Making their way home from school on Friday, Katy stopped dead as she spotted pair of blonde women walking towards them with purpose. She stiffened, still raw from her last conversation with them and not wanting to put the children under the same pressure. She was also wary of spoiling their relationship with Ronnie and Roxy as she knew that, when she was finally able to move on, she didn't want them to have the same struggles as she was having. The last thing she wanted to do was irrevocably spoil the relationship between Ronnie, Roxy and the children.
"Gran, take the kids home." Katy ordered, not turning to look at the older woman. She kept her eyes fixed on her mother and aunt as they approached. "Now, Gran."
"Katy?"
"I said now."
Nodding, Glenda shepherded Ruby, Matthew and the twins towards their house. She ignored the questions from her eldest great-granddaughter, almost pushing her through the front door and closing it behind them.
Pushing her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, Katy waited for Ronnie and Roxy to reach her. She knew there would be questions about why she'd acted the way she had, but until her mother and aunt proved that they could be trusted again, she had no intention of building up the children's hopes that they were really back for good.
"We were hoping we could take you all out for dinner." Ronnie said hopefully as they came to a halt in front of the younger blonde. "On us, of course."
"The kids are knackered from school and I'm exhausted."
"Please, Katy… we're really trying." Roxy implored her niece.
"Yeah… like I said, though, the kids are knackered."
"Ronnie is going through a transplant for you and you won't even give her a couple of hours of your time."
Katy snorted mirthlessly, shaking her head at her aunt before sparing Ronnie a glance. "I literally didn't ask her to. If she'd rather not, that's absolutely fine because Dad–"
"No!" Ronnie shook her head, sending Roxy a dark scowl. "No, of course not. I want to donate to you, sweetie, of course I do. I completely understand… maybe we can do something at the weekend or next week?"
"Maybe." Katy agreed noncommittally. She ran a hand through her hair awkwardly. She needed to know where her mother was with the transplant plan, seeing as she'd received a call to say her conditioning treatment had been scheduled. "Have you heard from the transplant coordinator?"
"Yeah, I'm going in to donate next week."
"You feeling OK about it?"
Ronnie smiled weakly. "I'm a bit nervous."
"Honestly, if you've changed your mind… I know it's a massive thing. I wouldn't blame you."
"No, I haven't. I'd do anything for you, Katy. I hope you know that."
"I… yeah. Thank you." She smiled.
"Are you OK about it?"
"Bit nervous, too." She admitted. "Not about the procedure, that's not even… I just… this is my last chance. If this doesn't work then there's not really anything else they can do. It'll just be a constant cycle of relapse and remission until there's no remission."
"That's not going to happen." Ronnie grasped her gently by the face, looking into her eyes. "You're a fighter. You're strong. We need to be positive. It's going to work and you're going to get better."
Katy sniffed, rubbing at her eyes and forcing herself to smile. Then she nodded slowly. "Thanks… maybe we can do dinner in half term."
Feeling as though she'd won a small victory, Ronnie watched her daughter heading towards her home, before pushing her arm through Roxy's and pulling her in the direction of the Vic. She considered chiding her sister for rising to Katy's bait, but decided against it, knowing that Roxy was just feeling as guilty as she was.
Katy let herself into the house, leaning heavily against the front door and pressing a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her sobs. It was pointless, however, as Glenda appeared at the sound of the door closing and spotted her at once. She swept Katy into a tight hug, taking her into the downstairs flat and settling her on the sofa.
"What happened, my darling? What did they say?"
Her granddaughter shook her head, taking a stuttered breath. "Nothing… honestly, Gran, it wasn't them. I just… what if the transplant doesn't work?"
Glenda stared at her, wide-eyed, for a moment. "That's not going to happen. We need to be positive. You're strong and I know you can beat this."
"That's what Mum said."
"Most sensible thing she's said for a long time." Glenda muttered grudgingly.
"I can't leave the kids, Gran… I can't do that to them." She shook her head. "What if… will they understand that I won't come back if I die?"
Glenda opened her mouth to reassure her, before she hastily shut it again. She had been about to say that she was sure the children would understand, but she wasn't entirely convinced of that herself. They were definitely confused about Ronnie and Roxy's return; the women's explanations and excuses hadn't made anything clearer to them.
When Katy was calmer, heading upstairs to see the children and get something to eat, Glenda grabbed her jacket and left the house. Her anger rose with each step she took across the Square. Pummelling her fist into the front door of number 25, she waited impatiently for someone to let her in.
Sonia blinked at the sight of the irate blonde on the doorstep, having little choice but to stand back and let Glenda push her way into the house. Guessing that she was looking for her daughters, or at least Ronnie, Sonia directed her into the living room before retreating to the kitchen with Dot, Bex and Kirsty.
"Glenda." Ronnie's icy tone was unsurprising, but her mother's reaction to it was less so.
"Do you have any idea what you've done to that poor girl?" Glenda demanded furiously. "Do you have the slightest idea? She damn near lost her mind... we all thought she had! She never stopped hoping that you'd suddenly turn up and it would all have been some hideous scheme or plan that went wrong. She wouldn't even go to your graves because doing that would have meant admitting you were really gone."
"Glenda, I..."
"But then she did. Amy persuaded her to go and it broke the reality she'd constructed in her head. She shattered into a million pieces and we had to put her back together again."
"We never meant–"
"I don't suppose you did." Glenda sniffed. "But that's the reality. And now you're back and you're expecting things to go back to how they were before."
"I'm not expecting that at all." Ronnie denied immediately. "I know I've got grovelling to do. I know I need to earn her trust back, to make up for those lost years and everything we put her through. I just... I need your help."
Her mother laughed, short and sharp. "That's rich."
"Please, Glenda. Help me to get my daughter back."
"You know how ill she was!" Glenda hissed at her elder daughter. "You know the statistics she faces. How could you leave her for two years? Do you realise… do you have any idea how close it came to her not being here now?"
"What?" Ronnie breathed, looking horrified. "I… what happened?"
"Which time?"
"Every time! I need to know!"
Shaking her head, Glenda looked at her pityingly. "I'll tell you, but you cannot let Katy know. She told me not to tell you. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you when she's ready." She sighed deeply. "I don't agree with her that you don't need to know; even now she's trying to protect you."
"Mum, please… just tell me."
"She's come so close to…" Glenda shook her head. "She thinks this is her last chance and now she's worried that if she does die the children won't understand and will think that she'll come back. That is your fault."
Ronnie buried her head in her hands. "We never meant for any of this…"
Her mother shrugged, no sympathy whatsoever in her expression. "Maybe you didn't, but you caused it, anyway."
Katy ignored her phone the first three times it rang. When whoever wanted to get hold of her didn't seem to be in danger of giving up any time soon, she sighed and accepted the call with a roll of her eyes. The last person she really wanted to be speaking to at that moment was her cousin.
"What d'you want, Ben?"
"I'd rather not be speaking to you either, Katy, yeah?" He told her bluntly. "It's about Whitney. She's smashed at the e20 with some random guy and Callum's worried about her. Seriously, Katy, this guy looks like a complete creep."
"So you want me to go and deal with Whitney so you can carry on with your date?"
"Well, yeah." He agreed, not even bothering to hide his true intentions. "But I also think she really needs a mate right now."
With a sigh, Katy realised that she couldn't just ignore that. "Fine. I'll head down there now."
There was a long pause before Ben grudgingly thanked her and ended the call. Katy tapped her phone against her lips for a moment, considering his motives, before calling down to Glenda that she was popping out to meet Whitney for a bit and grabbing her bag and jacket. She was out of the house before her grandmother could argue.
As she turned onto Turpin Road, Katy spotted Whitney sitting on the bench outside the chippy with Stuart, both of them looking as miserable as sin. She sighed deeply, pulling her jacket more tightly around her and heading towards them, already deep in thought about what she should say. She doubted that mentioning Ben would be the best move.
"Shove over." She murmured, stealing a chip from Whitney's packet.
"What're you doing out here?"
Katy could hear the concern in her friend's voice, despite the slightly unsteady way she was watching her. Whitney's eyes gave away just how much she'd had to drink and the blonde was touched that she was still thinking about whether or not Katy should be out in the cold. Reaching out, she squeezed her thigh affectionately, shooting Stuart a look as she did so.
He nodded, slightly resignedly, standing and wandering away. Not speaking for a moment, Katy ate a couple more chips while she considered her next move. In the end it was Whitney who spoke first, turning to her friend with tear-filled, hopeful eyes, as though she thought Katy could give her the answers she was looking for.
"How do you keep going?"
"Hmmm?" Katy looked at her in slight confusion, not really understanding the question.
"We all know Tyler is the love of your life." Whitney said, looking at her cautiously, clearly wondering whether Katy was going to lose her temper. "How did you get over him leaving you and moving on?"
Katy didn't answer immediately. She wasn't really sure how to respond to that question. Part of her was slightly offended at the wording of Whitney's question, the other part of her was terrified at the insinuation that she'd lost the love of her life. She chewed on her chip slowly, considering what she could say to answer her friend. Finally she realised that she couldn't stall any longer and exhaled deeply.
"Maybe Tyler was the love of my life once." Katy agreed slowly. "But he doesn't define me, just like Callum doesn't define you. I guess it was different for me because I had the kids to focus on, but you've got your business and yourself. Whit, you're amazing. You don't need anyone else and Whit, I swear to god if you bounce into another relationship I will kick your ass." Katy warned her seriously, remembering what Ben had said about the man Whitney had been with in the club. "You know I'm with you, whatever, but I think it would be a huge mistake, babe. You need to focus on yourself for a while, not another guy."
"I know you're right." Whitney mumbled sadly. "I just… I don't know how to be on my own. I'm not strong enough to–"
"Bullshit!" The blonde laughed at her words. "You are more than strong enough. You're my oldest and best friend and I love you, Whit. Forty years from now we're gonna be ruling over this Square as the matriarchs; Pat and Peggy 2.0."
Giggling at that, Whitney wiped her eyes, leaning heavily against the older woman. "I love you, K."
"I love you, too." Katy told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Now give me another chip because I am starving."