N.B. HUGE, HUGE thank you for all your wonderful reviews hunnies! You guys rock! As always, for my Dynamos, love ya girls…Mwah!

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Chapter 14 Parted

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The morning Sam left Kalokairi, had been hard for both him and Donna. She had awoken early after a restless nights sleep and found her husband sat in the chair in the corner of the room. Sam had been feeding their baby son his morning bottle and blinking her eye's open, Donna had just laid silently watching them. Her heart had been torn in two, wanting her husband to go and spend time in New York with the boys, but knowing he would be hurting inside, not seeing Max everyday… So much had happened in their two years together and although they had been happy for most of it, Donna felt like a real failure as a wife. The real problems had started when their son had been born and Donna was struggling, but trying to hide the fact. It didn't take a genius to know she was in trouble; the rapid weight loss, snapping at everyone who tried to lend a hand and breaking down crying at a drop of a hat. It wasn't the normal cheerful Donna that Sam was used to and unfortunately, he had been the one to bare the brunt of her erratic mood swings. Discussing it in private with his wife's best friends, Sam had come to the conclusion that Donna may have been suffering from postnatal depression and he had even brought it up with her one night. Donna snapped at his prognosis, flying into a rage and then into floods of tears. She had flatly refused medical help, insisting she was fine and it was just her hormones that hadn't settled down yet.

Donna had helped her husband to pack for his trip, as Max crawled around the room and explored excitedly, oblivious to what was happening. She had stayed strong, reassuring herself that Sam's leaving was for the best and that if their marriage was going to survive, they would both have see it through. It hopefully would make them realise, just how much they loved and needed one another, confirming that what they had was everlasting. Deciding not to tell Sophie, Sam had kissed her and Emma goodbye, fighting back his emotions, as not to cry. Collecting his bags from the bedroom, he had then stood motionless in front of his wife and simply stared into her tear filled green eyes. Donna was trembling, holding tight onto their baby boy and felt her heart slowly sinking in her chest. The last thing Sam had said, was that he loved her and their children, before he tenderly kissed them both and left. She watched him from the balcony, slowly walking away across the courtyard and then disappearing out of sight, taking a piece of her heart with him. For the rest of the day and the sleepless night to follow, Donna couldn't get the visions of her husband's sad face, out of her head.

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Walking into the reception of the hotel, Sophie waited patiently for her mother to finish her phone call and sat down on the bottom step. It was just after lunchtime and yet again Donna had skipped eating with her daughter and friends, so she get on with paperwork whilst Max was napping. Since her husband had left Greece three weeks ago, Donna had thrown herself even deeper into running the hotel and spending time with her precious kids. She had so far managed to fob Sophie off about Sam's extended business trip and reassured her that he was just busy on a big project. Something had been niggling at Sophie, something wasn't quite right with her mother and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Peering at Sophie over the top of her reading glasses, Donna smiled at her. "Hey darling, what's up?" She asked after ending her call and replacing the receiver. "Is Emma sleeping?"

Shaking her head, Sophie smiled. "No, the Dynamos have taken her down to the beach with them." She replied, tucking a lose strand of her golden hair behind her ear. "We missed you at lunch." She added, peering at her mother as she took a few files out of her desk drawer.

"I know sweetheart, but I thought I might as well get some of this paperwork out of the way, whilst your brother's sleeping." Answered Donna, retrieving her cheque book from the drawer too. "Funnily enough, Max and my desk is not a good mix." She continued, glancing up at her daughter and smiling before going through the invoices to be paid. "Did you want me for anything in particular baby girl?"

Playing with one of her blonde curls, Sophie chewed nervously on her lip. "I erm…I wondered if we could talk about something." She answered, waiting for her mother to make eye contact with her.

Slowly raising her head, Donna took off her glasses and placed them down on the desk in front of her. She knew exactly why her daughter wanted to talk, because she had been trying to avoid going into details so many times and Sophie just wouldn't drop it. Donna had known Sophie was going to keep asking questions, until she finally got the answers she wanted. At this precise moment in time, even Donna didn't know what was going on in her life, or what her future held.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Donna asked, her tone low and calm, as she folded her arms in front of her on the desk.

Sophie sighed and stared down at the ground. "You and Dad." She responded quietly, before looking back up at her mom with a worried expression.

Running the tip of her tongue over her lower lip, Donna gazed back at her daughter. "What do you want to know Sophie?" She asked, not wanting to have to go into too much detail if she didn't have to.

"Why isn't Dad here? What's happened between you two?" Sophie asked with tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

Shaking her head, Donna tried to force a smile. "Nothing's happened darling. It's just…" She answered, cutting short and choosing her words carefully before she spoke again. "Your father is spending some time with the boys. As you know, Ben's been in a bad way and we thought it might be best for someone to be there for him."

Nodding, Sophie kept her gaze firmly locked on her mother. "But that's not all is it?" She said quietly, seeing Donna sigh heavily.

"I guess not." Donna replied in barely a whisper, peering down at the wedding rings on her finger. "Look honey, your Dad and I have a few issues that we're working on, but it's really nothing for you to be worrying about, okay?" She finished, looking back up at her daughter and trying to smile.

"No it's not okay Mom." Answered Sophie shaking her head. "Dad's been gone for three weeks and you're acting like it's normal for you to be apart…So when is he coming back?" She asked, ignoring a stray tear, as it trickled down her cheek.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Donna sighed. "For Max's birthday." She responded, before looking back at her daughter.

Sophie buried her face in her hands. "Oh my god Mom, that's over a month away and it's Christmas next week. What's happened that's so bad, that he can't be here for the holidays?" She asked, finally looking up at Donna and wiping her tears.

Being an intelligent woman, like her mother, Sophie knew whatever her parents were going through, it must be bad if Sam wasn't even coming back to spend Christmas with them. She also knew it was probably something to do with the way her mother had been acting since the birth of her baby brother. Donna had been short tempered and always springing on the defensive whenever someone offered her help with something, making everyone pretty scared of her. She wasn't herself and Sophie had really hoped that things would improve and she could get her old easygoing mom back. Looking at her face now, confirmed that she wasn't quite there yet.

"Sophie there are some things, that I'm just not prepared to discuss with you." Donna said, picking up her reading glasses and sliding them on. "Now if you don't mind darling, I've got to get these bills paid." She added, turning her attention back to the invoices on the desk in front of her.

Standing up from her seat on the step, Sophie took a deep breath. "Why are you treating me like a child Mom?" She asked, placing her hand on the banister and staring at Donna. "It's no wonder Dad's staying away, when you're always in a bad mood like this."

Donna instantly looked up at her daughter. "Sophie, don't you dare talk to me like that." She said in a raised voice, taking her daughter by surprise. "I know you're not a child, but like I said, there are some things that are between your father and I…No one else."

"Well that's just great. I'm without a father for twenty years and then when I finally find out who he is, you…run him out of the country." Sophie snapped, staring intensely into her mother's eyes.

Standing up, Donna took off her glasses once more and threw them onto her desk. "That's enough Sophie." She hissed, staring back at her daughter. "Do you really think I'm enjoying being alone bringing up a baby? I've done that before remember and it was difficult enough in my twenties?"

Nodding, Sophie tucked her hair behind her ears. "Yeah and that was your fault too." She sniped back, with tears rolling down her face.

Donna stood there in total disbelief, that her daughter was acting like this with her. Yes she may have been upset with the fact her father was away, but until she knew the full extent of the Carmichael's problems, Donna felt that Sophie shouldn't be judging her like this. She was so close to just breaking down and letting everything out, but she managed to hold herself together for everyone's sake. Taking a deep breath, Donna straightened up and stared back at her daughter.

"Sophie Sheridan, you might be an adult, but I am your mother. Now have some respect young lady." Said Donna in her low, authoritative tone, as she walked round from behind her desk and started to climb the stairs to her bedroom.

Watching her mother reach the landing at the top of the stairs, Sophie turned and stormed out of the reception. Donna was shaking as she threw herself down on the bed and began to cry into her absent husband's pillow. All she had done, was try to save her marriage and now not only did her daughter hate her, but Sam probably did too…The Carmichael's, had only spoken on the phone a few times since the separation and even those calls had felt a bit strained. Even though Sam had called everyday, Donna had sometimes missed them, or avoided them to spare herself further heartache when she heard his voice. When they did speak, Sam would instantly ask how Max and Sophie were doing, before asking his wife how she was. He had told her, that he was extremely busy at the office and that James was actually glad to have him back onboard for the time being. Ben and Zack were enjoying their time spent with their father and Ben was coping a lot better after seeing a therapist for a while. Their calls were usually cut short, by Max demanding his mother's attention and Donna left feeling terrible for not talking more to her husband, when he obviously had things to say…

Laying all alone on her bed, Donna wiped her hot tears and pulled Sam's pillow close to her chest. After everything that had happened, she really didn't need grief off her daughter too. Things couldn't stay as they were, that was for sure and as Donna rolled onto her side, her gaze fell upon a framed photograph on the nightstand. Peering at the picture, of her and Sam kissing passionately, her heart sank slowly to the pit of her stomach. They had been so happy back then, so in love and now they were living separate lives, thousands of miles apart…It's all my fault Sam's hurting, Donna thought to herself as she closed her stinging eyes, to stop the free-flowing tears…He deserves to be happy. He deserves a wife that can give him her all. Not me… Slowly opening her eyes again, reality hit Donna in an instant. It was her that was the problem in the relationship, not her husband. She had been the one snapping at everyone and the one holding back from Sam. Donna had pushed Sam away too many times, that she couldn't understand why he hadn't left her months ago, of his own accord. She didn't care about herself, all she was bothered about was the future of her husband and the life ahead of him…There was only one thing she could do to insure this. Donna had come to a decision and she wanted to act upon it straight away, knowing that once she did, there was no going back.

Scraping herself off the bed, Donna fixed her makeup and got changed into something more formal. She then left the room, grabbing the baby monitor from her desk and headed off to find the Dynamos. They had looked suspiciously at her, when she found them at the beach bar, watching Emma playing in the sand close by. Making up an excuse about a meeting on the mainland, she left her best friends with the baby monitor and a promise she wouldn't be too long.

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Nearly three hours had ticked by and the Dynamos were now in charge of both babies, as Sophie had gone for a lay down nursing a headache. The two women sat a table and enjoyed a well earned glass of wine, as they watched Max crawling round after a toddling Emma. The sun was shining high in the sky and the Dynamos were discussing Christmas and how their best friend was going to get through it without her husband there. They both shut up and smiled, as Donna came down the stone steps, walking over to them.

"How was your meeting?" Asked Rosie, standing up to grab a glass for Donna from behind the bar.

Tanya peered up at Donna over the top of her Gucci sunglasses and instantly noticed by her red rimmed eyes, that she had been crying. Taking a seat opposite the brunette, Donna smiled sweetly as her baby boy crawled over to her and pulled himself up her leg. Just looking at Max, made her think she was staring at her husband and the pain in her heart intensified greatly. She loved Sam, but things had changed between them and at least she would always have a reminder of how great they'd been together, when she looked at their son.

"The meeting went okay." Donna replied quietly, picking her son up and placing him on her lap, as Rosie sat back down.

Glancing at Rosie, as she poured their friend a glass of chilled wine, Tanya looked back at Donna and frowned. "Who was it with?" She asked, taking a slow sip of her own drink and noticing her lost in thought as she held Max close.

"What?" Asked Donna, after placing a tender kiss on her son's head and looking up at her friends.

The Dynamos were now staring suspiciously at Donna and she was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She was cuddling a wriggling Max and had her hand resting on an important looking file, she'd placed on the table when she arrived. Knowing that she'd have to tell her friends sooner or later, Donna took a deep breath and let Max go back down on the sand to play with her granddaughter. Before she said anything, she grabbed hold of her wineglass and downed the contents in one. As Donna placed the glass back down, she stared back at her backup girls.

"I asked who the meeting was with honey." Tanya replied, glancing down at the file marked 'private & confidential'.

Resting her elbows on the table, Donna could feel the hot tears forming in her green eyes. "My…My Lawyer." She answered in almost a whisper, before quickly wiping away the tears as they traced a trail down her cheeks.

Shaking her head, Rosie looked at her best friend with a confused expression. "Whatever for Don?" She asked, watching as Donna slid the file over towards her and Tanya.

Looking down at her baby playing with a ball in the warm sand, Donna wiped her tears once more. "I'm sure you've heard the saying… 'If you love someone, set them free.'.. Well that's what I'm doing." She responded, watching her friends as Tanya opened the file and read through the contents with Rosie.

She poured herself another glass of wine and leant down to kiss Emma's forehead as she toddled over to her with a huge smile. The tears were still streaming down her face and Donna sipped her Chardonnay, as the Dynamos got to the final page. They both looked up at her with shocked expressions and Rosie looked as though she was about to burst into tears too.

"Oh my god Donna…What have you done?" Gasped Rosie, her mouth falling open as she shook her head at the best friend.

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Rushing in and out of meetings all day, Sam was relieved it was nearly time to leave the office earlier than he had been doing lately. He had a few errands to run before he could return to the penthouse apartment and have dinner with his sons. Checking the time on his watch, Sam picked up his warm winter jacket and left the already deserted office. The weather outside was getting colder and the snow laying thick on the ground, as Sam hailed a yellow cab. He used to love the snowy days in New York, but ever since he'd moved to Greece permanently, the all year round glorious sunshine, made him realise that that was where he'd been at his happiest.

Sitting back in the back of the warm taxi, Sam gazed out the window and watched the hustle and bustle of the hectic city streets. Seeing the people, wrapped up warm, making their way home to their loved ones, made Sam think about his wife…The night Donna had told him, that she wanted to separate for a while, Sam had been heartbroken. She had been his wife for two years, they had found out Sophie was indeed his and she had given birth to his fourth child. Their marriage had been an emotional rollercoaster, but having loved Donna for over twenty years, he couldn't have imagined ever living without her again. The first week had been difficult for Sam, but throwing himself back into work at the office and spending time with his sons, had helped ease the pain a little. Ever since he'd left Kalokairi, there hadn't been a day that he hadn't thought about Donna and his two other children, urging him to make that phone call back to Greece. His wife had been quite distant on the phone and sounded stressed as their baby son whimpered for her, after not paying him attention for a few minutes. The other times he had called, he had either got through to one of the young workers or Sophie, but never mentioned when he was to be returning home. All he said, was that things were crazy at work and he would be home when he could, not wanting to upset his daughter with anymore details. Although he had only left Greece three weeks ago, to Sam it already felt like months had past and deep down he was seriously unhappy…

As the cab turned onto Madison Avenue, Sam instructed the driver to pull over. He climbed out onto the snowy late afternoon packed sidewalk and handed the driver a few notes to cover the fare. Without even thinking about it, Sam walked into a the nearest bar and pushed his way through a crowd of office workers, enjoying an after work drink. He took off his jacket and took a seat at the bar, where he ordered a large scotch, straight up. Not one for really liking to drink alone, Sam considered calling up one of his buddies and telling them he was back in town for a while and asking them to join him. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and then deciding against it, he placed it down on the bar in front of him. Drowning his sorrows, Sam downed his drink and allowed the warm sensation in his throat to subside, before ordering another one… He missed his wife. He missed his children. He missed everything he had back on Kalokairi. Why the hell he had let Donna convince him that taking a break was a good idea, he'd never know. As far as he was concerned, he still loved his wife with all his heart and no amount of time spent apart was ever going to change that. Yes they had a few marital problems, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of extra effort to make time for one another every day. That was where it had all gone wrong in Sam's eyes, the lack of communication between them. Since Max's birth, Donna had quickly slipped into some sort of depression and instead of making her sit down and talk about it, Sam had tried to stay out of her way, in fear of yet another argument erupting. Looking back now, he knew that wasn't the right solution. He should have stayed firm and made his wife seek some kind of help, just like she had rightfully advised their eldest son. But that was then and there was no point looking back, going over the 'what if's'. All Sam could do, was pray Donna still loved him and once he returned to her, everything would be back to normal…

"Is this seat taken?" Asked a pretty blonde woman, standing next to Sam and bringing him out of his thoughts.

Shaking his head, Sam smiled back at her. "No, be my guest." He answered, gesturing the woman to take a seat next to him.

At that moment in time, Sam didn't care who wanted to sit next to him and in his frame of mind, it could have been Meryl Streep sitting down and he wouldn't have batted an eyelid. He was onto his third scotch and the pain was slowly starting to vanish albeit temporarily. As Sam asked the bartender for yet another drink, he was aware of the woman now sat to his left, staring at him. He turned and smiled, as she then struck up a conversation with him. After a few minutes, they had exchanged names and were just chatting. They made small talk about the holiday season and even the New York Yankees, who were playing on the big screen at the back of the bar. It was all purely innocent, until after a while, the pretty blonde moved closer towards him and Sam began to feel a little uncomfortable.

Taking a sip of her Martini, the woman placed her drink down and turned her head to look at Sam. "Do you know, I find you very attractive Sam." She said quietly near to his ear, catching Sam a touch off guard at her upfront attitude.

Raising his eyebrows, Sam smiled at her comment. "Thanks, but I'm also very married Gail." He replied, watching the blonde smirk in response.

"So am I, but that doesn't mean we couldn't have a bit of fun together." Said Gail, taking another sip of her drink, but never taking her eyes of the handsome guy sat next to her.

Shaking his head, Sam was relieved when his cell phone started to ring on the bar. "I'm sorry, I'm not like that." He answered, picking up his phone. "Would you excuse me?" He added, sliding the cell open and turning his back on the woman to answer the call.

"Jack, long time no speak." Said Sam, noticing the call was from his Lawyer and long term friend. "How you doing?"

"Not too bad Sam, but I think you should get down to my office right away." Jack responded down the line. "I've had a fax sent through from Greece."

Sam frowned and stood from his barstool. "Well what is it?" He asked after a long pause whilst he grabbed his jacket and threw some dollar bills on the bar, to cover his tab.

"Just get down here Carmichael." Replied Jack, before ending the call without saying goodbye.

With his mind now racing, Sam didn't even say goodbye to the woman who'd been hitting on him just moments before. As the cold evening air hit him, it took Sam a while to get a cab, as it was rush hour with people heading home. He finally got one, after walking a few blocks through the falling snow and instructed the driver to take him to West 47th Street. Sam had no idea what the fax could possibly be, but it must be important, for Jack to summons him to his office at six in the evening. It didn't take him long, once out of the cab, to make his way up to the Lawyer's office and be shown in by his tired looking secretary.

"Take a seat." Said Jack, shaking Sam's hand and then pointing to the chair opposite his, at the large walnut desk. "And have a read through this." He added, picking up a few pieces of paper he'd received an hour or so earlier via fax.

Sam sat and took the papers from his friend, noticing it was from a Lawyers office in Greece. It was the same Lawyers who took care of Donna's business, to do with the hotel and he had even been there with her on one occasion. He began reading every word of the covering letter and felt himself starting to feel nauseous, as Jack perched on the edge of the desk next to him.

"Normally at a time like this, I'd be screaming fucking prenuptial agreement Sam." Said Jack, in his thick New York accent. "But surprisingly, it looks like your wife's requests are more than reasonable."

As Sam turned to the second page and let Jack's words sink in, he felt the blood drain from his face…Donna had filed for divorce. His wife, his precious wife was divorcing him after two years of marriage, citing 'Irreconcilable Differences' as the reason. Now feeling his chest become tight, Sam was finding it hard to breath normally, as he placed the papers down on Jack's desk in front of him. He couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't believe things had gone so far, that Donna didn't want to be with him ever again. Shaking his head, he peered up at his friend with a seriously shocked expression.

Jack stood up and tapped Sam on the shoulder. "I take it, you didn't see that coming Carmichael?" He asked, picking up the papers and walking round to the other side of his desk, before sitting down. "Donna has only demanded that you maintain regular contact with your two children you have with her and that the hotel be put back into her name only, on the title deeds." He continued, scanning back over the fax. "She's not asking for any money regarding maintenance for your youngest child…So I think when we receive the official documents from the courier in the morning, you can sign and get things moving."

Sam stood, a little unsteady on his legs, through sheer shock and the drink he'd consumed earlier. He felt as though his whole world was falling apart around him and he couldn't just sit here, listening to his friend telling him he'd be divorced quickly enough. Sam didn't want to be divorced, he wanted to be back in Kalokairi with his wife and family. He wanted to be holding his wife in his arms, with everything back to normal.

"I'll be back in the morning, but I won't be signing anything." Said Sam, picking up his jacket from the back of the leather chair. "I'm going back to Greece to find out what the hell is happening." He finished, turning his back and walking towards the door.

"Sam, that's not a good idea. If you get her pissed, she might change her demands and seeing as you didn't have a prenup in place, she could take you for half of fucking everything and I mean everything." Jack said, standing from his seat at the desk and shaking his head at Sam. "I'm a good Lawyer, but you have two kids with her and there's no way I could dig you out of that one my friend."

Opening the door, Sam shook his head. "I'll be back for the documents in the morning." He responded, before leaving the office and using his cell phone to book a flight back to Greece for the following day.

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A.N. DRAMA!!! Lol… Hope it was okay hunnies? Next chapter will be on the 'Love knows No Boundaries' story… loads of love, Liv x