"Jensen!"

            Jensen turned around to see Scott jogging toward her. He stopped in front of her.

            "Yes?"

            "What are you doing tonight?"

            "I was thinking about running a marathon."

            "Want to go for dinner with us instead?"

            "Us?"

            "The cast." Scott shrugged. "Might keep you from overthinking today."

            "Never underestimate my ability to overthink." Jensen needed to think about what she was saying if she didn't want people looking at her the way Scott did after her comment.

            "Are you sure they're not getting to you?"

            "No."

            "You're coming to dinner then, it's decided. By me. I've decided it."

            "What if I want to spend time with my super cool midwife?"

            "I already texted her," Scott said. "Tina's lovely, but she said you should have dinner with us."

            Jensen frowned. "You have Tina's phone number?"

            "You think your husband didn't send it to me the moment he found out you were going to London?"

            "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

            Scott laughed. "I mean, if you really don't want to, you don't have to. But eating is good for you... for, you know, the baby."

            "Laying it on thick, Scotty."

            "Is it working?"

            "Where are we going?" Jensen asked. "I'll vomit if I have to eat any more mushy peas."

            "Probably a pub," Scott said. Putting his hands on her shoulders gently, he steered her toward where the rest of the cast stood. "And I'll buy you some fries."

            "Sometimes fries aren't technically vegetar—"

            "Jensen!" Nikita Wong was the first to notice her, a smile wide on her lips. "Are you coming with us? Gods, I could go for a pint. Or six. Did you have that nasty interviewer from Real Hollywood?"

            "Sure did," Jensen said. "Scott told him to fuck off."

            "No I didn't."

            "That's right," Jensen said, "you told him to shove his article up his ass."

            "I hate that they're not going to do anything to me," Scott said, "should he write an article. I won't be the bad guy."

            "I..." Jensen started as she wrinkled her nose, "it's disgusting that you're right."

            "Listen," Nikita said, "we can talk about bad press for the rest of our time here. Or we can go to a sleezy pub. Get drunk off our asses. And enjoy our day off away from this bullshit."

            "Or spend it sticking our heads in toilets if you really mean drunk off our asses," Scott said. "And our day off isn't tomorrow. It's the day after."

            "That's a problem for tomorrow's Nikita," Nikita said, "not tonight's Nikita."

            "Pretty sure the UK has stronger beer than we—" Scott looked at Jensen. "—Americans do."

            "Fine by me if they keep giving us terrible interviewers. Maybe I'll get lucky and puke on one," Nikita said. "Do they have non-alcoholic beers at bars? Something for Jensen."

            Jensen scratched the back of her neck. Did anyone else think that sounded like a terrible idea? That getting a raging hangover and spending the day off vomiting was... not ideal? That ice cream sounded infinitely better than beer? Jensen should've said no, she didn't want to go to dinner. Jensen didn't realize until she looked up that she was staring at the floor.

            "We could go somewhere else," Scott said, clearing his throat. "London pub scene can be rowdy and I'm... kind of tired from all the press."

            "There's a Wagamama down the street," Nikita said. "Heard it was good. Probably quieter than a pub on a Friday night."

            "Does it have vegetarian options?" Scott asked.

            "I mean, yeah," Nikita said, "but not all, for us who want chicken."

            "Isn't being vegetarian trendy now?" Scott made air quotes around trendy. "You're not into that, Nix?"

            Nikita snorted. "You're such an old man, Scotty."

            "Probably," Scott said, laughing. "I think it's the father of a toddler thing."

            "Hey," Jensen said with a small laugh. "Speak for yourself."

            "I said father," Scott said, "not parent."

            "Clearly mama bear is better than you," Nikita said, wrapping an arm around Jensen's shoulder. "What do you say, are you in?"

            "Um," Jensen started, and against her better judgement, she continued, "yeah. I guess."

            "With that glowing endorsement," Nikita said as she raised her opposite fist in the air. "Onward!"

*

It took about ten minutes for the novelty of Wagamama to wear off and for Jensen to want to be in bed, talking to Rocky and Miles. Too long had passed since they had been sitting there, and yet it wasn't enough time for her to go back to her hotel. Not-so-subtly, Jensen checked her phone. They had probably already walked into the studio for Rocky's appointment. Any moment, and Jensen could get a video that would make her miss home even more than she already did.

            It wasn't even crowded in the restaurant and Jensen wanted to leave. She never should have doubted her ability to stay in bed and wait for what she was looking forward to. Noted. Stored for future reference.

            "You know," Scott said from across the table they sat at, "time passes faster if you ignore your phone."

            "Time is a construct."

            Scott laughed. "Something else on your mind?"

            "I'm supposed to call Miles and Rocky later."

            "And?"

            "Later seems like a lifetime."

            "Want me to take your phone?"

            "There's a clock on the wall," Jensen said, tilting her chin over Scott's shoulder. "Behind the counter."

            Scott looked over his shoulder before turning back to her. "Never underestimate your ability to overthink, huh?"

            Jensen pressed her lips together and poked her meal with her fork. "I'm sensing a callout."

            Scott put a hand on his chest. "All love."

            "Here." Jensen shoved a forkful of cold rice into her mouth as she passed Scott her phone across the table. "All yours while we're in this restaurant."

            "Are you sure?"

            "Positive," Jensen said. "Give it back to me when it's time to talk to my favourites."

            "You're already talking to me," Scott said, pocketing the phone. "Aren't I your favourite work husband?"

            "Work husband?" Nikita leaned into their conversation from beside Scott, having been talking with their director. "You realize her first movie was with her husband, right?"

            Jensen laughed. "She's not wrong."

            "Truth hurts, Scotty boy," Nikita said.

            Scott held his hands up in surrender. "I respect that. I love Miles."

            "God, he loves you too," Jensen said.

            "Loves you more," Scott said, "Been texting me since press started checking in on you."

            Jensen pushed a few curls behind her ear before wiping the smile off her face. "You know, this really isn't helping me forget about anything."

            "Least it made you smile."

            "Jensen doesn't have to smile if she doesn't want to," Nikita said, pointing a finger at Scott. Wagamama didn't have the six pints she'd been looking for, but she had downed a couple of their house-made fresh juices. Practically the same amount of comfort without the hangover in the morning.

            "I'd rather smile," Jensen said. "In spite of it all."

            Because that was true. Because Jensen still felt like her skin was crawling from the reporter. Because she wanted to claw it off if given the option. Maybe she should've gone home and showered long enough to shed her skin.

            Nikita frowned. "He was nasty, wasn't he?"

            Jensen took a bite of her food to avoid the question. She looked down to avoid her gaze.

            "I'm sorry," Nikita said, "is there anything we can do?"

            Jensen shook her head. "Not unless we can get him fired."

            "Unfortunately being a sexist pig isn't grounds enough for firing," Scott said.

            "Which it should be," Nikita said. She lifted her glass of juice in the air. "Because we are past the need for disgusting reporters who ask about diets."

            "And underwear," Jensen said, managing a small clink with her glass against Nikita's.

            "Gods, he asked you about underwear?" Nikita asked.

            Jensen sipped her drink. "Potentially lack thereof."

            Nikita made a face. "And you didn't punch him?"

            "Don't feel like pregnancy and prison mix that well," Jensen said, "add biracial to that..."

            "I almost punched him," Scott said. "And it wasn't even me he was talking to."

            "You should've," Nikita said, "honest to Gods, why are they allowed to walk into an interview room with their questions about... about the worst shit in the world? And there's no repercussions. Spare, like, not getting answers so an article doesn't get written."

            "I'd take Miles' fake fans who got mad at me for dating him over this," Jensen said. Probably not as quiet as she wanted it to be.

            Then again, it wasn't a shock when Jensen and Miles attended their Sparks Fly premiere together. Together together. Kiss on the red carpet kind of together. Hollywood's most eligible bachelor finds a girlfriend and she has pitchforks and torches in every inbox she could possibly have. (Naturally.) (Unfortunately.) Jensen had expected it. Well, most of it. Rather, she had expected it would happen but didn't know how bad it was going to be.

            She stood by that she would take that a thousand times over. In the end, she had Miles. The end of reporters being awful was bad press for her movie.

            "I'd take anything over either of those," Nikita said. She shook her head. "There's no winning for us in Hollywood."

            "Online," Jensen said.

            "One day, we'll do something about it," Nikita said, "but for now, we eat. And drink."

            "Be merry," Jensen said.

            "Let the merriment commence," Scott said. "And your phone is vibrating my ass something fierce, Jensen, holy shit. How popular are you?"

            "Wait, it is?" Jensen asked. She held her hand out. "Pass it."

            "You said you didn't want—"

            "Please," Jensen said, "Rocky's getting her ears pierced."

            "Oh my God," Scott said, "really?"

            "That's so exciting!" Nikita said, slamming her fist against the table.

            "Yeah, she can't wait," Jensen said, snapping her fingers. "Phone. Now."

            Scott pulled the phone out of his jeans and handed it to Jensen. "Here, here."

            "You better share this with us," Nikita said.

            Jensen unlocked her phone quickly and opened her texts as another message came through.

            she was super brave and misses you dearly and cannot wait to show you her new earrings on video. A few too many heart emojis.

            Jensen smiled softly. And fought the urge to call him on the spot.

            we're going for lunch because she did great, Miles wrote in another message. call you when we're home?

            Of course, can't wait. Her own assortment of various hearts.

            "Are we watching the video or not?"  Nikita asked. "You can't leave us hanging!"

            "Are you sending hearts?" Scott asked. "How nauseating. And adorable."

            "Video, video!"

            Jensen turned slightly in her chair and held her phone up so all three of them could see. She played the video, a smile crawling onto her lips the moment she saw Rocky. Tiny legs kicking as she sat on the faux leather seat. Arms wrapped around the neck of her favourite unicorn.

            "Is that a unicorn?" Nikita gushed.

            "Yeah," Jensen said softly, "it was Miles' before we had her."

            "That's fucking adorable."

The piercer, who Jensen recognized as the one who did her second helix hoop, talked to Rocky the entire time. The smile never left her lips, even as the needle went through her ear. Miles moved opposite the piercer, making sure Jensen could see the entire process—unicorn included in every shot. Once both ears were done and the piercer gave Rocky a high-five. Rocky clapped happily when shown her new earrings in the mirror the piercer held up in front of her.

            Rocky's smile could've lit up the ever-darkening streets of London. Jensen could've cried. Happiness, sadness. At that moment it all seemed to blend together in a cocktail of threatened tears.

            Rocky hopped off the chair and ran over to Miles, coming into even clearer focus. Jensen's cheeks hurt from smiling. Even if she felt like crying, seeing Rocky smile was enough to bring her all she needed. Always.

            "Look at you, Snips!" Miles said from behind the camera. "You did great!"

            "I look like mama now!" Rocky said as she hugged his leg as he stopped the video.

            "Awww," Scott said.

            "That's the cutest shit I've ever seen in my life," Nikita said.

            SHE DID SO WELL! Jensen sent quickly as she turned back to Scott and Nikita, who were resting their chins on their fists, eyes practically swollen with hearts.

            "How proud are you, mama bear?" Nikita asked, grinning.

            "I'm sure Miles cut out the tears before," Jensen said, her aching cheeks betraying the statement. "But she did great."

            "I should get my son's ears pierced," Scott said. "Because that was incredible to watch."

            "Has your son been bugging you about it for months about them?" Jensen asked.

            "Not really," Scott said, "but I don't have full custody, so who knows?"

            Jensen put her hand on her stomach. "You can come if this baby wants their ears pierced."

            Scott laughed. "Sounds like a plan. Miles can go to London that time around."

            "We'll send him to Russia for a week," Jensen said. "He loves it there. Makes him feel close to his mom. He'll have the time of his life."

            "God," Scott said, "I need to get married again."

            "All in due time, Scotty boy," Nikita said. "All in due time."

            "Have you been married, Nix?"

            "All in due time."

            Jensen stared at her phone in her hands. She wasn't one hundred percent certain she knew how to get back to her hotel. But a cab driver would. And they weren't that far from where they had done press. It was probably about thirty minutes to get back.

            How long was it really going to take a kid running on endorphins to eat if she was as excited as Jensen to video call?

            Jensen looked up from her phone. "I, um..."

            "Want to go?" Scott suggested.

            "Is that okay?"

            "It's a free country," Nikita said, "and you have important calls to make."

            "How are you getting back?"

            "Cab," Jensen said, "first one I can hail."

            "I'll go with you," Scott said.

            "Are you sure?" Jensen asked. "We're all here and—"

            "I'm sure," Scott said. "Can't have anyone being creepy."

            "I—"

            "I know you can handle yourself," Scott said, "believe me. But I'd feel like shit if something happened and I didn't go with you."

            "I think his dad-stincts are kicking in," Nikita said, downing another sip of juice, "you might not want to argue."

            "As long as you let me split the cab fare," Jensen said.

            Scott pressed his palms against the table and pushed himself up. "Fair's fair and whatever the hell Macbeth said."

            "That was the witches, not Macbeth," Jensen said, earning looks from Nikita and Scott. She let out a small laugh as she rose from her seat and shrugged. "I used to teach Shakespeare."

            Scott let out a laugh. They said goodbyes to their castmates and crew and went outside.

            And of course, the flashes started. The yelling. The pushing through the crowd trying to get the next big scoop that Jensen never had. The—

            "Why'd you hide your pregnancy from the public?"

            "Anything you can tell us about Guardian?"

            "How does it feel having left your kid at home without her mother?"

            "Jensen, is there something going on here that our readers should know about?"

            "Actually," Scott said as Jensen shielded herself from the cameras and attempted to hail a cab. To her luck, one pulled over quickly, probably because of the flashes. "I'd like to ask you something—" Scott opened the door for Jensen to get into the cab, which she did without hesitation. Eager ears awaited the latest story from Hollywood's most eligible bachelor. "—do you have lives outside of being the slime of the earth?"

            The yelling continued as Scott got in and closed the door behind him and the taxi drove away.