Bonnie Sveen Fan, I miss steps a lot too. It's easy to miss steps when you're concentrating on something more interesting and few things interest Cal more than women! Though I think you're right that one woman he definitely wouldn't want to see is Taylor. Thank you for your review.

Tanith Panic, Taylor definitely wants something! And whatever she wants, it probably doesn't involve going back to prison, so from that point of view, it's probably bad news! Alicia did start out being really nice most of the time. But will she stay nice or will she break Cal's heart? Thank you for your review.

No. This can't be true. I must be dreaming.

"I'm so sorry!" said Taylor tearfully. "I couldn't do it, Ethan. I missed you both so much."

Ethan was having trouble speaking. "I can't believe… I never expected…"

"Neither did I," wept Taylor. "I knew she would be better off without me. But I love you both so much, Ethan. I kept dreaming about her. I kept waking up in the night because I thought I'd heard her crying. And then she wasn't there…"

Ethan wondered if he was the one dreaming. "Just let me close the door, Taylor. Okay, let's go and sit down and talk properly."

"Where is she?" said Taylor anxiously. A look of fear came over her face. "Ethan, you did keep her, didn't you?"

"Shh. Yes. Of course I kept her," said Ethan, as he led Taylor over to the sofa. "She's my baby."

Cal lay still in the darkness and wondered what had woken him. It had interrupted his beautiful and rather naughty dream involving Alicia - and Connie's desk.

He wondered at first if Matilda had woken him, but if so, Ethan had got her off to sleep again very quickly. He lay there for a moment, wondering if he should check everything was okay or let himself sink back into sleep again.

Then he heard a voice he'd never expected to hear again. "Ethan, you did keep her, didn't you?"

Cal had never got out of bed so quickly.

They were sitting together on the sofa. Taylor looked tearful. Ethan just looked stunned.

"What's going on?" asked Cal sharply.

"Taylor's come to see Matilda," explained Ethan. "Could you bring her in here, please?"

"Okay. We've got two choices," said Cal. "Either Taylor leaves right now or I'm calling the police."

"Cal, you can't do that!" said Ethan, a look of pain on his face.

Taylor's sobs were ugly and painful, the sounds ripped from her throat. "I'm sorry about what I did. I thought it was for the best. I wanted Matilda to have a happy life. But I can't be without her. I can't!"

Cal was unmoved. "You don't have the choice anymore. You dumped her on Ethan and walked away."

"I know, and I don't know how I could have done it!" sniffled Taylor. "Please, let me see her. Please."

"No!" said Cal. "You have no right to see her now."

Ethan glared at him. "It's not your decision, Caleb. It's mine. Please bring my daughter to us."

Cal knew he could refuse. But refusing Taylor would hurt Ethan too. He was going to cause Ethan a lot of pain already without adding to it. "Okay, I'll get Matilda for you. But then I'm calling the police."

Taylor looked even more upset. "No! Please don't do that. They'll take me away and I'll never see her. I know I don't deserve to. I abandoned her when I needed her most, but I love her. I want to do this properly. I can't go back to jail!"

"What do you expect me to do?" demanded Cal. "Hide you in my flat for the rest of your life?"

Some of the emotion faded from Ethan's face. He spoke calmly, his arms still around Taylor. "Look. It's too late to discuss it now. We'll all get a good night's sleep and talk in the morning."

"Ethan, I really don't think-"

"Not now, Caleb," said Ethan quickly. "Please."

Cal looked pleadingly at Ethan, but he knew it was no use. "Okay. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Thank you, Cal." Taylor let go of Ethan with obvious reluctance. "And now, can I please see my baby?"

Ethan awoke to the sound of Matilda crying. He sat up at once, ready to get out of bed and go to her, but then a hand touched his arm and a voice spoke. "Go back to sleep."

Ethan felt the bedclothes move slightly as Taylor got out of bed. He reached for his glasses and watched as Taylor went over to the cot.

"Shh, Matilda. It's okay. Mummy's here," said Taylor softly. She reached into the cot. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Are you hungry?"

She lifted Matilda into her arms and rocked her. Ethan gazed at them, his throat aching as Taylor held Matilda close to her, gently rocking her. They looked so right together. So perfect.

How could anyone tear them apart ever again?

"Ethan, have you got any formula?" asked Taylor.

"I'll get some." Ethan stumbled to his feet and went out of the room, only to meet Cal.

"Where's Taylor?" he asked, his expression darkening.

"In the bedroom with Matilda," said Ethan, trying to walk around him, but Cal caught his arms.

"Ethan, you can't do this. You can't let Taylor develop a bond with her again." Cal's voice softened. "Or with you."

Ethan tried to pull away from him. "Taylor is Matilda's mother."

"She's a wanted criminal," said Cal gently. "And we need to call the police."

"Get off me!" Ethan realised his voice was loud and quickly lowered it. "We're not telling the police, Cal. Taylor wants to be a mother to Matilda. She loves her. We can make this work; I know we can."

Ethan insisted on showing Taylor everything he'd bought for Matilda: all her clothes, books and clothes. Taylor genuinely seemed to love everything and spoke almost constantly to the little girl in her arms. "Oh, I bet you look so beautiful in that dress, Tilly. Oh, and that one's the exact colour of your eyes. And that one's the same colour as Mummy's top! Can she wear that one today, Ethan? Then we'll match and everyone will know she's my daughter."

Cal shook his head in disbelief. Did Taylor seriously think she'd be able to walk the streets of Holby with Matilda in her pram? What kind of bubble was she living in?

More importantly, how did Cal ensure Ethan didn't get sucked into it too?

"Of course she can," said Ethan.

Taylor was smiling at Matilda, her eyes shining as she unbuttoned Matilda's babygro. "There you are. Now let's get this pretty dress on my beautiful girl! Let Mummy just put your arm through here… that's right. Good girl. And where's your other arm? There it is!" Taylor kept Matilda's head supported as she managed to button the dress one-handed. "There. Who's a beautiful little girl then?"

Cal had to look away. Taylor genuinely seemed to love her daughter and it made what Cal knew he had to do even worse.

"Oh, Matilda, Mummy loves you so much," said Taylor tremulously. "Mummy will never, ever leave you and Daddy again." She gave a sob. "Ethan, I love her! I love you! How could I ever have left you? I love you both so much."

Cal lifted his head in time to see Ethan brush a tear from Taylor's cheek. "Please don't cry, darling. Everything's okay. You're with me now. And I love you too."

"Ethan, the past few weeks… it's been so terrible."

"I know, darling. But it's over now. You're back where you belong."

"Yes, I'm here," said Taylor, smiling through her tears. "Mummy's here, Matilda. And I'm never going to leave you again."

Ethan watched as Taylor expertly changed Matilda's nappy. Her time away from her daughter had changed nothing: it was obviously a skill you never forgot.

Taylor was smiling, talking softly to Matilda. "There you are, Tilly. All clean and dry now." She pulled Matilda's dress over her nappy and lifted her high in the air, her face lit up. "I do love that dress on you. Daddy has very good taste."

"Actually, Uncle Cal chose it," said Ethan honestly.

"Then Uncle Cal has very good taste," said Taylor, as she hugged Matilda close to her. She kissed Matilda's head, then smiled over it at Ethan. "What's Cal like as an uncle?"

"He's a brilliant uncle," said Ethan. "He was a bit squeamish about nappies at first, but he does everything now. He's really adapted well and he loves her just as much as I do. He's even trying not to swear in front of her."

Taylor laughed. "He seems like a changed man."

"Oh, he is," said Ethan as he moved closer to her. "I mean, he's still Caleb. He's untidy and crude – though not so much in front of Matilda – and he still gets into the most terrible messes. Last night, he managed to tear his trousers at a restaurant and I had to take him a new pair. But he's been so helpful with Tilly and so supportive. I really couldn't manage without him."

Taylor smiled at him, causing his heart to jump. "I'm so glad you've got Cal. I'm glad you haven't been dealing with this alone."

Ethan only wished he could be sure Cal was still on his side.

Cal looked down at his phone and sighed. He and Alicia both had the day off today and they'd talked about meeting for lunch, but of course it wasn't an option now. He still didn't know what he was going to do; how long he was going to let this go on for, but he couldn't leave Ethan Ethan was usually the sensible brother, but he was completely blinkered when Taylor was concerned..

It was partly guilt, of course. Ethan was the one who'd reported Taylor to the police in the first place. He'd known it was the right thing to do, but the guilt had been almost too much for him to bear. Cal didn't think Ethan would be able to bring herself to report her again.

So that left Cal – and he knew it was the right thing to do. Not that he wanted Taylor anywhere near Ethan if he could help it, but they had no chance of happiness if Taylor remained on the run. She'd have to stay hidden for the rest of their lives. Probably moving from place to place as they struggled to outrun the past. Ethan would have to lie to almost everyone he spoke to. He'd never be able to cope with that.

And the police would catch up with her in the end and then it wouldn't just be Taylor who was in trouble.

Cal realised his phone had stopped ringing. With a sigh, he called her back. "Hey, Alicia. Sorry I missed your call."

"Hey, Cal." Alicia sounded all shy and hopeful. "Don't worry. You only just missed it. How are you?"

"Great, thanks," said Cal, thinking what a lie it was. Of course, he had a lifetime's experience of lying to women, but this time, it bothered him. "How are you?"

"I'm really good, thank you," said Alicia. "I just wanted to confirm when you were picking me up."

Cal closed his eyes. This was another thing he had a lifetime's experience of: breaking a date. Again, that didn't make it easy. "I'm sorry, Alicia. Do you mind if we give it a miss? Something's come up."

"Oh." Her disappointment was obvious, but then she rallied. "How about tomorrow?"

"I'm really not sure," said Cal regretfully. "I'm sorry, Alicia. I'll call you, okay?"