The 20-year marker had passed since that rainy night in Belfast, the last time Rosalie had seen her father, but that anniversary had come and gone without any notice given to it. Jenna and Rosalie had their own traditions to remember and honour their mother and sister, which were not dependent on the time of year; they rarely, if ever, spoke of him. Rosalie Callaghan had just celebrated her 26th birthday, and other than the tell-tale scar down her right side, she was hard to place as that little girl; she had lost the Irish twang to her accent over the years she grew up in San Francisco; her mousy blonde hair was now dyed light brown fading into blonde tips. There was one arbitrary similarity; she still sported a t-shirt with a Disney princess on it, Ariel rocking a punk look and a witty slogan, but that was just her buying into whatever H&M was peddling at the time.

There was a pronounced knock at Rosalie's front door. She flicked the volume off her television and sauntered over to answer it; she glanced over at the clock on the wall; she wasn't expecting anyone. She assumed her roommate had forgotten her key again; third time this week.

"Hey stranger." David Rosen said with a beaming grin as he slipped past her bemused gaze and wandered into her apartment.

Rosalie blinked hard as she shut the door behind him, it had been a while. She turned to watch the man flop down onto her couch and steal a chip from the family-size bag she'd been nursing.

"What are you doing here?" Rosalie asked, folding her arms loosely across her chest.

"I told you, I've got a case in Chino." Rosen said with a shrug, prickling her impatience. He stole another chip as he scoffed, "Terrible memory on you."

"Yeah. I got that." Rosalie nodded curtly and gestured around, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, way to make an old friend feel welcome. Here was kind, considerate old me, taking the time out of my busy schedule to swing by whilst I'm in the neighbourhood and this is what awaits me." Rosen scorned sarcastically and then with a little less enthusiasm, offered, "And then Jenna might have mentioned-"

"Of course, she did." Rosalie sighed heavily.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger." Rosen said as he faked bracing himself for the impact.

"It was nice to see you, David. Thank you for the message." Rosalie grinned sarcastically as she snatched up the bag of chips and took them through to the kitchen for refuge. She called back, "We must do this again sometime. You can report back that everything's fine, and once again, she's being over-bearing over nothing."

Rosen glanced over at the clock and sighed, he didn't have time to play out the whole charade; he really was needed in Chino. He rose from the couch and followed her through to the kitchen.

"It's two o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, and you're at home watching the Real Housewives, whilst a prestigious graduate program at the DA's office is still awaiting anything resembling a retort from you." Rosen noted as he leant against the doorframe, casually.

"Excellent deduction, Counsellor." Rosalie said as she rolled her eyes and made her way back through, aiming to step right out of the conversation.

"Rosie." Rosen said, as he blocked her exit.

"Rosen." Rosalie rattled back.

"I just sat in traffic for two hours, so I beg of you, make that time I'll never get back kinda sorta worth it, and tell me...what's going on with you?" Rosen asked, with renewed sincerity, "My mom, as you well know, is the queen of the nosy over-bearing meddling moms, so you have my full sympathy, but that's not what this is, and you know it."

"I can't take the job." Rosalie shrugged and pushed past him.

He allowed it; she was saying something; the teeth he was pulling were finally wiggling around. She turned back to face his questions, knowing full well he wasn't going to leave her alone that easy; he was annoying like that.

"Why not?" Rosen scoffed and flapped about, "You're a baby lawyer, this is that catapult into credibility you're all foaming at the mouth for. It's a one in a million shot. What is there to think about?"

"I'm well aware of how amazing it is, the opportunity is incredible, but I have to pass. I know it makes no sense, I should be screaming from the rooftops: yay! all those years of stress were worth it! Look at me going places!" She said, sadly.

"But you're choosing the hermit life instead?" Rosen posed.

"It's the money." Rosalie said vaguely.

"Yeah..." Rosen said, drawing out the syllable a few more beats as he struggled to piece it all together, "Welcome to the real world, kid. That's not exclusively your problem. That's just how it is, part of joining the club, you've gotta struggle a little bit longer than the glory days of yore."

"I am in the real world. I have been dragged out of what I thought was going to be my world for the foreseeable future, and I've crash landed into reality and that's why I can't take it." She huffed out.

"Okay, the money's a joke for a year, tops." Rosen offered, "But it's not that bad. It's one year of supermarket own-brand and then you're laughing; the kids that come out of this program are fast-tracked, top of the pile, whatever takes their fancy, it's a done deal."

"I can't have that; a year of peanuts." Rosalie uttered.

"Okay, you San Francisco chicks are supposed to be laid back, right? Your aunt comes over here with nothing but the shirt on her back and gets you through Law School, and you can't handle another year of noodle cups? You just rattled through eight years of that, it's not new!" Rosen laughed, "When'd you get so pretentious? Demanding a liveable wage right out the gate. Pffft, kids these days."

"Right around the time I got pregnant." Rosalie shot back.

Rosen's brows soared halfway up his head, and his expression froze into something of a thoughtful grimace.

"Yeah. Do that for another week or two and you might be where I'm at right now." Rosalie noted simply.