It's been a while. Half of it is FFNET's fault, half is mine. 2023 was a year of strife- lost my job, started a new one, money problems, mental health problems, left my husband, moved in with my sister, got a divorce- ya know, normal shit. Hopefully 2024 will be better.

As always, thank you to Team Harpy.

26

Bella

"Ang, it looks great," I gush, seeing what she and the team she hired did for Edward's office. It was masculine without being overly macho, contemporary, and comfortable. My fingers trace all the medical books I had taken from his work office and sent here.

"You look great," she says, as she reaches out to hug me. "You wear happy well. Your stylist will be pleased."

"I did it just for her. So what's been happening around here?"

"Well, the set is finished; Alec has been holed up in his office with this team for weeks now. You know how he gets." She shoots me a look.

Yeah, Alec goes into a frenzy the month before we come back, trying to outline all the episodes of the season and getting half of them written, throwing descriptions of secondary characters out to our casting directors, and getting production scheduled.

"Any news on …"

"No."

I sigh. "This is kind of torturous, but I think he knows that."

"He did give a folder to Bree for me to give to you." She reaches into her bag and hands it over. I move to open it, but she stops me. "It's classified. And not actually for you but for Edward. Scripts, Bella. For him to review and make his medical notes on."

"Well, that's something."

"He may not be an actor on this show when we come back, but as far as I know, he will still be the medical consultant. As for you, we both know he's not getting rid of you, but he very well may place Maggie in a coma, so you're forced to lie there and play dead." She winks, and I feel better about my work future for the first time.

"Anything else?"

She sits down on the couch and grabs her planner. "A few requests for interviews. I cc'd them to Rebecca, and she thinks we should hold off until the week before the season premiere so we can make them focus on the show and not your personal life. Though we both know some of these journalists will slip in a leading question or two about what went down."

"Whatever you two think, but we're going to have to speak about it at some point. Maybe a joint interview after Edward's divorce is final."

"How's that going?" she asks, then laughs when I shoot her a look. "That well, huh?"

"She's definitely out to get him."

"Well, I have some tea if you want to hear it?"

"Don't I always?" I settle in next to her.

"Well, her little friend Lauren violated the terms of her contract by even giving Jessica those pictures, as they were the property of Olympic Med and all associated entities. Even if she says that Jessica stole them, she's looking at a lawsuit for breach of contract."

I gasp. "No fucking way."

"Yep."

"Wow. That's good. I mean, we shouldn't have been doing what we were doing, but I'm glad we're not the only ones facing repercussions. I guess I missed a few things hiding out in Washington."

"That's not all."

"It's not? What else?"

"So, I should have told you earlier, but I know you had a lot going on, and I don't know how you're going to feel about this, but–"

"You're not quitting, are you?" I interrupt because that would be the worst thing in the history of everything.

"No, but I will have to take a step back soon."

"Why? Are you sick?"

"No, I'm pregnant."

I instantly freeze, and as much as I try to stop them, the tears start coming. Angela has wanted to be a mother for so long, and they've tried for years, and to hear that my best friend is going to be a mother is making me emotional in a way I didn't anticipate.

"I'm not quitting. I just have to be off for the birth and two months after. I know this is the worst timing, but we didn't think it was ever going to happen for us, and I–"

"You shut up," I say through sobs. I grab her into a hug and try to gather my composure. "I am so insanely happy for you and Ben, but you will start taking it easy, effective immediately. And you will take as much time off as you want before and after the baby is born. Paid."

"The studio isn't going to–"

"No, but I will. And if you decide to return, you will bring that baby with you. We will get you your own trailer, we will baby-proof mine, whatever it takes for you to be the mother you always wanted to be. And if that means quitting, that's okay, too."

Now she's crying. "Bella …"

"Tell me all about your pregnancy so far."

So, she does. We talk for an hour about her finding out, telling Ben, which included a very cute video, her obstetrics appointments. And when she shows me her sonogram photos of a very cute but grainy twelve-week fetus, I cry again.

"When will you find out the gender, or are you going to be surprised?"

"I think we're going to be surprised."

I nod and grab a notepad off Edward's new desk. "So, gender neutral. Any themes you two are going for?"

"Themes?"

"Animals, circus, maybe, though the clowns might scare the hell out of the kid; any colors you're leaning toward?"

"Why?" She looks a little frightened.

"For your baby shower, of course."

"I can't ask you to do that," she protests.

"You didn't. I offered. Start an Amazon registry and maybe one with a couple of local small businesses. We can start planning later. We have several months. My backyard would be perfect for a small gathering."

"I'm a little overwhelmed. I agonized over telling you this amid all you were going through."

"You've made my life easier for three years. Now, it's my turn. Besides, you're my best friend, and I'm so excited to be an aunt for the first time."

She throws herself into my arms and hugs me fiercely.

"Happy looks good on you, too, Ang," I whisper.

"Why are you driving here again?" I whine through the phone later that night.

He chuckles lowly in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. "Because I want my car there with me."

"We could've shipped it just like we did everything else," I point out.

"I'll leave tomorrow morning and drive until I can't anymore, stop at a hotel to sleep, get up early the next day, then I'll be with you."

"I know." I sigh. "I'm being selfish. I know we both needed to prepare separately for your move, and you needed some alone time with your parents before you got here."

"You are the farthest thing from selfish, and Mom is sending me with all your favorite baked goods."

"Ben's gonna love that." I laugh. "Ooh! Speaking of Ben, guess who's pregnant?"

"Well, I'm gonna guess it's not him."

"Edward …"

"Congratulations to him and Angela."

"I'm so excited. I've never been an aunt before. Being an only child kind of nipped that in the bud, but along with Angela, I also have Seth and Leah to make me an aunt one day."

"I know that feeling all too well. I'll claim your nieces and nephews as my own."

"They will be. You're gonna marry me, isn't that what you said?"

"No, that's what I promised."

"Just get here so we can start on that lifetime guarantee," I softly demand.

It's two days later, and I go through the house again. It's spotless, so I don't know why I'm nervous. It's not like he cares. Edward has never been about appearances; so, this is just me being neurotic. The last update from him was when he was two hours away, but I know how LA traffic is.

I'm putting the finishing touches on a California salad when I hear a car door slam. I immediately run to my front door, open it, and practically throw myself down the stairs. He catches me with an "oof", dropping the bag he's carrying. I kiss him deeply, then pull back.

"Hi," I say, softly.

"Hi," he parrots, grinning.

"Welcome home."

"It's good to finally be here." And I know he means so much more than a simple platitude.

"Okay, so I saved this room for last."

"What's more important than the bedroom?" he asks, looking back at my inviting bed.

"This room first, then food, then bed." I almost change my mind when he nips at my neck. I hum, then remember myself. "Stop seducing me and open the door."

He smirks, and then does as he's told, stopping short when he sees his new office. I duck under his arm to look up at his face. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing."

"Now, I don't know what your old office looked like at the penthouse, but–"

"Jessica designed it. I didn't get much input."

My hands fly up to my mouth in horror. "And I just did the same thing. I am so sorry."

He brings my hands down and smiles. "This is exactly what I would've chosen for myself. It just solidifies what I already knew. She never knew me, never bothered to get to know me, and I just went along with it so I wouldn't be alone." He cradles my face in his hands. "You know me. And sometimes, I hate thinking about the time we were apart because who knows where we could have been now?"

"Edward, if you had asked me to stay, I would've said yes and would've resented you. I followed my dream, and I got it, but now, I have a new dream. You. And we'll make it work this time. I was very selfish back then, but I'm beginning to realize that's okay. We've grown as people apart to grow as a couple now. And you know what the fun part is?"

"What?"

"Making up for lost time. Lunch will keep," I whisper as I drag him back to our room.

Unfortunately, warm salad isn't the best, so we order Uber Eats from a local restaurant and have a lovely Italian dinner on the patio.

"Is it always so nice here?" he asks.

"The weather?" He nods. "Most of the time, yes. We do deal with droughts, so I'm big on water conservation. It's one of the reasons I don't have a pool. I do have a sprinkler system, but I don't overuse it. The low humidity thing is really nice, but when it does rain, it's almost like being back home. Then someone screams an obscenity at me on the freeway, and I'm back in LA." We laugh.

"Yeah, I thought Seattle traffic was bad, but LA is something else entirely."

"You'll get used to it."

"What hospitals are around here?"

"Cedars-Sinai, Hollywood Presbyterian, Children's, and a few other smaller ones. Why?"

"I was thinking I might put a few feelers out."

I stare at him for a minute before I realize. Oh! "I'll be right back," I say, as I rush to his office, grab the folder, and deposit it in front of him before sitting back down.

"What's this?"

"Open it."

He does and a variety of emotions crosses his face—confusion, disbelief, and relief. Suddenly, he slams it closed, making me jump.

"Sorry, you can't see this yet." He winks.

I grab his hand. "I told you that everything was going to be okay."

He squeezes mine, then caresses it with his thumb. "You did, but we still have much that's uncertain. My divorce, our jobs. I'm okay with being just a medical advisor, but if you were to be let go, it would destroy you."

"This is Hollywood, Edward. And I know you don't know what all that entails just yet, but once you're on the map, you can find a job. And if I can't, there's always San Fernando Valley," I say with a straight face.

"What's there?"

"Porn."

Suddenly, I'm airborne.

"The only porn you're allowed to do is with me," he growls, as he starts opening all the doors along my hallway. "Where is your fucking bedroom?"

"Next door down," I giggle.

He gently kicks the door open and throws me on the bed, where we stay until the next day.

'Oh, it's new, the shape of your body
It's blue, the feeling I've got
And it's ooh, whoa, oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, whoa, oh
It's a cruel summer
With you' - Cruel Summer, Taylor Swift