A/N - Apologies for gap since last update, life intervened

Kate stepped inside the house on Conway Drive for the first time in months and stood very still as the memories of her time here, both good and bad, flooded her mind. Sensing her unease Caroline stepped forward and wrapped Kate in her arms.

'Thank you for coming with me' she said 'I know this can't be easy'

Caroline tenderly kissed Kate wordlessly communicating her love and support.

'You're back then' Celia's voice, cutting icily across them.

However confident Kate has been during their drive over her response to Celia's intervention was automatic, she stiffened immediately and tried to pull away from Caroline's embrace. Horrified Caroline recognised this reaction as a legacy of how she had previously treated Kate, of how she had conditioned the younger woman to respond if caught openly showing affection to her in front of her mother or indeed in any public place.

Caroline swore to herself wondering how she could have been so self-centred, how she could have abused Kate so badly, she felt a deep sense of shame but also a swell of fierce protective love, she vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power never to take Kate for granted again.

Tightening her arms to stop Kate pulling away Caroline turned to face her mother.

With a gentle smile and a calm tone

'Yes Mum, back safe and sound. Everybody here OK'

'Yes, William and Roxy are watching some historical thing on the telly, Lawrence is playing on his game-box thing, and Alan is resting next door. I've been waiting for you to get back.'

'Good, thanks for holding the fort overnight. If you give us a few minutes to get in and settled then I'd like to have a chat, I think there are things we need to talk about.'

'Hmph' muttered Celia turning into the lounge to watch TV with William and Roxy while she waited.

Rapidly removing coats, depositing bags, saying a quick hello to William and Roxy, calling upstairs to check on Lawrence before boiling the kettle for tea, both women were settled in double quick time. Lightly pecking Kate on the lips Caroline asked

'Do you mind being with me sweetheart, I think this could be quite tough and I don't mind if you'd rather not be there, I don't want you getting upset.'

Kate just smiled and taking her mug in one hand headed for the table in the dining area off the main kitchen.

'No Caroline that's not the way, I'm a big girl now' pointing to her expanding belly and smiling 'actually in more ways than one. But seriously, I want Celia to know we are together, a couple, a partnership, indivisible. My pride wants her to stop talking about me rather than to me, I want her to consider me as a fixture in your life, and therefore also a part of her family's future. If you keep discussing this without me being there she'll never get that message.'

Nodding at the truth of Kate's words Caroline went through and asked her mother if she would like to join them in the kitchen. The brief flicker of surprise that crossed Celia's face at the plural pronoun did not go unnoticed by her daughter.

'I had hoped we might have a few words, just the two of us' started Celia frostily.

'No Mum, this concerns Kate as much as either you or I so it would be foolish for her not be there.'

Sitting down beside Kate, Caroline took her hand. The younger woman felt the nervous tension running through Caroline and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

'Mum, I can see by the expression on your face you aren't happy but can we at least try to keep this civilised, I do love you, you know that and I don't want to fall out with you but I need you to listen to me, to try and understand how I feel.'

Celia pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Caroline shook her head gently

'I've gone through this in my head so many times Mum but I still find it difficult to know where to start. '

Perplexed at her own inability, shaking her head again almost in bewilderment Caroline took a deep breath.

'You once told me that you had been unhappy for decades Mum, 'half a bloody century' were you're exact words if I remember correctly. Well you haven't been alone in that, for the last few years I've also been deeply unhappy, only you, the boys and my job have kept me going but it was an existence Mum not a life. The joy had gone from my marriage long ago; John going off with Judith was just the final nail in the coffin.'

'Then, out of what felt like an all-pervading darkness came a glimmer of light, I met, this wonderful woman and I fell in love, truly fell in love for the first time in my life. I felt liberated, elated and terrified all at the same time; I had never felt anything like it before, I couldn't even admit to myself how deep my feelings went. It would have been hard to cope with the flood of emotion had I fallen so hard for a man, falling in love with a woman meant I also, finally, had to face who I was and that wasn't easy. '

'Kate was very patient but I abused that patience, I hid her within the family, actually worse than that I even hid her from the family, hid her in plain sight true, but she was hidden none the less because I never allowed any expression of affection between us when anyone was around, I never illustrated my love other than in the bedroom and I never voiced my love even there.'

Caroline didn't fail to notice the pained expression on Celia's face when she mentioned the bedroom but she wasn't going to be diverted.

'I love Kate Mum, I came to realise how much while we were apart. I swore that if she ever gave me a second chance I wouldn't make the same mistakes again. I would make sure she and everyone else knew the extent of my love for her, how proud I was to be in a relationship with her and how wonderful it felt to have her as a part of my life.'

'I'm not daft; I know that I still won't find this easy. I will probably shake and stutter every time I have to 'come out' but…..'

With a smile at Kate

'….she makes me so happy'.

'I know you are going to tell me that you love me and that you only want what's best for me, I believe that you believe that when you say it but, there has always been an unspoken end to that statement. To deserve your love, to continue receiving your love you believe I have to conform to your perception of what is normal, to what you believe is socially acceptable.

'Your love has never felt unconditional; you have always made me feel that I can't be loved just for me, just as I am. Kate's love has shown me that that isn't true, she has allowed me to realise my own self-worth and that I no longer have to accept the conditions you impose. I will always love you Mum, I will always do everything I can to support you, to make sure you are happy but that no longer means I will live by your rules.'

'Where we go from here is up to you but make no mistake, Kate is a permanent part of my life, we are having a child together, a child that will be William and Lawrence's sister, we are a family. I hope you will choose to be a part of that family too but as I said, the decision rests with you.'

Kate's heart was full and overflowing. The magnificence that was Caroline Elliot had shone through her every word, Caroline had promised she would try harder and from this woman a promise once given was a commitment to the future.

Celia tutted, sighed and shook her head

'You are being ridiculous Caroline, how can you be a family, how can you call this woman's child William and Lawrence's sister, there is no relationship between you and this child other than the unnatural one you share with its mother.'

'Oh I know you think you are in love but it's just a perverted infatuation, your hormones have gone into some kind of overdrive – you will regret this when your head clears unless you continue to keep it contained within your real family. '

Caroline sat back in her chair appalled by her mother's scathing tone and vitriolic words.

'Celia' Kate interjected not sure how Caroline would react and wanting to prevent another shouting match 'why do you believe that what Caroline and I feel for each other is so much less than what you have with Alan?'

'But that's so different, that's normal, as nature intended'.

'What do you believe nature intended in the raising of a child Celia? Why do you assume that a relationship between two women who will raise their child in an atmosphere of love, giving that child every opportunity to be a well-rounded emotionally stable individual is a perversion but that a lack of love between a man and a woman, a broken relationship that leaves their child feeling alone and inadequate long into her adult life is normal, as nature intended?'

Celia stared at Kate open mouthed, she had never heard the younger woman speak so directly, that she was annoyed, that she was blaming Celia for damaging Caroline was self evident – how dare she!

With a sneer on her face and contempt in her voice Celia attacked.

'I wish to God I had never asked you to stay all those months ago, I wish I had never asked you to play at the wedding. I thought Caroline was recovering from the mess left behind by John, that she needed to revisit the stupidity of her youth and that you would do to keep her occupied while she came to her senses. But I was right about you from the beginning although I didn't see the full extent of what you were after I thought you were only angling for a promotion.'

'You've really hooked a winner with our Caroline and you've played her like an expert. You've got a meal ticket for you and your bastard for the rest of your lives.'

Caroline's fist came down on the table with a bang.

'Enough' she bellowed

Kate grabbed her wrist and held it tightly

'No Caroline, let her finish, it needs to be said.'

'I kept quiet when you lived here before because at least you were being discreet and I didn't think there would be any lasting damage but when you turned up at the wedding pregnant I knew I had got it badly wrong. You didn't quite get what you wanted though did you, took a bit of extra effort to get Caroline to make such a public display of herself on the dance floor.'

Turning and looking directly at Caroline

'Come to your senses Caroline, you don't want to spend the next twenty years of your life looking after someone else's child, you don't want to spend the rest of your life being talked about behind your back, having fingers pointing at you for being queer. You can still get out of this mess, lots of people do silly things at weddings when they have had too much to drink.'

'That is enough Gran' said Lawrence quietly. He had come downstairs to get a snack and although he knew he shouldn't, he had been standing just outside the door listening.

'I'm sorry if I was eavesdropping' he said looking apologetically at Kate and his Mum

'You know Gran I was pretty hacked off with Mum's display at the wedding too. Angus thought it was hysterical and took the pi… er, mickey for ages afterwards. I got so angry William had to take me away to calm down, this was after Mum and Kate had left the party.'

'I moaned for a good half hour, some about Angus but mainly about Mum and Kate. Will just sat there and let me rant then, when I finally paused for breath, he told me to listen up because it was time I recognised a few home truths. He told me how much Mum loved us, how she would do anything to protect us, how she had been miserable for ages because of Dad's selfish behaviour, told me she deserved to be happy. He asked me if I had ever really looked at Mum and Kate together, asked if I had ever really seen how Mum looked at Kate, asked if I couldn't see how happy she were when Kate was around, how much more alive she had been when she and Kate were together.'

'I lay awake a long while on Christmas Eve thinking about everything and realised that William was right, Mum is a different person when Kate is around'

Caroline swallowed jerkily but didn't interrupt

'Have you ever really looked at them Gran, have you ever stepped out from behind what you believe is going on to see what is actually happening. There is force between Mum and Kate that I can't describe, I guess its love, I don't know I've never seen it before, certainly not between Mum and Dad. What I do know is that whatever it is, it goes between them, its felt by both of them, there is no question of either of them using the other.'

'I was raised by one parent Gran, Mum brought both Will and I up, we may have had a Dad in the house and don't get me wrong he was lots of fun but he was also a hopeless parent. Mum gave us all of the security, the love and support we needed. I love watching her stride down the assembly hall on a Monday morning, I hate to think of people being mean to her because of Kate but I trust her and if she says she can handle mean, if she thinks this is all worth it then we should only be offering her and Kate the love and support she has always given us.'

'I've been pretty mean myself to Kate, I hope she will forgive me for that because I know I want to be a part of this new family.'

Smiling shyly at Kate and his Mum.

'I do love you Ma and I do want you to be happy. But I didn't know how I could believe that you were happy if you felt so strongly that you needed to hide the reason for that happiness. I'm glad that has changed.'

Releasing Kate's hand Caroline stood and pulled Lawrence into a hug, she was delighted when he didn't wriggle or try to pull away. She held him close for a few moments enjoying the contact with this her more difficult child. She truly loved him no less than she did William but she had never been able to communicate with him in the same way she could with his brother, maybe as he got older that was changing.

'You know that I love both you and William very much, I am so proud of you both.'

With a final squeeze Caroline reluctantly released Lawrence and turned to her mother

'I meant what I said Mum, where we go from here is up to you, I will always love you but I will no longer live by your rules. There will be no more pretending, I am absolutely sure that I love Kate more than I have ever loved anybody else, not only that, I have finally accepted myself for who and what I am and I am prepared to stand up and tell Kate, you, and everybody else exactly how I feel about this wonderful woman I am so lucky to have in my life.'