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Chapter Three-Hundred-Forty-Six



“Aje we have a problem and I’m not exactly sure how to handle it…” Nick announced over the phone as soon as his tattooed friend had answered. He glanced over at Ashley who remains sitting in the corner but now with a blanket wrapped around her and Nick had dried himself off and pulled his pants back on.


“What’s wrong?” AJ asked seriously.


“Ashley has developed a huge water phobia…one that she can’t be talked out of and believe me I’ve tried.”


“Ah shit…”


“Yeah…any suggestions? This isn’t an okay phobia for her to have its not like she is afraid of spiders or enclosed spaces, she won’t take a shower or a bath.”


“I’ll…get Kori or my mom to go over there and deal with it, this is more of their department. Just hang in there until they get there can you do that? Or is she freaking out?”


“No I have her under control for the most part…so long as she isn’t near any water.”


“Alright, one of them or both will be right over. Just hang in there.” AJ replied before hanging up and Nick did as well. He put his phone on the counter and went over and sat next to her before wrapping her in his arms and pulling her near. They only had to wait ten minutes before they heard the front door unlock and a second later Kori came walking around the corner.


“Sis this isn’t cool…showers and baths are pretty important.” Ashley tightened her arms around Nick and rested her head against his shoulder. Kori crossed the living room to get to them and she knelt down in front of them.


“Do you want to smell is that it?”


“I can’t Kori, I just can’t…” Ashley insisted weakly.


“Well you have to do something to get clean sweetie, you smell. You’ve been in defense class, you’re sweaty, and your hair is getting greasy. That’s gross.”


“Then I guess I will just have to smell.”


“Nuh uh, you’re getting clean one way or another I can promise you that.”


“Have a nice time trying…she can’t get out of AJ’s arms when he has a hold of her in defense class, but as soon as that water touched her in there she smacked me in the face pretty hard and booked it.” Kori looked at Ashley for a moment just thinking of an alternative and when she thought of one she got up went in the kitchen, and she opened up the cupboard to the sink. She reached in and pulled out a bucket and sponge, turned on the water to the sink and she placed the bucket underneath the running water before going into the bathroom and retrieving Ashley’s favorite scented body wash and she brought it out and poured some in with the water.


“Nick tell Lan, Marcus, and Drew to cover their eyes and then take Ashley upstairs to that bathroom so she can stand in the empty tub. I will bring this bucket up in a second and you can give her a sponge bath.”


“Kay,” Nick replied before getting up and turning to Ashley. He gently lifted her up in his arms cradling her with the blanket wrapped around her and he began to carry her upstairs. He told security to cover their eyes when he reached the top step and they did as Nick carried Ashley into the bathroom turning on the light. He got in the empty tub after pulling the blanket off of her and he sat down with his legs dangling over the side as he cradled her in his lap. Five minutes later Kori joined him with two buckets of water and a sponge and Ashley’s favorite shampoo and conditioner. She set the buckets in the tub next to Nick and sat down on the closed toilet seat.


“This is the best alternative I can come up with, sis, there is no other alternative. There is no possible way for you to drown during a sponge bath.”


“Sean would find a way…” Ashley insisted softly.


“Well I’m not Sean baby,” Nick reminded her as he tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “I love you so very much and you know that. You know that I wouldn’t do or let anything harm you, and I wouldn’t make you do something if it were dangerous.”


“You have to be clean Ash…not only is it gross to skip showers and baths but you are going to get sick as well and I love you way too much to let that happen. You and Spencer are the only family I have left and I’m going to take special care of the both of you. Because I’m too stubborn to lose either one of you.” Nick gently cupped Ashley’s cheek in his hand and lifted her chin so she was looking at him and he leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly over hers.


“I need you to trust me baby girl…can you do that for me? I’m not going to let you drown. I will hold you the whole time and keep you safe.” Ashley gazed up at him in silence for a few moments before nodding quietly and he looked at Kori.


“That bucket has her favorite body wash in it and that one is just plain water for rinsing her with afterwards. And of course…and most importantly, there’s her shampoo and conditioner.”


“Okay thanks Kori,” Nick replied, giving her a grateful look.


“No problem sweetie,” Kori told him. “If you need me I will be right out here with Marcus, Laney, and Drew.”


“Okay,” Nick replied and Kori walked out of the bathroom. Nick grabbed up a sponge and cautiously began to clean her up and though she went very tense, much to Nick’s relief she didn’t panic this time. Meanwhile out on the upstairs banister Kori took a seat in a chair next to Marcus.


“So not that I don’t trust you guys or anything…because I do, but what are your plans on making this place safe for my sister? This isn’t exactly a celebrity house or anything…we don’t have a big gate to protect us.”


“Well we’ve been talking a lot about that actually,” Drew replied.


“We’ve installed cameras all through out the house as you can see, minus in the bedrooms and bathrooms due to privacy,” Marcus added.


“And we’re going to have an alarm system set up as well,” Laney spoke up.


“Not only that but we’re going to also keep all of the windows shut and locked – they might still break through them if they really want in but at least the sound of breaking glass will alert us,” Marcus continued.


“And what we’ve just started doing today, is everytime Ashley and Nick come home they’re going to stand outside with one of us while the rest of security goes in ahead of them to do a thorough search of the entire house. We’re going to make sure no one is in here waiting for a surprise attack. We’re also going to work on training Abbie and Lily to alert us when there is a stranger near by that shouldn’t be.” Drew finished.


“Those are all very good plans,” Kori told them, approving of them very much. She can’t wait for that alarm system. “And what about the common sense stuff like fire alarms? We haven’t lived in this house for years do they even still work?” She added while looking over at the one outside her door.


“I checked those this morning,” Marcus answered. “I put new batteries in them and purposely set them off to test them – they work just fine. Ashley however wasn’t pleased with me since she had just gotten Bella to sleep and I wasn’t aware of it.”


“Are you going to teach Dakota and Sarah how to get out if there is a fire and where to go?” Kori asked while stifling a laugh. She can just picture how pissed off her sister was, the expression on her face and everything. Marcus won’t be setting off any alarms on purpose without permission ever again, that’s for sure.


“We didn’t think about that, but that’s a good idea. We should have a fire drill tomorrow,” Laney replied.


“When Bella is awake,” Marcus added.


“Yes when Bella is awake, please,” Nick spoke up amusedly from the doorway causing everybody to look at him. “Kori will you do me a favor and go downstairs to mine and Ashley’s room to get her some clothes?”


“Yup,” Kori answered before getting to her feet and she headed on downstairs.



~*~Three Weeks Later~*~



Ashley opened her eyes bright and early in the morning to find herself lying in bed beside Nick who was still sound asleep. She lay there quietly for a few moments just enjoying the comfort of Nick by her side until suddenly she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Raising her eyebrow she rolled out of bed being careful not to wake Nick up and she looked down at herself. Deciding that everybody is quite used to seeing her walking around in one of Nick’s t-shirts and her underwear; she opened the door and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her and turned to see Brian, AJ, Kori, and all of the kids sitting in the kitchen having breakfast as if they’d been in the house all night. She walked into the kitchen raising her eyebrow and Brian was the first to see her.


“Morning sweetie,” he greeted her cheerfully and he went over and pulled her into a hug, something that has become quite a tradition between the two of them. Ashley hugged him back and looked up at him allowing him to kiss her cheek. “Want a cinnamon roll? I made them myself”


“Sure,” Ashley replied amusedly and Brian went on over and began to get her one. “Not that I don’t love you guys and not that I am not happy you are here, because I do and I am but do you want to tell me why?”


“Today is Nick’s birthday,” Kori answered in a low voice knowing from experience that you can hear everything in the room that Nick and Ashley share.


“Yes and that brings you all to my kitchen at this time of day because…”


“Well, for one we all wanted to be here to greet him when he wakes up, and two…we all really want to do something for him” AJ explained.


“Like what?” Ashley asked interestedly as she accepted the plate of cinnamon rolls that Brian was handing her as well as a glass of apple juice.


“We were thinking maybe you and Marcus could get him out of the house for the day and the rest of us could stay here and put together a surprise party for him. We’ll tell him happy birthday and all that jazz so he doesn’t feel like we’ve forgotten him or anything and then you can tell him you want to spend the whole day alone with just him for his birthday” Brian explained.


“Yeah and of course by doing that you get a free card for baby-sitting,” Kori added as she sat at the table with Bella who is sitting in Kori’s lap trying to grab at her toys that Kori had spread out all over the table. Now that she’s nearing three months old she is getting quite big and more interested in the world around her. Ashley looked at her curiously.


“Are you the reason I never heard her cry this morning?”


“Yup,” Kori answered as she bent down and planted a kiss on Bella’s forehead. “I went in her room to check on her and she was lying in her crib making her usual happy noises that she makes.” Ashley smiled some and she went on over and gathered Bella into her arms causing the infant’s entire face to light up as it usually does upon seeing her mommy.


“Hi sweetheart,” Ashley greeted her with a kiss on the nose and Bella gurgled fondly. She looked at Kori again as she hugged Bella close to her. “Did you do her morning diaper change?”


“Yes I did and much to my dismay she didn’t leave the messy ones for mommy like we discussed. We’ll have to keep having that talk until it sinks in I guess” Kori explained. “I fed her a bottle as well so life is good in Bella’s world.”


“You people can come over here and take care of my kids while we’re sleeping more often okay? I give you permission” Ashley insisted while reaching over and helping Dakota pour a new cup of chocolate milk before she spills it all over the place and Brian chuckled.


“Maybe we will on your birthday how’s that?”


“You mean I have to wait a whole week for more kid service?” Ashley teased and AJ chuckled.


“Not unless you want to pay 5 bucks per child,” he told her and Ashley sighed in playful exasperation before taking the empty seat next to Dakota and she began to really enjoy her cinnamon rolls.


“Where are the others? Kevin, Howie, Riley, Brooke and everybody?” She asked after a few moments.


“They’ll be here a little after you get Nick out of the house to help us set up. They’re going to call him on the phone and tell him happy birthday.”


“Ah” Ashley replied. “I know we’ve already seen her at the party, but will we be meeting Summer anytime soon? …You know, officially?”


“I asked him about that and he says he’s bringing her to Nick’s party tonight.”


“Do you think he’s really serious about her?” Ashley asked softly as she idly twirled her finger around one of Bella’s curls and avoiding eye contact with everybody.


“I don’t know he’s never given us a chance to see the two of them together…tonight will be our first night besides at the party. Why?” Ashley shrugged quietly still looking down at Bella.


“Ash?” AJ questioned, knowing full well that something is bothering her.


“I just don’t know about her…that’s all.”


“Well neither of us know about her, like I said we’ve never met her” AJ replied completely misunderstanding.


“No, I mean I really don’t know about her,” Ashley corrected. “As in if she’s good enough for my Kevin.”


“How can you make that kind of judgement without really meeting her?” Kori wanted to know.


“I don’t have to meet her…I got really bad vibes from her just from being in the same room as her and watching them at the ball,” Ashley explained softly. “And why is he keeping her to himself? They’ve been seeing each other for almost three weeks now and he seems pretty serious so why did it take him this long to bring her home to us? Plus…what about Ellie? He hardly spends time with her anymore and its obvious that she doesn’t like her and that’s pretty important if you ask me.”


“I think Ellie might not like her because that’s just Ellie. Its not that she doesn’t like Summer, it’s the fact that she has to share Kevin with Summer” Brian insisted.


“Well I don’t mind sharing Kevin with people and if you ask me I think she’s fake.”


“Honey that’s not really fair you haven’t even gotten to know her” Brian insisted.


“I just think that if she were really the one we would’ve known her a lot sooner then now and Ellie would be apart of the picture a lot more then she is. I think Kevin can do a lot better – infact I know he can.”


“I’m sure Ellie is very much apart of the picture. I think you are reading too far into this because you are highly protective of Kevin.”


“You are damn right I am protective of Kevin, especially when I know someone fake is messing with him. Ellie has been at the Orphanage with us baby-sitting her almost every single day with him gone until after dinner. He sees her a little bit before bed and that’s it and when she’s settled with Josh he sneaks out to be with Summer again with Jerald watching her – I’ve asked Jerald.” Brian, AJ, and Kori remained silent not knowing what to say. “And I just think it’s very wrong, that’s all. Ellie is his pride and joy and his whole world revolves around her but ever since Summer came into the picture it just seems like Ellie got pushed to the side. He settled for the first girl that made him happy at a party because he was lonely and desperate for someone who was above the age of five and she’s blinding him.” AJ opened his mouth to protest but Ashley cut him off.


“Just look at Ellie Aje,” she insisted softly. “All you guys see is her acting up but really she is only acting out. I got concerned, paid attention, asked questions and what I found out is that she just misses Kevin.”


“I’ll talk to him and see what’s up,” Brian reassured after a few moments. “Will that make you feel better?”


“Yeah…I guess…” Ashley replied softly while looking back down at Bella.


“Ashee?” Dakota spoke up after a few moments of silence.


“Yeah sweetie?”


“Can I goes an’ wakes daddy up now? Please?” Ashley thought about that question for a moment and then looked over at the clock and saw that it read 10:00.


“Yeah I guess its safe to do so.” Dakota slid down from her chair and she walked across the room, turned the corner and went straight to Ashley and Nick’s bedroom door. She pushed it open and went inside and she peered around the corner and smiled slightly at the sight of her daddy still sound asleep. She walked over to Ashley’s side of the bed, crawled up onto it and she carefully made her way to Nick. She crawled on top of him so she is sitting on his stomach and she peered down at him with a small smile.


“Daddy wakes up…” she spoke quietly in his ear and Nick groaned slightly before sliding his arms around her. He opened his eyes a little and peered up at her and he couldn’t help but grin at the sight of her blue eyes staring back. He misses the days where he used to wake up to that every morning, now all she ever wants to do is rush downstairs and play. “Good morning daddy!” she chirped happily.


“Good morning beautiful,” Nick replied while hugging her close to him and she nestled comfortably against his chest deciding she could lie in her daddy’s arms all morning. “I am so glad you came in and woke me. What a special way for daddy to wake up in the morning,” he told her sincerely before planting a kiss on top of her head.


“Happy birthday daddy, I love you” she told him and Nick’s heart melted at the soft-spoken words from his daughter.


“Thank-you princess, I love you too.” He whispered in her ear and he pulled the blanket up on her as well as he snuggled with her and Dakota smiled contentedly, happy that she got to be the first person to tell her daddy happy birthday.