Disclaimer; I don't own anything related to Friends, but I do own this story.
Picking Up the Pieces
Chapter 19.
"Who could she be talking to?!" Ross cursed, looking across the street at the closed drapes, "It's been three hours!"
He wondered if he should go over there, but she probably had a reason for not picking up.
She didn't want to talk to him.
--
Barry looked at his daughter with an amused look at his face.
"Ashley my girl, glad you could make it." he said, getting up.
"Don't come closer." Ashley said, "And get away from her too… Or I'll… I'll shoot you."
"Ash," Barry said, "Now you're being silly, put down the gun."
"No." Ashley said.
"Put down the gun."
"No."
"I said; PUT DOWN THE DAMN GUN!" Barry screamed.
Rachel watched her only child – her princess – stand there, threatening with a gun.
It was a very weird feeling.
"And I said no!" Ashley yelled.
"You don't dare do it anyway!" Barry said.
"I don't?" Ashley asked. She didn't care what the hell was happening, how much she was breaking the law and how young she was. Some sort of devil had taken over her mind, and she couldn't help it. She didn't care what was going to happen when she'd pressed the trigger, but she knew that she couldn't let her dad hurt her mom anymore. She had to protect her. It was her responsibility now. She was sure. She couldn't let him do it.
She pointed to gun at Monica's red vase and pulled the trigger.
The vase blew into pieces.
Barry and Rachel got a shock, but more than less, they didn't think she'd do it.
"It could easily be you the next time." Ashley said.
Barry looked down.
"Now…" Ashley begun, "As I told you before, get away from mom."
Barry nodded and found his way to the chair, all the while, Ashley's gun was pointing right at him.
"Mom, are you okay?" Ashley asked.
Rachel sat up and buttoned her blouse again. She shook her head.
"Okay." Ashley said. She was surprised by herself. She was so calm, "Where is the phone?"
"It broke." Barry said.
"Did I talk to you?" Ashley said, "No, I don't think so!"
"It broke." Rachel whispered.
"Where is your cell?" Ashley asked.
Rachel pointed against the kitchen table.
"Would you please go get it and give it to me?" Ashley asked, still with one very open eye at her dad.
Rachel nodded and stood up. She went into the kitchen and took the phone, she opened it, to dial 911 for Ashley, but realized it was dead.
"It's dead, Ash." Rachel managed to say.
"Damn!" Ashley said.
Rachel sighed and sat down on the couch again.
Ashley looked thoughtful for awhile, but then she sat down at the bench at the window, still with the gun pointing right at her dad.
"Ash?" Rachel said, "Maybe I should hold that?"
"No." Ashley said, "You're already hurt."
Rachel just nodded again and leaned back at the couch.
"I've been thinking," Ashley said, 10 minutes later, "Since there isn't a phone in this damn apartment, I'll just have to shoot you myself, dad."
"What?" Barry exclaimed.
"I'm sorry." Ashley said, standing up.
"No, Ashley." Rachel said, "I wont let you shoot anyone with that thing."
"You don't have a choice mom." Ashley said.
Rachel looked at Barry, who looked at her with a begging look in his eyes.
"Ashley?" Barry begged, "I'll be better. I'll be sweet, I wont do you anything. We can be a family."
"We're way pass that part." Ashley said, "Now, I only have to say goodbye."
She pointed the gun right at his head and got ready to pull the trigger.
Rachel on the other hand, wouldn't let her daughter become a murderer, so she grabbed the remote and threw it at Ashley's hand right when she pulled the trigger. The remote hit her and the gun flew out of her hands, and the bullet hit the window instead. It broke.
The next thing happened so fast, that neither Rachel nor Ashley really knew what was going on.
Barry threw himself after the gun and Rachel and Ashley followed in suit.
Barry and Rachel got in to a wrestling fight, with Rachel underneath Barry. He had the gun in his hand, and she tried to take it away from him. She knew that if she didn't do it, her and Ashley would die, and that gave her strength.
They fought like that for awhile, until Ashley kneed down next Barry and grabbed his hand. She got a hold of it so much, that she could bite his finger. He dropped the gun and Ashley kicked it away from him. It flew underneath the couch.
Barry got off Rachel to look at his hand, and Rachel immediately dropped down next to the couch and pulled the gun out. She took it in her hands and pointed it right at Barry.
He looked up, "Now, you wont do it." he said.
"I will." Rachel said, pointing the gun at a cup in the kitchen. She could prove herself like Ashley had done. She pulled the trigger, and the cup blew into pieces, "I'm not scared of you anymore, Barry." she said, "If you die and I go to jail, Ashley will be looked after, I know that."
"You wont go to jail, mom." Ashley said, "It's self-defence."
"Maybe." Rachel said.
"You don't dare!" Barry yelled, "After all I've done for you, you slut! I can't believe how ungrateful you're being!"
"All you've done for me?" Rachel yelled, "Beaten me up. Cheating on me? Do you think I enjoyed that?"
They both started yelling at each other, and Ashley covered her ears.
Therefore, no-one realized, that the base unit on the phone was ringing, and that Ashley hit the speakerphone when she threw herself on the couch.
The apartment got silent and Rachel cracked a smile, which came out more as a grimace, because of her broken cheek bone.
"Barry, Barry, Barry." Rachel said, "Are you willing to work with me here?"
"No!" Barry yelled, he got up and ran into the kitchen, where he opened the cabinet and started throwing cups, plates and glasses at Rachel.
Ashley was behind the couch, so the glasses didn't hit her, but Rachel bend her neck, trying to cover up her face. Therefore, the gun wasn't pointing at Barry anymore.
She couldn't do anything, she was frozen to the floor, just letting the stream of glass hit her.
When the cabinets finally were empty, Barry had locked himself in the bathroom.
"Mom!" Ashley yelled, getting up from the couch, trying not to step on all the pieces of glass on the floor, which was impossible, because there were so many.
She ran to her mom, to get to know how bad she was hurt.
"Mom, are you okay??"
"My face." Rachel cried, "It hurts. God it hurts, Ashley."
"Let me take a look?"
"No way." Rachel said.
"Mom, did any of the glass hit your eyes?"
"I think." Rachel sobbed.
"Let me look at it."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, I wont let you see it."
"Look what you did now, dad?" Ashley yelled at Barry, "Get out of there! You threw glasses at her!"
Ashley went to the door, and started banging and kicking at it, "Get out now!"
Eventually he opened the door and came out.
Rachel looked up at him, and both Ashley and he, got a shock when they saw her face.
"Mom!?" Ashley cried, "Dad, look what you did now?"
Barry couldn't tare his eyes from her face, which were filled with cuts, and pieces of glass still in it, "I didn't throw them at her face!"
"Well then it's okay!" Ashley sarcastically replied, "It's glass, dad! When they hit the floor, the pieces probably flied everywhere including her face!"
"I'm sorry." Barry said,
Rachel and Ashley both stopped.
That was the first time he had actually said sorry for something he'd done.
"Mom." Ashley said, "Give me the gun now."
"No Ashley."
"Yes, I'm gonna kill him."
"No," Rachel said, "I need a hospital."
"Yeah, and we can go as soon as he's dead."
"No, I'm not gonna let you. I'll do it." Rachel said.
"Really?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah." Rachel said. The pain was killing her, but she knew she had to do something now. She looked at Barry who stood two steps in front of the front door. She pointed the gun at him.
"I wouldn't do that, Rachel." Barry said, fixing something out of one of his pockets, "I wasn't going to use this one, but since you're being so damn stubborn, I might have to."
"Oh God!" Ashley exclaimed, when she realized the thing was another gun, "Why do you have two?"
"Situations like this." Barry said, "It doesn't hurt to be prepared."
"Well, then." Rachel said, "I shoot you and you shoot me. After that Monica and Chandler will take care of Ashley, and she will have a normal life."
"No mom." Ashley said.
"Thank you for everything." Rachel sarcastically told Barry.
And then she pulled the trigger.
It didn't do anything.
"Shit." Rachel said, shaking the gun, "Shit, shit, shit!" she turned her head up to look at Barry.
"Well, well, well," Barry said, "Thank you for everything, Rachel."
He pointed his gun right at her, and…
BAM!
Wow, this chapter was long, considering my usuals, huh? Ah well, did you like it? Leave me a review. Thanks, Stessa.