As the house music pounded in the background, Kimberly and Ellie were still at the counter chatting it up. It had really become apparent that the two's relationship sparked faster than a cigarette butt inside a drought-stricken forest. They were halfway through their Dirty Shirley as they talked about their past. Kimberly had learned that Ellie was originally a Scot, but later moved to Vancouver, BC when she was twelve years old. She was a die-hard snowboarder/skier, which was something that Kimberly respected big time. Also confirmed her initial suspicion that Ellie was a Scot, but it never connected that she was actually Scottish-Canadian. Ellie on the other hand, learned that Kimberly came from a family of nine (including herself, but not her parents), and was a very successful collegiate athlete in basketball. She was Stanford University, having recently obtained a Master's in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. 

That sort of academic background put Ellie's to shame. She felt that her measly Bachelor's of Media Studies from the University of British Columbia was nothing compared to Kimberly's background. On a full ride, no less. But the most interesting part was Kimberly's current life. Ellie had pushed the conversation more towards Kimberly herself. Kimberly seemed kind of nervous about it, but Ellie was adamant that whatever she said would be okay. Kimberly was such an interesting individual that she wanted to know more about her. 

The brunette was blushing slightly, a similar fashion to that when she met her husband for the first time, just not to as extreme of a degree. "Me? You know I've got a husband... uhh... I've got a one-and-a-half year old daughter." Kimberly said in a rather sheepish manner. The poor brunette felt that she was being a bit excessive by mentioning that she was also a mother. A collegiate athlete, a engineer, AND a mother that looked the way she did? Kimberly felt that she was a living Mary Sue. 

"A daughter?" Ellie cocked an eyebrow, her interest suddenly peaking. The Scottish-Canadian woman had always been particularly interested in kids. Although she had no room for some herself in her hectic lifestyle, Ellie was always interested in hearing about her peers' kids. She welcomed posts about their kids on her social media feeds. "Tell me more about her!" Ellie beamed, propping her head up on her hand as Kimberly's blue eyes looked at the Scot, drinking her Dirty Shirley in the process.

"Well, okay..." Kimberly replied, clearing her throat. "Her name is Mia. Mia Victoria Hartley." Kimberly said, slyly pulling out her phone and putting it on the counter as she knew she'd be needing it as a visual aid later. "She was born October 13th, 2013, in..." Kimberly looked up to her left as she was trying to remember where she had Mia. It was rather embarrassing how she couldn't remember where she had her. It then came back to her mind. "...in Glasgow, Scotland." Kimberly shrugged, "I know it's an odd coincidence... y'know, because you're Scottish and my daughter can obtain dual citizenship easily whenever she wants to." 

As Kimberly revealed that her daughter was born in Scotland, in Glasgow specifically, Ellie tilted her head in curiosity. The city she grew up in, Inverness, was about four hours away from there. Ellie then remembered that Kimberly mentioned that her husband was a Scot. Ellie was about to ask her a question, but she looked at Kimberly who was on her phone. Maybe she was pulling up a photo or something. And as expected, Kimberly gestured for Ellie to look over as she had the screen pointed in a position where Ellie could see easily.

Kimberly pressed on the album labeled, "Mia" on her phone and it revealed a rather large collection of photos. That album contained photos of Mia since the day Kimberly's baby bump started to show. The first photo Kimberly showed was a candid photo her friend, Amy, took of her in Japan. Kimberly had only just found out she was pregnant with Mia there. "This was a few days after we, as in my then boyfriend and I found out I was pregnant. When I found out, I was just in disbelief. My whole world was turned upside down." The photo depicted Kimberly sitting down on the floor of their hotel room, her arms hanging on her knees as she was looking up to something or someone. 

She swiped past the next few photos to show another photo of her looking rather surprised, a few more months along in her pregnancy. That photo was taken when she and her fiance had went to her family's restaurant after he had won the race and some money along with it. "This was after my boyfriend proposed to me, we decided to celebrate by going to a local restaurant and he snapped this pic when I came out from the bathroom." Ellie chuckled a bit as she continued to look at photos of Kimberly's cute little daughter. Ellie also did like how Kimberly pulled off the maroon hair.

Another few swipes, and there was a photo a few moments after Mia was born. Wrapped up in a little blanket and beanie as Kimberly was looking down at her for the first time. This time, Kimberly had removed the dye from her hair and was back to her natural brunette color. It was arguably one of the most valuable photos in the album. The album that had multiple copies synced up to multiple online clouds, and was pulled from many different cameras and phones for the future. "I think this photo explains itself." Kimberly took the moment to sip from her Dirty Shirley as Ellie looked in awe. Seeing that mother-daughter bond form between Kimberly and Mia was something magical and Ellie was glad that whoever took the photo took the photo at that moment. 

Kimberly then swiped a few photos more, to ones that were more recent. More specifically just a few months ago. Kimberly was smiling and holding Mia in her arms, who was also smiling. Ellie started to see the slight resemblance between Kimberly and Mia. Mia had brown eyes, which was pretty much an indicator that her dad had brown eyes. Ellie looked up at Kimberly and squeed. "Aww! She's so cute! Do you plan on having any more?" Ellie realized that that was kind of a personal question, but she was sure Kimberly would answer.

"Honestly? I'd like to have one or two more, but it's up to my husband." Kimberly replied, shrugging and finishing off her Dirty Shirley. Ellie was then reminded of the question she was going to ask Kimberly. "Hey... you've been showing me pictures of you and your daughter, but we don't know anything about your husband? Where he's from? I remember you telling me he's a Scot." 

"I think he's from Inverness." Kimberly shrugged, wondering if she actually pronounced that right. 

Ellie swallowed big, "Inverness? That's where I'm from!" Ellie chuckled. The coincidence was getting really, really big. Last name Hartley, from Inverness? Her heart was pounding as she was starting to connect the dots. "Let's see a picture, yeah?"

Kimberly promptly swiped a few pictures back, back to one of their wedding photos at the beach. There, their facial features were very clear. "Wedding." Kimberly sighed, reminiscing happily about the good times. 

As Ellie examined the man's features, her heart sank. That couldn't be... no way. This was way too freaky, but Ellie wanted to know. "What's his name?" She asked curiously, planting her hand on the counter so that it wouldn't shake out of its socket out of pure anxiety.

"Ross. Ross Hartley."

Ellie gulped hard again. It was him. The Ross Hartley she knew when she was growing up in Inverness. Her childhood best friend. Never did she plan on seeing him in a place like this, nor did she expect him to be married with a child. But, she didn't want to sound too creepy by mentioning that she knew Ross. "Ross? What a nice name, handsome too." Ellie looked at the photo once again before slamming her Dirty Shirley. She turned towards the bartender. "Oh barkeep! Can I have a gin and tonic please?" Ellie was probably going to have to drink today down. It was far too crazy of a day. 

"You like your alcohol heavy, don't ya?" Kimberly commented as she sipped on her Dirty Shirley more. Looking out to the crowd, she saw the instantly recognizable face of her spouse there. "Speaking of the husband, there he is." She said, gesturing with her head towards the six-foot-two man making his way towards the bar.

The Scot saw the man she was talking about, and in the person, every single fiber of her being immediately CONFIRMED that it was Ross. It was a reunion a decade plus in the making. 

---

Regina made her way through the rather energetic crowd in the bar, having her intentions set for the special VIP area that was clearly cordoned off. Cider? Out of all the possible drinks in the world, cider? Regina was expecting to pound a few beers tonight. Even though she was Asian, she felt that she and Ryan deserved a drink. Regina located the area and walked up to the bouncer, who saw her golden wristband and unhooked the border for her and Ryan.

Regina gestured so that they would enter. The area was a little more quiet but provided a wide view of the bar outside. It was a nice place to be able to observe and have a nice little chat sans the energy of the crowd. Regina immediately ordered a beer and cider, and sat herself down in an area. "This is nice, isn't it?"