"What's up with our Charity?"

Lisa's query makes Chas turn and look over at the woman in question. She's half slumped over the bar, her head propped up in one hand. People are clearly waiting to be served but she's not even looking at them. If Chas had to sum up the look on her face in a single word, it would be 'forlorn'. Like some tragic heroine from a romance book that goes out on the moors in her nightie and wails at the moon. She rolls her eyes.

"Oi!" Charity looks over in question and Chas nods to where Rodney is waving his glass. "Customers. Money in the till. Food on the table. Remember?"

Charity sighs, but drags herself over to serve Rodney. Chas turns back to Lisa, who is watching the proceedings with that motherly concern she displays for just about everyone in the village, but particularly those whose last name is Dingle.

"The face like a slapped arse, d'you mean?" Chas asks, earning a disapproving frown. She relents and leans closer to Lisa, elbows on the bar. "Well, between you and me, I think Vanessa's chucked her."

"Oh no!" Lisa's hand flies to her chest. "Poor little mite. And I thought they were getting on so well."

"They were." Chas nods. "I could barely move in that house for falling over one of Johnny's toys or pairs of muddy wellies."

"So what happened?" Lisa asks, distress clear on her face as she watches Charity retreat to her former perch at the bar.

"I...don't know, actually."

She thinks back to the events of the previous evening. It had started like most evenings these days; Vanessa had come over at some point and was in the living room with Charity, Noah and Johnny. On the couple of occasions that Chas had popped through for whatever reason, everything had seemed normal. The first time, Charity and Vanessa had been bickering in that way of theirs that Chas suspected was foreplay. The next time, Noah and Vanessa were seated on the floor in front of the couch, playing a video game while Charity watched. A little while later, the back door had slammed so hard it felt like the building was rattling. Then Charity stormed through to the bar, picked up a bottle of vodka, and stormed out again. She wasn't seen for the rest of the evening.

At breakfast this morning, the atmosphere had been frosty. Noah clearly wasn't speaking to his mother, who barely noticed because of the hangover she was nursing. Chas's attempts at smalltalk were rebuffed by both until she grew fed up and asked straight out what had happened with Vanessa. Noah practically frisbeed his cereal bowl into the sink and shot Charity a dirty look, spitting 'Ask her' before stamping out to get the bus. Charity had ignored the question altogether and shuffled out of the room, mumbling about going back to bed.

Chas shakes her head and brings her attention back to Lisa. "They must've had some kind of barney and Vanessa left. That's all I know. You know what Charity's like. Not like she's gonna spill her guts to me voluntarily, is she?"

Lisa leans to the side to look over Chas's shoulder and makes a questioning noise. "I don't know. Poor love looks like she needs somebody to talk to."

"Needs and wants are two different things, Lis." Chas lifts her eyebrows. "When Charity wants to talk, I'll listen."

"I could...give it a go, if you like?" Although she's making the offer, Chas can tell that Lisa's hoping it'll be rebuffed. She pats her hand.

"Best leave it alone for a few days. Charity usually needs a bit of time to mull over whatever it is she's done wrong before she can admit to it."

"Oh, that's a bit unfair, isn't it?" Lisa says. "I don't think we should just assume that whatever's happened was Charity's fault."

Chas lets out a barking laugh. "Seriously? You'd put money on that, would you?"

"Oh, Chas. Even I'm not daft enough to take that bet." Lisa laughs and shakes her head. "Now, you said you thought Vanessa had chucked her, but does that mean that they were...you know, officially together?"

Chas groans. "No, no. They were still on this ridiculous 'no labels' thing." It'd been months since their first drunken fumble in the cellar. And while their relationship mostly took place in the back of the Woolpack or at Vanessa's house, it definitely was a relationship. Debbie even saw them holding hands outside the shop once. But they refused to call it what it was. Chas always suspected that was more Charity's doing than Vanessa's. She tilts her head in thought. "Maybe that's what caused this lat-"

"Right! Out! You're barred!" Charity's voice cuts through her thoughts and she turns to see Charity pointing at the door that Tracy and David have just entered through, both now standing in astonishment.

"What? Why are we barred?" David asks.

"Not you, just her." Charity once again jabs her finger towards the door. "C'mon. Out with you. Don't just stand there gawping at me."

Chas is at Charity's side in two long steps. "What's going on? Why've you barred her?"

"Because she's a psycho!" Tracy has found her voice. "I literally just walked in the door and she started shouting at me!"

"I don't need a reason. I'm the landlady. Out!"

"Charity," Chas warns. "Come on now. We don't bar paying customers for no reason."

Tracy, emboldened by Chas's support of her cause perhaps, leans on the bar and directs a wicked smile in Charity's direction. "Is this 'cause my sister finally came to her senses and dumped you?"

Chas is moving before the words are even fully out of Tracy's mouth, her arms going around Charity's waist before she can launch herself over the bar. "That's not helpful, Tracy!" Charity is like a cat in her arms, clawing and spitting insults as she drags her away. "Lis! Would you mind serving for a bit while I deal with...this?"

"'Course not, love." Lisa's already making her way behind the bar.

"First round for Tracy and David on the house, okay?" Chas says, as she shoves Charity through the door to the back and keeps shoving her until she's in the living room. Charity may be scrappy but Chas has had a brute strength advantage over her ever since they were kids.

Charity is, of course, livid. Eyes blazing, she turns on Chas. "Drinks on the house? So you're giving out prizes to people who treat me like that now, are you?"

Chas stands in front of the door, arms crossed, blocking Charity's exit in case she's thinking of going back through. "She hadn't even spoken when you barred her."

"She had this proper smug look on her face the minute she walked in." Charity's pacing now, her rage a physical thing taking up space in the room. "She was gonna start something. I could feel it."

"Mmhmm. So we're just pre-emptively barring anyone who looks at you funny now, are we?" Chas decides to try a softer approach. Being confrontational with Charity is not always effective as it tends to lead to an explosion and, sometimes, physical violence. She ignores Charity's scoff and presses on. "Anyway, is she right?"

"Right? Her? That'd be a first." She stops pacing and looks at Chas with a sigh. "Right about what?"

"About this being about Vanessa?"

Charity lets out a noise that's half scream and half groan. "Not everything is about Vanessa. The whole world does not revolve around Vanessa bloody Woodfield."

"I never said it did. I asked if this was about her." She flings a hand out to gesture at Charity. "You've had a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp since she left last night. Now you're barring her sister for existing. Seems this is very much related to Vanessa."

"Jesus. D'you want a chocolate watch for working that one out, Sherlock?"

Chas ignores the sarcasm. "So did she? Break up with you?"

Charity lets out an attempt at a laugh. "How could she break up with me? We weren't tog-"

"Oh, give over, Charity!" Any resolve about avoiding confrontation is forgotten as Chas's own fiery temper flares at the ridiculous claim. "She's slept here or you've slept at hers every night for...must be at least two months. Her kid adores you." Charity turns away at the mention of Johnny, folding her arms over her chest. Chas keeps going. "You're happier than I can ever remember seeing you." She takes a chance and steps away from the door, closer to Charity. "Babe, whatever name you put to it or don't put to it, makes no difference. You are together. Or were."

"Whatever. Doesn't matter now, does it?"

Chas is surprised to hear how rough Charity's voice is. She steps forward and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"It does matter. Because you like her. And she likes you. And this is the closest you've been to an actual grown-up relationship in a long time." She feels Charity's shoulders lift in a deep sigh. "What happened last night, Charity?"

"Nothing."

"If it was nothing, she wouldn't have left the way she did." She moves around so that she's standing in front of Charity. "So I'll ask again. What happened?"

Charity's lips press together like a two year old refusing to eat and she shakes her head.

"Fine." Chas shrugs. "I'll go and ask Noah then, shall I?"

That certainly gets a reaction. Charity's eyes go wide and she grabs Chas's arm before she can move. "No! No, don't...don't ask Noah. He's upset as it is."

"Yeah, he is. And he seemed to think you could explain why." Chas crosses her arms. "So tell me why Vanessa left."

Charity's now the one standing between Chas and the door in case Chas decides to go and find Noah, presumably. "We had an argument and she left. That's what happened. That's what always happens, isn't it?"

"The two of you are always bickering. This must've been something different. What was said?"

Charity looks at the ceiling and shakes her head before meeting Chas's gaze. "Look, however I say this, it's gonna sound bad, right?"

"Which means it was bad, so just say it and get it over with." Chas nods encouragingly.

"Right. So. Her and Noah were playing some stupid computer game," Charity begins, rolling her eyes. "And they were laughing and shoving each other and it was getting right on my nerves."

"Because neither of them were paying attention to you," Chas puts in, earning a glare.

"No, actually. Because they were...just...being annoying." Charity sighs again. "And I may have...said something that I shouldn't have."

"Yeah, I'd figured that much out. What'd you say?"

"I made some comment about-" Charity's eyes flit away and Chas steels herself for whatever's about to come out. "-Vanessa making a move on Noah. Because of her thing for...teenage boys."

Chas closes her eyes. "Oh, Charity."

"And I may have...suggested that she was only with me so she could get to Noah."

Chas covers her face with her hands. "Oh, Charity. On what planet did you think that was an appropriate thing to say? After everything with Aaron? How could you say that to someone?"

"I didn't mean it. They were just..." Charity shrugs, her arms coming up to wrap around herself. "Anyway. So that's that. Like always."

"No. Not 'like always'." Chas stalks across the room so she's in front of Charity. "Don't say that like this was inevitable. You said something horrible and Vanessa walked out. You made this happen."

"As I said," Charity says, her eyes hard. "Like always."

"I take it you apologised?" Chas asks, her heart sinking when Charity looks at the floor. "You didn't even apologise?"

"What was the point? I knew as soon as it was out of my mouth that it was over the line." Charity walks to the kitchen and flicks the kettle on, watching it as it starts to boil. "Anyway, she's better off this way."

"That's not for you to decide, Charity," Chas says, moving closer again. "You can't keep pushing people away. Vanessa's a grown woman and if she decides she wants to be with you, as mad as it is to think that anyone would, that's up to her."

"Well, she made her decision." Charity leans both hands on the counter, letting out a shuddering breath. "She's gone. And if she's any sense she'll stay away."

Chas is shaking her head before the word is even out of Charity's mouth. "No. I'm not letting you throw this away."

Charity turns to look over her shoulder, an eyebrow creeping up her forehead. "You're not letting me? Last I checked you had no say in my lovelife."

"Charity, I know you struggle to get your head around the concept that people might actually care about your happiness, but I am one of those people. And Vanessa makes you happy."

"It makes no odds. She left. I haven't heard from her since."

"Well, what did you expect after what you said to her?" Chas points at the door. "You have to go over there right now and apologise."

"I can't. You didn't see her face...the way she looked at me when I-" Charity presses her lips together and closes her eyes. "I can't just go over there and expect her to talk to me."

Chas sighs. The fact that Charity even realises her behaviour was over the line is a good sign. But she can't let this go on too long, or Vanessa might, as Tracy so bluntly put it, come to her senses. "Fine. I'll go and talk to her then."

Charity's eyes fly open, horrified. "No you will not."

"Yes. I will. Because somebody needs to let her know that you're sorry and that you didn't mean it and that you're moping around here wracking that huge, but mostly empty, brain of yours trying to come up with how you can make it up to her."

Charity dashes forward and grabs Chas's arm, shaking her head. "No. Chas, don't. I don't want you mithering her. I will go over, I promise. I'll apologise. I just...need to give her some time."

Chas takes a long moment to decide that Charity is being genuine. She nods. "Fine. A little bit of time. But if I don't see you fixing it soon, then I will. Okay?"

"Okay. Yeah. Absolutely." Charity's whole body seems to sag in relief, and the hand she runs through her hair is shaking slightly.

"Good. Because for whatever reason, and I'm not ruling out head injury, that lass thinks the world of you. That doesn't come around every day, Charity."

"Alright, Chas, I know." Charity rolls her eyes. "You've made your point."

"Good." Chas shoves Charity towards the door. "And now you're going back out there and you are gonna be super nice to her sister, aren't you?"

"Why?" Charity frowns as she's pushed into the corridor with Chas following. "I never have been before."

"Well, this seems as good a time as any to get on her family's good side, wouldn't you say?" Chas looks pointedly towards the bar. "A little goodwill might go a long way."

"Fine," Charity sighs. "I will play nice as long as she does." She points at Chas. "But only for Vanessa's sake, right?"

"Obviously. Wouldn't expect you to just be nice to the customers as a matter of course, would I?"

Charity stops at the door to the bar, her hand on the handle. "I do...I mean I don't…" She laughs, looking upwards with shining eyes. "It's ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous, love?" Chas prompts, gently.

Shaking her head, Charity meets her eyes and Chas thinks she sees her lower lip tremble before she whispers. "I miss her, Chas." She laughs again, as if she can't believe her own words. "Last night I...I missed her. This morning I started making her a brew out of habit. I miss hearing Johnny's little voice yelling for me. Right now I'm dreading going to bed because I know she won't be there and I cannot believe this is me talking." She turns large, plaintive eyes on Chas. "This doesn't happen. Not to me. Not anymore."

Chas resists the urge to smile and instead wraps an arm around Charity's shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Happens to the best of us, flower." She slaps Charity's backside. "Now you get through there and plaster on your best smile. And first thing tomorrow, you fix this, right? Because I bloody miss her a little as well!"

"Thanks Chas." Charity says with a nod. "And I will. I'll fix it. If she'll let me."

And with that, she disappears through the door into the noisy bar. Chas lets out a breath. She really, really hopes she's right and that Vanessa will let Charity fix things. She's sure that she's right about both of their feelings, what she's not confident about is Charity's ability to hold an adult conversation for the amount of time required to adequately apologise. Perhaps a little visit to Tug Ghyll first thing in the morning is called for, just to lay the groundwork for her cousin.

That's what family's for.