Thanks for the tag, @helenofsimblr ​! Here are more Bridgeport Freeze folks.

Bernardo

- He’s a celebrity, but he’s pretty down to earth and actually kind of hates it when people idolize him. He’s just a guy making music, there are plenty of others like that. Strongly believes that putting people on a pedestal, especially famous people, is unhealthy for all parties involved.

- Has a tendency to get far too involved in others’ problems and sometimes gets burned as a result. (Ex: when he got shot, although not too seriously, in The Roommies.)

- Tends to dress very colorfully and doesn’t really give a hoot if anyone has a problem with it. Believes that those who try to dictate how others dress and behave have far too much free time on their hands.

Gladys

- Just got out of a bad relationship. Is still dealing with the mental aftermath of being in one.

- She’s 21, but she tends to behave younger and give off a younger impression, especially to people older than her.

- Very shy and insecure about her abilities in life. Makes up for it by working harder and trying her best everywhere, but still doubts herself a lot.

Cedric

- Used to be an actor in CW type teen dramas. Hated it for the most part and joined the police force because he wants to do something more serious.

- Regrets nearly ruining his relationship with his brother Miles. Honestly, the only reason he didn’t ruin it is because Miles is too nice and forgave his screw ups. Cedric’s aware he won’t be getting another second chance like that.

Broadway lights and taxi cabs Everybody's moving fast Uptown, downtown, what's your thing? She can take what she can bring

She gave me a life Came up through the inner city She raised me up and taught me to fight, yeah She opened my mind I got to the knitty gritty The greatest time that you'll ever find   ♫ ♫

Glass Concrete

“You keep referring to him in the past tense,” Bernardo realized. “Is he?”

“Yeah. His substances caught up with him and he crashed his car into a cliff,” Kim nodded. “Guess how I found all this shit out? It was in his fucking diary. Which I ended up finding while figuring out what to do with his stuff after he was gone. Fun way to find out how your brother really felt about you.”

“Damn. That sucks...”

“Yeah, but he paid for his follies with his life,” Kim supposed. “Who knows, maybe if he had gotten the help he needed, he would still be with us? I don’t know if we would’ve had much of a relationship, but at least he’d be here.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through this,” he told her.

“Me too. And I would’ve reached out to you and told you the truth about those results. But I only found out myself a few years ago and I thought you knew you were ok by then. And also, I just felt bad about my own past behavior. I was ashamed of how I behaved towards you and hesitated about reaching out.”

“Hey, seriously, no hurt feelings here,” he reassured her. Whatever negativity he may have felt towards her was truly in the past and now, he just felt bad that someone would experience that with their own sibling.

“You know, I’m really glad I ran into you here. I think talking to you and getting everything out in the open was something I’ve needed for a while,” she admitted.

“Well, that’s been a lot of info to process,” Paulo approached him as soon as she left. “Karma really is a bitch.”

“Paulo!” Bernardo chided him. “Don’t be mean!”

“What? I’m just calling a spade a spade,” he stated. “But for real, do you feel better after talking to her?”

“In some ways, yeah. At least, I understand what happened back then. But now I feel terrible on her behalf. She got screwed over by the people who were supposed to be on her side in life.”

“Yeah, that does suck,” Paulo admitted. “Some people are the worst.”

“You can say that again.”

“Are you going to feel less like a nervous mess now that you got a chance to talk to her?”

“Maybe. Ask me when it’s time for Hina to go into labor.”

“Oof. Hearing that makes me glad Steve and I don’t have a chance of accidental pregnancy.”

“Speaking of Steve, how are he and Lora? Did she get adjusted to the school?” Bernardo asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. Apparently she’s the star of their art club now. And she’s trying out for drama next semester, so there’s that. We have a creative kid on our hands,” Paulo spoke fondly of his stepdaughter. “Are you going to pick up Hina now?”

“And as for your nerves around this pregnancy, I can see where they’re coming from. You’ve gone for over a decade thinking you couldn’t have children, and bam, you’re having a baby!”

“It’s a miracle, I won’t argue,” Bernardo nodded.

“Exactly. And we’re not wired to accept good things as the norm. At least, you aren’t, as far I know you,” Paulo told him. “I think you have this things a little interwound in your head, don’t you?”

“Which ones?”

“Your happiness, your relationship, and having this baby. What are you scared of? That something will go wrong? Hina’s too far into the pregnancy for that to happen, I think. And she’s a healthy woman, unless I don’t know something?”

“I think so, yeah. But things can go awry. What if something goes wrong during the delivery? What if something happen to both of them before then? I can’t control every little factor in this equation.”

“And you shouldn’t! It’s not her first time having a baby, and every time I’ve seen Hina lately, she’s practically glowing. And also, she seems pretty confident with how things are going,” Paulo observed his friend. “Maybe you should take some of those new parent courses.”

“I would, but the paparazzi would have a field day with this,” Bernardo laughed. “But maybe I should.”

He paused, thinking back to many years ago, when he was told he couldn’t have kids. Was that true back then? Has his health simply improved? Or was it all a medical mistake and, having never looked for a second opinion, he never found out the truth.

“So when we came to the clinic, he was angry at you?” Bernardo started to understand. “But why at you and not at your old man?”

“That’s how Landon was. He had a bit of tunnel vision in some ways, you could say,” Kim shrugged.

“He messed with our results?” Bernardo asked. “But why mess with mine?”

“Because it was an effective way to hurt me,” she explained. “I think you could always have kids, you weren’t the problem. I was. I had an issue that needed to be dealt with. Back then. Now it’s a bit too late.”

“Wait, so he told us that I couldn’t have kids, while you had the real problem...”

“And didn’t get treated in time. And dumped you,” Kim finished. “And I really am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. But it happened. Although, if I did that, I guess we were never really meant to be.”

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” he admitted. “And for whatever it’s worth, I have no ill feelings towards you, over anything.”

“That’s just like you to say that,” she smiled. “Thank you. I needed to hear that. Honestly, I thought you knew you were healthy by now. I never imagined that you didn’t know for all this time.”

Meanwhile, Paulo was all ears. He never imagined that he would end up hearing so much juicy information in one bar outing!

“I guess this is closure then,” she smiled. “I really should’ve reached out sooner. I already feel way better, like a weight’s been lifted off my chest.”

“I know that feeling,” he nodded. “So, aside from everything, how have you been?”

“Oh, you know, there have been the highs and the lows. My first marriage kind of fell apart when my real diagnosis came out. Then the second marriage only happened because he was more attracted to my inheritance than to me. Glad that’s over,” she laughed. “But good things are coming soon. I have this project I’m working on - I’m trying to adopt.”

“Oh! Good luck!” he told her.

“Yeah, it’s been quite a journey. Normally they don’t like single parent adopters, but they can’t really say I don’t have a stable income,” she laughed. “And I’m not trying to adopt a newborn baby. There’s this kid...”

Her phone rang at that moment and when she looked at the number, her eyes lit up.

“That’s the agency! Sorry, I have to take this,” she told him and answered the phone. “Yes! Yes, I’m in the city. I’m available. When? I can be there. Please, keep me posted.”

“It was a really good clinic, though, wasn’t it?” he asked.

“It was,” she nodded. “One of the best. My brother worked there. You remember Landon, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“We were all so proud of him when he applied for medical school. I think he was the first in the whole Hartley clan to become a doctor. Dad boasted about him to all his friends.”

“For good reason, since he ended up working at that clinic,” Bernardo assessed.

“You’d think. As it turned out, my dear brother had an addiction to certain medical substances - that was probably the biggest influence on his decision to go into medicine. Work at a clinic - get easy access to controlled substances,” Kim continued.

“No way!” Bernardo remembered Landon. He never gave the impression of someone who used drugs!