Caroline had feared a new baby coming into her life so much that she had risked her relationship with the woman she loved. Yet even when she had been most worried about the new arrival, she never dreamed that Kate wouldn't be there to do the majority of the legwork.

Instead, Caroline found herself raising a colicky baby almost single handed. The headmistress was not sure whether it was the added pressure of being at the top of the career ladder, whether it was because she was older, or whether she had simply forgotten how difficult it had all been the first time around, but she had to admit that she was struggling.

Flora was still absolutely tiny, having gained less weight than expected, which meant that she was still in hospital while they monitored her progress. It was an arrangement that meant Caroline found herself rushing home from work, cooking dinner, ensuring that Lawrence studied for his GCSEs, and then leaving to visit both Kate and Flora night after night. As a schedule, Caroline found it completely gruelling.

And it wasn't that she didn't love Flora, because she did. She was captivated and enamoured with her in the same way as every new parent, but the stress and tiredness was absolutely overwhelming. To make matters worse, underpinning everything else was a constant, terrifying fear of losing Kate.

The brunette was making progress; the swelling around her brain had reduced, her broken limbs were healing, and most importantly, she was alive. She lived and breathed in the same world as Caroline, and since that afternoon in the hospital corridor, the blonde had promised herself that that alone would be enough.

However, progress was frustratingly slow, and although the doctors reassured Caroline every day that Kate was getting better, they still had not tried to wake her from the medically induced coma.

For the sake of her sanity, Caroline had to believe that one day that would happen.

In the meantime, she was determined to hold everything together. Even if it was only by her fingertips.

XXXXX

William had been her rock from the beginning. Not that Caroline had ever expected anything less of him. She had relied upon his solid and steadfast support since he had been tiny; much younger than a child should be when they find themselves in such a position of responsibility.

William had always been on her side, even before Kate came along - quietly watching her fights with John and picking up the pieces afterwards, caring for Lawrence while she focused on her career, and generally reassuring his mother when the fears that she simply wasn't capable of juggling everything bubbled to the surface.

Before Flora was even home, William had been searching for ways to ease the pressure on Caroline, determined not to let his mother down.

One evening, having left the hospital late and dropped Lawrence at his father's, Caroline found that she had a rare few minutes to pour herself a large glass of wine.

She took a seat on the sofa, opposite her eldest son, who sat cross legged on the floor, papers strewn across the coffee table and a perplexed look on his face.

Caroline watched him with concern, "What are you studying? Anything I can do to help?"

Her son turned red, "No, thanks mum," he mumbled, hurriedly clearing the books away.

"William?" Caroline frowned, putting a hand on the teenager's shoulder to stop him from shoving the books out of sight.

He sighed and met her gaze, running a hand through his mop of reddish hair.

His mother raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

The boy glanced wordlessly down at the books in his arms and Caroline took one, noticing with confusion that alongside the pile of textbooks, William seemed to have a fair few maternity manuals.

"Have you been reading these?" she asked, obviously puzzled.

"Yeah, mum. Me and Ruby are having a baby," he replied seriously.

Caroline's heart jumped into her throat. She nearly dropped her wine.

William rolled his eyes at his mother's panicked expression, "I'm joking! I just thought I could learn some stuff to help you with Flora a bit."

He shrugged, "You know, lend a hand so that you can focus on Kate."

Caroline watched her son, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment, as she processed his words.

"So you are telling me," the blonde began slowly, "that alongside revising Keats, Shakespeare, and Henry James," she picked up a poetry book to illustrate her point, "that you've been learning the temperature of a baby's bathwater, how to sterilise a bottle, and how to recognise measles?"

William grinned sheepishly, "Something like that."

Caroline sent the pile of books clattering across the table as she leaned forward to pull the teenager into a tight hug. She felt ready to burst with pride and affection for her brilliant son.

"You are so wonderful, William," she mumbled against his cheek, "but you should be focusing on university. I don't want any of this getting in the way of your revision."

The blonde pulled back to look at her son, raising an eyebrow, "Besides, I have done all this before, if you remember? And so has your Gran, so I am sure that between us we will be fine."

She cupped his face in her hands, "You need to concentrate on your studies first and foremost, I don't want this to distract you," she finished in a watery voice.

It seemed that anything put her in danger of crying these days.

"Of course not," the boy reassured her as he pulled away, "but I want to be able to help once Flora gets home. Save you and Gran some work."

Caroline nodded, "Thank you. But I don't think she will be home for a while, the doctors are a bit concerned that she isn't settling properly and they want to watch her for a bit longer."

William nodded sagely, standing up to gather his books, "It's good that they want to be sure, but I think that because she was born so early, some trouble settling is probably normal."

Caroline laughed, "Yes, well thank you for your expert opinion, Doctor Elliot."

She beamed at her son as he bent down to kiss her goodnight, and William rolled his eyes good-naturedley at her amusement.

"You're welcome," he grinned as he began to walk towards the doorway, "Besides, I'm actually looking forward to having her here - she's bound to be better company than Lawrence."