Ah, here I am! Hello everyone. Just a little note to apologise for the lack of updates recently, but my laptop went up in smoke (literally) and I have only just got my hands on my new one. I have lost everything - all of my notes and quotes, and parts that I had already written for the stories that I write on here...I've also lost my story plans, so I have no idea what I'm doing at the moment.

Anyway, I promised pre-Christmas updates, so here they are. And please keep an eye out for my CASUALTY CHRISTMAS STORY - a one shot that I will be posting on here on Christmas Day, as my present to you all for being so lovely and supportive.

Merry Christmas! And on with the story...

-.-

For a moment there was silence - the kind of silence one notices before a storm. There was nothing, not even the creak of a floorboard or the clearing of a throat, only a vague dense pressure that seemed to hang from everything in the room, creeping down from above them and suffocating them slowly.

Audrey stood up, her movements seemingly in slow motion. Her cheeks were sucked in and she smoothed down the fabric at her thighs, deliberately not making eye contact with anyone in the room.

"Grandma?"

Though Grace spoke to Audrey she looked up at her mother, and Connie placed a hand upon her shoulder, squeezing ever so slightly.

Audrey drew in a long breath through her nose before she spoke.

"I will be back at the weekend to take you home."

"But we're having a Halloween party!"

Grace announced before Audrey had quite finished speaking, and Audrey attempted a smile despite her obvious irritation.

"Your father is expecting you."

She said quietly.

"I was under the impression that Sam was away..."

Connie began, and for the first time since Connie had revealed who Rita was, Audrey looked at her, her expression cooller than before.

"His week has been cut short."

She said simply.

"Well surely that doesn't mean that ours has to be?!"

Connie almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. She found herself thinking back, second guessing herself, had she known, had Sam told her? Even though she knew that he hadn't...

"As I said he's expecting her. Something silly about feeling bad about cancelling the Halloween party she had planned..."

"Is it still going to happen?!"

Grace asked, her eyes widening.

"Of course."

Audrey said smiling and Grace clapped her hands together and raised herself up on her tip toes.

"I'll see you at the weekend."

She held out a hand to Grace and the little girl ran into her arms, hugging her hard before kissing her on the cheek. Audrey placed a hand affectionately on the top of her head, smoothing the dair hair before rising back up to her full height and looking straight at Connie.

"Good bye Connie."

She said before moving from the room back into the hallway, and without a word Connie followed her. She followed her out into the hallway with Rita just behind her, only glancing behind when she heard Grace was behind her. She paused, but almost as if on cue Ali appeared, reaching out for Grace with a smile and something murmured.

"That poor little girl."

Audrey stopped before the front door, she was reaching for her coat, pulling it on and buttoning it up, her actions sharp and brisk, her lips pursed and her chin raised high.

"I'm sorry!?"

Connie's voice was thin and so full of nothing...of exhaustion and reluctance...that Rita wouldn't have recognised it as her voice if she hadn't been standing right next to her.

"I assume you've told Sam about this...?"

She waved a hand, gesturing between the two women who stood before her. Connie's shoulders slumped and she exhaled slowly. Rita glanced to her, she saw the faint wrinkles about her mouth and the dullness of her beautiful eyes.

"I didn't think it was any of his-"

"Ah well that's where you're wrong!"

Audrey cut her off as Connie knew she would. She hadn't even begun to form the words before Audrey cut in.

"...because anything that will give him an advantage in this custody battle of yours is his buisiness."

"Excuse me?!"

She stiffened again, her lips parted, a frown playing between her eyes. Audrey looked at her, her eyes full to the brim with satisfied pity.

"Oh come on you didn't really expect that she would be coming back to live with you after everything you've done?"

Connie opened her mouth wider to speak and then closed it again.

"Oh you did!"

Audrey supporessed a laugh and adjusted the collar of her coat about her jaw, nestling her chin into the red cashmere scarf that she wore.

"Well, you'd better get in touch with your lawyer then, hadn't you."

She said with her head tilted to one side, and as she spoke she reached out for the door handle and opened the front door, letting the cold air in with a lonesome wail, the air so bitter and cold that it ran in goosebumps across Connie's forearms, and Rita shuddered beneath her clothes.

"Hold on, hang on."

Connie's frown deepend.

"I didn't realise there was a custody battle?!"

Audrey smiled again.

"I'll be back to collect Grace at the weekend."

She said simply and she made to leave but Rita caught hold of her arm, but as she did she realised that she had nothing to say. She longed to stand up for Connie, but was there really anything that she could say...more to the point, she wondered, was it really her place to say it if there were?

Audrey looked pointedly to her hand and Rita let go, defeated, letting her hand fall slowly back to her side with a murmured apology whilst Audrey departed, leaving the door wide open behind her as she stepped down the steps to the gravel drive way, her shoes crunching neatly against the snow.

Rita pushed the door closed with more force than was really necessary, breathing in the cold air, letting it fill her lungs before turning.

"Connie..."

Connie was stood with the fingers of one hand against her lips - a gesture which Rita had come to recognise as something that she did when she no longer trusted herself to hold back the tears.

"I'm f-"

She cleared her throat.

"I'm fine."

She ran her fingertips across her bottom lip and then clasped both hands in front of herself.

Rita reached out for her and for a moment she succumbed to Rita's arms about her, but then, with the unease left behind from an afterthought she brushed her away and drew in a breath.

"Can we talk about this later?"

She asked, and Rita sighed.

"Of course we can...of course, it's just..."

She paused, and touched her tongue to her lips - a gesture which she knew she had picked up from Connie herself.

"We'll fight him."

She said, and as she spoke she reached out again and pressed her hand over Connie's.

Connie's lips turned down at the corners and she glanced to the floor. She gave a brief nod of her head.

"I'll get there somehow..."

She whispered.

-.-

Thank you for reading, I apologise for any spelling mistakes, my new laptop appears not to have spell check (either that or I havent worked out how to turn it on.) please feel free to review! xxx