stella had agonized over chase’s return for approximately two weeks. true to her word, she had texted him - she owed him that at least - but between his hours at the hospital ( she could only imagine how thrilled they were, having such a top surgeon in their midst ) and her own responsibilities with the school. not to mention her complete avoidance, it had taken awhile to finally come up with a date night that worked for them both. 

a friday night. a real date night. 

once the date had been put into place, she’d spent more time agonizing over location - cooking for him in her home seemed to personal, but going somewhere in town seemed like too much of a declaration. he was another one of somerton’s prodigal sons, returned from the big bad outside world and stella was still, even after all this time, an outsider. if she broke his heart ( again ), she’d be shunned by most. 

it was exhausting. 

finally, though, they’d decided on noora’s - upscale, but not quite as high class as catch 35. she could get away with wearing the same clothes she wore to school if she wanted, though she ( naturally ) agonized over her closet before choosing a simple black dress, reminiscent of the one she’d been wearing when they first met in boston. nostalgia was sure to make it’s presence known throughout the night, there was no way around it. she’d made him promise to meet her there - she was sure he could see right through her, her need to have an escape vehicle available if she needed it - but he obliged in her anyways, and to her surprise, she arrived first. fifteen minutes early, stomach a bundle of nerves as she waited by the bar - a martini, to start with, just something to calm the anxiety swirling around inside of her. 

they were really doing this. she and chase, starting over. 

it seemed only natural it started the same way it had years ago, his voice laced with amusement as he startled her, is this seat taken with a gentle touch to her shoulder that made her jump with nerves. “please,” she smiled, quoting herself from the first time they’d done this, “help yourself. the martini’s here are to die for.”