Part 5

Starlight Music was the same as the last time Jerrica had come in - except she wasn't there as Jerrica today and everyone she passed exclaimed with delight at seeing Jem. A part of her had missed this - the recognition and instant respect people had for the popular personae she wore simply because of her charity work. And her talent, of course, but that talent wasn't limited to Jem alone. Passing through the hallways she shook hands and exchanged smiles with people who saw her everyday as Jerrica and didn't give her a second glance. It was amusing on some level, but all the more nerve wracking.

Kimber pushed open the door to the recording studio Jem used almost exclusively - it was where they'd left copies of their instruments the last time they'd recorded an album... and that had been far too long ago. Rio, to their surprise, was down on one knee in front of the equalizer in the sound studio adjacent - with the door open. He turned at the sound of the door opening - and froze.

Jem stepped in - her gaze drawn immediately to the crouching figure, and nearly tripped over the door jamb. Aja and Shana's quick action saved her from taking a nose dive. Jem and Rio stared at one another for half a second before Jem seemed to shake herself and found a smile. "Rio."

His gaze narrowed for a fraction of a second as he rose to his feet, before a blank expression covered his features. "Jem. I see you're back."

Taking a deep breath, Jem glanced at her friends for support before stepping further into the room. "We just came from speaking with Mr. Beech - we're going up against the Misfits in the Glitter and Gold competition. We're going to have to cut a new album for it."

Rio crossed his arms over his chest. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"

"A little," she agreed. "Will you help us?"

His gaze moved beyond her to where the Holograms stood watching in silence, looking straight at Kimber. "I'll do my job. We'd better get started if we're going to make that deadline."

"Wait." Jem looked back to the Holograms. "We need more than a new album."

"Something to grab attention," Kimber agreed.

"New clothes," added Shana with a grin.

"A whole new look!" Aja finished knowingly, looking at Jem with a smile. The other Holograms nodded.

Jem agreed. "The Glitter and Gold look!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kimber wanted to know, pulling up one of the chairs in the studio as she pulled a pen and paper from her pocket. Shana followed her lead, pulling up another stool near the production room and using her drums as a background for her sketch pad - the blank one she'd left behind the drum set the last time they'd been there. Aja laughed, picking up her guitar and jumping straight into a riff.

Jem shook her head and turned from her friends only to meet Rio's gaze once more. He hadn't moved much - instead of standing in front of the panel, he was now in the doorway of the recording room, leaning against the jamb with his arms crossed - as he watched her with an unreadable expression on his face. The hurt in his gaze was clear, as was the anger she'd seen the day before and she lost her nerve before thinking of an excuse to talk with him.

Turning from the room, she exited into the hallway. Glancing left and right, she ducked into one of the supply closets. "Show's over, Synergy."

The hologram faded, leaving Jerrica in the business suit she'd been wearing to see Mr. Beech. Leaving the closet inconspicuously, she headed for her office. There was paperwork to do, promotions to set up, interviews to schedule and a multitude of other responsibilities to immerse herself in. All things that would - hopefully - take her mind off Rio.

Unfortunately, Rio didn't seem to have the same kind of compulsion to avoid her that drove her to find the sanctuary of her office. She'd only begun her paperwork when the familiar knock sounded on her door. Her head came up as the door cracked and she dropped her pen in surprise.

"Jerrica?"

"R-Rio?" Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. "Come in."

His handsome face appeared around the door, that same, unreadable look he'd been wearing as she'd left the studio on his face - except this time it was accompanied with a shuttered look in his eyes. Nothing except his rigid posture gave away what he was feeling - and Jerrica had never had a problem determining when Rio was angry. It didn't happen often, but when it did he could be one of the most intimidating people she knew.

"I'll make this quick," he told her shortly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, as if reluctant to be any closer to her than necessary. "How do we handle this?"

"Which part?" Jerrica asked carefully, struggling to maintain her composure. She hadn't been awkward around Rio even as a child and the distance between them seemed thoroughly unnatural. He'd been her best friend before he'd been her boyfriend and while they'd been inseparable as children, the gulf between them was suddenly seemed insurmountable.

"You being Jem."

Turning in her chair, Jerrica avoided his gaze to look out the massive windows of her office - she couldn't look at him. "You... don't have to help us make the record, Rio."

The silence that greeted her soft concession was, in some ways, more disturbing than anything he could have said and her heart sank. The Rio she'd known would never take the out she was offering - but even as she'd offered it, she knew she was sinking their chances at winning the Glitter and Gold competition. Rio was the best recording technician in the city, the only one who worked with Jem and the only one she trusted to make their records sound the way they wanted them to.

"It's part of my job, Ms. Benton." Rio's answer wasn't what she was expecting even after his comment in the studio but his formal address made her flinch. "But interacting with Jem and you isn't. You're the boss and I'll respect that, but this doesn't change anything between us."

Of course it didn't. Rio's code of ethics wouldn't allow him to bend to accept her deception - not when he was still smarting from their discussion and the blasting Kimber had given him. Not that Kimber had wanted to tell her about that, but she had been paying attention when the Holograms had thought she was day dreaming in the car and she'd appreciated her sister sticking up for her - except she didn't want Rio to feel obligated to be around her.

"I understand." Tears pricked her eyes. "Was there anything else?"

"Will you still be expecting me to be Jem's road manager?"

"I don't have anyone else." The admission cost her pride points in more ways than one and she dug her fingers into the arms of her chair, fighting against the need to wrap them about herself.

"Then I'll continue as we have been until you can find someone else; I won't be staying beyond the term of my contract."

"I..." Her throat closed and she couldn't finish as a tear slid down her cheek. Rio, fortunately, seemed to have understood and, without anything further, departed her office. The click of the door was like a cue as her composure shattered and a sob escaped before she could muffle it. Fisting her hands together, she balled them in front of her lips to stifle her cries.

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Aja went looking for Jerrica as Shana and Kimber went their separate ways to invigorate their muses. Shana to the design studio Jerrica had set up next to their recording studio, and Kimber to the sofa in that design studio to continue putting lyrics to paper. With both creative geniuses deep into their niches, Aja knew the next step would be to work on the promotional side of things - something she and Jerrica normally collaborated on.

Figuring she'd find Jerrica in her office, Aja entered without knocking - and found Jerrica slumped over her desk with her shoulders heaving in silent sobs, her face buried in her arms. "Jerrica!"

Closing - and locking - the door behind her, Aja darted to Jerrica's side, sliding her arms about her step-sister in a comforting hug. "Oh Jerrica, we knew it would be tough to see Rio, but you didn't have to come here - we do understand."

"It's not that - it's not..." Jerrica told her brokenly, hiccupping on the words as she transferred her face to Aja's shoulder and clung tightly. "He... he came to see me."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Her grip on Aja tightened and the Asian girl stroked Jerrica's hair. "Or not? Want to tell me what happened?"

"He... he told me..." stumbling through the rendition, Jerrica explained what had happened with Rio - unable to help herself from describing how cold he'd been. It hadn't been his words that had cut so deeply, but the blatant indifference he had towards her feelings on the matter. Yes, she'd lied to him. Yes, she'd deceived him. But it had hurt to do so and he couldn't seem to understand that.

Aja held her through the gale and re-telling, her own grip tightening as Jerrica related Rio's unfeeling comments. Unfeeling and unemotional. She was going to give him a piece of her mind, not unlike Kimber, if he kept upsetting Jerrica this way. The man could at the very least try and understand why Jerrica had done what needed to be done to save the Starlight girls, but he seemed disinclined.

"At least he said he'd help us, right? That has to be good news."

"Only until I can find someone else."

The broken way she said it told Aja more than Jerrica had intended. Rio just hadn't told her to find a new Manager, he'd told her to find new dreams, a new man and a new future. All of them, especially Jerrica, had expected Rio to propose eventually - now that would never happen. Instead Rio was looking at moving on; seeming immune to the broken hearted young woman who'd adored him since childhood and loved him since she'd first noticed him as a man. Jerrica might not have said it in so many words, but they all knew it to be true - just as they knew Rio loved Jerrica.

Or so they'd thought.

Or maybe he still did, he just couldn't trust her because it hurt too much. Hopefully time would give him the perspective needed to understand Jerrica's actions and bring him back into her life the way he belonged. Rio was practically a fixture at Starlight Music and at the Starlight house - not to mention in all of their lives - and his absence would be keenly felt. It was simply a matter of time before outside sources noted his discontent.

"Replace Rio?" Aja said it softly and shook her head. "Doesn't he realize that's impossible?"

Jerrica didn't argue the point. Rio was irreplaceable - it would take several people to fill his various roles up to the standards they were used to - except he wasn't just professional irreplaceable and the void in Jerrica's life was already apparent. "What are we going to do Aja?"

"We're going to cut an album," the young Asian lady told her firmly. "And while we do, we'll make a point of ensuring Rio stays professional. Maybe once he sees that you haven't changed, no matter the fact that you are Jem, he'll realize why we started Jem and the Holograms to begin with."

"Don't hold your breath." Jerrica pulled away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve as Aja offered her a tissue from the box on her desk. Accepting it, she wiped blew her nose and took a bracing breath. "Rio might never talk to me outside work again, Aja."

"We'll just have to wait and see. Both of you are hurting right now. Once he's had time to cool off and see that what we do doesn't hurt anyone - and in fact we use Jem and the Holograms almost exclusively to help - he'll come around."

"You can't know that."

"No," Aja settled herself on the edge of Jerrica's desk with a faint smile. "But we do know Rio and you know it the same as I do. We have two weeks to cut an album to stand a chance at getting it delivered on time, which means we're all going to be working in close proximity for long hours. It also means he'll get a chance to see that Jem and Jerrica are essentially the same people they've always been - you."

"But-"

"Ah ah," shaking one finger at her, Aja smiled softly. "No buts. Rio might be mad right now, but he can't be mad forever. Once he's calmed down, you'll be able to discuss this rationally and things will be different; you'll see."

"And if they aren't?"

"Then we'll do what we always do."

"Jem is finished without Rio, Aja. I can't..." shaking her head, Jerrica stopped, unable to continue. She couldn't be Jem without Rio's unwavering support. He was the strength behind her, the steel that allowed her to function - the man behind the scenes she could rely upon implicitly.

"You can." Aja took Jerrica's hands and squeezed. "Broken hearts eventually heal, Jerrica. I only hope he sees this for what it is before you're lost to each other forever."

"Me too Aja." Tears glittered on Jerrica's lashes. "Me too."