Wow.

All I can say is wow.

I was in elementary school when this show aired. I've harbored an innate love all this time. Finally, with the whole series being on Netflix and learning that the fandom is still alive, I decided to actually write a fic. No promises of regular uploads (busy college kid), but I hope you enjoy!

"Every stumble is not a fall, and every fall does not mean failure." -Oprah Winfrey

Tori sighed heavily as she opened the door to the apartment. It had been a long day and she was a closer on top of that.

She locked the door behind her, hung up her keys, and kicked her shoes off.

"Hey Tori," greeted André from the couch. He was watching what looked to be Saturday Night Live.

"Hey," she replied, setting her purse on the counter and taking off the goofy little half-apron she wore for work, tossing it beside the purse.

"How was work?"

Tori shrugged and walked over to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen and shook two into her hand. Her feet hurt and her head was pounding.

"That bad, huh?"

"Not bad, just… a lot." Tori filled up a glass of water.

"At least you have tomorrow off."

"Yeah," Tori said, after taking the tylenol and putting the cup in the sink. She made her way to the couch and plopped onto it beside André. "How was your night?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. Watched TV, played some games, had some Goldfish crackers."

"Sophie give you any trouble?"

"Nope. She was a perfect angel all night."

Tori chuckled. "All night?"

"Okay, well… most of the night."

"That sounds more like it."

"She did go to sleep without any trouble. Right at eight."

"Good. Sometimes a monster if I'm not there."

"Sophie? A monster?" André said with false disbelief. "No, never!"

Tori laughed. Sophie May could be a little terror if given the chance. She was mostly a sweetheart, but she was just a toddler. And all toddlers could be monsters from time to time.

Tori rested her head on André's shoulder. "Thanks again for watching her tonight. I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. You know I'd do anything for you two."

"André-"

"I'm serious. I love hanging out with my little niece." André bumped his head against Tori's playfully. "And besides, we all live here anyway."

Tori cracked a smile. She did in fact live in an apartment with her best friend. André had one bedroom and she shared the other one with her daughter Sophie.

Sophie, her enthusiastic curly haired little girl was a few months over two years old. And she was Tori's entire world.

Sophie had been a surprise during Tori's last semester of college. Sophie's dad had broken up with Tori before she even learned she was pregnant and when Tori eventually told him, he wanted nothing to do with either of them. She was fully prepared to figure it out on her own, or live with her parents until she got her feet on the ground, but André, ever supportive, said that they should still move in together, just as they had been talking about for years. And he loved Sophie so much.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the sketch comedy on the tv. Tori wasn't sure if she was too tired to laugh, or if it just wasn't very funny this week, although André did snicker a few times.

Tori rubbed her hand over her face and swiped open her phone, to check The Slap. The first thing she saw was a picture Beck posted of Jade sitting on the edge of a stage, a script book on her lap. The caption below the photograph read: 'Just found this picture from a few months ago. Would've thought someone asked her to do this, but nope. Found her like this when I came to visit. She was just up there, going over her lines. Love you, babe.' Jade had commented with a heart below it. Tori's finger hovered over the 'like' button on the post. She didn't use The Slap herself much anymore, but it was nice to see what her friends from high school were doing from time to time.

"Oh, hey," André said, glancing over at Tori. "I talked to Beck today."

"Yeah?" Tori looked over at her friend.

"Yeah, he and Jade are actually coming to L.A. next week."

Tori frowned a little. "Really? Why?"

"Well, it's been a long time since they've been back. Jade's between shows right now and it's a slow audition season and Beck wants to not have to look at his script for a few days."

"Did he get a part in something?"

"No, he's writing a script."

"Oh," Tori put her phone down beside her. Of course he was.

"And Cat and Robbie should be back next week too."

"Oh that's… nice."

"I figured it might be fun if we all got together. It's been a long time since we've all been in one place."

"Yeah, you guys have fun with that." Tori said, pushing herself off the couch and walking towards the bathroom.

"What do you mean?"

Tori stopped short and turned around. "I mean, you guys have fun with that."

André stood from the couch then. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Tori asked, throwing her arms out to her sides.

"They want to see you,"

Tori shook her head and let out a short chuckle. "No they don't."

"Of course they do."

Tori crossed her arms and looked towards the kitchen. "I'm sure,"

"Beck asked about you. Everyone always asks about you. Both of you." André took another step towards her. "Why do you look like you don't believe me?"

"Why do they care?" Tori asked. All of her her old friends were doing such incredible, remarkable things and she was waitressing at little restaurant and looking after a tiny human.

"They're your friends. Even if you've pushed them all away, they still care about you."

"I don't understand why they would. What have I done with my life?"

"Hey," André put his hands on her shoulders. "We've talked about this. You know it isn't any good when you talk about yourself that way."

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"No. It's not true, Tori. And I know somewhere deep down you know that it isn't true. So, your plans changed. You had Sophie. That isn't a bad thing. Things change all the time. It doesn't mean what your doing now isn't just as important as what anyone else is doing."

Tori sighed.

"Listen, we all love you. All of us. No matter what. We always have and we always will. That includes Sophie. When everyone comes into town next week, you are going to see them, okay?"

Tori looked unsure.

"Just for a little bit, at least. It's been years since we've been all together."

"Fine,"

"Good girl," André teased. "Now get to bed. You look like you could fall asleep standing right here."

"Don't tempt me,"

"You smell like onions," he added.

"Yeah, but I'm too tired to not smell like onions. Good night."

André chuckled, wished her good night, and returned to the couch. Tori headed to the bathroom, where Afternoon Tori had smartly thought to put her pajamas, so she wouldn't wake Sophie opening and closing dresser drawers. She was exhausted, but she managed to brush her teeth before calling it quits on her nightly routine.

Tori very carefully opened her bedroom door and shut it softly behind her. The soft, warm light of Sophie's unicorn nightlight gave her enough light to make her way around the room.

Tori tossed her clothes into the hamper and tiptoed over to Sophie's crib, peering over the side.

The toddler was sprawled out on her back with the ear of her stuffed bunny clenched in her little fist. Tori smiled at the sight. Sophie was a beautiful child and she adored her.

"Good night Sophie," Tori whispered. "I love you."

After watching Sophie for a short while longer, Tori finally crawled into her own bed.

She supposed it would be nice to see everyone again.

A/N: I may or may not change the title, so don't be surprised if it changes at some point. Thanks for reading!