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The tears that had filled her throat were now glazing her eyes. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t lose someone else.

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Holly followed the signs to Ward 3 and, after a couple of turns, including one wrong one, found herself standing in front of a set of double doors. Her hands were trembling as she pushed it open and stepped forward, yet before she could even ask the nurse what room Giles was in, a familiar-sounding voice called her name.

‘Holly?’

Holly spun around.

‘Faye!’

With a near gasp flying from her lips, Holly wrapped her arms around Giles’s sister, before quickly breaking away again. ‘Where is he? What happened? Is he okay? Can I see him?’

‘He’s just through there,’ Faye said, pointing to a curtained-off area. ‘And he’s fine, just his ego’s a bit bruised. Well, his ego and lots of other places, really. But it’s nothing serious. He’ll be glad to see you. I’ll give you a moment.’

With tears running down her cheeks, Holly stepped through the curtain. Her heart leapt. Giles was sitting upright in bed. A line of several stitches crossed from the inside of his eyebrow up towards his hairline, while a thick, white plaster had been placed across his obviously broken nose. There were bruises beneath his eyes and across his arms too, yet despite having to be in an excessive amount of pain, the moment he saw her, he was on his feet.

‘Oh my God. You scared the life out of me.’ She fell into his chest, only for him to wince audibly. Hurriedly, she stepped away. ‘I’m sorry?—’

‘No, no, I’m so sorry,’ Giles said, shaking his head. ‘I was an idiot. I didn’t think. I shouldn’t have called you. It was when I hung up that I realised you’d probably start panicking and thinking the worst and I should’ve?—’

‘Don’t be silly. I’m glad you called me,’ Holly said. ‘Of course you can call me. You know that.’

Giles grimaced. ‘I tried to ring you back. To tell you it wasn’t anything serious, but you didn’t pick up.’

‘I didn’t hear it ring,’ Holly said, before realising the reason. ‘I left my phone in the shop. I just dumped it and ran. And it looks serious. That’s a lot of stitches.’

‘Fourteen,’ he answered, before adding a slanted smirk. ‘But I told them to make it look impressive. You know how the ladies love scars.’

She couldn’t help but laugh, even if it was a stupid comment. The relief she felt was palpable.

‘What did you do?’ Holly asked. ‘Don’t tell me you crashed a car?’

This time, Giles’s grimace was purely one of humour. ‘Come on, you know I’d never do this in the car. I’m a wonderful driver. No, I was out on my uncle’s quad bike. I’d lost a couple of sheep, and I thought that would be the quickest way to find them. I haven’t actually been on a quad bike since I was about sixteen. Turns out, I’m not quite as good at handling the bumps as I used to be.’

‘You were on a quad bike?’ Holly repeated.

‘Yeah, I know. I remember them being a lot more fun than— Ow!’ Giles winced as Holly punched him on the shoulder.

‘Don’t you dare do that again,’ she said, then punched him once more. ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack. Do you know what could’ve happened to you? You’re lucky you only ended up with stitches.’

‘I know, I know. I’m sorry. Like I said, I shouldn’t have rung you.’

‘What? You think it would have been better if you’d kept this hidden from me? Trust me, you’d have been in even more trouble. You know you’re Hope’s favourite uncle?’

The look of pain that had been etched on Giles’ face transformed into a small smirk.

‘I know I am,’ he said. ‘She told you that, right? I definitely am. And I’m your favourite too, right? Out of all your friends, I’m definitely the best.’

Holly’s heart was still pounding, but for some reason, her throat had also gone inexplicably dry. Giles was one of the most important people in the world to her; there was no way around that. These past few years, he had been there for her every step of the way, and she simply couldn’t imagine life without him.

‘You know what you mean to me,’ she said. Her words came out quieter than anticipated and his eyes locked on hers. Once again, she felt her pulse rising. Giles shifted slightly, moving his hand as if he was going to reach out and touch her. She drew in a long breath, wondering if she wanted him to do that and, at the same time, wondering why it mattered if he did. They often held hands. Why would this be anything different? With her heart drumming behind her ears, she held her breath, waiting.

Then the curtain swept back.

‘Giles, sweetie, why didn’t you call me? It’s all right now, darling. Your baby girl is here. Your sweetie pie is here. I’m here for you, honeybun.’

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