They were all sat down to dinner talking quietly between themselves when
"Guy's quiet please, you're mum and I have something to say" said Gordon
They all went quiet Gordon took a sip from his drink
"O.k. this isn't easy for us but we owe you all a big apology for not listening to you all and sorting this all out a lot sooner" said Gordon
"Yes we are both very sorry" added Jill
"What for" asked Tom
"This whole mess with sister Brigid, we never thought it would ever get this bad and we never quite believed that what you were telling us was the whole truth" said Gordon
"Don't get us wrong we believed some of it but we thought as kids you were making it seem worse than what it was" said Jill
"There's nothing to apologise for" said Katie
"Well we feel there is and we are very sorry and we want to talk to you all on your own we should of known that you were telling us the truth" said Jill
"Well as we are all apologising I would like to apologise to you all for how I've been" said Ash getting up and taking her plate
"Where are you going" said Gordon
"I'm taking the plates out and taking Katie's turn at washing up seeing as she did the cooking" said Ash continuing with what she was doing
"I don't think so" said Jill
"Why not I'm the only one who hasn't done something towards this dinner, so it's only fair I pull my weight" said Ash
"No you are still in pain I will not let you do it" said Jill "Gordon tell her" she added when she could tell Ash was not listening to her
"Yes your mother's right sit down I will do the dishes" said Gordon
"O.k. but I will make the drinks then I can sit down while I wait for the kettle" said Ash while taking the dishes out not waiting for a reply, she also started to do the dishes while waiting for the kettle to boil
Meanwhile Gordon and Jill were talking to the others about the whole sister Brigid situation they were all very understanding and said that it didn't bother them very much it was just as Jill and Gordon had feared it was Ash that was the most affected by it all.
"Right I'm going to see where Ash has got to with our drinks" said Jill
Ash had washed the dishes and had just finished pouring the hot water into the teapot and was placing the lid on when Jill walked through the door
"What are we going to do with you" said Jill seeing the dishes on the side
"We told you to rest" she added
"I thought I would make a start while I was waiting" said Ash
"Right well go and sit with the others I will bring this through" said Jill
"You'll never guess what this one has done now" said Jill bringing the drinks through
"Disobeyed us and done the dishes that's what" she added before anyone could guess
"Aisling, how many times do we have to tell you" said Gordon
"I'm sorry I was only trying to help" said Ash
"You can help by doing as you are told" said Gordon
"I'm sorry it's just" said Ash getting up and leaving the dining room
"Ash, sweetheart talk to me" said Jill putting the tray down and following her out, Ash turned around
"I just feel so useless I should be able to do something as easy as wash the dishes" said Ash, she then turned and ran up the stairs and jumped on her bed and screamed into her pillow, Jill had followed her up
"Ash sweetheart, it will get back to normal, but for now we need to take it a little easier yes" said Jill whilst rubbing her back gently, Ash turned around and cuddled into Jill
"I promise it will get better we just need to take it one day at a time" said Jill giving her a kiss on her forehead
"Right let's go back down and finish our drinks" said Jill getting up
"I might stay up here if that's alright" Ash replied
"Of course, I'll get your drink bought up" replied Jill
"No don't worry about it I might just go to bed, I'm still pretty tired" said Ash
"Are you sure it's no problem" said Jill
"Yeah I'm sure thank you can you say goodnight to the others for me" replied Ash
"Of course, I will check on you when we come up, good night sweetheart, love you" said Jill giving Ash a cuddle
"Night mum, love you too" replied Ash giving her a kiss
"Just call if you need anything" said Jill as she walked out the door
"Thanks mum" replied Ash
Jill went back downstairs and sat chatting with the others over their drinks about two hours later they all decided to call it a night as they had to all be up and out in the morning. Jill and Gordon poked their heads in and checked on Ash as they went passed she was sleeping but not peacefully she was tossing and turning and mumbling. They walked back onto the landing to discuss what to do
"I should stay with her again tonight" said Jill
"No I'll stay with her tonight then you can get a proper nights sleep" replied Gordon
They were still discussing who was going to sleep in Ash's room to keep an eye on her while they were getting ready for bed in their room, meanwhile Ash had woken up and had gone downstairs to get a glass of water. Jill had won the fight and had gone back into Ash's room to find it empty she went to the bathroom which was also empty, then she went to Gordon
"She's not in her room or the bathroom, where is she" asked Jill
"She's not sleep walking is she" queried Gordon
"No she never has before" said Jill they made their way out of their bedroom and were about to go downstairs when they heard someone on the stairs
"Hello" said Gordon
"Sorry dad" said Ash
"Ash, is that you" asked Gordon
"Yes sorry did I wake you" she asked
"No, are you alright" said Jill
"Yes, I just needed a drink" said Ash
"Are you sure that's all" asked Jill
"Yes, why" asked Ash
"It's just that you seemed a bit restless when we checked in on you" replied Jill
"I'm fine I promise, goodnight, love you" replied Ash
"Love you too, just come and get us if you need us" replied Jill
"Night Ash" said Gordon
They all made their way back to their rooms Ash could hear Gordon and Jill discussing what had just happened she now knew that whenever they went into a room where they expected her to be and she wasn't there it scared the hell out of them it was like their heart missed a beat until they could find her. The rest of the night went by pretty quietly a couple of times Jill and Gordon got up during the night to check on Ash but she was sleeping peacefully.