A documentary bumbled away on the television in front of her whilst she sipped her cup of tea and read the details of the meeting she was to chair the following morning. On the floor below her feet lay Florence on her play mat, babbling away to herself. Kate was next door in the kitchen doing a small bit of washing up after baking a Victoria sandwich which Lawrence had requested.

The woman watched her daughter with such love, her every move and sound admired and cherished. Then, without warning Caroline jumped to her feet sending her papers flying and her tea whirling around in its container. 'Kate-Kate come quick!' she called urgently to which her wife ran assuming something was wrong with their baby.

'What is it?!' she shouted back, fear hindering her voice as she reached Caroline's side peering down at the child. 'Oh my- She's rolling over!' the tone of her voice changed instantly as they watched Florence roll from her back to her tummy; her face transfixed on reaching her goal.

'Lawrence! Lawrence!' squealed the blonde woman excitedly 'Lawrence, come and look at this!' the sound of his muscular build echoed as he sprinted from his room, taking the stairs three steps at a time.

'What ma?' he questioned, just as Kate had. He looked inquisitively over his parents shoulder 'She's rolling over!' he boomed, jumping up and down. Kate bent down to pick Florence up once she had completed what she had set out to do and then proceeded in covering her in kisses. Caroline joined her in praising the child. The baby couldn't figure out what she had done that was quite so extraordinary, but the attention didn't go amiss. Lawrence hugged his mother and Kate with such force they almost fell over into a heap; it was the first time he could recall witnessing such a huge moment in anybody's life. It was a moment he surely wouldn't forget in a hurry.

The teenager took his adored sister into his arms from Kate's hands and held her in the air, as if to show his pride. 'Did my Flo Bo just roll over? Did she?' he asked, as if she were a pet dog. Besides him the two women kissed each other, delighted they were able to share the moment as a family; albeit missing William. They had feared that with Caroline's work schedule that she may miss big milestones like this.

The following morning Kate kissed her wife goodbye on the front door step with Florence on her hip; all four of them dressed for the day ahead. Lawrence waved ferociously from the passenger seat of the jeep as he and his mum disappeared to school.

'Right missy, we've got things to do' uttered Kate as she shut the front door behind her. The house seemed empty without Caroline's presence and Lawrence's constant hum of information and fun. She set about putting the infant in her walker and then manoeuvring around the moving obstacle to tidy the house. The young woman loved being a mother, it was what she had always wanted since being a child herself but somehow something seemed to be missing from her life. She missed the constant buzz of students and the sense of achievement when the pupils mastered something new. Seven months away from a job she had done for years was a mighty long time.

Picking up Lawrence's socks from the living room floor she laughed to herself remembering the way her daughter had laughed at her brother. He had comically pulled his socks off in front of her last night and then turned them into sock puppets, taking on several different voices. Caroline had mockingly told him off but had also fallen about laughing. The Nigerian woman was so pleased that she now had such a positive relationship with her step-son. Not so long ago he had refused to look at her, or even acknowledge her relationship with his Ma. 'What are we going to do with him hey, twinkle?' she directed her question towards the occupied girl.

Later that morning she stood at the doorway of the nursery for a little longer than normal as Florence dropped off to sleep. She leant against the doorframe and observed her miracle; her proudest achievement. Kate loved spending so much time with her daughter; learning who this tiny human being was and what made her tick. After getting over her tricky start to motherhood she had really immersed herself in it all and soaked up each minute. The original plan was to take a few months out from teaching and then go back part-time, but having got back with Caroline the financial side of things was more than taken care of. In theory this new mother could take off as much time as she liked, if she didn't want to she wouldn't even have to ever return to work.

'Caroline' started Kate as they lay in bed having decided to turn in for the night just before one in the morning 'I want to go back to work.' Caroline, having not expected such words, propped herself up on her elbow and looked at the woman lying next to her.

'You want to go back to work?' repeated the headmistress, unsure of what Kate wanted to hear from her.

'Yes. I miss teaching; I miss the surroundings of Sulgrave and all our colleagues'

'Okay-okay. What about Florence? What do you suppose we do with her?' Caroline supported any decision her wife made. She knew she had no right to control what her beloved did.

'Well, we have several options. A child-minder, my mother or a nursery'

'Whatever you decide I'll support you, you know that don't you? We can take some time to think it over and come up with the best plan of action'

'Do you think I'm abandoning her? Is it too soon?' Kate searched the blonde woman for answers, for reassurance.

'You mustn't think like that, darling. It's important to do something for yourself and if that's going back to work and doing what you do best then that's what will happen. I didn't expect you to give up everything you had worked for and never step foot into a classroom again' Caroline broke out into a smile before carrying on 'Besides, I rather like the idea of seeing my gorgeous wife at work'

'Trust you Dr Caroline Elliott-McKenzie. Trust you' Kate pulled the other woman closer to her and kissed her passionately.

Breaking away the older wife continued 'On a serious note though, everyone will be delighted to have you back; especially class nine b'

'Tell me if you think I'm putting too much pressure on us as a family-'

'Kate-Kate, it is absolutely fine' the top of her head was kissed and her shoulder squeezed 'Together we can do just about anything!'

'How would you feel about Kate coming back to school?' the idea was projected to Lawrence the next day in the car on the way to work. They had decided early on in their relationship that the children should be fully involved in any big decisions which would also affect them.

'She wants to go back to work?' he replied 'What about Flo?'

'Well, we're going to have a look at some child-minders and nurseries. What do you think?'

'It's up to you both, isn't it? Does that mean she'll be at home less in the evenings?'

'The idea is that she'll go part-time, meaning fewer hours than before'

'How do you feel about it Ma?'

'We always knew the time would come, didn't we?' looking at Lawrence briefly before putting her eyes back on the road 'She misses teaching, Florence is thriving and we're all happy as a family unit. We mustn't try and stop her from making her own plans and decisions. I remember after you and Willie were born, I was itching to get back into the classroom. I loved being with you both but it's so easy to lose who you are when you become a new mother'

'Then I think that it's a great idea!' Lawrence agreed. He wanted Kate to be as happy, just as much as his mum did. 'Can Angus come around this weekend for a sleepover?'

Caroline laughed 'Of course he can, as long as you don't destroy the house!'