So this time, I'm taking a book I recently re-read for the first time in years and adapting it for a Charles and Molly story. I think it will work well for them. Hope you enjoy!

All rights to Tony Grounds and the BBC for the characters and David Nicholls for the 'One Day' idea.

Friday 15 July 1999

Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh

"I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference," she says. "You know, actually change somethin'."

"What, like 'change the world', you mean?"

"Not the entire world. Just the little bit around you."

They lay in silence for a moment, facing each other in the single bed. She can't quite believe that after four years of fancying him rotten from afar, that she actually has Charles James half-naked in her bed. She's conscious that she's talking because she's nervous and lacking confidence in her bedroom abilities. Whilst she's not a virgin, she's not slept with anyone in her whole time at uni, preferring to concentrate on her studies. In fact, she's never actually been in bed with a man as her teenage sexual encounters were more of the completely unfulfilling 'quick shag behind the Indian takeaway' variety.

She's desperately trying to make herself relax but can't stop talking and fidgeting. Since meeting at the graduation party eight hours ago, they've been inseparable; talking, drinking and kissing in equal measure. It's now 4am and they've made it as far as the bed, in her bedroom, in her shared student house. She's only wearing her bra and knickers and he's in his boxers. As much as she wants to just be done with it and sleep with him, she also wants this night to go on forever. She is worried that as soon as they have sex, that he will be out of there and gone from her life. She knows he is completely out of her league.

"So, what are you goin' to do next, Charles? Do you have yer life mapped out?"

He's stroking her hair and placing gentle kisses on her face and shoulders as he teases her bra strap down her arm.

"Well, first I'm going to remove your bra…."

She's squirms away from him, "I'm serious, what comes next for you after uni?"

He sighs and props himself up on his arm, "Do you always talk this much, Dawesy?"

She smiles shyly at him. She loves how he has come up with a nickname for her after just a few hours together. She marvels at how he exudes natural confidence. She figures it is easy to be that confident when you are so bleeding good-looking.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit nervous."

"It's ok, it's important to know who you're sleeping with."

"You're a bit previous there, mate. As far as I remember, we haven't actually slept together."

He leans forward and kisses her deeply on the lips, looking at her intently with his beautiful dark brown eyes.

"Are you tempted?"

She feels her stomach doing flips, but she also realises that she really needs the loo and can't possibly have sex until after she has relieved herself.

She gives him a quick kiss, and moves to get up, "Hold that thought, I just need to go pee."

He sighs again, "Right, lovely."

She drags herself out of the bed, grabbing at her graduation gown to cover herself up as she self-consciously walks across the room and out into the corridor to go the bathroom.

She's sat on the toilet and giving herself a serious talking to. She, Molly Dawes, actually has Charles James, the man of her dreams in her bed and she's jabbering away and delaying things. She needs to pull herself together, walk back in there, get into bed and get on with it.

She opens the door and sticks her leg out in what she hopes is a seductive but also funny way. She leans her body around the door and looks over towards the bed. She's deeply disappointed to realise that he's snoring quietly. She creeps over to the bed and slips in awkwardly beside him and whispers "Charles." It's obvious that he's now fast asleep and just as she's cursing her stupidity and shitting bad luck, he reaches out his arm and pulls her close into him. She finds herself relaxing into his strong, muscular body, surprised at how perfectly she fits into his embrace. As much as she wants to enjoy this feeling, she feels sleep coming to her too and quickly drifts off.

-x-

He wakes in an unfamiliar room, cuddling an unfamiliar but very pleasing body. In his hungover state, it takes him a few seconds to remember the night before; kissing and talking with Molly at the party and then making it back to her house. He doesn't remember having sex with her and a quick check confirms that he hasn't. Shit, did he actually fall asleep before sleeping with her?

He wonders why he hasn't really noticed her before last night; he knows he has seen her in lectures and at a few parties, but Christ, he thought she was called Polly before yesterday. He supposes that their circles have been quite different; when he's not been studying, he's spent time playing sport and in the University Officers' Training Corps. Looking around her bedroom, she appears to be more in the Amnesty International, DMs and Brit pop camp.

They were kind of thrown together at the graduation party by their respective friends, by nature of both being the recipients of Firsts in their English Language degrees. His being quite a surprise because he really hadn't put a huge amount of effort into his academic studies, already knowing that he was going to pursue a career in the Army after uni and a degree just being his passport to a place at Sandhurst. On the other hand, he got the impression that Molly had worked hard for her degree; she certainly seemed to be very proud of it, having told him that she was the first person in her family to ever go to uni, let alone get a First.

When they'd first started chatting at the party, he'd done so mostly out of politeness but as they had got talking he'd found himself really enjoying her company. The booze had been flowing well and eventually they'd started kissing. He's had plenty of girlfriends; he knows he's good-looking and has no problem attracting women but there was something refreshingly different about her. She's quite unlike the well-groomed and frankly high maintenance girls he usually attracts. She's clearly from a different social background, her self-proclaimed difficult East End upbringing sounding a million miles away from his privileged and comfortable childhood in Bath. Not that background has ever been important to him in choosing friends, something his parents had distilled into him from an early age.

He had liked how she had teased him and joked with him a lot in between their kissing; it had made him engage his brain far more than usual. Although he desperately wanted to sleep with her, he knew he couldn't take it for granted and rather annoyingly it seems that he was right.

He checks the time, 8.30am, and contemplates getting up but decides against it as it really is very comfortable lying in bed cuddling a sleeping Molly. Before long he dozes off again.

-x-

She wakes and carefully extracts herself from the bed. Her tongue feels furry and her mouth is dry. She's clammy and sweaty and knows that she will look a complete hungover mess. There is no way she can let Charles see her in this state. Before she leaves the bedroom, she sneaks a look at him and can't quite believe how perfect he is, even after a night of boozing and little sleep. His gorgeous face is sporting a day-old stubble and his hair is beautifully bed tousled.

She turns on the shower and sits on the toilet where she is dismayed to discover that her bleeding period is just starting. She lets out a frustrated groan at the unfairness of life. She cleans her teeth three times, showers, shaves her armpits and legs, washes and conditions her hair and heads back into her room feeling much better. She notes he's still asleep and she quickly dresses in her best underwear, her favourite flowery dress and denim jacket, coupled with her beloved DMs. She sits on the side of the bed and kisses him gently, "Wakey-time."

-x-

He'd awoken to find the bed empty and the sound of the shower running. For some unknown reason, he pretended to be asleep when she came back into the room to get dressed and he took the opportunity to sneakily watch her as she got ready. He found himself getting quite aroused by the sight of her perfect body and breasts, and long luscious brown hair. Eventually she'd kissed him with a ludicrously jolly "Wakey-time."

He responds by pulling her towards him, deepening her kiss. He feels her pull back slightly, and he releases her, "You alright?"

She seems embarrassed, "Yes, I'm fine. I wondered if you'd like to do something today."

"I know what I'd like to do."

He's disappointed that she ignores his comment and continues, "Maybe we could go for a walk or something, have a picnic."

He's not sure what has changed, but she doesn't seem to be into him in the same way as she was last night and in the early hours of the morning. He wonders if he should just call it quits, make some excuse and leave now, but there is something about the way she is looking at him with her beautiful big, green eyes that he can't refuse.

"Ok. But only if you promise to tell me how you're going to 'change the world'."