A/N: sorry about the updating delay; writing time has diminished to when I can while away time on a hospital ward. I was going to do loads about the wedding, blah blah blah…. But that all seems a bit pointless now. Instead, I'll just try and wrap this one up and start on something else entirely.


Part 7

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A suddenly footstep made Roderick look up from his carefully written notes. The day had been very trying and he was desperate to get away from the dusty school hall and drink a cup of tea in comfort. The hall doors swung shut to show an unexpected group of visitors dressed formally in business suits.

"Roderick!" filled the air as two men beamed at him.

"Good afternoon, Andy and John. What brings you here?" Roderick wondered; both pleased and appalled to see his younger brothers. "I thought we were meeting at the hotel."

"Oh, you know, we were just passing and…"

"Don't believe them, Roderick," Donna suddenly appeared from behind them to state. "They've brought forward a location meeting so that we could get here early."

"Ah. I see," Roderick calmly noted.

"Well, that's partially true," John admitted.

"How much of it is true?" Roderick challenged them.

"Erm… all of it," Andy cagily confirmed. "But we have legit reasons for being here."

"Evidently so," Roderick allowed. "Did you wish to acquaint yourselves with the school?" He couldn't help noticing that their eyes were everywhere, taking in all the details of the place.

As Donna answered "Yes," both brothers exclaimed, "No!"

At Roderick's questioning gaze, Andy added, "Seen one school, seen them all. Especially if they are the plebs you feared they would be in a council run school. Not that I believe they are or anything. Probably lovely children who endlessly inspire you and wonderful members of staff."

"So this really is all about spying on him and his love life," Donna commented. "You two are the absolute limit."

"Aw, don't be like that," John crooned as he moved close and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her deliberately to his body. "This is big family news. And we need to see what she's like before she turns up to our wedding next week. She might go all postal or Game of Thrones on us."

"You wish!" she huffed. "Anything to get out of marrying me."

"Not true," he murmured into her ear.

"Touching as all this is, can we get back to the task in question?" Andy grumbled. "We wanted to come and see Roderick's girlfriend and suss her out."

"Very well," Roderick declared, striding away from them. "Come and see for yourself that Karen is a normal person without psychopathic tendencies to murder me before running off with my money."

"Aw, I was hoping she did," Andy teased in an aside to John. "It would explain what she saw in him."

Fury roared through Roderick. Keeping outwardly calm was important, he reminded himself. Don't let them see.

"Leave him alone," he heard Donna defend him. "Don't stomp on his dreams."

"He knows we don't mean it," Andy argued. "This is what brothers do."

Obviously she didn't believe him, because she ran to catch Roderick up, and grasped his arm. "I want to meet her because she must be special to catch your attention."

He slowed to look her in the eye, gauging her true interest and seeing compassion. "She's very special," he quietly agreed. "Her classroom is just up here."

He strode purposefully towards one particular door and then, having given his brothers a cautionary look, knocked on the wooden part before immediately entering.

"Is something the matter?" Karen asked as soon as she saw his pensive expression. Then she caught sight of two familiar looking men. "Oh! What's going on?"

The two men grinned at her with mirrored smiles. "Well, well, well," Andy commented. "We meet at last."

"Karen, please forgive their idiotic ways," Roderick sighed. "These are my brothers Andy and John," he stated, pointing to them each in term. "And this is John's fiancée, Donna."

"Nice to meet… WHOA!" Karen exclaimed in shock upon seeing her own doppelgänger; albeit a better dressed and efficient looking double of herself. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Roderick. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'm not laughing," John admitted as he shook her hand. "But it does rather explain Roderick's interest in you."

"This is all a bit… weird," Karen faintly observed, but didn't flinch away when Roderick took hold of her arm to offer comfort and support. "Why didn't you say?"

"It's normally a little tricky mentioning the similarities between my brothers and myself, but I didn't know where to start where Donna is concerned," Roderick confessed.

"That'd better not be a backhanded insult, Sunshine," Donna threatened.

Fortunately, it merely made him smile at her. "Definitely not. Perish the thought."

"So… we're all okay now?" Andy sought to confirm. "Or do I have to point out, again, that I'm the good looking brother?"

Karen laughed at that. "The beard is nice, but I prefer clean-shaven men."

"Rats!" Andy playfully griped. "I'm not likely to copy Roderick's hairstyle either, before you ask."

"I wasn't," she giggled. "Although he could tone it down to something a little less austere," she noted, mentally comparing the men's hairstyles and remember how cute Roderick had looked after they had finished making love, with his hair all ruffled. She had said so at the time, and obviously he recalled her doing so, because he had delightfully blushed. "Just for me," she added on a whisper whilst touching his forearm.

Roderick gently took her hand within his. "It can be arranged," he murmured in reply.

John and Andy couldn't believe their eyes. Was this really their big brother standing before them, acting all lovey-dovey, as though he was a lovesick teenager?! They exchanged a glance that spoke volumes.

Time to take charge, Donna decided, so she deliberately asked, "Any chance of you arranging a cup of tea? I dunno about anyone else, but I'm gasping."

"I should be able to get everyone a tea in the staffroom," Karen offered, "before I have to go home."

Luckily, the staffroom was empty apart from them when they arrived, so they could talk in relative privacy.

Donna helped Karen with the tea things while Andy and John continued to lightly tease Roderick about being in a normal school for a change.

"Are they always like this?" Karen quietly asked.

Donna nodded. "Especially Andy. He just loves to provoke a reaction out of him. I'm sure it's only because they crave his attention and approval."

"So, Karen, tell us," Andy began his questioning as their mugs of tea were set down before them, leaning forward to gain a confidential air. "What do you do when you're not making tea for your boyfriend's family?"

That caused a smile or two.

"Well, I work here part time as a classroom assistant, obviously," she replied.

"Really? You're not one of the pupils?" Andy joked.

To the side of her, Roderick sighed. "Of all the things you could accuse me of, I'm not a cradle snatcher."

Andy's eyebrows bobbed in amusement. "Who would have thought that you knew such an expression? Which leads to a question a gentleman should never ask a lady."

"My age?" Karen queried. "With a daughter aged almost nineteen, I can't deny no longer being a spring chicken." Seeing Andy still gazing at her expectantly, she continued, "but I'm thirty six, if you must know. So how old are you?"

"Me?" Andy wondered in surprise. It wasn't often that he was asked. "I'm also thirty six, as is John. But you already guessed that. He's older, obviously. Has Roderick told you he is coming up to the big 4-0?"

"No," she laughed as Roderick scowled.

"Do not plan some horrible surprise party for us," Roderick warned in icy tones.

"As if we'd do that," John added in, sharing a conspiratorial wink with Karen.

"Us? Who's 'us'?" Karen then asked.

"My brother Donald."

"Oh yes! Silly me," Karen chided herself.

"To be fair, there are a few of them to remember," Donna commented, "and they all look the same."

"Does this mean you could mistake them for me?" John hastily worried.

"Of course not," she assured him; first with a touch on the arm, and then by taking his hand. "Especially not now."

"A bit awkward if you can't recognise your fiancé," Karen noted. "Might make the wedding tricky too."

"If Donna accidentally tries to marry me, John, I promise I'll do my best man duty and hand her over to you. Eventually," Andy playfully vowed; gaining the expected swat on the arm from Donna.

"Will you be wearing exactly the same outfit as the groom?" Karen conversationally asked.

"We'll be in matching kilts, won't we, Darling?" Andy teased his brother.

"We certainly will, Sweetie," John replied in kind. "But we came here to find out about Karen. I fear she is trying to avoid our questions."

"So she is," Andy agreed. "We haven't heard anything about her daughter or any shady past."

Roderick merely finished his tea, determined to not be drawn into their musings.

"The shadiest thing I've ever done is be divorced by my twenty-first birthday," Karen supplied. "My ex-husband was mainly out of the picture while I brought up our Charlotte but Mum was a star. She lives with us; has done since she had cancer."

"Karen and Charley are Nancy's main carers," Roderick pointed out, "but you haven't mentioned someone else."

"Oh!" Karen exclaimed. "I haven't told you about my grandson William. We call him 'Will'. I've got some photos in my bag, if you want to see them."

"Yes please," Donna voiced for them all.

As they flicked through the images, with Karen providing information about who was who and where the photos had been taken, Donna couldn't help the little stab of envy she felt. In many ways Karen had everything she had wanted in life, although Donna would have foregone the divorce malarkey given the choice; or the teenage pregnancy, come to that.

But she felt a bitter twist in the stomach when Karen innocently asked, "Do you have any children?"

"Not yet," she forced herself to cheerfully answer. "I'll get John's daughter Jenny once we are married. She's a lovely girl. Have you still got a picture of her in your wallet to show Karen?" she replied, aiming the question at John.

After some fumbling, he dutifully pulled out his wallet and easily found a photo to show off Jenny.

"What a pretty girl. You must be so proud," Karen suitably enthused. "Is she alright about the wedding?"

"Judging by how keen she was to be a bridesmaid, I think she is," John responded. "We had a few problems when Jenny found out my relationship with Donna had changed from friendship to romance, but she's been fine since."

"How does Charlotte feel about Roderick?" Andy suddenly asked.

Caught off guard, Karen answered, "He offered to babysit Will so that instantly gained him favour."

"I did offer to babysit Will," Roderick corrected, "because it only seemed fair to do so when Charley kindly looked after your mother so that we could go on a date."

"Yes, well," Karen blustered, blushing in remembrance. That date had ended with them in bed, cementing their fledgling relationship. "She won't need to for the next week."

"Why is that?" Donna wondered.

"I will have to return to St Cuthbert's College on Tuesday," Roderick stated at the same time, shattering Karen's hopes. "There is much to organise at the school before the weekend, and I fear my choir will be a little rusty."

"I have been given the week off to revise for my exam on Thursday," Karen faintly answered Donna's question. "County are paying for me to do a degree with the Open University."

"How wonderful," John enthused encouragingly. "What's happening to your mother while you revise?"

"She'll be in respite care. There's a decent nursing home not too far from here." She then glanced at the clock on the wall. "Look at the time! I'd better get home and get her her tea."

"I'll take Karen home and meet you all at the hotel later," Roderick suggested. "Is that okay?"

"Fine, perfectly fine," John eagerly agreed. "It was lovely to meet you Karen."

"I am so pleased that we did," Andy approved, grinning from ear to ear.

"Me too," Donna added. "And we'll hopefully see you at the wedding next week."

~o0o~