Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.

Author's Note: Another day, another new Chrave story from Ol' Trip. But this is unlike any other Chrave story I have ever attempted and I hope you like it. This story is a That's So Raven AU or Alternate Universe fic.

One major change in the storyline of TSR is the catalyst for this story. Raven and Chelsea are in college but have never met until this story. As will be explained later in the story, Chelsea's parents were supposed to move from Washington, DC to San Francisco before Chelsea was born but never did. Therefore, Raven grew up, not with Eddie and CHELSEA as her best friends but Eddie and ALANA.

I am using the plot of Cory in the House as a guide for this story but it's not really a crossover. Victor is the Executive Chef of the White House but unlike their characters on the show, they do not live in the White House. They live in the suburbs of Washington, DC just like the real life Executive Chef does.

By the way, one more thing. This story is set in and around the Washington, DC area. This is my hometown, so all places and street names mentioned are as real as it gets. I want to give my hometown a little love in this story!

So I really hope you enjoy my story. I think it will be fun to write as well as fun to read. Much love goes to my friend Pookie22. We came up with the same concept for our stories without even talking about it! How wild is that! And to Chelsea Van der Pol and DynnaChae for being my sounding boards and good friends. Okay! Here we go!

It Had To Be You

Chapter 1

Coast to Coast

Raven Baxter sat in the gate area in one of the expansive concourses of Los Angeles International Airport awaiting her flight. It was the end of her junior year at UCLA where she was majoring in fashion design and she was headed across country to visit her father and brother for the first time since they moved to the suburbs of Washington, DC. Raven's father, Victor, became Executive Chef of the White House following the landslide election of then-California Governor Richard Martinez to the highest office in the land.

Her father and brother were so excited about their new move and new surroundings. Victor and Cory moved into a nice four-bedroom house in the suburban enclave of Laurel, Maryland, approximately 15 miles north of DC. Using a few White House connections, Victor managed to get Cory enrolled at the exclusive private Sidwell Friends School in Northwest Washington where Chelsea Clinton, Al Gore III, the daughter of Richard Nixon and other notable Americans attended. It was there that he met his new best friends Meena Paroom, daughter of the Bahavian ambassador and Newt Livingston III, son of Senator Newton Livingston II and Supreme Court Justice Barbara Cantwell Livingston.

At the White House, Victor's easy management style has made him a favorite of his kitchen staff as well as the White House secretary and First Lady Elizabeth Martinez. Even the notoriously crusty Chief Usher of the White House, whom Victor works with closely, has warmed up to the California-bred chef. His culinary presentation has been lauded by heads of state and dignitaries around the world for its resemblance in taste and appearance to their favorite dishes from home.

Raven was happy for them and couldn't wait to see them as well as her best friend Alana Trujillo, who has been stationed at the Pentagon doing Army intelligence since she left basic training after graduating high school. Indeed, Raven looked forward spending the summer in the Nation's Capital to reunite with family and friend… and to get away from her.

In their senior year of high school, Raven tried to date her best friend Eddie. Her other relationships had come and gone and she figured that if she couldn't make things work with Eddie then there was no hope. Several dates and make out sessions later, her fears were realized. She was going to go through life without a meaningful romantic relationship. She went to college with a sense of pessimism that contradicted everything that people in her life knew to be Raven Baxter.

For the better part of the first semester, she moped around UCLA's Westwood campus mourning the loss of romance in her life. Compounding that loss was the loss of a budding friendship she was developing with her roommate who was killed in a drunk driving accident early in the spring semester of her freshman year. The housing office gave her the option to have the room to herself for the remainder of the term. The idea of being there by herself was frightening to her and she asked for someone to be assigned. That is where fate stepped in. Enter Bianca Ferrell.

If the last name isn't familiar, the first name should be… Bianca. Raven couldn't believe her eyes. It was Bianca… that Bianca. The same Bianca that terrorized her along with her cronies, Muffy and Loca, was now her college roommate. How did this heifer even make it into college? Raven thought to herself. She was an arch criminal in high school!

Time, however, had softened Bianca. She immediately apologized to Raven for everything that she had done to her and begged her forgiveness. Raven accepted her apology. That acceptance was the catalyst for a close friendship to form that after a year morphed into something more. Raven didn't know how or when it happened but she and Bianca had actually fallen for each other.

The close friendship they shared grew even closer during their sophomore year and going into their junior year. But then, school started getting more intense for the both of them. Each of them had part-time jobs to supplement the money that parents, and in Bianca's case uncles and aunts, had sent them. A gap started to form that widened into a pothole that became a chasm. They saw each other less and less. And then for Raven the unthinkable happened… Bianca cheated on her with some random chick that she met at a party that she managed to find time to sneak off to. Game, set and match. Their relationship, their friendship was over.

The last month and a half of school was hell to say the least. Sharing a room with a girl she couldn't stand drove Raven up the wall. It took nightly cell phone calls from Alana and Eddie, who was at attending USC across town, to keep her from flicking off and killing Bianca. Two deaths in one dorm room was "not cool" according to her reasoning.

So there she sat with her carry-on bag at her feet and her laptop in her lap awaiting her flight into Baltimore's BWI Airport, the one closest to her father's house. She began pecking away at her keyboard, penning another one of her short stories. Her love of television and storytelling had taken her to the fan fiction website where she began writing stories based on her favorite shows. She was in the middle of a chapter in the latest Degrassi story she had written when her eyelids began to get heavy. Moments later, she drifted off to sleep.

Raven was awakened by the gentle nudge of a pleasant, distinguished looking African-American woman that appeared to be in her sixties.

"Sweetheart, you want to be careful. You don't want anyone stealing your expensive laptop." The woman said softly.

Raven, still a bit groggy from her impromptu nap, looked at her surroundings and then at the woman and smiled.

"Thank you. I don't even remember nodding off. This is the most relaxed I've been in a while." Raven said. "Ma'am, could you tell me what time it is?"

"About quarter to nine." The woman offered.

"Good. I don't want to miss my flight. I miss my family." Raven said.

"Flying home to Baltimore?" The woman asked.

"No, well, yeah. My father and brother moved about two years ago. My father works in DC. I stayed out here and went to school. It'll be my first time visiting." Raven said.

"Poor baby. What did you do for the holidays? Christmas, Thanksgiving?" The woman asked.

"Spent it with my girl…" Raven caught herself. She had come out to her family and friends but was not keen on broadcasting it to strangers. "My friend out here."

The woman picked up on Raven's Freudian slip but decided not to press. She then glimpsed the screen saver on Raven's laptop and had to ask. "Is that her?"

Raven looked at the screen. "Her? No. This is my best friend Alana. I'll get to see her too. She works at the Pentagon. I haven't seen her in two and a half years. Wow!"

"Well I'm sure she misses you too…"

"Raven. Raven Baxter."

"Shirley Washington. Pleasure to meet you. I… didn't mean to take you away from what you were doing…"

"It's okay." Raven said. "I hate coming to the airport by myself anyway. So are you going home?"

"No. I'm visiting my son. He lives near Baltimore with his wife. I make the trip every year. She's pregnant with my first grandchild." Shirley said.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Washington! That's wonderful!" Raven exclaimed.

"Shirley, please."

"Okay, Shirley." Raven smiles.

"So what does your father do in Washington?" Shirley inquired.

"He's the Executive Chef at the White House." Raven said proudly.

"You mean that handsome man with the bald head that they call 'Chef Victor' is your father?" Shirley asked. Raven nodded and produced a picture of the entire family. "I saw him on Good Morning America a few weeks ago. Your father is very talented."

"I didn't get this figure by eating yogurt I'll tell you that!" Raven said causing both of them to laugh.

"Your mother is pretty. I see where you get your looks." Shirley said.

"Thank you." Raven said with a slightly forlorn look on her face. "She's in England right now. I really miss her. She'll be home next year though. Studying law." Shirley nodded and was about to speak when the intercom at the gate crackled.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Southwest Airlines would like to welcome you to flight 1394 with non-stop service to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. We invite passengers seated in rows 28-34 to board at this time.

"Well, that's our cue." Raven said as she gathered her things.

"I don't know if we are sitting near each other but it was a pleasure talking to you, Raven." Shirley said.

"You too Shirley. Or should I say Grandma." Raven said with a smile. Raven extended her hand to Shirley who took it and then placed her free hand on top.

"You are a delightful young woman and I wish you nothing but happiness in life." Shirley said before gently patting Raven's cheek.

Raven smiled and then caught herself as she felt a surprise rush of emotion wash over her. It took everything she had inside to suppress the onset of tears that she felt as Shirley made her way to the quickly forming line.

God! That felt like I was talking to my grandmother. Raven thought to herself. Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Five and a half hours later, Raven landed at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. She had called her brother, father and Alana to let them know her flight information, but due to work and school, they were unable to pick her up from the airport. Raven was going to catch a shuttle van from the airport to her father's house where he left a key in the Hide-a-key rock by the front door.

Raven went down to the baggage claim carousel to retrieve her bags. She didn't bring a lot, figuring that she would take advantage of the shopping alternatives that the DC Metro area had to offer. She waited for roughly five minutes for the bags from her flight to be loaded. As she was standing at the carousel, someone bumped into the back of legs with a luggage cart without saying they were sorry. She turned around to give them a piece of her mind when she froze dead in her tracks.

"I thought you might need this." The person said in a monotone voice.

"ALANA!" Raven squealed as she jumped up and down, embracing her best friend in a python-like bear hug. Alana, however, was too overjoyed to care as she threw her arms around Raven and openly wept. Raven's tears flowed as well. As Raven had told Shirley back in LA, it had been over two years since she laid eyes on her beautiful Latina best friend.

Alana began muttering in Spanish, as she did when she got excited. She got the shock of her life, however, when Raven came back and matched her fluently word for word.

"You speak Spanish?" Alana asked incredulously.

"Half the time, I don't know what the hell you be sayin'! So I went and got one of those Rosetta Stone things." Raven said. "They work like a champ!"

That set Alana off on another tangent of Spanish utterances that culminated in the very English, "I missed the hell out of you, girl!"

"Me too!" Raven said as she motioned to Alana that her bags were coming around to their position. "But what are you doing here? I thought you had to work!"

"Well, your father couldn't take off and Cory has a big test today and there was no way in hell I was gonna let you take a raggedy shuttle to your pop's house!" Alana said as they both pulled a total of four bags off the carousel. "That it?" Alana asked. Raven said yes. "Come on. I parked in the garage."

They loaded up Raven's bags into Alana's 2005 Nissan Pathfinder and took off on the twenty minute trip to Victor's house.

"So what have you been up to? What's his name? How big is he and I ain't talking about his weight! And are you happy?" Raven fired off questions to her BFF.

"Working hard. Lieutenant Darius Mackey, graduate of the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis. GODDAMN! And yes." Alana answered Raven's questions in order.

"I am so happy for you." Raven said with a smile. "Now back to the goddamn…"

"A girl never kisses and tells, Raven. She may kiss and grin from ear to ear…" Raven began cracking up when Alana said that. "But never will she tell. But what about you? Have you finally got that bitch out of your system?" Alana asked referring to Bianca.

"I did. I did." Raven reassured Alana and herself. "I don't even want to think about her. She is persona non grata. She doesn't exist. I just want to chill out, relax, enjoy my family, enjoy my girl…"

"Get laid…" Alana added.

"LA LA?" Raven said, using her occasional nickname for Alana.

"Raven, it is my personal quest in the next three months to get you laid." Alana said with determination. "You yourself said that you didn't have sex with that bitch for the last two months you were together. Two months is too much time to let go by. Your kitty cat could dry out any day now!"

"First of all, you need mental counseling. Second, are you going to refer to Bianca as 'that bitch' for the rest of your life? And third, what are you my pimp now?" Raven said.

"She will always be 'that bitch' to me and no I am not your pimp." Alana said. "But just for the record, how much do you think I could get for your services?"

"Ugghhhh! You are so nasty!" Raven said in mock disgust.

"I don't know Rae. Brothas in DC like 'em thick! And you got mo' cornbread than Jiffy!" Alana said.

"SHUT UP!" Raven said laughing.

"Bring ALL the boys… and girls to the yard!" Alana added.

"You are sick! And I missed you, you sick heifer you!" Raven said.

"We are gonna tear this place UP! You hear me!" Alana said before rattling off the major DC area shopping destinations. "Arundel Mills, Potomac Mills, Tyson's Corner, Bowie Town Center, Dulles Town Center, Mazza Galleria…"

"Don't forget Georgetown! That's right, I do my homework!" Raven said.

"Was there any doubt?" Alana said with a smile. "Alright, here we are." Alana pulled into a residential neighborhood just off of the major highway they came off of. Raven remembered seeing a sign that said "Baltimore-Washington Parkway". She wanted to remember it for when she felt comfortable enough with the area to drive.

"This is nice. Dear Old Dad done good." Raven said with a smile.

Moments later, They pulled into the driveway of the two-story colonial with tan siding. Raven got out of Alana's truck and took in the surroundings. It was a quiet, clean, tree- lined residential neighborhood in the suburbs.

"How far are we from the city?" Raven asked.

"Twenty-five minutes without traffic, an hour with it." Alana said as she unloaded the bags.

"Sounds like home." Raven said.

"Second-worst traffic in America. Welcome to Washington, DC!" Alana proclaimed.

Alana and Raven had two bags a piece as they neared the front door. Raven began looking around the right side of the door for the rock that her father said that he place the key under.

"He… said it was… a brown rock with a crack… in it." Raven said as she bent down in search of the elusive stone.

"Here's the rock, Rae." A brown hand with the rock in it extended downward . Raven took the rock and stood up to face the giver.

"Thanks, Dad." Raven said non-chalantly as she opened the rock to take the key out. Two seconds later, her mind registered what had just taken place. "Dad?" She said to herself before looking to her left. "DAD!" Raven exclaimed before jumping into his arms.

Victor picked Raven up and spun her around. "My baby girl is home!"

As Raven wiped her tears, Victor sat her down. "Baby girl? I better be your only girl, that's all I'm sayin'!" Raven joked.

"You know you are." Victor said with a beaming smile.

"So let me guess… you're off today too and are in on this little ruse." Raven said. "Where's Cockroach?" Raven asked, referring to her brother.

"Should be at football practice. Wanna ride with me to pick him up?"

"Football practice? This I have got to see!" Raven exclaimed. "Come on La La."

"This is family time. I'll just…" Alana started.

"You'll just hop your behind in my father's car and ride with us." Raven said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You are just as much my family as anybody. La familia." Both Raven and Alana smiled just before embracing warmly and walking arm in arm heading toward Victor's car. "Is it that obvious that I need to get laid?" Raven asked.

"You might as well scribble it on your forehead in magic marker." Alana joked.

"It has been a minute." Raven said. "And I heard that the chicks in DC are nice."

Alana grinned. She then paused, looked at Raven and proclaimed, "Atta girl. Chocolate City better look out, 'cause Raven is here!"

That was chapter one. What do you think? PLEASE REVIEW.