I'm Glad You're Back! (Gabby)

Asthon checked on the brownies that he had in the oven. They had been been filling the kitchen with the scent of chocolate for about twenty minutes now, and it was only a matter of time before someone came investigating what it was from. These were for himself and Gabby. She was going to be spending the weekend, and he wanted to make brownies for her. Not just that, but he'd basically been holed up in the kitchen for most of the afternoon.

He'd made cheeseburgers and homemade french fries, plus two regular hamburgers for Gabby, since he remembered that she couldn't eat cheese. He'd decided that he wanted to bake while he'd been waiting for the hamburgers to finish, and had started on the brownies.

He'd also started getting a selection of drinks around for her, since they were going to be having a kind of a sleep over this weekend. It was the first time that he'd seen her since she and her father had come out of hiding from the Ministry and she was staying for the whole weekend. His father would probably think he was going overboard for his surrogate sister, but he had to know that Ashton never did anything small when it came to the people that he loved. And he certainly loved Gabby.

He grinned as he took the brownies from the oven, and set them one the counter to cool, and looked at the clock. It was almost time for Gabby to arrive! He did a quick cleanup of the kitchen. He was good at that part as well. His OCD had sort of made sure of that when he was a child. Done in five minutes, Ashton left the food on the counter for when she got there and moved to the living room to go over the selection of movies and games that she might like. He didn't know what she'd want to do that evening, but he wanted to have a selection for her.

He made it about five steps to the television when he heard the doorbell ring. He went to answer it and dropped to his knees when he saw who it was.

"Can I have a hug, Button?"

Ashton

Gabby had been so excited to see Ashton this weekend, but also a little hesitant. She loved her brother, but she was still scared that the Ministry officials would come and snatch her away when she wasn't looking. So she was back to sleeping with her mummy and daddy in their bed too keep all of her bad nightmares away. She knew that her daddy was starting to get sick of it, but her mummy said that it was only for a little while longer...just until she got her bearings when it came to the situation. But tonight she would be sleeping at her brother's house. She kissed her daddy's cheek as he let her out in front of the home and raced to the front door. She looked back to see him still waiting there for her, and like she often did when he was about to leave she blew him a good-bye kiss.

"Bye daddy! I love you!" she smiled, waving.

Grinning she watched as her daddy drove away and she turned back to the door. Pressing the glowing button that sounded a chime to let Ashton know of her arrival she sighed. This weekend would go well, nothing would hinder it or cause it to be anything less than amazing. Gabby promised herself that and she would make the same promise to her older brother. The doors opened and she was immediately greeted with the smell of warm chocolate brownies and burgers. It smelled absolutely delicious. Looking into Ashton's face she smiled and jumped into his open arms.

"Ashton!" she giggled. "I've missed you!"

Ashton smiled as he hugged his surrogate sister. He was glad that she was free to go around as she pleased again, without having to worry about whether someone was going to come and take her back to the bastard that had abused her for her entire life until she'd ended up at St. Mungo's, and Aiden and Celeste had adopted her. He kissed her all over her little face and stood up, holding her in his arms.

"MMMMMMMMM!!" he let out a happy sound as he squeezed her tightly before setting her on the floor. He kept hold of her hand as he went to the living room and sat on the couch so that he could look her in the eye.

"I have missed you so much, Gabbers. And I hope that we are going to have fun this weekend. If you see other people running around the house, don't worry, their my dad's fiancée's children. They moved here when my dad asked their mum to marry him. If you want, I could introduce you to them? Or maybe you want to wait a little bit before you get bombarded by four new people?"

At least he thought it was four. He wasn't sure that Theo and Sarah were there that weekend. He believed that Theo had stayed at his father's and Sarah had gone on to stay with them in Ireland.

"But whatever you choose, we are still going to have fun. Just let me know what you want to do, and I'll see if we can do that, OK?"

Gabby frowned, she didn't like the idea of meeting new people. She was content with it just being her and Ashton, she didn't want to have to share him with anyone else. At least when she was in hiding with her daddy that was one thing she did not have to worry about. She never had to worry about sharing people. But she supposed that if they were locked in a house with her it wasn't the same kind of love normal people got. Her daddy had been forced to deal with her for those couple of weeks, but he always assured her that she was loved...even though Gabby knew he had probably grown tired of her.

"I just want you Ashton," she said burying her face in his shoulder. "Do I have to meet those people? I don't want to see anyone else but you."

Gabby knew that sounded rude but it was true, she just wanted her Ashton. She liked other people, but this was her and Ashton's day to be together. Gabby liked it when it was just them, that was how it should be. Closing her eyes she snuggled him once more.

"Mmm," she sniffed. "Something smells yummy Ashton...are we going to eat?"

Ashton smiled. That was his Gabby. She only wanted him when they were together. He shook his head, hugging her to him.

"You don't have to meet them if you don't want to, but they may be in and out of the rooms we'll be in, since they do live here now. If you change your mind, I'd be happy to introduce you to them, all right?" He cuddled her to him gently. He'd missed this little girl so much when she'd been in hiding, even as the Showers family's Secret Keeper, Ashton hadn't been able to see his Gabbers as much as he'd liked.

He could only imagine how hard it had been for the family to be seperated like that. But he'd been apart from Sierra recently for something that he chose not to think about, and he had a tiny little inkling of what it meant to miss those that you loved more than your own life.

"We are going to eat, Button. We're having cheese burgers, hamburgers for you since you can't eat the cheese, french fries and for dessert, brownies. But maybe you don't want that? Maybe you just want...... Kisses all over your little face?"

He started doing just that, making up for some of the time that they had lost together. He so loved his surrogate sister, and he was happy to have her back now.

"So, what do you want to do first?" he asked when he'd gotten his fill of kisses.

Gabby giggled loudly as Ashton attacked her with kisses, but she had her own number of kisses she had given him! Still giggling she snuggled into him as he asked her what they would start the day with. She really didn't know, she wouldn't mind flying a broom for once. She had done it before, but her daddy had gotten mad at her because she had landed in the pool. But she really wanted to try again. April was good at ice skating, Juney was good at painting, Gabby had nothing she was good at. Her daddy said that she had a wonderful reading voice, that it was nice and fluent...but Gabby never really saw that as a really practical skill.

"I wanna go flying Ashton," she said gently. "I want to be a good flyer like daddy and learn Quidditch! Please Ashton? Pretty, pretty please?"

She bounced on his lap, hoping that she would be able to convince him further with her pleas. She just wanted to fly so bad, so she could make her daddy proud and prove to her family that she had cool skills too. Her daddy said that she was special in her own way, but she wanted to be special in THEIR way. As a family they all seemed to be unique, but to Gabby being able to read meant nothing to her. She wanted something cool, something different, something amazing!

Making her eyes big she stuck out her lower lip and pouted. Gabby knew how to make Ashton melt, and if it meant resorting to her childish antics then she was not above doing so.

Ashton thought about this for a second. Teach Gabby how to fly on a broom? He could do that. If his broom had been at home, anyway. It was at the school, along with his father's. He didn't think that Cathy owned a broom, and Matthew and Max he knew didn't. Neither one had expressed any interest in flying. He didn't know how he was going to teach Gabby how if there wasn't a broom to teach her with, and even if his had been in the house, it wouldn't have been a good idea. His broom had too much power for someone of Gabby's age and limited experience. Then it came to him!

He grinned at Gabby and took her hand, leading her up to the attic. He'd forgotten all about this! He hoped that his father hadn't thrown his first broom out. It had been a juvenile broom, and didn't go very fast, or high, but it would be perfect for Gabby to learn on.

He started searching through the well organized boxes, having been the one to move them around just the other week when he'd still been apart from Sierra and not on his medication at the time. He'd not opened any of them, but had thoroughly cleaned the room itself.

"If I still have it here, I can let you ride the first broom that I ever had. It's not very fast, and it doesn't go all that high, but since you don't know how to fly yet, it would be the best way for you to learn."

And hopefully it will keep me from being killed if she falls off of it he thought as he continued to search.

Gabby smiled and began bouncing happily. She was so excited! She was going to learn how to fly a broom and make her daddy so proud of her! She could not wait! Juney and April both had their own brooms, she was the only one that did not. Granted, heights were not her strong suit, but she was sure that Ashton could teach her how to get over it. Still grinning widely up at him she hugged him tight.

"I want to learn now Ashton!" she giggled. "I don't want to eat now, I want to go out and fly!"

She could not wait to get home and show her daddy what she learned; maybe then he would fly with her once and a while like he did with Juney. It seemed that everyone in her family had their own personal connection with her daddy...she hadn't found it yet. But she knew that she was bound too. Her older sister said that it was reading, but she didn't think that was very special at all. Not compared to ice skating, or being able to fly a broom. No, Gabby wanted something she could put her name too and be proud of, it was just a matter of finding it and seeing if her daddy would enjoy doing it as well.

Gabby vowed she would find something she was good at. She just had to, if she didn't then she would be the misfit again...and her daddy would forget her. And if her daddy forgot her then when he saw her again he wouldn't know her. And Gabby would runaway before she let herself fade from her father's eyes.

"Please Ashton?" she whined. "Pretty, pretty, please? I want to fly now! I don't want supper anymore, fly, fly, fly!"

Ashton smiled. He hoped that he wasn't going to get his ass jumped by Aiden for this, but he knew that the broom wouldn't go any higher than five feet from the ground, and that the grass on the lawn was like velvet to land on. He knew from personal experience about that one.

He continued searching through the boxes around him. This was where his broom had been put when he'd outgrown it, and now he knew why he'd talked his father out of throwing it out in the first place. He'd just had the feeling that it would be needed again in the future, whether for him to teach the sibling that he'd wanted all his life (who would be arriving now in about four and a half months), or to teach his own children. His father had argued that he'd be able to buy another broom by then, but Ashton had been adamant. It had to be this one.

"Aha!" he said a minute later, unearthing it from the bottom of the third box he'd opened. He shook it a little to see if it would respond to someone holding it, and to his delight, he felt it start to vibrate gently. He was in luck. There was still magic in the broom.

"Well, we have the broom, it has power, and now all we need is to go outside so that you can start to learn." He held out his hand for her to take again.

Gabby took Ashton's hand and smiled. She was going to learn how to fly a broom! She was just so excited that words could not even express it! She didn't know what she wanted to learn first! Gabby knew she wanted to do something exciting, something that would make her daddy so impressed with her that they would be able to bond over it! Gabby wanted her daddy to see how cool she could be!

"Yay yay yay!" she giggled. "I can't wait Ashton! Do you think daddy will be proud of me? I can't wait to show him that I can fly! Maybe he'll take me to a Quidditch Game like he took April and Juney!"

Bouncing up and down she tugged his hand as they began making their way downstairs! She was going to learn how to fly and make her daddy proud! Maybe she could grab him a star from the sky! If she could fly she was sure that she could grab him his own star!

"Ashton, Ashton!" she giggled. "Daddy can fly too! He's one of the bestest fliers in the world! Ashton, did you ever see my daddy fly a broom? I bet he could play Quidditch...if he wasn't a healer of course! Wouldn't it be cool if I could fly like a professional Quidditch player? Ashton, how long have you been flying? Do you play Quidditch? Are we going to start right away?"

Question after question, and excited comment after comment Gabby didn't even realize they had made their way out to his backyard!

Ashton couldn't help it. Gabby was so adorable and excited, he just had to laugh. He held up his hands to bring her energy down just a little.

"Calm down, Button. We'll be starting in just a minute. First I want to explain that even though you are going to be flying on this broom, you shouldn't do it with your father's or anyone else's broom without supervision. Especially since I would imagine that your father's broom would have quite a bit of power in it." He led her out to the middle of the back yard. Looking around to make sure that nothing would get into her way or be a hazzard, Ashton sat on the ground in front of her.

"This was the first broom I ever rode. It will only go about five feet in the air, and about ten miles an hour, but that's enough for a first-time flyer. It will allow you to get a feel for what to do in the air, and you can just go around the backyard, but only when I'm with you." He set the broom on the ground and explained a little about flying safety to her. He'd been bored almost to tears when his father had explained it to him, but it was necessary for her to know what could happen if she didn't keep her mind on what she was doing on the broom.

"Now, to answer your question about me and Quidditch, yes. I have played in the past. For Hogwarts, actually. I don't right now because I have to keep my mind on my studies, and I've applied to become a Healer like your daddy. In fact, I'm hoping that he'll be the one to train me. Now, up you get, and come over here so that we can start with your first lesson."

He got to his feet and held his hand out to help her up.

Gabby hadn't been listening as Ashton went on and on about safety procedures. She was sure she wouldn't do anything too stupid when it came to flying, and she was sure she could fly so long as Ashton was outside. Jumping up to her feet she began bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was just so excited to go flying! She could not WAIT!

"This is going to be so awesome, Ashton!" She giggled. "I'm going flying, I'm going flying!"

Spinning around she gently touched the broom and felt it vibrate. Jumping a bit she grabbed onto Ashton's leg and giggled. It liked her! That just had to mean that the broom liked her!

"Ashton it wiggled!" Gabby squealed. "Does that mean that it likes me?! I think it likes me, Ashton!"

She touched it again, this time keeping a firmer grip upon it. The broom still vibrated to her touch and to Gabby that was just the coolest thing on this green earth.

"Okay Ashton, teach me to fly now!"

Ashton laughed loudly. Gabby sounded so much like him when he was learning to ride a broom. It had thrilled him to no end when his father had taught him to fly, even if he hadn't been going all that fast or even all that high. He'd loved the feeling of the wind in his hair, and knowing that he would one day be able to play Quidditch for one of Hogwarts house teams.

He smiled at Gabby's reaction to the broom's vibrations and crouched down next to her, taking the broom into his hand and showing her how to hold it so that she could mount it. She was so adorable, and he didn't know if she was listening to him or not.

"Gabby, I need you to pay attention, or we'll have to wait on this. What I'm telling you is very important about flying. If not done correctiy, you could be seriously hurt and I don't want to be the one to have to tell your father about the reason you got hurt, and then you wouldn't be allowed to fly any longer."

He showed her again how to hold the broom so that she could get onto it, and released it so that it hovered about a foot and a half off the ground.

"All right, lesson one. Take hold of the broom like I showed you, and swing your leg over it."

Gabby did what Aiden had said and smiled. She was just so excited to be learning how to fly a broom! She was going to learn to do so many cool tricks and fly fast! It was going to be so cool! Gently bouncing up and down on the broom her eyes widened as it rose a couple of feet off the ground, then a couple more feet, and then before she knew it she was zooming around the back yard. It went pretty fast, but not nearly as fast as her daddy's had gone. She wanted to go faster! Feeling the broom vibrate under her fingertips she smiled. Apparently the old broom wanted to go fast too.

Zooming around a random tree in the backyard she giggled loudly and began to spin a bit. She wanted to learn a cool trick to show her daddy, but Ashton was too big to fit on the little broom. Maybe she could make up her own trick! She was sure her daddy would get a kick out of that. She remembered this one quidditch move she had watched her daddy perform when they had gone on a picnic as a family. April and him had gone flying together, and Gabby, Juney, and her mummy had been told to watch and judge the best trick. Of course Gabby thought her daddy's was the best, and she wanted to be able to do it too. Holding the broom tight in her hand she attempted to do an in the air summersault...but rather than holding onto the broom through out the entire move she got scared and released.

Gasping a bit Gabby felt her back slam into the hard ground and her eyes immediately filled with tears. That had hurt! It had hurt really, really, bad. She could just barely catch her breath and the pain went all the way into her tummy. Crying silently because it was such a habit now, she went to look for Ashton, but whenever she turned her head she got really dizzy and her tummy felt sick.

"A-A-A-Ashton?" she cried.

Ashton had rushed over to Gabby as soon as he'd seen her fall from the broom. He reached her as she said his name and looked her over carefully. She didn't appear to be really hurt, but looks could always be deceiving. He didn't want to move her if she really was hurt, and knew that if he called Aiden, he would more than likely be dead.

"Gabby, look at my hand." He held one up in front of her eyes. "Follow it, and tell me how many fingers you see." He put down two fingers and his thumb. He knew that he would immediately have to call Aiden if she was unable to do this simple task. He didn't want to tell him that he'd been teaching his daughter to fly a broom, and that was why she'd been hurt.

Ash began doing a simple check to see if she had any broken bones, asking her to let him know if she felt any pain other than what she already had. Finally he came to the deduction that she'd just knocked most of the wind out of herself, and been slightly stunned at the same time.

"Can you sit up, Button?" he asked, watching her carefully to see if she would be able to do so. "I think that we might have to call your daddy, Gabbers."

Gabby did as Ashton instructed and followed his hand. She counted his fingers allowed for him and showed him that she could still see. The only thing that was bothering her was that her back really, really, hurt and that she felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. She wanted her daddy now, but she knew that her daddy had plans with her mummy and April tonight! He was going to be so mad at her, and she just didn't want April or Juney to hate her anymore than what they already did! Tears welled in her eyes and she began to cry, her sobs echoing through out the grounds. Gently, with shaking hands, she covered her little face. She was just so ashamed of herself! She didn't mean to fall, she had just been so excited to be up in the air.

"I..I...I want...d-d-daddy!" she cried.

Even though she knew that she could not have him right now! She looked up at Ashton with big, wet, eyes and let out a shuddering breath. Her back felt so sore and she knew that Ashton was going to have to call her daddy; she just knew it. Unless his healing training had already begun and he could do it himself.

"Please...Ashton," she sobbed. "Help me...my...my back hurts...and...and I'm dizzy...it's making my tummy all sick."

Upon saying that Gabby gagged...but because she was laying on her back she couldn't properly throw up or release any of the yummy goodies Ashton had given her when she had first arrived at the Albany household.

"I....I...I want...want...d-d-addy!" she wailed.

Remembering that he was now seventeen, Ashton pulled out his wand and gently levitated Gabby, and cast an immobilizing charm on her so that she wouldn't be jostled when he turned her over to keep her from choking if she was sick. He didn't raise her far, just enough to turn her onto her side. He didn't want to have to call Aiden, but she was crying for him now.

He'd turned her to face away from him so that he could check her back and head carefully while she was hovering in front of him. He tried to be as gentle as he could, checking to see if there were any lumps on her head. He found one, and it was quite a goose egg. That was enough for him to know. He was going to have to contact Aiden. He was sure that if he took Gabby to the hospital, her father was going to find out, since she was his child, but Ashton felt that it was better to hear it coming straight from him.

He gently lowered Gabby back to the ground, pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts quickly, finding Aiden's number and pressing the dial button. He took his little sister's hand in his while he waited for the call to connect, and then for her father to answer, swallowing hard when he heard the voice on the other end.

"It's Ashton. Gabby's been hurt. She wanted me to teach her to ride a broom and I had my old juvenile one that doesn't go very fast or high, but she panicked a little and fell off. She's got a bump on her head, and her back hurts her a bit."

Aiden was extremely upset, to say the least. Maybe his nerves would calm once he figured out what had actually happened, but for now he was just too worried about his baby girl to think things through logically. He rushed to Ashton's house and immediately went to find his baby. He didn't even acknowledge Ashton yet, Gabby was the bigger concern. He took out his wand and began checking her vitals and locating her injuries.

"You alright, sweet girl? Don't you worry, Daddy's here now."

He immediately placed an anti-swelling charm on her head injury and pulled out a pain potion from his bag. Her head concerned him the most, but her back could also be severely injured. He didn't want to move her until he was absolutely positive that he was catching every minute detail of her injuries.

"Ashton, go get me a blanket and a glass of milk. The drink will help with any nausea she is experiencing, as well as counteract any negative effects from the potion. Oh...damn, she's lactose intolerant. I have something for it."

He reached in his bag and pulled out an agent that was commonly used to kill some of the bacteria in dairy, which was so harmful to patients who suffered from lactose intolerance. It wasn't always highly recommended because of how difficult it was to brew. But Aiden had been making it by the cauldronful so that he could give some to his youngest child.

"Place three very precise drops of this into her glass. It's for her aversion to dairy. And Ashton...precise means precise. If you are not sure, start over."

After another diagnostics charm, he was positive that her injuries did not extend past what he could easily detect with his wand, and he pulled her up into his arms. He rocked her, and cooed sweet nothings in her ear, making sure she understood who she was and what was going on. He didn't need her slipping into shock on top of everything else.

When Ashton returned, Aiden gave him that look of his that said he meant business. His concern for the boy kept him from immediately thrashing him, and he had a feeling that Ashton had done everything he could to keep his baby girl safe. But that didn't mean that Gabby had not been in danger today, and he wanted to understand why.

"You did the right thing in calling me, and I am proud of the way you have taken care of her. However, I need the full explanation of what happened here one more time. Especially the part where you had my baby riding on a broomstick she was not ready for."

Aiden

Ashton instantly shrank back when Aiden arrived in his back yard and started examining Gabby. He looked so furious that the young Slytherin thought he'd be engulfed in flames for Gabby getting hurt.

He was told to get a blanket and a glass of milk and the first thing that came to Ashton's mind was that Gabby couldn't drink milk, but fortunately before he had to say anything about it to Aiden, it was remembered and the seventeen-year-old was given a potion with precise (Aiden's word) instructions on what to do with it. He followed them exactly with a small explanation to Max as to why he needed a the quilt in the Gryffindor's room and hurried back to the site of the accident.

"Here are the blanket and the milk, Sir," he said, handing them over, and totally forgetting that he'd been asked repeatedly to not call Aiden 'Sir'. He tried to remember, he really did, but at times like this, it was just hard to do.

When asked to retell the story of what had happened, Ashton started with when he'd been asked by his Button to teach her how to fly and that he didn't trust any broom that had any kind of power to it, but he had remembered his little juvenile broom, and that it didn't go very fast or high, so he decided to teach her on that.

"I fully instructed her on how to hold onto the handle, and all the safety instructions that she would need. I never left her unattended, didn't even look away from her for a split second. She took off before I could get hold of the broom and before I knew what really happened, she was flying around the yard and tried to do a somersalt in the air and panicked. That was when she fell off and I immediately did what diagnostics that I could do with what I've learned, and called you."

He fell silent and waited for the storm to arrive.

Aiden listened intently as Ashton explained what had happened, and he had to bite back a smirk. Michaels was almost completely throwing Gabby under the bus here. Aiden knew that the boy was nervous, and he was probably telling the exact truth, but he wasn't acting at all concerned that Gabby might get disciplined for her actions in this whole episode.

But this wasn't the kind of thing that would make Aiden change his mind about Gabby and her adopted brother. Ashton was still very good for his little girl, and he had a feeling she was good for him as well. Gabby had a way of working herself into someone's heart, and it was impossible to want to change that once it happened. He nodded at Ashton when he finished speaking and sighed softly.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, Ashton," he said simply. Then he continued rocking his little girl.

Seeing Gabby safe in his arms was a big help to cool his anger and calm his fear. He didn't want to strangle anyone anymore. But she would still need to understand that she needed to be more careful when dealing with flying, even if the broom was just a toy. He kissed her cheek and looked into her eyes.

"Sweetheart, tell me how you feel. Does your head feel any better? Is there anywhere else on your body that hurts? Your health and safety is my main concern here. And then maybe after we are sure you are feeling up to it, we can talk about why you were not as careful as you should have been with Ashton's broom."

Gabby was so happy when she saw her daddy come, but then the dread began to sink in. Ashton had practically hung her! How could he just let her take the heat for that! She was a little bit more than angry at him and glaring weakly at her older brother she turned back to her daddy. She hoped he didn't ground her for being so daring, but she just wanted to show her daddy that she could do cool tricks too.

"Daddy," she said gently. "I'm sorry...I just wanted to do something amazing...I wanted to impress you..."

And she did, Gabby always wanted to impress her daddy. She wanted him to be proud and brag about her the way he did April and Juney. But she hadn't done anything that was worth bragging about. She wasn't important enough...and she wanted to show her daddy that she was important. She wanted to impact the world and show everyone that she mattered.

"I want to be amazing like April and Juney daddy," she said, her eyes sparkling. "I want to be important...like you daddy..."