A/N: Hey, I have a crazy idea of how I could get Rachel & Debbie talking, it's pretty crap, but bear with me. It was all I could think of, I have something big coming up

In the mean time, enjoy this chapter ;)


Having waved off her ex-husband and his new wife, Sam darted up the stairs to talk to her daughter. She didn't think that Rachel was in the wrong at all, it was a pretty hard thing for any 15 year old to try and come to terms with. Sam took a deep breath and knocked the door, she could already hear the pounding music, Rachel's way of drowning out events happening around her.

" Hey sweetie, are you ok?" she asked turning the music off and sitting down on her daughter's bed. Rachel who previously had her back turned to her mother looked round, tears dripping down her face

" I hate her Mum" she replied " Why can't Dad just come home and for it to be the way it was before"

" Things have changed sweetheart, you'll need time to get over it and it will get easier I promise you" Sam comforted her " now listen get some sleep, big day tomorrow, you have your first exam" with that she gave her a kiss and a hug.

" Mum, does Dad hate me?" Rachel said laying down as Sam pulled the blankets over her.

"Of course not, he loves you, he's just a bit annoyed but he'll come round. I don't want you worrying about that, your exam's tomorrow" Sam responded turning the light out.

"OK Mum goodnight" she sighed turning over to go asleep.

The next morning as Sam walked into C.I.D, her ex-husband greeted her already at her desk. Setting down her coffee, she looked amused as she thought about last night " Hello Philip can I help you?" she smiled.

" Oh you're enjoying this ain't you Sam?, did you speak to Rachel, that was completely out of order, Debbie is very upset"

"Phil, what do you want me to say?, I tried to play mediator, it didn't work. She won't accept you and Debbie. There's nothing I can do or say that will change that" Sam sighed taking a sip of coffee.

"Maybe if I speak to her, on my own or we could do it together" Phil continued " or we should get Rachel and Debbie alone together, they would have to talk"

Sam shook her head " no way I am not getting involved in any of your crazy schemes, she does not like Debbie… I-I-I"

Phil cut her off " Sam, me and Debbie are in this for the long run. She stays with me every week. They have to get on, I need you to help me"

" Fine what do you want me to do?" she asked desperate to get Phil out of her office so she could start on her paperwork.

"When she goes to your mother's next weekend, I'll get Debbie to pick her up. She'll have no choice but to talk to her" he suggested.

Sam looked mortified " That's a four hour trip, I was thinking just lock them in the basement for an hour or so and who's to say she'll get into the car with Debbie anyway"

" OK fine, you have a point Sam. I can't believe I'm actually considering locking my daughter in a basement to talk to my wife" he replied

" Well Philip, I've been known for my unusual parenting methods before, we'll do it this weekend. Now get your arse out of my office, I have work to do" she smiled before getting stuck into her paperwork.

Later that evening Phil caught up with his wife " Debs, let's go, I'm taking you out for a meal" he smiled.

"Mr. Hunter, you are quite charming, you do know how to treat a woman" she sighed happily linking him and walking to their car " did you speak to Sam about Rachel, I was thinking we should just leave it, I mean maybe Rachel will come around in her own time. It's only been a few months Phil"

"Well I did talk to Sam and we've come up with a plan and I'll tell you all about it in the car" Phil replied.

"Oh so you're playing arbitrator now are you Phil?" Debbie asked climbing into the front passenger seat.

"Just call me Gandhi" he grinned slamming the car door.

Debbie was intrigued by her husband's proposition, she would do anything remotely possible to get close to Rachel. She'd wanted so much to be a part of her life, not just for her but for Phil as well. Debbie had even hoped that they would have kids one day, hopefully soon as Debbie had felt that her biological clock was starting to tick louder than normal.

"OK" she began "I'll do it but I'm not comfortable with this you know Phil, I'm only doing it because I want to get to know Rachel"

Before Sam knew it, it was Friday and here she was packing her things up and heading out to her car where she was met by Phil and Debbie

" we still on for doing this tonight" Phil asked his ex-wife, thinking back he was surprised at how much he still got on with Sam after everything he had put her through and yet here she was going out of her way to make their daughter like his new wife. It was times like this made Phil question had he done the right thing, but he loved Debbie, didn't he?

" Definitely, if you two stop by the house, I'll send Rach down for something, then we lock them in together" Sam said before waving them off, once they drove off, Sam gritted her teeth, it was all an act which she had politely put on, one way or another Sam was determined to get Phil back, she knew what a mistake she had made ending their marriage but once it was done Sam found she wasn't able to turn time back so quickly as Phil was now with Debbie. One thing was for sure, she was bringing him home to his family where he belonged but for now she had to play nice.

Arriving at Sam's beautiful semi-detached house- his former home, Phil knocked the door, Debbie reminded herself in her mind why she was doing this, for Phil, to impress him.

Sam greeted them with her usual cheery smile and mouthed to them " she's upstairs" before pointing a finger to the ceiling.

Phil gave Debbie a kiss on the cheek and said " Babe, I'll see you in a couple of hours" , she responded by giving her husband a passionate kiss. One thing that hadn't changed about Debbie's personality was her ability to wind people up and she knew that Sam was standing watching them, hopefully envious, but if she was, she certainly wasn't showing it.

Debbie took her position in the Hunter/ Nixon basement, drumming her fingers along the beams, she realised how crazy an idea like this was to get a teenager to like her. It just wasn't normal, if Rachel had been a boy, she could have maybe just flashed her bra at him and things would have been perfect, but then again when did anything since her relationship began with Phil seem normal.

"Rach, will you go down to the basement and bring some of the boxes up?" she could hear Sam calling.

"Yea sure Mum, but I don't know why you couldn't do it yourself" Rachel huffed making her way downstairs.

As Rachel made her way down the flight of stairs, the door suddenly slammed shut cutting off the light

"aww bloody great" Rachel cursed heading further down the stairs, little did she know that Sam was locking the door behind her. She turned the light on to be confronted by Debbie Hunter, her stepmonster- as Rachel called her.

"What the hell do you want?" Rachel snapped looking agitated at the mere thought of being in the same room as Debbie.

OK was it that bad?? I promise something good's going to happen, just need to set the scene a bit :D and as always constructive feedback is welcomed ;)