They were at it again.

Mouths sucking, lips tugging, arms wrapping, hands sliding and grasping. A hand in blonde hair, a bitten lip, fistfuls of fabric, nails catching skin. Janet had Rachel pushed up against the wall of the end toilet cubicle. Her arms behind Rachel's head, pulling her down, her body leaning against Rachel's all the way up. Heavy heat. Janet still had her coat on, Rachel's had been abandoned on the counter outside. Rachel slid her hands inside the heavy blue fabric, around Janet's back, feeling her body heat seep through the soft fabric of her cardi. Feeling her ribs under her fingers, her spine. Rachel pushed off the wall, wrapping Janet tight in her arms, stepping her backwards, kissing closer and closer till Janet's back hit the cubicle door with a crash as the entire flimsy structure shook under their combined body weight. Janet cupped Rachel's face in her hands and spread kisses all over it, cheeks, eyes, forehead, ears, nose, mouth, chin, cheeks again. And then Rachel reclaimed her mouth, sucking and almost biting, licking between kisses and Janet was with her. They were hungry children, gobbling their favourite foods. They were parched in a desert, gulping down long cool draughts of each other. They were small creatures burrowing, burrowing into warm darkness. They were drowning, clinging to the driftwood of the other's body. They were drowning in kisses, gasping, choking for breath. They were drowning in sensation, addicted, craving more with every touch, lick, nip, kiss, catch, stroke, sigh. Fingers grabbing fingers, tangling in hair, lips slick together, pulling and taking and giving, tongues tracing, eyes flickering, clothes shucking. They were falling, melting, burning.

They were at it again.

In the end cubicle of the station toilets. Snogging like teenagers. Better than teenagers.

Like there was literally no tomorrow.

Janet had woken up in a good mood. She had that vague sense that she had dreamed something pleasant without any real memory of what it was. She had glided through the girls' breakfast squabbles and the usual litany of reminders without losing any of her inner calm. She hadn't even had to tell anyone off for swearing. She had left the house in plenty of time and when Rachel phoned, just as she started the car, it felt like a nudge of fate.

Rachel was frustrated. Everything, everything, was falling apart around her. Or leaping up and taking on a life of its own, just when she thought she had it firmly taped down. Sean. Sean was driving her berserk. It was like talking to custard. He just had no idea, it seemed, how normal people talked about serious things. He had no concept of serious for starters. And her mother. No. No way. No going back. But stupid boy – clearly not listening. Rachel had banged her toe on the way to the bathroom, torn the top she had been going to wear, dropped her handbag three times on the way from the door to the car and was near breaking point. Only one thing to do. She phoned Janet.

Everything seemed to be conspiring to bring them together this morning. With some weird synchronicity, they arrived at the station at exactly the same time. Janet's gleeful mood had only increased on seeing Rachel, being all sulky and disaffected. Time was, it would have driven Janet up the wall. But she had learned to see the vulnerability that generated these outer signs. She had come to find them endearing. Rachel's not-so-subtle attempts to catch her attention in the office over the last couple of years had annoyed, then amused, then warmed Janet. So when Rachel pouted at her as she got out of the car this morning, Janet just wanted to hug her.

Rachel was surprised at how handsy Janet was when they met in the car park. She wasn't used to the touchy-feely thing, didn't usually allow it. But it was nice the way Jan had put an arm around her casually. It gave her an odd playground flashback. When walking with your arms round each other signalled to the whole wide world that you were best best friends. The way all the girls had always wanted to walk with Becky whatsername, who would spend half of break picking and choosing her latest. It had never been Rachel. Not with her mucky hair and only half a school uniform, ratty old trainers and a temper that scared even the boys. It gave Rachel a peculiar feeling to be walking into work with Janet's arm around her. She was the office darling after all; everybody loved Jan. And somehow she was Rachel's friend. Best best. Closest person. Look how far she'd come. It did give her a peculiar feeling, even as she kept up her litany of woes. A peculiar feeling that might be some kind of happy.

So here they were, at it again. Janet wasn't sure who had started it this morning. She suspected it was a foregone conclusion from the moment she answered the phone, certainly since they got out of their cars. She tried to quell the little voice that told her she had been hoping for it ever since she woke up. Countered it with the thought that it clearly wasn't just her. A mutual desire, urge, want... things. A tiny dark flame that licked around the edges of their conversation, flared up when her eyes met Rachel's, and really caught light when they snapped the door shut behind them. She couldn't remember who had reached for who first.

Neither of them wanted to stop. Rachel kept trying to take an extra breath, check that she wasn't overpushing it. She kept thinking that any second now Janet was bound to come to her senses, or that maybe she should be the mature one for once and get things back under control. Because she was good at that... not. But she should try. And then Janet would move her hand, or she would respond just a little harder to one of Rachel's kisses and... neither of them wanted to stop.

Janet kept thinking about the time. How long had they been there? They were due in the office. Had they been running early or was someone going to start noticing?

Gill's face flashed across Rachel's mind. What would she say if she came to the loo and heard the two of them, saw them?

Eventually, they wound it down. Each taking a breath between kisses, then slowing hands to smooth and soothe instead of clutch. They still held onto each other, waiting for the world to stop tilting, the rules of normality to reassert themselves. Rachel pecked at Janet's nose. Janet tilted Rachel's chin with her index finger. They smiled, releasing a sigh of laughter together. Rachel slumped back against the tiles, kept hold of Janet's hand.

'You're chipper this morning,' she observed, smirking.

'Well you're... umm... very...' Janet gestured vaguely with her hands. Grinned wryly at herself, not making much sense. 'You looked like you needed chirping up,' she finished.

'I need a wee.' Rachel announced. Time to go.

Janet steeled herself to look at her watch. 'Yeah, we should probably get a move on.' Not too bad, she noticed. They had been in early. So even if that they were later than they usually were, they wouldn't be in any trouble over it.

As long as nobody noticed anything. Nobody started wondering where they had got to between the car park and the MIT office, nobody wanted to know what took them so long in the toilets, nobody made any off-colour jokes that could start her treacherous body blushing, nobody gave them funny looks. Janet felt a chill of anxiety ripple up her. She couldn't cope with any more shit right now. Work was her safe place.

No. That was a lie. She could cope. She had coped with far worse. And one thing on top of another too. She took a deep breath, leaned back for a moment. She didn't want to have to cope with any funny business in work, but she could if she had to, and it was highly unlikely that she would. Janet recognised that she was letting her thoughts get to her. She closed her eyes and let the tension drain out of her again.

When she opened them Rachel was watching her of course.

'You ok Jan?' Concern starting up in her eyes.

Janet nodded. Managed a smile.

'Yeah... yeah.'

Rachel took her hands, lifted them slowly, kissed each one then held them together. She smiled at Janet. Saying things without saying them again.

It'll be ok. Thank you. Friend.

Janet huffed another breath, pulled herself firmly together inside and managed a rather better smile.

'Right,' she said, removing her hands to brush her coat down. 'Let's get to work then, shall we?' She pushed herself off the door, unfastened the catch and held it open.

'After you Madam.'

Rachel grinned. 'I'll just be a minute.'

She popped around the corner of the door frame into the next cubicle, then turned and stuck her head back round to Janet.

'Have I ruined your good mood?' she asked, with that point-blank Rachel Bailey bluntness.

'No.' Janet smiled gently. 'No.' Very definitely.

'Cos I could always start moaning again, if you prefer.' Rachel's words were joky, but her eyes were sharp on Janet's face.

Janet felt her good humour bubbling up again. To have someone notice. To have someone care. And Janet could appreciate that it wasn't all about her. Rachel was making an effort to be this thoughtful. She had her own problems and worries, doubtless her own misgivings. And she was still standing there, worrying about Janet first, willing to follow her lead.

Janet leaned forward, swinging on the door frame, made her expression sneaky and lowered her voice conspiratorially,

'Ooh yeah, tell us more about King Knob.'