*Comes crawling back*
I know, I know! It's been far too long again. Although I know how the story will end, I had a bit of trouble which way to take it in the meantime so it's taken me a while to write this. Anyway this is a pretty short chapter, but rest assured there is more to come! I never abandon fics, it might just be a while between updates!

"I can't believe you actually managed to get in there and find her that quickly," Brian told Andy, looking impressed. "So what was she like?"

The other boy shrugged. "I dunno, really. She looked normal enough. A little like Ally. Pretty young."

"Was she pleased to see her?" Brian asked.

"Well she didn't recognize her at first. I guess you wouldn't, after all that time. Then Allison freaked out and ran outta there," Andy recalled. "Her mom went after her. I dunno what was said but she managed to persuade Ally to go talk with her tonight."

"I'm guessing Allison didn't... you know, say much on the way back to the hotel?"

The sport just shook his head, clearly not wanting to discuss his girlfriend's lack of communication skills. "What did you guys get up to today anyway?"

Brian laughed nervously. "Huh. Well, you know I spent most of it in the arcades. They've got some really cool games here that I've never seen back home. Real high cutting technology kinda stuff. There was this one game, 'Space Odyssey' or 'Space Legacy'... something like that... it had the coolest graphics I have ever seen. Bar none. I mean I'm no gaming enthusiast or anything-"

"Could've fooled me," Andy commented, glancing up as the door of the Brian's hotel room opened and Claire put her head in. He didn't think he had ever been so pleased to see Claire Standish before.

"Hi guys. Can I come in?"

"Hi Claire. Sure," Brian nodded, waving her in. "I was just telling Andy about-"

"I think it'll be lost on her man," Andy said quickly, giving the nerd a friendly pat on the shoulder. "How was your day?"

Claire shrugged. "Oh, you know. How'd it go with Allison? Did you find her mom?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She's with her now."

Sensing she wasn't getting much more, Claire put her purse down and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Do you guys wanna go get something to eat? I'm starving," she said.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Brian nodded. "Andy?"

"Nah, I think I might just wait here for Ally," he said, before glancing over at Claire. "Where's Bender?"

"There's a sushi bar right down the street from here. We could go there if you've never tried it before," the redhead suggested, pretending she hadn't heard Andy's question.

"Sure. Will uh... will John be joining us?" Brian asked, stiffly.

Claire scoffed. "I doubt it."

"Why not? Where is he?" Andy asked again.

She exhaled, tousling her hair distractedly. "I don't know, okay? I've not seen him since lunch."

Brian frowned. "How come Claire?"

"Well... you know what he's like. He blows everything completely out of proportion and takes everything the wrong way. Everything always has to be an insult or a put-down with him. We can't just go for coffee, it has to be coffee with a slice of sarcasm followed by him storming off somewhere," she said, without pausing for breath.

"In other words, you've had a fight," Andy began.

"Again," both boys concluded.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Allison didn't know how long she'd been sat in the back of the car beside the mother she barely knew. She also didn't know what had come over her, what had possessed her to open her mouth and spill about her father.

But she had. And now she couldn't take it back.

For the most part her mother had just listened, which was funny because other than Andy, not a lot of people had taken the time to do that.

Allison hadn't gone in to too much detail about her "relationship" with her father. But she could tell just by looking at her mother that she had said enough to paint a picture of a far from happy childhood.

And then they had sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity; Isobel, looking horrified at what she had just heard and Allison, appalled at herself for opening up to a woman that was more or less a complete stranger.

Eventually, however, Allison felt a hand brush her hair back from her face.

"Allison, I'm so sorry," her mother told her. "If there had been any other way..."

"And what? There wasn't?" she snapped, feeling a fresh wave of anger wash over her.

"It was complicated, Allison. I don't know how much you remember back then but-"

"All I remember is that one day you were there, and the next you weren't. And I spent years wondering why I got left behind... whether it was my fault..." Allison told her.

"Oh, sweetheart, no. Look at me," Isobel took Allison's head in her hands. "None of it was your fault. You were just a little girl. I'm so sorry."

"Why? You can't change it," she muttered.

"What did he say to you? You must have asked him about me... and you know, what happened," her mother guessed.

Allison just shrugged her shoulders. "He just said you left because you couldn't handle it. Me."

Isobel frowned, and Allison was sure she heard her mother speak at least two expletives under her breath.

"It wasn't you. It was never you, I need you to know that," she told her. "It was... complicated, and there's a lot of stuff he won't have told you."

"And will you?" she asked.

Her mother nodded. "If that's what you want."

"Not tonight. I'm tired," Allison said. And she was- both physically and mentally.

"That's okay. If you're gonna be around for a while then we'll see each other again, won't we?" her mother asked. "I mean, if you want to."

"I guess I can call you. If you're not too busy," she said stiffly.

"I'm not. I'd like that," Isobel smiled.

Another awkward pause followed, and then Isobel leaned across and planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead, before Allison scrambled out of the car.

Isobel sighed, watching after her until Allison disappeared from view, leaving her alone in the car.

Or at least, she thought she was alone.

Right up until somebody popped up in the back row of seats, hit their head on the roof of the car and swore quite colourfully.

Isobel jumped out of her skin. "Jesus! What the hell?!"

"Yeah, what the hell? As touching as all that was, I was trying to sleep. Gotta get my 8 hours," the figure said, before leaning across and extending a hand. "You must be Klepto's mom. John Bender. We meet at last."