A/N: This chapter was getting so long (even by my standards) that I have split it into two – so the second half of the party will be next and won't be too long … Thank you so much for your continued support and for the lovely reviews for Chapter 9 – they mean the world to me and are what keep me going and I do hope you continue to enjoy it.

-OG-

"I think we need to use this time to have a long look at where we are"

Once again Charles felt this intense burst of irritation as he watched Daniel twirl his pen between his fingers, although this time he couldn't help feeling a small and unexpected twinge of guilt as he watched. The bloody man tried SO hard and the non-existent progress probably wasn't his fault, not when the whole thing was such an almighty fucking waste of time and energy.

"We need to assess just how far we've come over the weeks, because I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed to find we are still experiencing the same difficulties as we had at the outset … we haven't made anything like the meaningful progress I would have liked"

Charles sat and looked at him with his most impassive expression carefully in place and said nothing. He was buggered if he was going to beg forgiveness from the man who seemed to him to be expecting some sort of apology because he hadn't yet managed to get him to bare his soul. If that was what he was waiting for then he was going to have a bloody long wait. But he couldn't help remembering what Molly had said about how it would make things easier for him if he would only try and talk to the man who was being paid to fucking listen.

"Yup … well … I'll definitely give it some thought" He paused and then surprised himself by making a conscious effort to start building a relationship that he'd spent months avoiding "Doing anything special over Christmas?"

"No, not really, just quiet … you know … family …" Daniel sounded taken aback, almost shocked at the enquiry "Well, as quiet as it ever can be with young children around anyway .. you?"

"The same"

He was lying of course, he was horribly afraid that Rebecca was going to severely restrict the amount of Sam time he was going to be allowed. So far she had grudgingly agreed to a couple of hours on Christmas afternoon at what used to be their family home and that was it, and he wasn't exactly looking forward to the rest of the holiday. It was going to a very long break which he was going to be spending at home with his parents and for the first time in a long time he was aware of being lonely. The only bright spot he could see at the moment was a Christmas party in an upstairs room of a pub with a girl who was beginning to disturb his dreams.

Chapter Ten

Part One

It was hardly a secret on the Unit that Tessa and Donna weren't exactly keen on one another. It was a nightmare when they were rostered on together and went out of their way to be bloody minded and fucking awkward, which really pissed off everyone who had to work with them. Molly hadn't really had that much to do with Tessa in the past, probably because she had been such good friends with Donna so wasn't sure what Tessa was getting at when she'd said about Donna and Tony. And Charles. It had sounded a bit like she thought Donna had set out to purposefully wreck what she'd had with Tony but Donna had been her friend ever since her very first day on the Unit so it sounded a bit bloody unlikely to Molly, at least she hoped it was. She really couldn't believe that Donna would do that to her, that she'd been playing some sort of shit game or something because surely if that was true, she'd taken it a bit far when she'd up and fucking married him? Now Molly was badly torn between wanting to stay and interrogate Tessa and find out exactly what the fuck she was talking about and being full of happy relief at the sight of him standing by the door looking round for her.

She hadn't been entirely honest with herself about how bothered she was that he was a tiny bit late. They hadn't actually spoken all week because she'd been on split shifts and when she hadn't been sleeping she'd been busy doing her best to be organised for Christmas. Her and Bella had been to Martin's school concert and watched him being a sheep, and had taken him for McDonalds afterwards as a treat to celebrate him being a compete star and had helped him decorate the house, putting up the tree with him and helping him overdo spraying the windows with fake snow.

She'd even managed to get some of her shopping done and Charles had been busy doing whatever it was he did. She wasn't exactly sure what soldiers did do when they weren't off fighting some war somewhere, he hadn't said and she hadn't asked. And his job had seemed like a bit of a tricky subject what with all that stuff about Elvis and it didn't feel like it was any of her business so she'd sent him a text instead. She was pretty sure she'd told him in the bloody thing what time this nightmare was due to kick off, but now the later it got the more convinced she got that she'd been right all along and that by the time he'd got home he'd thought better of it. She was too much of a coward to ring and check just in case he told her he wasn't coming after all, something she didn't want to hear because she might just possibly have sort of mentioned it to one or two people during the week.

"Yeah that's …. he's a friend of mine" She grinned at the way Tessa was sticking her tongue out and pretended she was licking her lips and dribbling "Sorry … might just gonna have to go and …" Molly indicated him with a wave of her hand and grinned at him as he caught sight of her and a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Hello you, I'm sorry I'm so late..." He bent down to kiss her on the cheek "I did ring but … hey, surprise, surprise … your phone is off … where have you left it this time?"

"Oh yeah …. sorry …. it's in me coat pocket … don't matter, you're not that late …"

She'd been watching the seconds tick past with a sort of sick panicky feeling in the pit of her stomach, but now lied and pretended a nonchalance she hadn't felt. As usual she was the tiniest bit struck dumb at how he looked, she'd still got no idea why his good looks came as such a shock every time she saw him, but they did so that she got a bit tongue tied.

"I really had forgotten your habit of leaving your belongings scattered all over the place"

"Shut up ...I do not …"

"Really? Not how I remember it"

"I was a bit upset, 'n I never meant to leave me phone behind that day, it was a mistake …... anyway I don't need me phone in 'ere do I?"

"There is that ... but I am beginning to think I shouldn't take my eyes off you"

As he smiled down at her, his words and the expression in his dark eyes made her feel all wobbly inside especially when he put his thumb gently on her mouth to stop her saying anything, a move that had the effect of wiping her brain clear of any sort of rational thought. He slowly moved his fingers to her cheekbone and stroked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear in the sort of loved-up couple-like gesture that would give the whole room the impression they were together. It also sent the butterflies in her guts and maybe those a bit lower down into overdrive even though she knew it was just play-acting. He was just doing what he'd said he would to help her stick two fingers up at the couple who hadn't even bothered to bloody turn up yet, not that he knew that.

And that didn't stop a bit of her wishing it was real.

She knew that everyone apart from Donna had now had a good look at him and that they'd tell Donna so really she could, or even should, just tell him it'd be okay if he wanted to leave and that staying to be gawped at by a roomful of drunks was above and beyond. But didn't. She was happy that all the nosy buggers pretending not to watch the floor show had had a good eyeful and was sorely tempted to turn around and curtsey, just to make sure they all had the full benefit of her smug smirk. But didn't do that either.

It wasn't that she wanted him to go, she didn't, she did want him to stay, even if that meant he was adding to the complicated way she felt when he was around. She'd been in love with Tony for as long as she could remember and definitely wasn't the sort of girl who got over someone by having a few shots of Tequila and moving onto another warm body, but she was beginning to find that it was no fun being in love on her own. That didn't mean of course that she was about to jump a virtual stranger to make herself feel better, no matter what he looked like or how nice to her he was. Or how he made her feel when he smiled at her.

Charles was still smiling as he bent forward and kissed her on the cheek again and then whispered against her ear, so that his warm breath ruffled all the little hairs and made her shiver "Which one is he? And I can't actually see anyone who looks like her either"

"That's cos they're not 'ere yet ... sorry … but thank you"

"What for?"

"Rescuing me from this ... they're all waiting to see if I kick off when they do show up … the buggers don't wanna miss anything if punches get thrown"

"Well that's not going to happen is it? And I'll rescue you anytime you need me … you only have to say the word"

Charles was slightly disconcerted to hear words that had such an unmistakeable ring of truth come out of his mouth. All week he'd been telling himself he was only doing it for her and not because he actually wanted to spend time in her company. But he didn't know what was wrong with him, he'd never had a problem before with being unsure of what he wanted, it was just that the more time he spent with Molly the more the solitude that had been so important to him was losing some of its appeal. And that he did mean every word he'd said about coming to her rescue if she needed him and even more annoying was the realisation that he liked being the person she turned to when she needed help.

He slung an arm round her shoulder and tightened his grip to pull her into his side and give her a small hug "Come on let's go and find you a very large drink"

"What about you?"

"Driving I'm afraid … come on, come and introduce me to your friend"

"That's Tessa ... she called you Clarke Kent ... can't see it meself"

"Can't you? How bloody disappointing" He threw his head back and laughed as though she'd just told him the joke of the century and although Molly was sure he'd only done it as part of the act to make it look as if they had that sort of relationship, it also made a blush creep up her face at the way everyone immediately looked over at them "I know, it's because I haven't got any glasses, maybe I should get some"

"You can if you want ... but don't think it matters, I'm sure it's not your glasses she's interested in ... all you gotta do is play your cards right 'n smile at 'er and you've pulled"

Charles stopped and stood still but kept his arm over her shoulders as he looked down at her and raised his eyebrows, a quizzical, almost hurt expression on his face.

"Lovely ... I'll bear that in mind … but would you mind telling me what the fuck makes you think I'm interested in pulling someone else when I'm here with you?"

"I don't … not really …."

She couldn't believe what she'd just said to him, of all the stupid shit to come out of her mouth that was some of the best. She should have known it would upset him and that it was insulting, he'd never given her the slightest reason to think he was the sort of bloke who would do something like that, in fact just the opposite "Sorry … it was s'posed to be a joke, pretty crap one I know..."

"It needs work …."

-OG-

He'd been totally accurate when he'd said the party was likely to be a carbon copy of the platoon booze-ups he'd taken part in over the years, except that he was one of the very few people in the room who remained sober. It wasn't something that usually happened, and it definitely wasn't going to happen the following night when his presence was apparently an essential requirement at the 2 Section celebration. Charles had already decided that they would have a far better time without him casting a shadow over it, his relationship with them had deteriorated to a new low over recent months, but Beck had collared him and twisted his arm to tell him that he had to be there. His boss had put a three-line whip on it, had insisted that attendance wasn't optional and that he should look on it as an opportunity to re-build bridges that had fractured between him and his section since Elvis.

-OG-

He knew the instant they showed up, not because Molly pointed them out, but because he was aware of the way she was suddenly rigid with tension. She went from thoroughly enjoying herself, giving as good as she got and being a happy, laughing, glowing girl who was doing everything she could to include him in the happy chatter and laughter to suddenly becoming full of a forced gaiety.

"Hey …" He looked at the few couples who were stumbling round the small dance floor and put out his hand to take her empty glass and put it on the table "Come on, come and dance with me"

"What?"

"Dance with me … you know, move about to the music … "

"Nah … I'd feel stupid … can't do this sort of dancing can I and … you're too tall anyway … or I'm too small … or something"

"Nothing to do with them watching us then?"

"Nah …. well, yeah a bit … and I still can't dance …'n you're still too tall"

"Of course you can dance, we'll just stand still and lean against one another and sway about a bit in time to the music …" Charles smirked "That's what we call dancing where I come from, at least it's how I do it … and …. and you know you're exactly the right height for me … or you will be when you put your bloody shoes back on … you're perfect"

"Nah I'm not" Molly was biting her lip to stop the involuntary smirk. She wasn't drunk but wasn't entirely sober either and suddenly badly wanted to dance with him. She wanted to put her arms round him or more importantly she wanted to feel him put his arms round her, and even though she was still a bit afraid of looking stupid she did as he asked and put her shoes on "I don't do perfect"

"Are you arguing with me?"

"Nah"

"Good …. and you are perfect … and you know I'm always right"

"Who says?"

Molly had been aware of everything that was happening across the other side of the room, it was as if she had eyes at the back of her head and was only grateful that at least the two of them hadn't come over and joined the group she was talking to. She was so aware of them that she knew precisely who they were talking to ever since they'd come barrelling in looking bloody pleased with themselves. It was the first time she'd seen Tony since the day he'd stood in front of everyone and pledged undying love for that cow, who, if Tessa was telling the truth, had deliberately set out to take him away from her as though it was a competition and he was the fucking prize. But even though it still hurt, a bit, her feelings about it seemed to have changed. She wasn't battling tears and hadn't got that horrible tight feeling in her chest when she thought about what they'd done to her, especially what Donna had done. Instead she was starting to think they were welcome to each other. It seemed she'd been very wrong about Donna, turned out she was a nasty cow, not that it made any difference, he couldn't have loved her very much if he could be taken away as easily as that. He was just bloody weak.

It looked like they were asking people about Charles which should have pleased her, after all it had actually been the whole point of him being there, but it no longer seemed that important somehow.

Charles could feel their eyes on him and was aware of the whispering as Molly looped her arms round the back of his neck and moved forward until she was leaning against him. He felt the moment when she relaxed and stopped worrying about who was watching them and began to move, her body touching his as he closed his eyes and rested his chin on the top of her head. They swayed in time to the music until a wave of desire for her swept over him and he knew he was in trouble. He forced himself to move away from her slightly, suddenly aware that he didn't ever want the dance to come to an end.

-OG-

"So, who is he then?"

"Who?"

Molly had had a pee and was washing her hands as quickly as she possibly could in a desperate rush to get away from Donna and get back to Charles. She was sure Donna had followed her into the loos to mount an interrogation, and suddenly didn't want to talk to her. She had nothing she wanted to say.

"That bloke …. the one you were dancing with … we were just wondering who he is that's all …. I mean, you've never mentioned him before …"

"Haven't I? …" Molly pushed the button on the hot air dryer and then shouted over the racket it was making "Who's this we? What's it to you anyway?"

Molly could hear how truculent and defensive she sounded, their friendship really was a thing of the distant past.

"No need to be like that Molls, Tony worries about you … we both do …you know that"

"Do you? Can't think why … and it's none of Tone's fucking business is it, or yours come to that … so you can tell him there's no need for him to worry …"

"But Molly …. I mean, who is he exactly?"

Donna had her caring, concerned face on, the one she used all the time when she was trying to get her own way. It was the one that Molly knew almost as well as she knew her own face, she should do, it was something she'd giggled at when they'd been friends. The only thing was, because of that she knew just how fake it was.

"I already told you, no-one you know ….. 'n it's got nothin' to do with either of you, has it?"

"Don't be like that, I'm worried about you, we both are … we just want to make sure you're okay"

"That's nice …" Molly smirked at her reflection in the mirror and then ran a finger under her eyes pretending to be making sure there were no stray flecks of mascara "I'm fine … thanks"

Molly couldn't keep the smug smile off her face as she flounced out of the loos and childishly let the door swing back in Donna's face, then grinned when she saw Charles watching for her. He had his eyebrows raised and a really worried look on his face, a look that melted away as soon as he saw the expression on hers. Far from being upset, which was what had been worrying him when he'd seen Donna follow her in there, she'd actually emerged looking very pleased with herself.

-OG-