A/N: Hello my lovelies! Here is chapter thirty and I know I left you all with a cliffhanger and I'm not going to apologise that I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger on this one too, just because I can ;)

Well life has been hectic to say the least. Kiddos have broken up for the summer (send wine!), 5yo has been diagnosed with autism after a three year wait. Bubs has been diagnosed with the same chromosome deletion my daughter has! And eldest is on the waitlist for ADHD medication. Oh and I graduated university!

Autumn Changes edits are still undergoing, my editor has asked me to make tweaks from the original story which she feels is much better. If you want updates please add my fb profile B A Henwood :)

I hope to get thirty-one updated before the end of August but my free time is limited now the kids have 7 weeks off.

Anyways, enough of my rambling, here's chapter thirty.

Enjoy :)

Chapter Thirty

The sound of machines beeping quietly were the only sound that filled her ears as Elizabeth stepped into the room. In the hospital bed, surrounded by wires and machines, her father lay sleeping. His face looked like it had aged a century with the exhaustion and pain of his second heart attack. She felt a twist in her chest and found herself silently sobbing as she watched her father breathe through the oxygen mask on his face, the tears flowing rapidly down her face as she continued to look at her father. They had always been close; he had always been the parent she preferred to talk to and spend time with. Now, she partly blamed herself for her father's stress and illness. She had gone weeks without talking to him and now she wanted nothing more than to beg him to stay with her, to forgive him and mend their rift.

The door opened and closed again but Elizabeth did not turn around to see who had entered the room. She continued to cry as she felt arms wrap around her.

"Lizzy…it's alright…" she heard a whisper in her ear. Her mother's voice.

Elizabeth clung to her mother, not caring about their fallout or the reasons why she had been ignoring Francine's attempts to make up. She sobbed, not trying to keep it silent anymore as her mother held her tightly and made soothing shushing sounds. She was not sure how many minutes had passed between them, but they had both ended up sat down on the windowsill, looking out the windows as Elizabeth dried her eyes and sniffled.

"The doctors are positive that your father will make a full recovery, but it's going to be a long journey and he's going to be in hospital for a while." Fran whispered.

Elizabeth nodded stiffly, looking back over at her father. She had always hoped that she would never have to see her father so ill again. After the first heart attack, she had prayed that he would never suffer again. But now, it had happened again, and it had been during a time where she had felt nothing but anger towards her parents. Whilst her anger was justified, it didn't seem to matter at present.

"I wish I could've prevented this." Elizabeth muttered.

"As do I," Fran sighed, looking over at her husband, "If only I had been honest from the start."

Elizabeth looked at her mother and saw a look she had rarely seen on her mother's face. A look where her mother's eyes were filled with sadness and guilt. It was a look that Elizabeth would associate with remorse.

"I don't want to get into this right now." Elizabeth sighed.

"Then when, Lizzy? It's hanging over our heads and stressing us out. It got to the point where your father had a heart attack." Fran pointed out.

"You know how dad deals with stress, mum! The smoking and deviating from his strict diet! I assume he hasn't been taking his medications properly either?"

Fran shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Your father won't speak to me. In the weeks leading up to this, he hasn't looked at me. He won't accept the meals I make let alone ensure anything else to take care of him." Her mother whispered tearfully.

Elizabeth remained silent, unsure how to respond. If her parents had not spoken or looked at each other in the last four weeks, she knew that the situation had been worse than she could have imagined. She wished that she had picked up one of her father's calls and she wished she could have done something to prevent his second heart attack but there was no use dwelling on the what ifs.

"I wish we could move beyond this." Fran sniffled.

"I've had a lot to process." Elizabeth sighed.

"I know it looks like I was interfering-"

"That's an understatement!"

"But my intentions were only to protect you, Lizzy." Fran insisted.

"How?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's a long story and there is much for you to understand."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Both mother and daughter sat in the empty hospital seats that each room had for visitors. Elizabeth shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable and trying to position herself so that she didn't give away her pregnancy. She wanted to share the news later when things had been cleared up.

Fran sat up in her seat, looking directly at Elizabeth and exhaled slowly.

"Have you ever wondered why there are such big age gaps between you and your sisters?" her mother asked.

Elizabeth shrugged, whilst there were bigger age gaps between her and her sisters, she knew that there were families with bigger. Will and Georgiana had a significant age gap for instance and so would there be between Mia and the baby.

"Your grandparents were rather strict and had firm beliefs when it came to marriage and sex. But these beliefs didn't stop your father and I from…going against those beliefs…" Fran started.

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" Elizabeth scoffed.

"Please…don't interrupt…" Fran pleaded slowly.

It was clear that this conversation was difficult for her mother to have and as much as Elizabeth found it hypocritical that her mother would have sex before marriage but preached to her children about marriage, she nodded her head and remained silent.

"Before your father and I were married, our night together ended up with me falling pregnant. Only it…it wasn't a normal pregnancy…" Fran explained, tears running down her aging cheeks.

"Mum…"

"Shush, I'm fine, Lizzy," Fran smiled weakly, "The pregnancy…it was an ectopic and it put my life in danger and as a result, I needed emergency surgery to remove an ovary and fallopian tube. My parents and your father's parents, to some extent, were disgusted. My parents called me all sorts of names, they made me feel dirty and ashamed. They said it was all my fault and was a punishment for living in sin!"

Elizabeth took a deep breath and felt a pang of sympathy in her gut. Whilst she had a rather limited relationship with her maternal grandparents growing up, her relationship with her father's parents had been strong and loving. She would never have assumed that her father's parents would treat her mother so horribly.

"Your father and I got married but instead of feeling happy, I felt depressed. The only thing I could focus on was if I could conceive a child. Combining our wedding gifts and your dad's inheritance we decided to use it to try out a procedure which was fairly new at the time." Fran explained.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, surprised at what her mother had just shared. Her parents had undergone IVF treatment.

"We were told it was still relatively new, that success rates were small, and it was expensive. But we were lucky, and your sister was born a year after our wedding. A part of me felt happier but I always felt empty after that loss…I was never allowed to discuss it with anyone, so I had to bury that loss…and then you came along and then Lydia…two natural miracles when I had given up hope of having more than one child…"

"Mum…" Elizabeth whispered, wiping the tear from her cheek.

"I know I am overbearing and critical, Lizzy. It's just my nature because of the way I was ridiculed and shamed. When you are called a whore for acting on your passions and love for someone outside of marriage…I wanted to spare you girls the same feelings…the scorn…" Fran sighed.

"The way you always came across…it was like the decisions we made weren't good enough for you…that those were your beliefs…" Elizabeth said quietly.

"Partly perhaps, however it's mostly my personal experience which is why I've tried to prevent you girls from making the same mistakes I have. I was against George moving in with us all when he and Jane were together, I wasn't happy when she fell pregnant with the twins…even more so when Lucy appeared different because I knew how much your sister struggled…"

"You've never accepted Lucy."

"It's difficult for me to get my head around it all. I don't know how to bond with the girl, I don't know how to communicate with her." Fran argued defensively.

"So, work with Jane and learn. Learn some sign language and give her some positivity. Show her some love and praise. Even if she's non-verbal she can still understand body language and hostility." Elizabeth snapped.

"I can try." Fran whispered.

"That's all you can do. But you have to at least try." Elizabeth said quietly.

The pair took a few moments to process what had already been shared between them, the only sound in the room were the beeping machines and Thomas' shallow breathing. The door opened and a nurse came in to do some routine observations, announcing that the doctors would be doing their afternoon rounds soon and would be in to speak with them. The observations came back good, Elizabeth smiled at hearing that her dad's temperature and oxygen levels were good, blood pressure was slightly high, but the doctors would be discussing that with them shortly. The nurse left the room and closed the door behind her.

"You've explained about your experience and a bit about Jane…but you still haven't explained why you interfered with my relationship with David." Elizabeth said delicately.

Fran nodded, turning her attention back to Elizabeth.

"I witnessed the struggle that Jane had with George, he never helped her with the twins' basic care let alone the complexities of Lucy's additional needs. And then when Jane got the chromosome deletion diagnosis, he packed his stuff and moved away without so much as a discussion. I could see how attached you were to David, how in love you were with him, and I didn't want another one of my girls going through what Jane had gone through. So, I made a deal with David with the intention of protecting you from the hurt that Jane had suffered and the judgment that she got from strangers. I thought that if you and David were married then you would be afforded some protection that way, if you had a child together and then the marriage fell apart, David would be obligated to provide for you and the child." Fran explained.

"But we didn't have a child. He told me that I couldn't have his child and wanted a divorce and I believed that I was infertile. But then you decided to go and speak to David without my knowledge or consent to see if he would change his mind. He then told you that he was the one who was infertile, and you chose not to share it with me. You watched me struggle and suffer when it wasn't me who was infertile. You should have been honest with me about it all and you could have prevented so much suffering!" Elizabeth admonished.

"I know," Fran cried, tears falling down her cheeks as she sobbed, "I was selfish. We were already drifting so far apart because I wanted to know what was going on with you and I thought I could try and help you in my own way-"

"Your own way is interfering, mum. It wasn't wanted no matter what your intentions were." Elizabeth scolded.

"I realise that now. I'm sorry for the hurt I've caused you." Fran apologised.

Elizabeth felt a little relieved at finally having an explanation for a lot of things regarding her mother. Whilst she wasn't quite ready to forgive her mother for the deception, she appreciated the apology and the insight into how her mother's mind worked. Before she could speak, her father coughed and half opened his eyes.

"Lizzy…" Thomas coughed.

Moving from the seat, Elizabeth crossed the room and sat on the edge of her father's hospital bed. She took hold of his hand and gave it a light squeeze, being careful of the cannula in the back of his hand.

"Lizzy…"

"I'm here dad," Elizabeth whispered soothingly, "I'm here."

"I..I.." her father coughed.

"Just rest, dad. I'm here," Elizabeth said, tears falling down her cheeks, "I need you to get better."

Her father fixed his eyes on her, tears pouring down his own face as Elizabeth gently wiped them from his cheeks.

"Lizzy…"

"You need to get better, dad. I need you to be well to meet your new grandchild." Elizabeth pleaded.

With a light squeeze of his hand in hers, a silent promise between father and daughter, Thomas closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep. Elizabeth remained by his side and the room fell silent. She was grateful that her mother had chosen not to question her about her declaration and Elizabeth knew that the time for that would come later. But for now, the focus had to be on her father's recovery.

ooOoo

Charles sat in his back garden taking a sip from his lukewarm cup of coffee as he watched the local wildlife. Sparrows flew fast in front of his eyes, stopping to nip at the little bird feeders that he had made with the twins last weekend. The neighbour's cat prowled quietly on the brick wall at the back of the garden, eyeing up the sparrows as potential prey. In the distance he could hear someone's dog barking mixed with the tweeting of the sparrows that made him grateful for the peace of nature.

It had been a hard few weeks for him. After discovering Caroline in the hotel room and that she was having a mental health crisis, he had tried his best to ensure that his sister got the help she desperately needed. It had been a topic of conversation that he and his father disagreed on. Wesley had acknowledged that Caroline wasn't well, he had mentioned something about a warning from Reginald Darcy, but his father was reluctant to have Caroline committed to a mental health unit. Charles thought that a hospital stay might be best for his sister, but his father argued that a strong support network and a trip to see the doctor would be better.

Caroline had been adamant that nothing was wrong, that she was just dealing with rejection and a broken heart. That she was feeling a little depressed and needed some help to get back on her feet again. Wesley, after hearing his daughter's wishes, agreed to allow her to move back home on the condition she attend therapy and get a regular prescription for antidepressants. But Charles knew deep down that his sister was more than a 'little depressed'. But he was stuck as to what he could do. He wasn't Caroline's next of kin so he couldn't force her into treatment, and he couldn't just get power of attorney to make decisions on her behalf. He could warn Will, but his best friend already had a restraining order against Caroline after the Alice incident. He wasn't sure what he could do.

The back door opened and closed again, and his girlfriend took the empty seat next to him and squeezed his free hand. Placing the cup of coffee on the table in front of him, Charles let out a heavy sigh and turned to Jane.

"You're still thinking about Caroline, aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I wish there was something I could do. My dad is in denial about how serious her mental health issues go and she's already gotten away with hurting someone. The police won't listen because I'm not legally in charge of her affairs and I'm scared that she's going to do something reckless once she finds out that Lizzy is pregnant with Will's child and that she's adopting Mia." Charles replied.

"I'm not really sure what you can do, I wish I had that answer for you. I just want you to know that I'm here for you." Jane whispered.

Charles leaned over and gave her a light kiss of appreciation.

"I love you." He murmured.

Jane smiled.

"I love you too."

"Let's forget about my problems. Is there any news on your dad?"

Jane shook her head. A few hours ago, the latest update on Thomas was that he was being put on some more medications and undergoing more tests to determine the damage the heart attack had done. Even though Thomas had suffered, the doctors seemed positive that he would recover fully and would not need surgery at present.

"He's still the same. Lizzy and mum are with him. I'll head home soon with the twins and Lydia is heading up the hospital in the morning to sit with him for a while." Jane replied.

"Do you need anything?" Charles asked.

"Come home with me? I don't think I can be alone tonight."

Charles nodded his agreement and they headed back inside the house, locking the back door behind them. Jane got the twins' belongings together and headed out to the driveway to get them strapped into the car whilst Charles headed upstairs to pack an overnight bag. With everything packed, he locked his front door and climbed into the car, strapping himself in. Lucy and Peter yawned in the backseats as Jane pulled out of the driveway and drove off in the direction of her house. Neither of them looked back as they turned the corner.

What they had missed was Caroline hiding in a neighbour's bushes a few houses down from Charles'. Caroline hadn't slept properly in weeks and her appearance would make a small child cry; she was that unkempt. All she could focus on was pulling out the spare key to her brother's house that she had stolen from her father's key hooks and let herself into Charles' house. She closed the door behind her and began searching for the key she knew her brother kept as a spare to William Darcy's house.