Chapter 7

Helen couldn't but squeeze Ashley harder as she recounted what had been so far the most incredible day of her life. She wasn't sure that she would ever be able to explain to someone how it felt to start the day with a baby in her stomach and end the day with the precious pink bundle in her arms. Leaning down she placed a gentle kiss on her daughters forehead. 'I love you Ashley…' They were words that she was beginning to think she didn't use anywhere near enough.

'Mom…don't you think…' Ashley creased her mouth before looking towards her Mom. No matter how much she disliked the pointy toothed melodramatic Serbian he had after all impregnated her mother with a child that would soon be her sibling…and that suggested said Serbian was likely to be around for a while.

'Spit it out Ashley…' Helen gently tipped her daughters face up so she could looks straight at her. There was obviously something she was thinking about but couldn't manage to get out of her mouth. Carefully she lent down and kissed the top of her head before resting her head against hers. 'Whatever it is Ash…we will work it through.'

'Don't you think you should get in touch with him mum…' She lifted her head up to speak to him. 'Nikola deserves to know about the baby Mom…I don't know what went down between the two of you…but this isn't right…you must know that.'

Helen looked at her daughter…her only child who at some point within the next year would become her youngest child of two. Yet here she was giving her some of the best advice she had heard in a while…yet at the same time the idea of talking to Nikola was terrifying. 'I don't know if I can Ash…it's complicated…'

'You don't have to tell me Mom…but just think about it…please?' Ashley didn't know what the next set of words were meant to be.

'Ashley…I never meant to hurt you…' Helen was mulling the word over and over in her mind then she came to a sudden conclusion that made her shudder. Ashley seemed determined to make sure that the baby had a father in their life. 'I never wanted to hurt you Ash…I made the decision to bring you up on your own my darling…that was my decision….' On the last word her voice cracked, looking at the woman her daughter had grown into.

'Mum this isn't about me.' Ashley pushed herself up from where she lay and took both of her mothers hands in her own. 'What we have has been completely perfect, me and you can take on the world.' She pushed herself up onto her knees and pulled her Mum into a tight hug. 'Even though it pains me to say it, Vlad loves you more than even he knows…and I know that he would hate finding out that all of this had happened without him ever getting the chance to be there for you…for both of you.'

Everytime Helen looked at her daughter she felt something inside of her swell. No time more so than that moment. She wanted more than anything to be able to curl up in a bubble she had made around herself. The thought of having Nikola back in her life terrified her, but at the same time she wasn't sure that she could face living the rest of her life without him. 'When did you get so grown-up?' She reached out and cupped the side of Ashley's face before leaning towards her and placing another gentle kiss on her forehead.

Ashley shrugged. 'Facite maxime diluculo ... pro singulis solis ortum posset esse ultimus sit.' She winked at her Mum as she spouted her favourite Latin phrase. 'If you don't phone him them I will.' With the final words she gave her Mum a final peck on the cheek before bounding off the bed and out of the room.

Watching her go Helen wanted to feel even the smallest twinge of annoyance towards her for having the sheer cheek to boss her about…but she was unable to drag even the smallest bit up because at the very core of it she saw so much of herself within Ashley…and that simply made her smile. Reaching a hand down to rest of her nearly flat stomach she found her mind wondering to the baby…and for the first time thinking about all the possibilities lying in front of it. Taking a deep breath she reached across and picked up the phone lying beside her bed. She left her finger hovering for a moment over the buttons as she tried to pluck up the courage to call, once again she found her mind wandering…this time back to Ashley's school years and the way her heart pounded with dread whenever the house phone started to ring.

Helen took a deep breath before reaching to pick the phone from its cradle. She was trying to convince herself that everything was fine. This would simply be another Sanctuary head trying to contact her because all other means of communication were down…unable to put off answering any longer Helen lifted the handset pressed the green button and put it to her ear. 'Helen Magnus…'

'Ah Dr Magnus it's Julie Bryant.' The older woman paused as if thinking about whether she needed to further introduce herself but seemed to think better of it. This was after all the fourth phone call she had made to Dr Magnus in that week.

'Afternoon Ms Bryant.' This time it was Helen that paused, how on earth did you conduct a conversation with a woman who was once again phoning to inform you of some sort of trouble your teenage daughter had managed to get herself into. 'I presume this isn't a social call.' From the silence at the other end of the line Helen guessed that trying to crack a joke probably hadn't been the best solution.

'I'm afraid we need you to come in again Dr Magnus…there appears to have been another incident involving Ashley.' The older woman's voice was stern. She was after all trying to run what was a well respected and thought about school, and the girl in question seemed to spend more time in the room outside of her office then in her lessons. Julie had always been one to believe that whenever there was a problem with the child you generally had to look no further than the parents…or in the case of Ashley Magnus…the parent…

Helen struggled not to let out a sigh. She was not destined to get anything done this week…but maybe it was for the best. It was become clear that she and Ashley needed to sit down and talk seriously about what was going on…and she wasn't sure that it could wait any longer.

Ashley slumped into the leather seat of the car before slamming the door shut behind her. She had known from the start of the day that this would likely be the outcome. This was how it always went…something went wrong…she was in the middle of it and ended up once again sitting outside the headteacher's office in the room that smelt of a mix between stale cat biscuits and cabbage. Her mother was called in and they would sit with the head teacher and 'talk.' This would almost always end with Ashley refusing to apologise and her Mom being advised to 'take her home to call off.' So here they were again…

Helen took a deep breath before getting into the car. There were many qualities in Ashley she was proud to see as something she had passed onto her daughter. The stubborn streak was unfortunately not one of them. She could only be thankful that it made her slightly more understanding with her daughter. She had after all been the teenager bounded down by the rules and regulations of a 'normal society.' Baring this in mind Helen got into the car.

The car journey went in silence. Helen wasn't prepared to have an argument in the car so rather than risk making the situation worse she made the conscious decision to wait until they arrived back at the Sanctuary to start talking.

Ashley didn't for a moment that she had got away without a lecture. She knew her mother too well. She was simply biding her time until they were away from prying eyes and somewhere that she could back her into a corner. Of course she tried to sneak away as soon as they arrived home…but Helen was having none of it. Looking at the look on her Mother's face Ashley quickly decided not to argue. There were times when she might have pushed it a bit further but this was not one of them. 'Aren't you going to start by asking me whether I want to get somewhere in life? Then ask if I realise how my behaviour impacts your work? Or maybe start shouting about my complete disregard for everything I have been gifted in my life?' Ashley crossed her arms and was tempted to start tapping her foot…yet she decided that was a step too far even for her.

Helen looked at her daughter. She was right of course, every one of the things she had just listed had been through her mind…yet what Ashley didn't know was that this time it was different. 'So…school…' Helen lifted her hands a little. 'What's going on Ashley? What is making you hate it so much that you are determined not to be there?'

Ashley balked slightly. She hadn't been expecting that one. Blinking she looked down at the floor. It was obvious that there was no easy way out of this one. She was expecting answers from her, and it seemed pretty clear that she wouldn't be letting either of them leave the room until each question had been answered.