So there are certainly not enough Teriah fics out there. Not sure how big this fic will get but there are at least a dozen chapters in the works. I don't know how frequently I will be able to update but I promise you that this fic will get finished.

I started writing this when Tessa moved out, so that is when the fic starts. Clearly we've had some awesome scenes air since then which are not part of this timeline.

xxxx

Tessa left on Sunday and it was now Wednesday.

Mariah arrived at the office early enough that she could make a line for her desk without having to greet anyone, conscious that her make-up couldn't quite hide the red rims around her eyes. The laptop was open and she was staring at her twitter feed.

I hope HilaryCurtis hasn't stupidly fired MariahCopeland, she's the best thing on the show.

Stop sidelining my girl MariahCopeland, TheHilaryHour! Where is she?

Maybe MariahCopeland finally stuck it to HilaryCurtis and eloped with Devon!

The tweets made her feel marginally better. She didn't have the volume of fans Hilary did, but the ones she did have were loyal and fierce. Since the tripping incident they had become particularly vocal of any perceived slight towards herself and she knew she shouldn't put too much stock in tweets like that but on a day like today they made the world look a little less bleak.

"You going to answer them?" Hilary asked, sauntering up to Mariah's desk and perching herself on the edge, coffee in hand. Mariah hadn't even heard her arrive. "Or are you too busy ignoring Devon?"

She hadn't even been here ten minutes. Hilary was well aware of Mariah's fans, but she found them more amusing than anything else.

"I was sick, as you well know." Mariah replied without looking up. She knew Hilary would clock her lie in an instant, that woman could smell these things. It's what made her such a natural at her job. So she closed the laptop, stood up and went to the kitchenette. She pulled out a mug, pouring coffee into it, bristling when she heard the sharp snap of heels behind her.

"Well I'm glad you're back, we had a lot of work to do. And Devon seemed truly worried when you didn't answer his calls." Hilary said as she drew level and pried the coffee pot from Mariah's hand to top up her own mug.

Mariah didn't even want to ask how Hilary knew she'd ignored Devon's calls but she could hear the purr in her voice, the cat that had the cream voice, dripping with implication. And as if on cue, her phone buzzed to which Hillary raised an eyebrow.

"I have to go to wardrobe, if you'll excuse me" Mariah said.

"Say hi to Devon for me!" said the false voice that followed her out of the room.

Mariah waited until she was clear of Hilary's sight and she braced herself against the wall. It had seemed like the best thing to do, getting out of the house this morning, but now she wished she'd just kept on driving past work, past the Underground and continued until she left Genoa City altogether. Or stayed under her covers She didn't have the energy to fight that woman's barbs right now, her smug looks of condescension, her insufferable haughtiness.

She pulled out her phone from her back pocket, the screen lighting.

'What's up bestie? I'm performing at the Underground tonight, please say you can come, I miss you!'

She stared at the screen, her fingers hovering over the keys and frowned in annoyance at the tears which were far too eager to make an appearance. She blinked a few times. Her fingers tapped out out a response which she promptly deleted and she then started again before settling on:

'Hey, I'm still not feeling that great, I might give it a pass.'

This wasn't technically a lie. She felt like there was lead in her chest weighing her whole body down.

She was standing in front of the rack of dresses in wardrobe distractedly flicking through to find the outfit for today's show when her phone buzzed again.

'Please! I need you there. I'll go up first so you can leave straight after...' and Tessa ended it with three sets of hand clasped in prayer and a heart.

Mariah sighed and put the phone away, picking up a plum coloured dress and contemplated it a moment. It was a tight little number with a plunging neck line. No, she decided. It felt too revealing and she needed something more flowing and soft to hide inside. Actually a track suit would suit her mood better. She put the dress back and flicked past a few more and settled on a sleeveless midnight blue number with a high neckline and a flattering A line. Perfect. She pinned her name tag to it, placing the dress on her hook for Sally, the wardrobe lady, to steam press.

Only then did Mariah allow herself to look at her phone again. I need you there.

Watching Tessa leave on Sunday had changed something. In the silence of her exist, Mariah had sobbed. It had felt so final, like Tessa wasn't just leaving, she was also taking any hope that Mariah had secretly held that she might finally look into her eyes, recognise what she felt and return it. Perhaps Tessa had recognised it. Mariah swung between the conviction that she did - the gentle rebuff to Mariah's desperate plea for her to stay seemed only to confirm it - and doubting anything at all. How stupid she felt! How could she have exposed herself like that? How could she have even thought that...

The finality of Tessa's choice was imprinted in Mariah mind. She was with Noah. And with that choice Tessa had taken Mariah's dreams of sweet kisses and interlaced fingers, lazy mornings in bed and cuddles on the couch. Dreams of things she'd never wanted before but she now ached for with troubling acuteness.

So she'd emerged from her room with a firm resolve and it didn't involve capitulating to a request like this. It involved her being cool and distant. Just friends. She'd just have to got over it, pull herself up by the boot straps and move on before she exposed herself even more than she had.

But she was staring at those words. I need you there. And dammit! She couldn't say no.

She tapped out an affirmative, quietly hating her own weakness.