On the morning of Mr Budgen's funeral, exactly a week after his death, there was a sombre mood in the Clarkson-Boston household. Even AJ seemed to know that there was something wrong and the sounds he made could have been called whimpers, rather than cries. There was almost no conversation as they got ready for the day.

"You OK, Dad?" Josh asked, grasping Tom's forearm as they were leaving the house and piling into the car.

He nodded. "I will be, son."

"I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I've got to get back to Uni."

"We understand." Nikki assured him with a gentle smile, securing the baby seat into the back of the car. "Maggie will be pleased to see you. It would have meant a lot to Grantly."

"I just can't believe he's gone… I thought he'd outlast us all." Josh said, shaking his head slightly.

It was a sentiment that was echoed by the rest of his family and there was silence as they dropped AJ off at the child-minder's; he'd been booked in for the whole of Wednesday, so that Hollie could attend the funeral. The drive to the crematorium, the walk from the car park into the chapel and to their seats was almost tense.

Tom went in first, followed by Josh and Hollie, with Nikki sitting on the end next to the aisle. As the music began to play and the coffin was carried up the aisle, the girl reached out and squeezed her mother's hand. Nikki turned to look at the teenager, offering her a small, weak smile, which was half-heartedly returned. As the coffin headed towards them, Harley stumbled and Nikki dropped Hollie's hand to steady him and check that he was alright. Once he had passed, the woman reached for the comfort of her daughter again.

They sat in almost numbed silence, listening to the service. When Maggie stood up to speak, tears sprang to Hollie's eyes as she remembered her first weeks in Greenock where Maggie and Grantly had been like parents to her. Until then, until she moved into the School House, Hollie hadn't really ever experienced family life. But they had taken her in and given it to her, Mr and Mrs Budgen, treating her as one of their own without even knowing anything about her. As Maggie continued, Hollie began to sob, burying her face into Nikki's neck as her mother wrapped her tightly in her arms and tried to soothe her as best she could.

"I used to feel like it was one of my biggest regrets that I'd met Grantly too late to have a family. Then I realised… we did have one. We had all of you. And they say that you cannot choose your family, but we did. We chose Waterloo Road as ours. Now, I know that some of you looked up to Grantly as a dad. And… grumpy old bugger that he was… he didn't always show it, did he, but you were all his kids. And he loved you."

The curtains closed, shielding the coffin from view and Hollie squeezed her eyes closed once more; clinging to Nikki as though she was a life line. On her other side, Josh reached for her hand, holding it tightly to show that he was there for her. Over Nikki's shoulder Hollie spotted Zoe and Scout sitting with Imogen, Dynasty, Kevin and Connor. They all had tears in their eyes and Scout's head was lying on Zoe's shoulder as they stared almost unseeingly at the front of the chapel.

Before any of them were really ready, they were piling out of the crematorium and heading back to school. Tom dropped Josh at the train station on the way and they ordered him to come and visit them soon. The boy hugged his stepsister extra tightly, reminding her that if she ever needed to talk, or even to get away from their parents for a while, he was always there. Hollie laughed and told him that he'd regret his offer one day.

Then it was back to school as though nothing had even happened. Hollie met her friends and they headed inside together. Zoe and Connor had a free period until lunch as well, so the three of them headed to the Common Room to get some work done. None of the teenagers really felt like talking, so their time passed peacefully, each of them using the opportunity to sort through their own thoughts and get things done.

Part way through the lesson before break, Hollie realised she needed to borrow a book from Ms McFall to complete her History essay and, with a deep sigh, she logged off her computer and made her way through the corridors towards the History department. She was just walking past Mrs Mulgrew's office when she spotted Nikki leaning against the wall and taking deep breaths.

History book instantly forgotten, the teenager rushed forward, reaching out and touching her mother's arms tentatively. Nikki barely even registered the contact. She only seemed to realise that Hollie was there when the teenager spoke, almost jumping out of her skin at the sound.

"Mum? Mum, are you OK? What's happened? D'you want me to get Tom?"

"H-Hollie… no… no! I… I just…"

The teenager bit her lip, her concern growing by the second. "Mum?"

"I just…" Nikki shook her head, pushing herself away from the wall and seemingly pulling herself together. "Why aren't you in class?"

"Double free, remember?"

"So why aren't you working? Didn't you say you had a History essay to do for Friday? Shouldn't you be getting that done?"

Hollie gaped at her. "You're more important than some essay, Mum! If there's something wrong–?"

"There's nothing wrong." The woman snapped, frowning at her daughter. "Just… just go and do your essay, OK?"

Glaring, the teenager shrugged and turned on her heels, striding off along the corridor. She heard the loud sigh and the sound of Nikki calling her name, but she ignored both. When she rounded the corner, Hollie slammed her fist into the wall and let out a long, exasperated breath. After everything that had happened, the one thing the girl hated most was when Nikki hid things from her. And Nikki was definitely hiding something.

Retrieving the book from Ms McFall, Hollie made her way back towards the Common Room. She went the long way round, bypassing the head teacher's office, so that she wouldn't risk bumping into her mother. Hollie needed a couple more minutes to cool off before she could face Nikki again without falling out with her.

Passing by the canteen, she happened to glance through the doors and spotted the woman she was attempting to avoid sitting at one of the tables with a dark-haired girl she had never seen before. Hollie frowned, wondering who the stranger was. Neither of them so much as glanced in her direction, so she took a couple of minutes to watch them curiously.

The sound of heels clicking on the tiled floor drew Hollie back to the present and she looked up to see Carol Barry heading towards her, looking thunderous. Offering her a weak smile, the teenager moved back to let her pass, pressing her back against the corridor wall.

"When you see your mother, you tell her to stay away from my Kacey." Carol ordered, pointing her finger at the girl.

"Huh?"

"This ridiculous boxing thing." The woman clarified, frowning at her. "It's over."

Hollie shrugged, the jealousy she felt every time Nikki talked about the younger girl's training or ability flaring up immediately. "Great."

"Mrs Barry?"

The door to the canteen opened and Nikki appeared. Her eyes flickered to her daughter's and then widened dramatically. Almost against her will she glanced over her shoulder at the other girl who was still sitting at the table where she'd left her. Hollie followed her gaze, meeting the eyes of the stranger suspiciously.

"Who's that?"

"That… I… no one." Nikki muttered nervously. "Hollie, I need to–"

"Whatever."

Turning away, the girl stalked away, leaving her mother calling after her for the second time in ten minutes. She made her way hurriedly back to the Common Room and took her place at the computer once more. Opening the book to the relevant chapter, she studiously ignored Zoe's questioning glances, pretending to be totally engrossed in her work.

"You have to talk to me sometime, Hol." Zoe sing-songed at her, the irritable glare aimed at her from the other girl having absolutely no effect. "Whatever's bothering you now can be dealt with, right? Is it Kevin?"

"No." Hollie snapped, keeping her eyes glued to the computer screen.

"So if it's not Kevin then it must be your mum."

"Why?"

"Because you only get like this over two people; one of them is Kevin and the other is your mum." Zoe told her confidently. "So what's she done?"

Hollie sighed and looked around quickly, making sure they wouldn't be overheard. "She's acting weird. And there's this girl… something's going on and she's hiding it from me."

"What girl?"

"I dunno… some kid. Mum was talking to her in the canteen and I asked her who she was. She said it was no one, but…"

Zoe raised an eyebrow, unconvinced by her argument. "So you automatically think Miss Boston's lying? Maybe she's just a new kid she was showing round or something?"

"But Mum was all… spaced out... when I saw her in the corridor before. No… she's definitely hiding something from me."

Shaking her head, her friend frowned. "Why do you automatically assume everyone's lying to you or hiding something from you?"

"She's got form, hasn't she?" Hollie retorted.

"That's not fair and you know it." Zoe retorted. "She'd do anything for you, right? Don't even deny it because you'd just be lying to yourself. If she is hiding something from you, then it's probably for your own good. Just forget about it unless she mentions something."

"I can't."

Letting out a long breath, the teenager shook her head. She was about to say something when the bell rang, signalling break time. "Come on, let's go and get something to eat before double English." Hollie groaned, remembering that her mother was taking their lesson that day. Zoe grinned. "Looks like you can't avoid her for long."

Packing up their things, the two girls made their way through the corridors and back down to the canteen. Zoe chattered about inconsequential things to try and distract her friend, while Hollie kept her eyes out for the stranger who seemed to be commanding so much of her mother's time. Zoe knew that she didn't have Hollie's attention, but she kept talking, determined not to give in to her paranoia. She was sure that Hollie was just jealous. First she'd had to start sharing Nikki's attention with AJ and then with Kacey; anyone else coming along was always going to upset things where her friend was concerned.

Before they had got very far, they spotted a furious looking Dynasty dragging her sister along by the arm. Zoe grinned at Hollie, instantly intrigued by the prospect of gossip and changed their direction so that they could see what was going on. Grudgingly the other girl allowed herself to be pulled along, not the least bit interested in the latest Barry family crisis.

As they reached Mrs Mulgrew's office, however, she grasped Zoe's arm tightly and pointed at the tall, dark haired girl leaning against the wall opposite the door. Her friend frowned as she felt Hollie come to an abrupt halt and turned to look at her questioningly, before noticing where her attention was directed. Turning back to look along the corridor, she spotted the new girl and tilted her head slightly, running an appraising gaze over her.

"That's her; that's the girl Mum was with."

Zoe pursed her lips thoughtfully. "She looks kinda familiar…"

"You know her?" Hollie arched an eyebrow, but her friend shook her head.

"No, but she just looks… Hollie, she looks a bit like–"

They stared at her as Dynasty disappeared into the office. Seconds later, their friend reappeared and spoke to the stranger. Hollie couldn't help walking closer, wanting to hear what was being said. Neither of them looked particularly friendly, which peaked her interest even further.

"What's Boston playing at?" Dynasty snapped at Kacey. "She knew me mum was here. She and I are gonna have serious words."

Hollie was about to step forward and defend her mum against her friend, when the other girl spoke. "I'm sorry; can I help you with something?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Eve… Miss Boston's daughter."

It was as though time had stopped. Hollie felt hot and cold all at the same time as the girl's words reverberated in her mind. She wasn't conscious of Zoe beside her, grasping her arm and trying to talk to her. All she could hear was the girl's words on a loop in her head.

"What the fuck?" She demanded furiously, storming towards the girl, her eyes flashing with fury. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Who are you?" Eve shot back, looking her up and down.

Coming to stand in front of the girl, with Dynasty, Kacey and Zoe behind her, Hollie narrowed her eyes. "I'm Hollie Boston... Nikki's daughter."

"Yeah." Kacey nodded. "This is Miss Boston's daughter."

"She… has another daughter?"

"She has a daughter." Hollie replied irritably. "Where's my mum?"

"She's a bit busy today." Eve told her, sounding infuriatingly smug. "Can I give her a message?"

"Yeah… I've got a message…" Hollie nodded slowly. Then, without warning, she raised her hand and slapped the other girl across the face. "I don't know who the hell you are or what you want, but you stay away from my family."

"Hol!" Zoe pulled her backward, holding her arms tightly. "Stop it!"

"The door to the office was shut. Maybe Miss Boston's in there?" Dynasty said with a grin, watching Eve rubbing her smarting cheek with a wince.

That was all it took for the girl to turn on her heel and march into the office. She didn't even bother to knock on Mrs Mulgrew's door, before throwing it open and striding inside. Both women looked up in confusion at the sudden intrusion. Nikki had her head in her hands and, if possible, she went even paler at the sight of her daughter standing in the doorway.

"Hollie! What on earth do you think you are doing?" Mrs Mulgrew demanded furiously.

The girl ignored her, scowling at her mother instead. "Is it true?"

"Hollie, I–"

"Is it?" Nikki just nodded, the lump that had formed in her throat preventing her from speaking. Tears formed in Hollie's eyes and she shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you sometimes… I hate you."

"Hollie, wait! You don't understand!"

"I understand all I need to." The teenager yelled at her. "You dumped me on my grandparents and you presumably did the same to her! You didn't even fucking tell me I had a sister! Are you planning on dumping AJ next? What? Are we going to wake up one morning and you'll just be gone?"

"It's not that–"

"No! No, you don't get to speak!" Hollie screamed. "You know what, why don't you just fuck off right now and save us all the pain?"

"Cooler, now!" Mrs Mulgrew ordered, grasping the teenager by the arms and manhandling her from the room as her mother sat in shocked silence.