Cheryl stared at the rings on the table, feeling like their presence was mocking her. Teasing her for the new events that unfolded.

"Cheryl?" Cheryl looked up and stood quickly, wiping a couple tears that had fallen down.

"Josie, I'm so glad to see you, its been too long" Cheryl embraced the other woman gently. But as their bodies connected a little hit of her barrier shattered and she felt herself struggling to hold herself together. Her body started to shake a little and she finally let out the tears, crying into Josies shoulder, Josie running her hand over Cheryl's back to try and bring comfort.

"hey I've got you love" Josie whispered as Cheryl pulled away and sat in the couch, josie taking the seat beside her.

"so do i need to be chasing down miss Topaz with a knife then or is she OK?" Josie teased a little trying to lighten the mood.

"no no don't chase her down" Cheryl quietly laughed, wiping her eyes again "she's in the good this wasn't her fault at all, she did what we both knew deep down was the best thing to do" Cheryl admitted even though it hurt. She wished she was lying, but she knew the truth, and she knew Toni knew what she was doing.

"I'm sorry the way things have gone down Cheryl, if I could change time I would" Josie gave her a sad smile.

"if I hadn't of left then maybe we would be OK today. I should've just stayed with her and not backed out and ran. Maybe she would still love me" Cheryl dropped her face into her hands but josie pulled them back.

"now Cheryl look at me, you might be right that maybe things would be different today if that split in your relationship hadn't happened... But you're wrong about Toni. She hasn't stopped loving you Cheryl, I don't think she ever will. Yes maybe it's not so strong as before or maybe not in the same way. But Toni Topaz loves you Cheryl and that isn't gonna ever change"

Cheryl believed her words, her heart aching but it felt good to be told that Toni still loved her no matter what. But Cheryl knew she needed to pull herself together a bit before too much communication. She knew she needed the health Toni offered, it would be good for her.

"thank you Josie...i think I know what I have to do"

-

Toni entered the house carrying the kids bags wihh the help of Veronica at her side. They took them to the spare bedroom and dropped them in there. Toni was about to leave but a gentle tug returned her to the raven haired girl.

"are you ok ?" Veronica asked, concern Pilling at her brow.

"yeah I'm ok, im hurting but I'm alright. I will survive" Toni forced her lips to curve into a smile. Veronica leant down and kissed her cheek lightly.

"you don't ever have to put up a barrier for me" she whispered before leaving the room. Toni took a little longer before leaving herself.

"kids I want you all to go to the living room!" Toni called out across the house. When she reached the correct room they were all in there. "take a seat guys" she gestured and they followed her instruction.

"are we in trouble?" Thomas asked and Toni shook her head no. She pulled up a small stool to sit in front of them.

"I understand you guys must be confused, struggling, trying to figure everything out. It's a scary time, believe me I'm in the same boat as you. But I wanna talk to you guys so you understand exactly what is going on. You're old enough to need answers" Toni started and took a deep breath.

"Me and your mum are.. We are gonna be splitting up, me and her we love each other we do but this relationship between me and her isn't working out and it's putting us and you in a terrible place. Us splitting has nohhing to do with you guys, we don't love you any less, we still love you guys and are gonna be here for you. But just in seperate homes. And I know it's gonna be scary, it's gonna be hard to adjust but we are still gonna be here, you're still gonna have the same friends and do the same things, just sometimes you will be with me, other times with mum. Now mum's going through a rough patch right now so you guys will mainly be with me but once she's all better, you guys can pick who you want to spend most of your time living with. You will still see us both but it depends which place you wanna spend more time at" Toni tried to keep herself together.

"if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them"

"is Mum still our mum?" Daniel asked and Toni nodded.

"Cheryl will always be your mum as will I" Toni informed.

"Does this mean we have two Christmases?" Thomas asked curiously

"uh maybe, depends how the situation Is in the future" Toni hadn't really thought that far ahead.

"Is Aunt V now our Mummy?" Amelia asked, the question catching Toni off guard.

"uh... No not right now, Veronica is still Aunt V, but.. In the future things may change and I hope you will be OK with that?" Toni asked and they all nodded smiling a little. "anh other questions?" Toni asked.

None of them answered.

"the last thing to remember is...right now I might be...sad..i may have some times I need to cry a little. But you don't need to be upset, it may get to me sometimes. So I hope you understand everything but if any other questions come up, ask away.

The kids got off the chair and went off to play, leaving Toni to herself. Left to think over exactly what had been done.