This is kinda part 2 to the previous chapter, enjoy :)

P.S sorry it's so late, I've been super busy with school and work! :) x

Dealing with diagnosis

Clara was awoken by Noah tugging gently on her side of the duvet. She smiled sleepily and lifted it up for him to crawl inside. He settled happily in her arms. She kissed his head softly.

"Are you alright monkey?" He nodded.

"Yeah. What happened at the doctors yesterday?" She froze for a second, not expecting him to ask that question so early in the morning. Her and Danny were going to go through it with him later on. She hadn't thought about how to answer any questions she got before then. Danny stirred gently as Noah sat up to look at his mum. He could sense something was wrong.

"Your dad and I need to talk to you about what the doctors said and what we need to do next." Noah frowned making Clara sigh. She couldn't leave it now, she had to tell him. She nudged Danny awake gently. He quickly propped himself up on his elbow, having heard half of the conversation anyway.

"All right?" Noah nodded and crossed his arms.

"Yes, but I would quite like to know what is going on." Danny and Clara smiled at him, he was so sweet.

"Okay." Clara ushered Noah to sit in between them. "So, we went to the doctors to ask about you finding it hard at school and for when you can't understand what Daddy and I are telling you, remember?" He nodded. "The doctors said that you have something called ADHD. It means that inside your head things get confused and really busy so you can't concentrate." He nodded, thinking about what he had just heard.

"Is it bad?" Clara shook his head as she stroked his arm gently.

"No honey, we're going to get it sorted. There are lots of other doctors that you can talk to to make it better." He nodded again.

"So, will I be able to do my work when I've talked to the doctors?" Clara's heart broke a little as she heard him speak. She hated to think of him feeling that way.

"Yes sweetie. We'll try to help you." He went quiet for a second. Danny pulled him into a hug.

"You're both sad aren't you. I thought you said that it wasn't going to be like when Ellie was poorly. But it is. You're sad." Clara sighed as she felt her eyes well up.

"We are a little bit sad but that's just because we care about you and we want to make sure you're okay. You haven't made us sad at all. It's not your fault." He nodded and snuggled into her. Clara looked at Danny. He could see the pain in her eyes. Something told him there was a bumpy road ahead.

Noah ran off to find Ellie a few minutes later leaving Clara and Danny alone in their room. Clara looked at him sadly. He sighed and kissed her head.

"He's a brave boy. He'll be okay." She shook her head as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"But he shouldn't need to be okay. He's five years old Danny. He should be so carefree but instead he's struggling so much." Danny pulled her into a hug.

"He doesn't deserve this at all but we've got to work through it. We can do this. We'll get the help we need from the doctors and the school. He's a strong kid, he gets that from his mum." She looked up and smiled a little. He wiped her tears and kissed her head again. "I promise. We'll get through this." She nodded and sat up a little bit.

"It's just so unfair. Ellie and Noah, they're such amazing kids. But they've got so much going on." Danny nodded.

"We've had a rough journey, I'll give you that. But without that we wouldn't be the Pink family. Somehow, Lily has managed to get to the age of twelve relatively unscathed. She seems to be the only one." She nodded and smiled a little.

"That's true. We may have not had the best luck but I wouldn't change it for the world."

A week filled of hospital trips passed and Noah's ADHD was confirmed. Part of them wanted to feel relieved as it meant that they knew what they were dealing with and that it was treatable. But the other part was drowned in guilt, somehow Clara felt like she was to blame for it. She couldn't shake the feeling.

She laid in bed awake watching Danny sleep. 6am. She'd been awake for hours and she had to admit that she felt extremely rough. It was a familiar feeling. She moved to make herself more comfortable and then sighed. She jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. Danny woke to the sound of her throwing up in the toilet. He, too, jumped up and ran across the room where he crouched down beside her. He rubbed her back softly and pulled her hair away from her face. Eventually, Clara sat back against the bath.

"Okay?" She nodded weakly. "Stupid question eh." She laughed a little.

"I feel like death." He sighed and kissed her head.

"Let's get you back to bed." She nodded and took his hand.

The next few mornings the same thing happened. There was a huge amount of deja vu. She knew in her mind what was wrong with her, if you could call it wrong. She just didn't know how to deal with it yet. Danny stirred awake to see her not beside him for the third time in a row. He walked to the bathroom sleepily and sat beside her. She leant her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Danny said.

"I think I am. I think a pregnancy test is needed." He nodded with a small grin on his face. She stroked his cheek gently, he was so adorable. Just as adorable as when she had first met him.

"I'll go and get one now." She shook her head.

"Are you sure? It's still early." He smiled.

"I can't wait." She now smiled back and headed into the other room to sit on the bed.

"Thank you, I love you." He kissed her quickly and left once he had thrown some clothes on.

She sat nervously waiting for him. It felt like years. For some reason, she had thought that she'd be less nervous now. Fourth time around and she was just as nervous as when she found out she was pregnant with Ellie all those years ago. Her mind seemed to wander as she sat alone watching the sunrise. So many wonderful memories they had made as a family. She really couldn't believe how lucky she was sometimes. They'd been through so much but come out the other side much happier. There were still things to fix and many rough times ahead but she knew deep down that they'd all be okay.

She snapped out of her daydream when she heard Danny enter through the front door again. She looked at the clock. Five minutes he'd been gone. She could tell he was excited. He handed her it when he came into the room. She kissed him and nervously took a deep breath.

"Don't be scared. I love you." She nodded and kissed him once more.

"I'll be back in a second." She disappeared off into the bathroom again.

She emerged again and sat beside him.

"Three minutes." He nodded and took her hand.

"I'm more nervous than the last three times. Why am I so nervous?" Clara smiled at him.

"So am I. It's not like we've had no practise." He nodded and kissed her head. The three minute felt like years. They both got more and more nervous as the time went on. Clara picked up the test and smiled.

"So?" She handed it to him.

"Take a look." Soon, the same smile she had shown on her face appeared on his. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her softly.

"Looks like we're going to be parents again!" Clara smiled widely and then took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure how we're going to manage it but, that aside, I really can't wait." She kissed him again and laid into his chest. Suddenly, they both jumped apart as they heard the bedroom door open. Ellie walked in sleepily but stopped dead once she had looked up.

"What's that?" She said as she looked at the test in Clara's hand. Clara and Danny gave each other a look. What were they going to do now? This was not how they had expected things to go.

"Uhh..." Danny struggled to think of what to say as he sat up to let Ellie sit on the bed beside them.

"Is that a pregnancy test?" She said as she got closer to them. Clara sighed and went to speak but she was interrupted. "ARE YOU PREGNANT!?" Ellie shouted happily.

"SHH! Shh, speak quietly so Lil and Noah don't hear." She nodded.

"Sorry. But are you?!" Clara showed her the test.

"Read it."

"You are! Oh my gosh! I'm so excited!" Clara smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"It is very exciting indeed, but it's still very early so you've got to be good and keep it quiet. No telling anyone." She nodded and smiled.

"I promise. Please let it be a girl!" Danny laughed.

"Poor Noah." Ellie laughed back.

"No I love Noah. But I'd really like a little sister again. Lily is growing up too fast." Danny and Clara nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you all are. But there will be another little one running around soon." They all smiled.

Later on in the day, Noah began to play up again. He ran up and down the kitchen as Clara was trying to make lunch.

"Noah." He ignored her. "Noah! Please be careful." He giggled and ran into her legs, knocking her slightly. "Buddy, please stop. You'll hurt yourself." He shook his head and ran back across the room. This time he managed to knock a bowl off of the worktop. It smashed on the floor sending its contents and shards of glass all over the floor. "Noah! Stop where you are right now!" As she shouted Danny came running in after hearing the noise. Noah had gone a little quieter now, he hadn't meant to break anything.

"Come here you." Danny ushered him over to his side where he was crouched down. "You mustn't run in the kitchen, okay? It's dangerous. You can run in the garden as much as you like but not in the kitchen." He nodded.

"I'm sorry Daddy." Danny smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"That's alright. Say sorry to your mum too." He nodded and went to walk towards Clara. They both moved to stop him.

"No no, mind the glass." He stood back.

"Sorry Mummy." He turned around and walked out of the room. Clara sighed at his sad little face. She hated telling him off but it had to be done. She just didn't know how to handle the situation yet. She carried on tidying the mess when Danny came over to help her. She didn't look up from the ground. Eventually, he lifted up her chin with his hand.

"You did the right thing Clara. Don't beat yourself up about it. He needed to be told off for that." She sighed and nodded. He wiped away the few tears that had escaped and kissed her head.

She went upstairs to find Noah a while later, surprised that she had heard nothing from him in the last half an hour. She entered his room slowly to see him sat on his beanbag looking rather solemn.

"Are you alright monkey?" He shook his head.

"I didn't mean to make you sad and angry Mummy. I'm sorry. I got too excited and I couldn't stop." She nodded and kissed his head.

"That's okay. I understand. I didn't tell you off to be mean, I just didn't want you to get hurt. Running in the kitchen is dangerous, you know that." He nodded.

"I won't do it again. I can buy you a new bowl with my pocket money from grandad if you would like me to." She sighed and pulled him onto her lap. She couldn't resist cuddling him.

"You don't need to do that sweetie. We can get another bowl anytime. But I can't get another you if you get hurt. I don't think they sell Noah's at the shops." He giggled a little bit.

"They might do!" She laughed.

"Well I hope they don't! You're too special for there to be more than one of you." He leant his head into her chest and cuddled her tightly. She cherished moments like these. Moments when he was so calm.

That evening, Danny managed to get all three kids sat down in one place to watch a movie. Clara walked in and handed him is drink. They gave each other a look and Clara nodded. Ellie sat up now too, she knew what was coming.

"Okay you three. Mummy and I have something to tell you." Ellie smiled excitedly at a very confused Lily and Noah. "Mummy is pregnant. You're going to get another little brother or sister." Lily screamed with excitement and jumped into Clara's arms. They all laughed happily. She sat back eventually and wiped her eyes a little.

"Aww honey, are those happy tears?" She nodded as Clara kissed her head.

"I'm so excited!" She said through her sobs. Clara and Danny sighed. Noah sat quietly for a second.

"Alright?" He nodded with a confused look on his face.

"So there's a baby inside mummy's tummy right now?" Clara nodded.

"Yeah! But it's really small at the moment." He nodded back.

"Is it a girl baby? Or a boy baby?"

"We don't know yet. We need to wait until the baby is bigger to find out." Noah stood up and started to walk around. He never sat still for more than a minute at a time.

"I want it to be a boy." Ellie and Lily shook their heads.

"No, it needs to be a girl." Noah looked up.

"No! It's a boy!" Lily shook her head again.

"Girl!" Clara and Danny sighed.

"Okay okay, settle down you two. We can't choose what it is. So whether it's a boy or a girl we will all love it the same yes?" Noah sighed and nodded.

"Yes daddy." He paused. "But boys are better." They all laughed as he ran away to stop Danny from picking him up playfully.

Noah refused to get out of bed the next few mornings. His behaviour had deteriorated over the last week for no apparent reason. It was starting to take its toll on Clara and Danny's patience.

"Noah, please. Come on, you need to go to school." He shook his head and kicked Clara away.

"NO! I'M NOT GOING." Clara sighed and pulled his duvet from on top of him.

"Noah Pink, get out of bed now! I won't ask you again." He didn't move.

"NO!"

"Right, that's it." Clara left the room and walked through to find Danny. He noticed her distress as soon as she walked in.

"What's happened?" She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face.

"Noah happened. He's refusing to get up again. I've tried but he's not having it." Danny nodded.

"I'll sort it."

He walked into Noah's room and sat on the end of the bed.

"Come on, time to go to school." He shook his head.

"NO NO NO NO!"

"You have to go to school. You know that." He kicked Danny right in the stomach making him flinch back a little. "If you don't get up right now you'll not be allowed to play with Cody for the next week. No walks, no nothing." Noah thought for a second and then sat up. He wiped his eyes and got out of bed. He began to get his uniform out, albeit very reluctantly.

"Good boy." Danny sighed. Him and Cody were almost inseparable. Danny didn't like to threaten the kids with punishment but in this case, he knew it would work.

Danny had to carry him into the school gates when they arrived. His teacher let them go through reception where Danny placed him down.

"Come on Noah. You'll have a nice day. Be a good boy. We'll see you later." He screamed and cried back at Danny.

"NO! Daddy no! Don't go!" Danny's heart broke a little. He didn't want to leave him but he knew he had to.

"I'll see you later buddy." He ran after Danny again but he didn't look back. They'd had to drag him to school now three days in a row, leaving him was the only way to get him to stay.

Danny got back in the car and sighed. He rubbed his hands over his face. Clara placed a hand on his arm.

"Okay?" He nodded slightly, giving her a look to tell her that he'd talk to her about it later.

The next week was the same story. It got worse every day. By Friday Clara and Danny were at their wits end. They'd run out of things to persuade him with so dragging him there had become the only option, no matter how hard it was.

"Noah come on. This is getting silly now. Why don't you want to go to school?" He dug his head into her shoulder and shook his head. "Talk to me Noah. What's wrong?" He refused again. Clara sighed. They eventually got him to school but it was the most difficult morning yet. Before she left she headed to speak to his teacher. "Has anything been happening over the last few weeks? It's just that this is so unlike him." The teacher nodded understandingly.

"He's been very unsettled and hasn't been playing with anyone at break time. I was going to ring you today actually. I'm concerned that what happened last month may have continued after it was resolved." Clara sighed, it all suddenly made sense. Why hadn't she thought of that? "I will keep an eye on it today and we can have a more formal meeting sometime next week?" Clara nodded.

"Yes, thank you." She left back out of reception and headed to the car.

Clara kept her phone close to her all day. She couldn't miss the call if she was to get one from Noah's school. It wasn't until lunchtime that she heard her phone ring. She dismissed her class and answered it quickly.

"Hello." Clara recognised the voice that spoke immediately, Noah's teacher.

"Hi Mrs Pink, sorry but would you be able to come in and collect Noah. He's very distressed again and is asking for you. I think I've worked out what is going on between him and the other boys in his class." Clara sighed and pulled her fingers through her hair. Danny walked in and noticed her distress.

"Yes, that's fine. I will be there as soon as possible. Thank you." She hung up and began to pack up her things. Danny walked closer to her.

"What's happened?" She sighed.

"That was Noah's teacher again. I'm going to collect him. Somethings happened and he's really upset. I think I'll just take him home and see if he will talk to me about it." Danny nodded and took a deep breath.

"Okay, be careful. Keep me posted." She nodded, kissed him quickly and left.

She got to the school promptly and followed the teacher straight into the room where she had been only a few weeks before. As before, Noah was curled up on the beanbag. He could tell he had been crying.

"Hi buddy." He stood up and ran into her arms.

"I want to go home mummy. Please." Clara sighed and attempted to hold back her own tears.

"We can sweetie. I'll take you now. But can you tell me what's wrong?" He hesitated but then nodded slowly. "Come on then, let's go." He took her hand as she picked up his bag.

They got home and he sat down on the sofa.

"Did you eat your lunch?" He shook his head.

"I forgot. Can I have it now?" Clara nodded and went to grab it from his bag. She sat and watched him eat contently for a minute. He was so sweet and had so much feeling. It was times like those when he reminded her of Danny.

"What's been happening Noah? Is someone being mean to you?" He nodded slowly. "Is it James?" He nodded again.

"And his friends. They used to be my friends too but he made them not like me. Now I don't have any more friends." Clara pulled him closer to her, not wanting him to ever leave her arms again.

"What happened today?" He rested her head into her.

"I was going to eat my lunch and they kept calling me stupid. They laugh at me when I can't do my work. I told them to stop but they didn't. They keep doing it." Clara sighed.

"How long has this been going on for? Since I came and got you from school last time?" He nodded. She immediately kicked herself for not noticing it. He'd been so unsettled yet it hadn't occurred to her why that was. "Look, we'll sort this honey. Daddy and I will go and talk to the teacher-" He looked up suddenly.

"No don't mummy! Because they'll know and laugh at me again." She shook her head.

"No, we'll do it without them finding out. Your teacher knows already so she can talk to them for us, yeah?" He settled back down and nodded.

"Okay." He settled on her lap. Her eyes filled with tears as everything sunk in. She stayed there until Noah dropped off to sleep. Once he had, she moved him carefully and went into the kitchen. Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked out of the window.

She soon heard the door unlock so she quickly wiped her eyes and pretended to be busy. Danny noticed Noah asleep so shushed the girls. They both walked in to the kitchen to see Clara. She tried to hide the fact that she'd been crying but they noticed immediately.

"Mum, are you okay?" Lily said.

"What's wrong?" Ellie added. Danny heard them so walked in quickly. Clara looked to him and shook her head. He sighed understandingly.

"Why don't you two go and get changed so that I can have a chat to mum?" He winked at them to let them know it was okay. They nodded and left together. Clara walked into his arms. He kissed her head and moved to sit down at the table. "What's happened? Is it Noah?" She nodded and wiped her eyes.

"He's being bullied Danny. He has been for weeks, quite badly too." Danny's face turned from concern to slight anger.

"What?! By who? Are the school sorting it?" She nodded again.

"You know the whole James situation? Well his teacher thinks that things have escalated from there." Danny nodded and took a deep breath.

"So what happened today when you went in?"

"I've arranged to see the teacher next week. He's so upset Danny and I didn't even think about why that was. The whole time he was protesting about going to school we were punishing him but he wasn't doing it to be bad, he was scared." Danny sighed and held her hands.

"Clara, you can't possibly have known. No matter what has happened, this is not your fault." She shook her head and stood up to grab her cup of tea.

"Are you sure about that?" He sighed and stood up next to her, knowing that there was no way he could persuade her to believe otherwise. He knew from experience that she always blamed herself for everything. He hated it when she couldn't see how much of a great mother she was. She was always the last person to take credit for her actions.

"That little boy loves you more than anything. There's not one part of him that blames you for any of this. No one blames you apart from yourself. Now, we will get this sorted because it needs to stop." She nodded and went to kiss him but they both stopped when they saw a very sleepy Noah at the door. They both smiled at him as Danny went to pick him up. "Tired monkey?" He nodded. "Well its Saturday tomorrow so you can have a lie in." Noah nodded back as his head sunk down onto Danny's shoulder. Soon, he was fast asleep again. "I'll take him to bed." Clara nodded.

Danny somehow managed to get Noah to wake up just enough to put his pyjamas on and then place him into bed. He sat on the floor next to him for a few minutes, watching him doze off again. He stroked his head and tucked him in.

"It's all going to be okay buddy, it'll all be okay." He said as he left the room quietly. Seeing his son so peaceful made him never want to leave.

Poor Noah :(( but new babyyyyyy!