When she reaches her daughter's room, Mona walks in and hears her daughter vomit, than gag and she hears another wave. She knows she is usually teasing her daughter, but she didn't deserve this.

"Angela?" she opens the bathroom door, just in time to see her daughter gag again, her stomach is empty, but still cramping. "Oh baby." She sits behind her daughter and caresses her hair. "My sweet girl." Angela gags again, tears stream down her face.

"I am fine mother." She breaths sharply as she flushes the toilet.

"You don't sound very fine dear." Mona is worried.

"I will be fine mother." Angela is trying to catch her breath. "I need a bath. Please give me some time."

"No Angela!" Mona firmly says.

Angela turns her head to face her mother. "What?"

"Angela, I saw what you saw and as I saw what you saw, I think we need to talk about what we just saw."

"What?" Angela leans against the bathtub.

"Talk to me Angela. Tell me how you feel." Mona sits next to her daughter.
"Oh mother." Angela lets her head rest on her mother's shoulder. "I've been so foolish, so stupid and so incredibly naïve."

Mona cups the side of her daughter's face, her heart really goes out to the fragile woman besides her. "You are not foolish or stupid, maybe a little bit naïve."
"Thank you mother." Angela lays down and puts her head in her mother's lap, she needs her mother to be close to her.

Mona starts caressing her hair. "You know what I mean Angela."

"I saw this coming you know." Angela sniffs.

"What do you mean dear?"

"The moment I saw them together at the book store. I knew, oh mother, I do feel so dumb. How could I still be hopeful? First with Kat.." Angela gets up and throws up, her stomach is empty and the bile burns her throat as she coughs.

Mona quickly gets a glass of water. "Drink this." She caresses her hair again. "It is easier to throw up and will hurt less."

Angela drinks the offered water. "Thank you mother." Her voice is hoarse and her throat hurts. "But I told and showed him how I felt about him mother." All the tears that she had been holding back start to stream. "Mother, I've lost him even after I told him how I felt. I guess the feelings were never mutual." She sighs. "I love him mother, but he doesn't love me back." She looks her mother directly in her eyes. Mona has never seen so much pain in her daughter's eyes, even with all her other ex's the one who never became her ex, hurt her the most. Also the one Mona never expected would hurt her daughter like that. And she probably wouldn't have believed it if she didn't just see it with her own eyes. She contemplates her words before speaking.
"Angela.. sweetheart.. I do think Tony loves you. But it might not be in the way you love him. He cares so much for you and your family. And I am sorry that he isn't in love with you, like you are with him. And it is cruel to bring it into your house." Mona sighs as she caresses her daughter's head. "And it is so unlike Tony. I never imagined Tony could even be cruel. Even when he was angry with Sam, he never was cruel."

Angela shakes her head. "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I shouldn't have let my imagination run away with me. It's just.. with him I feel like myself, he accepts me for who I am, no reserve and a dedicated friendship. And he told me he liked me too."
"What?" Mona is confused by her daughter's words.

"Oh mother.." Angela gets on her knees and turns on the bath. "My head is killing me and all I want to do is take a bath." She gets up and grabs a couple of painkillers out of the cabinet and downs them. "Could you please leave me alone."

Mona watches her daughter's shoulder hang low. "I love you dear. I am here if you need me." Mona pinches her shoulder before leaving the bathroom.

Angela starts undressing herself and looks in the mirror. She knows she is not bad looking, she is taller than most women she knows, her body is slender and her legs are her best feature. She discards her underwear and slips into the bathtub. She releases a big sigh she had been holding in and lets the water heat up her entire body.

The moment her body relaxes, her mind takes over. Tony being waited on hand and foot by Gina, Tony dancing and kissing Frankie, Tony on the couch with Kathleen, Tony kissing Jennifer on the floor of the living room. All the women he flaunted in front of her face are running in her mind like a bad movie. Part of her doesn't even know WHY she is jealous of all these women. They never made a commitment to each other. He never promised himself to her as she never promised herself to him. ~Why is this so complicated?~ She thinks to herself. Their make-out session in Jamaica is one of her favourite memories. ~Love shouldn't be this complicated.~ She wonders when it became this complicated. She has no clue, was it after Jamaica? She doesn't think so, they had made some wonderful memories after that. Things shifted when Kathleen came into the picture but didn't things just turn after their trip to Washington? She had slept so soundly next to him, his warmth, his muscles and his scent, being near him made her so comfortable. And she remembered what he had asked her in the senate. ~Is that really your natural scent?~ Those words still were ingrained into her brain. Having to Billy return to his grandmother broke her and she knows Tony was really sad about that as well, they'd never discussed it together. They spoke about it with Billy, Jonathan and Samantha, but never discussed it between the two of them.

Eventually she pushed herself out of the tub and dried off. Grabbing clean underwear, a pair of jeans and an oversized off-white sweater. Putting her hair in a high ponytail and moisturising her hands and face.

Still not ready to go down, she lays down on the bed and closes her eyes. There is a small knock on her door. "Angela?" she hears Tony's voice but she isn't ready and ignores his knock.

"Angela?" he opens her door and looks at her. Her eyes are closed, her face isn't relaxed like it was the night before, she looks stressed. He leans into the doorframe and wonders if she is really asleep or just pretending but he leaves anyway.

Another knock at her door wakes her up. "Mom?" She hears Jonathan say.
"In here sweetheart." He walks in.

"Are you okay? Sleeping in the middle of the day."

"I am fine, think I am a bit sleep deprived with you leaving for Africa and this big campaign coming up. I just laid down after finishing my work." She sits up straight. "So how was the mall?"

"It was fine, it was nice to see the guys before I leave for Congo."

"Good." She smiles. "What time is it?"

"It's 5pm. Tony send me up to tell you dinner will be ready by 7pm. Are you coming down?"

"Of course." She gets up and places her arm around her son. "Last evening at home for quite some time." Jonathan leans into his mother. There were no words needed between mother and son, both knew what the other one felt. The walk down together.

"Hey Angela.. you're finally up!" Tony smiles.
"Yes, I am sorry I guess I just fell asleep." She smiles as she blushes.

Tony sighs. ~She always looks so adorable when she blushes.~

"Well hope you feel better." He smiles.

"You weren't feeling well mom?"

"When you went out I started working on the campaign and kind of got a headache. So I took a bath and laid down. And then I think I fell asleep. Nothing to worry about sweetheart." Angela said down on the couch.

"Would you like some lemonade Angela?" Tony asks.

"That would be lovely Tony, thank you." She notices his Roman history book and feels a sting in her chest.

When Tony comes back into the living room, he sees her face, her eyes fixed on his Roman history book. ~You idiot!~ he thinks to himself. ~Why did you leave that book there?~.

"Here you go." He places the glass of lemonade in front of her.

"Thank you." She smiles. "Did you get very far on your assignment?"

"Well to be honest I had a hard time focusing. But I was able to write 6 pages. Maybe you can read them, you know to see if I made any grammatical mistakes." He tries his best.
"Well, maybe that's a better job for Jennifer as she is your partner on this assignment." Angela grabbed her lemonade and drinks it.

"Yeah I don't think that's such a good idea." Tony mumbles.

Angela side-eyes him, she heard what he said, but refuses to respond. "What are we having for dinner?"

"Jonathan asked me to make rack of lamb. So I went to the market when you were asleep. Making some mashed potatoes and vegetables. Hope that's okay?"

"That sounds wonderful Tony. Good choice sweetheart. Where did mother go?" Angela looks at Tony.

"She is in her apartment, finishing her packing." He looks at her. He is unable to read her face, if she is feeling any emotions, she isn't showing them. He can usually read her so well, but now, she is a mystery to him. Which annoys him.

"You guys are acting weird." Jonathan looks between the two of them. "I'm going to my room to listen to some music." He quickly disappears.

"Well, I will check on mother, she might need some help." She gets up.

"Angela wait.." Tony blocks her path. "Can we talk?"

"No." she looks him in the eyes. "I get it now. And it's okay. I wish you the best of luck. You are still my best friend and I don't want that to change. Will you excuse me?" She tries to dodge him again.

"Can I say something?" He still blocks her path.

"There is nothing left to say Tony. You've made your point clear." She looks up at the ceiling not to cry. "And it's fine. And if you like, I will also check out your assignment later. That's what friends are for, aren't they?" She gives him a smile, her fake smile and he knows it.

"I guess so, but Angela I really would like to talk to you. About what you think you saw…" he begins.

"What I think I saw?" Annoyance fills her voice. "I know what I saw Tony. And it looked a lot like what I saw before on my couch, when you thought I didn't see anything."

"But Angela.." Tony pleads. "It wasn't like that."

"Tony YOU don't owe me any explanation. You are entitled to your private life." She looks down at her hands. "So please.." She tries to pass him again but this time he grabs her hand.

"Would you stop this? Cut it out Angela. For once stop and listen to me." She looks at his hand holding hers.

"I don't think there is anything left to say Tony. I get it now. And I am saying it is okay. Just.." She sighs heavily. "Do me one favour and do it outside this home." Still looking down. "I don't think I can handle it being thrown in my face."

"Do what?" He swallows. "Angela.. you don't think that Jennifer and I.." his voice trails off.
"Tony, don't concern yourself with what I think. Concern yourself with your own happiness. Because in the end, that is all that matters. Okay?"

"No not okay Angela!"

"Please let me go to mother's.." She looks up with tear filled eyes. "Please."

His heart drops as he releases her hand. "Ange.." And she is gone.

As always Tony's dinner is fantastic as they feast, toast and laugh. When other's are around, Angela is her lovely self, laughing, joking and relaxing.
Mona is making a lot of inappropriate jokes and Jonathan is telling what he did this day and what he is planning to do in Congo.

Their dinner is interrupted by the phone.

"I'll get it." Tony says within minutes, he pops his head. "Angela, Cal Stevens on the phone for you."

"Cal? I'm coming." She looks at her son and mother. "I will be right back."

Tony hands her the receiver and looks her in her eyes, she looks back at him with a small smile. "Thank you Tony." As she takes the receiver. "Mr. Stevens.. Oh yes I'm sorry, Cal, how can I help you? Oh you do. Well yeah.. No.. actually it depends on the time. You see my son is leaving for Africa tomorrow and I do want to take him to the airport. I can be in the office around 3pm. Is that possible for you? Okay great. No I don't mind you calling the house. No really, I won't fire Jack." Tony was still standing on the other side of the door, listening in. He knows he shouldn't but he also knows he has to, his stomach drops when he hears her laughing. It was a genuine Angela laugh. He finally walks back to the dining room.

"Desserts anyone?" Tony smiles as he enters the dining room.

"I'd love some." Jonathan chuckled. "But I think you left it in the kitchen!"

"Oh yeah.." Tony giggled and turned on his heels.

Mona just observes the scene at hand.

Jonathan looks at his grandmother. "What are you thinking grandma?"

A sly smile forms around her lips. "Nothing Jonathan. Well not nothing. I am wondering if those two will ever get the train on the tracks." She looks him directly in his eyes, knowing he is now old enough to talk about this.

Jonathan laughs. "Haven't we been wondering this for years now? I mean remember when I set them up for Valentine's Day? Even Chez Rene couldn't get them together!"

"HA!" Mona laughed.

"But they do seem perfect together don't they?" he softly pushes.

Mona slowly starts nodding. "If we could just made them see it." She isn't about to tell Jonathan what Angela and she witnessed that afternoon. "But I don't think we should press the matter, they will get there. They are just taking the scenic route, but I am convinced they will reach their final destination, someday." Mona gives a chuckle. ~At least I hope so.~ She thinks. She is wise enough not to add that.

Tony walks back into the kitchen in time to hear Angela hang up.

"Sorry forgot dessert." He smiles.

"Need some help?" She looks at him.

"Here." He hands her a plate of Cannoli. "I will grab the dessert plates and forks."

Angela pushes the swinging door open with her back and waits for Tony. She looks at him as he walks by and for the first time she felt like she made the right decision. He truly is the best friend she has ever had and she doesn't want to lose him. She'd just have to get used to all the women coming in to his life and then she can catch him when they leave his life because she isn't going anywhere.

XXXXX

The next morning rolls around and Angela feels horrible, knowing she won't be able to see her son for such a long time. She takes a shower and puts on her new business suit, which she bought for this new campaign. A tight, just over the knee, dark grey pencil skirt, matching jacket and an off-white silk blouse, finishing the look with a pair of black pumps. Before putting on her jacket, she puts her hair up and then some light make-up on her face. When she is content with the way she looks, she gets up and puts on her jacket, looking at herself in the full length mirror she smiles. "Dressed for success!" She smiles contently at her reflection.

When she comes into the kitchen Tony, Mona and Jonathan are in the middle of a vivid conversation.

"Good morning family!" She smiles.

"Good morning dear." Mona smiles.
"MOM!" Jonathan's voice makes Tony turn away from the eggs he was making.

"WOW!" Was all he could say. His reaction makes her blush. "New suit Angela?" His voice an octave higher.

"Yes, I bought this for this new campaign. I am meeting Mr. Stevens after dropping off Jonathan. So fingers crossed." She smiles.

"You'll get it mom! You look amazing!"

"Jonathan is right, dear. You're a knock-out in that skirt." Mona says, eyeing Tony as he is admiring Angela's long legs underneath the tight skirt. "I can see we all agree." Mona smirks.

Tony quickly turns back to tend to his eggs. Angela looks at her feet, still blushing.

"We will be leaving in about 20 minutes." Tony says over his shoulder. "You're coffee and juice are on the table."

"Thank you Tony." She eagerly drank her coffee.

"Did you put your bags in the Jeep, Mona?" Tony asks.

"Yes about that.." Mona started as Tony turns to face her. "You see with Jonathan's bags, I can hardly fit in my bags, so I took his out." She coyly smiles.

"Grandma!"

"Mona!"

Tony and Jonathan yelled in unison as Angela laughs.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Yes I've put the luggage in the Jeep, next to Jonathan's."

"Jonathan, you got your carry-on? And your new books?"

"Already in the Jeep Tony."

"Angela, do you have your briefcase and the campaign strategy with you?"

"Yes, the storyboard is in the bigger bag with the strategy."

"Okay." He quickly starts cleaning.

"Do you have your books for your afternoon classes?" Angela asks.

"Oh I forgot!" He sprints off as the rest of the family automatically start cleaning. Tony is back with in a minute and the table has been cleared and the sink is filled.

"We can do those tonight." She turns to Tony. "We're ready to go if you are."

"Lead the way."

When Angela puts her briefcase in the trunk, Mona and Jonathan take the back seat. Tony settles his books to a nook in the car.

"Angela?" He asks.

"Yes Tony?"

"Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be once Jonathan phones us that he has arrived safely." She gives him a grateful smile. "Don't worry about me Tony. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"I know you can Angela.. but I will always worry about you." He says before walking to his side of the car, leaving her stunned and confused.

She reaches her side and gets in. He can't help himself but look at her legs sliding in the car. He wasn't kidding when he once told the waiter he was a leg man, what he wouldn't give to have those legs wrapped around his waist. The mere thought of her legs around his waist arouses him as he quickly shifts in his seat hoping no one can see anything.

As her skirt is tighter than she is usually used to she shifts in her seat, not noticing her skirt sliding up an inch. Then moves her knees to the right side, exposing even more of her thigh. Tony is sweating and finding it hard not to look at her leg.

Angela is looking outside her window dreaming away, the cereal campaign is dancing through her head. She isn't really nervous, but she wants this one!

"Angela, dear?" Her mother's voice takes her back.

"Yes mother?"

"You might want to pull your skirt down, you're probably showing more than you care too." Mona watches her daughter turn crimson. "Although you have nothing to be ashamed for, right Tony?" She smirks as she sees the back of neck turn as crimson as her daughter's face. "Right To-ny?" Mona emphasises.

Angela pulls her skirt down as far as she can.

"Yeah yeah right, nothing to be ashamed of." His eyes straight on the road.

"You weren't that concentrated on the road 2 minutes ago." Mona chuckles.

He knows she caught him, but doesn't respond.

Angela side-eyes a very red Tony and feels a heat creeping inside of her.