"I think you'd better answer her question." Jack said coldly when Tyler made no attempt to speak. "Shouldn't you be in Spain with your fiancée?"
"Ruby told me you were in 'ere. I was worried so I got the first flight over." He shrugged. "I still care, K. We're still mates, ain't we?"
"Shame you didn't care when–"
"Gran." The younger blonde shook her head and pulled herself into a seated position against the headboard. "You shouldn't have come, Tyler."
"Yeah, I am starting to regret it." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
Inhaling deeply, Katy jerked her shoulders in a shrug. "Look, we needed to talk about the kids coming over to see your family and meet… your fiancée. Why don't you take them back over to Spain with you for the rest of the holidays. That would give me a chance to recover properly and you can spend some time with them."
"Katy!" Glenda folded her arms, looking thoroughly unimpressed by the suggestion. Beside her Jack looked equally irritated.
"Yeah?" Tyler's face lit up at the proposition. "I thought… well, I thought you'd make this difficult."
"Me?" She joked weakly. "Would I do that?"
"Thanks, Katy."
"I'm doing it for the kids." The young woman replied bluntly. "Do not make me regret it."
At Katy's insistence, Glenda had reluctantly gone back to the Square with Tyler to sort the children and their packing, ready to fly back to Spain that evening. Jack had tried to change her mind, telling her that it wasn't too late to tell Tyler they weren't going. Katy, however, had stuck stubbornly to the plan.
"Katy, I… I said Mel could stay on in the flat."
Immediately she opened her mouth to speak. Then she closed it, shaking her head and closing her eyes tiredly. She didn't have the energy to rehash the same argument over and over again. If Jack wanted to get himself wrapped up in a situation with Mel that was his lookout.
"What? No sarky comment?"
"I really can't be arsed, Dad." She replied bluntly. "You know how I feel about her; that ain't about to change. But it's your life and as long as it doesn't affect the kids, it's got nothing to do with me."
"Katy…"
"I want you to be happy. I just don't think you will be with her."
He leant back in his chair contemplatively, but thankfully didn't mention the older blonde again. They chatted about the bar for a while and what the children were getting up to. Katy arched an eyebrow as Jack attempted to fill her in about the Square's gossip, missing out key bits of information until she prompted to go back and fill in the gaps.
By the time Glenda and Tyler turned up with the children in tow, Katy was giggling at her Dad's impression of Kat and Stacey helping a drunk Mo back across the Square in the direction of the flat she shared with Kush. She held out her arms and beamed at Matthew and the girls, pressing kisses to each of their heads and telling them to have a brilliant time in Spain.
"I still think you're making a mistake." Glenda announced as soon as they'd gone.
"Oh, Gran, I know you do." Katy sighed deeply.
"No, seriously, Katherine. How can you be sure he'll bring them back?"
"Because he's a good guy." Her granddaughter replied, arching an eyebrow. "He's their dad. We both just want the best for them. Besides, if they don't come back I'll send you and Dad over to get them."
Glenda and Jack still looked unconvinced, but seeing as it was too late for them to do anything about it, they dropped the subject. The silence on the topic of Tyler lasted until Katy was discharged from hospital and back home.
It was strange in the flat without the kids. Glenda was spending most of her time over at the bar, making sure her granddaughter had no excuse to stop resting and return to work. Jack was still too annoyed that she'd let Tyler take Matthew and the girls back to Spain with him to really speak to her, although he was trying, largely unsuccessfully, to pretend that he wasn't.
Not having the children at home, however, meant that Katy was spared going to the big family meal at Phil's. She had simply turned down the invitation, claiming that she didn't feel up to it and Sharon hadn't pressed the matter. There wasn't even a mention of Glenda going.
The news of Louise's kidnap didn't reach Katy until a couple of days later. It wasn't until the end of that week that she was feeling well enough to go back to work, knowing that she needed to be back in a routine before the children arrived home at the weekend. They seemed to be having a good time in Spain, Ruby ringing to talk to her about everything they'd done every night before she went to bed.
She hadn't mentioned Tyler's fiancée once; something that Katy found incredibly suspicious. By the third night, she was asking leading questions, attempting to trick her daughter into giving her any form of information possible. Apart from a few offhand comments there was nothing, however. There wasn't even any sign of her in any of the photos Ruby had sent of what they'd been getting up to.
"How're you feeling?"
Katy looked up, smiling weakly at Jay's question. "I'm alright, love, how're you?"
"Great." He leant on the bar between them. "Have you heard, me and Ruby are together? Properly this time."
His cousin beamed. "Yeah? That's great! Congratulations, babe. When did that happen?"
Jay winced slightly. "While Phil and Ben were out looking for Louise."
"Eh?" Katy's head whipped up from the till and she frowned, not having any idea what he was talking about. "Why were they looking for Lou?"
"Didn't you hear?"
"Clearly not."
"She was kidnapped… some geezer Phil's had a run in with. Apparently she was gonna be sent to Russia or something in a shipping container. Phil, Ben and Keanu only just managed tracked her down in time at some yard."
"You're not serious?" Katy gaped at him. "Why did no one tell me?"
"What could you have done?" Jay reasoned, frowning at the expression on her face. "Seriously, K. I think you've got the best idea, staying out of it all."
"I was ill, Jay, it wasn't a choice."
"You can say that again… Jack says the kids are in Spain with Tyler."
She rolled her eyes. "He's their dad; only one they've got, anyway. I trust him to take care of them. They were better off over there this week while I was cooped up in the flat."
"If you say so." He shrugged. "Listen, you seen Lola?"
Katy shook her head. "No, not for a while. Why? She OK?"
"Yeah, she… she wanted us to get back together."
"Us? Oh! You and her." Katy laughed. "I thought you meant us for a minute. Which… eww?"
Jay laughed too. "Yeah, so gross. So, yeah… she had a fiancé up North, but she basically said she'd chuck him so we could be together. I… I turned her down."
Katy considered him for a moment, before reaching into the fridge and handing him a bottle of lager. She ignored his arguments, popping the cap and pushing it towards him. As he took it, almost reluctantly, she made herself a vodka and leant her elbows on the bar, sipping thoughtfully.
"I think you were right to." She told him at last. "I love Lola and I want her to be happy, of course I do, but… I don't think you'd work. It's too…" She inhaled sharply. "This family is too fucked up, you know?"
Jay looked at her for a moment, leaning closer. "What's wrong? Tyler?"
She shook her head. "No, course not. I just… I was always so proud of being a Mitchell but now I… what have I really got left? Mum and Rox and Aunty Peg are gone and the rest of them…"
"You've got me."
"I know, babe." She smiled weakly. "And I will always have your back, you know that. But I just… part of me thinks I should just change our names and be done with it. Dad's a Branning. By rights, me and the kids should be Brannings. The kids nearly were at one point."
"Why haven't you, then?"
"Because…" She sighed, running a hand through her hair. Slowly, she rounded the bar and perched on one of the stools, shrugging. "Mainly because I was holding out hope that maybe… I didn't quite believe they were really gone."
"Who?" Jay blinked in confusion. "Ronnie and Roxy?"
"Yeah. I know it's ridiculous. I just… I never really felt like they were dead. I felt like… oh, I don't know." Katy downed the rest of her drink and turned to refill the glass. "I know you dealt with the coffins and the funeral and that but, because I never actually saw their… them… I've been trying to convince myself that maybe there's a possibility they're out there somewhere."
"I didn't either."
"Huh?"
"I never saw their bodies." Jay told her, taking a long gulp of his drink. "Les brought some people in because he knew it would be too hard for me and Bill to deal with."
"So you…?"
"We did everything else, all the other arrangements. But we never dealt with their bodies. I never saw them, Katy."
She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Are you saying they might not have been in the coffins?"
Jay shook his head. "No, I ain't saying that at all. Jack saw Ronnie, Billy too. I'm just… I'm just saying that I never actually did."
"Jay I just… I want to believe that they're alive so badly... admitting that they're really done feels like… it feels like I'm giving up on them. It feels like I'm letting them down."
"You ain't letting them down, Katy." He told her gently, pulling her into a hug. "You know how proud they'd be." Jay rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes. "You've got to let them go. Refusing to believe that they're gone is just gonna mess you up. I miss them too, but they're not coming back, K."
"I know…" She mumbled, clinging on more tightly. "I know they're dead but I… I want my mum."
Jay hugged her, not knowing what else to say. When he felt her shaking, sobs racking her body, he tightened his grip. Katy fisted her hands in the back of his jacket, resting her forehead on his shoulder and squeezing her eyes tightly closed.
"Let me call and cancel my appointment." Jay suggested softly. "I'll stick around here for a bit."
Katy pulled away, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "Don't be silly. We've both got stuff to do. I'll catch you at Billy's party later, yeah?"
When she saw that he was about to argue, Katy gently shoved him towards the door and returned to checking the till. Jay watched her for a moment, before sighing and heading out of the bar. When the door banged shut, the young woman sighed and paused, leaning heavily against the bar.
She went about the rest of the time until Billy's party in a complete daze. If it hadn't been for Ruby phoning and demanding that she come home, Katy probably would have skipped going to the Vic altogether. As it was, she wasn't really the best company and took up residence in one of the booths with a bottle of white wine.
Shirley had arched an eyebrow at the request, but not mentioned anything about the young woman ordering something other than vodka. Nursing the glass thoughtfully, Katy watched the goings on around her but didn't say much, even when Jay and then Lola attempted to engage her in conversation. When Jack arrived to pick up the children for a sleepover at his, Katy considered getting up and leaving, but Shirley had other ideas.
Sauntering over, she slid onto the bench beside the younger woman and fixed her with a knowing glare. Katy attempted to ignore her for a while, keeping her attention fixed on the crowd singing along to the karaoke track, feeling the eyes burning into the side of her head. Eventually she huffed and turned to look at Shirley with a frown.
"What?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I dunno what you're on about."
"Katy, I can read you like a bloody book." Shirley pointed out, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "What's bothering you?"
"I've got a bad feeling." Katy admitted quietly, shaking her head and looking at her drink. "I can feel that something's going to happen… I just don't know what."
Shirley snorted. "You're a Mitchell, ain't ya? Something bad's always happening."
"Helpful, Shirl."
"Look… if something's happening that you can control, do something about it. If it's something that you can't control then…" Shirley shrugged. "You've gotta stop taking the world on your shoulders. You say you're all about family, but you won't let them help you, not really. Yeah, you let Glenda and Jack look after the kids when you need them to, but you don't actually trust them, do you? You don't trust anyone."
"I trusted–"
"Ronnie and Roxy, yeah, I know." Shirley shrugged. "But they're dead and buried, Katy. They ain't coming back. You need to move on."
"That easy, is it?"
"No." The older woman admitted, shaking her head. "It ain't. But it's been two years."
"What if they're–?"
"Please don't tell me the rest of that sentence is gonna be 'what if they're not gone?' You know they're gone, Katy. They'd have been back before now otherwise, or let you know at least. Not even Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell can survive a heart attack and drowning."
"Amy reckons they're still alive."
"Amy's a kid." Shirley pointed out bluntly. "She's one of you lot, so she's gonna need a mountain of therapy as it is, but letting her believe that is just gonna make it worse."
Katy nodded slowly. She drained her glass and stood up. "You're right, Shirl. I'm gonna have to deal with things on my own."
As she stalked out of the pub, letting the doors bang behind her, Shirley rolled her eyes. Gathering the empty glass and bottle, she muttered under her breath, "that's not what I said."