A/Ramble: I wanted to write more, but I have to keep the ball rolling. This is my tidbit offering.

~ 13 ~

It was cold when Elsie was jolted from her light slumber. They didn't make it through the Jonathan Ross show as the pull of sleep proved too great. When she initially imagined sleeping with him on the couch she did not consider that it may prove less than comfortable or that she would have trouble sleeping when she was so used to being alone. Her heart hammered in her chest, almost painfully as she tried not to breathe too deeply, too loudly; she didn't want to wake Charles.

They were always of the same scenes, although time had reduced the vivid images to strong feelings and strange flashes. Panic. Fear. Blue lips and clouded eyes. Messed hair and piercing silence. The police on her doorstep and a room full of black clothes. Therapy and shards of glass. It was her own silence on the subject that was starting to hurt more that the silence of Becky's bedroom. Of the private hospital room. She'd debated plenty of times whether to tell Anna or Thomas. Lying here in the darkness with Charles made her wonder if she could break that silence now.

"You alright?" Charles mumbled quietly, his chin pressing against the top of her head. Damn, she'd woken him.

"Bit of a nightmare..." she half yawned.

"Then you're better off awake."

An opening. She could do it. She took a breath, opened her mouth to speak- the words wouldn't come. She didn't know how to start. What would he think? They were there. All the events that slowly took her family one by one, the therapy and the decision to get away from it all. Everything that led her here from a once happy existence. Not that happiness wasn't slowly creeping back into her life...

"What's the time?" She tried to reach over him to find her phone, but he answered her before she found it.

"After one."

"Did you sleep?"

Charles shifted beneath her. "A little, but I've been awake a while. Do you want me to run you home?"

Elsie snuggled back into his chest. A silly part of her which she quickly silenced believed that she already was home. It was too early for such thinking. "Honestly? No, but I'm not very comfortable and I'm getting cold."

He rubbed a few circles on her back. "Hop up. You can sleep in my bed."

Collecting both of their phones, he took her hand and led her through the dark house to his bedroom. It only occurred to her as she touched the door on the way in that he'd said only she could sleep in his bed.

"What about you? I hope you aren't going back to that sofa."

"I was raised to be a gentleman... Supposedly." He guided her hand to the top of his bed, where she gripped the sheet and blankets, drawing them back. "Get in. We can bend the rules and live a little."

"Glad I can be such a negative influence."

When she realised that he'd slipped between the blankets so as to keep them somewhat separate as opposed to under them with her, she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped.

"Well played."

"I have my moments." Again, her mind wove romantic notions of spooning together, curling up like kittens and mewling until sleep took them. But it was just as nice when Charles stayed on the other side of the bed. He didn't make a move to touch her; they simply lay facing each other. It was probably for this reason that she could actually fall away into a calmer slumber.

~ EC ~

It was still dark when Charles had woken her with soft brushes of his fingers to her cheeks; just after six. He silently helped her up and took her home, offering a sweet kiss to her forehead while she smiled sleepily. Her house was quiet and cold, save for a light in the hall that led to the laundry. It was unlike Anna to leave lights on, but Elsie merely yawned and stumbled sleepily towards the back of the house to turn it off. She fully intended to crawl into her own bed and sleep some more. It was Sunday after all. And tomorrow she would be twenty-four. Charles hadn't brought it up when he'd dropped her home, but then again, she'd yet to bring up his birthday which was in six weeks time.

She tossed her keys on the sofa as she passed through the living room and froze mid-step at a sudden odd sound. Thumping footsteps echoed through the house on the wooden floor and the light in the hallway turned off. Someone was in the house. She knew Anna's gait and these loud, uneven steps were not hers. Shit. Now what? Well, she couldn't very well stand here- the footsteps were getting closer. Shit shit shit.

A tall, dark-haired man with an amused smirk stood with his hand on the light switch, which completely startled Elsie and set a doe eyed look on her face. He lifted an eyebrow and adjusted his grip on the quilt tucked into his elbow, which, she now saw, also cradled a cane.

"Hello." He greeted her simply.

"And who are you?" Elsie asked with a scowl. Although, she would look back on this moment and realise that the answer was perhaps a bit obvious.

"John Bates." At this, Elsie let out the breath she held. "Anna's, um... Boyfriend."

"The elusive Corporal Bates. We finally manage to cross paths." She ran a hair through her ruffled hair and approached him. God, I must be a sight. Well, if he's staying overnight, they must be getting serious so he might as well get used to it. She politely held out her hand, which he shook. "Elsie Hughes."

"Formerly a Corporal. I've been long discharged from the Army... And it's nice to meet you, Elsie. I'm sorry we've kept missing each other all this time."

"Well, never mind that. I hope you don't mind if I head on up to bed." She pointed a thumb to upstairs.

"Of course. I was just getting another blanket." He opened a hand, letting her pass. A thought occurred to Elsie, halting her and she looked over her shoulder at John.

"Is this the first time you've stayed over?"

John at least had the decency to look sheepish at the accusation. Elsie couldn't help it; she wasn't Anna's sister or mother, but she felt responsible for the younger girl. Perhaps a habit she'd yet to shake from all those months of caring for Becky, for the most part, on her own. It wasn't like their father actually cared for either of them before he left.

"Yes. I don't get to come up this way often and Anna said you were spending the night away with your partner."

She couldn't stop the crimson that painted her cheeks if she'd tried. Fair enough. She tried to quietly clear her throat while she formulated an explanation.

"Yes, I was." She debated whether or not to lie and elaborate, but at John's unquestioning nod of understanding, she was relieved to know that she wouldn't have to deceive him.

~ EC ~

Monday
9th November 2015

While Charles had once been pleased with his trusty thermos' ability to keep his morning coffee blisteringly hot an hour after he'd brewed it, he couldn't hold back the curse that passed his lips when the loose cap broke off completely and spilled over the back of his hand as he crossed the courtyard. The pain was brief and left his hand irritated for a while after but ultimately it was the least of his worries.

It was Elsie's birthday and he was yet to decide on anything appropriate to give her or to do with her.

Not for a lack of trying mind you. He'd certainly been putting a lot of thought into it. For a long while he'd settled on the idea of another poetry book but in the end it just wasn't quite right. He was half committed to the idea of cooking dinner for her. Not that he was a particularly good cook, but he intended to ask for Beryl's help in that regard. His real offering for Elsie would be a nicely set table with all the finery and ceremony that she'd admired at Chatsworth. He was confident he could deliver that without difficulty.

His thoughts were disturbed by a particularly loud chorus of laughter from a group of boys loitering under a tree on the grass. Normally he would have taken little notice if not for Thomas and his deep scowl as he sped past the group, stalking in Charles' direction. Charles stopped to take in the lad's expression change from anger to hurt and to an extent, distress. These must be the boys that Elsie had described to him. His attention drifted from Thomas to the youths still sneering at his back. All except one, James, who remained quiet; although this invoked very little sympathy from Charles.

In this moment, Charles wasn't sure whether to offer a word of comfort to Thomas or to chastise the rowdy lads under the tree. Once upon a time, he might have said nothing. But he was better than that. Or at least, he tried to be.

"Mr Barrow."

Thomas slowed and his shoulders slumped, as if expecting some kind of punishment. The words didn't need to be spoken but Thomas clearly expected his day to worsen. Surely his outlook on life was not so bleak? The lad was a magnet for trouble sometimes but Charles was quite sure that he didn't deserve whatever juvenile nastiness to which he'd been just subjected.

"Yes, Mr Carson?" Thomas replied wearily, unable to keep the tinge of impertinence from his voice. Charles bit his tongue and forced himself to ignore the tone.

"Perhaps it's not my business, but I hope those boys aren't giving you too much trouble."

Thomas shrugged a shoulder and looked away. Ah, they were, and it seemed that Elsie had been forthright in her assessment. Thomas endured this often.

"What does it matter, Mr Carson, if they are. Thank you for your concern, but I don't need your pity-"

"It's not pity that I'm giving you, Thomas." Charles cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully. "Perhaps I might not have noticed you as easily if not for Elsie, I'll not lie on that account, but that is not the reason for my concern."

At this, Thomas frowned in curiosity, which lessened Charles' courage and the words came with greater difficulty.

"You deserve far better, Thomas. Don't let them make you think any less."

Thomas's change in expression was slight but he was clearly surprised. He dropped his gaze and then looked up again, nodding slowly.

"Thank you, Mr Carson."

The younger man walked on and Charles was left with the feeling that he and Thomas were now on relatively peaceful terms. It was odd, but his desire to be a better man had helped him to be more accepting of things that he'd struggled with in the past. It came back to Elsie, of course; romantic attachment was a powerful motivator for change. Charles watched Thomas continue across the courtyard, his stance a little straighter now. That pleased him. It probably wasn't what Charles had said about deserving better; any person with low self esteem would struggle to take in such advise. Charles knew that from personal experience. It was probably that someone had noticed and taken the time to offer some encouragement that made Thomas feel better. If Elsie was right, Thomas had very few friends; there was only so much Elsie could do to keep the lads spirits up. Charles was learning to accept, not just tolerate, Thomas for Elsie's sake, given their mutual friendship in the young Scot. Offering the lad a bit of kindness and support went beyond that and it was entirely his own decision.

And he realised that it actually made him feel good.

~ EC ~

I'm off to pack for my first trip overseas! I'm solo road tripping around New Zealand for 2 weeks. I'm excited and nervous, but I'll have a ball. Leave me some sugar Love and I'll write some more on my holiday.