Chapter 14

It was the morning Rosie and Rachel were going to get the results of Rosie's scan and it was fair to say both of them were feeling pretty nervous about it, although Rachel was sure that it wasn't anything too serious she couldn't help but worry a bit.

By the time they got to the doctors surgery Rosie's heart was pounding and she felt really dizzy, it wasn't unusual for her to get all worked up about things like this though.

After what seemed like forever they were called through to go in

The doctor smiled at them as they went in and this made Rosie feel a little bit reassured

"Hi how are you feeling Rosie ?"

"I'm okay my headaches are still there but no where near as bad and my nose bleeds have stopped"

"Well I'm glad you're feeling a bit better then, now I've just been looking at your scans and I'm pleased to tell you that they all came back clear which suggests there's nothing too serious going on"

Both Rachel and Rosie felt a huge relief suddenly as both had been really worried about everything

"That's creating a relief then" Rachel said

"It is yes, but we do need to find out what's been causing these headaches you've been getting, have you ever suffered from headaches or migraines in the past Rosie?"

"Well a few months ago I was really poorly and we went down to the hospital and they said it was a migraines from stress because I'd just moved in with Rachel and joe"

"Ah and is there anything going on at the moment that might be causing you some stress?"

"Well...no I guess not"

"Are you sure Rosie nothing at school or anything?" Rachel asked

Rosie shook her head

"Well maybe the two of you can talk later, i know it can feel uncomfortable when you don't know me"

"We will do"

"I'd advise drinking plenty of water then and if the headaches get more frequent or severe please make another appointment straight away"

"We will do, thank you doctor" Rachel said before giving her a smile

The two of them then left and went outside

"That's a relief isn't it Rosie?"

Rosie nodded her head

"I think we were both getting pretty worried, I know I was I barely slept last night thinking about it"

Rachel noticed Rosie wasn't saying much so decided it might be a good idea for them to have a chat just the two of them, while they could

"Do you fancy a hot chocolate or something in Costa before we go home love"

"Yes please"

Rachel drove round to Costa and the two of them got out

Once they had got their table they sat down

"Rosie is there something stressing you out a bit love" Rachel asked as she wanted to make sure she wasn't missing anything as she knew Rosie could sometimes bottle things up

Rosie just shrugged her shoulders as she didn't really want to explain

"You can tell me if there is you know, I wouldn't get cross"

Rosie sighed, she knew when Rachel knew there was something going on with her she wouldn't ever just drop it and she'd always finish up having to explain whatever it was, even if she really didn't want to

"It's just a few things really"

"Why didn't you tell me before if there's something going on at school then ..."

"It's not really about school"

"What you mean something at homes upsetting you?" Rachel asked feeling a bit concerned now

Rosie gave a tiny nod of the head

"Well what is it Rosie?"

.

"It's just you and joe" Rosie mumbled

Rachel sighed, she knew things between her and joe hadn't been at all good especially over the last few weeks and it seemed all they seemed to do was argue but she'd really hoped the girls hadn't picked up on it, though obviously this wasn't the case and when she thought about it she had noticed lily had become quite unsettled and clingy and thought maybe it was something to do with this

"Oh love I'm sorry"

"It's just you've been arguing loads recently"

"I know we have and it's not fair on you and lily is it, it's not right that we argue in front of you"

"I'm not a little kid"

"I know but it's still not very nice to hear people argue, especially adults"

"Are you going to get divorced?"

Rachel shocked her head, though in reality joe had actually mentioned it when they'd been having a particularly heated argument yet she was sure he didn't actually mean it

"No Rosie we're not"

"Do you promise?" Rosie asked

"Yep" Rachel replied "so no more worrying okay"

Rosie nodded her head though she was still a bit worried

"Hey" Rachel said gently before tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear "we'll be fine I promise you, we're just going through a bit of a fought patch at the minute, like all couples do I guess"

"Okay"

Once they finished their drink they went back the car

"Rosie are you still thinking of going swimming tonight with your friends love"

"Erm yeah if that's okay with you"

"Of course it is darling, though it's be nice if you were back for a reasonable time because I think it'd be nice to have some family time tonight"

"I will be we're going out at 5 so we shouldn't be too late"

"Do you want me to pick you up, I'll be able to take a couple of your friends back too if you want"

"Yes please"

"Will 6:30 be okay, that'll give you an hour and a half so I'd think that's be enough time but if not I'll just hang around for a bit and get a coffee or something"

"Yeah that'd be good"

Once they were back home the two of them got out and went inside

Rachel was surprised when she got in as she was expecting lily to come straight to the door like she always did whenever they came home

"Joe" Rachel called

A moment or so later joe came to the hall, looking pretty moody

"Hi" he said flatly

Rachel rolled her eyes, she could tell this was a sign he was in a bad mood and couldn't be bothered with another night of him going on at her

"Where's lily"

"I sent her to her room"

"Why?"

"Because she was being naughty"

"Why what did she do" Rachel said, this was another thing joe had been doing recently he kept telling the girls off for no real reason

"Does it matter? Can you not just accept that she did something wrong so I punished her for it, just because you're soft as anything on them doesn't mean I have to be"

"Hang on a minute, don't you speak to me like that, I asked a question that's all, and you could hardly say I was soft could you really?" Rachel asked beginning to sound pretty angry now

"Rachel I can't be bothered with this"

"Was it me that started it?"

Rachel could tell that this was going to lead to a fight, which after what Rosie had just said and given the fact she was stood right next to her, was something she definitely didn't want

"Anyway I'll go and see lily, how long has she been up there for" she asked calmly

"About 10 minutes"

"Well normally when I send her to her room it's only for 4 minutes because she's 4 years old and you know that"

"See what I mean, you've always got to have your little dig, and again that's way too bloody soft"

"Well it's what all the experts on parenting seem to say, and much as I value you're input I think I'll stick with the experts opinion on this one, and in future could you please do the same, so lily has as much stability"

"Who are you trying to sound like Rachel, some fancy child psychologist"

"Rosie go upstairs sweetheart"

Rosie was getting quite upset now especially when Rachel had promised not to argue, though she could see it was hardly her fault

Once Rosie was out of ear shot Rachel said "oh and Rosie's scans were fine thanks for asking, turns out her headaches are from stress"

"What's she stressed about" joe asked despite how he was feeling he was upset with himself for forgetting about Rosie's scans as he did still really care about her

"Me and you" Rachel said "she's been getting really upset, so In future if you do have some criticism to make can you please do it away from Rosie or lily"

Joe didn't say anything else as he was feeling quite guilty now

Rachel went upstairs and into Lily's room where she saw her crying on her bed

"Lily" Rachel said quite gently

"I really need a wee but joe said I couldn't come out"

"Go on then go quickly before you have an accident"

Lily quickly went to the loo, but once she'd been she didn't really come out as she was scared she'd get into trouble

A few minutes later Rachel came and knocked on the bathroom door

"Come out love"

"No" lily mumbled

"Why"

"I don't want to get shouted at again"

"I'm not going to shout I promise"

"Really" lily asked timidly, she always did get really scared when she thought she was in any sort of trouble

"Yeah it's okay"

A moment or so later Rachel saw the bathroom door slowly open

When she saw lily looking so upset and frightened she instantly opened her arms out so lily could come into them

Lily immediately began to relax while she was having a cuddle off Rachel, because she knew she couldn't be in really big trouble

"I'm sorry"

"Well I don't even know what's gone on yet, but I'm sure it wasn't that awful"

"It was joe got really angry, like my daddy used to"

This was one reason why Rachel always tried her best not to shout at lily too harshly, even if she had done something quite naughty, she knew how much it reminded her of her dad and stuff and she knew how much this must upset her

"I'm sure he didn't meant to shout as much as he did, come on let's go through to your bedroom, have a little chat"

Rachel took Lily's small hand and gently led her through

Once they were sat on her bed Rachel out her arm around her supportively

"Now what did you do that meant you had to get sent to your bedroom"

"I don't want to say" lily cried

"Well I'm not going to force you to tell me, not if you really don't want me to, because you know I never want to make you do anything, but I think it might be for the best if you do tell me though because then I'll be able to help won't i?"

"I had to do my homework with him and he made me do reading but then he got really cross because I couldn't do all the words and he said I wasn't listening and trying so that's why I do badly at school"

"Did he now?" Rachel said feeling very annoyed at joe because she couldn't believe that he'd shout at lily over this especially when he knew how much she was getting upset over how she was struggling at school at the moment

"I did try I promise"

"I know you did darling, you mustn't worry okay"

"So am I in trouble with you?"

"Of course not, it's joe who's in trouble with me for getting cross with you"

"So I do t have to stay up here?"

"Nope, I'll tell you what why don't you go and do something nice for a little bit"

"Okay"

Lily then got up and went downstairs

Rachel watched her go and shook her head wondering what the best thing to do was as she didn't want to get into another argument with joe, she just didn't have the energy at the moment and getting into all these fights was making her feel particularly emotional, which wasn't what she needed when she was pregnant

A few minutes later Rachel went downstairs again

She saw joe in the kitchen so walked over to him

"Joe why did she shout at lily about her homework"

"Because she wasn't trying"

"Come on you know that isn't true, you know how upset she's getting about it all at the moment, the last thing we want to do is knock her confidence even more" Rachel said calmly

"For gods sake is all you want to do lecture to me"

"Joe you still haven't told me why you're being like this, what is it I've done exactly"

"I didn't say you had done something?"

"Well why else would you be treating me like this then, I know it's hard now we've got the baby on the way but..."

"Would you shut up about the baby as well"

"What? I don't mention I that much, I'm excited I thought we both were"

Joe didn't say anything just stormed out

As soon as he'd gone Rachel felt tears prickling in her eyes, normally she would hardly ever cry but she couldn't seem to help it, she wished joe would tell her what she'd done but he didn't seem willing to.

She tried to calm herself down as she knew getting all upset wasn't good for the baby

A couple of minutes later Rosie came down to the kitchen

Rachel hastily tried to wipe away any evidence of the fact she'd been crying as she would hate for Rosie to realise she'd been upset

"Rachel are you okay"

"Yeah fine love, I just had something in my eye that's all" Rachel said unconvincingly , she always had been a pretty rubbish liar

"It's joe again isn't it, have you had another argument?"

Rachel sighed not wanting Rosie to get all upset again but she couldn't really lie to her

"A little one yeah, but it's nothing for you to get yourself worried about darling"

"Where is he"

"He's just gone out" Rachel said what did you come down for love" she asked wanting to change the subject

"I need some help with my homework, but it's alright you just relax"

"No it's fine, come on I'll have a look"

Rosie handed her the sheet she'd been struggling with

"Oh god please tell me it's not some horrible maths problem"

"You got it"

Rachel rolled her eyes, maths never had been her forte at all

"Okay, let's give it a try though just as a warning maths never was my strong point, I only just scrapped through my o level"

"O level?"

"Yeah it's what we did back in the olden days, their like gcses now"

"Oh right"

The two of them then sat down at the table and Rachel tried her best to figure out what on earth it was Rosie had to do

"Rachel are you sure that's right?" Rosie said doubtfully after Rachel had come up with her fifth attempt at an answer

"No I have got absolutely no idea" she said laughing "I think this might be one you'll have to ask your maths teacher about to be honest love, I'm pretty useless"

"Okay It doesn't have to be handed in till Tuesday so I can just ask her about it on Monday"

"Have you got any other homework"

"Nope I did it all last night"

"Oh good girl, do you fancy putting some tv on"

"Yeah okay, should I call lily down, she was having a nap last time I saw her"

"Yeah might be a good idea then, she needs to stop having these naps in the middle of the day"

"She's only a baby really, she just gets tired"

"I know but it's driving her teacher insane because she gets so tired on the afternoon"

"I'll go and wake her then"

Rosie went upstairs to wake lily up

She realised lily must be in quite a deep sleep though because she was snoring. Eventually she managed to stir her round and she went downstairs

The three of them had a lovely afternoon watching a movie, but by the end of it Rosie realised she had a bad stomach ache

When she went to the toilet she realised she'd come on her period which was really annoying as it meant she couldn't go swimming

Rosie sighed before going in her cupboard and getting a pad out

She then went downstairs to get a glass of water

"It's about time we were getting you dropped off at swimming"

"I don't think I want to go anymore"

"Why not, you were looking forward to it earlier?"

"My stomach hurts"

"Take a painkiller before you go, I'm sure you'll be fine once you're their"

"Rachel I really can't go"

"Why?"

Rosie looked a bit awkward for a moment but realised she'd need to explain

"I've got you know ... Girl problems"

"Ah okay, when did that start"

"Just now"

"Well It seems a shame for you to miss out especially when you've been looking forward to it as much as you have been"

"I know but there's not a lot I can do"

"Well how about using a tampon"

Rosie pulled a face at this as the idea had always sounded pretty horrible to her

"I know I get it, doesn't sound particularly nice but it's not that bad"

"Okay, but won't it hurt"

"Not if you've got it in properly it won't"

Rosie sighed but she really did want to go swimming so decided to just give it a go

"I've got some in my drawer still"

"I thought you didn't have periods when you're pregnant" Rosie asked confused

"Well you don't but I still have some left over from when I last stocked up"

Rosie went through to Rachel's bathroom and once Rachel had given her one she got herself sorted

She didn't really like it but was glad to be able to go swimming now.

Once Rachel had dropped Rosie off she went back home and got lily in the bath

She was beginning to get pretty worried about joe as normally he'd never be gone this long even if they had, had an argument

"Rachel where's joe" lily asked as Rachel wet her hair

"I don't know love, he'll be back soon though"

"Is he still angry with me?"

"No darling I'm sure he's not, you didn't do anything wrong"

"Rachel when will you find out if the baby's a boy or a girl"

"Well I think I'm going to find out in a few weeks when I go for my scan"

"Will the doctor have a look in your tummy where the baby's growing"

Rachel laughed a bit at this

"Well it's a bit like that but this scan can make a picture of the baby"

"How will they know if it's a boy or a girl"

"Because you'll be able to see on the picture darling"

"How?"

"Well because you'll be able to see it's body, and you know a girls body's different from a boys body parts don't you"

"Yes boys have a willy and girls don't"

"Well exactly and that's how you'll be able to tell" Rachel said still giggling slightly

A few minutes later she got lily out and wrapped her I a big towel

Once she'd got her dry and into pyjamas she took her downstairs

"I'm tired"

"Well it's only 6 we'll go and pick Rosie up then it'll be about 7 so if we read a bedtime story it'll be your bedtime"

About 15 minutes later they went over to the swimming pool

They had to wait quite a while for Rosie and her friends, though Rachel didn't really mind

She smiled when she saw Rosie and a few other girls come out laughing

"Hi love" she said "you look like you had a good time girls"

"We did" one of them said

"Good, well I can fit two of you in my car with Rosie and lily, but are you okay for lifts beside that"

"Yeah my mums taking me and Chloe home"

"Okay so poppy and Louise you're with me"

"Yeah"

Rachel then took them all to the car and drove to the two girls houses to drop them off

By the time they were in their way home lily was getting really sleepy and had fallen asleep on the back seat

"Rachel is joe home"

"Not yet"

"Will he come home"

"I'm sire he will" Rachel said "anyway did you have a nice time love"

"Yeah it was good"

When they got home Rachel carefully lifted lily up but she ended up waking her so she walked out herself

"I want to go to bed"

"Okay then, you're in pyjamas anyway so you just need to brush your teeth and go for a wee before you can go to bed"

Rachel took her upstairs and led her towards the bathroom

"I don't want to go, I'm tired" lily said sounding all sulky

"I know but you don't want to have to get up for me to change your sheets either do you because you'll have an accident if you don't go now"

"Fine"

"Go on go quickly now then you can go to bed"

Once lily had been Rachel lifted her through to bed and tucked her in.

A couple of hours had passed and joe still hadn't come home, Rachel had tried ringing a few times but there wasn't an answer.

She'd just sent Rosie to bed, but she came running down again just a minute or so later

"Rachel, Lily's crying"

"Oh dear" she sighed

Rachel then ran upstairs and into Lily's room

She heard lily sobbing gently into her pillow

"Lily what's up darling" she asked gently as she stroked her cheek

"I woke up and got scared"

"What of?"

"That you and joe were fighting again"

"Oh lily, come on stop crying for me my love"

"I want you to come In with me" lily sobbed

Rachel got round the opposite side and slipped in next to lily

"Shh it's alright" she soothed

"Please don't fight anymore" lily cried

Hearing this made Rachel feel really terrible as the last thing she wanted was to get lily all upset too

"Don't you worry about anything sweetie"

Eventually Rachel managed to calm her down a lot and lily went back to sleep

Rachel was about to get up but suddenly she heard the front door open, obviously it was joe, but right now the very last thing she wanted to do was face him so she decided to just let him get on with it and stayed cuddled up in Lily's bed.

Sorry I didn't update yesterday I was away, please review xxxxxxxx