It has been quite a while since I contributed to this Fan Fiction but I've really enjoyed those posted by others. I've also made a bit of a pest of my self, asking others to come back to writing or to update stories they may have abandoned. Feeling guilty for asking others to give up their well deserved free time i decided to put fingers to keyboard. This story, being a bloody pest like me, kept sneaking into my head, interrupting my 'Outlander' dreams, so I'm sorry people, I'm going to inflict it on you. A huge thanks to Chilikat who puts up with my doubts and reads my efforts even when she might not really want to. Also to Bananagirl and Itsembarrasing for putting up with my pestering and finally to Tony Grounds who gave us these wonderful characters.
The story is finished so if you enjoy the first chapter and want to read more, let me know and I'll continue to publish.
Chapter 1
Snuggling in to the soft pillow, Molly smiled to herself, remembering the first time she'd slept in this bed. It had been way beyond anything she could have imagined, after months of waiting out, crippling fear when the boss had been shot and heartbreak at the loss of her best friend, she was finally where she wanted to be. Oh she knew it wasn't the first time she'd been in Charles' bed but that time there wasn't actually any sleep involved so she didn't count that.
She sighed deeply as she felt the hand gently stroke her hair and caress along her cheek, a gentle kiss placed on the side of her neck, only to be brought rudely out of her dream by a small finger being poked up her nose accompanied by a mischievous giggle.
"You gots bogies", observed the two and a half year old owner of said finger as he settled himself on the bed. Molly looked at the bedside clock and then down at her tormentor, trying to compose her face into stern lines. "Not again, Pip," she groaned, "it's nearly two o'clock."
Swinging her legs out of bed she pulled the wriggling bundle of energy under her arm and toted him back down the hallway, tiptoeing past the nursery next door and into his room, eying the open baby gate which little Houdini had managed to defeat once again. This was Molly's third attempt to get the little bugger to settle down and go to sleep. Tucking him under the covers she knelt by the side of the bed, "Right you little monster, this is the last time…" Before she'd even finished her threat he had wriggled down into the bed and produced a book. "'tory peas," he pleaded beguilingly, his twinkling brown eyes pulling her in.
"You've already had two stories, it's sleep time", trying to use her sternest voice but Philip Charles James knew her weaknesses and gazing up at her, carefully scrunched his eyes in a semblance of a wink, closely followed by a chuckle. He had her. She couldn't resist those eyes, so like Charles's. Moving up onto the small bed, Molly cuddled him into her side and began to read, keeping her voice as low as possible in the hope it would lull him back to sleep. Watching the toddler mouthing along to the words, she thought how much easier it would be to just take him into bed with her, at least she'd get some kip then but it was a bad precedent to set so she persevered. As she read she used her spare hand to gently smooth the dark curls off his forehead, soothing him into sleep. Finally his eyes began to close and she breathed a sigh of relief, sliding her arm from under him and easing him down onto the bed.
Giving a fist pump that she could hopefully get some sleep at last, Molly strode quietly into the hallway and headed for her room. Her glow of achievement came to an abrupt halt as a small whimper reached her ears. She knew from experience that that small whimper would rapidly escalate to an ear bursting siren if she didn't do something about it quickly. These bloody kids were determined to deprive her of her sleep but, she was a qualified, experienced soldier who had brought down bigger threats that the red faced five month old currently gearing up to waking the entire household.
"Not on my watch Lucy locket," she whispered as she swung the baby up and into her arms. For all her vocal abilities, Lucinda Elizabeth James was usually a most placid baby. She too had inherited the James' family looks and charm. She'd been born with a head full of ebony curls and the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes which appeared to be full of curiosity from day one.
Moving swiftly to the changing table, Molly took care of business and carried a much happier Lucy down to the kitchen to warm a bottle. The house was silent, the only sound the hum of the fridge, the only light coming from above the cooker. Bottle in hand and hugging the sweet smelling baby to her, Molly made her way quietly back up to the nursery. Again memories of her first visit to the house flashed into her mind, how overawed she'd been by it all, trying to take everything in as she followed Charles up the long staircase to his room on the first floor.
Sitting in the nursing chair, she gently rocked back and to, listening to the frantic suckling of the hungry baby slowing down. The soothing rocking and soft breathing was lulling both of them to sleep and Molly felt her eyes drift closed.
This time it was the sound of the front door closing and a very familiar voice having what sounded like a one sided discussion that brought her once more to full alertness.
"I don't fucking care what time it is there, Rebecca. It's nearly three o'clock in the morning here… No, I'm not having this discussion now… of course I love Sam but… Firstly I'm soaking wet… yes of course it's been raining… as I was saying, I'm soaking wet, freezing cold and just getting home after a disastrous bloody exercise in the Brecon Beacons so yes, I'm in a fucking bad mood."
Molly could hear the voice getting closer as he made his way up the stairs. If he woke the kids up she'd bloody kill him.
"Look, now isn't the time for this, I've told you… no, I'm not being unreasonable to want this conversation when I'm more focussed and alert…"
Molly sniggered, if he woke the little buggers he could forget the 'alive' bit.
"And hopefully you'll be sober." he tagged on, obviously having hung up.
Molly carefully eased herself from the chair and prepared to lay Lucy in her cot when she heard the door at the end of the hallway open. Sam! Was nobody in this house going to get any sleep tonight?
"Dad? What are you doing home? I thought you were on manoeuvres until next weekend?" "I was but something happened so we had to come back early"
"Oh. Was that mum you were talking to" a note of concern had entered his voice, concern that no nine year old should be feeling. Charles took a step and pulled Sam into his side, ruffling his hair and dropping a kiss on his head. "Yes, but it's nothing for you to worry about. Hop back into bed and we'll have a good chat in the morning"
Sighing, Sam moved back into his room and quietly closed the door behind him, mindful of the babies. Raising his head as he turned to climb the stairs to the second floor, Charles caught a movement from the corner of his eye. Jerking his head fully to the right, his eyes widened with shock as he saw Molly in the doorway to the nursery.
"What the fuck are you doing here? And where's Beth?" he demanded as a small voice called, "yoohoo, Atty Molly, me wake gen,"
Startled awake by the harsh expletive exploding from Molly's mouth, Lucy began to wail, causing Molly to repeat the expletive as she thrust the wailing baby into her Uncle's arms and went to forestall Pip's latest attempt to escape his bed.
She could hear him in the nursery talking soothing nonsense to the wailing baby, gradually calming her and even raising a chuckle. Meanwhile Houdini Junior was trying his damnedest to wriggle under her arm and out of his bed calling, "Ukkle Chars" as he did so. Molly grabbed him by the foot, swinging her other arm around his chubby little tummy and flipped him professionally back into the bed. "No way Pip squeak, I told you, it's time to sleep. If you keep getting up Aunty Molly is going to be very tired and VERY grumpy tomorrow and that wouldn't be any fun would it?"
Pip studied her face with solemn eyes, digesting just what a grumpy Aunty Molly would entail. Shaking his head in agreement with her he began to slide down under the cover. It had gone suspiciously quiet in the nursery and Molly could only hope that Charles had managed to get Lucy back to sleep and gone quietly off to his own room on the second floor.
Of course Lady Luck hadn't been on her side for a good while, so why should things be any different now.
Pip, never one to miss an opportunity for mischief and mayhem spotted his uncle standing in the doorway, and sprang into immediate action, grasping the opportunity of Molly's distraction to bounce out of bed and over to his Uncle who automatically lifted him into the air, swinging him round. "Oh for fuck's sake", groaned Molly climbing wearily to her feet, exhaustion finally getting the better of her. From the safety of his Uncle's arm, Pip reprimanded her, "Uh oh, Atty Molly, uh oh", Wagging his finger and shaking his head in perfect imitation of his mother, her best friend and Charles' sister in law, Beth. Pushing passed the pair of them, muttering, "I give up. YOU get him to sleep" Molly headed to what was once Charles' bedroom but now belonged to Beth and Andrew.
When Gina and Maxwell James retired and moved permanently to their villa in Lake Garda, the house was deeded to Andrew as the older son. Andrew, however, had other ideas and, not wanting to deprive Charles of his home, had come up with the plan of converting the top floor into a suite of rooms for Charles and Sam, giving them their own bedrooms, bathroom and sitting room whilst still sharing a kitchen and other living spaces with the rest of the family. The arrangement worked perfectly, although Sam tended mostly to sleep in his old room on the first floor as his Dad was often away with the army when he visited.
Closing the door behind her, ignoring the surprised faces and elated giggles from Pip, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes. It had been a shock to see him again after all this time, nearly four years of avoiding him while still maintaining contact with Beth and Andrew hadn't been easy and she wouldn't have agreed to this long weekend babysitting if she'd known there was even the remotest chance of him being there. He hadn't changed at all. Okay, maybe he'd gained a little weight and he had the odd grey hair but he could still cause her insides to melt at the sound of his voice and her heart to gallop with just one look from his beautiful chocolate brown eyes.
Slowly sliding to the floor she let the tears fall and the memories flow.
Molly had been so excited to surprise Charles on her return from her second tour of Afghanistan. Her confidence was overflowing and the happiness radiated from her like a heatwave. Charles had been equally happy to see her, pulling her into his arms the minute he closed the door. It was a Sunday and she could picture it easily, all the family had been home, Gina and Maxwell, Charles' parent, Andrew his brother, Beth his sister in law and of course Sam, a five year old replica of his dad. They had welcomed Molly into their midst, laughing and sharing stories of army life. Both Max and Andrew had been officers in the Intelligence Corps and Beth was a Captain in the RMP so Molly felt right at home.
Over the following weeks Charles and Molly spent as much time together as possible, working around his physio appointments, his leg wasn't mending as quickly as it should, and Molly's need to spend time with her family. It had been almost too idyllic, love's young dream as her Nan laughingly called them. She experienced her first Christmas in Bath and Charles had been right when he said it was magical and thankfully no one had fallen down the big staircase even when they were all slightly the worse for wear on New Year's Eve.
Unfortunately, the New Year had started badly with Charles being told it would be many many more months before he would be up to full fitness to resume active service. As he had once explained to Molly, a desk job was definitely not his bag so he had decided to continue on sick leave, attending Headley Court on a regular basis and working with a local physiotherapist and personal trainer. Molly, of course, had needed to return to barracks which meant they had less time together. She had applied for, and been granted a transfer, taking her out of Charles' chain of command and also away from her beloved 2 Section. She still grieved for her friend Smurf so losing the support of the rest of the lads had been particularly hard to bear.
Her weekends off were spent travelling back and forth to Bath to be with Charles, who she missed dreadfully when she was alone in barracks even though they both knew it wasn't going to be easy. Charles, in turn, was becoming more and more frustrated as things didn't move as quickly as he felt they should. Those around him could see the changes taking place as he slipped into depression and begged him to get counselling but he was in denial and in turn took his frustrations out on Molly.
Molly began avoiding all talk of the army when she was with him, not wanting to 'rub his nose in it' as Brains had put it. Instead trying to get him to share his interests with her, this backfired big time when he took her to the West End to see Wicked and they had bumped into her new Captain and his girlfriend. Molly had introduced them, happy to show off her boyfriend whilst laughingly comparing notes with the other girl on dating an army officer. It was only later that she noticed how morose Charles had become, refusing to say what was wrong, insisting on driving back to Bath instead of staying in town as they'd planned. Over the following month his frustration and jealousy pushed Molly further and further away to the point that she dreaded going to Bath for fear of what she might find.
The death knell for their relationship came when Molly's regiment received orders to transfer north to Catterick Garrison. Charles did not take the news well, accusing Molly of being happy to get away from him so she could spend more time with her new fit Captain amongst other equally unpleasant things. Molly, as always, had given as good as she got but in the end she knew, no matter how much she loved him, she wasn't good for him at the moment, reminding him of what had happened and all he believed he had lost so had reluctantly agreed when he said they should go their separate ways.
Over the years Molly had been kept up to date on his progress through her growing friendship with Andrew and Beth and regular emails from Gina which, she was certain, Charles had no idea about. She had quietly celebrated his return to full fitness and active duty on her own in her room in the accommodation block. It had taken him sixteen months but he had been determined getting the result he had hoped for.
He had also started counselling two months after their breakup, finally acknowledging the depression that had taken hold and admitting he needed help to move forward.
Molly had hoped that he would contact her himself, she still loved him as much as she ever had but his silence told her he didn't feel the same.
When Beth had given birth to Pip she had desperately wanted to visit her friend and the new baby but had forced herself to stay away for her own self-preservation. She'd been elated when they asked her to be his godmother and relieved that Charles, who would be godfather, couldn't be at the service as he was on a short tour to Kenya.
Her life had settled into a routine with her time spent furthering her career, moving up the ranks to that of Corporal, and studying to get the qualifications needed to apply for nursing training. Through the grapevine she shared the joys and doings of the James family, following with interest the plans for early retirement for Max and their move to Italy. She had even travelled over to Lake Garda last summer and spent a wonderful week with them. Charles may have ejected her from his life but his family hadn't.
The arrival of Lucinda, Lucy for short, had been another tense time for Molly as she knew Charles was home on leave and despite wanting to visit her friend she hadn't been able to do it. Even after four years apart her heart where he was concerned was still raw. Instead she had waited until he had taken Sam to visit his grandparents and was safely out of the country before skulking down to Bath to meet her new goddaughter.
Her tactics had been working exceptionally well, visiting with the family when she knew he would be away and avoiding any family events where he might be present. She had even managed to spend time with Sam on several of her visits. Molly had begun to think she may be ready to move on and start dating again. One of the engineers who was a regular in the medical centre, constantly seeking plasters for scraped knuckles, had asked her out a few times. She was due a month of leave so was happy to delay any decisions until after her return in the New Year.
Instead, here she was, in what she would always think of as his bedroom, quietly going to pieces. She bloody knew Lady Luck hated her, why else had she shit on her from such a great height? She pushed her ear against the door, trying to hear any sounds from the other bedroom. Was that his voice? Was he reading the little bugger another story? She couldn't tell. Maybe it was just the sound of her own chaotic thoughts. Hopefully he'd taken himself off to bed, glancing quickly at the clock she saw it was 03:45, she really needed to get some sleep. Walking into the ensuite she splashed some cold water on her face and decided to check the children one last time before getting in to bed.
Carefully turning the handle and opening the door to avoid making any noise, she stepped forward into a hard wall of muscle. Before she could let out a cry, one large hand clamped over her mouth stifling her scream and the other propelled her backwards into the room before gently closing the door.
Charles waited, his back against the door to stop her from walking away again, whilst she walked to the far side of the bed, turning to face him. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his combats, he squared his shoulders and growled. "Now, would you mind telling me what the fuck you're doing here and where the hell is Beth."