When Vanessa wakes up, the first thing she notices is that her nose is warm; the heating must've kicked in at some point during the night. The second thing she notices is that she's alone. She stretches, turning onto her back and throwing out an arm to the empty side of the bed. The sheets are cool, so Charity's been gone a while. Vanessa frowns, briefly considering the possibility that she dreamt Charity up. A gorgeous woman who needed rescuing in a snowstorm? That's a bit far-fetched by anybody's standards. She reaches over and flicks the lamp on, wincing at the harsh light. Before she can get too maudlin, her eyes land on Charity's suitcase, the red dress she'd shown Vanessa the night before spilling over the edge. Vanessa smiles. She's real, then.

As if she'd have come up with somebody like Charity if she was going to invent the woman of her dreams. She'd have picked somebody...somebody… She frowns, unable to think of any qualities she'd go for that Charity doesn't have. She likes people who are funny, intelligent and not afraid to say what they think. Beautiful doesn't hurt either. Maybe Charity is her type, then. And there was definite flirting going on. And Charity isn't straight and isn't attached.

Vanessa rolls her eyes at herself. Life isn't some daft Christmas film. People don't find the love of their life in a queue at the airport. People don't fall in love in tiny cars on snowy motorways. And being forced to share a bed doesn't lead to fairytale romances. But maybe, if Vanessa follows through on her promise to stop by the Woolpack for a drink, it might lead to something.

"A Christmas miracle," Vanessa says out loud, looking at the weird stains on the ceiling. "As if, Vanessa."

Just at that, the door opens and Charity breezes in with a smile and two cups of something hot in her hands. "Morning sunshine!"

Vanessa wrinkles her nose at the enthusiastic greeting. "Morning. Time is it?"

Charity shrugs, setting the cups down on the bedside cabinet and taking her coat off. "Must be around seven. Bloody hell, it's boiling in here after being outside."

Vanessa frowns, getting up on an elbow and picking her phone up. "My alarm didn't go off."

"Oh, it did buttercup." Charity picks the cups back up, offering one to Vanessa. "But you were dead to the world, snoring and drooling away quite happily. So I switched it off and let you sleep a bit longer."

One side of Vanessa's mouth turns up and she takes the coffee. "You're in a good mood for someone who was moaning about having to get up at this time."

Charity sits on the bed, one of her legs pulled up so she can face Vanessa. "Well, like you said, your positive attitude has clearly rubbed off on me." She rolls her eyes. "I'm feeling good about life. We're gonna get home today and my kids'll get the Christmas I promised them."

A strange sort of melancholy settles in Vanessa's chest at the thought of a quick and easy journey home from here. Of course she wants to get back to Johnny and to spend Christmas with him, building Paw Patrol control towers and trying to persuade him that the toys are more fun than the boxes, but part of her also wants to get to spend the day in the car with Charity, getting to know her better.

"The roads are clearer then?" she asks, taking a sip of coffee. She almost spits it out. "What the hell is this?"

"It's gingerbread flavoured," Charity tells her with a grin. "To get us in the festive spirit."

Vanessa laughs, shaking her head. "You're full of surprises."

"You've no idea, babe." Charity says. "And yeah, the roads are clearer. Some diversions a bit closer to home, but it should all be fine."

"That's good, then." Vanessa smiles, taking another sip. Now that she's prepared for the taste, it's not so bad.

"Right, get that down you and we'll get sorted and head off." Charity glances at the time on her phone and clicks her tongue. "Already later than you'd planned to leave, babe." She lifts her eyebrows. "Well, we can shower together, eh? That'll save a bit of time."

She's stopped blushing every time Charity flirts with her, but the image this conjures up definitely sends a rush of heat to her cheeks. She rolls her eyes."You are so bad."

"Oh, babe." Charity winks. "You really have no idea."

They get on the road after very separate showers, Charity behind the wheel this time. The roads are fairly empty, and easily passable and they make good time on their journey up to Yorkshire. They stop once, for petrol and to grab a quick bite to eat and a wee, and then they're back in the car. The time passes quickly in easy conversation. They talk about everything and nothing; kids, jobs, past relationships, families. It sounds like Charity's related to most of Emmerdale and it turns out that one of her cousins fixed Vanessa's car once when it refused to start when she was on a call-out.

'He didn't say much, really. Just sort of grunted at me.'

'Yep, definitely our Cain.'

As they draw closer to Hotten, the roads become a little harder to navigate and Charity has to slow down considerably and concentrate. Vanessa stays quiet so as not to distract her and instead watches the passing fields outside the window. Getting closer to home usually fills her with joy. But not today.

Too soon, they get into Hotten proper and Vanessa directs Charity to her estate and then her street.

"This is me just here, by the blue car," Vanessa says, as Charity crawls along streets still not totally clear of snow. The car comes to a halt and Charity switches the engine off. She blows out a breath.

"Well, kid, it's been...an experience."

Vanessa nods, smiling. "Yeah, it certainly has been." She touches Charity's arm. "I'm actually quite glad you barged in front of me in that queue yesterday."

"Yesterday? God, is that all it was?" Charity shakes her head. "Feels like ages ago."

"It does." It feels like they've known each other longer than a day. That they've shared more than that short amount of time. "I-"

"Why don't you get your stuff out of the back, eh? I'll grab your case from the boot."

There's no reason Vanessa couldn't take her own stuff into the house. There's not much of it at all, but she's not going to complain at getting to spend an extra few minutes with Charity. She busies herself grabbing her coat and handbag from the backseat, where they're lying on top of Charity's suitcase. She gets her keys out and heads up the path to her door, Charity trailing behind her, muttering swear words as the wheels of the case refuse to cooperate in the snow. Just as Vanessa gets her key in the lock, the door opens to reveal Tracy with Johnny on her hip.

"Mummy!" He holds out his arms and Vanessa grabs hold of him, squeezing his little body against hers.

"There's my little man." She kisses all over his face and hair, making him giggle. She looks up at Tracy. "I didn't think you'd be here."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want you having to traipse over to mine to get him after your epic journey." She shrugs. "And all the good toys are here." Tracy's eyes drift over her shoulder and her smile becomes brighter. "And this must be Charity." She holds out a hand. "I'm Tracy, Vanessa's much younger sister."

"Charmed," Charity says, shaking Tracy's hand. "I'm the incredibly hot woman your sister was telling you about yesterday."

Tracy cackles in delight. "Oh, I like this one, V. You can keep her."

Vanessa's already fighting a blush, but this makes it worse and she nudges Tracy out of the way to get into the house. "C'mon, get in, we'll catch our deaths standing about out here."

Once inside, she sets Johnny down on his feet and he plods back to the drawing he was obviously in the middle of. Charity puts Vanessa's case at the foot of the stairs and Tracy's standing between them, eyes bouncing back and forth like she's at flaming Wimbledon.

"Do you...I can make you something to eat before you head off, if you like?" Vanessa offers. "It's been ages since we last ate."

"No, you're fine. I'd better get back. I've got stuff still to get sorted." Charity smiles. "Thanks, though."

"Listen, I was gonna take Johnny up for his bath just before you came in," Tracy says, quickly. "So, why don't I do that now and let the two of you say your goodbyes in private?"

Vanessa frowns at the obvious set-up. "Tracy, you don't need to-"

"It's fine," Tracy says, scooping Johnny up into her arms and tickling him. She nods to the ceiling above Vanessa's head. "Just in case you want to make use of that."

Charity and Vanessa both look up and notice the mistletoe that Vanessa's positive that she didn't put there and wasn't there when she left. In fact, now that she's looking, there are sprigs of mistletoe all over the flaming living room. She grinds her teeth and resolves to kill Tracy later.

"So, your sister is really determined to get you a woman, eh?" Charity says, with a soft smile.

"Didn't I tell you as much?" Vanessa sighs. "Look, don't feel like you have to-"

"S'tradition, innit?" Charity takes a step forward, leaving her only inches from Vanessa. Vanessa can feel the warmth coming from Charity's skin, remembers how it felt to have Charity pressed against her back, an arm secure around her waist. Vanessa's holding her breath now, as Charity bends her neck.

Lips brush against the side of her mouth, just for a second, before retreating. Charity stumbles backwards and Vanessa's eyes grow hot with tears. Has she really read this situation so wrong? Charity's pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.

"I...I really need to go. I've still got all my wrapping to do and God knows if anyone's actually sorted anything for dinner tomorrow and I-"

"It's fine," Vanessa says, smiling as best she can. "You need to get back. I've got stuff to do an'all."

"Right, so...I'll...yeah. I'll go, then. Get home and..." Charity nods. "And I'll take the car back."

"It's rented until Boxing Day, just in case," Vanessa says, following Charity to the door. "No rush."

"Okay, good to know." Charity gets the door open and steps outside, pausing for a moment and then turning back to Vanessa, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Well, I-"

"I hope your Christmas is everything you want it to be, Charity," Vanessa says, and she means it. She really wants Charity to get the Christmas with her kids that she's desperate for.

Charity's eyes grow soft in the dimming light, and she smiles. "Thanks, babe." For a second, it looks like she might be about to say something else, but she just nods. "Merry Christmas, Vanessa."

"Merry Christmas."

And with that, she turns and heads back to the car. Vanessa leans against the doorframe, her arms crossed against the cold, until the car draws away. She sighs and closes the door, leaning against it and blinking back tears. She hears footsteps on the stairs and quickly stands up, swiping at her nose when Tracy appears.

"I heard the door close...is...Vanessa, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Vanessa smiles as widely as she can. "Why wouldn't I be? I got home, didn't I?"

Tracy looks from Vanessa to the door and back. "Did you...not get a kiss or-"

"No." She scrunches her nose. "Well, sort of. But not really." She sighs. "She kissed my cheek."

"Oh. Well…" Tracy nudges her. "Maybe she's just shy?"

Vanessa barks out a laugh. "She is not shy. She spent all of last night spooning me."

Tracy's eyes light up. "You slept together?"

"Slept being the operative word, Tracy." Vanessa shakes her head. "Since literally ten minutes after we met, she's been flirting shamelessly with me. At first I thought it was just how she was, but then she said...she said that she liked women too and I-" Vanessa clenches her teeth. "And I thought...things." Her shoulders sag. "I thought she liked me."

"Maybe she does." Tracy smiles. "You got her number, yeah? Text her and ask if she wants to meet up."

Vanessa deflates even further. "I didn't get her number." Her eyes open wide. "Oh! But I know where she lives!"

Tracy wrinkles her nose. "Bit creepy when you say it like that, but okay."

"No! She owns a pub! She invited me there for a drink." Vanessa nods.

"Like a date?" Tracy asks, smiling again. "That sounds promising."

"Well." Vanessa frowns, thinking back. "She said if I was passing I should stop in." She shakes her head. "That's not a date, is it? That's just being polite."

Tracy sighs and drapes an arm around her. "Oh well, plenty more fish in the sea, eh?" She jostles Vanessa playfully. "Maybe next week you can go to the bus station in Leeds and see if you can pull anyone decent there?"

Vanessa laughs at her sister's attempt to cheer her up, but her heart's not in it. She leans her head on Tracy's shoulder and sighs.

Not long after that, Tracy heads home and Vanessa gets Johnny bathed and into his jammies. They watch The Snowman together, which does nothing to improve Vanessa's mood. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have a Christmas cartoon where the title character dies at the end? And she's always hated that bloody song ever since she was forced to sing it in the primary school carol concert. (She'd wanted to do Jingle Bell Rock with the year sixes.) After an initial struggle she manages to get Johnny to go to bed, with a promise to wake him if she hears sleigh-bells. He'd taken ages to decide on which carrot to leave out for Rudolph, but had eventually picked a medium sized one and set it out with a glass of milk and a mince pie for Santa.

Tired and depressed, Vanessa settles down in the living room with a glass of red wine. She watches the lights on her tree fade out and back in again, their soft, warm light casting a comforting glow over the room. But it does nothing to shift the weight in her stomach. If only she'd been braver. If only she'd told Charity that she liked her. If only she'd-

Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. She frowns, checking the clock. It's nearly nine. Maybe it's her dad, decided to drop Johnny's gifts off today instead of lugging them around tomorrow. She sighs, putting her glass down on the coffee table and shuffling to the door. When she opens in, her breath is stolen.

Charity's standing there, illuminated by the streetlights, tiny flakes of snow falling behind her. She's like a vision from a dream and, not for the first time today, Vanessa has to make sure she's not fallen asleep.

"Hi babe," Charity says, her voice barely above a whisper.

Vanessa smiles, leaning against the doorway. "Hi."

Charity smiles back, a hint of uncertainty making it waver. "I...uh, I hope you don't mind me turning up like this. I know you've probably got stuff-"

"I don't mind at all." Charity shivers and Vanessa remembers her manners, stepping back and beckoning her in. "Come in, come in! Sorry...here's me leaving you standing on the doorstep."

Nodding, Charity steps past her into the living room, shifting from foot to foot once she's there. Vanessa clears her throat.

"Do...do you want a brew or…"

"No, ta." Charity smiles. "I can't stop long. I just...I was taking stuff out of the car and I found this in the backseat." She reaches into her coat pocket and takes out Vanessa's hat. She grins, looking a bit more sure of herself now. She takes a step closer and pulls the hat onto her head, flicking the bobble and pressing her hands over Vanessa's ears. "Couldn't bear to think of your little ears getting frostbite in some freezing cold paddock, could I?"

Vanessa blushes, covering Charity's hands with her own. "You came all the way over here to stop my ears from getting cold?"

Charity's hands drop and her eyes flit away, looking down between them and Vanessa thinks she's said the wrong thing. Charity sighs, but her lips are turned up in a smile. "Not just for that reason, no."

"No?" Vanessa's heart is speeding up, her stomach churning with anticipation.

"I...kind of wanted to...well, apologise." Charity fiddles with the belt on her coat, turning the buckle over in her hands.

A little thrown, Vanessa frowns, pulling the hat off and chucking it on the couch. "Apologise? What for?"

Charity's eyes come back up to meet her own. "For ballsing up that kiss earlier." Vanessa can feel the relief bloom in her chest even before Charity continues. "I mean, I'd only been thinking about kissing you all day, and then I finally get the chance and I totally bottled it." Charity shakes her head in clear disgust at herself.

"Apology accepted." Vanessa tries her best to keep her smile under control as she pretends to think. "Listen. Maybe...if you had another go at it, you'd do better?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Charity steps closer, a hand coming up to toy with the collar of Vanessa's shirt. "Maybe. D'you think you'd be up for letting me try again?"

"Oh, I reckon everyone deserves a second chance, don't you?" Vanessa's full on grinning now, as she takes Charity's hand and leads her back to the same position they were in earlier that afternoon. It's much less terrifying, now that she knows Charity wants to kiss her too.

A gentle finger under her chin tips her face up, her eyes drifting closed as Charity's nose nudges her own to the side, and then their lips meet in the softest kiss Vanessa's ever been part of. It's like all the jokey flirting of the past couple of days has built up to this moment of perfection. Vanessa never wants it to end. But of course it has to, and Charity's thumb and forefinger frame her chin, pushing her back just a little so their eyes can meet.

"There, now that was a proper kiss, right?" Charity's eyes are bright and hopeful.

"That was...that was definitely a kiss." Vanessa lifts a hand to Charity's face. "But maybe we should do it again, just to check."

This time, the kiss is deeper, more passionate. Charity's hands fall to her waist, pulling her in, and her own arms go around Charity's neck, keeping her close as they move together almost desperately. One of Charity's hands moves to her backside and squeezes, making her moan into Charity's mouth. Then the hand slides into her back pocket and plucks her phone out. Vanessa frowns, ending the kiss and pulling back.

Charity grins at her before turning her attention to the phone, when her smile falters. She rolls her eyes. "I was going to be dead suave just then and put my number in your phone...but I need you to unlock it."

Vanessa laughs and presses her thumb to the sensor, unlocking the screen. Charity taps away for a bit and then Vanessa hears the sounds of a message being sent. She tilts her head in question. "Did you text someone?"

"Yeah, me." Charity's own phone beeps in her pocket. "So I've got your number an'all."

She slides Vanessa's phone back into her pocket and sighs. "Now, as much as I'd like to stay here and snog the face off you all night, I'm still totally not organised for tomorrow."

Vanessa only pouts a little, ghosting her thumb over Charity's cheek. "I s'pose I have to let you go, then." Leaning in, she brushes her lips over Charity's. "As long as you promise that I'll see you after Christmas."

Charity's mouth quirks into a smile, like she knows something Vanessa doesn't. She winks. "I promise."

Threading their fingers together, they amble to the door, in no hurry to have to say goodbye. Vanessa pauses with her hand on the doorknob, looking up at Charity.

"Had you really been thinking about kissing me all day?"

Charity rolls her eyes. "All flamin' day. And most of yesterday too, if I'm honest. In fact, from right after I shoved in front of you in that queue, pretty much."

"Even when I was mouthing off at you?"

"Yeah." Charity tilts her head. "Anyone ever tell you your nose twitches when you get stroppy?"

Vanessa lowers her eyebrows. "No."

"Well, it does." Charity pokes her nose. "And it's very cute."

Blushing, Vanessa shoves at her shoulder. "Give over."

Charity laughs and steals another quick kiss. "If I don't go now, babe, I might never leave."

Something twists in Vanessa's stomach and she grabs a handful of Charity's coat, pulling her close. "You'll hear no complaints from me."

"No complaints, solutions only, right?" Charity tips Vanessa's face up, thumb tracing over her lips. Her eyebrows go up. "Oh! I got you a little something." She yanks the door open and is running up the path before Vanessa has time to react. "Wait there, it's freezing out here."

"But how did you have time to-" Vanessa calls out, but Charity's already on her way back, carrying a small wrapped box. She holds it out for Vanessa to take, which she does. It's very light.

"It's nothing big. Don't get excited. But I did need to promise our Marlon all sorts so he'd help me with it." Charity nods at the parcel, shoving her hands in her coat pockets. "Maybe don't wait until morning to open it though, yeah?" She starts to walk backwards, but Vanessa catches her scarf and pulls her back into another kiss, just because. She can feel Charity smiling against her lips.

"You better go," Vanessa whispers, still holding Charity's scarf.

"Yeah, I'd better," Charity agrees. She cups Vanessa's face and kisses her deeply, stepping away when they part this time, and moving a few steps up the path. She smiles. "Merry Christmas, babe."

"Merry Christmas, Charity."

Charity's still walking backwards. "Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye," Charity says again, grinning wider.

Vanessa rolls her eyes at the pair of them. "Bye."

With a final wink, Charity turns and gets into her car. Vanessa stands at the door and waves until she can no longer see the car. She goes back inside, closing the door and leaning against it, feeling a whole lot lighter than the last time she said goodbye to Charity. She sets her gift down and heads upstairs to get into her pyjamas, finally excited about Christmas and what it might bring.

As she's coming back down the stairs, her phone beeps, signalling the arrival of a message. She takes it out of the pocket of her dressing gown and smiles when she sees it's from Charity.

I'd love to. Thanks for asking. x

Vanessa tilts her head, wondering what that could mean. She opens up the message thread and laughs when she sees the message Charity sent herself from Vanessa's phone.

Do you want to go on a date with me on Boxing Day?

Shaking her head, Vanessa texts back.

Cheeky mare. x

A response comes through almost immediately.

You'll learn to love that about me, babe. Open your present. x

Vanessa unwraps the gift to find a plain white box, the kind cakes come in from a bakery. She opens it and laughs in delight.

Nestled on a bed of red and green tissue paper, there's a sausage roll.

And a yum yum.