This is the sequel to Taylor-Made. For those of you who haven't read it, it's the story of what could have happened if Taylor had decided to con Ethan instead of Cal. There are a lot of differences between Cal's and Ethan's relationships with Taylor and also their relationship with each other, but you probably don't need to have read Taylor-Made in order to enjoy Clement Weather. If you're wondering about the title, Taylor's surname is given is Clement in the mini-episode On Call, so I'm assuming that's her real name.

This story begins when Cal and Ethan are taking their FCEM exams. I have done a lot of research into the structure and content of the exams and found it completely fascinating, so I can only hope I haven't overdone it and written some very boring chapters.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Ethan was sitting despondently on the sofa when Cal came out of the bathroom.

"All set, Nibbles?" he asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Ethan didn't really feel like smiling either, but he tried his best. "You'll be fine, Cal. Don't worry."

"Who said I was worried?" said Cal, pacing about the room. "What is there to worry about? It's just an exam, Ethan. And this is one of the easy parts."

Ethan frowned slightly. "I don't think there really is an easy part. But you will be fine, Cal. If you focus."

Cal looked at him for a moment, then he dropped down beside Ethan. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" said Ethan.

"Well, we are doing our first FCEM exam today," said Cal. "If you were nervous – not that I'm nervous. Definitely not. Not even slightly – it would be understandable. And you can tell me. I'm your big brother."

"I suppose I am a little bit nervous," admitted Ethan. "But it's... it's not just that."

He didn't say her name. He didn't have to.

Ethan took in a shaky breath. "I am over her really, Cal. It's just…"

"It's just what?" asked Cal gently.

He looked so kind and understanding, Ethan's eyes began to prickle with tears. "We talked about it. My first exam. She said she'd go with me in the morning and she'd be sitting outside waiting for me when I came out. She said she'd give me a big hug and a kiss and take me out for lunch: her treat."

Cal pulled Ethan into a hug. "No wonder you're thinking about her. I almost wish I wasn't doing the exam with you now. Then I could sit outside and wait for you and take you for lunch… though I'm not doing the kiss. I do consider myself to be rather experienced in that department, but… no."

Ethan's eyes filled at the thought of Cal sitting outside the exam room, anxiously awaiting his little brother, but he blinked his tears away and forced out a laugh. "No, you're not getting out of it that easily, Caleb! It's too late now anyway. You've paid for it and you're not going to get your money back."

"No, I don't want to get out of it," said Cal quickly. "I just… I want to make it easier, Nibbles. You know."

"I know." Ethan pulled away from him and forced a smile. "And I appreciate it. I really do."

Cal patted his arm. "Are you sure you don't want any breakfast?"

Ethan shook his head. "You know I'm always nil by mouth before exams. Apart from tea."

"'Nil by mouth apart from tea'… yeah, you sound just like a consultant, Nibbles!" But there was concern in Cal's eyes. "How about I get you a biscuit to nibble? I did give you that nickname for a reason, you know, and the exam's ninety minutes."

"I've sat longer exams than that without eating," said Ethan. He smiled at his brother. "I'll be fine."

Their first exam was a written one: Critical Appraisal Short Answer Questions. Cal had been horrified when Ethan had first showed him an exam paper. "Those are short answer questions? How long are the long ones?"

"Well, the Clinical Topic Review is longer," said Ethan. "You do the CTR first and send it off, then you'll do the viva voce at the same time as the management viva."

"Longer?" Cal looked terrified and just for a moment, Ethan thought he might change his mind and not do his FCEM after all.

Abandoning his ideas as soon as he discovered how difficult it would be to achieve them was something Cal had done so many times in his life. So much so that Ethan had been amazed when Cal had got through medical school (albeit at the second attempt) and shocked when he'd passed his MCEM and become a registrar.

Not that he'd ever doubted Cal's ability.

"How long is this CTR exactly?" said Cal.

"The maximum word count 3,500 words – and ideally, you will need to get pretty close to that," said Ethan. "Mine's 3,499 words. You really should have spent the last year thinking about it, then it usually takes at least three to four months to put it together, so you'll have a lot of catching up to do. But I'll help you."

"3,500 words!" Cal almost wailed.

"It's not that much really," said Ethan reassuringly. "Just don't do it on ketamine. Everyone does it on ketamine."

Cal laughed. "No wonder the pass rate is so low if everyone's high on drugs when they sit it!"

Ethan hit him on the arm with a textbook. "You know what I mean, Caleb! I mean don't choose anything ketamine-related as the subject of your CTR. Or asthma-related. There's a lot of asthma going around too."

"Ethan, asthma is not contagious," said Cal. "If you want to be a consultant, you really ought to know that."

Ethan hit him on the head that time.

"Ow!" said Cal, laughing as he grabbed a cushion and threw it at Ethan.

It was some time before they were able to return their attention to Cal's CTR.

More than once, Cal had been sorely tempted to give up his plans to take his FCEM with Ethan. Finding a suitable topic for his CTR hadn't been easy.

"It's got to be something that interests you," said Ethan. "Mine is related to treatment of anaphylaxis – as you'll know as I asked you to read it for me."

"Yeah, and I said it was great," said Cal.

"You only read the first page."

"It was the best first page I'd ever read. I didn't need to read more to know the whole thing was great."

Ethan gave a reluctant smile and let it go. He and Cal hadn't been that close when Ethan had written his CTR. He was fairly sure that if he was ever required to write a new one (just the thought of it made him shudder), Cal would at least try to read the whole thing.

Cal seemed to be thinking hard. "How about sex? That interests me."

Ethan suppressed a sigh. "I don't really think that's relevant to the emergency department, Caleb."

"Really?" said Cal. "I've had sex in loads of EDs."

Ethan did sigh this time. "I don't think sex is really an emergency."

"No sex is an emergency," said Cal. "If I go forty-eight hours without it…"

Ethan sighed again as he remembered sex with Taylor. He missed her. He really missed her.

Cal moved closer to Ethan and put his arm around him. "Hey… Ethan. It's okay. It'll get easier."

Ethan took his glasses off so he could wipe his eyes. "Most of the time, it is easier. Most of the time, I don't think about her. But then I get a recurrence of the cardiac fracture and it hurts!"

"I know," said Cal gently as he stroked Ethan's shoulder. "I still think about Honey sometimes. Do you want to talk about it?"

Ethan gave a trembly smile. "I'd rather go back to talking about CTRs."

"Okay, Nibbles. Whatever you want." Cal thought for a moment, then he got a big smile on his face. "Okay, I've got a real emergency for you, Ethan. Erectile dysfunction!"

"Are you sure it's me who's the little brother?" said Ethan wearily.

When Cal finally thought of an idea, Ethan was genuinely happy for him - though he did wish Cal had waited until morning rather than waking him up at 3am.

"You know how much I always enjoy it when the paramedics ask for a doctor on-site?" said Cal eagerly. "Do you think maybe I could write something about that? Like how much the doctor can really do in that situation that the paramedic can't; if the paramedics usually get it right when they request a doctor; if the doctor couldn't do more if he stayed in the hospital? That sort of thing?"

Ethan smiled, feeling almost proud of his brother for coming up with something sensible at last. "That sounds like good starting-point, Cal. The biggest potential stumbling block that comes to mind is that the paramedics don't ask for a doctor all that often, but you could work around that. It would need a lot of thought – all CTRs do – but I think you could come up with something really interesting based on that." Ethan yawned. "How about we talk about it in the morning?"

Cal worked hard to find a title for his CTR which suited the requirements and with Ethan's help and encouragement, he produced a document which Ethan believed would pass.

Cal's educational supervisor agreed with Ethan that it wouldn't be a high pass, but considering the short amount of time in which Cal had put it together, it was an impressive piece of work.

"Did your supervisor say your CTR was an impressive piece of work?" asked Cal teasingly – and completely failing to hide the fact he was actually quite proud of his dissertation.

Ethan gave a wry smile. "My supervisor said my first draft was well-written and intelligently-argued but completely useless as I'd struggle with answering questions about implementing my knowledge in clinical practice. I was quite upset (I didn't tell you as I wasn't speaking to you at the time), but I had a chat with Zoe and she helped me to come up with something more suitable. So your first draft was much better than mine!"

"Maybe you should have asked me for help then!" said Cal. "Seeing as I have a knack for these CTR things!"

"Do you want me to hit you again?" asked Ethan.

Cal laughed and shook his head. "I'm only joking, Ethan. Don't tell anyone I said this, but I know I couldn't do any of this without you."

Ethan spent most of the journey to the exam centre thinking about Taylor, but as soon as he arrived, she ceased to be a problem. Ethan was far more concerned with remembering how to breathe.

He could tell Cal was nervous too. A stranger or even an acquaintance probably wouldn't have guessed, but Ethan knew that studied nonchalance very well.

Cal also knew Ethan very well. He stopped walking, had a glance around to check they were unobserved, and gave Ethan a quick hug. "It's going to be okay. You'll be fine. You've never failed an exam in your life and I can't see you starting now."

"This is the… hardest exam… I've ever taken… in my life," wheezed Ethan. "Oh, Cal, I can't… I can't breathe…"