Title: The Letter
Characters: The Booth Family
Summary: Emma finds a letter after August's tragic death.
Copyright: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!
Author's Note: This may sound a little weird but I am obsessed with stories about war. You know like people finding letters or their loved ones come home from war. Emma and August remind me of a couple during war. This is why I've decided to do little snippets of war stories for them. I hope you all enjoy this.
Henry opens the door to their two story house in Storybrooke, Maine. Henry and his family had just gotten back from a funeral. It was the funeral of his beloved father.
August Wayne Booth was a solider in World War II. He was the most beloved as he would risk his life his life to save those in need. Every solider looked up to him. It wasn't until a single bullet to the chest ended his short life.
August had a family who loved him. He had three kids. Henry, who was the oldest, Mia, who was four, and baby Charlie, who was only six months old. He had a wife who he loved very much, Emma. Emma and August were best friends before they decided to get hitched and have a family. August loved her very much and she did the same.
As the remaining Booth Family walked in the house, everyone was quiet. All had just witnessed the death of someone they loved very much.
"Henry, why don't you take your sister and brother upstairs and get ready for bed okay?" Emma finally said to break the silence.
"Okay." Henry takes both his little sister and brother upstairs to get them ready for bed.
Emma sighed as she looked around the quiet house. Everything felt different. There was no longer a man who would sit on the couch and watch television or listen to the radio or a man who would play "House" with little Mia while Emma cooked dinner. Most importantly, there was no longer a man who would lay with her at night and tell her that he loved her.
Tears start to dwell in Emma's eyes as she headed towards the stairs. But something caught her eye. The door of August's study was open. She took a deep breath as she made her way to the study. She was hesitant to go near it as it reminded her of her beloved husband.
Emma finally reached the study as she put her hand on a door knob. She slowly started to close the door when she saw a wooden whale on August's desk. August made that whale when he was a little boy and kept it ever since. She took her hand off the door knob and walked towards the whale. She picked it up and smiled. It had his initials carved at the bottom that read AWB. She held the whale close to her chest and closed her eyes as tears were forming in her eyes. A small tear ran down her cheek when she opened her eyes. When she opened her eyes, above August's desk was a picture of the family. It was a picture of the family on the fourth of July at a local picnic. Emma was pregnant with Charlie at the time and August was holding Mia in his arms with Henry in front of them.
Emma smiled at the picture. It was a fun day that day. Not only was it fun but also surprising as that was the day that Emma went into labor. That was the last time Emma saw August, the day their son Charlie was born. Tears kept coming down Emma's face as she browsed the rest of August's study. There were pictures of the kids, himself, and pictures of the two of them, happily in love. There were also wood carvings of hearts and bird houses and other things.
Emma moved back over to August's desk when something caught her eye. It was a white sheet of paper with writing on it. Emma was curious as to what it was. So she sat down at the desk and looked at the paper. It was a letter from August before he went off to fight. Emma began to read the letter. It said…
To my darling family,
It appears that I have to go off to fight for my country. I'm writing this letter to tell you all that I love you very much. I am sad to be leaving you all but I will be back. Don't you worry. Henry, when I get back, I will finally teach you how to fly a plane like you've always wanted. Mia, my little Mia, daddy loves you very much. Don't grow up. I want to come back to my sweet little girl. Charlie, I know I haven't met you yet but when I do, I can't wait to hold you. I can't wait to tell you how much I love you. I can't wait to finally meet you and watch you grow into a handsome young man. And to my Emma, my sweet sweet Emma, I love you. I love you more than anything. I love you more than life itself. I hate to leave you at this short notice. I hate that I have to tell you at the fourth of July picnic. I hate to leave before Charlie is even born. But there's one thing that I don't hate. I don't hate that I can't wait to hold you in my arms again. I can't wait to make love to you and kiss you when I get back. This will be a tough couple of years but as long as I think of you, it won't seem that long. I don't know when you'll read this letter but I hope it's not when I'm dead. I love you all and hope to see you all in two years.
Love,
Your devoted father and husband,
August Wayne Booth
Emma cried as she put the letter down. If she hadn't of known sooner, she would have begged August not to go. Emma buried her face in her hands as more tears flowed down her face.
After a few minutes of crying, Emma walked out of August's study. She closed the door behind her silently. She then wiped her eyes with her hands and headed upstairs.
As she was heading upstairs, Henry was standing there; scared.
"Henry, what are you doing up?" Emma asked her oldest son.
"I couldn't sleep." He admitted. "I keep having nightmares."
Emma could see that her son was scared. August usually would be the one to help Henry with his nightmares. But since August was no longer here, she had to take up that responsibility.
"Come here." Emma put her arm around Henry and leads him to her room. "You can sleep with me tonight."
Henry laid in the bed next to his mother. His eyes were still wide open. Emma, on the other hand was turned to the side, holding her pillow with her eyes wide open.
"Mom?" Henry began to ask.
"Yeah?" Emma asked, back still facing Henry.
"I miss dad."
With that, Emma turned to face her son who had a small tear come down his face. Emma wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him close.
"I know Henry. I miss him too."
"Do you think he's watching us?"
"Of course. He's probably looking down on us right now."
"What do you think he'll say?"
Emma smiled. "Well for one thing he'd say that he would want us to stay as a family and to hang in there. Even though he's not here, he'll always be with us. He'll never leave us no matter what."
A big smile came across Henry's face. He looked up to what seemed the ceiling but was his father. "I'll never leave you either dad. I love you." With that, Henry then drifted off to sleep.
Emma smiled and kissed her son on the forehead. She then too looked up at August.
"I love you and will never leave you. You are my first and only love. I love you with all my heart and miss you. I'll see you real soon."
With that, Emma drifted off to sleep and dreamed of the times that her and August had together.