The Way Back Home

Chapter Forty Nine: Kissing You

AN: One more chapter to go after this one, then a sequel to follow soon, titled "The Homecoming Bride"!

CHAPTER SONG: "Kissing You" by Des'ree

The snow falling in the air began to lessen as Joseph and William arrived to the Blake residence. Emmy leaned against the lieutenant's chest as one of his arms enfolded around her, his free hand holding onto Satine's reins as he commanded the mare to stop, the horse stable coming into view by the house.

Will hadn't been too far behind, having sprinted on foot; his worry for Emmy giving him the adrenaline to run through the empty village streets, at the same speed at which he had raced across that battlefield so many months ago...

He could still hear the explosions roaring in his ears...

The lance corporal came through the gate as Joseph dismounted the faithful equine, knowing she was trained to stand still as he reached up to help a weakened Emmy out of the saddle. He placed his hands on both sides of her waist, seeing her face was pale as the snowflakes around them, her eyelids half open.

Carefully, Joe situated her down off the horse and into his arms, holding her close as he heard Will's boots crunching on the ground with his walking in their direction. Emmy's arms were instantly around his neck again as though she was wanting for Joe to carry her inside. He lifted her up bridal style with little effort, the older man's storm-cloud eyes meeting the clear sky blue orbs of Will, the two men nodding silently to each other.

The lieutenant slightly adjusted the delicate woman in his arms to make sure his grip beneath her underweight body was secure, his hands ever so gentle as he tried to slow his accelerating heart. Love for Emmanuelle burning through every iota of his whole being...

His now emptied gun felt like a ten pound iron burden in his waistband.

Will took ahold of Satine's reins, leading the horse toward the stable so he could get her settled back into her stall and he gestured toward the house for Joe to take Emmy inside quickly. The horse herself sensed the anxiety within the humans around her and whinnied aloud as though to communicate that something was wrong.

Without another wasted moment, Joe walked with a steadfast pace through the front yard toward the house, listening to Will gently whisper to Satine as he calmed the ivory mare who no doubt was recipient to the younger soldier's calm disposition.

Joe felt a fond smile crawl on his lips as he regarded the corporal. He looked toward his home, seeing with relief that the front windows glowed with interior light from the parlor and grey smoke rising from the chimney. Molly and the girls were here, which he was grateful for...

He felt Emmy nuzzle her head against his shoulder as he carried her toward the house, sadness radiating in his veins at the sound of her moaning in her frailty. Thankfully, her eyes remained open, though only half lidded.

Her words to him were soft, tearful and apologetic. "I'm sorry I slapped you, Joseph. It was very wrong of me to do that after the pain you've been through."

Joseph sighed with a gruff vibration rumbling through his ribcage as he looked down into her regretful green eyes. He wanted to be angry at her... but he couldn't bring himself to retaliate such fury that she had displayed toward him. He was just grateful that she was here alive and warm and awake in his arms again...

And that she brought herself to own up to her actions. Proving once more another reason why he loved her.

And he wanted her to know that it didn't affect his feelings for her. "Dearest one... I understand why you did it. And you know I'd never want to see your fire extinguished."

She reached up and touched with her slender fingers his cheek that she could see the faded handprint on his skin. Emmy's tender caress made his face flush with the cold wind around them. "I have a temper, but that's no excuse for what I did. We're friends and we should never hurt each other... just the thought of never seeing you again... I would only be half of myself... half of my soul would be missing if you were gone. I...I'm so, so sorry Joseph."

Emmy leaned up and kissed his cheek, almost making Joe stop in his tracks as he was only a few feet away from the porch. The raven haired solder inhaled a shaking breath of amazement at the touch of her chapped lips against his bristled skin.

He glanced to the side and down into her evergreen eyes, almost not believing that they were open again. The only response he could think of was to return the sentiment, his forehead touching hers, their noses brushing as he released the breath he held from her kiss, his voice a baritone purr likened to a tiger. "And I'm sorry as well, Emmanuelle."

Joseph made his way up the porch steps as the front door opened, revealing a relieved Molly as she immediately locked eyes with Emmy. The two women smiled at one another despite the sickly complexion of the American maiden in the lieutenant's arms.

"Thank goodness, you're alright! Where's Will?" Molly rubbed her hands up her arms as the freezing wind blew through the doorway.

"I'm here, Mol!" Will answered his sister, calling out to everyone as he approached the porch.

"Come on inside, everybody." Molly held the door open as she stood to the side, allowing Joseph to carry Emmy into the house with Will following close behind.

Molly read both men's facial expressions, she was glad not to feel any antagonism between them, especially at the sight of Joseph carrying Emmy in plain sight of her brother. She knew he was not a jealous or possessive type of man, and she saw the look in Will's eyes, absent of any envy. Only a shine of worry as Joe walked to the armchair and deposited Emmy down into the seat.

A woolen blanket was draped over Emmy's legs as she leaned her head against the back of the chair, closing her eyes again as her temples were pounding with a slight migraine.

Joe went to follow Molly to the kitchen as Will knelt by Emmy's feet in front of the chair. He reached up and stroked her pale cheek as her eyes opened again.

She moaned softly in discomforting dizziness as she met Will's worried blue eyes. Emmy managed to smile down at the man she loved with all her heart as she took his much larger hand within hers, pressing a kiss to his fingers. "I'll be okay, Will. I just need to rest some more."

"Yes... you may have exhausted your body too quickly, my love." The lance corporal held both of her small hands in his gentle grip, leaning down to place his own kiss on her knuckles. "I'm just glad you're here with all of us again, my Emmy."

The usually stoic Englishman smiled up at his beloved, tears of happiness welling in his eyes as he turned to the familiar grunting noises of Myrtle, followed closely by the quickly grown Labrador pup staring curiously at Emmy with his big black eyes.

"Is this one of the puppies?" Emmy asked, reaching out to stroke the slightly smaller dog's head, a near identical image to his mother. The chocolate male dog licked her hand with his rough pink tongue.

"Yes, Molly let the girls adopt him. He's been christened as 'Bucky'." Will couldn't help but softly chuckle at the name, turning silently to stare adoringly at the small girls asleep deeply on the chaise. They both leaned on the opposite sides of the cushions, stirring while lost in their dreams.

The tired young man momentarily left Emmy's side, going to adjust the blankets wrapped around the girls so they would be warm. He heard dishes and silverware clattering in the kitchen as Will held out the fire-poker in the hearth, moving around a few logs to keep the flames within alive.

Myrtle had laid her head on Emmy's lap, with Bucky perched firmly at her feet. The woman's fingers stroked the female canine's sensitive ears as she heard footsteps approaching from the kitchen.

Emmy glanced at Cici and Elle, laying asleep on the couch. "Should we wake the girls up? I'm sure they've been worried if they saw me sleeping for so long."

"It's so late in the night, my love. They barely made it to midnight... before I was able to awaken you." Will found himself choking up as he remembered his fear after kissing her sweet lips, waiting as the bells chimed and she laid so immobile and pale...

Emmy immediately reached out to touch his cheek, caressing the rough spots of his skin. "Hey, I'm here now, Will. I said I'd come back to you... and I have. All of you have been more of a family to me than anyone has back in my own century. And like I told Joe, I'm not going anywhere."

Will's previously unshed tears flowed down his face as he released a strangled sob while also smiling at her. "I love you, Emmanuelle... I love you."

Feeling bold, he leaned up to kiss her mouth, grinning in sync with Emmy as their lips met. The American brunette couldn't help but smile in delight as his rough chin patch of scruff tickled her skin. All of his flaws, physically and psychologically, made him the man she fell in love with in that French countryside.

"My Will." She gasped for breath as they parted, recalling they weren't exactly alone and they had to keep their affection under control.

The footsteps at last came into the living room as Cici and Elle began to move on the chaise, seemingly roused awake by the noise. Both girls groggily groaned as they began to wake up, sitting up and rubbing their eyes as Molly entered the room with a tray in her hands.

The children slowly became more aware of their surroundings as they looked about, seeing at first the two dogs, their mother, their Uncle Will...

And then...

"Aunt Emmy!" Cici and Elle both cried out in unison before any of the adults knew what was happening.

Emmy pushed herself to sit upright on the chair, but her equilibrium still struggled from the hazy euphoria of Will's kiss. A brightened smile came onto her face as they bounded away from the couch, past their mother and into the younger woman's arms.

"Girls, be careful. Don't overwhelm your Auntie Emmy, she's just woken up." Molly tried to calm both Cecelia and Giselle down, but she knew there was no stopping their excitement. She felt her own tears come to her eyes as her hands shook while holding the food tray.

Will stood quickly and took the tray from his sister's hands as he sensed her own shakiness at seeing the girls reunited with Emmy.

Elle and Cici climbed into Emmy's lap, snuggling into her shoulders, burying their faces into her flower braided hair like a baby animal nuzzles its mother's side for comfort. She wrapped her arms around them, squeezing them close to her as she began cry silently.

She kissed their foreheads and cheeks and they did the same with her, cooing and crying her name as they nearly welded themselves to her hips. Whatever pain Emmy felt at their weight on her still healing body, she didn't let it show as Will tenderly pulled the girls out of her arms and they sagged limply with their energy gone after such sudden stimulation.

Emmy heard her soldier whisper consoling words to his nieces as he cradled both of them to his chest. They flung their arms around his neck as he held them close. "Shh... my sweet ones. It's alright... Aunt Emmy will be fine. She'll need to eat and rest before she can play and tell you more stories."

He slyly winked in her direction as Molly placed the tray in her lap, keeping the girls distracted as he sensed they were beginning to doze off again.

"How long have they been here? They oughta be at home in their own beds." Emmy suggested, lifting up her fork so she could eat her food, a few eggs sunnyside up and delicious sausage links with buttered biscuits.

She couldn't help but feel touched that Molly remembered when she had told her about the twenty-first century idea of "breakfast for dinner". Emmy hadn't recalled being this hungry since that first day Will and Tom had found her in France, doing her best to take small bites and upset her painfully empty stomach.

Molly and Will watched her eat with vigilant eyes, seeing that she was eating every bite and the color was coming back to her cheeks, the blossom blooming life back into her fiery aura.

Emmy felt a little stronger and energized as she finished her meal. She almost licked the plate clean, her mouth watering with satisfaction of her hunger.

And to answer her request, Joe entered the room as well, a steaming teacup in his hands, his deep brogue of a voice booming against the walls. "She's right. You've all spent nearly every single day here. Now, our dearest Emmy is awake."

A note of vocal warmth saturated his tone as he knelt down by Emmy to place the cup on the tray and to take her empty plate. Emmy looked to see the glint of love in his blue eyed gaze as he watched her glance into the porcelain cup.

Steaming hot chocolate... just what she needed for her first exposure to the English winter!

Perhaps Joseph knew her better than she had estimated...

"Be careful, it's hot." Joe cautioned attentively, watching her take the cup by its handle with her dainty fingers.

She blew into the cup, sipping carefully at the liquid as she looked to see all of the people nearest to her now all together in one room and willing to stand with her for every step she needed to recover.

"Joe... you've no idea how happy I am to be here with you. But... I really want to sleep in my own bed at Molly's house. And those girls are tired beyond reason." Emmy set her cup onto the tray, reaching out her scarred hand to hold his fingers.

"Of course." The lieutenant didn't hesitate as he stroked her pinky and ring finger with his calloused thumb. "Once you're finished, I'll hitch up Satine and take you all home."

"Will you be alright on your own tonight?" She couldn't help but ask him after having crossed another threshold in their dynamic as friendship twisted into an unreturned love.

And Emmy hated herself for not being able to reciprocate his feelings...

Tonight truly made her realize how much Joseph Daniel Blake meant to her, another man who had protected her from certain death and cared for her with no asking for anything back.

"I will, dearest one." Joe raised her hand to his lips and imprinted a brief but soft kiss on her wounded fingers. A nonverbal declaration of his love for her... His fingertips brushed the pulse of her wrist; the blood in her veins flowed already stronger than when she had lain lifeless in her tent. "In the morning, you'll see me again. Anything you need, only say the word."

"I'll need to see you alive and well for a long, long time, lieutenant. And that includes smoking. I could smell the tobacco on your shirt while you were carrying me." Emmy played with the grey streak in his jet-black hair. "My dark Rochester..."

Joe sighed to himself, feeling the cigarette pack in his trousers pocket. And he looked into her green eyes and the deal was done. "Very well, Emmanuelle. You know very well I can't deny you."

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The ride home to the Schofield house was shockingly quick and chilled with the night air. Not much was said, the girls having fallen back asleep.

Joe kept looking behind him as he rode away in his rig and watched Molly help Emmy walk inside, having allowed the girl keep her borrowed boots. Molly herself ignored the soaked sensation of her stockings, knowing they would dry out overnight.

Will carried his dozing nieces inside in his arms, Molly locking the door behind them once they were all in the parlor. Emmy leaned on the staircase banister, seeing Molly take Elle into her arms with her brother holding Cici as they both carried the girls up the steps to their bedroom.

The corporal silently mouthed to Emmy that he'd be back down momentarily. As she watched them ascend the stairs and turn to the right to the girls' room, Emmy looked at the towering mountain of the staircase itself.

She took a deep breath as her vision began to swim at the sight, the stacked rectangles of aging wood swirling in a cyclone of spinning and delirium. Emmy leaned her body against the wall to keep from slipping to the floor.

Her clenched fist struck the wall, mindful not to bruise her knuckles as the frustration at her weakness blended with a feeling of pathetic need for others to aid her in something as simple as walking up the stairs.

Emmy set her forehead against the wall as more tears sprinkled from her eyes. Damn this sleeping curse sucking the life out of her!

"My love?" Will softly asked her as he came down the steps, his tone of voice indicating to Emmy that he knew what she was thinking and he sensed her helplessness. He was at her side in an instant, patiently pulling her away from the wall and brushing some curls of hair out of her eyes. "Whatever you're thinking; please let us help you and take care of you."

Fatigue nearly caused Emmy to falter toward the floor as she buried her face into Will's chest, inhaling his comforting masculine scent of safety, with-holding a sob. Her soldier swung the American girl delicately into his arms again and she couldn't help but sink into his embrace.

The sound of the creaking wood underneath his booted feet brought solace to her as her arms folded around his neck. Emmy's flowing magical-length tresses of hair pooled in her lap, completely loose from her woven braid... And Will's voice whispered more soothing velvet in her ear.

"Your body needs time to recover, my darling. What matters tonight is that you're alive and awake. Soon, you'll be walking and running again. And whilst you get better, you are still my beautiful and strong Emmanuelle." He kissed her forehead and her cheek laid upon his shoulder, her eyelids drooping nearly shut.

Emmy sighed in relaxation, nuzzling the collar of his shirt, her ears perking up at the sound of a door squeaking open. She opened her eyes, seeing that Will had carried her upstairs and through the hallway toward her bedroom, opening the door with his foot.

He continued holding her close, cradling her to his chest as he could feel her body had been drained of what energy she had remaining for the night. His nose skimmed the top of her head, being tickled by the voluminous ribbons of chocolate curls, reveling in the aroma of their floral splendor.

Thankful of the light illuminating from the foyer to improve his vision, Will carried his love to the bed that had been untouched since she had vanished back to her era... and now here she was again in his arms and regaining her health every moment.

The brunette girl reluctantly unraveled her arms from around his neck as she felt her body being placed tenderly on the mattress, adjusting her head on the pillow as her hair curled all around her face, obstructing her sight. Emmy groaned in irritation as she heard Will chuckle in quiet amusement, her fingers tangling in the impossibly brown long strands. Her feet were freed of Molly's shoes as her beau removed them so she could situate herself under the thick covers and sheets.

"God, my hair is so freaking long!" She grumbled, pushing all of her hair off to one side on the pillow before pulling out the last pieces of the flowers. "I've never had my hair this long before... you couldn't have had it cut while I was asleep?"

She looked up at Will as he knelt at her side by the bed, reaching out with his hand to caress the silken source of her impatience. An embarrassed blush reddened her blossom cheeks, seeing the sparkle of humor mixed with adoration in his eyes as he gazed down at her.

"Molly suggested it, but the girls wanted to braid it and decorate your hair. Every week, they chose different flowers for you. It kept them occupied from asking questions about... about what was causing you to be asleep for so long. We couldn't find ways to explain that you were probably dying right in front of us." Will's tone of voice softened into a mournful eulogy as he remembered the many days of sitting by her side and stroking her curls and trying not to bruise the petals after his innocent nieces had completed their work with the flowers.

Emmy saw the blue of his eyes darken with sorrow and she reached up to touch his cheek, her thumb petting his chin scruff. She yearned to say something to comfort him, but her tongue couldn't shape the words. Here she was complaining about her hair length when everyone who cared for her had cried and prayed at her bedside for weeks upon weeks... waiting for her to die or wake.

Will caught himself as he gently removed her hand from his face, kissing her palm. "In the morning, you cut your hair to whichever length satisfies you, my love. Your wild hair was one of the first things that bewitched me when I first beheld you."

The woman lying before him smirked at his compliment, then fully smiled as she pulled him closer so that he hovered over her. "How about... you cut my hair tomorrow... if you let me shave off that patch on your chin?"

She raised her eyebrows, gauging his reaction to her bargain as he softly purred a deep rumble coursing through him, pulling him ever closer to her until the tips of their noses touched. His lips turned down into a nearly youthful scowl similar to a boy who wanted to argue with his mother, their foreheads brushing. Will answered her with a tender kiss to her own mouth before speaking aloud his response.

"Very well, my Emmy. I'm flattered you trust me with cutting your lovely hair. I haven't had help shaving since my father was alive. But I'll trust you to not nick me with the razor blade." Will found himself smiling again down at her. It was a strange sensation for him to smile so much now, but he had a damn good reason to be happy lying right in front of him.

"Yes, tomorrow will be a fresh start for us." Emmy returned his smile, enjoying the sight of her William so joyous, which was a rare instance and she instinctively reached up and caressed her fingertips to his lips that had kissed her so many times and with such gentleness. As she glanced at her raised hand, she saw the scars on her own fingers and she noticed the stinging absence of Will's promise ring he had improvised on a whim, confirming their bond as a committed couple.

To simply refer to Lance Corporal William Schofield as her "boyfriend" sounded juvenile and almost inappropriate. And she wanted to think of herself as someone other than a "girlfriend", and he had referred to her with so many other terms nobody had ever called her before.

And she felt the guilt and the terrible memories of what she had endured with Erik begin to chip away at her present happiness... and Will saw the immediate change in her mood as she removed her fingers from his savory lips.

"Emmy? Darling, what's wrong?" Will asked, one of his hands stroking her cheek and the other caressing her messy hair...

"The ring you gave me, from your army chains... Erik got rid of it after... after he kidnapped me." Emmy already felt the sweltering tears spilling down her cheeks as Will quickly stood to close the door and give them privacy.

He heard the lock click before turning to see her sit up against the pillows as she kept her eyes on the man she loved, one of the only two men in her life she had ever felt truly safe around. Will saw the vulnerable and broken look in her eyes and everything else around him disappeared.

The lance corporal went back to her side, sitting on the bed and gently taking her into his arms. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her ring finger, holding her as she shivered and shook in his embrace. His own fingers petted through her chaotic waving hair. "You are what's most precious to me, Emmy. Not a little trinket from my belongings. But that man deserves to burn in hell for what he's done to you."

Emmy sniffled as she laid her head onto his shoulder, her arms around his neck. Her sobs began to subside as she slowly started to calm down. She closed her eyelids, feeling the watery tears soaking her lashes. "What he did when he took me away... after I came back to 2020... he..."

Her tongue almost couldn't form any further words as Will gently pulled out of her arms, seeing her looking down at her lap with an indiscernible expression on her lovely face. His fingertips tenderly raised up her chin so she would meet his eyes. "Emmanuelle, you can tell me anything. Whatever happened to you in your era, I will never judge you or turn away from you."

His thumb traced over her lips, feeling the rough chapped texture of her pink mouth. She slowly nodded her head, wiping away a few tears from her cheeks. "Stay with me tonight? Just... just hold me, please?"

Will didn't need to be asked twice. He felt no hesitation as he went around to the other side of the bed, not when it came to being there for her. Slipping off his boots, he climbed onto the bed behind her, his strong, protective arms around her upper body, her back molding flawlessly against his chest.

His nose burrowed into her flower-scented curls and he kissed her shoulder. Emmy took one of Will's massive hands into both of hers, looking at every line and vein of his skin. She felt a lustful chill up her spine as she remembered his hands traveling up her topless bosom in a physical display of his love and desire for her...

She pressed her lips to each of his fingertips; then intertwined all of her fingers with his. "My gentle Will... my hero."

"I'm right here, my love." His voice whispered in her ear, low and patient and calming. "Get it all out. I'm here to keep you safe, even from your bad memories."

And he would, just as she had kept his worst memories of the last few years at bay with her compassion and bravery and honesty...

His free hand stroked through the hair at the top of her head, and he leaned his head on the pillow, his hulking body dwarfing hers above the covers. He felt her shiver in his arms as she inhaled a shaking breath, preparing herself to tell him about Erik's abduction of her.

He instinctively tightened his grasp around her, his calf slipping to lie between both of her own legs, like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together...

And she told him all that she recalled.

She talked about being sedated, the sharpness of the needle in her skin when the monster had spirited her away, the drug seeping through her system and the terrifying reveal of waking up cocooned in Erik's bed.

"After I woke up... I tried to run away... but I was still dizzy from the drug and he grabbed me. He held me down on the bed and put his hand over my mouth..." Emmy could hear Will's sharpened breaths in her ear as his body tensed at her descriptions. She kept a hold on his hand with their intertwined fingers, squeezing them together in an effort to soothe him. "He... he didn't rape me... I don't believe he did even when I was sedated. But he said he'd never let me go. Just the thought of him touching me..."

She trailed off briefly as she felt Will's arms loosen around her, only for her to pull them firm around her again. She needed him holding her as she was telling him this.

William Schofield's arms were her shelter and armor, always protecting her.

"What he showed me next... it... it was something straight out of a nightmare or a scary story. It was a mannequin with a wedding dress in my exact size." Emmy felt a twisting nausea in her stomach at the vision in her mind's eye of such horror, and that numbing sensation of when she had fainted afterward. "And I blacked out... I must have gone into shock and collapsed."

"Oh, Emmy." Will half-sobbed in disbelief, his arms encircling her even closer. Shame swam over him in a tidal wave. The hell she had endured at the hands of this fiend who had terrorized her. "If I had been there..."

"I killed him, Will." The words slipped off her lips as she turned around in his embrace. "I had to kill him. If the police had arrested him, he wouldn't let that stop him. I slit his throat... with a glass piece from a mirror. His hands were around my throat... and he would've killed me. And I promised you I would come back. I had to get back to my family. I have more blood on my hands now."

And she could still see the icy blue in Erik's eyes as he strangled her...

And the nameless German soldier she had stabbed with the bayonet in Ecoust...

"You did what you had to do, my love." He took her face into his hands, his thumbs stroking her heated cheeks. "You defeated him and were able to save yourself... and you were brought back to us."

She nodded her head, closing her eyes as Will kissed her forehead.

"I drank a potion... and that's what put me in the coma, after Erik died. I heard Tom's voice in my head say it would either kill me or bring me back to you. I... I had to risk it to escape from Erik." She placed her hand on Will's cheek, inching close enough to his face for their noses to touch, their heads together on the pillow as they laid beside one another. "It was like falling asleep, like I was floating in a black abyss of nothing."

"You didn't have any nightmares or dreams?" Will softly questioned, his much larger hand caressing her cheek, petting the shell of her ear with his fingertips.

"I don't think so. It was just nothing but silence and pitch black, like when you sleep without dreaming. I had the same experience when Erik sedated me with the needle or chloroformed me." She saw Will's throat gulp with a soft growl at the mention of her being rendered unconscious by the man so dangerously obsessed with her and she welcomed the pull of her soldier's arms to keep her close to him.

Will's arms around her felt miles away from whenever Erik would paw at and restrain her... She knew her William had no desire to control her or demean her sense of herself as an individual. Whenever he was holding her, it was to protect her from anything frightening or threatening her, even from her own weaknesses and memories.

She buried herself against his chest as he held her close, his hand petting her curled hair adoringly. Emmy's voice murmured in her corporal's ear. "I knew you had to be my prince, waking me up with your kiss... I know that sounds stupid, but..."

"It's not stupid, my Emmy." Will interrupted. He leaned forward and delicately kissed her rosebud lips. "No word from your tongue could be thought of in that way to me. It was an unusual situation, but all we cared about was seeing to your health while you in such a deep sleep. What matters now is that you've woken up. You have me, Molly and Joe to help you when you need us, my darling. I know you value your independence, but there's no harm in asking for help from those of us who love you."

Emmy's lower lip trembled as she absorbed Will's words and looked right into his blue eyes... those misty fog blue eyes she fell in love with. And she saw not an ounce of manipulation or ulterior motive where he was trying to yank her shield away.

All she saw was absolute love for her; a need to care for her while her physical body required healing.

She snuggled close to him as previously unshed tears trailed along her cheeks, her face against his shoulder.

No more words were said as they held each other, the Edwardian veteran soldier and the woman from a century forward in time miraculously brought into each other's lives.

Emmy felt herself growing tired again, her consciousness slipping away as she stayed in his arms. Her true love who had saved her from floating in eternal oblivion with a single touch to her lips.

And she didn't need to hear just words from his voice to comfort her. As she descended into a peaceful sleep, she heard a deep vibrating hum from his chest, flowing in her mind. The tune sounded vaguely familiar, like something she might have heard back in 2020...

She was asleep before she could figure out the song, even with the lyrics subconsciously emanating through her exhausted mind.

Will himself felt slumber overtaking his mind as his heavy eyelids began to obscure the heavenly sight of the woman in his arms. Her impossibly tangled hair, her insipid complexion of restoring health, her wrinkled nightdress...

His Emmanuelle...

And he wouldn't leave anything to chance again, not after coming too close to losing her forever.

He had no voice in the back of his mind telling him to leave the room, not like before when he had placed propriety and restrictions on their intimacy. She had asked him to stay with her.

And stay he would.

His eyelids began to close as his body numbed with fatigue, listening to the soft sounds of her adorable sighing snores. He laid beside her, and they both slept.

Guarding her from all danger, either from a nightmare or a shadowy foe prowling in the dark to harm her... Will would be there to protect her, no matter the cost to his own life.

.

.

Day by day, Emmy's strength and health began to fully revive.

With each morning she awoke, she felt refreshed with adrenaline and newborn fire in her veins. Although Will and Molly cautioned for her to stay in bed the first few days, they knew deep down she wouldn't listen. After being asleep for so long, Emmy needed to move again.

With every meal, her appetite increased to a regular amount of food, much to her new family's relief. Her body began to fill out again to a nourished weight, the color in her face glowing and the sparkle in her green eyes returning.

The week after she awoke, Molly accompanied her to the doctor along with Will. The lance corporal had expressed a need to be with her for the medical diagnosis, but Molly and Dr. Wannop insisted it wasn't appropriate to be in the same room since Will and Emmy weren't married, to which the young soldier reluctantly agreed to be in the waiting area.

He had barely let Emmy out of his sight since she awoke, watching to see if she ever felt lightheaded or feeble. The main trouble she had was going up and down the stairs, where Will would carry her up or down depending on where she needed to go.

And he could sense her restlessness and irritation at needing help just for walking, but she couldn't leave her wellbeing to chance.

Dr. Wannop proclaimed Emmy to be improving, her pulse consistently flowing, her heart rate unstoppable. Her sight and hearing were perfectly normal, no noticeable abnormalities or side effects from the time travel or the trauma of Erik's abducting her.

When she returned from the examination with a clean bill of health, Molly and Emmy greeted Will with relieved smiles, the soldier hugging and kissing the two most important women in his life; Molly on the forehead and Emmy ever so passionately on the lips; not caring that a few other people were watching with small smiles on their own faces.

As the blizzards came and went with the January weather, Emmy had finally been able to make snow angels with Cici and Elle, playing with them in their snowball fights. Will and Molly would watch from the kitchen with amazed gazes, seeing the newest member of their family so full of life and beauty.

Hearing the girls' squealing laughter and Emmy's bell chime giggles as both children rowdily tackled her in the falling snow, flakes of white caught in the all their hair filled Will's heart with a sense of bliss that he had never experienced with any woman before.

He had only a few months of leave left until he had to return to France and he wanted not to waste one more moment in grief or misery around his loved ones.

Emmy glanced up to the kitchen window as Molly went outside to call the children in to warm up by the fire, instantly spotting Will to meet his blue eyes, evergreen against azure. Her magenta rose petal lips turned up into a beaming smile, revealing her flawless ivory teeth.

In the past, he never had the greatest luck with women. He certainly had kissed a few girls, but such occurrences were few and far between, most of them before he had even entered his twenties.

The incident with Molly's husband had driven Will to put his sister and nieces' safety above everything else. And the war as well...

But for the first time ever with Emmanuelle, he felt the purest love and devotion for this one woman. And the resurgence of his more primal instincts as a man with urges. Most of his dreams about her were tragic or romantic, with the occasional spree of lust.

And while he knew she had been with other men back in her era prior to Erik even, she had assured him they were what she referred to as "one night stands", with no emotional connections. She had only needed a warm body to hold her for a few moments, to forget her loneliness.

Will had been the only man to truly see her naked, even if it had only been her upper half.

But with her recovering from the coma, he had been extra careful whenever he touched her or carried her in his arms. Most nights, she would want him to sleep beside her in the guest bedroom and he obliged.

And thankfully, Molly had not objected. She knew her brother and Emmy were hesitant to be too great a distance from each other. But Emmy was enough of lady not to do anything too scandalous with the children in the house.

But that was beside the point.

As he watched Emmy shake out snowflakes from her windblown chestnut tresses, now flowing barely to the middle of her back from her haircut, Will thoughtfully scratched his clean shaven chin as he made a resolution to himself for the turn of the New Year...

If Emmy was to ask him again, he was willing to forsake his previous principles where their relationship was concerned.

He was ready to make love to her, to consummate their union as a courting couple.

But there was one more thing Will dared hope to gain the courage to ask his Emmanuelle a certain question before he departed again for France, whether they made love for the first time before or after.

He would ask beautiful Emmy to marry him, in faith and home as well as in body.

.

.

February 10th, 1918

Emmy's birthday was today.

And the newly 29 year old brunette woman was awakened with breakfast in bed courtesy of Molly, Cici and Elle singing Happy Birthday and energetic Bucky leaping onto her bed and licking her face, feeling the happiness of everyone around him.

Much to her dismay, Will had left for London before anyone else had woken up that morning.

But thankfully, he had left a letter on her bedside table along with a few deep purple violets laid upon the white parchment. Only when she was alone again with everyone downstairs so she could dress was she able to read what her William had written to explain his absence, feeling a sensuous burn on the skin of her cheek as she deduced he must have stolen a kiss whilst she slept.

And a girlish blush spread across her face, at the mere thought of his touch. Every time his lips had kissed her, no matter where on her body... She sighed in pure delight as she held the flowers to her nose, inhaling their sweet aroma.

Oh, God! She loved this man so much beyond reason...

She propped herself upright on the pillow as she placed the flowers behind her ear, fastening them into her curls. Emmy held up the letter to read what her William had scribed for her, his handwriting neat and disciplined with nary a misplaced splotch of ink.

My sleeping angel,

I wish you the most joyous of many happy returns!

Forgive me for not being there to see you awaken as you turn another year in your life. And I mean that phrasing in the best way. Molly advised me that women are sensitive about their age, but fret not, my darling. You grow more beautiful with each passing day.

I've gone to London to make preparations for a proper celebration of the day God blessed this world with your birth. I can imagine the blush blooming on your lovely face as you read this letter, sweet Emmanuelle. Tonight, I want to take you on a real outing or as you refer to, "a date" to see 1918 London.

You'll want to dress warmly with the chill tonight for I'd hate for you to catch cold. I can't wait to spend an evening with my sweetheart and bring you out to see the beauty of London. Although the brightest lights in the city compare not to your heavenly splendor.

Until tonight, my beloved Emmy;

With all my eternal love,

Your Will

XXX

.

.

Around noon, the sun tried in vain to shine through the grey clouds, the snow having stopped floating down to the ground. The air was still frigid as Emmy folded her new blue winter coat, warm without being too heavy on her body; it was Will's Christmas present for her along with an emerald green scarf which he had said reminded him of her eyes. Molly had purchased for her some winter boots and thick woolen stockings for the holiday as well.

Despite the cold, Emmy needed the walk and the fresh air to be by herself. After weeks of being tended to with her recuperation, she was yearning for a little solitude and quiet. And she anticipated with slight anxiety and curiosity what Will had planned for her birthday, but the thought of seeing London in this time thrilled her to no end.

But for right now, she needed to see Joseph Blake. It wouldn't have felt justified, her existence being celebrated if she didn't check on her best friend, having not seen him in a couple of weeks. Since the night she awoke from the coma, he had come by the house a few times to bring food and other supplies for her from his own home.

Emmy had no idea how long she walked. Thirty minutes, an hour, three hours...

She had walked the whole way through the main streets of the village without a single instance of feeling disoriented or faint, and it felt invigorating as she was regaining her physical autonomy.

Clutching her coat around herself, she opened the gate to the Blake property, smiling as she saw smoke rising once again from the house's chimney, signaling that Joe was home.

The brunette woman ran across the yard, seeing Myrtle come from the side of the stable by the house to greet her. "Hey, big girl. I've missed you. Are you watching out for Satine?"

Myrtle whined happily in response to her voice, jumping up to lean her paws on Emmy's legs as she barked a few more times. Emmy stroked the female canine's head, scratching behind her ears; both of them perked up in alertness as the front door opened.

Joseph stepped onto the porch, the door closing behind him. The raven haired lieutenant locked eyes with Emmy immediately as she smiled in relief at the sight of her friend. He was dressed in a dark brown coat that reminded her of his uniform from when they first met. "Emmy... I... I was about to go over to the Schofield house to give you..."

He found himself tongue tied, unable to finish his sentence as Emmy bounded up the porch steps and nearly knocked him off his feet in an embrace, her arms wound around his neck. Her cold chapped lips brushed his bearded cheek in a platonic kiss. "Where have you been, Joe? I've hardly seen you these past few weeks."

Emmy stepped back slightly, seeing a slight blush color his skin and taking note of the coal black scruff along his jaw-line and cheeks having thickened into facial hair covering the lower half of his Byronic featured face. Her hand twitched with a need to stroke the raven curled hair sticking to his forehead...

He was still her brooding, passionate Rochester with a dash of primordial Heathcliff...

"I... I can explain very well. Come on in, please." Joe turned to open the door, beckoning her to come enter through the doorway, Myrtle following close behind. He watched her with his heart racing as Emmy removed her coat and scarf, shaking out her wild hair. "Make yourself at home, dearest one. I'll make us a cup of tea... or hot chocolate for you."

She smiled to herself as he remembered her favorite beverage for the wintertime. Sitting down on the chaise, she watched the freshly ignited fire in the hearth whilst listening to Joe's footsteps in the kitchen along with some dishware clattering.

Myrtle laid by Emmy's feet on the floor, folding herself into a comfortable shape to keep her body warm.

Emmy rung her hands together in her lap, seeing the nearly pristine condition of the parlor, the wooden floor beneath her feet scrubbed within an inch of its life, the table right in front of her spotless with nary a stain on the surface. Joe had most likely been preoccupying himself with intense housework and other chores since his mother was no longer alive.

Her chest ached with her missing Catherine Blake, however in the short time she knew the matriarch; she had become a maternal figure Emmy had lacked in her life.

The young woman blinked back tears as she heard Joseph's footsteps return to the parlor, the lieutenant holding a silver tray in his hands with two steaming teacups atop of it. Emmy's mouth watered as she smelled the hot cocoa inside one of them, her hands reaching for it as Joe set the tray upon the table.

"Drink it slow, it'll burn." Joe softly cautioned her, his voice gruff with what sounded like barely hidden anxiety as he perched beside her on the chaise.

Emmy held the cup by its handle, blowing away the steam with her lips. Joe did the same with his cup of honeyed tea, glancing between her and the table. After a minute or two of allowing the drink to cool off, she lifted the cup to her mouth and drank a long gulp. A satisfied smile graced her lips much to Joe's relief, a dark thought coming to his mind when she had told him about Erik drugging her wine inside her own home...

And Emmy herself was surprised at how safe she still felt around Joseph, completely alone in his home. Back in 2020, she had been taught to never allow a man to make a drink for her while he was out of her sight. And now, she didn't experience a hint of that instinct, not with Joseph. She knew in the deepest recesses of her soul that he would never do such a heinous act.

She had to remember that she was in a safe place, surrounded by people who cared for her and cried over her unconscious body for weeks in mourning...

And the very thought of Joseph with that gun of his pointed to his own temple made her blanch... made her want to hate the entire world for taking away her best friend, her soul's missing half...

"Emmy... dearest one?" Joe spoke her name sharply, shattering the train of her thoughts and causing her to almost drop her cup, the chocolate liquid swirling dangerously in the glass as she set it on the table.

Joseph did the same with his cup and reached over to hold her scarred hand in his own. He carefully watched her facial expression, trying to decipher what she was thinking. Emmy looked up at her friend, forest green eyes meeting stormy blue. She struggled to find a response to his worried inquiry, her voice stammering to answer him.

"I'm... I'm fine, Joseph. I... I was just thinking how everything is different here compared to... where I used to live." Emmy gulped, the following words tasting like bile in the back of her throat. "After Erik kidnapped me... and I killed him... and the sleeping potion put me in that coma... I almost feel like I don't deserve to feel so safe here... with you and Will. Where I'm from, women are taught to be wary of being alone with men... and Erik was the embodiment of all the reasons why. Sometimes, I can still feel his hands all over me... around my throat to choke me... and over my mouth to smother me..."

Joe delicately took ahold of both her hands, melancholy flowing through him that she was still haunted by that monster. How he wished he could have killed Erik himself, look into his soulless eyes as he died slowly and painfully. But what mattered was that he was dead and gone, unable to harm Emmy or anyone else ever again.

"Emmanuelle... listen to me." Joe dared brush a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. "Will and myself, we would never let anything bad happen to you; here in Surrey, you never have to be afraid anymore. I've lost everyone close to me in my family." Joe blinked back tears of his own as his thumbs caressed Emmy's knuckles. "And now, you're the one person I have left to care for. All I want for you is to have a future however you desire and with whoever makes you happy."

She smiled, wiping away her tears as she recalled Will saying similar words to her on the lengthy train journey from France to London. And before she knew what was occurring, her arms were around his neck again in a hug, and Joe immediately returned the embrace, his fingers stroking her long hair cascading down her back.

They embraced for several moments in relative silence, basking in the comfort of each other's presence in their respective isolation and sadness.

As she regained control of her crying, Joe gently pulled out of her arms, his fingertips feeling the heat of her pink tinged cheeks as he smiled consolingly at her. Emmy felt like such a killjoy, blubbering on her birthday and during her visit to her best friend.

She sniffled, pulling out a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and dabbing her nose. Emmy caught her breath as she noticed Joe had risen from the chaise to reach into his coat that he had discarded on the armchair, pulling out a small black wooden box.

"Joseph, you didn't..." Emmy half-sighed, resigning herself to an eye-roll in reaction to her friend giving her a birthday present.

"Yes, I did. Happy birthday, dearest one." Joe chuckled at her behavior, placing the box in her lap as he placed himself back beside her. "When you were in your coma... I couldn't bring myself to buy a Christmas gift for you... I was afraid you wouldn't..."

Her fingertips stroked the lid of the box, looking up into his deep blue eyes, seeing his dark pupils dilated with a focus on how she would react to the gift. She listened to the silence following the end of his confession, lifting up her hand to stroke along his whiskered cheek. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that, Joe. But it's like I said before. I'm not going anywhere... I swear to you on your mother and Tom."

The lieutenant nodded slowly at her proclamation, seeing the very same light in her green eyes, her compassion that she had shown him back at the Devons' camp. His hand tenderly pulled her hand away from his face, interlocking their fingers as he placed them on the box. "Thank you, Emmanuelle. You've no idea what that means to me after everything... but let's not bring your big day down. This is a happy moment for you and... to know your importance to me."

Joe released Emmy's hand, tapping his index finger on the box's lid. Emmy met his eyes, a smile forming on her lips as she finally opened Joseph's gift to her. She could feel his eyes watching her with a slight gulp within his throat like he was nervous of her reaction to what he had given her.

When Emmy looked down at the gift, she placed a hand to her own heart, feeling a hint of disbelief and awe as her eyes began to water again with tears. A gorgeous Navette bracelet, centered with a glittering emerald gemstone, rounded along the silver chain with diamonds and pearls small enough to not be too overly sized or gaudy to distract from the green jeweled centerpiece...

"Joe..." Emmy's voice choked his name as her hand reached out to carefully touch the emerald. "You didn't have to get me this. How much did you have to...?"

She found herself asking him before she could stop herself, knowing how rude it was to ask about the price of a gift. But she didn't feel worthy of such a beautiful piece of jewelry, even though back in 2020, she had never been one to wear much except for the occasional stubbed earrings or cheap silver sterling necklace.

But this was beyond anything she could imagine being given, let alone by a man. And she knew this was a genuine token from her friend.

Even Erik had attempted to buy her affections with a diamond or pearl necklace, complete with a pair of matching earrings and she would scoff in disgust and secretly pawn them the next day for an extra addition to her bank account.

As she gently pulled the bracelet out of the box, tears streaming down her face, she felt Joe take her free hand in his. "Emmy, you need not worry about that. I didn't have to get this bracelet for you. I wanted to... show you how invaluable your presence in my life has been to me. I know it may seem a bit much to your tastes... but I want you to know yourself through my eyes..." He yearned to tell her again how much he loved her, but his tongue instead formed something else when speaking to her. "I wanted you to know... you're beautiful and amazing. The thought of never seeing your eyes open again when you were asleep all those weeks... I couldn't bear to think of it."

Emmy absorbed his words to her, wiping away more tears from her reddened cheeks. She knew in her heart that Joe truly regarded her as a person, not as a prize to be won and worn on a man's arm as a trophy. She knew he didn't expect anything beyond friendship from her and that was what had kept her in his life.

And he saw the brilliance of her eyes in this emerald stone and yet he didn't pursue her love through buying her this bracelet. It was a gift to allow Emmy to see how much he treasured her without it being wrapped around her like a collar, to restrain her freedom as a woman in love with another man.

She tearfully smiled at Joseph, nodding her head as she looked into her reflection in the emerald's face. "Thank you, Joe. I've never received something like this before."

"You're welcome, dearest one. I saw it in a London store window... and I knew it belonged on you." His thumb felt the strong pulse within her wrist.

"Will you put it on me?" She asked him, blushing a little that she was asking him something she could easily do herself.

"Of course." He carefully took the bracelet into his much rougher hands, with Emmy holding out her wrist. He clasped the ends of the chain together so it was fastened securely on her arm.

"It's magnificent; it fits just right." Emmy smiled up at him, before glancing down at the emerald stone.

Joseph only had his eyes on her, longing with silent adoration and love overflowing from his heart, what he wanted to say in response to her comment on the bracelet remaining unspoken.

The light of your joy outshines every facet on that bracelet. The fire of life in you is worth more to me than any riches, keeping what's left of me alive.

.

.

Later that night, Molly helped Emmy prepare herself for the special night with Will. The older woman had leant her out of her own dresses, a few years behind the fashion of 1918, but Emmy certainly didn't mind. The dress itself had been from before Molly had given birth to the girls, and she was more than happy to make use of the garments she wasn't able to fit into anymore post-motherhood.

She also helped the brunette American girl with her untamable curls, using the starlight hairclips from her brush kit to keep them subdued and in place, her tresses styled into an early 1910s bun coiled in the back of her head, reminding Emmy amusedly of Rose's hairstyles during the dinner scenes in Titanic.

Even the dress she wore brought to her subconscious the famous "flying" scene with Jack and Rose. It was a deep dark blue, velvet material all around her with long sleeves, the satin neckline stopping just above her cleavage. She didn't want to seem too obvious with her wanting to entice Will, while still looking like a decently bred lady of the Edwardian era.

She was grateful for the petticoat and stockings for additional layers since it was terribly cold outside.

She wore only a minimal pink powdering blush on her cheeks since it wasn't custom for women to wear a great amount of makeup compared to the overly painted models of the 21st century. The St. Christopher medallion sat as always comfortably on her bosom. She wore on her wrist the bracelet from Joseph, not ashamed to be wearing the gift from her friend. On her ears, Emmy had borrowed a pair of Molly's earrings, in the shape of sparkling angel wings, a gift from her and Will's father the year he had passed away.

Will was due to be at the house by sunset, and Emmy was equally excited and nervous as she awaited his arrival. As Molly gave her another once-over, adjusting a few stubborn stray curls along her forehead, Emmy looked at her reflection in the full size oval mirror in Molly's bedroom where they had been getting her ready for the date.

"How do I look?" Emmy gave a twirl of the ocean blue skirt, to give Molly a full view. The shoes she wore were only slightly high-heeled, giving Emmy still her petite height and allowing her to walk comfortably.

"You look amazing, Emmanuelle." Molly gave her upper arms a gentle squeeze of reassurance, a proud smile on her face as she looked at her honorary sister's beauty. "Will won't be able to take his eyes off you... or his hands."

Emmy blushed a heated cherry scarlet at the implication of Molly's words, both women giggling to themselves in a moment of feminine camaraderie. This was something Emmy never had back in 2020, female friends to back her up for support or that she could confide with about her problems.

She smiled graciously at Molly, stepping forward to hug the Englishwoman, not worried about wrinkling the dress or undoing her hair. "Thank you, Molly. You're truly one the best people I've met in my whole life. Just... thank you for everything."

The blue-eyed woman didn't hesitate to return the gesture, folding her arms around Emmy's shoulders. Green light glinted from the bracelet on the younger woman's wrist, a small smile on Molly's face as she saw that Emmy wore Joseph Blake's gift to her with pride.

Both women drew back from each other's arms, Molly readjusting one of the white star clips in Emmy's chocolate curls. "I should thank you, sweet Emmy. You've made my brother so happy... maybe happier than I've seen him all his life. You are everything he described in his letter to me and so much more. The way he looks at you or doesn't look at you... I could tell just by how he wrote about you that he loves you with everything he is, with his whole heart."

Emmy nodded profusely in understanding, blinking back tears from her eyes so her face wouldn't be splotched with pink lines smeared down her cheeks.

"There's no need to be nervous. My brother only has eyes for you." Molly's ears perked up as she heard approaching footsteps ascending the staircase.

Both Emmy and Molly turned to the closed bedroom door, hearing a soft rapping knock on the other side, followed by William Schofield's patiently toned voice. "Emmy, my love? Are you ready to leave in a moment?"

Emmy swallowed to dampen her throat so she could speak. "Yes... Will. Just a minute."

Molly raised her eyebrows at her brother's voice, saying all she needed to communicate with just her face, lovely yet intimidating. Emmy wished she possessed half the strength she had.

"Just take a breath and open the door. It's just my brother waiting for you." Molly encouraged her as the girl reached for the doorknob, slowly turning it to open the border separating her from the man she loved.

Emmy opened the door and laid eyes on her soldier, taking in the sight of him. And her heart accelerated with dizziness and a near instinct to swoon like a Victorian novel heroine.

Her William was dressed to the nines, a black suit and dinner jacket, a matching ebony bow tied at the collar of his shirt front. His wavy brown hair parted in a neat, sophisticated style of masculine classiness, his statuesque grace emphasized by his towering height.

In his hands, he held a fresh crimson rose with a slightly trimmed stem, almost dropping it from his grasp as he took in the visual of her.

Emmy was quick to speak first as Will looked her up and down in admiration and amazement at her magnificence. "William... you look so dashing. My handsome Englishman."

Will slightly blushed himself, glancing down at the floor briefly before looking back toward her, watching her step close enough to reach for him and touch his cheek. He glanced at the emerald bracelet on her wrist as she tenderly caressed the side of his face with her green eyes gazing at him with all the love she possessed.

Without asking her outright, he deduced for himself that she must have received the bracelet from Joe, knowing Molly didn't have such a lovely trinket amongst her jewelry collection. And he felt not a hint of jealousy or uneasiness...

He was actually glad Emmy didn't feel the need to conceal the bracelet from him and he communicated as such with his reassuring smile as she pulled her hand away from his face. Will opened his mouth to speak his thoughts to her. "Joseph did a fine job picking that bracelet out for you, my darling. You look..."

The lance corporal found himself trailing off like an infatuated schoolboy, like he was fifteen years old again, but he quickly gathered himself together, clearing his throat as Molly walked out to shut her bedroom door behind them all.

"You are beyond words, love. My mind is stunned and my tongue tied by the angel standing before me." Will lifted up her scarred hand to his lips and kissed her fragile knuckles, reveling in her softness. "Many happy returns, my beloved Emmy."

She blushed again, flustered and flattered at his gallantry like she always was. And she found herself wondering what she did to deserve a man as good as him. Emmy whispered in a soft husky murmur, clearing her throat so she could speak. "Thank you, Will. It's truly been a day to remember."

Will held up the red rose, stepping closer to her as he asked her with his eyes to slightly maneuver her head to the side. With the gentlest precision, he slid the short stem of the flower past her temple, moving it to stick into her clipped strands and securing the blooming petals to rest above her ear.

"So beautiful..." Will whispered sensually to her, his fingers lovingly grazing her cheek and downward to trace along her jaw, then her chin. His thumb along her alluring yet barely open mouth...

Emmy smiled as she realized what he had done, reaching up to touch the rose with her fingertips. She stepped up to Will, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him straight on the lips in thanks, his large hands cradling her face as they dared deepen the display of passionate affection.

Before the couple became too lost in one another, they were interrupted by Molly's chiding but well meaning scold. "If you two don't bloody go now, the next air raid will bomb the whole of London before you make it out of this house."

.

.

After the evening express from Surrey to London, Will and Emmy rode in an automobile cab through the busy London night streets. And Emmy absorbed all of it with near childlike wonder.

All the sights and sounds of the Edwardian era she had only seen the minimal glimpse of in their layover at Waterloo Station coming home from France.

It was the greatest birthday gift she could ever receive, being shown this gorgeous, chaotic world with the man she loved at her side.

And Will only had eyes for her, gauging her reaction to seeing this city standing as the grounding foundation of British society. Seeing Emmy looking past the open cab window, smiling and almost leaning out into the frigid winter air, showing all the excitement of a woman out of her own time gave the soldier the loveliest visual he had ever seen after three years of blood and mud and decomposition.

Emmy looked from the window, pulling it back to seal it closed, feeling Will's gentle fingers caressing the nape of her neck with an accompanying shiver down her spine. She looked down self-consciously at her lap before back up to see her beau gazing at her with nothing but love and understanding in his blue eyes.

"It's all so amazing, Will. It's sort of alike, but different from London in 2020. I can't really explain it, but I'm so glad to finally get to come here. Not that I don't love living in Surrey..." Emmy quickly backtracked, not wanting Will to think she thought any less about the childhood village that had been more of a home to her than anywhere she had lived before.

"I know what you mean, Emmy. Don't fret, my love." Will held up her scarred hand and kissed her fingers. "You've every right to be excited. This is going to be an enjoyable night to celebrate you and the day you entered the world."

Will kept ahold of her hand, his fingers tracing along the emerald bracelet on her wrist. Emmy tried to decipher the expression on his handsome face, a sense of dread tightening inside her gut as she opened her mouth to speak. "You...you don't mind me wearing this, do you? It's a gift from Joe and he..."

He softly cut her off, knowing from her pattern of speech that she was nervous of how he would interpret her wearing a gift from another man while out in public with him. "Emmanuelle, look at me."

Will tenderly turned her face toward his direction, his fingers and thumb stroking her chin and jaw with all the gentleness within him.

Her green eyes met the blue of his, her lower lip trembling as the tip of his thumb traced the blooming of her mouth. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. I trust you and Joseph; I trusted him with your life back in France and I trust him not to overstep any boundaries. He's our friend and I know how he feels deeper for you but he won't betray our friendship like that. We've all endured too much and I would never prevent you from being there for him. It's a beautiful gift and I wouldn't put it past him to acquire anything less for you."

To further cement his words of support, Will held up her wrist and pressed his lips to the pulse beating under her skin just next to the bracelet itself.

Gratitude and relief spread through her chest at his words, his perception with her dynamic concerning their friend Joseph Blake. She scooted forward in the car's seat, maneuvering herself as close to Will as possible without fully crawling up into his lap, pulling his face to hers so she could give him one long and ardent kiss to express her thanks.

He responded with just as much enthusiasm, purring and almost growling from deep within his larynx, enfolding his arms around her in a protective and loving embrace.

Emmy could have spent the entirety of the night in Will's arms, just inside that cab with him.

Take me to the stars, Will...

Before her thoughts could go any further, feeling his lips leave hers to pepper a few more kisses on her cheek, the sound of the car's horn honking from the driver's seat brought the soldier and American girl back from their private bubble of romance.

"Here we are, the Imperial Grand Hotel." The driver's deep accented voice alerted them from the front seat.

"Thank you, sir." Will spoke to the driver in his normal dignified tone while handing him a few pound notes.

Emmy looked though the window and saw the large, looming building before them, her eyes widening as she vaguely heard Will open the door from his side of the back seat. She was snapped out of her marveled stare at their destination when her love opened her own door and held out his hand to help her out of the car, like a proper gentleman.

She met his eyes, a bright smile gracing her face as she took his aiding hand and stepped out onto the pavement, her other hand holding the skirt of her dress so it wouldn't catch on her shoes and make her fall.

"Thank you, sir." Emmy repeated Will's words, turning to the driver before he drove away back into the traffic.

She stood by Will's side as they stood at the entrance of the large hotel, leaning her head back so she could try to see to the top, almost losing her balance. Will placed his hand at the small of her waist, his grip on her immediately letting her know that she was safe; as Joe had told her, he would never let anything happen to her.

"Wow... this is incredible. In 2020, I never saw this building at all on my London trip." Emmy snuggled to her corporal's side, feeling comfort in the feel of his formal suit as she hooked her arm through his. "It looks very sophisticated, like the King and Queen must eat here."

Emmy fixed a few curls of her pinned hair, making sure her clips were still in place. She fixed an imaginary wrinkle in the sleeve of her dress.

"My darling, you are incandescent more than the moon and stars combined." Will tilted her chin up so she could look into his eyes. "I wish you could see yourself as I do. You are the woman whom I love, my brilliant, lovely Emmy."

She smiled sadly, recalling the similar words Joe had said to her earlier that day about seeing her beauty. Emmy ran her fingers through his brown, neatly combed hair in a silent gesture of reciprocating his affection.

"Come, let's get out of the cold. We'll miss our reservation." Will gave another kiss on her fingers as before turning to face the entrance.

Emmy gave his clothed bicep a nervous squeeze, feeling the lean hard muscle of his arm under her grasp. They walked together side by side through the golden revolving door of the entrance, feeling the warmth of the interior and she looked up and down all the brightly colored walls and various staff members walking around, giving them polite smiles.

She was so entranced by the many lights and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, almost blindly following Will as he spoke to the maître'd to confirm their dinner spot. Before she knew it, they were in a grand dining room, with numerous tables covered in white spotless tablecloths, waiters and maids milling around.

A piano was being played, the calming music she didn't recognize, but she found soothing.

Emmy and Will were led to a table set with two plates and silverware along with two wine glasses, the waiter pulling out a chair for her to sit before asking what they wanted to drink. Will himself sat across from her, folding his hands on the tabletop.

"What do you have in mind, beloved?" Will asked her as she was handed a menu.

She smiled politely at the waiter, glancing at the options available. Her appetite craved the taste of pure red wine and ordered the closest selection to what she wanted.

After the waiter left to make their drink order, Will looked to her from his seat, holding his hand open toward her across the table. Both of them smiled as they locked hands, his thumb caressing her knuckles.

Emmy loved when Will smiled and she would have done anything to see him happy more often...

"What do you think? I know it seems overwhelming but... I always thought it was one of the best spots in London." Will spoke to her gently with an eager tone to his voice.

"It's wonderful, Will. It feels like a palace." Emmy looked around at the surrounding tables and saw that not many other patrons were around, leaving them almost alone except for the wait staff and she couldn't help but feel an electric thrill through her body.

After another moment, the waiter brought the bottle of wine, pouring the liquid into their glasses around half full.

They nodded their thanks to him before the couple was left alone again. Will held out his glass toward the center of the table in Emmy's direction in a toast and she did the same. "Here's to your happiest of birthdays, my Emmanuelle."

Their glasses clinked together, Emmy fighting back a blush as Will kept his adoring gaze on her.

The brunette girl was careful to take a small sip, not wanting any wine to dribble down her chin. It had been forever since she had a real drink of any potent alcohol and the sparkling aftertaste stayed at the back of her throat. She coughed softly, smiling to herself as Will placed his own glass down next to his plate.

"Does it taste alright, my love?" Will asked, his brows rose with concern as he heard her cough.

Emmy covered her mouth as she caught her breath, reaching out to grab Will's hand from across the table in a consoling grasp. "It tastes delicious, Will. Don't worry; it's just been awhile since I've had some. I shouldn't drink too much; you'll be carrying me out of here in embarrassment if I pass out."

Will chuckled wryly, the corner of his lips rising in a smirk, his eyes focused on their interlocked hands, before looking at her anxious face. "Emmy, you could never embarrass me. And if you were to be overly intoxicated, I'd be more worried about your welfare than what any stranger here would think."

He lifted her hand up and placed a kiss to her fingertips, his lips ever so gentle and true in their touch.

"My knight in shining armor..." Emmy's face heated with a blush that had yet to leave her cheeks. She was close to springing up from her seat and jumping into his lap in overeager ecstasy, wanting to kiss him like a lustful madwoman...

In all her years, she had never desired and loved a man like William Schofield.

And he surely felt the same for her...

Emmy focused on the menu as she saw the waiter walking to their table, choosing the first option she saw on the dinner section, a salmon with garlic butter, potatoes and bread. Will ordered the same, handing the waiter their menus before he departed from their table, nodding politely in Emmy's direction.

Their orders arrived in due time and it was one of the best dinners Emmy had ever eaten since awakening from her coma, though the same could have been said for all the food she had eaten since then, her appetite having improved in the weeks of her recuperation.

Emmy felt Will's relieved eyes on her as he ate his own meal, knowing that he was glad to see her eating so heartily again and regaining the healthy weight of a woman her stature. Even with her wine-stained lips and her hurried attempt to wipe her mouth with the white cloth napkin, she glowed in the chandelier light illuminating the room around them.

Will found himself shifting discreetly in his chair, a tingling of arousal electrifying his veins as he found himself looking at her angelic features, seeing her straighten in her chair to look behind him.

As Emmy folded her used napkin by her plate, she noticed another hotel staff member, who she vaguely recognized as the maître'd from the check-in desk approaching their table, a medium sized box in his hands, wrapped in blue paper and tied with a neatly trimmed bow.

"Mr. Hunterson-Schofield, here's the present from you to the young lady here. We at the Grand Imperial wish you many happy returns, Mrs. Hunterson-Schofield." The maitre'd smiled politely at Emmy, slightly nodding his head in respect to her as she returned the gesture.

He set the gift in front of her onto the table as the waiter removed their plates and silverware.

Will and Emmy thanked both staff members, the young woman waiting until they both walked away before looking from the bow-wrapped box to her soldier in a confused glare. "Mr. and Mrs. Hunterson-Schofield?"

A slightly guilty look in Will's blue eyes made Emmy soften as she crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation. "Darling, I placed the reservation under a combination of both our surnames. I wasn't trying to mock you at all. You asked me once why the lady always takes the man's last name, like he has ownership over her. And as a man who loves you, I want you and everyone else to know that I view Emmanuelle Julia Hunterson as my equal, as you stand beside me, not behind me."

As he spoke, Will had moved his chair around to her side of the table so he could sit beside her. She felt his massive hands take hold of hers, cradling them as he held them to his chest above his heartbeat. And how his heart pounded with love for her...

She nodded her head in understanding, blinking back tears as she laughed to herself. Will reluctantly released her hands as she turned to the present on the table. He clasped his own hands together in nervous anticipation of her reaction to the gift for her, the craving to touch her again anywhere within his reach nearly overtaking him.

Emmy untied the bow and ripped the paper apart to see what was inside from her beloved corporal.

She stood up from her chair so she could have a better visual of the gift, her hands slightly shaking as they reached into the box and pulled out her present.

Inside the box, was a ribbon-tied stack of classic novels in differing vintage hardcover, possibly from the 19th century... All of her favorites she had mentioned before to William in one whole set meant to be kept together.

Little Women, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Black Beauty...

She pulled out one of the books, her fingertips feeling the slightly ripped edges of the roughly textured pages, opening the cover to see the publisher information.

And on one of the pages before the story began, the authoress Louisa May Alcott had scribbled her fine cursive signature in ebony dark ink, complete with fingerprinted spots from her pen splotching.

Emmy looked for the same with the other books and they carried also the autographs of the authors themselves.

She delicately reorganized the books in their stack and held her hands to her mouth, slightly jumping up and down as she with-held a joyful squeal of near excitement, almost forgetting that she was in public.

But she failed to care, stepping straight to Will as he stood up, smiling at seeing her so happy. Her arms flung around his neck and he effortlessly lifted Emmy off her feet, clutching her close to him with his strong arm about her waist, his free hand playing with her starlight glittering curls.

"Happy birthday, my splendid bookworm." Will whispered in her ear, low and deep into the recesses of her mind, sensual in his tone rumbling within his chest as he held her tight.

"Thank you, thank you!" She played with the cropped hair at the back of his head. "I love you, Will! I love you so much!"

Will set her back onto her feet, keeping his arms around her waist as he kissed her forehead.

"Seeing you so happy fills me with the most contentment I've felt in so long. My love, I know you've sacrificed many comforts in your era to be here with me. And sometimes, I don't feel myself to be worthy of your giving up somewhere you've lived for most of your life..." Will started to protest until she placed her fingers to his wine dampened lips.

"William Christopher Schofield, you listen to me." She stood to her full height, despite the top of her head coming up to his shoulders, a whole head shorter than him and yet she lightly scolded him like he was a child. "Your kiss brought me back from a coma that almost killed me. Back in 2020, I was sleepwalking through life, with almost no family who cared and a maniac who didn't treat me as a human being. Here a hundred years in the past, I've felt safer in your arms than I ever felt in my own apartment in Virginia. And even now, I could have all the books in the world around me and still feel empty if I didn't have you listening to me read them."

Emmy gently held both of his cheeks in her hands, her fingers caressing the areas of his smooth, chiseled face riddled with faded acne and brownish freckles. He was her Will, and she wouldn't change anything about him.

"I've met a family that I love and my best friend because of you, William; and you are the greatest gift I could have in a whole lifetime." Emmy smiled, reaching up to wipe away a tear that had trickled down his cheek.

She laughed sadly, reaching over to grab a spare napkin from their table and dabbing at his face.

"Oh, Emmy...I've come so damn close to losing you... whilst you were in that dreaded coma. I don't want to waste another single moment with you. If I could tell you how much you mean to me... mere words are not enough." His scarred hand stroked along the side of her neck, his thumb tracing along her jawbone.

She took his hand away from her throat, holding his long strong fingers in her fragile grasp. "Is there... another way you want to show your love for me?"

Emmy stared up at him and he held her gaze long and intensely, bordering on seductively, his black pupils dilating to nearly obscure completely his blue morning sky eyes, her reflection staring back at her within his dark orbs. He spoke next, his voice an octave deeper, rattling through her bones.

"Do you want to go home yet, Emmy?" Will placed his large hands on her small shoulders, his thumbs lightly petting the clavicles of her collarbone.

"No, I don't. Not tonight." Emmy's voice had lowered as well, almost unrecognizable to her ears. Her fingers rose up to play with the collar of his suit, the heat of his skin radiating through the thick fabric.

Will gulped in internal uncertainty, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his esophagus, but his voice held a crooning pitch as he revealed his suggestion to her. He grasped her own scarred hand, kissing the lines along the skin of her palm.

Every word he said next, however quietly, carried more passion and conviction than any voice Emmy could have conjured in her head when she imagined the fictional leading men in her favorite novels. "If you desire so...we could take a room, go upstairs and stay in bed all night... and all tomorrow morning."

Emmy realized the context of what he was saying, seeing what he truly wanted as he kept his eyes on her, barely noticing the staff around them beginning to extinguish the candles in the room and the absence of the piano music.

This was really happening. After everything, nothing had changed in what he had said so long ago back in her room at the Schofield house after her failed attempt to sleep with him, when he had denied her out of old-fashioned honor and chivalry.

And out of his own fear of not knowing what to do, where on her body that he could accidentally hurt her or make her feel disgusted.

But all Emmy saw was a shine in his eyes that made her feel safe and seduced... to continue what they had started back to their first awkward and clumsy attempted tryst.

She answered him with a kiss to his lips as she stood on her tiptoes and his arms enfolded around her, the tip of her tongue tasting the coarseness of his chapped lower lip. Will released a pleasured growl reminiscent of a primal wolf in the wild.

And as she pulled away, still caged in the safety of his arms, she verbally confirmed her agreement with three teasingly tempting words. "What's stopping us?"

The last candle was snuffed out in the dining room and the chandeliers dimmed, leaving Will and Emmy in near darkness...

Neither of them cared, especially Emmy, knowing this was the best birthday of her life...

And tonight was about to reach stratospheric levels beyond anything her dreams and fantasies about her Englishman could have foretold.