Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

Life's Choices

The Past Is Always There

The building directory was constantly changing. There were a few offices that had been there for years, Harris and Hart Self-Help Clinic being one of them. New ones were a constant, though. The building manager was changing out names on a regular basis. The name he slid in today gave Tawni Hart reason to pause. Chad Dylan Cooper, Office Manager. It was odd, seeing that name. She hadn't thought of Chad in years. Not since he had transferred to some hoity-toity place in New York.

Portlyn had gone with him. Of course, she had been pregnant with his child at the time, so it hadn't been much of a surprise to see her go.

"Nico is going to love this," she murmured as she walked the mere four feet to the elevator.

Her pink pointy-toed Jimmy Choo's click-and-clacked against the white and gold marble floor. It was in this building that they had their first fight as partners. Nico had wanted some quaint little office by the waterfront. Or one of those prefabricated spaces the Condor Company offered. She had wanted to make a statement. Harris and Hart Self-Help Clinic wasn't going to be a cookie cutter facility. They were going to make a name for themselves. Not a name synonymous with failure, but a name that would make people nod in recognition. It was all about confidence. The appearance of success. An illusion to catalyze the dream. This building did just that. She had won that argument the way she usually won all of their arguments: threatening to spill to their clients the whole Cheese-Pants story. Now that he was old enough to appreciate the fact that what he had done as a teenager was completely embarrassing, it was easier to blackmail him with the information.

The office was empty when she entered, except for their oh-so somber receptionist. Ironically, it had been Nico who found Ms. Joy Bitterman. The sixty year-old woman made the perfect addition to their little "family," as Nico liked to call it. She was constantly reminding him that they were employees -- not family, not friends. He always managed to get emotionally involved with his subordinates on some level. And that was not acceptable when they were an aspiring company.

"Is Mr. Harris in yet?"

Joy looked up from the paperwork she was filing. "He's in his office, I believe." She was an efficient woman. She didn't wait for Tawni to say thank you; she knew it wouldn't be coming. She simply returned to filing.

Nico was indeed in his office, sitting behind his desk, fingers crossed, deep in thought. "You've seen the directory, right? That's what you're going to tell me. That you've seen Mr. Cooper's name in the directory." He looked up at her, his eyes intense.

Tawni nodded, setting her briefcase by the door before collapsing in one of the mahogany and navy striped wing back chairs that flanked his desk. His office had a homey feel to it. Nothing like her pink and fluffy one back down the hall. "Yes. Did you know?" She crossed her legs, smoothing down the slim pink skirt of her suit.

"No. Not till this morning. Caught Pike as he was changing out the directory. Guess he couldn't hack into it quickly enough."

"He never does," Tawni said smoothly. She drummed her french-tipped fingernails on the brocade upholstery. "Why do you think he came back?"

Nico shrugged. "Who knows. Heard him and Portlyn got divorced a few years ago. Maybe he got tired of being in her shadow. Wants to make a name for himself." At least that was what he was hoping. When he had first seen Chad's name he had almost panicked, thinking he knew. Then, he had shaken the thought off. Chad had left long before. There was no way for him to know.

"Sure. That makes sense. Have you called her yet? Given her fair warning?"

"I tried. Kept getting voice mail. She's probably shooting a scene."

It wasn't going to be easy. Telling Sonny that Chad was back. She would take it well, put on a show that she was fine, bottling up her real feelings. Sonny had always felt as if she wasn't allowed to curl up into a ball and cry. No. Sonny had always shouldered the blame and the hurt. It was only when she truly crumbled that her friends were welcome to pick up the pieces.

Tawni nodded. "What about Zora? Does she know?" Zora had been the only one of them to try to keep in touch with Chad. If emails once a year was keeping in touch, that is.

"Yeah, that's the thing I don't get. She knew. The least she could have done was warn everybody that the Evil Spawn was back." He didn't really think Chad was evil, or a spawn. He felt indifference where Chad was concerned. But the thought of his return, and all the subsequent pain associated with it, brought up long quieted feelings of bitterness.

"So she knew then," Tawni stated quietly, frowning. It wasn't like Zora to keep things from her. Given the circumstances, they all should have known.

"Yeah. She knew. She said Chad called her last night. They're supposed to meet for lunch," he said dryly. It was lunch; he knew that. Zora was happy with Mr. Hollaway. Her eyes never wandered. Still. Lunch with Chad. It didn't sit right with him.

Tawni shook her head. There was nothing they could do. Aside from giving Sonny fair warning. "Try Sonny again," she suggested, standing up. Smoothing her skirt down over her knees, she reached for her briefcase. Nico nodded, reaching for the phone on his desk. She didn't stay to find out if he was able to get through this time. She needed to call Zora to find out what the hell was going on.

A/N: I hope you guys liked the first chapter of my first story :) Please review! I'd also like to give a big shout-out to: pyrolyn-776, faerietaleredux, Pwnguin, dodging words and Loved-Invention! They all really helped me with proof-reading it; catching grammatical errors and such. Especially you, pyro :D You helped me stay consistent with my tenses throughout the entire story! And you, faerietaleredux! You helped me out so much with everything. And Loved-Invention - you caught some errors of mine, too. :D And Pwnguin :D You were so supportive. You too, dodging words :) Thank you! Okay, I think I'm going to stop now, because this Author's Note is starting to sound a lot like an acceptance speech that you make at some sort of awards. So please remember to review. Ta-ta for now!