"Hello." Imogen waved at Ava and Zara, who were busy splashing each other in the paddling pool, before joining Constance and Fleur, who were watching the activities from a well-shaded part of the garden.

'Hello Darling." Constance lifted her sunglasses and peered curiously at Imogen. "Where are they?"

"Abby's helping Lily get settled. I thought it was better to let them talk alone. I'll bring up some drinks in a little while so I can check on them then. Lily hasn't said much but it's obvious how upset she is."

"And Susan?"

"More angry than upset. Her mother's with her. I think she just needs a couple of days to get the anger out and it's good she realises it's better Lily isn't around for that. She also said that she thinks Lily needs some distractions and we know she'll get them here."

Before Constance could respond they were interrupted by a damp Ava and Zara running towards them.

"Where's Abby and Lily?", Ava asked.

"Come here love bugs, let me dry you off and we'll have a little chat."

Over glasses of lemonade, Constance and Imogen explained as best they could that Lily was upset because her Mama and Daddy wouldn't be living together anymore. In fact, her father would be moving back to live with his family in the Caribbean, for reasons that privately they would describe as running away.

"But why?" Ava wanted to know.

Imogen chose her words very carefully. How could she tell a five-year old that the marriage had broken down because Lily's mother had found her father in their bed with another woman? And apparently, she was not the first one who had caught his eye during their marriage.

"Well poppet, sometimes marriages don't work out. People start off loving each other but things change over time and they decide they shouldn't be together anymore."

Knowing exactly where their daughter's thoughts were going Constance stepped in to reassure her. "And that is very sad but we promise you, it won't happen to us."

"Are you sure?"

Constance smiled softly at her wife before answering Ava. "Absolutely positive little one. Mummy and I waited a long time to find each other and that meant we knew when we got married it was forever."

"Nothing would make me let your Mama go.", Imogen confirmed.

"Yeah, Mummy loves Mama.", Zara added. She wasn't exactly sure what everyone was talking about but this was completely clear to her.

"And I love her and the four of you very much."

Ava believed what her parents were telling her but she felt very sad for Lily, something her mothers were acutely aware of.

"Lily is going to stay this weekend and she'll stay a bit more than she already does while her mother is at work."

Susan Carter was a nurse who primarily worked weekends, something she had told Imogen she wanted to keep doing for now as it was well paid. Her own parents lived much further north and although they would help out when they could, she had been hugely relieved by Imogen's offer to take care of Lily when needed. And if there was ever a weeknight that Susan needed to work, Jamie and Sarah had also offered to step in.

"Can I see her?" Lily was very popular with the girls and Ava especially was close to her big sister's best friend.

"Tell you what, you both help me bring them up some snacks and you can say hello. But remember, she might want to spend a bit of time alone with Abby."

As it turned out Lily was more than happy to be distracted by her friend's younger sisters. She gratefully accepted the quick hug from Zara and the much longer one from Ava.

"See, you always have us." Abby joined in by wrapping her arms around the friend she'd had since they were two years old. "We love you, Lil."

"Thank you.", Lily whispered. She may have felt like her whole home life had imploded, but she was very thankful to have Abby and her family.

It was a quieter than usual Friday evening in the Drill house. Under the circumstances Constance and Imogen had put their usual date night off, something Tom and Amelia completely understood and had used the opportunity to take a weekend away for themselves.

After a dinner of salmon pasta and salad which Lily only picked at, they moved to the living room to watch TV. Before she sat down Imogen had a suggestion that she hoped would cheer their guest up a bit.

"Fancy a hold?", she asked indicating to Fleur.

"Yes please." Lily gave a genuine smile as the curious four-month-old was passed to her before being joined by Ava, who snuggled up against her side until bedtime.

"I think we'll head up as well.", Abby told her parents at the relatively early hour of 9:30. She didn't need to say anymore, they knew the two friends had a lot to talk about.

"Can't remember the last time everyone was tucked up in bed at this hour.", Imogen mused before leaning over to kiss Constance. "Maybe we should take advantage?"

Constance simply took Imogen's hand before leading her up the stairs. Then, after making sure Fleur was fast asleep, she joined her wife on the bed before moving in for another, deeper kiss.

"You know, I'd never…." Imogen murmured, pulling back to gaze into the darkened brown eyes.

"I know, I know.", Constance whispered, ghosting her fingers along Imogen's face. "And neither would I. I love you so much, too much to ever hurt you."

Imogen nodded before reaching up to help Constance remove her dress, desperate for the feeling of their bodies pressed together, groaning as her unspoken wish was granted and her lover began to pepper kisses along her jaw, down her throat and along her collarbone. They continued to touch and kiss each other for a long time, breaking the silence occasionally with requests and whispered words of desire.

"Mmmm." they moaned simultaneously as Constance slipped her fingers between Imogen's legs in a movement that was instantly mirrored.

"You feel so good, so wet, so perfect.",Imogen breathed into Constance's ear, gasping as their nipples brushed together and, wanting the feeling again, repeating the movement several times. For obvious reasons they didn't get the opportunity for these moments as often as they would like, which made the intimacy even sweeter.

Imogen's pleasure was making Constance's orgasm approach at a rapid rate but she was determined to stay focused on her partner rather than herself. She didn't have to wait long, the look on Imogen's face, as well as the clenching around her fingers, told her they were both on the edge. As they pressed their lips together they fell, at the same time catching the sounds of release between frantic kisses.

"Definitely never letting you go.", Imogen mumbled sometime later after Fleur's final night feed.

Constance smiled as warm arms tightened around her waist, allowing the soft even breath against her neck to lull her into a deep sleep.

It was just before 7 AM when they woke. Fleur may have been a good sleeper but a combination of a wet nappy and morning hunger had her wide awake and making her presence known.

"You go to Mummy little one and while she gives you your breakfast I'll make us some tea." Constance handed the freshly changed baby to her other parent before putting on her slippers and moving silently down the stairs.

To her surprise, she wasn't the first person up.

"Are you alright?"

As the teenager in front of her looked up she received her answer.

"Oh, my dear." Constance sat on the chair next to Lily and held her while she sobbed.

"I'm sorry." Lily eventually named down enough to speak. "I was okay. Abby and I talked a lot and eventually, I got some sleep but then I woke up and it all hit me again. How could he do that to us? Our family is broken and he's just running off to Jamaica, leaving my mother to pick up the pieces, it's not fair."

"No, it's not.", Constance agreed as she smoothed Lily's dark hair back. "But you know you've done nothing wrong here, neither has your mother. In fact, I think she's being very strong, you both are."

Lily gave a little smile. "She is strong. I just hate that she's been hurt. She really loved him and I thought he loved her too. Then I find out he's been cheating on her for years. I hate him."

This was a situation that unfortunately Constance could relate to. She had heard rumours of her own father's antics over the time he had been married to her mother, rumours that had been confirmed when she read her mother's diaries in later years. While it had never been a marriage built on love, Florence seemed to have been willing to give her all to being a wife and then a mother to the child she desperately wanted. Meanwhile, Duncan had carried on numerous affairs, the most notable one with the woman he had married a mere six weeks after his estranged wife's death.

To Lily's surprise, Constance did not tell her she shouldn't feel that way, that her father deserved her respect. Instead, she answered as frankly as she could.

"You've been badly hurt and you're also hurting on behalf of your mother, so how you're feeling right now is completely natural. And those feelings may change but only you can decide if he deserves your love and forgiveness."

Lily thought for a moment before speaking again. "Part of me is glad that he's going so far away, that I won't have to see him but part of me feels so angry that he gets to walk away."

"I understand that.", Constance reassured her. "Perhaps the distance will do you good but remember, you don't have to make any decisions right now. That includes deciding how you feel. And I know you have your mother but if you ever need to you can always talk to me or to Imogen."

"Of course you can." Once Fleur was finished, Imogen had carried her downstairs and from the part of the conversation she heard, understood exactly why her tea was taking so long.

"Thank you." Lily accepted Imogen's warm hug, already feeling brighter.

"You're welcome. How about we make some breakfast, maybe that will entice a certain friend of yours from her bed?", Constance suggested.

"She's not on her own.", Lily laughed. "Ava arrived at about 3 AM, the two of them were out for the count when I got up."

"That child.", Imogen sighed, though her eyes conveyed her mirth. "It's always musical beds when she's around."

Within a couple of minutes, Zara was also up and eager for her breakfast, so eager that she made it her business to go upstairs and drag her sleepy sisters out of bed so they could eat.

As Saturday's went it was pretty typical, filled with a trip to the supermarket, then the park before meeting up with Jamie, Sarah and the boys. It was only on the drive home that something seemed to change.

"Honey, you okay?" Imogen could tell something wasn't right with Abby. She had been staring at her phone for several minutes and didn't seem too pleased with whatever she was looking at.

"Hmmm? Oh yeah, sorry I was miles away." Abby gave a half smile before linking her arm through Lily's. "Ready to make some pizza?"

As much as she appeared to be enjoying the pizza and pamper night with her best friend, Imogen knew her eldest daughter well enough to know that all was not right in Abby's world. She waited until they were alone to ask her again and this time Abby seemed ready to share.

"I got a text from Peter earlier. He got called up to play a rugby match and wanted me to go. When I said I couldn't he got annoyed, he said I never seem to have time for him. I told him that spending this weekend with Lily was more important and that I couldn't just drop everything to watch boring rugby, especially when I wasn't even in the village."

"What did he say to that?'

"He just replied, 'Fine". Honestly, Mum, it's not like I don't spend time with him, I do, but this weekend Lily needs me more. And I don't want her to know about this so please don't say anything. You know she'd hate to think she's causing any problems and none of this is her fault, but she won't see that."

"I won't say anything.", Imogen promised. "What are you going to do about Peter?"

"Let him stew.", Abby shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I guess I'll see him at school on Monday and we'll talk then. Anyway, I'd better get back to Lil."

Imogen watched as Abby left the kitchen. She and Constance liked Peter but it was obvious to them both that his feelings for Abby ran deeper than hers did for him. It wasn't that she didn't care about him but she wasn't as caught up in being his girlfriend as he was in being her boyfriend. Her approach was one that her mothers agreed with, but in this case, it seemed almost inevitable that someone was going to get hurt.

The following day the family dropped Lily home before making their way back to the castle.

"Thank you so much." Susan still looked shattered but was clearly thrilled to have her daughter home again.

"Anytime.", Imogen told them both. "We'll see you next weekend Lily, maybe we can do some holiday planning?"

Lily had travelled to Italy with the Drills the previous summer and was very excited to have been invited to go to Portugal with them this year. Her mother had reassured her that she would be fine during the two week period. In fact, it worked out perfectly as she would be working during that time, allowing her to use her own holidays to spend with Lily.

"Call me if you need anything.", Abby Lily promise before they left.

"I will. Love you Abs."

"Love you, Lil."

The two girls hugged before Abby joined her sisters in waving goodbye to Lily and Susan as the car pulled away.

"Is that Peter?", Constance asked forty minutes later as she brought the car to a stop. Imogen had filled her in on the events of the day before and she was only half surprised to see the teenage boy waiting for Abby.

"Looks like it. I'm going to go speak to him, I'll be back for tea." Abby took a deep breath before opening the car door and walking towards where Peter was waiting.

"Hi, Abs."

"Hey. "

"Do you fancy a walk?", Peter suggested, suddenly very conscious of Abby's family being around.

"Yeah, a quick one. I need to be back for six."

They walked down the driveway towards the edge of the woods, not holding hands as they normally did and with an uneasy silence between them.

"I don't think you want to be my girlfriend do you?", Peter suddenly blurted out.

"What?" Abby stopped walking and stared at him. "Yes, I do."

"No. If you wanted to be my girlfriend you'd want to be with me more. Like yesterday at the rugby, the other boys had their girlfriends there but you were too busy."

"That's not fair.", Abby exclaimed. "My best friend needed me. Besides that, I was miles away."

After a moment Peter sighed. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example. But it seems like everyone else comes before me. Your sisters, Lily, your other friends, your art and clubs, even your cats. You're never around at the weekend and you have so much on during the week that I hardly get to see you."

"We spend time together in school.", Abby argued. "And the weekends I'm here."

"That might be enough for you but it's not for me.", Peter told her. "I want a girlfriend who can spend more time with me and I'm not sure you can do that."

"I feel like you're making me choose between you and everyone else in my life."

"No." Peter sighed. "I wouldn't do that, that's why I'm breaking up with you."

"You're what?"

"I'm sorry Abs, I just don't think we should be together anymore. I….."

Peter didn't get to finish whatever he wanted to say as Abby had turned on her heel and started to walk back towards the castle. He debated running after her but decided it was best to let her be. Instead, he walked back to where he had left his bike and, swallowing the lump in his throat, made his way home.

Meanwhile, Abby stomped back towards her second home, a mix of upset, anger and hurt causing hot tears to spill from her eyes. She hoped she would make it inside without anyone seeing her but luck was not on her side that day. Or perhaps it was.

"Abs?" As soon as she saw her Fenny came running over, quickly followed by Grissy. "What's the matter?"

"Peter, he, he…." Abby started before bursting into tears again.

"He what?" Fenny held her close. "What did he do?"

"He dumped me."

"Oh Abs." Grissy brushed the tears away. "Let's take you inside."

"No." Abby shook her head. "I don't want my sisters to see me upset." She knew Ava especially would be distraught to see her in this state.

"Okay.", Grissy smiled. "We'll go to our rooms, we can talk there."

After guiding Abby up the back stairs they sat her on the couch in their living area before making some tea.

"Thanks.", Abby whispered, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?", Fenny ventured.

It took a couple of false starts but eventually, Abby managed to get the story out. "I thought he was just annoyed with me, I didn't expect him to finish with me."

"Maybe he'll change his mind/" Grissy suggested, not sure what else to say.

Abby didn't respond, just stared into her mug. "No."

"Well, it's his loss.", Fenny stated emphatically. "You're an amazing girl and other boys will be queuing up to be your boyfriend."

"I'm not sure I want one." , Abby sighed. "Relationships seem far more trouble than they're worth." She was silent again until she plucked up the courage to ask her friends a question. "When you were my age you were together weren't you?"

"Yes.", Grissy told her. "We've been girlfriends since we were fourteen."

"Did you want to spend all your time together?"

"Well, it was kind of different for us.", Fenny replied. "We were here together so in a lot of ways we didn't have a choice."

"Would you have wanted a choice?", Abby pressed them.

"No.", Fenny spoke honestly on behalf of them both. "When we weren't together we missed each other terribly. We'd phone all the time and beg our parents to drive us to each other's houses so we could see each other."

Abby had known that would be the answer, and it told her something she had been trying to deny for a while. "I didn't feel like that about Peter. I missed him when I didn't see him, but no more than I missed my other friends. And nowhere near as much as I miss Lily when we don't see each other for a while."

"I see." Grissy gave her a hug. "So maybe he's not the one?"

"Maybe not."

Fenny decided to stay with the honest approach. "Abs, please don't think I'm being patronising, but what happened for me and Gris, that's not the norm. Most people have a few boyfriends or girlfriends before they meet the right person. And I know it hurts now but maybe this was the right thing for both of you."

"Perhaps.", Abby shrugged.

Their talk was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Ah, Fenella, have you seen Abby? Oh…." Constance stopped speaking as she saw her daughter's blotchy face. "What's happened?"

"Can I tell you upstairs Mama, in my room so the crazies don't see me just yet?"

"Of course." Constance nodded her thanks to Fenella and Griselda before taking Abby back upstairs where, through more tears, she told her story for the second time.

She was spared having to tell it a third time as while she had a shower Constance told Imogen what had happened.

When Abby arrived downstairs, looking pale but not quite as tear stained, Ava immediately knew something was wrong. And experience meant that Abby knew the worst thing you could do with an empath was to try and hide your feeling so she was as honest as she could be with her sister.

"Peter's not my boyfriend anymore so I'm a bit sad about that."

"Oh." Ava wrapped her arms around her big sister. "I don't like when you're sad."

"None of us do poppet." Imogen joined them. "But Abby knows she has us to help her not be sad anymore."

"Of course I do.", Abby told them. "And I think a sister snuggle would really help me feel better." She blinked away a tear as she held Fleur while Ava and Zara snuggled against her, neither leaving her side for the rest of the evening.

"Love ya Absy.", Zara told her before saying goodnight. She may not have experienced other people's feelings in the same way as Ava, but she adored Abby and didn't want to see her cry.

"I love you, Zee. And my sisters are far more important than any silly boys."

"Silly, smelly boys.", Zara agreed before being lifted up by her Mummy.

"Don't be mean.", Imogen gently chastised her. "I don't know where you get some of these statements from." She didn't miss how Constance was suddenly very busy looking in the opposite direction. "And girls can be just as silly and smelly as boys you know."

"Yeah, like when Fleur does a big stinky nappy.", Zara giggled before being carried across to her bedroom, delighted to see the smile creep across Abby's face at her comment.

Fifteen minutes later Ava was reluctantly saying good night to Abby. "If you feel sad during the night you can sleep in my bed."

"Thank you Noodle." Abby hugged her again, she was tempted but it was a school night and she was worried that the emotional transference might keep her sister awake. "Love you loads."

After another kiss and a secret whisper, Ava said good night leaving Abby alone with her Mum.

"How are you feeling honey?", Imogen asked as she took Ava's place.

"Sad, angry, nervous about school tomorrow. And kind of relieved."

Imogen wasn't surprised to hear that. She hated that Abby was going through this heartbreak, but privately thought that it was better for this to happen now rather than later down the line. Although Abby was mature for her age, both she and Constance felt that she was too young for a proper boyfriend. Something she guessed that deep down, Abby agreed with.

Ten minutes later they were joined by Constance who had tucked Ava in, giving her reassurances that she, Zara and Fleur had been very good sisters that evening and that Abby would feel better soon.

"What's your plan for school?"

"I'm not sure. I don't really want to talk to him right now. We don't have many classes together but I'll still see him on the bus."

"Will I drive you?" Imogen offered.

"No, thank you but I don't want to look like I'm scared.", Abby told her. "There's plenty of people I can sit with and I'd rather get it out of the way."

"That sounds sensible.", Constance smiled. One thing Abby was not was a coward and she was proud of their daughter's ability to face things head on. "But if you change your mind or want a lift home you call us."

"I will.", Abby yawned. "I guess I'd better go to bed myself. I'm exhausted all of a sudden."

It had been an emotional few days so neither parent was surprised to hear this. They sent her off to bed with Pixie for company and a promise that they were there for her whenever she needed them.

"So, first breakup.", Imogen sighed as she sank into her wife's arms. "Did we handle it okay?"

"I think so.", Constance answered. "I got such a fright when I saw how upset she was."

"I know. God, I hate seeing her hurting like this."

"Yes, though I get the feeling Peter is hurting just as much."

Imogen nodded in agreement. "If not more. He's been crazy about her."

"Which is what's stopping me from flying over there and hexing him into next month." Constance was only half joking.

"Stop, he's a teenage boy and we knew this would happen someday. Her pride is hurting right now. that's probably the worst part. I'm sure there'll be more tears and she'll be a bit lost for a while but the fact that she feels a bit relieved says a lot."

"I agree. I hope the summer holidays will help as well. She's got the holiday to look forward to and lots of other plans that will take her mind off things. I think she'll be okay."

"So do I." Imogen gave Constance a kiss. "I just hope they manage to stay friends."

It was an awkward two and a half weeks until the end of term. As Imogen had predicted there were more tears and feelings of rejection and anger that they did everything possible to help her through. There were also moments of clarity such as when during an evening in with Fenny, Grissy and Lily, Abby shared that it felt nice to be able to fancy other boys without feeling guilty. She refused to name names but the blush on her face when a couple were mentioned gave the game away.

During that time Peter and Abby didn't exactly avoid each other but they also made no effort to speak, that was until the last day of term when they got off the bus in the village.

"Can we talk?"

Peter looked surprised but agreed to Abby's request.

They made their way to the wall outside Cosies where they sat in silence for a moment until Abby spoke.

"I understand why you did what you did, though it really hurt. You want a girlfriend and I, well, I don't want to be tied to anyone just yet."

"Oh." Peter watched any hope he had that Abby was going to ask to get back together float away.

"But I don't want to lose your friendship." Abby pointed towards the village school. "When I started there, you were the first friend I made. When I was bullied by Jonathan you were the one who stood up for me. You've been there for so many special parts of my life and I do love you."

"As a friend.", Peter whispered

"Yes, as a friend. As my best boy-friend. " Abby allowed the tears to fall freely down her face. "And I'm sorry that I made you feel second best."

"I'm sorry I hurt you.", Peter murmured.

"So can we still be friends?"

Peter really did want to. "It might take me a while to see you as just my friend but I'd like us to be."

"Okay.", Abby nodded. "Well, I won't be around too much over the summer, we're going home to Chichester tonight and I think we'll stay there until we go on holiday."

"I'll be away at rugby camp for most of August but maybe we can text?", Peter suggested shyly. "As friends."

"You know my number." Abby smiled at him before standing up. "I'd better go and finish packing my stuff. Mama will go mental if I keep sending her back on her broomstick to pick up bits I've forgotten."

"Can't have that." Peter also stood before asking a question. "Would it be weird if I hugged you?"

"I don't think so.", Abby responded. "And I'd really like if you did."

They hugged for a long moment before saying goodbye. They both knew they wouldn't be boyfriend and girlfriend again but were hopeful the friendship that had started when they were eight would get back on track.

"Are you sure you're okay about things?", Lily asked Abby during their nightly FaceTime call that evening. She was busy packing for a trip she and her mother were making to London the next day but nothing was going to stop her talking to her friend.

"I will be. How about you?"

"Getting there."

Lily had said goodbye to her father the previous week and had told him that although she did love him, she needed time to get over what had happened. To her relief he hadn't pushed her, simply said he loved her, even though he understood why she may question that. He also said he would be at the end of the phone whenever she needed him.

Abby was enormously proud of her friend. She knew that Lily's natural shyness and gentle nature made it hard for her to confront situations for fear she would hurt someone's feelings, even someone who had hurt hers.

"Well, we have a whole summer of fun ahead of us both. Speaking of fun, look at this." Abby sniggered while turning the camera so Lily could see Ava and Zara enthusiastically playing with the baby gym that Fleur was completely ignoring.

"I think we're going to have a great time Abs."

"Oh I know we are, aren't we crazies?"

"Yeah!"

"What do you think?", Constance asked Imogen as they observed the goings-on in the living room. While neither of them had been teaching since Fleur's birth they were both very much looking forward to a break from packed lunches and school and nursery runs.

"I think the kids are right. We're all going to have a wonderful summer with some very special people and I intend on making the most of it."

"As do I." Constance smiled. "As Abby would say, bring on the craziness."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed- reviews gratefully appreciated ;) August will involve a glimpse into the life of the Drills (and friends) on holiday.

As always, prompts welcome.

PS. Chichester has always been my personal headcanon for where the Drills live when away from the castle :) No idea why, it just seemed to work.