As Alec got in the car, his heart raced. He sincerely hoped it wouldn't go off again just like old times. This isn't the time, he thought and gritted his teeth as he drove off at full speed.

Driving along the road, he willed himself not to panic and focused as hard as he could on the road. He tried not to get distracted by Fred's endless questions. "Why are we here? Where are we going? How long before we reach?"

Finally, Tom snapped. "Oh for heavens' sake! Fred, shut your trap!" he exploded. Fred shrank back into his seat, scared.

Tom sighed. "Sorry, Fred, I didn't mean to yell at you. Just be quiet, okay? Dad needs to drive." He ruffled his younger brother's curls apologetically.

At long last, they reached. They got out of the car and Alec grabbed hold of Fred's hand. "Don't let go, okay? Never let go of my hand in a carpark area." He nodded obediently and they walked off.

As they approached their destination, Fred's eyes grew wide with horror. "Is Mummy in there?" he faltered, to which Alec did not reply.

Tom just sighed for the millionth time that day with the air of an ever longsuffering older brother. "Yes, she is. That's why we're here, stupid."

"Hey, don't call your brother stupid," Alec admonished. "Anyway, follow me closely because this building is huge. One wrong turn and I might not find you again for a very long time, you got that?"

At last they reached the right room. He gingerly pushed the door open, dreading what he was about to see.

When they walked in a little further, Fred could not hold it together. His large eyes filled with tears. "Mummy?" he quavered, sniffling a little.

He shook off Alec's hand and ran towards the white hospital bed where Ellie was lying.

"Mummy?" he asked, climbing onto the bed next to her. Of course, she didn't respond.

"Fred, she won't respond to you. That's what a coma is, it makes people sleep so soundly that they can't hear or feel anything around them," said Tom.

"When will she wake up?" asked Fred hopefully. "I wanna play with her."

"Don't know," Alec replied gruffly, shoving his hands roughly into his pockets.

"Maybe we should get her a really loud alarm clock. Then she will wake up. Sometimes I don't wake up on time because I don't hear my alarm," the 7-year-old boy suggested. "What do you think?"

Alec sat down in a chair next to the bed, rubbing his face. "If only it were that simple."

Just then, the doctor walked in. "You must be Alec Hardy," he said, reaching out his hand.

"Yeah, that's me." He gave the doctor's hand a half-hearted shake and sat down again. "So how is she?"

"Still unresponsive. You should talk to her. She can hear you, but she cannot respond at all."

"If she won't respond how do you know she can hear you?" he snapped, irritated.

"I was in a coma once. I heard everything," the doctor informed him. "Anyway, there is a rather large part of her brain that has internal bleeding, and it's gonna take a good while to recover. She's suffered quite a fair bit of brain damage. Thankfully though, she won't be brain-dead. Don't worry, we have very high hopes for her recovery," he said with an encouraging smile.

"You think this is funny?" Alec growled. "My wife is in a coma because of some drunk idiot who didn't know how to change lanes properly and rammed into her and now she's here and you think this is funny?"

"No, sir. Sorry, just trying to be encouraging," the doctor apologised quickly. "Well, we think she'll wake up in about 8 months' time. Which is a miracle, considering how hard the car slammed into her."

Alec clenched his fists. "Just wait till I get my hands on that drunk bastard. Ooh, he's got dark days coming."

"Anyway, I'll leave you alone with her now. After you leave I'll give you a call immediately if there are any changes in her response," the doctor promised and left the room, closing the door quietly.

Tom pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed. "8 months, bloody hell," he muttered. For once, no one corrected him for his language. "I don't know what I'd do 8 months without her around. She keeps things going at home while you're away at work."

"We'll manage," was the only reply.

Fred, on the other hand, wasn't quite so composed, and was having a lot of trouble keeping it together. "8 months is a long time to be asleep. I want her to wake up," he sobbed.

"The problem is, if we try to wake her up, she won't be able to. You see, a part of her brain that controls certain things is hurt very badly, and now she cannot do those things." Alec tried to explain it as simply as he could.

"Like waking up?" the little boy asked, and Tom nodded. "That's right. She can't open her eyes or move, so we will have to wait until she can. Then when she can move, you can bet your life she'll be up and about in no time because she misses you and all of us. Isn't that right, Dad?" he added on and looked at Alec, who nodded.

Fred turned to Ellie, deathly still on the bed. "Okay, Mummy. You take your time to rest, okay? Don't worry, we will manage fine even if you aren't around to help us. You'll see," he reassured her confidently, and turned to Alec. "Maybe she's just really tired from helping us for so many years and needs a long, long nap. Just like I need naps sometimes."

He couldn't hold it together any more. Alec had had to be strong for the boys' sake all this while, ever since the call from the hospital had come, and right now he felt like he was about to fall apart. He shifted around in his chair uneasily and cradled one of Ellie's hands in his, taking care not to dislodge the multiple tubes that hung from it.

Tom, being the more sensitive sibling, offered to bring Fred to the toilet, and he left the room, leaving Alec next to her, weeping silently.

A/N: BROADCHURCH SEQUEL! Here is Chapter 1. What did you think? Let me know in the reviews (: also if you are interested, please do go check out my Doctor Who fanfic, there is already a prologue and the first 2 chapters up. It's gonna be hard writing 2 stories at a time but I'm sure I can get through it. Anyway, let me know whether this was a suitable starting to the sequel. This story is more of how they manage to stick together as a family through tough times and how they slowly grow closer to one another. It also explores the children's lives and how they are coping with growing up. Especially Daisy, because I didn't really focus a lot on her in the previous story. Hope you like it. Chapter 2 is already being typed out as you read this because I CAN'T WAIT (: