So this chapter was inspired by HowlynMad's review, hopefully all of you Alexis/Tina fans enjoy it, it starts off the later chapters I have planned, which I won't go into further detail because I know I will give away WAY too much (lol). So as usual, reviews will be loved :D

Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the movie Burlesque, only Tina

She woke with a groggy start, grunting painfully as she covered her eyes with her hand to block the sunlight, and rolled onto her side, surprised when she felt empty space beside her. She opened her eyes, flinching as the result of her drinking kicked in when she sat up, confused as to why she was in a room that was not Alexis', until the memories of the last night came flooding back to her. Of course she wouldn't be with Alexis, not after they broke up, not after the fight they'd had. Certainly not after what she had done. And she felt a new feeling crossing her, an emptiness she hadn't experienced in years, and a guilt she hadn't felt for even longer. She regretted how she'd acted last night, and the recent nights leading up to it, she should have listened to Georgia and stayed back, where she was safe from any angered rampages. She should have listened to Jack, and Ali, and kept herself at a safe distance from Blue. Blue, the second the name passed her mind she bit back a growl. It was his fault, if he hadn't have asked for a private dance in the first place she wouldn't be in this mess. If he hadn't pushed her further she wouldn't believe that Alexis didn't want a thing to do with her now, though she didn't blame him if she was right.

Though she knew that she was just as much to blame herself, she should have gone to Tess about him. If a problem ever rose within the club Tess could get rid of it. And more than anything she should have kept her thoughts of him strictly professional, hell she shouldn't have thought of him at all, with the same no-strings-attached basis she had with anyone else who entered the club.

"You're up." A gentle voice grabbed her attention, and she looked up to see Georgia smiling softly, her hair lightly tangled and a cup of coffee held between her hands.

"How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Tina choked, her voice hoarse, and her throat feeling as bad as she was sure she looked, she assumed it was from her throwing up her whole stomach overnight. "What happened last night?"

"You left work early. And came home late, at 2:00 in the morning, I think," she sat at Tina's feet, "You were with Marcus."

"Oh, god!" the brunette groaned, bringing a hand to her head as a new throb of pain passed, "I don't remember anything. Nothing happened did it?"

"No, you were out cold when he brought you here. He said you passed out in his car," the redhead assured her. "You had quite a night."

"Yeah . . . " Tina mumbled, looking down at her hands. " . . . How's Alexis?" It was the one thing she didn't want to ask, talking about it meant it had anything but a terrible dream.

Georgia hesitated, biting her lip awkwardly as she looked away for a short while, "He's just as bad, maybe worse. He went straight to the front desk and didn't say a word to anybody. Except a few tense goodbyes when the regulars left. Everyone else got the cold shoulder."

"Oh god . . . " Tina slid down to her back, feeling as though she was about to throw up the remaining contents of her gut right then and there. "He hates me . . . "

"He doesn't hate you," Georgia assured her, "His heart's broken, he hates Blue because he thinks you're in love with him. You meant the world to him."

"Like that's any better . . . "

Georgia stayed quiet after that, but she gave her a comforting smile and placed a hand on her foot.

"I have to talk to him," the brunette said, looking up at the other with a low frown.

"Not today, you need to take a day to relax. I'll be out with Damon for a few hours, so get your rest, and if you need anything you can call." The redhead got to her feet, and sent her friend a final comforting gaze before leaving the bedroom, though not before she heard a gravelly shout, "I'm going tomorrow."

Tess sat at her desk, with her head in her hands, with Sean being her only source of comfort while she heard the audience outside her office becoming rowdy and agitated without Tina on the stage for their entertainment.

"Don't worry about it," Sean had told her, "It's one night. Before you know it, she'll be back and shaking her assets for the crowd. Till then they'll have to get used to her not being here." He smiled feebly when he'd gained a weak laugh, even if she knew it was a lie. Neither of them knew how long it'd be until Tina's return, it was obvious that she'd been much more stressed than her usual state during this one week, neither of them knew whether it'd take a day or two, or as long as another week until she had calmed herself. And she worried that during that time the crowd would become smaller than it was already, until it eventually deteriorated into nothing. No crowd meant no money, no money meant she had no way to pay off her most recent, and highest, mortgage on the building, and if she failed to pay it off, she'd lose her club, and the girls, who she'd grown to love as her own children, some closer to her than others, and who she could never imagine losing, along with it.

"Tell me we're going to be fine," the older woman pleaded, on the verge of tears as she lifted her head to face Sean, who had moved up beside her and placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to be fine," he said, taking the bills from her line of vision, "We'll find a way to pay it all off."

She wiped the few tears that had dropped from her eyes, and regained part of her strong composure, "Tell me a new lie."

"You're not gorgeous," he murmured. She allowed a small crooked smile pass as she lowered her head back into her arms,

"You're an asshole."

He smiled, and left her to gain some time to herself, only until she needed a shoulder to cry on. And she knew that she could rely on him to settle her rampant nerves whenever she needed him to. Sean was the one person she could ever reveal her true vulnerability to, and for that she was truly grateful.