"Hi Mum" Siobahn smiled down at her

"Hi love" Sheelagh was pleased to see her daughter, but sad to leave Des on his own

"Are you OK? Declan said he spent the night in your room because you were having bad dreams" Siobahn asked, the concern in her voice always made Sheelagh smile, it was just always nice to be reminded that her children loved her.

"I'm alright now, thanks sweetheart" She said gently patting her daughter's leg

"Good. Declan told me about Des" Siobahn said as her gaze fell to the floor, she wasn't really sure how her Mum felt about it but she didn't like to avoid the topic either.

"Oh right" Sheelagh replied, she wasn't sure if it was an enquiry as to her feelings or if it was just a straightforward statement

"How're you coping?" She asked looking once more into her mother's weary blue eyes

"I'm fine, thanks for asking though" Sheelagh replied honestly, she really was feeling a lot better

"It's just, I know it can't be easy losing someone you love, especially after...well...after Niamh" She stammered her way through the sentence

Sheelagh was pleased Siobahn realised that she really did love Des, and that she hadn't just left Patrick for a fly-by-night affair. Even so, mentioning Niamh made her heart heavy once more.

"Thanks darling" Sheelagh said with a weak smile

"No problem, do you want cuppa?" Siobahn said as she turned towards the door

"Go on then, you've twisted my arm" She replied

When Siobahn returned they sat together on the sofa watching TV. They talked about what they'd been doing all day, though Sheelagh was economical with the truth and only told her daughter about Gina's abruptness on the phone, the doctor and how depressingly dull daytime television was.

An hour or so passed and the front door slammed shut, Declan bounced in with a grin from one ear to the other

"Hi!" He said, the tone of his voice reflecting his facial expression

"What?" Sheelagh couldn't help but ask

"Declan, you're smiling like an eejit" Siobahn laughed

Declan brought his hand from behind his back and handed his mum a box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers. She couldn't help but smile, she had been contemplating tell him off for always slamming the door, but he'd made up for it now

"What are you after?" Siobahn asked, suspicious of her little brothers intentions

"Nothing, just wanted to cheer Mum up, that's all" He said, his expression as though butter wouldn't melt in his mouth

"Awww thank you darling" She said, standing up and giving him a cuddle

Just then the door shut again and Conor strolled in

"Evening" He said with a smile, handing his Mum a bottle of wine "I noticed you drank your last bottle last night, so I thought I'd get you some more while I was out"

"Thank you love" She smiled

"Well I feel guilty now" Announced Siobahn with a slight frown

"Bless" Mocked Sheelagh "You've spent some quality time with me Darling, that means a lot" She put her arm round her daughter and kissed her cheek "I don't know what I've done to deserve you three, really I don't" She sniffed, feeling very blessed to have them all there with her, knowing all to well that she could have lost any or all of them over her affair with Des

"Well, as a thank you, how about I order a pizza, or Chinese, or how about you say what you each want and then I'll order it"

"Great!" They all replied instantaneously

"Well I'm in the mood for pizza" Sheelagh decided

"Chicken Tikka" Declan grinned

"I'll have pizza too, but can I share with you?" AskedSiobahn

"Sure you can darling, ham & pineapple with extra cheese?" Laughed Sheelagh, whenever they shared a pizza it was what they always ended up getting

"Cantonese style sweet and sour pork" Conor finally made up his mind

Sheelagh wandered off to find the Yellow Pages and order the food. Siobahn disappeared off upstairs and returned with an armful of DVDs. The boys sighed in unison,

"Uhhh chick flicks!"

Half an hour later the food began to arrive, they waited until everyone had their order and sat down. They watched a few films until they were all exhausted, Sheelagh looked at her kids and sighed

"Come on then, bed" She stood up and hugged each of them

"Night Mum" Came the chorus of three and they trudged upstairs, for once Siobahn and Declan didn't have a thunderous race up the stairs

Sheelagh locked the doors and turned out the lights, pour herself a glass of water and made her way up to bed.