Ramona was reliving the nightmare of that horrid night in Bucharest. She found herself standing in the crowd watching Michael dance and sing across the stage. She smiled weakly at him when he winked at her. She didn't want to be there. She knew what would happen next, but seeing Michael smiling and on stage where he belonged was making it hard for her not to smile. Then she heard it. That now unsettling sound of the gunman. Ramona didn't bother to look behind her, she just ran to the stage and once again, argued with Derek. She hit him and rushed the stage and again, her ears picked up the deafening pop of the gun and she was on the ground. Everything at that point was in slow motion. The lights were bright in her eyes. She lay there staring into the stage lights as Michael's face came into view. He reached for her face and delicately moved a strand of her hair from her face and she winced.

"Get out of here, Mike," she mumbled, turning her head away from him.

"Ramona?" she heard him say. She looked at him wide-eyed. He knew who she was? "Ray, wake up babygirl," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders.

Her eyes fluttered open and Michael was leaning over her with concern showing clearly in his eyes. "Where…what…" she stuttered for a moment trying to figure out where she was. She gasped suddenly and rose up quickly, bashing her forehead into Michael's. They both fell backward and groaned.

"Ouchie," he mumbled. "Remind me to keep my distance next time I try to wake you."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. She looked down at her chest and looked around the room for a moment. "What time is it?"

"It's 6:30 in the morning. Lisa should be home any time now and you have a column to write, remember?" he asked her sweetly.

She nodded and then stood up. "I've got to stop falling asleep here. I don't want to risk us getting caught."

"We will cross that bridge when we get there, babygirl. This is you and me. Best friends for life. No one can ever get in the way of that," he winked at her and she smiled and nodded. He grinned and hugged her tightly and then escorted her to the door. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Thanks for a wonderful night, tomcat," she smiled and hugged him when they got to his front porch and then she leaned to the side and kissed his cheek. He blushed and kissed her cheek as well.

"Call me later if you need any help," he winked one last time as she turned and made her way back home.

Little did she know, a car with tinted windows was parked a little down the road, and Lisa was watching her kiss Michael on the cheek. Her blood boiled. Did she sleep with him? Why was she hanging around and spending the night with her fiancé?

"Did I miss something?" the man in the driver seat asked her. "Why is she here?"

"I don't know, but it won't be happening anymore on my watch," she gritted her teeth.

"How can you be watching if you're never here anymore?" he asked her. She shot him a look and he shrugged before her look eased and she sighed.

"You're right. I need to get the ball back in my court, now. I'll call you later," she kissed the man passionately for a moment and he slapped her butt as she slid out of the passenger door and headed into the house.

A few hours later…

Michael's phone rang as he stood in the studio in front of a large mirror. Janet's music was playing low behind him and he was watching himself as he experimented with new moves. When his phone rang, he tapped the stereo with his foot and stopped the music to pick it up.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Help," Ramona groaned on the other end of the line.

Michael smirked. "Already? You know, you can't have me write this for you," he teased.

"I know, I just can't seem to find the right words. It's so strange. I see the finished product in my head, but then putting it on paper is a whole new problem," she paced in her living room chewing on the end of her pen.

"Trust me, I know the feeling. I get that same problem when I write new songs. I hear the product in my mind, but then putting it all out there on tape is difficult. I need to make sure to get every instrument to sound exactly the way I envision it in my head, every beat, every tempo, all on one tape," he paused in thought.

Ramona froze in her tracks as he told her this. She already knew he never really wrote lyrics down on paper. He put everything on a cassette tape until he memorized the songs. She wished she knew how he did that, but then he just admitted he had problems himself. "So, what do you do to fix the problem?"

Michael smiled into the phone. "The Giving Tree. I'll tell you what, tomorrow is Sunday and I have a meeting I have to be at, and then I am supposed to make an appearance at the children's burn unit downtown. Why don't you come to Neverland while I'm gone and sit in that spot I showed you? It might do you some good," he suggested.

"How long will you be gone?" she asked. "I mean, I don't want to intrude on anyone since you won't be there," she bit her lip.

"You wouldn't be intruding, believe me," Michael chuckled. "Everyone here loves you, aside from Lisa anyway. Come on, you know you want to at least see Thriller again," he winked, though he knew she couldn't see him.

She blushed as if she could literally feel him wink at her. "Alright, if you insist."

The following morning…

Ramona arrived right on time and was met at the gate by Derek. "Hey, sugar! Where have you been?"

She smiled at him and touched his arm as she walked beside him. "Oh you know, I've been around. How have you been?"

"Good, good. However I have never been shot, so I would be better than you as far as that goes," he said.

"Sh!" Ramona covered his mouth and then blushed when she realized they were alone. "You need to stop saying these things in public. Besides, I'm fine," she snorted.

"Are you?" he asked.

"Yes?" she hesitated.

"Is that why you look like you're in pain when you get upset or angry?" she shot him a look. "You can't hide that from me. You can hide it from Mike all you want, but not me. Are you ever…"

"Yes, okay? Relax already! I will tell him when the time is right," she retorted. "I'll see you later. I have a date with a big cat."

Derek let it go. He wanted to know why she kept holding back and not telling Michael the truth. Deep down, he believed if she would just tell him, maybe, just maybe, Michael would wise up and kick Lisa to the curb. Ramona was so much better for him anyway. Everyone can see that. Everyone except Michael and Ramona, anyway.

"Hey Raybug!" Marie called when Ramona stepped inside the house.

"Hey Marie. How are you?" she asked as she hugged Marie.

"I'm great, thank you. How are you?"

"Good good. I was just going to change clothes real fast and head out to the tiger den," Ramona smiled.

Marie grinned and nodded. "Michael told me you were coming. You can just set your things on the bar and change in the bathroom next to Michael's bedroom. Enrique is excited to see you again," Marie winked.

Ramona rolled her eyes. "Yea, I don't know why, but alright," she shrugged and placed her carrying case that held her laptop and notebook on the bar and she stretched before grabbing a sack of her clothes and turned for the bathroom.

"Hey, you are a beautiful young woman. Any man would be lucky to have you," she stated simply before turning away and continuing her work.

Ramona smirked over her shoulder and went into the bathroom. When she closed the door, she leaned against it and sighed. "Too bad Michael doesn't see things that way," she mumbled to herself. She snapped her head up and looked at herself in the mirror. Was she insane? Michael is her best friend. She doesn't want to ruin what they have by going all high school girly on him. She splashed water in her face and changed clothes, finally heading out to the tiger den.

Meanwhile…

Marie was currently on the phone with Michael. He had called the house between meetings to see if Ramona had arrived. At that same moment, Lisa came in the door. Marie had her back to the living room as she stood in the den on the other side of the kitchen. Lisa stopped and listened as she heard Michael's name.

"Yea, Mike, she is so sweet. You got lucky to have her in your life," Marie said sweetly. Lisa smiled at that. She was glad her efforts this morning seemed to change Marie's mind about her. When Lisa walked in, she doubled the sweet attitude toward Michael. She gave him a light massage and cooked him breakfast. She was even sweet to the workers when they came around.

"I know I am. Where is she now?" he asked.

"Oh, she just changed clothes and headed out to the den," she said. Lisa's smile vanished immediately. "I can't believe how much those tigers love her. They took to her the first day she met them, and it took them weeks to get used to me alone," she grinned.

Lisa frowned. 'I could get those tigers to love me just as easily,' she snorted to herself. 'Won't Mikey be happy to see me playing with his animals instead of that leach.' She smiled and went into Michael's room to change. She came in wearing a bright red knee length dress that was off the shoulder. It hugged her curves tightly and she knew playing with tigers in a dress wasn't a good idea. She changed into her black dress pants and a fancy white blouse with ruffles around the neckline and shoulders. She smiled at herself in the mirror in approval and headed out to the tiger den.

When she arrived, she looked around seeing only one tiger laying in the grass. She didn't see anyone around so she let herself in the pen. Thriller's ear twitched and he rose his head up when Lisa approached. He smelled the air in her direction and picked up the strong scent of her perfume and sneezed.

"Here, kitty kitty," she said. Thriller snorted at her before sitting up. He gave her a warning growl to stay away, but Lisa didn't know tiger language. Thriller was the boss around here. You are to never approach him first. Michael told that to everyone who ever wished to meet Thriller up close. Sabu was more of a laid back cat. He only followed Thriller's action, and if Thriller wasn't happy, neither was Sabu.

Inside the den…

"Glad to see your beautiful smile around here again, mi corazone," Enrique smiled at Ramona as she brushed Sabu.

"Thanks, and please don't call me that," she said nicely.

"Force of habit," he shrugged. "I call all of the ladies mi corazone."

"Ah, I see. A real ladies man, are you?" Ramona teased.

"Not with all of them apparently," he teased back and nodded in her direction.

"Yea, well I am not like most ladies I suppose."

"That's what Mr. Jackson tells me," he said as he stretched and reached for a bucket on a shelf full of the tigers' toys. Sabu sat up and looked toward the den door.

"He talks about me?" she asked surprised. She felt Sabu vibrate under her hand and she looked down at him. His hackles on his back came up and he was growling low in his chest. "What's wrong, boy?" she asked as she scratched his ears. He sniffed the air and then sneezed.

"No…bad tiger! No, stop that!" Ramona and Enrique glanced at each other as they heard a woman's voice yelling just outside the den. Ramona mentally groaned. She was hoping to avoid Cruella today, but now she has to be the bigger person and save her from becoming kitty chow.

Sabu trotted out in front of Ramona and Enrique and they both froze in the doorway. Thriller had Lisa by the leg of her pants and he was dragging her around and shaking his head like she was a toy. She was on her back trying to crawl away from him.

"Thriller!" Ramona and Enrique called him. He didn't look up. He pulled again and growled as Lisa kicked him in the nose. "Lisa, don't move!" Ramona yelled as she pulled out a big knotted rope. Sabu's ears perked up and Ramona slapped the ground with it. Finally, Thriller's ear twitched and he looked at Ramona. The moment he saw the rope, his favorite toy, he dropped Lisa and ran in her direction. Ramona laughed and swung it in the air as he tackled her and wrestled with her for the toy.

Lisa watched in frustration. Thriller was supposed to be nice to her. What the hell just happened? She stood angrily and brushed herself off. "Leave it to you to befriend animals," she snorted.

Ramona looked up from under Thriller and then rose up, laying her head on his back. Sabu bumped his head against Ramona's and purred loudly. "Don't get mad, Lisa. Just be happy Thriller was gentle on you this time."

"You call this gentle?" she shrieked as she pointed at her now shredded pant leg.

"Well," Ramona shrugged. "Maybe if you spent more time around here, they would get the chance to know you better."

Lisa bit her tongue and forced a smile on her face. If she wanted her plan to go through, she needed everyone to believe she had changed. "You're right," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm gonna go change and go shopping. Would you like anything to eat?" she asked.

Ramona blinked a few times and glanced at Enrique. He was just as shocked as she was at Lisa's sudden mood swing. "Um, no. Thank you though. I'm going to finish up here and write my column in the giving tree, and then I will be heading home."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything," she said nicely as she turned and walked back to the house. She snarled to herself the second her back was turned to Ramona. This nice act was gonna be harder than she thought. Once she got to the house, she walked to Michael's room and shut the door. She picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Hey handsome. It looks like our plan needs to be put in motion," she whispered into the phone.

"Consider it done," the man's voice replied.

Later on, Ramona found herself in the beautiful tree. She decided just to take a notebook with her in case she got clumsy and fell. She didn't want to break her laptop. She propped herself up on the branch Michael had shown her and she rested her back against the branch just as he had before. She felt a sudden chill and goosebumps rose on her skin. She shared a very special moment with Michael in this very spot.

"That was a weird feeling," she mumbled. "What is wrong with me?" she asked herself. She looked around to make sure no aunts were in sight and she shook her head and sat back for a moment. So far, she wasn't getting any inspiration. She breathed in deep and set her head back against the branch as the leaves separated above her just enough to let in a few small rays of sunshine. The light warmed her face and she smiled. "That's it!" she said as inspiration struck. She pulled the pencil from behind her ear and began her writing. Michael was right about this tree. It was incredible! She couldn't wait to tell him the news.

The next day…

"Here we go! 3 pages full of the best Q & A I have ever done," Ramona grinned as she plopped the column down on her boss's desk.

He snatched it up and read over it before smiling brightly. "That's my girl! I knew you could do it! Let's get this baby published. Oh, by the way, I hired someone new to take your old place. He will be taking your old desk," he said.

Ramona had to think for a moment. "I'm being moved?"

"I told you I was going to promote you for this column, didn't I?" he said as he ruffled her hair. She smiled brightly and hugged him.

"Thank you!"

"No, thank you," he smiled and hugged her back. "Now then, go gather your things. Your office is next door to mine," he winked.

She smiled and nodded and headed back to her desk. She put everything she needed in one box and headed to the office that her boss told her about. Her name was already on the door. She turned the knob with her free hand and walked in, flipping the lights on with her elbow. The office was still smaller than Charlie's, but it was still a lot bigger than she imagined. She had her own couch and there had been artwork placed around the room. Familiar looking artwork, in her opinion. She rolled her eyes and then looked at her huge mahogany desk. There was a gift wrapped box sitting on the center of her desk and she cocked her head to the side. She placed her box down on the floor and studied the name tag on the present.

Congrats on the promotion, babygirl. I knew you could do it!

PS – I know I promised no more gifts, but I thought this would be a perfect thing to set on your new desk. Enjoy!

Love, Tomcat

Ramona giggled and then tore into the present. What she found made her eyes water. It was a silver framed photo of her and Michael at the amusement park. Derek must have snapped the picture when she wasn't paying attention. Ramona was up on Michael's back with her legs wrapped around his waist and his hands holding her legs up. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and she was looking down at him smiling. He had his head leaned to the side and he was looking up at her with a huge smile on his face. Both were surrounded by Disney characters.

"This is perfect," she said as she sat it on her desk. She sighed deeply and began unpacking her things.

"Knock knock," a man's voice came from her doorway.

"Oh, hello," she said as she straightened up to shake the man's hand. He was a decent looking man, she thought. He stood just a bit shorter than Michael and his hair came down to his eyes. He had a backstreet boy haircut, or so Michael called it. 'Dang it, Ramona, stop comparing guys to Michael.'

"I'm Luke, the new guy," he smiled. "You are the famous Ramona Greene, my trainer, right?"

Ramona nodded. "I guess I am. Welcome to the business."

"Thank you," he said as he looked around the room. He stopped when his eyes caught the photo on her desk. "Big fan of MJ, I see?"

"You could say that," she smiled as she unpacked her box.

He leaned over and looked at it more closely. "That's one heck of a photoshop finish," he said.

Ramona paused and looked up at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"It is photoshopped, isn't it?" he asked as he glanced down at her. He couldn't help but think she was pretty hot the way she bent over the box like that.

"No, actually it's not. Michael and I are friends," she said slowly. "Charlie didn't give you the details about me, did he?"

"I suppose not. Well then, I better get to work. Charlie already gave me a few things to do today while you get settled," he said.

Ramona stood up again. "Oh? Like what?"

"My first mission would be to help you move," he winked at her and she blushed.

'Why am I blushing? Michael is the only one that has ever made me blush…oh stop it Ramona, damn,' she scolded herself.

Luke noticed the many expressions she had on her face and leaned closer to her. "If you would rather do it alone, I understand."

"Oh, no it's okay," she stuttered. "I guess I could use help with my computer and printer."

"Consider it done, beautiful," he bowed and then headed out the door. Ramona stared at the doorway for a moment before she sighed and looked out the window at her new view. This guy seemed kind of strange but nice at the same time. She was afraid of getting close to anyone else, though. The guy was cute, sure, but what was he like on the inside? Could she learn to open up to someone new? If she wanted to figure that out, she needed to start by not comparing everyone she meets to her best friend.

Then she figured it out. She would ask Michael for his advice. He could teach her how to socialize, perhaps date, couldn't he? She smiled to herself as she glanced back at the picture. She knew he would do anything for her, just as she would do anything for him.