I'm On My Way:

Or

Five Times One of the Gleeks Called Will for Help, and One Time He Had to Call One of Them.

One (Sam, Tina, Mike, and Artie)

When Will Schuester's phone went off a 1:15 am on a Friday night he couldn't help but groan and think he needed a less jarring ringtone then Don't Stop Believin'. Finn had looked so proud of himself for thinking of putting it on Will's phone he really couldn't change it. He grabbed his phone off the charger and checked the caller i.d. : Sam Evans. Well, that wasn't what he expected, but he did ask them to call.

"Hello, Sam."

"Uh, hey Mr. Schue. We are so, so, so sorry. We went to this party with people from the Fantasy Con and I think someone spiked the punch and I really don't think any of us should drive. We didn't know!"

Will sighed, "Okay, I'm glad you called. But Sam, who is "we"?"

"Me, Tina, Mike, and Artie." Sam said, and Will could hear the alcohol in his voice.

"Okay, where are you?"

"The Holiday Inn. We'll wait outside."

Will grabbed the jeans he'd been wearing earlier and pulled them on as he searched for his car keys. "I'm on my way. I'll be there in 20 minutes, you guys know we're not done talking about this, right?"

He could practically hear Sam nodding on the other end of the phone, "Yeah, thanks Mr. Schue."

Will arrived at the Holiday Inn to find his four students waiting, the boys mostly subdued and Tina giggling quietly to herself. He couldn't help but chuckle a little when he noticed they were in costume. Tina was sporting fox ears and a tail while Sam was dressed as Luke Skywalker. Mike had on some kind of cloak and Artie had kept it simple as Professor X. He couldn't help but think they were under-achieving given the costumes they'd arranged for the Lady Gaga and Kiss numbers.

He pulled his car to the curb and got out, seeing the boys perk up at his arrival while Tina just kept giggling. "Okay guys, let's go. Sam, you help Artie into the front seat and Mike you put his chair in my trunk. "

The kids all rushed to do as they were told and then piled into the ancient blue hatchback.

Before he started the car he turned and looked at them, his expression serious.

"I know you didn't plan to drink but you had to realize at some point that it wasn't just punch. I'm not that old, you guys, I remember how this goes. More importantly I think you guys did a lousy job looking out for Tina, someone could have put something else in her drink and things could have gone a lot worse. Got it?"

The boys looked appropriately guilty and Tina had finally stopped giggling, so he didn't press the issue. He dropped each of them off at their houses so they couldn't use a group sleepover to avoid their parents in the morning and finally managed to get home to his own bed around 3 am.

He considered texting Rachel to wake each of them up with a showtune around 8 the next morning but decided to save the punishment for next time.

Two (Puck)

The next time one of his kids called he was surprised to see it was Puck. He'd expected the call from Puck to come eventually, but he hadn't expected it to come on a Sunday evening.

"Hello, Puck. What's going on?" He asked, hoping that whatever Puck had been up to he didn't need bail money. He had been doing so good the last couple months.

"Schue, I'm sorry. I didn't know who else to call. Sarah is really sick and I know she has a fever, but mom went out with some guy and she took the car and she's not answering her phone. I tried Finn's mom but she's not picking up either. " Will let out a breath, this he could deal with. He forgot how many different things the kids had to deal with sometimes.

"Okay, Puck. It's no problem, really. Take a deep breath. Sarah is your little sister, right? How old is she?" Will asked, hoping she wasn't young enough to need a booster seat or something in the car.

"She's nine, and I'm really worried about her. She hasn't eaten anything all day, but I got her to drink some orange juice." Puck said, still sounding pretty frantic.

"I'll be there as soon as I can and we'll take her to the doctor together. Do you know which urgent care your mom takes her to?" The Puckerman's insurance aside, he figures Sarah will be more comfortable somewhere she's been before.

"St. Rita's. Mr. Schue, hurry up okay... and thanks."

"You did good Puck, and you are very welcome. I'm on my way."

Three (Kurt and Blaine)

When he'd given the kids his number he honestly hadn't expected them to use it quite so often. He was flattered that they trusted him so much, but sometimes he wanted to slap them upside the head for doing such risky things. Tonight was one of those nights.

"Hello?" No caller ID this time, that was weird.

"Hello Mr. Schuester, it's Kurt," said the distinctive voice on the other end. "And Blaine!" added another less familiar voice.

"Kurt, you've only been back a week, and you said you weren't going to drink again after the incident with Emma's, I mean Ms. Pillsbury-Howell's, shoes," Will said, suddenly feeling very tired.

"I'm not intoxicated, but I do need an adult to come pick me up."

Well, that certainly set off the warning bells in Will's head, "Kurt, and I guess Blaine, I think you better tell me exactly what's going on."

"We went to the gay club up by the college. We just wanted to dance without it being a big deal, but someone had to get all jealous and cause a scene just because someone wanted to dance me. Not that we're anything but friends, right Blaine? " Will can hear Blaine protesting in the background, "That guy was all over you! He was old, he had to be like thirty!"

Okay, that hurt. Will rolled his eyes upward, asking for strength. "Kurt! That club is 21 and over. How did you even get...wait, never mind. I think I know who the fakes came from, but at least for tonight I'm gong to let that one go. So why do you need an adult and why can't you call your dad?"

When a voice came over the phone again it was Blaine, "I slipped the bouncer a fifty to let us in even though our fakes weren't very good, but they must have switched shifts or something. The guy that came over when I started yelling has a son around our age and he decided we had to wait in the office until an adult claims us even though Kurt has his car. Please, Mr. Schuester. Mr. Hummel already hates me and I don't know what I'd do if Kurt wasn't allowed to see me."

He can hear Kurt in the background asking if he really means that, and Blaine telling him of course he does, and maybe they should talk about all of it when they have some privacy. Will bites back a smile, remembering Kurt's confession in December. "Okay guys, I'm on my way, but this better be a one time thing."

He arrives sometime later and after a quiet discussion with the club owner Kurt and Blaine are released with a warning not to come back for five years or so. Too tired to have a conversation about the situation he informs each of them he expects a one page essay on "why this was a really stupid thing to do" on his desk Monday morning before walking them to Kurt's car. As he leaves he sees Blaine pull Kurt toward him and speak softly into his ear before Kurt's face lights up. Looks like he's going to have to rearrange he room assignments for Nationals, maybe he can put Kurt in with Artie. He's pretty sure Burt Hummel is going to insist on it actually.

Four (Quinn)

It was nearly midnight on a Saturday and Will had walked Shannon to her car after a night of Die Hard and pizza. He'd been tempted, but he'd kept his word to the kids and didn't have a beer. It turned out to be a good thing when his phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Schue, this is Quinn. I need you to pick me up."

She sounded very upset, and Will was immediately worried. "Quinn? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not in danger or anything. But, I've been drinking and I'm not really okay." He could hear her voice crack at the end, and it pulled at his heart.

"Where exactly are you?"

"I'm at a park in Carmel. Down the street from Shelby Corcoran's house." She said with a sob.

"Geez, Quinn. I'll be there as fast as I can, but you and I and Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell are going to have a long talk on Monday."

"Thanks Mr. Schue, please hurry."

Five (Mercedes)

The night of the Spring Dance Will didn't bother going to bed. He sat on the sofa watching dvds and drinking coffee. He had reminded the kids about their pledge earlier in the week, but they were still teenagers and he expected a call tonight one way or another. It was just a few minutes before midnight when his phone rang, the caller ID flashing Mercedes name.

"Mercedes?"

"Hey, Mr. Schue. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna need a ride home." Wow, Will knew an angry women when he heard one.

"Mercedes, what's going on? Where are you?" He asked, already pulling on his coat and heading for the door.

"I'm at Mason Park. Anthony Rashad took me to the dance, and then he wanted to come up here. I'm so stupid, I thought he was a good guy. I thought he actually wanted to look at the stars. I thought he really liked me, " she said, her voice bitter.

Will's stomach dropped, but he tried to keep his voice soft for Mercedes' sake, "Mercedes, did he hurt you?"

"No! No, Mr. Schue. It wasn't like that. Well, it was put out or get out, and now I'm calling you for a ride..."

"That little shit. Er, sorry, that wasn't very professional, " he says, but he can hear a choked giggle on the other end and he relaxes just a bit, "I left as soon as you called, I'm on my way."

It seemed that Anthony Rashad was having a pretty lousy Monday. He had a broken nose, which Will chose to believe had nothing to do with Puck's bruised knuckles, a slushie stain the same shade that Finn had been carrying earlier, and if Anthony was limping a bit from having his toes run over by a wheelchair, well, Will was more than happy to believe it was all a coincidence. It probably wasn't a coincidence that the young man in question was going to pay dearly with suicide drills when his football coach got a hold of him. Will's day was looking up.

And One

Will had been staring at his closet for half an hour when he finally gave up and picked up the phone. Usually when he had a problem he could go to one of his friends to sort it out. Emma was great when it was the kids he was worried about, and Shannon often gave him a new perspective, but neither would do now. Shannon's fashion sense wasn't exactly her best attribute, and he could hardly ask his date what to wear. There was only one answer, so he picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts.

"Mr. Schue? What's going on? Did Coach Sylvester get you fired again or something?"

Will laughed nervously, "No Kurt, nothing like that. I need your help. I have a very, um, special date tonight and I have no idea what to wear."

"Okay, well I certainly owe you a favor, not that I need an excuse for a makeover. It would really be easier if I came over there. " Kurt said.

"You remember where it is from the Regionals meeting?" Will asked.

"I am on my way. While you wait you can move all the sweater vests to the "no" pile, or burn them."

"Hey!" Will said, he liked his vests he thought he looked professional but not stuffy.

"Mr. Schue, Blaine may have convinced me that Coach Tressel makes that look work, but it doesn't mean you can pull it off. I'll be there in fifteen minutes and we'll find something that Ms. Pillsbury will love."

Oh hell, he didn't really have a private life at all did he? "Thanks Kurt. See you then."