Connie heard the crunch of car tyres on gravel and knew that they were home. The CT scan had come back clear, and with the tentative assumption that the sight loss was only temporary due to swelling, Connie had vehemently insisted that she be allowed to go home.

She heard the pop of the car door and Tristan stepped out into the cold, he rubbed his hands and shuddered loudly as the wind whipped against his coat and puckered his collar so that it flapped against his face.

He made his way around to her side of the car, opening the door, a cold rush of air whispering in and about the foot well sending a flurry of goose bumps across her left leg.

"Don't you just love Autumn."

Tristan muttered, frowning against the cold, pulling his coat tighter about his body with one hand whilst reaching out for her with the other.

She fumbled against him, clutching hold of his forearm and tentatively stepping out onto the gravel, her feet wobbling slightly in her shoes.

"Makes me want to buy school supplies."

She murmured, not thinking, merely concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. She heard him laugh quietly, tightening her grip on him as she realised they must reach the door step soon.

"Keys?"

He asked, helping her up the step and letting go of his coat so that he could steady her, his hands firmly on either side of her, gripping her upper arms.

"Uh..."

He watched her fingers reach for the bag that hung on her shoulder, she slipped it down as she did every day, where it rested in the crook of her elbow. She unzipped it and dipped parted it, instinctively looking down into it. He saw her lips purse and she drew in a quick breath, exhaling through her nose. She dipped her hand in, still keeping her head bowed.

Her fingers felt the lining, the purse, the phone, the various other unidentifiable contents, but failed to locate the soft leather of her key ring or the cool metal of the keys.

She felt herself flush and she drew in her bottom lip, biting on it gently with her top teeth. Silently she held the bag out to him, looking with blind eyes to him, feeling him take the bag and within seconds came the jingle of metal and heard the scrape of the lock and push of the front door.

"Mummy!"

All at once she heard Grace, heard the skid of socked feet on wooden flooring and felt the heavy warm thud of Grace's body against hers, her arms tightly about her waist, pinning her arms to her sides.

She closed her eyes, leaning back against the weight of Grace and feeling Tristan's arm just at her back, just waiting to steady her if she needed him to.

"What happened?"

Grace asked, stepping back, and immediately Connie felt the cold press against her body where Grace had been only seconds before. She reached out for her but found nothing.

"I'm fine."

She whispered, a tight smile at her lips.

"I will be fine."

She added.

"Just let me get inside, sweetheart."

Tristan's hand hovered, omnipresent at her back, silently guiding her into her own home, her heel caught with a scrape on the door frame and she felt his fingers catch her before she stumbled.

"Mummy? Why have you got that on your head?"

Grace's voice sounded next to her again and she smiled, an image of her daughters curious little face within her mind despite the black that swarmed her eyes.

"I just hit my head..."

"Mrs Stewart said you can't see?"

Grace spoke again, cutting her mother off abruptly, the sound of her feet skipping off across the flooring as she spoke.

"Mrs Stewart?"

Tristan asked, his voice quiet. Connie cleared her throat, pursing her lips, hearing Grace off in the distance, somewhere else now, talking loudly, animatedly.

"The nanny."

She said flatly.

"Ah..."

Tristan raised his hand to his mouth and coughed into his fist, glancing up about himself.

"Where is she?"

He asked as Connie began to shrug off her coat.

"In the playroom I would assume, they usually are..."

She answered, folding her coat over her arm and hesitating, unsure which direction she was facing in.

"Let me."

He reached out, taking her coat before she could utter a word and she heard the rustle of fabric as he hung it up on the coat stand by the door.

She rolled up her sleeves, all of a sudden realising that she had this vast house to contend with on he own. She blinked, the glitter of white light pranced across one eye and then was gone.

"Well. Thank you...for driving me back."

She whispered with a nod of her head, still uncertain where to look, feeling her skin begin to crawl with the frustration of no longer being in control.

She heard him move but to where she wasn't quite sure.

"I could stay? If you like?"

He asked, and she heard him fold his arms across his chest, the leather of his jacket creaking quietly.

She smiled despite trying to hide it.

"Should I take that as a 'yes'?"

He asked, nearing her.

"If you insist."

She smiled again, her cheeks dimpling and her head dipping, she felt her hair fall across one eye and Tristan's fingers reached out to push it back behind her ear, beating hers to it.

"So, is it safe to assume that this means that you've forgiven me for being such an arse?"

He asked, letting his fingers linger at her jaw.

She tilted her head, leaning into his touch.

"If you can forgive me."

She said quietly. He stroked his thumb against her cheek.

"Oh, and I've had an idea about the job."

He said, changing the subject, his body moving so that she could only just feel him against her, his breath – peppermint, making her close her eyes, savouring it.

"Job?"

She asked, turning slightly so that she faced him, his hand reaching for her fingers.

"Well I'm not going to waste away in a hotel room feeling sorry for myself. I've got to do something."

He paused and she imagined him biting his lip, imagined his eyes looking at her with that inquisitive glint.

"I thought I could help you out in the office. Bit of research, admin...paperwork..."

He offered, his voice tailing off.

She raised an eyebrow.

"But you hate paper work."

She said. He shrugged, his jacket creaking once again.

"I just thought perhaps you could use an extra hand...when you get back to work."

He exhaled as he spoke and she felt herself tense. She felt herself perilously close to accepting an offer of help.

"I know that you hate me offering, but I also realise, and I know you do too, that you will need some help...should have some help..."

He let his words tail off again and he took her hands within his, pulling her closer so that his pelvis pushed against her own. She blinked, suddenly unsure whether or not she had her eyes open. The smell of peppermint was stronger, she could feel his hands slip about her waist and just beneath the wool of her jumper.

She smiled, clearing her throat and raised her eyes to where she thought he must be.

"You also realise that you will be required to work long...hard hours...sometimes deep into the night?"

She asked, her voice a whisper, her hands pressed flat against his chest, a fingertip just edging in between the buttons of his shirt to toy with the coarse hair and warm flesh she found beneath.

"Will I now?"

He asked, she could hear the smile on his lips and he pressed his forehead against her own, pulling her closer.

"Mmhmm."

She murmured, nudging his nose with the tip of her own.

"Well then, it will be a pleasure to work under you...Mrs Beauchamp."

He whispered.

I will update again tomorrow, and endeavour to catch up! I meant to update all of my stories every night last week but became so swamped with present buying/wrapping/making etc that it was impossible to!
Anyway, have a lovely Christmas everyone! xxx