Telling the girls about the baby really was an experience like no other. I decided one quiet weekend, while Michelle was out with Rosie and Raffy and Peter was manning the bar was the perfect time to do it.

I sat each of them down on the sofa and took my scan photo out of my handbag. I showed it to them all and watched their faces, slightly puzzled in front of me.

"Do any of you know what this photo is?" I asked them.

"It's a baby." Isla said. "Oh no, Mummy's not having another baby, is she?" she asked. Mum almost choked on her coffee behind me as Isla spoke.

"No, I am not." Mum said in between coughs as I laughed.

"It is a baby Islie, but it isn't Mummy's." I told them. Isla gasped as she realised what I was trying to tell her.

"It's your baby Orlie isn't it?" she asked, standing up from the sofa to hug me.

"Yeah, Islie it is my baby." I said as I wrapped my arms around her, looking to Ella and Tally who were sat on the sofa behind her. "Do you understand? Ella, Tal, there's a baby in my tummy." I said. Both of their faces lit up and they too climbed off the sofa and came to hug Isla and I. I held the three of them in my arms.

"It has to be a girl you know Orlie." Tala said from beside me as the three of them pulled away. Isla held my scan photo, while Ella placed her hand on my slightly bigger bump.

"Why is that Tal?" I asked.

"Because Raffy's a boy and he always gets annoyed with us and I want your baby to be a girl so it doesn't get annoyed with us." She said. Mum and I both giggled.

"Tally I think the baby would get annoyed with you lot even if it's a girl." Mum said as she sipped on her coffee.

"When is the baby coming out Orla?" Ella asked, still stroking my bump with her hands.

"Not until September Ella, so when you start Year One and Islie starts Year Three, just after that, the baby will come then." I told her. Isla nodded as I spoke and then handed the scan photo back to me.

"Can we tell Daddy?" Isla asked.

"He knows already Islie." Mum told her as she wrapped her arms around Isla and pulled her onto her lap.

"I'll tell Daddy." Ella shouted before running out of the back room and into the pub shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, Orla's having a baby." It was Saturday afternoon so I knew the pub would be full.

"You alright with everyone knowing?" Mum asked, reaching her hand for mine as I lifted Tally onto my lap. I nodded taking her hand in mine.

"Yeah, I knew with these three knowing it wasn't going to stay a secret for much longer. Everyone who I wanted to tell in person already knows so, I'm fine with people knowing now. I can't hide this bump under baggy jumpers for much longer." I said to her. Mum and I listened as we heard cheers come from the pub. I stood up, lifting Tally onto my hip. Mum stood up too with Isla and the four of us walked out into the bar where everyone cheered. There were many shouts of congratulations, and I gradually worked my way around the room thanking them all. No one asked about who the Dad was, or about Ben, no one round here really knew I was with him. My name was never associated with him in the press, and we tended to go into town when we went for a drink.

In the following days, the news was no longer a secret, Isla and Ella told everyone and anyone, they should have put signs up on the street it was that public. They enjoyed telling Rosie and Raffy, who also joined in the publication of my pregnancy. Tally was less enthusiastic about the whole thing. I think partly because she was younger, and she didn't really understand what happening in the same way that the others did. But I think she could sense something was different too. She knew that me having a baby would change the bond that I held with her, not the bond, maybe just the relationship we had and the time we spent together. She got into my bed every morning and had done for at least a year now.

Things had changed between us since I had been pregnant. Even before Tally knew she was cuddlier with me. When she was almost at the point where she found as much comfort from Mum as she did from me, she'd now just taken three steps backwards and often now, it was me or no one. That had become hard for everyone, Mum and Peter included. Mum would often call and tell me to stay over at the factory or the bakery a little longer so Mum and Peter could get her into bed without any fuss.

It was a normal Tuesday evening when mum called the phone in the factory office.

"Hello, you ok?" I asked as I put the phone to my ear.

"Yeah, yeah I need you to come home Orlie please." Mum said on the other end.

"Why? What's happened?" I asked, shutting my laptop.

"It's Tally, please Orla, be quick." She said. I put the phone down and stood up, slipping it into my back pocket. I put my laptop in my bag and grabbed my keys, quickly locking up the factory and walking over to the pub. When I got there, Tala was lying on the sofa in the back room with Mum frantically pacing.

"What's going on?" I asked them, throwing my bag onto the armchair sitting down, lifting Tala onto my lap. She barely even reacted to me coming home, which I thought was unusual.

"She's hurt her arm Orla." Mum said. I looked down at Tally laying in my arms. She was sleepy and amid her occasional sobs, she winced in pain. Her face was red, and her arm was bent out of shape and definitely broken

"I think she needs to go to hospital Mum. Her arm doesn't look right. Where's Peter?" I asked.

"Steve says he's on an airport run, I can't get hold of him. Michelle's out for dinner in town. I've called her too, but she isn't answering. The other four are all upstairs, I needed them out the way." She told me.

"Ok, well, I'll go and get her a few things from upstairs, you get her in the car." I said standing up with Tally in my arms. Her body was limp and heavy as I did.

"You'll have to take her Orla." Mum said as she began to take Tally from me.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"She won't want me Orlie, when she's upset, she'll want you. Really, you take her." Mum said. I agreed before running upstairs to get her a jumper and her favourite lamby. When I got back downstairs, I grabbed my handbag and went out to the car, where Mum had strapped her into the back.

"I'll call you as soon as I know anything." I said, Mum kissed my cheek and I climbed into the car and drove towards the hospital.

By the time we got to the hospital, Tally was little more perky, still really upset and in a lot of pain. I explained to her what was happening as I carried her into A&E from the car, with my bag on my shoulder. She was quickly given an x-ray and then a doctor came round and confirmed her arm was broken and they put in plaster

"Are you her mother?" the doctor asked when he came around a little later to check on her.

"No, no, I'm her sister. Our Mum is at home. Tally just struggles a little bit when she's upset and we find she settles better with me." I told her.

"I understand." She said before examining Tally's cast again and running through a few rules about using her arm over the next few weeks. She looked better already; despite the fact she was exhausted. Tally got upset part way through and it took me lying in the bed beside her for the doctor to finish checking her over.

"Do you think we'll be able to go home soon?" I asked, lifting Tally into my arms once the doctor had finished.

"Yes, I don't see why not. She seems to be making a good recovery. You'll just need to be mindful over the next few days of her condition not deteriorating and if it does then just bring her back in." she told me as I nodded. "I'll get a nurse to come over so we can discharge her."

"Thank you so much." I said before she left the little cubicle, we were in. As she did my phone rang. I pulled it out of my coat pocket and answered,

"Hello Mum. She's all fine."

"Oh, thank goodness, I was getting so worried. Do they know what was wrong?" she asked.

"It's broken. They've put it in a cast and it will have to stay on for at least six weeks. She's alright, still in some pain but she's exhausted. They're going to send a nurse to discharge us and then we should be back." I told her.

"Ok Orlie, thank you." She said, as I looked down at Tally who was falling asleep on my chest. "Are you alright?" she asked me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. I feel for her, she's so little Mum." I said.

"I know Orlie, but she has got her favourite person with her." Mum said on the other end of the phone.

"You know when they put the cast on, she called for you, she didn't call for me." I told her.

"Really?" Mum asked.

"Yeah, I promise you, she did." I then said goodbye to her as the nurse returned to discharge Tala.

When we got home to the pub it was closed. It was dark and cold outside, so I wrapped my coat around Tally as I carried her inside. Mum and Michelle were sat at the table in the back room, while Peter was in the kitchen.

"She's asleep, I think." I told them as they looked at her head which rested on my shoulder.

"Her poor little arm." Michelle said as she stroked her hair. She stirred slightly.

"Mummy." Her little voice said as she saw Mum beside me. Mum took her from me and held her tightly.

"Hey, my brave little baby." Mum whispered as she held her. Peter came in and stroked her hair and kissed her head. "Thank you Orlie, for taking her, for looking after her, for being the best big sister to her." Mum reached over and stroked my face.

"She'll have to sleep with her arm on a pillow the nurse said, you remember how I did when I broke mine." I said to Mum as she leaned and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you, Orlie Belle. You look tired, is this little one keeping you up?" she asked, stroking her hand over my bump.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go up to bed actually." I told them and said goodnight to everyone before going up to my room. I put my pyjamas on and climbed into bed with my laptop. I heard Mum take Tala up to bed and Michelle go to her room as well.

The house was silent when there was a quiet knock at my door and the door opened. Mum came in with her dressing gown wrapped around her and shut the door behind me.

"I thought you were going to bed." She whispered as she climbed into my bed beside me.

"I couldn't sleep." I lied. I hadn't really tried, but I knew my mind would just keep thinking about the baby and everything going on. "I just keep thinking about stuff." I said. Mum shut my laptop and put it towards the end of my bed before pulling me into her and resting her hand on the bump in my stomach.

"About this one?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just today, thinking about if something were to happen to the baby, who would be there, like I am there for you." I said.

"Hey, hey, you never ever need to worry about that because I will be there, I will always be there for you and for your baby. Michelle has always been there when I have needed you and so have Grandma and Grandad, and they will all be there for you too, and this little one. You remember after Frank, when Michelle came home and she looked after you for me. If you need that, ever, then I will be there, I promise you." She said. "Come here, let's get you to sleep." She said, pulling the duvet over us and stroking my hair, which she knew always sent me to sleep.