Feb. 19, 01.
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Monday morning Julianna walked into work. She spotted Anthony and George talking a little ways down the hall. She saw Maria Bello walking towards her. She smiled.
"Hey Maria." Julianna said.
"Oh, hey Jules." Maria said, smiling back.
"Where are you headed?" Julianna asks, sensing George's eyes on her.
"Make-up." Maria said.
"Me too. Would you come with me to put my stuff away and we can go down together?" Julianna asks.
"Sure." Maria says and turns around as they head the other way. Julianna nods at Anthony as they pass, completely ignoring George. After they pass Anthony turns back to George.
"What was that about?" He asks.
"What was what about?" George asks.
"She didn't even acknowledge you." Tony says.
"Oh...I don't know." George asks, playing dumb. He didn't want to tell Anthony what had happened two nights ago. He knew he never should have left. He didn't know why he left. He was scared to death about what she would say when she woke up. He didn't want to be there for that, so he high-tailed it out of there. Apparently, she wasn't going to forgive him any time soon. He hadn't figured she would.
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During the taping of "Friendly Fire", Julianna had no problem acting like she was pissed when Carol was upset with Doug. She was pissed at George. And she resented that in her next scene she had to make out like a teenager with him at the El station and act like she was happy with him. And for God's sake, she had to kiss him! He had to touch her! She was not happy with this arrangement. She wanted nothing to do with him right now, let alone being touchy-feely with him. She knew this was all going to eventually break her heart. Her heart was already aching deeply with the pain he had caused her. She had to act mad on the outside, even if on the inside all she wanted to do was crawl under the covers of her bed and cry hysterically like she had when she was upset as a child.
Throughout the filming of the El scene, George could barely tell she was upset with him, she acted so well. But as soon as the filming was cut, he could see the resentment in her eyes, the hurt, the pain and she wouldn't speak to him.
When the scene was over and they were clearing off the set she began to walk away, preparing herself to leave. He walked after her.
"Jules!" He called out. She ignored him as he jogged to catch up with her. "We need to talk." He said. She still ignored him. He grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him. "Jul.." He started but she cut him off.
"Don't touch me." She said, her voice hard, her face stony. He immediately dropped her arm and she turned around, walking away from him. He watched her go, a pained look on his face.
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"She is definitely pissed at you!" Tony exclaimed, talking to George. He nods.
"Yeah." He says softly.
"Do you know why?" He asks. Before George could think, he nodded. "You do?! Why?" Tony asks. George looks up at him.
"I'd rather not say." George says.
"What do you mean, you'd rather not say?" Tony asks.
"Just what I said. I don't think I should tell you." George says. Tony's eyes widen.
"Okay." He says, immediately changing the subject.
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"Hey Julianna." Noah said, walking up to her. She grins at him.
"Hey Noah." Julianna says. He grins back at her.
"I have a..proposition to make." He says. She nods.
"Okay..what is it?" She asks.
"Well...you see, there's this guy. His name is Stephan Gregory. He's a friend of Tracy and I." Noah says. She nods. "And...I sort of promised him I'd find him someone to go out with..maybe." Noah says. Julianna raises her eyebrows and a smile forms on the edge of her lips.
"And you chose me?" She asks. She spots George over Noah's shoulder, trying to pretend he wasn't listening.
"Well....he's about a year older then you, so I thought..y'know, that maybe you would do me a favor. He told me he hates blind dates, so..I thought, you could go out with me and Tracy and Stephan. You don't have to act like it's a date or anything..y'know, just a casual thing. I owe him a favor, and I hoped you would help me out. If you don't want to, I understand." Noah says. Julianna smiles.
"Say no more. I'll do it." She says. Anger flares within George. He knew he had no right to control her life..or who she dates. But he is jealous. Extremely jealous. Noah grins widely.
"Really?" He asks, surprised by her answer.
"Sure." Julianna replied, smiling.
"Thanks Jules! I'll give you more details later." Noah says, hugging her. She grins, looking over his shoulder at George. He was fingering the bottom of a piece of paper he held in his hand, staring off into the distance, as if he had no clue anyone was standing there. As she pulled away from Noah, she watched as George walked away, his head down, acting like a puppy who just got kicked by it's owner. Her heart hurt. She realized she had hurt him. Almost immediately she tried to push the thought away. You deserve it, George. She thinks as she smiles up at Noah.
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Thursday night, George's parents were in town to visit him. They went out to Isernio's Restaurant for dinner. George was seated across from his parents as they settled into their tables.
"I hope no one bothers us." Nina, George's mother, said. He smiles at her.
"No one should, Mom. This is a very respected place." George says. His eyes come to focus on someone he recognizes. Oh no. It was Tracy and sitting beside her was Noah. George's eyes traveled over across the two of them. He saw the back of a man's head, presumably Stephan Gregory. The seat beside the man was empty, until he saw Julianna walking out of the restroom and towards the table. Oh God. George turned his head back towards his parents, trying desperately for her not to notice him.
"What are you going to order?" Nick, George's father, asked him.
"Oh..uh, probably just the New York Strip steak and baked potato." George says, trying to listen to his parents.
"That sounds delicious." Nina said. George's eyes traveled back towards Julianna. She was taking a seat beside the man and he was smiling at her. Dammit. He's good-looking. Dammit, dammit.
"What are you looking at?" Nick asked, too polite to turn around and look. Nina looked up at him.
"Oh, uh, nothing. Sorry." George says, shifting in his seat. His father raises his eyebrows but turns back to the menu. George pretends to be interested in what is going on, but he can't keep himself from looking over at the table throughout the evening.
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George, Laura, Tony, and Noah were all sitting around reading scripts and drinking coffee the next day. George was thankful that he had made it out of Isernio's restaurant without being seen by the group. He hadn't been sure until earlier today that he had made it out, but Noah hadn't said anything to him about it, so he assumed none of them saw him.
George's attention was diverted from the script to the door when Julianna entered. Tony and Laura began to strike up a conversation about a part of the script and George tried to look absorbed in the script, praying Julianna wouldn't say anything about seeing him last night.
"Hey Noah." George heard her greet him.
"Hi Jules." He says as she takes a seat near him. "I talked to Stephan after we dropped you off last night." Noah says. She smiles.
"And?" She asks.
"He says he enjoyed dinner and he said he would give you a call. He was interested in another date." Noah says. She smiles but before she can answer George interrupts them.
"Julianna, can I speak to you for a moment?" He asks, standing up. She looks up at him, a slightly annoyed look on her face before she looks back at Noah.
"Excuse me for a moment." She says and stands, following him out of the room. "What?" She asks him, her voice and face annoyed after he closes the door to the room they entered, so they can be alone.
"I don't want you to go out with that Stephan guy anymore." He says. Her eyes widen in surprise.
"Excuse me?" She asks, her mouth agape. "Did you just tell me I am not allowed to date someone?" She asks, shaking her head. "No..no. You see, I don't think you have the right to tell me who I can or can not date. Especially now. After what you did." She says her voice filled with venom. He nods, his head bowed, looking down at his feet.
"I know." He says quietly. Then he looks up at her. "I know I have no right. I don't own you. But can't you see this is ripping me in half?" He asks. Her mouth falls open once more.
"Ripping you in half? Who was the person you left in the middle of the night?" Her lip trembles slightly. "Who was the person that was supposed to be your best friend, that you just had sex with and then left, tossing out like a used napkin? Like another one of your one night bimbos?" She says, water gathering in pools in her eyes.
"Julianna, I.."
"How do you think that made me feel?" She asks, her chin quivering. His head bows again.
"I was scared. You fell asleep...we..we had no chance to talk. And while you were asleep I began to panic. What if you thought it was all some big mistake? What if you regretted what happened? I didn't want to have that embarrassment, that hurt. So I did the only thing I knew to do, I avoided it. I avoided the confrontation all together and I hurt you." He says. A tear slides down her cheek but she hastily wipes it away. "Do you regret what happened?" He asks, staring straight into her eyes. She doesn't answer him and he takes her silence for the answer he needed.
"You do." He says. "I don't." He whispers. "I never will regret it." He sighs gruffly. "The only thing I regret about it at all is leaving. I never should have left but I was afraid of rejection....I was terrified of the thought that you would want to forget about it. Pretend it never happened. I was so sure that you would have wished it hadn't happened. And you do wish it hadn't happened. I'm sorry I hurt you." He says. He stands watching her for a few seconds before he moves past her, heading towards the door.
"George." She whimpers. He stops, turning around to face her. She has tears trickling down her face and she looks at him. "I don't." She says.
"Don't what?" He asks.
"I don't regret it. I don't." She says. A small smile lights up the corners of his mouth but he makes no move towards her, just stands. "And I don't want to go out with Stephan again. He's weird." Julianna smiles. George laughs and she lets out a giggle. She walks towards him a step or so. He watches her, smiling slightly. She moves closer to him, cutting off the gap between them as she lays her head on his chest and wraps her arms around his waist, snuggling against him. He smiles and wraps his arms around her back setting his cheek against her head.
"I'm sorry." He murmurs. She is silent for a few moments. She moves her head, looking up at him.
"I'll forgive you under one condition." She says. He grins slightly.
"What?" He asks, thinking he would do anything for her. She looks at him through half closed lids.
"If you kiss me." She whispers. He grins and bends over her, his lips brushing against hers, but not kissing her. He watches her through half closed eyes, teasing her.
"George." She whispers against his lips. He presses his lips against hers, harder. She sighs, her hands moving to hold his hips. They kiss for a long moment, their kisses passionate and sweet. When they finally pull away they lean their foreheads together.
"Are we okay?" He asks her. She smiles and nods her head.
"Yeah." She says.
"Are you going to go out with Mr. Gregory anymore?" George asks. She grins.
"Maybe." She teases. He chuckles and kisses her again. "Nope. I'm not." She murmurs against his lips. He chuckles softly, holding her to him.
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