A/N: Please see A/N at the finish ;)

Many thanks to MarchHare5 and twicrack83 :hugs:

Thanks to nowforruin!

Warning: adult content and violence. **Mention of physical and sexual assault. ** Language **

Disclaimer: all recognizable characters and Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer, the rest is copyrighted 2010 ElspethGordie

xoxo

Chapter Twenty-four: Controversial

"Leave me alone, Edward," I repeated for the fifth time. He'd been trying to talk to me all through lunch and now Biology class, and I was having none of it. I'd thought it through and I was done. He'd been trying to talk to me for the last week, but I'd been dodging his calls and emails. I didn't know how he even got a hold of a phone because he'd been eternally grounded. That fortunately kept him from trying to see me at home.

"Bella, please just let me explain," Edward pleaded.

I refused to look at him. "There's nothing to explain. You said it all before. I'm a royal screw-up. But if you don't mind I'll be a screw-up all on my own."

I could hear him ravaging his hair in frustration. "I didn't mean it. You know I didn't. It was an accident. You punched me for goodness sake. I overreacted."

"You were choking Mike! What else was I supposed to do?" I snorted. "Overreacted, yeah."

Mr. Molina called the class to order looking warily over at our table. I didn't know whether he was scared of Edward or me. I'd been giving him the death-glare for a week for blaming the fight on me. He'd been skirting around me, but so had everyone else.

"Please, Bella. Please, forgive me. I promise, I'll make it up to you," Edward whispered.

I spoke out of the corner of my mouth, "Make it up to me? Can you make the last week of torture up to me? I'm the psycho pregnant chick who witches people into fighting over her, and that's just the nicest of the rumors." I turned to look at him. "Did you know some people think I was discharged from a mental institution because I seduced one of my doctors, and my mother refused to take me in, which is why I moved here?"

Edward let out a small groan, "I'm so sorry."

"Mr. Cullen, Ms. Swan, is there something you would like to share with the class?" Mr. Molina interjected.

"Nothing, sir," Edward replied swiftly. I shook my head.

He raised an eyebrow at us, trying unconvincingly to intimidate. "Then if I can continue?" He began to explain the inner workings of the colon, his eyes still on us. I pulled out my notes and began writing copiously. Edward kept twitching at my side like he was dying to say something more. At this point he could die of it.

This last week had been a living hell. Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and Rose could only shield me from so much of it.

Edward had spent the entire week at home due to his out of school suspension. I'd found out from Alice that because of some stuff last year he was on behavioral watch. He'd almost been expelled at the end of the year, but due to some major groveling from both Edward and his parents he was allowed to continue.

This incident could have been worse than it was, but surprisingly Mike had covered for him, taking some of the blame. I didn't know why Mike was that afraid of him, but he took the beating surprisingly well. He'd even come up and apologized to me, with Emmett's permission of course.

But Edward didn't get off as scot-free as I'd thought before. He'd been suspended from school for a week and he had two months of community service. Alice implied that the community service was an agreement between the school and his parents to prevent him from being possibly expelled again.

Alice was the one who filled me in on his probationary past. Supposedly he'd spent the summer in anger management classes as a condition to his return to school. I wasn't convinced that it worked.

But I guessed that he deserved a break. Alice hinted that something had happened in the office that day, and when he saw Mike harassing me yet again he couldn't take it anymore. When I asked Alice for more, she had this torn expression on her face. I backed down quickly because I didn't want to make her choose between me and her brother.

I looked over at Edward through the corner of my eye. I was frustrated and worried at the same time; my mind couldn't decide what I wanted to do with him. He was writing furiously on a page in his notebook. I looked up at the board, and I hadn't missed any notes. I couldn't tell what he was writing, and my curiosity almost got the better of me, but I held my tongue and stayed focused on the lesson for the rest of class.

When the bell rang Edward waited as I packed up my stuff. "You don't have to wait for me," I said.

He just raised one eyebrow at me and waited silently. Once I had everything in my book bag Edward took it from me with out a word. I only had a few more days on these dang crutches.

Edward walked quietly beside me to the library where I had study hall with Jasper. He stayed close and never tried to touch me. The look on his face was rigid and focused. Walking through the halls was difficult, even more so with Edward at my side. I was almost getting used to it all… but I didn't think to warn Edward.

"Hey, Juno," some football-esque guy yelled down the hall, "was it the orange tic-tacs?"

A group of his friends started laughing and clapping him on the back.

I really wanted to yell, Was that what your mom thought? back down the hall, but I didn't think it'd help my position at school. Baiting boys who could cause me to flashback at a single touch wouldn't be helpful to my stress levels.

Edward stopped in his tracks, rigid. I was going to break our invisible barrier and touch him on the arm to hopefully calm whatever rage was storming when he yelled over the buzz of the hallway, "Go get fucked in the ass, Tyler."

Well, that was a much better insult.

The kid, Tyler, looked like he was going to roll up his sleeves when a few of his buddies pulled him away. I couldn't see Edward's face, but I had no desire to watch him pulverize another high school jock at my expense. Okay, I had a small desire, but I had enough detentions.

Taking a deep breath, I gently slipped my hand into Edward's and tugged him towards the library wing. His head snapped, shocked at my touch. I didn't look at his eyes knowing that it would be too much. I was still pissed. But I couldn't help but smile when he perceptibly squeezed my hand.

The seas parted for us as we walked down the hall; his crude words had been inappropriate yet effective. We definitely had to talk about cleaning up our language before the baby came. I would not be happy if her first words were shit or damn or heaven forbid, fuck.

Jasper was waiting when we arrived. He gave me the typical head nod and a small smile, barely there. We had an understanding.

Edward stood awkwardly shifting from foot to foot while I sat down and pulled out my books.

"You're going to be late," I said.

He shrugged.

"You're in enough trouble as it is. Please don't make it worse," I tried to reason. I did want to talk, but until his parents decided to relieve his grounding there probably wouldn't be a chance outside of school. And I didn't want to talk in school.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Please, will you read this? Just give me a chance?" Edward set a piece of notebook paper folded in quarters on the table in front of me, sought my eyes once, and jogged out of the library to his next class.

I watched him leave, surprised. "His class is right across the hall. He'll make it," Jasper interjected.

I stared down at the piece of paper. What did it mean? Was it just another apology? Did he think that "I'm sorry" was a heal-all band-aid that made mistakes disappear? Sometimes we just have to deal with the consequences.

"It's not gonna bite, darlin'," Jasper whispered. I looked up to see him smirking at me. "You might as well read it."

Darn logic.

I slowly unfolded the letter, and his messy scrawl stared back at me.

Bella,

It probably doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry. I was an ass and an idiot. I feel like you need an explanation for my behavior. It was totally out of line. Part of me didn't even realize what I was doing or what I was saying, but that's no excuse. You deserve better. After what that bastard did to you, you deserve better, better than any of this.

I'm pretty messed up. I cover it well, at least from most people. I can't hide as much as I'd like from you. I don't want to add to your burdens, but I realize that doesn't mean I can lie.

You know some of it. I dated this girl, Vicki, for most of last year. She was head cheerleader, she was a senior. I though I was so lucky to have the chance to go out with her. I started as her tutor. I was so amazed that she saw anything in a nerd like me. She got me into all the best parties. She introduced me to what it was like to live that kind of life. I was fucking naïve.

She had been real serious with this older guy, Diego. He had graduated the year before and was working and going to school. Her parents didn't really like him. He wasn't serious about his future and got her into a bunch of bad situations. She was dating me as a cover for her relationship with Diego. And though I thought I'd found a person who cared about me, she was fucking me and him on the side.

There were a few times when I found text messages from him and saw him around. I got crazy jealous. I threatened to kill him if he ever went near her again. But I didn't know that they were still screwing around.

In April, I walked in on Vicki and Diego. Ironically, just like you walked in on your ex. Except I was furious. I beat the living shit out of that kid. It didn't matter than he was two years older and had twenty pounds on me. He got in a few good hits, but I'd never been so angry before. Honestly, I scared myself.

Needless to say we broke up. Vicki wasn't that upset. I think she was relieved that she didn't have to keep up the lie anymore.

I found out a few weeks later that Vicki was pregnant. We had no idea who the father was. It could have been me or Diego. She had been screwing both of us. I offered to get back together with her. I offered to help her raise the baby. But she was eighteen. She hadn't even graduated high school. I wasn't going to force anything on her. I let her make the decision.

I still don't know whose baby it was. But the moment I heard she had an abortion I broke. I didn't know how to deal. I had no control over the situation. I wasn't with Vicki anymore. She had no desire to be with me. But part of me had prepared to take that step, to own up to my responsibility.

When I found out she 'took care of it' the burden didn't go away, it only got heavier. I started drinking a lot. My grades dropped and I started picking fights. I blamed Diego. I was irrational. I beat him up again, this time breaking his jaw. Both he and Vicki put out restraining orders on me. After a particularly nasty encounter at school they threatened to expel me. I was forced to complete the last two weeks of school at home, and the only reason they let me come back this fall was if I got counseling.

I've been on probation since the beginning of the year. They told me I would be taken off if things improved. When I was called to the office, that jackass informed me that because the restraining orders hadn't yet been rescinded they couldn't remove the probation, and they would also have to inform all the colleges I was applying to of my indiscretions. I was fine with the now, but they were ruining my future over one mistake. I couldn't deal.

When I saw Mike breathing down your neck, and how scared you looked I couldn't take it. My life was already fucked, there was nothing else to ruin.

I was wrong. I'm sorry I broke your trust. There is no excuse for my actions or my words. I will forever regret what I did.

I've spent a lot of the last week thinking. And I want to make it up to you. This has nothing to do with Vicki or her abortion, but everything to do with you. I want to be there for you, and your baby. That baby girl deserves the best, just like you deserve the best. I'm not sure if I can give that to you, but I would really like to try. Please give me a chance.

Edward.

I sat back slowly. I'd been hunched over the letter while I read it twice through trying to process it all. He'd been through so much. He really did understand. I didn't know how we could be so perfectly matched. It was like all this terrible stuff happened to him just so we would be able to relate to each other. So I wouldn't feel alone.

I knew I wasn't truly alone. But ironically, now that I knew about all the shit Edward waded through in the last year, I didn't feel alone. He was just as messed up as I was.

I looked up blindly at Jasper, as he came into focus I could see his brows furrow in concern. He pointed silently to his cheeks; I reached up and brushed away tears I didn't know had fallen.

"He told me about Vicki," I whispered, trying to explain my emotional reaction.

Jasper's mouth made a little "oh," then nodded.

"I didn't know he had dealt with a teenage pregnancy before."

Jasper cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah. He doesn't talk about it much."

I placed a hand on the little nudge I felt behind my belly button, centering myself. "I can understand that." I paused for a moment, thinking. The guilt he felt must be weighty. I couldn't imagine giving up my girl and he didn't have any choice. A thought dawned on me. "Am I just a replacement? Is he trying to atone for his mistakes last year by helping me?"

Jasper shook his head. "That's not it, Bella. Don't you see how he looks at you? He was there for you before he knew about this."

He was right. Edward had been there for me; he'd almost kissed me before he knew about the pregnancy. I groaned. How hard it must have been on him, this glaring comparison. No wonder he freaked out. He had reason to, without all the extras, his future crumbling before his eyes.

"I need to talk to him—now." I wobbled to my feet, pushing my chair back.

"Whoa, Bells, darlin', he's in class right now. You can talk to him after school." Jasper tried to reason with me.

"No." I reached for my crutches. "I need to apologize. I've been giving him the silent treatment. I need to talk to him."

Jasper stood, coming around to my side of the table. "School is over in twenty-five minutes. He'll be right over as soon as the bell rings. Rushing into his class is not going to help."

I sighed. He was right. There would just be another rumor flying around school about me if I burst into Edward's English class.

I leaned back to sit in my chair, but I'd pushed it too far back when I stood up. It could've been one of those comical moments where I fell on my butt because I missed my seat. I would have laughed a little bit and rubbed my rump from the jarring. But things were never simple with me.

Jasper reached out to help me, and I actually threw out my hand to let him catch me. I didn't even think of jerking away.

The moment I grasped his forearm and his latched onto mine, I was gone.

I stared at myself in the mirror. Yep, I looked hot. That'd show those bitches. It didn't matter what they said, I could show them that I was better than it all.

Bree had warned me not to come. Honestly, before she warned me I had no desire to go either. What was the point? I hated parties. I hated that crowd. They'd ruined my life. But I couldn't let what they were saying go on any longer.

I was a strong, independent woman. I had dumped Jimmy. I knew that I was better than him. And they still trashed me behind my back. They should be praising my bravery; it was more than they'd ever be able to do.

One day I was going to get out of this small town. I was going to make something of myself, and they'd still be here trying to show up each other. Well, it was my turn to show them up.

I flipped my lightly curled hair over my shoulder and rubbed my lips together, puckering their sparkly glossiness at my reflection. They were all going to wish they had sided with me tonight, instead of him.

Edward

I smiled brightly as Mary Jackson opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw me standing on her door step. "Isabella, what a surprise to see you."

She haltingly looked over her shoulder into the sea of bodies and booming bass. Once her eyes were back on me, I raised an eyebrow. "Well, are you going to let me in?"

"Sure." She smirked. "Come on in, Jimmy's just dying to see you."

I rolled my eyes. "I bet."

Mary opened the door, taking my coat. "Wipe your shoes. Drinks are in the kitchen." She gestured to the furthest point through the grinding teenagers. She winked. "Have fun!"

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "Thanks." What just happened? Wasn't she the one who tried to steal my clothes in gym? I shook my head, and began to maneuver through the bodies.

Edward

I leaned against the counter watching the dancers. It was mesmerizing the movement, the flow of the waves that rode them to the beat. It was like the sea choreographed the tide to a raunchy hip-hop song.

I closed my eyes for a second letting the vibrations overtake me. This moment meshing with the music had been the most enjoyable part of the night. Everyone avoided me. It wasn't like they outwardly snubbed me. They just stared.

I opened my eyes to find a generic plastic cup of beer in my hand. I looked at all of the faces near me, but no one took credit.

I took a little sip, coughing at the bitter taste. I wiped the back of my hand against my mouth. I crinkled my nose and tried to take another sip, but ended up coughing again. I set the cup back down on the counter top.

My tongue felt heavy, and all of a sudden my vision was off. I pushed away from the crowd, looking for the bathroom. Hopefully some water would clear my head.

Edward

His hands held me against the wall, and one reached up to grip my face. He forced his lips against mine, his breath tasted like ass, and alcohol.

I tried to turn my face away.

He laughed darkly. "Come on baby. Don't be such a prude. You know you want it."

Edward

The terror rose up in my throat, but I couldn't eek out a scream. Instead I began blubbering, the fight almost gone from me.

"Stop. Please. Stop. You're hurting me. Don't hurt me."

He yanked at my shirt again, tearing the rest of the buttons off so that I was exposed, my little blue bra bare to his hungry eyes.

Edward

"You are mine, Isabella. Don't you ever forget that."

I tried to disagree. You would have thought that I had learned my lesson by now.

Ramming me against the wall, he complimented it with another slap to my swollen face.

He laughed. "I will always find you."

Edward

My hands were limp at my sides, arms bruised and weak. I tried to lift one to push him off, but I could barely lift it two inches from the floor.

One eye was swollen almost completely shut, I was sure that I had a black eye. The other eye leaked never ending tears. I wasn't even consciously crying anymore. The pain everywhere else was insubstantial compared to the searing fire in my core.

Jimmy moaned, "That's it, baby. I'm your man."

I wished I was dead.

Edward

"Bella, I'm here. It's okay. I've got you now. Nothing is going to happen to you. He'll never touch you again. You're safe. I promise I'll take care of you." His voice was all around me. That room was gone. The cold was gone. The pain disappeared.

"Edward?" I asked.

I realized that his arms were around me. He was cradling me in his lap on the library floor. His body rocked slightly back and forth like the movement was the only thing he could do.

"I'm here. I got you."

I looked around to find a small crowd of students and the librarian around me. Jasper was the furthest away, placing a table between me and him.

Jasper's face was contorted in pain. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't even think. I mean, Emmett told me, but I had no idea."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. I forgot, too. I didn't even try to move away. You couldn't have known."

The librarian interjected, "Are you okay, dear? Do we need to get the nurse?"

"I'm fine, just give me a sec," I replied. She looked concerned but let it go. She hushed everyone and sent them back to their seats. I smiled at her in thanks.

Sinking back into Edward's embrace, I asked, "How did you get here? I thought you were in class?"

He smiled lightly. "I was. Jasper sent Ben to get me." I looked over to find Angela's ex Ben give me a head nod. Edward continued, "Jasper said that you kept calling out for me." I gave Jasper a smile of thanks, but he only grimaced.

I moved so I could see Edward's face. Searching, I found his eyes. "You were there." His brows creased. "Not physically, I couldn't see you, but I could feel you. You were there."

He squeezed me tighter not responding. I was baffled; thinking back to the flashback, it was like every other time. I relived it, piece by piece only this time I wasn't lost. It wasn't as real because I knew that Edward was here.

"Can we get out of here?" I asked.

"Sure, let's get your stuff."

I looked over at Jasper. "Can you let Alice know what happened, and that we're leaving?"

He nodded, devastation still written on all his features.

"It's not your fault, Jazz." I reached to pat him on the shoulder, but stopped at the last second.

Edward backed me up, "You did what you could. Don't beat yourself up about it."

He nodded again, but this time he held himself upright, not curving into the table.

In a hushed phone call to his dad, Edward got permission to take me home. He was still on restriction, but when you're the only person who can touch the crazy pregnant girl, you get a few breaks. I guessed that if we weren't so screwed up then he wouldn't have been able to take me home. Then again, if we weren't so screwed up we wouldn't be here in the first place. Oh, the paradox.

Edward carried my stuff into the house while I hobbled. I only had a week more on the crutches, but I fudged it when I was home alone. Who was going to tell on me anyway?

I watched as Edward set my book bag down in the atrium. He shifted from foot to foot, his eyes darting to mine. I gestured him into the living room. I sensed that this was the only time we'd have to talk, and we'd better take advantage of it.

"Sit with me, please?" I asked as I sat on the sofa. I curled my good leg underneath me and place one arm around my belly.

I watched Edward hesitate. He ran his hands through his hair several times before he sat sideways on the other end of the couch facing me. I bit my lip waiting for him to say something. My fingers twiddled with the edge of the cushion as I gauged Edward's mood.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I can't believe what I did, what I said to you." He sighed, his face dropping, unable to look at me. "Even if we had been alone, those words should have never left my mouth."

"Edward…" I began.

He looked up at me, his face coloring. "And you know what's fucking amazing? I don't even believe anything I said. It was like I didn't even have control! Things were just happening around me and I wasn't even a part of it."

"No control?" I asked.

"None."

I cocked my head. "Have you told anyone that?"

He shook his head. "I just can't believe it happened. It's just not me. And I never know how to deal once I gain control." He snorted. "It's like I'm my own Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"I'm not an expert, but maybe you should tell your dad. Maybe it's something more, you know?"

He groaned, "Great, another problem."

I shrugged. "Maybe it's something that can be fixed?"

He stuck a hand in his hair and left it there, leaning his elbow on the back of the couch. "Yeah, maybe."

"Edward," I ventured, "can I ask you a question?"

He dropped his hand immediately and faced me with a serious expression. I watched the swirls of green in his eyes, and I breathed in the safety that surrounded me like when I woke up on the floor of the library.

"Did you love her? Vicki?"

He thought for a second, looking off to my right, before he answered, "I thought I did. I was excited to see her. I missed her when she was away. We had fun together. But, no. We were so different. Even if everything hadn't turned out the way it did we would have never stayed together. I was ready to move on. Her secret getting out just made it happen that much quicker."

I pressed my lips together, trying to hide my smile. He didn't love her that was good.

"Why did you volunteer to get back together with her when you found out she was pregnant? You didn't know if it was yours or Diego's. Wasn't he there for her?"

He sighed, closing his eyes. "He was there. But we didn't know, and," Edward groaned, "I just felt like it was the right thing to do. If the baby was mine I wanted to do the right thing before we found out and not after."

"It was the right thing to do, Edward. I'm proud of you."

He smiled. "Ali wasn't. She was so hopping mad she didn't speak to me for a week."

"That's just her being protective of you. She's much more protective of you than you would think." I paused for a minute, letting the new information roll around in my brain, assimilating it with what I already knew, and incorporating it into what I wanted to know.

"In your note you said you 'broke' when you found out about the abortion. What did you mean?" I was unbelievably curious to know why he felt that way. I knew my viewpoint was illogically pro-life. I'd been raped. Any woman in my place would have refused to live with the memory of that kind of attack. This child was not created out of love or passion, but possession, rage, and cruelty. Why would I not 'fix' it and get on with my life?

I really couldn't answer that question. I just couldn't bear to do it. Especially after I found out that my mother didn't want me. Only Charlie kept her from having an abortion. I was glad to be alive, no matter what I'd been through. Who was I to say different about my daughter?

But why would a teenage boy feel anything? It wasn't his body. It might not have even been his baby.

It took him a few minutes to gather his thoughts. I waited patiently, eager for his answer.

"It was her choice. I know that. There wasn't anything I could do, and honestly, I don't know if I would have done anything different. But I had been ready to change my life. I was ready to devote it completely to that potential. And when it was gone, I felt this emptiness. This hole that hadn't been there before."

I reached my arm straight in front of me offering my hand. He took it, our hands the only things holding us together.

"I couldn't do it," I said. "My mom had made the appointment. I was sitting in the waiting room, and I watched this couple. The girl was cold, and the guy was devastated. I couldn't go through with it. I couldn't let myself become either of them."

He squeezed my hand. "I'm glad you didn't."

We sat and talked for a while. Some of the topics were deep, delving into the stuff he mentioned in the letter. And some was light, things that we liked, things that were on our minds. In the midst of our talk we knit ourselves back together, like we had never been apart. Together we were stronger. United we could face anything.

We finally got up and started dinner when Alice arrived. Emmett dropped her off before he went over to Rosalie's.

"Mom and Dad want you to come home," Alice remarked. "But since we only have one car, you'll just have to wait until I'm ready to go."

I giggled and Edward laughed. "Thanks Ali," he replied.

"Just remember, you owe me." She winked at both of us. I think she was counting on getting double favors.

"All right, kids, I have color swatches here. Bella, you need to decide what we're going to paint the nursery so we can do that after we finish cleaning it out." She laid a pile of paint swatches on the kitchen table.

"Ali, there have to be thirty different colors there." I pointed.

She shook her head, eyes wide. "Well, get eliminating then!" I saluted her then rolled my eyes. Edward unsuccessfully held in a laugh.

Ignoring us, she mumbled something else about curtains and decals when the front door opened. Charlie was talking animatedly on his cell.

"Yes, Liam, it's all right here. There was an eyewitness that was hidden. The test results and everything… No, I haven't decided yet… I will, I will. She has enough to deal with… No, I promise." He laughed. "That bastard didn't bury it as well as he thought. If there's a paper trail it can always be dug up…. Thanks again, Liam, I'll let you know when I know more." I heard him snap the phone closed, then whistle cheerfully as he headed to his room.

I looked at both Edward and Alice. "He found something."

Quick Note: I've had a few interesting reviews about my obvious pro-life stance. To clear the air, yes, I am pro-life. And from canon we know that Bella is too. I'm not a soapbox-y person, so I have no desire to preach, but what I believe will obviously come through in my writing. I don't apologize for my views. I believe that life is precious, and should be treated thus.

Anyway, I did say I wasn't going to drag out the E/B craziness! Promise fulfilled. So hopefully there will be some smooches soon (twicrack83 is rooting for the smoochies)

Leave some love or hate if you like ;) I enjoy both!

Recs

Tie Me Down to this World by Struck Upon a Star One of my all time favorites. Incomplete & on hiatus, but I've read it three times because it's just that good. Best J/A.
Summary: AH/AU. Alice and Jasper awake in the same hospital, scarred, broken, and searching for meaning. She gives him peace; he gives her joy. They are each other's hope.

Bella Swan: Kidnapper by Kambria Rain Complete. Beyond funny. This is a definite giggle-snort fic.
Summary: Um. Hi. I don't really know how to say this, but I have your kids with me, and I was thinking maybe you would like them back. So yeah… call me.

Empire State of Mind by belladonna1472 Really good. I love E/A with powers, and Bella has a secret of her own!
Summary: A psychic. A telepath. And a witch or two. When Alice's talent for precognition begins to manifest itself more strongly, Edward's telepathic ability also begins to emerge. What secrets do they uncover? ExB. Set in NYC. AU/AH.