A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view, and I'm sure all my reviewers will be happy to see what has happened.

Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Elton John, haven't we been through this already?

You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John

If you had asked me ten years ago if I wanted kids, I would've dodged your question whenever I could.

If you had asked me five years ago if I wanted kids, I would've told you to sit back and wait cause it wasn't gonna happen anytime soon.

If you had asked me four years ago if I wanted to get married and have kids, I would've jumped at the first opportunity.

If you asked me a year ago whether I thought I'd be divorced with a three and a half year old daughter, I would've told you to kiss my ass.

Funny how life changes, huh?

I wanted my daughter to know that Elizabeth did not replace her mother at all. I tried to work it out with her, I really did. Elizabeth loved children, but couldn't have any of her own, which was fine… I didn't want another one, Charlotte was trouble enough. Not to say that my little girl is trouble, no, but… ahhh… I lost ya, didn't I?

I taught Elizabeth basic sign language. She wanted to communicate with Angela, let her know that she wasn't trying to take her place, but rather she was trying to become friends with Charlotte, not become her mother.

Charlotte liked her, telling me that Elizabeth would do all sorts of things with her. She'd sit down with her and draw, she'd play board games with her, she'd push her on the swings outside. In short, Charlotte thought Elizabeth was cool, nothing like her boring Mom and Dad.

She told me one night that when Angela picked Charlotte up from daycare one Friday, not a word passed between them. Elizabeth said Angela just kinda… stared at her, like she was a bedsore you couldn't help but notice was festering.

Sure, Elizabeth was nice enough, but I knew there was no way I was going to be able to love her the same way I had loved Angela. Angela had stood by me through things that no human being should have to witness. I mean, when Clay Dobson was still running rampant around New York she immediately took Charlotte to Jersey for their own safety. At first she had flat out refused to go anywhere, she wanted to be my support system.

But eventually she had gone, because I had asked her to.

As I spent more time with Elizabeth, I realized that there was nothing that could be done to salvage our relationship. She loved children, ran the daycare center; she was smart, charismatic, funny, good looking…

But I was still in love with Angela, and I knew I was. Why else would I still be in contact with her? Because of our daughter? Well, yeah, there's Charlotte, but if I didn't care about Angela I would only do the bare minimum in terms of keeping in contact.

I hadn't wanted a divorce… I was sure we could have worked it out, but she had run.

She just hadn't told me what she was running from. What was she afraid of?

That night, after I had phoned Angela to say goodnight to Charlotte, I sat down with Elizabeth at the kitchen table and explained everything. I admit she was hurt, but she nodded her head as though she understood.

"Losing someone so close to you is never easy…" she answered. "Angela was obviously someone you loved very much, and it's difficult to move on… I understand that perfectly," she waited for me to say something, but I waited for her to finish. "Look, Don," she reached out and placed her hand on mine. "You're not ready for another relationship, please don't rush yourself."

We both got up. I walked her to the door, kissed her cheek and watched as she walked down my driveway to her car. When she drove away, I immediately grabbed my shoes and keys and drove over to Angela's apartment.

Knowing Charlotte was sleeping, I very lightly knocked on the door, knowing either the lights would flicker or she would feel the vibrations through the floor. I guess she must've felt the vibrations through the floor because it took her about two minutes to come answer the door.

"Don?" she signs. She's wrapped in her housecoat. She must have been curled on the couch reading… she did that sometimes. I would come home late and find her waiting for me.

"Angela," I sign back. "I wanted you to know…" I paused, trying to find the courage to tell her what had happened. "Elizabeth and I aren't together."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because I still love you," I told her.

She blinked. "Come again?"

"I still love you…" I signed again.

She stumbled, looking for the right words. She seemed taken aback, not quite sure what to think. I waited, until finally she looked back at me and signed.

"I still love you too." She leaned forward, took my hand, and let me into the apartment.

I reached behind me, closed the door, and felt my lips connect with hers.

She tasted on strawberries.