A/N: I don't own it. You know that and so do I.

Chapter Three

Madison POV

I didn't feel too good the next morning. My whole body ached, and I barely had the energy to get up the stairs. Mac was still asleep, and Ephram had already left for school. So I just took the baby monitor upstairs with me, and joined Nonny and Grandpa in the kitchen.

"Madison, honey. You look terrible. Are you ok?" Nonny came and put her hand on my forehead to check for a fever.

My ego pouted at this. I mean, I knew I felt horrible, but I didn't want other people to tell me that.

"I'm fine. I didn't sleep too well last night, that's all."

"Why don't you go back to bed for a couple of hours. I can handle Mackenzie for a few hours. It's no trouble."

"I'm fine. I can handle it."

"You don't have to handle it. That's why we're here too. But if you say you're fine that's ok. I'll be in all day if you need anything."

"Thanks, Nonny." She smiled at me and handed me some coffee. I sat at the table and drank it, thinking about the fight I'd had with Ephram the previous day. It all seemed kind of pointless now. So I just sat until a cry came from the baby monitor sent me downstairs to Mac.

The day actually went kind of fast. Mac slept a lot, and I watched some TV and read a little. Even so, by about 2 in the afternoon I was so tired that I had to take Nonny up on her offer. I left Mackenzie with her until Ephram got home and went and collapsed into bed for a while. At least this time I got under the covers. The night before I'd just stripped off and collapsed.

I guess I must have slept for a couple of hours, because I felt a lot better when I woke up. I didn't ache so much and for once even the scar on my chest didn't hurt when I sat up. I ran my fingers through my hair to try and bring it back into some kind of order, and decided to go look for Mac.

When I checked my watch I saw it was a little after 4.30, so I guessed Ephram would have Mackenzie either in his room or in the den. I didn't have to look far though, because the door to Ephram's room was open. I looked inside and sure enough there they both were.

I stood by the door, really quiet, just watching for a couple of minutes. Mac was sitting in her bouncy chair, not really crying, but making random noises of displeasure. I recognized it immediately as her "gimmie some attention, dammit" cry. Ephram meanwhile was sitting at his desk, bouncing Mac with his foot and desperately trying to do his homework.

He turned around to look at Mackenzie when she let out a particularly loud cry.

"C'mon Mac, please? I have to get this finished. You don't want Daddy to flunk out of High School, do you? Then the other kids will laugh at you and make fun because your Dad's too unqualified to get any job that doesn't involve grilling frozen cow parts."

I struggled not to laugh at Ephram's neurotic desperation.

"Ok, Mac," he continued. "I'll make a deal with you. If you give me a half-hour to finish my algebra homework, I'll leave the rest and you can have me till bed, ok?"

I stepped into the room. "Isn't she a little young for deals?"

"Probably. It was worth a shot though, I'm getting a little desperate." Ephram looked at me kind of oddly, like he was a little scared of what I was going to say. Probably remembering our fight. "You feeling better? Nonny said you looked like crap this morning."

"I guess. I didn't sleep too well last night. Funny, huh?"

"Me neither." He stopped and looked at me. "I am sorry, you know? I know I'm acting like an ass. I wasn't mad with you yesterday. I was.. You were right. I was mad with Amy. And I know I'm being overprotective its just..."

I interrupted him. "No, it's me. I've been in this denial thing. I guess it's like if I don't think about it, it never happened.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not so sick I can't chop a tomato." Ephram smiled slightly. "But I guess I have to be careful, right?"

I went over and picked Mac up out of her chair, and then I took a seat on Ephram's bed. He turned around to look at me.

"I don't...It's just..." Ephram stopped and took an audible breath. "I don't know how to act around you, ok? I mean, we were never friends..."

"We were friends."

"No, we weren't. I hated you, then I had feelings for you, then we were together. We were never just friends. Then we broke up, and then you left."

"I didn't want to leave. You know that right? I just didn't want to ruin your life."

"I know, I know. And you didn't ruin my life, we're doing ok. It's just, now we live together, and I still don't know where I stand with you. It feels like we have to take turns with Mac, like we trade her between us. We never spend time together with her. Which is dumb, because your bedroom is right next to mine. It's like... God, I don't even know what I'm saying."

"I do. It's like, you're her Dad, and I'm her Mom, but we're not her parents, collectively. We haven't figured out the us part yet."

"Exactly, and I don't want that. My parents were never an us either. It was Mom on her own until she died, and then Dad took over. I want Mac to know both of us."

"She will. I guess we just need to figure out how to be a family, right. Even if it is kind of odd and dysfunctional."

Ephram laughed. "C'mon Madison, you spent way too much time at my dad's house. You know I'd never survive in a functional family."

Then he came and sat down next to me. We didn't talk any more, we just kind of sat. At first it was a little awkward, but after a while it got easier. It was just the three of us, alone together for once, and it felt good.