EPILOGUE

November 1955

Standing in front of the bedroom mirror, Patrick adjusted the knot on his tie and made sure it was smoothed down his chest before pulling in his suit jacket. Then, he reached for the trio of medals lying beside his wife's jewelry case and pinned them just above the breast pocket of his jacket. Gazing at their reflection in the mirror felt strange, as though he was looking into a different life. In fact, it had been a different life—a decade prior—the last time he'd worn those medals. Considering how unsettled his life had been then and how content he was at present, he did not like to think of those days often. Such thoughts were now reserved for very special occasions like that one.

Leaving the bedroom, Patrick walked down the hall and poked his head into his son's room. Timothy stood in front of the mirror combing his hair down. Thankfully, he was already dressed and had even remembered to include the poppy pin on his lapel as his mother had instructed. "Ready to go?" Patrick asked softly.

"In a minute," he said, not taking his eyes off his reflection as he attempted to address a few stubborn strands of hair.

"Just one minute," Patrick warned before descending the stairs and finding his wife in the kitchen securing some ribbons into the blonde pigtails of their three-year-old daughter, Angela.

She glanced up at the sound of his footsteps and a grin broke out across her face. "Oh, don't you look smart. You see Daddy's medals Angela? Don't they look nice?"

Angela ran over and hugged him around the thigh, and he reached down and patted her back. Seemingly taking after her mother, Angela was quite small for her age, but as they liked to say: what she lacked in size, she made up for in enthusiasm. She was a delightful ball of energy that had him positively wrapped around her little finger.

"You're looking quite smart yourself," he said, nodding to her bold blue suit also accentuated with a red poppy pin. She smiled, kissed his cheek, and then walked over to the bottom of the stairs to call up to their son, telling him that he needed to come downstairs so they weren't late.

As he waited for Timothy, Patrick drifted over to the sitting room and his eyes caught sight of the side-by-side picture frames on the mantle. The frame on the left had one of the pictures from their wedding day and the one on the right held the photo of them on the balcony at the Allied hospital. Patrick found himself drawn towards the photos and, as the memories washed over him, reached out his finger to trace the edge of the older photo's frame. The two people depicted there, so entrenched in the day-to-day struggles of war, had no idea how wonderful their lives would turn out—and he thanked God every day for allowing their lives to achieve such perfection.

When Patrick had received the invitation for the RAMC's ten-year post-war reunion to be held on Remembrance Sunday that year he had immediately tossed it aside. While he was happy to attend the local Remembrance Day celebrations each year, he did not have much interest in any sort of formal reunion. He already had the only remembrance of that time that he needed—and she slept beside him every night. Shelagh was the one who had brought up the idea to him a few times, suggesting that it might be a nice way to get some closure to a very tumultuous time in both their lives. In the end, he agreed, but mostly for his children to be able to see and hopefully appreciate all the sacrifices that had been made to allow them to lead wonderful lives.

One they were all ready, they made the drive to the war memorial at which the reunion was being held. Despite it being November, the weather was not particularly cold, though Shelagh did make sure both children were wearing their coats before they exited the car. They had to park further away than expected, so he ended up carrying the pouting toddler, who despite having sat in the car for nearly an hour, still did not feel like walking such a distance when she could happily ride in her father's arms.

Once they reached the memorial site, Patrick insisted that Angela walk with her brother so they could respectfully approach the large swaths of flowers at the base of the memorial. Since Angela seemed quite interested in the flowers, Shelagh took her by the hand and let her walk slowly along the display so she could get a close look at all the wreaths and other bundles laid out in memory of those that had been lost.

Patrick stepped back, feeling almost dwarfed by the prospect that a few meters of stone was supposed to be enough to commemorate years and years of horror and loss. Then again, what man-made piece could ever represent so much death, suffering, and loss? He was so consumed by the memories of his time at war that he did not realize a former colleague had approached him before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Turning his head to his left, he spotted a man a few years older than he who now had severely graying hair. Patrick might not have recognized him at all were it not for the distinctive mole between his nose and lip. "Oh, er, hello Dr. Collins," he said, extending out his hand. The doctor had been one of the many who had worked at the Allied hospital for only a short period of time as they transitioned to and from the front lines.

"Dr. Turner. Pleasure to see you again. How are you doing?"

"Very well, thank you. And you?"

"Very well. Are you working in a London hospital?"

"No, I have a community practice just outside. And you?"

"Working full time in Manchester; my wife's family is from there." The doctor rocked back on his heels as he gazed around the crowd for several moments. "I find it rather strange to be here, seeing men I haven't seen in over a decade. It really takes you back."

"It does."

After a moment, Dr. Collins smiled and said, "I know we didn't work together too long, but it's sort of funny that nearly all my memories of that time involve you paling around with that little nun who worked as a nurse. Do you remember her? Wonder where she ever ended up?"

Patrick almost laughed as he confessed, "Ah, she's my wife."

Dr. Collin's brow rose sharply. "You're joking!"

"Not at all," he said before gesturing to where Shelagh stood with Timothy and Angela. "She's just there, with our children."

Dr. Collins laughed and gave him a slap on the back. "That's brilliant! Congratulations."

"Thank you."

They chatted about their families for a few more minutes and then, after Dr. Collins walked away, Patrick walked over to Shelagh and put his arm around her shoulders, feeling the need to ground himself by her presence. She was, without any question, the reason he was who he was. Without her, he would have died behind enemy lines or would have lost himself to the horrors of war and might never have made it out of that unspeakable time. Though it had taken them some time to find their way back to each other, once they had, they were able to build an incredible life together.

Later, after listening to some speeches, and making their way through the crowds of people to say hello to a few others he recognized, they walked the children to a nearby grassy area for them to run around a bit before they got back in the car to drive home. They were sitting side-by-side on a bench holding hands, watching Tim let Angela chase him around, when Shelagh leaned over and said softly to him, "I have something for you."

He turned his head towards her, curious. "Oh?"

"I wasn't sure if today might bring up some difficult memories for you, so I wanted to save something happy to end the day with." She smiled at him for a few seconds before picking up his hand and placing it flat against the lower part of her stomach.

As they had spent the last several months discussing expanding their family, he understood her implication immediately. "Oh, Shelagh! Really?"

She nodded. "I'll take a test this week just so we know, but I'm fairly certain."

He brought her hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles of both of them before saying, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," she echoed.

Then, he pulled her closely against him as they watched their children play. Briefly, he shut his eyes, and reveled in how thankful he was for his beautiful, wonderful family. He simply could not have imagined his life any other way.

A/N: thank you for reading. stay tuned for the Alternate Ending coming soon