Emmerdale : Bleeding Love (Ross Barton/OFC fanfic)

That Time When... Defending The Circle

Just before lunchtime Finn returned home from his morning shift at the B&B. Those four hours had felt like fourteen. Val had chewed his ear off non-stop, complaining about Eric wanting to change the colour of the tablecloths in the restaurant, or...was it the curtains? He had no idea. He tuned out after the first hour and just concentrated on his job. He was looking forward to some peace and quiet before he had to go back out again. 

Closing the front door behind him he was immediately greeted by the sound of loud singing. When he walked into the living room, Ross was flat out on the sofa staring at his phone. The TV was on and tuned to CBeebies, while the Teletubbies danced around a bed of flowers, holding hands. Finn gawped at Ross, who seemed oblivious to both the racket and him. He swiped the remote from the coffee table, hitting the mute button; instantly getting his brother's attention and making him look up from his phone.

"Oi, you!" said Ross. "I was watching that."

"No, you weren't, you were staring at your phone," said Finn. He tossed the remote at his brother and moved into the kitchen to fill the kettle for a much needed brew.

"I was checking my phone," Ross corrected. "There's a difference."

"Surprised you'd even hear it anyway above all the singing about sunshine and digging for worms."

"Naww, you still upset because they outed Tinky-Winky?" Ross said with a pout. He snickered. "You need to let that one go, kid. Seriously."

Finn dropped a teabag into his mug with a little more vigour than he intended. "Dipsy was your favourite, wasn't he? The stubborn, sarcastic one who doesn't play well with others."

"Yeah, but I always had a bit of a secret crush on Laa-Laa if I'm being honest."

"The drama queen of the group. Oh, wait, that one works, too." Finn heard his brother snort and waited for the comeback, then grinned to himself when it never came. It wasn't often he got one over on him. "Anyway, Teletubbies aside, who you expecting to hear from?"

"No one," Ross answered a little too quickly.

It was a lie of course.

He was waiting, or rather hoping, to hear from Ollie. Which was daft really, because if he wanted to talk to her all he had to do was text her. It wasn't like last night at the pub had been awkward or anything. The complete opposite. Almost like the last few weeks hadn't even happened.

Finn turned round to look at him. "Then why were you checking your phone?" he asked.

Ross frowned at him. "And who are you, the phone police? Surely you have something better to do other than annoy me."

"I do, actually," Finn replied. He folded his arms over his chest, leaning back against the worktop while he waited for the kettle to boil. "I'm meeting mum in a bit. Don't s'pose you fancy coming along?" he asked carefully.

Ross looked at his brother like he were mad for even asking. "Why would I wanna do that? More to the point why would you wanna do that?"

"Uhh, because she's our mum."

"Oh. You mean the same mum who tried to off me when I was a nipper? That mum?" He pierced his brother with a dark stare. "I'd rather forget about her if it's all the same. Although no chance with you reminding us every five minutes."

It had been a few weeks since Finn had tracked their mum down, and none of them had taken the news well. Emma Barton was trying to worm her way back in like the last twenty odd years had never happened and, because of what she did to Ross, both Pete and James refused to have anything to do with her. Finn had been shocked when he'd discovered the truth, but he knew his mum was remorseful and desperately trying to make amends for the past. But it wasn't an easy situation for any of them. Especially Ross. It was going to take a lot more effort on Emma's part before he would even begin to accept her coming back into his life.