A/N: I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. I COULDN'T THINK OF WHAT TO WRITE BUT WELL HERE IT IS. THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER AND THEN IM GOING TO WRITE THE SEQUEL. IT'S NOT AS GREAT AS I WANTED IT TO BE BUT ILL MAKE UP FOR THE ENDING. ANYWAY, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

~*~

Graduation Day

"I can't believe its over." Mimi said as she glanced at Philip who was seated next to her. Shawn, Belle, Jason and Chloe were in Mimi's backyard, having a barbeque in honor of their graduation.

"Same here." Philip said with a smile. "We finally have to grow up."

Mimi nodded nostalgically. "I really am going to miss everyone and everything, even our pathetic school." She said with a chuckle.

"Yeah." He said. "This will be the last time we're all going to be together. Chloe's going to Julliard, I'm going to NYU, and Jason's going to Europe in a few weeks-"

"Jason's going to Europe?" She asked in astonishment.

Philip's face fell. "I thought he told you. I'm sorry. Meems, I didn't want to be the one to do that." He said remorsefully but Mimi brushed him off.

"Phil, it's alright. I didn't expect a happily ever after." She stated unhappily.

"But-"

"Phil, I'm sure that Chloe told you about my little pregnancy-well, it's not so little anymore. Anyway, you didn't really think that Jason would stick around for that, did you?" She said casually and Philip looked at her uncomfortably.

"Yeah, she told me. I really am sorry about that." He whispered.

"Me too, Phil, but what can we do? I can't get rid of the baby. I don't have it in me to do it and I won't give it away. And I sure as hell won't make Jason play the father." She said firmly.

"But you deserve to be happy." Philip stated sadly.

"So does Jason. He deserves a life of his own. We all do." She replied.

"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked as he took a quick glance at her belly.

"What else? I'm going to get through the morning sickness, the strange cravings, the back pain and mood swings." She smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Philip chuckled. "Have you picked out a name yet?" He asked curiously.

Mimi shook her head. "I haven't decided whether I hate this baby or not. I think the name picking can wait." She said sarcastically.

"Oh, Meems." He said.

"Phil, don't worry about me. I don't hate the baby. Well, I don't want to but sometimes, I can't help but be angry at it. I know that it's innocent but I'm selfish. I want what's for me or what should have been mine." She explained and Philip nodded in understanding.

"You're not selfish and you deserve what you want."

"What I want does not include this baby." She stated. "And well, I can't have that. This baby's going to be with me for the rest of my life."

"And it's lucky because it has you for its mother." He said as he gave her hand a small reassuring squeeze.

"I just hope I won't be so cruel to it." She said as tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry, Phil. It's the damn hormones." She explained.

"It's alright." He answered. "So, where do you and Jason stand now?" He asked, hoping that she wouldn't find it an intrusion of her privacy.

"Back to square one, I guess. I mean, I still love him but love is going to have to wait. He's going to have his life and I'm going to give this baby one." She replied as she put her hand over her stomach.

"If you ever need anything, you know that you can always call me, right?" He said sincerely and Mimi nodded as she gave him a grateful smile.

"I know. That's why you're one of my best friends, Philip Kiriakis." She smiled and Philip hugged her.

"And I'm lucky to have you as a friend."

"Phil, don't tell Jason about what we talked about, okay?"

Philip nodded as he stood up and walked over to Chloe. Jason glanced at her direction and headed over to Mimi.

"So what was that about?" He asked as he put his arm around her, like he had often done so.

Mimi shrugged her shoulders. "Just talking about the baby and graduation and life in general." She answered.

"It looked serious." He piped.

"Jase, how come you never told your parents that I'm pregnant?" She asked and Jason looked taken aback by her question.

"I don't know. I never saw the need for them to know." He replied carefully.

"Don't you think they at least deserve to know what kind of girl their son is with?" She continued.

"Meems, what the hell is that supposed to mean? What do you mean 'what kind of girl'?" He demanded, slightly annoyed.

"Jason, in case you haven't noticed, I'm pregnant. Didn't it occur to you that your parents might find out and maybe they'd appreciate it if you were the one to tell them?"

"Mimi, it's none of their business. It nobody's business." He said firmly.

Mimi sighed. "It's everybody's business, Jase." She stated.

Silence fell between them and they sat there for a few minutes with Mimi's head resting against his chest and Jason's arm around her protectively.

"My mother confronted me about it a week before graduation. She was pretty angry." He said breaking their silence.

"So, she hates me now?" She asked, not truly believing what she had just said.

"No. She's sorry that you're pregnant." He said unhappily. "My parents are going to send me to Europe, Meems. They think it'll do me good to get away for a while." He said apologetically.

"For how long?" She asked.

"I don't know." He answered listlessly. "I wanted to tell you, I swear. I don't want to leave you but I have no choice."

"Jason, don't apologize. We have to do things to get on with our lives. This is your way of moving on." She stated calmly.

"You sound like we're breaking up." He said as he looked at her.

"We're not exactly together, Jase. This baby is the wedge that's keeping us apart." She declared.

"Please don't think that I want this. If I could have it my way, I would stay but I can't." He said.

"I know." She nodded. She knew that Caroline Masters had something to do with this. She was sending Jason away, far from Mimi so that he'd eventually forget her and have a life of his own.

Somehow, she didn't feel angry. It made things easier for them. Now, she didn't have to push him away because he wasn't even there anymore. He didn't belong to her. He was going to Europe and he was going to enjoy it as much as either of them wanted to deny it.

They were going to have their own lives---separate from each other.

She made a promise to Jason's mother and she was going to stand by it. She owed it to herself and to Jason.

"I'll call you everyday." He promised as he kissed her hair unhappily.

"And I won't forget you, Jason. No matter what." She whispered. "How long do you have until you leave?"

"Two weeks." He answered with a sigh.

"That's so little time." She said.

"I know but we'll make the best of it. Besides, I'll come back." He said softly and she nodded against his chest.

She wasn't angry which was a relief. She was sad but most of all she was happy for him.

He was finally free of her.
************************************************************************
~*~Two weeks later~*~

Mimi laid on her bed quietly, her eyes cast on the cream colored ceiling of her room. She had said good bye to Jason the day before and it had been difficult.

She had hugged him and kissed him and wished him well but she hadn't cried. She smiled despite the ache inside, despite the fact that she wanted him to stay.

It was Belle who cried openly, telling Jason to take care of himself and not to forget his friends in Salem.

Shawn, Philip and Chloe were there too, just as unhappy to see him go yet more excited that he was going to have fun.

Jason had smiled; his eyes sad as he said his good byes. He promised to come back.

Mimi was only half listening though. She had to let him go and already she had put back the barrier around herself, pushing him and everyone else away.

"I love you, Mimi, no matter what." He said as he kissed her on the forehead.

She nodded silently, her eyes not quite meeting his. "You too, Jase." She had whispered.

They watched Jason board his plane half an hour later, waving frantically until he became a speck in the landing field and then finally disappeared into his plane which would forever take him away from them.

Now, one day later and still miserable, Mimi Lockhart laid on her bed, reflecting on how pathetic and sad her life truly was.

Day by day she was losing someone. Chloe and Philip would soon go to New York in the fall, maybe earlier. Belle would be too wrapped up in her life at Salem U and with Shawn.

She couldn't even go to the beach with them because she was showing already. Not a lot but enough to get attention.

Mimi would yet again be left alone.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts and Mimi struggled to sit up. "Come in." She said softly.

Her mother peered through the door, half smiling and half frowning at the same time. "Can we talk?" Maureen Lockhart asked hesitantly.

"Sure." Mimi answered. Something was definitely not right.

"Mimi, your father and I told you that we'd be here for you and the baby." Her mother took a deep breath and reached for her hand and held it.

"But?" Mimi asked somewhat icily.

Maureen sighed. "But we're low on money."

We're always low on money, she thought to herself but instead Mimi nodded quietly. She expected this. "So you want me to do something."

"No." Maureen shook her head. "Mimi, there's nothing you can do. It's not like you have money." She said, unbeknownst to the fact that Mimi had over a few thousand dollars in savings; money that her aunt and uncle in France had been sending her since she returned to Salem.

Mimi nodded as she averted her eyes from her mother. "No. No, I don't." She whispered.

She knew that she should tell her mother that she had money but she had promised herself that she wouldn't touch the money unless it was for the baby. It would all go to the baby's needs; food, clothing, school.

"So what happens now?" She asked somewhat fearfully.

Maureen sighed again, looking unhappier than the first time she came into Mimi's room. "You're father and I talked...and we decided that you should go to your Uncle Thomas'." She declared, her voice quivering at every word.

"Uncle who?" Mimi asked.

"Thomas. He's my older half brother." Maureen clarified.

"But I thought Uncle James was you're only brother. Why haven't you spoken of the other one before?" Mimi demanded.

"Thomas was our father's son from a woman named Elizabeth. He had an affair with her five years before James and I were born." Maureen explained. "Your grandfather went back to your grandmother when he found out that she was pregnant with James."

"Oh." Mimi whispered feeling somewhat ashamed that her grandfather could do such a thing. "I'm not going." She declared firmly looking her mother in the eye.

"Mimi, we have no money. We don't even know if we'll make it into next month. You can't have a baby in these circumstances. We can't even pay for the medical bills. Thomas is very well off. He'll take care of you until we get back on our feet." Maureen desperately said.

"No!" Mimi angrily exclaimed as she rose on her feet. "I am not going to let you dump me on some stranger! I don't know him. I'm not going to let you send me away!"

"Mimi, I don't want to do this to you but you're going to have a baby and we might have to-"

"I don't care! I'm not going to go! If your brother is so well off why didn't you ask him to help us? Why can't he give us money?" She demanded fiercely as tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Because your father has some pride. He doesn't want to beg. He wants to work and support his family and I don't have the nerve to ask Thomas for money." Her mother answered quietly, shame filled in her voice.

"But you have the nerve to send your pregnant daughter to your brother who you haven't mentioned or spoken to in years?" Mimi spat coldly.

"If I had the power to keep you, I would! I swear to you, I would but it's not possible right now. I won't send you to France with James. Thomas is the closest to Salem and he's willing to take you in as soon as possible." Maureen was crying now but Mimi continued to glare at her despite the hurt she was feeling.

She wanted to cry so badly.

"You just want to get rid of me." Mimi said angrily.

"Mimi, please. You know what it's like to be poor. To be living in a card board box, to not have enough food. Do you want your baby to go through that too?" She asked.

Mimi shook her head. "Get out." She ordered calmly as she glared her mother down.

"Mimi, don't do this."

Shaking her head at her mother, Mimi smiled bitterly. "Oh, that's right. I forgot. This is all my fault." She said harshly but despite the sarcasm in her voice she knew that it was true.

Partially, her being sent away was her fault.

She had gotten pregnant. Maybe if she wasn't pregnant, her parents would let her stay despite their financial circumstances.

Unfortunately she was.

"You're leaving in two days." Maureen added before turning her back on her daughter.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's voice and the door closing loudly. When she was gone, Mimi sank on her knees and wept.

Her mother was right. She knew what it was like to be poor and she'd be damned if she let her baby be born into that kind of world.

Still crying, she got up and walked over to her closet and started packing. She had no choice. Despite the fact that she didn't want to leave, she had to go.

Tomorrow, she'd say goodbye to her friends.

~*~

A/N: IM SORRY FOR NOT INCLUDING THE PROM AND FOR NOT EVEN SPECIFYING JASON'S DEPARTURE. I JUST COULDN'T MAKE MIMI GO THROUGH THE CRYING AND SOBBING ALL OVER AGAIN. ANYWAY, GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF IT. I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I SEE THAT PEOPLE HAVE REVIEWED. BE NICE OK.

THANKS.