Author's Note: I'm so sorry this update is late! I honestly can't even remember if I replied to reviews or not, so I'm sorry if I didn't reply to your review! Thanks so much for continuing to read this :) I'd say we have 1-2 more chapters left and then that's it!

Song for this chapter is Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford and Sons.

As usual, I don't own or have anything to do with Skins.

Chapter 34: Ghosts that we Knew

August 25th,2014

(Elouise = 5 months, Owen = 7 months)

"Em, have you packed the sunscreen?" I shouted towards the hallway as I finished dressing Ellie in her swimming costume and pulling on a small skirt and hat for her. Emily was in our bedroom getting our beach bag ready, and I'd already changed into my bathing suit and put on a wrap skirt.

"Yes, I've packed it, Naoms," Emily replied as she walked into Ellie's nursery with the ballooning beach bag hanging on her shoulder. "You look nice."

I picked Ellie up and scoffed at Em.

"Ugh, I look fat and lumpy and my tits are huge and I barely even fit in my swimming costume," I replied. Ellie grabbed onto the strap of my bathing suit top as I carried her over to Emily. Her other hand was focused on pulling my hair, which had grown out to almost past my shoulders since I never had time to go to the hairdresser's. She giggled every time I winced in pain.

"Naomi, how many times am I going to have to tell you that you look fucking amazing before you actually start to believe it? I wish I looked like you!" Emily replied as I followed her down the stairs and into the foyer.

Having Ellie had really changed my body. My boobs never went back to their original size, though I knew Emily preferred them this way. To be honest, I didn't really mind save for the occasional back aches. I was still nursing Ellie so technically I was losing weight since breastfeeding burns a ridiculous amount of calories. My stomach was flat again, but I was curvy. I'd never really been curvy before. My hips and my butt were way bigger than they were before I had Ellie, though I was lucky I never got a single stretch mark. I was slowly getting used to the idea that my body had changed and that it was never going to be the same. Effy, of course, had snapped back to her stick-thin figure in almost no time after she had Owen.

Emily had gained a few pounds since we had Ellie, too. We never really had any time to go to the gym anymore and Emily used to work out all the time before we had the baby. There just wasn't any time anymore. Our days were filled with feedings and changing nappies and nap time and play time and trying to teach Ellie simple words and chasing after Ellie (who was just figuring out how to drag herself around the house) and keeping up with deadlines for our online magazine and laundry and taking Libby for walks and keeping up with family and cleaning the house. We were busy and overscheduled and we hardly ever had a second to relax, but we were the happiest we'd ever been. My relationship with Emily was the best it's ever been – despite our busy schedules, we were having sex on a daily basis. If Emily was at work, I would come in with Ellie and bring lunch and we'd have family lunch all together. If I was at the magazine, Emily would come in with Ellie and bring lunch. Taking Libby for her night-time walk had turned into a family affair, and unless one of us was busy cooking or doing laundry, we would all go out for a walk. Everything was going marvellously well.

Today, we were going on a trip to the beach with Katie, Effy and Owen. We were headed to Plymouth to celebrate the unseasonably warm weather and the summer bank holiday. We were bringing Libby along with us because Libby loves the beach – well, Libby enjoys running along the beach and knocking over small children's sandcastles while she frantically searches for other dogs she could play with. We were headed out early in the morning so that Ellie and Owen would hopefully nap during the drive to the beach, which was supposed to be two hours long. I was already dreading it, but I knew the drive would be worth it once I saw the smile on Ellie's face when we finally got to the beach. Ellie loved playing in her paddling pool so I was sure she would love the beach.

Emily called Libby over and hooked her leash to her collar. We strapped Ellie into her car seat, which yes, was a joint effort because Ellie enjoyed punching and kicking while we tried to strap her in. Then we started loading our car. We were taking two cars to the beach just in case either Ellie or Owen started to get fussy and one family had to head home.

Emily placed Ellie in the car and got Libby all settled while I finished packing the cooler and our beach bag into the trunk. Emily had made some sandwiches this morning and I'd made muffins and cookies yesterday evening to bring with us. We packed plenty of water and I brought everything I needed to nurse Ellie, who shouldn't need to be fed for at least a few more hours since I made sure to feed her just before we left.

Katie and Effy were ready just a short while after we had our car all packed up and ready to go.

"It's the M5 we have to take, right?" Katie asked, lifting her sunglasses onto her head as she gazed down at her SatNav. "I never trust this thing."

"Yeah, it's the M5, Kay," Emily hollered out the passenger window as she buckled her seatbelt. "If you want you can follow us till we hit the motorway."

Katie nodded and sat in the driver's seat, starting the car up at the same time I started ours. Ellie was gurgling in the backseat and Libby had propped herself up on the car window so she could see outside.

"Did we forget anything? Wallet, keys, phones, nappies, change of clothes, hats?" I asked. Emily shook her head.

"Nope, we've got everything."

And with that, I pulled out of the driveway and we began our two hour long journey to Plymouth. Ellie had fallen asleep about fifteen minutes into the drive, just as I'd hoped she would, and when we finally got to the beach, she was cheery and wide-eyed instead of tired and grumpy. Ellie completely freaked out the moment we put her down on the sand, shouting and giggling and grabbing sand and throwing it into mine and Emily's faces. Owen, however, was the picture of calm and collected when Katie put him down on the sand. He stared down at this newfound foreign object and stared back up at his mummies before tentatively reaching out and grabbing a handful of sand. He concentrated very hard as he squished it between his fingers. Ellie was still laughing and giggling in the sand and decided to dump a handful of sand onto Owen's swim trunks while we were busy paying attention to spreading out some towels and hauling the cooler over. Owen sighed as he stared down at the pile of sand on his swim trunks, as though he had the world's weight on his shoulders. Libby sat down next to Ellie and Owen and watched over them as Ellie continued to dump sand onto Owen's lap.

Ellie and Owen interacting together was my favourite thing to watch. Owen was like an old man trapped in a tiny baby's body, though he was very sensitive and quiet. He was more of a thinker than a do-er and occasionally needed encouragement to try new things. Ellie was always in the middle of some new disaster, trying everything before she could decide whether it was a good idea or not. She was playful and giggly and her carefree nature made Owen act more carefree when he was around her.

Emily, Katie, Effy and I all ate while we watched Owen and Ellie play in the sand together. We handed Owen a small spade and he was very slowly figuring out what it was for after staring at it intensely for about 15 minutes. Ellie was still laughing her head off while throwing sand at Owen, who didn't seem to mind Ellie's sand throwing anymore and was about half-way buried in sand.

After we all finished eating Emily and I took turns going into the water with Ellie and Katie and Effy worked on slowly introducing Owen to the water. The sea was colder than what he was used to when he would play with Ellie in her paddling pool so Effy and Katie stayed very close to the shore with him and just sat and played in the water. Emily and I were wading in waist-deep with Ellie who was completely obsessed with the water and also enjoyed splashing us.

I was in the water with Ellie, teaching her how to make bigger splashes when Emily swam over to us.

"Look, Ellie, splash Mama," I whispered and grabbed Ellie's hand. I moved it to make a big wave and launched it towards Emily, who got completely soaken.

"Naomi Fitch-Campbell, if you weren't holding our daughter, I would kill you right now," Emily said as she moved her soaking wet hair away from her face. Ellie was laughing ridiculously hard, so much so that she could barely breathe and I had to admit, a sopping wet Emily was a hilarious sight.

Eventually the sea got just too cold for Ellie to stand and we started packing up all our things. I changed Ellie into a warm pair of clothes since her lips were almost blue from spending so much time in the sea. Emily and I took turns to hold the towel and cover each other while we changed into warmer clothes, too. We stopped at a small local restaurant for a quick bite to eat and to feed Ellie and Owen before we headed back onto the road to go home. I was not looking forward to the two hour drive back but I was hoping that Ellie would fall asleep again so it wouldn't be too bad.

When we finally got home, it was almost 8 o'clock and Ellie was fast asleep. She hadn't had an afternoon nap today, so I figured she would be out for the night and might wake up a bit early tomorrow morning. Emily frowned as we pulled into the driveway.

"What's up, Em?" I asked as I parked the car.

"The door..." Emily whispered, still frowning and squinting to get a better look. I looked up and saw that our front door was wide open.

"Stay here," I said as I got out of the car and walked to the front door. The locks were broken and when I stepped into the house, I saw that the locks weren't the only things that were broken. Our house was completely destroyed. Our couch was ruined, our mirror in the front hall lay shattered on the floor, our TV was smashed. The drawers in the kitchen were strewn about the room, completely empty, cutlery scattered all over the place. The cupboards were empty and plates and glasses were shattered on the floor and counter. I grabbed the kitchen phone and it was completely dead. He must've cut the phone lines to disarm our alarm system. Instead, I grabbed my cell phone and immediately called the cops before getting out of the house.

"Well, what is it?" Emily asked. She walked over to me quickly from her spot where she had been frantically pacing next to the car.

"Somebody's broken in and smashed everything up. It doesn't look like anything's been stolen," I replied, pulling Emily into me for a hug. "You know who it was just as much as I do."

"Foster."

"Yeah. But don't tell the cops that right away. Let them find their evidence first and then get him that way. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, he must've left some kind of fingerprint or hair or something."

Emily nodded against me.

"I'm gonna go tell Katie and Effy and ask if we can sleep at their house tonight," Emily replied, kissing me gently on the cheek.

"Good idea, Em. Take Ellie in with you, she's out for the night and she'll wake up if she hears all the police and commotion."

Emily went to Katie and Effy's house and put Ellie to sleep while I stood outside and waited for the police. This had to be it, right? This had to be the end of John Foster torturing my family. I couldn't take any more of his sick mind games and his bullshit. I knew Emily was feeling scared and helpless yet again. It was something she hasn't really felt since we've had Ellie, but John's reappearance in our lives always gives her that feeling, and probably always will give her that feeling. I wish there was something I could do to make it go away, but I can't. All I can do is try to make Emily feel as safe as possible, which is why we installed an alarm system both at the new house and at the old apartment. Of course, an alarm system was no good if the phone lines were cut, since the alarm is connected through the phone lines, and since we were the last house on the street and our neighbours were out all day long with us, it was doubtful anybody would have even heard anything.

When the police finally arrived, they asked Em and I some questions about where we were all day and asked us if we had any enemies. Em mentioned our issues with John Foster and the police assured us that they were collecting evidence and doing all that they could to find out who broke in and bring them to justice. After that, they told us that we should go and get some rest, so that was exactly what we did.

"So, everything's just broken?" Effy asked as she handed me a cup of tea. We were all sat down at Katie and Effy's kitchen table.

"Well, everything I saw was broken. The couch was all torn up, the TV was shattered...everything," I replied. I took a deep breath and took a sip of my tea in hopes that it would calm down the ball of anxiety that had settled in my stomach.

"Do you think your insurance will cover it?" Katie asked. I shrugged. I certainly fucking hoped they would. It would cost a bloody fortune to refurnish the whole house.

"Obviously he planned it. I mean, of course he did. It just happened to be on a day that we were out two hours away with our closest neighbours," I sighed.

"I'm just so tired of this," Emily said as she leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder. "I hope they catch him and put him away for good this time. I'll never feel safe unless he's locked up or dead."

Katie leaned over and squeezed Emily's hand.

"It'll be alright, Emsy. They'll get him."

After we finished our tea, we all went to bed. Effy had set up the guest bedroom for us. Ellie was sleeping in the middle of our bed. Though we were both exhausted from our day, neither of us were able to sleep. We couldn't stop looking out the window and watching as the police collected evidence from our home. And we couldn't stop hoping that all this John Foster bullshit would finally come to an end.

The next morning, I got a phone call from the police. They alerted us that we were allowed to go back into our house as they'd collected enough evidence to determine who broke into the house. Sure enough, later that same day, they arrested John Foster, who was staying in a B&B just outside of Bristol. Emily cried she was so happy.

We left Ellie with Katie and Effy while we went back to the house to see if we could salvage anything. Luckily, John hadn't done much damage to our bedroom or Ellie's nursery and almost everything upstairs was fine. But downstairs was completely ruined. Emily called the insurance company and they agreed to cover all the replacement costs. We also called the phone company to come and re-wire our phone lines that had been cut.

My mum, Kieran, Jenna, Rob and James all came to help us clean up the house while Katie and Effy took care of Ellie. And in about three days, we'd just about managed to get everything in the house clean again, though now we had no furniture and no functioning kitchen. We did replace the front door and all the locks, though.

But that didn't bring Emily down. She found out that John had plead guilty and had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for repeated offences and possession of Class A drugs at the time of his arrest.

"Fresh start?" She asked me as we lay in our own bed. It was the first night we were spending in the house since the break in.

I sighed and smiled at her.

"This is probably our fifth fresh start together," I replied. "But okay. Fresh start."

"Love you," Emily whispered as she snuggled into my side.

"Love you, too, Em."

And that night we slept peacefully, free of worry about John fucking Foster.

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