A SIGH LEFT SHAY'S LIPS as she finally finished the large stack of paperwork in front of her. It had been a few weeks since Donna's death and Shay had finally gone back to work at St Thomas hospital. While a month ago she had been bursting with excitement to get back to work, happy not to rely on Jax for money anymore, the death of Donna had put the Miller woman into a depression that forced her to plaster a smile on her face day after day when all she really wanted to do was lay in bed.

She couldn't do that though. Not only did she have Leela to take care of, she now had Ellie and Kenny, the Winston siblings had practically moved in with her the night of Donna's funeral. Opie had left town trying to get his head right, and while Shay wasn't alone in taking care of Ellie and Kenny, Mary and Piney helped when they could — though Mary wasn't the most pleasant person to have around. It felt like Shay had taken on a lot more than she could chew in her current state of mind.

A knock on her office door pulled Shay from her thoughts, her blue eyes gazed over at the closed door as her eyebrow raised in wonder at who could be bothering her right now.

"Come in." She told whoever was on the other side of the door. Shay watched as the door opened and Margaret Murphy poked her head in, a smile on her face before she entered the room, closing the door behind her.

A tight smile found it's way onto Shay's face as she watched Margaret enter her office. The short red haired woman was a pain in Shay's ass. She like Shay was an administrator at St Thomas hospital and a nosey bitch at that. For reasons unknown to the Miller woman though Margaret Murphy genuinely liked her.

"Hi, Margaret." Shay greeted the older woman, the tight smile still on her face. "What can I help you with?" She questioned while tucking a stray piece of her dark hair behind her ear.

"I just came to make sure you're doing alright. I know with everything that has happened in the last couple of weeks." The red haired woman trailed off as she stared at Shay with sympathy stretched across her features.

Shay scratched at her forehead, "I'm doing alright. I appreciate you for checking in on me."

"Of course." Margaret smiled. "I'm sure it must be hard with raising your daughter and now taking in the Winston children. Oh, and with Jax adding another child to the mix as well." Margaret rumbled as she took her glasses off of her face and began to clean them. "It must be a very stressful time for you." She added while placing her glasses back onto her face.

Shay pursed her lips at the older woman. The words coming from her mouth felt passive aggressive. Shay didn't like the implications coming from Margaret's lips. Being passive aggressive wasn't how Shay liked to communicate, she was blunt and up front, letting people know her feelings straight away and when others weren't it felt like a waste of her time and energy.

"A lot of things are stressful, Margaret." Shay stated matter of factly. "I don't believe my personal life needs to be discussed so deeply at work. Do you?" The Miller woman questioned, raising an eyebrow at the woman, challenging her to disagree with her.

"Of course not." Margaret shook her head as the sympathy fall from her face. "Well, have a good day." A tight smile forming on her face as she exited Shay's office in a hurry.

Shay rolled her eyes as she watched the woman practically ran from her office. The Miller woman shook her head before picking up her phone, sending a quick text to Neeta to let her know when she'd be picking up the kids from Jax's before getting back to work.

THE MILLER HOME WAS CALM. Ellie and Kenny had finished their homework and were now sitting in the living watching tv while Leela played on her playmat.

Shay smiled at the calmness. It felt nice to come home and feel relaxed after a horrible couple of weeks. It felt normal which was something Shay needed to feel at the moment.

A knock on the door pulled Shay from her thoughts, she noticed Kenny and Ellie turn away from the tv for a moment and look at her before their eyes traveled towards the door with curiosity on their faces.

Shay's forehead furrowed as she walked towards the door. She wasn't expecting anyone, though Piney had a habit of popping up unannounced from time to time as of lately.

The Miller woman quickly opened the door, shock crossing her features as Ben stood there with a bag of take out food in one hand and his other hand on the back of his neck.

It had been at least a week since Shay had seen or heard from Ben, a few text messages didn't count in her opinion. They needed to talk about their relationship and where it stood but, it was a talk Shay had been dreading. The guilt of sleeping with Jax still lingered and now seeing Ben face to face only made it worse. She didn't know how Jax could  face Tara day after day, sleep in the same bed as her, and act as though everything was alright between them. Though, wasn't Shay doing the same thing? Maybe she wasn't as straightforward as she had claimed to be.

"I, uh, brought some food for everyone." Ben's voice was nervous as he held up the bag in front of Shay's face. "I figured Ellie and Kenny might enjoy some greasy diner food." He added with a small hopeful smile.

Shay smiled as she grabbed Ben's nervous hand from the back of his neck. She did love Ben. He truly was a good guy but, the real question was, was she in love with him like she was with Jax.

"Thank you. Leela will be happy to see you." Shay held his hand as he entered the home, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, kids." Ben greeted the two Winston children who's eyes were glued to him. "I got some food for you." He let out a laugh as the two siblings instantly jumped up the couch and came running towards him.

"Thanks, Ben!" Their voices in sync as he handed the bag of food over to Kenny.

"No problem." Ben laughed, watching them hurry into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry." Ben apologized as he turned his attention back into Shay. He had so many things he wanted to say to her and starting with 'I'm sorry' felt like the best place to begin.

A soft small formed on Shay's face as she placed a kiss on Ben's bearded cheek. "We can talk later." She assured the Costello man. There was a lot that needed to be discussed, but right now she just wanted some greasy diner food and the calmness to continue once again.

Ben nodded as he squeezed Shay's hand. Maybe, just maybe everything would be alright with them.

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