It was Monday morning, and Michael had just finished eating breakfast with his children. Now the kids were helping him fix up the guest bedroom that was right next to his. They were fixing it in preparation for Alyssa's arrival. The singer felt safer that the young lady would be in a bedroom near his, and he also wanted to ensure she would be safe as well. She had told Michael she would be coming that afternoon. He would already be gone to his rehearsals by then, and he would be taking his kids with him. But his staff would be there, so they could show her around. She was also welcome to drop by Staples Center and watch him rehearse if she cared to. He would make sure to tell security, bodyguards and his director that he asked her to come, just in case they decided to have a hissy fit.

The kids were looking forward to Alyssa coming, Paris especially. They had quite a bit of fun with her when she was there the two days prior. They thought she was lots of fun, nice and very easygoing for someone her age. Her personality was somewhat like their dad's. Paris especially liked the fact that Lissie saw what a great man her daddy was. She had the potential to be like an older sister figure to her. Even Blanket found the young woman to be a good person, although he had only opened up slightly since he first met her at the banquet that night. Michael had reminded the kids to make Alyssa feel welcome and not to give her a hard time. Not that they usually did, but on rare occasions, they forgot their place.

"Daddy?" Paris asked in a small voice, placing a cup of paper flowers on a desk in the spacious room. She had decided to make them when she got the news that Lissie was coming to stay.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think Alyssa will like this room?" The eleven-year old girl was eager to please the new acquaintance.

"I'm sure she will." The crooner had made sure to fix up the room so it was comfortable for the young business person. One could say that he went all out in the process. The room was fit for a princess...or a queen. Whichever one she chose. He wasn't going to give her or anyone who stayed at his place anything less than the best. And he was proud of Prince, Blanket and Paris for doing most of the cleaning in the room without him, considering how big a job it was to tackle. Not only that, but decorating and setting stuff up had to be done, so tidying was a big help. They did such a good job with it, too. He could see that they were taking the preparation just as seriously as everyone else was. His kids were generally very thoughtful to begin with.

Prince was a little bit curious about Alyssa as well...about what her favorite things were. He wanted someone new to talk Star Wars with. He asked Michael about what Alyssa liked, if he knew whether she liked Star Wars or not.

Michael didn't really know that much, except for the fact that she was an appreciator of art and she seemed fond of Japanese Animation. He also knew about her love for amusement parks. As for food? He didn't know much about that except he noticed she willingly ate the KFC with them that evening.

"Gee, I don't know. We'll have to ask her when she comes," the singer answered.

"Okay!"

After a bit more setting up, the room was ready. The children admired their handiwork. They were so proud of themselves. Michael thought they did a nice job as well. He was confident that Lissie would like it. Speaking of which, he hoped she got the issue with her now former landlord under control. Even though she wouldn't be in that apartment, chances were that he would treat other people the same way, so something else had to be done.

Suddenly, Paris got an idea, a nice and thoughtful one. She whispered it to Prince and Blanket, who thought it was a great idea and wanted to help. "Daddy, we're going to make a care package for Alyssa. It's similar to the box of happiness we made for Ms. Chase when you asked her to come back," she said.

‘It seems they are going all out. Good for them.' A part of him worried about whether they would feel threatened by Alyssa staying with them. Though they didn't seem to be that way, you never know. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it very much. Remember that I'm leaving for rehearsal in 3 hours."

"This won't take long. Don't worry, we'll be ready!" With that, the little girl and her two siblings skipped out of the luxurious looking bedroom.

A police car pulled up in front of the landlord's house, and four cops got out of the car. Alyssa had contacted them to let them know about the man's unfair treatment and negligence. They knocked on the door. The landlord was about to step outside to have a smoke. He muttered under his breath about the knocking. He didn't feel like being bothered with any visitors. He thought it was Alyssa again, bugging him about the pest problem, so he didn't go to the door. 'I don't have time for the likes of that woman. I have more important things to worry about.' He figured that if he ignored her, she would get tired and go away sooner or later. Going outside would have to wait.

The knocking continued, and got louder. Gritting his teeth, the cantankerous landlord went to see who it was. He saw 4 policemen standing outside. ‘What do these stupid cops want with me?' Little did he know, his destiny was going to change. Heaving a sigh, he answered the door. "Yes?"

"I have received some complaints from several people regarding discriminatory actions, negligence and physical abuse on your part. To make things easier for yourself, I suggest that you cooperate with us and come quietly."

The short tempered man realized that Alyssa and some other people must have told the police about mistreatment. He knew what he did, but he did not regret it. He started swearing at the cops. "I don't have time for this crap. " He was about to slam the door shut, but one of the cops caught it and held it open. The cop was much stronger than the landlord. He was surprised. "What in--"

The cops looked at each other, and realized how difficult this potential criminal was being. They had hoped they wouldn't have to be tough on him, but he was giving them no choice. It was time for Plan B. One of the cops grabbed the landlord and dragged him out of the house. Another cop was holding him down. The man tried to break free, but that was impossible to do with cops who were both over 200lbs.

"Place your arms behind your back!" the cop barked.

The landlord reluctantly complied since he knew it was futile to resist. The policeman held his arms together, and a third cop placed the handcuffs around his wrists and fastened them. He was shoved into the police car and taken to the station.

Alyssa was on the road again late that afternoon, heading for Michael Jackson's mansion once again. Only this time, it would be long term. She had to take most of the day off, as it had taken her several hours to pack and take care of some last minute stuff, such as letting Anastasia know about this. The blonde had said it was not a problem, that she also had an office at her house they could use. She updated the company's website, removing Alyssa's contact office number and replacing it with hers. She turned off the CD for a sec and changed it to the local news station to see what was going on. She had been praying hard that there would be results from her filed complaint.

 "David Sanchez was arrested today after a young lady filed a complaint about unfair treatment regarding dealing with a problem with her apartment. Also, other people have reportedly had discrimination related problems...he will be arraigned July 13..........."

The graphic designer realized the lady was speaking about her former landlord, though she never knew his last name. She was the young lady who called the police earlier that day, and she had the problem with getting him to cooperate. She didn't know that other people were having problems with him as well, although at this point, it didn't surprise her. ‘Yes! My call worked! Now he will get what's coming to him.' She couldn't help cracking a smile. He really deserved it, since he took advantage of her patience. It was like he was asking for trouble.

Alyssa turned off the radio and went back to listening to the CD again. She was looking forward to this. She realized she might not get to spend much time with the musician since he was a very busy man, but as long as he made an effort, she would be happy. She was sure that he would. And she would be busy with certain responsibilities as well, so that made two of them.

Soon, Lissie saw the large mansion which was surrounded by huge trees. She reversed in the driveway, and parked. She saw some men and women lined up outside, presumably the security guards. Some of them always stood outside to greet whenever their boss was expecting visitors. She hoped they would also assist in carrying her things. She could really use some help. She got out of the car. One of the guards walked up to her. "Your name is Alyssa, correct?"

"That's right."

"We've been expecting you."

Alyssa realized Michael must have told the guards of her arrival that day. She wondered if he was home, or if he went to his second rehearsal. Either way, it didn't matter. If he wasn't there, she could manage as soon as she knew where everything was, which areas were off-limits, that sort of thing. Plus, she realized she hadn't written to Shannon since her relocation to California. She hadn't forgotten her or anything, she had just been tied up with different stuff. ‘I hope Shannon isn't too mad at me.'

"Well, I am sure that you want to be getting inside now," observed the female guard. She didn't want Michael to come outside and then get the idea that she was being inefficient or something. She also offered to help Lissie with her stuff.

Lissie was glad about that, since she really needed the help, and she would have had to figure out how to ask without sounding like a bother. "Yes. Thank you," she managed to say.

"My pleasure. I'm sorry if I forgot my place."

"It's okay." She popped open the trunk, grabbed what she could, and went to the door. The woman got a little exasperated. "Hey boys, don't stand there like a bunch of stupid sticks! Help me out here!" She gave them a look.

The other security guards knew what the look meant. It was one that left very little room for arguing. Looking sheepish, they immediately came to help.

Alyssa rested her suitcase down and rang the doorbell. She waited for a little while. She looked at her watch. Five o'clock. Not too bad. She could do some unpacking and relaxing. She just hoped whoever was home didn't take all evening to answer the door. Just then, she heard footsteps coming towards the door. 'Finally,' she thought. The door was opened. Standing there was a woman she didn't recall meeting when she was there two days ago. Who was she?

"I am Mr. Jackson's nanny," said the woman. "You're Alyssa, the girl Mr. Jackson mentioned?"

The slightly bewildered young woman nodded. "Yes I am."

"Well, you may call me Grace. Come on in. Mr. Jackson has been waiting for you. "

Alyssa picked up the suitcase and walked in, security guards following with the rest of her stuff. Grace took the suitcase from Alyssa.

"Mr. Jackson is in the living room," she said. "We'll take your stuff upstairs for you." Usually the guards were not allowed up stairs unless he gave them the green light to do so, and this was one of the times. Alyssa couldn't carry everything by herself, and while he would gladly help, his back was slightly bothering him, and he didn't want to risk exacerbating the problem. It was also one of the reasons he decided to skip the second rehearsal that day. He also did it to spend time with Alyssa.

"Okay. Thank you all." She cheerfully walked to the living room. Prince, Blanket and Paris were sitting on the floor. Michael was on the couch, reading a story to them.

Rats. She wanted to say hi, but she didn't want to be rude and interrupt their story time. She decided to just wait. Maybe they would notice her presence. She sat in an armchair and listened to them read. It was the story of Peter Pan. She never read the story, so she wasn't sure whether he was almost finished or not. She decided to write a quick letter to Shannon while she waited. She had so much to tell her. Quite a bit had happened over the past two and a half weeks. She walked up the stairs. She had never been much for doing that, as she was always bit afraid of falling down the steps. She spotted three rooms. Four of those rooms had the doors closed to them. She presumed that they were Michael's and his children's rooms. She entered the room where the door to it was open, seeing if it was hers. Sure enough, it was. She saw her suitcase lined up next to the closet, her boxes on the bed and on the floor next to the suitcase. ‘Wow, this room is so beautiful! I can't believe I'm actually going to be staying here!' She was pleased to see that the bedroom had a bathroom. It was so convenient for her. The bed was made with a very nice velvety red bedspread. One of her favorite colors. The curtains were drapes that could be pulled by the strings, and there was a desk and a chair. It had a vase with paper flowers and a box on it. She looked to see whom the box belonged to. It had her name written on it. 'I wonder what's inside it.' She opened it and saw a puzzle book, a granola bar, a Star Wars comic book, fruit candy, a bag of cookies, and a note.

Alyssa wondered what the note said, and who it was written by. She unfolded the piece of paper. It read:

'Welcome to our home, Alyssa. We're so glad that you came here. You are so nice. We hope to get to know you better. Thank you so much for making our daddy happy. You feel like a sister to us. Enjoy the care package.

Signed,

Paris, Prince and Blanket

Alyssa got choked up reading that. It was so sweet of them. She would have return the favor to them

sometime. Michael was so blessed to have such sweet children. He trained them very well. She closed up the box and went to the bathroom to blow her nose. She was on the verge of tears at the moment, and she didn't want them to mess up the ink on the paper while she was writing the letter.

That done, Lissie got a sheet of paper, pen, and sat at her desk. She wrote:

Dear Shannon,

Sorry it has taken me so long to write. I haven't forgotten about you, so don't think for a minute that's what happened. I think about you a lot. I really do. I am simply busy with a lot of things and when I am done, I feel too tired to sit down and write anything. Quite a few things have happened, and I am doing very well.

She wrote about everything that had been going on since they last talked: the business, how she met Michael, how much she loved LA, and she gave a summary of what it was like in her apartment and how Michael invited her to move in with him and the kids. Lissie ended the letter by saying:

I'd better run. Left Michael reading with his kids and I want to see if they're done so I can greet them. But I hope to hear from you soon. I hope you're doing all right. Take it easy and I'll talk to you again soon.

Love always,

Lissie

The young woman felt much better, now that she had written the letter. She folded it, placed it in an envelope, and wrote the address on it. She would mail it on her way to work the next morning. She made her way downstairs and went to the living room. Michael and his children were still there, but they were done reading. Now they were just sitting there. "Hi Paris, Prince and Blanket," she said, sounding a little bit shaky. Oh great. Not exactly the most elegant sounding voice. She hoped they didn't think she was crying.

Luckily, they didn't. In fact, the kids gave her a greeting she didn't expect. Were they really looking forward to her coming? "Lissie's here, yay!" They stood up and hugged her. She hugged them back.

"By the way, thanks for the care package you made me."

"You like it?" Paris asked.

Alyssa nodded. "Very much."

"Even the Star Wars book?" Prince asked.

"Prince!" hissed Paris.

The graphic designer held back a laugh. "Never read it...but I think Star Wars is pretty cool." She then turned to Michael. "Hey there, Michael."

"Hi there. How are you?" The musician stood up so Lissie could hug him, which she took the opportunity to do. She loved doing that.

"I'm good. "

"It is so good to see you."

"It's great to be here. How was rehearsal?"

"Went well. Won't be going to the second one."

Alyssa was alarmed. She knew how much he was looking forward to doing the London concerts. She hoped he wasn't backing out. "How come?"

"My back started to hurt."

"Oh." She thought that was quite reasonable, but felt it was too bad as well, because she knew how he liked to work hard on stuff like that. Was to be expected, since he was getting older. Still, sore back or not, she was glad she would get to spend time with him. ‘It may sound a little selfish of me, but I suspected he was being worked too hard. If those AEG people have a shred of humanity left in them, they would let him rest when he feels he has to.'