Disclaimer Apologies to Ian McEwan, who wrote a wonderful book, to Christopher Hampton, who wrote the script. Thank you to Joe Wright for his vision, and to Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Romola Garai and the rest of the cast for bringing Joe's vision to life.

All rights to those who own them. I claim nothing.

A "What if...?" Story. "What if Robbie made it home?

Love Never Dies

by

Ninja Elizabeth

Chapter 6: Hope

Robbie awoke feeling clean and refreshed. He looked at the nurse sitting at his bedside and immediately filled with rage. Nurse B. Tallis. Briony. Like the day of his arrival when he actually attempted it, he wanted to strangle her. But then he remembered his dream. He smiled. It wasn't a dream. It had been real after all.

"Where's Cecilia?" Robbie asked just to give Briony a bit of a fright.

Briony's heart sank. Had her sister not visited? Had she not talked to him? "Cecilia went on holiday." She answered. "Didn't she tell you I would be here at your side this morning?"

Robbie smiled. "Yes, she told me. I just kind of hoped."

"She's actually managed to get the whole week off." Briony replied. "Originally I think she was planning on going to her friend's cottage, but I think now she's going to visit your mother."

"Do you think my mother knows that I'm back?"

"I don't know, but hopefully it will be Cecilia who can break the good news." she replied.

"Bad news. I'm not coming home." Robbie responded. "But I'm really glad that Cee visits my mother. When she would visit me in prison she would always tell me how much she enjoyed seeing her."

Briony took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Robbie. I know and understand that you hate me, but I am really sorry."

Robbie nodded. "Cee told me that she still hates you and hasn't forgiven you. But you are her sister and she loves you because of that. I can accept that. Know that I still hate you and can't forgive you yet either."

"I understand. I don't expect either of you to forgive me." Briony replied. "I noticed Cee ignoring you all day yesterday and knew there was something wrong. I told her that she couldn't just let you go without seeing you off somehow."

"Thank you." He replied. "She told me about your plans to try and free me."

"Then she did see you last night."

Robbie tugged on his blanket to reveal his freshly pedicured feet and painted toenails. Briony wasn't even going to ask why her sister had painted Robbie's toes.

Breakfast was served and Robbie ate hungrily. Hospital food was by no means delicious but it certainly was better than anything he ate in the Army which was only slightly better than what he was served in prison. He savored the meal as though it was his last. When he was done he turned back to Briony.

"Do you have to work today?" he asked.

"I have a night shift. I just got off a few hours ago. Cee asked me if I could wait up with you so you wouldn't be alone when they came for you. You don't mind me being here do you?"

"She did tell me. I would rather have her at my side but I understand her reasons for not wanting to be here. I can still see the look on her face when they took me away five years ago." he replied. "I'm glad for the company. Will you thank her for me?"

"I will. She also wanted me to tell you she loves you and to remember this date not for what is to happen but what happened five years ago in the library."

"The date?" Robbie asked.

"It's June 21st, Robbie. That's why she was so upset about today."

"I didn't realize that." he responded. "Hopefully they will allow me to write to her, openly. While I'll admit it was fun to read and decipher the codes and it gave me an excuse to read her letters over and over again, I would like to simply write 'Cecilia, I love you'."

"Code?" Briony asked.

"I was getting letters from my mother. But I wasn't getting any letters from Cee." Robbie replied. "I guess she figured out that our correspondence was being monitored from my mother since she was visiting and must have heard from her that she received letters from me. I finally received a letter from her and I recall being so excited. Instead of a lovely letter it was a boring clinical description of her medical studies in her nurses training. It was written in the coldest and dry tone I didn't know what to make of it. I was kind of hurt. I had expected a love letter; instead I got a boring account of her studies. In her next letter she told me that she had found a new green dress and was writing me from a dark corner of the library. She told me that my mother had given her my copy of Grey's Anatomy and how my notes that I had left in the pages helped her with her studies. The letter I had meant to give to Cee that day five years ago was left on my book. It was then that I realized what her 'medical studies' actually meant. I was going to go to medical school. So by her mentioning 'medical studies' she was thinking of me. Intercourse described in a purely clinical sense is rather disgusting."

Briony faked laughter. She had no idea what Robbie was talking about really.

"After I realized that she was writing in code, we developed our own way of saying the things to each other that we could not actually say. 'I love you' for me was 'I wish I had a cigarette', and for her it was mentioning flowers. As I said, medical studies was her way of telling me she was thinking of me, I wanted to smell freshly cut grass. Our code for making love was 'a dark corner to read'.

"They only monitored your correspondence from my sister?"

"Yes. My mother could write me and say, 'Cecilia came to visit and told me to tell you 'I love you'' but Cecilia couldn't write that in her letters..."

"I have an idea. When you get the chance to write, send a letter to your mother, me and Cecilia all at the same time. Send both mine and Cee's letters, here to the hospital. Don't censor your letter to her but don't go overboard. If she doesn't get a letter than we will know that you are being monitored again."

Robbie nodded and closed his eyes. He relaxed and thought of Cecilia...

He had just begun to doze off convinced that Cecilia was not going to visit him. She was avoiding him, but why? His mind raced with all sorts of scenarios. It had been found out that they were lovers and she was forbidden to see him. Or worse, she had another lover and could no longer pretend to love him. Now that he was feeling better she had no need to have any contact with him.

He felt a gently hand on his cheek. He leaned into the hand an opened his eyes. His Cecilia, beautiful Cecilia was sitting next to him. Even in the dimly lit ward he could see that her eyes were swollen from tears.

"What's wrong?" He asked, fearing what she was going to say.

Cecilia put a finger to his lips to hush him and leaned in closer. "Just kiss me, darling."

Their lips met. Her kiss was hungry and passionate, much like their last kiss at the bus stop. She had kissed him many times in the ward but it was nothing like the way she kissed him now. Sometimes she would only kiss him on the cheek or on the forehead. When their lips parted, Robbie kissed her tears.

Cecilia smiled weakly and stood up extending her hand. "Come with me." she replied softly, "there isn't much time."

As he got up, he noticed that Cecilia had her shaving kit with her and fresh towels. He wondered what she was up to as she held his hand and led him out of the ward. She stopped at a door labeled 'Authorized Personnel Only'. Taking a set of keys from her pocket she opened the door and gestured for him to enter. She followed closing and locking the door behind them. She then turned on the lights.

He saw that they were in a washroom. There was a bathtub. He hoped that she was going to let him have a bath. He loved baths. It didn't matter to him who was giving him a bath. It could have been Briony and he would have been excited. Having Cecilia give it to him was certainly the best option.

Cecilia put the bundle she had been carrying on the counter next to the sink. Beside her shaving kit she lay out a change of clothes for herself, to his horror she laid out prison greys. She heard Robbie gasp and turned to face him. "I'm sorry, darling." she replied trying not to start crying again. "I received the letter and uniform a few days ago. I thought if I ignored you, I could pretend nothing happened. I could just pretend it was a dream and go on with my life. Somebody else would change you, and you would think that I didn't care."

Tears rolled down Robbie's face. "I thought you didn't want to see me anymore. I was thinking that perhaps you had fallen in love with somebody else."

"You have always been the only man I could ever love, Robbie." Cecilia replied. "Briony told me that I had to see you off. I would never forgive myself and I couldn't leave you hating me."

Robbie pulled Cecilia into his arms and held her close. "I'm glad she convinced you to see me off." he replied. "Are you talking to her again, Cee?"

Cecilia held Robbie tighter. "I'm haven't forgiven her if that is what you are asking. She's my sister. I love her as hard as that may be to believe."

"No, I understand that. I know how close your family is."

"I told Briony that I still hate her. I can't forgive her just yet. I don't know if I ever can." Cecilia replied. "She told me that she knows you didn't do it. She's going to tell the truth. We are going to do what we can to free you, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. It's not going to be easy. There might not be any chance."

"You sound like you are giving up before you even begin. You have to try!" Robbie pleaded. "We just need to gather up the witnesses. Old man Hardman, Danny..."

"Old man Hardman is dead. Danny is in the Royal Navy." Cecilia answered. "But that doesn't matter. It wasn't Danny. It was Leon's friend Paul Marshall according to Briony. That is what makes it so difficult. He will deny everything and he has the money to back him up. He will play every angle and do his best to block any attempt we make at trying to reopen the case. The bottom line is he's got money and we don't."

Robbie started to cry. Cecilia embraced the man she loved.

"Hang in there, darling. I am not going to give up now that there is a glimmer of hope." Cecilia replied. "Briony is going to a solicitor, a commissioner of oaths and make a signed and witnessed statement. I just don't want you to get your hopes up to high. It's Paul Marshall we are going after. It might not even be advised to try and go after him. I'm sure the courts will laugh at us, as his married to the woman we are accusing him of attacking."

"Call in the Army!" Robbie replied. "There's got to be a way to get some of them to testify that he's not the man he portrays or as good and noble as he makes himself out to be."

"You're sounding a bit desperate," she responded.

"I'm sorry... but I am desperate. Cee, you don't know what it's like in that prison." He cried.

"Actually, I do." Cecilia answered. "Did you hear about the Warden getting stabbed about three years ago?"

"Yes."

"I was there the first day with a couple others to treat him, until they denied me entry upon realizing that I knew a prisoner being held there." Cecilia responded. "I was only there one day and in areas that were probably kept up a lot more than the level you were on. But don't worry. I've already started to gather witnesses for you. I have Mace's contact information. He's willing to testify on your behalf as a character witness should we get that far. Nettle is going to write me with his as well, as is willing to do the same thing."

"My unit commander, General Nottingham. Try and get a hold of him. He's met Marshall and told me he was not impressed. He was grumbling about the awful chocolate we had in our packs and longed for some real chocolate. He said that Marshall was so full of hot air he wished he had a pin so he could pop him. I told him that you weren't so impressed by him either and that you thought he had public hair growing out of his ears."

"You didn't!"

"I did. He laughed and agreed with me." Robbie smiled.

Cecilia kissed him and pulled away to start the bath.

"You aren't going to get in trouble for giving me a bath are you, Cee? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble." Robbie replied.

"Merely giving you a bath, no. I can defend myself by saying that you are going back to prison. The conditions there could be worse than being on the battle field. The least I can do is give you a decent bathing before you are taken away... like my giving you a shave." Satisfied the temperature of the water was to Robbie's liking she stood up. "However, that is not all I intend to do. And yes, I can get into a lot of trouble."

Robbie smiled. He wasn't going to reject the advances of the beautiful nurse before him and kissed her passionately. As they kissed he began to undress her.

* * * * * *

"Robbie." a voice replied. "Robbie!"

Robbie looked at the nurse at his side and was slapped in the face by reality. It was Nurse B. Tallis at his side, not Ward Sister Tallis, his Cecilia. He sighed.

"I'm sorry." Briony replied. "But they are here. They are talking to Sister Drummond now. She's bringing them over." She helped Robbie put on his prison issued shoes.

It was the longest few minutes of Robbie's life... longer than waiting at the door to apologize to Cecilia for sending the wrong letter. He could hear the footfalls drawing nearer. They were at his side.

Despite him putting up no resistance, they treated him a bit roughly. Briony tried to protest but Sister Drummond kept her in check. Briony had not been allowed to attend the trial except on the days she was to testify. She had not been able to look at Robbie at all except to point him out. She thought the look on his face then was upsetting. It was nothing to the look on his face now as they shackled him.

They started to lead him away, walking much too fast. Robbie was barely able to keep up shuffling behind alongside them because of the shackles about his ankles.

"Briony! Tell Cee I love her!"

Tears filled Briony's eyes. What had she done? Was it possible to make things right?