonah turned back towards the audience.

"And… I believe that! Because I have answered the weirdest questions, most of the weirdest one came from children but. When I think about it I've had loads of the weirdest questions ever. You wouldn't even believe!" Jonah smiled and showed me to come closer while Mr. Schue was walking around handing us the hoodies back and he reached one to me and then one to Jonah and like the others had done we pulled them on before Jonah continued.

"But…" Jonah continued. "Mr. Schue, he have done something today that I don't think anyone have dared to do before. At least not for me as long as I can remember. He didn't even ask and that is just great and then he just decided to raise money for heart diseases. Which I think that some people choose not to ask me about- because they're afraid that I just want to let it go and forget about everything."

Jonah looked at me and I could see that he had planned something that was quite tough to say. "For me it's too late. Even if they would find a cure for me tomorrow it would be too late, but with more money more science can be done and with that. Next time someone is born with what I've got- his or her parents won't hear at the very first minute like my parents did. Your baby isn't going to live for more than a few minutes- and the doctors won't have to guess. Because they'll know what to do."

I stood with my arm around Jonah's shoulders and he had his arm around mine. I had never heard him speak like this before and when he did I clenched my hand around the fabric of his hood at the same time as I felt Jonah's grip around me tighten. I looked up at him at the same time as he looked to me and smiled and squeezed his shoulder to give the support I could for the moment.

"But for everything that needs to be done it needs money. And that's why I'm asking you to put some money in the money boxes that there are some teachers standing and holding in the hallway on the way out. Because it doesn't mean anything if it's one dollars or a million. It might be just one of those dollars that helps someone find a cure, or help finding medicines that keeps it under control. Or… maybe the most important to them all" Jonah squeezed my shoulder. "Give support to the families."

So, I was going to go on for a bit longer but I think that makes a good ending. And oh my God isn't Jonah adorable?