The food arrived and David, Vicky and I kept the conversation flowing as we eat. Charles was sat either watching Pippa as she tried to avoid eye contact with everyone or glaring at Liam. Sam was tucking into his meal and I couldn't help but smile at how cute he was. We finished eating and went outside. A taxi pulled up and David transferred the cases from the boot of Pippa's car into the taxi and we waved him and Vicky off as they left for the airport. Both Liam and I had been drinking and Charles couldn't drive because of his foot so Pippa had to drive, much to Liam's annoyance. She stopped at Charles' old house and ran in to pick up some things for them and then we went back to her parents'. We walked through the door and Charles turned on Liam.

"What the fuck was that?" He asked.

"What the fuck was what?" Liam retorted.

"In the restaurant. The whole performance. Did you make her uncomfortable on purpose or are you just so stupid you didn't even realise?"

"She needs to learn not to get uncomfortable. Every time I mention us having a future in front of anyone, she gets all defensive and pretends like we haven't discussed it at length!"

"We haven't discussed it at length." Pippa said and Liam looked at her.

"But we agreed." He protested

"No you told me what we were doing. I never got a say."

"What do you mean you never got a say?"

"I have said since the moment you met me that I didn't want children! You have known all along that it was something that I didn't want to do but you take absolutely no notice!"

"What is your objection?"

"It's me that's given up alcohol and coffee and fish and exercise and driving more than about 5 minutes and I don't even want this child."

"Wait, are you actually pregnant?" Charles asked, his face panicked.

"She could be, she won't find out." Liam told him and she shook her head.

"I fucking told you I'm not! I told you and then I told you again and I told you again! Why don't you fucking believe me?!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. I lifted Sam into my arms and carried him upstairs away from the row. Charles put his arms around his sister shielding her from Liam's harsh glare.

"You haven't done any tests so how can you possibly know?" Kinders spat. "You haven't had your period and you are as bitchy as hell!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Charles shouted.

"Why are they arguing?" Sam asked me and I shook my head.

"Sometimes grown-ups can't get along. But then they all make friends again afterwards." I told him. How about you put your pyjamas on and I'll come and check on you in a minute?" I handed him the Spiderman backpack that Pippa had got for him. I started down the stairs and saw virtually the same scene that I'd left. Pippa and Charles in one corner of the room and Liam in the other.

"Do you know how I know I'm not pregnant?" Pippa said and Liam stood up straight. "When I went for my army medical check-up that I had to have for my court-martial, they said if I wanted to get back in if they let me off, there was absolutely no way that I could have a kid, they said that I should be on birth control because I would not get another tour if I got pregnant in the next eighteen months. There, are you fucking happy?"

"You were on birth control? All this fucking time? And you let me believe that you weren't?"

"I was doing everything you wanted, no coffee, no alcohol, no excessive exercise, no fish, less driving, taking vitamins. Everything! What were you doing different? Nothing! I didn't even want to get pregnant, that was your idea but it was me that was suffering, me that would have to be pregnant and me that would have to give birth, me that would have to leave the army, me that would have to look after it while you were on tour! You wouldn't have to do any of those things but it was you that wanted the child! How the fuck is that fair, Liam? You didn't even say to me, do you want this, you just forced it on me and I was so fucking tired of saying no that I just gave in! More fool me!"

"Is this true?" Charles looked shocked.

"She's exaggerating" Liam said and Pippa shook her head.

"Which bit am I exaggerating, Liam?"

"I didn't force it on you, Philippa!"

"Let's use this time to have a kid. I don't want kids, not now anyway. But I do and now we have time to do it, who knows when we'll get a chance like this again. I don't want to. All you have to do is have sex. And then have a baby. Yeah but that's not for months. I don't want to. Come on, I really want to be a dad and you love Sam, it'll be just like that. No it won't. Why are you so fucking adverse to it Philippa? I want to go on tour again. You're never gonna go on tour again, you fucked up. I might. You'll never get off. I might. You fucking won't. Well even if I don't I don't want a kid. Just do this one fucking thing for once in your life!" Pippa closed her eyes and recited. Liam covered his mouth with his hand.

"What the fuck was that?" Charles puzzled.

"That was the conversation we had." Pippa said. "Am I right, Liam?"

"It…it…it sounds worse than it actually was." Liam stuttered and Charles shook his head in anger.

"You fucking spoke to her like that?" He asked Liam sternly. Liam looked at the floor. "You fucking spoke to my sister like that?" Liam continued to look at the floor. "YOU FUCKING SPOKE TO MY SISTER – YOUR WIFE – LIKE THAT?" Liam nodded and Charles scoffed. "Get out. Get out of my parents' house! And never come back. If she's stupid enough to go back to you then that's fine but I never want to see you again, ok?" Liam looked at Pippa.

"You fucking lied to me!" He said and she shook her head.

"Not once."

"How can you say that when you admitted that you did?"

"I didn't lie to you. You never said Pippa are you on birth control? If you had I'd have told you."

"Oh that's clever that's very clever but you didn't tell me the truth."

"Two people have to want the kid, Liam! You wouldn't listen when I said I didn't want it. What was I meant to do?"

"Just have the kid?"

"And it would have grown up with me hating it for ruining my life."

"How do you know that?"

"Because all I've ever wanted is the army and you and your stupid fucking kid would've take that away from me!" She sighed.

"Just go Liam." Charles warned and Corporal Kinders turned on his heel and walked towards the door.

"This ain't over Philippa! This ain't fucking over!" He shouted and slammed the door. Pippa exhaled deeply and banged her head against the wall.

"I'm such a selfish bitch." She muttered and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You're not, Pippa. He shouldn't have forced you into it!" I said and she looked at me sat on the stairs.

"No, I shouldn't have lied to him. I should've just told him. Maybe he's right, maybe I would've grown to love it."

"Not as much as you love the army and especially not if it took the army away from you. You can't be hypothetical. Think about me and Rebecca, we didn't plan to have Sam, we were stupid, she got pregnant and was pissed off about it, now, she's really harsh with him because she thinks she had him too young and she missed out on being young. I'm not saying you would be the same but you can't just have a kid, you have to want it. I'm not saying Sam was a mistake but we should've thought about it more. You stopped it from getting that far." Charles told her and she nodded. She stepped over me and ran up the stairs. We heard the door shut.

"I'm gonna fucking kill that man!" Charles shook his head. "She's right in a way, she probably shouldn't have done that behind his back but he is such a bully, he knows how much the army means to her but he insists on putting that below what he wants. She shouldn't be forced to have his kid! She's only twenty five she could do another few tours and then have a kid if that's what she wants."

"I think they just need to decide what they want and tell each other instead of doing their own thing and it having repercussions on both of them." I suggested.

"How did I miss it? How did I not notice? Did you know?"

"She was mentioning something about not wanting kids but him pressuring her into it in the toilets but the way she was talking it sounded like she was actually pregnant. She kept going 'I don't even want a kid but I'm gonna get stuck with one soon' and stuff."

"She would have come off it if they kicked her out. She the kind of person that if they kick her out she will crumble and become vulnerable to any sort of manipulation – it's all that matters to her. She likes the idea of Liam but if she had to choose him or army, well you saw, she chose army. And I think she knows she'll be lucky to get off without a dismissal."

"Shit. Oh, I told Sam I'd go and check on him. I'll be back in a minute." I said. He smiled as I ran upstairs. I read Sam a few stories and tucked him up in bed. Rebecca was clearly being awkward because he had his own room at Vicky and David's so there was no need for Charles to go to hers but I guess I didn't understand the feelings surrounding the divorce, maybe he was being awkward back. I kept thinking about what he said about him and Rebecca and then a throwaway comment Pippa had made about him being with her out of courtesy, it must have been a stand by the girl you knocked up situation. After Sam fell asleep, I crept along the hall, I stopped at Pippa's door but there was no noise. I hoped she was sleeping, it was better than sitting there and thinking too much. I padded downstairs and into the living room where Charles lay sleeping on the sofa. I smiled and headed to bed. Perhaps this kind of life would suit me, I had been nervous when he'd said it was perfect but it clearly wasn't. I knew the fight wasn't over between Pippa and Kinders and there would no doubt be more blazing rows.