Disclaimer: See Prologue

Chapter 5: At All Costs

"Did you have a good flight? Andrea?"

"Hmm?"

Andrea realised her mother was talking to her. She'd been distracted. Standing just a few feet away from her were Jim and Cindy Walsh, her daughter's grandparents, and nobody knew it but her. It was very weird. She prayed that Jim and Cindy wouldn't look in her direction and recognise her, but Brenda seemed to be steering them away.

Andrea knew in her heart that Brenda at least suspected the truth, but she was grateful that Brenda seemed to be respecting her privacy on the matter. She recalled Brenda's hesitation in relating exactly what had happened between her and Dylan that had ended their relationship. It seemed like both of them had their secrets that they didn't want other people to know.

After collecting their bags, Andrea, Hannah and Andrea's parents left the terminal. They were going to drop the luggage at the house first and then go to the hospital for a quick visit. Andrea's father hoped that seeing her grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter might lift his mother's spirits.

While they were driving through Los Angeles, Andrea found her thoughts drifting to the last time she'd been there.

She checked her calendar, and sat down on the couch, sighing. Two weeks; she was two weeks late. What if…?

No, it couldn't be that. They'd been safe, they used a condom.

Then again, nothing's 100 safe. She knew that.

What if she was? She was supposed to be going to Yale in a few months. A new life, a better life. She couldn't wait to go either. The last couple of weeks had been awful. After what Brandon had said to her, she never wanted to talk to him again. She could feel tears welling in her eyes just thinking about it. She couldn't wait for school to be over so she could get as far away from Beverly Hills as possible.

She was supposed to be working over the summer at the Beverly Hills Beach Club, but she'd asked her parents to look about for a job nearer to where they lived. Her excuse was that she wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before she left for New Haven and that was partly true, but she couldn't bear the thought of being constantly around Brandon. Not after the way he'd made her feel. Totally and utterly worthless.

Andrea looked over at her daughter, who was happily chattering away to her grandparents. She couldn't help but smile. Hannah was such an amazing child. Andrea never wanted her to feel the way Brandon had made her feel. She'd protect her from that at all costs.

When they got to the house, Hannah jumped out of the car, volunteering to help her grandfather with the bags. She was eager to take a look inside her grandparents' house. The adults laughed at her enthusiasm.

Andrea was left in the car with her mother. She took the opportunity to ask about Grandma Rose.

"How's Grandma?"

"She's still the same. She's very weak. She can talk, but it's barely a whisper. She should be up for visitors though, and I know she'll love seeing the both of you."

Andrea smiled. She was glad she came. When she'd first seen Brenda at the airport in New York she'd wondered if she'd made the right decision to rush out to California so quickly. If she'd even waited a day, she would never have run into Brenda. If Brenda even suspected anything about Hannah and mentioned it to Brandon…

She could just imagine what would happen. He'd come storming around and Hannah would be probably end up caught in the middle of World War Three.

It was funny, after talking to Brenda she was glad she'd seen her. She and Brenda had never been that close when they were in high school together, but when they parted company at the airport she felt like she'd met a kindred spirit. She was looking forward to seeing her the next day. It was nice to talk to someone that you felt comfortable with. At college she was so caught up between classes and working and raising Hannah that she'd never made any real friends. Not close ones anyway. It was the same when she graduated. Working and raising a daughter alone impacted a lot on her social life. She was never the most out-going person in the world anyway, and she'd never met anyone she clicked with.

Andrea had to laugh to herself. It was almost ironic that the one person she felt she could talk to also happened to be the twin-sister of the one person she never wanted to talk to again.

Author's Notes: What did Brandon say to Andrea anyway? If you've read chapter 3 (A Familiar Face) then you might have a good idea, but it will be covered in the next chapter anyway. And what about Brenda and Dylan? Why did they break up? That'll be in the next chapter too.

I've added this to the prologue, but just in case I thought I'd better mention it again. If you happen to be a big fan of Brandon and Kelly together or Dylan and Kelly together then you might not like where I'm going with this story.