Author's Note: My apologies for the distance between chapters. I finished writing this story as a part of my NaNo goals and I will now be posting the chapters as I finish editing them. Thanks for your patience, guys, and I very much appreciate all the feedback I've received on this fic!

Part 14

The next two days were more difficult in some ways than any that had come before. Rio, as Jem's manager, was forced to be around while the girls spent some time with Mister Beech at the Glitter and Gold headquarters for the kickoff of the event.

It had seemed harmless enough until he and Jem had gotten into an argument - about Jerrica.

An argument that had been ridiculous on all levels because, while he'd been arguing with Jerrica in his mind, she'd been Jem at the time; true to form, she'd given nothing away as her alter ego, playing the part of oblivious Superstar to the hilt. To make it worse, the press, which had been in the area to cover the competition, had caught wind of the argument and snapped several pictures of he and Jem before they'd realized it.

Dispersing the press had been immediate and swift, but the damage had been done.

The media story that ensued buffeted the stars and Rio alike, speculation running rampant as magazines, newspapers and tabloids ran snippets of conversation taken out of context and speculated on the worst kept secret of the 'love triangle' at Starlight music. Stories ran with images of Jem and Jerrica with Rio in the middle, accusing the long time flame of Starlight Music's CEO of having his head turned, at best, by the Superstar - for who could resist such a wholesome and upstanding star like Jem? - and, at worst, dallying with both women while pretending to be faithful to Jerrica.

The story of Jem's denial of the relationship on the Lindsay Pierce show ran side by side with some of the articles, causing rampant speculation as to the truth of her statements.

Jerrica was forced to issue several statements for Starlight music, one of which clarified that she and Jem were as close as always and did not consider themselves to be in competition for Rio. Instead of diffusing the situation, it caused yet more of a press melee, with calls for more information and specifics into the ambiguous wording she'd deliberately chosen.

By the third day of press, not all of it good and some now starting to question how fit Jerrica, as head of Starlight Music, was to have the guardianship of such tender, impressionable girls in Starlight Foundation, she reluctantly sent for Rio.

It had been three days since their argument at the head of the Glitter and Gold competition and Jerrica had pretty much forgotten about the content of it along with the band's rivalry with the Misfits as she struggled to clean up the mess she and Rio had inadvertently caused. Word was that there was no such thing as bad press, but with how hard she'd always tried to make Jem a good role model, this kind of press was press she didn't need.

"Jerrica?"

She looked up, waving him in as she struggled with the leaping of her heart that always accompanied his presence - a leaping that was now following by a plummeting and intense longing. If only she could go back and do it all over again! If only she could include him from the start, make him a part of it all without the deception and lies between them. Wishes like that, however, were beyond even Synergy. "Come in Rio."

He entered, approaching her desk, and Jerrica folded her hands on top of it, nodding towards one of the chairs across from her. Rio, to her relief, sat. He looked stressed, new lines having appeared on his face over this couple of weeks. I did this, she reflected, soaking in his presence with a guilty conscience. She'd done this to him and nothing she'd tried since had penetrated his carefully constructed shield to keep her at bay.

Almost nothing, she amended.

He had reached back for her the night she'd been stupid enough to put herself in danger to deliver the records and come to her rescue. It almost made her wish to become a damsel more often simply so he'd treat her, at least a little, like he once had. His admission that night had given her hope they could work through this; that they could move beyond it and become stronger for it.

If he could find it within himself to forgive her; she already knew she could forgive him. Her sins were far worse than his and, for all she'd been jealous of the attention Rio gave Jem, a part of her had been thrilled. She was Jem, so how else could she expect Rio to react?

Rio settled back in the seat, watching her, watching him, and Jerrica's carefully prepared speech went out the window.

"What can I do for you, Jerrica?"

It was bracing that the hostility seemed to have gone out of him, if not completely, than mostly, leaving behind a kind of controlled reservation that left her wanting to break it. Unwilling to make another move and get further hurt, she pushed the yearning aside and focused on the task at hand. Namely, un-besmirching her head liner's good name - and her own.

"We need to talk about the publicity we've been getting." Rio's expression tightened but she forged ahead. She couldn't make this personal; she was as much to blame as he was. "Particularly, the negative publicity caused by your public argument with Jem about me."

"With Jem."

With a deliberately cautious look at the door, Jerrica warned him to go along with her. He seemed to get the message, for he didn't pursue that line.

"Whatever Jem and I were arguing about, it's been completely taken out of context. Very little, if any, of what's being published was actually said."

Pretending to not have been there was easy. She was so exhausted, she couldn't remember what the argument had been. "You're sure?"

He frowned and his question was plain on his face.

Jerrica, conscious of the fact there were other people in the building, nodded. "I'm afraid… Jem didn't enlighten me as to the whole content of your discussion, Rio," she swallowed hard, watching incredulity cross his face before being masked. "Whatever it was about isn't important. It's dealing with the fallout."

"Not important."

She nodded.

"Jem wanted me to start coming around the Starlight Mansion again to see the girls, Jerrica," his words were even, almost soft, as if testing her, his gaze shrewd. "She said they were starting to ask some hard questions. That they're wondering what had happened to me. I deferred because of you... and Jem didn't like it."

The context of the argument came back to her in broken snippets but she nodded anyway. "Jem has a point, Rio. You staying away after being such a big influence in the lives of the Starlight girls is only going to confuse them," she held up one hand, indicating he wasn't to interrupt her, "but I see where you're coming from. Regardless of if you should come back around or not, and I'd hate for it to be me that deprives them of your company, that's not the issue on the table." Lifting her hand, Jerrica rubbed her forehead, trying to quell the headache that had started behind her eyes. "What do we do about this… series of rumors?"

"We tell the truth."

Her gaze snapped back to his. "We-"

"Not that truth," he returned, deliberately touching one of his ears in reference to the jemstar earrings. "Jem has already stated publicly that there's nothing going on between her and I and that any relationship problems we're having aren't her fault. Technically, that's true. We make Jem the hero and me the bad guy."

"What?" she half came out of her chair, "But you're not-"

"Do you want to save Jem's reputation or not?"

"Not at the expense of yours!"

Rio smile slightly. "Then keep the truth as simple as possible. Jem was trying to talk me into giving you another chance."

"But that's not…" Jerrica trailed off, her words from that argument suddenly coming back to her clearly.

Jem telling Rio that he needed to be around more for the sake of the girls; Jem telling Rio that there was no hope, no chance, he and Jerrica would ever patch things up if he kept avoiding her; Jem telling Rio he either needed to make a clean break once and for all, or come to an understanding with Jerrica because it wasn't fair to leave her dangling, seesawing from hope to despair. Jem's words resounded in her head.

You have to choose, Rio; either break her heart and let her go once and for all, or give her a second chance.

It was the last that had been caught, and subsequently twisted, by the media.

"I know what Jem was trying to do," Rio informed her evenly, less closed than she'd seen him in a long time but nowhere near as open as she'd once been used to. "But that's the angle you want to spin if you want to save her image."

"I…" Jerrica shook her head. "They'll want details."

"The media will be content with what they get," Rio pushed to his feet. "If you have to give them something, tell them I've been considering exploring other professional options and its caused friction between us."

Again, another truth, but not the whole truth - it was totally unlike him and she found she didn't like the difference. I did this to him. I made him compromise his principles. Jerrica winced. "I don't want you vilified for something that's not your fault."

"The alternative is to go public with full disclosure," turning to go, he headed for the door. "Let me know what you decide, Jerrica. Either way, I won't fight it. I'll see you in the morning."

He was gone before she replied, sinking back into her chair and staring at the portal with wide, shocked eyes. He wouldn't fight it. White knight saves damsel in distress again, she thought with a giggle that was slightly hysterical, covering her lips with her hands before it found a real voice. Rio was rescuing her. Again.

Well, if he wanted to rescue her, she'd let him - he was right. By making this look like Jem was trying to get Rio to give Jerrica another chance, a chance to change his mind, to give them a real chance, she'd become the darling once again. Much as she disliked the idea, she had to admit it had promise.

Quickly scratching out a press release for the evening's news, Jerrica handed it to her secretary before collecting her bag to head home. With a nod to the office staff, Jerrica was too preoccupied to notice the relief what seemed to sweep through the floor behind her as they realized she was leaving at a decent time.

Kimber picked her up out front, the security for Starlight Music keeping nosy reporters at bay as Jerrica ignored their shouted questions and flash bulbs going off around her. Jem would have stopped to have a word but, fortunately, she wasn't Jem and felt no qualms about it as she slid in beside her sister.

They sped off, leaving the press behind, as Kimber shot her a sympathetic look. "Rough day, huh?"

Jerrica tilted her head to the seat rest, closing her eyes. "Rough enough."

"We should do something after the competition ends tomorrow," Kimber told her brightly.

"Something?" Jerrica couldn't bring herself to be excited about it. "I think something has been happening for the last two weeks. Is a quiet weekend too much to ask?"

"Come on, sis, you can't pine after Rio forever!"

Jerrica's eyes snapped open, "It's been thirteen days, Kimber. You don't really think I'm going to be able to just… let him go after everything that's happened, do you?"

"Well no, but you can't wallow," there was a surprising sharpness to Kimber's admonishment. "Rio's an idiot if he thinks letting you go is a good idea. I say we remind him of what he's missing!"

Staring at her sister, Jerrica's anger subsided and the weariness that was her constant companion these past weeks - the past year - took its place. "You guys can remind him all you want. I want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week!"

The silence that met her statement as they sped towards home was welcome and Jerrica was glad her little sister had decided to drop the topic. Much as she wished for what Kimber wanted for her, she knew that Rio's mind would only be made up in his own time and nothing she could do at that point would matter. They worked together, which made it all the more difficult, but she was relieved to know they still could.

Jem was a wild card, but she couldn't go back and not tell him about it. No, even if she could have, Jerrica wasn't certain she would have. For all the heartache these past weeks had brought, she was relieved she didn't have to hide from him, or lie to him, anymore.

If Rio decided to stay in her life, he would have to learn to exist within the boundaries of her public and personal personas, to live the lie that had become her existence. That was the killer; she wasn't sure if he could. For all he professed to respect what she was doing as Jem, a single slip up could be disastrous for not only her company, but for the Starlight girls and the charity.

Being in relationship limbo - together, but not. Apart, but not - certainly qualified as one of the hardest things she'd ever done and that included becoming Jem and losing her father. Which, in of itself, said everything right there. She wanted to live with Rio as a part of her life, not just some distant memory of it.

Rio fought with himself all the way to his destination, his hands gripping and re-gripping the wheel as it grew large in his windshield. His discussion with Jerrica had rekindled the doubts that his discussion with Jem had set.

Forgive her or set her free.

The choice should have been far simpler than it was. If anyone else had lied to him as she had, he'd have cut their ties without a second thought. Except no one else had done it. Only Jerrica - and she'd done it in two different guises for an extended period of time.

He'd tried, once before, when she'd attempted to play Eric Raymond against him, and discovered that in walking away from her, he'd only been hurting himself. That Jerrica had saved him from having to come back to her at the time didn't change the fact that if he'd been separated from her for much longer, he'd have come back to her and brokered a compromise.

Knowing that, how could he do any less now? Walking away, for him, was an option that didn't feel like one.

Which meant, if he couldn't let her go, he was going to have to try and forgive her. Try. He wasn't sure he could. Being lied to for such an extended period of time had shattered his faith in her and it wasn't something that could be rebuilt overnight. If, in fact, it was what he wanted.

Sitting there, staring at the Starlight Mansion as he brought the van to a halt, Rio wondered again if this was such a good idea. Apprehension had only grown on his way over and it was an emotion he felt the need to conquer. He shut off the engine, undid his seat belt, and kicked the door open.

His feet had barely touched the ground before the sound of running feet and screaming had him spinning to face the main doors of Starlight House in alarm. The doors were thrown open and Anne, Ashley, Ba Nee, Becky, Deirdre, Delaree, JoEllen, Krissie, Lela, Marianne, Nancy and Terri came piling out of the Mansion. Their excited calls crying his name were a high pitched canon of sound as they surrounded him and he was practically tackled to the ground, smothered in a group hug that was the only reason he remained on his feet.

"Woah!" The expression was drawn from him inadvertently, along with a laugh that was completely spontaneous, their excitement at seeing him infectious. "Easy there."

"Where've you been, Rio?"

"Why haven't you been around?"

"Did we do something to make you mad?"

"Have you heard the new Jem album?"

"Of course he's heard it, Lela, he helped produce it!"

"That doesn't mean he's had a chance to sit and actually listen to it, right Rio?"

"Yeah, Nancy, producing an album just means you get to hear the music and pick its flaws, not sit and enjoy it!"

A myriad of other questions along the same lines pelted him from all sides as he was practically dragged into the house by the dozen eager young females. Bemused, he didn't even try to answer, simply watched and listened as a battle between the girls grew from the comment about Jem's album.

Teams formed and shifted, evolving as some of the girls drifted from team to team to contribute to both sides of the debate about Jem. They laughed and shrieked, often asking his opinion but never waited for it before the whole of the situation devolved rapidly into a massive, good-natured pillow fight.

These are healthy, happy girls, he realized suddenly, the knowledge that had always been in the back of his brain blindsiding him with its obviousness as he ducked under a pillow swing.

He moved too slow however and got dragged into the middle of it, taking a pillow to the side of the head. He reacted without thinking, growing playfully at Ba Nee, and sweeping her up off the floor with an arm around the waist. She let out a yelp as he was pelted from the other side, her sisters set on rescuing her, and he promptly swept Krissie up under the other arm.

Using the giggling, squealing girls as human shields, he went from girl to girl, dropping one to collect the next, making them laugh and renew their attack with childish fervor, each getting a chance to bat him with a pillow. The tangle of limbs and bodies as he dropped some of them on one another, combined with the sound of their laughter and giggles, had him grinning more openly and even laughing freely for the first time since Jerrica's revelation about Jem's identity.

As he turned to go after Deirdre, Rio stopped in his tracks with JoEllen under one arm. His gaze was riveted on the single, solitary figure clinging to the door, her wide eyes watching him with what he could only describe as longing. His smile slipped, disappearing as he put JoEllen back on her feet.

The silence was deafening, his heart racing from the pillow fight with the girls. Somewhere in the background, he heard them laughingly continue, felt a pillow strike his back, but Rio didn't react.

"Rio?"

Jerrica's wan, almost worn appearance struck him like a near physical thing. Before him wasn't the polished and professional head of Starlight Music. She wasn't the star she'd been pretending to be. Like this, on the outskirts of an event she'd have once joined in the moment she'd arrived to assist the girls by jumping on his back, she was just the young woman who'd held his heart since their first meeting all those years ago.

His name was called again and a tug on his hand finally regained his attention. Glancing down, he was surprised to see Ba Nee beside him. She smiled shyly. "Do you want to play with us some more?"

Glancing back to see the pillow fight was still in full swing, he crouched and smiled faintly at her. "Go on without me, okay? I need to talk to Jerrica."

Ba Nee's smile died as she glanced back at her guardian before leaning in. Rio leaned back towards her as she put her lips to his ear. "She doesn't smile anymore Rio." His heart contracted as the girl continued. "She's always sad. Can you make her smile again?"

Rio wrapped the young girl in a gentle hug. "I'll do my best, Ba Nee."

She squeezed him briefly before shooting him a brilliant smile and running back to join her sisters. Rio stood to find Jerrica disappearing down the hall, just turning the corner at the end. Leaving the room, he raised his voice. "Jerrica!"

The sound of the girls playing behind him died almost instantly, but Rio paid them no mind. Jerrica didn't reappear and he hastened his steps, hearing the sound of running feet on the stairs, seeing her fleeing form crest the top as he turned the corner at the end, and disappear towards her room.

"Jerrica! Wait!"

Determinedly, he followed her. His time with the girls, his time these last hellish days reflecting on what was important to him, had left him a mess and that mess had only been because of one thing. Not because Jerrica had lied to him as both herself and Jem. Not because she couldn't seem to trust him, which she had more than proved she did even after he'd not needed it. Not because the deception continued, even now that he knew about it.

But because Jerrica wasn't in his life the way he wanted her to be. She was his girl. Jerrica was the best and brightest thing in his world and the only thing that made his life worth living sometimes. Regardless of what she'd done, Rio had come to fully comprehend the night he'd almost lost her during the record delivery that he'd never stopped loving her.

Completely.

Totally.

Heart, mind and soul he belonged to her, with her - just as she belonged with him.

For all he might not like the fact she'd lied to him, he couldn't deny the value of those lies. For all he didn't like the fact she'd unintentionally hurt him, her intense remorse and drive for atonement were a complete opposite to those who'd hardened him against lies and deception. Jerrica was nothing like the parents who'd made outlandish promises and never followed through. She was good and decent and selflessly giving. Only the plight of the girls had made her turn on him, of that he was certain, and - for the lovely girls he considered little sisters - he could understand and forgive.

He stopped by her door and paused before looking back down the hallway. Turning away from the bedroom, he walked to the wall that Jerrica had led him through not so long ago, lifted one hand, and stepped through.