Emmerdale : Bleeding Love (Ross Barton/OFC fanfic)

That Time When... Chrissie Got One Over On Ross

Ross closed the front door on the bitter cold outside, whistling as he stamped the snow from his feet. Blowing into his cold hands he rubbed them together. A nice hot brew was in order.

It was just after one o'clock and he'd just got back from Hotten. The traffic had been a nightmare, what with all the Christmas shoppers and the snow. In the kitchen he filled the kettle and bent to take the milk from the fridge only to discover there was none. He rolled his eyes and sighed. He'd have to pop over to David's shop.

While the kettle boiled he took the small rectangular box from his jacket pocket, placing it on the counter top with a grin. Well worth battling traffic jams and flustered mothers with their buggies and screaming kids. He couldn't wait to see Ollie's face when she opened it. Then, taking his phone from his pocket, he called her for the third time that day. But, like the previous times, he got her voicemail.

"Alright, you, there's clearly something wrong with your phone. Oh, it's me by the way, your friendly village stalker and studmuffin." He rolled his eyes at the lame attempt of a joke. "Anyway, give us a bell when you get this, Ollie." He hung up, tossing his phone down just as a dishevelled Finn came trudging through the kitchen door. He was still in his pajamas and looking about as rough as Ross had ever seen him. "The state of you," he said with a smirk. "Good night was it?"

Finn shoved by him, grabbing a bowl and a box of cereal from the shelf. "Don't start, Ross. I'm not in the mood," he muttered. Opening the fridge door he sighed heavily, realising there was no milk. "Yeah, that would be how this day starts."

"I was about to go get some."

"Tell me we at least have painkillers," Finn said forgetting the cereal.

"Hungover, are we? I've got just the cure for that." Ross grabbed his younger brother in a headlock and began rubbing his knuckles, hard, over his head almost shaking the glasses off his face.

"Argh! Get off!" Finn shoved him off him and then dropped onto a stool at the counter, holding his delicate head between his hands. "Oh, make it stop...make it stop."

Ross snickered. "Were you actually bladdered last night?" His little brother hardly ever drank and when he did he only ever had a couple pints. Ross took some painkillers from the cupboard and tossed them at Finn, the packet bouncing off his chest.

With a sigh, Finn opened the packet and popped two from the strip of foil. "I only had two pints. It was just a late one, that's all." He got up to get a glass of water. "I'll be fine after some more sleep."

"Wore you out, did he?" Ross grinned, arms folded over his chest. "Hope he knows what he's letting himself in for. A life of nerdery and anime conventions."

"Shut up." Finn swallowed down the aspirin and groaned. "And it's manga actually."

"Whatevs. So who's the unlucky bloke?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Why d'you think? So I can take the mick of course."

Finn just shook his head and then groaned, realising his mistake as the hundreds of tiny splinters shot from one side of his head to the other. "I saw Ollie, by the way. You finally sealed the deal then?" He paused and shuddered. "That sounded like something you would say. I must be coming down with a virus." He went back to the stool and dropped onto it, looking and feeling mighty sorry for himself.

"You saw her?" Ross ignored his brother's idea of humour. "When?"

"This morning. Doing the walk of shame. We need to discuss installing one of those clocking in machines. The amount of women that's passed through here lately."