Hiya-I'm back! I know I haven't written for a while and I'm sorry but I've been incredibly busy!!

Shout outs

Strokes: Yeah I thought it would be good if we could start softening Freddy up a little-but not too much because that would be kind of illogical. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Hopelesslydevoted12: Yeah you do sound like a psychiatrist but you got it spot on! Go you!

Nanners77: I will have a look at your Orli site, fellow devotee! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Vikki: You'll never guess what!! I saw Michellie in BHS this morning!! She was pricing stuff and I kind of yelled 'MICHELLIE!!' across the shop and we had a nice chat! I'll try and include Dewey a bit more in this chapter just for you!

Katie kins: How are you luv? Thank you very much for your review-I think you may have scared Mika a bit because she certainly hasn't reviewed since you got in touch! Hee hee! It's your birthday par-tay this weekend-Let me know what time and stuff soon eh? Hope you enjoy this chapter if you happen to read it!

Nay: You've made your point but I have really nothing to counter it with except... Each to their own. The world spins on.

Marcy Bayd: No I didn't like the POV chapter either-it won't be happening again. I just needed to make sure the readers knew what was going on inside the characters heads. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter seven

Sunday, 19th December

Freddy awoke the next morning and held his head tenderly as the wintry sun gleamed through the windows. He had forgotten to shut the curtains.

Casting a glance over at his clock Freddy saw it was ten-thirty. He didn't have to be at band practise until twelve. Rolling out of bed Freddy dressed casually in a grey long sleeved shirt and baggy jeans. Throughout all of this the one thing on his mind was 'What the hell am I going to do?'

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror Freddy stared long and hard at his reflection. Squeezing some gel on to his hands he began the chore of spiking his blonde hair up. Washing the excess gel from his hands a few moments later Freddy reached for his toothbrush.

Ten minutes later, after tidying himself up, Freddy wandered downstairs and found his mother crashed out on the couch, a box of tissues and an empty box of chocolates nearby. Resolving not to wake her, Freddy draped a throw over his mother's sleeping for and scribbled a note, saying that he was out at Band practise and wouldn't be back till late.

Throwing on a jacket Freddy grabbed his skateboard from the hall closet and headed outside.

Frost was everywhere and the morning was bitterly cold. Freddy threw his skateboard to the ground and boarded. Gliding through the streets he ignored everything around him. He pretended he was flying. Freddy loved the feeling, like there was no one else, just him.

"Freddy!"

All of a sudden, the only thing Freddy could see was the sky. He lay on the pavement, winded with his eyes closed. He could hear one pair of feet thumping toward him.

"Freddy?"

Freddy opened his eyes so he was squinting. Above him stood Katie, completely kitted out for winter in a white mohair sweater and ripped jeans underneath a raider jacket. Her brunette hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and she was biting her lip-either she was worried or trying really hard not to laugh.

"Hey dude. You OK?"

Freddy hoisted himself up on his elbows, "Well I never remember my ankle being the size of a grapefruit before." It was true. Katie followed Freddy's gaze and gasped. She dropped to her knees next to him.

"Does this hurt?" she gently prodded his ankle. Freddy howled in pain "The answer to that would be yes." Katie said quietly. "Come on," She hauled herself to her feet "The apartment's pretty close by. Ned will know what to do."

Awkwardly Katie helped Freddy to his feet, or rather to his foot. With one arm slung around Katie's shoulders Freddy managed to hop to the apartment where they met Zack just arriving. Together the three tackled the first two flights of stairs, but then faced the same problem Laurie and Freddy had the day Laurie had had her migraine.

"One of us is going to have to drag you up there Freddy." Said Katie, glancing at Zack. Freddy protested for a while until he saw no way around it.

"Ouch dude! Watch the foot!"

"Sorry! This isn't exactly easy you know!"

With Katie holding his Good foot by the ankle and his bad foot by the back of the calf and Zack dragging him up the narrow stairway by his armpits, Freddy was not exactly having the time of his life.

After what seemed like an hour to his now aching back, the threesome made it to the apartment. Dewey and Ned were playing with Juliet in the living room. Katie and Zack flinched as they heard Laurie's tuneless singing in the shower.

"Jeez Freddy what did you do man?" Dewey hauled Freddy to his feet by the scruff of his neck and held him there.

"Somebody," Freddy shot a glare at Katie, who averted her gaze guiltily, "Made me fall off my skateboard and I hurt my ankle."

"You need ice." Ned diagnosed, gently prodding Freddy's ankle. Freddy gave a yowl of pain and Laurie bolted out of the bathroom, wrapped in a baby blue dressing gown, hair soaking wet.

"Who on earth is screaming like a little girl out here?" she caught sight of Freddy, "Jesus. What happened to you?"

"Fell of my skateboard." Freddy said between gritted teeth, "And I do not scream like a little girl."

The room noticeably tensed, waiting for Laurie's reaction. They had been subjected to one or two of Laurie and Freddy's spats and really hadn't enjoyed it. To their surprise however, Laurie just shrugged her shoulders and made her way over to the freezer to search out a bag of peas. Even Freddy looked confused.

Dewey helped Freddy over to the couch and took the bag of peas from Laurie. He slapped the cold hard vegetables onto Freddy's swelling ankle, who yelled out in pain again.

"Aw don't be such a candy-ass." Dewey gave his shoulder a playful slap "Ned can you strap this?" he said pointing to Freddy's ankle. Ned nodded. Dewey turned to Katie and Zack.

"While other kids were fishing water snakes out of the river with their bare hands at summer camp, Ned was in the nurse's cabin learning how to suck poison out of a flea bite." He stage whispered. Zack and Katie sniggered.

"Dewey, that's not true," Ned scolded, hoisting himself up on the kitchen counter to reach the top of the cupboard. He grabbed a red box from the top shelf and jumped down as nimbly as a thirty year old man could. (Which wasn't very.)

Freddy ankle was strapped with a phenomenal amount of fuss. In the end Laurie (As a joke) put a strip of surgical tape of Freddy's mouth. It was funny until they realised they couldn't get it off without really hurting the guy.

After ten minutes of Dewey trying to pull the tape off excruciatingly slow, Laurie rolled her eyes and jumped off her perch that was the window seat. Elbowing her way through the small crowd that had congregated around Freddy as the band had arrived, she slipped her fingernails under the end of the tape a little. Laurie looked Freddy straight in the eye, "I'm going to pull this off really quickly OK?"

Freddy shook his head in an urgent way that signified that this was clearly not OK. His hands went up to grab Laurie's wrist in an effort to get them as far away from him as possible. She batted one hand away, and gently pried the other one off her wrist, finger by finger.

"Look," She said, irritated, "I can't say I'm not enjoying the quiet but I'm trying to be a good person here so just let me do this or you will have this tape on your mouth for the rest of your life. Understand?"

Freddy nodded timidly. After all, the girl did have hold of something that was stuck to his face.

Laurie gave a small smile of triumph, "On my count," she said, holding up three fingers on her free hand, "One."

"Arghhhhh!!!" Freddy yelled as the surgical tape was ripped from his face, leaving him to yell as much as he wanted. He glared daggers at Laurie who held up the tape, smiling innocently. Juliet, who was propped up with countless cushions a little way away from him on the couch, gurgled in what sounded like glee. Freddy looked over at the infant, "Oh you think that's funny do you?"

"Careful Freddy," Marta joked, "This could turn into 'Big Daddy' before you know it."

But Freddy wasn't listening because his eyes were transfixed on Juliet, "She smiled!" he said excitedly, not taking his eyes off the baby. Immediately everyone's attention was on the child. A chorus of 'Really?', 'No Way!' and 'Ohmigosh!' filled the room. Freddy inched closer to Juliet, "Come on Kiddo, smile for me again!"

Laurie knelt by the sofa, staring at Juliet, "Freddy, it was probably wind." She said quietly. Freddy shook his head stubbornly, "No way! There is no way that was gas! She smiled at me. Ju-li-et!" he enunciated in a singsong voice.

Juliet blinked at the sound of her name. Her baby-sized gaze flitted to Freddy and her mouth suddenly widened into one of those heartbreaking baby smiles that you have to pry some people off the ceiling after.

Everyone in the room collectively went 'Awwww....' And looked at each other happily. Dewey picked Juliet up off the sofa and spun her around, talking baby talk at her. Coming from Dewey this was rather scary. Ned went back to strapping Freddy's ankle and he slapped the bag of peas back on it when he was finished.

The rest of the day went by slowly. Freddy sat on the sofa and complained. Marta, Tomika and Dewey fussed over Juliet. Laurie and Katie found Coconut rum, White rum and a mixture of other things and Laurie set about teaching Katie how to make Bahama Mama's (A/N: Absolutely gorgeous cocktail. Actual recipe on the bottom of the page) Ned protested at first but Laurie assured him a very small amount of alcohol went into them. She made an entire batch and passed them around.

"These are really great Laurie." Zack complimented, making the brunette blush. Freddy for once, sat quietly and speculated on the day. Laurie hadn't fought with him once... in fact, she had only spoken to him twice. A strange feeling bestowed itself upon his chest. A sort of ache, like he was forgetting something. It wasn't possible that he was missing the slanging matches... right?

No, that couldn't be it; Freddy mentally shook the thought from his head.

Katie and Zack agreed to help Freddy home as Dewey pointed out the Freddy's mother was 'still tripping' over the last time Dewey had offered to take them all home.

Freddy hobbled out of the apartment, clutching onto chairs and inanimate objects to stop himself from falling over. Once he was down the first two flights of stairs Katie and Zack grabbed one of his arms and helped him down the stairs and out of the building.

The threesome walked for two blocks in silence until Zack finally broke the ice, "Hey Katie, you know those drinks that Laurie taught you how to make?"

"Bahama Mamas and yeah. What about them?"

"Can you teach me?"

"Sure."

From in between the two of them Freddy piped up, "Why are they named that?"

Katie thought, "I think Laurie said it's because they were ideal for cheering up the Lovesick. She said she practically lived on them when she was in Spain." (A/N: I kid you not. The menu actually said they were ideal for cheering up the lovesick. And I have to agree with it. It was a bloody lush cocktail.)

Freddy rolled his eyes "I'm sure they are."

"Each to their own." Katie gently warned. Zack glanced at Freddy "I noticed you and Laurie didn't fight today. Or speak very much for that matter."

"No well that was her choice. She doesn't have to annoy me so much you know." Freddy said stubbornly. Katie frowned, "No, but you don't have to be so horrible to her. She's had a rough time."

"Yeah she was abused, I know." Freddy looked at his strapped leg guiltily. Katie and Zack glanced at each other, "How do you know that?"

Freddy shrugged "She told me."

"Do you know who she was abused by Freddy?" Katie asked quietly. Freddy shook his head, "Her father."

Freddy was quiet for a long time "Shit." He finally whispered under his breath.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. Zack and Katie helped Freddy up his porch steps where he quietly assured them he would be alright from. The pair walked down the paths and stopped at the end to watch Freddy struggle inside. Katie turned to Zack.

"D'you think they'll ever be OK with each other?" Zack shrugged.

"I don't know. We can only hope."

Katie shook her head, "There shouldn't be so much unhappiness around Christmas. It's just wrong."

Zack gently took Katie's hand, "Then talk happiness," He said seriously. He tilted her chin upwards with his free hand so she would look him in the eyes "The world is sad enough without our woe." And ever so gently, he kissed her.

Katie melted into the kiss without a second thought. She had never thought about Zack in the romantic sense but this kiss was definitely making her change her mind.

The pair broke apart and without a word, walked into the night as one.

Freddy hobbled into the kitchen to find his mother, Joy, sitting there, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a magazine.

"Hey mom." He greeted quietly. Joy looked up "Hi honey. What happened to your ankle?"

"I fell off my skateboard this morning. Ned strapped it for me." Freddy eased himself into a chair with great care.

His mother nodded, "OK. Do you want some Tylenol?" Freddy nodded. "How about some dinner to go with your painkillers?" Joy grinned. Freddy smiled back and Joy went about fixing some spaghetti. Freddy sat in silence, staring at the table. After a while Joy looked at him and smirked "Who is she then?"

Freddy jerked out of his reverie "What?"

This caused his mother's smile to widen "The girl you're thinking about."

Freddy shook his head quickly "I'm not thinking about a girl."

Joy poked him lightly in the ribs with the end of a spoon "Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Am not!"

"Are too-Why am I so bad at that?" Freddy buried his head under his arms and slumped over the kitchen table.

"So," Joy plonked herself down next to her son "Who is she?"

"Nobody." Came the stubborn muffled reply.

"Ah, the famous imaginary girlfriend."

"She's not imaginary! I'm not thinking about a girl!"

"That's an Oxymoron, you moron. Come on, tell your mother." Joy was enjoying every second of this.

Freddy's head shot up from its resting place "Fine. We fight all the time and when we're not fighting, we're not talking. She's annoying and stubborn and she lowers the drum seat and steams up the bathroom when she has a shower!"

Joy carried on in the same tone of voice "And she's beautiful and funny and you can't help but stare at her sometimes right?"

Freddy looked horrified "No! Mom, trust me, I will never think of Laurie that way OK?"

Joy laughed and ruffled her son's hair "Give it time baby."

"It's not going to happen! I don't wanna think of anyone that way yet! Especially not Laurie!"

Joy jumped out of her seat next to Freddy and went to check on the spaghetti "Kiddo, I don't know if you know this or not, but you don't decide when you fall in love or who you fall in love with. Nobody decides. It just... happens. Besides, you never know, this Laurie might make you happy."

They ate in silence and then Freddy wandered upstairs to bed, his mother's words fresh on his mind. Was it true? Could he have feelings for Laurie?

"No Way." Freddy murmured to himself, slipping under the covers.

"Besides, you never know, this Laurie might make you happy." Joy's words rang in his ears.

"How could she make me happy? We'd only fight all the time." Freddy muttered.

You've just been miserable for so long you've forgotten how happy some things can make you Freddy. The voice was back Remember kid, when one door of happiness closes another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door-in your case, about four years-that we do not see the door that has been opened for us.

OK. I think I'm going to leave it here for today, because I've been writing this for about two days. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!!!

Talk happiness. The world is sad enough without your woe- Orison Swett Marden

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door we do not see the one which has been opened for us -Helen Keller

The recipe for a Bahama Mama is pretty simple. You need a little White Rum, a little Coconut Rum, Grenadine, Smooth Orange juice and Smooth Coconut juice. Mix all the ingredients using an electric blender and pour into a glass filled to the top with ice cubes. Sip through a straw. You can't go wrong! Do not drink if you are underage.