My note….This chapter will a little shorter than the others, and feature just Ellie and Ashley. I really love their close friendship and I have so much fun writing them. I only have two more chapters after this, and they should all be posted by the middle of next week.

TWIST OF FATE

CHAPTER 4: NEW YORK MINUTE CONT.

Ellie sat on the couch in the living room of Ashley's brownstone. She was waiting for Ashley to put Tyler down for a much needed nap, after his long therapy session.

A million questions were going through her mind as she sipped her coffee, and the biggest one was….why? Why did Ashley lie? Why did she keep this secret from everyone, especially Jimmy? Why didn't Ash want Craig to know about Tyler? And why was she sitting on Ashley couch after she did all of this? The last one was easy to answer….Ashley was still, and would always be, her very best friend.

The minute she heard Ashley sobbing on the other end of the telephone, three days ago….crying about how she made the biggest mistake of her life, and that Jimmy left…Ellie dropped everything, and came right over, utterly shocked when Ashley told her the entire story. And now she was back again...what a glutton for punishment, Ellie thought to herself.

"Sorry", Ashley called out as she reentered the room, snapping Ellie from her thoughts. "Tyler has a hard time sleeping…his leg really hurts sometimes, especially after therapy", she added, sitting next to Ellie and picking up her coffee mug.

"Maybe it's not just physical", Ellie blurted. She came off sounding a little insensitive, but she just couldn't help it...it was very hard for Ellie to stay totally impartial, especially when this secret, was seriously affecting three of her most important friends. She gave Ashley a small apologetic smile. "How's he doing otherwise?", she asked concernedly, quickly changing the subject.

Ashley shrugged and sighed. "He's been really withdrawn and quiet since he's been home, but that's pretty understandable. I mean, he's still trying to deal with Dad and Chris's deaths, not to mention, the accident…", Ashley trailed off and looked down into her coffee. "…and he's been asking about Jimmy", she whispered, her voice cracking.

"What have you told him so far?", Ellie asked cautiously.

Ashley chuckled bitterly. "You mean, did I tell him that the woman he thought was his sister, for the past five years, is actually his mother? Or that his birth father is really some unstable, womanizing, drug addicted rock star? Or that my husband, who he adores, left us because of me?….No".

Ellie cringed painfully and bit her lower lip. "Sorry Ash, I didn't mean to upset you", she apologized, laying her hand on Ashley's arm.

"Don't apologize El, this mess is all my fault", Ashley sighed heavily. "I just cant believe it…I could lose my husband over this", she choked out, just as the tears started. Ashley covered her face and cried into her hands.

"He is pretty upset, Ash", Ellie replied quietly, handing Ashley a tissue when she raised her head. Ashley looked at her best friend with wide, questioning eyes. "I haven't talked to Jimmy myself, but Spinner called and said he was taking this really hard".

Ashley shook her head in sadness. "I haven't spoken to him either….he hasn't called. And, I haven't tried calling him…I'm sure he doesn't want to talk to me anyway", Ashley sniffled, drying her eyes. "He did send Tyler an e-mail, explaining that he had to go back to Toronto, to stay with his parents for a while…but that was it".

The girls sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, before Ashley spoke up again. "I was just trying to do the right thing El…for all of us", she stated pleadingly.

"It's not too late Ash", Ellie said, reassuringly. "There's still time to do the right thing".

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?", Ashley asked, in a frustrated, almost sarcastic way.

"First, you need to tell Tyler the truth, all of it", Ellie stated firmly. "He needs to know you're his mother. He needs to know about Craig, and why you did what you did".

Ashley nodded in agreement. "And what about Jimmy?", she asked pleadingly. "How do I make this right for him?".

Ellie shrugged slightly, "I don't know Ash". Ellie sighed heavily before she continued. "But, you do have to earn his trust back….and that's gonna take some time".

Ashley rubbed her aching forehead, she felt the prick of tears returning to her eyes, but before they had a chance to fall, there was a knock at the door.

"And Ash", Ellie called out as Ashley rose from the couch and headed for the door. "As much as you don't want to, you need to tell Craig that Tyler's his son".

Ashley nodded hesitantly at Ellie, then opened the front door. "Are you Ashley Kerwin-Brooks?", the large man on the other side of the door, asked authoritatively.

"Yes I am…who wants to…", Ashley started to say, as the man interrupted her.

"You've been served", he boomed, handing her a large gold envelope. And, without so much as a explanation, or goodbye for that matter, the man turned and left.

"Wait, who are you….what is this?", she yelled after him, but it was no use…the man climbed into his car and sped off.

Ashley cautiously opened the envelope, she was a law student, she knew what had just happened. "I think Craig already knows, El", a visibly shaken Ashley revealed.

"What does it say? What is it Ash?", Ellie asked anxiously as Ashley's eyes scanned the papers.

"It's a court summons", Ashley choked out. "Craig's suing me….", she added, finally looking over at Ellie. "…for custody of Tyler".

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Authors note….Okay, so I thought the story could use some serious girl talk, and another cliffhanger...hope this chapter wasn't too boring, it was intended to be more of a filler. I have to be honest, I was loosing faith on this story...maybe because it's a holiday week or maybe no one is interested in JimAsh drama(or maybe I just don't write drama/angst very well), but the lack of readers, and reviewers for that matter, has been pretty discouraging. So, that is why I'm going to hurry and wrap this story up, so I start some more fluffy fics.

Reviewers...As for those who have reviewed...Thank You so very much. And to luvluv...who's awesome review totally made my day and inspired me to keep going. It's really great to know that there are, at least, a few people, who really like this story. Thanks guys!!!

Disclaimer...Degrassi belongs to Linda Schuyler, not me.