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Billie had been awake since the sun rose over Richmond Green, taking Nelson for a walk across the green before she finished packing and getting ready, letting Madison Dutch braid her hair for the five hour coach trip up to Manchester. She'd then dressed herself in a black tracksuit and inhaled a breakfast smoothie made by Alfie before dropping Nelson off at the Higgins' where Julie and the boys would be taking care of him, so of course Higgins gave Billie a lift to Nelson Road where they'd join the team to get the bus up North.

"I'm just going to grab some photos of the boys before we leave," Billie told Higgins as they stood in the car park, her eyes lingering on Jamie as she watched him and his teammates be greeted by the fans who were waiting to see them off for their final away game of the season.

"Sounds good to me," Higgins nodded as Billie made her way towards the boy, quickly capturing candid shots of Colin holding a fan's six month old baby and Dani as he signed a football for someone.

Billie let her camera hang around her neck as she watched a fan ask Jamie for a photo, but as the fan handed their phone to Jamie for him to take the selfie, he instead took a picture of the fan and his wife, as though he didn't believe he was worthy of such an interaction. It bothered her, because interacting with fans had never worried Jamie before, he often loved it, signing football shirts, taking photos with young children, and he was good at it, they often felt understood and appreciated when they met him, and yet as Billie watched the interaction unfold, it couldn't feel more different.

She looked to her right to see that Roy was also watching the very same situation unfold with a furrowed brow and heavy frown. She made her way over to him, nudging him with her elbow, "Hi."

"Hey," Roy nodded.

"This isn't good," Billie sighed as she watched Jamie hand the phone back to the fans.

"Not good at all," Roy muttered as Jamie facepalmed a fan's attempt at a high five.

"I'll talk to him," Billie declared, concluding that tiptoeing around whatever was worrying Jamie was never going to solve anything, "Once we get to Manchester I'll talk to him."

"You didn't chat about it last night?" Roy remarked as they watched Jamie board the team bus.

"He didn't stay over last night," Billie sighed, "I left him a voicemail and he literally just replied, 'I'm okay.'"

"Fucking hell," Roy muttered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let our journey commence!" Kenneth, the bus driver exclaimed as the fans cheered.

"I didn't know Keeley was coming," Roy mumbled as he laid eyes on the blonde woman standing beside Rebecca in a pink fur coat.

"Of course she's coming," Billie replied, "She wouldn't miss a trip to Manchester."

"Right," Roy nodded.

"Are you two..." Billie's voice trailed off as they made their way towards the bus.

"I don't know what we are," Roy sighed as he let his sister get onto the bus first.

"Right," Billie nodded, knowing that it wasn't for her to tell Roy what to do or what to say, his relationship with Keeley wasn't something they ever really talked about since it ended, so beyond his struggles to accept love, she didn't exactly know where he was at.

"Bils, you joining us for Cluedo?" Colin asked from where he sat at the big table at the back of the bus with Isaac, Sam, Bumbercatch and Jan, who'd later be joined by Will after he'd finished packing the team's luggage onto the bus.

"Erm," Billie glanced at Jamie who was sitting alone in one of the pairs of seats towards the middle of the bus, staring out of the window at the 'Welcome to Nelson Road' sign, "Maybe in a bit."

"We'll save you Professor Plum," Isaac assured her with a thumbs up, knowing that purple was one of her favourite colours.

"Hi," Billie smiled as she stood beside Jamie.

"Hi," Jamie replied, glancing up at her with tired eyes.

"Is this seat taken?" She gestured to the seat beside him where he'd parked his rucksack instead of using the overhead storage.

"Erm," Jamie looked down at his bag with a pause that lasted longer than it definitely should have, "No."

She watched as he moved his bag to between his feet before he returned to staring out of the window. There was a small part of her that regretted not just taking a seat at the back of the bus with her Cluedo boys. But she needed Jamie to know that she was there, even without words, she was there if he needed her.

She took her seat beside him as she watched Rebecca, Keeley, Higgins, Will, Ted and Beard board the bus, unsure of what exactly she could say, because they were surrounded by teammates. She was hardly in the position to start attempting a heart to heart with him, hoping he'd just ignore their presence.

"Did you sleep okay?" She asked, the way you might ask a stranger.

"Not too bad," Jamie nodded, pulling on the cuffs of his sleeves the way he did at school when a teacher would ask a question he didn't know the answer to, "You?"

"Was weird without you there," Billie answered, resting her hand on top of his, doing her best to ignore the way his hand flinched at the unexpected contact as she ran her thumb back and forth over his knuckles, noticing that his skin was drier and assuming he'd not been moisturising the way he normally did after a shower, "Nelson missed you too."

"He probably liked having you to himself," Jamie muttered, but not in a playful manner the way he usually would've done, glancing down at Billie's hand as it rested on top of his.

"I think he prefers having to fight you for my attention," Billie smiled, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Mmhmm," Jamie nodded, because he knew deep down that he would've much rather spent his evening competing with Nelson for a cuddle with Billie, to be held by her until he'd fallen asleep to the sound of her steady heartbeat, to sit in a bubble bath and unburden himself as she sat and listened, to cook their favourite meal and not only eat half the bowl.

Billie lifted his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckles three times, noticing just how tired his eyes were, "Get some rest, gorgeous, I'll be here when you wake up."

Before Jamie could say anything about having to lean against the cold window as he often did when she suggested a nap on the bus, Billie pulled a cushion out of her tote bag, leaning over Jamie and propping it up against the window and letting him rest his head against it. She then took out her phone, and opened her anxiety playlist before putting one of her earphones in Jamie's ear and one in her own.

'Slow down, you're doing fine, you can't be everything you wanna be before your time.'

The journey up to Manchester had been nothing more than fine. The team bus had stopped for lunch at a service station somewhere near Birmingham, most of the boys opted for salads, ahead of their match the next day. But Billie managed to drag Will to Greggs for some greasy pastry, because it was all she could think about.

After they'd got back on the bus, Billie had suggested to Jamie that they could take a walk around Manchester, telling him that she'd love to see the places he spent his youngest years, she even suggested a trip to Salford and waited for one of his smart remarks about how it wasn't 'real Manchester.' He simply shrugged and said 'maybe,' and she became worried by his lack of willing and enthusiasm to show her the city that had raised him, the city where he'd fallen in love with football, kicking a ball stolen from the school's PE cupboard against a brick wall on his estate.

Somewhere between Birmingham and Manchester, Jamie had fallen asleep again, and Billie had too, because as Ted announced their arrival at the hotel, she'd woken up, resting against Jamie's shoulder, the cushion she'd given him having been slotted in between Jamie's shoulder and her head.

But then the team had disembarked the bus, collecting their room keys, and dispersing to their hotel rooms. Billie had collected hers, before heading to her room, which was fitted with a double bed as usual, a bottle of prosecco in a wine cooler had been left on the dressing table, accompanied by a handwritten note.

To Billie & Jamie,

Welcome back to Manchester,

With love from Team Hacienda

It was a thoughtful gift, and Billie appreciated the gesture, but it just reminded her that Jamie wasn't in her room. As per the usual when football teams stayed in hotels, the team were assigned twin rooms, fitted with two single beds, but Jamie always ended up in Billie's double room, not just for the night, but with his bags too, and that was where everyone always knew where to find him.

But he wasn't there with Billie, and neither were his bags or his clothes, so Billie pulled out her phone, typing out a quick text to Sam, knowing that he was usually paired with Jamie.

BILLIE

Hey Sam, what room are

you and Jamie in?

SAMMY

We're 1402

BILLIE

Perfect thank you x

Billie made her way along the corridor to Jamie's room, not exactly sure what she was going to say, but knowing that she needed to talk to him. He wasn't himself, and it wasn't the effect on his performance tomorrow that worried her, it was the impact that performing badly might have on him as a result.

Once she'd found the room in question she nervously knocked on the door, not knowing whether Jamie or Sam would be inside, but she knew that Sam was perceptive enough that once he'd read the energy he would make up an excuse about borrowing shoes from Colin, or something similar.

The door opened and there stood Jamie, the same tired look on his face as he stared back at her, a pang of guilt hitting him, as though he'd been 'rumbled' for choosing not to go straight to Billie's room.

"Hi," She smiled nervously.

"Hey," Jamie replied tentatively.

"Can I come in?" Billie asked, noticing Sam's bag was on his bed, but Sam himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Jamie nodded, stepping aside and letting her into the room before closing the door behind her, "Come in, yeah, yeah, what's up?"

"I just wanted to come and see how you're doing," Billie answered, and it seemed to dawn on Jamie that she knew that he wasn't quite right, that Roy had probably shared his concerns following Jamie's moment in the boot room.

"Roy told you?" Jamie replied as he made his way back to his suitcase that sat on his bed.

"Well, he's worried about you," Billie told him, deciding that baby steps were necessary as she assessed Jamie's reaction, "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," Jamie insisted, his voice cracking as Billie leant against the couch that faced a wall mounted TV, "I'm fine, I'm good, I'm great...In fact, I think I'm the best that I've ever been, you know?"

Billie wanted to smile, she really did, she wanted to believe him, but she didn't, because she watched the way his face dropped as he opened his suitcase. She knew the way his brain was running away with itself, and she could probably put money on what was triggering it, she just didn't want to be wrong and make matters worse.

"There's something so sad about a suitcase, do you know what I mean?" Jamie looked up at Billie with a frown, "It's like...it's like a drawer without a home," He made a sound of panicked realisation, not quite knowing what to do with himself, clearly overwhelmed by, well everything.

"Hey, Jamie, look at me," Billie stood up in front of him as he attempted to steady his breathing, "You've got a lot going on right now."

"There's a lot going on, yeah," Jamie nodded, a wobble in his voice that worried Billie.

"Come here a second," Billie whispered, sitting on the edge of Sam's bed and patting the edge of his, watching as he sat opposite her, "This is the first time you've played back home since you left."

"Oooh," Jamie exhaled.

"There's a chance those fans aren't going to be that happy to have you there tomorrow," Billie told him, because she felt a need to prepare and protect him all at once, "And the one with the loudest voice might be your dad-"

"I didn't think of that, yeah," Jamie muttered as he looked over his shoulder at the window that offered a view of suburban Manchester.

"And I know some people have been shit talking your hair online," Billie continued, hoping it might help him breeze past the topic of his father.

They're what?" Jamie frowned as he turned back to face her.

"For the record, I think your hair's perfect," Billie was quick to attempt a recovery before she took his hands in hers, "Look, think about it, a win tomorrow, that's almost the precipice of achieving everything that you've ever dreamed of."

"Oh my God," Jamie whispered as he leant forward in despair.

"Hey," Billie soothed, kneeling on the floor in front of him as she cupped his face, a hand on either cheek, running her thumbs back and forth over his familiar skin, "Tomorrow, it means nothing, it's one of thirty eight games this season, it's just three points, it's a drop in the ocean compared to what you've achieved this year."

"You just said it were the preci- whatever it was," Jamie muttered as he gazed down at the burgundy red carpet.

"I know, and I'm regretting that now," Billie smiled nervously as she brushed his hair out of his face, "I'm worried about you too...it's not just Roy."

"You don't need to worry about me," Jamie insisted, "I promise."

"I think I do, Jamie," Billie whispered as she kept a hold of his face, "I love you, and seeing you like this scares me a little."

(It scared her a lot)

"Billie, I'm fine." Jamie reiterated, not wanting to burden her with the uncertainty that filled his head.

"Please let me in, Jamie," Billie exhaled, as she kept her eyes on him, "I don't know what's going on that brain of yours, and I just want to be here for you in any way that I can, and I will listen to you talk until the sun goes down and comes back up again if that's what you need."

"I don't know," Jamie whispered, "I don't know what it is."

"And that's okay," Billie assured him, because she honestly wasn't sure what else she could tell him, "You don't have to have it all figured out, no one does."

"I think I might just have a nap now," Jamie told her, and Billie worried that it was because the conversation was becoming too real, because he'd spent the week living in a version of a world that only existed to him, not sharing it with anyone but himself, and by talking about it he was turning it into a reality.

"A nap?"

"Yeah, just for a little bit," Jamie nodded.

"But you'll come down for dinner and movie night?" Billie asked, because she wasn't going to push him, even if it felt as though they'd taken one step forward and half a dozen back.

"Yeah," He replied as he stood up and Billie did the same.

"You call me if you need me, alright?" Billie looked up at him with trepidation, "Even if it's just to watch reruns of Gavin and Stacey."

"Okay," Jamie nodded.

"Please look after yourself, my love," Billie sighed as she wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head against his chest as his arms found their place around her shoulders. She would hold him like that for a lifetime if the universe would let her, but she knew that he needed, or at least he wanted space, "I'm just down the hall if you need me."

She placed a kiss to his cheek and then they were both alone again, yet only seventy eight steps apart.

Billie had spent the best part of the afternoon distracting herself in the company of the team, she played Uno with Will and some of the boys for a while before they bickered about how they each played the game differently. She then decided to film some mini interview sections with the boys for a project she'd been working on for a little while with Will's help.

Her mind continued to wander to Jamie all afternoon, and it remained the same during dinner. Even when they were sitting in the same room, at the same table, she felt like they were in different places.

Movie night was in full swing, and Billie had intended on sitting with Jamie but he'd found himself sandwiched in between Isaac and Bumbercatch in the front row, leaving her sat between Trent and Higgins. She glanced along the row at Keeley who was sitting beside Rebecca, and then to Roy who was sitting at the end of the row by himself, his eyes focused on the film.

She quickly sat up, slipping past Trent before grabbing two boxes of popcorn and making her way around the back of the projector to where Roy was sat, handing him a box, "Here."

"Oh, cheers," Roy whispered as he took the popcorn from her, "How'd it go with Jamie?"

"Very much one step forward, at least six back," Billie whispered, "I'm not sure I actually made any progress."

"Shit," Roy whispered regretfully.

"We just need to keep an eye on him," Billie replied quietly, as she glanced down at the front of the room where Jamie was sat.

"You can say that again," Roy huffed.

"We just need to-"

"Sssh," Came from around the room as almost every member of the team turned to frown at both Billie and Roy.

"Nora Ephron," Beard hissed from the other side of the projector.

"Sincerely, my apologies," Roy whispered.

"Who?" Billie frowned.

"Carl Bernstein's ex," Roy muttered.

It was the clapping and the hum of Somewhere Over The Rainbow that pulled Billie out of her sleep, wiping her eyes as she straightened up to realise that she'd fallen asleep on her brother's shoulder.

"Alright, listen up, you big softies," Ted addressed the team, "10PM, lights out, then get yourselves some beauty sleep for tomorrow's big meet-cute with Man City, you hear? Alright, Ephron on three, one, two, three!"

"Ephron!"

"There you go," Ted nodded as the team slowly began to disperse.

Billie and Roy watched as Jamie made his way across the front of the room, slipping out of the side entrance without a word to her or Roy.

Billie glanced at Roy and then back at the door as it closed behind Jamie, as she stood up, "You coming?"

"Yeah," Roy nodded, grabbing his jacket as Billie slipped hers on before they both made their way out of the room, quickly following Jamie through reception and out onto the street, staying a good few metres behind him, watching as he put his hood up, no doubt an attempt to blend in.

They followed him across the city, along a long road in between two rows of high rise buildings, across a bridge that took them from the city side of a motorway to the suburban side of the motorway. They followed him through a maze of residential streets, lined with terraced houses, much like the ones Billie remembered from when her parents would watch Coronation Street.

"I can't believe you've got me following Jamie Tartt," Roy whispered as they walked down the same street as Jamie, far enough away from him that he still hadn't noticed their presence.

"Roy, stop pretending you don't care," Billie hissed as she glanced up at her brother, "I know you do."

"Fine," Roy huffed, "Maybe I do, like just the tiniest bit, like a spec, like if the amount I cared was in front of us you'd probably really struggle to see it."

"Sure," Billie rolled her eyes as she looked back at the street ahead of them, noticing an absence of Jamie, "Where he's gone?"

"Tunnel," Roy gestured towards the underpass that was the sort of dimly lit route that Roy would've refused to let Billie take on her own as a teenager, and probably as an adult.

"Come on then," Billie grabbed her brother's hand, leading him down the steps and towards the tunnel, "I just really need to know he's okay."

"The fuck is he?" Roy muttered as they noticed Jamie was nowhere to be seen.

"You've fucking lost my boyfriend," Billie hissed.

"You said he went down here," Roy retorted with a frown.

"I did not, you said that," Billie remarked as they began walking down the underpass that was lit by nothing but a few flickering lights overhead.

"No, I said he's in a tunnel, I didn't say he was in this tunnel," Roy frowned as they sped up their pace.

"Well, there's no other tunnel, is there?" Billie quipped in frustration, "I can't believe you've lost my boyfriend, Jamie Tartt."

"You can't lose Jamie Tartt," Roy huffed as they made it to the end of the tunnel.

"Well, you have," Billie replied.

"Oi!"

"Fucking hell!" Roy exclaimed as Billie yelped, the pair turning to be met with the sight of Jamie, filling Billie with relief.

"Why are you following me?" Jamie frowned, glancing between Roy and Billie, who if he was entirely honest, he had known were following him for the last ten minutes or so.

"We just wanted to make sure you're okay, you prick," Roy huffed, as though it were such an ordeal to admit to Jamie that he was concerned.

"What's going on, Jamie?" Billie sighed, her brain jumping to the worst possible scenario she could think of, "Are you buying drugs? 'Cause if you want to smoke a spliff, I'm right there with you, but in the off season, yeah?"

Jamie glanced between Roy and Billie, reaching the conclusion that he may as well just tell them where it was he was really going. It was a place he wanted to take Billie one day anyway, and deep down he kind of wanted Roy there too. He'd reached the conclusion that maybe being there would help him work out what was going on in his head and his heart, he remembered reading somewhere once that 'connecting with your roots' could be a good way to work out what was bugging him, "Come on."

He led Billie and Roy through another tunnel, where they reached an open tarmacked space, similar to where they'd grown up, just rows of houses replacing the white washed concrete high rise tower blocks.

"Are you joking? How'd you miss that?" A young boy quipped at his friend with a football at his feet.

"Oi!" One of them shouted, stopping Jamie as he pulled his hood down and turned to face them.

"Are you Jamie Tartt?" The taller, more ginger of the three boys asked.

"Yeah," Jamie shrugged as Billie and Roy watched on.

"More like Jamie Fart!" The smallest exclaimed, "Screw you, dickhead!"

"Yeah, who are ya?" The other added.

"City are gonna fuck you up tomorrow!"

"Yeah, you old twat," The ginger one spoke up again and Jamie couldn't help but smile as he rolled his eyes at the very same insults he used to shout as a kid hanging about on the estate, "You pussy!"

Jamie continued walking, leading Billie and Roy towards their destination, deciding just to let the young boys have their fun.

"I can smell you bum from here!" One of the boys shouted, falling silent as Roy turned to face them.

"Good lads," He nodded in approval before following after Billie and Jamie as the boys celebrated amongst themselves.

"Jamie, where are we?" Billie asked as he led her up a path to one of the small terraced houses, the only one of five with a well kept garden and a door that looked like it hadn't ever been kicked in, "Like, I know we're in the general Manchester area, but where are we?"

"Just give me a second, Bils," Jamie told her as he knocked on the door, as though the house were familiar to him.

A few moments later it finally dawned on Billie where they were, or rather whose house it was, maybe it was because she'd been so preoccupied with Jamie's state of mind, but she'd almost forgotten that being back in Manchester also meant being back home.

"Hey, Jamie!" Simon exclaimed as he peaked through the small window of the front door, before opening it with a chipper smile, the smell of freshly baked pastry hit Billie almost immediately, "And Billie!"

"How you doing, Simon?" Jamie smiled, and they'd only been on the doorstep for a few seconds, but Billie realised that coming home might be just what Jamie needed, "This is Billie, that's Roy."

"Come on in, come on in," Simon gestured for the three of them to come into the house.

"How are you, mate?" Jamie asked, shaking his hand, "Good seeing you, man."

"Yeah, great," Simon nodded.

"Hi," Billie smiled as she entered the house, offering him a quick hug, "It's lovely to meet you in person at last."

"Likewise, I know there'll be someone else delighted to see you," Simon grinned as Roy followed his sister into the house, still not entirely sure where he was, but knowing that it was the home of someone that both Jamie and Billie knew.

"Alright," Roy nodded.

"Hello," Simon smiled, in disbelief that the man whose face he'd seen on almost every rerun of Match Of The Day that Jamie had made him sit through on a Sunday morning when Georgie was down at the pub, cleaning tables for some extra money.

Billie watched as Jamie wandered further into the house, looking into the front room, clearly in search of someone.

"Georgie, we've got visitors!" Simon called out up the stairs.

"What was that, love?" The familiar voice answered from upstairs, drawing Jamie back to the bottom of the stairs, "Someone at the door?"

Just moments later a woman appeared at the top of the stairs, a woman who Billie'd had the pleasure of speaking to dozens of times over FaceTime, usually in Jamie's company, but not exclusively. After the whole photo leak thing, Georgie had asked Jamie for Billie's number and called her to talk about, aware from what Jamie had told her that her mum wasn't exactly in the picture, and concluding that she could do with a maternal ear to vent to.

It had been exactly what Billie had needed, to cry and then laugh with a woman who showed no judgement, who had known men like Brad. Billie was so glad that Jamie had a mum like Georgie, and grateful that he'd brought her into her life.

"Hello, Mummy," Jamie smiled up at her as she stared back at him in shock, as though she didn't believe her son would make the trip to visit her when he was playing a match in his hometown that very weekend.

"Ahhh! Jamie!" She squealed, running down the stairs and into her son's arms, as though she had tunnel vision for the man she still thought of as her little boy.

"Mummy, this hairy prick's Roy," Jamie grinned, filled with every emotion under the sun as he prepared to properly introduce the two most important women in his life to each other, "And I'd like to introduce you properly to me gorgeous lady, Billie."

"Hi," Billie smiled, feeling particularly under dressed in her jeans and one of Jamie's hoodies.

"Hey, you," Roy nodded, clearly not expecting Georgie to be closer in age to him than to his own parents.

"It's lovely to finally meet you both," Georgie grinned as she kept her arms around Jamie, "I'd come and give you a hug, but I'm not letting go of this one."

"Ah, there they go," Simon sighed fondly as Jamie lifted Georgie off of the stairs and spun her round, "Right, who wants some sweet treats?"

"Look at your gorgeous face, I love it," Georgie beamed as Jamie carried her through into the front room, leaving Billie and Roy both a bit speechless, "Ah, how have you been? Look at you."

"If you ever did that with our mum I think we'd have to call her an ambulance," Billie whispered as she and Roy were left in the hallway together.

"You ain't wrong," Roy muttered, "Do you think I should take my shoes off?"

"I don't know, Roy," Billie hissed, noticing how unsettled Roy seemed, "I mean, no one mentioned it, so maybe just keep your massive clown shoes on, yeah?"

"You two fancy an Eccles cake?" Simon appeared behind the two Kent siblings, carrying a tray of freshly baked goods, a proud smile on his face.

"That'd be lovely," Billie nodded as Simon led them into the front room, which Billie had only ever seen glimpses of through a phone screen.

It was cosy, and it was almost exactly how Billie had imagined it, it was a little smaller than the living room she'd grown up with, and it was carpeted instead of cold laminate flooring. She'd also always assumed the Tartts weren't a 'big light' family from the amount of warm lamps in Jamie's house, and the few that he'd bought for her's, and she had been right.

There was what could only really be described as a shrine to Jamie on one side of the room, with photos from his childhood all the way up to adulthood. At one end of the console table was a photo of a young Georgie, cradling a baby Jamie, still in hospital, and at the other end was a few photos of Jamie and Billie together, at the BAFTAs, at the Harry Styles concert, even one from Winter Wonderland before they'd got together that she assumed Jamie must've sent her.

And then there was Jamie, snuggled up beside his mum on the L-shaped sofa as though he had never been gone. It promptly dawned on Billie that he was rambling about his hair, which worried her as he'd been none the wiser about what people were saying about it until she'd mentioned it.

"There you go," Simon smiled as he handed Roy and Billie a plate each, "The north's finest delicacy."

"Thank you," Billie answered for the both of them, her brother being too preoccupied with his fascination for the Jamie Tartt shrine.

"Can I get either of you a water, squash, tea, coffee or a hot chocolate?" Simon asked the pair, "We got some of that in when Jamie told us about you, said it was all you'd drink on a cold day."

"I'm alright, thanks," Billie nodded with a smile, taking a bite of the Eccles cake as she glanced at Jamie.

"Me too," Roy nodded, tentatively eating some of his Eccles cake as his gaze wandered to Jamie and his mum.

"This guy on Twitter, he kept saying that it was blonde, but I'm like 'it's fucking walnut mist, mate.'" Jamie muttered, and Billie worried that he'd been searching his name online and making himself feel even worse.

"Yeah, obviously," Georgie sighed as she ran her hand through his hair, "He's done a lovely job, it's dead natural."

"What do you think?" Simon asked Billie and Roy with an eager smile, delighted to test his baked goods on some new guests, especially Southerners who he doubted would've ever tasted a proper Eccles cake.

"It's really yummy," Billie nodded, glancing at her brother who's gaze remained on Jamie and Georgie in a state of wondrous disbelief, she quickly thumped Roy in the arm to grab his attention, bringing him back into the conversation.

"It's fucking delicious," Roy nodded.

"Mmhmm," Billie added, "Much better than the one from Greggs at the service station."

"Well, it's a Paul Hollywood recipe, but I've gone a little bit rogue on it," Simon told them both.

"Babes," Georgie smiled at Simon softly as Jamie drew shapes on her knee with his fingertip, "Do you wanna give Roy and Billie the grand tour?"

"Yes, good idea," Simon nodded, quickly standing up and hitting his head on the lampshade, "Oops!" He laughed awkwardly, "Right, follow me, we'll start off in the kitchen, aka my laboratory."

"Lovely," Billie nodded, glancing at Jamie who seemed calmer in Georgie's presence than she'd seen him anywhere else all week.

"I've just got a new bain-marie, and it's copperplated," Simon told them as he led them out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"They had a great deal on those in TkMaxx the other day," Billie told him, smiling at the makeshift height chart written on the doorframe in pencil, marking Jamie's height from two years old all the way up to twenty five, which Billie assumed was from when he'd visited at Christmas, "Oh, and some of those lovely Le Creuset sets."

"Ah, yes, I've been collecting the teal set," Simon gestured to the pans displayed on the kitchen worktop.

"I might ask Jamie to get me the purple ones," Billie remarked as Roy observed how easily she'd slotted into the family dynamic, "Are you cooking something with garlic in it?"

"I am as it goes, pies are cooking away as we speak," Simon nodded with an impressed smile, "You must have a good nose, I only put a couple of cloves in."

"Just a fan of garlic, I suppose," Billie smiled, "Have you got a toilet I could use?"

"You literally went before we left the hotel," Roy muttered.

"Dude, you cannot seriously be policing my toilet breaks?" Billie frowned at her brother.

"It's just upstairs, first door on the right," Simon told her, "We'll join you upstairs in a bit."

"Thank you," Billie smiled before leaving Roy in Simon's capable company.

"It'll mean a lot to him having you here," Simon sighed as he leant against the countertop of the narrow kitchen, "Of course it means a lot to him having Billie here too, but the both of you...well, I'm not sure we ever could've imagined how much you'd end up meaning to him when he told us he'd be playing on the same team as you."

"Erm, thanks," Roy nodded, not entirely sure how to take such a compliment from a man he'd only just met, "He makes my sister happy, so I guess there's not much else I can ask for."

"His mother did a good job raising him to do just that," Simon smiled fondly, "Shall we head up?"

"Sure," Roy nodded as Simon led the way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the small landing area where they were met with three doors.

"Oh, hi," Billie smiled as she opened the bathroom door to see them both, her hands buried in her pockets.

"Ready to resume our tour?" Simon grinned as he glanced between the two siblings.

"Absolutely."

"Well, this is the main attraction," Simon told them both as he opened one of the doors, switching on a light as he led them into the small room, "Jamie's room."

"Wow," Billie whispered with a smile as she took in the room that felt like a time capsule of Jamie's life, the football duvet cover on his single bed, the England flag hanging on the wall, the certificates from his Sunday little league team that Georgie had proudly stuck on the wall, it was as though time had stopped in that one tiny part of the world.

She looked over her shoulder at the wall behind her, covered in various pieces of football memorabilia, that surrounded a poster of her brother from the early 2000s when he was still at Chelsea and had more hair on his head than sense, "Woah."

"Fucking hell," Roy muttered in disbelief, having forgotten their conversation at the gala about that very poster when Ted and Billie were still fresh to the team.

"Many posters have come and gone over the years, Henry, Gerrard, Ronaldo," Simon told them both, "But Roy Kent always remains."

"And all along he's just been with me to get to you, huh?" Billie teased her brother as a timer on Simon's phone began to ring.

"Ooh, meat pies are done, excuse me," Simon smiled, leaving the pair to it as he closed the door.

"This is fucking weird," Roy muttered as he sat down on the bed.

"There's a lot of weird to choose from," Billie smiled as she sat beside her brother on her boyfriend's childhood bed, "Can you be more specific?"

"Us sitting on Jamie Tartt's childhood bed for a start," Roy sighed, "You making me be all concerned about him and shit."

"You'd be concerned about him regardless of me," Billie replied, "And I really like that."

"I lied when I said I didn't want your help getting back with Keeley." Roy decided to admit as he kept his eyes on his sister.

"I know," Billie smiled.

"And we, erm, we slept together," Roy muttered.

"I know."

"What? How did you-"

"Women talk, believe it or not," Billie laughed.

"Do you think she'd take me back?" Roy asked, as though he were the younger sibling.

"I think if you're as honest with her as you've finally been with yourself, there's not much that can really get in the way of that," Billie smiled as she rested her head on her shoulder.

"Guys, I think we should probably get-" Jamie entered his bedroom, glancing between the two siblings, Billie sitting up straight, not wanting to draw attention to the nature of her conversation with Roy, "You good to go?"

"Yeah," Billie nodded, making her way out of the room, heading down the stairs where Georgie and Simon were waiting.

"Hello, lovely lady," Georgie smiled, holding her arms out, wrapping Billie in a hug as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you?" Billie replied, as Georgie held onto her.

"For seeing my boy for more than just what his father made him and loving him for who he is," Georgie whispered as she gave her one last squeeze before pulling away, "That smile on his face last year when he called me to say he'd finally told you how he felt and you'd said it back, well it was the happiest I've ever seen him."

"He's everything and more than I think I could've asked for," Billie replied with a reassuring smile, "And for the record, he might've been the boy he was once because of his dad, but he's the man he is because of you, Georgie, there's no mistaking it."

"You are just as wonderful as he told me you'd be," Georgie smiled as she wrapped Billie in another hug, Billie's words affirming everything that Georgie had put into raising Jamie, even when she was working three jobs to keep a roof over their head and struggling from sleepless nights as she worried about James' influence on her boy, "Thank you."

"You gonna give me girlfriend back, Mum?" Jamie asked as he stood halfway up the stairs, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and a smile on his face, having witnessed most of their tender interaction.

"I reckon I might keep her for meself," Georgie replied, keeping her arms wrapped around Billie as they gazed back up at Jamie, "She's bloody perfect, love."

"I know, I tell her everyday," Jamie replied as he made his way down to the bottom of the stairs, Roy a few paces behind as Georgie let go of Billie, "I don't think she believes me."

"Well, she's as much a diamond as you said she was when I called you those two Christmases ago," Georgie grinned.

"I knew you were talking about me!" Billie laughed as Jamie wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's shoulders, peppering kisses to the top of her head as he swayed her from side to side, comforting Billie to know that she had her Jamie back.

"You should've heard him, love," Georgie remarked, "He was bloody smitten, every time I called him from the day he came back to Richmond he'd always find an excuse to talk about you."

"Alright, Mummy," Jamie sighed with a smile, "I've got to get this one back to the hotel."

"That curfew was for you and the team, pretty boy," Billie reminded him as he kept one arm wrapped around her shoulders while opening the front door.

"You need your sleep too, Bils," Jamie smiled as he kissed the top of her head, leading her out to the front of his childhood home as Georgie and Roy followed behind.

"Let me give you a goodbye squeeze," Georgie gestured to Billie as they reached the front of the house, "We'll make sure to come down and see you both this summer, we'll stay in Jamie's spare room-"

"Will you now?" Jamie smirked as he watched his mum hug Billie again.

"And I'll bring all his baby photos albums down and we can flick through them over a bottle or two of wine," Georgie insisted.

"Sounds perfect," Billie grinned, "It was so lovely to meet you properly, at last."

"You too, lovely lady," Georgie sighed as she let go of Billie before turning to Jamie as Billie joined Roy.

"Right, you listen to me," Georgie instructed her son, "I don't care if you lose by ten goals tomorrow, I just want you to be happy, okay, son?"

"Okay," Jamie nodded as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the cheek, "I love you."

"I love you too," Georgie smiled, "See you soon."

"See you soon."

"Alright, off you go," Georgie patted his shoulders.

"See you soon," Billie smiled at Georgie as Jamie joined her side.

"One for the road," Roy approached Georgie with open arms.

"This way, Royo," Billie grabbed his arm, dragging him back towards Jamie.

"See you later," Roy smiled over his shoulder, blowing her a kiss, "Love- Love you."

Billie linked her arm through both Roy and Jamie's, feeling as though she was walking a few feet taller with the Jamie she knew by her side. It felt pretty close to perfect to have finally met the woman who'd raised the man she loved, and to feel like a part of a small yet loving family.

After retracing their steps back to the hotel, which mainly consisted of Jamie pointing out some of the many landmarks from his childhood, the trio returned to their hotel. Roy left Jamie and Billie to find his own room, his mind wandering with how he might go about getting Keeley back.

"So, this one's me," Billie sighed as they reached the door to her hotel room.

"Can I join you tonight?" Jamie whispered as Billie smiled, feeling relieved to have him back entirely.

She stood on her toes, kissing him slowly as her hands rested on his neck, before pulling away slowly and resting her forehead against his, "You never have to ask," She whispered before pulling out her keycard and leading him into her hotel room.

Once the pair had gotten themselves ready for bed, washing their faces and brushing their teeth at the twin sinks in Billie's en suite, they'd climbed into bed, seeking warmth under the duvet, just the bedside lamps providing the room with light.

Billie lay beside Jamie, her head resting on the pillow beside his as they both lay on their sides facing each other, their legs intertwined as they held each other close while the duvet covered their heads, blocking out the rest of the world.

"I know I've been different these last few days," Jamie muttered as her interlocked his hand with Billie's, "And it took me a fucking while to work out what it was that were making me like that."

"You're here now," Billie smiled, kissing his knuckles.

"And I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was shutting you out," Jamie whispered, as he pulled Billie's hand to his lips, kissing her delicate skin repeatedly, "And thank you for putting up with me."

"Saying that I've been 'putting up with you' makes it sound like a chore," Billie replied softly, "Being with you is anything but a chore, and I adore you infinitely, alright?"

"Ditto."