"Mommy get up!" Rolling over Andy came face to face with Sasha. The little girl was sitting on the bed as close as she could to her Mom without actually being on top of her. Andy had cried into her pillow for hours after Sam left finally falling asleep in the wee hours. Telling Sam she wasn't happy was one of the hardest things that she ever had to do but deep down she knew it was the right thing to do.

"Mom we are hungry and I can't reach the cereal" Sasha tried again, leaning in even closer to her Mum.

It took Andy a second to realise what her daughter had said, she had never been a morning person and she hadn't even have a coffee yet. Rubbing her eyes she knew she had to get up and take care of her babies. "Ok sweetie. Mom is just going to use the bathroom and I will come get you breakfast ok?" Sasha nodded jumping off the bed and running back down the stairs.

In the bathroom Andy splashed water on her face before looking in the mirror. Her eyes were red and swollen, her hair all over the place. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed but a scream downstairs reminded her she had to get on with it.

"What's going on here?" questioned Andy, walking into the kitchen while still pulling her hair into a bun.

"Nothing Mommy" replied Katie even though all four kids had a guilty look on their faces. Standing by the counter they all looked at each other before moving towards the table. Shaking her head Andy decided to leave it at that as she got the cereal and the bowls out.

"Where is Daddy?" asked Ryan as he sat down at the table.

"At work already" answered Andy quickly as she placed the bowls on the table. Moving round the table she picked Jordan up placing him into his booster chair.

"He always working" moaned Ryan. "He was meant to play ball with me today."

"Yea" piped up Jordan, just happy to get a word in around his brother and sisters.

Andy sighed. Kids were always full of questions and her kids were no different. "There are lots of bad guys out there for Daddy to catch."

"But you catch bad guys too Mommy and you don't work all the time!" Sasha always had all the answered.

Another sighed escaped from Andy as she poured milk into the bowls before placing one in front of each of the kids. "Eat you breakfast Mom is going to have a shower" she said choosing not to answer Sasha. Normally when she had work she would have been showered and ready before the kids got up but today wasn't like every other day.

Turning on the shower Andy knew the kids would probably be getting into trouble downstairs but she could deal with that later. As much as she loved them, the less time she had to spend with them this morning the better. They didn't know what was happening between her and Sam but their questions still hurt.

Stepping into the water she let it run over her body. It was so hot she could see her skin turning red yet she felt nothing. Instead of turning the temperature down she just stood there lost in her own world. She had no idea how to break the news to her kids that Sam wasn't living with them anymore. They would of course ask her where he was and a lot of other questions that she didn't know the answers to. She had promised herself that her kids would never have to go through this. Her kids were meant to have it better then her. They were meant to have two parents that loved each other and wanted to be around each other. Their parents were meant to an example for how their future relationship should be. Happy and helpful.

She had woken up one day and her mother was gone. Her father couldn't cope and it meant her life had never been the same. She had to be the adult in her house. It had been up to her to make sure there was food in the house, to make her father went to work so they had money and she even paid the bills. Her childhood was lost the moment her mother left. The choice that her mother had made all those years had made her the person that she was today. It scared Andy that the choices she and Sam made right now could affect their children for a life time.

After standing there for 10 minutes Andy finally washed herself then turned the shower off. Drying herself off she got dressed before going downstairs to assess the damage. "Mommy!" giggled Katie running up to her Mom. "Granny is here!"

"Hi Mom" smiled Andy as she saw her sitting on the couch. Her Mum and her had became close ever since she had found out she was pregnant. Andy may never understand the choice her mother had made all those years ago but she had forgiven her and together they had built a trusting relationship. Andy noticed the bowls were gone from the table and everything else seemed to be one piece.

"Hi Andy. I was surprised when the kids said you were in the shower" said Claire as she tickled Jordan.

Straight away Andy knew her Mom could tell something was wrong but she knew she wouldn't say anything in front of the kids. "Ar yea I was running a bit late this morning." Andy couldn't even look at her Mom as she said the words.

"I though Sam would be here this morning?"
"He is at work Granny!" answered Ryan with a frown on his face. "He is always working."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Mommy told you there's lots of bad guys to catch."

"Ok ok how about we say good bye to Mom and then upstairs to get dressed" cut in Claire, sensing that her daughter could use a break. "We can talk later" she whispered to Andy.

"Thanks Mom" she managed before she grabbed her bag and slipped out the front door without the kids noticing.