In 2014, Dot receives a police visit, informing her that Nick has died. One of the police officers returns later to tell her that he is actually her grandson Charlie (Declan Bennett), whose existence she never found out about. A devastated Dot holds a funeral for Nick and grows close to Charlie in the aftermath as he moves in with Dot, causing Fatboy to move out. However, it is later revealed that Charlie is being dishonest and although he is Nick's son, he is not a policeman but a caretaker and that he has helped Nick stage his own death to avoid being arrested following a robbery. Nick reappears in Walford to Dot's shock and persuades his mother to hide him at her house. Although horrified that Charlie and Nick lied to her, she forgives Charlie and agrees to aid Nick's escape from the UK, this time for good. However, Nick later realises that he does not want to leave and gets embroiled in a feud with Charlie's fiancée, Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack), who tries and fails to ensure his departure. This leads to Nick tampering with the brakes of Charlie's car and the resulting crash leaves a pregnant Ronnie comatose in hospital. When Charlie discovers this, he demands that Nick leave, and as Charlie moves out to live at Ronnie's flat, Fatboy moves back in with Dot. However, Dot, unwilling to give up on her son, hides Nick in a derelict neighboring house.