Ok, major apologies that I haven't updated for so long, but I'm done with school now so I will update more. I just had a bit of writers block with the end of this chapter, but I remembered a conversation about 2 children and lollypops with Toxic-Beetle and had to include it :D
Sam
xx

The hardest part of the service wasn't knowing that her parents were in the coffins at the front of the church, it was Michael's speech. He had asked to do the speech, and their grandmother was going to do one as well, but Abigail didn't want to. She knew that she would cry as soon as she got up there, and she didn't want to leave Ryan. Eventually, though, the time came to say her goodbyes. She didn't exactly cry, but she had a lot of tears running down her face. One tear fell onto her father's cheek, and she wondered, if like it happened in fairy tales, that he would magically wake up, give her that reassuring smile and hug her, but he didn't. She couldn't remember what she had said, exactly, but she remembered mentioning that she would never really say goodbye to them, and of course, that she loved them. She stayed with Ryan while he said goodbye, which throughout she fought against the lump in her throat terribly.

"I miss you both. I want you to come home, but people say you can't. You don't look dead, you look asleep. Are you really tired? We'll see each other again, soon, right? Michael says I will see you one day, when I am much older, but I want to see you now." He sniffed, trying to be brave and wiped his face on the sleeve of his jacket. "Don't worry, Mommy and Daddy, Abi and Ben are going to look after me. They're going to look after me really good. I know they will. So don't worry. I love you lots."

The wake was held at a hired hall not too far from Elsa's house, within walking distance easily. There, Abigail quickly managed to escape the amount of people there to find somewhere quiet. Unlike the others, she didn't find the nearest glass of alcohol and down it, she knew better than that, plus, she was pregnant, she couldn't drink as it was dangerous, and she wasn't making any mistakes this time. Michael and Marcus had disappeared somewhere, no doubt to make up with one another and be civilised. Ryan, instead, was clinging to Ben's neck now, giving Abigail's arms a break. He had hidden his face in his shoulder, which reminded Ben a lot of Abigail the other night.

"Ben, I'm going to go get some fresh air." She explained.

"Ok, you want me to come with you?" He offered.

She shook her head, "No, that's fine, you stay here with Ryan, I'll be all right."

She walked away, feeling bad about shutting him out, as she had primised not to do, but she needed to escape and be on her own for a while. She found the exit to the hall beside the bar, which led outside. There were stands there which overlooked a soccer pitch. She remembered when she was younger, coming to watch Michael play soccer here with his friends. A few times, she had protested, begging her parents to let her stay home alone, but they had insisted that she come and support her brother; after all, he went to all her swimming competitions.

She walked over to the stands, walking halfway up them and taking a seat randomly along the raised bench. Looking out onto the pitch, she could almost see the boys running around, shouting to each other on the pitch. She didn't know how long she sat there for, but she guessed it at about half an hour before she heard music coming from inside the hall. No sooner had the music begun, she heard a little girls laugh echoing around her. She looked around, but couldn't see anyone.

"Looking for us?"

She looked to her side and saw someone with a starkling resemblance to herself sit down beside her, holding two cups. She handed one to Abigail. "It's water. Don't worry." She assured her. Taking the cup slowly, Abigail raised it to her lips and took a sip, just out of politeness, not because she was thirsty.

The owner of the laugh came forward, in the form of a two year old girl with dark hair and dark eyes, much unlike her mothers.

"I was wondering when I'd see you." Emma said to Abigail. This was Abigail's supposed twin. Of all the people to come find her outside, she was glad it was Emma, who wouldn't pity her or drown her with sympathy.

"I didn't know you were going out to Egypt." Abigail said. "How long ago?"

"Six months now. Got a place right near Johnny's work." Johnny, Emma's husband, worked over in a museum. After he had worked there for two months, it became too much for Emma to be seperated from him, especially when she had Evy to consider, who also had missed her father. "It's strange, being in a new place and away from the people I grew up with, but being a proper family is nice." She turned to Abigail fully. "So, when's it due?"

Abigail choked on the mouthful of water she had just taken, and turned her head to Emma. The girl certainly had a way of taking her mind off of things. "Excuse me?" She asked. How did she know? Did Ben tell her? He was the only other person besides herself who knew. Was it just a lucky guess? A conversation maker?

"I'm a mother myself, Abi." Emma reminded her. "Even with all this going on in your life right now, I can see that look in your eyes." She said softly, and motioned down at her stomach, "And that ever so small bump you have there."

Her plan of not telling any one until they had to was going steadily down the drain. "Emma-"

"Don't worry, no one else has noticed. And I'm not going to tell anyone." She winked.

Abigail nodded. "Thanks."

"I hear Marcus put his foot in it a bit." Emma mentioned.

"I see you still have your habit of picking up every bit of information which comes your way?" Abigail teased in reply. She was glad that Emma was with her, it lifted her spirits somewhat.

"Has he apologized?" Emma asked, ignoring Abigail's question.

"No." Abigail said stubbornly. "I don't care what he has to say anymore."

"You should." Emma corrected quietly.

"Why?" Abigail said desperately. "Why should I have to put up with his anger all the time?"

"Because he's your brother." Emma said softly, putting her arm about Abigail, who was thankful for her small gesture. "And even though it might not seem that way all the time, he loves you." Abigail sighed, putting her head in her hands for a moment. "Abi, you buried your parents today. You need each other as a family. I overheard him talking to Johnny, he said that he never would have said it if he knew that you had miscarried. He isn't a monster." She told him.

"Yes, he is." She said stubbornly.

"When you were born, who taught you how to walk?" Emma said. "Who brought you sweets home when he went to the movies with his friends?"

Abigail sat silently, remembering what Emma was saying. Marcus hadn't always been bad to her. He had been quite a good brother at times. "He did." She answered after her moment of silence.

"What he said was wrong, but that shouldn't matter today. Today, he needs his sister."

"He doesn't need me."She said, almost wishing that what Emma was saying was true.

"He does." She confirmed. "Your the only reminder he has now of Amanda. The closest thing he has left. He doesn't need you to shut him away. He wants to change, Abigail."

"I don't know-" She began, but trailed off. Emma tried a different approach.

"What will you tell your baby when they grow up and ask about him. Will you say that he lives far away and visits whenever he can, or will you tell them that you haven't spoken to him because he thinks you'd be a bad mother?"

It put everything in a new perspective. When she said it that way, it seemed like another one of their small tiffs, even though it was on a tender subject for Abigail. Underneath all her hatred for him, she still wanted to be a good sister, as she had all the time, and that was usually what got her into trouble with him. "You're right." Abigail said weakly."God, what's happening here? I've messed everything up." She said helplessly.

"No you haven't, you just don't know how to react. No one does in this situation." Emma assured. "Nothing could have prepared you for this. It was a shock to everyone, especially you and your brothers."

Evy came wandering up to Abigail. "Aunty Abi," She said sweetly, even though Abi wasn't really her Aunt, "Where's Ryan?" it was sometimes amusing how Evy treated Abigail as an Aunt, but Ryan as a cousin or brother.

"He's inside with Ben, honey. Do you remember Ben?" Abigail asked.

"Treasure man?" She asked.

"Yes, Evy, the treasure man."

Evy was about to skip off when Emma stopped her. "Wait a sec, sweetie." She said, Evy stopped and looked.

"Yes, Mommy?"

Emmapulled two red lollypops out of her pocket. "One for you and one for Ryan." She said. "Remember to hold the stick and don't run!"She reminded.

"Ok Mommy."

Evy found Ryan sitting with Ben near the bar with Michael. He went off to play with Evy when she gave him his red lollypop, and Michael and Ben smiled, glad that Ryan was no longer hanging onto one of them desperately. They were soon running around together, even Ryan was laughing as they did so. Ben heard the ringing of a cellphone, and Michael shrugged. "Not mine."

Pulling his from his pocket, he saw the name 'Riley' on the caller i.d. Sighing, he opened the phone and answered it.

"Riley?" He asked.

"Ben, we've got a problem." Riley said hesistantly.

DUN DUN DUN!