A/N - This is set before the merge. Roger and Siobhan are together but not yet engaged. Siobhan hasn't met Viv yet. Marjorie and Reece are together but obviously not yet married.
Siobhan sighed as she approached the office, wondering if she was going to be faced with Marjorie, Autumn, or both. She'd just completed a spot check over at Reece's nursery, so her afternoon task was to do the same at Marjorie's. As she pushed the office door open gently, she spotted the nursery manager immediately, sat at her desk and typing away. Autumn was nowhere to be seen, likely on a break or covering in one of the rooms. When Marjorie looked up and saw Siobhan she rolled her eyes and just for a moment, Siobhan's heart dropped slightly. So she narrowed her eyes as the brunette sarcastically welcomed her, asking what she was doing there. "I'm here to do a spot check." She could have left it at that, but Siobhan couldn't help herself from snapping "I'm sure you can't score any worse than last time." As the blonde stormed down the corridor towards the first room, she wished she hadn't said that.
Over the next few hours, Siobhan completed her various checks and observations. Once she'd finished, it was just past closing time and Charlotte was the only staff member left in the rooms. She smiled at Siobhan and said goodbye, not batting an eyelid when the blonde barely acknowledged her. Siobhan began to make her way down the corridor, dawdling slightly as she wished she had some reason to stay. When she spotted Marjorie through the open office door, still sat at her desk, Siobhan felt slightly surprised. She was sure Marjorie wasn't on the late shift, yet there she was, watching the blonde as she made her way to the front door. Before Siobhan had even processed the thought or the reason why, she found herself walking straight towards the brunette. As soon as she was stood by the desk she remarked "looks like you've managed to get your act together." Marjorie looked up at her before smiling slightly and simply replying "okay Siobhan." She stood up and continued "I'm only still here because I wanted to make sure you'd managed to get your checks done. It's late, you should get yourself home."
Marjorie had been waiting for her, simply to ensure she was safe. The realisation hit Siobhan like a ton of bricks as she opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. As the blonde looked over at the nursery manager, memories began to flood through her mind. Many years ago, before they'd come to resent each other, Siobhan and Marjorie's relationship had been entirely different. They'd been young and foolish, completing their training together and just for a little while, they'd been each other's best friend. Siobhan's hair had been longer then and sometimes, she'd allowed her natural curls to stay, not bothering to straighten them before a night out. Marjorie's style had been much more colourful, as if her larger than life personality simply couldn't be contained on the inside.
Suddenly, Siobhan sat down in the visitor's chair and blurted out "what happened?" Now, Siobhan never changed her hair, she was terrified people would think she looked less than perfect. As she observed Marjorie's mostly beige and black outfit, she was torn from her thoughts by the nursery manager's voice asking "what do you mean? What happened where?" Siobhan watched as Marjorie sat back down in her own seat before simply replying "what happened to us?" The brunettes eyes widened slightly, in all honesty, she'd long since believed that Siobhan had forgotten the past entirely. Marjorie frowned as she began to think, thoughts flashing behind her eyes at the speed of lightening.
The net of life was closing in on them and things were falling into place, whether they liked it or not. When Siobhan had agreed to date Roger, she'd hoped her life would improve somewhat. They'd never been madly in love, but he was attractive and successful and he'd helped her, offering her solace when she'd needed it most. Initially he'd showered her with gifts and compliments, but gradually the tides had been changing recently. Now he knew he had Siobhan firmly in his grasp, he was nasty and belittling towards the blonde. He was becoming increasingly rough with her and on several occasions, he'd lashed out at her physically. Roger always said sorry and Siobhan always forgave him, because truthfully, she knew she was stuck. This was her life now and although it was nothing like she'd dreamed, she'd come to accept that dreams simply couldn't come true.
