Hi everyone :) thank you always for your patience and all your lovely comments. I've had a really tough week and wasn't feeling like much until I remembered how much I love to write and how healing I find it to be. Thank you all again so very very much and I really hope you continue to enjoy :) x

A year ago she would have sung praises about Mic. Now, the thought of cutting ties with him was a real possibility. She avoided the thought at all cost and when it did cross her mind she would quickly push it aside, but the fact was Mic made her uncomfortable. He always had. He was overpowering and possessive despite there being nothing between them. He was quick to be angry and his strength was frightening. And although she considered herself strong and independent, she had kept quiet and made herself malleable to him for the sake of her career and thereby future. The thought that she had in a way being 'selling' herself often crossed her mind which then brought on feelings of shame and disappointment in herself. She didn't want to believe she was being manipulated…but she was and she knew it. The fear of repercussion was somehow stronger.

It was not worth the comparison but somehow the idea that she remained in this 'relationship' of sorts out of what can only be described as fear, not of physical but more of professional repercussions…reminded her of her own abused mother and her alcoholic father. It was perhaps this, the very reason her mother never left her father. Because there comes a moment when one person can control another into almost thinking that staying put is what's best for them. Of course the situation was no where near as physical as it had been with her parents, but she could certainly see how things could slowly spiral in that direction.

The blessing in disguise however, came in the form of Chloe! The decision to leave the firm was practically made for her and by extension she had inadvertently cut loose of all…this. And that was an incredibly satisfying feeling!

Mic used his foot to stop the door from slamming in his face.

"Is that how you greet an old acquaintance?" asked Mic with a rather sick smile as he pushed his way into the apartment.

"That's how I greet scum like you!" she fought back. "What the bloody fuck are you doing here?"

Mic raised an eyebrow as he did a quick scan of the apartment; "life has been good to you Loren." Lifting a photo of a very young Chloe from the bookcase, he turned to look at Loren and smiled; "very good in fact."

He knew the building and had even wondered if Sadik had got the address wrong. It couldn't possibly be that an addict like Loren who not long ago was sleeping rough, was now living in such luxury.

Storming up to him, she ripped the photo out of his hand put it back on the bookcase.

"I hear you have a…job now," he began as he made himself comfortable on one of the large black leather sofas. "Why only use when you can sell too right? I imagine it must be a very expensive habit to maintain."

Mic watched almost expectantly as Loren instinctively raised a hand and began to scratch at the crook of her arm. Yes she was living large and her appearance was matching that, but the signs of a user were all there if only you paid close attention. She was still extremely gaunt, with pale skin that was spotted with bruises. Her cheeks sunk in as her eyes looked a little too big for their sockets. Her clothes were clean as was the rest of the apartment…but there was a certain smell in the air that was quite distinguishable if you knew what you were looking for.

"What the fuck do you want?" she demanded in a low growl.

"Loren," he whispered as he shook his head as if telling off a child. "We had some good times didn't we?"

"You siding with that whore of yours and taking my daughter away! That was not a bloody good time!"

"Watch it!" he burst out in anger and then simmered back down; "Careful how you speak of Sarah!"

"Oh. That's right. I'd forgotten how madly in love you are with her," she mocked him. "Like a little puppy following her scent."

His nostrils flared as his anger quickly got the better of him. In once swift move he was up and had pinned Loren to the nearest wall, knocking over several ornaments along the way.

Breathing heavily he looked at her dead in the eyes before crashing his lips against hers quite forcefully. She fought it for all of a second before she too was biting at his lips. It was aggressive and not at all clean. As his hips pressed against hers, his hands literally tore in half the shirt she was wearing. Their lips were bruised and a little bloodied as he moved to her neck, hearing her beg for more.

"You want more?" he repeated in her ear, biting her lobe for good measure.

"Yes!" she screamed as she pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"You listen to me," he grabbed her head with both hands and for a moment became very serious. "Your daughter is getting in my way," he waited a moment for Loren to focus; "So this is what you're going to do." He licked her lips; "You're going to play the devoted mother," kissed her neck; "Who for the love of her daughter, got herself rehabbed," massaged her right breast with one hand; "Found a job. Got herself a lovely apartment for two and straightened herself out," tugged at her earlobe with his teeth; "All in the hope of one day claiming her one and only daughter back. Because you love her and cannot live one more day without her."

Despite the urge to physically have him, Loren had been listening very carefully. Pulling away, she asked; "What's in it for me?"

Mic frowned knowing all too well what she was asking.

"Mic. Look at me now. Look at my life. Do you think I have any interest in getting that little snot of child back into my life?" she asked coldly. "Chloe is in the way of you getting into the pants of that bitch. So you want me to get rid of the middleman for you. But I still don't see what I gain in all this. In fact, I'm losing my freedom as far as I'm concerned. So if you really want this…make it worth it my while!" she finished up before lunging at his lips decided to finish what they'd started.

"How are you feeling?" Mattie asked cautiously.

Chloe frowned; "Fine," and shrugged; "I'm gasping for a cigarette but other than that fine. Why?"

Mattie shrugged and answered with another question; "You liking the ride?"

Chloe nodded; "Yeah. Bit uncomfortable at first but yeah it's good. I take it you ride a lot? You seem to know your way around horses very well."

Mattie nodded; "I've been riding since I was little. When my father left and dad took me in, Mackie was probably the first one I thought about. I didn't know grams then so I didn't know where my boy was going to end up. Luckily he gets to stay here and I can come and see him anytime I want."

"Cool," was Chloe's standard reply.

"Did you have any pets back in New York?" asked Mattie

Chloe shook her head; "Nah," she did recall the gray fluffy stray that would wander around with her whenever she ended up on the streets. She sometimes wondered what had become of him? She liked him. She liked spending time with him.

As they continued on, Chloe looked at the grounds around them before asking; "So does all this belong to your grandma?"

Mattie nodded proudly; "Yep."

"Wow," Chloe admitted. She had never seen such vast and seemingly empty land. She was born in to a world of brick buildings and concrete gardens. It was almost overwhelming and a little alien to her. It felt like freedom and she wasn't sure what to do with all of it.

"Are you going to the prom?" Mattie broke through her thoughts.

Chloe frowned; "No. Why?"

"Mattie shrugged; "No reason," thought clearly a little disappointed.

"Are you going?" asked Chloe.

"No…well…I don't know. Dad said he'd think about it." Mattie considered her next words before saying them; "Is Trent going?"

Chloe raised an eyebrow in understanding; "Oh! So all of this has nothing to do with me," she joked.

Mattie panicked; "No. I mean…" she stopped at the look of satisfaction on Chloe's face.

"Mattie's got a crush," Chloe sang into the air.

"Shh!" Mattie begged before turning back to see if her dad was within earshot – thankfully he looked too busy with Chloe's mom to be paying any attention to them.

Chloe smirked and the sighed; "I don't if he's going. But I'm sure you can ask him."

"I can't ask him!" Mattie claimed

"I'm not asking you to ask him to the prom. I'm asking you to ask him if he's going. That's what friends do. They talk to each other."

"We're not friends," Mattie muttered

"I thought you guys were getting along quite well," Chloe shrugged.

"I'm not…" Mattie stumbled on her words; "don't worry about it."

Chloe watched her out of the corner of her eye. There was something about Mattie that made her feel…old. Older. Like perhaps she had lived several lives in the span of Mattie's 16 years. There was room for that sentiment to become resentment. There was room for Chloe to feel angry at Mattie. It was a case of 'same but different' between the two. They were both under the care of people unrelated to them…and yet the way in which each ended up in that situation was vastly different. Or so she thought.

On the other hand…there was such an innocent air about Mattie that it almost tugged at the 'older' feeling in Chloe.

"I'll ask him," she mumbled before looking over her shoulder and then back at Mattie. "So is there anything other than open space around here?"

Mattie smiled and picked up the pace.

Harm didn't know which was worse; saying something and having it come out wrong, or saying nothing at all.

Her confession had come as a surprise considering how much she had advocated for Mic from the word go. In fact he wasn't sure what had happened to set this off…because something had to have happened. He couldn't say he was happy…but he was certainly a lot more…relieved. In one simple statement she had allayed all his fears. No matter what she said there had always been a question mark over her relationship with Mic. They looked so intimate it was hard to pull it apart. But she had come to this conclusion all on her own and he could only be grateful for that.

Now all he had to do was…not screw it up!

"I'm sorry," she broke through his thoughts with a smile. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to listen to all this," taking one hand off the reigns and wiping her eyes a little embarrassed.

"No!" was his immediate reaction. "No. Please don't say that." Ok. He had to something but up on a horse was making it difficult. Gripping the reigns a little harder he quickly thought before; "give me a minute," he begged before riding faster and catching up to the girls. Coming up to Mattie's side he asked of her; "Hey! Why don't you two girls ride up to the top of the creek and make your down from there? I'll take Mac to the bottom and meet you girls there."

Mattie simply nodded; "Ok."

Chloe bit her tongue avoiding a smartass comment about using protection but couldn't avoid the knowing look she gave him.

"An hour though!" he warned. "No more than that!"

"Yes," Mattie confirmed a powerfully.

Harm blinked and nearly flinched back at the firmness in her voice. Watching her with an odd expression, he simply nodded; "Ok. You two be careful," before pulling his horse away and riding back towards Mac feeling just a little odd about that moment.

After sending the girls off, Harm and Mac had picked up the pace a bit. The path to the bottom of the creek was entwined and densely forested with white trees that whispered with the wind and the distance sound of tricking and flowing water. If there was such a thing as fairytales, she figured this would be the ideal place for castles and knights in shining armor.

The ground had progressively become more uneven as they moved further and further down. Enough that for a moment he had moved up close to her and taken hold of her reigns pulling the horse upright and forward. Until they broke through the trees and found themselves at the edge of a very calm and shallow waterbed. Large rocks and even taller trees bordered it. The sounds from the wind and the birds echoed through and even the soft steps of their horses broke the stillness.

"Wow," she whispered. "This is so beautiful."

Harm smiled and finally brought his horse to a stop. Dismounting like a professional, he tied the horse safely to a large tree. Then heading towards her, he took the reigns off her and then in the most gentleman of manners, he extended his arms up to her. As she supported herself on his shoulders, she felt his hands on her hips as he quickly lifted her enough to dismount the horse.

Letting go of her just as quickly, he turned and tied her horse securely next to his.

Turning he prompted; "Come on,"

Following him, they began to walk through uneven and rocky ground, enough that she was losing her footing. She only did it once, because he quickly took her hand and guided her. It was such an instinctive move that neither took it as anything other than innocent chivalry.

Reaching a flat and large rock, he let go of her and supported himself against it and pulled himself up onto it. Turning he gave her his hands and pulled her up with him.

The view was nothing like she had ever imagined. As she caught her breath, she looked around and found herself amazed. The length of the creek could be seen from here. The mountains in the backdrop and the fresh, crisp air around them.

"I didn't think places like these even existed," she whispered.

"Oh they are real," he smiled. "You just need to know where to look," he said as he watched her every move.

Getting a grip on her disbelief, she looked at him. Dropping her arms, she went back to their unresolved conversation; "I'm sorry about before. In fact I'm sorry about a lot of things that have happened since Chloe and I arrived here."

Harm shook his head and smiled; "Do you wanna have a seat?" he indicated to the edge of the rock.

Smiling she followed along and sat down with him. Their legs dangling off the edge and their legs were merely centimeters apart.

Taking his time he finally spoke; "I think you're really brave."

She frowned.

"You and I both took on a huge responsibility. We have daughters that are not actually ours. We didn't have to do it and yet we did. But…I had my mother and my grandmother. You went at it alone. And for that you have my respect. It's not easy at the best of times. I can't even imagine how hard it is with a troubled girl like Chloe. And quite frankly you are doing one hell of a job!"

"No I'm not," she shook her head vehemently.

"You are!" he rebutted. "You probably can't see it because you are there with her every day but…Chloe has made…a lot of progress from that first day."

Mac continued to shake her head

"Mac," he tried again. "You said it yourself. This was going to take time. Patience. Her issues are not going to resolve as quickly as shifting her to another place. But it was certainly the best decision you could have made for her."

Sighing, Mac's shoulders dropped; "sometimes I feel that maybe the move was more for my benefit than for hers. The number of people, so called friends, whom essentially turned their backs on me when she started living with me. The number of offhanded comments that were thrown around about the 'psychotic child' that was living with me." The thought alone was burning her vision yet again.

"And Mic?" he couldn't help ask.

Mac rolled her eyes at the thought; "Mic was…strangely always there," but the frowned. "Although the more I think back the more I remember that in the beginning he was also strongly against it." But then quickly dismissed the thought. "I don't know. It's over now anyway." She let out a long breath. "How are you not tired of me?"

"Oh I'm only getting started!" he joked and smiled.

Shaking her head with a smile she began with renewed enthusiasm; "Alright. That's enough about me. I want to know about you."

"That's a bit personal don't you think?" he teased

She merely smiled. A smile that he returned.

"What do you wanna know?" he asked.

"I don't know. What about the blonde at your house that night?"

"Ah!" he said cheekily. "So we are getting personal," he giggled and then shook his head. "She's a…childhood acquaintance…for lack of a better word." And then shook his head again; "Nobody."

"It didn't seem like nobody from what Chloe described." 'Watch it Sarah Mackenzie' she warned herself. 'Your jealousy is showing'

Harm continued to find this line of conversation amusing. He could just tell her of his indifference towards Renee…but that would be too easy and he was loving the way her cheeks were turning red.

"You'll just have to take my word for it," his tone suddenly serious. Enough was enough. He was tired of hints and word games. He just wanted her. Now. "I've only got one person on my mind." He locked eyes with her. Cupping her left cheek with his right hand, he leaned in and let himself go. Touching her lips with his began as gentle and tentative hoping she wanted this just as much.

And oh she did!

As she leaned further into the kiss before they slowly came apart again. Looking down at those red and now slightly plum lips, he desperately needed more. Shifting just enough to be face on, he tasted her lips again. And again. And again. He kissed her gently. Then a little stronger. A soft moan escaping her throat. He licked her bottom lip and then moved to the top one. Which was all she needed to prompt her into action. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she brought him closer and finally let him in. Parting her lips, their tongues met in a heated battle as another moan was just at the tip of her tongue. The need for air was the only thing strong enough to pull them apart.

Leaning their foreheads together; "I've been dying to do that," he confessed between shallow breaths.

"I'm glad you finally did," she replied just as out of breath.

"Maybe we should do it again?" he suggested cheekily with a raise of his eyebrow.

Biting her lower lip, she agreed; "maybe we should," she smiled before leaning in for more of this wonderful new addiction.