A/N: And on with the show! Please note that all borrowed song lyrics are in italics. Here we go!

********** The Wizard and I **********

"Really, Jess, how are you now nervous? I'm positively terrified," Emily admitted once they were all dressed and hiding behind the curtain.

"I honestly have no idea," was the reply she received from the completely disguised woman. "I'll be a wreck for the few minutes before I first go onstage, but that's usually it," Jess said.

"Lucky you," Abby said.

"Yes, but Jess has a bit of a downside," Connor added. "Her entrance is probably the most anticipated out of everyone in this play."

"Thanks Connor, that helps a lot," Jess hissed sarcastically. She moved to the very edge of the curtain, thankful that her dark costume helped hide her in the shadows. Poor Emily was confined to the back of the space, as her bright costume would draw all the attention to her.

Jess peeked out at the canteen and smiled. Becker and his men had constructed low-rise bleachers to make it a bit easier for everyone to get a good view of the performance, and every seat on them was filled. There were chairs near the door for the on-call crew, along with a desk for the portable ADD. Everyone was chatting excitedly as they settled themselves in for the show.

And right there, sitting front row centre, were Matt and Becker. Jess watched the pair talking quietly, occasionally grinning or laughing. She knew that they'd be there, but didn't expect that. The butterflies in her stomach lifted off the ground a bit, but she breathed deeply to relax her nerves.

"This is going to be amazing," she said to no-one in particular.

"How can you be certain?" Emily inquired.

"What's the worst that can happen?"

"The set breaks," Connor stated.

"So we perform without it," Jess countered.

"Everyone forgets their lines," Abby offered.

"We have a prompter at the edge of the stage."

"The music is terrible," Emily suggested.

"The band has had their music memorized for weeks now, and you've already ensured that everyone singing has some serious talent."

"The whole thing is just a big flop, then!" Emily really was nervous. She was never this negative.

Jess smiled and moved to wrap her arm around her friend's shoulders. "This is probably the most interesting thing that we've ever done here at the ARC. It'll be a hit, I promise."

Emily nodded and took a deep breath. She turned to the group as a whole. "Places, everyone!" Suddenly every person there was scurrying around frantically. The stage manager ordered the canteen lights put out, and as the applause started, they were ready to go.

The band started playing the main overture, and Jess grinned widely as she hummed along. The stage lights came up to reveal the elaborate set, and the cast onstage began singing. Jess had a good ten minutes until she first entered, so she stood at the side of the stage and enjoyed the spectacle in front of her.

Emily floated onto the stage as Glinda in the large bubble, and Jess watched as Matt and Becker lit up at the sight of her. She wondered (a bit selfishly) if they would do the same when she came on stage. Or if they'd even recognize her… A few moments later, Abby made her grand entrance, also to cheers. While she'd been harder to recognize than Emily, she played up her role as Madame Morrible wonderfuly.

A few minutes later, as the butterflies were starting to really take flight, Jess trudged onto the stage in character, head and voice low. She spoke her lines fluidly, and played well off of her friends. As she lowered her head at one point, she caught the look on Becker's face as he stared hard at her.

Becker couldn't figure it out. He was positive that he KNEW the girl on stage, but couldn't place her. She wore a calf-length dress-coat, and her long black hair was pulled into a plait at the back of her head. Her green skin glowed in the stage lights, but her face was shadowed by a pillbox-style had on her head and oversized reading glasses. The way she moved and spoke was very familiar…

When Abby started to sing the intro to Jess' first song, she knew that this was it. This would be the moment they figured it out, if at all. As Abby left the stage, Jess decided to break the fourth wall a bit and sing directly to the audience in front of her.

"Did that really just happen?

Have I actually understood?

This weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide

Is a talent that could help me meet the wizard

If I make good.

So I'll make good."

Becker's eyes widened in recognition. The voice was clear and confident, and as she raised her head to hold her longer notes, he finally managed to see her familiar blue eyes. All the pieces came together and his jaw dropped.

Matt leaned over to him, following the same thought path. "Is that…?"

"Jess," Becker whispered, not taking his eyes off her for a second. She looked incredible, but completely uncharacteristic. He'd never seen her all in black before, and wondered with a grin if she'd had to endure any ribbing about dressing like him. Her voice captivated him as she put her soul into the song.

Jess didn't have time to see if the guys had figured out who she was, but kept singing her heart out. As her song ended with a loud final note from the band, the crowd in front of her hooted and hollered as they clapped for her. She took a second to catch her breath and hurried offstage.

She and Emily played off each other very well during their first duet together, having fun as they sang about despising each other. When Connor made his grand entrance a little while later, everyone in the audience had a bit of a laugh: the idea of him as an overconfident student wasn't actually that far-fetched, but the thought of him as a playboy jock was. He and Emily worked well together onstage, but didn't have fantastic chemistry because they hadn't known each other that long. They still sang great together though.

As she sat onstage in her second costume – a sleeveless dress that was meant to pass as a nightgown – she forced herself not to smile as Emily danced around the stage singing about being popular. She looked so unlike herself in the short, puffy, pink dress, but was unbelievably convincing as she tried to primp Jess' wig into a respectable hairdo.

Then came time for Jess' sweet, solo ballad about how she was too different. When she was left alone onstage (save for Emily and Connor in the background), she faced the audience with such a lonely expression that everyone's heart ached for her. And when she started singing, there were actually tears falling from her own eyes. She sang so beautifully that everyone could practically feel her pain. Originally she'd planned on singing it as if she were speaking to Becker about how she felt, but since things had changed between them, she had to adjust things a bit.

"Every so often, we long to steal

To the land of what might have been,

But that doesn't soften the ache we feel

When reality sets back in…"

Becker watched his beautiful Jess sing out with more emotion than he'd ever seen. He wondered where it was coming from, especially when she seemed to be singing the last few lines directly to him.

"Don't wish, don't start,

Wishing only wounds the heart,

I wasn't born for the rose and pearl,

There's a girl I know,

He loves her so,

I'm not that girl."

The applause was warm as Jess walked offstage. Just as she left, she glanced at Becker who was grinning with pride at her.