A/N: This is Chapter 25, and also what I can now say for definite is the third to last chapter of this story - excluding the epilogue :) This chapter also has the beginnings of what will be a lot more about the actual war, because I feel that it would be strange to miss these bits out as this is actually a story about a war.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee and I do not own There'll Always Be An England. While the basic information about the war detailed here is factual, such as the damage done to mentioned towns and aerodromes, as well as some of the raids and casualties, the actual experiences of the characters are entirely fictional, and any likeness to real people or real life is entirely coincidental.
"You're going to a what?" Nick asked, staring at Woodley in disbelief.
Woodley just stared back at him.
"A dance, Duval," he said, "You know, one of those things when people get up and they move in time to music; that sort of thing."
Nick rolled his eyes.
"I know what dancing is, stupid," he said, "I was just wondering what this dance actually was for."
"Ah, well, you should have said that then, shouldn't you?" Woodley retorted.
"Leave off Nick, Woodley," Hunter interposed, but the sergeant ignored him.
"As I was saying," he continued, "They're holding this big dance up in London, at one of the music halls, and I've got six tickets, so I was wondering if you and that Jeff of yours wanted to go."
"I take it that you and Edie are going?" Nick said, to which Woodley nodded. "And who else have you asked?"
"I did ask Clarington here," the other man said, "But he says that he's probably taken too much leave recently, even if it is for one night, and so I asked Tommy instead."
Across the table, the younger boy flushed a little at the sound of his name.
"I've never been to a dance before," he said.
"Neither," Nick replied, "I doubt Jeff has either. You bringing Annie then, Tommy?"
His friend flushed even more at that question.
"I was going to write to her tonight," he said, "I'm sure that she'll say yes."
Nick already knew that Tommy had spoken to Annie about his feelings for her after he told him to, and apparently the girl had practically collapsed in his arms with happiness because she'd been hoping that he would notice her for months.
"Fine," Nick said, "I'll write to Jeff, and if he says yes, then we'll come with you."
"Wonderful," Woodley said, "It's next Saturday night. We can get the train up and back."
And so, it was settled. Nick wrote to Jeff, who replied with his agreement to the dance, saying that he was extremely excited, but could the brunette come down and meet him at the station, please? Apparently his mother had said that he should add that, for some reason which completely escaped Nick's knowledge.
On the Saturday night, Nick left earlier than Woodley and Tommy, promising to meet them outside of London Bridge station instead, while he went to go and get Jeff.
The train ride seemed to take twice as long as it should have when he knew that it wouldn't be very long until he saw the blonde boy again, and could actually hold him in his arms.
It was the end of the June, well, almost, anyway, and that meant that it had already been Sebastian's birthday, and David's was the next day. Seb had gone off to London with apparently a great send off, or at least, he made a big deal of it. Nick had briefly seen him when he'd almost miraculously turned up at Hayes station on his way through, though he must have already been to London and back to do that.
It had been a short goodbye, for Sebastian had to be in London by a certain time, and, Nick had wanted to leave plenty of time for his friend and Hunter to be alone. It must have been hard for them, for Hunter would no longer have the security of knowing that Sebastian was safe in the country, and Sebastian had the unknown to comprehend.
Nick rested his head against the window and sighed heavily. June had been a trying month, he had to admit, not just for him, his friends or the RAF, but for Britain in general. Just a few days ago, the war in France had been effectively over, yes, the Allied troops, as much as they could, would go on the counter-offensive, but France had surrendered.
Nick knew that that must be decidedly difficult for the French people, and he could already imagine the pockets of resistance popping up in places where people felt that they could fight back. He just hoped that they could keep up their spirits, well, as much as they could, for the rest of the Allies would be working constantly to free them and other countries under enemy control.
The events in France were one of the reasons that Cartwright had quite readily agreed to Woodley's requests for the three of them to have a night's leave for the dance.
"It's good idea," their squadron leader had said, "This dance will keep your spirits up. Yes, morale boosting, that's what it is, and I think that more of you men should go out to things like this in the future."
He'd seemed rather taken with the idea that a dance and some fun might make the men more enthusiastic, and Woodley had left with a laugh, telling Nick that if they enjoyed this dance, they would be going to one every Saturday night.
Nick's head jolted on the window of the train as it came to a stop in the station. The brunette blinked rapidly, surfacing from his daydreaming and realising that he needed to get off; the ecstatically waving blonde boy on the platform probably should have been a hint anyway.
Hopping off the train as fast possible, the brunette was met with an armful of Jeff before his feet had barely touched the ground. He buried his face in the other boy's hair and inhaled deeply.
"Jeffy," he murmured, as the other boy nuzzled into the side of his neck affectionately, "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, Nicky," the blonde finally looked up at him, before kissing him softly. "Now, come on, Mum wants to see you." He grabbed Nick by the hand and dragged him across the platform to where Mrs Sterling was standing with a man that Nick didn't recognise.
"Ah, Nicholas, dear," Jeff's mother gave him a warm hug, and then motioned to the unfamiliar man next to her. "This is Mr Allen," she explained, "Mr Allen, this is Nicholas, the boy I was telling you about."
"A pleasure," Mr Allen said, his round face lighting up as Nick shook his hand. "Mrs Sterling has asked me to come down here because she would like a photograph of the two of you. Is that alright?"
Nick must have looked rather surprise, for Josie Sterling tried to reassure him.
"I just wanted a photograph of you in your uniform, and Jeff looking smart like that," she said, "And with the two of you going off together, you look properly grown up."
"Of course," Nick smiled, "And do you think that we could have a few copies, I would like to send one to my parents."
Mr Allen's head went up and down at though it was on a spring as he nodded enthusiastically.
"Splendid," he kept saying, "Splendid idea."
They took the photograph right there on the station, the trees of the woods on one side as the backdrop, while they all thanked the fact that it was summer and although it was late afternoon, the sun was still shining high above them, making the light fall perfectly on the two boys.
Nick wrapped his arm around Jeff's waist, pulling him in close to his side and leaning his head in towards him. The blonde glanced down at him for a second, as he looked up and identical smiles spread across their faces in that instant.
"Stay! Stay!" Mr Allen suddenly called frantically, and the two boys froze while he clicked away on his camera and took several photographs. "Perfect," the man said, motioning to them that they could move again.
Mrs Sterling clapped her hands together happily.
"You both look so handsome," she said, "And that picture was just what I wanted it to look like. Nick, I will send you a copy to give to your parents once Mr Allen has developed them. Now, boys, I believe that you have a train to catch."
She gave them both another hug and kiss, and reminded Jeff that she wanted him home by midnight, and that his father would be picking him up from the station anytime after eleven.
Then the train came in, and soon they were speeding away towards London and a night of something new, Nick supposed, since neither of them had ever really tried dancing before, at least, not together.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Jeff cried, halfway into London, having been staring out of the window, his head resting back on Nick's chest, for the previous part of the journey.
Nick smiled warmly.
"It is," he nodded.
They met up with Woodley and Tommy outside of London Bridge station, as they'd agreed, finding the other two men in their uniforms talking to two unfamiliar girls under one of the overhangs.
"Finally," Woodley said, when he saw them approaching together, "We've been waiting for hours."
Nick rolled his eyes.
"Oh, do be quiet," he said, "You knew what time our train was getting in."
Woodley laughed, and then extended a hand to Jeff, which the blonde shook.
"Good to see you again, Jeff," he said with a smile.
"You too, Woodley," Jeff replied.
"Tommy and, er, ladies," Nick said, sounding a little awkward, "This is Jeff. Jeff, this is Tommy, and these are…" He trailed away, looking at the two other pilots for help.
"Ah," Woodley jumped in, "This is Edie." He motioned to the girl beside him; she had long dark hair and tanned skin. She waved at them both with a smile.
"And this is Annie," Tommy said, as the blonde girl next to him gave them both one of those smiles that Tommy was always saying were the kindest in the world; Nick agreed that she had a nice smile, but in his mind, Jeff's were better.
They set off in the direction of the music hall altogether, chatting amongst themselves about whether or not they'd ever been to a dance before.
"I'm worried about stepping on people's feet," Edie said with a giggle, "Or tripping Evan over."
"She fell off the stage in our school play years ago, you see," Woodley continued.
Edie nodded.
"I've not really danced since," she said, "I'm worried that I might hurt someone other than myself this time."
Woodley reassured her that she wouldn't.
"If it's any consolation," Annie piped up, much to everyone else's surprise, since she had barely spoken a word the whole time. "My cousin was telling me about this new type of dance which everyone knew, and I had no idea what she was talking about. I'm going to get there and be entirely lost."
And the girls were gone, discussing dance moves for another ten minutes while the four boys listened and tried to pick up some sort of idea of what they were expected to do in regards to actual dancing.
Eventually, they arrived at the music hall; a large, brick building from the beginning of the century. Outside, there were other couples, many of them in uniforms of various kinds, milling around, while others were disappearing inside.
"Come on, let's go in," Woodley said, leading Edie up the steps, while the others followed behind, unsure of what else to do.
Inside the music hall, the floor was a mass of bodies moving to the sound of the gramophone, set up in one corner, with a man supervising the changing of the records. A man took their money at the door, telling them to enjoy themselves and that refreshments were being served in a little room off to one side.
"So," Woodley said, once they were inside, and he had to shout a little to be heard over the music, "Shall we meet back here at half past ten?"
Nick nodded.
"I've got to get Jeff back on the last train home," he said, "It goes at a few minutes to eleven."
The others agreed, and then they went their separate ways in the hall, all being quickly swallowed by the mass of bodies.
"Dance with me?" Jeff extended a hand, bouncing up and down a little in anticipation.
Nick smiled and took his hand.
"You really are very excited about this, aren't you?" he said, as he put his hands on Jeff's waist, and the blonde put his own hands on Nick's upper arms as they settled into the rhythm of the music. Neither boy cared what anyone else thought of them dancing together.
"I like dancing," the blonde boy said simply.
Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Have you ever danced before?" he asked, confused now because he was sure that the other boy had never mentioned having danced beforehand.
Jeff blushed a little.
"Not exactly," he said, "But I did try once a few years ago at a party. I wasn't any good though."
"Well, we'll see how good you are tonight," Nick said, with a soft chuckle. "You can't be any worse than me."
"You're doing fine, Nicky," the blonde said supportively.
"We're just swaying, Jeff."
It was a slow song, one that Nick recognised but could not remember the name of however hard he tried, but it didn't matter, because whatever it was, he and Jeff were actually dancing to it, and they were both enjoying themselves.
The next song was faster, and somehow, the two boys managed to dance along without tripping over each other or the couples around them, and Nick was pleased that his dance moves didn't look particularly out of place.
And then there was Jeff. How the blonde could ever have thought that he was no good at dancing was beyond Nick, for the other boy managed to make even the simplest move look flawless. Nick could have just stood there and watched him all night.
But, eventually, Jeff got tired and decided that he wanted a drink, and Nick, not wanting to stay on the dance floor by himself, followed the blonde boy towards the refreshments room.
Once there, Jeff got them both a glass of water and they stood there in silence for a few minutes, just drinking and trying to catch their breath.
"Well, hello, strangers," someone said behind them, and Nick was sure that he'd heard the voice before.
Slowly, both he and Jeff turned around, wondering if it was actually them being spoken to and not someone else in the room.
But the greeting was directed at them, for behind them stood Santana, both hands on her hips, grinning widely.
"Hello, Santana," Jeff said with a smile, "Is Brittany around?"
Santana jerked her head in the direction of the dance floor
"She'll be here in a minute," she said, "She just wanted to dance some more."
"How come you're here?" Nick asked, and when he considered what he'd said, he realised that he might have sounded a little too accusing. "I mean, we didn't expect to see you here."
"Britt wanted to dance," the girl shrugged, "So we came here. I'm surprised that you didn't know that we'd taken the evening off, Blondie."
Jeff looked a little sheepish.
"I don't really pay attention to what you girls do," he admitted.
Santana whistled.
"Never would have guessed," she remarked quickly.
At that moment, Brittany entered the refreshments room, her arms outstretched as she caught Santana's arm, and her eyes shone brightly.
"Did you see me dancing?" the blonde girl asked excitedly, "Did you see me, San?"
"Of course," Santana replied, kissing her forehead gently, "You were wonderful, as always."
Suddenly, Brittany seemed to become aware of the presence of the two boys standing to one side, and she ran over to tightly hug them each in turn.
"Have you been dancing too?" she asked, her eyes still alight with a bright light. "I have, you should come and dance with me."
"Take Jeff, Britt," Santana suggested, "I want to talk to Nick for a bit."
The blonde girl clapped in delight, grabbing Jeff's hand and dragging him back out into the hall.
"Did you really want to talk to me?" Nick looked sideways at Santana, who was watching the two blondes.
"Yes," the girl beside him said, "And I wanted to watch them dance as well."
Nick followed Santana's gaze and saw Jeff and Brittany, dancing together on the edge of the dance floor, the other couples moving around them smoothly. The two blondes moved to the fast beat of the music as though they themselves were part of the song and they had such a connection to it that it flowed through them as well.
Nick could see why Santana wanted to watch Brittany so much, and he had that overwhelming feeling of beauty again when he looked at Jeff.
He wished he owned a camera so that he could capture every movement of the blonde's body and keep the memories forever.
But he had the real thing and could ask the blonde to dance whenever he wanted him to; he didn't need a camera really.
Across the room, Brittany threw them a friendly wave when she saw them watching, while Jeff just blushed at the attention.
The wave seemed to awaken Santana from whatever state of fixation she had previously been in, and she suddenly caught Nick's arm, pulling an envelope out of her handbag at the same time.
"Here," she said, "I wanted to give this to you. It's what I wanted to talk to you about."
Nick's eyebrows rose in surprise as he took the envelope from the girl's hands and went to open it.
"No," Santana said quickly, "Don't open it yet, and don't let Jeff open it either."
Nick gave her a curious look.
"When can I open it?" he asked.
The girl shrugged.
"In about a few years or so," she said nonchalantly, as though it wasn't strange to give someone something that they couldn't open for a very long time. "I just thought that I'd better give it to you now."
"A few years?" Nick cried incredulously, "You seriously mean that neither Jeff nor I can open this for a few years?"
Santana nodded.
"You'll understand afterwards," she said, "Now, put it away before it gets lost, and give it to Jeff to take home with him."
Nick opened his mouth to argue against the odd situation, but then found himself closing it again when he discovered that he had nothing to say.
Just then, Brittany and Jeff came bounding back over, still full of energy.
"Jeff's such a good dancer," the blonde girl was gushing, as the boy in question blushed heavily and moved to stand next to Nick, clutching at his hand tightly. "Isn't he a good dancer, San?"
Santana nodded.
"Though I was watching you most of the time," she said with a grin, taking the blonde's hand and leading her away. "See you later, boys!" she called back over her shoulder, before the two of them were lost within the next dance.
"So, do you want to dance anymore?" Nick asked, looking up at the blonde boy beside him.
Jeff's eyes lit up.
"With you, Nicky," he said, "I want to dance with you some more."
Nick laughed.
"Really, Jeff?" he asked, "I'm an awful dancer, and you're, well, simply put, you're an amazing dancer."
Jeff blushed again.
"I'm not amazing," he said shyly, "I just like dancing. I'm not really any good at it."
Nick scoffed loudly.
"You're the best dancer I've ever seen," he said, "You have to dance more."
The blonde flushed an even deep shade of red.
"Maybe," he said not committing to anything, before suddenly realising that he recognised the song which was now playing and dragging Nick onto the dance floor so that they could dance.
Several songs later, Nick glanced at his watch.
"Jeff," he said, trying to be heard above the gramophone and the noise of other people's laughter. "It's twenty past ten; we need to be outside in ten minutes."
Jeff pouted a little when he learnt that they had to leave so soon.
"One last dance?" he asked, and the brunette immediately gave in.
"Of course."
It was a patriotic song, of course, there seemed to be hundreds of those about at that moment, but Nick was hardly surprised, this dance was supposed to be about boosting morale, wasn't it?
I give you a toast, ladies and gentlemen
I give you a toast, ladies and gentlemen
May this fair land we love so well
In dignity and freedom dwell
"I knew I recognised this song," Jeff muttered, as his head sank down onto Nick's shoulder. The brunette kept one hand on the other boy's waist, the other clasping Jeff's own.
Though worlds may change and go awry
While there is still one voice to cry…
The voice of Vera Lynn soared high into the rafters of the music hall as the couples below swayed in time to the beat.
There'll always be an England
While there's a country lane,
Wherever there's a cottage small
Beside a field of grain
There'll always be an England
While there's a busy street,
Wherever there's a turning wheel,
A million marching feet.
And for the last stanza, the voices of the people dancing drowned out the gramophone completely as everyone continued to sway, singing their hearts out to the rest of the room.
There'll always be an England,
And England shall be free
If England means as much to you
As England means to me.
"I had so much fun tonight," Jeff said, still feeling rather giddy from the atmosphere within the music hall, as he, Nick, Tommy and Annie, and Woodley and Edie made their way back to London Bridge station for their respective trains.
"I've got to go to work," Edie remarked, yawning widely, "Night shift, you know. I plan to catch some sleep when I get there; I'll be an hour early, you see."
"Are you sure that you don't want me to walk you home?" Tommy was asking Annie anxiously, despite the fact that she'd been reassuring him that she would be fine for the past ten minutes.
"I've already told you," she repeated, "Fred's meeting me as soon as I get into the station. You know, my cousin, Fred, he's in the army and he's just got back from France. He said that he'll meet me from the train and walk me home. I know that you have to get back to your base, Tommy."
Finally, Tommy seemed to get the message, and the six of them walked in silence until they reached the station.
Nick pulled Jeff to one side, while the other four were saying their own goodbyes.
"I've got something for you, well, for both of us," Nick said, digging into his pocket for the envelope, "It's from Santana. She says that we're not to open it for a few years, or something like that anyway."
Jeff's eyes widened.
"Yes, a few years," Nick clarified, "I don't know why, but I trust her judgement. She wanted you to keep it at home, so, here you go." He pressed the envelope into the blonde boy's hands and folded his fingers over it. "Keep it safe, it might be important one day."
"Nick, Jeff's train goes in five minutes!" Woodley called from somewhere over on Nick's right hand side.
"Right, have a safe journey home," Nick said, leaning in to give the blonde a soft kiss. "I'll write to you soon, and wish David a happy birthday and good luck from me. I love you, Jeffy, see you again soon."
"Love you too, Nicky," Jeff replied, hugging the brunette hurriedly, before turning and running in the direction of the platform he needed.
Edie and Annie had already left, so it was just Woodley, Tommy and Nick who wandered in the opposite direction to catch a train to Charing Cross, and then back down to Hayes.
"There is a bus at this time of night from the station to the aerodrome, isn't there?" Nick asked as they walked away.
Woodley shrugged.
"We'll find out soon enough," he said.
About a week later, Nick received a letter from Mrs Sterling, with two copies of the photograph of him and Jeff before the dance tucked into it.
"One for you," Jeff's mother wrote, "And one for your parents. You both look very handsome in it, and I knew that you'd want another one to keep with you to remember Jeff with when you're out flying."
Talking of flying, Nick still hadn't been out on a proper flying raid yet, not that he was sure that he wanted to. Flying his Spitfire around the aerodrome airspace was fun, but actually flying up to engage in a fire-fight with an enemy aircraft was an entirely different matter that he wasn't sure he could yet comprehend.
But, as it always is in war, the unexpected becomes the normal, and inconsistency can be counted on; for nothing stays the same within war, it is always changing.
And for, Nick, his war was about to change too.
On the 10th July 1940, what was to become known as the Battle of Britain, and the most important event in RAF history, began. It was also Thad's birthday, and it was raining.
"Alright, men, this is the moment we've been waiting for," Cartwright tried to motivate the pilots, and they all cracked a smile and a joke, as though it was just another day at work.
But underneath the smiles, the laughter and the camaraderie, there was an underlying current of uneasiness, as though this anticipation for the coming orders would not be over in a matter of days like Dunkirk. This would be it, the moment when everyone was fighting for himself, his friends, his king and his country. No more reconnaissance missions, or the occasionally accompanying of a convoy of ships carrying precious supplies, but a full out battle involving everyone.
And that included Nick.
They received word later that day that a convoy had been targeted during the morning, and later, another was attacked in the early afternoon. At some point, one of the Hurricane squadrons at the aerodrome were scrambled after sightings of enemy aircraft along the south coast. Nick and Tommy watched from the windows of the barracks as the men ran across the tarmac to the waiting planes, and once the signal was given, one by one, they flew up into the air and disappeared over the horizon.
They both knew that, any day now, that could be them, running through the rain to their Spitfires to go and fight.
A day later, the raids were now aimed at shipyards, as well as convoys, but it was on the 12th that the shape of the next few months started to form. Towns and rural communities near the coast were suddenly under the threat of bombs from enemy aircraft; places in Aberdeen and Cornwall suffered civilian casualties, some of the first of the war in Britain.
Nick read the news every morning with a growing feeling of dread in his heart. Slowly, the raids were becoming more frequent, every night if the visibility was good, and he dreaded to think of Jeff and his family in the unprotected village; at least, in London, there were plenty of squadrons on immediate notice to protect it if the enemy decided to bomb there.
On the 17th, the bombers came further inland, bombing some of Ashford. Woodley brought the news to Nick, who was writing to Jeff.
"They were barely fifty miles away," the sergeant said, "In our own county, no less."
"They've been closer," Nick said, trying not to dwell on the situation, "They've been up the Thames Estuary."
"I know," Woodley said, "But this just seems a lot closer to home, doesn't it? Ashford's not even on the coast."
And then he'd got up and left, without another word. Leaving Nick staring at his blank sheet of paper, the words just not finding a way to flow out onto the page, and the reality of the situation made his heart ache for the blonde even more than usual.
And that was the night before the war landed right on Nick's doorstep.
A/N: Ooo, what will happen next? I hope no one minds the war details here and also later on, because although I could skip some of them out, technically, this story is fundamentally set within a world war, so it wouldn't feel right not to mention any of it.
Thank you for reading, and please leave me a review to tell me what you thought or to ask a question about the history :)
Historical Points (yeah, there's going to be a lot over the next few chapters):
1. France surrendered to the Germans on 22nd June 1940 after the Battle of France, and would remain under Axis (Germany and Italy in this case) occupation until the liberation in 1944.
2. There'll Always Be An England is a patriotic song which was widely distributed in 1939 at the outbreak of the war - it was sung by Vera Lynn, 'The Forces' Sweetheart', and was written by Ross Parker and Hugh Charles. In the version written here, I have missed out the majority of the middle of the song.
3. The Battle of Britain is the most important moment in RAF history, and although usually said to have been from 8th August 1940 until 30th October 1940, I have said here that it started on 10th July 1940 instead, which is technically when the RAF class it has having begun. All of the information included here is based on events that really did happen during this battle, and I have got the details from the RAF website, which is extremely interesting if anyone wants to have a look at it.