Cheradine one shots

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One shot set after 'Cheradine- lost and found'

“Babe?” Cheryl knocks tentatively on the bathroom door. “Are you alright?”

Judging from the muted sniffles coming from within, Nadine's still upset. It all started when she'd heard, second-hand from Charmaine, that her granny had spotted a copy of Insatiable in the bargain bin in Tesco's in Derry. Nadine had fled the table, in the midst of Niall carving the turkey.

Everyone's been kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, though; until now, Nadine's been putting on a brave face about the poor single and album sales. Cheryl knows how hard Nadine worked on it, writing and recording day and night, how much she'd sacrificed personally to be able to fit in with the producers' tight schedules. It's a stark contrast with Cheryl's solo career – she's launched two albums in quick succession with runaway success, toured with the Black Eyed Peas and is on the verge of announcing a headline tour of her own. Add to that the tabloid newspapers' inexplicable campaign to tear Nadine down while promoting Cheryl as a media darling; it all seems colossally unfair.

Heaving a sigh, Cheryl lets herself into the bathroom and finds the other woman sitting on the floor. She looks tiny, hugging her knees, and the Geordie's heart just aches at the sight of her.

She bites her lip. “Babe? Talk to us?”

The thing is that she isn't quite sure how to approach this because there's been a sort of unspoken agreement that nobody's speaks about the album flop. Privately, Cheryl has her own theory about why it's failed to ignite the charts and it mostly boils down to the ineptitude of Bruce and the management team but she's never felt she could air that opinion, least of all to Nadine.

Nadine's face is pressed against her knees, hidden from view, so her reply is muffled but it sounds something like, “leave me alone.”

Undeterred, Cheryl sits down beside Nadine and puts a hand on her arm, just offering silent comfort. For long minutes there's only the sound of the other woman's hitching breaths that slowly begin to even out. Eventually Nadine turns her face towards Cheryl, eyes still watery, her cheeks stained with mascara. Without a word Cheryl reaches up and brushes a few strands of hair away from Nadine's face before letting her thumb catch a teardrop before it falls.

There are tears pricking behind her own eyes now, seeing Nadine so broken down. She hates to see anyone cry, especially when she feels powerless to fix it. “Don't you start as well,” Nadine chides softly, and lifts her hand to cup the Geordie's cheek. “You're such a big softie.”

“That's why you love us,” Cheryl smiles then leans over to steal a kiss. When she leans back her expression is serious. “I won't push you into talkin' about it but you know I'm here for you.”

Nadine lets out a tremulous sigh. “I just – I don't understand. I put everythin' into that record.”

Quietly Cheryl puts her arms around the other woman and rests her head against Nadine's, sensing that she just needs to vent.

“I promoted it up and down the country – interviews, signin's, gigs. I don't know what else I could've done, Cheryl.” Nadine's shoulders slump. “Maybe I'm just not cut out for goin' solo.”

That causes Cheryl to pull away. She holds Nadine's face in her hands, forcing the other woman to look at her. “That's not true. You're fuckin' amazin' and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”

A crooked smile forms on Nadine's lips. “Hon, I think you may be biased.”

“Maybe I am,” Cheryl responds, “but that's beside the point. You're a great vocalist and performer, you ooze star quality, you're gorgeous inside and out.”