sweeet-as-honey: Thank you, it was hard to write him. It will be finishing soon I'm afraid.

Is-there-somewhere-x: Me too, they're so lovely to them both :-)

InfinityAndOne: She is and I love that side too, they rarely show it in the show but I love it when they do. Enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Thirty Six

"Dad, look what we made!" Matilda squealed, as she gestured to the sandcastle that she and Ava had built together. Ava was sat beside her, laughing as she decorated their castle with lots of pretty, little shells. "Good, huh?"

"That's fantastic, princess," Cal praised as he sat on the sand with Zack next to him in the pushchair. "Do you girls fancy ice-cream later on?"

"Definitely," Matilda said.

"When will I be going home, Uncle Cal?" Ava asked. "I have some shells for mummy and daddy."

"You and Zack are staying, sweetheart," Cal said. "You'll be living with us now."

"Why?" Ava asked and her smile faded. "Does Mummy and Daddy not want us anymore? What about Dora? I miss Dora."

"You can watch Dora at my house," Cal told her.

"I meant my rabbit," Ava said and she hung her head, tears pricking her eyes.

"Mummy and Daddy will look after her," Cal said. "Besides, I'll be getting a dog for you and Matilda."

"Really?" Matilda squealed and her eyes widened. "Thanks Dad, that's awesome!"

Ava didn't feel as happy as Matilda though. She wanted her mum and dad, she wondered why she'd suddenly gone to stay with her uncle and cousin in Bournemouth and why Zack was there as well. Did her parents not want them anymore? She clutched one of the shells in her hands and sniffed as small tears rolled down her cheeks. She missed her mum and dad.

"Princess, are you okay?" Cal whispered, noticing that his niece looked upset.

"I want to go home," Ava whispered and wiped at her watery eyes.

"No, you...You don't," Cal said. "Come on, we're having fun and later on we'll have something nice to eat and..." He trailed off, just as he noticed some familiar shadows in the distance. He gulped, realising that it was Connie with Ethan and Lily alongside her. "We're having fun," he whispered.

"What are you doing, Cal?" Connie asked, as she stood with her arms crossed.

Ava looked up and turned her head to see Connie and her parents.

"Mummy!" She screamed and stood up, before running along the sand towards her mum and dad. "Daddy!" She immediately burst into tears, as Lily lifted her into her arms for a cuddle. "Mummy! I thought you didn't want me," she sobbed, resting her head against Lily's chest.

"Baby girl," Lily soothed and rubbed her back. "Of course we want you. Mummy and Daddy love you very much, you're our baby. Where's your brother?"

"Sleeping in his pram," Ava whispered and pointed towards the pushchair. "I got you a shell," she said and opened her hand to reveal the seashell that she had chosen specially for her mum. "It's for you."

"Oh princess, I love it," Lily said and took the shell from her. "And I'll treasure it always, thank you very much."

"Cal, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ethan asked his brother.

"What I should have done a long time ago," Cal said and stood up.

"Cal, they're our kids!" Lily snapped, clutching Ava tightly in her arms. "How dare you break into our house and steal them without leaving a note or anything? We had no idea where you'd gone!"

"Well clearly you did," Cal scoffed. "Because you're here now, aren't you?"

"Thanks to Ethan," Lily cried. "Luckily he knew how much you and Matilda missed this place, how much you wanted to come back! Connie was driving down here when Ethan spotted you out the window, down on the beach. I cannot believe you, this is a new low even for you."

"She's right bro," Ethan said and shook his head. "You kidnapped our kids! You're lucky that we didn't ring the police."

"You didn't, did you?" Cal panicked.

"Believe me, I wanted to," Lily whispered and kept Ava in her arms. "But Ethan suggested that we talk to you first. It isn't too late though, we could easily change our minds."

"Don't!" Cal said, glancing across at Matilda who was staring at him with sad eyes. "Mrs Beauchamp, could...Could you walk the kids along the sand or something? I...I don't want Matilda to hear this."

"In these heels?" Connie frowned but Cal was staring at her. "Okay fine, come on kids."

"Go on," Lily whispered and placed Ava on the sand. "Go with Connie, she'll look after you." Lily leaned down and gave Ava a kiss and Ava walked over and took hold of Connie's hand. Connie then grabbed the handle of Zack's pushchair and started pushing him along the sand with Ava and Matilda in tow. "We're listening," Lily said and crossed her arms.

"I'm so sorry," Cal apologised quietly. "I didn't mean for it to go this far."

"Why'd you do it, Cal?" Ethan asked and shrugged his shoulders. "Why did you do it?"

"I was jealous," Cal whispered and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Earlier felt...It felt nice. It was just me and the kids and I felt like I had a family. I kept imagining like I was the dad of all of them and that my wife had just walked off to get us fish and chips or ice-cream."

"Cal, you need help," Ethan said. "You're not well."

"Besides, Matilda's family," Lily told him. "You don't need anyone else, Cal because you have a beautiful little girl who loves you and looks up to you."

Cal nodded, tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that things turned out like this," Lily said. "But you need to understand that I don't have feelings for you. I love Ethan and I love my kids but you can be happy as well, just like us. You don't need a wife or a girlfriend to be happy because you have an amazing brother and an amazing daughter. That's all you need in your life."

"Do you think so?" Cal asked and they both nodded. "I really am sorry, guys."

"We know," Ethan said. "Right Lily?"

"Yeah," Lily sighed. "We do."

"Look, I know that you guys are okay and stuff but the truth is you'll never fully forgive me," Cal said. "And I feel bad for the crap that I've put you both through so Matilda and I are going to move back here."

"You don't have to do that," Ethan said.

"I want to," Cal said. "I'm sorry but the truth is, this is where I truly belong. This was where I felt happier."

Two more chapters to go. Don't worry though, they'll be loads of new stories from me :-)