We passed Oliver's room first. Once he was 'safe' I made a mad dash towards mine. When I got there I was shocked to see the door ajar. I peeked in cautiously. It was rather early for any of the staff to be in there… I didn't see or hear anyone, so I opened the door wider. I saw Annie fast asleep on my bed. I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Annie?" she shifted, but she didn't seem to be awake. "Sweetheart," I said a bit louder. "Is everything all right?"

Her eyes slowly opened. Seemingly trying to remember where she was, she was quiet and she looked around the room. Finally, she glanced to the window then back at me and questioned drowsily, "What time is it?"

"Around 6:30." I estimated. Sitting down next to her, I asked. "What are you doing in here?"

With a look of guilt about her, she answered, "I had a bad dream and… Sandy didn't want to be alone."

At the mention of Sandy, I looked around puzzled. Without having to voice my question, Annie answered by pointing down to the floor. Surely enough when I looked I saw the dog's nose sticking out from underneath the bed. "What is he doing down there?"

"I didn't know if you'd want him in your bed or not."

"Oh, it's alright."

With that, Annie gave Sandy the okay signal and in almost an instant he joined us.

Realizing that I had failed to react to her statement about having a nightmare, I quickly went back to the matter. "What was your dream about?"

"I don't remember it all now… all I know is that I was taken away from you and Mr. Warbucks again."

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I'm especially sorry that I wasn't here for you when you woke up." I felt terrible. It mustn't have been very comforting to come and find me after such a dream only to discover that not only was I not there, but I didn't return all night.

"It's okay." she said. "I was a little nervous, but I calmed down and I figured you were working or something."

"Yes, I was." I lied.

"Are you just going to bed now?" she questioned with what sounded like concern in her voice.

Going along, I answered, "Yes. Well sort of. I ended up falling asleep in the office."

With a laugh, Annie replied, "I bet'cha Mr. Warbucks liked that."

Sharing her giggle, I shrugged, "I have no idea. He was gone by the time I woke up."

"Ooo, someone's gonna be in trouble!" she sang.

"Perhaps…" Feeling the need to change the subject, I stood up and suggested, "Now, why don't we get up and get ready for the day?"

With a nod she hopped down off of the bed. She started to dart towards the door, but I stopped her. "Annie, wait a minute."

Coming to an abrupt halt, she turned around in my direction. "Yeah?"

I walked over to her and hugged her tightly as I said, "I want you to know that I'm always here for you. If you ever wake up and I'm not around please come looking for me."

Hugging me back she replied, "It's okay, Miss Farrell. I'm feeling better now, really. I was only a dream."

"Still, I wish I could have been here to comfort you when you needed it."

"Don't worry, at the orphanage I always got over nightmares by myself. At least now I'm in a nice warm place and I can remember not to be so scared."

"And that is precisely why I feel so terrible." I said.

"I'm really okay now. If I have another one I'll find you." she assured.

I couldn't help but laugh at the way the tables seemed to have turned. "Please do." I smiled. "Alright, now you may go get dressed." Matching my grin with one of her own, she energetically ran out of the room with Sandy following close behind.

It didn't take me very long to get ready for the day. I was downstairs for breakfast within 20 minutes. Annie, of course with her never ending supply of energy was already sitting at the table and starting on her breakfast when I arrived. Oliver looked as if he had just arrived himself seeing as he was still just reading the front page of the paper. "Good morning." I greeted. Both Annie and Oliver said 'good morning' to mevas well and then went back to their food and paper.

While Drake placed my breakfast plate at my usual seat, I went over to the window where the coffee pot and juice pitcher were sitting on a table. "Annie, would you like some orange juice?" I offered.

"Yes, please."

I poured her drink and then set it in front of her. When I did, she looked up at me and then to Oliver with a smirk. Uh oh… I thought. However, I pretended not to notice and went back to the drink table to prepare myself a large cup of coffee. Again, I didn't know how long Oliver and I had been awake talking, but I was gathering that we were up for quite some time. I was exhausted. We couldn't have gotten more than 2-3 hours of sleep. Or, I guess I should say 'I'. After all, he obviously had woken up before me. I didn't have much time to ponder however because I heard Annie say to Oliver, "So Mr. Warbucks, are you mad at Miss Farrell?"

At this, I quickly looked up in Oliver's direction. He too looked up. With a very confused expression, he interrogated, "What on earth makes you think I would mad at her?"

With a giggle, Annie answered, "I know she fell asleep while you two were working last night. That's why she wasn't in her room all night. She told me herself when she came in this morning."

Oliver glanced at me. Since I was standing behind Annie's chair, I was able to signal for him to play along. He quickly caught on and said, "Oh… No I'm not mad at her. It's uh, my own fault. I kept her working far too late. I didn't want to disturb her rest so I went on to bed myself and let her be."

"Aw, that's sweet." Annie replied, her smirk still evident on her face. Trying to get away from the topic as I joined them at the table, I began, "So Annie, what do you want to do today? Oliver and I will have some work to do and of course continue the party planning."

"Can I help with the party?"

"Uh, sure. If you want too." I answered. "I don't know how much fun it will be though. Wouldn't you rather continue your tennis, swimming, and karate lessons?"

"Oh no, I wanna help. It's my party. I should at least do some of the work."

At the sentiment, Oliver and I looked at each other and shared and endeared smile. Oliver then chimed in, "It really isn't necessary, Annie. But if you want to help you are more than welcome."

Annie cheered and began scarfing down her food. I laughed, "Annie dear, slow down. If you eat that fast you won't feel like doing anything!"

After we slowly finished our breakfasts, we went straight to work. Oliver had routine business calls to make, so Annie and I began working on the invitations. It was rather fun actually. I showed her samples of papers and ribbons and she chose which of each she liked best. We then double checked the list to make sure we hadn't forgotten anyone.

"Could we invite Miss Hannigan?" she requested.

I was a bit taken aback by her words. "If you want to… but may I ask why?"

"Because she tried to stop her brother from killing me. I mean, I suppose I wouldn't've been taken in the first place if it hadn't been for her, but I don't know… I just want to thank her I guess."

I smiled genuinely and responded, "I think that's very noble of you."

Lunch time rolled around and we stopped to eat. It was a beautifully warm day so we decided to have a picnic out in the garden. Oliver initially wasn't going to join us, but Annie finally convinced him to take a break. I was glad to see him rest, he looked very tired himself. I didn't make a fuss over it though. I knew for a fact that I looked just as bad. I'm sure the six cups of coffee I'd consumed that morning didn't help with matters either.

After lunch Annie and I finished the invitations and then we decided to walk them to the post office ourselves. It was a bit of a hike, but it really was a lovely day. Besides, I loved spending time with Annie. She's such a delight to be around. I was so thrilled that she was here to stay. The thought of sending her back had plagued me since her first night. It wasn't easy when we all discovered that she was waiting for her real parents, and I will always feel guilty about how selfishly sad I felt about losing her. I shouldn't have let her see how upset I was. I should have shown her how happy I was to see her lifelong dream come true. Then of course there was the horror of seeing her hanging off of that bridge! But now-despite her real parents' fates-everything was perfect. Annie was here to stay (even though Oliver and I- I mean… Oliver. Oliver could never replace her parents, but we-he would be the best substitute there could be). You may be with Oliver now, but that does not make you Annie's mother.

I was sad to see our little trip end when we arrived home in the early evening (aside from the fact my feet and legs were incredibly sore—heels are not the proper walking shoes). Before dinner I had to help Oliver with some dictations, so Annie went into the kitchen to see Mrs. Pugh. Not only did she enjoy helping the cook prepare the meals, but she also enjoyed relaying her day to her. It was rather sweet. And I knew Mrs. Pugh enjoyed the visits as well.

When I walked into the office, Oliver greeted me with a wide, yet tired smile from behind his desk. "Enjoy your walk?"

"I did, thank you." Walking over and then sitting in the chair across from him, I asked, "How were things around here?"

"Fine," he shrugged, "nothing very exciting. How about the party? Is it coming along well?"

"Oh yes, splendidly. Tomorrow starts the 'grueling' work, so to say. I think I'll encourage Annie to get back to her lessons. I don't believe she'll find much fun in menu planning, seating arrangements, and circus rehearsals."

Oliver chuckled, "Call me crazy, but I think she might enjoy the circus rehearsals."

Sharing his laugh, I agreed, "You're probably right. But other than that, I think she'll grow rather bored."

"You never know with Annie." he winked.

"That is very true." We shared another smile, and then I picked up my notebook and pen. "So… shall we begin?"