CBloom2: Me too and you'll soon see a Cal and Ethan scene, maybe in the next chapter :-)

ETWentHome: Bless him, I do feel sorry for him.

HarryPotterHolbyAndHorses: I really like it so far :-)

sweeet-as-honey: Haha, I can just picture him like that bless him. He can be a little slow. I think Cal just wants to be a bigger part of her life as well, especially if he thinks he is her dad. More drama to come.

Chapter Seventeen

"You slept with my brother," Ethan hissed and ran his hands down his face. Lily and Ethan were both sat on the sofa in the staffroom, talking privately about the situation. "Can you not see why I'm upset, Lily?" He asked. "You slept with my brother!"

"I know, I know," Lily sighed and anxiously rubbed at her arms. "You said."

"What about this baby, hmm?" Ethan scoffed and diverted his eyes to Lily's stomach. "Is that Cal's as well?"

"No!" Lily shouted at him and shook her head. "Ava doesn't even belong to Cal. I know, okay? I know my daughter and she's you Ethan, she is all you. Trust me."

"What if Ava ends up having Huntington's then?" Ethan asked. "Will she still be mine then?"

"Of course." Lily nodded at him. "Of course she will be."

"I can't help having this illness, you know?" Ethan sobbed, tears trickling down his cheeks. "I wish more than anything in the world that I didn't have it but I do unfortunately and I can't change it. Any kids that I have may inherit it as well Lily and I know that you don't want that! I also know that...That you won't be able to cope when my illness gets worst and I don't want to leave you in charge of being my carer."

"What are you saying?" Lily whispered.

"That I don't blame you if you want to sleep with Cal," Ethan cried. "I don't blame you if you'd rather have Cal's children instead."

"Ethan," Lily sniffed and shook her head at him. "That isn't how I feel at all. I love you, okay? Yes, I...I'm going to find certain things difficult but we'll get through it and we'll get through it together because we love each other."

"I...I just want you to answer me one question," Ethan said. "Why did you do it? Why did you sleep with Cal?"

"To make myself feel better," Lily whispered. "I'll be honest, I...I found your diagnosis difficult to deal with and I...I was getting stressed out over work and Cal was there. He...He made me feel better and we ended up kissing, then...Well, one thing lead to another."

"Is that why he left?" Ethan asked. "Is that why he left and never came back?"

"Maybe." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Ethan. I...I think so, I'm really sorry."

"All my life I have been in Cal's shadow," Ethan cried and buried his head in his hands. "He's always been the more popular one, the one who got all the girls and I...I was so happy when I was the one getting married and having kids because I did it all before him. Now...Even you prefer Cal."

"No, I don't." Lily shook her head. "I love you Ethan, and only you."

"Do you really not want to get a paternity test done?" Ethan asked.

"No," Lily sobbed. "Do you want me to get one?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "If...If Ava really is Cal's, I...I don't know if I'll ever be able to live with myself. I probably won't even remember this conversation in a few weeks time, my symptoms are beginning to worsen."

"Hey," Lily comforted and moved closer to Ethan, taking his hand in hers. "I'm there for you, okay? We'll get Ava tested and we'll get through it together. Please forgive me."

"I'm letting it go," Ethan sighed. "For Ava's sake. I honestly don't know if I'll ever forgive you or Cal again though. You just need to give me some space, all right?" Lily nodded, her tears falling harder. "It's just how I feel, Lily. I think I need to keep my distance from Cal as well, I don't want to end up doing something that I'd regret."

"I'm really sorry," Lily whispered.

"I know," Ethan sighed and stood up to leave the room. "You said," he added, before leaving altogether.

Lily stayed on her own for a bit, head in hands, trying to take in what Ethan had said. She sniffed and allowed her tears to fall freely down her face, just as the door opened and Connie walked in with Ava.

"What's she doing here?" Lily asked, sitting up straight and quickly wiping away her tears.

"Her teacher called Ethan earlier," Connie said. "She got upset at school. He asked me to go and fetch her though because he wanted to talk to you."

"Come here princess," Lily said and held her arms out to Ava. Ava chewed on her sleeve and walked over, climbing onto Lily's lap and wrapping her arms around her neck. "What's the matter? Why did you get upset?"

"Just did," Ava whispered softly. "Have you been crying, mummy?"

"Just a little bit," Lily said and kissed Ava's cheek. "But I'm okay now."

"I'm okay now too," Ava said. "I'll go back to school tomorrow."

"Oh honey," Lily said, pulling her close and rubbing her back. "I'm not angry with you, everyone's allowed a little time off once in a while. You stay with mummy, yeah?" Ava nodded, grinning widely from ear to ear. "Now, I have a little question for you. You know daddy isn't well, right?"

"Yes," Ava said. "I remember you telling me."

"That's right," Lily said. "The thing is we may need to do a little test on you to see if you're unwell like daddy. It won't hurt and it's nothing to be scared about and mummy and Aunty Connie will be with you. Will that be okay?"

"Okay mummy," Ava agreed. "Is it like a spelling test?"

"Not quite," Lily laughed. "What we'll have to do is just take a little bit of blood from Ava's arm."

"My blood!" Ava squealed with tears in her eyes.

"Don't be scared," Lily said. "Hey, mummy has had loads of blood tests before especially when she was pregnant with you and especially now that she's pregnant with your little brother or sister. There nothing to be scared of, I promise."

"Okay mummy," Ava said. "I'll do it for you."

"That's my girl," Lily said and kissed her cheek. "Mummy loves you."

"Ava, shall we go and find someone to look after you for a little while?" Connie asked. "Maybe daddy. Your mummy and I just need to talk about something." Ava nodded and shifted off of Lily's lap. "Good girl," Connie praised and took hold of her hand. "We'll talk in a minute, Lily," she said, before taking Ava out.

She didn't take long.

"I've left her with Ethan, is that okay?" Connie asked and sat down next to her. Lily nodded and rubbed at her legs. "Right, did you and Ethan talk?"

"Yeah," Lily choked out with a small nod and wiped her eyes again. "S...Sorry, I...I don't mean to get emotional."

"It's okay," Connie comforted and placed an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay to get upset. It's probably just your baby hormones anyway, eh? Come on, what happened?"

"He...He said that he'd probably never forgive me for...For sleeping with Cal," Lily cried. "But he's...He's going to let it go for now, because of...Of Ava. He doesn't want to get a paternity test done."

"That doesn't seem too bad," Connie said. "You're on good terms."

"He'll never forgive me, Connie," Lily sobbed, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. "He thinks I did it because of his illness, he doesn't think I love him anymore but I do. I really do."

"Hey, I know you do," Connie whispered gently. "But you do understand why Ethan can't forgive you, right?" Lily started crying harder but she nodded to show that she understood. "It doesn't mean that he'll never forgive you. It'll just take him a while to process what's happened but you two will manage and he's still going to be here for you and the new baby."

"Hmm." Lily nodded.

"Have you had a scan yet?" Connie asked and Lily shook her head. "How about I book one for you? I'm sure Ethan will come along to see his little boy or girl."

"Thank you," Lily whispered. "Is it okay if I take Ava home? I um...I kind of just want to spend some time with my little girl."

"I understand," Connie said and brushed some hair out of Lily's face. "Don't get too stressed and worked up, okay? It isn't good for the baby and you need to put your health first. If you need some time off work, let me know."

"I'll be fine," Lily said. "I don't need time off."

"You don't know that," Connie laughed. "If you do, please let me know." Lily nodded. "Good girl. Go on, go and get Ava and the two of you can head home. Have a good afternoon, yeah?"

"Thanks," Lily said.

"And come and see me tomorrow," Connie said. "And we can chat. All right?" Lily nodded and leaned in to give her a hug. "Everything will be okay," Connie said and Lily nodded, praying that Connie was right.

There is Cal and Ethan drama to come in the next chapter. I have deleted Laughter and Tears I'm afraid because I hadn't updated in ages and the two storylines were beginning to merge so this is the one that I'll be sticking with and updating. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :-) x

I've had a rubbish day at work today so updating cheered me up.