So firstly apologies for not posting last week, unfortunately my computer hates me and kept malfunctioning, however, it is fixed! Huzzah!

Thank you all for your patience and or my reviewers Lovehorse101, gypsy rosalie, momadance420, and SuperWhoMiz.

Chapter 12

'Mitchell open up!' Mitchell raced out of the kitchen for fear that the front door would be broken down by all the hammering.

'What is...Claire? Are you okay?' He was startled by the blotchy, tear stained face of his sister which he glimpsed as she flung herself upon him, burying her face in his shoulder.

'Thank you! Thank you!' She sobbed.

'Uhhh, I'm not sure I know what's going on here...' Mitchell patted Claire awkwardly on the back. She raised her head, mascara running down her cheeks, snot dribbling from her nose; part of Mitchell was grossed out, but the brotherly side of him led her over to the couch and sat her down, pushing a box of tissues towards her.

'She told me, well...us.' Claire blew her nose noisily and dropped her snot filled tissue on the couch. Mitchell battled the urge to screw up his face, but instead he smiled sweetly and nodded for her to go on. 'I couldn't be there for my baby when she was going through something that horrible, but you could!'

'Well I went through it too, and I wished there was someone there for me, so...' Mitchell shrugged.

'I should've said something, I should've demanded she tell me what was going on, but you had the guts to do something I couldn't do!' Claire grabbed another tissue. 'I'm a bad mother, Mitchell, I like to think I've got everything under control, but my kids are proof that I don't.'

'Hey, don't say that! Being a parent is hard, and your kids are fine!' Mitchell patted her hand, desperately wanting to take away the tissue which Claire was now shredding into tiny pieces.

'Alex isn't. What have I done wrong? People don't just get depression because they had a bad day!' Claire turned on him. 'Why is she like this?'

'Some people are just more susceptible to mental illness, and sometimes because they're different, they have a hard time functioning in a world which tries to squeeze everyone into the same mould. Alex is just trying to rationalise everything and she's no longer getting answers.' Mitchell wasn't even sure if he was making sense, he was trying to explain the inexplicable.

'So I didn't screw my child up?' The hope in his sister's eyes was heartbreaking.

'No, you didn't. There is never one single thing that makes someone depressed, often it's a build up of things,' he reassured her. 'You are a great mum, none of your kids have gone to j...well none of them have gotten pregnant, that's a big win.'

'I just remember Alex when we used to sit and read to her, and even though she could barely keep her eyes open she'd keep begging for one more chapter.' Claire smiled fondly as she reminisced. 'That seems like a week ago, and now she barely talks to us, and she's going through something way too adult for anyone to go through.'

'It's not fair, but she's a strong, smart girl, she'll get through this. Mental illness is a funny thing, it's really hard to beat, but you always know once you get through it that you can get through anything else life throws your way.' Mitchell patted Claire's hair as he spoke, a million miles away as he remembered all the pain he had endured trying to recover from his depression. For an illness which affected most of society at one point or another, it felt lonely while you were suffering.

'So what should I do?' Claire asked.

'You should be supportive; you should listen to her without interrupting or remarking harshly on what she says. Most of all, you should use this as a chance to renew your bond, Haylee and Luke are so demanding of your attention that maybe Alex feels like she slips through the cracks a bit. She needs her mother right now.'

'When did you get to be the wise one?' Claire rolled her eyes and sat up.

'Since I accepted the fact that I was gay in an unsupportive society,' Mitchell gave her a shrewd smile. 'Now, enough of this, wipe your eyes and go back and talk to your daughter.'

'Still as bossy as ever though,' Claire muttered, blowing her nose and pointedly dropping the soiled tissue on the coffee table.

'Ewww Claire, we eat off that!' Mitchell complained, already racing for the disinfectant in the kitchen.

What do you guys think of Claire's reaction? Is she going to be able to go back and be supportive of her daughter?

Review and let me know :)