How Can You Be Sure?

Margaret James shifted as she tried to get comfortable in bed. This was the second night in a row where she couldn't get to sleep and it was starting to piss her off. How is it that during the day when you actually have the energy to think and do things you can't, yet late at night when all you want to do is sleep, your mind decides to move a mile a minute and simply won't shut off? These long distance trips were all well and good but they played havoc with her sleeping patterns. The older she got, the worst the jet lag seemed to hit. After another few minutes of tossing and turning, Margaret huffed in annoyance and sat up, swinging her legs onto the floor. Maybe a cup of tea and a book would help. Glancing over her shoulder, she stared in envy as Richard lay snoring, oblivious to the rest of the world. Oh if only it were that easy. Moving as quietly as she could, careful to avoid the infamous creaking spots in the floorboards, Margaret made her way down the hallway and into the kitchen. Flicking the light switch Margaret jumped a mile when she saw a figure hunched over the kitchen counter, toying with a piece of paper.

"Jesus Christ Charles! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What on earth are you doing sitting there by yourself in the dark?" Margaret lent against the counter and placed a hand to her chest, where she could feel her heart pounded frantically against her ribcage. Charles smiled apologetically and she came to sit beside him. "Sorry mum, I didn't mean to frighten you." Margaret stared in concern as she watched Charles fingers tap nervously over the piece of paper on the table.

"What have you got there? Is that a letter from Molly? How is she doing?" Charles gave a sigh, his fingers pausing in their movements.

"No. I did get a letter through a few days ago but it was back dated over three weeks ago. I haven't heard from her since. No calls, no emails. Nothing. I tried skype but couldn't get through. She did say the last time we spoke that the weather had taken a turn and they were expecting it to get worse. She warned me that she might be out of contact for a while."

Margaret paused. "So if you aren't worried about Molly what are you worried about? Is it work? Did your meeting not go well?" Charles chuckled in amusement.

"I'm always worrying about Molly Mum. That girl can find trouble as easily as Sam can find an excuse not to do his homework. They're both out to give me grey hairs I swear. But no work is fine. Well, as fine as it can be. They've asked me if I would consider becoming an instructor down at Salisbury and help train the new recruits." Margaret stared thoughtfully at her son. She hadn't missed the way his fingers twitched slightly as though desperate to move. It was just like Charles to throw the cat amongst the pigeons then play it off as though it was no big deal.

"Are you going to do it?"

"Yeah I think I might. I miss it. Not necessarily the active duty but I miss the discipline, having a purpose. I think I could make a difference there."

"If it's what you want to do then you should do it. You never know it might be your calling. "Charles rolled his eyes. Honestly, where does she come up with this stuff? Margaret wasn't about to let him off easy though. She was determined to get to the bottom of what was bothering him. "Alright. Out with it, what's the matter?" Charles had resumed his earlier tapping, a habit he adopted whenever he was anxious or nervous about something. Margaret couldn't remember the last time she had seen him this wound up. Suddenly Charles stood up and began pacing the room restlessly, as if he hadn't heard Margaret's earlier question. Margaret watched her son pace quietly before her patience at his silence ran out. "Charles will you sit down! If you ruin my floor I won't hesitate to disinherit you." That brought Charles up short.

"Nice mum. It's nice to know where I stand in the pecking order. What is it, Dad, Sam, house then me?" Margaret smirked.

"It took me two excruciating years and the promise of going on one of those frightfully dull walking holidays to persuade your father to redo this kitchen. It's as much my baby as you are. Oh and it's your father, Sam, house, Molly THEN you my boy." Charles stared incredulously at his mother before shaking his head in mock disappointment as she laughed at her own joke. "So come on then, what is it? You've been acting odd for days." Charles held his mother's gaze for a few minutes before answering.

"You and Dad like Molly right?" completely thrown by the unexpected question, and the complete change in topic, Margaret stared at her son as if he had suddenly grown an extra head. "What the hell kind of question is that? Of course we love Molly. We think of her as part of the family, you know that. What's going on?" Biting his lip Charles regarded Margaret with uncertainty swimming in his eyes. "Well what if I was thinking of making Molly part of the family. Officially. Would that be alright?" Margaret's mouth dropped.

"You mean you're going to….are you? HA! I knew it!" Margaret clapped her hands in glee and beamed at the look of sheer relief on Charles' face. "Mum shush! You'll wake Dad."

"I don't care! Besides your father sleeps like the dead. You could probably Can Can around the room accompanied by the Core of Army Music band and he still wouldn't wake up. Oh this is wonderful! Have you got a ring yet? Have you thought about how you'll do it? When will you do it?" Charles laughed.

"Mum slow down. Yes I have a ring. Yes I know how I'm doing it and no I'm not going to tell you. I'm still figuring out when will be the best time to do it." Margaret pouted. "Ok fine keep your secrets. What I don't get is if that bit of paper you've been fiddling with all night isn't a letter from Molly then what is it?" Taking a breath Charles placed the paper in his pocket. "It's my speech." Margaret looked on in confusion.

"Speech? What speech?"

"I want to go up to London to ask Molly's dad for permission to marry Molly when she gets back from tour. I'm just not sure how to broach it. I've never been entirely sure of how to take Dave and I don't want to say the wrong thing. I know they haven't exactly had the best of relationships in the past, but I want to do this properly. Molly deserves that much."

"Ahhh." Margaret understood Charles' concerns. Having heard from Molly how troubled their relationship had been in the past and how ferocious their arguments used to be, Dave Dawes hadn't ranked very high in Margaret's estimation before they had met. Although she had got on well with Belinda and had found a fellow piss taker in Molly's Nan, the same couldn't be said of Dave. She had thought him lazy and opinionated and someone who was more than happy to sit back whilst everyone else did the hard work on his behalf. It was beyond her how he had failed to see how special Molly was. Well, until it was almost too late and he nearly lost her. At least now Dave seemed to have seen the error of his ways and was trying to mend fences.

"Well let me ask you this, would it stop you from asking Molly if he were to say no?" Charles shook his head, a look of determination on his face. "No I don't think it would." Margaret nodded.

"All you can do is be honest. At the end of the day Dave is still a dad who deep down, wants the best for his daughter. You need to go up there and do all you can to prove to him that you can be that for Molly. Show him that you love her and will look after her. That's all he wants. Though if I'm honest there's someone else you ought to be aiming to impress more than Dave." Margaret smirked lightly at the confused look on Charles's face. "Oh yeah, who's that then?"

"Molly's Nan."

Margaret couldn't help but chuckle as the blood drained from Charles' face. Though he'd never admit it aloud, Charles was slightly intimidated by Molly's Nan. She was a tough woman who'd led a colourful life. She didn't suffer fools and took no shit from anybody. Much like Margaret, she wasn't afraid to say what was on her mind and always told it to you straight, even if sometimes you didn't want to hear it. The two had taken an instant liking to each other after Nan had clocked that Charles had been the one responsible for Molly's new found confidence. She had pulled him aside and thanked him for believing in Molly and being there for her. She'd also mentioned something about holding Molly's hand as she moved up but Charles' hadn't understood what she was on about. Margaret remembered how shell shocked he had looked after he had returned from that first meeting. When Charles had confessed that Nan had always known Molly was special and she was glad that she now had someone who shared her opinion, Margaret knew she could get on with a woman like Nan. When Charles reluctantly admitted that Nan had threatened, quite cheerfully, to lob him off the M25 if he ever hurt Molly, Margaret had laughed aloud and knew instantly that her first instincts had been correct. Oh she and Nan would get on just fine alright. Her son though, had better watch out.

Margaret giving a sudden yawn, stood up and stretched, patting her son on the shoulder as he bit his lip in worry. Feeling slightly guilty that she had sent his nerves into overdrive, Margaret attempted to soften the blow as she exited the kitchen. "Right I'm off to bed. This jetlag is killing me. Just speak from your heart sweetheart. Throw in a bit of the old James charm and you'll be fine. Remember Dads can smell fear!" At Charles' glare Margaret laughed and couldn't help but go in for the kill. "Though do be a dear and warn me if I ever need to start watching for carpets when I'm on the M25 won't you." With that parting shot Margaret sent Charles a wink and left the kitchen, conscious of her son glaring daggers into her back.

Margaret stood pacing the living room, sending fleeting looks to the clock every now and then. My god why was time going so slowly? Surely it was longer than three minutes since she had checked the clock last. Charles should be back soon. She hoped his meeting with Dave had gone well. It had taken Charles nearly a month to pluck up the courage to travel up to London. In the end, Margaret, tired of his dilly dallying, had told him to man up and be the confident, commanding, cocksure man she had raised him to be.

Striding over to the window Margaret looked out onto the street. The weather had been glorious the last few weeks and the streets were lined with tourists wanting to get a glimpse of the famous Bath stone crescent in the sunshine. It was typical that they had been away whilst England had enjoyed the first warm spell of the year. Spotting a familiar figure stride along the pavement Margaret stood and watched as he walked confidently along to street. As though he could feel her eyes on him Charles raised his head to the window causing Margaret to swiftly jump back, letting the curtain fall back into place before she got caught. As she heard the front door slam Margaret dashed around the room trying to look busy. What to do? What to do? Ah ha! Spotting one of Molly's old magazines she grabbed it and sank into an arm chair pretending to read just as the door opened. She looked up meet a pair of amused brown eyes.

"Everything alright mum?" Charles asked.

"Of course sweetheart, why wouldn't it be?" Just act natural Margaret. You can do this.

"Well, I thought I saw you loitering by the window just now as I came in. You spying on the tourists again?" Margaret shot her son a look.

"Cheeky! I was just enjoying the sunshine is all. That, and I've been sat here quietly reading my magazine enjoying the peace." Margaret gestured to the open pages in her hand. She didn't miss the slight quirk of his eyebrow, nor the twitch of his lip as though he was fighting a smile.

"Oh you mean the magazine that you're reading upside down? Didn't know that was one of your hidden talents mum." Shit! She'd been busted.

"I'm a mother Charles. I have many hidden talents." Margaret watched as Charles' smile widened. Oh bugger it. Why did she even bother to lie? "Ok fine, so I was waiting for you to get back. I wanted to know how you got on. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing I suppose." Charles came over and sunk into a chair, leaning his head against the back of the chair.

"So are you going to keep an old woman in suspense?" Margaret asked as she sat next to Charles. He turned his head towards her and gave her a soft smile. "You aren't that old mum." Margaret flicked his ear at his subtle jibe.

"The cheek of it. So how did it really go? You're still in one piece so that must be a good sign yes?"

"Yeah. It went well I think. Or as well as it could have gone. We went to the pub and had a chat over a few beers. Just as well really, I needed a few before I plucked up the courage to ask."

"How was he about it all?" Charles gave a bark of a laughter as he thought back to the events of the day. "He was a bit weary of me at first. It's rare I ever meet him without Molly or other family members being around so I think he was suspicious when I asked him to go alone. I think he'd sussed I wanted to ask sometime important. We made awkward small talk for a while but he could see I was nervous about something. When I finally confessed why I wanted to meet him he laughed and asked me if I was serious. When he saw I was he looked me square in the eye and asked me, quite bluntly might I add, why someone like me would want to be with and I quote a bird like my Molls?" Charles shook his head.

Margaret let out a quiet gasp, "He didn't!" Charles nodded as he continued his account of the day's events.

"He did. It pissed me off I can tell you. I told him straight. I explained that I love Molly and even though he didn't have a very high opinion of his daughter, I certainly did. I told him that I didn't care that she grew up on a council estate or that she didn't finish school. All that matters to me is the person she has become and she's a pretty amazing person from where I'm sitting. She's brave, intelligent, compassionate, and unbelievably strong. That's just the tip of the iceberg as to why I love Molly. Yeah ok she isn't perfect but who is? I know I'm not. We all make mistakes and screw up but I wouldn't change her for the world. I love Molly for who she is. She's who I want to spend my life with. All I want is to make her happy."

Margaret stared at her son in awe. She'd only ever heard him talk that openly about Molly once before, and that was when he had explained who she was and how their relationship had developed. To be that open and honest in front of Moly's dad had taken some balls. That's my boy!

"So what did he say to that?" Charles gave a laugh and shook his head.

"He just looked at me in silence for a minute. I swear, he did it on purpose. He could see how nervous I was. Then he smiled and nodded slightly reaching over to shake my hand. He said that both Nan and Belinda were right about me. They thought I was a good 'un who loved Molly for who she is and wouldn't try and change her into someone she wasn't. Then he wished me luck and told me I was going to need it if I was serious about marrying Molly."

"Ahh see, he does care you know. Maybe he just isn't good at showing his feelings openly." So maybe Margaret had been wrong about Dave. Perhaps he wasn't so bad after all.

"Yeah I know he cares. He certainly cares enough to threaten to break my kneecaps if I hurt Molly in anyway. As if. Have you seen how feisty she is? She's wear my balls for earrings if I did anything. I think the only thing that stopped her the last time was because I was her boss. Though I did have to bite my tongue and not blurt out that he'd probably hurt her more in the last few years than I ever could. In the end I promised him that I would do everything in my power to look after Molly and make her happy. I swore I'd do nothing to hurt her and that I'd treat her right. I think he was satisfied. He brought me a drink and welcomed me to the family."

Margaret when Charles had finished. She could understand the need to want to do anything and everything to keep your child safe. Although a bit late to the party, at least Dave was trying to make up for all the wrongs he had done. Margaret only hoped that he kept to his word and stood up and become a man for both his and his family's sake. "Is he going to tell Belinda and Nan do you know?" Charles shook his head. "No he said he wouldn't but you know how good Belinda is at making you talk. Plus, I think Nan had an inkling. She was shooting me funny looks all afternoon. Nothing gets past that woman. She'd be brilliant in an interrogation room. One look could send even the toughest man running for the hills. I see know where Molly gets her attitude from."

"Speaking of Molly, now everything is settled all you have to do is ask her." Charles gave a smile and began rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah I know. Now all I need to do is wait out and hope to god those cockwombles bring my Dawesy home in one piece." Margaret patted his knee in sympathy.

"Don't worry, she's tough. She'll be fine out there. The boys have got her back. Now can I see the ring?" Charles laughed at his mother's sly ways. He sent her a cheeky wink and shook his head.

"Sorry mother but the first person to see the ring will be Molly. You're just going to have to wait out. But don't worry I know you'll approve." Margaret sighed in irritation. If her son was so confident she would like it then why didn't he just bloody show it to her? Wait out indeed.

A/N: All rights belong to Tony Grounds and the BBC. Thank you for the continuing support for this story. It's nice to hear so many are still enjoying it.