Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.
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The mood at the station had been so depressing that afternoon that Heidi had snapped everyone up into action. 'This is not the way a birthday should be celebrated,' she declared to all present. 'We're going to K Jay's tonight. Be there at 7 or don't bother coming at all,' she ordered.
She was feeling considerably less upbeat when she stood in front of her wardrobe and looked for something to wear later. Being seven months pregnant really wasn't that conducive to the latest fashions.
Sure, some people seemed to be pregnant so gracefully that dresses and the like just flowed off them and they looked the very image, but her breasts seemed to have doubled in size, her pregnancy weight seemed to be distributed all around and she swore that her butt size had doubled.
Flicking through the coat hangers, she disregarded them one by one. She finally ended up going with a pair of leggings – what a godsend, and whoever invented them should be immortalised in the Comfort Hall of Fame – and a sleeveless top that draped itself over her sizable girth.
She'd like to say that she did it tastefully, but she had her suspicions that nothing on this man-made planet could hide the fact that she had a basketball – or three – up her shirt.
Her mood picked up when she arrived at the nightclub she'd picked and she saw the team having fun. After the stalker and the horrific break in at the station, Lara hadn't wanted a birthday party. But if the smile on her face was anything to go by she was enjoying herself.
Making her way over to the table that someone had grabbed for their purpose, she slid into her seat and greeted Lara, Chase, Dean and Vince as they roped her into a debate on the pros and cons of hitting 30.
She hadn't been prepared for the flash of jealousy that shot through her when her blonde teammate stood up from the table and was promptly ordered to sit back down again by them all as Dean declared that the first round would be on him. Why couldn't she look that good?
Jordan arrived in time to help Dean carry the drinks back to the table, and she began to feel a little better, especially when he planted himself next to her and wrapped his arm around the back of her chair. Way to make a girl feel special.
Stuck with lemonade and iced water, Heidi grew irritated as her teammates shouted round after round of drinks and she was left sober. It sucked knowing that she was the designated driver too.
Her foot was tapping away to the beat as she looked to the dance floor with a melancholy look. Seeing the moving and jiving, she lamented that her dancing days were past her for a while – hell, it could be another 18 years before she graced a night club floor.
Her depressed musings were broken when she heard the familiar strains of a much loved song of hers pounding through the speakers. Her mood picked up when she saw Lara and Michelle running toward her. 'Heidi!' they called.
She jumped out of her seat in response. She began to yell out the opening lines as she moved to the dance floor. 'Hangin' out...'
'Down the street...' called Lara as she pointed her arms out to Heidi.
'The same old thing...' continued Michelle.
'We did last week...' added Jordan as he jumped in, complete with the Fez evading look as they all laughed and cheered.
'Not a thing to do...' sidled in Dean.
'But ah, something to you...' added Chase as they all hit him in good nature for stuffing up the lines.
'We're alright! We're alright! We're alright!' they shouted and punched the air.
Having thoroughly enjoyed herself, but struggling to find any air with which to breathe in, she headed back to the table and sculled her water. Vince was still nursing a beer – having refused to even come within an arm's length of the dance floor. She grinned and talked with him as the team slowly trickled back to the table.
She was leaning against Jordan and he had an arm wrapped around her, his hand resting on her swollen abdomen, his fingers tapping out a tune on her belly when the birthday cake arrived out of the kitchen. She hadn't planned it – although on reflection, she probably should have thought of it – but looking at how Lara smacked Dean's shoulders, it would appear that they had the culprit.
The candles were sparking around madly by the time the cake arrived on their table and they all broke into song.
Lara flushed as their voices rose above the music – the last hip hip hooray so loud that the various other patrons also joined in and cheered. Various wolf whistles could be heard all around and Heidi joined in on the laughing and clapping at Lara's expense.
She'd just returned from the bathroom and was considering the possibility of removing her shoes when Jordan suddenly swept her into his arms and pulled her to the dance floor. Bemused as to the reason, she nevertheless allowed Jordan to pull her back against his chest and when he pointed an arm over her shoulder, she laughed as she found it.
Michelle by some miracle or whatnot had finally convinced Vince to get onto the dance floor. He was standing awkwardly near the edge as Michelle tried to get him to move. Chase came by and slung his arm around Jordan's shoulder, but was gone seconds later when the newest song switched on.
That was the only thing that switched on.
It would appear that the rock song had also flicked a switch within Vince and the team stood back and watched as their reluctant dancer suddenly became anything but and brought out the air guitar. They cheered him on as he began to dance like there was no tomorrow.
She so wished she had a camera.
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No one had been more surprised than herself when a random check of her mobile showed that the hour was getting closer to one. With pretty much all of them pulling an early morning shift, the team scattered into action.
Michelle was picked up by Ian Johnson, draping herself over him and stumbling over her words when he stepped in the door. When Vince's attempts at bribing his teenage son to come and pick him up failed, Heidi gained another passenger. She pulled out of the carpark with her three men as they left Lara and Dean in cuddling together in the taxi queue.
She tooted them for good measure.
Vince would deny it til the end of the days, but Heidi swore that he almost tap danced his way up his path when she dropped him off. Checking that he got in the door, Heidi then drove off. Giving into the drunken cries for Macca's from her two rowdy passengers, she headed for the nearest drive through.
Content with her own large fries which she dipped into her milkshake as she drove, Heidi cranked up the radio as a popular song came over the line. Jordan and Chase also added their voices into the mix, and it's not until she pulls into her apartment complex several loud songs later that she realised that she's come home without dropping off her charges.
Tossing up between driving for another hour or getting out of these heels, she took the easy way out.
Jordan and Chase were oblivious as they helped each other stumble up the stairs. She'd managed to get her door open by the time they made it up to her floor, and stood out of the way as they somewhat-less-than-surely stepped into her apartment.
Shutting the door and switching off the outdoor light, she went looking for her boys. It didn't take long to find them. There they were, both flopped out face down, sound asleep on her bed.
Feeling too buzzed and alert to go to sleep anyway, and knowing that she wouldn't have any strength whatsoever to move them, she left them there and headed for her small lounge room.
It was as if the music had put the baby on a 24 hour dance craze and as she moved to the kitchen for an apple juice a while later, baby kicked away like mad. Popping her head into her bedroom, she grinned when she saw that Jordan was now sound asleep on his back and Chase had his head buried into Jordan's chest as he snored away.
Snagging her camera, Heidi tried to stifle her laughter as she snapped a picture or two. She had no doubt that these would have good blackmail value in the future.
Crossing her legs as she sat on her large wicker chair that filled up almost the entire balcony, she enjoyed the balmy evening – morning technically – as she looked up at the stars. There was no moon tonight.
She mused that for the first time in a long time she was actually content with her life. Even the imposing threat of Amanda Sydney's suing didn't seem to matter tonight.
She was happy.
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Next Chapter: Heidi hears from Edie Coulson for the first time in a while and a baby shower!