The flight from New York City to L.A. was a long six hours. Reyna filled that time, which she spent in first class - next to an older business man who had gotten her autograph for his teenage daughter - reading a book. The series was the most drama filled series she had ever read in her life, but since the first time she read it, Keatyn Douglas had made a lasting impression on her heart and soul. So there she was, reading the series for the sixth time in the last five years, already on book three and wishing that Keatyn would get her head out of her ass and admit she's in love with Aiden already.

When the plane had been grounded at the California airport, she had closed the book and rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the tears that gathered at the mention of Brooklyn. The business man to her left grabbed her carry on bag for her when it was time to get up and start vacating the plane. She thanked him and told him his daughter was lucky to have him as a dad, then first class was told they could get off the plane. The strap of her bag was securely placed on her shoulder and she was ready to go, her book shoved into her purse, her cat's carrier and now cold coffee clutched tightly in her hands.

Thankfully, the handful of other people in first class didn't take long to get off the plane, so she was soon making her way down the terminal and would soon be out in the airport. It had been a few months since she had last seen her best friend in person and she wasn't exactly nervous, but she was anxious to see Cody and be in his embrace again. They had been friends since she was almost two, him being almost 3. The two were only a year and fifteen days apart and he was always looking out for her, supporting her. And she was always there for him, there as a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold in the hard times.

On her way out of the terminal, she paused to throw away the cup that held just a small amount of cold coffee, then continue on. The hat on her head and sunglasses perched on her face helped hide her identity, as did the baseball cap and sunglasses that Cody was wearing. As soon as she saw him, a wide smile covered her face and she began moving faster, rushing towards him. When he noticed her, he grinned and opened his arms, which allowed her to fling herself at him and drop bag she had been holding after gently placing Selene on the ground. He chuckled into her hair as her legs wrapped around his waist, one of arms wrapped under her to hold her up.

"Hey, Squirt," he said fondly, his face still in her hair.

"Hey, Cods," she replied, squeezing him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," he told her as she untangled himself from him, dropping back down onto the ground. He looked down at her bag and cat carrier, then looked back up at her. "Is this all you brought?"

She actually laughed, grinning at him, "Of course not! You're ridiculous. Of course I have a bag that I checked. We have to run and grab that before we can go."

"God, you're such a pain in the butt," he mumbled, but picked up her carry on bag and slung it over his shoulder as she picked up Selene's carrier. "You're lucky I love you."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, grinning at him. "I love you, too, sugar."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the baggage claim, filling the silence with conversation about Reese and Jena and Henry, as well as the cast that she would be seeing oh so soon. When her suitcase came around on the conveyor belt, it took everything in Cody not to laugh at the fact that she had spray painted over the material of the designer brand bag, inscribing her first name in cursive writing and adding little doodles. She grinned as she grabbed the bag and then pulled out the handle, converting it to a roller bag to pull behind them. When she noticed the look on his face, she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What's your problem, dude?" she asked him.

"You're just so extra," he told her, finally letting out the chuckle he had been holding in. "You seriously branded your suitcase."

She nodded, looking down at the bag that had her name on both sides, "It's so I always know which one is mine. I kinda found inspiration from Carrie Bradshaw a lá The Carrie Diaries."

"You're a special one, Reyna Mason," he said fondly, his arm going back around her shoulder as he took the handle of her bag and began leading her through the airport.

"You know it," she told him, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer to her.

°•°

"So, how are we doing this?" she asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the cast, having been easily let through by security.

"Well, I got a bunch of junk food, as per everyone's request. It's too much for one person to carry, so I was thinking..." and then he explained the rest of the plan to her.

As he told her how he planned on surprising everyone with her presence, a smile grew on her face because it was actually a good one. She nodded, agreeing with him and even telling him which of his cast mates to text as the first person to see her. When he questioned her choice, as she chose a returning cast member instead of one of the regulars.

"Why him?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her as he started typing.

"Well," she said, quirking an eyebrow at him, "someone here told him their password to their phone and he read the texts, so he already knows I'm coming and he'll help keep up appearances. Anyone else would be all giddy and excited, which would give it away."

"Colton it is," he agreed, his cheeks a little red as he sent the text since he didn't realize he had not only accidentally told her that Jackson would be returning to Beacon Hills, but that he had accidentally spoiled the surprise for Colton. "He'll be out in a minute."

"Cool," she replied, grabbing just one bag of the junk food they had stopped to buy and pulling Selene's carrier onto her lap.

They only had to wait for a few minutes before the actor was spotted heading towards the car. A smile graced her face and she opened the car door, climbing out that she was ready to hug him once he reached the vehicle. Cody watched as the two friends embraced, grinning and thankful that Reyna was finally here in Atlanta.

"Hey!" she said after they pulled apart. "I've missed you, Coco."

"Still using that stupid nickname for me, I see," he teased, ruffling her hair, as she had tossed the hat off during the car ride from the store to set. "Missed you too, Reybug."

"That one's just as stupid and everyone uses it," she mumbled, shoving him gently. "Let's go, come on. I wanna see everyone."

So the two guys started grabbing the rest of the bags while she simply carried her cat and the bag that held her snacks, as well as Tyler Posey's snacks. Once all three of them were ready, she followed them wordlessly through set to the large trailer where the cast was gathered in wait for their friend to return with their snacks, since they had had half a day of filming and Cody had taken off for over two hours to get snack and stuff for them, though none of them had questioned what exactly was taking him so long. They both gave her a kiss on the cheek before ducking into the trailer, leaving her alone outside, but able to hear everything going on inside.

"Dude, that's so much," Charlie Carver said.

A voice spoke aloud, making her heart warm that he was okay, saying, "Dude, you could have gotten this all by yourself. Why'd you have to steal Colton away from us?"

"Shut up, O'Brien," another man laughed, his voice alerting her to the fact that the Hale brother was back for the final season.

"No, you shut up, Hoechlin," Shelley Hennig said with a laugh.

"Cody, bro, did you forget my peach rings and chips?" Tyler Posey asked, making Reyna's heart start racing and a smile to cover her face.

"I probably forgot it out in the car," Cody said. "I know I remembered them. Be right back guys."

The door to the trailer opened and Cody stepped out, closing the door behind him. Reyna held out the the bag for him to take, which he did. With a gentle squeeze of her hand, he turned back around and walked back in, her slightly hidden behind his back. She could hear the smile in his voice when he brought everyone's attention back to him.

"I found your snacks and a little something extra," he told them.

"What is it?" Dylan Sprayberry asked.

At that, Reyna peeked her head over his shoulder and grinned at all the cast that was gathered around. Shock was written across all of their faces, except Colton of course, and silence fell. The first one to break the silence was, weirdly, Khylin Rhambo.

He, with the most serious look on his face, said, "Intense!"

That was all it took for everyone to realize that the girl was really standing in front of them, was really there in Chatsworth. Their voices overlapped each other as they all started greeting her and talking all at once, some laughter even mixed in. She hugged all of them tightly after setting down the cat carrier, finally letting the black and white cat out of her crate. Somehow, she ended up in Cody's lap while her owner hugged all of her friends. Once all of the hugging and greetings were done, she sat down alongside her cat on Cody's lap, propping her feet up on the table in front of them, right beside his. He grinned, setting a hand on her hip and lightly squeezing the skin underneath his hand.

"You're such a little sneak!" Ian Bohen said, shaking his head at the younger actress. "What about Caroline and the Australia family?"

"She willingly gave up a visit from me because she wanted me to see Cody more. So she was in on it the whole time," Reyna laughed, leaning back against Cody.

"Who all knew you were coming?" Hoechlin asked her, causing her to grin.

"Cody, Colton, and my family."

"What?" Charlie exclaimed, throwing a piece of candy at his friend. "Why wouldn't you tell me, Co?"

Colton shrugged, "It was a surprise."

"How come he got to know?" O'Brien asked her grumpily, giving her a look. "You didn't even know he was here."

"Well," she sang, grinning guiltily, "I did know. Because Cody here is bad at keeping secrets. And I didn't tell CoCo, this dumbass told him his password and our texts were open. So Colton texted me about it instead of saying something to Cody."

"Dumbass," Posey laughed, shaking his head at the boy under Reyna.

Sprayberry asked, "So, do JR or Melissa or Linden know you're here? You know they'll be excited to see you."

"And Jill," Holland added, smiling at the younger actress.

"Kate, seriously? They can bring back Kate Argent again, but not my boy Isaac or Cora or even Kira?!" Reyna said, her voice getting that lilt that it gets when she's passionate about something. "Jeff and I are gonna have a little talk. But first, the adults."

"Rey, babe," Shelley said, amusement in her voice, "we are adults."

"But the more adulty adults," she said, not really clarifying what she meant at all.

"Okay, Rey, babe. Let's just go," Cody said, laughing into her shoulder at how cute and extra she already was.

"Cool, we'll be back. And don't be jealous of the time they're gonna get with me, I'm here until y'all either kick me out or you're done filming," she told them, smiling widely at them.

"Cool," O'Brien said with a large grin. "We've missed you, Rey."

"Whatever," she said flippantly as she took her cat into her arms and got up from his lap. "I guess I missed you guys too."

Cody and Reyna slipped out of the gathering area, her cat in her arms and him carrying their snacks. As they make their way through the set, other cast members like Michael Johnston said hello to Reyna and greeted her with warm hugs, then sent her on her way. Crew members, also, waved and said hello to the young actress before they made it to the trailer where all the older cast members were gathered: Melissa Ponzio, JR Bourne, Linden Ashby, Jill Wagner, Susan Walters, Ryan Kelly, and Orny Adams. They paused outside the trailer, the laughter inside audible to the two twenty-something actors. She smiled up at him, grasping his hand and squeezing it.

"Thank you for inviting me out to set," she said gently. "I know that I'm here for everyone, but I'm mainly here for you. Even when I have to spend time with everyone."

"I know," he told her sweetly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you for accepting and actually coming out."

"Alright, let's surprise them," she said with a large grin. "I'm putting Selene in there first."

He didn't question her as she cracked the door open and set her cat down, then closed the door. They could hear the confusion inside the trailer when they noticed the feline wandering about, then there was a gasp as if whoever it was realized whose cat was running about. It only took seconds for the trailer door to swing open and Melissa Ponzio to appear, her eyes wide and a smile on her face when she saw Reyna standing there. There was a loud squeal from the older brunette and then all of a sudden she was flinging herself at the younger one.

"You little bitch!" Melissa laughs, squeezing Reyna tightly. "You tricked us!"

"It was Cody's idea, blame him," she laughed into the woman's hair.

"Let go of her, Mel! I want a turn," a deep, familiar voice said.

Melissa grumbled but let go of the brunette girl. Within seconds, she was wrapped up in JR Bourne's arms, grinning against his chest. After that, she was passed around to each of the elder cast members who were all glad to see her after all the time spent apart. The person who hugged her longest was actually Orny, who she hadn't even had an actual scene with in the show but had bonded with quickly on set.

"Hey guys," she said once all the hugs were done and they were all standing around.

"How long are you here?" Linden asked, smiling at the girl.

"For as long as possible," she admitted. "My life is kinda sad and I missed Cody and, ya know, all of you guys too."

"Mostly Cody though," Ryan mumbled under his breath, which earned him an elbow to the ribs by Melissa and a kick to the shin from Reyna. "Love you?"

"Whatever," she laughed. "Now, what does a girl have to do for a burger around here?"

"Come on, Princess," Cody laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Let's get some food in you. Then, lots of cast time."

"Sounds good to me. Nice to see you," she said, waving to the group. "Watch Selene for me."

"Of course, love," Jill said sweetly. "Go have fun."

"We will. And I'm not sharing my fries with you, sorry Squirt."

"Like hell you aren't," she refuted as she looked up at him.

"I'm not giving you dick," he stated, quirking an eyebrow.

Not so under his breath, Ryan said, "But you should give her dick."

Everyone burst into laughter and the two best friends flushed, as well as the man who had said it. Then Reyna grabbed onto the hand dangling in front of her shoulder and started dragging him away, not wanting to spend any more time with the "more adulty adults" who were the ones to make comments about "Reydy". Cody grinned, let her take him wherever she would lead, just as he had every other time in their life: he followed her.

•••

i'm so immensely proud of this chapter, i'm not even gonna lie.

[ 8.5.17 ]