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Their summer holiday plans had to change… their original plan had been for all of the group to go to Ibiza for a week for a week of sun, sea and partying but after Sophie had taken a tumble during a night out and broken her wrist, she was not allowed to fly and so their plans had to change.
Sophie had been devastated that their plans had to change and she was ruining their big summer holiday plans.
It was the first time they were all going abroad together, the whole of their friendship group was going and it was right at the start of the summer, as their exams ended, their first and second years were done and it was during the time off Peter and Bea had from their placements.
She’d tried to tell the rest of them to go without her, even Benedict, but he wasn’t going anywhere without her, he’d said hell would freeze over before that would happen, and Pete had admitted he was only going because everyone else was and he didn’t really fancy Ibiza and so they decided they’d cancel the holiday, get their money back and look for somewhere together towards the end of the summer before they would all return to Uni.
Sophie had been really looking forward to a holiday, she’d worked really hard during their first year and after her and Benedict’s fight, she’d been looking forward to a week away together in the sun.
She felt miserable as she sat on the edge of her bed at Uni, the pain still fresh in her wrist as she looked at her newly casted wrist “I’m so sorry. I’ve ruined everything” Sophie said to Benedict
“Hey, it’s okay, we’ve all tripped and fell before” he said to her softly
“Yes but somehow you’ve not broken a single bone and this is the second time i’ve broken this wrist…” she huffed
“Well the first time wasn’t your fault and this was barely your fault… it was Lucy and Kate’s for giving you tequila…” Benedict said. He was still fuming with the girls for letting Sophie get that drunk but he knew he would get over it soon, she wasn’t really badly hurt, just a few bumps and bruises and a broken wrist.
Her surgery for it, had been hell waiting for news that she was okay.
But Benedict knew he was going to have to do something to cheer her up as she was miserable, over the next two weeks when the group confirmed they’d been able to cancel the holiday and get their money back, Sophie felt really bad about it all because she’d known how much they’d all been looking forward to it.
They had found an alternative for later in the summer and booked a huge cabin by a lake in Scotland and had all planned to travel up for a week of relaxing, BBQs and just spending time together in the wilderness but she knew it wasn’t really the same.
So Benedict decided to plan something else for him and Sophie. Kate and Anthony had booked to go away for a week to Greece. Henry and Peter were going to Italy and a few of the other couples had planned to go away but Sophie knew she was stuck, they couldn’t fly anywhere…
But Benedict had other plans, he knew she couldn’t fly but he spoke to her Uncle Charles about the possibility of driving her to France and taking her to Paris for a few days, the drive was doable, they could stop on the way down and spend an evening north of Paris before a few days in Paris then moving to see her family in Reims.
He’d kept it a secret from her for a few weeks until the week before he’d planned it all, he’d even got the time off work for her.
They were back home in Kent so they were back working at the Original Crabtree’s and Alice, John and Peter were all in on the surprise and had arranged the week off without telling her and Benedict hadn’t told her that he’d arranged all of this as a surprise so when she’d seen the rota for the week she was going to be on holiday with no shifts, she’d been confused.
Alice had emailed it over to her and she’d been sitting with Benedict finishing her reading on some animal care ready for next term whilst her father was away working on a trial in Newcastle.
“I think Alice has made a mistake with the rota for next week…” Sophie said as she looked over it.
“Huh what do you mean?” he asked her, a little smirk on his face. He’d been planning to wait til the last minute to tell her about it.
“Well she’s not given me any shifts… I know i’m not doing as many with my wrist but I can manage the till and speaking to customers, me and Pete have had a good little system going on” she said
“Oh well, no I don’t think it is a mistake…” he grinned at her
“But I didn’t ask for the week off… she’s literally given me nothing… and she never gives me nothing… I need to call her…” Sophie said going to get up.
“You didn’t ask for it… but I did” he grinned at her as he watched her pause getting up from the sofa
“Wait… you… why? We’re… we’ve not go plans for next week” Sophie said
“We do… I just… was keeping it a surprise” he grinned at her as she whipped her head around to look at him shocked
“Keeping What, a surprise? You don’t keep things from me! How have you managed this…?” Sophie asked, looking bewildered.
“With a little help from some friends and some family… but we’re going on holiday on Sunday so you needed to have the week off” Benedict grinned “Pete, Alice and John helped me with it at your work, Kate and Charles have helped me plan it”
“But I can’t fly, it’s why we didn’t go to Ibiza…”
“We’re not flying, we’re driving…” he grinned, waiting for a moment and her confusion as she was wondering where the heck they were going for a week before adding “to France…”
“FUCK OFF!” she yelled in sheer shock. “Please tell me you’re not teasing me! Please tell me you’re being serious!?” she said “if you’re teasing me i’m going to kill you…”
Benedict laughed and leaned over the sofa and picked up the envelope that he had stashed in his coat and handed her it. “The entire itinerary is in there” he said to her “all our tickets, hotel bookings… everything…”
Sophie blinked in shock as she took it with shaking hands “are you… you’re being serious”
“Deadly… I know how upset you were that everyone else was going away and we couldn’t because of your wrist and I wanted to do something special and since it was our anniversary a few weeks ago, I thought… maybe i’d surprise you and I know how much you love France and have been desperate to go back, it seemed like the logical place to go since I can drive so we didn’t have to fly, we’re booked on the train from Folkestone on Sunday, we’re going to stop a little outside of Paris on the Sunday night and then into Paris for a few days then down to Reims to see your family… your Uncle Charles has helped me organise it all” he grinned at her.
“Oh my god, oh my god. I love you so much!” she squealed as she threw herself, carefully into his arms and kissed him over and over again “this is the best surprise ever!” she squealed before letting go and looking at the itinerary.
“OH MY GOD YOU’VE EVEN BOOKED US ON A CHAMPAGNE HOUSE TOUR!” she squealed excitedly
Benedict grinned at his girlfriend’s excited response “Like i’d take you to your mother’s home region and not take you for a tour of the famous champagne houses”
Sophie squealed at him once more and then threw herself at him to show him just how grateful she was about her surprise holiday.
A week later, they were all packed up and in the car was ready, as Sophie had broken her left wrist she wasn’t able to drive so Benedict was going to have to do most of the driving but seen as he had the more practice, he felt confident in his ability, and Richard had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn’t bring Sophie home in one piece.
Benedict had to resist the urge to point out that out of all of them, Sophie was the one with points on her licence but the withering glare his girlfriend gave him, stopped him from opening his mouth as he remembered that her father didn’t know that she’d been caught speeding.
He didn’t really fancy travelling with an upset girlfriend so he just promised to be safe and explained that Charles had given him a lot of pointers for driving on the other side of the road so he was sure he was going to be fine.
They journey through to Folkestone had been uneventful, the roads were clear and as they were booked onto a mid afternoon train, most people were in work or in school so they didn’t have that long a wait to board the train.
Once on the train Sophie’s excitement really started “I can’t believe we’re actually going to France” she squeaked “i’m so excited!”
Benedict chuckled at her “did you think it was all some sort of elaborate joke that everyone was in on?”
“A little, it just… it’s our first holiday just the two of us! Even with my broken wrist we’re still going on holiday. I thought it wouldn’t happen” she admitted
“I saw how sad you were when everyone was booking everything and I know the cabin in Scotland will be fun but I know how little you like most of the outdoor activities they’ve got planned other than the stuff on the lake so I wanted to do something that I knew you’d enjoy” he said
“I will enjoy Scotland but it’s a far cry from the Island of Ibiza and the sun and sea that we were going to do, as lets be honest, i’m not really one for dance music and clubs” she replied
“Very true but you know what I mean, all day hikes and stuff that Pete, Ant and Kate will enjoy are not the sort of thing you want to be doing…”
“Or you” Sophie interrupted
“No that’s also true, i’m staying away from those mountains, I don’t mind a hike but not through the scottish highlands” Benedict admitted “i’ll be stopping by the lake with my beautiful girlfriend rather than traipsing through that…” he grinned
“Well she sounds very lucky” Sophie giggled “but come on then what other surprises have you got in store for me” she asked
“Well if i tell you then that’s all my surprises gone” Benedict grinned
“I know of a way that would make you tell me…” she almost purred at him
“Behave… we’re in the car on the ferry Fee, you can tempt me all you like when we make our stop for the night but not right here, there is CCTV everywhere and as much as I’d love to foot around right now… I don’t think being arrested for indecent exposure will go down too well with either of our parents…” he said to her
Sophie pouted “I guess… not sure how Dad would take that. He nearly choked when he came home and saw your naked arse at the top of the stairs sneaking into the bathroom with me… I think getting the phonecall to say I needed bailing out for being caught having sex in public might send him to an early grave…”
“Exactly, it’s bad enough my mother’s seen you naked in my bed and nearly walked in on us before, let’s not be like Kate and Anthony and have pretty much every family member having witnessed them having some sort of sex” Benedict said
Sophie shuddered at her own memory of walking in on Kate and Anthony “oh god no I don’t want that. I’m not sure how Kate faced your parents after that” she admitted
“They saw far more of Ant than Kate so I am told but yes, as much as I’d love to tick Car sex off my bucket list… maybe we can find a secluded place back home to try it rather than on the Euro Train” he chuckled
“I think that is a fair compromise but you can just make it up to me at the hotel…” Sophie beamed at him
The rest of the journey to the hotel was mostly straightforward, they disembarked and after a little bit of confusion with Benedict having some trouble reading the road signs and them talking the wrong direction, they managed to get on the correct road and to their first night on their holiday.
It was everything that either of them could have wanted.
Paris had been amazing, though both agreed they would never ever drive around the Champs-Elysee ever again as it was the most terrifying experience of their young lives and they’d been a bit worried they were actually going to die.
They did all the touristy things, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, a bit of shopping down the Champs-Elysee, visited the Louvre which ended up taking a whole day as Benedict had wanted to see everything and they spent a small fortune in the gift shop as Benedict had wanted to take everything back with him.
They’d eaten so much good food, visited Notre Dame and the Moulin Rouge but had to miss the Lido Cabaret as they were due in Reims the next day and it was a long enough drive without the late night but they vowed the next time they returned they would go to see it.
Reims had been amazing, Sophie had said it was the best part of the holiday getting to meet some of her relatives that she’d not seen for years since her grandmother had died. Some great aunts and uncles. Charles flew over for a quick visit with his family and on their second night in Reims they had a big Beckett family gathering.
Benedict felt a bit like a fish out of water as his French wasn’t as good as Sophie who was fluent in the language so spent a lot of time waiting for Sophie to translate for him, but he did his best and he loved being able to see Sophie with some of her family.
They had two more days in Reims and the area afterwards and Sophie had arranged a surprise for them on their last day and got them into the Musee des Beaux-Arts and Benedict had been a kid at Christmas, a bit like she’d been in the Champagne house the day before.
By the time they were heading back to England, they’d both had the 10 days of their lives. Spending time in the places that Sophie had been told stories about growing up and having never visited before and they’d been thrilled to do it together.
It was the most incredible experience for them both and they’d somehow managed to fall even more in love with the other, seeing them in their element and they knew France would hold a special place in their hearts and it was a place that Benedict started to consider for where he would ask Sophie to marry him.
He knew that he was going to ask her to marry him, but he was going to wait until she finished her degree. He’d already enlisted Gen’s help with the ring design and creation but wherever he decided to do it he knew it had to be perfect and magical… but he was sure that she’d say yes.
Their first holiday together had been one to remember and a one they couldn’t wait to repeat.