A/N: happy Easter :). This chapter is about Kate reuniting with her sister :)
disclaimer: I don't own law and order UK...
That Sunday, Kate went to visit her sister at the address Ron had given her. She had prepared her sister some lunch, not in what state she'd find her in. Then, nervously she stepped onto the tube, travelling to the less cultured part of London. According to the address, Beth didn't live too far away from her. Finally, she was stood in front of a run-down looking block of flats. The front door wasn't even locked (Kate had a feeling that she knew why). She entered and climbed up the stairs, and then rang the doorbell to the number 5 door.
At first no one opened. Then a woman with dirty, lank blonde hair opened. Her blue eyes were hollow looking. Kate smiled, tears forming in her eyes, she hadn't thought she'd ever see her sister again since she left.
"Katie?" the woman asked, blinking as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"You recognise me…." Kate whispered, before hugging her sister. Beth gripped her tightly and started crying, and Kate did her best to hold back her own tears. Finally, they let go of each other. Beth cupped her sister's face, something she often did when they were younger.
"Look at you, all grown up! Last time I saw you, you were a tiny 11-year old, sneaking out of mum and dad's house to give me food, cos you were worried that my boyfriend wasn't feeding me enough!"
Kate smiled at that memory. Beth had been kicked out of the house when she got pregnant. She and Beth still met up, even though there was almost a 7 year age difference between them, they'd always been inseparable. Beth was always complaining about how hungry she was, because of her pregnancy, but Kate was convinced it was because her boyfriend didn't give her enough food.
"Beth, were have you been? I've missed you so much!"
"Trust me, I've missed you too, but I couldn't, I just couldn't stay after they took, after they took Olivia."
She wiped her eyes, and invited her sister in. The house didn't look much better from the inside than from the outside.
Beth led Kate to the sofa, and they sat down.
"What went wrong, Katie? That boyfriend who led me to drugs? Having Liv taken away from me? Being thrown out by mum and dad?"
"Thrown out by mum and dad, mainly. I mean the drugs didn't help, but you got clean the instance you found out you were pregnant with Livia. They were so pleased when you quit. I was so happy too, I thought everything was going back to normal, no more fighting and shouting and stuff…But then when they found out you were pregnant…"
"They preferred drugs to their own granddaughter. Cos since she was family, they'd have to pay for her, to help me out. With drugs they had no obligation to do so…"
"Remember how dad threw you out, just like that?"
"Yeah, I do. I also remember how you came running out 10 minutes later with my bag filled with clothes, some personal belongings and your piggybank!"
Kate giggled and remembered how she thought that those loose coins would buy Beth her own flat. She also remembered the hiding she'd got from her father when she returned back home that day, for helping Beth. From then onwards, she had to keep it a secret from her parents that she was still seeing and helping her sister.
"Remember how you bought yourself a flat and started working your ass off to make money?"
"Well, I didn't buy the flat. I was living with my new boyfriend… he was pissed when he found out I was pregnant…"
"Yeah, but he calmed down when you told him it wasn't his baby. Of course, he moved out, he didn't want to be responsible for a child…"
"But he let me stay in the flat for free. His father was the land lore after all, and he genuinely liked me and was sorry for the way our parents threw me out…"
"Remember how even I started working? Well, not working but I ran around the estate offering to do people's dirty work… Laundry, walking dogs and babysitting…. They all had something for me to do…"
"You gave me anything you earned, you thought you were making a fortune!"
Kate laughed at that, as a 10-year old she didn't understand the value of money yet.
"And then, just after your 11th birthday, Livie was born…" Beth said quietly. They both remembered that clearly. They had been in Beth's flat together. They'd managed to brighten it up quite a lot, their Sunday morning hobby was going to flea markets. They found cheap second hand items for the nursery room, they even bought paint to decorate it.
That evening they were watching a film together on the ancient TV, when suddenly Beth's waters broke. She paled and clutched her tummy, and panicking, Kate called an ambulance, since Beth didn't have a car. They arrived in hospital and only 3 hours later, the baby was born while Kate held Beth's head in her lap. As they placed the tiny blonde baby against Beth's chest, she looked up at Kate, who beamed down at her older sister and said "Olivia is so cute!"
So Beth named the baby Olivia. Of course, the nurses immediately called social services, after all, an under aged teenager had just given birth, accompanied by her little sister. They wanted to take Liv away immediately, but Beth refused. Reluctantly, they left, saying they would visit often to make sure she was capable of bringing up a child.
After that, Beth couldn't work anymore, so it was Kate who continued running around the village to babysit, cook, do shopping for old people, clean cars or houses; anything to earn some money for Beth. Her parents didn't seem to care that their 11 year old daughter came home late every day, or that she barely ate and instead snuck the food out for her sister.
However, almost a year after this crazy new lifestyle, social services took Olivia. They said that Beth couldn't handle such a responsibility, and that Olivia would be better off with "proper parents". They told Beth not to bother to fight in court; she didn't have enough money for her own flat, let alone a lawyer. Beth was broken hearted, and Kate helplessly hugged her sister once the social service people had left, with a screaming, struggling and crying Liv.
"Beth, why did you leave me? You could have stayed, started studying again or got a job…"
Only one month after Liv had been taken away, Beth packed her bags. She waited for Kate before she left. She hugged her really hard, and handed her some photos and her piggybank.
'Take care of these photos. In your piggyback there's money, all the money you earned but I didn't use. Kate, you are smart: continue saving up and study and become a lawyer or something, get yourself out to the miserable situation we grew up in. I love you, please don't follow me…" Ignoring Kate's pleas, protests, screaming and crying, she disappeared. With tears blurring her vision, Kate had looked down at the top photo of the small pile her sister had given her. It was the one of them grinning broadly, with their arms around each other, the baby bump already visible but not immediately noticeable.
"I couldn't, I had to escape everything. I don't even know why I'm still alive…"
"Are you on drugs?"
"No, I never touched them again after I quit cos of Liv."
"Beth, please let me help you; you need therapy. I've found this rehab centre where they can help you get your life back and make you independent. Most probably we can get this treatment for free, for the way the social services simply took Liv without helping you to get your life back on track. I could help you sue them if you want. And if we can't, I'll pay every single penny you need to get better again."
Beth looked with her sad eyes at Kate, a flicker of light in them.
"Really?"
"Beth, please go for therapy. It'll take a year, maybe two. Then you could find yourself a proper job, and we could try and find Olivia, she's almost 17 by now…."
Beth blinked, "You'll help me?"
"Yes, I love you and I'd do anything for you. Just agree you'll go there and help yourself, in fact, I've booked you in already…"
She pulled out a paper with all the information on the centre.
"I've thought of everything…Just go and afterwards, we'll find Olivia together…"
Tears escaped Beth's eyes.
"From the age of 10, you did everything you could to help me financially. Now you even want to pay for this mental rehab… Why? After everything I put you through…"
"Please say you'll go. For my sake, for yours and for Liv's."
"Kate, yes. Thank you…"
Kate hugged her, "No, thank you!"
Maybe they could start over again. Wipe the slate clean...
