In Any Event.3
A/N- Hey all, I am almost more excited about tomorrows episode than I am about the rest of the Christmas celebrations all put together...but anyway. Thanks to everyone for reading and for the reviews!
P.S- to the Guest who accused me of deleting their review...I never saw it, I can only assume that you didn't log it properly in the first place? I welcome constructive criticism as it is the only way I can improve my writing, so I invite you to post it again. (if you are still reading?) And maybe becoming a member would help?
xxx
"So you're back together then, just like that?" Gillian asked in surprise.
"No. I didn't say that. We are going to take things slowly and see how it goes, it's how we should have done it the first time round." Caroline said seriously.
"So you're dating? How sweet." Gillian said happily.
"Quite. So, I have to find out what you do for fun with a toddler these days, which is why I called you." Caroline said, getting quickly down to business.
"Right, you have to win the kid over when you wanna get into a single mum. It always used to work with me if someone showed an interest in our Raff." Gillian nodded sensibly.
"You make it sound so mercenary, I just want to take Kate and Mya out for the day and give the three of us a bit of quality time together." Caroline explained.
"Well, Emily Jane likes a country pub, helping m' Dad and Harry do a crossword with a packet of crisps...but...she had a funny start, bless her." Gillian joked.
Caroline smiled but rolled her eyes unseen into the phone as she sat at her desk.
"No...I mean, Ellie's mam is always taking her to them soft play centres, you know the ones...always got stupid name's like Crazy Kid Land or Monster Mayhem." Gillian suggested. "Or...you could take her to the Zoo or an Aquarium? Does Kate like fish? There's that huge one over in Hull..."
"Hull?!" Caroline exclaimed, taking her glasses off and pinching at the bridge of her nose.
"Relax Caroline, I was suggesting a visit, not that you move there." Gillian grinned.
"Well, no...I'm sure it's very..." Caroline began to backtrack.
"Caroline." Gillian said now, sensing her friends increased stress levels. "It doesn't have to be anything extravagant does it, just keep it simple, go to the park, feed the ducks, take a picnic. It'll be lovely." She said cheerily.
Caroline sighed. "You're right. Keep it simple. Why didn't I think of that."
"Well, you know me...I always was a cheap date." Gillian remarked.
"I'd better go." Caroline told her friend as a knock sounded at her office door.
"Okay...Caroline..." Gillian called quickly.
"Yes?" The headmistress asked.
"I am chuffed to bits for you, y'know? For both of you." Gillian said with an ear splitting grin that Caroline could almost hear through the phone.
"I know...Thanks." Caroline said, meaning it and hanging up feeling a little calmer.
Xxxx
Caroline strolled beside Kate who guided an empty pushchair along the path behind her, only slightly, wobbly daughter. Mya seemed to need to keep the pace up in order not to falter and so steamed ahead of the two women. Caroline watched her nervously, visions of the child falling face first, plaguing her. Kate seemed relaxed enough, being more sure of her little ones abilities and tremendous good luck in avoiding falls.
"She's fast." Caroline commented, watching Mya carefully.
"She is, we're going to have to try and keep up." Kate said fondly.
"You seem to do alright." Caroline praised moderately.
"Yeah, most of the time. I thought I'd be knackered, you know? Being a slightly older mum." She shrugged slightly. "But she's given me a new lease of life, I guess. Seeing the world through her eyes, showing her new things, I feel like a kid again sometimes." Kate admitted.
Caroline was thoughtful, watching her feet for a moment. "I was knackered when I had the boys, but it was wonderful. I can't believe they aren't children anymore, they grow so quickly."
The path they followed wound around now to a large duck pond, sections of which were lined with a railing and other sections were left open, with a small wooden platform for people to use to feed the ducks.
"Mya? You want to go and feed the duckies?" Kate called.
The tot slowed a little then turned. "Quack quack!"
Kate pointed toward the pond and angled the push chair off to the side where she abandoned it now, coming around to take Mya's hand. Mya tugged at Kate to hurry her as they approached the wooden pier, Caroline lagging behind with her small bag of broken up and slightly stale bread.
The ducks saw people coming and quickly came to meet them, proud necks stretching in greeting. Caroline took out a hand full of crumbs and tossed them into the water, creating a swarm of the waterbird, bill's drawn dangerously at one another, the larger specimens having first dibs and some of the smaller creature's sneaking stealthily to pick off food from the edge of the area, before speeding away with their prize. When was the last time Caroline had taken time out to do something as simple as this? Probably back when her boy's would have been interested.
"My!" The mini Kate stepped a little closer to Caroline now and boldly thrust her small hand up to receive some bread.
Caroline smiled and bent to offer the child one of the more sizeable pieces of bread.
Mya took the bread and then proceeded to fling her short arm out dramatically as she put all her energies into hurling the food to the waiting ducks. It fell at her feet and she glared at it sourly, the hint of a pout forming.
Kate had to stifle a giggle as one of the pushier, more impatient ducks decided to head out of the water and on to the pier close by them in search of his meal. Caroline pushed the fallen piece of bread toward the waddler with the pointed toe of her impractical, but very appealing, looking shoe. He snatched at it and flopped ungraciously back into the water.
"My!" Mya repeated, looking up at her mother now for support.
Kate dropped to Mya's level and smiled with encouragement. "Come on Mya."
Caroline relinquished responsibility of the bread bag, handing it over to Kate as she straightened and pulled her jacket a little tighter around herself, taking in the sight of the greying sky.
Caroline spotted a slightly older couple with a young boy who was a couple of years older than Mya and she assumed that they were the boys grandparents. The thought hit her then, that they may think that she was a grandmother, Mya's Grandmother, she was pretty certain she didn't look young enough to be the mother of a toddler and she felt a little nausea and heat wash over her as the familiar concern of how she must look reared it's ugly head.
Caroline reminded herself that what was important to her now was how Kate felt about her, not what others thought and certainly not, what assumptions or judgments may cross the mind of someone she may never meet again. It helped.
The trio of strangers were walking a path right past Caroline and she wanted to look away and ignore them but couldn't help a glance at their expressions as they reached her. The woman was watching Mya and Kate with an almost enchanted look as she caught Caroline's eye and grinned.
"She's gorgeous!" The Grandma called.
"Yeah." Caroline agreed automatically. "Thanks."
Kate, who had her back to the passers by looked up at Caroline and smiled genuinely.
Caroline didn't know why she was thanking anyone, She wasn't responsible for Mya's gorgeousness, she had only just met the child, it was just what you did. But for a moment she let herself consider what she could be to Mya. What she could be to Kate. The idea that they could be a family. The kind of family that Grandma's happily admired in the park. Suddenly it actually seemed possible. And the thought made Caroline dizzy.
Kate managed to assist Mya in getting most of the bread into the pond water and only a few pieces remained ignored on the wooden landing, many of the ducks having had their fill and floated lazily away, the picture of indifference.
Caroline felt the first few spots of rain on her cheek's and turned to Kate. "We better find somewhere under cover to eat."
Xxxxxxx
Mya ignored the piece of strawberry that Caroline held out to her and took a step back toward her mother.
"I'm not sure she likes me." Caroline muttered.
"What makes you say that?" Kate asked, curious but untroubled by Caroline's insecurity.
"I was never very popular with children. My own yes, but other peoples little one's." Caroline shook her head firmly.
"You run a school." Kate pointed out, popping one of the half strawberry's into Mya's open mouth.
"Yes, and I'm well respected, by the older pupils, most of the younger ones just fear me, which is fine. But I was never really popular . You know, some of the girls were in tears the day you left school. They all loved Miss McKenzie." Caroline finished in a mock wistful voice.
Kate blushed slightly. "They were good kids, and teenage girls cry for anything, don't you remember?"
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Being a teenage girl with a crush on her favourite teacher?" She asked. "Of course I do!"
Kate let loose a short but loud laugh. "Me too." She grinned cheekily. "Anyway, Mya is careful about choosing her friends, best plan to keep her happy is to keep me happy, that and the chocolate buttons you brought for her should do the trick."
"So, buy her affection with chocolate is your advice.?" Caroline checked.
"Yeah, and just in-case you wondered, that usually works with her mum too." Kate assured Caroline, flashing her a sexy smile that hit Caroline somewhere beneath her ribs.
Caroline narrowed her eyes but smiled wildly as she watched Kate touch a napkin to Mya's berry stained face before straightening the little girls duffel coat.
xxxxx
Caroline was perched on the concrete top step of the bandstand, her arms wrapped around her knees that were pulled up to her chest. She was becoming slightly hypnotized by the sheet of rain thrashing down all around them, they were surrounded, the only options, make a dash for it and get soaked or wait it out. The whole day had been a wash out, maybe it was an omen.
Kate stood up from where she had been crouched, fastening Mya's raincover to her pushchair.
"She's asleep." Kate said in her quiet voice as she took a seat beside Caroline, letting her arm bump lightly against Caroline's.
"I'm sorry." Caroline offered miserably.
"What for? Even you can't control the British weather!" Kate laughed.
"It was fine this morning...sunny even." Caroline complained.
"Don't worry about it, we can do it another time...and the food was lovely." Kate reasoned.
"I wanted it to be perfect." Caroline admitted regretfully.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you then...days out with a one year old, very rarely run to plan. Doesn't mean they can't be perfect though." Kate said offering Caroline a coy lopsided smile.
Caroline let her fingers find Kate's and ran her thumb lightly into the soft dip of Kate's palm, she couldn't take her eye's off the beautiful woman.
"I see what you mean." She smiled, a sigh of relief escaping as Kate let her head fall onto Caroline's shoulder.
xxxx
"Are you going to come in for a coffee?" Kate asked hopefully as she placed the still sleeping child on a cushion in the corner of the sofa.
Mya had managed to remain asleep the whole way home, despite the driving rain and being taken from pushchair to car seat to house, in the way that only small children can.
Caroline struggled to get the car seat through the door and placed it on the floor just inside the hall.
"Better not," She replied. "I need to get out of these wet things."
"Hmmm, there's a thought." Kate mumbled quietly, yet loud enough to cause a blush worthy of a school girl rather than the headmistress, across Caroline's cheeks. Kate straightened and grinned at the sight, as she returned to Caroline.
"Thank you." She offered. "For today, it was really nice. Mya had fun and I..."
"Can I kiss you?" Caroline asked in a whisper, already leaning close.
"No." Kate said with a slight shake of her head but a creeping smile.
"Right..." Caroline stopped.
"I'm going to kiss you..." Kate informed her.
Kate stepped into Caroline, taking her hands in her own and placing them behind Caroline's back to render her, both unable to reach out for Kate and unable to escape.
Kate's eyes fell shut only seconds before her lips met Caroline's, the taller woman feeling the intake of breath as Kate pressed against her lightly.
Kate took Caroline's bottom lip between her own lips and pulled away, dragging it lightly with her, then returning for another kiss and then another, Just as Caroline began to reciprocate with equal fever, Kate withdrew slightly and placed a finger over Caroline's lips.
Caroline looked questioningly at the other woman, who made her feelings plain with a raised brow and eyes that said that she was in charge here. Kate released her grasp on Caroline's hands and waited to see the blonde dutifully leave them where they were. For which, Kate rewarded her with another soft slow kiss, this time slipping her tongue inside Caroline's mouth. At which point Caroline couldn't hold back any longer and she threw her arms around Kate as they began to battle for the rights to each other.
Caroline's phone chirped loudly and although both women ignored it, much too caught up in the moment, the sleeping infant suddenly stirred and made a grumpy sound of protest. Kate pulled away and Caroline froze, the phone suddenly went silent. Both women were breathing hard and as they turned to one another now they began to giggle.
Caroline pulled Kate lightly toward her with one hand in hers and planted another soft kiss.
"I should go." She began gently. "But would you come over to me next time? Sunday dinner? You could bring My, I'll childproof the place" She offered, a little giddy at the prospect.
Kate looked slightly concerned. "Sunday dinner?" She asked. "Isn't that a bit...? Who'll be there Laurence? ...your mum?"
Caroline shook her head quickly. "No, no! Laurence is at his Dad's, it would be just us. The three of us."
Kate brightened. "Oh, I see."
"I'd like to show you my new place." Caroline admitted meekly.
Kate nodded and stepped up on her toes to drop a kiss on Caroline's nose, still holding onto her hand. "Okay, that sounds nice."
xxxxx
A/N- Next chapter, Caroline and Kate get down and dirty on the farm! Think about that and have yourself a merry little Christmas!