The Scottish Thistle and The English Rose by HaylsValo

Chapter 30: My Irish Fiends

"Hey Hen." Chibs sighed happily as Boo came into his room wearing clean clothes and looking very much refreshed; her eyes once again were bright and blue, her cheeks warm and pink in colour. She looked very much like herself again and Chibs couldn't be happier for it; he knew she was going to be okay. The evening after he'd awoken he'd sent Boo home, knowing that the only sleep she'd gotten in recent days was the few hours she'd had curled up at his side, knowing that she'd barely eaten in all the time she'd been at St Thomas. He'd had to practically beg her to go, to get herself a decent nights sleep and a decent meal in her. She'd agreed on the promise that she'd return at once if his condition changed. "Did yeh get some sleep at home, somethin' teh eat?" he asked as he shifted to the side and patted the space next to him. Boo smiled and perched on the edge of his bed, pressed a kiss to Chibs' scarred cheek.

"I didn't get much sleep... I couldn't settle without you there." she admitted. Boo had spent the night curled up on the couch with a glass of wine, a takeaway, chocolate and a pile of funny films; Tillie curled up in her lap. As the night wore on she'd found herself feeling better and better; the combination of chocolate, wine and the comedic nature of the films she'd chosen to watch loosening bit by bit, the tight hold grief had on her heart. She still ached for her lost child but she felt so much better for having gone home and taken her mind off of things. However when she'd taken herself to bed she'd found herself unable to sleep; the bed felt too cold, too big and empty without Filip at her side and no matter how much she tried, Boo found she couldn't drift off for more than a few minute's at a time. Not even hugging Tillie too her, or burying her face in Filip's pillow helped.

"Oh darlin', yeh didn't just sit up all night and fret about the miscarriage did yeh?" Chibs asked sadly, taking a hold of Boo's hand and giving it a squeeze. He'd sent her home to give her a chance to feel better; not so she'd agonise over what had happened all over again.

"No I..." Boo said with a shake of her head and an odd sort of laugh. She trailed off without finishing and fished around in her bag for a moment before pulling out a Tupperware box, a broad grin on her lips. "I spent all night baking actually... it really made me feel better." she said as she opened up the box and held it out to Filip. The box was full of muffins. Chibs didn't take one, just stared at them warily, eyebrow cocked, a smirk on his lips. "What?" Boo asked, slightly offended by how reluctant Chibs was too take a muffin.

"Yeh can't bake darlin'." Chibs chuckled affectionately with a shake of his head. His Hen tried, bless her, she really did, but she'd never been nor would she ever be much of a baker. Her cakes always ended up burnt, her cookies became shapeless blobs of uncooked dough and her pastry was always a soggy mess.

Boo chuckled too and nodded in agreement; he was right, she couldn't bake, no matter how much she wanted to be the sort of Ol' Lady that baked wonderful, delicious treats for her man. It had taken her 2 trips to the store just off the free-way, endless amounts of sugar, flour and chocolate chips and 11 attempts before she'd managed a decent batch. Boo didn't care however, that it had taken her all night and 11 attempts to make a decent batch of muffins for it had kept her mind occupied and active, had given her purpose and a distraction from her miscarriage. It had been just what she'd needed. The fact that she'd managed to do something nice for her poor Filip whilst he was laid up in a hospital bed only made her feel better still. Boo resolved to keep busy, to keep her mind occupied; it was the best way for her to get past the grief of her miscarriage and the agony of knowing Chibs was in hospital, still not well enough to come off the critical list.

"I know I can't, why do you think I was baking all night?" Boo chuckled, sitting the Tupperware box on Chibs bedside table before pulling one out and taking a bite, as if to prove that it was indeed eatable. "These muffins were my 11th batch..." she added, cheeks flaming. Her first batch had been... well, she couldn't even begin to try and describe the lump's of mushy crap that came out of the oven! The next three tries had all come out burnt, the ones after that hadn't risen... Boo was just an awful baker; but she was also determined and in the end, her 11th batch had come out quite well. They weren't anywhere near as good as Bobby's – which is what she'd been aiming for – but they were better than she ever believed she could make."I wanted to make them like Bobby's, I know how much you love them." Boo said as Chibs tentatively took a muffin and gave it a suspicious sniff. The muffins smelled rich and chocolatey so Chibs took a bite – if only to please Boo! After all she'd spent so long trying to make the damn things for him, he owned her that much. "Thought they'd cheer you up some." Boo added just as Chibs was hit with the taste of the muffin she'd made for him. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't the usual doughy, flavourless products of Boo's baking (that Chibs always tried to eat no matter how bad they looked or tasted... the things he did for love!) but a light, chocolatey muffin that, although nowhere as good as Bobby's, was still rather delicious. There was hope for Boo's baking skills yet!