Season 3, Episode 18:  Choke

Ownership of Glee:  FOX, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk

/ / /

Angie is walking with Sugar, Tina, Mercedes, Brittany and Santana when they see that Coach Beiste has a black eye.

"Aw, hell. Looks like Mr. Beiste went all Chris Brown on Mrs. Beiste — What happened, Coach, Cooter put the smack-down on you 'cause you wouldn't let him be on top?" Santana remarks.

Angie is the only girl that doesn't find that statement funny whatsoever.

"What did you just say?" Roz asks.

"Nothing. It was a joke." Mercedes says.

Roz eyes the girls. "So, men hitting women is funny to you?"

Angie shakes her head. "It's not funny at all Coach Washington." She says.

Roz nods at Angie. "You're the only one out of this group of ladies that actually has some common sense. You are not on my list. What's your name short stuff?" She asks.

"Angie." Angie answers.

"Thank you Angie for not being stupid, unlike your little friends. You may go." Roz tells her.

Angie has never walked away so fast in her life.

/ / /

Blaine sits in the auditorium to watch Kurt rehearse 'The Music of the Night' from Phantom of the Opera with help from Tina.

[The Music of the Night by Kurt]

"Fantastic! I loved it." Blaine says.

"I don't know. My entire future is riding on this audition. It has to be perfect. What if I sequin my cape? Or if sing it in German? Or if I did it in the nude?" Kurt rambles.

Blaine raises an eyebrow.

"What? I'm serious. I've always been ahead of the curve, and my audition needs to show that. And right now it-it's too safe, it's too predictable, it's boring — I'm bored!" Kurt vents.

"I think you're overthinking it." Blaine states.

"Excuse me, my foot fall asleep. I can't feel it at all. Can I go walk it off?" Tina asks.

"Yeah, sure, just don't go far. And thanks." Kurt says.

Tina nods. "Okay."

"I'm starting from scratch. I need something fresh. I need something edgy, something completely unpredictable. Or maybe I just need more candles." Kurt mumbles.

"Oh, God, no. No more candles." Blaine says.

/ / /

With the exception of Rachel and Quinn, the rest of the glee girls are gathered in the choir room, facing Sue, Roz and Beiste.

"Now I realize this room is America's number one destination for cheap, sappy moralizing, but your insensitive behavior is about to subject you to a whole new level of preachiness." Sue states to 5 of the 6 girls.

"Is this about the comment that I made in the hallway earlier?" Santana remarks.

"You bet your perfectly round ass it is." Roz states.

"Coach Sylvester, I hardly think you're one to preach on what we can and cannot joke about." Sugar claims.

Santana nods. "Yeah. You make fun of us all the time."

"Sandbags, I admit I can be a bit abrasive. And yes, I've fantasized about slapping each and every one of you square across the face with a sturdy, wet fish. But that doesn't mean you deserve it. No one deserves to get hit." Sue comments.

"Coach Sylvester, we already know that." Tina says.

Mercedes nods. "Yeah, and none of our guys would ever do anything like that. And if they did, we'd just get the hell out."

"I don't think the gravity of this is landing with you girls." Beiste says.

"I think that not one of you understand what violence in a home really feels like. When I was growing up, my aunt married a man that was nice to everybody. Used to bring us presents when he came to visit and never had an unkind word to say to anybody. But at home, he had a temper. And that man started beating her. She'd lie, she'd make a joke out of it. She said she'd done this or that wrong. She'd tell my momma he was a good man and she had it coming. It took my aunt five years and a trip to ICU to stop making excuses for that man and get a divorce." Roz explains.

"Ladies, the American songbook is chock-full of songs making light of men hitting women. And since the only way to get anything into your thick, dopey heads is to force you to sing about it, for this week's assignment, I want you to turn those songs into songs of empowerment that say, 'You lay a hand on me, it's over.'" Sue instructs.

Angie hangs back when everyone leaves. "Are you okay Coach Beiste?" She asks.

Beiste gives her a fake smile. "I'm fine pumpkin. I can't wait to hear your song." She says.

Angie nods and hugs the football coach.

"We love you Coach Beiste. I don't want you to get hurt."

/ / /

Angie sits in the audience of the auditorium with Beiste, Sue and Roz, watching Santana, Mercedes, Brittany, Tina and Sugar perform 'Cell Block Tango' from Chicago.

"And now, the six merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail in their rendition of 'The Cell Block Tango.'" Mercedes says.

[Cell Block Tango by Mercedes, Brittany, Tina, Santana and Sugar]

Angie watches, visibly uncomfortable. Even more upsetting is when Beiste gets up and leaves.

"What happened to Beiste?" Santana asks.

"Uh, did we do something wrong?" Mercedes questions.

"Well, you completely butchered one of my all-time favorite Kander and Ebb tunes, while completely missing the point of absolutely everything." Sue comments.

"You girls are cray-cray. You were supposed to pick a song that gave women the self-esteem and courage to get the hell out of an abusive situation. But, oh, no. You pick a song about crazy women in their panties killing their men for chewing gum. How is that supposed to help?" Roz vents.

Angie shakes her head.

"I am extremely disappointed in you girls."

/ / /

Angie is practically dragged down the hallway by Roz and Sue as they go to look for Beiste. They find her in an empty classroom.

"How dare you stand up and leave? We all wanted out of that room." Roz says.

Beiste sniffles. "I'm sorry. I was sitting there listening to that song, and I couldn't handle it. I was too embarrassed."

"Why would you be embarrassed? Those girls were the ones stinking up that auditorium." Roz says.

"He hit me. I didn't get hurt boxing at the gym. Cooter hit me." Beiste reveals.

Angie's hands cover her mouth in shock.

"He'd been bugging me all weekend to do the dishes, and I-I promised him I would, but I forgot. And then when he came home from work, I could tell he had had a few drinks. And he started yelling, and I tried to calm him down, and then he hit me. But as soon as it happened, I mean, right away, he was so sorry. And he started crying and begging me to forgive him." Beiste says as she tries to choke back sobs.

"Sweetheart, you're as big as a house. Why didn't you just turn around and kick his ass?" Roz questions.

"I'm not a violent person." Beiste answers.

"Coach Beiste, you have to get out of that house right now." Angie speaks up.

Beiste shakes her head. "Can't. I can't leave him."

"Why the hell not?" Roz and Angie question.

Beiste is sobbing softly. "Because I don't think anybody else is ever going to love me."

Sue sits down next to her friend. "Shannon, listen. You're gonna stay with me tonight, okay? If you don't have a change of clothes, I have a tent you can wear."

Beiste nods.

But it breaks her heart when she sees Angie's tears.

/ / /

Angie is sitting in the back of the auditorium at Kurt and Rachel's NYADA auditions.

"Hello. I'm Kurt Hummel, and I'll be performing "Music of the Night" from the seminal Phantom of the Opera by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber." Kurt says.

Carmen Tibideaux, the woman who's spearheading the auditions, sighs.

"Which I bet you hear a lot of." Kurt adds.

"That song. That, "The Impossible Dream" from La Mancha and "Being Alive" from Company, yes." Carmen answers.

"It's a safe and standard choice. Which is why I've decided to change things up a bit. Here, in the 11th hour, I've decided to go in a different direction. Something that's a little more out there, but much more me. "Not the Boy Next Door," from the Peter Allen bio-musical, The Boy from Oz. Ladies?" Kurt says.

Tina, Brittany and Mercedes come out dressed in the dresses the New Directions girls wore for their first Regionals competition.

Kurt sings 'Not the Boy Next Door,' with Brittany, Tina and Mercedes on backup vocals.

[Not the Boy Next Door by Kurt]

Angie watches from her spot in the back of the auditorium with a smile.

"You know, Hugh Jackman won a Tony Award for playing Peter Allen. Hugh trained with me the summer I was in residence at the Sydney Opera House, and I'm certain that he would have been... as impressed with what you did with that song as I am. A bold choice, young man. I congratulate you for taking such a risk today." Carmen states.

"Thank you." Kurt says and walks offstage.

Angie smiles when Kurt and Finn both sit down next to her. "Kurt you were amazing!" Angie says softly but proudly.

Kurt smiles. "Thank you."

Angie perks up. "It's Rachel's turn."

"Rachel Berry." Carmen calls.

Rachel walks onstage. "Hi. I'm Rachel Berry, and I'll be singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" from my favorite musical, Funny Girl."

Rachel begins singing, and then she suddenly forgets the words.

Angie pales. "Oh God."

Rachel looks apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry. Please, let me just start over one more time. I'm sorry. Please just start over again one more time." Rachel says.

Rachel tries again, but ultimately fails a second time.

Kurt, Finn and Angie look at each other in shock. Rachel never forgets the words to a Barbra song.

"Oh, God." Kurt states.

"This isn't happening." Angie says in disbelief.

Rachel is onstage, stammering. "I'm... I'm so sorry. I don't know... I know this song backwards. I know this... Okay. Please, let me just do it one more time. I can start it over one more time."

"No." Carmen states.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asks.

"You get eight bars. I gave you 16. Do you know what happens when you forget the words on Broadway? They give the job to your understudy. I'm very sorry, but this audition is over." Carmen says and begins to leave.

"No, please... please, please, please. You have to believe me. You just have to... please just give me one more chance, please. Please. Please." Rachel pleads.

Carmen leaves.

The three members of the audience just sit there in shock.

Rachel choked on her NYADA audition song.

/ / /

Angie knocks on the door to Beiste's office. "Coach? Do you have a minute?" She asks.

Beiste looks at her and nods. "Of course pumpkin." She says.

Angie walks in, tears falling down her cheeks. Beiste sees this and frowns.

"What's wrong?" Beiste asks.

"I'm failing at the glee assignment. To find a song that turns into one of empowerment. I'm so sorry." Angie chokes out.

Beiste hugs her. "Hey. It's okay. You haven't failed. You just haven't found the right song yet. Angie, you've stood up for me this week, and that's something I'll never forget. Don't stress yourself out over the song. Tomorrow, I want you to get in front of all those girls and sing something that empowers you. You've gone through hell and back, and I've seen how much stronger you are because of it. Sing something for me okay? Sing something that helps you get through the really bad days." She says.

Angie nods and wipes at her eyes.

"I won't let you down Coach."

/ / /

Angie is sitting at a piano on the auditorium stage. In the auditorium are the glee girls, Sue, Roz and Beiste.

"I was trying to figure out what song to sing this week, but I haven't been able to find anything that really fits. So Coach Beiste asked me to sing a song that I find helps me with the bad days. And if it's alright with you, Coach Washington and Coach Sylvester, I'd like to sing that song." Angie says.

The two mentioned women nod their heads.

Angie belts out the Sia version of David Guetta's 'Titanium' while playing the piano.

[Titanium by Angie]

When she finishes, all three coaches and the glee girls stand up and give applause.

Sue gives her a smile. "This is the kind of song that we've been waiting to hear all week. Angie... words cannot express how proud I am of you."

Angie smiles tearfully when she sees Beiste's smile.

"That was for you, Coach Beiste."

/ / /

Angie and Finn are cuddling together in their bed.

"How's Rachel doing?" Angie asks Finn.

Finn runs a hand through his hair. "She's devastated. Utterly destroyed. I've never seen her like this." He replies.

Angie frowns. "Rachel's been looking forward to her NYADA audition all year long. I know it's normal for people to sometimes forget lyrics to songs, but... Rachel is an exception to that."

Finn sighs. "I know. Hey, have you been doing okay? You've been dragging your feet the last couple of days." He tells her.

Angie sighs. "Not really. The other day, Mercedes, Tina, Sugar, Brittany and Santana were making fun of Coach Beiste's black eye, joking about how Cooter hit her. And... he actually did hit her." She reveals.

Finn's mouth hangs open in shock.

"I was so sad. One of the strongest women I've ever met in my entire life got hit by the man that's supposed to love her and made a vow to never lay a finger on her. We were supposed to sing songs about empowerment for women to get out of abusive relationships, but I couldn't find any. I felt like I was letting Coach Beiste down." Angie admits, tears forming in her eyes.

Finn says nothing and lets her continue.

"I sang Titanium yesterday for Coach Beiste, and seeing the pride that those three coaches had in me... it made me feel like I had done something right. I felt like I was helping her, y'know? She's not just our coach, she's our friend." Angie explains.

Finn nods and kisses her head. "Baby I'm so proud of you for sticking up for her like that. I'm extremely proud of you. And I'm going to promise you something that I will never ever go back on. I promise — no I swear to you — that I will never... ever lay a hand on you. That's not right for someone to lay their hands on someone else. I swear on my life that I won't ever make you go through what Cooter made Coach Beiste go through. I love you too much to ever think about hurting you." Finn says, in tears as he's talking.

Angie can't help but cry. "I love you too Finn." She says and cries into his shoulder. Finn cries with her, holding her close.

Abuse is never okay.

/ / /

2616 words

Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. The Music of the Night - Kurt
2. Cell Block Tango - Mercedes, Santana, Sugar, Brittany and Tina
3. Not the Boy Next Door - Kurt
4. Titanium - Angie

This was very emotional.

*Guys, abuse is never okay. Please know that. It's never okay to lay your hands on someone and vice versa.*

Next update: Prom-A-Saurus

2 episodes to Props
3 episodes to Nationals
4 episodes to Goodbye