Um yes hi hello, I know I said I was going to take a break, but I missed my lil' beans too much and this came to be. These outtakes will also kinda serve as the prequel before the actual sequel... I don't really what to call this, y'all. This won't really have a set schedule because I have some other things I'm working on. *glares at several WIPs* But this will be a fun little side project while I finish planning the sequel. Hopefully you lovelies enjoy! This should hopefully be full of fluff, with the occasional bit of angst because I must defend my title of angst princess. ~Shaymie

Lorin

"I never thought I would live to see the day Lorin Haywood-Hamilton drinks coffee." I glared at my sister as she sat next to me at the kitchen table. I could hear Clover babbling in the living room and sighed. If I had remembered that Darcy was coming over, I would have tried to actually get dressed. As it was, I was dressed in one of Alex's shirts and some sweatpants. My hair was in the same messy bun I had tossed it in a few days ago.

"I'm exhausted, Dar," I groaned, rubbing my eyes. I hadn't even made breakfast because Philip was such a light sleeper. Anything could wake him up, and then it would take forever to get him back to sleep. I knew things were supposed to get easier as he got older, but at the same time, I didn't want him to get bigger. He was just too precious.

"I can tell. You look like shit," Darcy sighed, taking my hair down and running a hand through it. I flinched as she tugged through some knots. Maybe I had been neglecting my self-care a bit. "Lori, you need some personal mommy-time. What are you and Alex doing for Valentine's Day?"

I bit my lip. I didn't want to admit it, but Valentine's Day terrified me. Alex and I hadn't done anything special for it in a long time. I knew I shouldn't be so paranoid, but just the thought of going out for it was almost enough to send me into a panic attack. I had to remind myself that nobody would hurt me. I was safe. Granted, James had been out of jail for about a year now for "good behavior"-news studios had a field day with that story and didn't hesitate to bombard me with questions, asking how I felt about it- but he was never going to hurt me again. George made sure of that.

"We don't really… celebrate Valentine's Day anymore." I felt like an idiot just for saying it. What kind of couple didn't celebrate Valentine's Day? But every time I tried to take a step out of the apartment on that day, I was assaulted with glimpses of a shiny handgun pointed straight at me and the maniacal laughter of my ex. Just thinking about it brought back the memory of my blood leaking from my body, warm, wet and sticky-

"Lori?" Darcy grabbed my hand, snapping me back to reality. I shivered, even though the apartment was plenty warm. I hated thinking about that night. I hated that I had yet another thing to go to therapy about. I hated that James has ruined me. I couldn't even go out drinking with everyone on the 4th of July because I was too busy spending the night curled up with headphones over my ears, trying to block out the sound of the fireworks. I hated how I kept Alex from having fun with everyone else.

"I… I'm sorry for spacing out like that."

"I'm sorry for being so insensitive. I should have known." Darcy cupped my cheek and wiped away some tears that I didn't even notice had fallen. She kissed my forehead and brushed some hair back from my face. "Are you alright? I thought I lost you for a second there."

"I'm fine," I sighed, taking a sip of my coffee. My trembling hands said otherwise. "I just… Every time I think I'm past it, I'm not. My therapist said that I'll never truly be past it. You know, PTSD and all that. I hate that I'll never be how I used to be."

"Lori, you've been through more shit than anyone should ever have to deal with. And every time you're knocked down, you come back stronger than before. You might not see it, but you've changed for the better. You talk more. You laugh more. You're happier, y-you're more confident. I mean, you're on Broadway. Yeah, it's not fair that you had to go through those awful things to get to this point, but it just shows how strong you are. You're the strongest person I know, Lori, and I'm not saying that lightly. You're the only person I know that's told death to fuck off more than once."

"I wish I had something to show for this strength aside from shaky hands. But… thank you, Darcy." I hugged my sister and smiled. She gave the best pep talks. Maybe there were some good things about my experiences. My therapists have said that everything happens for a reason. And in the words of one of my favorite musicals, "what doesn't kill me doesn't kill me".

"Why aren't you in bed, love?" I blinked as Alex walked into the kitchen, Clover clinging to his leg. He didn't look anywhere near as tired as I felt. Then again, he was probably used to running on little sleep. He ran a hand through his hair, which he hadn't bothered to brush. God, he was so handsome. I hope Philip looks more like him than me when he grows up. It was hard to tell which of us he looked more like now. He still kinda looked like a wrinkled blob. Clover cried the first time she saw him.

"Damn, both of you look like trash." Darcy stood up and grabbed the box of Pop-Tarts from the top of the fridge. She took a package out and tossed it to me, clicking her teeth when I failed to catch it. Clover found it hilarious and burst into laughter. I sighed and grabbed the snack from the floor. At least it was still wrapped. "You two need some time to yourselves. J and I will watch Philip tomorrow."

"You don't have to, Dar-"

"You look like you're going to fall over any second now, Lori. And I want to spend some time with my nephew. This isn't up for discussion, darling."

"It's so quiet without Pip screaming his head off," Alex murmured sleepily, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. I smiled. Darcy came by early this morning to pick up our son and told us to have fun, but not too much fun. So far our "day off" has consisted of us lying in bed, dozing in and out of consciousness. We should probably get up to eat something at some point, but it was too warm…

"It's nice. It's… peaceful." I turned to face my husband and brushed some hair from his face. The easygoing grin on his face made my heart flutter. How was I so lucky? I had the perfect husband. Not that I'd ever tell him that to his face. His ego was big enough as it was. "Alex, you know we're going to have to get out of bed eventually."

"I don't wanna." Alex groaned and buried his head in my chest, a crooked little smirk on my face. "Can't we stay in bed a little longer? I'll order a pizza or something."

"One of us still has to leave bed to get it," I pointed out. I chuckled as Alex huffed and rolled over, a deep sigh coming from his chest. Of course I would end up marrying the biggest man-child on the planet. I wonder if everyone at the firm knew how immature he was. He was one of the best lawyers there, probably tied with Aaron. They were often assigned to work together on cases.

"I don't want you to leave my side, Lo. So I guess we'll starve here." Alex stared up at the ceiling fan and yawned. I rolled my eyes. I thought I was dramatic, considering I was an actress, but Alex took it to a new level. I grabbed my phone and saw that I had a text from Darcy. I clumsily unlocked my phone and smiled when I opened the text. It was a picture of Colton holding Philip. My heart just about melted. While Colton wasn't the biggest fan of Alex-he swore that I could do better and nearly pitched a fit when he found out that we were going to have a baby-he was enamored with Philip. He came over almost every day after school to see him. I think he was excited about having another boy in the family.

"We made a pretty cute kid," Alex murmured, turning to see the picture. He kissed my cheek and grabbed the phone from me. I sighed as he sent the picture to himself. He had an entire album on his phone dedicated to Philip. I thought I would be the doting parent, but Alex clearly had me beat in that category. I curled up next to him and closed my eyes. Maybe staying in bed wouldn't be so bad after all.

"We sure did."