It was Saturday morning and the girls were really excited to see their Grandparents, Stephanie not so much.

Putting away the breakfast dishes and tidying up the kitchen as the girls were off brushing their teeth. The sound of her phone beeping was a welcome distraction to the chores.

Good morning gorgeous. Play nice with your Dad today, just think of the junk food you'll get as a reward once you survive the day without murdering him.

With everything that had happened over the past few months she had forgotten how much he made her smile and how well he could read her mind and know when she needed just a little reassurance.

What is good about it? I am about to spend the day with a bear with a sore head, I would much rather go to the Dentist and have a root canal.

Slipping her phone in to her pocket as she heard a scream of laughter which needed to be investigated as they were meant to be cleaning their teeth.


Paul had sent Stephanie a text early before she would have left for her parents to make sure she relaxed and tried to be nice to her Dad so that if he did suspect anything she could throw him off the scent. When he got her reply he smiled because that was exactly what form he expected her response to take. Double checking that he had everything they would need tonight, and a little bit extra, on his shopping list he made his way out to go and pick it all up so that there wasn't a last minute rush to grab the food and to get home before they did.


When Stephanie arrived at her parent's she spotted her youngest nephew's head in the lounge window before he quickly disappeared to probably tell everyone that they were here. Was it too late to turn around and go home again? The front door opened and Kenyon stood there with her Mom practically bouncing up and down clearly excited about something which meant she had to stay as she couldn't leave her nephew now. "Come on girls. Carefully get out of the car and stand by it in case any more cars arrive." She didn't think that they would but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Stepping out of the car she took a few deep breaths as the girls talked excitedly about what they were going to do with their cousins and whether Grandma was going to have cooked any cupcakes for them. Once the car was locked she walked around to where the girls were stood. "Come on girls, let's go and see everyone. Be careful as you walk across and keep focussed on your surroundings please."

The girls were good and most of the way followed her orders but as they got closer to their Grandma they were too excited and ran the rest of the way without looking. The girls were occupied by their Grandma and as soon as she reached the front door her nephew gave her a tight hug. "Miss you Auntie Stephy."

"I missed you too handsome. You are growing up so fast on me, before long you'll be a teenager like your brother."

"Eww, Declan's old."

"HEY! I heard that." Poking his head out of the front door Declan was relieved to see his Aunt because for the past ten minutes he had listened to his Pop as he complained to his Dad about her probably skipping it at the last minute. "Thank you for coming Auntie Stephy, I think Pop is driving Dad mad."

"I thought your Dad was already mad?" Smirking as her brother came into focus looking offended she slipped past her Mom to hug her eldest nephew before she hugged her brother. "I love you really Shane . . . or do I?"

Shane was so confused by his sister's behaviour, there was something different about her but he wasn't sure what exactly it was. When she pulled back he allowed her the pleasure of going to see their Dad alone as he was driving him crazy. As she walked away he suddenly remembered something he needed to say. "Marissa is in the dining room with Kenyon finishing off some art homework that he procrastinated over and then didn't have the materials for."

"No problem, consider that area off limits." Reluctantly she went to greet her Dad and hopefully he was no in a better mood.

Vince missed his carefree daughter from back before she knew her husband had cheated, back then she was happy and relaxed and as much as he hated to admit it recently she had been a lot happier but he had assumed she had just recognised that her husband was a waste of space and she was better off without him but after this past week he wasn't sure any more.

She walked in to the lounge to see her Dad staring at some sheets of paper. "You know that Mom will kill you if she catches you working on family day."

Placing the papers on the side he stood up opening his arms to his daughter. "I was only looking over some stuff whilst I waited for you to get past the welcoming committee and reach me."

"You could have always joined the welcoming committee as you call it."

"Do I look crazy? We may have a large hallway but standing there with everyone will just get me missed, this way you have to come and seek me out so I get all the attention."

She wasn't sure whether to laugh or roll her eyes at the statement as it was so her Dad. Luckily for Stephanie she didn't have chance to respond as her youngest called her name from the doorway. "Yes Vaughn?"

"Can I go play Xbox with Rory and Declan please?"

She had no problem with that although she was confused about her middle child. "Where is Murphy going to be?"

"Murphy's playing with the other toys."

Without the kids she had no buffer to her Dad's questions but she couldn't keep her around for those selfish reasons. "Of course you can, just remember to share and tell Declan and Aurora I told them they're not allowed to be mean just because you're younger and haven't played them as much as they have."

"Thank you Mommy." Quickly running in to the room she hugged her Mom. "Love you Mommy, love you Pop."

Vince watched his Granddaughter rush out of the room without hugging him and he frowned. "Are you turning the kids against me? Not one of them has given me a hug, hell the oldest two didn't even acknowledge that I was even here."

Taking a few deep breaths she tried her hardest not to blow up at her Dad, she was not going to give him the satisfaction of getting angry. "They simply didn't know that you were available and weren't holed up in your office working, they have been taught not to interrupt you if you're working so unless you're right there they don't go looking. Vaughn did say she loved you so that's something isn't it?"

"Well it would have been nice for them to come and say hello as everyone knows I'm not working so clearly the allure of the XBox was too much."

"Sure, whatever helps Dad." Luckily for Stephanie before her Dad could grill her on anything her brother walked in to the room.

"Right the kids are settled in the playroom and Steph, Mom wants your help with dinner please as Marissa is still helping with the homework."

She wasn't sure if her Mom was intentionally saving her or if she really needed the help but she was taking it. "Well if you excuse me I have to go before I get told off."


Linda was intentionally dragging Stephanie away from her Father because she knew the mood that Vince had been in and the amount he had been stewing about the kiss there was a good chance that he would immediately tackle her about it and completely ruin the day and annoy everybody at the same time.

When her daughter appeared in the doorway alone she was relieved as it meant Vince hadn't had the opportunity to open his mouth yet. "Thank you for coming to help me, with Marissa tied up I need the help and I know your brother would be no use."

"Shane is no good at anything so you did the right thing in calling me." It was obvious what her Mom needed helping with so she didn't even ask she just went over to the food and started preparing.

Linda allowed her daughter to do some preparation for dinner and she did also whilst she thought about what to say and how to approach it with her. Eventually she couldn't put it off any longer so she just had to bite the bullet. "So what's going on between you and Paul?"

Freezing mid chop she wasn't sure why she asked or what she wanted to hear. "What do you mean?"

"It's a simple question Stephanie, unless there is more to the story between the two of you than you have let on to us." Her non-answer was more telling than an actual answer would have been, her husband was right that there was something going on between them again.

What did she tell her Mom? She wasn't sure she was willing to admit the truth which meant she was going to have to lie to her Mom. She wasn't a child any longer but she felt really guilty about lying. "We're trying to navigate our feelings and the girl's feelings so it's hard. Paul was meant to have the girls today, hell I was going to say that we couldn't come today because of that but he had other ideas."

"So he was the one that texted your agreement?"

"He was. He had come over to have dinner with the girls and when my back was turned he stole my phone."

That did make sense; Linda had thought that the text sounded off for her daughter so that did make sense. "Yes but I meant is anything going on between you?"

Being confronted with that question she quickly realised that she definitely wasn't ready to be completely honest with her parents about her current status with Paul, she didn't know if it was a fear of disappointing them or a fear of them judging her. "I don't know what to tell you Mom. Currently we're just in a really weird place trying to navigate the whole co-parent thing and being civil with each other whilst trying to keep the girls as clueless as we can."

If Linda were to say that she was disappointed in her daughter then that would be an understatement, she expected more from her than lies. She couldn't tackle her on the lies though as Marissa walked in to the kitchen. "Homework finished?"

Stephanie had never been so relieved to see her sister-in-law than she was right now so the heat could be taken off her. "Have I even said hello to you today Riss?"

"I do believe not." She walked over to her sister-in-law and gave her a quick hug. "How are you and the girls?"

"I'm fine; the girls are excited because they get to spend the day with their Dad tomorrow because they couldn't today."

"Are you looking forward to the day to yourself?"

She always had time to herself even when they were married so it was nothing new to her and truth be told she wasn't even sure if she was going to have the day alone. "I don't know. I love the girls and I love spending time with them but obviously I'm conflicted."

Listening to her sister-in-law talk made Marissa smile, she was such a devoted mother despite her workload and she preferred spending all of her free time with her daughters. "Just enjoy the free time, the girls won't begrudge you that."

"Yeah." She didn't know how to respond because essentially she was deceiving them by making them believe she wasn't anything with Paul at the minute.

Linda gently banged a saucepan on the top. "Are you two helping me with dinner or what?"

Almost in sync the two younger women saluted her. "Yes Ma'am."

They got on with dinner and the men kept an eye on the children.


When they sat down at the table Stephanie felt like there was such a strained relationship with her Dad and she didn't know why because she hadn't done or said anything wrong, today at least. As a result of the feeling of tension she focussed on anywhere and everywhere but him, she didn't ignore him if he spoke to her.


After dinner Stephanie offered to take the dishes through to the kitchen and stack the dishwasher before she relaxed with the girls. Carefully sliding her arm full of dishes on to the top she began to run the water just to wash off the plates and get rid of the gravy. She started with the gravy tipping it down the sink before she put the boat to be hand washed, as she took the first plate to scrape off the leftovers her Mom walked in to the kitchen and she took her chance to pick her brains. "What the hell is wrong with Dad this week? He has been off with me all week and he still is today. If he doesn't want to be around me so much why was I even invited here today?"

"Your Dad saw you kissing Paul on Monday." She contemplated not telling her but she had a feeling that this would only bother her more as he continued to act strangely.

Stopping mid-scrape she was terrified but it certainly explained his behaviour over the past few days. "Oh."

The fact that her daughter hadn't moved made Linda fear for her crockery so she stepped forward and gently prised the plate from her hand and placed it on the counter. "Are you back with Paul?"

She wouldn't exactly say she was 'back' with Paul because there was still a lot to sort out between them before she would even consider them a proper couple and back together. "No we're not." Oh God she felt horrible for even lying by omission.

She didn't know whether to believe her or not but there was one thing she knew she wasn't going to be able to protect her from, her Father. "Okay, if you say so. I don't know that your Father will buy that as much as I am willing to so just prepare yourself for that."

"Why do I need to prepare myself for it? You can tell Dad and make him understand."

Linda was about to tell her daughter that there was no way Vince was going to let the day pass without tackling her over it in some way when he appeared in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt but can I speak to you a minute please Steph? Shane and Marissa are helping the kids with something so I thought now was a good time."

Fuck fuck fuck, crap. After what her Mom had just said she knew exactly what her Dad wanted to talk about and she was terrified. "Okay, only if Mom doesn't mind finishing the dishes off."

Vince gave his wife a pointed look and despite her misgivings she nodded her head allowing her daughter to go and talk to him.


Slowly following her Dad to his study she gulped as he shut the door and she sank in to a chair in front of his desk dreading this conversation completely. "You wanted to talk? I assume it is to apologise for being a complete asshole all week?" Maybe being combative from the outset wasn't the best idea because she knew what her Dad was like but it felt like a good idea in that moment to try to deflect him away from the kiss.

It took a moment for his brain to process what she had said to him but as it did he took his natural seat behind the desk despite this being a personal chat and not a business one where he wanted to make his dominance clear. "Do not talk to me like that young lady. I have not been an asshole all week; I can't say the same for your ex-husband."

This conversation was not going to end well, she could feel it now and she was powerless to change the course or stop it, especially with her daughters in the house. "What ex-husband? I have an estranged husband but not an ex."

"Don't be smart with me, you know exactly who I am talking about and you know what I'm talk about too, that's why you're 'estranged' from him in the first place, he's an asshole."

The pain she felt hearing her Dad call the love of her life an asshole was almost as bad as finding out he was cheating on her because they had been getting on so well before he cheated and now that relationship had been destroyed too. "Please don't talk about him like hat Dad. No matter how things are between Paul and myself he is still my daughter's Father."

Vince was intrigued by the way she immediately defended him. "Interesting. Are you sure that is all he is?"

"What are you going on about? You know he is many things so please don't start with that bullshit."

"Fine, you don't want me to start with that 'bullshit' so I will just get straight to the point. I saw you kissing, no making out, with Paul at Raw on Monday. That was an interesting choice for you on the back of you having just defended holding hands saying it was all in the name of keeping up pretences but when you were making out you weren't keeping up any pretences as there was nobody to see you."

Rubbing her temples she was so frustrated sitting here listening to her Dad. "I am a grown woman with my own children, I really don't need to sit here and justify anything I say or do relating to my personal life to you."

"I beg to differ young lady. When you are acting unprofessional at work I have every right to know what is going on because your actions and behaviour reflect on me as a Father and a boss."

"You know what fuck off. I can't deal with this shit right now." Getting up from the seat she stalked towards the door swinging it open so fast that it banged against the couch beside it. "Girls get your stuff together, we're going home."

As soon as Linda heard her daughter say that they were going home she knew instantly that Vince had put his foot in it and really said something to anger her. She quickly grabbed the towel from the side and exited the kitchen. "Steph can we talk about this?"

She was so angry she could cry so talking it out was not going to happen as it would only piss her off further. "No Mom, we have to leave." Completely ignoring her Mom she walked towards the den where all of the kids were. "Come on girls, we've got to get going."

All three girls initially protested but when Aurora looked at her Mom's face to gauge how close to time out they were she took it upon herself to take charge. "Murphy, Vaughn, we have to do what Mom says but maybe we'll get to stay up late and watch a movie tonight if we do."

Three hopeful faces were suddenly staring at her so she nodded her head, anything to get out of there faster. "I am sure that can be arranged if you're good."

Squealing Vaughn ran past her Mom and Grandma almost knocking them both over. "First one ready picks the movie."

Despite everything Linda laughed at her Granddaughter's as they ran screaming past her arguing as they went. "Well that didn't take much to convince them to leave. Can we talk briefly before you go please Stephanie?"

"I don't have time. I have told the girls we are leaving so the last thing I want to do is go off talking and for them to sit back down and start to do whatever they were doing again."

"In the week then?" The last thing Linda wanted was for her to shut herself off from her and deal with Vince and Paul on her own.

If she didn't already know that she was not going to get out of here without agreeing to something then Stephanie would have brushed her off but she knew better than that and quickly agreed, anything to get her out of there faster. "Sure, it will have to be later in the week though so just text me the details."


Paul was trying to be productive at home but he couldn't stop thinking about spending the evening with his family so in a bid to spend as much quality time with them as possible he headed over to the house early to get a head start on rearranging the living room furniture.

The armchair had been moved, the footstool had been placed on top of it and he was in the middle of moving the couch when he was sure that he heard a car but looking at his watch it was too early for them to be home so he put that thought to the back of his head and focussed on getting the couch out of the way and not dropping it on his feet in the process as it was harder doing it alone.


Having not been able to get away from her parents fast enough Stephanie was so relieved when she pulled in to the driveway at home, now to keep the girls occupied for a few hours until Paul came over and then she could wrap herself up in his arms and pretend the whole damn day hadn't happened.

"Yay, Daddy's here!"

The excited cry from her middle daughter brought her out of the daze she was currently in sat in front of the garage door waiting for it to open. "Huh?" He couldn't be here yet, he wasn't meant to be here yet as they had agreed on sometime after six and it was far from six. It felt like it took forever for the garage to open and then close behind the car because as soon as she had cut the engine the girls were out of the car and racing towards the house leaving her alone to contemplate her thoughts.


Collapsing on the couch after moving it he took a look at the room to make sure it was all perfect ready for family movie night later when all of a sudden he heard the girls screaming 'Daddy' as the girls ran through the house. He didn't have chance to get up off the couch before they all piled on top of him bombarding him with questions all at the same time. "Okay okay calm down, I can only answer one question at a time."

"Why are you here?" Aurora was the eldest and took charge but as she did she sat up and looked at him directly rather than lying on him as she was.

What did he say? They weren't meant to be back yet so he had no answers.

"I asked your Dad to move the furniture for me so that we could have a family movie night."

Saved by his wife, he was so grateful for her right now. "What your Mom said." He looked over towards her and the look on her face made his heart clench and his arms itch to hold her. "Girls, go and take your shoes off and put them away before you go to the den for a minute please. I need to discuss something with your Mom."

All three girls kissed their Dad on the cheek before they ran off.

Once the girls had run off Stephanie stepped in to the room, she opened her mouth to say something but when she saw him stand up and open his arms she just couldn't, she practically ran in to his arms and held on tightly desperately trying to hold on to her emotions and not lose it because if she did she wasn't sure that she would be able to put herself back together tonight.

Wrapping his arms around her tightly he kissed the top of her head. "What happened Steph?"