Gary Leonard Oldman

It was the delicious smell of bacon frying that woke her that morning, softly nudging her out of a very deep sleep and into the land of the living. Her dreams seemed to disperse the moment her eyes popped open, but that was the usual these days. With a brightening smile stretching across her face, she pulled back the duvet and swung her legs over the edge of the bed before standing, stretching and padding on down the stairs to the kitchen.

She shared her home with her husband, Caleb, a man who in a million years she would never have believed she'd end up with, mostly because of the way she felt about herself and her own shortcomings. Helene believed that he was the best thing that had ever happened to her and every bit of that belief couldn't be more true.

Caleb had come into her life in a bit of a helter-skelter sort of manner and was a complete shock to her system, but he soon managed to win her heart and after a long time trying to prove himself sincere, the two finally became inseparable and couldn't be happier together.

As soon as she steps into the doorway, she is swept off her feet as he pulls her into his arms and gives her a spin or two, pressing his lips against hers in what was one of many passionate kisses he has blessed her with since they first became an item. Her eyes fluttered closed and she melted into it immediately, grasping his shoulders as he lowers her back down to her feet and asks if she's hungry.

' Bacon, eggs and fried bread, wasn't sure if you wanted any beans so I didn't cook any, but the eggs are nice and runny so it won't be too dry, ' he tells her, smiling from ear to ear.

' I'm perfectly okay without the beans, Cae, no worries. It smells absolutely amazing in here right now, ' she beams, returning his smile and tipping her head to one side as she follows that on by asking what the meaning is behind such a delightful wake up call on this bright summer morning.

' I figured since we've both been so busy with work and everything lately.. and we missed both our birthdays, we should have a joint day of celebration today to make up for what we missed out on.. so I took the liberty of ordering in some cakes for us to try and they should arrive promptly around 11pm, ' he says.

Helene watches him in awe for a moment, just taking in the pleasant emotion of having found such a kind, generous and thoughtful man to call her own, whom has gone out of his way to make a very special day even more special, by cooking her breakfast as well as ordering in some fine delicacies for them to test out later on. Tears begin to pool slightly in her eyes as she allows herself to think more about this and her heart swells with an abundance of love for him, she could never really put it into words. Caleb notices the tears building of course and he starts to panic, only for Helene to raise a hand and let him know right away that there is no need for him to fret, as she sniffles and pulls him into another embrace.

' I couldn't have found a more wonderful man to spend the rest of my life with, ' she boldly states, though the pair of them haven't even discussed weddings or the like at all in their relationship yet.

The sentiment of her words seems to steal his breath from his momentarily, before a stray tear trickles out the corner of his eye and her squeezes her tighter in his arms, placing a kiss to her forehead and rubbing his nose gracefully against her own while swooping in for another kiss. It was a kiss that both assured her and confirmed that he felt exactly the same way as she did about their lives together and there was nothing that could ever take that away from them.

' You make me the happiest I've ever been in my life, button. I don't want you to ever forget how important you are to me or how much I treasure your love and your loyalty, ' he whispers, pulling her toward the kitchen table so he can go about dishing up the breakfast he had so lovingly prepared for them.
 

' I feel exactly the same way, Cae, you have no idea how much, ' she smiles, adoringly, watching him flutter about the kitchen counter and adding each item of food onto their plates before bringing both over together and taking a seat directly opposite her. There are already glasses of juice on the table, as well as a pot of tea and two of her favourite floral patterned teacups.

Helene lifts the teapot to pour both of their warm drinks as Caleb picks up his knife and fork to dig straight into the eggs and bacon, chopping it into equal strips so he can place it accordingly on a piece of the fried bread and take a great big bite, the happy sound leaving his mouth soon after being one that amuses her enormously. She elects to first have a sip of her juice, noting that he had chosen a juice of the mixed berry variety, which was extra refreshing as soon as she swallowed it.

' I hope you like the breakfast, but I also hope you like the cake flavours I picked for us. I wasn't sure which to choose from, so I picked the box with the most options. I think there's lemon, vanilla, chocolate, coffee and also rainbow sprinkles, just to spice things up a little bit, ' he says, fairly proud of himself as he chews another mouthful of egg.

Helene takes a forkful of egg, bacon and fried bread, chewing slowly to savour the taste and smiling brightly at him as soon as the remains are gone from her mouth.

' This is gorgeous, thank you for breakfast, honey. I woke up with a grumbling stomach this morning and this is exactly what I needed. The cakes sound delicious, too.. think I'm gonna try the lemon and the rainbow sprinkle cakes first, ' she says, suggesting they bake a full size cake of whichever one they like the most once the box is finished.

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Very short and sweet because I'm zapped for energy, but I may add on to it in the coming days

Thank you so much for sharing this video with me! always love finding out new things about where my bestie is from also that sweatshirt has been the best thing in my life that I own and I very rarely am not wearing it. I wear it at least every other day unless it's being washed and then I have to wait a few more days... but when I'm not wearing that, I still have the Jurassic Park shirt which is now very moth-eaten and well loved <3 <3

I am so very sorry this has taken me so long to respond to! I've been pretty unwell over the last few weeks as you know, but I do recall I said I'd read this piece already and would be responding as soon as possible, so I feel extremely guilty that this is such a late review! Initially, I got a little bit of ' emotional whiplash ' reading it for the first time and again just now, I got the same, aha. It reminds me vaguely of the handful of times my brother got a little too violent. Most recent being last summer, where he pushed me so hard into the bathroom door as I moved by him that my head bounced off of it and I saw stars, so that was a little wake up call for me. Reading this actually put it into perspective a little more because thus far I'm bowing to the fact that my mum and brother both just keep trying to keep me quiet about it and that it's ' been too long now to tell anyone ' and ' it wasn't that bad ' as they like to say about most of those incidents. You've actually described things incredibly well, lots of vivid detail and it has produced an even deeper loathing of Frank Flannery which I never thought was possible, but this piece has definitely achieved that! Helene is livid with the man, as is Harvey and of course, Joseph. I feel like at some point I would try to pen a drabble in which Frank and Joseph meet, perhaps a time after Colleen had been beaten by him and Frank had stormed out of the house in a huff to go drink in a local bar; I'd have Joseph pop over just for a visit but he finds her in such a state. I really love what you've done with this one and I hope she never has to deal with Flannery again, ever, he is a vile human being.

I am genuinely without words for this piece given the emotion used and the clear display of real life events that have been going on over the months leading up to this being written ❤ I felt every bout of heartache every single one of them was going through in this drabble and that's hard to bring forth in writing, to such an extent that you feel it impacts you on a deeper level just from reading it. I haven't read a piece like this in a long time but it highlights the grieving process and touches on it so tenderly and beautifully, I don't think I have read work from any other writer whom has been able to achieve the same thing while simultaneously taking great care in doing so. My favourite aspect is the way you have written the eldest son into this, his manner of grieving is the one I can relate heavily to and I found a lot of joy in the very end and the way you finished off this emotive piece ❤ I am thoroughly tempted to write something connected to my grandparents as a result of this. I don't think I ever had the confidence before.

I just noticed that I seem to have the same emotions with all of the pairings you have for Colleen, but he is definitely in the number two spot, right after Cage, because since you started pairing her with Donnelly, it's been a wave of feelings every single time I get to read a drabble about the two and I'm smitten with the love they have for each other. It's so horribly sad to hear that they've lost so many little ones, though. I hope this baby is perfectly healthly and free from all possible health risks because they absolutely deserve to be gifted something so beautiful as raising a child - one that will live a long and happy life. I adore how Jack has taken time off work to care for her now he knows this and that he will be enlisting the help of Jackie, too! I'm excited to read more about Col's pregnancy and the birth of their baby.. also patiently awaiting Jack's choices for names as well!