Cal groaned at the sound of his alarm, wishing he could stay in bed and avoid his troubles forever. Realising this wasn't possible, he got up and quickly showered to feel more alive and human. Making faces at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, he psyched himself up for the day, then decided he had done enough putting off of the inevitable, and walked down the hallway to the second bedroom.

He paused outside for a few seconds before knocking on the door."Mia? Are you up yet?" he called, only to be shocked as the door promptly opened to reveal a disgruntled teenage girl dressed relatively smartly in a short grey skater skirt, a white blouse and a grey blazer.

"Yep, what's for breakfast?" she asked, attempting to sound cheery, whilst dreading the day ahead. Mia hated schools; she was never any good at making friends as she was too shy.

"Umm…" Cal paused, unsure of what there was in the cupboard.

"Never mind, I'll just have toast then." She said as she whipped past him and down the hall to the kitchen.

Cal looked after her, still not quite believing what had happened over the weekend. His ex-fiancée had showed up on his doorstep, having taken their daughter and disappeared almost 7 years previously, and abandoned her with him, before repeating her disappearing act again, with absolutely no explanation. Cal had taken Mia in, and arranged for her to start at a local secondary school, and bought her all the things she'd need, as she appeared to have little in the way of possessions, only a few items of clothing, which were all too small and looked quite worn, with the exception of some new – looking dance gear. Quite how he was going to explain this to Ethan, he didn't know, as he didn't even know that Cal had been engaged to anyone.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." He thought. "Maybe I can hide it from him." He quickly disregarded that idea, there was no way that would work, not taking into account the commitment looking after a child required, he'd learned that in one weekend. How he was going to cope with this full-time was yet another mystery in his new web of uncertainties.

Cal walked along the hall to be greeted with a plate of toast from Mia, and he joined her sitting at the counter in his kitchen. "So, I'll drive you to school, but I'll still be working when you finish, do you definately know how to get home again?" Cal asked.

"Yes!" Mia replied incredulously. "I'm not a baby, I'm 13! And yes, I've got my keys and lunch money."

"And your inhaler?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Sorry. I don't really have a clue what I'm doing here."

"Yes, that's obvious!" Mia replied, laughing as she put her plate to one side and grabbed her new coat. "Come on, we're going to be late!" she exclaimed, anxious to make a good impression on her first day at a new school, as Cal got up and followed her to the front door of the apartment.

They got into the car and Cal drove the relatively short route to Holby Park Secondary School, where he stopped in the street and turned to Mia, who was more obviously nervous. "Geez Mia, anyone would think you were Ethan's daughter, not mine! Don't be nervous, you'll be fine." He said warmly, putting his hands on her shoulders as she looked up at him, terrified.

"Ok." She said meekly.

"Right, come on then, let's do this!" Cal said as he stepped out of the car and headed towards the school office. Mia felt in her pocket for her new iPhone, just to make sure it was there for the hundredth time that morning. She stepped out the car and took a deep breath as she looked up at the buildings. Cal smirked; he could sense Mia and Ethan would get on well together. Maybe he should get Ethan to come over that evening and introduce him to Mia. He looked down at Mia, who still looked scared, and put an arm around her shoulders as he led her into the school.

Mia looked up at Cal, surprised at how well they were getting on. She did remember him from when she was younger, but she was only 7 when she moved away with her mum, and they'd never lived together full-time anyway. But it seemed natural, which was at least one worry off her plate. She seemed to naturally trust Cal; he was very open and welcoming.

"Hello, how can I help you?" A friendly - looking receptionist asked from behind a counter.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Caleb Knight, this is my daughter Mia Rosetti." Cal explained.

"Right, yes, if you can wait outside a minute, the headmistress would like to speak to you briefly. Take a seat." She gestured to a row of colourful plastic chairs against the far wall, where Mia and Cal obligingly sat. They didn't have to wait long; a few minutes later, a tall blonde woman stepped out of the office, spotted them and made her way over.

"Dr. Knight, I presume?" Cal nodded curtly as they shook hands. "You must be Mia. I'm Miss Cambridge, your Headmistress." Mia just nodded mutely, still scared about joining a new school. Miss Cambridge looked at her expression and had to suppress a smirk. "Nervous?" she asked, Mia nodded again. "Don't worry, everyone here is very friendly, and you can talk to any member of staff at any time if you have any concerns. You have a head of year, and a head of house, as well as a form tutor, and there is also a designated head of pastoral care and student development you can speak to also. There is plenty of support and you'll settle in quickly I'm sure." She smiled at Mia, who smiled back weakly. As she said this, she led them into her office and they sat down around her desk.

"So, Dr. Knight, there are a couple of forms I need you to sign, just a medical consent form and a trip consent form, I'm sure you know the drill." Cal smirked.

"Well, actually, I've never signed one of these before, but I'm aware of what it entails." He replied, as he signed them where necessary before handing them back. "I've only recently become Mia's guardian; she used to live with her mum." He explained. At that moment, Cal's phone rang, and he hastily took it out of his pocket.

"Sorry, that's my boss, I need to take this." He said as he stepped outside the office.

"Ok. So, Mia, I can see from your notes that you have asthma?" Miss Cambridge questionned. Mia nodded.

"I'm sure you're used to managing the condition?" Mia nodded again.

"I have a spare inhaler that can be kept in school." She added.

"Good, I'll show you where Matron's office is later; that's where they will be kept." She explained. "So, how are you finding it, moving in with your dad?"

"Weird, and slightly scary, because it's a totally new town and I don't know anyone. But he's great, and possibly as nervous as me, so it's fine." Mia replied, her longest sentence yet, as she gained courage and confidence. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, Miss Cambridge seemed very nice too.

Cal opened the door and poked his head through. "I'm really sorry, but I'm needed at work, will you be ok?" He asked apologetically. Mia got up and walked over.

"It's fine, go!" she said smiling, and gave him a hug.

"Ok." Cal replied. "Text me if you have any problems." he added, waving his phone. He walked out with an ear to ear grin; there was something very warmly satisfying about your estranged teenage daughter giving you a hug.

"Ok Mia, just one more thing, your file says that you are in year 10 despite being only 13?"

"Yeah, I was skipped up a year when I was in like reception. I started earlier than most kids." Mia explained.

"Ok, well as long as you're happy with that, then that's fine by us, but if you do have any problems, just speak to one of your teachers ok?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Right, well, I'll just take you on a brief tour of the school, and then you can go to tutor time. Lessons start at 9am, and here's your timetable, a map and some other general information." Miss Cambridge said, passing Mia a few sheets of paper.

"Thank you." Mia said as they stood up and left the office.