Hello fan fiction readers, thank you for all keeping up with this story. I am sorry for the long wait. But, life happens. Nonetheless, here's an update for you. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to reading your responses and critiques of the story. I read each and every one of the reviews, so please continue to write them, and tell me what you think. Enjoy, and happy reading!
It's 9:00am and Kerry is finishing up her hygiene routine, while she dresses for her first day back at work. As she stands at the sink washing her hands, she's in thought about what the day will bring. She's partly excited and partly concerned about what to expect. It's been three weeks since their meeting with Shonda, and according to Judy, during their status update conversation a week ago. All was well concerning their plan. At the time of their discussion, all of the confidentiality agreements had been signed by all parties, except Bellamy. But she was scheduled to meet with her before they reported back to work. Due to scheduling conflicts, they hadn't had a chance to meet yet. But, regardless of this factor, they appear to still be on track.
Kerry felt an uneasiness with what she was hearing; she didn't want to be disrespectful, she knew Judy had already said everything was fine. But, she couldn't overlook how she was feeling. Tony picked up on her struggle, and encouraged her to relay her concern to Judy while they were on the phone. So she said, "No disrespect Judy, but are you sure everything is okay with Bellamy? Her signature, out of everyone's is the most important, right?"
Judy understood her concern, and she didn't take it as a form of disrespect at all. She'd probably think something was wrong too, if she was in Kerry's position. To ease her mind, Judy responded, "Kerry, you're right. Her signature is the most important one. Which is why we have to be careful in how we play this. I normally don't disclose certain aspects of how I operate. But, here's a tip. Desperation is an emotion that can be a fixer's best friend. Because, it's in that moment, absolute certainty occurs. A person is more inclined to do what's needed to resolve a situation without additional thought, or concern for the overall fall out. So, I don't want you to worry about this. I know it's difficult to relax; especially with you returning to work in a few days, and knowing she hasn't signed yet. But trust me; it's going to happen, and when it does. I will notify you."
Hearing that the current circumstances, at the time, were by design. Reassured her that everything would work out. In continuing to think about their conversation; she remembers feeling better about the situation after hearing her detailed explanation. She also recalls Tony saying, "Damn, that's smart." As Judy replied, "Well, I am good at what I do. In fact, I'm the best." Both Tony and Kerry found her response strong, and indisputable. They had no comment to the contrary, given how well she'd handled Columbus' situation.
Nonetheless, despite the information she gave them being positive; Kerry sensed her tone change when she mentioned Shonda. As they talked about returning to the set, at the end of the week. Judy told her and Tony to be prepared for a possible rough time with Shonda; because she's been known to hold a grudge, and after an impromptu run in she'd had with her recently. It's fair to say there's probably going to be some tension between them on set, when they initially return. Kerry remembers feeling a sense of dread coming over them both, in the moment. However, Judy also advised them they should hold their heads up high, because they didn't do anything wrong.
Nonetheless, despite her attempt to reassure them, the conversation left Kerry conflicted. Because while she knows they did the right thing; she's wondering if they could've handled it better. In short, she worried that maybe their approach hurt Shonda's feelings, and therefore will bring undue drama onto the set going forward. But she realized, that wasn't something Judy could help her with; so she left the conversation with the idea that she and Tony would allow the chips to fall where they may, and allow Judy to handle it.
At that time, she basically played like she was fine with everything. But, in reality she wasn't. The truth was, she'd thought about the situation off and on, more often than not, and as the first day of work approached, she'd developed an aching desire to talk to Shonda; to get a feel for what she can expect when they meet on set. So, about a week after their meeting, she called her on the phone. But, Shonda never returned her calls. She then saw her last week, when they were at a charity event. But they didn't have a conversation, despite seeing one another the entire time. Instead of talking, they were both mingling with all of the guests in attendance.
It didn't take long before she understood that Shonda was staying away from her purposely. Other than a cordial hello, that was the gist of their conversation during the event. She remembers feeling a great sense of disappointment when she left, and telling Tony about it when she got home.
He was sweet to her, because of how she was feeling; but after a day or so, of her sulking about it. Tension in the house spiked, and they went from discussing the situation, to outright arguing. Which is something they are very good at, too good in fact. And, it's not a good thing. It's never a good thing when you both know you hold the keys to pissing off each other, and you can go days, if not weeks, or months without talking. What helped in this instance is after going back to his condo the first night; he came back to hers the next night. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to, and because she asked him to.
It was probably one of the only times she could remember conceding, for the betterment of the big picture. They both knew that the matter wasn't completely closed. But they also knew that they love each other, and in order to fix what's broken. You can't do that being apart. This was yet again another growing experience for them. So often in the past; they'd fight, and the bitterness would remain for extended periods of time between them, causing them to fight in cycles. Largely because they weren't talking things out to resolve issues. They were just yelling and screaming at one another to the point of exhaustion, and then going mute. Have passionate sex; appear to be okay that day. But the next minute, they'd be back at it with no resolution in sight.
However, this time. It felt different. It felt different for the both of them, because they felt like even if the matter did reappear; they'd be able to handle it better, so things wouldn't escalate unnecessarily. They felt like they were working toward handling things to completion, and not just putting a Band-Aid on the issue, until it blows up again.