Sorry I haven't updated - hit a bit of a wall, but I'm slowly but surely plodding my way back.

Thank you one and all who have read and reviewed this so far - you are all amazing.

Not sure how long this story will be - we will have to see what I come up with haa haa. (Not medically trained at all, so it could quite possibly be completly wrong!

My Brother's Keeper Chapter 3

Charlie could see that Cal wasn't listening very well to what he was trying to tell him, so he decided to save that particular pep talk for another time, "He's asleep but stable at the moment, but we have brought him back down to Resus for a couple of hours to monitor him - would you like to see him?"

Cal's face told him all he needed to know. The younger man shot up from out of his chair ready to leave the cubicle, "Erm Cal...aren't you forgetting someone?"

For a split second, Cal looked to Charlie in confusion, then he remembered Emilie, "Oh I'm so sorry..." he gasped out.

"It's...o...k..." she stammered, not wanting him to see how hurt she was that he was about to abandon her.

Cal walked back to her side, "No, it's not ok. You are actually ready to be discharged..." he trailed off as he furrowed his brow in deep thought. He glanced up at Charlie, then to his mother, "Would you like to see him? I know he's not awake but..."

He stopped when he saw tears pool in his mother's eyes, "I w...would lo...love that very much," she told him honestly.

Charlie felt a small lump of emotion in his throat, "I'll get your chair," he told her as he reached round and wheeled it to the side of the bed. The two men helped her be seated and Cal pushed her towards Resus.

As the door opened, Zoe and Lily both turned towards the interruption, smiling at Charlie and Cal, then looking puzzled by the woman in the wheelchair. They moved out of the way, glancing at the young doctor, "This is Emilie...she's our mother," he told them, watching for their reactions.

If the two women were shocked, they didn't show it. Instead, Zoe walked over to her and shook her hand, "Hi Emilie I'm Dr Zoe Hanna, I treated Ethan...he's going to be fine with plenty of rest and maybe some physio. That will all depend on how much paralysis occurred."

"Th...thank y...you for loo...looking after him," she said as she looked at her younger son laid on the bed.

"It's our pleasure. He's a decent man - heart of gold," Zoe told her, "Er Cal, can I borrow you for just a moment?"

Cal looked like he was going to decline, but seeing the look on Zoe's face, he knew that it would be better to agree. He pushed Emilie up near Ethan's head, "I'll just be a minute," he told her.

He walked towards the door where Zoe was waiting for him, "Is this the family issues that Charlie was talking about earlier - when you and Ethan were fighting?"

Cal dropped his head as he nodded sadly, "Yes. I've known for a few weeks but Ethan has only just found out, due to my cowardice..."

"And what about the Huntingtons?" The senior doctor asked.

Cal sighed, "We don't know yet - next on the list."

"I could ask the lab to run Ethan's blood work to test for the gene - we could test you also..."

Cal looked panicked, "Oh I don't know if..."

"Look we can do it, then you can look at the results when you are ready...you can't bury your head in the sand with this one Cal, you know you have to face it," Zoe insisted.

Cal sucked in a deep breath, which he blew out as he nodded his agreement, "Just not while Emilie is here," was his only condition.

"Not a problem. I wish you'd come to me Cal, I could've helped."

"I know, but as always, I thought I could handle it - great job I did of that," he said as he angrily wiped away a stray tear.

"Look we'll leave you alone for a while. We're looking into getting him a bed upstairs, but you can stay with him for now," she told him as she patted his arm and left with Lily in tow.

Cal smiled his thanks, then turned towards his brother, stopping in his tracks. His mother had leaned over in her chair and was stroking Ethan's hair. She stopped abruptly when she noticed that Cal was watching, "No don't stop, it's ok," he assured her. She smiled happily and turned back to her youngest son.

Charlie had a big grin on his face as he watched the older woman, "This is lovely Cal, what you've done for her," he told the young doctor.

"I haven't done anything!"

"You have let her come and see her youngest son. You could've just sent her home, not knowing if Ethan was alright or not - but you put all the drama aside and gave her a great gift...hope - hope that maybe, just maybe she will have both her sons back for the remainder of her time, and that's a great thing Cal," Charlie choked.

"C...Cal..." he heard his mother call frantically. Cal spun round to face her noticing she was staring intently at Ethan. He glanced to his brother and to his surprise, he saw his brother's eyes trying to open once more. He dashed to his side, standing behind the wheelchair, "Hey there sleepy head, you're supposed to be sleeping," he smiled at his woozy brother.

"Sleep is for wimps," Ethan murmered, his eyes already closing again. Cal didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his little brother's attempt at humour - but what happened next blew any control that he had out of the window.

Ethan, although extrememly tired, turned his head towards them both, looking straight at Emilie. He smiled slightly - his smile this time was more equal, "Mum?"

So there you have it. Kind of went in a different direction than I'd originally planned - but that's the beauty of fiction!

Not really sure where I'm going with this now I've changed it slightly, so if you have any ideas, as always, I'm very pleased to receive them.

Til next time xx