Under Pressure - Charity Barnum/Jenny Lind
A/N: Alt B for @domaystic
Jenny is silent when she first comes home. Charity has long since kicked out Phineas, she loved the man, once, but his cruelty, to Jenny alone, had been enough to make her take the step. Charity starts doing what she can to try and make Jenny smile. The woman sleeps, often, eats little and is clearly still learning how to accept domesticity. So, the next time she brings the woman food, food that Jenny picks at even as she watches Charity, she begins to bow, soon bowing in a manner she knows looks rather awkward, but funny. In the end she is bowing profusely, Jenny’s eyes widening at first, then, slowly she begins to smile, soon laughing at the other woman’s antics.
It becomes a game, then, how often can she bow profusely, how deep can she get. Jenny’s smile and laughter is all she wants. After a while Jenny sleeps normally, eats like she wants to live and slowly, ever so slowly, begins to leave her room, joining Charity. It's slow work, but Charity would never let the woman feel pain and sadness without having someone to lean on ever again, Jenny slowly learns to believe it and Charity finds she smiles at Jenny’s quiet confidence in her. They will heal their hearts, together.
