WHO'S READY FOR THIS CRASH? Nervous, scared, excited, happy? All the feels? Tell me. So I started writing this before the spoilers came out. It's just I am very slow at writing these things because I am a perfectionist and I know there are writers out who write for this pairing a million times better than me but I had fun writing this so I wanted to share and it's a bit of light heart fluff before we endure the pain of the crash because I doubt Corrie will have written something like this.
"So why did Carla plan this little 'get together' again?"
"I told you, Sophie," Sally said, looping her bag over her shoulder. "After that massive batch of knickers at Underworld, sales went through the roof! Carla wants to celebrate that."
Honestly, Sophie didn't see what the big deal was. She and Dev broke sales records all the time, her Dad kept a record for how many cars he fixed and validated in a day—his record was—we never for fancy dinners at fancy restaurants out of town for it.
Maybe Sophie was bitter. While Sally and Maddie were at the meal, Sophie had to look after little Jack—which she loved don't get her wrong, but there were better things she could be doing in that time—while Kevin went for a pint with Tyrone and Luke to discuss the garage. All talk for the past week had been about business and Sophie wanted a break from it. On top of that, they went to Beth and Kirk's extravagant wedding the other day, and the brunette found she hadn't spent any proper time with her girlfriend in a long time because Maddie was working more shifts to deal with the deliveries as well.
It was only yesterday Carla dropped the 'exciting' news and while Sally was excited to be getting out the house for the night, leaving Tim with Faye to improve his reading, Sophie was going to pretty much be alone for another night.
"You've made big sales before; there was never a party for any of those," she said with her arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the kitchen counter. Sally and Maddie had agreed to get ready at No.4. It would just be easier, were Sally's words.
"This one is different. I overheard the conversation in the office the other day; we are on par with the bigger knicker factories. We're up there, Sophie, up there!" Sally exclaimed, holding a bent hand over her head to prove her point further. "Successful as ones in London, can you believe it?"
Sophie rolled her eyes mockingly; Sally did a naff like to exaggerate. "Do you really need a mini-bus for it, though?"
"Yes, Sophie!" Sally scoffed. "We're having an important dinner. We need to arrive in style. We're meeting with bigger companies."
"Okay, okay," Sophie held her hands up in defeat and shook her head at the same time.
Checking for her keys, phone, purse and hand sanitizer with her bag still sat firmly on her shoulder, Sally noticed something was missing.
"Where's that girlfriend of yours?" She asked her daughter.
"Oh, in the bathroom still, I think," Sophie replied. She pushed herself away from the counter and walked towards the stairs.
"Maddie, are you ready yet?!" She shouted up the stairs.
Instantly, the sound of the door opened. Maddie pulled at the front of her shirt and gulped before she headed downstairs.
"Are we sure I look dressed up enough for this? All the other girls are going to be in dresses and there's me looking like Kirk and Sean," the blonde sulked.
"Eh, Sean might wear a dress. Nothing surprises me with him anymore," Sally commented.
Sophie scoffed. It's not like she didn't expect Sally to say it either. But there were more important thing s to think about, like the way Maddie looked for tonight. It was rare for Sophie and Maddie to see each other dressed up. In the year they'd known each other, Sophie could only think of a number of times she and her girlfriend had gone out on a fancy night out or dress and it was all counted on one hand so when they did see each other outside of the skinny jeans and t-shirts, they were in awe of each other.
The blonde was dressed in a shirt she normally wore on important days at Underworld, a pair of smart trousers she went out and brought especially for the outing which came in at the bottom of the leg and a pair of Brogues. She was not a girly-girl. She hated all this dressing up business but at the same time she knew she couldn't go in her skinny jeans and trainers.
Maddie normally wore her hair up in a ponytail—high if she had work and low, like she had just thrown it up because she didn't want her hair on her neck, if she was spending it at home—but tonight, she was wearing it down and curled, courtesy of Sophie and she was even wearing make-up. Maddie hated make-up, she didn't see the point in it and fought Sophie over it but the brunette won. They were keeping a tally on the petty disagreements they had, Maddie would be in the lead still but now Sophie was one point closer to making it equal. Sophie wasn't an expert but she was defiantly more femme than Maddie and they agreed on a light coat, just enough to cover any rough skin.
It was the reason Maddie had spent more time in the bathroom than would be considered okay; she was staring at herself in the mirror wondering if she looked okay. She could see in Sophie's eyes the second she stepped down the stairs she looked beautiful the brunette looked at her like that all the time anyway.
"You look fine, beautiful in fact," Sophie smiled and picked up Maddie's jacket, that hung over the sofa, for her, ready to help her into it.
"Thank you," Maddie answered as she slid her arms into the leather then she turned to face a pouting brunette.
"Do you have to go out tonight?" Sophie pleaded, pulling on the edges of Maddie's coat, feeling the roughness of the zip line under her fingertips.
"Yep, sorry," Maddie giggled, "Carla's orders."
And Sophie knew Maddie had to listen to those. She admitted to defeat—7-3 to Maddie—and let go.
Hand in hand, they walked out of the house and headed towards the factory where the mini-bus was parked, Sally walking beside them. They stopped outside Sophie's stop, No.13.
"Right, don't have too much fun without me now!" she said.
Both Maddie and Sally rolled their eyes at Sophie's ridiculous way of trying to be funny and Sally give her daughter a hug before she walked over to meet with her co-workers who were all stood outside the bus having a good old natter while they waited for Steve and Michelle to arrive.
"See you later tonight, yeah?"
Maddie nodded. Carla promised to get everyone back before midnight; they all still had work the next morning of course.
Seeing Sally was pre-occupied, Sophie pushed Maddie's hair to one side before she leaned in for kiss before they had to go their separate ways.
Maddie grabbed a hold of her shoulders, pushing her girlfriend away. "Lip gloss."
Oh yeah, Sophie had forgotten about that.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure one of the girls will have a stash in their purses," Maddie mused, grinning, and shrugged then she hooked her thumb under her girlfriend's chin to pull her lips to her own for a quick peck.
Maddie chuckled at the shine on Sophie's lips and wiped the gloss away with a stroke of her thumb.
"Right, c'mon, young lady, we need to go now or we'll be late," Sally called out after their moment. Neither of them realised they had gained an audience.
"See you later, Sophie. I love you."
"Have a good night, beautiful. I love you, too," Sophie waved as Maddie walked away. "Drive safely!"
When Sophie had got the news the mini-bus had crashed, she was at the hospital quicker than Santa delivered presents to all of Weatherfield at Christmas. When she was home alone and the home phone rang and it was past nine o'clock at night, it always made her heart race anyway because it was always one of three things: salesman, a distant relative or bad news because she often hung up the phone before the fake could make a claim and everyone she spoke to lived on the street. And she was right when she rushed to answer when it rang—t he main reason, at the time, being she had just got Jack off to sleep after chasing him around the landing and two stories later.
Her body went numb and she almost dropped the phone when the nurse on the other end said "she's been in an accident".
Sophie grabbed her coat and ran into the Rovers. Pulling Kevin, who had his lips around a pint of beer, to the door and telling him what happened so no one else could hear before, together, they ran back to No.13 and checked Jack was still undisturbed then Sophie jumped in a cab and got to the hospital.
The place had come like a second home to her over the years, being the patient and there to see a patient.
She froze when she saw Maddie laid up under the sheets, hooked up to a monitor, but she relaxed slightly when she saw Maddie didn't have any serious damage—cuts, bruises and her right arm wrapped in a cast to finish the look. And she was awake and sat up, that meant something.
"Hey...," Maddie whispered lowly when she saw Sophie.
Sophie slowly walked over to the bed and threw down her coat and bag before she sat down, her body numb from shock.
She wanted to ask how this happened but she already knew: the mini-bus crashed, didn't it?
"Maybe they will name a ward after you now."
"Huh?" Maddie looked at Sophie confused.
It was only the second time the brunette had spoken since she arrived. The first was after Maddie yelped in pain trying to change her position and Sophie asked if the doctors had given her anything for it. Honestly, Sophie didn't quite know what to say. She never did in the circumstances. Honestly, she didn't want to know what happened or how it happened. Not that Maddie remembered much of it either.
"When we sat in A&E together, you told me that you've been here so many times they'll name a' ward after you," Sophie recalled the night Maddie got attacked, the night they were supposed to meet up and talk. "This is my second time in a year I've been with you here, you could be onto something."
Maddie pursed her lips in thought.
"Heath's Hospital," she added. "And don't forget about the chemist: Maddie's Medicines."
Sophie laughed. Even through the pain and antibiotics flowing through her body, the cheeky mare opposite her still had a sense of humour and made light of the situation.
"You'll have to settle with a whiteboard with your name on it in the meantime, ay?" Sophie whispered then pointed to the board on the wall that read:
Madeleine Heath
D.O.B: 03-02-1997
Maddie nodded slowly, yawning. "Guess what's in two weeks."
"Your birthday."
A smile crept up on the blonde's face instantly. She remembered. Then Maddie what happened on her birthday last year. She was stupid to run off—twice. But Sally was being hurtful. It was Maddie's natural instinct to run. And maybe it was for the better; things between her and Sophie could have been a lot different.
"Do you think they'll let me out in time?" Maddie yawned again, this time her eyes falling heavy.
"'Course," Sophie said in a matter-of-fact tone.
If she could, Maddie would have fist-bumped the air but she couldn't, instead she winked then inhaled deeply, trying to fight it this time.
"Those drugs making you sleepy?"
Maddie nodded again.
"You sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."