It was early on a Saturday morning and supposedly meant to be a really hot day so Rachel and Chris had decided to take the kids out for the day.
Rachel wanted to go to one of her favourite places, down by the river where they could ride their bikes, have a BBQ and swim in the river if they wanted to.
Rachel was down in the kitchen packing up food for the BBQ that they were going to have for lunch when Amy walked in to get her breakfast.
She wasn't very happy that she had to work on the nicest day of the year. Really she wanted to be going out with everyone else.
Amy worked as a waitress in a nearby cafe.
She was trying to save up as much money as she could for Uni, because the student loan that she would be getting didn't even cover the cost of her accommodation.
Obviously Rachel and Chris were going to help her out too but Amy wanted to save some money of her own, as much as she hated working in there.
She didn't enjoy it at all, it was really stressful and she couldn't wait to leave now.
Rachel knew how much she didn't like it and was proud of how hard she'd worked over the summer.
"Only a few more weeks and you never have to that cafe again if you don't want to" Rachel said reading her daughter's mind.
"I can't wait""
"I know you can't, what do you want for breakfast?"
"I'm just going to have some satanic"
"I thought you didn't like it anymore"
"I went off it for a while but I'm eating it again now" Amy said going to the cupboard
"I'll get it for you love" Rachel offered
"Thanks Mum" Amy said before sitting at the breakfast bar
Obviously she was quite capable of doing it herself but her Mum did still look after her quite a bit and she knew how much she would miss being around her when she was at Uni.
Rachel sat down and drank her coffee while Amy ate her breafast. Rachel wasn't really one for breakfast but she always tried her best to eat it wanting to set a good example for the kids but she was planning to wait until everyone else was up.
After Amy had eaten her breakfast she went upstairs and packed her bag and put some before leaving for work.
Once she'd gone Rachel decided to wake the others up. Chris was on a bike ride but she thought he'd be back soon and she didn't want to be too late leaving.
Rachel was surprised that Ruby was still asleep as usually she'd be up by 8 but she had had a late night last night as they'd been at some of Rachel and Chris' friend's house for dinner.
Rachel woke Chloe up first and then went into Ellie's bedroom but she found she was already awake and getting ready.
"You''re already up, well done love"
"What time are we leaving today Mum"
"We're aiming to leave at 10" Rachel said although she knew it would probably be later because trying to get so many kids out of the house never was an easy task.
Rachel went in and woke Philip up next and then Ruby.
She was quite sleepy to start with but once she was up she was her usual bubbly self in no time.
Ruby had to rush to the loo but then came back into her bedroom.
"Let's get you dressed, do you want to wear a pair of shorts?"
"No I want to wear a dress"
"But we're going on the bikes, you won't be able to ride properly in a dress, even I'm wearing shorts look"
Eventually Ruby agreed so Rachel got her pretty floral shorts out to go with her pale pink top.
Rachel rubbed her Sun cream in for her and then got her dressed.
"There you go, you're free to do as you want for a bit now"
Rachel went back to her bedroom to pack up a bag .
Chris was in there in just a towel with yourself hair having just got out the shower. Rachel did still find her husband extremely attractive even after 20 years of marriage.
"Like what you see there do you Miss Mason?"
"I'm certainly not complaining, no" Rachel said coming over and giving him a kiss
It didn't laSt long as there bedroom door soon swung open and Chloe was stood behind it
"That is not something I want to see, and especially not first thing on a morning"
"We're in our bedroom and the door was closed, anyway what was it you wanted?"
"You wanted me to give you a bikini to put in your bag, although I don't really see the point there's no way I'll be going in the river it's always bloody freezing"
"It's better to have it just in case" Rachel said taking the bikini from her daughter and putting it into her big bag
Once everyone was ready and had breakfast they got into the cars ready to leave.
It only took about half an hour to get there but that seemed like a lot longer with Ruby's continuous questions and Chloe's horrendous music playing (in Rachel's ears anyway)
"We've let you have your music on, now we,'ll just listen to the radio for the last bit of the journey" Rachel said before unplugging Chloe's phone
Chloe rolled her eyes but didn't put up a fuss.
When they got there Rachel had to go straight to the loo with Ruby who had apparently been desperate for the best part of the journey.
When they returned to the car all the bikes were off so Rachel quickly checked everyone had Sun cream on and then they headed to the bike trail.
Ruby had only been riding her bike for a months without stabilizers so Rachel knew she'd probably have to go quite slowly with her, but luckily the route was completely flat.
They started the bike ride and it was really pretty with the Sun shining through the trees.
Although it was a bit of a hassle taking the bikes, they all loved it when they were out and Rachel didn't know why they didn't make the effort more often.
Amy would've loved it too if she was here.
They'd been riding for about 20 minutes when Ruby nearly crashed into a dog coming the other way, causing her to loose balance and fall off her bike.
Rachel got off her bike as quickly as she could and rushed over to Ruby.
"Chris Ruby's fallen off her bike" Rachel shouted
He only just heard because he was a little way ahead
The others all cycled back to check Ruby was okay.
Rachel had Ruby sat on her knee.
She was crying quite a lot but from shock more than anything. She had a few grazed on her knees and the her hands but nothing too serious luckily.
"Do you want to go ?" Rachel asked her
Ruby have a of her head feeling quite sorry for herself.
"We're going to turn but you lot can carry on"
Chris went on cycling with the others but Rachel and Ruby took a slow cycle back to the car park.
They put their bikes back before going into the park. Ruby had forgotten all about her little accident by now.
Rachel watched Ruby play until the others got back. They weren't too much longer because it was getting really hot and no-one really felt like riding when it was so hot.
Once the bikes were back on the cars they went over to the big green area.
The kids all started to play some ball games so Rachel and Chris took the opportunity to sit down for a bit just the two of them.
Ruby had been having so much fun playing ping pong with Phil that she hadn't realised that she needed to go to the toilet really bad.
She ran back to Rachel and Chris really quickly.
"Auntie Rachel I really need to go to the toilet"
Rachel sensed the urgency so got up straight away and the two of them went immediately.
Chloe heard Ruby and decided she needed to go too so quickly caught the two of them up.
"How come you left it so long Ruby?"
"I didn't realise I was so desperate because I was having fun"
They got to the toilets and Chloe and Ruby both went inside, Rachel decided she may as well go while they were there too.
When Chloe was on the loo she realised she'd her period. Even though she'd started her periods a couple of years ago now she still wasn't regular which she found really annoying.
She was planning to go in the river so she hoped her Mum would have some tampons with her.
Chloe came out where Rachel was already washing her hands.
"Mum" Chloe said looking around to make sure there was no-one else in the toilets "have you got any tampons with you?"
"No I don't, sorry"
"Have you got any pads then?"
"No, I know I normally carry stuff around with me but I haven't brought my bag with me, have you ?"
"Yeah" Chloe said sounding Fed up
"We can nip to the shops then to buy some"
"No it's fine you don't have to, I'll just use toilet roll or something"
"You don't want to be uncomfortable for the rest of the day, it won't take long"
Rachel realised Ruby had been in for quite a while so wondered if she hadn't got there in time.
"Do you want to go on back love?" Rachel said to Chloe
Chloe left so Rachel went over to the cubicle Ruby was in.
"Are you okay in there Ruby"
"Yes"
"Have you had an accident?"
"No"
"Are you sure because it doesn't matter if you have, I've brought spare clothes for you in the bag"
"I haven't, I'm still on the toilet"
"Oh sorry love"
Ruby came out a couple of minutes later and washed her hands before the two of them went back to join the others.
"Me and Chloe are just going to nip to Tesco and pick up some marshmallows that we can do over the BBQ"
The two of them quickly went and when they got back the kids all decided to go in the river for a bit.
Rachel got Ruby changed and when she looked up she saw Ellie still hadn't started to get changed and Rachel could see she was worried about having to get changed in front of everyone.
"I'm just going to go to the toilets to get changed"
"They're all horrible and dirty, you're better off just getting chsnged here I'll hold a towel around you if you like" Rachel said knowing how self-concious Ellie was starting to get.
Kellie was still a bit unsure but in the end managed to put her bikini on with Rachel holding the towel around her.
Everyone went in the river to swim apart from Rachel who took the opportunity to read her book.
Rachel noticed Ruby was starting to shiver so decided it was time for her to get out. She found her towel and then went down to the river.
Putting her feet in was bad enough so Rachel didn't know how the others had managed to get their in, especially when they didn't have wetsuits on.
"Ruby I think you need to get out love,you're absolutely freezing"
"No I don't want to get out yet" Ruby protested.
"You're shivering"
"I'm not getting out until everyone else gets out"
The others had had enough by now anyway so decided to get out as well.
wrapped a towel around Ruby who was shivering loads and had blue lips.
Chris decided to get the BBQ going whilst Rachel sat cuddling Ruby trying to get her warmed up.
"Auntie Rachel"
"Yes Ruby"
"What are we having for tea?"
"We haven't even had lunch yet" Rachel said laughing
"But what are we having?" Ruby persisted she always did like what was going on
"We won't have much because it's 2 now and we'll probably eat lots now so how does spaghetti on toast sound?"
"Yummy"
"Good"
Chris had a lot of trouble lighting the disposable ABBas that Rachel had bought and it was Philip that managed to get them lot in the end
"Lucky you're here Phil or we'd have ended up with chips from the cafe"
"I'm so hungry" Ellie moaned
"When are you not hungry?"
The food was nearly cooked so Rachel started cutting the bread rolls.
"Food's ready" Chris shouted and the kids were all there in a flash
They sat down on the picnic blankets to eat all enjoying the last days of freedom before it was back to school.
After they'd eaten they had a game of frisbee, even Rachel joined in this time.
At work Amy wasn't having nearly as good a day.
The only thing getting her through was the thought of some of her friends coming over tonight to go in the hot tub they'd recently got.
Amy was meant to finish work at 4 but it was 4:15 by the time she actually left.
She walked outside and the Sun hit her. Amy got her sunglasses out of her bag and put before going back to her car looking forward to getting out of the black clothes she was wearing.
Amy drove home and when she got there she realised she was the only one. Just as she walked through the door Amy got a text from her Mum saying they were just about to leave.
Amy went straight up to her bedroom and got her work clothes off.
She decided to have a quick shower and then she put her with a pair of shorts and a crop top on over the top.
Amy then grabbed her book and went out in the garden to get a bit of Sun, she was so relieved to have finished work for the day, she was really tired from it though and ended up falling asleep.
She was still sleeping when the others got home.
Rachel found her daughter sleeping but she decided to wake her up as she was in direct sunlight and it was more than likely that she wouldn't have Sun cream on.
"I think I must have fallen asleep" Amy said when she opened her eyes and saw Rachel and Ruby stood there
"Me and Ruby think so too judging by the fact you were snoring your head off"
"Was I really?"
"No I'm only teasing you"
Amy played n the garden for a bit with Ruby whilst Rachel got everything unpacked.
Once Rachel had everything unpacked she had a shower before deciding to get Ruby bathed.
She ran a bath for Ruby before calling her up.
Ruby came running up the stairs and into the bathroom.
"How on earth have you got so wet?"
"We were having a water fight and the Chloe got a bucket of water and tipped it over me just before you told me to come in"
"Right so now the carpets will have a trail of water on them I suppose"
"Sorry Auntie Rachel"
"It was only water, it will dry anyway get those wet clothes off and jump in"
Ruby did as her Auntie said and then started playing in the bath. She was getting a lot better but night times still weren't great.
She hoped Ruby would start being able to sleep through the night again or she would be tired when she was back at school if she couldn't lie in on a morning.
Rachel let her play for a bit before washing her hair and then getting her out.
"Are you hungry yet?"
"I'm starving"
"Let's get you sorted and then I'll get you "
Rachel sat at the table with Ruby whilst she ate her spaghetti on toast and Amy had some too. No-one else was hungry yet.
"What time are the girls coming over?"
"About 7"
"Is anyone driving home tonight?"
"No everyone's staying over apart from Molly. Her Mum's picking her up at 11 because she's working tomorrow. Why?"
"I was just wondering that's all"
Once they'd eaten Amy went up to her bedroom and Rachel and Ruby went into the lounge where the others had a film on"
It wasn't long before Amy's friends had come. It was going to be the last time they all got together before Uni so even though Amy was looking forward to the evening she wasn't looking forward to it ending.
"Shall we go straight in the hot tub? It's all ready" Amy said
They went outside with their towels and took their clothes off before getting in.
"You're so lucky having a hot tub" one of Amy's friends said
"Trust Mum and Dad to get it when I'm about to move out"
"How come they bought it anyway?"
" was Dad wh got it actually, he bought it without telling Mum which she wasn't too happy about but she soon changed her mind once she'd been in"
"I'm not surprised"
The 're chatting away when Rachel came outside with a tray with glasses of prosecco on"
"What's this for Mum?"
"It was on offer earlier when I was in Tesco and I thought of you girls"
"Thanks Mum" Amy said taking a glass off the tray
Rachel left again leaving the girls to it.
"Your Mum's Amy, I wish mine was like yours"
"I'm sure you don't, living with your head teacher can be extremely annoying at times"
"Well she's not your head teacher anymore, we're off to Uni now"
The girls were all really excited about going too.
Their conversation soon turned to Uni after that.
"Are you going to the pill Amy?"
"I hadn't really thought about it to be honest, why?"
"Well don't you think you should you know just in case"
Amy realised she was the only one there not on some contraception, but she hadn't been before so didn't really see why that needed to change now.
"I' planning on sleeping anything like that so 't really need to do.I?"
"Well surely it's better to be safe than sorry"
Amy wasn't a virgin, she'd had sex in year 11 with her boyfriend. But they broke up before they started their GCSE exams so she hadn't had sex since. Since then lots of her friends had gone on the pill but she'd never even considered it.
" " Amy said thinking about what her friends had said and starting to wonder if maybe she should go on the pill.
Rachel came out a bit later and topped up their glasses. They were planning on making cocktails later and just having a really girly night, like they used to do all the time.
Rachel saw the time and realised it was time to get Ruby to bed so took the little girl upstairs to the bathroom.
Ruby cleaned her teeth and went for a wee before going to her bedroom.
She picked up her hairbrush and started brushing her hair.
"What are you doing Ruby?" Rachel asked knowing she was trying to put off having to go to bed.
"Brushing my hair"
"Yes I can see that, but what I why aren't you in bed?"
"I need to brush my hair because it's all gangly"
"No it's not, into bed please"
"Fine" Ruby said before putting the hairbrush down and getting into bed.
"Have you locked the door?"
"Yes"
Ruby had got into a habit of asking this before she went to bed and couldn't get to she knew the door .
Ruby laid down so Rachel got her comfy and then sat with her for.a bit.
"Night night my love" Rachel whispered before kissing Ruby goodnight and getting up.
Ruby was nearly asleep so didn't reply.
Rachel's went downstairs and joined the others who were watching X Factor.
After they'd had enough in the hot tub they went straight inside. Despite it being a really nice day it had turned really the evening.
Amy let her friends have showers. It didn't take long because there were three to use.
Once they were all in their pyjamas they went back downstairs.
Rachel was in there getting some nibble bits together for their tea.
"Thanks for the bubbles Mum"
"That's okay darling, there's in the fridge. What are you up to now?"
"We're going to make some cocktails"
"Are you now? Well I just made your Dad and me a gin and tonic so I know how much alcohol we've got in the cupboard" Rachel said knowing her daughter could get a bit carried away sometimes
"Don't worry we won't have too much" Amy said smiling, her Mum didn't know that her friends had brought drink them too.
Once Rachel left Amy got a couple of jugs out for them to make the .
They had a lot of fun creating their own cocktails and they ended up tasting really nice.
Amy in for Rachel and Chris for them to try and even they thought it tasted nice.
Amy went the kitchen and joined her friends at the table, they were planning on playing some drinking games.
They were having a great night but Amy noticed her friend, Caitlin, was being quite quiet and not really her usual self.
"I'm just going to the loo" Caitlin said
Amy left it a minute before saying she was nipping upstairs.
She hadn't realised quite how tipsy she was until she stood up and tried to walk.
Amy went into her bedroom and saw her entire suite door was shut so presumed Caitlin had gone in there.
When Caitlin came out Amy went to her wardrobe to make it look like she'd come up to put a hoodie on.
"Are you okay Caitlin? You seem a bit quiet"
"Yeah I'm fine thank you"
"You seem like you've got something on your mind"
"I' thinking about Jordan"
Jordan was Caitlin's boyfriend and they'd been together for about a year.
"What about him?"
"If we're going to work through Uni, with me being in Edinburgh and the way down in Exeter I just don't know if we'll be able to do it"
"As long as you want to make it work I'm sure you can"
"That's the thing I don't know if I want it to"
"What do you mean?"
"I think I want to start fresh at Uni, I' be worrying about whether he's got with other Exeter. We really are going to be so far apart, nearly opposite ends of the country"
"So do you think you're going to break up with him?"
"I think I am" Caitlin said realising that's what she wanted to do after talking it through with Amy
"Just make sure it's what you definitely want before you do something you regret"
"Don't worry I will. Thanks Amy"
"I didn't really do anything"
"Yes you did, I' to miss you so much Amy"
"I'm going to miss you too, we can still talk all the time though just not in person"
"It's going to be so weird"
"I know we're all going to be in different places"
The girls talked for a bit longer before going back down to join the others.
"What've you two been doing? You were ages"
"Just talking"
Caitlin seemed a lot happier after her conversation with Amy and was enjoying the night a lot more.
Molly got picked up at 11 and when she'd gone the girls decided to put a film on. They were sleeping in the lounge so went in there.
Rachel and Chris were still watching the TV in there but sid they were going up to bed now anyway.
Rachel said goodnight to her daughter before going up to bed. She checked on all of the kids before going into her bedroom just like she did every night.
She was pleased to see that Ruby was sound asleep and she looked peaceful.
Rachel got ready for bed before climbing in next to her husband.
She dropped off quite quickly snuggled into Chris but she woke up in the the night and couldn't stop coughing so she had to go downstairs to get a glass of water.
When she got down there she found Chloenin the kitchen filling up a hot water bottle.
"Is your stomach hurting love?"
"Yeah" Chloe sighed
"You should've woken me, I'd have filled it up for you"
"I didn't want to wake you"
"I wouldn't have minded"
Once Rachel had got her water and Chloe had filled up her hot water bottle they both went back to bed andslept through until the morning.