Connie was still standing in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. She glanced at the clock. She wasn't quite sure how long she had been standing there – an hour? More? Grace had shut herself away in her bedroom, and the house was silent except for the occasional drip of the cold tap.

For a moment she considered ignoring whoever it was at the door, and she waited for the inevitable second knock before moving. Perhaps...perhaps Rita had come back...perhaps she should give her a key...

She wrapped her arms about herself and made her way slowly to the front door, the floor was cold underfoot and she shivered as she stopped, just shy of the door mat. She opened the door, the rush of cold air making goosebumps rise across her flesh.

"Charlie!"

There he stood, on her doorstep, a frown of concern creasing his forehead.

She raised a hand to her forehead, self conscious all of a sudden. She must look awful, she thought. Her hair was snarled and tangled at the back from where she had slept on it, and she hadn't even thought about make up yet.

"Hello Connie."

He glanced behind her, as if he were expecting to see somebody else.

"Can I come in?"

He asked. The early morning cold had made his face pale and he tugged his jacket about himself even tighter.

"Of course! Yes...yes. Come in."

She stepped back, moving quickly, suddenly snapping out of the daze that she had found herself in. She glanced down at herself as he entered and stopped to wipe his boots on the mat. She tugged at the hem of her oversized jumper. She wasn't accustomed to having visitors when she was so ill prepared...so exposed.

She took his coat and hung it up where Rita's had been as he closed the door, shutting out the blustering icy winds that howled and licked at the corners of the house with white cold greed.

"Come through."

She gestured to the kitchen, and Charlie followed her as she led the way.

"Coffee?"

"Grace not here?"

They spoke in unison and he smiled slightly. She sighed and clapped her hands to her sides before gesturing to the mugs.

"Please."

He watched as she flicked on the coffee machine and busied herself with cups, contemplating his question.

"She's upstairs."

She turned to face him just in time to see him glance at the smashed Ipod that she had collected into a pile on the table. Almost invisible flakes of glass had splintered into her fingertips as she'd gathered the bits together. She could still feel the sting of them now, and the headphones were left, still plugged in and coiled tightly into a ball.

He pushed his hands into his pockets and drew in a breath, glancing at her.

"I had a text message from Rita this morning."

He paused, leaving the rest of his sentence hanging in mid air between them. Connie lowered her gaze to the floor.

"In fact, I think most of the department did..."

He watched as Connie's cheeks flushed and she frowned slightly before looking up, meeting his gaze.

"I can't say I recognised you from the picture, but I assume it was you and her?"

He asked gently.

She exhaled and raised her eyes to the ceiling as the coffee machine finished in it's coffee making. The knowledge that Charlie, and whoever else, had seen such an intimate picture of them both, a picture of her topless, made her skin crawl. At least she was other wise unrecognisable, she thought, at least she hadn't managed to capture her own face as she had Rita's...

"Grace..."

Connie murmured and stirred milk into one of the coffee's.

"She didn't take the news of Rita and I well."

She handed Charlie his mug and he took it with a murmured 'thanks'.

"She sent the picture to everyone in Rita's phone book."

She concluded, and again Charlie glanced to the Ipod.

There was a pause between them. The atmosphere seemed to shift from one of mild discomfort to one of friendship. Despite the bristle and prickle of her embarrassment, she knew he cared.

"You should go to her, you know...make sure she's ok."

He spoke quietly, and without Connie saying a word he set down his mug on the table top and sat down. She drew in a breath and exhaled slowly before she joined him, sitting opposite him.

"You saw her this morning?"

"She was an hour and a half early..."

Charlie answered without hesitation, and Connie nodded slowly.

Charlie cleared his throat and raised his coffee to his lips, taking a sip and swallowing, biding his time, for he knew what he had to say may not be well received.

"She shouldn't have to deal with this on her own..."

She pursed her lips.

"I have Grace, there's nothing I can-"

"I'll stay here and see to Grace. You go...Rita needs you. She's just been outed in the worst possible way, Connie."

He set his mug down again and she raised a hand to her forehead, pushing her fingers against the bridge of her nose.

"I can think of worse ways."

She murmured, and immediately regretted her choice of words. She hadn't meant to sound so petulant, as though Rita's reaction was uncalled for.

"Surely you're not going to let her go through this on her own?"

He asked as Connie sucked in a breath and blew into the steam that rose from her coffee cup.
"Come on, Connie, this doesn't have to be nearly as bad as either of you seem to think it does."
Connie raised an eyebrow.
"It would be made a great deal better if you were supporting her instead of avoiding..."
"I'm not avoiding..."
She answered sharply, and Charlie looked disbelievingly at her. She drew in a long breath and sighed. She knew that whatever she said, it wouldn't fool him. He knew her better than most, perhaps sometimes he even knew her better than she knew herself.
"I'm not ready...I'm not ready to 'come out'..."
She whispered. The very words making her throat feel tight.
"And Rita is? Think how she feels Connie. Your daughter sent an intimate picture of her to everyone she knows, her friends, her family, and who knows who else. She's humiliated, she's upset, and she needs you."
Connie rubbed her forehead. He was looking at her with that mix of concern and frustration that only he seemed capable of.

"I don't know what to do,Charlie..."

She whispered. She had no idea. The thought of the entire staff knowing...

She closed her eyes.

"You love her?"

Charlie asked, his voice quiet. She nodded ever so slightly, still her eyes closed, just the bloom of gold from the light showing behind her eyelids.

"I adore her, I love her...so much..."

"So what's the problem?"

"I...I just..."

She stopped and opened her eyes, looking at him. She raised her hands in defeat and let them fall back down to her sides.

"You don't think you'd have the support of your staff? I know you haven't seen eye to eye with a lot of them, but despite that, they love Rita. They'll talk about it, and laugh, maybe even poke fun but they wont be malicious about it."

"And Grace?"

"Grace is in shock."

Connie puffed out a breath from between her lips.

"I don't feel qualified to come out...I don't feel as though I even know who I am...what I am..."

He paused and reached out across the table, placing his hand over her own.

"Connie, you don't have to label yourself."

He placed his cup down on the table.

"Then how do I know who I am?"

She sighed.

-.-

Hello everyone. I needed a brief break as some not very polite 'reviews' were left on this story, which meant I didn't really want to write it! Anyway, I'll update again later, but first, would you like to see the scene between Grace and Charlie, or shall I skip straight to Connie and Rita at the hospital? I'll write whatever the majority would like to see :)

Also, I've been asked to add some "full on smut". I'm not entirely sure what the guest who requested this meant. Do you mean sex scenes similar to what I have been writing, or did you mean more graphic/longer/...? I write sex scenes where I feel they would naturally occur, not just for the sake of them, but rest assured there will be more!

Anyway, let me know! xxx