Sincerest apologies for the two week "hiatus". It was not planned and believe me I did not want to tease you. As mentioned before, I started a new job and my wonderful beta-reader also had some things to take care of.

Glad you liked the Santana-Rachel interaction and thanks for letting me know! It is always great to hear what you think.

JPElles: Would be interested to know why you think Kurt is not best friend material – honest question!

Oh, before I forget: You know the drill. Glee is not mine, nor will it ever be…. I wish I'd come up with the whole stuff and the characters, but noooo, wasn't me. Unfortunately.

Anyway, here comes the next chapter.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 25

During the cab ride to wherever they were going – Rachel still had no idea and Santana was being very secretive about their destination – she asked the Latina:

"Have you never thought about becoming a professional singer? You have such a great voice and talent. I have always wondered why you never did pursue a career in acting or singing."

Santana just shrugged in a non-committal way, pulling the empty sheet of paper out she had pocketed earlier and wrote her answer.

Don't know. I have always liked singing, but somehow I have never thought about doing it for a living.

"Why not? What held you back?" Rachel was curious. Santana had the looks, the voice and the attitude to succeed, and she was sure that Santana knew that herself. So what was the real reason behind her hesitation?

The Latina looked out of the window, clearly reluctant to answer that question. Finally, she turned back to Rachel, quirking one side of her mouth up in a half smile while moving the pen over the paper.

Let's just say I did not feel like it, ok?

She was clearly brushing Rachel off with this response, not wanting to discuss this any further. Rachel did not care. If Santana got to grill her, she had the exact same right.

"How come you get to tell me all these intense and private things but as soon as I start to ask a question that goes deeper than the superficial day to day crap you immediately lock yourself up?"

Santana was surprised at the statement. She had not expected Rachel to keep looking behind her so carefully build up façade. The only ones she had allowed some glimpses behind it were Quinn and Brittany. And even with both of them it was not often that she had opened up. The Latina let her eyes rest on the smaller woman sitting beside her.

You won't let this rest, will you? She then scribbled down.

"No. I guess I learned from the best," the brunette retorted without hesitation and with an arched eyebrow.

It was never easy for Santana to talk about her true inner feelings. But she and Rachel had come quite a way from being high school acquaintances to becoming friends. She had come to truly liking Rachel and really wished for her to find her way and she would support her in any way she could. The Latina felt that it was actually ok to let Rachel see some of her truth. Santana felt that she could trust her friend. Rachel would not use that knowledge against her. Besides she was right. Santana had gleaned a lot from the former diva; it was only fair to give something back.

Fine, if you must know. I did not know where to go or what to do. I was too lazy to apply to any art school and… well, I guess my parents would not really have approved of it.

And I did not really know which direction to turn to. I kinda felt clueless. Still do.

"Ha, welcome to the club," Rachel commented which made Santana laugh.

They seemed to have neared their destination as Santana leaned forward and pointed towards the curb just behind a little side street, indicating the driver to stop there. Rachel looked out of the window and sensed a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She knew this area.

She had memorized every street and building in this part of the town just by staring at a New York map for hours already as a kid. After living in the city of her dreams, she could recognize it even with her eyes closed.

What the hell had possessed Santana to bring her here? And why the hell did she trust the Latina to allow her to ferry her across town without insisting on being told where they were headed?

"Santana, don't tell me that you really planned to drag me here…" she could not finish her sentence as Santana placed a finger on her lips to hush her friend. Then she pulled out some money, paid the cab driver, and scooted out of the back door, grabbing a frowning Rachel and pulled her out of the cab with her.

When they stood on the curb on 45th street, between 8th avenue and Broadway, Rachel slowly exhaled, and lifted her head and eyes from the pavement to take in her surroundings. She had not planned to ever come back to this part of the town. She felt a pang in her heart and at the same time, the familiar flame of excitement rise in her chest. They were not far from her old theater and she saw the rush of people moving towards the buildings for the evening shows. After slowly turning around her own axis, she noticed Santana's dark eyes resting on her, carefully taking in her posture and features as if monitoring what being here did to her.

"Well," Rachel swallowed, trying to ease the situation more for herself than for Santana. "I am still standing. I have not dissolved into tears yet, so I guess that is a good sign."

The Latina kept her gaze trained on Rachel, reached out and squeezed the smaller woman's hand encouragingly. Then she smiled and jerked her head towards the narrow backstreet, pulling Rachel with her, not letting go of her hand.

At a large metal door, she knocked three times and a tall, elderly man with graying hair opened, looking questioningly at them. Santana said something to him and he nodded, stepping aside, opening the door wider so they could enter.

The Latina strode inside first, making sure with a quick look over her shoulder that Rachel followed. She stepped in after Santana and they moved along a narrow hallway. At the end, Santana turned around and the guy motioned them to move to the right. Santana lifted her hand in thanks and bound around the corner, where a lot of doors lined the walls on each side.

Rachel knew where they were, backstage at the dressing room section. Her heart started beating hard in her chest. She felt a rush of adrenaline flow through her veins. Part of her was excited to breathe the theater air, to pick up the tension in the air, to imagine the voices with last directions wafting from the stage, the audience filing in, mumbling, shifting, laughing and the voices of the actors drifting through the doors while warming up. Her eyes started glowing a bit and Santana noticed that with a small satisfactory grin before she halted in front of a door that held a small sign with two names: Quinn Fabray/Leonor de Witt.

Rachel suddenly felt like a little teenager to meet her favorite star for the first time. At the same time, she was so proud of Quinn to have managed to come this far - having her name on the door of a dressing room in one of the big theaters on Broadway! Santana stepped back, letting Rachel do the honor of knocking on the door. Then the petite woman turned and as Santana nodded in answer to her silent question if they were allowed in, she slowly opened the door. Quinn stood in front of the mirror, just buttoning the blouse her character was wearing during the first scenes. She looked up from her hands that fumbled with the little pearl buttons and met Rachel's eyes in the reflection. Her jaw dropped and she jerked around.

"Rachel! What…!" She looked at Santana who had a very, very smug smile on her face, "… come in, what are you two doing here?" Quinn signed in parallel.

Rachel's eyes flickered between her girlfriend and Santana. "Um, actually, I don't know. You'd have to ask Santana that. Until a couple of minutes ago I had no idea where that woman was taking me."

"Yeah, which was actually better, because otherwise you never would have come!" The Latina retorted.

Quinn wrapped her girlfriend in a warm embrace and held her for a long moment, first placing a kiss on top of her head and then on her soft lips.

What a great surprise! I… I am a little overwhelmed, I have to admit. Quinn laughed, a bit embarrassed while she signed the words without voicing them.

Yes, well, me too, Rachel signed back, still not believing that she was actually inside a theater again.

Quinn's hazel eyes searched hers. Are you ok?

The smaller woman nodded. Yes, I am fine. It feels strange being here, taking in this familiar atmosphere but not participating. I need a little time to digest it, I think.

She felt a light tap on her shoulder. Santana said something and Rachel looked at Quinn who filled her in with signing and speaking at the same time.

"She's reminding us that she is also here and would like to participate in our conversation. Poor Santana feels a bit left out, I think," Quinn added for Rachel's benefit, who wasted no time in finding a retort.

"Serves her right, the little snitch. To drag me here without my prior consent…." That took Quinn by surprise.

"Oh. I thought, well, first I thought that Santana would come by herself, she did not tell me on the phone that you would come as well. I just thought you had… but apparently…" she drifted off.

"No apparently Miss Berry did not know her destination for the evening. I just dragged her along," Santana explained, watching Quinn interpret her words again into ASL.

"That about sums it up," Rachel stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I.. um … still overwhelmed and happy to see you here. Are you.. are you going to stay?" Quinn almost shyly asked.

Rachel shrugged, not knowing what to say. Now that she was here, she might as well stay for a little while and watch Quinn perform. It did not feel right to leave right away. She would just have to see how it went and how being there would affect her.

Quinn gently placed a kiss on Rachel's lips and gave her an encouraging smile.

Whatever you choose to do, just know seeing you here in my dressing room is already a great gift.

"Okay." Rachel smiled back.

"Um, ok, find a seat, there is a little fridge if you are thirsty. I have to finish getting dressed," Quinn then told them with a look at the clock on the dressing table. She turned back to Rachel, who let her eyes rake over her half-dressed girlfriend, her eyes stopping at the still partially open blouse.

Blushing, she whispered: "Yeah, you better get dressed; otherwise I cannot guarantee that you'll make it on stage on time."

"Ugh, Rachel, get a grip on yourself." This retort came from Santana who was already kneeling in front of the little fridge, rummaging through its content.

Quinn stole another quick kiss from her girlfriend and turned her attention back to her stage clothes after having filled Rachel in about Santana's comment. Through the mirror, she watched Rachel turn towards the Latina, towering over her kneeling form, admonishing her for her insensitivity.

"And after all, Miss Lopez, you were the one who dragged me here. So stop whining about the consequences of your own doing. " And she plopped down onto the small couch that stood at the left wall from the door, her eyes on her girlfriend. She watched her go through all the motions that were once so familiar to her.

Rachel wondered if she could really hold up. She told herself that this was not about her, that this was for Quinn and that they were here to support her, since she had been ripped away from their nicely planned evening. Focusing on that made it easier and she slowly started to enjoy herself a bit.

Quinn threw her an apologetic smile as she started warming up her voice, running some scales. Santana had plopped down next to Rachel and watched a moment before scribbling something on the paper.

Feels like being back in Glee Club. I hated singing scales.

"I know you hated practicing them, 'cause you cheated often enough," Rachel whispered back.

"Did not!" The Latina looked indignant. Rachel read her lips and wanted to disagree again when Quinn jumped in, having guessed what her girlfriend's comment was hinted at.

"Yes, Santana you did. I was sitting and standing next to you often enough to notice that you hardly ever sang the scales. You just moved your mouth."

"Yeah right, sidle up with your girlfriend, traitor!" her friend pouted and Quinn chuckled.

Rachel watched the exchange, thinking that it just did not matter anymore who cheated and who did not, she would not be able to tell the difference now anyway. She looked at the floor, concentrating on taking even breaths. Trying to distract herself, she then looked to the clock, fifteen more minutes to go. That did not leave much time for Quinn to exercise her vocal chords properly. Rachel just hoped that she had already done some warming up exercises before they came.

"Why did they call you so late? Didn't they know the other actress was sick earlier?" She blurted out before she could stop herself. "Sorry, keep on practicing, tell me later."

Quinn just nodded and continued singing. Rachel lifted her eyes and rested them on her beautiful girlfriend's face. Apparently she had switched from scales to little song passages. A singer would not sing full songs in preparation, but after the scales rather run through different passages of the songs he or she was going to perform. That way one would not overexert oneself but still get the voice smooth and flexible. As Rachel knew how it was done, the pattern was easy to recognize just by watching.

Nine months ago, when she had learned about Quinn's role in the musical version of La Bohème, originally an opera from Giaccomo Puccini, she had listened to the soundtrack as soon as it was recorded. It was one of the last tracks she had bought. She roughly remembered the overall tonality of the songs, and just like the music of the opera, one of the few she really loved, it was haunting, beautiful, cheerful at parts and plainly captivating, especially the duets. Now she wished she had paid more attention. But listening to Quinn sing and not being able to see her, had been too painful for Rachel. She had stashed the CD away and had not listen to it again. Now she wished she had, she wished she had memorized every single note of the entire show. Just to be able to recall the exact music in her mind while watching the silent pictures that were going to play out in front of her.

She felt a nudge against her arm and Santana mouthed you ok? Her turmoil must have shown on her face. She tried to smile, nodded and mouthed fine back in order to not disturb Quinn again. The Latina did not seem to buy it, because she kept looking at her. Then she wrote something down, handing the writing to Rachel.

Rachel, if you want to leave, that is ok with me. I'm sorry if this was being too inconsiderate or bold of me.

Why did you do it then, Santana? Cause I don't think you did it out of a spur of the moment. You're not that shallow, Rachel wrote back as Quinn was still singing.

Santana shrugged. Thought you needed a little change of scenery. Breathe in some fresh air, ya' know.

Change of scenery? Fresh air? With the last comment, she gestured around the small, windowless room.

Rachel, don't pretend you don't know. You know damn well what I mean.

"That does not happen to have anything to do with the little talk we had, does it?" Rachel did not really need an answer to that.

Santana was right. She knew damn well why she had brought her here. She just did not know in which direction her heart would tip. Would it help to spark her spirit, like Santana had hoped to push her into the right direction? Or would it just depress her beyond end?

"What little talk? Have you guys been fighting?" Quinn cut in. But before she could get an answer, the lights shortly flickered off and on.

Rachel was amused. "Do they still do that here? Don't they have like loudspeakers where they tell you how much time you have left and when to be on stage?"

Quinn chuckled. "Well, they are very traditional here." She stepped forward and bent down to pull her girlfriend up in an embrace. Then she kissed her softly on the lips, signing: I'm very happy you came, Rachel. And I'm very proud of you. Then she explained to Santana, signing in parallel:

"You can come to the side entrance of the stage. But stay close to the wall, as people will be rushing back and forth, as well as the props guys. You don't want to stand in their way." Stealing another kiss from Rachel she smiled, knowing full well that her girlfriend did not need any behavior talk, being familiar with the whole drill by heart herself. Turning one last time to Santana: "And no hitting on any actresses, is that clear?"

The Latina snorted. "As if!"

"Just remember, I know you, Santana!" With that, Quinn plucked the little matching stola from her chair and threw it over her shoulders, moving towards the door. Santana also stood up and followed Quinn out of the room.

Rachel watched them leave, rooted to the spot. Her feet could not move. Try as she might, she could not bring herself to walk over the threshold towards the back of the stage. Chewing on her lower lip, she wondered what had happened that she felt so paralyzed all of a sudden.

Having sent Quinn on her way, assuring her she would check on her girlfriend, Santana poked her head back in. When Rachel did not look at her, she stepped closer and lifted the smaller woman's head so she could see her face and read her lips.

"What's wrong?"

Rachel swallowed several times, before she could make her vocal chords work, at least in a whisper.

"Don't know. Um, I guess a need a moment. Why don't you go, I'll come in a minute." She felt Santana's gaze on her but could not meet her eyes. After a moment, the other woman turned and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Rachel exhaled, wondering if her friend had deliberately left the door open to know what was going on. Well, Rachel would not cry. She forbade herself that.

It was one thing to sit here in Quinn's dressing room. But going out there, actually watching her perform, coming to live as the musical equivalent of Mimi, was waking just a little too much longing in Rachel's chest. She felt bad for not being happy for Quinn, telling herself over and over that this evening was for Quinn and not her own drama.

After several deep breaths and applying a breathing technique she had learned early in her career to calm down, she finally managed to relax a little. She could do this. She could go out there and watch her girlfriend plant the best performance and that at such a short notice. She would cheer and clap for her and be proud. She would not wonder about anything else.

With one final last breath, she went to the door, opened it, turned off the light, and stepped out into the hall. Santana had indeed waited not far from the door, just around another corner, discreetly keeping her distance but still being close enough to offer her support if needed.

Rachel smiled at her, acknowledging the thoughtful gesture. "Thanks. I think I can manage."

The walked up to the back stage entry and stayed close to the side of the final stage coulisse, carefully to not cross the line on the floor that indicated that stepping over it they could be seen by some of the audience.

They still had a good view of most of the stage. Rachel took in the set-up. The curtain had not opened yet and she felt the tension in the air that was so typical of the last seconds before the show began. Quinn had her eyes closed in concentration. She stood at the opposite side of the stage, and as if sensing she was being watched, opened her eyes to unerringly find Rachel's. She threw her a loving smile and quickly flashed her hand at Rachel, with her thumb, index finger and pinky extended.

I love you.

One of the actors on stage followed Quinn's gaze and his eyes grew big as he recognized to whom she was sending this signal. Rachel blushed, not sure if he had understood what it meant. She sunk back a bit into the shadows and at that instant, the curtain opened. To her surprise, she felt some very faint vibrations running along the floor.

"Has the orchestra started to play?" she whispered at Santana who nodded with a questioning frown.

"Feel it." Was all Rachel said. Santana placed her hand on the back of the large wooden side panel and her eyes widened just when the music seemed to swell at that moment and with that increased the volume of the sound to run stronger along the wood around them.

Quickly the Latina scribbled something down and handed the paper to Rachel.

Never paid much attention to that. Cool.

Rachel just nodded, gazing back at the stage, where two male characters were apparently having a sung conversation. Shifting her eyes towards Quinn, she saw her tense ever so slightly, knowing she would step out within the next seconds. It was hard not to dwell on the things she missed, the songs, the dialogues. But she tried to focus on what she did perceive.

Gracefully Quinn wandered across the stage, with a little basket in her hand, looking at the displayed market stalls, sniffing at the offered flowers and spices, in her character absolutely oblivious to the looks of the two guys. She interacted with one of the woman who "sold" the goods and placed a little pack with spices into her basket, before walking on. One of the guys intercepted her and bowed deeply, pulling his hat off in the process.

Rachel guessed he was introducing himself, as Quinn started to sing her first lines. Just like the other day, it was absolutely fascinating to watch her girlfriend sing. It was also very intriguing that through her slightly different gestures and mimic she already seemed like another person. The transformation was fascinating to watch and captivated Rachel beyond means. Whenever Quinn turned a little her way, she was able to read some words from her lips and roughly remembering the action, she pieced the plot together.

Quinn's character tried to pry herself loose of the charming but a little overbearing bloke and ambled over to the flower stand, plucking one yellow gerbera from a vase, swirling it in front of her mouth, tauntingly wandering away, leaving the guy to pay. Using this distraction, her character then slipped away towards the back exit, leaving the young man to look around a little stunned, apparently wondering where his object of admiration had disappeared to so quickly.

Actually, Quinn was supposed to stay at the far side of the stage, hiding a bit behind the market set-ups. Instead, she used the short instrumental intermission to dash towards Rachel, pressing a hasty kiss on her lips, sticking the flower into her blouse at the front, boldly winking at her with one eye before sneaking out again behind another market stand to quickly steal another flower all the while acting as if nothing had happened.

That was surely not in the script and Rachel gaped at the boldness of her girlfriend. To stifle a surprised gasp, she held her hand in front of her mouth. Then she looked at her flower and back at Quinn who floated across the stage again, playing hide and seek while singing a duet with the actor from before. She gracefully weaved between the stands back and forth, teasingly letting the guy come close before disappearing again, escaping his grasp.

Santana looked at Rachel and lifted her hands in a silent question.

"I can't believe she did that!" Rachel finally managed in a hoarse whisper, looking at the flower still at her chest. "She's crazy!"

I'd say just crazily in love, Santana wrote on the paper she had stashed away in her pocket.

"Yes," was all that the petite woman managed, staring with huge eyes at the stage where her girlfriend still pretend-flirted with the other actor.

Two scenes later, the blonde had a little break, but had to exit on the other side of the stage. A little breathlessly, she came up behind the two women after running around back towards where her friends still stood watching the show.

She was greeted by a smiling Rachel who expected her to make an appearance that way. Stepping towards her taller girlfriend, she hugged her, careful to not crush the token of flowery love that was still in its place.

"You are the craziest person I have ever met in the show biz, Quinn!" She huskily spoke into the actress' ear. Quinn chuckled and pulled back a little and asked with her hands:

Couldn't resist! How are you? Is everything ok? Rachel knew full well that she actually meant if she was ok.

"Yes. But the other actor, my god, he was so off tune!" She joked and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead in mock offense.

This comment earned her a friendly bump in the back from Santana and a smile and a kiss from Quinn. They knew what she was trying to do and it was well appreciated by the two women, understanding full well that this must have been the farthest stretch for Rachel when it came to her handicap so far. Quinn could not begin to count the many barriers her girlfriend had to cross by being here. She was not just in the vicinity of her old working place, but she had actually made her way into a theater. And not just any. It was the very one where her girlfriend was performing. Quinn would have understood fully if she had turned on her heel any second to storm out of the building, escaping all those memories being thrown into her face so plainly just by being here.

The fact that Rachel actually made her way to the back of the stage to watch her perform and not being able to enjoy the full package left Quinn stunned beyond belief. That was what had caused her bold action at the beginning of the show. Even though she had confused her colleagues momentarily by running a bit off course, she had not missed a beat and seeing Rachel's face was just so completely worth it. She would do it again and again, over and over if it helped to show her appreciation, gratefulness, acknowledgement and love to the petite woman with the great spirit. Watching Rachel move forward and face the hardest situation of it all when it came to her disability was just so rewarding for Quinn that she felt like breaking down crying all of a sudden. But hearing the musical cues for her next appearance to come up, she brushed her lips over Rachel's, quickly squeezing her against her own body and dashed back to the other side of the stage.

Santana had watched the whole exchange silently from the back. She had never seen Quinn so happy and so deeply in love before. Their connection was special in any way. Looking at Rachel, she noticed her eyes gleam, expectantly waiting for Quinn to make another appearance on stage. She wondered how Rachel endured this. Knowing full well that she was completely missing out on one dimension – the most important dimension for Santana - and still stand there apparently enjoying herself. Yes. Rachel really seemed to enjoy herself. The Latina knew that this was also due to Quinn's attention she was giving her, showing her how much she appreciated her presence.

Still resting her eyes on the other woman, she saw what had made Quinn fall for her all of a sudden. In school, Santana had always made fun of Rachel, but when it came to her singing, she secretly and later openly admitted that she was one of a kind. In her eyes it put substance to a girl she would otherwise never have given another glance. Now she realized that Rachel's voice had been just an instrument to express her inner strength. There was something in her that went beyond being incredibly capable of singing.

Rachel's eyes flickered from the stage towards Santana and back. Then she turned her head and looked at her again when she registered the expression on the Latina's face. Jutting out her chin towards the stage, she commented with a small smile:

"The interesting stuff is happening out there. The music is beautiful. I remember some of it."

Santana cleared her throat and managed a weak nod accompanied with a "Yeah." She had to shake her head to clear her thoughts. She needed to quickly - very quickly – concentrate on something else. So she conjured up the next best person that came to her mind. Upon realizing whom she was thinking of, made Santana roll her eyes at herself wishing intensely for a distraction.

Apparently, the universe had heard her request as the distraction came in the form of a guy that ambled up to them, leaning against the opposite wall, gazing out onto the stage. He was wearing normal street clothes, so he was definitely not part of the ensemble. He turned his head and quickly scanned the two women. Out of the corner of her eyes, Santana noticed recognition appear on his face for which she knew was not directed at her.

He came over to them and tapped Rachel on the shoulder and she turned around. The guy was tall, in his early thirties and she remembered vaguely having seen him before somewhere. He smiled at her and started talking.

Santana turned her head and glared at him from the side. Rachel's eyes skipped between the man's lips and Santana back and forth, clearly having no idea what he was saying.

Panic rose in her and she felt her breath shorten. All the bravery she had felt before vanished in an instant. Her limitations were thrown right back into her face.

Santana scribbled quickly something on a piece of paper, which she folded and handed to Rachel. Luckily, the guy had not stopped talking and did not focus on the Latina.

Rachel held up a hand to still his string of words and glanced at the paper. In her quick thinking, Santana had jotted down some key words of what the guy was saying.

Tom, knows u from "A story to tell", happy to c u. Ask if u work here. To make the rouse perfect, Santana looked sternly at the two of them, placing a finger at her lips to tell them to be quiet. Then she winking quickly at Rachel, unseen by Tom.

Rachel threw her a grateful glance stuffed the paper into her jeans pocket, and turned her attention back to Tom, who stood with a slight confused look on his face. He motioned for Rachel to follow him where they could talk, but she just boldly turned on her megawatt smile, looked him in the eye and watched the insecurity disappear.

Santana observed the transformation of her friend and the reaction of the guy towards it with awe. Damn, she really was a good actress.

"Tom, how are you?" Rachel whispered. "Nice to see you again. I am sorry, but we are here to watch Quinn perform, please excuse us. We'll catch up later, ok?" The latter was a polite but clear dismissal. Rachel smiled and turned back to the stage. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw him mouth something like "oh, ok, sorry," before he turned and left with a look of disappointment on his face.

Rachel threw a quick glance at Santana and noticed her smirking. Then the Latina made a movement with her hand, sliding it forward, through the air. Not a standard ASL sign, but Rachel understood nevertheless, as the gesture was accompanied with voiced "Smoooooth!"

Rachel laughed and bumped her elbow against Santana's side in a friendly way.

"Smooth with your help, thanks! You think he noticed?"

The black haired woman shook her head. "No."

Rachel felt a bit bad of having Tom brushed off a little rudely. Hopefully, he would not hang around and wait for her. Pushing the thoughts out of her head, she tried to concentrate on the play again. Focusing on Quinn she noticed that her girlfriend occasionally sent her some very small, hardly perceptible signs that only she would understand, but that still seemed natural in Quinn's overall acting. Rachel could not stop smiling and enjoying these small tokens of love. They strengthened the secret and precious bond between them that made her eternally grateful for the experience.

I do not know if such a musical version of La Bohème exists, I have never seen one. Just love the opera and thought it would offer a nice possibility to describe the musical Quinn starred in.

Just so you know, I am already working on chapter 29 now, so there is definitely more to come. Should I take a little longer again now or in the future to update, rest assured: This story will get an official ending and I will not abandon it midway.

You will know when it is finished.