Molly smiled as she applied a thin layer of mascara to the already long eyelashes and brushed a tad of white eyeshadow above her eye. She took a final deep breath as the stared at her reflection in the mirror and nodded. This was perfect.

Walking down the stairs with a slight spring in her step, Molly glanced at the clock to see that she had about ten minutes to spare. Ten minutes to fret about what she looked like, worry about what would happen and fear that something would go wrong.

For once, she felt like a school girl about to go on her first date.

Molly almost laughed as she considered that her first date consisted of a bag of chips and a short make-out session behind the fish and chip shop with Aaron Tomlinson.

Hopefully Charles would have something more exciting planned, assuming this was a date.

Molly still wasn't entirely sure. At the pub the other week, she had thought they would have kissed, if not for the interruption. What if she'd misread the signs? What if she had this all wrong?

Beep beep.

Jumping at the vibration of her phone in her jacket pocket, Molly pulled it out and scanned the text.

Nearly there. See you soon. Charles xxx

"Mum," Molly called into the kitchen, "I'm going!" As she headed towards the front door, Molly's mum beckoned her back.

"Hey, not so quickly. I want to look at you." Molly rolled her eyes as her mum scoured her up and down, taking in the pleated white skirt, black t-shirt and denim jacket. "Aww, my little girl, all grown up."

"I think she grew up long ago, don't you, Belinda?" her dad scoffed from the next room. He had heaved himself out of his chair and come to the door.

Molly breathed a sigh of relief. At least if Charles came to the door, he wouldn't find her dad in his underpants, only his grotty trackies.

Almost as though Molly's thoughts alone had made it happen, the doorbell rang.

Belinda grinned encouragingly and cast a knowing look at her husband, leading him back into the front room. Shaking her head, Molly opened the door.

"Hi."

"Hi."

The pair of them stood smiling at each other like teenagers who didn't know what to do next. Molly tried desperately not to keep looking at his crutch and racked her brain for a way to break the tension. Luckily, it was broken for here.

"I thought it was your boyfriend coming to pick you up, Molly," her little brother, Owen, said sweetly from the top of the stairs.

"Bugger off you little tosspot," snapped Molly jokingly, shooing him away. "I don't have a bleedin' boyfriend."

"What about the one who called for you the other day?" Owen asked again before seeing Molly's glare and running away to hide.

Charles looked at her with raised eyebrows, a slight look of amusement dancing on his lips. "Boyfriend?"

"Just Smurf. He came over the other day and the little bleeders have been planning our wedding ever since," Molly explained with a chuckle.

Charles smiled. "You ready?"

Nodding, Molly tried to escape before her dad reemerged. She failed.

"Hello, I'm Dave," he introduced, sticking out his left hand, "Molly's dad."

"Charles," the Bossman said, shaking it.

Molly hid her face to hide her embarassment, praying that her dad didn't laugh at the name 'Charles'. Perhaps she should have warned her parents.

For once, her father was perfectly gentlemanly but before the pair of them could get too chummy, Molly said, "Alright then, we'd best be going." She grabbed Charles' arm and pulled him out the door. "See you later."

Outside, Molly turned to Charles and said "Right then where are we going?" She linked her arm around his as they half strolled and half limped along the balcony.

"Listen, Molls. Rebecca called last night," explain Charles, looking everywhere except at Molly. She refrained from sighing. "Her mum is ill and she has had to go and look after her so she asked if I could look after Alfie today."

Molly turned to look at him, a slight admiration in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I know it's bad timing. I had a whole day planned and now I have no idea what to-"

Molly placed a finger on his lips to silence him. "It's fine, really. He sounds wonderful, and I've had enough experience with kids that I'm sure we can think of something to do."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Charles turned and guided her to the car, opening the door for her before wandering around to the other side.

Looking behind her, Molly saw a small boy with a sprout of dark curls growing on his head, just like his father. His eyes were locked intensely on the screen of a game of some kind.

"Alfie, this is Molly, Molly, this is my son."

The boy looked up And his eyes sparked with recognition. "I know you!"

"Hello, little man. So this is who you were shopping for the other day, is it?"

Alfie nodded. "Don't tell him what I buyed, it's a secret," He told her, making a shhhhing sound. Molly grinned and placed a finger to her lips as a silent promise.

"So you two know each other?" confirmed a confused Charles.

"We've met, yes," said Molly, "But its a secret where."

Charles narrowed his eyes with false suspicion. "Alright then. So what do you two want to do?"

Alfie shugged.

Eureka!

Swivelling around to face Alfie, Molly asked, "Do you like football, Alfie?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"What team do you support? Chelsea? Man U? Is there even a Bath team?"

Alfie just shrugged again.

"Usually Alfie waits until the end of the premier league and supports whoever wins," explained his dad with a laugh.

"Good plan," Molly laughed too. "Well I support Westham. They're my local team, very local in fact. Their ground is just over there," Molly pointed behind them at the huge ground, "and as a war hero, they really want me to go and support them. Would you like to come and have a nose around with me?"

Eagerly, Alfie's eyes lit up. "Yes!"

"Yes what?" interjected Charles.

"Yes please. Pretty please!"

/()\

Alfie's eyes were wide in awe of the enormous pitch he now stood in. He was turning around and around on the spot, looking up at the huge roof and the thousands of seats above him, imagining each of them filled and cheering.

Molly was smiling. Not only because Alfie was, but because of the look on Charles face too.

"Thank you, Dawes. I haven't seen him this happy in so long," remarked Charles. "Not since I left for Afghan and Rebecca and I had split."

"I can imagine it was hard for him. If my parents split up..." She caught herself before she could say anymore. "Sorry, I've got this foot stuck in my mouth. I didn't mean that you were to blame, only that-"

"I know what you meant but...if I had stayed, I would have been living a lie. Isn't that worse?" He took her hand in his, linking their fingers in the same way he had as she was leaving for her R&R. "Especially now that I've met you."

They gazed into each others eyes and for a moment, Molly could forget the nightmares and Artan and the complications with Smurf. That's when she realised what it felt like to be truly happy.

"Daddy! Daddy! Will you play with me?" begged Alfie, inadvertently interrupting the moment. In his hands was a football that he must have found on the sidelines, left over from training.

Gesturing to his crutch which Molly had entirely forgotten about, Charles shook his head. "Sorry mate. Maybe Molly will give it a go." He looked at her, half of his face pleading, the other half smirking.

"Sure, Alfie," said Molly. She quickly looked over to one of the pitch supervisor who nodded quickly.

Assuming that meant they could play, Molly grabbed the ball from Alfie and began to dribble it towards the goal, rather expertly. Running to catch up, Alife tried to tackle her and Molly willingly gave it up.

Sprinting, Alfie took the ball to the closest goal and took the shot.

"He shoots!" yelled his Dad. "He scores! Alfie James, the best footballer of the century!"

Molly smiled again. This was happiness caught in a single moment.

/()\

Charles was a gentleman, paying for everything all day long. He spent a fortune on the tickets into the London aquarium and on the huge cuddly shark that Alfie begged him for. He even bought Molly a tiny seahorse pendant which he wrapped abound her neck, trying not to get it caught around her hair or the string which held Smurf's ring.

Now, Molly sat in the London Eye, twirling the charm between her fingers while Charles and Alfie gazed out of the window across London. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Did someone get a late night?" Charles asked with a smart-arsed grin as he sat down beside her. "I guess you were kept awake thinking of me."

Half-heartedly, Molly elbowed him. "No! Not you, just another man who's muscled his way into my life," she replied, looking away to hide the pain in her eyes.

Charles looked at her expectantly.

"Artan," she elaborated.

"What?" exclaimed the Captain rather loudly, causing a few people to turn and look at the commotion, including Alfie who was gazed out the window with a look of wonder. His dad gave him a reassuring smile before turning back to Molly. "Has he spoken to you? If he's laid a finger on you, I'll-"

"No, it's nothing like that. But I've had to go to the police station and relive it all about three times and then there's the trial and..." Molly sighed and threw her head on her hands, the stress finally revealing itself.

Placing a hand on a back for reassurance, Captain James jumped as Molly flinched away. Beneath her hands, she murmured, "Sorry, I just don't like people touching me anymore. It reminds me of...of his hands."

Taking a breath to deal with his own shock, Charles lowered his hand. "Have they set a date yet? For the trial?"

Molly shook her head.

"You can get through this, Molls. I know you're strong enough. One day all this will be a distant memory and you will never have to think of that stupid cockwomble again!"

He couldn't be sure, but Charles thought Molly sniggered slightly at the word 'cockwomble.'

Raising his arms and stretching them, Charles considered this conversation for what seemed like hours before approaching it. "Molly, part of the reason I asked you her today was...well, I wanted to talk, and I know it's hard with Alfie here but... I need to say this."

Molly pulled her head from her hands and looked at him seriously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," he assured her. Gingerly, Charles reached out his arms other and took her hands. This time, she didn't flinch. "It's about what we were saying at the pub, before we were...interrupted."

Frowning at the subtle mention of Artan, Molly averted her eyes for a second before looking back to him. "I remember. You said: 'Molly, I love...' How was that sentence going to end?"

"Molly, I love-"

"Daddy, daddy! Look, I can see Big Ben!"

Both of them closed their eyes to hide their slight irritation at Alfie's innocent interruption.

Sighing, Charles called back. "I'm coming, Alfie."

As he got to his feet, leaning heavily on the crutch, Charles whispered a single word. "Sorry."

/()\

The sky was a bright red by the time Charles drove Molly around the familar corner to her estate. Exhausted, Alfie had fallen asleep in the car.

Once they had finished their ride on the London Eye, Charles had taken the pair of the out for lunch at a small cafe which was a favourite of his. They then strolled through Hyde Park and found a cinema playing an afternoon showing of Toy Story.

Under the cover of the cinema's darkness, Molly managed to entwine her fingers with Charles. She was sad when the movie finished and she had had to let go.

Captain James parked the car and turned to look at her. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

"This is it then."

"I suppose."

"I've had the most wonderful day. Thank you," smiled Molly.

"It was my pleasure," Charles replied. "And it wasn't just me who enjoyed your company; Alfie adores you."

"Well with half a dozen little brothers and sisters, you get used to kids."

"So I guessing you'd like to have loads of them yourself, Dawes. Once your out of the army, of course."

"I think it would be best to get married first before we start discussing children, don't you, Captain?" joked Molly.

"Is this you proposing, Dawes?"

There was silence.

Then they both burst out in a splutter of giggles.

"I've really got to go," said Dawes, opening the car door a little. "Today really has helped take my mind off of...well everything."

"I'm glad; you needed a break. I'll see you soon," he told her. "And that isn't a request, that's a promise."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I'm counting on it."

Before she could talk herself out of it, Molly leaned in and whispered, "Thank you, Bossman." Then quick as a flash, she pecked him on the cheek and without another word, left the car.

Charles watched her mount the stairs and run along the balcony to her front door. Once she was inside, he exhaled.

"You want to know how that sentence would have finished, Dawes?" he asked the air around him.

"Molly, I love you."

Hello all! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. It might take me a bit longer to write the next one by I promise it's coming soon.

I wasn't sure what Charles' son was called so I decided Alfie - it suits his cuteness, don't you think?

Please continue all your lovely reviews,

Indigofrog :)