In the rush of preparing for the school year, then the first two weeks of the year, she's successfully put the last few days with Mike out of her mind. They had been so close to starting something… but she couldn't do it, couldn't take that final step, not then.

She and Martha talk to Maddie every day via email and twice a week on the phone. She's so glad they're in touch again… she's missed her little girl. And in the meantime, she's been looking for real estate in New York, and finding teaching positions she could apply to…

She hasn't spoken to anyone about that yet-not Martha, nor Maddie and Mike, nor her parents. She just wants to explore the options. She needs time. Then, when she's figured things out, she'll talk to her family.

She gets off the tube and goes to collect Martha from school. She's old enough now, at almost-twelve, to walk home by herself, but she loves picking her up, loves their walk together. She hopes that, one day, she'll be able to walk both of her daughters home from school.

School hasn't been dismissed yet when she reaches Queen's Gate, so she waits, standing a bit apart from the other parents and nannies who are there to collect their children. She's already heard the gossip about Martha's long-lost sister. Martha, to her credit, simply said to her friends that she never said she had a sister before because it was too painful to discuss.

The door of the school bursts open and girls stream out, looking for their parents. She waits patiently for Martha to appear, which she does, towards the middle of the group. She looks so sweet in her navy blazer and blue gingham dress, her straw boater tipped back on her head. Martha searches for her in the crowd and when she sees her, she grins.

God, she thinks. Sometimes she looks so much like Mike.

She gives Martha a hug when she's finally in reach. 'Hi, darling. How was school?'

'Fine,' Martha says. 'The usual. I'm starving, Mum. Can we have tea as soon as we get home?'

'Of course, sweetheart,' she says, dropping a kiss on top of her head. 'Let's go.'

It only takes a few minutes to walk home. Martha chatters away, talking not about school but about her upcoming visit to her father and sister. Her daughter is going during the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend, even though it will be a quick trip. She wants to go too-she is dying to go too-but she won't. She can't. It's Mike's turn with the girls, and then Maddie will be here soon enough-though how can it be soon enough?

She unlocks the door when they reach their house and lets Martha in first.

'I'm going to drop my stuff in my room,' Martha says.

'Great,' she replies. 'I'll meet you in the kitchen.'

Martha nods and heads upstairs to her room. She flicks through the mail on the hall table, then sets down her own things before heading into the kitchen.

As she approaches the kitchen, she can smell the delicious scent of fresh-baked cookies and she smiles in anticipation. She steps into the kitchen and sees that Nina is getting something from the fridge, the open door hiding her from view.

'Hi,' she says. 'The cookies smell delicious.'

The fridge door closes and there is Maddie, standing there, grinning. 'Hey Mom,' she says. 'Did you know it takes two weeks to get a passport?'

She shakes her head slowly, her heart racing. Maddie, here-? Footsteps come closer and she turns to see Martha, who, spying her sister, breaks out into a huge smile.

'What are you doing here?' Martha asks.

'It took us about thirty seconds after you guys left for us to realize that we didn't want to lose you again,' Maddie says, then adds, 'Of course, it took two weeks to get our passports.'

'We?' she asks.

And then there's Mike, coming out of the laundry room, joining them.

'We,' he repeats. She gasps, slightly, and her heart-it's pounding, she feels… this was what she wanted. This is what she waited for all those years ago, and now- 'I made the mistake of not comin' after you once, Lizzie. I won't do that again, no matter how brave you are.'

She feels tears fill her eyes. She wants to cry, but she won't let herself, not yet. 'And you just expect me to go weak at the knees, and fall into your arms, and say, "we'll just figure this whole thing out," don't you? Moving back to New York… you and I just picking up where we left off… and growing old together…' she stumbles. This is what she wants, she knows. She needs him to want it to. 'And-and come on, Mike, what do you expect?' she asks weakly. 'To live happily ever after?'

He crosses the room to her in three steps. 'Yes,' he says, standing in front of her. 'To all of the above.'

And then she starts to cry, and she's smiling, and he's grinning when he pulls her into his arms and kisses her. And the kiss-it's electric, it's everything it was when things were at their best, and the way he's holding her… she knows he'll never let her go again.

'We actually did it!' she hears Maddie shout. Martha laughs, and so does she, and she kisses Mike again.