A long awaited update...apologies for the wait, it's been a crazy busy week and I haven't had a lot of time to write...actually today is the first time I've touched a computer in a week! I'm hoping to cram some writing time in this evening and later this week to get caught up and back stock some more chapters, but no promises...

Last chapter everyone is pissed off at everyone and it's a hot mess...hopefully things will get worked out and back on track...enjoy!

Melissa sat alone at the kitchen table moving her food around the plate; her earlier outburst had resulted in Brooke locking herself in her room. She didn't want to see or speak to her mother only opening the door wide enough to grab food Melissa left outside. The worst part was Melissa couldn't bring herself to call Phil and apologize; maybe she wasn't right for blowing up at him, but he was also in the wrong acting the way he was. Once again she was stuck in a no win situation, story of her life.

After rinsing off her plate and putting it in the dishwasher, Melissa sat down staring at her phone wondering what to do next. She hated the situation she was in having to depend on Phil to help her out because there should have been someone else. The sick feeling in her stomach arose again as she began to think about Ryan and her parents, the family she no longer had. While her parents had long given up on her, she knew that if Ryan were still alive he would've done everything in his power to help her out; Phil used to be the same way, but seeing the circumstances, he wasn't as willing as he once was.

She was drawn away from her self-pity as her phone vibrated and the very person she'd been thinking about was calling. Melissa took a deep breath before answering, mentally reminding herself to stay calm no matter what was said.

"Hello…"

"I just thought you should know that I just got off the phone with Brooke and I think I successfully talked her out of running away. She's really upset with you…"

"Thanks for calling and reminding me; the slamming the door in my face and yelling was the first hint though!" Melissa's reminder to stay calm had quickly gone out the window as she found herself getting defensive.

"Can you just listen for once? Christ, I can see some things still haven't changed…" Melissa rolled her eyes choosing to hold her tongue and let Phil continue. "Anyway, she's upset with you, but I explained to her that she should be just as upset with me. I shouldn't have hesitated to take her for the whole week and I apologize that I did. I know your job is important to you and I'm willing to do whatever it is that I can to help you succeed." Melissa found a small smile gracing her lips as she quickly swiped away a tear that had fallen.

"I also owe you a big apology; I shouldn't have gone off like that, especially not in front of Brooke, but you pushed the wrong button. As much as I wish that I had someone else to help me out, I don't."

"Jane and Dean not willing to help out?" The tears continued to fall as the subject of her parents was brought up.

"Unfortunately I haven't spoken to them in almost eleven years."

"Really? So they've never met Brooke?"

"Not only have they never met Brooke, my father kicked me out when I told them Brooke existed. I was almost left homeless at seven months pregnant, but luckily I had planned ahead."

"I'm so sorry Mel, I didn't know…god if you would've just come to me…"

"If I would've come to you it could've made a difference, but let's be honest neither of us would be where we are personally or professionally if we would've decided to be a family."

"We can agree to disagree about that, but I know I'm the positive one here…" Melissa let out a small laugh feeling much better now that she'd discussed things with him. "So, are you flying Brooke here or do you want me to fly there and get her?"

"I'll fly with her to make sure everything is okay; it'll be my first time away from her and even though I trust you, I'm still not looking forward to it."

"You'll both be fine; I think you should take a few days off though to hang out in Chicago seeing you haven't been here in ten years. Granted it hasn't changed, but I know you always loved it; it could be a nice getaway…" Melissa bit her lower lip finding it insane that she was considering visiting her hometown after so many years; nonetheless at Phil's recommendation.

"I'll see how things go in New York and go from there, but I'm overdue for a vacation, so I'm heavily considering it. Thanks for doing this; it means a lot to both of us…"

"It's the least I can do and even though I hesitated at first, I'm looking forward to hanging out with Brooke for a whole week; I'm just hoping she doesn't find her old man to be boring." Melissa laughed imagining the smirk playing on his lips.

"I don't think she'll ever find you boring; you're practically all she talks about and frankly I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a tad jealous."

"There's nothing to be jealous of; you're her mom, no one will ever replace you, but you just have to adjust to sharing her because I don't plan on going away ever." Melissa felt her heart start to race as his words replayed in her mind; she knew he was always going to be there for Brooke, but what about their relationship?

Brooke counted down the days on her calendar impatiently waiting for March 10 when she would make the trip from California to Chicago and spend two weeks with her dad. Although she was a little nervous about flying for the first time, her excitement overshadowed the nerves.

The night before Melissa helped her daughter pack, double and triple checking that she had everything she needed and then some. Originally the plan was for Melissa to fly to Chicago with Brooke and then fly out to New York from there, but plans had changed. Even though she'd asked the airline every possible question she could think of about a minor flying alone, she was still beyond worried.

"Okay, so do you have your toothbrush, hairbrush and deodorant?"

"Check, check and check…will you please relax mom? It's not like they don't have stores in Chicago in case I forget something." Melissa let out a sigh sitting on the foot of the bed letting out a small laugh that her ten year old was the calm one.

"I'm sorry, but I'm very worried about you flying by yourself and I'm going to miss you a lot; we've never been away from each other." Brooke rolled her eyes hearing the sappiness in her mother's voice, but quickly regretted it when she saw the tears in her eyes. She let out a deep breath throwing her arms around her mom's neck in hope that it would comfort her and keep her from crying; it didn't.

"Mom I'll be okay; Punk is picking me up at the airport, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. He lives in the nice part of the city and he's getting pretty good at this dad thing, so there's nothing to worry about. You just go to New York and kick butt!" Melissa let out a laugh as she wiped the tears from her face.

"I know you'll be fine, but I'm your mom, so it's my job to worry about you. The good part of this is that after my presentation is wrapped up, I'm flying to Chicago to hang out with you and Phil for a few days; it'll be a nice vacation for everyone."

"Sounds great, hopefully it'll help you get your mind off of that David guy…" Melissa pursed her lips; Brooke didn't like anything about David, though she wasn't sure why. The 'boyfriend meeting' hadn't happened yet, mostly because she had been so busy with work recently there wasn't any time.

"About that, David is actually coming to Chicago too. He has a meeting to attend and I thought it would be a nice time for you two to get to finally meet each other. I've already talked it over with your dad and he thinks it's a good idea too." Brooke pulled back from her mother crossing her arms over her chest; she was not pleased with this idea and didn't see any good in it.

"Why do I have to meet him? What if I don't want to?"

"Brooke please don't act like that; we've talked about this before, I make sure you have everything you need and I think it would be nice to have a guy around, for both of us."

"We do have a guy around, my dad!" Melissa rubbed her temples knowing there was no way she was going to win this.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you, especially seeing we both have an early flight tomorrow, so can we please forget about this?" Brooke nodded dropping her arms to her sides. "All I ask is that when you do meet him you are the respectful young lady I raised; also that reminds me please pack your blue flowered dress because you'll need it."

"No way! I cross the line at wearing a dress! I hate dresses mom, you know it!"

"Brooke please don't be so difficult! For once in your life just wear what I want you to wear…the rest of the trip I don't care what you wear, I'm just asking that you dress up and look presentable one night." Brooke rolled her eyes before turning to get the dress from her closet.

"Can I wear shorts under it?" Melissa threw up her hands, "I don't care what you wear under it; just please finish packing." Brooke smirked feeling satisfied that she'd gotten her own way. Melissa thought it was time to get away from her adolescent daughter before she lost her mind deciding there was no better time then now to pack her own bag.

Meeting the new boyfriend...things are bound to get rough, but will it only effect Brooke, or will Punk be bothered by it too?