Arazona Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12

"They've retreated General Homestead" one of the control room agents said

"Send the medic teams out" Crystal replied

"What's the damage to the shield" Luke asked

"Completely destroyed, I don't know what we are going to do, without the shield we're vulnerable"

"We need round the clock look out, the whole AMF are to be on alert at all times, we need to be ready, make sure all ships are operational, this fight could take us anywhere" Luke told his sister "Number of deaths" he asked

"143 personnel have been killed and about 200 injured, I'll get the civilian numbers to you as soon as I have them"

"I know one has been injured"

"Who" Crystal asked

"Antonia's Mothers. Maybelle sent me a message"

"Oh god, why is this happening, where is Antonia anyway she's not back yet"

"I don't know but I hope she's ok" Luke said worryingly, Crystal checked the computer,

"Her heart monitor say's she's still alive and as you know they never lie. Have you heard from Father" she asked

"Yes, he's on his way back now" Luke turned and walked away his mind on Antonia.

President Homestead and Seraphina arrived back home and he called a meeting in the dining room immediately

"What's the damage to the shield"

"Completely destroyed, we're going to be without it for a while" Crystal told her Father

"I've got the whole AMF on alert and round the clock look out" Luke informed him

"Also deploy the larger Fighter Ships, I want them orbiting the planet at all times" President Homestead said "How many deaths and casualties"

"143 Personnel have been killed and 200 injured" Crystal said

"And the civilians"

"We just found out 7 dead and hundreds more injured. They are all still in the safety shelters, I haven't given the all clear yet" Crystal looked at her Mother as she spoke

"Good, I want guards on every corner and every street on look out, done in shifts. Also I want the streets cleared before the all clear is given"

"Where's Antonia" Seraphina asked

"I don't know" Luke replied worryingly

"She's still alive" Crystal said "we have eyes on her monitor"

"Then where is she Crystal, she could be hurt for all we know" Luke raised his voice

"Luke she's probably at the safety shelter with her Mother, Jasmine got injured, she'll want to be with her, if anything had happened you would know it by now"

"Jasmine got hurt, oh my how terrible, oh she must come stay with us when this is all over" Seraphina protested

"Seffie honey, let's not be hasty"

"Arnold she lives by herself , how is she going to recover with no one around to help her, I will have the Garner Room made up for her at once" Seraphina said, there was a gust of wind and the doors flew open, Antonia came flying in and landed at the head of the table. Everyone started at her,

"I knew it" Seraphina smiled,

"Antonia" Luke walked towards her "you're...you are...I don't believe it" he stood in front of her staring at her wings "thank god you are ok" he flung his arms around her and pulled her close, Antonia's wings wrapped themselves around them,

"Sorry I guess my wings like you, I'm still getting use to them, but look what I can do" there was a bright light and Antonia's wings disappeared "I can bring them back anytime I want" she said excitedly

"Sweetie that's amazing, how's your Mother" Luke asked

"Very ill, she's in the hospital wing of the shelters, they're going to move her to the hospital once they get the all clear"

"Oh Antonia darling, your Mother will be fine and she is to stay with us while she recovers" Seraphina told Antonia giving her a hug

"Really, are you sure"

"Positive"

"Good to know you're ok Antonia, I hope your Mother gets better soon" President Homestead said as she looked at him,

"Thank you" Antonia replied "I know who distorted the Planets shield and let the Krygons attack" she confessed. Everyone looked at her

"Who did it" Crystal asked

"Fifi"

"Why I am I not surprised" Luke said

"Why would she do that" Crystal asked

"To cause a distraction. She wanted to kill me because I'm dating Luke" she told everyone, Luke gave her a hug

"General Alcatech, make sure Fifi is arrested, she has started a war. The Krygons will be back mark my words" President Homestead said

"Yes sir" replied General Alcatech, he turned to walk away,

"Good luck finding her" Antonia told him

"What do you mean" President Homestead asked

"We got into a fight and after she ran off with the Krygons, I don't know if she is still on the planet or on one of their ships"

"Great just what we need, put all personnel on alert, Fifi Epson is a wanted criminal" President Homestead told Crystal

"Yes Father"

"There's one more thing" Antonia said "Fifi is telekinetic. She's Gifted" she informed everyone

"I'll inform the Gifted and give the Level 5's authorisation to arrest her" General Alcatech said "Antonia I'm upgrading you to Level 5"

"What, why" she expressed

"Because you are Difinity and the most powerful Gifted I know, you've earned it"

"Thank you. Also I think we should arrest Fifi's parents too" Antonia suggested

"Why, Vice-Chancellor Epson is a very respectful and honourable man" President Homestead told her

"It's not him I'm worried about, It's her Mother"

"What about her" Seraphina asked

"In school there was a rumour" Antonia took a deep breath"apparently Fifi's Mother started the Astrithian War"

The shelters where packed, every Arizonian where biding their time with chit chat and helping out those who were injured,

"How's Jasmine doing" Maybelle's Mother asked a her as she joined her family

"She's resting, the doctor said she will be ok" Maybelle sat down as Layton walked towards her,

"Maybelle I just saw Antonia's Mother in the hospital wing, is she ok"

"Yes Layton, she got attacked but she will be ok, what happened to you" Maybelle asked looking at Layton's arm

"Got thrown out of a window, luckily my brother caught me, but I've broken my arm and dislocated my shoulder, been given painkillers to help"

"What do you think you are doing, I am the Vice-Chancellor of Centre City" Vice-Chancellor Epson was saying as he and his wife were being escorted out in handcuffs, Leyton and Maybelle looked over as they were taken out of the safety shelter,

"You don't think Fifi has something to do with what happened do you" Layton asked

"Wouldn't be surprised, especially after that rumour that went around school" Maybelle replied

"What rumour"

"Fifi's Mother apparently started the Astrithian war, but it's never been proven"

Leyton looked at Maybelle shocked.

Arazona Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11

"Right we will be back in a few days, remember what I've taught you over the years and you can contact us whenever you need" President Homestead told Luke as he and Seraphina were ready to leave,

"Dad I'll be fine, besides I've got lots of training to do anyway, everything should be fine" Luke replied giving his father a hug before hugging his Mother,

"Tell Crystal we say goodbye, it's a shame she had to go straight to the office this morning, it's not the same without you both here to say goodbye"

"Seffy sweetheart , they are both grown up and have jobs, we will see you when we get back Luke" President Homestead made his way out of the house followed by Seraphina.

     "Hey Beautiful" Luke said to Antonia as he came up behind her in the Hatchback Simulator,

"Hey, you ready to go" Antonia asked him

"Sure am" he kissed her

"Right everyone follow my lead" General Alcatech said, he nodded to the simulators control room and the room turned from a metal container to a desert battle field, simulated Voxhalls ran towards, the Gifted readied themselves and began to fight, Luke taking the first shot with a fireball.

Fifi lurked behind a rock in the desert, she looked at the two guards at the entrance to the shield, all she had to do now was wait for the Krygons signal; she sat there plotting her way to the door without been seen so she could surprise the guards with her kill. There was a sudden flash of red in the sky,

"What was that did you see it" one of the guards said, he turned around to see his friend drop dead to the ground, he checked for a pulse before being unable to breath himself. Fifi walked up to him

"Fifi" he choked

"Sorry Les, but this is something I need to do" Fifi replied and Les dropped to the ground. She stepped over him and opened the door with her power. Skipping down the tunnel she relished in her kill and couldn't wait for the next one, being Antonia. She got to the desk and instead of pushing the off button she ripped the whole thing apart

"That should keep the shield down for a while" she laughed.

"Antonia look out" General Alcatech shouted as a simulated Voxhall came at her, she cut it down with a lightning bolt then cut down another two that came her way. An alarm suddenly went off and the simulator dissolved back into the metal room,

"What's going on" one of the Gifted women said, everyone looked around in silence not knowing what was going on

"The shield is down. Krygons are attacking the planet. All units on my command" Crystal said over the communication devices. They all ran from the simulator and readied themselves along with the rest of the AMF,

"Crystal has gone down to the find out what's happened down there, Units 8 and 9 have already deployed in the fighter jets, Lance Punktons Gifted team have made their way into the desert along with half the AMF soldiers, we are to go into the city and hold of the Krygons there and to get the Civilians to the safety shelters" General Alcatech spoke to the remaining Gifted "Let's Move"

"Yes sir"

They made their way in to the city to find it was still quiet

"They haven't gotten to the city yet" Antonia stated

"It's only a matter of time before they do, we have to move fast, let's go" Luke shouted

"Lieutenant Broderick take your unit and head downtown take the Sin sisters with you" General Alcatech said, Broderick nodded and moved his unit downtown along with the Sin sister. Everyone else moved through the streets knocking on doors, entering shops and making sure Arizonians where making their way to the safety shelters. Antonia soon made it to her street and ran to find her Mother

"I'll meet you later, I'm going to make sure my Mum and Maybelle make it to the safety shelters" Antonia told Luke

"Ok, I've got to head back to base anyway, I'll see you later" he kissed her before she ran off

"Commander Lockwood take my place General Alcatech knows I need to head back to base" Luke told a tall broad man who nodded, Luke nodded back as a fighter ship came to pick him up"

     Antonia ran up the stairs of her Mother's building  calling out her name,

"Mum, Mum"

"Antonia darling so good to see you, is everything alright" Jasmine said as she walked onto the stairwell

"No, the planets under attack you need to get to your safety shelter now" Antonia told her, Jasmine nodded, she grabbed an emergency bag from inside the door and made her way down the stairs, Antonia pressed a red button that alerted the whole building to make their way to the safety shelters

"Antonia what's going on" Maybelle asked as she saw Antonia and Jasmine coming down the stairs

"We're under attack by Krygons" Antonia told her, there was a sudden blast which hit the wall. Antonia turned to see a Krygon standing on the stairs, it was tall with broad butch body, it's back was shaped like a backpack, it had razor sharp teeth and nails and carried two swords, a blaster gun and a whip. Krygons were strong nasty terrifying creatures, who knew the ways of torture, they were feared by everyone who knew of their existence.

     Antonia stood there scared she had never seen a Krygon before; it roared at her and she knew what she had to do, she created a lighting ball and through it at the Krygon as it was about to shoot again killing it. Another one jumped out at her, she drew her sword and fought it, using kicks and flips and twist and other techniques she had learnt during training, she turned it to ice then cut it down,

"Let's move" she yelled as they ran down the stairs and out of the building. They ran down the street dodging and ducking out of the way of the violence that had reached the city, Antonia fought and cut down more Krygons before one attacked her Mother,

"Mum" Antonia ran to her

"I'm ok darling, I'm ok" Jasmine told her, but she was bleeding heavily from the abdomen,

"We have to get her to the shelter" Maybelle's Father said, Antonia knew he was right. She looked at her Mother and gave a weak smile as a tear rolled down her cheek,

"Ok. Here Maybelle take this" Antonia gave Maybelle a gun "just in case"

Maybelle terrified took the gun and nodded

"I'll come see you at the shelter before I head back to base" she told them before running in the same direction as the Krygon that had attacked her Mother. She followed it down a few streets then into an alleyway and up on top of a building. As she reached the roof the Krygon had disappeared. She looked over the edge of the building but it was nowhere in sight,

"Hello Antonia" a voice behind her said,

"Fifi" Antonia said as she turned around

"I hope you like what I've done with place, you see a few friends of mine wanted to go on a little killing spree" Fifi told her

"You, you let them in, you turned off the shield"

"I didn't turn it off, I destroyed it" she have an evil smile

"Why" Antonia asked

"Well so the Krygon's could get in silly"

"Fifi, why did you let them in"

"To distract everyone else, you see Antonia I have a little problem, someone's been dating the man I want to marry and I'm not ok with that and that person is you"

"Fifi, Luke does not want to marry you, no one does" Antonia told her

"All those men I slept with do, shame I don't want to marry them"

"Fifi none of those men want to marry you, all they wanted was sex and they knew they'd get it because you're that bloody easy"

"Well at least I've slept with a man unlike you" Fifi snapped

"You're wrong there, me and Luke have sex practically every night and have done for months, you know what make that a year. We are serious about each other Fifi, I love him and there's nothing you can do about it" Antonia said in a matter of fact voice

"You bitch, I don't know what he sees in you, your noting, his father will never accept you" Fifi shouted

"Actually President Homestead quite likes me, so does Seraphina, the marriage law hasn't changed yet but Luke thinks it will soon, if not we will wait until he's president" Antonia told Fifi

"That's it, I've had enough" Fifi began to choke Antonia with her power

"Your...your gif...." Antonia tried to speak but couldn't

"Yes, I'm gifted, and no one will ever know because you will be dead. Goodbye Antonia, enjoy death" Fifi through her off the building. She stood there for a few minutes then laughed

"I did it, I did it, yes" she jumped up and down celebrating. Suddenly an unknown shadow emerged from behind her, she turned around to find Antonia in min air, strong large Dragon like wings attached to her back glided behind her

"You have got to be kidding me" Fifi screamed

"Believe it bitch, I never even hit the ground" Antonia grinned and flew straight at Fifi, vines coming out if her hands. 

Lintwood Farm Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"We're back" Ellie, Ian and  Bonnie walked through the door

"Hello darling" Nicky greeted them "Tea anyone" she offered

"Yes please Mum" Ellie put her suitcase down and took Bonnie into the living room, Ian put his suitcase in his bedroom,

"So how did it go" Jennifer walked into her Father's room,

"It went well, Bonnie finally calmed down when she saw her Mother"

"That's good. Bonnie will get better won't she, I mean it was the first time they were parted" Jennifer asked

"Yes it will, she's only young, she doesn't understand the concept of going away for a couple of day's" Ian put his overnight bag on top of the wardrobe "Jenny"

"Yes Dad"

"You didn't sent me there with Bonnie for another reason did you" Ian asked

"No I didn't" she answered

"Jennifer" Ian stared her down

"Ok. Ok, yes, I, I had a really good feeling that if you took her to London then...Martin might get to meet her if he was around and Ellie might have bumped into him" She looked at her father "Ok I know it's a long shot but we never know where he's going to be, he could have been in London, I mean you never know" Jennifer finished, Ian stepped forwards

"Yes it was a bit of a long shot Jenny, a really, really long shot, but, you were right, last night Martin meet his daughter for the first time"

Jennifer jumped with excitement,

"Yes, yes I knew it, I knew it, I've got to see Ellie" she ran out of the room and into the living room where Ellie was sat telling everyone about her trip to London,

"Ellie, Ellie, did you see Martin in London" she asked, everyone looked at Ellie,

"Yes I did" she said after few minutes

"He's alive" Lindsey said

"Yes he is Lindsey and he met Bonnie too" Ian said stood in the doorway,

"He finally got to meet Bonnie" Chrissie smiled

"Yes he did and he also gave me this letters to give to you all" Ellie handed everyone a letter each. They spent the next ten minutes reading their letters,

"It's good to know Martins ok" Lindsey said "do you think he will survive the rest of the war"

"Yes Lindsey he will" Ellie told her

"Are you sure" Jennifer asked

"Curtain" Ellie smiled

Life returned to normal, well as normal as it could with Martin away. Over the next few months everyone got on with their day to day business, Ellie and Jennifer received their first order of fabric from Right Now Fabrics and it was a lot. Lindsey and Chrissie continued looking after the chickens and attending school with Louis who would soon be finishing and working on the farm full time. Maria soon came up with an idea of opening a pub in the village after reading a notice in the town nearby about extending the village,

"I think it's a great idea" Ian said one dinner time after Maria had told them her idea,

"It really is" Jennifer put in

"But Maria, do you know anything about running a pub" Ian asked

"Of course I do, I use to work in one" she replied

"Yes but Maria you where only a barmaid" Nicky reminded her

"I didn't think woman worked back then" Chrissie said

"Of course we did, the rich didn't but we certainly did. Anyway Nicky, Edward taught me everything I need t know"

"Edward, the Landlord's son" Nicky asked spuriously

"Yes" Maria answered looking away from sisters eye

"Oh, my, god you were sleeping together, the rumours were true"

"Well of course they were true, we were in love, engaged to be married you know, well before he died" a tear fell down Maria's cheek,

"I never knew, why didn't you tell me" Nicky took her sister's hand

"Because he was already ill and I knew Mother would never have approved had she known"

"How did he die" Louis asked

"Cancer" Maria took deep breath then looked at Ellie "are you alright Ellie, you've been very quiet over there"

"I'm fine Auntie Maria" she was picking at her food

"No you're not, you're not eating" Maria looked at her

"She's not eaten anything all day and she left the shop early as well" Jennifer said

"Are you ok Ellie, what's wrong" Nicky asked her daughter

"Well, I'm pregnant again" Ellie announced, everyone looked so happy

"Oh Ellie are you really" Chrissie asked

"Yes I am"

"Congratulations Ellie, how far along are you" Ian asked

"About three months" She put her hand on her tummy

"Have you written to Martin" Lindsey asked

"Yes I have, I sent the letter off today"

"Is that why you left the shop early" Jennifer asked

"Yes I had to go into town" Everyone was so happy they started fussing over Ellie, they were then interrupted by Bonnie throwing mash potato at everyone and shrieking loudly

"Bonnie that's enough, come on let's get you cleaned up" Ellie picked up her daughter "You're going to have a baby brother or sister in about six months you know, someone to play with and watch over as you grow up" they left the room and went into the kitchen.

                   *           *           *            *           *            *            *              *              *

"The chickens have escaped again" Chrissie shouted through the door, everyone jumped up, put on their coats and ran outside to help Chrissie and Lindsey round up the chickens. Ellie who was now near her due date struggled to get up of the sofa,

"Shall we go make everyone some nice hot choco for when they have finished" she said to Bonnie after she managed to get off the sofa,

"Ok Mummy" Bonnie replied and followed her Mother out of the living room.

Outside the rain was coming down heavy, wellingtons were on, hats were on but it still didn't stop them from getting wet, after all they were running around after chickens.

     "Thanks for the help Ellie" Louis said as they all came back inside,

"I'm heavily pregnant Louis, I can't go running around after chickens" she put the mug's of hot choco on the table,

"Ooo, hot choco, thanks Ellie" Louis said taking a sip of his, everyone else grabbed theirs,

"That was excellent, thank you Ellie. Come on Louis, back to work we go" Ian said

"What, now, but it's still raining" Louis complained

"Yes it is, but the animals still need tending to and I can't do it by myself, now come on"  Louis reluctantly went back outside.

Down at the shop Jennifer was getting ready to close up when she had a last minute customer

"Oh Hello" she greeted the customer "I was just about to close up" A young boy, not much older than herself had come into the shop

"Hello, I'm looking for some wool for my Mother" the boy said

"Which colour or colours would she like"

"Oh, green, pink, yellow and blue"

Jennifer got the wool from the shelves, put them through the till and gave it to the boy,

"Thank you so much" he turned to leave the shop then stopped "did you say you were about to close up" he asked

"Yes I am"

"Can I walk you home, it's raining out there and I'm heading your way anyway and not to mention the war"

"How do you know where I live" Jennifer asked

"I've seen you on the Pickard Farm, I live on the meat farm further up"

"Are you Farmer Michaels son"

"Yes, Anthony Michaels" he held out his hand

"Jenny Dinsdale" Jennifer shook his hand.

    "So how old are you Anthony" Jennifer asked as they walked up the road together in the rain

"I'm 16, 17 end of January" he answered

"Same as me, except I'm 17 in February. Do you work on your Father's farm full time"

"Yes I do, my sister helps out from time to time but she spends most of her time with the evacuees" he told her

"You have evacuees"

"Yes we do, we have such a big house my Mother insisted"

"How many evacuees have you got" Jennifer asked

"Eight altogether, four boys, four girls"

"Seems like a house full"

"It is, it gets a bit annoying to be honest, they're all aged 10-12, the house is really crowded, my Mother needed wool so I used it as an excuse to get out of the house for a little bit" They reached Jennifer's farm, as thunder sounded in the sky a loud bang came from the stables

"Louis get out of the way" Jennifer heard her Father shout

"Oh no not again" she said worried

"What's happened" Anthony asked

"The horses don't like thunder, they get a bit freaked out"

"Here let me" Anthony handed Jennifer the wool he had bought and ran towards the stables, Jennifer followed

"Whoa, easy boy" Anthony stepped in front of the out of control horse and calmed it down. Louis who was on the floor from diving out of the way, Ian who was calming the other more calmer horse and Jennifer who stood in the doorway all looked amazed at how quickly he did it,

"That was amazing" Louis said getting to his feet. Anthony put the horse in his box,

"Anthony good to see you, thank you so much for your help" Ian shook Anthony's hand

"Not a problem sir"

"Wow" Jennifer said under her breath. They settled the horses and went inside for a cup of tea.

"Everyone this is Anthony Michaels, Farmer Michaels son" Ian introduced him to the family

"So nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you over the years" Nicky said "Cup of tea" she offered

"Yes please" Nicky handed him a cup and he sat down on a chair Ian had brought though

"So what brings you to our farm" Ellie asked

"I was walking Jenny home" he replied, everyone looked at Jennifer who went a bit red,

"What, he offered I accepted. He's great with horses" she changed the subject

"Really, do you have horses" Nicky asked

"Yes we do, I've been teaching my sister how to ride"

"You can ride, can you teach me" Jennifer asked

"Of course I can" Anthony smiled at her

A few days after new year Anthony arrived at the farm to teach Jennifer how to ride a horse,

"Hi, I brought you a riding helmet and I also brought saddles and that, I don't really know what you've got" he said getting down off his horse

"That's great, we don't really have much, none of us know how to ride" Jennifer said leading Anthony and his horse to the stables

"The sheep and cows are in the barn so we have the whole field to ourselves" Jennifer was a bit nervous,

"Ok great. First I'm going to teach you how to saddle a horse" Anthony went through everything with the horse he had helped calmed down just before new year and soon they were ready to ride,

"So I will be on the back of the horse until you get the hang of thing, no matter how many lessons it takes, is that ok" he asked

"Yes it is, I don't really want to be on the horse by myself just yet"

"Ok great, here" he put a helmet on Jennifer's head. As they lead the horse out of the stable they heard a scream from the house,

"What's happening" Anthony asked worried

"Oh nothing, Ellie's in labour, has been since early this morning, it's very exciting" she told him

"Oh right thats fantastic news, shall we" Anthony gestured towards the field,

"Sure" Jennifer lead the way.

    After a few hours they put the horse back in the stables, tidied up and went inside for a hot drink,

"Jenny, Jenny, Ellie had a Baby Boy" Lindsey said as they walked through the door. She disappeared into the living room Jennifer and Anthony followed

"Oh, he's so cute" Jennifer said as she leaned over to see the new born baby. Ellie sat on the sofa, her newborn son in her arms, Bonnie sat on her grandmother's knee who sat next to Ellie

"What have you named him" Anthony asked

"Patrick, after my Father" Ellie looked down at her son

"Patic" Bonnie smiled and laughed, she gave her baby brother a little kiss on the forehead

"Would you like a cup of tea Anthony" Ian asked

"Yes please sir" Anthony replied

"Please call me Ian, I'll be back in a few minutes"

"I'll help you" Jennifer left the room with her father

"Are you my sister's boyfriend" Lindsey asked

"Lindsey" Nicky looked shocked at what had been asked

"What, I was only asking"

"It's ok, I'm not Jenny's boyfriend but I like her, I'm enjoying getting to know her, anyway we are only 16 we've got plenty of time" he said

"Martin and I got married at 18" Ellie said

"I know I was at the wedding"

"Really, I didn't know that, how didn't I know that"

"Well you did invite us but we didn't stay long, I was with the two adults with ten children" he told them, Ian and Jennifer walked back in with a pot of tea,

"Your parents have ten children" Chrissie asked

"No they only have two, me and my sister, but we have eight evacuees"

"Oh how nice, we have three and their Father" Nicky replied with a little laugh

"And we're here to stay" Lindsey said throwing her arms in the air, everyone laughed

"Well we did have three, one went off to war" Nicky finished

"I'm sure he will be ok, you saw him last year right" Anthony asked

"Well I did or this little one wouldn't be here" Ellie said rocking her baby son "so did Ian and Bonnie" she added

"Daddy not here" Bonnie said sadly

"Don't worry Bonnie Daddy will be home soon" Chrissie gave her niece a hug, Bonnie then playfully jumped on her and Lindsey,

"Bonnie play nicely" Ellie told her

"Ok Mummy" Bonnie carried on playing

Lintwood Farm Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"I love you so much, I can't believe you're here, I was so scared I was never going to see you again" Martin held his wife close, their naked bodies pressed against each other,

"I was scared too, I've missed you so much, all I want is for you to come home" they both started to tear up,

"I wish I could come home, I really do, I think about you all the time, every time I'm out there it's you who keeps me going, you make being out there worth it" he kissed her before making love again.

      "What time is it" Ellie asked as they both lied there afterwards, Martin looked at his watch,

"6pm"

"Still early then" she rolled over to face him "Did you get any of my letters" she asked hopefully

"Yes, how is Bonnie"

"She's amazing, such a bubbly little girl" she stocked his cheek,

"I wish I could meet her, I should be at home with both of you, looking after you" he pulled her close,

"I know, it's this stupid war, It's never ending" she began to tear up but there was a knock at the door

"That's right ruin the bloody moment" she got up, put her pyjamas on and answered the door

"I'm really sorry to bother you but there's someone to see you at the front desk Miss" the room attendant said

"Ok and it's Mrs, Mrs Dinsdale" Ellie replied

"Oh I'm so sorry"

"I'll be back in a few minutes" Ellie told Martin

"I Love it when you use my surname" he told her

"I know" she flirted back and then disappeared out of the room. Martin got up, put his trousers on and stared out of the window at the ruins of London dreading going back to war the next day. Ellie returned a few minutes later

"I'm really, really sorry, but she was that restless, she wasn't sleeping well, she kept crying for you, I had to bring her down" a voice said, Martin recognised the voice

"It's ok, it's her first time away from me, she'll get better the more it happens and the older she gets" Ellie walked into the room with Bonnie in her arms and Ian in tow,

"Dad" Martin said once he saw his father

"Martin, oh what a surprise" Ian gave his son a hug "It's so good to see you"

"It's so good to see you too Dad, how are Lindsey and Jenny" Martin asked

"Their fine, they're getting on well"

Bonnie who had recognised Martin started getting giddy

"Dada, Dada, Dada" she kept saying holding her arms out to him

"This must be Bonnie. Hello Baby girl, you're so beautiful aren't you" he gave her a kiss and Bonnie buried her head in his bare chest "How does she know who I am" he asked

"I've been showing her pictures of you since the day she was born, calling you Daddy  and she sleeps with one of your shirts" Ellie told him " I wanted her to know who you are whether you're around or not"

"I love you so much Ellie"

"I love you too"

The next day Martin walked Ellie, Bonnie and Ian to the train station, he held Bonnie in his arms as they walked the streets of London. Ellie and Ian was telling him about the restored farm

"So when you get back there will be plenty for you to do" she finished

"Sounds great, I wish I could come back now, I really do" They entered the station and found the platform. They said their hard heartfelt  goodbyes once again. Bonnie began to cry as Martin handed her over to Ian,

"Bonnie sweetheart, Daddy will be back soon, you'll see me again, I promise" Martin kissed his daughter and Ian boarded the train with her, he turned to Ellie

"I'm going to miss you so much" he told her

"I'm going to miss you too and I'm not going to say goodbye not this time" she said

"Ellie, what do you mean"

"I'm simply going to say, I'll see you later. Now that I've seen you, I know you will be alright, I know you will come home at the end of it all" she kissed her husband

"Give these to the family, there letters I've written to everyone" Martin handed Ellie a bunch of letters each addressed to each member of the family,

"I will, take these pictures, there of me, Bonnie and the family" Ellie handed Martin the photos she'd brought to show Brenda

"Thank you Ellie, wow Chrissie and Lindsey have grown" he smiled and put the photos in his packet. They gave each other one more kiss and Ellie boarded the train. As the train set off they all waved from the window, Martin from the platform,

"Bye, bye Dada" Bonnie cried as the platform faded from site.