X-Sammii-X, thank you for your review. It's lovely that you can see the positives of Cal loving Matilda so much - there are negative sides, but love is a positive emotion.

Tato Potato, thank you for your review. I'm afraid I can't promise that Cal won't do anything reckless - you know what he's like! But that's one reason why we love him.

Tanith Panic, I really wanted to fit the characters together as much as I could. Connections like that always make me smile and it's good to know I'm not the only one! Thank you for your review!

ETWentHome, Cal and Matilda will finally meet again in this chapter! He really is putting a lot of hope into it - which is dangerous because he's probably built up an 'ideal' Matilda in his mind. Thank you for your review!

I'm sorry there's only one Cal and Matilda scene instead of two - there were two, but the chapter was too long so I had to split it into two chapters.


Zoe shifted her shopping bags into one arm, pulled her key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. All the way round the shops, she'd been thinking about how she would tell Max what she was planning to do.

They weren't exactly short of money, but Max still wasn't earning very much and Ariana might need a lot of therapy. It might be difficult, though not impossible, for Ariana to hold down a job in the future, and Zoe wanted to make sure there was money available in case she needed it.

She was forced to admit that giving up work in order to give Ariana more attention hadn't been a success. Ariana was sweet and loving and seemed to like Zoe's company, but it didn't seem to have made her any happier.

The sad truth was that nothing seemed to help: at least not in the long-term. Zoe had been told there was no cure for BPD, but she'd chosen to believe that with all her medical knowledge, she would have the advantage over most mothers.

Of course, she was wrong. Zoe's medical knowledge had helped in that she knew instantly how to treat the cuts, burns and bruises Ariana inflicted on herself, but that was all.

But despite all this, Zoe loved Ariana and felt grateful and lucky to have her as a daughter. There was a school of thought that people with BPD only cared for themselves, but that was wrong. There were times when they could only think of themselves because they felt under threat; the constant fear of rejection could be crippling and anyone would struggle to live with constant fear. But Ariana cared for her family and friends. In her career, Zoe had met many caring people with BPD who felt constant guilt for not being 'normal'.

Zoe unpacked her shopping and then went into the living room, expecting to find papers all over the sofa where she'd left them, but it was almost empty. The floor, however, was littered with papers.

Max had been there.

Zoe was smiling as she lay down on the sofa. She had no idea if Max was still there and if not, she was disappointed to have missed him, but he'd certainly done her a favour by moving those papers so she could sit down.

Then the top paper caught her eye.

POSSIBLE JOBS.


Cal knew he was getting some odd looks. He was sure half the waiting room was wondering why the guy in the scrub top kept hanging round the reception desk for minutes at a time, yet rarely actually called a patient.

He'd seen Noel throw some questioning glances his way, but he studiously avoided catching the receptionist's eye. Instead, he stayed where he was, watching for two people: his brother and his daughter.

Ethan was in charge in Lily's absence. It still annoyed Cal that that the hospital board had chosen Lily over Ethan to be clinical lead. It also annoyed Cal that they hadn't invited him to apply for the post, but he'd found he was actually more annoyed on his brother's behalf. Ethan could be shy and awkward, but he always listened and was always fair.

Cal had another quick look around to check Ethan was nowhere in evidence, then turned back to see his daughter.

Matilda looked beautiful. She'd looked beautiful the last time too, but this was the first time he'd seen her without swollen eyes and a red nose. She looked pale and upset, but she looked absolutely stunning and so like her mother – yet different. The expression on her face was different. She looked sweet and innocent and afraid.

"Matilda!" Cal knew he'd called her name loudly enough to make heads turn, but he didn't care. He walked quickly towards her and then had to resist the urge to hug her. "Hey, sweetheart. Hey, Ariana."

"Cal!" Matilda's face lit up.

"How are you?" said Cal. He nearly added: It's been ages, but of course, it had only been a week.

Matilda smiled shyly at him. "We're fine, thank you, Cal. Just worried about Lottie."

"Lottie's doing much better now," said Cal. "She doesn't need surgery and there was no further injury to the arm or shoulder joint. The only reason we've kept her in is because we need parental consent to discharge her – we just haven't had any luck in contacting her parents so far." He looked at Matilda again and felt proud. He knew Matilda ought to be at school, but she clearly believed friendship was more important than education and he definitely agreed with that.

"But she's okay?" asked Matilda.

Cal could see she was really worried. "She's fine now. She is experiencing a bit of pain, but she has painkillers and we've put her arm in a sling."

"I told Matilda Lottie will wear the sling for two-to-three weeks," said Ariana.

Cal nodded and smiled. "That's right. She'll also have follow-up appointments with orthopaedics and physiotherapy. Once her arm's out of the sling, she'll have some exercises to do to strengthen her shoulder."

"Doesn't she have to put frozen peas on it first?" said Ariana. She looked nervous, as though she didn't want to be wrong.

"You girls are all seriously smart," said Cal, impressed. Matilda was the most intelligent, of course, but her friends all ran her close. "I don't need to explain anything! But if you have any questions, all you have to do is ask." He smiled and put his hand on Matilda's arm. "Shall we go and see Lottie now?"

"Is she okay to have visitors?" asked Matilda as they walked along.

"Lottie is a bit worried you might get into trouble for leaving school," said Cal. "But now she knows you're coming, she's looking forward to seeing you." He smiled. "I could be wrong, but I get the impression she's dying to tell you something."


Louise was still smiling. She'd always felt grateful to the baby who'd helped her back into nursing – a decision she'd never regretted – and now she'd had the chance to say so.

"Do you think…" began Lottie, and stopped.

"You can ask me anything!" said Louise. "We're mates now."

Lottie hesitated. "It's something I've been thinking about for a while. I've been told I'd be good at it, but not by anyone who really knows the profession."

"You mean you'd like to work in a hospital?" said Louise.

Shyly, Lottie nodded. "I know it's not an easy job, but I'd like to be a nurse."

"Honestly, I think you'd be really good at it," said Louise. "You've got a very nice, gentle way about you and you were great with Ariana and Matilda when-" She stopped as the door opened. A surprisingly happy-looking Cal was there with Matilda and Ariana. "Looks like your friends have arrived." She patted Lottie's good arm. "Talk to you later, babe: okay?"

She went off to reception to tell Noel that Lottie wanted to be a nurse, but she could tell from the serious expression on her husband's face that something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked anxiously.

"I just got a call from Honey," said Noel heavily.

Louise groaned, her happiness draining away. "Don't tell me she's left her husband again."

Noel nodded. "Yep. She says it's for good this time."

"She said that the last three times," Louise pointed out.

"I know, but sometimes she does mean it." Noel defended his daughter. "She did leave her last two husbands for real eventually."

Louise wasn't entirely sure this was a point in Honey's favour. "When is that girl going to grow up? I'm sorry, Noel. I know she's your daughter and I do like her. But she's forty!"

Noel looked startled. "What are you talking about? Honey's only thirty. We went to her 30th a couple of months ago, remember?"

Louise started to laugh, but she quickly stopped herself. "Noel, if Honey was thirty, she'd have started working at the ED when she was fourteen. I really don't think that's very likely."