I'm back! It's been awhile, but I finally found the motivation to update this story! I really hope you guys like this chapter; it's been one of my favorites to write!

Now, you know the drill. Ten or more reviews and the next chapter will be longer and come out faster! I'm really loving the response this story has been getting though, so thank you all!

DISCLAIMER: I, in no way, am affiliated with Lucy and Ian. This story is written for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. It is completely fictional. If you have a problem with the pairing, don't read.


The rinse in my hands, the bills on these strings.

But I'll make it work, cause these are our dreams.

The familiar Virginia house came into view as Ian's small rental car pulled up the road to his childhood home. The air in the East Coast and away from the city was far used to anything back in California. It wasn't muggy or dry, but crisp and fresh. He inhaled as he stepped out of his now parked car. The lights were on inside of the house, making it seem cozy and lived in. In fact, it was. Ian's family home was cushy and comfortable, teeming with family life and comfort. In the state that he was in, Ian was sure he'd need that in the matter of moments. A small duffel bag rested in the passenger seat of his car. In one swift motion, Ian plucked it up and threw it over his shoulder. As he came closer to the door, he could hear the chortle of laughter from his family. A smile crossed his lips until he realized he'd have to tell someone about what went down with Lucy. His family knew him too well; they'd see something was wrong.

His knuckles rapped on the wooden door, only to be greeted by the warm, smiling face of his aunt. "Ian," she cheered, wrapping her arms around her tall figure. "Oh, it's so good to see you." He chuckled, knowing that his aunt lived in California and seeing her was only a half an hour trip, but that was how things were in his family; everyone was tight knit, close, and happy to see one another, no matter the circumstance. Ian hugged the smaller woman back before pushing making his way into the house. Everyone called out to him, either giving him a slight wave.

"Ian!"

"Our star!"

"How's Los Angeles treating you?"

Family members lined the halls and milled around the living room. Ian's nose sniffed out something wafting from the kitchen and he grinned; his mother and Sarah. The loud thump of his duffel was Ian's grand entrance, making both women look up from the tasks at hand. His mother was stirring a pot of what smelled like butternut squash soup and his sister was opening several cans of cranberry sauce, the thin, tin tops landing on the counter as they came off with a metallic sound against the marble countertop's surface. The older woman looked up with an unmistakable smile spreading on her face. "There's my boy," the brunette cooed, dropping the spoon on the counter. Ian walked forward, wrapping his arms around his much smaller mother, being gentle with her small frame.

"Hi, Mom," he spoke softly, letting go of her after a few moments. Ian next hugged his sister with a silent hello, knowing that he'd only seen her just the other day when she'd come over his house with Moose. Sarah clapped him on the back, making Ian give her a smirk in return before she went back to her task. Ian leaned his hip against the counter, settling finally. This kitchen, though recently redone, held many memories. Memories of chocolate chip pancakes in the morning and chicken noodle soup when he was sick and the first time he made Ramen Noodles when he came home from college while everyone had been out.

"How're you doing? How's the auditioning and work and all that?"

Ian choked back the ball of words about Lucy and moved onto work. His job was always a safe topic, given that people were always so interested in what he was doing. Then again, who wouldn't be interested if they were related to a Hollywood actor? "Everything's going really well. We wrapped the third season and I auditioned for this short film. I should hear back from the director soon, maybe even today if he was the time." He smiled again, hoping his mom wouldn't further her questions to his personal life. She was always curious about what he was up to, whether it be girls or friends. Especially girls; she liked to know when he and Sophia's relationship went off and then back on or tiny tidbits of information about Lucy.

The shorter brunette pursed her lips. Ian could sense Sarah trying to lean in to hear information, but somehow, his mother caught on and shooed her out of the room, mumbling about something along the lines of 'quality time with her son'. "And everything else?" When Ian simply nodded his head, she placed a hand on her hip. "There's something you're not telling me."

Ian knew he'd been caught.

"So you two are back on?" Lucy plopped down on Ian's couch in his dressing room. Her script was discarded on the floor along with the shoes Mandi had put her in for the specific episode. Ian nodded his head from where he sat on the ground opposite her with a highlighter in hand. He was going through his lines, but was acutely aware of Lucy relaxing in his room and the words she spoke.

"Yeah, we are." Ian missed the flickering emotion of disappointment on Lucy's face when she heard the news about him and his on again/off again relationship with Sophia. "We ran into each other the other day and decided to give it another go."

Lucy chewed on her bottom lip, disliking the swirling feelings that were arising inside of her like curls of smoke from a fire. "Don't you think that if it's stopped working smoothly, you two should just give up?" Almost immediately her eyes widened. Lucy herself hadn't expected the words to come flying from her mouth. Neither did Ian. He looked up at her in shock. Before Lucy could defend herself, he spoke.

"She makes me happy. Maybe it'll work this time." But even he found himself questioning those words.

"You caught me," Ian sputtered. His eyes cast down to the marble of the counter, drawing shapes with his eyes while he waited for his mother to reply. He couldn't even look up at her, in fear of what she'd assume was wrong. Most of the time, she was spot on. How was he going to explain all that he went through in the past couple of days? Ian couldn't imagine how his mother would take in the news that he'd spent the past weekend at a wrap party, then tracking down and kissing his cast mate that he had immense feelings for. How was he going to put the deal they made into perspective for her to understand?

"So are you going to tell me?" The voice of his mother protruded and pulled Ian away from his thoughts. At this point, it was now or never and it certainly didn't look like the older woman would be willing to never hear the information. She liked to know the things going on in her children's lives.

'"After the wrap party, I went to New York.

"And why did you go to New York?"

"Lucy." The name fell out of Ian's mouth quickly and he prayed that his mother wouldn't be too surprised or in total shock. Except, when he turned, he only saw a smirk playing upon her lips; one that reminded Ian of her own.

"I figured," she answered, crossing her hands over her chest. When Ian didn't respond for a few more minutes, she waved her hand in hopes he would continue with whatever it was that he was saying. "You're not off the hook yet, Ian Michael. So spill." And it all came out at once. Ian confessed every single feeling he'd felt in the past few days and even a few repressed ones that he'd set free in those few moments. He spoke about how he'd always felt something for Lucy and how he finally acted upon it. "When I saw her standing on the stage at the fundraiser event she was hosting, I knew I'd made the right decision to come. At first, it was just a trip to make sure a friend was okay. I hated to see her so torn up at the wrap party. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that there was something more to it than just friends." He talked about what it was like to kiss her in those few fleeting moments and how good it had felt to have her lips against his. How her body fit so well in the crook of his. "I didn't want to leave her without solving things, but she insisted." Ian looked down, finally done with explaining to his mother. Though, it seemed like the woman had a few more questions of her own.

"And Sophia?"

"We ended it a few weeks back. Except, it's done for good now." Ian nodded his head solidly, finding himself more and more confident with his words. When he talked about it verbally rather to himself in his head, everything was much more definite. "There was a reason it never worked out entirely. Now I know." A soft smile lilted over his lips while the thought of Lucy drifted into Ian's head. His heart rate sped up while he wondered of what she could be up to at that exact moment and the bright smile that was always on her face when she was with her family.

His mother's hand patted him lightly on the bad before rubbing in one soothing, soft circle. "It sounds like you finally know what you want now. And you're going to need to fight for her this time." Ian chuckled softly, nodding his head. In those few moments, everything felt secure. Ian was locked into his feelings and what he wanted. It was now only a matter of time before he'd see Lucy face to face to tell her.

The rest of Thanksgiving went off without a hitch, inducing Ian into a food coma that would last him the entirety of a week. People laughed and chattered and told stories about life so they all could catch up with one another. His stomach grumbled with a full ache as he lay in bed that night, light still on and phone in hand. He was debating on texting Lucy or calling her, but was weary of disturbing her. It wasn't so often that she could fly home to Tennessee and Ian didn't want to compromise her time with her family. Still, he needed to talk to her. He had to talk to her before he went to bed. With a slight amount of reluctance, his finger began to tap in her number, but Ian only got so far when a number he didn't recognize popped up on his phone. Still, he was never one to ignore a call. Ian slid his finger across the lock to take the call. Before he could even answer, a voice rang out over the speaker.

"Ian, we'd like to tell you that we're offering you the role of Nate in our short film…" A flurry of excitement rushed through him, the blood pumping through his ears making it unable to hear until the very end of the message. "You'll wrap on December 1st."

December 1st, the event, New York City.

Lucy.

It all accumulated into one thing; he couldn't go. Ian's stomach dropped. How could he tell her?

I lie awake alone in my bed.

Needles can't fix this hole in my chest.

Thanksgiving had always been Lucy's favorite time of the year to celebrate with her family, but more so this year. During the dinner that evening, the smile on her face was glowing and practically permanent with one thought on her mind; Ian. They were going to make it work, which meant more to her now they she ever thought it would in the past. Of course, she explained the details of New York to her mother and her sister, Maggie. They swooned at her description of kissing him for real in what felt like ages. They 'aww-ed' over his words before kissing her, saying he needed something to part with. Reliving the moments made Lucy melt inside with a happy sigh escaping her lips every so often. Other than that, being around her family helped lighten her mood from dark and sad to bright and vivacious. She often said that her Southern roots brought out the best in her and they did; it was nice to always give them a little revisit.

She turned her head on the pillow in her old childhood room to see that it was midnight. Lucy's eyes were fluttering to a close, but thoughts were racing through her mind way deep behind. Everyone had tucked away after a full night of eating and she was hoping to do the same, but a million different scenarios of what could happen when she met back up with him in New York. Would she run into Ian's arms like the million times it was scripted for Aria and Ezra to do so? Or would she approach him timidly in their meeting spot to talk things over rationally before officially giving into the feelings that were hard to keep at bay? Lucy placed a hand over her full stomach and turned onto her side, hoping to relieve the uncomfortable feeling when she saw her phone light up on the nightstand beside her. A picture of herself and Maggie lit up, showing them in their childhood years. Lucy smiled, but that only grew when she saw the caller.

"Hello," she said softly as not to disturb those sleeping in the rooms behind the thing walls next to her.

"Luc," Ian asked. She could tell he was being careful with the way he spoke and her stomach almost dropped to the pits of her body. Something was wrong.

"I'm here, Ian. Is everything okay," Lucy replied in a panicked tone.

"Everything's fine, at least, I hope everything's fine. I just…" She could imagine him running his hand through his hair in frustration due to whatever he had to say. "I got that job for the short film; the one that's being written by that guy that a couple of your friends are friends with. And I finish filming on December 1st." The weariness in his tone made Lucy's eyes water. No, it wasn't happening. He wasn't bailing on her and their plan. He could just finish filming and fly out. That's selfish, Lucy's mind shouted at her, but she told it to shut up for a moment.

"I—it's fine. You can always just fly out and—"

"That's the thing, Luc. We're filming all day. I didn't know how to tell you, but we're going to have to reschedule this whole thing." Though his voice was soft, it stung. Reschedule? So she was just some time slot in his planner of daily life? Lucy's stomach clenched and she felt like she going to vomit all the Thanksgiving goodness from the day's earlier feast. Of course, this was her tired mind letting her have it, but tears spilled over on Lucy's cheeks. Before Ian could utter another word, she clicked off the line and shut her phone down. Of course, of course they'd have to reschedule. Because she couldn't fit into his life at that moment. Because she was just as invaluable as she felt the night of the wrap party.