Dear Andrew,

I hope this letter finds you as well as the current circumstances allow. We are all well, the girls are growing in leaps and bounds and I know you won't be surprised to hear that Grace has endless questions about everything from how ration books are made to the weather.

I know your father has passed on our most important piece of news at our request. It has been quite a shock but Hugh and I are very excited while the girls are still warming up to the idea; Grace had her heart set on a puppy as opposed to a new sibling.

Your father says that you don't expect to have leave any time soon and I'm afraid Hugh and I are too impatient to wait until you do to ask you this face to face; Andrew, would you be godfather?

If you would rather not, for whatever reason, I promise we won't be offended but please do think about it Andrew. You are already as good as a godfather to Maggie and Grace, this time it would just be official.

Please let us know if there is anything we can send you. Do you need more socks or gloves? I know your aunt is also knitting for you but if you need more or have any squadron mates who need anything please let me know.

Be safe Andrew, and know that we are thinking of you and praying for you all daily.

Elaine Reid

Andrew set the letter down and ran his hands over his face before taking a long drink of tea and reading it again. He was exhausted and he was sure he'd misunderstood, why would Mr. and Mrs. Reid ask him to be godfather when there was a reasonable chance he wouldn't even meet the baby, let alone be around to play such an important role in their life?

Before he could contemplate the matter further Jackson called, "Foyle, Wing Co wants to see you" and Andrew drained the last of his tea before tucking the letter into his pocket and heading off to see Turner.

A day and a half later, when he had time to read it again the request hadn't changed, they wanted him to be godfather and despite the fact that Andrew still didn't think it's very practical it was comforting to know that other people were planning for a future that included him, even if he wasn't sure he really believed in one anymore.

It was another 3 days before Andrew had a chance to write a response and even then it was terribly short, just one page although he added a postscript for each of the girls and hoped that made up for it. He scribbled an equally short reply to Dad's last three letters and then collapsed into his bunk and slept heavily until the scramble siren sounded 4 hours later.

As he ran towards his spit he suddenly remembered the dream he had been pulled from; there had been a baby in his arms, Maggie and Gracie sitting beside him, Dad and Mr. and Mrs. Reid smiling at them all. It was just a dream but it gave him yet another reason to fight against the exhaustion dogging his every step as he jumped into his spit for yet another desperate sortie.

"We asked Andrew to be godfather," Reid said casually that Saturday as he watched his fly settle gently on the river.

Foyle blinked, line stilling in surprise, "Oh?"

Reid nodded, "Elaine's idea but we both agreed he's one in all but name for the girls, this time it would just be official" He glanced carefully at his friend, "You don't mind do you Christopher? I mean…"

Foyle shook his head, "No, of course not Hugh. Didn't expect it"

Reid laughed quietly, "I told Elaine as much but she was worried, didn't want to offend you."

"Not at all. You err hear back from Andrew?"

There was a burr of emotion in his voice that Hugh couldn't quite place and he wondered how long it had been since Christopher had heard from his son. "Got a short letter yesterday, said he was happy to accept unless we'd changed our minds."

He shook his head fondly; "You know he's nearly as bad at accepting compliments as you are Christopher."

Foyle's lips twitched up at one corner, a barely perceptible motion where another man would have simply shrugged, "Prefer it to the alternative. How are the girls adjusting to the news?"

Reid sighed, "Fairly well I think, Maggie's still a bit worried but Grace is fine; well at least she's stopped asking if we can get a puppy instead."

Foyle smiled, "I remember Andrew petitioning fairly hard for a puppy around that age, not that we were any more obliging."

Reid nodded and they lapsed back into comfortable silence broken only by the babble of the river and the thrashing of the trout they were able to successfully lure from its depths.