David crept in early from his night shift and found Fiona fast asleep in the middle of the bed. He set the breakfast tray down on the dresser. He quietly undressed and slipped in behind her sleeping form. Her hair spread out on the pillow. Her night shirt groaning at the breast and stomach. She was now sixteen weeks pregnant and she was was beginning to bloom.

He gently rubbed her growing belly. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever held in his life. His growing child in this amazing woman. His hand rubbed her stomach and then moved slowly upwards to cup her enlarging breasts.

"David." She whispered his name half asleep.

It was like an electrical pulse through him. She thought about him in her sleep. He wondered what type of dream and hoped it was as carnal as his thoughts were turning now. He felt her nipple stiffen under his fingers. He kissed her shoulder and gently undid the button of her nightshirt. Her enlarged breasts popped out. He gently rolled her on to her back and began to pepper her throat with warm wet sweet kisses.

"Oh, David, this is a lovely way to be woken." Fiona groaned as she fluttered her eyelids open.

"Uhuh, now, stay there and let me speak to my baby." David kissed down her cleavage to her stomach. "Ok baby. This is where you go to the furthest part of your accommodation inside mummy. I love you very much, however, I also want to show your mum how much I love her. We are getting married next week and I want as much naughty single sex with her as I can."

Fiona giggled and ran her hands through David's hair as his kisses moved lower, between her thighs. He kissed and licked her labia until he sucked in the nub of her clitoris.

"Dear God, that is amazing." Fiona squirmed under David, all her senses fully awoken by the assault of David's mouth.

"I swear you taste sweeter," David whispered between breaths, "I have been thinking all night about the noise you make when you are about to come. I just wanted to hear it."

Fiona was so close, she knew he would release her soon. He kept her hips anchored to the bed. She peered down at him over her bump. It was the most magnificent sight. David in ecstasy between her legs and the outline of the baby they had created.

"David, oh good god, don't stop." She groaned the last words as her climax hit her.

David climbed up her body, kissing each inch from her thighs, lingering on her stomach and ending on her mouth. He tasted of her. It was erotic and incendiary. With no need for birth control David waited until Fiona had wrapped her legs around his waist. He gently pushed inside her. She felt as amazing as ever.

"Oh my god babe, you are so tight and so hot. Oh fuck, this is..."

David buried himself inside her, driving a rhythm and pace set by their need for each other. He adjusted to accommodate for the bump in her stomach. He sat up and brought her with him.

"There seems to be something coming between us lately." David whispered into Fiona's ear as he wrapped her legs around his waist. "We are going to have to try some new positions I think."

"Oh, can we just exhaust this one a bit longer, Oh, my life this is great." Fiona gasped as she clung to David as her next orgasm arrived, which hastened David's.

"Wow, this morning, pre marital sex thing is great." David laughed lying back on the bed. "Is it going to be this hot when its all legal?"

"I sure hope so."Fiona smiled, cuddling David and falling back asleep. Happy to lie next to him as they both drifted into a delicious post orgasmic sleep.

Later that afternoon, Fiona rushed as fast as she could to the bus stop. She was having drinks with Nikki and Lyn in the Cork and Bottle in Leicester Square. Now that they all didn't bump into each other's constantly at Grove Road, they made an effort to have a girls night.

Even though she couldn't drink Fiona knew the food was delicious and would help her cope with Nikki and Lyn's drunken conversations. Being sober now for three months meant she really could notice how annoying drunken chit chat was.

Fiona hurried on to the number 12 which sped its way through South Kensington, through Mayfair and Piccadilly. Sat at the top of the bus at the back. Fiona stared out of the window and took in how much you don't see when you are driving. She undid the top button of her jeans. Now at 16 weeks, she was showing. She tugged her top down to cover her spreading belly. She gave her bump a comforting rub. She would have to move into the terrible pregnancy clothes she had been putting off.

Whilst absorbing the view on Piccadilly she noticed a particularly panicky man move up the bus and he sat a few rows in front of her. He was about 20 years old, fair hair and he looked vaguely familiar. As Fiona wracked her brain for where she knew him from she saw him frantically rummage in his backpack. The man's panic grew. He looked frantically around the bus. He stood up as though to run away from his bag when Fiona saw a huge flash.

It all happened in slow motion. The blinding flash and the ear-splitting noise. It reverberated through her.

She felt herself being lifted in the air as though weightless and then she was flying. The ear-splitting noise continued. Fiona ignored the noise and followed the flying. She flew so high. She was going higher and higher. She saw herself from above. She ignored herself and kept flying.It was wonderful. The lightness, the freedom, she had never thought to be envious of birds however now she was.

She got higher and higher and then the sky turned pinker and she found herself getting warmer. She felt the way she did when her aunt cuddled her as a child. She felt full of love. She flew towards the heat and love. It was amazing. It was so pure and so deep that it intoxicated her.

"Fiona!" A man's voice shouted urgently somewhere behind her. "Fiona! Not that way! Come to me. Fiona! It's important!"

Fiona wanted to keep going towards the heat and the love. It was so beautiful. Who was that man? "Go away! She shouted back."

"Fiona! No!" The man's voice was very insistent he sounded almost in pain. Perhaps he too had been hurt. The nurse in her made her float to where his voice was coming from.

She turned around and saw a beautiful man. He was in his 20's. He had David's eyes and strong features with Fiona's hair colour. He had light freckles on his face.

"Are you ok?" Fiona asked the man. She really wanted to go back to flying now that she knew how.

"Fiona come to me, come here and talk to me." A meadow appeared behind the man. He beckoned her to follow him.

"I don't want to be rude, sorry I don't know your name?" She was going to be rude. He looked fine. She wanted to get back up there with the birds

"Joseph." He looked over his shoulder and smiled warmly. Nodding towards a field stile that he was going to climb.

"Joseph, I don't want to be rude, but it's flipping lovely going up there. I really want to check it out." Fiona trotted after Joseph politely.

The man smiled at her. His smile was so loving, so infectious that she found herself smiling back and at least having a quick chat before going towards that lovely feeling again. She ran down to him. He took her hand and they began to cross the stile.

"Hi Fiona, thank you for coming to me. Really, thank you." He hugged her. He hugged her tightly, he smelled her hair. He stood back from her, "Thank you, Fiona. Thank you for listening, thank you for loving me, thank you for the chats." He sat down in the meadow and began to make a daisy chain. He motioned for her to do the same. Fiona sat and started to pick daisies all the time looking at Joseph wondering who he was and why he had just thanked her.

She tried not to be rude. "Who are you?"

"Am I confusing you?" Joseph smiled. It was the same million watt smile David had.

"A little, I am not sure we have met." He was familiar. She was sure he was not one of five men she had slept with up until now. So his message was very cryptic.

Joseph chuckled. "We have Fiona, I am your baby."

Fiona laughed back. "Don't be daft! I am only 16 weeks how can you be my baby!"

Fiona patted her tummy and felt nothing. The bump had gone. Her hand flew to her mouth. The fear and panic gripped her.

"Fiona, mum, please don't worry. You have been in a terrible accident. You didn't do anything to lose me. I knew when I was given to you it would be for a very short time. I had a wonderful time." Joseph lay back on the grass."How wonderful it has been being loved by you. You have made me. I felt nothing but pure love from you and from my father."

The tears ran down Fiona's face. She ached to fly away. She wanted to fly towards the love she had felt earlier. Stronger than the urge to leave was the deep seated need to stay with her child.

Joseph continued. "David, my father, he would wait until you were asleep and he would talk to me. He would tell me how much he loves you and how much he loves me. The love I felt from you both. It's more than I needed was for a whole lifetime. I am happy to stay here. You are another matter though."

"Why? Why can't I stay with you?" She wanted to stay with Joseph more than the flying now. He was her baby. She wasn't pregnant. The pain seared through her.

"Because it isn't your time. I can visit you for a while. You can come back to the meadow. You cannot fly higher for a while. When you do, I will be here waiting for you and for dad. I will wait. Time doesn't matter here. It will be a very long time before I see you up there. For now stay with me mum."

"I love you," she did. She never had feelings like it before. "I am so, so, sorry that you didn't stay with me."

Joseph got up and hugged Fiona took Fiona's hand and pushed her. He pushed her very hard. So hard that she fell. She fell for a long time. She felt a cloud carry her and fell into a deep sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emlyn came home to the house to find it empty save himself for the first time in two years. He loved the house. He had such grand plans to restore the place to its glory when David and Fiona moved out after the baby.

Jilly had given him instructions to cook them both tea from scratch and he had the River Cafe cookbook in his briefcase and several bags of food shopping he had bought on his way back from the office.

He found the kitchen spotless. Since living mostly in Jilly's flat and with only Fiona and David in the house, it was surprisingly clean all the time. A huge difference from only a short time ago.

He deposited the ingredients on the table and went about cooking pasta pomadoro with spring vegetables from scratch. Emlyn set about the task with precision gathering all of the equipment and setting out a tick list that he would follow. He timed it to perfection. He found the whole thing very satisfying. He could get into this cooking stuff very easily.

Emlyn jumped when he heard the door open upstairs and the familiar sound of David's footsteps on the stairs.

"Wow, something smells fantastic!" David sighed as he walked into the kitchen. He reached into the cupboard for his Weetabix. "Night shift, so on the cereal." David rubbed eyes to shake the sleep out of them. He was tired from the lovemaking with Fiona all afternoon. The second trimester as Bill had predicted meant she was even hornier. Her need for him driving his need for her.

"Making Jilly her tea." Emlyn motioned to the meal he had nearly completed. He was very proud of himself.

"Friday nights are Rock and Roll!" David laughed spooning Weetabix into his mouth.

"When did it happen that we would end up here David?" Emlyn sighed.

"I know what you mean. A year ago one of us would have been in the pub and the other would have been at some random girl's house." David nodded.

"Now I am cooking dinner and you are working out how to put a cot together!" Emlyn felt that David had got it slightly better for the moment.

"If you told me that a year ago I would have had a panic attack." David smiled. He sat at the end of the table Emlyn was working on tucking into his breakfast.

"I know what you mean. I left work early to do the shopping. The strange thing is, I quite like this." Emlyn confessed.

"Me too, it feels right!" David shook his head, "Who knew!"

They both heard the door slam downstairs signalling that Jilly had arrived home.

"Right then! " David placed his plate in the newly installed dishwasher, "I am off to work!"

Jilly looked in the mirror and sighed. She knew the news she had received was not going to be good. She thought she had prepared herself for the worst but apparently, she hadn't.

The breast cancer diagnosis had knocked the wind right out of her. Emlyn had noticed the lump a couple of weeks ago. She thanked her stars that he had been so observant. She had asked him to keep the discovery between them until she had it checked out.

The fact of Bill and Heather's Wedding and David and Fiona's surprise pregnancy had kept everyone's attention elsewhere. She had lost the words to describe how she was feeling. Perhaps she wasn't feeling anything at all. Is this what people call shock?

Jilly heard Emlyn's footsteps on the internal stairs. When she turned to look at him her heart almost broke at the look of concern plastered across his face.

"Well?" He asked. Desperate for good news.

"Well, no, not really," Jilly said. "I have breast cancer, no spread as yet, they want me to go in for surgery on Monday."

Emlyn rushed to embrace her. He held her in a bear hug. Jilly could feel the sobs escaping from Emlyn.

"Darling boy, please don't cry, I will be ok!" She said it to comfort herself as well as Emlyn.

"Jilly! I don't want to lose you!" Emlyn stood with Jilly at arm's length. He loved her.

"I don't want to lose me either!" Jilly joked. She saw the hurt and disappointment in Emlyn's eyes.

The house phone rang. They heard David answer it on the way out of the door. David made a noise that scared them both to the core. Emlyn looked at Jilly. She nodded to let him go up the stairs first and she would follow.

Emlyn found David ashen pacing around the hall.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," David repeated.

"Are you ok? What is the problem?" Emlyn had never seen David in such a state.

"Fiona, she has been in a bombing. She was thrown from the bus. They think she won't survive." David said in the smallest voice. As though if to, say it loudly really meant it was happening. David shook his head, searching for what to do.

"Where have they taken her? Do you want me to come with you?" Emlyn enquired.

"Here, she is over there, nearest ITU bed. She is in the theatre." David said factually.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Emlyn repeated. He looked at Jilly. Jilly took Emlyn's hand. She had heard what was going on.

"No, no, I am going to go over myself and see if I can find out what is going on." David ran as though he was running on broken roof tiles. His thoughts jumbled, his body on autopilot. He reached A&E. He saw Bill. The look on Bill's face said everything.

"How bad?" David demanded honesty.

"Bad," Bill answered honestly. "She was the nearest to the bomber. Bomber came through 5 minutes ago. She was in front of him. She took the full blast and she flew from the back window. She landed in some bags of rubbish. She has suffered a lot of shrapnel damage, looks to me like a very bad head trauma. A load of fractures but the head one is the worst."

"The baby?" David couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I don't know," Bill answered truthfully. He stabilised her. She had died in the ambulance. The paramedics were in shock as they recognised Fiona from labour ward.

"She in theatres?" David closed his eyes and prayed this was a nightmare.

"Straight in mate, look I will cover your shift. You go to theatres. See what they can tell you. Let me know." It was the least Bill could do.

David tore off in the direction of theatres. He was stopped by the theatre manager.

"Brian, please! Please let me know what's going on. That's my fiancé and child in there."

"I know. You in there isn't going to help is it? You need to stay in the break room. As soon as someone can update you they will." Brian led David into the room and hastened everyone else out.

David paced the floor. He could not let go. He could not let anything happen to his beautiful girl and their baby. They were getting married in a week. Who did this and why? The rage boiled in him. After pacing for two hours he felt as tired as he had in his entire life. He sat in one of the chairs for a brief moment and he fell fast asleep.

He was nudged awake by a familiar voice.

"David, David she has gone to ITU." David was sure it was Suzie's voice.

David sprang awake. He stood up to find Suzie. "Oh fuck Suzie, .I am so scared."

"I cannot imagine," Suzie said sympathetically. "She has survived the first lot of surgery. She will have a difficult night. We will need to let her settle and then bring her back for the plastic surgery on the wounds. We took about 25 pieces of shrapnel out of her. We set her arms and legs on the multiple fractures. All you can do at this point David is pray."

"That bad?" He knew that was shorthand for she will probably die if she doesn't fight. He willed the fight into her.

"She will either survive the night or she won't. Next 12 hours will be all of the difference." Suzie nodded knowing that David understood the full meaning of her statement.

"Can I see her?" David needed to see her. To tell her to fight. The last sense to leave was hearing. If she heard his voice she would surely stay?

"I will take you up," Suzie stated matter of factly.

They walked in silence. Suzie exhausted from the intense work and David from shock. They reached ITU and though David had prepared himself for the worst he gasped at the sight of Fiona.

Her head had been shaved and the bruising and swelling made her unrecognisable. He watched as the ventilator made her chest rise and fall. The drips and the beeps from the machines making a rhythm of their own keeping his precious Fiona alive.

"Can I give this to you?" A nurse asked.

"Of course," David responded automatically.

The nurse placed a small envelope in his hand. He opened it and saw her engagement ring.

There was no mistake. His life was ruined if his girl left him now. She looked more like leaving than staying.

So thoughts?

Do you think Fiona will survive?

How did the piece about their son fit in?

Comment and vote xxx