Chrissie sat in the café, killing time and stifling a yawn. Her meeting had been pushed back by two hours, and she needed the caffeine. Andy was working, so there was no distraction that way, and quite honestly, being alone in the café had seemed like a good idea at the time. That was until Aaron and Robert walked in, laughing and joking together. They saw her at the same moment and the laughter faded, though the smiles didn't. She sat in silence, pretending not to watch as they ordered coffees, and sat in a corner, away from her.

She couldn't hear their conversation, didn't particularly want to, but she watched them anyway. Even if she was pretending not to care. They were both animated with each other, easy, comfortable. She knew Aaron didn't smile much, usually he had a surly demeanour walking around the village, especially lately, but with Robert, he was smiling. From her vantage point, he looked happy, and so did Robert. Happier than he'd ever been when married to her, she knew that deep down. Chrissie kept watching them, letting her coffee go cold in favour of still sitting there, while her mind turned things over.

Eventually, Robert moved to leave, and he covered Aaron's hand with his own, squeezing gently in goodbye. They didn't tend to do public displays of affection, and the gesture itself wasn't particularly intimate, but the look in their eyes was. They were both looking at each other as if he was the only person that mattered in the world. Chrissie looked down into her coffee cup, but the image was printed on her mind. Robert had never once looked at her like that. In fact she wasn't sure anyone had ever looked at her like that in her life. Like the world didn't matter, whatever it threw at them, they'd make it through, one way or another.

Chrissie watched Aaron watch Robert leave. The café door closed behind him, but Aaron kept watching for a few seconds before turning to her, as if sensing her eyes on him. He looked down, seeming embarrassed. He downed his coffee quickly, and got up to leave, clearly uncomfortable. Chrissie made a snap decision and followed him out into the street.

"Aaron, I wanted a word actually."

"About what?" Aaron asked cautiously. "I really don't have the energy for a fight right now."

"You're in luck. I don't want to fight."

"Then what do you want?" he asked, bewildered by her approaching him, hands in pockets.

"To talk?" she suggested.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Aaron said, walking away. Chrissie walked with him, not giving up that easily and Aaron sighed. "What do we have to say to each other?" Aaron said when it was clear he wasn't getting away.

"Be careful," Chrissie said. "With Robert. He's…" No good way to finish that sentence.

"I'm not stupid, I know what he's like," Aaron said, still guarded, still harsh. Chrissie shook her head. Talking to him had been a stupid idea in the first place. What had she been thinking?

"Sorry," she said. "I just thought… I know you've been through a lot and… forget it." Chrissie turned to walk away when Aaron's voice called her back.

"I didn't go after him," Aaron said. "Not at first. I don't know if that makes it better or worse. And then I was in too deep. I am not proud of myself for what I did then. To you." Chrissie wasn't expecting anything like that to come out of Aaron's mouth. He always seemed so tough, didn't ever discuss his feelings. And to do it now, to her who was practically a stranger to him…?

"I'm sorry," Aaron said, continuing. "For… the affair with Robert. What it did to you, I never meant… it got out of hand." Chrissie raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. That was one way of putting it. "I never… admitted it was wrong, to carry on with him. Sneaking around behind your back all the time…" he shook his head, looking down at the table. "It was wrong, and I'm sorry."

"Thank you," she said. It surprised her how much that apology meant to her, because she knew it was sincere. She didn't believe Aaron was a bad man, especially after what'd happened over the last few months. She didn't know the details about his father's trial, but in a village like this, you heard things. He wasn't a liar either.

"Why did you tell me?" Chrissie asked. She'd wondered this before. If Aaron had been capable of having a secret affair with Robert for months in the first place, why did he ever reveal it to her?

"I'd had enough," Aaron said. "I didn't like… I never liked being the dirty little secret. At the time… I knew it would hurt Robert, and I wanted to hurt him, the way he'd hurt me. I wanted the affair over, I couldn't do it any more."

"How had he hurt you?" Chrissie asked, curiously. Aaron shook his head, having no intention of answering that and she sensed she'd pushed too far. "Sorry." He shrugged, like it didn't matter, but she could see through that.

"Then why're you with him now?" Chrissie knew she was pushing her luck, but she was too damn curious to let it lie. Especially now she seemed to have got Aaron in a talkative mood.

Aaron looked down at his hands and she expected him to ignore the question, quite rightly. But he didn't. Still looking at his hands, he shook his head slightly. "Because I love him," he said softly. "There is no other reason that would have made me put up with his crap last year."

"Can I ask you something else?" Chrissie asked, thinking that maybe he had a point of view that might help her. Aaron shrugged, like it didn't matter. "Your father…"

"Don't push it," Aaron said darkly, his entire demeanour changing, bracing himself like he was readying for a fight.

"No, I meant…" she took a deep breath and tried again. "I meant Paddy. Do you… really see him as your father?"

Aaron looked directly at her, his gaze sharp and piercing. It almost took her breath away, because he didn't often look at people like that. Direct and almost challenging. She knew he'd got the point instantly, and what she really meant.

"Yes," Aaron said after a long minute of silence. "He's… the man who helped me. He's the one who stood by me when I was… so awful to him. I can't think of anyone else who would have done that for me."

"But…"

Aaron sighed, very heavily, looking briefly upwards as if thinking what to say. "Chrissie, in the end… blood really doesn't matter," Aaron said quietly. "You can't change genetics, but family… real family are the people who stick with you through it all. No matter how bad it gets, or what stupid things you do and the mess you get yourself into. They stick by you, because they love you, whether they're related to you by DNA or not. Yeah, Paddy is my dad in all the ways that really count." She nodded, as if considering that. "So… Lawrence isn't your father?" Aaron questioned.

"No," she said quietly, feeling at this point it would be stupid to deny it.

"If you want my opinion, I don't really think it matters," Aaron said after a moment. "Has he been a good father?"

"The best I could ever have asked for," Chrissie said honestly.

"That's your answer then," Aaron said. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I have to go. Work."

"Okay," she said. "Thanks." Aaron nodded. "Look, could you not mention to Robert that we had this conversation?"

Aaron considered for a moment. "I won't. I figure I probably owe you a favour, all things considered."

"Thank you." She stopped walking, and he carried on, until she was alone. Aaron might not be her favourite person, but he had a point. Lawrence was the one who'd cared for her, looked out for her, given her the best of everything. He was the one who'd stayed up with her when she was a little girl and had been ill. He'd held her as she'd cried over her first boyfriend dumping her. He'd always looked out for her, even to the point of telling her Robert was no good for her, even if she hadn't listened. She walked back to her car, thinking hard. Advice can come from the most surprising places after all.

I'm really curious about a conversation between these two characters, and what could happen, so I thought I'd attempt it!