---

"Mike! Mike!"

Mike turned. He rolled his eyes when he saw Susan running towards him, covered in icecream. "What it is?" He asked, slightly worried by her appearance.

"It's - I found - " Susan began, clutching her side, "I found Zach - He's over there -"

Mike froze. "Are you sure? You're sure it was him?"

"Positive!" Susan gasped, straightening up, "It was really him! Go - Go and see if you don't believe me! Unless he ran off.. didn't I tell you he tried to attack me with a block of wood!" She yelled after Mike as he headed off in the direction she had pointed him in. Mumbling to herself, Susan tried to ignore the glances from passers by and sat down at a bench by herself.

---

Staring out of the window, Bree knew that she was done for. Phyllis could put on an act to the police; she could try and make out that she was devastated by what had happened to Rex, which she was.. but surely now she had absorbed it and had tried her best to move on. Now, the police would come here, take Bree away from the only family she had left, and send her to jail for murder. No, she was being stupid. Bree shook her head and looked away. She wasn't going to jail, she had done nothing wrong. And so what if that stupid old woman went running to the police, claiming that Bree had killed her husband? Bree wouldn't rise to her mother-in-law's stupid ways. She was far better than that.

The door slammed, and a moment later Andrew trudged into the lounge. "Hey," He said absent-mindly to his mother, taking off his backpack and casting it aside when he sat down. When Bree didn't answer him, Andrew said: "What's up?"

Bree looked at him. "Oh.. nothing. I was just thinking."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "About the drinking problem? Are you going to see a shrink about that?"

"It's not called a shrink, Andrew. It's called a therapist. And yes.. I may go and see him," Bree said, slightly irritated, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got alot of things I need to think about. I - I think I'll just go and make dinner.." She muttered, as if talking to herself and not noticing that Andrew was still there. With that, Bree wandered off into the kitchen to prepare dinner, but as she passed the kitchen counter she stopped dead. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the bottle of wine she had bought a few days ago.

Bree considered, but then thought better of it. What did she think she was doing, drinking again? The doctor had told her to lay off, so she was doing her best to do so. But it was still very tempting; Bree licked her lips and found herself opening the bottle and quickly having a glass. Andrew, meanwhile, had switched on the television and was immersed in his favourite programme. Forgetting about all of her problems for a moment, Bree quickly drained her glass and then had another. And another.

When Bree finally staggered back into the lounge after half an hour, it was clear to Andrew that she was drunk. "Mom?" He said, his face blank.

"Andrew - I'm just going to rest in here for a while," She murmered, hiccuping. Then, she lay down on the couch and passed out. Rolling his eyes, Andrew got up, made a quick phonecall to one of his friends and then quickly left the house.

---

"Let go of me!" Zach yelled, squirming and kicking out as Mike and Susan struggled to get get him into Susan's house and sit him down. "What do you want?" He growled, sitting as far back as he could from the two of them.

"Zach, Mike has something he really needs to tell you," Susan explained, leaning forwards, a serious look in her eyes, "It's important to him, so please - don't try to run away. Just let him speak, okay?"

For a second Zach was tempted to slam his fist down on the table, push over the table itself and run, but instead he waited impatiently for Mike to say something, his heart pounding. Mike hesitated, clearing his throat. "You remember that night when you told Susan that everything everyone had ever told you was a lie?" He said, using a voice that wasn't his own.

Zach glanced icily at him and nodded.

Mike sighed and pressed on, "Well.. I'm gonna be straight with you, Zach. And what I'm about to tell you isn't the greatest of news, and It's true because Paul told me. Zach.." He stopped, not knowing if he could tell Zach or not, "..I'm - your real father."

Zach stared at him. "What? No you're not! What are you talking about?" He barked angrily.

"It's true, Zach," Susan insisted, backing Mike up, "I went to the hospital with Mike a few weeks ago and they confirmed that Mike was your real father. Didn't you always wonder about who your real father was?"

"I.. I never really thought about it!" Zach said, clearly frustrated, "But - how? No, you can't be! My real mom was some junkie.. so -" He glared at Mike, "You mean - that woman - who they -"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, that was Deidra. She was my girlfriend a long, long time ago, but then I went to jail for five years trying to save her ass. She should have told me that she had a kid, but she never did, nor did she even attempt to tell anyone else who knew me that she did. So, that's basically the full story. I'm sorry, Zach."

Zach didn't speak. He was clearly in shock. So.. this man, this total stranger, had also been lying to him? "How long have you known this?" Zach demanded, his hand curling into a fist, "How long?"

"Zach, I haven't known for too long. I only found out when Paul and I.." Mike hesitated and didn't finish his sentence, "Listen, after I found out you ran away. I tried to find you, and now I have. And now you know. So no one has been lying to you."

"I guess that makes sense," Zach admitted, "But that means.. you guys are gonna get married, right? I mean, someday it's gonna happen, right? And I love Julie.." He winced.

This suddenly came to Susan and she gasped. "Zach, you know I never wanted you seeing Julie in the first place.. but I guess you're right. If Mike and I ever do tie the knot, I guess that would make you Julie's big brother."

Zach suddenly felt close to tears and he choked back a sob.

"Zach, as your father, I'll be here for you whenever you need me to be. Just please - don't run off like that again. You don't know what it means to me to know that I have a son and, even if it's you - the kid who desperatedly wanted to kill me and the kid who threatened my wife.." Mike properly looked up and Susan saw that their were tears in his eyes, "You're still my son."

There was a brief silence. "I know." Zach murmered. Then, he got up and went to sit down on the couch, still in shock after what had just happened. Suddenly, out of the blue, he had a dad, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with that fact right then.