The Miniaturists are a random group of Our Girl fans that like nothing more than to kick back our heels, uncork and write naughty Fan Fiction. More scribbly than scribes, more spirited than ghost writers, from old timers to new writers, we are united by a love for Our Girl, respect for its creator Tony Grounds and a liking for the Fan Fiction one-shot.

So starting today we are posting the first chapter of Anthology!, a series of Our Girl, Fan Fiction, one-shots. From time to time, when we feel like it, (ie have tippled a little, scribbled a bit and laughed a lot) we may post an additional chapter or two - each a delicious little one shot, an appetiser of something to enjoy from the Our Girl world. Some of us are new writers to the genre, others are old hands you will recognise and a few (for reasons best known to themselves) prefer to remain anonymous. All of us are in awe of Tony Grounds for providing such marvellous inspiration and are, we confess, somewhat partial to reviews, follows, and favourites if you feel our efforts deserve them. Indeed they may encourage an additional cheeky chapter or two!

SORT YOUR WORLD OUT

by

Painted Cherries

"Well I'm going whether you like it or not!" She was sat on the floor of her bedroom clenching her fist with sheer frustration.

"Why after everything can't you see that he's my mate? nothing more, nothing less! You really need to stop this as it's pissing me off big time"

She threw her mobile down onto the bed and started rifling through the pile of clothes on the floor to find her running gear. She needed to get out of this shoe box of a room and this shit hole of a house. She was going stir crazy with everyone feeling the need to regularly chuck in their two and eight about what she should be doing with her life. It didn't help that they didn't really believe her either that Smurf was only a mate.

The phone started to vibrate almost immediately she tried but couldn't stop herself from reaching over to check it was him, hesitating and catching her bottom lip for a second she nearly clicked answer, but stopped and swiped to decline the call.

-OG-

He was doing his best to pace up and down the kitchen but it was more of a step and drag and he couldn't work out what frustrated him more; the fact that this stunningly obstinate girl refused to answer her bloody phone now or the throbbing ache in his shin as he put pressure on his leg.

"Damn it" he jammed his phone into his pocket after calling several times and being cut off. Slumping into the chair that his mother had pulled out for him, where she had dutifully placed a cup of coffee and then retreated to the other side of the kitchen to make a cup for herself.

His cheeks flushed with anger as he stared broodingly at the hot steaming liquid in front of him, running his finger along the rim of the mug.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His mother tried to catch his eye as she leaned against the worktop opposite taking a sip of her coffee.

He didn't answer, he didn't even look up, he knew if he did that he would probably really lose it and his mother above anyone had done nothing to deserve the consequence of his dark mood. His parents had only been back a few days and it hadn't taken his mother long to figure out that something or more pertinently, someone had happened to lift his spirits whilst they had been away. This was confirmed for sure by finding a white lace thong wedged between the mattress and the headboard when she had changed his bedding.

After she had left said item neatly folded on top of his clean clothes pile he didn't have much choice but to volunteer who the owner was. It only confirmed what Rebecca had been straight on the phone to tell her, it was the young private that was at Charles bedside, she sounded like a beautiful, brave girl that had saved her son's life for which she would always be grateful but the relationship may also have ruined any future he may have in the Army.

Now to her that was no bad thing, having her son back in civilian life where she wasn't worried about him being shot at or blown up every waking moment would be a blessing but to Charles, the army was his life. it had been all he had ever wanted, he had sacrificed one marriage because of it, she knew this girl must be really something to have captivated her son so intensely.

After a long silence, he took his last swig of coffee. "She is going on a trip with someone, someone who she had a one-night stand with, they are just friends now, well she thinks they are but Smurf on the other hand, he is still like a lovesick puppy."

"Do you trust her?"

He shook his head, not meaning it as a negative response but more at the disappointment in himself that it was him that was behaving like the lovesick puppy if truth be told, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her all to himself, he wanted her there with him every day, despite anything he had said to her about waiting out before making any decisions about their future together. What he had really wanted to say to her in that moment was stay, nothing or no-one else mattered but he was resigned to the need to set her free to find what she was looking for. The problem now, was in the days since had lost all confidence that the end of her journey would lead her back to him.

"Of course, I trust her!"

"Well what's the problem then? Other than the green-eyed monster?"

That boy! she thought, he had the same look of petulance as his father when he wasn't getting his own way.

-OG-

She ran hard up the last flight of stairs pausing at the railings to catch her breath and a sip of water. The run had helped sort her head out, it didn't mean she wasn't still angry with him, it was like being back at the FOB again just after she had got back from leave, so much had happened since then how could he still be stuck in the rut of being such a jealous prick. The last week couldn't have made it clearer that it was him and only him that she wanted but that this also wouldn't stop her from being a good mate to whoever she saw fit, including Smurf.

She let herself back into the flat meeting her dad in the kitchen carrying through two Cola floats, she wasn't sure what was going on with her mum and dad since she had been back but wasn't going to ask too many questions. After all she had just come back from one war zone and was grateful not to have come home to another. She was just about to head up for a shower when the doorbell went, she turned back to the door and as she opened it was greeted by a black box on the floor, she looked around and couldn't see anyone so picked up the box and opened it. As she lifted the tissue she could see folded red fabric "Right come on you sad Welsh twat…where are you?"

-OG-

He now had the house to himself as his mother had finally given up trying to reason with him and retreated to get changed and go to one of her many committee meetings. He leant against the front window frame and looked out onto the green as he pressed the dial button, nervously rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. He had rehearsed what he wanted to say several times in his head for the last hour, "come on Molly pick up" he whispered to himself.

-OG-

Upstairs the phone vibrated as downstairs the kettle flicked off and she poured Smurf a cuppa perching next to him she could see he was looking at the flights.

"5 grand for upper class, that's a bit more like us isn't it?"

"You are not paying that much for flights" she could see that he was massaging his temple "You alright?"

"This screen is doing my head in" he was trying to focus on his debit card whilst scrolling through the booking form

"You might gonna need glasses." She nudged him playfully as the rest of the Dawes clan cottoned on and started with the banter. Dealing with them swiftly he gave her his best cheeky grin, pleased with himself that he had got to a good place with her where they could be mates and he could still have her in his life.

-OG-

He had lost count of how many times he had hovered over the dial button after already trying more than a dozen times to call her, only to be greeted by the automated voicemail. He hadn't left a message, as even though he had planned what he wanted to say it would likely all go to shit after the beep. Maybe a text would be a good opener? Something like "Sorry for being a childish, jealous idiot of a boyfriend" Which would be perfect except for the fact that they hadn't really talked about relationship status since she came back to the house with him and even though they had now slept together and it had surpassed any fantasy he had played out in his mind up until this point, he felt no nearer in understanding if she really wanted to be with him in the real world. She might be home in body but in mind she was still stuck back in Afghan with a myriad of unfinished business.

He grabbed his jacked from the chair, he had no idea how it was going to play out when he got there but he just needed to see her, hold her, talk to her, create something that gave her a reason to come back to him.

It had taken an age with the stop-start traffic as he had reached the edge of London. He parked up and switched off the engine, closing his eyes and trying to compose himself. After what seemed like far too much effort to get to the top of the stairs he pushed the doorbell and waited only to be greeted a few minutes later by a man in pants cursing "Who the bleeding hell is it now?" Charles shifted nervously trying to keep the weight off his leg which now had the all too familiar ache.

"Is Molly here?"

"Who wants to know?" Dave leaned against the door frame giving Charles the once over.

"My name is Charles; I was with Molly in Afghanistan"

"She isn't here, is there some kind of re-union going on ? She is out with my boy Smurf as we speak"

"Do you know when she will be back?"

"No idea mate"

"Ok well can you let her know I came to see her"

"Spose I can, are you brass mate? It's just you seem a cut above for a squaddie"

"Just let her know I was here would you please."

Charles turned to head back to the car as Dave stepped out of the doorway to watch him, as he got to the bottom of the stairs Charles could see the man, who from the scant description Molly had given, could only be her father. He was now leaning over the balcony clearly curious if the posh git who had just knocked at the door was going to get into the swanky type car that only normally appeared on the estate if someone was dealing from it or had stolen it from up West.

Just as Charles was getting into the car a passing ambulance with the all too familiar sirens swept past, clearly in a rush to get some poor soul to A&E. For a fleeting moment he thought of Molly but shook it out of his head as she was no doubt in a bar in town with Smurfoid commiserating or worse celebrating the early expiry date of their relationship.

It was late by the time he pulled up outside of home again, he had switched his phone off as he had been unable to concentrate on the journey through the temptation of glancing across at it constantly.

He let himself into the house, his parents had already retired to their sitting room on the top floor so he went straight up to have a shower. He dried himself off and felt better as the hot water had soothed the ache in his leg a little, he plugged in his mobile and put it on to the bedside table, pressing the power on button to bring it back to life, as he slid on some boxers he casually glanced over to see a missed call. He was tired and didn't want to get into anything tonight besides if she had been out on the lash with Smurf she was probably in no fit state to have a proper conversation. He pressed power off and got into bed, he would call her tomorrow when they would hopefully both be in a better mood to talk.

-OG-

"Molly…...Molly" her mind was swimming towards the voice "Molly it's me" the voice was mixed up with the chaotic orchestra of the various high pitched beeps of medical machinery. She opened her eyes, feeling the warmth of the early morning sun coming in through the blinds. Candy was crouched down by the side of the chair that Molly had eventually fallen asleep in, without hesitation Molly grabbed her into the tightest hug, both of them shuddering uncontrollably with tears and then instinctively, in unison, snapping to attention and turning to toward the bed, checking the sounds of the machines weren't lying and that his chest was still in it's steady rhythm of rising and falling as they pumped life into him.

"Candy I am so sorry, I should have known something wasn't right."

Candy steadied her gaze and took a deep breath.

"Now you can stop right there Molly Dawes! no-one could have known this was going to happen, sometimes things just happen that none of us can control...God knows why it has to be my boy again after everything that we have been through"

Tears were spilling onto her cheeks again as she reached over to grab hold of her son's hand squeezing it like his life depended on it, she looked back at Molly.

"It's going to be OK you'll see" then turning back again to her son willing him to wake up.

They had stayed by his bedside for several more hours, one of them taking turns to break the silent staring by trying to chat to him, hoping that he could hear them and it would help him come back to them.

A nurse had popped her head around the door to let them know that the consultant should be with them soon to discuss the results of the tests they had been regularly carrying out since he was admitted. Molly couldn't help but worry as to why they hadn't operated and that combined with the types of tests they had been doing didn't reassure her. She could see the looks between the nurses, despite their best efforts to hide their reaction, when they were checking for brain function and responsiveness to a range of stimuli.

Finally the consultant appeared and delivered the news that Molly had been fearing, her best friend in the whole world had gone and all that was left was a shell kept alive by the machines, the bleep, bleep, bleep of which where now boring into her head getting louder and louder making her want to scream out to make it stop. Without realising her silent internalised terror had been taken over by her body's own physical reaction, her knees buckling as she clutched onto the end of the bed for support gasping for air.

Candy was motionless just staring in disbelief that fate, faith, or whatever other malevolent force that governed our very existence had chosen to rob her of everything and everyone she had ever loved, her despair quickly turning to anger as she also knew that she could never forgive the Army for taking both of her boys.

They had been given as much time as they needed to say goodbye each giving the other some private space to be with him. Even though her logical, trained, medical brain told her he wasn't really there, it was now just his body, she held his hand, stroked his forehead and through the tears, whispered to him how she couldn't believe he had to go and bloody die on her just as she was about to get that trip to Vegas that he had promised her. Squeezing his hand for the last time she stepped back with Candy as the nurses began the process of disconnecting the medical equipment the beep, beep, beep getting slower and slower until the flick of a final switch left the room silent.

Molly had left Candy at the hospital when another member of Smurf's family had arrived. They had both stayed in the room keeping watch over him until it was time for them to let the nurses and porters do their job. After they had taken him, not knowing where to go they had wandered into the chapel, discovering that neither of them were particularly religious but it was a calm space for them to sit whilst the hustle and bustle of trauma and healing moved on. Hugging Candy tightly and promising that she would be in touch about the funeral arrangements, she took a huge gulp of air as she walked quickly across the car park, she had no idea where she was heading she just needed to walk as far away as possible, maybe if she kept on walking and never looked back she could pretend that none of this was happening because right now facing reality was not an option.

-OG-

The next few days passed in a blur she hadn't eaten or slept much and had found herself comforting everyone else when she could bring herself to tell them about it. She felt numbed by it all but yet tortured herself regularly by playing over every interaction she had with him, had she missed any signs that this was going to happen? She was making up her own scenarios as to when the injury occurred, how long his brain had been bleeding and why she had dismissed him having a headache. Why? Because yet again she was wrapped up in her own drama with the Boss which had once again managed to fuck things up for Smurf.

The night before the funeral she caught the train to Newport, taking her back to when she had first dropped everything to see him when they were on leave. She had been worried about him then and had wanted to make sure he was ok and keeping his head straight. It had been easy between them, she thought she had batted his feelings off enough times for him to have got the message that she just wanted to be friends, but became anxious with creeping guilt when she thought about how he had been a welcome distraction to pass the time until she could get back to the FOB to see the Boss again. If she had known the clock was ticking for Smurf back then she would have been more present in the moment with him rather than pining to be back in Afghan. She remembered how outwardly that day she was trying to be the chirpy cockney Molly, always there in a crisis, trying to be a good mate, inwardly she was churning inside with the swell of emotion that the last exchange between her and the Boss had left her with and that last look, saying everything by saying nothing before she ran for the helicopter. If only she had known back then she would have done everything differently.

She was snapped back from her thoughts as the train pulled into the station and was annoyed that even in her deepest moments of grief about losing one man in her life the other still managed to invade her psyche. She hadn't spoken to him yet and had managed to avoid his calls, but by now she was sure he would be in the know, the CO would have informed him. Shit her head was unravelling like a ball of tangled wool, she knew he would be as devastated as she was by this, but talking about it with him of all people just didn't feel right. Soon though, she wouldn't have a choice.

One by one they all filed into the pub and slumped down at the tables they had pushed together as the group had grown. Each of the lads had made a point of pulling Molly into a hug, all of them struggling to hold in their own emotions. She was struggling not to keep putting them straight when they hinted at the relationship between her and Smurf and she must be finding it more difficult than any of them to cope under the circumstances. Every so often she couldn't help but glance at the door and then her watch wondering if he was going to show but not wanting to ask. They spent the evening telling a mixture of funny and not so funny stories (back of the Indian takeaway raising its ugly head again) getting progressively more drunk which in turn lead to the stories becoming longer and more embellished. Eventually at chucking out time they all piled into a couple of taxis back to the Travelodge, with Molly checking their key cards to make sure she could kick them out of the lift on the right floor, how they got to their room after that was their look-out.

The next morning she woke with the post shots session, furry mouth and thick head that she gingerly lifted from the pillow. It was automatic pilot from then on methodically putting on her dress uniform and heading downstairs to get a cab to Smurf's house as Candy had wanted her to be in the funeral car rather than meeting at the church.

Anything could have happened on the journey and it would not have registered she was closed down, impervious to her surroundings. Unconsciously she was fidgeting with the corner of her jacket, pressing her lips together to stifle tears, beside her Candy stared straight ahead into the back of the hearse at the box draped with a flag
that represented an institution of Queen and country that had robbed her of her family.

As she stepped out of the car she caught sight of him, his stony composure broken for a split second when their eyes locked. She looked away and moved to the side as 2 section gathered at the back of the hearse to carry their mate into the church. Once assembled they all began the slow procession inside, Molly took a seat behind Candy where she could see him again on the opposite pew to her right, staring ahead, motionless waiting to be called to do his duty.

-OG-

The sun was setting and it would be dark soon as she walked along the path, stumbling now and again on the loose stones. She wasn't sure this was a good idea but she had a feeling she might find him here and they hadn't really finished their conversation in the church before Molly had been whisked away to the wake. As she opened the gate and looked she could see his outline stood, strong and straight looking at the horizon, she moved through the grass toward him but he didn't acknowledge her presence so she stopped a few feet away looking out with him, she sensed that she shouldn't be the one to break the silence between them.

"She's right you know, King and Country, Honour, Service, Sacrifice, but what about those that are left behind? What happens to them?"

She moved a step closer to him, she wanted to reach out for his hand but she held back still feeling as though she was intruding on his own private grief.

"She's grieving, she's all over the shop, we all are, none of this is supposed to make sense and blaming yourself or blaming the army won't bring him back"

He sat down on the grass and looked back at her, flicking his head in that familiar way, pleading to her with his eyes to come and sit beside him. She moved in close leaning against his arm which he opened up and pulled her in closer to him,resting his chin on top of her head. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of him slowly and deliberately and almost instantly she now wished she hadn't shut him out so many times in the last week and that he could have held her like this and made her feel safe and isolated from everything.

"I fucked up big time again didn't I?"

" Feeling sorry for yourself really doesn't suit you Boss."

"What have I said about calling me Boss?"

"Charlie then?"

"Nope"

"Chaz?"

"Fuck no!"

They both managed to force out a laugh, she looked up to find the smile fading as quickly as it had appeared.

"You know that I only want you to be happy and even though I love you more than you could ever know."

He hesitated and she could feel him trembling next to her as he spoke.

" And if being happy means without me….."

His voice became uncharacteristically weaker and trailed off.

"There you go again"

"Molly...I'm serious you have a whole career in front of you,this tour, you need to find what's missing, you need to sort your world out and everything in it"

"But you are in my world, you have been in my world since you walked out onto the tarmac at Brize with your Captain Stern Face on, every glare, every smile, looking into your eyes when I thought you might die on me on that bridge. You make me feel like a grenade has exploded in my head most of the time but whatever happens next in my world you are in it mate"

They sat in silence for a while longer as dusk approached, watching small boats come and go in the bay and the flicker of bats swooping between the trees.

"I came here with Smurf, when we were on leave, it's how I knew where to find you. This place was really special to him too and he was really happy for us in the end you know"

Charles wasn't sure if he could quite square the circle on all of it just yet. Geraint's death still haunted him and even though Smurf was off duty when he died he would always wish that he hadn't found out about his relationship with Molly in the way he did and would never be sure that the subsequent events that played out after this had not in some way ultimately contributed to his death.

"Penny for them?"

"What?" he was momentarily rescued from these darker thoughts by this beautiful bright young woman and her toothy grin.

"Penny for what's going on in that nut of yours."

He deflected her "We should be getting back, haven't you got a train to catch?"

"Nah I've got a bit longer, plus I thought you might want as much time as you can with me, given I am going to be away for a bit?"

"Well that goes without saying Dawes, speaking of which have you nothing that you want to say to me?"

"Nah...don't think so…" .she theatrically rubbed her chin which made him laugh again.

"Say it!" He jabbed her in the ribs.

"Say what?" She looked up at him doe eyed and innocent, biting the corner of her bottom lip.

He felt the flutter but was determined to stick to his guns she wasn't getting her way that easily.

"You know what!"

"Cockwomble?"

"Christ Molly …..can you ever just do what I am asking?"

"Yes Boss! Of course Boss!"..."Love you Boss"

"Molly?" he lifted her chin so that he could look her straight in the eye this time.

"Yes?"

He fixed her with that gaze again, the one that disarmed her, the one that let her know that the funny girl act wasn't cutting it and she needed to give him her full attention.

"I asked you this once before but I need to know again that you will come back to me."

"I Will…." she giggled again with that mischievous twinkle in her eye…... "Charles!"

He shook his head in resigned acceptance that beneath all her yanking of his chain that the bond between them was solid, lifting her to her feet, he pulled her in and before she had the chance to say anything else silenced her with a kiss. Then with no chance to catch her breath he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the path.

"Come on double away Dawes you've got a Bergen to pack."