A/N Thank you for the reviews and waiting for this chapter to be written, I know it took a little while, but reading the reviews you all left kept me motivated and hopefully you will all enjoy this chapter! Also, I am starting to edit the previous chapters for just grammar and such so if you see that chapter one has been update or something don't worry, I'll let you know if anything significant has been changed.
When Rachel woke up the next morning all that processed in her mind was that she was sore… God was she sore. Her cheek ached from the slap Russell had delivered the day before, her feet hurt from traipsing around in the ridiculous heels from the talk show, and her head throbbed with a skull splitting migraine.
She struggled into a sitting position in her bed and blindly reached out for the bottle of water she normally kept on her nightstand, but what she found instead was a warm arm. The blonde hair splayed across her pillow and softly snoring lump registered as Quinn who had spent the night. With a smile on her face, Rachel pushed herself out of bed and ventured toward her bathroom. She turned on the warm water of her shower and finally freed herself of the now wrinkled and worn dress from the talk show. All she wanted to do was take a hot shower, eat something- anything- and go back to sleeping the day away with Quinn.
But she knew that she would have to return to rehearsal and deal with the wrath of Cassie. She caught a glimpse of her bruised cheek in the mirror and her face twisted in a scowl. There was not enough concealer in the world to hide the purple monstrosity, she just thanked the heavens that she was a fast healer. Nowhere near fast enough to have the bruise gone by opening night but hopefully sometime in the second week of the show it would fade.
Just before she hopped under the the steaming stream of her shower, Rachel discovered another purple mark on her tan skin. It was her shoulder. The bruise must have formed when she had fallen into the banister after Russell slapped her. She was going to need to hide that from Quinn, the last thing she needed was the blonde feeling more guilty.
After taking a much needed and relaxing shower, Rachel grabbed clothes from her room and verified that Quinn was indeed still dead asleep, and began the process of trying to hide her injuries.
She applied multiple layers of concealer, both liquid and powder, as well as a light dusting of blush that she hoped would camoflauge the darkness of the wound, but when she was finished, the cut from the edge of Russell's ring was still clearly defined and her right cheek seemed shadowed compared to the left. It was as good as it was going to get and she only took comfort in the fact that her green Elphaba makeup would hide everything. Her simple shirt was effective enough at hiding her purple shoulder.
Rachel started the coffee pot brewing before deciding that she had to wake Quinn up. She paused in the doorway of her bedroom, memorizing the contours of the blonde's sleeping body and the angles of her face. In her sleep, Quinn looked so peaceful. You could never guess at the monsters that haunted her past.
Crossing the room quietly, Rachel leaned down on Quinn's side of the bed and pressed a gentle kiss on the blonde's cheek. "Wake up Quinn! We have to go to work." she prompted into Quinn's ear.
When that didn't succeed in waking her, Rachel was a little more forceful and kissed her firmly on the lips. "Come on Quinn! You need to get up if you're going to be ready in time!" Quinn groaned in response but refused to wake up so Rachel was left with only one option.
She swung herself swiftly onto the bed so she was straddling Quinn and began tickling the blonde beneath her until she was squirming and trying to escape the diva's strong hold, "No Rachel! I'm up, I'm up! I promise!" she gasped for air between useless pleas for relief and laughs while Rachel continued on mercilessly.
"For some reason I don't believe you sleepy head!"
"I promise!" Quinn cried. Rachel finally relented, and sat back on her heels but was knocked off balance seconds later when Quinn rolled them over so she was on top of the brunette. Instead of tickling her, though, Quinn connected their lips in a scorching kiss that deepened until the girls needed to break away for air. But it left them both wanting more, and Quinn was determined to get it as her hand tried to inch it's way under Rachel's shirt.
The brunette was reluctant to halt her actions, but she did, "No, Quinn we are already going to be cutting it close as is. We so don't have time for this!"
Quinn was not deterred as she just captured Rachel's lips again and carefully brushed her hands up and down the diva's sides, trying to get her to give in, "Please?" she begged between kisses, "I promise I'll be quick."
Rachel was almost tempted to throw caution to the winds and just spend the rest of the day in bed with Quinn, but she knew Cassie would have her ass in a heartbeat if she did. And she didn't want to risk Quinn having a bad reaction to finding the bruised shoulder, "After work, I promise. But now we have to get going."
"Urgh," the blonde groaned as she finally rolled off of Rachel, "Fine, but you can bet I'll be holding you to that Berry."
Rachel led the way into the theater with Quinn following closely behind her. Immediately, the blonde was engulfed in a large hug from Tina, "I hope your family thing worked out, Quinn. You know we are all here for you if you ever need to talk to someone."
Quinn patted Tina lightly on the back, "Thanks Tina. Everything went... better than expected." the blonde hesitated in finding the right way to end that sentence as Rachel's darkened cheek glared at her accusingly.
"Good!" the co-director pulled away with a large smile alighting her features, she was totally oblivious to the silent exchange occurring between Quinn and Rachel in which Quinn begged for forgiveness with her eyes for the dozenth time since they left the apartment and Rachel just brushed her off, reassuring the blonde that she held no fault.
"With opening night at the end of the week, we have just been practicing set changes with the actors as well as lighting and all our techy special effects." Tina said, filling Quinn in as the trio made their way backstage to begin the day. Everyone was getting things set up for a run through of the first act and the dancers were filing through the wings to begin stretching so Cassie would have no reason to yell at them.
After they stowed their personal items in their respective lockers, Rachel and Quinn shared a quick goodbye kiss and the brunette turned to going the dancers preparing for their daily workout. Quinn secured her headset and held her clipboard before her like a shield. As Main Stage Manager, Quinn was responsible for everything happening both on and off stage during shows and rehearsals. Sure, she had a props crew director and other department heads helping to coordinate actions of the crew, but everything came down on her.
The blonde took up her position in the wings. She had a podium with a light on it from which she could read her script and call the show. It provided her with the perfect vantage point to keep and eye on both the actors on stage and the behind the scenes action.
Rachel, for her part, was going everything in her power to hide her cheek from Cassie. And she was doing a damn fine job of it. She left her hair down and kept it swept over her right shoulder to provide a distraction, she avoided direct eye contact with the instructor at all costs, and overall just literally kept her head down. Everything was going perfectly until they finished 'What is this Feeling?' and Cassie let everyone take a short break so they could get water before they ran the number again. Rachel and Glinda needed to be perfectly in sync.
Without thinking, Rachel dabbed the sweat from her face and neck with the towel she kept in her dance bag and didn't even look at the tan smear of concealer she had just wiped off her cheek.
The two leads took their places and began the number again, Glinda was stage left and Rachel stage right with their backs facing each other. The music began and the two launched into song. They hardly got through one of the first lines, "There's been some confusion over rooming here at-"
Before Cassie interrupted them from the front of the stage, "What the hell is that?" The music abruptly cut off and the actresses sighed in exasperation.
"That is the song! We didn't even get through enough of it to not be in time with each other!" Rachel huffed, tossing her hair dramatically over her shoulder.
"Not that Berry," Cassie menacingly advanced on the small brunette,"that." she finished, one finger pointing accusingly at Rachel's bruised cheek.
"Oh, that" the diva stammered, trying to explain it all away, "You see, it really isn't anything. Yesterday- when I was sick- I was throwing up and I slipped and hit my cheek on the edge of the sink."
"Do I look stupid to you?" The blonde asked rhetorically. The other dancers had retreated to watch the impending smack down, "You," Cassie pointed at one of the male dancers standing off to the side with an amused smirk, "come here."
He reluctantly did as ordered, stopping a couple steps short of the pair. Cassandra wasted no time in snatching his towel from it's resting place across his shoulders and the water bottle he had clutched in his now trembling hands. She dampened the towel with the water then thrust the bottle back to him with a glare that sent him scampering away to rejoin the fringe of dancers.
Calmly and silently, Cassandra cupped the non-hurt side of Rachel's face in one hand and used the towel to gently wipe away the rest of the brunette's concealer. The swiping of the towel only hurt the bruised flesh a bit, but Rachel refrained from wincing. A quiet Cassandra could be scarier than a livid one, and the look the blonde was giving her- laced with disappointment, anger, and a hint of hurt- was enough to scare Rachel still.
After a moment of quietly appraising the wound, Cassie spoke, "What happened Rachel? And you better tell me the truth this time." her voice was hushed but by now even the cast was quiet and watching from the wings. Quinn was among them, trying to determine when- or if - she needed to intervene.
Rachel swallowed thickly, "There was a misunderstanding, and I was on the receiving end of a surprisingly powerful backhanded slap."
Cassie sucked in a short breath as rage quickly flash through her eyes before being quickly replaced by steely detachment, "You didn't have the flu yesterday?"
"No." Rachel hung her head in shame.
"You were with Quinn, weren't you?" It was more a statement than a question and the certainty behind it made Rachel's eyes snap back up to Cassie's.
She knew that there was no point in lying to the teacher, "Yes I was. But it really was just and accide-" she tried to hurriedly explain but was cut off by Cassandra holding a finger up. SHe sent a glare at everyone that had been watching their exchange with bated breath. Rather than fish for the answer with everyone's eyes on them, Cassie took Rachel firmly by the upper arm and marched her off the stage - much as a mother does to a child just before they are chastised - shoving past a few gawking crew members on the way.
She led them to the first open door she could find - which happened to be a janitorial closet - and pushed Rachel in. The blonde quickly followed and closed the door behind them. Tina yelled at everyone to 'get on with their work' and Quinn took up guard outside the closet, pacing nervously and trying to catch any snippets of conversation she could. While inside, Cassie was visibly struggling with keeping her anger contained while she questioned Rachel.
"Where did you and Quinn go?" the blonde was leaning with her back against the door in a strong stance, but her face betrayed her true emotion; her eyes were closed and she was pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers.
Rachel was as far as she could get - which in the tiny closet was about four feet - with her arms crossed defensively over her chest, "We went to her parent's house."
Cassie's head nodded minutely before her eyes snapped open with a sudden realization. She closed the gap between the two and settled her hands firmly on the brunette's shoulders, "I need you to be completely honest with me, Rachel." She began and stopped as if to figure out how to phrase her next question. But there was no sugar coating it, "Was it- Did Quinn hit you?"
"NO!" Rachel's eyes went wide at the accusation, "She would never, I can't believe you would even ask that!"
"Are you sure Rachel? I know it can be difficult for victims of domestic abuse to admit what has happened, but it's nothing to be ashamed of," Cassie's thumbs were gently rubbing over Rachel's shoulders in an attempt to calm the diva.
"Yes I'm sure!" Rachel smacked one of Cassandra's hands away and tried to step around her to the door, "I am not a victim of domestic abuse!"
The blonde continued to block the exit, "So who did hit you?"
"Russell. Quinn's dad." Cassie searched Rachel's face for a sign that the brunette was lying, finding none she began to comprehend the implications of those words.
"So you and Quinn went to her parent's house," Cassandra once again resumed her posture with her back against the door, eyes shut tight, pinching the bridge of her nose while she tried to piece together what happened, "Her father hits you so hard it breaks your skin and leaves one of the worst bruises I've ever seen, and Quinn what? Just stands there and watches it happen?"
"No, she tried to stop him. He just overpowered her." Rachel was rambling again and Cassie gave her a one- eyed glare in attempt to stop it.
"I didn't see any marks on her." Rachel shuffled her feet, unconsciously rubbing her bruised shoulder anxiously under the blonde's stone cold glare.
"I overpowered Russell before he could hit her." She quietly muttered.
"Oh Berry. In the span of what, ten minutes? You get lured into the dragon's lair, play the damsel in distress, then become the night in shining armor? You have got to be kidding me!" Cassie let out a hoarse laugh that sounded more like a bark than anything else and opened her eyes fully, "I hope you learnt something Rachel, and if you ever do anything as foolish as that again, or try to lie to me about something as big as that, you can bet a bruised cheek will be the least of your worries."
She stepped to the side so Rachel could exit, but before she did, she gave the brunette one last parting comment, "Rachel, you know if you ever need to talk you can come to me right?"
The singer nodded and pushed open the door, "Oh, and send your girlfriend in, the two of us need to have a little chat. While we do, go down to make up and make sure Kurt can cover that bruise, if he can't we're going to have to get creative."
Rachel didn't like the mischievous glint in Cassandra's eyes as she said 'creative' but exited nonetheless. She was not surprised to see Quinn biting her nails nervously while sitting with her back to the wall near the closet. The brunette wondered how much she had been able to overhear.
When Quinn noticed Rachel, she sprang up and quickly read her face, trying to gauge her emotions, but Rachel was as blank as a shaken etch- a- sketch. They shared a hug that was much too short for the blonde's liking and Rachel gave her a quick peck on the cheek before saying, "I have to go see Kurt, but Cassie wants to talk to you."
Quinn felt as though she had ice in her veins, like walking into the closet to no doubt get yelled at by Cassandra would be akin to being called down to the principal's office. The sympathetic smile and pat on the arm from Rachel did nothing to reassure Quinn, but she squared her shoulders and strode as confidently as possible to what she was sure would as unpleasant as the hangman's noose.
The closet was small and from the second Cassandra closed the door, Quinn started having trouble breathing. Rachel was so much smaller than the blonde that she didn't respond to the close environment, but with the two towering blondes, the space was completely occupied.
Cassandra immediately noticed Quinn's discomfort and capitalized on it by step in forward to invade her space. The older woman's eyes were icy and showed no hint of the caring and concerned mentor she had been when talking to Rachel.
"Listen Fabray," Quinn flinched at the powerful and detached tone with which Cassandra said her name, "I don't know exactly what happened yesterday, but what I do know is that Rachel got hurt on your watch, on your home turf, with only you there to protect her." each 'you' or 'your' was punctuated with an accusatory glare from Cassandra , "It may not entirely be your fault, but you better step it up."
Quinn's head hung as the guild she had been suppressing flowed forth and threatened to consume her, although that too was soon taken away by the teacher, "Don't beat yourself up over this Quinn." the softer tone caused Quinn's eyebrows to knit together in confusion, "You and Rachel are good for each other. Everyone can see that. Just be careful alright? This isn't a game and Rachel throws everything she has into anything she does, your relationship included. I just hope you are as committed to making it work as she is. Though I would never admit it to her, I love that girl like a daughter, and if you hurt her I'm coming after you like a mother."
The Stage Manager's brain was still reeling with emotions and slight whiplash from the change in the teacher's tone when Cassandra held open the door and nodded her head for Quinn to go through. All she could manage to drag out was a weak, "Yes M'am." before she quickly scampered off to find Rachel.
Tina watched the brief exchange with the biggest smirk on her face, "What are you smiling at Chang?" Cassie asked her co- director.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking maybe I should start having more conversations with people in closets if they call me M'am afterwards."
Cassie rolled her eyes and lightly punched Tina on the arm, "With that one, all it takes is the right look and she'll call me 'Grand Pooh- Bah' if I wanted her to."
"Mhm." Tina just rolled her eyes, "What are we going to do with those two?" she asked shaking her head.
"I used to ask myself that same question when it was just Rachel and I was trying to keep her safe during Funny Girl. Now we just have to let go of the bike and be ready to patch them up when they fall off."
"The training wheels are off." Tina agreed. The two were like a pair of proud parents realizing for the first time that they couldn't protect their kids from everything forever, "They just have to go off on their own."
"Well, maybe not entirely on their own." Cassie suddenly got and idea and whipped out her cell phone. She dialed a number she one by heart and stood tapping her foot lightly while it rang, "Hello!" she said excitedly when someone finally picked up, "You'll be proud to heat that I decided to call you for a lawsuit and a couple of restraining orders before I hopped on a plane to beat someone up this time!" Tina shot the blonde an alarmed look at the qualifying 'this time' but Cassie just smiled and went to finish her phone call outside of the theater.
"Good for you, that shit hurts!" Kurt said as he finished applying free make-up to Rachel's bruise- free cheek. She had just recounted the story of her and Quinn's visit to the blonde's parents and had ended with the detail of macing Russell. Kurt's face was grimacing in slight sympathy for the man triggered by his own experience with Rachel and her mace. The sympathy was quickly overshadowed when he began contemplating how best to camouflage the bruise.
Kurt decided to start with some concealer. He only did a light coat, the same amount he would apply if Rachel had slight bags under her eyes, "Does it hurt?" he asked, his fingers coming to a rest carefully just under the mark.
Rachel swallowed around the lump in her throat that rose at the memory of the day she got the bruise, "No, not comparatively."
"Compared to?" The allusion to something worse did not slip past Kurt.
"My shoulder, my head, when I first got it. Take your pick." She deadpanned, staring into her own blank eyes in the styling mirror.
"Rachel, what happened to your head and shoulder?" Kurt's voice had a concerned edge he was not doing a good job of concealing.
"When Russell struck me, I hit the banister of the stairs with my shoulder, and after I fell, my head struck the wall."
The make-up artist's hands dropped from her face and gently tugged at the collar of Rachel's shirt so he could peer down the back and examine the shoulder. It, like her face, was marred by a dark bruise and he knew just by looking at it that there must be some decent muscle pain accompanying it. He then slowly ran his hands up Rachel's neck and they carefully palpated her skull from the bottom up, stopping when a slightly raised spot made Rachel hiss in pain.
"Did you get checked for a concussion?" he asked, forcing Rachel to meet his eyes with a hand under her chin.
"No. But I don't have a concussion. And don't tell anyone about my head or shoulder. Quinn would just feel more guilty and Cassie would kill me for sure." She pleaded.
"I promise," he said sincerely, "I still think you should get it checked out, but I won't push you."
"Get what checked out?" Quinn asked stepping into the room. The conversation with Cassie had left her shaken and she needed to be near Rachel.
"My phone," the diva filled quickly, "I was telling him about how it does that thing where it starts sideswiping on its own but I don't want to risk losing the pictures on it."
Quinn could tell something was up but decided not to press it. Instead she just nodded and took a seat on the counter in front of Rachel and grabbed one of the brunette's hands, holding it in both of hers. Kurt picked up his brush and refocused on the task at hand. He decided to go with a thin dusting of pure white makeup over the light concealer to take away the dark hue the green would be applied to.
While he worked, the three of them talked about nothing. Just small conversation to fill the silence, each one preoccupied with their own thoughts. When he finished and stepped back to admire the finished product, it was nearly eleven- thirty, the Cassandra drama had swallowed most of the morning. Kurt gave Rachel's makeup her seal of approval and sent her to get checked by Tina and Cassandra under the harsh lights of the stage.
"Now go like twenty more degrees to the right..."
Rachel twisted and turned as directed, Tina was standing about halfway to the back of the theater, making sure that Rachel's green paint stood the test of the stage lights. Just as Tina was going to give her the 'all good', Cassie came back into the theater and couldn't pass up the opportunity to make Rachel pay just a bit more for her colossal screw-up.
"Why don't we turn on the hot lights." the blonde said, taking the seat right next to Tina. The lighting crew did as instructed and Rachel felt a slight sweat begin to bread on her forehead that was only partially due to the lights, "We need to make sure you aren't going to sweat through this make-up." Cassie said with a wicked grin that Rachel could make out all the way from the stage.
"That's an excellent thought Cassie, but it won't really be necessary." the brunette yelled, trying to head off the impending onslaught, "The green is moisture proof, I mean Kurt has to all but chisel it off every night. And we've established I don't sweat through it already from our previous costumed run throughs."
"I think it's worth double checking." Cassandra said with a tone of finality that Rachel could not argue with, "Drop and give us twenty and we'll see how it's holding up."
Rachel sighed but complied, dropping to her hands and toes to execute the exercise while the co-directors whispered about final things to do, and the rest of the cast and crew continued on- not even bothering to question why Rachel was doing pushups in the middle of the stage in the hot spot lights with green face paint on.
Once she finished, Rachel popped up and flung her hair back, "There. See, it's still totally fine!"
"Mhm," Cassie conceded, but hardly even glanced up from the paper she and Tina were pouring over, "Mike, why don't you take all the dancers and run through every major dance from the opener to the finale?" she said.
"Love to." the choreographer stepped up and gestured for the dancers to form up while he set up their music, "From the top of the overture..."
The rest of the day passed in a blur of motion and frenzy. Nerves were running high with opening night looming closer and closer and it was all anyone could do not to implode. Quinn was handling the stress surprisingly well for her first production and actually ended up acting as a mediator for a number of small scuffles between members of the cast and crew.
When Rachel and Quinn made it back to the diva's apartment that night, Rachel collapsed into a tired heap on her couch and after a moment, was joined by Quinn offering her a glass of much needed wine. They both knew it was a take-out and movie night.
"Have you talked to your mom at all yet?" Rachel asked, Judy hadn't contacted her so she truly hoped she was staying strong and away from Russell, if not for her own sake then for Quinn's at least.
The blonde surprisingly brightened at the mention of her mother, "Yes! We talked on the phone this afternoon during rehearsal and she said she was doing great. She's at her sister's but she's already gotten a job at the law firm she used to be a paralegal at, and she's on the hunt for an apartment. She said she hopes to have a place of her own by Christmas or sooner is she can manage."
"That's great!" Rachel smiled encouragingly. It warmed her to see Quinn so excited for her mother and speak of her so positively, it was a welcome change from the response the blonde first gave when Rachel mentioned family.
"Yeah, I'm so happy for her. I really think she can do it and stay independent from Russell."
They fell into a comfortable lull, enjoying the wine and relaxation after a long day at the theater.
"What did Cassie say to you earlier today? When you were talking in the closet?" Rachel asked gently. She wanted to know if Cassie had brought the domestic violence allegations up to Quinn too, but she didn't want to say it in case she didn't.
The blonde took a sip of her drink and tried to figure out how to respond, "She just said it had to 'step it up' and if anything else happened to you, she would be coming after me."
Rachel laughed and patted Quinn on the knee, "Well, for what it's worth I don't think you need to step it up. And if Cassie goes after you, I'll go after her."
Quinn smiled placatingly, "Sure you will honey." She couldn't imagine the diva actually getting into it with Cassandra.
"I would!" she said, "One time, when I was still at NYADA, I took this elective late-hour course in combative theater. Cassie was one of the instructors and after a bit of practice, she decided that there needed to be a demonstration and she picked me. It went from a choreographed fist fight to us half actually fighting on the stage."
Quinn gave her a questioning look, and Rachel just nodded in affirmation. "Did you win?"
"Of course! Well they broke us up before anything could actually happen, but I think I had her..." Rachel trailed off and the blonde just gave her an amused smile.
"Ok honey." When it looked like Rachel was gearing up to continue justifying her fight, Quinn leaned over and kissed the brunette to silence her. As the kiss deepened, Quinn put their wine glasses on the coffee table but they were soon forgotten.
The rest of the week passed in the same manner, rehearsals everyday in the mornings and afternoons, the whole cast and crew were in high stress mode with opening night impending. Before they knew it, the day was upon them.
The show was sold out weeks in advance and the lobby of the theater was packed hours before the curtain went up. The entertainment new station that seemed to be at the center of every report on Rachel and Quinn's lives, was doing a special story on the making of a broadway musical, and as a result the young reporter who was becoming a familiar face, was wandering around backstage with a camera crew, putting everyone even more on edge.
He caught Quinn as she was running from sound to Rachel's dressing room to help her mic up and check that everything was working properly. "My if it isn't Quinn Fabray!" he said excitedly while motioning to the camera crew to keep filming, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"Oh you know, just main stage manager duties, helping check sound, make sure everything is running smoothly." she said dismissively, trying to edge away from the reporter.
"Great we can come with! Things are getting slow out here." he said gesturing at the other crew members running about the stage.
Quinn didn't reply, just strode off purposefully in the direction of Rachel's dressing room hoping to lose the reporter and the camera man in the process. But moments later the blonde entered the room with the reporter hot on her heels.
"Quinn!" Rachel said happily, twirling over from where Kurt was finishing paltering her hair to her head so he could fit on her wig, to give the blonde a hug. She stopped short when she saw who had followed Quinn, "And Fredrick. Great to see you again." Rachel said poisonously to the reporter who pushed his way into the room.
"Rachel, always a pleasure," he said, returning her deathly sweet smile with one of his own, "I do hope we aren't interrupting. My station is doing a documentary on the makings of a musical and I'm just here to get the behind the scenes scoop of opening day!" Frederick surveyed the room with a critical eye, taking in Kurt standing at Rachel's dressing room table still holding a bottle of hair spray, the assortment of magazines on the coffee table, and the army of water bottles lined up for the singer- hydration was no joking matter. "This certainly is... quaint."
"Yes, well I was just headed to make-up with Kurt so I must apologize but we are leaving." Rachel said with raised eyebrows at the stylist who grabbed his things and followed the annoyed diva out of her dressing room with Quinn, Frederick, and the camera crew hurriedly trailing them.
On their way, the group passed an annoyed looking Cassandra who shot the whole group a questioning look, "Who invited the circus to town?" she asked Rachel while pointing at Frederick and his cameras.
"Apparently they invited themselves." the brunette huffed.
"Well play nicely." Cassie said in a warning tone, the last thing she needed was more fires to put out. Grudgingly, Rachel complied.
When they arrived in the small hair and make-up room and everyone got settled in- Kurt armed with his brush and beginning to apply cover-up to the bruise that was healing nicely on Rachel's cheek, Quinn standing tersely and protectively by the brunette's side, and Frederick and his crew taking up most of the rest of the space- Rachel prepared herself to answer any questions Frederick may have.
He wasted no time in jumping into his inquiry, "That looks like a nasty bruise you've got there Rachel, how did that happen?"
The brunette's jaw clenched as she felt Quinn stiffen at her side, clearly she still felt some responsibility for the injury, "Well many people wouldn't guess it, but off stage I really am quite clumsy and so recently I was a bit under the weather, and my balance was compromised already, and I slipped getting out of the shower. My cheek and the edge of my tub got a bit more friendly than I would have liked."
"Mhm." Frederick said. He clearly wasn't buying the story but had the common sense not to push the issue. "So how are you feeling now, any opening night nerves?"
"None at all!" Rachel said a bit too happily, her voice was a half octave higher than normal and Quinn put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the brunette really was a horrible liar, "When you are working with a cast and crew as dedicated and talented as this one there really is nothing to be nervous about." Kurt and Quinn knew that Rachel was saying that to try to convince herself just as much as to convince anyone who would see the film, "I mean by now we could to the show in our sleep!"
Quinn snorted and whispered a low, "She does do the show in her sleep." to Kurt, but it did not go unnoticed by Frederick.
"What was that Quinn?" he asked, moving his microphone closer to her to be able to capture her reply.
"I said she actually does the show in her sleep." Rachel gave her an adoring smile while Kurt moved on to apply green powder, the bruise completely hidden from sight.
"Aren't you two just the cutest couple!" Frederick said in a sickly excited tone, "So Burt is it? Why don't you tell us the process of turning the lovely and beautiful Rachel here into the lean green fighting machine that is Elphaba?" he asked, trying to draw the attention back to the show.
"It's Kurt.." the stylist said shortly, ignoring the question entirely.
"Course it is."
The rest of the time Rachel was getting green-ified was filled with short, choppy conversation between Frederick and the three friends. He was doing his best to ask questions to bolster the interview but was blocked on all sides by short answers and dismissive chuckles. Eventually he gave up and with the least sincere 'thank you' possible, went to find and interview the actress portraying Glinda.
"That was fun." Kurt said, cracking a large smile once the reporter left, "I don't normally get to be an ass to the press so that was really quite enjoyable!" his eyed brightened as he recalled the last time he was even interviewed by the media- it had been a while.
"Glad you had a good time Burt." Rachel rolled her eyes, "How much more green have you got to do? I want to get in some extra vocal warm up time."
"Not much longer." he said, still smirking and choosing to ignore the horrible new nickname.
Throughout the whole conversation, Quinn had remained glued to Rachel's side and was still there, "What's that in your hand Quinn?" Rachel said, pointing at the one dangling by the blonde's side with something black clutched in it.
The encounter with Frederick had so distracted the stage manager that she didn't even remember what she was holding, but opening her hand she found the mic pac she was supposed to be giving to and testing on Rachel, "Your mic! Crap, sound is probably still waiting for me to get these done. I still have to check five others after yours!" Quinn quickly flipped the thing on and checked it before dashing out of the room with a quick 'good luck' thrown to Rachel. She was confident she would see the diva again before she went onstage.
And indeed, just before the final call for the actors to move to the wings for the opening number, Quinn appeared in Rachel's dressing room with a vase of flowers for Rachel that was the same assortment the brunette had given her on their first date after the law suit- that's right, she could be romantic like that. "Hey Rach, I just wanted to stop by and wish you one last 'good luck', you're going to be amazing out there." she said, moving to put the flowers on the coffee table while Rachel finished adjusting her wig in the mirror and turned to smile at the blonde.
"Have I ever told you that you're the best girlfriend ever?"
Quinn laughed, "No, I don't believe you have."
"Well you're going to have to remind me to do that later." Rachel said, giving Quinn a quick kiss before grabbing her hand so they could walk up to the stage together, "Shouldn't you be up in the wings having a melt down right about now?"
"Well normally yes, but I already had the obligatory main stage manager melt down earlier while trying to sort out an issue in costume so I officially am all out of energy to have a melt-down with!" Quinn said with a smile. The show was so painstakingly put together and the cast and crew had been through everything so many times, it was just like another day of rehearsal, but instead of Cassie sitting in the back of the theater yelling at them, it would be a real audience.
"That's comforting." Shortly, they arrived in the wings and shared one last kiss before Rachel took up her space to enter for the first number she was a part of, and Quinn reclaimed her spot on her high stool behind her podium to call the show.
This was Quinn's favorite part of the show, it was like mission control at NASA just before a shuttle launch, and the blonde was in charge of it all. While the house lights went down in the theater and the actors took their spots, the crew was just gearing up.
"Alright everyone, lets have a good show and make some magic." Quinn said over her headset. "Lights?" she asked.
"Lights are a go." the head of the department who had almost caught her on fire the first day responded.
"Tech?"
"Tech is a go." the nervous kid Sam replied, shortly after the incident with Rachel and the trap door, Sam had proven himself by fixing a series of actual malfunctions during a rehearsal and had been promoted to head of the tech department.
"Music?"
"Music is a go." the conductor who Quinn had nearly flattened her first day when she fell into the orchestra pit responded.
The list went on until Quinn got confirmation from each department that they were ready and then she said the magic words to start the show, "Let's begin. Orchestra, cue overture. Tech, curtain up. Lights, spots on. ASM, go on Glinda in three, two, one."
Hope you all enjoyed that chapter, I know it was a long time coming but hopefully it was worth the wait! Let me know what you think and I will try to update this as soon as I can... I just realized I have four multi-chap fics in the works right now so be patient but this one is my first priority!
Responses to reviews left recently-
Soxylady27- I'm glad you like Quinn, I made wanted to avoid her closing up too which I hope the conversation with Cassie will help prevent.
kestralgirl1-I actually loved Unique in the last chapter and plan on bringing her back in a future one! Also, you helped inspire the 'closet talk' with Cassie, she was indeed not happy with Russell ;)
Weaslyswan- I do hope to build on Quinn and Judy and hopefully this chapter will be a good start to that.
Guest and guest- Thank you! and I'm working on it ;)
ShadowClub- Yeah Judy is pretty weak, and while I do enjoy the idea of her getting hit instead of Rachel, the diva going all Rambo with the mace was worth it for me, thank you for your review- yours always make me smile!
sexyoutlaw- 1. I enjoy your username. 2. Yep, she did.
Rebecca- Aww thank you!
gllover22- your review made my night and I legit laughed out loud. Thank you!
reliposh. xoxo- muchas gracias, and indeed, once again one of my readers has done a better job of keeping this story consistent than I have! Thanks for pointing that out and I have edited chapter 11 accordingly, please do let me know if you see anymore of those. I don't have a beta so all of this is brain to page!
Lots of love- Ms. Informed13