Thank you for all the reviews - they made me so happy! I hope this doesn't seem disappointing after last night!
Tato Potato, thank you for your review. I love it when the brothers support each other too. It would be nice if that happened next Saturday - but I'm not too hopeful!
Bonnie Sveen Fan, thank you for your review. Last night's episode was so exciting! It's going to be difficult waiting six whole days for the next one.
X-Sammii-X, I think their relationship is about to be severely tested onscreen - and I can't promise things will go too well in this story either! I'm glad you liked the way Ethan worked things out for himself. Thank you for your review.
Teeloganroryflan, aw thank you so much! I think I might be in love with you after that comment! I really appreciate it and I hope I haven't just scared you away. Thank you for your review.
LittleBritishPerson, I thought it would be best if Charlie found them as he wouldn't ask for explanations and definitely wouldn't try to interfere now Cal is finally doing what he needs to do! Yes, now is the time! Thank you for your review.
20BlueRoses, I'm sorry for making you emotional, but I am so thrilled and flattered something I wrote could do that! I really want Cal to comfort Ethan too, but I'm really not sure I'll be able to write it like that. Thank you for your review.
tracys dream, thank you for your review. I wish we could both hug them! They both need a hug so badly.
CBloom2, I hope it's not getting too frustrating. I don't want to draw it out too much, but Cal just won't tell him! Thank you for your review - I'm so glad you're enjoying it.
Cal stayed where he was for a moment, but then he slowly sank down onto the sofa. The look on his face terrified Ethan. He looked like something terrible was about to happen over which he had no control.
Ethan felt his stomach tighten with anxiety and he almost told Cal he wanted the tea after all, but he knew that wouldn't help. He needed to know what Cal hadn't told him and delaying the moment wouldn't make it any easier.
He thought that probably even Cal would agree with that now.
"So, how did you find out her name?" said Ethan. He was still quite confused about that. It was far too soon for Cal to have found out through the official channels.
Cal gave him another guilty glance and looked down into his lap. "Charlie found her for me."
"Charlie?" said Ethan, at first too surprised to feel any other emotion. Charlie wasn't the sort of person you associated with breaking the law. Or perhaps it was just Ethan who thought that. He did have a tendency to think the best in everyone apart from Cal.
But then it hit him. Charlie could only have done this if Cal had told him. And that meant…
"You told Charlie before you told me?" Ethan's voice was a hurt little whisper.
Cal hung his head. "I'm sorry, Ethan."
"But… but…" Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
Cal looked up, perhaps hearing the quiver in Ethan's voice. "Charlie was there when I realised my blood group wasn't compatible with Mum's. I knew I'd have to do the test again so I asked Charlie to do it."
"You told Charlie and not me," whispered Ethan.
"He was just there," said Cal helplessly. He put his hand on Ethan's back. "Come on. Don't cry. I had to tell someone. I couldn't have got access to the information otherwise."
Ethan felt a tear trickle down his cheek. He took his glasses off so he could wipe it away. "I suppose not. But I never thought you'd tell someone we know." He turned miserably to Cal, though he couldn't really see him. "Am I that unapproachable, Cal? Am I that... that horrible?"
Cal sounded like he might cry too. "Of course you're not horrible! You're not unapproachable either." He rubbed Ethan's back. "Why would you think that, Nibbles?"
"Because…" Ethan gave a little hiccupping sob. "Because I'm useless, Cal. I already know I'm a useless doctor. I used to be okay, but now, I miss everything. Patients die because I don't do my job properly. And now you… you're going through something really difficult on your own because I-I'm not the sort of person you can confide in."
"Ethan!" Cal put his arms around his weeping brother. "Ethan, you're not useless. You're not a useless doctor and you're not a useless brother. The only reason why I didn't tell you was because I knew you'd be upset and I didn't know what comfort I'd be able to offer if I didn't know all the facts."
"Really?" said Ethan doubtfully.
"Really!" said Cal. He held Ethan slightly away from him. "I know you've been going through a difficult time lately. The experiences you've had would upset any doctor – and believe me, it does happen to every doctor. You're a great doctor and a great brother and I promise you, it never even crossed my mind that you wouldn't be supportive. I knew you would be because that's the kind of guy you are." Cal broke eye contact for a moment. "I just wanted to be able to support you too."
Ethan was silent as he digested Cal's words. It did sound like he was telling the truth. He didn't think Cal would be that kind to him unless he meant it.
Unless, of course, he was paving the way for some even worse news.
Ethan tried to push the thought away. But he couldn't. He hated thinking negatively about his brother, but this was Cal and he knew what Cal was like. Every time he'd thought he'd peeled away the last layer of Cal's deception, there was another one underneath – and each one seemed to hurt a little bit more.
He sniffed and wiped his hands across his face. "Okay." He still wasn't sure if he believed Cal or not. After everything Ethan had done wrong recently, he didn't see how anyone could think he was a good doctor - but Cal had convinced himself of plenty of impossible things in the past. It was possible he believed it, even though it wasn't true.
Cal spoke again, his voice gentle. "The only reason I told Charlie was because I was obviously very upset and he wanted to know why. I actually didn't even think of asking him for help at that point. I was so shocked, I just blurted it out. If you'd come along at that moment, I'd definitely have told you. I was shocked and devastated and I needed some time to process it. Charlie helped me process it and then he offered to help. A lot of people owed him favours so he called them in and found out Emilie's name."
Ethan nodded. He still couldn't get away from the feeling that things were about to get worse, but it was possible he was wrong about that. Cal did sound like he was telling the truth, and Ethan couldn't really accuse him of anything when his only proof was a vague feeling of unease. "And they told Charlie our names too?"
There was the tiniest pause before Cal replied. "No. Actually, they didn't."
"Oh, I suppose you can look it up for yourself if you had that information," said Ethan, trying to ignore the fear that was spreading. In his heart; in his head; he could even feel it on his skin. "Anyone can go to the records office to look up a birth. It's all online too. Some of the information is even available for free. With an unusual spelling of the surname, you could probably put that in and there wouldn't be a ridiculous number of records to go through. You can probably even search by dates of birth. We were probably the only babies called Groome born on those days."
He was babbling. He knew he was babbling and he knew that what he was saying was wrong. That wasn't what had happened. He stopped speaking and took a moment to work it out, aware all the time that Cal was staring at him, an agonised expression on his face.
"Except you didn't do that, did you?" said Ethan. He was breathing hard. "You couldn't have done because you don't know how Stephen is spelled! Someone told you."
Cal nodded his head weakly.
"Tell me the truth, Caleb!" said Ethan. His voice was shaking, but with anger this time. "I'm not going to say it for you. Look me in the eye and tell me."
Cal didn't look at him. "I…"
Ethan grabbed his shoulders. "Look at me!"
Cal's miserable eyes met his. "I met her, Ethan. I met Emilie. That's how I found out what our names were. She's… she's really nice. She hasn't forgotten us. I told her all about you and she was so pleased you were a doctor and doing well because she's always wondered about us. It actually wasn't even Emilie who told us our names: it was her carer! Doesn't that just prove how much she still cares about us? That she'd tell someone who was paid to look after her that-"
Cal stopped, his face turning pale.
"Carer?" said Ethan, in a quiet, dangerous voice. "Why does Emilie need a carer?" It wasn't the fact that she had a carer that bothered him. Their mother could theoretically be in her seventies – and plenty of people had carers, including young people. If their mother needed a carer, that was very sad, but from the look on Cal's face, there was a lot more to it than that.
Cal looked horror-struck. Guilty. And Ethan knew there was another secret to come.
Ethan raised his voice. "Just tell me, Caleb!"
"She… she… she has Huntington's," said Cal.