A/N: Today's chapter is centered around the theme of "kindness." Enjoy!

xx,

CSotA

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -Plato

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Charles sighed as he pulled into Elsie's driveway, already dreading having to leave her even though he was looking forward to seeing Daisy and hearing about her day.

"I know," Elsie said quietly, already sensing his frustration, and she squeezed his hand. "But you two should spend the end of her vacation doing things that she would want to do with you, without me."

"Yes, I know, and she and I do have plans for tomorrow and Saturday … it's just that I'm growing less and less fond of that 'without Elsie' bit," he replied, smiling ruefully as he parked the car and shut it off.

Elsie leaned back and slouched a bit in her seat. "This is rather lovely, isn't it?" she asked, tracing the vein on the back of his hand with her fingertip. "I'll admit, I'd not expected it to be quite so … easy, I suppose. Especially with Becky. It's funny, she and I were so dependent on one another when we lived together, but we aren't like that anymore. She's found her way and I've found mine. I'm sure you'll be under my feet on occasion, should we ever get to that point, and I'm sure to get on your nerves, too."

He laughed, the twinkle in his eye warming her instantly.

"I shall take that as a warning, then." He sighed. "I think things would be wonderful if we were together more often, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd expect a few snags along the way - it'd be unrealistic notto, really." He turned sideways in his seat, his temple on the headrest. "But we did decide not to push into anything more permanent too quickly. You may have to keep reminding me of that."

"I shall. I know we've said it before, but I'll say it again: Daisy's come so far, Charles, in such a short period of time. I just think we need to wait – give her more time to get used to it."

"And, deep down, I agree. So … for now, getting together when we can manage, as a threesome and, God willing, occasionally as a twosome?"

She nodded and he leaned forward to kiss her, his fingers threading through her hair, his lips lingering until things became decidedly too heated for in-the-car activities.

"Charles, we can't," she murmured, reading his mind. "There's not enough time."

He sat back resignedly. "I know. Listen … what are your plans for the weekend? Perhaps we could all get to a movie on Sunday?"

"That could work. I think that Night at the Museum movie is still out somewhere – would she like that? Not much else out for kids right now, I don't think."

"She'd love it – and I think I might enjoy it, too. We did see the first one, if I recall."

"Alright. I've got Tommy coming by in the morning, but we'll be done by about three. Would you want to come by then?"

"Tommy?"

"The boy who's been helping me out around here – surely I've mentioned? He's been wonderful! He's probably the reason the horses haven't escaped that old fence by now, and he's definitely the reason it's painted. Daisy knows him from school, I'm sure."

"She hasn't mentioned anyone by that name but, then again, she rarely discusses the other students."

"True. I wonder if that will change now," Elsie mused. "Marigold is quite well-liked among her peers. I should think that would help Daisy to make some friends."

"Mr. Molesley will help as well. From what I gather, he groups the children quite frequently to do assignments, but he changes the groups a lot. It must help them socially, getting used to other children and all. Much like real life, actually … tossed in with people you've never met, a job to do. It's a good way to introduce them to reality."

"Look at you getting philosophical on me," she teased, swatting his arm playfully. "C'mon, let's get in. You need your things, and I need some hot tea."

"Alright."

Sunday, January 4

"Tommy! Come on in, let's get you warmed up!" Elsie called from the front step.

Tommy waved to acknowledge that he'd heard her. He finished clearing the walk and brought the shovel over to the barn, stopping to pat each horse on the nose and give them a little 'hello' before heading in.

"All set, Ms. Hughes," he said happily, clearly pleased with himself. He'd spent the early afternoon breaking down snow piles up and down the driveway and shoveling the mess out of the way. It was promising to be an awful winter, and the stuff built up quickly. Elsie could barely manage, so she had asked Tommy to help.

"You're a lifesaver, Tommy, you really are." She beamed at him as she placed a steaming mug of cocoa in front of him, and watched as he added a fistful of marshmallows to it.

"Don't be shy, take a cookie, too," she encouraged him after a moment, pushing the plate of still-warm chocolate chip cookies towards him.

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "So, next week …?"

"I'm not sure. Most of the things I need done now will have to wait until spring …" She saw his face fall.

"... but when it snows again I will gladly have you over to shovel."

"That would be fine," he said.

Elsie studied him carefully as she sipped her own drink. He looked so much healthier lately, despite the fact that winter had set in and it had seemed that half the school had been sick between Thanksgiving and Christmas. She knew that on Tommy's part it had less to do with illness (or lack thereof) and more to do with the fact that his earnings had added to his mother's funds to put better food on the table. She also suspected he was sleeping better at night, the product of a bit of hard work mixed with the absence of his father, who would be away another month yet, perhaps more. Rumor had spread through some of the men (which Elsie heard by way of Bill Mason) that Mr. Barrow had taken up with another woman in a coastal town in North Carolina, where they were currently fishing. It certainly accounted for how little money he was sending home despite being midway through the winter season, and neither Elsie nor anyone else was particularly surprised to hear it. She found herself wishing he'd just stay away permanently, and his wife could get on with a life not run by fear. It would undoubtedly be difficult, Elsie knew; with assistance, though, she suspected that Tommy and his mother could make a go of it.

"Ms. Hughes?" he enquired, pulling her back from her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Tommy. Just daydreaming." She reached over and patted his hand, then gathered the cookie plate and headed back to the kitchen with it … dropping one more off on Tommy's napkin on her way by.

"Thanks!" he exclaimed, just as a knock sounded on the front door, followed by the sound of someone coming in.

"Els? Sorry we're early, I hope it's not too- oh, hello there," Charles said, clearly not expecting Tommy to be sitting at Elsie's dining room table.

"Charles?" Elsie called, coming back out of the kitchen. "But what time- ..." She glanced at the clock. "Oh, my goodness, it's already after three! I'm sorry, we ran a bit late and I lost track of time."

Daisy had been playing with Max outside and had missed everything Elsie had just said. She came in and kicked off her boots, then sent a clear, "Hi, Elsie!" down the hall before half-jogging into the dining room … and screeching to a horrified halt as she saw Tommy sitting at the table.

"Ah, so you do speak," he said appraisingly, a note of surprise in his voice.

"Tommy!" Elsie admonished. "That was rather rude."

"Sorry … but I didn't know, did I? How would I, really – she doesn't speak at school," he mumbled, sounding suitably chastised.

"No, she doesn't. Not yet," Charles amended, smiling at his girl and moving over to where Tommy sat. He extended his hand toward the boy and Tommy stood, reaching out tentatively to shake it.

"Firm grip you've got there, young man," Charles praised. "Charles Carson – I'm Daisy's father, as I'm sure you've guessed by now."

"Tommy Barrow," the boy replied, somewhat at a loss for words all of a sudden. He'd gathered in a few seconds that Mr. Carson and Daisy were both welcome and wanted in Ms. Hughes's home, that they were clearly close enough to all be on a first-name basis and to walk in unannounced, and that they'd clearly had plans that Ms. Hughes was now late for. He suddenly felt out of place, and wished he weren't there at all.

"I hear you've been doing quite a lot of work around here – good for you, Tommy. Ms. Hughes seems quite happy with you, from what I've heard. How old are you, exactly?" Charles asked him.

Tommy blushed furiously, and Elsie was taken aback by that. She knew he was in sixth grade, and wondered for the first time if he'd stayed back, if he were perhaps older than his classmates and embarrassed to say.

"Tommy?" she questioned.

"I just turned twelve," he said, staring at the floor.

"Just?" Elsie asked.

"Yesterday, in fact."

"Well," she said softly, "Happy Birthday, Tommy. A bit belatedly, of course. I wish I'd known before!"

"It's no big deal, really," he replied, clearly uncomfortable.

Charles and Elsie shared a prolonged glance, and Tommy was intrigued. He looked back and forth between them for a moment, trying to make it out. It's like they're having an entire conversation, he thought. He looked at Daisy, but she just rolled her eyes a bit and shook her head as if to say, They do this all the time.

Charles nodded, and Elsie turned back to Tommy while Charles whispered in Daisy's ear. Whatever he'd said made Daisy nod enthusiastically and smile.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked, now more suspicious than embarrassed … although it wasn't a much better feeling.

"How would you like to go to the movies?" Elsie proposed. "With us - today. We're heading out there now, and probably stopping for a pizza on the way home."

"I don't think I should, Ms. Hughes. I'm not sure … Mum …"

Elsie nodded. "What if I call her? Explain the situation – tell her it's for your birthday. And we'll drop you off at home after – you'd be home by eight, I'd think, as we have school tomorrow."

"You don't need to do that, Ms. Hughes. Really …" Tommy was clearly torn; Elsie could see he wanted to go, but he obviously felt guilty having them take him anywhere, birthday or not.

In fact, she wondered, perhaps the birthday bit is the issue. Did he even do anything for this birthday?

"You work very hard around here, from what I gather," Charles said quietly. "Why not let Ms. Hughes say thank you for that?"

Tommy was caving, Daisy could see, and he did seem quite a bit nicer than she'd heard he was at school. But she knew what the kids said in the lunchroom when they thought no one was listening ... except that Daisy was listening. She listened to everything. It was one benefit of not talking much, this time that she had to listen and to learn.

"Oh, please come," Daisy whispered.

Daisy felt Elsie's eyes on her and turned to her, shrugged, then returned the small smile and nod that Elsie gave her. 'Well done, lass,' Daisy could hear in her head. She knew that's what Elsie's look meant, and she was pretty proud of herself for having spoken up.

Tommy looked at each of them in turn.

"Alright, then. Why not?" he said, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. "Thank you very much … I think I will join you, if it's alright with my Mum."

"I'll call her now," Elsie said, pulling out her phone.

The trip to the movie theatre took about twenty minutes, during which time Tommy and Daisy remained silent in the back of the car. Daisy was reading her book, and she had silently offered her iPod to Tommy, showing him a couple of games on it and motioning that he could feel free to play them.

Elsie was a bit uncomfortable showing Charles any affection in front of Tommy, but Charles understood that without her having to say. Tommy was a student, after all, and despite the 'working' relationship they had, Charles had noted that the boy still called her 'Ms. Hughes.'

They got to the cinema and headed in, Charles buying everyone's tickets before they made their way to the concession stand. Tommy chose to ignore that it wasn't Ms. Hughes who was paying for him - it was rather late to back out now, anyhow, he knew. But still ... something about that made him uncomfortable.

"Okay, so … who's up for a tub of popcorn?" Charles asked the group. Much to his amusement, only Elsie raised her hand.

"Hey, don't judge me!" she laughed. "And we know I'll not be eating it all alone. None of that fake butter junk, though - the nurse has to draw the line somewhere."

"Glad to hear it," Charles said wryly. "I already know Daisy wants those revolting cookie dough things. Tommy?"

The boy toed the multi-colored carpet with his shoe. "Nothing, thanks," he muttered.

"Nonsense," Elsie said. "Get the boy some peanut butter cups, Charles. And one of those blue things … Icee? Yes, that's it." She looked at Tommy and smiled warmly. "That alright with you?"

"Sure. Thank you," he answered. "Look, it was really nice of you to invite me. I feel like I'm intruding, though," he added.

Charles and Daisy were over at the counter, so Elsie pulled Tommy aside for a minute.

"You aren't intruding on anything, alright? I'd have brought you home if we didn't want you here. It's good for you to get out now and then, get lost in a movie for a bit, hm? So don't feel guilty." She reached out and squeezed his shoulder, and he finally cracked a smile.

"Whatever you say, Ms. Hughes."

"There ... that's better." She smiled warmly at him and nodded.

"Everybody all set over there?" Charles asked. Elsie turned and saw him laden with two bottles of water and two Icees in a tray, one bucket of popcorn, and three packages of candy. Daisy had her hands full of napkins, and her eyes were alight with excitement.

"We're good. I'm going to nip into the loo," Elsie said. "Daisy, do you need to go?"

Daisy thought for a second, then nodded.

"Alright, then. Tommy, how about you?" Charles asked.

"I'm all set, Mr. Carson, but thanks."

"Why don't you boys go get us some seats, and we'll find you." Elsie winked at Daisy. "Your Papa should be easy to spot in a crowded theatre, hm?" and Daisy giggled.

"Sounds like a plan," Charles agreed. Tommy reached for the drink tray, earning an appreciative nod from Charles, and they headed up the ramp to the assigned theatre.

Three minutes later, Elsie and Daisy were washing up. "Daisy?"

"Yeah?"

"I just … I just wanted to thank you. For encouraging Tommy to come with us," she said hesitantly. "Things aren't … well, they're not easy for him sometimes."

"I know," Daisy replied quietly. "Kids talk about him," she added, reaching for a paper towel.

"Do they? Because he bullies them?" she asked. He'd better not, she thought.

But Daisy shook her head. "No, not anymore," she said thoughtfully. "It's because of his parents."

"Oh?"

Daisy sighed. "Some of the boys were teasing him at lunch the other day, something about his shoes looking old. And they they said he's a … something," she said, crinkling up her nose. "I can't remember the word, but someone said it's bad and it means his Papa isn't really his Papa." Then she added in a whisper, "They said Mr. Barrow is really mean, too."

Elsie sighed deeply. "Let's go on up," she said after a moment, and held the door open for Daisy. She then double-checked the ticket for the theatre number and indicated to Daisy where they were going.

"You know, Daisy, there's a famous quote that Miss Baxter has in her office. It says, 'Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind, always.' It's true, I think. And I appreciate your kindness today." She smiled, and her heart did a little flip when Daisy took her hand as they walked into the theatre.

"It's dark," Daisy whispered, clenching Elsie's fingers.

"It's alright," Elsie whispered. "I've got you."

They made it past the first bank of seats up to the middle aisle and Elsie scanned the theatre, which was much fuller than she'd expected given that the movie had been out for a couple of weeks.

She saw Tommy and Charles wave and pointed them out to Daisy, fully expecting the girl to let go of her hand and tear on up to their seats.

She didn't, though, and Charles gave Elsie the sweetest smile as they sat; the children ended up in the middle, with the adults on either side of them. Elsie took the popcorn tub from Tommy and plopped it down in Daisy's lap. Charles reached his long arm behind Tommy's chair and passed Elsie her water and Daisy's candy, letting his fingers brush hers as he did so. Elsie was touched to see that Tommy already had Daisy's drink set up in her cup holder, and had reserved some napkins for her as well.

They sat back as the movie began; halfway through it, Daisy leaned over and rested herself on Elsie's arm. She looked down at the girl and smiled softly, thinking that the day before she had to return to work was pretty sweet, indeed.

The movie ended and the theatre emptied out quickly. After about two minutes, only the Carson-Hughes-Barrow group remained … mostly because three of them couldn't get their emotions in check.

"I feel like I should poke myself in the eye or something," Tommy muttered, causing Charles to laugh through his tears.

"Hey, I was fine until she started," he said, pointing directly at Elsie.

"I'm sentimental, I can't help it!" Elsie retorted, blowing her nose into her last napkin. "And Robin Williams …"

Everyone left Daisy alone for a moment, and the joking nature of the conversation helped her to gather herself.

"Hey, kid, you gonna be alright?" Tommy asked her softly after a minute. Daisy gulped and nodded, giving him half a smile. Tommy knew Daisy's mother had died sometime before she'd moved to Misty Cove, and he felt bad for her. Watching someone die on the big screen - regardless of whether or not it was an actual person - must be hard, he figured.

Elsie took advantage of the kids' temporary distraction to find Charles's eyes.

I love you, he mouthed, winking at her.

I know, she sent back, shaking her head. Her eyes flicked to Daisy and back and she added, Sorry.

He shook his head, though. Don't be.

"Alright, who's still hungry?" Elsie asked, and all three of her companions raised their hands.

"Then let's go!"

An hour and a half later they were completely stuffed full of pizza, with a box of leftovers to boot. Charles pulled the car up in front of Tommy's house. He scanned its appearance quickly in the dark, noting that no front light was on even though there was a light coming from somewhere inside.

"Thanks again, Mr. Carson, Ms. Hughes. I really had fun."

"Well, then … Happy Birthday to you. And I'll see you tomorrow," Elsie said, reminding him to take the pizza box. She looked over and saw that Charles was unbuckling his seat belt to walk Tommy to the door. She reached her hand out and placed it on his, then gave him and almost imperceptible shake of the head: No, don't.

Charles was puzzled, but obeyed nonetheless.

"Well, Tommy, it was nice to meet you," he said instead. "I do hope we see you again sometime."

"Sure thing, Mr. Carson. See you around, Daisy," he added, smiling at her as he got out of the car.

"Bye," Daisy said quietly, pulling out her book and book light for the short ride home.

Charles and Elsie watched as Tommy made his way to the front door, fetched a key from the bottom of the mailbox, and let himself in. Just before closing the door he flashed the porch light at them, a goodbye of sorts. It broke Charles's heart a little, confirmation that the light did, indeed, work, but that no one had bothered to leave it on for him.

Elsie reached out and squeezed his hand, glancing back in the rear-view mirror to see that Daisy had her earbuds in and would be suitably distracted.

"We can't fix them all, you know," she said to him as he laced his fingers together with hers.

"But we know how he feels, don't we?" he murmured. "Between us, we have a pretty good idea of what it's like to be Tommy Barrow."

Elsie lifted his hand to her lips and placed the gentlest of kisses on it, allowing her lips to linger for just a moment.

"We do. Thank you for today."

Charles shook his head, and Elsie noticed that he was overcome with emotion. He relinquished her hand and put the car in gear, then backed up and drove away slowly.

"My pleasure," he said once he reached the end of the driveway.

Inside the house, Tommy watched them drive away. He smiled and shook his head, thinking of the day he'd just had. He knew he was lucky to have Ms. Hughes looking out for him, and had been pleasantly surprised to have Daisy speak to him. It made him feel quite special, knowing as he did that it was a gift she bestowed on few people.

"Tommy? Is that you?" his Mum called from the living room.

"Yeah, Mum. I'm gonna shower and get to bed. Did you eat?"

"No, but I'm fine," she said.

"No, here," he said, handing her a box. "There was leftover pizza and they told me to take it home. You can have it, though, I'm stuffed."

"Nice of them," she acknowledged. "That Ms. Hughes … she's really a good person, isn't she?"

Tommy smiled, and poured a glass of water for her, setting it down by her half-empty glass of wine.

"Yeah, she's pretty okay," he said. "Oh, wait - here," he added, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the money he'd earned that day. "For last week and this week. Take it all this time - we need some groceries."

She looked at her son, growing up so fast and looking so much like his father - his real father, not the one he thought was his Da. She held her hand out and he took it, bending to kiss her on the cheek.

"You okay, Mum?" he asked, his head cocked in worry.

She smiled sadly at him. "Yes, sweetie, I'm fine. Head on up and take your shower. And tell Ms. Hughes I said thank you for the pizza, alright?"

"Yeah, okay," he said, already walking toward the stairs.

Please leave a little review if you feel so inclined - they keep me going!

*The quote I used is actually misquoted, I realize this. It's a common misquote, however, and the plaque described in Miss Baxter's office is usually how it's represented. The acccurate one (from what I gather) is the Plato, quoted at the beginning of this chapter.