A/N: I really wasn't planning on writing another chapter to this, but my muse-who is refusing to let me finish Withdrawal-handed me this little plot bunny. Basically, here's the thing. Since both of Michael's parents are psychoanalysts and therefore have to be perceptive, I didn't think it was that crazy of an idea to assume that they had figured out that Michael had a major thing for Mia. Then this idea occurred to me: What if only one of them picked up on it and the other one was blissfully clueless?

POV: Michael and Lilly's father

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Fact of the day: I am a blind idiot.

I was sipping some coffee and listening to Kate-my wife- and Maya-our housekeeper- chat as Maya chopped up some vegetables for a salad. Michael was in his room and Lily had some friends of hers inside her room.

"So how long do you give them?" Kate asked Maya.

Maya paused, considering. "Five to six months, tops," she declared.

"Five to six months for what?" I asked curiously, relaxing in my chair.

"Five to six months for Michael and Mia to start going out," Kate replied calmly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I choked on my coffee. "Excuse me?"

Kate and Maya both smiled tolerantly at each other. "Told you he didn't know," Maya said to Kate.

"Michael…and-and Mia?" I echoed. "No. Absolutely not."

I suppose I should explain. Mia is Lilly's best friend and we've known her and her mother since she was 6. (Mia, not her mother.) Neither Michael nor Mia has shown anything but amused tolerance for each other over the years. (Well, except for the period where they disagreed over which one was the bigger 'doo-doo head'.)

"Kate, I know what I am talking about," I said firmly. "I analyze people for a living and if my son had a crush on his little sister's best friend, I think I'd pick up on it."

"But, dear," Kate said gently, " I also analyze people for a living, and I know what I am talking about. And yes, our son does have a crush on his little sister's best friend, and no, you didn't pick up on it."

Maya was watching us with an amused look on her face.

"This is better than All My Children," she commented.

I was getting a little annoyed by their smug, know-it-all attitudes. "Look, if somehow you can prove to me that Michael is indeed interested in Mia, I'll pay each of you fifty bucks."

Kate and Maya looked at each other. "Think we should take him up on it?" Maya asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Why not?" Kate shrugged. "It's his loss."

"Ohh, you wish," I told them, leaning back in my chair.

Then Lilly burst out of her room.

"MICHAEL!" she hollered, banging on Michael's door. "GIVE-IT-BACK!"

"Give what back?" Michael yelled back at her through the closed door.

"MY TAPES, YOU IDIOT!"

"Lilly, stop yelling," I ordered automatically. "Michael, if you have Lilly's tapes, give them back to her." I wasn't alarmed. This is a normal occurrence in our household.

"I haven't got her damn tapes!" Michael yelled back.

Lilly's friends came out of her room.

"Hello," Shameeka Taylor said at us politely, then turned to Lilly. "Lilly, did you check your backpack?"

"Of course I did," Lilly snapped. "I'm telling you, that thief in there-" she pointed towards Michael's room, "-has them, and he's not going to give them back."

Ling Su, another one of Lilly's friends, sighed, "Lilly, maybe you should try asking politely."

Lilly snorted at that. "Please. Manners are wasted on that pig."

"Okay, that's just rude," Michael called out through his door. "Not to mention the fact that it's not kosher."

I smiled in spite of myself.

Mia came out of Lilly's room. "I've looked everywhere I can think of. It's definitely not in your room."

"My brother the kleptomaniac has them and he won't give them back," Lilly snarled. "And nobody's going to be able to convince him to give them back-"

Then all three of them turned towards Mia with very strange looks on their faces.

Mia grew nervous, and I couldn't blame her. "What?"

"You could talk to Michael," Shameeka suggested slyly.

Mia's gray eyes grew very wide. "Me? Oh, no. No, no, no. No way."

"Come on, Mia, you know you're the only one Michael'll listen to sometimes. And I really wanna see those movies-" Ling Su whined.

"Mia, please?" Lilly begged. "You know how much I hate begging-"

Mia sighed. "Fine," she growled. "I'll go and talk to him." She waved at them. "Go back inside. This'll work better if you're not here."

Taking a deep breath, she tapped on the door. "Michael? It's me, Mia."

There was a pause. "What do you want, Thermopolis?" Michael never refers to Mia by her first name. Further proof that my wife and housekeeper are clearly delusional.

"Michael, we want those tapes."

"Don't have them," Michael said carelessly.

Mia sighed. "Come on, Michael. Please? I really want to see Return of the Jedi and we both know you've got it in your room. Along with the other two Star Wars movies."

There was no reply.

"Please, Michael?" Mia asked. "Okay, I'm begging here, and you know I hate begging, so come on, just open the stupid door and-"

The door opened and Michael stood there. In his hands were the three tapes. "Here," he muttered and handed them to Mia.

Mia grinned up at him. "Thanks."

Michael snorted. "You know, they were just lying there on the couch. I would've given them back, but Lilly was pissing me off with all that yelling and banging."

"Well, you gave them back. That's all that matters," Mia replied, and smiled at him again. "Thanks again, Michael." And then she went into Lilly's room, and shut the door.

However, we could still hear Lilly's voice going, "You've got them. God, Mia, I swear you're the only one Michael will listen to-"

Michael stared at Lilly's doorway, shook his head, and muttered something like, "Damn, I wish it had been the Chinese takeout-"

Then he shut the door and went back to whatever it is he does in there.

I just stared at the closed door, unable to believe my eyes.

Kate and Maya started laughing.

"If you could see the look on your face-" Kate gasped.

"I-wha-that was just-that-" I stammered

Kate said patiently, "That was your son giving in."

I stared at Kate. "Did you just hear the sentence that came out of your mouth? Michael? Giving in? What you just said defies all the laws of logic!"

Maya grinned. "Personally, I think you're just stalling so you won't have to cough up the money."

Kate smiled sweetly at me. "Honey…fork it over." She held out her hand, as did Maya. Sighing, I took out my wallet and handed them the money.

Suddenly, I heard a cough. We turned to see Michael staring at us.

Michael held up a hand. "I don't want to know about this, do I?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, you don't."

"Didn't think so," Michael agreed. He went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a Coke. "So-I'm just gonna take this and leave."

Kate nodded. "Smart move."

"Right," Michael muttered and went back into his room.

I turned back to Kate and Maya. "Is there a lesson to be learned from all this?" I asked. "Because I just don't see it."

Kate and Maya looked at each other, then Kate answered. "Two lessons. One: Never bet us at anything, because you'll lose, and two: Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it's there."

I nodded and sighed. "You know, you could have told me that a hundred bucks ago."

Kate and Maya grinned. "We could, but…where would the fun be in that?" Maya asked, her dark eyes twinkling.

"Ha, ha," I said sarcastically. "So, you think Mia knows?"

"Nope," Kate said calmly. "Not a clue."

I looked at her. "Well, shouldn't we interfere? I mean, Michael is our son-"

"Oh, no," Maya said seriously. "In this case, I think it is best to use the hands-off method."

I shrugged. "All right, all right."

So, there we are.

Oh, and if I ever think about making another bet with those two hustlers over there, please, just shoot me first.