AN: Thanks to everyone for the reviews and for your patience once again. This chapter was going to be longer but it's a reasonable length and this was a good place to end it, so I decided to split it up so that the story is 20 chapters long. Which means, yes, the next chapter is the last.

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The house was awoken by a loud knocking. Emily roused from her sleep and listened to her parents arguing over the noise. She turned to check on Katie, who was still asleep. The clock on the bedside table read five am. Emily groaned and pulled the covers over her head until she hear a familiar voice followed by her fathers.

"Emily is asleep like the rest of the bloody world, come back later."

"But I need to see Emily," the voice cried out, small sobs reaching Emily's ears. She pulled the covers back and slid into her dressing gown before following the sound of the voices.

"I'd like you to leave now," Emily's mum stated, anger in her voice. But the sobbing just got louder.

"Mum, dad?" Emily muttered entering the lounge, searching the small space for the woman with blonde hair that she'd expected to find.

"We're dealing with this love. Come on, out," Rob stated, wrapping his hand around the female's arm.

"Dad don't, Gina, what's going on?" Emily asked, reaching out to comfort her girlfriend's mum.

The fact that Gina was in her house in the middle of the night worried her. Something had to have happened for her to track Emily down and the longer her parents tried to fight with her, the longer it would take to find out what was going on.

"I got a message on my phone from Naomi," she cried out, clinging tightly to Emily's body. "She's catching a bus."

"Is she related to that girl?" Jenna snapped, looking anything but happy.

Emily ignored her mother, "Catching a bus where?" her body shook with fear.

"I don't know, she just said a bus out of Bristol. I sent one back asking her not to go, I even rang her but she didn't answer."

"Emily, what is going on?" Rob interrupted, this woman can't just come into our house in the middle of the night."

"She's not some woman dad, she's Naomi's mum. They're fucking homeless, remember?" Emily shouted, before turning back to Gina. "When did this happen? When did you get the message?"

"Only half an hour ago. I've not been able to sleep very well since she left. She's got nowhere to go Emily, I'm so worried."

"How about I make you some tea?" Jenna offered, suddenly less bothered by the invasion.

"Th, thank you, you're very kind." Gina smiled through her tears, before following her towards the kitchen.

"Come on kiddo," Rob muttered, placing an arm on Emily's shoulder, which she quickly pulled away from.

"I have to go to the bus station, I have to find her."

"Now love, it's the middle of the night, buses don't run this late. Besides I think we should let her mother deal with this."

"No, I won't fucking leave her out there, I won't do it."

She was angry at her parents for their lack of support, she was scared to lose Naomi and she was frustrated because even though she could walk it was a half mile away. She regretted not accepting the offer of driving lessons for her birthday. She felt sick in the pit of her stomach.

"I told her to leave," she cried out, her body shaking as tears escaped her eyes. "I threw her out when she had nowhere to go. I fucking put her in this situation."

"You didn't make her homeless," Rob reminded her, patting her shoulder uncomfortably.

"No, but I didn't let her stay when she needed me to."

"You can't blame yourself for this."

"I don't care if I do dad, just let me go to the bus station. I need to do this. I can't live with myself if I don't try."

"Okay," he nodded, "I'll drive you."

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The bus station wasn't warm, but compared to the outside, it was like an oven. Naomi clung to the edges of her t-shirt, wishing she had the jacket she'd left at Emily's. She was cold, she was hungry and she just wanted to cry. Tears had fallen a few times since Emily had thrown her out, but for the past couple of hours her tears had run dry.

"Is everything okay?" a man wearing a National Express jacket asked, Naomi just nodded and moved away from him.

The screen listed many destinations that buses travelled to, each one looked tempting, each one looked frightening. She didn't know what she'd find on the other side and she suspected it wouldn't be much better than Bristol.

"Going anywhere nice?" a woman asked, clutching a ticket with a relaxed hand.

Strangers liked to talk, Naomi didn't. She just shrugged her shoulders and moved away from the woman. For the middle of the night there were a lot of people around. The clock read 5.35 and Naomi realised it wasn't that early anymore. People would be getting up for work, starting their day. She found the next bus and stepped towards the ticket booth. It didn't matter where it went to, it didn't matter how far it was, as long as it was somewhere else. The thought of being in Bristol any longer tore her in two. Emily was still in her heart, even if she had been angry at her. She had lied, she understood why Emily had done it. Her mother on the other hand worried her; she was a mess and without Naomi she suspected she'd end up in a worse mess.

"Exeter please," Naomi whispered, handing the money to the woman at the other side of the desk.

The ticket in her hand and less than a pound change, Naomi walked across the main entrance. There was a vending machine where she bought a small bag of nuts and a bar of chocolate. The snacks felt good in her throat, making her ravenous, more so than she'd been before she ate them. She regretted it instantly. There were several gates leading to different coaches. Naomi walked down the corridor towards the final one, where her coach was due to leave from.

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The journey seemed to take a lot longer than Emily remembered the last time she'd taken a coach somewhere. She was impatient and quite frankly just worried. It frightened her that Naomi was going away when she had nothing and even though she'd appeared a lot stronger than Gina, she knew that deep down she was just as broken inside.

"It'll be alright love," Rob assured his daughter, tapping her leg for comfort.

Emily just shook her head, "I'm not so convinced."

Rob turned the radio on and they listened to the breakfast show on radio two. The person talking didn't interest her and by the way her dad kept glancing at her, she assumed he wasn't paying much attention either. She turned it off.

"There's a job going at the gym," Rob informed his daughter.

Emily frowned, "What?"

"It's only part time mind, to cover maternity leave at reception. I could offer it to that woman if it'd help."

"Yes, you could ask Gina when we get back," Emily nodded. "Thanks."

"But?" Rob asked, noticing the unconvinced look in Emily's eyes.

"It just doesn't solve all their problems does it, it doesn't give them a roof over their heads, just a bit of extra money."

"You can't solve all their problems love, it's not your job. It's Naomi's mum's. You can support your gir, Naomi, but you can't fix her family," Rob reminded her.

"I know," Emily sighed. "I just wish I could do more."

A vibration in Emily's pocket signalled her to the message that had arrived on her phone. She reached out and looked at it, her heart leaping about in her chest as she took in the information.

"How far away are we?"

"About ten minutes," Rob muttered, glancing at his daughter.

"Naomi's bus leaves at 6.10, we've got less than fifteen minutes," Emily noted, her hands shaking whilst she slid her phone back into her pocket.

"We'll make it," Rob stated, smiling at Emily with assurance.

The coach station was reasonably busy as it was after six. Emily rushed into the building, barely waiting for her dad who followed closely behind. She ran to the screens to search for which bus Naomi was due to catch. Rob finally caught up and helped her look.

"There," Rob muttered, pointing to a screen in the middle. "Exeter, 6.10."

The gate number wasn't familiar to Emily, but she looked for the signs and followed them, rushing through the small crowds as quickly as she could. Clocks were dotted around the building and Emily's heart leapt into her throat when she saw it reach 6.10. The gate was only a few metres away. The bus previously stationary was now moving backwards out of it's parking space and Emily slowed to a halt. It was too late. Emily could feel her knees growing weak as she fell forwards, her body being caught by her dad's arms. He held her, comforting her as she began to sob.

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AN: Please review...the story is nearly over, sad much. :'-(