Cal sat down heavily next to where Ethan was perched on the bench.

'You okay?'

'Yeah... Just it's hot and stuffy in there- that's all.'

'You're a terrible witness you know.'

'I wasn't exactly planning on being in court when I got up that morning. Why are you even out here? Shouldn't you be inside?'

'Quick break before Lofty.'

The brothers sat in silence for a short while before Ethan said,

'You should probably be going back in.'

'You're probably right. Are you sure you're not coming in?'

'I'm sure. I had first hand experience of the incident- I don't need to be retold every detail.'

'Well, if you're sure...'

'I am. I'll see you in a bit.'

'Mr Chiltern. You are a staff nurse with Holby City Hospital in the Emergency Department. Correct?'

'Yes.'

'And how long have you been working with them?'

'Just over a year now.'

'We heard from Dr Hardy that you also went on the training. Is this correct?'

'Yes.'

'Was there anything you were worried about during the course?'

'I'm kinda a bit afraid of heights- sort of.'

'Mr Chiltern I need a clear answer. Are you afraid of heights?'

'Yes.' Lofty sighed heavily. It was bad enough that he was afraid of heights- he didn't need all the extra people in the courtroom to also know.

'And yet you still went on this course?'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'Because they needed a nurse. I may be scared of heights but I wasn't planning on letting that stop me- face the fear and do it anyway.'

'Could this have compromised patient care?'

'No.'

'How can you be sure?'

'I can't. That's the same in most of my job. What I did I did and I can't change that so I have to stick with it. At the time I believed it was the right thing to do.'

'When you descended into the cave what did you see?'

'I saw Ian lying on the floor, a bloody mess. We didn't realise it was Ian at the time though...'

'Ian, as in Mr Dean.'

'Yes. Sorry.

'So what can you tell us about the incident?'

'Just the same as Ethan- I mean Dr Hardy.'

'Anything else?'

'Well- the security guard was being a but funny with us. Wanting us to go to the main reception and sign in even though we were on blue lights and sirens. I thought that was incredibly odd but recently I've been wondering if he knew about Mr Collins' plans. Sometimes I wonder if he was trying to protect us.'

'Do you know the name of the security guard?'

'No, sorry.'

'Do you remember what he looked like?'

'Yes.'

'And is he here today?'

'Yes.'

'Where? Please point in his direction.'

Lofty pointed to where a short, stout security guard was sat.

'And do you have any evidence in regards to this?'

'No.'

'But will Dr Hardy back you up on this?'

'I should think so yes.'

The lawyer looked around the room.

'Does anyone know where Dr Hardy is?'

Silence.

'Anyone?'

Cal spoke up, 'He's outside.'

The lawyer shook his head disapprovingly.

'We need him here. Now.'

The court case dragged on over a week. Everyday Ethan had to drag himself to the court and then back home. He was shattered. It was only eight o'clock but Ethan was lying on the sofa, completely wiped out.

'Ethan?' Cal gently tried to shake Ethan awake. He failed being met by a groan.

'Ethan?' He tried again. Still nothing.

'Seriously Ethan wake up.' Cal was becoming increasingly desperate.

'Ethan!' He didn't know what to do or what Ethan was doing.

Cal did the only thing he could think of- he dialled up Zoe for help.

'He's not waking up. I don't know why. He was alright earlier. He's just tired, or so he said...'

'Who are you talking about?'

'Ethan! Who else would it be?'

'Okay... Sorry... It's been a really busy day, we are under a lot of scrutiny due to the court case and, as usual, we're understaffed. Just try and check his vitals. I'll be there as soon as I can.'

She hung up.

He was a doctor- a good doctor- so why couldn't he remember any basic techniques? Checking vitals. Something that he did day in, day out, multiple times a day. Yet now, he was frozen, staring at his brother who lay still. He picked up the phone again.

'Robyn I need help.'

'Yeah- I know. Zoe called me. I'm just at the bottom of the stairs. When did the lift break?'

'About a week ago. Please hurry up!'

This time Cal hung up. Four and a half minutes later there was a knock at the door. It was Robyn. She barely said hello to Cal before rushing to where Ethan lay. She quickly checked his breathing, pulse and airway before placing him in the recovery position. Cal was still standing in the doorway. Unable to move. The doorbell rang. Cal didn't move. It rang again. And again. And again. Still Cal didn't move.

'Cal? Cal!'

'Hm?'

'Either let me past or answer the door. It's probably Zoe.'

Finally Cal opened the door and let Zoe in. She squeezed last him and settled next to Robyn and Ethan on the floor, dumping her kit next to her.

'What's happening?'

'Ethan's unconscious. Originally it looked like he was just in a deep sleep but his breathing is a little shallow for my liking and his pulse is incredibly fast.'

'Right we can do a couple of things: we can take him in and have some more tests or we can keep him under observation here.'

'Cal?'

'Hm?'

'What do you want us to do?'

'About what?' Clearly Cal wasn't with it at all. He was completely detached from the real world.

'Ethan. Do you want him at home or in hospital?'

'Hospital.' Finally a decision. Zoe called Dixie for yet another transfer of Ethan. Robyn travelled with Ethan while Zoe drove Cal to the hospital.

'Has Ethan taken anything Cal?'

'I don't think so. He's still on a high dose of painkillers and anti-inflammation pills because of his leg but I think that's it. He's been complaining that he wasn't sleeping properly since Connie told him about the murder.'

'Could he have taken any sleeping tablets?'

'Maybe. There are some in the house.'

'The most common active ingredient in sleeping pills is antihistamine. I don't know why it'd cause this though. It shouldn't react with his other meds.'

'Plus I'm pretty sure some of them were herbal tablets.'

'Herbal? Really? I didn't think of you guys to be believers in herbal medicine. Robyn can you order a basic toxicology screen?'

'Sure.'

Twenty minutes later Robyn, Zoe and Cal ran their tired eyes over the results. An overdose.

'He has managed to OD on the sleeping pills. Luckily all that's going to happen is that he's going to be knocked out for quite a while and then feel terrible when he wakes up- like a really, really bad hangover.'

'So he'll be okay then?'

'Yeah. I would actually suggest keeping him at home. It should cause less distress and confusion when he wakes up. I've given him a drug to counteract the sleeping tablets but he didn't take enough of the tablets to cause any serious damage. I'm going to call the court. Ethan had pretty much finished his part in the trial and he clearly is in no fit state to be a useful witness.'

Zoe arranged for Dixie to take Ethan back home. He seriously needed to have a rest. He looked like a ghost and Cal didn't look much better. He looked like he had been brought back from the dead with his pale complexion, messy hair and dark, tired eyes.

Cal carried Ethan from the ambulance to the flat- he accepted Dixie's offer of the carry-chair to begin with but, one they reached the top of the stairs, he carried Ethan like a baby in his arms. He was shockingly light. Cal lay Ethan, still fully clothed, in bed and pulled his covers over him before crashing in his own bed.