Better Off Friends

Chapter 1: Something Good

Leo jumped when his phone vibrated on the table next to him. He was on his lunch break from a shoot and had almost been falling asleep. He smiled when he saw that it was Kate calling him, the little icon of them together from the Oscars last year staring up at him from the phone screen, until he realized that since it was quite late in the day in LA, it had to be the middle of the night in England.

He felt his stomach drop and immediately swiped right to answer the call.

"Kate?"

He thought he heard her let out a breath, and there was pause before she said, "Leo, thank God. I didn't know if you would answer."

"Are you alright?" He knew it wasn't really a question, since he had heard the tears in her voice.

Another pause. "Yes, I--I'm fine. It's just ... Ned and I have had a fight. It was really quite terrible. And I hate it when the kids see us fighting. He left a few hours ago to go God knows where, and I've been trying to sleep, but I just can't, and I ... well, I didn't know who else to talk to."

He heard the sound of a dish being set on the counter, and the corners of his lips twitched into a smile.

"Are you having tea?"

He could almost hear her smile from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, of course. It's my second cup. It always calms me down when nothing else will."

The image of her standing in her kitchen stirring milk into her tea and probably standing at the counter in a robe, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, made his smile widen.

He cleared his throat. "Well, um, do you want to talk about the fight?"

"God, no. I called you so you could distract me."

He chuckled. "Alright. Well, what do you want to hear?"

"Something good," she said quietly.

He swallowed. "Um ... oh! Actually, there is something I've been meaning to let you know. The film I'm shooting for--we're wrapping up in LA pretty soon, and the next part is shot in London. It's in about a month. I know you're busy, and you've got the kids and all, but we could get together, if you wanted. You could bring the kids--I'd love to see them."

"Of course I want to, Leo! We haven't seen each other in ages. I would offer for you to stay here, but I suppose that wouldn't be too convenient if you're filming all the way in London. But, I mean, if you want to stay here for a while before if you have a break, you could do that."

"I do have about a two week break, but are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"You're not imposing on anything," she assured him. "My kids love you, you know that."

"Well, I was actually talking more about ... Ned. Is he going to mind? I don't want to make things worse," he said, recalling how jealous Sam had been of their relationship when they were filming Revolutionary Road.

"Leo, to be completely honest, I'm not even sure we're going to last the week."

"Kate ..." he said quietly. He couldn't think of what else to say. He wished more than anything that he could be there with her, not able to stand the thought of her standing alone in her kitchen thinking about this.

"And if by some miracle we do, he'll just have to deal with it. He can't stop me from having friends over."

He took a breath and was about to reply when the director poked his head in the door.

"Leo, you ready? We're starting the next scene in five."

He nodded. "Got it. I'll be right out."

"Kate--"

"You can go, darling. Don't let me keep you."

"Are you going to be alright? I don't feel right hanging up and leaving you like this."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, Leo, seriously. It's not like I haven't been through this before."

"Are you sure? I can tell them I'm not ready."

"Go, Leo."

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Talk to you then."

"Bye."

"Goodbye, Leo."

* * *

Kate sighed as she put her phone down, sitting down at the table and taking a sip of her tea.

"Mum?"

She started and looked up to see Mia standing in the entry to the kitchen, pulling on a black sweatshirt with the name of her high school printed on it in bold lettering.

"Gosh, you startled me. Did I wake you?"

Mia shook her head, sitting down across from her at the table. "I've been awake. Were you on the phone just now?"

"Yes, with Uncle Leo. He might come and stay with us in a few weeks."

Mia brightened. "Really?"

"He's shooting in London, but he has a break before that starts, so he's going to visit us for a while."

"That will be great!" Mia said. "I haven't seen him in forever."

There was a brief pause, and Kate reached out and put her hand over her daughter's.

"Honey, I'm sorry you heard us fighting earlier."

"It's okay, Mum. It's not your fault."

"It is, though. I shouldn't be exposing you guys to this. Are Joe and Bear awake too?"

Mia shook her head. "Just me. Mum ... are you and Ned getting a divorce?"

Kate felt her heart clench as she looked into her daughter's eyes. She was almost 17 (although she swore the last time she looked at her, she had just been learning to walk), but still really not that old. And yet she had been through two of Kate's failed marriages and had had to deal with the repercussions of moving houses and schools and having to start over with new classes and friends and having men come in and out of her life so quickly. It was almost like a routine, and they were just going through the motions again.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Kate said, giving Mia's hand a squeeze. "I don't know right now."

Mia got up and sat down next to her mother, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Surprised, Kate hugged her back. It had been a long time since they had been together alone like this with how busy they always were, and even longer since her daughter had shown her any form of physical affection like this because of her moody teenager phase.

"You know, it's okay if you get divorced," Mia whispered. "It's more important that you're happy."

Kate bit her lip to stop tears from falling and pressed a kiss into Mia's hair. "Thank you, darling. I don't know much of anything right now. We're just going to have to see how things go, alright? I love you so much."

"I love you, too."