"It feels weird not having him with us, doesn't it?" She said, swirling the red wine around in her glass, as she felt Howard's hand resting just above her knee. They were at a summer party held by the town council which he had been invited to as practice manager and she had been initially excited about being his plus-one.

"Yeah but it's a nice opportunity to have a night where we get to put on our fancy clothes and not worry about getting them covered in sick." Emma nodded slightly in agreement, she honestly was enjoying being with Howard on their own for the first time since having their baby but they had grown so used to the new routine.

He stood up and asked her, "Care for a dance?"

"No, Howard, please."

"Why not?"

"I'm not ready for dancing."

"Well then we can sway."

"Sway? Why do we even have to move?" She pouted up at him, glad it was only him nearby as she tried to reason, "This zip is barely holding together, I'm still about a stone heavier-" The navy dress she was wearing had been her first choice as she thought it might support her currently less desirable features better. The control underwear and good cosmetics had been dug out desperately as soon as Howard had brought home the invitation yet even with that she didn't particularly feel presentable. Howard vehemently disagreed.

"Emma, you look stunning and the straps will keep those," he said as his eyes flicked down to her cleavage, "mostly covered if it does break. You are already wearing a cardigan - nobody would notice."

"People will laugh." She had dressed up in ridiculous costumes so many times during her time at The Mill but her self-confidence had dipped now as she kept seeing herself at her heaviest pregnancy weight.

"Let them. I think we're long past the embarrassment of gossip and hilarity and there is hardly anyone we know here - which is disappointing as several of our colleagues agreed to come."

"I think they had the right idea." Her protests were silenced with a lingering kiss as he leaned down to take another sip of his drink while they conversed.

He ran his hand along the base of her neck, "We can sneak off home soon but we need to make sure we're seen to have been an active guest."

"I could be active by heading to the door," she muttered under her breath, "We - okay, you - have mingled all night, they all know we're here and most were told that there's a small baby waiting at home."

"One dance Emma." He smiled charmingly at her and she felt her resolve weaken.

"You owe me a dress if this splits in any way." She challenged as she accepted his hand and got to her feet.

Their height difference was still noticeable but it was lessened by her heels. Emma rested her head against his shoulder as his fingers ran down her waist while she mumbled,"You don't dance."

"I decided to throw caution to the wind as we don't know when we'll next get the chance."

They weren't necessarily in time with the beat but as he had presumed: nobody cared. Everyone else was too busy with their own activities to notice a couple on the edge of the floor.

She felt the vibration of his voice reverb in his chest when he spoke, "I can just imagine the torment John is putting Niamh through. He won't be settling without his mummy and meanwhile he'll be missing me popping across to accidentally make him reawaken whilst you get all huffy at me."

"I knew you're missing him too, you can't hide it well! Do we want to grab our coats, go pick him up and head home?" The knowledge that he was softening made her more confident as she started her persuasion again.

"I suppose we have spent a while here. Though I have enjoyed showing off how lucky I am to have an all-round lovely partner."

She smiled up at him, lacing their fingers together as they returned to the table. "Someone is trying to get even luckier tonight by the sound of it. But seriously, what did we do only a few months ago when he wasn't here? We were good at staying out until small hours now we're like those parents that have attachment issues."

Howard helped her into her jacket and squeezed her gently, "He's new, we can allow ourselves the luxury of him until he gets older and doesn't want to be related to us."