Katy woke slowly the next morning, covering her eyes with a hand and groaning loudly. Her head was pounding and, from the way her stomach was churning, she felt as though she'd swallowed a concrete mixer. Sitting up, she reached out for her phone on the bedside cabinet, but was met by only thin air. Crackling open one eye, she was surprised to see that she wasn't in her bedroom at all.

Instead she was sprawled across the sofa in her office and she groaned again, trying to remember what had happened after she'd spoken to her mother. Pulling herself into a seated position, she glanced sideways and caught sight of another figure on the sofa, lodged between her and the back of the seat. Her stomach lurched at the realisation that, from the sight of the man beside her and the fact that she didn't seem to be wearing many of her clothes, she must have slept with whoever it was. Internally cursing herself, she shoved the man, none to gently, in the shoulder.

He blinked sleepily, before grinning at her. Katy didn't return the expression, standing up and moving towards her desk where her top was lying.

"Uhh… listen…"

"Matt."

"Right. Matt." She nodded awkwardly. "Last night was… but I've got a lot to do, so…"

"Message received." He nodded, standing up and retrieving his t-shirt. "I won't bother to ask for your number, then."

"Sorry, I just…"

"It's fine. I had a great time, though."

Katy wriggled into her skirt, before rounding her desk and sitting stiffly in her chair. She waited until he'd dressed and left before burying her head in her hands and exhaling sharply. There were enough things for her to deal with without adding extra complications that were entirely unnecessary.

Glancing at the time, she realised that she would be able to head home and take a quick shower before taking the children to school. Hurrying downstairs, she gave the bar a cursory once over to make sure nothing was out of place, before locking up and heading back to the flat. Everything was silent when she let herself in, much to her relief.

"Good night?"

Katy jumped as she wandered into the kitchen after her shower, rubbing her hair with a towel and already thinking about what she needed to do that day. Glenda was seated at the table, sipping on a mug of coffee. Another sat on the surface and Katy smiled gratefully at her, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head as she passed.

"Not bad, thanks."

"What time did you get in? Did you sleep on the sofa? I didn't hear you."

"I'm not sure what time it was." Katy lied, turning away and opening the fridge. "It's a bit of a blur, to be honest. Mum turned up and wanted to speak to me."

Glenda frowned. "She did what?"

"She… I said she can come round and see you and the kids later." Katy held up a hand as her grandmother opened her mouth to complain. "What was I supposed to do, Gran? Matthew is her son. I said that I couldn't even start to think about any sort of reconciliation while everyone would think I was mental if I mentioned speaking to her and she asked to see the kids."

"What about Whitney's wedding?"

"I told her they were going. She'll just have to be quick."

Glenda frowned at her. "Are you sure this is fair to them?"

"No." She admitted. "I'm not sure at all. I'm not sure about anything, Gran. I don't know what to do."

"You always work it out."

Katy shook her head. "Gran, I'm serious. I don't know what to do. I… I'm so angry with them. But… It's Mum and Roxy. I just… help me, please?"

"I can't tell you what to do, darling." Glenda said softly. "I can't make the decision for you. They're my daughters and I love them, but you know what our relationship was like. They haven't attempted to see me yet, so what does that tell you?"

"I won't choose them over you, Gran." The younger blonde assured her. "Not after everything you've done for me and the kids. I'm grateful, you know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"I don't think I can deal with all this." Katy shook her head agitatedly. "I'm not… I'm not strong enough for this."

"Don't be ridiculous." Glenda told her firmly. "You're more than strong enough to deal with this. Out of everyone I know, I have the most faith in you being able to handle this situation."

"But I don't want to."

"I know, darling."

Katy took a deep breath and glanced at the time. "Can you take the kids to school? I've got stuff to do before the wedding."

"Of course." Glenda nodded slowly. As Katy placed her mug in the sink and made to leave the kitchen, she caught hold of her arm and smiled. "Don't over do it, sweetheart. None of this is worth risking your health for."

Shooting her a weak smile, the younger blonde gathered her things and headed out of the flat. It was still early and there was barely anyone around in the Square. The stallholders were setting up and Katy responded to the smiles and greetings that were sent her way, before ducking into the café and ordering a coffee to go. She could have made one when she got to the bar, but she couldn't be bothered.

Kathy shot her a curious look, commenting that she looked tired. Shaking her head, Katy assured her that she was fine and left quickly, keeping her head down. Not having the strength or desire to start clearing up, she went straight up to her office and shut the door firmly behind her. Moving to open the window, she exhaled sharply at the fresh breeze, closing her eyes and taking a couple of moments before moving to her desk.

The morning passed in a blur and it was soon time for Katy to go and pick the children up early from school. She took them home, glancing at the time. Seeing that her granddaughter was struggling, Glenda reluctantly offered to stay with the children and wait for Ronnie. Pressing a kiss to her cheek gratefully, Katy escaped back to the sanctuary of the bar. They all still needed to get ready and she knew they were going to be late for the wedding – and Whitney was going to kill her – but she couldn't face hearing the conversation that would be taking place in the flat.

Glenda tried to deflect the children's questions about why Katy had gone out, encouraging them to go and change into their outfits for the wedding. Already changed, the blonde started pacing impatiently, dreading the sound of the doorbell.

"Granny… can you do my bow?" Sophie asked, making Glenda jump as she appeared in the living room.

With a weak smile, Glenda turned her great-granddaughter around and tied the ribbon around her waist securely, pressing a kiss to the top of her head when it was done. Sophie beamed at her before skipping out of the room. There was no time for Glenda to relax, however, as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Ruby shouted.

"No!" Moving quickly to block her path, Glenda shook her head. "I'll get it."

"Why?"

"Just… get Matthew and your sisters and sit on the sofa, OK? There's someone… someone's come to see you."

"Is it Dad?"

Glenda shook her head again. "No. You'll see in a minute."

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows, but did as she'd been asked and gathered the others quickly. Glenda waited until they were out of sight before opening the front door and getting her first look at her daughter in almost three years. Ronnie blinked, apparently not having expected to see the older woman in the doorway.

"So it's true."

"I'm here to see my children and my granddaughters."

"Katy's not here." Glenda told her bluntly. "She had somewhere else she needed to be." Sadness flickered through Ronnie's eyes, but her mother ignored it. "If you're coming in, you should hurry up. We've got a wedding to get to in… twenty minutes."

Nodding resolutely, the younger blonde stalked into the living room. She faltered at the sight of the four children sitting on the sofa, hesitating before moving to kneel on the carpet in front of them. She smiled gently, doing her best not to upset or frighten them.

"Do you remember me?" She asked gently, looking uncertain when they simply stared blankly at her. "Matthew, I'm your mummy and I'm your Grandma, girls."

Matthew glanced at Glenda for confirmation, his eyebrows furrowing as she smiled weakly and looked away. "You can't be. My mum's dead."

Shaking her head quickly, Ronnie placed a hand on his knee. "No, sweetie. Me and your Aunty Roxy had to go away for a while, but we thought about you all every day. We're back now and we really want to make it up to you."

"Why did you have to go away?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Something happened and we needed to make sure you were all safe. That meant we had to leave you for a little while. We didn't want to, but we had to go."

"Why did you have to be dead?"

"To keep you safe, sweetie."

"Are you staying?" Matthew asked her.

"Or are you going to be dead again?" Jess added.

Ronnie shook her head. "I promise you, I'm not going away again."

Ruby slid off the sofa and scowled at her. "You made Mum sad. She cried and cried when you were gone and Dad said it was the grief that made her sick. I heard Granny telling him he was probably right."

"Ruby…" Glenda looked stricken. "Darling, when did you–?"

"I don't want you to be here if you're going to make Mum sad again." The seven-year-old continued. "I don't want you to make her sick again. She might die this time."

"I… sweetie, I…"

"Ruby, your Mum is alright now." Glenda assured her, ignoring her daughter's expression. "You know she is. I won't let her get upset again, I promise you."

The little girl threw herself into her grandmother's arms, burning her face in Glenda's shirt. "I want her to go, Granny. Where's Mum?"

"She's with Aunty Whitney and Aunty Sonia sorting things out for the wedding." Raising her gaze and meeting Ronnie's, she straightened quickly. "I think you should go, now. I don't want you upsetting them."

"They're my family, Glenda." Ronnie shot back. "I just want to… can I at least get a hug?"

As she turned to Matthew and the twins hopefully, all three four-year-olds glanced towards Glenda for guidance. She smiled reassuringly at them, her arms still wrapped around Ruby. Sophie hesitantly shuffled forwards on the sofa, as if she was going to comply with her grandmother's request, but Jessica shook her head at her sister. Matthew glanced over towards his grandmother again.

"I want Katy." He said bluntly. "Why isn't she here?"

"If you're all ready, we'll go and find her, OK?" Glenda suggested, smiling reassuringly at the children. She turned a hard glare on her daughter. "I think it's time you left."