A/N: So, this is relevant - I promise! it might seem like its a bit off topic but Greg plays a part in this story so its important we follow his progress through it too. every few chapters will be back to Greg... its also a bit of an interlude between all the angst Sara's experiencing. I will promise Chapter 4 on Sunday though :)
Charli xx

Greg took his time driving home. Sara was putting on an incredible brave front but he knew that inside she was being torn apart. The death of a parent always opened a can of worms. As soon as he got home he picked up the phone and called his own mother. It wasn't that he didn't speak to her often, she was insistent that they spoke at least once a week but facing up to mortality of a loved one he realised that he needed to remind her that she was loved.

"Hey mom" he smiled at the sound of her voice and the Elvis tunes in the background.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" she demanded "you called yesterday, there must be something wrong"

"Mom, calm down… nothing's wrong. I just wanted to hear your voice" he soothed.

"You're a good boy" he could almost feel her beaming on the other end of the phone "you know Silvia Marshall's daughter has been home for the week. She's still single…."

Greg rolled his eyes. He made a habit of not telling his mother about his personal life, at the mere suggestion of a date she'd be picking out baby names and knitting yellow beanie hats. He wondered how she would feel if she found out he was dating someone who already had a child, who had already been married and divorced,

"Mom stop setting me up with your friends daughters" he sighed.

"You know, I would like grandchildren at some point Gregory"

He wondered how she had the ability to turn every conversation into grandchildren. They could be chatting about global warming or quantum physics and she would still manage to turn it into a guilt trip about not sowing his seed.

"I know mom…. I know"

"Carolyn next door? Her daughter just had twins. Twins! They are adorable"

He could tell that he was never going to turn this conversation to anything other than babies. His mother was known for having a one track mind at times.

"I need to go mom, I love you!"

"Ok you take care my boy, are you eating? You need to get down here soon and have a real meal"

"I'm eating just fine mom and next holiday I promise I'll come home"

"you sound skinny... you need a woman to beef you up!" She continued, ignoring his attempts at getting off the phone.

Greg rolled his eyes, wondering how a person could sound skinny and how his mother had somehow made that turn back into him needing a woman. She was skilled in the art of getting her own way, that much was clear.

"Mom, I'll call you tomorrow. stop worrying!"

He signed off from the call relieved that his mother lived at least a 3 hour drive away. He wondered what it would be like to have no contact with her at all, she might pressure him to settle down and mollycoddle him beyond belief but it was all done in love. He couldn't imagine how his life would be without her.

He showered and changed before heading over to Robyn's. She was cooking for them both, as planned. The only difference being that now Joel would be in the house too. He was a good kid and Greg had a lot of fun with him but he was really getting in the way of them being able to consummate their relationship. When he was with a sitter they had an 8pm curfew, when he was at home he inevitably interrupted their attempts at alone time.

He could hear her singing as he pulled into the drive beside her van. A smile tugged on his lips, he couldn't really complain about the lack of sex. They more than made up for it in other ways.

He swung the door open and stepped into the huge living space. Robyn had inherited this place from her father, otherwise it was unlikely she could have been able to afford so much space on her mediocre salary. She was in the Kitchen, swaying in front of the stove, oblivious to his arrival.

"We're on a Johnny Cash kick today?" he remarked as 'I walk the line' resounded around the small space she occupied.

"The mans a legend Greg" she smirked, pecking a kiss on his cheek.

"I wouldn't deny that…. Little before your time though is he not?" Greg began absentmindedly stirring pots and inhaling the scent of the steam.

"You've heard of Jesus Christ haven't you?" he nodded in response, a frown crossing his features "little before your time too"

She smiled and raised an eyebrow at her victory.

"Touché" he wound his arms around her body, pulling her into his embrace and dancing his lips on hers. "Where's Joel?"

"He's next door with Jamie and his mom. He's staying over for dinner" she grinned, meeting his eye with a quirk of her eyebrow loaded with hidden meaning.

He raised an eyebrow and kissed her again, feeling a strange sense of desperation fall over him.

"I heard you'd been talking to Sara…." He whispered in her ear as he concentrated his kisses on the elegant sweep of her neckline and collarbone.

"I really should remember she tells you everything" she muttered, winding her arms around his neck as he pressed her against the counter.

"Hmmm you really should…" with one movement he raised her body onto the countertop, never breaking the contact of his lips to her skin. It was funny how she always tasted the same, a mixture of honeysuckle and lavender danced on his lips and enveloped his senses every time he was near her.

She met his eyes in a moment of uncertainty, her breath quivering as it shuddered from her chest and whispered on her lips. One kiss and he washed it all away, folding the strap of her dress down her arm and dipping his head to follow the trail his fingerprints painted for him.

Her fingers wrapped around his shirt as her hips rocked against him. She held fast to the material for a moment, an attempt at calming herself that clearly wouldn't work. He was using every trick he knew to drive her wild, as much as his hands and lips wanted to grasp at her with all the passion he felt he knew that the lighter his touch, the greater his reward would be and that theory didn't let him down. She unhooked his buttons, exposing his chest and running her hands over him gently.

She moistened her lips before dancing sensual kisses across his collar bone, her eyes dancing to his every few seconds. It was spellbinding; the flirtatious nature of her kisses, the lingering eye contact, the feeling of her skin under his fingers. He pressed against her again, his desires becoming achingly physical as his hands inched up her thighs as gently as he could bear. Her dress rode up further, revealing her smooth thighs and lace underwear and he almost growled into her hair as she arched her back against him and fiddled with his belt.

His mind was racing almost as fast as his heart was. He could barely heave breath into his lungs as he realized that this was it. They were actually going to overcome the only obstacle in their relationship, every suppressed fantasy he'd had of the moment, every sleepless night, every single broken moment was about to be washed away in a crescendo of passion.

"Mommy?"

Joel's voice could break down the most intense moment in a second. He came crashing into the living room with his dinosaur in tow and Robyn let out an exasperated sigh. Placing her hands on either side of Greg's face and resting her forehead against his, her trembling body and erratic breathing giving away her state of arousal and frustration.

"I'm sorry" she whispered "I'm so sorry…"

"I'll go…" he kissed her softly, reassuring her that he wasn't mad before he disappeared into the living room. Joel was stood in the centre of the room, staring at the TV with his T-rex toy dragged behind him and a trail of muddy footprints showing his path from the front door. "Hey buddy, how was dinner?"

He twirled around and greeted him with a wide smile and a hug. He had worked hard to build a good relationship with the kid; it was important to Robyn and the main reason why he hadn't been invited to stay the night yet. Joel had to like him just as much as she did.

"I had turkey dinosaurs and spaghetti O's" he beamed as Greg lifted him to his hip and made his way into his bedroom.

Joel had the first bedroom off the living area. A positively packed room filled with toys, books and general clutter, the walls covered with his artwork and certificates.

"That sounds awesome! I hope that's what your mom's cooking for me!" Greg smiled, fishing in his drawers for some pyjamas.

"Don't be silly Greg, grown-ups can't have turkey dinosaurs!" Joel jumped on his bed, making pillows and soft toys scatter all over the floor.

"We can't?" Greg protested "that's not very fair!"

He grabbed Joel mid-jump and threw him back on the soft pillow's wrestling him into his pyjama's as he giggled and wriggled.

"Now, I'll put a DVD on for you if you promise you'll stay in bed to watch it" he whispered "because if your mom knows I let you stay up she might put me on the naughty step"

Joel nodded excitedly as Greg started the DVD up and left the room. Robyn was plating their dinner when he got back, a soft smile his only greeting as he took his place at the table. She was embarrassed, frustrated probably, that they didn't get the time they needed to be together.

"Will you stay tonight?" she almost whispered as she chased a stick of broccoli around her plate, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the table. He reached out his hand and covered hers.

"Here?"

"No, next door… " she smiled, meeting his eye at last. "of course here!"

"Are you sure that's what you want? I mean Joel…"

"Joel… "She interrupted "already likes you better than me. I don't think he'll be a problem"

"Ok then… I'd love to" he smiled, returning to his meal feeling a small sense of victory. Maybe today wouldn't be a total wash out already. When they finished their meal they relaxed on the sofa, wrapped in each other's arms as they half watched a movie. Before long he had her laid beneath him on the soft cushions of the sofa, making her sigh and tremble like before.

"I'm glad you asked me to stay" he muttered onto her lips, stroking his fingers across her cheek and looking into the brown and gold of her eyes.

"Because we get to do this?" she smiled, folding his shirt from his shoulders.

"Because I hate making my bed in the morning…" he laughed as she rolled her eyes at him and laced her fingers through his hair.

The light switched on bathing them in bright lights and forcing her eyes closed at the impact.

"I thought you put him to bed?" she groaned through her teeth.

"Yeah… me too, I've got it" he whispered, kissing her tenderly and heaving himself from the sofa "hold that thought"

She cleaned up the plates while he was gone and danced around lighting candles. Settling in the couch she waited for him to return but there was no sign of him. She carefully swung Joel's bedroom door open. Her eyes casting over the scene in front of her; Joel sound asleep in his bed surrounded by dinosaur toys, Greg resting on the bed beside him, a book in his hands.

He was sound asleep, dead to the world, completely unconscious. She probably should have been mad at another missed opportunity but seeing him curled up there was so endearing she couldn't help but smile and snap a photograph on her phone to be sent to Sara. She would certainly appreciate the teasing ammunition.