A/N: 'The Bubble' continues... We're picking up where we left off - I'm going to flesh out the 10 days Charles and Liza spent apart. So we begin with Day 1 i.e. the day after the 'big' night and after he dropped her off at the loft. This chapter goes up till Christmas Day. The rest of the 10 days will be in the next chapter. The story is now going in its own direction and I am happy to travel where it leads me. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I am loving writing it. As always, thank you for your kind words and reviews and please let me know what you think of this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Younger, any of its characters or their scripts, dialogues and stories.
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Chapter 21
Day 1 (December 23)
[Charles] Landed. Going to collect luggage. The girls are coming with their grandparents to pick me up. Will text you once I reach the house. Didn't get a wink of sleep on the flight. I miss you.
Liza smiled widely as soon as her phone buzzed. She was still in bed, lounging in her sweats, too lazy to move. There was a pleasant soreness in her muscles and every painful movement brought back a delicious memory from the previous night.
[Liza] I haven't slept either. I miss you too. So much.
And then because she was feeling bold and confident and a little bit sexy… and because her gloriously aching body missed him so much, she typed another message.
[Liza] I'm going to hop in the shower. Maybe sometime soon, we can have a little shower adventure of our own.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
It was a while before he read her text. He had ducked into his room to drop his bags, a difficult feat given how excited his girls were to see him.
He quickly grabbed his phone and felt his mouth go dry when he saw her message. Visions of Liza, naked in the shower, flooded his brain… having her up against the shower wall, eliciting those low throaty moans from her as hot water cascaded around them, trailing kisses down her body till he hit the spot that made her convulse with pleasure, again and again.
He groaned softly and shook his head as all the blood in his body travelled south. Thank God he was alone in his room.
[Charles] If you're trying to slowly and torturously kill me, it's working.
Liza grinned when she read his text, imagining him squirming as he tried not to get turned on. But his next message wiped the grin right off her face and sent a jolt of electricity straight through her body.
[Charles] And Liza… when I get you in my shower, I promise it'll be worth your while.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Charles didn't get a chance to text her for the rest of the day. The girls had waited for him to get there to decorate the tree and the entire day had gone in putting up tinsel, baubles, candy cane and lights.
His daughters chattered with him endlessly and he revelled in their little joys, their excitement, in being able to spend time with them. It even made being around Pauline bearable, though he made a conscious effort to avoid her.
He couldn't wait to get back to his room that night and after tucking the girls in, reading them their bedtime story and kissing them goodnight, he was excited to climb into bed and dial Liza. He had told her he'd call Christmas Eve but he couldn't help himself.
"Hey you," she said softly, picking up on the first ring and a thrill coursed through his body at the sound of her voice. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed hearing it.
"Hey yourself," he said, squeezing his eyes shut, his heart filling with desire and longing for her. "I missed you all day."
Liza smiled. A warm tingly feeling spread through her body as she listened to his low, husky voice.
"I missed you too," she said. "I bet the girls were thrilled to see you."
"They were," he replied, shifting to a more comfortable position. "Though I wish I had all my girls here with me."
Liza blushed when she realised what he meant. She was one of 'his girls' and she couldn't stop grinning at the thought.
"I'm not much of a girl," she said teasingly. "Or did you forget that I'm not 26?"
It was a mark of how far they had come, of the complete acceptance on Charles' part of Liza's past, her lie and the reason behind it, that she felt comfortable enough to joke about it.
Charles grinned.
"Oh I remember… I remember very well." The desire in his voice making Liza quiver with delight. "You are all woman, Liza. My woman," he said huskily.
Liza felt heat pool in her belly and a low moan escaped her.
"Dear god, Liza," Charles muttered, feeling himself grow painfully aroused, "That sound will be my undoing right here, right now."
Liza laughed and the sound went straight to Charles' heart.
"Okay, I promise. No more moaning for tonight because we both need our rest," she acceded. "Tell me about the girls and the rest of your day."
Charles felt a wave of affection for her, for the fact that she was interested in his day, in his girls, in his life. That she laughed with genuine delight when he told her the funny stories his daughters told him. That she made him describe the Christmas tree in great detail. That she wanted to know about every moment that he was spending away from her.
They talked endlessly, till the conversation slowly ceased, and they both fell asleep, phones pressed to their ears, lulled into their dreams by the sounds of each other breathing.
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Day 2 (Christmas Eve)
[Charles] I miss you deeply, unfathomably, senselessly, terribly.
The sound of her phone buzzing had woken her up. And after reading the beautiful Kafka quote Charles had sent, she hadn't stopped grinning all morning. She knew she needed to keep busy or she was going to miss him and be miserable and mopey all day.
She planned to finish all her remaining homemade Christmas presents during the day, including the one she was making for Charles. She had decided to make something for his girls too and needed to go buy the wool for it.
Then she was going to help Maggie prepare their Christmas meal for the next day. Caitlin, Maggie and she were having an early Christmas Eve dinner tonight because Caitlin had a party to go to after. And then would come her favourite time of the day – the phone call from Charles.
She laughed at her foolishness… she was acting like a love struck teenager waiting for a call from her boyfriend. But that's how she felt nowadays… giddy, like she was floating in the air, heart happy, soul singing.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
It was late by the time he called, and she could tell by his voice that something was wrong.
"Hey," she said softly, not wanting to push him. Knowing that if she did, he would withdraw. "I missed you. So much."
Without waiting for him to reply, she continued, "It's snowing here today and it reminded me of our night together. And all I've wished all day is for you to have been here with me so I could stay snuggled in bed with you, reading, kissing, cuddling and watching the snow."
She instinctively knew this was what he needed. That he'd tell her what was bothering her, she just needed to be patient.
Charles closed his eyes. Her soothing, soft voice was like a balm for his soul after the evening he'd had. He wished she was lying next to him, wished he could bury his face in her soft body and feel her warm, comforting arms around him.
He sighed. "Pauline ruined Christmas Eve," he said softly, willing himself not to shut down. To talk to Liza. He knew if he did, she would make him feel better.
"What happened?" she probed gently.
Charles rubbed his eyes tiredly. "We were having a nice evening, the girls were happy. They had opened one present each… a Christmas Eve tradition of ours," his voice trailed off.
Liza kept quiet, giving him a minute to gather his thoughts. She could hear the anger reverberate in his voice when he spoke next.
"And then Pauline started telling them about how this Christmas would be the last we would all be together. And how from now they would have to choose who to spend Christmas with," he gritted his teeth, rage coursing through him at his ex-wife.
Liza's heart went out to his daughters, and to him. But she wanted to let him get it all out so she stayed silent.
"The girls started crying and so their grandparents carted them off to bed. And then Pauline and I had a big showdown," his voice broke as he remembered his girls' faces, crumpled with sadness, tears rolling down their cheeks. His heart hurt.
"How could she do that to them Liza?" he asked, his voice constricted with sadness. "Her own daughters?"
Liza didn't know what to say. A silent tear rolled down her cheek as she heard the pain in his voice. And all she wished was to be next to him, to hold him, to kiss him, to comfort him.
She gathered herself, she knew she needed to be strong for him.
"Charles," she finally said softly. "It's going to be okay."
She wanted nothing more than to kiss away his pain. And she felt so helpless, so far away from him.
"They're good, strong little girls. They have a father who loves them so very much. And they know that. Anything they face in life… your love will get them through it."
She heard his breath even out and she knew she needed to keep talking. She adjusted the pillow behind her back and leaned back.
"I know you might not want to hear this right now… but Pauline loves them too. She's just… she's hurting, Charles. And while I don't agree with her putting the girls in between whatever is going on with her and you, she's coming from a place of deep pain."
Charles sighed deeply. It amazed him just how easily Liza could soothe him, how she could magically just take away all his tiredness, his pain with just her words and the sound of her warm, loving voice. He couldn't fathom how he got lucky enough to find her.
"Thank you, Liza," he said, his voice a little hoarse. He cleared his throat. "I…"
"Charles," Liza cut in. "You never ever have to thank me."
A smile spread across his face. Almost as though Liza could sense it through the phone, she smiled softly too.
"I know what it's like, Charles… to go through a divorce, to separate from someone to whom you've given the best part of your life to, and to have a child caught in the middle of it all. I was lucky that Caitlin was older and it was easier to explain it to her but it hurt her nonetheless."
Charles listened to her silently, his heart aching for his girls but also now for her. They hadn't discussed David except the night they had coffee after he'd told her he didn't care anymore about her lie.
"You never want to hurt those you love, least of all your children," she continued softly, remember those awful days when Caitlin would refuse to talk to her and David alternatively, depending on who she was mad at on the day. "But sometimes, there's no alternative."
Charles exhaled softly. Everything she said was exactly how he was feeling. It was like she was reading his heart like a book.
"All you can do, Charles, is love them, be there for them," said Liza.
Charles rubbed his hand over his face.
"How do you do it, Liza?" he asked softly.
"Do what?" she asked, confused.
"Know exactly what to say to make it all better."
Liza smiled.
"Invisible threads are the strongest ties," she said.
Charles felt like his heart would burst. Just when he thought she couldn't be more perfect, she proved him wrong.
"Liza, I…" he started when suddenly he heard a soft cry in the distance.
"Uh… sorry. I think Nicole is calling out to me."
"Go, Charles," said Liza quickly. "And remember, those girls love you, no matter what."
Charles swallowed the lump that had formed in throat. He wanted to say so much to her but Nicole was starting to sound frantic.
"Thank you, Liza," he said quickly. "For everything. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Good night, Charles," she said.
"Oh and Liza…" he said as he opened the door and went out into the hallway. "Merry Christmas."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Charles crept into the girls' bedroom and felt his way in the darkness to Nicole's bed.
"Shhh… shhhh, honey," he said as he sat down next to his daughter and pulled her to him. He was scared that her cries had woken Bianca. But the steady breathing coming from the other bed reassured him. His younger one slept like a giant.
"What's wrong, baby?" he asked as he rocked Nicole gently, rubbing her back.
"I had a bad dream," she mumbled, her voice muffled as she buried her face in his chest.
Charles could kill Pauline with his bare hands for this. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to calm down.
"It's over now, baby," he said as he leaned back, trying to fit his long frame into a very small bed. "I'm here."
Nicole snuggled deeper into him and he could feel her relax.
"I have an idea," Charles whispered. "What if tomorrow you, Bianca and I FaceTime Liza?"
Nicole sat up and grinned at him.
"Really daddy?" she said loudly.
"Shhh," he said, grinning as he pulled her back to him.
"Yeah," he said. "I bet she's missing you guys."
"We're missing her too," replied Nicole. "Can we show her our tree?"
"Anything you want, baby," said Charles as he settled into the much too tiny bed, knowing that this was where he was going to end up sleeping tonight.
"Anything you want."
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Day 3 (Christmas Day)
Liza awoke to the delicious fragrance of Christmas ham wafting into her room. She wriggled her toes as she stretched under her warm blanket and instinctively reached for her phone.
She could feel herself grinning widely when she saw a message from him.
[Charles] The girls (and their dad) would like to FaceTime you this morning to show off our Christmas tree. Would 11 am work for you?
She quickly texted back.
[Liza] Tell the girls that 11 am would be absolutely fine and that I am greatly looking forward to seeing them (and maybe their very handsome dad too)
As Liza swung out of bed, she felt like she was floating. She was giddy at the thought of seeing Charles. It had been just 3 days but she was missing him more than she had thought she would. And she was excited to chat with the girls too. Her heart had broken at the miserable Christmas Eve they'd had and she couldn't wait to see their cute little faces and hopefully make them feel better.
She quickly showered and had a light breakfast with Maggie and a severely hungover Caitlin. Caitlin and Maggie were dropping in at Inkburg in the morning for Caitlin to see the work Josh had done on it, so as 11 am rolled around, Liza had the apartment to herself.
She was besides herself with excitement and when her phone began to ring she could barely sit still.
She smoothed her hair as she pressed the answer button and a grin spread across her face as she saw two tiny, eager faces really close to the screen.
"LIZA!" screamed Nicole and and Bianca in unison.
Liza laughed.
"Two of my most favourite girls in the whole world," said Liza, grinning as Nicole tried to elbow Bianca out of the frame, only to be shoved back by her younger sister.
"Merry Christmas!" screamed the girls and Liza couldn't help but laugh loudly at their enthusiasm.
"Merry Christmas sweethearts," she said, wishing she could hug them. She had missed them more than she had thought.
She wondered where Charles was but she figured he was letting the girls get in as much time as they could with her and she loved him just a little bit more for that.
"So, I believe you guys have a fabulous Christmas tree for me to see," said Liza.
"We do!" exclaimed Bianca as she grabbed the iPad from her sister and turned it towards their tree all covered with tinsel and twinkling lights.
"Isn't it beautiful Liza?" asked Nicole as she grabbed the iPad from Bianca, making the picture shake and Liza feel a little queasy.
"That is the best decorated tree I have ever seen," she said. "Surely, you girls didn't do all that by yourselves?"
"We did!" they said together.
Liza laughed. "Well, you girls did an amazing job! Would you like to see my tree?"
"YES!"
Liza turned her phone towards the tree, walking closer to it to show them the baubels, the little Santa figures, the lights.
"That's beautiful, Liza," gushed Nicole.
"Thanks girls," said Liza, bending down and picking up two brightly wrapped packages.
"Guess who these are for?"
"For us?" exclaimed Nicole. "Present for us?" she asked as Bianca squealed in the background.
Liza laughed. "Yes, you little munchkins. Presents for you two. Ready and waiting for when you return."
"Daddyyyyyy," Bianca's voice had taken on a whiny tone. "When are we going back to Liza?"
Liza's heart skipped a beat as she heard Charles' deep voice break through the babble somewhere in the background to say "Soon, baby. Very soon."
The girls chattered on with Liza for a little while, showing her all the presents under the tree, the stockings on the mantle, the lights strung up on the tree before thrusting the iPad into Charles' hands as they darted off when the doorbell rang.
"Hello you," said Charles softly, taking in Liza's beautiful face, looking back him, bemused and confused.
"Hello yourself," she whispered, suddenly overcome with a strong wave of desire at seeing his face. This was the first time they had come face to face, in a manner of speaking, since their night together.
Charles walked out onto the back porch.
"I missed you," he said. His heart clenched with desire. He hadn't realise how much he had missed her. The sight of her face on his iPad, the sound of her voice… it was almost too much to take.
Liza smiled. "I missed you too."
They just stared at each other in silence for a moment or two, taking each other in. The closeness of their faces on the screens but the physical distance so far from each other.
Charles broke the silence, clearing his throat. "So, uh… how come the house is empty? Where are Caitlin and Maggie?"
"Out," said Liza, breaking out of her trance. "They went to see Inkburg."
"Inkburg?"
"Josh's tattoo place."
"Ah… You didn't want to go with them?"
Liza heard the brief hesitation in his voice. The little note of uncertainty that made her fall for him even further. The slight change in his expression that showed her just how vulnerable he felt.
"I'd rather be here," she said simply.
Charles couldn't help the broad grin that spread across his face. The excited chatter behind him grew louder.
"I think the girls are ready for Christmas lunch," laughed Liza.
Charles grinned back. "Yeah I think they are."
"Merry Christmas, Liza," said Charles, not wanting to disconnect.
"Merry Christmas, Charles," said Liza smiling
"Talk tonight?"
"Of course."