westlife4ever80, I'm sorry you got emotional! Though it is lovely to know you got so involved in the story. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

EDSidekick, thank you for your reviews. I'm glad you like Connor - he seems very sweet and gentle in the episodes, so I kind of took it from there. I don't think Lily is trying to insinuate anything - Alicia asked a direct question and Lily gave the truthful answer that she couldn't remember. She's still trying to process everything. Perhaps Matilda will thrive better with Dixie and Jess - I hadn't really thought of her relationship with Cal as bad. Although her confidence has improved, she's got a long way to go.

Bonnie Sveen Fan, thank you for your review. I thought it would be nice for Matilda to have a big sister who cared about her, especially one who might have some idea who she's been through.

Tanith Panic, I'm really glad you're still enjoying it, but I wish I had half your writing talent! You're always having ideas I wish I'd thought of and I can't write verse to save my life. Ethan's sonnet in Taylor-Made took me about 6 weeks! I'll join you in the queues for comforting the brothers and hugging Dylan K. Thank you for your review.

X-Sammii-X, Dixie also knows Matilda from when she's treated Ariana following suicide attempts, so it could be interesting for both of them. Cal and Ethan crying is sad, but I do like to provide excuses for brotherly hugs! Thank you for your review.

Applealice10, I have a horrible feeling there isn't a single joke in this chapter - I hope you'll prove me wrong! I'm really glad you liked the ending. I suppose Tilly is strong - it took courage to trust Cal when no-one else believed her. Thank you for your review.

ETWentHome, thank you for your review. I think Dylan K is probably quite glad now that the baby was named after him! It can't be easy for Matilda at all, but it could be a lot worse. I'm sure Cal will try his hardest to reassure Ethan, but it won't be easy.

pinkginger, thank you for your review and your lovely comment! I really am glad you're enjoying the story so much. I'm glad you like the way I wrote Cal's emotions - but you're right: I'm really making him suffer, and Ethan too! I'll need to research whether Cal and Matilda would be allowed to see each other. I would guess not until they'd finished investigating Cal and perhaps not even then. I often want to hug Dylan K too, though I don't much rate my chances of him hugging me back!


Matilda sat awkwardly between Jess and Olivia. She was grateful for the effort they'd gone to in order to ensure she felt welcome and she did like both of them, but she wasn't happy.

How could she be happy when Cal could be in serious trouble? Because of her?

Jess and Olivia had gone over the house rules. They were very small in comparison with the rules Matilda's parents had set. The idea of choosing when her friends came to visit was new to her. She had, in the past, asked her parents if Dylan, Lottie or Ariana could come over on a particular day, but the answer had always been no. Instead, she'd had to wait till her parents had decided it was rude of her to go so long without asking her friends to visit.

She was thrilled to have permission to have a bath more than once a week and it surprised her to learn she was welcome to ask for help and ideas with her homework. Being asked to help with the cooking frightened her as she'd always been told she was too stupid and too clumsy to cook, but at the same time, it was a skill she really wanted to acquire. She couldn't yet imagine living on her own, but she couldn't help dreaming that one day she'd be able to cook for Cal.

The thought of Cal brought her both pain and comfort. She wanted so much to be held in his arms and to hear his reassuring words – but she wasn't without hope that it would be possible. Cal and Dixie had known each other for years. Surely she would see that Matilda needed Cal and wouldn't stand in their way.


Dylan K saw Dylan safely into a taxi, having completely failed in his attempts to convince her to let either him or the hospital pay. He hoped she'd be all right. Her blood pressure was slightly elevated and so was her pulse rate. The cause of this could be emotional or physical and either way, he was worried.

He trusted her to look after herself and to bring herself back to the hospital if needed, but he found that wasn't enough to stop him from worrying about her.

It wasn't long before he was worrying about Luke too. The boy didn't seem to be anywhere in the hospital and he wasn't answering his phone.

"Connor, have you seen Luke?" said Dylan K. He wasn't sure what to make of Connor. He would have said he was too kind and naïve to be a good doctor – but you could say the same of Ethan and he'd been fine until his wife had left him. Dylan K had the impression (not that he'd been interested enough to ask) that Connor was single. There was one point in his favour.

"He left a while ago," said Connor, looking concerned. "I saw him leaving when I was outside looking for Ella. I hope everything's okay, Dylan."

Dylan K experienced a feeling of foreboding. "Why were you looking for Ella outside?"

"She was... on her break," said Connor awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Dylan: I need to get back to my patients. I hope you find Luke. He's a good kid."

Dylan K nodded and let him go, but he'd just discovered another person he needed to worry about.

First Lily, then Ethan, then Cal – and now, potentially, Ella. One by one, his colleagues were falling apart – and if there was one doctor who was not equipped to deal with that, it was Dylan K.


Louis somehow managed to hold both twins safely in one arm as he held out his other hand to Robyn. "Come on: it's okay. I've got you."

Robyn would usually have been able to climb onto the train without too much trouble, but everything was more difficult when you were pregnant. It wasn't just that she felt heavier and more awkward; she was carrying an immeasurably precious new life inside her and losing her footing could potentially lead to something so much more terrible than embarrassment.

Louis smiled. "It's okay. I'm not going to let you or the twins fall."

Reassured, Robyn lifted one foot and felt Louis' firm, reassuring grip.

She noticed two women watching and smiled at them. They smiled back. "Looks like you've got that man of yours well-trained, love."

Robyn gave an awkward laugh, but Louis came to her rescue.

"I'm just the childminder, but Robyn's got me well-trained all right. She wouldn't let me near her kids if I wasn't!"

He settled Robyn carefully into one of the seats opposite him and lowered Sienna into her arms. Ava took the seat beside her.

As the train drew away, Robyn told herself she felt happy. It was a lovely day and the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves.

But she couldn't help thinking that a lot of people probably thought Louis was her man.


Charlie looked at his watch nervously. She was late and that wasn't like her. Of course, he had no idea what she was like as a girlfriend – if 'girlfriend' was the right word – but she wasn't the sort of person you'd associate with being late.

He resisted the urge to look out the window. How pathetic would that look if she saw him?

When the doorbell rang, he jumped to his feet, then forced himself to walk slowly and nonchalantly. He checked his appearance in the hall mirror and nodded in satisfaction. Then he opened the door.

"Hey, Charlie." She was slightly out of breath. "I'm so sorry I'm late."

Charlie smiled and reached for her hand, drawing her into the house and towards the stairs. "That's okay, Lottie. You're here now."


Dylan wasn't sure what to do.

She didn't want to go home. Chloe would be kind to her, but she would also be horribly worried to see Dylan had been crying. Chloe had spent most of Dylan's life worrying about her, while Dylan had spent most of her life trying to convince Chloe that she was okay.

After losing Lally on their wedding day, Chloe had barely looked at another woman. She was happy to be single and remembered Lally with many more smiles than tears, but she did often question whether denying her daughter a second parent was the right thing to do.

Dylan had always done her best to ensure that these fears were kept to a minimum. On the rare occasions when she cried, it had to be kept a secret from her mother. So she couldn't go home.

Matilda, Ariana and Lottie seemed like the next-best options, but much as she loved them, Dylan had never really confided in them much either. For one thing, apart from the incident in the park when she was five, she didn't usually let anything worry her, apart from the people she cared about.

Dylan walked slowly away from the house. For almost the first time in her life, she felt alone.

She could see now why Ariana always wanted to hurt herself when her relationships came to an end. Not that Dylan was considering doing the same, but she was hurting badly and she could understand Ariana's desperation stop the pain.


Ethan was still shaking. Cal had spent some time attempting to comfort him and when that hadn't worked, he'd made him some tea. But Ethan was shaking too much to hold the cup and the fact Cal was holding it made him feel even worse because it only seemed to confirm what was happening to him.

"It's okay, Ethan. It's okay." Cal had stopped crying now, but it was very clear to Ethan how upset he was. His voice was full of emotion as he tried to console his brother. "You've had a shock: that's all. You'll be okay in a minute. Here, Nibbles: have some more tea."

Ethan's teeth chattered against the cup as he did as he was told.

"There: that's right," said Cal. "Don't forget your breathing, Nibbles. Breathe in slowly for me? That's better. I'm right here and I'm not going to leave you." He sighed a bit sadly. "I'm all yours now."

"No: we'll get her back," said Ethan, but his words sounded empty and hollow. He couldn't believe they were true because that would involve something going right and he couldn't imagine that happening ever again.

Cal stroked Ethan's shoulder. "Ethan, is this why you turned down the clinical lead job? Because of the Huntington's?"

Ethan sighed sadly and nodded. "We need someone who has the potential to do the job long-term; not someone who'd be lucky to last five years without mental and physical deterioration. I didn't even know if I'd last six months. I was flattered to be invited to apply; even more flattered to be offered the job, but I had to be realistic, Cal."


Until Alicia's question, it hadn't even crossed Lily's mind that her… liaison with Ash had been anything but consensual. She remembered her unhappiness of the previous night and she remembered making the decision to drink, even if she couldn't remember much of what happened afterwards.

She knew the old Ash wouldn't have been capable of it. She still maintained that his treatment of her had been unacceptable – while she had, perhaps, made a mistake in classing his day-to-day behaviour as bullying, it had been very wrong of him to pretend that the patient whom she'd treated in error had died. But she felt now, with hindsight, that he was a good man who had tried his best. Being a mentor wasn't easy.

But sixteen years had passed and even her limited contact with him this morning had suggested he was a very different man. The Ash she'd known would not have picked up drunken women in bars, yet Ella had suggested it was a regular occurrence.

Lily didn't know what to do. She couldn't and wouldn't accuse Ash of anything if there was no evidence – Alicia had given her no clue about whether her examination of Lily had suggested some sort of struggle. But the possibility remained and if so, other vulnerable (or temporarily stupid) women could be in danger. Where should her loyalties lie?

Lily hoped Alicia would return soon so she could discuss it with her, but when her friend reappeared, Lily's notes in her hand, the expression on her face was such that Lily felt only fear.

There was hurt in Alicia's voice as she asked the question: "Lily, why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"