"OK, you lot, you can go to your classes." Mr Lowsley announced less than half an hour after Hollie had entered the Cooler and ten minutes after Gabriella had joined her. "Not you, Miss Wark or you, Miss Boston. Can you keep an eye on them a bit longer?"

"With pleasure." Miss McFall agreed, her gaze aimed solely at the blonde.

Both girls had to wait to be collected before they could leave. Mrs Mulgrew appeared to take Gabriella to her office where her parents were waiting to speak to them. Hollie glared at her as she walked out of the room.

The glare soon fell from her face as Nikki appeared to collect her. Her mother fixed her with an exasperated look, holding out her hand for the girl to take. With a long sigh, Nikki pressed a kiss to her forehead and ran her spare hand through Hollie's hair.

"What am I going to do with you, eh?"

"I'm sorry, Mum." Hollie muttered. "She just… she made out that me and Tom were… I got angry."

"I know, baby, I know." Nikki sighed, kissing her head again. "Maybe you should go and see the counsellor again? Just… just because of this morning. I don't want…"

Hollie nodded, much to her mother's surprise. "OK."

"You will?"

"Yeah… I don't want the flashbacks or the anger… I just want to be normal."

"You are normal." Nikki told her firmly as they left the building and descended the steps.

"Dunno about you guys, but I could do with a drink." Mr Reid suggested, catching up with them and preventing the teenager arguing against her mother's assessment.

"Oh, I'm in." Sonya said, appearing as though from nowhere. "Anchors in town?"

"Will that be a soft drink?" Nikki asked, arching an eyebrow as the PE teacher reached his motorbike.

"Why? I'll be leaving this bad boy at the pub." He grinned at her. "I'll give you a backie in exchange for directions."

Nikki looked at him in amusement for a moment. "I've got my own transport, thanks. And a daughter to take home and a son to collect."

Nikki and Hollie exchanged an amused look as Sonya enthusiastically took up the offer instead, pulling on Mr Reid's spare motorbike helmet. The Bostons watched as the woman climbed awkwardly onto the back of the bike and they pulled away from the school and headed out through the gates.

"That man is a complete moron." Nikki told her daughter, shaking her head as they settled themselves in her car and put their seatbelts on.

"He fancies you."

"Shut up, he does not!"

Hollie laughed, laying her head back against the headrest. "He totally does."

"Piss off."

The teenager laughed even more. Then she sobered suddenly, shaking her head and turning sideways to study the profile of her mother's face. Nikki looked over a couple of times, meeting her eyes and frowning.

"What?"

"Nothing." Hollie shrugged. "You're going to the pub when we've picked up AJ, right?"

"No!" Nikki laughed in disbelief at the girl's assumption. "I'm not going to drop you off at home and go to the pub!"

"Why? It's cool with me."

"No!"

"Mum, seriously… go to the pub."

"What kind of mother would that make me?" Nikki demanded. "You need me."

"I don't." The teenager rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I've got homework to do. I don't need you bothering me."

"Well AJ, then."

Hollie exhaled exasperatedly. "I'll watch AJ. Mum just… go and hang out with your mates. After everything… you deserve a break."

"Are you sure?"

"You'd know if I wasn't."

Grudgingly, under the weight of her daughter's nagging, Nikki agreed and, after making sure they had dinner and everything they needed, Hollie finally shut the door on her mother. Hearing the car start up and drive away down the street, the teenager let out a long sigh and wandered into the living room, dropping onto the sofa and flicking through the channels, secretly hoping that Tom would be at the pub too.

When AJ woke from his nap, she scooped him out of the playpen and bounced him in her lap, listening to him babbling away happily. She grinned down at her baby brother, chattering away about nonsense as he replied unintelligibly. His chubby hands grasped at her necklace, trying to drag it close enough to jam the pendant into his mouth.

"Listen, kid… Daddy might not live here anymore and Mummy and Daddy might be fighting sometimes, but they still love you, OK? Joshie loves you and Hollie loves you and Eve will love you too." She told him, displaying a softness that she reserved for the three-month-old. "And sometimes I might get a little bit cross or sad or Mummy might, but we will always be around for you, OK?"

"You expecting him to thank you, babe?"

Hollie almost screamed at the sound of her mother's voice. Nikki laughed and went to sit beside her on the sofa, curling her legs up underneath herself and pulling her son into her lap. Immediately Hollie wriggled so that she could lean against her mother, resting her head on Nikki's shoulder and poking AJ gently in the stomach and making him giggle.

"You're a soppy thing, really, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Mum."

"You're just adorable."

"Again, shut up."

"Isn't HolHol adorable, AJ?"

Hollie punched her gently on the thigh. "Shut up!"

Chuckling to herself, Nikki kissed her on the head. They watched the television for a while, neither of them really paying too much attention to what they were watching. As the credits rolled, the teenager made to climb off the sofa and head upstairs, but her mother caught her by the wrist and pulled her back down beside her.

"Babe… are you serious about seeing the therapist?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Shall I give her a call tomorrow?"

Hollie nodded. "Yeah, thanks." She smiled and stood up. Then she hesitated. "Thanks, Mum."

"What for?" Nikki asked, slightly confused.

"Just for… being you, really."

"You really have gone soft, haven't you?" The woman chuckled, ducking as her daughter aimed a light smack at her head. "Go and sleep. You're back in the Cooler tomorrow, sweetheart. Christine might have given you the benefit of the doubt and didn't insist on suspending you for hitting Gabriella, but she can't just let you off that easily."

"Fair enough... she deserved it, though" Hollie shrugged. "Night, Mum."

Over the next couple of days Hollie did her best to keep her head down and avoid the blonde newcomer completely. There was something about Gabriella Wark that grated against her and Gabriella seemed to take great delight in winding up Hollie and her friends at every opportunity.

Something the blonde had said made Hollie think that she was behind Nikki's car being keyed, although the teenager couldn't begin to fathom why Gabriella would possibly have anything against her mother, unless it was because of her. Nikki was convinced that, seeing as it had been done outside the pub, it was probably some drunk or kids who had damaged her car. She had moaned at the cost to cover the scratch, informing the men who gave her the quote that she had a good mind to report them for daylight robbery, but had paid out anyway.

"You are going on the Resilience Camp, right?" Dynasty asked as the three girls walked towards the office so that they could hand in their permission slips.

Hollie arched an eyebrow. "You are kidding? Camping? In the woods?"

"Everyone's going." Imogen reminded her. "Like… everyone."

"And what?"

"Oh, come on, babes! It'll be a laugh!" Dynasty almost pleaded. "You have to come!"

"It's too late, anyway. Didn't the forms and deposit have to be in today?"

Imogen rolled her eyes. "Your Mum works here. I doubt she'd mind sorting it."

"I dunno… I'll think about it."

Just as they reached the office, they bumped into Nikki hurrying in the other direction. Before Hollie could say anything, or stop her friends, they asked the English teacher whether she could sort Hollie's forms and deposit for the camp. Nikki, slightly distracted, nodded and promised she'd deal with it before her daughter could argue. Dynasty and Imogen smirked at their friend, who glared at them and stamped away to registration while they went to speak to Sonya.

With Mr Reid's appointment as PE teacher, he had taken over the year 13 class. Nikki, however, had managed to schedule her daughter a meeting with the psychologist that clashed with the session. Cheerfully waving her less than enthusiastic friends off to their lesson, Hollie shouldered her bag and wandered through the corridors until she reached the Head of Pastoral Care's office, where the woman was waiting for her.

It was a good session and Hollie was glad that she had agreed to speak to Jenny, her counsellor, again. They went through some of the strategies and coping mechanisms they had worked on in her previous meetings that would help her to deal with the panic attacks that accompanied the flashbacks of her ordeal.

Jenny challenged her not to end up in the Cooler again before their next meeting and Hollie promised she would give it her best shot. Realising that the teenager wasn't confident in her ability to stick to that promise, the woman gave her a couple of anger management techniques to employ when she felt as though she was about to lose her temper.

When the bell rang for the end of the period, Hollie thanked Jenny and said goodbye, arranging to see her the next week. She left the office feeling far more relaxed and positive about things than when she had entered it.

"And where were you in PE?" Gabriella asked, pausing beside the table where Hollie and her friends were sitting in the canteen. "Because your mum is a teacher you get to miss lessons you don't feel like going to, do you?"

"It's none of your business where I was." The brunette snapped, scowling at the other girl.

"Or were you just skiving?" Gabriella continued nastily. "Perhaps someone should have a little word and encourage them to check your attendance record?"

"She weren't skiving, she was with her counsellor." Zoe informed her quickly, receiving several death stares from her friends. "Shit. I mean…"

"Counsellor?" The blonde laughed delightedly. "Oh, so you're crazy?"

Hollie stood up abruptly. "You what?"

"I asked whether you were crazy."

"I'll give you fucking crazy." Hollie growled, shoving Gabriella hard in the chest. The blonde clearly hadn't been expecting the move, because she stumbled backwards, spilling her pasta all over the floor.

"Hollie!" Maggie shouted from behind the counter. "Quit it!"

"Is that it? Is that all you're going to say to her?" Gabriella demanded, outraged that Hollie wasn't being punished.

"Yes." Maggie replied bluntly, turning away.

Hollie clenched her jaw, but did as Maggie ordered and sat back down in her seat. As Gabriella leant forward to say something to her, Harley passed, accidentally knocking into the girl and getting the tiniest splash of his pasta sauce on the sleeve of her blazer.

"Look what you've done." She snapped, holding up her arm for him to look at.

He pretended to scrutinise the fabric for a moment, before shrugging. "What? I can't see anything."

"Well I can."

"Alright, alright… he didn't mean it." Maggie tried to smooth the situation.

Darren grabbed a handful of his lunch and threw it at the girl, making Harley and everyone at Hollie's table laugh. "Here's something to moan about."

"Darren Hughes that was not called for!" Maggie exclaimed. She had barely got the words out before Gabriella grabbed a handful of her own spilled lunch and threw it at the boy angrily.

"Stuck up cow!" Harley said.

Seconds later a food fight was in full swing. Maggie and Miss McFall did their best to control matters, but in the end it was Carol Barry who solved the problem. She banged a saucepan and its lid together loudly and shouted, her voice carrying easily above the noise. The laughter and shouting died down instantly and everyone listened as she began to lecture them on manners and ordered them to clean up.

"I don't take orders from thieves." Gabriella informed her snootily.

"I suggest you do what I say, or I'll take that silver spoon out of your mouth and I will shove it where the sun don't shine."

"Is she allowed to talk to me like that?"

Maggie was clearly trying not to laugh. "She just did."

Hollie laughed as the blonde flounced away angrily. Her amusement was short-lived, however, as Mr Windsor appeared behind her and insisted that she went to the Cooler.

"What?" She gaped at him. "Why?"

"Clearly this all started as a result of your shoving Miss Wark. So Cooler, now."

Angrily, Hollie grabbed her things and stormed out of the canteen. She slammed her way into the Cooler and threw herself into one of the chairs, folding her arms on the surface of the table and burying her head in them. The injustice of the situation made her want to cry, but she refused.

A long while later, Hollie wasn't sure how long exactly because she'd kept her face hidden the whole time, the Cooler door opened and someone walked towards her table. She didn't look up until a gentle hand smoothed through her hair and a soft voice spoke, close to her ear.

"Hollie… Maggie told me what happened. It's OK."

"Mum…" The teenager looked up and shook her head. "Gabriella knows I've got a counsellor… I'm never gonna hear the end of it."

"Why do you care what she thinks?" Nikki demanded. "You don't even like her."

"Exactly!" Her daughter exclaimed. "She hates me! She'll use it to make my life hell."

Nikki scoffed. "How exactly? Almost everyone knows what you went through, Hols. From what I've heard no one likes Gabriella, anyway!"

"That's not the point. I don't want her to know!"

"Sweetheart, it's not a big deal. I promise you."

"I just–" Hollie stopped, catching sight of a bracelet glinting on her mother's wrist and grabbing her hand to get a better look. "That's pretty… where'd you get it?"

If her daughter wasn't very much mistaken, Nikki looked a little flustered. "What… this old thing? I've had it a while."

"I've never seen it before."

"It's just–"

"What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing!"

"Mum!" Hollie narrowed her eyes. "Who gave you that bracelet?" Then her eyes widened. "Are you seeing someone?"

"I…"

The girl grinned. "You are, aren't you?"

"Hollie, it's not… I don't want to rub Tom's nose in it."

"He's seeing–"

"Is Tom seeing someone?" Nikki asked, perching on the table and looking curiously at her daughter.

"Maybe…"

"It's OK." Her mother assured her. "I'm happy for him."

"It's been just over a month since he moved out." The girl pointed out. "You've both moved on pretty quick…"

Nikki shrugged. "I suppose…"

"So… fill me in. What's his name… or her name… whichever…?"

"Vix… Victoria." The woman said with a smile. "She's… she's Sue's sister."

"Sue? Wait… Mrs Lowsley?" Hollie asked incredulously, arching an eyebrow. "You're seeing her sister?"

"She's not really like Sue. Not… not at all. You'll love her."

"As long as you're happy… That's the only thing that matters to me, Mum, honest."

"It's not like it's serious or anything…"

At the strange tone of her mother's voice and the expression on her face, Hollie frowned. "You sound disappointed."

"No, I. Not really. I just…" Nikki sighed. "OK, I suppose I was expecting the bracelet to be something else. Something a little… smaller."

"A ring?"

"Don't sound so horrified."

Hollie laughed. "No it's just… I've literally just found out that you have a new girlfriend and you're telling me that you wanted her to propose? Really? So soon?"

"You're my daughter, Hols, but you're my best friend, too." Nikki said with a shrug. "How do you feel about… well… what I said?"

"That you want to get engaged to your new girlfriend who I haven't even met yet?"

"Well… yeah?"

Letting out a long sigh, the teenager shook her head. "Like I said, the only thing that matters to me is that you're happy. Obviously, though, I'll need to vet her to make sure she's good enough for you. I hope she's not a minger, Mum."

Nikki laughed happily. "No, she's definitely not." She pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "I love you, Hollie."

"I love you too, Mum."

Glancing at her watch, the woman chewed her lip almost nervously. "Tom's got AJ tonight and I was going to meet Vix at the pub. I know it's Friday so you've probably got plans with Kevin or your mates, but… do you want to come and meet her?"

"Like… seriously?" Hollie asked, slightly surprised.

"Of course! Hollie… if you don't like Vix, then…"

"Don't." The girl shook her head. "I'm sure I will. If she's as great as you're making out then I won't be able to not like her, will I?"

"So you'll come?"

"Try stopping me! I'll rearrange and go out with Kev tomorrow instead. This is more important."

Nikki beamed at her. "Come on, then. Let's get going."

"Has the bell gone?" Hollie asked surprised.

"Half an hour ago. Didn't you hear it?"

Her daughter shook her head. "Nope… maybe I fell asleep."

Laughing, the woman wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and led her out of the Cooler and along the corridors. They climbed into Nikki's car and she drove them to the pub, pulling up outside and ushering her into the building first. Hollie had removed her tie and blazer in the car, rolling up her sleeves so that she looked more casual.

"There she is." Nikki murmured to the teenager, nodding her head towards a gorgeous woman who was standing at the bar.

Hollie's mouth dropped open and she turned to her mother with a look of disbelief on her face. "Bloody hell, Mum. She's hot."

"I told you she wasn't a minger."

Grinning, the girl winked. "Go you."

Slapping lightly at her arm and walking forwards, Nikki pulled Hollie behind her by the hand. Touching Vix gently on the waist, she alerted the other woman to their presence, before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. Before Vix could say anything, Nikki pulled Hollie forward, putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders and smiling nervously.

"Vix, this is my daughter, Hollie. Hols, this is Vix."