The minute she saw her Molly knew that this woman had to be his mum, not only did she have a definite look of him with her dark curls but she was nearly as tall as he was for fuck sake, although that could be the mega heels with red soles that she was wearing. Molly instantly coveted them. She knew they were the real thing that had cost a fucking fortune because there was no way someone like her would be wearing knock-off from down the market. Any more than she'd got all that jewellery from nipping down to Accessorise, that was bloody real as well. Molly would have laid bets that she'd almost certainly never even heard of a payday loan, let alone needed one, except maybe on adverts on the tele. And she'd probably never worn a dress that had fallen off the back of a market stall in her life.

Molly pasted her most ingratiating 'please like me' smile on her face as she got ready to say hello, because if this was his mum, and she was pretty sure it was, she wasn't exactly jumping up and down with excitement or looking overjoyed to see them.

"Charles … you are very late … where have you been? … I was beginning to think you were going to let me down again … and …. who's this?"

"This is a friend of mine, Mum, this is Molly … Molly, this is my mother Caroline … who appears to think we're late for some reason"

"Hi …." Oh shit, she'd sounded like Bella talking to one of her mates "I mean, hello Mrs James, it's very nice to meet you, I'm dead sorry if …"

But Caroline didn't seem to care what Molly was sorry for, she'd turned back to Charles and wasn't even looking at her anymore, was instead looking at him with an 'if looks could kill' face.

"Charles ….. I'd really appreciate a quick word with you …" She looked at Molly but still without acknowledging her or dredging up a smile from somewhere "If you wouldn't mind excusing us for one moment …"

Fuck … Molly knew a polite piss off when she heard one especially from someone whose voice sounded like she was putting it on, like she was trying to sound like the Queen or someone, but who still hadn't managed to dredge up a smile from anywhere. All she'd done was give him this look. She looked just like he did when he was in one of his miserable fucker moods, and was about as warm and friendly as he'd been the day she'd put that sodding car in a ditch, when she'd been convinced he was a serial killer. But instead of lovely warm brown eyes Caroline had eyes like little brown pebbles and a mouth that Nan would describe as like a cat's bum.

Molly couldn't see exactly where she was supposed to piss off to, not only hadn't she had a proper welcome but she couldn't actually see anywhere to sit and wait and she was buggered if she was going to sit on the stairs or go for a walk or something. It was as if there was definitely something going on between him and his mum that she couldn't read, but it was something he seemed to have forgotten to tell her about.

"Sorry Molly, I won't be a sec …"

He shook his head as if he didn't quite believe what was happening and then bit his lip and gripped her shoulder gently, giving it a little shake before he turned towards his mother.

"You know Mum, you can be as bloody rude as you like to me, it really doesn't matter, but I'd have expected you to make my girlfriend welcome in the same way you'd make any other guest welcome ….unless of course you'd prefer us to get our coats and leave …"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Charles and you know it is never my intention to be rude to anyone …. of course I don't want you and ….." She paused and looked in Molly's direction so that she found herself smiling again for no reason except she felt uncomfortably in the way. She just knew Caroline was lying through her teeth, for some reason she was hopping bleeding mad and would like nothing better than for her to piss off. But without him.

"Molly, her name is Molly"

"Molly … to leave … but you are very late … you knew what time …. and you should have at least had the courtesy to tell me you were thinking of bringing a … bringing someone with you … what am I supposed to say to everyone? I mean, I've never heard you even mention her name before"

"Mum…" This time there was a real note of warning in his voice and his face had become an expressionless mask "Molly is my girlfriendand I have no idea why you would think you need to tell anyone anything about her … about us …" He knew his mother was actually talking about how the hell she was going to tell whoever it was she'd invited to the party for him that events had made her surplus to requirements, but that wasn't his problem, it was hers "And I don't give a …. I'm sorry but I can't see what the fuss is about"

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her steadily as if he was challenging her, was waiting for her to say something to fill the strained silence as they looked at one another. Eventually he turned away and jerked his head at Molly who was beginning to think his mother thought he'd found her hanging about on some street corner. Charles knew Caroline would have dearly loved to launch into one of her 'you owe it to me … you owe it to Sam .. to everyone … and then the …. I only have your best interests at heart …' lectures and that she was longing to interrogate him, but that she'd be far too worried about the other guests hearing something that could prove embarrassing. Something that wouldn't fit the portrait of their family life that she liked to paint.

Molly could see now exactly why he'd thought Nan was a doddle, anyone would be after this woman. Not only was she a rude cow but if looks could kill she wouldn't be the only one stone dead on the floor right now, he would as well, and he was her son for fuck sake, why was she looking at him like he was something she'd scraped off her designer shoe? And what was all that stuff about her being his girlfriend? It had managed to piss Caroline off quite nicely and it wasn't even true. The look on her face was bloody priceless as she tossed her head and then clicked her way back up the hall without saying another word to either of them. But it wouldn't take a genius to work out that she wasn't exactly happy. Her back was rigid with disapproval as Charles took a deep breath and looked as if he was fighting with himself to keep from showing just how bloody annoyed he actually was.

"Sorry about all that …"

"What was it all about? What's going on?"

"Nothing …"

"Nothin' ? …. Yeah, right"

"I'm sorry I should have warned you that she can be a tad difficult at times"

"Yeah, you bloody should 'ave"

"I do seem to have managed to dump you right in the middle of my fucking mess … " He shook his head "I really am sorry Molly"

"S'okay, not your fault is it…? What was all that stuff about me being your girlfriend?"

"You wouldn't expect me to start telling lies to my mother would you?" He shrugged and laughed "Come on let's go and get pissed"

"What?"

"I said let's go and find the Champagne and get pissed"

"Nah I didn't mean that … I meant …"

But he shook his head and put his hand in the small of her back to shepherd her in the direction of the drawing room, obviously unwilling to be drawn on the subject of what he'd said to his mother. Her first look at the room left her speechless and conscious of her mouth hanging wide open so that she had to make a huge effort to shut it. She'd never actually been anywhere like it before in her life, but then she'd never actually heard someone call their front room the drawing room before like he had, that was definitely another first.

There was a lot of very well-heeled looking people standing around in small groups with glasses in their hands all talking and laughing loud enough to almost drown out the background music and there was another bloody great big tree all decorated the same as the one in the hall. The room was lit up with what looked like hundreds and hundreds of tiny white lights dotted around the edges of the shelves and in the greenery that was all over together with long red candles. It was probably what people would call magical or magnificent or something and Molly knew that her Mum and Nan would love it, but even though it was undoubtedly very beautifully done she wasn't too sure herself. It wasn't a bit cosy. It looked like a picture in one of the magazines you see in the dentist's waiting room, and she had the feeling they'd had the decorators in.

"It's lovely in 'ere innit?"

It felt tactful to say something nice about it, even though she wasn't sure she meant it.

"Indeed … always is … every year that I can remember anyway"

"You know, I'm not sure your mum liked me very much … I know I'm a bit shit at first impressions, but that was quick even for me"

"Don't be silly, how could she not like you, she doesn't know you"

He felt a renewed surge of anger with Caroline and put his arm round her shoulders and squeezed.

"Trust me … I sort of know these things … think I'm a bit psychic"

"Are you? I didn't know that … does that mean you can read palms? What about tea leaves?"

"Nah … don't be daft, we 'ave tea bags, don't we?"

"Indeed, I remember now you told me" He put his head back and roared with laughter "Look, don't let her upset you ….…. most of the time she doesn't like me very much either"

"Why? What you done?"

Molly giggled again but a tiny bit awkwardly as he shook his head, she wasn't sure what to say when she didn't know whether it was supposed to be a joke. Although from where she'd been standing it looked like it could well have had the ring of truth.

"What about your dad?"

"Nope, she doesn't like him either …" Charles put his head back and laughed again but continued to ignore the question of why his mother was less than pleased with him "I don't think she likes anyone actually"

"I didn't mean it like that, I meant …. Which one is he?"

Molly waved her hand to indicate the room full of women wearing posh frocks and jewellery and men wearing tuxedos, a lot of whom looked to her to be old enough to be his dad, although she couldn't see anyone who looked especially like him. She couldn't help being a bit worried that his dad hadn't exactly broken a sweat rushing to welcome her either, in fact it looked like he was as bad in the welcoming stakes as her dad, which didn't exactly bode well.

"Nope …" Charles had scanned the room quickly and smiled and nodded at one or two of the people who acknowledged him in the same way "Not here .. knowing him he's probably hiding from her somewhere with a couple of business contacts and a large bottle of Scotch … I know it's Christmas and this is supposed to be a party, but they don't have friends … just useful acquaintances"

"Oh …."

"Yup … right … that's enough about my mummy ….. Champagne?" He raised his eyebrows and grinned at her so that he looked a bit more relaxed, as if he was working hard to forget all the shit with his mother.

"Your mummy?" Molly giggled, even though it was obviously a joke, it sounded so incongruous coming from someone so grown up and in control "I've never 'ad real Champagne don't think, I've 'ad Prosecco before and it's sort of the same innit?"

"Yup … sort of … try it and see and if you don't like it we'll find you something else … I'm sure I can find some Vodka for you somewhere"

"What mixed with Champagne? You trying to get me pissed?"

"Now there's an idea …" Charles smirked and squeezed her shoulder and then laughed aloud at the expression on her face "No, I meant if you hate it, I'll have yours"

His mum was obviously doing everything she could to avoid being anywhere near them but Molly knew she was talking about her, she could feel her looking as if she was still pissed off with her being there. His dad still hadn't bothered to put in an appearance, not that Charles seemed in the least bit bothered about either of them. People had come over to say hello and tell him it was good to see him and that it had been a while and he'd stuck to her side the whole time like he'd been glued there. He'd introduced her to them all, albeit without the subtitle of girlfriend but mostly it had just been the two of them talking to one another on their own, just like he'd said.

Charles had told her all about his previous years when he'd been away on tour, and had explained all the traditions and then pretended to get arsey when she said she thought it was a bit bonkers, but hadn't once mentioned the times he'd spent Christmas with Sam and she hadn't asked. She didn't want to talk about anything that would remind him of happier times, any more than she wanted any reminders of this time last year. But she'd been happy with Tony, this time last year she'd really thought they were on their way to wedding bells and happy ever afters, but that was before everything had changed. One minute she'd believed it was all going to happen and the next it was all about Donna and Tony, so she'd been dreading Christmas this year. She'd thought she was still going to be in bits and was never going to be happy ever again, but even though his mum was looking at her as if she was something the cat had sicked up, she wouldn't swap places with anyone in the world right now.

They'd agreed that her Christmas had been a bit more shit than his this year because she'd had to work, but that his had come a close second. He'd only been allowed to see Sam for a couple of hours and had then spent the rest of the time pretending it wasn't even Christmas. Molly wasn't sure whether it was the Champagne she'd drunk, but it struck her as being really sad, and even though he shrugged and pretended it didn't worry him, she didn't believe him for a second.

"Come and dance with me" Charles waved the empty Champagne bottle he was swinging about between the tips of his fingers "You need to save me from myself"

"What 'ere?" Molly looked around and raised her eyebrows at him and then laughed "Are you pissed?"

"Nope, of course not … why …. do you think I have to be drunk to want to dance with you?" He started chewing at his bottom lip and then smirked.

"Nah …. just wondering"

"Absolutely not … the very idea" He laughed so that she wasn't sure whether he was telling her the truth or not, but if he was pissed, she quite liked this pissed version of Charles "But it's a good point … come on"

"Where we going?"

He was still laughing as he pulled her firmly behind him out into the hall where the music was barely audible and then let go of her hand long enough to peel off his jacket and fling it on the stairs. He undid his tie and left it hanging loose before turning to look at her and then caught his bottom lip in his teeth and held out his hand again.

"Nah …" Molly giggled and shook her head "Told you … can't dance…."

"Of course you can … it's easy… come on ..just put your hands round here like this …"

He was smiling down into her eyes as he pulled her arms up round his neck so that her heart began to pound and a crowd of butterflies started to flutter their wings in excitement in the pit of her stomach. His eyes darkened and his smile slipped slightly as he began to run the backs of his fingers up and down her arms before he looped them round her waist which made her breath hitch in her throat.

"Just listen to the music"

"There isn't any …"

"Oh no … never mind …"

"You could sing?"

"I'm far too shy"

"Shy? You?"

Molly giggled as he gave this loud snort of laughter and pulled her towards him so they could sway together in exactly the same way as they had the last time they'd danced together, only this time it felt totally different to Molly. Despite the dozens of people all drinking and laughing in the room next door and in spite of knowing any one of them could walk through at any minute looking for a loo or something, it felt as if they were totally alone. It was nothing like dancing with him at a rowdy party in a pub and the longer they stood there swaying together the more conscious she was of her own breathing. All of a sudden she seemed to have an awful lot of breath chugging in and out and it was getting louder and louder and more and more ragged. She very badly wanted to kiss him.

Slowly, very slowly they stopped moving altogether and just stood and held one another with their arms still looped round one another and her fingers weaving in and out of the hair on the back of his neck as she stroked his skin. Neither of them said anything as he angled his head towards her fingers and then closed his eyes and held her tightly against him. She could feel every bit of the way his body was responding to her being so close as they leaned against one another and he struggled to control his breathing.

"Do you want to go back in there?" He leaned away from her slightly and held her at arm's length to look into her face.

"Nah … well, not unless you do"

"Nope … definitely not …. Sorry … are you tired? You must be ….. you were working last night, come on"

He didn't let go of her hand as they broke apart. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't a bit tired but then decided not to say anything as he stooped to pick up his jacket and held it over his shoulder by the loop as they slowly climbed the stairs side by side without speaking.

-OG-

"This is your room innit?" It had Charles written all over it "Thought you said we wasn't gonna share"

"We're not … but I thought you might appreciate having the bathroom"

"Nice in 'ere innit? Very nice and tidy ….'n that" Molly had looked around and then begun to giggle at the expression on his face "Really tidy"

"Are you taking the piss? …. You don't know I might well have tidied up specially because I knew you were coming"

"Yeah, you might … would 'ave been a bit of a waste of bleeding effort for me though wouldn't it?" She laughed and enjoyed the sound of him laughing with her as he leaned back against the chest of drawers "You must love mine"

"Indeed …."

"Liar …." She giggled, then took deep breath and looked at him "Why do I scare you?"

"What are you talking about? You don't"

"You said I did the other night, you said I scared the shit out of you .."

"Did I?" He ran his hand over the back of his neck and tugged at his curls before shaking his head "I really don't think it's a good idea to talk about it right now"

"Why not?"

"Its ….… I like you Molly, I like you a lot … a hell of a lot. well I don't have to tell you that, do I? You know I think you're fucking awesome …"

"Do you? So why can I 'ear a but"

"But … I'm totally the wrong person for you … in every bloody way … " He had a wry smile on his face as he shook his head and moved from leaning against the chest of drawers to stand in front of her and then hesitated for a second before he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. He was suddenly desperate to just kiss her but knew he wasn't going to "And really it would be better to leave this for another day"

"Isn't that a bit up to me?" She paused "Not sure I get it, you said you like me, so what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing … it's me that's the problem not you … and I only wish it was that easy, but it's not … I look at you and all I want … all I want is for you to be happy …. and safe, no more cars in fucking ditches" He tried to laugh and swallowed hard before shaking his head again.

"I like you too"

"What? Yes I know you do … but …. you need someone who's not going to fuck everything up like I will … and I will, that's one thing that's certain ….. you need someone who isn't going to be wondering what the fuck he's doing all the time…"

"I dunno Charles, I dunno whether you're the wrong person, I mean I dunno whether you might be the right one either, all I know is that I like you just the way you are … 'n it don't matter what you say I know you want me 'n all …" She swallowed hard, she hadn't meant to mention that she'd noticed how affected he'd been when they were dancing "I'm here because I wanna be 'ere … don't want someone else"

"I hate the thought of you with anyone that's not me … but I just know it would be for the best"

"Best for who … you or me?"

Charles chewed at his bottom lip but made no attempt to speak as she paused and took a deep breath, aware that her mouth was in danger of running away with her again.

"What about Tony? Last time we talked you didn't seem too sure about how you felt …." He swallowed hard and raked his teeth over his bottom lip before running his tongue over it.

"Nah, not that prick …" Molly shook her head vehemently, it was important that she managed to convince him for some reason "Not Tony, never him … not gonna 'appen …"

Molly was suddenly tempted to tell him all about seeing Tony the day they'd taken Martin to London to see their mum, that he'd just bloody turned up at theirs and all she'd felt was impatient. She'd just wanted him to hurry up and go because she still had lots to do and a train to catch. And even though she'd promised to keep her gob shut, it was what Bella had been hinting at when she'd started talking to him about ginger men.

"Good … glad to hear it, he definitely didn't deserve you"

After he and Rebecca had finally faced the end of the misery of their marriage, he'd been determined he was never going to get involved with anyone else ever again. For years he'd been at his happiest away from home and living out of a Bergen and he'd decided that in future he was going to be unencumbered by anyone. He'd promised himself he was never going to let another woman get close enough to wreck his life, there wasn't going to be anyone to lie to him or to cheat, and most importantly of all he was never going to have to look into anyone's eyes again and see disappointment.

And then Molly had come into his life and begun turning it upside bloody down.

She was nothing like Rebecca, she wasn't tall or blonde hadn't got ice blue eyes that were filled with anger and derision. Molly had amazingly expressive eyes that were often filled with laughter or had this look in them when she looked at him that he couldn't quite read but which was driving him insane. It was making him feel emotions that hard as he tried he couldn't ignore.

She was tiny and she was beautiful with a mass of shiny hair that he wanted to run his hands through and he hadn't been able to wipe his memory of how it had felt to hold her body close and kiss her, and that was in spite of reminding himself of all the reasons why it wasn't a good idea. But night after night he'd dreamt she was there with him and was all over him, dreams that were so vivid that they left him feeling bereft when he woke up and realised that's all they were, just dreams.

Suddenly there was a long silence where they looked at one another, both waiting for the other to make a move or to at least say something. All Molly knew was that if he made even the smallest move towards pushing her away again or leaving her there on her own she'd probably do something to him, would most likely want to kill him.

He didn't say anything, he just inhaled deeply and leaned towards her before he lifted the heavy strands of her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. Soft, gentle kisses that were barely there, a mere brush of his lips on her skin until his mouth eventually found hers and all the doubts about the way he wanting her disappeared in a flood of feeling. He could taste Champagne on her tongue as she began to kiss him back with a matching amount of passion and then put her hands on the back of his neck and twined her fingers in his hair to keep his head where it was. But he had no wish to break away from her. Their kisses began to escalate rapidly as the fear of getting involved that he'd been harbouring drowned in a flood of desire.

-OG-

A/N: Firstly I have to say sorry, I know it has been a long time, or as my own personal support system told me this morning when she took a break from worrying about bush fires to do her motivational bit (ticking me off !) it has been the longest gap I've ever had in updating a story … no real excuses except for spending far too much time on the delete/edit button … re-writing becomes addictive so that in the end I have to force myself to post it even if it is a bit long otherwise I'll still be making changes a week next Friday … I hope you enjoy it, if you can still remember what it was all about, and that you will continue to review for me the way you have up till now … at the risk of being boring you have no idea what they mean to me … so thanks to everyone for their kind words.