Emmerdale : Bleeding Love (Ross Barton/OFC fanfic)

That Time When... Ollie Returned To Emmerdale

PART TWO

Almost five weeks after leaving Emmerdale, and two weeks before Chrissie and Robert's wedding, Ollie made her return to the village.

The original plan was to come back just for the wedding, but after spending Christmas at home she found herself feeling restless. Her work at the surgery wasn't giving her the fulfillment it once had. It felt like she no longer had anything in common with her friends. Her quiet little flat was too quiet. She didn't belong in Chelsea anymore. The list was endless. The last time she felt this unsettled was immediately after her father had died and she had taken refuge at her sister's home in Emmerdale.

She tried to shake off the restlessness and the nagging doubt, and tell herself it was just the January blues, that it would take time to readjust after being away for so long, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with Ross Barton or the fact that he had called her almost every day in those first few weeks.

Well, not much to do with that anyway.

The phonecalls had stopped, eventually the texts too. After three weeks of trying he finally gave up the ghost and she found herself missing the notifications that popped up on her phone. But not as much as she missed the nights on his sofa watching football and drinking beer; and the silly random conversations about nothing in particular. The spontaneous deep moments when they had opened themselves up to each other. She even missed his sarcastic sense of humour and his ability to make her smile by saying the most simplest, often ridiculous of things.

But most of all...most of all...she missed him.

It had been wrong leaving the way she had. No word. Nothing. He hadn't deserved that. They had spent a wonderful night together and the next day she disappeared like it meant nothing. When it meant everything.

Even so when she decided to return to Emmerdale she told herself that the main reason, the only reason, was Chrissie and the family. Because in truth, she had missed them too. Family was important to Ollie and as hers was slowly dwindling, living in London so far from Yorkshire was no longer an option. She needed to be close to her sister and nephew.

After finalising her father's affairs and paying Mark his fee she said goodbye to her old life. Of course Mark had tried to talk her round, but she could never take him back and he finally realised that now. She worked her notice at Jason's surgery and even made the bold decision to list her Chelsea flat as for sale. She still hadn't gotten round to selling the family home, a lavish eighteenth century mansion on the outskirts of Surrey, and she doubted she ever would. It was the last piece of her father. She wanted to hang onto that for as long as possible.

Naturally when she had turned up at Home Farm the night before Chrissie had been shocked but overjoyed to see her, she hadn't told her she was coming, and the sisters had hugged and cried in the vestibule for a good three minutes before Lachlan told them to "stop being such babies and come inside".

That next morning, after the best night's sleep she'd had in a long time, Ollie came downstairs, her nose following the delicious aroma of smoked salmon and eggs.

Lawrence must be cooking up a storm, she thought to herself.

Entering the kitchen she stopped in her tracks and though surprised, smiled at the sight of her sister in front of the AGA. It wasn't that Chrissie couldn't cook - she could, and very well - it was just often enough she chose not to. But today was clearly a special occasion. Pulling out a chair from under the table Ollie sat down.

"Am I in the wrong house?" she asked as she reached for the cafetière.

Lachlan, who was halfway through a bowl of cereal, looked up with a grin. "Either that or you've entered a parallel universe where mum's been replaced with a Mary Berry android," he told his Aunt.