A bit short but this is more of an starting/introduction chapter then anything, the filling's going to come in the next one, I'm planning on this being four chapters long, so it might be a bit longer for other chapters to be posted.

I don't own anything in this story but the plot.

It had been three weeks since the call had come though. Seven weeks; twenty one days, five hundred and four hours since it's come out of the blue.

Josh and the rest of his team had just finished the season, planning to spend the next four weeks just relaxing around the house. Josh had just dumped his stuff on the ground, causing the female resident to glare at him and Berto to almost trip and drop the younger man's own bags. He'd been in the middle of a fight over the mess (who cared if his clothing wasn't all washed?) when the phone had rung and been picked up by Berto.

"Josh, it's for you."

"Yeah? Who is it, dad?"

"No.. Just come to the phone."

Flowers would have been a bad idea to give to his ex on her first day home, even if a year long trip at sea had somewhat softened her towards him. They might have helped Josh's stress level though, seeing as Pete had stopped him from pacing a couple of hours ago and it wouldn't be a good idea of hi shirt sleeves got ripped to shreds.

Of course Pete looked calm, he hadn't been the one to cheat on the girl and almost ruin everything for the musketeers. He just stood with both arms folded across his chest, grilling Josh about what the blond haired man was not going to be doing or talking about.

"Remember, she's still a bit sore about the whole kiss issue… I've tried to explain it as much as I could without telling her about the whole 'secret agent super-hero' thing but, well you know." Yeah, Josh did know how it was and he was sorry for it, sorry that he's hurt his girl, sorry that his best friend had been dragged into the middle of it all. He also had to give points to Pete for trying to help out, last time the issue had come up they'd almost gotten into a fist fight and not talked to each other for months.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have gotten her something?" Josh began pacing again, his mind racing. "I mean, we did see those flowers at the gift shop-"

"Bad idea, they were brown and wilting. Isn't that her?" Pete pointed to a group of girls giggling and dragging suitcases behind them. Right in the middle, smiling that same smile, was Laura. "Hey! Over here!" Pete began waving his arms and hopping around, causing all the girls to look over and quite a few to roll their eyes or laugh at the sight.

The two men jogged over to exchange hugs (really awkward hugs on Josh's part, he could have sworn that Laura barely touched him) and grab their friend's stuff. All three trying to act like nothing had happened, or at least that no hard feelings were in place.

"The trip was great!" Laura laughed as she threw her stuff into Pete's trunk (his car being bigger on the inside and thus able to handle all the bags she'd brought along even though Josh could swear it was going to die on them each time he rode in it.) "I'm almost really sad to have to get back to collage and stuff. Though I don't have any pictures," She sighed in annoyance, "They managed to destroy all of them when I took them in to be developed."

"Well, the good thing is that you're back," Josh said, smiling as widely as he could. "Come on, I'll treat you all too some ice cream."

"Yeah, he's gotten a job while you got to measure fish," Pete joked causing Laura to laugh. Maybe this wasn't to be as horrible as Josh had first thought.

"Well I think that this is the last of it," Pete panted as he managed to haul the biggest suitcase to the top of the stairs to Laura's room. He looked down and groaned, spying a small box laying on the ground floor. "Never mind, I'll get it." He began trudging back down the stairs, leaving Josh alone with Laura for the first time since the breakup in Baja. Both of them looked away, Josh suddenly finding the wallpaper very interesting and Laura tracing her fingers against the dresser, looking at the invisible dust.

"So-" They both started then stopped, Josh waved his hand. "You go ahead."

"Thanks…" Laura seemed to steel herself for the next words out of her mouth. "Look, the year at sea gave me a lot of time to think… and.. I don't know if we could ever get together like we did before-" She stopped when a loud noise followed by Pete swearing a storm interrupted. The two smirked as something went down the stairs, followed by silence.

"I think we should talk someplace without stairs," Laura laughed.

"Um.. Laura.. was anything breakable in that box?" Josh raised his eyebrow at Laura's retreating back, surprised at the sudden suggestion of a meeting but not really against it. Maybe she's finally decided to trust him, or was it all just for the sake of not making Pete have to choose between the two of them. Shaking his head against the gloomy thoughts Josh followed his two friends to examine what damage the trip down the stairs had cost Laura's makeup.