Hello! We're over half-way now, and I hope to post the rest regularly (knowing me, that probably won't happen) and finish it by the end of March. Here's hoping anyway. Surprisingly, even though this has dragged on a bit, I'm still enjoying writing it - so I hope you're still enjoying reading it.

Thank you again for your continued support on this story - as a writer (and those who also write will understand this), getting feedback is both helpful and motivating. Anyway, I hope you like the next chapter!

Finding the Honey: Chapter 14

"How do you feel now, Ethan?" Connie asked as she flicked through his notes. He held his head down slightly, aware his cheeks were turning pink (and not for the first time that day).

"Like I could die from embarrassment."

"Yes, that is to be expected..." she smiled, "but I don't think that's a medical condition, Dr Hardy. How do you feel apart from that?"

Ethan shrugged helplessly, "okay. Better than earlier."

"Good. Well, I'm happy with how your condition has improved: your obs are good, so as long as you get rest and keep your fluids up, I'm happy to send you home… just no imitating your brother in the future," she joked a little, before walking off and shutting the curtain - only for it to be opened a moment later by Cal.

"Little brother -"

"- don't you dare make another joke. I've heard enough to last me a lifetime," he complained, and Cal smiled devilishly.

"I'll drink to that!"

"Caleb," Ethan sighed, and Cal started to laugh.

It stopped suddenly, however, as the curtain to the cubicle was whipped open and Honey stood there.

"I'll leave you two to it," Cal said, giving Ethan a small smile and walking out, shutting the curtain behind them - giving them some air of privacy.

Ethan sat up a little straighter, "H-Honey... hi."

"Can I?" she asked, motioning to the end of the bed.

"Sure," Ethan replied simply, knowing exactly what to say to Honey. It was crucial he got it right, he couldn't mess this up. This was possibly his last chance to speak to Honey and explain properly. If he got her back, that would be an added bonus.

"We need to talk, Ethan. Like adults. Which we both are."

Ethan knew what she was insinuating. He had acted very immaturely about all of this (also very like Cal), which didn't help matters at all.

"I agree, and let me start this off by saying that I'm sorry. I really am Honey. What happened was... well, you know. Everything I said and did, I regret it deeply. I shouldn't have shouted, but we had only just started finally getting along and we were talking... we'd been out together."

"How does that justify your reaction, though?" Honey said, sounding like she was loosing patience - even though the conversation had only just started.

Ethan hesitated; he really didn't know. Honey gave him a 'look'. The type of look that said 'get on with it we haven't got all day'.

"I don't know."

Honey snorted.

"I don't, Honey! I was angry; angry that there was this other man and you didn't tell me about him. I know that was wrong, but in the small amount of time that you were back in Manchester, you could so easily find someone else. Then I was annoyed; annoyed because I thought this meant we were over... before we had even begun. Then I was scared; scared I was going to lose you. Scared that I wasn't good enough for you if you could be with someone else after what happened between us before you went back. Please, Honey. You have to believe me. I just didn't know what to do, so the only way I could deal with that was not dealing with it. I was running away from it... just like my brother."

"You didn't have to shout."

"Everything just came on top of me. Blake was standing there, and I just saw red."

"You still kissed Lily," she stated accusingly.

"I don't know what happened. She was there, and I was there... and it just happened," Ethan tried, but Honey didn't seem to believe him. "I know you won't forgive me, but we will be working together. I don't want things to be awkward between us. And maybe... maybe I could have another chance. I know I don't deserve it after the way I treated you, but -"

"- Ethan, shut up. Just shhh. I need to tell you something."

Ethan smiled, "sounds ominous."

Honey didn't smile, she looked serious. Really serious. "Me and Blake are giving it another shot."

He sat there, shocked. For a moment, it seemed his mouth dried up and he couldn't form any words. Then he had the power to speak again. "Why?"

"Because we lik... love each other."

"If you love each other, why did we go out together? Why did we, Honey?"

"He was in Manchester, I was here!" she said defensively.

"You could have had a long-distance relationship!"

"What, so like after our kiss? You didn't even text me until I made contact with you. You didn't even try! Then I move back here and look what happens. You're interested again. So now you're saying stuff against long-distance relationships?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that..." he tried, but it was clear the conversation was over. She got up swiftly and walked out, leaving Ethan a broken-hearted child-like-man on the bed.

"You have to eat something, Ethan," Cal persisted - watching as Ethan twirled his fork around in the spaghetti, but making no move to eat it. "Keep your strength up. You've only just come out of hospital."

"Not hungry," he mumbled, placing his fork down and resting his head on his hand, looking completely dejected.

"Come on, Eth. It's not the end of the world," he said encouragingly, moving his chair a little closer, sensing his brother would need comfort.

"Yes it is."

Cal carefully and slowly slipped his arm around Ethan, relieved when he made no move to shrug him off. "It's not. At least she didn't con you and take all your mon... your brother's money."

Ethan gave a small smile, before tears dripped down his cheeks and he started sobbing. "It wasn't meant to be like this, Cal! It wasn't meant to be this hard," he cried, turning into Cal's chest and wrapping his arms around Cal's neck.

"It's okay, Nibbles. It's okay. Shhh. It's okay," Cal comforted. "There are lots more people, Eth. Trust me. I should know."

"I love her, Cal!" sobbed Ethan. "I just want to turn back time!"

"I know. But you can't. It may have been for the best. Maybe, in the long-run, you'll see everything turned out well. It's hard now, and it will be hard for a while, but it will get easier. You will feel better soon, Nibbles. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he whimpered.