"What--why?" she sputtered.
He said nothing, just wrapped his arms around her protectively in a bear hug. "I know how devastating this is for you, Rach," he whispered in her ear. "You've been taking it so much harder than I have, though I am thoroughly disappointed."
Stunned for a moment at Joseph's sudden display of emotion, Rachel finally had the courage to break down. He felt her starting to sob in his arms, and he stroked her hair and her back soothingly. "It's going to be okay, Rachel. We know we did our best, and that we'll have more opportunities to come." Still though, Joseph knew. This was the Olympics; it wasn't going to get any better than this.
"They had no right to do this to us. They should have considered our feelings before doing what they did," Rachel spouted off.
"Who?" Joseph expected Rachel to blame the Russian skaters. Instead, she replied, "The judges. I know they had something to do with this."
Joseph cocked his head thoughtfully. "They are conducting an investigation into it--that's what the reporter said--so maybe they'll turn something up."
"What good will it do?" Rachel wailed. "It's not going to give us the gold medal we so desired."
"You don't know that," Joseph replied. "Now get some sleep. We've had a long day."
"You can say that again," Rachel muttered, heading towards the bathroom to ready herself for sleep.
"Rach?"
Joseph opened the adjoining door a crack. There was Rachel, lying in her bed, sound asleep. Silently, he crossed over to where she was, gazed at her in her peaceful state, then kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "Bon soir, mon ange glace."* As he entered back into his own room, he realized that the growing feelings he had been trying to fight for Rachel were beginning to emerge. Joseph only hoped that it wouldn't interfere with their skating, or that their skating would interfere with his feelings.
*("Good night, my ice angel.")
Rachel blinked open her eyes to the soft sunlight streaming into her room. Last night had been so hectic that she couldn't think clearly, and this sleep that she had gotten had helped her mind to think in a logical way. Still, her heart broke at the thought of getting so close to her dream and not quite reaching it. Rachel exhaled, telling herself not to think about it, and got up, padding around her room brushing her hair, humming to herself. Not many people knew about her singing ability, but singing was one thing she loved to do. As she readied herself for her day, she sang softly to herself.
There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake at the infinite call
Boy, you sing to me over and over and over again
So I lay my head back down
and I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
Rachel began making up a skating routine to her song, going around her room with random jumps inserted. Joseph, who had risen also and readied himself for the day, peeked through the crack in the door and watched Rachel "skate" and sing.
Sing to me the song of the stars,
of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far,
sing to me of the plans that you have me over again
So I lay my head back down
and I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
As Rachel continued to improvise, she thought of the way Joseph had comforted her last night, and the way she'd been feeling about him lately. Spending so much time with him had shown her what a great guy Joey was, and Rachel had begun to feel drawn to him� as more than just a friend.
I give you my destiny
I'm giving you all of me
I want your symphony singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back
So I lay my head back down
and I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
"Brava!" Joseph applauded, coming fully into view. Rachel spun around in surprise and found Joey there, and she blushed. "Bon matin, Joey."
"Good morning, Rach. Are you feeling better?" he asked, approaching her for a hug.
She returned his sentiment, letting his arms linger around her for a bit. "I guess. Not by much, though."
Joseph pulled away and nodded, still holding her waist. "Me either. I didn't sleep that well last night." He looked away, a bit nervously, then said in a low voice, "I was worried about you."
Rachel cocked her head to one side. "Really?" She smiled brightly, and the sight of her smile lifted Joseph's spirits. "That's sweet of you, Joey."
Joseph looked at her intently, wishing he could just keep this moment frozen in time. Rachel caught his gaze and was drawn into it. He leaned in closer to her, as she closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly, anticipating. Right before their lips brushed--
"Joey! Rachel! Are you in there?" someone shouted from outside the door. The two of them jumped three feet from each other and Rachel ran to get her door. On the other side she found their coach, Dana Christensen. "Hi, Dana," Rachel said, disappointment in her voice, not only because seeing her coach brought back the huge upset of last night, but because she had interrupted a pivotal moment in Rachel and Joey's growing relationship.
"Hey, Rachel," Dana replied, sympathy in her voice. "How are you holding up?"
Rachel nodded, saying, "I'm okay. I'm still really sad about everything, but I know we did one of our absolute best performances�"
Dana gave Rachel a hug. "It was beautiful. Remember that it's not anything that you did to make this happen, and hopefully this mistake will get rectified." As she pulled away from Rachel, Dana saw Joey out of the corner of her eye, looking somewhat dejected. "Hey, Joey," Dana greeted her other skater. "How are you doing? I was hoping that you'd be the more positive of you two."
Joey smiled. "Oh, I am." Dana caught the look exchanged between her two prot�g�s and raised an eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"
"Uh, no. Nothing," Rachel sputtered, as Joey abruptly stated, "Absolutely nothing." They looked at each other again and Joey smiled at Rachel.
"Anyway," Dana said, choosing to ignore whatever was going on, "you have an interview today with Katie Couric and the Today show, so I suggest you get dressed--and fast."
"Well, when do we go on?" Rachel asked.
"In an hour and a half," Dana promptly replied.
"What???" the two of them exclaimed in unison. "We'll be there in 45," Joey breathlessly exclaimed, as he rushed off into his own room to get ready. Meanwhile, Rachel was shooing Dana out of her room so that she could get ready. "I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?" were Rachel's last words. She picked up her brush again and threw her hair back up into a ponytail. As she set her brush down, Rachel flashed back to the near-kiss she and Joey had shared. Could it be that Joey felt more than just friendly feelings for her? "Nah," Rachel said aloud, then getting herself ready for her big interview.
"You ready yet, Joey?" Rachel called.
The door opened and there he stood. "Yeah. Oh, by the way, don't forget this." He held in his hand Rachel's silver medal, which she proceeded to take from him. But before she could, Joseph held it out of her reach and she jumped for it, still not getting it. "Joey!" she exclaimed.
"Here." He slipped it around her neck, brushing her skin with his fingertips, securing it in position. Rachel smiled at him, saying only "Thank you" very softly. "So, what do you say we go?" Joey suggested.
"I think that's a good idea," Rachel replied, smiling. The two of them left Rachel's part of the room, and on their way to the interview, somehow Joey's hand found Rachel's. Rachel didn't mind one bit, however. She let Joey hold her hand all the way there.