A/N: So having actual notes on what happens in this one has paid off in another chapter. Thanks, as always, to FitchSwitch for the beta and encouragement (and being my sounding board back when I first wrote up the notes, which are kinda more chat transcripts than notes).
Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.
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Being home was not the holiday that Katie had imagined it would be. For starters, her brother's presence raised complications because she and Emily caught him rummaging through their mum's drawers for money, and then had to explain the large bruise on his arm and the lump on his head without giving away the reasons for them.
Then there was the weight of the lies on her mind at every turn. She did her best to avoid outright lies, of course, but there were so many admissions of truths and vague answers that she may as well have been telling massive fibs.
Of course her parents had wanted details on her and Emily's new jobs. Katie should have expected it, really. It wasn't their fault that they couldn't give specifics. They couldn't even really talk about the people they worked with in detail because it might jeopardise the operation. As a result, Katie's stress level was on the rise from ten minutes after she walked in the door.
It didn't help that she could sense tension and stress in her dad as well, and she heard her parents bickering behind a closed door her second night home.
To top it all off, Emily was moping around the place, missing Naomi.
Katie had about had it, so when her sister asked to go with her on a walk (because Katie simply had to get out of the house for a bit or she'd go insane), she almost said no. One look into Emily's sad eyes, though, had her sighing and nodding as she held the door open for her.
They were a few streets over from their own, when Katie stopped dead in her tracks at a flash of a familiar shade of blonde. There was no fucking way. No way at all, that Naomi had fucking followed them home for Christmas. Right? Stone trusted them enough to come back without sending out her watchdog, right?
Except then the blonde turned towards them, and there was no mistaking who it was.
"Un-fucking-believable," Katie muttered, as Emily's face lit up beside her.
"Naomi!" Emily cried out, and if Katie hadn't thought that it would draw even more attention towards, them, she would have smothered her sister's mouth with her hand right there for being so foolishly loud.
Naomi looked up and the surprise on her face was evident before it slipped off, replaced by a broad grin. Maybe Stone hadn't sent her to keep tabs on them after all.
Before Katie could stop her, Emily ran on up the road and tackled Naomi in a massive hug.
By the time Katie reached them, the two of them were snogging like there was no tomorrow.
"Get a fucking room," Katie growled. "What're you doing here, Naomi?"
Naomi continued to kiss Emily for a few more seconds before finally dragging herself away to look at Katie. The expression on her face was hesitant, as if she didn't want to give away the real reason, but then she glanced at Emily, and her face softened. "I'm actually here visiting my mum."
"Your mum lives here?" Katie gaped at her in disbelief.
Naomi pointed two houses up at a surprisingly cheerful looking yellow house with a neatly tended front garden.
"Your mum lives there?"
Naomi shrugged then nodded. She glanced at Emily. "Want to come in and meet her?"
Katie's jaw dropped for the third time in as many seconds.
"Really?" Emily squealed.
"Yeah," Naomi replied, and Emily nodded eagerly.
Naomi took her by the hand and led her to the house, and Katie followed. The invitation probably hadn't been meant for her, but she didn't really care. Her curiosity was piqued.
"Mum! I'm back!" Naomi called out as she pushed the door open. "And I've brought company!"
"Really?" A shocked voice replied, and a moment later a blonde haired woman peered around a doorframe, knocking aside the strings of beads that dangled from it.
Upon seeing Emily and Katie, she stepped out fully into the living/dining room and stepped around the large rectangular table towards them. "I never get to meet Naomi's friends. Well, except –"
"Mum!" Naomi cut her off, tone warning.
"I was only going to say Stone and Tony, darling. No need to scold. I remember. Just because I once changed her nappies doesn't mean I've forgotten her need for secrecy."
Katie's eyes widened in shock. So Naomi's mum had known Stone since she was a baby? And she knew what she did now? What her daughter did? And she was fine with it? Katie tried briefly to imagine a baby Stone, but couldn't.
"You should have seen those two as children. The most stubborn, mischievous pair you could ever –"
"MUM!" Naomi growled, and Katie was surprised to find her actually blushing somewhat. She got the feeling that she was going to get to see a whole new side of Stone's tough, right hand woman, now that she was home with her mum.
"All right, all right. No need to shout. Anyway, I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Gina. And you are?" Gina held out a hand towards Emily, who shook it shyly.
"Emily," she mumbled.
"And I'm Katie," Katie stepped forward.
"Nice to meet you both. What beautiful young women you both are. I bet you're both strong and confident women, just like my daughter here, eh?"
Katie smiled. She liked Gina already.
"So, are you two part of the family then?"
"Mum, you know you shouldn't ask," Naomi scolded with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes, I know, but clearly they already know who Stone is or they'd have asked, and it's not that big of a leap –"
"Yes, Mum, all right," Naomi cut her off.
"Anyway, won't you two sit down? I'll go put on some tea," Gina offered, gesturing to a worn looking couch against a large window.
Katie glanced at Naomi still looking the most awkward she'd ever seen her, and took a seat with a smile. She was going to enjoy this holiday after all.
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"It suits them, don't you think?" Gina asked conspiratorially as she and Katie prepared supper the next night.
Katie had been ecstatic to discover that Gina believed in real food, rather than the bizarre (not to mention disgusting) dishes that her mother seemed to consider food, and she and Emily had both jumped at the open invitation Gina had given them. Normally Katie would worry that she might be overstaying her welcome, coming to dinner two nights in a row, but Gina was just so open and welcoming, that there was nothing to feel but comfortable in her presence.
"What suits who?" Katie asked, blinking against the wave of steam that hit her face as she drained the pasta.
Gina didn't answer. She was already carrying the bowls of sauce to the table. "Here's the meat sauce, and this one's with a soy-based sausage substitute."
"Mum, you're the only one who's going to eat it," Naomi sighed, moving ever-so-slightly away from Emily, and sitting up a little straighter at the table.
Emily nudged Naomi in the side. "Be nice. I'll…I'll taste it."
"It's quite good, actually, if you give it a go," Gina encouraged, as Katie brought the pasta over to the table.
"If you like chewy things that think they taste like meat," Naomi grumbled.
Emily elbowed Naomi a little harder and reached for the pasta. "I'm sure it will be delicious," Emily countered.
Naomi rolled her eyes, but Katie caught the hints of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Gina leaned back in her chair with a smile as she watched Emily serve herself. "You know, Emily, it's so nice to see my daughter so happy. I'm glad she's found someone who won't let her get away with her bullshit either."
Emily grinned as Naomi looked suddenly somewhat sheepish.
Katie couldn't help but stare. She still wasn't used to seeing this side of Naomi.
Emily reached purposefully for the vegetarian pasta sauce, and Naomi sighed. "You're going to regret it," Naomi mumbled.
"Be nice," Emily scolded, leaning over and placing a kiss on Naomi's cheek.
Naomi turned and caught her lips, and Katie fought the urge to groan.
"It's so nice to see my daughter has finally fallen in love," Gina added nonchalantly, reaching out to serve herself some pasta.
Naomi pulled away from the kiss, looking like a deer in the headlights, leaving Emily blushing profusely, her eyes wide.
"Sorry, did you say 'in love'?" Katie interrupted, unable to hide the disbelief in her voice.
Gina rolled her eyes, and suddenly Katie could see where Naomi got it from.
"As if you can't see the love between these two."
Katie looked at them, really truly looked at them, and saw the way that both of them were blushing now, and then they exchanged a look that was so tentatively full of hope and love that it made Katie wonder how she hadn't seen it before.
As they continued to gaze at each other, Katie couldn't help thinking that they looked much more like schoolgirls with crushes than hardened mobsters.
Then again, she mused, as she served herself some food, maybe that's what being around family at Christmas does to people.
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Christmas dinner was surprisingly bearable, made even more so by Emily and Katie stepping in in the kitchen. James was even on his best behaviour for once, which made Katie glad to see (especially since it meant that she wouldn't have to follow through on the threat to cut off his bollocks that she'd issued the night before).
After dinner Katie covered for Emily so that she could slip away to Naomi's house. Maybe Christmas had just put her in a generous mood, but she hadn't even complained about it. Her mum had drunk more than her fair share of wine, and had gone upstairs for an early night's sleep. James had buggered off to his mate Gordon's house after helping clean up, leaving Katie and her dad to watch telly in peace.
Katie had always thought of Emily more as the daddy's girl, right up until she'd finished college and her mum had finally started to grate on her nerves the same way she grated on Emily's. These days she always felt closer to her dad, and she especially appreciated nights like tonight when she could just sit in a comfortable silence with him.
Her dad cleared his throat as an ad break began. "Katie, sweetheart," he began, and something in his tone of voice made Katie tense slightly.
"Mmm?" she prompted when he hesitated for a moment too long.
"Your sister…She's found someone, hasn't she."
Katie contemplated the idea of denying it, but there were already so many things she couldn't say, and what was the harm really, as long as her dad didn't know who exactly Emily had found.
"Yeah, Dad. She has."
Her dad nodded. "Good. Good." There was another pause before he added, "I could tell, you know. She seems really happy."
Katie smiled at her dad. As unobservant as he could seem, he clearly saw more than they gave him credit for, and he really did care about them. That was one thing neither of them ever doubted. "She is," Katie confirmed.
Her dad nodded again, and the silence lingered between them a while longer.
"Is it a girl?" he asked after a while.
Katie stiffened instantly and looked at her dad, whose eyes were still focused on the telly. "What?" she asked, at a loss for what else to say.
Her dad turned to her then, with a soft grin. "I'm not as blind as you girls think I am."
Katie had to smile back, and she couldn't help but marvel at how she'd been thinking that very think mere moments before. "Apparently not."
"I don't mind, you know. Less stress for me, really."
Katie suppressed an eye roll. If only he knew what girl his daughter was dating, he might not be less stressed.
"Don't tell your mum," he advised a moment later in a slightly quieter voice with a glance towards the stairs.
Katie nodded her agreement. Her dad might have been open-minded, but that was never something she'd have accused her rather prim and proper mother of. Everything was about appearances with her, and Katie had no doubt that a gay daughter would not be the appearance that her mother would want the world to see.
The Christmas special they were watching came back on, but Katie had begun to study her dad's features at his mention of stress. It brought back the tension she'd heard in his voice the last time they'd spoken on the phone, and the tension that she'd sensed since she'd been home. Now that she properly looked at him, she couldn't help noticing that he looked far more tired than she'd ever seen him.
"Dad?"
"Mmm?"
"Is everything okay?"
Her dad looked at her in surprise, and then he put on a smile, but Katie could tell it wasn't genuine. "Everything's fine, love. Nothing for you to worry about."
"Dad, what's going on? What's wrong?"
Her dad sighed heavily, his cheery façade collapsing. "I guess you're not blind either, eh?"
Katie shook her head.
"It's just things have been rather tight at the gym lately. We lost a few big clients and I might've missed a few months' worth of bills. Truth is, I'm not positive how long we'll be able to keep the doors open if we don't get more clients in soon.
"But you and Mum –" Katie interrupted, remembering the fighting she'd heard between them.
" Your mother's not so sure I should try to, and it's just causing a bit of strain between us, is all."
Katie's brows furrowed in concern.
"Don't you worry, love. Your mother and I will work past it. It's hardly the first bump in the road for us, and we always pull through. Love always does."
"Dad, I make a good salary now. I can give you some money. I mean you sent me and Emily money all the time before, and you couldn't even afford it, but –"
"No. Absolutely not! It's a father's job to provide for his daughters. It is not your job to provide for me, got it? We'll make it work. There's a new chap down at the gym, anyway. Paid for the premium package, and claims he might have a few friends who'd be interested in the same. That'll keep us open a while longer yet. Name's Cook. Loud lad, but he works out hard. Knows how to feel the burn, that one."
Katie closed her eyes and bit her lip so as to not give anything away to her father as realisation dawned. Of course, Stone had found a way to infiltrate this part of her life too. Of course Stone had known about her dad's financial trouble before she had. Of fucking course.
She took a deep breath to try to control her emotions and opened her eyes again to find her dad yawning.
"Don't you worry, Katie. Things will work out just fine, all right?"
"Just tell me if you need money, Dad. I can give you a loan if you don't want to take it as a gift."
Her dad shook his head. "I'll not hear of it." He yawned again. "I think I might just go call it a night as well. I'm wiped, and the gym's open tomorrow for people who want to work off their Christmas dinners."
Katie nodded. "Goodnight, Dad."
"Goodnight, sweetheart," her dad replied, leaning down to kiss her on the head before heading towards the stairs. "Katie?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"You've found someone, too, haven't you?"
Katie frowned and shook her head. "No, I haven't."
"Oh," he replied, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Okay. Goodnight."
"Night," she called after him.
Katie sighed heavily once he was out of earshot. She'd have to talk to Stone. She supposed she owed her a thank you, really, for helping her dad, but she should have told her that her dad needed help. Maybe Katie could have done something then, without having the mob show up at her dad's gym.
She sighed again.
And what had her dad meant about her finding someone too. She hadn't had she? The only person she'd even kind of dated was Tony, and he'd turned her down, right? The only other people she really saw on a regular basis were Emily, who was her twin so automatically out of the running, Naomi, who was obviously not in the running either, Maxxie, who was gay, and JJ, who she was pretty sure was scared of her.
And Stone, of course, but what effects could Stone have had on Katie that her dad could possibly have noticed? It certainly wasn't like they were together, anyway, despite Stone's insistence on calling the two times she'd accompanied her places 'dates'. It wasn't like Katie even wanted them to be together, obviously.
Katie rubbed her temple. She felt a headache coming on. Maybe she'd just take something and have an early night herself.
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Naomi was outside having a smoke when Katie went over the next day. It was her last day at home, but she just couldn't stand spending it at home without her sister as back up against her mother's prying questions and judgmental looks.
"Couldn't stay away, Fitch?"
"If Emily's told you anything about our mum, you'll understand."
Naomi shrugged and held out her pack of cigarettes to Katie, who took one gratefully.
"Speaking of Ems," she asked around the cigarette as she tried to light it, "what have you done with her?"
Naomi nodded towards the house. "Talking to my mum. I was more or less kicked out by her. Apparently she had something to say to Emily without my presence."
Katie tried to fight the urge to smirk and failed. The idea that this tough mobster woman could still be kicked out of her house by her hippie mother amused her.
She took a long drag of her cigarette to try to mask her amusement, but the daggers that Naomi shot in her direction let her know that she wasn't successful.
They stood and smoked in silence for a few minutes before Katie just had to ask the question that had been nagging at her mind since their second dinner at Gina's. "So are you really in love with my sister?"
Naomi eyed her appraisingly, before nodding. "Yeah. I know you don't think that I'm capable of it, but I do."
Katie shook her head. She might have thought that at one point, but she didn't anymore. "I believe you. Just don't hurt her, okay?"
"I don't ever want to."
Katie nodded.
"But if you tell anyone that I'm in love, I'll kill you," Naomi added a moment later.
Katie considered the threat. She knew that Naomi was probably more than capable of it, but a sidelong glance at her let Katie know that this was a threat she probably wouldn't carry through on. Nevertheless, Katie decided she'd just keep the fact that Naomi was in love to herself. For now, at least.
"I know we don't really get along all that well," Naomi said as she stubbed out her cigarette, "but I'm glad you and Emily joined the company. You're good at your jobs, and, well, obviously I enjoy having your sister around."
Katie nodded. "Well, you can thank Stone for that. And I suppose my idiot brother."
Naomi smirked. "Yeah. Stone does know how to pick them."
Katie glanced up to find Naomi looking at her with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"She's different with you, you know."
Katie frowned. "Oh?"
Naomi shook her head and shrugged. "She actually trusts you and Emily not to screw up jobs without following up after you is all. Then again, she has me vouching for Emily."
"Ah," Katie replied, feeling slightly less like she was being complimented. "Right."
"Should probably get back inside. Make sure my mum isn't saying anything she shouldn't," Naomi said.
Katie nodded and held up the rest of her cigarette. "Be in in a minute."
Naomi nodded back and stepped inside the door, and Katie leaned against the wall as she took another drag. Her father's question from the night before rang in her mind again. Had she found someone? Or was it simply that she'd found a job that she was good at and didn't hate? Maybe that was the change he had seen in her. Then again, when had this become a job that she actually enjoyed?
"Katie's here?" Katie heard Emily ask from inside, and she sighed and stubbed out the rest of her cigarette.
"Better go inside," she mumbled to herself. She opened the door and pushed her confusing questions from her mind.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it.
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