All Chapters of Only You: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

66 Chapters

Fellsdello Home For Children

Chapter 41: Fellsdello Home for ChildrenTwenty-Six Years Ago...The miserable February rain had not let up for a single second. Michelle Hadley gripped the steering wheel of her sensible estate car, her knuckles white as she navigated the flooded streets of Fellsdello. In the back seat, securely strapped into the bulky plastic carrier, little Benjamin slept soundly, entirely oblivious to the horrific tragedy he had just been pulled from, or the fact that his twin brother was currently fighting for his life in a hospital miles away.Michelle finally pulled up outside the Fellsdello Home for Children, a sprawling, slightly imposing Victorian brick building that had seen far better days. She grabbed the baby carrier and her clipboard, making a mad dash through the torrential downpour to the front entrance.She arrived just as the chaotic morning breakfast rush was coming to an end. Pushing open the heavy, reinforced wooden door, she was instantly hit by a wall of deafening noise and a d

The Adoption

Chapter 42: The AdoptionTwenty-Six Years Ago...Hillary Bardeau was absolutely vibrating with an irrepressible, overwhelming excitement.For as long as she could remember, she and her husband, James, had desperately wanted a child of their own to complete their lives. But nature, in all its profound unfairness, had not been kind to them. Hillary had spent years feeling entirely cursed by her medical condition. A horrific, freak fall in her early twenties had resulted in massive internal trauma. The emergency surgery that saved her life had revealed severe, irreparable scarring to her womb. Ultimately, it had to be completely removed, devastatingly taking away any biological chance of her ever carrying a baby of her own.The grief had nearly broken her, but instead of succumbing to the bitterness, they had made the conscious, loving decision to foster instead.James was a highly respected, successful doctor, and they were rather well off. They lived in the sprawling, beautiful Bardeau

Bardeau Manor

Chapter 43: Bardeau ManorTwenty-Six Years Ago...The sleek, heavy estate car crunched softly against the pristine white gravel of the sweeping, tree-lined driveway. The towering oak trees that lined the perimeter stood bare against the winter chill, their branches reaching up towards the breaking sky. The bitter, relentless February storm that had raged across the county all morning was miraculously beginning to break. Weak, golden rays of winter sunlight were just starting to pierce through the heavy, bruised clouds, casting a warm, hopeful glow over the sprawling estate and reflecting off the grand, multi-paned windows of the house.Hillary didn't even wait for James to turn off the engine or pull the handbrake. She threw open her passenger door, jumping out into the crisp, rain-washed air, her heart fluttering like a trapped bird against her ribs. She practically ran around to the back door, pulling it open to reach her new son.With hands that trembled slightly from the sheer adr

Tea and Truths

Chapter 44: Tea and TruthsMari’s POVShocked did not even begin to explain how I was feeling right there and then. I felt completely, utterly blindsided. I was sitting on my own sofa, gripping my Margarita glass so tightly my knuckles were white, trying to process the absolute impossibility of the last twenty minutes. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how Ben was feeling. The very foundation of his entire existence – his name, his family, his medical history – had just been ripped out from beneath him.He had emerged from the kitchen looking like a ghost, his skin even paler than when he went in. His blue eyes were hollow, completely shell-shocked. He quietly told us that Hillary and James were getting straight in the car and were on their way over. Then, without making eye contact with anyone, he excused himself, heading straight out through the sliding glass doors to the poolside for some desperate fresh air.The heavy, suffocating silence in the lounge was unbearable. Tia had immed

Carers Leave

Chapter 45: Carer's LeaveTwenty-Six Years Ago...The neonatal intensive care unit at Galencia Bay Hospital was a purgatory of grey linoleum and stuffy, recycled air. The ward was kept uncomfortably warm for the sake of the fragile infants, and the strong, aggressively chemical scent of industrial bleach and sharp antiseptic was entirely overwhelming, clinging thickly to the back of the throat.Sitting quietly next to a humming, clear plastic incubator in the corner of the room was a young paediatric nurse. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes soft as she watched the tiny chest of the infant inside rise and fall with a steady, independent rhythm. The terrifying maze of tubes and the ventilator mask had finally been removed earlier that morning."Poor little guy," she whispered softly to Bryce, her voice barely carrying over the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitors. She gently tapped her fingernail against the Perspex shell. "At least now you are a bit better, w

Welfare Check

Chapter 46: Welfare CheckTwenty-Six Years Ago...The world outside Gemma’s Fellsdello terrace was swallowed in the deep, unforgiving darkness of a late winter night. The only sounds penetrating the quiet suburban street were the bitter wind rustling violently through the bare, skeletal trees and the nocturnal creatures going about their hidden business – the sharp, sudden screech of an urban fox scavenging for food, the distant, hollow hooting of an owl. The only light bleeding through the heavy curtains came from the harsh amber glow of the streetlamps and the bright, silver shine of a full moon.Inside the house, however, a completely different, exhausting reality was playing out. The hallway light was left blazing, casting long shadows up the staircase. Soft, sleepy instrumental lullabies hummed quietly through a small cassette player, and sitting slumped in a plush rocking chair in the corner of the nursery was an extremely, thoroughly exhausted Gemma.It was two o'clock in the m

Dinner and DNA

Chapter 47: Dinner and DNATwenty-Six Years Ago... The warm, flickering amber glow of three thick pillar candles lit the small upstairs bathroom, casting long, dancing shadows across the tiled walls. The sweet yet sharply pungent aroma of bergamot and geranium essential oils floated heavily through the air, carried upwards by the thick plumes of steam rising from the scalding hot bubble bath.Gemma sank lower into the water, taking a long, deep, shuddering breath in. She inhaled slowly, letting the fragrant steam open her tired lungs and the heat seep directly into her aching, tightly knotted muscles. The scent was incredibly calming, a stark contrast to the sharp smell of baby formula and cold-water sterilising fluid she had been living with for the past two weeks.It was absolute heaven to finally get some physical space to relax. Her mother, Connie, had arrived an hour ago, taken over from Matt with Laila, and practically ordered Gemma upstairs. Matt had remained in the lounge, ge

The Match

Chapter 48: The MatchTwenty-Six Years Ago...PC Bosley was sat slumped at his cramped, slightly sticky desk in the middle of the bustling open-plan office at Galencia Bay Police Station. It was late in the afternoon, the winter sun already dipping below the horizon outside the barred windows, but his desk was completely buried under a towering mountain of beige paperwork. There was absolutely no chance of him heading home to his own bed any time soon.Suddenly, the heavy black telephone buried somewhere beneath a stack of incident reports began to ring shrilly. He groaned, quickly shuffling through the chaotic papers, knocking over a lukewarm cup of instant coffee in the process, to try and find the receiver before it went to voicemail.He snatched it up on the fourth ring. "PC Bosley," he answered gruffly, trying to mop up the spilled coffee with a tissue."Hello, PC Bosley, this is Imogen from the Forensic Data Investigations Department at HQ. I was just calling regarding your urge

See You Soon Baby Boy

Chapter 49: See You Soon, Baby BoyTwenty-Six Years Ago...The modest, red-brick townhouse in Galencia Heights was finally, blissfully quiet. After an exhausting afternoon of juggling feeds, burping, and changing nappies, Gemma had somehow managed the impossible: she had successfully put both infants down for a nap at the exact same time. She was just tip-toeing into the kitchen to pour herself a much-needed, lukewarm cup of tea when the sudden, shrill chime of the front doorbell shattered the peaceful silence.Instantly, the fragile peace was broken. A sharp, offended wail erupted from the living room, immediately followed by a louder, high-pitched cry from the travel cot.Gemma let out a long, heavy groan of sheer frustration, her shoulders slumping. She set her empty mug down on the counter with a heavy clunk and marched down the short hallway, dragging her hands down her tired face. She pulled open the front door, fully prepared to scold whoever was standing on the other side for

All The Authority

Chapter 50: All the AuthorityTwenty-Six Years Ago...The drive across the Fellsdello borough line was incredibly tense, the heavy silence in Matt's modest estate car thick with a mixture of profound grief and desperate, frantic hope. When they finally pulled up outside the imposing, red-brick Victorian facade of the Fellsdello Home for Children, the winter sun had entirely set, casting long, dreary shadows across the damp pavement.Matt turned the engine off and stepped out into the biting evening chill. He walked up the stone steps, pulled open the heavy, reinforced wooden door, and gestured politely for Norma and Hugo Edmunson to step inside out of the cold.The transition from the crisp evening air into the chaotic, overheated facility was jarring. The air inside smelled distinctly of institutional floor wax, damp woollen coats, and the lingering scent of boiled cabbage from the evening dinner service. Norma immediately wrinkled her nose, pulling her expensive cashmere coat tighte

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