"Can we have pancakes?" Ricky asked, looking up at his older sister hopefully.

Katy nodded distractedly, grasping Jess tightly by the wrist as she wandered off to stroke a passing dog. "Yeah, Gran's gonna make them for tea. We're gonna go to the pancake race at the Vic first, though, yeah?"

"Can we do it?" Her brother asked.

"Nah, we'll just watch, sweetie. It'll be fun, right? I know Billy's doing it, so William and Janet will be there, too."

Happy with that, her brother stopped questioning her and happily chattered to Matthew and Sophie as they made their way back to the Square. Katy trailed along behind them, keeping one eye on the children and one of her mobile as she waited for her call to be answered.

Finally she heard a voice at the other end and jammed the handset between her ear and her shoulder, immediately launching into an inquiry about how the council inspection on the kitchen had gone. If they wanted to serve food at the bar they needed to pass the inspection and Katy, with absolutely no idea how to go about it, had asked Mick and Linda for help. They'd put her in touch with one of their contacts at the council and everything seemed to be going to plan so far.

"Hey, Mitchells!"

Laughing at Tina's shout from the other end of Bridge Street, Katy herded the children in her direction. Jessica immediately started chattering to the woman, hanging off her leg while she chuckled. The others crowded around her, asking about the pancake race and whether they were allowed to eat any of them.

"That's what I wanted to ask you about, actually." Tina said with a smile. "I wanted to check you were gonna come?"

"Yeah, course we are." Katy promised with a firm nod. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Them two cows from Walford East are having their own event." The brunette replied with a frown. "They saw me putting up the poster this morning and announced they were gonna do their own version."

"Don't let them get to you, T. That restaurant ain't a patch on the Vic, OK? And like I told Mick and Linda, we ain't gonna muscle in on your punters over at R&R either, alright?"

Tina grinned at her. "I don't mind you doing it, babe. At least we're mates, ain't we?"

"Course we are." Katy nodded. "Right, I better get this lot home and changed out of their uniforms so we can get back for the race. See you in a bit."

"Did you know that it rains diamonds on Jupiter." Ricky asked between mouthfuls of his dinner.

Katy pulled a face at his table manners and then shook her head. "That's not true."

"Yeah, it is." He argued.

"It is Mum." Ruby agreed. "Mrs Anderson said so."

"Right… sounds like absolute crap to me."

"And me." Amy agreed with her older sister instantly. "Absolute crap."

"Language." Katy chastised her.

"You said it!"

Katy grinned. "I'm allowed. I'm an adult."

"I'll tell Dad, then." Amy threatened, poking her tongue out.

"Go ahead, I don't care."

"Did you know that if you drove straight up you'd reach outer space in an hour?" Ricky told them, looking between his sisters.

"Something else Mrs Anderson told you?" Katy asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's our topic." Ruby told her.

"What? Unbelievable crap?"

"Space." Ricky corrected his sister. "We're learning about space."

"I did space in year three. They never told me that." Amy announced.

"What's your topic, then, Ames?" Katy asked, leaning sideways and cutting up Jessica's sausage for her. She shook her head as Matthew attempted to steal a chip off Sophie's plate. "What so-called facts have they been telling you?"

"We're doing rainforests. It's really cool, actually."

"Yeah?"

"There's a tree in a rainforest in Australia called the idiot fruit." Amy told her with a grin. "I think Ricky ate some."

"Oi!" Katy frowned at her. "Leave it out."

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Yeah, you are."

"Amy!" Her older sister glared across the table. "Ricky is not an idiot. Now shut up and eat your dinner."

"You're not the boss of me." The ten-year-old argued, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms across her chest.

"Uhh, yeah, I am actually. If you don't like it you can go home and stay with Rainie until Dad comes home."

The younger Mitchell's face became a mask of horror. "You wouldn't make me do that."

Laughing, Katy shrugged. "I will if you carry on being such a little cow."

"I'll tell Dad you said that."

"Go ahead."

"I can go?" Jessica asked her mother, already having slid halfway off the chair.

Sighing, Katy glanced at the time before nodding at her. Taking it as agreement for all of them to leave, all six children disappeared from the kitchen and left Katy to tidy up alone. Unsurprised, she quickly cleared the plates and washed them, leaving them to dry on the draining board. Routine tasks gave her the chance to think, to catch up with all the thoughts that there was no space for in her brain while she was rushed off her feet.

"Katy?"

Not in the mood for more arguments, the young woman turned and fixed her sister with a stern look. "What's wrong now?"

"Nothing, I just… can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Amy asked in a small voice. She was twisting her hands together and avoiding making eye contact, as though she thought Katy would tease her or laugh at her request. "Please? I miss Mummy."

Letting her eyes slip closed, Katy pulled her into her arms, holding her close. She raked her hand through Amy's hair before resting her chin on the top of her head. The little girl clung on tightly, burying her face in Katy's shoulder and bunching her hands in the back of her jumper.

"Of course you can, angel." Katy promised gently. "I miss her too."

That was how Katy found herself waking up the next morning in a thoroughly overcrowded bed. Wincing and removing Ricky's foot from her face, she carefully lifted herself off the mattress so she could climb over Matthew and Jessica and stand up. Rolling Ruby back across the bed so that she wasn't in danger of falling off the edge, Katy pulled the duvet up over Sophie and brushed Amy's hair out of her face. She smiled fondly at them, watching them sleeping for a long moment before padding out of the bedroom to start the morning routine.

"Are you sure you want to go to school like this?" Katy pulled a face as she scrutinised her sister and eldest daughter closely. "I mean… aren't you meant to be dressing up as book characters?"

"It's international women's day, too, Katy." Amy informed her seriously. "I want to go as Mummy. Ruby wants to go as Aunty Ronnie."

Katy ran her eyes over them again. Just looking at the little girls physically hurt, because they so closely resembled the two women they were attempting to imitate. From somewhere they had found an old photo of Ronnie and Roxy and managed to recreate the outfits the sisters were wearing. Swallowing thickly, Katy reached out and touched the locket that Ruby was wearing around her neck.

"It's not Grandma's." Ruby assured her quickly. "It's just one that looks the same."

"I know, sweetie." Her mother nodded, fighting the urge to cry. "You just… you look…"

"I think they look fantastic." Glenda announced from the sofa, attempting to paint a Harry Potter scar on Ricky's forehead. "They did most of it on their own."

As Katy had been so busy, Glenda had taken charge of sorting out all six costumes. None of the children would even tell the younger blonde what they were dressing up as until that morning, although Katy had managed to work out all but Amy and Ruby's costumes before then.

"No one's going to know who you are."

"I don't care." Amy shrugged.

"Rubes?"

"I don't care either."

"If anyone says anything, we're just gonna say we're dressed as our heros." Amy continued, nodding firmly at her niece. Ruby nodded back, looking equally determined. "You can't change our minds."

Katy couldn't help chuckling at that and held up her hands in surrender. "I wouldn't even try."

As the two girls skipped off to get their bags, Katy turned to her grandmother. Glenda shot her a small smile, before turning to usher the twins into the hallway. Before she could get very far, Katy and laid a hand on her arm and pulled her back.

"I'm sorry if it upset you." Glenda said immediately.

Her granddaughter shook her head. "It didn't… it's… it's lovely that they feel like that. It was just a shock, that's all. They really, really look like them."

"I know… I felt exactly the same." Glenda admitted with a small shrug.

"Thank you for sorting their costumes."

"It was nothing. Like I said, Amy and Ruby pretty much sorted themselves out and I just bought the others. The twins and Matthew's are just onesies." They looked towards where the four-year-olds – dressed in Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Tigger onesies – were pulling on their shoes. "And Ricky's came as a set."

"Still… thank you. There's no chance they'd have even had costumes if I'd been left in charge."

"Of course they would." Glenda told her, rolling her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I'll see you later… don't forget I'm going out with Kathy tonight, so you'll need to be in."

Katy nodded in acknowledgement, smiling and waving as they left the flat, shaking her head at the children in their costumes and her already exasperated grandmother attempting to shepherd them in the right direction.

"Hey, Katy?"

Turning, the blonde smiled warmly as Stacey hurried to catch her up, pushing Hope in her pram. "Hey, Stace, you alright?"

"Yeah, good. I was just wondering… you're gonna need bar staff at the R&R, right?" She asked, leaning on the handles of the pram. "Any chance of a job?"

Katy grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I don't see why not. You've got experience, right? Besides, I need staff I can trust."

"Thanks, that's so amazing. Thank you."

"No worries. I'll get the paperwork sorted and call over with it in the next week or so, alright?"

"Yeah, anytime. Also, Kat was wondering… have you sorted a cleaning contract yet?"

The younger woman looked a little awkward. "I've literally just been looking through tenders." She admitted. Seeing Stacey's face fall, she sighed. "Look, like I said before, I need staff I trust. Tell Kat to put some numbers together and get them to me in the next couple of days."

"Yeah?" Stacey's eyes lit up hopefully.

"Yeah. I'd rather deal with people I know, anyway. It'll have to be a competitive offer, though, Stace. As much as I like you lot, I am running a business."

"Yeah, course!" She grinned. "I'll keep Nan away from it."

Katy laughed. "Probably for the best."

"Thanks, Katy… seriously, I mean it, yeah."

Watching her rush off in the direction of the Slaters' house, Katy thought for a moment, biting her lip. Then she glanced at the time on her phone and swore softly. She had finally persuaded the company making her signs to redeliver after a mix up meant their previous attempt hadn't worked out, but was running late to meet the driver.

Thankfully, luck seemed to be on her side as, just as she rounded the corner, she saw the van pulling up outside the bar. Grinning at one of the decorators who was leaning against the wall smoking, she greeted the driver politely, before starting to open the package he had delivered.

"Hang on…" She stopped him as he held out his clipboard for her to sign. "Are you sure this is the right one?"

He frowned at her, before glancing at the delivery details. "Katherine Mitchell, 10, Turpin Road?"

"Yeah, but that's not the sign I ordered."

"It is." He retorted grumpily, holding out the clipboard again. "Says right here."

"It's not, so you need to take it away."

"Look, lady, if you're Katherine Mitchell and this is 10, Turpin Road, then this is your sign."

Katy huffed loudly, signalling her displeasure, as though anyone was in any doubt about it. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the man standing in front of her, resolutely refusing to agree to her demands.

"That's not the sign that I ordered. It's backwards. It was supposed to be pink lettering on a black background… like the rest of the signage."

"Well this is what I was given to deliver to you. If you've got a problem with it you'll have to take it up with the company."

"I ain't having this. It ain't right. You'll have to take it away."

"Oh, come on, lady."

"Don't 'oh come on, lady' me. Just take it back. I'm not accepting something that's wrong."

"Look, I've got other deliveries to make. If you don't like this sign then–"

"I don't like it." Katy assured him, closing the gap between them and jabbing a finger into her chest. "So you are gonna take it back and I'll inform the company why."

Throwing up his hands, the man hefted the sign into his arms and carried it back to the van. Muttering about timewasters and fussy cows, he slammed the driver's door and revved the engine. As he pulled away from the curb and drove away, Katy pulled out her mobile and immediately found the number of the sign company, ready to give them a piece of her mind.

Getting no joy from the sales assistant on the other end of the line, Katy huffed impatiently and glanced at the calendar on her laptop screen. The opening was drawing closer and she still couldn't seem to sort out something as stupid as a sign for the bar. Everything else seemed to be going to plan, as far as Katy could tell anyway, with the suppliers due to make their first deliveries in the week or so and interviews for staff scheduled over the next couple of days.

"Hard at work, then."

Katy glanced up in surprise at the voice that interrupted her search for a new company to provide the sign she wanted. "Sharon?"

"Long time, no see."

"You looking for a job or something?" The younger blonde asked sarcastically. "I'm interviewing next week. I was thinking about giving the Slaters the cleaning contract, but if you give me a better offer the job's yours."

"Phil's disappointed you haven't been to see him."

"I have."

"Not properly. He hasn't really seen the kids."

Katy frowned. "If Phil wants to see me and the kids he can make the effort. It's not my fault he weren't there when we went round to see him."

"Dinner, round ours, tomorrow night." Sharon suggested, her tone leaving the younger woman in very little doubt that it was an order rather than a suggestion. "About six?"

"That includes Gran, yeah?"

Sharon wrinkled her nose disdainfully. "Fine."

"And you'll be civil to her?"

"Fine." Sharon huffed. "Just be at ours tomorrow at six, alright?"

Nodding, Katy leant back in her chair and watched as Sharon left the office, shutting the door behind her. So far they'd managed to avoid large gatherings of Mitchells, mainly because Katy wasn't sure she would be able to handle seeing them all together with two very large, obvious holes. Perhaps, though, getting it over and done with would make things a little less tense.

Dialling Glenda's number, she quickly let her know about their plans for the following evening, laughing softly as her grandmother immediately started complaining. Telling her that it was fine if she didn't want to join them, Katy grinned as the older woman immediately backtracked. Checking that Glenda was still happy to pick up the kids that afternoon, Katy returned her attention back to getting either a refund or a new sign.