Reunions

I own nothing...

"Sharon, I still can't believe you didn't tell me. Whatever! You're supposed to be my best friend. You were the first to know every time with me. Yes, I saw the ring. He showed it to me last week." Angela, talking on the phone, reaches in to the refrigerator and pulls out a bowl of sliced bananas. Removing the lid, she puts it on the highchair tray in front of 8 month old Justin. "The twins are fine. Jordan took all of them to the lake. Jamie is with them, too. You and Shane just enjoy yourselves."

Hearing the doorbell ring, Angela says, "Sharon, someone is at the door. I'll talk to you later." Hanging up, she lays her phone on the counter. With a glance at Jay, she walks into the hall and to the front door. Pulling it open, her mouth drops in surprise.

Angela VO: What is she doing here? If she's here to start trouble, then she needs to turn around and go right back where she came from. I don't want to deal with this now.

"Rayanne. What are doing here?" She thinks about shutting the door, but decides against it.

"Angela, can I come in? Just to talk?" Rayanne, looking much better than the last time she showed up at the door, looks unsure of herself.

"I don't know, Rayanne. I really don't think that's a good idea." Angela stands with her arms crossed watching Rayanne.

"Please, Angelica? Just for a little while? I promise it won't take long." Rayanne, twisting the strap of her bag, pleads with her. "I just have some things I need to say."

Angela steps aside. "Come in. I have to get back to Justin. He's in the kitchen."

Rayanne walks in and Angela shuts the door. Walking toward the kitchen, Angela says, "Come in here. Want a soda or something?"

"No, I'm fine." Rayanne walks into the kitchen and stops to stare at Justin. "Wow, Angelica. He looks just like Catalano."

Smiling despite the tension, Angela says, "Yeah, he does, doesn't he? He'll be 9 months old in a few weeks. We're already chasing him around the house."

Grabbing a wet wipe, Angela cleans Justin's face and hands, before wiping the tray in front of him. Justin giggles at his mom, waving his hands in front of him. When he smiles, you can see his front tooth. Bending to kiss his head, Angela laughs at him.

Rayanne, still standing in the middle of the floor, watches Angela and her baby. Angela turns back to her. "Raynie, have a seat. I was just about to make myself a salad. Want one? You can talk to me while I work."

Rayanne walks over to the end of the bar and climbs up onto the stool. "That would be great, thanks. Where is everyone? Maddie and Jordan, I mean."

"Jordan took Maddie, Jamie and Sharon's boys to the lake. They should be home in a little while." Pulling vegetables from the refrigerator, Angela says, "So, what are you doing in Three Rivers?"

"I came to visit Mom. Angela, I'm thinking about moving back here permanently. I just wanted to tell you and Jordan first." Looking down, Rayanne toys with the bracelet on her wrist.

At first, Angela doesn't say anything. She continues to cut up veggies for their salad. When she looks over at Rayanne, she puts her knife down. "Rayanne, you can live where ever you like. We can't stop you."

Not breaking eye contact, Rayanne says, "I just didn't want you guys to find out from someone else. I mean, I know things will never be the same as before. And I know it's my fault. I guess what I'm saying is that I wanna apologize. I don't want things to stay the way they are. I miss you."

"See, that's the thing. I don't know if things will ever be close to what they were before. I can handle the fact that you were carrying a torch for Jordan. I understand that. I can't understand how you hurt Shane, for no reason. Or how you tried to blackmail Jordan. What the hell were you thinking?" Angela stands with her hands propped on the counter in front of her.

"I wasn't thinking, Angela. I was strung out on cocaine. I wasn't in my right mind. I never thought you'd find out that I had a thing for Jordan. It wasn't like it would have ever gotten me anywhere. He is totally in love with you and has been since we were kids. I know that." Sighing, Rayanne stands up and walks over to Angela. "Ang, I really am sorry. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry that I put you through all this. I'm sorry for hurting Shane, too. He'll probably never forgive me."

Angela, laughing, says, "I don't think Shane has given you much thought lately. He and Sharon just got engaged. And they're having a baby."

"No shit? Really? That's great." Rayanne laughs, before a confused look crosses her face. "But wait, what about Kyle? He and Sharon aren't together anymore?"

"Well, Sharon found out that he had been cheating on her. He moved out and got an apartment with his girlfriend. Their divorce was final last month." When Justin starts to cry, Angela moves toward him. Picking him up from the high chair, she turns back to Rayanne. "Shane has been seeing Sharon since New Year's Eve. She's in California with him right now, so we have the boys until they get back."

Rayanne asks, "Can I hold him while you finish our salads?" When Angela hesitates, Rayanne says, "Please, Angela?"

Angela passes Justin to Rayanne and watches as she sits back on the stool with him in her arms. Moving back to the counter, Angela listens to Rayanne coo to the baby while she finishes up. She takes two sodas and the salad dressing from the fridge. She takes them to the table and then she grabs both bowls and heads back to the table.

Rayanne insists that she hold Justin while she eats. Justin doesn't mind, he plays with the charm on Rayanne's knecklace. Angela watches her with the baby. She seems relaxed and more like the Rayanne of old. It's nice.

When they finish eating, Angela cleans up, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Taking the baby, she excuses herself to change him and lay him down for his afternoon nap. When she returns, Rayanne is standing in front of the refrigerator looking at the pictures hanging on it.

Hearing Angela, she turns. "Angela, Maddie is getting so big. She looks a lot like Jordan, but I see so much of you in her. She's beautiful."

"Thank you. She'll be 13 years old next month. She's going into the 7th grade. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?" Angela smiles.

"Yes, it does. Wow, I can remember when she was just a tiny baby. Now you have Justin, too. You and Jordan did good." She gives Angela a small smile.

"Rayanne, you've been a part of my life just as long as Jordan and Ricky have. We all have history. That won't ever change. This is still hard, you know?" Angela frowns at her.

"Angela, I really am sorry. I've caused all this and I want to fix it. Tell me what I need to do." Rayanne walks over to her and takes her hand. "Ricky finally called me. We talked. I realize how much I've hurt everyone with my actions, Ricky and Simon, you and Jordan, Shane. I just want to move on."

"Rayanne, I can't speak for Ricky or Simon, but I know that Jordan and I are past this. We understand that you weren't yourself. That's why Jordan did what he did. He wanted to help you. And Shane has moved on. He loves Sharon. They've got a good thing going." Giving her hand a squeeze, Angela lets go and walks toward the den. Rayanne follows.

Once they're seated, Angela says, "Are you still acting? I have to be honest, I haven't really kept up with what you've been doing."

Shaking her head, Rayanne says, "No, I haven't worked since I got out. I knew it was going to hurt my career. It's ok, though. I still have most of my savings. Maybe one day I'll go back to New York, but for now I have to concentrate on getting myself together."

"That's good, Raynie. I'm glad you feel that way." Angela tucks her feel under her. "I've been worried about you."

Before Rayanne can say anything, they hear the back door open followed by what sounds like a stampede. Not wanting them to wake Justin, Angela gets up and walks to the door. "Hey, you guys keep it down. Justin is sleeping." The kids all quieten, but there's still a lot of laughing.

Angela sits back on the sofa as the kids pile into the room. Maddie walks over and hugs her mom, looking over at Rayanne. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Rayanne. What are you doing here? You haven't been around in a while."

Jamie, followed by Billy and Bobby, walks over to stand behind the sofa. Jamie says, "Hey, Rayanne, what's up?"

Rayanne, taking in all the kids, smiles and says, "Hey, guys. Look at all of you! You're all so grown up now! Hey, Maddie. I just stopped in to say hi to your mom."

Angela, looking at Maddie, says, "Where's your dad?"

"He's unloading the car. He told us to come ask you if we could walk to the park. He said he didn't care if you didn't." Maddie gives Angela a smile. "Please?" The boys all chime in.

"I don't care. Just be back before dinner." They watch as all the kids head out of the room.

"Angelica, you have a house full of teenagers. That's crazy!" Angela and Rayanne laugh together.

Jordan walks in the room. Seeing Rayanne, he stops short. "Uh, hey, Rayanne. This is a surprise." He walks over to sit with Angela, throwing his arm around her shoulders. Pulling her against him, he leans into her for a kiss.

"Hey, Catalano. I stopped by to talk to Angela. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up that I'm moving back to Three Rivers. I wanted to apologize, too." She looks from Jordan to Angela. "I guess I really need to say thank you, too. I really appreciate you taking care of my rehab. It means a lot to me." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "Jordan, I'm sorry for what I did. There really was no excuse. I hurt a lot of people with my actions."

"It's cool, Rayanne. Just knowing that you've stayed clean and you're trying to fix things is enough." Jordan looks at Angela. "Did you tell her about Shane?"

"Yeah, I told her. She's happy for him." Smiling up at him, she says, "He asked her last night. She called me first thing this morning." Looking at Rayanne, Angela says, "Tommy is getting married, too. Seems like everyone is settling down."

Rayanne chuckles, "Wow. Seems like. I guess now would be a good time to tell you guys that I've been seeing someone. It's probably not going to surprise either of you. And it is the reason I'm moving back to Three Rivers."

"What? Who?" Angela looks at her curiously.

Jordan starts laughing. "You did not hook back up with Tino, did you?" Seeing her expression, he says, "Oh, god. This is too good!"

All three of them start laughing. "Well, he is the only person that's ever really understood how fucked up I am. He gets me. We have fun together." Rayanne, smiling, gets up. "I gotta run. Mom is waiting on me."

Angela and Jordan get up and walk to the door with her. She hugs first Angela and, after hesitating, hugs Jordan, too.

"Thanks again, Jordan. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you. And I hope we can all put this behind us. I know we can't just fall back in step or whatever, but I do miss you guys." She reaches over to take Angela's hand. "I love you, Angelica. Thank you for lunch and for letting me stay."

Rayanne walks out the door smiling. Jordan shuts the door behind her, then turns to take Angela in his arms. "I didn't expect her to be here when I got home. Things seemed to go well."

"Yeah, we had a nice time. It was awkward at first, but she seemed to be sincere. I think she's going to be ok." She stands on her toes and gives him a kiss. "And, god, I never expected her and Tino to hook back up. That was a surprise."

Pulling her against him, he laughs. "Well, Red, it seems like everyone is ending up with who they're meant to be with. It just took some people longer to find that person. Me? I've always known it was you."

Standing in the foyer, locked in each others arms, Jordan kisses Angela. Without words, he tells her how much he loves her. They're both happier than they've been in a long time.

I decided I needed to show Rayanne some love...what do you think? Review! ~gagirl29