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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Chapter One-Hundred-Twenty-Four





Meanwhile, in Kentucky, it's one in the morning and everybody had all gone upstairs to their own rooms and turned all of the lights out downstairs.



"I think I'm going to take a shower. Do you want to join me?" Nick asked suddenly, as looked at Ashley who lay across the foot of their bed.



"No, I think I'm going to go see my sister for a few minutes." Nick chuckled.



"You mean barge in on her and Wiley again, right?' He asked, and he went over and lay next to her, wrapping an arm around her as he looked down at her grinning amusedly. Ashley frowned.



"Can't a girl go and visit her sister without being accused of bothering her?"



"Well if you really were just going in to visit her, you wouldn't be accused baby."



"I really do want to go and see her. We sat outside under the stars earlier tonight…it was nice — we didn't fight or anything."



"Well you pick the wrong times to go and spend time with her honey…why don't you come take a shower with me and then afterward, if you still feel like going to see her then I won't stop you. But you need to promise me you will knock first."



"I don't want to take a shower though," Ashley replied, and she looked up at him with a pout spread across her face, coming real close to looking like Dakota.



"Why not? You've never turned down a shower before…" Nick replied, pouting right back and succeeding at the Dakota look.



"Because the last time we took a shower together it nearly tore Frick and Frack apart."



"Well that's not going to happen again baby…I promise. Brian and I worked things out…" Nick insisted, as he leaned down and placed soft kisses on her forehead.



"Yes, but still…everybody had a problem with it remember? It hurt me too you know…I'm still trying to recover…"



"Screw everybody else honey…it's just an innocent shower…it's not like we're having sex."



"I think we just need to back off for awhile…okay? It's too soon."



"Kay," Nick replied. "I respect your decisions…you know that right?"



"I do, I trust you." Ashley promised, and she placed her hand to his cheek and brought his lips down on hers in a soft kiss. "I'm going to go visit Kori okay?"



"Okay…But knock alright?"



"I will I promise." Nick grinned a little and kissed her cheek, and then he got up went into the bathroom shutting the door just a crack — part of him hoping she'll change her mind. Ashley lay there looking at the bathroom door longingly for a couple of moments, and then she got up and left the room and headed down the hall to her sister's room. As she was walking, Marcus suddenly peeked his head out of the bedroom that he, Laney, and Q have turned into the security room. They got permission from Jackie and Harold to set up cameras in the hallways in the house, in the living room and kitchen downstairs, and all around the house outside. They know the story of Ashley because Brian told them of course, so they agreed.



"Where are you going missy? Everybody is sleeping; it's dark downstairs. You're not going down there alone, if that's where you're headed." He asked, raising an eyebrow at her, though he made sure to sound gentle, as he knows she's still a little nervous around him and Q.



"Just down the hall to see Kori," Ashley answered, eyeing Marcus skeptically. "Nicky said I could. He's in the shower."



"Okay," He replied, and Ashley walked past the door he was standing in and continued on her way to Kori's. Marcus went back into the security room, though he, Q, and Laney made sure to pay special close to the hallway screen now. When Ashley got to Kori's room, she tried the knob only to find it locked.



"What the…" she muttered quietly, and then knocked softly. Meanwhile in the bedroom, Kori and Wiley pulled apart from their make out session and pulled the covers down from their heads as they still lay on the floor where Wiley had made the bed for himself, and they looked at the door. Kori smirked.



"I bet you I know who that is," she whispered. Wiley chuckled quietly.



"Should I go let her in?"



"No, shhh…be quiet and maybe she'll think we're sleeping and go away." Wiley smirked and kissed Kori's forehead softly, before reclaiming her lips for her own and she slid her arms around his neck and gratefully kissed him back. Just when they were really getting into it again, the knock on the door interrupted them — again.


"KORI. I know you two are awake! Let me in!" Ashley demanded with a slightly raised voice, but not loud enough that she would wake the whole house. "Pleeeeeeease," she added in a pleading voice, that sounded so pathetic that it almost made Kori feel sorry for locking her out — almost. Wiley rested his forehead against Kori's then, as he slid his arms around her waist and Kori groaned quietly. A few seconds went by and the two of them heard Ashley let out a low angry growl, before she turned and walked off toward her room again.



"I am going to be in soooo much trouble tomorrow," Kori announced, smiling up at Wiley some. Wiley chuckled.



"Are you sure you are ready for that?" Kori shrugged.



"It's worth it if I get to make out with you all night. And anyhow…she's been walking in on me and my boyfriends since Scott…I think it's about time she learned how to knock."



"Well at least some things haven't changed while you were gone, right?" Wiley asked amusedly. Kori rolled her eyes and then placed her hand to the back of his head before pushing his lips down onto hers and she brushed hers lightly against his, as she pulled the blankets back over their head.



~*~*~*~*~



When Ashley got back into hers and Nick's room, she looked toward the bathroom to see that he is still in the shower — not surprising, seeing as how she wasn't gone very long. Squashing all of the will power that she had in her not to go join Nick in the shower, she shut the door behind her and went toward the bathroom. She quietly pushed the door open and went inside, and she quickly undressed herself, before going and getting in the shower. When she did, she found him standing there facing the other way. She smiled a little bit and walked up behind him and she slid her arms around his waist from behind, and rested her head against his back. Nick smiled a little bit, knowing exactly who it is without even having to look, and he turned around to face her, as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close and he rested his forehead against hers.



"What happened to holding back for awhile, hmm?"



"Psssh…forget that," Ashley replied, and she smiled up at him. "The ideas you have Nicky, I swear…" she told him, and she leaned up and brushed her lips lightly against his. Nick laughed.



"Ohhhh you are a funny one," He told her, and she giggled as he pulled her under the water with him.




~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile, in Kevin's room, everybody was sleeping peacefully — all except one little girl, who was tossing and turning. Elenore tossed, and turned, and punched her arms about in the air as she whimpered quietly, until finally she jerked awake. She looked around her, her eyes watering up as she does, and she found Josh lying next to her and sharing her pillow, and Kevin on the other side of her. Both of them look like they aren't going to wake up anytime soon, and she wants somebody to hold her. She thought for a few moments, and then kicked her blankets off of her, and she crawled out of the bed and made her way toward the door. When she did she peeked her head out and listened for somebody in hopes of someone being awake. There has to be somebody in the house awake to comfort her! There has to be. As she looked up and down the hall, she noticed a bedroom light was on — the bedroom that she knows Q sleeps in. She walked out of the room she shares with Kevin and Josh and she made her way toward Q's room. When she got there, she pushed the cracked door open and peeked in to see three security guards looking at her curiously — all three of them were just about to get up and go see what she was up to, when they noticed she was headed toward them anyway.



"What are you doing awake Ellie?" Q asked gently. "Kevin isn't going to like it that you are up running around by yourself. It's not safe." Instead of answering, Elenore ran into the room and straight for Q, and when she got to him she flung herself into his ready arms and snuggled close to him like he were a teddy bear.



"Hey, Hey, Hey…what's the matter?" He asked, becoming concerned as he felt his shirt become wet from her tears and he could hear her sniffling. He scooped her up onto his knee and hugged her close protectively.



"My daddy is gonna gets me," she insisted, as she held onto him tight with a death grip.



"What makes you think that honey?" Q questioned, as he rubbed his hand over her back in a slow circular motion.



"I dreamt he would…"



"It was just a bad dream sweetheart…nothing more. Laney, Marcus, and I aren't going to let that happen."



"He has people do it for him when you aren't looking," Elenore insisted.



"What people?" Marcus asked curiously.


"The people I saw sitting outside the gate." Laney became alert then.



"Honey…there isn't anyone sitting outside the gate."



"There was in my nightmare…"



"It was just a nightmare Ellie, I promise. Nightmares don't come true, they can't. They are just pictures inside your head. Illusions…" Laney explained, and to Elenore he may have sounded convincing, but Marcus and Q both know how serious this is. He's gotten her once before, he could get her again if he really wanted to.



"How do you know they aren't sitting outside the gate rights now? They could be…"



"Because we would see them if they were," Marcus answered.



"Yeah honey, see? Take a look." Q added, and he turned her around so that she could see the TV screens that they have set up in the room. "See that TV right there? That's the gate outside," He explained. Elenore slid out of Q's lap and she went and looked at the TV more closely.



"You don'ts have the camera pointing the right way," she announced.



"What do you mean?"



"The bad guys in my dream were in the bushes." Laney got up and grabbed the remote and he hit button 'b' causing the screen on the TV with the gate to move. It moved over toward the bushes and the three of them looked closely, as did Elenore. Nothing.



"See? There isn't anybody there. It was just a dream Ellie…" Q spoke up, trying his very hardest to hide the uneasiness in his voice. Laney and Marcus heard it loud and clear, as they have been working with him for a long time, and know better. Elenore frowned some, as she knows she's right. She knows they are there.



"Come on…why don't I go tuck you into your bed? I bet…" Q trailed off, as they suddenly noticed movement on the hallway camera in the corner of their eyes. They turned and looked at it, to see Josh headed toward their room. A few seconds later he walked in, his eyes blinded by the light.



"Hey Josh…what are you doing out of bed?" Laney asked curiously.



"I woke up cause I was thirsty…an' I noticed Ellie was gone. I got worried."



"Okay…come on kiddies, I will take you both to get a drink and then return you to your beds how's that?" Q asked, and he stood up and scooped the sleepy little boy into his arms, and he walked out of the room with them while Marcus and Laney remained where they are at, their main focus on the camera watching the gate now.



"Do you think she's right? About there being guys hiding in the bushes?" Laney questioned, looking at Marcus worriedly. Marcus shrugged.



"Ashley's dreams came true before…it's not impossible Lan…"




~*~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile in Nick and Ashley's room, the two of them had just gotten out of the shower and got dressed — Ashley in one of Nick's t-shirts and her panties, and him in his boxers. He gently pulled her over toward their bed, and he crawled in next to Dakota, before lying down and he pulled her so she lay on top of him. He pulled the blanket up on them both and she rested her head against his chest as he rubbed his hand over her back.



"So…what is the real reason you came and got in the shower with me? I thought you were going to go and see Kori…"


"I tried…but they locked me out," Ashley replied grudgingly and Nick smirked and rested his forehead against hers as he stared into her eyes.



"And why do you think that is?" Ashley pouted.



"Yeah, yeah…leave me alone." Nick laughed and hugged her close to him, as he kissed her nose.



"I'm sorry honey. I know this isn't easy for you…but Wiley is a good guy, I promise. He's not going to hurt Kori, he loves her."



"How do you know?" Ashley asked softly.



"Because he looks at her the same way that I look at you," Nick answered, as he rested his forehead against hers and gazed into her brown eyes.