Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 51st cycle. Now cycle 52!

This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Steps 44-53, Breathe & Push, chapter 3.

"Back in the Days of…"
Older Rachel & Chloe Clarke (OC)
Red series
(this is a brand new series, so it doesn't have a listing yet.
But then it also only has two stories so far, this one, and
"A Moment That Shaped You", so go check it out ;))

She hadn't needed more than a moment's thought when the request had come in. The only thing that would have kept her from saying yes would have been a conflict of schedule, but she had none of those, and so she had accepted to participate as a judge in the upcoming show choir Nationals competition that would take place in New York that spring.

It had been so many years since she had participated in her second and final Nationals, with her own Glee Club, but she could still remember it like it was yesterday. It hadn't been long after that when she'd come to New York, and here she still was, with decades under her belt.

She had always kept a soft spot for the show choir world… It was the place where it had all really started coming together for her, and she honestly believed she wouldn't be where she was now without it. So if she could be involved again, then she couldn't possibly refuse.

The day of the first round came along, and for a moment, entering the building and seeing clusters of kids dressed in their matching outfits, it just made her smile, remembering. She knew exactly what was going through all their minds.

She was shown to her seat, and then before she knew it the competition was under way. She was getting lost in the whole thing, almost but not completely forgetting that she was here to judge… and then she saw her.

Like always, and although they had attempted to tame her mane of red curls, she was impossible to miss, and unlike the first time she'd seen her, it wasn't just her hair that was set to impress. Young Chloe Clarke had a presence on that stage and a voice to match. They could try and tame her all they liked, she was like an unsnuffable flame. Rachel thought of the shy girl she had met in her favorite coffee shop, jittery and awkward at the prospect of approaching her. Seeing her on that stage was witnessing a whole another side of her, one Rachel had just barely glimpsed hints of when she'd met her.

It could have seemed odd to feel such a connection to a girl of no more than seventeen, maybe sixteen year, but this was the world they lived in, where a dream could orchestrate your whole life, and finding someone likeminded was a powerful thing. And in Chloe Clarke's case, Rachel couldn't help but feel like she was missing something, that she should realize it.

Watching the rest of that performance, she had to be mindful of her position as judge and watch the whole club, not Chloe alone, no matter how much she clearly pulled the eye. Even without her having recognized the girl from the coffee shop though, her club was a definite front runner.

As they waited on the next choir to take the stage, she had to pull out her program and check something. She knew what she'd missed now, or at least she knew she'd seen something before, something she hadn't connected with the redhead before. She found the page for her club now, her eyes finding the girl's name among the others before pulling up again to the heading.

Greenwood, Indiana.

At no time in their previous encounter did she get the impression the girl was in New York as a visitor. She'd been alone, and by no means like she was expected anywhere, by anyone… So what was a girl her age doing on her own, so far from home?

Maybe she was overreacting, maybe there was a very logical reason for everything, but then why did she feel like it was exactly what she was thinking?

But she was with her club now, her school, so what did it mean? This was the moment, she knew, the moment she'd decided she would go and talk to her, once the competition was done. Rachel had taken her into her thoughts, she couldn't just leave it. Even before today, the one encounter had been memorable enough to remain in her consciousness.

She would tell people about her sometimes. She would tell colleagues, friends… Her daughter was starting to tell her she was getting repetitive. She couldn't help herself. Meeting Chloe Clarke had been like a blast from the past even though they had never met, except really it felt like she had, so she'd stayed with her.

Making it into the judging room, she knew what to expect. This wasn't her first time in this position. The first time, she had to think about all those times she and her own choir had waited out nervously while the people gathered in that closed room, wondering what they had to say. It was jarring, she had to say, though at that point she'd been in this business long enough not to be completely surprised. Now as she sat here to decide which of the choirs would move on, she had to remind herself to remain impartial, though it was soon clear she wasn't the only one who'd been impressed by the choir from Greenwood, Indiana. They had made the list with little to no effort.

Her work that day was done, but then that was only the judging part… There was something else she had to do. She left the judges' room, wandering, looking.

By the time she had tracked down the cluster in blue and silver, they were on their way to check out the list which had been posted. Rachel hung back, waiting… She remembered this moment, too, lived it twice. Once it had ended in disappointment, but once, like the Greenwood club, it had ended in knowing that this wasn't the end, that they were moving on.

She could see the clubs dispersing, ones jumping with joy, others dragging their feet and wondering where they'd gone wrong. She knew this had been her doing, in a way, but it had been honest, and it was part of this world that not everyone could win.

She saw the Greenwood club take their approach though, and like with the others she'd seen go by, knowing they would find their names on that list, she had a bit of a smile to herself. Within moments she would catch another joyful outburst.

And then, after the outburst, she had seen them all come back out, huddled and cheering, and Rachel had decided to let them have their moment. They had the next day to prepare for, and she didn't want to intrude on that. She would still go talk to the girl, but not now. The next day, when all this was done, and then who knew, maybe she'd be there congratulating her on a win. Either way, she was thinking maybe there was even more she could do for her… Girls like them, they had to stick up for each other, at any age…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!