Andrea looked around Hannah's bedroom one last time. She could still remember the night when she and Jesse had painted her walls a bright shade of purple. Hannah had been begging for a new paint job for weeks, so one night when she was at her best friend's house, they'd given her an impromptu makeover as a surprise. It was one of the only things her daughter said she would miss about living on the East Coast.
"Come on, Mom! The cab is waiting, and Dad is already on his way out the door," her daughter yelled from the living room. Andrea smiled to herself as she pulled the door shut. Picking up her shoulder bag by the front door, she said goodbye to her house and the life she had made for her family in Boston.
"Did you get everything?" Jesse asked as she jogged to the car. Holding open the door, they waited as their daughter crawled in the taxi before sliding in next to each other. Hannah pressed her nose eagerly to the window to watch the neighborhood fade away. Turning her head to watch as their house disappeared in the distance, Andrea felt a small tear make its way out of the corner of her eye. Jesse tenderly reached over and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. "There will be no tears, Ms. Zuckerman. Your new life awaits you."
Andrea rested her face in his palm, enjoying the tenderness of his touch. "Have I told you thank you for doing this for me?"
"It's not only for you, it's for Hannah, and truth be told, it's for me too. I feel like this is the second chance that we all need."
She understood what he meant as she felt the same. They'd been in so sync lately that it was almost as if the past two years hadn't happened. While they weren't anywhere near being ready for reconciliation, she knew that theirs was a relationship that would work itself out. "We're going to be okay, aren't we?"
"We're going to be better than okay, we're going to be happy."
Two hours later, David waited impatiently for his luggage to come around on the carousel. There were people everywhere, the crowds so thick you could barely navigate your way through them. As a little girl nudged her way between two men in front of him, he spotted his olive green suitcase making its way around the bend. Reaching over her head, he hoisted the parcel and headed for the exit to his terminal.
"David, over here!" Kelly called. David's face broke out into a wide grin when he spotted his sister leaning against a wall beneath a computer screen displaying arrivals. She smiled radiantly. "It is so good to see you."
"I've only been gone a week, Kel," he laughed.
"I know, but I'm used to seeing you all the time," she replied as he wrapped her in a hug. "It's raining outside. I brought you an umbrella."
He took the item from her outstretched hand. "Thanks. Where's Brandon? I thought he was coming with you?"
"He's here. Dylan and Bren are actually flying in from London in about 20 minutes. He's waiting by their terminal to greet them. They called to say they needed a ride, so we thought we'd just take everyone in Steve's van."
"How economical," he muttered.
"David, be nice. They're your friends too."
"I know, sorry. I guess I just wasn't ready to come back yet."
"Oh, yes, how is Val?"
"She's coming back to Beverly Hills," he told her as they arrived at Brandon's terminal.
"Val's coming home? I can't wait," Kelly said sarcastically.
"Well, I for one am happy for you, Silver. Plus, it'll be great to have her back here again. I'm used to having none of my family around, and now I will have Bren and Val in the same city."
"And me," his fiancée reminded him.
"And you," he echoed as he kissed her forehead affectionately.
"It looks like their plane has landed," David interrupted them, pointing toward the terminal screen. Kelly turned from Brandon and stood on her tiptoes to search the crowd of exiting passengers. Finally, a petite brunette and her rugged companion emerged from the mass of people to greet their friends.
"Is it weird that I missed you?" Brenda teased her brother as she kissed him on the cheek.
"No, it would have been weird if D had said it," he replied as he punched his friend on the shoulder playfully.
"Ah, no way, man," Dylan laughed as he shook hands with David.
Kelly exchanged hugs with Brenda. "That would have been weird."
"Kelly? Brenda? Brandon?" the friends heard a voice call from behind them.
Turning around, they found Donna and Steve walking toward them hand-in-hand. Brenda looked at Kelly who simply shrugged. She knew what was going on, but she would leave it to her best friend to explain it to the others. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here to pick up Andrea and Jesse," Steve answered. "What about you?"
"Well, I had to come pick up Bren and Dylan, and Kel was picking up David," Brandon explained. "So Andrea and Jesse are coming in today? Together? I can't believe she didn't say anything when I talked to her a few days ago."
"She wanted it to be a surprise. I was supposed to be the only one that knew, but I obviously told Steve," Donna remarked. She looked up at David sheepishly. "Hi, David."
He smiled reassuringly. "Hey, Donna, nice to see you," he replied as he moved in to hug her. Still clutching Steve's hand, she embraced him lightly, awkwardly.
Kelly watched her brother and best friend. She knew that it had to be difficult for them to be in a group like this. However, they'd both moved on. As much as she disliked Valerie, she'd always made David very happy. Maybe they were meant to be together all along, who was she to judge? And Steve and Donna seemed to have found something very special as well. As the two blondes smiled at each other adoringly, she knew that they had something very special. Plus, it worked out to her advantage that her best friend just happened to be falling in love with her boyfriend's best friend. Life couldn't be any quainter.
"Well, since everyone is here, why don't you join us down at Terminal C? Their flight should be getting in any minute," Steve retorted.
"Sounds good," Brenda chimed in, grabbing Dylan's hand and pulling him toward the terminal. Kelly looped her arm through Brandon's on the left side and David's on the right side before following them down the busy corridor.
Coming off the plane, Andrea couldn't see anything pass all the people crowded into the tunnel that led into the airport. Jesse reached back to take her bag, flinging it over his shoulder with Hannah's hot pink backpack. Looking between her ex-husband and her daughter, Andrea swelled with pride at her family. It may not be the most conventional of things, but sometimes the most perfect unions stem from imperfection.
"Andrea!" Kelly, Donna and Brenda called over the noise of the airport.
"What are you guys doing here?" she cried happily, running ahead to hug her friends. The guys followed suit and embraced her, one after another. Jesse and Hannah finally came up behind them, both unusually quiet at the unfamiliarity of the moment.
"Hi, Jesse!" Donna exclaimed, lunging past Steve to hug their old friend.
"Hey, Donna. Hey everyone," he replied.
Kelly and Brenda each came forward to embrace him. David, Brandon and Steve all shook his hand. Only Dylan avoided him, preferring instead to focus on the little girl. "Hannah, I am Dylan."
"I've heard of you," she said shyly.
"Well, let me introduce you to everyone," he retorted, ushering her forward. "This is Donna, Brenda, Kelly, Steve, David and Brandon."
"You're Brandon?"
"I am. You must be Hannah. You're beautiful."
The girl turned red. "I am not."
"He's right, you are," Steve promised her.
She smiled brightly before tucking herself behind her father.
"I have an idea," Dylan announced, eliciting a round of applause from his friends.
"That's my man, always thinking," Brenda taunted.
"You are so funny," Dylan shot back. "Let's go to dinner. My treat, whereever you want."
"Wherever who wants?" Donna asked, confused.
"Good point, Don. Andrea, since it's your first official night back in the city, you pick. Where is somewhere you've always wanted to show Hannah?"
Jesse and Andrea look at each other and grinned. "The Peach Pit!" they exclaimed in unison. Hannah clapped happily. She had heard of the old diner through many stories from her mother.
"Nat would be offended if we went anywhere else," Brandon laughed as they all headed for the exit to the airport. He stopped to tie his shoe, falling slightly behind the crowd. As he stood back up, he watched as the group moved on without him. Dylan's arm was wrapped securely around his sister's waist, who was laughing at something Donna had just said. Still hand-in-hand, Steve separated her from David. He had lifted Hannah onto his shoulder, entertaining the girl with his singing while Jesse talked to Andrea and Kelly about seeing his hometown again. His angelic blond turned and looked over to her shoulder, winking as she wiggled her finger with her best "come hither" stare. Jogging to catch up with them, he realized that he had more than just Bren, Val and Kel – he had an entire family here in Beverly Hills.