AS SOON AS WE, Archie pulls me across the tarmac, through the airport and into a car, setting off across London to Whipps Cross.

I am so grateful to him, even if I don't say so, because I would never have been able to do this by myself, knowing what might be waiting for me at the other end.

We barely say anything all the way. After what we talked about at the airport, especially with me saying what I had said, there isn't really much more to say. Mostly because he was right... We couldn't be anything, because I had Jamie.

My eyes widen as I sit forward.

"Jamie!" I shout, scrambling for my phone.

Archie turns his head. "Tess?"

He watches me fumble in my bag, muttering under my breath, asking myself where I'd put my phone.

"Jamie! I need to call him!"

His hand goes to my coat pocket and he pulls out my phone. I grab it from him, seeing there are loads of missed calls; three from the same number that had initially called me, four from Charlotte, but weirdly, none from Jamie.

"I need to ring him. I need to tell him what's happened!"

He puts his other hand over mine, stopping me as I go to dial his number.

"Slow down for a second, Tess. Yes you should call him, but maybe wait until we get there?" He smiles at me as he  cups my cheek, stroking his thumb across it. "Trust me, your dad will be fine, but let's wait until we get there.

I look at him for a second, trying to make sense of what he's saying with my scrambled brain.

He's right in a way, because if I ring now and he comes home whilst Dad is out of hospital tomorrow, I would have brought him home over a false alarm. But then, if he wasn't okay, then Jamie would still be mad I hadn't called him sooner.

Plus, maybe the best time to ring wasn't in the car with Archie sitting next to me, holding my hand.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, sliding closer to Archie as he puts his arm around me. He's right, Dad will be fine. Every few minutes, he kisses the top of my head and strokes his hand up my arm in long comforting strokes.

"We're nearly there. We'll be there in no time and you'll see for yourself that Andy's fine." I look up at him and he gives me a smile. "There's nothing to worry about, I promise."

I can't help but think he may be going a little overboard, but it really is helping. I had the tendency to think catastrophically in these situations, particularly after what's happened to me in the past, one could understand why my brain went there.

"It'll be okay," he says again. "Everything will be okay."

I repeated his words in my mind, chanting the mantra at myself to try and get myself to believe it, but thankfully we stop after twenty minutes and I recognise the building.

Letting go of his hand, I dash out the door, not waiting for him. I hear him running after me but all I can think is that I need to find Dad.

I head inside, running at full pelt, crashing into the reception desk at full pelt, breathing heavily.

"My gosh!" the receptionist gasps. "Can I help you, Sweetie?" he asks.

"Andrew Granger?" I say as Archie comes up behind me.

He repeats Dad's name and taps a few keys on the computer. "He's in room three-four-eight upstairs, but I have to ask, are you guys family?"

I frown, same as Archie.

"He's been getting a lot of visitors, so we're making sure that visitors are all family."

I smile, comforted to know that Dad's getting so many visitors, but my heart drops as it probably means he's not getting the rest he needs.

"I'm his daughter. Tessa Granger." I take Archie's hand. "And this is my... friend," I add. "Close friend of the family."

He nods. "That's fine. You can head up. Three-four-eight, on the third floor."

"Thank you! I tell him, relief evident in my voice as I sprint towarsd the lift again, dragging Archie behind me.

The lift takes its time, but I have no idea where the stairs are, so I just have to wait. When it arrives, it's full, so we wait for everyone to file out before moving and hitting the button for the third floor. My entire body is shaking, and as the doors open, I almost fall forward as I lose the ability to move my feet.

Archie catches me before I hit the ground, putting me back on my feet, making sure I can walk before he lets me go. He offers me his hand once more and I take it as we desecond down the corridor, trying to find Dad's room.

As we reach it, I look through the window and cup mouth and tuck my head into Archie's neck after seeing the scene inside.

He's sitting up in bed, he's laughing, he's a beautiful shade of healthy pink, and he's... He's okay!

"See!" Archie says, putting his arms around me as I continue to cry tears of relief into his shirt. "I told you he'd be okay."

I look up at him, unable to say anything through my tears. I try to smile, but again, it just comes out as a sob. He chuckles quietly, wiping a thumb over my cheek before kissing it.

"Come on, let's get you inside. We didn't come all the way here for you to stay outside."

I nod, wiping my own eyes, making sure they aren't too red. He pushes me a couple of steps and opens the door for me, but as soon as Dad sees me, smiling my favourite smile i the world, the tears start all over again.

He opens his arms for me and I run straight into them, pushing my face as far as I can into his chest, so relieved to see him. He smells like home, and home has never smelled so good. As I pull away to catch my breath, his eyes are glistening with tears.

"You are never allowed to do anything like this, ever again!" I say through a sob. "Ever!"

He chuckles and I smile. Its so good to hear his booming laugh again.

I look up again and he tucks my fringe behind my ear. He smiles wide, but then is eyebrows furrow.

"How did you get here so fast? Did you come back with Charlotte in the end?"

It's my turn to frown, and I look around the room, realising Archie hadn't come in with me.

Looking out of the door, I can see the blue of his shirt in the corner of the window. In my emotional need to get home, I hadn't even stopped to think how hard this would be for Archie.

I couldn't believe how selfish it was.

"Dad, I'll be back in a second."

I kiss his head and hug him once more before going back out the door, where I find Archie stood rigidly with his back against the wall. His eyes are screwed shut, hands balled into fists, and for a moment he looks like that scared boy I saw in this very same hospital all those years ago. As I look at him, then look down the corridor, I realise just how many memories must be flooding back to him.

It's the same corridor he would have been in after Matt died, and as his eyes land on the number across the hall, I realise its the same room.

The last time he was here, he was at his worst. He had shut himself off from everyone and everything, and this is where he had been making the final decisions to leave. My heart constricts as he looks at me, and I can't believe how selfish I'd been. I didn't even stop to think how hard this would be for him. I was too busy thinking about myself.

"Archie?" I ask the question quietly, taking his hand gently, so as not to scare him away again.

He has those same look in his eyes that he had four years ago, terror, sadness... devoid of all hope and brightness.

I put a soft hand on his cheek and he finally looks at me.

"Archie, I'm so sorry." I step in front of him and take his hands, kissing them. "I didn't think..."

He shakes his head. "No. Tess, don't." He suddenly snaps out of it and place his hands on top of mine on his cheeks. "I'm okay. I'm okay."

He doesn't sound okay, but he smiles at me, giving me the strongest one he can muster.

"Do... Do you want to come in?" I ask quietly, stepping slightly closer.

As I say it, the door opens next to us.

Both mine and Archie's heads turn to see Dad standing in the doorway, holding his IV next him having just hobbled out of bed. As he looks at the two of us, his eyes move through a spectrum of emotions, standing in stone silence.

Was he mad that I brought him? For a moment I feel even worse that I had dragged Archie here, but then a tiny muscle in his cheek flinches and slowly, he starts to smile.

"Archie?"

He takes one of Archie's hands from me and that smile grows again, until its splitting his face in two. I look at Archie next, and the smile on his face mirrors mine and Dad's combined. A half-chuckle, half-sob comes up from me as Dad pulls Archie into his arms, hugging him hard, as if he's afraid he would disappear if he didn't.

"Is this really you?" Dad whispers.

Archie sniffs as a tear runs down his cheek. "It's me," he whispers. "It's me."

Without another word, Dad pulls him into another hug. I'd never seen this kind of emotion from Dad before, not concerning Archie anyway, and I can't help the tears that fall down my cheeks just watching the scene unfold.

I know how much this means to Dad. He never pushed, he just had that faith we all should have had that Archie would come back, because here he is, standing in front of him.

I never wanted to believe that Dad had been tied to Archie the same way as I was, but you couldn't miss how, as the months turned to years with no word from Archie, Dad's health got worse. But here, now, seeing the size of Dad's smile and the colour in his cheeks again, I can't deny it.

With one look, I know. Dad loved Archie like a son, because of how much I loved him, and when Matt died and Archie left, Dad had lost two sons, not just one. He'd lost more than anyone, even me, and now he's finally got that part of him back.

I laugh as Dad pulls me into the embrace too, and I have never felt more whole as Archie slips his arm around my waist, holding my hand, squeezing it tight.

"I'm sorry it took all this to bring you back, Arch," he jokes, gesturing to the surroundings. "What is it with us and hospitals, am I right."

He tries to pull it off as a joke, but before either of us can react, he pulls Archie by the hand into his room.

"You can tell me what you've been up to these last five years."

For a moment, I stay outside the room as I watch Archie sitting on the bed, still holding Dad's hand as he answers all of his questions. I love how happy my dad is, because this is the moment we had all been waiting for, ever since Archie left, and it feels as though we're complete again, finally. It's as if Archie is the life force that our small family needed, life force that had been slowly depleting over the years, only to be found and returned to full strength.

"Is this you home for good?" Dad asks, looking at me.

I had been curled up in the corner of the room listening to them talk for hours. They had talked about university, therapy, Matt, WEH and Archie graduating this year, and I suddenly worried that Archie would leave for New York tomorrow and I'd never see him again. My eyes are closed, pretending I'd been asleep as I listened, but I open my ears to hear Archie's answer.

"I'm not going anywhere," he says, his voice filled with determination. "But Andy, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for what I've put you and Tessa through. I'm so sorry for what I've done."

I open my eyes as the sheets rustle with Dad sitting forward. He takes Archie's hand and puts his other hand on his shoulder.

"Archie, listen to me. You have nothing to apologise for."

Archie's eyes brim with tears.

"You were scared, we all were, and I admit I wasn't there for you the way I should have been. But... that letter you wrote me. You said there was a lot of mess in your head, a lot of things you had to work out, and I just hope that, if you really are back, that it means you've worked through them... that your head is clear?"

Archie's head turns slightly and our eyes meet. He smiles, knowing I'd been listening this whole time, but he doesn't let on as he looks back at Dad, nodding in answer to his question.

"My head has never been more clear."

Relief floods through me, because part of me didn't want to believe he was coming back for good. I told myself he was coming back for the wedding, and that was it, but this is different. This is Dad, and a promise he's making to Dad, and that's how I know he really isn't going anywhere.

"I know where I'm supposed to be now."

It's the last thing I hear before my eyes start to droop. I was tired, having not got much sleep last night or today, but as my body floods with relief at Archie's admission, I relax enough to drift into a deep slumber, using the soft tones of Archie and Dad's hushed conversation lull me to sleep. My heart could finally mend, because he's back, and the pieces are slipping perfectly back into place.