The next morning Charlie had called to inform them he had managed to persuade Connie to give them a day off. Thanking him, Cal had arranged for Ethan and him to meet their birth mum. Pulling up outside the house, Ethan began to have second thoughts. Cal could sense him tense up beside him. Reassuringly, Cal placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry." Cal told him. "I felt scared when I came here with Charlie."

Ethan gave Cal a small smile.

"Let's do this." Ethan said.

"You know it's funny." Cal said as the two of them walked up to the front door.

"What is?" Ethan asked.

"I recognised the house when Charlie pulled up here the first time I went to meet her."

They had barely reached the door when it opened.

"Nice to see you again Cal/Stephen." Shelle said.

Shelle then saw Ethan standing next to Cal.

"Is this Michael, I mean Ethan?" She asked.

"Yes, this Ethan." Cal replied.

Ethan shook hands with Shelle.

"It's nice to meet you." Ethan said.

"You better come in." Shelle told them.

Stepping aside, Shelle let the two of them enter. She stopped them just before they entered the living room.

"She is expecting you, but let me tell her you've arrived." Shelle explained to them.

A few seconds after she had entered the living room she came back out again. This time to tell Cal and Ethan they could go in. When Ethan entered he saw Emilie sitting in her wheelchair, her whole body uncontrollably shaking. Ethan had to inhale a sharp breath when he saw her. Emilie smiled when she saw her two boys standing side by side together. She had always hoped that one day she would see them again. It was just unfortunate they had to meet under these circumstances.

"Michael?" Emilie asked.

Cal gave Ethan a slight nudge with his elbow when his brother didn't move or respond.

"Um, yes. It's me." Ethan stuttered.

Emilie held out her hand. Unsure what to do Ethan walked over to her and took hold of it. It felt weird. He barely knew this woman, yet this woman was his mum. Cal came over and stood beside him. Shelle gestured to them to take a seat. The two brothers sat down.

"I-i-i's good t-t-o see y-y-ou, M-m-michael." Emilie struggled to say.

"Why did you give us away?" Ethan suddenly blurted out.

Emilie shuffled nervously in her wheelchair. Maybe this was to tell her two sons the truth behind giving them up for adoption?

"I w-w-was very y-young when I had Cal. 20 year o-o-old. It was j-just after Cal w-w-was born that I b-b-began to notice m-my moods were erratic. At f-f-first I t-thought it was p-p-post-natal depression. I soon g-g-got better. 2 years later I-I f-f-found out I w-was pregnant again. That's w-when the first a-a-attempt happened."

"First attempt at what?" Ethan asked.

"I t-tried to k-kill myself."

Cal and Ethan remained silent.

"Y-your dad came home and found m-me unconscious. I-I was a-admited to h-h-hospital. The d-d-doctors diagnosed m-m-me with d-d-depression. W-w-we thought it would g-get better but, i-i-it didn't. My moods became even more e-e-eratic and I began to stumble."

"When did you find out you had the illness?" Cal asked this time.

"5 months after your dad left me. When I-I-I found out I was on my own b-b-by then. You were only 2 y-y-years old and Ethan w-w-was only a month old. I-I-I couldn't cope with my i-i-ilness and being a s-s-single mum to two y-y-young children. So I m-m-made the decision to p-put y-you up for adoption t-t-together. I hoped the t-two of you would stay t-t-together because then at l-l-least you would h-h-have each other. You know the rest."

"But why didn't our mum, I mean adoptive mum tell us then?" Ethan inquired.

"Because s-s-she didn't k-k-know."

"She knew we were adopted." Ethan said his voice rising a bit.

Emilie nodded.

"So why didn't she tell us about the adoption?"

Cal could see his brother was getting angry. The woman he thought was his mother, a mother he cared, loved until she died had lied to him.

"Ethan." Cal said.

Ethan shook his head.

"No. Mum should have told us."

"Maybe she didn't want to." Cal suggested.

"Why? We had the right to know!"

"Maybe she d-d-didn't want y-y-you to feel unloved. L-l-like you didn't belong a-a-anywhere." Emilie said.

Ethan stood up quickly.

"I'm sorry. I can't stay here. I can't do this."

With his response he left.

"Ethan?" Emilie said watching as her youngest son walk away.

"It's okay, Emilie. I'll go and make sure he's alright." Cal said getting up and following his brother.

Just as he was about to follow Ethan outside, Shelle stopped him on the way out.

"Your mother only thought she was doing the right thing by giving you both up and I would think the same would go for the woman who adopted you."

"I understand. I'm just not sure Ethan does."

Shelle smiled and closed the door as Cal stepped out the front.