A/N: Again, sorry this took so long to update. I'm only just beginning to clear my head, and the ideas miraculously just come to me once my head starts to empty a little bit! Thanks for all the kind reviews, too :)

Sarah x


Michael watched Serena carefully as she lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. She'd cried herself out – for now – and was pretty much out of fight. "Michael," she said. "I just remembered – we're going out to dinner with Annalese, Brad and the kids."

"It's fine," he immediately said. "The last place you'll wanna be right now is around kids," he added, realising the subject of children would be raw for her at the moment.

"No, I'll come," she replied, sitting up and looking at her watch. "We're meeting them at six, right?"

"Serena, are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked her; he was worried about her mental state. He'd never seen her give up a fight before. He'd only ever seen her stand up and battle tooth and nail to get what she wanted. So the fact she was left with no energy in her made him feel a bit unnerved. "I mean, nobody would expect you to go."

"I'm not going to sit and wallow, Michael," she warned him, and he accepted from her glare that she was going to do what she wanted whether he liked it or not. "Just let me change and do something about this," she said, pointing to her face. She really was the strangest woman he had ever encountered. Stranger, for now, than Jac Naylor, which said something. She had lost a child mere hours and was now getting ready to subject herself to four reminders in the shape of his own children.

"Where's my foundation, Michael?!" she shouted from the bathroom. He looked around, finding a glass bottle of creamy pale liquid. He went to the bathroom and handed it to her, still refusing to believe she had it in her to spend the night with kids. The only other conclusion was that she was trying to ignore the pain he knew she was in. She looked scared, but also had that determined glint in her eyes he knew all too well.

He left her to it, hoping she would be alright, but knowing, in his heart that she wouldn't be until she turned around and faced what had happened instead of running from it like she was now.


When six o'clock came, Michael found himself surrounded by his children, his ex-wife and her new partner, and Serena, who was unusually silent. Charlie, who seemed to have taken a particular liking to her, ran up to Serena as soon as she approached with Michael. She scooped him into her arms and said, "And how is the little terror today?"

"Fine," he replied.

"Good," she smiled. Michael put his hand on her back and guided her into the restaurant. Why was she doing this? He would have come himself. Or not gone at all if he didn't think she was fit to be left alone. As they sat down, Michael was conscious that she had chosen the seat closest to both him and the door. She really was quite a strategic person, constantly thinking ahead and making sure she was never trapped.

"What are you having to drink, Serena?" Brad asked.

To Michael's surprise, she replied, "I'll just have Diet Coke. Trying not to have too much alcohol just now," with a fixed, slightly pained smile. Brad just shrugged; Michael didn't like his attitude, towards the children and towards Serena.

Michael looked at her, as worried as he was before. "You OK?" he whispered. She nodded at him, and he touched her arm lightly.

Annalese was eyeing Serena with suspicion, and Michael didn't like it. There was no need for the look she was giving her. "I hear you were the one to take my child clothes shopping," Annalese said icily.

"Someone had to," Serena shrugged.

"Oh no," Michael groaned, his head in his hands. "Annalese, now is not the time or the place for a bitching contest, OK?"

"Oh, I don't know, Michael," she retorted. "You were the one who left our daughter to go shopping with a perfect stranger," she continued.

"Serena is not a stranger," Michael said firmly. "She's a friend, aren't you?" he added to Serena. She gave him a slightly uncomfortable smile, obviously not happy about Annalese's reaction. To be fair, she had warned him this would happen. And right now, he wanted to reach over the table and throttle Annalese.

"I have a daughter of my own," Serena sighed impatiently, not adding that she actually had two. "I know what they're like. The point is that Jasmine now has a dignified wardrobe and some real self-esteem."

"Excuse me?!" Annalese replied, looking pretty outraged. Thankfully, Jasmine had cottoned on and had taken her siblings over to the play area, winking at her dad.

"Never mind," Serena groaned. "I really cannot be bothered arguing with you. If you don't like me, that's fine, but I'd appreciate an end to the sniping, thank you." She looked at Annalese, and Michael was slightly amused by the challenging glare in Serena's eyes.

"If you're going to be like that, what are you doing here?" Annalese snapped. "You might as well go back to your hotel room." Serena looked rather hurt – more than she already was – and quickly stood up and grabbed her coat. She stormed out, not even looking at Michael. He glared at Annalese.

"What was the need for that?" he demanded. "Really? All that over a damn shopping trip?!"

"She shouldn't have done it, and you should never have asked her!" she argued, keeping her voice low as Brad approached them. "The pair of you are nothing but trouble."

"What's going on?" Brad asked, setting the drinks onto the table. "Where's Serena?"

"Annalese sent her packing," he answered, not removing his glare from his ex-wife.

"Can you blame me?" she answered. Michael ran his hands over his face, trying to keep his cool. She was infuriating him now, and he didn't want to lose his temper, at least not in public. He wouldn't descend to that level. He wanted to go after Serena, but he was giving her time to reign in her own formidable temper.

"She was doing what I asked her. She's a good person, and she doesn't deserve for you to sit there and berate her for helping a friend!" he retorted.

"She's a horrible, miserable cow!"

"Yeah, well, so would you be," he answered before he could stop himself.

"What?" Annalese said, confusion in her voice now.

"Look, she lost her daughter," he admitted, hoping to God that Serena didn't come back in while he was explaining why Serena was so unhappy.

"But she said-"

"She had two," he cut across Annalese. "Her youngest died this morning," he told her. "So, yeah, she's a bit miserable, but who could blame her?!"

Annalese didn't answer, just shocked, and he saw she felt bad for the way she had spoken to Serena now. "Oh my God," she moaned. "And I was so nasty to her. She was just...hostile."

"She's always hostile when she feel vulnerable," he told Annalese sternly. "It's the only thing that keeps her from crying."

"I'm going to have to go and find her. Tell her I'm sorry," she decided, but Michael instantly stopped her, knowing what would happen if she found Serena and told her she knew about Alanna.

"No," he said. "I'll go. I'll be back soon," he promised. He half-ran outside, looking around for Serena. She was nowhere to be seen, so he started walking, always looking around. Where would she go? She wouldn't go anywhere infested with children. She only did that for him, and he knew it. In the corner of his eye, he saw her walk into a bar. Oh, joy. He wasn't going to have a grieving, drunk Serena on his hands.

He silently entered the same bar and caught her before she could say anything to the bartender. "Come back," he ordered her. "Annalese was just being protective Mommy bear. It's a bad habit of hers."

"A bad habit of mine too," she glared. She seemed to know he had explained the situation and moaned, "Oh, Michael, what have you told them?!"

"Just that you're child died this morning," he promised. "Look, Annalese feels awful. She wants to apologise. She was going to come after you but I wouldn't let her in case you ripped her head off," he confessed with a grin. She shook her head gently at him, leaning with her back against the bar. "Is being round the kids too much?"

"No," she replied. "Promise me something, Michael," she pleaded, looking around her at the drunk people in the room.

"Anything."

"Don't let me drink," she said. "Please. It'll end in disaster."

"I promise, OK?" he reassured her. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her out of the bar, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. She was tired; he could tell from the way he was practically walking for her. They walked down the road silently, watching the people go by.

"Why me?" she whispered. It was a question he had no real answer to. "Is this the price I pay for all the things I've done in my life?"

"No," he said firmly. "It doesn't matter what you've done; nobody deserves to lose their child," he asserted, squeezing her shoulders lightly. Her arm was around his waist, the other around his front, and he realised that, although she wasn't going to ask for it, she needed someone to hold her up and keep her going, and to comfort her when she needed it.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I never expected you to step up and be there for me," she confessed. Michael smirked; everyone, especially Serena, saw him as juvenile and irresponsible, but they didn't seem to realise that he was always going to be right there when a friend needed him. And to be perfectly fair, he tended to act quite immature in front of Serena, and it was almost always to annoy her, or make her smile.

"There's more to me than meets the eye," he informed her, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice. "I am a lovely person really."

"Now now," she replied. "No need to get cocky."

"You know me by now," he said. "It's just part of my devilish charm."

"Quite," she conceded. They stopped at the door of the restaurant, and he looked around to see she was eyeing the building with apprehension. "You'll be OK," he assured her. They stepped in together, walking as one back to their table, sitting in their seats. Annalese looked relieved to see Serena return.

"Serena, can I have a word?" she asked hesitantly, clearly realising she had offended Serena, though she wouldn't have stormed off if she wasn't already in pain. She nodded and they both stood up.

"Uh, I want to be able to see you. You know, in case you get into a little cat fight," Michael grinned. Annalese and Serena simultaneously glared at him, but they did resolve to go over to the corner to talk. He watched as they conversed, and as Annalese apologised, probably both for her actions and for the fact Alanna had died this morning. Serena held out her hand for Annalese to shake, but Michael's blonde ex-wife put her arms around Serena, who looked over to Michael and mouthed, "Help me!"

He smiled at her, glad to see her sense of humour was still there. The two women returned and sat opposite each other. "Friends?" Michael asked, and Brad looked quite uneasy himself; Michael smirked as he decided the idiot was scared of Serena and Annalese.

The women looked at each other and said, "Friends."


Hope this is OK!
Please feel free to review and tell me what you thought!
Sarah x