A/N: Wow, I don't think I've ever written a fanfic this quickly, but thanks to those of you who commented, you were so encouraging!

When Bee woke up, she had the feeling that today was going to be a special day. People who didn't know her too well thought she had a sixth sense about that sort of thing; her friends knew that when Bee thought a day was going to be special, she'd chase after anything until something out of the ordinary happened. This was why life around Bee was forever exciting.

She hummed as she left the house, not fully sure where she was headed. Maybe to Lena's, perhaps to Carmen's, possibly to Tibby's. Her feet would know instinctively where to go – Bee was just here to enjoy the ride.

Next time she looked up, she realized she was by Carmen's apartment complex. She buzzed herself up to the apartment and played with Ryan for a few hours. Cute beyond belief, but not special.

"Are you going to come with me, Carmabelle?" Bee asked lazily as she lay sprawled, watching the baby stare at her, wide-eyed.

"Come where?"

"Something's going to happen, I can feel it."

"I wouldn't want to miss that." Bee could hear Carmen's indulgent smile, even though she wasn't looking. Carma wasn't being patronizing, just amused. "But Ryan's going to have to come, Mama's not going to be back until this afternoon."

"Where's David?" Bee asked.

"On a business trip," Carmen said glumly.

Bee rolled over onto her elbows. "I thought he promised Christina – and you – that there weren't going to be any more of those. I mean, he missed Ryan's being born!"

"I know," Carma said in a small voice. "But he just hasn't been around. Sometimes I hate him for it."

Bee made a sympathy noise.

"That's Bad Carmen talking," Carmen said. Bee laughed and shook her head, then they both became serious again. "That's why I thought about visiting Dad and Lydia this summer. Just to get out of here. But I don't want to leave Mama, she's not exactly happy right now."

"Carma, Christina wants you to do what you need to do to make you happy. She's an adult, and she's capable of looking out for herself." Bee said.

Carmen stood up and stretched. "That settles it, we need to get out of here and into the sunshine. Can you grab Ryan a new diaper while I pull the stroller out?"

Bee wagged her finger at her. "Clever delegation of tasks, Carmabelle, but you can get the diaper."

After struggling to set the stroller up correctly, Bee finally had to surrender, wrinkling her nose as she faced her alternate task. But eventually, they were out in the warm June weather, strolling at a leisurely pace towards no place at all.

When after a long walk they headed towards Bee's house for a cool drink, Bee spotted a strange car in the driveway.

"What?" she said, wondering aloud.

"Should we head home?" Carmen asked, looking concerned.

"No," Bee said slowly, but she felt her heart skip a few beats. Her father and Perry just didn't have guests. Ever. The last time she remembered seeing a strange car in her driveway had been the day Marly had… but Bee didn't want to think about that. Taking a deep breath, she strode towards the house.

"Hello?" she called tentatively as she opened the door. Carmen shot her a concerned look, and Bee understood why. Bridget was never unsure about things, and even when she was, she always strode ahead as though she knew exactly what was going on.

"Bee!" Bridget paused when she heard the voice, one she knew well, both in her recent and long-ago memory.

"Grandma!" Bee shrieked, running forward and barely stopping in time to keep Greta from being toppled to the floor. "What are you doing here?"

Greta shrugged. "Things get boring in Alabama this time of year. I called down here and asked Perry if I could come."

Bee had a sudden thought. "Is Dad okay with it?"

Greta smiled mischievously. "It doesn't matter, I'm staying in a hotel. He can hardly protest that."

"But you didn't drive all the way here yourself, did you?" Bee asked, horrified.

"Ahem." Bee whipped around. "Hey, Bee," the speaker said with a grin. "I wanted to come see you. I missed you."

Bee's stomach plunged towards her feet. Today's kind of special was not exactly positive. "Billy." She said faintly.

He looked somewhat disappointed that she hadn't been all-out thrilled to see him. There were a few moments of awkward silence, then good old Carmabelle stepped in to save the day.

"Hi, I'm Carmen, Bee's friend," Carmen said, smiling and reaching forward to shake his hand. "And it's good to see you again, Greta."

"Can I get you something to drink, Carmen?" Greta offered. Carmen accepted gratefully and followed Greta into the kitchen. At first, Bee wished desperately that her grandmother was more intuitive, but she realized as the kitchen door shut that at least she could let Billy know about Eric now. If Billy cared. Bridget had gotten the impression, two summers ago, that he'd wanted something more, and she couldn't allow him to get that idea into his head. She settled down, calm and ready for an uncomfortable conversation.

Lena was a woman on a mission – she hoped Annik would be around, she missed her art instructor. They'd stayed in touch with email, but that wasn't exactly a way for Lena to show Annik her newest work, and art was their main connection. Today she'd brought the portraits of Kostos and Paul.

As she entered the studio, she was met by the sight of Annik kissing someone goodbye. Lena smiled. She hadn't heard about this guy, but she was glad to know that Annik was getting the love she deserved.

"Lena!" Annik cried as the man left. "You're back?"

"I have been for about a week," Lena said, nodding. "I'm sorry I haven't dropped by yet. I didn't want to bother you."

"No, of course not!" Annik said. "Come, show me what you've got."

As Lena handed over her portfolio, she asked, "Who was that?"

Annik flushed, but happily. "We've been dating about a month so far. It's going well, Lena."

"And… the chair?" Lena ventured to ask.

"He acknowledges it, but he embraces it," Annik said, obviously joyous at the treasure she had found in this man. Lena smiled. Even she had had trouble knowing how to approach the topic of Annik's wheelchair at first. This man had to be a worthwhile one if he could do what Lena could not.

Finally, Annik opened the portfolio. The first thing she pulled out was Kostos' portrait. She stared at it silently for a minute.

"You got the chair, Lena," she said, smiling a tiny bit at their old joke. But she smiled in a bittersweet way. "You knew him, didn't you?"

Lena nodded, feeling the old familiar tears prick a little bit, but disregarding them. Lenny wasn't a crybaby by any means, but Kostos had shared a lot with her, and then taken it all away. Those things took time to get over, especially at age 19, and especially when you kept getting your hopes up, only to have them dashed all over again. Although Lena didn't know exactly what her hopes were.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Annik asked gently.

Lena thought about it. It couldn't hurt, and Annik was trustworthy. Besides, although Lena couldn't ask for more than her best friends to help her, Annik was grown, and someone who understood the same way, but with more experience. Lena nodded.

"Come on, let's get my van," Annik said sympathetically. "We'll get some coffee."