Victoria was released from the hospital the next day and flew home to LA that night. Tony picked her up from the airport and drove her home. Opening the door she saw that he'd had her place professionally cleaned and stocked the fridge with meals.
"I want you to take care of yourself. I've ordered meals for you for the next week so you don't have to cook" said Tony.
"Thanks Tony" said Victoria.
"Now Vicks, I think it's time for you to go to bed" said Tony.
"I will, I just want to take a proper shower" said Victoria.
"Alright but after that to bed with you" said Tony sternly.
"Yes daddy" replied Victoria. Walking into the bathroom Victoria turned on the shower and pulled off her clothes. Stepping under the spray she washed her hair a few times, then soaped her body with her favorite smelling body wash twice, finally she shaved her legs and armpits. She felt like a new woman when she was finished. Wrapped in a towel she walked towards her closet, slipping on a pair on underwear she looked through her pajama drawer. Deciding that she didn't want to wear anything in there she moved to her bag of Northwestern clothes, pulling out the pink sweatshirt she held it to her face. It smelled like Norman and without a second thought she slipped it over her head. Crawling into bed she snuggled into her soft sheets wishing she could rest her head on Norman's chest. Sleep came slowly for Victoria and she was still tired when her cell rang in the morning.
"Hello?"
"Vicks, it's Tricks. Tony told me you'd be home and I wondered if you wanted to do lunch?"
"Not today, I'm going to lay around all day. I'll call you tomorrow" said Victoria before abruptly hanging up the phone. The phone rang 5 more times before Victoria just turned it off. "I miss the peace and quiet of the boat" muttered Victoria to herself. The next day Victoria forced herself to get out of bed and turn on her phone again. She listened to the voice mail messages from her friends feeling no desire to call any of them back. Smiling to herself she pulled open her computer and started searching for a car. After a few hours her eyes hurt and she was more confused than ever. She decided to call Jake and Josh, both expressed interest in cars and would probably be able to steer her in the right direction. She picked up her phone and saw she had a new text message.
V-
Checked the house, nothing nautical.
N
She smiled to herself and immediately fired off her reply.
Norman,
I'll definitely have to get you something, how about one of those singing wall fish?"
Victoria.
Dialing Josh's number first she wasn't surprised when she got his voice mail, it was still early and he was probably still asleep. She left her message telling him she wanted to buy a car and was looking for some advice. Next she called Jake and left the same message.
She spent the rest of the day doing laundry and lounging around the house. She'd just gotten out of the shower when she heard her phone ring. Checking the caller ID she saw it was Jake.
"Hi Jake" she said happily.
"Hey Victoria, sorry I missed your call earlier" said Jake.
"That's ok. Did you get my message?" said Victoria.
"Yeah, so you want to buy a car" said Jake. "That's pretty cool, what kind?"
"Something fast" said Victoria.
"Ok, well how much money can you spend?" asked Jake.
"It doesn't really matter, I'm just going to put it on a credit card" said Victoria dismissively.
"Um, you do realize that a car is really expensive right? Probably more than your credit card limit" said Jake.
"Well my Amex is a $100k limit but I won't use that because I have to pay it all off at the end of the month, but my other cards have similar limits" said Victoria.
"Wow" said Jake.
"I have excellent credit" said Victoria.
"I guess, I'm letting you treat next time we go out to dinner" said Jake.
"Not a problem, I can write it off as a business expense on my taxes" said Victoria.
"Ok, how big of an engine do you want in the car?" asked Jake.
"I have no idea" said Victoria. Jake continued to ask questions that Victoria had no answers to, finally he got frustrated.
"I think me and Josh should come down and help you with this in person" said Jake.
"Really? I'd love to see you guys and I'd appreciate any help you can give me" said Victoria.
"Awesome, I love to see LA, will you take us around?" said Jake.
"Sure, you guys can even stay with me if you want" said Victoria.
"I'll call Josh and we will let you know when we're coming" said Jake.
"Ok" said Victoria. She hung up the phone and wondered what "taking them around" would entail. Spending the next week catching up on personal maintenance Victoria was thrilled to hear that Jake and Josh would be coming down the next morning on an early flight. She called her favorite car service and arranged for them to be picked up in style.
Jake and Josh spent the majority of the flight flirting shamelessly with a couple of actresses moving to LA for their big break. The girls knew exactly who Jake and Josh were and they boys positively preened with the attention. As they picked up their bags they saw their names being held by a very swanky looking limo driver.
"Victoria really knows how to treat us" said Josh.
"Who's Victoria?" asked one of the girls with a pout.
"She's our personal assistant" said Jake instantly.
"You guys have an assistant, that is so cool" said the same girl. Josh and Jake shared a look then asked the girls if they needed a lift to the hotel. Both girls were disappointed to point out a friend that had come to the airport to pick them up.
"Maybe we can meet up while you're in town?" suggested Jake. The group quickly exchanged phone numbers before parting ways. Jake and Josh followed the limo driver out to the curb, with one last wave to the girls they slid into the car and sped off.
"Do you think Victoria will care if we meet up with the girls?" asked Jake.
"Probably not. Maybe we can meet them after we tuck Victoria into bed for the night" said Josh.
"Yeah, but she's going to know all the good spots to go out to anyway. We probably need her to get us on the list" said Jake.
"We'll just ask her, after all she's our assistant" said Josh with a smile. Jake returned the smile and the boys sat back and enjoyed the rest of the ride to Victoria's house. As they pulled up to a very expensive looking apartment building a doorman walked out to the limo and opened the door. Jake and Josh grabbed their stuff from the trunk and walked into the opened door of the building. Victoria was standing inside the lobby in a sweater and some jeans, she looked 1000 times better than the last time the boys had seen her.
"Victoria!" they yelled dropping their bags and running over to give her a hug. Jake swung her around noticing how light she was before setting her back on her feet.
"Hi guys, glad to see you made it safely" said Victoria. "Lets go upstairs to my apartment."
"This place is pretty swanky" said Josh once the elevator doors had closed.
"Thanks, I picked it because it was really close to the Farmer's Market" said Victoria. "But all the amenities are nice too, especially the doorman, he's great especially when you have an arm full of shopping bags."
"I'll bet you always have an armful of bags" said Jake.
"It does happen fairly often" said Victoria with a grin. The elevator stopped and Jake and Josh followed Victoria down the hall to her apartment. Walking through the door the guys saw the huge TV and couch, dropped their bags and made themselves at home. Victoria just rolled her eyes and stepped over the bags and walked into the kitchen. She pulled out some guacamole she'd made earlier in the day and a bag of chips before walking back into the living room and setting them on the table. Jake and Josh both reached down for a chip neither taking their eyes off the screen.
"You are a guys wet dream, you're hot, you have like a 1000 channels on the TV and snacks" said Jake.
"Thanks for the compliment" said Victoria. "Do you guys want something to drink?"
"I'll have whatever you're going to have" said Josh with a smile.
"I'm having fizzy water with lemon, but I have regular sodas too" replied Victoria walking to the kitchen. Josh got up and followed her in selecting a soda from the fridge he tossed one to Jake who deftly caught it without looking away from the TV. Josh leaned back in and pulled out the fizzy water for Victoria before pulling out a bottle of grape soda.
"I haven't had grape soda in forever, this fridge is a treasure trove of goodies" said Josh.
"You should check out the freezer, Tony went overboard on stocking it with ice cream" said Victoria. Josh opened the freezer to check it out.
"Wow, there must be 30 pints in here all different flavors" said Josh.
"I know. Lucky for me you two are here to help me eat some" said Victoria.
"When are we going to look for a car?" asked Josh.
"Well if you want to go out anywhere farther than walking distance we should get one today" said Victoria. Josh looked at her incredulously, "you're kidding, you expect to just go out an buy a car this afternoon."
"Why not?" asked Victoria.
"You've clearly never bought a car before" said Josh.
"You are right, I haven't. But I've bought a lot of other things so I'm confident in the purchasing aspect of the transaction, I called you guys because deciding which car is the part I need help with" said Victoria exasperatedly.
"Did you get a car loan already?" asked Josh.
"She's going to use a credit card" added Jake from the living room.
"Seriously? Do you know how much a car costs?" asked Josh.
"I've already had this discussion with Dong" said Victoria.
"That's the first time you've ever called either of us those names" said Josh.
"Well you guys are getting a little annoying with the whole money question" said Victoria. "If I needed monetary advice I'd ask my financial planner."
"Got it, so what kind of car do you want to get?" asked Josh.
"Fast. I've narrowed it down to a few" said Victoria. "I want to look at Mini Cooper, Audi, Acura and Mercedes."
"Where is your precious computer? We could look up all the models you like and set up test drives for tomorrow" suggested Josh. Victoria walked over to the little nook in her living room and pulled out the computer, she moved to the couch and scooted Jake over. The three poured over the websites for a few hours, by the end Victoria had narrowed her search to 3 cars. Josh called and set up test drives for each of the dealers for the next day.
"I'm so excited! Tomorrow I'll make my first big purchase" said Victoria.
"You've never owned a car before?" asked Jake, surprised.
"Nope, I've always had them leased for me" said Victoria.
"We are in the wrong business, we should be personal assistants" said Josh.
"It's not all glamorous car leases and all expense travel allowances" said Victoria.
"We should go out and celebrate your impending purchase" said Josh.
"Stop trying to impress her with your big words" said Jake reaching over Victoria to punch Josh in the arm.
"Alright kids, no fighting on my couch. It's used only for sitting and making out" said Victoria.
"Cool" said Jake draping his arm over Victoria's shoulder.
"Very funny" said Victoria moving Jake's arm and standing up. "Where do you guys want to go tonight?"
"Wherever you're treating" said Jake with a smirk.
"Fine, burgers it is" said Victoria. "I have to change, and so do you guys." Victoria breezed into her room and closed the door, pulling out her phone she hired a car and made reservations at 25 degrees. Then she walked into her closet and pulled out a dress and some heels. She hopped in the shower before quickly putting on some makeup and fixing her hair, then she got dressed. Josh was sitting on the couch in a pair of slacks and a collared shirt when Victoria emerged from her bedroom.
"Wow, you look super hot" said Josh.
"You look really nice too" said Victoria.
"Thanks, although this is probably the nicest I've ever dressed up for burgers" said Josh.
"Well we're going to Hollywood so everyone dresses up or dresses down depending on the place" said Victoria. "Besides you have to look nice in case we go out anywhere afterwards."
"Is this going to be an all night party? Because I promised the old man that we wouldn't keep you out late." said Josh.
"We'll play it by ear, if I get tired we can always come home. Chances are you two are probably going to hook up anyway" said Victoria with a knowing smirk.
"What? We'd never leave you anywhere" said Josh in horror.
"I'm a big girl and I can get myself home. You are absolutely not allowed to bring girls back here. I don't want any stains on the furniture" said Victoria.
"What about stains?" asked Jake. He was dressed similarly to Josh with the addition of a rather cool knit hat.
"She was just laying down the ground rules for this evening" said Josh.
"No stains?" said Jake.
"No bringing girls back with you" said Victoria.
"Oh" said Jake. "Are we allowed to go back to their places?"
"That's fine, maybe you should write my address down so you can make it back here at some point" said Victoria.
"Jake, she thinks your serious" said Josh with a laugh.
"Who says I'm not" said Jake. Victoria just rolled her eyes before checking her watch, they still had 30 minutes before the car arrived.
"Do you guys want a drink?" she asked. "We usually do a celebratory shot before we go out for a night on the town." Both Jake and Josh watched as Victoria climbed onto the counter, her dress coming very close to showing off her assets. Reaching into the cabinet she pulled down a bottle of tequila before sliding across the counter to get 3 shot glasses. Jake and Josh were riveted to the shifting of her dress and were both disappointed when she hopped of the counter without showing them anything. Victoria filled the shot glasses then passed them to the boys.
"Where's the salt and lime?" asked Jake.
"This is really good tequila, you don't need lime or salt with it" said Victoria.
"To a night out" said Josh.
"To girls" said Jake.
"To getting Edgar crazy" said Victoria. All 3 drank their shots and set the glasses down on the counter. "God that's good" said Victoria with a sigh.
"That is easily the best shot of tequila I've had" said Josh.
"Yeah it was pretty good" said Jake. The car arrived a few minutes later and Victoria and the boys went downstairs.
Arriving at their destination Josh and Jake followed Victoria into the Roosevelt Hotel. The walked through the door into the lobby and both Jake and Josh felt like they were instantly transported into a Hollywood movie. Victoria slowed down so the guys could look around before moving through a side hallway and into a very retro restaurant. 25 degrees is decorated in red leather booths and has the rare combination of being very hip and very delicious. They were shown to a table in the back corner with a perfect view of the rest of the restaurant. Jake and Josh smiled as they read the menu, it was burgers just like Victoria had said yet the place had an old Hollywood feel, like a movie star would walk in at any moment.
"Where did you hear about this place?" asked Jake.
"Um, I think I may have come here on a date once" said Victoria offhandedly.
"Who was your date?" asked Josh.
"Some guy I got set up with. The date was kind of boring but finding this place made all the uncomfortable silences worth while" said Victoria. "I recommend the Guinness shake." The trio placed their orders and quickly settled into discussing where the boys wanted to go next. Josh's phone buzzed and he glanced down at the number.
"It's dad" he said.
"Well answer it, he probably wants an update on Victoria's condition" said Jake.
"Hey Dad" said Josh.
"Joshua, how's Victoria?" said Phil.
"She's right here, why don't you ask her" said Josh handing Victoria the phone. She picked it up, grabbed her purse and walked outside.
"Hi Phil" she said once safely outside the restaurant.
"Hi Vicks, how are you feeling? Are the boys treating you alright?" asked Phil. Victoria took a drag of her cigarette before answering.
"I'm almost feeling back to normal. The boys are on their best behavior, we are just out having dinner" said Victoria.
"Well I hope they don't embarrass you too much while they are there. Good luck trying to keep track of them, every time we go anywhere together one of them is always of making out with some chick" said Phil.
"I'm sure those nice young ladies don't appreciate you calling them chicks" said Victoria.
"If they were nice young ladies they probably wouldn't be making out with a couple of dumb fishermen next to a dumpster behind a restaurant" said Phil.
"Hmm. They probably think of them as TV stars" said Victoria. "I'm sure you've had a few dumpster kisses in your time" said Victoria.
"I plead the fifth" said Phil. "I just called to check on you and the guys. Have a fun night."
"Thanks, we are going to get Edgar crazy" said Victoria.
"Well let me know if you need bail money and I'll call Sig for you" said Phil with a laugh.
"Will do. Take care Phil" said Victoria.
"Bye Victoria" said Phil before hanging up. Victoria walked back into the restaurant to find her food had arrived and the boys had both sampled her milkshake.
"That shake is awesome, we both ordered one" said Jake with a smile.
"This place is great" said Josh digging into his burger with gusto.
"What did dad want?" asked Jake.
"Just to say hi, see how I was feeling and check up on you guys" said Victoria.
"Did you tell him we were going out tonight?" asked Josh.
"I told him we were going to go Edgar Crazy" said Victoria.
"What did he say to that?" asked Josh.
"He said to call him when we need bail money and he'll call Sig" replied Victoria.
"That's awesome" said Jake.
After dinner the trio walked down Hollywood Boulevard looking at the stars on the walk of fame before heading back to the Roosevelt and into Teddy's. Victoria was waiting until it got a little later before she called up the cavalry and asked which club was bumping. While Jake and Josh took pictures with some fans and chatted up some girls Victoria sent out her text.
Have Harris Boys from Deadliest Catch w/me tonight. Where should we go?
The barrage of responses was overwhelming, most of them wanted to know where they were currently. When Victoria responded with their location everyone told them to stay put, they would bring the party to them. Victoria just smiled and ordered a bottle of chilled Crown Royal for the boys and a glass of champagne for herself. She scooted farther back into the darkness and just watched the boys chat up all the girls. Jake broke away from his adoring fans and came to sit next to her.
"Victoria, do you think if I call these girls we met on the plane they could get in?" asked Jake.
"Sure, they need to dress up. And I can walk them in once they get here" said Victoria with a smile.
"Thanks, I'm going to call them" said Jake with a huge smile. A few of Victoria's friends had come by to give Victoria a hard time about going out with her bosses. Jake and Josh loved the fact that she was their assistant and all these people knew it. Victoria didn't let them get away with any power tripping though.
"God, I wish I could talk to the witch like that" said Tricks.
"She'd fire your ass in a heart beat, then sue you for slander" said Victoria with a smile.
"You are so right" replied Tricks.
"Vicks and Tricks? That's very cute" said Josh.
"Tony came up with the nicknames before our first job together" said Victoria.
"Those were the days, cleaning up dog shit and getting coffee" said Tricks. "Now it's dosing out anxiety pills and driving to doctors appointments."
"Is it a step up or a step down?" asked Victoria.
"Well you're not with me so definitely a step down" said Tricks. Jake tapped Victoria on the shoulder and told her the girls were at the door. "Excuse me for a sec" said Victoria standing up. She walked towards the main door and waived at Sarah who was manning the door.
"Victoria, how are you? When did you sneak in?" asked Sarah.
"I used the back entrance. I'm here to get two girls for my bosses (the word bosses was accompanied by a huge eye roll). explained Victoria.
"Are you adding pimping to your resume Vicks?" said Sarah.
"Not yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time" said Victoria. "I have to tell you about my latest adventure over lunch sometime soon."
"I've heard all about it from Tricks, she said you work for Deadliest Catch" said Sarah.
"Yeah, I was on the Northwestern, got appendicitis and had to be medivac'd from the ship. All very exciting stuff" said Victoria.
"You don't get paid enough" said Sarah.
"Probably not." said Victoria with a smile.
"Alright, who are the girls?" asked Sarah pulling back the curtain.
"Probably those two biters right there" said Victoria pointing to two girls hanging on the velvet rope. "Excuse me ladies are you here to see Jake and Josh?" asked Victoria.
"Yes" they said in unison. Sarah moved the rope and Victoria led the girls back to the table. Jake saw them approaching and quickly stood to greet them.
"Hi Ladies" he said.
"Jake, thanks for calling us" said one of the girls.
"Let me introduce you. Everyone this is Brittany and Lacey" said Jake. "Brittany and Lacey, this is everyone." Everyone chorused hellos and then returned to their previous conversations. Victoria slipped back into her nook and sipped at her class of champagne.
"So, who are those girls?" asked Tricks.
"Some girls the guys met yesterday on the flight down" said Victoria with a shrug.
"You are sweet for getting them in here" said Tricks with a smirk.
"It's all part of the job" said Victoria.
"Oh really? What are the guys doing down here anyway?" asked Tricks.
"Helping me pick out a car to buy" said Victoria.
"No way. The girl who owns nothing that can't be packed into a suitcase is buying a car. Congratulations on growing up" said Tricks.
"Thank you. I'm really excited" said Victoria with a smile.
"I remember when the witch wanted you to go to therapy because you didn't own anything" said Tricks.
"She also wanted me to go to therapy over my alleged fear of cats" said Victoria.
"She's an odd ball, but she pays well" said Tricks. Victoria and Tricks talked for a while longer before Tricks had to leave. Giving each other the standard Hollywood kiss they promised to call each other later. Victoria picked up her phone and checked her messages and email. Jake and Josh were wrapped up in the two girls and Victoria watched the girls get drunker and drunker. Signaling a waitress she ordered water for the table and something to snack on. The last thing she wanted was anyone throwing up, she loved this place and didn't want to get banned from it because of two drunk chicks. Josh detangled himself from Lacey and walked over to sit next to Victoria.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" asked Josh.
"I'm fine. Are you having a good time?" asked Victoria.
"Yeah, this places rocks" said Josh.
"Good. Can I give you some advice?" said Victoria.
"Sure" replied Josh.
"Don't give the girls anymore to drink, they are probably one more sip away from puking all over this very expensive table" said Victoria.
"Roger" said Josh looking over at the girls. "Maybe we could take a walk or something."
"Good idea, you can take them out to the Tropicana bar outside and I'll pay the bill and meet you there" said Victoria.
"Thanks Vicks" said Josh. Victoria watched as Jake and Josh half carried the girls out the door. She hoped neither of them drove because there was no way they were driving in their current condition. The waitress came over and sat down next to Victoria.
"Vicks, ready to settle up?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I feel like this is going to be a long night. Perhaps I need some liquid motivation to keep going" said Victoria thoughtfully.
"One or two?" asked the waitress.
"One" answered Victoria.
"Be back in a few with the bill and one assistant special" said the waitress with a wink. The assistant special was a widely known drink to all the assistants in the business. It was tequila, apple vodka, an energy tablet, grape juice and a can of red bull. It worked wonders to help wary assistance keep up with their hard partying bosses. Victoria gratefully accepted both the bill and the drink. Passing her credit card to the waitress she sucked down the drink. The waitress returned with her receipt and a shot.
"The shot is from Sarah, she said you deserve it for surviving" said the waitress.
"Thanks" said Victoria downing the shot and filling out the tab, she left a huge tip then gathered her stuff and headed outside to find the boys.
The pool bar was pretty full and Victoria scanned the crowd for Jake, Josh and the girls. Eventually she spotted Josh sitting on one of the flower planters apparently by himself.
"Hi Josh" said Victoria.
"Hey Vicks" said Josh with an easy smile.
"Where's everyone else?" asked Victoria.
"Um around" said Josh.
"Making out next to a dumpster or puking in the bushes?" asked Victoria.
"Probably a little of both" said Josh.
"Well I hope you got your kisses before the puking started" said Victoria. Josh pulled out his pack of cigarettes and offered Victoria one. She slid one out of the pack and placed it in between her lips as Josh lit it.
"You look really nice tonight" said Josh. "I like your hair."
"Thanks" said Victoria. Josh moved his hand to her face tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Victoria didn't really know what to think about the gesture. Luckily she was saved from having to address it as Jake appeared from behind a large potted plant.
"Well, I think the girls are pretty much done" said Jake.
"Where are they? Did you kill them or something?" asked Victoria.
"They're both throwing up over there" said Jake pointing to the direction he just came from. Victoria and Josh both shook their heads. Victoria stood up to go check on the girls. The walked past the planter to see both girls kneeling on the floor.
"Are you guys ok?" asked Victoria.
"Assistant, can you please get us some fucking water?" said one of the girls.
"Yeah assistant, make yourself useful" said the other. Victoria didn't say anything she just turned and walked away.
"They said they're fine, just a little embarrassed and they are going to head home on their own" said Victoria to Jake and Josh.
"Cool, lets go" said Jake. On the way to the taxi's Victoria stopped by the security desk to inform them that 2 girls were defiling their potted plants near the pool. She hoped they learn never to fuck with an assistant, especially one who is trying to be nice. Jake, Josh and Victoria piled into the cab and headed back to her apartment. Once there instead of going up they walked across the street to a tiny taco stand and got a few tacos. Eating while walking turned into a huge production and all three decided to sit on the step outside of Victoria's building to finish with minimal mess. Back in the apartment Victoria considered sleeping arrangements for the first time since the guys arrival.
"One of you can sleep on the couch and one of you can sleep with me or both of you can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch" said Victoria. "Decide while I change clothes." She walked into her room pulled out a pair of pajamas and changed in the bathroom. When she walked out she saw two boxer clad boys in her bed. Shrugging she turned to walk out into the hall.
"Where do you think you're going?" said Jake. "We both want to sleep with you."
"There isn't enough room" said Victoria.
"This bed is gigantic, there is plenty of room, besides neither of us move much since we are use to sleeping in bunks" said Josh. Victoria was tired and she didn't really want to argue. She climbed into the middle of the bed figuring she would get up as soon as the boys fell asleep. All three were asleep within minutes.
**A/N: All places in LA are real and described to the best of my recollection.