Rachel drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she stared at herself in the mirror. She had been trying to silently convince herself that she could make it through the day without puking. She had to go on the witness stand that day and answer all of the questions about her interactions with Tito over the passed couple weeks. She already knew what questions Santana's side was going to ask. She was worried about the defense. Santana said they would probably try to paint her as a woman so desperate for male attention that she threw herself at the man. She wasn't sure she could handle that without wanting to cry because that wasn't the case at all.
"There you are" Santana came into the cold, echoing bathroom of the courthouse to find Rachel leaning over the sink slightly, staring at herself. "I've been looking for you everywhere. We wanted to go over our questions again once more before we have to go in."
Rachel just nodded and finally looked away from the mirror. Her eyes slowly found Santana approaching her and she couldn't fight the frown that came over her lips "I don't know if I can do this."
"Hey" Santana said softly, concern moving over her features as she reached Rachel. She reached out to gently slide her hand down one of Rachel's arms until her fingers lightly took hold of her hand. "You can do this, Rachel. Remember what I told you. Just be honest. No matter what nasty things the defense says about you, speak from your heart. The jury will be able to tell the truth from the twisted words, okay?"
Rachel gave a nod as her hand gripped tightly to where Santana's rested in her fingers. She took in a deep breath and let it out very slowly again "What if I cry?"
"That's okay" Santana assured her with a soft smile. "But I don't think you will. You are Rachel Berry, after all. I've never seen you crack under pressure and I'll be damned if today is that day for you."
Rachel smiled very slightly, rolling her eyes at Santana "Thanks but this is different than performing. I'm not playing a part. This isn't made up. This is real and I am nervous."
"I'll be right there" Santana lifted her free hand to touch lightly at Rachel's cheek. She gave her a tender smile as their eyes met. Her head nodded as her thumb passed over Rachel's chin "Just look at me if you feel overwhelmed, alright? I will be right there with you and if the defense gets out of line I will object."
Rachel nodded against Santana's hand. Her eyes closed and she drew in another deep breath. She smiled at the warmth that radiated through her cheek where Santana touched her. It amazed her how gentle Santana could be. She had never thought that the cold, nerves of steel Santana Lopez she had known in high school could ever be this tender. It warmed her heart. "Okay" She finally whispered. When her eyes came open again and she saw the way Santana was still looking at her she couldn't help but smile again, more confidently "You're right, I can do this."
"Hell yes you can" Santana smiled and let her hand drop away from Rachel's face now. She leaned in and touched the softest kiss against her lips before giving her hand one more squeeze then motioning toward the door. "Let's go run through our questions one more time."
Rachel gave a nod and let Santana lead the way out of the bathroom. She was still nervous but Santana was right. She could do this. She just had to take it one question at a time. How bad could it really be?
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
It was worse than Rachel could have ever imagined and she hadn't even gotten to the stand yet. She had sat by as girl after girl that was called to the stand was bashed and belittled by the defense. They made assumptions about the girls. They called into question their morals because of the fact that they were strippers. The defense made every single girl look like she was lying just to get revenge on the man. It had been awful. Had the judge not called for order a few times she was sure it would have gotten even worse.
When Rachel was finally called she felt her heart jump into her throat. Her mouth went instantly dry as she stood and she felt like she might be sick. As she made her way to the stand she tried to silently clear her throat and gain some sort of lubrication to use for her vocal chords. She wasn't sure she would be able to speak. What if she just passed out instead? Would that hurt the case?
Somehow in all her worrying and head spinning panic she managed to put her hand on a bible and swear to tell the truth. She took a seat and immediately the head attorney on Santana's side approached her with a soft smile. That helped. It was nice to see a familiar face speaking in a soft tone. The fact that she knew what questions were coming helped even more. She wasn't sure if she could have made it through had the defense gone first.
It took only a few minutes to get through with the questions from Santana's side. With a soft thank you from her team they sat back down and all attention shifted to the defense attorney who was now standing. He had a wicked smirk on his face as he stepped closer to the stand where Rachel sat. As he started into his first question, Rachel felt she might pass out.
"Tell me, Miss Berry, what is it that you do for a living?" The man asked calmly though with a look behind his eyes that unnerved her.
"I'm an actress and singer on Broadway" Rachel spoke clearly into the microphone.
The jury murmured in surprise at that. The defense attorney seemed calm, though. He must have looked her up while trying to build his defense. He gave a nod then motioned toward Tito "Then tell me exactly how it is that you know this man?"
"Well" Rachel licked her lips then cleared her throat before answer "I wouldn't exactly say I know him. I am familiar with him because he used to frequent the club I was working at here in Vegas."
"And what are you doing here in Vegas?" The man asked quickly, almost accusingly.
"Personal business" Rachel glanced at Santana then toward the man again. They had made it very clear that she was not to bring up her relationship with Santana during her testimony.
"What kind of so called personal business lands a Broadway star such as yourself here in Vegas?"
"That's irrelevant" Rachel said with a calm shrug. Her nervousness was fading now and she was growing annoyed with the smug look on the lawyer's face.
"I am just curious as to why a star like you would have to slum enough to end up working at a strip club" The man shrugged then glanced at the jury as if silently indicating she was hiding something.
"I had some personal business to attend to here for six weeks. I needed to pay my rent while I was staying here taking care of said business so I found whatever job I could find. I don't think my working as a cocktail waitress qualifies as me slumming. It's an honest day's work" Rachel almost growled the last of her words. She did not like what this guy was trying to insinuate about her.
"A cocktail waitress?" The man motioned to his client again then shrugged "Who often served my client in her establishment, is that right?"
"Yes" Rachel said with a nod. "I would say I saw him three to four times a week there. Though I didn't always help him. We all rotated where we served each night."
"But you admit you got close to him over the past couple weeks of your employment there?"
Rachel just shook her head "I wouldn't use the word close. I did, however, serve him more frequently. It just so happened that he ended up in the area I was assigned to."
The man nodded then looked at the jury though still spoke to Rachel "Is it true you asked your manager to put you in the part of the club you knew my client liked to sit?"
"Not at all" Rachel said with a shake of her head. It was true. She had never asked her manager to put her in that section. She had been given that section every night there was a police sting. Not her decision or request.
"I think it's kind of funny that you all of the sudden just so happened to get to take care of him every time he came in. Was it because you knew he was a heavy tipper and you were desperate for money?"
"No" Rachel shook her head again. "It was all happenstance, like I said."
"Is it true you would sit on his lap and cozy up to him on slow nights so he would pay you more attention and, thus, tip you more money?"
"No" Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I treated him like anyone else. There were some slow nights I would stick around to talk with him when I wasn't immediately needed but never did I do whatever it is you're insinuating."
"Is it true you asked him more than once to be your sugar daddy and take care of you because you needed money?" The man was now throwing rapid fire questions at Rachel, barely pausing for her to answer between each one.
"Not at all!" Rachel gasped and shook her head. "I'm a successful Broadway star I don't need his money."
"Is it true you begged him for a job saying you would do whatever it was he wanted you to do in order to get it?"
"No" Rachel huffed. "I don't need-"
"Is it true you offered any service he could think of as long as he paid you?" The man nearly snarled now at the disgusting accusation he was making.
"I object" Santana stood up now before she even realized she was doing it. This caused everyone to turn their attention to her. She stood there a little surprised with herself at her sudden interruption and when the judge questioned what she objected to, Santana motioned to Rachel on the stand "He's badgering the witness. He's making accusations that hold no water, your honor. He's painting her character to his advantage when it is obvious she is not what he is accusing her of being."
The judge nodded then looked at the defense "Get to the point and try to do it as tastefully as possible."
Rachel let out a silent sigh of relief. She had been on the verge of crying when Santana had stood up. She glanced at her and offered a soft smile of thanks before her attention was drawn back to the man questioning her.
"My point is, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,that my client was more than generous to this woman on many occasions and she took advantage of him. Now, because he wasn't able to give her the money she thought she deserved because of what she offered to do for him she feels the need to paint him as a pervert just to get back at him."
"Overruled" The judge lifted his hand and shook his head. "You're making assumptions without evidence. Do you have anything to back up your claims?"
"The day my client was arrested he was supposed to meet Miss Berry to discuss a job opportunity. He was going to offer her a nice, stable, honorable job at his upstanding mattress business. She never showed. We have witness that saw Miss Berry approach the building, see that it was a legitimate business, and turn away. She came expecting to perform certain..." The man thought about the word for a moment then shrugged as he decided on a word "favors for money but decided not to follow through once she saw he had meant he had a real job for her."
"That is not true" Rachel called out with a shake of her head.
"Quiet" The judge turned to Rachel and held his hand up for her to be silent. He then looked at the man and shook his head "Do you have any other questions for this witness?"
The man eyed Rachel and shook his head "The defense rests, your honor."
"You may be excused" The judge looked at Rachel and gave her a nod.
Rachel couldn't get off the stand fast enough. She wasn't sure what had just happened. She had been accused of some vile things and she wasn't sure if the jury had believed them or not. She hoped not. The defense had nothing on her, really, and had been grasping for straws. But, she wasn't a professional. She had no idea how good the argument had been. Hopefully not good enough but only time would tell.
As she took her seat back in the gallery and the next witness was called, she caught sight of Santana turning to look at her. She had leaned over her briefcase on the ground and was pretending to look through it when her eyes met Rachel's. She gave her a slight nod and a smile before grabbing out a paper and straightening up again. Rachel smiled at that. She wasn't sure she had done a good job but Santana seemed happy so hopefully that was a good sign.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
The rest of the day was much of the same. More witnesses, more ugly accusations, more of the defense grasping for something to keep their case strong. Even their own witnesses were weak. By the time the gavel dropped to call recess for the day Rachel had a good feeling about it. She thought things were going well and now she wasn't worried about her own testimony. She felt with everything else they had seen that day the jury had enough good information to make the right decision and put the guy away for good.
Rachel stood just outside the courthouse as she waited for Santana again. She was under one of the streetlamps that lit the sidewalk where she stood. She had her face turned upwards and was watching all the bugs swarm around the light. It was gross because she hated bugs but at that moment it was calming. It was nice to see life going on as normal. It gave her hope that she, too, could return to the now mundane by comparison life she had left behind in New York.
"Making a wish on a star?" Santana's voice came from behind Rachel gently, not wanting to startle her.
"Not quite" Rachel smiled and looked away from the light. She turned around and when she saw Santana there she instantly felt warm. She felt safe. She felt like the day hadn't really happened and it had all just been a bad dream.
"You shouldn't be standing out here alone, you know?" Santana shook her head, reaching her hand out now in anticipation of Rachel taking it.
"I live in New York. I am not afraid of the streets at night" Rachel said with a little laugh as she reached out automatically and took Santana's hand in her own.
"It's not the streets you should fear" Santana said with a solemn look on her face. "Tito's men are lurking about still. A lot of them lost jobs, lost income. They aren't happy and now that you've testified against him you could be at risk."
Rachel glanced around her with a frown. The streets weren't empty. There were a dozen or more people outside the courthouse. She hadn't thought she was at danger at all. She shook her head and looked back at Santana with a sigh "I wasn't alone."
"Neither were we before" Santana whispered, glancing to her own left side to indicate that she was referring to when she had been shot. "I just need you to be careful until the end of this trial. Then you can go hide in our suite until the next one."
"I don't want there to be a next one" Rachel frowned almost desperately at that. "I can't do this anymore."
"Yes you can" Santana said calmly. She had started to lead her around the corner to where their car was waiting to take them home. She paused at the door and reached to open it "You have to, Rachel. No one saw him like you did. You are the only one that can put him away."
Rachel let out a heavy sigh as she slid into the car once Santana opened the door for her. She folded her hands into her lap and waited for Santana to get in beside her before shutting the door and telling the driver to go ahead. Rachel waited until they were moving before she glanced over at Santana again "Thank you for saving me today. I almost lost it up there on the stand with how that guy was talking to me."
Santana smiled very softly and reached out to put her hand on Rachel's knee "I got in so much trouble for that. My boss told me to keep my emotions in check or I'd be taken off the case."
"Really?" Rachel perked an eyebrow at that. "So if you have another outburst you won't have to go to court anymore and we can just stay at home and wait until he's put in jail?"
Santana let out a very soft laugh at that and shook her head "A change in council this close to the end of the case looks shady. It's a good thing you don't have to testify again because I don't think I could sit through the way he was talking to you for one more second. I'd be tossed out of there faster than I could blink. I just have to keep my head down and wait. We should have a verdict tomorrow, though."
"Are you sure?" Rachel lit up, looking hopeful for the first time in a week.
Santana gave a single nod. "We have closing arguments tomorrow and the jury will break to deliberate. It should be a no brainer. Hopefully he is in jail by dinner tomorrow."
"Oh thank god" Rachel let out a sigh of relief and reached out to slide her hand over the one of Santana's that laid against her knee. "I can't wait to see that."
"Me either" Santana turned her hand over and laced her fingers with Rachel's. She gave her hand a soft squeeze and smiled at her softly "So we better get some rest tonight so we can be wide awake for that tomorrow."
Rachel let out a soft laugh and nodded "Well it's a good thing you can't attempt to keep me up all night."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana gasped playfully at that.
"Please" Rachel rolled her eyes and gave her a smirk "I know how you deal with nervousness. I remember a time or two before competitions that we couldn't find you and Brittany for at least a half hour."
Santana's jaw dropped. Her cheeks flushed with a quick heated blush. She was glad the car was dark so Rachel couldn't see her. "I had no idea you guys noticed that! I thought you believed the whole we were in the bathroom applying our make up story."
"Please" Rachel repeated with a laugh. "The first thing you did when you got backstage was check your make up in the mirror."
Santana bit her lip and fought off a soft laugh. She could not believe she had been busted and no one had called them out. "So everyone knew?"
"Everyone" Rachel said with a nod. "But none of us cared. Whatever helped us be our best, you know?"
Santana let out a sigh that turned into a laugh "Well, shit."
Rachel just gave Santana's hand a squeeze before lifting it to her lips to kiss at her knuckles lightly "I just want to get home, lay in bed with you, and pass out."
Santana glanced at Rachel and gave her a soft smile as she nodded in agreement "That sounds nice. Although, keeping you up all night because I'm nervous sounds nice too but, you know..." She motioned to her side and shrugged "The ultimate cock block."
"That term is disgusting and doesn't even apply since we both have vaginas" Rachel rolled her eyes then let out a laugh. "Besides, who says we are even there yet? I thought we were taking it easy until we get back to New York?"
"We are" Santana said with a shrug. "But don't you dare sit there and pretend like you've never had sex with someone you never intended to see again. Sex does not instantly mean something is serious."
Rachel opened her mouth to argue but stopped. Santana was right. Though she had been strict about sex when she was younger, as most girls are because they were taught that it was sacred and even something to be ashamed of if done too often, she had definitely found the joys of sex in her older years. She shrugged as their car pulled up to their building and Rachel slipped from inside. She waited for Santana to join her and once their hands tangled together they headed inside.
The two of them stood silently together as they made their way up in the elevator and eventually to their suite. Once they were inside, stripped out of their stuffy courtroom clothes, and into some nice pajamas, Rachel moved over to where Santana stood looking at some documents she had pulled out of her briefcase once she had changed. "He's going to jail" She whispered softly as her hand slid along Santana's back.
"I know" Santana let out a heavy breath and slowly turned to face Rachel. She sighed and her head gave a slight shake as her hand reached up to gently cup at Rachel's cheek "I couldn't have gotten through this without you. You know that, right?"
Rachel just shrugged. She was sure Santana would have figured it out somehow if she hadn't gotten involved. "You're smart, San. You would have gotten your man eventually."
"I mean all of this" Santana motioned around the room where they stood then dropped her hand from Rachel's cheek to touch at the still healing scar on her side. "Everything. I don't know what I would have done without you here."
"None of this would have happened if not for me" Rachel said with a sad shrug. "We wouldn't be in Vegas. You wouldn't have this case. You wouldn't have been shot."
"Shhh" Santana frowned and lifted her hand to once more cup at her cheek. She slid her thumb over her lips softly "What happened, happened okay? We both fucked up and we both had to deal with the consequences. But I don't regret a single thing that has happened while we've been here, okay? I wouldn't have wanted to spend this time with anyone but you."
Rachel just nodded. She took in a deep breath and gently moved to slide her arms around Santana. She laid her head against her shoulder and closed her eyes before letting out a soft sigh against her neck "I wouldn't want to be here with anyone but you either."
"Good" Santana smiled as her arms wrapped around Rachel and she pulled her close. The two of them stood in that embrace for a few minutes just enjoying the feel of the other in their arms. Santana finally dipped her chin to kiss the top of Rachel's head then pulled back from the hug just enough to look down at her "Let's try and get some sleep. It's a big day tomorrow."
Rachel nodded at that and slipped away from Santana to crawl into bed. She sat up and waited for Santana to join her then immediately moved to lay against her once she was settled on the mattress.
Santana smiled and wrapped her arm around Rachel as they laid together on the bed. The two of then laid there silently for a few moments before Santana looked down at Rachel and gave her a smile "Sleep tight, Rach."
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Neither of them slept that night. They were too anxious. They were too nervous for the verdict the next day. So they laid there most of the night wide awake, not moving just in case the other had managed to drift off. By the time day broke through the curtains in the room both of them were just ready to get up and get the day over with.
Neither of them really spoke that morning. They went about their routine without unnecessary chatter. A few words of greeting were exchanged when they crawled out of bed, a kiss was exchanged after brushing their teeth, and Rachel asked Santana if she had seen her shoes from the day before but that was about it. Neither of them really knew what to say so they just got ready to head back to the courthouse in relative silence.
Even though Rachel had attempted to make breakfast, neither of them were hungry. So the bagels and fruit she had pulled out sat mostly untouched before they gave into their own anticipation and headed to the courthouse early. The car ride had been silent. They sat together holding hands but that was it. Rachel's stomach was twisting. She had no idea how Santana handled this sort of thing on a regular basis. She was so nervous she felt she might puke.
They sat around the courthouse and waited. They waited for Santana's team to arrive. They sat there and silently listened as the head attorney went over their closing arguments. Rachel didn't really register anything that was being said. Her eyes focused on Santana through it all. She wondered what she was feeling. She hoped she wasn't as nervous as herself.
Finally it was time to head to the court room. Rachel and Santana parted ways in the side room with a brief kiss. Rachel wished Santana luck then watched her walk out of the room and down the small hallway to the court room to take her spot with her team of attorneys. Rachel then made her way to the gallery. She wasn't sure she could make it through the entire day but she would try. She wanted nothing more than to see justice served but she knew it wouldn't be immediate. They still had to sit through closing arguments and the jury's deliberation.
The deliberation was, as expected, the most agonizingly long waiting period they had to endure. Though it was only a couple hours it had felt like days, months even. Rachel sat silently in the side room with Santana and her team while they waited. The others chatted. Santana even tried to chime in here or there but she was honestly too nervous to have any real input. She had taken her seat next to Rachel and her hand hadn't untangled from Rachel's the entire time.
When it was announced that the jury had reached their decision there was a sudden thickening of air around them. Rachel suddenly felt overwhelmed with panic. What if they let this man go? What if all of this was for nothing? She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even imagine how the woman who had been held captive by this man felt waiting for this verdict. They were the ones, after all, owed the most justice. If he was found innocent how would he get revenge for the ones who had testified against him?
As the jury filed back into the court room and everyone waited for the verdict there was a palpable nervousness. Rachel glanced around her just once and could see it on nearly everyone's face. The majority of the people in that room wanted justice for someone they knew and this was the moment that would either break hearts or start to heal them. Rachel could hear her own heart beating. This was it. It was almost over.
"Guilty" was all that Rachel heard. She felt her heart leap into her throat as her eyes immediately turned to look at Santana. Her team had all turned to each other to shake hands and congratulate one another on a good job but Santana had turned to find Rachel. When their eyes met both of them smiled. It was the most beautiful thing Rachel had ever seen in her life. It was all over. In that moment Rachel understood why Santana did this. She could feel the satisfaction of justice being served and the world becoming just a slightly safer place to live.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Rachel had headed back to the suite without Santana. She had been told to do so because they had a lot of paperwork to finish up the case and it would take some time. Rachel was a little bummed she wouldn't get to celebrate with Santana right away but once she got home she realized it was a good thing. Now she had plenty of time to set up a nice dinner, just the two of them, to celebrate how far they had come together.
It didn't take too long for her to decide what she wanted to do. Though she had originally wanted to cook for Santana, she quickly decided that she would get take out from their favorite place there in Vegas, cue up their favorite movie to watch together, and light some candles to set the mood just right. So she quickly went to work cleaning up the suite after calling in their food order. She couldn't wait for Santana to get home now. Every second was agony as she waited. It was a good thing she had plenty of cleaning to keep herself busy while she waited.
The food was delivered a while later and as she set it out on plates, she received a text from Santana saying she would be home soon. Rachel smiled at that. It would be perfect timing. So once she had everything set out she lit the candles to set up the ambiance of a nice romantic meal then quickly moved to her room to change into something that she hadn't been wearing all day. Something nice. This dinner was important.
Just as Rachel finished touching up her makeup she heard the door of the suite open. She smiled softly and made her way down the hallway. She was greeted with a very tired looking Santana at the door who was kicking off her shoes.
"It smells great in here" Santana offered a smile when she saw Rachel coming down the hallway. Her eyes lingered on her a moment before looking back to the table that was set up "Did you do all of this for me?"
Rachel just shrugged sheepishly and moved over to take Santana's briefcase from her hand. She set it gently near the closet where she liked to put it at night then moved back over to Santana "This is our celebration. I think this might be the first night in weeks that we will both be able to fully relax and enjoy a meal."
"Probably" Santana agreed with a nod. She moved toward the table, following Rachel's lead, and slipped into the chair that Rachel pulled out for her. She laughed very softly as she looked everything over then watched Rachel move to take her seat on the other side of the table "If I didn't know any better I would think you had something up your sleeve. You're not proposing tonight, are you?"
"You wish" Rachel rolled her eyes and let out a laugh as she spread her napkin over her lap and settled into her seat. She looked over the food she had set out then at Santana with a soft smile "I just wanted us to have a good night. It's been a while since we shared a night that wasn't full of anxiety, pain killers, or guilt."
"We really got off to a good start didn't we?" Santana said with a soft laugh as she reached out for her fork and started to poke at the food that had been set out on her plate. "It's a good thing we decided to wait until we get back to New York to really make a go at this or I would think this thing was doomed. I mean what kind of relationship withstands a starting like we've had?"
"Not many" Rachel admitted with a nod as she lifted her fork as well. "Then again I would argue that we didn't start when we got here to Vegas but rather back in high school. I mean not all romantic relationships start out as romantic."
"You're right sometimes they start out with one person being a brutal bitch to the other just because she is insecure with herself" Santana rolled her eyes and let out a huff of a laugh before putting a bite in her mouth.
Rachel just let out a sigh and shook her head "You shouldn't feel bad about that. No one is who they really are in high school. Those who say they are haven't really lived and haven't truly gotten a chance to bloom into their true self. I'm not the same person I was in high school and I am glad I'm not. If I was still that girl I'm not sure I would like myself very much."
"You were pretty intolerable" Santana agreed as she swallowed the bite she had in her mouth.
"And yet here I am today" Rachel gave a shrug and motioned to herself with a smile "Tolerable, at least."
"Only just slightly" Santana smirked, giving Rachel a teasing wink.
Rachel rolled her eyes and let out a laugh as she poked at her food "And you are just slightly less bitchy than you used to be. See? Both of us have grown so much."
Santana just chuckled lightly to herself. She was gathering another bite on her fork when she heard a soft buzzing. She looked up and after listening for a moment she shook her head and glanced at Rachel "I think that one is yours. I don't remember putting mine on vibrate."
Rachel wiped her mouth and quickly got up from the table. She walked over to where she had set her phone near the door after texting with Santana earlier and picked it up. She eyed it for a moment before looking back at Santana with a frown "It's my producer."
"It's fine" Santana gave her a nod and waved her off. "Take it. I'm not going anywhere."
Rachel gave her a look of thanks as she answered the phone with a smile and headed down the hallway to take the call privately.
Santana let out a laugh then turned back to her food. She looked at everything on table and shook her head in amusement. "She is so cheesy" She whispered to herself as she eyed one of the candles nearby, using her finger to pass through the flame a few times quickly as she waited for Rachel to return. She knew that Rachel wouldn't mind if she kept eating but she didn't want to. She wanted to wait. She wanted to share this meal that Rachel had so thoughtfully set up for them that night. She had waited for Santana to get home after the trial the least Santana could do now was wait for the phone conversation to end.
The soft footsteps of Rachel were heard coming down the hall a few minutes later and Santana looked up from where she had been playing with some melting wax. She was all smiles but when she saw the look on Rachel's face she frowned immediately out of worry "What happened?"
Rachel just shook her head as she slowly walked back over to the table. She sat down in her chair and stared blankly at her plate of food. After a moment she finally blinked then looked up at Santana with an upset crease in her brows "That was my producer."
"You told me that" Santana said softly. She didn't want to push Rachel to tell her what had happened but the longer Rachel sat there looking a little nauseous the more nervous she got. "What did he say?"
Rachel just gave another shake of her head. She let out a soft sigh and a shrug of her shoulders was seen "The play opens in a week with or without me. They said they can't wait any longer. They are losing money."
"But they can't just fire you" Santana's brows now creased together in a stern frown. "It's illegal."
"They aren't firing me" Rachel said with a slight shake of her head. "He told me I would still have the part when I got back but it would be as the understudy. He said my understudy has done such a good job in rehearsals and filling in for me that they feel comfortable going forward with her as the lead."
"That's not fair" Santana set her fork down now as she stared across the table at Rachel. "They can't just do that, can they? I mean, replace you like that."
"They didn't technically replace me. They just changed my role from lead to understudy. It's completely legal and since I agreed to the part in the contract that says I can be pulled from lead at any moment in case of sickness, injury, or any other extenuating circumstance my hands are tied on this."
Santana shook her head again. She wasn't sure what she could do to help, if anything, and that drove her crazy. Maybe she could look at Rachel's contract and find some sort of loophole. "Is there anything we can do?"
Rachel just shook her head. She shrugged and let out a soft sigh "There is really only one thing I can do."
"What is it?" Santana leaned forward on the table, her eyes trained intently on Rachel as she waited for her answer.
Rachel frowned and her shoulders slumped slightly. She bit her lip almost nervously, her eyes avoiding Santana's before she finally spoke "I have to go back to New York."
"But the trial" Santana said with a shake of her head.
"I'd come back" Rachel said with a quick nod. "I know I have to testify but, San, this is important. This is my livelihood. I have worked so hard to get the lead, I can't let it go while I sit here and wait for the next trail to start."
Santana nodded just once and took in a deep breath. She didn't want to be upset about it. She wasn't mad, not at all, she understood why Rachel felt she had to go back to New York. She just didn't want to think about being in Vegas without her. "When would you go back?"
Rachel looked away from Santana completely now and mumbled "Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Santana's eyes went wide and her head gave a shake "No, you can't go that soon. I mean what if I hurt myself again or something? What am I supposed to do without you?"
"San" Rachel's frown turned into a slight smile as she looked up at the girl. She had expected her to be mad that she was leaving. She hadn't expected her to so blatantly express that she didn't want to be without her. She found it adorable. She moved her chair around the table until she was next to Santana and once she settled back into it reached out to take Santana's hand "You will be just fine without me. I won't be gone forever. We can talk every day."
"It's not the same" Santana pouted and rolled her eyes a bit. "I can't go back to work. I can't work because the case is over and I was supposed to be going back to New York too. The firm is handling my shooting, too, so I can't technically be an employee anymore while they take care of it. So now I just get to sit around and do nothing while you're off being a star?"
"Hey" Rachel lifted her hand and gently placed it to Santana's cheek "You are going to be doing the most important thing I can think of and that is getting yourself better. You still have a few weeks until you are completely healed and now that there isn't the stress of the case slowing you down you will be able to make a full recovery and come back stronger than ever."
"I'm fine" Santana rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. When she focused her eyes back on Rachel she frowned again and shook her head "I am going to miss you so much. I know that sounds stupid considering I lived without you for seven years but it's true."
"That doesn't sound stupid at all" Rachel said with a calm shake of her head. "I am going to miss you an incredibly embarrassing amount. But we will talk. We can even skype if you want to. But.." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly "I have to do this, Santana. I have to go back."
Santana huffed at that but let her head nod. She knew Rachel was right. It wasn't fair to ask her to give up her dream just so she could stick around Vegas and entertain her. She lifted her eyes and pouted out her lip slightly before letting herself smile "Just promise me you will kick ass on that stage, okay?"
Rachel smiled widely at that and gave a firm nod "That is a guarantee."
"Then I guess I can let you go" Santana said as casually as she could, as if it were no big deal. She let out a laugh and leaned in to touch a soft kiss to Rachel's lips before letting out a sigh. "Now can we finish dinner? I get hungry when I'm depressed."
Rachel let out a soft laugh that turned into a slight cooing at how adorable Santana was when she pouted. She reached out and slid her plate of food toward herself and decided to finish her meal right there next to Santana. "Don't be depressed. I will be back before you know it and then, after the trial is over with, we will both be able to go home."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Santana rolled her eyes and gave Rachel a playful nudge with her elbow. They spent the rest of the night completely enthralled with one another, enjoying every last second they had together.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.