Tato Potato, Originally, Ethan was going to ask Cal's advice on whether he should buy a ring or take Honey out so they could choose together, but luckily, I remembered his mum's ring just in time! Thank you for your review.
beckyboogle, thank you for your review - I'm really happy you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy this one too.
Gillian Kearney Fan, I'm glad I remembered about the ring in time! Thank you for your review.
Tanith Panic, I really want to show Noel being a good dad throughout this story - almost everything else is going wrong for poor Honey! I don't think the engagement will go wrong, but all couples have their moments. Thank you for your review!
ETWentHome, I was in two minds about whether she would like the ring or not, but I thought that once she'd heard the story behind it, she'd want it even if it wasn't to her usual taste. Thank you for your review!
Honey didn't feel well enough to work the following day, but after a couple of days of rest, she returned to the hospital. She'd decided she would only stay for a couple of hours, but she needed to go and invite everyone to the engagement party and she decided the best way of ensuring she saw everyone was to go to work. She didn't think any of her friends would be able to get through the day without a coffee.
Ethan encouraged her to take another day off, but as Honey refused, he drove her to work and put his arm around her, supporting her, as they walked into the hospital.
Honey was surprised by how quiet it was. Of course, there was a lot of noise in the waiting room as usual as patients chattered, moaned and threw up, but there didn't seem to be anyone on reception and the only doctor she could see was Cal, who was walking towards her.
"Hey, little bro. Hey, future little sis," said Cal.
Ethan had told Honey that Cal wasn't 100% happy about their engagement, but Honey had never seen any signs of it. He'd come to see her a couple of days ago to offer his congratulations and had been surprisingly sweet.
"Hey, future big bro. Where's my dad?" said Honey, looking around.
Cal shrugged. "I'm sure he's around somewhere. How are you feeling, Honey?"
"A bit better, thanks," said Honey. "Still not really up to working full-time, so I hope they won't sack me!"
Ethan shook his head. "You're allowed sick days, Honey. Don't worry about that."
"No-one in their right mind would sack my little sister," said Cal, putting his arm around her as they walked towards the deserted reception desk. "And if they do, there will be hell to pay."
"CONGRATULATIONS!"
Honey and Ethan both jumped violently and clutched at one another as Cal laughed at them. Noel, Big Mac, Louise, Zoe, Robyn, Lofty, Max, Rita… almost everyone Honey knew at the hospital had jumped out from behind the reception desk. They were holding a big banner with the word 'Congratulations' on it.
"Oh my God!" gasped Honey, and burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I am happy really. Thank you!"
Ethan was bright red but smiling. "Thank you. Thank you very much."
Honey wiped her eyes. "You're all so lovely." She hugged and kissed her friends. Ethan shook hands with the men and was subjected to kisses from the women. He looked a little bit uncomfortable, but that only made his relationship with Honey more special. She was the girl he didn't feel awkward kissing.
"Have you got a ring yet?" said Robyn excitedly.
Honey showed her. "It was Ethan's mum's. She left it to him when she died and she meant him to give it to the girl he was going to marry. And that's me!"
"It's beautiful," said Robyn.
"It's really nice," agreed Lofty.
Robyn nudged him. "Maybe she gave Cal her wedding ring. So if you ask Cal to marry you, Lofty, then you'll have one too!"
"I'm not that desperate yet!" said Lofty, laughing.
"Hey!" said Cal.
Honey giggled. "You've broken his heart now, Lofty!"
Lofty went over to Cal, a serious expression on his face. "Cal, I am so honoured and so flattered that you think of me in that way. But-" The rest of Lofty's words were lost as everyone collapsed into laughter, including Cal and Lofty.
Honey reached into her bag. "Oh, while you're all here, I'd like to invite you all to our engagement party. I was going to go round and see you all in person, but I don't think Connie will like it if I go bursting into Resus. I've done the invites on paper. It's more personal than facebook and I didn't think you'd all be on it." She handed out the invitations. Most people said at once that they'd be able to come, while others promised to try to swap their shifts.
"The party will go on all night so come over anytime," said Honey.
"I'll hand out the other invites if you like," offered Cal, but Honey shook her head.
"Thanks, but I think I'd like to see everyone in person. I'll go and ask Dixie and Iain now, then I'll wait for the others at the coffee shop. I don't suppose Dylan will want to come, but I think it would be good for him to do something normal for a change."
Ethan cringed slightly. "Honey, being a bit different isn't the same as not being normal."
"I never said he wasn't normal," said Honey, a bit hurt. "Just some of the things he does. I think he's probably just shy."
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry. Of course you didn't mean that," said Ethan. He kissed her so sweetly, Honey's happiness was restored in seconds.
They were interrupted by Connie. "Dr Hardy, if Miss Wright requires mouth to mouth resuscitation, I suggest you take her to Resus."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs Beauchamp!" said Ethan, blushing.
Honey felt around inside her bag. "Connie, I got you an invite. To our engagement party. I hope you can come."
Connie took the invitation. "It's 'Mrs Beauchamp', please, Miss Wright, and I don't usually attend parties." She smiled. "But thank you for inviting me and many congratulations to both of you."
Honey smiled as her customer left and looked at the small pile of invitations still on the counter. There were still a few people she hadn't seen. She wasn't surprised not to see Dylan as he never seemed to drink her coffee and it was possible he wasn't working today. It was slightly more surprising that she hadn't seen Lily. She was definitely at work as Honey had seen her from a distance, but she didn't seem to be thirsty.
At first, excitement and adrenaline kept Honey going, but soon the pains in her stomach became more noticeable. When Ethan came to get some coffee, he noticed at once. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"I just don't feel well," said Honey. She was leaning on the counter with her chin propped up on her hands. "I called the agency and they're sending someone in to cover for me, but they're not here yet. I wish you'd give me one of them anti-metric things you were talking about."
Ethan leaned across the counter to kiss her damp forehead. "I'll go and see if I can find Zoe. I'm sure she'll be happy to discuss antiemetics with you."
"But you don't think she's going to prescribe anything, do you?"
"I can't be certain what she'll do," said Ethan. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up, darling. Why don't you come and wait in the staff room?"
Honey shook her head. "I've got to wait till the agency girl gets here. I wish she'd hurry up. I'm boiling with this apron thing on."
Ethan smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure she'll get here soon. Shall I go and find Zoe, sweetheart, or would you like me to wait with you?"
Honey was about to answer when a girl appeared at the counter beside Ethan. "Honey? I'm Jenny from the agency."
"Oh, right, great," said Honey. She took off her apron and came out from behind the counter. "Shall I show you where everything is or can you manage?"
Ethan frowned. "Excuse me, Jenny, but hadn't you better show Honey some ID before she gives you access to the till?"
"Oh, yeah…" Honey had forgotten about that. She looked at the ID card, held it out to Ethan for inspection, and finally handed the keys over. "I'll be here for a while, so any questions, ask Noel on reception to text me. He won't mind because he's my dad."