"CANADA DRY"

Rated T for coarse and suggestive language. As long as I continue writing, this below is an enthusiastic 'thank-you-selfie' to "Selfie", along with gratitude to EK, KG, and JC. I've drawn some inspiration from prideandfangirling's "Honey Bears and Valentines" available here on AO3.

This story took a big life on its own, and I decided to split the story into multiple chapters. The story was fully completed before the first chapter was posted.

As of posting, the #saveSelfie petition has exceeded 60-thousand signatures. Congratulations to Erika Lawson and others on a big accomplishment. Even though Gillan and Harewood have signed onto new shows, no matter what happens, it's been and still is a fun ride.

In a way, I can almost imagine the following as a "series finale" in reference to the pilot (1st) episode: Eliza's lack of real friends, and asking for someone to get her some ginger ale ...

Summary: Stuck at home with a bad cold, Eliza finds out just how much Henry cares. He checks in on her, and finally follows through by giving up the last vestige of control. Both discover they get more than what either could have possibly imagined. Elements drawn from 1x01, 1x03, and 1x10.

Chapter 1 : ONSET

He looked at his watch for the umpteenth time in the last 15 minutes. He frowned, considering how she'd been much better of late about showing up to work on time. Especially now that she no longer had to spend 3 hours "upending her bed head."

Although he admitted to himself she'd look really cute with bed head ...

But anyhoo, she was very much on time for lunch; she would arrive at his office to remind him about lunch. A hungry Eliza was an impatient Eliza.

Henry poked his head out of his office. "Charlie, have you seen Eliza today?"

"Uhhhhhh no," Charlie answered, slowly yet deliberately. "I haven't. Should I call her?"

"No, thanks. I'm sure she'll show up later in the afternoon."

Charlie nodded, and returned to organizing Henry's meetings with a variety of clients over the next three days.

By mid-afternoon, she still hadn't shown up at KinderKare. Henry had cancelled all appointments and meetings for the rest of the day, and left work early. Earlier, he had lunch alone, and he finally reached the point to admitting he was worried, and by 1pm, he had called both her iPhone and landline. To his surprise (and secret delight), she answered on the latter.

"Hellooo? Henry, if this is you, this had better be good ..."

"Eliza ...!"

"Hi, Henry, how are you?"

"Hey, are you okay? You sound ... a little weird ..."

"I'm sick! Had a tickle in my throat yesterday, thought I'd beat it down last night, but woke up like abso friggin' crap this

morning. Tickle turned into the cough from hell, and now my nose leaks like a ..."

"Stop right there; I don't need to know. I'm sorry you're sick, Eliza. Is there something I can do?"

The conversation paused long enough Henry was afraid their connection had cut out. "Eliza ...?"

"Still here. Uhm ... I don't want to get you sick ..."

"Eliza, you're my friend. I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't serious about helping. You don't have Ebola, do you?"

"Hah! No, but who the hell gets sick in Los Angeles?! Uuuurrgh, this feels like a bad cold." He heard muffled sniffling. "Could you do me a big favor and bring me some soup?"

"No problem. What kind of soup would you like?"

"I'd like chicken noodle soup. Could you go to the deli just down the street from me and see if they have some?"

He knew the one from the number of casual meals they had there. "Yes, I can do that. I'll pick up a couple of blueberry blintzes, if you're up for that, too."

"Thanks, Henry! You're the bes ... aaaaachhooo! Ewww, gross ..."

"T-M-I, Eliza. Be there in an hour."

Bags of food in hand, he walked through the front door to the apartment building, strode past unattended reception, and stepped into the elevator. He pressed the button labeled '3'. He was just finishing a text message to Eliza, letting her know he was on the way up.

If the elevator had been occupied with other people, they would've seen a thoughtful if distracted look to the smartly dressed man.

It was evident to Henry (and Saperstein and Charmonique) that over the last few weeks, Freddy had become uncomfortable with the new-old Eliza. Freddy, owner of the Adonis belt (whatever the hell that meant, and Charmonique hadn't been forthcoming), seemed lost around her, and alarmingly insecure in the way he related to her.

Not that Henry had noticed ... much. Ultimately, Freddy didn't seem to know where he stood with the new-and-improved Eliza.

Eliza had outgrown Freddy. She might've been hells hot for him, but it had become clear she had surpassed her desire for him. After going hot and heavy with Freddy, it was as if the flame burned and cooled just as quick. They were back to being colleagues, though his recent appearance and composure had seemed less smooth and organized.

For Henry's part, a part of him liked to think that he had some role to play in changing Eliza. But the truth was far simpler: she had done all the heavy lifting. Her strength of character had shone through. Who had returned was the young Eliza who had been true to herself all those years ago.

He was fairly certain Eliza and Freddy were no longer a couple, even as she had stopped talking about her sex life (thank god) and lately, she had stopped mentioning Freddy altogether (which was interesting). He felt better, a little more certain about reading signs or whatever cues she was willing to throw his way.

He'd also been willing to wait, but there were times he wasn't sure about those signs. Occasionally, he'd caught Eliza looking at him, and every time she'd look at him in a strange yet contemplative way.

So, Henry waited for a clear signal from Eliza. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off, but on the other hand, he knew she wouldn't and shouldn't wait for him. If he wasn't careful, some guy out there would also realize how fantastic a woman Eliza really was.

He realized he'd have to step up to the plate soon, and make a pitch for the angels ... specifically, one angel ... more specifically, his red-headed angel ...

His arrival on the third floor was met with the usual "ding!" Henry stepped out of the elevator, and as he walked down the hallway to Eliza's apartment, he saw the door to 308 open. Out walked Bryn, whom he labeled as 'that cute hipster pixie who called him out as someone who sucked at burns.'

That was odd; he thought he detected a whiff of something dead. He shook his head of the random thought.

"Hi, Bryn."

"Henry! Hi! What are you doing here?"

"Eliza's sick, so I thought I'd pop by."

"Really?"

"I hadn't heard from her since last night, not even a text, which was unusual ..."

"Why's that?"

"Well ... she's one of the few who sends me any texts, and she sends me a flurry of them. Every day."

"I haven't seen her today either. You called her?"

"Yeah, I talked to her a couple of hours ago."

She gave him an odd look. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Yes, but ... now, I'm not."

"Let me get this straight. It's the middle of the afternoon, and you took time off work to come all the way here to see if she was okay, and you brought food with you?"

"Uh, yeah ...?"

Bryn smiled, betraying little except someone in possession of a secret that seemed to have left him, and only him, out in the cold.

"Henry, I have to let you in on something. Eliza hasn't been the greatest neighbor. Actually, she's been careless, thoughtless, irritating, ..."

He nodded at that, a little snort and small side-grin in acknowledgement.

"... but, she's been different of late. Her look and dress have changed; softened, actually. She wears glasses ... and they're funky! Don't tell her I said that. And she says hello and we'll have an actual conversation with complete sentences, ones that don't involve acronyms."

Bryn looked at Henry thoughtfully, her index finger tapping against her lips.

"You have something to do with that, don't you?"

"Me? What makes you say that?"

She eyed him carefully, figuring something out. "This change happened right around the time you showed up ..."

"Complete coincidence."

Bryn opened her mouth in disbelief. "Nooooo. It's not coincidence. You may be in denial, but it's plain obvious to me, Wren, Prue, Thistle, and Eyelet. We've been trying to figure out what your deal is. Especially with you and that Jerry Maguire move ..."

"That wasn't ... that wasn't what it looked like ..."

"... but it's obvious you're not together. Not yet. So we're wondering why you haven't made your move ..."

"Wait. You've all been wondering? Don't you all have better things to do?"

"Truth is, she's asked me for advice. And besides, we girls talk, and we know everything."

"Yeah, no shit," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Uh ... nothing ..."

"Sure, whatever." Bryn eyed him skeptically. "I know things got a little weird between you and Eliza, when you started dating someone else ..."

"Julia. And Eliza was dating Freddy at the time. Just how much has Eliza told you? No, wait, never mind, don't answer that." Henry nervously scratched the back of his neck. "I had no idea I was that obvious."

"Yeah, guys are usually the last to know," she nodded.

He opened his mouth, but no comeback was forthcoming.

"You really suck at burns, you know that, don't you?"

He had to laugh at that. "I know. Between you and me, Bryn, I think Eliza and I are good together. Maybe it's time ..."

Bryn perked up. "What? Really?"

"Uh, yeah, sometime ... soon ..." His retreat was a well-practiced move.

She rolled her eyes. "Henry. Look, I can tell you're not a serial dater or a player. When it comes right down to it, you're serious. Too serious, perhaps, but serious when things matter. You know what she said to me one time? She said you were the only real friend she's ever had."

"I like to think you and Eliza have become friends over time, too."

"Yeah, when I'm not trying to think of ways to strangle her ..."

He laughed at that. "I can imagine. Thank you, thanks for telling me. You seem to have given a great deal of thought about Eliza and me." He was glad he could tell someone else how he felt, someone outside of work, even if they were Eliza's next-door neighbor. Bryn might not be his biggest fan, but he sensed she had a good heart and an equally good read of the situation.

She smiled. "That involves a longer conversation, one with a bloody nose and a few bruises." She rubbed her arms, wincing at the memory. At his look of confusion, she continued. "Never mind, that's for another time. I have to get going, but talk to her. And good luck."

"Thanks again, Bryn."

She smiled, leaving him alone with his thoughts, and walked to the elevator.

"Hey, Bryn? One more thing ..."

She turned to look at him. "What's that, Henry?"

"If no one's mentioned this before, thank you for Eliza's 'make under' awhile back for a work wedding event. Given what I know about she's behaved with you and others in book club, your help was very kind and generous."

"You're welcome. You'll have to tell me some time how the wedding went."

He chuckled at the memory. "Yes, well, now that involves a longer conversation, too."

"I'm sure. You should know Wren and Eyelet were there to help, too. See you ..."

He watched her step into the elevator, before turning around to knock on the door marked '307'.

The door opened to an unexpected sight.