This is the final chapter - I hope it's not too rushed. I had a bit too much material for one chapter but not enough for two. Thank you for reading, following, favouriting and reviewing the story - it only took me nearly a year to write! I hope you've enjoyed it.

Bonnie Sveen Fan, it is good Big Mac did the right thing. Of course, he would have done it even without Ethan's intervention, but I think it happened slightly sooner in this story and saved Big Mac, Charlie, Noel and various people a bit of stress, as well as (I hope) being a positive experience for Ethan. Thank you for your review.

InfinityAndOne, thank you for your review. I think Ethan was a good person to help Big Mac and it might have worked well in the series too, though the producers obvious wanted Ethan's personality change to be a permanent thing. I agree Big Mac is brave - he can be a coward, but in a way that makes his courage more remarkable.

Tanith Panic, it probably isn't a good idea to be confident of anything with one of my stories! But they escorted him to the door, so there's a good chance he'll do it. It might actually be less scary to tell Connie the truth than to think up a lie to explain why he's in her office! Thank you for your review.

Ethan was waiting in the car with a far from impressed look on his face.

Cal couldn't to stop smirking. "Jacob really is one lucky guy."

"Please spare me the details," said Ethan.

Cal thought about giving him the details anyway, just to torture him.

Then he thought if anyone had earned the right not to be tortured today, it was his little brother.

Cal had been half-expecting it, but it was still a shock when he glanced at Ethan in the middle of the football match they were watching and saw tears sliding down his brother's face. Cal had been enjoying the match, but he switched the TV off and gave Ethan a hug.

Ethan gave a sob and pressed closer to him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," said Cal. "You've had a rough day. And it's not like I never cry."

Ethan sniffed. "I was just thinking about Big Mac."

Cal stroked his hair. "I know. It is sad what's happened to him. He's never been very strong. He couldn't cope with being a paramedic. He couldn't cope when he was short of money. He couldn't cope when Noel was attacked. He doesn't always make good decisions - and yes: I know I'm the last person who should be criticising him for that. But the thing is, despite all the other stuff, he's one of the good guys. That's why he confessed - and that's why everyone wants him to stay. And hopefully he will."

Ethan nodded. "I hope so too. And… I was thinking about me too," he said with a little hiccupping sob. "Big Mac and I… we're not that dissimilar."

Cal stared at him. "Ethan, you're not an addict or a thief!"

"No, but I do hide things," said Ethan. "I do everything I can to convince people that everything's okay when it really isn't. And it hurts, Cal. I don't want to do it anymore."

"What are you hiding?" asked Cal, confused.

"The Huntington's," said Ethan. "I've hardly told anyone. And I think everyone I work with has the right to know."

"Ethan-"

"They need to know they might not always be able to trust me," said Ethan.

"Ethan, listen-"

"But it's more than that," said Ethan with another sob. "I don't want to worry anyone, but I can't manage this alone and I don't want you to be supporting me alone. I want to tell Mrs Beauchamp at the very least." He lifted his head. "And then I want to go to this meeting."

Cal had seen Connie upset before. It always shocked him because it was so unexpected. She sat silently as Ethan haltingly told Connie that he had Huntington's Disease.

Cal had his arm around his brother and kept squeezing his good shoulder whenever he stammered, stopped talking or shed a tear.

"Thank you for telling me, Ethan," said Connie, when he'd finished speaking. "You did the right thing, but I know it can't have been easy. I'm very sorry."

Ethan wiped his eyes. "Mrs Beauchamp, I would like to continue working."

"I'm glad to hear it," said Connie. "There's nothing wrong with you physically and you're certainly very sharp mentally."

"Oh, um, thank you," said Ethan, still tearful but blushing now.

"You're clearly capable of many things," said Connie. "I know nothing will be the same as being a doctor, but there are many ways in which you can be an asset to the ED. You've shown that in the last few days. Not just with your intelligence in catching the thief, but in the empathy and compassion you've shown to Big Mac and Rita. You're a big part of the reason why we haven't lost two exceptional nurses - Rita and Charlie - and a kind, caring HCA. You're capable of great things, Dr Hardy. And I'm certainly not overlooking your contribution, Dr Knight, or Dr Chao's. I'm very impressed with all of you. But now, I'd like you to return to the career you've trained for and save a few lives."

"I-I was actually wondering if it might be possible for me to resit my FCEM," said Ethan.

"Excellent," said Connie. "I'll enter you for the next sitting. Not because there's any hurry – because you're capable and ready. I'd have strongly recommended that you were appointed as Dr Hanna's replacement if you hadn't been so unlucky the first time you took the exam."

Ethan stared at her in amazement. "Really?"

Connie sighed. "Surely you don't think I'd joke about something like that."

Ethan dropped his gaze.

"I'll see to it this morning," said Connie. "Dr Knight, would you like me to enter you too?"

Cal nodded. "Yes, please. I know I won't do as well as Ethan and he deserves to be a consultant before I do, but it is what I want. I want to be the best doctor I can be." And the best carer I can be. One day.

Ethan smiled at him. "You'll pass this time, Cal. I'll help you. You deserve all the help I can give you, especially considering you'll be doing everything for me one day."

"Ethan, you've already paid me in full for that. When I think of all the rules I've broken since I got here and all the trouble-" Cal stopped and glanced at Connie.

"I wasn't listening," she said. "But perhaps you should continue this conversation outside." As Cal closed the door behind them, she spoke again. "Oh, and there's someone in the staff room who really wants to speak to you."

Cal tried not to feel nervous. After all, Charlie was his friend. His colleague. Almost a father. "You go in first. You're the one who did all the work."

"Caleb, that's not true at all. I couldn't have done anything without you."

"All I did was make things even more confused."

"You couldn't have made me more confused than I was already. You were wonderful, Cal, and I couldn't be more grateful. Now stop dawdling and open the door, please."

Cal opened the door. Charlie, who'd probably heard every word of their conversation, was standing just inside the staff room.

"Hey," said Cal awkwardly.

Charlie put his arms around both men. "Thank you," he said simply. "Both your mothers would be so proud."

Cal pushed open the door and felt Ethan shrinking closer to his side. There were a number of people in the room, all sitting in a circle. Some were in wheelchairs and had a carer constantly at their sides. Many were walking normally like Ethan.

"It's going to be okay," said Cal, giving Ethan's hand a quick squeeze. "I know it's scary. If it was me, I'd probably still be sitting in the car, making excuses not to go in. But you can do this, Ethan. I know you can."

Ethan smiled gratefully at his brother and squared his shoulders. "Shall we go in?"

Cal nodded. "Let's go in."

A man of about forty was walking towards him. His gait was mostly smooth, but there was a hint of awkwardness. "Hi, welcome to the Huntington's support group. I'm Michael."

Cal smiled. "Hey, I'm Cal and this is my brother Ethan."

"I have the gene," blurted Ethan.

"It's nice to meet you both." Michael moved his hand slowly and carefully into position as he shook hands with them both. "I'm one of the volunteers. I'm here with my brother Stephen. I have the gene too."

Cal and Ethan glanced at one another, momentarily speechless.

"Caleb and Ethan are the names our adoptive mother gave us," said Cal. "But our birth mother called us Stephen and Michael."

Michael looked surprised, then he smiled. "Then we've got something in common already. We all have the Huntington's gene in common, of course, but it's only a small part of who we are and it's not the only thing we talk about here. We're interested in each person as an individual and we support each other with everything – not just the parts of our lives that are affected by Huntington's. Why don't you come with me and I'll introduce you to my brother and April, who runs the group. I don't know about you – you actually look very calm - but I was petrified on my first day."

Stephen was quieter and more thoughtful than his brother – so more like Ethan than Cal –but he'd also been very welcoming. The brothers were both primary school teachers and the two sets of brothers had already swapped a few stories about the positives and negatives of working in the same place as your brother. Michael said he was starting to find it difficult to write on the whiteboard, so he now typed as much as he could up in advance and projected it onto the whiteboard. For now, he could still mark books, but Stephen was going to do the writing for him when he couldn't manage it himself. Cal knew Michael would have problems when the gene began to affect him mentally and emotionally too, but for now, he was enjoying his job despite his limitations.

Cal hoped the same would be true for Ethan.

"Okay: as you might have noticed, we have two new members: Cal and Ethan." April smiled at Cal and Ethan. "Would either of you like to say a few words, or would you rather just observe?"

Cal glanced at Ethan, ready to follow his lead – while he was more than happy to speak, he didn't want to reveal information about Ethan without his brother's agreement.

But Ethan was smiling and already answering April's question. "I don't want to bore you, but perhaps I could say a few words if that's all right."

"Of course," said April.

"M-my name… I'm sorry: I have a bit of a stutter when I'm nervous. My n-name is Ethan Hardy and this is my brother Caleb Knight."

"Call me Cal."

"We're both doctors in the Holby City Emergency Department," said Ethan. "A couple of months ago, we discovered we were adopted and that our birth mother had Huntington's. We got to know her and spent some time with her before she died. On the day we died, we found out I'd inherited the gene. I'm afraid I didn't cope very well at all. I made all sorts of mistakes. I But I found out recently that there's more to life than my job; that there are many other things I can do to help people. I know there will be days when I feel hopeless and depressed. Days where I'll give up. Days where everything seems pointless." He smiled at Cal. "But the other thing I know is that I won't ever have to face this alone."