Chapter Ninety Eight - Sunday Evenings

Elizabeth walked into her lounge, hands grasped tightly around two mugs of coffee as she smiled softly at Henry. She placed them both down on the table in front of them before climbing back into the space next to him, her legs tucked under her as she leant into him. His arm draped across her shoulder, his fingers gently stroking her as they sank into their moment.

'I've had another perfect weekend with you Henry, despite the few hours I got called into state earlier. I'm sorry about that' she sighed heavily, the thought of him having to go home soon lay heavy in her chest.

' Elizabeth, I really hope you don't feel the need to apologise every time you have to work, I hate to think I caused you that much pain you now try to remedy your actions with what an apology. I am ok with you working. I used to hate it, only because we were fighting and it just felt like I was losing you over and over. We're stronger now, I know that if we fight, IF that ever happens again, well, we made a promise' he smiled, his voice soft but sincere.

'I was genuinely sorry I had to leave, our time Is so precious these days I just…' she trailed off. She pulled herself up off him and reached for her mug of coffee, turning her legs towards him and smiling 'we do have a promise now' she confirmed, sipping at her drink.

'I miss the kids' she sighed, 'I haven't seen or hardly spoke to Jase and Noodle since the wedding, which was what, five weeks ago?' She paused as she mentally sorted through a timeline.

'Yeah five weeks yesterday. I'll bring them up this weekend if you like? I want to come up and see you, but I also want to stop by the archives for this paper I'm working on. So they can come with me' he explained

'That will be nice, I have a sneaky feeling Jase has been avoiding me' she chuckled

'I'm not surprised given the bill he rang up in London after we left!' Henry scoffed. 'That's the last time I leave that boy with Shane' he moaned with a shake of the head.

'I don't think it was Shane's fault we have an unruly teenager' she giggled. Henry placed his hands down on her legs, gently stroking them, needing to reconnect with her,

'How are they? Really?' She asked, her heart aching that she didn't know the full ins and outs of their lives anymore.

'They're ok, Alison is busy with school work, friends and boys, Jason is, well he's Jason. I think he misses you, and he hasn't quite forgiven me either so things can get tense at times, a lot of the time if I'm honest' he sighed as he glanced down in his lap momentarily, a wary smile etched on his face.

'Forgiven you?' She asked, taking another sip of her drink.

'For dating Charlotte' he admitted shyly. He removed his hands from her legs and reached for his coffee, his teeth nipping at the inside of his mouth as he felt her eyes linger on his actions. Once he had taken a sip of the warm liquid he placed the mug back on the table and turned to face the inevitable.

'He hates me for it, I hate me for it' he twisted his lips. Elizabeth remained silent, her eyes didn't waver as she watched him fight between head and heart.

'I'm listening' she pressed on, her words clear and firm, the mere mention of that woman's name sent her into a foul mood.

'Are you sure you want to talk about her? I don't want to ruin our weekend?' He asked carefully, the shift in her mood evident.

'I don't want to know, but I feel I should. I think i'd rather discuss it here than In front of Dr Sherman also' she admitted softly. 'I'm not annoyed with you, just her' She explained, watching as Henry nodded slowly.

'Jase caught me with her one night, not intimately just kissing' he paused, watching Elizabeth's face twist in disgust as he spoke. 'He wanted to tell you, he felt like I was cheating on you but I asked him not to speak to you, not because I wanted him to keep a secret but because I felt it needed to come from me, and I also didn't know what Charlotte and I were at that point' he huffed, the honestly proving difficult as he allowed himself to open up.

'Did you feel like it was cheating?' She asked, her lip pressed between her teeth as she waited for his answer.

'In some ways I suppose, I didn't at the time, we were separated, getting a divorce. I can see now how it looked, how it was a huge betrayal of trust, for the kids and you' he explained and she added slowly

'I was hurting, I needed someone, I wanted you but couldn't have you. I was reeling from my mistakes and buried my head in the sand, or between someones legs as Jase informed me' Henry scoffed

'I don't need the mental images' she closed her eyes and dismissed his comment immediately. 'I was worried about you when I learnt about her, it was so out of character for you, It just didn't make sense. I was genuinely concerned that you were really struggling' she admitted 'I should have done something about that'

'I was struggling, I lost who I was. I never realised how much of my identity resided with you. It was a strange and lonely time.' He sighed. His gaze fixed on Elizabeths as a sad smile fell on his lips ' 'Do you forgive me for being with her?' He asked openly.

Elizabeth inhaled deeply, 'It's not really for me to forgive I don't think. I didn't understand why you felt you needed too, but then again we both had our vices and ways to cope, I don't expect you to understand mine either. I felt hurt more than I felt betrayal. I just remember thinking that was it, you'd moved on. I felt like all hope had finally been stolen that day.' She pressed her lips together, her gaze falling to her lap as her body ran cold with the memory of that day.

'I was furious at the kids, and you for not telling me. That took a lot to forgive.' Her gaze lifted back to him, her eyes widened as she shook her head in annoyance at that time.

'I made mistake after mistake and I honestly don't know what I did to deserve a second chance with you Elizabeth, I really don't but I am so thankful I've got it' he almost cried as he shifted closer to her, his hands grabbing at hers and squeezing them as he spoke. She smiled softly at him.

'Change is a wonderful thing' she winked softly as she leant forward and pulled him closer. Her lips falling onto his delicately. The taste of him starting to feel like home. 'Thank you for being honest with me' she mumbled into his lips as she connected them once again.

Henry pulled back a few moments later and grinned at her. The most beautiful woman in the world was back in his arms. Life didn't get much sweeter than that.

'I don't want you to go' she sighed sadly, her lips pouting a little. 'I just want you to be here, all the time' she moaned

'Me too, but we're doing the right thing, we can't rush this' he became the voice of reason and she agreed despite the sadness that lay in the pit of her stomach. 'And I don't have to leave for another hour yet, so, come here' he shifted back on the couch and opened his arms. Elizabeth smiled and twisted in her position, falling back into him. Henry leant down and kissed the top of her head, these are the moments he looked forward to, it almost made all the heartache worth it, just to hold her again.