Hello lovely people! Sorry this has taken me so long- I've been distracted by various other fics and the fact I've now started revising for my GCSE's which are fast approaching. This means I haven't the foggiest when I'm going to be able to update this, so sorry about that xD

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and reviews would be most welcomed- maybe what you'd like to see happen at some point? -Sophie x

It was the morning after the night before, barely a few months into 2015, and Cal's head was already pounding with that horrific hung-over feeling. It was as if his heart had taken lodgings within his brain, and was thumping ten times louder, purely just to annoy its landlord. He groaned and put a hand to his head, shielding his eyes from the morning sun as it streamed in through the open window he'd forgotten to shut last night.

The grey bed sheets were crumpled as he threw them from his body, only to realise there wasn't a scrap of clothing on him. After gingerly sitting up, he leant down and picked up his shirt and jeans from last night, before pulling them on with as little movement as he possibly could. Then, once he was suitably clothed, Cal made his way downstairs, running a hand through his tousled hair as he turned the corner into the kitchen. Ethan was sat at the table, hands round a steaming mug of coffee, glasses perched on his nose as his eyes ran backwards and forth over the day's newspaper headlines.

"Morning nibbles." Cal muttered, stifling a yawn as he boiled the kettle again and poured the water into an empty cup. Ethan just raised an eyebrow.

"Are you still half drunk?" He asked as his brother looked down at the cup and rolled his eyes, before tipping the contents down the sink.

"No, I'm not." He sighed, placing a spoonful of dried coffee granules into his cup and trying again with the water. "Unfortunately." He added, under his breath. "God, I can't even remember why I was drinking."

"You're kidding me." Ethan said, a hint of disbelief entering his voice. "Seriously."

"Was I celebrating?"

"Yes!" The bespectacled registrar exclaimed pointedly. "Your girlfriend is pregnant and I'm engaged, remember?! It was our joint celebration party!"

"Oh shit, yeah!" Cal realised, putting a hand over his mouth. "Where is she now, Connie? I can't remember anything from Rita, Lily and Lofty doing the karaoke to Anaconda by that singer with the big butt…"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Good God Cal. I hope your fathering skills are going to be better than your memory. She drove home to see to Grace and the nanny, seeing as she couldn't drink. You stayed however, and versed Big Mac at downing the shots by the bar. If I recall correctly, you stopped at 8."

"Well, at least she's going to be feeling alright this morning." He mumbled, sipping his coffee, and jumping as the scalding hot liquid touched his lips.

…

"Grace, darling, go ask Iveta, mummy's busy." Connie called from her en-suite bathroom. She had her head over the toilet bowl, and her voice was distorted as it hit the porcelain and bounced back towards the door, where her daughter stood on the other side.

"But I want you to do it! Iveta pulls my hair too hard and it hurts. And the plait is never straight." She wailed, just as another wave of nausea hit her mother and she threw up into the toilet again, her stomach heaving and forehead sweating.

"Tell her to do it right then!" Connie called, becoming increasingly exasperated. They'd been in those same positions for at least 20 minutes, and she was quite frankly, getting sick of it, if you pardon the pun.

"But she doesn't listen!" Grace insisted, voice becoming more and more high pitched. Connie wiped her mouth, then, feeling as if she were over the worst of it, stood, clutching the edge of her stone bath for support. She straightened up and checked herself in the mirror.

The woman had run straight from bed as soon as she awoke that morning, and had stayed there since. Her hair was knotted and unruly, with curls and waves intertwining to create a bird's nest sort of look. Her face was pale and eyes dark which was due to lack of sleep, which was due to the tiny human life growing inside her. Without really thinking about it, she found herself placing a tentative hand over her stomach, feeling the heat of her skin below her nightclothes. She let it fall and took a deep breath as Grace called again.

"Mummy I need to go in 5 minutes, please come do my hair?"

Connie opened the door to find her daughter in her uniform, hair straight and a bobble in her hand. The girl crinkled her nose and took a step back, peering into the bathroom behind the looming figure that stood in front of her.

"Ew, what's that icky smell?" She said in disgust, pulling her sleeve over her nose and Connie's cheeks reddened as she shut the door.

"I must have caught something at work. Come on, I'll quickly do your hair." She moved towards her but Grace shook her head and walked towards the door.

"It smells disgusting in here. I'll get Iveta to do it." She sighed, pulling the door shut behind her and leaving Connie in silence, hands by her sides and her eyes on the floor.

"Charming." She muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and making her way towards her wardrobe, until her stomach did a double flip and she clapped a hand to her mouth once more, making a dash for the bathroom and slamming the door firmly shut behind her.