Title: Friends, Lovers, Sinners & Others
Summary: Cat's struggling to cope with Frankie becoming a permanent fixture in her life once again.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lip Service or anything associated with the show.
Rating: M
A/N: Set after episode 3 so general spoilers up till then. References to pairings Cat/Sam, Cat/Frankie and Tess/Ed friendship (possibly more).
Cat let out a deep sigh as she finally wrestled her front door open without dropping everything she was carrying. Her relief at being home was short lived however as she heard voices coming from the living room. She hated when Tess had company over without letting her know in advance. It had been a long day at work, most of which she'd spent covering for Jay and his hangover, and the last thing she wanted was a house full of people.
Her spirits dampened further when she walked in to the living room and found the place looking like a bomb site. Empty beer bottles and pizza boxes littered the floor. Cards and poker chips were scattered over her coffee table. Her brother, Tess and Frankie were sat around the table. Frankie was the first to notice her and offered her a lazy smile. It took all of Cat's willpower not to slap it off of her face. "Cat! Hey!" Tess grinned as she caught sight of her flatmate. "Come join us! We're playing poker! You're brother owes me..." She checked a scrap of paper in front of her. "Eighty four thousand pounds."
Cat forced a smile on to her lips. "Good luck, he still owes me a tenner from last month."
"Hmm, I want my money first." Tess teased, earning a scoff from Ed.
"Yeah right, do you take Monopoly money?"
"You actually owe me forty grand from Monopoly." Frankie nodded towards the board game sitting on the floor, the pieces and little plastic houses still scattered all over the board. Cat suppressed a shudder at the chaotic sight. She desperately needed to escape to the sanctuary of her room.
"Come play with us?" Tess patted the sofa beside her, even though she and Ed were taking up most of the space.
"Yeah Cat, come play." Frankie's suggestive grin was the last straw and Cat felt herself beginning to lose what little patience she had left.
"No thanks. It's been a long day. I think I'm just going to go to bed." She made her excuses and fled to her room, just managing to stop herself from slamming the door like a moody teenager. In the weeks Frankie had been back in her life she seemed to be constantly around. Appearing at the worst possible times.
Cat stripped off her work clothes, stripping down to her underwear and folding them neatly before placing them in the laundry hamper. Her limbs felt stiff and tense. She needed a hot shower to unwind after her long day. Pulling on her dressing gown she slipped back out of her room and in to the bathroom.
Shrugging off her dressing gown she turned on the shower and stepped under the hot spray, welcoming the way the water eased the tension in her body.
She'd been in the shower long enough for her skin to prune. She'd almost managed to relax when she heard the bathroom door open.
"Jesus!" She jumped behind the shower screen, scowling as Frankie walked in on her.
"Whoa. Sorry." The blonde apologised, though made no effort to turn around and walk out.
"Frankie! Get out!" The older woman snapped impatiently as she realised Frankie had no intention of leaving. "This isn't a bloody peep show!"
"Nothing I ain't seen before." She teased, a predatory smile gracing her lips as her eyes raked over Cat's form. The frosted glass of the shower screen revealed little more than the outline of her creamy flesh, but it was enough to entice the younger woman.
"Towel." Cat snapped, holding out her hand for the towel hanging up behind Frankie. She wasn't about to step out from behind the safety of the screen.
"This towel?" Frankie took it off the hook and dangled it just beyond Cat's reach. The older woman scowled as she failed to snatch the towel from Frankie's hand.
"For fucks sake Frankie! Grow up!" She tried again to take the towel, but the blonde took a deliberate step back, her grin widening.
"Frankie I've had a really shit day, so please just give me the bloody towel!" Cat made no attempt to reach out for the towel and expose herself.
"Bad day? I would have thought you'd have super cop over; help you unwind." The blonde's tone was casual enough, but her gaze was intense, searching for a reaction in the older woman.
Cat's poker face was about as effective as her brother's and Frankie easily picked up on the flash of anguish that flitted across her expression. You didn't grow up with someone without being able to read them as easily as your favourite book. "Lover's tiff?"
More like half an hour of screaming at each other over the phone. Frankie had been the catalyst for the argument of course. Sam had planned a night out. Cat had been to exhausted, too stressed. Somehow Frankie had came up in the conversation, more than likely from Cat moaning about her presence in her life again. The conversation had not ended well, but things with Sam could wait until the morning. When she felt up to grovelling the other woman for forgiveness.
"Frankie." Cat sighed, resting her head against the glass and closing her eyes as the room in front of her began to spin. She'd pulled an all nighter the previous day working on a proposal for a new client; a proposal she'd worked her arse off to land only to have it handed over to Jay. She was beyond tired and dangerously close to just passing out where she stood. She'd turned the shower off when the blonde had barged in and her body began to shake as the cold air bit at her vulnerable flesh. She was trembling when she felt the towel wrap around her body. Opening her eyes she found Frankie standing in the bathtub with her, carefully wrapping her in the towel. "What do you think you're doing?" She tried to push the blonde away, almost landing on her backside as she stumbled in the slippery bath. Frankie caught her before her back could slam off the taps.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna cop a feel." The younger woman teased as she helped Cat to stand upright again and stepped out of the bath. Her socks were soaking from standing in the wet tub and they squelched as she took a step back and offered her hands out to Cat. Had she not felt so unsteady on her feet Cat would have started shouting at her to get out, but she knew the chances of her passing out and cracking her head open on the bathroom floor were pretty high so she took the offered hands. Frankie didn't wait for her to step out of the bath, she lifted her out, setting her down gently on the floor and keeping her arms wrapped around her.
"Thanks." Cat choked out, the thin towel separating her from the heat of Frankie's body was not helping her head to focus very much. She started shaking again and she wasn't sure whether it was from the cold or the proximity of her ex.
"Come on let's get you to bed." Cat internally cursed just how husky Frankie's voice could sound. She tried to kick start her senses and tell the younger woman that she could manage fine herself, but the words would not pass her lips. She opened her mouth and shut it again, floundering like a fish. Frankie ignored her silent protest and led her back to her room, constantly keeping one arm wrapped around her waist.
She closed the door behind them and went straight over to Cat's bed, picking her pyjamas out from under her pillow. She smiled at the familiarity. Cat really was a creature of habit. "Here." She handed them over and turned her back to give the brunette some privacy. Cat, still unable to form the words to object, silently obeyed and dropped the towel. She quickly pulled the sweat pants and vest she'd left under her pillow to sleep in. She regretted choosing the vest as she felt goose-pimples forming on her arms and her body began to shake again. She cleared her throat, letting the blonde know she was ready.
Frankie turned around and frowned when she found her wearing the vest and still shaking. She pulled her hooded sweatshirt over her head, intending to give it to the other woman.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cat's eyes widened as Frankie began removing her clothing.
"Not you. Obviously." The blonde snapped back with a playful smile.
"Obviously." Cat repeated like a parrot as Frankie stepped forward and put the hoodie over her head. She let Cat put her arms in and pull it down while she pulled her hair out from inside and then pulled the hood up.
"Much better." The blonde's face was hovering dangerously close in front of Cat's. "Now. Bed." There was that husky voice again. Cat's eyes dropped as inappropriate thoughts crossed her mind. Memories of times when Frankie had ordered her to bed before. She hadn't had much sleep those night either.
Frankie, not one to usually miss a trick, failed to notice the crimson blush on Cat's cheeks. Instead her eyes focused on a little foil packet of pills on her night stand. "What are these?" She turned the packet over in her hands but could find no markings.
"Caffeine tablets." Cat mumbled as she pushed back the covers and got in to bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow her eyes began to close.
"They don't say anything. Where'd you get them?"
"Hmmm? Oh...Jay." The other woman sighed, wanting nothing more than to let the sleep she desperately needed wash over her.
"Fucking tosser." She was vaguely aware of Frankie cursing. "Cat?" Her voice was louder now as she shook Cat's shoulders, forcing the older woman to open her eyes. "Cat, I don't think these are pro plus..." She was pretty sure Jay hadn't bought them from a chemist either. She was going to kill him when she got her hands on him.
For Cat to take anything off Jay she must have been desperate. It was clear to everyone she was running herself ragged, working herself towards an early grave. Frankie supposed her reappearance wasn't exactly helping matters much. The older woman had always been a little up tight and a little OCD, but never to the point of becoming the nervous wreck she had turned in to over the last few weeks.
"I'm sorry." The blonde whispered before pressing her lips to Cat's forehead. The brunette mumbled something incoherent in her sleep before rolling over. What exactly Frankie was saying sorry for she couldn't begin to fathom.
She had betrayed her best friend in the worst way. Chased her until she was Frankie's and then just thrown her away. She'd left without a word, escaped to New York and only bothered to tell Cat three weeks later. Even then she'd only offered a measly sorry. And there she was again, fucking up Cat's life.
Sometimes sorry just couldn't cut it.