"Katy… I need your help."

The young woman arched an eyebrow at her visitor, leaning back in her seat. She let her gaze sweep over Tiffany for a long minute, before realising that the fear in her eyes appeared to be real. Quickly, she leant forward again and rested her eyebrows on the surface of her desk, eyebrows furrowing as she tried to gage the severity of the situation.

"What's happened?"

"I told Sharon that Dennis was working for drug dealers. She punched Stix in the face in front of his crew."

"And…?"

"He said she'd made a big mistake. I'm worried he's gonna do something."

Katy shook her head. "I won't let him do anything to you, alright?"

"I'm not worried about me."

Her cousin sighed deeply. "Sharon's a big girl. She can handle herself, like you saw."

"Yeah, but–"

"Tiff, seriously, she'll be fine. She's got Phil, anyway, ain't she? Besides, I don't reckon Sharon would be too thrilled if I started sticking my nose into her business."

"Alright, alright." The redhead held up her hands and dropped onto the sofa on the opposite side of the office. When Katy arched an eyebrow at her, she shrugged. "What?"

"What are you doing? I've got things to do."

"Bernie's busy with stuff and I'm bored. Can I hang out here for a bit?"

"No."

"Please, Katy."

With a theatrical sigh, the blonde rolled her eyes. "Fine, but keep your gob shut, alright?"

The silence lasted for all of three minutes, before Tiffany was talking again. Giving up on getting anything done, her older cousin leant back in her chair again and watched her thoughtfully as she chattered on about nonsense.

She'd finally got Tiffany to talk to her a couple of days before, the teenager admitting what she'd been through and how she felt. Katy knew that she couldn't begin to understand Tiffany's situation, but she had some idea of how she would be feeling now. Promising that she wouldn't push, but that she'd be there if the younger girl decided that she needed or wanted to talk about it, Katy had let it go. Jack hadn't been thrilled with that, but she assured him that it was the best way to ensure that Tiffany trusted her.

"Yeah, well I'm doing my very best to avoid Ben." Katy cut in as Tiffany pointed out that she'd caught the blonde almost ducking out of sight when she'd spotted the young man earlier that day. "If you hadn't noticed we're not exactly best buddies."

"What did he do to piss you off so spectacularly?"

"You don't wanna know." The older woman muttered, shaking her head. "All you need to know is that I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

With Tiffany looking at her strangely, Katy suggested that they headed out to grab a coffee from the bar. As they left the room, the blonde cast a look over at the framed photo of Ronnie and Roxy on the wall. The corner of her lips quirked up in a fond smile as they grinned back down at her and she pulled the office door firmly shut behind her.

"Yeah, I'll pick them up." Katy sighed, jamming her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she flicked through some paperwork on her desk. "Yes, Gran, it's fine. Have a good time."

Glancing at the time, the young woman rolled her eyes as she realised that Glenda had left it until the last minute to tell her that she and Kathy had been caught up down the High Street and wouldn't be able to get back in time to do the school run. She sighed and grabbed her jacket, rushing out of the office and pulling the door shut behind her with a loud bang.

Waving a hand at the two young men setting up behind the bar, Katy rushed towards the Square, intending to ask her father whether he wanted her to pick up Amy and Ricky at the same time. Glancing up from her bag, rummaging for her keys, she was in time to see Mel descending the steps and turning abruptly to avoid having to speak to the younger blonde.

"What the hell was she doing here?" Katy demanded, pushing her way into the house and not even bothering to find her father before shouting.

"Don't start." He ordered, appearing from the living room. "I've told her she needs to get out of the house and she was coming to ask me to reconsider."

"Dad… you can't!"

"Keep your nose out, Katy, yeah?"

"Yeah, whatever." She shrugged. "Want me to collect the kids for you?"

"That would be great, thanks, darlin'."

"Whatever." She repeated turning on her heels and letting herself out of the house.

All the way to Walford Primary she stewed over what she'd heard from her father. She was glad that he was finally kicking Mel out, but something about the way he'd told her, the way she'd gone over to try and change his mind, was ringing alarm bells in her mind. She didn't have time for Jack's dramas on top of everything else she had to think about, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop herself getting sucked in.

"Mum!"

Katy forced herself to smile as Ruby raced across the playground towards her, Ricky on her heels. "Hey, guys. Good day?"

"Can we go to Tilly and Nathan's for a play date on Monday?" Ruby asked, rather than answering her question.

"Uhhh? Have you actually been invited?" Her mother checked, looking between them.

"Tilly asked Amy."

"That doesn't really answer my question, does it?" Katy pointed out. She smiled as she spotted her sister sauntering up the playground towards them, dropping a kiss to the top of her head as Amy wrapped her arms around her for a hug. "Hey, angel."

"Katy, on Monday can we –?"

The young woman sighed deeply. "Is Tilly and Nathan's mum here?"

Following the three pointing fingers, Katy smiled weakly at the older woman who was apparently being pestered by her own children. Ten minutes later everything was arranged and Katy said goodbye to the other woman and headed towards the nursery to collect Matthew and the twins.

They were all suffering from the usual end of term bad temper, so Katy did her best to keep them all calm until bedtime. Jack came over to collect Ricky and Amy, smiling gratefully as his elder daughter told him about the play date she'd arranged for the first proper day of the holidays.

"Look, about earlier…"

"Don't worry about it." Katy told him in a flat tone, leaning in the doorway and keeping one eye on Amy and Ricky on the pavement outside the gate. "I won't get involved, alright. You do what you want."

"I keep telling you there's nothing going on."

"Yeah, OK. If you say so. I just don't want her making a mug of you, right?"

"I ain't gonna let her."

"Good."

He nodded once before leaning in to kiss her cheek and then turning away to take the children home. Katy leant in the doorway for a couple more minutes before going inside. She finished putting Matthew and the twins to bed before Glenda appeared, apologising profusely for leaving her in the lurch earlier.

"It's fine." Katy told her with a sigh. "I could do with an early night, anyway. I'm absolutely shattered."

"I'm not surprised, darling, with everything you're trying to do."

"Don't start, Gran."

"I'm not starting anything."

"OK, OK. I'm not in the mood to argue with you tonight."

"I spotted Lola and Jay going into the Vic on my way home." Glenda told her, moving through the flat and into the kitchen. She paused to press a kiss to the top of Ruby's head as she passed. "Why don't you go and have a couple of drinks. I'm sure you'd like to catch up with them and Whitney, too."

"Like I don't see enough of Whitney?"

Glenda laughed. "It'll still do you good to go out and not be working."

"Gran, I just–"

"Need to realise that you've done well." Glenda cupped her cheeks and smiled softly. "I'm so proud of you. Your mum and Roxanne would be too. But you're still so young and you've taken on so much." She stepped back and leant against the island. "Just go and have one night of fun with your friends."

Agreeing that perhaps Glenda might be right, her granddaughter nodded and thanked her, before slipping into her room to change and reapply her make up. She told Ruby to behave, before saying goodnight and leaving the flat.

As soon as she entered the pub and received a bright smile from her best friend, Katy felt some of the tension lifting from her shoulders. She smiled and wrapped an arm around Lola's shoulder, grinning at Jay and joining them at the bar. Callum walked over to greet her, sliding her a drink without her even asking.

They chatted about nothing in particular, Lola telling them all about Lexi and asking about Katy's children. Whitney looked longingly as they spoke, earning herself a soft smile from her best friend. Then Katy launched into several long, incredibly detailed stories about all the times she'd wished she didn't have children because they'd driven her crazy or totally embarrassed her.

"The gang is all here!"

Katy clenched her jaw at the voice of the young man she had been doing her level best to avoid. "Shit."

"What's everyone having? Same again, Jay?"

"Yeah, go on then, mate, yeah." He nodded, grinning at his adoptive brother who had just appeared in their midst.

"Ben Mitchell." He introduced himself, holding his hand out in Callum's direction.

"Callum Highway."

"Blimey, Whit." Ben sent her a snide look. "I can hardly keep up with you and all your men. Two pints of lager when you're ready, mate." As Whitney and Katy exchanged a look, Callum evidently less than happy about the comment, he turned to Jay and Lola. "So, you two been here long? Katy, long time no see."

"Yeah…"

"What's with the hair? In honour of your dead mum, is it?"

"Fuck off, Ben." Katy snapped, grabbing her stuff and sliding off the bar stool. "Catch you later, guys."

No one attempted to stop her and she headed home, all of the tension that had evaporated during her conversation with her friends returning tenfold as she stepped out into the Square. Cursing Ben and his reappearance she stamped back to Number 43, only just remembering that the children would be asleep before the door slammed shut behind her.

She only had time to growl out her cousin's name, before she closed her bedroom door and prevented her grandmother from asking any more questions about her foul mood.

The weekend passed quickly. Katy did her best to sort things so that she could take as much time off over the holidays as possible. She also did her best to keep herself and her children as far away from Ben as was physically possibly.

On Sunday afternoon, they accidentally bumped into him with Lexi at the park. Katy smiled tightly as Ruby asked if they could go and play with their cousin, all five children running off as soon as she nodded and leaving her alone with Ben.

He sidled up beside her, arms folded across his chest, shooting her a sly grin. "I hear Tyler ran off to Spain."

"You heard wrong." She snapped. "He didn't run anywhere. It was a mutual decision that we were coming back home and he was going to join his dad and brothers in Spain. They had a business to run and I had a business to build."

"So… what I'm hearing is that you're alone. Again."

"You know what, Ben, fuck you." Katy hissed, turning and glaring at him. "Who have you got, eh? I dunno what weird shit is going on with you and Lola, but keep me and my kids out of it."

With that, she called Ruby, Mathew and the twins over and smiled warmly at Lexi, telling her to ask her mum whether she was allowed to come round and play one day. Shooting Ben a final scowl, she herded her children in the direction of home and refused to answer any of their questions about why they'd had to leave the park.

Sleep was evaded her that night, almost until it was time to wake up, while she tried to work out what was bothering her about Ben's return to the Square. Something wasn't right between him and Lola; her younger cousin's body language screaming out warnings whenever the young man was around or even mentioned.

"You coming to Ben's brunch thing?"

Katy jumped as Jay called across to her the next morning as she made her way in the direction of Jack's house. She was tugging Ruby by the hand, not really listening to her daughter chattering on as she speculated about what they might get up to that day.

"Not a chance." Katy replied, arching an eyebrow at him. "Not if you paid me."

"Come on, K…" Jay sighed, shaking his head. "I need you there."

"No, you don't." She retorted. Then she shrugged. "Besides, I've got the kids to deal with; all completely hyped up because it's the first day of the holidays."

"You're taking some time off work then, are you?"

"Hopefully. Can we talk later, Jay? I'm just popping over to Dad's. The kids have got a play date."

"At your dad's?" Jay asked, looking confused.

"No… Ruby, Amy and Ricky have a play date at their friend's house."

"Oh, right…"

"Look, I'll try and catch you later, yeah?"

When Jay nodded, Katy shot him a small smile and carried on across the Square. Ruby looked up at her thoughtfully, scrunching up her nose, but her mother shrugged and let them into the house. When Rainie offered to take Ruby with Amy and Ricky, Katy nodded gratefully and started towards the door.

She stopped abruptly as her father appeared in the doorway with Mel in tow. Arching an eyebrow at them, Katy glanced over her shoulder at the older woman who was staring past her at the newcomers.

"Vandals attacked the house. They put a brick through her window." Jack tried to explain, nodding his head towards Mel.

"Just the one?"

Katy snorted at Rainie's words, before catching sight of the expression on her father's face and standing abruptly. "I'd better get going. Thanks for watching the kids, Rainie."

"Not a problem."

"Can I have a word?" Jack motioned towards the kitchen, grasping his daughter by the elbow and propelling her out of the room. "Do you know anything about this?"

"What? The brick?" She scowled. "Of course I don't and, frankly, I'm a little offended that you think I would."