Jill arrived home she could see Gordon was still in the study and that the rest of the house was in darkness, so that meant the others weren't back yet
She parked the car and made her way in, she went straight to the office
"Hello" said Jill
"Ash, has gone to bed I will make us a drink, why don't you go and check on her" said Gordon
"What about the others" asked Jill
"No, they are not here yet, don't worry I haven't forgotten that I need to talk to them either" replied Gordon
Jill made her way upstairs, Ash's door was shut and her light was off, Jill paused just outside the doorway, and was trying to listen, she couldn't hear a sound coming from Ash's room, maybe she was asleep, it had been a long day after all
Jill opened the door as quietly as she could, she could see Ash's figure she had pulled the duvet up over her head
"Sweet dreams, sweetheart" whispered Jill from the doorway, before shutting the door and making her way back down
"How is she" asked Gordon
"Sleeping, but something doesn't feel right" replied Jill, going through to the study and picking up the paperwork that Gordon had left out for her
"Right, well don't worry I will keep an eye out" replied Gordon
"Right, well I had better be getting on with this" replied Jill not wanting to get into this
Gordon could tell so he picked up the paper and made his way into the lounge
Half an hour later and Jill had gone through the paperwork and went to find Gordon, there was still no sign of the others
Gordon was asleep in the chair, he woke when he heard footsteps in the hallway
"Right, let's go to bed we've got a long day tomorrow, I will have to talk to the others later" said Gordon
Ash, was still not asleep, she couldn't stop feeling guilty, she heard her parents making their way upstairs
"I'm just going to check on her" whispered Jill
Ash heard her door opening and held her breath
"Come on, let's leave her to sleep" whispered Gordon
"I, just want to hold her and make everything better" replied Jill
"I know you do, but she will come to you when she is ready" replied Gordon
"How, can you be so sure" asked Jill, closing Ash's door behind her
"Because, you've always been close, she just needs to work through somethings and then when she needs you, you will be there" replied Gordon
Ash had heard all of this, there was no way she was going to sleep now, but it helped that they were starting to trust her again, she felt the same she really missed the relationship she had with her mum and it broke her heart as well, ohh how she wished it would go back to how it was
It was a good sign though it finally looked like they were all on the same page
Ash waited until, she heard her parents shut their door before moving, she opened her door slightly, so she could see when they switched their light off, she could hear that they were talking but she couldn't actually hear what they were talking about, it went quiet and their light went out
To make sure she didn't wake them up, Ash waited a few seconds before going over to her desk, she was about to switch her desk lamp on when she heard the others, noisily coming down the drive, she went towards her door to shut it before, her parents saw it open, but it was too late she saw her parents light switch on as the others banged the door shut, she was still in the doorway, when Jill opened her doorway while putting her dressing gown on
"Ash what's wrong" asked Jill, looking back into her room towards Gordon
"Nothing, I heard a noise" replied Ash
"It's alright, it's just the others" replied Jill moving towards Ash
"Yes, they have just got in, wait until I get my hands on them" replied Gordon, following Jill out onto the landing
"So, come on then back to bed" added Jill, coaxing Ash back into bed
"Night" replied Ash letting Jill tuck her in
Gordon had carried on downstairs; towards the others he could tell they were in the kitchen they weren't even trying to keep the noise down
"Hi, Dad" said Tom looking up
"What, time do you call this" started Gordon, he was not in the mood as he was not very happy with their behaviour
Tom looked up at the clock
"It's about quarter to twelve" replied Tom cheekily
"That, is not what I meant, and you know it" replied Gordon angrily
Jonathon and Katie giggled, which didn't help, Gordon could tell they had, had too much to drink, Jill had finished with Ash and had made her way downstairs, to find out what was going on
"Right, all of you bed now, I will talk to you tomorrow" shouted Gordon
"I'm not tired" replied Tom
"I don't care if you are or not, bed now" replied Gordon
"Mum" asked Katie, hoping she would stick up for them
"It's late and we've all got a busy day tomorrow, just get a drink and then bed" replied Jill
"See, I told you we shouldn't have come home yet" said Katie to the boys
"I bet they've had a tough time with Ash, and are taking it out on us, because we've had fun" retorted Tom
"That, is enough bed all of you now" shouted Gordon
Ash had gotten up the first time she heard Gordon shout and was at the top of the stairs listening in she had heard everything
"Why, don't you take it out on her instead of us" replied Katie
"Actually, we've had a lovely evening with Ash, and you would know that if you had come home when you said you were, now bed" replied Gordon
Ash smiled; she had enjoyed her evening as well it had started to feel like it was getting back to normal
"No, really what has she done this time" asked Tom
"I am not going to tell you again, bed all of you" replied Gordon
Ash was starting to get a little scared, she had never seen or heard her dad this angry before
"Gordon, go to bed, I'll sort these out and be up in a minute" said Jill, trying to diffuse the situation
Gordon went to say something
"Gordon, were just going around in circles, trust me" said Jill
Gordon knew she was right, Ash could see his shadow coming towards the door, so got up and went back to her bed.
Ash was hurt how could her siblings say those things about her, and she had never seen her dad that angry it really scared her, she never wanted to make him that mad,
Gordon made his way past Ash's room, he paused for a second he couldn't hear any more shouting coming from the kitchen, but he could hear Ash crying
He tapped lightly on the door, but didn't wait for an answer, he switched the light on
"Ash, sweetheart" said Gordon
Ash looked towards the door; Gordon could see she looked scared
"Ash, sweetheart, it's alright" said Gordon soothingly, he could feel his anger seeping away
"Sorry, sweetheart, did I scare you" asked Gordon
Ash nodded, Gordon made his way in and sat on the bed
"I've never, heard you like that before" sobbed Ash
She rubbed her side it was starting to ache
"I'm sorry, come here" replied Gordon, opening his arms for a cuddle
Ash, cuddled in she could tell it wasn't her that he was angry with
"It's alright sweetheart, shhh" said Gordon
Ash was starting to calm down, but Gordon didn't let her go just yet
Meanwhile Jill had persuaded the others to go to bed, she had given them all a glass of water and was following them upstairs, she made sure they were all in their rooms before going along to hers
She noticed Ash's door open and her light on, she quickened her pace, she peered in and saw Gordon giving her a cuddle
Ash had just fallen asleep
"Gordon" said Jill
"Sshh, she's nearly asleep" replied Gordon
He didn't normally get to do this, Ash was very much a mummies girl, the only time was when she was a lot younger, and Ash had woken from a bad dream and Jill had been called out, he was trying to revel in the moment
"What happened" whispered Jill
"She heard all the shouting" whispered Gordon, feeling guilty
"All of it" asked Jill concerned
"I didn't go into it, but I scared her, she had never seen me like that" replied Gordon, clearly disappointed with himself
"Gordon" was all Jill got to say
"I know, then her side started hurting, so I gave her cuddle and here we are" interrupted Gordon, knowing what Jill was trying to say
"Well, it's late let's go to bed" said Jill
"You go on, I'm just going to let her sleep a little more before I move" replied Gordon
"Sweetheart" replied Jill, rubbing his cheek, before taking Ash out of his arms and resting her head on her pillow, she then took his hand and led him to their bedroom, switching ash's light off and shutting her door as they went
Gordon had, had a restless night, he kept tossing and turning, every time he shut his eyes and started to drift off he would see the look in Ash's eyes, how could he do that, no wonder she never wanted to talk to him
"Gordon" said Jill when she woke and saw he wasn't in bed
"Morning sweetheart" replied Gordon
"Gordon, what's wrong" asked Jill, knowing he was still beating himself up over last night, she also knew he hadn't had a goodnights sleep
"I'm, just going to make a start on breakfast" said Gordon not wanting to talk he made his way downstairs
Jill got up and dressed she then decided to talk to Ash, she was going to need her help