Bonnie Sveen Fan: Thank you for your review, and I'm glad you think it was. You're correct in that guess.

CBloom2: I agree, that episode was miles better than ten of the love triangle based ones put together! Double yawn. I'm glad you enjoy this. Thank you for reviewing

Sweeet-as-honey: Thank you for both your reviews on the last chapter and this one! That episode is heartbreaking, I agree, and Ethan in a paramedic outfit is definitely something to smile about. I'm really happy you like how I wrote Emilie's thoughts and made you smile! The ending is sad, I agree.

Tanith Panic: I'm very happy that you saw the gentle humor and enjoyed the way I wrote it. Really, thank you :) Emilie loves her boys, that's undeniable! Thank you for the review!

Chapter 7) So She Did

It was just how she remembered it.

The waves hitting the golden sand, the unmistakable salty smell of the sea lingering in the air. She smiled as she looked past the horizon, her mind flickering back to when her sons were young and the amount of fun they would have simply by being together.

Flashback:

"Steven!" her voice carried out across the wind, reaching her son as he quickly turned around, eyes wide with guilt. "Are you scaring your brother again?"

"I'm not!" Steven's words were the opposite of truthful. "He loves crabs!"

"No, I don't!" Michael put his hands on his hips, clearly annoyed. Steven giggled, bending down discreetly to pick something up. It was clear from Michael's expression that he didn't like what was now in Steven's possession.

"Mummmm!" Michael squealed as he ran to his mother, his little legs rushing across the sand as his brother chased after him, crab in hand. Steven's face was a picture of deviousness, giggling as his brother ran into his mother's outstretched arms.

"You little…" Emilie couldn't scold the boy, not with that happy look on his face. Instead, she pinched his nose lightly and pointed to a place for the crab to live. At first, Steven didn't want to oblige, but after the bribery of 'we'll get ice-creams if you put the crab back' he practically abandoned the crab within five seconds in his excitement.

"Sorry, bubba." Steven bent down and stroked his brothers hair, still smiling. Michael's face was buried in his mother's cardigan, but he lifted it up as he felt his brothers hand. Slowly, he smiled and accepted the apology, taking his brother's hand and allowing himself to be dragged over to the rock-pools to hunt for starfish.

"Hang on, don't you want-" The sound of a seagull interrupted her. "...icecream." A smile spread across her face as she watched the boys explore the beach. She leaned back, relaxing into the sand and leaving them be.

End flashback:

"I used to bring you here when you were children," Emilie started as soon as she'd broke free from her trip down memory-lane. Her sons smiled at her as she continued. "I sat here and watched you,"

Cal smiled a little as a memory popped into his head. He turned and looked at his brother with a small smirk painted across his face. "You still scared of crabs?"

"Wha...I wasn't scared!" Ethan replied defiantly, in a tone that suggested he was, very much.

"Yes, you were." Cal smiled. Ethan gave a little tut noise in response, turning away for a second before continuing.

"Well…" Ethan quickly defended himself. "They have pincers, they can nip!" They chuckled as the truth eventually came out. Looking out to the sea, they kept the smiles on their faces.

Ethan broke the short-lived silence. "Race you!"

"Oh…" Cal watched as his brother quickly got to his feet, rushing to the sand. He stayed for a millisecond as if he was too old to do such childish nonsense, before rushing after his younger brother, desperate to win. Emilie's heart hurt for a second as she watched them race each other and leave her, but it soon brought a smile to her face as she saw them together. It was amazing to finally see them happy.

When she died, either in an hour or maybe even a few minutes, she knew she'd be playing the memory inside her head numerous times until the angel of death came and took her away.

"Arghhhhh!" Her eyes looked toward the source of the noise. She couldn't help but laugh as her youngest ran away from his brother, arms flailing as he was chased by a small crab. Even from the ambulance where she sat, she could see the mischievous grin on her eldests face. It had stayed the same, identical to how it was over twenty years ago. It still made her smile and her worries fade away.

At least for a few seconds, anyway.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Slowly but surely, they'd walked across the beach path. It'd taken some time due to her wheelchair, but they made it.

The salty air rushed through her hair as she sat next to her Cal on the wooden bench, looking out past the safety railings to the beautiful sea. It was frightfully cold, so Ethan wrapped a blanket around her.

Cal pulled something out of his pocket, looking at it thoughtfully. Ethan's whole face crumpled when he saw it. Emilie soon recognized what it was. The letter from the clinic. The letter containing the results that could change Cal's life.

"You going to open it?" Ethan asked, eyes widening for a second. He was clearly terrified about the results, as was Cal. But their fear couldn't compare to Emilie's. She'd lived through the disease and knew how relentless and damaging it was. If they had it, she wasn't sure she could ever forgive herself.

Not like there would be time to, anyway.

"Mum wants to know," Cal told his brother, sounding slightly breathless.

"I wish you'd told me," Ethan admitted, shaking his head a little. "We should've done this together."

Cal's eyes shone with both guilt and fear, now. His expression looked extremely pained as he looked back at his little brother, shaking his own head as he reached into his pocket with a trembly hand.

"What?" Ethan asked, concern flooding over his expression.

"We did," Cal confessed, handing the letter over to Ethan cautiously as if it were a grenade.

"What is this?" Ethan questioned after a second of looking at the letter and gently running his thumb across the sides. He knew what it was, Emilie thought. He had to know.

"Remember that sample when we were trying to persuade Isaac Sanderson to have his bloods done?" Cal's voice was jerky and his breathing came out in short gasps. Emilie felt pain for him.

Ethan murmured a 'no' under his breath, no longer meeting his disconsolate brothers gaze.

"Well….I sent yours off to the clinic with mine," Cal's eyes were filled with regret as his brother's own brown ones snapped onto his. Ethan's mouth dropped open a fraction and he was speechless, hardly holding onto the letter. Emilie imagined if the wind tried to snatch it away, he'd make no attempt to retrieve it.

Eyes turning back to the letter, Ethan got to his feet, stumbling away from his brother. He reached the railing, turning back to his brother momentarily to give him a small look of hurt.

"Just rip it up and throw it away, Ethan." Cal said, trying to sound as supportive as Emilie knew he was. "If you want,"

The sound of silence spread across the area as further conversation failed them. Ethan stared out to sea, and Emilie knew he was trying his best not to cry.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After some time, they'd calmed down a little.

Ethan had sat in the wheelchair and was watching as Cal took unsteady breaths, fingers grazing across the letter.

Suddenly, Cal lost it and opened the letter hurriedly, before he lost his nerve, Emilie supposed. Her insides twisted as she waited in suspense ad it felt like the world's tightest belt was holding her captive. Ethan could hardly meet Cal's gaze, and Emilie didn't blame him. There was no anger between the two, it had gone. Just shy affection and the strong hope that they would both be okay.

The letter was open. It seemed like hours had passed but in reality it was only over a few seconds. Cal read it, lips parted, eyes scanning the page. Ethan was watching his brothers' expression intensely, trying to gather any clues.

"Yeah?" Ethan asked, voice jerky and unsure.

"Yeah," Cal responded, choked up. "I'm fine,"

Emilie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. A broad smile spread across Ethan's face as he congratulated his brother, offering a 'well done' and a genuinely glad response to the letter being negative for the gene. Cal's breath was now a bit calmer as he squeezed her tightly, a small 'it's all alright' sign, without saying the words, which she really needed. Reassurance. He kissed her forehead and held her head to his.

Within a few seconds, however, Ethan's face slowly sunk.

"Statistics…" Ethan said in a small voice.

"Screw the statistics," Cal said in a falsely firm voice. "Okay?" Ethan gave a tiny nod that could be easily missed. Cal tried to rub his arm, but eventually offered a "Do you want me to do it?"

"N-no, no, no, no," Ethan said, voice thick. "I'll do it,"

His fingers fumbled across the letter in the same way Cal's had done.

Emilie prayed his results would be the same as his brothers had been.

Sure, she'd been mad at God earlier, but right now she would willingly convert to any religion just so her youngest would also be okay and out of harm.

The letter was eventually unsealed, held out of Cal and Emilie's gaze as he read through it. For a split second, his face dropped and his eyes filled with pain.

Then an unsure smile spread across his face and he nodded. "I'm clear as well,"

Cal breathed out, reaching over to Ethan and putting his hand in his brothers hair. "Mate…" Emilie couldn't see Cal's face, but she knew it would have a big grin on it. "That's brilliant!"

Ethan gave Cal a smile, still looking shaky, but Emilie put it off to the coldness.

"Come on, let's put this back on." Cal turned his attention to Emilie, trying to put the oxygen mask her. She hadn't even realized her breathing had been slowing.

"No, no…" She struggled free from it, her quivering fingers remembering the little bit of paper in her pocket. She hadn't wanted to give it to Ethan before, just in case he opened up the letter and DID have the gene. Then, he'd have to look at that phone-number and wish he could call it. She had a feeling that her son, if he did have the gene, would never want to get involved romantically with anyone. The gene would always lurk in the back of his mind.

Thank goodness he didn't have to deal with that.

"Told you s-she liked you," Emilie smiled, passing the paper over to Ethan. He looked at it, confused for a second, before smiling too.

There you go, bro," Cal grinned, both pleased and proud. "Get in, mate."

Ethan laughed weakly, putting the paper in one safe hand while removing his glasses with the other. His eyes didn't meet Emilie's properly, until she began to speak.

"T-tell me a story," Emilie begun. She watched, her heart twisting, as a tear slipped down Ethan's cheek. "Y-you and Kate. What h-happens next?" Ethan smiled tearfully, eyes turning to Cal for reassurnace. Cal saw the signs and spoke for his brother.

"Erm...well, on the first date, she suggests they go and see a 3 hour movie with subtitles," Cal paused to laugh weakly with his brother. This was probably an inside joke that she wouldn't get, but it still made her laugh to see them genuinely smile. "And, er, he knows she's the one." Cal smiled. "And he proposes on the third date."

"We'd get married in a registry office," Ethan took over the story with new-found confidence. "Nothing fancy. Just friends, and the pub afterwards."

"Who's the best man?" Cal asked cheekily, clearly knowing.

"Oh...Cal's the best man, of course." Ethan smiled. "Then he makes a terrible speech. But he redeems himself afterwards when he tells everyone about you," He looked at Emilie kindly. "About us all meeting Kate in the cafe." He paused for a second.

"Go on," Emilie breathed. She could feel her breathing less frequent and just had a feeling that she wasn't going to last.

If she was going to die, she wanted to hear the story, because she knew she'd never be a part of it.

"Okay...well, we'd buy a house in Holby. And then we have a little girl. We'd call her Emilie," Ethan looked at his mother for a second. "And the day she's born is the most incredible...and most terrifying day of my life. Well, she goes to med school-"

Flashback:

"Good job," Emilie praised her youngest son. After intricately bandaging his teddy, she laughed at the way he stuck his tongue out. "You'd be an awesome doctor, baby,"

"Really?" Michael asked, smiling widely. "Okay!"

"Then, your kiddies can be doctors. And then when they have children, they'll be doctors too, and so on. Sound good?" Emilie laughed at her wild fantasy as her son hopped onto her lap.

"It sounds good," He repeated, giving her a hug and admiring his teddy happily. She felt affection flood through her as her son nuzzled into her chest.

End flashback:

"-she becomes a doctor. And...eventually, she gets married-"

Flashback:

Steven and Michael were giggling from the other room. Emilie shook her head, getting up to check on them. Goodness knows what they were up to. Last time she left them alone for more than five minutes, they'd smeared chocolate spread everywhere and had to have an emergency trip to the dentist. She was wary of cavities.

"What on earth!" Emilie asked, hands on hips as she looked at her sons. Michael was dressed in a frilly frock that went way past his knees, a fascinator plonked on his head and lipstick smeared across his mischievous and giggling face. Steven had a far too big suit on and a tie wrapped around his head.

"We're showing you...how you and Dad got married!" Steven giggled naughily. "I did Michael's mouth paint!"

"You mean lipstick, hun?" Emilie tried to stop herself smiling at their cheekiness but failed. "Very good,"

End flashback:

"- and she has kids of her own. Cal and I are doddery old men by then. Cal's on his fourth wife! But we come back here, every year-"

Flashback:

It was their annual trip to the beach. Michael and Steven were whooping at the top of their lungs as they raced across the stony beach path, giggling as they overtook each other.

"Careful!" Emilie called, but she was unheard. Her husband walked beside her, smiling after his boys.

"Bless them," He said. "I hope they always get along that well."

"Me too," Emilie nodded. "I'd hate for them to grow apart,"

"I'm sure they won't," Her husband grinned and stole a kiss on her cheek. She swatted him away playfully, laughing.

End flashback:

"-all together, on this bay. We look out at the sea, and we make a toast to you, and say...this is where it all began..."

The story was over. A small smile played across Emilie's face. Her breath was now in gasps.

It was time.

Her eyes were closed, she couldn't open them if she tried.

But that was okay.

She felt safe. Her oldest had his arms wrapped around her, keeping her warm and providing comfort.

Emilie began to count down her last breaths.

Three.

The wind caused a small shiver to run down her spine. She could hardly feel her body anymore, only a small sensation of cold and numbness.

Two.

Cal's arms were disappearing, letting her go. She felt as free as a bird about to fly from a nest. A little bit of fear was there, a 'please don't let me die' thought flashing up in her mind. Maybe she wasn't ready to die just yet.

One.

Her breathing halted gently. She didn't need to do it anymore. Only ghosts of words fluttered around her.

"Mum?"

She knew who said those words. Her heart was solaced by them.

Emilie was ready to go.

So she did.

The End

I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported this, it means a lot as originally I wasn't planning on posting, but I'm glad I did in the end.

I'm going to try and post more on here, maybe a continuation from this, but until then, goodbye! I hope you all have a good evening/morning (whenever you're reading this)! xx