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Sophie Deveraux waited outside of the audition room. She was nervous. It was unlike her to be nervous, but she chalked it down to Nate’s absence. He had been injured, fairly badly, on their last job, and hadn’t been able to come here with her. It had been a while since she did an audition without him, actually. Not long after they’d started officially dating, he’d started coming with her to cheer her on, and simply never stopped. But today, she was alone. Well, she had her agent with her (she had an agent now!), but she didn’t count. Without Nate, she still felt alone.
It started when Sophie was gushing to the team about the next role she was going to audition for. It was a big part in a relatively well-known play, and she’d always loved seeing it. She told them she was so excited, she really really wanted to get this part. She’d loved the character since she was a little girl, and they knew she’d be devastated if she didn’t get it.
As soon as she left the room, Hardison said “She’s not gonna get it.”
“Nope,” agreed Parker.
“No way,” said Elliot.
“Well…” said Nate. He had that far-away look in his eyes, still staring after where Sophie had gone.
The other three exchanged a look. This did not bode well.
“Not if she auditions as herself.” He smiled, and they knew he had a Plan.
Sophie sighed as another person was called into the room. Her leg started to bounce. To distract herself from her nerves, she thought back to that first time Nate had accompanied her to an audition. They were dating, sure, but it was before they’d done any of the things that indicated it was serious, like moving in together, or meeting each other’s family, or, you know, saying things out loud.
“I know you can do this,” Nate said, his arm entwined with Sophie’s. “I have faith in you.”
“Aw, thanks!”
“Hey, I have an idea. Do you want to play a game? Make things more interesting?”
“What kind of game?”
“Okay, so when you go in there, you’re gonna play the part, but you’re gonna play another part at the same time. Think you’re up for it?”
Sophie just grinned at him.
“Alright. So. You are not Sophie Deveraux, actress extraordinaire. You are Sophie Brown, mother of three. You need to feed your kids but your only marketable skill is acting. You need this job. You changed your name because you thought they wouldn’t hire you if they knew you had three small children waiting at home. Also, you don’t want them to look you up and find out you’re a former prostitute and porn star.”
“Got it.”
“Knock ‘em dead, sweetheart.”
The audition had gone swimmingly. And so had the play. After that, they just kept doing it. Since then, her reviews had skyrocketed. She called Nate her good luck charm. The game was fun, too. It made her feel closer to him.
“You do realize, don’t you,” said Elliot, “that if you do this once, you’re going to have to keep doing it.”
“Yeah,” Hardison joined in, “this isn’t some bit part. If she gets it, she’s gonna get noticed. You’ll have to do it every single time, from here on out.”
“Are you ready for that commitment?” Elliot asked. His eyes bored into Nate’s, making sure he was taking this seriously.
Nate said, “You know, I think I am.”
He came every time. He hadn’t missed an audition, or a final performance, not since he’d started coming with her. It made Sophie feel not just appreciated, but like he was really making an effort.
“Okay Sophie, I want you to make that one prop guy believe you’re secretly a very rich and famous person whose name he can’t quite remember, while also making your costar believe you’re a broke drug addict.”
“Sophie, you’re a humble woman who’s never acted professionally before and you have no idea how talented you are, but your friends told you you’d be good at it so you’re giving it a try, even though you don’t really believe them.”
“Deveraux!”
Oh, it was her turn. Well, she thought as she stood up, checking her hair one last time in the mirror on the wall, she’d better give it her all. She’d do Nate proud.
“I really don’t think you should go.”
Parker was nervous, standing in front of Sophie, blocking the door. She had to prevent Sophie from doing the audition without Nate, she just had to!
“And why ever not?”
“You’re having a bad hair day.” Inwardly, Parker cringed. That was a terrible excuse. But without telling her the truth, what reason could she give that Sophie would accept? Aha! While Sophie was distracted fixing her hair (that Hardison had messed up in the first place), Parker swiped her purse. “And you can’t go anywhere without your purse!”
“Nice try,” Sophie said, and pulled out another purse, which had her actual wallet and necessities in it. And since Parker had moved away from the door to hide the first purse, Sophie walked right through it and out to her car.
It wasn’t her best work, she knew. She was distracted, worrying about Nate. Sure, she knew in her head that he’d probably be fine, the doctors had said so, but her heart wouldn’t believe it until she heard his voice again. The last time she’d been to see him in hospital, he still hadn’t woken up. Maybe she’d go see him after this. Sophie was so distracted by these thoughts she didn’t even see her agent coming up to her, her face thunderous.
“What. Was that.” Elena Jasper snapped. “That was terrible. I know you can do better than that, Sophie, what happened in there?”
“What, what do you mean?” Sophie knew she wasn’t at her best, but she didn’t think it was that bad.
“Sophie. You’re normally phenomenal, you should have nailed this. That audition? That was a complete and total flop. It was like you completely forgot how to act. I will repeat, what. Happened.”
“I… I don’t know.” Sophie was flabbergasted. She thought back. What was different about today? What might have caused such a difference in her performance? And then it hit her. “Oh. Nate wasn’t there.”
“Sophie, today you are a reporter, going undercover to find out the true working conditions of Hollywood actors. Wage disparity, sexual harassment, the works. You play the part, you get the dirt. Write up a good exposé afterward.”
She called him.
“Nate.”
“Sophie.” His voice was hoarse and thready. “I missed the audition, didn’t I?”
“Nate, what did you do?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“You did something to me. To my acting.” Her voice broke as she struggled not to cry.
“I only gave you a push. Sophie, you’re an amazing actress - when it’s for a con. When you’re just acting as yourself… not so much.”
Now she was really crying. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
She took a moment to marvel at how far they’d come, that he could admit something like that without prevaricating.
“Can you forgive me?” Nate asked.
She sniffed, and told him, “If you get better, and come with me for the next one.”
“I will. And Sophie? I want you to go back in there.”
“What?”
“Go back in, and do it again. I’ll get Hardison to make sure they let you. This time, you’re not Sophie Deveraux, you’re Sophie Ford. And your husband is in the wings watching. Can you do that for me?”
Suddenly, Sophie felt like she could fly. “Yes, husband. I can do that.”
And she did.