"What are you doing?"
Katy glanced up from rearranging things in her bag at her grandmother's question. "Going to work?"
"Katherine…"
"Don't, Gran." She frowned, throwing her purse on top of everything else. "Just don't."
"You need to rest." Glenda tried to remind her. "You know what the consultant said. You need–"
"I'll have plenty of time to rest after the transplant. I can't stay here all day and not expect people to ask questions. I'm not telling anyone I'm ill, so I need to carry on like nothing's happened. That means actually going into my bar and making sure it hasn't gone out of business while I've been away."
"Are you going to manage?"
"Gran… I've got crutches, which I don't even really need. I'm perfectly fine."
"You do need them." Glenda argued, frowning. "You need to keep the pressure off your–"
"I know!" Katy sighed exasperatedly. "Stop fussing."
"Alright, alright!" Holding up her hands, the older woman shook her head and left her granddaughter to it.
She watched Katy leave the flat, wondering whether she really was as fine as she kept assuring people. Ronnie had been badgering her to know whether Katy had said anything, but Glenda was loathed to tell her anything. She couldn't forgive her daughters for what they'd done, for how much pain they'd caused, whatever their reasons. There was no way Katy was going to forgive and forget any time soon, but Glenda knew that Ronnie wasn't about to give up on her daughter without a fight.
In the downstairs hallway, Katy took a deep breath before opening the door and manoeuvring herself out onto the top step. She had avoided leaving the building since she'd been discharged, not wanting to bump into anyone or ask any questions. She knew that she should probably have gone over to see Bex after she returned home from the hospital and the guilt flooded through her as she realised that she hadn't even spoken to her cousin since her suicide attempt. Pausing for a moment, she made a decision and changed course.
Struggling up the steps, Katy knocked on the front door of Dot's house, leaning against the pillar while she waited for someone to answer. An unfamiliar teenage girl pulled open the door and looked her up and down, causing Katy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Her first thought was that she was a friend of her cousins, but that wouldn't explain why she was answering the door.
"Who are you?" She demanded, not bothering to be polite.
"Kirsty. Who are you?"
"Kirsty?" Katy's frown deepened. Then something occurred to her and she tilted her head to one side. "Nick's daughter?"
"Yeah… who the hell are you?"
"Katy. Dot's granddaughter."
The younger girl looked at her suspiciously for a moment, before standing aside. "You better come in, then."
Katy made her way inside, heading straight for the kitchen where she could sit down easily. Sonia was in the room and glanced up at the sound of the blonde's crutches on the floor as she slowly made her way along the hallway, smiling at her and moving to push the door open properly. She waved away Katy's apologies about not having been to see Bex before, making her a cup of tea and placing it in front of her on the table.
They chatted for a while, before Dot appeared, hugging her granddaughter tightly. Katy clung on just a little bit longer as she tried to pull away, grasping the back of her cardigan and burying her face in Dot's shoulder. Finally disentangling herself, the older woman motioned for Katy to sit down, taking a seat opposite her.
"Are you alright?"
"They'd need more than a bullet to take me down."
"I wasn't talking about your leg." Dot told her seriously.
"I…?"
"Your mother."
"Oh. Her."
Dot sighed deeply. "I know what she did was ever so terrible, but she is still your mother."
It suddenly occurred to Katy that her mother and aunt were staying with Sonia and Dot and she glanced towards the door. "They ain't here, are they?"
"I think they're out." Her grandmother told her, before sighing again and reaching across the table to pat Katy's hand. "Life's too short to hold grudges. If you don't make peace with them you might suddenly find it's too late and you'll regret it."
"I can't forgive them that easily, Grandma."
"You should at least try, Katy."
"Grandma, seriously…" She shook her head. "I thought they were dead for two and a half years and then they turn up expecting everyone to act as though nothing happened."
"So don't waste another two and a half years."
With a huff, Katy thought better of continuing to argue with the older woman. She finished her tea and chatted with Dot for a little while, before excusing herself and making her way slowly towards the R&R. Even the name of her bar, which she had been so proud of, was filling her with annoyance since her mother and Roxy's return to the Square. Frowning lightly up at the sign, she pushed through the door and into the building.
Rolling her eyes as one of the barmaids tentatively suggested she stay downstairs, Katy gritted her teeth in determination and battled the stairs up to her office. Exhausted, she leant against the wall at the top, before pressing on and tapping the code into the keypad on the door, pushing it open and almost falling through.
"Katy!"
Stopping abruptly, the young woman started at the sight of her mother sitting behind her desk, looking totally at home in the space. Ronnie blinked several times, before smiling broadly at her daughter.
"What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you to be back at work so soon."
"What are you doing?" Katy's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the older blonde, ignoring her words. "How did you get in here?"
"I just thought I'd see what I could do to help out, sweetie. Kathy let me in."
Katy folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "Well don't. Kathy and I have got it under control."
"I just–"
"Stop interfering." The younger woman snapped. "This is my bar and I don't need your help! You're… you're just getting in the way."
"Oh…" Ronnie's face fell. She nodded stiffly, before rounding the desk and standing awkwardly in front of Katy. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry. I thought I was helping."
Her daughter nodded slowly. "Yeah. Look I don't… I don't really know what to say to you."
"Katy…"
"I'm sorry. I know you're only trying to help, Ronnie, but I've been on my own the last two years and I'm used to sorting things out by myself. I'm not… I'm not the kid I was when you… I can't…" She took a breath. "I can't just switch back to how I was before. I've learnt not to need you anymore. I'm sorry."
"Right… I… right." She nodded, blinking rapidly in an attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to make an appearance. Ronnie grabbed her bag and jacket from the sofa. "I'll go. I'm sorry."
"I… I'm sorry, too." Katy told her, almost regretting her words. "I really am. I just… I wish you'd told me…" She shook her head. "I just can't forgive you."
Unable to say anything else, sure that she would probably just burst into tears if she tried, Ronnie hurried out of the office. She smiled weakly at the staff dotted around as she rushed out of the bar and onto the street. Running a hand through her hair, she made up her mind hurriedly and headed for Jack's house, knowing that he was there after watching him seeing Denise out as she'd been on her way to the R&R.
Knocking loudly, she waited impatiently for him to answer, before pushing past him and striding into the house. Jack rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. As he shut the door, he composed himself, guessing that his wife had probably had some form of run in with their daughter.
"Come in, why don't you?" He muttered sarcastically, joining Ronnie in the living room and folding his arms.
"Jack…" She sank onto the sofa and looked up at him hopelessly. "You need to help me with Katy. I don't know what to do. She… I was trying to take some of the pressure off her by helping out at the R&R, but she told me to stop interfering." She hid her face in her hands. "I was honestly just trying to help. Katy needs to rest, not be worrying and working all hours. She said… she said she doesn't need me anymore."
"What did you expect, Ronnie?" Jack asked softly, shrugging. "We thought you were dead. You disappeared from Katy's life, again, and left her to deal with everything on her own. She dealt with it. She dealt with it by moving hours away from the rest of her family, shutting herself off and deciding she didn't need anybody." He shook his head. "How were you expecting her to react when you suddenly reappeared without warning? Were you expecting her to follow you around the Square, hanging off your every word, like she did when she was a kid? News flash, Ron, she ain't a kid nomore."
"She's still my daughter!"
"She's our daughter." He reminded her irritably. "It weren't just you who missed out, Ronnie. I've had to deal with the fact that I lost out on two years with her and the kids, because of what you did. You honestly have no idea how much it affected all of us."
"Jack…" She stood and moved towards him, reaching out imploringly, but he moved away. "Please…"
"No." Jack held his hands up, shaking his head. "You were the love of my life, Ron… but I'm with Denise now. You left us. You did this, no one else. You."