Suddenly

Apartment Found

Grace walked around Hannah's neighborhood for a while before ducking into a small coffee shop. The overwhelming anxiety that had filled her before had receded, leaving behind a sense of embarrassment. She really didn't mean to freak out on Hannah. She knew her friend was only trying to help. The things Hannah kept bringing up were all legitimate concerns, but it was hard for Grace to face them.

Since coming to LA, she had let the baby be on the back burner, it wasn't really like it was going anywhere fast. She had wanted to get everything else squared away before she dealt with that. Now, that did seem silly. This baby was just as important as Ayla, and would certainly come up in the divorce proceedings. Part of her wanted to lie and say it wasn't even Josh's. She wished he would have no claim over this baby.

Her hand had come to rest on her still non existent stomach. She was certainly smaller this time around than she had been with Aylie. Probably due to stress and her lack of properly caring her herself.

"Are you expecting?" A voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked down to see an older woman smiling at her kindly. With a small smile, she nodded.

"How sweet! I'm sure you and your husband are proud!"

Grace inwardly grimaced. That was one thing she had always hated about pregnancy. People felt entitled to comment, then always jumped to something about a husband.

She paid the woman no more mind before grabbing her drink and settling into a secluded table. She thought about calling Joan, just to see if perhaps there a had been any news. She knew there hadn't, but part of her wanted to go ahead and call just in case.

Thankfully, she was stopped from calling by an incoming text message from Mamrie. It was a photo of a sleeping Ayla, with Goose curled beside her.

"Munchkin is out! I've got a meeting, Hannah's gonna keep her." -Mames

Grace felt a lump of emotion rise in her throat as she thought about the way she had treated Hannah. She took her for granted over and over, even without meaning to. She treated her like shit, but Hannah was always there when she needed her. Why was Hannah so good to her?

She let a long sigh and leaned back in the chair. Everything was just so jumbled in her mind. She just wanted all of this to be simple, but it was never going to be. She knew she couldn't keep on using Hannah. She needed to move on with Ayla and the new baby, and work to make their lives better. She couldn't string Hannah along anymore.

Maybe the best way she could start would be getting out of Hannah's place.

Her mind retraced the few apartments she had looked at last week. At the time, none of them had been a good fit for her and Ayla, but surely one of them could work?

Grace set her mind to finding a decent place, today. She needed to get out of Hannah's, plus, Joan had told her time and time again that the more independent she looked, the better her case would be.

Two hours, and about thirty seven phone calls later, she found the one. A tiny, two bedroom place not far from Mamrie's. It was small, yes, but it was surprisingly affordable for the location. She just needed to borrow Hannah or Mamrie's car and sign the appropriate paperwork. Thank goodness she had hidden funds from her husband so she could afford the down payments.

She walked back to Hannah's considerably lighter in spirit. Maybe things were going to start going right and this was the sign. She and Ayla were going to branch out on their own and make things perfect before the next little one arrived.

"Han?" She called softly through Hannah's house as she arrived. It was quiet, not what she was expecting after leaving her emotional toddler with her friend. Hannah and Aylie really had a love hate relationship when it came to being alone.

She crept slowly down the hall, first stopping in the guest room, no Hannah or Ayla. She tried to quell this feeling of panic rising in her chest as she walked just a little faster towards Hannah's bedroom.

Hannah's soft voice hit her first, then oddly enough, her own. Confused, she peeked through the cracked door to find Hannah and Ayla sitting on Hannah's large bed, watching old itsGrace videos. It was one where she kept pretending to fall. Every time her body hit the floor, Ayla let out a shriek of laughter. Grace smiled at the scene, Hannah and Ayla had really taken a shine to one another.

"Is that funny, A?" Hannah encouraged, she started the video from the beginning, for what Grace guessed was probably the tenth time knowing Hannah.

Ayla's giggles started up again as Grace hit the floor.

"Your Mommy is a funny lady, huh?"

"Funny looking?" Grace interrupted, making her presence known. She pushed the door open.

"Mama!" Ayla squealed as she made a mad dash across the bed, flinging herself into her mother's arms.

Grace held her to her body tightly. It was nice.

"She started missing you a bit, so I figured it was time to break out a few old vids. Took me a minute to find one not full of sexual jokes and curse words." Hannah teased, she shut her computer and stood from the bed. "You feeling better?"

The genuine concern in her voice made Grace's heart skip a beat.

"I am, thank you for letting me have a moment. I am really sorry for freaking out on you. I'm stressed."

The shorter woman shrugged indifferently. "We all need a little air."

Grace nodded. "I do have some good news though! I found an apartment for me and Aylie! It's not far, and it looks perfect!" Her eyes diverted down to her daughter, she missed the way Hannah's face crumpled sadly. By the time she looked back up, Hannah had expertly put on a mask of joy.

"Tha-that's great, Grace!"

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I had half of it in my drafts forever but I just didn't feel like writing! Hope you enjoyed!