Catherine laid back in the seat terrified. This was her first plane ride since her birthday last year, and this time she didn't have Jackie there to hold her hand. Once the plane took off she felt herself relax. This ride was a lot smoother than the small plane Jackie took her up in. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. She immediately grinned knowing Jackie's theory was right, she faced her fear and now the fear had diminished. This just confirmed that even though Catherine was the college professor, Jackie had taught her equally as much in the time they had spent together. Catherine fell asleep after reviewing her notes and by the time she had awoken, the flight was over. She had survived. As soon as she exited the airport she felt the warm California sun on her skin. She didn't realize how much she had missed this place until now.

After checking in to her hotel she went up to her room to unpack and settle in. She turned the TV on in the background, "The stars will soon arrive for the Hollywood premiere of Neptune 26." Catherine immediately glanced at the TV. What were the chances, the day she lands in California is the same day Jackie's movie is premiering. When first being asked to speak at her alma mater, of course the first thing Catherine thought about was Jackie. But just because she was coming to California didn't mean she thought she would see her. Especially since Stanford and Hollywood are a good 5 and a half hour drive apart from one another. But sure enough, as soon as she stepped foot in California, she was reminded of Jackie. They hadn't spoken since the day Jackie left her house. As much as Catherine wanted to, she needed to put the pieces of her life back together and she also didn't want to hold Jackie back from her dreams. She was a little hurt that Jackie never made an effort to check in, especially knowing that Catherine was left with a shattered life, but she understood. After all, she was the one who told Jackie she wasn't worth it, and she was the one who brought a man home right in front of Jackie. Catherine paced the room for a good half of an hour until she finally grabbed her phone. This was Jackie's big day and she wanted to be the bigger person.

"Hi Jackie, it's Catherine. I know it's been a while but I saw on the news that your movie premieres tonight. I just wanted to wish you good luck and hope that you are doing well."

Catherine retyped this message a handful of times, making sure not to come off as pathetic.

Jackie was sitting in her hotel room having her hair and makeup done for her big premiere when she heard her phone go off. "Who is it now?" she asked her assistant. Her phone had been going off all day with people giving her their well wishes. "It's a text message from someone named Catherine." Jackie's heart dropped, "give it to me." She struggled to look down at her phone through all of the hair that was clipped in front of her face. She opened the message and suddenly felt a surge of emotions run through her body. She couldn't believe THE Catherine Stark had just texted her. She quickly replied knowing her time was limited.

"Hi Catherine! Thank you so much :) It's so good to hear from you. I don't have much time to talk right now, but we should catch up sometime soon." Sent.

Catherine couldn't believe how quickly her phone lit up.

She didn't want to sound needy so decided on a short and sweet, "Sounds good. Talk to you soon."

You would think sleep would be an issue that night considering she had just spoken to the girl she had longed for, for the last year, but after the tiring day of traveling she had endured, Catherine passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next afternoon, Catherine's phone begins to ring, it's Jackie. Her head is spinning a mile a minute and her heart is racing.

"Hello Jackie"

"Hi Catherine! How are you doing?"

"I'm good, how was your premiere last night?"

"Great! Thanks for asking, I was shocked to hear you saw it was on the news in Bloomington."

"Oh no, it wasn't. Well, not that I am aware of. I am actually in California right now."

Jackie stuttered, "Y-you are?"

"Yes, I was invited to speak at Stanford about my article on the Theory of the Reversal of Self Denial."

"Oh wow.. that brings back some memories," Jackie laughed. "It sounds like you did a great job on it if you were asked to speak at Stanford. Impressive. I know how hard you were working on it."

Catherine smiled on the other end of the phone, thinking about that day in the library.

"Thanks Jackie, there was one upside to losing my job. I found myself with plenty of time to really immerse myself into finishing it."

Jackie sighed, her tone suddenly filling with guilt. "Catherine, I still feel really terrible about that."

"Jackie, please don't carry that guilt around any more. I was too careless with our relationship. You were the one who was hesitant and cautious, it was my fault and everything happens for a reason. I promise you I am fine with it all."

"Cute, cute" Jackie said, "So we WERE in a relationship" she said in a sarcastic tone, mocking Catherine.

"Oh stop" Catherine responded laughing.

Before they knew it they were on the phone for an hour, catching up on the last year of their lives, making sarcastic jabs like their old selves.

"So when is your big speech? How long are you in California for?" Jackie asked.

"The speech is Friday and I leave Sunday night."

"I really wish I could meet up with you at some point considering you are in California, and who knows the next time you'll get on a plane." she teased, "but it being premiere week and all, my schedule is jam packed."

Catherine's phone starts to beep. She looks down, Stanford is calling her.

"Jackie I hate to do this but that is Stanford calling me and I need to take this. It was really great catching up with you, good luck with your movie, I'm sure it is great."

"Oh, okay… You too Catherine, I know you'll do great with your speech!"

After hanging up with Stanford, Catherine sits on the bed, she looks at the TV and sees Jackie. Jesus, she's everywhere. It's coverage of the red carpet at her premiere last night. Catherine's heart melts at the sight. It's only been a year but she looks so much more grown up. All of a sudden she sees a young man grab Jackie's arm and kiss her on the check. She turns the mute button off and hears the host say his name and it rings a bell. It's the costar Jackie was teasing her about, the one with the crush on her. The tingling sensation she felt in her heart immediately turns to pain.

The next night while at dinner, Catherine receives a text from Jackie.

"Hi Catherine. Just wanted to wish you luck on your speech tomorrow. You're going to do great! :)"

Catherine is at dinner with the Stanford psychology department so doesn't respond.

A couple hours later when she returns to her room she remembers Jackie's text.

"Thanks Jackie, sorry, I was at a dinner with Stanford. Also, sorry for jumping off of the phone so quickly last night."

"Don't worry about it, I completely understand how that can be," Jackie said.

"By the way," Catherine said. "I saw you on TV on the red carpet. So that's the Tommy guy you warned me about ;)"

"Haha, yup! Good thing you weren't the jealous type though, right?"

Catherine took a while to respond, not knowing what to say. She didn't want to come off sounding jealous, she wanted to keep her hard edge since Jackie clearly had moved on, with Tommy.

"You two look like a sweet couple. I'm really happy for you. I'm glad you're in a great place in your life and have everything you ever wanted. But listen, I need to practice my speech so I'll talk to you later. Good night Jackie."

Catherine was thankful she had an excuse to stop talking before this went any further.

A few moments later her phone lit up.

Jackie was calling.

Before Catherine could even say hello, Jackie began talking-

"Want some help practicing your speech? I'm really good at memorizing lines ya know."

Catherine really didn't want to talk to Jackie but it wasn't a bad idea, considering the only person she had practiced on was Ethan, her dog.

Catherine sighed saying "Fine" and quickly began her speech, leaving no time for small talk.

When she was done Jackie was silent on the other end.

"Jackie? Did I put you to sleep?"

"No" Jackie said. "I forgot how hypnotizing your voice was. Then add in your Reversal of Self Denial and my mind went straight to the library."

Catherine was silent. She didn't know what to say, then before she could stop herself she blurted out, "I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate that comment."

"Boyfriend? Oh, Tommy? He's not my boyfriend. As actors we are taught to flirt during our press tours to attract ratings, that's all."

"Ah" Catherine replied, "well anyway, what about the speech itself?"

"It's great Catherine, really. You sound confident and prepared as usual, you're going to nail it."

"Thanks Jackie, I appreciate your help but I really need to get some sleep now, big day tomorrow."

"Oh, okay" Jackie responded, "Good night Catherine, I wish I could come tomorrow but know you'll do great."

"Thanks Jackie, good night."

Catherine put her phone on the charger and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She turned off the light and closed her eyes when she heard her phone ding.

"I'm sorry, I know you're trying to sleep but I just wanted to get something straight. You said earlier that you were glad that I have everything I wanted and that's just not true. I'm happy out here and really enjoyed being back with my Neptune 26 family, but I just wanted you to know that leaving Bloomington was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life."

Catherine was going to ignore the text, she had enough on her mind as it was, but she felt her heart warm at Jackie's words. She knew she owed her at least a response so typed two short words to summarize it all.

"Goodnight Porcupine."