Caroline was sitting in the waiting room feeding Flora when the nurse who had been looking after Kate popped her head around the door.

"Kate's back now if you want to come in and see her."

She jumped up, expertly juggling the baby with her changing bag. Placing Flora in the car seat, Caroline followed the nurse, oblivious to the screams and protests at her meal being interrupted.

"Is she err has everything gone OK?"

The nurse held the door open for her and let her into the cubicle area.

"The doctor will tell you more. Don't worry."

But Caroline was worried. When she rounded the corner and saw Kate, she was wearing a hospital gown and had a cannula in her foot. She stopped briefly, her eyes wide, then realised that she wasn't helping Kate by looking worried.

"Hello".

She smiled and sat on the chair at the side of Kate. She picked up Flora again and carried on feeding her, reaching out to Kate with the hand cradling the baby.

The doctor, who had been unseen by Caroline, put down his notes and walked forward.

"So the results of the scan were inconclusive but we are pretty sure that Kate has a DVT. We need to do a venogram to confirm that. It is a straight forward procedure. We inject a coloured dye into this cannula and give it time to travel up through Kate's veins. Then we will x-ray her leg and the dye will highlight any gaps where the clot is stopping the flow of blood."

All the while, Kate and Caroline were looking at the doctor intently. Flora was making little suckling noises and Caroline flicked her eyes to her bottle from time to time to make sure that she was still getting milk.

"How long will this, err will this take long?"

Caroline looked up at the doctor with her bright blue eyes.

"About an hour from start to finish."

"And then what?"

"If the tests conclude that Kate does have a DVT, we will get her started on an anticoagulant straight away. We will give her heparin and then prescribe another drug to take longer term until we can be sure we have minimised any risks."

Caroline looked at Kate and then back at the doctor.

"Will she need to take warfarin?"

The doctor stood with his hands behind his back trying to weigh up the woman throwing all the questions at him.

"We will probably prescribe apixaban. It is just as effective but has less serious side effects than warfarin. Kate will need to take the tablets twice a day for approximately 3 months. And she will need to wear compression stockings for at least 4 weeks. Sorry. I know they aren't very fetching."

For the first time since she had been brought into the hospital, Kate laughed.

"You can say that again."

"Right, let me get a nurse to inject the dye into you and we can get started with this procedure."


Caroline was pacing the corridor, her hand supporting the elbow of her right arm which was holding the phone close to her ear.

"No mum, everything is fine. Yes, yes, Kate is fine. No I have absolutely no idea. Yes, I will. Give my love to Alan. I've got to go. Bye. Bye bye."

As she put her phone into her pocket, she spotted a familiar figure striding towards her. She knew she had turned too late but she would have done anything to avoid being seen. Bending down she picked up Flora and started to walk the other way.

"Caroline! What are you doing here?"

Caroline slowly turned around.

"Oh, Dan. I err I erm didn't see you there. What a small world."

She took small tentative steps towards Dan.

"Listen Caroline, I need to explain. I need to talk to you."

Caroline stopped.

"There isn't anything to say Dan. And you have nothing that I want to hear."

Dan stood in her way as she went to return back to the waiting room. Flora was in her carry chair on the crook of her arm and Caroline thrust that in front of her to act as a barrier.

"Caroline, let me explain. Please."

Caroline shifted from one foot to the other and looked over Dan's shoulder, desperate for a distraction.

"I'm not going to let you leave until you hear me out. Please Caroline. Hear what I have to say."

Caroline put Flora down on a row of chairs at the side of her. She folded her arms and shifted her weight onto one side.

"Why Dan? Why should I give you even 1 minute to explain? First Elizabeth tries to take advantage of Kate and seduce her. And then you! You are under some strange illusion that I find you irresistible and would want to, well you know, that I would want to betray Kate and do whatever it is that people do when they cheat on their wife."

Caroline was starting to feel more awkward by the minute and she looked up at Dan and made to walk away once more. Dan reached out and touched her arm and quickly retracted as she felt Caroline flinch under her hand.

"I've got a new job down here."

Caroline turned her body so she was looking straight at Dan.

"We need a fresh start, Elizabeth and the boys and me. That's why we are here, in Cornwall. There are so many things that we need to get away from up there in Harrogate. We do love each other. We just need a chance."

"Oh I see."

Caroline looked at Dan, her head slightly on one side. She didn't know what to say.

"What about Elizabeth? Will she leave her job?"

"She will sign up with an agency once we are settled. There is always work for nurses."

"She is a damn good nurse Dan."

Dan smiled.

"Yeah, I know. She's a damn good woman. It's just that, oh I don't know. We are always under so much pressure with our jobs and looking after the boys and stuff. You lose sight of each other don't you? When you're not making time for your own relationship that is."

Caroline dug her hands into her pockets and looked down at her feet, her shoulders slightly hunched. She stayed that way for what felt like ages and then looked directly at Dan.

"I can't say I would know. Kate and I are …. Well we are …. Let's just say that we are not like that."

She turned to pick up Flora.

"I need to go and see Kate. They are, erm, she is having a procedure done and I want to be there when she gets back."

Extending her hand to Dan, she indicated that the conversation was over.

"Give Elizabeth my regards and all the very best to you too. Cornwall is a beautiful part of the country. I am sure you will be very happy."

Dan paused and then took hold of Caroline's hand, gently squeezing it before she shook it.

"I will. You take care Caroline. I do wish we could be friends and "

"Goodbye Dan."

Caroline had heard enough and was eager to get back to Kate. Without looking back, she walked down the corridor and back into the cubicle area.

Dan stood watching, her mind trying to focus on her new job and her family. Moving from Harrogate was absolutely the right thing to do.


Caroline was pondering the conversation with Dan when they wheeled Kate back into the cubicle. She jumped up onto her feet and rushed over to her.

"How are you?"

Kate smiled up at her.

"Fine. I didn't feel a thing. Well, I did when they put the dye in but other than that it was fine. How have my 2 favourite girls been?"

Caroline smiled at her and looked over at the doctor.

"Fine. Yes, we have been fine."

She addressed the doctor.

"How are things?"

The doctor put down the file and walked over to the bedside.

"Kate does have a clot in her leg but nothing that has caused us any great concern. We have administered a drug that will break it down and then she will need to be on another tablet for a while and visit the hospital for a review. But she is safe to go home. Well, back to your holiday apartment. You can enjoy the last few days of your holiday without any worries."

Caroline held out her hand to the doctor.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you Caroline. If it wasn't for your quick thinking, this might have gone unnoticed and been even more serious."

Caroline blushed.

"Oh, I don't know doctor. The fact that Kate collapsed on the floor told me it was something that needed attention."

They all laughed and the doctor backed away out of the cubicle.

"I will be sending a letter to your doctor outlining what has happened. He will be expecting you to get in touch so don't forget. Take care ladies."

"Thank you doctor."

Kate reached out for Caroline's hand and let out a big sigh. She smiled up at her and mouthed

"I love you."

Caroline leaned forward and kissed her.

"I know."


Caroline was quiet on the way back and Kate took it as relief that she had got the all clear and had been discharged with nothing more than a follow up appointment and a packet of pills. But when this continued into the evening, Kate was starting to worry.

She put Flora in her cot and sat at the side of Caroline, cosying up to her and leaning her head on her shoulder.

"OK?"

"What?"

Caroline took off her glasses looking somewhat distracted.

"I asked if you were OK. Caroline, something isn't right. You haven't been right since we left the hospital. What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

Caroline brushed her hair from out of her eyes and folded her glasses into her lap. She gave a small cough and turned around slightly so she was facing Kate.

"I saw Dan earlier."

Her voice was a mere whisper.

"Where? You never said."

Kate sat forward and frowned.

"At the hospital. She had been for a job interview and had just accepted a new position."

"What, down here in St Ives? What about Elizabeth and the children? She's not leaving them is she?"

Caroline shook her head.

"Apparently not. She said something about them needing to make time for each other and that there were too many distractions in Harrogate. I do think she loves her you know. But I think she is someone who will never settle down with one person. The grass is always greener on the other side."

Kate took Caroline's hands in her own and gently squeezed them.

"Maybe it's for the best. For them. For us. I mean, I was never attracted to Elizabeth but she did come on rather hard. Dan was the same. Maybe they need someone else to tell them that they are loved, that they are special. I don't need anyone else to tell me that because I have you."

Caroline looked up and saw that Kate was crying. She reached out and took her face in her hands and wiped the tear away with her thumbs.

"Oh Kate. I love you. I love you so very much."

She took her hand and pulled her up off the settee.

"Come on, it's been a long and difficult day. Let's get some sleep."


Caroline opened her eyes and squinted at the sun streaming through a crack in the curtain. She buried her face into Kate's neck and whispered something in her ear. Kate moaned and shifted her position, placing a lingering kiss on Caroline's lips. Her kisses continued to her throat and she deftly unfastened the buttons on her pyjama top. Paying no attention to her sighs, Kate moved her mouth to Caroline's breasts, cupping one in her hand and bringing the nipple to her mouth, swirling her tongue around it and feeling it go hard.

Caroline ran her hands over the top of Kate's head, clasping her fingers together and pulling Kate closer. She parted her legs and Kate moved her body in between them. Pulling the bed clothes off, she gave herself access to Caroline's body as she lay in the middle of the bed.

Reaching her hands down, Caroline found Kate's pert nipples and she rolled them between her fingers, weighing her breasts with both hands and caressing them over her vest. Kate stopped for a second while she relished in the touch.

Feeling dominant, Kate's mouth slowly moved down Caroline's stomach and she gently nipped the skin around the top of her pyjama trousers. Carefully, she started to pull them down, revealing Caroline's creamy thighs. Caroline groaned and lifted her body, allowing Kate to remove the trousers. She quickly tossed them onto the floor.

Inhaling her scent, Kate's tongue started to run up and down Caroline's inner thigh, moving to her mound, darting in and out. Caroline closed her legs, clamping them softly around Kate's head, her hips thrusting slowly.

Kate buried her head deeper, her fingers slipping quickly in and out, first one and then two. Caroline bit her lip, her panting getting quicker until at last, Kate felt her quiver around her fingers.

When she finally stopped, Kate moved back up the bed and lay at the side of Caroline, propping herself up on her arm and watching the colour the colour gradually fade from her chest. She ran her fingers up and down her cleavage.

"I see someone is feeling better."

Caroline turned to face Kate and her smile was returned.

"I didn't hear you complaining."

Leaning forward, she gave Kate a long and slow kiss.

"Never my love. Never. Now, you lay there and I will make you some breakfast."

"I have no intention of moving until you do."

She flicked Caroline's thigh as she got up off the bed. Turning round, she blew her a kiss and walked out of the room, aware that Kate was watching her as she grabbed her robe from the floor and put it on.


Caroline threw the last of the suitcases in the jeep and then climbed the steps back to the front door of the apartment.

"Is that everything?"

She spoke as she walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Kate turned around.

"Yes. I have checked the bedroom and the bathroom twice. We definitely have everything."

"Good. Let's get going then."

It was just after 11am and they had made a last minute decision to stop off in Bristol overnight. Caroline wasn't looking forward to a 7 hour drive and she was very aware that they would need to make frequent stops to allow Kate to stretch her legs and get some exercise.

They loaded Flora into the back of the car and Kate climbed into the front. Pulling slowly down the drive and stopped and they both turned around to get one last look at the view from the street.

"I will always remember this holiday Caroline. Our first holiday together. Our first holiday as a family."

Kate reached out her hand and placed it on Caroline's thigh.

"Me too. I was sad when we stopped coming here with the boys. But this is like the start of a new chapter for me. For us. Does that sound silly?"

She wrinkled her nose and looked over at Kate.

"Not at all. I love it when you get all sentimental with me. It reminds you that 92% of the children at school are wrong and that your nickname isn't justly deserved after all."

"What nickname?"

Her eyes were wide and Kate couldn't tell if she was on the verge of getting upset or just being dramatic. She laughed at her.

"Mmmm well, I have a few to choose from. When you are in your robes, the children call you Dr Death because they say you look like some ghouly figure almost floating down the halls ready to get your next victim. And when you are doing your staff meetings, the team call you Frosty Knickers because you are cold and hard faced."

Caroline opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. Her hands flew to the steering wheel and she gripped it before turning slowly to face Kate. Her expression was one of shock.

"Do they? Do they really? I had no idea."

"Are you being serious? You had no idea that you had those nicknames? Has Lawrence or William never let them slip in conversations?"

Caroline shook her head.

"Never."

And then she laughed. Her body doubled over and her laugh got louder until she had difficulty breathing.

"That is actually quite funny. Dr Death and Frosty Knickers. It sounds like some Marvel character with a dual personality."

Her voice changed tone.

"By day, she stalks the halls of Sulgrave and answers to the name of Mrs Frosty Knickers. By night, she transforms into Dr Death and haunts the streets of Harrogate looking for her latest victim."

Kate started to laugh and she took Caroline's hand and kissed the back of it.

"I am glad you see the funny side of it Caroline."

"Oh I do. But God help the next person I hear calling me either of those names."

She put the car into gear and pulled slowly out of the street and down onto the main road. Smiling, she wound the window down and inhaled the sea air, looking out over the water and out into the distance. Yes, she would remember this holiday for a long time to come.