A/N This is a one-shot of what I think happened after Tracy had her panic attack in 'Chain Reaction'. The first bit in italics is the bit that they showed in the TV so that you know when in 'Chain Reaction' this takes place. This in Tracy's POV.
"When someone loves you, you know really loves you, you can tell them that you're upset with them you know," Mike told me. "They won't go away."
I felt tears coming to my eyes, and rested my head on Mike's chest. He put his arms around me.
"Is growing up always this hard?" I asked, tears rolling down my cheeks.
Mike patted my arm reassuringly. "Only when you care about things so much," he said, lifting his head up.
I shook my head, wanting him to put his head back.
Mike realised this, kissed me on the head, and then put his head back on my head to comfort me.
We sat like this for a few minutes, and then I pulled away and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"You OK now?" Mike asked me.
"Yeah," I said. I took a deep breath. "Thank you, Mike, for everything you've done."
"It's fine, Tracy," Mike said. He looked at me closely. "Tracy, I'm going to give you the rest of the day off."
"No, it's OK, I'm fine now," I said, getting up.
"Tracy," said Mike, putting his hand on my arm. "Sit back down a minute."
I did as I was told, because even though I didn't want to, I wasn't going to disobey Mike, especially after he'd helped me so much.
"I'll still pay you for the day's work, as the panic attack wasn't your fault," said Mike. "So if that's what you're worrying about, then it's fine."
"It's not," I said quietly.
Mike took my hand. "What is it then?" he asked my gently.
"If you give me the rest of the day off, then I'll have to go home won't I?" I said.
"No, no, not at all," he said.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"No, you can stay here, but I think it would do you good if you just had the chance to relax, instead of working," Mike continued.
"Yeah, I haven't had much of a chance to relax lately," I admitted.
"You can stay in here for a bit if you want," Mike told me. "Should I tell the others to leave you alone for a bit?"
"Yes please," I said, smiling gratefully.
"OK," said Mike, standing up and heading towards the door. "Oh, and Tracy?"
"Yes?" I said.
"If you're ever upset again, will you please come and talk to me?" asked Mike.
I nodded. "OK, I will," I said.
"Promise?" Mike asked.
"Promise," I said.
When Mike had gone, I continued to sit in the quiet room, sipping at the cup of tea that Mike had got me. I guessed that Mike had told the others to leave me alone, as no one bothered me at all. Everyone just left me to my thoughts. After about half an hour Mike came in, probably to check that I was still OK.
"You OK, lovely?" Mike asked me, sitting down on the sofa next to me.
"Yeah, I suppose so," I replied.
"You don't have to stay in here all your life you know," Mike joked.
"I know that, I just needed to think, that's all," I replied. I wasn't really in the mood for jokes, and Mike seemed to sense that.
"Why don't you go outside?" suggested Mike. "You could do with some fresh air."
"OK," I said, getting up off the sofa. I was about to pick up my cup to put it in the kitchen, but Mike stopped me.
"I'll do that," he said.
"Thanks," I said, smiling gratefully at him.
I walked out of the quiet room and down the hallway. As I passed the living room everything suddenly went quiet. I knew that the kids were hiding something from me, but I had more to worry about than that to really care. I went into the kitchen, through the back door and out into the garden. I decided to go to the old car seats, as no one would disturb me there. As I passed one of the bushes I pulled some leaves from it, and began to twirl them in my left hand. When I got to the car seats I sat on the single one, put the leaves between my hands and began to spin them slowly left and right...
A/N Thanks for reading, I hoped you liked it! Please read and review! :-D
