Hello!

I was hoping to have this posted by the weekend but I still had a bit to add on Sunday night so I finished it off tonight,

Think I may have babbled a bit in this chapter haha but I wanted to include quite a bit of stuff to prepare for the drama of later chapters,

Sorry if there is any typo's in it, I've quickly read over it but I just really wanted to get it posted for tonight haha

Thank you so so so so much to the people who reviewed, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the reviews-makes my day! It just motivates me so much to write further chapters and I hope you enjoy!:-)

Becca xxx

Carol slowly opened her eyes as they began to adjust to the daylight, her arm automatically reached out for David a few moments after her awakening yet to her surprise she felt nothing but the duvet. Turning on her side, she noticed he wasn't there but suspected he'd be downstairs making their grandchildren's breakfast. She let out a slight yawn as she sat up and put on her dressing gown.

"Is me dad still in bed?" Bianca frantically said as she rushed around the kitchen making breakfast

"No" Carol frowned in confusion "What? Isn't he down here?"

"Do you think I'd look like this if he was?" Bianca exclaimed, pointing to herself as she was still in her pyjamas "He always makes the kids breakfast on a Monday and takes them to school, he knows I have to open up the stall early!"

"Alright! Alright!" Carol attempted to calm her "I'll get dressed now and take them"

"You've got to go to chemo today mum" Bianca sighed as she buttered some toast.

"Not until later on, I can manage taking the kids to school" Carol insisted "Now I'll sort their breakfast out, go and get yourself ready"

"Thanks mum" Bianca said as she rushed off upstairs, leaving Carol smiling at her easily worried daughter.

After taking the kids to school, Carol sighed tiredly as she walked back into the house, she tugged at the scarf from around her neck and pulled off her coat and placed both on the stair bannister before walking into the kitchen, moving the stray hairs from her face. As she entered the kitchen she found David sat at the dining table.

"Where have you been" David asked her upon her return into the kitchen as he sipped his coffee.

"Never mind me!" Carol told him as she boiled the kettle

"It's only just boiled" David began to say until Carol interrupted him

"Bianca was going mad this morning, you always take the kids to school on a Monday" Carol carried on "I had to rush to get them to school on time! Where have you been all morning?"

"Flippin' 'eck! I completely forgot about the kids!" David hesitated for a brief moment "Max rang me this morning, he couldn't open up the car lot so I had to do it."

Carol smiled at him as she sat down on his knee, sometimes she just couldn't be mad at him for too long, especially when he had been working so hard "I'll have to have a word with that brother have mine" she told him as she softly moulded her hand into his, her free hand rubbing his back "He can't be making you do all these early morning starts"

"Well I was only there for a bit this morning" David explained as he stroked her hand "It wasn't a big deal. You're hands are freezing, I should have took the kids to school; you should be relaxing"

Carol was just about to become defensive at his suggestion as she didn't want to be treated differently just because of the cancer, especially not by David but stopped herself from speaking, as she realised he was only trying to help "I can manage David, I don't need looking after "she smiled as she naturally ran a hand through his hair.

"Well at least let me apologize" David spoke with a cheeky grin on his face as he began to leave a trail of kisses on her neck.

Carol let out a little laugh "Oh it's that sort of apology is it?"

"Well you've not got your chemo until later so…" David spoke between continuing to kiss her neck before moving his lips up to hers, letting their lips connect as if they'd spent years apart, every one of their kisses was just as magical as their first one, each time it was as if nothing had changed since they were teenagers. Carol's hands brushed against his shirt as she began to undo the buttons, becoming impatient as she increasingly longed for him.

Carol briefly broke from their passionate kiss "What if Bianca comes home?" she asked breathlessly

"She'll be at the stall for ages yet" David told her as he attempted to reconnect their lips, his arms wrapping around her waist.

"We're not having another embarrassing moment" Carol said with a smile, recalling the last time that Bianca had discovered them in bed together "Come upstairs" She said as she took his hand as he allowed her to lead him to the stairs, they had only made it half way up the stairs before David captured her lips once more; allowing their tongues to naturally entwine together. Carol undid the final button on David's shirt as their fervent kiss continued, her hands desperately running over his chest.

As David continued to lead her up the stairs, their lips refusing to part, the sound of the doorbell interrupted their passionate embrace "Ignore it" Carol quickly said as she began to continue with their kiss before they were again interrupted as the doorbell continued to ring.

"They'll go away" David said as they reached the top of the stairs, he felt like him and Carol could never get a moments peace in the chaos of the house and sighed as the doorbell didn't stop ringing.

"This better be important" Carol said rolling her eyes as she went downstairs to answer the door. She fixed her a hair a bit so she didn't appear as flustered when opening the door. "Max. What is it?" Carol sighed at the sight of her younger brother "Is it important, only I'm a bit busy"

"Why don't you ask 'lover-boy'?" Max asked annoyed.

Carol turned around to see David walking down the stairs, redoing the rest of the buttons on his shirt as he did so "What is it now Max?" David asked, as much as he loved Carol, her family did test his patience a lot of the time, he was just thankful that all he had to deal with now was Max's moods, it was a great alternative to Derek's enraged threats.

"You're supposed to be working" Max complained "Just like you were supposed to be working on Friday when you 'forgot' to turn up!"

Carol interrupted Max as she wasn't going to let her brother attempt to order David around when she knew he had been working hard "Will you give him a break Max, he did a favour for you this morning, opening up"

David panicked when he saw the confused expression on Max's face and widened his eyes trying to gesture to Max to go along with what Carol was saying.

However to David's displeasure, Max shook his head "What are you on about? I opened up this morning"

Carol frowned at Max for a second before turning to David "I thought you said that you opened up this morning?"

"Well…" David began as he attempted to conjure up another excuse.

Max smiled smugly at David as he knew that his sister would soon be ranting at him "Well I better be off then, I'm sure you'll sort him out Carol"

"Yeah thanks Max" David said sarcastically as he closed the door after him, as he exhaled, frustrated with Max.

Later that day when they were in the waiting room as Carol waited to go in for her chemotherapy, Carol was still adamant on knowing where he had been

"I'll tell you later" David sighed as he couldn't let her know just yet, it was times like this that he wished that she wasn't so stubborn in nature.

Lots of thought ran through Carol's mind, some that she tried hard to dismiss as she refused them to be true. The fact that David had lied to her, made all sorts of suspicions arise and her head couldn't help but become caught up in all of them. "Just tell me now David, I'm not giving you the opportunity to think up more lies. How do you expect me to trust you when you're constantly sneaking around all the time?"

She stood up as her name was called out and shot an angered look towards David as he began to follow her "I don't want you there David, just go home or back to where ever you sneaked off to"

"Carol…" He sighed as he followed her, he reached out for her arm to stop her from walking at the fast pace she was currently moving at "I was visiting my mums grave"

Feelings of guilt ran through David as he didn't want to lie to Carol about his whereabouts yet knew it was the totally wrong time to explain himself, using his dead mother as an excuse didn't make the situation any better but that was the first excuse he could think of.

Carol stopped, turning to him "David…" she spoke as she filled with remorse.

The sun had become shaded and the sky now dimmed as they stepped down the hospital steps after Carol's chemotherapy session. David held onto her hand, assisting her down the steps. He quickly glanced at the watch on his free hand before diverting his view back to Carol "How you feelin'?"

"Hmmm" she felt slightly nauseas but didn't want to make a deal out of it and give David something to worry about so simply nodded and insisted "I'm fine."

"You fancy going for a walk?" He asked with a small grin on his face as he thought about his plan.

"A walk?" she questioned him as a smile emerged on her face "You've got that look on your face David, what are you plotting?"

"Plotting? Me?" He repeated her words, pretending to be shocked "You know me, I'm the picture of innocence" he winked

Carol raised her eyebrow at him "You're many things David, but innocent has never been one of them"

He laughed at her for a moment before squeezing her hand "Come on"

They walked out the hospital car park, keeping their fingers entwined with each other's as they walked towards the canal "Why are we…"

David hushed her "Wait and see" he told her as they carried on walking

Carol persisted "But it's going to go dark soon" she looked at his face in confusion, hoping to find an answer in his expression but the only thing that was apparent was that he was plotting something. Over the years, she had become accustomed to that same look he always gave, she knew him to well to dismiss it.

"Sit down" He told her as he sat down on the bench, softly moving her hand closer to him as he guided her to sit next to him.

Carol smiled as she remembered sitting on this same bench as a teenager as she waited for David to arrive, no amount of time could ever blur them memories; her heart couldn't help but hold onto them. Even now, she could still vividly remember the lingering shivers as the hot sun had been masked by the night sky. The beating of her heart back then was just as intense as it was now when he was around.

David noticed her expression "Bring back any memories? I know it brought back a lot for me when I was sat here earlier on."

Carol's eyes widened at the realisation of his disappearance that morning "That's where you where this morning, here? But I thought you went visiting Pat's grave."

"Yeah about that…I lied" David said cautiously.

"Again?" Carol questioned angrily "What is up with you David?"

"Will you just listen to me Carol? I'm sorry for making up excuses, I didn't want you to be all stressed before your chemo. And there's another reason I couldn't say anything…" He said with a grin that he couldn't disguise "It would spoil the surprise"

Carol rolled her eyes at him, he loved for everything to be a mystery "What? Is this the part where you keep me guessing?"

His grin maintained on his face "Well I could…" He winked as his hand slipped into his coat pocket "But it's going to get dark soon so…" Pausing for a second as his hand clasped around the small box in his pocket, he naturally felt a feeling of sickness, he had an incline that it may be partially due to their setting; he always felt so nervous as a teenager before he went to meet Carol in the middle of the summer's night.

Carol was left in confusion for a brief moment before being suddenly taken aback by the small box, she wondered why she was still left questioning its containments when deep down she knew what it was. She shook her head slightly, as if to free herself from her shocked state and opened the box.

As her shocked expression warmed to a smile, David smiled before saying "I thought it was a bit stupid us being engaged when you 'aint got a ring"

Carol beamed as she gazed at the ring, it was simplistic but beautiful, and the diamond at its centre caught the light at every opportunity "It's perfect"

"Am I forgiven then?" David asked her as he lifted the ring from the box and carefully placed it on her finger

She couldn't help but grin as she saw the ring on her finger and nodded as she cupped his face with her hands, kissing his lips softly before moving her mouth away from his, her eyes fixating on his, her gaze not wavering for a second "But you lie to me again David…"

David stopped her "I promise Carol" He said as he stood up "Come on it's getting dark" He reminded her as they'd completely loss track a time, when they were together that seemed to be a recurring habit.

As they walked back to the car, David reached in his pocket as he heard a message tone. Carol noticed his worried expression as he glanced at his phone. "Everything okay?" She asked him

"Everything's fine" he gave her a reassuring smile as he opened the car door for her, slipping his phone back into his pocket.