A/N : Back, and still reeling a bit from writing the previous chapter. I think that was one of the most intense chapters I've ever written, and I am soo happy that you all loved it. THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS, THEY MEANT THE WORLD.

They always do, so please?

I need reviews after another day spent as a racoon. Oh - the horror!

XO

Sara

Well, Sam was a quiet baby. Not one of those 'nightly non-stop howlers' they warned you about in maternity books, called What to do when your baby hates you or How to keep from crying. The little girl who had Sara's eyes was all good.

Sure, she cried when she got hungry, or did a doodle in her diaper or something, but she slept like an origami rose, every night. Her daddy was amazing too, never once complaining, apart from the grunt that escaped his throat on rare occasions.

They both slept in each others arms for hours at a time, with her crib next to their bed. Apparently, Samaire felt like she'd kept her parents up too many times before she was born.

Sara loved being a mother. It had given her a sense of...calm. She could just watch her daughter be, for hours at a time, while she pressed a hot cup of tea to her frozen cheek. It was, after all, November, and Sara needed to find a way to keep warm without Michael's arms wrapped around her 24/7. He only worked half days now and came home in the afternoons. As much as he loved his job, he claimed to love 'his girls' much much more and needed to be with them as much as he could.

She had smiled tenderly at him when he had come home at noon for the first time and she'd heard the quiet thump of his briefcase being set on the woodenfloor. After kissing her sweetly, he gently took his baby girl out of her hands and pressed a kiss to the small forhead, rocking her back and forth.

No matter where Michael was going when he left the appartement, he never once forgot to kiss his daughter goodbye. Or his fiancée, for that matter.

Sara could see how happy he was. Michael was the sort of person that you need a manual for, but once you know the signs, he is... he is Michael. And hapiness radiated off of him. Once, she'd pouted and asked him if she'd been overthrown as "Michael's favorite woman" by her daughter. He'd just laughed. "You share. Deal with it."

And she had. All was perfect now.

Michael

He slowly slid the door closed and entered the small appartement. Smiling, he noticed Sara holding their daughter to her chest, both of them soundly asleep on the couch. He tiptoed to the study and pulled out his camera, needing to capture this moment, to look at it eternally.

They both looked so beautiful.

And they were his. He didn't know how on earth he got so lucky, why Fate had chosing this for him. But he thanked Destiny often.

It would be like this forever. Forever perfect.

Samaire would grow up, and they'd protect her as much as they could, but they wouldn't smother her. He grinned. Well, he wouldn't smother her. Doctor Sara was another matter entirely.

Her eyes fluttered open and glared at him when she saw the camera in his hand. Sara was never one for pictures, claiming she wasn't photogenic in the least. If she only knew.

Michael was turning soft and he knew it. The man who had 'robbed a bank' and had survived more than a year in prison, was mellowing because of girls. Where was the time Lincoln and him vowed never to get 'hooked'?

"I hate girls."Michael, age eight, had said to his big brother, after Sandra Wilkes had pushed him in the mud and called him a 'butthead'.

"U-huh." Lincoln said. "They're like...like..." He paused. "Only good at cooking."

"Yeah!" Michael joined in, "...and...cleaning!"

"Making babies!"

"and...irosing!"

Lincoln chuckled. "That's ironing, squirt."

Michael bit his lip decidedly. "That's what I said! I'm never ever going to fall in love with a girl! They're stupid."

Lincoln nodded. "Promise?"

"I promise." He nodded his head.

"Me too, brother. Me too!"

Well, he'd kept his promise. That is, until Licoln decided to get framed and make him rob a bank. That is, until he got to the infirmary on that first day, and had seen her.

It was all Lincoln's fault – and he couldn't thank him enough.

Veronica

She needed to get out. Yes, oh YES, she loved her Emily, but the kid could be quite a handful sometimes. Veronica needed some girl time – minus her daughter.

So she called Sara.

Hell, the boys could take care of their children, right? Lincoln had his own business, and could do what the hell he wanted, and LJ was just...hanging around the house all the time. Sure, they helped her – but beind the 'mother of the menace' was tiring.

Fifty-three minutes later, Veronica and Sara had booked an online flight to Tenerife, due to leave in two days. They'd travel for a bit, get sunburned and enjoy the silence of the ocean.

Now all they had to do was tell the guys.

Tenerife, ah, doesn't that sound lovely...And silence...Silence, blessed blessed Silence...It might not be all it's cracked up to be, you'll see. The Tenerife part was actually inspired by real events. My sister is planning to go to Tenerife with her bf for a few days...I couldn't resist.

Please let me know what you think!

XO Rosie the racoon. (winks)