Author's Note: Okay, so this is going to be a long one, so please pay attention, because if you review or I get messages about what I'm going to talk about and explain, it's gong to piss me off. FOr those of you who paid attention in my first chapter to the Author's note you already know this part, but for those of you who didn't read it, I stated that anyone who left a 'flaming' review of Michael Jackson that it would be deleted. Not because I dont believe people are entitled to their opinions, but because I feel how I feel, and I dont need to hear it on my story...with that said....I have to tell you. I received one of the most heartfelt reviews today, from xFlipperx. I read it to one of my friends, who believes the same way I do about Michael's innocence, and she flipped her lid, I mean she went totally coocoobananas. Telling me that I had to remove the review because the person who left the review said she believes that Michael was a pedophile....I will NOT remove that review. I am mature enough to respect her opinion, and she didn't flame the story. In fact she gave me the push to keep it up. I can spend the next million years stating facts and voicing my opinion and point of view on the subject, but at the end of the day, we are not the ones who are to judge or decide what really happened, that's between Michael and God or whatever higher being that is out there. That being said, I know that some MJ fans are going to find this and think that I'm not a 'true' fan, and to those people I say you can go kick rocks. I feel the way I feel, and I applaud xFlipperx for maturely stating her opinion and still being open-minded enough to enjoy my story. So a thank you is owed to you xFlippperx, only thank you will never be enough! Your review was awesome, and it made me smile, and if I had a cookie I would so give it to you, but sadly I dont, though I have some pumpkin pie if you want it ;)

All right with that said, and if anyone continues to read this after that nice little rant/chatting session, here is Chapter Thirteen....read/enjoy/review :D Xoxo Amber-marie

Chapter 13: The Fight For Life

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."-Maria Robinson

They say time heals all wounds. Whoever 'they' are, don't know what the hell they are talking about. Sure the last month has passed by, but the pain of loss is always there, mocking me everywhere I turn. I stare at myself in the mirror, my once lively eyes dull. I sigh as I pull at my baggy jeans. It wasn't that I was intentionally not eating, its just, whenever food is in front of me I feel the strong urge to vomit.

'Daniella, you need to eat. Your going to make yourself sick,' Janet's voice echoes in my head and I roll my eyes angrily. Who cares if I get sick? It isn't about me anyways, I remind myself as I grab a belt from my dresser top tightening it as much as I can. Michael's tour starts again in three weeks, whatever menial energy I have left in me has to go to that. I pick up my notebook, tucking a pen behind my ear as I walk down the hallway towards Michael's office, cutting through the backyard avoiding the main entrance way. I slip into his office, smiling the best I can when Michael looks up at me from the phone, holding a finger up to me telling me that he will be just another minute.

" Absolutely, its no problem, I will send a car for all of you around four," Michael says, smiling as he says good bye before hanging up the phone.

" Guests coming tonight? Was I supposed to write that down?" I ask, flipping through my organizer confused, maybe I was losing my touch at this whole 'personal assistant' thing.

" No, no, it's a last minute thing," he says, getting up to sit on the corner of the desk.

" Oh, okay, who's coming?" I ask nonchalantly as I read over what all is on board for the day.

" Brandon, Kyle, and your Mother," he says, and I slowly lift my eyes to his. I refused to see any of them since the funeral, though that didn't stop Brandon and Kyle from coming every single day. I couldn't bare the pity in my brothers eyes, or the anger in my mothers.

" What?" I ask, shaking my head hoping I had misunderstood what he said.

" You heard me Daniella. We leave in just a little under three weeks, your family wants to see you, they are worried about you," he says, and I shake my head at him. I weigh the options in my head, throw a fit and leave, or shut up and deal. I roll my eyes, shutting the organizer with a satisfying snap.

" Fine, fine. It's your house, invite whoever you want to invite over," I say, my tone turning chilly. " You have an appointment at one with the costume designer to go over orders for the tour. I'll call to confirm it." I walk out of the office wishing that I could just disappear, just fade away into nothing, and skip this whole dinner.

Michael's POV

I stare at the framed picture of Carly-Ann on my nightstand, remembering the day it was taken. I had just finished rehearsing and she had run on stage leaping into my arms, telling me how good I had done. The smile on her face blindingly bright. I sigh, rubbing my hands over my face, my thoughts trailing off to Dani. Over the last month I have watched, unable to stop the self-destructive behavior that was taking over her life. Her tortured screams could be heard throughout the house at night, and her dwindling form was evidence of her refusal to eat. Her already slim form was turning skeletal right before my very eyes and there wasn't a damn thing that I could do about. I growl with frustration at the soft knock on my door.

" Come in," I call out, smoothing the material of my red shirt.

" Michael, your dinner guests have arrived, they are waiting in the sitting room," Max says, smiling sadly at me. He fought with me harder than Dani did. Telling me to just butt out, that Dani would see her family when she was 'good and God damn ready too.' I couldn't just butt out though, I love her, and she is dying slowly and painfully before my very eyes, eaten alive by her grief.

" Thanks Max, I'll be there in just a minute. Can you get DanI?" I ask, and he simply nods his head, closing the door behind him. I stare at myself in the mirror, hoping that I did the right thing by bringing them here. It's obvious that I cant help her, maybe they can.

Dani's POV

I apply my lipstick with a shaky hand, cursing lightly at the tear rolling down my cheek. My own tortured thoughts screaming so loudly in my head that I don't even hear the door opening behind me.

" Dani, your family is here," Max calls out, and I whirl around dropping the tube of lipstick I was holding onto.

" Oh Max, you scared me," I say, kneeling down to pick it up. I groan loudly pushing at the strap of my dress that falls loosely from my shoulder.

" Dani, girl, you know I love you right? But I have to tell you, you look like hell," he says, and I laugh hollowly, nodding my head when I straighten myself.

" You think I look bad on the outside, you should see what's going on inside," I say trying to muster a smile.

" Dani, wait. Listen, I know that you might be upset with Mike, but he, he's just worried about you, we all are," he says, taking my shoulders in his hands, squeezing lightly.

" I know, I just wish everyone would stop worrying. I'm fine," I say, wiggling out of his hold. I walk down the hall, hugging myself tightly, trying to prepare myself for his fiasco. I walk into the sitting room, the soft murmuring voices of Michael and my family sounding like the annoying buzzing of mosquitoes in my ears.

" Dani!" Kyle calls out the first to cross the room, hugging me closely. His arms tighten around me slowly, and I feel the apprehension in the hug, like he is afraid he's going to break me. I breath him in, absorbing his energy. I feel tears clouding my eyes and I shut them off, placing a smile on my face as I look up at him.

" Hey Ky," I say, hugging Brandon next and finally my mother. I notice the look in her eyes, the anger, the judgment, and it has my blood boiling. Just as I'm about to open my mouth and unleash it on her the cook enters the room telling us dinner is ready. I take a deep breath, thinking maybe it's a good thing I wasn't able to go off, because there is no telling if I would be able to stop. I walk from the room, Michael's hand resting lightly on my lower back and I draw what little encouragement I can from it.

I push my fork around my plate lazily, feeling no urge to eat any of the salad in front of me. I don't even see food in front of me, in front of me is just another reminder of something that Carly-Ann will never have again. She'll never eat again, or drink, laugh, dance, smile. Why should I?

" Daniella, you need to eat something," my mother's stern yet soft voice rings through the mostly silent dining room, and I look up at her, surprised that she broke her silence.

" I'm sorry, I'm just not hungry. I had a big lunch," I lie, trying to fake a smile, whatever it takes to get me out of here. Brandon slams his fork down on his plate the sound of the clanging silverware reverberating off of the plate.

" That's a lie Dani," Brandon says, his voice low and even. I look up at him, my eyes narrowing with anger.

" Shut up Brandon," I hiss, pushing the plate away from me.

" No. You have barely eaten anything in the last month, and its time that it stops. Your going to kill yourself, is that what you want?" he asks, his words falling over me coldly.

" You don't know what your talking about, so just drop it," I say, sitting back against the chair my eyes unable to meet anybody's glances.

" He's right Daniella. Your skin and bones, you haven't been eating, you don't sleep, you need help," Mom murmurs, and the minute her words register in my head its as if I disconnect from myself. Unable to stop the words from flowing from my mouth.

" How would you know? You haven't been around since Carly-Ann's funeral, so how do you know about a damn thing that's going on in my life?" I scream leaning forward in my chair staring at her.

" Just because I haven't been here doesn't mean that I don't know things aren't right with my own daughter," she says, her eyes gleaming with tears.

" Oh God Mom, please just stop. You don't care what happens to me. Why don't you just admit it? You stopped caring the day Carly-Ann died. Why wont you just say it out loud Mom? We all know you think it, feel it. Just say what you have been thinking? You think I don't know, that you blame me? That its all my fault? That if it wasn't for me taking this job, the job you protested against, that Carly-Ann would be here," I scream, my eyes blind because of my own fury. " Go ahead Mom you can say you told me so, I know how desperately you have been wanting to say, so SAY IT!"

" Daniella, I could never blame you, I just, I don't want to lose my own daughter. I want to see you healthy again Dani, I want my daughter back," she cries, her face stricken with pain.

" Fine Mom. You want to see me healthy again, you want to see me be me again," I yell, infuriated that she just wont admit what I already know. I grab food off of my plate, stuffing it in my mouth forcing myself to chew and swallow it. " Is this what you want to-," I clap a hand over my mouth unable to finsih the sentence, my stomach rejecting the food quickly. My stomach rolls bitterly, protesting.

" Dani? Dani?" Kyle calls out, his eyes wild with worry as I turn from the room running as fast as I can for my bathroom. I brace my hands against the toilet, emptying what little contents are in my stomach, the burn of stomach acid bringing fresh tears to my eyes. I feel someone's hands pulling the hair from my face.

" Do you remember, when I would do this, while you had morning sickness? I would hold your hair back, rubbing your back, telling you it would all be okay. Telling you how when I was pregnant with you I was lucky if I wasn't throwing up twenty four hours a day," Mom says, her voice shaky as she takes me through the memories. I flush the toilet, closing the lid, sitting down to look at her. " Dani, I know that I have made mistakes with you. I was always so hard on you. Only because I love you. And I love Carly-Ann very much, and I miss her every single day. Sometimes I think that I can hear her voice. When I'm baking cookies, or watering the garden. I can understand on a certain level how much your hurting, when your Daddy died, I didn't think, I didn't know if I would be able to survive the pain, I thought that it was going to swallow me whole, but it didn't, because I had you and your brothers to think about. I'm scared for you, I'm scared because I don't know what you have to keep you anchored here, to keep you afloat in the vast ocean of your pain, but you have to find it Dani. You have to fight for it, because if you don't, I'm afraid I'm going to have to bury you too. Carly-Ann loved you more than anything in this world, and she would be so sad if she saw you like this. Wasting away to nothing, torturing yourself with unrealistic guilt" I stare at her, realizing that what she is saying is the truth.

" Momma, I just, I just cant do it. When I close my eyes all I see is her laying on that pavement dying, when I'm awake her voice echoes in my head. I try to eat and it's like this voice in my head reminding me that Carly-Ann wont ever eat again, its just, its just too much. I want to die Momma don't you see? I want to die, without her there is nothing, I'm nothing," I say, and I cry harder when she crushes me in a hug, sinking to the floor with me in her arms.

" Daniella, you have to fight baby. You have to fight for every day. It's going to be a struggle, its going to hurt. There are going to be days where you just don't think your going to make it through. I came here tonight, to beg you Dani, to just keep fighting. Fight for yourself, for me, for your brothers, fight for Michael. He needs you Dani. I saw it the night I met him, I saw it when you two were dancing, he needs you Danim" she says, pulling away to cup my face in her hands, her eyes shinging with tears, "Most of all, fight for Carly-Ann," she whispers into my ear, and I curl into her, my arms holding onto her tightly, as I weep into her shoulder.