This fic has periods of angst, but it does lighten up, I promise.

TW: Discussion of family violence.

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Caroline stepped out of her black Jeep and a thundering toddler, whose noise levels and impact belied her size, hit her legs. Laughing, she picked up her daughter Flora.

"I've missed you today. What have you been doing?" Caroline kissed Flora and gave her a long hug. She breathed in the toddler's scent and a calm washed over her as the day fell away.

"Went to Bumbles. Had cake."

"Cake? Sounds yummy. Let's see what Granny's up to." Caroline said with more energy than she felt, hoping that her mum Celia had started to cook dinner and she wouldn't have play chef tonight.

Their living arrangements had changed somewhat since the move up north two weeks ago. The separate granny flat in Harrogate for Celia and Alan had become the second bedroom inside Caroline's house in Halifax, so it felt like they were all living on top of one another. It was handy having her mother and Alan there to help look after Flora, but she hated the thought of her mother knowing everything that she did. There were definitely some things that were best kept private.

"Had a good day love?"

"Yes Mum. It all went really well. I met the Chair of the Governors today and she seemed to be on the ball." A right bitch is what she really thought, but she'd wait to pass a more considered judgment the next time they met, just in case it was first day blues influencing her normally spot-on people reading skills.

Celia wasn't having any of it. She had a nose for spotting deception from a mile away, so Celia unleashed a half-baked maternal death stare. Even with the lower wattage it wasn't long before Caroline relented, answering with a sigh, "She knows what she wants, but I haven't worked out how to make it happen yet. Early days. We'll see."

Celia eyed her daughter and couldn't resist one more dig. "Well, if you hadn't left Sulgrave Health, you wouldn't be in this predicament." Seeing that Caroline actually looked really tired, Celia refrained from saying anything more on the topic.

Caroline shook her head to expel the sting. She'd heard it all before from her two boys, William and Lawrence, so it wasn't new. Everyone had an opinion about the move and none of it was positive. She left the kitchen to get changed and get Flora ready for bed. What she really wanted to do was talk to Gillian about it. Somehow her sister-in-law had become her confidant, the one person with whom she could be truly honest. She didn't quite know how it had happened, but gradually over the last eighteen months, Gillian had quietly slipped underneath her formidable barriers and settled close to her heart. Somehow just being in the farmer's company soothed her.

After Flora was tucked up in bed and the story told, Caroline had called Gillian. "Can I come over? I know it's late but I could do with your company, if you're up."

"Okay. I'll put kettle on. See you in five."

The big advantage of the move was that she was now living close to Gillian. They were so different, the sheep farmer and the head teacher, but Alan's daughter Gillian, and Celia's daughter Caroline had been pushed together by the marriage of their respective parents three years ago and they had unexpectedly become quite attached. They both seemed to understand that the requirements of their roles as women and parents which seemed to strangle them at times and they found common ground more often than not. It also helped that they had bonded over shared secrets and they'd grown to accept the flaws in the other in a way that no one else had. This lack of judgment was a blessed relief to them both and they had slowly become good friends.

As Caroline pulled into the courtyard of Gillian's farm, she could see Gillian standing outside in the cold with two mugs steaming in her hands. She got out of the Jeep and let herself be enveloped in a hug, her head lying on Gillian's muscular shoulder. She finally let herself relax, for the first time in days and she felt her breathing change. Gillian noted the change and with a squeeze, let Caroline go.

"So how was the first day?" She waited for an answer, but Caroline seemed to be lost in her thoughts, looking down the valley at the lights of Halifax in the distance.

"That bad?"

Caroline snapped out of her daze. "It was okay. It's really about working out who does what and how everything fits together. Once I have a handle on that I can start moving the levers and see how I can turn it around. First days really are shit though, aren't they?" She smiled at Gillian. "It's funny, but now I'm here, I don't really want to talk about it. I'm just happy for your company."

They both turned and walked inside, navigating the furniture and landing heavily on the sagging burgundy couch. The fire was blazing in front of them but the bulk of the warmth only reached a few feet. The drafty old farmhouse was not the solid barrier from the outside that you would expect.

They sat in comfortable silence, watching the glow of the fire. Caroline finally broke the peace. "So how are you?"

Gillian stared down at her mug, wondering just what to say. Caroline was the only one who knew what had happened with her first husband Eddie. Knew why she'd married his brother Robbie, and knew that it was going to end at some stage. She mumbled into her mug, "Me an' Robbie have split."

Caroline turned sharply to look at her. Her eyes gently questioned Gillian, who stared into the fire. "When did this happen?" Caroline knew to wait and let Gillian reveal what was going on, but her mind was spinning. How much had Gillian told him? Robbie was a retired police officer with a large streak of cowardice. He'd known about the abuse his brother Eddie had dished out to Gillian during their marriage until Eddie's death twelve years ago, and yet Robbie had done nothing to stop it. In fact, he'd tried to have Gillian arrested after Eddie's death, so it was an understatement to say that Caroline was not very fond of Robbie. Gillian and Robbie getting married 18 months ago was a disaster waiting to happen as far as she could tell, but she'd long since stopped advising people about their lives. She felt like she'd made such a mess of her own that she had no wisdom to offer anyone any more.

Gillian sipped her tea and Caroline waited. "Two days ago, after all those accidents in the barn. It were like Eddie were going to kill him and I had to get Robbie to leave. I've been going mental about it for weeks, ever since Robbie nearly died. There was so much blood after the last one, with the grinder. It really scared me." Gillian took another sip of her tea, trying to get her thoughts together. "When it were just me, it were okay, but I couldn't do it to Robbie." She stopped, gripping her mug while she stared into the fire.

"So I told him. I told him everything. Well, not about you knowing, but about Eddie and about murdering him. I had to. I shouldn't have married him, but I am fond of him and I couldn't have that on my conscience too." She paused, not really wanting to say the rest out loud. She glanced towards the barn, speaking quietly as if to avoid irritating the dead. "Eddie's evil and he's still in there, I know it."

It didn't seem possible to Caroline that Gillian could be any smaller, but she seemed to shrink even further into her skin and slumped deeper into the couch. Caroline could see warm light from the fire flickering on the Gillian's profile, as the grief and the loneliness wandered across the woman's frame, somehow anchoring in her gut as she absentmindedly clutched and scratched at her belly.

Caroline pulled her into a hug and Gillian started to sob. Body shaken and shoulder wet, her arms held the farmer tight, one hand circling slowly around Gillian's back like she was mustering out the grief and fear. Providing support wasn't what she'd intended by coming here tonight, but now she had her arms around Gillian, she was aware of just how close they were. The scent of hay and sheep and something intrinsically Gillian was filling her nostrils and warming her far more than the fire.

Gillian's crying became softer and gradually stopped. She clung to Caroline for a bit longer and then disentangled herself, sniffing "Sorry. I didn't mean that to happen. I feel like such a mess at the moment, more than usual."

"That's okay. You needed to." Wary of the answer, she hesitantly asked, "What did he say? Is he going to report you to the police?"

"No, he says he won't." She gazed into the fire, miles away in thought. "He's going to Canada. To live, probably. I don't know if he's coming back. He'll be leaving this week or next, he said."

"So he's leaving the country? For good? Wow. Okay."

They sat in silence for a while after that, allowing the implications of this news to settle. So much had changed in the last few weeks and they were both struggling to take it all in.

Caroline stroked Gillian's arm, the tenderness evident for them both to feel. "You okay?" Caroline grimaced. "Sorry. Stupid question."

"I'm glad I told Robbie. It feels lighter somehow. Like I've let go of something. Like I can move on. I can still feel Eddie in the barn though. I don't think he'll ever leave."

"Have you ever thought of moving? There have to be other farms around here…"

Gillian was aghast. "This is my place! I built this. Eddie didn't. He'll not run me out. This is mine."

"Okay, okay." Caroline pacified her. "It was just a thought."

They sat in silence while the cold settled into their tired bones. Caroline knew she had to move. "I think I'd better head home. Day two tomorrow."

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess. I was supposed to be here for you, not the other way around, but the last week has been awful and it just came out. Sorry."

"It's fine. You needed to talk and I'm here. It is hard, but it will seem easier in the morning. Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah." Gillian blinked and turned to face the blonde. "Thanks for listening. Dinner Friday night? Same as usual?"

"Sure. I'll meet you at The Lion at 6.30."

They both got up and hugged. Gillian stepped back, letting go of the protective warmth of Caroline. "Bye."

"Bye. Bye bye."

Caroline walked out into the winter's night and climbed into her Jeep. The rumble of the diesel seemed to reverberate around the landscape now the fog had settled over the fields. It lent a surreal softening to all the questions that tumbled around in her head. Was Gillian really free of Robbie now he was going? Would he come back and turn her into the police? She sighed, put the car into gear and headed home. The fog outside reflected her internal state; she couldn't see clearly enough to get her head around any of it.