Nikki was sitting in the canteen with Maggie when Sonya hurried across the room towards them. They both looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her to tell them the latest gossip. She settled herself carefully at their table and looked between them.

"Well?" Maggie demanded.

"Hollie told Mrs Wark that it was her that hit Gabriella." Sonya told them quickly. "I don't think Mr Lowsley believed Gabriella's story because he said that she wasn't bleeding in Pastoral Care, but she was in the Head's Office."

"Wait?" Nikki held up her hands. "Where's Hollie now? Is she OK?"

"Simon sent her back to the Cooler after she vowed not to let Gabriella ruin your life anymore than she already has."

Nikki was on her way to the door when it opened and Kacey, Dynasty, Connor and Kevin entered the canteen. Carol was at her side almost instantly and they both smiled at the woman's younger daughter. She crumpled and wrapped her arms, not around her mother but around her teacher instead. Nikki glanced, almost awkwardly at Carol, before rubbing soothing circles on Kacey's back.

"I'm gonna swing for that Gabriella Wark." Dynasty threatened.

"You might wanna think about that." Mr Windsor advised her.

Nikki and Carol exchanged a look. "There's kinda…"

"Something…"

"We need to tell you…"

"What happened?" Kacey asked.

The whole story came tumbling out of both women, from Carol attempting to extort money and then slapping Mrs Wark to Gabriella accusing Nikki of attacking her. The teenagers listened and then asked questions, none of them believing that their English teacher was capable of what she had been accused of for a minute.

Leaving them all discussing their options, Nikki headed to her classroom, needing a couple of minutes alone to get her head around things, before she went to speak to her daughter. She was sure that Hollie would still be angry with her, whatever she had said to Gabriella and her mother, and needed some time to formulate her ideas before confronting the teenager.

"Can I borrow you?" The brunette glanced up as Christine entered the room.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to save your job. I need to know exactly what happened with Gabriella." There was a long pause as Nikki considered her. "In your own time. Nikki?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me what happened." Christine pressed. "Hollie's told me her version of events and Gabriella was quite happy to tell her side. I need to hear what you have to say."

Nodding slowly, the brunette started at the beginning, telling her friend everything that she could remember. Christine listened patiently until she reached the end of the tale and then nodded. Standing up, she indicated for Nikki to follow her from the room, smiling reassuringly at her.

They headed towards Pastoral Care, only making a brief detour to collect Hollie from the Cooler. The teenager frowned curiously between the two women but, as neither of them spoke to her, she didn't attempt to make conversation. Instead she followed them wordlessly through the hallways and into the office.

"I don't want her in here." Gabriella announced as soon as Christine ushered Nikki into the Pastoral Care Office. "Or Hollie."

"Do they need to be involved?" Mrs Wark demanded.

"Yes." Christine informed them bluntly. "Gabriella's story jeopardises Miss Boston's future as a teacher and Hollie's future, too." As Mr Lowsley indicated for them to sit around the circular table, Hollie deliberately refused to meet anyone's eyes. "We could, and probably should, hand this over to the local authority and the police but I think calling them is the last thing any of us need. However, it is twenty to three so when the bell goes for the end of school Mr Lowsley will have to follow procedure and call the police, unless we can sort this out now."

"I think it would be better all round if we could come to a sensible, amicable agreement." Mr Lowsley told them calmly.

"We have two cases of Gabriella's word being called into question." Christine continued. "First by Kacey, secondly by Miss Boston."

"I'm telling the truth." Gabriella said pathetically, turning wide, innocent eyes on Mrs Mulgrew. "Nobody believes me, do they?"

"No, because you're a liar." Hollie muttered under her breath, earning herself several sharp glares and a kick under the table from her mother.

"Mum? Mum, I wouldn't… Not today, Mum."

"Stop it!" Her mother snapped. "Don't you dare use today against me."

"I believe you, Gabriella." Christine announced, causing everyone to stare at her. Hollie frowned, feeling betrayed. "It's a bit stuffy in here, don't you think? Fancy a walk?"

As they left the room, Hollie slouched in her chair and folded her arms. She shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Idiot… She's such a liar." The teenager fixed Mrs Wark with a glare. "Mum never touched her. I did… She deliberately knocked Kacey off that climbing wall. You need to start realising what your daughter is capable of."

"That's enough, Hollie." Nikki muttered, laying her hand on her daughter's arm. She shot her a warning look before turning to Mrs Wark. "I'm sorry. Hollie's right, though. I didn't lay a finger on your daughter; I wouldn't."

Standing up, Mrs Wark moved to the door and wrenched it open, striding away along the corridor. There was a long silence as no one was quite sure what was happening. Minutes later, they heard the click of heels on the floor outside the room and the door opened once more. Christine was the last of the three women to re-enter the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

"I'm sorry. Miss Boston didn't touch me. Neither did Hollie. I did it to myself." Gabriella announced softly, looking around the room. Her gaze lingered on Hollie's confused face and she attempted to send her a small smile. "Kacey, I… I hurt you to get attention… attention from my parents. Since my sister died they haven't… everyone loves you, Kacey. I just wish someone felt that way about me. I stamped on your hand. I shouldn't have… and I shouldn't have lied." She turned back to the older teenager. "And you, Hollie… I deliberately pressed your buttons and made you lash out at me because I was jealous… jealous of how much your mum loves you… of how close you are." She sniffed. "I hope you can all forgive me."

"You're forgiven." Nikki told her in a broken voice.

"Hallelujah! Now where's that cheque book?"

"Carol, I hear that bruise on Mrs Wark's face is your doing?" Christine asked, arching an eyebrow. "Maybe we should leave all this here? Kacey's going to need her mum around."

"Let's just drop it, Mum." Kacey urged, turning pleading eyes on her mother.

Nikki steered her daughter out of the office after the Barrys. They paused in the corridor and then Hollie threw her arms around her mother and buried her head in the space where her neck met her shoulders. Nikki clung on tightly, not wanting to let go in case Hollie changed her mind and disappeared from her grasp again.

"I'm sorry, baby." She murmured, pressing kisses to her daughter's hair. "I'm so, so sorry. I love you."

"I love you too, Mum."

"I'm going to speak to Vix… it… I don't love her enough to risk losing you."

Hollie blinked. "What?"

"You're right, it's not… I'm going to tell her it's over. I'm choosing you."

The teenager grinned, her smile splitting her face from ear-to-ear. "Thank you."

As she watched her mother heading away along the corridor, Hollie shook her head. She turned in the opposite direction and walked into Mr Reid, almost straight away. He gripped her upper arms to stop her stumbling sideways, sending her a broad grin.

"You look happy?"

"Yeah." She agreed. "I am… and thanks for your help, Mr Reid, but I don't need it anymore."

He frowned lightly, shaking his head. "I don't understand?"

"Mum's going to break up with Vix, so I got what I wanted."

"But I thought…"

"You thought what, Sir?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "You thought I wanted my mum to get with you?" She laughed. "No way. I just wanted you to help me break up her and Vix, but it turns out I didn't need your help. So thanks, but that's it."

She pushed past him and strode along the corridor as the bell rang for the end of term, leaving the PE teacher staring after her, his mouth still hanging open even as the doors banged shut behind her.

When Hollie returned home, to her mother's house, it was deserted. She frowned, but guessed that Nikki was celebrating the end of term at the pub with her colleagues. Closing the front door behind her, the teenager headed back to her stepfather's house to fill him in on the good news. Somehow Tom had managed to miss out on the drama of the day, apparently up to his eyeballs in essays and exam preparation. She assumed that he had heard what had been going on, but obviously he didn't know how serious it had got or she knew that he would have stepped in and tried to help.

"Tom?" Hollie called, letting herself in through the front door and dumping her bag in the hallway. She shrugged off her denim jacket and hung it on the hooks beside the mirror. "Tom? Where are you?"

"Kitchen!" He shouted back and she grinned, imagining him sitting at the table with a mug of tea and the paper spread out in front of him. It was his daily routine when he got in from work. Half an hour of 'Tom-time' before he started on dinner. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine… I'm great actually." She assured him with a broad grin, grabbing a can of coke from the fridge and sitting opposite him at the table. "I'm guessing you heard what happened today."

"Mmm… How's your mum?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Tom shot her a look. "I don't know if it would be appreciated."

Hollie grinned again. "Mum's ending things with Vix."

"What?" Tom frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Because… because…" For a moment the teenager hesitated, unsure as to the real reason why her mother had made her decision. "After everything with Gabriella and her mother today, I think Mum realised that… oh… I don't know. Maybe she realised just how important our relationship, me and her, is."

"Your mother has always known that, Hollie." Tom assured her gently; looking at her so intently that Hollie was convinced that he was seeing into her soul. "She just… lost sight… for a while. She would never knowingly put you in danger. If she knew about Vix…"

"I know." Hollie smiled sincerely, before standing up and rounding the table. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too, kiddo." Her stepfather told her sincerely, returning the hug wholeheartedly.

"I want our family back, Tom." She said. "I want you and Mum and me and Josh and Eve and AJ to be a proper family."

Tom sighed. "That's… that's not… listen... There's a lot we need to get through before anything like that can even…"

"I know. I just… one day?"

"Maybe, sweetheart."

Hollie's mobile beeped and she glanced at the screen for a second, before pushing it back into her pocket. Tom arched an eyebrow at her, but didn't comment on her apparent lack of interest in the message. Instead, he moved over to the fridge and opened the door, looking for something to make for dinner. Screwing up his nose at the lack of anything appetising, Tom turned around and shrugged at his stepdaughter.

"Pizza?" Before Hollie could reply, her mobile beeped again and she sighed, reading the message quickly. "Who's that?"

"Just Zoe… apparently everyone's in the pub."

"And you're not because?"

"I wanted to see you and Mum."

"Well, you've seen me and your mum is probably at the pub." He told her with a grin. "If I was you, I'd text Zoe back and tell her you're on your way."

Grinning, Hollie pecked him on the cheek and headed back towards the front door, grabbing her denim jacket and bag on the way. The door closed behind her with a click and the teenager felt as though somehow, finally, things were going right.

When she arrived at the pub, however, she received her first disappointment of the night. There was no sign of Nikki at the bar or at the table in the corner with the other teachers. Crossing the room quickly, Hollie bent to speak to Maggie, asking whether the housemistress had seen her mother. When she shook her head and said that she hadn't seen the English teacher since their end of term staff meeting, Hollie frowned in confusion.

"Maybe she's gone to speak to Vix?" Scout suggested when Hollie joined them at their table. There was a brief interruption as Rhiannon finished downing her dirty Vimto and burped loudly. "That's what you wanted, isn't it? I bet that's where she's gone."

Hollie nodded slowly and took a long drink from her vodka and coke. "I guess."

"Come on." Scout urged, nudging her in the shoulder. "Enjoy yourself. It's the last day of school… we've got exams and then… uni or whatever… to look forward to. Your mum will break up with Vix and things will be better. Will whatever you do tonight have any effect on what your Mum does? Just… enjoy!"

Reluctantly, Hollie nodded and finished her drink. She nodded when Dynasty asked whether she wanted the same again. A short while later Connor returned with another round and then, after that, it was Scout's turn to get the drinks in. By the time she found herself back at the front door of the house she shared with her stepfather, Hollie could barely remember her own name.

"You have absolutely no right to look that perky." Tom teased the next morning as Hollie dropped into a chair at the kitchen table and took a bite out of the slice of toast she had made herself. He handed her a mug of tea with a grin. "Get that down you."

"Thanks." She murmured, taking a slurp from the mug and setting it down in front of her. "Have you heard from Mum?"

"Nope." Tom said with a shrug, settling himself down opposite her with AJ on his lap. "Why don't you go over and see her. Maybe take her out for lunch?"

"Lunch?"

"She's had a rough time." Her stepfather reminded her. "You both have. Just… do something nice and talk."

Nodding, Hollie leant over to kiss him and AJ on their foreheads, before jogging upstairs to get dressed. She threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, deciding to take Tom up on his advice. Pushing her feet into flip-flops and grabbing her bag off her bed, she headed back downstairs, calling out that she was going round to Nikki's.

"Take this." Tom caught her arm and pushed few twenty-pound notes into her hand. "Treat yourselves."

Thanking him again, Hollie walked up the road in the direction of her mother's home. It took half an hour to walk from one house to the other and the teenager enjoyed the exercise. With her headphones on and the sun beating down on her, it was easy to forget all the bad things that had been happening recently. With the exception of a handful of exams, she was free for the foreseeable future and Hollie was suddenly determined to make the most of it.

"Mum?" Hollie reached out to knock on the front door; her hand dropping to her side as she realised that it was already swinging on its hinges. Knowing that her mother would never have left the door unlocked caused the teenager's heart to plummet. "Mum?"

There was no response to her calls, so Hollie walked further into the house, making sure the door was closed behind her. She didn't need the surprise of anyone sneaking up on her; it was already eerie enough without having to worry about that as well. Her footsteps across the laminate wooden flooring were deafening and Hollie had the urge to kick off her shoes and go barefoot, just to stop the tapping sound.

Pulling out her mobile, she selected Jo's number from her favourites and held the handset to her ear. It rang and rang, eventually going to answerphone. Hollie swore under her breath, peering around the doorframe into the kitchen, before choosing Sam's number and trying again.

When there was no answer on Sam's mobile either, Hollie swore under her breath and crept into the kitchen. She pushed her phone into her back pocket, wondering where her mother was and why the door had been open.

Just as she decided to leave the house and go back to Tom's, she heard footsteps in the hall and rushed in the direction of the sound. Her mouth dropped open as she realised who was looking at her with their arms folded across their chest and a smirk fixed on their face.

"Hey, Hols."

"Gavin? What are you…? You can't be here. Where's my Mum?"

He chuckled. "Don't worry about your mummy… I'll take you to see her soon."

"You've got her?" Hollie leapt forwards. "Where is she? What are you doing with her?"

Grasping her arm uncomfortably tightly, he yanked her towards the front door, stopping when she started to struggle. Sighing, Gavin spun her around and bent down slightly to look in her eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"You wanna stop struggling now?"

"No."

"You wanna see your mum?"

"Yes."

"Then stop struggling."