Guest: (Cooper) Thank you for the review. I'm glad you like the stories where Ethan is the older one. Here is your Cal request, I hope you like it and I'm sorry it took a while to write up.
Officalpoppy: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you thought it was really goof.
In this chapter, Ethan is the older brother and the only biological child of Matilda. Cal is slightly autistic. Ethan doesn't have the gene. I'm sorry it's taken a while to get up.
Includes slight spoilers for what I may think happen to Alicia in Saturday's episode.
The Secret Life Of Casualty.
Chapter
Ethan had been 11 when his mum decided that she wanted another baby. But after a traumatic birth with baby Ethan where his shoulders had become stuck, Matilda realised that she didn't want to put her body through that, she looked in to IVF, but found she didn't have the cash to fund it, with looking after a 11 year old as a single parent. So she had an idea, she looked in to adopting. She knew there were lots of little girls and boys who needed someone to look after them. If she was successful, Matilda wanted a boy. She got in to touch with an adoption agency and told them she was interested in adopting. A social worker came to her house.
Ethan made a pact to himself: To not let his colleagues discover that Cal was adopted as it would destroy them both. Cal would be hurt that Ethan had lied to protect him and he wouldn't see it like that.
Charlie and Connie had an idea, the team had suffered a terrible few weeks, with the truma of Alicia being raped, her almost dying after Eddie had violently shoved her through a glass window, she had needed emergency surgery and was now in an coma, and the brothers had been two visitors of hers along with Bea, who had returned from Paris, giving up on a placement that she'd worked hard on, when she discovered that Eddie had violently hurt Alicia. Watching the ventilator breath for Alicia, reminded the boys of something.
The boys had a dark secret, which only they knew. Their mum, Matilda was ill, and chemo and radiotherapy weren't working and she only had a matter of weeks left, with doctors trying to keep her comfortable on morphine, the boys spent every minute they weren't working with her, telling her they loved her, and she slipped away. Cal cried. Ethan put his arms around his brother.
Connie clapped her hands, commanding her teams attention. "Right, listen up. " She said. "I know these last few weeks have been tough, but we have to try to stick together. Nurmous colleages such as the brothers, Jessica, Rash, Rita and Robyn all nodded. Knowing how important it was to support each other in times of crisis. "That's why" Connie had continued to talk. "I want you to each bring in a baby photo and your other colleagues have to guess who it is, "
The team agreed that it was a good idea and that night, they prepared to dig out some of their baby pictures. At the end of their shift, the boys head to the car park, get in to car and start driving.
Ethan unlocked the flat door, walking inside, Ethan headed in to the kitchen while Cal headed in to Matilda's room, knowing that it was time to sort out her stuff. Ethan was in charge of deciding what clothes to send to the charity shop and what to bury her in, while Cal was in charge of emptying her wardrobe and her chest of draws.
On the shelf, there were a few shoe boxes. Curiously, he lifted them down and opened one.
Cal started rooting through a box, confused as to why he was finding pictures of Ethan as a baby, and then as a toddler eating an ice cream and playing on a bike, dressed in different baby grows and hats, but not him.
"Ethan, why has mum got no pictures of me?" He asked.
"Um. " Ethan heisted, remembering his mum's words.
"Don't tell Caleb he's adopted, Ethan"
"Ethan, tell me" Said Cal, beginning to look angry.
"I don't know, Cal " Ethan said, he knew that his excuse was weak but what else was he meant to say, he didn't want to betray Matilda's trust.
There was a white envelope in the middle of the photos, it was addressed to Cal. He looked at Ethan. Ethan swallowed nervously, if Cal opened that envelope everything could change for the two brothers.
"Don't open it" He found himself saying to his brother
But Cal had to know what was in it, even if it hurt him. He turned the envelope open in his hands and out come a piece of paper. He unfolded it with shaking hands.
"Dear Caleb,
My name is Camilla Knight and I am your mother. I gave birth to you when I was 16. I had to give you up as your father wasn't a very nice man, but I love you, son. I hope whoever you end up with, treats you nicely. "
"Matilda's not my mum?" Cal asked, hating the fact he's been lied to almost all his life. In a fit of anger, he punches the wall, the pain throbs through his hand but he ignores it. Ethan tries to take Cal's hand in to his own, to see what damage he has done bit his brother growls angrily at him as he stands up allowing the pictures of a baby Ethan to fall to the floor.
Ethan sighed, he'd broken his promise to his mum and now there was a chance that his brother wouldn't forgive him. He later returned to the flat.
"Ethan, I want to change my surename"
"OK, Cal"
To change his surname, Cal had to produce his birth certificate, which Camilla had given to the foster agency, who had handed it to Matilda when the adoption went through.
The next day, the brothers arrived at the ED. Iain, Jacob and Rash were snarling him and ignoring him.
"Ethan doesn't really love you," Iain snarled at Cal.
"Your mum only had you as she felt sorry for you. "
"He does!" Cal insisted, feeling sad, as he ran.
Iain laughed nastily. "No, he doesn't"
Ethan who had been in RESUS, had no idea what had gone on.
"Where's Cal?" He asked.
Iain shrugged. "Dunno. "
"Come on, Iain. " Said Ethan.
"Why do you want a freak like him for a brother?" Said Jez.
"What?" Ethan asked, confused.
"We told Cal you didn't want him. " Said Iain, now ashamed of his behaviour.
"How dare you?" Ethan yelled. "I do want him. " He said as he started running. He headed back to his flat to find Cal siting in darkness.
"Cal?" Said Ethan as he put the living room light on.
"I want to find my real mum" said Cal
Ethan nodded, knowing that he needed to help his younger brother. "That's a good idea, Cal"
"But how?" Cal said.
Ethan shrugged his shoulders. "Facebook?" He suggested, Cal didn't have an account as Matilda thought he was too young.
cal nodded and watched as Ethan reached for his laptop which was on the coffee table. He put his password in and waited for it to load, loggging in to Facebook. He put Cal's mums name in the search bar, wondering if he would get any results, he clicked search and waited for the results to load. When they did
A private message filled Ethan with dread as he read it. Cal's biological birth mum was dead, how was Ethan supposed to tell his brother that his mother was dead. It has only been a few months since they'd buried Matilda and now he had to
"Are you ready for this" Ethan asked as they arrived at the cemetery and parked up
Cal nodded his head slowly and reached for the door handle, pulling it open, Ethan did the same and the two of them looked at each other. Cal let Ethan lead the way as he didn't know where his mother was resting. He followed Ethan until he stopped. Cal was dissappinted, there didn't seem to be a proper "place of rest" There was a plain piece of wood.
Ethan put his hand on Cal's shoulder and was set to leave Cal to mourn his mum in peace. When he heard Cal say "Stay"
"If you want me to, I will" He said.
Cal nodded. He didn't know what to say. He turned to Ethan and faced him.
"What do I say?"
Ethan turned to face his brother. "Say whatever you feel like Cal"
Cal knelt down in front of the piece of wood and spoke. "It's Cal, mum"
Leaving the cemetery, Cal wipes a stray tear away and Ethan looks at him "Are you ok?"
Cal nodded, it was
"The day mum, I mean, Matilda " Ethan quickly corrected himself. "Brought you home, it was the happiest day of her life and mine"
Ethan leaned forward and hugged his brother.
Thank you for reading, I liked writing this chapter.
