TITLE: Nimbus

AUTHOR: Angelina

EMAIL: angelina2006@hotmail.com

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DISTRIBUTION: Take it, just drop me a line.

SUMMARY: Violet finds out something surprising.

RATING: R - Language and sexy stuff

DISCLAIMER: They belong to Touchstone Pictures.

NOTES: This story doesn't tie in with the 'reality' of the movie.  At all.

Violet flushed the toilet and arranged her clothes, as well as she could given that they were soaking wet.  She stretched her arms over her head and yawned.  The night had been long and her muscles were aching slightly.  She stood in the tiny stall, wanting a little break before going back to help clean up the bar.  She leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes, just for a second.

Violet's eyes sprang open when she heard the door to the restroom slam into the wall.  She stood up straight, expecting that Lil had come to see why she was slacking off.  However, instead of Lil's authoritative voice, her ears were met by the sound of a high pitched giggle.  It could only be Cammie.  Violet was about to exit the stall to let Cammie in when she was stopped in her tracks by another voice.

"C'mon babe, why not?"

Rachel.  Why would Rachel and Cammie be in the bathroom together?

"Not here...not again, you know what Lil said the last time she found us."

"Yeah, she said you had a mighty fine ass and she'd be sorry to have to fire it...she was just joking baby, you really think she'd fire the two of us?  We're her bread and butter.  You just got me so hot tonight, all that water."

A period of silence followed.  The silence was broken by a deep moan and Violet could only speculate as to who had been the origin of the sound.  Violet was panicking now.  She didn't know what they were doing out there but she could make a pretty confident guess.  And she did not want to be stuck in the bathroom with them while they did it.  She really should walk out now and announce her presence.  However, Rachel scared the shit out of her and she was unsure of how the psychotic bitch would react to someone walking in on a make-out session.  Cammie's voice interrupted her minor breakdown.

"Mmmph...no, Rachel, no...I will not make love in this disgusting and tiny bathroom.  We will wait until we get home and then I'll..."

Cammie started whispering and Violet strained to hear the words.  She couldn't make them out.

"Really?"

"Really."

The last word was spoken in a deep, husky voice that Violet had never heard Cammie use before.  It seemed to have the desired effect on Rachel, who practically growled.  Kissing noises could now be heard and Violet prayed to Jesus that they were going to leave soon.  Lil would be going schizo wondering where her entire bar-tending staff had gone to.

"Coming?" Cammie chirped.

"Pretty damn near to it."

Violet shuddered at Rachel's crude joke but Cammie giggled.

"I meant, are you coming back to finish cleaning up?"

"Yeah, in a sec, I gotta pee."

Violet's heart stopped. Frantically she looked for an escape route.  Obviously, there was none.  She heard Rachel's boots approach the door and without thinking, Violet reached out and threw it open, finding herself face to face with Rachel.  Well, face to neck.   Violet plastered on a bright smile.  A single eyebrow crept up Rachel's brow.  Cammie came to see why Rachel had stopped.  When she spotted Violet's predicament she elbowed Rachel out of the way and dragged Violet out of the stall.

"Come on honey.  We better get back to the bar."

Violet kept a wary eye on Rachel as she allowed Cammie to pull her out of the stall.  Rachel's expression never changed.

"Enjoy the show, Jersey?"

Violet stopped.

"I...I wasn't...I mean, I didn't hear...anything...much...didn't hear anything much...and I certainly wasn't listening on purpose...I just...I was...well I..."

"Rachel, stop teasing her...I'm the only tease around here."  Cammie said, flashing Rachel an alluring smile.

Rachel grinned and shook her head, entering the stall.  Violet felt herself blushing as she was hauled out of the bathroom.

"Where you been, Jersey?  I was about to send a search party in there after you."

Violet glanced at Lil and was relieved to see no malice in her eyes.

"I was, uh, in the bathroom...yeah.I was just in the bathroom."

Lil looked from the blushing Violet to Cammie, who tried her very best to look innocent and failed miserably.  Lil turned back to Violet.

"So, you caught them at it, huh?" Lil smirked.

Violet looked at Cammie, who shrugged.

"I...I just had no idea...no idea at all."

Violet tailed off, trying to think of signs she'd missed.  Well, there was all the provocative dancing on the bar.  But they did that with Zoe and herself too.  There was Rachel's fierce protectiveness of Cammie.  But Violet had assumed that Rachel would be like that with anyone.  She shook her head.

"I kinda thought it would be against 'The Rules'" Violet made sure that Lil heard the quotation marks in there.

"We don't date the customers and we never bring our boyfriends in here...we're the perfect coyotes.  Right Lil?" Cammie asked, fluttering her eyelashes at her boss.

Lil just rolled her eyes.  Violet  turned to Cammie.

"So...is it...I mean, have you been...together long?"

"Oh God, now you asked for it." Lil groaned.

"For what?" Violet asked, clueless.

"For The Story."

"The Story?"

"Oh no, she's not gonna tell The Story again is she?"  Rachel asked, coming back into the bar.

"Looks like it."

Cammie sent them both dirty looks and focused on Violet, who was now very intrigued by The Story.

"You wanna hear how we met?" Cammie asked.

Violet nodded, ignoring Lil and Rachel who were both shaking their heads vehemently.

"OK then, well, it all started one night a couple of years ago."

*****

Rachel walked out from the bar into the street.  The road glistened with recent rain and the cool air was welcome respite from the clammy heat of Coyote Ugly.  Rachel breathed in deeply, drinking in the familiar smells of New York at night.  She let the breath out and turned to start heading home.   It had been a tough night and she was too tired to accompany Lil and Zoe for breakfast.  All she wanted was her head on a pillow.

She quickened her pace, driven by the thought of her big, comfortable bed waiting for her in her apartment.  She made it to within a block of home when she was distracted by a scuffle taking place on the sidewalk.  The couple were silhouetted and Rachel couldn't quite make out their features, but their respective builds identified them as a man and a woman.  The man was holding the woman by the wrist and she was struggling.  Rachel broke into a run.

"Hey!  Hey, let go of her!"

The man and the woman looked up in surprise at the unexpected voice.  Rachel got her first real look at the woman.  She was barely more than a girl.  She was blonde, with huge wide blue eyes.  And she looked scared.  She was dwarfed by the man holding her wrist.  He was a big, hulking brute.  Something inside Rachel snapped and before she knew what was happening, the heel of her hand was making contact with his face.  Immediately he released the woman's wrist and his hands flew to cradle his injured nose.  Rachel gently pushed the young woman back, out of his reach.

"You fucking bitch!  You broke my fucking nose!" he cried, in a heavily accented voice.

He drew his hand back to hit Rachel.  She heard the young woman behind her scream 'No!'.  She effortlessly dodged his clumsy blow.  With practised ease, Rachel stomped on his instep, ensuring that her spiked heel caught the sensitive area just right.  As he lifted his foot with an enraged howl of pain, Rachel brought her knee up to meet his groin.  He collapsed in a heap on the wet ground, curled up and whimpering.

"You feel like a big man now, huh?"  Rachel demanded of the pitiful figure.

No discernable response was offered.

"Fucking prick."  Rachel muttered, adding a swift kick to his ribs for good measure.

She turned to the young woman.

"Come on, he won't stay down there all night, we better get out of here."

The girl said nothing, merely gazed at Rachel in amazement.  Rachel's head was framed in the light from a nearby streetlamp.   The girl made no attempt to move from her position.  Rachel sighed in frustration and held out her hand.  The woman looked at the outstretched palm for a second before slipping her own, much smaller hand into it.  Rachel quickly started walking, tugging lightly on the girl's hand, urging her to walk faster.

"My name's Cammie."

Rachel looked down at the unexpected words.  She smiled at the frightened young woman.

"I'm Rachel."

Cammie nodded.  She glanced back over her shoulder nervously.

"He your boyfriend?"

Cammie shrugged.

"You don't know if he's your boyfriend."

"He was my boyfriend.  Sort of."

Rachel quirked an eyebrow at that.  But her main concern was getting Cammie far away from the bastard before he managed to get up.

"Where do you live?"

Rachel felt the grip on her hand tighten.  She looked over and saw a tear start to make its way down Cammie's face.  Rachel slowed down and finally stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a tender tone that felt strange in her throat and sounded foreign to her ears.

Cammie brought her eyes up to meet Rachel's.  Rachel felt her insides constrict.  Unfamiliar feelings flooded her chest as the young woman looked at her.  All of a sudden she found herself resisting the urge to wipe the tears from Cammie's face and take her into her strong arms, holding her until the fear went away.  She settled for placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and retaining the hold she had on Cammie's hand.  Cammie started to talk, in between sobs.

"I...I live with him...I...we just moved...I come from Russia and I don't know anyone...I...he was...he always talked about...coming to...America...and that's what I wan...wanted...so much...I wanted it so much...and he said he wou...would take me away...and he did...but I...I didn't love him...and he knew and he."

Cammie was crying openly now.  Rachel didn't know what to do.  So she gave into her impulse and gathered the trembling woman into her arms and held her as she cried.  She looked down at the head of golden hair resting on her shoulder.  She made up her mind right there and then.

"Come on, you're coming home with me."

Cammie looked up, her wet cheeks shining in the streetlight.  She shook her head.

"No...I couldn't...you don't know me...I don't want to be trouble for you."

"Well, I don't want you getting beat to a pulp by that asshole, and you got nowhere else to go, so you're coming home with me."

Rachel emphasised her statement by taking Cammie's hand again and starting to walk to her apartment.  Cammie followed reluctantly at first.  Then, as she came to realise that this was her only option, she fell into step with Rachel's long strides.

"Thank you."

The words were hushed.  Rachel smiled to herself and squeezed Cammie's hand in acknowledgement.

Once inside Rachel's apartment Cammie stood uncomfortably in the middle of the living room as Rachel made coffee in the kitchen.   She brought the cups through and put them on the coffee table, noticing the unease of the other woman.

"Hey, take a seat, make yourself at home.  It's not the Plaza but."

Cammie hurriedly interrupted her.

"No, no...it's lovely...it's just...why are you doing this for me?  You don't know me."

Rachel looked down at her hands.  She waited a long time before replying.  Then she looked Cammie straight in the eye.

"Because nobody should have to be with someone who treats them the way he was treating you."

Rachel's voice trailed off as she noticed a large red mark on the side of Cammie's face that she hadn't been aware of in the street.  She reached out and gently traced Cammie's cheek, feeling the heat of the inflammation under her fingertips.  She heard Cammie suck in a breath at her action and quickly withdrew her hand but Cammie caught it in her own.  Rachel looked back into the big, blue orbs.

"He do this to you a lot?" she asked in a low voice.

Cammie nodded distractedly.  She wasn't looking into Rachel's eyes.  She was looking at Rachel's lips.  Tentatively, she reached out and brought her fingers to them, following their outline as Rachel stood, powerless.  Gaining confidence, Cammie reached behind Rachel's neck and pulled the taller woman down.  Softly she pressed her lips against Rachel's in a tender kiss.  Rachel's eyes drifted closed as she moved with the warm mouth exploring her own, her arms snaking around Cammie's petite body.

"What are you doing?" Rachel murmured against Cammie's lips.

"Thanking you."  Cammie whispered.

That jolted Rachel out of her haze.  She put her hands on Cammie's shoulders and pushed her back.  Cammie immediately backed away as if slapped.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I'll...I'll go...I should."

"No."  Rachel stated firmly.  "But you don't have to thank me.  Not like that.  Not tonight.  Tonight you'll sleep in my bed and I'll take the couch."

Cammie started to protest but Rachel shook her head.

"You'll sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."  Her eyes softened.  "I'm not saying I didn't like what you just did...but you've been through too much today for that to happen."

Cammie smiled a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Rachel."

"No problem."

Without further words, Rachel showed Cammie to her bedroom and told her where to find sleeping attire.  Rachel went back to the living room with a blanket.  She sat on the couch and took her boots off.  Deciding to sleep in her clothes, she pulled the blanket up around herself and switched the light off.  In the darkness Rachel brought her fingers up to touch her own lips.  She smiled.

In the morning, Rachel awoke to find a smaller body pressed against her back.  She craned her neck around to see that Cammie had decided to join her on the couch at some point during the night.  Looking down at the slumbering form next to her Rachel marvelled at how relaxed the woman looked.  And how right it felt to have her there.  She smiled and shook her head.  This could turn out to be one hell of a ride.

*****

"And the next day I came to work with Rachel, Lil gave me an audition and the rest is history."  Cammie finished as she wiped the bar.

Violet was sitting listening, enraptured.

"Wow.  That is so...romantic."

Lil raised an eyebrow and Rachel stuck her fingers back her throat.

"Yep, that was the night when Rachel became my hero."  Cammie said, blowing a kiss Rachel's way.

"And you got together straight away?" Violet asked.

"Not right away.but I knew she couldn't resist my charms for long."  Cammie said with a smile.

Violet sighed contentedly.

"Oh, you wanna see something?"  Cammie asked, excitedly.

Violet nodded.  Cammie put her leg up on a stool and pulled one side of her skirt up to reveal a heart tattooed on her upper thigh with the word 'Rachel' inside it.  Violet wasn't sure how to respond so she settled for nodding and smiling.

"You know, it's lucky I'm not the jealous type...what with you lifting your skirt for every Tom, Dick and Harry."  Rachel said, bringing Cammie her jacket and shrugging into her own worn leather one.

"I don't know if that guy last week would agree that you're not the jealous type...we'll need to ask him when he gets out of hospital," Lil piped up and Rachel extended her middle finger in the general direction of her boss.

"Come on, let's get outta here. I seem to remember a certain promise you made earlier." Rachel said, letting her eyes drift suggestively up and down Cammie's body.

"Hmmm, I did, didn't I?" Cammie said, living up to her nickname.  "OK, my little avenging-angel, let's go."

Violet watched them leave, Rachel's arm firmly around Cammie's shoulders.  She let out a depressed sigh.

"Why can't I find someone like that?" she asked no-one in particular.

Violet turned to face Lil and smiled.  Lil raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be getting any ideas there, Jersey Girl."

END