After hearing Paul say that she was acting strangely she made it her mission for the rest of the day to block out her thoughts and feelings and just focus on enjoying spending time with Paul and the kids. Once the kids were in bed and sound asleep she could allow herself to have the necessary conversation with Paul but until then she didn't want the kids to pick up on anything.

The kids had both been fed and bathed and Lucy was fast asleep in the nursery but now they just had to get Alex to sleep however he was fighting them on it, "I not s'eepy."

With Stephanie having been a bit funny all afternoon Paul decided to take the lead on this situation and allow her chance to relax. Turning to her he quietly said, "I think just one of us should deal with this so he won't have all of our attention so why don't you go and relax downstairs and I'll try to get him to sleep?"

Immediately frowning at his words he made it sound like she wasn't capable of taking care of her own son, "do you not trust me with him?"

Looking at her like she was crazy he shook his head, "that is not it at all. I was just offering to handle this so you could just relax for a bit as this may take a while. If you'd prefer to do it then you can but I was just trying to be a good boyfriend."

Smiling sheepishly she felt guilty for jumping to conclusions, "I'm sorry. I think you're probably right so I will just go downstairs." Walking over to Alex she bent down and kissed the top of his head, "be a good boy and go to sleep for your Daddy. Goodnight."

Watching Stephanie as she left the room Paul then turned his attention to Alex, "bedtime for you. What book do you want me to read to you tonight?"

Crossing his arms defiantly he shook his head, "none."

Pressing his lips together in a tight line he shook his head, "well if that's how you feel I guess you can go to sleep without having a bedtime story. Goodnight Alex."

Realising that his Dad was serious and if he didn't tell him what book he wanted he would be left alone he pouted, "monster storwee p'ease."

Feeling quite pleased at the fact that Alex had picked a story he was hoping he would go to sleep easily, "monster story it is then."

Fifteen minutes later and Paul was heading downstairs and Alex was sound asleep. Walking into the lounge he collapsed onto the couch beside Stephanie, "he's fast asleep now thank goodness."

Turning to her boyfriend she smiled softly, "thank you for that and I'm sorry if I've been a bit funny today."

Sitting up he turned in his seat to look at her, "it's okay, it really is. Why have you been funny though? Was it something I did or said?"

Shaking her head she wished that it was because at least then it would be easily sorted, "it wasn't you but it was Sarah."

Sighing softly he had a feeling that she had something to do with it, "what about Sarah?"

Opening her mouth she quickly closed it again realising that it would sound sort of like she was jealous or trying to stop Sarah being involved with Lucy if she said what it was really about, "you were acting weird when she left and you said you had a gut feeling about something and would tell me more later and now is later."

Laughing softly he nodded his head, "it sure is. My gut feeling is that I don't trust her, I feel like she is only back around because she wants money or something like that."

Confused as to where he would have gotten that from she raised her eyebrow, "why would you think she would want money? Why don't you trust her?"

He didn't even know how to explain it, it was just a feeling he got in the pit of his stomach, "I think she wants money because she outright asked for it. She said her car had broken down and she needed five hundred dollars to fix it."

Sensing there was more to it than simply that she pushed him "but?"

"But there is just something about needing five hundred dollars to fix her car that doesn't sound right with me. I know I'm not a mechanic and I don't know what is wrong with it but call it a fear of history repeating itself if you want but I think she was lying, especially when she got more than a little upset and pushy when I said I couldn't afford it."

Sighing softly she was hoping that her bad feeling was a fear of the unknown with Sarah but the more she heard from Paul the less she was believing that herself, "that doesn't really sound very good. Was there anything else that led you to believe she may not be as straight as she says she is?"

Nodding his head there was one thing, "I asked her if she had a job and she said she was settled and happy and was looking for a job but again I have no proof of this, it is just a gut feeling I have. Maybe I'm being overly cautious because of her past and maybe I should just wipe the slate clean and let her start fresh?"

Now was definitely not the time to mention the look Sarah had given Alex so she decided to just pretend it didn't happen and to try and give Paul the support he desperately needed, "after asking for such a large amount of money and being a little evasive answering your questions I think you have every right to be cautious, especially after her history. If she had given you some form of proof to say that she had gotten herself help for her gambling addiction and was a changed woman then I would be more inclined to say that you were being overly cautious and just needed to cut her some slack. Appearing out of the blue after nearly an entire year with no apology or reasons as to why she hasn't been in contact you definitely have every right to be wary of what she says to you and what you allow of her in regards to your daughter."

"Our."

Looking at him strangely she didn't know what he was talking about, "our? Our what?"

Laughing at her not realising what he meant he reached for Stephanie's hand, "our daughter, Lucy is our daughter."

Blushing she felt stupid for not realising that, "oh, oops. You should be wary of what she says to you and of what you allow her to do with our daughter. I am not saying to stop her seeing Lucy or anything like that but for the time being I know you were going to be cautious anyway but maybe it is an idea to be extra cautious. How was she actually with Lucy?"

Shrugging his shoulders he didn't even know how to explain it, "I'd like to say good but to be honest she wasn't really but she hasn't been around her in nearly a year so maybe the trust has got to be built up between them? I am not sure what it was but Lucy definitely didn't take to her well, she didn't like her holding her or touching her before she left."

Lucy had been such an easygoing baby and had taken well to most people she had come in contact with that Stephanie was surprised to hear that, "that is odd. I guess you should give it time and take it visit by visit and see how things progress."

Nodding his head he was definitely going to do that but there was one extra thing he was going to do, "I don't want Sarah left alone in a room with Lucy for the time being, just until Sarah has proved herself and I trust her with Lucy."

Not seeing any sort of problem with that she nodded her head, "I think that's a wise decision. Is she coming back next weekend?"

Shrugging his shoulders he hadn't made a decision, "I said originally on a consistent and regular basis so I guess so, I told her I'd text her during the week about it. Enough about her now though, I just want to enjoy being with you."

That is all Stephanie wanted to so moving closer to him she snuggled into his side, "sounds good to me."