Elizabeth walked down the street, her coat wrapped snuggly around her to shield her from the biting wind. The temperature had dropped considerably over the past few days and it seemed like autumn was giving way to winter much earlier than normal which was odd because it reflected her mood perfectly. Telling Henry about the baby had been extremely difficult for her and although his reaction was slightly better than she'd been expecting, finding out that he had moved on with his life and was in a relationship had devastated her.
Of course she knew he wouldn't wait around forever, especially after she'd managed to break his heart - twice, but in her perfect fantasy, one that she'd been building up in her own head all the way to Charlottesville, he would have taken her in his arms and they would have been the perfect little family by the end of the day. Sadly, that's all it was - Nothing more than a fairytale that had no hope of ever coming true.
It had been a week since she'd seen Henry and there had been radio silence ever since. She had waited by the phone for him to call for days, but when that didn't happen, she'd forced herself to get out of the apartment and now found herself heading to the one place she knew she would always be welcome.
Since returning from Baghdad, the only person she had seen or talked to was Conrad and she had sworn him to secrecy. She needed to get things straight in her own head before she could share her news with anyone else and thought it was only fair to tell Henry before anyone else knew. Because of that, she'd had no contact with Isabelle or Juliette and hadn't been anywhere near her favourite little cafe - Until now.
As she walked through the door, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon muffins made her feel like she was finally home. It was comforting and familiar and that's exactly what she needed right now. No matter how bad she felt or what she was going through, Greg and Andrew had always been there for her. There was no judgement, no lectures or advice she didn't ask for - There was just pure and honest friendship and boy had she missed it.
She sat at her usual table and smiled when she saw Greg approaching. He was trying to tie his apron which seemed to be causing him a great deal of trouble and then his pencil fell on the floor. Greg wasn't the smallest of people - In fact he was a great big teddy bear of a man and Elizabeth couldn't help but chuckle.
"What can I get for you this morning." He was looking down at his notepad, poised to write "We have some amazing cinnamon muffins that have just come out of the oven and they're to die for - Pure indulgence."
"As amazing as that sounds - What I'd really like is a hug."
Greg's head shot up and he squealed "Oh my god - My darling Bess! You're here." He pulled her up from her seat and wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her. "The girls didn't tell us you were back."
"That's because they don't know." Her words were muffled against him as he continued to squeeze her.
Greg let go and then looked at her quizzically "You haven't fallen out with them, have you? You three were always as thick as thieves."
"No, we're fine. I've just had a few things to figure out and I needed some time."
"Good! Now let me look at you." He stepped backwards to appraise her and his eyes grew wide "ANDREW - We need to close early." His eyes never left Elizabeth but he was shouting through to the kitchen.
Andrew stuck his head around the doorframe "What did you just say?"
"I said we need to close up - Immediately."
"You know, I'm sure I heard you say you want to close early which you know very well is against my religion Gregory! If Liza Minnelli herself put on a private performance of Cabaret on top of the tables I still wouldn't close early, so what gives?" As Andrew rounded the counter he caught sight of Elizabeth.
"I'm no Liza and I can't sing - But will I do?" Elizabeth flashed him a shy smile.
"Ok everyone - I'm afraid we have a family emergency and we need to close up. There's no charge for anything today." Andrew rounded up the few people still in the cafe and herded them outside, locking the door behind them. "Right young lady! Get over here and give me a hug, and then fill us in on exactly what's been happening with you."
They all sat quietly while Elizabeth picked at the muffin Andrew had placed in front of her. She was making no attempt to eat it, just reducing it to a pile of crumbs on the plate.
"You know Bess - When I said you should have a baby for us, I wasn't serious." Greg broke the silence "I mean - It's a nice gesture and all but —-"
"Of all the things you could have said - That's what you chose to go with? I swear to all that is holy Gregory, you only open your mouth to change those stupidly large size fourteen feet of yours." Andrew rolled his eyes and huffed.
"What? Nobody was saying anything and the silence was uncomfortable. Somebody had to mention the elephant in the room - Or the baby in this case."
Elizabeth sniggered and they both looked at her.
"You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to Bess - We're just so happy to see you. Are you okay sweetie?"
"I'm hanging in there. It's all been a bit of a whirlwind of emotion and I'm only just starting to get my head around it all, but I'm doing ok."
"And you came to see us - Is it any wonder you're our favourite person in the world" Andrew squeezed her hand "We are here for you, whatever you need."
"Thank you. I'm knew this was exactly the right place to come"
"So —" Greg moved his seat closer to Elizabeth "Is the father a hottie? I mean look at you — Of course he is! . But how hot are we talking? All of those marines to choose from, it must have been like a candy store." His excitement was making Elizabeth laugh but Andrew was far from impressed. "Oh lord - Do you know who the father is or will this be like one of those Jerry Springer paternity test reveals?"
"I have literally just told her that she doesn't have to tell us anything and off you go again asking her what can only be construed as wildly inappropriate questions - Sometimes Gregory I just can't with you."
As sad as Elizabeth was feeling, she couldn't help but smile "It's really ok Andrew - I think it would be good for me to finally talk to someone about all of this and yes, I do know who the father is."
"You don't need to humour him Bess - I can lock him in the storeroom if it helps." Andrew glared at Greg.
"I really don't think that will be necessary."
"Soooo - Is he hot?" Greg whispered "You can tell me."
"I'm sitting right here you know." Andrew was becoming more and more exasperated with Greg! "You infuriate me at times."
"I'm well aware but if you could do so quietly that would be awesome."
Elizabeth watched the two of them together and a warmth enveloped her. They bickered something terrible but the love they had for each other was truly something special.
"I really do envy the both of you."
"Really? Why on earth would you envy us? You wouldn't say that if you had to put up with Andrew's incessant nagging all day, every day."
"Or Gregory's inability to read a situation and know when to keep his thoughts to himself."
"Bess came here Andrew! She has turned to us instead of talking to Isabelle and Juliette which to me says that maybe, just maybe, she needs to talk and be heard without judgement. So the very least we can do is stop bickering for five god damn minutes and let the girl speak!"
Andrew digested Gregs words and then nodded "You know Gregory, that's the first sensible thing I've heard you say for a long time and you're totally right."
"Can I have that in writing?"
"Don't push your luck with me." Andrew turned his attention to Elizabeth "Why don't you start from the beginning Bess. We're both here for you."
Elizabeth took a deep breath "Well, everything was going brilliantly until Henry showed up in Baghdad - Then it all pretty much went to shit."
"Who's Henry?" Andrew seemed confused.
"He's the firefly guy - You know, the guy that made her light up? The guy she was conflicted about leaving behind? How do you not remember this?"
"More to the point, how do you know so much?"
"I have a unique ability to retain information." Greg looked pleased with himself.
"No - What you have is the ability to stick your nose into other people's business - That's what you have." Andrew crossed his arms and huffed.
Elizabeth thought it may be a good moment to step in before they started again "Yes - Henry is the firefly guy and leaving him behind when i went to Iraq was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do but it was the right decision - And then he shows up in Baghdad and we had to work together which meant long hours and close proximity —"
"And sex it seems." Greg was never one to sugarcoat his words.
Elizabeth blushed "Well there was obviously sex although we were drunk and careless and I'd been in the desert for 8 months alone so - You can't blame a girl."
"Absolutely not honey! You're a beautiful girl so it's only right that you got yours. So what happened?
"I really thought we had been given a second chance at this - But he came back to the states, I stayed in Iraq until I discovered I was pregnant and now I'm completely lost and alone and Henry has moved on with Stacey."
"That's it! Nobody treats our Bess that way! I'll kick his ass."
Andrew sniggered, "That would be like Winnie -The -Pooh trying to fight Godzilla."
"We've never met Henry so he could be a weakling for all we know."
"He's an ex marine and trust me - There is nothing weak about him." Elizabeth glanced down at her bump "And it's not his fault. He asked me to come back with him, he even proposed in a half hearted kinda way and I only told him about this baby a week ago. This is all my fault and I've messed everything up." She could feel the tears on her cheeks and was mad at herself for crying "These god damn hormones! All I ever seem to do is puke or cry these days. It's like I have no control."
"What can I make for you that won't make you puke or cry? I'm not very good at dealing with either but I can cook."
"I'm really not hungry - But thank you Andrew."
"You have to eat, Bess - You have that little one to think of now. How about my famous waffles? Or pancakes? Or maybe some French toast?"
"You're going to make me puke in a minute." Greg rolled his eyes.
Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh through the tears "I'll have some French toast if that's ok?"
"Coming right up! And Bess - It's good to have you home where you belong."
While Andrew was busy in the kitchen - Greg wanted to delve a little deeper into how Elizabeth was really feeling.
"So Henry's out of the picture then? He doesn't want to be involved?"
"I don't know! But he has moved on Greg - He's with someone else and I've hurt him enough. I don't want to mess up his life any more than I already have."
"Awwwww sweetie - You will always have Andrew and I - This baby will be so loved and you're going to make a fantastic mom." He looked at her and his heart broke "That's not what you want to hear though, is it! You want Henry."
Elizabeth nodded "I honestly thought once he saw me again and knew about this baby —"
"He'd look into your eyes and everything else would fade away?" Greg moved his chair closer and put his arm around her shoulder "I truly wish that were the case Bess - Maybe give him some time to get things straight in his head. If you only told him about this baby a week ago, it probably hasn't sunk in yet."
"I gave him my number but he hasn't called. I told him I was going to have this baby on my own and he didn't need to be involved and I will - I will do this on my own because I want this baby Greg - I want it — but I just wanted it all with Henry and now I'm scared and alone and heartbroken." She no longer cared that her tears were falling. Months of pent up emotion came tumbling out now that she had a safe place to let it. "I'm sorry."
Greg pulled her into a hug and Andrew joined in on the other side of her "Don't you dare apologise sweetheart! You're safe here and we've got you - Let it all out and then we'll make a plan - You are not alone Bess - You have us."
For the first time since Henry walked out of that gym in Baghdad - Elizabeth felt a sense of comfort. Now all she had to do was find a way forward without him.