A/N: Well Burzek is back...it might just be a rough ride though but who doesn't love a little bit a angst.

"Oliver James." Kim leant on the bannister and called out for the fifth time. She looked at her watch and realised she was going to be late if he did not move his ass. "I am leaving in two minutes, you are either in the car or you can walk." Her son had one pace; snail pace especially in the mornings and it frustrated the crap out of her.

Kim gritted her teeth as he sauntered past with his backpack dragging behind him. "I haven't had breakfast." The annoying thing was he didn't do it deliberately, Oliver just had his own clock and it was one that ran slower than the rest of the world.

"Who's fault is that? I asked you to get a move on thirty minutes ago. Your cold oatmeal is on the table, grab it and let's go. You can eat in the car." She grabbed the backpack from his hand and stood by the door waiting.

"I don't like cold oatmeal."

"I don't care. You are just like your father." Oliver stopped in his tracks and Kim felt her voice catch in her throat. He looked at her coldly and she shivered a little. That was something that Kim never said so why it came out then she would never know. "Sorry." She muttered. "Let's go."

The car trip was a silent one; even the usual chatter from the back seat was missing. So much had changed for all of them lately and the easy morning banter that they usually shared had dried up weeks ago. Her son was pretending to gag on his cold breakfast but he was hungry so had no choice but to eat it. His mother didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood either, yet neither was he so the silence was welcomed for once. He put the empty bowl on the dash and his mother leant over and pulled a container out of her workbag and handed it to him. A banana, apple, a Pop tart and granola bar and she smiled a little. "Finish your breakfast."

"Is Dad picking me up?" Oliver was staring straight ahead and Kim sighed when she saw his lip curl a little. She knew he was only being polite for his sister's benefit.

"He is." Pulling the car into the kerb she ruffled his dirty blond hair and he did give her half a smile. "Have a good day. See you tonight."

"Be safe Mom." That was her son, despite giving off the appearance that he was all grown up now and didn't care, he always looked out for her, especially lately. Everyday when she went to work he always told his mother to be safe. He never said I love you, but she figured that 'be safe Mom' was Oliver's way of telling her that he loved her.

Kim gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as she watched Oliver wander up the path. He was never in a rush. He was never bothered by time or anything really as far as she could tell and she just wished she knew what was going on in his head right now. They did talk about a lot of things but he just refused to open up to her about what was going on at home. He just wanted to cruise through life. His hair was always a mess, his brown eyes always warm and he was always quick to smile, it was the only thing he was quick to do. And as he sauntered up the path into school, happily greeting anyone who called out to him she wondered where the past eight years had gone.

"Your turn Daisy." She looked at the little girl in the back seat in the rear view mirror. Her four-year-old daughter smiled and nodded her head, her dark hair bouncing around haphazardly. Putting her two children side by side you would never guess they were siblings. Their looks, personality and temperament were polar opposites and they were both too strong willed for their own good.

Oliver didn't like the way Daisy blamed their mother because her Dad wasn't around at the moment and whenever something didn't go her way she would turn around and declare that she would ask her Dad and at 'least he will give me what I want'. Kim knew she was lashing out at her out of fear and confusion and didn't blame her. It was just hard to manage and all Oliver wanted to do was protect his mother. "It's okay Ollie, she doesn't understand. Please be nice to her."

"Why don't you just tell her?"

"It's not easy for Daisy."

"I don't care." He would mutter but for his mother and his sister's sake he did as he was asked. "She shouldn't talk to you like that." He was a good kid at heart.

At least she was looking happy today. The past few weeks had been hard on all of them but particularly for Daisy. "School today?" Daisy was more of an emotional being, a bit more like her mother. She took things to heart and when she was told off for something it was like her whole world was ending and she always got upset when Kim cried so she tried to save that for when she was alone at night.

"Yep, school today and Nanna is picking you up at lunchtime, so you be good."

"And then Daddy?" You couldn't miss the excitement in her daughter's voice. She loved her Daddy.

"After work Daddy will pick you up."

"Is he staying tonight?"

"Probably not Baby." Kim still didn't know how to answer her to make her understand. They had tried to hide the fact that her Dad wasn't living with them at the moment and for a while it had worked. He was often 'working late' and when he did come over for dinner he would stay until she went to bed and then leave. It was easier that way, especially as they were still trying to work things out.

Daisy had cottoned on to them though when she came into Kim's room one night and crawled into bed with her mother. "Where's Daddy?" she had asked in the darkness. "I wish Daddy still lived here." It had broken Kim's heart. She was four and her Daddy had always been around so she didn't understand why he wasn't anymore and when you are four that's all that matters, she just wanted her Daddy to be around. The other stuff just wasn't an issue.

Oliver though, he understood it all and he was glad he was gone.