Little bit more Connie and Charlie, and then I will continue on to the Connie and Rita scene in the hospital, as that was what the majority of people asked for.

Enjoy...

-.-

"Have you ever had feelings like this before, for a woman?"

It was Charlie who broke the brief moment of silence in which Connie felt her throat constrict with dread, contemplating what it was that she would inevitably have to do.

She drew in a breath and looked across at him. He looked so patient, so understanding sitting there in his dark blue woollen jumper, the faint tufts of white hair tousled by the wind and the knuckles of his hands that rested by hers were ruddy from the cold.

She exhaled. This was the time to be honest, she supposed.

"I've found other women attractive..."

She paused, she had barely even admitted this to herself.

"...though I've never acted upon it."

She added. Charlie nodded slowly, it was the answer that he had been expecting, but even so, he wasn't sure how to respond.

"I've never felt like this towards any person, male or female."

She whispered, glancing to her hands that wrapped about the white mug, half full of coffee that was now probably too cool to enjoy as she liked it.

Charlie cleared his throat and drew himself back in his chair, his hands slipped away from her and he frowned slightly, though his lips upturned in an a smile. He felt a paternal need to protect her, to make sure she did the right thing for herself, for Rita...for her career.

"Then perhaps you need just accept that it doesn't matter."

He paused and let his head fall ever so slightly to one side, meeting her gaze.

"You've fallen in love, Connie...that's what matters, not whether you're gay, straight or bisexual..."

He watched her as he spoke, the way she drew in a breath through her nose, the way her lips pursed as though she were fighting against something deep inside of herself...

"Why is it we can never love the people we ought to?"

She whispered, blinking, glancing up at him. She could feel the spike of tears at the corners of her eyes and she blinked again, once, twice...she cleared her throat, she suddenly felt most unlike herself. She was flailing, unravelling, and all because she had fallen in love. How ridiculous, it seemed, that something so perfect, so lovely , could cause her so much pain.

She heard Charlie exhale a breath of incredulity and she lowered her gaze to the table top, following the grain until her eyes blurred with tears.

She seemed unable to grow used to these occasional dark moments that seemed to come so regularly now. Moments where she would be stricken with fear quite unexpectedly. Moments in which she would remember that night, she would remember everything all at once, in less than a second...and she would think of Rita, how all of this- their relationship, would have to come out eventually...

And then there were the dreary fits, when her life, laid out before her, seemed bitter and hollow and insignificant... She forgot the many successes of her career and instead saw every failure... the missed opportunities, the moments of cowardice and disappointment... she had been very much in love in the past... and had been thrown over for another... she had turned her back on romance after that disenchantment, and the few affairs she had had since then had been very half-hearted things. Now, in these moments, the passionless embraces came back to her ... in all their dry mechanical detail, and she felt a wave of disgust for herself...

"Connie..."

She felt Charlie's fingers against the back of her hand again and she glanced up, suddenly aware that he had been speaking to her.

"You're so brave and quiet that I forget you are suffering.."

He spoke so softly that his words made her breath catch, and again she pressed her lips together to quell the wobble of her chin.

"Why do you think you ought not to love her?"

He asked, changing the subject, knowing that if she thought too long about whatever it was that she was thinking about, she might never return.

She cleared her throat again with a half-cough and raised one hand to run the backs of her fingers beneath her eyes.

"Oh...I..."

She drew up her shoulders.

"I'm not exactly the most loved member of the team...I hardly think they will give us their blessing..."

Charlie smiled again as she spoke, and in turn she felt herself smile, the burning solid ache deep within the back of her throat lessening.

"Well, I can't say they won't be surprised!"
He almost laughed as he spoke. Even he had though this was all a little bit unlikely, but he could see that they loved one another, he could see it right now, sitting opposite Connie. He could see how her breath caught in her throat when she mentioned Rita's name, and how her eyes glittered, and the corners of her mouth twitched with a smile full of secrets when she thought of her. She seemed to glow with love, almost as pregnant women do...she was bursting with it, and yet she didn't seem to be able to see it herself...
He pressed his hand tighter about her own.
"...but in the long run they'll respect you a lot more for standing by her and being honest with them. Rita is a well liked member of the team..."
"Well, quite! They're hardly going to be thrilled that it's me she's seeing!"
She cut in, and Charlie raised his eyebrows, amused.
"You said you love her."
He said quietly.
"I do love her."
"Well then!"
He gave her hand a final squeeze before slipping them back across the table where he clasped them together as if in prayer.
"Nothing else really matters does it?"
Connie pulled a face and Charlie laughed out loud at her crinkled nose and raised eyebrow. She looked beautiful, right then, with her eyes glassy with un-shed tears, her cheeks freckled and flushed and her pulse ticking visibly, just below her jaw.
"Listen."
It was his turn now to clear his throat.
"Go over there right now, look after her...then when her shift if over, bring her home and make a fuss of her, lord knows she needs it."
"I don't think I'm strong enough-"
"Not strong enough! You're the strongest woman I know!"
He exclaimed.
Connie drew in a breath and leant back in her chair, feeling the press of wooden slats against the ridges of her spine.
"Your heart and hers are alike, after all. I realise that now, and so will the rest of the staff...Come on Connie, we've been surrounded by the love you two have been building between each other for years! The passion with which you two used to argue...the way you used to infuriate one another...I bet you anything that this won't come as the big shock you're both expecting!"
He smiled again, a small comforting smile that made her exhale a breath of relief. She knew that even though she was yet to believe it, that it was more than likely true.
"And Connie?"
He added, breaking her train of thought.
"Mmm?"
"If it all goes pear shaped, I'm here..."
She gave a slight shake of her head and smiled, meeting his eyes.
"Thank you, Charlie."
She murmured, and he gave a brief nod of his head.
"No need to thank me."
-.-
Saz: Hello lovely! So glad you're still enjoying it. I will skip to Connie and Rita next.. xx Lollyblanc: Thank you so much for that lovely review, I close one eye now (not that that will help in the slightest!) when I open an email that says review, just in case it's a not very nice one...but yours really made me smile, so thank you! Lola: Don't worry, I will continue to update. I think I'm just a bit of a 'overly sensitive creative type' ;) and the reviews demanding things of me made me cross, and upset, so it put me off writing. I've calmed down now, though. Oh, and thank you! leeleestjames93 and under the stars: What lovely messages to get, thank you! : Your reviews always make me smile x And to the guest, Re: Smut: Okey dokey.