Evening all! WOW, thank you so so much to Bonnie Sveen Fan, writerofholby and the guests for your super kind reviews for the first chapter. The response was really really positive and great to see. I also love Faith and think she is such a great character, but Connie will always be my Casualty favourite- Faith is a close second though! If that's something you guys like, I'll try and fit it in again in the future. If there's a particular direction you'd like this to take (maybe an idea of what happened to Connie..? I have ideas, but your feedback would be great!)

This chapter provides a bit of background, so any future chapters in italics will be the story of the events leading up to Connie's hospitalisation. Enjoy!

A x

It was getting late, but Connie was determined to treat her nearly grown-up daughter one last time before she went back to America. She'd planned the most extravagant evening she possibly could: brand new dress; a stupidly expensive restaurant; and now they were headed to the theatre to see The Sound of Music, a favourite of Grace's. Personally, Connie didn't see what was so wonderful about children singing ridiculously happy songs while running through fields with their governess that they claimed to love, but she would have moved mountains that evening just to make it special. Connie didn't tell Grace, but she'd also arranged for her to get to meet some of the cast- something that she'd only managed to achieve because a friend of a friend just so happened to be the director of this particular production- and she couldn't wait to see the look on her face!

And so, when Grace had at last finished her half of the chocolate torte that the pair had shared for dessert and Connie had paid for the overpriced meal (not that she couldn't afford it, but surely the bottled water that she'd ordered couldn't have been that expensive?!), the pair stepped out of the restaurant, instantly tensing their shoulders against the cold British night. Around them, taxis sped past, throwing up plumes of water that threatened to soak them through and Connie wondered whether they'd be able to secure a lift to the theatre or not.

'Gracie, what shoes are you in?' she asked, praying that it wasn't the new pair of Louis Vuittons she'd bought her for Christmas.

'Your old silver flats, why?' Grace replied, already sensing where this conversation was going and not liking it one bit.

'We're never going to get a taxi, and the theatre is only a ten minute walk… I think we should probably just go on foot: it'll be much quicker.'

'But it's cold, Mum! And you're in heels, anyway, you'll kill your feet.'

'Hmm, nice try,' Connie smiled. 'I practically live in these shoes. I've performed emergency surgery in them, I think we'll manage a little walk. Come on, it won't take long.'

With that, Connie led the way away from the restaurant, leaving Grace little choice but to follow.

'Do you want my coat? I told you that you should have brought one, you'll freeze.'

'I'm fine,' Grace replied in a sing-song voice, rolling her eyes despite the fact she really did want to accept her mum's offer.

Connie smiled. She knew full well how stubborn her daughter was, and how cold she must have been, but she humoured her anyway and increased her pace slightly so they'd reach their destination sooner. Besides, walking quickly would help warm Grace up a little.

As they journeyed across Holby, Connie couldn't help but admire how beautiful and grown-up Grace looked. Her dark blue dress featured a fitted bodice studded with small gems that caught the moonlight, giving the impression that she was wearing the starry night sky. The skirt followed the same line down to her mid-thigh, where it stopped a little higher than Connie would have liked- but she'd known how much Grace would love it and so she bought it regardless. Her hair had grown since she'd last seen her- it was over halfway down to her waist now- thicker and curlier too. All in all, her daughter could be summed up in one word: radiant.

They reached a quieter part of Holby that had a slightly worse reputation than the other, less rough areas, but Connie had been fine there in the past and besides, it was only a Thursday night. Nevertheless, she moved to walk closer to Grace's side and placed an arm around her- a subtle warning to anyone who would think about trying anything that they should reconsider. Here, the streetlamps only lit up sporadically, casting shadows on the pavement that unsettled many who walked there, though not the Beauchamps of course. Every footstep echoed through the quiet street, each clip-clop of Connie's heels bouncing off the walls of the unlit apartments.

'Mum, how much longer?' Grace whined and it struck Connie that, no matter how much older she seemed, the girl was still a child in a few respects.

'We've been walking for two minutes, Grace,' she replied, slightly exasperated. Truth be told, she was getting worried that they were going to be late and miss the start of the show and so just wanted quiet so she could concentrate on getting them as quickly as possible. With a flick of the wrist and a glance at her watch, Connie saw that they were indeed going to be late if they didn't hurry and so she sighed heavily and accelerated further.

'Mum, slow down!'

'Grace, will you just stop moaning and hurry up,' Connie snapped. Instantly, she regretted her tone of voice but after the week she'd had, the last thing she needed was Grace kicking up a stink.

Grace pulled a face at her mother but obliged, moving to keep up with her wordlessly. As much as she'd fought with Connie in the past, she had learnt when to keep her mouth shut and recognised that this was one of those times.