Katy didn't know what to do. She stood on the pavement outside the café and looked up and down the street, wondering just how long ago Kat and her mother had left. There was no sign of anyone around and she rubbed her forehead agitatedly.

Pulling out her mobile, she selected Roxy's number in her recent contacts and held it to her ear. It rang for a while, before the answerphone kicked in. With a frown, the young woman tried again. This time it went straight to the snooty, mechanical-sounding woman who told her that she could leave a message. Realising that Roxy must have hung up on her, Katy scowled at her mobile and threw it into her bag.

Holding out a hand, she attracted the attention of a cab and headed swiftly back to Albert Square. This cab driver was much more friendly than the previous one, but Katy found she didn't much care. As soon as she and Ruby were settled in the back, she rooted around in her bag and found her phone, clutching it tightly in her hands and glancing at it every two minutes.

They were about five minutes from home when it began ringing and Katy fumbled to answer it quickly, holding it tightly against her ear.

"Hello?"

"Katy? Sweetie is that you?"

"Mum." She breathed, a smile curling her lips. She leant her head back against the headrest. "Where are you?"

"I'm… I'm at Kat's."

"Why?"

"She came to see me at Prison. I… you and Roxy weren't there and I thought…"

"I had to pick Ruby up on my way." Katy half-lied, guilty about putting the blame on her daughter. "You'd gone when I got here. The guard didn't know where you'd gone or if anyone had come to get you. I went to that café and the woman said you'd been there with a brunette and not long left."

"Where are you now?"

"Just…" She looked out of the window and smiled. "Just coming into the Square now. We'll come straight over to Kat's if… if that's OK?"

"Of course it's OK, baby!" Ronnie told her firmly. "I can't wait to see you both."

Katy smiled to herself and unbuckled her seatbelt as soon as the driver stopped the cab. She climbed out, tipping him generously. The man smiled, only too happy to benefit from the young woman's good mood. Katy secured Ruby in her pushchair, smiling happily and telling her that they were going to see Grandma.

Holding her breath as she knocked on Kat's door, Katy picked Ruby up and bounced her nervously on her hip. After a couple of moments an anxious looking Kat opened the door and looked at her. She sighed and stepped backwards, indicating that the younger woman should go inside. Katy parked the pushchair at the foot of the stairs and waited for the older woman to show her where to go.

Kat pushed opened the living room door and tactfully went into the kitchen, leaving the Mitchells alone. There was a pause as they looked at each other. Then Ronnie stepped forward, tears running down her face and cupped her daughter's, stroking her thumb gently along Katy's cheek bone.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Mum." The brunette said quietly, closing her eyes. Ronnie leant forward and rested her forehead against Katy's. "I really, really missed you."

They took some time just talking quietly and allowing all three of them to get reacquainted. Ruby was fascinated with her grandmother and kept reaching out to touch her hair, which greatly amused both women. She was also very taken by the locket that Ronnie wore on a long chain around her neck.

"There's a photo of your mummy in here." Ronnie said gently, flicking the locket open and showing the little girl. "And there's one of you on the other side."

"What is the deal with the lockets?" Katy asked cautiously as Ruby examined it closely. "I mean… wasn't that what convinced you that Danielle was your daughter in the first place." When Ronnie looked at her blankly, she chewed the inside of her cheek and shrugged. "I mean, that's what Roxy told me."

Katy had never asked her mother about the jewellery before. She hadn't really found the right moment between discovering who her parents were and Ronnie being sent to prison with everything else that was going on. Then, while her mother was inside, it hadn't really crossed her mind. Now, seeing Ronnie showing it to her daughter so proudly, Katy was curious again.

"I assume that when I gave the second locket to you when you were a baby, the one with a photo of me inside it so that you'd know what I looked like and that I loved you, my dad did a deal or threatened someone so that they gave it to another baby. That's how I guessed Danielle ended up with it. I don't know for sure, but it's the only explanation I have."

The younger woman nodded slowly and wondered, not for the first time, just how evil Archie had been and how he got like that. He had taken his daughter's baby away and allowed her to think that she was his child and that she wanted nothing to do with her. He had allowed a mentally unstable woman, who wasn't even capable of taking care of herself, to raise his own granddaughter, with absolutely no help or support from him. He had told Ronnie she was dead. He had allowed Danielle to believe that Ronnie was her mother. When Danielle was dead, he had allowed Ronnie to believe that she was as well.

He was pure evil.

"So… what's your plan?" Katy asked, shaking her head slightly to remove all thoughts of Archie from it. "Are you going to stay around here?"

"No… I can't. We'll go somewhere new; start a fresh. We can go anywhere."

"We? Mum… I can't just leave. I have a life here; friends, a job…"

Ronnie leant forward and squeezed her hands. "I can't stay, sweetie. Please… I know Roxy won't come. Kat told me about her and Alfie…"

"Mum… please just… stay on the Square. It'll be OK. You've got family here… and friends. Roxy loves you, she does. And Amy… she's been asking about you. She started school last week… she's dying to show you her new uniform." Katy sighed. "We'll make it work."

Ronnie wasn't convinced, but Katy persuaded her to give it a couple of weeks and, if she still wanted to leave, they could discuss it properly. Some people were still actively avoiding Ronnie in the street or sending her suspicious looks. Most, though, seemed to have put the past behind them and were acting completely normally towards the blonde.

She moved into number 55 and, glad to be getting out of the strange atmosphere at Jack's that her mum's return had caused, Katy and Ruby soon moved into Phil's house, too. Keen to prove that Ronnie was no more dangerous than anyone else on the Square, Katy made a point of leaving her mother in charge of Ruby whenever she was out. It seemed to help people forget the past when they saw Ronnie pushing her granddaughter's pushchair around or bouncing her on her hip in the Minute Mart or talking to her at a table in the café.

The only part of their lives that was still strained was where Roxy fitted in. After Alfie had forced his girlfriend to choose between him and her sister, Ronnie and Roxy had continued to see each other in secret. Katy commented dryly that it was like they were having an affair. She felt sorry for her aunt, though, knowing how hard she was finding the whole situation.

One Monday morning when Katy was getting ready for work, she went into her mother's bedroom to borrow a top Ronnie had bought the day before. She frowned at the sight of the bed, which had clearly not been slept in. Deciding to confront Ronnie about it when she saw her at the club later, Katy continued getting ready for her day, dropping Ruby off at the childminder's before heading over to open up the R&R.

She was working on some fliers for a new promotion when the office door opened and the blonde walked in, sending her a smile before dropping onto the sofa and flinging one arm across her eyes.

"Where the hell were you last night?" Katy demanded, slightly amused, leaning forwards and resting her elbows on the desk.

"Jack's."

The brunette's eyebrows shot up. "So are you and him…?"

"I don't know." Ronnie admitted. "I hope so."

"I'm glad."

"You are? Really?"

Katy grinned, leaning back in her chair. "Of course. He makes you happy. I love him and Ruby adores him. It's win-win, really."

Ronnie laughed. Then she stood up and moved towards the desk. "Alright, shift, I need to do some work."

Sighing, her daughter rose from the chair and flopped down on the recently vacated sofa. It had, when Phil first put Ronnie in charge of his businesses while he was recovering in hospital, been a kick in the teeth to the young woman who couldn't understand why she wasn't the obvious first choice to hold the fort at the club. But then it occurred to her that letting Ronnie feel as though she was a vital part in the Mitchell Empire would help her settle back into her normal life.

A short time passed and then Ronnie let out an exasperated sigh. "I've got to run back to the house and grab one of the files I left there." She explained, heading for the door. "Think you can cope without me?"

Katy rolled her eyes and looked up from the magazine she was flicking through. "Duh."

"Don't work too hard; you'll tire yourself out."

"There's a delivery coming in any minute. I'll have to sort that, actually." The brunette replied, poking her tongue out. "Don't skive for too long."