Weeks had passed. Weeks where Caroline felt as though she was going fruitlessly round in circles; chasing doctors about Kate's minuscule improvements, chasing midwives about discharging Flora, chasing her boys to do their schoolwork, her ex-husband to keep out from under her feet, and last but not least, chasing the school to grant maternity leave for a child she hadn't been expecting.

The headmistress had always taken pride in her ability to get things done, but it seemed that at the moment she was fighting tooth and nail just to tread water.

XXXXX

Finally, as she bent over a plastic hospital crib and picked up the baby sleeping soundly inside, it hit Caroline that her family was about to take a long awaited leap forward.

She smiled fondly at Flora, wrapped up in her fuzzy pink blanket, her mop of dark curls hidden under the cap that Celia had knitted, because even four weeks after her arrival, Kate's daughter was too tiny for a newborn hat to fit her properly.

Caroline glanced up uncertainly at the midwife standing opposite, busily signing off their paperwork.

"You are sure she is ready to leave?" Caroline asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

The midwife was obviously of the same opinion, because she looked up from her papers with a slightly exasperated expression. Caroline realised she was probably suppressing an eye roll.

Reaching over, the nurse put an arm reassuringly on the small of Caroline's back and led her towards the door, "She is 100% ready, and she has had so many visitors that I am sure she will be very well looked after."

The woman tilted her head pointedly towards the doorway, where William, Celia, and Alan all stood expectantly.

Caroline smiled at them, "I'm just going to take Flora to say goodbye to Kate, and then we can go."

As she reached them, the blonde paused so that Celia could adjust the cap on Flora's head, before striding purposefully down the corridor she knew like the back of her hand.

Nerves bubbled in her stomach as she reached her destination and nudged the door open with her hip.

Inside she found Kate in much the same position as she had expected; wearing her hospital gown and propped up on crisp white pillows, her eyes closed as they always were nowadays.

Near enough to touch but still a million miles away.

The visible wounds, at least, were healing. The cuts and bruises had slowly faded, and while there was a mass of stitching around the brunette's temple, the bandaging had now been removed.

Without the breathing tube connecting her to a multitude of machines, Kate looked disconcertingly as though a gentle shake might wake her.

At her side sat Ginika, which was absolutely no surprise to Caroline; Kate's mother was rarely found anywhere else these days.

The corners of the blonde's mouth twitched upwards as she entered the room and saw the woman's tired face soften as it fell on her granddaughter.

Sinking into the nearest cheap plastic chair, Caroline held the sleeping baby upright as though Kate could see her, "Look Flora, it's your mummy and Grandma."

Ginika smiled and stroked a tiny hand, "Hello, baby."

Caroline's eyes fell to Kate, "We've come to tell you some good news – we're going home today."

The headmistress forced a smile as she watched Kate's impassive features. They looked even softer and younger in sleep and the blonde felt her heart tug with longing.

"But I will bring Flora to visit you every single day. I promise."

From the seat next to her Ginika nodded and squeezed her daughter's hand, "And I am still going to be here until you wake up, so you won't be on your own."

Leaning forward Caroline placed the baby gently in the crook of Kate's arm, one hand still reaching out to support them. Her chest ached to see them sleeping side by side, Flora a perfect tiny version of her wonderful mother.

For a few seconds Caroline and Ginika just watched them, thinking exactly the same thing; Flora had pulled through, against all odds, and that was nothing short of a miracle. But taking her home felt bittersweet; the child that Kate had longed for was being discharged from hospital and leaving her mother behind. It felt so wrong to separate them.

With a sigh Caroline gently lifted Flora and tucked her back into her own arms, carefully readjusting her blankets in readiness for the outside world.

The blonde was stalling and she knew it. Suddenly she was not quite ready to break up this strange little family.

Ginika appeared to see through the rouse, and before Caroline realised what was happening, the older woman had reached out to place an affectionate hand on her shoulder.

Caroline thought the supportive gesture might be the most surprising thing to happen to her since the Head Girl had kissed her at the 1978 school disco.

It was not that Ginika hated her exactly; but the headmistress was fairly certain Kate's mother disapproved of her, believing that her daughter could do infinitely better than some power-crazed control freak with the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Something that Caroline agreed with wholeheartedly.

She covered Ginika's hand with her own and briefly squeezed it in thanks, before passing the older woman her granddaughter and ducking forward to place a kiss on Kate's cheek, "The doctor says you are doing amazingly. I am so proud of you. We'll be back tomorrow."

I love you.

The blonde pushed the traitorous thought away.

"Flora loves you."

XXXXX

The first thing Caroline did when she arrived home was to place Flora, still snuggled in her car seat, on the floor in the middle of the living room.

The addition of this minuscule child in a teeny white baby-grow somehow made the already large house seem absolutely massive.

For a few seconds everyone just watched her sleep; a bundle of beautiful chocolatey skin and dark curls.

But before long the spell was broken and Flora's tiny nose wrinkled up in outrage at no longer being carried. Celia immediately rushed over to prevent the imminent crying and cooed happily down at her.

Caroline shook her head at just how contrary her mother could be, before seizing the brief moment of peace to start unpacking the hospital bags.

She glanced over to where her youngest son was sprawled out across the sofa, slightly wary as to how he would react to the situation.

Apparently, the events were interesting enough that Lawrence had deigned to lift his eyes from his phone, and the teenager was watching as his new sister stared seriously up at his grandmother.

"She doesn't do much, does she?" he volunteered with the same level of enthusiasm he usually showed his chemistry homework.

Celia beamed, eyes still fixed on Flora's face, "Well, babies don't, love. But they are adorable," she stroked a tiny cheek, "Aren't you?"

Lawrence shrugged and returned to his phone, "So, bit boring then..."

Caroline sighed and shook out the baby-grow she was holding with a little more force than was necessary, "Well, she's four weeks old Lawrence, give her a chance."

XXXXX

It didn't take Caroline long to realise that her son couldn't have been more wrong in his assessment. Because for a baby that couldn't even lift her own head, Flora had quite the impact on the headmistress' ultra-organised life.

Caroline had spent years transforming her home from something resembling a bomb site, with crayon on the walls and socks stuffed down the sofa, into a tasteful Georgian townhouse that just happened to house a couple of teenagers.

And yet somehow, practically overnight, piles of washing covered every chair, sterilising bottles covered every work surface, and sick covered every one of Caroline's shirts.

The blonde wandered around bleary eyed, genuinely wondering whether she had been thrown back 15 years.