[[after tonight's live ep, I'm in mourning for Bradley lmao, so please excuse me if it is a bit rubbish! This chapter is more of Roxy's pov as the last 2 were Ronnie's.]]

The kitchen fell silent as both Ronnie and Roxy sat drinking their hot chocolate. Both wondering what the other was thinking, and occasionally catching each other looking into the others eyes as if to work it out.

''Amy go to bed ok?'' Ronnie asked hoping to fill the slightly awkward silence. She could see that Roxy was itching to say something, she didn't know what it was, but from the fidgeting and constant eye contact, she knew it was something that she probably didn't want to hear or answer.

''Uh, yeah. The usual wanting me to read an extra story, but other wise fine.'' Roxy replied in what seemed like an uninterested tone. It wasn't that she was uninterested, it was just that she could tell Ronnie was keeping something from her. The two sisters never kept secrets anymore. Not that she knew of anyway. She wanted to know what it was, but she knew, if Ronnie had something bottled up, then extracting that information would be like trying to get blood from a stone.

''I'm going to go watch TV.'' Ronnie yawned as she spoke. Roxy would normally offer to go watch it with her. This was mainly so she could be in her sisters presence to keep an eye on her, but she wanted to talk to her aunty Peggy. The wise old women each family member seemed to go to for advice. She spoke a lot of sense and Roxy knew that she would probably be able to help.

''Ok, I will be down stairs if you need anything ok?'' Roxy spoke as if it was more of a statement than a question. Her eyes followed Ronnie as she walked out of the room leaving her alone in the kitchen to just think for a couple of minutes.

There was so much going through Roxy's head. What if Ronnie wasn't coping? What if she wouldn't cope once the baby is here? What secret was she keeping from Roxy?. All Roxy wanted to do was wrap her big sister up in cotton wool. She knew this whole situation could get very difficult, and with the way Ronnie bottled things up, would she be able to notice it? Roxy shook every thought out of her head as she walked downstairs. The bar was quiet, yet it was only 9:30pm. Walking over to Peggy, who was filing her nails, Roxy tapped her on the shoulder.

''Ooh darlin'', you gave me a fright' Peggy jumped slightly at the gentle touch from her youngest niece. ''Bit quiet in here ent it'' she added.

''Uh yeah, think I'm gunna shut early to be honest. No point staying open for two customers'' There was a tone of disappointment from Roxy's words and her facial expression mimicked her words.

''Alright love, you go upstairs and I will lock up, I will be up in a minute for a chat'' Peggy knew that something was wrong with Roxy. She didn't exactly hide it well, but Peggy was more than willing to try and help out. This is how the Mitchell's worked. They could tell a mile off if something was wrong with their relative and would go all out to try and help in any way possible.

Roxy exited the bar and made her way back upstairs. She walked over to the living room door and gently pushed it open. She could see Ronnie had fallen asleep on the sofa whilst watching TV. She must have been shattered. Ronnie never just fell asleep on the sofa unless she was drunk, and clearly, she hadn't been. Roxy walked over to her sister and just stared at her. She noticed Ronnie's eyes were red and blotchy. It was obvious she had been crying. Roxy's faced turned to a look between confusion and sadness. She thought her big sister was happy, but this proved that she obviously wasn't. Roxy grabbed the blanket from the arm of the sofa, placed it gently over Ronnie, and kissed her on the forehead. ''its gunna be ok'' she whispered into her sisters ear. Roxy then turned off the TV and the light and left the room, pulling the door closed behind herself.

Roxy was sat at the kitchen table sipping on a glass of vodka, when Peggy came up stairs and joined her in the same room, sighing slightly as she sat down. She took off her heels and replaced them with her deep red slippers.

''Right, now I know there is something you wanna talk about, so are you gunna spill or am I going to have to guess?'' Peggy blabbed out. She leaned back in her chair, guessing this could be a long conversation. She was tired herself, and would have liked nothing more than an early night, but family is family, and they always stuck to the Mitchell's number one rule.

Roxy leant forward with her mouth open as if to start speaking but no words came out. Her brain has just froze, and everything she wanted advise on had slipped out of her mind. This was down to how she has just witnessed her sister. She sat there thinking for a few seconds, praying for words to actually come out of her mouth. It wasn't usual for Roxy to be lost for words. Eventually, after a few looks of confusion from her Aunty Peggy, Roxy managed to speak. ''I'm worried about Ronnie''; She blurted. Pulling herself back in her chair as she felt some kind of relief for actually managing to speak.

''I thought she was fine. Happy infact. You don't need to worry about her Rox, I'm sure she is fine.'' Peggy tried to speak comfortingly to her. She hadn't noticed anything different about her eldest niece, and didn't understand where this worry was coming from in Roxy.

''She isn't though. She has been crying Aunty Peg. She is keeping something from me and I don't like it. We are all she has got, and if she cant tell us, then she isn't telling anyone, and we both know what happens when she is bottling something up.'' Sheer worry seared through Roxy's voice as she spouted it all out. She wanted her Aunty to realise, to notice that something really wasn't right with Ronnie, but it didn't seem to be working.

''Look love, we all have secrets. Your sister knows you're here for her, so if she wanted you to know, then she would tell you'' Her words didn't appear to be going down well with Roxy who just sat staring into her empty glass, with the occasional eye roll and a sigh. Peggy chose to ignore it. She was too tired for this and she thought deep down that Ronnie was fine.

Peggy made her way out of the kitchen and to her bedroom. Roxy wasn't far behind, turning off the kitchen light and exiting the room, before making her way to the living room where Ronnie was still asleep. Roxy sat on the coffee table, legs and arms crossed. She watched as her sister slept, breathing heavily and looking uncomfortable. She couldn't resist, she just needed to wake Ronnie and talk. Softly grabbing Ronnie's arm, Roxy gave her a little shake. ''Ron''. When Ronnie didn't wake, Roxy tried again, just a little rougher this time.

Ronnie stirred slightly, opened her eyes just a tiny bit and stretched. ''Urgh, Rox. I was asleep'' she yawned as she gave her little sister an evil look.

''Ron, What's going on? Clearly something is wrong, and we are not moving until I find out what you are keeping from me'' Roxy looked like a stroppy teenager as looked over at Ronnie. Like a kid that had just been told they couldn't have any sweets. This wasn't a new expression, it was all too well know to Ronnie, who, after 32 years of having her little sister, still wasn't sure how to handle it, apart from to give in. ''And don't try and fob me off by saying that nothing is wrong, cuz I'm not stupid Ron. I'm your sister, and I'm just looking out for you. So tell me''

What could Roxy possibly know? Why was she saying all this when Ronnie had always put on a brave face. Maybe her sister was more observant that she thought. Ronnie couldn't say a word. She just looked into her little sisters eyes and burst into tears.

[[this wasn't exactly how I wanted it, and I know its pants, and I know its long when it probably didn't have to be this long, but please Read and Review…any constructive criticism would be greatly received.]]