A/N: Thanks to everyone who left reviews! I love you all!
January 1 - April 1955
"Oh my head." I opened one blue eye, I tried to move, but a hand kept me pretty firmly where I was. "Oh my head" I muttered again.
"Welcome to hangovers you never used to suffer." I lifted my head to discover a pair of grey eyes studying me with a certain degree of amusement. I smiled a little before laying my head back down on his chest.
"Oh god, what did I do last night?"
"New Years' Eve party Annie baby, you got plastered!" He laughed before holding his head as he realised that he was hungover too. I snuggled against him and went back to sleep.
"I didn't do anything I'll regret did I?" I asked later over a very strong black coffee.
"Define regret."
"No casual sex, I didn't propose to anyone, didn't join any cults, say anything nasty about people or anything else unsavoury, pose for any photos that will wind up on the hall of fame, the usual stuff I worry about after a party?"
"Well if I don't count no, but the group photos we took will wind up on the hall." The local clinic was plastered with photos from recent celebrations.
"That's not so bad."
"Wait till you're sober."
"I'm just thrilled about the idea, the twins are so loud!" Both of my 9 ½ month old babies were playing with toy drums in the playpen in the lounge, Christmas gifts from my very thoughtful mother. "Wait, if you do count?"
"Then yes, you will regret things,"
"Like?"
"Like everything . . ."
"Oh my god Hawkeye, what'd I do?" I'd returned to the Cove for Christmas, back on the sofa, and I'd spent NYE at a wild party in Portland with Hawkeye and a large percentage of the population of Crabapple Cove.
"You practically begged me to marry you, you called me a very unsavoury name when I said no, then we came back found dad and the kids asleep on the sofa, and I don't remember much after that, except you calling me a certain 'four lettered word'-ing brilliant."
"Very loudly, several times over, I never knew you had such a mouth Annie, however I could fill you in on what you two did, based entirely on what I heard." Daniel came in.
"Happy New Year Daniel." He bent and kissed my head. "And I'm pretty sure I don't want to know." I drank another three cups of coffee and by that stage felt a little better, hungover-wise, not self-esteem.
"Oh god, I didn't, did I?" I asked, swallowing.
"We did." Hawkeye confirmed.
"Shit." I hadn't told him about the baby, as I wasn't showing yet, and successfully hiding sore breasts, insomnia and mood swings in lots of walking, hot baths and time alone.
"Oh my god, how could I? I mean there's so little stability in my life as it is, what if it weren't you I proposed to, or slept with? I need out of here, it's too insular, I need away from you Hawkeye, and you Daniel, I need away from Margaret, Trapper, Charles, the letters from Papa, everyone, I just need out for a bit."
"Well, go west, BJ and Peggy would have you I'm sure."
"I don't think I could deal with them either, I've just got to go." I stood up. Daniel came to me and put a hand on each shoulder, steadying me.
"Annie, you obviously need a holiday, and I will let you go, as soon as you know where you're going."
"New York, I'm going to New York." I decided on the spot.
"Manhattan? There's someone there you could stay with." Hawkeye asked.
"Whatever, I want to take the kids and go to New York for a while, I don't know how long, a few days, weeks, maybe months. I just need out."
"Annie, look, if you're worried about last night, there won't be any strings, I promise, unless you want them that is. Are you trying to avoid me?" Hawkeye said.
"Yes, but there's so much more than that! I need out of here!"
"Annie, go pack, I'll get you a seat on the first flight I can, and Hawkeye will call whoever it is that you're staying with. Just take a few deep breaths okay?" Daniel said, shooing me towards the living room. I had packed everything I needed in about two hours, showered, dressed and got the kids ready in three, and by the time I'd spent four hours preparing, I had a flight to Manhattan, and an indefinite stay with the friend who's name Hawkeye refused to reveal, saying I'd know them when I got there.
"Thankyou Daniel, talk some sense into Hawkeye, please. I'm not running away from last night, okay maybe I am, but I need a break, I need some time alone, and I don't mean to hurt him, if that's what he thinks."
"It's okay sweetheart, go and have a good time, relax, and you'll be just fine. Call me, and write me all the time, I'll write you too, once I have your address. Look, that's your plane." Daniel hugged me goodbye, and the twins and I boarded the plane.
Some hours later I got off the plane, two dark eyes sparkled at me almost as soon as my feet hit the ground.
"Sidney! Hawkeye told you didn't he?" I threw myself at him and hugged him. I started to cry.
"Yeah, he did Annie baby, he did." I realised that Sidney was sounding choked up too, though I'd no idea why.
"Ma'am, they were just angels, thankyou so much for letting us play with them. Bye-bye babies, be good for your mummy now." The two flight hostesses Julienne and Sandy had held and played with the twins most of the flight, the flight where Ben had discovered his little legs could support his weight and decided he preferred standing in the aisle and holding onto the arm of the seat.
"Have a nice day Miss Dawson, see you later little guys. Be good for mummy and daddy now." I opened my arms for Felicity and without asking, Sidney accepted Ben. We got my bags and went back to Sidney's house.
"My wife, Elizabeth is out with Matthew and Aaron my sons, but she said I was to let you and the babies make yourselves at home. They have their own room, here, we've got out our old crib, Aaron's just got his first big-boy bed, and my sister drove hers up last night for you. So the twins have one each."
"Oh, thankyou Sidney, that's very sweet." I sat down on my bed, putting Ben on the floor and smiling as his chubby little hands gripped my thumbs with sweet determination.
"Can I get you a drink, would the kids like anything, a nap, a bath?"
"Well I'd love a soda water, and then to get the kids down for a nap. They thought that Julienne and Sandy were just great, spent the whole flight smiling at them. I don't think they slept a bit, even when I did. Then if you don't mind, I'd really like to talk to you about a few things."
"I was born to listen. Sure Annie, their room is just behind that door there, here you go." He'd picked up Felicity for me, and carried her to the room, but now handed her over to me, and my hands were full with my two beautiful children. "I'll get you that water." He left, and I set about putting my babies down for a nap.
"That's how it is, couldn't bear his family, they didn't like me, I knew it. Left him, moved back to the comfort of the Cove, had a great Christmas, slept with Hawkeye and just had to escape. Oh, and did I mention that I'm having Charles's baby in May?"
"Well, that certainly adds an interesting perspective on things." Sidney said. I'd filled him in on everything from the day I'd returned to America.
"Things certainly are interesting now aren't they? I agreed tiredly.
"Annie, did you really want to divorce Hawkeye?" He asked.
"Of course, I wouldn't have done it otherwise."
"Uh-uh, listen. Did you want to right here, in you heart of hearts, do you want to be apart from him now?" Sidney took my hand and placed it over my heart.
"I'm not sure." I replied quietly. "I had to escape after what I did, but I didn't want to leave him."
"Well, stay with us, absence makes the heart grow fonder. You'll decide eventually whether or not you want to be in Boston with Charles or Crabapple Cove with Hawkeye or even Portland with Margaret and your family. Right now, the best thing for you is to have a break and get your thoughts together without hurting anyone further."
So I stayed with the Freedman family. Elizabeth was a very kind woman, and the two boys were just gorgeous. Sidney especially was taken by the twins and enjoyed spending a lot of his free time with them.
"Aaron the Brave, I think it's time you went to bed."
"No, no, no!" The four-year-old cried.
"Yes, yes, yes! Now dismount from your trusty steed, that's the boy and I'll put you to bed. Matthew, stay here while I give Aaron his bath okay?" I lifted Aaron off the rocking horse, it was Valentine's Day and I was sitting the boys so Sid and Liz could have a night off.
"Goodnight tough guy." I returned to the living room. Matthew, a 6 year old, was sitting on the sofa, a book in his hand. His big brown eyes grinned up at me appealingly.
"Can I read to you until I have my bath?" I checked my watch, reading would pass the fifteen minutes before I put him in a bath well.
We settled down as Matthew stumbled through a book, trying to sound out the long words himself. I helped him only a little, when he needed it. I ran him a bath and he spent quite some time in there, before his skin t8urned wrinkly and I sent him to bed. I curled up on the sofa and took up some knitting, I was making a shawl for my new baby in a pretty shade of yellow.
"Hello, we're home!" Sidney called, I woke up suddenly and realised I had fallen asleep. I tucked my knitting away and ran to meet them. Liz and Sidney were smiling from ear-to-ear, it was plain they'd had a lovely night.
"Were the boys good?" Their mother asked anxiously.
"They were just wonderful Liz." I assured her. The night had had no dramas except for Aaron not wanting bed.
"We've brought you back some cake from my sisters, it's a particularly delicious recipe."
"Thankyou." We went into the kitchen and sat down for coffee and cake.
"This is wonderful, what's the secret?" I asked.
"Peanuts, we crush them very, very finely and mix them through." I quickly spat out any cake I had in my mouth.
"Peanuts? Sidney is the hospital far?"
"No, why?"
"You have about ten minutes to get me there before I stop breathing, I have a terrible allergy to peanuts."
"But you never . . ." I cut him off.
"We got to go." My throat was already feeling tight, and I was having trouble breathing.
Sidney threw my coat onto me and we ran out to the car, soon we were speeding to the hospital, while I tried to breathe. I was coughing and wheezing as my throat closed over.
"Hold on Annie, we're almost there." My tongue and throat were swelling up, and I was probably turning blue when I passed out.
"Nice to see you awake Miss Dawson, don't try to talk, you tracheotomy tube will make it quite impossible." The nurse said, I looked around, I was lying in the sterile hospital room.
"You were very lucky, when Dr Freedman brought you in, you had turned blue and were unconscious, we had to preform a tracheotomy immediately or you would have died. He said you ate peanuts before, now just thumb up for yes, thumb down for no. Are you allergic to peanuts? Good, anything else? Okay, thankyou. Now just try and rest a bit." She left. I fell asleep at once, and was unaware of time passing as nurse after nurse came in and out.
"Hi Annie, how you feeling?" I waved my hand indifferently at Sidney. "You've been in here two weeks already, it's March. You woke up about three hours after you were admitted, but you've been out of it ever since, almost comatose."
"Dr Freedman, if you'll excuse me, I need to see if Miss Dawson is able to breathe alone. Just try and breathe, it won't be long." She covered my tube like I had so many times in Korea. I choked a little.
"That's good progress, the swelling around the tube is going down, you should be out by your children's birthday. We just want to keep you in until the tube is out, and your voice is back. The doctor will see you this evening and decide when your tube will come out. I'll leave you now."
Hawkeye knows about your being in hospital, but not about anything else. I didn't know if you wanted him to know about C4." We'd begun calling the baby C4, or Charles the fourth. My eyes showed extreme, expressive gratitude. I hadn't wanted Hawkeye to know.
"Sidney, you're wonderful!" I wrote he smiled at me. He chatted, while I wrote, and the doctor came to visit. I was told that the tube could come out in three days' time and I could go as soon as it was obvious my voice was returning normally.
"Home!" I croaked as Sidney opened the door for me. It was three days before my children's first birthday and with my voice back, I was discharged from the hospital that morning. Elizabeth met us, Ben holding her hands with determination as he toddled uncertainly. Felicity however was still on all fours.
"Don't talk much, however ring Hawkeye, let him know you're alive." I spoke a few strained, sore words to him, my throat hurt terribly, but I was on my way to recovery.
"Dada? Dada! Mama!" Felicity cheered, bashing her bowl on the table gleefully.
"Mama!" Ben echoed. I smiled as I heard their little voices calling for me. They'd picked up mama, dada and bubba in the three days I'd been home before their birthday. Now, they were twelve months old and I couldn't believe that the toddlers I loved so had once been tiny, newborn babies. Life was moving fast, I was very comfortable in Manhattan but I also had plenty of time to think about where I wanted to be.
"Daddy, look what Annie taught BJ!" Matthew called, pulling his father's hand towards the living room.
"What Annie, oh hello duckie!" Felicity was trying to climb his legs.
"Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga," I sang, my voice feeling a fair bit better.
"Hoo-hoo!" Ben crowed, clapping dimpled hands. Sidney laughed and picked up Felicity. She had gotten to her feet but walking alone was still beyond her.
"Annie, it's April now, don't you think it's time you went south for the summer as it were?"
"I was beginning to think I knew where I wanted to be. And it's not here, not Boston, not Portland, it's Crabapple Cove, with Hawkeye."
"Well, you can leave when you're ready."
"Will Hawkeye want me back?" I looked over the eight-month bump.
"He'll take you in, but whether he wants you back as a lover or friend is up to you." Sidney told me seriously.
"Thanks Sidney. Would you book the flight for me?" My voice still hurt and I wouldn't have been able to stand the arguing with the airport. It was arranged that I'd fly back on the 26th.
"Thankyou, have a nice day." I got off the plane two babies staggering at my side. It was late April 27 1955, and I'd just landed in Portland airport. With the help of a porter and a luggage trolley I got into a cab, and began the drive back to Hawkeye and Daniel's.
"Shit!" My eyes flew open as I heard the taxi driver swear. He'd taken the corner too fast and we were spinning off the road. We crashed through a white picket fence and into a tree.
The people in the house ran out, and I'm pretty sure I heard my name being called as I felt a strong, sharp contraction and passed out.
A/N: Ohh, cliffhanger! I know how much you all love them! (Yeah whatever!) Sorry about this but one hand is out of order (bee sting, it looks like a balloon with sausages stuck on it!) and typing is hard with only one hand.
January 1 - April 1955
"Oh my head." I opened one blue eye, I tried to move, but a hand kept me pretty firmly where I was. "Oh my head" I muttered again.
"Welcome to hangovers you never used to suffer." I lifted my head to discover a pair of grey eyes studying me with a certain degree of amusement. I smiled a little before laying my head back down on his chest.
"Oh god, what did I do last night?"
"New Years' Eve party Annie baby, you got plastered!" He laughed before holding his head as he realised that he was hungover too. I snuggled against him and went back to sleep.
"I didn't do anything I'll regret did I?" I asked later over a very strong black coffee.
"Define regret."
"No casual sex, I didn't propose to anyone, didn't join any cults, say anything nasty about people or anything else unsavoury, pose for any photos that will wind up on the hall of fame, the usual stuff I worry about after a party?"
"Well if I don't count no, but the group photos we took will wind up on the hall." The local clinic was plastered with photos from recent celebrations.
"That's not so bad."
"Wait till you're sober."
"I'm just thrilled about the idea, the twins are so loud!" Both of my 9 ½ month old babies were playing with toy drums in the playpen in the lounge, Christmas gifts from my very thoughtful mother. "Wait, if you do count?"
"Then yes, you will regret things,"
"Like?"
"Like everything . . ."
"Oh my god Hawkeye, what'd I do?" I'd returned to the Cove for Christmas, back on the sofa, and I'd spent NYE at a wild party in Portland with Hawkeye and a large percentage of the population of Crabapple Cove.
"You practically begged me to marry you, you called me a very unsavoury name when I said no, then we came back found dad and the kids asleep on the sofa, and I don't remember much after that, except you calling me a certain 'four lettered word'-ing brilliant."
"Very loudly, several times over, I never knew you had such a mouth Annie, however I could fill you in on what you two did, based entirely on what I heard." Daniel came in.
"Happy New Year Daniel." He bent and kissed my head. "And I'm pretty sure I don't want to know." I drank another three cups of coffee and by that stage felt a little better, hungover-wise, not self-esteem.
"Oh god, I didn't, did I?" I asked, swallowing.
"We did." Hawkeye confirmed.
"Shit." I hadn't told him about the baby, as I wasn't showing yet, and successfully hiding sore breasts, insomnia and mood swings in lots of walking, hot baths and time alone.
"Oh my god, how could I? I mean there's so little stability in my life as it is, what if it weren't you I proposed to, or slept with? I need out of here, it's too insular, I need away from you Hawkeye, and you Daniel, I need away from Margaret, Trapper, Charles, the letters from Papa, everyone, I just need out for a bit."
"Well, go west, BJ and Peggy would have you I'm sure."
"I don't think I could deal with them either, I've just got to go." I stood up. Daniel came to me and put a hand on each shoulder, steadying me.
"Annie, you obviously need a holiday, and I will let you go, as soon as you know where you're going."
"New York, I'm going to New York." I decided on the spot.
"Manhattan? There's someone there you could stay with." Hawkeye asked.
"Whatever, I want to take the kids and go to New York for a while, I don't know how long, a few days, weeks, maybe months. I just need out."
"Annie, look, if you're worried about last night, there won't be any strings, I promise, unless you want them that is. Are you trying to avoid me?" Hawkeye said.
"Yes, but there's so much more than that! I need out of here!"
"Annie, go pack, I'll get you a seat on the first flight I can, and Hawkeye will call whoever it is that you're staying with. Just take a few deep breaths okay?" Daniel said, shooing me towards the living room. I had packed everything I needed in about two hours, showered, dressed and got the kids ready in three, and by the time I'd spent four hours preparing, I had a flight to Manhattan, and an indefinite stay with the friend who's name Hawkeye refused to reveal, saying I'd know them when I got there.
"Thankyou Daniel, talk some sense into Hawkeye, please. I'm not running away from last night, okay maybe I am, but I need a break, I need some time alone, and I don't mean to hurt him, if that's what he thinks."
"It's okay sweetheart, go and have a good time, relax, and you'll be just fine. Call me, and write me all the time, I'll write you too, once I have your address. Look, that's your plane." Daniel hugged me goodbye, and the twins and I boarded the plane.
Some hours later I got off the plane, two dark eyes sparkled at me almost as soon as my feet hit the ground.
"Sidney! Hawkeye told you didn't he?" I threw myself at him and hugged him. I started to cry.
"Yeah, he did Annie baby, he did." I realised that Sidney was sounding choked up too, though I'd no idea why.
"Ma'am, they were just angels, thankyou so much for letting us play with them. Bye-bye babies, be good for your mummy now." The two flight hostesses Julienne and Sandy had held and played with the twins most of the flight, the flight where Ben had discovered his little legs could support his weight and decided he preferred standing in the aisle and holding onto the arm of the seat.
"Have a nice day Miss Dawson, see you later little guys. Be good for mummy and daddy now." I opened my arms for Felicity and without asking, Sidney accepted Ben. We got my bags and went back to Sidney's house.
"My wife, Elizabeth is out with Matthew and Aaron my sons, but she said I was to let you and the babies make yourselves at home. They have their own room, here, we've got out our old crib, Aaron's just got his first big-boy bed, and my sister drove hers up last night for you. So the twins have one each."
"Oh, thankyou Sidney, that's very sweet." I sat down on my bed, putting Ben on the floor and smiling as his chubby little hands gripped my thumbs with sweet determination.
"Can I get you a drink, would the kids like anything, a nap, a bath?"
"Well I'd love a soda water, and then to get the kids down for a nap. They thought that Julienne and Sandy were just great, spent the whole flight smiling at them. I don't think they slept a bit, even when I did. Then if you don't mind, I'd really like to talk to you about a few things."
"I was born to listen. Sure Annie, their room is just behind that door there, here you go." He'd picked up Felicity for me, and carried her to the room, but now handed her over to me, and my hands were full with my two beautiful children. "I'll get you that water." He left, and I set about putting my babies down for a nap.
"That's how it is, couldn't bear his family, they didn't like me, I knew it. Left him, moved back to the comfort of the Cove, had a great Christmas, slept with Hawkeye and just had to escape. Oh, and did I mention that I'm having Charles's baby in May?"
"Well, that certainly adds an interesting perspective on things." Sidney said. I'd filled him in on everything from the day I'd returned to America.
"Things certainly are interesting now aren't they? I agreed tiredly.
"Annie, did you really want to divorce Hawkeye?" He asked.
"Of course, I wouldn't have done it otherwise."
"Uh-uh, listen. Did you want to right here, in you heart of hearts, do you want to be apart from him now?" Sidney took my hand and placed it over my heart.
"I'm not sure." I replied quietly. "I had to escape after what I did, but I didn't want to leave him."
"Well, stay with us, absence makes the heart grow fonder. You'll decide eventually whether or not you want to be in Boston with Charles or Crabapple Cove with Hawkeye or even Portland with Margaret and your family. Right now, the best thing for you is to have a break and get your thoughts together without hurting anyone further."
So I stayed with the Freedman family. Elizabeth was a very kind woman, and the two boys were just gorgeous. Sidney especially was taken by the twins and enjoyed spending a lot of his free time with them.
"Aaron the Brave, I think it's time you went to bed."
"No, no, no!" The four-year-old cried.
"Yes, yes, yes! Now dismount from your trusty steed, that's the boy and I'll put you to bed. Matthew, stay here while I give Aaron his bath okay?" I lifted Aaron off the rocking horse, it was Valentine's Day and I was sitting the boys so Sid and Liz could have a night off.
"Goodnight tough guy." I returned to the living room. Matthew, a 6 year old, was sitting on the sofa, a book in his hand. His big brown eyes grinned up at me appealingly.
"Can I read to you until I have my bath?" I checked my watch, reading would pass the fifteen minutes before I put him in a bath well.
We settled down as Matthew stumbled through a book, trying to sound out the long words himself. I helped him only a little, when he needed it. I ran him a bath and he spent quite some time in there, before his skin t8urned wrinkly and I sent him to bed. I curled up on the sofa and took up some knitting, I was making a shawl for my new baby in a pretty shade of yellow.
"Hello, we're home!" Sidney called, I woke up suddenly and realised I had fallen asleep. I tucked my knitting away and ran to meet them. Liz and Sidney were smiling from ear-to-ear, it was plain they'd had a lovely night.
"Were the boys good?" Their mother asked anxiously.
"They were just wonderful Liz." I assured her. The night had had no dramas except for Aaron not wanting bed.
"We've brought you back some cake from my sisters, it's a particularly delicious recipe."
"Thankyou." We went into the kitchen and sat down for coffee and cake.
"This is wonderful, what's the secret?" I asked.
"Peanuts, we crush them very, very finely and mix them through." I quickly spat out any cake I had in my mouth.
"Peanuts? Sidney is the hospital far?"
"No, why?"
"You have about ten minutes to get me there before I stop breathing, I have a terrible allergy to peanuts."
"But you never . . ." I cut him off.
"We got to go." My throat was already feeling tight, and I was having trouble breathing.
Sidney threw my coat onto me and we ran out to the car, soon we were speeding to the hospital, while I tried to breathe. I was coughing and wheezing as my throat closed over.
"Hold on Annie, we're almost there." My tongue and throat were swelling up, and I was probably turning blue when I passed out.
"Nice to see you awake Miss Dawson, don't try to talk, you tracheotomy tube will make it quite impossible." The nurse said, I looked around, I was lying in the sterile hospital room.
"You were very lucky, when Dr Freedman brought you in, you had turned blue and were unconscious, we had to preform a tracheotomy immediately or you would have died. He said you ate peanuts before, now just thumb up for yes, thumb down for no. Are you allergic to peanuts? Good, anything else? Okay, thankyou. Now just try and rest a bit." She left. I fell asleep at once, and was unaware of time passing as nurse after nurse came in and out.
"Hi Annie, how you feeling?" I waved my hand indifferently at Sidney. "You've been in here two weeks already, it's March. You woke up about three hours after you were admitted, but you've been out of it ever since, almost comatose."
"Dr Freedman, if you'll excuse me, I need to see if Miss Dawson is able to breathe alone. Just try and breathe, it won't be long." She covered my tube like I had so many times in Korea. I choked a little.
"That's good progress, the swelling around the tube is going down, you should be out by your children's birthday. We just want to keep you in until the tube is out, and your voice is back. The doctor will see you this evening and decide when your tube will come out. I'll leave you now."
Hawkeye knows about your being in hospital, but not about anything else. I didn't know if you wanted him to know about C4." We'd begun calling the baby C4, or Charles the fourth. My eyes showed extreme, expressive gratitude. I hadn't wanted Hawkeye to know.
"Sidney, you're wonderful!" I wrote he smiled at me. He chatted, while I wrote, and the doctor came to visit. I was told that the tube could come out in three days' time and I could go as soon as it was obvious my voice was returning normally.
"Home!" I croaked as Sidney opened the door for me. It was three days before my children's first birthday and with my voice back, I was discharged from the hospital that morning. Elizabeth met us, Ben holding her hands with determination as he toddled uncertainly. Felicity however was still on all fours.
"Don't talk much, however ring Hawkeye, let him know you're alive." I spoke a few strained, sore words to him, my throat hurt terribly, but I was on my way to recovery.
"Dada? Dada! Mama!" Felicity cheered, bashing her bowl on the table gleefully.
"Mama!" Ben echoed. I smiled as I heard their little voices calling for me. They'd picked up mama, dada and bubba in the three days I'd been home before their birthday. Now, they were twelve months old and I couldn't believe that the toddlers I loved so had once been tiny, newborn babies. Life was moving fast, I was very comfortable in Manhattan but I also had plenty of time to think about where I wanted to be.
"Daddy, look what Annie taught BJ!" Matthew called, pulling his father's hand towards the living room.
"What Annie, oh hello duckie!" Felicity was trying to climb his legs.
"Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga," I sang, my voice feeling a fair bit better.
"Hoo-hoo!" Ben crowed, clapping dimpled hands. Sidney laughed and picked up Felicity. She had gotten to her feet but walking alone was still beyond her.
"Annie, it's April now, don't you think it's time you went south for the summer as it were?"
"I was beginning to think I knew where I wanted to be. And it's not here, not Boston, not Portland, it's Crabapple Cove, with Hawkeye."
"Well, you can leave when you're ready."
"Will Hawkeye want me back?" I looked over the eight-month bump.
"He'll take you in, but whether he wants you back as a lover or friend is up to you." Sidney told me seriously.
"Thanks Sidney. Would you book the flight for me?" My voice still hurt and I wouldn't have been able to stand the arguing with the airport. It was arranged that I'd fly back on the 26th.
"Thankyou, have a nice day." I got off the plane two babies staggering at my side. It was late April 27 1955, and I'd just landed in Portland airport. With the help of a porter and a luggage trolley I got into a cab, and began the drive back to Hawkeye and Daniel's.
"Shit!" My eyes flew open as I heard the taxi driver swear. He'd taken the corner too fast and we were spinning off the road. We crashed through a white picket fence and into a tree.
The people in the house ran out, and I'm pretty sure I heard my name being called as I felt a strong, sharp contraction and passed out.
A/N: Ohh, cliffhanger! I know how much you all love them! (Yeah whatever!) Sorry about this but one hand is out of order (bee sting, it looks like a balloon with sausages stuck on it!) and typing is hard with only one hand.