Chapter four: Remembering

"Ashley!" Helen yelled as the girl fell to the ground. Ashley's eyes fluttered and more visions or more accurately Memories flooded her mind and not just like ten we're talking twenty some odd years' worth of memory! The last memory that came was of her being drugged and then nothingness. She moved her hand to her head and opened her eyes to the harsh light.

"Crap… my head hurts, mom." Ashley mumbled as she sat up. "MOM!" she yelled as she realized that Helen was in fact her mom. She got up and gave her a big hug. "Gosh it's been ten frakin years! How did I 'die'?" she said sounding like the twenty three year old she had been rather than the ten year old she was at this point in time.

"Ashley!" Helen said as she returned the hug. "Oh Ashley! You're really back!" Helen allowed as the tears of joy rolled down her face.

"Where's dad?" Ashley asked looking around… she was a momma's girl as much as she was a daddy's girl and since she just saw her mom now she wanted to see her dad. Where had he gone? Wasn't he here just a minute ago? Wait no, he wasn't or was he? 'Great now I can't even remember what happened five minutes ago! Ugh this is Sooo not fair! And I'm ten! Ugh! And I spent ten years as French Ash and I can vaguely remember that!' Ashley thought grumpily.

"In the library, you can see him after you get a full physical and I can assess what is wrong if indeed there is anything wrong with you, alright?" Helen said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah and find out why and or how I'm ten! Eighteen I could deal with, or even twenty-one but not ten!" Ashley said in true Ashley style. Then added "Henry! Last I saw him and remember he and I were separated, where is he?"

"He's here, he missed you Ashley, as did we all. I think your father missed you the most." Helen said with a sad smile on her face.

"Probably about as much as you did. which knowing you, was a lot," Ashley let out a shaky laugh, "Let's go, I wanna see dad and Henry." Helen led her to the infirmary and checked her out to see if anything was wrong, which there wasn't, thank goodness! Helen let out a sigh of relief and pulled Ashley into another hug as they headed toward the library.

John was sitting in the chair by the fireplace that he and Ashley used to sit on when she was a child. He was attempting to read Dante but was failing as his thoughts kept falling back to Ashley, his blonde little angel. Oh, how he missed her. And this little girl wo looked like her, sounded like her and had some of her memories and could very well be his Angel, was in the Sanctuary so close to him but yet, didn't know, really know who he was. It stung like you couldn't imagine. He heard the door open and then the tell tale click-click of his beloved wife Helen's heels coming his way. He put his book down and stood to greet her but as he turned around he was surprised to hear a little girl squeak "Daddy!" and then even more surprised to get bombarded by the little girl hugging him. "I missed you, daddy!" she mumbled as John returned the hug and he looked to Helen in confusion. "I remember everything, save for how I 'died'" she informed him. "I blacked out and boom memory overload!" she said with a upon her little face.

"I'm glad to hear that your memory back my little blonde Angel. We missed you." John said as he pulled Helen into the hug as well.

"Glad to be back, can I see Henry?" Ashley asked looking at both her parents.

"Of course," Helen answered as she reached to her side and unclipped her walkie talkie and said into it, "Henry?"

"Yeah Doc?" came a familiar geeky voice from the other end.

"Can you meet me in the library?" Helen asked as Ashley started jumping up and down. She had always acted some-what like a little kid, now she was one again acting half the twenty-three year old she had been and half the ten year old she was again.

"Yeah, on my way."

He's coming, now settle down, you are going to a handful again aren't you?" Helen asked with a smile.

"Yep," Ashley said nodding her head. Two minutes later Henry walked into the library. "Henry!" Ashley abruptly stopped jumping and ran to her older brother.

"A-ash?" Henry asked in disbelief, he had dreamed of the day Ashley showed back up for ten years now and was afraid this was a dream, and it was looking that way since she was ten.

"Yeah, I know, you don't believe it right? Because I'm younger and your older?" Ashley said with a small laugh.

"H-how?" Henry stammered looking from Helen to John to Ashley.

"Dunno," Ashley said.

"We don't know how yet, Henry, but we will figure it out." Helen answered with renewed joy in her eyes.

"Where've you been for the past ten years?" Henry asked Ashley.

"Paris, France." Ashley answered saying it in French.

"Whoa!"

"Yes and as glad as we are that she's back and I don't want her out of my sight she needs rest," Helen said looking at her daughter as she saw her try to fight the fatigue pulling at her.

"Yeah, apparently remembering ones whole life taxes ones strength… but no one will tell me how I died," Ashley said hoping someone would answer her this time.

Henry visibly shifted and said "Well, get some sleep, no sugar for you, and when you wake up come find me," with that he gave her one more hug and smiled at her and left the library.

"Crap…" Ashley said as she felt as if she were about to fall.

"John!" Helen said quickly as Ashley almost passed out from the exhaustion. But john had already moved to where Ashley was and had her in his arms, he then grabbed Helen's wrist and teleported to Ashley's room. He gently laid Ashley down and tucked her in.

"Sleep tight my little Angel." He said as he leaned down and kissed her on her forehead.

"It's good to have her back." Helen said with a sigh of content as John wrapped an arm around her waist. Helen was feeling just as tired as Ashley had been but refused to fall asleep, but apparently her head didn't get the memo seeing as it fell to rest comfortably on John's shoulder.

"Tired my love?" John asked noticing the fatigue in Helen.

"A little…" she mumbled then added "But I don't want to leave her…"

"She'll be here when you wake, it isn't good if you don't sleep." John said kissing her temple. "I'll stay with her." He said trying to reassure her, but in truth he was just as tired. The bloody time change was messing with him.

"You're just as tired as I am and don't you deny it Mr. Druitt, to bed with you, I'll stay." Helen said.

"Both of you to bed, I'll stay with the little one." Biggie said entering the room and practically pushing them out of the room, gently but still it was pushing them out.

"But…" Helen started but was cut off by Biggie.

"GO." He grunted. He nodded to Druitt and the disappeared.

"He was right Helen, we both need sleep, and now you might even sleep well for once in ten years love."

"I suppose your right, come on then." Helen said going to lie down on the bed. John climbed in beside her and pulled her close, she snuggled closer and placed her head on his chest and was lulled to sleep by the beet of his heart, John was just seconds behind her…

A/N Sorry for the delay in updates, school in all, hope you liked it! I'm in the process of writing chapter five now, and I will put it up if I get review, Sooo you know what to do hit that cute little button on the bottom of this page and leave a review, and I'll even thank you guys who review in the next chapter! Byeeees!