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sp00nfull0fsugar · 2 days ago

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This is so sweet! ❤

How about 24 for the drabble prompts?

Did I do this instead of work? Nooooooooo.... Did this get away from me? yes...

Drabble list - send me a number!

24 - "You're not supposed to be up and about”

Audrey knew she needed to be getting up. There was breakfast to sort for a hungry household.

She just couldn't seem to move. Her arms and legs were heavy. Her head was fuzzy. The slightest movement made her dizzy. She made one more futile attempt to get up, then gave in. Closed her eyes. Let herself slip back into sleep.

Siegfried wandered into the kitchen. A frazzled Helen was at the stove, trying not to burn porridge. James and Tristan were making toast and tea.

"Where's Mrs Hall?" he asked.

"Haven't seen her," Helen said. "Don't you know?"

Siegfried frowned. She was always here. Always. Even in the depths of her despair over Edward, she had been up in the morning and making breakfast.

He turned on his heel and made for the stairs.

A rap at the door brought her out of a weird, twisting maze of a dream. "Mrs Hall? Mrs Hall, are you in there?"

She couldn't quite form the words to reply. A weird sort of groaning grunt came out instead.

There was a pause. Then his voice again, worried. "Mrs Hall, I'm going to come in."

She was dimly aware of the door opening. She forced her eyes open to see him crouching beside her. A careful hand touched her forehead. It was blissfully cool.

"You're burning up," he said, worried.

"I – don't feel good," she managed.

"I can see that." He stroked her hair. "I'm going to call the doctor."

Seeing her lying there, so still, so passive, scared him horribly. It was clear that she could barely keep her eyes open and her temperature was soaring.

"I'll be back in a minute," he promised.

He left her door open a crack, just in case she called out, then hurried downstairs. He called the doctor first, extracted a promise to come out as soon as he could, then headed for the kitchen.

The family was sat around the table and little Jimmy had porridge all over his face.

"Mrs Hall is ill," he said abruptly. "I've called the doctor. I'll take her up a cup of tea and sit with her until he arrives. James, can you handle everything?"

"I'll help," Tristan put in. "And send Mrs H our love."

James nodded. "We'll manage, Siegfried."

He poured a cup of tea, buttered a slice of toast and put it all on a tray to carry upstairs. He didn't think she'd manage food, but just in case.

He slipped back into her room and closed the door.

She was lying still, sweat beading on her forehead, eyes closed.

"Mrs Hall?" he said quietly. There was no response. "Audrey?"

A murmur.

He crouched next to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I've brought you some tea. Can you sit up?"

Audrey blinked. He looked so worried. "Need – help," she said, through dry lips.

He slipped his arm around her and helped her upright, propping her pillows behind her. Then he let go to get her tea and she felt like she was going to fall over.

"Mr Farnon," she whispered. Immediately he was next to her again, his arm around her.

"I've got you. Here, have some tea."

Her arms felt like useless dead weight, but he lifted the cup to her lips, tipped it carefully so she could sip.

She managed two sips then lay back against his arms, exhausted with the effort of being upright.

"Do you want to lie down again?" he asked.

"Please," she murmured.

Carefully he lowered her, tucked her sheets back around her.

His hand pressed against her forehead again. "'s nice."

A smile flickered over his worried face and his hand remained in place. "Hush now. Go back to sleep. The doctor is on his way."

Her eyes fluttered closed. "Thank you."

He left his hand on her forehead as her eyes closed, as she slept. He hated seeing her like this, his indomitable housekeeper, completely floored.

Crouching next to the bed became uncomfortable. Tentatively, he sat on the bed next to her.

There was a knock at the door and a head poked round.

"Siegfried, I've brought you some breakfast," Helen said. She put a cup of tea and a plate of fresh toast next to him and stared at Mrs Hall worriedly. "How is she?"

He swallowed. "She's not well, Helen. Not well at all. Any sign of the doctor yet?"

She shook her head. "I'll send him straight up when he appears. Are you staying here?"

He gave an abrupt nod of his head and she smiled. "She's in good hands then." With another smile she left.

Siegfried looked down at the sleeping woman beside him. He stroked his thumb across her forehead, easing the little frown lines that were there. "Audrey," he murmured.

The doctor arrived within the hour, but time had slowed to a crawl for Siegfried. The head under in his hand was still burning hot. She hadn't woken again, but the occasional whimper suggested that her dreams were not pleasant.

When the doctor arrived, he took her temperature and listened to her heart. Siegfried hovered anxiously.

Finally, the doctor straightened. "Flu," he proclaimed. "Encourage her to drink when she wakes, take food if she can. She should stay in bed for a week, at least."

"Flu?" Siegfried sagged. After Evelyn... he hadn't realised quite how scared he'd been.

"She needs looking after, but she should recover. She's strong and healthy."

"Thank you," Siegfried said. He held out his hand and the doctor shook it, surprised.

"Take good care of her. Call me if she gets worse." The door closed behind him.

Groggily, Audrey emerged from sleep. There was somebody sitting next to her, a cool hand still on her head. "Mr Farnon?" she croaked.

"There you are," he said, and his tone was fond. "The doctor has been and gone. He says you have the flu."

She sighed.

"Do you think you can manage a bit more to drink?" he coaxed.

She nodded and regretted it as her head swam. A strong arm around her shoulders again and he helped her upright. This time, she wasn’t propped against her pillows bug against his chest. “There, I have you.” She felt safe, cradled against him as she was. Like he wouldn’t let her fall. “Tea. It’s cold, I’m afraid, but maybe that will help with your temperature.” He held the cup against her lips and she managed a few sips. “Good girl,” he said.

She leant back into him, let her head tuck under his. Even with the haze in her head, she thought she felt him brush a kiss to her forehead.

Sitting on his housekeeper’s bed and holding her protectively as she leant into him, despite how ill she was, Siegfried felt at peace.

He’d held himself at a distance from her for so long but she was ill, and she needed him. He wrapped his arm around her tighter. “How are you feeling?” he murmured.

She nestled into him. “Better,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

He brushed a hand over her forehead. Still burning up.

“Can I get you anything?”

His only answer was a sigh. He peered down at her. She’d gone back to sleep.

Helen appeared again a little later. If she was surprised to find Mrs Hall asleep in his arms, she said nothing. “Can I bring you anything?” she asked.

“Maybe a book? How are the boys getting on?”

“Everything’s under control. How’s Aud?”

“No better. But no worse.”

For Audrey, time was meaningless. Occasionally she woke, and Mr Farnon helped her to take sips of tea. Then she drifted off again. At some point, he’d laid her back down in bed, but he stayed beside her. Sometimes as she drifted on the edge of sleep, she could hear his voice reading to her quietly.

She felt protected.

She felt loved.

For Siegfried, the day was long. He looked after Mrs Hall as best he could, rubbed her back and murmured soothingly when she tossed in a fevered nightmare. Persuaded her to take sips of tea when she awoke. Read the book that Helen had delivered, hoping that she might find some comfort in it.

Helen delivered dinner and he ate it from the bedside table, taking care not to spill food in the bed, unwilling to leave Mrs Hall’s side even to eat.

“I can sit with her a while,” Helen offered when she retrieved his plate.

He shook his head. “I want to stay.”

As the evening wore on, he conceded to her offer. She sat with Mrs Hall while he found the camp bed and set it up in Mrs Hall’s room, washed himself and changed into his pyjamas.

Helen left with a sympathetic pat on his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be better in the morning, Siegfried.”

“Mmm,” he muttered, unwilling to hope.

He looked down at Mrs Hall. He’d felt better for a wash – maybe she would too. He fetched a flannel, ran it gently over her face. She didn’t stir. He drew her hands out of the covers and sponged them too. She gave a little murmur. He hoped it wasn’t a sound of protest.

Then he settled down into bed. Despite the fact that he’d been confined to the room for most of the day, he was dog-tired. He slipped into sleep easily.

He woke up some hours later with a start. Mrs Hall was restless, letting out little whimpers of fear. A nightmare. He climbed out of his bed and perched on hers. Rubbed her back.

“It’s just a nightmare, Mrs Hall. It’s all right.” Her forehead was still burning.

Her eyes opened. “Siegfried?” she asked. She didn’t sound awake. A clammy hand found his. “Stay with me,” she whispered.

“Audrey – I can’t,” he said, allowing the use of her given name under the cover of the night.

“Please?” A hopeful sigh.

He couldn’t say no. He picked up her bed covers and wriggled down the bed. She rolled over to make space for him then immediately curled into him.

“Go to sleep, Audrey.” He stroked her damp hair. “I’ve got you.”

Audrey woke in the morning feeling completely disorientated, though less fuzzy than she had been the day before. She opened her eyes and blinked. There was someone next to her.

The someone rolled over and met her gaze. He blinked, and blushed. “Good morning, Mrs Hall,” Mr Farnon said. “How are you feeling?”

Audrey moved tentatively. She ached, but not as badly as she had before. Half a flash of memory appeared in her mind. “I asked you to stay,” she said, her voice still dry and croaky.

He nodded. “Do you mind?” His eyes were worried.

She smiled at him and the worry subsided. “No. And I do feel better.”

“Whole sentences are certainly an improvement,” he said drily.

She nestled into her pillow. “You were worried?”

He held her gaze. “Terribly.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. Placed a hand on her forehead. “You feel cooler today.” There was relief in his voice. “Do you think you could manage some breakfast?”

“Maybe some tea?” she asked hopefully.

“Coming right up.” He swung himself out of bed and stood in his pyjamas, looking down at her.

“Mr Farnon?” she said quietly. “Thank you.”

His voice was soft when he replied. “Anything for you, my dear.”

Siegfried threw on his dressing gown and went downstairs, on a mission for tea. The relief in his heart was overwhelming. She’d spoken coherent sentences. She hadn’t minded him being there, next to her in the bed. She was going to get better.

He waited impatiently for the kettle to boil, brewed the tea to the precise strength that she liked and carried it upstairs.

When he reached her room, she was asleep again. One hand was flung into the space that he’d vacated.

“Audrey,” he whispered to himself, tasting the word, savouring it. The first names they had exchanged last night were precious, even if she had uttered Siegfried only because she was feverish. Maybe that meant he was always Siegfried, in her head.

He sat down on the camp bed and watched her sleep, ready with the tea when she woke up and wanted it.

By the afternoon, Audrey was able to sit up in bed when she was awake. She wasn’t up to leaving it, yet, but some of the aches had gone.

Despite her protestations, Mr Farnon insisted on keeping her company and it touched her, that he was putting her above the practice.

“The boys have it all under control,” he said, waving off her concerns. “I would rather stay with you.”

In between her naps, he read to her. She let the sound of his voice wash over her.

At dinner time, she managed a small bowl of soup. “Maybe I’ll be able to get up tomorrow,” she mused hopefully.

“Absolutely not,” Mr Farnon said firmly. “A week in bed, the doctor said.”

“Oh,” she murmured.

At bedtime, Siegfried hovered uncertainly, not knowing whether he should return to his own room. Perhaps he’d outstayed his welcome.

Mrs Hall looked up at him from where she was burrowed into her bedsheets. “Stay?” she asked quietly.

He smiled at her and climbed into the camp bed.

“I’m hungry,” Audrey said to herself with wonder when she awoke in the morning. She sat up slowly in bed, testing her strength. She glanced at the camp bed – empty – and then at the clock. It was breakfast time. Mr Farnon was probably downstairs.

She swung her legs out of bed, tested the carpet under her bare feet. Could she manage it? Holding onto the edge of the bed and her bedside table, she stood. Her legs felt like jelly. She took half a step. The door felt a very long way.

It opened suddenly and Mr Farnon stood there, a steaming bowl in his hand. "You're not supposed to be up and about,” he said sternly.

“I’m hardly about,” she said. Her legs quivered, and he moved quickly, stowing the bowl on the bedside table and catching her around the waist. “Back to bed, Mrs Hall,” he said gently. “I just wanted to – try,” she said sheepishly. Siegfried helped her back into the bed. It had given him a shock, coming into the room to see her out of bed and still so fragile. He sat her up against her pillows and tucked her sheets around her.

Then he sat next to her, tentatively. “You’ve looked after me for so many years, Audrey,” he said, heart beating quicker as he used her given name. “Won’t you let me look after you, now?”

He found her hand and held it, stroking his thumb gently over hers.

He dared to meet her gaze. She was staring at him. He let the silence sit, waiting. Hoping.

“Siegfried,” she said eventually. She looked at their joined hands. “I liked it when you held me, yesterday,” her voice was barely more than a whisper. “I felt… loved.”

She looked back up at him. There was a lump in his throat. “You are so very, very loved.” He leaned forward, kissed her forehead, cupped her cheek, brushed a stray tear from her cheek. “For now, Audrey, dearest… let me look after you.”

She smiled at him tremulously. “I will.”

“Good,” he murmured. “Now, my dear.” He picked up the bowl that he’d abandoned on the side. “Have some porridge.”

#all creatures great and small #acgas 2020 #siegfried x audrey

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sp00nfull0fsugar · 4 days ago

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Nice! Very believable story of these two. 💕

Another prompt! If you haven't done it, how about 19?

Thanks for the prompt :-) It's a bit of a stretch, but I think this works:

“Tell me where you are, I'll come and get you.”

Usually this was his sentence. Since she had taken over the role as a blackout warden, she had called him twice for help.

The first time she had found the fatally poisoned Bingo, the second time her bike had broken down in the middle of nowhere. He had picked her up that night and they had finished her round together and he had been surprised how many blackout offenders lived in and around Darrowby. It had pacified his mind immensely and she was, of course, not happy about it. At least Bosworth, the old grump, had given her a better bike after that incident and Siegfried secretly hated that she had never called him again.

This time however he had been the one needing her help.

What he hadn’t anticipated was how quickly she had found him, not on her bike though. It had only taken her fifteen minutes and he figured she must have pushed the engine of the old Morris to its limits. To his surprise, she was wearing her uniform, but no helmet. The jacket, however, looked strangely astray, because she had missed a few buttons and he noticed her flushed cheeks. His pulse became a little unsteady as he watched her approaching him. The stiff breeze up here in the Dales tore at her hair and a few strands had come loose and she was eagerly brushing them behind her ears. The sun was setting behind the hills and the air got chilly. He shivered a bit.

“Mr Farnon!” She shouted, her voice filled with a worry he couldn’t grasp. “I came as quickly as I could.”

“Where you out on a mission?” He asked, pointing at her uniform, when she stopped in front of him.

Perplexed, she shook her head. “You said it’s an emergency. Something about a crash in a field.” She went over to the wall and looked over it.

He cleared his throat. “Err… Mrs Hall…”

“There’s nothing,” she said deadpan after she wasn’t sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. There was no crashed plane or any other debris that could be remotely war related. All she saw was a meadow in the endless beauty of the Yorkshire Dales.

“Siegfried Farnon…”

“I never said anything about a crashed plane,” he clarified before her wrath could hit him with full force. “I said I had a problem near a field, where I almost crashed.” He pointed at his beloved Rover that stood about ten yards away. The vehicle parked near a ditch. She went back to him and with a heavy sigh she took off her warden bag. “What happened?”

“One of the tires bursted,” he reported. “But the Rover’s fine, just a bit shaken up. And now I need a lift.”

She gave him one of her killer looks. One that was reserved for muck on the floor in the kitchen or when she caught him using the Lord’s name in vain.

“You do know I dropped everything on the spot to come here,” she said, deliberately calm. “I thought you were hurt or worse.”

“Well…” He swallowed. “I am most grateful to you, but that was a misunderstanding…” In retrospect, he thought, the line had been a bit cranky and he may have hung up the receiver a little too quickly. He also didn’t have any more coins on him, so he had to cut the call short. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“I called Bosworth. He’s on his way. With the whole cavalry.”

“I’m so sorry.” Feeling awkward he looked to the tip of his shoes.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” she said after a few seconds of silence. “Ridiculous creature.”

He stole a glance from her. She wasn’t as angry with him as she pretended to be. He heard it in her voice. She wasn’t amused, but she was certainly relieved that he was still in one piece.

“Admit it,” he joked. “You would have loved to play the heroine who saves the damsel in distress.”

“You’re as much as a damsel as I’m a patron saint. And now get in the car, before I let you walk.”

Sensing he was back in her good graces, he followed her to the Morris and obediently climbed into the passenger’s seat. As he watched her starting the engine, he couldn’t help but smile. She had dropped everything to rush to his rescue; it was a thought that warmed his heart more than he could say.

“What’s so funny?” She asked when she saw the broad smile on his face.

“Nothing.”

“Mr Farnon…”

“I just thought how lucky the whole of Darrowby can be to have you as their patron saint. That’s all.” She groaned and shook her head, but didn’t offer a retort. He loved having the last word on the matter. At least this once.

#all creatures great and small #siegfried farnon #siegfried x audrey

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sp00nfull0fsugar · 4 days ago

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Awww! This is so sweet! Thank you for such a lovely story. ❤

25 from the drabble list? :)

Drabble list - send me a number! Thanks for the prompt! 1.2k of angst with a happy ending ahead:

25 - “Go to sleep. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

It was her own fault, Audrey reflected, as the cold bit deeper into her bones. She called Siegfried stubborn, but she was just as stubborn as him. And on this occasion they had butted heads and she, as she so often did, had won. She would allow him victories when they pertained to his work, his practice. Less often when it was people, their home. And she would never let him win when it regarded her own person and her job outside Skeldale.

More fool me, she mused. Should have let him win this one, Audrey. She huddled further into her coat and the scant shelter of the stone wall. Her bike, useless, wheel bent in two, lay next to her. Snow was piling up on everything. And she was so very, very, cold now.

-- “You’re going out?” He’d looked at her sharply when she came downstairs, neat and trig in her ARP uniform.

“I have my rounds.” She settled her helmet on her head and pulled on her thick winter coat.

“Absolutely not, Mrs Hall.” He gestured to the curtained windows. “The weather – it’s going to snow.”

“There’s no sign of it,” she retorted.

“The farmers know,” he said firmly. “You mustn’t go out.”

“I appreciate your concern, Mr Farnon. But I have a job to do.” She buttoned her coat determinedly.

He slipped round her and stood in front of the door. “I won’t let you.”

“Mr Farnon!” She was torn between frustration and laughter as he spread-eagled himself against the door frame. “You’re being ridiculous! Either you stand aside and let me go and do my vital war job, or we can have a brawl and then I will go and do my job.”

“I’d like to see that,” said Tristan from the doorway. “Go on old chap. My money’s on her.”

Audrey rolled her eyes at the lad. His brother glared. Audrey tapped her foot impatiently. “I’m due out, Mr Farnon.”

With a sigh, he subsided. “Go on then,” he said, stepping away from the door. “But please,” he put out a hand to her as she passed him. “Be careful.”

“I’m always careful, Mr Farnon.” She smiled at him and slipped out into the cold night air.

It had started to snow, of course. She’d been on her way back, at least. And it hadn’t been coming down so thickly. But then she’d skidded, lost her balance on a patch of ice. Crashed the bike into the wall and ricked her ankle.

She drew her arms out of the sleeves of her coat and huddled them into her body, pulled her coat over her knees so she was tucked up into a ball. Keep the extremities warm, she thought to herself.

She tried to shuffle her feet to keep them warm, but the pain in her ankle made her gasp. She curled herself even tighter and tried to ignore the cold biting and prickling into her.

Mr Farnon was going to be absolutely infuriating if she got home.

The fight between Mrs H and his brother had amused Tristan. He always enjoyed seeing his brother butt up against someone else and Mrs H could hold her own. He hadn’t thought anything about it when she went out on her rounds. Not until Siegfried stood, worried, at the window, tweaked the curtain aside and Tris had seen the flakes swirling down.

Siegfried watched the clock, and Tristan watched him.

“She should be back by now,” Siegfried said. His face was pale.

“She’s only a minute late,” Tris pointed out, always the optimist to his brother’s pessimist.

“Something’s wrong,” Siegfried said. “I can feel it.”

It had been a long time since Tristan had seen his brother so worked up. Worry slid into his own heart. “You really think she’s in trouble?”

“I know so. I’m going to find her.”

Tristan didn’t hesitate. He loved her like he’d loved their mother. “I’m coming with you.”

They took the Rover. “I should have driven her,” Siegfried said. “God, I should have driven her, what was I thinking?”

They knew the route – Audrey had shown them earlier in the year. In the bright summer sun, it had been lovely. Now in the dark and the snow, it had a very different aura.

They drove out of Darrowby, up through the narrow winding lanes. Siegfried grappled with the car while Tristan stared eagerly out, looking for any sign of their errant housekeeper.

Finally, they reached a dip, full of snow. “I can’t go through that,” Siegfried said. “It’ll never make it.” He gritted his teeth. “We carry on on foot.”

They’d put on their winter coats, scarves and hats before they’d left but even with them, Tris was unprepared for the way the wind bit him. For the first time, fear truly gripped him.

“Get moving!” Siegfried shouted.

They scrambled along the stone wall, avoiding the deep snow in the dip, and struck out together. Tristan followed his brother. He found himself irresistibly reminded of the carol – in the bleak midwinter. In his masters steps he trod, indeed! If he hadn’t been so desperately worried, he might have whistled it.

Finally, finally, Siegfried gave a shout. “She’s there!”

They scrambled the final metres and Siegfried fell to his knees next to the cold bundle of their housekeeper. She was huddled over, eyes closed, still.

“She’s not-” Tris couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Breathing,” Siegfried rapped out.

“Thank God.”

Siegfried clambered to his feet then bent and lifted the prone body.

“Let me help,” Tris demanded.

Siegfried shook his head. “I’ve got her.”

Carefully and swiftly, they made their way back to the car.

“You drive,” Siegfried said, as he lifted Mrs Hall into the back seat. He passed Tristan the keys and Tris took them dumbly. “Get a move on, man!”

With cold, shaking fingers, Tris turned the ignition. He glanced into the back seat. His brother had wrapped himself around Mrs Hall and was rubbing her back. He swallowed. Put the car into reverse and sped backwards as fast as he dared until there was a wide spot in the lane. Then he turned and drove like the devil to Skeldale. --

It hurt. Everything hurt. Pain was screaming through her fingers and her toes. But she was somewhere soft, somewhere warm. If it wasn’t for the pain, she’d think she’d died and gone to heaven.

She forced her eyes open. She was in her bed and in the chair by her side was Mr Farnon.

She opened her mouth to speak and managed only a croak.

“You’re awake!”

Never had she seen such relief as she did then in Mr Farnon’s eyes. He dropped to his knees by her bed, found her hand and gripped it tightly.

She stared at him, his dear face, the one she’d thought she’d never see again, when she’d finally lost her battle to stay awake.

“I’m sorry,” she managed. “So sorry.”

He bent his head over their joined hands and pressed his forehead to them. When he finally raised it, there were tears in his eyes. “I thought I’d – we’d lost you.”

“Was – a fool.”

He didn’t disagree. Instead he pressed a kiss to her hand. “Yes,” he said simply.

“Will listen… next time.”

The pain was fading and she was so tired. Her eyes were drifting shut but she knew for certain this time that she would open them again. But one thing remained. “Please – don’t go,” she whispered.

He smiled at her, heartbreakingly tenderly. “Go to sleep. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

#all creatures great and small #acgas 2020 #siegfried x audrey

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sp00nfull0fsugar · 5 days ago

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Lovely story! 🥰

Leaving it like that was a bit mean, so I decided to continue the drabble from yesterday.

You can find the first part here . @avengersome made the request.

The prompt was "I can't find a pulse".

And here comes the second part:

He sneaked out of the house into the backyard, hoping for a moment of peace. Unable to remember a time when he had felt this wrecked, he leaned against the wall and drew in the sweetness of the spring air. Somehow he had done it. Dash was still alive. Weak, but alive. The daft beggar had survived the terrible ordeal of first being run over and then cut open only to be stitched up again.

He was a trooper. Just like her.

In the house Mrs Hall was now watching over him in the second exam room where he lay by the oven and recovered from the surgery. Convinced she wouldn’t leave the pet’s side for the foreseeable future, he blindly searched for his pipe. The tobacco would sooth his nerves and help him to regain control over the shaking of his hands. What was wrong with him? He called himself an experienced vet, the best in the county, but when it came to his own dog he became a bundle of nerves. The pipe wasn’t in his breast pocket. Damn it. But how could it be when he was wearing a shirt and waistcoat?

“Bugger it!” He mumbled and rubbed his tired face.

“Were you looking for this?” Suddenly she was standing next to him and he frowned. She pushed the pipe and the tobacco into his hands.

“You’ve been reading my mind,” he admitted. She stood so close that he could smell the fading scent of her shampoo and the smell of Dash’s blood on her jacket. To occupy his hands he slowly rolled the intoxicating leaves between his fingers. As always the action helped him to relax and to focus. And it helped him not to think about how close she was and how much he wanted to hold her. In moments like these, diversion was key to pretending that he didn’t see more in her than a good friend.

While he stared on his meticulously working fingertips, he felt how her body leaned against his. Her head against his shoulder, her hip against his hip.

“Thank you,” she whispered, placing one hand over his heart.

“He’s my dog, too.” Was all he replied. Her touch was almost unbearable. He craved the warmth of her hand on his bare skin.

“Not for the operation,” she countered softly. “For believing.”

As a man of science, the concept of faith was difficult for him. He preferred the anthem book to a sermon and a book about bacteria to the paternoster. Unlike her, he liked to believe in the things he had control over.

“I’ve always believed in you,” she said, coming face to face with him. The palms of her hand cupped his face and her sweet breath brushed over his face. He wanted to tell her that her belief in him was as misplaced as her belief in the Almighty himself, but he was too mesmerised by her eyes and the sparkle in them.

Where did she take this hope from? Her optimism?

Her kiss was soft and shy, filled with tenderness and he dropped his pipe. The shock about her unexpected pass ran deep and felt like a fever dream.

“Don’t…” His voice was hoarse. The idea that she kissed him out of gratitude was as painful as the sight of her kissing someone else had been. He didn’t want her to be grateful. He wanted her love. All of it. Everything. The whole package. Nothing else would do.

“This isn’t a prize,” she said, once again reading his mind. “No reward. It ain’t working like that, you daft creature.”

Then she kissed him again and his defences melted as her arms snaked around his neck, and her body pressed willingly against his. Unable to resist, he returned her kiss and pushed her against the wall.

With the kiss she was testing his whole belief system, but after a day like this, he was ready to believe she loved him too.

#all creatures great and small #acgas 2020 #siegfried farnon #audrey hall #siegfried x audrey

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