You didn't have much to do around the house without your husband being at home. He was away at war, and all you could do was hope that he would return to you. There wasn't anything more you could do at home to help him, just settle in your worry and try to distract yourself from how horrible it was to think about a life without him.

One of your favoured pastimes was reading through the library you had gathered and built up to offer you an escape from the life you had. Everything else was pleasant past the longing for John to return you.

You plucked a book from the shelf that you hadn't read for a while and took it with you out into the garden and found a place under a large tree. It was a pleasant day and you didn't see the point to be cooped up inside of your home when you could be outside getting some fresh air. Sitting in the shade, you started to read through the pages, letting yourself get lost in the words, hoping for a life between the cover rather than longing for your spouse and possibly losing him to the horrors that came with war.

After a few hours you were lost into the pages, hoping that things could go as well in your life as it did the protagonist when you were finally pulled from your escapism. No matter how you wished to continue reading, a weight had fallen upon you and forced you to drop the book. If you could have moved, you would have jumped but someone was lying upon you. It took you a moment of confusion before you noticed who was on top of you and you felt joy rush through you.

"John!" You squealed, pulling him into a mess of a hug due to his position across your lap.

"Hello, my love," he smiled, moving off of your lap so that he could hug you properly.

"I can't believe you are here," you grinned. "I feared you had died."

John pulled you into a kiss proving he was very undead and there in your arms as you had wished he would be for such a long while.

"I am on leave and you are the only person I could have ever wanted to see," he said softly, cupping your cheek in his hand. "If only I could have made more of an entrance rather than falling over a tree root."

"I don't care how you made your entrance, I'm just glad that you are here."

~*~

Written by Charlotte.