Author's Note: I feel like I'm apologizing to you guys every chapter for taking so long to update. With how busy I've been over the last few weeks and am going to be, I'm probably only going to be posting a chapter a week for the foreseeable future. I just don't have the time to do more than that right now and I don't want you guys thinking that I've lost interest in this fic. As always, thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. Keep the reviews coming because I love hearing what you guys think. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Rachel awoke the next morning to hear Donovan singing in the shower. She couldn't remember when the last time that she had heard him do that was. Rolling over, she looked at the clock to see what time it was. 9 AM.

She contemplated sending Jesse a text message, but then thought better of it as she thought how a text message just wasn't the best way to let Jesse know about Donovan and what had happened the night before. As Donovan continued to sing, Rachel wished that it were Jesse's voice that she heard coming from the shower instead. Immediately, she felt that all too familiar pang of guilt for even having the thought.

Finally, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, heading straight for the kitchen for some coffee. She really needed coffee after the restless night she had just had. A very large cup of coffee.

Walking into the living room, she sat down on the couch and held the cup in both of her hands and blew on the hot drink to try and cool it down. She was so completely in her own world, caught up in her own thoughts, that she didn't even hear Donovan walk up behind her. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek from behind which startled her out of her reverie. "Morning, babe," Donovan said. She hated when he used that smarmy term of endearment.

"Morning," she responded, turning her head and watching him walk back towards the kitchen to pour his own cup of coffee. He was in nothing but a towel, his dark curls still wet from the shower he had just taken. There was no denying that he was an extremely good-looking man. Rachel thought about how at one time she would have looked at him like that and wanted to ravage him, but she didn't have that urge as she looked at him now. "You seem very happy this morning."

"Life is good, babe." There was that word again. It was like nails on a chalkboard to Rachel. "I'm finally going to really be in a Broadway show after slugging away all these years. It feels good to know that all that hard work finally paid off. And, of course, you're back home again." Rachel couldn't help but notice that the first thing that he'd mentioned was his show and not her.

"So have you guys started workshops yet?"

"Actually we start in a couple of days. I was hoping that you might be free today to maybe run lines with me and help me with some of the songs," he said as he came over and sat next to her on the couch.

"Um, yeah, I have some time." Rachel did her best to smile at him brightly. The smile actually hurt her face.

"Great. It's been too long since we spent an entire day together," Donovan told her, before he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She almost recoiled from his kiss but recovered quickly, smiling up at him as he stood up and went to the bedroom to get dressed.

Rachel wanted to take a shower, but she didn't want Donovan to think it was an invitation for him to join her if she went into the bathroom and undressed while he was in a semi-nude state. So she patiently sat on the couch and continued to drink her coffee while she waited for him to come out of the bedroom fully clothed. The moment she heard his footsteps and turned to see he was dressed, she stood up and walked into the bedroom. "I'm just going to take a shower," she threw over her shoulder as she breezed past him towards the bathroom. "I won't be long."

She got undressed and jumped in the shower as quickly as possible. Rachel had only been standing under the spray for a few moments when Donovan popped his head in to the bathroom. "We don't have anything for breakfast so I'm going to run down to the bakery and grab us some bagels. I'll be back in a few minutes, babe."

"Okay, babe," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes at that stupid word he seemed to think was so sweet. She didn't know why it bothered her so much. Maybe it was the fact that she had told him time and time again how much she didn't like when he called her that, but for some reason, today it was ten times worse than any other time he said it. She took a deep breath as she thought about how they were going to spend most of the day together and if she didn't want to fight with him all day then she needed to not let every little thing that he did get on her nerves.

In another apartment not too far away from Rachel's, Jesse padded into his kitchen only to find Isla sitting at the counter drinking her coffee, eating a bagel and reading the newspaper. "Good morning," Jesse said, voice still gravelly with sleep.

Isla looked up from her newspaper with a warm smile. "Good morning," she replied before taking a bit of her bagel.

After pouring himself a cup of coffee, Jesse sat next to her at the counter. "Shouldn't you be at work by now?" he asked, doing his best to not make the question sound accusatory. His wife was always to the office by 8 AM sharp, yet here she was sitting in their kitchen like she was in no hurry to be anywhere.

"I'm going in a little late this morning," she said cryptically. "Bagel?" she offered, pushing her small plate with the other uneaten half in front of Jesse.

"Thanks," he managed. "So what are you reading about? Politics? World news?" She gave him a look that said you know me better than that. "Page Six?"

"Of course," she replied with a coy smile.

"Any interesting celebrity news I should know about?" Jesse asked, taking a bite of the bagel.

"Hmm, none that I think you would care about. Although, there is an interesting blind item," she told him before handing him the paper so he could read said blind item.

Jesse nearly choked on his bagel when he read what it said.

Which two hot, young Broadway stars have been spotted out and about on the town and even exiting a hotel together? Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal but these two just so happen to be in serious committed relationships with other people. I wonder how long those relationships will last?

"Huh," Jesse said, handing the paper back to Isla. He felt like he could have honestly thrown up at that moment, but he kept his composure as he looked at his wife. "Do they ever reveal who the subjects of the blind items are?"

"No, but it's fun to speculate about who it could possibly be. Do you think it's anyone that you know?" she asked, looking at the blind item again.

Jesse simply shrugged. "Maybe," he lied. "They don't really give you much to go on in those things."

"Normally, they give better hints as to who it's about, but this one is pretty vague," she conceded, looking back at him. "So I was thinking that we could do a late dinner after the show. How does that sound?"

What could he say to that? No? "Sure," he agreed. "We can go out somewhere if you want."

"I was thinking that we should just stay in," she flirtatiously replied. She stood up and leaned over to give him a peck on the lips. It was the first time that they'd kissed since before she'd left for Paris. "Let me know if you hear any good gossip today," she said with a wink as she grabbed her purse off the counter.

"See you tonight," Jesse said, giving her a small wave as she walked out the door. The moment she shut the door behind her, he reached for the Post to re-read the blind item. Yep, it was still the same. He hadn't even thought that anyone would even give a shit about what he or Rachel did in their spare time. Sure they were on Broadway, but it wasn't like they were Hollywood stars or anything. Yet. He'd thought that he'd been pretty discreet, but apparently not discreet enough.

They would have to be more careful in the future.

By mid-afternoon, Rachel was surprised by how much she and Donovan were actually enjoying each other's company. Granted, they hadn't really spoken about anything of significance throughout the day, but instead had been in their acting comfort zone. He actually welcomed her critiques rather than getting irritated with her which was surprising since Donovan had never taken criticism well. It was a nice change from the way things had been for awhile.

Rachel liked being able to connect with Donovan on this level again. It made her remember why she had been drawn to him in the first place. As she looked up at him smiling, she realized how close they were standing together as they finished the scene they had been running lines for. She felt panic begin to rise in her chest once again as she saw him moving closer to her. Before she knew it his lips were on hers in a hard kiss as he wrapped her in his arms.

At first, she kissed him back like she knew she should but it felt off. It suddenly felt like she was trapped in his arms and all she wanted to do was escape them. Breaking their kiss, Rachel pushed Donovan away as gently as she could.

"What's wrong?" Donovan questioned. Slightly puzzled by her abrupt end to the moment they had just been sharing.

"Look at what time it is," she replied, brushing off his question. "I have to get to the theatre." She stepped out of his arms fully and backed away from him slowly. Setting down the other copy of Donovan's script that she had been using on the kitchen counter, she scanned the room for her bag and saw it sitting just next to the door.

"I understand," he told her, not moving from the spot where she had left him standing. "I'll see you later tonight then?"

Nodding her head in response, she walked over to him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before he could kiss her lips again. As she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, she looked back and smiled at Donovan one more time. Then she walked out the door.

Jesse handed the Post to Thomas as they sat in a back booth of the restaurant and waited for their food to come. "What's this?" Thomas asked.

"Read it," Jesse told him as he pointed at the blind item.

Thomas did as Jesse instructed and Jesse saw his eyes grow wide as it dawned on him that the blind item was about his friend. "Are you serious? How do they even find this shit out?"

"I don't know. Even though Rachel and I didn't check in together, I guess I was stupid to use my real name at the hotel, but the 'out and about town together' part? Is someone constantly watching me?" Jesse asked, suddenly looking around the restaurant to see if anyone was listening to their conversation.

"Man, don't be paranoid. Nobody's even paying attention to us," his friend reassured him. Thomas read the blind item again and looked up at Jesse questioningly. "So you guys got a hotel room?"

Jesse just nodded in response, then gulped down his water like he was dying of thirst. Jesse and Thomas had talked a lot ever since Jesse had started having an affair with Rachel but Jesse had done everything in his power to avoid actually talking about Rachel. He realized how good it was to be able to confide in someone.

"I take it that it's been going on for a little while between you two if you're getting hotel rooms together," Thomas remarked.

"Well, that's fairly new but what's happening between me and Rachel started the day we began working together," he said honestly He knew Thomas knew that as well. "Do you think anyone at the theatre's noticed?"

"Nah, you guys don't really act any different now than you did during rehearsals. I think if you guys start avoiding each other then people are going to wonder what's going on, you know?"

Jesse nodded his head in understanding. Thomas was right. Now he just needed to convince Rachel of that and keep her from freaking out. That was going to be tough.

For the last half an hour, Rachel had been lying on her couch listening to one of her favorite songs on repeat, Amy Stroup's "Alas We Aspire". The song had just begun to play again when she heard a knock on her dressing room door. "Come in," she said loudly enough for the person knocking to hear. She was surprised when she saw Jesse enter the room. He never knocked.

Without saying a word, he walked over to the couch and sat down before he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Rachel sighed contentedly as she pulled him closer to her. His kiss was like coming home. "How are you?" Jesse asked softly as they broke apart, brushing her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Better now," she told him. Rachel smiled as she heard the second verse of the song begin. Look through my words/I'm mine/You're yours. It was funny how they really did have a real-life soundtrack. She guessed it was fitting seeing as how it was music that had brought them together in the first place. Look through my words/You're mine/I'm yours.

She reached up and gently brushed a perfect curl off of his forehead before placing a soft kiss on his lips again. "I like this song," he said as he listened to it play.

"I like you," her voice barely above a whisper.

"Ditto." He lightly bumped her nose affectionately with his own. Finally, he sat up and leaned back on the other arm of the couch. "Do you want to tell me what happened after I got off the phone with you last night? Obviously, it had to do with Donovan."

Rachel looked away, avoiding his gaze as she nodded. "He showed up at Kurt's full of apologies and explanations."

"And they were?" Jesse prompted.

"Apparently, he'd auditioned for a role a little while back and had been really stressed out about whether or not he would actually get this one so that was why he had been acting like a complete jackass. He got the role so he's all happy again," she explained.

"So I take it you're back at your apartment now?"

"Yeah…"

Jesse simply nodded without saying a word. He contemplated what he wanted to say then he finally spoke, "That's good."

"That's good?" Rachel was a bit taken aback by his reaction. Not that she wanted him to feel hurt because after all he was still with his wife. But the irrational part of her had been hoping for a more extreme – jealous – reaction than "that's good".

"You said you didn't want us to have any doubts, so the sooner we both figure it out, the better," he said, running his hand up and down her leg absentmindedly. "There's something I have to tell you."

Rachel felt her stomach drop at the sudden change in his tone of voice. Whatever he had to tell her couldn't be good.

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded up newspaper page then handed it to her. Rachel took it nervously thinking that perhaps they had finally received a bad review. She slowly opened up the page to see that it was actually a page from the Post. Page Six to be exact. "Read the blind item," he told her.

Her eyes scanned the page until she found the blind item and gasped the moment she read it, dropping the piece of paper on the ground as she jumped up off the couch. "Oh my God," she managed, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Rach," Jesse said, getting off the couch and walking over to her. "Don't freak out. It's so vague no one will even know who in the hell they're talking about." He laid a soothing hand on her back and rubbed smooth circles, trying to get her to breathe and calm down.

"Someone knows about us, Jesse," she said, trying to keep her voice level. "Or multiple someone's." Jesse could see the wheels turning in her head as she thought about the implications. "What if people do figure it out? What will happen to the show? What will happen to our careers?" Rachel asked. It wasn't the first time that she had thought about it. Before her worries had just been what-ifs, but now there were people out there that knew. People in the press who would run with a story if they thought it would sell newspapers or magazines.

"We're just going to have to be more careful," he reassured her. Then another thought crossed his mind. "That is, unless you want to stop this. Us," he added, gesturing between them.

She didn't even have to think about it. She shook her head adamantly. "No, I can't do that." Rachel wanted so badly to tell him that she couldn't not be with him because she was in love with him, but she just couldn't get the words to reach her lips. At first she hadn't told him because she was afraid, but now she felt like she was protecting both of them by not admitting how deep her feelings for Jesse actually were. And even though the way she was with Jesse told him how she really felt about him, there was something to be said for the reassurance that those three little words could bring.

"Rachel," Jesse said, interrupting her thoughts. He grabbed her arms gently and squeezed them a little. "Everything is going to fine. You and I are going to be fine. We are going to be fine."

"You don't know that," she replied, defeated.

"I do," he whispered before pulling her in for a searing kiss. Rachel moaned against his lips as she ran her hands under his shirt, feeling the warm skin of his back. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and they melted into each other, losing themselves for a moment. "I have to see you tomorrow," Jesse told her as he reluctantly pulled away.

"Why not tonight?" Rachel asked, then she remembered what she had told Donovan. "Shit, I said I'd be home after the show."

"Yeah, I told Isla that we could have a late dinner together," he confessed. The jealous look that crossed Rachel's features briefly did not go unnoticed by Jesse. "Tomorrow then?" he asked as he backed away towards the door, knowing that both he and Rachel really needed to get into hair and makeup.

She nodded her head and smiled. "Tomorrow."

Author's Note: When I heard Amy Stroup's "Alas We Aspire" on Smallville this last week, I immediately fell in love with the song and knew I had to use it in my fic somehow. It's quickly become one of my favorite songs, especially to write to.