A/N: Undying gratitude to brenna-louise, who is just lovely and who continues to put up with this fic. xxx
Friday, May 15, 2015
The weeks after vacation had proven to be a trial for Elsie in more ways than one. She had returned to work but was much more sore and achy than she'd anticipated, and she'd had to resort to a prescription level of ibuprofen from Richard to get her through the day. She also had been given a smaller version of the back brace, which didn't restrict her from bending completely but which did prevent her from overexerting her muscles. All in all, she considered herself lucky, because in addition to being at work she was also trying to put the finishing touches on a spectacular birthday party for Daisy, and Elsie just couldn't afford to be out of commission for that.
The phone on her desk rang and she snatched it up as she looked at the clock: Only ten fifteen … sigh.
"Hello, love," came the deep voice on the other end.
"Charles! Everything okay?" she asked, tucking the phone under her chin as she typed a notation in a student's file.
"Absolutely. Just off the phone with Beryl. The cake's done and she'll send Bill to get the rest of the decorations tonight. We'll head in for breakfast tomorrow, as usual. And as far as I know, Daisy still has no idea."
"Perfect," she said with a sigh. "Bless you, darling, for finalizing all of that. So, tonight …"
"Tonight will be a calm, quiet evening at home. I'll bring the kids to the store after school so you can get some rest. Daisy still thinks her party is happening on Sunday, so it makes sense to do some shopping."
"Have I told you lately that I love you?" she asked.
"Not since last night."
Elsie flushed and turned around to be sure she was alone before replying, "Well, given that you're letting me rest this afternoon, maybe we can make that happen again tonight."
She heard his soft chuckle and felt her heartbeat increase, hoping once again that she'd never lose that feeling.
"Sounds good to me, love. See you after school."
"Bye," she said softly, and she knew he heard the smile in her voice.
The end of the school day finally arrived; as promised, Charles dropped Elsie off at home and then took the kids shopping. Tommy was in on the surprise for Daisy's birthday, and Charles had to fight laughter as the boy just fed into the ruse.
"Daisy," Tommy said to her in the baking aisle, "how about cupcakes for Sunday?" He selected a box from the shelf that showed a vanilla cupcake with little colorful bits inside and sprinkles on top. "It makes two dozen - we should get two or three, yeah?"
Daisy nodded enthusiastically and Tommy began to add boxes of cupcake mix, frosting, and liners to the cart while Charles looked on.
Two aisles down, they stumbled upon the ice cream section.
"Oh, I love this one," Daisy said, reaching for the chocolate chip. "And Papa, don't you prefer this chocolate one?" She grabbed a half-gallon of the double chocolate fudge and handed it to him. "What about you, Tommy?"
Tommy picked black raspberry, and into the cart they all went. Charles was starting to regret this plan of his, knowing Elsie would be annoyed about all the junk food that was going to end up at the house because of their little surprise. Still, he told himself, it'll all keep. Added to the ice cream went a jar of hot fudge, a pint of cream to whip up, and a jar of cherries.
Yes, Elsie is going to kill you, Charles told himself again.
They went through the cashier's line and then loaded the groceries into the car, pushing aside the items they'd already gotten for the farm when they'd stopped at the feed store.
"Good thing you've got a big car," Tommy said. "Why not just take Elsie's truck?"
Daisy laughed. "Because this one always starts?" she quipped.
"I wanted to talk to you both about that," Charles said as he buckled his seat belt. "I've got a surprise to share with you, but you must absolutely promise not to tell Elsie - or anyone else, for that matter."
They promised, and he filled them in on his conversation with Andy.
"So she's getting the new truck next week?" Daisy asked.
"She is. That way it'll be a surprise. If I do it on her birthday, or closer to it, she'll be suspicious. So what I need you two to do is distract her at the end of that day. I'll be swapping the trucks at one o'clock, but may be a bit late to get to school and pick you all up. I'll text you, Tommy, and let you know how much time I need. It'll be up to the two of you to see that you're late leaving, if need be."
"You got it," Tommy said with a smirk. "We can come up with something sneaky, I'm sure."
Charles looked at Daisy in the rearview mirror and she nodded enthusiastically.
"You bet," she added with a smile.
"Kids all tucked in?" Charles asked from the loveseat, and Elsie nodded.
"They are. You know, sometimes I wonder why I have a living room. We never use it."
"Well," he answered, tilting his head up for a kiss, "this room isn't directly outside of their rooms," he acknowledged. "That could be one reason, perhaps?"
She giggled and sat down gingerly on his lap, accepting the glass of whisky he handed her.
"Sore?"
"Mm," she replied, "but this'll help. More than wine would have, I think." She gazed into his eyes appreciatively. "Thanks."
"You are more than welcome, love." He clinked their glasses together gently. "Here's to a successful breakfast at The Cheeky Devil."
They each took a sip and Elsie hummed with pleasure. "This is good," she mumbled. "I feel like we're going to need our strength for tomorrow."
He tilted his head in question. "You're not having second thoughts, are you? About not having it here? It'll be hard if you end up uncomfortable, not being able to leave."
"I'll just rest in Beryl's office if I need to - she's got a sofa in there." She reached her arm around his shoulders and carded her fingers through his hair, then rested her forehead on his. "I'll be fine, Charlie," she whispered. "You don't have to worry about me. It's Daisy's day, and I promise not to ruin it by injuring myself."
"I'm not worried about your ruining anything," he said seriously, pulling back so that he could see her eyes again. "You, my dear, make everything we do better. And if you don't know that by now, then I'm doing a rather poor job of it on my end."
She blushed at the compliment but closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Alright, if you say so," she said.
"I do," he said meaningfully. "And, in this, I insist that you trust me. You've added so much to my life that I can't imagine how I ever managed without you. You make me see things in ways I never did before, and you constantly strive to put my needs first. I've never had that," he whispered. "For heaven's sake, Els, you even planned Daisy's party – splendidly, I might add."
"And you do all of those things for me, you know. Clearly. We've discussed this, Charles … I think I have been getting more from this arrangement that I've been giving."
"Physical assistance, cooking, and cleaning - I'll concede those things," he nodded diplomatically. "But as for the rest … well, perhaps we're even."
She smiled beautifully, lovingly, and Charles reached to put down his glass before wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head on his, the need to sit up straight making itself known by the ache in her back.
They sat silently for a while, lost in their thoughts. Max stirred a bit in his bed by the door, and then he got up and went outside. When he came back in, Charles eased Elsie from his lap and collected the glasses as she turned off the lights.
When Charles caught up with her in the bedroom, she had removed her shoes and socks and had just unbuttoned her jeans. She heard him come in and turned to smile brilliantly at him, a rather mischievous look on her face. He placed his hands around her bare waist, then rubbed her back gently with his fingertips as she leaned forward and placed her forehead on his chest.
"So you gave me whisky and now you're trying to limber me up, Mr. Carson?" she teased. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had plans."
"And if I did?" he replied in a whisper, allowing his lips to brush her ear as he said it. "You're not offended, are you?"
Elsie's heart raced as his warm breath blew the wisps of hair around her neck. "Oh, I can assure you," she said, moving back to unbutton his shirt and place hot kisses to his throat and collarbone, "the very last thing in the world that I am at this moment is 'offended.'"
"Thank God," he whispered, backing up to take his shirt off and drop it on the floor before pulling her to him again. He reached up underneath her sweater and unclasped her bra, sliding his hands under the lace and around her torso, rubbing them over her breasts and relishing her pleasured gasp as he squeezed gently.
Finding herself temporarily speechless, Elsie turned her attentions to undoing his belt buckle and divesting him of his jeans and shorts.
"How is it … that I am ... now completely ... disrobed?" he asked, his words broken apart by a few passionate kisses.
Elsie backed up abruptly and raised her arms over her head, an eyebrow raised in challenge.
"Go ahead," she said teasingly. "I'm not stopping you."
The next several minutes involved Charles very slowly undressing his beautiful fiancée, trailing faint kisses over each section of skin as he uncovered it and delighting in her gasps and murmured pleasure, which grew more determined as her pulse quickened.
Eventually she could stand it no more, and she grabbed his hips and pulled him toward her, earning a deep moan from him.
"Shh," she reminded him, silencing him with her mouth on his.
"Bed," he gasped, and she nodded, backing them up slowly and reaching behind her to pull down the blanket and sheets.
He assisted her with getting into the bed, making sure she wasn't twisting or moving too fast. She huffed impatiently, but he ignored it until she was settled and then joined her by her side.
No more words were spoken, each cognizant of the need to not be overheard by either of the children. Daisy always slept through the night, but Tommy had been sleeping somewhat erratically since he'd arrived; the bedroom door was locked, so they knew they'd at least not be interrupted, but being overheard wouldn't do, either.
Elsie turned onto her side to face Charles, grasping his face in her hands and kissing him fiercely. He pulled her leg up onto his, glancing at her face in silent question, and she nodded. He gently slipped inside of her, eliciting another soft gasp of pleasure from his beloved.
Their movements were incredibly slow and deep, both from a need to remain quiet and a need to be as close to one another as possible. The past weeks had been fraught with angst, sadness, and fear interspersed with the busy nature of their regular lives, which had made the times during which they managed to sequester themselves away like this all the more meaningful.
At some point, Elsie realized she was lying on her back, and she tentatively reached her legs up and around Charles's thighs. Feeling no pain, she squeezed gently, encouraging him to move faster and deeper. He willingly obliged and, moments later, they tumbled over the edge together with a deep, satisfied sigh.
"Stay," she said immediately, "I'm fine."
Charles did as she asked, propping himself up on his elbows as he brushed her hair from her face with his fingertips.
"I love you," he told her, and she smiled adoringly at him as she trailed her foot up and down his leg. "I'd stay like this forever if we could."
"Mm, as would I, darling," she whispered, reaching her hand up to grasp his bicep and lifting her head for a kiss.
They kissed slowly and passionately, without a care in the world except for one another's pleasure in that moment. Eventually he slipped from her body but stayed above her for a while longer, each of them enjoying the other's kisses and caresses until the need for sleep became too great.
Charles got out of bed and handed Elsie her nightgown, which she dutifully put on before heading into the bathroom. She returned to the bedroom minutes later and unlocked the door, just in case the kids needed them during the night, and found Charles clad in his pajama pants and waiting for her in bed. She chuckled as he patted the mattress beside him, his eyelids already at half-mast.
"Somebody's tired," she said, getting in and caressing his face. "But I thank you for staying up with me."
"It was my pleasure," he assured her, moving onto his side and tucking one arm up and under her pillow while his other wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.
Elsie settled in and turned to ask him something, but he was already breathing deeply and regularly, a sure sign he'd fallen fast asleep. She smiled to herself and slid her body even more tightly against his before slipping into her own deep, dream-filled slumber.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
"Birthday breakfast!" Daisy yelled as she tore into Elsie and Charles's bedroom, skidding to a stop by his side of the bed.
"Mmph," he mumbled, feigning sleepiness.
"Come on, Papa - I know you're awake!"
She jumped up into the bed, careful to not land on Elsie, and squealed when Charles erupted from under the blankets and tickled her senseless as Elsie looked on and laughed.
"What in the world is going on in there?" Tommy asked from the doorway.
"Oh, come on in, Tommy," Daisy said with a roll of her eyes. "Just normal family stuff."
Up until this point, Tommy had resolutely refused to set foot in their bedroom when they were actually in the bed, but he felt like a fool just standing in the hall outside their door. Max came tearing into the house and straight into the bedroom, so Tommy followed.
"Good morning," Elsie said to him, brushing a tear of laughter from her eye. "I take it you were woken up early, too?"
Tommy mumbled something incoherent, but nodded. He glanced back at Elsie and then at Charles - her hair slightly mussed from sleep but his all over the place after his tickle fight with Daisy - and laughed, shaking his head as he did so.
"Normal? This is normal for around here?"
"Well," Charles acknowledged, "on Daisy's birthday, anything goes. Isn't that right, petal?" he added, kissing her nose.
Elsie caught Tommy's attention again. "It's my first 'Daisy birthday,' too, so we can experience it together." She winked at him.
"Alright," he replied warily. "But it's still odd seeing you in bed. That's … going to take some getting used to."
"Understood," she chuckled. "Go on, then. You can shower first if you like - Daisy already took hers last night. And then," she added with a wink that went unnoticed by Daisy, "I believe we're going out for breakfast."
"Surprise!"
Daisy stopped dead in her tracks after walking into the restaurant. Everyone was there, it seemed to her: Beryl, William, and Ivy, then Aunt Mary and Aunt Edith, Bertie, and Marigold, John and Anna, a few friends from school, and … Oh, my goodness! Is that …
"Happy Birthday, Daisy," Miss Stephanie said as she gave the girl a hug. "You told me this was the place to go for breakfast on Saturday, and just look at what I stumbled upon!"
She gave Daisy a wink and Daisy realized her teacher had been in on the surprise, too.
"Thank you," Daisy said, awestruck as Miss Stephanie handed her a small, wrapped gift. Daisy was certain she knew what it was, but she just handed it to her Papa as others came up to greet her.
Daisy spoke with Mr. Molesley and Miss Baxter next, then Mr. Parker came over with Ethel and Charlie, who gave Daisy a bear hug. Eventually the Carsons, Elsie, and Tommy made their way to a table in the middle of the room, which Beryl had decked out with a pink tablecloth and at which sat a chair that was adorned with huge, pink, glittery balloons.
"Daisy," Mary whispered, beckoning her closer as she grabbed one of the balloons. "Tap here," she instructed.
Daisy did so, and the balloon began to play music.
"Brilliant," Daisy gasped, delighted.
"Thanks for that," Elsie said with a laugh. "I'm sure Charlie will love it."
"If you're speaking of that … thing, then I promise only that I will remember who is responsible for sending it to our house," he grumbled. But he cheered somewhat as Mary placed a kiss to his cheek.
"Sorry," she said with a smirk. "But it's her birthday, so …"
"Yeah, I know."
"Happy Birthday, love," Beryl said from behind Daisy. The girl whipped around and flung herself into Beryl's arms.
"Thank you so much," she whispered into Beryl's ear. "Where's Mr. Mason? I don't see him."
"He had a little job to do for me, but he'll be here soon."
"Okay. Um … is that my cake?" Daisy asked, peeking over Beryl's shoulder to a table in the corner.
"It is," Beryl replied. "Shall we go and check it out?"
Daisy nodded, and Beryl took her by the hand and led her to the cake table. On it sat the most beautiful cake Daisy had ever seen. It was a large, two-layer sheet cake. The frosting was green to look like grass, and Beryl had crafted a fence out of chocolate and had placed it, standing up, around the edges. Inside of the fencing were 'bales of hay' made of frosting-covered crispy rice treats, and there was a plastic toy horse standing by one of the bales, its head bent down so that it appeared he was eating the hay.
"The hay is a crispy rice treat, so you can eat it, but the horse isn't," Beryl told her. "We'll wash it off after we serve the cake and you can take it home."
"Can we eat the fence?" Daisy asked, and Beryl laughed softly.
"We can," she said. "I've saved the extra that didn't fit on the cake for your Papa, too," she added with a wink. "It's in the kitchen."
"This is really pretty," Daisy gushed. "Thank you so much."
"You're very welcome, love," Beryl said fondly. She smoothed her hand over Daisy's hair and placed a kiss to her forehead. "Let's get some breakfast first though, alright? After all, isn't that why you're here?"
Daisy laughed as they returned to the crowd, and Charles rejoiced in seeing her so happy.
"She's come a long way," Edith said from beside him, and he turned to her and smiled.
"It's like I have my old Daisy back," he agreed tearfully, and Edith reached over and squeezed his hand.
"I don't have to think too hard about why that is, do I?" she asked, following his gaze to where Elsie stood talking to Tom Branson. "She's truly remarkable. I'm so glad you've found each other, Uncle Charlie."
"She's changed my life," he said simply.
"Oh," Edith answered softly, "I can assure you, you've changed hers, too."
A sudden gust of wind and the tinkling of bells made their way into the restaurant, followed by Bill Mason's voice.
"We're here!" he called out, and everyone turned to look where he stood.
"Auntie Becky!" Daisy cried, tearing across the restaurant and crashing into the woman with an enormous hug. "You came for my party?"
"Surprise!" Becky shouted, hugging Daisy back and kissing her cheeks. "Happy Birthday, little niece. Bill brought me," she explained.
Daisy looked up at Bill, wide-eyed, and said, "So Auntie Becky was your 'job' today?"
"She was," Bill confirmed, his eyes twinkling. "Happy Birthday, love." He fluffed her hair a bit and then went to join his wife, leaving aunt and niece to catch up on the past few weeks.
"Breakfast followed by cake," Charles stated. "It's not right, I tell you."
"Oh, hush you. It's her birthday, you know. And birthday breakfast seems to be everyone's tradition except mine, so you're welcome for that," Elsie said sarcastically.
"I know, and I love you for doing all this," he said, leaning down to kiss her temple. "So, now … presents?"
"Presents!" Tommy shouted from across the table. "Favorite part! Daisy?"
Daisy looked at him and nodded, her face lit up with excitement.
Elsie settled in across from Daisy, her phone's camera at the ready, and Tommy handed Daisy her gifts one at a time. She opened Miss Stephanie's first, and saw that it was …
" … The BFG," she said. She scanned the back of the book and then looked up at her teacher. "Thanks - this sounds great!"
"I thought you'd like it," Stephanie said quietly.
Daisy moved on to the other gifts, opening two more books from Marigold, a lovely set of sketching pencils from Miss Baxter and Mr. Molesley, some riding boots that Cora and Robert had sent over from England, and a few outfits and toys from Beryl and Bill, Anna and John, Mary, and Edith and Bertie, along with a few other gifts.
"What's that?" she whispered to Tommy, indicating the last gift - an enormous box that was still on the floor.
"This," he said, dragging it over so that it rested in front of Daisy's legs, "is from us. Elsie picked it out especially for you."
Daisy looked up at Elsie, who only smiled in return.
"Go on," she encouraged her softly. "Open it."
Daisy peeled back the bow and paper and revealed a brown cardboard box, with no indication of what was inside. John came over and helped her open the box top with his pocketknife, and she pried open the top and lifted out the paper … and promptly emitted a very high-pitched, very loud squeal of delight.
"I'll help you," Tommy said with a smile, reaching in and pulling the gift out, then placing it in Daisy's lap.
"It's beautiful!" Daisy exclaimed.
On her lap sat a custom-made, deep brown saddle. The tooling design showed a vine which was blossoming into very delicate - of course - daisies. As Daisy ran her fingers over it, she came upon the medallion.
"What's this called?" she asked Charles.
"It's a medallion," he replied. "To personalize it for you."
"No, I mean what's this?" she emphasized, pointing to the design on it.
Charles leaned over and examined it more closely, and then he looked over at Elsie in surprise. He hadn't realized she'd purchased a medallion at all, but was wholly unprepared for what was on it.
"It's a thistle," he said to Daisy, but his eyes were still on Elsie.
"It is," Elsie confirmed, smiling lovingly at him before approaching Daisy.
"What's a thistle?" Daisy asked.
"It's a symbol of Scotland," Elsie said. "It stands for strength, among other things, and it's protective of what's around it."
"And you're from Scotland," Daisy nodded, a smile on her face. "So ... it's like a little bit of you with me. Protecting me."
Charles swallowed a lump in his throat as Elsie whispered, "Yes, love … it's exactly like that."
TBC … please leave a little review if you feel so inclined. Shout-out to chelsie-carson for the idea of the saddle for Daisy, which I "embellished" a bit. :) x