After a few final touch-ups, edits and rewatching, the biography and the home movies interview were finally ready for their debut the following week. Michael was still feeling the agony from the spider bites, so he had to film the interview bit by bit. He was happy that there would finally be a biography/special he would be proud of for once. The news of the interview being leaked the previous week eventually reached him, and to put it mildly, he was very upset about it. He kept his cool, though, because he was doing something about it. True, the ratings for it were relatively low since it had been boycotted by the fans, but still. One of the complaints he featured in the paperwork for the law suit was the breaching of contract. What upset him most was that the media circus became even bigger, even though the fans had boycotted the atrocity of a biography. Once again, the tabloids and the biased media reporters started calling him a freak, a homosexual and a child molester. What was worse was that he received countless phone calls from a bunch of social workers threatening to take his children away from him because they thought he had possibly abused his children before, including his adopted daughters. There was no way in hell Nikki and Kerri were going to listen to that. From the moment he had entered their lives, he had done nothing but protect them and show them love. And it wasn't like the social workers could do anything. The girls were eighteen and nineteen respectively, which meant they were both legal adults. For Michael, the thought of this happening was unbearable and sickening. His children, biological and adopted, meant everything to him, and he was not going to allow anyone to separate him from them. He hoped that the legal action and the documentary would solve this problem. Having people constantly investigate him as well as his phone ringing off the hook was a nightmare.

That day was not only the official premiere of his documentaries, but it was also his son Prince's birthday. He was now six years old. It was so exciting for him. He was having a hard time concentrating on his work. Ever so often, his teachers had to remind him to sit still and concentrate. He tried his best, but he was too excited. He couldn't wait to eat cake and ice cream, and open his presents, whatever they were. And his god sister and god brothers were coming over. He and Paris hadn't seen them in ages...at least that was how it seemed to them. He looked forward to going swimming with them and maybe having a water balloon and a super soaker fight. Spencer and Paris had beaten him at it the last time they had one and he was desperate for a rematch.

He was so happy when school was over. He thought he would die of excitement. He went skipping into the den. There was his father, holding Blanket in his lap and reading him a story.  "Daddy!"  he exclaimed.

"Just a minute, Blanket." Michael looked up from where he was reading. "Hello, birthday boy. Would you like to hear the story?"

"Oh yes!" He climbed in the couch and was snuggled against Michael. The 44 year old started reading again. They were so engrossed in the story that they did not notice that Paris had walked in. She had just finished her lessons. For awhile, she hesitated, and then she came over to the couch where her daddy and her brothers were, and sat on the couch on the other side of Michael. Soon, she was listening to the story, too.

The story was almost over when he heard the front door open, as well as one of his security guards talking to someone outside. He figured that it would be his friend Nancy Malnik bringing her three children over to play.  He had gotten a call from them earlier saying that they were in California and were on their way to the ranch. But it was not Spencer, Jarod and Nathan who entered the den. It was none other than the comedian Chris Tucker, one of his very good showbiz friends.

Now Michael wasn't expecting to see Chris. He was sure happy to see him, but he just didn't think he would come as early as he did. He turned to Prince and Paris. "We'll finish it later, okay?"

"Okay!" Prince and Paris went to their bedrooms to play. Michael put the book aside. "Hi, Chris. How are you?"

"I'm great. What's up, man? What happened to you? Why is your leg bandaged up?"

Michael didn't really feel like telling the story of what happened. He did not like his friends and loved ones to see him in distress. "You really want to know?"

"Of course I want to know. The last time I saw you, you were fine."

"I was bitten by spiders last week while asleep. I'm in pain as we speak. It's almost as if a lion took a bite out of my leg. I can barely walk, much less dance. "

Chris didn't like the sound of that at all.  He knew this incident would do more than just make him unable to dance or walk regularly, but it would also hamper him from being able to take care of his children and doing some of his work. Of course, he knew that Michael would try to hide his pain from his children, but he doubted he would be able to this time. His immobility made it too obvious that something was wrong.

"That's not cool. That means you can't do much for Prince's birthday."

Michael gave a bitter laugh. "I know. But I don't want to disappoint him. Nancy's children are coming shortly. It'll be a fairly quiet gathering."

"I see. Well, they're full of energy, so it would be like having house full of kids. " Chris then noticed that there didn't seem to be a trace of the Arviso family in the house. He wondered what this meant. Not too long ago, he had warned his friend about them. Even though Michael was listening, there was no way to tell if he had taken the warning to heart because Gavin's mother kept interrupting him while he was trying to talk to him. "How are things between you and that family?"

Michael knew he meant the Arviso's. "Oh. They're not here as much, and to be honest, the longer they stay away, the happier I will be. They've been supportive about this documentary, but otherwise, I see what you mean. I have a very bad feeling about them, so I've begun to distance myself from them."

Chris was glad that Michael was heeding his warning. He was worried that he would ignore his advice and not realize that he was right until it was too late, since he had made it such a cause to help the family because they went through such rough times. Not to mention that Michael had trouble with naivety in the past. He had helped them for awhile, too, but stopped when he realized what their true intentions were.  He wouldn't be surprised if the family had deceived other people, too. "I see you remembered what I said. "

"Of course I remembered. I have had problems with them, too. Star defaced my Neverland guestbook and broke a string on Kerri's electric guitar. I have the feeling they've done more and that information is being kept from me." Michael obviously didn't like recounting the incidents. That guestbook meant a lot to him, and not just because it was so expensive. It contained a bunch of heartfelt messages from his dear showbiz friends and acquaintances who thanked him for his hospitality to them. As much as he hated to say it, he felt that Janet Arviso apparently never taught the children to respect other people's property.

"Well don't worry man. I've got your back."

"Thank you. Your support means so much." 

"Hey, no problem."

At that moment, Blanket grew restless in Michael's lap and started fussing, so Michael rested him on the floor. He thought maybe the eleven month old wanted to play with his toys. "Chris, watch Blanket for me, will you?"

"Will do."

Michael hobbled to Blanket's room, found a few of his favorite toys and re-entered the den. He found Blanket practicing his walking. Chris was spotting him. Michael was very proud of him. He was doing a wonderful job for an almost one year old.  His leg was killing him so he sat back down.

Blanket decided that he wanted to walk to his daddy. He took a few tentative steps. He looked a little bit scared. "That's it, come on, you're almost there," coaxed Michael.

Blanket took a few more wobbly steps and then held on to Michael's knees. "You did it! Very good!"  Michael told him. He handed Blanket the toys. Blanket got this goofy grin on his face and happily started playing with them.

Just then, the front door opened and closed again. This time, a woman's voice was heard as well as some giggling. Michael knew that it was Nancy and her 3 children. He could hear Nancy telling them to be on their best behavior.

They came running into the den. They could faintly hear their mother telling them to settle down. They did slow down once they were near Michael.

"Godfather Michael!!"  they screamed.

"Hi, children. How are you?"

"Very good! We've missed you!"

"I've missed you too." Michael hugged and kissed his godchildren. He gave Nancy a hug, too, and then called for Prince and Paris.

"Yes Daddy?"  They came running into the den.

"Your god siblings are here."

"Yay! Hi Spencer! Hi Nathan! Hi Jarod!"   His children were happy to see their friends. There was a lot of talking at once.

"Happy Birthday Prince!" the three triplets chorused.

"I hope you have a wonderful one and all your wishes come true," added their mother.  She was holding a medium sized bag. Prince was curious to know if it was a present for him, but he didn't think his father would approve. Besides, he was sure that he would find out soon enough.

"Thank you, Mrs. Nancy."

"You're most welcome. I have a present for you."

"Really?! For me?!"  Prince was so happy. He thought he would have had to ask about it if she hadn't told him, and he didn't want to have to do that.

"Yes," replied Nancy, chuckling. She reached into the bag and handed him something wrapped with cheerful looking wrapping paper.

"Oh boy!"  He was so excited; he couldn't wait to see what this gift was. He was dying to know if it was going to be something he was really desperate to have. He never opened a gift so fast in his life.

Inside was a box with a few Star Wars action figures...of some of his favorite characters.

Prince was surprised, very pleasantly surprised. He had put that particular item on his list for Christmas later that year...but there were quite a bit of other things he wanted, too. This was just one less gift he would have to ask for.

"Wow, this is so cool!"  He was so ecstatic that for a moment he forgot his manners. His daddy had to remind him.

"What are you supposed to say?" Michael reminded him gently.

"Oh!" That was all it took for the young boy to remember. He turned to Nancy.  "Thank you very much."

"You are very welcome."

"I love you very much."

"I love you more."

Chris took a look at his watch. It was forty-five minutes before a photo-shoot he would be doing, and he was supposed to be in the studio at least fifteen minutes prior. "As much as I wanna hang with you guys, I'd better get going. I'll catch you later, Mike!"

"All right. Take care."  

"You, too. Have a great birthday, little man." The last statement was aimed at Prince.

"Thank you! Bye!"

Nikki and Kerri were getting home from school early. Math class was cancelled for them that day, because their lecturer's mother died suddenly. Although they were sorry for his loss, they were secretly glad for the time off. . They didn't want to miss Prince's birthday celebration.  

The two sisters were about to leave so that they wouldn't be late. "Hey wait!"  Rebecca called after them.

Nikki and Kerri turned around to see what she wanted.

"Before you go, take this. It's a birthday present I bought for Prince," said the copper-haired young woman, handing Nikki a gift that was rather flat and wrapped in a beautiful way.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," said Nikki, in a tone of mock surprise.

"Nik-ki!" Kerri whispered loudly. She couldn't believe her sister said that. The girl could be a little too proud at times.

Rebecca ignored the comment. "I'll take that as a thank you...and you're quite welcome."

"It is very nice of you, really. I was only joking."

"I knew that."

"Well, I'll be sure to give it to him."

"Good. And tell me all about it on Monday or before then, if you call me. Have fun!"

"Will do."  It was probable that the birthday party would be quiet because Michael had to take it easy. But knowing how energetic and playful Prince was, it would still be a lot of fun.

"You ready, sister?" asked Kerri, looking a little impatient.

"Sure I am. Let's go."  Nikki waved goodbye to Rebecca and left with her sister.

(Back at Neverland Ranch)

After Chris left, Michael's children and the Malnik triplets had decided that they wanted to go swimming and do water related activities.  They were not ones for waiting an hour after eating before swimming or doing any type of exercise.

Michael would usually be the first one to join them since they were some of his favorite activities when he got a chance to relax, but he knew that he would have to sit this one out. He wasn't going to put his leg through any more punishment than it had received the previous week. Even with healthy legs he was still sore from all the running.  So he opted to just sit in a lawn chair and keep an eye on the children. He remembered to wear his sunglasses and silk mask, too, and had Nancy holding the umbrella over him, since the rays would destroy his skin, whether he was in the shade or not. Nancy agreed to keep an eye on the children, too.  Blanket was too young to play with them, so he was seated on a spread out sheet and playing with his toys.

The kids decided to have a super soaker fight. They chose their favorite coloured ones, and filled them with water.

"If you and Spencer think you guys will beat me again, think again," Prince said to Paris and Spencer. "I will beat you this time. Get ready to lose. "

"Will not!"

"Will, too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

They kept going back and forth about it. They argued for more than a minute. Michael had to tell them that it was enough.

"The most important thing is to just do your best and have a good time, remember?" he reminded them. He wanted to teach his children at an early age that it was important to be a good sport and competition didn't have to get ugly.

"Oh, that's right." Spencer made her tone friendlier.  "You really think that you, Nathan and Jarod can beat me and Paris?"

"Think? I know I can!"

"Well, hit us with your best shot!"

"I intend to. Same thing goes for you."

"Well, thank you."

"Good luck. You'll need it."

"I doubt it, but thanks, I think."

Nikki and Kerri had just gotten back from school. They could hear the noise outside in the backyard, so they would not have to wonder where to look for Michael and the others. They put up their book bags, changed into more casual clothing, and ran back outside. They had a feeling they've missed a good bit of what was going on, and they didn't want to miss any more. They saw Michael sitting in a lawn chair, and Nancy was talking to him. The girls had met Nancy, her husband and her children quite a few times, and thought they were quite lovely to be around. They especially loved spending time with the triplets and loved them the way they loved Paris and her brothers. The kids appeared to be having a super soaker fight. Well, one did not have to worry about how to keep them entertained under the circumstances. They seemed to be preoccupied. Nikki decided to wait till later to give Prince the presents from her and Rebecca. She didn't want to interrupt him when he was so engrossed in his little "battle."  She dashed inside, put the gift up and came back outside. "Hi Dad," she said.

"Hi Dad," said Kerri.

"Hi. How was school?"

"Great. How are you feeling?"

"Not much better. I'm still in pain. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Kerri hoped it wouldn't be too much longer. If he had taken pain medication, there would have been a difference, but he was determined that he wouldn't be taking any painkillers this time around. She found that admirable, because if she were him, she would be taking medicine by now.

The super soaker fight was underway. Prince, Jarod and Nathan were very determined and aggressive. Paris and Spencer were just as determined. There were still some occasional taunts here and there.

"You girls are good, but not good enough to beat us this time!" Prince yelled, speaking for himself, Nathan and Jarod, squirting the opposing team.

"Oh yeah?"  Spencer yelled back. She and Paris squirted at Prince and her two brothers. At this point all of them were soaking wet. Blanket looked like he thought this was hysterical, even though he didn't particularly understand what was going on.

The battle went on a little while longer, and this time Paris and Spencer lost.  They took it pretty well, since they knew they had given their all. Prince gave them a "see? I told you so" look.

"Well, next time, we're gonna beat you."

"You're on." 

Later that evening, it was time for the premiere of the Living with Michael Jackson, Take Two documentary. By then, the Malniks had left, and Mariann was long done with work and was at the ranch. She was sorry she missed Prince's birthday celebration, but she was glad she could spend time with Michael. She couldn't stand to be away from him for too long.

The two sisters, Michael and Mariann were in the theatre, waiting for the new improved biography to come on.  Prince and Paris had gotten permission to stay at the hotel with the Malniks. Blanket was asleep. Prince had gotten a lot of gifts, as well as calls from his aunts and uncles, wishing him happy birthday.  

The documentary finally began. In the introduction, Maury talked about the aim of the biography, and how its debut had been delayed, but it had been leaked into the tabloid press. "Michael has complained that it was a twisted, edited construction of scandal and innuendo, and that it was not a true representation of the interviews that actually took place. For the next two hours and forty-five minutes, we're going to get a look at the footage that was omitted. "

The more Kerri and Nikki watched, the more they found themselves on the edge of their seats. They were so interested in seeing what footage was cut out...they imagined that there would be a lot of editing, judging from how horrible the preview turned out before. And Kerri was pleased to see that Maury Povich was hosting it. She was horrified at the thought of one of those tabloid reporters hosting it. As far as she was concerned, they did not deserve such a job. Mariann grabbed a hold of Michael's hand, simply because she wanted to. He appreciated it very much. He knew that she was there for him when he needed her, even though they hadn't known each other long.

The young women were correct. There had been extremely heavy editing done to the documentary. In fact, it was sliced and diced to bits. Quite a few things Michael said had been twisted and a lot had been cut out, like when he had said his father was a genius in spite of how harsh and intimidating he was with the discipline and the reason why he chose to go to the Berlin zoo when he did. There was quite a difference between this version and the edited version. Here Michael got a chance to speak candidly and from the heart.

What stunned the girls the most was how professional some of Bashir's questions were. Not only that, but his comments seemed to contradict the ones he made in his interview with Barbara Walters, based on what they've heard. That gave them more proof that Martin was more of a backstabber and a hypocrite than they thought. They couldn't believe it when Martin had said, "Disgusting...disgusting...well, we aren't doing that here."

‘Liar,' thought Nikki.  That was just what Bashir had done. He was just as bad as those other tabloid journalists.

Overall, they were pleased with how the rebuttal documentary turned out, Michael and Mariann, too. Mariann had very little difficulty watching it, because although English is her second language, she had become fluent in it. Michael especially appreciated the interviews done by the people closest to him. He commended Debbie for opening up. It took a lot on her part, considering how private she was. He hoped that this would put the speculations about their relationship to rest. Probably not, considering that people still believed what they wanted to believe.  There was one part that Kerri didn't agree with when the family had been interviewed. She wondered how Joe was disciplining his kids for not doing the dance steps right would prevent them from getting in trouble.  

The Home Movies documentary was even better. It was very raw and honest. For the girls, it was like they were transported into their adopted father's younger days. And it made Mariann love him even more. She loved seeing the man behind the music, and the fact that he was gracious enough to show such private moments.  Also there were a few scenes that called for laughter, like when his cousins repeatedly pushed him into the pool. Nikki was almost on the floor when Michael had said, "I'm a nice person! I just took a shower! And I washed my hair thoroughly!" Same with Kerri.  They were laughing so much they started crying.

"Excuse me, I'm gonna get a piece of tissue," said Nikki.

"Bring me back a piece, too!" Kerri called after her.

"Will do!"

For Michael, these home movies brought back so many memories of his younger days. No doubt that this and the Living with Michael Jackson, Take Two biography would probably get low ratings, but he didn't really care. The rebuttal would be an excellent piece of evidence that Bashir displayed yellow journalism.