LittleBritishPerson, thank you for your review. That's one of the saddest things about this. Cal keeps talking about getting answers, but they can't get any answers from Matilda. I'm glad you're enjoying this.

X-Sammii-X, I hope they can stick together too, but there are still a couple of things Cal hasn't mentioned and I can't promise Ethan will react well... thank you for your review.

CBloom2, thank you for your review - I'm really happy you're enjoying it. You don't have to wait any longer - here's my daily torture session for Cal and Ethan. Whom I really do love to bits!

ETWentHome, thank you so much! That's really kind of you. Cal is very scared and he probably does have to finish the story... unless he can find a way of getting out of it. It does indeed get worse - and it's one shock on top of another for Ethan. Thank you for your review.

20BlueRoses, thank you so much - that's an incredible compliment and if only I could! The writers do like to tease us. I was expecting hugs and revelations in the lift and we got neither - but I think they were right not to rush it. Thank you for your review.

tracys dream, thank you for your review. The Casualty writers have written a couple of good 'stuck in the lift' scenes - Connie and Rita treating the patient whilst secretly wanting to kill each other was brilliant too! They're actually quite difficult to write, I've found.

Tanith Panic, there's no reversing this moment. Not even Cal can pretend this didn't happen so what hope has his more realistic brother got? Thank you for your review - it really means so much.

Thank you to tracys dream and casualtyfics24 for the follows and favourite.

Cal had expected Ethan to shout and scream and blame and hate him, but he hadn't done any of that so far.

It was probably because he was shocked. Cal had been shocked too. That was one reason why he hadn't told Ethan: because he'd had enough trouble dealing with his own emotions.

He felt Ethan's shoulders shaking and knew he was crying, though he made no sound. Cal held him more tightly, resting his head against Ethan's, seeking comfort as much as offering it. He wanted to tell Ethan it would be all right and he would support him, but he couldn't. He couldn't promise anything. There was too much he hadn't told Ethan.

The thought of telling Ethan terrified him more with every minute. If he was this upset over Cal's first revelation – though admittedly, he was probably calmer than Cal had been – what would be say when he knew everything?

He felt Ethan moving in his arms and loosened his hold. Ethan pulled away from him slowly and removed his glasses. There were tears on his cheeks and Cal remembered a time when wiping Ethan's tears away had been all that was needed to make it all better.

Ethan wiped his eyes and sniffed. "Okay. So… we're adopted. Mum lied to us." He sniffed again and his shoulders lifted as he held back a sob. "Oh, Cal, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought you'd want answers," said Cal.

"Well, yes, of course I do," said Ethan. "But I wouldn't expect you to be able to provide them. How could you?"

The certainty in his voice threw Cal off-balance. He was so sure Ethan would expect answers. He'd told himself enough times. He'd told Charlie too.

But why had he thought that? Because he knew it was true?

Or because he'd desperately needed a reason not to tell Ethan?

Some of his emotions must have been clear on his face because Ethan's expression changed too. Cal saw hurt, shock, confusion, then suspicion. "Cal, are you sure that's why you didn't tell me?"

"Why else would it be?" snapped Cal, angrily partly because he knew Ethan had a point.

Ethan lifted his hands. "I don't want to upset you, Cal. I can see you're upset already. But I don't think you did this for me at all. You didn't want to believe it was true and you thought if you told me, that would make it more real. So you kept it to yourself. How long would you have kept it a secret for, Cal?"

Cal was silent as he realised Ethan had a point – but that didn't mean he was ready to admit it. "I wanted to protect you, Ethan!"

"Maybe that's what you told yourself," said Ethan. "But you really wanted to protect yourself." His voice held bitterness. "You wanted to hide from the truth. Just like you always do! Didn't you think I had the right to know about this, Cal? Do I really matter that little to you!"

"Of course you matter!" said Cal. He tried to take Ethan's hand, but his brother snatched it away – and maybe they were a bit too old for hand-holding. "You do matter to me, Ethan. Maybe some of what you said was true, but I do care. I care about you so much and I couldn't bear the thought of how much this was going to hurt you. I didn't want to make you feel what I was feeling every minute. It's true I wanted to hide, but some things you can't hide from. Not even if you're me. I tried to hide from it at first, but it just wouldn't go away. My mum isn't my mum." His eyes filled with tears. "But please don't think I don't care about you, Ethan. I do. I really do."

Ethan's expression remained critical, but then he sighed and nodded. "Okay. Maybe you did want to protect me. And I suppose I kind of want to hide too… but you're right. You can't hide from this and neither can I. If you're adopted, then I probably am too. Almost certainly. It's not unheard of to adopt a child under the mistaken belief that you can't conceive naturally, only to have a child later." His voice sounded small and childlike. "But it's more likely that I'm adopted too."

Cal knew this was his chance. This was when he should tell Ethan he was adopted, but they were still brothers. And then he should go on to tell Ethan how he knew.

But then he had another idea. Maybe this was his way out. Ethan was already upset and in two minds about whether he wanted to know. Perhaps he could convince Ethan that he didn't want to know the truth. Then Ethan would let him out of the lift and they could get back to work or go home and things would continue as they were.

A little voice in the back of his mind – a voice that sounded like Charlie's – was whispering the words Huntington's. Huntington's. Over and over. But Cal closed his mind to it as he'd closed his mind to many things in his life.

"Ethan, it doesn't matter if you're adopted or not," said Cal. "You're still Mum's child. You're still my brother."

"But I want to know, Cal!" said Ethan. "You might have no curiosity about your past, but I want to know who my parents are. Who I am."

"But doesn't it… doesn't it scare you?" said Cal.

"Oh God, yes!" said Ethan. "It scares me to death. I'm terrified of what I might find; terrified that it will change my feelings about Mum in some way and that's dangerous because she's gone and she can never explain why she did it. But I can't just leave things as they are. I have to know, Cal."

"Yes, but… this isn't something you should rush into," said Cal. "You need to think, Ethan. It's been a big shock – and finding out could lead to more shocks. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Ethan shook his head. There was a smile on his face, but Cal knew it wasn't due to happiness, amusement, or any of the usual reasons. "Of course I'm not ready, Cal. How can I ever be ready? But my mum isn't my mum and my brother might not be my brother… this changes everything!"

His voice rose in agitation and Cal instinctively reached for him, one hand on each of Ethan's shoulders. "I know, Ethan. I know." He looked into Ethan's tear-filled eyes. "It messes with your head and suddenly you don't know where the floor is because the whole world has moved. But you really should give it a bit of time. You need to think about whether this is a can of worms you want to open."

"It's already open," said Ethan jerkily. He lifted his hand to wipe a tear.

"Yeah, maybe," said Cal in a panic. "But all I'm saying is: don't do anything yet. Give it a few days. A few weeks. Let yourself process it before you decide if it's a good idea or not. You're not in a good place to make a big decision like this."

"I'll never be in a good place until I know the truth." Ethan's voice shook. "Who was our mum, Cal? Why did she get rid of us? Why did Mum never tell us? I've got all these questions whirling around and it's too much."

"Oh, Ethan. I know." Cal put his arms around his brother. Ethan was unresponsive for a second or two, but then he wrapped his arms around Cal and held on tightly. "I knew you'd have questions, Ethan. That's why I wanted to know the answers."

Ethan gave a sob. "I just don't understand why she wouldn't tell us."

Cal rubbed circles on his back and tried to keep calm. He had to. Ethan needed him and it was time to be the big brother. Time to protect Ethan. Time to make sure he didn't get hurt. "Maybe it was because she knew it would make us feel like this and she wanted to spare us that? If it wasn't for Matilda, we might never have known."

"I know, but… we're doctors," said Ethan. "She must have known we'd know about blood groups. But that doesn't even matter. How could she know something this important about her sons' lives and not tell us? How could she hide something this big? If you know something like that about someone you're supposed to care for, you can't hide it. You just can't."

Cal was glad Ethan wasn't looking at him. He knew all his emotions were clear on his face.

"Cal, I love Mum so much," said Ethan unsteadily. "You know I do. But… to know she was capable of doing this…"

"Ethan…." Cal didn't know what to say. Whatever their mum was guilty of, he was guilty too, only more so. "Ethan, how about we go home now? Take a couple of days to think about this."

"I can't think. I don't know what to think!"

"I know," said Cal gently. "This is one reason why I'm asking you to wait – but listen, Ethan! None of this really changes who we are or who Mum was. Mum was an amazing woman who loved us more than anything. It doesn't matter if she gave birth to us or not. Maybe she made a few mistakes along the way – who doesn't? – but her love was real. Isn't that all that matters? She was a mother to us. She was there. She never gave up on us – not even on me." Cal looked pleadingly at his brother. "We don't need to do this, Ethan. We can let this go. Our mum was our mum. She might not have given birth to us, but she did everything else. Why tarnish her memory? Why can't we just accept her as our mum and leave it at that?"