It was another blustery day at Cackle's Academy. The postman had just walked up the path as Patricia went rushing out to greet him. Her now pale blue hair was being blown out of its usual coiffed style and was actually looking quite haphazard.

"Is there owt there for me?" She asked, looking almost like an expectant child waiting for a gift from her parents.

The postman smiled and nodded at her as she whipped the pristine white envelope out of his hand and ripped out the letter, seeing His perfect handwriting on the lined page.

Dearest Patricia,

How is life at Cackle's?

I miss you so much and cannot wait for the next time I can caress your beautiful rosy cheek once again. Not a day goes by that I don't think of your smile and the touch of your hand against mine. I hope you feel the same. This distance pains me so much and it is during this agonising time that I have come to realise just how much I love you.

Please come to Eigg when you have enough time. I want to see you again.

All my love,

Daniel xxx

Patricia giggled girlishly as she raced up to her room, barging past Davina who span on the spot as the multicoloured whirlwind flew past, and packed a suitcase. Julio, her cat, was brushing around her legs as she packed her things.

"You can stay here, Jules." She said matter-of-factly to the cat, "I'm sure Davina'll look after ye."

She whipped out of the room again, past Davina who still looked quite dazed as another multicoloured whilrwind barged past her again.

"What on Earth is happening, Trish?" Davina asked as she saw the suitcase in her friend's hand, "Where are you going?"

Patricia smiled, "Well Daniel sent es a letter," she waved the letter that was still gripped tightly in her hand, "I need to see him."

Davina beamed at her friend, "I won't stand in your way then!"

Patricia rushed back to Davina and hugged her before running downstairs to the courtyard. She collected her broomstick, placed her suitcase over the brush-end and took off, flying over the grey sky and to the Inner Hebrides.

Davina, however, was cornered when she returned to the staff room.

"You let her leave during a school week with no notice whatsoever?" Constance snapped, her eyes wild, "Do you realise we have no substitute, no means to cover her classes?"

Amelia pursed her lips gently, "That's nothing for you to worry about Constance, but Davina you should have had Patricia consult me about this."

Davina hunched her shoulders, tempted to scurry off into the cupboard where she knew she would be free from the beady eye of Constance Hardbroom.

Patricia was on top of the world as she sailed over a patchwork quilt of countryside and by half past three she had landed in the garden of a small bungalow. It had a stone structure with a dark slate roof and wild bushes of lavender beneath the windows. There was a candle in the living room window that was nearly completely burned out.

She tapped on the white plastic door and waited. It creaked open and just at the spot where the letter box had been were a pair of beautiful hazel eyes.

"Danny!" She cried, placing her broomstick to the side of the door and kneeling down to look at her love who was completely blown away.

"What... What are you doing here?" He asked in between fuchsia pink kisses.

Patricia ran a hand through his short brown hair and smiled, "I missed ye and I got ye letter and I just wanted to see ye. I know Amelia will be pretty pissed off with es but honestly you mean more to me than that place ever could."

Daniel placed a small hand on Patricia's cheek, "I've missed you. I'm so glad you're here. Come in... or carry me in." He laughed as Patricia carried him over the threshold of the bungalow and into the cosy sitting room that she was so familiar with.

It was painted with terracotta paint and the wood furnishings were made from a deep dark mahogany. The dark leather sofa had Aztec patterned scatter cushions that Patricia had adored from the moment she had set eyes on them.

They sat down together on the sofa, Daniel climbing from Patricia's lap as he looked at her, "How did you get more beautiful?"

Patricia may have been blushing, it was hard to tell due to the thick layer of makeup she was wearing. She stroked Daniel's cheek and smiled, "Listen I'll probably get murdered so we'll have tonight and I'll have to go back to work. As long as Davina doesn't grass es up that is."

Daniel was all too familiar with the stories of the formidable newish recruit at Cackle's, Constance Hardbroom, who sounded far more strict than her predecessor. Patricia had told him stories about the woman. He would probably never meet her in person but he could imagine her clearly in his mind's eye; hard faced, sharp, granite-like and not afraid to speak her mind. It was hard to believe that she had started at Cackle's almost three years before and they had been together for the same length of time.

"So what are we going to do with this evening we have together?" Daniel asked, "As I have an idea."

Patricia's lips curled into a smile as she raised an eyebrow suggestively, "Oh aye?" She cupped his chin in her long, talon-like hand and kissed his lips again, his stubble tickling her top lip. She ran a hand through her own hair and then said, "As long as I'm with you, Baby, that's all that matters."

"Well then. How about we go camping for the night?" Suggested Daniel, "Oh come on, don't look at me like that," he added seeing Patricia look quite disappointed, "You loved it last time."

"Well yeah but that was because it was summer. It's early spring now. No way am I stayin' out in the freezin' cold."

"You'll have the world's best hot water bottle," Daniel smiled as he pressed a kiss to Patricia's cheek, "Come on. Can I not twist your arm?"

Patricia rolled her eyes, "Fine. But if me boobs get frost bite I'm blamin' you."

Daniel smirked as he climbed from Patricia's knee and walked to the cupboard where he kept his camping gear.

"I've got one big sleeping bag and a pillow. Do you think that will be enough?" He asked as he threw a small black bag on the floor.

"The sleeping bag's in that?" Patricia asked sounding almost shocked.

Daniel nodded, "Of course it is. Where else would it be?"

Patricia bit her lip as she picked up the small black bag, wondering how on Earth they were going to manage to get the sleeping bag folded up so tightly in the morning.

X

They were laying in the sleeping bag together, Patricia had her neck buried into Daniel's shoulder as the looked up at the dark canvas above them, dotted with twinkling diamonds. Daniel was attempting to name the constellations and was failing miserably.

"That one's Orion's Belt," he said quietly, "Or is that the Big Dipper?"

Patricia laughed to herself, "That is an aeroplane," she pointed at a flashing light that had been seated beneath two stars making it appear to be the famous constellation.

"Oops," Daniel smiled at his love as he curled up beside her, "Are you warm enough?" He asked as he kissed her bare shoulder. She nodded, kissing the top of his head, still looking up at the sky.

A flash of brilliant silver shot across the sky and Patricia's eyes followed it, "Oh look! A shooting star!" She cried, pointing it out to Daniel who chuckled.

"Make a wish, but don't tell me what it is or it won't come true." Daniel instructed as he gazed up at the bare face that was so beautiful without the thick layer of makeup that was always plastered over it.

Patricia closed her eyes and wished, remembering the sight of the shooting star as she wished for the one thing that truly mattered to her, visualising her heart's strongest and truest desire.

When she opened her eyes again, Daniel looked at her expectantly, "Well?"

Patricia raised a fine eyebrow as she held Daniel's hands in her own, "Well what?"

"What did you wish for?"

Chuckling, Patricia threw her head back revealing her long neck, "I'm not telling ye. It won't come true otherwise."

Daniel kissed her shoulder gently, whispering into her ear, "I'll get it out of you eventually, you know."

She was only too aware of that fact, though she would never tell him the thing she truly wished for. Daniel pressed soft kisses to her bare skin and soon they found their way to her lips. Patricia responded to his kisses as passionately as they were given, completely absorbed by the man she had fallen in love with. As he held her she smiled, knowing that she hadn't wasted her wish for Daniel to truly love her.


A/N: And that's it for The Misadventures of Patricia Gimlet. I hope you enjoyed it. A big thank you to everyone who has read the story/left a review. Next week we are back with Constance in the next edition in the A Time story.