"Dr Knight, we're ready for you now." The group had been laughing so hard that they hadn't noticed the nurse come into the room. "Ry, could you take Danny out of the room please. I don't want him to be stressed out." Lexi said quietly. Ryan agreed and took Danny down to the ED to visit some familiar faces. Lexi and Ethan noticed how shaky Cal had just become. "Give me your hand." Lexi murmured. Cal did as he was told. Lexi took his hand in hers and her thumb started striking small circles on knuckles. Ethan took his other hand tightly in his. Sniff. "Caleb, don't do this." Lexi said. "You need to save your strength for knocking back all those pints your going to celebrate with." Lexi joked. She used her spare hand to wipe his tears. She then grabbed Ethan's hand in hers, thus closing the circle. She saw Ethan eyes tear up and she gave his hand a soft squeeze which he returned. "Ok, Dr. Knight, here is the mask, I'll put it on you, and you just need to breathe normally and count to ten." The nurse explained. Lexi and Ethan released each other's hands so the nurse could do her job. "We'll count together, although I'm not sure my maths is up to scratch!" Lexi smiled. "Never could count, could you, Lex. Only persons ever to forget her one times tables" Cal sniffed. "Oi, no somber crap!" Lexi said secretly wiping away a tear before anyone noticed. "We better get counting." Lexi said as the mask was out in place. "One" Lexi rejoined her hand with Ethan's. "Two" she gave it a soft squeeze as tears poured down Cal's weary face. "Three" Ethan's face dripped with sadness, tears oozing down his cheeks in a constant stream. "Four" she looked into Cal's eyes reassuringly. "Five" she squeezed Cal's hand and kissed his knuckles. "Six" a lone tear dribbled down her cheek. "Seven" Cal's eyelids drooped. "Eight" Cal's breathing evened out as he stopped sobbing and succumbed to the drug. "Nine" Ethan choked and let go of Cal's hand. "Ten" Lexi released her eldest brother. She turned to Ethan and pulled him into a tight embrace. She sobbed on his shoulder as he sobbed on hers. Their sadness wasn't from fear that their brother wouldn't make it, it was from seeing their older brother, who seemingly feared nothing but Connie Beauchamp, looking so afraid and vulnerable and the feeling of helplessness as they couldn't take it away. The siblings held each other as their sobs subsided. They pulled away. Ethan pulled his shirtsleeve over his hand and swiped at the tears on his little sisters face. Lexi handed him a tissue from her overnight bag. Ethan put a reassuring hand on his sister shoulder before leading her back down to the ED to get Daniel. They travelled in silence, both knowing if they spoke they would break down again. Ethan became aware of Lexis sniffling. "Lex, come here." He pulled her into another embrace. "Shhh. It's ok, I'm here. Everything will be fine" Ethan soothed. He didn't know if he was more soothing his sister or reassuring himself. The lift doors opened to reveal the bustling emergency department.
"Mummy, Unca Effan!" Daniel shrieked. Ryan was blowing raspberries across the little boys tummy. "Hey Lex," Ryan said, still engrossed in the little boy he was playing with. He looked up. "Babe, what's the matter?" He said, his voice full of concern. "It's nothing, promise. It just got a bit emotional that's all. Cal was scared. He was always the strong one." She broke down again. Ethan put his arms around her and Ryan enveloped her in a big hug when Ethan pulled away to wipe his own face. "Ethan, what's wrong?" A voice came from across the room. "Honey?" Ethan said looking up to meet the eyes of the barista who left him a while ago. "When I heard about what happened to Cal, I had to come back, I had to see that you were ok." Honey pulled him into a tight embrace. "Who's this?" She said looking at the crying form in Ryan's arms. "This is my sister Lexi, and this is Max's brother Ryan and this is my nephew and Godson Daniel." Honey smiled at the group. "Guys this is my little Honey bee. Noels daughter. Looks like I didn't need to find the Honey, because my Honey found me!" Ethan smiled as his lips met Honey's and they shared a beautiful kiss. "Oi, I said 'Go Date!' Not 'Go Kiss'" Came Noel's Northern accent from across the room. Honey and Ethan smiled into the kiss as Ethan turned red from embarrassment.