Chapter 18 -

John woke around half eight the next morning, to find everyone else in the room was still asleep. Getting up and dressed he wandered round the house, trying to see if anyone else was up. He found Nancy sitting on the porch, wrapped in a blanket, and staring vaguely into the distance, towards the rising sun. Sitting down next to her he wrapped and arm around her shoulder and turned her head towards him so he could kiss her.

Her exclamation of: "John! Someone might see" seemed to lack the usual enthusiasm which normally accompanied everything Nancy did, and he pulled her closer.

"What's wrong Nancy? Are you okay?'

She hesitated for a second, then nodded. "I feel… fine. Just… restless, cooped up. Like I ought to be out doing something, but I'm stuck here."

"Then let's go for a walk."

"What, now? You know mother said no one was to go out."

"When has that ever stopped you? And she need not know."

"John..!"

"Please, Nance. I need to get out too."

Sighing Nancy nodded, a smile already twinkling in her eyes. "We haven't done anything this daring in ages."

"What, other than our trip to rescue the GA, and that time when…"

"Okay, okay, but still… For us, these hols have been rather tame." Nancy scrambled to her feet. "Is anyone else coming?"

"No, just the two of us."

"I'll need my coat."

"I've already got it for you." He held it out to her. "I knew you'd say yes."

She laughed and pulled it on. "Where are we going then, as you have everything planned out?"

"You'll see. Come, we'll have to run the first bit, into the woods, or someone might spot us. Ready? Race you!" And he set off across the grass, with her directly behind him, and gaining.

…

John led them a roundabout way, avoiding main roads and other people, and soon Nancy was her old self again, talking and laughing, and John knew he was doing the right thing. Gradually the route they were taking began sloping uphill, and soon they were scrambling up steep slopes, clinging to tree roots and boulders to heave themselves up. Nancy, familiar with this part of the woods, panted indignantly

"You do realise there's a relatively easy path up this particular slope, which we could have got to quite easily from Beckfoot?"

"Of course. But where would be the fun in that?! And besides, I wanted to avoid being seen. We're breaking your mother's rules doing this, and what would people think? Anyone who caught us out alone would instantly leap to all sorts of conclusions."

"It's never stopped us before."

He laughed. "True, but…"

"Safer not to risk it? You're right, of course."

At this point they reached a particularly steep part, and the conversation came to an end.

…

John had timed the walk particularly well, so that just as they reached the top and looked down on the small lake resting half way down the other side, the sun was just beginning to tickle the edges of it, causing the water to sparkle up at them.

"It's beautiful," Nancy observed, turning slowly to take in the view all around them. The midmorning winter sun seemed to coat everything in a layer of gold, and the dew, still sparkling on the grass, where it hadn't warmed up enough to evaporate, gave everything a mystical feel, like something out of a fairytale. John laughed, watching Nancy, who was usually so unmoveable when it came to looking at 'the blasted view', which she claimed 'only ever means admiring rocks and trees which one has seen many times before and will many times again, and saying they look nice when really they look like rocks and trees'. Then he took a few steps towards her and she ran towards him, through her arms round his neck and kissing him enthusiastically. When they pulled apart for air she rested her head on his shoulder, holding him close, and whispered

"I'm pleased you brought me up here John. Thank you."

"It's alright. I knew you'd like it. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"That sounds ominous."

"I hope not. Nancy… We've been doing this for a while now, and I just…"

"Are you… breaking up with me?"

"No! No, exactly the opposite." And dropping to one knee he pulled a small box from his pocket. "Nancy, will you marry me?"

There was a pause, and her eyes filled with tears. Then she was nodding enthusiastically, and pulling him to his feet to kiss him again, and whispering yes, again and again, and he slipped the ring onto her finger and pulled her close. Neither was sure how long they stood there, but soon Nancy became aware that the sun was considerably higher in the sky than it had been, and that Mrs Blackett was preparing lunch, and they'd be caught breaking the rule.

"It's alright," John observed, when she informed him of this. "She knew… I know normally it's the father you talk to, but…"

"You asked her permission? Oh John!" And she kissed him again.

John pulled away first, sighing. "Your point about lunch is still valid though. I promised we'd be back for it."

Nancy laughed. "Galoot! You should've said we'd be away the entire day… Oh well. We'll have to run like maniacs to be back on time. Can we take the path now? It'll be easier."

"Alright. If you think it's faster."

"We can't run the way we came up."

"True! Well then, come on!" And he grabbed her hand, and they ran, still laughing, down the path.

…

Mrs Blackett had tried everything. She'd delayed putting on the peas. She'd turned the heat off under the carrots so they wouldn't cook too fast. She'd lowered the heat on the potatoes and washed up everything she could. But now she was at her wits end. She half wished she hadn't let Cook go home to her family for the weekend, Cook would have known how not to spoil the meal. Where were they? John had promised not to be late, and usually he was so punctual. Folding up her tea towel she headed to the back door and opened it. She hoped everything was alright.

"Molly, are you alright?" It was Mrs Walker, who had been wondering why dinner was so late, and spurred by Roger's grumbling had come to find out.

"I'm fine," Mrs Blackett turned and smiled. "I'm not the problem."

"What do you mean?"

Just then a shout drew their attention back to the open door, and they shot out of it, to see the two tearing up the lawn towards them. They collapsed on the porch, out of breath and panting desperately.

"S…Sorry we're late…"

"We lost track…of time…"

"We've just…run…all the way."

Mrs Blackett rolled her eyes. "Never mind that! No harm done, though the chicken may be overcooked and the carrots are definitely soggy. We can't do anything now."

Mrs Walker watched the conversation, slightly bemused. Nancy, having caught her breath, also caught sight of her face and collapsed with laughter.

"You'd better… explain…mother." She waved a hand in Mrs Walker's direction, and Mrs Blackett, remembering she was there, turned and quickly explained what she knew.

"And I assume" she concluded with a smile "that their arrival here together means Nancy said yes."

Mrs Walker, her mouth open in surprise, found the strength to shut it, and reached out to grasp Nancy's left arm, displaying clearly a sparkling diamond ring. It was simple, one stone on a silver ring, but it was elegant, and it seemed to suit Nancy perfectly. Anything more elaborate would have seemed out of place.

Just then Roger burst into the kitchen.

"What is going on?" He demanded. "I'm hungry."

He was followed in by everyone else, who were also getting tired of waiting for food. They all piled out into the garden, and immediately seemed sucked into the trance, staring at Nancy's hand. Then Susan regained her senses, and stepped forward to pull Nancy into a hug, forcing Mrs Walker to let go of her hand.

"Congratulations! Welcome to the family. Of course, you've been a member for ages really, but…"

Nancy laughed. "Thank you. Thanks ever so much."

Peggy joined in; adding her congratulations to Susan's, and Captain Flint and Timothy offered them as well. Titty remained at a distance, watching the proceedings, then ran forward to hug John.

He held her for a moment, then pulled away slightly to try and see her face. "Are you alright?" He whispered.

"Yes," she murmured back, then "you're marrying Nancy?"

"Yes."

"You won't… forget us… will you?"

"No, never. Of course not."

"Good."

"Did you really think…?"

"No, not really, but…"

"I promise I won't ever forget you."

She pulled away, after a moment, and ran to throw her arms around Nancy, who looked surprised, but very pleased, at this sudden display of affection.

Roger caught sight of Bridget, standing by awkwardly, and wandered over towards her.

"This is strange" he observed.

"Yes", she nodded enthusiastically.

"They're acting crazy."

"Yes."

"I don't understand what's happening." He admitted.

"Neither do I."

Mrs Walker, catching sight of the confused looks in their faces, took pity on them and explained what was happening. Roger, who, although rather naïve, was not as naïve as they had all assumed, had been expecting this perhaps more than the elders had, but Bridget went rather quiet, and continued to sit on the porch, watching from a distance.

…

Later, when lunch had been salvaged and everyone was over the shock, they all settled in the sitting room to pass the afternoon calmly. Nancy, noticing that Bridget was not present, rose and slipped out. She found her curled up on her mattress, under the duvet, and sat next to her.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, and for a moment there was no response. Then

"I'm fine." The words sounded forced, and Nancy reached out to place a hand on the younger girls shoulder.

"I know that's not true. What's wrong?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I might. Try me?"

Bridget hesitated for a moment before rolling over to face Nancy. "It's just… Well, father's away so much, and I never get to see him, and now people say there might be another war, and we'll see him even less, and I sometimes feel so lonely. And when I feel really sad I go to John and he looks after me when father's not here and now you're taking him away and I'm going to be all on my own forever." And she dissolved into tears.

Nancy reached for her, pulling her into a hug. "Don't cry, please don't cry."

"I told you you wouldn't understand."

"But I do understand. More than you could ever know. You know your Daddy? How he's always there and even if he's away at least you know where he is and that he's safe." Bridget nodded slowly. "My Daddy isn't here anymore."

"You have a Daddy?"

"Yes. And I loved him a lot, almost as much as you love yours. But when I was very little, younger than you are, he had to go away. He said he'd come home, he promised he would be back for Christmas."

"But he wasn't?" Bridget whispered, wide eyes full of sorrow.

"No. I waited and waited, and he never came. Then a man came round, and talked to Mother, and she cried. And then she gathered Peggy and I close and told us our Daddy was missing, and that the government said he might have died."

"So, he might not be dead."

"No. But it's very likely that he is. So you see, I understand why you're afraid of losing people. Because I'm afraid of losing people too."

"But you're never scared of anything."

"Yes I am. But the thing about being scared is that you have to make the thing you're scared of seem less scary. That way it's easier to seem like you aren't scared, and if other people don't think you're scared it's a lot easier not to be scared."

"I'm still losing John."

"No, you aren't. I would never take him away from you, not like that. Don't see it that way. You aren't losing your brother, you're gaining a sister. So you see, it's actually a lot better than you thought."

"A sister?"

"Yes. And I'm gaining a sister too."

"Who?"

"You, of course. You're John's sister, so you'll be mine too."

"And you'll be my sister? A proper sister, like Susan and Titty?"

"Yes."

"And you won't let John forget me?"

"No. Of course not. But John wouldn't forget you anyway. He loves you too much."

"As much as you?"

"More than her." John appeared in the doorway, sending an apologetic look towards Nancy. "You see Bridget, however much I love Nancy, you're family, and I could never love anyone as much as I love you."

"Do you really mean it?"

"I do."

"You'll look after me, forever and always?"

"As long as you want me to."

"I'll always want you to."

"Then I'll always be there."

Bridget smiled at him, but then her smile wavered and she said

"But won't you be moving to a new house? Away from us?"

"We might. But won't that be exciting? You can come and stay for the weekend, without mother. And I'll be able to spend time with just you, without the others around."

"And maybe, sometimes," Nancy chipped in, "We can kick John out and have a girls' night, just the two of us, and sit up late talking about whatever you want."

"Really? You'd really do that?"

"Of course." John smiled at her. "But we can only do that if you promise to give us your permission to get married."

"My permission?" She asked, looking up at them wide eyed.

"And," Nancy added, "You have to promise to be a bridesmaid at the wedding."

"A bridesmaid? Really? You mean it? I always wanted to be a bridesmaid!"

"Will you do it?"

"Oh, yes! Yes!"

"And you aren't upset or scared anymore?"

"Not anymore."

"Good. But you must tell us, if you do feel scared. We don't want you to be upset, or worried."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good, now, let's go downstairs, or the others will be wondering where we are."

…

When Nancy settled next to John on the sofa later, and finally had a chance to talk to him properly, she asked

"How long were you outside, earlier?"

"The whole time. I followed you out when you got up to leave, but then you seemed to have the situation under control so I didn't interfere."

"Everything I said to her… Well, you won't repeat it, will you, commodore? It wouldn't do to have people thinking I'm going soft."

"Nothing wrong with being soft."

"There is if you're an Amazon pirate."

"Weren't they sworn off men? If so, you'd have been kicked out by now!"

"Oy!" and she kit him over the head with a book she was holding. Somewhere in the laughter the serious nature of the conversation slipped away, and they were two young people again, cheerfully play fighting a battle to which neither could remember, when it drew to an exhausted truce, what had been the instigator in the first place.

...

Thank you all for reading this story! I realise it's been a slow journey, but you've all been amazing. This is (for now) the end, simply because it isn't fair on anyone the way I keep leaving such massive periods of time between updates. Maybe at some point I'll get more time and motivation, and write a sequel.

As regards the ages of the characters, I realise this may seem unrealistic. My only excuse is, people got engaged and married younger then. I picture John and Nancy as 18 ish, in their last year at school, and not likely to be married until the next summer, if not the summer after.

I'm going to miss this story, and all your support, and I hope not to absent myself from the fandom completely. I'm too addicted to these characters!

...

obriest: I've updated!

Twiggy288: Thank you :)

BatFink: I hope this answered your questions, if you can remember them!

Pixel and Stephanie Forever: I'm really sorry for the delay, I hope it was worth it... Thanks for your ongoing support.

constantlearner: Thanks again, you've been an amazing encouragement.

And a huge thank you to all my other followers, favouriters, reviewers, and anyone else who has read, or influenced, or directed this story in any way shape or form, intentionally or unintentionally. I love you all and I couldn't have done it without you!

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