Across the Street

Lima isn't known for the shopping, but Main Street is lined with enough shops to occupy locals and tourists alike. Having grown up in this small town, Terri Del Monaco is not only familiar with the shops, but also just about every person she sees in and around them. She nods to those she recognizes, gives small smiles to those she might call friends and glares at those who whisper to each other when she passes. Small towns, in Terri's experience, aren't an ideal place to have your past indiscretions easily forgiven. Even five years later, Terri is known as William McKinley High School's former "it" girl who fell from grace when she deceived her ex-husband into thinking they would be parents when, in fact, the only thing she was successful in conceiving was a plan that would doom her marriage.

After their divorce, Terri and Will Schuester had little contact, but, again thanks to their small town home, Terri was able to keep track of any important events that occurred in her ex-husband's life. He could just have easily kept tabs on her, though she doubted he cared enough to do so. If he had, however, he would have learned that Terri sought counseling very soon after Will discovered her lie. At first, going to her therapist had been part of another plot. She would tell Will she was talking to someone and maybe he would decide to give her another chance. They could be that ideal couple they once were. But it wasn't long before the trips to Lima Memorial became the highlight of Terri's lonesome weeks. There, she discovered things about herself she had never before recognized. Over time, she started to see herself how others did and realized she wasn't the person she wanted to be. Even now, she was nowhere near perfection and knew she never would be, but she was different and she felt better about the direction her life had taken.

While on this journey of improvement, she finally came to terms with the fact that she and Will would never be together again. She knew he had moved on quickly after their divorce, but still held out hope that he would forgive her and beg her to return home. That call never came. But, when she wasn't looking, Nathan came into her life.

Nathan Lyons had just moved to the small town to work for the Lima Memorial Health System when Terri met him. Nathan was on a break from the hectic ER while Terri had just completed a therapy session and stopped in the hospital's cafeteria to grab a to-go coffee. In a hurry, Terri grabbed her cup as she turned to leave, but soon discovered the top wasn't secure. The brown liquid flew from the cup and hit the clean, white coat of the doctor who stood in line behind the blonde. Had it been another time, Terri might have immediately turned on the tired cafeteria worker who looked as though she'd worked as hard as the doctors and nurses scrambling around the ER, accusing her of incompetence. But in the present time, Terri simply took a deep breath as Dr. Mathews had instructed her to do when she would have normally overreacted. Then she turned to Nathan to apologize profusely about his stained coat. He assured her it was no problem and grabbed some napkins to help clean up as much of the mess as they could.

A new cup of coffee with the lid on tight and a half an hour later found the pair at a table in the cafeteria. Though it was their first meeting, both knew it wouldn't be their last. Soon, he had to return to the whirlwind of activity that was the Emergency Room and she to an evening shift at Sheets'n'Things. With a promise to make up for the spill with dinner, they exchanged information.

A year later, the couple committed themselves to one another in wedding vows. This time around, Terri opted for a smaller ceremony. She was happier than she had ever been, happier than she thought she deserved. Nathan played an integral part in transforming her into the woman she wanted to be. There were still days when he would come home to see bags from Pottery Barn and question their need for rustic terra cotta lanterns, but where she would have screeched at Will about wanting nice things, she and Nathan talked and compromised. With Nathan, she was not only a wife, but a partner.

On this breezy summer day, Terri walks down Main Street slowly, taking in the items in each window, contemplating whether or not to venture in the store to try on a dress or cardigan that catches her eye. She still has about an hour before meeting Nathan at the local Italian restaurant for dinner. She'd had the day off for errands and a bit of shopping while he'd worked double shifts at the hospital. They would meet at the restaurant then return home together for a much-needed reunion.

Slowly, Terri makes her way down the street, not in any hurry and with no real destination at the moment. She weaves through the people crowding the sidewalk. It's a beautiful day in Ohio and families are taking advantage of the sunny Saturday.

Stopping briefly, she admires a plum colored wrap dress in the window of a popular clothing store, but continues on quickly remembering a dress of the same style that already sits in her closet with the tags still attached. A breeze comes through and blows her shoulder-length blonde hair into her face. Sighing, she moves her head to flip it back behind her. Through the curtain of hair, something catches her eye. She's not sure why it distracts her, but her steps halt.

Red. Something red catches her attention across the street. The hair color stands out amongst the more common brown, black and blonde hues. Terri's eyes are drawn to the couple across the street. Will Schuester and Emma Pillsbury. No, Terri is certain the younger woman had taken her husband's name once married – Emma Schuester.

Despite living in such a small town, this is the first time Terri has really seen the couple together. Curious about this pair, the man she used to share a life with and the woman who once told her she didn't deserve him, Terri makes her way to the opposite side of the road.

They walk leisurely down the sidewalk, fingers intertwined. Emma walks closer to the windows, watching the clothing, shoes and accessories as they pass. Will watches her. Both have serene smiles on their faces. The smiles are subtle and easy, as though their faces are accustomed to making this joyful expression. Emma suddenly turns her face back in her husband's direction, catching him watching her. Both of their grins widen.

The petite ginger haired woman wears a sunny yellow and white sundress that sways around her knees as the wind blows with thick straps that cross each of her freckled shoulders. Terri knew Emma had started seeing a therapist shortly after she and Will separated. In fact, their therapists were housed in the same building at Lima Memorial. Emma's body looks fuller in the A-line shaped dress, nothing drastic from how Terri remembers Emma looking, but Terri's mind doesn't automatically fill with words such as frail and weak when she sees the woman now. She looks healthy and happy. There seems to be a glow about the woman now that replaces the angst that once surrounded her.

Terri's eyes wander from the female to her former husband appreciatively. He looks good, he always has. He wears cargo shorts and a white polo that fits his upper half enough to showcase his fit body, but not enough to brag. Sports have always been something of interest to Will, but Terri knows that his is most definitely a dancer's physique. His eyes switch from focusing on the space in front of him, the merchandise in the window to his wife. His eyes soften when they land on her. In a brief look, she knows what Emma means to him – she is his wife, his friend, his lover, his companion and his purpose. Terri wonders if he ever looked at her with as much passion. She wonders if she ever allowed him to.

Emma stops, captivated by a mannequin wearing a pencil skirt covered in big, navy blue and white blossom flowers. Her whole body turns to admire the skirt in the window further. Will comes to her side, also observing the skirt. His gaze shifts from it to his wife's face.

Laughing at the way her eyes have widened, Will speaks, "Em, we can go in if you want to try it on."

Terri assumes Emma was never a fan of going into stores to try clothing on. Trying outfits on in-store would mean the possibility of putting clothes on her body that had previously been worn, if only for a brief time, by multiple strangers. Instead, she imagines the guidance counselor creating her outfits online and having them shipped to her home straight from the factories. The plastic her skirts and blouses would arrive in assuring her they were safe enough to be worn.

She glances at him as he talks before turning her attention back to the skirt undoubtedly pairing it with a top already in her wardrobe mentally. Biting her lip, Emma responds. "I really shouldn't. Goodness knows I have plenty of skirts just like that with different patterns… Nothing in that dark blue color though…" Again, her lip becomes caught between her teeth as her voice trails off. "No, no. I don't need it."

She takes another look at the knee length skirt before giving her husband one more grin and turning to walk away. She grabs his hand once again as she starts to walk away from the window and the coveted skirt. Though she tugs on his hand as she starts to continue their journey, Will stays stationary, still facing the window. Noticing his resistance, Emma stops and faces him, her face communicating her confusion.

His hand lifts to rest on the side of her face, gently cupping her cheek and jaw in his larger hand. "You sure?"

The confused frown straightens out to return to its joyful expression. "Yes, Will, I'm sure." Terri watches as Will leans over and kisses her forehead briefly before their eyes meet. As if by some secret agreement, their heads come together and their lips meet in a quick kiss. It lasts mere seconds, but there is enough emotion behind it to make the feeling linger on their lips and in their minds. They share another look that promises more and Terri knows that kiss will be continued later when they are alone. "I don't need it…not now." Emma looks at the skirt one last time as she finishes speaking, a secretive smile forming on her lips.

Will nods and turns to lead her down the sidewalk once more, his fingers finding hers again. His eyes focus in front of him, but Terri's are drawn to his wife. As she lets herself be pulled to his side, before her back is completely to Terri, the older woman watches as Emma's small hand comes to rest on her stomach. The hand slides down the front her dress, seemingly to smooth it. But Terri sees her stop before dropping the hand back to her side, she sees Emma caress her abdomen then watches as the hand stops to cradle her stomach.

Instinctively, Terri knows Emma is not simply smoothing down her dress. She has never truly carried a child in her womb, but, for a very short time, she believed she did. As far as Terri was concerned, before the doctor told her about her hysterical pregnancy, she carried Will's child in her for those few weeks. In those weeks, she bonded with a child. A child she would come to realize never existed. Her hysteria caused her to make a mistake, a lie that would change her life. While everyone focused on her deception, what they didn't see was the wounded expectant mother. She had lost a child too. After years of therapy, she knew she hadn't handled the situation well. She also knew that as much as her lie was a ploy to hold on to her man, it was also her not properly dealing with the fact that she wasn't going to be a mother. What people didn't know about were the scenarios Terri had created in her mind about her would-be family. She doesn't know if a baby would have held the little family together. She wouldn't have met Nathan and Will wouldn't have found this obvious happiness with Emma. But, in those few weeks, she imagined family picnics, the shows Will and their child would put on. In those few weeks, she would stop to touch her stomach and that small action would comfort her for she knew she was holding her baby. She would caress her abdomen…in the same way Emma had.

Sighing and blinking back tears Terri didn't know she still had for her son or daughter who never existed, she watches the couple walk away. She isn't sure the next time she will see them, but she does know that, in the coming weeks, she will hear through the small town grapevine that her ex-husband and his new wife will soon be parents.

Terri turns her back on the couple, crossing the street once again to continue her path to the restaurant where she will meet Nathan. Smiling at the thought of her husband, she mentally prepares what she will say to Will and Emma when she calls to congratulate them.

Thank you for reading my first ever (full) attempt at a Glee fanfiction. I always wondered what might happen if Terri saw Will and Emma some time down the line after she had moved on, what feelings that might bring up. I started writing this a LONG time ago and finally got around to posting it. As I am new to this whole fic writing thing, I am open to any advice or criticism you might have for me! :) I hope you liked what you read!