“Hey,” she said, giving him a quick hug. “How was the flight?”

“Long,” he replied. “It’s good to be back.”

“It’s good to have you back. It’s been weird not seeing you or Brenna for a week,” Kate said as they began walking to the airport exit.

“Did her flight get in on time?”

“Yeah. I still don’t get why you guys came on separate flights though.”

“I had some last minute promotion interviews with the rest of the cast this morning so I had to take a later flight. Bren just decided to stay on the flight we had originally booked.”

They stepped outside and Justin slipped on some sunglasses to shield his eyes against the bright sun. Once they had made it to Kate’s car safely, his two security guards left to get his luggage.

“They have another car?” Kate asked.

“No, Kate. I thought we’d just cram them in the back of your little sports car.”

She rolled her eyes and started the engine. “Okay, Justin.”

“Is Trace meeting us at the house?”

“Yeah. He said he was going to go straight there from work.” She backed out of the parking stall and then drove towards the parkade exit. “So how did everything go in Hawaii? Was there a lot you had to do over?”

“There was a bit. Enough to keep my busy. They had cut some scenes so a lot of it was dialogue that had to be changed so everything would make sense.”

“Is there a release date set yet?”

“George was hoping for November.”

“So soon you’ll be busy with promotion.”

“Yeah, in a few months.”

“Was the weather nice?”

“Beautiful. I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time outside but when I did it was nice. Brenna was outside a lot. She got a really nice tan.”

“Yeah I noticed.”

“Did she say much to you when you picked her up?”

“Actually no. I was going to ask you about that. She was super quiet. I asked if she wanted to get some lunch on the way to your house but she said no. What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. She was just really quiet this morning. Maybe it’s because it’s been such a busy week that it all caught up to her at once.”

“Yeah probably. She probably just needs to be at home.”

Justin stretched out his legs as much as he could in the car and leaned his head back against he seat. “So do I. This week has been nonstop. It’s going to be nice to have a few days off.”

“Do you and Brenna have another appointment with that therapist?”

“Peter Waters? Yeah. On Thursday afternoon.”

“Do you think seeing him is actually going to help?”

“Yeah I think so. Last time we were there he said to sit down for half an hour each day and talk and we’ve been doing that and I think it’s helped.”

“Are you guys going to be seeing just him then?”

“Looks like it. We’ve been to the neurologist a couple times but there’s not a lot you can do for amnesia. At least with a therapist we can talk and get things out in the open.”

“I read this article on amnesia a while ago and it said that it was normal to have flashbacks and stuff.”

“Yeah, Peter told her that if she remembered anything to write it down. So far nothing though.”

“And it’s been over a month,” Kate said softly.

He sighed. “Yeah.”

It was quiet for a few minutes and Justin stared out the window as they drove down the freeway.

“Do you guys have another appointment with your OB doctor? What’s her name?”

“Jane Istrov. In a couple weeks we do.”

“How’s Brenna been doing with being pregnant?”

“She’s got really bad morning sickness.” He cringed at the memories of how sick she had gotten while they were in Hawaii. “I never knew it could be that bad.”

“It’ll go away after a few months though.”

“Yeah.”

Kate smiled at him. “So…thought up any names yet?”

He smiled as well and shook his head. “No. It’s way too early to be doing that. She’s only like five weeks along. A lot can still go wrong.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Wow, stop being so positive, Justin.”

“I’m just being realistic.”

“Whatever.”

“Has she started to show yet? She was wearing a jacket when I picked her up so I couldn’t tell.”

“I couldn’t tell when I saw her in a bathing suit. She should be soon though.”

“I can’t wait until you guys have a baby. It’s gonna be so cool.”

He smiled. “I know.”

“Are you going to take time off work?”

“I think so. Mom’s always told me how much there is to do with a baby around and I want to help as much as I can.”

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Brenna’s mom called a few times while you guys were in Hawaii.”

“Why didn’t she call our cell phones?”

“I don’t think Brenna took hers with her and Elizabeth didn’t want to disturb you since you were down there working.”

“Oh. Well what did she call about?”

“I think she wants to come visit again now that Brenna’s pregnant.”

He sighed a bit. “It didn’t go so smoothly last time her and my mom came out.”

“I know. But if it’s just Elizabeth maybe it won’t be so much stress on Brenna. And it’s been a month since the accident so everything’s not so unfamiliar to Bren.”

“I guess.”

“Anyways, she said she’d call tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Justin yawned and checked his watch. “Damn, I’m tired. And it’s only five.”

“Did you sleep on the plane?”

“Not really. I thought Id’ be able to cause I was up so early this morning but I couldn’t.”

“At least you have some days off so you can sleep.”

“Yeah.”

They fell silent for a few minutes before the quiet was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He lifted himself up a bit in his seat so he could pull it from his pocket and opened it when he saw Trace’s name on the caller display.

“Hey man,” he said.

“Hey. How close are you guys to the house?”

“We’ll be there in a couple minutes. You?”

“I’m here already. Um…can you hurry?”

“Why?”

“I just…I think you need to be here.”

“We’re just coming up now. Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. Just hurry.”

Justin pulled the phone away from his ear when Trace hung up on the other line and frowned. That was weird.

“Trace?”

“Yeah. He said we should hurry to get there.”

“Why?”

“He didn’t say. Are you guys throwing some kind of surprise party for me or something?”

Kate scoffed as she pulled into the driveway to the house. “Yes, that’s EXACTLY what we’re doing. It’s a party celebrating how wonderful you are and how we all aspire to be you.”

He grinned as he undid his seatbelt. “I was wondering how long it would take you guys to throw that party.”

Kate got out of the car with him. “In fact I’ve been decorating and cooking for the past four days solid just so everything would be up to your standards.”

“Oooh, you cooking? Maybe I don’t want to be at this party after all.” He laughed as Kate hit him in the arm and opened the front door of the house. His laughter died immediately as he heard the noises in the house. He turned to Trace as he appeared in the hallway.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked as he took in the sound of someone crying-no, more like wailing-upstairs.

Trace shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, Justin. When I got here Brenna was just upstairs crying. I tried to go check on her but she told me to go away.”

“Shit,” he mumbled, going to the stairs. He took them two at a time and when he reached the second floor, he found the door to his and Brenna’s bedroom shut. He eased it open and when he stepped in, he found Brenna sitting on the bed crying. His heart dropped and he immediately went to her.

“Brenna. What’s wrong?” he asked, climbing onto the bed beside her.

She didn’t respond but only continued to cry.

“Shhh…” He rubbed his hand over her back. “Are you hurt?” he asked, his eyes scanning her body to see any obvious injuries.

She managed to shake her head.

“What’s wrong?” he tried again, using his other hand to try and cup her cheek so he could get her to face him. She moved her face away.

His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what was going on. He had never seen her so upset before.

“Bren, please talk to me,” he pleaded. “Did something happen?”

When she didn’t respond but only continued crying, he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his body. She allowed it to happen and he cradled her head to his chest.

“Shhh…” he murmured, rocking her back and forth in an attempt to calm her down. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” He continued to whisper comforting words in her ear as he held her. She calmed down a bit but not fully. He rested his chin on the top of her head and stared out the window as she cried. Having no idea what was wrong with her, he really didn’t know what to say to help.

Her cries eventually slowed down to an odd sniff and he lifted his head so he could see her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was becoming more even. They crying had obviously exhausted her and he gently moved her into a laying position on the bed. She immediately curled into a ball on her side. Standing, Justin found a blanket and tucked it around her before sitting beside her small frame and gently rubbing her back. He stayed there until he was sure she was asleep and then got up and went downstairs. He found Kate and Trace in the kitchen.

“Is she okay?” Trace asked quietly.

Justin swallowed, finding it difficult to do with the lump in his throat. “I don’t know. She’s asleep now.”

“What was wrong?”

“She never said.” He ran his hand over his face. “Maybe tonight isn’t the best night for dinner together.”

“Of course,” Kate said, getting up.

“Maybe tomorrow?” he offered.

“I have to be at the station late tomorrow,” Trace said. “I can’t.”

“Oh. Well I guess we’ll have to find another day then.” Justin walked them to the front door and sighed as they put their shoes on. “Sorry guys.”

“It’s fine, Justin,” Kate said. “When she wakes up, tell Bren I hope that she feels better.”

“Sure. Thanks.” He closed the door behind them and slowly went back upstairs. Brenna was still asleep and he didn’t disturb her but instead went into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He felt gross from the flight and stripped off his clothes and slipped into the shower.

He closed his eyes as he tilted his head back into the spray of water, trying to relax his tightly wound nerves. Everything was wearing on him so heavily and it was so stressful. Things were so difficult and it was so hard to get used to it.

When he opened his eyes, a few tears mixed in with the water running down his face and he drew in a shaky breath. His head feeling heavy, he leaned his forehead against the shower wall. Eyes shut tight to prevent anymore tears from falling, he hit the wall with his fist, trying to relieve the tension coursing through his body.

Brenna woke up from her dreamless sleep at the sound of someone clearing their throat. She slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the dim light in the room coming from a lamp. Looking to the left a bit, she found Justin sitting in one of the armchairs in the room, staring out the window. She didn’t move as she watched him. His face seemed drawn and tired and she felt guilty. Guilty for putting him through all this, guilty for not remembering him, and guilty for not being happy about being pregnant.

A small sigh escaped her and Justin’s eyes immediately moved to hers. She only looked at him for another second before looking to the side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw him get up and come over to the bed. He sat down on the side she was facing.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked softly.

She wet her lips and nodded. “Yeah.”

It was silent for a moment. “Brenna, what was wrong? You were so upset.”

She pulled herself into a sitting position, sitting crosslegged under the blanket over her. She shrugged as she stared down at her hands.

When he didn’t say anything, she realized he was still waiting for an answer. She sighed.

“I’m just tired of all of this,” she whispered. “I’m tired of not remembering anything and of feeling guilty about it.”

“No one’s blaming you for not being able to remember anything, Brenna.”

She simply shrugged. It was quiet again and she moved her eyes to look out the window.

“I’m so tired of living like this, Brenna,” Justin said suddenly and her eyes shot up to him. His eyes were closed and he was rubbing his temples with the fingers on one hand. “We’ve got to change something to make this work better.”

She sighed and nodded. “I know.”

He opened his eyes to look at her. “Have you ever thought about going back to work?”

The thought had crossed her mind a couple times. “Yeah.”

“You have?”

“A couple times.”

“I was talking to Johnny the other day and he was asking if you were going to come back. He said you were the best damn assistant he ever had.”

She smiled a bit but then shook her head. “I wouldn’t know how to do anything.”

“They would teach you. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem. I just think that it would be good for you to be able to get out of the house. To have something to do.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Maybe tomorrow you could call Johnny. Or I could. He’d be more than happy to have you back.”

She nodded again.

“And I was also thinking that since your mom wants to see you again, maybe we could go to Australia and visit. It would be different for both of us, not just you.”

That actually sounded like something she would want to do. “That would be nice,” she said softly.

“We’d just have to check with the OB doctor to make sure that’s okay. It was okay for us to go to Hawaii though so I don’t see the problem.”

She looked up to him. “How long would we go for?”

“I don’t know. We can decide after we talk to your mom.”

“Okay.”

He paused. “So do you think we can call Johnny tomorrow?”

She nodded and let out a small smile. Deep down, she felt that it would help. “Yeah, I’d like that.”