"That was quick thinking back there" said Jill as she pulled out of the drive
"Yeah, sorry I didn't mean to make more work for you" replied Ash
"You, haven't, I would have had to go shopping anyway, once dad and I had decided what we had planned for tomorrow" replied Jill
"Can I help you make the cake" asked Ash
"Of course, you can" replied Jill
They were silent for a few minutes, Ash was busy thinking about how she could persuade her parents to let her go to the accident site
"What are you thinking about" asked Jill
"Nothing" lied Ash, she still wasn't sure it was the best idea to ask them yet
Jill knew not to push her into talking, but she also knew that whatever she was thinking about was important and that she was worried about telling them, she knew Ash would talk when she was ready, they drove the rest of the way in silence. They quickly made their way around the store and then made their way back to the car, Jill carried the bags back to the car, she wouldn't let Ash help which didn't go down well
Once they were back in the car, Jill thought she would break the silence
"Sweetheart, you know you don't have to talk to anyone else, we do you really love it when you talk to us" said Jill
"I know, but I don't like seeing you upset" replied Ash
"We don't like seeing you upset either" replied Jill
Ash didn't quite know what to say, so said nothing the rest of the way home, as they pulled on to the drive Jill broke the silence
"Can, you go on and put the oven on for me" asked Jill
"Okay, mum" replied Ash getting out of the car and going towards the door, which opened just as she reached it
"Alright" asked Gordon
"Yeah, I think mum could do with a hand though" replied Ash, she then went through and took her shoes off before going through to the kitchen
Ash put the oven on as instructed then pulled out the scales and the mixing bowl from the cupboard and was thinking about what else they would need when both Jill and Gordon entered the kitchen, she made space on the table for them to put the bags down and then sensing that they need to talk made an excuse to leave
"I'll be back in a second, I've just got to" started Ash leaving the kitchen and going upstairs
"Is everything alright" asked Gordon
"I think so, she was very quiet" replied Jill
"But she will talk when she is ready" added Jill going over to the sink
"Is there anything I can do to help" asked Gordon
"No, Ash said she would" replied Jill
"Well, if you need me, I'll be in the study" replied Gordon
"Okay, where are the others" asked Jill, seeing they weren't outside and the house seemed too quiet
"They went out, don't worry they know if they're not ready, we will go without them" replied Gordon
"I thought they weren't allowed out until after the weekend" replied Jill
"Well, with everything that's happened" replied Gordon
"And you say I'm a soft touch Gordon Ormerod" replied Jill, giving him a peck on the cheek
Gordon went through to the study, just as Ash came down the stairs and went into the kitchen
"Mum" said Ash
"Yes" replied Jill
"Does Matron, like chocolate cake" asked Ash
"Yes, I'm sure she does, that reminds me, I had better phone her and let her know the plans have changed" replied Jill going into the hallway and picking up the phone
Jill had been on the phone to Matron for the last twenty minutes, Ash had got bored of waiting and had started to make the cake, she had made the mixture but was having difficulty in holding the bowl to pour the mix into the tins. Ash went to find Gordon, she saw the study door was open so she went to look in there first
"Dad" said Ash as she reached the door
"Yes" said Gordon looking up
"Can you help me, please" asked Ash
"Yes, of course" replied Gordon he got up and followed Ash to the kitchen
"So, what can I do for you" asked Gordon
"Can you hold this, so I can scrape it into the tins" replied Ash, Gordon nodded and picked up the bowl
Once they had finished and the cakes were in the oven
"Is there anything else" asked Gordon
"No, thanks" replied Ash, setting the timer and starting to tidy up, Gordon went back through to the study
Ten minutes later and Jill had just finished her call to Matron, she had gone through to Gordon to see if he would like a drink, meanwhile Ash had done as much as she could and had sat down at the table with her back to the door, she had picked up one of Jill's medical journals and had started to read it, while she waited for the cakes to cook
There was a loud bang on the window which made her jump, she banged her cast against her chest which gave her a sharp pain, she then started to have trouble breathing. Just then the others came in through the door and could see something wasn't right
"Mum, Dad" shouted Katie
"What now" muttered Gordon as they made their way to the kitchen
"Ash, take some deep breaths" said Tom
"Ash, sweetheart, it's alright, take deep breaths for me" said Jill moving towards her and kneeling down in front of her
Gordon had gone into the hallway to get a bag
"Ash, look at me, you are fine I promise, take long slow breaths for me" said Jill, rubbing Ash's hand
"What happened, she was fine just a minute ago" said Gordon as he made his way in and handed Jill her bag
The older three just looked at each other
"We should give you some space" said Jonathon
"You're not getting away with it that easily" replied Gordon as they made their way out
"Sweetheart, where does it hurt" asked Jill
Ash pointed to her ribs on her left-hand side, her back and her side that always gave her pain
"Right, I want you to breath into this paper bag, while I listen to your chest" said Jill
Ash had different ideas, she wasn't going to let them anywhere near her chest, just then the timer went off, making Gordon jump although he said he was doing it to take Ash's mind off of what was going on. Ash pointed to the oven
"Okay, I will take a look in a minute" said Jill
Ash shook her head, and was going to get up, but Jill put a hand on her shoulder to keep her where she was
"Gordon, can you take a look please" asked Jill trying to get Ash to stay still
Gordon went to the oven and pulled out the cakes
"What do you think" he asked Jill
"Really, must I do everything" replied Jill, getting up to have a look, Ash nodded
"Cheeky, I'll sort you out in a minute" said Jill to Ash
"So, what do you think" asked Gordon
"They're done" replied Jill
"What, about this one" asked Gordon, looking at Jill she knew he knew they were done, and that he was asking about Ash
"I'm concerned, normally by now if it was a panic attack her breathing should have slowed down by now, I think she may have punctured a lung, but she won't let me listen, she keeps wriggling" whispered Jill
"Okay, so we take her in just to be on the safe side" Gordon whispered back
"Just, give me one more chance" whispered Jill
"Yes, they both look fine" said Jill, turning back to Ash
"Right, missy I am going to be honest with you, you either let me listen to your chest here or we take you in" said Jill, kneeling down in front of Ash again
Normally Ash would have chanced her arm and tried to get out of it, but she was also aware that if it was a panic attack her breathing should have got back to normal by now, so she nodded
"Right, just stay still" replied Jill, as she got her stethoscope off of the table, she then carefully tried to lift Ash's top
"I'm, sorry baby" said Jill as she did it, she could see Ash crumple her face up in pain
Gordon came over to help
"Here, take my hand and squeeze it as hard as you like, when it hurts" said Gordon, Ash took his hand but never squeezed it, with his other hand he helped Jill by holding Ash's t shirt up
"Nearly done" said Jill as she got up to listen to her back
"Can, you move slightly forward" asked Gordon
Ash carefully moved forward on her seat
"Right, all done" said Jill
As Jill packed her stethoscope away, Gordon help Ash pull her top down, he then looked at Jill
"Right, we are going to have to take you in" said Gordon
Ash didn't say or do anything, she was finding it hard enough to concentrate on her breathing and the pain was starting to get too much, Jill got down to her level
"Sweetheart, I'm going to give you something for the pain, then we are going to get you in the car" said Jill, Ash nodded
"Right this will help with the pain" said Gordon handing Jill a syringe
"What's going on, what's wrong, why does she look so pale" asked Jonathon
"Right, no time to explain, help me get her in the car" said Gordon, Jonathon nodded
"Right, carefully, don't grab her to tightly" said Jill
She could see the pain on Ash's face, but she never made a sound, Jill grabbed her bag and Ash's hand and followed Jonathon out to the car, Gordon had already gone on and opened the car door
"Right go back inside, we won't be long" said Gordon
"No, I'm coming this is partly my fault" replied Jonathon getting in the passenger seat
Once they had got Ash in the car Jill didn't like the look of how much she was struggling to breath so she went to the boot for the immediate care bag
"Jill" said Gordon
"She's got a pneumothorax, I'm going to have to do this" said Jill, getting what she was looking for and then going around to Ash
"Right, baby, this is going to hurt but I promise you will feel better" said Jill
Ash was scared and wasn't sure if she wanted this
"Ash, sweetheart, I'm going to insert this needle, it will help the air escape, I promise you will feel better" said Jill, Ash nodded
"Here, hold my hand" said Jonathon, he then started telling her what they had been up to that afternoon
Once that was done, and Ash was starting to breathe a little easier they made their way into the royal