Chapter 7

The emotional trio watches as play time with the adorable children comes to an end. Rose slips into the room and watches from the side for a few moments, with a soft expression before breaking up the fun. She scoops her son up tenderly into her arms and leads them into the kitchen. Through the window the delicious smell of smoke and sizzling meat wafts from the grill were James hums happily as he cooks. With the sun still high and warm above their heads, and with a bundle of joy in her arms the evening is panning out much better than even Helen had anticipated.

Rose gushes about how good Helen was with her children and Helen feels her face burn like a second sun. The praise is un expectedly wonderful, she doesn't know why she values this girls opinion so much but, she does and the feeling of her approval is quite frankly glorious. She looks Rose up and down and admires her changed outfit: the jeans and blouse look with boots is perfect on her, even though it is not particularly in style. Rose manages to make it her own and look unique without seeming to try, Helen is envious in this standard also, she finds herself dressing to the trends all too often.

"People are going to start showing up soon," Rose breaks her trance gently. She has a slight flush to her cheeks also and Helen realizes that she was in fact checking out her friend rather obviously. "Would you mind the kids a bit longer? You can take them outside if you want to."

"I would love to," Helen bites her bottom lip to keep her smile in check, "Your kids are wonderful!"

"Thank you so much," Rose tilts her head just her little way, "I have to go welcome people in." She tucks Tommy under Helen's other arm and meets Helen's eyes once more before whisping away. Helen's smile doesn't dim as she looks down at the wiggling children, growing heavier in her arms with every passing second.

Helen ducks out the back door and smiles at James who returns it as she passes him. She decides despite the fact she cannot help but to feel something against this man, he isn't bad. If anything she contemplates, he displays too much of that relaxed and self assured feeling than what she feels is natural. Sitting out in the sun bathed grass, she ignores the fact she's wildly over dressed in her work clothes, and relaxes as she watches Annie and Tommy play together a few feet away.

Helen can hear the oven timer go off and a few short moments later the distant ring of the door bell. She is disappointed that the party is about to start, she'd been enjoying her time with Roses family so much, to have new strangers added to the mix seems like an intrusion. Rose peeks her head out the back door and draws Helen's attention away from her appointed task.

"I have some clothes upstairs, that would probably fit you, if you don't want to wear that the whole time," she offers. Helen just shakes her head, she doesn't feel like giving up her responsibility of watching Ann and Tom. Rose looks both confused and yet understanding, probably for thinking she has turned down the offer for different reasons than she really had but, nonetheless she clearly doesn't feel the need to pry. "Okay," and Rose slips away back inside once again.

Rose was not wrong about peoples arrival time. Soon the yard and presumably the house is full of people. Helen is surprised by the sheer volume of people the couple must know. A couple of men gather around the grill and chat with James, they appear to also be from military. A couple families arrive with children Annie and Tommy's age and immediately remove them from her care so their children can play, even fewer people seem to be from their work. She recognizes the red head who had trained them, Jewel, if she remembers correctly though she won't be making any bets on it.

She finds herself sitting awkwardly on the edge of the patio, watching everyone else socialize, and sipping a chilled soda of some sort. She eventually feels eyes looking down at her and glances up expecting Rose or maybe even Jewel but, instead James peers down at her from over his beer bottle.

"Are you not enjoying the party Helena?" He looks both mocking and genuinely concerned and she tries not to bristle.

"It's not that," she chuckles uncomfortably, "I'm just trying to not make a fool of myself." She settles for joking, that usually breaks tension the best of anything.

"Oh, well I know what you mean," he agrees as he sits himself beside her. "Usually most of these events end with Roses disapproving scowl from across the room."

"Scowl?!" Helen laughs.

"Well," he ducks his head, "I may be over exagerrating." Helen sips her drink before looking back over at him.

"So are you going to interrogate me about our stressful office work life?" she teases. He nearly chokes on his drink before laughing along.

"No, no, of course not!" He suddenly looks serious, "Unless of course," he squints his eyes and leans closer, "there is something I should be worried about?" He stares intensely into her eyes, and she levels the look not knowing how to react. He bursts out laughing and she feels a elephant step off her chest.

"Oh you're so positive there's nothing for you to worry about?" She resumes her teasing.

"Yeah, if anyone can take care of themselves it's my girl," He grins wickedly as he sips his drink. "Didn't you know? Everyone's scared of my Rose."

"Your thorny Rose?" Helen snorts.

"Yeah," he laughs. "Something like that." The both look out at the party and watch it for some long moments. James looking far more tired than anyone his age at this time has any right to. Helen figures that's what jet lag will do to you though. Despite it having every right to be, the passing minutes are not awkward, instead there seems to be an air of mutual peace. James turns to her and shifts back onto his feet. "You know what Helena? I think we're going to get along just fine," he squeezes her shoulder and is gone before she can respond.

The sun is setting. The sky burns in passionate colors with streaks of reds and oranges. "Red sky at night, is a sailors delight," she hears Rose purr happily in her ear. She is unexpectedly close as Helen had not heard her approach but, rather than jumping she melts backwards toward her friends voice.

"I usually think of something more romantic than fishing," Helen responds thoughtlessly.

"Oh yeah," Rose ponders quietly as uses her shoulder to hold Helen up. "What are you thinking about right now?" Helen almost freezes, what does Rose want in response to a question like that?

"You." Helen responds softly, two can play the 'lets make things uncomfortable' game. Her heart skips when Rose only leans forward and rests her chin on Helen's shoulder in response: a position very similar to Jack's and Ianto's a few feet away.

As night takes rule over the land, darkness does not touch them. Coldness and darkness feels like concepts of the past as Rose's soft breaths in her ear keeps her warm and expertly hung paper lanterns hanging above the party light the yard. Rose was truly quite skilled at decorating, even with the short time alloted.

"Do you want some dessert?" Rose asks in a hushed tone. Helen knows Rose is going to move away any moment anyway, so she agrees. Rose returns a few short moments later with James beside her, they hold their children in their arms as they retake Rose's position beside Helen at the edge of the patio. She munches on a chocolate and chocolate chip brownies as the sky is lighted up colorfully.

The lights hanging up about the yard flicker off and fire works boom loudly in the distance. Odd, meaningless patterns of joyful colors crackle and dance across the sky. Helen looks away and at Rose who leans against James, looking as completely entranced by the color show as the two sleepy kids in her arms. She watches the colors and fireworks in Rose's eyes instead, reflecting off the normally soft blue that now looks deep and dark, providing the perfect back round to the fireworks brilliant colors. Never, even when she was a child, has she appreciated the show so much.

She knows for a fact that Rose never looks over at her, yet her hand sneaks away from around Tommy and slips into Helen's own. At the end of the show their eyes meet and Helen feels Rose squeeze her hand before she pulls away and kisses Tommy's forehead. The party starts thinning out soon after and night air begins to grow chilled. With only a few stragglers remaining Rose stands up and announces it's time for them to put the kids to bed.

Helen follows the couple inside, not wanting to leave their inviting presence, yet looking forward to lying down and getting some sleep before work the next day. Rose and James disappear into the house and Helen throws away the can feeling a sudden desperate need to use the restroom... and not knowing where it's at. She waits around impatiently in the kitchen for a few short seconds before risking the hallway. The bathroom can't be that far, she justifies as she slips through their house.

The second door, to the left in the hall is jarred open and she peaks in quickly. Through the doorway the room is darkened, the two kids lay in their small separate beds on both side of their parents whom are both perched on a low bench. They hold no story book in their hands as they, in soft sleep inspiring voices, twist a simple tale. Helen leans softly against the doorway as she listens in carefully.

The story is about two brilliant travelers, a girl and a boy who are both equally tough and kind. They save the day, teach a village a lesson about morals, and teach a dragon that it doesn't have to cause trouble to be adventurous. The Dragon who had seemed to be the villain in the beginning turns out to be good against all appearances and the village people bad for jumping to judgments. Helen is grinning, it's the best children's story she's been told, no princess in need of saving, no cliché actually no villain at all, and teaches something about looking past appearances that most stories don't.

She sees that Rose and James are obviously trying to teach their children some things without just sitting them down and saying it plainly and she finds it beautiful. She hopes someday they will knowingly allow her to be part of such a private and important part of their lives. She makes the educated judgement that they will not if they catch her spying though and slips away to the bathroom that is thankfully only the next door to the right.

Ianto finds the story to be wonderful to, with tears in his eyes, he's feeling exactly what he told himself he wouldn't when he'd first discovered that Ann and Tom's existence. Envious. He is envious of the happiness that seems to radiate off them without care, and of the love that shines through James' and Rose's eyes adoringly. He can't begin to fathom how different his life would be if he'd been raised by his biological mother instead of his adoptive mother, so he won't try but, that doesn't change the fact a small once silent part of his heart now screams. It screams far too loud and late for something he can never have.

He has everything he needs in life: a job, a man he loves, a sister, a friend and an apartment but, that doesn't mean he doesn't desire more. He can't help that.

The memory cuts to Helen emerging into the kitchen from the hall to see Rose waiting patiently against the counter. James is nowhere to be seen.

" James and I both drank and it's late so," Rose smiles nervously. " I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sleeping here tonight?" At Helen's apparent confusion Rose continues in a rushed manner, "I would take you home early of course, so that you would have time to dress and shower and all that and I have some sleeping clothes to borrow if you want some... You don't have to of course. I was just offering." Helen is stunned, evidently a slightly tipsy Rose is a little more loose at the tongue?

"They're called pajamas." Rose snorts and giggles before shaking her head.

"I always forget that one."

"I don't mind staying at all," Helen replies under her breath as she yawns, in fact she can't imagine having to walk all the way to the car.

"I'll go get you some... pajamas and I'll be right back!" She goes to hurry away but suddenly back tracks with shame hidden but yet visible in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but we only have a cou-"

"It's fine Rose, I really don't mind." Helen chuckles, "I'm so tired I could sleep anywhere."

"Are you sure," Rose bites her lip. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable all night just so you don't feel like you're inconveniencing me! Cause really I could just have James drive you home." They both crack a smile but, Helen shakes her head and goes to the living room.

Rose pops in a few seconds later with as promised pajamas and puts them on the couch with two pillows, and a big fluffy blanket. Helen pokes a pillow with an awed expression.

"What the heck is this pillow made out of?!"

"It's down Helena," Rose giggles and rubs the blanket, "and this my grandmother had made her self by hand!" Helen rubs the blanket too and looks thuroughly impressed, the softest and less static plagued home made blanket she's ever felt.

"It's very nice." She compliments.

"I'm sure she would've been glad to hear you liked it," she smiles and sighs. "Get some rest Helena-"

"Helen," the blond corrects, "It's just Helen."

"Well, Goodnight Helen," Rose whispers, her bright eyes glittering in the dark.

"You too," Helen whispers back breathily. There is no denying how there is nothing more in the world she would rather do than to lean forward right now. The elder Helen knows how obvious it is also but feels no shame, even as she knows Rose's son is watching. There is still worse to come, in both this regard and others. Rose slips away and tiptoes up the stairs back to her husband and Helen lays down alone on the couch in the dark room staring at the ceiling.


My apologies for the lengthy wait. :(