Season 4, Episode 18:  Shooting Star

Ownership of Glee:  FOX, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk

= = =

Will and the New Directions are on the auditorium stage, sitting together. Will has an envelope in his hands.

"I hold in my hand, ladies and gentlemen, our competition for regionals. Drumroll, please. From... North Central High School in Indianapolis, the Hoosierdaddies." Will starts.

"That's very clever." Violet tells Charlie.

Will continues. "And from Our Lady of Perpetual Loneliness in Battle Creek, Michigan, the Nun-Touchables."

"Wait, is that a convent?" Tina asks.

"Guys, I like our chances against both these squads, but we still got a lot of work to do." Will tells his students.

Brittany stands up. "Mr. Shue, please stop talking. I have an announcement. I regret to inform you a deadly asteroid is headed our way."

"Wait, didn't we just go through this at Christmas?" Blaine asks.

"Yeah, and is it true you and Sam got married?" Tina asks.

"Did that happen? I missed the Bram wedding." Violet states.

"I'm naming this comet Tubbington-Bopp, and it is headed straight for Lima." Brittany informs.

"Wait, so is it an asteroid or a comet?" Will asks.

"It's both." Brittany states.

"Wouldn't NASA know something about this?" Marley asks.

"We can't trust NASA. I mean, last month a meteor exactly like Tubbington-Bopp hit Russia with no warning at all." Brittany tells.

"Oh, so now it's a meteor." Artie says.

"That's right, Artie, and when this meteorite hits, I will not be spending my time in this room preparing for regionals. I will be spending my last hours making amends with somebody who I need to get right with. Someone who I love very much. Lord Tubbington. So go back to your homes and hide your wife, hide your kids and hide your wife. McKinley High, I salute you." Brittany says.

Violet looks at Sam. "How dare you didn't tell me you got married! I was supposed to be Brittany's maid of honor."

= = =

Will sighs. "All right. Show of hands. Who's worried about. Brittany's meteor/asteroid/comet prediction?" He asks.

Sam and Unique's hands go up.

Will sighs. "Okay. Well, here's how I see it. There are two possible outcomes. First, the meteor misses us and we go to regionals and we kick butt, which will only happen if we prepare. Or... we only have a few days to live and if that's the case, we need to say everything we need to say to the people we love. I can tell you from those couple of weeks where I couldn't talk to Emma that there is nothing worse than unfinished business with the one you love."

Violet nods. "I agree."

Will nods. "And meteor or no meteor, any moment you have with those people might be your last one. Bruce Springsteen always says that he plays every show as if it's his last, and that is the kind of urgency we need at regionals this year. So this week, we're either gonna sing our last songs to each other or get in touch with what it feels like to do that. Okay, everyone. Let's make the most of it." Will tells his students.

= = =

Violet stands before the glee club the following day. "I know this week's assignment is to get in touch with what it feels like to sing our last songs to each other, but I'm taking this assignment one step further. I'm dedicating this song to my fiancé, Kurt Hummel. And I'm singing this with Rachel's permission."

Violet performs Barbra Streisand's 'My Man,' from Funny Girl.

[My Man by Violet]

By the end, Violet has a standing ovation.

"Violet... in that moment, I saw Rachel in you. She would be so proud of you." Will says.

Violet blushes gently. "Thanks Mr. Shue."

= = =

The New Directions perform 'More Than Words' in the auditorium... to Lord Tubbington.

[More Than Words by New Directions]

Violet raises an eyebrow to Charlie. "We just sang a song to a freakin' cat."

= = =

Beiste walks into the choir room the next day. "Hey, Will, you wanted to see me?"

Will smiles. "We wanted you to join us for our first annual "Thank God the World Isn't Ending" glee practice."

"It's where I can throw Junior Mints at Marley without feeling bad about it again." Kitty states, earning a glare from Violet.

"Sit down." Will encourages.

"Mm, I don't know, Will." Beiste says.

"Come on, we're gonna sing some songs, maybe bust out a few dance moves. I may even rap." Will offers.

"Oh God, please no rapping. Anything but rapping." Violet says.

Beiste smiles. "Okay."

Will smiles. "All right! Let's get started." He says and claps.

BANG!

Violet and the others look up in fright and confusion.

BANG!

Violet pales when she realizes it's a gunshot. Two gunshots.

"Everyone just spread out and hide, spread out and hide. Find a place to hide!" Will says as he and Beiste lock the doors and turn out the lights.

The glee club makes a barrier around them with the piano and band equipment. Violet is on the other end of the room with Ryder, Sam, Charlie and Unique.

"Are we even sure those are gunshots?" Blaine asks.

"Shh!" Beiste tells Blaine.

"Hey, hey, guys, guys, guys. Start texting, tweeting, let everyone know what's going on. But don't tell them we're here, all right? Shooters have smartphones, too." Will tells his students.

Violet whips out her phone and starts texting Finn.

"Guys... we're all just gonna stay here, okay? Got nowhere to be, we don't know what's out there." Will says.

"Shh. Shh. Shh, shh, shh, shh." Beiste and Will say as different phones go off for text alerts.

"I love you guys. It's okay." Will says.

"Shh." Beiste says as someone tries to open the choir room doors.

Violet leans into Unique as she holds Charlie's hand.

"It's okay. It's all right." Beiste assures the teens.

"Sam." Violet whispers when Sam starts to move across the room.

"Sam." Beiste says.

"Sam. What are you doing?" Will asks.

"Sam, get down. Get down. Get down." Beiste tells him.

"I have to go. Brittany doesn't have her phone on her. She's in the bathroom. She left it here." Sam tells the two staff members.

"Sam, Sam, sit down. Sam, sit down." Will says and has Sam sit next to Artie.

"Tina isn't here, either." Blaine realizes.

Violet continues to text Finn.

To Favorite Brother:  Finn answer your phone! Gunshots went off in McKinley. We're on lockdown.

To Favorite Brother:  ANSWER ME FINN CHRISTOPHER HUDSON!

To Favorite Brother:  FINN I'M REALLY SCARED AND I NEED YOU!

After Finn doesn't respond to her texts, she decides to text Kurt.

= = =

Kurt gets a text from Violet. His face originally lights up, seeing her name pop up, but his smile fades when he sees the content of the text.

From Mrs. Hummel:  Gunshots went off in the school.

To Mrs. Hummel:  Oh my God. Are you okay?

From Mrs. Hummel:  I feel scared.

To Mrs. Hummel:  Baby you're so strong. I love you so much.

From Mrs. Hummel:  I love you too.

Kurt puts his phone away and starts packing a bag.

Rachel walks in. "Kurt what's going on? Why're you packing a bag?"

Santana pops her head in. "I've never seen him pack that fast. Something must be wrong."

Kurt nods. "Some-Something is wrong! I have to go home right now." He says as he shakily continues to pack.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down Kurt. Tell us what happened." Santana says.

Kurt has tears building up in his glasz eyes.

"Violet texted me. Gunshots went off in McKinley. They're on lockdown."

= = =

Violet is in between Unique and Charlie on the other side of the choir room. Ryder is in front of them.

"I love you guys so much. I know I haven't said it enough." Violet whispers tearfully.

"We love you too." Charlie says quietly, holding her hand.

Unique nods. "We love you a lot."

Ryder nods. "I love you guys too."

Kitty makes her way to them, and she breaks down when she sits on the other side of Unique.

"Violet, I'm so sorry for being a bitch. I'm so sorry." Kitty sobs.

Violet reaches over and takes her hand. "It's okay Kitty. You're not a bitch anymore. You're my friend. I love you Kitty."

"I love you too Violet." Kitty says softly.

"Get down!" Beiste says as Sam gets up.

"Sam. Sam." Will warns.

"I have to go. I got to go. She's out there all alone, she doesn't have anybody out there." Sam insists.

"Sam, no." Beiste warns.

"I have to go, I don't care." Sam interjects.

Sam starts struggling to get out of the choir room, putting Violet on edge even more. It puts everyone on edge.

"Sam, listen. You are putting everybody's life in danger. Look at them. Look at them. Look at them." Beiste tells Sam.

"Sam, it's okay." Will tells his student.

Beiste nods. "It's okay, Sam."

"Sam, go sit. Go sit with Artie. Go sit with him." Will says, and has Sam sit by Artie again.

"Shh." Will quiets everyone.

Ryder starts getting up.

"Ryder, what are you doing? Get down!" Violet says quietly through cries.

"What are you doing?" Will asks his student. "What are you doing?"

Ryder sits between Marley and Artie on the other side of the room.

= = =

Will leaves a little later to go and get Brittany out of the girl's bathroom.

When Brittany walks in, Sam immediately gets up and hugs her.

"All clear!" Says a police officer.

Will turns on the classroom lights.

"Is everybody here?" He asks.

"All clear! All clear!" Says another officer.

When Violet stands up, she and Kitty hug. Kitty's trying to keep quiet with her crying, and Violet's trying to stop crying.

"Oh, my God." Blaine says as he and Charlie share a meaningful hug.

"My God." Brittany comments as she and Violet hug.

"I love you Brittany." Violet tells her best friend.

"I love you too Violet." Brittany comments.

"Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here." Will gathers his students to the front of the room, where Artie is.

"Where's Tina?" Brittany asks Violet softly.

"She was outside of the school when it happened." Violet answers.

"You guys get over here. You guys, come here." Will tells his students.

"You kids, get in here. Come here." Beiste says as they all stand in a circle.

"It's okay. It's okay. We're all here. I love you all. I love you guys. Every one of you. You guys were awesome." Will says.

The New Directions share a group hug.

Violet is between Beiste and Jake. "We love you too Mr. Shue. We love you so much."

= = =

Violet is sitting outside of the school, turning her engagement ring all around her finger. She feels her phone is buzzing and sees that it's Kurt calling.

"Hey." She answers softly.

"Are you okay? You didn't text me for almost an hour. I thought something had happened!" Kurt says frantically.

"I'm not fine. I'm... shaken up. I'm sorry I worried you; I was trying not to freak out any more than I already was. I asked Dad to come pick me up — I don't feel like driving right now." Violet answers.

"Well you should start walking towards the parking lot. Dad told me he's parked in the first row." Kurt says.

Violet stands up and starts walking towards the first row in the parking lot, freezing when she sees Kurt instead of Burt. She hangs up the phone and runs into his arms, crying as they embrace.

Kurt sobs quietly into her hair. "I'm here baby. I'm here. I've got you."

= = =

The ride to the house is in silence.

As soon as they walk into the house, they decide to cuddle in Violet's room.

Violet's still shaking as they cuddle. Kurt can tell she's shaken up from the events that took place.

"Baby I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna stay right here at your side for however long you need me." Kurt whispers in her hair.

Violet breaks down into sobs, curling into her fiancé for comfort. "I was so scared Kurt. I was just thinking about you and Rachel and Finn and everyone else... I love you so much."

Kurt holds her close. "I love you too. But the important thing to take away from this is that no one got hurt. Everyone's okay. You're going to get through this. You are the strongest person I've ever met, Violet. You will pull through... with time. I promise you will find peace and you will get better. I'm so sorry that this happened to you." He says as he starts to cry.

Violet kisses him as they cry. "Just knowing I have a family that's going to help each other through this is more than enough for me."

= = =

It's the end of the week. Violet had to do a lot of convincing for Kurt to go back to New York and for Burt and Carole to let her go back to school. As much as they didn't want her to, they knew that she should be with her friends.

Violet immediately hugs Artie when she sees him. Artie hugs back.

"Mom and Dad didn't even want me to come to school today. Kurt didn't want to leave me. I had to convince them that I could come back to school. I just need to be here with you guys." Violet says as she wheels Artie down the hall.

Artie sighs. "My mom debated on just driving away from the school when she was going to drop me off this morning."

They're met up with Kitty.

Kitty immediately goes to hug Violet, who returns the hug. "I'm so glad you guys are okay." She whispers.

"And we're glad you're okay. I meant what I said Kitty. You're our friend. And we love our friends." Violet says softly.

Kitty has a smile on her face. "I love you guys too."

= = =

Instead of attending the assembly, the glee club holds a secret meeting, where they all sit in a circle on the auditorium stage, singing 'Say.'

[Say by New Directions]

At the end, everyone hugs each other.

This week has really put things into perspective for them. Especially the glee seniors.

Never take life for granted.

= = =

2395 words

Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. My Man - Violet
2. More Than Words - New Directions
3. Say - New Directions

I have no words for this episode. I just... I was crying halfway through it.

*This episode was filmed a few weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut*

Next update:  Sweet Dreams

2 episodes to Lights Out
3 episodes to Wonder-ful
4 episodes to All or Nothing