CHAPTER SONG: "Sledgehammer" by Rihanna

Will and Emmy made their way home in the graying afternoon, slightly disheveled from their rendezvous of passion by the lakeside under the cover of hazardous weather with the passing thunderstorm overhead in the sky.

She had done most of the chatting along their trek home, telling him about her dinner with Joseph and Charlotte, her status as a widow of Private Seymour from Joe's regiment and Emmy's going back to the Blake house after sneaking out last night to let them know of what was happening with Molly and her estranged husband.

The happily engaged couple kept close at each other's side, their hands interlocked as they walked through the dirt covered trails leading them back to Molly's house. Will lifted Emmy's hand to kiss her knuckle near the engagement ring on her finger.

"We burnt the Princess Bed… me and Joe. We set it on fire last night." Emmy wasn't sure why she was telling him, but she wanted to be honest and not leave her fiancé out of something he had contributed to.

Will almost stopped in his tracks at her unexpected confession, his grasp on her hand slightly tightening without causing her discomfort. He looked down at his beloved, seeing her green eyes meeting his blue ones with slight worry. "What happened, darling? Was it done accidentally?"

His tone of voice was gentle and concerned, reassuring Emmy that he held no animosity toward the situation, just surprise and curiosity at the reveal. He hadn't given much thought to that bed in many weeks, since she had miraculously awoken.

He was determined to move on from the pain of sitting by her bedside as she had lain helplessly vulnerable and comatose, not knowing any moment if she would be revived or deceased by the turn of the New Year…

Occasionally glancing up at him as they walked together, she continued talking, her smaller hands cradling his scarred hand to her bosom above her heartbeat.

She wanted to tell him how she loved the feel of his hands and fingers… their constant touch of adoring sensuality on her skin and hair…

They were a woodworker's hands of strength… a soldier's hands of protection… the hands of her Will.

"We might have been a little drunk… but I was talking with Charlotte in the orchard when we saw it covered in fallen branches and leaves, the tent collapsed around it. I suggested we set it on fire, a signal that I overcame that coma and I'm not going to leave here again. I know you and Joe worked hard on that bed for me…and I hope you're not mad about it." She placed a tender kiss to his long fingers.

Will absorbed her words pensively as they kept walking, coming closer toward the house. He stopped in his gait as she looked up at him to do the same, gently pulling his hand out of her grasp he could run his fingers through her chaotic curls, placing a kiss to her forehead. "My Emmy… I couldn't be mad about you finding closure about what's happened to you. All that matters to me is that it's behind us. Whenever I think of my future… all I see is you. A life after this war, without you… would be empty. That bed in the Blake orchard symbolizes your near-death and us grieving at your wake and I couldn't be happier to hear that it's burnt to ash."

Both of his hands cradled her face, his thumbs stroking her pale blossom cheeks as she smiled up in relief, turning her head to kiss the scar on his palm. "Will…I love you…"

He leant down to kiss her on the lips as she turned upward to him again and he finished the declaration for her. "…more than anything, my darling. More than my own life."

He saw her blinking away tears as she stepped forward out of his reach, grabbing his hand again to lead him further along. "I think you would like Charlotte; she's good for Joseph. And I'm glad he's not alone anymore."

"I would like to meet her most definitely, Emmy. She sounds lovely and I'm glad you've found another friend beyond us Schofields." Will stated in responsive support, keeping in mind Emmy's words about respecting her as an individual with agency separate from him. "Anyone who treats you well I consider a friend of mine. Joe needs someone in his life after all he's lost. And you deserve all the friends in the world."

His arm enfolded around her waist, holding her delicately to his side as Molly's house came into view. He bent down and kissed the tresses of her hair at the top of her head floating in the storm-ridden breeze, earning a trademark blushing smile from Emmy aimed in his direction.

They looked to the house and opened the gate to the property, a strange sense of dread emanating from the usually active exterior of the home that sheltered the both of them all these months. Will carefully unwound his arm from around Emmy as his defensive instincts flared and he stared at their surroundings, listening for any danger nearby.

Emmy herself froze in her spot as Will took a couple steps in front of her, his stance alert and tense as though he knew something was wrong. And she could feel it too as she looked at the house…

No smoke rose from the chimney. The curtains in the front windows were closed. No sounds of Bucky's excited barks or the children laughing…

All was silent…

"Molly…" Will whispered his sister's name in a pained murmur and he ran to the house as fast as his legs could carry him, not sparing Emmy a single glance.

And she didn't blame him at all for leaving her behind, knowing that Molly and the girls' safety were paramount to him as she quickly followed, gathering her dress skirt into her hands as she sprinted to the house, hearing Will call out their names.

He leapt onto the porch over all the steps and tried the front door. His shaking hands turned the knob, but he was perturbed to see that it was locked. Will grunted in desperation as he pounded on the aged wooden door, needing to get inside and ensure his family's wellbeing.

Something had happened while he had been absent…

Emmy saw her frantic betrothed try with all his might to get the door open, and then the sound of barking alerted them to some form of life inside. As Will froze in momentary relief from Bucky's muffled whines, Emmy went to calm the worried Englishman down, placing a hand on his shoulder and going to try the door herself.

She called out with a clear holler of Molly's name, sensing Will's gaze on her as he breathed deeply, trying to not let the worst in his mind get the better of him.

"Molly! It's Emmy and Will. We're both back. Can you let us in, please? We're worried about you and the girls." Emmy called for her prospective sister-in-law, looking to Will as he reached out in silent gratitude, his hand grasping hers.

From the corner of their eye, they both saw the rustling of the curtains in one of the windows, signaling movement inside the house. Emmy placed her hand reassuringly on Will's upper arm, hearing the turn of the doorknob and the creaking of the door as it opened.

Molly's reddened face came into their view, and Emmy stepped forward immediately to embrace her. Both women released a sigh of relief as they hugged one another, stepping aside while allowing Will to also cross the threshold of the door and enter the house.

"Are you alright? Where are the girls?" Emmy asked the Englishwoman, hearing the padding of Bucky's paws on the floor as the Labrador greeted Will with a concerned whine. Will locked the door again, ensuring the security of the house's main entrance.

Molly leaned back from Emmy's embrace, pulling away from her as she went to do the same with her brother. The American girl watched the two siblings embrace with Will's arms protectively around his older sister, Molly herself trying to keep a calm façade despite her demeanor of evident fear. Emmy had never seen this woman so shaken before…

"The girls are upstairs; they should be waking up from their nap soon. I… I don't want them to see me upset like this… they shouldn't…" Molly was struggling to finish her sentence as she sniffled and blinked back the shine of tears in her eyes. "James… he was here, just awhile ago. He… threatened to return… and he wants to reclaim his family, as he put it."

Will placed a gentle arm around her shoulders, carefully holding her hand and pulling her to his side as though he was hiding her from an invisible enemy, making Molly appear shorter in stature than she really was despite being several inches taller than Emmy.

"Come here, let's get you off your feet, Mol." Will softly called her affectionate nickname. He led her to the chaise and guided her to perch on the cushions, feeling her body shivering.

He vigilantly scanned her over, looking for marks or injuries on his sister, briefly making eye contact with Emmy as though he was looking to his future bride for how to cope with this ordeal.

Emmy herself felt she needed to leave the brother and sister alone for a moment, recognizing the intensity searing from Will as his jaw clenched with that familiar look in his eyes, an anger and guilt that she saw in his blue irises whenever she would speak about the horrors she had endured with Erik.

Molly also looked to Emmy, no longer able to keep the tears in her eyes as they stained her cheeks. "Emmy… dear sister. Would you please check on the girls? Make sure they don't come downstairs for a moment?"

Emmy nodded her head before Molly had finished that last question, knowing she needed to help in some way, especially where the children were concerned. And she knew Will needed to console his sister, their family history going beyond her even coming into their lives and she sought to respect that dynamic as Will's fiancée.

"Yes, of course. I'll be upstairs if you need me." Emmy looked in between Will and Molly, briefly looking into the eyes of her soldier and mouthing only three words to him as he held his sister in his arms. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Will mouthed silently in response as his gaze followed her ascending the stairs, keeping her in his sight until she disappeared to the second story of the house, the sound of her boots on the wooden floor echoing through the acoustics.

As Will held Molly's hand, he noticed her flinching as she tenderly pulled her hand out of his grasp. He looked down to see the bruises on her knuckles as she cradled her hand to her chest. "Mol, what the hell happened to your hand? Did he do this to you?"

He struggled to keep his voice quiet and hold back the fury burgeoning in his body as he regarded the thought of James harming her again. Will looked at her face, waiting for an answer from her, and he glanced to her neck, mostly concealed by the modest neckline of her blouse.

He zeroed in on the exposed area of her throat, seeing mostly her clear skin was presently sporting a set of fingerprinted bruises, the darkest spotting of them above her larynx where she had been gripped so cruelly. Molly consciously pulled up her blouse further up her neck, as she heard Will exhale a sharp breath of seething rage and helplessness.

"He… he was angry that I wouldn't let him inside to see Cecelia and Giselle. My hand is hurt from me punching him. I might have broken his nose… but I only made him angrier. He's not going to stop." Molly placed her hand on Will's cheek, hoping to calm her brother as she perceived his rising temper at the visual of her injuries.

Will had to hold back a proud chuckle at the notion of his sister physically retaliating against James and giving him a well-deserved wallop. But this was no laughing matter; nothing was humorous to Will whenever he had to think about those he loved in harm's way.

"Margaret Elizabeth Schofield, don't you dare blame yourself. Don't let James make you believe you're anyone lesser than the amazing woman who brought up two beautiful girls and who raised me herself into the man I am today. Without you, I would have been nothing. I would not have been a man worthy of Emmy's love or the Blakes' friendship. Please, let me take care of you, as your brother. James won't hurt you again, I swear. I won't let him take your daughters away from you." Will brought her bruised hand away from her chest and carefully placed a brief kiss on her knuckles.

"I don't think it's broken, but it still hurts." Molly tried to flex her fingers into a fist, only for the pain to flare in her hand. "It's probably sprained, though."

"Wait here." Will softly ordered her, rising from the chaise and heading to the pantry in the kitchen where she kept the first aid kit, which she used for whenever Cici or Elle received a minor injury from playing, the occasional scraped knee or chipped nail.

Molly clenched and unclenched her good hand and tried to do the same with her bruised hand again, only for the pain to keep returning whenever she moved her fingers.

She looked up at the sound of Will's footsteps as he walked pack into the parlor, a roll of white gauze and a jar of Vaseline lotion in his hands. Molly couldn't help but smile a small grin in the safe presence of her brother, ten years her junior, as she watched him sit back next to her, quiet and pensive as he gently took her injured hand into his palm, his stare focused and controlled with his fingers rubbing the lotion on the bruises marking her knuckles and fingers.

Nothing was said between the two siblings, Molly not wanting to break Will's concentration as she watched him unroll the gauze and carefully wrap the flexible material around her hand, ever so cautious like he was handling the most fragile porcelain or glass.

"Is it too tight? Does it hurt at all?" Will asked her, his voice coated with worry that he was only worsening Molly's wounded hand.

"No, it's fine… thank you, Will. I know it sounds selfish, but it feels nice to be looked after for a change." Molly felt silly saying such a statement, but she wanted to lighten up the situation, however in vain it was. "I don't why I said that… there's more important things to worry about than my feelings."

Will didn't verbally respond to her words spoken just then, his attention on attaching the ends of the gauze together around her hand to make sure it was secure and wouldn't loosen. "That should do for now. Maybe we oughta go to Dr. Wannop to be sure it's not sprained."

"I don't think it's a good idea to go into town right now, Will. James said he's been watching me in the village. When I was shopping for the wedding with Emmy yesterday, he'd been watching us from a distance. He as good as boasted to me about it. He's already laid hands on me today after not getting his way… if he hurts Emmy or the girls…" Molly found herself almost babbling uncharacteristically with her worrying about what her estranged husband was capable of. "If you had heard the awful things he said about her… I hope I actually did break his nose for that alone. Nobody insults my sister like that and gets away with it."

Will titled her head up gently so he could see the bruises on her throat. He began applying the Vaseline on her neck, his fingertips careful in their touch upon her skin. "If I had been here, he wouldn't have gotten near close enough to lay a hand on you, Mol. But, I'm proud you defended yourself against him… one of the greatest things in my whole life is having you as my sister."

He finished his task of salving her bruises, relieved that his role as caretaker to Molly hadn't been completely botched in his fretting over her wellbeing. His eyes gave her another once-over as she adjusted the collar of her blouse again.

"If the cream is applied a few more times, the bruises on your neck should fade quick over a couple of days. And the same with those on your hand." Will informed her, hoping he didn't sound overbearing.

"Thank you, Will. That's really the least of my worries now. James said he'll come back sooner or later. The children and I can't stay here waiting for him to come back when you have to leave again." Molly kept her voice lowered on the chance the girls were awake from their nap and able to hear them. "They don't deserve to feel unsafe in their own home. And neither does Emmy."

Will sighed in a resigned and tired fashion as he raised a hand to his forehead, his cranium aching as he tried to think of a solution. The police most likely wouldn't be much help, considering how most of them were away fighting and whoever was left would see James as having his rights of being near the house as Molly's husband and the property being in his name after Will and Molly's father had passed.

"Then, we'll need reinforcements." Will spoke to her in a determined tone, squeezing Molly's shoulder in a comforting gesture before rising again from the chaise.

He strode to the telephone, thankful this device was available for quick access for an emergency such as this.

Bucky jumped up to sit in his place beside Molly and the canine's head rested in her lap, her good hand stroking his ears.

As Will dialed Joseph Blake's number, he did his best not to recall that night of Molly lifeless and bleeding at the bottom of the stairs, her limp body in his arms as he had carried her in a frightened run like a madman yelling for help, for someone to save his miscarrying, possibly dying sister…

Nor the split second where Emmy was in Will's arms instead of Molly, ashen with the grey pallor of death, her eyes forever sealed closed and her cold lips frozen in a grimace of agony.

.

.

"Aunt Emmy, why did our daddy hurt Mummy?" Cici's innocent voice asked the American brunette holding both little girls to her side, snuggling together in one of the children's twin beds.

Emmy was stunned into a brief silence, not certain how to answer such a heavy question from a child, a question nobody so young should have to ask about their parents. The young woman looked down into little Cecelia Margaret's blue eyes and then into those identical irises of her younger sister Giselle Alicia, trying to think of how to satisfy their morbid curiosity about their father when she herself had never even met the man in person.

"Mummy won't talk about him. He hurt her really bad; that's why he doesn't live here anymore. I heard her upset and we woke up from our nap." Elle surprisingly spoke up, surprising Emmy with her calm words for such a small girl. "Daddy shouldn't hurt Mummy. Will you let him hurt us?"

"Of course not." Emmy answered immediately without a second thought, a strange protective instinct rising within her chest… warm and foreign to her as a woman without her own offspring to nurture.

Was this what maternal intuition felt like…? Emmy couldn't help but wonder. She kept talking before the girls could ask her anymore complicated questions she felt wasn't her place to answer.

"Cecelia… Giselle… you know how much your mom and your Uncle Will love you… more than anything in this world. And since I'm to be your aunt soon, you can always count on me to fight with them to make sure nothing hurts you." She bent to kiss both of their heads, ruffling their messy hair, tangled from laying on their pillows.

"Like Esmeralda when she saved Quasimodo… she wouldn't let the bad people hurt him." Cici piped up in joy, reminiscing about Emmy's more family friendly version of Hunchback of Notre Dame she had told them recently as a bedtime story. "And he saved her too… like Uncle Will's saved you lots of times."

"And you have pretty green eyes like Esmeralda too, Aunt Emmy! Does that mean you're a witch? Do you have magic?" Elle asked with excitement and Emmy was grateful for the change of subject.

"Don't be silly, Elle. Aunt Emmy is Sleeping Beauty… or Snow White. She woke up with Uncle Will kissing her and she was gonna sleep forever and ever. She's a princess, not a witch…" Cee informed her younger sibling with a naive quality of intrigue, reminding Emmy of how she imagined Lucy Pevensie to sound like in the Chronicles of Narnia novels.

As the girls continued to playfully argue with one another, Emmy gathered both of them up off the bed and set them down onto the floor. "C'mon, you two. If you help me make supper, I'll tell you the story about Wendy in Peter Pan tonight… when she was Red-Handed Jill with Captain Hook's pirates. And we'll give your mom a much needed rest after the hard day she's had. Okay?"

"Yes, Aunt Emmy, yes!" Both girls cried in unison, leaving Emmy unsure of which child was speaking first.

As she watched the girls race each other out of the room to the stairs, something deep and profound emerged in the forefront of Emmy's mind.

She thought back to the conversation with Will about the possibility of conceiving children in their future… the confusing fear she had felt during her pregnancy scare.

Perhaps she wouldn't make a completely mediocre mother one day. As she followed her soon-to-be nieces down the stairs, she reflexively placed a hand to her abdomen above her womb, imagining herself one day bearing Will's child… with his sparkling blue eyes, a little bump in their nose like his own and blending freckles.

.

.

Later into the evening, the girls and Molly had gone upstairs to bed soon after dinner, tired from the day's events of worrying about Emmy's whereabouts that morning and James' unexpected visit to the house.

Will had already informed Molly about the plan he had made with Joseph Blake over the telephone, and he presently sat on the chaise with Emmy snuggled into his side, his arm protectively around her shoulders.

Emmy could feel the grip of his arm tighten ever so slightly as Will would glance occasionally at the front door, witnessing the focus on his usually calm and stoic features that sent a thrill of pride up her spine, seeing him so vigilant in his guarding of both herself and his family.

She wasn't sure what to say to him or if he needed to speak first. After a few moments of silence, with the occasional howling of the wind outside and Bucky's whines, he unwound his arm from around Emmy, taking her hands within his grasp, the tip of his thumb tapping his mother's ring on her finger.

"Emmy… my love. This situation with James. Just so we're remaining open with each other about what's happening." He chose his words selectively, caressing her knuckles with his thumbs as he looked into her eyes. "I called Joseph and told him about what had occurred today with Molly. It's not safe for her or the children to be here where he can find them. So… I've told her that we're going to take the girls and she'll stay with them at the Blake house. James doesn't know about Joseph and they'll be hidden there until James can be properly dealt with. He needs to face consequences for what he's done to my sister."

Emmy found herself nodding her head unconsciously, agreeing that James couldn't be left to walk free as any innocent man. But she looked away from Will and down to the floor in deep thought, a gesture that went unmissed by her perceptive fiancé who knew her better than most anyone else in her life.

"What are you thinking, my darling? Do you have any objections?" His questions were soft in pitch, patient in cadence. His fingertips gently touched the bottom of her chin, tenderly turning her head toward him so he could view her facial expression of deliberating his words. "Whatever concerns you have, you can tell me."

Emmy smiled with her heart brimming with love for him, knowing just by the tone of his voice that he truly valued her input as an equal partner and he wouldn't ignore her. She cleared her throat before speaking, feeling the worry emanating from him that she was stressed or overly tired.

"Since James has been watching us… what if he figures out that Molly and the girls have been moved somewhere else if they're not here?" Emmy felt a sickening twist in her stomach, reminding her of when she had discovered how Erik had stalked her in London and she had remained so stupidly oblivious. "If they're not here… I don't want him to hurt you, Will. I could protect you too… not just you protecting me all the time. We're getting married and we have to keep each other from danger. I know that's selfish of me… just thinking of your safety when I should be worrying about Molly and Cici and Elle."

Will listened to her words, hanging on each syllable and the hitches of her breathing, feeling the pulse in her wrists accelerate as her heartbeat increased. He pulled her close as physically possible, allowing Emmy to perch on his lap, his arms enfolding around her in a sheltering embrace. He kissed her forehead, his nose nuzzling the silken curls of her hair.

"Emmy… my angel. You already do protect me… you've protected all of us in this house. You should've seen Molly's face when I asked her for our mother's ring so I could ask you to marry me. You are what we've been waiting and praying for since James was exiled from this family… since this damned war started." He raised her hand wearing the ring to his lips, kissing her fingers.

She nodded in reluctant acceptance of his words, blinking away tears even though she wanted to protest that he surely couldn't view her in such a pure, untainted way. Unsure of how to respond to such a romantic proclamation, she switched the topic back to the current domestic problem with a possessive, embittered husband.

"So… I trust Joe and Charlotte to help keep them safe. But, would it be beneficial for me to go with them? Would you want me to stay here with you?" Emmy chose her words with care similar to how Will had moments before, her bejeweled hand reaching up to stroke his chin, feeling the coarse stubble sprouting along the edge of his jaw. "What would the soldier Lance Corporal Schofield want me to do?"

Will's eyes misted with tears as he pulled her closer in his arms, half-expecting something nefarious to steal her away. His voice was a low whisper, rumbling through his body like an earthquake. "The soldier in me knows it's an advantage for you to accompany them to Joseph's house and remain with them until its safe."

"And what does my fiancé William Schofield want me to do?" Emmy dared to ask, not knowing what his answer would be. She held her breath as she waited for him to speak.

He considered her words, noting her choice of phrasing her description of him as her fiancé. And his heart somersaulted in despairing elation at her use of the word representing her engagement to him. His lips turned down into a saddened frown as she pressed her lips to his throat near his bobbing Adam's apple. "As the man who wants to be your husband…that side of me says the only way I can protect my beloved is to be with her."

Emmy saw the heartbroken resolution in his eyes, knowing that he felt ashamed in revealing such inconsiderate desires for satisfying his need to keep her with him. But, she knew he wasn't finished with what he was saying and her fingertips stroked his acne riddled cheek.

"But it's my promise I made when I proposed to you… to support your decisions as the intelligent, stubborn woman I know you to be, my Emmy." His lips kissed the crown of her head as she sighed in relief at his words. "It's solely your choice; either stay here with me and I'll protect you myself, or go with Molly and the girls to Joe's where I'll check in and make certain you're alright. Regardless of what I may think, I'll respect and agree to what you decide… because I love you."

He looked into her green eyes as an accepting smile came to her lips. The fact that he truly considered her words to him from the previous night spread an ecstatic happiness through her… but not even that progress made could temper out the misery fogging her mind as she wrapped her arms around his neck, Will's own hold tightening around her delicate body.

"I love you too, Will." As she felt his gentle lips brush her cheek, his voice humming a dreamy lullaby in her ear and he rocked her back and forth in his arms, heated tears flowed down her rosy shaded cheeks. "More than anything."

Emmy made her decision in that instance, for the benefit of everyone.

And Will knew what her choice would be without even asking.