Katy barely glanced up from her phone as she headed through the gardens with the children. She smiled weakly as Ruby tugged on her hand and pointed to the flashy car Keanu was driving round the Square with Louise and Dennis in it. When her daughter asked why Katy didn't have a car to drive them to school in, she simply shrugged and said she had more important things to spend her money on.

"Lauren, babe, can you please give me a call when you get this message? I need to know if you're still on for the holidays?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes and fixed Katy with a look that the blonde knew well. "Aren't we going to visit Aunty Lauren anymore?"

"I dunno, angel." Her mother admitted as they crossed the road. "Aunty Lauren ain't rung me back for weeks. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Will Aunty Whit come too?"

"I dunno, Rubes. Probably not."

"Why?"

"Because she's busy, ain't she? She's got Callum and the Vic and her family to sort out."

"Did you remember my PE kit?"

"I–" Katy furrowed her eyebrows. "PE is on Wednesday."

"April Fools."

"That was terrible." Her mother replied, chuckling anyway.

Once she'd dropped them at Walford Primary, she made her way back to the Square slowly. Ruby and Stacey were due in court and Whit, although she had promised to work that evening, seemed to be in another world. Katy wasn't sure what was going on with her, but Sonia and Jack seemed similarly pre-occupied and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

Knocking firmly on her father's front door, she moved her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for him to answer the door. It felt as though he was being deliberately slow as she waited for what felt like a very long time for the door to finally open. He sighed at the sight of her, shaking his hand and holding up his hands in defeat.

Expecting Jack to make an attempt to blow her off or get rid of her, Katy launched into questioning; demanding that he tell her what was going on before she resorted to interrogating everyone else, including Amy and Ricky.

"Look, I ain't got time to talk right now, OK?" He told her firmly. "I've gotta sort something. I'll talk to you later, I promise."

"You better mean that." She warned him, fed up of being fobbed off.

With his assurances ringing in her ears, the blonde turned and descended the steps, planning on going to the bar and doing her best to get ahead with the books. Paperwork wasn't her forte and there was no way she would ever enjoy doing it. Knowing how effortless her mother had made it all look sent a pang of sadness through her, but she dismissed it and forced herself to smile warmly at some of the market traders she passed on her way.

It wasn't until the next day that she finally managed to get hold of her father and make him tell her what was going on. She had been swept up the day before, with Ruby and Stacey at the courthouse for the foreseeable future and Whitney still on another planet. Katy had stepped in and was taking a lot more of the strain at the bar, even though Glenda had told her that she would pitch in where she could.

The final straw came when the delivery that she had been expecting had been well and truly messed up. Half of what she'd ordered was missing and the other half was completely wrong. Putting her head in her hands, Katy felt like crying. Instead, she gathered herself, inhaling deeply and put together a very strongly worded email. She knew that if she phoned the company and spoke to them she would probably let her mouth run away with her.

"You alright?"

Katy shot a glance towards the door, smiling weakly at the sight of her best friend leaning against the frame. "I'm up to my ears here and I need to go and get the kids. I just don't understand why they mess up on every single order. I swear to god that next time I'm just gonna cancel our account."

"I'll collect the kids if you want?" Whitney offered.

"You sure?"

"Course."

"You're a lifesaver, babe, thank you."

"What are mates for, eh?" The brunette smiled. "Besides, I'm dead grateful for you being really flexible with my shifts."

"I know you wouldn't ask if it weren't important." Katy reminded her.

"I appreciate it anyway, though."

"Don't get all soppy, Whit. Just go and get my kids, eh?"

Whitney laughed, nodding and turning to leave. She looked back, hesitating for a moment and staring at the top of Katy's bowed head as though she wanted to say something. Then she changed her mind and hurried away.

Burying herself in the information in front of her, the blonde lost track of time. She was startled, physically jumping in her seat when her mobile vibrated loudly against the surface of her desk.

'Kids want to go to the park. I'll bring them back in a bit. X'

Reading the text from Whitney, Katy smiled and glanced at the time, deciding that she had the perfect opportunity to go and demand answers from her father before getting home to make the kids' tea. Just as she was gathering her things and intending to head over to his house, there was a soft knock on her office door.

"Can I come in?" Jack asked quietly, stepping forward as she ushered him into the room. He sighed again as Katy moved towards him and closed the door, motioning towards the sofa opposite her desk. "Look, Tiff's… she ain't too great."

"Eh? What's happened?" Suddenly Katy was worried, wondering what her cousin could have got involved in. "She alright?"

"To be honest, I think you might be the best person to talk to her right now."

"Dad, you're worrying me."

He gave her a brief explanation of what Tiffany had been up to over the past few months. Katy's eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper as she spoke, until she finally held up a hand and asked just how bad the situation was where Tiffany was concerned. Jack sighed again.

"Dad, just tell me." She pressed in a low voice. "Was she raped?"

He rubbed his forehead agitatedly. "I don't think she saw it like that at the time."

"But?"

"Yeah, I think she was." He told her sadly. "She doesn't want to talk about it or tell anyone else, though. I dunno how to handle this."

Katy smiled softly and nodded. "Leave it to me. Can you–?"

"I'll take the kids out for a burger."

"Thanks, Dad."

Her plan was foiled, however, as Sonia informed her that Tiffany was round at Bernadette's and, when she went there, her cousin resolutely refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong. Bernadette simply shrugged and smiled, offering for Katy to join them in watching Queer Eye. Politely declining, she headed thoughtfully in the direction of the R&R once more.

"Katy!"

Turning, the young woman's mouth dropped open as she spotted Lola and a small, blonde girl heading towards her. She recognised Lexi from the photos she'd been sent instantly, squealing excitedly and pulling them both into a hug.

"Lo? What are you doing here? Why didn't you say you were coming?"

"Aunty Katy! Where's Ruby?"

"She's having tea with my dad at the moment, lovely." Katy told the little girl with a warm smile. "But you can come round and play after school tomorrow, if it's OK with your mummy."

Lexi turned her eyes on her mother. "Please?"

"Course. It'll give me and Aunty Katy a chance to have a proper catch up." Lola agreed easily. "You can fill me in on Honey's new bloke." As the older woman pulled a face, she grinned. "You not a fan either, then?"

Katy shrugged. "It ain't that I'm not a fan, I just… he ain't like us, is he? He's all… stuck up and that. Did you know he calls Honey 'Susan'. It's like he thinks he's so much better than us. I was looking after Will and Janet the other week and he scolded me, as if I was a child, when I dropped them home because I let them have 'too much sugar'. What a bloody liberty, like."

"I might have tipped his dinner on him when I was collecting the plates." Lola admitted, not looking remotely guilty about it. "He was being a dick about the kids having chocolate roll and squirty cream for pudding and I just… I got fed up of it. Besides, he was making Pops feel bad."

"Yeah… I feel bad for Billy, too." Katy admitted with a small shrug. "I mean, I know he cheated on her with Tina, but–"

"With Tina?"

"Yeah… didn't you know?"

"I knew he'd cheated on her. I didn't know who with, though."

"Yeah, well, I know he shouldn't have done that, but him and Honey were like… solid, you know? They were perfect for each other."

"She must still have feelings for him, or they wouldn't still be living together, would they?"

Katy shrugged, slightly unconvinced. "I dunno, Lo. But I don't think Adam is right for Honey, anyway." She sighed, smiling down at the little girl. "So, you back for good?"

"Not sure yet." Lola shrugged, suddenly looking a little uneasy. "Look, I better get her home. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Watching as they headed in the direction of the Beales' house, the older Mitchell chewed her lip thoughtfully. She wondered what her cousin was doing back in the Square, a little confused as the last time she had spoken to Lola she had been adamant that she wasn't planning on coming back to Walford any time soon. Something must have happened, she realised with a frown, to change her mind.

The overwhelming, suspicious part of her mind was instantly on full alert and she wondered whether there was something deeper going on with the Mitchells that she should be wary of. Briefly considering phoning Jay to ask whether he'd seen Lola or knew what was going on, the blonde hastily painted a smile on her face as she spotted her father, siblings and daughters heading towards her.

"Gran? You alright to watch the kids for a bit?" Katy called down the stairs. There was a scuffling sound and then her grandmother's flat door opened. "Lou's called to ask if I fancy a drink over the Vic."

"It's your first night off since the bar opened and you're spending it in the Vic?" Glenda arched an eyebrow at her.

"It's that or here with you, a rom-com and a bottle of wine."

The older blonde nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. I'll be right up."

Smiling, Katy ducked back into the flat and stepped into her shoes. She was shrugging on her jacket and flicking her hair out of the collar when her grandmother appeared in the doorway, pressing a kiss to her cheek and disappearing almost immediately as though she thought Glenda might change her mind about babysitting.

Pushing through the Vic doors, she looked around for her cousin and spotted her at a table with the Taylors. As she started towards them, her attention was caught by a loud voice from the other end of the bar. Her eyes fell on Mel, shouting the odds and insulting everyone in the vicinity.

"Hunter's a psychopath and we all know it." Keegan shouted, standing and glaring at the woman. "And so do you."

"At least he's not a coward, running away and leaving his best mate to bleed out in a gutter."

"What did you just say?"

Chaos broke out as Karen leapt to her son's defence, surging forward and only just being restrained by Keanu. Katy glanced between Jack and Louise, both of them glaring at Mel as the shouting continued, wondering what exactly had happened.

"I ain't worth it?" Mel asked, staring around. "Look at you all! You've all got secrets… you've all got blood on your hands. What my son did, he did for me… to protect his family. He owns it and he is going to do time like a man. And he makes me proud… he makes me proud."

The chattering resumed as Mel stormed out of the pub. Arching an eyebrow at her teenage cousin, Katy dropped onto the bench beside her and nudged her gently in the ribs, motioning towards the door that was still swinging gently on its hinges, silently asking the question that was on her mind.

"Hunter pleaded guilty."

"Well shit." Katy nodded slowly. "Good for him."

"You what?" Louise frowned at her.

"He's a better person than me. You wouldn't ever catch me doing that."

"Katy, a word." Jack nodded his head to a quiet corner.

Sighing deeply, she followed him around the bar and folded her arms, waiting to hear what he had to say. "What? You want me to lay off?"

"No, I want you to keep your mouth shut." He told her in a low voice. "You can't go round saying stuff like that without people asking questions."

She rolled her eyes. "Dad, I ain't gonna tell anyone anything that would get me into trouble, am I? Besides, no one round here would remember Carl or Nathan. It's fine."

"Katy…"

"Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut. But you need to stay away from her, Dad." He huffed, irritated at being told what to do by his daughter. "I mean it, don't go there. Her and her son are bad news."