"Be nice ... she's alright when you get to know her ... she means well you know"
"Yeah you said ... " Molly pulled a face. She was busy ploughing through a huge heap of the washing up while Belinda dried and stacked the clean stuff on the table and Charles traipsed backwards and forwards transporting the debris from the dining room "Did you see the way she was looking at 'im? Cow"
"'spect a lot of women look at 'im like that Molls, eh?"
"What, like they're pervin' ... Well, yeah, s'pose they do really, but ... don't mean I 'ave to like it when someone does it right in front of me, does it?"
"He didn't take no notice did he?"
"Well, nah ... s'pose not, still ... "
He'd absolutely insisted on helping clear up from lunch so was ferrying piles of plates and bowls and cutlery and dead crackers not to mention what seemed like dozens of glasses with dregs of wine in the bottom through to the kitchen in spite of all Belinda's blushing protestations that he didn't have to and that it was really, really kind of him, thoughtful, but that she'd manage. She'd get the girls to come down and help while he went through and sat down and took Molls with him or she could always get the lazy bugger asleep on the sofa to get his arse into gear and give her a hand if she needed help.
"That'd be a first" Molly nibbled at her bottom lip and rolled her eyes at the way her mother was trying so hard to avoid admitting that Dave was a useless waste of space. Years of practice had made defending him her default position, no matter what and no matter who she was talking to "Never 'as before, 'as he Mum? And Charles don't mind helping,he said didn't he? He said he wanted to"
"I know, but he's dead polite inne? He's got them lovely manners ... 'n I'm sure yer dad would help if I asked him"
"Are you? I'm not and yeah, Charles is ... polite ...but he wouldn't offer if he didn't mean it, Mum" Molly crossed her fingers in the washing up water as she said it, she had no idea really if what she'd just said was true, still it sounded good "You shouldn't have to ask though should you? I mean you did all the cooking so you shouldn't 'ave to clear up 'n all" Molly put her wet soapy hand on her mother's shoulder and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek "It was lovely Mum, thanks"
"Indeed it was" Charles put another pile of dishes on the side by the sink and nodded his head indicating their presence to Molly before turning to smile at Belinda "Thank you, Molly's absolutely right, it was lovely" He sounded thoroughly sincere, as if he meant every word, which bought a quick rush of heat to her cheeks again, this time with pleasure as he gave his signature snort of laughter "Not a hard sprout or concrete mince pie in sight"
"You're welcome ... now stop going on you two" Belinda had drunk enough alcohol to feel a tiny bit emotional, a little bit tearful which showed in her voice when she spoke "It's times like these when I really miss you Molls ... miss the way you always 'elp"
"Thanks, bloody glad someone misses me for some'ing even if it just the bleedin' washing up"
"Oh nah, nah, didn't mean it like that, did I? You know ..."
"I'm joking Mum, 'n I miss all of you 'n all, well except for me dad ... obviously ... now you gonna stop being soppy or you'll 'ave me bawling" Molly turned back to the washing up as Nan reappeared huffing loudly and muttering about how Dave lying there snoring through the Queen was bleeding disrespectful and how when she was young everyone used to sit down and listen on the radio together if they didn't have a tele, which had certainly been true in her house.
"Wasn't it a bit uncomfortable all of you sitting on the radio?" Molly giggled as Nan glared in her direction, obviously unappreciative of her granddaughter's slightly pissed attempt at humour "Sorry, so what did Her Maj have to say then, Nan, good speech was it?"
"You can stop being bleedin' disrespectful 'n all young lady, there's nothing to laugh at, and it was a good speech as it happens, well what I could hear of it above that twat in there with 'is snoring" Nan shook her head at Molly's attempts to curtail her desperate need to giggle "I admire her, the Queen, she might be knocking on a bit now, but she still keeps on going, don't she? And she has to be bleedin' sick of all that shite by now, still who's gonna take over if she decides to 'ang up 'er crown, take it easy for a bit?"
"Charles? Prince Charles? He's next"
Nan snorted and rolled her eyes showing very plainly what she thought of that suggestion and began to sort the cutlery out rattling it together loudly as she put it away in the drawer.
"Nah, not 'im, she knows he'd be too busy talking to the bleedin' trees or whatever it is he does, I think she's waiting for young Wills meself"
-OG-
Nan's seriously huffy exit from the fresh explosion of giggles in the kitchen was accompanied by her muttered rant about how she hoped they'd treat her with more respect when she got to the same age as the Queen which left Belinda and Molly laughing even harder as Belinda called out to ask her how old Lizzie was now and what did Nan reckon were her chances of making it that far, a response that Nan chose to ignore.
"'ere, get that down you"
It wasn't quite clear whether Nan was speaking to both of them or to one of them in particular as she returned with the bottle of Baileys she'd hidden from Dave in her bag, making it's provenance somewhat dubious, and slopped generous measures into three large glasses, before sitting down at the table and indicating them with a nod of her head "Like old times innit?"
"No thanks, I don't think I'd better have any more, 'spect Charles will wanna go in a minute" Molly picked up the glass and swirled the thick creamy liquid round it watching as it clung to the sides. She was longing to put ice in it and drink it, but knew that that wasn't a very good idea, she was already about one drink away from flying "Where is he, anyhow? I seem to 'ave lost 'im"
"He's in the other room, got hisself caught by yer dad who's talking his usual bollocks about summat, football or getting fit or some other load of shite he knows nothin' about" Nan took a deep swallow of her Baileys "Don't think yer dad is actually sure what they're talking about, he's scratching 'is head, still ... gives his balls a rest I s'pose"
"Nan!"
"Look at this Charlie, what did I tell you, coven back together ... oh ... and on the bloody Baileys 'n all"
Dave slapped Charles on the back as he appeared in the kitchen, empty glass in one hand and waving his other arm in the general direction of the three of them sitting at the table. To Charles, Dave seemed remarkably coherent for someone who'd put away the amount that he had in the last few hours, if the boot had been on the other foot he'd have been fast asleep on the floor by now. He winked at Molly and gave a deprecating shrug as she mouthed "Charlie?" at him, before putting her head down on the table and laughing like a drain so that despite the full glass in front of her he was slightly suspicious that her flushed cheeks and sparkly eyes meant that she was the one liable to be fast asleep on the floor in a minute.
Dave was still in his best expansive host mood, determined to forget all about Adam and to have male company as he topped up his blood alcohol level "Now, what you gonna 'ave, son?"
"No thanks, Dave, thank you but no, really, I shouldn't have any more, not when I'm driving"
"Oh rubbish, another one now won't hurt, long time till you need to worry about driving anywhere"
"You could stay over, pair of you?" Belinda looked hopefully at Molly who was instantly horrified at the mere idea, she'd been calculating how long there was to go before they could piss off home, to his obviously, not back to barracks "We've hardly seen you ... and then Charles 'ere can 'ave another drink"
"Nah Mum, we can't" Molly shook her head emphatically, trying to give Charles the message that she'd rather have her eyes gouged out with a rusty nail, but he had that oh so familiar look on his face, the masked non-committal one that she couldn't read even now after all this time "There's hardly enough room in that bunk for me, let alone him, 'ave you seen 'ow tall he is?"
"Nah, don't mean that, you and Charles, you can go in mine and I'll have the bunk"
"We can't do that" She was screaming nah, nah, not on your bleedin' life in her head as she clutched at straws "What about Dad, where will he sleep?"
"Where he usually does, he can stop downstairs on the sofa and drink himself stupid ..."
"What more stupid than he is already?" Nan swallowed the last of her Baileys as she looked round the room and ignored Dave's muttered 'Harpie'. Molly and Charles exchanged resigned shrugs and grinned at each other, more a horrified grimace than anything else in Molly's case, but it looked very much as if the decision as to whether they were staying or not had just been made for them; even if the outcome of the discussion wasn't quite the one she wanted.
"Oi give us that back" She reached across the table and snatched the glass of Baileys back from her father who'd moved it towards himself and then promptly forgot all about her resolution and took a hearty swig without bothering about adding ice ...
"Right I'm off, wanna watch me soaps without him giving me the benefit of his opinion"
"I'll walk you home, Marge, just let me get my coat"
"What?" Dave was appalled, he had no wish to lose his new-found male drinking buddy "Nah, no need it's only round the bleedin' corner and she knows the way, bloody should by now she's here every bleedin' day"
"Dave? Shut up" Belinda kissed her mother on her cheek "Take no notice, Mum, I'll get yer coat 'n I'll see you tomorrow"
"Wait a minute, I'll get mine 'n I'll come with you"
"You don't have to, stay here in the warm" He smirked as Molly raised her eyebrows and grinned before leaning forward to whisper that she'd best come with him, just to make sure he didn't do a runner and leave her there on her own and anyhow there was no way she trusted her Nan not to kidnap him.
"Can't get very far can I? You've got the car keys"
"Oh yeah, 'ave, 'aven't I? Go on then, piss off"
"Lovely"
Nan had said her goodbyes and behave yourselves to the kids, something that was said more in hope than in any real expectation, as Charles stood by the door and looked at the floor as he waited patiently for her to be ready. "Come on, then if you're coming" she preceded him out of the door as he held it open and she offered a silent little prayer that all them nosy buggers who were her neighbours in the flats would see him walking her home to hers...
-OG-
"Here, hold my arm, it's slippery"
Nan didn't need any more of an invitation to slide her arm through his as they walked along the very icy pavements. It had started to snow again, but in tiny icy little pellets not big fluffy snowflakes so that Charles wasn't sorry that he wasn't about to set off on a long drive down the M3. It was bitterly cold.
"You know, you don't wanna take no notice of all that bollocks our Dave keeps spouting about young Adam and our Molls, I mean he's a nice enough bloke, but it were never gonna last" Nan tightened her hold on his arm in a sort of reassuring squeeze as he looked down at her "She never loved him like she should and you don't need to take no bloody notice of the way she is, you know, all that 'tough as old boots 'n hard as nails' cobblers that she comes out with, she's soft as butter underneath, just worried about showing it, and that's 'is fault ... Dave"
"I know"
There was a lot that he wanted to say but couldn't, he was worried that Nan would repeat it to Belinda, who would almost certainly tell Molly, and that she would never ever forgive him if she thought he'd been talking about her to her Nan behind her back, no matter what it was he said.
"Smurfy ... now, he was a good 'un but she didn't love 'im, and Adam, he's the same and you can't stop with someone you don't love just to please everyone else, can you? 'ere, this is me..."
Charles waited while she sorted out the right key and opened her front door and turned, ready to thank him for walking her home, a real novelty as far as Marge was concerned, when a thought struck her which made her look swiftly up at his face.
"I've just realised summat, you're 'im, aren't you? The one that that corporal geezer was talking about at the medal thing, the one that recommended our Molls, that's you innit? You was hurt, I remember 'im sayin now"
"Yup, that's me, but ..." Charles tugged at the curls on the back of his neck "Molly and I being friends had nothing to do with me recommending her for that medal, she got that because she was ... is ... awesome ... "
"Did I say it had? Nah course not and she is ... just don't you forget it, and remember to be a good 'un" Nan patted him on the arm "If you do anything to hurt her I swear to god you'll have me to deal with"
"I would never do anything to hurt her"
"Glad to hear it"
He had no idea what Molly had told them about her exploits in Afghan or her part in his survival, he was beginning to think that she'd said nothing, and she obviously hadn't said a word to any of them about the way their relationship had gone to shit, or about what part that had played in her Las Vegas disaster of marrying bloody Adam or about them meeting up again in Yemen or anything else at all about their shared history. He could picture her little face when he'd stood in front of the mess tent with her at Bastion and delivered a lecture her about needing to keep their friendship secret, Jesus she could give him bloody lessons in it.
-OG-
"Lay your head against my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body next to mine ..."
He and Dave, who had a surprisingly good voice, had been singing along to Elvis most of the evening by the lights of the Christmas tree even though Dave had kept on insisting that he wanted to put the main light on so he could see his glass properly which had made Belinda snort and tell him to sniff and he'd find it, he was like one of the drugs dogs as far as alcohol was concerned, could find it anywhere.
"Must go on a diet"
"No, what you must do is sit still"
They had been dancing but she was now sitting on his lap and wriggling around trying to get comfortable so that he lifted her hair and whispered, somewhat concerned that her parents would hear him, even though they were still smooching to the music in a little world of their own. Belinda was slow dancing with her eyes shut and Dave was swaying from one foot to the other and saying it reminded him of some long forgotten party or other.
"If you keep on shifting around like that I won't be able to get up at all ... and you don't need to go on a diet"
"Yeah I do, where the fuck do you keep all your fat?"
"What?"
"Well look at you" She ran her hands over his torso making him groan and whisper at her to stop it "You're all muscles and fit 'n that ... and me ... I'm gonna be a tub of lard after this lot" She tried hard to pinch up fat on her stomach "Most likely the Baileys and eating me own body weight in chocolate asn't 'elped much" She giggled against his neck which made a shiver run down his back "When we get back you're gonna be sitting in some nice warm office pushing a pen about and I'm gonna be outside on the parade with some bugger yelling at me to put some bloody effort in" Charles did his best not to laugh out loud at the disgruntled expression on her little face, tucking his tongue behind his front teeth before sucking in his bottom lip in a vain attempt to make it look as though he was taking her seriously "I might die"
"Don't do that, that would be a terrible waste, and what would I do without you? You know, I'm sorry I ever said that now, are you ever going to forgive me? It was a long time ago after all"
"Nah"
" ...you love me one more time
For the good times ..."
"Have you 'ad a good day?"
"Yep, the best, have you?"
"Yeah"
"Good, now let's go to bed" He decanted her gently from his lap and stood up, grimacing as he adjusted the front of his jeans "I think your parents are waiting for us to piss off and leave them to it"
"OH SHIT, they're not at it are they? I can't look"
"Nope, they're obviously waiting for us to disappear"
-OG-
He was sitting on the bed staring into space waiting for his turn to go to the bathroom, then looked up as the door opened and almost held his breath as she came in, mesmerised by her appearance in the half light of the bedside lamp so that he couldn't speak, couldn't think of what to say as he gulped and then swallowed hard.
"Here, come over here" He'd swung his legs round so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed as he pointed to a spot on the rug between his bare feet and did his best to smile at her. A wave of desire was threatening to swamp him at the sight of her in that West Ham top, the one he hadn't seen since the far off days in Afghan because she certainly hadn't worn it since they'd got back together, he'd have remembered. It had been the focus of so many of his ... dreams ... all that time ago when she used to wear it in the FOB.
"I used to think about this ... when I used to watch you walking around with nothing on underneath that shirt, I used to think about you, and me, and being alone in a bedroom with the door shut"
"Did you? How did you know what I was wearing under it, might have been wearing me vest and Bridget Jones knickers"
"Nope, not a bloody chance, not in my dreams you weren't, you were wearing those tiny little shorts that barely covered that gorgeous little arse of yours"
She could feel the way his hands were trembling as he ran them lightly up the outside of her legs and up her thighs to her hips, laughing softly as he pulled her closer to him in between his thighs, his pupils had darkened to the colour of bitter chocolate and were huge with desire.
-OG-
A/N:
A/N:
Thank you for your kind words, am glad that you are enjoying their Xmas, I can't begin to tell you how important your reviews are to me. Have now almost mastered the new technology (hmmm) why on earth they can't make all these blessed things work in the same way I can't imagine, but I am getting used to it slowly so I don't keep cursing out loud and using my repertoire of bad language quite as often as I did a week ago.
Chapter 22 will follow shortly, just need to find a few euphemisms first ...
