The next morning, the day of Phil and Sharon's wedding had finally arrived and Katy found herself being dragged round to the Vic to get ready with the bride and other bridesmaids. She still wasn't particularly thrilled about her position in the wedding of her step-uncle and the woman she couldn't stand, but Roxy was almost blackmailing her into being involved. Apparently Ben hadn't been able to put a stop to the celebrations either, not that Katy had expected him to be able to.
Roxy was still moaning about Linda having usurped her position as Matron of Honour as they sat in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches to their make-up. Having had enough, the heavily pregnant younger Mitchell told her aunt to take Amy home to get changed, while she waited for Dean to do her hair. Without much persuasion, Roxy agreed, hurrying off and leaving Katy to breathe a sigh of relief.
Her calmness didn't last long, however as, mid-way through a conversation with her friends down in the bar, Katy suddenly let out a gasp and clutched her stomach. Nancy looked alarmed, taking a hasty step towards the pregnant young woman and looking wildly at Whitney for a clue as to what might be happening. The darker girl looked just as concerned as her friend.
"Katy? What's wrong?" Nancy asked warily, laying a hand on her arm.
"I think... I think the babies are..." She broke off, breathing out in a sharp puff of air.
Before either of the younger girls could start panicking, the door that led up to the flat above the pub opened and Linda breezed through, ready to carry on giving orders in her role as matron of honour. Seeing the trio of distressed girls, however, her face fell and she assessed the situation immediately. Rounding the bar, she placed a firm hand on the small of Katy's back and began rubbing small, soothing circles.
"Nancy, call an ambulance." She ordered firmly. "Whitney, call Roxy and Lee take Ruby upstairs and look after her, will you?" They immediately jumped to attention, doing as they were told. "Now, sweetheart, you just breathe deeply and stay calm, alright."
"I want..." Katy broke off with a low groan as a pain rippled through her. "I want my mum."
"Johnny, use Katy's phone to call Ronnie and tell her what's happening." Linda ordered her son, never stopping the circles she was rubbing on the girl's back. "Where is your mum, sweetheart?"
"In Spain," the brunette ground out, "with… with Aunty Peggy. She was supposed to be here... The doctor said it was too dangerous for the babies to come naturally... The C-Section isn't scheduled for another week!"
As Katy started to cry in a mixture of pain and fear, Linda exchanged a look with the three youngsters who were desperately trying to make phone calls. Nancy was deep in conversation with the operator, explaining what was going on. Whitney and Johnny, however, shook their heads at her, indicating that they couldn't get through to the Mitchell sisters.
It seemed like hours to Katy before the tell-tale sound of a siren outside the pub alerted them to the arrival of the ambulance, seconds before two paramedics burst through the doors and immediately took over the situation. They ushered Katy towards the ambulance hastily, before one climbed into the cab and the other turned to the growing crowd quickly.
"Is anyone coming with her?"
"I will." Whitney said at once, putting a foot on the step and hoisting herself up into the back of the ambulance.
Linda nodded. "I'll keep trying Ronnie and Roxy."
The doors of the ambulance closed and the Carters watched it drive away around the Square. Nancy rested her arm around her mother's shoulders as it went, before Linda turned to smile at her, pulling out her mobile and striding back into the pub. She dialled Roxy's number and held the handset to her ear impatiently.
Apparently believing that it was wedding related business, the younger of the Mitchell sisters answered impatiently on the third ring. "Yes, Linda, I'm on my way! Amy, will you please just–"
"Katy's gone into labour." Linda cut across her. "We've called an ambulance and they've just left for the hospital."
"You what?"
"She wanted me to call Ronnie, but we can't get through."
"Ruby?"
"Lee's looking after her. We'll take her to the wedding with us. I'll send Nancy over for Amy too if you want?" The landlady suggested, sensing that Roxy probably hadn't even considered what would happen with her own daughter.
"Right... thanks, Linda..." Roxy agreed distractedly.
She hung up and ran a hand distractedly through her hair, trying to get her head around what she'd been told. Calling out for her daughter, telling her it was important, Roxy tore around the house looking for her keys. When she heard the doorbell, she twisted the latch and rushed away without even checking who was standing on the step, assuming it was Nancy coming to collect Amy.
A familiar voice soon stopped her in her tracks and she turned slowly, staring at the figure of her sister on the doorstep. Immediately forgetting the urgency of the situation at hand, Roxy beamed and hugged Ronnie tightly, before the older Mitchell broke free.
When her eyes fell on the unmistakable pregnancy bump Ronnie was sporting under the flowing dress she was wearing, no doubt for Phil's wedding, her mouth dropped open. She pointed wordlessly at it, before her mouth caught up with her mind.
"I can't believe it!" Roxy grinned as Ronnie led the way into the front room. "Why didn't you just tell me before? Huh? Oh, look, it doesn't matter 'cos I'm gonna be an Aunty in like four, five, months?"
"Umm… four." Ronnie agreed, unable to keep the beaming smile off her face. She was relieved by her sister's reaction.
"You're five months gone?"
"Oh! Congratulations, Roxanne, you didn't even use your fingers!" The older blonde teased her good-naturedly.
"Hold on a minute… so you were pregnant when you left? So why didn't you just tell me? Why did you just go off like that?" Roxy demanded, suddenly realising what the dates meant. "Did you tell Katy?" When her sister didn't respond, or even meet her eyes, she frowned. "It's Charlie's, isn't it? It's Charlie's?"
There was no time to refute or agree with the accusation, because Aunt Sal and Dot appeared in the doorway at that exact moment. The older blonde sent her niece an accusatory glare as she entered the room.
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"Ronnie!" Dot beamed at her. "How lovely to see you."
"Hi!"
"Good job I bumped into Dot." Sal groused.
Dot nodded. "Well you've found Roxy now, so we'd better get a move on." She turned to the blonde in the bridesmaid's dress quickly. "Err, Roxy, it's the bride what's supposed to be fashionably late, not the bloomin' bridesmaid–"
"Shit!" Roxy exclaimed, waving a hand in the elderly woman's direction as she suddenly remembered what had put her into a fluster in the first place. "Sorry, Dot! Ron… we've got to get to the hospital! Katy's gone into labour!"
