Author's Note: It's almost Tango time! Hurrah and hurray and what a long wait it was. This story is my little celebration, it's in seven chapters so I'll be posting one chapter a week while Tango is airing (and then one more after it's finished). Thanks so much for reading!

Chapter One: Head Over Heels

"Calorine, Calorine!"

The three year-old in her arms struggles to escape from her, wriggling madly.

"Down Mummy, down!"

Kate sets her down and watches in amusement as her daughter immediately sets off at a sprint, her face full of joy. When she reaches her destination she misjudges her speed and practically crashes into Caroline's legs, still beaming from ear to ear.

"Hello Daisy, how are you?" says Caroline as she smiles and reaches down to stroke Daisy's hair. Kate's still at least 10 feet away, Daisy being a surprisingly fast runner for such a small person.

"Calorine! Want cuddle!"

Caroline dutifully bends down and offers a cuddle.

"No! Proper cuddle!"

Caroline offers her arms again but Daisy pouts and crosses her arms angrily. She'd better save her from the approaching tantrum.

"That means picking her up, you'll need to pick her up I'm afraid."

Her boss smiles gratefully at her for the translation and picks Daisy up carefully, transforming the pout into another big smile.

"Hello," says Kate sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be daft, she's wonderful. I can't remember the last time someone was so pleased to see me."

I can, thinks Kate. I can remember the last one thousand times, and that's not even counting my daughter.

"Everything going well?"

"Yes, Jane seems to have everything under control, a well-oiled machine like usual."

The summer fair had been a Sulgrave tradition for at least 50 years, with Jane Aspinall in charge for the last 10.

"Are Lawrence and William here?"

"Lawrence is, William claims he's too old for apple bobbing and egg and spoon races. He may have a point, I suppose, but Lawrence is enjoying himself."

"Daisy heard about the bouncy castle."

"Bounce Mummy!"

"Yes, sweetheart, soon."

"Now Mummy! Want bounce!"

"Oh dear, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's all right, why don't I take her? You can get yourself a drink, have a bit of a break and a wander round."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense. You're hardly an imposition are you my love?"

Daisy looks at her, puzzled. "Bounce?" she says hopefully.

Caroline laughs. "Yes, bounce now. Come on. See you in a bit Kate, I'll find you when we've finished bouncing."

She watches as they walk away, smiling as Daisy asks her whether she'll be coming on the bouncy castle too. Now that she would pay to see.

"Kate, you made it."

"Oh, hi Jane."

"Have you only just got here? We should get you some food."

"That'd be great, thank you."

"Come along."

Half an hour later she's sitting with Jane on a picnic blanket, watching all the fun of the fair. It's a beautiful afternoon, the sun shining and a few candyfloss clouds in the bright blue sky. Jane's telling a story about the famous incident of a few years back when the geography master got his foot stuck down a rabbit hole. She's only half-listening, her mind drifting as it always does to her boss.

It was best to try to keep her distance. They weren't friends, after all; she hadn't ever seen Caroline form a real friendship with one of her employees. They were as friendly as they needed to be and that suited her just fine; it was the only way she was going to keep her feelings under control.

The only problem was that from the moment her daughter learned how to ask for what she wanted, she'd wanted Caroline. "Want Ca-Ca" had been one of the first sentences she ever uttered; it had taken her a month to figure out what she meant, until she'd taken her into Caroline's office one lunchtime and Daisy had lit up like a Christmas tree. "Calorine" had come more recently, along with more frequent requests to see her.

She'd tried to keep a lid on it as much as possible, which worked to a certain extent, very young children being easily distracted. But Daisy had never forgotten about her. Every time she'd seen her since she'd become more enchanted, and Caroline in turn had seemed to become more and more fond of her. She'd tried to keep Daisy away from school events and the staffroom lately, just to avoid fuelling the fire, but if today's reaction was anything to go by that had completely backfired – she'd just made her miss her more. Goodness knows what she was going to do now.

After a while she spots Caroline in the crowd, walking over to them with Daisy cuddled into her shoulder. Her heart skips a beat. It's not easy, seeing them together like this, seeing how much they love each other. It makes her want things, impossible things...wanting Caroline as a girlfriend is one thing, but when the feelings involve Daisy, when she thinks about her as a parent to her child, it gets very, very painful very fast.

"All tired out?"

"Hi Jane. Yes, I think we're in need of a quiet sit down for a little while. We did an awful lot of bouncing, didn't we sweetheart?"

She sits down awkwardly on a blanket a few feet away, rearranging their body weight slightly to make Daisy more comfortable. She strokes her dark hair gently and the look on her face is so full of affection that Kate has to look away.

"Did I see you having a sneaky bounce there Dr Elliot?" asks Jane.

"You most certainly did not. I'm quite sure I would have popped the damn thing. Oh sorry, Kate, mustn't swear. Sorry Daisy. Naughty Caroline."

"No problem, don't worry. I think she's half-asleep anyway. I should get her a bouncy castle for the back garden if this is the effect it has on her."

"Might just be my scintillating company. Mm? Am I boring you to sleep, little one?"

Daisy snuggles in to her shoulder.

"Dr Elliot, I'm sorry to disturb you but we've finished all the races and we need you for the presentations."

"Ah right, Michael, of course. Kate, could you..."

She walks over and takes Daisy from her arms, careful not to make contact with her body. Caroline strokes her hair one last time before leaving with a final smile. She sits back down with Jane.

"Those two get along very well, don't they?"

"Caroline and Michael?" Maybe she can pretend she hasn't noticed. Doesn't think about it constantly.

"Caroline and Daisy. Two peas in a pod they are."

"Yes, I suppose they do. They are."

"She's always so thrilled when she sees her."

"Daisy or Caroline?" Or me, she thinks.

"I meant Daisy, but it's both of them, actually, isn't it? You wouldn't think she'd be so good with the really young ones but I think you underestimate her at your peril."

"Yes."

"They're not stupid, children, either, not by a long shot. They respond to people, don't they, they can tell who really loves them and who doesn't. Adults do that too, of course, but I think in children it's more instinctive."

She takes time to choose her words; if she's not careful this conversation could stray into dangerous territory.

"I suppose that's true. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about her being shy, she's friendly with everyone. Very sociable."

"Yes, that's good to know, isn't it, I used to worry terribly about my youngest when he wouldn't talk to grown-ups."

"Mummy, want a balloon."

"Oh, someone's woken up. What do you say, sweetheart?"

"Now!"

She stifles her grin with difficulty. "No, what do we say when we want something?"

"Please, Mummy."

"Good girl."

"Do you want to come with me, Daisy?" says Jane. "I know where all the best balloons are."

"Calorine," says Daisy firmly.

"Caroline's not here, love, how about coming with me?"

"Want Calorine!"

"Sweetheart, if you go with Jane then I promise you we'll find Caroline later on and you can show her your balloon, OK? She'll be very impressed I expect. Off you go."

After a few moments of reluctance Daisy takes hold of Jane's outstretched hand and they start to walk off.

"Can we get two balloons and give one to Calorine?"

"What a good idea, let's get two." Jane turns around and grins at her.

Yep, she's very friendly, her daughter. Sociable with everyone. And – just like her mother – head over heels in love.