Summary - Carly has terrible period cramps and the only person who is around to help is Mia. Set after Charlotte and Mia are girlfriends. This is really just Mia and Carly, I just wasn't sure where to put it, it's Mialotte adjacent 😂
Carly's stomach was hurting so badly she thought she was going to be sick. She didn't usually get period pains this severe, so she wasn't particularly good at dealing with them. She needed to go and speak to Reece to ask if he had any painkillers. It would be awkward but she knew it wouldn't even phase him, he was like a Dad to her.
As she pushed the office door open, she gasped quietly when she saw Mia sat at the managers desk. Since coming back, Mia had been around occasionally when office cover was needed. She was on the board of directors apparently.
They'd had a few interactions since then, and Mia had been nice to her, plus she'd paid for Carly's driving lessons. Despite all this, the older woman still made Carly feel nervous. She always wondered how Charlotte didn't find the red head scary, but her friend seemed more in love than ever so she obviously didn't.
"Hey Carly." Mia smiled at the young apprentice.
"Uh, hey Mia. Is Reece about?" Carly replied hesitantly.
"No Sweetheart, he's gone to a refresher course about data protection for the afternoon. What's up?" Mia was gently swinging side to side on the office chair and fiddling with a biro.
"Er..." Carly couldn't believe she'd found herself in this situation. She'd been bullied enough in school, she didn't need someone making fun of her for being in pain. "Nothing, don't worry" she turned to leave but heard Mia's voice calling.
"Why are you holding your stomach Carly? Are you feeling sick? What did you want Reece for?" Mia was nothing if not observant.
Crap, she was going to have to tell her. Carly turned to face the red head and said "I've just got...er...I've got cramps. I wanted to see if Reece had any painkillers."
For a moment, Mia didn't say anything. Carly squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she'd just walked out of the office and ignored Mia calling her back. She hated this uncertainty, yes the older woman had been nice to her recently but it was just the two of them now, no Charlotte around for Mia to impress. She winced when she heard Mia start to speak, but then she snapped her eyes open in surprise.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sweetheart. I have some painkillers you can have. Do you want to sit down? I'll get you some water." With that the red head stood up, walked around the desk and said "two minutes". As she walked past Carly she gently placed her hand on the young interns arm and squeezed it reassuringly, before leaving the office.
Carly sat down in the visitors chair, partly due to the pain and partly due to shock. What had just happened? Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when she felt Mia's hand on her shoulder and turned to see her holding a glass of water and a packet of paracetamol. She placed them on the desk, then resumed her position in the managers chair.
Carly quickly took two tablets with some water, she was desperate for this pain to subside. "Thanks Mia" she said quietly.
"That's alright. How are your driving lessons going?"
Carly looked at the older woman, surprised. "Yeah they're going good, I'm just working on my confidence on the road now."
Mia looked at Carly for a moment before smiling and replying "that's good Sweetheart." How are things going with that boy you were dating? Eric?" Carly wasn't sure if she was completely crazy, but Mia seemed genuinely interested.
"Oh we weren't really dating, just talking a bit. I think I just fancied him cos there's nobody else here my age, no boys anyway. He's a bit of an idiot to be honest. He only decided he fancied me when he couldn't have Autumn."
Mia raised her eyebrows "he fancies Autumn?".
"Yeah, well he did, I'm not sure he does now after she karate chopped him for trying to hug her" Carly giggled.
Mia laughed, clearly nobody had filled her in about that particular incident. "He should just be thankful he's still alive if he tried to hug Autumn. I'm glad you've stayed true to yourself, you deserve more than being second best. I know there's not much choice here but it's a big wide world out there. You know that one day you'll make someone so happy, don't you Carly?"
The young girl blinked at the older woman, shocked. "Er...yeah...I mean, do you think so?"
"Absolutely" Mia smiled back. She really did see herself reflected in Carly. Now that she had found Char and let her baggage go, she didn't hold onto pointless anger. She had come to feel fiercely protective over the young apprentice - partly because she wanted to prevent history repeating itself and partly because Char loved that girl so much.
Carly realised that while they had been talking, it had taken her mind off her cramps. They were less intense now, and she knew they wouldn't go away completely, but the painkillers dulled the pain enough for her to continue with her day.
"I'm feeling a lot better now Mia so I'll head back, thank you."
A couple of hours later, Mia heard her phone ping and looked down to see a text from Charlotte.
"Carly text me and told me you how nice you were to her about her cramps. Thank you for helping her like that, I love you so much xxx"
