Once again I combined two scenes in one chapter because they're very similar. Only slight changes.

Alternate Scene 9:

What if…Rachel found out she was stage 4 right before Sectionals but decided not to tell any of them yet. She sits on stage with Blaine (after revealing to the MC that she's sick), they're chatting while debating what song to pick. They haven't realized the microphone in front of them is live yet, so they don't know they can be heard.

"Challenging, please. But…." She hesitates, thinking back to her promise to her mother. "…but nothing with a lot of belts or holding a note for real long."

Blaine frowns. "That…..limits what kind of challenging song I can give you."

Rachel bites her lip. "I know. But I promised my mom I wouldn't overdo it."

"Do you think you're up for any belting?"

"Yeah! Just not a lot." Her words slowed down and her voice got softer as she found herself breathless just from talking.

Blaine's frown deepens and his voice drops, tough unbeknownst to them the microphone still picks it up. "Rach…..did you just get breathless from talking?"

She nods but doesn't look at him. She hears him shift his stool a little closer to her.

"I thought that would only happen if you hit stage four."

She rolls her lips between her teeth and doesn't answer him. She doesn't even look at him. The following silence feels heavy.

"Rachel…" Blaine whispers. She swallows hard.

"Just pick a song, Blaine." After a minute of the silence feeling oppressive, she tries to dispel it. "Name a couple Broadway shows. I need to narrow down ideas."

Beside her, she hears him clear his throat. "Ahem, um…..Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, and Into the Woods. Now you."

"Funny Girl—"

Now he scoffs, interrupting her. "That one I knew."

She rolls her eyes but is glad he's responding normally now. "Wicked, or…" she shrugs "….Into the Woods."

He nods and they're quiet while they think. She writes a song for him from Singing in the Rain. Then he grins and writes down a song.

"Just remember, you asked for a challenge."

Warily, she takes the clipboard from him. Seeing what he wrote, she drops the clipboard on her lap and gives him a hard look. He's doing his best to look innocent.

"You asked for a challenge!"

"So you're giving me the hardest song I've ever tried to sing? This was hard even when I was healthy!"

"Well…" He reads her facial expression, seems to decide she's not actually mad, and confirms his choice. "…yes." But then he frowns uncertainly. "Are you up for singing that?"

She looks back down at it and takes stock of her body. She shrugs lightly. "Sure."

"Sure?"

"I'm tired, but when aren't I these days? I can handle this."

"What can't you handle then?"

She grins. "Doing absolutely anything else today. I already kind of want to take a nap. After singing this, I'm pretty sure I'll sleep for the rest of the day." He laughs lightly. "I bet you $5 I fall asleep on the bus ride home."

"Please, I bet you $5 you fall asleep in the green room before they even announce the winner." He challenges.

She snorts. "You're on!"

Hearing chuckles, they look up at the audience. Belatedly, they realize that the microphone is now live, and just a few feet in front of them. They've heard every word. Rachel's heart sinks and she slowly turns towards her team. They're staring at her solemnly, tears cascading down their pale faces. Shit. She closes her eyes, then turns to glare at Blaine. He's looking at them, too. His eyes meet hers. When he sees the look she's giving him, he sits up straight.

"Hey, don't get mad at me! I'm not the one who kept dropping to stage four from my entire team!"

Rachel groans. "I wasn't going to keep it from them for long, just until after this! I didn't want to distract them from winning!" She turns to her team and raises her voice a little. "I swear, I was going to tell you guys tomorrow!"

"You seriously kept it a secret so that they'd focus on winning?"

She shrugs. "Well, that and I was worried they wouldn't let me even come today if they knew. It was hard enough to convince my mom to let me come."

Blaine grins a little. "How did you manage that?"

Her lips twitch. "Tears. Lots of tears." Hearing subdued laughter from the audience, she feels the need to defend herself. "Not fake tears! I wasn't faking or manipulating, I swear! I was honest to God crying my eyes out, begging her to let me come today. It turns out an upside to dying is people have a hard time saying no to you."

Rachel looks back down at her clipboard, trying to focus on the task at hand. She crosses out her initial choice.

"Hey! Your'e changing mine?"

She shrugs. "Considering the challenge you gave me, I feel it's only fair if your song is also challenging."

Blaine groans. "Now, wait a minute…."

"Nope." She hands it to him.

He looks at it, looks at her, then sighs. "I brought this on myself, didn't I?"

"Yes you did."

"Are you two quite finished?"

[The rest of the scene would play out as originally written.]

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Alternate Scene 10:

What if…Rachel found out she was stage 4 right before Sectionals but decided not to tell any of them yet. She sits on stage with Blaine (after revealing to the MC that she's sick), they're chatting while debating what song to pick. They haven't realized the microphone in front of them is live yet, so they don't know they can be heard

"Challenging, please. But…." She hesitates, thinking back to her promise to her mother. "…but nothing with a lot of belts or holding a note for real long."

Blaine frowns. "That…..limits what kind of challenging song I can give you."

Rachel bites her lip. "I know. But I promised my mom I wouldn't overdo it."

"Do you think you're up for any belting?"

"Yeah! I can definitely do some, just not a lot." Her words slowed down and her voice got softer as she found herself breathless just from talking.

Blaine's frown deepens and his voice drops, tough unbeknownst to them the microphone still picks it up. "Rach…..did you just get breathless from talking?"

She nods but doesn't look at him. She hears him shift his stool a little closer to her.

"I thought that would only happen if you hit stage four."

She rolls her lips between her teeth and doesn't answer him. She doesn't even look at him. The following silence feels heavy.

"Rachel…" Blaine whispers. She swallows hard.

"Just pick a song, Blaine." After a minute of the silence feeling oppressive, she tries to dispel it. "Name a couple Broadway shows. I need to narrow down ideas."

Beside her, she hears him clear his throat. "Ahem, um…..Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, and Into the Woods. Now you."

"Funny Girl—"

Now he scoffs, interrupting her. "That one I knew."

She rolls her eyes but is glad he's responding normally now. "Wicked, or…" she shrugs "….Into the Woods."

He nods and they're quiet while they think. She writes down a song from Singing in the Rain for him. Finished, she turns to Blaine. He's looking at her uncertainly.

"What?"

"Just how tired are you? I have an idea, but….."

She shrugs. "I kind of want to take a nap, but I promise I'm up for singing. After singing, I'm pretty sure I'll sleep for the rest of the day." He laughs lightly. "I bet you $5 I fall asleep on the bus ride home."

"Please, I bet you $5 you fall asleep in the green room before they even announce the winner." He challenges.

She snorts. "You're on!"

Hearing chuckles, they look up at the audience. Belatedly, they realize that the microphone is now live, and just a few feet in front of them. They've heard every word. Rachel's heart sinks and she slowly turns towards her team. They're staring at her solemnly, tears cascading down their pale faces. Shit. She closes her eyes, then turns to glare at Blaine. He's looking at them, too. His eyes meet hers. When he sees the look she's giving him, he sits up straight.

"Hey, don't get mad at me! I'm not the one who kept dropping to stage four from my entire team!"

Rachel groans. "I wasn't going to keep it from them for long, just until after this! I didn't want to distract them from winning!" She turns to her team and raises her voice a little. "I swear, I was going to tell you guys tomorrow!"

"You seriously kept it a secret so that they'd focus on winning?"

She shrugs. "Well, that and I was worried they wouldn't let me even come today if they knew. It was hard enough to convince my mom to let me come."

Blaine grins a little. "How did you manage that?"

Her lips twitch. "Tears. Lots of tears." Hearing subdued laughter from the audience, she feels the need to defend herself. "Not fake tears! I wasn't faking or manipulating, I swear! I was honest to God crying my eyes out, begging her to let me come today. It turns out an upside to dying is people have a hard time saying no to you."

Blaine's smile is shaky. His eyes dart around the stage for a moment, then he scoots his stool so that he's right beside her. "So, um…you're stage four." She nods. "And you're….dying?" She nods again. "That also means you were right before, when you said that this might be your last competition. This is….possibly….your last…..real….performance."

Again, she nods. "Yes, what about it?"

He looks at her intently, indecision clear on his face. He takes a breath and forces a grin. "Wanna go out with a bang?"

He hands her his clipboard. Warily, she takes it. Seeing what he wrote, she drops the clipboard onto her lap and gives him a hard look. He's doing his best to look innocent.

"You asked for a challenge!"

"So you're giving me the hardest song I've ever tried to sing? This was hard even when I was healthy!"

"Well…" He reads her facial expression, seems to decide she's not actually mad, and confirms his choice. "…yes." But then he frowns uncertainly. "Are you up for singing that?"

She looks back down at it and takes stock of her body. She shrugs lightly. "Sure."

"Sure?"

"I'm tired and I'll most likely need to be on oxygen after this. And I will definitely be sleeping for the rest of the day. But you're right. This is probably my last real performance. A challenging song like this is a good song to end on." She gives him a sardonic grin. "And should the worst occur, it wouldn't be the first time I died on stage this month. At least now I know my team can do CPR."

Turning to look at said team, she sees them glaring at her. She blows them a kiss, hoping to dispel some of their anger. Rachel looks back down at her clipboard, trying to focus on the task at hand. She crosses out her initial choice.

"Hey! Your'e changing mine?"

She shrugs. "Considering the challenge you gave me, I feel it's only fair if your song is also challenging."

Blaine groans. "Now, wait a minute…."

"Nope." She hands it to him.

He looks at it, looks at her, then sighs. "I brought this on myself, didn't I?"

"Yes you did."

"Are you two quite finished?"

[The rest of the scene would play out as originally written.]