Part 11

"I don't get how Rio can just forget his relationship with Jerrica over this," Kimber slumped into the overstuffed chair in the living room, Aja and Shana on the couch across from her.

Jerrica had, unexpectedly, decided to take the foster girls on an outing. A surprise that had been welcome except for the fact she'd done it without letting her sisters know and, as a result, had left them out of it. Knowing Jerrica was throwing herself into her work, and now apparently the Starlight Foundation, in an effort to deal with the Rio situation, didn't help matters. It just meant the Holograms needed to come up with a way to get the two talking and fast.

"I don't think he's forgotten it," Aja interjected as she stretched her arms over her head. The day's shoot had been killer; effective, but hard. "I think he's as hurt as she is."

"Then he should get his head out of his ass and realize what he's got."

"Kimber!"

She made a face. "Sorry Shana, but that's how I feel. He claimed to love Jerrica; why does this matter?"

Aja and Shana exchanged looks before Aja slid from the chair of the couch to the seat proper. "Kimber, what do you remember about when Rio first started hanging around?"

"Aside from the fact that my older sister suddenly didn't have time for me?" Her grin was cheeky. "I remember the day she introduced him as her boyfriend."

"Do you remember the day your dad hired him on?"

"At Starlight music? Sure. Jerrica couldn't talk about anything else for weeks!"

The girls shared a laugh and a smile before Shana brought them back to topic. "I meant here, to do odd jobs."

"Rio never... wait, maybe? Didn't he have longer hair back then?" Kimber thought about it for a moment before pulling her hair forward to cover one eye with a giggle. "And wore it like this? I remember thinking he was a fashion disaster."

"Right," Aja's smile faded. "It wasn't a fashion thing, though."

"Then why wear it like that, it looked awful!"

"Kimber," Shana chided with a soft shake of her head. "Why would anyone wear their hair like that?"

"Are you saying he was hiding something?"

"Bruises," Shana confirmed. "Working here and then at Starlight Music let him escape. That he was Jerrica's boyfriend only meant he had an excuse to spend more time here than ever."

"He didn't become her boyfriend because he was-"

"No," Aja's tone was sharp, but soften instantly. "Never think it. I think Jerrica was what saved him."

"Then how can he just walk away now, especially when she needs him?" Kimber pushed to her feet, beginning to pace. "It's like... like watching... like..." she foundered and she sighed in exasperation. "Words are my living, you'd think a comparison would be easy!"

"It's like watching a beach without sand." Shana supplied.

"Or the Moon without stars." Aja agreed.

"You're both wrong," Kimber returned, her lips pressed together in a thin line. "It's like watching a plan without sunshine." Shana and Aja nodded, agreeing, but Kimber wasn't finished. "A frog without land; a ship without the sea; a turtle without a shell. They're part of each other; better together and he can't see that!"

"It's not that he can't see it, Kimber," Aja made a face. "I can't believe I'm defending him, but I watched him today while we were filming. Rio's never had an easy time of trusting."

"Especially with his background," Shana jumped in. "He never knew who to believe until Jerrica. Now Jerrica's had this secret and broken his trust; we all knew she should have told him from the start. He wouldn't have liked it, but I think he'd have been on board if it was to save the girls."

"Then how come he can't be on board now?" Kimber turned, putting her back to the wall by the doorway and crossing her arms over her chest. "You'd think helping people is a bad thing the way he turned on her; on us!"

Shana and Aja exchanged looks again. "He didn't turn on us, Kimber," Aja's words were reluctant, "Rio's issue was with the Jem deception. We Holograms have never pretended to be anyone we're not."

"Well, he should be mad at us," Kimber retorted, tipping her head back against the wall in an unconscious echo of one of Jerrica's traits. "We helped keep her identity a secret."

"At her insistence." Shana exhaled on a long sigh. "They need to work this out between themselves; interfering isn't making it any easier on either of them."

Kimber's head snapped down and she glared at the other Holograms. "I can't believe you guys are taking his side!"

"We're not, Kimber," holding up a placating hand, Aja shook her head. "But we can't just look at it from Jerrica's. It's bigger than just her."

"But she'd hurting, Aja! Hurting so bad I can hear her crying in her sleep - when she sleeps. I'm worried about her."

"We all are," agreed Shana. "I hate watching from the sidelines, but she won't let us help. We haven't been asked and we can't step in any more than we already have. If we do, we could drive them apart for good."

"But if we do nothing, Jerrica might just waste away! She hasn't slept since the night they broke up and you both know it!"

"I doubt he's slept much either, " Aja pointed out. "Both of them are under a lot of strain."

"And Rio's not nearly as cold as he's been," Shana mused. "At least he wasn't today; didn't you guys seem him watching Jem on set?"

Aja and Kimber exchanged looks and shook their heads.

Shana whistled and smiled. "You should have. If Anthony was looking at me like that..."

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

Shana shook her head, unable to wipe the grin from her lips. "Not just saying it, Kimber. Rio was watching her like a man in the desert who'd just seen an oasis and didn't know what to do with it. I don't think getting on his case right now is the best thing we can do; I think if we leave him alone, he'll come around."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Then he doesn't." Aja's blunt appraisal was almost dejected. "And we'll be here for Jerrica. But if Shana's right and she saw what she thought she saw, it bodes well for him eventually coming to terms with this."

"Jerrica can't take 'eventually' guys!"

"What's this about Jerrica?"

The trio turned almost guiltily to find Mrs. Bailey in the doorway, a tray in hand, her brow knit together. She pinned each of them with a look before bustling in to slide the tray on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is there something going on here that I should know about what with the way that girl's been moping about and clamped up tighter than a clam?"

The Holograms exchanged looks. Mrs. Bailey didn't know about the Jem deception, but she wasn't blind and only a blind man would have missed Jerrica's desolation. Kimber reluctantly offered the information no one had yet told the girls or this motherly woman; and they should have confided in her some time ago.

"Rio broke up with Jerrica, Mrs. Bailey."

"What!"

Shana rose to her feet to guide the stricken looking housekeeper to a nearby chair before she fell down, the announcement having drained the blood from her face.

"It's true, Mrs. Bailey," Aja confirmed, moving closer and pouring a cup of the tea she'd brought. "Last week."

"Last..." Mrs. Bailey lifted her hands to her cheeks. "Landsakes, that girl's been nursing a broken heart and I didn't even know."

"She doesn't want anyone to know," Kimber admitted miserably. "We know because we found her after... after it happened, but she doesn't want to upset the girls or anything so she's trying to be strong."

"I thought she looked more worn out than normal, but I put it down to this big Jem revival album mess and now this... Oh Kimber; your father would be rolling in his grave!"

Aja pressed a cup of tea into the housekeeper's hands. "We know, Mrs. Bailey, but they have to sort this out on their own."

Her head snapped up to pin the trio with a look even as her fingers folded around the mug. "Not when Rio is a silent partner in Starlight, you don't."

"What?"

The three let loose near identical exclamations of dismay.

Mrs. Bailey's lips had thinned in a show of temper that wasn't shown in her hands as she lifted her cup and took a bracing gulp of the hot beverage. She didn't so much as flinch as she placed the cup back on the table and pushed to her feet, smoothing down her apron. "That's right; your father, Kimber, knew that you and Jerrica would be in good hands regardless, but there are stocks to Starlight music that you don't have access too."

"Daddy made Jerrica and I co-owners," protested Kimber. "Fifty-fifty."

Mrs. Bailey was already shaking her head. "Forty-forty; the other twenty percent belongs to Rio. He figured when Jerrica and Rio married - yes when - they'd have controlling interest and the option to buy you out if you didn't want an interest in the company. It only looks like you and Jerrica each own half the company."

The girls exchanged looks.

"How is it that Jerrica doesn't know about this," Aja inquired curiously, "but you do."

"How else would I know?" Sniffed Mrs. Bailey. "Mr. Benton left the stocks in my possession in case the company was audited and they were found to be missing."

"Does Rio know he owns a part of Starlight Music?"

"Not just the company, he's a partner in the charity too. This," the housekeeping waved to indicate the mansion, "all of this is as much a part of his inheritance, courtesy of Mr. Benton, as it is Kimber and Jerrica's."

"Oh wow, Jerrica's going to flip."

"We can't tell her."

"What?" Shana turned an incredulous stare on Aja. "You've gotta be crazy; we have to tell her."

"None of you will be telling her anything," ordered Mrs. Bailey, crossing her arms over her chest and pinning the trio with a stern look. "Mr. Benton, God rest his soul, put them in my keeping to give to him when I deemed fit... or on their wedding day; whichever comes first."

"At this rate they might not ever be married."

"I don't believe that and neither do you, Kimber Benton," regally tilting her head, Mrs. Bailey leaned down to collect the tea service that had barely been touched. "Rio and Jerrica may be having a bad patch but just you watch. Mark my words those two will be an item again and they'll be stronger for this nonsense when all is said and done."

Aja blinked as the housekeeping swept from the room, sagging against the sofa and not moving from the floor where she'd sat to comfort Mrs. Bailey. "Is it just me, or do surprises keep coming at us from all angles?"

Silence was loud in the room for several long minutes before Kimber giggled, drawing the gaze of the other Holograms.

"I don't see what's funny about this, Kimber."

"Don't you, Aja?" A mischievous grin spread across the younger Benton's lips. "Rio's vowed to have nothing to do with us when his contract is up, providing they don't reconcile before then that is, but if he goes to walk away, Mrs. Bailey is going to reel him back in like a fish with the gift dad left for him. He'll feel so guilty he'll stay, which means he'll probably make nice with Jerrica again; he'll have to!"

"If he'd still mad at her after his contract ends, I think they'll be bigger problems, Kimber."

Kimber waved away Shana's concern. "I, for one, hope this is all settled by the time the Glitter and Gold contest is done. If Rio's watching Jem the way you say, then I'm going to keep a closer eye on him. Maybe he's coming around."

"And maybe he'd planning his escape," offered Aja, trying to temper the younger girl's excitement. "It hasn't been that long since he learned her secret."

"He's had a week; if he loves her like we all know he does, shouldn't that be enough time?"

Shana stood and moved to wrap her arm about Kimber's shoulders. "When you find the man for you, sweetie, you'll learn some day that love isn't all smooth sailing. There will be ups and downs but, like Mrs. Bailey said, if a couple can work through it, they'll be stronger for it."

"I'm afraid all any of us can do is love and support her," Aja sighed with a shake of her head. "Jerrica and Rio need to sort this out themselves."

Kimber's shoulders sagged under Shana's arm and she seemed to wilt. "I guess... but now we've got another secret he's not going to like."

"Which is why you father probably entrusted it to Mrs. Bailey," Shana told her with a squeeze. "Even Rio couldn't be mad at her!"

They shared a laugh before Shana deliberately turned their discussion to the fashions she was designing for their new look. Letting her, the other two Holograms enthusiastically crowded around her sketch book to make comments and offer suggestions. They were still there, several hours later, when Jerrica brought the girls home from their outting.

With a smile and a laugh, they drew her into the discussion, exchanging looks that said it all.

If they couldn't help by getting involved, then they'd help by distracting her as best they could and maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to coax a smile from her. A real smile; the one that had been missing since Rio's desertion.

It wasn't much of a goal, but it was one that was within their power to grasp.