"Tom!" she called up the stairs tea-towel gripped tightly in her fist.
Shaking her head she continued onto the door and opened it without really looking "You're late." She half growled as she moved back towards the kitchen.
"Sorry…" he mumbled "…traffic." But she was long gone back to the kitchen and the bubbling pots.
He shrugged off his coat and hung it up, then kicked off his shoes and tucked them in as far as possible beside the family's shoe pile.
"It's one thing asking if you can bring case files over on my day off, but then you're ten minutes late." She huffed lifting a lid to stir.
"I told you traffic" he mumbled again moving through to the dining room and putting the files on the table.
"Take them off the table!" she said before he'd even moved away. "We're about to have dinner."
"It's not ready anyway, so really I'm not late." He countered weakly.
"Oh shut up." She snapped. He walked back into the kitchen just as she turned shouting "TOM!" right into his face.
He flinched and turned from her.
"Millah!" he groaned.
"Fred!" she shouted ignoring him.
Her younger son came bowling into the room.
"Yes Mumm…. ALEC!" he cheered throwing his arms up to the tall man who scooped him up.
"How are you Fred." He said ruffling his curls.
"Can you go up and tell your brother dinner is ready." Ellie continued.
"Ok." He said cheerily and wiggled his way down his favourite Scot.
Hardy watched as he made his way out the door.
"He's getting tall." He commented as he walked over to peak at Ellies work. She in turn moved to pick up glasses and cutlery and took it into the table. He half-heartedly stirred the sauce and his eyebrows creased at the sight of giant meatballs.
"no rolling your eyes Sir..." Ellie stressed the title. "… the boys are looking forward to you joining us." She stopped in front of him giving a small smile. He was about to return it when there was a big thump above them. "BOYS!" she yelled again as he recoiled at the sound.
The sound of two pairs of feet hurrying down the stairs was the next noise to assault his eardrums.
The two boys stopped at the kitchen door, both looking sheepish.
"What was that?" she demanded.
"Nothing!" they both chimed. Hardy looked on as her eyebrow raised and their resolve buckled.
"Tom kicked the ball at me and I missed." Fred blurted out. "It hit his telly."
"but its fine!" Tom interrupted. "nothing's broken."
"What have I told you about kicking that ball in the house!" she snapped. "Now go wash your hands and sit up for dinner." They both disappeared as fast as they had appeared.
"now I know how you trained to interrogate suspects." He muttered.
"I'm sorry was that a joke? Shitface made a joke!" now it was his turn to get the eyebrow. "You can go sit down too thank you."
He didn't even nod, just fled.
The two boys were sitting in what evidently were their places so he had a brief moment of panic over where to sit. Until Fred made the decision for him by patting the chair next to him.
He sat down, smiling and asked Tom about school, pleasantly surprised when the boy answered back cheerfully.
They were mid conversation when the food arrived in the hands of a smiling Miller.
"Right here we are. Spaghetti and meatballs." She said chirpily, all previous frustrations seemingly forgotten.
"Looks good mom." Tom smiled up at her, while Fred jumped up and down in his seat. The two boys dug in headfirst as Ellie disappeared to fetch the other two plates.
Hardy couldn't help but smile as dinner passed along in a flurry of conversation, laughter and dropped pasta. The files on the counter were long forgotten about.
"Right who wants ice-cream!" Ellie said gathering up the plates. "Tom bring them out and load the machine. I'll try find some sprinkles." She grinned at Fred as his eyes widened.
"Mill…" he started
"I got some sugar free dairy free taste free gloop for you!" she said waving him off. "Weirdo."
"Thank you." he replied to spite her.
"Cars!" Fred shouted! "Icecream and cars!"
Alec just looked on, confused. The small boy stood up and grabbing his shirt sleeve dragged the bigger man towards the living room.
It was only when a dvd case was shoved under his nose that he realised what was going on.
"Oh! A film." He took it and loaded the player.
"oh not cars again!" Tom groaned, handing his brother a bowl.
"You can only have twenty minutes and then bedtime! I haven't forgotten it's a school night." Ellie said through a chocolatey mouthful.
She handed him a bowl and settled down on the end of the couch.
"should we get started?" he said gesturing in the direction of the files.
"It can wait half an hour. I bet you've never seen Cars." She smiled into her bowl and he just sighed defeatedly.
She leaned over the edge of the couch to pull out the footstool when the peace was disrupted again.
"TOM!" she yelped and everyone in the room turned to her. "How many times must I say it! pick up your clothes!" she said standing up and picking up a piece of black cloth.
"What?" said the teen.
"Oh my god!" she continued. "You left your pants in the living room!" she rolled her eyes.
"No I…." Tom started.
"I can just about put up with the mess in your room but this is ridiculous!"
Hardy looked at the offending article and felt a cold wave run through him.
"No Tom I can't believe you have this little respect..." Tom stood up, his face now bright red.
"Mom they're not…" Tom tried as Hardy felt a blush creep up his own neck.
"I mean I try…"
"Millah…" Hardy reached out towards her.
"Not now Hardy!"
"No Mill…" he tried again.
"this is so unfair! You blame me for…"
"Tom you cannot think that this is acc…" she was near roaring pitch now.
"Ellie!" Hardy hissed standing up. "Drop it!"
She glared at him.
"Just stay out of it!" she replied. "Tom if you don't start making an effort around her I…"
"THEY'RE NOT MINE!" Tom roared back. Fred had curled up in a ball, clever enough to stay out of it.
"I…."
"ELLIE!" Hardy hollered. She started at him slack jawed. "They're mine" he murmured, face now definitely brighter than her abhorrent coat.
Realisation washed over her as she took in what he said.
Tom's jaw was the one that was open now.
"They… they must have fallen out of my bag the last night I stayed here. He stumbled over the first thing he could think of.
"Oh god." She threw them at him. "And I'm waving them around. Sorry sir." She said more high pitched than normal.
The both left out a breath when Tom started laughing.
He was sitting at the table spreading out the files when she came back down stairs.
"Fred's finally asleep." She sighed, clearly avoiding looking at him.
"That's good."
"Tom will probably fall asleep still laughing…." She said biting her lip.
"I don't really blame him." Hardy said standing up to turn to her.
"oh god." She said covering her face with her hands. "Next time tell me when you go home with no pants would you!" she snapped. He grinned.
"Will do." and with that he kissed her soundly, his grin still firmly in place.