"Drink tonight?"

"Isaac… leave it. I'm really busy, today." She sighed tiredly. "I've got your mum's birthday party and about a hundred and one other things to deal with…"

"So what if I pop into mum's party and buy you a drink?"

"Isaac…"

"Please, just one drink."

"Alright, fine. One drink." Katy agreed almost reluctantly. "But it doesn't mean anything, alright? It's just a drink."

"Understood." He grinned at her brightly. "Wish me luck."

"With what?"

"I'm going for a couple of drinks with Patrick… Mum asked me to."

Katy arched an eyebrow at him. "Yeah? I hope you're gonna keep your temper under control and show him a bit of respect this time."

"Yeah, yeah… I was out of order. I know that."

"Good. As long as you're aware." She smirked slightly. "I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah, you will." Isaac agreed, grinning at her, before heading away. He glanced back over his shoulder and shot her a wink as he headed towards Walford East.

Katy shook her head and continued over to the R&R. Tina had already warned her that it was raucous, not having expected Sheree's birthday party to have caused quite so much of a commotion. Her assistant manager was clearly thoroughly enjoying herself when Katy arrived. Tina was singing and dancing along with Sheree and Karen on the karaoke, making the blonde laugh and swat at her as she joined her behind the bar.

"You having a good time?"

They watched as Mo took the microphone, the opening strains of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! met their ears. Katy laughed and shook her head, motioning that she was heading up to the office and checking that Tina would be OK on her own. She could guess the answer before it came, watching the brunette immediately heading over to join the party with a jug of cocktail in each hand.

"I wondered when you'd make an appearance."

"Jesus!" Katy jumped, a hand clutching her chest at the sight of her mother sitting at her desk as though she owned it. "What?"

"Been off with Graham?"

"Mum…? What are you talking about?" Dropping her jacket on the sofa, Katy moved towards her, wafting her hands in a silent request for Ronnie to move. "I had to get the kids over to holiday club."

"Yeah… three hours ago."

"Where were you, anyway?"

"I had an early start. Don't turn this back on me."

"I honestly don't see why you're so interested in Graham, Mum… unless you fancy having an affair with him as well?"

Ronnie scowled at her. "Shut up, Katy."

"What? I thought you wanted me to talk?"

"This isn't about me and you know that." The older woman told her, leaning her palms on the desk and scowling at her daughter. "What the hell are you playing at? You know nothing about this guy and he's buying you designer outfits and taking off you to god knows where with no one knowing? You can't just run around doing–"

"Leave it out." Katy rolled her eyes. "You can't waltz in here and tell me what to do, Mum. I'm an adult."

"You're my daughter and I have to–"

"Let's not get into this, Mum, eh?" Katy suggested meaningfully. "This conversation never ends well, does it?"

Exhaling sharply, Ronnie attempted to mould her expression into one of concern. "Sweetie, surely you understand why I'm concerned? A guy turns up out of the blue, throws some money at you and you do… well, god knows what you did for that dress and those shoes!"

"What the hell are you insinuating?" Her daughter snarled, standing up so sharply that her chair skittered backwards.

"Surely I don't have to spell it out, Katy? He's old enough to be your father and he's paying you to spend time with him!"

"Get out!"

"You are so much better than this. If word gets out that you're–"

"That I'm what? What, exactly, are you accusing me of doing? I can assure you that Graham did not lay a single finger on me… and that he wouldn't have any fingers left if he'd tried anything."

"So what is all this about?" Ronnie demanded.

"It's not about anything. It was just… I'm so fed up of working my ass off and missing out on what's going on with the kids or spending more time with the kids and things getting out of control here."

"So you decided to do something stupid to distract you from the kids and the bar?"

Katy scowled at her. "Like you can talk. At least I got a seven hundred quid dress and some designer shoes out of my stupid decision. What've you got? You're having an affair with your ex-husband and sharing a room with your twenty-seven-year-old daughter!"

"Don't you dare–"

"Seriously, Mum… I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?"

"Have a bit of faith in me, yeah?"

Ronnie exhaled, shaking her head. "Shouldn't you be worrying about Tyler and this custody battle?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Katy muttered irritably, dropping back into her chair. "I can't do anything about it until Ritchie hears something. He's made all these threats and just gone silent. It's pathetic."

"You think he's just saying it for effect?"

"Yeah, actually, I do."

"So Tyler isn't the reason you've broken things off with Isaac?"

"What? No."

Ronnie arched an eyebrow. "Your Dad said Isaac told Denise he really likes you."

"That's on him."

"I think you should give him a chance. He's got a good job, he genuinely seems to like you… why are you making this so hard?"

Putting her head in her hands, Katy kicked the desk irritably. "He is a teacher, Mum. I almost got him into trouble by opening my big gob on the playground. How compatible are a teacher and a Mitchell. Honestly?"

"You cannot let that stop you being happy, Katy. You are worth so much more than–"

"Right… so you're not telling yourself that being Dad's dirty little secret is no more than you deserve because you're a Mitchell?"

"The situations are totally different!" Ronnie told her angrily. Her voice was raised and shrill, her annoyance shining through. "I love your father, Katy. If I hadn't left…"

The younger blonde stood up and rounded the desk, moving to stand in front of her. "You really think that you and Dad would have stayed together? We are not built for stable, lasting relationships. How many times does everything have to come crashing down around us for that to sink in?"

"It's my fault that we're not together properly. I faked my death on our wedding day and disappeared for years. Of course he was going to move on with his life. He just needs to figure out how to end things without upsetting her."

Katy shook her head, almost amused. "You're not stupid, Mum. Do you realise how pathetic you sound? How many times have you been on and off? If Dad really wanted you, he wouldn't still be with Denise."

There was a loud cracking sound and white-hot pain spread across Katy's cheek. She blinked several times, seeing the shock and remorse spreading over her mother's face. As Ronnie reached out, tears springing to her eyes, the younger woman shook her head and took a step back.

"Where's that fire where Dad's concerned?" She demanded angrily. "I deserved that. We both know that I deserved that. But we also both know that you deserve far more than being someone's dirty little secret, something to be hidden and denied and abandoned when it doesn't suit him."

"I don't know what to do." Ronnie admitted quietly. "I don't… I love him, Katy."

"Yeah, I know. But will you still love him as much if him and Denise break up or will you get bored immediately?"

"I thought you said I deserved better than sneaking around keeping secrets."

"I did and you do." Katy agreed. "But do you believe that?"

"What?"

"Mum… you're getting all wound up because you think I should give things a go with Isaac, rather than Graham. But you're quite happy to let Dad mess you around. You can't dish out advice and not take it yourself."

"You're right." Ronnie exhaled and retreated to the sofa. "I know you're right."

"So we need to do something about it, then." Katy pointed out, moving to sit beside her. "I think you should end things with Dad. If he's serious about wanting you back, he'll break up with Denise. If not… well, at least you'll know."

"If I do that, then you need to stop all this nonsense with that Graham and see where things go with Isaac."

"Mum, I don't–"

"Don't tell me you don't like him. I can tell you do."

"Alright, alright!" Katy huffed, holding her hands up defensively. "You dump Dad and I'll give Isaac a chance."

Katy had absolutely no intention of keeping up her side of the deal. Something told her that Ronnie wasn't planning on ending things with Jack either, which meant she didn't feel remotely guilty about her decision. She had, however, already agreed to a drink with Isaac that evening, so she guessed that Ronnie would assume she was taking their deal seriously.

"K? You ain't see Whit, have ya?" Tiffany demanded, barging into her office and staring at her wildly.

"Uhh… no? Should I have?" Her mind whirred. "Have I missed something?"

"No… no." The teenager shook her head quickly. "She was supposed to have a meeting about Gray's firm keeping her case on, but she's disappeared. You don't reckon she's done anything stupid, do you?"

"Course not." Katy frowned at her. "If she was gonna do something rash or stupid she'd have come to me, wouldn't she?"

"Yeah, I suppose…"

"Look… if you want me to ask around and–"

"No…" Tiffany shook her head and smiled weakly. "No, you're alright. We've got everyone out looking and you're busy. Just… if you hear from her…"

"I'll phone you straight away." Katy promised.

She watched as the younger woman rushed out again, already dialling a number on her mobile. Katy chewed her lip, wondering whether Whitney really would have run away to avoid whatever was coming with her trial.

Realising that she couldn't just sit and do nothing to help, Katy made a few calls, asking several of her contacts to look out for any sign of her friend. Hesitating for a moment, she briefly considered cancelling with Isaac, but then realised that there was no point. She didn't even know that there was any need to go looking for Whitney at all. They might just have been panicking over nothing, for all she knew.

Instead, she tried calling Whitney a few times, leaving a couple of messages, before forcing herself to focus on other things. If she wanted to take a bit of time away from the bar, she needed to make sure things were in place before hand.

As the time she'd agreed to meet Isaac approached, Katy checked her hair and touched up her make up in the mirror on the office wall. She huffed irritably at herself, scowling at her reflection, before heading down to the bottom bar. It was packed, much to her delight. Katy was still filled with relief every time she saw the R&R full of punters. The money issues they'd been having not so long ago were – touch wood – a thing of the past.

"What time's your date?"

"Tina… it's not a date." Katy muttered, frowning at her.

"Yeah, alright." The brunette laughed, nudging her. "Besides, with Sheree and Patrick heading off on holiday, he'll have the house to himself."

"Don't be a dick, Tina. It's just…" She pulled out her mobile as it vibrated in her back pocket. Reading the message quickly, she sighed. "It's off. Isaac's got family stuff to deal with, apparently."