6:30AM dawned. Even before Connie opened her eyes she knew it was stormy outside. She could hear the wind gushing, wailing and pulling against the house and the roar of the rain– a sound like a train coming, and coming, but never seeming to pass.

She rolled over slowly, oddly disorientated by the dim blue light, and as she opened her eyes a low roll of thunder crept across the sky, like the warning growl of a cat.

She yawned and reached out a hand, taking a moment to realise that she was alone in the bed. She splayed her fingers over the pillow next to her, it still showed the indentation from Rita's head. It was vaguely warm, and as she sat up, she could hear the soft tread of bare feet on the stairs and the creak of a floorboard on the landing.

She shivered and hugged the duvet up to her chest, her naked body wincing as the air from the room gushed in beneath the sheets.

Rita pushed the bedroom door open with her foot. She smiled when she saw that Connie was awake.

"Good morning!"

She glanced down to the tray she held. She was a picture of loveliness standing in the doorway, Connie's dressing gown pulled tightly about her waist, her blonde hair un-brushed and fluffy, tufting up at the sides and her cheeks still flushed from sleep.

"I made you breakfast!"

She added, making her way over to the bed with the white wooden tray.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and placed the tray on Connie's lap, watching the other woman look over the contents with raised eyebrows.

"You didn't have to do this..."

Connie murmured. There was a cup of tea, and freshly ground coffee in Connie's favourite mug – a large white one with a grey handle. Steam rose from it and filled the room with the warm nutty smell. And there was toast. She smiled to herself. Rita had made a stack of Marmite toast, something that she considered true comfort food, and she wondered briefly if she had told Rita that, or if, like so many other things, she just knew.

"It's not much..."

Rita's eyes were wide, and Connie realised she hadn't said anything. She looked up, her lips pressed into a smile, her eyes bright despite how tired she felt.

"It's perfect. Thank you."

She whispered, and she reached out to gently pat the space in the bed next to her, gesturing for her to join her.

Connie held the tray steady whilst Rita clambered in next to her and pulled the cover up about herself, making sure to tuck the duvet in tightly about them so that no drafts could get in.

Connie set the tray down in between them, and Rita reached out for her cup of tea, but just before her fingers touched the handle of the tea cup, Connie placed a hand over hers, stopping her, turning to her.

Rita looked back at her, momentarily confused.

"I love you"

Connie whispered.

A smile spread slowly across Rita's lips, and she expelled a breath of happiness.

"I love you, too..."

She said, squeezing her fingers, feeling her chest contract with elation.

"I want to thank you for last night."

Connie began, breaking eye contact. She was embarrassed, not just because she had cried, and shown just how much she was still hurting, but because it had been such a perfectly lovely evening, she didn't feel she had the right to bed sad.

"You don't need to thank me."

Rita said, squeezing her hand again, and she moved just that little bit closer to her so that their arms touched and she could lean to place a soft kiss on Connie's lips.

"That's just what people in love do."

She added, and Connie exhaled. She felt better, she realised. Gone were the niggling doubts of the previous weeks. She could think about what happened and she could bare it, for a moment anyway, before putting it away. She seemed to have cried it all out, and now she would begin the process of filling herself up with only good things, she thought, glancing to Rita who reached out to smooth the dark curls from her face. Only good things...

-1-

Thank you for such lovely reviews of the last chapter! :) I've spent all day in bed today with a migraine, but I'm feeling much better now so I will update again in a little while – and I'll finally get to the 'Grace' chapters. Hopefully there are no glaring errors in the above piece. I have checked, but I'm not completely 'with it' yet! xxx