John's boys had been unable to offer much in the way of explanation upon his arrival. Frustration, and some annoyance at his eldest's snippy attitude, was swiftly causing a red blush to spread up his neck and face. He stood facing his soon-to-be ex-wife where she sat hunched over on the garden bench, hands clenching at his sides as he shivered against the weather, strangely shocked as he regarded her pathetic figure.

"What's going on, Caroline?" he barked. The only response was a quiet sniffle as her attention remained toward the floor. "You're scaring the boys!"

A painful pang of guilt flipped Caroline's stomach and she stifled yet another sob with a gentle shake of her head.

His hands found his hips beneath his jacket and any concern was quickly replaced with impatience. "It wasn't me this time, so I can only assume something happened with your… that…" he waved one hand around, searching for an appropriate word before finding his hip again, "her, the woman… the lesbian." Caroline closed her eyes for a long moment and John knew he'd simultaneously hit the nail on the head and pissed her off.

After several long moments of silence, John fiddled with the collar of his coat, fighting against the cold raindrops making their way down the back of his neck.

"What no angry comeback?" he asked, his amusement raising his voice half an octave. "No telling me what an insensitive, closed-minded prick I am? Caroline?" he shouted, his eyebrows drawing together in concern, "Do you even hear me?"

John bent forward now, searching out her eyes, finding only a blank, unseeing stare that sent a shiver down his spine.

"I think you've finally lost it!" he stood back up to his full height, indignant and pompous, relishing his innocence and enjoying her misery, "I can't believe it, you know, all this time and I was actually starting to feel as if I had something to do with making you this way…" he sniffed and rubbed a finger along his nose, wiping away the wetness that had collected on his face.

"Look at me, Caroline!" his voice louder than ever now, drawing the attention of William who had continued studying the scene from the kitchen window on and off. "Hello? Earth to Caroline! I'm not standing out here all night while you wallow in… in…" he shook his head, struggling to make sense of the situation and both arms outstretched, gesturing towards her, "whatever this is. What is this, Caroline? This isn't normal. You are not normal!"

Caroline heard the words and fought to keep a smile off her face. Where once she'd have been a tornado of blinding rage, she could find no such energy any more. She was tired. She'd had enough. She was done. It was too much to fight the self-loathing and loneliness.

John couldn't take any more. Caroline's catatonic-like state was too infuriating, and he'd left a perfectly good dinner with Judith to come and help a person who couldn't even stand to look at him. "CAROLINE!" he screamed, breaths coming faster and arms tensed by his sides, "Stop this right now and come inside…"

Nothing.

"FINE! I'M NOT STICKING AROUND FOR WHATEVER KIND OF MENTAL BREAKDOWN YOU'VE HAD THIS TIME, YOU… YOU… CRAZY BITCH!"

William looked on as his father turned and stormed back toward the house, his face scrunched and red with anger. The sound of the back door drew Lawrence back to the kitchen and he stood side-by-side with his brother at the island. John shook off the worst of the rain from his coat and stomped his feet on the mat as he groaned and ground his teeth furiously.

"Granny is on her way over," offered William calmly, hoping it would encourage his father to leave, rather than stay out of concern for their wellbeing. It wouldn't do to make this awkward situation even worse.

"Good," John exclaimed sharply. Lawrence's raised eyebrows betrayed his surprise at his father's outburst. He'd not been privy to the outdoor meeting, choosing instead to hunker down in the sitting room, as he so often did, and pretend everything was alright with the outside world. But now he knew it hadn't gone well. "Maybe she'll have more luck…" John stated in between heavy breaths, making his way to the front door to show himself out, "I couldn't get any sense out of her anyway…" he threw over his shoulder back toward the boys, just before he slammed the front door behind him, "Mad cow!"

"Oh, love, I am sorry," Celia stroked Caroline's hair, flattening it under her palm and rubbing down her back, "I wish I could have gotten here sooner."

Caroline sighed loudly, emotionally exhausted and spent of tears, adjusting her body weight until it fell more comfortably into her mother's embrace. "It's probably a good thing you didn't," her voice no more than a whisper.

"Well, yes," Celia smirked. "I doubt I'd get away with slapping him twice!"

Caroline chuckled sadly, grateful once again for her mother's humour lightening the sombre mood that had encompassed her for most of the evening.

"I think the boys feel better knowing you're not sat out there anymore," said Celia softly, receiving a murmur of agreement from Caroline in return. "You don't have to tell me what's happened, love, but…" Celia turned against the arm of the soft dining room sofa to get a better look at her daughter's face, "I've never seen you like this, Caroline."

Caroline raised her eyes to the ceiling. Heartfelt talks with her mother weren't commonplace and she didn't know if she even knew how to do it. Chewing on her bottom lip, she worried that the person her mother knew might have disappeared for good.

"You're so sure of yourself, so strong. You put me in my place more than once!" Another round of chuckles filled the space. "But something has you beaten down…" Celia prodded, gently easing into an area she knew she should leave alone – Caroline's private life. "Now, I may not have done things the right way before, I didn't notice enough about you, take an interest really…" she trailed off, reigning in her emotions, battling the painful guilt she'd felt every day since she'd finally accepted her daughter's hidden sexuality.

Caroline tensed in Celia's partial embrace, growing uncomfortable with the closeness but Celia ploughed on determined.

"But I've learnt my lesson. Took me long enough." She flashed a bright smile at Caroline who smiled back, now drawn to her mother's eyes , "I'm so proud of you, of what a beautiful person you are, inside and out," she tugged at Caroline's shoulder again with the arm that was still wrapped protectively around her. "You are so many things, Caroline, in spite of me, but you are not a quitter," she raised one hand, stroking Caroline's chin and grasping gently at her jaw to raise her daughter's face a little more until their eyes were level, "so now, whatever this is you can deal with it, you can." her voiced hitched and a lump developed in her throat.

Caroline caught it, she heard it, and it flipped her stomach once again and caused her bottom lip to quiver. "Mum," she tried, but the tears threatened again and she sniffed, her eyes searching out the floor once more. "I can't…"

"You can," Celia stated softly. "Now, I'm going to make us some tea, and you're going to get it out of your system, and when we're done, we can get started on fixing it. Okay?"

Caroline smiled meekly, appreciatively, and nodded briefly as her mother moved to remove herself from where her daughter had been pressed against her torso. As she stood and moved toward the kitchen Caroline gripped her lightly by the wrist, "Mum?" she croaked softly.

"Yes love?"

"Thank you."

Celia handed a steaming mug of tea to her daughter and sat back down on the sofa, propping a cushion behind her as she leaned back slowly. She knew not to push Caroline to tell her what had happened; she would wait until the extended silence was broken by her daughter when she was ready.

They were halfway through their drinks when Caroline first spoke.

"Where's Alan?"

"He's next door, love. He thought it might be too much for both of us to come barging in here."

Caroline smiled. Alan was such a sweet man. If she wanted she could quite imagine Alan as her father. She wouldn't be opposed to it. He certainly was much more of a caring family man than her own father had ever been. She knew if she asked he'd be here to help her too, genuinely willing and offering kind words. She couldn't imagine him ever having anything bad to say about anyone. He was a sweet and gentle soul.

"Where's Kate?" Celia asked in return, a hint of wariness and trepidation apparent in her voice and a sympathetic look on her face.

Caroline bowed her head as the sadness and desperation she'd tried so hard to rid herself of made a crushing comeback. "I've screwed everything up, mum," she cried, sobbing into the remains of her tea.

"So, okay… let's just make sure I understand you," interrupted Celia, rubbing a hand across her weary face and taking a deep breath, "Kate is going to be fired from her job for stealing tests that you really don't know that she stole… and you haven't even talked to her about it?"

Caroline's face mirrored everything Celia thought about the situation. It was absurd and ridiculous when stated in such simple terms. Caroline shook her head firmly. "I know," she said simply, shame washing a blush over her already pink cheeks.

"I think you know how silly this all sounds, love," Celia chastised as Caroline sniffed back more tears. "And I'll tell you what I think," she spoke as Caroline nodded, unspoken permission granted for harsh words she saw coming but needed to hear. Please tell me what I should do. "But first let me ask you a question." Celia turned again to regard her daughter straight on, taking a deep breath and stroking both hands down Caroline's cheeks before cupping her chin as she did when the girl was a small child. "Would you expel a student from your school without checking first what happened, without speaking to them and getting their side of the story?"

"Well, I.. I, er… no. No, of course not."

"But you've essentially done that to Kate."

"NO. I didn't… couldn't… er, Gavin was dealing…"

"But it's your school, Caroline! Since when did you let that greasy weasel take over?"

Caroline leaned back now, regarding her mother with a mix of confusion and annoyance, shaking her head causing limp, damp hair to cling to her face. "I didn't," she stated firmly, never more sure of her place as the head of her school.

"That's what I thought," grinned Celia, standing to return their now empty and cold tea mugs to the kitchen sink as a shy smile crept its way across Caroline's face.

Celia stopped abruptly at the kitchen island after rinsing the cups and placing them to one side. "I don't believe it... about Kate. I know I don't know her very well, and for that I'm sorry, I will get to know her better, I promise." Caroline's smile receded as she tried to correct her mother. As much as Caroline wished things were different they weren't together anymore, but as much as she tried she couldn't say the words again, it hurt too much.

"She seemed like a lovely woman... and she cared about you," Celia nodded, eyes shining as they peered lovingly toward her daughter, "I saw enough to know that." Taking another deep breath now, steadying her resolve and trying to convey more confidence than she felt, "So you do whatever you need to do to fix it, get to the bottom of what really happened and..." she swallowed the lump in her throat now, "you tell her exactly how you feel. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good."