ETWentHome, thank you for the review. I'm glad you liked Cal's little talk with Rita - I enjoyed writing it. I couldn't injure Ethan too severely as Cal is so incompetent at the moment, but who knows what I might do to him in a future story!

TheAtomicCheesepuff, don't worry, I'm just relieved you're not offended I didn't credit you before! I'm really happy you're still reading the story and that you like my interpretation of your ideas. Thank you for your review!

Becs2202, I'm happy you found confused Ethan amusing - I was a bit worried that even a knock on the head couldn't make Ethan say things like that! Thank you for your review and I'm really glad you liked the chapter.

CBloom2, I'm sorry if I misinterpreted you - it can be difficult with the written word sometimes - but I knew you weren't being unkind. I hope my last reply didn't hurt your feelings. I'm glad you like over-protective Cal as you might be seeing him again! Thank you so much for your review.

Tanith Panic, thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the ending - if there is a high point, that's arguably the best place for it. I love writing about Cal. He's very intelligent, but he doesn't always remember to switch his brain on.

Tato Potato, thank you very much for your lovely review. You're an absolutely amazing reviewer!


Cal didn't wait for Connie's answer. He'd just caught sight of Ethan. He ran unsteadily over to the bed and started to ask Ethan if he was okay, but he didn't get very far before he started coughing.

"Caleb, if you must cough, please try not to do it all over your brother," said Connie. "He might not be any use to us now, but we're hoping he'll be back at work in a couple of hours."

"Are you okay?" Cal didn't have his torch, but he leaned close and tried to see into Ethan's eyes.

"And don't breathe on him either!" said Connie. "I might not be a registrar like you, Dr Knight, but I can assure you I do know what I'm doing. Your brother is showing no signs of concussion, but he's going to remain under observation for the next couple of hours."

Cal reluctantly put some distance between himself and his brother. "You are okay, Ethan, aren't you?"

"Probably a good deal more healthy than you," said Ethan. "You really shouldn't have come, you know." He smiled. "But I'm pleased you did."

"Of course I did!" said Cal. "Do you have any idea what it's like, listening to your brother fall down the stairs?"

"Actually, yes," said Ethan.

Cal didn't remember the incident in question, but he did remember the pain he'd been in afterwards. He was about to tell Ethan how worried he'd been, but then he remembered Connie, Robyn and Rita were all listening. Rita had heard it all before, of course, but that did not mean Cal was happy to give her a repeat performance. "So I'm sure you'll understand why I wanted to make sure this lot were doing their job properly."

"'Us lot' were managing perfectly well until you interrupted us," said Connie.

"And I'm fine," said Ethan quickly. "I've got a bit of a headache, but I've been given pain relief and I can remember everything that happened so I'm almost certainly not concussed."

Cal felt terrible, and not just in the sense of feeling ill. He felt guilty as well. If he hadn't phoned Ethan; if he'd waited patiently for Ethan to come home… He took a step closer to Ethan and sneezed.

"And definitely don't sneeze on him!" said Connie. "For a doctor, you seem to have a very limited knowledge of how not to spread germs."

Cal sniffed and pulled one of the tissues Rita had given him out of his pocket. "I'll just be a minute." He went out into the corridor to blow his nose and spend a bit of time recovering from the exertion of going out into the corridor.

"Now, what is the point of going out there to blow your nose?" said Connie when he came back. "We heard the whole performance anyway. Either go away properly or stay in here!"

"It wasn't even loud," muttered Cal. He pressed his hand to his forehead. He knew it probably wasn't aching as much as Ethan's, but it must be close. "Are you a bat or something?"

Ethan cringed. Robyn had to go out of the cubicle to have hysterics, which Cal had to admit were very audible even though she was clearly trying to stifle them. Rita looked like she was close to smiling. But Connie didn't seem very amused. "What was that you called me, Dr Knight?"

"I can't remember," said Cal truthfully. He felt terrible and wasn't completely convinced he wasn't going to die.

"I think Cal just meant that your hearing is exceptionally good, like a bat's hearing," said Ethan. "I'm sure he didn't mean to imply that you're an old bat. Or that he wants you to swing from the rafters."

"I should hope not," said Connie, sending a glare in Robyn's direction as she sheepishly came back in.

Cal was barely listening. All he wanted was get into bed with Ethan. In a completely non-incestuous way.

"Sit on the bed if you like," said Ethan, and made a bit of space for him.

Cal started to do as he was told, but Connie's voice stopped him.

"You may like, but I don't," said Connie. "If you're feeling that ill, Caleb, go home."

Cal was inclined to think this wasn't a bad idea, but there was something he wanted to say first and if he had to say it in front of half his colleagues, then he would. "Ethan… it was my fault you fell. I'm sorry."

"You must be feeling ill!" said Ethan, but then he seemed to realise how worried Cal was and spoke more gently. "Of course it wasn't your fault. Now please go home. I am glad you came, but if you make yourself more ill, it'll be my fault."

Cal shook his head. "It won't be your fault."

"Perhaps not, but you'll still blame me," said Ethan. He sounded almost affectionate.

"Probably," said Cal with a weak smile. He turned to Robyn. "You look after him for me, okay? Because I'm barely in any state to look after myself."

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him," said Robyn. "He won't even be able to go to the loo without me seeing him... um, obviously, I didn't mean literally seeing him go to the loo..."

"Figuratively," said Ethan. "Literally would be seeing me make the journey. Figuratively would be actually seeing me..." Ethan stopped and went a bit red.

Cal smiled. "He's getting back to his old self already." He said goodbye to his brother and slowly made his way out of the room.

"Want to come back to the staff room for a cup of tea and a lie-down before you go?" said Rita. She gave him a stern look. "And when I say a lie-down, I don't mean both of us!"