A/N – A big thank you to everyone who keeps reading this story!
And to 4ce0f5pades; I hope you have had a better day today and maybe this can cheer you up a little!

Chapter 8. Sibling Love

Katie's POV

Emily was downing her third shot of vodka and washing it down with a beer. She was clearly in a drinking mood again but tonight I doubted she had had a good day or that she was celebrating. She had sounded strange on the phone, basically speaking in isolated words; 'alcohol, lots, now, my place', that sort of thing. The look of pure horror on her face was of course another indicator that something was terribly wrong. When I had asked about Jeremy's whereabouts, she had simply waved me off and taken another shot of vodka. James ordered us some thai-takeaway and had now resorted to trying to keep up with Emily in terms of alcohol consumption. He was finding it difficult because she was keeping a rather steep pace. I can't remember the last time Emily had been drunk two nights in a row but it had to have been back in college and even then, she wouldn't down shot after shot like this. She was obviously desperate to drink herself into a stupor tonight.

When the food arrived, my twin was already having trouble walking in a straight line and her eyes were finding it hard to focus. James had given up trying to keep up with her vodka shots and was sipping slowly from a beer. Effy and I had declined the shots Emily had poured for us and were taking it easy by sharing a bottle of white wine. Emily had simply shrugged and downed both shots herself. She only finished half of her food, allowing James to finish it before leaning back in his chair, drunk, content and seemingly clueless to Emily's distress. Effy and I knew better though and when she glanced my way with a concerned look on her face, I decided I had had enough.

"As much fun as it is watching you drink yourself into oblivion, Ems, are you going to tell us the reason for this 'celebration'?", I said with a stern expression. I was expecting her to wave me off again but she merely stared at me, or rather stared at the open space between us, her eyes unfocused.

"I ruined it", she said with no feeling whatsoever, she was merely stating a fact. "I ruined everything." Her behavior was unnerving and, not unlike the drinking, completely out of character.

The three of us shared questioning looks but none of us seemed to have a clue as to exactly what she had ruined. Effy slid to the floor where Emily was sitting with the vodka bottle, hugging it tightly against her chest. "What happened, Ems?", she asked, placing gentle hands on my sister's knees.

"I kissed her." Emily answered matter-of-factly, still staring into the empty space between her and Effy, her voice void of emotion. James' eyes doubled in size and I shot him a threatening look as he opened his mouth, a wide grin spreading on his face. He got the message and clamped his mouth shut.

"Who, Emily? Who did you kiss?", Effy asked softly, placing a hand on Emily's cheek, brushing it in an attempt at comforting her.

"Naomi." Effy glanced towards me with an inquisitive eyebrow raised but I had no idea who Naomi was and shook my head, shrugging. Effy opened her mouth to ask Emily about whom Naomi was, but my sister beat her to it. "She's a patient. A beautiful, amazing patient." There was plenty of emotion behind that statement however.

"Is that where you were all day?", I asked quietly. She nodded. "And Jeremy? Where is he, Emsy?"

"He left", she simply said and tears started running down her cheeks. Effy wiped them away one by one and I slipped down to the floor next to them. "He came looking for me", she started, her eyes once again unfocused, "and found me in her bed." I didn't need to see James' face to know what he was thinking, so I simply reached back and hit him hard on the shin without taking my eyes off my devastated sister.

Effy and I shared a knowing look and I knew I had to get Emily to start talking and more than anything, get her to start thinking. "Emily, why were you in her bed?" My sister managed to focus her eyes long enough to let me see the pain residing there.

"I… I don't know, she's just – when I'm near her it's like I can't think straight…" I once again slapped James hard on the shin in anticipation of his reaction to the irony of using the word 'straight' in context with Emily's confession. We needed to her keep talking at her own incentive without interruptions. Turns out she didn't need much incentive as she babbled on, describing to us how the air had been sucked out of the room when she saw Naomi for the first time and how every time their eyes met, the room would start to spin. She explained how the slightest touch made her stomach flutter and her heart race and how jealousy had almost gotten the better of her when she had met Naomi's boyfriend. Ever the scientist, she described everything down to the smallest detail, including the misery she had felt when Naomi had shied away from her earlier this evening. Tears kept streaming down her face but as she described the horrifying things she had experienced during the last few hours, there was no mention of Jeremy's leaving. All she could talk about was Naomi.

Emily eventually stopped and seemed to snap slightly out of her dazed state, as if letting it all out had brought her sanity back. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. Effy used the opportunity to grab the vodka bottle from Emily but instead of putting it away, she opened it and took a large swig, wincing a little at the aftertaste of alcohol. She handed me the opened bottle, "I think it's justified, don't you?" She was right of course and I accepted it and took a large sip before handing it on to James, who had a somber look on his face. At least he wasn't finding the situation amusing anymore and I could stop hitting him. Not that I minded slapping him around but there were more important things to tend to at the moment. Like our sexually confused sister.

The four of us passed the vodka bottle around in silence and I was relieved to see Emily a little more composed despite dangerous amounts of alcohol in her system. James had joined us on the floor, sitting beside Emily with his arm around her. The two of them had bonded over science when he was in college whereas I had only just started to tolerate the little perv again. Seeing him so affected by Emily's unravelling before our eyes was touching, and that was a sentiment I never thought I would use in connection with my brother.

Effy was the first to break our drinking haze as something occurred to her. "Hang on, did you say that her boyfriend's name was Cook?" Emily nodded but wasn't following why his name was important and neither was I. Effy turned her head to face me, frowning slightly. "Freddie had a friend called Cook, didn't he?" The name did ring a bell and I nodded hesitantly. She became more confident as things about Freddie's friend, Cook, sprung to mind. "Yeah, he did… Freddie lost touch with him when he got kicked out of some private college he attended with the rest of the privileged kids - I think?" She regarded me with a questioning look but I was of no help. Freddie really hadn't shared that much with me during our short-lived affair.

Emily snorted, her dislike of the mention of Naomi's boyfriend evident. "He didn't really seem like the privileged type."

Effy shook her head, "no, he was. His mum was filthy rich, old money I think. What did he look like?"

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remember something about Naomi's boyfriend, whom she clearly hadn't been especially focused on. "Ah, he was probably as tall as James? Blue eyes, not a lot of hair on his head due to the whole buzz-cut thing. Handsome I suppose." The last sentiment was expressed with obvious reluctance.

"Not much to go on but I wonder how many Cook's our age there could be in Bristol back then?", Effy smiled at me.

Emily's POV

The sudden interest in Cook was getting on my nerves. If anything, he was the least interesting subject up for discussion but it was typical of my sister and Effy to turn my heartbreak into a discussion about men. Or man, as it were. I also found it quite amusing, although that could simply be because of the huge amount of alcohol I had consumed, that neither of them had commented on the fact that I had broken ethical laws by forcing myself on a patient. Forcing myself on Naomi, Jesus Christ. Disgust at my actions once again rippled through me and I shook my head violently to get rid of the feeling. All it resulted in was the room spinning and I was thankful that James still had his arm around me, otherwise I might have fallen over. Katie noticed my discomfort and realizing they had digressed and were discussing something irrelevant, she quickly changed the subject.

"What were you doing when Jeremy found you? You know, in her bed?"

I felt James shift beside me but he never said a word. I realized that in his mind, this was just about the hottest thing in the world and it must have been hard for him to keep quiet. Katie threw him a look and I understood that she had the same idea of what was on our younger brother's mind. I looked up at Katie, "nothing, we weren't doing anything." I sighed and surrendered as she threw me a knowing look. I never was good at lying to her. "Fine… I was about to kiss her again when he walked in." Katie looked proud, as if she had called my bluff but it was James who surprised us by speaking up.

"I don't get it, why did she kiss you if she has a boyfriend?" I turned to look at him and saw him roll his eyes, "sorry, that was a stupid question."

Effy laughed out loud. "Actually James, you've got a point there." She turned to look at me, a curious smile forming on her lips. "I think we need you to turn your brain back on, Emily. There seems to be a few details missing."

I really didn't want to explain to them how I had forced myself on Naomi but I desperately needed to make some sense of the situation and of my feelings. I gave in and told them how she had turned away, ashamed and how I had reached out and been so close that I couldn't resist the pull of her eyes. I explained how she had teased me when I had apologized and how I had coerced her into allowing me to sit in her bed. By the time I got to the end and told them how she had moved back to make space for me before I crawled in, Effy had an odd look on her face.

"What?", I asked, scared that she would be angry with me for being such a despicable human being.

"Emily", she shook her head and sighed. I moved back slightly and prepared myself for a verbal attack and for her disgust of me to show. "Why are you so convinced that you are the villain in this?" I frowned, not really following. "Alright, maybe the kiss was a little abrupt and uncalled for. As for the rest, it seems like she was behaving flirtatiously and I don't care how important you are to that medical trial but there is no way she would feel coerced into inviting you into her bed." I noticed Katie nodding, agreeing with Effy's assessment.

"But why would she be flirting with Emily if she has a boyfriend?", James asked, confused. "Or is it because I'm a boy that I don't get this whole thing?"

Effy shook her head and looked deep in thought, "no, I agree, it doesn't make much sense…"

"It's beside the point!" I lost my temper. As much as I liked the idea that Naomi might have been flirting with me and that I wasn't entirely to blame, it wasn't the point of all this. Their ignorance of the serious implications this had, not only on my career but on my entire life, made me miss Jeremy and his rational logic. At least he had cut to the chase and understood the huge ethical implications involved. "I violated a patient! I could lose my job over this and I might have already lost my fiancée! Oh, and I must be losing my mind because I couldn't care less about any of it! All I can think about is her and running back to the hospital to finish what I started!" I was yelling and felt winded, panting a little as the fire in me died out. They were all staring at me, looking more than a little surprised at seeing me lose my temper. Not that I could blame them, it only happened about once every decade. My head was spinning from the alcohol and I realized I was about to be sick, my body finally rejecting the alcohol. I got up and stumbled to the bathroom, Katie following quickly.

She held my hair and stroked my back reassuringly as I emptied the contents of my stomach over and over. I wasn't used to the shots of pure alcohol and had been too preoccupied with feeling like shit to take note of how much I had consumed. The last thing I remember was firm hands lifting me and dragging me off to bed.

Effy's POV

I waited for Katie outside the bedroom as she put Emily to bed. James had helped carry her but wasn't comfortable staying to watch Katie undress her. This struck me as odd considering he had spent the better part of his tween years ogling them whenever he got the chance but I suppose even James had to grow out of that phase. After about ten minutes, Katie reemerged, carefully closing the bedroom door behind her. I knew she was upset at seeing Emily like this, hell we all were, but I also knew Katie well enough to know that she felt she needed to fix this. I was however, curious to know exactly what she was intending to fix.

"Fuck…" Katie shook her head and leaned against the door, sighing.

"So? What are you going to do?"

Katie closed her eyes and frowned. I could tell she was going back and forth in her head, trying to figure out what was best for Emily. The situation was quite complex because the girl, this Naomi, was terminally ill and aside from that, a patient of Emily's. There was a lot more at stake here than the standard 'gay or straight, boy or girl'-dilemma. I knew what I personally was leaning towards but it really wasn't my place. It wasn't Katie's either but I knew she didn't see it that way. She had this gene that made her stick her nose into everybody's business because she felt an innate need to fix everything and everyone. I would have said she was a classic middle-child, only she was the eldest so it wasn't applicable. Even if it didn't always appear that way at first, Katie was usually dead on in her musings. And she was relentless in getting her opinions voiced so there was little point in refusing her. One issue however, she had never pushed.

"I have to talk to Jeremy", she finally said and sounded resigned. "Will you stay with her tonight, make sure she doesn't choke in her sleep or something?"

I smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course. I love her too, you know."

She smiled. "I know." I noticed a change in her and she smirked at me. "I am curious though… I would love to meet the girl who finally made Emily's gay show."

Not the biggest surprise to Katie and Effy then, not a surprise at all really! This sad evening has come to a close and hopefully, Sunday will bring a little more happiness… Time will tell!