Tom opened the door to his apartment and wheeled his suitcase inside. Having been in Boston for a number of weeks, his arms were full of the mail he'd collected from his mailbox in the lobby - this time, he had no Ellis to sort out the junk. He dumped the pile onto the table in the hallway and pulled his heavy case through into his bedroom. He'd be unpacking it himself this time.

The apartment was so much quieter than it had been the last time he'd returned from a trip. He had Julia pick him up from the airport - he didn't think he could handle a cab after a nearly eight hour flight from London. This time however he was on his own. He'd caught a cab back from the airport as Julia had gone home separately from him.

Tom made himself a cup of tea. He retrieved the mail from the hallway table and spread it out over the kitchen counter, trying to pick out the junk from the important stuff. He suddenly had a flashback to when he had arrived home from London. That had been when the idea for Bombshell had first appeared. He remembered Ellis picking up the Marilyn Monroe coffee table book. He remembered suggesting to Julia that she should do a baseball number. He remembered the excitement of writing those first few songs and cutting the demo with Ivy. He sighed. That seemed a long time ago now. And so much had happened since that conversation.

He was desperately proud of Bombshell. Even though it had been a rush right up to the last minute, even though they were rewriting songs all the way through previews, the finished piece was definitely one of their best works.

Even if it had nearly torn apart his friendship with Julia.

Julia. His heart leapt into his throat whenever he thought of her, as she knew what it was she had to do now she was back in New York. She had given Tom strict instructions that she wanted to go home and deal with this with her family. Tom knew she was terrified, but he also knew Julia was a stubborn and strong woman and that she would grit her teeth and get through it.

Tom also knew that he'd be waiting with the tea and the shoulder when she'd done it, and needed to be vulnerable.

He sipped his tea and continued sorting his mail. His ear, however, was continually listening out for the expected beep of his cell phone.

Julia stood at the front door of her house, her heart beating fast. She swallowed, took a deep breath and reached for the handle. She opened the door and walked in, dragging her case behind her. She closed the door and stood at the foot of the staircase for a moment, taking in the fact she was now home.

"Julia? Honey is that you?" Franks voice came from the kitchen, followed a second later with him appearing from round the corner. "Julia!" he said, reaching out his arms. "I'm so glad you're back, we've missed you!" The happiness in his voice made Julia's insides knot up as she hugged her husband.

"I missed you too. I'm so glad to be home." Frank took her suitcase and wheeled it into the hallway. Julia followed. "Leo will be home in a couple of hours - the house has been empty without you over the past couple of weeks!" Frank turned and put his arms around Julia. "I missed you so much." Julia held him. She felt safe in his arms, but terrified that this might be the last time.

She finished pulling the last of her laundry out the suitcase and looked at her watch. Leo was due to be home in half an hour. She took a deep breath. It was going to have to be now. She couldn't do it with him in the house and the morning sickness had been too much to not be noticeable if she didn't say anything. She walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs, shaking.

"This could be it" she thought to herself. "This could be the last conversation we have. This could be the end." She walked into the kitchen and grabbed onto the counter to stop herself falling over. "Frank…"

"Hey sweetie, I was thinking of starting dinner soon…" Frank turned and looked at Julia. "Are you alright? You look pale, do you need to sit down?"

She took a deep breath. "Honey…I need to talk to you."

"What is it? Is everything ok?" Frank's look of concern made Julia feel even worse.

"I'm…pregnant."

"You're….pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Oh my…well that's amazing sweetie! Oh my…" he stopped when he registered Julia's face. "Julia, why don't you look happy about this?"

She looked at the floor.

"Please don't tell me…please don't tell me that this baby….is his?"

She said nothing, but closed her eyes.

"Julia…this child isn't mine, is it?"

"I'm not sure?" she replied in a small voice

"Excuse me?" Frank said, moving to stand opposite her. "Julia is this child mine or not?"

She turned to face him. "I don't know."

"What do you thinkJulia?"

"I…"

"Julia, what do you THINK?"

"I…I think it's his."

Frank said nothing. He just stared for what seemed like an eternity. Julia wasn't sure what to do. She just stood. Finally, he moved in close and whispered in her ear.

"Julia. Understand me when I say that this child is MINE. Do you understand? It's MY child. If you want this family to stay together, that is MY child." He looked her in the eye. "Do you understand?" She nodded. "Good." He left the room, and Julia heard him walk slowly up the stairs and close the bedroom door.