Charles breathed a sigh of relief and stopped pacing back and forth across the kitchen at the sound of the front door opening. "It's okay Mum, she's back now. I'll call you later." He tossed his phone down on to the kitchen table and turned to the doorway just as Molly walked in.

"Where have you been? I've been worried!" He asked, running his hand through his hair.

"I'm fine, I told you I was going out for a run!" She replied, kicking off her trainers and sitting down at the kitchen table. In reality, she hadn't actually run anywhere. She'd been sat in the park just around the corner from their house, staring at her reflection in the pond and wondering what she could've done differently. But Charles didn't need to know that- He'd only worry more than he already was.

"That was three hours ago!" His voice came out much louder than he'd anticipated, causing Molly to flinch away from him. "Sorry... I didn't mean to... I was worried Molly." He reached out hesitantly and put his hand on her shoulder, terrified she might pull away from him.

She reached up and placed her hand over his own, squeezing it. "I know, I'm sorry. I forgot my phone, I didn't even realise until I was on my way back. I didn't realise how long I'd been gone."

Charles forced a smile, he desperately wanted to ask where she'd been for the last three hours. She certainly hadn't been running- he could tell that much. He suppressed the urge to ask though, it was almost guaranteed to cause another argument, and that was the last thing they needed. "So." He said, moving towards the kettle. "My mother called while you were out and invited us over for lunch. I told her we'd be there around one."

"Okay." Molly agreed after a long silence, during which he'd been sure she was going to create some kind of elaborate excuse to get out of it. "Sounds good. I should probably go and get changed then." She glanced down at her baggy gym clothes quickly before standing up and running up the stairs.

LINE BREAK

At one fifteen Charles was sitting at the dining room table in his parents house, chatting to his mother, while watching Molly push the food around her plate out of the corner of his eye. He could see his mother watching her too, a slight frown creasing her forehead. "How are you finding being back home again Molly?" His mother asked.

Charles watched as Molly's head snapped up at the sound of her name,dragging her back in to the conversation she'd been paying no attention too. "Oh... Um, yeah it's okay. Bit weird to start with but I'm sure I'll get used to it." She answered eventually.

"Do you think you'll go back again?" His mother asked curiously and Charles cringed internally. He'd been trying to find a way to broach that subject with Molly for a while and every time he tried she'd shut him down before he even got to finish the question.

Molly took a deep breath, trying to come up with an answer to the question. Charles had asked her a few times and she'd avoided answering him. The truth was she couldn't answer his questions. She didn't have the answers he needed.

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it." She answered eventually, not missing the look exchanged between Charles and his mother.

Charles' mother smiled at her kindly. "You don't want to rush in to anything, it's a big decision. I know Charles will be more than happy what ever you decide to do."

Molly peered nervously at Charles who nodded in agreement. The army was her home, it was all she'd ever known. God knows where she would've ended up if it hadn't been for the opportunities it had given her. The question she was struggling with, was could she really go back there after everything that had happened?

The sound of a chair scraping back across the floor caused Molly to flinch. Charles squeezed her hand reassuringly as his mother made her excuses and left them alone, seeming to sense that they needed a minute. He turned to look at her, keeping a hold of her hand, and waited for her to speak.

Molly took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts in to words that might actually make some kind of sense to Charles. "I... I haven't told you everything that happened out there." She whispered so quietly Charles had to strain to hear what she was saying. "I um..." She fidgeted nervously, brushing a stray tear from her cheek.

"It's okay. Take your time." Charles said reassuringly, squeezing her hand.

"When I was in Afghanistan, a couple of weeks after I got there, I found out I was pregnant." Her breath caught in her throat as she finally said the words out loud. "I was going to tell someone, but we were sent out on patrol. I never would've gone if I'd through for a moment... I'm so sorry Charles."

It took him a few moments to pull himself together enough to speak. "What happened Molly? What didn't you tell me?" He asked quietly, reaching up to brush the tears from her cheeks.

"We were up in the mountains, and we were getting shot at. I ducked down for cover and I slipped and fell. I just knew, straight away. I never should've gone out there! I was stupid and reckless and I lost our baby." She sobbed as he pulled her in to his arms. "I didn't know how to tell you."

"It wasn't your fault." He whispered soothingly, blinking back his own tears. "You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. You can't blame yourself for this Molly." It was breaking his heart to know she'd suffered through this alone in an attempt to spare him the pain.

"I should've been more careful. I should never have gone out there in the first place. If I hadn't we would've had a baby Charles, you and me. He or she would be here with us right now. But because of me..." She choked out.

Charles shook his head and held her tighter. "It's not your fault Molly. Come on, let me take you home. My mum won't mind."

She rubbed at her eyes, smearing her make up, before looking at him through tear filled eyes. "I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"You've got nothing to apologise for." He said, standing up and holding out a hand to help her up. "I just wish you'd told me sooner. Let's get you home, we can talk about this later okay?"

Molly nodded. "Okay."