The Showers Secret Keeper (Ashton)

Ashton pulled her more tightly to him. She wasn't going anywhere with that son of a..... He wasn't going to let anyone take her away from those who loved her. Not as long as he drew breath. He would just about kill the person that tried to take her back to the person that had raised her in fear and shame. She deserved better than that, and she deserved to never have to fear him again! Ashton hated her birth father with every fiber of his being. How could the Ministry even be thinking of giving her back to that man?!

He pulled one of his never ending supply of tissues from his pocket and pulled Gabby up into his lap again. He wiped her nose and eyes, then kissed her cheek.

"Gabbers, I want you to do something for me if you would? I want you to go to the bathroom and use it if you have to, then clean your adorable little face and come back here. We're not going to worry about what's not going to happen if Aiden and I have anything to say about it. We're going to make popcorn, and maybe read for a while. Unless there is something else that's fun you can think of to do. No more crying or worrying, all right? I want to see a smile on my favorite little girl, OK?"

Aiden had heard Gabby screaming in his sleep and he rushed as fast as he could down to her. He immediately saw she wasn't alone and his wand came out faster than lightning. But he soon realized it was only Ashton. His heart slowed to a more normal pace and he moved over to them and gathered her into his arms.

"Ashton, you been here long? Thanks for being with Gabby, you have no idea how many times this little one asked for you."

He held Gabby tightly and rocked her back and forth. He actually needed to speak with Ashton in private after his little girl went to sleep for the night. The only problem was, he knew she would need a dreamless sleep potion in order to do so. He would have to do it, though. His plan would only work if she was not awake to stop him. He had been working on it since before they had even come here, though he didn't know what he would use it for. All of the thoughts of the plan were whirling through his mind and he had to find some way to stop it or he would go mad.

"Gabby, love. I need you to sleep, sweetheart. You are exhausted. Here, I brought this for you," he said as he held out the dreamless sleep potion.

"Please take it, honey. Daddy wants you to get some good rest tonight."

Gabby snuggled into her daddy, surprised that he had gotten up so early. She shook her head at the suggestion of a potion. She didn't want to go to sleep, she knew that if she drank that he would never be able to wake up in case something happened. She was just so worried about him being taken from her! Resting her head on his shoulder she buried her face into his neck and closed her lips nice and tight.

"No daddy," she said gently. "Please...I don't wanna go to sleep...daddy...don't make me go to sleep! I won't!"

She had nightmares and if she went to sleep they would come and get her! She would never be able to sleep peacefully knowing that there was a chance that someone could crawl into their bedroom and steal her.

"I won't..." she cried. "No daddy! I won't take it...I won't!"

Aiden sighed and moved over to the kitchen, where he kept some of his potions and healing supplies. He took out a syringe and filled it with the potion. It would be more potent when placed directly in her bloodstream, so he would need to give her a smaller dose. It helped that he was the head of the Potions and Plant Poisoning Ward.

"I'm sorry, baby. I know this will hurt, and I truly don't want to do it to you, but you have to sleep. And this should keep the nightmares away."

He moved over to her and pulled her firmly on his lap so she couldn't run from him. Then he exposed the top of her backside a bit and gathered the skin, before giving her the injection.

"I love you, sweetheart. I promise, no one will hurt you tonight. Or ever again."

He kissed her forehead and laid her down on the couch. Then he stood and grabbed Ashton's arm, gently pulling him to the other side of the room. He looked to Gabby to make sure she was going under, before he turned back to Ashton tensely.

"I need your help. And it will most likely be highly dangerous and stupid. There is a chance I could get caught with what I'm about to do...which would possibly mean you getting in trouble for it. Let me explain. What do you know about polyjuice potion?"

Ashton was surprised. Polyjuice potion? What was Aiden on about? He should know what the potion would do. He was a Healer for Merlin's sake! But Ash didn't say this. He turned his head in Gabby's direction, watching as the injection that Aiden had given her started to take effect. He ws sorry that it seemed that he was no longer going to be needed that evening. If Gabby was going to be asleep, he wouldn't have her to talk to, and that was the whole reason that he'd come in the first place. He turned back to Aiden, his confusion on his face.

"Polyjuice potion is used to turn someone into someone else for a short period of time. The drinker turns into the visual double of the......." He started to catch on now. Aiden wanted to know if Ashton would either be the drinker, or the subject of the potion! What did he have in mind? He pulled the man a bit farther away from Gabby so that she wouldn't hear easily if she were still awake.

"Aiden, what do you have in mind? I have the feeling that either you or I am going to be going after Gabby's birth father, and taking care of him permanantly. Please tell me that I'm right?"

He wanted to help in any way that he could. If Aiden needed something to turn him into Ashton, the real Ashton would readily give it. If he wanted the teen to drink the potion, then so be it.

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

Aiden looked to his daughter once more and in that moment, his mind was made up. The plan would go through, come Hell or high water, and Ashton would be left to pick up the pieces if it did not. But Aiden trusted the boy. If he did not, he would not have made him secret keeper. And there were other people that would take care of his family should things go south. Aiden looked deeply into Ashton's eyes and his voice became fierce.

“I see the fire in your eyes, Ashton, and I know you have an idea of what I will go do. And I know you probably want to come with me, but I am not willing to put you in danger by going after her bastard father. I will be the one to do it. I just need this,” he said, as he pulled out a few strands of hair from the top of Ashton's head.

He went to the cabinet where he had kept the polyjuice potion he had been slaving over. He didn't make it often, but he made it this time to see if he still had the skill. He had no idea at the time of how vital it would become. He poured the desired amount into a vial and placed Ashton's hair inside. The liquid turned a light green color, not necessarily a bad color. But the taste would be awful regardless of the person donating the hair. He went back to Ashton.

“I will go see Mr. Getz tonight. By the end of the night, he will be lucky if he's not lying in his own vomit. He will also have a sudden epiphany that he needs to legally give up all rights to Gabby. The only problem is, it will be your face he sees. That is where the memory charm comes into effect. Now, if you are uncomfortable with any of this, let me know. I understand it is a difficult position to be placed in.”

Ashton watched what Aiden was doing and was slightly surprised when some of his hair was pulled out. Aiden didn't have to do that. It would have been given willingly. He rubbed the spot for a second and watched as his hair was put into the vial of the revolting potion. When it turned the light green, Ashton knew that he'd been sorted correctly. He was a true Slytherin. Normally that thought would have struck him as funny since it didn't matter what the color turned, it was still going to be revolting and make the drinker be in pain while they changed.

He shook his head when asked if he had any problems with the plan. The only one was that the bastard would still be polluting the world with his presence, but that wasn't for Ashton to decide. He would just do what he was asked, nothing more.

"I'm fine with the plan. But you didn't have to pull out my hair. I would have given it to you if you asked me. What else do you need me to do?" He looked toward Gabby sleeping on the couch.

"You want me to stay with her, don't you? You don't even need to ask that, Aiden. I will protect her with my life."

Aiden smirked at Ashton as he swirled the vial of polyjuice potion around in his hand.

"Now what fun would that be? I wanted to pull it out myself. I like causing pain to others, Ashton, you should know that."

He looked again at the potion in his hand and he grimaced. He had only tried polyjuice potion once before, and it was for research during his healer's training. And it was the worst thing he had ever ingested. Even worse than his wife's lasagna. She was a fantastic cook....unless it was lasagna. Then only wild animals would find it appetizing. He looked once again at Ashton.

"Well. Cheers."

And he tipped back the vial and drank the whole thing. Almost immediately, he could feel the change taking place. All over his body, he felt ill. And he could feel his cells shifting and changing. He also felt like he needed to go sick up in the toilet. He ran to the bathroom and threw up what little food he had in his stomach. And by the time he was done, the transformation had taken place. He looked in the mirror, and Ashton's face was looking back at him. It actually felt quite good to be young again. He went back out to the front room and said, "Well? How do I look?"

Ashton was in shock. He knew what Polyjuice Potion would do, but seeing it in front of him, in the flesh, it was a total surprise. He thought momentarily that he was looking into a mirror, but when he heard Aiden's voice come from his mouth, he almost felt like he was going to pass out.

He sat down, staring at Aiden in amazement. He was the exact replica of Ashton. If he didn't know better, Ashton would think that he had a twin. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, although he thought that he would have spoken with the voice of the other Ashton if it had. He closed his mouth and cleared his throat a few times. This time when he tried to speak, it came out as a croak.

"I'm impressed," he choked. "I didn't know that it would work so well. I certainly won't make that assumption again." He smiled and got up from his seat and walked around Aiden. The only things that were different about this representation of himself, were the voice, and of course the clothing.

"Aiden, this isn't going to work. It's obvious that your clothes are are not the right size. You're going to have to wear mine. I can either give you the ones I'm wearing now, or you can have the ones I brought for tomorrow."

"Oh please," Aiden scoffed. "I might be used to it from being a healer, but I don't want to see you naked if I can help it. Give me the clothes you brought for tomorrow. Better yet, I'll just take them."

He grabbed Ashton's bag and took it to the bathroom. Then he paused and rolled his eyes before going in.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to see you naked anyway when I change into these clothes. At least you're not another woman, my wife would kick my ass."

He closed the door, though he didn't know why. Perhaps it was because Gabby was in the room and he didn't want to chance her waking up and getting an eyeful of her adoptive brother without his clothes on. Aiden quickly changed, then went out and stood in front of the original Ashton.

"Help me speak like you. It will be hard, since your voice just recently changed," he said sarcastically. He cleared his throat and tried to lighten his tone.

"How's...how's this?"

(OOC: I think he should run into Sierra when he's out! It would be very interesting for all parties involved. Including Sierra and Celeste!)

Aiden's attempt to sound like him, made Ashton grin with amusement. Gabby's father sounded nothing like him at all! For one, the accent was wrong.

"Aiden, I'm sure that I don't need to remind you, and I really don't mean to sound like I'm being a pain or nitpicky, but.... I'm Scottish." He shrugged. Aiden probably wouldn't have to talk to anyone while he took care of Gabby's bastard of a father, but in case he did, it would be better to cover all the bases. He sat in the chair he'd just been in again.

"And I'll have you know that my voice changed when I was thirteen, thank you very much," the Slytherin said with another cheeky grin. "I'm not going to tell you anything else though. I don't think you'd want to hear about that." He started laughing at his own comment, then sobered. He knew how important this was to Aiden, and also to Gabby's future.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh. You asked for my help, and I'll do what I can. First off, my voice isn't quite as high as you had it." He stood and moved to where the remainder of the Polyjuice potion stood. "And do you think that you'll need any more of this? I know the potion only lasts for an hour."

Aiden glared at Ashton and looked in the mirror once again to straighten his tie. Or, to straighten Ashton's tie, rather.

"Don't be such a smartass. Your voice changed four fucking years ago, mine changed...well, a lot longer than that. And I don't think I can do a Scottish accent. But I suppose I should try, eh? Not like I'm planning on running into your father or anything. Though," he smiled, "That would be quite amusing."

He grabbed the excess polyjuice potion and placed it in three different vials. Four hours would be more than enough. He tried a few more times to get the accent right, and he finally decided it would have to do the way it was. He checked on his daughter once more, then he moved back to Ashton.

"You keep her safe, and I will do my best to keep your name unsullied."

He clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Oh, and one more very important thing. If I am not back in four hours, I want you to call Randall Marks and tell him to put my family in hiding. You need to promise me that, son. Because their safety is more important than my own. You got it? I'm trusting you, Ashton."

He took one more look back at Gabby, then he went on his way. He couldn't go straight there, or someone might be able to follow his trail. He decided to go to the hospital first and test out his disguise. But it turned out to be one of the worst decisions possible. He was walking past Healer Valari's office and he heard someone shout out Ashton's name. It took him a few more feet to realize that HE was Ashton currently. He stopped and turned around. It was Caleb's daughter, Sierra. Oh...shit...she was Ashton's girlfriend, wasn't she? What the hell was he supposed to do?! He just stood in stunned silence until he realized he should probably say something or she would realize something was up.

"Uh...hi...Sierra."

Aiden felt sick to his stomach, and if Sierra wasn't careful, he might throw up in her mouth. He kept his mouth closed against her tongue and he had to fight not to push her away. He had never cheated on Celeste, and he didn't plan on doing so either. Did it count if you were in a different body? It wasn't like he wanted it. His entire soul was screaming to get away from this girl. And that was what she was! A GIRL!!! Holy shit, she was his daughter's age! He pulled away from her as if he had been burned, and he instinctively brought his hand to his lips. But his eyes were wide as he stared back at her, and he knew that if he did not figure something out now, he would ruin Ashton's love life for him.

"Sierra..." he said, his voice a little too deep and English compared to what Ashton's voice should be. He would have to try out the Scottish accent, it would work now or never.

"I'm sorry....honey. I can't kiss you right now, I have...a cold. A really bad cold. That's why I'm here at the hospital. And why my voice sounds funny."

He cringed at the thought of actually having to tell his wife about this. Hopefully she would understand that it was all for Gabby. But he knew that she would most likely castrate him and keep his genitals as a trophy. He gulped and stood back even further from the little girl now in front of him.

"I have to go for a while, my uh...my dad said family time tonight. I know I'm probably confusing you, but I promise...I'll explain it all later. Next time you see me, everything will make sense. The surprise will have to wait."

Oh Merlin, if she got him to where she needed him for a 'surprise,' he could only assume that meant nudity. He wasn't planning on that kind of illegal activity for tonight!