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 59th cycle. Now cycle 60!

This is a shift day. There are two updates today.

"From Me To You"
Rachel & Marley

A/N: This story and all stories for two weeks (days 1240-1253) are dedicated to
a very dear and awesome friend on the occasion of her birthday ;) Here's to you, Anne!

These were the same halls she had walked through for years, the same lockers, the same doors and the same floors. But coming here now, after she had graduated, it felt like she hadn't actually burrowed herself a place into this universe. She had checked out, the pillows had been patted until the shape of her head was gone, the maids had come and gone… The school had been renewed, to welcome new faces, and maybe new dreams. One of those she had heard about already, through the grapevine…

As far as she was, she would try and keep up somehow with what some of the others back home were up to, and from all of this, she had gotten whispers of the search for a 'new Rachel,' and of a new girl who had now joined the New Directions. Of this girl, she knew very little, whether or not she was this so-called new… well, her. She did know she was set to take the stage in the role of Sandy for McKinley's presentation of Grease, which she and Kurt had decided to attend. Maybe she would get to see for herself what all the fuss was about.

The first part of the show was going well enough. If there was one thing they could count on was a good show. It felt so strange to see the rest of them up there without actually participating, but they were also happy to play supporters.

Through the programs, she had established that this mystery girl was called Marley Rose. She could play sweet and innocent Sandy down to a tee. She also looked nervous as hell, like she would or already had thrown up at some point tonight. She did had a good job of masking it to the general public, but Rachel Berry had not been general public since… well, ever.

At one point during the first act, she'd had to excuse herself to check on a call from a number she didn't know. It might have been a wrong number, but it might also have been something that had to do with NYADA, or any number of opportunities, so she had to look into it. She could miss two minutes; it wasn't like she didn't know this musical inside and out.

It had been a wrong number, more than that, a drunk wrong number, and she sighed and frowned, stuffing her phone back in her bag. Just as she was going to start back for the auditorium though, she'd heard… something. Far from being able to ignore curiosity, she had gone to investigate.

She had recognized her from behind, thanks only to the Sandy costume. "Marley?" she called. She had been standing in front of an open locker, rifling through a pencil case. Hearing her name, she had tossed the case back into the locker and shut the door before turning.

"What?" she asked. When she saw Rachel, she froze. "Sorry, I was just… You're… Rachel Berry, aren't you? From Glee Club?"

"Formerly," Rachel smiled.

"How'd you know who I was?" the girl wondered, and Rachel held up her program. "Oh, right."

"Shouldn't you be in there right now?"

"I've got time, it's fine," she shrugged. The furtive glances were saying otherwise.

"Is it? Fine?" Marley stared at her, unsure what to say. "You didn't look too good up there," Rachel went on, and at the surprised look on her face, she realized she needed a better wording. "Not the performance, you're great, keep it up," she promised. "But you…"

"First night jitters," Marley brushed it off, though her hand went to her waist. Rachel's eyes had followed.

"What's wrong with your skirt?"

"It ripped," Marley was forced to admit, and tears threatened to spill over.

"Oh, hey, that can be fixed," Rachel promised her.

"I didn't want to say anything to them back there, they've already had to alter it so much and…" she shook her head.

"Turn, let me see," Rachel motioned. Marley did, slowly. "Lucky I am always prepared, and you'll be back there in no time." Marley could do nothing but stand there and let the girl fix her skirt. It would have been too awkward to stand there in silence, so Rachel had started with a question. "How do you like it so far, Glee Club, all of that?"

"Great, it's great… I mean at first I wasn't sure it was really what I thought it was going to be, but now, I can't wait to go," she admitted with a smile.

"What's the endgame here, Broadway, or…"

"I just want to sing," Marley replied, and as simple as the words were, there was enough feeling behind them to push right for the stars. Rachel smiled to herself.

"Stick with it then, and you never know," she shrugged. "It might happen. And your skirt is fixed." Marley looked down, feeling for the rip.

"Thanks," she breathed.

"Remember now, breathe, and have fun."

"Right, I'll…"

"There you are!" They looked up to find Sugar skittering toward them, pink wig and all. "You're on, they're freaking out back there," she grabbed Marley's hand and tugged her away.

"Nice to meet you!" she called back to Rachel as best she could.

"You, too!" Rachel did the same before moving to return to the auditorium.

She didn't know what a 'new Rachel' was supposed to look like, but really it could be anything, anyone. Marley Rose was her own person, and if she was able to stand up there with the kind of presence that earned her the nickname, then more power to her. Rachel had fought hard for her dream, and she had made it to where she was now, with still so much to happen ahead of her. Marley's path might end up a very different one. She still needed to leave her trace on this place before they could find out.

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!