Heartlines

Fandom: Emmerdale

Pairing: Charity & Vanessa

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing games with them.

Summary: Vanessa has had a hell of a day at work so texts Charity to cancel their plans, so she can go to bed early. Charity has other ideas.

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Chapter 2

Charity had only spent a few minutes here and there with Johnny on the occasional morning when she had still been at Vanessa's when he woke up. He was a similar age to Moses and just like her youngest son he had a fondness for dinosaurs. It had made it easy for her to interact with him on those occasions and he seemed to find her entertaining. Charity hoped he still liked her after she'd fed him and that he didn't play up and make her look like a disaster.

She placed him in his high chair and brought his bowl and spork over, sitting next to him on one of the dining chairs. She'd rang Tracy at the shop to find out what Johnny liked to eat, then Marlon had plated up some chicken and broccoli for her to reheat. All Charity had needed to cook from scratch was a little bit of pasta and even she couldn't mess that one up.

"Right little man" she said as she shovelled a piece of the broccoli onto the spork, "open wide."

Johnny did as he was told, opening wide so she could pop the veg into his mouth and then obediently chewed on it. Charity smiled warmly at him, impressed by how easily he ate his greens. She usually had to hide most vegetables by blending it into potato or a sauce when feeding Mosses. He finished chewing the broccoli and swallowed so she put a small piece of chicken on the spork and brought it to his lips, making a 'cho cho' train sound. He smiled broadly before opening wide again.

"Is that good?" she asked as he chewed on the meat.

Johnny nodded his head as he chewed and then opened wide again, waiting for more. She gave him another piece of broccoli. As he was chewing he reached out for the spork so she handed it over to him, so he could feed himself.

He really was quite adorable, she could see Vanessa in his features and that made her smile. Charity wondered if he and Mosses would get on. They would have to try them on a play date soon, either at Vanessa's or the pub. If her and Vanessa were going to make a go of it then the kids would be spending a lot of time together eventually. They could take them to a soft play centre, the park or the Zoo…even Noah would like the Zoo.

Charity wondered if she was letting her mind run away with her a bit too soon? She'd tried to keep Noah out of previous relationships, expecting them to fail so not wanting him to get too invested. She really wanted this to work though and she was pretty confident that Vanessa did too. Did the other woman trust her enough to get involved in each other's kid's lives just yet? Did Charity trust herself enough? After all, she was usually the one that messed things up.

"Cha-tea" Johnny tried to get her wandering attention back.

He'd stopped eating and was watching her with curiosity. She didn't realise that he knew her name (or something close to it), obviously he'd picked it up on one of the morning's. It made her smile warmly at him and he smiled back.

"Char-it-y" she said slowly, so he could try to copy it.

"Cha-tea" he repeated his first attempt.

She chuckled and reached out to ruffle his tufty hair. It wasn't the most child friendly name, at least Mosses would only have to learn 'Ness' because she imagined Vanessa would be a mouthful for a toddler.

"Yeah that'll do" she encouraged Johnny.

He gave her a huge grin before shovelling some pasta into his mouth. Half the piece fell down his front, but he chewed happily on the other half. She had no idea where his bibs were, but he was getting a bath soon, so he could make a bit of a mess.

Whilst he continued to slowly eat his meal she got up and started routing round the cupboards, so she could lay the table for her and Vanessa, making sure she returned to him regularly to tell him how well he was doing.

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Vanessa felt wonderfully refreshed as she came back downstairs after her shower. Her hair was still damp, and she'd thrown her pyjamas on, so she could get back to her girlfriend and son as soon as possible. She could hear Charity talking to Johnny over the soft music the other woman was playing on her phone. Vanessa stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, so she could watch them both for a moment.

Charity had been busy whilst she was upstairs. The dining table was laid out for them and she had found a scented candle from the sideboard and lit it, placing it at the far end of the table away from the toddler. There was an open bottle of white wine (one that looked to nice to have come from the pub) and two glasses ready and waiting on the table.

The taller blonde was sat in the dining chair angled towards Johnny, encouraging him to eat the last of his food. They looked so comfortable together and it made Vanessa's heart thump that little bit harder in her chest. She had been thinking about suggesting they spend time with each other's kids ever since Charity had admitted she wanted a relationship with some strings attached. She had been worried it would seem too soon so had shelved the idea for a couple of weeks. Seeing Charity with her son though…it made those fears disappear.

Charity looked up from the toddler and caught sight of her. The blonde's face lit up with a huge grin and Vanessa's heart raced even faster. Charity stood up and Vanessa made her way over to the two of them. She stopped just behind Johnny and grasped the lapel of Charity's grey jacket (the same one she'd been wearing in the cellar on the night of the wake), tugging her towards her before planting a firm kiss on her lips. She rested her forehead against the taller woman's and breathed her in.

"What was that for babe?" Charity asked, her voice slightly dazed from the sudden affection.

"Because I can" Vanessa hummed.

Charity dipped her head and kissed her again but this time it was slower and softer. Vanessa tangled her fingers in blonde curly hair and pulled the taller woman as close as she could, enjoying the affection and care the kiss portrayed. As they broke the kiss Charity nuzzled her sweetly before pulling back slightly to look at her. Vanessa wasn't sure she'd ever get enough of the soft way Charity was looking at her. It was like she was something very precious.

"Cha-tea" Johnny gurgled, drawing attention back to him.

"That's a bit cute" Vanessa chuckled.

They both rounded the table, so he could see them. He clapped his hands together with joy when they came into view.

"That's a lot cute" the other woman interjected.

Johnny seemed happy to have their attention again and continued to joyfully clap his hands together. He'd ate most of the food in his bowl and seemed full. Vanessa was sure he'd have a little bit of space for a kid's yoghurt though. The toddler was currently obsessed with strawberry fromage frais. She went over to the fridge and took one out whilst Charity took the bowl from his high chair and tipped the remains in the bin. The taller woman stayed over by the oven, checking the progress of their food whilst Vanessa handed him the yoghurt.

"Sit down and I'll plate up dinner babe" Charity instructed.

Vanessa sat down next to Johnny, opposite where Charity had been sitting, and watched the taller blonde move effortlessly around her kitchen. The domesticity of it made her feel happy…light…and a little bit dizzy. She'd felt like this on the few mornings Charity had been able to hang around and have breakfast with her before returning to the Woolpack. All she'd wanted for weeks was to have more moments like that; for Charity to want to spend time with her that didn't involve them rolling around the bed (or the sofa, the stairs or the kitchen table).

"Thank you for doing this" Vanessa gushed.

Charity brought over the two plates of food for them, placing hers down first before walking round the table and placing Vanessa's in front of her. The taller blonde had prepared a salad to go with the lasagne and the smell of it all made her mouth water.

"No need to thank me babe" Charity chirped; "it's what girlfriends do right?"

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Charity had really enjoyed dinner. The two of them had laughed their way through it with Vanessa explaining her awful day and Charity recalling her own experiences of attempting to farm. She was far better suited to pulling pints than herding sheep. She respected Vanessa's job, but she could never do it. The only time she'd handled veterinary equipment she'd accidently tranquilised herself. Not that Charity planned on telling Vanessa that story any time soon considering its context.

"You should have said hi to Veronica from me" Charity quipped.

When the stud owner had been in her pub at Christmas she had tried so hard to ignore the snobby attitude for Vanessa's sake. That had all gone south when the miserable old cow had insulted the vet. Charity could take people getting at her, but Vanessa was so good…Vanessa would have just sat there and taken it. Charity couldn't stand that. So, she had ripped into Veronica and hoofed her out of the pub (pardon the pun). If Paddy hadn't interrupted them in the cellar, then she would have had a mind-blowing orgasm in reward from the vet…instead she had been left tense and frustrated.

"God no" Vanessa replied with a smile, "besides I barely got a word in edgeways."

"How dare you be so polite and nice Vanessa" Charity mimicked the stud owner with the poshest and snobbiest voice she could muster.

It made Vanessa laugh, the smaller woman nearly tipping the last bit of her wine down her front. Charity loved the way the smaller woman's blue eyes seemed to light up and twinkle when she smiled or laughed. She also got these little wrinkles around her eyes that Charity found utterly adorable. She enjoyed making Vanessa happy…it gave her a warm tingly feeling that she didn't dare name yet.

"I better trot on and take Johnny up for his bath" Vanessa quipped, "Its nearly his bed time."

The toddler had enjoyed his yoghurt as they ate their lasagne. He'd been happy to sit and listen to them talk, occasionally gurgling with joy when one of them laughed. He particularly seemed to like it when one of them mimicked a posh accent.

"Night little man" Charity cooed at the toddler.

Vanessa stood up and lifted Johnny out of him highchair, so she started to clear their plates and cutlery of the table. She brought desert too, but she was holding that back for when Vanessa came back. It would be baked cheesecake and wine in front of the TV.

"You can leave the dishes" Vanessa offered, "I'll do them when I get back down."

"Don't be daft" Charity chuckled.

She was there to make Vanessa's evening easier after a rotten day, so she wasn't leaving the washing up for her. Part of her also wanted to show that she could be good girlfriend material. As people found out they were in a relationship she had no doubt that Vanessa would get plenty of negative comments about her. Charity was determined to prove everyone wrong.

She put theirs and Johnny's stuff in the sink and started to run the hot water. Vanessa carried Johnny over to her, a warm smile on the smaller woman's features.

"I won't be long" Ness promised before stretching up and kissing her on the cheek.

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