The next morning, Michael woke up before the sun rose into the sky. He stretched and cracked his back a few times before he stood and yawned deeply. He felt amazingly wonderful. He hadn't remembered the last time he slept so well. He slowly made his way to the kitchen and decided he wanted to make breakfast for Ramona.

"You're up early, Michael. Are you having trouble sleeping, dear?" one of the maids, Marie asked. She was the only worker in the ranch that addressed him by his first name. She was like a second mother to him.

"Quite the contrary, I slept like a rock. I just thought I would surprise Ray with one of my famous egg omelets," Michael smiled as Marie's eyes lit up. "She did after all, lose her home last night."

"Poor child. What are you gonna do?" Marie asked.

"I'm not sure," he pondered as he worked around the kitchen. "I want to help her. I'm gonna help her somehow. Where to start is the hard part."

"Well, why not find out more about her first? See what she enjoys and see if you can match her with a good career with whatever it is she's good at. Then help her find that job."

"Hm, she did try to insist on working around the house. She said 'I don't wanna be a freeloader, Mike'." Michael tried his best to mock Ramona and Marie giggled.

"Horrible impersonation, dear. But if she wants to help, she can stick by me," Michael shot her a look and she held up her hand. "I won't overdo it, no worries. I'll just make her think she's doing more than she really is," she winked at him when he finally smiled.

Michael dug around in the cabinets and continued working hard on breakfast. Soon, the smell wafted through the house and his stomach growled. "Damn, it's hard not to give in to temptation and dig in right now," he mumbled.

"Do you need any help?" she asked.

"No no. Omelets are one thing I do know how to make. You go on to bed. I've got this," he smiled at her and she nodded and stood up.

"Okay, well just an FYI, the fire extinguisher is in the hall closet."

"Beat it!" he threw a dish towel at her and she giggled and went on her way. Pretty soon, breakfast was ready and Michael set the plates out. Before he could load the plates with food, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and hugged him tightly. He blushed at the contact and his heart fluttered. "Good morning to you too," he smiled.

He turned to hug the owner of those arms and hesitated when he saw that it wasn't Ramona standing behind him. Lisa frowned when she saw his reaction. "What's with that look?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

"What look? I'm just not awake yet, that's all," Michael searched for a good excuse before turning back to the kitchen counter.

"If you're not awake, you wouldn't be making breakfast for two. I didn't tell you I was coming and I just saw Marie going to bed, so who's here, Michael?" she tapped her foot and he let out a low breath. He hated when she tapped her foot like that.

"No one you need to worry about," he said as honestly as he could. He didn't want to lie and tell her no one was there. However, Ramona was someone she really didn't need to worry about.

"What is it you're not telling me?"

Before Michael could answer, Ramona came out in simple blue silk pajama pants and a large blue shirt that belonged to Michael. He left them out for her the night before since she had no clothes to wear at the time. She stretched as she walked and then froze when she saw two sets of eyes staring at her. One set was very dark and cold and it sent chills down her spine.

"Uh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" Ramona asked carefully.

"No."

"Yes." Lisa spat at the same time Michael replied. Michael gave Lisa a warning look and she simply huffed at him. "So who is she, honey? And why is she in your clothes?"

Ramona starting thinking fast. Michael seemed to be at a loss for words. She was certainly taken aback, not even knowing he had any kind of relationship with Lisa Marie. Sure, it was a rumor, but no one ever talked about it. Not anymore. Michael especially. It almost stung a little that he hadn't shared that with her. Then she noticed the sting was actually physical. Her scar was burning. She shook her head and took a step toward Lisa who instinctively took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I know what this must look like. My name is Ra-"

"I don't care! All I wanna know is who you are to my boyfriend and why you are dressed in his clothes!"

Michael scrambled for words and Ramona knew all to well that he had a hard time lying. She had to do it for him. "Just a friend, I assure you. I'm actually here to surprise Janet. She and I have been friends for years and Michael here is helping me surprise her by allowing me to stay in his guest room until she comes back from her tour."

Lisa seemed to chew on this for a moment before she finally relaxed a little. "You shouldn't be in his clothes."

"I know. I feel a little weird about this too, but I lost my suitcase at the airport. I have nothing to go on right now. No clothes, no money…"

She snorted before Ramona could finish and looked back at Michael before grabbing one of the two omelets and threw it on a paper plate before heading for the door. She stopped and turned back to give Michael a rather passionate kiss in front of Ramona. Michael hesitated before briefly returning the kiss.

She pulled away and glanced back at Ramona before looking back at Michael. "Buy the peasant some decent clothes. I hate seeing any woman in your clothes except for me."

She walked out the front door and Ramona let out a breath she had been holding in. "Well, that was pleasant."

"I am so sorry…" Michael held his hands out to Ramona and she took a step back.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. Please don't. I came into your home, your life. You just live your life and I will do my best to live mine. It will just be next to yours," Ramona rambled until the pain shot through her chest and shoulder where her scar was and she sucked in a breath and placed her hand over it.

"Are you okay?" Michael walked over to her and placed a hand on her arm. She pulled away slowly. "Did you get hurt in the storm? Let me see…" he reached to move the sleeve over her shoulder and she pushed his hand away lightly.

"No, no I'm fine, I promise. I think I just slept on it wrong."

Michael seemed to buy that and he went back for the kitchen and threw her a bottle of pain killers. "Are you hungry? I made my specialty."

Ramona popped a couple of pills and smiled at him. "The great Michael Jackson cooks?"

"Yep. But I won't stand here forever, so decide," he stood with his arms folded near the stove. Ramona nodded and he grinned before making her an omelet and finally joining her at the dinner table.

After breakfast, Ramona stretched and grabbed their plates. Michael watched her carefully as she went to do the dishes and he rolled his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Ramona looked up at him from the sink and raised an eyebrow. "Surely you couldn't be that dense." Michael stood and leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "It's called doing the dishes. Is that okay with you?" she said playfully.

"No. I want you to play, not work," Michael pouted and Ramona thought for a moment.

"Are you sure about that?" Michael nodded. "You're absolutely positive? You won't change your mind?" Michael huffed and she grinned. "Fine, I'll play…" she reached up with the sprayer and soaked Michael. He yelped and moved back before glaring at her. "Tag, you're it!" she took off running through the house and Michael eyed her retreating form.

"Oh you are so going down!" he yelled as he chased her.

Ramona had no idea where she was going, but she just continued to run. She ran through every room and attempted to hide but Michael was never far off of her trail. She slid down the steps and ran out the back door and tried to hide behind a rather large tree. She tried to pant quietly as she caught her breath and listened for Michael at the same time.

She glanced around the tree to look back at the house and a pair of arms grabbed her from behind. "Gotcha!" he yelled and she screamed and pulled away and started running again. "You can never outrun me!" he taunted her and she rolled her eyes.

Too bad he had the upper hand and she had no idea where she was going because a few moments later she found herself by the pool.

'Oh shit,' she thought right as Michael tackled her into the pool.

They both emerged laughing and Ramona splashed him. "This is so not over, Thriller man!"

"Far from it actually, Snookie. So, would you like to go shopping for some new clothes?"

"Sure, I guess. As long as you don't go overboard, Sugar Tits," she smiled as he helped her out of the pool.

"I never go overboard. Let's go get ready and head out. Meet me by the piano when you're ready to go," Michael said as they walked back to the house. Ramona nodded and headed for her room. She searched the random clothes Michael had Marie set out for her. A few of them were Janet's old clothes. She settled on black jeans and a black and white t-shirt with black boots.

She sat back on the bed and pulled out her journal and thought about adding a new entry. She shook her head as she thought about it and went into the kitchen with her journal. She stood over the trash and ripped out her ruined pages one by one. She was almost sad she'd lost those memories, because after meeting Michael, surely her life would never be the same again.

She sighed and set her journal on the bar in the kitchen and backed up before she ran into someone. She turned quickly. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you…there…" she trailed off as she recognized the body guard from Bucharest. Derek.

"It's quite alright, miss…hey, it's you!" his eyes lit up as he realized who she was and she put her hand over his mouth.

"Shhh! Please don't give me away!" he looked at her confused and she looked around before dragging him outside where they couldn't be heard. "Look, I will explain how I got here later, but right now Michael doesn't know I'm the Bucharest girl. I don't want him to know just yet."

"That's kind of a big thing to hide from him, don't you think?" he asked.

"Yes, I have been telling myself that a lot lately, but now isn't the best time. He and I are becoming great friends and we are getting closer every day. I don't want to ruin that."

"What makes you think that would ruin it? That would probably make you closer," he pushed.

"Maybe I don't want that. He has a good thing going with Lisa Marie. Besides, if I tell him now, I'm afraid he will never look at me the same again." Derek gave her a strange look and folded his arms and she shook her head at him. "I'm not saying I won't tell him. I just wanna make sure the time is right before I do. Please, just keep this between us?" she begged him.

"Alright, alright. I promise," he smirked when she smiled and thanked him. She ran back inside to jump in the shower.

Michael came out after he had finished cleaning up and drying off. He walked out by the piano and noticed Ramona still hadn't arrived yet. He sat at the kitchen bar and tapped his fingers to a beat he made up, a new song he was working on, when he noticed a notebook sitting on the counter. Ramona's journal.

Michael's interest peaked as he reached for it.

Be careful now. If she catches you reading this, you're gonna be in big trouble, his mind warned him.

'I know, but if this is the door to finding out more about her and getting her a decent job, then I just have to know. Finding out who she is will help her and I both,' he talked himself into it and opened it up to the first entry. As he began reading, he also listened for any sounds of anyone approaching. So far, it was silent. He knew he would have to read fast.

"My name is Ramona. I am a writer, a singer, and an artist of tribute music videos. The highest of the 3 on my list is writing. The stories I have written in the past has helped many people deal with hard situations.

I have no family left. My brother had died from cancer even after I gave him some of my bone marrow in order to save him. I wrote a story about how my emotional struggle nearly took my own life. I wrote about how it felt to risk my own life for his and how I felt when he took his last breath. That story alone gave a few more families hope when they had found out that their loved one had been diagnosed with cancer. That was reason enough for me to continue writing.

My parents died in a fire. Both of them had taken sleeping pills and some moron that was simply passing by flicked his lit cigarette into their yard. The high grass that lay up against the house easily caught fire and it spread in no time at all.

For some reason, I wasn't bitter for very long. I always believed everything happened for a reason. Maybe God was testing me to see how strong I was. I wasn't sure. One thing I was sure of was that I had no regrets. I had a wonderful relationship with everyone in my family.

I also sing, but mostly to myself. I play guitar and considered playing in public a few times. The only problem there was I happened to be extremely shy. One of the biggest traits I have is my loyalty to my idol, Michael Jackson. I stood by him as much as I could when he was accused of molesting a young boy that he had been very good friends with. I tried to go to every concert he ever played.

I bought a dog tag necklace at one of his shows during his Dangerous tour once and I always wore it around my neck. I still do. It gives me strength and reminds me that I am never alone. I remember the last time I ever saw Michael in person. What a nightmare it really was…"

"Michael?" Ramona's voice rang through the hallway and Michael slammed the journal closed before she could see him.

"Uh, in here Ray," he called back.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked. He paused as he took in her appearance. She was actually wearing makeup this time and it looked beautiful on her. She didn't wear too much, but not too little. It made her natural beauty stand out. The sun was shining through the windows and lighting up her auburn hair. She looked so angelic. "Hey, you look pale. Are you okay?" she asked.

He blinked a few times and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

Ramona hesitantly nodded and followed him out the door. She was a little worried, not just by his reaction to her, but how to get through this shopping expedition without a bunch of rumors firing up. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin whatever he had going on with Lisa. She glanced at him as they rode in the SUV toward the mall and he smiled and winked at her.

'Well he doesn't seem worried, so I guess I shouldn't be either,' she thought as she relaxed into her chair and enjoyed the ride.