Ramona was sitting back in her chair at her desk, printing off her newest column when her phone chirped to life. She glanced at the screen on the phone and noticed it was her boss, Charlie. She turned away from her printer and picked up the receiver.

"Good morning, Charlie," she smiled.

"Good morning, angel," he snickered. Ramona loved her boss. When he was having a good day, he was quite playful. It was no wonder Michael was friends with him.

"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked.

"I need to see you in my office as soon as you can, please," he replied politely.

"Alright, let me finish printing off my latest column and I'll be right there."

"Okay, see you then," he hung up and she smiled before returning back to her printer. Right as the last page hit the tray underneath the printer, her cell phone chimed with a new text message. She cocked her head to the side and then smirked. Only one person texted her while she was at work. She opened her phone and smiled.

New Message from Tomcat

Hey babygirl. Just checking up on you, making sure you haven't killed yourself with a bad papercut or something.

Ramona rolled her eyes and texted him back. What the heck is that supposed to mean?

Her phone chimed again in a matter of minutes. Nothing at all, sweetface. You are just clumsy, that's all.

Shut up, Mike. I'll see you tonight at your place. Same time, right?

Yes ma'am. Lisa is out with her girlfriends, so no intrusions tonight. See you soon.

Okay. And Mike?

Yes?

Don't call me sweetface.

Duly noted. Cya

Ramona giggled as she tossed her phone back into her purse and headed to Charlie's office. She knocked lightly on the door twice before letting herself in and dropping her finished column down on his desk.

"Ah, Ramona, right on time," he stood and greeted her before glancing over her shoulder.

She turned to see a few of the other writers from the company all sitting at a round table in the back of his office. Ramona secretly envied Charlie. His office was rather large and he decorated it well. He had enough room to fit his large mahogany desk, a flat screen television, and a rather large round table in the back of the room for meetings. He also had a refrigerator and a large plush couch in the room. Not to mention a killer view.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" she asked nervously.

"No, we were just sitting down to a meeting. Please, join us," he said as he pulled out a chair for her. She nodded and sat down with the rest of her coworkers and listened intently. "So, I have been thinking about new stories. Our ratings should be higher than this by now, and yet they aren't. We need something more, and I think I may have found a solution."

"You have been looking up things on Yahoo Answers again, haven't you?" Ramona's coworker, Amber asked.

"You caught me," Charlie said with his hands up. Everyone chuckled lightly. "It's a good source from the outside. Finding out what answers haven't been given for what the people want to know. And there is one big question that I can almost guarantee a huge portion of the world would like to know," he paused for a moment and everyone sat up in curiosity. "The people want to know, what happened to the girl from Bucharest that took the bullet for MJ."

Ramona bit her tongue. This wasn't something she was prepared for. No one knew she was the one from Bucharest, except for Derek, and she intended on keeping it that way until she was ready to tell Michael herself. She was so afraid of losing him as her best friend once he knew. It wasn't like she was lying to him though, she was just keeping a secret. A really big secret.

"With that being said, Ramona?" she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Charlie. "Do you think you can interview Michael for us? You are his other half, after all."

"Um, I…I don't know if that's such a good idea," Ramona stuttered for a moment. Use your words, Ramona!

"Why wouldn't it be a good idea? No one knows what happened to this girl…"

"I do…" she muttered before she blinked furiously. "I do…like this story idea. I just don't want to intrude on Mike like that. It may be a sore subject for him," Ramona forced out.

"Please do this for me, Ramona. Michael trusts you more than anyone I know. And if you get the story, there will be a raise in it for you, and your own office," Charlie bribed her. She wasn't sure what to think of that, or how to feel. Damn these stupid emotions. Why did it have to be so hard to register emotion. What was she supposed to say?

"I'll talk with him tonight and see what I can do," she said, feeling defeated.

"Wonderful! I'll expect an update Monday morning. Everyone else, have a wonderful weekend and bring me some juicy stories Monday!" Charlie clapped his hands together as everyone filed out of his office. Ramona remained frozen in her thoughts, not sure of what to think or to say. What was she going to tell Michael? She didn't want to upset him. Michael and her never really discussed Bucharest before. She was honestly dreading the day he would bring it up, but she was willing to bite her tongue and listen to how he felt about the whole thing. She wasn't sure if she would be able to lie to his face, if she had to. She was honestly terrified she was going to lose her resolve. "You okay, Ramona?" Charlie asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes I'm sorry. I guess I just lost my train of thought for the moment. I'd better go and get some questions prepared," she spoke carefully and then stood up slowly, and finally made her way back to her desk. She was asking herself if she could honestly do this without breaking the news to him.

Later that night…

Ramona walked into Michael's front door and was greeted with a bowl of gummy bears. She grinned widely and hugged him. "You read my mind."

"That's what I'm good at," he smirked.

"So, what are we watching tonight?" she asked as she made her way to the couch. Michael smiled and sat down next to her, pulling her feet into his lap and grabbing the remote.

"I figured you would be up for a Disney movie tonight, so I ordered Tangled. But there is one thing I want to show you first," he smiled at her when her eyes lit up.

This was their routine. They had movie night every Friday night. Michael and Ramona would sit on his couch in the living room and watch a movie. He would have the snacks ready when she arrived and she would always sit next to him with her feet propped up in his lap. Lisa would go out with her girlfriends and most of the time would be gone all night. Michael would entertain her, and they would laugh and joke around. At the end of the movie, Ramona would fall asleep and Michael would put her in the guest bedroom for the night, then she would wake up early and give him a kiss on the cheek and head home before Lisa ever came home.

"What do you got?" she asked.

He hit a button on the remote and his music video, You Are Not Alone, began to play. Ramona sat up and sat the bowl of gummy bears aside.

"It's finished?" she asked.

"Yes. It hasn't aired to the public yet. This is my own personal copy. I haven't seen the finished product yet myself," he shrugged.

She grinned and nudged him as they watched the video. When Lisa appeared on screen, they both tensed up a bit. Ramona stiffened a bit and held her breath. This was an all new feeling for her. She wasn't sure what to think. Then she saw Michael and Lisa on a bed together, and they were nude. She tore her eyes from the screen and Michael fidgeted in his seat. He reached for the remote and skipped ahead.

"I guess I didn't realize how affectionate we were supposed to be in this video," he said nervously.

Ramona didn't speak. He skipped ahead until he got to the scene with him as an angel. Her eyes lit up at the image. "That is absolutely perfect," she said.

Michael blushed a little. "Really?"

"You as an angel. That would be the perfect image for your fans. Perfect comfort if you ever…" Ramona paused as she had a flashback of the Bucharest concert. The images flashed through her mind of the man with the gun, the gunshot, Michael's look of absolute dread as he leaned over her on the stage. How is it possible he hadn't recognized her? Maybe she could get some answers when she interviewed him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She straightened up and took a deep breath. "Yeah," she said, almost in a whisper. Her scar was burning so badly, it felt like it was on fire. Another flashback haunted her mind of the surgeon she had spoken to in the hospital after she had been shot.

"So miss Greene, you are a lucky young woman. How are you feeling?" the surgeon asked.

Ramona sat up slowly in her bed, the grogginess of the anesthesia wearing off. "I'm okay. When can I leave?"

"Whoa slow down, tiger. We have to keep you for a few days. We were able to repair the tear you had in your shoulder and chest, but unfortunately we couldn't locate the bullet. We need to make sure you don't get a bad infection from it."

"Oh, I see," she said quietly. "Any long term problems in it for me?"

"Perhaps. We won't know for sure. You will most likely need to see a regular doctor for the rest of your life."

"What's bothering you, babygirl?" Michael's voice snapped her back to reality. "And don't you dare tell me it's nothing."

Ramona had to think fast, but there was only thing she could think of. "Charlie gave me a new assignment today. A new story that will give us ratings," she spoke slowly.

"Yeah? What about?"

"You," she paused as he looked at her with confusion. "I told him I wasn't sure about it and he told me there was a promotion in it for me…" she spoke so quickly that Michael almost missed it.

"Okay, calm down. Let's hear it," he smiled.

"The story is supposed to be about the incident in Bucharest," she said carefully. Michael's lips tightened in a thin line and Ramona shook her head. "I'm sorry I brought it up. I knew it was a bad idea. Just forget I said anything."

"No, it's okay. I guess it's time for me to open up to someone about that night. Who better than my best friend, right?" he said sweetly. "So what would you like to know?"

She sighed and pulled out her notebook and began a series of questions for him. How it made him feel, if he knew who she was, what happened afterword. She took a deep breath after each answer he gave her. The pain he went through was tearing her heart to pieces. Not only was her best friend still hurting over the incident, it was because of her that he felt this way.

"So, have you ever seen her again?" she asked carefully.

"No, sadly I haven't. I have kept my eyes peeled for her, but then again, I really don't know what she looks like," he paused as his brows knitted together in deep thought. "When I was close enough to her face, she was sweaty and her hair clung to her face. Her makeup on her eyes was smeared across her face and her eyes…oh my God her eyes were almost as black as night. Almost like she had no…emotion."

Ramona wrote down her notes and bit back tears. "I'm…sorry," she said quietly. "She must have been…so relieved to see that you weren't harmed." A tear slid down her face and Michael had yet to notice. He had his elbows resting on his knees and he was in deep thought.

"I guess so. I just don't understand how someone would risk their life for someone they don't even know. What must it be like, to save someone's life?" he paused and then sat up. "You know what it's like. Tell me," he said as he turned to her.

"What?" she asked nervously. Her hair was covering her face and she wiped her tears before he could see it.

"You saved your brother when he had cancer, or at least you gave him a bit more time by doing what you did…" immediately Michael regretted bringing it up. He forgot he wasn't supposed to know that about her. He read that in her journal.

"How did you know about that?" she asked in shock. "Did you…" she paused and Michael looked down in shame. "You read my journal? Michael how could you?" she had an overwhelming feel of fear and anger. 2 emotions at once. Needless to say, she was freaking out. If he read her journal, then surely he knows who she is, right?

"I'm sorry, Ray! You left it on my counter and I got curious. Come on, don't be mad. It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal? Michael, you invaded my privacy! How would that make you feel if someone invaded your privacy like that?" she yelled.

"Um, hello? People do that to me constantly. It's called paparazzi. At least you know it was your best friend that read it instead of a perfect stranger," he said softly.

"Exactly my point, Michael! My best friend! Someone I should be able to trust not to invade my personal space!" Ramona stumbled back a few feet and began to shake. Her scar was burning worse than it ever had before.

"I think you're over reacting," Michael said as he stood up.

"No, you over reacted when you read my journal," she snapped.

Michael began to get angry with her. "Maybe I wouldn't have to read your journal if you would open up to me a little more."

"What the hell, Mike? You know I haven't had a social life in years. How can you expect me to just spill out everything to someone I just met?"

"I don't care what your past was like, Ramona! You may have had social problems back then, but that's no excuse to stay that way!"

Ramona took a step back and he did the same. This was the first time they ever felt anger toward each other and neither one of them liked it. Ramona was taken aback. He was right. There was no excuse to stay this way. She should open up to him more. Michael immediately felt like a jerk. Ramona had tears in her eyes and she probably didn't know how to process what she was feeling. They stood frozen for a few moments before they both just embraced each other out of nowhere.

"I'm so sorry, babygirl. Please, don't cry. I'm sorry," he whispered as he rubbed her back.

She buried her face into his chest and cried. "I'm sorry too, Mike. I will try to open up more, I promise."

"Take your time. I will help you," Michael backed away just enough to see her face. She smiled weakly at him and he smirked as he wiped her tears. Then he instinctively kissed her forehead and bit back the urge to tell her he loved her. He wasn't in love with her, he told himself. He loved her as a best friend. But saying that to her would only confuse her more.

She stepped back after a moment and yawned. Michael chuckled and took her hand, leading her back to the couch. "I really am sorry, Mike. I don't wanna fight with you. You're my best friend," she whimpered.

"Never again," Michael whispered as he pulled her into his lap and pressed the play button on the remote. "Now, back to our movie night."