"Hmmm-hmm-mmm, da-da-dum…"

Kate heard Caroline's voice float delicately across the landing. She couldn't make out the words. "Sorry, Caroline, did you say something?" she enquired.

"I don't know why it came along at such a perfect time…"

"Caroline?" Setting the newspaper she'd been reading down on the bed beside her, Kate stood and casually walked toward the door. Once on the stairs landing she could hear Caroline more clearly now.

"'Cause your hands maybe strong, but the feeling's all wrong…"

Kate stopped for a moment and smiled to herself. Sneaking a peek where her bathroom door was ajar she could see enough to know Caroline was still in the bath tub. She pushed the door open a little more with one hand, slowly, so as not to disturb her girlfriend, as the other hand took her weight, grabbing the door frame, allowing her to lean in perched on tip toes for a much better view. What a glorious view. Caroline's head rested at one end of the white tub, eyes closed. Her hair was messily clipped up out of the way of the steaming, bubble-scattered water, but small bits had fallen around her eyes. Kate thought, not for the first time, that Caroline was even more beautiful than yesterday.

"At such a perfect time, but if I let you hang around, I'm bound to lose my mind…"

"You know…" Kate said softly, pushing the door open further and stepping into the room. Water splashed onto the floor as Caroline's hands, previously perched on the roll top, frantically tried to cover naked skin with bubbles. The act caused Kate to giggle briefly. How ridiculous was it that Caroline still wasn't entirely comfortable in front of her lover. Kate hoped she'd get more comfortable in time but knew not to rush her. "You have an impressive singing voice, Caroline."

"I…er, I didn't hear you come in," she said, eyes pointed downwards self-conscious in her current state, feeling vulnerable and embarrassed.

"I could use a strong, talented, gorgeous headliner in the next school concert." Kate raised an eyebrow with each adjective for flirtatious emphasis.

"HA!" Caroline's response echoed back and forth across the tiled walls. She nodded slowly, smiling widely, "Good luck selling tickets for that."

"Well, I'd buy one." Kate was trying not to let Caroline sweep her compliment away without a trace, as she so often did.

"It's hardly a concert with an audience of one, is it?" Caroline replied sarcastically with a raised eyebrow. She felt a little ambushed. Kate had just stumbled onto yet another private part of her. She was now bare… in more ways than one.

Latching on to the humour in Caroline's tone, Kate teased, "Well, I'm sure we could manage an audience of two at least. Laurence would pay to see that!"

"You're joking," Caroline laughed. "He'd never live that down. Let's not invent any more reasons for him to get teased by his friends, Kate. I think his Mum's been enough of a talking point at school recently, don't you?"

Kate removed a large, fluffy, bath towel from the heated rail, curled it's warmth around her hands and bunched it in her lap as she perched atop the closed toilet lid. "So, how are things going with John?" Their reconciliation had only happened weeks before and, although he was making an effort to be friendly, Kate knew there were still some difficult occasions between Caroline and John that upset her girlfriend deeply.

With a shrug Caroline replied, "Oh, you know… annoying as ever."

"But things are okay? I mean… he hasn't started world war three again, has he? It's just, you've been…"

"Oh, no," Caroline interrupted, shaking her head softly, "He's just being John." She gestured toward the towel that Kate had been holding, "Can I, er…?"

"Sure." Kate stood, handed the towel to a now standing Caroline and moved to leave the room. At the door, she stopped and turned to face the older woman who was now standing beside the bath furiously wrapping herself from the chest down. "Just one more thing…" Kate added, leaning in to Caroline's damp visage. Stroking a flushed cheek she stole a gentle, lingering kiss. Caroline felt more relaxed in this moment than she had in days. She tried to shake off the underlying twinges of guilt she often carried around Kate. Painfully aware that she could be difficult and high maintenance at times, her girlfriend's emotional generosity and thoughtfulness made Caroline feel a little selfish and undeserving.

Kate turned to leave the room, intending to leave Caroline to finish her relaxing bathroom session in peace, just as Caroline gently grabbed her by the elbow. "Wait, where are you going?" she whispered, flashing that amazing smile that made Kate weak at the knees. Raising both arms, her hands clasping Kate's achingly pretty face, Caroline let her towel fall to the floor. Their evening wasn't over yet.

Caroline exited her car in the darkness. She was more content these days than she'd ever been and there was almost a spring in her step. Striding from the gravel driveway to the front door she hoped John wasn't staying the night again. She wanted just to end the evening with a glass of wine and a few chapters of her favourite book. She didn't want the third degree about her time spent with Kate, though it was wonderful and the memory brought an involuntary smile to her face. John had taken to sleeping over on occasion. She didn't mind terribly, except for the odd night when Kate had intended to stay over and he'd spoilt the mood with his ridiculous behaviour.

Only a few weeks ago John had sworn he'd never see Judith again, but that had only lasted as long as Caroline had kept her new relationship a secret. Judith wasn't quite as receptive as John had hoped, and though he hadn't given up trying to reconcile with the attractive writer he'd only found his stubborn focus once Caroline had launched her Sapphic cat from the bag. Judith, in the meantime, had been determined to sober both of them up before committing to anything resembling permanent domesticity with Caroline's ex. In the weeks that had passed he'd resorted to an undeterminable schedule which saw him turn up at the house whenever Judith needed time alone. She was much more reasonable and sensible than Caroline originally gave her credit for, especially given their first dramatic meeting. Caroline had found to her surprise that Judith was actually quite sensitive and understanding of her burgeoning relationship with Kate. She had helped out in the early days by keeping John away, but more recently, since he had made great strides in not being such an arsehole, she had been taking him to publisher's meetings and encouraging him back to work.

That was until last weekend when he'd marched in unannounced during one of Caroline's romantic lunches with Kate and declared that he'd given up the university lecturing in favour of being a full-time writer. Yes, he had published novels in the past, but they weren't ever likely to be the kind of bestseller you see piled up in the local bookshop's window display.

"They've taken my outline for the new book and given me and advance!" John shouted from the corridor. Caroline rolled her eyes heavily as he burst through the kitchen door. As he slammed a stack of papers onto the kitchen island and his body came to a halt against the counter, he spotted Kate sat at the dining table, "Oh, hi."

Kate shuffled uneasily in her chair. "Hi, John."

"What's going on?" Caroline enquired, without looking up from the table and with a not-so-subtle hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Oh, er… my new book. They think it's going to be a smash hit, which it is." He helped himself to a glass of juice from the fridge as he continued, slamming the fridge door with gusto causing Caroline to scowl. "They loved the outline, very excited about it in fact, and I have some money up front, which means I can finally get that flat, since Judith still won't…"

Caroline interrupted. Though she didn't mind the mention of Judith, her presence in their life was something she'd accepted now, she didn't want to be listening to his ramblings for the next half hour. "You didn't mention you were writing another new book. What happened to the last one, the one with the, er… the… Prothero. That one?"

"Oh, that, I shelved it... too pretentious." Caroline snorted and Kate looked at her curiously. Caroline waved a discreet hand in Kate's direction, a silent 'I'll tell you later'. "Much better story now," he continued, "it's just flowing out of me, easiest thing I've ever written."

"Really?" Caroline couldn't hide her disbelief. Kate continued to look confused, prodding Caroline for an explanation. She whispered, not caring if he overheard, "They're all pretentious, his novels." Kate nodded her understanding though she had never read one of his books in order to concur.

"Yep." He was so pleased with himself. As bedraggled as he was, clothes un-ironed, five days of stubble unshaved, something was alive in him. He had an energy that Caroline hadn't seen in years.

"And what's it about?" She thought whatever his answer it ought to be good, good enough to ridicule anyway. "I mean, if you've given up on the last one, what makes this so different that you think you'll actually finish it this time?"

Caroline turned in her chair, swinging her long legs out from under the table in order to look at him intently without craning her neck. Kate felt nervous. This was precisely the kind of situation they needed to avoid. She could see Caroline looked tense and, though she had every right to find John irritating, she couldn't help wishing Caroline would soften her tone to avoid this exploding into an enormous argument.

He turned to face her. Nonchalantly, waving a hand, the other on his hip, he explained. "It's about us." Caroline sat silently, mouth agape. Kate could almost hear the cogs grinding inside Caroline's mind, expecting steam to begin venting from her ears any minute now. "Well, not us us," he continued, "this whole family. Your mother and her, er… Alan. Late love and all that cheesy stuff." Then with a finger waving back and forth between Caroline and Kate, who were still sat frozen in place at the table, a mild look of distaste turning down the corners of his mouth, he added, "And you two."