The first thing Will could think of when he received the message that Figgins needed to see him urgently was 'what the hell has Sue done now?'

The summer break had been relaxing, but Will couldn't wait to start preparing New Directions for Sectionals properly. The knowledge that they wouldn't get another opportunity unless they placed at Regionals meant that he'd done a lot of research over the holidays, and had prepared an extensive list of songs he considered good choices for them to perform that year. He knew they couldn't expect such an easy ride as they did last year at Sectionals – what were the odds of getting drawn against a School for the Deaf and a half way house again? – but with the twelve talented kids he already had, plus whoever else they could recruit (Rachel had already put posters up throughout the school, and was targeting freshmen directly before they could realize the social death Glee was), they had a chance. However, the summons to Figgins' office had Will on edge. They were only two days into the semester. He was hoping for a little more time before the battles started.

He nodded at Donna, Figgins' secretary, as he walked past, before knocking on the door. "You wanted to see me?" he said as he opened it, popping his head into the room.

"Ah, William!" Figgins said, smiling. He was in a good mood, wanting to make some kind of impression, Will thought to himself. Sue can't be involved. He relaxed as he entered the room, catching sight of a woman sitting on the couch. He nodded politely at her before focusing on Figgins. "I want you to meet someone. This is Amy Henderson. She has just moved to the school district, and has volunteered to help at Glee club. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Uh...?" Will began, looking from Figgins to the woman curiously. "Hi," he said lamely.

The woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties, or maybe early thirties, gave Will a bright smile. "Mr Schuester," she said, standing up and holding out her hand for him to shake. "I've heard a lot of good things about you."

Will couldn't help returning her bright smile. "Thanks. I think," he said, shaking her hand before glancing back at Figgins.

"She contacted me and volunteered her services," the Principal shrugged. "And given everything, I thought you'd appreciate the help." The implications were obvious. Will nodded, understanding, though he was still unsure how to take the offer.

"My husband saw your kids sing at Regionals," Amy said by way of an explanation. "He thought you should have placed, that you were far better than Aural Intensity. He mentioned the performance again when we moved here, and I've been looking for ways to get back involved with music. I majored in musical performance at college, and I miss it. It just seemed like perfect opportunity."

Will nodded, still smiling before turning back to Figgins. "Sounds good," he said, agreeing.

"Wonderful!" Figgins replied, nodding before picking up his pen. "I suggest you get to know Mrs Henderson, then introduce her to the children later. " That was a dismissal if ever he heard one. Will opened the door, letting Amy stand up and go through it first, before leading the way to his office. When there, he pulled out a seat, letting her get comfortable before sitting behind his desk.

"I must admit, I was a little surprised to find anyone who'd be willing to help with Glee," Will said, looking over at Amy. "Especially someone who majored in musical performance. Can I ask why you aren't making a career out of it?"

"Personal tragedy at just the wrong time," Amy said in a flat voice, though she balanced it with a small smile. "It kind of screwed up my senior year, and I lost my opportunity. I teach violin a bit though, and like I say, my husband was impressed with your kids at Regionals. He was inot/i impressed with Aural Intensity," she said with a grin. "Though Vocal Adrenaline's performance was... interesting."

Will gave a low laugh. "Most of us missed that. One of our kids was pregnant, and went into labor right after our performance. The majority of us ended up at the hospital to support her."

"Wow. That's impressive," Amy smiled at him. "The kids are close to each other?"

"Sort of?" Will said, thinking fondly of the twelve kids who'd grown so far in the nine months since he'd taken over at Glee. "For a group of jocks, cheerleaders and misfits, they do well."

"And they're all back again this year?" Amy asked curiously.

"First rehearsal is in a couple of hours, actually," Will said, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "But given I've seen most of them already, and they're practically bouncing with excitement, I'd say it's a good bet that they'll all be there."

Amy was watching Will carefully. "You really care for these kids, don't you?" she asked.

Will couldn't help laughing slightly. "I don't know if we will get any new people this year, but the twelve kids we had last year – yeah, they are special. They have more than their fair share of drama, but they are great kids, every single one of them. They've all got strong personalities – they might be hidden, but they're there – and it's been a joy to watch them develop and grow as people. I honestly can't wait to see what they're capable of this year."

Amy continued watching Will for a moment or two before nodding. "They sound like they are a good crowd," she said. "I wish I'd been involved with Glee more when I was at school, but after sophomore year I was pretty busy with other musical stuff, and something had to give. It was Adrian, my husband, who suggested I look at this as a way to get involved in music again. He was in Glee all through high school."

"Can I ask you a question?" Will asked, frowning slightly.

"Sure."

"Why are you doing this, especially if it wasn't your own idea?"

Amy's almost permanent smile faltered for a second, before she plastered it back into place. "I want a chance to give back, to help kids with a love for music," she said distantly, before focusing on Will again. "When I rang up your principal, he seemed enthusiastic..."

"Yeah," Will said, pulling a face. "Before you start though, there are a couple of things you should probably know about us. We ihave/i to place at Regionals this year, or else the programme will be cut. No exceptions. Also, the cheerleading coach is very anti-Glee, and might hate you on the spot on principle."

"Sue Sylvester? I've heard about her," Amy said, nodding. "Seen her on TV, certainly."

"Yeah, she and I don't get on so well, and she spent a lot of last year trying to have the program cut. I'm hoping she's completely focused on her Cheerios this year, but I've learned not to expect too much. We've got three, maybe four of her cheerleaders in Glee depending if Quinn gets back on the squad."

"Wow. Anyone else I should know about?"

"Why don't you meet the kids, form your own opinion?" Will said with a smile. "First rehearsal is at three."

Kurt, Mercedes, Artie and Tina were unsurprisingly the first to arrive at the choir room. They were chatting happily, Artie and Tina sitting close to each other, when Rachel and Finn entered.

"Ready to start preparing for Sectionals?" Rachel said brightly, holding tightly onto Finn's hand as she dragged him over to sit down next to Tina. The four friends exchanged glances, suppressing smiles.

"Girl, give us at least one welcome back rehearsal," Mercedes said, with an exaggerated sigh.

"But we should start work straight away," Rachel protested, a hurt look crossing her face. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last year at Sectionals, do we? I think we should start work on our main set, and have a back up prepared just in case..."

"Rach, calm down," Finn said, taking her hand, which had the effect of calming her down instantly. "We've got time."

"Besides, we don't know if we'll have any new students," Artie pointed out. "We'll need to figure out where their voices fit in the best before we can really start."

"I'm betting on Mr Schue giving us a theme of beginnings this week," Kurt said suddenly.

Tina groaned. "Too much to hope that he'd forget all about his weekly themes?" she said.

Artie just laughed. "This is Mr Schue we're talking about. The real bet should be when he first bursts into tears."

The six students snickered at that, then all of them looked up as two new people stood in the doorway, staring into the room. Rachel immediately bounced up, heading over to them. "Looking for Glee?" she asked in her brightest voice. At their timid nods, she put on her brightest smile. "I'm Rachel Berry, co-captain of New Directions..."

Satisfied that Rachel could deal with the new students, the remaining five turned to each other. "Good summer?" Artie asked Finn. He'd seem him a little whenever they'd visited Kurt, but generally Finn had been kept busy with Rachel, doing various activities she deemed worthy, no doubt designed to help him cope with Glee this year.

"Good actually," Finn said, smiling slightly and glancing over at Rachel.

"Uh huh," Mercedes said, laughing slightly. "We see that same look between Wheels and Tina. You got it bad, White Boy."

"Hey!" Tina protested, glancing at Artie. "We do not look that way!"

"Hate to burst your bubble, Tina, but if you two look any more adorable we might just throw up," Kurt said, before examining a nail carefully. "It's actually hard to tell who is the most adorable couple right now."

"Ouch." Both Finn and Artie laughed.

Rachel bounced back over to the group, the two new freshmen in tow. "Guys, this is Briony and Jack, two new recruits, and we may be getting more. Isn't this great?"

Just before the rehearsal was due to start, everyone from the previous year, plus four new recruits were sitting waiting patiently for Will to arrive. Things seem much the same. Puck's Mohawk was back, Brittany and Santana were inseparable, Quinn was sat close to Mercedes and Kurt... everything seemed normal.

"Guys!" Will seemed to skip into the room, his excitement at seeing them all there plain to see. At least he wasn't crying yet. Every one's attention was immediately taken by the woman walking in close behind him. "It's so good to see you all! And new faces, excellent. Well, first of all, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Mrs Henderson. She's very kindly agreed to help us this year, as a volunteer. She's heard good things about you all."

As one, everyone turned to look at Rachel, knowing that she would have something to say about this. They weren't disappointed. "Mr Schue. No offence meant, of course, but while I appreciate the offer to help us, I would like to know what her qualifications are that would make her a valid co-coach, which is what I assume you're proposing. I'm sure all of us would agree that we didn't go through all the pain of losing at Regionals last year to have our club sabotaged again."

"Rachel..." Will began, before being interrupted by Amy.

"It's fine, Mr Schuester. It's a valid concern," she said, smiling and stepping forward. "I've always had an interest in music, and majored in musical performance at the University of Toledo. I mainly play and teach violin, but I've also been known to sing. Whereas I haven't worked with a Glee club before, I was in my school's club for a year, before I got involved with too many orchestras and other musical activities, and something had to give. I enjoyed it my time there, and when I moved to Lima I was looking for an opportunity to give something back to music."

Rachel paused for a moment, then smiled sweetly and sat back down, mollified for the moment. "All okay?" Will asked her, and after he'd received a nod, carried on. "As I was saying, Mrs Henderson has got some good ideas, which I've no doubt we'll get to, but for now, I think we should sing through a couple of familiar things, let the new kids find their voice, as it were, yes?"