A/N: Hello lovelies! So... I caved and decided to write a sequel to Two Sides of a Coin. You'll finally get the answer to the question of who stopped Nikki's car when she and Hollie tried to leave Greenock ;)

Also, I know the dates of Nikki's pregnancy don't REALLY make sense, but it was the only way this made sense, so please bear with me on that one!

I'm not sure how frequent updates will be, but I'll do my best!

Hope you enjoy this :)

x

Hollie turned up the volume on her laptop, attempting to drown out the sound of her baby brother's crying from downstairs. She was stressed by the amount of work they had been set already, even though it was only the end of their second week back after the summer. Not only was it Hollie's second week back at school, it was her second week at a brand new school where she knew no one at all.

"Hol!" She rolled her eyes at the sound of shouting from downstairs and was incredibly tempted to turn the volume of her music up even more. "Hollie!"

Sighing, the girl swivelled her chair in a half circle and walked from her room. Leaning over the top of the banisters she looked down into the hall where Nikki was juggling several tasks at once. She had a cloth thrown over one shoulder as she bounced baby AJ in her arms, the landline handset clamped between her other shoulder and her ear and a pile of freshly dried baby bodysuits in her free hand.

"Little help here?" She demanded, motioning towards the front door with the washing. As she pointed the doorbell rang, obviously not for the first time.

Nodding, the teenager jumped down the staircase and moved to answer the door, wondering whether Tom had forgotten his keys again. He seemed incapable of taking them whenever he went to the supermarket to pick up extra nappies or wipes or whatever else they had run out of.

"Hey!" A broad smile lit up Hollie's face as she spotted her step-brother leaning against the porch wall, waiting to be let in. "You forgot your keys too? Like father, like son."

Josh laughed and followed her inside, closing the door and hanging his jacket on the hooks. Nikki appeared, still trying to do several things at the same time. Pressing a kiss to the boy's cheek, she thrust the baby into his arms and retreated to the kitchen to continue her conversation in peace.

"So, how's school? How was your trip to Manchester?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Hollie asked, leading the way into the living room and collapsing onto the sofa. Josh shook his head, handing AJ over and dropping down beside her.

"I don't think I've seen you long enough since you got back to talk about anything."

She shrugged, looking down at her baby brother who was finally falling asleep. Hollie had finally agreed to go up North to visit her Dad's family. It had mostly been Nikki's idea because she had received a letter from Rob's Mother, asking whether she would mind if they contacted Hollie again after receiving no response to their previous letter. Once she'd got past her nerves about meeting the large Evans side of her family, Hollie had actually really enjoyed the two weeks she'd spent with them and even visited her Dad in prison.

"It was good, actually. They're much nicer than I had imagined." She laughed softly as Josh raised an eyebrow at her. "I know, I know… but from everything that's happened and what I've heard I imagined them to be some kind of hardcore crime family or something. But they're not. Not really, anyway. My uncle Gary and cousin Craig are a bit dodgy and my Granddad and Dad are both in prison which is a bit… well… but the others are fine." She told him with a shrug. "But it was nice to come home… there are just so many people around all the time up there."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, on Sunday we all went round to Auntie Karin and Uncle Danny's for lunch. And I mean all of us; Nan, Uncle Gary and Auntie Lauren, Uncle Martin and Auntie Verity, Auntie Emma and Uncle Mitch, Auntie Janey and Uncle Jamie and all fourteen of my cousins. Then there were some of my cousins' boyfriends and girlfriends and their kids. Even Dad's wife and their three kids were there." Hollie sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not used to like thirty-five people being round for lunch… it was mental."

"Yeah… no wonder you're glad to be home." Josh agreed with a laugh. "I thought it got crazy with you and our parents around." He shot her a look. "They OK?"

Hollie nodded and smiled. "I think so. Obviously AJ being premature was a bit of a worry, but they seem so much stronger now. But Tom not being able to get a job and Mum being on maternity isn't great."

"Where is the old man, anyway?"

"They ran out of nappies… again. I have no idea how many this kid gets through every day, but we always seem to be running out." The girl laughed, looking down at her brother again and shaking her head. "Babies are more trouble than they're worth."

"You don't mean that." Josh told her with a shake of his head.

She sighed. "Nah… you're not that bad, are you Alexander John?"

"Formal." Her step-brother teased, earning himself of roll of her eyes and the baby being gently transferred into his possession as Hollie climbed to her feet.

"Cuppa?" She asked, pausing in the doorway.

He glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to Halls… I said I'd pick up milk on the way back."

"You're gonna wait for Tom though, right?" Hollie asked, grinning. Not waiting for an answer she made her way into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

Nikki was still on the phone when the teenager pushed the swing door open silently. Leaning on the counters by the sink, the woman had her back to where her daughter stood, one hand running through her hair repeatedly as she listened to whatever was being said to her. Curiously, Hollie leant against the doorframe waiting for her to speak.

"That really is generous, Christine, but I'm not sure if we should come back." Nikki responded after a moment or two. "This was supposed to be a fresh start; to get back on track. Hollie's only been at her new school for two weeks and coming back now would be disruptive. It's not much of a fresh start if it lasts less than two months. Not to mention I have a four-week-old to think about as well." There was a long pause as she listened to the woman on the other end. Hollie wished she could hear what was being said and almost made up her mind to pick up another handset and listen in. With a sigh, Nikki caught her daughter's attention once more. "I'll speak to Tom and see what he thinks. We could do with two wages… Alright… I'll speak to you later. Bye."

Jumping as the beep of the 'end call' button met her ears, Hollie pushed the door open even more so that it banged on the counter and signalled that she was in the room. Nikki turned with a frown and told her to be more careful with the door.

"Sorry." Her daughter muttered, pretending to be contrite. "Who was on the phone? Anything interesting?"

"Not really… Christine Mulgrew."

Hollie's eyebrows rose slightly. "What did she want?"

"Nothing much… she was just ringing to see how we all are and how AJ is getting on." The woman lied smoothly. "What did Josh want?"

"Tea." The teenager replied with a frown, turning away to put teabags in the mugs so that her mother couldn't see her expression. She knew that Nikki was lying and she hated it. "Want one?"

Moving past her, the woman absentmindedly pressed a kiss to the top of her head and tapped her cheek. "I'd love one, sweetheart."

By the time the kettle had boiled and Hollie had made the drinks Tom had arrived back and they spent the rest of the evening, before Josh left to return to his University flat, watching television and chatting about nothing in particular. Nikki didn't mention the conversation she'd had with Christine, which just served to make her daughter even more curious.