Days later, Arielle lay in her bed with her CD player turned up loud, and tears in her eyes. Treatment had not yet begun, as everyone had to undergo tests to see who could be a stem cell donor. She knew she wasn't a donor, as the results of her test had just come in. Natalie had just told her moments ago when the phone call came in. She felt so bad she couldn't save her brother. All she wanted for him was to be healthy again.
There was a knock on her door. Ignoring it, she held onto the stuffed animal her brother had given her long ago, when she had lost her baby. She just wanted to be alone right now.
" Honey, can I please come in? I need to talk to you." Taylor opened her door slightly, looking in on her.
" I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Will you please just go?" Wiping away her own tears, she kept her back to her dad.
" I understand that, Arielle. But this is important." Taylor let himself in, closing the door behind him. He sat on the edge of her bed, and rested a hand on her arm. He saw her holding onto the stuffed animal, and couldn't help but smile a bit. " I remember when Christopher gave that to you. He felt so bad with how much you were hurting."
" And now he's hurting, and I can't do anything to help him." Tears flowed freely, as she continuously wiped them away. " It's not fair."
With a nod, he stroked a hair away from her face. " I know. But you have to remember that your mom probably feels helpless too. Being pregnant, she can't exactly do anything either." He turned her around to face him. " But all is not lost. There's still several tests to get through."
" But what if no one in the family is able to donate their stem cell? Isn't finding a donor at that point nearly impossible? Especially since they go according to how bad off someone else is. There could be... ten people ahead of him who are worse off."
" That is true." He nodded. " But he is pretty sick. I don't doubt that he will be very high in the list, if that ends up being the case." He took a hand into his, and kissed the top of it. " Why don't you pull yourself together, and get ready to go out to dinner? Isaac is on the way to pick you up. He would like to spend some time with you." He stood up, and headed for the door. Turning back around, he gave her a little smile. " Your brother will get through this. We just have to believe."
She sat up in bed, and looked around the room for a minute. Remembering the last time Christopher had barged in to bug her just a week ago, she couldn't help but crack a little smile. She decided she would try holding onto the good memories to keep her going, and to have faith that they would have more. Sliding out of bed, she went to her closet for a clean shirt. She picked out a coral short sleeve shirt with lace around the neckline. Changing into the clean shirt, she went into her jewlery box to grab her sterling silver guitar pendant necklace. After giving her hair a quick brush through, she left the room to grab her shoes. Isaac showed up a few minutes later, and he took her to Andolini's Pizzeria.
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Ashley was as crushed as her daughter of course, if not more so. She hadn't wanted much to even get out of bed. But Rachel continued to be a rock for her. However, she knew it was time to start taking care of herself. Sending Rachel out of the house so they could both do their own thing, she had music playing in the background as she did some baking. It was something she hadn't done in quite awhile. The last tray of chocolate chip cookies were in the oven now, and she was starting on some pound cake when the doorbell rang. She took a quick peek at the cookies in the oven, and took the tray out. Setting it on the stove, she ran to the door and opened it to see Natalie with Arianna. " Natalie, I... I didn't expect..."
" I know. Arianna was missing you though, and I thought maybe you would want to spend some time with her." Natalie gave her a little smile. " And Penny did make a point the other day. You are a part of this family no matter how much has happened."
Tears came to Ashley's eyes. " That means a lot to me, Natalie. Especially now."
With a nod, she pulled Ashley in for a hug. " I'm sorry for everything that's happened between us. Some of it was my fault. I won't deny that."
" Me either. I've been a real pain in the rear end." Ashley hugged her back. " And I promise to try making up for that." She knelt down to Arianna's size. " Hello sweetheart. I've missed you." Giving her a big hug, she kissed her on the cheek.
" Not as much as I've missed you, momma." Arianna hugged her tightly and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek. " I love you."
" I love you too, Arianna." She swept her daughter's hair out of her eyes, and gave her a peck on the lips. " Why don't you come on in and bring your book bag up to your room? Then we'll order some pizza for dinner."
Arianna ran into the house excitedly, and up the stairs. Natalie and Ashley shared a laugh at her excitement.
" I'll pick her up tomorrow afternoon, about 1:00." Natalie told her. " Have fun with your daughter." Just as she turned to leave, she nearly ran into Brian, who seemed to be standing right there. " What the heck are you doing here?"
" I'm here to talk to my ex wife. So if you don't mind leaving us alone, that would be great." Brian stormed his way past her and into the house. He tried slamming the door on her, but Natalie used all her strength to push her way in as well.
" If you want to talk to her, that's fine. But I am not leaving her alone with you. Not after everything you have done." Natalie snapped at him, trying to stand her ground. But deep down, she was shaking with fear.
" Natalie, maybe you should just..."
" Ashley, give it up. I'm not leaving until he does." Natalie interrupted her, putting an arm around her shoulder. " I don't trust him."
Brian rolled his eyes, and threw a punch at Natalie, getting her right in the lip. But he didn't stop there. He grabbed her by the wrist and threw her into the wall. Ashley knew if she didn't do something that he might really beat the crap out of Natalie. Especially since he kept going after her. She looked around the room, her eyes landing on the fireplace equipment. She ran across the room, grabbed the one she knew would do the most damage, and was going to hit him with it, but he saw it coming. He stopped beating on Natalie and grabbed it from her before she could do it.
Arianna had started to step down the stairs when Brian had made the first punch. When she saw it happen, she quietly ran up the stairs and into her mom's phone where she knew a phone was. She called both the police, and then her dad. She did as she was told, which was to stay in the room. Taylor didn't want her trying to be a hero, as much as she wanted to.
Luckily, the scene downstairs didn't last much longer. He had gotten a couple hits on Ashley and was trying to pull her pants down when the cops showed up. Taylor was standing just outside, as he was asked to stay back until the situation was handled. Brian was arrested, and both Ashley and Natalie were brought to the hospital.
