"Just….a little…further." Thomas urged himself as he continued to stagger up the hill.

He had ran and jogged and crawled his way towards New Bern for the past three days. Instead of taking the same route he had before with the General and his men to hide them from sight, he took the short route through clearings and roads. From where he stood now he could see the tops of the houses, the billows of smoke floating from the chimneys of the lazy town. The young man doubled over and put his weight on his hands that were at his knees. Again he took a deep breath and continued his journey to Mrs. Turner… "Just…a little…further."

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Nathan stopped and practically collapsed on a near-by rock at the edge of the sandy coast. "Wait a minute, will you?"

Will turned, breathing just as hard as his friend, but with slightly more annoyed expression on his dirty face. He obliged his friend and plopped down into the soft sand in front of him with his knees bent and his arms resting heavily atop. "We cant just keep stopping, you know that, don't you Nate?"

"Whats your bloody rush? I've got a wife and kid at home – same as you, but you don't see me running off in a dead sprint down the beach, do you?" Said the blonde man as he wiped the dripping sweat from his brow.

Will sighed and shook his head. "I know…I know we're out of danger and yet I still don't feel safe. The sooner we get home the better off we'll be."

Nathan gestured to the north with a flick of his hand. "I know Will, but we've still got a two days journey ahead of us." He looked over and saw the dejected look of his neighbor. "I agree…I don't feel safe either. But we'd best still keep our heads down and move at a steady pace…"

Will looked up and nodded hesitantly.

"And that includes taking a rest every now and again!" he added with a smile

"Alright. Alright." Said the dark-headed blacksmith as he stood and brushed off his breeches. "Its agreed…But just not every thirty minutes?"

Nathan stood with him, shoving the hair from his damp face. "Fine."

"Good?" Will asked with a jokingly raised eyebrow.

"Yes…."

"Are you sure?"

Nathan laughed "Sure I'm sure, get on with it!"

"Okay. You said so." Just as he finished Will darted back up over the dune of sand and up into the trees from which they came.

"Hey I said no leaving me!" Nathan called after him.

Again, the two men were back on their path, headed north towards their homes. Their plan was to follow the coast: easy not to get lost, and easy to find their beloved little town. What they didn't know was that one of their fellow soldiers had found it already…

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Liz lay on the sofa, her head and feet both propped up on a soft pillow. Her shoes lay forgotten close to the near-by table, her apron was tossed on the back of the kitchen chair, all in her attempts to stop what she was doing and relax for a moment. Her back ached and her body felt emensly heavy. She hadn't slept well lately…for more than just one reason. Will was gone, and so was her comfort. How was she expected to sleep soundly when her mind was swirling with deadly possibilities? Secondly the child within her would stir every other minute – pounding at her bladder, pushing at her ribs – it was a constant battle! And lastly, Katie – she had been sleeping with Elizabeth in her bed ever since her father had left. Before it had been monsters in her closet or under her bed that would keep her up at night, now it was her fear that her Papa might not come back home. Even with her mother assuring her that this was not the case, that her father would soon be with them, Katie refused to leave her mother's side saying that if anything were to happen they would be together…and besides, she knew her mother was lonely. Elizabeth thought it was unnesesary, but none the less endearing that her little girl insisted on sleeping next to her, yet she tossed and turned more than Elizabeth did and sometimes would get out of bed just to look out the window – thinking she heard hooves on the road outside signaling her father's return.

But at this moment, it was a different sort of noise that was robbing Liz of her precious rest: a knocking at the door. It wouldn't be Katie...she was in the backyard playing with Tristan and a couple of the other children...

She opened her eyes and sighed heavily, then tried to place both feet firmly on the ground before pushing her upper body up with her arms. Before regaining her teetering balance she placed a hand on her belly and concentrated on not falling back over. This way of getting up from chairs and sofa's was becoming routine, but no less aggravating, and no less time consuming – for when she finally was making her way to the door the knocking had become harder and faster.

She undid the locks, turned the knob, and opened it to see a very haggard, very dirty Thomas on her doorstep. At once she had a flash of when Will opened the door the night the bloodied messenger had come, and fell into her husband's arms with his last breath.

The door opened and a bloodied shell of a man fell to the threshold. The men, seeing his red jacket and muddy white trousers put their weapons away and knelt at the man's side. The dirt and blood on the young man's face made him almost unrecognizable as a civilized human being. He was sucking in air at uneven gasps, choking on what they assumed was his own blood. The General leaned down closer to hear the man and his mumbles.

"For G-Graham…" He said, as his clamped hand lifted from his chest.

The General took the letter from the messenger and opened it quickly while the others stood by. Thomas had put the soldiers head in his lap and put all his pressure on one of his wounds on his shoulder that was streaming with the hot red liquid.

"Stay with us Soldier! Stay with us…don't speak." Thomas repeated. It was of no help. Within another minute of clinging to life the young man had died. The loss of blood was too much for his tired body. By now, hearing no quarrel Elizabeth had come down the stairs, keeping Katie in her room. She peered down and proceeded to descend the stairs slowly.

"Who is he?" she asked once she was next to Will, never taking her eyes off the deceased.

"A messenger. He had a letter for the General." He replied quietly.

"Poor man…what happened to him?"

Before Will had a chance to answer the General stood up, with the bloody letter in his hand and addressed the group before him. "This is a message from Colonel McLeod. He has requested that I meet him and his regiment with my men in Cape Fear as soon as possible."

….And that was it. That was when they had taken Will away from her. But now standing before Elizabeth was Thomas. The one with the unsteady breathes was the same man who had tried to keep the wounded soldier's soul here on earth.

'T-Thomas! Are you alright? What are you doing here? Wheres Will?" Her questions were flying at him, coming too fast for him to answer. He reached out and took her arm to balance himself. She held on to him and took him out of the doorway and let him rest against the foyer wall. He let himself slide down, resting his head against it, willing his breath catch up to him, and all her questions sink in.

Just then Lucy came through the open front door. "Whats going on…." Then she saw the soldier on the floor resting, and Elizabeth's worried gaze upon him. "Who is he?"

"Hes one of them who stayed with us." She said in a rush. "He was one of them who was with Will when he left."

"He's not wounded is he?" Lucy asked, looking at Thomas expectantly.

He shook his head and looked as if he was going to speak, then he stood, still breathing quite heavily and took a step closer to Elizabeth. "Mrs…Turner…I came to tell you something."

"Yes. Yes what is it?" She said, flustered that it had taken him this long to finally speak.

"Please, lets go in…lets sit and I'll explain everything to you." He said, gesturing to the living room.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No Thomas, whatever it is you came to tell me – just say it!"

"I-I think…I think it would be better if you sat down while –" He started, already unsure how to tell her and beginning to sweat again, not from his previous exhaustion, but from his nervousness.

"Thomas, just –"

"Hes dead!" He shot at her. There…he said it. He had done what he had come here to do.

Lucy covered her mouth. Her eyes immediately went to Elizabeth who was standing next to her. Her friend's expression was unchanging. It was as if Thomas had said nothing at all.

Liz spoke very quietly, with an even tone in her voice. "What did you say?"

Thomas shifted his weight and brushed his palms against his dirty trousers. "Hes dead Miss, He was in battle and he was hit…I saw him amongst the dead."

Her face was serene. "No. You must be mistaken. It wasn't William."

Now Thomas felt hurt that he was being contradicted. He knew what he had seen and what he had seen was Will Turner, the blacksmith, go down in the field with all the other fatalities. "It was him. There was no mistaking it. It was your husband, Miss. William Turner. As sure as rain I saw the right man. I wouldn't be telling you if it wasn't, Miss. I know it was –"

"NO!" She screamed back at him. "It wasn't him, you're mistaken! Get out of my house…get out!" Elizabeth took his jacket in her fists and pushed him back against the wall where he had previously been.

Thomas knew that her rage against him was her way of dealing with her grief but he had to make her understand, without a doubt that it was her husband William that had died. Not by any mistake of his, was she going to think otherwise. He took a hold of her wrists and pried her hands away, then stepped towards her, keeping her arms close to her chest. "It was him! It was your husband."

"I don't believe you!" She cried out to him…then a wave of dizziness swept over and her legs no longer felt like they could support her. "I don't…I don't believe you…" she said as she began to give way.

Lucy went to her side and took her friend under her arms, allowing her to lean against her. Thomas, who was before very stern was now unaware of what to do. "Help me take her to her room." Said Lucy as they guided her up the stairs with steady steps.

Liz didn't say a word, her world was spinning and she felt as if the rug had just been drawn out from underneath her. She silently let her caretakers draw her to her bedroom and lay her on the large, soft pillows. Once she was lay down, the dizziness began to subside, but the aching of her heart took up where it had left off. Elizabeth rolled over and turned her back to Lucy who was the only one still in the room with her.

"Lizzy…let me get –"

"Lucy please… Let me be." She said, in the same flat tone that she had used downstairs.

The redhead nodded solemnly and walked slowly out of the room, then shut the door quietly behind her. Thomas was in the hallway, standing with his hands in his pockets looking quite dejected. Lucy came up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing."

The soldier gave her a small nod as the young woman passed him to go back down the stairs. "Sure….sure, I did the right thing." He quietly reassured himself.