The next morning Dominika woke to clear skies but her mood was dark as she dragged herself out of bed, tired and groggy. Even though she’d come home from Daphne’s party prematurely last night, she had apparently stayed out too late and now her body was punishing her for it. Was this a hangover? She’d hardly had two whole drinks. She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she made her way into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face in the sink, trying to wake herself up. Her pulse raced as she realized today was her most important day at the company yet, a chance to really prove herself to both Mr. Rush and the other girls.

Dominika labored over her hair for longer than usual, plaiting small sections and then weaving them into her bun rather than her usual simple hairstyle. She used a little of the makeup out of the kit Donna had given her and put on her freshly laundered dance clothes, taking time to pick out her nicest matching set rather than the random collection of items she sometimes threw on hastily when in a rush in the mornings.

The drive to the ballet company was almost silent today, and John noticed the absence of Dominika’s usual cheery banter almost immediately, turning the radio down low so it was background noise.

“What’s up, Miss? Nervous?”

Dominika nodded tensely, still staring straight ahead.

“You’ll do great, kid. Don’t overthink it”

Dominika huffed loudly and John chuckled quietly beside her. She continued to wring her hands nervously in her lap as they drove into the city, and long before she was ready, they pulled into the lot of the company, its flags flapping noisily against their poles in the wind that blew across the car park. Dominika pulled her jacket closer around her as she thanked John and shut the door, trudging across the lot into the warm, inviting reception. When she reached the audition studio, Daphne and Harriet were already there, beginning their warm ups. Dominika greeted them sheepishly as she approached, slightly embarrassed by her swift exit last night.

“Hey” Daphne greeted “feeling better today?”

Dominika was relieved that her tone seemed normal. Maybe Daphne wasn’t mad at her after all. A streak of guilt ran through her then and she felt bad for not telling her friend the whole truth about why she’d wanted to leave so early. On the other hand, she really wasn’t looking forward to telling her how one of her friends was an aggressive misogynist either. Perhaps she had done the right thing after all.

“Not completely but I’ll manage, couldn’t sleep last night”

“Just think” Harriet grinned “once we finish this audition we get to leave! Almost a whole weekday to ourselves!”

It was true, a weekday off was a luxury they were rarely afforded, the ballet school actively encouraging every girl to attend six days a week. The really hardcore girls often attended seven days a week, sometimes for months at a time. Dominika admired their dedication but knew she needed that rest day every week to debrief, relax, and rest her muscles.

“Do you have any plans?” Daphne asked, pulling her jacket off her shoulders and tossing it to the floor beside her.

“No…” Dominika replied warily, afraid she was about to be invited to another “gathering”. After last night’s fiasco she was eager to avoid any kind of party for at least a little while.

“We should go for coffee afterwards and celebrate finishing our auditions” Daphne said eagerly. Dominika shook her head sadly.

“I can’t. I was already pushing my luck yesterday, I have to get home”

“Next time, then” Harriet said.

All around them was abuzz with excited and nervous chatter till Mr. Rush entered and the room fell silent. He smiled as he looked around at the small crowd of girls in front of him and his voice reverberated around the walls as he spoke.

“Ladies, thank you all so much for being here today. This is a very important day, and for some of you it will be a day of an even higher meaning. We have one starring role, that of Princess Aurora, that features some of the most challenging footwork ever seen in a single ballet piece, and that of the Lilac Fairy, a graceful and beautiful character that becomes meaningful and symbolic to the audience. Her role requires disciple, elegance and a sense of subtle playfulness. Who will play these leading roles and be the stars of our stage? That’s up to you girls, and how well you preform today. But, no pressure” he added, laughing. Anxious murmurs spread around the room and he clapped his hands together loudly, raising his voice above the noise.

“I’ll give you all fifteen minutes to get warmed up and then I’ll ask you to please line up in single file in the foyer. Good luck, ladies”

The room was quiet again and it was every girl for herself, limbs everywhere as each girl launched herself into her own personal warm-up routine. Dominika drowned out everything around her and focused on herself, closing her eyes and calling to memory a routine she’d been taught when she was twelve years old by one of her favorite instructors. She focused on her own reflection in the mirrored wall in front of her as she exercised as much control as she could muster, still a little worn down from the night before. She was also a litle shaken up from her encounter with the persistent blonde guy, and every time his face, leaning closer to hers in the darkness of the hallway flashed into her mind she faltered a little and missed a step or a beat, cursing herself silently.

The time was up before she knew it, and her heart thumped nervously as she joined the other girls just beginning to line up single-file outside the audition studio. Dominika tried to go over the steps of the Rose Adagio again in her head but the noise and conversation around her was distracting, she so gave up and folded herself to the floor to continue stretching. Daphne and Harriet were somewhere further back in the line but she was so absorbed in trying to go over her routine that she hadn’t even noticed they weren’t next to her.

When her name was called, her heart drummed so fast and hard she could feel it in her throat, and she walked into the studio carefully.

“Dominika! I’ve been looking forward to this! How have you found your first week of rehearsals, pretty full on, eh?”

“Indeed” she replied, rubbing the back of her neck “I really love it here though, and thanks for considering me for a part”

“Hey that’s all you, Princess, I know natural talent when I see it. Enough talking now, let’s see how you dance”

Dominika nodded and moved to the center of the room, standing square with the table Mr. Rush was seated at. She raised her arms above her head and nodded, and the music began to float softly into the space, filling the room with the beautiful notes of the classic piece.

Her routine was flawless in execution but her body felt fatigued and run down, her mind scattered. Her toes ached as stepped en pointe and she internally berated the person who had choreographed the piece. By the time the music drew to a close she was exhausted and glad she would be allowed to go straight home at the end of all the auditions. For the time being she could relax in the foyer and de-stress until it was time for John to pick her up. As she looked up from her final pose she was surprised to see Lorraine, the office receptionist standing with Mr. Rush, whispering to him quietly with their heads bowed together. Mr. Rush frowned and turned back to Dominika suddenly when the music stopped.

“Thank you, Dominika, very nice. You’re dismissed now, Miss Lorraine needs you to go with her to reception” he said. Dominika was confused but walked towards them anyway, grabbing her jacket from the floor.

“Why?” she queried.

“Miss Lorraine will explain it for you, run along now, Domi”

She followed Lorraine into the foyer where she changed her shoes and grabbed her bag. Daphne and Harriet stared at her perplexedly and she waved her hands at them, trying to reassure them everything was fine even though she was panicking slightly. Lorraine directed her towards the reception without saying a word and this frustrated Dominika.

“What’s going on? Have I done something wrong? Am I in trouble?”

“No, Princess” she replied, a look of either sadness or sympathy, she couldn’t tell which, reaching her eyes. Dominika eyed her suspiciously as they walked.

“Mrs. Way called a short time ago and advised us that your driver will be picking you up immediately. All she said was there was a family emergency and you were needed at home right away. That’s all I know, I’m sorry”

Dominika’s heart lurched in her chest and she instantly panicked. An emergency?! What could that possibly mean? Had something awful happened back home? Had something awful happened to Gerard?

When they entered the reception hallway, John was already there, seated on a leather lounge and waiting patiently. His body language seemed normal and Dominika broke away from the receptionist, speed walking up to him quickly.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. John raised his eyebrows at her as he got to his feet.

“I don’t know, Domi, Donna just asked me to bring you home straight away”

Dominika raked her hands through her hair exasperatedly.

“Ugh! I’m going out of my mind here. Let’s go already”

John thanked Lorraine as he walked out of the building behind Dominika who had already stalked ahead. She reached the car long before him and was tapping her foot impatiently at the passenger side when he unlocked the doors.

The ride back to the Way house was silent, even the stereo switched off. The sky had started to darken with storm clouds brewing and the street lights were beginning to flicker on although it was the middle of the day. Dominika brooded in her seat, angry at herself for how she’d preformed in her audition and scared and confused at why she’d been pulled out of school early and what was waiting for her at home.

When she finally stomped into the house, John trailing behind her, both Donna and Donald were standing, waiting for her in the foyer. Their faces were grey and furrowed in worry, and Dominika’s mood softened as soon as she saw them.

“What happened?” she asked gently, scared to hear the answer. Donald was the first to speak.

“We received a call from the base in Russia an hour ago that there was a massive explosion near the military camp in Moscow where our boys were stationed. Enemy militants were trying to flush them out, they got a heads-up but it wasn’t in enough time for them all to get out safely”

“How many did we lose?” Dominika asked softly.

“Ten. Ten men who will be honored dutifully as soon as their bodies can be returned to American soil, but the reason we had to call you home, Domi, is because Gerard’s battalion was stationed at the same camp and he was injured in the explosion, too”

“What?!” Dominika cried, falling to her knees. It was her worst nightmare played out in reality and the enormity of it was too much to comprehend “how badly is he hurt?!”

“He’s okay” Donald said, lowering his voice to a soothing tone “I’m not going to lie to you, they told me he’s been wounded quite badly by shrapnel. But he’s stable, and the most important thing is he’s going to get the care he needs”

Donna had said nothing the entire time, wordlessly gripping Donald’s arm like a child. Dominika could feel the emotion resonating off her like heat.

“Where is he now?” she whispered, her voice hollow. Donald glanced at his watch for a moment.

“Right now he’d be in a helicopter being flown back to the base. In two hours, he’ll be loaded up on a specialist medically-equipped military plane and he’ll be on his way to New York with the rest of his wounded buddies”

Butterflies fluttered in Dominika’s stomach and it was a strange sensation given the moment. Gerard was on his way to America? To New York which she knew was only a few hours away?

“Why New York?”

“The only two hospitals over there equipped to perform the surgery he needs have been taken over by militants, New York is the closest place he can be flown safely to have the operation”

Images flashed to her mind of Gerard’s face, blackened with bruising, swollen and bloody and she couldn’t stop the tears that welled in her eyes.

“Donna and I are flying out to New York in the early hours of the morning to meet Gerard’s plane and wait for him while he’s in theatre. We pulled you out of school early because we needed you to make a decision”

“What decision?” Dominika asked warily.

“You have two options. You can either stay here at home and John will stay in the house with you while we’re gone and continue to take you to and from school as normal, or you can come with us tomorrow morning and forfeit school for a week or two till we bring Gerard home to recover. The choice is yours”

Dominika answered instantly without hesitation.

“I’m coming with you”

Donna piped up next to Donald suddenly, it was the first time she’d spoken since Dominika had arrived home and the empty void of her voice sent shivers up her spine.

“Are you sure, Domi? Won’t you miss an important part of your rehearsals?”

“I don’t care” Dominika replied, shaking her head “this is more important”

---

Wind and rain howled around the room later that night and battered Dominika’s windows as she lay in bed, trying desperately to tune out the noise so she could finally fall asleep. The last time she’d looked at the digital alarm clock by her bed it had been past midnight, and she knew she’d have to be up to catch their flight at the ridiculous hour of 2am.

Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was Gerard, lying bloodied and battered on a stretcher while medics worked over him. She was desperate to see him for herself but also terrified at the condition he might be in. She thanked God for his life over and over again in her head, grateful he had been spared regardless of how broken he might be.

And in that moment, she realized nothing mattered to her more than seeing him well again, and it was the first time ever she’d been able to realize that maybe, just perhaps, she was in love with him.

Her Gerard.

Notes

I was supposed to put this chapter up tomorrow but what the hey! I thought you guys would like to read it now :)
Oh boy Gerard's coming back! Whose excited!?
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Thanks for reading <3