Poppy: Actually you wrote that review while I was working on planning for the chapter : ) But there's no point with asking me to do certain characters, because I do them in the order they turn up in the series. And when they turn up several at once- like in the beginning of series one, I put up a poll and let people vote on whom I should do first. But here is the Kettle's. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

EvangelineRainbow x have started a story quite alike to this one- it's called before their time and is under dumping ground 2013's forum. I think you should all go check it out!

Lily, Poppy and Rosie Kettle

Just as the funeral for his dear wife Jasmine was ending. Steve Kettle stood in the bottom of the aisle in the church and shook hands with everyone who were leaving, even though someone did more and gave him a hug or a pat on the shoulder Steve seemed somewhat apathetic and not at all so emotional and heartbroken as his oldest daughter Lily, seven years old who stood silently crying holding her youngest little sister Poppy, soon to turn one- on her hip. And on the other side of them both stood the middle sister Rosie holding onto Poppy's dress to make sure her sisters didn't disappear like mummy had done.

The only one who stayed on her bench while all of the others were shaking hands with Steve and leaving was Mrs. Riley who lived in the same house as the Kettle's- although the house had kind of two apartments, and while Steve and the girls lived in one of them, she lived in the other and she had to stay to give Steve and the girls a ride home and then take care of the girls through the evening.

When Mrs. Riley and the Kettle- sisters walked into the kitchen slowly Steve just hurried into Lily's bedroom at the end of the hallway and slammed the door closed after him, and when Lily followed to check why he had gone into her room she found her dad sitting on the floor with his back against her bed almost hidden behind it, and a glass bottle in his hand that Lily didn't recognize.

What was in the bottle mostly looked like water and that was what Lily thought it was at first, although when she walked closer and kneeled by her father, she could feel it smell. So it obviously wasn't that.

"What are you doing in my room dad?" Lily asked with her softest voice not to make her dad even more sad or angry, even though already now he didn't seem any of it- still just as apathetic as he had been since the doctors told Lily and her sister that their mother wouldn't come back- and in church for the funeral and all the time!

Steve didn't answer Lily's question, but in the same moment as she had gone into the room, Mrs. Riley had realized she was gone from the kitchen and hurried after her. "Lily, sweetheart." She came into the room, kneeled and put her arm around the young girl's shoulders. "I think that your dad is just too sad to be in your mother's room right now. And I think he needs to be alone."

"Would it help if I went into your room and mum's dad? If I took away all of the medicines and things? And everything that was mum's?" Lily tried, she really tried. And she might or might not have actually believed that something like that would help but she just didn't know what else to do and most of all right now she wanted her dad to look at her again and not be so sad.

"No it wouldn't!" Steve fizzled and took another sip from the bottle. "Keep away from that room and your mum's things okay?" Lily frowned and looked around her room and onto the sheets with Disney princesses that she liked.

"But dad where am I going to sleep if you're in here?"

"You just go share room with your sisters. Take what's most important and what you use the most. Then get out of here and stay away!" Lily frowned, but took a plastic bag and put the clothes she used the most in it and put her Disney princess blanket and a few other things that she used a lot. And then she walked into her sisters' rooms and made room for her own clothes in one of the dresser's and put her blanket on the floor by the bed and the other things where they went until Rosie came into the room.

"Lily. Mrs. Riley is in the kitchen and have taken out food because I and Poppy are starving, but she won't make it so we can eat! She says she's waiting for you!" Lily felt anger boiling up inside of her- their mum would have never denied making dinner just because one of the three sisters weren't even in the kitchen but would be there once the dinner was ready so angrily she stomped out in the kitchen, but didn't have the time to ask Mrs. Riley about what she was doing until Mrs. Riley herself started talking to Lily.

"Oh there you are Lil. Come here, I'm going to teach you how to make some dishes that are easy to make. And I'm also going to teach you how to clean and such, that way I won't have to come over every time something needs to be done. Come here, I'm going to show you how to make macaroni okay?"

"How long will it take until daddy starts doing these things again?" Lily asked looking up at Mrs. Riley, but didn't get an answer, and at last just sighed, silent and then turned to the kettle to make macaroni. Maybe it would take a long time before her dad was back to his old self! She just couldn't say it to Lily!

"Lily?" That night when Poppy had fallen asleep crying for their mum, and Rosie and Lily lied together in one bed. "Can you tell me a story about where mummy is right now? Like she used to tell where she used to go when she wasn't here anymore." Lily fought away her tears and nodded while brainstorming for a story of her own.

"Once upon a time there was a paradise. It was called heaven, and there was a huge castle where there lived many beautiful angels with shiny white wings. And the most beautiful angel of them all. Her name was Jasmine…"

A couple of weeks later, although before the girls had gone back to daycare and school the phone rang to the Kettle household and Lily went to get it. Answering the phone it turned out to be a nurse that Lily had met one of those nights that Steve was in with Jasmine in her hospital room whilst Poppy and Rosie had fallen asleep so Lily was kind of the only one there.

"Listen Lil'" the nurse named Chrissie Delmont said in her phone. "You know all of those meds and medical things you still have at your house?" Lily answered her yes. "Well they need to go back to the hospital. And I was thinking that if you or your dad pick everything together and put it in some bag then I can come and get it myself just so we've got it done."

Lily hesitated, Steve still hadn't come out of her room for more than going to the bathroom or eating and things like that. And he had told her not to touch any of her mother's things. Not her medicines or her other medical things or anything else. And she wasn't so sure what he would do if she tried to clean out in her mum's old things if Steve found her doing it.

"Lily honey!" Chrissie continued when she heard that Lily hesitated. "Somehow those things are going to have to be taken back to the hospital so we can do what we have to do with throwing it away. Otherwise it might get into the wrong hands and then it might do more bad than good." Lily hesitated for another moment to take in what Chrissie had said, and then answered, that she'd do it tomorrow.

"Daddy" After talking with Chrissie, Lily went into her own bedroom that had been made Steve's now because he would never get out of there. "That nurse Chrissie called. And she told me we have to take all of mum's medicines and things and put them in a bag and take them to the hospital so they don't end up with people who aren't supposed to have them. She'll come here tomorrow afternoon so tomorrow morning and during the day I will be in mum's room and gather all of the things and then they're going to be taken away okay?"

Steve didn't answer. In fact- he didn't move or even make any sign that he had heard what his oldest daughter had said. So Lily sighed and then turned and walked out of the room again, knowing what she had to do.

Lily told herself that it was only because it was so much work to do and she couldn't do it all on her own, but it was probably more because if Steve found out what she was doing and got mad she didn't want to be alone with him. So the next morning Lily went back to her school and walked into the right classroom where she knew her friends were.

"Oh…" The teacher Miss Harper interrupted her own class when Lily stepped in to then go and embraced the young girl. "Oh… how are you honey?" Lily hesitated and didn't answer her question, but took a deep breath in before she straight away go onto what she came here for.

"I need to collect all the medicines and things my mum had. But my dad's…. busy and I don't think I can do it on my own. So I was wondering if I could maybe bring one of my friends to help me?" Miss Harper nodded.

"Yes of course honey. Who would you want to bring?" Lily looked around the classroom, but it wasn't hard to find the Indian boy with the brown skin and the dark hair.

"River."

"Okay, then River you may go with Lily." River Cameron stood up and collected his books. "Finish those numbers of math until tomorrow though and Lily…" Lily turned around to Miss Harper again in the doorway. "If you need to talk then I'm here okay? You can come to me with anything!" Lily nodded and then turned to the corridor again and walked down during lively talking with her best friend about what had been going on since she was at school last.

"So what was it that your mum died from?" River asked while they were cleaning out in Lily's parents' room. "I don't think you ever told me that!"

"They said she had breast cancer. The doctors I mean. I'm not sure what cancer is but it means that something is growing inside of you and it's really dangerous because there are no medicines that the doctors can be really sure will help." River nodded, and then they both turned away from the door and at first didn't realize Steve Kettle had come into the room.

"What are you doing?" He said loudly and anything but clearly, and Lily could see he had a bottle in his hand this time too. "I told you to leave Jasmine's things be. You- get out." He grabbed River's shirt and pushed him out in the hallway. "Get out of my house! I don't want you here!" River wasn't slow, and quickly got onto his feet and in the matter of a few seconds Lily and Steve could hear the front door slam as River left.

"You little b*tch!" The front door had barely closed before Steve turned to his oldest daughter again. "I told you not to touch your mum's things. Why didn't you listen to me?" He suddenly lurched forward and through his bottle. Lily though, who was faster jumped away and the bottle continued and was smashed into pieces towards the wall.

"I told you…" Steve grabbed Lily's shirt. "…To leave her things be!" Without hesitating further Steve half pushed half threw Lily into the wall- and without actually thinking about that he had thrown her into the wall that went in between the Kettle's apartment- and Mrs. Riley's. But whatever wall it was the bang that came seemed to wake Steve up somehow.

"I… I, I'm sorry. I'm sorry Lily, I'm sorry." Steve sat down on the floor and pulled up the young girl on his lap. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry, I'm sorry forgive me please. I'm never going to do it again. I promise I am never going to hurt you again."

In the same moment as Steve hugged his daughter and promised that he wasn't going to hurt Lily again Mrs. Riley stood in her kitchen on the other side of the wall, she had heard the bang and had a good idea of what might have caused it. But she wasn't so sure about what to do, and at last she just continued with her cooking and decided that it probably was the best to let the Kettle's mind their own business.

That afternoon went into evening, which went into a night that went into a new morning and a new day. One day slowly got to more, into a week, several weeks that went into months. And months that went into years. Even though three years since the night Steve had thrown his oldest daughter into a wall. Nothing much had changed.

Mrs. Riley still lived in her part of the house, Steve and the girls still lived in the other. Steve had still occupied what had once been Lily's bedroom and Lily still shared room with her sisters. She still told the fairytales to them, a new one every night and still sometimes about different paradises and the most beautiful angel of them all named Jasmine.

Mrs. Riley still told herself that it was for the best that she just kept on minding her own business while letting Steve and the young girls Kettle mind their own. Even though as good as every time it was only Lily he could hurt because if he would try and hurt Poppy or Rosie Lily would come in between and stop him.

Although one thing had really changed. It no longer happened that Steve would say he was sorry, and it no longer happened that he promised not to ever do it again- because they all knew it was going to happen again anyway.

Mrs. Riley had a son- twenty six year old Samuel had went to Africa for work three years ago, just before they found out Jasmine Kettle had breast cancer and hadn't been back at all before this late evening as he met up his mum in the hallway for a surprise visit and then stood in the hallway with his mum crying with happiness towards his shoulder for a long while before they moved out into the kitchen, where Samuel suddenly turned more serious when he heard shouts about "please dad, please don't" on the other side of the wall.

"What's going on there? Steve Kettle always seemed so nice when I used to meet him! Is it still the Kettle's that live there by the way?" Samuel raised an eyebrow at his mother when she suddenly frowned. "What is it ma?"

"Jasmine died a few years ago. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and after that it went very fast. Steve changed afterwards. He is very alcoholic, and seems like he's also gone very violent. I can hear him hurting the girls but… I've been thinking that is probably for the best if I just let it be and let them mind their own business."

Samuel frowned and looked towards the door that was in between the apartments and hesitated about what to do. "Please daddy." A shout was heard, muffled by the wall in between them. "Please daddy, please…" Lily's words were followed by a wordless scream and then a bang as Lily was pushed into the wall.

And somewhere in all of that Samuel Riley decided that he wasn't going to do like his mother and just leave it be. And in the same moment as Mrs. Riley picked out his favorite biscuits out of the cupboard he stood up and felt the door knob, unlocked the door from their side and then tugged it and walked into the door when it didn't open.

"It's locked from the other side as well." Mrs. Riley said callously. "Come on Sammy, I've got your favorites- cinnamon and ginger. But Samuel didn't give in and stepped a few steps away and then kicked the door- as hard and as close to the lock he could with all of his power to make the door give in and then ran into the other apartment.

And the first thing he saw was Steve standing over Lily ready to take another blow and without hesitating Samuel ran over and pulled away the older man and pressed him up against a wall. "Stop. Stop it! You can't hurt her, you can't. I will not let her. Lily is it right?" Holding up Steve towards a wall wasn't a hard thing to do since he was so drunk he could barely stand up straight.

"She's my daughter." Steve said hoarsely. "I do what I want to her! You stop it and get out of my house!" Samuel didn't move a centimeter and still had both of his fists clenched around the fabric in Steve's shirt and held him up towards the wall.

"Not hurt her! I will not let you!" When Steve tried to walk away Samuel pulled him back towards the wall. "Lily, take the phone in my back pocket and call nine, nine, nine okay? You will not have to live with someone who hurts you okay." He looked up slightly and spotted Poppy and Rosie standing crying in a corner. "Lily, if you can't do it for me then do it for your sisters!"

"Lily." Rosie said. "Lily, you said that we'll always be able to have each other so maybe… maybe he's telling the truth and we could be together some time where dad isn't there to hurt us!" Lily hesitated slightly, and then walked up towards the wall and slowly reached her hand towards the phone that she could see in Samuel's back pocket.

River is portrayed by Karan Brar.

And cut! I hope you liked the chapter, even though it wasn't as long as some of the earlier chapters.