Home, Dry and Wasted.

A face from the past is lurking, and Connie Beauchamp finds herself thrown in at the deep end. Will she take him in? Will she give her the help she needs? It's all in her heart...

Connie/Paul Rose pairing; little unusual, but I like their interaction :)

'Sarah Candlewell,' she said, moving towards Connie and shaking her hand. 'I'm a social worker with Holby Child Protection.'

'Has a complaint been made about me?' asked Connie, fearing the worst. 'Because my husband and I would never hurt our children.'

'No,' she replied hastily. 'No, nothing like that. I'm here because of Jennifer Richman.'

'How did you find me?' asked Connie. 'Just out of curiosity. I've had 2 name changes since then.'

'We just followed your name and name changes through the years,' replied Sarah. 'And found you here.'

'Right,' said Connie quietly. 'What about Jenny? I haven't heard anything from the Richman's for 26 years.'

'They died when Jenny was 7, she was put back into care until she turned 16,' said Sarah gently.

'Oh God,' said Connie. 'I thought that she'd have a good life, better than one with an 18 year old Mum in Peckham with no money. The Richman's, Roy and Helen, they had so much love to give, they could give Jenny everything. They were such kind people, they even gave her my name as a middle name. I can't believe that they died.'

'Seeing as they didn't have any relatives, she was put into the system,' said Sarah.

'So why are you here now?' asked Connie. 'What's changed?'

'Jenny asked us to contact you,' replied Sarah. 'She needs help.'

'How can I help her?' asked Connie in confusion. 'I haven't been a part of her life.'

'I'll just give you some background and it will all become clear,' explained Sarah. 'Jenny came out of care when she was 16, and refused all the help we wanted to give to her so that she could adjust to being out i the world. She was with an unsuitable boyfriend to say the least, a few years older, led her astray. She transitioned from being a small time drug addict, cannabis and such, to crack and heroin. She's been dealing as well, picked up several times and served time 2 years ago for possession with intent.'

'Okay,' said Connie. 'Again, what's changed?'

'4 months ago, Jenny gave birth to a little boy, Brady. We really thought that she'd see it through. She'd been clean through the whole pregnancy, we even tested her regularly to make sure. Brady was born healthy, no signs of withdrawal,' replied Sarah.

'I gather you're here because she's back on the drugs?' asked Connie.

'Yes, I am,' said Sarah. 'Jenny sent me to find you, because she knows that Brady will be taken away from her. She's threatening to kill herself and him if he's put into care, she doesn't want him to go through what she did. She said that you were the one you trusted with him the most. She gave me a letter to give to you.'

Taking the crisp white envelope out of her bag, she passed it to Connie.

'Once you've read it, I'll need a decision pretty quickly,' said Sarah.

'I'll have to talk to my husband first,' said Connie. 'And consult with our children, between us we have 4.'

'Is there room for Brady?' asked Sarah in concern.

'Of course,' said Connie. 'We live in a 7 bedroom house, and Jack, my stepson, is away in Oxford at university, so there's lots of room.'

'So how old are your children?' asked Sarah, out of curiosity.

'Jack is 20, Charlotte is 17, Grace is 7 and William is 2,' said Connie with pride.

'I'm really sorry, I have to get going,' said Sarah, handing Connie a card. 'Here's my card, call me as soon as possible to let me know if you can take Brady.'

'I will do,' said Connie, shaking Sarah's hand. 'Goodbye.'

As Sarah left the room, Paul came to the door. Peering around the door, he said, 'What was that about?'

'Social worker,' said Connie.

'Was it something to do with us and the kids?' asked Paul in concern.

'Nope, that's what I thought too,' said Connie. 'It's a long story Paul, but it starts with the fact that I have another daughter.'