CHAPTER SONG: "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star

"It feels wrong, leaving you like this." Emmy stayed in Will's embrace as they stood on the front porch, their arms holding one another tightly. The American brunette woman snuggled into the threaded material of his shirt, breathing in the pine musk of her beloved fiancé. "Will you be okay, baby? If that bastard comes back here…"

She looked up at Will as his fingertips gently tilted up her chin so her eyes would meet his own, her heart breaking at the seeing the pronounced bags underneath his beautiful eyes. His voice remained steady despite his exhausted demeanor. "Don't worry about me, my love. If anything else happens here, I'll deal with it. What matters to me is keeping those I care about safe from that man, including you."

"I wish you could come with me… but I understand why you want me away from the house. What happened last night…" She was unable to verbalize any further words to say on the subject as she stood on tiptoe to hug Will even tighter to her, feeling the soft waves of hair curling at his nape with her fingers. "I should've said it sooner, but I'm proud of you for defending me from him, even though he didn't actually hurt me."

Will leaned slightly down and kissed her forehead. "I'll always protect you, my Emmy. What kind of man would I be if I just stood by whilst James insulted you like that? But I'm proud of you as well, for standing your ground and showing him what you're made of. My strong, amazing Emmanuelle Julia Hunterson…Schofield."

He teasingly added her soon-to-be hyphenated name as she looked down in a flustered blush, feeling him lift up her hand to his lips and place a kiss on her knuckles.

Both of them looked up at the sound of Satine nickering with impatience as Joe turned from where he was situating Emmy's luggage in the rig. Will knew he owed the lieutenant so much when it came to her welfare from where they had first met at the Devons' camp in Flanders.

And for all that Lt. Joseph Blake had done for them, he had lost nearly everything…

"It'll be a week at most, darling. Do you need to take anything else with you to Joe's? I wish you had eaten something this morning…if you wish it, I can…" He was interrupted by her sudden action of pulling him down to her level so she could kiss him fully on his lips.

His eyes briefly widened in surprise before he was able to process the impulsive few seconds of her kissing him. On his own instinct, he reciprocated with equal passion and sensuality, his arms enfolding around her waist. He was tempted to lift her up off her feet so he wouldn't have to bend down, but the romantic thought vanished as the approaching footsteps of Joe brought the both of them back to reality.

"We'll need to leave soon, get you safely out of sight, dearest one." Joe's voice was riddled with urgency and worry as Will and Emmy turned to meet their friend's blue-eyed stare. "Cecilia and Giselle miss their Aunt Emmy and they'll need you after they've heard about Bucky."

"Yes, you're right, Joe." Emmy turned away from Will and nearly leapt down from the porch steps and embraced her friend. "I miss them a lot. And I really owe you for helping us."

"You owe me not a thing, Emmy." Joe's gruff tone softened as he looked down at her, squeezing her hands within his. "All that matters is that none of you are harmed and that bastard pays for what he's done."

They smiled silently at one another, noting the quiet absence of Will, who had gone back inside to presumably allow them a moment alone.

"All your bags are in the rig. I bet all that's in them are dresses. It makes my head spin, thinking how many bloody layers you ladies have to wear every day." Joe smirked jokingly as she playfully smacked him on the forearm.

"Don't make fun, Joseph! But you're sorta right; it takes me nearly all morning to get dressed. All the petticoats and stockings… makes me exhausted just talking about it." She exasperatedly raised her arm and placed it over her head in the stereotypical swooning position, leaning some of her weight against Joe as he held her up.

The lieutenant felt his heart skip a few beats as he saw her smile brightly at him with her mischievous gesture, her brown hair loosening from the bun twisted at the back of her head. This woman was going to lead to his demise one day…

Hell, he had considered putting a bullet in his head at the possibility of losing her just a few months ago.

"Joe…" Emmy stood back upright, her attitude sobering back into the serious aura of the moment, seeing the darkened look in his thundercloud eyes. Her fingers gingerly touched his stubble-coated cheek. "Don't look like that please. I was only fooling around. My brooding Rochester, I know you'd never let anything bad happen to me."

"Yes, my dearest one. Nothing will happen to you, especially while this man is out there threatening his own wife and children." He brushed a piece of hair off Emmy's forehead. "Once this is all over, the biggest thing you need concern yourself with is your wedding as it ought to have been."

He held her scarred hand, the tip of his thumb feeling the small subtle diamond of her engagement ring and a rush of different conflicted emotions spread like a virus through his chest. Happiness, dread, envy…

The sound of the door opening behind them alerted Emmy and Joe to Will's return from inside the house. In the corporal's hands, he held a stack of thickly paged books and a swell of gratitude flowed through Emmy's veins as she ran to her fiancé. They were the vintage classic novels he had gifted for her birthday.

"Oh, Will! I can't believe I almost forgot to pack these! Thank you." She took the books into her arms, holding them to her chest like a schoolgirl carrying her textbooks to class. Standing up on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the lips, reveling in the feel of his strong hands holding her upper arms. "I guess you really must love me, huh?"

Will's brow rose up in a humored ease at seeing her so joyous. "No question of it, my Emmy. But, I ask you to please be safe while we're apart. I know you can look after yourself, but you have many of us who care about you."

Emmy noted how his voice deepened with solemnity as he begged for her safety to be preserved. She shifted her books to hold in one arm, raising her hand to caress his jawline, her thumb stroking his cheek. "And that's why I have to fight for them if it comes to it. And that's all we'll say further on the matter."

Will opened his mouth to disagree, but then he remembered why they had argued those couple of evenings ago. He had to trust her and the fact that she overcame all the trials she had endured to arrive where she was now.

He nodded his head, blinking back tears as he saw Joe walk up behind them. Emmy turned around to hand over the books to the raven-haired lieutenant.

"She'll be alright, Will. I won't let her get into any trouble." Joe met Will's eyes as he stepped up to hold his hand out that wasn't holding the books. "However much of a challenge that may be."

The two men both held their hands in a binding grip of mutual friendship and conviction, knowing they were depending on each other to get through this horrific ordeal. "Thank you, Joe. For everything and beyond."

Joe nodded briskly with no verbal response, only looking between Will and Emmy as his answer to the corporal's thanking him.

He stepped back to allow Emmy to say goodbye to Will, forcing himself to turn away, walking to the rig and giving the couple one more moment of privacy before they were parted.

Will and Emmy embraced once more, her arms around his neck as he lifted her up several inches off the ground, holding her close as possible to him. He whispered softly in her ear, his lips kissing her blooming blossom cheek. "We won't be separated for long, my darling. I'll pay whatever price is needed to keep my family safe."

Emmy drew her head back to look into his misty blue eyes, their noses brushing. A tear trickled down her cheek as she leaned forward to meet his lips in another burning kiss. Will groaned in defiance of her arms withdrawing from around him as he lowered her down back onto the ground.

She still grasped onto his hands after he unraveled his arms from around her. Emmy kissed the veins underneath the skin of her beloved's hands, their fingers intertwining before he gently pulled away from her grasp.

"Go, my love. Go now, where you'll be safe. I'll telephone for you later tonight." Will forced himself to stand firmly in that one spot by the porch, watching her every movement as she nodded in agreement to her needing to leave.

He wanted more than anything to sweep her up and carry her back into the house and ravish her like there was nothing wrong in the world… but such desires were inappropriate with what had transpired in the past twenty four hours. Their guard had been let down and James had gained an upper hand in his twisted game of fear and manipulation.

Will choked back a sob building in his throat as Emmy turned away from him, her petite form bounding across the yard toward the rig.

Joe was waiting for her with the reins in his hand, Satine turning her majestic head to see the additional passenger joining her owner. The lieutenant held out his opened hand toward Emmy, assisting her to climb up into the seat beside him.

"Don't worry about Will, dearest one. He's more than capable of taking care of himself. And he'd go to Hell and back for you… as would I." He boldly stated those last three words aloud as he cracked the reins and prompted for Satine to pull the rig away from the house.

As they drove from the Schofield property, Emmy took one last look back at Will, seeing him alone by the front porch, standing still as a statue with his arms crossed.

She felt Joe take hold of her hand, giving it a light grip of solace as she turned back around to face the paved path ahead, praying to whoever was listening that Will would be safe too.

And Tom's voice answered her. "Don't fret, sweet Emmy. Just like back in France, Will's gonna come back to you and Joe won't let you get so much as a scratch while you're under his watch."

.

.

"I'm really anxious to see Molly and the girls. Have they been doing alright?" Emmy glanced to the side at Joe, who also met her eyes for a brief second before focusing back on the road, half-listening to the clopping sound of Satine's hooves on the dirt ground.

"They've been managing mostly. It's difficult to keep the children occupied since their mum won't let them outside. And I can't blame her; Charlotte and I have been helping her as best as we can with the circumstances." Joe clenched his jaw as he turned his head to fully look at Emmy. "Molly had a small fainting spell this morning, but she's fine now. I got her to rest and eat something while Charlotte took care of Cici and Elle."

Emmy sat up straighter in her seat and grabbed Joe's shoulder at the mention of Molly's swooning, gulping back her verbal worry for her soon-to-be sister-in-law.

"But she's strong, one of the strongest women I've ever known. I wish she and my mother could have gotten to know each better before…" Joe trailed off as he felt the painful emotions begin to coil within his body and he held back any approaching memories of his mother's death. He tried to change the subject so as not to bring down the mood for his most adored passenger. "I'm a fortunate man to have so many beautiful women in my home, am I not?"

Emmy scoffed at his humorous poking at her feminist predilections, and he smirked at her annoyed reaction. "Come on, Joe. Don't be an ass."

"I just tease to get a rise out of you, dearest one. That fire inside you is most radiant…" Joe looked away from her, a softness possessing his eyes as he stared straight ahead and the surrounding gate of his front yard came into view.

"What about Charlotte? She seems like a real pistol too." Emmy elbowed him playfully, a sweetened tone to her voice. "I haven't mentioned it before… but I can see some resemblance between her and myself."

"It's not like that. She's a widow grieving her husband who died right in front of us. And I'm grieving for everyone I've lost. We were both lonely…and I care for her… I truly do. We don't know how long it'll last… all I know is that it's not the same as my… feelings for you." Joe's voice lowered an entire octave as he pulled at the reins to signal for Satine to stop in her tracks. "But we've other things to be concerned about now, Emmy. Let's get you settled inside."

Satine was trained enough that she didn't require being tied while strapped to the rig. Joe gathered most of Emmy's luggage as she jumped down from her seat. She held her smallest bag in her hands, facing the graceful equine and giving her a pet. A huffing puff exhaled from Satine's muzzle as she met Emmy's eyes and recognized the familiar human's features, her ears perking forward on her head in friendly acknowledgement.

"Go on inside, dearest one. Best to not be out in the open while it's still light outside." Joe held up her bags and gestured to the front door as he went to open it for her.

Emmy nodded in agreement, walking up the porch steps and entering the house she had come to think of as a second home for her.

"Aunt Emmy!" A small voice chimed throughout the room as she set her suitcase down. "Mummy, Aunt Emmy's here!"

Little Elle sprinted from where she had been sitting by Myrtle on the soft parlor rug. Molly and Cici poked their heads out from the dining room, Charlotte trailing behind them with a relieved look on her face.

"Yes, I'm finally here! To help with you little troublemakers!" Emmy laughed playfully as the children raced into her arms and she picked them up, grunting as she tried to hold up their combined weight. "Good Lord, you're both breaking my back."

She sank down onto her knees and placed the girls back onto the floor, ruffling their hair as they clung onto her skirt, flanking her on both sides. Molly had been back on her feet quickly since the small ordeal from earlier that morning, looking relieved to see Emmy had arrived safely, throwing her arms around Emmy's shoulders in a familial embrace both women welcomed.

"Mummy… can we get a new puppy? I miss Bucky." Elle asked her mother as she pulled on her skirt. Molly reached down from her embracing Emmy and stroked her youngest daughter's hair consolingly, not able to think of an answer at the moment.

"We'll talk about it, sweetheart." Molly tried to satisfy her daughter's question about their dearly departed dog.

Emmy's heart went out to the girls, figuring they probably weren't able to mentally process the fact that Bucky was gone and they would never see him again…

Charlotte entered the parlor, watching the two women in their hug as she felt an ache in her chest, a yearning for something she had missed having for her own. The union of family…

Something she hadn't had since leaving her parents behind, disowned for eloping with Edward…

"Charlotte…" Emmy called her name, her arms outreached to embrace her as well. The Yorkshire woman was somewhat taken aback by the sudden affection, but she placed her arms around the shorter American maiden.

"Emmanuelle. We're so glad to see you back safe and sound." Charlotte smiled warmly at her. She glanced behind them as the pile of bags Joe had placed by the staircase before going out to settle Satine back into the stable. "Come, let's get your things upstairs. You and Molly will need to share in Joe's old room. I hope that's okay."

"I don't want to put anyone out. I can always sleep downstairs with Myrtle. Make a pallet of blankets on the floor, make a sleepover of it." Emmy followed Charlotte up the stairs, seeing the older woman raise her eyebrow in confusion at the mention of a strange word like 'sleepover'.

"Trust me, Joe would sleep in the stable before seeing you stay the night on the floor like a dog. We'll make it work." Charlotte smiled brightly and Emmy couldn't help but like her more at her optimistic attitude despite the stressful situation she was placed in the middle of.

"I really appreciate it… but I don't want to make things awkward… with you and Joe." Emmy kept her voice low as they entered the childhood bedroom of Thomas and Joseph Blake. The faded voices of Molly and the girls sounded from downstairs. "What he feels for me… and with your relationship…"

Emmy found it difficult to find the right words to describe the unease and conflict she was feeling, but Charlotte seemed to read everything in her nervous speech pattern. "Miss Hunterson… Emmy… it's not for you to worry about. You've done nothing wrong. Joe is to walk you down the aisle so you can marry your Corporal Schofield, who's quite a handsome one you've caught, by the way."

"But…" Emmy started to argue, but Charlotte held her hand up to stop her.

"What we have is between us. We're both grown adults and we're just finding solace in each other as people who've loved and lost. Joe just wants what is best for you and I understood what he felt for you since meeting him. I promise, there's no animosity from me toward you. In fact…" Charlotte paused, setting a couple of the bags on one of the twin beds. "I wanted to ask you, as someone who left a past life for love like you did… would you be able to make me a bridesmaid in your wedding?"

Emmy absorbed her question, not expecting her to ask about her upcoming nuptials to Will…

She looked into the older woman's deep brown eyes, seeing the eagerness and hope in her lively expression. A sisterly warmth spread through her veins as Emmy pondered Charlotte's request and a smile spread on her lips, imagining another woman to support her in marrying the man she loved and officially entering her new life in the Schofield family.

Charlotte held her hands together as she beamed in return, her eyes sparkling in the afternoon light gleaming through the windows.

"Yes, Charlotte Henshaw-Seymour… I'd love to have you as my bridesmaid. And… as a wedding rule-breaker, I can let you have a sneak peek at my dress." Emmy conspiratorially spoke in a hushed whisper as Charlotte giggled like an adolescent girl, letting her barrier fall down as both women laughed.

"That's completely wicked of you, Emmanuelle. If you need any lingerie for the honeymoon, I can certainly help you find some. What's Will's favorite color? I bet that it's green…" Charlotte raised her eyebrows in faux suggestion. "A man's favorite color always matches his sweetheart's eyes."

Emmy held her hand over her lips to suppress a laugh as Charlotte did the same, their friendship burgeoning even more with their shared female camaraderie.

.

.

The phone rang later that evening after supper, both Molly and Charlotte helping clear the kitchen while Joe went out to feed Myrtle and Satine.

Emmy cleared out her plate and stood to wash her dishes as she heard the shrill noise piercing through the lower level of the house.

Excitement and dread twisted in her stomach as she placed her dish and utensils down and raced to answer it. She grabbed the receiver from the cradle and placed it to her ear, her heart thumping against her ribcage.

"Hello… Will, is that you?" Her voice cracked as she cleared her throat.

"Emmy? Yes, it's me. Thank goodness you arrived there safely." The relief dripped from Will's voice and seeped into Emmy's heart, closing her eyes as she imagined his arms around her.

"Oh, baby… I'm okay. We're all alright." Tears welled in her eyes as she gripped the receiver in her hands. "Molly and the girls are okay. Do you wanna talk to them?"

"Yes!" He answered immediately, wanting to hear his sister and nieces' voices. "Yes, please. As relieved as I am to hear you as well…"

"Don't apologize, baby. I'll call Molly over here for you." Emmy grinned, visualizing the smile on her Will's face and missing him all the more. She pulled the receiver away from her lips so she wasn't shouting in his ear. "Molly, it's Will on the phone for you!"

"Girls, Auntie Charlotte's got a dessert surprise for being so good tonight. I'm making ice cream!" Charlotte beckoned for Cici and Elle to come back to the dining room, the girls having been sent upstairs to bathe and change into their nightclothes.

Molly came to join Emmy at the telephone stand, eagerly taking the receiver from her hand to speak to her brother. She shakily held the phone to her ear as Emmy went upstairs to check on the girls.

"Cici…Elle… are you girls ready for dessert?" Emmy shouted for them in a lighthearted tone of voice.

She entered the Blake brothers' bedroom and found it shockingly empty. Emmy confusedly looked around for any signs of the children, checking under both beds, assuming they were playing hide and seek.

"Cecelia? Giselle… girls, come out here right now." Emmy's pitch rose to a more maternal tone similar to Molly's way of speaking to them.

She opened the small closet, looking over the various boxes and found nothing of the children. Worry grabbed ahold of her instincts, knowing the girls had to be kept within the adults' sight at all times with their father out there somewhere waiting to strike.

She looked in the small washroom… no sign of them still.

Emmy took deep breaths to keep herself steady and focused as she went to the main bedroom that was once Catherine Blake's and looked everywhere she could think of where the girls could hide. Under the bed, in the trunk of blankets, the spare closet…

"Girls, this isn't funny! Come out right now! Don't make me get you in trouble with your mom!" She half-threatened them, trying to get them to appear back in her sight.

Surely they hadn't gone outside without anyone knowing… at least not alone.

Taking several deep breaths, she sped downstairs, struggling to keep purchase on the steps so she wouldn't slip and fall.

Myrtle bounded to meet her at the bottom of the stairs, sensing Emmy's frenzied state of mind as she suddenly found herself in Joe's arms, who was trying to keep her calm as she began to hyperventilate. "Emmy… dearest one, what's wrong?"

Joe took her face within his hands, seeing Emmy's green eyes wide with fear, her face pale as a sheet. As he then gripped her shoulders to keep her from collapsing to the floor, he looked to Molly for an answer as to what was happening.

"Emmy, where are my children?" Molly asked her, as the American woman took the phone from the Schofield matriarch's hand.

She spoke into the receiver as Charlotte also entered the room to see what was going on, wringing a dish towel in her hands. The cloth slipped from her grasp as she went to Joe's side, his arm winding around her waist to hold her close.

"What's happening, Emmy?" Will desperately asked her from the other end of the receiver. She opened her mouth to respond but no sounds came out. That was all he needed to know nothing was right. "I'm coming there right now."

And he ended the call.

"Emmanuelle… where the bloody hell are my children?!" Molly nearly screamed, her voice trembling with an Ophelia-like hysteria. "Please tell me…!"

"I don't know, I swear!" Emmy screamed with a matching anxiety back to her as Charlotte and Joe both began to separate the two women before things got out of control. "I looked everywhere upstairs; I can't find them!"

"Everyone… let's calm down. We'll search every inch of the house and around. Maybe they snuck outside. They could be hiding in the stable…" Joe worked to take charge of the situation, seeing the near accusing glare in Molly's eyes as she darted a deadly look to everybody in the room, her maternal instincts going haywire in her mind.

Myrtle began to growl and bark, her ears perked up in the manner of her hearing something and her nose sniffing the air.

Then, one of the front windows was shattered suddenly by the crack of a gunshot, a bullet crashing through the glass of the front parlor window and embedding itself into the wall.

They all held their breaths as Joe took a defensive position in front of the three women, holding out his hand to signal for them to get down on the floor and remain still.

He walked slowly to the window, knowing he was risking his own life being in the path of a random bullet. His training in the army allowed him to quickly decipher the type of weapon the bullet had been expelled from, looking at the size of the resulting hole in his mother's glass windows.

Joe saw something beyond the house as he stared outside into the dim evening light.

The tall form of a man in his front yard, a Beretta M1918 in his hands…

A man who definitely wasn't William Schofield.

Molly began sobbing as Emmy held her in empathy for her lashing out, her entire body shaking with terror, knowing their being found was inevitable.

James had come for them.