I'm just having some trouble with this story. I've had since it started and it feels like I'll always have it. I'm just having trouble with coming up with the storylines and everything is so slow. But I got this far with the stories about Emma and believe me, I'm not going to give up on it until it's over. Next up, Emily's birthday.

If anyone have more ideas for the storylines then please write it in a comment or send a pm. You'll get credit if used.

A picture of what Emily's birthday presents are will be up on the Instagram Linneagbfanfiction. The picture was made by x snow- pony x when Polyvore was still up.

I was getting used to these night shifts…

Well, as much as a person could ever get used to something like them. It wasn't like I would have wanted every night and every week working nights. But I could do a night or two without the same worries as the first I had experienced after the fiasco of the first night I had worked here.

"It's Emily's birthday today right?" I asked, first thing I did when I came to work on November 14th. "When she's coming back from school?"

As we could sleep through our night shifts they started in the afternoon and didn't end until the others would have left for school in the morning if it was a school day.

"Hello to you too." Mike smirked, but then frowned. "Emily's home. She had a headache."

"On her birthday, that sucks."

I actually didn't notice the way Mike looked up and when he looked at me until I turned around having pulled off my jacket and beanie cap.

"What?"

"I don't really think having a headache today has really got to do with it being her own birthday. I think it's got more to do with that her sister's birthday would be right after, tomorrow."

"…Poor thing."

There was only two words I could think of saying.

"Yeah." Mike threw some papers he'd been holding down on the desk in a frustrated move. "All kids in this place comes from rough backgrounds. But for Emily it's just like everything she's ever been through has been working its best to be against her."

I nodded agreeing, what was there I could else other than agree?

"Well…" Mike did what he could to smile. "She is with her brothers for the first time in years. Also on her birthday. It doesn't make it any easier but at least she's got someone there to support her through it all. Here they come."

The door had flown open and all the other kids came home from school, the older ones always had longer days, sometimes the younger ones stayed behind for homework and they could all go home at once- like they had today. I was pretty sure that George and Mike and Luce had worked it out to give Emily a quiet and calm day without anyone coming nagging her all the time.

"And there." I hadn't heard Mike talking to the phone through all the other thoughts. "Food sorted out. Emily's favorite, it will be here in half an hour and since it's takeout pizza, French fries and fizzy drinks hopefully as many as can possibly be they will like the food and we won't have to lift a finger to cook it."

"If you lift a finger for the cooking it would destroy it all and we'd have to throw it all away and now that wouldn't make a good birthday dinner."

Mike gave a weak smile, but even I heard that this joke wasn't any good, not right now at least and to break the awkward silence I walked out into the hallway where Peityn ran up to me with a colorful sheet of paper.

"I made Emily a happy birthday and get-well card. I'm going to go upstairs and give it to her."

"Actually." I gently caught the young girl by her shoulder before she'd ran. "I think it would be better if you leave Emily alone." Peityn pouted up at me. "You can give it to her at dinner, then everybody else will be there to see how nice you made it."

"Yeah."

"You did that well." Mike mumbled behind my shoulder. "Really well. I'm not sure any other answer would have made her happy."

"I was just trying to show Emily some respect." I mumbled, and watched the older twins of this place hurry their way past the others and up the stairs towards their sister's room. As for them I surely wasn't about to keep them away. "Has she been out of her room at all today?"

Mike shook his head and I could tell he tried to suppress a sigh. Meanwhile Shawn was right in front of him and Mike caught him for something he needed to mention. I glanced up the stairs where Nathan and Qwyn had disappeared around the corner.

"Ella? Where are you going?"

Ella too had been walking up the stairs with the look in her eyes and in her moves as if she knew where she was going. Of course she could, like most others by now, into their rooms and change from their school uniforms but I had a feeling about Ella.

"I- I- I…"

"Don't even try it." Tracie said, angrily. "You were going to Emily's room."

"I think you'll have to wait, at least until dinner to meet her."

And I couldn't promise Emily would come down for dinner either.

"But I fell at school and I have a boo- boo."

I think whatever Emily is going through today is a whole lot worse than your bruises.

"She PROMISED she'd be my mama."

Stomping with one foot wouldn't change what day it was. It couldn't do any changes actually. Was it supposed to change the fact that none of you really had a mama now?

"Emily can't be your mum. We have no mum."

While I was still brainstorming for any answer and realized any of them would break Ella's heart and mine too only for saying it. But Tracie spoke before me and tears were streaming down Ella's cheeks when she started yelling and stomped her foot.

"BUT SHE PROMISED."

"Well…" Tracie shouted back. "You can't see…"

"It's okay." Suddenly Emily had turned up right behind them. She was dressed in a big, knitted, grey hoodie unlike her usual, colorful clothes and had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was greasy and tousled, still she took a look on Ella's bruise and blew on it to make it feel better.

I realized I couldn't just stand here and stare all day and it would make Emily uncomfortable on top of everything else. So, with the food coming soon I walked into the kitchen and handed out plates by every seat.

"Here we go." Soon Mike came into the room with a big pile of pizza boxes and one after one the kids came into the kitchen and was given one piece of each kind of pizza by Mike, took a can of French fries that stood on the counter, picked a can of fizzy drink and then sat down.

I had to say things were moving on quite smoothly today- but I couldn't help to know that a such thing could never last long at the dumping ground.

"Ham, ham and pineapple, vegetarian or salami?" Mike asked, for about the twentieth time when I came around and asked for one ham and pineapple. "Pineapple on pizza? Yuk!"

I went to take the seat I usually sat, right across the table from Emily and her brothers. Emily herself sat sipping from a glass of water and with a piece of pizza with ham and pineapple in front of her that remained untouched.

"Emily…" Marty went at last after several minutes of an awkward kind of silence. "You don't have to answer me. But what's with the water? Water's boring and I thought you liked Fanta."

"Bubbles hurts in the mouth."

I frowned slightly- Marty was right, I had seen Emily with fizzy drinks a lot of times without mentioning a word about bubbles. Marty grimaced, a bit curiously. Then shrugged and went back to his food.

"No they don't." Peityn moaned. "Fizzy drinks are good." As if to show how much she liked them she took such big sips she almost choked. "Oh. I almost forgot. We have to sing to you… come on everyone, happy birthday to you."

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dea…

"STOP IT."

After barely half the song Emily shouted and stopped it all. I couldn't have blamed her, that moment when everyone would sing to you was terribly embarrassing. But the way she pouted and laid her arms over her chest spoke about how it was about more than just the singing.

"Why can't you just mind your own business and eat?" Qwyn fizzled at them all, then he had a nicer tone turning back towards Emily. "Try and eat a little bit. Did you eat at all today?" Emily shook her head. "You know you need it. Qwyn more or less shoved the pizza piece into her face.

"Not hungry."

"Oh come on sister. It's your favorite. Pizza with ham and of course, French fries."

Emily turned her head where she sat and buried it in Nathan's shirt. I could understand her, everyone nagging her like that and she just wanted to be alone.

The silence in between everyone at the table was growing thicker and thicker and it soon felt as thick as if it could be cut through with a knife. But of course, there was some people that just had to go on even in the ways that were so wrong everyone would get them.

"Why are you so sad?" I sent Peityn a glare and hoped she would know it meant for her to be quiet.

She didn't!

"It's your birthday and you should be happy. It's your favorite food and you should be eating. Wheezy and Violet doesn't even like this food but because it's your birthday they won't say anything. But I will. And I'm asking you why you're not happy when you should be?"

"Stop IT." Emily stood up and hit her fist so hard in her place the glass fell and her food made a jump on her plate. "Stop it, stop it, stop. I don't want this. I don't want any of this…" She was trying to make her way through the line in between the wall and the chairs closest to it. "I never asked for this. I never wanted any of this…" Her voice broke and I saw Mike standing up and reaching out for her while she finally reached the end of the table and ran out of the room. "LEAVE ME ALONE."

Nathan hurried after her, Emily ran straight up her room and slammed the door after her. Nathan hurried after and we soon heard loud sobs, muffled by the walls in between us.

"Thanks for that."

Qwyn's jaws were clenched angrily when he pushed his chair away from the table and hurried after his sister and brother. Peityn looked heartbroken and there were people around the whole table glaring at her.

"Why are you all so angry at me? It's not my fault she's sad."

Peityn pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, she didn't seem to want to eat more now either and neither Ella nor I nor Mike and he and I stood up and started gathering the plates and leftovers to gather them all.

"Emily forgot her gifts." Ella, like we all looked to the basket on the table with several of wrapped gifts around it. "Should I go up and give it to her?"

"No…" Shawn had answered before I or Mike had. "Emily will come and get them herself when she's ready."

Ella looked like she wasn't very happy with that answer, and neither was Peityn who hadn't gotten the chance to give her card to Emily.

"Then just give it to her tomorrow." Most of us were getting fed up and Violet too. "Stop being so spoiled and jealous."

"I'M NOT SPOILED OR JEALOUS. I WANT TO GIVE EMILY THE CARD I MADE."

I had never really experienced a day or night at the dumping ground like this one. On one end it was all quiet, on the other people were fighting so the whole house shook, and somewhere in the middle of it was Emily curled up in her room surrounded by her two brothers.

"Well, hello."

At last, when I'd seen Shawn had gotten into the bed I was supposed to go into the kitchen and take some leftovers and drinks to the three that hadn't eaten much for dinner. But I wouldn't have had to- the three set by the kitchen counter, and instead of taking all presents with them upstairs they were right there opening one present after the other.

It wasn't by any means a happy moment, but Emily did seem relaxed in a way she hadn't before. And no way was I changing this on purpose so I went to get the gift I had gotten and wrapped and came back into the kitchen.

"Sch." Qwyn showed me to be quiet. "Nobody can know we're here. Or the care worker will send us off to bed." He smirked slightly. "They will nag on us about bed times. Because they won't see it's actually too late for us to be up."

I looked innocently to the side as if I didn't know what he was talking about. I wasn't about to ruin their moment together and before leaving I couldn't help to feel curious and glanced quickly over the presents that had been unwrapped already.

I'd guess I was the only one who hadn't brought Emily some sewing things for her birthday. Even the basket she had gotten was especially made for those things.

"I forgot to wrap this. I have now."

I laid the wrapped, soft gift on the counter right in front of Emily and the few gifts she had yet to open. Emily showed me a weak smile, the first one for today and then chose another, big gift I knew was from George and Luce and had a big bunch of fabrics of different kinds.

"Whoa!"

Her eyes were big as plates when she looked up and down the pile of different kinds of patterns and colors and the twins seemed about as impressed as she was. I couldn't help but to smile at all of them three, but still the dried tears on Emily's cheeks and Nathan and Qwyn looking so protective couldn't help but break my heart. More now than ever when I turned and was on my way out of the kitchen.

"Can't you stay Emma?"

The question threw me off for a bit, I just hadn't expected it. But when I turned and looked back Emily was looking up from her gifts and her two brothers also watching me as if the question she'd asked was truthful.

"Do you want me to collect all wrapping papers and tape to throw it all away?"

I smirked and blinked to let them know I was joking, I was pretty sure what the answer would be.

"No, don't take it. I want to save it and maybe I can come up with something to make of it."

At last, after unwrapping all presents apart from mine and Nathan and Qwyn's, several ones, she reached out for mine and unwrapped it to find a set of a beanie hat, a pair of gloves and a scarf. All in the same pattern with a black background with neon colored pattern.

"Oh… these looks really nice. I've never had any of these in my whole life and I always get cold during the winter. And now I even got some of the colors that I like the most." Emily came around the counter and gave me a hug, then laid it on one side of the counter and folded the paper and the star of paper string I had bought to put on it, and at last reached for the gifts from her brothers. And held the three small wrapped gifts in her hands in front of her.

"We couldn't quite decide on one of these. So you'll get the lot."

Emily didn't look as if she even heard when she put two of them and then carefully wrapped the first one. She did it slowly as if she was afraid if she did it too fast it might disappear. It didn't disappear and in it she found a jewelry box that held a small pendant of the shape of a heart with the word "Sister" on it.

She didn't say anything before she laid it to the side with the wrapping paper and didn't say a word before she opened the second one with a bracelet with a necklace and another pendant, also with a heart that had "sister" written on it.

"Here." Qwyn took it carefully and Emily turned her head away and held up her hair so he could put it on. "Only one gift left, oh. I hate this part of a birthday or Christmas."

"I don't… Today was… I would… I can't really find the right word. But really, even though this is the last of the gifts to be opened. I'm just really thankful for each and every one of them rather than wishing I had more. Because I could have had ten times as many and still not be happy. But… I've had a couple of birthdays that were worse…" Emily shook her head as if to shake the memories off. "But it's over now…" She reached for the last of the gifts, and unwrapped it to a third Jewelry box.

The last was a silver bracelet with both wing- pendants and two circles, one which said big sister and the other little sister. Emily span the pendants in her hand several times, then she put her arm against the counter and tried to put it on.

"Here." I reached out and helped her close it instead. "Those are beautiful guys."

"You know." Nathan took the small pendant that said big sister in between his fingers. "You're always going to be Minnie's big sister. There's nothing that could ever change that." Emily swallowed. "And then you're our sister, and quite the most awesome sister in the world."

"Even when I'm really sad and cry a whole lot even on my birthday?"

"Especially then." Qwyn laid his arm around her shoulders and pressed his lips against her hair, on her other sat Nathan and held her hand wrapped in his. Emily closed her eyes and when she sat like that for quite a while I almost thought she'd fallen asleep. Then, all of a sudden she opened her eyes again and looked up.

"I like this a whole lot more than with all people around me and nagging me for what I should do or how I should feel."

Emily sighed and the way she pulled back into her own shell like she had been before today was almost visible.

"I have you two. There was so long when I didn't have you, after I lost mum and Minnie and I and dad were just running… I wished more than ever I had nothing at all… Then I had you… It can't bring mum or Minnie back. But at least I'm not… at least I'm not alone."

"You were never alone sister." Qwyn said and laid a hand over his heart. "You were always with us in here, and there." He pointed to hers. "And even in Nathan's black and broken heart." Nathan grimaced back at his brother. "And Minnie and mum… and we're all there and we're all together." Emily nodded.

"But what do you think happens after death Q?"

"Oh…" Qwyn was thrown off and for the first time in minutes he looked away from his sister. "Well… Honestly, I don't know. I have no idea… but sometimes, when I try really, really hard. It's like I can feel Minnie and mum with me… and I don't think we live this life and then just go away… I do believe that whatever comes after this I'll meet them again."

I could as much as feel Mike coming up behind me, and of course by the kitchen counter could see him and looked sternly back at him.

"We're having a very deep conversation." Qwyn said, deadly serious. "Can we continue or will you come and nag about the time and the fact that it…" he glanced towards the clock. "…is ten thirty o'clock."

"Is it?" I started fooling with Mike who came closer to me. "It looked like nine thirty to me so the boys can still stay up."

"Yes, yes of course. You're allowed to stay up until ten…. And some days just calls for an extra late night. And this night is extra special!"

"Actually… would it be possible… maybe…. Could we maybe stay together tonight? We all know girls and boys can't share but… just for tonight and… can we?"

I knew I would never be able to say no to Qwyn's puppy eyes even before Emily and Nathan joined him. They then, only stared at Mike whom I knew would have as much trouble as I. So what was he supposed to say?

"I think… Neither I nor Emma will notice if you all three go into one room tonight. Will we Emma?"

It took me one second to realize what he was saying, then I realized and shook my head slightly.

"Nope. Absolutely nothing would we notice. Especially if you boys go and get sleepwear and teddy bears and sheets in your attic and into Emily's room. Will we notice Mike? Or will we just pretend to help them and carry the bears?"

"Can't forget CuddleMan." Qwyn almost shouted. "I can't sleep without him."

"Of course, I won't know anything about that." Mike looked innocently at me. "And you wouldn't neither Right Emma? Siblings can share a room even when they're both girls and boys. Right? So we just forgot about this talk."

"Of course, we did. What is there to remember?"

Mike sadly looked at me when Emily curled up in her brother's lap and the other brother leaned over and put one arm around each of his siblings.

"Well…" Mike turned to me instead of the young three. "I guess I'll be heading home. Or is there anything else you need help with Emma?"

I still saw the siblings in the corner of my eye, thought back to the first night I had worked. If this went any better than that I wouldn't need Mike or anyone else.

"No, you can go, I'll call you if anything happens."

Mike smirked and pulled up the zipper on his jacket up. He was about to leave when Nathan called him back again.

"There is one more gift we'd like to ask if you can consider giving to our sister."

"Really?" Mike said with another smirk. "You know… that typically isn't the way birthday gifts works."

"Well…" Nathan rubbed his hands towards each other and the siblings glanced towards one another. "…As you know, when our dad took… Emily and Minnie and our mum to run, they changed their last name. Before their name was Lord. And they changed it… And changed it again like every other month or something, and then made it Ingleton. All of these changes of last names was why it took the social services so long before they noticed we all three were related."

By now I could see both the twins and Emily were holding their breath, I couldn't help but do the same while Mike seemed the calmest one of us and waited for Nathan to continue with what he was getting to.

"Actually… we'd like if we could make it Milligan."

Random fact

I'm pretty sure x snow- pony x liked this chapter. Emily is her character and so is Ella. But I'll have to add a bit of the add a bit more of the other characters further into the story.