22nd December 1968

Clancy only vaguely remembered what Christmases with snow looked like, as her parents had moved to Australia when she was six-years-old. Now she was used to the weather being warm as she bought gifts in Sydney after her music lesson. Marion would be arriving to check on her daughter later that afternoon.

Having returned home, Clancy read Georgie's most recent letter as she brushed her long hair slowly, making sure it wasn't tangled or tatty. Marion was very proper, and probably wouldn't approve of the clothes that she now wore every day to help around headquarters. Hoping to impress her mother, Clancy planned on wearing Georgie's purple dress.

Sonny knocked on the door and opened it. "Clancy, Dad just left to pick Mrs Merrick up! Jerry told me to tell you to get ready cause they'll be here real soon."

When the young boy left, she finished dressing and watched Jerry and Mark play chess in the living room as they waited for Matt and Marion to arrive. Mark's face was deadly serious as he studied the board, but Jerry smiled at Clancy as she sat on the floor.

"I think you should move your bishop." Clancy commented to Mark, sharing a sly smirk with Jerry. Naively, Mark did as she said and ended up losing his queen. Groaning, he sat back in despair. "Well if you hadn't moved your bishop, you'd still have your queen!"

"You told me to move it." Mark retorted.

Clancy tilted her head and grinned. "Don't you have a mind of your own?"

Jerry chuckled and stood up. "Come on Clancy, I think that's them now."

They followed each other outside, where Sonny and Skippy were already waiting. When Matt parked, Marion stepped out and embraced her daughter. She looked nothing like Clancy, Mark thought, with cropped brown hair and brown eyes. She also dressed a lot older for her age, looking at least fifty when she couldn't have been older than forty-three.

Clancy smiled and blushed as Marion kissed her cheek. "Hello Mum. How is Dad?"

"Well, he's feeling all right." The light from Marion's eyes faded but she smiled brightly. "Is this Mark?"

Jerry stepped back and looked at Mrs Merrick sideways. "Jerry King, flight ranger."

"I'm Mark," Mark nodded politely, "And this is Sonny."

Marion smiled at Sonny, but couldn't stop staring at Mark. "You look just like Lillian, dear."

Clancy looked quickly at Matt to see his reaction. The ranger was standing quietly, with no trace of sadness on his face. Perhaps the young girl had forgotten that her parents had been very close with Mark's, and had talked about Mrs Hammond's passing many times.

"Marion, why don't you come inside?" Matt asked, motioning towards the door.

As her mother, Matt, Jerry and Sonny entered the house, Clancy noticed that Mark had started to walk the opposite direction, and he wasn't walking as energetically as usual. Glancing between the house, and her friend, she made the decision to comfort Mark later, as Marion was only visiting for the day and probably wanted to hear Clancy play the piano.

A couple of hours passed, and Clancy was feeling surprisingly drained. She had forgotten how talkative her mother could be, and by Matt's tired facial expression, he had forgotten, too. Jerry sipped at his tea every few minutes to keep his eyes open. Clancy excused herself from the conversation for some fresh air, and slipped out the back to find Mark.

He was sat under a tree near the sick bay, reading a book of some kind. As Clancy advanced towards him, Mark looked up, and his mouth tightened. "Hi, Clancy."

"Hello." She dropped beside him. "Are you feeling okay?"

Mark stared at her. "I…not really. I mean," He looked down at the book, which Clancy could now see was a diary. "This is my Mum's diary."

Clancy put a gentle hand on his arm. "That's wonderful that you have something to remember her by."

Mark nodded slowly. "She died when I was eleven, and I have so many memories with her, more than Sonny does. He was only a toddler, really. What your Mum said earlier…I'd never thought about before. I do look like her, my hair at least."

"And what a nice colour of hair to have." Clancy said softly, stretching her legs out on the grass. "As far as I can remember, Mrs Hammond was the kindest woman I had ever met. She gave us lots of candy."

Mark grinned. "Remember I ate so much candy I was sick on your runners?"

"And I stayed away from you after that," Clancy teased.

After reminiscing about their short visit together as children, Clancy felt like she had done a good job of cheering Mark up. She decided to take a quick walk by the river, and Mark decided to tag along. They walked in the darkness, both stunned by the beauty of the evening. Mark had gained his usual cheerfulness back, and his smile wouldn't leave his face.

"I'd better get back to Mum soon." Clancy breathily laughed. "But I don't think she's missing me much; she loves talking to Mr Hammond and telling him every detail about my brothers."

"Yeah." Mark smiled. "I'm sure she didn't miss me much. Hey, Clance, wanna sit down for a minute?"

Clancy nodded and they sat together by the water. She pulled her knees to her chest, feeling calm and at peace. Her heartbeat slowly quickened every time she glanced over at Mark, who was watching her shyly. They hadn't even known each other for two months, yet, like Georgie often said, it could take even less time to grow to like a guy. And Clancy didn't just like him for how he looked. Mark was brave, caring, and kind.

They were sitting so close that when Clancy turned her head towards him, their faces nearly touched. His hazel eyes stared directly into her blue eyes. "Could I try something with you?"

"Of course." Clancy whispered.

Mark reached his hand to her cheek and pulled her gently to him, and they kissed. It started gentle and hesitant, but soon the soft kisses became more confident. Many worried thoughts left Clancy's mind, like Sonny falling upon them or Jerry finding out and relentlessly teasing them. Her eyes fluttered open as they moved apart, and saw that Mark's cheeks were dark red.

"I've never kissed anyone before." He admitted.

Clancy wrapped her arms around his chest. "Neither have I."

Mark stared down at her fondly. "I don't know how. You're really cool, Clance."

They made their way quickly back to the house, both equally worried about the reactions they would face. Clancy rushed up to her mother who was standing outside talking with Matt and Sonny, and hugged her tightly. Her stomach was uneasy, and she felt guilty for not spending more time with her.

"You seem to be having a lovely time, Clancy." Marion held her hand when she pulled away. "And I'm sure your Dad and I will bring along everyone for the journey next time."

"Bye Mum, I love you." Clancy called, waving eagerly at the taxi that soon drove off.

Matt furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought, before a slow smile spread across his face. "Did you have a nice time, you two?"

Mark looked at his father awkwardly, more shocked than embarrassed. He coughed before turning and walking quickly into the house. Clancy smiled shyly at Matt, giving Jerry an irritated look when he laughed.