Chapter One-Hundred-Forty-Five
Nick looked down at Dakota then whom he has cradled in his lap.
"Kota baby can you let someone else hold you? Please? I need to go be Ashley's caregiver for awhile…she is really upset."
"Brian?" Dakota requested softly and Nick looked over at Brian.
"Of course pumpkin come here," Brian grinned and he gently took her from Nick. Nick got up and went upstairs and he went down the hall to the bedroom he shares with Ashley and the kids. He turned the doorknob and pushed it open and he found Ashley lying on their bed. She is curled up in a ball and her body is shaking violently as she sobs. Nick looked taken aback as he stood there staring at the girl he loves and he can't help but notice how lifeless she looks right now. Her face is pale and completely wet with tears and she doesn't look like herself. He has never seen her look so upset – ever and he's seen her upset way too many times to count. But not like this.
"...Baby?" He asked softly as he walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "What happened?" he added, and he went over and sat next to her. Ashley moved over and lay her head in his lap and he bent down and kissed her forehead softly before pulling her into his lap despite how soaked she is from the rain and she buried her face into his chest. He sat and held her close to him as he just let her cry it all out.
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile downstairs, Kori finally came into the house, her clothes sopping wet from the rain and her cheeks wet from her tears. Without a word or so much as even a glance to everybody in the living room, she went upstairs to her room and she shut the door ajar before going over to her dresser. She got out a tanktop, a pair of panties, and then she went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. When she finished she got dressed into just her tanktop and underwear and she brushed out her hair before going and crawling into her bed. She rested her head on her pillow and huddled up in a ball. A few moments later she heard Wiley come in but she made no indication that she knows he is there. He went over and crawled into bed behind her and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him before kissing her cheek.
"I said some really horrible things to her Wi…" She confessed softly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I didn't mean any of it…"
"Do you want to talk about it sweetheart?" Wiley asked softly and he caught her falling tear with his finger before wiping it away. Kori shook her head and snuggled into his arms some more.
"No…just hold me…please?"
"I'm not going anywhere, love…" Kori and Wiley lay together in bed all night long, eventually Wiley ended up falling asleep but not Kori. She lay awake all night feeling horrible about the things she said to her sister. She still can't believe she said them.
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile in Nick and Ashley's room, when Ashley ended up crying herself to sleep Nick brought her over to their pillows and he lay her down and covered her up with the blanket. After doing that he got up and walked out of the room leaving the door open and he went to the security room and poked his head inside to see Q sleeping in his bed and Marcus and Laney watching the cameras. They looked at Nick though as he walked in.
"Will one of you come watch over Ashley for me while I go downstairs to get Kota and Sarah? She's asleep."
"Yeah of course," Laney immediately replied and he got up with his coffee and followed Nick out of the room and he went down the hall to the bedroom while Nick went downstairs. When he got down there everybody looked at him concerned.
"Is Ashley okay?" Howie was the first to ask.
"No not at all…she isn't herself at all right now I've never seen her so upset. She cried herself to sleep and Laney is up there watching her while I come get my kids."
"By not herself what do you mean?" Riley asked worriedly.
"She was totally pale when I got up there Ri…she was lying so lifeless in the middle of our bed just crying her eyes out…I don't know what Kori did to upset her but it had to have been bad…I've never seen her like this."
"You mean she didn't even tell you what happened?" Kevin asked bewildered. Nick can always get her to talk no matter how scared she is – only Nick. But if she's not even telling him this must have been really bad.
"No…I couldn't even get her to stop crying long enough to talk to me…like I said, she cried herself to sleep."
"Oh man…" Nick nodded and he went over to Brian who is holding both children in his lap as they are asleep. He gently scooped both girls up into his own arms so each of them were rested on his shoulders and he managed not to wake them up as he carried them up the stairs. When he got up there and in his bedroom he went over and gently lay each of them in bed and Laney walked out of the room to go back to the security room. Nick crawled into bed too but he scooted over so he is sitting in between Ashley and the girls and he leaned his back up against the head board and he stayed awake watching over his girls as the storm was still raging outside. His mission is to not fall asleep the whole night incase any of them should wake up – especially Ashley.
~*~*~*~*~
The next day around nine thirty in the morning Dakota and Sarah both had woken up and gone downstairs but Nick was left sitting in bed now propped up against some pillows as he has Ashley lying on his chest asleep. She had woken up numerous times in the middle of the night crying over a nightmare and a few times she even had to run to the bathroom to puke. He doesn't know what Kori said to her, but at the moment he hates her for it. He has never seen his baby so upset – not even when Trevor messed with her. Nick lay there in silence for an hour as he rubbed his hand over her back and watched her sleep and then suddenly Brian walked in causing Nick to pull the covers up on her. After puking twice last night he made her have a bath and afterward she got dressed in just a tanktop and underwear.
"How is she doing?" He asked gently and he went over and sat next to him on the bed.
"Not so great…she woke up several times last night either crying over a nightmare or running into the bathroom to puke. I've never seen her so upset Brian…"
"She has every right to be upset like this," Brian replied as he reached over and raked his fingers through her hair gently. Nick raised his eyebrow.
"Why?"
"We talked to Kori this morning when she and Wiley came downstairs. She told us what happened outside. They got into a shouting match in the middle of the rain and said a lot of things neither of them meant. The last thing Kori said to her before she came in the house crying was that she hates her so much she can't wait until Sean finds her…"
"Oh my god…" Nick replied softly as the shock was clearly evident on his face. "Well that explains why she keeps having dreams about Sean taking her away and Kori doing nothing about it."
"She feels horrible about it. I can tell that she was up all night. She says as soon as she said it she felt bad and tried to apologize but Ashley told her to leave her alone and then came in the house crying.
"I don't blame her…she's really sensitive and all those mean things they said to each other had to of been killing her inside but that last comment made…" Nick trailed off and he hugged Ashley close to him and placed soft kisses on her forehead. He and Brian spent an hour talking and then suddenly Ashley woke up.
"Nicky?" She spoke softly and Nick looked down at her.
"Hi baby…how are you feeling?"
"Hurt…" Ashley answered softly and she snuggled into his chest.
"Do you want to go downstairs? I smell breakfast being made down there."
"I'm not hungry," she pouted and she buried her face in his chest.
"Well do you want to just go downstairs anyway and say good morning to everyone?"
"No I want to stay right here…"
"Okay…" Brian stayed with Nick and Ashley for an hour more but then by the time ten thirty came around, Kori appeared in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest and tears rolling down her face. Nick and Brian both looked at her curiously and Ashley who was lying face up in Nick's arms looked at her with anger in her eyes.
"Nick may I have some time alone with my sister please?"
"No you may not," Ashley answered before Nick even had the time to respond. She rolled over in Nick's arms and again buried her face in his chest. Kori gave Nick a pleading look.
"Don't you think you've upset her enough?"
"I want to apologize to her…" Nick eyed her for a few moments not trusting her in the least bit.
"Let her do it Nick...they need to work things out and she really is sorry."
"But Ashley doesn't want to be left alone with her."
"I know but it's what's best for her." Nick thought for a few moments and then he got up and started to lay her down but she clung tightly to him.
"Nicky, NO! Please…"
"Honey I have to it's what's best for you," he told her gently and he lay her down on the bed causing her to turn her back on them and hug her legs close to her chest as tears rolled down her cheek. Nick and Brian began to leave then and as they passed Kori he looked her in the eyes seriously. "If I hear any shouting I'm intervening. She's been up all night suffering nightmares and puking she is not feeling well." He told her, and with that he allowed Brian to drag him out of the room. Kori shut the door just a crack and she went over and crawled into the bed behind Ashley and she wrapped her arms around her waist, pulled her close to her and she rested her cheek against hers. Ashley sniffled some as she wants so badly for Kori to go away but at the same time it is somewhat comforting to be held.
"I'm going to talk for awhile okay? And I don't want any interruptions…just hear me out. After that you can scream at me all you want but I at least want my feelings out and known before you do," Kori explained and Ashley remained quiet as she stared at the wall emotionless and pretended not to have heard her. "First of all, I know I've said this many times before but I feel like I should say it again…I never meant to hurt you. It was never my intention. I didn't just one day wake up and decide 'hey I think I will hurt my sister today…just for fun and run away.' I would NEVER do that to you because believe it or not I love you. I ran away because of me, because of the emotions I was feeling inside, and because I was terrified…it was all for my selfish reasons. AND because me and my stupid self thought I was protecting my family. The whole time I was in Jersey I thought you, mom, and dad were safe and that's all that mattered to me. When I got the phone call from Scott telling me otherwise…well I can't even begin to describe the pain I felt inside. When I learned that you 'were in grave danger' I came running because I couldn't stand to lose you to Sean too, you are WAY too important to me. Sean knew that too, that's why he used it against me. I am sorry for all of the horrible things that I said to you last night…I didn't mean ANY of them. I love you very much, you're the most important person in my life – the only family I have left and I will kill Sean or anyone else who comes near you. What I want more then anything is a relationship with you…and for things with us to be the way it used to be…I want that so bad and it frustrates me to no end that you push me away. I don't know what to do Ashley…I feel at loss here. You tell me how to get through to you and I will."
"I don't want you to leave me," Ashley spoke up suddenly and she began to cry. "I don't want you to go back to Jersey and leave me again it would kill me to see you go again. I want you to stay here with me…I want you to face your fears, and I want you to deal with your pain because I've had to deal with mine for the past five years and there was NO way out. I HATE it that you got to hide out in New Jersey all these years while I had to stay in Florida and suffer through it all! Do you know many times I've wanted to run away and couldn't? It's NOT fair! I want you to make things right with mom and dad…and move into our house with me when I turn eighteen. If you don't stay I am going to keep pushing you away because it'll be so much easier on me when it's time to say good bye."
"I can't just leave my diner behind, Ashley, I can't. You may mean every thing to me but that Diner has a huge portion of my heart too. Like I said last night…I met all of my friends there, it gave me a place to hide from my past demons, it made me become a better person and I have so many good memories there…it is my home." Ashley opened her mouth to protest but Kori interrupted.
"I will never forget Florida. I will never forget the good times we had together, and I will NEVER forget that it's the place I came from…never. But I need to be in Jersey and if you love me at all you will understand that."
"But what about me? You are willing to leave me behind for your New World that you created? If I mean so much to you why would you leave me?"
"It won't be like last time Ashley, I promise. I will call you every day and you can call me. We'll write letters to each other and we can even visit each other too. Families don't always have to live in the same state in order to be a family…and you won't be alone, you'll have Nick…and Dakota, and the rest of the gang. They love you almost as much as I do…I know they will always be here for you. I will always be here for you too…but in New Jersey."
"What about mom and dad's house?" Ashley sniffled.
"You and Nick can live in it. If it'll make you feel better I will go to the house with you and we'll go through all of mom and dad's old things together…and I will help you get settled in but I can't live there…please understand that and make that compromise with me…please."
"As long as I don't lose you…you are all I have left of our family Kori I need you…"
"Never honey…you could never lose me…not this time," Kori reassured and she wiped Ashley's tears away as she now lay so she is facing her and Ashley wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in her shoulder as she began to cry all over again. Kori kissed the top of her head as she hugged her back and tears fell from her own eyes and Nick and Brian appeared in the doorway as they watched the scene before them. They had been standing out in the hall listening to the whole thing, Nick waiting for the moment where he would have to intervene and protect his girlfriend but he is thankful that he doesn't have to.
"I want you to come to Jersey with me…" Kori spoke up after awhile when Ashley calmed down some. "Just to visit…maybe after Thanksgiving when we go back to Florida? I know I'm not allowed…but Detective Stabler is more then welcome to come with us to see for himself that I come back…"
"Why do you want me there?" Ashley asked softly.
"So you can be apart of my world…so I can share with you why I love it so much, so you will understand that no matter what you will always be welcome there."
"And Nicky and Kota can come?"
"Of course…for one we don't have much of a choice since he's caregiver to you until you are eighteen, but I love the man myself…he is more then welcome to come too." Ashley couldn't help but smile a little bit, causing Kori to smile too.
"I would like that a lot…"
"Aww…you love me?" Nick asked, pretending to gush as he and Brian found this the right opportunity to enter the room and Kori and Ashley looked at him, Ashley giggling a little despite the tears rolling down her face. "Well I love you too!"
"Yes I love you…even if you took my sister to get her belly button pierced," Kori replied after rolling her eyes and she laughed as shock formed on both Nick and Ashley's faces and Brian looked at Nick with an identical expression on his own.
"You WHAT?!"
"Don't look at me, it was all her idea!" Nick immediately insisted and he pointed at Ashley. Kori laughed.
"Oh I believe that, don't worry."
"You got her belly button pierced?! Do you know how badly Riley and Brooke are going to hurt you?"
"It was either that or a tattoo Rok and they aren't going to find out are they?" Nick asked, stepping closer to Brian with narrowed eyes and Brian shrunk back a little. He may be the oldest out of the two, but Nick will always be the tallest. Brian shook his head grinning.
"You better hope they don't. Let me see this belly button ring," he replied, and he went over and sat next to Ashley. Ashley smiled a little bit and pulled the blanket down far enough that he could see her belly button but nothing else. She may trust Brian, but she doesn't trust him that much.
"Did it hurt?"
"I know it did just by the look in her eyes but she'll never admit it because she's trying to prove a point to me."
"What point?"
"That she can handle the pain."
"Always the stubborn one aren't you?" Brian asked, smiling down at her.
"Yeah, but you love me anyway." Ashley replied, smiling sweetly up at him and he chuckled.
"Yes I do," he admitted and he bent down and kissed her cheek.
"Not as much as I love her though," Nick insisted and he went over and sat next to her also. "Nobody loves her more then me."
"I beg to differ," Kori insisted and Ashley giggled.
"Chill out people…there is enough Ashley to go around, I mean sheesh!" She exclaimed and Nick chuckled and wrapped his arms around her as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Well I am glad to see that you are feeling better."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
