AN: I'm sorry this has taken so long to get up here. I've been working on it for a few weeks, but struggled to move it on from the first few paragraphs. RL is so busy and it can sap my creativity. If only I could download the whole story from my brain to the computer and you'd all be able to read it right away. I can't thank you enough for all your reviews and kind kind comments. It makes me so happy to read them.

On a side note I wondered if there's anywhere else that Our Girl FF is uploaded. From other people's AN's I can see there's some sort of community out there. I'd love to connect more with people if anybody can point me in the right direction!

I hope you guys stick with me, I think it will be quite a long story so I hope that's ok, lots more to go!

Many thanks from me :)

Chapter 13

"Are you sure you're just going for 5 days?"

Charles was eyeing Molly's suitcase doubtfully as it lay open on her bed. She was carefully folding clothes and bikinis before laying them in along with toiletries, shoes and a host of other stuff Charles thought was probably surplus to requirements.

"Ha ha very funny, we can't all live out of a berten or whatever it's called."

Charles snorted with laughter,

"A Bergen, not a berten and it's a very efficient way to pack, travel and live." he lifted his chin with a smug smile then laughed at the expression of disbelief on Molly's face.

"Whatever you say, I couldn't pack lightly if my life depended on it." She went back to folding.

Charles sat back a little on the armchair in the corner of Molly's room. He was feeling uneasy about being there as any thoughts he'd had of getting upstairs into that room with Molly involved a lot more than helping her to lift her suitcase off the top shelf of her cupboard. He looked down at the carpet embarrassed as thoughts of carrying her up the stairs as he kissed her, flashed through his mind.

Unknown to him Molly was feeling the same. She hadn't intended having him here to pack, but it had all happened by accident.

They'd headed out on Sunday morning for more sightseeing, but after spending a morning at the Botanic Gardens the rain had started. Hoping it would go off after a while, they enjoyed a nice lunch in the restaurant at the Botanics, but the bad weather persisted. In the end they came back to Molly's and had hot chocolate to warm them up after the chill of the rain. Charles was leafing through the newspaper when Molly came out of the kitchen,

"I'm just going to run upstairs and look a few things out for packing."

"Do you want me to go?" Charles sounded like he was worried about overstaying his welcome.

"No no, I'm just getting my suitcase out ready for later." Molly grimaced. "I hate packing, but my taxi is booked for 6am tomorrow so I have to be done before I go to bed. Be back in a minute."

"Ok." Charles returned to the paper, trying to distract himself from how many hours they had together before he had to go home and know that she'd be gone tomorrow.

He was just settling into an article about the new IPhone when he heard a shriek from upstairs. Without hesitation, he bounded up the stairs two at a time,

"Molly?! Molly are you ok?"

"Ehm not really, oh my God!"

Then Charles heard the sound of the Hoover. Standing at the top of the stairs he was met by 3 doors and a corridor leading to a fourth. He had no idea where he was going so he followed the sound. At the end of the corridor, a door sat open. He peered inside to find Molly grimacing and examining the dust chamber of a cordless vacuum while holding the button down. He came close to her, examining her for signs of broken bones or blood, but she looked intact.

"What is it? You screamed!"

"Oh yeah," Molly shifted, her face growing redder by the second, "it was just a spider. Sorry if I scared you."

"A spider? With that scream I was sure you'd at least broken something." Charles smiled gently and patted her shoulder. "What's with the Hoover?"

"Well I hoovered it up and I was just spinning it for a couple of extra minutes to make sure it's at least knocked out. Hoovering them alone doesn't kill them.

Charles tried not to laugh,

"Something of an expert in spider homicide are you?"

"Don't take the piss! I bloody hate the buggers. I reached up to get my case and it crawled out. It was almost on me! Uugh!" Molly shuddered loudly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wind you up, it was quite funny though." Charles nudged her shoulder as Molly hid a smile. "Come on I'll lift it down for you in case there's any more arachnids waiting to pounce."

"Don't even joke!" she sounded horrified.

Charles reached up to the shelf and effortlessly lifted the case. Molly couldn't help noticing the sliver of skin on his stomach which appeared as his t-shirt rode up when he raised his arms. She realised she was staring and although he had spoken, she hadn't heard what he said,

"Molly?" he repeated, "where do you want this?"

"Oh, ehm just there please." Molly pointed at the wooden blanket box which ran along the bottom of her bed.

Charles laid it down carefully then brushed his hands down his jeans,

"Bit dusty."

"Oh I know, I've not used it in a while." Molly went into what Charles assumed was an en suite and came back with some wipes before cleaning the case.

Charles took the opportunity to sit in the chair in the corner and looked around the room.

"This is a great room Molly, especially the wardrobes. Custom made?"

"How did you know that?" asked Molly straightening up.

Charles shrugged,

"I've always had an eye for furniture. I've dabbled a bit myself, nothing like that obviously," he pointed.

"I've got quite a lot of stuff and I wanted good storage so I got one of those companies in to design them to the specific space. With the sloped ceilings, it worked the best, but I know where to come if I need anymore added," Molly winked.

"Oh no I don't want you get an inflated idea of my ability! I made a built in shelving unit for Sam's cupboard once. I was so proud of it, Rebecca didn't share my enthusiasm," he grimaced. "But I've always fancied buying a fixer upper. You know a house that I could really get stuck into and do the work myself."

"Sounds good," Molly said smiling.

"Sounds impossible you mean. Apart from maybe when I retire."

Molly stood awkwardly. She was very tempted to say he could do it sooner if he left the army, but she knew it wasn't appropriate so she just started packing again and Charles went back to admiring the furniture.

So there we were, both with their own thoughts, Charles finding it particularly difficult not to gather her up and lay her out on the big bed she was standing at the foot of. Molly continued adding items to the case, catching his eye and smiling now and then. They made small talk about holidays and travel in general then the door bell rang.

"Expecting anyone?" Charles enquired.

Molly shook her head,

"No. God I hope it's not my Mum." She rolled her eyes. "Back in a minute."

Charles was a bit concerned, was he about to be introduced to Mrs Dawes who by all accounts could give him a run for his money in the shouting at people stakes. He heard Molly's footsteps on the stairs, the click of the front door then an unexpected silence. One which was quickly broken,

"What the hell do you want?" Molly's voice was raised and Charles was on his feet instantly. Was Molly in danger? He darted out of her bedroom and was halfway down the stairs before he saw Daniel standing on the front porch. He stopped suddenly.

"Please Molly, I need to talk to you."

"Well I don't care what you want Daniel, I don't want to talk to you."

"I need to, before you go away?"

"What the fuck? How do you know I'm going away?"

"Stuart told me you're going to Ibiza with Lily."

Molly shook her head,

"So what if I am Daniel?"

"Just let me in-" just then Daniel caught sight of Charles on the stairs, "Oh I see, that's why you don't want to talk, cos you've got your new man here?!" Daniel sounded pissed off now.

Charles continued down the stairs as Molly looked between him and Daniel, a look of panic on her face. Suddenly she walked away from the door into the lounge area, placing her hands on her head, she exhaled loudly,

"Fucks sake," she whispered.

Daniel took her movement as an opportunity to step inside, but he didn't shut the door,

"Look Molly I'm only asking for 5 minutes."

"Fine!" she snapped.

"And without your - boyfriend," Daniel spat the last word.

"Don't push it Daniel," she turned to him.

Charles knew she was rattled and he suspected she was worried he'd put Daniel straight on their relationship, but he wasn't about to do that. Anything that made this twat suffer a little discomfort was alright with him. He'd had plenty of practice in conflict resolution, he would approach Daniel the way he might approach a cornered insurgent. He stuck his hand out, a peace offering,

"Charles, good to meet you Daniel, Molly's told me a lot about you."

Daniel was torn between hating this guy and the good manners instilled in him by his Father. Reluctantly he shook Charles' hand albeit briefly.

"Look...Charles, I'd appreciate a minute with Molly." His voice shook and Charles knew he was trying to appeal to him while also wanting to punch him in the face.

"It's really up to Molly..."

"It's fine Charles, honestly." she leant her head in the direction of the kitchen.

Charles nodded, went through and shut the bifold doors though he didn't move from that spot, his ear pressed to the join. One wrong word from Daniel and he'd be out there like a shot. He heard Molly speak first,

"Right, what do you want?"

Daniel shut the door and moved to sit on an armchair,

"Can I?" he pointed to it.

Molly shrugged and sat down heavily on the sofa.

"It looks different in here, you've changed it."

"Well when you left I thought I'd get rid of any other rubbish as well, the sofa, our bed, pretty much anything to do with you."

"Right," Daniel looked at the floor, "look I'm sorry Moll-"

"I don't want your apology Daniel. It means nothing to me now."

"I miss you."

Molly snorted, "And that means even less."

He looked up at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. She flinched slightly, but mostly she just wanted to get him out of there,

"Spit it out then," she said impatiently, "I've got packing to do."

"Ok...I wanted to catch you before you go...to Ibiza...and well..."

"What?!"

"Um like do the whole single girl party thing."

"I'm-"

Daniel held up his hand, "I know you're not single, with Mr Muscle and that, but he's been around 5 minutes, I figure things change."

"Turns out they change after years as well, not just minutes."

"I don't like him being in our house Molly."

"And there you go again! It's not "our" house anymore, in fact it never was "our" house, it's my house and I will have whoever the fuck I want here."

"And there you go again, always Miss Independent, not wanting help, not wanting to share your life, your home, God you pushed me away!"

"I didn't push you into her bed Daniel, you took that particular step all by yourself."

"I know! Sorry, it's just frustrating Molly. Damn it!" He stood up and paced in front of the window.

As stressed as she was, she had to admit there was a certain satisfaction in watching him squirm.

"So why did you need to catch me before Ibiza?"

"I wanted you to have all the facts, to know how I feel."

"I don't care how you feel Daniel."

"I don't believe that. Molly, please...I love you, I still love you, I miss you..."

"And?!" Molly meant it as a flyaway comment that didn't require an answer, but Daniel took it as an invitation to continue.

"And...well...Melanie's pregnant."

Molly was surprised at how little it hurt compared to how she thought it would when she had realised Daniel and Melanie were going to be serious. She really just felt flat, apathetic, non-plussed.

"Why are you telling me this Daniel? You're going to be a father and that's got nothing to do with me."

Daniel stopped pacing,

"Because it was an accident, I don't want a baby with Melanie...I...Well I want a baby with you."

Molly shook her head in disbelief,

"Daniel, you could have had a baby with me and you screwed it up and now you have to deal with the consequences. Stay with Melanie, don't stay with Melanie, I really don't care, but this baby didn't ask to be conceived and he or she is your responsibility. Don't be a shit Dad, it's the worst thing you could do, I've got first hand experience."

"What do you mean you don't care?"

"What?"

"You said you don't care if I stay with Melanie or not, I can't believe you mean that." He crouched down in front of her now, "Molly."

For the first time, Molly felt sorry for him. After everything he'd done, she could see he was suffering, but she meant what she'd said, she didn't care enough. Behind the doors, Charles was starting to feel sorry for Daniel too. He knew what it was like to want Molly and not have her, he could sympathise with Daniel's feelings even if he thought the man was an idiot. He had to remind himself as well that if Daniel hadn't fucked up, Charles wouldn't have a chance with Molly at all. Did he have a chance anyway though? He was torn at the thought. Molly spoke again,

"Daniel, there's something you don't know."

"What?" he sounded wary.

"I was devastated by what happened, you know that, but once it all died down I realised that I didn't actually miss you that much, other than having you as a mate. Daniel, we were a routine, I honestly don't think it was true love. So when I say I don't care, it's not to be mean, it's the truth. I care if you're safe and well and if your family are ok, but what you do with your life and with whom? Not so much."

"Right. So you're set with the new bloke then?"

"I'm not set with anything or anyone Daniel, I'm just taking life as it comes."

He nodded,

"Promise me you'll think about what I said?"

Molly looked down at him, she felt a lot of the anger leave her. She nodded,

"I will think about it, but Daniel it won't change my mind."

He stood up, dejected and made for the door. Molly stood too,

"I meant what I said Daniel. Don't screw up this child, you can be a good Dad even if you're a shit boyfriend."

"Ok, I'll try. Can I call you?"

"What for?"

"I miss you as my mate too."

"I won't turn you away if you need help, but I can't be your go to."

"Fair enough. Take care of yourself Molly." And with that he left.

Molly stood for a moment, shaking with the emotion of what had just happened. She took a few deep breaths then walked purposefully through to the kitchen. Charles was sitting at the table, she avoided making eye contact with him. She went straight to the fridge, took out a bottle of beer, opened it and drank deeply.

"You ok?" Charles enquired quietly.

"Yeah, I just need to calm down a bit. Want one?" She indicated the bottle.

"Yeah, thanks."

She placed the beer in front of him and sat down beside him. There was an awkward silence.

"Molly, can I ask you something?"

"I suppose," she shrugged and Charles could tell she'd put up her walls.

"Do you want to go back to Daniel?"

"What the fuck?" she exclaimed, "No! Why would you ask that?"

"I'm just checking. I know we're not together, though he thinks we are, but I don't want to stand in your way if you were considering it."

His stomach was twisted painfully. He knew it was right to ask, but the words almost choked him.

"No Charles I don't want to go back to him. I meant what I said...I assume you heard it all."

Charles nodded awkwardly.

"Well it's obviously not what I was expecting him to say," she continued, "but it is what it is and that's that."

Charles could tell she was thinking about the pregnancy.

"Can I ask you something else?"

She looked at him seriously,

"You can ask me anything Charles," and she meant it.

"Do you still want children? Even though it's not with Daniel?"

Molly stared at the table for a couple of minutes. She didn't know what to say. She definitely wanted children, but she was scared to admit that to Charles in case he told he he didn't and there would be yet another thing pushing them apart. She sighed, best to rip the plaster sooner rather than later,

"Yes I do want children Charles."

"Then you should make sure you do that. Don't compromise what you want in life for anyone else."

She felt sick, was he saying she should find someone else? Was he having second thoughts about potentially being with her because he already had a grown up son and didn't want to start over again?

"And before you ask," he spoke firmly, "I want more children. I want to experience what it's like to have them with someone I'm in love with." He took a large drink of beer before pushing up from his chair, "I'm heading home now, let you get on. Have a great holiday and I'll see you when you're back." He smiled.

She recognised the self-preservation. He'd just admitted something to her without actually saying it and he needed to leave her with that and give them both some space. She smiled back, a little too cheerily,

"Thank you. I'll let you know when I'm there and I'll catch you on Friday or Saturday."

They walked to the door and she opened it for him. He turned to her, standing close, he rested his hands on her shoulders,

"Safe journey Molly."

He leant down and brushed her lips with his then hurried down the steps before she could reply with more than a stunned "bye."