The two slept together that night and neither of them got much sleep. They were eager to get back 'home' and stayed up later than what was appropriate just to talk. Christine found herself enjoying his company more than she thought she would and their short four days felt like a longer four weeks or more. She knew her mother disagreed with their new found relationship, but Christine wasn't quite so old fashioned. She couldn't deny that, despite the short amount of time, she liked Michael very much.

She found out that he'd been married twice before and that he enjoyed her limited knowledge of his life. She also enjoyed her limited knowledge because she liked to listen to him tell her about it. He'd lived in Neverland since he was about thirty years old and wouldn't dream of leaving. His children made him happier than anyone or anything in the world. They made him happier than music.

"You'll meet my family soon enough." He told her. "They're wonderful, but I should warn you about Joseph. He can be cold." She chewed her lip and furrowed her eyebrows. He teased her lipfree with his thumb and smiled. "They're going to love you."

"You can't know that."

"Yes I can. You're nothing like Debbie or Lisa. They'll love you." A deep blush crept into her cheeks. Michael smiled. He'd seen women blush around him before and couldn't say that he was particularly fond of it. He wanted to make her do it again. She reached to the wall behind them and flipped the light switch so that they were enveloped in darkness. They lie down beside each other and when she opened her mouth to speak, he pressed his lips against hers and then kissed her cheek.

"Good night, Christine." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. It felt so normal, so right, as though they'd been doing this routinely. That was where they both drifted off to sleep.

"Are you sure you can't stay?" Jason asked, frowning up at his daughter. She kissed his forehead and nodded.

"I have to get back to work, so does Michael. I'll call you every day, I promise!" Jason pulled her into a quick, tight hug from where he sat in his wheel chair. She smiled down at him, kissed his cheek, hugged her mother and they were off. Liam drove them back to the airport and Christine could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes when he hugged her. He shook Michael's hand and waved as they got onto the plane. And by the time they made it back to California and to Neverland Ranch, the two were so jet-lagged that they said hello to the children and fell back into bed to sleep for another two hours.

Michael rolled over in his bed, expecting to find Christine there. It was then that he remembered that she'd gone to her own room. Strange after one night what one grows accustomed to. One night. Odd, that. It hadn't even been a week and he was already used to having her with him, around him, near him. And he was shocked at his shock that she wasn't there in bed with him. He got up, fighting a headache, and decided that after the long plane ride a shower was in order before he sought out Christine.

With freshly scrubbed hair and skin, Christine felt worlds better. But not completely. Guilt gnawed at her for leaving. She had never run away from a bigger problem and now pride prevented her from going back. Not to mention her job and commitments in California. That wasn't a good enough excuse to leave her father and she knew it.

As Christine massaged in her facial lotion, she saw Michael skip–yes, skip–passed the bathroom door and leaned out to watch him make it a little more than halfway down the hall before her turned around and caught site of her with her hand poised on her cheek. He skipped back toward her and, while she continued to apply the lotion, planted a kiss on her mouth.

"I was looking for you," He said with a smile. "But I got distracted and forgot what I was doing until I saw you in here." She laughed and finished with her small jar of lotion, returning the lid and turning to face him.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I need for you to come to rehearsals with me tomorrow." He saw her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline and kissed her again. She seemed to instantly relax.

"What time are we leaving?"

"What time will you be ready?"

"What time do you want me to be ready?"

"Oh, touche!" He grinned at her and then pursed his lips in thought. "Ten AM." She nodded.

"Can do. I'm hungry." He stopped his laughter at the turn in subject and took her by the hand to lead her to the kitchen. The children were at the table, Paris reading a newspaper (this struck Christine as rather odd, but she shrugged it off), Prince was reading a book and Blanket ran a toy car up and down his own arm while imitating the sound of the engine. Paris put her newspaper down, leveled them with a stare and hopped down from the chair she sat in. With one last scoff over her shoulder, she stalked from the room, almost daring her father to follow her. He did.

"Paris, stop right there!" Michael called after her. She spun around, too much anger kept up in such a small body.

"What?" The younger girl snapped. He shot her a look that was not to be messed with and saw her visibly shrink only a tiny bit.

"What exactly is the origin of your behavior lately?" He asked her, kneeling down to her level. She simply glared at something over his shoulder, jaw set, unwilling to speak again. "Paris. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"She doesn't deserve you!" Paris shrieked. Michael drew back slightly, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden outburst. She looked instantly ashamed of herself and took a step back. With a deep sigh and a shake of his head, he reached out for her when he saw tears spring to her eyes and he pulled her against him, resting the girl on his knee.

"Paris, I know you're not used to this. But she's staying." He heard her huff and felt her push away from him. She turned and walked as quickly as she could without running back to her room. Michael closed his eyes for a moment after watching her go.