Winter2112Rose

Royal Sussex Lodge- Sussex Coast - England - June 2019

*The Next Morning*

Beep…Beep…Beep…

Oh, for fuck's sake, shut up!

Henry winces as the sound of a loud alarm wakes him from his semi-peaceful slumber. Although he wasn’t entirely sure how much sleep he had been able to get once Hope had finally drifted off in his arms, on the sofa, in the early hours of the morning. Not that it was much later; he had set the alarm for five.

In his sleep-filled haze, the familiar scent of coconut fills his nostrils, and it dawns on him exactly how he is lying. He is still in the position that he and Hope had lain down in after they had drunk their hot chocolates and discussed the nightmare Hope had woken up from. He had suggested she try and go back to sleep, but she had refused, finally agreeing to rest on Henry’s shoulder.

She had eventually drifted off, and Henry had laid them on the sofa, not wanting to risk disturbing Hope whilst she slept. Neither had moved in the night, their empty mugs still on the coffee table and Hope still lying in his arms.

Henry goes to reach over with his left arm, which had been resting over Hope’s stomach, when he realises that he has a bigger problem than the bloody awful alarm. Before he has a chance to work out how to deal with it, Hope lifts her arm over her head, to where her phone is lying on the small side table, hitting the snooze button on her phone, and sleepily lays her body back onto Henry’s arm.

Another whiff of Hope’s coconut-imbued hair fills his senses as she shifts her hips, curving her bottom downward, accidentally skimming over his morning erection. Henry tries desperately to stop the moan that threatens to escape, biting his bottom lip in an attempt to stifle the sound. He attempts to shift his body away but worries if he moves too far or too quickly, he will risk waking Hope.

It had been far too long since he’d woken up with a woman in his arms, and the innocent movement had gone straight to his groin.

“Shit! I’m sorry, Hope.” Henry tries to move his hips into a more appropriate position and away from where it was pressing firmly into Hope’s hip.

“How long was I…” His words fade as he gestures towards the predicament.

“Probably a couple of hours; I’m not sure.” Hope mumbles sleepily.

Henry had expected her to have more of a reaction, and the lack of one adds confusion to his embarrassment.

“It doesn’t matter, Hen. You have nothing to apologise for; it’s a natural male reaction.” She reassures him.

“Please, get that look of horror off your face. Let me move back a bit, and I can grab a cushion if that will make you feel more comfortable. Or leave it and stay as we are. I honestly don’t care either way, Hen; you’re only here because I had a bloody nightmare. We wouldn’t even be in this position if it wasn’t for me being stupid.” Hope rambles, a sad tone to her voice as she turns her head away, her long hair hiding her face.

Henry lifts his hand and places it under her chin and turns Hope’s head gently to look at him, resting her head in the crook of his arm.

“Look at me, Hope.”

She finally lifts her eyes to his, and Henry sees unshed tears in her emerald orbs.

“Nothing about your nightmare, or your reaction after, was stupid. In all honesty, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.” Henry tries to reassure her, rubbing his thumb over her chin.

“Are you suggesting that my meltdown was normal and that Rebecca did it too?”

Henry didn’t have an answer. In truth, he hadn’t got to know Rebecca half as well as he’d already got to know Hope.

“Truthfully, I don’t know how Bec dealt with her scenes with Matt. She wasn’t one for sharing her feelings with me. Secondly, she had her husband and son with her. I'm sure they were plenty enough comfort and distraction for her, even if she was affected by her scenes with Matt.” He and Bec had gotten along well; however, they never spent time together outside of their work environment alone. She had a young son to see too and a husband to support her. They went out as a group with Matt, but they were nothing more than friendly colleagues.

“So, you're saying because I’m a lonely singleton and don’t have the distraction of a family, that’s why I had nightmares? That’s the kind of thing my mother would say.” Hope snaps in reply, sounding annoyed, and Henry sighs.

The strong, happy Hope he had been getting to know the last several weeks was starting to disappear before his eyes as a protective shield had surrounded her overnight, and it surprised Henry how much that scared him.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I…” Henry pauses as he feels himself torn between comforting Hope and feeling embarrassed due to his still-present erection that was still pressed against Hope’s hip.

There was little space for him to move his crotch and lower half of his body back without falling off the sofa. His two choices, neither of which were appealing options, consisted of pulling completely away from Hope when she needed support or leaving himself pressed against her. Either could be the wrong option, and he wanted to start the morning without trying to offend someone, especially if the someone was still distressed about the night before.

“I’m sorry, Hen.” She reaches out and rubs his bicep. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just embarrassed that you had to see me like that. I don’t even know why I was screaming out in the first place.”

Henry runs his hand over her cheek in a gesture of comfort, turning her face to look at him.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about; you had a nightmare, and you were terrified. You didn’t even know you were crying out. I’m just glad I heard you and could be there for you. No one should go through anything like that alone.” He moves his hand away from her face, and Hope reaches out, placing her fingertips lightly over the scratch marks on his left cheekbone.

“Shit, Hen! Your face…” Hope pauses as her eyes flicker to Henry’s forearm, where another set of scratches etch his skin. “I can’t believe I did this to you. I’m so sorry.” She moves her hand to rest it over the two scratch marks on Henry’s forearm.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. It’s nothing Joss can’t fix with a bit of makeup.” Henry tries to reassure her, pressing a kiss on Hope’s forehead.

“Do you think it might be an idea to have the morning off? Get some more rest or go do whatever it is you do for relaxation. No one is going to think any less of you if you need a few hours away from the intensity of what you and Matt are filming.” He glides his free hand over the side of Hope’s head to brush some unruly strands of her long blonde locks off her face.

Hope shakes her head against his palm.

“We are barely back on track with filming since I arrived. I'm not going to interrupt our very tight schedule because I had a nightmare. I’ll be fine.” She drifts her fingertips over Henry's scratch-covered cheek.

“Okay. But you make sure you tell Matt if things get too much on set. He’ll back you, should you need a break.”

Hope nods at his words as he removes her hand from his face and kisses her knuckles.

“I need to sit up; my shoulder is cramping.”

Hope bolts up off his arm, pressing herself further into the back of the sofa.

“You should have said. Sit up; I'll massage it for you.” Hope offers, sitting up, trying to make space for his broad frame.

Henry moves forward, allowing Hope to shuffle back and lean against the arm of the sofa. She kneels, and Henry sits cross-legged in his boxer shorts, his erection finally starting to subside, and he feels Hope's hands on the lower part of his right shoulder blade, working her way up.

“I’ve been brought up with firefighters. They’ve always said direct contact for a muscle massage is best. So if you don’t mind, can you take your vest off, please?” She requests softly.

He removes his grey vest with a wince and drops it onto the lounge floor. He hears Hope rubbing her hands together, probably trying to heat them.

“I apologise in advance if my hands are still cold.” She places both her hands, which are surprisingly warm on his aching right shoulder, and starts roaming her hands up and down the shoulder blade slowly, and Henry relaxes into Hope’s soothing touch.

“Not too cold?” She asks softly into his ear.

“No, you're perfect.” Henry murmurs, as he lets out a soft groan, not realising his slip in words until it’s too late.

Hope doesn’t correct him and continues to massage his shoulder thoroughly, kneading the whole area, pushing her fingers and knuckles into the skin, trying to loosen the aching muscles.

Henry isn’t sure how long Hope massages him for, but after a while, she stops and pats him on both shoulders.

“How does that feel?” She asks.

Henry turns his head and looks over his shoulder at Hope.

“It feels so much better; thank you.”

“I can do more if you need it. I don’t want you injuring yourself on your run because of me.” Henry moves out of Hope’s touch and turns around to face the blonde properly.

“I always make sure I warm up before my run. If I pull anything, it will be my fault, not yours.” Henry reassures Hope, giving her an unfocused smile as they sit a little further apart. Henry puts his vest back on as Hope leans over and picks up both pairs of glasses, passing Henry’s to him.

“Thanks” He puts his on, as does Hope.

They smile at each other as their faces come into each other’s focus. They both had long-distance vision issues and wore contacts whenever filming, and sometimes Hope wore her glasses during their early morning breakfast in the restaurant. However, they had both become so comfortable in each other’s presence that they wore their glasses whenever they spent time alone together.

“Would you like a lift to set later?” Hope offers.

Henry stands, and Kal trots over to him, pressing his nose into Henry’s legs. Henry suspected he wanted his breakfast.

“I’m finishing before you tonight. I’ll take my car, but thanks for the offer. I’ll see you later, and remember, if things get too much, tell Matt and the team you want a break. Everyone will understand.” Henry rubs Kal’s head gently, and Hope stands and walks over to them.

“If I need a break, I will tell them, I promise.” Hope replies.

“Thank you for being here for me last night. I do appreciate it.” She bites at her bottom lip, still embarrassed, and Henry pulls Hope into a tight hug, her head resting on the middle of his chest.

Henry places his index finger under Hope’s chin and makes her look at him. His blue orbs scanned her green ones to make sure she was okay to be left alone. Once he has convinced himself it is indeed okay to leave.

“Text or call if you need me. Any time, Hope. I don’t want you to be alone if you’re still having nightmares or even think you might have one. I don't care what time it is. I can’t hear you scream out like that again. You scared the crap out of me.” Henry sees Hope’s eyes try to dart away from him, still embarrassed about what had happened the night before.

“That’s very kind of you, Hen; thank you, and I will. Now, go and enjoy that run of yours.” Hope pats his chest.

“See you later, sweetheart.” He kisses Hope’s cheek.

Henry moves from Hope’s embrace and unlocks the front door; they wave their goodbyes, and Henry and Kal go back to their cabin.

Royal Sussex Lodge-  Sussex Coast - England - June 2019 

*A Few Days Later*

Henry stretches out onto his back, rolling lazily from the middle of his double bed onto his side. He’s greeted by the sensation of something hard and moist prodding the hairs on his forearm: Kal.

“Go back to sleep, Kal. You’ve only just been to the toilet.” Henry mumbles sleepily as he tucks his hand under his pillow to join the other.

Just as the feeling of sleep starts to wash over his body, he hears Kal let out a loud whine, followed by the mattress dipping and Kal’s snout prodding forcefully into his right cheek, and he lets out another whine.

“What’s got into you, Kal?” Henry groans, removing his hand from under the pillow and placing it over the soft dark fur on Kal’s head.

It's then Henry hears the noise of what sounds like someone or something crying outside. He assumes that it could either be the wildlife or possibly a member of the ‘Pursued’ crew's child waking from a nightmare. Henry reaches over to pick up the small alarm clock on the bedside table, ‘02:13’. He sighs, placing it back down and rolling onto his back again. He feels Kal’s nose prod his arm again, and he looks down at his dog's face.

“Go back to sleep, Kal.” Henry rubs Kal’s soft fur on his cheek, trying to reassure him that everything’s okay.

As Henry closes his eyes, he hears the clear sound of a woman screaming. The noise causes Kal to let out another, much louder bark before Henry has a chance to digest what’s happening. Kal is up on his front paws, pushing them into Henry’s bare chest. Henry moves up the mattress to make space for his dog, who lets out another, louder howl. Staring directly at Henry, who is far more alert.

Henry manages to manoeuvre a worried Kal off his body and rolls him to the other side of the bed. Kal gives him another nudge to his torso with his snout.

“Alright, Kal, I’m up!” Henry glares at his boy, taking Kal’s not-so-subtle hint, and quickly grabs his glasses, placing them on the bridge of his nose.

Sitting up further, he reaches over to the end of the bed for the grey vest he had placed there before falling asleep. Putting it on, he grabs his key passes and mobile and makes his way along the small walkway to the sitting room of their cabin, an alert Kal at his side.

Henry hears the words “Get off me,” and he instantly knows who the clear and distinctive voice belongs to… Hope.

Kal lets out another bark, and a sense of fear rushes through Henry’s body. In a fit of panic, Henry and Kal are out of their front door; he jumps the waist-height wall and, rather worryingly, manages to shoulder barge Hope’s front door open with ease.

“Hope!” Henry shouts, concern dripping from his voice.

With no lights on, he jogs through the lounge area of Hope’s cabin purely by memory. He goes through the small hallway, following the sound of Hope’s screams, not giving a second thought to what he is about to find. Henry flings the slightly ajar door open with his shoulder and rushes into the dark room. As he enters, his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room; the only light coming through the cream curtains is from the dull white street lamp outside the large window situated high above the head of Hope’s double bed.

Henry's eyes go wide in horror as he sees Hope thrashing around in the bed. She was having a nightmare. Her arms waving around erratically as the rest of her body thrashes side to side.

He moves swiftly to her. “Hope!” Henry calls out, to no avail.

“GET OFF ME!” She screams out, and the sound makes Henry wince.

Henry places his hand on Hope’s shoulder. A gesture he instantly regrets as Hope’s body continues to writhe. He winces as her fingernails scrape down the skin of his cheek, leaving scratches down his face. Thankfully, her fingers miss his glasses and eye. 

Before he has a chance to grab for Hope’s flailing hands, her nails rake over his forearm and deliver another set of scratch marks. With the feeling of blood dripping down his face and arm, Henry grips her shoulders more firmly.

“Hope, wake up! It’s only me; it’s Henry!” He tells her, as she lets out another slightly softer-sounding whimper.

“I need you to wake up, Hope.” He shakes her shoulders a couple of times, and Hope finally opens her eyes; through the soft illumination of the street lights, her deep green orbs focus on his soft blue ones.

“Henry…?” Hope mumbles in a sleep-filled haze.

“I’m going to switch the lamp on.” He reaches over and flicks the switch; the warm light brightens the room, and he can now see Hope’s tear-stained face.

“What happened?” Hope asks, her voice still full of sleep and rough from her terror.

 Henry decides to not sugarcoat the situation and tells her the truth.

“You were having a nightmare, screaming out loud.” He sees the realisation of what Hope had dreamt flooding her memory, and the look of horror washes over her petite features.

“Henry… I…” He hears the sadness and hint of terror in Hope‘s voice as her breathing comes out in hard, short puffs.

Henry does the only thing that comes to him instinctively. He bends his knee so he is further up onto the bed and reaches out, lifting Hope’s slight frame by her shoulders, and once the duvet and sheet fall from her shaking body, he wraps his arms around her. He rests one hand just above her bottom and places the other around her shoulders. He pulls her to the warmth of his chest, and her arms snake around his waist as they share a tight hug.

A few minutes pass, and he feels Hope start to calm and pull away from their embrace. It’s then Henry remembers he hadn’t arrived at Hope’s alone, and the sound of Kal barking and clawing at the front door can be heard.

“Shit! I left Kal outside!” Henry looks at Hope, unsure whether he should leave her. The decision is made for him when she shoves his shoulder.

“Go… Go and bring him in. I’ll meet you in the lounge. I’m just going to freshen up.” She whispers, tears still falling down her face.

Henry gets up, fighting the urge to wipe away the tears awash on Hope’s cheeks, but jogs back through the cabin for Kal instead. He opens the front door to be greeted by a concerned-looking Kal, who nudges straight into Henry’s legs.

“Daddy’s sorry for leaving you. I had to make sure it was safe.” He bends down to rub around Kal’s face.

He taps his leg, a sign for the dog to follow him into Hope’s lounge. Closing the door and breathing a sigh of relief when he sees his breaking and entering had not damaged the door or its lock. He switches the lock back over, and the sound of Hope’s gentle footsteps captures his and Kal’s attention. The latter charges up to the blonde and jumps up, nearly knocking her over.

“Kal, get down, right now!” Henry calls out, giving the large Akita firm instructions in a stern tone.

Kal obeys his command and goes back down onto all four legs before he starts looking and sniffing Hope a little more gently. Hope pulls her attention from Kal to look over at Henry.

“It’s okay, Hen. I woke you both with my screams. If I worried you enough to break in here, I probably scared Kal too.” She breaks eye contact with him to look down at Kal, as she gently strokes him.

“I’m sorry if I scared you and Daddy. I had a silly nightmare, but everything’s okay, I promise.”

Henry watches with caution to make sure Kal behaves. Hope stands and pulls down the side of her pastel green spaghetti strap pyjama top, which for the first time he notices has coloured images of the Disney Lion King characters. The printed pictures of Simba, Timon and Pumba and the tiny black and green striped shorts are somehow very Hope. Hope turns her attention away from reassuring Kal to look back over at Henry, and he sees her eyes flicker with an expression of what looks like hurt and guilt.

Hope walks the short distance towards him, Kal walking protectively alongside her.

 “Shit! Hen, your face.” She reaches out, her fingers ghosting over the scratches.

“I’m so sorry.” Hope apologises, more tears spilling from her watery green orbs.

It’s there and then, Henry decides seeing his new friend cry was one of his least favourite things to witness.

“I’ll go and get the first aid kit; take a seat. I'll be back in a minute.” She gestures solemnly to the sofa, then turns, walking away and heading back through the hall to the bathroom. Kal, following closely behind her. Henry knew Kal could sense Hope’s sadness, and after hearing her scream, he was now in ‘guard mode’ around her.

Henry sits on the sofa, eyeing the marks on his left forearm, blood oozing out of the scratch marks caused by Hope’s fingernails. They didn’t look pretty, but he doubted they were deep. He hears the sound of Kal’s nails tapping the thin carpeted floor, and Hope and Kal soon reappear back in the lounge. Kal follows the blonde protectively, looking around their surroundings in case anything could cause her any further upset.

Kal could not understand; it was a dream and nothing physical that had caused her to scream out.

Henry sees that Hope washed her face and brushed her long blonde locks that had slightly curled at the ends, most likely the result of thrashing about in her sleep. She pushes her glasses further up her nose and places the green first aid kit on her lap.

“I’m so sorry, Hen. I can’t believe I made you bleed.” She says, guilt seeping through her voice. Henry watches as she opens the first aid kit, picks out an antiseptic wipe and rips the seal. She reaches for his left arm, and he lets her lift it, placing it across her lap. Hope then glances between his scratched and bloodied arm and up to his bleeding face.

‘It’s just a couple of scratches, Hope. I’m fine.” He squeezes her knee trying to ease her anguish. “All that matters is that you’re okay; these will heal quickly; don’t worry.”

She looks up at him, a look of sorrow in her eyes.

“It’s going to sting. I’m sorry.” Hope apologises, placing the moist antiseptic wipe over his bloodied cheek. The antiseptic stings slightly, but he doesn’t wince, not wanting to distress Hope at the thought of hurting him further. She gets a second wipe and rubs it over the scratches on his forearm, and the sting is sharp but brief.

“They’ve stopped bleeding. Would you like plasters on them?” Hope asks in a sleep-filled murmur and starts rummaging through the first aid kit.

“No. It’s better to let the air get to them so they heal quicker.” Henry explains in equally hushed tones, tiredness beginning to creep into his body.

“I’ll just get rid of these, and you can head off. I've disturbed you and Kal’s sleep long enough.” Hope says sadly as she looks down. The lack of eye contact saddens him, and he looks down in an attempt to control his facial expression and not frown.

Henry watches as Hope picks up the first aid kit and the used supplies off her lap and stands. He reaches out and takes hold of her wrist and looks up at his co-star. He wonders what kind of man she thinks he is that she thought he would leave her alone.

“Hope, do you really think I’m going to leave you alone after what I’ve just witnessed?” He sees her bite at her bottom lip as she fights with her emotions.

“And I doubt that I’ll be able to prise Kal away from you for at least an hour until he’s convinced you’re safe and okay.” Henry nods towards Kal, who is already up and standing next to Hope, ready to follow her wherever she is heading next.

“Thank you.”

Henry lets go of her wrist and gets up off the sofa to stand next to Hope. “You get rid of that, and I’m going to make us some of that hot chocolate. I know you’ve got stashed in your cupboards.” He rubs a hand up and down her bare arm.

“Then, if it would help, we can talk about whatever it was you dreamt about. That caused you to scream the way you did.” He continues to rub Hope’s bare shoulders. She nods in agreement, and he removes his hand and walks through to the dining area. He turns to see Kal follow her into the hallway, knowing that she is safe with Kal as her shadow. Henry heads into the kitchen to make the hot chocolate.

Hope wraps both hands around her half-drunk, warm chocolate as she watches Henry take another sip of his. She could feel the slight awkwardness that had built between them since they had sat themselves down with their chocolaty treat, almost half an hour earlier. Hope is still quiet due to the overwhelming feeling of embarrassment, and she suspects Henry’s quietness is most likely due to the uncertainty of whether he should say anything to her about how he had found her a short while ago.

Hope looks up from her drink as she feels Henry’s blue eyes watching her; he had done that several times since they had fallen into their silence. Now, with her emotions slightly more under control, Hope finally feels ready to talk.

“You know, it’s okay to ask me, Hen.” She whispers, still mortified at what had occurred. She watches as Henry lifts his eyes from staring into his cup, turning his head to look at her. A sense of guilt washes over Hope yet again at the sight of the red scratch marks on Henry’s face.

“I shouldn’t have said we should talk about it, Hope. It’s none of my business, but if there is anything I can do to help you, or if talking about your nightmare helps, then I’m here to listen. Please, don’t feel pressured to tell me if you’d rather not.” Henry speaks with such sincerity in his voice it almost makes her cry again.

“It’s just a dream. My mind overreacted.” She explains, looking down abashed about the situation she currently finds herself in. 

Hope knows there is no easy way to bring up the content of her nightmare, so she does the only thing she can, and that’s to be truthful. Praying she doesn’t make a complete fool of herself. She takes a sip of her drink and swallows the warm liquid down.

Finally building up enough courage to share the contents of her nightmare.

“I dreamt I was bound with a chain and locked to a wall. I was naked and bleeding, being pushed down with a large hand around my neck, squeezing my throat… I…I couldn’t…” She could feel her voice waver and her hands begin to shake.

This was one of her biggest fears: not being able to keep her emotions under control. From her bowed head, she sees Henry’s hand reach out and take the mug from her unstable hands, placing it on the coffee table.

“Take your time, Sweetheart.” Henry reassures her with his relaxing, deep baritone voice, offering her a sense of calm.

“There was a man. Not Matt.” She emphasises the ‘not’, glancing at Henry, wanting to make it completely clear that their co-star was not the perpetrator in her dreams; Henry simply nods, so she continues.

“He forced himself on me, hitting me, scratching me. Then whilst he was raping me, he was choking me, and I…” She pauses for a moment, trying to remain composed.

“I know it was a dream, but I couldn’t wake up, and I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t fight him off. I felt like I was passing out… I was so scared….” She hears the sob leave her body before she has a chance to stop herself.

“What can I do, Hope?” Henry asks, his voice breaking through her sobs.

“Hold me.” Her voice is barely audible as she repeats the words Henry had said to her only a few weeks earlier.

She feels Henry’s strong arms wrap around her shoulders, and he pulls her into the warmth and safety of his equally muscular chest.

“Is this okay?” Henry checks, and an emotionally drained Hope can only nod into his chest.

The dark hairs that were poking out the top of his vest, pressing into her right cheek, added their own comfort. Hope feels Henry run his hand up and down the small of her back as his other hand plays with strands of her loose hair.

“It was a cruel dream.” Henry speaks in hushed tones, his hand rubbing in large circles. “Sweetheart, I promise you are safe, and Kal and I will be here with you for as long as you need.” At the sound of his name, Kal’s warm nose brushes against her shin, which is dangling down the side of the sofa.

“It’s okay to cry, Hope.” 

Hope, unashamedly, lets out a sob.

“You’ve filmed in three weeks what Matt, Bec and I filmed in five months, and for me that included the luxury of filming Enola and a week’s break over Easter.” Henry says as he continues to rub her back.

Hope takes a deep breath, trying to focus on the relaxing sound of Henry’s voice.

“You’ve not stopped since you auditioned. You’ve hardly had time to memorise the script before you started, let alone process its content. I think you’ve earned the right to have a good cry. Just let it all out, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” Henry’s tone and words offer Hope such comfort that she releases the wave of emotions from the shock of her nightmare out in small sobs.

Lake in Sussex Park - Sussex Coast - England - May 2019- 

Henry looks around his surroundings, taking in the picturesque grounds. The lush green leafy trees and the many colourful flowers, which were immaculately pruned in inch-perfect rows, brightened up the simply named ‘Sussex Park’.

The mid-morning sunlight was sparkling on the dark blue water of the lake, the very same lake that had been the setting of his meltdown a little under two weeks before. Henry realises the park is even more beautiful in the daylight. He makes a mental note that it would be a good spot for an early morning, fasting run before work.

Once they find a quiet spot near the lake's edge, Henry halts Lucy, Kal and himself, turning his head to look at Hope.

“Will here be okay, sweetheart?” He checks, wanting to make sure the area is suitable to keep Grace’s pram secure.

“It’s perfect, Hen.” Hope gives him one of her comforting smiles.

He turns his attention to the little girl, whose dainty hand is enclosed in his much larger one.

“Luce, do you remember what Auntie Hope and I said about our trip to feed the ducks today?” Henry asks, crouching down, resting on the toes of his flip-flop-covered feet. Bending his head down, his brown curls fall over his forehead as he makes eye contact with the toddler.

“Yes. When near the water, hold yours or Auntie Hope’s hand, and no wiggling.” Lucy reaches out her hand, placing it onto Henry’s forehead, moving an untamed curl out of his eyes, making his heart melt at her sweet gesture.

“Thanks, Princess, and that’s right. You must hold our hands or stay in our arms and not wiggle.” Henry bops her button nose with his index finger and gives her a proud smile.

“Okay, Henry.”

Henry stands and takes hold of Lucy’s hand again. The five of them make their way over to a bench close to the lake, where the ducks are happily swimming. Once they reach the bench, Lucy finally sees the ducks in her line of sight.

 “Duckies, duckies!” Lucy points with her hand, jumping with excitement.

“Well done finding them so quickly, Lucy.” Henry hears Hope say as she stands to the right of the bench. He lets go of Lucy’s hand and quickly ties Kal’s lead around the wooden arm of the seat.

“Sorry, Kal, but no running around for you yet. Daddy promises you can play ball once we’ve got the work done, buddy.” Henry tells Kal, rubbing both hands over his black fur, and gives the top of his head a quick kiss before standing back up.

He places his large hand against the back of Lucy’s soft, long brown curls, and the little girl lifts her head, moving her head backwards to give him a toothy grin, which he returns.

“You need a hand, Hope?” Henry looks over to where she is bending over the back of Grace’s buggy, looking like she was rummaging for something.

“Found it!” Hope blurts out with a triumphant tone to her voice. She stands back up, waving their work phone in her right hand, a smile on her lightly glossed lips.

As usual, Felicity had allowed them to wear their own clothes, and Joss had styled and done Henry and Hope’s hair and makeup. Joss had also dressed the girls, readying them for their weekly outing with Henry and Hope. With the weather slightly warmer than their previous few outings, everyone was dressed in outfits suitable for the changing weather.

Even Hope was attempting to embrace the warmth. Almost; she was still well covered, clad in a longline v-neck showing off the smallest hint of her breasts, a pair of jeans and finished off with the pastel pink cardigan that she had worn for the promo pictures to keep the chill of the summer breeze off her arms.

Henry had learnt over the last few weeks that Hope felt the cold, no matter how warm the weather seemed. Which, in all fairness, was not a surprise to him. Hope was what he would describe as petite and slim. Roughly eight and a half stone, if he guessed from the number of times he had picked her up for various scenes, and one of them had been with the largest of the prosthetic bumps on. 

He suspected she had a high metabolism, probably from the physicality of performing in six or seven shows a week on the West End. One thing he had learnt in his short time of getting to know his new leading lady was that she's a woman who loves her food. He just wasn’t sure where she put it all!

Henry and ‘his girls’, as he referred to them, make their way to the edge of the grey stone-covered walkway at the side of the lake. Reaching the edge, he crouches down with Lucy standing between his spread light blue denim jean-covered legs, his hands resting on her tiny hips.

“Baby Duckies, baby duckies!” Lucy squeals as she points to a line of ducks. One larger than the others, most probably the father according to his green head and yellow beak, was leading the line.

“You found them so quickly! Well done, Princess!” He tilts his head to look directly at Lucy’s beaming face.

Henry glances up and sees Hope holding their work phone and knows she’s capturing the moment.

“Can you count how many baby duckies there are?” Henry asks, and Lucy’s curls sway as she points at each of the baby ducks, counting them out loud.

“There are six baby duckies,” Lucy informs them as she continues to point at them. “And two big ones.” She turns her head to the side, her big blue eyes connecting with his. “The mummy and daddy duckies.”

“That’s right, my clever princess.” Henry praises his fictional eldest.

As Hope films himself and Lucy, Henry makes sure he does not call her by her real name. Instead, using ‘Princess’ made the interaction look more like one between father and daughter and not one between an actor and an on-screen child, without having to bother Lucy to do any actual acting.

“The Daddy one is swimming to the back to see he has not lost his babies.” Lucy observes, excitedly pointing to the Daddy duck.

“Look, Luce, they are coming over to say hello. Do you want to throw some grapes to them?” Henry is distracted by the sound of Hope’s voice calling the little girl by her given nickname; he turns his head to look at the blonde, who was holding out a small bag of green grapes they had gotten from the studio restaurant.

“Yay, feed the duckies.” Lucy claps her hands together with excitement.

Henry takes the bag out of Hope’s outstretched hand, swapping it into his right hand and placing it on the ground. He pulls a couple of the chartreuse-green grapes off the bunch and holds them out for Lucy to take. She smiles and takes a grape out of his hand and throws it into the water; the family of ducks eagerly swims towards them.

“It reached them.” Lucy turns her head to look at him, and he smiles at the proud little girl.

“Throw some more, Princess, so they all get one.” Henry moves his elbow up slightly, so it rests on his knee, making it easier for Lucy to take the grapes from his hand.

Lucy happily throws the grapes into the lake for the family of ducks. Henry turns his head to glance at Hope, who is still filming the interaction between them on the phone, and smiles at her. Although there was no acting required from Lucy, Henry and Hope had already told her on the way to the lake that it was ‘Fictional Family Day’ and that he and Hope would need to refer to themselves as ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’ when they did some filming.

“Etta-Pops, say hi to Mummy.” Henry says, kissing the top of Lucy’s brown curls.

That was something they both had matching more than ever today. Joss had decided to let Henry’s soft chocolate curls be free, adding little product, apart from the very front, where she had twisted in some tamer to control the curls out of his eyes. He had to give it to Joss; she had promised that if he kept his curls long, she would keep them under control, and she had kept to her word. This, apart from his time filming ‘Night Hunter’, was the longest he had gone with his hair this length since his days on ‘The Tudors’. He was starting to embrace them, and he wasn't alone. Whenever he, Hope, Matt or the team posted pictures on Instagram, all the fans seemed to love his long hair just as much as he did.

“Hi, Mummy, we’re feeding the duckies!” Lucy says, and Henry’s smile widens.

“I can see, Etta. You’re doing a very good job, sweetie. Do they like grapes?” Hope asks as she squats down, cradling Gracie to her chest, using just one arm.

Lucy nods at her Auntie Hope’s question before picking up another grape out of Henry's hand and tossing it into the lake.

“Grapes are their favourite, Mummy.” Lucy sways from one foot to the other; luckily, Henry’s large hand is still on her tummy, keeping her steady.

Henry lifts his hand holding the grapes and places one into his mouth.

“Grapes are Daddy’s favourite too.” He chews with a big grin on his face, causing Lucy to turn and hit him on the chest with her small hand, a gesture she had seen Hope do on more than one occasion, taking him by surprise.

“Grapes are not for Daddy; they're for the duckies!” She gives him what Henry can only describe as a telling-off look. Although, he wasn’t sure if Lucy knew that was what she was doing.

Luckily, Henry doesn’t have to think of a response, as Hope quickly intervenes and plays off Lucy’s comment.

“You’re right, Etta. Grapes are for the ducks, not for Daddy. If Daddy eats too many grapes, he won’t have any room for ice cream.” Hope teases, and Henry sees a mischievous look sparkling in her deep green orbs.

“Daddy can always make room for ice cream, and if he can’t eat a whole one, he will…” Henry pauses their ad-libbed conversation, eyeing Hope up over the lens of the camera, and places his hand over the hand Hope is holding the phone with, changing the angle of the screen so he can see the side of their faces.

He removes his hand and scans Hope’s face, glancing at her lips and looking back, his sky-blue orbs making contact with her deep green ones. Without words, he can tell Hope understands his intentions.

“Just eat some of Mummy’s.”

Keeping his hand on Lucy, he glances down with his eyes to make sure Gracie is resting securely in Hope’s arm, against her chest, and moves in towards Hope. Placing his left hand onto Hope’s hip and pressing his mouth against her lightly glossed lips, their mouths work together with ease as they share a surprisingly heated kiss. After a few moments, he feels Hope pull away slightly before giving him another quick peck. Henry opens his eyes to see Hope’s green ones sparkling back at him.

“Sorry, I had to pull away. The angle was giving me an armache.” She explains apologetically.

“No problem, sweetheart. You want me to check the footage?”

Hope passes him the phone, and he scans through the camera roll and plays back the last piece of footage.

“How’s it looking, Hen?” Hope asks softly as he continues to look at the footage; as the short piece of film ends, he locks the phone and looks at Hope with a smile.

“It’s perfect.” He passes the phone back to Hope.

They both stand, each with one of the girls in their arms.

“Who wants ice cream?” Hope asks, looking at Henry and Lucy.

“Me!” He and Lucy say simultaneously as he lifts the girl above his shoulders and tilts her upside down over his back. He feels her little hands hit his shoulders.

“Henry, nooooo!” She squeals through giggles.

 “Did you hear something, Auntie Hope?” He asks Hope, who is suppressing a giggle, trying not to laugh at his and Lucy’s antics.

 “No, I don’t think I did.”

He continues holding a wiggling Lucy over his head.

“Raspberry time!” Henry exclaims, lifting Lucy back over his head, putting her tummy level with his mouth, and starts blowing raspberries on Lucy’s tummy, making her giggle hysterically.

After a short while, he lifts her away from his face and places her back onto her little feet, and she starts prodding him in the knee.

“Bad, Henry,” she says through giggles.

“Come on, you two, ice cream time before Gracie needs a feed.” Hope shakes her head at their antics, putting a stop to their silliness.

Hope puts a sleeping Grace back into her pram, and Henry unties Kal, and they head to the ice cream vendor to choose their treats.

“Gracie needs big feeds now, or she’ll start crying. Mummy says she’s a little piggy like Daddy.” Lucy blurts out in her toddler honesty, making Henry laugh as he puts his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

“I do hope Mummy says that to Daddy’s face.” Hope replies through her own giggles as she looks at him with a cheeky glint in her green eyes, evidently enjoying the idea of her best friend insulting her cousin.

Henry grins as he observes his biggest girl speaking with his middle one. He pulls his eyes away from the adorable interaction to take a peek at Grace, who was in her pram having a nap. Kal, resting beside her, was on guard for any unfortunate birds that dared to venture too close to his second favourite human, or she might be his first; the honour of the title seemed to flip between the baby and Lucy on an almost daily basis.

In the short space of time since the now fourteen-week-old Grace had been back on set full-time, a little over three weeks. She had changed so much from when Joss and Will had brought her and Lucy to the set, introducing the ‘Pursued’ cast and crew to its newest cast member when she was only two weeks old.

Henry had been terrified of holding a newborn, although he had several nephews. He hadn’t been around in those early weeks of their lives, so Grace had been his first proper experience of being around a newborn. Rebecca already being a mother to her six-year-old son had meant she’d been a pro and had handled Grace with ease. He couldn’t believe that in three short weeks, not only how much Gracie had grown but also how confident he had become in holding her. He was even becoming an expert at winding the baby, much to Joss's delight!

At the sound of Hope and Lucy’s giggles from the wooden seats, he turns his head away from admiring a peaceful Gracie and focuses on the interaction of his other two girls.

“Auntie Hope, can I try your ice cream?” Lucy looks up to her aunt with a small pout on her vanilla ice cream-covered lips.

Despite Henry and Hope’s offer of assistance with her small one-scoop tub, she had insisted on feeding herself, as she is ‘a big girl’ now. Henry watches as Hope bends her head slightly to talk to her eldest niece.

“You can try, Luce, but I’m not sure if you’ll like it. Not all adults like it, so only a small mouthful, okay?” Hope explains, referring to her mint choc chip, single scoop in the small pink container, as she puts a tiny amount onto her spoon and places it into Lucy’s waiting open mouth.

Henry reaches for a wet wipe in the box on the dark-grey wooden table that he had placed in preparation for the ice cream and pulls one out in case Lucy doesn’t like the flavour. Lucy shakes her head in surprise at the taste, and Henry leans his arm over the table, expecting her to spit it out; however, she smiles.

 “Auntie Hope, that’s yummy, but I like ‘nilla!” She gives Hope a toothy grin, much to both adults' relief.

Henry pushes the wet wipe back into the box and closes the lid before going back to his tub of peach and vanilla ripple, a little ‘cheat treat’ to himself.

Although he went for a fasting cardio run most mornings. Getting up between four and five in the morning, depending on his call time, to make sure he fit a workout in, with the only exceptions being if a shoot went into the late evening. He would swap his run to the following evening.

For ‘Pursued’, he was not required to be in the peak condition that he’d been in whilst filming ‘The Witcher’; however, he found it easier to maintain his physique than having to start again for his more physical roles and with the amount of nudity that was required of him in ‘Pursued’. It was a good excuse to maintain his toned body. The only problem was that he loved sweet foods, ice cream being high on that list. So treating the girls to ice cream is a good excuse to treat himself too, and the refreshing taste of the peach ice cream was delicious.

Henry picks up the ‘work phone’ off the table and quickly takes a couple of pictures of the interaction between the girls.

“Auntie Hope”. Lucy mumbles as she licks her spoon clean of her vanilla ice cream and starts digging the spoon back into the small container.

“Yes. Luce?” Hope turns and tilts her head to look at the toddler.

“Mummy said, ‘Now Gracie is bigger, we will film in the nursery,’ but we can’t film in there; everyone won’t fit.” Lucy tells Hope, putting another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

“No, we wouldn’t fit in Gracie’s room at home, but we have a nursery on set in the big rooms, so we can all fit in there. Even our giant Henry.” Henry raises his eyebrows at Hope’s words as Lucy giggles.

“Giant Henry? I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a compliment or an insult, Sweetheart.” He gives his on-screen wife a questioning look.

“You take it however you want to, Dimples.” Hope gives him a wink as she consumes the final spoonful of her minty ice cream and sucks the sweet mixture off the plastic spoon, removing it with a loud pop.

“Minx!” Henry shakes his head at the younger woman, who winks at him.

“Will I get to see the nursery?” Lucy asks, and Henry nods at the little girl.

“Yes, you will, Luce. You’ll be filming in the nursery with us before you leave with Mummy and Gracie later.” Henry tells his little princess with a gentle tone and a soft smile, purposely showing off his dimples, which he knew his biggest girl liked so very much.

Henry notices Hope go to speak, but she’s interrupted by the sound of murmuring coming from Grace in her pram. He leans over and peers into the pram and smiles, seeing a newly woken Grace, blue eyes peering up at him, her legs kicking at the yellow blanket that he had swaddled her in once they had sat down after getting their ice cream. Henry reaches into the pram and rubs the baby girl’s tummy.

“There’s my beautiful little princess. Did you have a nice nap?” He asks as the baby wiggles her legs more and lets out little gurgling noises.

“Think that's our cue to head back, Hen?” Hope half asks, half states, and Henry pries his eyes away from the wiggling blonde baby and looks up at Hope.

“I think so.” He agrees as he continues tickling Grace’s tummy.

“Right, my beautiful fictional family. It’s time to make our way back; actual work is beckoning us.” He and Hope both stand, and Henry watches as Hope helps Lucy off the bench.

“Which do you want, Hen, the buggy or Kal and Luce?” Hope asks him as she picks up her white denim jacket off the handle of the pram and puts it back on.

“Whatever’s easiest for you, sweetheart.” Henry replies casually as he gives Kal a quick stroke.

“Do you mind if I take our biggest Munchkins?” Henry lets out a small laugh as he picks up Kal’s lead from the ground beside where Kal is sitting.

“Of course.” Henry watches as Hope picks up the pack of wet wipes and puts them in the bottom of Grace’s pram. Hope stands and takes Lucy’s right hand into her left, and they walk around the table and pram to stand in front of Henry and Kal.

“Shall we let Kal play ball on the way back, Hen?” Hope asks him.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? It will probably be a good idea to tire him out a little; he’ll be easier to boss around whilst filming.” Henry asks, and the petite blonde smiles at him.

“Of course, I don’t, and I do have the perfect little person to assist me.” Hope glances down to Lucy, who is chatting away to Kal, her small hands rubbing the white fur around his neck.

Henry bends down, reaching for Kal’s ball, which was in the bottom of the pram, and passes it to Hope, who had unhooked Kal from his lead. She wraps the thick rope material around one of the handles on Grace’s pram and bends over to talk to the large dog.

“Now, handsome, we’re going to play ball, and you’re going to be my bestest boy and bring it back to me and your favourite human every time, okay?” Hope explains to his boy, and at the words ‘favourite human’, Kal nudges his black nose into Lucy’s tummy, who uses her free arm to hug the dog around the neck. Henry smiles at the interaction between his boy and his on-screen sister. Hope gives Kal one final affectionate rub and stands up.

Henry bends down and peers into the pram to double-check on Grace, making sure she is okay, and then moves to the back of the pram, taking hold of the handle.

 “Lead the way, my ladies.” He bends over, doing a dramatic mock bow, swaying his arm underneath him, causing Hope and Lucy to burst out laughing.

“Henn...err...ry, you’re silly.” Lucy spills out through her giggles, which in turn sets Hope off into another giggling fit.

“And you’re a very cheeky little princess.” Henry leans over to tickle the toddler, who squeals with delight. He straightens up and sees Hope smiling at him.