Chapter Text
“Are you absolutely sure about this, El?”
“Yes! We’ve talked about it endlessly, and it will be fine. Mum will be so wrapped up in having me home that you being part of the deal will barely register. When we explain the alternative, she’ll be even more on board.” Elinor Campbell leant on her suitcase and just about managed to zip it shut. “Have you got all your stuff together? The Uber will be here in less than ten minutes.”
“You know I had everything packed last night, El. It’s you who’s the queen of disorganisation, remember?”
Elinor just stuck her tongue out at her friend and grinned.
“Besides, I’m not the one taking half the contents of her wardrobe home to mum for washing. Some of us actually do our laundry regularly.”
This time Elinor ignored Charlotte and heaved the heavy suitcase off her bed with a thump. Charlie straightened up from her spot leaning in the doorway and stepped aside so Elinor could wheel the case to the front door. It dwarfed the camping sized rucksack Charlotte had placed there the night before.
Charlie and Elinor had become firm friends since being placed together in a group project during their second week at university. Charlotte was quiet and rather reserved, and the more outgoing Ellie had decided to take the younger woman under her wing. Having chopped and changed her degree subject a couple of times, Elinor was an old hand at being a fresher. She knew the ropes and helped guide the younger, shyer Charlie through the early stages of being away from home and independent for the first time. When someone in Charlotte’s student housing dropped out of Uni within the first month, Elinor took the opportunity to move in with her new friend and away from the boring folks she had been sharing with.
As they got to know each other better, the two students realised they had a lot in common, not least of which was coming from the same home town and having medics as parents. They bonded over being children of divorce, although Charlotte’s experience was far more recent and was still something of a sore spot. Talking through the various disappointments, hurts and perceived slights helped them both put a lot into perspective. Charlie’s tales of being estranged from her mum for so long because her dad had twisted the truth about many of the reasons behind the divorce hit home with Ellie. She began to realise that her dad had done some very similar shit over the years and had helped drive a wedge between Elinor and her mum.
When the Christmas holiday loomed closer, they had begun to make plans. Charlotte wasn’t talking to her dad, angry as she still was over his lies and manipulation. Elinor’s dad and stepmum were away on a cruise; Edward had invited Ellie along, but it would have meant missing a ton of lectures. It would also have led to yet another year where she wouldn’t see her mum for Christmas. Once upon a time, Elinor would have jumped at the chance of a holiday abroad, Uni and Serena be damned. Now though, she made the more mature decision to turn the invitation down and return to Holby for the winter break.
During their discussions, Charlotte had let slip that her mum lived in a tiny one bedroom flat, and she always felt guilty staying with her. Bernie would absolutely insist on Charlie taking the bed, while she slept on the pull out sofa bed. Her mum’s back wasn’t the best, and although she would flat out deny it, Charlie knew that Bernie suffered from sleeping on the thin and unsupportive mattress. Upon hearing this, Elinor decided that Charlie would stay with her at Serena’s.
“There are two spare bedrooms, Chaz. Two! Why kick your poor old mum out of her bed, when there are two going begging at mine? I’ll give you a spare key and you can come and go as you please. It makes perfect sense. Also, if it turns out your mum is working all over Christmas, she’ll feel less guilty if she knows you’re with me.”
After some mild badgering, Charlotte had given in, and agreed to stay with Elinor. She had been pretty uncomfortable with the last minute news that Ellie’s mum wouldn’t be getting any kind of heads up that she was getting an extra house guest, but there wasn’t much she could do about it by that point.
“The Uber is a couple of minutes away, let’s get this lot outside, shall we?” Elinor closed the app and put her phone in her handbag.
Heaving her rucksack on her back, Charlotte opened the front door and stepped out into the hall. She walked the few steps to the lift and pressed the call button while Ellie wrestled her case out of the door and locked up behind her. Here goes nothing, thought Charlie. It would be the best part of a month until she’d see her own front door again. The flat she shared with Elinor and two other girls had quickly become home, and she would miss it.
The lift doors opened and they stepped inside. The first leg of their journey back to Holby had begun.
***
The cab driver had pulled up in front of the house indicated by Elinor. The exterior of the large, detached house strongly reminded Charlotte of the home she grew up in, the house that her dad now lived in alone. She’d always been a bit embarrassed bringing friends over because it was so dark and old fashioned and everything had just been so… so brown . Her dad had refused to redecorate, so inside was exactly as his mother had left it. They had moved in after her paternal grandmother had passed away, and it had always felt weirdly like she was still there. So much of Granny Dunn’s stuff was left in situ - all the furniture, pictures, ornaments and knickknacks, and the massive, glass fronted cabinet full of old china. Somehow, she didn’t think Elinor’s mum’s place would be anything like as dreary.
“Looks like she’s home,” Elinor said, pointing at the car parked on the driveway. “She must’ve had today off, ‘cos she rarely used to get out of work before six or seven o’clock, never mind this early in the afternoon.”
They approached the front door, and Charlie felt a renewed wave of nerves and shyness wash over her. She tried to reassure herself that if Elinor was completely wrong, and Ms Campbell didn’t want an unexpected house guest, she could always stay at her mum’s either way. She had a key, and Bernie’s earnest assurance that Charlotte was always welcome to use it, without question.
She watched as Ellie vigorously pressed the doorbell. A minute later, the door was opened and a woman to whom Elinor bore unmistakable resemblance came into view. The slight frown on her brow almost instantly turned into an expression of surprise and joy at the sight of her daughter.
“Elinor!” gasped Serena, as she gathered her unexpected visitor into an enthusiastic hug. “Why didn’t you say you were coming? I could have picked you up at the station.”
“Surprise!” Ellie did a little jazz hands. “This is my friend and flatmate, Charlie. It’s cool if she stays, right?”
“W-well…”
“Brill. C’mon, Chaz.”
At that, Ellie breezed past her mum into the hall. Charlie smiled awkwardly at Serena and held out her hand. She could feel her face flaming in embarrassment.
“Hello, Ms Campbell, I’m Charlotte Dunn, pleased to meet you.”
Serena’s face softened at the obvious shyness and discomfort of her daughter’s friend. She could only imagine how often Charlotte must get steamrollered by her own, far more exuberant offspring.
“Welcome, Charlotte. Come on in, and please, call me Serena,” she shook the young woman’s hand, before grabbing Ellie’s case and dragging it inside. Because Elinor had just left it there on the doorstep, of course she had.
“I assume this might as well go straight to the utility room, Elinor?” Serena waved a hand at the case.
Ellie at least had the grace to blush, and she nodded.
“Take it through, please. And you, Charlotte, did you save up your washing in anticipation of bringing your laundry home to mother?”
Charlotte looked mildly horrified at the idea.
“No! Not at all. Even if I was at Mum’s, I wouldn’t…” she trailed off, not wanting to throw her mate any further under the bus.
“Leave your bag by the stairs for now, Charlotte and come through to the kitchen. I’ll put the kettle on.”
They followed the sound of Elinor’s case wheels rumbling along the hardwood floor into the large and homely kitchen. It was warm and inviting and smelled amazing. The air was full of the aromas of spices and garlic.
“You timed your arrival well, girls. I’ve been having a batch cooking marathon today so you have your choice of bolognese, chilli or chicken curry for dinner.”
Serena told them, as she made tea, that as she’d had a couple of days off, she was cooking up a storm, to refill her freezer. Cooking for one on a daily basis was tiresome, but there were only so many ready meals and takeaways she could put up with.
“You’re in for a treat, Chaz, mum’s cooking is brill. Shame I take after dad in that arena. As you well know, I could burn water.”
“Talking of your father…” Serena raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Abroad. What’s your mum’s cooking like, Chaz?” Ellie diplomatically changed the subject, knowing her mum tried not to talk negatively about Edward within her earshot.
“She’s amazing. Used to drive dad mad though. She’d come home and as soon as she settled back in and slept off the jet lag or whatever, she’d make amazing feasts for us. The trouble is, she’s not the neatest person ever, and dad would go nuts about the state of the kitchen. She would clean up after herself, but he still hated it.”
“Jet lag?” Serena asked.
Charlie went on to explain that her mum had been a surgeon with the RAMC and had spent a lot of time away in war zones. Serena smiled to see the obvious pride on her face.
“Yeah, her mum is a proper war hero, with medals and everything. You can bond over tales of blood and guts when she comes over for Christmas. It is okay if we invite her over isn’t it? We thought it would be nice to have a cosy family get together.”
Charlotte was embarrassed that her friend had yet again broadsided Serena by assuming she’d be okay with random people coming into her home. Sure, they had discussed asking Bernie to join them for at least a celebratory meal at some point. She hadn’t expected Ellie to throw it out there quite so soon, however. Especially right on the tail of Serena discovering she had an unexpected extra houseguest over the winter break.
“Of course it’s okay, the more the merrier, etcetera. Your parents wouldn’t prefer to have you at their home for Christmas though, Charlotte?”
Between them, Elinor and Charlie explained about the divorce and that it was far from amicable, and that Charlotte wasn’t currently talking to her dad. Ellie earnestly told Serena about Bernie’s tiny flat and the sofa bed situation, hence Charlie staying with them.
“He’s a scumbag, mum! Took Chaz’s mum for every penny in the divorce by being a lying arsehole. She’s living in a shitty little furnished flat and locumming all the hours god sends, to try and get her life back together.”
“Elinor!” Serena exclaimed.
“What? Chaz and I have talked about this loads of times, obvs.”
“Do you also think it ‘obvs’ that she wants details of her mother’s private life spewed out to a perfect stranger?” she asked her daughter, with a raised eyebrow.
“Well no, I suppose not. It’s just… it’s just I feel bad for her. She’s your age, mum, and…” Ellie broke off and sighed. “I dunno, men being dicks and taking advantage rubs me the wrong way. Chaz and I have talked a lot about stuff, mutual therapy sessions, we call it. I’ve come to realise that Dad was a total dick to you loads, and I kind of helped him.”
Needing a bit of space, Elinor stood and walked over to the hob full of simmering pans. She lifted the lid of the closest one and began to stir the contents.
Serena looked at Ellie’s back, slightly stunned at what had just been said. While Serena loved her daughter with all her heart, she was under no illusions about how bratty and entitled she had been for so many years. Being constantly spoiled and indulged by Edward had made him by far the favourite parent. The fun parent. Serena on the other hand was cast into the role of the joyless disciplinarian. Never mind that it was the Bank of Serena that was financing her university career. Meanwhile Edward was apparently too busy paying for holidays for him and his child bride to spare any money on the practical aspects of their daughter’s life. Serena stood and went over to Elinor. She laid a gentle hand on Ellie’s shoulder, and when she turned around, gathered her up in a big hug.
Charlie looked on, enviously. She knew that her own mum loved and adored her, and would walk over hot coals to keep her safe. The knowledge of how badly Bernie had been hurt by Cameron and herself siding with their dad during the divorce, and writing those damned statements against her, still filled Charlotte with shame and remorse. One thing Bernie wasn’t good at, however, was physical affection. You could literally see in her eyes when she was calculating whether or not she should offer a hug. Charlotte had taken to administering frequent, random and unexpected cuddles to her mum whenever they spent time together in the hope that Bernie would realise that a hug from her was never unwelcome.
As the evening progressed, Charlie fully relaxed. It was impossible not to, in the face of the genuine warmth of the Campbell household. Both the bricks and mortar home and its owner. As she had expected, despite the distinct similarities between the external appearance of her childhood home and Ellie’s, the insides were poles apart. The guest room she had been given was painted a cheerful canary yellow and in spite of Elinor describing it as ‘like sleeping in a butter dish’, Charlie loved it. Her bedroom back at her dad’s had been decorated in what she could only describe as sludge green. She had begged and begged her dad over the years to repaint it, and had even saved up her pocket money at one point to pay for it herself, but he had always refused. Although she loved the flat she and Ellie were living in, it was the almost inevitable magnolia throughout, and while it was a million miles better than green, it was a bit boring. Serena’s home had gorgeous splashes of colour everywhere, and Charlie was in love with the house.
The fact that Serena had been so welcoming, had also helped Charlie settle in. She had seemed so unphased by the unexpected appearance of not only her daughter, but the extra stray friend that had been part of the deal. By the time she and Serena were cleaning up after dinner while Ellie had been folding the first load of her clean laundry, Charlotte felt like she’d known the older woman for years. Maybe it was something about the familiarity of a surgeon’s precision and economy of movement, she had wondered, before dismissing the idea. It was just that Serena was such a lovely, warm and friendly person. She desperately hoped her mum and Serena got on. Bernie could really do with someone like Serena in her life.