Bonnie Sveen Fan, I think besotted dads need a bit of patience so it's lucky Charlie has so much of it! I'm glad you found Ethan cute and not boring - though you only had to hear everything once! I don't want to repeat Proud & Prejudiced too much, but Lily really does need Ethan's support. Thank you for your review.
Tanith Panic, I'm so relieved you found Connie scary - I was a bit worried that she wasn't scary enough! I find it really sweet and funny when parents say things like: "She did her first poo! Isn't she a clever girl?" and it's so understandable they feel that way, but that doesn't mean I want to see a picture! Thank you for your review.
20BlueRoses, thank you for your review. I think even when Ethan has an adorable baby to distract him, he'll still be able to read Cal like a book! I think Cal will take Ethan's reprimands more seriously than Connie as he really does want to be a good brother and uncle. Ethan is loving being able to tell Charlie all about his wonderful daughter!
X-Sammii-X, thank you for your reviews. Alicia was much nicer when she was first in the show. She annoyed me a bit, but at least she was a nice person who genuinely wanted to help everyone. There is no word invented to describe Charlie. He's just so 'Charlie'! I'm not sure I'd want Ethan to adopt me! That could get very awkward, but I am glad you liked him as Tilly's dad. It actually took me months to decide who I liked best out of Cal and Ethan - at times it was literally changing every day!
InfinityAndOne, I'm glad you liked Connie, Cal and Lily and that Connie was sufficiently frightening. I think Lily and Ethan can both frighten Cal on occasion, but Connie is really terrifying - I'm still surprised Jacob dared! I'm happy you're enjoying reading about Ethan's love for Matilda. I don't want it to get boring! Thank you for your review.
Getting a text at work was usually a source of celebration for Cal - not to mention a good excuse to take a quick break. Most of Cal's texts came either from girls or mates with betting tips and either way it was a reason to celebrate.
But there was only one girl Cal wanted to hear from now and he couldn't imagine Lily would let her text while she was working. As for the betting, that was all very well when he was young, free and single, but he knew he couldn't take so many risks now he was young, in a relationship and an uncle.
And one thing about being an uncle was that every time he got a phone call or text message at work, he started panicking that something was wrong with Matilda.
Cal hastily pulled his phone from his pocket and found a test from Lily.
I require some bloods to be taken, but I cannot find a nurse. I am in Cubicle 1.
Cal stared at the text in confusion. Lily could be demanding on occasion and if she couldn't find a nurse, it wasn't entirely unknown for her to ask a doctor to do it instead, but Lily already had a doctor with her: Alicia. So why would she ask Cal? Even if Alicia wasn't comfortable with taking bloods – though she probably ought to be - she'd be able to do it under Lily's supervision.
Cal hadn't forgotten that Connie had advised him to stay away from Lily, but that was two whole days ago and Connie was busy in Resus. He went to Cubicle 1 and tore back the curtain. "Lily, what's wrong with you?"
Alicia, who had smiled at his sudden entrance, was now staring at him in amazement.
Lily looked exactly like a young Connie Beauchamp. "Perhaps you'd care to rephrase that, Dr Knight."
"Perhaps you'd like to rephrase that text you sent to me!" said Cal. "I suppose I don't mind doing bloods for you if you ask nicely – I know it can be difficult to find a nurse sometimes. But 'I require some bloods to be taken'… couldn't you at least have said 'please'?"
Lily looked at him in confusion. "I did not text you."
Cal presented his phone with a flourish. "What do you call that then?"
Lily took the phone from him and frowned. "I sent this text to Charlie."
"Doesn't look that way to me," said Cal.
Lily examined the phone carefully, her lip curling in distaste as she discovered Cal's choice of wallpaper (which he should definitely change before Alicia saw it). "Yes, this is your phone. I… must have made a mistake."
"Easily done," said Cal. "If you open up a contact list, you do sometimes end up touching the contact above or below. Charlie would probably be below me."
"Yes: that must be what happened," said Lily, frowning at her phone.
Alicia's face lit up suddenly.
Cal gave her a warning look. Although he was pleased Alicia had worked it out, he didn't think Lily would appreciate what she would see as a junior doctor's interference.
"Alicia, please go and find a nurse to take some bloods," said Lily without looking at her.
"Oh, I can take the bloods if you want me to!" offered Alicia eagerly.
"It is not your job, Dr Munroe," said Lily. "Please find a nurse as I requested."
"Yes, Dr Chao. Of course," said Alicia, very properly. But the smile she gave Cal as she brushed past him gave him thoughts that were decidedly improper.
He was really looking forward to their first date.
But for now, he had other considerations. "Lily, is it possible that maybe you got the wrong name in your contact list when you texted Alicia to ask her to come to that meeting?"
"I would think not," said Lily coldly. "Nobody has let me know they received the text in error."
Cal had to admit that was odd. "Maybe you could look anyway? If it's, um, the phone's fault and not Alicia's, it would be good to find that out, wouldn't it? Then you'll know Alicia isn't lying to you."
Lily looked very sceptical.
"Phones do funny things sometimes," said Cal. "Even if you did click the right name, the message might have gone into another folder and not been sent." He held out his hand. "I could take a look if you wanted."
Lily hesitated, suspicion on her face, but then she passed the phone over to Cal.
"No: nothing was sent to Alicia," said Cal as he scrolled through. A name caught his attention and he smiled knowingly at Lily. "So, who's Adrian?"
"Charge Nurse Adrian Fletcher," said Lily.
Cal stared at her. "You and Fletch?!"
"Of course not," said Lily dismissively. "I have not spoken to him for a long time."
Cal would have liked to tease her, but then he realised this probably meant his original theory was correct. "But you texted him."
"I did not," said Lily coldly.
"Perhaps not intentionally, but Adrian and Alicia would probably be next to each other alphabetically."
A look of horror came to Lily's face, then she shook her head. "No. I could not have done that. Charge Nurse Fletcher would have let me know."
"Fletch did actually change his number a while ago," said Cal. "It's possible he didn't let you know as he doesn't work with you anymore, but if just imported all your contacts from your old phone…"
"Charge Nurse Fletcher works in the same hospital as us," said Lily. "I saw no reason to delete him from my contacts."
Cal handed the phone to Lily. "Why don't you check the text and see what it says?"
Lily took the phone without much enthusiasm. Cal knew from her gasp horror that he was right.
"Why did I do that?" she asked, as though she were speaking to herself.
"Everyone does it sometimes and you haven't had the phone for very long," said Cal. "Just apologise to Alicia and it'll be fine."
Lily looked as though she found the idea physically painful.
"Lily, it's okay," said Cal. "Everyone makes mistakes like that. I was always sending stuff to the wrong girlfriend when I was that kind of guy."
"Do I have to tell Alicia?" said Lily in a shaking voice. "I don't want her to know what I did. I would be ashamed for a junior doctor to know I made a mistake like that."
Cal frowned. He thought Lily owed Alicia an apology – but he was honest to admit he'd have tried to get out of it too in her place. "Lily, everyone makes mistakes like that. But I think Alicia would probably be happy to move on and not mention it again. Just…" He stopped. He wasn't sure what he was about to say was a good idea. "Don't be too hard on her, okay?"
Lily's eyes flashed. "I don't need to be told how to treat me own mentee. Thank you for your assistance with the phone, Dr Knight. I will now continue with my work."
Charlie smiled as Ethan opened the door, Matilda in one arm. "Hi, Ethan. Hi, Matilda. What a pretty dress! Thanks for inviting me over, Ethan."
Ethan smiled and held the door open so Charlie could come in. He'd invited him to come over on a whim and he hoped he wouldn't regret it, but he really needed to talk to someone. He knew Charlie would give him wise and unbiased advice, and the fact he already knew about Matilda was an advantage.
Charlie lifted a bag he was holding and showed it to Matilda. "I wonder what's in here!"
Ethan showed them into the living room and sat with Matilda on his lap. He felt slightly guilty that Charlie had felt the need to bring something with him, particularly when Ethan was intending on asking him his advice, but he knew a lot of people liked to buy presents for new babies.
Charlie opened the bag. "It's nothing much, but I saw this and thought of Matilda." He brought out a tiny pink onesie with 'Daddy's Girl' written on it. "What do you think, Matilda? Do you like it?"
Matilda made a high-pitched sound of approval.
"You're welcome, Matilda," said Charlie.
"Thank you so much, Charlie," said Ethan, taking the onesie from Charlie. "It's very kind of you and Matilda will look beautiful in it." He held it up against her. "It's exactly the right size too. Cal bought her quite a few clothes, but half of them are too big, so it's really helpful to have something else that actually fits her and this is lovely. Thank you."
"It's my pleasure, Ethan," said Charlie.
Ethan put it carefully over the arm of the sofa so it wouldn't get creased. "I've made tea and muffins. Would you mind holding Matilda while I get the tray?"
Charlie held out his arms. "Of course I don't mind. Come to Uncle Charlie, Matilda. That's right." He held Matilda securely and comfortably. "It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy will be back soon. Go on, Ethan. I'm sure she'll call if she needs you."
Ethan dropped a kiss on Matilda's forehead and went into the kitchen. He checked everything was on the tray and carried it through. He smiled when he saw Charlie and Matilda together. They seemed to be getting on very well. Matilda had wrapped her fingers around Charlie's thumb and didn't seem to have any ideas of letting go.
Ethan laid the tray on a small table. "Here you are. I'm sorry, but I haven't taken the lid off the jam and if you have any, please could you use a separate knife? I'm allergic to jam and I get a bit overanxious about it."
"That's no problem at all," said Charlie. "Thanks, Ethan. This looks lovely."
They ate their muffins almost in silence. Occasionally, Matilda made a small sound and Charlie said something like: "Do you think so, Matilda? Do you know, I think you're right," but for the most part, they concentrated on eating.
When the muffins were finished, Charlie returned his plate to the tray and said: "Okay, Ethan. How can I help you?"