Daff looked down into her teacup for a moment, taking a small sip to give herself a moment. She hadn't had much of an appetite in the last few days and that was probably going to catch up to her too. There really wasn't much to be done until she and Elias could talk, but she wouldn't last much longer. Daff had more time now, to figure out how to say what she wanted to say, but she knew, even with weeks, she would still fumble it and just wind up rambling.

"No, no, I don't want to drag you into my mess." There were already too many people tangled up in this web and Miss Fawcett didn't need to hear her complete, sad, sordid tale. "Just tell him I stopped by?" It was all that could be done really. Until Elias was ready to talk to her, she would just have to wait it out. It wasn't like she could blame him. It was hard to forget the tone in his voice or the remarks that went right over her head. Daff knew she'd gone and made a fool of herself, but it just made everything else blow up too. On top of her hospital stay, everything was just piling up and she was suffocating beneath it.

Daff had tried though, and hopefully that had to count for something. The next move was his and she would just have to be patient.

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"Of course." The flowers would likely inform him of her visit before Penny could, but Penny would tell him just the same. Especially if it meant they would patch things up and he'd stop being so irritable. Penny liked working with him, but not when he was creating more work for them both.

She took a sip of her tea and looked about the shop. "You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, I enjoy the company, but I should probably get back to that broom. Elias needs it for a customer by Friday."

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"It's really sweet of you to offer, but I think I should head home." If Elias did come back and she was just here, making friends with Miss Fawcett in his absence, Daff wasn't so sure it would go over too well. Her head space was all wrong now. The workshop still felt wrong somehow. Merlin she hoped she'd be able to get over that. She truly enjoyed it in here and didn't want for it to be ruined.

Taking a look around the room fondly, she set her teacup down, mostly untouched, but thankful for the gesture all the same. She picked up her sketchbook and charcoal set, holding it tight to her chest. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she passed Miss Fawcett a better smile. "Good luck with the broom. I'm sure it'll be beautiful." Daff had yet to see anything other than works of art come out of this room. "And thank you, it was nice to meet you finally." And hopefully she would get to see Miss Fawcett again, under better circumstances.

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"If you're sure..." Penny said with a sad smile. Aside from ensuring Elias received the flowers there was little else Penny could do to help the situation. She waved the teacups away with a silent gesture, less mess for Elias to deal with later.

"It was nice to meet you as well, I'm sure we'll see one another again soon." Only, as Miss Potts made for the door Penny quickly asked, "might I offer one piece of advice as someone whose heart has been broken before?"

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Daff had taken a moment to take one more good look around. She hated the feeling that this might be the last time she was in here, but something just wasn't sitting right. At least with her sketchbook in hand there could be any avoidance of her needing to retrieve it in the future, if things didn't go well.

Miss Fawcett's offer of a piece of advice struck Daff just as she had backed to the doorway. Daff nodded slowly, unsure as to what might be coming her way, but she supposed it couldn't hurt. This was not a broken heart, not yet, not like she'd experienced in the past. If it became one, it would be so much worse; she wasn't sure how she would get through it.

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"Don't give up." Penny offered, her tone quieter than before. Walking away from Nemo was still one of her biggest regrets, one she wished she could undo nearly every day. She was getting better now and her thoughts rarely became consumed with the grief of losing him, but it was still there. Sometimes, Penny feared it always would be.

"I allowed myself to be pushed away until there were no remaining fights to be had. I listened when he said to walk away, and it's something I regret immensely." She frowned and folded her arms across her chest. Merlin, she should've just allowed Miss Potts to leave without further comment. She shouldn't have brought this up, but now she had to finish it. "Just...if you love him, don't stop fighting."

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Daff listened, sighing softly. It appeared that Miss Fawcett could certainly understand where she was coming from. Daff's heart went out to the other woman; it sounded like things had not gone as Penny wished they would have. Though the advice didn't apply to this current situation, it certainly did apply to previous ones.

"I've made that mistake too." She had walked away once and despite her best efforts to reconcile, Noble had forced her away with such finality that there was no going back. She had begged and pleaded and cried and offered everything she could think of, but it just hadn't been enough.

"I do love him," Merlin did she ever. "So, I won't give up." Her conviction may have wavered here and there, but she wouldn't make that choice a second time. This time was different, this wasn't something she could just walk away from. There was too much promise, too much potential; she wanted desperately to fix it and would do whatever she needed to in order to make things better. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you," she added because she could sympathize wholeheartedly; it was miserable.

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Penny only nodded, for if she tried to voice any of the emotions welling in her chest she'd likely share far more information than she intended to. Already, Penny felt like she'd crossed some sort of invisible boundary, some line in the sand that had forced her to betray someone. Although whether that was Nemo, Irene or herself Penny wasn't quite certain.

"I hope you don't," Penny finally replied, her words genuine. She only wished for Elias to be happy, no matter who he was with. "Maybe in another life it would have. All that's left to do is keep moving forward, right?"

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   Daffodil Grimstone

For just a brief moment, Daff itched to reach out and give Penny a hug. Clearly the two of them needed it, but didn't know one another well enough. Daff was going to have to call on a sister soon, if things didn't resolve in the next few days. She might burst if she didn't get the chance to solve this.

"If I may," she managed a small smile. "I never thought I would get through, that first time," Noble had been her everything for so many formative years, full of their hopes and dreams that when it had all come crashing down, shattered into too many pieces to fix, she had thought that would be it. "So I hope you don't give up either. There's someone out there who will be exactly who you need, just like I found this time." It had been unexpected and wonderful and everything that she had needed, that Daff still thought sometimes it was too good to be true. Which was exactly why she couldn't give up.

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There wasn't anyone else, Penny knew. She was too old now to be considered desirable by anyone not desperate for a bride, and she'd never been the sort to settle for a marriage of convenience. She had wasted so much time waiting for Nemo to become established enough to propose, had told herself she was content with a life of work and inventing if it meant one day being with him. And now, all Penny had left was the work.

"I appreciate you saying so." Penny eventually managed. "I'll - I'll be sure to show Elias the flowers. I hope you'll come again soon."

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Penny didn't look very convinced, but Daff hoped she would at least give it some thought. She wouldn't press, not when everything seemed so fragile and she didn't know the circumstances.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Hopefully it would be enough to let him know she was thinking about him. The hundreds of carnations kept her going, but he had to know she was sorry somehow. "Hopefully I'll see you again soon." Daff cast one quick glance around the workshop and slipped back into the spring air.

Now all she could do was wait.

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