Jinxy999: Thank you and I'm really enjoying that storyline and I'm kind of hoping that they bring in some of the symptoms to show that Ethan could be developing it already if you know what I mean. I don't know if they will though, George might have left Casualty by the time Ethan starts getting the symptoms or something.
ETWentHome: She does, especially because she's married to him and they have a daughter. I just think Ethan is in denial and that he doesn't want to think of the symptoms because it would make his illness all too real.
sweeet-as-honey: I love Ethan, he's so sweet and definitely does not deserve the diagnosis of Huntington's bless him. I really like the storyline though and there's going to be a lot of family cuteness in this story.
Agirlwithgreatpotential: I'm glad you got the joke, haha. I thought it would be quite funny :-)
Chapter Eight
Cal knew that Ava belonged to him. He didn't want to upset Lily, he didn't want to upset Ethan and he certainly did not want to ruin what they had. Lily had allowed him to see Ava, mainly because he was her uncle and Ethan's brother and he appreciated that but he found it hard to be around her when he knew that she wasn't really Ethan's daughter.
Matilda had started at the local school, a different one to Ava's, and Connie had allowed Cal to have weekends off to take care of her. She understood how difficult it was to be a single parent so she'd contracted him to work Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday as his days off. It was a Saturday and he was just slouched in front of the TV, flicking through the channels. He'd planned to take Matilda to the zoo but it was raining unfortunately.
"Daddy, I'm bored," Matilda groaned, leaning against the doorframe.
"Why don't you play in your room?" Cal asked.
"Boring," Matilda sighed. "Can't we go out somewhere?"
"It's raining," Cal told her. "Sorry princess. Why don't we play a game?" Matilda shrugged her shoulders. "How about you invite a friend over?"
"A friend?" Matilda scowled. "I've only been at school for a few days, I haven't made any friends yet."
"You will eventually," Cal said and gave her a comforting smile. "People will be crazy to not want to play with you. You'll make loads of friends, trust me."
"Can Ava come round?" Matilda asked. "Please. She's actually really fun and she's my cousin and all that."
"I don't know," Cal sighed.
"Please," Matilda begged. "It beats just sitting around this place. Come on dad, I don't have many friends. Ava's the closest I have."
"What?" Cal chuckled and nudged his arm. "You don't want to hang out with your old man."
"Please," Matilda scoffed. "You got out of breath going up the escalator in the supermarket the other day." She laughed and wrapped her skinny, little arms around his waist. "So, can Ava come round or not?" Cal smiled and nodded. "Thanks daddy. You're the best."
Ethan was working so Lily brought Ava over to Cal's house. She'd been hesitant at first but Ava had been listening in on her mum's phone call and had begged her to take her to see Matilda. Lily hated to break her little girl's heart so she had no choice.
"Thanks, Lily," Cal thanked her when they arrived.
"Don't mention it," Lily whispered and slipped Ava's coat off of her. "Good girl. It is pouring it down out there."
"I bet." Cal smiled. "I'll drop her home in a few hours then, yeah?" Lily stood up straight and her eyes widened. "Is that a problem?"
"Um..." Lily anxiously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just...I...I thought I was staying..."
"I'm capable of looking after the girls by myself," Cal said. "Ava will be fine, honestly."
"I'd much rather stay," Lily said. "Please."
"Fine," Cal sighed and slammed the door shut. "I um...I guess that we can talk whilst the girls play. Did you want a tea or a coffee or anything?" Lily shook her head and took her own coat off. "You sure?"
"I'm sure," she whispered and ruffled Ava's hair. "Go on baby. Go and find Matilda, yeah?" Ava nodded and ran off to look for her cousin. "So um..." Lily ran a nervous hand through her hair. "How have...How have you been?"
"Good." Cal shrugged his shoulders. "I have weekends off and Matilda is at school now. She's feeling kind of bored and lonely though, I mean she hasn't made any friends yet. I'm kind of worried about her, that was why she wanted to see Ava so badly."
"She'll make friends," Lily reassured him. "Ethan and I didn't think Ava would make any friends at first but now she has a fair few."
"How is Ethan doing?" Cal asked but Lily just hung her head. "Let's go and sit down."
Lily followed Cal into the living room and the two of them sat on the sofa. They could hear Matilda and Ava upstairs giggling and playing and Lily smiled, pleased to hear that her daughter was having fun.
"So how's he doing?" Cal repeated.
"I don't know," Lily sighed. "I think he...He might be developing the symptoms already."
"What makes you think that?" Cal asked, feeling sick at the thought of his brothers illness.
"He...He dropped a plate the other day," Lily told him.
"A plate?" Cal had to laugh. "I've dropped plates before, Lily. Everyone has their clumsy moments."
"But then he got really angry," Lily said. "And he completely forgot about his appraisal with Mrs Beauchamp. Aren't people supposed to remember that stuff? He's just...Well, I knew a bit about the disease from being a doctor but after his diagnosis I decided to do a little bit more research and he's just showing all of the signs. I was hoping that it wouldn't start early, Ava is at a really young age and...I guess I never really thought it through properly."
"I don't know what to do," Cal sighed.
"Well he's your brother, isn't he?" Lily said.
"What am I supposed to do though?" He questioned. "He's already had the diagnosis and I...I don't think he really wants to talk about it. Does he ever talk to you about it?"
"Not much," Lily replied and shrugged her shoulders. "If I mention it, it's as if he's in denial about the entire thing."
"And um...Ava...?" Cal asked.
"She knows," Lily whispered with a heavy sigh. "I explained it to her as best as I possibly could. She knows that her daddy is ill, she just doesn't know how severe it could get."
"Daddy?" Cal asked.
"Cal, don't do this please," Lily whined. "She is Ethan's daughter."
"You don't know that," Cal hissed. "I'm just asking for one thing, Lily. I just want you to take a test, just to check if she is mine. I'll leave you alone after that."
"No, it will ruin Ethan if he ever finds out that we slept together," Lily said. "He's already going through a hard time. I...I can't make things worst for him, I just can't do that."
"Well, can I ask you something?" Cal asked.
Lily faintly nodded and whispered, "sure." She looked nervous though.
"Who do you think Ava's dad is? Ethan or me?"
I was so pleased that I managed to update this story today. I was so busy at work that I never got a chance but I managed to squeeze some writing in this evening thankfully :-)
