As the couple walked back towards the ED ten minutes later, Connie glanced at Jacob and then looked away with a smile on her face after he winked at her. He could be very persuasive when he wanted to be.

Her footsteps slowed when she reached her office and saw Grace lying face first on the sofa through the window. "Gracie?" Grace turned her head and Connie saw a glimpse of her tear-stained face before she buried it once more in a cushion. "What's happened? Is it your head?" Connie questioned as she squatted beside her, instantly regretting being gone for so long.

"It's Emma." Grace replied, turning her head again as fresh tears began to fall. "I called dad, and he told me Emma is pregnant."

Connie frowned as she brushed away the hair that stuck to her daughter's tears. "I thought you liked the idea of having more siblings?"

"you don't understand." Grace spoke with frustration and then turned her face away again.

"Explain it to me, then." Connie replied gently as she rubbed her back.

"I won't be important anywhere anymore! You and Jacob have Ava and they will have their baby, and then Emma will love it more just like Jacob loves Ava more! Emma and Jacob were the ones who made me important again!" Grace replied as her tears fell more heavily.

Connie glanced out the door hoping to see Jacob passing before she turned back to Grace. "That's not true, sweetheart. You're still important to both me and Jacob and we both love you just as much as Ava, and I'm sure your dad and Emma will feel the same." When Grace just gave a sob, Connie leant forward to drop a kiss to the back of her head, trying to think what might convince her of this. "You know, before the wedding Jacob asked to see the photo's I had of you before he met you, because he was sad he'd missed you growing up." When Grace's head turned a little towards her, Connie continued. "He looked through every single one of those albums and asked me all about you. How else do you think he knew to mention your favourite bunny toy in his wedding speech? And I know you still have Mr Pembles hidden in your closet, so don't deny you don't still love him."

When Connie smiled at her daughter, Grace gave a weak smile back. "And you think Emma will love me just as much, too?"

"Of course she will, sweetheart."

"But how do you know? You don't even like her."

"That's not... Completely true." Connie decided to say, tactfully. "And I know, because I've seen how much she loves you. It's just like Jacob, Gracie. I know sometimes your dad and I don't exactly see eye to eye, but I know that Emma is a very lovely lady and nothing is going to change just because she and Sam are having a baby."

"I love you, Mum." Grace wrapped her hands around Connie, smiling as her mother stroked her hair, looking at the clock on the wall opposite to see that there was only an hour left of her shift.

"I've got to go, Gracie. Will you be okay in here for a little while longer?"

"How much longer?"

"Just under an hour. You can come onto the nurses' station in cubicles when… if gets a little less busy."

"Okay!" Grace smiled, and lay back down on the sofa as her mother left the office. Connie walked quickly to reception to see the waiting area completely full, and took a deep breath before turning back to check the waiting times. It was looking likely that she would be here for more than an hour.

..

"Hey firecracker, I'm off to get ava if you want to come?" Jacob put his head around the door ten minutes later to be met with a headshake. "Ok, well i wont be long."

"Jacob?" Grace called. When he stuck his head back in she offered quietly. "Emma is pregnant."

"Well, you know babies mean loud crying, so you probably wont want to go there for a while and that means we get even more of you!" Jacob pulled the girl into his arms and she let out a laugh. "See you soon firecracker. And tell your mum if you see her that she needs to change her skirt."

When connie stormed into the office to find her spare stethoscope a few minutes later grace offered, "you need to change your skirt."

"What? Why?" Connie tried to look at her skirt so see if there was anything on it.

Grace shrugged. "Jacob said so."

"Well jacob needs to learn some restraint."

"Why?" Grace questioned, but her mother was saved from answering when ava rushed in.

"Gracie i drew you a picture!"

Connie's head whipped around quickly, completely forgetting that Ava had been staying in the crèche that afternoon.

"Mummy, look!"

"That's lovely sweetheart. Here, go and show Gracie." She picked her daughter up and deposited her on the sofa next to Grace, before glancing at Jacob who tilted his head at her. He was well aware of the situation outside, she needed to leave.

"Go on Con, I'll take them."

She exhaled before looking back to her daughters and nodding.

"Thank you. I'll sent you a text later, then we can get home, and-"

"Get the damn skirt off." He winked at her, kissing her quickly before pushing her out of the office, watching her as walked quickly out of the office to go back to cubicles.

"Daddy, is Mummy okay?"

"Just a bit stressed. She's fine, I'm going to take you two home now and I'll come and pick her up in a bit."

"She said she'd be done in an hour." Grace spoke up from where she was battling with Ava, who desperately kept putting her picture in front of Grace's face.

"There's been a big incident, so they needed everyone they can get, Grace. I've got a special dispensation because you two can't stay here."

"Well i want to stay here, i don't want to leave mum." Grace replied sullenly before pushing ava out the way again.

"Grace, come on, we don't need to do this right now. Your mum will be fine." Jacob insisted, but when grace just shook her head, he squatted down in front of her. "I know you don't like that she has to work a lot, neither do i, but she is doing her best and what we need to do is make sure whenever she's with us that we make the most of her."

"I'm staying with mum." Grace just repeated.

Jacob turned to glance out of the office window and saw that there was already a large amount of people out there, and it would probably get a lot worse. Ava was also tired and on the verge of tears because grace wouldn't look at her picture. "What about the on call room? We can be near your mum but away from everything out there."

"..okay, but you need to go and tell her."

"Will you make sure ava stays in here with you if i go and find your mum?" Jacob asked with raised eyebrows. When grace gave a sigh and nodded, jacob reluctantly left the room.

"Gracie, look. It's a picture of me and you! I drewed you in pink because that's my favourite colour and you're my favourite person! I told my teacher that when i grow up I'm going to be just like you!" Ava smiled widely, and for the first time in a long time grace smiled back at her.

…

"What are you doing in here? Where are the girls?" Connie questioned as she put a hand to Jacob's chest and pushed him out of cubicles.

"Grace doesn't want to leave, so we're going to stay in the on call room, and apparently messenger boy here had to come and tell you. Have I dont something to annoy her, or is she being like this with you as well? Because frankly I've had enough of the attitude. She just pushed ava off the couch!"

"Jacob, I don't have time-"

"Connie, I don't what's got into her!"

"She's twelve, she's just moody. You're man enough for her okay, you can't expect me to deal with her all of the time!"

"That's not what I'm-"

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like that." She pressed her hand to her forehead before jumping at the sound of shouts from around the corner.

"Easy..." He took hold of her shoulders momentarily before releasing her and deciding that he had little choice but to pose Grace's request.

She wants us to stay here until you're done-"

"No, Jacob I don't want them here." She gestured around her and at the accumulating crowds.

"I suggested on-call-"

"Jacob, it's not fair on you either. Take them home, please."

She turned on her heel back into the cubicle, whipping the curtain closed and leaving Jacob on the other side. He walked back with every intention of making Grace do what her mother wanted. And if she didn't like it, then that was her problem, not his. The ED wasn't always safe when these things happened, and he was keen to get them out as much as Connie was.

He pushed open the door to Connies office with reluctance to find Grace and Ava now sat together behind the desk watching a video. He stayed quiet for a moment just watching them, but soon another yell from inside the ED startled all of them and Ava burst into tears.

"We need to go home, Grace." Jacob shut the door after entering the room and then pulled ava from her sisters lap and into his arms. "And before you argue, your mother-"

"Ok."

"What?"

"I said okay. Come on." Grace picked up her things and opened the door, leaving Jacob with a frown before he followed her. The large, loud crowd in the ED soon made her shrink back into Jacob, and he held Ava in one arm and graces shoulders with the other.

"Will mum be safe?" She questioned him. Before he could answer, Connie appeared and snapped at the crowd, and they quietened instantly. Grace glanced up at Jacob with a smile. "We best not tell them she's all bark and no bite."

"Pardon?" Connie questioned, suddenly in front of them which made grace jump and jacob laugh softly. "I'll be home as soon as I can, sweetheart. You be good for jacob."

An hour later, and still he had no text from Connie to say she was coming off shift. He had made the girls dinner, and they were now sat in the front room watching television, although he would notice Grace glance to him, and then the clock, every so often.

"I'm just going to..." He motioned to his phone and then outside of the room, and Grace nodded, cuddling her little sister into her arms. She was tired, and worried, but didn't want to cause an argument between her mother and Jacob by being difficult. She strained to listen to Jacob but it was hopeless over the sounds of the programme Ava was insisting on watching; all flashing lights and silly squeaky characters.

She felt her phone vibrating continuously in her hand as she walked from one cubicle to another, and a quick glance at the screen told her what she already knew. When she next saw Noel, she would ask him to ring Jacob; she didn't have time. She would have to stay at least until the next handover, they were struggling to cope and the atmosphere wasn't helping. It was rowdy, and intensely unpleasant. She had been relieved when Jacob had taken the girls back home, a little of the worry and stress she had been feeling had managed to ebb away. She let the phone continue ringing, making her way quickly to the next patient, shouting at two men in her way to move and find a seat, or leave. Politeness wasn't getting her anywhere tonight.

Grace looked up as Jacob returned to the room, noticing how he did not smile or seem remotely relaxed.

"She didn't answer, did she?"

"Twenty minutes, and I'll try again. She's been in there too long now, she's a..." He stopped himself, closing his eyes momentarily over the word "liability." Grace glanced back to Ava and curled her knees to her chest as she tried to focus on something else. She wasn't going to see her mother tonight, she would have to deal with that. Jacob was trying, and she could see his worry and agitation, how he contemplated driving to get her before they went to bed. But he couldn't do that, her mother wasn't a child and she had an important job. She knew that.