Chapter One

It is true that days at Nonnatus House are very rarely not busy, but, Jenny thinks as she slumps down on her bed at the end of a long day, this must surely be the busiest day that she has had in a while. She had thought that she would fall straight to sleep when she returned home, but now she is on her bed, she can think of nothing but autoclaves and patients.

She is roused from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps as a blonde figure tiptoes into her room, closing the door carefully behind her. Trixie rarely bothers with pretences, not unless it's necessary, and Jenny supposes that this is why, instead of first going to her own narrow bed which sits parallel to Jenny's, she simply glides over and slips down next to her. Jenny realises, just too late, that Trixie is almost sat on top of her, close enough that the smell of cigarette smoke on Trixie's breath is overpowering.

"I didn't realise - I thought you'd have gone to bed by now" Jenny stammers, feeling foolish at how tense she must look in comparison to Trixie

"No sweetie," Trixie smiles her famous half smile, "I'm all yours" with that she leans in a little closer to Jenny, so close that Jenny is unsure whether the heartbeat she can hear belongs to her or Trixie. "I expect you've had ever such a long day," Jenny squirms as Trixie's warm breath tickles her inner ear, "so I brought something to help you wind down."

From beneath her cardigan, Trixie produces a full bottle of scotch, her eyes dance and Jenny cannot help but smile weakly back, caught in Trixie's flirtatious gaze, like so many before her. Once Trixie has poured them both a generous measure of scotch, draining her own and handing the other to Jenny, she lies down on the bed, resting her head in Jenny's lap. Jenny's breath catches in her throat as her thoughts flicker about rapidly in her brain. Every time she is with Trixie her mind goes into overdrive as she makes wild attempts to calculate whether anyone might be able to guess that they are more than just friends. She worried when Trixie held onto her hand for a little too long when she passed her some piece of equipment when they prepared for their morning rounds. She worried when Trixie scraped her fingernails along Jenny's thigh at the breakfast table. She worried when Trixie danced with her, just a little too close, in the privacy of their room. She worried about how many moments they shared that could not be explained away by their close friendship. She worried, but she loved Trixie too much to act upon her worries. So, instead of pulling away, forcing Trixie back to her own bed, she runs her hand through the short blonde crop.

"Do you know what day it is today, Jenny Lee?"

"Friday?" Jenny looked down at Trixie, who was pouting up at her, clearly dissatisfied with the answer

"That's not what I mean, and anyway it's Saturday now"

With that she sat up suddenly, upsetting Jenny's glass of scotch and causing its owner to frown as it splashed down her dressing gown. She didn't have long to be upset however as, almost without warning, she felt Trixie's teeth bite down on her earlobe.

"I meant it's Valentine's day, silly" Trixie laughs, jumping up from Jenny's lap and moving over to her Dansette. She stood there, her back to Jenny, for a few moments as she fiddled with the arm of the record player and then, as 'Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me' began to play, she reached behind the Dansette and retrieved a single red rose and a square white envelope. Jenny's heart was in her throat as Trixie turned back to face her. She felt her palms grow sweaty and she had to fight to resist the growing urge to bite down on her fingernails.

Trixie smirked down at her, she was well aware of how easily flustered Jenny was and Jenny cringed at the thought of how pathetic she must seem. They had been dating (if you could even call it that) for almost a year now but she was still uneasy about the whole affair. It wasn't so difficult for Trixie, there had been other women before and she was so much more comfortable in herself than Jenny was.

"I didn't get you anything" ventured Jenny at last

"I knew you wouldn't have," smiled Trixie gently, "but that's okay, I can think of lots of other ways you could make it up to me"