Part 33 - Chapter 1 - The People You Miss

"Amanda, congratulations," Shanna, one of the newer employees at the office said to Amanda. "I heard you and Andrew were expecting. You must be so excited."

"I am. We've been wanting to have a baby for a long time."

"I'm so happy for the both of you. Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?"

"It doesn't matter to either of us. We're just so happy to be having a baby. As long as it's healthy, boy or girl doesn't matter."

"You've got to tell me all the details. When are you due? Have you been feeling ok? Having any morning sickness?"

Amanda's mind went blank for a moment at the unexpected barrage of questions on her condition. They were just normal questions that any pregnant woman should be expected to be asked and should be able to answer easily, but she was at a loss. Because she wasn't really pregnant, she didn't know how to answer.

Amanda's sudden hesitancy to speak was starting to make Shanna uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. Am I asking too many questions? I hope I'm not being too personal."

"Oh no, not at all," Amanda said quickly. "My mind was just wandering. Um, I've been feeling ok. I haven't been sick yet. About the due date . . . I'm not sure. The doctor hasn't told me yet. But I should find out soon."

"Did I hear that correctly? Are congratulations in order?" Arthur asked as he wheeled himself into the office.

"Mr. Townsend," Amanda greeted him with surprise. "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Fine," he answered shortly and quickly changed the subject. "More importantly, how are you?"

"Great. I've never been better or happier."

"That's wonderful. I'm glad to hear it. I hope we can talk more before I go, but I actually came in to see Lawrence. Is he busy?"

"No, he's in his office, your old office," Amanda replied. "I'll just make sure he's available, but I'm sure he won't mind if you went right in."

"Hello, this is Lawrence Arrendale. I just wanted to check in and see how everything was going," Lawrence said in the phone. He nodded his head in approval as the person on the other end relayed their progress. "When do you think you'll have everything moved in and set up? . . . By the end of the day? That's perfect. I'll stop by after work to check it out. Thank you so much."

Lawrence smiled to himself as he hung up the phone. He couldn't wait to tell Eileen that their new house was finished and, according to the movers, was almost ready to be moved into. He had a great job, a brand new dream home, and the woman of his dreams. He couldn't ask for more. It was everything he'd ever wanted, he just hated that he had to wait even one more day for it all to begin.

Lawrence looked up at the sound of a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hello, Lawrence. This place looks different," Arthur remarked to Lawrence as he looked around the room that used to be his personal office.

"We did some redecorating since you were here last."

"That's good. I see you've made the place your own. I noticed some new faces on my way in as well."

"Business has been good, so we needed more help."

"I'm glad to see things are going well, but I didn't come here to check up on you. I wanted to talk to you in private and I wasn't sure when we'd get the chance to speak to each other without Eileen around. Since you're going to be my son-in-law soon, there are some things I think you should know."

"Oh my God, Eileen. Congratulations!" Chloe shrieked in excitement over the telephone after Eileen told her about her upcoming wedding. "I'm so happy for you. When do you think it's going to be?"

"Soon, I hope. It depends on where we can book a place for the ceremony and reception on such short notice. I'm hoping I can find a place and get everything together for next month."

"Next month? That soon? You aren't pregnant are you?"

"What?" Eileen asked in shock. "No, I'm not."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. We're just anxious to start our lives together. We don't want to wait any longer than we have to."

"Aw, that's sweet. What have you planned for the wedding so far?"

"Not much, unfortunately. I want to decide on the place first and then decide on the details from there. I'm going to call some places today and start looking for a dress. For bridesmaids I was thinking of you, if you'll be back in town."

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"And I was going to ask Cassie, since she's my friend and Lawrence's cousin too."

"That's nice," Chloe said. After a moment of hesitation she asked, "What about Lucy?"

Eileen sighed. "We haven't talked in so long. I don't think we're going to patch things up this time."

"How could you if you don't talk? Have you tried to make up with her? How long has it been?"

"Too long . . . I'm not sure if trying would do any good at this point. If I thought it would, I would try . . . It just doesn't feel right to be planning my wedding without her."

Part 33 - Chapter 2 - The People You Miss

Reese frowned as she pulled at the lower part of her bulky jacket. Even her biggest, loosest articles of clothing were feeling tight and clingy. Even though she could tell she was gaining weight, she wasn't sure anyone else noticed yet and if they had, they surely wouldn't have guessed the cause. She was starting to wonder though, how long she would be able to hide her changing figure and how long it would take for other people to notice her expanding waistline.

She knew there was no way she could hide her pregnancy for the full nine months. When people started to ask questions, she didn't know what she was going to say. How could she explain to everyone why she didn't have a baby when the pregnancy was over? There was no easy way to handle this situation. No easy way to pull this off without it impacting her life and her career, which was a main part of the reason why she hadn't wanted to have a baby in the first place.

Reese's thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of the intercom.

"Reese, Lucy Sexton here to see you. She doesn't have an appointment, but she wanted to see if she could discuss a legal matter with you."

Reese was curious. "I can see her. Send her in."

When the receptionist escorted Lucy into the office, Reese was startled by the change in Lucy's figure. For a moment she wondered if she was hallucinating, if her own condition was weighing so heavily on her mind that she was starting to see pregnant bellies everywhere she looked, but a second glance assured her it wasn't just in her head. She shook her head and tried to focus.

"Have a seat, Mrs. Sexton. What brings you here today?"

Lucy sighed. If only that question was a simple as it sounded. How did things get to this point? "I need your help. I'm getting a divorce from my husband and I need a lawyer. Can you represent me?"

"Well, I'm not really a divorce lawyer. That's not the kind of thing I usually do."

"I know, but I was hoping you would be able to do it anyway. Since you've worked for my father's company for awhile, I know you're a good lawyer and I know I can trust you and I really need someone I can trust on my side right now."

"I'm flattered, really," Reese said sincerely. She wasn't just being humble. She hadn't been feeling very trustworthy lately. "If you're sure you want me to represent you, I can give it a try."

"Thank you. I appreciate it so much. The last thing I want right now is to try to hunt for a good, trustworthy lawyer when I feel like my whole life is at stake."

"I'll do my best," Reese promised as she opened her notepad. "How long were you married?"

"It's been three years."

"What assets do you have? What did each of you bring to the marriage? What did you accumulate while you were married?"

"I had the house, the country club, some company stocks my dad left me, which I had to sell, and we both had some cash. That's all Craig had really. He's made some money from his music, but not a lot and I haven't really worked since we got married."

"Did you have a prenuptial agreement?"

"No, we didn't."

"What about custody or child support issues? You have children together, right?"

Lucy blinked and tried not to tear up as she thought about her children, especially Stuart. "We have a son, Stuart. He's two and a half and I'm expecting another baby, but . . . well, it's complicated."

"Complicated how? I won't be able to help you unless I know everything."

"The new baby, it's not Craig's and he knows that it's not his. I've been trying - I've been trying to get a hold of the real father, but I haven't been able to. He's left town without a forwarding address and he has no idea that I'm pregnant."

"I'm sorry," Reese said quietly.

"I'm not sure if you needed to know that, but I guess I needed to say it. I haven't had anyone to talk to about what I'm going through," Lucy explained. "What else do you need to know?"

"Oh," Reese said as she tried to get her mind back on the task at hand. Hearing about Lucy's situation only brought her back to her own dilemma and reminded her of questions she wished she didn't have to answer.

Blaine walked down the sidewalk alone and aimlessly. He was tired of sitting at home, mulling over everything that had happened recently, but when he thought about going out, he realized he had no where to go. Since graduation most of his friends had left town and they hadn't kept in close touch. He didn't realize how much he relied on Reese and Cassandra for company. They were really the only friends he had lately.

He was really starting to think that Zara had been right. He had been relying on Cassie without realizing it and he had been taking their friendship for granted. He wasn't going to keep hanging around Cassie if doing so would give her the wrong impression when he hadn't sorted his feelings out yet. Reese wasn't answering his calls or returning his messages, so any chance of a friendship between them wasn't looking promising either.

If Reese didn't want to be with him, that was fine. He could accept that they weren't together anymore. But it was the friendship, with both girls, that he found he really missed.

Blaine looked up as he walked past a brick building with moving vans parked out front and slowed his pace to check out what was going on.

James, who was standing outside instructing the moving men, called out when he saw Blaine and motioned him to come over. "Blaine, how are you doing, man?"

"Alright. Just taking a walk. What's going on here?"

"I'm finally moving in to my new club. Want to come in and take a look?"

"Sure," Blaine readily agreed. He was eager for the company.

Part 33 - Chapter 3 - The People You Miss

"Zara! There you are. I've been looking for you."

Zara winced before turning around to face Cassandra. She'd been avoiding her sister since the whole incident with Blaine occurred. She didn't really feel like hearing about how she had ruined Cassie's chances with Blaine and therefore her entire life. Prepared to defend her actions and stand her ground, Zara was surprised when she saw that her sister was actually smiling.

"I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry I got so upset about what you told Blaine. I shouldn't have freaked out like that."

"It's alright," Zara said slowly. She was not expecting Cassie's change in attitude. "I can understand why you weren't happy with me, but I thought the truth needed to be out in the open. I was honestly just trying to look out for you."

"You don't need to explain. You're right, it did need to be out in the open and I know now that Blaine knowing how I feel about him is for the best."

"Good. I'm glad there's no hard feelings. I wouldn't want some guy to come between us."

"I did go a little nuts about Blaine, I admit, but seeing him with Reese and knowing that they were together, it just made me panic. I was just so scared that she was going to keep him from me forever. But now that she's out of the picture I'm not so worried anymore. I know Blaine and I will end up together eventually. I just have to wait for him to come around."

"But Cassie-"

"No, you don't understand. I can see it. I can see it all in front of me."

"You don't get it, Cass. The things you're saying, that's exactly why I had to say something. I hate to see you so hung up on a guy that doesn't act like he cares about you as much as you care about him. I wanted him to know the truth so he wouldn't keep inadvertently leading you on."

"Thanks for your concern, but you're the one who isn't getting it. He'll come around. Just wait and see."

Zara sighed. "I give up. You're beyond hope."

Logan got up from his desk and walked down the hall to the coffee machine to pour himself a cup and take a much needed break.

Even though Silas had been very cooperative in telling him what he knew about the people he'd had dealings with in the past, his information hadn't turned up anything useful. The names he had named were of people who seemed to be long gone, either they had died, left town, or changed identities. Logan was no closer to uncovering the town's suspected organized crime ring than he was before. He was getting completely discouraged with the whole thing.

At this point he was glad that Silas' sentencing was coming up, for more reasons than one.

As eager as he was to be rid of Silas, he was looking forward to seeing Vanessa even more. They'd had a great time talking at the diner, once they'd gotten past their initial awkwardness. He found her to be an interesting woman, bright, cheerful and warm. He just couldn't picture her married to Silas and couldn't figure out what a woman like her could have seen in a sleazeball like him.

Vanessa's past with Silas was the only thing holding him back from asking her out on a date. Since he was involved with Silas' case, getting involved with his ex would be a major conflict of interest. But as soon as Silas' final sentencing was over, he was going to ask her out. He just hoped she would accept.

"Hey Rochester," the inmate taking books to his fellow prisoners hissed as he paused in front of Silas' jail cell. "Got something for ya."

Silas looked up with a raised eyebrow and slowly got up from his bunk.

The inmate offered him a book and said in a low voice as he leaned closer to the bars. "From a real pretty blonde."

"I've always had a thing for blondes," Silas remarked as he took the book. When he noticed a piece of paper sticking out, tucked inbetween the pages, he moved to the back of the cell to investigate it with as much privacy as possible.

"When you hear the signal make your move. I'll be waiting for you on the outside."

Part 33 - Chapter 4 - The People You Miss

"What kind of things?" Lawrence asked curiously.

"I can't tell you how pleased I am that you're going to be my son-in-law. I've been hoping Eileen would settle down with a good man, one that can take care of her and treat her well. Especially now that I'm getting on in years and . . . won't be around forever, it puts my mind at ease that she'll have you in her life. You're a good man Lawrence, and I trust you completely."

"Thank you."

"The two of you remind me of me and Eileen's mother when we were young . . . that seems so long ago now. I hope you don't make the same mistakes that we did when we were together. I don't know if Eileen knows this, she was probably too young to remember, but Abigail, her mother, left me, left both of us for awhile. We almost separated."

"What happened?" Lawrence prompted.

"I was the one to blame mostly. We were just starting the company then and I was so involved with my work that I neglected my wife, and my daughter too. Abigail wasn't the type to sit around at home and she wasn't the most maternal or domestic of women. She kept very active socially. Between her going out and me spending so much time at the office, we started to grow apart. That's when she left. I wasn't sure if she was ever coming back, and at the time I was so angry that she could leave our daughter, I wasn't sure if I wanted her to come back. Eventually she did, when she found out she was sick, and I took her back for Eileen's sake and because I missed her too."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't know how much of this Eileen knows. I suspect she has questions, she took her mother's passing very hard, and I want her to know the answers to anything she wants to know . . . But I'm getting off track. I see a lot of me and Abigail in you and Eileen and I just want to warn you not to make the same mistakes I did. Don't let the business take you from your wife or the family you might have one day. Don't ever take them for granted or you may regret it. Eileen's a good girl. Let her know she's appreciated and let her be herself and I don't think the two of you will have any problems."

"I'll do my best. There's nothing more important in the world to me than Eileen and I won't forget that."

"I'm glad to hear it. It was just the two of us for a long time after Abigail passed away and there's no one and no thing more important to me either. It helps to know you'll be here to take care of her after I'm gone."

Eileen fidgeted nervously on the doorstep as she waited for someone to answer the bell. When she heard the door unlatch, she took a deep breath expecting the door to be immediately slammed in her face. She opened her mouth, prepared to speak up while she had the chance, but she was caught off guard when she saw the look on Lucy's face. Instead of anger or annoyance, she just saw sadness. It looked like she had been crying.

"Lucy?"

"Eileen, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you . . . Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Why don't you come in?" Lucy said as she turned and walked into the house.

"I can't believe how big he's gotten," Eileen remarked as Lucy sat Stuart on the floor and the two of them sat down in the living room. "It's been a long time since I've seen him."

"I know."

"I should have come by sooner and tried to patch things up, but even now I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me. When I was talking to Chloe earlier today, I realized how much I really missed our friendship. Lawrence and I are getting married and I really hope you will be able to be a part of it, at least as a guest. I've been trying to plan everything and I just can't imagine you not being there. I've really missed our friendship and I was hoping we could make amends."

"I'd like that," Lucy said. "I could really use a friend right now. So much has been going on. I just can't go through this all on my own."

"What's happened?" Eileen asked with concern.

"What hasn't? I don't even know where to start," Lucy paused to collect her thoughts, while Eileen patiently waited for her to continue. "I guess I could start by saying that Craig and I are getting a divorce."

"Oh no. I'm so sorry."

"You could say I told you so on that one."

"No, I wouldn't. It seemed quick to me, but I hoped you two would last. What happened?"

"Lots of things. He was never here when I wanted him here, because he had to go out of town a lot for his work. He wanted me to go with him, but I didn't want to leave my life behind. We could never come to an agreement on that. Then I found out that he was having me watched without my knowledge while he was away, because he didn't trust me. Sometimes I didn't trust him either, but I never had him spied on!"

"Oh my gosh. How could he not trust you? And he had you spied on? That's ridiculous."

"Yeah. Well, the thing is, I did have a moment of weakness. I was just so angry with him for leaving me when I needed him after my dad's murder trial. You and I weren't talking then. I just needed someone to lean on so badly. I just lost control of myself. Only once, but that's all it took."

As Lucy laid her hand over her stomach, Eileen noticed something she hadn't before, maybe because Lucy had been carrying Stuart when she answered the door and when the walked into the living room. "All it took for what?"

"To get myself pregnant with another man's baby."

Part 33 - Chapter 5 - The People You Miss

"Hi Reese, how are you doing?" Amanda asked as she entered Reese's office.

"Alright. You should have called instead of coming in. I haven't had a chance to draw up the paperwork for the adoption yet. I've been busier than expected today."

"That's alright. That's not the reason I came in. I just wanted to see how you and our baby were doing," Amanda said, oblivious to the uncomfortable look on Reese's face. "Have you been feeling sick at all? Have you gotten any news from the doctor's office? Is everything going alright?"

"Everything's fine, normal," Reese answered quickly. "I wanted to call and ask you when I could meet with you and Andrew to go over everything. If you want, I could drop the paperwork off at the Townsend offices when I get them drawn up so you and Andrew can sign them."

"Oh no, don't do that," Amanda said sharply. "I mean, you don't have to make the trip down there. We're pretty busy at the office anyway. When you have them ready, just call me and I'll come down and pick them up, ok?"

"Sure, we can do it that way if you want, but it's really no problem for me to stop by there."

"I was just thinking, we want to be discrete, right?" Amanda said. "There would be a lot of talk around the office if people knew that Andrew and I were adopting your baby. There would be a lot of questions to answer and things to explain and I don't want this to be awkward for you."

"I would like to be discrete about this too. The fewer people that know, the better."

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Reese agreed so easily. "Then we won't say anything about our arrangement to anyone else and we won't talk about it with each other when anyone else is around?"

"I think that would be for the best."

"Good. And Andrew and I have agreed that I'll handle everything with the adoption, so if you need to discuss anything about it with us, get in touch with me, not Andrew. He's just been really busy at the office and everything, so I don't want to bother him with anything. Ok? You don't really need to talk with him about this at all."

"Ok . . ." Reese said, hesitantly. That last request seemed odd to her and she was starting to wonder if this was a good idea after all.

"So, what do you think?" James asked as he showed Blaine into the club. "We've still got some stuff to move in, but you get the general idea."

"It looks really cool."

"Thanks. I'm still planning the big grand opening. You and Reese should come by then and check it out. No cover charge. It's the least I can do after all she did to help me get this place going."

"What did she do to help?" Blaine asked.

"She took care of all the legal work. You didn't know? I take it she's not the type to take her work home with her?"

"No, but Reese and I aren't together anymore. We broke up."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too . . . I heard you got Reese out of the house during the gas leak. Man, I'd hate to think what would happen if you weren't there. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad she's alright too. She's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she is . . ." Blaine agreed, nostalgically.

James could sense he was touching on a sensitive subject and decide to change topics. "So, have you talked to Cassie recently?"

"Not real recently. Why?" Blaine asked curiously.

"No reason. I was just thinking she's another mutual friend of ours."

"How do you and Cassie know each other?" Blaine asked.

"We met at a club. She and Zara used to go to all of my concerts. I noticed them in the crowd a few times and we started hanging out after our shows."

"Did you two ever date?"

"No, not really. I guess we kind of went out a few times, but it wasn't anything. She and Zara are more like sisters to me. Why? Are you thinking about asking her out?"

Before Blaine could answer, the front door opened and as if on cue, Cassie and Zara walked in.

"Speak of the devil," James said. "I'm glad you made it by. I've been dying to show this place off."

Part 33 - Chapter 6 - The People You Miss

"Aren't you going to ask where we're going?" Lawrence asked Eileen who was staring out the passenger window.

"Oh, where are we going?"

"There's something I want to show you. It's a surprise."

"Really? In that case, I shouldn't ask. I don't want to ruin it."

"Ok. So how was your day?"

"Busy," Eileen replied. "I didn't get as much done for the wedding as I would have liked though. I talked to Chloe and she said she would be in the wedding. Then I went to talk to Lucy."

"How did that go?"

Eileen hesitated, not sure how to answer that. "Better than I thought, and worse . . . She invited me in, we talked, and patched things up between us, but it sounds like she's going through a really tough time right now. She and Craig are getting a divorce and she's having another baby. She seemed so lonely and depressed. I ended up staying there and talking with her for a long time."

"That's too bad about Lucy and Craig. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. I'm glad I stopped by though, so I could be there for her." When Eileen looked outside, she suddenly realized where they were headed. "Are we going to Arrendale Heights? Are we going to see the house?"

"Yes, we're going home."

Eileen gasped as Lawrence pulled the car into the driveway. As soon as it stopped she jumped out to get a better view of the house.

"It's beautiful. I know we talked about what it was going to be like, but I could never picture it. Now, here it is, right in front of me."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. I wish I could move in right now."

"So do I, but you will soon enough." After his conversation with Arthur at the office and hearing the way his future father-in-law talked about 'the time he had left,' Lawrence was starting to think that it might be a good thing that they were waiting to have a wedding to start living as husband and wife, that way Eileen and Arthur could spend a little extra time together while they had the chance. "Come on, let's take a look at the inside."

"This place is amazing, James," Zara remarked as she looked around the club. "I could definitely see myself hanging out here. I'm sure it's going to be a huge success."

"Thanks. I hope it is. I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this place, that's for sure," James replied. "And hey, if you need an excuse to hang out here, I could use some extra help at the bar or with the bands. I've put an ad out, but I'd rather hire someone I know instead of someone I don't know."

"Sounds cool, but I don't think I have the time for it."

"I'm interested," Cassie spoke up. "Working at the diner is getting old and I could use some extra money."

"Alright, we'll talk about it. In the meantime, you want to check out the rest of the place?"

"You go on ahead," Blaine said as the group stood up and headed towards the back of the room. "I'd like to talk to Cassie a minute, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Cassie replied eagerly. "We'll catch up."

"So, how have you been?" Blaine asked as James and Zara walked away.

"Great. And you?"

"Alright, I guess. I've been thinking a lot about the last time we talked. I'm sorry things got so awkward."

"I'm not. I mean, I was at first, but I was thinking it's better to have everything out in the open."

"Yeah, me too. I was thinking that maybe I should keep my distance for awhile, so you wouldn't get the wrong idea, but I've really missed hanging out with you. I was hoping we could be friends again."

"I don't think that's possible, Blaine," Cassie said with a shrug. "I think there's already too much between us, under the surface. Already we can't keep away from each other. When we try, we just end up meeting, like today. It's Fate. The Universe is just going to throwing us together until we can both see what's right in front of us. I know that it isn't just friendship. So why try to keep it from being what it really is?"

Blaine looked confused. "So you don't want to be friends anymore?"

"Not if you think that's all we ever can be. Not if you aren't at least open to the possibility of being something more, someday. I'm sorry, but I can't be just friends. I wish I could, but I just can't do it."