A/N Wow, chapter ten already! And we have just over 31,000 words... This is turning out to be my best story yet! I reckon I'll probably actually get it finished this year (although I'm starting sixth form on the 5th September, so I might not have as much time. I will try my best though).

Thanks to Holly-leaves-in-winter for reviewing! It made me so happy! :-D

I have changed my phone keyboard slightly (I found the new settings button today when I was bored), and I've set the background of the keyboard to the picture they took at the show. It's so awesome! :-D

Tracy POV

I couldn't stop crying.

I'd gone to the bathroom, getting away from Charlotte for just a minute, and was just sitting on the floor, my back to the bath, my knees up to my chest, sobbing.

I just felt so alone.

Just then someone tried the door.

"Hello?" they called.

It was Carmen.

"I'm in here," I said.

"Oh, OK," said Carmen. "It's just I wanted a shower."

I sighed. Where on earth could I go?

"Um, OK, I'll be out in a minute," I said. I quickly stood up, and then washed my face to get rid of the tearstains.

It sort of didn't work, mainly because I was still crying.

I shook myself, before I unlocked the door, ran out, and ran towards Charlotte's room.

"Tracy?" asked Carmen. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I called, before going into Charlotte's room.

She put her head up as I came in. "Why are you sad?"

I just shook my head.

"Come and sit on the bed," said Charlotte. She moved slightly, and I lay down on my back, tears still rolling down my cheeks.

"Did I make you sad?" asked Charlotte.

I put my arm around her and pulled her down to the bed, pulling her close. "No, of course you didn't."

"Was it Mike?" asked Charlotte.

"No, no one did anything," I said. "It was my fault."

"How was it your fault?" asked Charlotte. "You can't make yourself upset.

I sighed. In some ways I wanted to tell her, but it didn't seem fair to tell Charlotte that.

It was too much.

I began to cry again as I tried to work out what to do.

"Do you want me to go and get Mike?" asked Charlotte.

"No," I said quickly, holding her close. "I'll be alright."

"But Mike makes you better," said Charlotte.

I nodded, because it was true. Mike always made me feel happy and safe, even at my worst times.

But I'd already put him through enough today.

Just then, Mike came into the room.

"Charlotte, I've spoken to your social worker, and... Tracy? What's wrong?"

I sniffled. "Nothing, I'm fine."

Mike came and knelt down by the side of the bed. "Do you want to talk?"

I shook my head.

"She misses her mum," said Charlotte.

"It's not just that," I said.

"What is it, then?" asked Mike.

I closed my eyes, knowing I'd said too much.

Mike looked over to Charlotte for a moment. "Charlotte, is it alright if you go for a minute?"

"No, this is her room," I said.

"I don't mind," said Charlotte. She tried to get up, but I held her close.

"No, you can stay," I said.

"Tracy?" said Mike, prompting me to answer his earlier question.

"Tell Mike what's wrong, Tracy," says Charlotte. "I don't like seeing you sad."

Charlotte may have only been eight, but she gave better advice than me sometimes.

I just didn't know what to say.

"I, um, in the garden, I, I couldn't breathe, I..." I trailed off as Mike gave me a look of understanding, before he opened his arms, offering me a hug.

I slowly sat up, allowing Mike to wrap his arms around me, holding me close.

"Shh," said Mike softly as I sobbed. "Shh. It's OK, I've got you. Shh."

"Was it because you were sad?" asked Charlotte.

I nodded.

She shuffled across the bed, wrapping her arms around me. I took one arm from around Mike and hugged her back.

"I can look after you," said Charlotte. "Like you look after me."

Mike gave her a smile. "You don't need to worry, Charlotte. I look after both of you."

"But Tracy's my friend," said Charlotte.

I gave her a smile, before I hugged her close. I knew most of the kids in here liked having me around, but none of them had actually called me a friend before.

Mike seemed to suddenly remember something. "Oh, Charlotte, I spoke to your social worker."

Charlotte looked up at him hopefully.

Mike smiled at her. "She said you can see your mum."

Charlotte suddenly jumped up off the bed, a huge smile on her face, before she ran back over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

Mike was smiling. "Tracy, would you be alright to get your laptop and call Cam now?"

I smiled. "Yeah, sure." I paused, smiling at how everything had turned out so good. "I'll just go and get it."

I went to the spare staff bedroom to get my laptop, stopping at the bathroom to wash the tearstains from my face, before I went back to Charlotte's room, a huge smile on my face.

We both had our mums back.

"Tracy?" said Cam as she answered my message. "What happened earlier?"

"I, um, I shouldn't really have let Charlotte talk to Alexia," I said. "Mike told me not to."

Cam gave me a disappointed look.

"She was only trying to help Charlotte," said Mike, speaking up for me. "It doesn't matter."

"Mike said I could see Mum!" said Charlotte excitedly.

Cam looked to Mike, and he nodded, smiling.

Cam smiled too. "I'll just go and get her."

Charlotte was fidgeting with excitement, and we heard someone running to the laptop.

"Charlotte!" "Mum!"

I laughed as they said each other's names at the same time.

"Oh, Charlotte, how are you?" asked Alexia. "Tell me all about what you've been doing!" She then saw Mike behind us.

"Hiya," said Mike. "I'm Mike, I work at Elm Tree House, I'm head care worker."

Alexia nodded. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Can I show you my room?" asked Charlotte.

Alexia smiled. "I'd love to see it."

Charlotte picked up the laptop and began taking it round the room, showing everything to her mum.

"Hey," ssid Mike quietly, turning to me. "You alright?"

I nodded, although I moved back slightly and leant my head on Mike's shoulder. Mike smiled and rubbed my shoulder with his hand, making me feel safe.

"I miss Cam," I said. "I know I see her every day and all that, but I haven't actually seen her properly for about two months."

Mike gave my shoulder another rub, giving me a little smile. "Of course you miss her," he said. "But she'll come back soon, and then you'll see her so much you'll wish she'd stayed in New York!"

I laughed.

"And you can stay here overnight anytime you don't feel like going home, you know that," he said.

I smiled.

Just then Charlotte came over, smiling at us.

"I absolutely love your room," said Alexia. "It's amazing!"

"Tracy, are you alright?" asked Cam. She had obviously seen me leaning on Mike.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "I'll talk to you later."

Cam gave me a smile, but I could see the concern in her eyes.

"Do you want to see the dress Carmen gave me?" asked Charlotte. Before her mum could reply she ran across to her wardrobe and found it. "She leant it me for Tracy's party, and then said I could keep it."

"Wow, it's beautiful!" said Alexia. "I bet it looked really pretty on you."

"She did my hair in bunches too," Charlotte continued.

"We took a photo," I said. I got my phone out of my pocket and got the photo up, before showing it to Alexia.

She smiled. "Who are the other people Charlotte?"

Charlotte went through, pointing at everyone in turn. "That's Carmen, that's Lily, that's Tee, and that's Tracy."

Alexia smiled. "I'm glad you've made some friends."

Just then there was someone shouting, calling Cam and Alexia.

"We've got to go," said Cam. "I'll see you tonight Tracy."

"I can bring Charlotte just before she goes to bed if you want," I said.

Charlotte's face lit up, as did Alexia's.

"As long as you're sure as it's not too much trouble," said Alexia.

"No, it's fine," I said. "And I'll talk to you tonight as well, Cam."

Cam nodded, giving me a smile.

"Right, we'd better go," she said. "Bye, Tracy."

"Love you, Charlotte," said Alexia.

"Love you too," said Charlotte. Alexia gave her a little wave, before the window went blank.

"Can I really see Mum tonight?" asked Charlotte.

I smiled, and turned to see Mike smiling too.

"Of course you can," he said. "You can see her as much as you want."

Charlotte jumped off the bed again, jumping up and down like a mad thing, obviously so happy.

I smiled.

I called Cam that night, sitting in the quiet room, Charlotte by my side in her pyjamas. As Cam answered the call Alexia was just coming to the laptop, Cam obviously having called her when I'd rung.

Charlotte smiled. "We did baking this afternoon, Mum. Gina helped us all make biscuits."

I laughed, remembering how it had gone. There had been flour everywhere, Charlotte and Harry had insisted on eating the raw mixture, and then Mike had burnt the first batch because the timer broke.

Alexia saw me laughing. "I'm guessing it wasn't very successful?"

I laughed again. "This one insisted on eating half if it before it even went in the oven, and then nearly burnt herself trying to eat one before they'd even been put on the cooling rack!"

Alexia shook her head, but she was laughing as well. "She's always been like that when we're baking. I don't let her in the kitchen anymore: she's too much trouble."

"They tasted nice though!" said Charlotte indignantly. "They're nicer before they're cooked!"

Alexia shook her head again, as did I.

"At least she didn't set fire to the kitchen," said Cam. "Tracy's done that one twice!"

I made an 'oops' face.

Charlotte looked at me in shock. "Did you really?"

"Yeah, when I was a bit older than you," I said. I then changed the conversation, noticing the time. "Anyway, this one needs to go to bed, don't you, Charlotte."

"Already?" asked Charlotte.

"You've got school tomorrow, and I already let you stay up later so you could see your mum," I said.

Charlotte sighed. "OK. Goodnight, Mum."

Alexia smiled. "Goodnight, Baby." She then blew her a kiss.

Charlotte blew one back, before turning to me. "Night night, Tracy." She then gave me a hug.

"Night, Charlotte," I said. "See you in the morning, OK?"

Charlotte nodded, and gave me and Alexia one last smile each, before she went out of the room.

Alexia watched her go, before turning to me. "You're looking after her well. I've been worrying about her all this time, not knowing where she was or how she was getting on, but she's absolutely fine."

I smiled. "She fits in well, so she's made some good friends. Everyone at Elm Tree gets on like one family."

"Yeah, she's a good little girl," said Alexia.

"You can see her tomorrow if you want," I said. "I can get her after school, about 11:00 your time?"

Alexia smiled. "Thank you."

I smiled back.

There was a pause, before Alexia went to leave. "I'd better go," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow at 11:00."

I nodded. "Tomorrow at 11:00."

Alexia smiled, before she stood up and left.

Cam waited until she'd gone, before she began to talk to me. "What's up, Trace?"

I sighed, tears coming to my eyes. "I miss you," I said. "I miss you so, so much."

"Oh, Tracy," said Cam. "I miss you too. It's weird not having you around, making me smile with your ridiculous plans, having you to chat to at dinner about all the chaos at Elm Tree, setting fire to my kitchen..."

Cam gave a mischievous smile, and I gave her a look.

"It's strange though," she said. "You can have someone around so much you barely notice them, but then when they're gone you notice every single little thing they usually do."

I nodded, a tear rolling down my cheek.

"Oh, Tracy, don't cry," said Cam. "I'm still here, I'm just not at home."

I sniffled. "I really miss you, Cam. Really, really."

"I know you do," she said. She looked around the quiet room behind me. "Are you staying at Elm Tree overnight?"

I nodded.

She gave me a sympathetic smile, knowing I was staying there so I wasn't on my own.

"I'll tell you what," she said. "When I get home in five months' time, I'll give you biggest hug ever, and we can get a pizza or something and just have a nice night in. How does that sound?"

I nodded, smiling.

We talked for a little while longer, just about random things, before Cam had to go.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said. "Love you."

I smiled. "Love you too."

I came out of the quiet room, carrying the laptop, just as Mike was coming out of the office.

"Hey, you alright?" he said. He then saw the laptop. "Were you talking to Cam?"

"Yeah," I said. I laughed. "I was telling her about the baking disaster."

Mike chuckled. "Yes, that's probably the right word for it."

I laughed again, before I paused. "I'm going to go to bed soon."

Mike smiled. "Good idea. Get some sleep, and then you'll feel better tomorrow."

I gave him a smile: Mike always seemed to know exactly how I was feeling. "Night, Mike."

Mike gave me a smile back. "Goodnight, Tracy."

And then I went upstairs to bed.

Alexia POV

As Cam came over to me after talking to Tracy I could see she was upset.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

Cam nodded. "Yeah, it's just..." She paused. "Tracy's having a bit of a hard time, and I want to be there for her, but I have to be here, and..."

She trailed off as I gave her a sympathetic smile. "Why was her wrist in a cast?"

"She got pushed down the stairs by one of the kids a few days ago," said Cam. "She fractured it."

I was shocked. Poor Tracy.

"She's getting better now," continued Cam, "but she had concussion and she kept fainting..." She trailed off again, tears in her eyes.

"Is there someone looking after her?" I asked worriedly.

Cam nodded. "Yeah, Mike. She used to be in care and he worked there, so they go back a long way."

"She used to be in care?" asked Alexia. "Is that why Charlotte gets on with her, because both of us had to leave them in care?"

Cam shook her head. "No, I'm not her birth mum: I adopted her when she was fifteen." She sighed. "I think she gets on so well with Charlotte because we've both gone to New York and left them at home."

"Oh," I said.

Tears came to Cam's eyes again. "She didn't cope when I left her. She, she..." She trailed off. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't tell you, not without her consent. But she thought she'd love being left on her own, and in reality she hated it."

I felt so sorry for Cam. It was obvious how much she loved Tracy, and how much it hurt her that she couldn't be with her.

As tears began to roll down her cheeks I gave her a hug, missing Charlotte just as much as Cam was missing Tracy.

Tracy POV

I couldn't sleep.

I'd been thinking about Cam ever since I'd gone to bed, tears rolling down my cheeks, and my wrist still hurt.

I wiped my eyes as there was a knock on my door, and Mike came in.

"I thought I heard you crying," he said. He came and sat on the edge of my bed. "You OK?"

I shook my head.

Mike gently took my injured wrist in his hand, slowly rubbing the back of the cast. "Does it still hurt?"

I nodded.

Mike gave me a sympathetic look, before he gently squeezed my other hand. "Do you want me to stay here for a bit?"

I nodded, sniffling.

Mike then just stayed there with me, gently soothing me if I started to cry, until I fell asleep.

Mike POV

As Tracy fell asleep I smiled, and then stayed with her for just a few more minutes, making sure she didn't wake up. It made me so sad to see her upset, and I always wanted to do anything I could for my kids, Tracy included.

After a few minutes I gave her hand one last squeeze, before I gently lay her injured wrist on the bed next to her, got up, and went to the door. I gave her one last look, and a small smile, before I left to go to bed.

Charlotte POV

I woke up at 1:00.

I felt sad. I'd loved seeing Mum, but it had also made me miss her even more, and I wanted her.

I quietly got out of bed, and went along the landing and up the stairs to Tracy's room. When I got there, she was asleep.

"Tracy," I said quietly. "Tracy."

Tracy held out her hand, and I went over to the bed. She shuffled over and I got in next to her.

"You OK?" she asked.

I shook my head, and tears came to my eyes.

I heard Tracy sniffle, and she wrapped her arms around me.

"Are you crying?" I asked.

Tracy nodded.

I hugged her back tight, and snuggled into her.

Tracy wasn't my mum, because I already had Mum, but she was like a big sister, and I hated it when she was upset.

As Tracy moved her arm to hug me she tensed, and she sounded hurt.

"Does your wrist hurt?" I asked.

Tracy nodded again.

I tried to move away so she could put her wrist where it wouldn't get hurt, and accidentally rolled right on top of it.

Tracy screamed in pain.

There was a rush of footsteps, and Mike came in.

"Tracy?" he said. "What's wrong?"

I got off Tracy's wrist and she moved it towards her, holding it with her other hand, her eyes screwed shut.

Mike gently went over and took it from her. "It's alright," he said. "It'll stop hurting in a minute."

He rubbed Tracy's wrist with his thumb, and Tracy slowly opened her eyes.

I felt awful. I'd been trying to help Tracy, and I'd just hurt her even more.

"Why are you in here anyway?" Mike asked as he turned to face me.

"I couldn't sleep," I said.

Mike smiled at me. "Well, when Tracy's wrist stops hurting you can stay in here with her, OK?"

I nodded.

Tracy started crying again, and I went over and gave her a hug without touching her wrist.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to."

"That's OK," she said.

"You alright, kiddo?" asked Mike, looking at Tracy.

Tracy shook her head, and leant on Mike. He gave her and me a hug.

We stayed like this for a few minutes before Tracy stopped crying.

"You OK?" asked Mike.

Tracy nodded.

Mike smiled, and we both sat up properly as Mike got off the bed. "Come on, you two go to bed, and I'll see you in the morning, OK?"

I nodded, and Tracy smiled. We then got into bed and I hugged Tracy, trying to make her happy. She hugged me with her good arm, but kept her injured wrist on the other side of the bed.

Mike smiled. "Night night."

And it wasn't long before I fell asleep.

A/N Hope you liked it! I've decided that this is going to be s story about everyone coping away from each other, and learning how to live apart without being sad and all that, because I think that's what it'll turn out to be anyway, so if I plan it like that then I'll actually write it 'right'! XD The link to the title probably wasn't very obvious (it was supposed to be but, like most of my plans for writing, I kind of accidentally changed it), but now they're allowed to talk over laptop they're all seeing New York in a way (which is a city), and they've all welcomed each other and all that... It was the best I could do, alright? (And if you think that's bad, wait until we get to 'Oz Wash/ In The Jungle'! XD) I have now started college (so if all goes well my writing schedule will not suffer anymore than it already does XD), and in my second lesson we were asked to say something interesting about ourselves. I said about the show I did with Dani Harmer, and it turns out that my teacher actually took her children to see it, and saw me performing on stage! (How weird is that?! XD) I never expected that when I went into college that morning. XD Anyway, really hope you enjoyed it, please review! :-D