Jay

I slumped onto the staffroom sofa and glanced at the clock, I still had four hours to go till the end of my shift. It had been a particularly busy day in the ED, well morning but it felt like it had been so much longer. I sighed before getting up and flicking the switch on the kettle.

"Is there one going for me?" I smiled as soon as I heard her voice.

"Depends," I turned away from the kettle to see Emily walking towards me.

"On what," The cheeky glint in her eye turning my stomach into jelly. Crap now I had to think of something.

"Dinner?" I asked hoping that she would say yes. I already knew where I wanted to take her, I had it all planned out. I was just waiting for the right time to ask, this seemed to be it.

"Depends," she said cocking her head to one side as she grinned at me.

"On what," I couldn't contain my smile and it widened to match hers.

"Where were going?"

"That would be a surprise." I teased but was still unwilling to tell her where I was taking her.

"Really?" she questioned her eyebrows rising mischievously.

"Yes, really," I wasn't backing down I wanted it to be a surprised.

"Well it looks like I'm making my own coffee then doesn't it." I stood staring at her for a second wondering what just happened. Not knowing quiet what to do next I stood in the same position as she moved around me and stole the now boiled water from the kettle and poured it into her mug.

"Hey," I regained control of my body.

"You snooze, you loose." She replied looking over her shoulder at me as she sunk into the sofa. I looked at her disbelievingly before turning back to the kettle and refilling it. Where did that go wrong?

Kirsty

Nita was at school and Warren had gone out somewhere I think it might have been to the shops, I'm not sure but I did know that I had been left alone with Kathy and she wasn't happy with me. I'd done everything she asked, I'd stayed silent for this whole time never uttering a word to anyone apart from her. I'd ignored my husband and daughter on her word because she'd threatened to expose Warren. Thinking back on it now it seems stupid for course she wasn't going to expose him. She'd known this whole time and never stuck up for me once. She'd always had his back but I couldn't work out why she was doing this. Why was it so important to her for me to stay silent? I had no idea and now she was shouting at me, her face red and crunched angrily. Spit flew from her mouth and she reminded me of spike my family's dog when he played tug of war. What had I done to make her so furious? I'd never seen her like this before.

"You think I don't know." I stared at her blankly not having the foggiest about what she was on about. Lucky she didn't stop for an answer.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid that I wouldn't notice?" still my blank look continued and as she paused for an answer I started to panic realising I didn't have one.

"Don't play dumb with me, I know about your little mid-night meetings with Nita and I'm telling you now they have to stop." I knelt up on the sofa to make us of more equal height, my forehead on level with her nose. I tilted my head back trying to show her that I wasn't afraid of her and looked daringly into her eyes. I cut across her speech.

"But how, if I can't talk to her how can I tell her to stop?" I questioned angrily.

Rage filled her eyes and I was so fixated on them I didn't see her fist flying towards me. I heard the sickening smack of her palm against my cheek as the force knocked me sideways onto the sofa and I found myself curled up in a ball trying to protect myself from any further blows that might or might not be coming. I let the tears fall over my cheeks not caring anymore whether she saw them or not. She was still stood over me as I let out a loud sob. This was too much I couldn't do this anymore. I wanted to speak, to move, to do my job, see my friends but most of all comfort my daughter. I carried on sobbing loudly and she just stood over me looking down on the mess that I'd become, and I just didn't care any longer.

Warren

I struggled through the front door with arms full of shopping. Mom had given me a long list of groceries she wanted me to get; the only trouble now was finding cupboard space to put them in. I dumped the plastic bags in the hall and started to make my way back out to the car when I heard crying coming from the living room. I swapped directions and made my way into the living room unsure of what I was going to find. Kirsty hadn't done anything for the past couple of days but was crying a step forwards or backwards? I turned the corner into the living room and was shocked at the scene in front of me.

My mom was stood angrily over my bawling wife who showed no signs of stopping.

"What happened?" I asked concernedly, the change in Kirsty scaring me slightly. Mom looked up at me guiltily before walking away from Kirsty to look out of the window. I went to Kirsty's side not knowing what to do.

"Kirst, it's me." I spoke softly. I brushed the hair that had fallen across her face and at once noticed the red mark across her cheek.

"Mom you didn't," I stood and turned to face her, "How could you be so stupid?"

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to get her to open up. It's so frustrating, she's so frustrating. I lost my temper, it won't happen again."

"How we going to explain that, bruises don't magically appear and since she hasn't moved since she got home you better get thinking." After everything I've held back she could have just ruined it. What was she doing hitting Kirsty in the first place?

Nita

I couldn't sleep; all I could think about was my mum. She was sat down stairs in the dark by herself. I didn't know what she had been through in that hospital but for her to act like this it must have been awful. I pulled back the covers and tip toed down the stairs carefully not to make anyone aware of my movements. I was unsure how grandma would react if she found me out of bed. It had only been a week and already my home wasn't mine anymore. I have no idea how mum put up with living with grandma from the time her parents kicked her out to some time after my first birthday when they found a house of their own. She really had lived through hell all these years and she had put up with it mostly for me. I opened the door slowly peeking around it to find her still sat in the same spot. I placed my hand on her shoulder hoping that she would turn around and greet me but she didn't. I moved in front of her but still her gaze didn't falter. I sat with her for a couple of minuets before I headed back upstairs to bed.

The rest of my night was restless. I tossed and turned trying to sleep and expel thought from my mind but I just couldn't sleep. I was thinking of mum and what would happen if she continued to make no progress. They thought I hadn't heard them earlier when they were talking about her in the kitchen. They were talking about their options, but basically they were running out of them. If she carried on on this path with out making any effort or improvement then they would have no choice but to section her. She couldn't carry on being vacant and not eating and sleeping and to them it's the only way to go from here. They wanted to take her away and lock her in some unit for crazy people and dad was going to let them. He would have grandma move in with us permanently and we would carry on lying to each other and dancing around the facts. I knew he had been hurting mum I just don't know how everybody else doesn't. She'd been in hospital surely they had seen her injuries so why were they not questioning him? Why were they being nice to him? He must have fed them another story just like he told Adam that crap about mum's parents. That nightmare was because of him, it was about him; I'm sure of it, not what he told Adam. He was just covering his tracks, making sure that he would never be found out and making it impossible for mum to leave him and to push a wedge between her and Adam.

I've got no idea how the hell he'd got away with it but he had but he was going to have a hard time trying to explain the latest bruise on her cheek. She hadn't moved from her stop on the sofa so how was he going to explain that one away. No doubt he would though and they would lap his story up like a dog laps up water on a hot day.