"Since my boyfriend is clear across the world, I'm gonna need someone else's muscle," Linda started as she led Joe and his friends up to her room. "I have a lot of stuff."

Linda was finally- finally!- moving out of her mother's house onto the college campus. She couldn't wait to get away from her mother and out of the house to start a new life- a life that was hers, filled with all the love she didn't receive growing up.

In fifteen minutes, the car and trailer she had rented were packed and ready to go to university, twenty minutes away from her home. She had wanted to go some place further away, but after viewing all her options (she had been accepted by all the colleges she applied to), she decided staying in Staten Island would be best.

"CUNY of Staten Island, here I come." Linda muttered as she locked up the house. She took a good look at the nice, peaceful house, knowing that she'd never live there again. She smiled lightly to herself before picking up her suitcases and turning to leave; it was the start of a new beginning, one she would fight for no matter how hard it was.

"Come on, Linda! Let's go!" Joe called from her car.

"Goodbye, old life." She walked towards the car.

"Okay," Joe sighed, almost out of breath. "That's the last box. What do you have in there anyway?"

"Clothes. Shoes, books, scarves, hair tools... tell your friends I really appreciate them taking their Saturday to help me."

"I will." He smiled and waved goodbye to her before leaving to play basketball with his friends.

Linda had noticed her roommate's boxes and bags were already in the dorm; her roommate, however, was no where to be seen. She shrugged, figuring she was checking out the campus, and started to get to work. She had one suitcase unpacked with her clothes neatly laid in folded piles when someone came walking into the room.

"Oh, you must be Linda O'Shee!" The young lady exclaimed. She took Linda's hand and shook it before the blonde knew what was going on.

"It's O'Shea, actually."

"Oh I'm sorry! Linda O'Shea. That's Irish, huh?"

"Technically."

"It either is or it isn't."

"I'm Italian, actually, but somewhere along the way a family member decided it'd be better to fit in with the Irish community. So the very Italian name was changed to a very Irish name."

"I was a Foster. Suppose I still am. But Dad remarried when I was six, so," she shrugged. "Now I'm a Riley."

"Who Riley?"

"Huh?" She turned around to face her pile of boxes and bags.

"What's your first name?"

"Oh! Bridget Anne Foster Riley. But everyone just calls me Brie. What's your name?"

"Linda Rose O'Shea."

"Well, nice to meet you, Linda Rose O'Shea. Your accent is so adorable- I love it!" Brie tossed a few of her shirts onto her bed in a crumpled heap.

"Oh! Um... thank you. Yours is..."

"I'm from Maine originally. It's a six hour drive from there to here."

"I've lived here all my life." Linda continued to unpack.

"You like it here, then?"

"Mhmm. I spent one summer in the city when I was fourteen... I didn't like that at all. It was too loud, too polluted, and everyone looked like they wanted to hurt me."

"I usually spend the summer here in New York, with my Aunt Jodie. Rumor has it that I look more like her than my own parents."

"I look like my Mom, I guess."

Brie noted that her new roommate didn't seem too happy to be associated that way. "So what're you studying, Linda?"

"Nursing and psychology. I'm also doing sociology."

"Me too. Only, I'm not studying nursing. Pych and sociology is where my interests lie."

It had been an entire school year, and Brie had decided to make Linda her best friend. She had showed Linda parts of New York she loved during the breaks; the friends usually swapped and traded notes for their shared classes. They learned a lot about each other in that year, and Brie knew all about Linda's Marine boyfriend. She honestly wanted to meet this Danny Reagan for herself, because there was no way someone could sound that lovely and that awful at the same time.

"Hey, Linda, I was thinkin'."

"Uh oh," Linda teased as they walked back to the campus from the mall one Saturday afternoon.

"When the semester is over, are you going to get an apartment on campus?"

"I was thinking about it. But I'd have to find someone who'd want to split the rent with me."

"I'll do that."

"You will?" She stopped walking, "you're not totally sick of me by now? I'm mean... I'm a mess."

"But you're a hot mess, and that's the best kind. Besides, I've gotten used to you by now. And we're best friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah we are."

"So next week, we'll go apartment hunting, yeah?"

"Okay." She nodded and repeated her agreement more confidently, "yeah, okay!"

It was a day before Linda's birthday, and she was working at the hospital, leaving Brie alone in the two bedroom apartment. The apartment still needed work, but it was neat and spacious, and all the appliances worked. It only needed a few homey touches like pictures and furniture.

Brie looked up from her book when the door bell rang. She stood up and answered the door.

"Oh, sorry. Um, the doorman told me Linda O'Shea lived here?"

"And you're?"

"I'm Danny Re-"

"Danny Reagan her fiancé?"

"Yes. Do you-"

"Man! Pictures do not do you justice! Crap..." she laughed a little, then told him seriously, "Linda's not here."

"Actually, I was hoping she wouldn't be. Are you her roommate?"

"Brie, uh huh. Why wouldn't you want her to be here?"

"Her birthday is tomorrow, and I wanna surprise her. Could you help me?"

"You mean lie and trick and con my very best friend just so you can shack up some brownie points?" Brie acted offended before she smiled widely and brightly told him, "okay! What do you want me to do? Distract her? Keep her away from the apartment? Maybe even out of Staten Island?"

"I think you're gonna come in handy in the future."

She let him into the apartment, ready to hear his plan.

After Brie had been the maid of honor at Linda's wedding, she had moved back up to Maine. She and Linda talk from time to time, but not as often as she's like. Her best friend was starting a new life, one that probably didn't have time for Brie and her antics. That was okay, though, Brie convinced herself, because Linda was happy with Danny. It didn't take someone trained in psychology or sociology to see that Linda completely lit up whenever Danny was around.

She lived in Maine for two years after college, continuing to stay in New York for a week's vacation time. She stayed in Queens for an e tire summer after her fiancé had killed himself. She had again put her life temporarily on hold one day when Linda had called her in hysterical tears, crying over how she had had a miscarriage.

Brie immediately packed up enough clothes and shoes for two months, cancelled all her appointments waiting for her when she got back and revered them to another doctor, and drove down to Staten Island to be with her best friend. After spending a month and a half in New York, Brie decided, along with being therapeutic, she really loved it there; so again, she packed her bags and moved into a small, studio apartment. She found work there - surprised anyone would hire a woman who abandoned her last workplace- and settled into a tall building in the city.

She and Linda would grab lunch once week when they could. It had been a few weeks since their weekly lunch, and her friend had only left hurried but apologetic messages;Brie had to wonder if something was going wrong. She was about to call Linda when her phone lit up with Linda's name.

"Linda, hi! It's been-"

"Brie, it's Danny." Her voice sounded raw, like she had been crying.

"What's wrong?"

"I.. I don't know. He's in a... really bad place right now. He's, uh," there was a long pause before she whispered into the phone. "He's suicidal, Brie! He tried..."

Brie wanted to jump through the phone to hug her best friend when she heard the sobs. "I can talk to him. Do you want me to do it now?"

"No, no. To- tomorrow if you can."

"Of course. Does two work for you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Why is he suddenly suicidal?"

"Because of- because of Fallujah. It's a delayed reaction."

"Do you know what happened over there?"

"No. He doesn't like talking about it."

"You go be with Danny. I'll do some reading tonight, see what I can find about this."

"Thank you, Brie. You're a really great friend."

Brie shrugged, "you'd do the same for me. You did do the same for me." There was a sad pause before she continued, "call me tomorrow morning and give me the details. I'll do whatever I can, Linda."

"Thank you so much, Brie. This means so much."

"Don't mention it. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Through the years, Brie and Linda kept in touch. Brie was there when Linda was pregnant with Sean and Danny was in Fallujah. Linda was there when Brie's sister had died in a robbery gone wrong. They were always there for each other, and they always would be there for each other.