Kate opened her eyes and looked around her. The sterile walls, the screens, the machines. She was in hospital.

Her hands quickly flew to her stomach which felt sore and tender. And quite flat. Flatter than it had been the last time she had soothed the kicking baby. She fumbled around with her finger tips, feeling under the gown she was wearing so that her hands touched her bare stomach. There was something there, a dressing or bandage. She let out a groan and became instantly aware that there was someone else in the room.

"Kate. Kate. Can you hear me?"

The voice was not familiar and when she turned her head in the general direction and opened her eyes again, she didn't recognise the figure in front of her.

"Kate, my name is Dr Malik. I am looking after you. How are you feeling?"

Kate looked frightened and she widened her eyes.

"It's OK Kate. You've been in a car accident. We've patched you up and have been waiting for to wake up."

"The baby …."

Dr Malik took her hand and started to feel her pulse.

" … is fine. She is just fine. She is at home with your wife."

"Caroline."


Caroline couldn't move. Her mouth was agape and her hand quickly moved up to her face to cover it. Her eyes were wide and she slowly started to smile. Tears were spilling down her cheeks and she took 2 small steps forward before her hands fell down to her side and she let out a noise that sounded half way between a laugh and a cry. She stood back, one hand on her hip, the other pushing her hair back off her face.

"Caroline."

"Kate. Oh my God, Kate. How long have you err how are aww oh my God. You can talk."

Elizabeth laughed.

"Of course she can talk. Now, come over here and sit down."

With their gazes locked, they stared and smiled at each other for a good two minutes. Elizabeth slowly moved to be by Caroline's side and then she took her arm and guided her backwards towards the chair. Caroline perched on the edge of it, looking from Kate to Elizabeth and back again like a spectator at a tennis match.

"Kate opened her eyes in the early hours of this morning. Since then, she has had short periods where she has been awake and she has managed to have a short conversation with the doctor and myself. She has still not fully come round from her medication but Kate is definitely more aware now than she was earlier. She will still tire very easily so I must ask you not to excite her or wear her out too much. There is a long way to go yet but Kate is making amazing progress. It is a good sign that she is starting to speak and communicate with us. I will ask the doctor to come down shortly to give you more details. But the signs are very good."

Elizabeth looked over at Kate who was smiling weakly at them. She nodded in agreement.

Caroline was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She couldn't take her eyes off Kate and when her eyes started to close, she whispered her name. Elizabeth touched her on the shoulder.

"She's tired Caroline. It may not seem like much to you but this will have worn her out. Let her sleep."

"Has she asked about the baby? Kate, do you know about the baby?"

Kate opened her eyes again and smiled.

"Yes. The doctor told me. What is she like?"

She started to lick her bottom lip and Caroline looked around for a glass of water. There was one on the bedside locker with a sponge lollipop in it. She gently dabbed this on Kate's lips and look over at Elizabeth.

"It is OK isn't it?"

She nodded.

"You can give her small sips too but be careful."

Caroline stood upright and gently smoothed Kate's hair off her face.

"Oh Kate, she is just so, well just so perfect. A miniature version of her mummy. She is very pretty, almost as pretty as you."

She leaned forward and kissed the bridge of her nose.

"I will bring her in later to see you. You will fall in love with her the minute you see her, I know you will."

"Her name?"

Caroline smiled and looked at Elizabeth.

"Flossie."

Kate raised her eyebrows and opened her eyes wide.

"No. Please. Caroline. No."

Caroline took hold of Kate's hand and kissed it.

"I'm kidding. It's just a name my mother gave her. No, I wanted to wait for you to wake up, to get better. I wanted you to see her before we decided what to call her. Before we gave her a name that she will hate when she is older."

Kate looked pensive.

"Flora."

"Pardon? What did you say?"

"Flora. Flora Grace."

Caroline leaned forward, her ear right next to Kate's mouth.

"Did you say Flora Grace?"

Kate nodded.

"Well, urm, OK. Yes. Yes. Are you sure? Are you sure you don't want to see her first before you decide?"

Kate stubbornly shook her head.

"No."

Her eyes slowly closed and her hand fell out of Caroline's loose grip. Caroline started to panic and she looked across at Elizabeth who put her finger to her mouth to hush her.

"Let her sleep. Come on."

Reluctantly, Caroline followed Elizabeth out of the room and gently closed the door behind her. As soon as she heard it click, she slowly slid down the door and sat on the floor crying.

"I'm sorry. I thought I'd lost her. I thought I would never hear her voice again. I thought that I would be a widow after only a few short days of being married. I'm just so, well you know, just so relieved."

Elizabeth lowered herself onto one knee and took her hand in her own and put it on her leg.

"Oh Caroline. It's OK. Come on, let it all out. It's all going to be OK. It's OK to be relieved. It's OK to cry. However, it is not OK to be sat on the floor though in the middle of the hospital corridor. Come on, let's get you up."

Caroline laughed and allowed Elizabeth to pull her up.

"Thank you. It is going to be alright isn't it? Kate will be OK won't she?"

Caroline looked imploringly at Elizabeth who, still holding her hand, took her other one and brought them to her chest. She looked deep into her eyes.

"I hope so Caroline. I really do hope so."

Caroline sighed and squeezed her hands.

"Oh my goodness. My mother. I need to ring my mum. Will you excuse me."

Elizabeth nodded and smiled as Caroline looked down the corridor for somewhere to make the call. She spotted a group of chairs near the vending machines and flopped into one of them. Taking her phone out of her bag, she dialled Celia.

"Mum, it's me."

"Hello love. Everything OK?"

"Yes mum, I think so. Well, no I don't, err I'm not exactly sure really. I just spoke to, I spoke to "

"John?"

"No, I spoke to "

"The Archbishop of Canterbury?"

"No, no mum. I just spoke to "

"The Queen of Sheeba?"

"For goodness sake mum, will you just listen! I just spoke to Kate."

There was silence.

"Mum, are you there? Did you hear me? I said that I just spoke to Kate."

Celia was pacing around Caroline's kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder at Alan who was holding the baby high on his shoulder, gently tapping her back.

"What? Yes, sorry love. So Kate is awake? Is she alright? What about you Caroline? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine mum, yes. And Kate is fine. Well, she is getting better at least. She has woken up. Kate has woken up and she has spoken to me and to the nurse."

"Oh Caroline. That's wonderful. Alan, Kate has woken up and spoken to our Caroline."

Alan grinned, his eyes twinkling and smiling back at his wife.

"Anyway, the reason I rang. The reason for my call, apart from telling you that Kate is awake. I wanted to tell you that we have given the baby a name. Well, Kate has given the baby a name. We are calling her, the baby, we are calling her Flora Grace."

"What did you say? Flora? Flora as in the margarine?"

Caroline rolled her eyes and held her mobile phone to her shoulder for a split second.

"Yes, Flora Grace. Kate, err, she she wants to call the baby Flora."

Celia stopped pacing and furrowed her eyebrows as though listening for the first time. She covered the mouth piece of the phone and looked over at Alan.

"They've finally given the baby a name."

"Aww, that's lo …"

She swatted her hand to silence Alan.

"What a nice name love. I think Kate has chosen well."

"Yes, I think so too mum. I think it suits her perfectly. So I will be home as soon as I can and then you can get off to see Gillian and Calamity and the rest of the family. Is that OK?"

Celia nodded then realised she was on the phone.

"Yes, that's fine. Bye love. Bye bye."

Caroline stared at the phone screen for a while after her mother had hung up then put her phone in her bag and started to make her way back down to the side ward. Quietly opening the door, she tentatively stepped inside and approached the side of the bed.

"Oh Kate. You can't begin to imagine how much I have hoped for this day. How I have prayed for the moment when you would open your eyes. When I would see your smile and hear your voice."

She bent forward and kissed her on the cheek, tracing her finger along her jaw line and around the outline of her lips.

"I'm going to go home and fetch Flora. Flora, our little girl. And then I am going to come back with her and you are going to meet her for the first time."

She kissed her once more and then left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She almost ran back to her car, her step lighter and her smile wider than it had been in days.


As soon as Caroline entered the house, Alan was by her side. She turned to him and he opened his arms wide, inviting her into the warmth of his body. They hugged each other for what seemed like an age and Caroline unashamedly cried.

"It's OK love."

Alan rubbed her back and rocked her gently from side to side.

"Thank you Alan. Thank you for everything that you and mum have done this past week. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Celia appeared at the top of the stairs holding the baby.

"Flossie, the baby, Flora Grace, is all fed and winded and changed. Shall I leave her up here?"

Caroline started up the stairs towards her.

"No, no, I'll take her."

Celia carefully placed her in her arms and Caroline kissed her forehead.

"Flora. Flora Grace. It's a perfect name. Just perfect. Has she been ok?"

"Oh aye love, as good as gold."

Alan was looking up at them from the bottom of the stairs.

"In fact, when Lawrence burst into the kitchen, the way he does …."

"Is Lawrence home? Where is he?"

Caroline didn't know whether to carry on up the stairs his room or downstairs.

"In the front room. Him and Angus are having an X-Box tournament or something. Disturb him at your peril".

Caroline carefully walked down the stars.

"At my peril? Sod that. I haven't seen him for days. And this is my house. My house. And I will do what I choose."


Angus looked up as Caroline entered the room.

"Hello Dr Elliott, err Mrs Dawson err Caroline."

"Hello Angus. Are you well?"

"Yes thank you. Urm how is Miss McKenzie?"

"We are, yes, she is fine thank you Angus. Lawrence. Would you like to turn that thing off and at least acknowledge that I am in the same room as you?"

"In a minute. I'm in the middle of "

"Now."

Caroline stood in front of Lawrence, Flora still in her arms, and expertly turned off the television with her foot. She didn't move and waited for Lawrence to start his tirade towards her. It didn't come. Instead, he placed the remote control gently on the settee and stood up.

"Come on Angus. Let's go to yours."

He made towards the door and Angus awkwardly started to follow.

"Sit!"

The one word was firm, commanding, and both boys instinctively fell back down on the settee and sat upright.

"Angus, would you like to wait in the car for me please and I will take you home in just a few minutes. Lawrence, if you could just spare me a moment of your time, that would be much appreciated. I just need to speak to you. It won't take long."

Angus sloped out of the room, giving Lawrence a backward glance. Caroline waited until she had heard the front door shut.

"Right Lawrence. You need to listen to me. And you need to listen to me properly with both your ears. Whether you like it or not, you now have a baby sister. She may not be your flesh and blood or indeed mine but I am married to her mother so that makes her your step sister. And she lives in this house, here with us. So you need to stop sulking and grow up and face the facts. Which are these. You have a good home and a mother who loves you. You have Kate who also thinks the world of you and you have a sister who I am sure will grow up to love you equally as much too. Her name is Flora Grace. This is her, here in my arms. Oh, and you live here, with me and Kate and Flora, because the place where your father is living is a complete shit tip and you wouldn't last for 2 minutes there. And quite frankly, I really don't think you would want to. Live there I mean. Do you understand?"

Lawrence was speechless.

"So you are going to do as you are told and study hard. You will keep your nose clean and school and you will start to help around the house. Do you have any questions?"

He shook his head, almost too shocked to speak.

"You are a smart boy and I am sure you have realised that there will be some changes in this house that will affect you and quite frankly the sooner you get used to them, the better. Now I am going to put a coat on Flora, fasten her into the car and take Angus home. You can choose to come with me, with us, or you can choose to make a start on tea. I have left everything out on the side in the kitchen. I will leave the decision entirely up to you."

"I'll get my coat. I'm coming with you."

Caroline smiled as she watched her middle child slink out of the room.