[Way back-dated to the day after THIS. Follows THIS and THIS]The night before for Ali had been sobering. She and Andrew had gone for a drive to a quiet place just beyond the border, though it was evident, despite their earlier joking, that Andrew was quite subdued. They were rugged up in thick coats and got out to sit on a park bench together. At ( Read more... )

You there?

35.1. Overload

Co-written with isabelowens
[Set about a week ago]Ali exited the bathroom and pushed her messy hair out of her face. She dragged herself back into the living room with a hand rubbing at her gut through her pyjama top. She stuck her tongue out and pulled a face. "I deserve a medal for that. That was a very quiet spew, considering. And I didn't ( Read more... )

Ali's Prada blouse and skirt had been a write off by the time Jamie was done with them. Not even a good sponging down with baby wipes and Febreeze had been able to save the tragedy. Ali was on autopilot by that point, and she was now more than convinced her mother-in-law-to-be thought she was whacko. She had been hardly able to string three ( Read more... )

OI! GET OUT OF THE FOOTBALLER & GET YOUR BUTT ON HERE, PRONTO!

IT'S AN EMERGENCY!

Must not hyperventilate, crave nicotine, and/or wet my pants

2.2. "We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."
- Harrison Ford

Co-written with isabelowens
[Follows all HERE | Simultaneous to THIS]It was nearly one o'clock in the morning, but that was hardly an issue. Ali had nearly fallen over her own feet when she opened the door and found Izzy standing there with a large tub of Ben ( Read more... )

8.7.2. Sleeping BeautyNow matter how much she tried in the preceding months to imagine a sensation like this, Ali realised it wasn’t something she could have ever truly anticipated. Her own newborn daughter, a soft, warm weight in her arms cuddled against her chest, just didn’t feel like anything she had ever experienced. There was nothing to ( Read more... )

7.7.4. Cold Case

[Follows THIS and THIS]It was ringing again. The dull, digital trilling drove so deeply that it sent her world tipping just enough to create a roiling, motion sickness sense in her gut. Her doctor, her credit card company, a charity selling raffle tickets, her brother, her father, an insurance survey, her brother again ( Read more... )

James was out in a deep sleep by the time Ali left his room. She'd told him just about everything, save for the fact she'd slept with Mark again. She didn't want to overload his already stunned brain. She was aware as well as anyone how much it was to process ( Read more... )

[Follows THIS by agentcampbell]Ali hit the number for Izzy's floor simultaneously to hitting 'send' on her cell phone to dispatch text message #21 of 'CALL ME' to James. The elevator doors swung closed behind her and she tapped her foot impatiently as she rode upwards to her friend's place. All she had from James was he and Izzy had a huge fight and now he'd ( Read more... )