AN: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! Love your feedback :) Hope you enjoy this chapter. The song that is sung in this chapter was requested a while ago by Carlaisabel, so I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 17 – Do This Right

Rachel sent both Santana and Kurt text messages on her way home, to let them know that she hadn't been cast as the lead, only the understudy.

When she got home they weren't there and she had quite some time before she needed to get ready for her date.

She didn't want to do homework, she didn't have much left, truth be told, and she didn't feel like working on any of the songs for Evita. She would need to of course, being the understudy, but that significant detail made the idea of practicing for a role she was not to have a depressing idea. If she had been given the role Kurt and Santana would have had to have forced to make her stop singing, but now she was having trouble mustering any enthusiasm about being cast as the understudy.

So doing anything school related was out of the question, so Rachel decided to go for a run.

She pulled on a pair of leggings and a t-shirt, laced up her joggers and headed out, iPhone strapped to her arm.

She ran around the streets of Brooklyn, her music and the sights of the area improving her mood. It felt good to run, she hadn't done much running in recent times, most of her exercise had come from many hours of dancing.

Rachel returned to the apartment physically exhausted but mentally refreshed.

She let herself into the apartment to find Kurt and Santana standing expectantly in the middle of the room.

Santana was holding a plastic cup with a brown liquid in it and Kurt was holding a beautiful bunch of flowers, and there were two more bunches of flowers on the kitchen bench.

"Who died?" Rachel asked in confusion, gesturing to the flowers.

"They're for you Berry, you idiot!" Santana exclaimed.

"But why?" Rachel asked. "And who are they all from?"

"Well, these are from me," Kurt said, handing her the bunch he was holding. "There's a little card too."

Rachel looked confused and read the card.

'Proud of you Rachel, you're a star. Love, Kurt.'

"But I didn't get the part," Rachel said sadly.

"Rachel, that doesn't matter, you were incredible, Santana sent me a video of you signing. You still got the understudy, that's an amazing achievement," Kurt told her firmly.

"He's right," Santana added. "Which is why I have this Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough smoothie for you, it's vegan of course. It's just to say I think you were great, that Cassandra woman is a bitch, and cheer up!"

A grateful smile appeared on Rachel's face and she said, "Thanks you guys. Who are the other flowers from?"

"Have a look for yourself," Kurt instructed her.

Rachel walked over to the counter and looked at the cards accompanying the flowers.

'I don't remember if I told you before, but I'm so proud of you. Can't wait to sing with you tonight. Brody xo.'

'Congratulations Rachel, you were amazing! We miss you! With love, the New Directions xx.'

"How many people did you send that video to?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Just Kurt, the glee club, Mercedes and Quinn," Santana replied cheerfully.

"So a lot of people," Rachel clarified. "Thanks you two. As you can probably guess, I wasn't very happy with only being the understudy. But you're all right, it's a big achievement, and I'm going to make the most of it. Maybe I'll even get to do a performance."

"That's right," Kurt agreed. "Now, don't you have a date with Brody tonight?"

"Yes, and before you say anything, I can dress myself! I'm going to drink my smoothie, then I'll get ready," Rachel told them. "Kurt did you tell Brody yellow roses are my favourite?"

"No, I didn't," Kurt replied. "You'll have to ask him how he knew."

"Yeah," Rachel said thoughtfully, then sipped her smoothie. "Santana, this is the most amazing smoothie I've ever had! Where did you get it?"

"The Shanti Shack, nice name huh? I noticed it on my way to work this afternoon," Santana answered her. "It's pretty nice actually, you should check it out soon."

"Thanks, I will. It can be hard to find good vegan places," Rachel replied.

Rachel finished her smoothie, took one bunch of flowers to her corner of the room and set it on the table next to her bed.

She then dressed, curled her hair and added to the light make up that she had worn during the day.

When she appeared Kurt was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine and Santana was on her laptop. They both looked up at Rachel, then looked at one another.

"Kurt, I think our work here is done," Santana said with satisfaction.

Kurt nodded then said, "One day I'm going to design a dress for you, and you're going to wear it to the Tony Awards, and Santana and I will watch you on TV and remember when we taught you how to dress like a woman, instead of a frumpy school girl."

"I think I'm going to take some sort of a compliment out of that," Rachel said with a happy laugh. "I take it that you both like what I'm wearing?"

Rachel was wearing a pair of short black high waisted shorts with a tight black singlet tucked in at the waist. Over the top of it she wore a white blazer that was shorter at the back, and a traditional length at the front. On her feet she wore a pair of black heels that accentuated her shapely legs.

"Yeah, you'll do," Santana said with a smile. "Go on, you'd better head off or you'll be late. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"That means she could end up getting arrested," Kurt said teasingly. "Rachel, just have fun!"

"Thanks you two. Wait, what are you both doing tonight? Santana you're the one who said we shouldn't sit around on a Friday night," Rachel pointed out.

"I have a Skype date with Brittany," Santana replied.

"Blaine and I have a Skype date too," Kurt said.

"Well, have fun! See you later," Rachel said cheerfully, then headed out the front door.

Kurt and Santana looked at each other and said, "Long distance relationships suck."

"At least I have chocolate to help us ease the pain," Kurt added philosophically.

Just under an hour later, Rachel met Brody Shimizu, a sushi restaurant that Rachel had tried and liked.

"Hey," Brody said, giving her a quick kiss.

"Thanks for the flowers, they're beautiful," Rachel said as they sat down. "How did you know they're my favourite?"

"I didn't know, you just seem like a yellow roses kind of girl. I just looked at the flowers in the shops and imagined you with a few bunches, and the yellow roses just worked," Brody explained with a little awkward smile.

"Well, they are my favourite, and it was lovely of you to send them," Rachel replied. "But I feel bad, I haven't got you anything."

"Why would you get me something?" Brody asked.

"You got cast as Peron, that deserves something! More than I deserve flowers for being an understudy," Rachel remarked.

"You deserve those flowers, end of story. And being out with you tonight is enough of a present for me, especially as you've promised to sing with me," Brody replied. "Anyway, you're kind of a prize, all the other guys are jealous which is just an added bonus."

Rachel laughed exuberantly and said, "Oh my God, that was really cheesy. Sweet, but cheesy."

"Hey, I'm all charm, not cheesy," Brody protested.

"No, you have a charming smile, but your words are decidedly cheesy," Rachel teased.

They finished eating, Brody paid the bill while Rachel protested strongly against not being allowed to contribute.

"I'm taking you out, I'm paying," Brody said, and that was final.

They walked the short distance to Callbacks and went inside.

The bar was full of NYADA students who were talking, laughing and generally enjoying themselves.

Two girls were performing their rendition of Taylor Swift's We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Rachel noticed with dismay that one of the girls was Chloe Willoughby-Green who had landed the role of Eva.

Brody noticed too and said, "Don't think about it. We'll sing soon and you can show everyone how much better you are, because you are better."

Rachel nodded and said, "I've been thinking and I'd really like to sing Just a Kiss by Lady Antebellum."

"That sounds great," Brody agreed.

"Good, otherwise I would've had to have just sung the song myself," Rachel joked.

"Actually, go ahead, I'd like to see that," Brody retorted playfully. "Not that I don't think you couldn't sing both parts of the duet, but it would certainly be interesting."

Rachel laughed and said, "If Kurt was here he'd tell you that I've been known to steal as many solos as possible, and even trying to take both parts of a duet. I kind of love the spotlight."

"No, really?" Brody asked, feigning shock.

"Shut up!" Rachel exclaimed, swatting at him. "Hey, the stage is free. You ready?"

"Yeah, come on," Brody said, taking her hand and leading her to the stage.

Brody told the pianist what song they were singing, then they both picked up a microphone.

"Lyin' here with you so close to me, it's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe. Caught up in this moment, caught up in your smile," Rachel sang.

"I've never opened up to anyone, so hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms," Brody continued.

Then they both started their shared lyrics, their voices blending perfectly, "We don't need to rush this, let's just take this slow. Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight, just a touch in the fire burning so bright, and I don't want to mess this thing up. I don't want to push too far, just a shot in the dark that you just might be the one I've been waiting for my whole life, so baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight."

The people in the bar listening to them could hear the passion in their words, could sense their chemistry, the air was practically electric between them.

"So baby I'm alright, oh, let's do this right, with just a kiss goodnight," Rachel and Brody sang, staring into each other's eyes.

"With a kiss goodnight," Rachel sang tenderly.

"Kiss goodnight," Brody finished softly, and moved in to place a light kiss to Rachel's lips.

They returned their microphones and left the stage to the light applause of those in the bar.

"Do you want a drink?" Brody asked.

"Yeah, a raspberry margarita would be nice," Rachel replied, knowing Brody would take care of getting the alcoholic drink.

When Brody had returned to the table with their drinks a guy came up to them and greeted Brody.

"Hey man, great song. This is Rachel, right? Your girlfriend?" the newcomer asked.

Rachel looked at Brody and nodded, letting him know that it was okay to refer to her as that. They hadn't discussed labels for their relationship, but it would be simplest to give that title to others.

"Hey Aaron, thanks. Yeah, this is Rachel. Rachel, this is my roommate, Aaron. You two haven't managed to meet seeing as he's never actually in the dorms," Brody said with a chuckle. "Where is Lisa tonight?"

"Out with some friends, I'm just here with Connor and Jason," Aaron replied.

"Nice to meet you, Aaron," Rachel added.

"Oh, congrats on getting the understudy of Eva, Rachel. You two are a pair of overachievers, aren't you?" Aaron joked.

Brody laughed and Rachel smiled, unsure of how to quite fit in with the banter between Brody and his roommate.

"Well, I'll leave you to it," Aaron said soon enough, and walked off.

"This place is great," Rachel said happily. "I can't believe I hadn't come here yet. I mean, I've heard about it, but I just hadn't been. Kurt would love it, so would Santana actually."

"Bring them next time," Brody suggested easily. "It's not like it's actually a bar only for NYADA students. You guys should also check out the club where I work sometimes. It's not too far from here and plays some great dance music."

"That sounds great. You mightn't know it from my experience with dance at NYADA, but I actually love to dance, just not when pressure and criticism is being heaped on me," Rachel explained.

"Never forget that, that you love to dance, otherwise dancing will just become a chore, something that you have to do but don't like, and it will take all the enjoyment out of learning," Brody advised.

"Santana said something like that," Rachel remarked. "Sometimes she says the most insulting things, and other times she's oddly insightful. Oh, um, I have a question."

Brody chuckled and said, "Well, go on. I told you before, ask me anything."

"Well, Santana, Kurt and I are all going back to Lima for a few days over Thanksgiving. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Rachel asked lamely, not quite managing the question she had intended.

Brody smothered a knowing smile and said, "I don't have any plans yet. My parents are travelling at the moment, so I wasn't planning on going home. I'd actually heard Lima is a nice place to visit."

Rachel grinned, grateful at how easy he was making things for her. "Yeah, it really is, especially when you have a local to show you around."

"Well, I guess I'll book myself a ticket and maybe you can introduce me to a local?" Brody asked, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Rachel laughed animatedly, her heart light and free, and suddenly very much looking forward to Thanksgiving. She'd get to see most of her old friends, visit her home and her dads and Brody would be coming with her. Life seemed to be progressing beautifully. A little thought niggled at the back of Rachel's mind then. It was when things were going smoothly that everything tended to get turned upside down and general havoc always ensued. Well, not this time, Rachel thought determinedly, not this time.

AN: From now on I'll probably be posting every second day, instead of every day. Sometimes I might post two days in a row if I get heaps of reviews for the chapter before :)

Plus, shout out to Burt Hummel, the worlds best dad, seriously, what a champion.

And, please review!