Veruca couldn't leave her apartment fast enough, but she wasn't exactly in a hurry to get back to set and face Gemma, either.

She knew that there was something wrong with both scenarios. She should have been happy to see her girlfriend. She was always happy to see Gemma.

But she really had no one to blame but herself for fucking things up royally on every possible front.

She couldn't even say she'd take it all back. She wasn't sorry for what she'd done. She was mostly sorry it couldn't continue.

Despite her current anguish, Veruca still managed to get drinks for her and Gemma, though she didn't deliver her co-stars personally this time around. She wasn't ready to face her and a little extra time in the make up trailer to try and adjust her prosthetic belly meant she probably wouldn't have been able to anyway.

She studied her reflection for a long time once it and her costume were on. It was...strange, to say the least, but she didn't look nearly as bad with a bump as she thought she would. She found herself thinking of the far off future rather than her current, fucked up reality as she took her seat next to Luke.

"Well, look at that," he said with a whistle. He leaned over to ruffle her hair. "It suits you."

"It's a bit heavier than I expected," she admitted, adjusting a bit awkwardly. "But I suppose that'll help with, you know, moving around like I should."

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but she heard someone else's voice instead.

"Oh my god," Haley said with a trademark cackle audiences either loved or hated. "Are you pregnant?" She grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, it's not mine. I'm good, but I'm not that good."

Veruca struggled to get out of her chair, crossing over to meet her girlfriend as quickly as she could. "What are you... I thought we were going to get lunch later."

"We are," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But I wasn't about to sit around your apartment all day. I checked with Angela before coming to make sure you weren't filming anything weird. She said it was fine." She smirked, leaning up to whisper in Veruca's ear, "Though I'm a little bummed that I'm missing that spanking scene."

Veruca shoved her playfully. "Shut up," she hissed, willing her cheeks not to warm. "We haven't done it yet."

"Well, you'll have to tell me when you do," she said cheekily, placing her over sized sunglasses on top of her head before sticking out a hand to introduce herself to Luke. Haley never had a problem taking command of a room. "Hi, I'm Haley, Veruca's girlfriend. I hope you don't mind me sitting in."

If Gemma thought she'd be getting much sleep at all after the evening had taken several sharp turns, she would have been fooling herself. As it stood, she maybe got a handful of hours, sparse and peppered in between tossing and turning and vivid dreams that wouldn't relent.

The complexity of her feelings made her head spin, where she'd roll from one extreme to another in a matter of minutes. At first, there was this unbreakable elation from the whole of the evening. From the warmth of having Luke with them, to his dumb suggestion to her. Outside, the dance. The walk. The way she looked and how she smiled at Gemma long before their lips crashed together. What a messy way to think of it, but it was a messy thing after all, wasn't it?

When the elation faded away there was a myriad of less pleasant things. Disappointment, yes, and also some embarrassment. Beyond all of that, she felt a sense of guilt creeping in as well. Perhaps she should have kept her mouth shut, or not put Veruca in any sort of position to feel as though the pressure of her desire for her ... no. The guilt was there for Veruca's feelings, naturally, but the explosive nature of their chemistry was theirs, and theirs alone.

In the morning, she'd slunk into the makeup trailer and barely been awake as the team went to work on her, and she was glad to be alone in there for a time. It gave her time to clear her head some. When one of their PA's brought her a coffee, she knew immediately who it was from. Gemma smiled fondly, thanking him but feeling immediately more at ease. She had been so worried things would really change.

After changing into her wardrobe, she was feeling brighter, and walked across the set to the stage they were filming in. The energy of a set always put her in a better mood, so she was feeling on an upswing as she rounded the corner to where their chairs had set up.

Oh how a mood could change in a split second.

She stopped in her tracks, feeling her heart slam into her ribs at the scene in front of her. Two of the players she knew and the third ... an unwelcome addition. Luke certainly was friendly enough (as always), but already Gemma's mood soured considerably. She had to wonder if Veruca had called Haley, had brought in reinforcements after the night they'd had, or almost had. But that would be an absurd turn around of time to arrive so quickly, wouldn't it?

The woman was certainly pretty enough, bubbly in the right way as she observed - yet that just annoyed her more. Well. Good thing today was a rather annoyed scene for Elizabeth, wasn't it?

"Good morning." She announced herself with a tight smile, wishing like hell she wasn't currently clutching the coffee from her and Veruca's shop in her hand. "We've an unexpected visitor, I see?"

Veruca's stomach sank as Gemma rounded the corner. There really was no way seeing her after last night wasn't going to be awkward, but with Haley's sudden arrival thrown into the mix it was downright unbearable. It was weird to see the two of them occupying the same space. There was something that just didn't seem right about it and she was sure she would have felt the same way if she hadn't overstepped any boundaries with Gemma the night before.

Pretending nothing had happened between them would have been hard if it had just been the two of them. How the hell was she going to do it with Haley in the room.

"Sorry," Haley said but she didn't look sheepish at all. "I just got in for a visit last night." Her lips twitched into a smile. "I didn't tell Veruca I was coming either. You guys should have seen her face, she looked like she was going to pass out!"

Her elbow hit Veruca's side but she was sharing a pained look with Gemma, hoping her eyes conveyed a million things, mainly that this wasn't her fault or something she planned. And maybe the slightest notion that they needed to be careful.

"God, I'm sorry. I'm Haley, it's nice to meet you."

Veruca couldn't help noticing her girlfriend didn't introduce herself to Gemma quite as warmly as she had with Luke, suddenly remembering an offhanded comment she'd made when Veruca told her just who she'd be working with on this project.

Fuck, Veruca, he's cute.

She'd been a bit jealous at the time. Haley often mentioned men she found attractive and though it was probably harmless and to be expected when her girlfriend was into both sexes. It always got under her skin. Veruca wasn't sure she'd ever be totally secure in their relationship because Haley didn't always seem... well, queer if she was being honest.

She pushed the thought away as quickly as it surfaced. So what if Haley thought Luke was handsome? He was. And where did she get off on judging her for finding someone attractive after what she had just done?

Haley had come to visit her, hadn't she? She was trying, the way Veruca kept hoping she would. She owed it to her to try to be better, on all fronts, too.

"God, you look so cute, Rue," she gushed, reaching out to put a hand on Veruca's stomach. "We need to take a selfie," she announced.

Veruca blinked. "What?"

"A selfie," she repeated, already fishing her phone out of the pocket of her (carefully ripped and with it, ridiculously expensive) jeans. "I might even put it on my instagram. The world needs to see you and Haley jr."

Gemma had in fact, seen some of Haley's work. While she was not overly impressed, she had to admit the young woman had appeal. She wouldn't have reached the fame she had if she didn't. Commercial success and talent did not always go hand in hand, but even in current circumstances, Gemma wasn't one to downplay someone else's approach to their artform. If they indeed saw it as art.

Immediately, her instinct was a certain protective nature to the dynamic they had on set. It was the three of them, and when it wasn't, it was, well, the two of them. She didn't like someone crashing into that energy, and she found it off-putting before such a scene for them today. Thank god it wasn't one of their more intimate scenes. Not that they'd allow outside eyes on those days ... but maybe if someone were famous enough or caused enough of a scene... No, Gemma couldn't let herself spiral like that.

"Nice to meet you, too." Gemma managed to get out without it sounding or looking pained, shaking the other woman's hand and avoiding Veruca's gaze as she could. She collected her sides, rolling the paper in her free hand. When Gemma raised her eyes, she really couldn't avoid Veruca's anymore. While Haley prattled on about something, Gemma held Veruca's gaze a moment longer than she should have. She felt swallowed whole by it.

God, she talked a lot. Gemma tried to busy herself with looking over her lines, but felt too drawn to how the dynamic between the two women might look. She swallowed hard like she could get rid of her annoyance, and the sick feeling in her stomach. She couldn't help but wonder if this was what Veruca liked. The pulling energy, the nicknames, the selfies and overt implied intimacy between them. Perhaps she'd been all wrong to begin with.

"So, Haley." She found herself talking before she even gave her lips permission for it. Leaning back against the kitchen table they'd later be sitting at, she smiled fairly naturally, oddly enough. "How long are you going to be in Massachusetts for? There's some great local spots to check out if you'll be with us a while." She could be cordial, and would, even if she felt a simmering just under the surface.

Veruca did not want to take a selfie. She didn't have an instagram of her own and felt uncomfortable on the few occasions Haley had convinced her to let her put a photo of them up. She had forgotten to ask more than once, the first time being what lead to their first real argument.

It wasn't just that she was feeling edgy, hardly the right mood for a person to have their picture taken even when they weren't suddenly 30 lbs heavier than usual. Veruca couldn't help but wonder what everyone would think. Articles about how she and Haley had gone out and gotten pregnant would surface in minutes. It was a logical conclusion. They'd gotten engagement articles when Haley bought a new ring at Topshop.

She hadn't even seemed to mind.

She thought it was funny. She'd never understood why Veruca was so serious.

"Just for the weekend. I'm filming too." Haley launched into an explanation about her latest movie, a rom com about a florist and a professional athlete that was hardly Shakespeare, but it was clear she thought it was impressive, though nearly not as impressive as her (pretty, but brain dead) co-star. "With Fallon Hines? He's a dream to work with, seriously."

What the fuck kind of name is Fallon? Veruca thought bitterly, and not for the first time. There's no way he didn't make that up.

Luckily Angela appeared and announced they were getting started before she had to hear any more about a guy she felt even more threatened by than Luke.

"I'm going to steal your chair, baby!" Haley announced, already seated and reaching for her phone as Veruca made her way to her mark.

Veruca ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to try and wind down when she caught Luke looking at her. "What?"

"Nothing, just.... that's your girlfriend?"

Veruca narrowed her eyes, confused as to what he meant but Angela spoke up again, giving a few more notes on how she wanted the scene to go.

With Haley's presence, Gemma felt like a bit more of an interloper than she would have liked. It was an odd feeling, observing but not wanting to pry, watching but having no real frame of reference for how Veruca was feeling having Haley there. She had known Veruca for much less time than Haley had, so who was she to interject with whatever she supposed might be comfortable (or uncomfortable) for Veruca? It wasn't her place, or her business.

"Oh that's lovely." Gemma said as genuinely as she could, though she supposed she could have mentioned something completely off-topic like the weather and Haley still would have gone on and on about the film she was working with and the dreamy guy she worked with. Gemma wondered if she always talked about her co-stars like that. She wondered all the more so if Veruca minded it. Her gaze filtered back and forth between the women, as though she'd be able to decipher something.

For someone she'd once read referred to as one of America's sweethearts, there was something off-putting about Haley to Gemma. She had to assume it was current circumstances, and nothing to do with the woman herself. She might dislike anyone who came in with such an overt claim to the woman she couldn't stop thinking about.

Thank god for Angela. Even as she bristled to Haley's pet name for Veruca, she had something to distract herself. Moving away from their chairs, she took a seat at the table and half-listened to Angela's direction.

When Luke threw a look her way after he'd made the comment to Veruca, Gemma just leveled him with a look, refusing to respond with even a suggestion of a look. They were not co-conspirators here; Veruca's choices were her own and Gemma was trying (somewhat desperately) to be respectful of that. "Is the camera following us into the other room, or do we need to cut between?" She asked a logistics question, distracting herself from her current barrage of thoughts. They'd do continuous takes, and get coverage in there later. Fine, at least they could get on with it then.

Since Will & Elizabeth had a conversation before Olive entered the room, Veruca seized the opportunity to get herself sorted in more ways than one. It was strange, really. She loved this scene. She'd been looking forward to filming it so much she'd mentioned it to Gemma in one of their first real conversations, but now that it was here, she just felt...off. She'd never had a problem tapping into Olive before. Looking at her co-stars and remembering just how much they meant to her character usually helped but it honestly hurt to look at Gemma right now and Haley's little surprise wasn't exactly helping either.

Why had she come to her work? Why had she come to see her at all?

It wasn't as if she'd asked.

I'm so mad at her.

It was a startling revelation, one she immediately felt guilty for considering what she'd been up to last night, but she couldn't help it. She was annoyed. Haley had ruined this.

Everything, really.

Angela was her savior next. After a brief conversation, Veruca found herself focusing on the task at hand. She slid her hand down her stomach, allowing herself to feel the strange, new bump down there. She took a deep breath, allowing herself to belief it wasn't just a lump of sillcone hooked tightly around her waist. It was a baby. Olive and Will and Elizabeth's baby and every beautiful, terrifying thing that meant.

She smiled after a moment, her hands cupping her stomach in earnest. It was a sweet moment. Veruca didn't just look like everything had clicked. She looked, well, serene. Perfectly content in her current state because she was beginning to realize it was something she eventually wanted in reality.

But the person who should have been the second player in that conversation, for all her earlier talk of "Haley jr" was hunched over a row of texts on her phone.

Today was going to be an interesting hurdle in and of itself, all before the events of the night prior. And now even more so considering what had just happened. On her way to work, though her mood had been a whole mix of things, she had hoped for maybe a moment or two alone with Veruca to suss out their mood with one another - whether or not they actually talked about what happened or not.

It looked like they wouldn't get that chance today, which was just part of what played into her bad mood. Gemma reminded herself, scolding herself mentally anyway, that she was a professional and this was a really good scene.

Elizabeth was such a bitch in it, so thankfully she could lean into that.

Gemma wished she could sit there and marvel over how cute Veruca looked with her fake belly and tease her about pregnancy cravings. But there would be none of that with the in-person reminder that even gentle flirting wasn't her place. She wasn't so much annoyed with that, as she was with herself for letting her get so far ahead of where she should be.

It sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach, when however she felt shouldn't have been an issue. If whatever she felt for Veruca was just a passing fancy or a fling-level challenge. She just couldn't deny the spark of something, well to use Veruca's word, magic there.

Once they got rolling, she found it incredibly easy to play up that bitchy mood. The back and forth with Luke as he delivered William's lines. "I'm sorry dear, but nobody gives a shit about DISC theory." Her words edged on defeated, annoyed as she tossed the bills on the table. Her gaze shifted away from him to greet Olive with a snappy tone. "What about you? You're here now, you can pull your weight."

She waited for Will to jump in to defend her, bristling a bit at Elizabeth's comment on how obviously pregnant she was. She was terse as she finally jumped into the conversation. "You said it was alright if I stayed."

As if I had a choice.

"Then I'll go," Olive was downright icy now and Veruca was proud of her for it. She liked to think she'd learned how to hold her own after months under the same roof as Elizabeth.

Though there was no denying who really wore the pants in their little family.

The scene pushed onward. Veruca shifted uncomfortably, a hand on her stomach and her eyes downcast she listened to the pair of them bicker over how they were going to feed the baby. Olive felt guilty. Not for what she had done, because she would never have taken back anything she had done with either of them, but because of the predicament they found themselves in.

Veruca could relate.

And then came the parting shot and even Haley, who had only been half listening let out a quickly muffled snort at Elizabeth saying something about having a dick, looking up with interest as Veruca went after her.

She didn't have to pretend to be hesitant when reaching out to touch her. Veruca didn't trust herself after last night and as into the scene as she was, she hadn't quite forgotten who was watching.

The scene was a small one, but Gemma felt that made it all the more intense. They had to say so much in so little - and it was easy to do so when they kept upping the stakes and the energy. Elizabeth was being a huge brat, she was stubborn and unwilling to compromise much of the time. Even when she should. Even when she wanted to.

Then I'll go. The line so easily made her heart lurch in her chest, no matter how cool Elizabeth proclaimed to be, she didn't want that. Gemma felt that in her bones. No matter what myriad of feelings were going through her, she didn't want to be away from Veruca. How complicated and annoying that was. So Elizabeth changed the subject, still stubborn, still annoyed, still digging her heels in and taking cheap jabs at the other two.

It's your child too. And that was the crux of it - she couldn't deny that she was just as much a part of this as the other two. She had chosen to love Olive as much as William. But she didn't have to like being called out about it.

Standing at the window, she was aware when Veruca walked into the room. Her eyes closed as she flinched away from her touch. It was Elizabeth's reaction, but Gemma felt herself in it, too. Touching her was going to be hard. Not showing how much she wanted to touch and be touched by her even harder.

She tried to shrug herself away from the other woman's touch, but eventually spun on her heel to look at her. "Olive." Her lips parted as though she was going to say something -- no doubt a cutting comment that would just be mean. But she said nothing, just looking at her. Gemma let out a shaky breath, unsure if it was harder for her or her character in this moment. She held her gaze, swallowing hard at emotion that threatened to rise but she wouldn't let it. Eventually she shook her head, allowing their wordless scene to speak for itself.

Veruca knew Gemma was going to shrug her away, but being brushed off still packed a sting. Was she angry with her? She had been nothing but kind and understanding last night (which made leaving her behind even harder) but a lot could change in a few hours and she would have been well within her rights to be annoyed with Veruca for leading her on and starting something she really couldn't finish.

And Haley showing up, that was really the icing on top of a completely awful cake, wasn't it?

It hurt to look at her, but she was comforted by the fact that this was hard for Olive too. Olive had her own worries and apologies to make. She hadn't meant for the Marstons to get fired. She hadn't meant to shake up their entire lives. As a woman she knew, just as much as Elizabeth (and both of them far better than Bill), how much of a responsibility a child would put on their shoulders.

But Veruca was really the one who was aching for forgiveness and the ability to reach out and comfort her. Her eyes grew wet the moment Gemma's did, her mouth opening ever so slightly even though neither her or Olive knew what to say.

So she did what she'd done the night before when word's failed. She reached for instead, slowly ruffling her hair before her hand slid downward to graze her cheek.

Gemma had worried as they were getting prepared for their scene. In the presence of Haley on their set, she had worried whether or not she'd be able to connect properly to the scene. It was a distraction, and something she didn't want to deal with when her own mind and heart were so conflicted with each other.

She should have trusted herself, and moreover, her scene partner. No matter what was going on in her head, it didn't diminish how it felt to lean into the connection she had with Veruca. It felt safe even despite how very not everything in their reality was.

Her lips twisted to the side, her breath shallow as she let herself be touched by Veruca. It was an essential moment to these women, and even amidst everything they were dealing with, it somehow felt essential to Gemma as well. She didn't know how or why, but there it was all the same.

Her gaze didn't falter, though her head tilted just slightly into her touch. Gemma hated how affected she was by her touch, aside from how it might be great for the scene. All it did was send a warmth through her, the memory of last night so impossibly vivid. This was just ... difficult.

Mercifully, Angela called cut and Gemma almost forced herself to take a step back away from Veruca. Her gaze lingered however, a moment or two longer than it needed to. Then she turned, an exasperated smile taking over her features as Angela noted that was great, and they'd go in tighter for their next take. God, it was going to be a painfully long day.

She wondered if she should say something, but nothing seemed right. So she just glanced back to Veruca and gave her as reassuring of a smile as she could. "Did you feel good with that one?"

"Fine, yeah," she said, rubbing the back of her neck as she tore her eyes away. "Everything was fine."

Everything was not fine. Her fingertips were still tingling with the feel of Gemma's skin underneath them.

Not to mention the fact that Haley was transfixed, watching them in earnest even now that the scene was over with a very tight expression on her face.

Not that Veruca noticed.

They had pulled off the first take though and the knowledge they could push everything aside and get their job done was a relief, Veruca's mood lifting enough for her to play around a bit.

"Be ready though, I'm going to win our staring contest next take." She crossed her eyes playfully.

"Oh is that right?" Gemma narrowed her eyes at Veruca, playfully smirking at her before she stuck her tongue out at the woman. What a dork. An adorable, alluring, incredible talent of a dork who she wanted very badly to kiss again. A thought she needed to get out of her head. It had nothing to do with actually kissing her on stage again -- that'd be soon enough. This was Gemma aside from Elizabeth.

This was a fucking mess.

"Bring it on." She said with a nod, turning back to go start again. Gemma had to put distance between them. She had to make herself walk away because she didn't think that she'd be able to stand it much longer being so close to her and working on the scene when she already felt so intense. Going back to the start, she felt an edge, and let her lines come a little sharper this time around.

The next few takes were even better than the first. Well, in quality anyway. Amped up emotions and more lingering stares into Gemma's eyes didn't make Veruca feel any better about the utterly hopeless, maddening mess they were in, but she was somewhat comforted by the fact that had done what they'd set out to do. Even if she barely listened to Angela's praise as she made her way over to her chair.

With Gemma and Luke shooting some scenes on their own, Veruca's work day was over and god, was she ready to go.

"Well," Haley said stiffly as Veruca reached for the totebag under her feet.

"Well what?" she said with a sigh as she slipped the strap over her head, the exhaustion of a long, very draining day creeping into her voice.

"Isn't she a little old for you?" Haley nodded toward Gemma, who Luke seemed to have pulled into a conversation.

Her stomach sank. Did she know? Had she sensed... Veruca's body temperature spiked, but it wasn't just fear that had her heart pounding.

It was anger on Gemma's behalf. Her eyes narrowed, a silent warning. "I don't know what you're implying, but..."

"I don't have to imply anything. You certainly don't look at Luke that way."

"Oh, he'll be alright," Veruca said, fear and even guilt, suddenly overtaken by white, hot rage. "You're looking at him plenty for the both of us."

Haley wasn't used to the other woman standing up to her. Veruca was somewhat passive in their relationship, letting her girlfriend call the shots because Haley didn't seem operate any other way. It was clear that she was taken aback by Veruca's little dig, uncharacteristically lost for words. For a moment, the pair shared their own intense eye contact, then she relented.

"Sorry," she mumbled, her mouth twisting like she found the word distasteful and maybe she did. Veruca didn't hear it very often. "I don't want to fight."

Veruca did and not just because her adrenaline was pumping. They never fought. Fighting would at least show her that her girlfriend gave a damn about her and their relationship.

But maybe she did. She had gotten jealous over Gemma. Haley wasn't used to feeling threatened. She was always the threat. The idea that she was out of her element and well within her rights to be jealous after the night before caused Veruca to relent, her tense posture shifting as she calmed down.

She leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "Me neither. Come on, screw lunch. We'll go get some ice cream too."

Despite them having an audience that Gemma wasn't entirely thrilled to have, the longer she settled into the scene, the more at ease she felt. The more she was able to ignore the outside forces that had nothing to do with the Marstons and telling the story as well as they could.

Once they were finished, the bubble as it were was effectively burst. She moved off to collect her sides from one of the PA's for her next scenes. Gemma could have walked back to her chair to pick up her last set but ... she felt like avoiding that area at all costs. She wasn't remotely afraid of Haley, but more didn't think she'd be very good at hiding her distaste.

Was that what it was? Or maybe jealousy, as much as she'd be loathe to admit that to anyone -- even herself. This little sanctuary of a set they'd created for themselves had an affect on her. She liked to think that it hadn't, that it was just like any other job that she loved. This one just ... stuck.

Standing over by Luke, he was going on about something - she probably should have been paying more attention. But her gaze just sort of naturally fell across the set, watching as subtly as she could to Veruca and Haley.

For a moment, she thought she could sense ... something. Tension? Probably making it up, because another moment later she was looking away as they kissed. Her stomach churned with something painful, her jaw twitching as she clenched her teeth.

"I'm gonna get some air before we move on." She announced when Luke was done, heading straight out of set. She'd hoped to just rid herself of the feeling creeping up her neck. It was a feeling that she'd done something wrong, yes, but also that she had somehow, ridiculously been wronged. What an absurd thought.

"James can I have one of those?" She asked a passing set dec, who handed her a (real) cigarette. If ever there was a day for one, she deserved to fall off the wagon for a few minutes to calm herself.