"I won't say another word. Wake me before seven will you, thanks so much. You won't hear another word from me. I promise."

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.

"Don't go… I need you…" He felt her fingertips across his skin.

"I love you." Robbie could not longer feel her soft touch. "I'll wait for you." She began to walk away. "Come back." Her image was fading.

"Cecilia no… Cecilia… Don't go…" Robbie shouted after her. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The pain in his chest intensified.

"Come back to me" She turned and smiled at him sadly. He tried to speak but everything began to blur. He was slipping away…

"Wake up… Robbie… Wake up… PRIVATE TURNER!!!" Robbie Turner woke with a start and opened his eyes to see scared looking Nettle looking back at him. "Thank God, I thought you were…" Nettle shuddered at the thought of losing his best friend.

"What's going on? Why are people leaving?" Robbie sat up and winced as the burning sensation from his wound kicked in.

"The boats are back. We're off home mate. Just like I told you." Nettle replied, gathering together their stuff and slowly helping Robbie to sit up. "Easy now Guv, guess what I've brought you?" he continued, holding up a bottle of antiseptic and fresh bandages.

"Where did you get those from?" Robbie asked, confused, as he knew that medical supplies were almost impossible to get hold of.

"Never you mind, now let's see to that wound of yours." Nettle said, as he slowly began to peel back Robbie's clothing. Robbie winced as the fabric rubbed against the inflamed skin. They sat in silence as Nettle carefully cleaned around the wound.

"Thank you" Robbie said, looking into Nettles eyes.

"Don't worry about it, you got me here, it's the least I can do" Nettle replied, laying a soothing hand on Robbie's arm. "This is going to hurt, so brace yourself."

"What are you doing to do?" Robbie asked, slightly worried.

"I'm going to have to clean the wound itself, stop it getting infected, you're lucky it hasn't already!" Nettle looked at Robbie, who braced himself then nodded.

Cecilia Tallis awoke with a start. Robbie. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she was consumed with dread. She hadn't heard from him in weeks. What if something has happened to him? She thought.

"Robbie, where are you my darling?" She asked, her eyes closed. She hadn't seen him since their meeting in the tea room one and a half years ago. She had been a fool. She had let their time together slip away. Now she may never see him again. She replayed the conversation over and over in her head, in her dreams, she couldn't escape the thought of him.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I got lost" Robbie looked into her eyes and she found herself lost for words. She looked at him with wide eyes, surprised by how much he had changed since he'd been away. She looked into his eyes and saw the sadness in his bright blue eyes.

"Hello" she said.

"Hello" he replied, not looking away from her. She wanted to tell him she loved him, tell him she was sorry for all the bad things she had done to him, said to him, but she couldn't find the words.

"Shall we sit down?" she asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Sister?" a loud voice brought her back from her memories. She sat up and saw Nurse Langley looking at her with a concerned look on her face. "Sorry to wake you, but the boats will be arriving shortly, and I wanted to know if there is anything we can do to prepare."

"Boats?" replied Cecilia, still a little disorientated.

"From Dunkirk, Sister. The soldiers are coming home"

"Soldiers… Robbie!" Cecilia whispered. She snapped back into work mode and asked the young nurse what information they had so far.

"Many are wounded, Sister, some won't pull through. We're expecting a few hundred soldiers in the first wave. God knows how many more we'll get over the next week or so." She sighed. "Sister?" she continued.

"Yes?" Cecilia replied.

"I'm scared" her eyes began to well up.

"So am I Nurse Langley, so am I"