Angels anonymous (Gaby)

Roma was pretending to be reading her script in a corner of the studio but she kept on looking at the scene on the opposite corner. She looked at it and shook her head and turned her attention back to her script just to do the same two minutes later. Della was seating by her side and had noticed the unease in her friend but had said nothing... until the hundred time the younger actress had been shaking her head.

"Is there something wrong, Roma?" Della asked when she caught her looking away again.

"Huh? Oh, no, no," Roma replied and wasted no time in burying her face in her script again.

But this time, the older actress had followed her gaze and discovered what was troubling Roma: at the opposite side of the studio, Alexis, Valerie and John were playing and joking with the plastic leis and tropical objects they were going to use for the episode they were filming, "Angels anonymous". Valerie had just joined the TBAA crew a couple of months ago, but it seemed she and John had gotten along very well... and Roma couldn’t help but feeling herself a little replaced by their new co-star. True she couldn’t blame Valerie: John had always found the way to charm everyone he met, but seeing him smile and joke with someone who would be with them more than a week... it was getting hard!

"Are you going to the dinner Alexis proposed, baby?" Della kept on trying to make her friend talk. "Is Julie staying with Reilly?"

"Yeah..." Roma answered looking again to John and Valerie. She had put him a colorful lei and they were mockingly pretending to be dancing hula. "No, I’m not going!" the young actress said in a quite angry tone.

"I think you should go, Roma... We could give you a lift if you don’t want to drive..." the older "angel" offered.

"Hey, guys, any one of you took hula lessons when little children?" Valerie asked. " ‘Cause I did and these two can’t believe me!"

"Hula was not that popular when I was a little girl!" Della chuckled. "It was a long, long time ago and I guess even king Kamehameha was still alive!"

Everyone laughed at her comment except Roma, and that didn’t go unnoticed by John, who by now knew her pretty well.

"What about you, Roma?" Alexis asked. "Did you ever try a straw skirt for a school festival or something?"

"Hula is not popular in Ireland" she replied coldly.

"But I guess you can be a very cute Hawaiian-Irish angel!" John decided not really knowing how deep her irritation was. "Let’s see..." He then tried to put a big paper flower on her hair but Roma took it away angrily and threw it to the floor.

"If you excuse me, I’m trying to study my lines. I don’t have time for your little games!" she said and walked away, leaving her co-stars open mouthed.

"What’s wrong?" Valerie asked Della.

"I don’t know..." the older actress replied.

"Maybe she has some trouble at home..." Alexis ventured. "She’s being acting weird all week long..."

"No, this is not only this week," John stated. "It’s been longer..." He had noticed she was a little distant from him and that hurt him. He hadn’t pushed the issue with her as he knew she got upset very easily, but he had just decided he wouldn’t let her keep on...

"You’re right, Lovejuice," Della added looking intently at her blond friend. "It’s been longer and we both know how long..."

John turned to look at her and he understood everything. He saw in the actress eyes what was in her heart. "You have to talk to her soon."

"Yes..." he said still looking in the direction Roma had gone.

***

Roma got into her dressing room and closed the door with a big slam behind her. She walked to her chair and took a seat heavily, her elbows resting immediately on her make-up table, her hands tangling in her hair. Not really knowing why, she started to cry, deep soul-freeing sobs. She felt angry and sad and stupid and used... all at the same time and all those feelings had one single origin. A couple of minutes later, when her heart was not still at ease, she heard a knock at the door. She tried to ignore it, but when it was repeated, she had to reply. "Yes!" she almost shouted.

"Can I come in?" said a very familiar male voice.

Roma didn’t have to turn to know who it was. Instead she remained where she was, her anger growing again. "What do you want?" she asked bitterly.

John came into the room and closed the door before he walked to her and knelt at her side. "What’s wrong, Roma?" he asked tenderly placing a finger under her chin to make her look at him.

"Nothing" she said coldly unable to resist his sight. "I need to be alone, please."

"No, Roma, something’s wrong and I want to know what it is," he told her once again making her look at him. "Something has been wrong for about two months now and I’ve decided that’s enough..."

"You’ve decided, huh?" she replied sarcastically. "It took you two months to notice something was wrong! That something wasn’t the same anymore!"

John felt somehow hurt for her anger but he forced himself to remain calm. Roma was usually the kindest woman in the world and if she was being rude with him, it could only mean she was very upset. "I’m right then, there’s something wrong with you..."

"Very cleaver, Watson. What was your first clue?" Roma answered without thinking twice. At seeing the hurting look in John’s eyes she couldn’t stand it and stood up, her back towards him.

"I can’t read your mind, Roma," he said in a hurting tone. "But I think I’ve showed you enough I care about you and I’m always here to help you. If you only let me."

"You had always been..." she corrected him in a quiet whisper. "Now you aren’t..."

John could hear her words and carefully he took her arm to make her turn. "What do you mean by I’m not here now?" When he saw her just looking at the floor, her tears crossing her cheeks, he saw like among clouds the shinning truth. "You’re always the most important person for me, Roma."

"Don’t lie!" she snapped. "That’s what you always made me believe! That’s how you always made it look like but it’s not true! I’m not important for you now! Others are!"

"Others?" John asked incredulously. Then little by little he understood. ‘Valerie!’ he thought and he couldn’t help but smile. "You’re jealous!"

His chuckling made Roma get twice upset. She wasn’t thinking about anything but make him pay for her anger. "Keep it up, Watson, you’re doing well!"

The blond actor decided not to pay attention to her sarcasm, seeing it was nothing but the proof of his statement. "You’re jealous, Roma. Why?"

His last question was the last drop she needed. "Because I love you, you big silly!" she shouted, her brown eyes sparkling through her tears. John almost jumped with her words but regained quickly. She made the attempt to hit him, but he took her by one wrist and pulled her against his chest holding her tightly. "Because you always made me believe you were in love with me and then you made me love you even more!" she sobbed against his chest, her small fists now grabbing his T-shirt almost desperately.

Even when he felt his heart jumping with joy, the blond actor limited to comb her hair and kiss her forehead until she was calm. Only when her sobs were very weak, he did speak. "You’re silly and stubborn, you know?" he said tenderly cupping her face and meeting her teary eyes. "Because I could never stop loving you, Roma Downey. I’ve been in love with you since the moment I first saw you and I’ve only been waiting for you to notice it." He then leaned down slowly and closing his eyes, he brushed her lips with his in a tender, almost pampering kiss.

New tears escaped Roma’s eyes when she felt John’s kiss. It had been a long time since she had felt the same emotion growing in her chest, the same joy emanating through every single pore of her skin. Her hands timidly moved to his cheeks, caressing him slowly, her mind focused in nothing but his mouth on hers. Only when air became a need, they parted. Roma was still crying, and that made John’s heart swell with love. "How could you expect me to just forget my love for you and get interested on someone else?" he murmured touching her forehead with his.

"I’m sorry, Johnnie. I’m so stupid..." she replied.

"No, not stupid," he said tenderly placing a finger over her lips. "Just jealous and stubborn."

"I should’ve told you before..." She was caressing his face delicately, committing to memory every already familiar line.

"Yes, you should have," he admonished taking her hand and kissing it. "But now it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you never forget I’m really deeply, hopelessly and blindly in love with you." He leaned down and kissed her long again, wanting to erase any doubt from her mind just with his kiss.