World's Apart

The Long Night

He smiled adoringly at her as she approached him. Taking her hand in his and touching it to his lips, James places a delicate kiss.

"Tell me what troubles you my love,"

His voice is one of genuine concern as he waits for her to answer.

"What are you thinking?"

Ali sits beside him and tucks her legs underneath her. James rests a hand on her knee as Ali regards the man before her.

"I'm thinking that I love you,"

The words leave her lips without a second thought and as they do a warm honey like feeling tingles across her skin.

The creases at James' eyes crinkle with happiness as his lip upturns into his perfect offset smile. The firelight catches his grey blue eyes and he reaches a hand forward to twirl a piece of Ali's soft blonde hair between his fingers.

"You have no idea what that means to me, what you mean to me," he breathes relieved.

At that moment he leans forward and presses his lips against Ali. Both of his hands cup her face and he pulls her gently towards him. Ali parts her lips and nibbles softly against James lip- making a soft laboured moan escape him.

Ali shifts closer against him. Her fingers twisting into his hair, tugging firmly and making him moan again. Her hand trails down his neck and her fingers fumble with the silk tie around his neck. Slacking off the knot, she unfastens the top few buttons of his shirt and rakes a heavy hand down the hot smooth skin of his chest.

Leaning above her, James pulls back and disconnects their lips momentarily as his eyes find hers. They are dark and lustful and a coy smile tugs at his lips before he hungrily reconnects their lips.

As the kiss deepens Ali, with her hands beneath his shirt, digs her nails into the skin of his back. James groans into the kiss but at that moment stops.

Pulling back suddenly he sits up and rakes a quick hand through his sweat dampen hair. Ali's cheeks flush pink as she props her elbows up behind her and stares up at James.

"James?"

"Shh... Wait, do you hear that?"

Ali strains her ears and follows James's gaze towards the window.

"No, what do you hear?"

He pauses for a second then exclaims "That! Don't you hear it?" he slides off the sofa and steps towards the window.

Ali sits up on the sofa, she watches for a few seconds and then she hears it. It's quiet at first but there's an unmistakable rumbling in the distance. The sound was strange but somewhat familiar to her and her face contorts as she tries to think.

James remains at the window, his eyes scanning from left to right as the noise grows louder.

Ali squeezes her eyes shut and instantly she is transported back to Weymouth, to the day she met James. She is running through the fields near her old house with Emily. Above them two spitfires roar over head.

Suddenly her eyes snap open just as realisation dawns on James.

"Ali!"

"James!" they scream together.

James leaps from the window towards Ali just as the roaring noise becomes a deafening buzz of planes overhead. At that moment, the air raid siren starts to sound from the street outside. James reaches for Ali's hand and the two of them hurry towards the back of the house.

Unlocking the back door, Ali and James hurry down the cold stone steps and towards the back of the garden where a small metal air raid shelter was half dug into the ground and buried by sandbags.

BOOM!

               BOOM!

                              BOOM!

Heavy bombs littered the city in the near distance and a high shriek escaped Ali as she clutched at James' shirt, pulling herself close to him.

"Inside, inside!" James yells above the deafening thunder.

Ali ducks into the metal shack, and cowers on the edge of the small creaky bed. James lingers at the door as the orange glow in the distance moves towards them, the roaring booms growing closer and closer.

"James what are you doing? Get in here!" Ali rubs her stomach uncomfortably as she watches James hover near the open doorway.

"The light, we've left it on," she can hear the conflict in his voice.

Ali stands as best as she can in the small space "James no!" she grips his arm tight "Just leave it, they already know we're here,"

He tightens his lips "They might fly over us," he presses.

The roaring planes are nearly above them and Ali's grip on his arm tightens tenfold.

"James," she pleads.

His eyes flicker to the sky, to the house, back to Ali then down to her swollen stomach. He shakes his arm from her grip and kisses her quickly on the forehead.

"I'll be right back!"

Before she can get another grip on him James is already running towards the house. He's already at the steps to the backdoor as the first planes rage above them.

"James!" Ali screams as he disappears inside the house.

BOOM!

The impact of the bomb hitting the ground shakes the Earth with such force that Ali tumbles and has to steady herself on the side of the shelter.

More planes are now above and the thunderous rumbling of bombs is overwhelming.

"James!" Ali is screaming now as she pushes the door to the shelter open. One hand cradles her bump as the other holds open the door. Her eyes are fixed on the stone steps to the backdoor.

"James please!" her voice cracks at the end in desperation.

Suddenly he appears. He bounds down the steps, taking them two at a time before he reaches the edge of the lawn.

"Hurry!" Ali waves him frantically.

The whistling noise above is unmistakable and James digs in trying to reach the shelter before the bomb destroys the house behind him.

"Ali!"

"James!"

BOOM!

The fiery red glow rips through the house sending debris high into the air. The noise was defending and as the ground shook violently, Ali clattered heavily backwards towards the ground in the shelter. Her body slammed against the cold stone floor and then blackness...

A/N: Happy New Year ALL! Thanks for all of your continued votes and comments, please keep them coming! Interested in your thoughts about this chapter...            R.