Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-7:45 pm-

“Hey Marjorie, it’s me again.” Reece told the answerphone as he left his third voicemail of the evening. “I’m still waiting on you to come back, your dinner is getting cold. It’s coq au vin because I know the name always makes you laugh and I thought we could use a laugh tonight. I’ll put it in the oven to stay warm, but if you could let me know where you are and what time you’ll be back, that would be great.” He sighed as he hung up the call and sat his phone down on the table, staring at the empty chair across from him.

-8:59 pm-

Reece picked up his phone and dialled again. “I know you’re not with Autumn and the twins.” He sighed into the answerphone. “Please text me to let me know that you’re okay? I’m assuming you fell asleep at work again, I know you’ve been busy lately.” He hung up the phone and walked outside.

Stepping carefully down the stone path to the shed at bottom of the garden, he could feel the knot in his chest tightening. But Marjorie falling asleep whilst working late wasn’t unprecedented, and she had appeared to be a lot more tired recently, going to bed hours earlier than she would normally. He pushed the bubbling worry down, sure he was overreacting, and instead focused on his normal evening routine as he lifted his telescope out of the shed.

Carrying it back up the garden and placing it in the middle of the patio, he started methodically polishing all of the loose individual parts and reassembling it. There was a little under an hour until it started to get properly dark, and if he timed it right, he would finish polishing just as the stars began to appear. He pushed all other thoughts out of his mind and focused entirely on the cleaning.

Normally, Reece liked to minimise light pollution for his evening star gazing by turning off all the lights inside he could, pulling the blackout curtains tightly shut in the rooms he couldn’t, leave his phone inside and close the door. However, as he finished polishing, he decided against doing his usual routine. Instead, he left the lights on in the hall and the kitchen, had all of the doors leading to the back patio open, and had his phone face up beside him.

-5:23 am-

Reece woke with a start, chest tight and breathing heavily as he instinctively reached out across the bed to find his wife, only to be greeted with cold sheets.

He pushed himself up in bed and turned towards to his bedside table to grab his phone.

There were no new messages.

He padded downstairs, but found that the only lights that were on were the ones he left so Marjorie wouldn’t have to walk into a dark house. The feeling in his chest only grew.

Shuffling into the garage, he didn’t know if he was surprised or not to see that only his car was in it, and Marjorie’s space remained empty.

He felt his stomach flip. Marjorie falling asleep at her desk whilst working late wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, usually happening at least once a month. More, even, since he’d been fired and Autumn had gone on maternity leave. But it usually didn’t last all night. Usually, she came back a few hours late with an apology, and they would change into their pjs and watch one of her comfort shows until she fell asleep in his arms on the sofa and he would carry her up to bed. Rarely, she would arrive home in the early hours after he’d fallen asleep and crawl into bed alongside him. But he always woke up to her in bed beside him. She’d never gone a whole night at her desk before.

Instead of retreating back upstairs to bed, Reece sat on the sofa, placing his phone face up on the coffee table in front of him, waiting for any notifications, knee bouncing like a tennis ball dropped on a trampoline.

-6:56 am-

Tired of waiting for the notifications that hadn’t come, his hands sore from spending the last hour wringing his knuckles, he leant forwards and scrolled through his phone until he landed on the one person who might be able to help him.

Marjorie had threatened to revoke his access to the nursery the last time he had just turned up, and, whilst she wasn’t technically able to do so since he was still a member of the board, he knew for a fact that the building locked automatically between eight thirty in the evening and six thirty in the morning if the override wasn’t activated from the inside, and in those closed hours overnight, it could only be opened by a key. A key he no longer had access to.

Mia answered the phone on the third ring.

“Yeah?” She said.

Reece couldn’t contain his urgency. “Are you at work yet?”

“Char and I just got here, we’re opening up now.” Mia said. “Why?”

If she couldn’t guess, then that meant Marjorie probably wasn’t there. His chest sank, knowing what he now had to admit to his ex of all people. “Marjorie didn’t come home last night. I thought maybe she might have fallen asleep at her desk. It’s happened before.” He tried to defend his reasoning.

There was pause for a second. “She was on the early yesterday and left when her shift finished.” Mia’s voice was soft and gentle, a tone he had rarely heard her use and definitely not what he’d been expecting. “Plus the car park is empty, she’s not here.”

“Oh.” He swallowed.

“Look, she’s probably fine.” She assured him, although he could tell she wasn’t as calm as she was trying to seem. “Is there any other reason she might not have come home last night?” Her tone said that she knew something. A reason that Marjorie may not have wanted to come home.

“We’re fighting.” He admitted. “A lot. About nothing, really. But every conversation ends in an argument.”

“I see.” Mia sighed, and then paused for a moment. “Look, she’s probably just stayed at a friend’s. She’s been really stressed out lately because there’s a lot going on with the staffing situation across the nurseries, as well as preschool transition and a bunch of parents kicking off. Plus, she misses you and Aut. She was also completely exhausted when she left yesterday, there’s a not insignificant chance she went to the shop on her way home and fell asleep in the car park.”

Mia had always been one to fill an uncomfortable silence with anything that she could think of. Reece remembered so many days of them and Autumn being the last three children on the school playground at pick up with Mia coming up with all sorts of elaborate ideas about where their parents could have got to. And he couldn’t fault her explanation about Marjorie being stressed.

It had been clear for weeks that Marjorie had had a lot on her mind, he’d caught her staring off into space, furrowed brow like she was trying to solve invisible puzzles, so many times. Working extra hours had gone from infrequent to most days, and she’d been far more tense than usual. Everything had turned into an argument. Marjorie was not usually the sort of person who would just snap at others in frustration, especially not him and especially not without immediately following it up with an apology, but it was all she had done recently. She’d apologised the first few times, but even those had faded as she had become more and more visibly worn down. And everything Reece did to try and keep things normal just seemed to make it worse, so he’d stopped trying.

“Oh. Okay.” He swallowed again, the lump in his throat not getting any smaller.

“Look, I will ring you when she arrives or when her shift starts if she’s still not here by then.” Mia promised. “I’m sure she’s fine, there’s no need to panic now.”

“Thanks Mia.” He lowered the phone down from his ear, only for her to hang up before he could.

-7:34 am-

Upon seeing the screen of his phone light up, Reece launched himself across the bathroom from the shower to where his phone lay on the counter by the sink.

“Hiya, it’s only me.” Sorscha’s voice came through the speaker. “Mia rang, asked if I’d heard from Marjorie. I haven’t, but I’ve been ringing around everyone who I thought might have heard from her, and I was wondering if you’d had anyone in mind I may not have considered.”

“Uh, no.” Reece shook his head. “Pretty much everyone she willingly talks to is related to the nursery in some capacity.”

“I mean, I know she and her mam ain’t close, but you don’t think Marjorie may have gone there?”

“Not willingly.” Reece hummed. “Her mother still doesn’t even know we’re dating, let alone married.”

“Christ, I didn’t realise that was the level of relationship we were dealing with.” Sorscha shuddered. “Is she any better with her stepdad?”

“No relationship.” Reece shook his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “From what I understand, they’re civil, but neither of them cares about the other enough to actually keep in contact.”

“Any other family? Old friends?” Sorscha asked. “Come on, there has to be someone she’d drop everything and go awol for in an emergency.”

“No family.” He shook his head. “Her dad’s family live on the other side of the country and she is barely talks to them, and she doesn’t have anyone else on her mum’s side.”

“And what about friends?” She repeated.

“Viv and Clodagh are the closest thing she has to friends completely outside of work.” Reece sighed. “It’s why she is the way she is with all of you.”

“I didn’t realise she was so lonely.” Sorscha said quietly.

“She’s not, anymore.” Reece said. “She doesn’t like to talk about it, but I know she’s glad she has people now, even if she did meet all of us through work.”

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line.

“Sorscha?” Reece checked.

“Yeah, I’m still here.” He heard her swallow. “I was just thinking what the plan would be next.”

“We have been fighting a lot.” Reece admitted, the confession coming easier the second time. “Maybe she was too tired to argue and got a hotel room?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Sorscha agreed. “She did look absolutely wiped yesterday. Look, I’ve got to leave for my shift in a minute, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if she turns up for hers and go from there.”

“It’s not like her to miss work.” Reece nodded.

“No, it’s really not. Which is unusual for someone who spends all day on her phone.” Sorscha said. “Look, I’ve really got to get Quinn ready so I have to go. I’ll speak to you later, yeah?”

“She doesn’t spend all day on her phone.” Reece’s voice was quiet, and the beep signalled that the call had been ended before Sorscha could hear him.

-9:18 am-

Reece took a step back and looked at the spotless oven he’d just spent the last half an hour scrubbing in an attempt to take his mind off Marjorie.

It hadn’t helped. Scrubbing all of the buildup of grease and suspicious marks just made him think of Marjorie, as random food explosion stains were usually her doing every time she decided to try and cook unsuccessfully.

He dumped the washing up gloves and brush in the sparking sink, sighing in frustration. The kitchen was the cleanest it had ever been and he felt no better. He picked up his phone from the side, hoping that there would be a text or missed call or just something to let him know that Marjorie was okay.

There wasn’t. He had one notification from a delivery app offering him money off if he ordered in the next week and that was it.

It was gone nine, so the fact he hadn’t heard anything made him want to tear his hair out. He was just about to dial the nursery and demand an update when his phone buzzed and Mia’s name popped up on the screen.

“Hi Ree-” He didn’t even wait for her to finish before he spoke.

“Is she there?” He blurted out. “Is Marjorie there with you?”

He heard the lump in her throat as she swallowed. Then there was a second of silence before she spoke. “So, the good news is that she can’t have gone too far, and she is probably fine, because her phone is here and she text Shibby that she might have to call in sick today before she left yesterday.”

“What?” Reece couldn’t stop all of the stress, frustration and worry he’d been dealing with all morning bubbling over, and even though it wasn’t fair, he directed it all at Mia. “She planned this?”

Mia went quiet for a second and a wave of guilt crashed over him before she stammered out her response. “Well, we don’t think so, no. In the nicest way possible, she looked like crap yesterday and barely spoke all day, which I don’t have to tell you is really unlike her.”

He breathed in sharply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “So what you’re telling me is that my wife out there somewhere, sick and alone, with no way of contacting anyone?” He clarified.

“And that would be the bad news?” Her tone was like she was trying to downplay the severity of the situation.

“Mia!” He let out a strangled groan, probably louder than he should have. “This is not a joke. My wife could be in danger.” He warned.

“Don’t worry, Shibby, Winter and I have come up with a plan.” She cut in quickly before he could say anything else. “We have a plan and as long as we stick to it, we’re hopeful it’ll be fine.”

He was almost afraid to ask. “And that plan would be…?”

“First, Winter thinks, and I do agree with his reasoning, that we should hold off telling Autumn until we know a little more and she has someone who can stay with her. Marjorie is her best friend, and she’s been struggling enough with her anxiety.” Mia spoke quickly, the way she always had when she was nervous. “We think telling her is just going to make her so anxious it’ll interfere with her taking care of the twins and cause her more stress than we need to.”

He rested his head in his hand. “You think lying to my sister is a good idea? Have you met Aut?”

“Not lying, just delaying the information until she’s in a position to handle it.” Mia rephrased. “Obviously don’t lie to her if she asks about Marjorie, but it’s going to be a lot harder to find Marjorie if we’re worrying about Autumn.”

She had a point. Reece would normally have text her to see if she wanted a hand with the twins, but he hadn’t because he knew that he wasn’t going to be any use in the state he was in and would probably only raise Autumn’s anxiety further. “Fine.” He eventually agreed. “What’s the actual plan?”

“You’re going to call the police and report her missing, then start calling around hospitals just to see if she’s there.” Mia explained. “Important part is that you stay home just in case she finds her way back. Shibby, Sorscha, Carly, Winter, Viv and I are going to split off into pairs and drive around looking for her car.”

“Can the nursery really spare all of you?” He asked in disbelief.

“We’ve got a ton of kids out because of the school holidays. Shibby’s got Janice and Deliah coming to cover, Carly was off anyway and Winter and Sorscha aren’t in ratio.” Mia confirmed. “And even if we couldn’t, we would have made it work.” She added softly. “Nobody here is going to let anything happen to Marjorie.”

“Do you really think that I need to call the police?” His voice cracked as he asked the question.

Mia was quiet for a moment. “I think someone needs to. And it would be better if it was you. She wasn’t herself yesterday, and I think it’s necessary now we know that she hasn’t got her phone. She’s probably fine, but she’s definitely not safe. I also think it’ll probably be better if you report. Otherwise, a husband who she’s been fighting with a lot and didn’t report her missing? That looks suspicious.”

“Okay.” Reece sighed. “I’ll do that now.”

-9:34 am-

“Hi.” Reece said into the phone when the call connected. “I want to report my wife as missing.”

“Okay sir, can I please take your name?”

“Reece Knight.”

“And your wife’s name?”

“Marjorie Knight. Her maiden name was Van Gould, but that wasn’t her birth name because her mum changed it when she married Marjorie’s stepdad. I don’t know what her birth surname was, it never came up.”

“That’s okay. Can I ask why you believe Marjorie is missing?”

“Because she didn’t come home last night. I thought she fell asleep at work, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I called her deputy manager and apparently she left as soon as her shift ended yesterday. She didn’t turn up at work today, we’ve spoken to all of the people she might have stayed with and nobody’s seen her since she left work, and they found her phone on her desk. Apparently she looked really ill when she left yesterday.”

“Does your wife drive to work?”

“Yes, and Mia, her deputy, told me that cctv caught her car leaving at five forty yesterday.”

“Okay, so she has her car with her.” The call taker confirmed. “Can I ask if you are aware of any reasons that she may not have come home?”

“Uh, we’ve been arguing a lot recently. She’s stressed with work and I’ve not been helping. I, uh, I used to work with her up until a few months ago but she was put in a position where she had to fire me because I covered for a junior member of staff when she made a sackable mistake. I thought if she was ill then she might have got a hotel room or stayed with a friend, but she wouldn’t have been able to do that without her phone.” He explained.

“Okay. And has anything like this ever happened before?”

“No, she’s never done this before. And it isn’t like her to not go into work without good reason. I can barely get her to take annual leave without her spending half the time checking her emails.” Reece shook his head. “And she always comes home, no matter what time. Even when we fight we still share the same bed.”

“Okay sir, I’m going to take some more details from you. These are things that will help us to locate your wife.” She explained. “This will include names and addresses of relevant people and places she may have gone to, her date of birth, as well as a full description of Marjorie’s appearance and what she was wearing, including jewellery, and you will need to find a recent photograph to provide officers.”

Reece rattled off the information that he was asked for, giving as much detail as he could. The mechanical sound of heavy typing on a keyboard punctuated the silences, and it felt like an age before the woman finally finished typing in the details of Marjorie’s car.

“Okay, that is all the information that I need to take from you at this point.” She confirmed. “Given that Marjorie has no history of going missing and she is unwell, as well as the fact she does not have her phone, I have assigned her to a medium risk of harm level. This means that officers will be starting their investigation as a matter of urgency as soon as the next response unit becomes available.”

“Uh, thank you.” Reece stammered.

-11:48 am-

Reece wasn’t even about to pretend that he hadn’t been sat on the front step behind the door ever since the initial call to the police had finished. As soon as the doorbell rang, he flung the door open to be greeted by two uniformed officers and a police car in the driveway.

One of the officers looked to be a boy barely older than Carly, but he towered over the woman that Reece assumed must be training him.

“Mr Knight?” The younger officer asked. “We’re here to talk to you about your wife.”

“Uh, yeah. Come on in.” He swallowed, stepping aside to let them in. “Uh, can I get you a drink or anything?”

“Cuppa tea would be lovely if you’ve got one.” The female officer gave him a sympathetic smile. “But only if it’s not too much trouble.”

“It’s not.” He said quickly. “Kitchen is through here.”

“I’ve got to say, this might be the cleanest kitchen I’ve ever seen.” She blinked as she stepped through the doorway.

Reece put the kettle down on the stand and flicked it on. “That was what I did this morning when I was waiting for Mia to ring to tell me if Marjorie had turned up for her shift. I was trying to take my mind off it. Didn’t really work.”

“So, I’ve already got the details that you gave to my colleague.” The female officer said. “I’ve just got a few more questions for you, and then, if it’s okay, we’d like to have a search through Marjorie’s belongings to see if there’s any clues where she might have gone.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He nodded. “Whatever helps you find her.”

-12:02 pm-

“Reece?” Autumn’s soft tone carried through the hall and into the kitchen.

“In here.” He called back. “I’m sorry, that’s my sister Autumn, she lives a few doors down.”

“Are you close?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, we are now.” He smiled. “Our dad drove us apart for years, but we’re close again now. Although, it’s a bit of a running joke with our friends that her and Marjorie are going to run off together because they’re best friends.” He tried to smile as she appeared in the kitchen doorway, Dorian and Emery fast asleep in their pushchair in front of her. “Hi Aut.”

One of the twins started to fuss, but was quickly quietened by Autumn brushing her hand softly over their head. “I saw the police car outside.” She swallowed, looking as stunned as her normally neutral expression ever gave away. “I came to see if everything was alright.”

“Everything-” Reece started to lie, well practiced after years of empty assurances to protect her, before he cut himself off. “I’m not going to lie to you Aut.” He sighed.

“You were going to lie to me?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you would know better than to do something so foolish.”

“I don’t want you to worry.” He said. “You’re dealing with enough, you don’t need this as well.”

“Don’t need what?” Her voice lowered into the more serious tone she usually reserved for parents who had been sent to her to have a difficult conversation.

“Marjorie’s missing.” Reece watched as those two words caused her face to drop and all blood to drain from it.

“Missing?” She repeated quietly.

“Hi Autumn, I’m Officer Clarke, I’m the lead officer in the search for Marjorie.” The officer sat opposite Reece at the kitchen table said. “Why don’t you have a seat and we can go over what we know so far?”

She looked towards him. “Reece?”

“Marjorie didn’t come home last night.” He told her, the words now having left his mouth so many times they didn’t even sound like English anymore. “I thought she fell asleep at her desk again, but then I woke up and she still wasn’t here, so I called Mia and nobody has seen her since she left work at five forty yesterday.”

“Have you tried calling her?” Autumn asked.

“Obviously. Several times since last night.” Reece sighed. “She doesn’t have her phone, she left it at work, Mia and Shibby found it this morning.”

Autumn slid into the chair beside him at the kitchen table. “Siobhan was there?”

“Yeah. Marjorie text her before she left saying she might need a sick day today. According to Mia and Sorscha, that was probably genuine because she didn’t look like herself.” Reece recounted. “I’ve already told the police all of this.”

“And just what are you doing to find her?” Autumn said sternly.

“Reece called us to report Marjorie as missing and we are taking a methodological approach to finding her.” The officer cut in. “My colleague Officer Wilson is upstairs looking for any indications of significant people or locations that Marjorie may have gone to, all of our units have a description of Marjorie and her car to be on the lookout for, and I understand that some of Marjorie’s work friends have also organised a search party?”

“Mia, Winter, Shibby, Viv, Carly and Sorscha are all out looking for her.” He tried to reassure her I’m staying put in case she finds her way home.” Reece added. “And I’ve called all the local hospitals with A&E departments to see if she’s turned up there.”

“I want to help.” Autumn demanded.

“No.” Reece said firmly, much to her surprise. “You can go home and look after the twins.”

“What?” She growled.

“That came out wrong.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second and wobbled his head, as if he was trying to shake his muddled thoughts into something coherent. “Right now, there is nothing you can do for Marjorie that someone else isn’t already doing. But, what you can do that right now nobody else can is look after Emery and Dorian.”

“You could.” She countered. “If you’re staying home anyway.”

“Autumn, my wife is missing and I’ve stress cleaned the house twice in a failed attempt to deal with it. I’ve had barely any sleep and I think the only reason I’m not crying right now is that I’m too dehydrated because I can’t remember eating or drinking anything since dinner last night. Do you seriously want me looking after your children?”

She sat up taller for a moment before she relented. “No.”

“Autumn, your brother tells me you and Marjorie are quite close, is that correct?” Officer Clark interrupted the conversation before either of the Knight siblings could say anything else.

“Yes, I would say we are.” Autumn said slowly. “What has that got to do with Marjorie’s whereabouts?”

“Before you came over, Reece made a comment about how Marjorie has been a little off for the last couple of weeks and he and I were chatting about that and what might have caused it.”

“Off?” Autumn repeated.

“Maybe that was the wrong word.” Officer Clark corrected. “Not quite herself. An example I’m given to understand is that Marjorie’s usually a bit of a chatterbox and has been noticeably quieter recently?”

“Aut, she has.” Reece said. “You have to admit that at least.”

“Our conversations have been significantly less one sided.” Autumn admitted. “But that’s been because they’ve mostly centred around myself.”

“Has Marjorie voiced anything to you in the last six or so weeks?” The Officer asked. “Anything that she might have mentioned to you that she might not have felt comfortable telling Reece?”

“She’s found adjusting to not having the two of us with her at work a difficult transition.” Autumn sighed. “But I hardly think that’s surprising.”

“No, you’re probably right.” The officer agreed. “Anything else? Anything at all?”

“She’s had some rather strong feelings about Reece’s termination that I would be surprised if she’d voiced with him.”

“Such as?” Reece spluttered.

“You forcing her into that position in front of the Ofsted inspector in the middle of a visit that couldn’t have possibly been going any worse.” Autumn countered.

“I didn’t force her into that position! I didn’t actually do anything apart from let myself get blamed.”

“And I believe that’s where the issue lies.” Autumn snapped. “You allowed yourself to be accused of gross misconduct. For an apprentice with Carly’s track record it would have been a short suspension and lengthy training on professionalism. Maybe a delay in her qualifying at worst. But you were assistant manager. A position with much higher expectations of professional behaviour. There was nothing Marjorie could have possibly done to save your job. And that would have been bad enough without the Ofsted inspector in the building, let alone the same room.” Autumn’s words came fast and clipped and each one hit Reece like a punch to the gut.

There was barely a breath before she continued. “All you had to do was phone that parent after the incident that morning and threaten to ban him from drop off and collection as we not tolerate verbal abuse towards our staff, and have Carly take ten minutes in the break room to cool off. As you would have done had it been any other member of staff, no matter whether or not they protested. But it was Carly, and you can’t say no to her. You deserved disciplinary action for that alone, as you did not follow our verbal abuse procedure that we have specifically so an apprentice does not do anything like that. Not to mention that you knew I was going on maternity leave and with Mia taking over Deliah would be covering elsewhere at every possible opportunity, so you taking the blame for Carly left the office short staffed during the busiest time of year. In my opinion Marjorie has given you far too much grace for an error which also very well could have put her job into jeopardy as everything that is seen during an Ofsted inspection is viewed as a reflection of the manager’s competency in running their setting, in turn, making Marjorie feel like there could be a case for her incompetence in her role. Kathleen could have quite easily recommended her termination, which we both know our father would have jumped at.”

“Has she really said all of that?” Reece breathed.

“No. As I said, she far too in love with you and as a result has given you far more grace in the matter than you deserve.” Autumn sighed. “But she has expressed some of those sentiments, particularly surrounding the jeopardy that her job was put in and confidence in her ability to do it.”

“Oh.” Reece hung his head.

“Thank you, Autumn.” Officer Clark cleared her throat, reminding the siblings she was still there. “Can I as if Marjorie said anything else recently? Anything that might indicate any particularly strong feelings or things that feel as if they’ve come out of the blue?”

Autumn paused for a moment. “She’s spoken a lot more frequently about her parents recently.” She realised. “Truthfully, I didn’t think much of it.”

“Right, I’ve got here that Reece, you told my colleague that you don’t believe she would have contacted them. Do you think she could have had a change of heart and gone to see them?” She asked.

“Her dad’s dead and she once said she would rather get acupuncture in her eyeballs than have dinner with her mother.” Reece shook his head. “And that’s coming from a woman who refuses to even try contact lenses. She hasn’t gone to see her.”

“Is it possible she could have changed her mind on that front since making the comment?” Officer Clark asked. “Maybe if her mother were to reach out?”

“It was last week.” He said. “And we were having that conversation because I asked what would happen if her mother did reach out, since I’ve still never met the woman and Marjorie still hasn’t even told her we’re together.”

“Right, so her mother’s not likely to be any help.” Officer Clark noted down.

-12:49pm-

“Right, thank you two for all your cooperation.” Officer Clark told Autumn and Reece as her and Officer Wilson stood on the doorstep ready to leave. “We’ll now head over to the nursery to collect Marjorie’s phone and some further information from her colleagues there, so our next steps will be to use any cctv footage and all the information we have gathered to find a list of probable locations for Marjorie. You have our contact details so if she turns up here or any of your friends who are out looking for her find anything, then please let us know as soon as possible.”

“Will do.” Reece nodded as the officers left and he shut the front door behind them.

“Tea?” Autumn offered as soon as the door was closed.

“Aut, it’s like thirty degrees. It’s a little warm for tea.”

“Yes, but you said you hadn’t had anything to eat or drink so I thought tea with the good biscuits that Marjorie hides for herself might be called for.” Autumn told him.

“I’m fine, Aut, really.” He shook his head. “But thanks for the offer.”

“It wasn’t an offer. Would you like me to make you a cup or would you like to make it yourself?”

“Aut, I really don’t think I can.” Reece swallowed. “I honestly can’t stomach the thought of having something to eat or drink. I feel so worried I feel like I could be sick, and I think the only reason I haven’t been is because there isn’t anything there.”

Autumn paused for a second. “This isn’t a relapse?”

“What?” Reece stuttered. “Why on earth would you think-”

“Because knowing your routine, it’s been approximately nineteen hours since you consumed anything. The last time you went that long was when I was begging Father to put you in a residential clinic because you were starving and dehydrated yourself to a point that was dangerous.”

Realisation dawned over his face. “Autumn, I promise that’s not what’s happening.” He tried to reassure her. “I really am just too anxious to eat anything.”

“Prove it. Choose something.” She folded her arms tight across her chest and shifted her weight to one side.

“Fine, water.” Autumn raised an eyebrow at him. “We’ve got some squash in the cupboard, that would also be fine.” He relented.

“And to eat?”

“Genuinely don’t think I could keep anything down.” He swallowed as he shook his head. “Maybe later.”

“Fine, but I will be revisiting this periodically until you eat something.” She warned. “The last thing Marjorie needs is you starving yourself.” Autumn turned around and walked towards the kitchen.

“She wouldn’t care.” Reece muttered.

Autumn stopped and spun on her heel to face him. “I beg your pardon?”

“I don’t think Marjorie would care.”

“You don’t think Marjorie, your wife who is absolutely devoted to you, would care if you relapsed into your eating disorder?” Autumn repeated in disbelief. “We are referring to the same woman here?”

“All she’s done recently is snap at me.” Reece shrugged. “I can’t do anything right. Except look after you and the twins.”

Autumn let out the biggest eye roll Reece had seen for a while. It was long and exaggerated and coupled with a heavy sigh.

“Aut?” He cleared his throat. “Are you okay?”

“You are such a man sometimes.” She sighed again with the same frustrated expression, putting her middle and index fingers to her temple.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you can’t see the mental load that she’s carrying.”

“Excuse me?”

“Marjorie has a whole nursery to run that is currently in its busiest period, with the lions share of the people she trusts to support her in that department no longer there. On top of that, she is worried about you, feels guilty about mentioning work around you because of the mistake you made, is just as concerned about me as you are, and comes over to see and help with the twins most evenings. All whilst enduring constant jokes about how she doesn’t actually do her job from people who don’t understand how many issues she deals with on a daily basis because she nips them in the bud and they never become aware of them.” Autumn inhaled sharply. “She’s been on the brink of becoming burnt out or having a breakdown for quite a while.”

“She hasn’t said anything.”

“I doubt Marjorie even realises.” Autumn swallowed. “There must’ve been a straw that broke her back.”

“Sorscha and Mia both said she wasn’t herself at all yesterday.” Reece sat down on the stairs. “Maybe something happened?”

“Yes, I think that’s a fairly safe assumption.” Autumn rolled her eyes again.

“Wait, I thought you were on my side with the whole me and Marjorie arguing thing?”

“Do you really believe I would do something as childish as take sides?” Autumn asked. “Neither of you are innocent. Marjorie has not been treating you fairly in terms of the fights she’s been picking, but anyone with half a braincell can see that is the result of the pressure she is under, which, unintentional or otherwise, you have had a large part in placing solely on her shoulders.”

“But-“

“Reece, you have made her life far more difficult than it needs to be recently and if you can’t see that then I will be taking Marjorie to a solicitor myself.” She scolded him.

“Woah, hold on.” He held up his hands. “We’re definitely not getting divorced. We’re going through a rough patch but we’ll be able to get through it since we are still very much in love.” He stammered out.

“That may very well be the case, but your wife has clearly had a mental breakdown and gone missing as a result.” Autumn sat down on the step beside him. “What you both want does not matter if staying married to you is only going to hurt her.”

Reece’s voice cracked. “You, you don’t seriously think I caused this?”

“Not intentionally.” She assured him. “However I do think there is a correlation between your actions and the factors that led up to this event. Nothing occurs in isolation.” Autumn said.

The air went still and cold with the silence that fell between them. Reece’s mind raced with every interaction he and Marjorie had had in the last few weeks. His jaw dropped slightly and his eyes widened as a forgotten conversation dawned on him.

“What?” Autumn asked, noting the change in his expression.

“I mentioned maybe changing my mind about kids.” Reece admitted quietly. “That, maybe, I wasn’t so scared about being a dad anymore and wanted to revisit the kids discussion.”

Autumn closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “And when exactly did that conversation take place?” She let out a deep sigh.

“About a week before Marjorie decided that she couldn’t stand the sight of me.” Reece swallowed.

Autumn stood up, grabbed one of the shoes off the shoe rack and threw it squarely at his head. It missed what he assumed was the intended target of his face as he managed to duck just in time, but it still smacked him in the shoulder.

“Ow-ah!” He glared at her, grabbing his shoulder where it had hit him. “That hurt.”

“Good.” Autumn folded her arms back across her chest. “What on god’s green earth made you say that to your wife, who you know full well is terrified of experiencing pregnancy?” She demanded.

“Okay, I did not ask her to get pregnant.” Reece threw up his hands in surrender to try and dissuade her from throwing more shoes. “I know how she feels about pregnancy, I wouldn’t never ask her to put herself through that. But I’ve been spending so much time with you and the twins, I thought, you know, maybe we could revisit the adoption discussion we left open and have it a little more seriously this time.”

“I take it that’s not how you worded it when you broached the subject with Marjorie?”

“I didn’t get a chance. She shut it down before I got that far. I got to the part where looking after Dorian and Emery was easing some of the doubts I had about myself and my ability to be a positive influence on a kid and maybe having more kids in our lives wouldn’t be a bad thing. That was all I said.” Reece told her. “That was it.”

“You idiot.” Autumn groaned. “You complete idiot.”

“What?” Reece groaned. “What could possibly be so bad about that?”

“Marjorie’s pregnant.”

-1:07pm-

Reece stayed sat on the steps blinking in disbelief as Autumn placed a glass down beside him with one hand and bounced a freshly woken Emery with the other arm.

“Marjorie can’t be pregnant.” He said eventually, his mouth bone dry from all the false starts where he’d gone to speak but no sound had escaped.

“From what I gather, she’s not particularly far along and may not have worked it out herself yet.” Autumn said. “But considering how much time I spent hiding the early signs of pregnancy last year, I find them fairly easy to spot.”

“So, she hasn’t actually said anything to you?” Reece swallowed. “So, she might not actually be…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“She is.” Autumn shook her head. “And you bringing up the idea of having children has likely only made the already incredibly complex feelings that she is having on the matter worse.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Reece said defensively. “She hasn’t said anything.”

“True, but she’s been a lot more tired than usual. And has suddenly flipped her diet to foods that are easier on the stomach. I’ve also listened to Mia complaining that Marjorie keeps going to the bathroom every time she needs her and has been accusing her of messing with her appletisers as they apparently now taste funny.” Autumn explained. “And her hand keeps resting on her stomach. If you put all of that together, there’s only one logical conclusion.”

“Okay, I noticed the tired thing, but she eats what I cook in the evenings and Mia knows better than to rant about my wife to me.” He countered, standing up and taking Emery off Autumn as Dorian started to cry from the next room. He followed her into the living room and sat down on the sofa, bouncing his niece on his knee.

-1:47 pm-

“Mia found her!” Reece yelled through to the kitchen where Autumn was making them lunch that he’d promised to at least pick at. He jumped up from the floor where he had been sat with the twins and ran to her.

“I’ve just got a text, Mia found her.” Reece panted. “I have to get there, where are my keys?”

“I would assume they are where you left them.” Autumn muttered.

“Oh.” Reece looked back down at his phone as a second text came through.

“What?” Autumn asked.

He swallowed. “It’s Mia again. She says she doesn’t think it’s a good idea for anyone else to turn up. She thinks Marjorie needs space and crowding her right now would only make things worse.”

“She’s probably correct.” Autumn put a plate of toast in his hands. “Eat.”

“I really think I should go.” Reece shook his head and put the plate down on the table behind him.

“Reece, Mia is a lot more aware of Marjorie’s current mental state than you are, purely by virtue of the fact she is the one who is currently with her.” Autumn pointed out. “If Mia thinks crowding her is a bad idea, she’s probably right. If she thinks Marjorie needs you, she will ask you to come. And anyway, you need to notify the police that Marjorie has been found.”

“I just, I need to know she’s okay.” Reece whispered. “What if she’s hurt?”

“Then Mia has enough sense to either call an ambulance or take her to hospital herself depending on the severity.”

“What if she thinks I don’t care because I didn’t go straight there?” He stuttered. “What, what if she needs me?”

“Then Mia will call you.” Autumn said sternly. “Mia is more than capable of assessing and handling the situation. Do you trust her?”

“I-” Autumn raised her eyebrows at him. “Yes.” He sighed.

“I’m sure Mia will make it clear that you want to be there.” Autumn promised. “But for now, you just need to wait for Marjorie to be ready.”

“What if she never is?” His voice cracked as he spoke. “What if, what if she doesn’t want to come home because I’ve been stressing her out too much?”

Autumn’s expression softened. “I’ve known Marjorie for twice as long as you have. She’s coming home.” She stepped forward and put her arms around his waist. Reece paused for a second and allowed himself to relax into the hug, leaning down and resting his head on top of hers as the tears he’d been fighting back all day started to roll down his cheeks and his body shuddered with the force of the sobs.

-2:29 pm-

Autumn picked up Reece’s phone from where it sat on the coffee table when it buzzed.

“It’s Mia.” She read the notification. “She’s taking Marjorie to the maternity clinic. Apparently the catalyst of her breakdown was a miscarriage.”

“Marjorie miscarried?” Reece breathed. “She definitely was pregnant and now she’s not?”

“That appears to be the case. Mia goes on to say that Marjorie doesn’t know how she feels about the pregnancy as she was seriously considering terminating, but she seems to have a lot of complex feelings about it. And she needs you.” She read out.

“She does?” Reece looked hopeful for the first time all day.

“Mia wants you to meet them at the maternity clinic.” Autumn confirmed, still reading the long paragraph of text. “Marjorie apparently went to her father’s grave and one of the reasons she gave Mia for doing so is that she was struggling with feeling like she isn’t loved.” Autumn’s voice caught and she hesitated before she continued. “It was only when Mia told her how worried you have been that she agreed to leave the graveyard.”

“I’m going now.” Reece told her. “Give me my phone.”

Autumn handed it over with no hesitation. “Tell her that we all love her and are here for her, whatever she needs.”

“Will do.” Reece nodded.

Autumn’s voice rang out again as he was halfway out the door. “You might want to take Marjorie a change of clothes?” She suggested. “She’s been in her work clothes for quite a while now, and whilst getting changed is probably the last thing on her mind, I’m sure she’d be grateful for the chance.”

“Right.” Reece turned and headed upstairs, grabbing one of the tote bags Marjorie had on a hanger behind the bedroom door. He took her favourite old lightweight elephant trousers from a long ago trip to Thailand, as well as one of the T-shirts which was technically his but that Marjorie liked to claim as her own, and stuffed them into the bag alongside her favourite socks and changes of shoes and underwear.

-2:56 pm-

Reece barrelled through the waiting area and into the exam room where Marjorie was sat on the table, clinging to Mia’s hand so tightly that both their knuckles had gone white.

“Sir, I’m sorry but you can’t-” The midwife was cut off by Reece wrapping his arms around Marjorie as tightly as he could and pulling her as close to his chest as he could as she instinctively returned the embrace.

“I was so scared.” He murmured into her ear. “I was so scared that I’d lost you.” He kissed her on the top of the head.

“I’m sorry.” Marjorie sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, you have nothing to apologise for.” He shook his head, swallowing back tears of his own. “You have had so much on your plate and instead of helping, I just added more for you to deal with. I’m sorry, I should have realised that you were so stressed but instead I’ve been trying to take on everything with Autumn, who has a whole village to support her, and thinking about myself and my own feelings about getting fired. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”

“I’m going to go back to work now.” Mia told Marjorie. “Shibby’s going to cover for you all next week, don’t even think about coming in, and I think you’re in good hands now.” She smirked. “Look after her Reecey.”

“I will.” He promised. “Thank you.”

“Thank you Mia.” Marjorie echoed as the redhead ducked out of the room. Reece intertwined his fingers with hers as he assumed Mia’s seat beside her.

-4:38 pm-

Reece took the bin bag full of Marjorie’s blood stained clothes which the nurse offered him with an apologetic smile, and inserted it into the tote bag he had brought the fresh clothes in, stuffing it down so that Marjorie wouldn’t be able to see.

“I’m sorry.” The nurse apologised. “We tried to find a different bag, but that’s was the only leak proof one we could find.”

“That’s fine.” He nodded. “At least they’re in a bag and not staining this one. I think Marjorie would probably kill me if I ruined her favourite tote.”

“I ain’t got the energy.” Marjorie interrupted, stepping out the bathroom in the fresh clothes he had brought her. Her tone was like she was trying to be playful, but there wasn’t anything behind it and instead the words fell flat.

“Can I take her home now?” Reece swallowed, reaching out to take her hand to anchor them both together.

“Yes, you can.” The nurse nodded, before turning to Marjorie. “Remember, if anything feels wrong, or the bleeding gets heavier, you just come straight back here and we’ll look after you. Otherwise, you’ve got that appointment set up for next week, so we’ll see you then.”

Reece led Marjorie out to where he had parked the car. She seemed to almost be on auto pilot, the look in her eyes was vacant and she could have very well been on a different planet as she shuffled her way down the street.

“Shit.” Reece looked at his phone as he helped Marjorie into the passenger seat. “I’m sorry, that was Aut. The police are at ours because they need to see you.”

“Why?” Marjorie’s voice wobbled. “Why do the police want to see me?”

Reece reached across her and fastened her seatbelt, buckling her in. “We had to report you missing.” He said softly, perching on the sill of the passenger door by her feet. “We thought, Sorscha and Mia said you didn’t look right yesterday, and when we realised you didn’t have your phone, because it’s so unlike you to go off anywhere without warning and if you weren’t well and unable to contact anyone for help if you needed it, we thought it was for the best.”

“Oh.”

“The officer who came over earlier to take my statement was really nice.” He promised. “Autumn’s text says it looks like the same people, I’m sure they just want to check you’re safe.

“Oh, okay.” Marjorie nodded. “I’m safe.”

“Yeah.” Reece squeezed her hand. “You’re safe, and as soon as they’re gone, we’ll watch Mean Girls, or whatever else you pick, or we can talk, or anything you want.”

“Okay.” She agreed.

-5:59 pm-

“All done.” Officer Clark opened the door to the living room where she had been talking to Marjorie. Reece had spent the last hour pacing outside the door, waiting to be allowed back in. “I’m satisfied that Marjorie is safe and not at risk of going missing again, and that the crisis point has passed.” She continued. “I’m going to make some referrals to services that may help to support both Marjorie and yourself in dealing with this event, but I’ve got your contact details so I’ll be in touch in due course. I’ll give you a day or two for everything to settle first.”

“Thank you.” Reece sighed. “How is she?”

Officer Clark offered him a sympathetic smile. “She found it hard, recounting everything. She just needs some support and reassurance right now.”

“I can do that.” Reece nodded.

“You go see her, I’ll let myself out.” She told him. “I should probably go and rescue Wilson from your sister, the blonde and the redhead.”

Reece chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t think he knew what he was letting himself in for, offering to take Siobhan’s and Mia’s statements and saying Aut could stay.”

“He definitely didn’t.” She laughed. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

As Reece stepped into the living room, Marjorie was curled up in her favourite spot on the sofa, staring out the large window into the back garden.

“Hey.” He said softly, jolting her out of the daydream she had lost herself in. “It’s over. What do you want to do now?”

“Did Autumn really yell at you?” Marjorie asked, completely ignoring the question.

Reece blinked. “Uh, yeah. More than once, actually, but the other times were after the police left.”

Marjorie looked astonished. “Why?”

Reece couldn’t help but laugh at her disbelief. “Because she was worried about you and blamed me for you disappearing? It was the wake up call I needed though. To see that I’ve caused a big part of the reasons you’ve so overwhelmed, whether I like it or not.” He said. “Because, even though I love you, I’ve been a shit husband recently.”

“You ain’t that bad.” Marjorie murmured. “I’ve been worse.”

“Yeah, we can talk about that later. Something tells me you might feel differently once you’ve had some rest.” He told her.

“No.” She shook her head. “I love you, Reece Knight.”

“I know you do.” He said softly, taking hold of her hands.

“No, you don’t.” Tears filled her eyes. “You don’t, because you’ve got no idea. I ain’t ever been loved by anyone before, not really, and not at all since my dad died. Thinking that I’d pushed you away because I kept lashing out for no good reason and I’d mucked this all up… I’ve never felt worse. I don’t deserve you.”

“We don’t have to do this now.” Reece brought their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed the back of hers. “You need rest, and all of this can wait until you’re ready. You’re home, you’re safe, and I’m not letting you go anytime soon.”

“I don’t deserve you.” Marjorie let out a choked sob. “You’re too good to me and I don’t deserve you.” He dropped her hands and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his chest.

“And that is exactly why we’re not doing this now.” He said calmly, rubbing firm circles on her back, applying the exact right amount of pressure to both comfort her and calm her nervous system. “Because you’ve been through the wringer, and your hormones and emotions are all over the place at the moment, which means you can’t see things clearly. All that matters right now is that we’re both here, I love you, and you still love me. Any other feelings can wait until tomorrow.”

They were both quiet for a moment.

“Reece.” Marjorie croaked. “I’m knackered.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I’m not surprised. Do you want to go upstairs and cuddle to one of your shows until you fall asleep?”

“Sort your life out?”

“Sort your life out sounds perfect.” Reece chuckled at the irony of the show’s name in their current mess and pressed a kiss to her hairline.

-9:17 pm-

The tv was still playing episodes of the declutterring programme, even though Marjorie had fallen asleep not even halfway through the first. Reece hadn’t had the heart to turn it off, just in case she woke up.

That was in no danger of happening any time soon. Marjorie had always been the deeper sleeper of the pair, and once she was out she didn’t wake up for anything. And given how clearly exhausted she’d been when Reece brought her home, he wasn’t surprised at how quickly she’d nodded off. He was actually more surprised she’d stayed awake as long as she had. Marjorie had basically already been wearing pyjamas, and after the whole going missing ordeal he wasn’t about to enforce his strict no outside clothing on the bed rule for her, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to extend the same grace to his own clothing. He’d tucked Marjorie in and switched the tv on the wall opposite their bed on for her, queuing up her choice of show so she could watch whilst he changed in the bathroom. He’d expected her to be asleep by the time he was finished, but she’d been sat upright and alert, waiting for him to join her.

It was only once he’d slid into bed beside her and Marjorie had basically curled up on top of him that she’d finally fallen asleep. Her head rested on his chest and her arms held him around the middle whilst his rested around her shoulders. Their legs were tangled up together and Marjorie had firmly pressed herself into his side, like she wouldn’t be satisfied until every inch of her body was in contact with his. Reece didn’t mind. The clinging was nice, after spending almost a whole day worrying about her whereabouts and if she was coming back, it offered him a lot of the same comfort Marjorie seemed to be feeling in the embrace.

His phone buzzed from the bedside table, and when he detached his arm from her to pick it up Marjorie managed to let out a small moan of disapproval in her sleep and snuggled into him even closer.

The notification was to tell him Mia had added everyone else to the group chat they had used to help find Marjorie. Everyone besides Marjorie, that was.

Mostly the messages coming through were asking if she was okay and what had happened. Reece scrolled through, trying to find a message from Mia explaining what happened when she found Marjorie, only to be met with nothing.

He typed out a response saying that Marjorie was home and asleep, and that the police had done all of the return checks. He didn’t want to go into anymore detail, not without Marjorie’s permission, but it wasn’t a shock when his message prompted a flurry of responses asking why she’d disappeared in the first place.

She was having a hard time with some stuff and didn’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone , he typed back. Something happened and it was all just too much for her to handle

He didn’t think they needed any more detail, and, judging from the replies he got, everyone else realised that the matter was private too.

The chat quietened down, and then he had a notification of a private text from Mia.

Has she said much?

Not really. Not to me anyway. She spoke to the police alone for like an hour, but that took a lot out of her and I didn’t want to press after. She tried to say something about us and not deserving me, but she got too upset and just kept repeating herself and putting herself down so I said it could wait until after she’d slept.

Not surprised. She didn’t say much in the graveyard and what she did say was pretty negative about not thinking anyone cared about her.

I don’t know how to help her. Reece’s fingers wobbled as he typed the admission.

Just be there for her. Came Mia’s response a moment later. If she had the breakdown because she doesn’t think anyone cares, prove her wrong.

But what if I’m not enough?

You’re a start. It might have been the nicest thing Mia had ever texted him. She’s probably going to need all of us to show up for her eventually, but she needs to feel secure with you first. And she will, given time and support.

I don’t know if I can be what she needs. He tapped out slowly. I love her so much, but I thought she was leaving me.

She would never. No matter how much you piss her off sometimes, she still talks about you like a twelve year old with her first crush. The amount of rants I’ve had to listen to in the last couple of months about how you’re “too perfect” is honestly nauseating

I wish I could just make everything go back to normal.

You can. But it’s going to take time and effort and you will actually have to address any problems.

Reece spent a few more minutes texting her, before putting his phone face down on the bedside table and settling down to sleep himself. Sleeping half sat up wasn’t his favourite, but it was by far preferable to disturbing Marjorie, who finally looked peaceful.

-4:26 am-

Reece woke with a start to the sound of a large crash coming from downstairs. He reached out for Marjorie, only to find nothing beside him. He jolted himself out from being half asleep and flew down the stairs, only to find her stood in the middle of the kitchen.

“Don’t come in.” She warned. “I dropped a glass and you ain’t got anything on your feet and I don’t want you to get hurt and…” She trailed off as he took hesitant steps into the kitchen towards her, making sure to steer clear of any visible shards and testing the floor before putting his weight down. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“I’m making sure you’re okay.” He told her. “Are you hurt?”

“No, the glass just slipped out my hand.” She shook her head. “You moved the dustpan and brush.”

Reece thought back to his cleaning spree. “I put it back in the cupboard where it belongs. You just always leave it by the bin.” He stepped over to the cupboard with the same caution he had approached Marjorie with and took it out, before kneeling down and sweeping up what he could.

“So, what’re you doing up?” He asked, putting the dustpan and brush back in the cupboard. “You never normally get up in the night.”

“Oh, no reason.”

“Marjorie?” He asked.

“I was in pain.” She admitted. “I was having bad cramps, just like they said I would, and I came down to get painkillers and a drink.”

“Okay. Did you get it?”

“No. I managed to smash the glass in the two steps between the cupboard and the sink.”

“Okay, you go back up to bed.” Reece told her, walking over to the drawer where they kept the first aid kit with all of the painkillers in. “I’ll get it and bring it up for you.”

“I’m not incapable.” She protested. “I can get it myself.”

“I know you can. I’m just trying to help.” He turned around, the pack of tablets in his hand.

“I don’t want you to help.” She cried. “I don’t need you to help me right now.”

“Then what do you want me to do?” He asked.

“I don’t know. Get angry? Yell at me? Kick me out? Just stop being so nice to me.” She broke down in wails.

“Okay. Okay.” He tried to calm her down. “Why do you want me to get angry with you?” He took deep breaths, keeping his tone as steady and calm as he could.

“Because, I scared you. I didn’t think, and I didn’t come home and I didn’t talk to you about the pregnancy and I couldn’t keep it safe and I’ve been lashing out at you and you should be mad at me.” She sobbed.

“I’m not.” He assured her, stepping forwards. “I was, a little, when I thought that you were lashing out for no reason and when I thought you just hadn’t come home and decided not to tell me, but I’m not mad anymore because I know there were reasons. I’m not even mad about you not telling me about the pregnancy, because I know how you feel about pregnancy, and that finding out was probably really overwhelming for you and you just needed a little time. I’m not mad, because I know you didn’t do any of those things to hurt me.” He was surprised how true the words were. He thought he’d be angry at Marjorie for shutting him out and disappearing, but looking down at her, it all faded away. She looked so fragile, like the slightest wrong move could shatter her just like the glass, and all of the negative emotions that had been creeping in faded to the overwhelming urge to look after her.

“But… I’m angry.” Her voice was weak, and didn’t convey the feeling that she was claiming.

Reece was slightly taken aback at her admission. “At me?” He breathed.

“At me.” She shook her head. “I’m angry at myself because I scared everyone and caused such a fuss at work. I’m angry at myself for taking everything out on you when you didn’t deserve it. And I’m angry at my body because I didn’t get to make the decision about getting pregnant in the first place and then didn’t have a choice about whether or not I kept it.”

“I didn’t think you ever wanted to be pregnant.” He said slowly.

“I didn’t. I don’t. But, it weren’t so black and white when it actually happened, you know? It happened and I had a choice to make, whether I wanted it or not. When I saw that blood…” She inhaled sharply and paused for a moment. “All I could think about was that I couldn’t make that choice for myself and my body no more. I just… I should have got to choose. It was my body. I deserved the chance to decide for myself what happens to it.”

“You did.” Reece pulled her in for a hug. “You deserved the choice and I’m sorry that you didn’t get it.”

“‘S not your fault.” She muttered.

“No, but I’m still sorry because it’s not fair.”

“I love you.” Marjorie murmured into his chest. “And I’m so sorry because I know spending all that time with Dorian and Emery has made you want your own babies-”

He pulled himself back from her, not letting go completely, but far enough back that he could clearly see her face. “Woah, who said I wanted babies?”

“You did.” She bobbed her head forward as if to gesture towards him without having to actually let go of him. “You brought it up, said spending time with the twins was making you reconsider us deciding not to have kids.”

“Marjorie, I was trying to reopen the adoption discussion. You know, the one you started last year?” He reminded her. “The one we said we’d revisit?”

“You were?”

“Yeah. You know I would never ask you to be pregnant if you didn’t want to.” He assured her. “But that discussion can wait until after the sun is up at least. Let’s go back to bed.”

Marjorie nodded and slipped her hand into his, letting Reece lead her back upstairs.

-10.08 am-

Reece tucked his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, ignoring the numerous texts he had received from their friends, and turned his attention back to the queue in front of him. The coffee shop was busier than usual, but he didn’t normally visit on a Saturday morning. But Marjorie had been fast asleep and he’d been itching to do something, so he decided the short walk to get her favourite coffee couldn’t hurt.

“Hiya Reece.” The young barista smiled as he stepped up to the counter. “Missed you yesterday, everything alright?”

“Hi Kate. Uh, yeah, it is now. Yesterday, not so much. Marjorie… it was kind of a whole thing. She’s home now though, and she’s going to be okay.” He stammered out the half arsed explanation.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She said. “You want the usual?”

“Yeah. And can I get a sausage sandwich and a chocolate twist to go with it?”

“You sure can.” Kate grinned. “Treating her to breakfast too this morning?”

“Yeah. She’s still asleep, so I was thinking of making it breakfast in bed. I wanted to do something nice for her because the last few days have been pretty rough for her.”

“Tell you what, my boyfriend needs to take a leaf out of your book.” She chuckled. “Hear that Ange? Reece here is treating his wife to breakfast in bed this morning.”

“Marjorie’s a lucky lady.” Angie on the coffee machine called back. “Tell her we say hi?”

“I will.” Reece nodded as he paid and stepped off to the side to wait for his order.

The coffees didn’t take long, probably because Angie saw him in the line and got them started before he even ordered. “Food’ll just be a minute.” Kate had a mischievous smile as she handed the drinks over.

“What’s this?” He asked when Angie handed him a large paper bag that was completely filled with pastries and cakes of all varieties.

“Your food.” She said.

“I definitely didn’t order all of this.”

“We got a huge delivery of food as we closed last night.” She explained. “Problem is, it was supposed to arrive Wednesday morning and literally everything that was delivered passes sell by tomorrow when we’re closed. We already put out twice what we normally sell in a day, but still had loads left. We were just going to spilt the rest between the baristas and take it home, but Katie and I figured we could give you some to take home for Marjorie. Help her feel better after whatever it was.”

“That’s really kind of you.” Reece swallowed. “Thank you. How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t. You guys are our best regulars, and you’re the only ones who tip consistently. We love you guys.”

“Thanks Angie.” He smiled softly.

“No problem. Give Marjorie our love and tell her we hope she feels better soon?”

“Of course.” He nodded.

-10:21 am-

Reece dropped his keys in the bowl by the front door, kicking his shoes off and using his foot to push them under the rack. He was about to head straight upstairs when Marjorie poked her head out of the living room.

“Hey you.” He sighed. “I thought you’d still be asleep.”

“I woke up and you weren’t there.” She was still in the same clothes she’d slept in, and had clearly been crying. Her eyes were bloodshot and the rest of her face was a blotchy pattern of deathly pale and puffy from the tears. “You left and I thought maybe you were just saying things yesterday to calm me dow-”

“Woah, woah woah.” He cut in before she could talk herself into a spiral. “I went to get you your coffee.”

“You did?” She breathed.

“Yeah, see, it’s right here.” He held up the cup holder with the two paper coffee cups in one hand. “And Angie and Kate asked if you were okay, and gave me a whole bag of pastries when I said that you’d had a rough few days. I didn’t give them any details, but they still wanted to help you feel better.”

“That was kind of them.” She said slowly, like she was unsure of what was happening.

“Yeah, it was. I was thinking we could sit in bed all morning and just eat as much of this as we wanted.” Reece said. “Maybe watch one of your comfort movies?”

“Is that all?” Marjorie asked. “You don’t… you don’t wanna ask about what happened or anything?”

Marjorie wasn’t exactly short, but dressed in Reece’s T-shirt she looked tiny. The clothes swamped her, her hair was undone and hung in her face, and, with her bloodshot eyes and without any makeup on, she looked much younger than she was. Her usual air of self confidence, not enough to be cocky but enough that she didn’t tend to doubt herself, had completely evaporated and she suddenly seemed wary of everything, almost scared.

“I mean, you can tell me.” Reece said. “But if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to tell me.” He emphasised. “But I’m not going to ask you to tell me anything before you’re ready. You don’t exactly seem…” He searched for the word. “You’re not okay. And that’s fine, I don’t expect you to be. But I don’t want to push you and make it any worse.”

“It’s all buzzing around my head and I can’t think about anything else but the fact I’ve been horrible to you recently, and I’ve put you and everyone else through this huge trauma and it ain’t fair on any of you but you won’t talk to me about how you feel and I didn’t even think about what I was doing because I didn’t think anybody would care and I just wanted my dad to tell me everything would be okay.” She rambled, tears started to stream down her cheeks again. “And I just need to get it out so I can breathe.”

“Okay.” Reece nodded. “So let’s sit down, have our coffees and some food, and get it all out, yeah? We can do that.”

“Yeah.” Marjorie breathed. “We can do that.”

-3:42 pm-

“Who’s that?” Marjorie asked as the doorbell rung, looking towards the front door from their makeshift picnic on the living room floor.

“Uh, Charlotte.” He looked at the doorbell camera on his phone. “With Mia a good few steps behind her, saying something that she doesn’t seem to be listening to.” He put his phone in his pocket. “She text earlier asking if you were okay and if you would be up for visitors, but I didn’t reply.”

“When earlier?”

“When I was getting coffee.”

“Almost six hours ago?” She asked. “No wonder she just turned up.”

“And Mia is definitely telling her they should go.” Reece pulled his phone out again.

“We should probably let them in.” Marjorie pushed herself up off the ground. “Before they start fighting.”

“We don’t have to. I can just tell them to go away from here.” He suggested, waving the phone.

“Reece Knight, those are our friends.” She playfully scolded him. “I’ll be okay, I think Mia’s probably already filled in a lot of the details and Char’s not the type to press.”

“Mia probably has.” Reece sighed, rolling onto his knees and standing up. “I’ll get it.”

“I’ll put the kettle on.” Marjorie pushed herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly.

Reece trudged his way over to the door, unlocking it and opening it slowly.

“Urgh, finally.” Charlotte sighed. “What took you so long?”

“Baby, he didn’t know we were coming.” Mia reminded her. “They were probably in the middle of something. We can totally go if you want.” She directed the last part at Reece.

“Marjorie’s putting the kettle on, so you might as well come in.” He stepped to the side and let them pass. Charlotte made a beeline for the kitchen and Mia shot him an apologetic smile. “You really couldn’t have stopped her?” He sighed.

“Be glad I held her off until now, she wanted to come over as soon as her shift finished last night.” Mia told him, stepping into the house. “I’ll make sure she keeps it short.”

Reece took a step back to close the door, only to be stopped by a familiar sounding yell. He tried not to groan when he saw Sorscha jogging up the path.

“Sorry, we just wanted to check in on Marjorie.” She breathed heavily. “That alright?”

“Char and Mia have just turned up, so what’s one more?” He sighed. “They’re all in the kitchen.

“One? Clodagh’s just getting Quinn out the car and I definitely ran past Viv and Shibby trying to find a parking space.” She clapped him on the shoulder as she walked in.

He waited a few more seconds, and saw Siobhan and Viv walking up to the house, hand in hand, with Carly trailing behind them.

“Hiya, we were just in the area and thought we’d pop in if that’s alright?” Viv asked.

“All three of you?”

“Jamie’s at a birthday party few streets over and Carly just happened to be walking past?” She tried, although her tone was less than convincing.

“Fine.” He sighed. “Everyone’s in the kitchen.” He stepped aside to let them in, then waited a few more seconds for Clodagh to appear.

He nodded as she walked up the path with Quinn, and just as he was about to shut the door for the second time, he heard Winter’s voice.

“Marjorie up for visitors?” He called, and Reece looked over to see him and Autumn standing behind the twin’s pram. “You wouldn’t mind if we just popped in and said hello? I know you said she was fine, but truthfully we’ve been rather anxious to see her for ourselves.”

“Course not.” He forced a smile. “Everyone’s in the kitchen.” He let them in, firmly closing the front door behind them and following Autumn into the kitchen.

He stood in the doorway, not having the space to go much further in, and watched as Autumn pulled Marjorie into a tight hug, much to everyone else’s surprise.

“What’s that for?” Marjorie asked softly.

“For scaring me.” Autumn pulled back just as quickly as she’d launched into the embrace. “I’d rather you didn’t do it again.”

“I’ll try not to.” Marjorie gave her hand a quick squeeze. “Didn’t plan it the first time, like, but I’m definitely not planning on a repeat anytime soon.”

“Good.” Said Siobhan. “Because I think all of us have issues with our blood pressure after yesterday. You gave us quite the fright.”

“I think you might be overstating it a little.” Marjorie tried to brush off. “I didn’t think anybody would really notice, much less worry about me.”

“Marjorie, just accept that everyone here cares about you.” Clodagh told her. “We were all worried sick when we heard, and even though Reece and Mia told us you were okay and never in any real danger, I don’t think any of us actually felt reassured until we walked through that door and saw you. I think a lot of us were actually quite upset we couldn’t do more to help.” Her words were met with murmurs of agreement from everyone.

“We all love you Marjorie.” Charlotte walked over to her and pulled her into a side hug. “And we’re all here for you, whatever you need.”

“Reece?” Marjorie looked over towards him, and even without her having to say it, he knew what she was asking.

“Everyone go through to the living room.” He sighed. “We’ve got a bunch of leftover pastries, and I’ll bring teas and coffees through in a minute.”