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Chapter Two-Hundred-Eighty-Eight



The next morning, bright and early, and right on schedule, Bella awoke. She lay there in her crib looking around for a few moments and when clearly no one was coming to get her, she began to fuss. Ashley sat up in the lazy boy chair where her and Nick were currently sleeping and she glanced over at Bella’s crib sleepily. She rubbed at her tired eyes for a couple of seconds, and then crawled out of the chair, managing to pry herself from Nick’s arms without waking him – which is pretty hard to do, considering he tends to wake up at even the tiniest movement that she makes. She walked across the room to Bella’s crib and she peered inside.


“Hey Bells…you are up bright and early as usual,” she spoke gently as she reached into the crib and gathered her in her arm and the baby stopped fussing almost immediately, and she planted a kiss on her forehead. “Do you think that there will ever be a day that you will let me sleep in? Hmm?” she teased. She then grabbed the baby sling and managed putting it on with one arm, before placing Bella in it so her one hand would be free. She went over and grabbed a bottle, her formula, and her pacifier before heading out of the room deciding that she would heat the bottle up in the microwave downstairs so she doesn’t wake Nick or the children. When she got into the cafeteria she found Brooke, AJ, Denise, Brian, and Riley in there.


“Hey sweetie, you are up early” AJ greeted, immediately going over and pulling his sister into a hug.


“Yeah, my fussy alarm clock woke me up right on schedule,” she replied, and almost as if right on cue, Bella began to fuss some more


“Okay, okay we’re goin to get us some food, I promise,” Ashley reassured her cranky baby, and she rushed off to the kitchen and AJ laughed amusedly, before going back over to join everybody else at the one table they have out so far. He sat in his chair again next to his mom.


“Look at her momma, she’s all ready transformed into a mother and she doesn’t even know she is one yet” AJ whispered so quietly that it would be impossible for anyone outside the group around the table to hear. Denise laughed.


“Honey I think she was a mother long before Bella existed.”


“Yeah, Dakota dubbed Ashley her mommy the day Nick started going out with her” Brian replied, while smiling amusedly.


“I just hope she can handle it. She has some pretty big dreams…” AJ pointed out.


“I know she can otherwise I wouldn’t be letting her adopt Bella. She’s very responsible” Denise reassured quietly.


“I know she’s responsible, but technically she has three kids now mom…that’s definitely going to put a strain on things.”


“Yeah, but she’ll always have me and Nick to lean on. Kota and Sarah are technically Nick’s sole responsibility until they get married and she adopts them…she’s just playing house with him right now. Which is fine, but she can push the pause button on the game anytime she wants and let Nick handle them when she needs to concentrate on her own priorities. Bella however…is another story, but she’s always going to have me to take over if needed – and Nick loves her like she were his own, so he’s always there to baby-sit too. She’ll be fine; she has lots of support. And trust me, I am very big on her following her dreams.” Just then Ashley walked out carrying a content baby holding a warm bottle in her mouth, causing the conversation to end abruptly as they look at her, giving Ashley the impression that they were just talking about her.


“What’s up?” she asked curiously, and AJ pulled out a chair next to him.


“Here sweetheart, come sit down.” Ashley crossed the cafeteria to the table where her brother, mom, and friends were and she sat in the chair AJ was offering her, shifted so her feet were up on it and she rested Bella against her legs and continued to hold the bottle in her mouth.


“So what’s up?” she asked again, looking around at them all accusingly. She is not about to let them think she is going to let it drop. They know her better then that.


“We were just talking about how proud of you we are,” Brooke replied. Ashley raised her eyebrow curiously. “You take care of Bella so well.”


“Yeah?” Ashley asked smiling slightly.


“Yup.”


“So well that maybe you will give me a raise?” Ashley teased, and everybody laughed.


“Nice try,” Brooke replied while shaking her head in amusement.


“Hey you can’t blame a girl for trying,” Ashley shrugged. “I owe my brother lots of money after all for buying Nick’s promise ring for me.”


“Sweetheart you don’t owe me a thing,” AJ insisted, leaning over and wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her close to him for a hug. “I was totally pissed off at Nick that day, I didn’t mean it when I said you owe me. I’m just happy you two are back together and happier then ever.”

“Alex I am going to pay you back eventually,” Ashley insisted.


“I won’t take it,” AJ insisted, kissing her cheek. “You aren’t the only stubborn one here, you know.”


“I’ll put it in your wallet when you aren’t looking.”


“I’ll eventually notice that I have more money then before and then I’ll just go open up a savings account for you and save it up for your college intuition. So, the money will be yours no matter what you do.” Ashley scowled at him, and he smirked.


“Butthead” She insisted.


“We should do that anyway. Save up for you to go to college,” he insisted, ignoring her playful insult.


“I have to get through high school before I can go to college and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Life is all ready stressing enough with Sean after me.”


“What about online schooling?” Brian questioned. “You aren’t getting any younger honey, you have to start on your schooling sometime.”


“I’m not getting any older either Littrell,” Ashley replied, narrowing her eyes at him and he chuckled.


“Course not. I’m just saying you do need to get a move on with your schooling if you want to do what you plan on doing.”


“He’s right,” Denise replied. “I think online schooling is a good idea for you – I’ll help you look into that later if you want me to.”


“Kay,” Ashley replied, and she couldn’t help but smile a little bit. She likes the idea of having a mom to look at schooling options with. “But how am I gonna do that when I don’t even have a computer?”


“Nick has a laptop,” AJ replied. “You can use his,” he added, secretly planning on talking to Nick about teaming up together to buy her, her own laptop for Christmas. Or maybe just Nick, as AJ already has a few things he plans on buying her if he ever gets to the mall without her tagging along that is. She always seems to be with him though. They were all silent for a few moments, until Ashley suddenly spoke up.


“Brookie I have a question.”


“Whats up?” she asked curiously.


“As you probably know…last night Sarah had a nightmare…”


“Yeah I heard about that,” Brooke replied while frowning some. “Is she okay?”


“I don’t think so…I think something is bothering her – something that has nothing to do with her being raped.”


“What was her nightmare about?”


“She was screaming the words ‘no stop it no – mommy don’t let him take him, he didn’t do anything wrong’. Do you know the meaning behind those words? It really freaked Nick and I out…” Brooke grew very quiet at this question, and they all noticed the sad expression on her face turned to complete remorse and she looked down at her hands. Her eyes watered up slightly and AJ got up and rushed over to her, sitting on his knees and rubbing his hand over her back as he looked at her with concern.


“Baby what is it? What’s the matter?”


“I’m sorry but that’s not my question to answer,” She replied softly. “I made a promise to Sarah a very long time ago that it would just be our little secret unless she decided she wanted to tell it.”


“Is it something Nick and I need to worry about? Is it going to put her in danger?”


“I wouldn’t keep it a secret if it was honey. She’ll be fine, its just something she has a hard time getting over – and with good reason.”


“Why is it just now bothering her? I mean she seemed so fine before…besides the whole rape thing…but this seems like a whole different issue.”


“You are right…it has nothing to do with that. This has been bothering her since the day she arrived here and it probably will for the rest of her life. As for why she is showing her pain again all of the sudden, I don’t know…I thought she was learning to cope. But maybe something triggered it?”


“Would this by any chance have anything to do with her parents?” Ashley guessed. Brooke nodded.


“Did they die?”


“Not my story to tell,” Brooke replied, deeply regretting the fact that she had made that promise now. She can tell that Ashley is very worried.


“I wish it was…I don’t like not knowing what’s making you so distressed,” AJ replied, placing her forefinger and thumb to her chin and making her look at him and he rested his forehead against hers.


“All I’m gonna say is that an innocent man who shouldn’t have died did in a very cruel way that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. Anyone. Especially when they didn’t do what they were accused of doing. And a little girl’s heart was broken because of it.” AJ stood up and lifted Brooke into his arms before sitting with her in his lap and he gently made her rest her head against his shoulder. “That’s all I’m saying though. The rest of the story has to come from Sarah.”



~*~*~*~*~*~



Later on that day, a little before lunch Doctor Johnson walked into the cafeteria and found everybody getting ready for lunch. He looked around the cafeteria for Ashley, and suddenly spotted her sitting in Nick’s lap on the floor and they are talking quietly amongst themselves. The floor meaning under the table. Doctor Johnson chuckled amusedly and he went over and knelt down so he could peer in at them and they looked at him curiously.


“Of all the places you two could be sitting, you choose to sit under the table?”


“What can I say? We’re just a couple of kids at heart,” Nick shrugged.


“Yup. Quite comfortable down here actually. Would you like to join us?” Ashley added.


“Yeah, for a little bit if you promise not to threaten to give me a swift kick in the butt again. I actually came to make a peace offering with you.” Ashley narrowed her eyes at him.


“I have forgotten all about wanting to give you a swift kick in the butt – until now Doctor Johnson,” She replied, knowing he doesn’t like it when she gets all formal with him.


“Do you want the peace offering, or what?” he asked after chuckling a little bit.


“It depends on what it is,” she told him stubbornly.


“May I take a look at your arm?” he asked, ignoring her question.


“If you think it’s best. You’re the doctor after all.” He shook his head smiling, before gently taking her arm into his hands and he undid the cast before taking a look, all the while she sat there giving him looks that kill, and he ignored them amusedly as he knows she is just being her stubborn self.


“Do you feel pain anymore?”


No.”


“Are you lying to him?” Nick asked, resting his forehead against hers and she scowled.


“Whose side are you on Carter?”


“The side that has your best interest at heart.”


“It hurts a little bit but not as bad as it did before,” Ashley announced sourly, as she looked back at Doctor Johnson. "When I take Ibuprofen and rest it on something for awhile, it eventually feels better."


"Can you use it when you do things?"


"It's gotten a lot easier to hold Bella with it - and Dakota sometimes too. But I don't do much with it because you insist upon me wearing a sling all the time. And it's stressing me out, I just want to be free of it."


“What if I took away the sling and had you continue to wear the cast? Would that ease some of your pain a little bit?” he asked, gently rubbing his hand over her shoulder. Ashley couldn’t help but notice how sweet an sympathetic he is being, causing her to ease up on her stubborn mood a little bit – only a little bit.


“You’re the doctor…you know best right?” She asked softly, looking away as she felt her eyes water up a little bit. He looked at her for a couple of moments, and then around the cafeteria and he spotted Dakota.


“Why don’t you do an x-ray to see if her arm is better or not?”


“I already did when you all got back from New York. I know that it’s nowhere near ready for her to take her cast fully off and start doing cartwheels and stuff,” Doctor Johnson explained.
“Here…lets do a little test, okay?” he asked gently, turning his attention on an overly emotional Ashley. “While I have your sling and cast off, how about you go over and lift Dakota up with both of your hands. If I see that it isn’t causing you too much pain…I’ll see what I can do to make things easier for you.”


“Kay,” Ashley replied, rubbing her tears away.


“And don’t try and hide it either honey I’ve seen pain far too much to be fooled.” Ashley didn’t reply, she only crawled out from under the table and Nick and Doctor Johnson followed her. When all three of them were up, Ashley walked across the cafeteria to the kids and when she got there the three of them looked at them curiously.


“Hey Kota…come here” she told her gently, before lifting the four year old up with both her hands and settling her so that she is rested on her right hip. When she was, she looked at Doctor Johnson while placing a soft kiss on Dakota’s forehead. Doctor Johnson who had been studying her facial expressions raised his eyebrow.


“Did it hurt?”


“A little bit. I definitely had to use my good arm to support Dakota, but I could use it a little bit nonetheless.” Doctor Johnson stared at her thoughtfully for a couple of moments, and then nodded.


“I’ll be right back,” he told her gently and he headed for the door disappearing out of it. Nick went over and slid his arms around her waist and he pulled her close and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.


“At least I know I’m not the only one who weakens at the sight of your crocodile tears.” Ashley rested her head against his chest as she continued to hold Dakota and Dakota wrapped her arm around Nick too and snuggled with them both. After awhile Doctor Johnson returned and he was holding a roll of ace bandage.


“This is a lot lighter and more comfortable then the cast you are wearing now and you can take it off and put it back on whenever you please,” he explained. “If I keep your cast off, will you wear this? Again, you can take it off whenever you please…so when it starts to itch or you just want to give your arm some air, and you know you aren’t going to be using it, you are more then welcome to take it off.”


“Will I be able to take showers?”


“Yes.”


“Kay…” She replied, and Nick helped her put Dakota down before leading her over to a chair and helping her sit down. When she was in the chair he pulled up two others for him and Doctor Johnson and the two of them sat down as well before Doctor Johnson took her arm gently into his hand again.


“Can I have it off for awhile?” she begged.


“I need to show you how to put it on.”


“I know how,” Nick replied. “I can do it for her and I’ll make sure she wears it.”


“Okay,” Doctor Johnson replied, and Ashley leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him for a hug.


“I love you Steve, you are the best doctor ever – even if I act like a cranky patient toward you.” Doctor Johnson chuckled.


“I love you too sweetie. Only you are allowed to be my cranky patient.”


“Only me huh? What’cha gonna do if someone else gets cranky with you?”


“Get cranky back,” Doctor Johnson replied. “It’s about all I can do without getting in trouble,” he added, and Ashley giggled.


“Some how I can’t see you getting cranky with people. You are too sweet, sympathetic, and understanding.”


“Oh I can get cranky. You just haven’t seen me pushed that far. That’s why I deal with children if I can help it. Unless they’re monstrous brats, then I’m not likely to get cranky with them.”


“Nah, you aren’t likely to get cranky with anybody,” Ashley insisted. “You are a sweetheart J.”


“Thanks honey.”


“BUT, if anybody does mess with my Doctor J, you just tell me and I’ll kick their asses back into shape again. Cause you’re only trying to save their lives – or make them better. So they should respect you,” she insisted.


“Not everybody is as sweet as you are honey,” Doctor Johnson replied while smiling some.


“Well they should be. The world would be a much better place.”