Together

Tension

Aaannnddd, it's showtime! Let's see what happens with Harper as Odette, shall we? A bit later of an update today than usual, but I got two chatpers written tonight instead of one, so I'm stocking up on my pre-written chaps for later haha.
Enjoy/comment/vote xxx
-ab

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November 14, 2026

Patrick

Tensions in the Romanov dressing room are high before the show. Once all of the girls were dressed, Harper insisted that I come and and give her kisses, so I honoured that request.

While a typical group dressing room, according to Harper, is lively and full of dance parties, the girls' room is dead silent as they are all preparing.

The cast list today is absolutely crazy. On top of Katherine and Ruby being out, Amelia is on for Little Anastasia, instead of Cassie, the understudy is on for Vlad, in a planned absence, and while Toby is there, he's struggling through the show. He has another show booked for right after Anastasia closes, so he's rehearsing for that during the day, then coming straight to Anastasia to perform. All of the stress of that is taking over him, weakening his immune system, and he's not feeling too great because of that. Nobody is sure if he's going to make it though the show, though he is insisting that he will.

"Patrick," Harper teases me, "you might have to go on for Dimitri. We all know that you see the show at least once a week. I'm pretty sure you know the role by heart."

"Oh my god, stop it," I tell her. "We agreed on this... how long ago? You do the performing in this relationship, and I sit in the wings and applaud."

Harper giggles. I'm glad that I can make her smile, as I know that she's very stressed out right now.

"Are you ready?" I ask her as she sets out her pointe shoe supplies on her dressing table.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she replies. "Like Luke said, I've just got to keep the show going, not get it perfect."

"I'm glad that you're looking at it that way." Usually, my wife wants to make sure that everything is perfect, and if she doesn't get it perfect, then she is horridly upset.

"I'm trying my hardest."

"I'm proud of you."

I hold her in my arms, in silence, for a few minutes, before I know that I need to leave. I got a seat at the last minute, so I'll be able to see her playing this role that is so new to her.

"Will you be okay, hon?" I ask her.

"Yeah," she nods, taking a deep breath. "I'll see you after the show?"

"I'll be right there at that stage door."

"Thank you."

I give her a final kiss, then squeeze her hand and leave the dressing room.

What happens back there, between when I leave her, and when she steps onto that stage... I'll probably have no idea. I don't know if I really want to know.

No matter what happened backstage, none of it shows onstage. Harper looks quite natural playing the role. As Olga, she is stunning. Her dress flows so naturally, and her every step has purpose. As Odette, her ballet gives the illusion of being a very challenging routine, in spite of the fact that she learned it this morning, and I know that it was made much easier than Odette's normal routine. Most of Kath's ensemble tracks were cut, just so that it would be less to teach Harper in the limited time that she had, but they weren't able to cut the Russian Comrade role, since Kath had a few lines there. It makes me laugh to see Harper on the other side of those scenes, as she's usually Anya, and the Comrades are against the Romanov family. She pulls it off very well, though.

Once the show has concluded, I watch Harper take her bow, then head to the stage door to meet my wife.

"You were amazing, love," I tell her.

"Thank you," she smiles. "We got through the show. Toby didn't die, and I didn't mess anything up majorly!"

"I'm so proud of you," I say, pulling her into a big hug. "Can I take you out for some food before tonight's show?"

"Sure," she smiles.

Just as the two of us are about to walk away, one of the Romanov girls, Lacey, pulls me aside. "Patrick, can I talk to you?"

Harper's face grows pale. "No..."

"Harper..." Lacey frowns. Harper sighs with defeat, and allows Lacey to pull me to the side, where theatregoers aren't listening. "Um, does Harper have a past with anxiety at all?"

"Not that I'm aware of... she doesn't go to therapy or take any medications for it... why do you ask?"

"She had a panic attack right before the show. It was pretty bad... I'm worried about her. I get that it was just nerves probably, but it was quite bad. I found her in the toilets, throwing up. After that, some of the other girls and I were able to help her breathe through it, and it could have just been a completely one time thing, but I thought that you needed to know. We will all keep an eye on her, here at the theatre, but you should try to keep an eye on her at home."

"Oh my god," I whisper under my breath. "Thank you so much for telling me... and thank you for helping her, too."

"I'm just so glad that we found her before it got worse. We were stretched so tightly today, in terms of our casting, that if she wouldn't have been able to go on, then we would have had to cancel the show, I believe."

"Oh my god," I repeat. "Um... thank you. I'll keep an eye on her. I really appreciate you telling me this."

"Harper begged me not to."

"I'm sure she did," I reply. I know my wife. She puts up a facade, almost as though she's scared of her own emotions. "I'm glad that you did, though."

"You needed to know," Lacey assures me. "Now, I heard you say that you were taking her out for food between shows?"

"Yeah."

"She'll like that. Make sure that she eats something healthy and drinks some water. Will you be backstage before the next show?"

"If she wants it..."

"I'll see you then," Lacey smiles. "Bye."

"Bye... thanks."

I walk back with Harper, who is leaning against the wall, shame in her eyes.

"Love... you should have told me."

"I didn't have time."

"You weren't going to."

She sighs with defeat. She knows that I'm right.