Amelia was so used to being on her own. It had been that way for a long time, and really the only other person she had in her life was her sweet little girl. Lily. She was such a doll, and never once did Amelia ever regret having that beautiful little girl, even if her father had hurt her. Lily looked like James. Same brown hair. Same bright smile. But she had Amelia's blue eyes. Not only did she look like James, Lillian acted like him a lot too. She had the same light hearted personality(or at least, that was the personality he had had when she and James first got together) and gentleness to her, understanding when someone was hurt whether it be emotionally or physically. Amelia hadn't realized that about her young daughter until later, and had decided to try her best to hide those bad feelings from her daughter. She never wanted her daughter to share those horrible emotions and worries with her. All she wanted to see on that cute little face was the bright smile that she loved so much.

Humming lightly to herself, she cleaned off the write board from the day of teaching a class full of second graders, waiting for her daughter, who had just started pre-k that year, to come back from the bathroom. It was great to work in the school system, where she could keep an eye on her daughter and if anything bad happened she could get to her quickly. It made her feel much better as a parent. Putting down the board cleaner, she looked toward the door, speaking to herself, "Where is that girl? I hope she's not running the halls again. Last time she did that she bumped into Mr. Lanford. Boy was he mad when he dropped all those eggs for his science experiment." She laughed lightly to herself at the memory. Mr. Lanford was the fifth grade's science teacher and a very grumpy man who Amelia believe hated children all together. Why he taught kids, she couldn't find a clue. but he seemed to dislike Amelia's daughter most of all.

She moved toward her desk and as she sat down, sorting through the paper's, when the pattering of two little feet came from down the hall and suddenly the a little girl with brown hair burst into the room, giggling, each running over to their own mother. Lilly jumped into her mother's lap, out of breath from running, yet still talking excitedly, "Momma! Momma! Can I go outside to the play ground! PLEASE?! PLEASE?!"

Laughing Amelia held the little four year old in her arms, "There's my little Lily Pad. Slow down and catch your breath. Your asthma's going to act up if you don't."

The little girl, although obviously impatient to hear her mother's answer to the earlier question, did as she was told and took a moment to take deep breaths and calm herself before looking more calmly and pleadingly up at her mother, "Can I go now? Pleeeeeease?"

Smiling softly at her daughter, she nodded, "I suppose. But Uncle Sid will be here soon to pick us up, so you don;t have long." They only had one car and seeing as Amelia worked all day she always let Sid borrow it while she was at work as long as he picked them up after words, "And don't go running down the hall. We don't need another incident like the egg incident." She didn't see any problem with it. She could see the play ground from the class room window and the play ground was fenced. No one form outside the school could get in and the kids couldn't get out. The only way to get on the playground was through the school hallways. It was perfectly safe. She watched the child run eagerly off, laughing, "Hey! I said no running!" Sighing with a shake of her head and a small smile she sat back in her chair.

She continued to shuffle the papers, a smile on her face and when she had them all in order she stood up, moving toward her bag, hoping that Sid would be there soon with their car so they could go home.

Sidney sighed as he jumped down from the cab of the fire truck, exhausted from the day's training. He'd wanted to enter firefighting from a young age, and, though the training was a lot to go through, he was more then ready to enter the work as a profession. Slamming the door shut behind himself, he strode across the training ground and towards the Station Officer. "Excuse me, Guv. May I get goung, please? I need to collect my sister and my neice from the school.." Brushing down the tunic he wore, he rose his head to meet his Guvnor's eyes, removing the yellow helmet from his head, having forgotten to remove it before disembarking from the cab of the Fire Appliance.

"Firefighter Havers, you cannot do this when you are fully trained. I hope you're fully aware of this. Go on, just this once. I know how important it is to you." The older man smiled wearly, a jovial light in his eyes. Though Sidney wasn't the strongest crew member, and could be very shy indeed, Phillip Steele knew he had a skilled, brave and hardworking firefighter in the midst. The young man nodded his thanks, running to the locker room. Changing from his fire gear, he pulled on his civilian clothing, running to the car.

Passing by his sub-officer, Neil Quiqley, Sid acknowledged the senior firefighter with a "Night, Sub!", he slid down the pole, running through the appliance bay, and to the car. Getting in the driver's side, he waited as the A.L.P roared by on it's way to an emergency, sirens wailing, lights flashing. Headed out the other way, Sid made his way to the school.

Pulling up at the car park, he got out, carrying a small red gift bag in his hands. Waving at Lilly, he reached over and scooped his neice into his arms, kissing her cheek. "Hey Lily Pad!" He grinned, the smell of smoke, oil and rubber clinging to his form. "Let's go find your mommy, shall we?" He put her down on the playground, buzzing in.

"What?" A female's voice rang out, gravelly from years of smoking and teaching taking it's toll on the woman.

"Good afternoon to you too. It's Sidney Havers. Let me in, please? I'm here for Am and Lilly."

The door opened, and Sidney made his way into the building, kissing his sister's cheek. "Am, hey." The young man smiled at her gently. "You know what today is? 11 years since you became my sister." He grinned and handed her the bag.

Amelia had just grabbed her bag and was walking out of the classroom when none other than Sid came into the classroom, giving her a kiss on the cheek and handing her a bag. Giggling, she hugging her brother and smiled brightly, "Of course I know what today is Sid. It's one of the things I would never forget." She took the bag he handed her and looked inside, pulling out a very pretty blue stoned necklace. She hugged him tightly and slipped the necklace over her head, looking up at him, "I love it Sid. I have your present at the house so you'll have to wait until then." She teased slightly, taking Lily into her arms, "Let's get going. I think Lily is ready to go home." She looked down at her daughter, smiling gently, "What do you want for dinner tonight sweety?"

"I want scetti!" Lily said cutely, squirming out of her mother's arms to go back over to her Uncle Sid, giggling as she was taken up into his arms again, snuggling into his grasp. It always made Amelia smile when she saw her daughter with Sid. While Sid was just her (foster)uncle, Sid had, in a way, taken on a role of a fatherly figure toward the little girl, which was something Amelia felt Lillian needed. It was a good feeling to know that Amelia wasn't alone in raising her daughter. She never would be as long as her brother was there with her.

She nodded to her daughter, walking out of the school side by side with her brother, Lily now on his back for a piggy back ride, "Okay, Lily, spaghetti it is." They got to the car and she put Lily in her carseat before she got into the passenger seat, letting Sidney drive to their house. The house was small, a two bedroom house. She and Lily shared a room(as the girl normally get scared at night and slept in her bed anyway) and Sidney's room was the room next to hers. The best part of the house was that they had a nice yard with a white picket fence that Lily could play in. Amelia loved that.

Getting to the house, Amelia went into the house and into her room, coming out with a wrapped gift, smiling brightly, holding it out for Sidney to take, "Go on ! Open it! I was really tempted to give it to you early, you know how impatient I am, but I managed to wait it out. I think you'll really like it."

Sid smiled at her, sitting on his bed. Opening the package, he couldn't help but laugh as he pulled out his gift, eyes bright and wide. "Oh, Sis, it's amazin'." The item in question was a beautiful china statue of an old-timey fire appliance, various details picked out in gold and greys against the red vehicle, the bell not cast in stone, but instead a tiny toy bell, chiming as he moved the model to his desk, placing it next to his books and papers. Wrapping his arms around her in an embrace, he gave her cheek a kiss. "Amelia, I've decided to change my name. I'm seeking to be known as Sidney Havers-Carter. I'll have to find out the legal side of things first, though."

Smiling, he left his room to shower, shutting the door behind him and his sister. "Oh, and I start at Shadbrook tomorrow. Late shift, so you drive and I'll walk it. My first full day!" He grinned, disappearing into the bathroom to clean up.

Returning a little later, Sid was now dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, his hair damp and untamed, seeing no real point in the matter. Grabbing a can of cola from the fridge, he took a sip, then knelt down to Lilly, playing with her toys. "Lils, would you like to go out for Ice Cream after? My treat." Sid scooped her up into his arms, sitting her on his lap. Sid loved her like she was his daughter, and lavished her with love, affection and kindness. He could be stern if needed, but he'd never hurt her, nor would he ever even consider it. She and Amelia were his family, and that was that, as far as he was concerned. He knew he had a big brother, Arthur Carter, who'd been killed in a factory fire when Sid was 8, and Arthur 22. He missed his brother dearly, and would visit his grave weekly, to lay down flowers.

Growing up with Amelia, to almost everybody who met them, it was clear they were close as could be. Many made the assumption they were biological siblings, and Sid or Amelia would often need to correct them on the matter. In the eyes of the law, they were no longer siblings, but Sid chose to ignore this fact. For 11 years of his life, Amelia and he had always been fostered together, many people not having the heart to separate them. As such, he'd never been apart from her for long at all. When she was 18 and moved out, Sid wrote and called daily, and loved seeing her at birthdays and christmas time. Amelia had been the first person he confided in about everything, and, as a result, was the first to know he was gay.

Lily giggled in delight when Sid picked her up and asked her if she wanted to go out for ice cream after. The little girl hugged her uncle and nodded quickly, "Uh-huh! Chocolate chip ice cream! With sprinkles!" When she was carried over to the table, she went over to her seat, the four year old climbing up in her chair and sitting in her booster seat so she could reach the table(as even for a four year old she was rather small). Amelia came to the table with the spaghetti and they began eating. They were really just like a real family. Laughing and talking. Lily getting messy with the spaghetti. Them all just having fun. When dinner was finally done, Amelia cleaned Lily up, putting her in the bath and washing the spaghetti off of her before the three of them went off to get ice cream.

When they got back, Amelia put Lily in her pajamas and brushed her teeth, tucking her into the bed. She stayed there, laying in the bed with the little girl, telling her stories and singing her a lullaby until she was fast asleep. Smiling, Amelia leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead before walking out and smiling at Sid, "I'm heading off to bed. I'll see you in the morning." She hugged her brother, and than went off to her room, getting ready for bed and falling asleep.
...
The next morning, Amelia was quick to get herself and Lily ready and when Sid was ready, she got into the car with him, driving him to the station, smiling, "Have a good day at work. I'll see you tonight. I'll order us some pizza for dinner." She stated and after saying a quick hello to some of the other fire fighters, she drove off to the school, dropping Lily off at her pre-k classroom, before moving to her own classroom.

The school day went a little rough. It was Friday, which left the kids a little rowdy. But she pushed through it with a smile and wished the kids a good weekend as they left out of the room. Sighing she sat down at her desk, going through some of the papers. Lily was still in her pre-k classroom and would likely be there in her room in ten or fifteen minutes, so until then, she had at least a little quiet time to herself. She hoped anyway.

Sidney leant back where he sat, looking around the fire station. It'd been a long day, with little to do. Nobody wanted a fire, of course, the idea of death and injury not something they wished upon anybody. But, it was such a long day, and they wanted to earn an honest wage. Looking over as another fire-fighter entered the room, Sid smiled and took a sip of his tea. "Want one, John?"

"Yeah, cheers Sid." John replied, sitting down at the mess table, as Sid rose to go and the tea. Jumping a second later as the bells rang, he ran from the room with Phillip behind him, sliding quickly down the pole. Running across the appliance bay, he grabbed his tunic, yanking on the trousers and his boots, jumping into the passenger seat as he applied his seatbelt. Sirens wailed as the ALP roared out of the bay, followed by the pump and pump ladder units.

"What's going on, John?" Sid shouted as they tore along, flying through red lights and roaring down the lanes. "Woah!" Sidney yelped as they swung around a corner, mounting the kerb briefly.

"Fire at the college, science block. Chemicals alight, explosions reported. Us, Blackwall and Chiltern are all in attendance. We're to work on aerial rescues and fire fighting. Chiltern have the HAZMAT truck on the way." His senior replied, arriving at the scene with a squeal of brakes and a final wail of the sirens.

______

"Well, well. If it isn't Amelia. You've done well for yourself, haven't you, dear?" James smirked down at the woman, leaning back against the door frame. "I thought you'd have given up on this by now, you know." He coughed, smirking at her. "No Sidney, hm?" He sauntered across the room, sitting on the desk. "You didn't tell me you had a child. OUR child."

Amelia flipped through the papers she had silently when she heard a voice that was all too familar. One that haunted her and that she wished she had never heard, or would hear again. Her eyes wide fora moment, she quickly looked up, only to glare at him when she saw the smirk on his face. If he thought he was going to talk to her like that and treat her like so, he was wrong. She wasn't the same shy little Amelia he had once knew. The Amelia who would do anything to make him happy. The one who if he got mad at her would say everything was her fault and beg him to accept her apology. The one that had loved him completely with and without his flaws. That Amelia was gone.

Standing up straight, she glared at him, "If you mean by teaching I'm doing well for myself then you are really mistaken, considering a good bit of my wages goes back into it to get materials for the classroom. But even so, I'm not one to give up easily. I don't teach to make money. I do it because I love the kids." She commented, "And Sid's at work by the way. But believe me, I can give him one call and he'd be up here in a flash." She warned, crossing her arms. She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here. She could only hope it wasn't why she thought it was, but had to admit to herself it was likely if he was here, then he found out about Lily somehow.

And he proved her guess to be right because he strutted right over to her desk, sitting on it and said she hadn't told him about their child. Immediately anger flared up in her and she stepped up to him, poking him in the chest with her index finger intimidatingly as she spoke, "OUR child? Since when did she become your child too? I tried to tell you I was pregnant. I tried to get you to be in her life. But what did you do? You ignored my calls. You refused to answer the door.So you know what? At that point I figured you didn't need to know. If you weren't responsible enough to even TALK to me, then you didn't deserve to be in her life. She is not your child James. You decided that when you left me to take care of her by myself."