NB: Mistake from last chapter- Mallory has triplet brothers, not twins. Thanx to the reader who showed me the error!

"Dawn! Look over here!"

"Ms Schafer- it's me from Women's world...can I have a few moments of your time?"

"Dawn! We love you Dawn!"

"Dawn!"

"Dawn!"

"Dawn!"

Dawn Schafer McKenzie only smiled at her fans and moved on down the red carpet- the sooner she entered the cinema, the sooner the premiere would begin and the sooner she could go home and relax. The man at her side squeezed her waist reassuringly

"Don't worry honey, these people can be vultures." She looked up at him- sometimes it was hard to believe he was her husband. The marriage of golden girl Dawn Schafer and one of the hottest properties on television, Jake McKenzie, was a match made in heaven for the paparazzi and their fans. They were so perfect together- they worked in the same industry, both had the golden Californian looks that everyone simultaneously admired and envied, and they had three adorable children. No wonder everyone wanted to see them, and be like them. Yet, for Dawn, it was a nightmare from which there was no escape. She didn't want to be an actress- she wanted to be a mother to her children. She wanted to be involved in charity work for children and animals alike. She wanted to finish her marine biology degree. She wanted to be a long way from California and the glamour of Hollywood. Most of all, she didn't want to be married to Jake McKenzie...............

How did she get to be so glamorous, she wondered to herself. Once upon a time, she was a babysitter, both in California and in Stoneybrook, why had it all changed so quickly?

Dawn and her younger brother Jeff were born in California, and it had been an easy life for them, till their parents decided to get a divorce when she was 12. It was the worst moment of her life- even worse was when her mother announced that they (Jeff, Dawn and her) were moving to Stoneybrook, to be near her maternal grandparents. Needless to say, neither of them had been very pleased at the upcoming move.

The weather was rainy and cloudy when they landed in Stoneybrook- it suited Dawn and Jeff's moods perfectly. Their grandparents, Granny and Pop-Pop, were waiting at the airport for them.

"You just wait and see the house we found for you," Pop-Pop said excitedly as they loaded their bags into the car.

"Yeah, can hardly wait," Jeff muttered under his breath. Luckily, only Dawn had heard him. However, she was fascinated with the house, particularly as it seemed built for midgets in the 1700s, and had a secret passage.

Dawn hated the first day of school- all the people were staring at her, calling her the 'new kid' and not helping her when she asked for assistance. So when she saw Mary Anne sitting by herself, she thought that she was new. But, she found out, she and three friends had had a major falling out. Dawn had been really hurt when she thought that Mary Anne was using her, but it turned out that they were interested in making her a member of the club- as alternate officer.

Kristy had been, at first, suspicious of her-particularly with her healthy lifestyle, and viewed her as a threat for being Mary Anne's best friend. Yet she eventually came around, and they all accepted her 'eccentric' side. In addition, she and Mary Anne were thrilled when their respective parents started dating and, eventually, got married..

Eventually, though, Dawn became homesick for California, her father and her friends. Jeff had never made the transition, and had gone home just six months after moving there. Dawn tried to stick it out, but she knew, deep down, that she belonged in California. Her mother was upset, but understood her decision. Mary Anne, however, was a different story altogether.

"How could you do this to me? I helped you fit in, helped you make friends- we even accepted you into the club? Why would you want to give all that away to go back to California," Mary Anne screamed, crying hysterically.

"Mary Anne, California is my home. I love Stoneybrook, and my friends and family too, but I need to go home. Please understand." It had taken awhile, but finally Mary Anne accepted the truth and she flew home.

California was just as she left it- her father's girlfriend, Carol, was living with them now and Dawn didn't mind.. Jeff was still adjusting to the idea, but he was ecstatic to have his sister back. She was thrilled to be back with Sunny, Maggie and Jill, and the time just seemed to fly by. She flew to Stoneybrook as often as she could, and she discovered that she was truly bicoastal, and was lucky to have two loving families- one on each side of the States. All too soon it was graduation and she was planning to model, and go to UCLA to study marine biology. She was still passionate about saving the earth, and she even annoyed some of her Californian friends with her passion for the environment.

"Jeez Dawn, it isn't as if the efforts of one person are going to save the earth," Sunny said one day.

"No, but maybe one day it will encourage more people to care." She was very busy at college, but she always made time to baby sit her little step sister Grace, whom she adored. The modelling was also going well- she noticed that she was competing with Stacey for jobs- they both had the clean cut blonde looks that everyone loved, but Stacey was clearly more sophisticated, while Dawn was a typical Californian beach girl. She was simply content to model until she finished her degree, but fate had other plans...Talent scouts from one of the big studios had followed her career intently, and, at one job they 'crashed', they offered her a screen test.

"You have got to be joking. I'm only modelling to pay to get through school. As soon as I graduate, I want to be a marine biologist," Dawn said firmly. Although only 21 at the time, she was strong and independent and knew what she wanted out of life.

"This is the chance to become a star- don't all girls have that dream?," the scouts had been persistent and continued to follow her, even after her initial 'no'. Finally, in desperation, she agreed to a test.

"I'll be terrible, I can tell you that now." However, the studio saw it differently, and she was immediately cast in a small role in a big movie with some major stars. Her girls had been jealous, and even stepmother Carol was envious.

"Just imagine being around all those gorgeous guys- if I wasn't married..." Carol trailed off dreamily. Dawn herself couldn't understand what all the fuss was about- in exchange for fame and money, she lost all her privacy and every aspect of her life was fodder for the press. Even the boys she dated were overwhelmed by the attention, and begged off. After that one film, her acting career skyrocketed, and she had to put off finishing school till the summer. At 23, she was becoming one of the most well known faces in California and found herself attracting some not so unwanted attention. The one she was most intrigued by was TV star Jake McKenzie. He was tall, blonde and extremely intelligent. She had done a guest spot on his television show, and he had immediately asked her out on a date.

"I don't think so- I've got to study for my exam next week," she said apologetically, although she was seriously tempted by the offer.

"Come off it, study can be put off for one night. I bet you haven't seen the nicer side to LA." Dawn had started laughing at the thought

"The nicer side of LA? I've lived here all my life, and I haven't seen any nice side."

"Well, now's the chance to discover it." Surprisingly for her, she discovered some of the nooks of LA, which were almost totally secluded.

"See, I told you." He was a native of New York and tried to hit Broadway, but was unsuccessful so his agent told him to head west, to Hollywood. He had several minor parts in films, but he really found his niche in television. He was now 27, and had been on his show for three years.

"And I'm starting to look towards settling down." When the press found out about their relationship, they went wild, and Dawn felt that they were slowly being pushed down the aisle. She didn't mind- she did love Jake (they had been seeing each other for 4 months), but she felt that she was too young to get married. That is, until Jake proposed on her 24th birthday in her father's yard.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she screamed as he slipped the exquisite diamond ring on her finger. Their wedding was the wedding of the year- all the magazines and newspapers were begging to cover their wedding, and both of them were being bombarded with presents and well-wishers.

"I wish we could have put on the invitations 'donate to the local wildlife sanctuary'- all this wasteful paper could have been used for something else."
"Yes, another celebrity wedding. Just enjoy the wedding planning, Dawn." That was the one thing that annoyed her about him- he didn't share her views about conservation.

As the weeks rolled by leading up to the wedding, she was getting unsure about marrying Jake. She confided tearfully in Carol the night before the wedding.

"Honey, it's normal to have these feelings before the big day- when I married your father, I couldn't imagine wanting to spend the rest of my life with the one man. But when you look at him at the alter, waiting for you, you know it will be all worth it." Carol was right- when she walked up the aisle to 400 guests, press and fans and saw him looking so awed, she knew she was doing the right thing. They went to Hawaii for their honeymoon, and when they came back the press was waiting on the doorstep of Jake's house, wanting to know all the details. She was annoyed at the press intrusion, but Jake told her to calm down

"It's okay- it's only curiosity." When she discovered she was pregnant 2 months later, the press went wild and followed her everywhere, including on to film sets. It didn't make the pregnancy any easier, and when she was 6 months pregnant, she went to Stoneybrook for the rest of the pregnancy. On Christmas Eve, 10 months after they got married, Dawn gave birth to a healthy baby girl, whom they named Lisa Brianna. Dawn fell in love with her at first sight and Jake, when he saw her, was equally as adoring. He hadn't been able to make it to the birth as he was promoting his latest film in Chicago. Dawn had been a little disappointed, but forgot about it when they went home. Both of them were adamant that the press would have no access to their daughter, but they released several pictures of her on her first birthday. By then Dawn, now 26, was pregnant again and she knew Jake wanted a boy. Adam Jacob was born in April, and his father was over the moon.

"We have a son! We have a son!" he cried to the world. Dawn was pleased that he was ecstatic, but she wanted to focus on the two children, not her career. However, she was pushed into another film that earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination. It was overwhelming, particularly when she discovered she was expecting again. She had also notice that Jake was less and less interested in her and the children.

His television show was on its last season, but he had a ton of movie offers and he was busy for the next year. When he wasn't, he was out late with the boys and she was devastated when she read in the paper that he had an affair with one of his co-stars on his latest film.

"It means nothing babe, honestly," he had reassured her, and she pretended not to notice, particularly as she was close to having their third child. Chloe was born 2 weeks early, and Jake hadn't bothered to turn up until she was home from the hospital.

"Where were you?" Dawn raged as he held the baby, and the two younger children (now 5 and 3) played on the floor. Jake shrugged

"Las Vegas."

"Jake, you're a family man now and I need you here to help me with the children. I have to work too, and I don't want to leave it all up to the nanny. I want us to bond with our children."
"You still haven't given up on those ideals you had when you were 19, have you? Don't you realise that that is all a load of rubbish? Care about yourself is top priority in this town- and don't you forget it." As she looked at him, Dawn realised that her instincts had been correct- he was a playboy who didn't give a damn about anyone- not even his own children. Even worse, just 3 months after they were married (and she had just found out she was pregnant), she had discovered he had had an affair. Affair after affair had tainted their marriage, she found out after a little investigative work, and she realised she had made a mistake. However, she never regretted having the children- they were her life............

She looked around at the crowd and realised what a farce her marriage was- he had cheated on her throughout their 6 years of marriage. He had told her, in a fit of anger when they had had one of their numerous fights, that he had only married her on the advice of his agent. However, she was trapped- the public thought they were a happily married couple with three children, Hollywood's Sweethearts, and Jake wasn't to convince them otherwise. Two days earlier, she had received a message from Mary Anne (whom she hadn't heard from for a long time):

HI DAWN, IT'S MARY ANNE. BABYSITTER'S MEETING FOR AUGUST 7TH AT 5:00PM AT CLAUDS. WE HAVE SOME SERIOUS BUSINESS TO TALK ABOUT.

She had already booked her flight out- when she came back, she and Jake had some serious business to talk about.