CHAPTER SONG: "In Her Eyes" by Josh Groban
"I... I don't know how the hell I got here to France. I'm not from this era. I...I'm from the future. One hundred years from now... from the year 2020."
Lieutenant Joseph Blake stared at the worried face of the enigmatic injured woman lying in the bed, her lovely green eyes silently pleading with him to say something as he absorbed her words. The ebony haired soldier loosened his grip slightly on her smaller hands as a disbelieving chuckle emerged from his lips, although he tried to hold it back.
"Miss Hunterson...what are you saying? Surely, you're joking, are you not?" Lt. Blake raised one of his hands and gently placed the tips of his fingers on the temples of her head. "How hard did you hit your head?"
A hint of worry crossed within his voice as Emmanuelle shook her head, desperate to gage his understanding of her situation.
"No, Joseph. You don't comprehend what I'm saying." She raised her own hand and removed his fingers from the side of her head, feeling a slight chill from the absence of his touch. "I swear on Thomas'Â soul that I'm not making this up."
Her other hand that wasn't holding Joseph's raised up and touched his cheek, both of them keeping eye contact with one another as the soldier struggled to decipher what he was being told.
"I know from your American accent that you're neither English, nor German or French. But... you're from another time entirely." He looked away from Emmy and delicately removed her gentle hand from his face, placed her dainty joint down on her stomach as though it were made of porcelain.
The soldier leaned away from her as he stood up straight, confusion and skepticism blanketing his expression that just a moment ago had been one of relief and adoration after their declaration of friendship, however tumultuously it had started.
"You don't strike me as the type of woman who lies, Emmanuelle. Considering Corporal Schofield's feelings for you and..." He trailed off before he could finish his sentence. His own feelings toward her would remain with him and him alone.
He would rather her be happy as his friend than angry and possibly end up resenting him should he want to present himself as a potential suitor for her heart.
Lt. Blake looked down at the brunette woman, her hair hanging loose around her shoulders and her lively eyes downcast toward her wringing hands. The remains of her food were left untouched... She needed to eat and regain her strength in time for her Schofield to come fetch her...
Before the oncoming envy could eat away at him, he turned away from Emmanuelle and walked toward the exit of her squared off area to give them privacy from other patients.
"Where are you going, Joseph?" She found herself asking the words before she could think them through. "I...I needed to tell you; as my friend, I need you to trust me. You're the one who volunteered to protect me in Will's place. What benefit would I gain in lying to you about something like this?"
Her words from moments prior echoed in his mind about their needing to have trust between them. He stood at the threshold of her makeshift room, his eyes straight ahead and his broad back and shoulders solid in a ramrod posture similar to a uniformed guard keeping intruders from entering her quarters.
Lt. Blake just barely turned his head to look at her, but didn't meet her eyes. He could hear the hitch in her breath as she restrained a sob from assaulting her throat and the guilt ate away at him. Sentiment wasn't exactly encouraged in the army, but his heart ached to go back to her bedside and enfold her in his arms and comfort her to where she would never be sad or afraid again in her life.
Damn it all, she already had her hero to wipe away her tears and it wasn't him, regardless of the split-second vision he'd had of her in a wedding dress and veil decorated with cherry blossoms.
Before he could even contemplate the significance of that image, he cleared his throat and spoke to Emmy again. He didn't even acknowledge her words she had been saying to him.
"You oughta finish you food before it goes to waste, Ms. Hunterson. I need some air. I'll leave you to eat and I'll be back in a moment." His words were gruffer that he intended for them to be. He still refused to look at her even though his conscience begged him to go onto his knees before her and beg her to tell him everything on her mind.
"Joseph..." Her voice called his name, and he kept walking away as a tear escaped his eye again at the sound.
Joe, don't walk away from her! She's heartbroken and scared and she needs you to hear her out.
Thomas' voice rang through his mind and Joseph walked faster down the now barely occupied hospital corridor until he was outside in the late afternoon April weather, the sun resting in the middle of the horizon.
Lt. Blake inhaled and exhaled a deep breath and his shaking hands reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a lighter and cigarette.
Lord, he needed a smoke right now!
He ignited the cigarette after it was placed between his lips, clutched in his teeth. Air around him still smelled of ash and debris, the rumble of airplanes overhead reminding him of the chaos he had survived in the last 48 hours.
As he exhaled the smoke from his lungs, he suddenly felt his stomach clench knowing he had left an injured woman alone amongst strangers; she was trying to inform him of something she was obviously afraid to tell many people about.
Joseph Daniel Blake, you know Mum would have your head if she saw you walk away from an upset girl. Go back inside and listen to her. What would Will Schofield say if he saw how you just ignored her?
He sighed a deep breath and dropped the cigarette to the concrete ground, stomping out the stub with his boot.
Tom was right. He knew he wasn't in the right mindset and he had to do right by the woman who was probably beside herself right then, possibly confiding to Nurse Tallis about his brutish behavior.
If he couldn't express any romantic feeling toward her, he could still apologize to her like a man should. He walked away from the hospital entrance and went to the nearest person, another nurse wringing out her wrinkled apron.
"Pardon me, miss. Could you please direct me to where I could purchase some flowers?"
.
.
Emmanuelle lay on her side, however painful it was to her cracked ribs, Nurse Tallis having taken away her food tray.
"Are you alright, my dear? Did that lieutenant act untoward with you?" The older woman raised a single eyebrow like a strict headmistress, but the concern was evident in her voice.
"No, he just went out for some air. He'll be back in a minute. Did he say anything about how much longer he'll be staying here?" Emmy turned her head to look up at the bespectacled caregiver asking after her well-being.
"None that he's told me while you were sleeping earlier." She placed one of her hands below the food tray, using the other to adjust her glasses upon her nose. "Now that you've eaten, it'd be best for you to keep resting try to lie on your back so as not to place pressure on your ribs. Doctor Crawford should be by in a few hours to change your bandage dressing for the night; you can also bathe in the meantime if you like. I'll bring out a tub and hot water for you."
"Thank you so much! You wouldn't happen to have anything I could use to brush my teeth with, could you?" She found herself blushing with self-conscious embarrassment, thinking back to all the times she and Will had kissed where she certainly had morning breath since she hadn't brushed her teeth before suddenly being transported to a whole other century...
Nurse Tallis blinked a few times in confusion as she took in the younger woman's request, before gifting her with a gentle smile. "I'll see what I can do, Ms. Hunterson. Don't you fret."
Emmy lifted up her water tin to her lips and drank more of her water. Placing the tin down in her lap, she looked up and stared at the white blinds separating her bed from those of other suffering patients.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, not having access to a watch or clock. Where was Joseph?
Don't worry about Joe, Emmy. He'll come around for you.
For a split second, Emmy felt a gentle feather-light touch of air blowing a few strands of her hair against her cheek.
Tom was here...although she couldn't see him. But she could feel him around her.
"Am I doing the right thing, Tom? Telling Joseph about my whole story? He needs to know the kind of woman he's promised to protect." Her whispering voice asked the ethereal presence she could feel shielding her against the sadness that threatened to collapse and crush her.
I can't tell you if it's right or wrong, Emmy. But I know him better than anyone, all my life. He was quite the ladies' man back home and I've never seen Joe look at a woman the way he's looked at you.
"But he doesn't know anything about me. He might be more in love with the idea of me. He said himself that it'd been so long since he felt the touch of a woman. I showed him decency and compassion because I knew he needed it when he found out what happened to you. I love William...and after everything we've said and promised to each other, I don't know if I can give Joseph anything beyond friendship."
Only you and Joseph can decide how you feel about each other. Just don't leave anything unsaid. Everyone's days are numbered now by the minute...
She opened her mouth to reply when the comforting presence around her disappeared and she heard the familiar boots of Joseph Blake walk through the entryway of her healing area. The smell of tobacco emanated from his uniform, and he possessed a look of regret and sorrow in his blue eyes.
A smile came to her lips as she saw what he held in his hands...
An exquisite bouquet of flowers...
Yellow daffodils, the flower that symbolized chivalry and in some circumstances, unrequited love...
And magenta alstroemerias, the flower of a chaotic but devoted friendship...
"I seem to owe you many apologies today, Emmanuelle. I'm sorry I stormed out like that on you. Please forgive me again." He held up the carefully wrapped entourage of fresh blossoms toward her, but he had a cautious and nearly fearful look on his face as though he expected her to grab the floral gift and throw it to the floor in anger.
"Joseph..." She paused and sighed to herself as she reached out for the flowers. Emmy took them into her hands and inhaled their sweet scent. "They're beautiful. And thank God they're not roses. Those are overdone and boring."
Joseph chuckled softly at her joke as she also smiled at his reaction. Seeing him happy was no doubt a handsome sight.
"Being the scoundrel that I am, I keep falling out of your good graces." He jested to her as he took her petite hand within his and placed a brief kiss to her knuckles. "You deserve much better. From this minute you have my full attention. Tell me everything on your mind, including what I might not entirely understand. I have until tonight to stay with you when Captain Smith returns to take me back to the Devons' camp."
"Well...you may want to sit down, its quite a story." She stroked a fingertip down one of the yellow daffodils.
"I'm all ears." He ran his thumb across the set of her knuckles he had just kissed, his voice remaining soft and gentle.
She talked and he listened as though he were focusing on a new set of orders from a superior officer, as though there was nothing else happening in the hospital building sheltering them.
From the night in the London museum in 2020 when she'd woken up in the farmhouse and met Thomas Blake and William Schofield, everything that had occurred after, no matter how outlandish or unbelievable her tale had sounded.
Restraining a sob in his throat, he dared to ask her. "When Will explained how Tom died...and you be honest with me...as my friend. Was it quick like he said?"
"Joseph..." She whispered his name, staring away from his grief stricken face as he silently begged her for answer.
"Please, tell me." Both of his hands began squeezing her own, almost to the point where circulation was blocked in her veins, but she could sense his care in now causing her physical pain.
"The German pilot they pulled out of the plane... he panicked, thinking Will and Tom were gonna attack him. I tried to calm him down and Will went to get him water...it was Tom's idea. The pilot locked his hands around my neck and started choking me."
Her free hand went to her throat, still feeling a pulsating ache from the fading bruises dotting the flesh there. Joseph's jaw clenched in internal rage at the thought of her being harmed when she was only trying to help.
He briskly nodded his head, waiting for her to continue.
"Tom pulled him off of me and wrestled him to the ground. I was catching my breath...and I wasn't able to warn him about the pilot's knife. It was too late... He'd already been stabbed in the abdomen."
It was her turn to sob herself as the tears flowed down her cheeks and onto her lap. She felt Joseph's hands let go of hers, but his eyes remained on her face. His responding silence only served to scare her as she wrapped her arms around herself. She managed to continue speaking through her convulsive sobbing.
"Will shot the pilot and killed him before anything else could happen...but it was too late. Wherever Tom had been stabbed, it was enough to cause lots of bleeding. He got paler and cried out in pain...and I was too much of a coward to watch up close as he died in Will's arms... I walked away because I didn't wanna see a man die. It was my fault. I should've listened to Will; he said the pilot should've been put out of his misery since his legs were burnt to a crisp."
Joseph remained silent still, staring at her with his own tears unshed in his eyes. He looked down at the woman confessing everything she could about his brother's death.
"Some friend you've got yourself, huh?" She asked him a bitter tone, more directed at herself than him. "Your brother was a brave man with more courage in his pinky finger than I have in my own body. I'm a goddamn disgrace, not worthy of your protection or William's love."
"Emmanuelle, don't you say another word." Joseph commanded her more harshly than he'd projected.
She sniffled and looked up at him again to see that he hovered above her and wrapped her tightly into his arms in an embrace. Her arms enfolded around his neck, her head tucked against his chest. Lt Blake's chin rested on the top of her head as he released his own tears.
"There's nothing that could've been done to save Tom. It was not your fault what happened. You were just being the amazing woman Schofield fell for, with your kindness even towards our enemy." The same kindness you showed me when we first met...
"That's hard for me to believe when I haven't been told the same by my own family." She sobbed into his uniform, soaking the rough fabric with her tears.
"What do you mean, Emmy?" He asked her, leaning back so she could look into his face. One of his hands wiped away another tear off her cheek, his fingers cupping her jaw and chin with enough tenderness that made her think he was attempting to kiss her again...
Not wanting to say much on the way of words, she raised up her hand and presented to him the faint scarring on her ring finger and pinky. His dark brow furrowed in confusion until he recalled seeing those markings a few moments before when he'd kissed her hand.
"Someone in your family hurt you this way?" The soldier in him felt the need to hunt down the perpetrator who dared to harm her...and he wanted to know more about what had occurred.
"It...it's not something I've really told many people. Will knows, of course." She paused to take a drink of water from her tin. "It's not a pleasant story; I'm not sure if you wanna hear it."
"I'd like to hear it if it'll help you. I'm your friend and I care about your safety, even if it's in the past." A small smile crossed his lips. "Even though I may imagine myself beating the bastard who hurt you to a pulp."
"That comment aside..." She rolled her eyes and leaned back on her pillow. "The short version is my father was an alcoholic, and he broke my fingers when I was 2 years old with a porcelain toilet lid..."
She shuddered to herself at the memory and Joseph gently took her scarred hand and held it to his cheek as though to anchor her to where she was and to remind her that she was in a safe place.
"My mom found out and left him, taking me with her. He never contacted me after that until a few days before I arrived here in 1917." She noticed a mixture of concern and a quiet rage simmering in Lt. Blake's ocean-blue eyes.
Her own brooding Heathcliff by her bedside hanging on her every word...
"Did he threaten you or try to hurt you again?" He found himself asking before he could stop himself. If he crossed another line with her...
"No, he never confronted me in person. He called me while I was in London and called me lots of names. But I told him if he ever tried to enter my life again, I'd make his life a living hell." She smiled her own grin of triumph, causing a wave of relief to nearly overwhelm the lieutenant who was both baffled and fascinated by this woman.
"Good Lord..." Joseph exhaled his words as he took in her story. "You're truly something else, Emmanuelle. That's something we share in common, fathers are never the best judge of things."
She was about to reply and ask him what he meant when a sudden pain enflamed her lower abdomen...and a sudden warmth between her legs... She emitted a groan before she could stop herself...what perfect damn timing, and she had completely lost track of the days this month.
"Emmy, what is it? What's wrong?" Joseph jumped to his feet as he took her face in between his hands before moving them down to her shoulders. "Are you in pain? I'll get a doctor."
"Joe...it's okay." She winced against the pain in her stomach and her cheeks flushed a bright red. "It's...not to do with my injuries...it's something else...more personal."
Without her needing to say more, he understood what she was implying. Emmy unfolded the covers and wrapped the top blanket around herself due to the slight chill in the air. Before her feet could touch the tile ground, she was suddenly hoisted up into Lt Blake's arms in a bridal carry. She noticed that he took special care to maneuver her against his torso where it caused her as little abdominal pain as possible.
"Before the war, I was training to be a physician at Kings College in London. I'll take you to the nurses and doctor, make sure you get the things you need." He explained as he carried her away from the hospital bed. "Don't worry, this doesn't mean I'm trying to sweep you off your feet in a grand romantic gesture. Just relax, I've got you."
"Thank you, Joseph. Any lesser man wouldn't dare to touch me if I was in such a delicate condition." A blend of sarcasm marred her voice before another painful cramp assaulted her lower body. "Certainly you have a pretty girl waiting for you at home?"
She tried to keep the conversation light as he focused on walking down the now darkened hallways, the sunset from outside illuminating the corridors.
"Honestly, I can't say I've done this for any girl I've courted back at home, Emmanuelle. Nor have they compared a whit to you." His voice lowered into a deeper almost seductive tone, his pupils dilated again as he looked into her jade eyes for the briefest second before turning to focus ahead.
Emmy noticed his jaw-line clench in restraint, grateful for his resisting temptation as she leaned her head on his shoulder and he continued their trek to find the proper people to take care of the woman entrusted to him.