Coming Home:

Come back. Come back to me. Robbie opened his eyes. There she was. Cecilia. The one he loved. The reason he had to get back.

"Cee?" Robbie reached out to touch her but she was too far away.

"Darling, I don't have much time. I have to get back to the hospital in half an hour." She sat beside him and touched his face. He felt her cool fingertips across his skin. "I love you. I'll wait for you. Come back. Come back to me." Robbie shut his eyes.

"Robbie…" A gentle voice said. "Robbie… We're almost there." When Robbie opened his eyes she was gone. Robbie sat up and looked around for some indication of who was speaking to him. His eyes quickly fell upon Nettle who was standing behind him looking tired but excited.

"Nettle… What will you do when we get back?" Robbie asked.

"I'm not sure, I'll probably end up going home." Nettle paused at the word 'home' and he and Robbie both looked down. Home was so far away, a distant memory. Robbie lifted his head.

"Before you go, would you do me a favour please?" He asked.

"Of course Guv, what do you want me to do?"

"Help me find a way to contact Cecilia. I need to see her" Nettle pondered for a moment, then turned to face Robbie.

"On one condition" he replied, smiling.

"Anything" Robbie said, his desperation showing.

"You get that wound seen to"

"I will, I promise" Robbie's eyes lit up as he looked into Nettle's eyes and thanked him.

Nettle smiled to himself. He hadn't seen Private Turner so happy in the entire time he had known him. He'd seen a small smile every once in a while when he looked at the letters from the woman he constantly spoke about, but it

had never reached his eyes before. 'Maybe some good may come of this' he thought.

"Hold still!" cried Nurse Eleanor Stevens.

"I'm trying!"

"Private Turner… Please! I have to remove the shrapnel from your wound or you stand the chance of getting an infection."

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Robbie began.

"I know it hurts… I will be as quick as I can." The nurse replied soothingly. She was as nervous as he was, Sister had already scorned her for telling a patient her first name, and knew that if she became too personally involved she'd risk getting into even deeper trouble.

"Ok, take a deep breath. On the count of three I'm going to pull."

Robbie gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and braced himself.

"One… Two… Three!" she said, and pulled on the piece of shrapnel. Robbie groaned loudly as it came clear with one smooth stroke. Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes to look at the inch and a half long piece of steel that had been embedded in his flesh just moments before.

"There we go, that wasn't too bad was it?" smiled Eleanor, dropping it into the nearby kidney bowl.

"Thank you"

"I'm just doing my job, Sir." She replied, inspecting the wound. "You're going to need some sutures to close up the wound, and I'll place a bandage around your chest. We'll get you out of here in a jiffy."

"Sister?"

"Yes, Nurse Burton?"

"I'm sorry Sister, but my hands are shaking. I can't suture this wound… I" The nurse was clearly trying her hardest to remain calm, but the long hours were finally beginning to take its toll.

"You've worked hard today Nurse Burton, take a break. I'll finish up." Cecilia swiftly walked to the bed and took over. Although Cecilia refrained from bonding with the girls, she couldn't help feeling sorry for them all. Most of them were little over eighteen, had little training, and had no idea of how much they would have to deal with. Nurse Burton in particular was struggling to cope with the strain of it all. There had been three waves so far, each bringing more and more injured soldiers with them. So far she had not seen or heard of Robbie being admitted to hospital, but she was unsure if that was a good or bad thing. If he wasn't in hospital where was he? She knew he was on his way home, but she was unsure if he was injured or not. She could only hope.

Once she had finished suturing the wound and completed her round, Cecilia looked around her. The things these soldiers had seen, the things they had done, the things they had felt… Cecilia shuddered.


"Excuse me, Sister" It was Nurse Burton.

"Yes?" Cecilia replied.

"Is your name Cecilia Tallis?"

"Yes it is. Why do you ask?" Cecilia looked at her and frowned.

"I have something for you. It arrived today." She held out a letter and Cecilia took it from her, and recognised the handwriting instantly.

"Thank you Nurse Burton." Cecilia tried to hide her excitement.

"Don't mention it Sister" replied Nurse Burton and left the room. The moment she was sure Nurse Burton was no longer in the room, she ripped open the envelope, desperate to read the contents of it.

Dearest Cecilia,

I know it has been a long time since we last spoke my daring, blame the Postal Service. I'm afraid this letter will be brief, but I want you to know that I am safely back in England. I'm sorry I cannot explain the reasons for this, but don't worry, I will write to you again soon to arrange when we can meet.

I hope this letter reaches you well.

I love you,

Robbie
X

Cecilia sat down and smiled. He was alive. She read the letter again and again to make sure she had read it correctly. He was going to write again so they could meet. They were going to meet. Cecilia closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them she had a smile on her face. He had come back to her. For now, all she could do was wait for his next letter.

"I cannot believe you just did that to me!" exclaimed Cecilia.

"You said you weren't afraid of getting wet, I was just tested you and I was right. You are!" Robbie joked, leaning forwards and kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Typical" Cecilia replied, rolling her eyes.

"Again?" Robbie asked.

"Let's go!" Cecilia grabbed his hand once more and they ran into towards the waves. Just before the wave hit, Cecilia turned and began to run back up the shore, but Robbie turned and grabbed her waist, pulling her in to face the sea and lifted her off her feet.

"I love you" Cecilia said, turning to face him, emphasising one word.

"I love you" Robbie replied, using the same slight emphasis on the second word. They lent forwards and kissed once more.

"Let's go and dry off" Robbie whispered, holding her left hand with one of his, and gently holding her upper arm with the other. He lifted her hand and kissed her shoulder as they walked towards the cottage.