She turned away from him and looked off into the distance. "James, Lars proposed to me."

James was taken aback by her outright confession. "And you…have accepted?"

Her lower lip trembled. "I-" She shook her head. "I didn't. The truth is that I've never really said no to him. I lied to my father about that because I…I really like the attention." She wiped her eyes, trying to restrain tears. "He's not the first man who's ever paid attention to me. But when one lives so deep in the countryside, I mean-my father would never understand."

James cleared his throat. A nervous lump had formed there. This poor girl, and the man who had shot him? "Do- do you love him?" He was afraid of the answer.

"That's the worse part." She walked over to his bed and sat down by his feet. "I don't. I've just been leading him on. It's not even that I want to get married, I just wanted something to do. Do you have any idea how boring it is out here, alone in the country? Lars and his cousins are our closest neighbors, and they live over four miles away. There's nobody else around to talk to. And when Lars started to show an interest in me, I don't know, I just needed someone to talk to."

James was a bit repulsed by her words. "You're using him for entertainment?"

With that, her emotions were pushed off the edge and she began to cry. "I know I'm horrible!" She exclaimed.

Reaching out his good art to pat her back awkwardly, James tried to console her. "It's-it's okay. You're not horrible. It just wasn't a good decision."

When her fit ended, she suddenly remembered the milk she had been boiling and rushed to retrieve it, but it was too late. It had over boiled and become thick. She grabbed the pot and sunk to the floor, sitting there like a child, with her skirt stretched out in a triangle, the edges taught against her ankles. She threw the pot towards the kitchen table, the milk splashing, and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me now." She sighed.

"How can I hate you?" James felt sorry for her. "You didn't hate me. And my crimes are much more serious than leading a man on." James secretly felt relieved. Firstly, he did not want this woman to be with anyone who could hurt her, and Lars had been quite rough. In addition, there was a little feeling that he couldn't quite place…

"What am I going to do?" She wondered aloud, burying her face in her hands.

James took one look at her sitting there, despondent and full of self-hate, and he decided he needed to comfort her. He swung his legs down from the bed as quietly as possible and used his good arm to push his upper body from the confines of gravity. He sat on the edge of the bed, catching his breath, and then stood for the first time in hours. His legs buckled, and he had to compensate by stepping to the side, making more noise than he had predicted. Katherine looked up and immediately began to get up to assist him.

"No," James said. I'm coming to you."

She sat back down and watched him closely, her body tense and ready to hop up and assist him at the slightest hint of imbalance. He stumbled towards her, and dropped, a bit painfully, on his knees. He turned and put his back to the wall that she was leaning on and pushed his legs out from under him, grunting as his shoulder sent pain down his right arm.

"It would seem that we've both done things we're not proud of." James stated, looking at the milk spilled on the floor. "You and I are not so different. I've deserted my closest friends. You've been leading a man on." He tentatively touched her shoulder. "Maybe we can start all over again."

"How can I tell Lars no? He'd never leave me alone." She sighed. "I'm afraid I've sealed my own fate."

James reached over with his left arm and lifted her chin so that her eyes met with his. Her eyes met with his, and for a moment, James's mind went completely blank. All he could see was the light reflecting from those bright, sad, and yet hopeful eyes. James caught his breath, and heard Katherine doing the same. Momentarily, he allowed his eyes to wander to her lips, and he wondered how they would feel pressed against his own. In that moment, James Nicholls lost himself. His instincts took over and he tugged gently on her jawline, slowly guiding her mouth towards his. He tilted his head to the side and was hit in the face with breaking glass shards.

"Oof!" Katherine exclaimed as she bent forward covering her head with her hands, glass becoming caught in her hair.

James struggled to stand and saw that the window had been broken by some sort of bullet. The shot had been very close, because James's ears were still ringing from the crash. He heard the sound of Katherine groaning, but it sounded like an echo from far off. Katherine turned towards him, her face twisted with fear, and said something that he couldn't quite make out.

What's going on? She silently mouthed to him.

James could just the sounds of shots going off in the distance, and the battle cries of men fighting. James shook his head and mouthed back.

Must be another skirmish.

Katherine's face turned ashen grey. Her eyes filled with tears. Although she turned away from him, he could still see the word she shouted. She pushed herself up off the floor, cutting her palms on the glass shards. James watched her run out of the kitchen to where he knew the back door was.

His hearing already coming back to him, James tried to struggle to his feet, his legs and hand getting the brunt of the effort. His stiff body protested, but his only thought was of Katherine, and how she had no way to protect herself from stray bullets. She was a sensible woman, but James knew that the situation could turn even the most levelheaded people into complete wrecks. And how broken Katherine would be if…

No, James could not think of it. He gave one last push and managed to get his body from the ground. His legs were sore but they carried him as swiftly as he could towards the back door. He opened it and marched out, surveying the scene before him. The fray was almost over, most of the men already dissipating into the woods, and thankfully, not leaving very many bodies behind. James shook himself as he passed an angry looking corpse that seemed to be frozen in an everlasting look of malice and love of destruction. With a shudder, he realized that the man's uniform was very similar to his own, although he did not recognize the man himself. James briskly trotted past the unsettling sight towards the barn. The double doors were open and there was hay and chickens tumbling out of it. He stood in the doorway, and saw Katherine stand up from behind a stack of bales. She turned her head towards him.

Unlike before, when her eyes had gleamed with hope and happiness, her eyes seemed dull and lifeless. Her face clouded over, and she did not blink, although tears slid down her cheeks. James walked over to her, and saw what he had been dreading, but had known would occur.

Sam was lying in the hay, his shirt doused with red. He did not breathe or stir at all. His eyes were shut, so that it looked as if he were asleep, but James knew better. He stood there, stock still, waiting for words of comfort, any sort of words, to come to his head so that he could pay his respect to this quiet and peaceful man. But James's head stayed empty. Instead, he watched as Katherine sank to her knees and kissed her father on the forehead.

"I love you, daddy." She whispered, James just barely catching her words. She turned to James, her voice cracking. "What are we going to do?"

James thought for a moment. "We're going to take care of each other." He reached out his good arm and wiped her cheek. "I need you. I need you to be strong. I can't take care of myself-not with this arm anyway." He stared her in the eyes. "I'll be there for you. For however long you need it. Do you hear me? I'll be there for you if you're there for me. We can survive together."

Katherine nodded, and came around so that she could help support him on his weak legs. They took one last, long look at Sam, and turned away from the gruesome sight. They walked back to the house, taking in the sight of the bodies and the smell of the gunpowder in the air.

"When is this going to end?" Katherine thought aloud.

James didn't make an answer. To him, it seemed that the whole world was in turmoil, that everything that was right was suddenly wrong. Good men could die in battles they weren't even a part of. Innocent women made fatherless for nothing more than being in the wrong place in the wrong time. Most importantly, he had no way of changing it, not in the slightest. He felt lost in his despair until he noticed that Katherine had stopped and was in front of him. She touched the front of his shirt, and pushed herself up on her toes until her mouth reached his cheek. She gave it a light peck, and then returned to her spot at his side, moving once more.

James didn't know when this war was going to be over, or why so many had died. He didn't think he ever would. The only thing he knew, was in the moment that Katherine had kissed him he had felt right for the first time in what seemed like forever, and he never wanted to loose that. He knew, in the moment, he could weather the storm that war brought on, if she was by his side.

The only problem he had now was telling her.

Okay guys I'm sorry. I'm going to keep writing it and hopefully post a new chapter soon.