Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

December 1st, 1944. Button house. There is a war on, and currently Button house is being used for training; alongside a secret operation, an operation that requires only the best and most trusted soldiers. All of whom are currently stationed at the old mansion. Leading this top secret team was The Captain. Hardly anybody knew his real name, and that was a fact that The Captain had no issue with whatsoever. In fact, almost none of the soldiers really were supposed to know each other’s names. Of course that hadn’t stopped most of the lower ranking officers; being in the army together created a bond that many of the men considered to be close to a familial one.  

They say all’s fair in love and war, and in the Captain’s experience no expression was more true. It was nearing Christmas at Button house. The old and drafty house offering no more comfort to the run-down soldiers as the trenches had their fellow comrades. But, the soldiers stationed at the mansion had tried their best to make the house at least a bit welcoming. None of them had any luck of spending the holidays with their loved ones, but at least they could have the consolation of spending it with each other. And though they hadn’t had access to much decorations, they had managed to find a dingy and withered-looking Christmas tree on the outskirts of the Button House property that they had chopped off and was now proudly displayed next to the fireplace in the common room.

Among the soldiers under the all-seeing eye of the Captain, was Lieutenant Havers. One of the Captain’s most trusted advisors and confidants. Though the operations at Button House were top secret, the Captain confided in his Lieutenant all the secrets he could not tell anyone else. It delighted him to have someone to confide in, to share his cumbersome task of managing an entire squadron of soldiers in an operation of which they knew nothing at all.

Lieutenant Havers was a scrawny man, barely noticeable in the tiniest of gatherings. Quite literally the opposite of the Captain really, who generally always managed to stand out from the crowd with his commanding presence and his nose in the air. Where the Captain would always be a forceful presence in any room, Havers would always blend in in the shadows. If he wore the brightest colours, he would probably still blend in with the walls. He had the exceptional talent of always being there when you seemed to need him the most. And that is exactly why he and the Captain appeared to be the closest. He was second in command after all. Their troops would always joke about them that they were the literal example of ‘Opposites Attract’. Nobody knew the secrets of Button House better than The Captain and Lieutenant Havers.

He and The Captain had been stationed together since the beginning of the war, first meeting in Blackpool, where the Captain had been a trainer for new recruits- and Havers had been a new recruit. Once Germany invaded Poland, and political tensions started rising among European leaders, they got promoted, despite the Captain not officially meeting the requirements for the title of captain yet. It’s amazing what desperation and a threat of war will do to the rulebook.

As the years went on, they both got stationed in many cities, leading many troops to the front lines, before landing a site at Button House, where they tasked with creating secret weapons for the naval units that could help win back the shores of Normandy. They had taken their jobs incredibly seriously, but had still needed to maintain their covers of Captain and second in command of a front-line troop. Thus, they continued sending and training soldiers for the front, watching with each load of new and excited young men the groups getting smaller and smaller, and how each squadron returned from the front-line with more and more injuries. That is, the ones that returned at all.

Though they made quite the pair, I suppose every great thing must come to an end. Havers had long since longed for more action, and though the secret operations at Button House were exciting in the sense that it was thrilling espionage work, it was far from the fieldwork that Havers had envisioned when he first came across the posters in London calling for soldiers to ‘fight for king and country’. He absolutely honored his king and his country, but what about the fight? He wanted to be among his comrades, fighting on the front-lines. He’d seen the pictures, he knew he couldn’t stand by and watch as his commands got more and more innocent soldiers killed.

That’s why, on the 1st of December, 1944, he was firmly stood in one of Button House’s many run-down corridors, in front of a solid, oak wooden door that seemed to loom over it with the knowledge of what it held inside. It was a door that led to a cluttered yet organized study of a very familiar Captain, and it was a room that Havers had visited thousands of times before without problem. But now, as he stood with a carefully written letter in his hands, with a big red stamp that said ‘ORDER OF TRANSFER’- he found himself anxious.

He sighed deeply before lightly tapping on the door, unsure if the Captain was still awake. Knowing him, and his love for anything that was not related to actually getting some god damned rest, he probably wasn’t, but Havers supposed it couldn’t hurt to be careful. He didn’t need to worry though, because he after a few tense seconds, the old door creaked open very slightly, and the rigid posture of the Captain was visible through the crack. As light poured into the corridor from behind the Captain, Havers let out a relieved sigh. Things like this were always easier at night than they were in broad daylight. Everything always seemed more real under the blaring lights of the sun. He was pulled out of his train of thought when the Captain spoke in a soft and hushed voice.

“Havers? What in god’s name are you doing here at this hour? What’s going on?” The tone of his voice was concerned. He probably knew an impromptu visit from a second-in-command was not a very good sign. Especially not when it was the middle of the night and Germany was currently planning on cutting of the entirety of the North-Holland food supply for the winter. The Captain opened the door quickly and ushered his friend inside, closing the door as quickly but softly as he could, as to not wake any of the other soldiers in the rooms down the hall.

“What is it Havers? News from the front-lines?” he said shortly, with an air of concern and a furrowed brow. Havers shook his head quickly, fumbling with the letter in his hands that he now suddenly didn’t quite know what to do with. Maybe he was making a mistake… Leaving Button House, his comrades, his friends… the Captain…

“No.” he said firmly. Both to himself and his commanding officer. “No, there’s no bad news from the front-lines.” For a short moment, the Captain looked relieved, that is, until he noticed the sour look on Havers’ face.

“What is it then? Come on, let’s not dilly-dally, we’ve got important work to do you know. This war is not going to win itself.” He quipped, hoping to either escalate or resolve the poignant air hanging in the crowded office.

“It’s just, Capt- Sir… I’m not quite sure how to say it-“ He hesitated, stumbling over his words. He really should have gone over this before knocking on that damned door.

“Say what? Spit it out Havers!” The Captain said with a slight chuckle, laying his hand comfortably on his friend’s shoulder. Oh how Havers would miss that.

“It’s just… I’ve decided to get stationed at the front-lines sir. Tunisia, Sir. Operation Guildford, as I’m sure you’re aware. Allied forces from overseas are on their way and I cannot stand to see a single more of our soldiers die.” He paused for a second. Not quite knowing how to bets express his desire to end this war, end this bloodshed.

He looked at the Captain, who could only stare at him with wide eyes. The Captain, who had not seen this news coming at all, was shocked beyond belief. He and Havers were a team, they had been a team for years and he had assumed they would be for more years to come. He was a fool to expect that they could go on together forever. A war was made to be won after all, no fight can last forever, just as no alliance could last forever.

“I… I don’t know what to say Havers.” the Captain began softly. He knew it was futile to I try and keep his second-in-command from doing something he had already made his mind up about, but how he longed to tell him he strongly disagreed with his idea. “You know I cannot follow you, dear friend. My duty is still here, at Button House. I can’t abandon our operation now. You know how vital our work here is. I… I don’t think I can do it without you.” He continued, even more softly.

The lieutenant pressed his lips together into a fine line, eyes already growing a bit damp at the look gracing the Captain’s face. This was the part he was most worried about. How could he ever leave his commanding officer like this? His most trusted and beloved friend? He shook his head to clear his mind. He had already signed the paperwork. He would be deploying tomorrow. It was just a matter of telling his commander.

“Now our work here is vital Sir, but if the information our undercover agent provided is correct, we will finally have a chance to win this war once and for all. Our work here is wrapping up, and the only place I am needed right now, is at the battlefield…Cap.” The mention of the nickname at the end of his speech made the Captain snap up from where he had been mournfully staring at the dusty-coloured carpet beneath his feet. He swallowed deeply, and with a hoarse voice asked:

“When, pray tell, will you be deploying then, Havers?” The tone of his voice was heart-breaking, and Havers felt his own eyes fill with tears before he managed to swallow them down.

“Tomorrow, Sir.” It was all the answer he could manage. All the answer his Captain needed.

“Thank you Cap.” He wanted to say. “Thank you for giving me your trust, your friendship, your love”. He wanted to say it. Oh how he wanted to say it. But after a pregnant pause, where neither of them managed to say anything, the room grew cold as The Captain’s gaze hardened and he cleared his throat.

“Very well lieutenant. I thank you for your service while under my command. I wish you good health and the best of luck at your new station. Good night.” He said, as he stood up and walked towards the door, opening it. It was a clear signal if Havers had ever seen one. He followed the Captain’s lead and stood up, making his way over to the opened door with a bowed head, unable to make eye-contact with his commander.

“Thank you, Cap. For everything.” He managed to croak out through a hoarse throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Captain nod curtly, his posture stoic and his face set.

“Yes. Thank you as well, Havers. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with you.” He said shortly, avoiding eye-contact as his Lieutenant stepped through the door into the corridor.

And before he could think of an answer, the door was shut in his face, and all he could hear from The Captain was a pained sigh through the thick, worn-out, wooden door.

“I wish it could have ended differently…” The Lieutenant whispered at the door. And as he stepped onto the dry, sandy roads outside of the Tunisian airbase he heaved a shuddery sigh once again.

How he wished he could have a second chance. He’d anticipated it, death. He’d known it was coming when he signed up for the front-lines. He’d welcomed it too, gladly- to protect his fellow man through the horrors of battle. But as he felt himself slipping away on that battlefield, he couldn’t help but think of all the missed opportunities. All the shots he didn’t take. All the things he hadn’t said. And he couldn’t help but think… “I wish it could have ended differently.”

Chapter Text

Though mornings had always been hectic since Mike and Alison moved in, the ghosts had seemed to finally settle down over the last few weeks, each finding their own demand for Alison, and settling into a certain routine with the poor girl. This morning however, was a little different for a number of reasons. The entire house was bustling with people, all doing various tasks related to readying the once sombre rooms of Button House for the festive season. Christmas was coming up in a few weeks, it being December 1st. Alison and Mike had made the decision to rent out the house to a big cooperation wanting to throw their annual Christmas party there, which, to the great dismay of Julian, had only grown into a bigger and bigger party as the planning went along. And today the organizers came with their higher-up for approval of the venue, so it simply had to be perfect.

“You DO know I died on Christmas Alison? In an office party? Right here in this house? This could be categorized as slander you know. This is-“ He droned on, following Alison around various rooms while she made floorplan for the party planner. She blocked him out after the first couple of sentences, from experience she knows that Julian’s political speeches could go on for hours, particularly if he didn’t agree with something. She groaned inwardly as she tried to count the vases in the living room for the inventory report but kept getting distracted by Julian’s incessant talking.

“Julian, can you just deal with it? We’re not going to cancel now, it’s too late. Plus, we really need the money. Now can you please leave me alone? The organization people get here in…” she frustratedly stops to shove her jumper up her arm and check her watch. “-thirty minutes to approve the venue! And I still need to stage the library.” She said as she threw her entire weight into a particularly heavy side-table that sat next to the small couch.

“I need to get this done before the organizer gets here, now Mike!” She called, as she failed to move the table even an inch. Mike poked his head around the corner from where he was fixing a screw on the cupboard door next to the kitchen. “Yeah?”

“I need help with this thing, I can’t get it to move.” She gestures to the table with frustration. Parties like these are always stressful, but having the ghosts on your back was just another layer on the big festive cake that Alison was a bit too tired to handle today. She left Julian to sulk in his own self-pity while she helped Mike move the furniture in the library around. She thanked the Lord that Lady Button was not around, because she was certain she’d get an earful over her precious couches being rearranged. She did spot Kitty and Robin walking by a couple of times, but she’s pretty sure Kitty had just tricked Robin into playing Hide and Seek again. When they’d finished, she left Mike to his fight with the cupboard and went to find the ghosts of the house once again. It was nearing one ‘o clock on a Wednesday, so most of them were probably doing one of Pat’s group activities in the sitting room.

As she approached the library, she could indeed hear the all too familiar voices of her… friends.

“That’s a very nice answer Mary! I do indeed miss surviving in the wilderness and making my own food. Though I’m not sure I’d go for Tulip Bulbs for dinner. Maybe in a pinch… Anyways, who else would like to share something they miss doing while they were alive?” She could hear Pat’s ever enthusiastic voice lead the group. She peeked around the corner, where she saw Pat, Thomas, Lady B, Mary, the Captain, Robin, and Kitty sitting on the sofa’s strewn around the room. Seems like the latter two had seized their game of hide and seek early. Her train of thought was derailed by Kitty excitedly exclaiming she missed petting her horses, and Lady B adding on that she very much missed her daughters’ trifle. She was caught off guard when Pat once again piped up. “And what about you Cap? Miss anything?”

There was silence for a moment, The Captain almost seemed to freeze for a moment before getting hold of himself again and searching for an acceptable answer. He let out a low hum as he straightened up. “I suppose I rather miss the feeling of a hot shower after a long day.” Hums of agreement swept along the room, every ghost who had had access plumbing or a hot bath seeming to agree that there were very few things on earth as comforting as the feeling of warm water on your skin. She startled when she once again heard Julian’s loud voice pipe up behind her. “Ha! Scared ya! Got a bad conscience have you?” He teased, walking past her into the sitting room to take a seat next to Thomas. He then turned to Robin with a shit-eating grin.

“You see that Mr. Flintstone? I’m coming for your gig.” He said pointing his finger at the confused caveman.

“What is flint stone?” He asked nobody in particular, while Thomas found that exact moment to ask Alison how her morning had been. She smiled softly, trying to keep it together.

“Good! Planning important parties and stuff.” She turned her attention to the rest of the group.

“So listen, that’s actually the reason I came down here. I know you’re all… busy at the moment, but I’ve got very important company that is arriving any minute now, so I’m asking all of you to please don’t distract me. I really can’t have anything go wrong today.” She looked around the room, piercing eyes and a stern look on her face. When none of the ghosts objected, she nodded shortly and confidently, proud that her little speech of good faith had seemed to work for now.

“Good. Thank you. Now-“ She was interrupted by a firm yet gentle knock on the door. One, two, three times in rapid succession. She took a breath and let herself calm down. “Here we go… Would be nice if nothing went wrong for once.” She mumbled to herself as she left the ghosts in the sitting room and made her way over to the front door. There was a moment of silence among the ghosts, where they watched her walk out of the room before Thomas spoke.

“So... Thirty minutes till we check it out?” To a round of nods and happy agreements.

Meanwhile Alison had opened the door and was staring into the face of a young man, with a very confused look on his face. Wearing a soldier’s uniform… from World War Two.

A stunned silence passed between the two of them, both of them obviously not expecting the other one on the other side of the door before they both managed to bring out the same exact words.

“Who are you? ” 

“-Who are you? ” 

Chapter Text

Havers had been… Where had he been? Well at any rate, wherever he was before was certainly not where he found himself at the moment. He coughed harshly, his lungs feeling like they were on fire. Taking big breaths of air, he steading himself on a nearby tree, struggling to get in enough air and get the burning sensation out of his lungs. He stood like that on shaky legs for a good few minutes, trying not to fall over, until he could finally breathe somewhat normally again. He’d looked up, then, and only then had he recognised the driveway to Button house. Confusion had settled in quickly, and he’d gone up to the house slowly.

That’s how he currently found himself staring at the very confused face of a woman, who he had never seen around the house before.

"I beg your pardon ma'am-" began the lieutenant hesitantly before pausing. He didn't quite know what to say next. Or do next for that matter. In fact, he wasn't quite sure what was going on. He hadn't been at Button house for over two weeks, was this some sort of weird dream? No, it couldn't be. He could smell the rotting wood of the tree that grew alongside the front door. He could feel the dampness of the afternoon air- a mark of the afternoon sunshine, or at least that was what his mum used to say. It wasn't that it wasn't a relief to be on familiar ground once again, but how he had gotten back to his old station- while the last thing he remembered was being on the Tunisian front-line, was a complete mystery to him. He was however, of one thing and one thing only very sure. He had never seen this woman before in the entirety of his time spent at Button House. And she looked incredibly odd. She must either be incredibly rich or dirt-poor.

When the woman in front of him remained silent, instead gaping at him with an open mouth, he adjusted his posture and cleared his throat. He was an officer in His Majesty's force, he could deal with setbacks like these. 

"I beg your pardon, but I don't believe we've met. Have you recently transferred to this station?" He managed to bring out as confidently and with as much authority as he could. He wasn't quite sure how he was back, but he was even less sure why. Would he still have his authority as a Lieutenant? Would the Captain have him back after his sudden departure three weeks earlier? His mind was racing with questions, but the woman in front of him didn't seem in a hurry to answer any of them. That was, until a few seconds later a man called out from inside the house, something about an organizer or something along those lines. 

The woman turned back slightly but didn't take her eyes off of the soldier in front of her. 
"No! This is... someone else" She shouted back. Following it up shortly with a softer voice. "Actually, may I ask who you are?" 
"Lieutenant Havers, ma’am. I was stationed here up until two weeks ago? December 1st. You see I left for the front-lines of Tunisia. That's North-Africa ma'am." He replied. Something must have clicked for her, because Havers could see the lightbulb going on inside her head. 
"I see... but December 1st? That’s today.” She said, confusedly checking her phone for the date. The Lieutenant said nothing but looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. Alison cleared her throat, clearing some of the tension, and spoke up again. “Could- could you just tell me what the year is?" She asked with an awkward smile. 
"The year?" Havers asked, confused. An odd woman indeed. She must have been injured in the head. When she didn't elaborate further, he copied her awkward smile before answering. 
"Well... 1944. '45 in two weeks, as a matter of fact. Now, I must admit I don't quite know how I got back here, but I would really appreciate if I could come inside. You may see my papers if you must." He replied, moving to search his pockets for his identification. It seemed the Captain had finally managed to get the funds for better security. 

Behind him he could hear a vehicle pull up to the long driveway that led up to the house, but before he had a chance to turn around she woman gasped, her eyes flicking between him and the automobile behind him multiple times. 

"No! No. No I don't require papers, please come in! Quickly then!" She said hastily, ushering him inside. As he was being ushered- quite un-ceremoniously, he might add- into the house, he caught a glimpse of the vehicle in question. "Good god, what kind of automo-" He managed to bring out before the woman hushed him politely when she brought her finger a little too near to his face.

"Okay very nice to meet you Mr. Havers, my name's Alison Cooper, I live here. It's 2019, and I know it must be hard, being dead and all, but I've-"
"2019?" Havers coughed.
"Yes, but that's-" She began again. 
"Dead?!" He managed to sputter out. That couldn't be it. There was no such thing as the afterlife. What utter nonsense. What was she trying to do here? A new military technique for security- confuse and distract? Because it was working. He was so confused his head started to hurt. 

"Yes! Dead! Now, listen to me, I have VERY important people coming over like right now so please, please, please- let me come back to you later okay? I promise I'll explain everything to you." She pleaded with him, her eyes still flickering between him and the door while he could only gape at her with wide eyes. This woman had surely lost some of her marbles. Dead! How silly. 

Just as he was about to reply that she must have hit her head somewhere, a man joined them in the small hallway, the same man he presumably heard yelling earlier. He looked at the woman- Alison and then at the Lieutenant with a confused look. "What's going on? Is this the organizer?" he asked, his tone confused and a little bit sceptical. Havers scoffed inwardly. Welcome to the club. 
"No! He's a ghost obvious- wait... You can see him?" She said with wide eyes. The man tilted his head in confusion. 

"Yeah of course I can, he's standing right there. Duh." He said, waving his hand in the Lieutenant's general direction. Alison's mouth fell open as she immediately brought her hand and slapped the Lieutenant's shoulder. Huh. For a madwoman she was actually quite strong. That was when there was a polite knock at the door. Alison groaned and put her fingers to her temple in an act of desperation. 

"Oh my god I can't believe this. Mike. I need you to do the tour with the organizer." She said in hushed tone. 
"What? No! I still need to finish the lights in the kitchen! And you staged the rooms, you're much better at touring than I am! The ghosts always tell you important stuff!" He whisper-yelled back. The lieutenant stood awkwardly beside them as they continued to bicker back and forth for a few seconds, before another knock could be heard. 

"Coming!" Alison yelled. Throwing an angry glare at Mike. 
"I'll try to do the stupid lights okay? Just- do the tour and make some stuff up or something. It's not that hard. Just give them the tour, please!" she said in a tone whereby her use of 'Please' was absolutely no plea whatsoever, but more of a command- and shoving him towards the door. "You can do this Mike!" She said quickly before turning around and walking back over to Havers at lightspeed. 

"Come on Lieutenant, let's talk then." She said, grabbing his arm and unceremoniously dragging him along to what seemed to be a kitchen. She flipped a switch hastily, but sighed when nothing happened. "Those damned lights. They're all going to give out one day." He heard her muttering to herself. She walked over to another wall and switched on a second set of ceiling lamps, that sputtered to life, but never ceased to stop flickering ever so slightly. 
She pulled out a chair and gestured for him to sit down, while she bustled about behind him. When he'd sat down, she pulled out a chair opposite of him pursed her lips. 

"Okay so let me get this straight, you served here in world war two, you were sent off to North-Africa. In 1944?" Havers nodded along to her points until she's finished talking. 
"Quite. As I said before, I got sent to Tunisia on December 1st, 1944. Though I must admit that I don't really know how I got back here. The last thing I remember was an ambush. There was an Italian ambush." Alison looked as the blood drained from his face. 

"You said I was dead. Oh god. I must have died-" He said, the pure and utter horror and fear on his face giving Alison more nightmares than any ghost ever would. She shook her head quickly and reached out. 
"No! No, look! I can touch you!" She said, trying to reassure the shell-shocked man. She grabbed his hand firmly. 
"And Mike can see you! We wouldn't be able to do that if you were a ghost." She added on. She could feel the Lieutenant's hands shaking as he shook his head in disbelief. 

"How would you know? It makes so much sense. How could I end up here when I was all the way over in Tunisia? How is that possible?" His breathing was growing more rapid as his mind was racing. She had mentioned something about it being 2019. He'd thought her mad but what if she was right? The automobile, the fact that there seemed to be absolutely no familiar equipment to him whatsoever. Everything related to any war that had been there a few weeks earlier had seemed to be gone for a while now, if was correct in his assessment of the halls and kitchen. Had he really been gone for more than 75 entire years? 

"I- i don't know Mr. Havers, but I know because I see them. The ghosts I mean. And talk to them. And I've never been able to touch one." She paused for a second, her hands still around his. She gently turned his hand around and put her thumb across his wrist, feeling for a pulse. They could both feel it there, his heart providing a steady and strong heartbeat. Both people were at a loss for what to say. So many questions, so many things shooting around in their heads at a million miles per hour. Yet they both didn't quite seem to get any of them out for a while as they listened to Mike and the organizer who were walking around nearby, talking about the lighting situation. Haver's heard Mike promising the guy that all the lights were working perfectly and that he didn't need to worry about electrical safety before Alison spoke up again. 

"Listen." She said in a small voice. "I don't know how you got here, but one thing I do know is that you aren't dead. But I can tell you that it's not 1944 anymore Lieutenant. It's 2019. So either the military has some secret human-freezing technique that I probably don't have the right to know about, or you've somehow jumped 75 into the future." Havers remained silent for close to a minute. Alison decided to give him the time to come to terms with the information. 

She heard the Lieutenant said something, but she was so lost in thought she didn't quite manage to catch it. 
"Excuse me?" 
"Did we win? The war?" He asked again, a bit louder this time.
A small, apologetic smile spread across Alison's lips as she nodded. 
"Yes. We won. April '45. Bastard killed himself." She said. It was maybe the only good news she could bring to this situation. And the look on the Lieutenant's face was absolutely indescribable. She could see his eyes tearing up a bit. She couldn't imagine what he be feeling at this moment. The shock of not only learning that you somehow missed 75 of your life, but that the fight you've been fighting first-hand for over 5 and half years has already been over for said 75 years. 

"Suicide. The coward." He spat. He would expect nothing more of the low-life. Now that he knew the afterlife was indeed real, he hoped that Hell was too, and that the bastard was still in there, burning. He was pulled out of his rage-filled train of thought by Alison, who squeezed his hand softly, trying to get his attention. He briefly snuck a glance outside. The sun had already started to set. Had they already been talking this long? How time flies. He could see the irony in that thought.

"Listen, is there anything you can remember from before you got here? Anything at all?" She pressed on. The lieutenant shook his head feverishly. He was still taking it all in. 

"I'm still not convinced that it's not a dream, Mrs. Cooper. This entire situation is nonsense. Just- none of this makes any sense" 
She hummed in agreement, casting her eyes down. He followed her gaze to his hands, still muddy and bloody from the battlefield. His mind wondered off to his comrades. His friends. It wasn't fair. Not to him, not to them. 

"Why me?" He said aloud. Not to anyone in particular. He saw Alison look up from the corner of his eyes but he kept his mournful gaze fixed on his dirty hands. He tried blinking away the tears that continuously crept into his eyes, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was alone now. Absolutely and irrevocably alone. His comrades, his friends, his Captain... If they had managed to survive the war there was no way their age wouldn't have caught up with them by now. He had nobody. He finally gave up on trying to keep strong. He was exhausted, not only from all the information he was required to take in at once, but from the years and years of worry, fear, mourning, finally catching up to him. He no longer needed to worry about the war. It was over. He was finally free of it. He was proud of his country, his men. He only wished he could've been there to celebrate it with them, and to mourn their fallen friends together.

"Why now? Why me? How many soldiers- friends have fallen in this war? How am I the only one here?" After what felt like hours he was finally able to get some questions out. But when he looked back at Alison and saw she had tears in her own eyes he understood that even if she wanted to have all the answers, she was probably more confused about this entire situation than he was. She swallowed harshly for a second before clearing her throat and pulling her hands back towards her lap, shaking them off a little in a self-comforting way before settling her eyes back on him with a serious gaze. 

"Listen Lieutenant, I don't have the answers you're looking for, at least not right now... But this is a big house, and we have more than enough rooms that we have no use for at the moment. You're welcome to stay here for a while. Maybe we can try to piece together what happened? I'm afraid there's not much more I can offer you, except maybe a cup of tea?" She said. The Lieutenant felt like he could start crying all over again. He may have lost everything, but at least he would have a roof over his head for now. How fortunate that this woman would be so kind.

"I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, Mrs. Cooper, I could very much use a cup of tea." He said with a tiny smile, his watery eyes finally clearing up again for the time-being.
"Oh stop it Lieutenant, call me Alison! Mrs. Cooper is my mum in-law." She joked, hoping to lighten the mood a bit as she stood up and started making her way over to the cabinet to grab the tea.
"Very well. Thank you Alison." Havers replied earnestly, before speaking up again as she pulled down a box of very fancy-seeming tea.
"And it's William. My name. William Havers." 
He saw Alison instantly freeze as she dropped the box of tea and whipped around. 

"William? As in- operation William?" 

Before he could respond, there was a loud bang, some sparks flying from the broken ceiling lights, and a yell from Mike in one of the rooms across the hall as the entire house was bathed in darkness. 

Chapter Text

--- 1944 ---

"Right, now that everything seems to be in order, it's time to discuss other important matters. Operation Franklin." Declared the Captain, his nose in the air and bouncing slightly on his heels, swagger stick tucked neatly beneath his arm.

"Frankton." Havers said, raising his finger slightly as an apology for the interruption.
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's operation Frankton, sir, not Franklin." Havers repeated.
"Oh, it seems you're right. Operation Frankton." the Captain said, coughing slightly as he futilely tried to hide his embarrassment.
"Should really... come up with a new name for that sometime." He joked softly, glancing over at his second in command.
Havers chuckled. The Captain could be a bit chaotic or forgetful at times, but he had yet to meet any other man who could lead a team as well as the Captain could. Plus, that's where he was for. If the Captain were to be capable of everything, surely he wouldn't need a second in command. He'd be out of a job.

"Well, is there another word you can remember more easily? Something you love? Maybe a sort of drink? You like port, don't you?" Havers suggested. The Captain nodded curtly, already deep in thought.
"Yes. Yes, I'll think about it. But for now, let's discuss the prototype shall we? Italy is not going to surrender itself dear Havers."

--- 2019 ---

"Operation William?" Havers asked. He hadn't heard of any such operations at Button House. "I'm sorry Alison, the last operation I worked on was called operation Diamond. It was a limpet mine, though only a prototype. I suggested the name because my Captain kept forgetting the actual name. Because you mine Diamonds you see." He said with a slight chuckle at the memory.
"Your Captain?" Alison asked, raising an eyebrow. Havers nodded. Could it be her Captain? Could there be such a coincidence?

"Yes. His name was-"
"-So! Good news, and bad news! Good news is, the organizer chap just left." Mike interrupted William as he stepped into the kitchen. Alison groaned.
"Mike! William was in the middle of a story!"
"Oh, my bad mate. Carry on then. I'm Mike by the way" Mike said, holding out his hand to the Lieutenant and giving an apologetic chuckle.
"No, no. It's quite alright, no use in beating a dead horse. My name's Lieutenant Havers, but you can call me William." Havers replied with a polite smile, shaking Mike's hand. Alison almost laughed at the irony in that sentence, but then immediately remembered that Mike had yet to tell her the bad news. She turned to him as he leaned against the kitchen counter, almost knocking over a bowl of cereal Alison had left there that same morning.

"What was the bad news then?" She asked worriedly. Mike smiled sarcastically.
"Well, bad news is he wants a second opinion now. Said he had this mate who was a safety inspector who lives in the next town over. He's going to send him by in... 30 minutes. To check the safety of the electricity and all. So if we still want to rent out the house we need to get an electrician in here, and seeing that it's after 5 on a Wednesday, I don't think we'll have much luck." He said, walking over to the light switch in the kitchen and trying in out, just in case.

"Oh god. So much for that party pay check then." Alison sighed, putting her head inside her hands in defeat. Why could nothing ever go as planned?
"Perhaps I could help? I dealt a lot with electricity when I was stationed here before. And if I'm going to be staying here I might as well lift my weight. I think the problem may be with the fuses. I remember it giving us all sorts of trouble way back when." Havers said, standing up to take a closer look at the light switch beside Mike. Mike shoots Alison a questioning look as he turned between the William and his wife, who mouthed a quick 'explain later' in his direction before making her way over to strange world war two-clad stranger, who was now apparently going to be staying with them for a while.

Mike really knew better than to question Alison's choices by now. She was usually right about these kinds of things (he would never forget the Nicholas debacle from last year), he wasn't quite sure how to feel about this stranger that turned up at their doorstep out of nowhere.

"That's amazing William! Should I show you to the fuse box then?" She said, putting a soft hand on his shoulder and guiding him out of the dark kitchen, shooting an apologetic at Mike as they walked out. Just as they were nearing the corner of the hallway that lead into the foyer, she heard the unmistakable voices of the ghosts. They were chaotically talking over each other as they made their way through the hallway behind Alison and the Lieutenant and Alison panicked. What if this was truly a soldier under the Captain's command? His lieutenant? She wasn't ready to deal with that confusion at all right now. So, in a panic, she shoved the poor Lieutenant round the corner into the foyer, out of sight of the ghosts and turned around just in time to come face to face with Pat, Thomas, Julian, Robin and of course, the Captain. "Hello..." She managed to get out awkwardly.

"Alison! The entire house has lost power!" Pat said hastily.
"Yeah, the girls are all pretty scared. Not me of course, I had to calm them all down. But they want the lights to be fixed as soon as possible." Julian piped up.
"Yes!" Robin added, "Everything go dark. Lights go poof and Julian go AAAARGHH and Pat go HIIEEEEE-" "Alright mate, don't see how that's relevant..." She heard Pat mumble in the background.

"What Robin is trying to say, Alison." The Captain interrupted Pat, "Is that he had nothing to do with the lights going off, so may I suggest checking the fuse box? Its wiring has been faulty for decades. If you need me to I can assist-"
"No! No. No need, Ca-aaasper. Yes. I'll be fine! Can't be that hard, anyways. But I'm going to do it alone. Feminism and stuff. See you all later then!" She said, almost blowing her cover to William, who was mere feet away around the corner and undoubtedly listening to her- talking to herself. She didn't have time for the inevitable 'what captain?' questions he'd have. She ignored the weird looks the ghosts were giving her as she hastily turned around and walked back into the foyer. When she was gone, the group exchanged confused looks between each other.

"Good god." Declared The Captain in disbelief, "She's finally lost it."

...

When she was out of sight and certain that the ghosts weren't coming after her, she made her way over to William, who stared at her as if she had grown another head. Before she could open her mouth to explain however, he spoke up.

"Those ghosts you mentioned earlier... The ones that you could see. Were those them?" He asked curiously, trying to take a peek around the corner. Alison slightly stepped in front of him, blocking his path back into the hallway and nodded furiously.
"Yep! Those were them. Some of them are a bit scared of the dark so they were asking me to hurry up with the lights." She said, hurrying the man down the hall. She felt a bit guilty about instantly putting him to work, but she couldn’t be picky now. Especially when it got the smart Lieutenant-electrician into the basement to fix the fuse box in time before the safety inspector showed up. Havers seemed to buy it, as he nodded, a fascinated look on his face.

"You know, I never believed in ghosts. But after all the impossible things I've seen today, I don't think I have the heart to lie to you and say I still stand by those beliefs entirely. But the most unbelievable fact to me is probably the fact that ghosts would be scared of the dark." He said with a cheeky grin, doing the same little bounce she'd always see the Captain do. It was things like that that made her even more sure of the fact that they must have known each other when they were alive. She shook off the feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach, but continued to lead the Lieutenant down foyer into the hall leading up to the basement. They got about 5 feet down the hallway when she heard a thud and a gasp from behind her. She turned around to see Havers clutching his shin, and she could see a small table that was lying on its side.

"So sorry! Hadn't seen it through the darkness" He breathed out, trying to shake off the pain in his shin. "Glad to know it still bally hurts."
"Oh god, no I'm sorry! I should have turned on my flashlight. I know these hallways a bit too well I'm afraid." She said with a small laugh as an apology. She patted herself down in search of her phone, and when she found it she quickly turned on the flashlight, illuminating the hallway. Havers put the small table back in its place and then stared at the phone in her hand in wonder.

"That's a flashlight?" He said in disbelief. He'd never seen such a small flashlight that was that strong. The standard army issued flashlights were huge, heavy lanterns. But Alison shook her head.
"No- well I suppose it is, but it's actually my phone." She said, showing him the small touch screen phone quickly.
"A telephone? But- but where are the wires? How do you dial? There's not even any buttons!" He sputtered out. There was no way in bally hell that that was a telephone. Out of all the unbelievable things he had seen today that one took the absolute cake. Alison laughed but turned around again and started walking down the raggedy stairs of the basement.

"Yeah well, technology has improved quite a bit in 75 years Will, I'll show you soon, promise! But first, I really need to get these lights fixed because the safety inspector is going to be here any minute and I really, really need the money from the party." She said, shining her flashlight on the fuse box in the corner of the basement. The lieutenant walked over to it and admired it with a determined familiarity. He studied it for a moment before nodding.

"So? Do you think you can fix it?" Alison asked anxiously. William nodded. It was always the same with the damned thing.
"It got overloaded, you see. The lights at the front door were never connected to the main power network properly, especially because they didn't take into account that the connection would have to be waterproof. So sometimes when it gets really foggy the lamps there will short-circuit and the safety protocol will turn off the all the power in the entire house to prevent damage." He explained. Alison nodded, taking a mental note to fix the entire wiring once they'd have enough money.

William continued. "I can turn on the power to the rest of the house, but I think it'd be wise to leave the lamps outside off. At least until you have the chance to fix them. Leaving them on could be dangerous indeed." Alison nodded happily and gestured for him to turn it back on excitedly.

"Yes! That would be amazing! Thank you William! You're amazing!" William smiled and started fuddling with the switches inside the box for a bit. Then, suddenly Alison could hear a loud knock on the door. She instantly checked her watch. Right on time then. God! Why could nobody ever be stuck in traffic for once? She panicked as she heard Mike's footsteps going up to the front door. Well, this was it, no pay check for them this time. She was beginning to think that the universe hated her. What had she done in her previous life to deserve this? She was about to turn around and tell William to stop when there was a sudden flash of light. The small lightbulb above their heads flickered once, twice and then shone brightly and steadily. Only then did she hear the sound of the front door opening and Mike's voices welcoming whatever poor soul had been sent to check out their house this time.

"Well, everything seems to be in order. It's probably the worst and most illogical power network I've seen in the history of my career, but there's nothing inherently dangerous going on. I'll report back to my superiors in the morning." The inspector said, gathering up his tools into his massive toolbox.
"Thank you sir, you have no idea how happy we are to hear that. Apart from the illogical thing... But thank you." Alison said as led him back to the front door.

"No problem, but for your own sake, you really should have someone take a look at that soon. That thing's probably older than World War Two!" The guy joked. Mike laughed politely and gave a small wave goodbye as the inspector made his way out the door and to his car. Alison could hear the ghosts coming into the small hallway behind her, all chatting excitedly over the fact that the lights were on again and that the party could still go on. They all watched the inspector leave with sighs of relief before Mike shouted out. "Finally, some good fucking news." Alison laughed but shook her head.

"It's not just a one-time thing though, see these lamps out here?" She pointed to the two lamps next to the door. When Mike nodded, she continued. "Every time it gets foggy they overload the circuit. We can't have them on anymore, it's actually quite dangerous." Mike grimaced at that. "We're lucky they held out this long then I guess." He said, to which Alison nodded in agreement. She and Mike both went inside, the ghosts trailing after them one by one. Mike went upstairs to take a bath, while Alison went into the sitting room and all but threw herself onto the sofa.

"Well I just want to say: well done Alison, I'm surprised you managed to do such a complicated task. Must be the Button blood in your veins." Lady Button exclaimed proudly. Thomas scoffed.
"Of course she could. She's amazing at absolutely everything. Is there nothing she can't do?" He sighed at Alison dramatically.
"Yes Alison, quite an achievement." The Captain said, "Just out of curiosity though, how did you know about the lamps by the front door? I don't recall ever telling you about them." Alison cringed. She knew this conversation would come sooner or later. She sat up and faced the Captain directly. "Well, that was actually something I wanted to talk to you about, Captain..." She saw him raise an eyebrow in curiosity, indicating her to go on.

"Yes. So, you see, someone came here this afternoon... Eh, how do I put this- that is to say, someone arrived-" She didn't have the chance to finish her sentence, because said someone was currently striding up behind The Captain, an old book in his hands and an excited look on his face. A face that was looking straight at Alison through the Captain.

"Alison! Look what I found in the Library!" Before she had any time to warn anybody, or the Captain in particular, the Lieutenant walked right through the Captain up to Alison and excitedly showed her the book in his hands. She saw the Captain doubled over in pain behind the lieutenant, who had obviously not seen anything of what just happened.
"This used to be my favourite book. I must have read it tens of times over the years." He smiled tentatively as he gently ran his fingers over the worn spine. "I can't believe it's still here after all these years..."

The Captain, who had been gasping for air for a solid 15 seconds now, had finally managed to get his pain under control. He'd been walked through before, but no other time had the pain and sickness be as strong as this. He'd felt as if he was going to pass out. The absolute nerve of some people. He waved his swagger stick in the general direction of the man who had walked through him without warning. He'd heard the man's voice moments before, and there was an spark of recognition there, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock he felt as he finally managed to take in the man who'd so suddenly managed to ruin his day. For the second time in the span of a minute, the Captain found himself entirely without breath and a sick feeling in his stomach.

"...Havers?"

Chapter Text

Havers had been back at Button house for only half a day now, but it was safe to say that for him it had been one of the longest days he'd ever experienced. And he'd lived through a war so that was certainly saying something. He was currently in Button house's library, hiding from the safety inspector guy, combing through the books he hadn't seen in such a long time, gently running his right hand along the old spines as he walked past them. As much as he loved reading, he never did have much time off from his duties at the house. A shame, for the books that graced the ageing shelves at Button house were some of the most intricate and detailed pieces of art he'd ever seen. The previous owners of the house must have cared about books a great deal. He abruptly stopped his hand as it slid onto the spine of a small, leather-bound book that through its size stood out amongst the rest of the books like a sore thumb. He pried the small book off the shelf with wonder, the old green leather and gold pressed familiar letters greeting him happily, as if 75 years hadn't passed at all. The Wizard Of Oz. the Captain's favourite book...

He stood for a moment, reminiscing. He wondered what had become of the Captain. Of his friend. Had he settled down after the war? Found a nice girl? Moved to the countryside and started a flower shop? He always did seem to have an eye for floral arrangements, even if he couldn’t name a single flower. Havers found his eyes welling up a bit as he opened the book, noting that despite it looking fairly well on the outside, that the pages were quite delicate and had yellowed quite a bit. It seemed like last week that Havers had spent his day off in the villages' bookshop, browsing for Christmas presents for the Captain. His eyes had found the green and gold book immediately, and he'd had the sneaking suspicion that it would be perfect for his Captain. He didn't like to show it, but he would always be a kid at heart, like the way Havers would see his eyes light up with excitement as he would receive a new batch of prototype guns to test, or when he would find a particular new song that he would love. Or, of course a good book filled with wonder and excitement. He had been right of course, the Captain had loved it. On slow nights, after all they'd finished all their official duties, they would sit at The Captain's desk and read it, often until it was just a little too late, but neither of them would mind. They just loved the others' company. A lot of memories were bound to this little book, and he couldn't actually believe it was still there. Right there between a very old and battered copy of Little Women and strangely, a thick volume of French medical studies.

A few rooms over he heard Alison and Mike stumble inside from their meeting with the inspector. The way in which they were talking told him the meeting probably went well, and that was his que to make his way over the sitting room, where he found only Alison, sitting on the sofa near the fireplace, muttering to herself. "Alison! Look what I found in the Library!" He called, getting her attention immediately. He instinctively smiled with excitement as he prepared to tell her all about the discovery he'd just made. He moved forward to stand next to her and show her the book, but as he did, he stepped through what felt like an icy cloud that made him shiver to the bone and made his heart clench. Alison was watching him with wide eyes however, so he straightened his back and shook of the shivers, continuing his sentence.

"This used to be my favourite book. I must have read it tens of times over the years." He said as he stroked the spine with a fond smile, remembering his Captain. "I can't believe it's still here after all these years..." He glanced over at Alison again, who wasn't paying him any attention at all, instead she was looking just behind him, a horrified look on her face. Havers could feel his own face start to form a frown, was he not supposed to take any books from the library? He was just about to open his mouth and ask her that exact question, when he heard a voice behind him. A voice that, judging by Alison's reaction, belonged to whatever, or whoever- she'd been staring at. A voice that he knew. A voice that he'd missed so dearly.

"...Havers?"

The Captain's voice was small, uncertain. As soon as he heard the name leave his mouth he knew that he probably sounded pathetic. But the man looked just like his- just like Havers. Down to the missing button on his right shoulder that he had apparently never bothered to fix since his departure from Button house. But how was that possible? He'd died. The Captain took the message himself. He'd spent hours just looking at the pitch-black ink, mourning and wishing away the words as if that would make their message less real. His Lieutenant had died in battle. So how was he here, standing in front of him? in the year 2019? Holding a book? Breathing? Living? He saw the soldier tense up at his voice.

Havers' mouth fell open in shock as he turned around so fast it almost gave him a whiplash. For the 100th time that day he asks himself if he really isn't dreaming. If he was hallucinating and he'd wake up in the mud-filled trenches later. If he'd died and this was his own personal heaven. He looked right into the absolutely terrified face of his Captain. He wasn't saying anything anymore, not that William would have heard it if he had. He was in a state of shock, frozen to the spot as he stared into those sad, aged blue eyes. Eyes that held his gaze for what felt like years before finally flicking to Alison, who was still standing next to him. The Captain was the first one to snap out of it, which made William snap back to reality a second later as well.

"Alison? What the bally hell is this? Is this some kind of joke? Where did you find this-"

"Captain" Is all he managed to choke out.

He felt his throat tighten as he did, where had he come from all of a sudden?
How could he just instantly appear behind him like this?
The Captain snapped his eyes back to him instantly, in a sort of surprised state of shock once again. As if it were strange that they were making eye-contact.

"You- You can..." He trailed off, almost daring to let himself hope that Havers might actually see him. To hope that he wasn't seeing things. That his most beloved Lieutenant was actually here, in whatever way that might be. He heard the other ghosts murmuring softly, all quite shocked that this Havers guy actually was able to see the Captain.

"How is this possible, Sir? Did you teleport here as well? Am I not the only one who survived?" Havers asked, having come over the initial shock of seeing his Captain and stepping closer and closer. All The Captain could do was shake his head a little. This was one of very few situations where he had ever found himself at a loss for words. What do you even say to guy you've been mourning every day for the last 75 years?

"No. Not teleported I'm afraid-" He cut himself off, trying to think of a subtle way of bringing the news to his friend that he had in fact, not survived at all.

"It's great to see you again Captain. I missed you." Havers said again, stepping even closer until he was standing so close that Havers could see every individual freckle on the Captain's face. The Captain could see that his eyes were slightly red and he could hear his voice crack ever so slightly at the end. If he were able to feel, he would be able to feel the Lieutenant's breath on his skin. But unfortunately, he was still very much not alive. A fact that Havers seemed unfortunately unaware of, as became apparent when he stepped forward without warning and tried to throw his hands around the Captain in a teary hug. He went right through him of course, even despite the Captain’s best effort to move out of the way. The Captain heard the other ghosts gasp softly in pity as he doubled over in pain again, though this time it seemed to hurt even more. Strange.

"Alright everyone, I think it's time we give these two some privacy." He heard Alison say in a hushed tone, shooing all the curious eyes out of the sitting room. The Captain thanked her in the back of his mind, but as he made eye-contact with a very shocked Havers, who was now standing on the other side of him, he forgot all about the others in an instant.

"I'm afraid I can't say we both survived Havers." He said in a strained but blunt tone. He supposed the gist was up now, at least this was easier than telling him anyways. Havers said nothing for a short second, before breathing out in disbelief.

"No..." His face had gone as pale as a sheet, his hands slowly moved up to his head in a sign of defeat and realization. This day was going to be the death of him, he wasn't sure how many more surprises he could handle today. He felt dizzy and he felt himself stumble, losing his balance in the process. He saw the Captain move forward instinctively, raising his arms as if to catch him. But as he saw before, it likely wouldn't be much help. Luckily he felt his back hit a doorpost, and he leaned against it as he once again as his scared gaze found The Captain's eyes again. They were wide with concern, fear and above all, an underlying sadness that looked like it had been there for over 75 years.

"I don't understand" Havers mumbled, pressing his palms onto his eyes. He couldn't look at the Captain, seeing him standing there and knowing he had died. He hadn't changed at all since the last time that he saw him. Not a single millimetre to his hair, not one wrinkle added to his face, not one grey hair more. He'd died not long after he left for the front-lines. And he was still here.

"I must say I'm confused too." He heard the Captain say. Those were words he'd never thought he'd heard him say, ever. He would have laughed about that if the situation wasn't so damn shocking.

"How are you here, Captain? Have you been here all along?" He asked, finally raising his head to look at the Captain, who was shaking his head feverishly.

"Yes. I've been here for quite a while now" He said, bouncing on his heels as he used to do when he was nervous before a big operation. Though his posture was rigid, William could see the emotion in his face. It seemed he wasn't alone in his state of utter emotional shock. For a moment there it seemed the Captain wanted to stop talking, but he continued.

"And I think I should be asking you that, Havers. How did you get here? How are you-" He faltered, his voice breaking as his eyes turned red and watery. He'd never ever seen The Captain this vulnerable in the entire time they'd known each other.

"How are you still alive?" He finally managed to get out.

"I don't know Sir, I seem to have trouble remembering the last few days. Last thing I remember I was in combat Sir, but then... Nothing. Next thing I know is I'm standing at the front door of Button house." He was beginning to talk faster and faster, all the stress of the last few hours finally catching up to him. "And then this strange woman tells me it's 2019, and that everyone I knew is gone, and I've apparently missed the last 75 years, and she tells me we've won the war and apparently she can talk to-"

"Havers." The Captain interrupts him, having calmed down himself a bit and realizing his Lieutenant had had a very long and hard day. Havers stops talking immediately and crumbles to the ground, sliding down against the hard wooden doorpost and letting his head fall into his hands in despair. "I don't know what's going on, Captain."

He heard an all-too familiar cracking of knees as The Captain sat down next to him in mournful silence. He'd never been the best at talking, especially about serious topics. Both of them had been terrible at it actually. But he tried anyway, he needed to.

"Havers... I'm sorry." There was a beat of silence as Havers failed to find the words to reply. The air around them grew thick, both of them not quite knowing how to proceed. Not knowing how to find the right words. It was then that The Captain spotted the green book, still clutched in Haver's hand. He immediately relaxed a bit at the sight of it. Havers remembered. 

"Ah, The Wizard Of Oz... Quite the thrilling read, if I remember correctly. We used to read it together, didn't we? I was always quite fond of Dorothy." The Captain said, trying to lighten the mood. Maybe it would be easier to talk about good memories first. Havers nodded. 

"Yes Sir, I bought you this as a present. Though I must admit I was quite happy when you asked me to read it together, I was very excited to read it myself as well." He replied with a grin. He continued,
"I remember you promising me to show me the Motion Picture at its premiere in London." He said with a teasing smile as he set the book down on the floor next to him. 

"Yes... January 26th. We got held up by an airstrike if I remember correctly. Such a shame, I would have loved to see it." The Captain replied.

They both fell silent again, and The Captain decided it was time to just get it over with. 

"This is a very confusing situation, and I'm afraid I have as many questions as you have, if not more." He gave a slight chuckle, but it sounded bitter, sad. He glanced over at his Lieutenant, who was still holding his face in his hands, cheeks wet from a few fly-away tears he hadn't managed to hold back anymore. It brought tears to the Captain's own eyes. He sniffled a bit, trying to keep his composure. This made Havers look up.

"I'm-... I'm incredibly happy to see you again Captain. I don't know why-or how you got here, but I do know that- now we're both here- we can find out, right? Together?" He was speaking softly, voice full of emotion, stumbling over his words like he had so many things to say but failed find the most meaningful words. The right words to express how happy he was to finally have his friend back.

"I missed you too, Havers. Incredibly so. And you're here... and even if I wake up tomorrow and find you gone again, that this has all been some kind of dream- which I'm still not convinced it's not-, I'll still be glad, because I have been wish-hoping for over 75 to see your face again, even for only a moment."

It took everything in him to not bury his head in the Captain's shoulder as he heard him say those words. The 75 years had apparently done a real number on him. He had, by military standards at least- lost most of his rigid demeanour and strict rules. But he supposed you wouldn't really need those if you were already dead anyways. 

"I have a feeling I'm not going anywhere, Sir. I don't even know what it is that brought me here. People don't just teleport, and certainly not through time. It's absolutely ludicrous. What if I just go back without warning?" He said, throwing any and all thoughts out there. Truth was, he'd been struggling with those thoughts all day. He'd been eating himself up over whether he'd be able to stay, or go back, or what it was that had brought him here in the first place. If only he could remember the last few days before he turned up at Button house…

"Do you want to?" The Captain asked sharply.

"What?"

"Go back?"

Havers fell silent for a few seconds before replying. A new opportunity had just presented itself to him. If he could control his travel, he might be able to fix everything. "I don't know how to go back, I don't even know if I can go back. But if we can find out what it is that brought me here, maybe I can learn to manipulate it, Sir. I could go back... To before I left I mean. I can stay at Button house, keep you safe!" Unspoken words fell between them. You wouldn't have to die-.
As he was talking his voice became more hopeful, and he scrambled to his feet in his excitement. But as the Captain followed him up, knees protesting heavily- he saw him shake his head. He was having none of it.

"Havers, it could be dangerous." He said in reply.

"So what? It's not like the war wasn't dangerous! I could stop-"

"No." Said The Captain suddenly, in a tone that Havers had heard so many times before. The soft-spoken man from earlier had temporarily made way for the rigid, stern war Captain Havers had come to know so well. He still had it in him to be strict then.

"You died! Havers. I got the letter. You were caught in an ambush, and you died! You died, alone in Tunisia. And I never got to see you one last time." He yelled. Havers stood back in surprised shock. He had never heard his Captain yell like that before. Sure he'd bark military commands but never yell with such emotion. The information he was yelling was by no means ordinary as well, it was a lot to take in for the poor Lieutenant.

"I... died?" He asked slowly. The Captain didn't reply. He could see it had obviously been a touchy subject, and The Captain's outburst had obviously been years in the making. Havers swallowed thickly trying to process the information. The older man cleared his throat as he tried to do the same.

"That’s what I was told, yes. So-so I will not have you talking this- this silly nonsense about going back, when I have spent every day for the last 75 years mourning you. I will not have it. Not when I've only just got you back." He said, his tone not so much demanding but more pleading. Then he seemed to realize he had let his emotions get the better of him- perhaps sharing more than he ought to have shared and he broke eye-contact with his lieutenant immediately, opting to stare at his shoes instead. Havers' heart broke. For him it had only been a few weeks, but for The Captain it had been nearly 8 decades. And now, for reasons neither of them had yet to figure out, they were once again standing beside each other. One of them was technically dead, but for now that didn't matter.

"Captain. I apologize, I hadn't realized..." He trailed off as the room fell into silence once more. The Captain did not make a move to speak again, so Havers continued. "I don't intend to leave at all, Sir. I'm so very happy to see you again, but I was speculating that should the opportunity present itself..." He let the ending to his sentence open, not wanting to say it again. He was quite sure The Captain got the point anyways. The Captain let out a tired sigh, he sounded exhausted. Could ghosts even get exhausted? Lord knows Havers was... He couldn't stifle a short yawn. The Captain raised his eyebrow, in that very Captain way he had seen a million times before. The gesture made William smile, a smile that the Captain returned- in his own way of course, which consisted of a miniscule twitch of his moustache and that distinct twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, well... It's quite all right. I suppose I got a bit too carried away there. You must have had a long day. We can talk more tomorrow, hopefully." The last word was a mumble, but William managed to catch it. He nodded. 

"Yes, I suppose I am quite tired. Thank you, Sir. Goodnight." He moved past The Captain towards the door, but halted when he heard his name. He turned around and saw The Captain with a worried look on his face.

"Have you got a room yet?" He asked. Actually... he hadn't picked a room yet. They'd all been so busy with the fuse box, and then the safety inspector...

"No, Sir. Mrs. Cooper hasn't had time to give me a proper tour yet. She's been so busy." He replied, hoping, praying that he would get the hint. He was doubtful, the Captain he knew would never catch up on to his hints, and Havers had dropped some hints over the years. Either he he'd never been interested, never noticed them or he'd been afraid of what the rest of the soldiers might think. Whatever it was though, it seemed yet again that the times had changed, and so had the Captain.

"Well then. Would you like a tour? You can pick your room of choice after. What kind of Captain would I be if I'd let my Lieutenant make an uninformed decision? Then, the schedule for tomorrow, we shall investigate more about your mysterious travels. Yes, we shall call it: Operation William. What do you think?" He said, bouncing on his heels and grabbing his swagger stick a little tighter under his arm.

"Excellent, Sir!" Havers replied with a smile. Just like old times. He watched as the Captain nodded curtly and swiftly walked past him into the hallway, but not through the door... He walked straight through the wall. He would have to get used to that. 

So... Maybe not entirely like old times then. But Havers supposed, it would have to do.

Chapter Text

After a few dozen minutes of the tour around Button house, men both fell into old routines. Not much had changed about Button house at its core, the house still retained some of the same features as it had during the war. Havers recognized the worn bedframes he'd slept on, the kitchen cabinets he'd secretly hide his own stash of coffee in for special occasions, and the giant mirrors scattered throughout the house- that now were nearly all damaged or cracked in some way or another. But even though he could recognize some elements of his time, he spotted newer items as well. The different kinds of radios and telephones, and even home-cinemas that The Captain had informed him were Home televisions. He'd even exclaimed in an offended horror that they broadcast The King's- Queen's speech on it now. How improper. 

Once they completed the tour it was like they'd never been parted at all. So comfortably had they fallen back into routine and familiar conversations, that Havers would find himself surprised anytime he was reminded that it was in fact, not 1944 every time he walked past a piece of strange technology or modern invention he hadn't seen before.

"Don't worry Havers." He heard The Captain say from behind him. He turned his head from where he'd been staring at a laptop Mike had no doubt been using moments before. It was still left open on some google search about bolts- the hardware, not the runner.

"I know it must be strange. But you're a very capable man. One of the smartest people I know. I have no doubt you'll get the hang of it in no time." The Captain said, giving him a reassuring smile. William returned it gratefully. 

"Thank you, Sir." he paused for a moment. 
"I think I'll go find Alison now, I'll still need to thank her." He continued. 

The Captain nodded. 

"I can do it for you, if you'd like." He offered.
"Oh, thanks Captain, but I think I should thank her myself. This entire situation would have been a lot harder on me if she'd not shown me the kindness she has." 

The Captain chuckled and straightened his back. 

"Very well, goodnight then, Havers. I shall see you in the morning. He was silent for a moment, seemingly listening for something. 
"Goodnight... Captain." He replied, watching his Captain turn around and walk into the dark hallway behind them, in the direction of his room. They'd walked by it earlier. His old office of course. The Captain had explained how it'd been converted into a bedroom years before, when Button house had been turned into a shelter for a few years following the end of the war, with all the extra housing needed for Jewish people returning from the concentration camps, who'd found themselves alone or homeless after the Blitz had destroyed their homes and they'd lost their families in the camps. 

"It was heartbreaking." The Captain had muttered his eyes glazing over for a few seconds as he no doubt remembered the broken people who'd taken up shelter at the house at that time. And Havers could only imagine their pain.

He'd also said the room had been occupied first by other ghosts ("How many more are there?" William had exclaimed.) and then by the lady of the house up until her death, he'd finally managed to get it back after she finally kicked the bucket. 

Havers turned around himself and made his way back to the main staircase, hissing as he suddenly got a headache. He steadied himself on the railing and waited for a few seconds, hoping for it to pass. Strange, he'd never had a lot of headaches. Maybe it was just the stress of the day, the information a bit too much to handle now that he was finally alone with his thoughts for a bit. After a few seconds it indeed passes, and after a few deep breaths he makes his way down the stairs, making his way to the only room where the light is still on. The Kitchen. 

He finds Alison there, behind one of those laptops. She doesn't notice him in the doorway, so he clears his throat politely. She jumps and looks up at him. But then laughs. "Oh, Lieutenant. Havers! You startled me!" She says with a smile, closing her laptop. She'd been researching anything she could on mysterious legends from the second world war, hoping that maybe she'd could find something on the sudden disappearance of a Lieutenant. She hadn't found anything relevant though, just a bunch of ghost hunter pages, which she knew from experience were probably fakes. She saw the Lieutenant shift on his feet, his posture tense. 

"Apologies. And please, just call me William." 
"Okay William, did you finish your talk with The Captain?" She asked. 
"Yes, it was... quite enlightening." He said, trying to not get into specifics yet. He would love to go into detail, but he wanted to go to bed more. He'd probably have more than enough time to tell her everything about it. Even though Alison was dying- no pun intended, to know more about the situation, she bit her tongue.
"You must have had a long day, William. How are you holding up?" She asked. The Lieutenant- William looked tired. She probably would be too, she couldn't imagine how exhausting a day like this must have been for him. 

"Well, all things considered. I wanted to thank you Mrs. Cooper." He said.
"I'll admit that it hasn't been my idea of a fun day by any stretch of the imagination, but if you hadn't shown me kindness and been as welcoming as you had, I'm sure it would have been even worse." 

"Oh no it's no problem. Besides, you're not the only strange person who has nowhere else to go in this house. What's one more person? And you're a friend of the Captain, so I'm sure you're a great guy. And what did I tell you about calling me Mrs. Cooper?" She said the last part in a faux-stern way, pointing a teasing finger at him, which made him relax a bit. A small smile appeared on his face, his cheeks colouring a bit red against his pale skin at the mention of The Captain. 

"Oh God, I totally forgot to show you around!" She gasped suddenly, jumping up from her chair. Havers shook his head. 
"No, that's quite all right! The Captain has graciously reacquainted me with the house. He even helped me pick a room. My old room was still unoccupied." He replied with a fond smile.
"Oh, wonderful! Which one did you pick? Not one of the downstairs rooms right? They aren't isolated as well as the other ones I'm afraid, so they get really cold at night." 
"No, it's upstairs, at the end of the hallway in the East wing." He replied. Alison knew immediately: Next to Cap's room. She supposed that would make sense, to stick by the person you knew the best. Especially when everything else you knew is gone. It also suddenly made much more sense as to why the Captain had always been so concerned with the room. On the one or two occasions where she and Mike had discussed renovating it, he'd protested it louder than anything else he'd ever protest over. So they'd mostly left it untouched. 

"I'll head upstairs then, thank you again, Alison. Truly." He said again. 
"It's no trouble William. Rest up, I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll promise we can figure this whole thing out. Even if we can't do anything, we can still maybe find the cause." She replied.
"Thanks Alison, Goodnight." The Captain replied, turning back into the shadows of the hallway. She heard him walk down the hall and disappear up the stairs. She sighed, sitting back down behind her laptop again. There was no way she'd be able to sleep tonight anyway, so she might as well make the most of it by doing some more research. Even if she didn't make any mysterious discoveries, at least she would be a bit more wise on the events of the war. Maybe that would help William feel a bit more at home. 

The next morning, William woke up in a soft and familiar bed. For a moment he was incredibly confused- but then he remembered the events of the previous day. He checked his wristwatch, that he hadn't even bothered to take off the night before. He'd shrugged off his coat, shoes and Sam Browne belt before crashing into bed and basically falling into a coma from utter exhaustion. His sleep was dreamless, and when he woke up he felt groggy as he hadn't felt in ages. His watch told him it was almost 2 in the afternoon. He'd slept for nearly 14 hours. He nearly fell over from shock. How had nobody woken him up yet? On the rare occasion he'd overslept the Captain had shown no mercy. He was nothing if not a punctual man. He managed to heave himself out of bed, pausing as his eyes landed onto a mirror at the other side of the room. He looked absolutely horrible. His hair was messy, and despite the many hours of sleep he still had dark circles under his eyes. 

He sighed as he turned back and started to get himself ready for the day in a hurry, grabbing his belt with all its weapons off the floor and checking them like he did every single morning. He was about to put it on when he remembered the very crucial detail that there was no longer any war on, and that he'd no longer need to be downstairs for his usual work anymore. 

For a few minutes he just stood in his room, not really knowing what to do next. He hadn't felt this lack of purpose in years. Not really ever when he really thought about it. He always buried himself in his work. A distraction from the complexity of his feelings maybe, or a need for structure in a chaotic world. He'd always made sure he knew exactly what his purpose was, what his duty was. But now, standing in an oh so familiar room, in an oh so familiar house that he somehow did- and did not recognize at all... He was completely lost. He knew he should go downstairs and face this new world he'd found himself in, but deep down he was scared. Everything was new to him outside of these 4 walls, heck- he wasn't even sure if it hadn't all been a dream. The fact that nobody had burst into his room to wake him up for the 8 'o clock training told him otherwise though- he was quite sure this was his new life. 

With bated breath he made his way over to the dresser that was placed beneath the window. His Sam Browne belt, his hat, his pistols and his extra pouch were all placed neatly inside the top drawer of the dresser, out of sight for now. His coat he hung inside the antique wooden closet next to it, leaving him simply in his dress shirt, trousers and tie. He also kept his watch on, for no reason other than he hadn't seen any other clocks around Button house. 

He opened the door slowly, stepping into the hallway with a deep breath. He first made his way over to the next room, a familiar routine for him, but when he knocked there was no answer. The Captain must already be downstairs. He decided to follow his example and once he'd made his way into the sitting room, he found Alison and Mike there, both sitting behind their laptops where they'd been discussing a problem with the Wi-fi. He'd never heard of it, but it sounded serious.

"Good morning William!" Alison called cheerfully, which made Mike's head snap up as well. He laughed shortly. "Wow, I suppose I should get used to being able to see an actual person when Alison starts talking out of nowhere." He says jokingly. Alison waved him off teasingly.

"Are you hungry William? There's still some eggs in the fridge if you want some fried eggs?" She suggested. He was, he hadn't eaten any real meal in days. The last thing he'd eaten had been a protein bar during the little break he had been given before they'd made their way over to their new mission, which had done little to settle his hunger. Between the ambush and his strange journey back to Button house, he hadn't had time to think about food, but now he was starving. 

He followed Alison to the kitchen where she made eggs for all of them, lunch for her and Mike and breakfast for Havers. He'd never enjoyed a simple eggs and bacon breakfast quite this much. Between mouthfuls he asked Alison if she knew where the Captain was. He was excited to talk to him again, he'd missed him. It may not have been as long as the Captain had had to miss him, but he'd missed him nonetheless. 

"Oh yeah, the ghosts are doing one of their clubs. I think they said it was film club today? They usually do that upstairs, since that's where we put their TV." She answered with a laugh. 
"The secondary staircase and then the first door on your left. You should walk right by it." She continued when she saw the puzzled look on Havers' face. "Thank you" He replied. 

"So, William." Mike piped up. William turned to the man, waiting for him to continue. 
"Have you found out how you got here yet?" Ah, it seems Alison had caught him up this morning.
"Not really... it seems neither The Captain or I have any idea what happened, though... I did find out some news that seems like it could have something to do with my appearance here at Button house." He said. Mike's eyebrows raised slightly, his curious gaze not leaving Williams'. 

"Oh? What's that?" He asked. But Alison interrupted him. 
"You don't have to tell, of course. If you don't want to." She reassured him. But the Lieutenant shook his head. He'd have to tell them sooner or later anyway. She's promised to help him, so what good would it do him to keep information from her?

"No I... The Captain told me- He-" He stumbled over his words a bit, trying to find the best words. "He said he'd gotten a letter saying- Saying that I died." He swallowed, trying to keep the lump in his throat down. They all fell silent for a moment. 

"William... That's horrible..." Alison said finally. Mike nodded along, continuing. I'm sorry mate." He said, obviously regretting bringing up the subject. But Havers didn't mind. 
"No, no. It's quite alright. No need to dwell on it. I'm here now anyway, and very much not dead." He replied, trying to lighten the mood a bit more. 
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Alison agreed, silently agreeing to move on from the subject. 

"I think I'll go find the Captain." Havers said, taking his plate and walking over to the sink. "Where do you keep your soap?" He asked. Alison waved him away from the sink with a grin. "No, don't be silly! We have a dishwasher for that." When he only stared at her with a puzzled look, she suddenly remembered he had no idea what that was. 

"Oh, it's a machine that washes the dishes. Look!" She says excitedly, striding over to the dishwasher and opening the door to show Havers the racks of dirty dishes from the previous night. She saw the Lieutenant raise his eyebrows in surprise. "Wonders never cease." he mumbled, before snapping back to reality and straightening himself out. 

"Very good, thank you for the breakfast Alison." he said, making his way over to the door. He heard her reply with a simple "No problem!" as he walked out, finally ready to properly start his day. Minutes later he stepped into the TV room, as Alison had called it, finding the Captain there watching a screen, occasionally whispering to thin air who Havers assumed must be the other ghosts. On the television screen was a war film. Havers couldn't help but freeze as he saw the images flash on screen. It seems 70-odd years had done a great deal for advancements in picture quality, because he had never seen any moving picture this clear. It felt like he was right there in the middle of the action, and he held his breath as he felt another headache come on suddenly. It stung worse than the one he'd had that morning, and he clenched his jaw in a desperate hope to relieve the pain. The little sounds of pain escaping his mouth must have alerted The Captain of his presence, because his head snapped back. His initial joy in seeing his old friend- and getting confirmation that last night hadn't been a dream after all- his smile fell, replacing itself with a concerned frown. 

"Havers? Are you quite alright?" He said, standing up from his place on the couch and starting to make his way over to his Lieutenant. Havers nodded in response. 
"Just a little headache, Sir. Jet lag I suppose." He tried joking. And though the Captain gave him a polite smile, he could tell that it was forced. He was worried.
"It's really nothing, Captain, it's already mostly gone again. Had the same thing this morning and that was gone too. I really am just a bit tired still. Silly right? After I've slept for nearly 14 hours." He said. The Captain raised his chin a bit, one eyebrow shooting up in surprise. 

"Yes. Must be it. But please, Havers. Keep an eye on it." He said, turning back to the television for a brief moment before turning back to Havers. He didn't know if it had been the documentary that triggered Havers' headache- it was still fresh in his mind after all- but he didn't want to risk triggering it more, so he suggested talking a walk outside to get some air. Havers agreed gratefully, just glad to be getting outside for a bit. Great as the walls of Button house were, they had not gotten any less stuffy since the war ended. 

Downstairs, Mike and Alison were busy rummaging around in the library. They'd promised the organizer of the party that they'd have the rooms on the ground floor of the house tidied and clean before the decorators came, and there were a lot of rooms and all of them were kind of a mess. 

Alison wiped her sweaty forehead on the sleeve of her sweater after she managed to hoist an extra chair from the sitting room into the library. Those things were heavier than they looked! She heard Mike setting up the ladder they'd brought out earlier that morning near the book cases and watches as he steps on it with one foot and pushes down to test its strength. When it doesn't immediately fall over he pulls a surprised face and looks over at his wife to make sure she'd seen that as well. "I'm so getting better at this." he said, half-joking, half-seriously proud of his handiwork. Alison gave a chuckle, she loved her goofy husband. They'd cleared a nearby table that morning so they would be able to pull all of the books down and get to the grimy and dusty bookshelves that probably hadn't been properly cleaned since Lady Button died. The only thing left to do now, was actually do it. But great as the plan was in theory, in practice it dawned on Alison just how many books there actually were in the library. 

"This is going to take forever." She sighed defeatedly. She definitely hadn't had enough sleep for this. Mike tutted. "Nonsense, you've got me! Mr. and Mrs. Muscle at your service, m'lady" He said suavely as he pulled up his sleeves and showed off his (not that impressive) biceps. Alison laughed. 

"Right then Popeye, I'll step up and hand the books down and you can carry them over to the table." She said, walking over to the ladder and climbing on it, barely managing to reach the top shelf. She began pulling off the leather-bound books that seemed to be older than the ones at the bottom, so she warned Mike to be careful with them. And that's how they continued down, spending a majority of the afternoon completely clearing out the bookcases that lined the entirety of the walls of the library. 

Around 6 PM, just before Alison had planned to take a break and start dinner, they were growing tired. They'd only made it around halfway down the rows of the bookcases, this section having coincidentally probably been used around the time of the war, since there were quite some books on weapons, ammunition, battle strategy, and even the lone lewd picture book. (Alison supposed it was only logical that soldiers would get lonely). They'd agreed to finish the last shelf of the row, when Alison managed to put her foot down onto the ladder in an odd way, which caused her to slip and fall. She wasn't actually very high up at all, but the shock of the slip coupled with the fact that she was already grabbing the shelf in front of her to balance herself, had her grabbing onto the aged shelf entirely as her body left the stability of the ladder. The shelf, of course, was only meant to bear the weight of a few books, not an entire grown woman. So, after a short but resounding 'CREAK' the old screws gave out and the shelf, along with poor Alison and all of the books that had been placed on the shelf- were sent crashing into the wooden floorboards. Alison grunted as she fell ungraciously on her bottom, Mike immediately rushing over to check if she was okay. 

"One of them again, yeah? I'll get 'em proper this time, I swear to-" 

"No Mike! There's nobody here, it was my own clumsiness." She said, giving him a short laugh. "Plus, you know you can't actually hurt any of them. I've seen you try." She said with a soft laugh. Mike rolled his eyes, but was relieved to see his wife was okay. He then turned to look at the mess around them. The floor around them was a mess, with books strewn around mixed with the wood chips from where the old wood had splintered. But there were also... envelopes? Strewn about the books was the occasional loose paper and envelope, with one even being an entire pile of envelopes, tied together with a thin string. Alison reached over to a few of the nearby envelopes, picking them up. They must have been behind or between the books.

It was the same handwriting on nearly all of them, they were certainly all written by the same person. A few were unmarked, but some had what seemed to be codes on them, other ones just had dates or names. She thought she saw William on one or two of them. Could these really be from the war? Were they Williams'? Before she could answer that question, she heard footsteps rushing over from the hallway, a bunch of voices talking over each other in concerned ways before she saw the entire group of ghosts stumble into the library, Havers included. 

"Alison! Are you alright?" Kitty cried out in surprise when she saw Alison still on the ground, books and splinters all around her. Alison quickly scrambled up, declining a hand from Mike before replying. 
"Sweet Alison! Do you need me to kiss away your troubles, your pain...-" Thomas began.
"Oh sod off, you sap! You're just looking for an excuse to kiss her ass... Literally!" Julian cut him off with the loud laugh he always did when he found one of his own jokes particularly funny. 

"Yes! Guys! Totally fine. Just had a little accident is all." Alison said, giving not only Kitty, but the rest of the concerned ghosts a reassuring smile like the one she'd given Mike earlier. The Captain was the first to nod, undoubtedly anxious to get back to his downtime with his long-lost friend, before his eyes fell onto the envelopes and he froze. The other ghosts didn't seem to notice as they all gently dispersed, going off to do whatever it was they were doing before. The only ones still standing in the doorway were Havers and The Captain, who still staring at the envelopes, his blue eyes wide and glossed-over. 

"Good Lord." he mumbled stiffly. Alison snapped her attention back to the envelopes as well. 

"Are these yours Captain?" She asked, holding up the ones she'd picked up earlier and using them to gesture to the rest of them that were still scattered around the room. The Captain pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment before seeming to realize there was no use in lying. One of the letters in Alison's hand very clearly stated Operation William. An operation that he had happened to tell Alison about a few weeks earlier. 

"Mhmyes." He said in a hum, not quite knowing how to go about asking if she could burn the lot of them. He watched a smile spread across her face, and he dared not look at Havers, who’s eyes he could feel pierce into his skull from behind him. The whole situation made him incredibly nervous. 

"Those old things. Might as well throw them out. Classified operations and secrets of the like- won't do us much good now. Shouldn't dig up the past." He said curtly, straightening his back and hoping that his air of authority would be enough to persuade Alison to throw the damned things out. She, however, didn't seem fazed by his suggestion. 

"That would be such a shame! Even if you'd have no use for them, maybe they'd be worth some money to a museum or something" She said excitedly, making short eye-contact with Mike. The Captain sputtered. 

"Absolutely not! Those are private. Private, you hear me? It is highly inappropriate to read a gentleman's personal letters. Now, please, just throw the damned things out!" He said, beginning in a controlled tone, but raising his voice more and more as he went along. Alison couldn't recall the last time she'd seen the Captain this worked up. 

"Okay... I'll throw them out if it's that important to you." She relented, bending over to pick up the rest of the letters and gathering them up rather sloppily into her arms to take to the trash. She started to make her way over the doorway that lead into the kitchen, stepping past the Captain and William, when one of the letters accidentally slipped through her fingers and floated to the floor, landing in front of the two soldiers, its front message written in a shaky but nonetheless clearly readable handwriting that Havers immediately recognized as the Captains' 

William Havers.

Chapter Text

William had been standing behind The Captain dutifully for the past few minutes as they checked out the commotion in the library. Alison and Mike were there, Alison apparently having fallen off a ladder, taking a bookshelf with her. What did surprise him however, was the collection of letters and papers that were laying around the books on the floor. He saw the Captain tensely instruct Alison to throw the letters out as they were revealed to be his. They must have either been top secret or incredibly private for the Captain to have hid them behind the books all those years ago, he'd never ever seen those letters before, and he hadn't known that the Captain would hide documents in the library at all. Some part of him felt a little bit hurt. He and the Captain had always been a team, there was very little that they wouldn't share with each other, especially when it came down to military tactics and strategies. He didn't understand what could have been so disastrous that the Captain felt the need to hide it among a bunch of books in an ancient library?

That was, until Mike had left the Library with a huff, muttering something about cleaning the pond before the sun set, excused himself to nobody in particular, and Alison, who had gathered most of the letters on the Captain's command, brushed past him and accidentally dropped one of the envelope's. It had his name on it. And it had the Captain's handwriting.

William's eyes widened as he automatically bent down to grab it, holding it up for the Captain to see.
"Isn't this your handwriting?" he asked, praying that he was right. It would make for a very uncomfortable situation if he was wrong. The Captain seemed to be having trouble making eye-contact, instead raising his chin and staring straight ahead.
"Mhmyes... It would seem so." He replied shortly. Havers looked back at the sealed letter, its corners bent and even ripped slightly, the paper having begun to deteriorate slightly over the years. He could see the multiple pages of a letter within the envelope, and he was dying to know what it contained.
"It has my name on it... Is it for me, sir?" He asked. No use in beating around the bush. He could see that the question made the Captain incredibly uncomfortable.
"Yes. I planned to write to you in Tunisia, wishing you good luck. But before I could post it- well..." He trailed off. Alison was still standing in between them with the letters in her arms when the Captain turned his attention to her.

"I got a certain letter." He said, gesturing to the pile.
"Third one in your left hand if you please, Alison." Alison shuffled the letters around a bit before dumping all of them on the nearest side-table, except for the one the Captain had asked for of course. It was a small envelope, blank- save for a worn stamp that sat squarely in the middle of it in red ink. It looked incredibly official, almost hauntingly so. Even more haunting was the look on the Captain's face as he saw the letter that had given him the worst news of his entire life. He remembered vividly opening the envelope with shaky hands, already knowing its contents. His worst nightmare had just become a reality, and he had stood frozen for a dozen minutes with the open envelope, not daring to take out the letter inside it. Reading it would make it real. He didn't want it to be real.

"I think you should read that one instead, Havers." The Captain said, gesturing to the one Alison was holding, he couldn't care less if he wasn't being subtle. He needed that letter out of Havers' possession. "I think you'll find it more informative than that silly old letter you have there."
"Yes, I suppose" Havers agreed, lips pursed. But he continued. "I'll read that one first, I can always read this one later."
The Captain stayed silent for a moment, contemplating how he could go about this subtly, when he decided he couldn't and just spat it out.
"No, Havers. I am asking you- not as a Captain, but as a friend- to keep the letters closed. I'm afraid they were very much a product of a time long gone. A time I don't wish to bring up again. I would like to move on from it, in fact. So please... Don't read them."

William couldn't find it within himself to argue with The Captain. He clearly wasn't very excited about the fact that the letters had even been discovered, let alone that William had come in possession of one of them. Though he had been surprised to learn that there was apparently more than one. He shouldn't be surprised though, since the pile that was still laying discarded on the side-table was quite big. William was dying to know what it was the letter said, but switched it out for the one Alison was holding after a moment's contemplation anyway. If The Captain was that desperate for him not to read it, he suspected that there must be a reason for it. And he respected the Captain enough to not go against his wishes, so he solemnly regarded the brown envelope he had traded with Alison for a moment before realization set in. Alison, not quite knowing what to do with herself, took a small step back. Maybe she should just leave...

"A letter of condolence..." Havers said at that exact moment, his brown eyes seeking out The Captains' blue ones. The Captain's face was sombre as he nodded. "Havers. It's quite the heavy read- please be prepared..."
But William knew enough, he'd already taken out the letter. He'd seen more of these than he'd liked to admit. There was only two short paragraphs, it's dark ink a stark contrast to the soft yellow of the paper. Some words were a bit distorted, the spots being uneven. It must have gained some water damage over the years. It was dated December 25th, 1944. Christmas, Havers realised with a start. The letter had been addressed to the Captain, its opening line more than enough to make his stomach churn. He read it out loud.

Berkely Square House, W1
26th December 1944,

Dear sir,

It is with the deepest regret that I have learned that a soldier under your command, Lieutenant William C. Havers, who has been missing in action since December 25th, has been declared a casualty of an unforeseen ambush by Italian forces. Since he has provided no next of kin or close family, I am obliged to send this letter to you.

Your Lieutenant has been an exemplary officer, his extensive knowledge of firearms and explosives during his short stay with us has saved dozens of lives, and I hope that it provides comfort to know that Britain is grateful for Lieutenant Havers' contributions and sacrifice.  


Sincerely,


H.M Wentworth,
General, British Armed Forces.

 


They all stand in complete silence for what seems like 10 minutes before William gasps. His headache returned in full force, worse than either times it'd happened before. He dropped the letter as he grabbed his head with both hands, and he could vaguely see both Alison and the Captain rush to him and he felt himself stumble backwards. Flashes shot through his mind. His team, walking through an abandoned town- delivering medical supplies on their way to their next camp and joking around. Another flash of a fellow officer- Richard his name was- showing him a dirty wallet with a picture of a woman and young girl- his family. Then another flash, bullets flying around them out of nowhere from the surrounding buildings, then- a smoke bomb. No, mustard gas. The smell of Sulphur, overwhelming and deadly. He sees himself put on a gasmask, but the other man- he'd tried to put his mask on but it broke- And then...

He feels a hesitant hand on his shoulder as he comes back to reality and he sees Alison calling for Mike in a panic, shouting something about a bag and some water. His head hurt and his ears felt like they had balls of cotton in them, like he was under water. He could see the Captain behind Alison, fussing, pointing his stick and barking short orders at poor Mike, who wasn't even able to see or hear him. A few seconds later, his hearing returned to its somewhat normal state. He found himself sitting on the floor, his back against the doorpost and Alison kneeling before him, breathing heavily.

"William, are you alright?" Was the first thing he heard the Captain ask. He immediately stepped closer as he noticed he had eye-contact and starting to reach out his hand, before realizing it would just go straight through and putting it on his knee instead with a pained look. William nodded shortly, the action making his head throb. The fact that the Captain had just called him William didn't help either. He'd rarely ever done that in public, it was only ever William (and on even rarer occasions, sometimes even Bill) when they were in private, he must be really concerned...

"A flashback, wasn't it?" The Captain asked knowingly. William didn't even need to reply. The Captain was all too familiar with them, there had been countless times he'd woken up in a cold sweat (figuratively of course) because of a nightmare, or he'd froze in place as the loud bangs on new year's eve once again reminded him of the sound of gunfire in the distance. Some fresh air had always done him good in situations like that. He stood up briskly keeping an eye on Havers.

"Are you able to step outside for a moment? I've found the fresh air helps me immensely in cases like these." He suggested. Alison agreed and so did William. He longed for some fresh air, and a little walking to clear his head wouldn't hurt him either. Alison helped him off of the floor, and on shaky legs he followed the Captain outside. They automatically went their familiar route patrol route, down a path the Captain hadn't been down in years. It had always reminded him of Havers and given him a sad reminder of his lost... friend. But now it seemed to do the opposite as the man walked there beside him, very much alive.

"I-... I... gave it away." Havers managed to force out.
"What was that?" The Captain asked, snapping his attention back to his lieutenant.
"I think I really did die. I remember parts of it now. There was mustard gas, and I gave my mask away..." William repeated, as he kicked a small pebble along the road. He looked at the Captain, who swallowed thickly. They were walking down the small path towards the pond on the edge of the property, as the sun sunk lower and lower towards the horizon. It was so beautiful out here, Havers had always enjoyed their walks about this path. As they were nearing the tree line that opened up into the clearing with the pond, the men could see Mike come into view all the way on the other side of the pond, a fine-woven net in his hands that was currently full of dead leaves and the occasional pieces of trash. William took a breath before continuing with his story.

"We hadn't expected the gas. It was such an outdated technique, sir... we weren't prepared. Only a few of us had working masks, and Richard- his mask was old, so it broke. He was going to die, sir." He paused for a second, his breath hitching, finding it hard to continue.

"He had a family, a wife and daughter. He'd shown me earlier that day. I couldn't let him die sir. I couldn't rob his daughter of a father. Not when I had nobody to return to anyway." He seemed to realize his mistake as soon as he saw the hurt look on the Captain's face. Bad wording.

"And by that I mean a wife and daughter, sir." He quickly tried to recover the situation. That seemed to calm the Captain a bit though, but there was still a troubled look on his face. God... he never wanted to see that look on the Captain's face ever again. He'd almost insinuated that he didn't care about him at all, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"I know I had you waiting for me here, but I also knew you would have been proud, sir. I don't have any regrets." He gave a weary smile, that the Captain instantly returned.
"I was, William. You saved his life." He replied. "He came to visit. Richard. He was sent back due to an injury a few months later and visited Button house to pay his respects." The Captain said through hazy eyes.

"Not knowing- it was the hardest part. I'd never understood how you could have possibly been caught unprepared- you'd always been prepared for almost anything. But he told me you sacrificed yourself for him. He made it home to his family thanks to you, Bill."

Havers smiled fondly at the nickname. At least he knew he hadn't gone through all this for nothing. And he'd finally remembered something from his last day... but it wasn't enough. He was still missing so much. He knew he probably died, but he couldn't remember it. He wondered if he ever would.

"I still can't remember anything else, though. And it still doesn't explain how I got here." William said, searching his brain for any other information he could use. But the Captain shook his head as he looked out over the pond in thought. "No matter. Like I said before. We have plenty of time. We can figure it out together, William"  William smiled, nodding once. "Thank you. Theo."
The Captain huffed in a feigned state of shock. "That'll be Theodore to you, young man." he joked, an easy smile on his lips. Hearing his name from William's mouth made him so incredibly happy. It had been close to 80 years since he'd heard anyone say it, and so to hear it again, by the person who meant most to him in the world...

William let out  a small laugh. It'd been a while since he'd seen the Captain smile so sincerely. He loved it when his eyes twinkled with happiness like they did now. It made him want to keep the Captains’ smile forever. They shared a peaceful moment of silence together like that, before they saw Mike inspect his net more closely and pluck something from amongst the pile of rubbish. He'd quickly pulled his portable device out and tapped it a bunch of times before putting it to his ear.

"Alison! Come quickly, you'll never believe what I just found in the pond!" He all but screamed into the device. And sure enough, a few minutes later Alison appeared. She'd clearly been running, because she was hopelessly out of breath.

Havers heard the Captain sigh beside him. "Hopeless. She'd never make it through a single training." He tutted, walking over to where Mike and Alison were stood over Mike's open hand. William followed him, both men arriving just in time to hear Mike excitedly exclaim something about a coin.

"It's a sovereign, Alison! I just googled it and they go for mad amounts of money! One exactly like this went for over 5k a few years ago!" Alison gasped.
"Oh my god, Mike! That's amazing!" She said excitedly, taking a better look at the coin. "Of course this one is in a bit of a bad shape, but I reckon it's still worth something!" Mike added, taking the coin between his fingers and moving himself so he could admire it better in the last rays of sunshine.

William and the Captain walked over, and Alison greeted them happily.
"How are you doing William?" she asked. Havers gave a quick smile.
"Much better! Thank you, Alison." He replied, his eyes following the Captain as he went to stand next to Mike to admire the coin. He took note of the fact that the Captain brushed against a large fern, its leaves bending around his legs, not going through them. The Captain turned back to Havers with raised eyebrows, having inspected the coin himself.

"Marvellous piece Havers, you should come see!" He said, gesturing to Mike's hand and moving out of the way so Havers could get closer. Havers however, was too busy looking behind the Captain, particularly his feet. Behind them was a large log that the Captain had either not seen or not cared about, because he kept stepping closer to it. If he'd been able to bend the Fern leaves earlier, would he also be able to fall over a log like that? Havers decided it wasn't worth it to find out, and so he called out.

"Captain, mind the log behind you. You'll fall over." Alison looked up at them at this, a frown appearing on her face. The Captain only huffed.

"Havers, don't be silly. I can't touch anything. Look! Clean through-" He said, once again stepping closer to Mike, who was still proudly standing at the edge of the pond with the coin in his hand, and slapped his hand through Mike's. Except, it didn't go straight through Mike's hand, instead hitting it straight on with a resounding 'SMACK'.

Mike, who'd obviously not been expecting his hand to be smacked out of thin air, jumped and watched as the force of the Captain's hand threw the coin out of his hand, and the four of them collectively watched as the coin flew back over the water, breaking the surface with a soft 'plop' and sinking beneath its black surface slowly.

Mike and Alison exchanged a dumbfounded look before they both sighed deeply.

"Well...fu-"

Chapter Text

In all of his 70-odd years of haunting Button house, The Captain had still had to find his 'power' as the others liked to call it. It seemed most of them had one thing or another that they had some sort of control over. Julian had his finger trick, Robin could do the thing with the lights, Fanny was visible in photographs... But after decades of roaming around the estate he had never had any sort of impact on the world after his death. That was, until a grand total of 6 hours ago when he'd discovered- in quite the wasteful way- that he was able to touch things. He didn't know why, or how he was able to touch stuff all of a sudden, but in the past few hours he hadn't been able to stop. And it wasn't like Julian's power either. The shifty MP had found out he was able to touch things almost immediately after dying, but it always took him insane amounts of effort. The Captain didn't strain himself at all, it just kind of happened, and he definitely hadn’t been able to touch anything for over 75 years. 

After unceremoniously slapping the coin out of Mike's hand at the lake, he'd immediately run over to Havers and grabbed his shoulder, mouth falling open when it didn't phase through, but settled firmly in a way it hadn't been able to do since 1944. Havers would never forget the look on the Captain's face as they made eye-contact in that moment. He'd never seen him so full of hope and excitement. Then Alison, who'd immediately settled for a giant hug that he was hopelessly unprepared for. He'd stood incredibly still, arms tucked at his sides as Alison had wrapped her arms around him. Havers was having a field day with the entire situation. He'd always secretly enjoyed seeing his Captain out of his depth in social situations. It was just so endearingly him.

But, they'd opted to go inside, and that night none of them got a wink of sleep. Alison and Mike because Mike would not shut up about the coin- Alison could only sigh tiredly- ghosts stuff always ended badly for them it seemed. She was just glad the other ghosts had left them alone today. Captain couldn't sleep because he hadn't been this excited about touching someone since he shook hands with that WW1 veteran that one time, and Havers... 

Havers was mulling about all of the events of the day. All the revelations and information had been quite hard to handle. He'd remembered some flashes of his last moments back in 1944, but they hadn't been pretty and they'd given him absolutely no clue as to how he was here yet. And then he thought of the letters. The thing that started this entire debacle, the Captain's letters to him. He'd totally forgotten about them amongst all the chaos of the day, but now he couldn't keep them out of his mind. He wondered if they were still on the side table downstairs... After a few minutes of tossing and turning he decided he was thirsty... and also that it couldn't hurt to check for the letters.

He climbed out of bed, throwing on a robe Mike had given him after dinner and crept out into the hallway. It was dark, but the moon was bright tonight, and he'd know to avoid the table at the end of the hallway this time. He silently crept down the stairs, into the sitting room and squinted his eyes. He stood there for what felt like ages before his eyes landed on the pile of letters. They were still there- Alison must have forgotten to throw them out... He quickly made his way over and carefully took a closer look, they were indeed the same letters that they discovered that afternoon. He stood still for a moment, letters in hand. 

What was so important that the Captain felt like he couldn't tell him in person? Why had he never sent the letters? The Captain claimed it was because Havers died but the dates didn't add up. He'd been ambushed on the 25th but as he checked the dates on the envelopes he noted that some of them were written way before that. Some were dated a few days after he left. He curiously thumbed one of the letters, barely catching a glimpse of the words inside. 

Before he could make any further moves he heard the sound of footsteps and he panicked, stuffing the letters into his robe and turning around in a hurry to look at the open door behind him to see... a rather dishevelled-looking man. His hair was wild, his face set in what seemed to be a permanent frown, and his lower jaw seemed to be sticking out a little bit in a nasty case of underbite. He stood still to the side of the doorway, watching William with an intensity he had never seen before. Maybe it was just a new custom he hadn't learned about yet, maybe staring wasn't seen as rude anymore in 2019? 

Havers hadn't seen this man before, but seeing his torn clothes, wild hair and dirty skin made him think it was a homeless man. Probably one that was either living here or that Alison had temporarily given a room to like himself. He coughed awkwardly, trying to get the man's attention. If not to distract him from the letters in his robe, then to at least get him to stop staring. Finally he broke the silence. 

"Hey! Who 'r you?" He said, a grunt to his tone that caught Havers off-guard. 
"Hello!" he said in a hushed tone, trying not to wake anyone else in the house. When the man didn't reply, only flipping his head around to look behind him, Havers continued. 
"I'm William. And your name is?" He asked.

The other guy once again looked behind him, and then gave the Lieutenant a surprised look while pointing at himself. Havers nodded. What a strange fellow. 
"Robin" The man said with a grunt. Havers barely caught it with the thick accent he seemed to have. He slowly made his way over to the door, moving around the homeless man while making sure he didn’t turn his back to him. He seemed like an incredibly unpredictable chap. Havers mustered up the most awkward smile he could and nodded in acknowledgement. 

"Well, goodnight then, mister... Robin" he managed to get out before slipping past the man, who had not stopped staring at him the entire time. The man didn't reply, but Havers could feel his eyes burn into the back of his skull as he made his way back over to the foot of the stairs and sprinted up them back to his room. He didn't turn around to see Robin stare at him in confusion as he did so, but then shrug his shoulders in a nonchalant way. 

"Army men weird" He said to himself, continuing his way to the drawing room where he could have the best view of the full moon. 

Back in his room, Havers had slammed the door closed as silently as he could, thankful he hadn't run into anyone else on the way up, and fished out the letters from his robe. He should have never taken them in the first place, if he hadn't been disturbed by that Robin figure he would have just left the letters on the table for Alison to throw out. Now he'd have to throw them out himself. And so he grabbed the entire stack and made his way over to his small fireplace where the coals were still smouldering from the fire he'd made that afternoon. He held his hand out over the coals, fully prepared to let them go but... he couldn't.

He couldn't just throw them away. These were... well he didn't know what they were but they obviously contained some pretty important information for the Captain to react so strongly to them. Plus, they were addressed to him. They were his letters. He should just be able to read them... Except he couldn't do that either. He shook his head. "What am I doing?" He mumbled. He’d heard the Captain earlier that day. He clearly hadn't wanted anyone to see the contents of these letters, how could he read these and still face the Captain in good faith after that? 

But what then? He couldn't destroy them, he couldn't read them... He needed to hide them. He couldn't let anyone know he had these letters. And certainly not the Captain. He searched around his room trying to find a place to hide the letters, before finally settling on the corner of the room, where a big plant was sat- collecting dust. Havers had discovered that its pot was mostly hollow at the bottom, at least hollow enough to hide a stack of letters in for the time being. 

He climbed back into his bed after that, finally exhausted. Almost being caught trying to read letters you have been asked not to read really does do a number on you. He tossed and turned for a few more minutes before finally managing to fall asleep. 

The next day he woke up bright and early, deciding to go for a run around the estate, like the good old times. Alison had given him an alarm clock (which he was very grateful for, he hated sleeping in late,  he wasn't quite used to his non-military lifestyle yet). He wanted to preserve his clothes, but realized that he would need to find a change of clothes soon. Maybe Mike would have a spare shirt laying around, he'd have to ask Alison about that if he ran into her. It'd be less awkward than asking Mike himself. But he could really do with a run to clear his head, despite the risk of sweating all over his only pair of clothes. And so he set out at 7 o'clock sharp, ever the military man. Despite the sun barely being out, he didn't have any trouble finding his way around. The air was damp, dewdrops littering the grassy fields and glistering in the first rays of sunshine like a million  diamonds.

William settled into his familiar route with ease, passing the fence around the estate, the old oak tree just outside of the property grounds, and the willow that now seemed to be little more than an old tree stump. He revelled in seeing the impact of time on the lands surrounding Button house, and wondered if the nearby town had changed just as much. He remembered taking his platoon out to town to hang out in its bars, Thursday nights the pub on the corner had a karaoke night. They used to go almost every week, he'd built quite the relationship with the owners in the time he'd been stationed there. He halted his running as the memories hit him and he felt a smile form on his lips. The village wasn't much further, he could run over and take a look right now... 

He hesitated for a moment, dropping down into a hunched position and resting his hands on his knees while catching his breath. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face the changes he was undoubtedly going to face. But he couldn't very well live in blissful ignorance forever, staying inside Button house until he's old and grey. He'd need to rediscover the world sooner or later, and there was quite literally no time like the present. 

He continued his run, eventually reaching the first farms on the outskirts of the town. He slowed to a walk and paid close attention to each house he passed. Most of them hadn't changed much, save for the occasional paint job or garden scaping. But as he neared the town centre he found it had changed more than he'd thought. Tailors, laundry shops and bookshops had been replaced by snack bars, boutiques and DIY discount stores. He was in awe of all the advertisements littering the streets, bright colours plastered over every shop, each one competing for attention from the unsuspecting passer-by. The pub was still there, but it seemed it had been renewed for a newer audience. He took a peek inside and noticed that the bar was still the same, as were the brick walls and hardwood floors, but the many screens around the pub seemed to be a new addition. It was way too early to be seen hanging around in bars though, so he slowly walked past, trying to get as much of a glimpse inside as he could. He would have to come back there sometime soon. 

As he walked on, he was surprised to find a little flower shop was still in its original place, and still under the same name that it had been over 70 years ago.'Leonies Peonies' He walked over without thinking, stepping inside and being greeted by the sound of a loud tiny bell that was hung above the door. An older lady at the counter greeted him happily, gesturing him inside with a warm smile. She reminded him of his mother, just a few grey hairs starting to peek through her dark curls, and the first wrinkles around her eyes beginning to appear from the years of smiling. 

"Hello young man! Are you looking for a bouquet? Something for your friends? Family? A loved one?" She said, listing off things like he was the first customer in years. Maybe he was. He shook his head with a polite smile. 

"No, I'm afraid I haven't got any. I just moved here... a few days ago." It was technically true, he was quite new to 2019. But the lady insisted by shaking her head and tutting. 
"Oh, nonsense ! Everybody knows somebody. Flowers can help brighten anyone's day! Even your own!" 

Havers was about to agree with the nice lady, but then he realized something. "I also haven't got any money." He said, patting his empty pockets for emphasis. The lady's smile fell for only half a second before she seemed to make her decision. She seemed to take pity on the poor man who'd come to this small village with no friends, no family, and no money. 

"Tell you what. I'll let you pick out some flowers. Free of charge! But you have to give them to someone else. Maybe you'll even make a friend." She said, gesturing to her massive wall of different flowers excitedly and taking his elbow softly, leading him over. 

"Flowers have their own language you know. Here! Daffodils mean new beginnings, they're often sent to new home-owners! Or pink Roses to say thank you to a friend who helped you through a tough time. Or yellow Pansies, they mean 'I think of you'." She continued to list more and more flowers, and Havers listened with a keen interest. They'd had a book on the language of flowers at Button house once, it was probably the only book he’d read more times than The Wizard Of Oz. He loved reading about the meaning of flowers, and from what he heard now they hadn't changed all that much. The next half hour they spent talking about all the different kinds of flowers, the different seasons and their favourite flowers, and of course their meanings. When they'd circled the entire shop for the third time, William stopped. 

"What about... Gardenias?" He said, his eyes falling on the small white flowers in the back of the shop, tucked away between the Dahlias and the Tulips. The lady next to him stopped talking. "Gosh, I knew you had someone. Is it that complicated?" 

William hesitated, it was a rather long story, and he'd rather not get into it yet. He wasn't even sure if he'd be able to say it out loud. He had never said any of his feelings out loud before. He had barely even acknowledged his feelings. The lady saw him hesitating and then waved him off politely. 

"Oh, I don't mean to pry. You don't need to tell me, I know love can be a very confusing thing. Lord knows I've had my share of confusing loves. I think it's a great choice though, they're gorgeous flowers." She said, taking them off the wall holders and taking them over to the counter to wrap them carefully. She continued her casual chatter all the way through the process, and as she handed the bouquet over to William, she placed a wrinkled hand on top of his in a comforting way. 

"I hope things work out for you young man, love may sometimes be complicated, but those complications are almost always ones our minds place on ourselves. It isn't always as complicated as we think it is. Love is love after all." She gave him a knowing wink as she let his hand go. He thanked her again, profusely, and made his way over to the front door of the shop. "And young man?" She called out when he was just about to step out the door, the little bell already ringing in his ears. 

"My name is Eileen- and I know what you're thinking: 'Who's Leonie?' She's my grandmother, she started this shop back in 1932! But anyway, there! Now you have one friend in town. Please feel free to come again, I'll make you the best cup of tea you've ever had! Perhaps we can discuss the flowers some more." She said, giving him a motherly smile. He smiled and nodded. 

"Will do Eileen, my name is William. Thank you for the offer, and I promise I'll come by again soon." She watched as he slipped out of the shop, and disappeared around the corner. 

"Gardenias... tsk. Good luck with that love, William." She sighed. She really did pity the poor guy. 

When William finally made it back to Button house, he put the flowers in a pot he found in de garden. He was walking around the house, trying to find a place where they would get some good few hours of sun when he heard Alison talking to someone. He walked over to where he could hear multiple voices, amongst which he recognized the Captains'. Before he could make out what he was saying he was cut off by another voice, and then Alison's. 

"-Yes, Robin I know it's only once a month but you keep waking me up with the chanting every full moon! Can't you chant silently?" He heard Alison ask in a snappy tone. He heard a familiar grunt, and as he rounded the corner to the drawing room he saw Alison talking to the homeless man from last night. Around them were 8 other people, all dressed in various styles of historical clothing. In the full daylight Havers could also see that the homeless man, didn't, in fact, dress like a homeless man, but more like a neanderthal. 

His mouth dropped open as he took in the scene. None of them seemed phased though, as they all stared at him like he couldn't see them all shamelessly doing so. Only The Captain seemed to respect the social boundaries, and that was saying something... 

"Oh! Speak of the Devil and he appears! I wonder what he's been up to! No doubt smearing the house with his muddy boots again. I told you these soldiers had no manners!" The old lady in the grey dress tutted, to which The Captain sputtered a haughty defense, getting caught up in a heated discussion with a few of the other people in the group.

"Oh look! He's got flowers! How pretty! I do love flowers!" A sweet girl in a burgundy dress sighed lovingly, staring at his flowers. William looked at the vase in his hands and put it down on the table next to him, the white flowers shining in the sun. 

"Yes, they're Gardenias. Quite beautiful. Last long too. Thought they would look lovely in here, or they could help cheer up your room Captain?" William replied, placing his hands on his back, purely due to the fact that he had nothing else to with them. The Captain raised his eyebrows in surprise. “They're for me?" He'd asked softly. But Havers was distracted by the group that was still intently staring at him, now all with open mouths and even wider eyes. Alison most of all, who- after a disbelieving look at William, and then the other people around her, and back at William to confirm that the Lieutenant was really, actually and truly looking at them- shrieked in disbelief:  

"You can see them?!" 

Chapter Text

Alison's morning had been, as most of her mornings seemed to be, chaotic. It had begun with a screaming match between Thomas and Julian, lead on by Pat, who had- with no ill intent- brought up the subject of women's votes. Thomas, being ever the pleaser had wholeheartedly agreed with the statement Pat made, but Julian had thrown his entire being into a discussion about how women had never done him any service in parliament. Alison had rolled her eyes when she ran into the pair, Pat having long since left the room in frustration. She had better things to do anyway, like finding those stupid letters she lost. She could have sworn she'd left them on the table in the library...  

"You despise women in parliament simply because you can't control yourself around them, you heathen!" Thomas yelped from somewhere behind Alison. She just heard Julian scoff. 

"Exactly! How am I supposed to concentrate on important business when there's such pretty ladies around?" 

"Oh come off it! Have you any respect for women?" Thomas asked in an offended tone. Checking if Alison was still near enough to hear him. He would surely win over her heart by defending her honour as a woman! 

"On the contrary mon compagnon, I have the highest respect for women, they're very good liars. Which is why I don't want them in Parliament. I may be good at lying, but women always seem to fool me in believing whatever it is they're selling. And most of the time- the things they sell cost me a lot of money!" He seethed before Alison finally moved in between them to settle the argument. 

The rest of the morning went relatively well, Alison had gone about her morning, having breakfast with Mike, helping him put on his dollar store diving gear, phoning the party planner and scheduling a date for the decorators to come by for the office party. By the afternoon she felt like she'd done a whole day already. She let herself fall into the sofa in the drawing room blissfully, enjoying the sound of silence for a few amazing minutes before she heard the sound of chatter and she groaned. A few seconds later the group of ghosts piled into the room, all chattering happily to one person or another. 

"Ah Alison! Hello there! We're just about to start dinner club!" Pat piped up as soon as he spotted Alison laying on the couch in the middle of the room. 

"Today we're talking about our favorite utensils! I don't want to give anything away, but it's going to be forking awesome." He continued, as the others all went to sit down. 

Alison got up and give him a smile. 

"No thanks Pat, tomorrow is film club, right? I'll join you then." She said, trying to excuse herself quietly before someone inevitably needed her for something again. 

"Oh Alison!" She heard Kitty yell before she could slip out. She winced as she turned around and gave Kitty a forced smile, but she couldn't be mad at Kitty, not really. 

"Where's the nice army man? No offense, Captain." She asked, giving the Captain a polite smile as she did so. The Captain made an undignified noise and cleared his throat shortly. "Nono, none taken. I was actually just wondering about William myself." He replied, bouncing on his heels slightly and gripping his swagger stick a little more tightly. He couldn't be gone again... could he? 

"Dunno" Alison said with a shrug. "Haven't seen him all morning. But I did get him an alarm clock, so maybe he went out early." She added. This time Robin piped up. 

"Army man weird" he said, his eyes fixed on the chess board in front of him. Thomas huffed at the caveman, mumbling in reply. "You're one to talk..." 

"What do you mean weird, Robin? Why could you possibly think Lieutenant Havers is weird?" The Captain snapped, almost offended for his friend. Maybe a bit too offended. 

"I run into him uh- last night, he creeping around like shadow ohhh." he said, pointing in the direction of the library. 

"Say goodnight, very weird." he continued. 

"Yeah I've been meaning to talk to you about that actually- you really need to stop chanting in the middle of the night Robin. It's- hang on... did you say he said goodnight? To you?"

Alison did a double take when she heard that, her head tilting to the side in confusion. She looked at the Captain, who seemed just as confused as she was, a deep frown set on his serious face.  Robin only rolled his eyes, grunting. 

"No he say goodnight to pope... Yes! He say goodnight to me."- "alright mate no need for sarcasm" Pat said in the background while Alison could only gape at the caveman. 

"Maybe he was sleepwalking! My sister used to do that, she always said such horrible things to me in her sleep!" Kitty added in a cheerful tone. 

"Nonsense! Havers has never sleepwalked. Soldiers don't sleepwalk." The Captain sputtered out. He'd said it before he could think, and he sincerely hoped they wouldn't ask how he knew that. Then he'd have to explain why a respected army captain would have spent nights and nights sharing his bed with his first lieutenant after they'd spent the entire early morning thinking up strategies- Havers would often be too tired to move to his own room, so he'd just share the Captains' bed.  A solution that neither of them had any particular objections to. Oh, how he missed those nights. 

"Maybe Michael was also downstairs? But you just didn't see him?" Lady Button suggested, trying to give her two cents. She and Humphry were always one of the more level-headed ghosts- No pun intended. That made much more sense, as usual. 

"Well, I did see Mike leave the room last night. I assumed he just went to the bathroom, but maybe he went downstairs?" Alison replied. "It would make more sense that William would say hi to Mike. I mean- he's been here for like four days and he hasn't been able to see anyone apart from the Captain. Why would he start now?" She reasoned. She could see the other ghosts nodding along to her as she explained, soft murmurs going through the group as they all started talking over each other. 

"Now!" Alison said, trying to get their attention. When they all fell silent she once again looked at Robin. "About that stupid moon chanting-" 

"Hey! It no stupid. And only once a month." Robin said, offended.

"Right... I apologize. It's not stupid. And yes, Robin I know it's only once a month but you keep waking me up with the chanting every full moon! Can't you chant silently?" She once again pleaded as she saw the other ghosts' eyes fly from her to behind her in the doorframe. It was William. 

He froze when they all turned to him as he put the pot with small white flowers down on a dresser next to him. His eyes flickered around the room as Fanny spoke up with a huff. 

"Oh! Speak of the Devil and he appears! I wonder what he's been up to! No doubt smearing the house with his muddy boots again. I told you these soldiers had no manners!" She hadn't even finished speaking before the Captain scoffed and was already talking over her. "Now wait a minute! As a commanding officer I demand a little respect for myself and my first Lieutenant. We served our country with pride and I will not stand..."

Alison tried to zone both Fanny and the Captain out, she'd gotten pretty good at that over the last few months- ignoring people while they're talking. That would be such a useful skill if she'd ever have a toddler running around. But for now, her attention was on William, who was looking in the Captain's direction, his eyes switching between him... and Fanny? Had Robin been right after all? Surely she was seeing things wrong? Havers hadn't even had an accident, how would he be able to see ghosts all of a sudden? The whole idea was silly. 

"Oh! Hello!" He greeted them, before swiftly continuing. "Alison, I have been meaning to ask you if you would happen to have a spare set of clothes? I fear this set has seen better days." 

"Oh look! He's got flowers! How pretty! I do love flowers!" said Kitty excitedly, stepping closer to the flowers and admiring them up close. A smile appeared on William's face as he was reminded of the flowers he'd brought with him. 

"Oh, yes. they're Gardenias. Quite beautiful. Last long too. Thought they would look lovely in here, or they could help cheer up your room Captain?" He sounded unsure of the last part, but as Alison looked over to the Captain she could see a fond smile growing on his face, after which he raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

"They're for me?" He asked softly. But nobody seemed to be paying attention to the Captain and his shock over being gifted flowers. Everyone was more so shocked about the fact that Kitty had just made a remark, and not only had William looked right at her- he'd answered her. 

Alison seemed to be the first to come to her senses. Or the other ghosts just didn't know what to say. Either way, the silence was broken by Alison, gasped and breathed out in a breathless way: 

"You can see them?" 

Havers did not need a lot of time to realize by the shocked reactions of every person in the room that most of the people in it were actually dead. The fact that one of the people had an arrow through his neck (how hadn't he seen that before?) but seemed to be walking around just fine, gave it away too. 

After confirming that yes, he could indeed see the various ghosts scattered around the room, he was bombarded with questions and statements from the ghosts as they started to crowd around him. William could vaguely hear the Captain protesting- something about how they shouldn't crowd him, but his words fell on deaf ears it seemed. He turned his attention to the group in front of him as Alison gently wormed her way through to help him out. 

"Listen! I know you're all excited, but please! One by one!"

Most of the rest of the afternoon was spent answering questions from the various ghosts, who Havers still had trouble remembering the names of. He knew the Captain obviously, and throughout the day he had stuck by the older man religiously. He'd never really been shy in social situations, but he was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the amount of people that he now found himself being introduced to. It funny too, seeing his Theo interacting with the ghosts. He was so different as he was with the soldiers before, and it once again reminded Havers of the time that had passed for seemingly everyone but him. The relaxed tone in which the Captain was speaking, the jokes he slipped in every now and again, and the way he knew when to step back and let others lead the conversation were all things Havers had scarcely ever seen him do.

Havers especially had to hold his laugh when the scout leader (was it Pat?) managed to interrupt the Captain's speech with a proposal of a new club and the Captain had just given him a glare but nothing else. He would have never accepted that kind of behaviour back in the army, he'd pull up his 'ranking officer' speech and lecture for hours about acceptable behaviour of a soldier in the King's army. 

Havers had been excited to finally see the people that had been keeping his friend companionship for all these years. He'd heard stories from Alison before, but he hadn't ever imagined them to be... this real. It was like the Captain- like they were just normal people, not see-through or flickering or very scary-looking. The scout did have an arrow through his neck which unsettled William a bit, but he'd seen worse things in his time at the front line. It would just take some getting used to, he supposed, to see the guy walking around like there wasn't anything wrong. 

"But how is he able to see us?" Asked Kitty, stepping out from Robin's shadow. Julian huffed at her question, as if the answer should be obvious. "Well obviously he was dead for a while. You heard his story the other day, dead as a doornail before he came knockin' 'ere." 

"Like Alison!" Fanny added. 

Alison shot a glance at William, slightly shrugging. "They have a point. I was technically dead for like 30 seconds. With what we know now, you've been dead for... over 75 years." 

"I don't suppose I can argue with that. And it's not like I have any better ideas." William said. 
"While we're on the subject though," continued Alison, leaning back against the large piano she was standing near. 

"Do you still not have any idea how you got here William?" Havers shook his head. He'd been lying awake at night,  thinking of all the ways a soldier in 1944 could suddenly find himself in 2019, but he'd no plausible theories whatsoever. 

"Maybe he no ready to go yet." Robin suggested, and Alison's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She continued to be surprised by Robin's answers from time to time, it was tough to remember he was the oldest out of all of them. He'd probably seen more than all of them combined. 

"Yes! You remembered some things the other day right? Was there anything in there that could maybe give us a clue?" Alison asked. William shook his head softly. "Not really, the last thing I remembered is the gas... and I-" He cut himself off, as he concentrated on the last memory, placing himself in that moment again. He was desperate for something, any memory of the moment before his death. 

There was gas, the faint screaming of his men in the background. He was choking, he'd given away his mask. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't see where he was going. Which way was the shortest way to safety. He only had a few more seconds to survive. At least his men had made it out. He wasn't going to survive- panic had set in, like ice in his veins. There was no air, he needed air. It was the only thing he could think of. He'd given up, he wasn't going to make it.

His thoughts had wandered off back to Button house. To his Captain. His Teddy. He'd never been able to tell him how much he meant to him. He had always had complicated feelings towards his Captain, who had become such a close friend throughout the years. It was a friendship that held so much love and admiration that he'd doubted if it was a friendship it all. He'd been having confusing thoughts about himself and his feelings for many years, but he had never dared speak about those thoughts, society would frown upon him. He would lose his position, his friends, his family, possibly his life. Not that it mattered now. 

Now there would be no more chances to figure those feelings out, to give them a place in his heart. He had a lot of regrets, but none were as severe as his refusal to admit to his feelings for Theo. It was all he could think about as he choked on the poisonous gas that was surrounding him. Besides the strained tears caused by the gas, his eyes welled up with tears for the loss of his last chance to explore the wonderful relationship he'd had to leave behind. He wished it could have ended differently. He wished he could return to Button house. He wished things in society would be different. He wished he could return to his Captain. He wished he could return to the Captain. 

"I wanted to return here. I wanted to be here again, with you- Captain." William gasped, snapping out of the memory, the horrible feeling of dread still haunting him. He noticed he was shaking all over, his body seeming to remember death as well, and not being eager to repeat it. The ghosts were silent, none of them quite knew what to say. He looked at them one by one, but his gaze lingered on the Captain. The look of absolute devastation on his face broke William's heart. He looked two seconds away from a breakdown. 

"I...I- wasn't ready to go yet. You were right Robin. I hadn- hadn't had the time... courage to life my life to the fullest yet. I'd missed out on so many things... I wasn't ready." His eyes became watery as he remembered the despair he felt as he was dying. Alison started shooing the other ghosts away in the background, telling them it was best to give him some space. He was thankful for her uncanny ability to read the room. Only the Captain remained, still speechless. 

While Alison was temporarily out of the room, preoccupied with the others, he cleared his throat. "Did you mean it? Did you come here... because of me?" His tone was soft, hopeful... relieved? 

"Yes, I-" 

This was exactly what he meant when he wished he could have more chances to express his feelings. This was the moment to speak up, share the things he'd been keeping on his chest for years- but he hesitated. Like he always had in moments like these. And then the moment passed, and he'd missed his chance yet again. He wasn't sure if he minded. Though he knew this was his second chance, he still needed more time to figure out himself first, before diving into conversations he wasn't ready for. As far as he knew, he wasn't going anywhere soon, so he'd still have time to talk to the Captain later. 

"Yes I missed you Theo. Very much so. I... felt like we left things on bad terms, and I couldn't accept that I would never have another chance to make them right. And I'm sorry about that, I truly am." He said, getting emotional. His shoulder shook slightly. He couldn't hold his tears any longer, and some ran down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly, not wanting anyone to see him being so weak. He'd expected the Captain to be awkward like he remembered him being any other time another soldier had an emotional breakdown, but he only breathed out softly and stepped closer. 

"I'm sorry too, Havers- William." He hesitantly put his hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He still wasn't quite used to the fact he could touch anything yet. 

William sniffled softly, giving a little laugh. He loved it, the Captain comforting him like this. He would like nothing more than to step even closer, craving the physical contact, the safety and comfort that you could only find in the embrace of another, a safety he had been longing for for years but that had always seemed so far out of reach.

He hesitated again, but then decided to hell with it, you only live twice. He stepped forward without a second thought and crashed into the Captain's chest, wrapping his arms soundly around his waist like his life depended on it. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd even had a hug, and it felt so right. Like a missing piece of the puzzle of his life. Like finally being at peace after a lifetime of war.

The Captain, on the other hand, was in a complete state of panic. Havers was hugging him- he'd been imagining this moment for as long as he could remember, but now that it was here, and he was closer than ever... his head was in a state of total chaos, thoughts crossing his mind at a million miles an hour. Oh no, a hug- What do I do? Is it weird to hug back? But what if he'd make it awkward? He usually did- it's been too long- do something! anything! 

Captain managed to move his hand to William's back, and he used his free hand to pat the other man's back in a comforting way. His mother used to do that when he was stressed or sad. They stood there for what felt like ages, just enjoying each other's embrace. And William wouldn't want to be anywhere else at that moment. 

Chapter Text

The moment was over when, what felt like hours later, Alison re-entered the room. The Captain startled out of his trance, and both of them instinctively let go immediately, pretending like they weren't just sharing an intimate moment. Alison, being oblivious as to what was going on, stepped towards them with a thoughtful smile. 

"I just remembered your question about the clothes. I talked to Mike and he should have some old shirts and jeans laying around. If that's okay with you?" 
Havers nodded gratefully, making swift eye-contact with the Captain, who cleared his throat as he did so. William felt his cheeks heat up too as he turned his attention back to Alison.
"That'd be great. Thank you Alison." She smiled at that. 

"Alright, follow me then, we'll get you some clothes. And- maybe we can go into town tomorrow? Get you some clothes of your own?" She suggested excitedly. 
"Oh no- that's fine. I don't have any money-" Havers tried to say. 
"Nonsense, I'll buy them. You can't keep walking around in the same clothes forever. Until you're up on your feet I'll do my best to help you out." 
"I really wouldn't want to be a burden..." William began, glancing at the Captain. 
"Oh no! Not at all! In fact, there are going to be loads of people over tomorrow anyway for the restoration of the foyer." She argued. 
"The organisers for the party want it done before they start decorating, which is next week." She added quickly, pursing her lips and tilting her head slightly.

"Mike can stay here and watch the house, and we can have a trip to London maybe?" 
Havers nodded in agreement, sparing a glance at the Captain. 

"Will you join us, Captain?" He asked. The Captain gave him a mournful smile, shaking his head. 
"I'm afraid not Havers. I'm unable to leave the grounds." He replied. 

William fell silent for a few seconds, glancing at Alison, who grimaced and nodded in agreement.
"Well..." William began, unsure.  "When's the last time you tried?" 

"Really, Havers. I don't see how this is a good idea at all." 
The entire group of ghosts was currently standing around the Captain and Havers, who were in turn standing at the very edge of the grounds, where the soft gravel of the pathway to the house met the hard cement of the road. Alison was standing on the other side of the invisible barrier, and the ghosts were chaotically talking over each other behind Cap and Havers.

"Last time it not go well." He said, side-eyeing Julian. Julian, who had been in a heated discussion with Lady B, turned his attention to the Captain and huffed as if he were offended. "I'll have you know that took an immense amount of willpower. A feat that, should I be alive, would be considered a highly valuable skill." He argued in that very distinct Julian-the-MP way he always did, pointing his finger at the Captain with vigour. The Captain raised his swagger stick up to him in response. 

"Listen Cap! It can't hurt to try! You touched Mike yesterday? Who knows what else has changed?" Pat said, stepping forward slightly and shooing the Captain closer to the border. The Captain turned to look at the scout, taking his swagger stick with him as he turned and almost hit the shorter man in the face with it. He only just managed to step out of the way. The Captain took a very small step backwards instinctively. 

"You know, I happened to try leaving when I first died. It's a horrible feeling really. Can't see what made Julian try over a hundred times." The Captain said, hesitant to try crossing the line behind him. It had. Not the sick feeling he would get when someone walked through him, but it still made him feel funny, like being inside of those washing machines, going round and round and round until you're so dizzy it's hard to stand up straight. 

"Just get on with it, you scaredy-cat!" Fanny said loudly, waving her hand dismissively in his direction. The Captain sputtered, offended. 
"Now listen here. I don't see why somebody else can't try, if you're all so eager..." He said, beginning strong, but trailing off near the end.
"Well, they can't touch stuff Cap. You can." Alison said, stepping a little closer towards them. From beside him he could see Havers nodding in agreement. 
"I think it's worth trying, sir." He said, giving him a hopeful smile. The Captain's heart melted a bit at the look on his face. He could never say 'no' to Havers.

The truth was that William was nervous. His little trip to the village a day prior had been shocking, but he'd somewhat managed. Still, everything in the village looked old. Though it seemed new to William, most of the stuff had probably been there for years already, so he couldn't even begin to fathom what kind of technological and cultural shifts had happened in the big cities. He didn't know what to expect from the world outside of the small villages at all. What if the city had changed so much he wouldn't be able to get used to it? What if he realised the world had moved on without him, and he would never be able to catch up? Having someone there with him would at least comfort him. He supposed the Captain hadn't been outside of Button house for a while either, so at least they could be shocked about the state of the world together. 

William saw the Captain hesitate, straightening his shoulders and letting out a sharp breath, as if he was mentally preparing himself to cross the border. He was beginning to lean forward onto his toes slightly, looking like he was about to do it... But at the last moment he pulled back and let himself fall back onto his heels. There was a collective sigh from the group of ghosts behind him, with Thomas letting out a frustrated "Oh, by Jove's beard!" 

"Righ'. Tha's it!" Mary yelled out of nowhere. And before anyone could do anything, she stormed over the Captain, body slamming into him and throwing them both onto over the edge. And while Mary instantly fell back onto Button house property, Captain-much to the surprise of absolutely nobody, tumbled right across the invisible barrier that had been holding him captive for over 75 years. 

Everyone was silent for about 3 full seconds before all hell broke loose. Everyone was talking over each other, while the Captain had only just managed to find his footing again, and was straightening out his uniform, not quite knowing what to say at all. 

"You know, last time I saw a tackle like that was in the summer of '89, but let me tell you, that ended very differently. If you know what I mean, hehe" Julian broke through the chaos of voices, addressing the group. 

"No? What do you mean?" Kitty asked.
"No, Kitty you don't want to know. Trust me I've heard that one before." Thomas replied with a bored sigh. Julian ignored him, going on with his story, eager to have found a listener for once. 
"So. Two american quarterbacks had been visiting you see. Manly chaps on the outside, very repressed on th-" 

"Right.!" Alison interjected, before he could go into any more detail. 
"That settles it then? London tomorrow?" She asked, turning to William and the Captain. William had been staring at the Captain with a fond smile while the Captain had been lost in thought, but he snapped out of it as Alison addressed him. 

"Yes. Yes that would be lovely, thank you. Right, sir?" He replied, turning to the Captain once again and giving him a reassuring smile. The Captain felt his heart race as William gave him that hopeful look, and he couldn't help but clear his throat.
"Well, I suppose I can't say no now." He said, sparing a very quick glance at William but then instantly looking away again, refusing to make any further eye-contact.

"Good. Let's get you upstairs then, Will. I got Mike to sort his wardrobe earlier."  

Havers stood in front of the full-length mirror in his room, staring at his reflection. He'd gotten a ton of clothes from Mike the day before, so much so that he'd wondered how many clothes the man had. They'd spent the entire day sorting through Mike's closet, picking out anything he was planning to donate anyway. He'd given away more 'spare clothes' than Havers had, period. Back in the army especially, he'd only had two uniforms and two sets of pyjamas. In the enormous pile of clothes that was currently lying on his bed, there were probably more shirts, blouses, trousers, jeans and jackets than the entire Button house XI had combined. He picked up a random t-shirt and examined it. He generally preferred dress shirts, but the few shirts that he thought he might like were in such silly colours and prints that he didn't even want to know how ridiculous he would look. The shirt in his hands was a soft broken white colour, that could seemingly pass as a dress shirt, though it seemed it hadn't been worn much- Mike had presumably used it for fancy occasions. It seemed comfortable enough for now, especially with the blue woollen pullover he found laying around as well. December was always unpredictable with its weather, best to layer up. 

He'd changed solemnly, not caring for this new fashion much. The shirt seemed to be too tight, even though Alison later insisted that it fit him perfectly, and the jeans were incredibly scratchy- and made him feel like a bum. He greatly preferred his own pantaloons (much to Alisons' dismay, 'Only old men wear pantaloons these days, William!', she'd declared). The only thing he could get used to was the soft woollen pullover, that made him look at least a little put-together. Modern fashion confused him enough, it was nice to have something a little more old-fashioned. Still, he let out a sigh as he looked at himself in the mirror. Getting new clothes like this really did cement his new life. And he couldn't help but feel a little sad about it. Life moved on, that much had become apparent in the last few days, but he'd just wanted to hold on to as much familiarity as possible. He had never been a fan of change, or feeling out of place for that matter. He supposed it was symbolic in a way, as he gave the crumpled up uniform on the floor next to him a quick glance, the last part of his old life was now officially gone. He'd never have to wear it again, but what if he still wanted to? What if this new life wouldn't work out?

He shook off the anxiety that had crept up on him and wondered what had become of him. He used to be outgoing and quick to adapt to new scenes. His position in the army was a testament to that. But for some reason he had been nothing but nervous and frankly a little scared since he got here. At least the Captain made it a little better. God he couldn't express how grateful he was to have a familiar face next to him to help him adjust. His gaze found his reflection again as he plucked at the clothes again, trying to get them to sit a little more comfortably and was promptly startled when he heard the Captain call out from the hallway. 

"Havers? Are you quite alright?" He sounded muffled through the thick oak doors. William walked over and opened the door quickly.

"Yes, bally good, sir" He found himself smiling at his use of the word 'bally'. It was a word he had unconsciously copied from the Captain. He never used to say it much, but being around the older man so much had made him use it more than he cared to admit. His smile only grew fonder as he saw the Captain's concerned face. Theodore had always kept an eye on him, in his own way. It was one of the things he appreciated the most about him. 

"Very good, ah- I see you've changed your clothes." He said, looking him up and down. William shifted a bit, still unsure about his new outfit.
"Very handsome indeed. I-uh- and by that- I mean the outfit, which is... quite handsome." He managed, clearing his throat right after. William had trouble keeping in a short laugh, but gave him a curt nod instead. 
"Thank you, sir." It was all he'd needed to hear. He was worried he'd look silly, but so long as the Captain approved, he decided it didn't matter anyway.

"Right. Are you ready to go see London then, William?" the Captain asked. William noticed that his voice sounded a bit off. 
"Am I correct in my assumption that you are just as nervous as I am, sir?" Havers asked in return, choosing to ignore the Captains' question for the time being. He saw the ever-strong mask the Captain had on slip a little as his pursed lips twitched a little at the question. William had learned to read his tells over the years, he knew Theo was nervous, maybe even more so than him.

"Yes. Unfortunately it seems I cannot control my nerves today. I haven't left Button house in a good while, I am quite anxious to see how the world has changed- outside the television, erh- that is."
William gave him a reassuring smile and put his hand on his should, making firm eye-contact. The Captain held his breath. 
"It's nice to hear I'm not alone in my worries. Thank you." He squeezed the Captains' shoulder in a comforting way, and the Captain had to use all of his willpower to not break eye-contact. He revelled in the feeling of someone's hand- especially that someone being Havers- being on his shoulder again. He'd done that twice now, and the Captain wished he could stay like this all day. 

William gave him a happy grin, a grin that the Captain had only seen on very few occasions before. It was a smile that gave away an underlying joy, giving his brown eyes an extra twinkle of mischief and that made little wrinkles around the corners of his eyes. It was a look that Havers usually reserved for the occasion that he'd made a joke. A look of joy that had been scarce during their time of war. It warmed the Captains' heart to see it again.

"Well, at least we can be nervous together then, I suppose. I'm sure we'll survive Theo... well- you know what I mean." 

The Captain couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Havers joined him as he grabbed a coat from the pile on the bed and followed the Captain towards the front door, where Alison was already waiting for them, car keys in hand. 

Chapter Text

Being inside a modern car was... strange. Both the Lieutenant and the Captain had stepped into the vehicle with uncertainty. The Captain had held his breath as Alison had started the car, and he had actually stayed in his seat. Then he held his breath as they approached the gate, praying that the previous day hadn't been a dream and that he could actually still cross the border and not pull a Julian. But, as the car crossed the Button house borders, the Captain stayed firmly in his seat, and he'd breathed a quick sigh of relief.

They were both astonished too, when Alison put on music through Bluetooth. They'd spent the entire ride to London talking about their favourite songs, and asking Alison to put them on the radio. 

"Marvellous! Truly incredible." Havers said with a disbelieving smile, staring at the radio. 

"Yes. An amazing feat of technology indeed." the Captain echoed from beside William, barely able to contain his excitement in looking around as the villages and meadows flew by and slowly turned into the outskirts of London. While Havers had been chatting Alison's ears off in excitement the entire ride, about 'modern automobiles' and asking tens of questions about anything and everything, the Captain had been awfully quiet. Alison had checked on him a few times, and apart from the time he'd been looking at the airbase they passed a few miles outside of London, his gaze had been on William the entire time. William hadn't seemed to be bothered by it, so maybe they'd always been like that. But, something in the way the Captains' eyes twinkled as he looked at Havers, the fond smile he'd try to hide beneath his moustache, the way his stiffness seemed to melt away as he looked at his lieutenant, told Alison that maybe 1944 hadn't been the best time at all to be like that. But now times had changed hadn't they?

"Right! We're almost at the city centre. So much to see. What should we go see first?"  

Havers seemed to ponder for a moment, a solemn look crossing his features before he answered. 

"Well, if it's possible... I'd like to see Star street. Number 58, if you please." Alison tried to think if she'd ever heard of the street before, and if there were any landmarks there that she knew of, but she couldn't think of any major attractions. She typed it in on the GPS and noted it was in a street in Paddington. She was pulled out of her thoughts by William, who had followed her actions closely and was staring at her Navigation. She vaguely heard the Captain saying something about navigation, to which William replied with surprise.

"So, you're saying the entire map of London is in there? On that little screen?" He asked in disbelief. Alison nodded, turning off the main road into Paddington- looking over her shoulder as to avoid hitting any scooters. Or worse, old ladies. Or even worse, old ladies on scooters.  

"Yeah, basically. Not just London though, the entire world." She said, a smile growing on her face at the look on Havers' face. The Captain only nodded silently in the backseat, he and Alison had already had this exact conversation before when she'd shown all the ghosts the wonders of telephones last year in 'Tech club'. (Pat had been absolutely gobsmacked by Spotify and Youtube, the idea of having every song in existence at your fingertips had nearly been enough to give him a heart attack- no pun intended).

"So, this device knows every single street in the entire world? How is this public property? Shouldn't this be top-secret army technology? Isn't it dangerous for everybody in the entire world to know the exact layout of every major and minor city in any country?" He asked, shooting questions like he was still on the battlefield. 

"But... they had maps in your time too, right?" Alison asked, a bit confused.
"Well, yes. City maps and the like, but they weren't as advanced or detailed as this- it shows you aerial views, even the exact route to take- Look! It even tells you the time it will take! Incredible! But still- I can't imagine what enemy forces could do with this type of strategic advantage..." He said, trailing off at the end. The Captain spoke up when he seemed to fall silent. 

"Yes, it's quite detailed indeed. But I suppose we would have the same advantage over the enemy. " He said. "And besides... I've recently realized it's no good dwelling on the past. There isn't any need to think in strategics anymore." The Captain said, turning his head towards William, but refusing to make eye-contact. 

"Right sir, I suppose there isn't. The war is over after all." Havers said, glancing at the Captain as well, and letting his own eyes fall to his lap as he saw the Captain's refusal to make eye-contact. The Captain knew he shouldn't be too hard on Havers, and he knew he was being a huge hypocrite by telling his former Lieutenant that the war was over, when he had trouble remembering that fact himself some days. Alison probably thought so after the last time he'd firmly asked her if the war was indeed over. But he also knew the mental toll a war-mindset could have on a person, never being able to let your mind wander off- always being on high alert, never being able to trust anything (or anyone), always being alone. And he knew for a fact Havers had struggled with those feelings before. He was just trying to protect William, there was no need to let him struggle with that mindset any longer, like he had done for decades- like he still was doing today. Even if that meant being a hypocrite in Alison's eyes. 

Alison cringed from the front seat, the mood in the car had taken an awkward turn. They drove in silence for a few more minutes, both the Lieutenant and the Captain staring wordlessly out the window, looking at all the ways their city had changed so much, but at the same time not at all. The cars that lined the street were now sleek and streamlined, instead of the many nooks and crannies that their own cars used to have. The people were walking by with those little telephones-peering down at those, instead of having their heads buried in the newspaper. They wore jeans and t-shirts instead of slacks and dress shirts, and William noted very few people were wearing hats. They must not be in fashion anymore- which he thought was a bally shame. The Captain had once told him he looked good in a hat...

He snapped back to reality when he recognized a very familiar street, the small houses were still relatively untouched by the decades, the only thing missing were the barricades at both ends of the small street, and the X's on the windows that he had become so used to. He also recognised the small Cigar store on the corner of Bouverie Place and Star Street, a shop that he would run to every Sunday when he was little, with Half a crown or three Shillings to get his mother a pack of cigarettes. It  was now a hardware store that had seen better days. The red and black painted boards chipped and full of dirt. The small houses all blended together as they drove past, until Alison slowed down and pulled into an empty parking spot along the street. 

They all clambered out of the car, after Havers struggled with unbuckling his seatbelt for a moment, and the Captain had taken a deep breath. He had prepared himself for this moment the entire ride, and surely it wasn't a big deal. But he couldn't help but hold his breath in a moment of contemplative thought as he phased through the door and his foot made contact with the concrete road. He hadn't stepped outside of Button house in nearly 8 decades, and now here he was in London, miles away from the mansion that had been his metaphorical prison for all those years. He wondered if the others would ever get this chance too, he almost felt guilty- being the only one who was able to experience the euphoria of this change of scene. 

His sombre thoughts dissipated though, as his gaze fell on the Lieutenant, who was staring at one house in particular. His stance was rigid, tense. He stayed there on the curb beside the car, perfectly still- except for his eyes, eyes that were taking in the house in front of him. The Captain had never seen him look so... small. His entire posture was like that of a boy, whose favourite stuffed animal had been destroyed beyond repair. A sense of loss, mourning. He knew that look. He'd seen it tens of times. Heck, he'd even been there himself. He stepped towards Havers slowly, his own troubles all but forgotten. Havers gave no acknowledgement of the Captain, but after a moment or two did speak up softly. 

"They kept the blue door..." He said simply, a strange mix of melancholy and nostalgia lacing creeping through his tone.  
"Your family?" The Captain asked, already knowing the answer. He saw Havers break his gaze on the house and lower his head, a hand coming up to his forehead as he nodded. There wasn't anything else he needed to say, the Captain understood. He understood what it was like, returning after a war to a house that was no longer your home. 

"I'm sorry, William." He said. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to make it better, so instead he-very awkwardly- put his arm around Havers' shoulders, squeezing his shoulder. It was a gesture he'd never even had imagined doing back in the army, but the 75 years he had spent looking back on their interactions had made him realize there were so many moments where he had needlessly restrained himself. Afraid of his own feelings, of Havers' feelings, of the feelings of everyone else in their platoon, should they see them being closer than was socially deemed acceptable. But like he'd said earlier... they were no longer in the army. It was completely fine to console a dear friend in emotional distress. It was fine to be in emotional distress. Havers had seemed to adjust to this new world better in a week than he had managed in 75 years. Or maybe the Lieutenant had always been more emotional than he had given him credit for. Strong in front of everyone, keeping it together under a stoic and professional mask until he was alone in the darkness of his bedroom, with nothing but his thoughts and feelings. 

He felt William lean into his arm slightly as his shoulder slumped. 
"My sister and her husband." William said, breaking the silence as Alison stepped onto the curb beside them, looking at the house in front of them as well. The Captain released his former lieutenant, dropping his arm back to his side and managing to catch William's eye for a quick second. The other man cleared his throat and tried to push down the blush that had started to form on his cheeks.

"Should we try and see if somebody's home?" She suggested. The Captain never ceased to be amazed at her apparent lack of fear for any kind of social situation. 

William seemed to hesitate for a moment, once again staring at the little blue door in front of them. He'd been thinking about that ever since they'd stepped into the car at Button house. He had no doubt his sister was no longer there, she would have had to be over 100 years old. But his nephew Stephen might. He'd almost decided against it, just now on the curb in front of the house. But what did he have to lose, by ringing the bell and asking? He was done looking back on his life and seeing only 'what-ifs'. 

What if he'd made sure everyone in his squad had functioning gas masks on that fateful day in Tunisia? What if he'd never gone to Africa in the first place, what if he'd returned alive?

He was done with it. No more wasted chances. 
He, Alison and the Captain stepped up to the door, and he knocked. After waiting with baited breath for what felt like hours, a young girl finally opened the door. 

"Hello!" Alison said, with a happy smile. 
"Hello." The girl replied shyly, slinking back behind the door a bit at the sight of two strangers on her doorstep. 
"Hi! Is your mum home, by any chance?" Alison asked, trying to not sound incredibly creepy. She always hated it when strangers came to the door and asked her if her mum was home when she was younger. But the girl nodded and leaned back into the house.
"Mum! Can ya' come down?" There was a noise from inside the house, then the sound of footsteps in the hall, and then a woman appeared in the doorway, hair tucked back into a ponytail and apron around her waist. She was covered in flour from head to toe as she gave them a friendly smile. 

"So sorry for the mess, I'm baking a cake. What can I help you with?" She said, stepping in front of her daughter. 
"Well, his family used to live here." Alison said, gesturing towards William, who nodded firmly.
"And we were wondering if you maybe know what happened to them? He lost contact, you know how it is..." 

The woman's gaze softened in compassion, and Havers could only brace himself for the worst. 
"Sorry sweetie, I've only been living here for a few years... Would you like to come in? I don't know much, but I can at least offer you a look inside?" 

Havers nodded gratefully. "If it's no trouble." He said, stealing a glance at Alison. The woman shook her head.
"Not at all, just please excuse the mess again, haven't had time to clean much with the preparations for this one's birthday." She gestured to her daughter as she led them inside, the small hallway was full of shoes, jackets and dog accessories. Havers wondered if his sisters' hallway looked like this too, once upon a time. 

The woman introduced herself as Sascha, and told them she'd been living here for a little over 8 years as they piled into the living room. A room that still let in the same light through the same big windows at the front of the house. The kitchen was still in the same place, even though it was a completely new kitchen, and the fireplace still had the original stone bricks and wooden encasing, but that was it. There was very little William recognized from the time he had lived there, but if he concentrated, he could still hear his little sister laughing from the garden, hear his mother accidentally clanking pots and pans together in the kitchen as she cooked, hear his father ruffle the stiff pages of that morning's newspaper as he sat in front of the radio and listened mindlessly to the horse races, smoking his pipe.

He stepped towards the fireplace and ran his fingers over the aged wood, smiling when he finds a little dent. It was a dent he made when he'd tried to help his mother move some chairs for his 10th birthday. She'd been so cross with him, the fireplace had been newly renovated the weekend before. They'd made up quickly though, he'd always been a mother's boy. They'd never had another chance to fix it though. 

"Tea?" Sascha asked, snapping him out of his thoughts and holding up a pot of tea, instantly getting it covered in flour. He and Alison declined politely. He'd heard the Captain decline as well, which nearly made him crack up.
"May I ask what you know about the previous owners?" Havers asked, shaking off the Captain's comment. Sascha nodded, setting the teapot down again and wiping some of the flour off- arguably making it even worse. 

"I got the house from these siblings, Danny and Elisah. Their father used to live here, but he got cancer and passed away. They couldn't both had their own homes and families, and even though it pained them to sell their parental house, they decided to sell it and split the money anyway. I guess the daily reminders of their father would hurt too much." She said. 

"Do you know their surnames by any chance?" William asked. 
"Vaguely? I think it was something along the lines of Davids?" 

"Davidson." Havers said breathlessly. They had continued to live here.
"Yes! That's it." The woman said with a small laugh. 
"Do you know anything more about them? Their father?" Havers asked, hopeful. The Captain watched from across the room as the hope drained from his face as the woman shook her head. 
"I'm sorry, dear. I've no idea. Only saw them a few times. I think they both lived over near Brighton at the time, but I have no contact information for you unfortunately." 
Havers gave the woman a small smile anyway. 
"No, thank you. You've already told me a lot. I really appreciate it." He said earnestly. 

He and Alison thanked the woman profusely for her hospitality and stepped back out, taking one last look at the place he'd called home for so many years. He was glad for the last look, but his heart ached at the finality of knowing this was his last ever look at his home. It was no longer his after all. 
"What a lovely woman." Alison said, as they stepped back from the garden into the sunny street. "I'm sorry she didn't know more about your family though." 
Havers nodded, opening his mouth to agree when someone interrupted them.
"You're looking for the Davidson family?" The voice asked from behind them. They turned around to find an old lady watering a row of potted plants that had been perched along her window sill. 

"Yes, I- uh, it's-was my family. Did you know them?" William replied, a bit of that lost hope seeping back into his mind. A hope that was only confirmed when the old lady nodded with a smile. 
"Oh yes! I've lived here my entire life. We were neighbours for a long while. My name's Anne."
Havers stepped closer to her, immediately intrigued, introducing himself as Will.

"I saw those kids grow up here, I did. They were such good kids. Their father raised them well. I grew up with him you know, their father Stephen." 
"You knew Stephen?" Havers asked, his voice wavering a bit. 
"Oh I knew him! Like I said, we grew up together. We did everything together, we were such good friends. We even dated at some point. In secret of course, my parents were far too strict to let me have boyfriends." She laughed at the memory, a twinkle in her eye. 

"His mother was the sweetest though. Maude was her name. I used to go there every Wednesday after school because his mum would make apple pie. She made the best apple pie in London I tell you!" She added. Havers smiled at the mention of his sister. She did make the best apple pie. He'd had the pleasure of being kitchen assistant many times when they were younger. Before the war...
"What about the husband?" Havers asked, almost afraid of the answer but knowing this was his only chance of finding out. 
"Oh, a sad story really." The woman began. And Havers' face fell.
"He died?" He asked, feeling his face drain of blood. He saw the Captain tense behind him as well, undoubtedly knowing what Havers was going through. 
"No, no! Sorry to have scared you." The woman said quickly, having seen the look on his face. 

"He was drafted in the second world war. I was little at the time, but I remember Maude was devastated. Poor thing had it tough then. My family and hers were poor as dirt, but at least my mother still had her husband at the time. He was rejected by the army because of his bad leg, you see. He was wounded in World War 1. Anyhow, I'm getting off track, my mother and father used to help her out now and again, when things got tough without her husband. My room was next to hers, and those walls were paper thin. Some nights I could hear her cry for hours. But she always kept a brave face in front of Stephen." 

Havers felt his heart ache for his sister, but the woman continued talking. 

"I can only imagine the stress she must have felt for her husband. Especially after... She used to have this brother, you know. Missing in action, later presumed dead. He used to come by sometimes, in the beginning. Spend his leave here. I think he was a Lieutenant." She paused for a second, studying William, whose eyes had reddened slightly.
"You look like him, you know. I guess you really must be family. But you're much more handsome." She remarked with a cheeky smile. 

"Do... Do you know what happened after the war?" William managed to ask through a strained voice. The lady nodded, the fond smile slowly disappearing from her face.

"Her husband returned after the war, but he was never the same. War changes you, you know." She paused for a moment, reflecting. There was no doubt she herself had lived through some horrible moments during the war, being as small as she was it must have been terrifying. It was a feeling he and the Captain knew all too well. 

"Maude wasn't the same either. She lost a lot in her life. I remember one time, they were expecting, but she lost the baby halfway through, poor thing. I didn't see her for months after that." She paused again, going to sit down on the bench that was placed beneath the window sill. Havers, ever the gentleman, offered her his hand for support. She huffed and playfully waved his hand off. She sat down gently.

"They were happy though. Maude, Paul and Stephen. They made the most of life, and they all loved each other to bits, that much was obvious. I'd often see them dancing together in the backyard, when the weather was nice. Maude later bought the old cigar shop, right here across the street. Her and Paul fixed up radios, and later televisions too- and they sold them there, she was quite ahead of her time, that woman! Me and Stephen eventually broke up, you know how it is- young love" She continued, laughing softly as she recalled the happier memories.

"He went off to uni, moved away, got a good job. A Surgeon! He found a nice girl and I found my husband Peter. We both settled down, and I didn't see him again until mid-80's. Paul passed away somewhere around '85, and Maude a few years later, in '93. It was a tough time for Stephen, and me as well. Maude was always like a second mother to me. We found solace in each other though, and it does get easier with time. Eventually his children Danny and Elisah grew up, such cute kids. His wife, Eleanor was a great woman too, we became good friends over the years. She's in a nursing home now, Alzheimer’s. I wonder how she's doing..." She fell silent for a moment more, and Havers seemed to snap out of the trance her story had put him in. The woman had a wonderful way with words. He spared a quick look at the Captain, who seemed to be in no more of a better mood than himself. William wondered what he was thinking. 

"Thank you, Anne. From the bottom of my heart." He couldn't avoid the small tears that escaped his eyes. It meant more to him than the lady would probably ever know, to know that despite the hardships, his sister had managed to make the most out of life, and that his little nephew had a good life as well. 
"No problem, young man. I know how complicated family can be. Trust an old lady like me." She chuckled. 
"Yes, quite. Bally complicated, I must say." He replied, giving her a small smile through his teary eyes. "But thank you, again." Alison didn't miss the way Anne's eyebrows raised slightly as Havers' use of the word Bally.

"It's getting late. We shouldn't hold you up any longer." William said, holding out his hand. Anne stared at his hand for a few seconds before standing up, declining to shake his hand. Alison and the Captain had slowly turned back behind him, Alison muttering a quick thanks and the Captain giving a small salute before turning around and following Alison back to the car. 
"Oh nonsense, dear. Don't worry about it. It's not like I have much to do with my time anyway. She cast a quick glance and smile in Alison's direction. 

"You kids should head back, enjoy your day- enjoy your life. Make the most of it. Life's too short to get stuck in your regrets." She said, giving William a stern look, like a grandma would give her grandchild. William nodded and gave her his thanks, before turning around with Alison and going back to the car. The Captain was about to follow them, before Anne's eyes suddenly flicked over to him, and he almost jumped out of his skin. 

"Goodness knows it's over before we know it. Isn’t that right, sir?" She added softly, giving the Captain a wink and a smile, before turning around and making her way up the stairs of the house. The Captain watched her go with open mouth, until he heard Alison yell out for him from the car, and he made his way back over to the car, mind racing. And as he looked over at Havers, who caught his eyes instantly and then gave him a watery smile before breaking eye-contact again with a soft blush, his heart almost raced along with it. almost. 

Chapter Text

The afternoon passed quickly, with Alison dragging both ex-army men across the entirety of London, explaining anything and everything as they went. How Piccadilly circus managed to show all those 'videographic advertisements' at once, how yes the giant observation wheel is permanent- Captain, how she could pay for everything with a plastic card that somehow held all of her money, and most importantly- how German tourists sightseeing around were perfectly acceptable- weren't on some secret spy mission, and weren't a threat to anyone. 

They'd visited Churchill's war rooms, where both the Captain and Lieutenant had been on numerous occasions before. They knew their way around the maze better than their tour guide, even though in the Captain's case Alison was the only one who knew that. The three of them had hung around the back of the group, chatting about the good old days, letting Alison in on their inside jokes, and telling her all the stories they'd lived through with the big man Churchill himself in these very rooms. "One time, he made me stay up with him for nearly three days. Havers was lucky, he got to sneak a few naps in the backroom. I was stuck there. I thought I was going to fall asleep on his desk right there." The Captain jokes, his eyes shining with a glee Alison had rarely ever seen on him.  Havers, at one point, had found the both of them in a picture with the prime minister, both fresh faced and ready for battle- and had pointed it out excitedly to Alison who, despite the warnings not to take any pictures- snapped one anyway. 

They visited the Imperial war museum, where the men were like children in a candy store, a second away from pressing their faces and hands against the glass and peering inside at any given point. She also showed them the statues and memorials, and with every passing memorial the men found it harder to keep it together. 

They were just returning from the HMS Belfast, one of the biggest WW2 museums and memorial of London, when Havers finally cracked. 
"I can't believe there's still... I mean- people still haven't forgotten." He said, amazed. He hadn't dared to dream, that almost 80 years later, people were still interested in the war. People still hadn't forgotten, putting up entire museums as a constant reminder of the soldiers that went out to fight but never came home. Soldiers that gave their life so that others might live theirs. 

"Yeah, William. We haven't forgotten. We won't ever forget what you- both of you and everyone else who helped defeat the Germans, have sacrificed for us. What you lost. And... I don't think I've ever told you this Captain." She said, turning from William to the older man standing beside him, looking just as speechless as the Lieutenant.

"But thank you. Both of you. For your service I mean." Spending the entire day in WW2 museums looking at photos, videos and other memorabilia had really put things into perspective for her. Of course she'd know about the war, but it had been a while since she'd seen the conditions the people lived back then in up close, seen the destruction of the blitz, the horror, the death. She hadn't realised how much either of them sacrificed for the greater good, and she couldn't be more thankful to have grown up in an age where there was no oppression and no war. And it was partly thanks to them. Both men smiled, a smile that made their eyes gleam with pride as they nodded in return. A quiet expression of thanks that said more than words ever could. 

Alison had then led them along to a street she'd wanted to take them the entire day. It was near the Tower Bridge, and it was a street that she knew had been a popular LGBTQ+ hangout for a few years- one of her friends from Uni frequently visited it. She'd had her suspicions about the Captain for so long, but now that Havers was here and she'd seen their chemistry up close, she was absolutely certain there was something going on between the two- whether they wanted to admit it or not. She'd seen the glances they stole when the other wasn't looking. The way the one would smile fondly when the other was excitedly yapping away about (boring) army stuff. But the Captain's lack of acknowledgement of his feelings, or maybe- his refusal to accept them- made her feel like he could use a modern point of view on the situation. She knows the 40's were a horrible time to be anything other than straight after all. 

She didn't know how Havers felt about his feelings, but she supposed it couldn't hurt to just... walk down the street there. If any of the men indeed had any doubts about their feelings she wanted to show them that that was okay, and if they weren't- well, then it'd simply be just another street in London. She just wanted them to know. But, subtlety was key. That's why, before they turned the corner Alison loudly proclaimed "I think Tower bridge is just through here!" 

The men were talking about some tank or other, they crossed the street and found themselves in a broad side street filled with clubs, cafés and bars, rainbow, trans and all other kinds of flags littering the buildings left and right. People were bustling about, both straight and gay couples, and right away Alison spotted some same-sex couples walking or sitting together on the various tables scattered about the street. A few seconds later she could hear Havers gasp softly. The Captain had gone silent as well, just like he had at Claire's wedding. 

"Those men... they're holding hands?" Havers said, leaning towards Alison slightly as to not talk too loud, his eyes on two guys on a bench across the street, their fingers interlaced as they cuddled together for warmth on the chilly winter's night. Alison tried to hide the smile that was creeping onto her face. 
"Yeah, they're together- a couple." She replied. Haver's mouth almost fell open, his eyes wide. 
"They are? That's legal?" He asked, his voice growing louder- earning him an angry look or two (that he was too stunned to even notice).
"Yes! Perfectly acceptable. We had two women get married at Button house last year too, Captain even took charge of the decorations, right Cap?" She said happily, turning back to the Captain, who was standing behind them. Havers turned too, shooting a surprised look at the older man. The man nodded in turn, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly at the memory. "Well I don't want to... blow my own horn, but it was a magnificent wedding indeed." He said, turning up his nose a bit with pride. It made Havers smile, but he didn't say anything, seeming to get caught up in his thoughts. 

"You don't have a problem with that... right, William?" Alison asked, trying to keep her tone light. She didn't want him to take it the wrong way. Luckily he didn't, and shook his head instantly. 

"No!" He shouted quickly, maybe a bit too loud. "No, I- ehm, I think it's rather lovely. Two men getting married... quite marvellous." he said, trailing off at the end. He looked happy, there was a sense of relief to his tone, however soft it may be. A sense of validation. She snuck a glance at the Captain as Havers said that, and Alison couldn't have been more glad of her decision to have brought them here, just by the look on his face. She also didn't miss the way both the Captain and Havers couldn't take their eyes off the various couples strewn about the street, holding hands, talking, some even exchanging a kiss or two. Neither of them seemed to notice their tempo had slowed down either, so they continued to slowly stroll down the street, Alison letting them have their moment. 

The Captain had had some time to get used to more modern ideas, mainly through the aforementioned wedding, and the Television, but it was still a bit of a shock to him every time, especially seeing it in real life. He'd been struggling with himself for so long, demonizing the thoughts about other men for decades because it was simply not accepted. But to see others in this time display their love so proudly and so unabashedly, almost moved him to tears. Maybe he wasn't ready to admit it yet, not out loud, but seeing acceptance of the world towards men and women like him made him feel so goddamn happy.

Havers too, was ecstatic about this information. He had been quite sure of his feelings towards men for a long time, but he had never, in a million years ever expected that his feelings would ever be tolerated, let alone accepted. And same-sex marriage? That was something he never even let himself imagine. It was to him such a natural thing to hide that part of himself, to know that even though he knew he could never love a woman, he would one day have to settle down with one, have kids with her. He still shuddered at the thought. And so the revelation that an entire new world had opened up to him here- a world where he didn't need to hide his feelings, one where his thoughts and feelings were celebrated, brought him happiness unlike anything else in his life. And though he wasn't in any hurry to share this revelation with the world- as he snuck a quick glance at two men stealing a kiss across the street, he thought that he might one day.

They walked in comfortable silence for a moment, eventually coming to the end of the street and continuing on to the Tower bridge. The Captain opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the ringing of Alison's phone. She checked the screen quickly and sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. 

"I've gotta take this, hold on, it's Mike. God I hope nothing's wrong." She said, as she walked off and answered the phone swiftly. 

Havers and the Captain walked up to the Tower bridge, getting up to about the middle in a shared comfortable silence before Havers snatched a cigarette out of his pocket and putting it between his lips. One of the decorators had kindly given it to him that morning, after he'd spent the entire morning complaining to the former Lieutenant about wanting to quit. Havers was grateful for it now, it had been ages since he'd had a cigarette. Before he could fish a lighter out of his pocket though, the Captain- finding incredible joy in the fact that he could, flicked the cigarette out from between his lips with a huff. They both watched it fall down into the dark water below, the setting sun casting shadows over the small waves and making the small cigarette between them. 

"Those things will kill you, you know." He remarked. The irony was not lost on him, so he flashed along a cheeky smile. 
"Oh, come on. They're not that dangerous, doctors recommend these." William replied, moving to get another one. But when the Captain continued to give him a serious look, he hesitated. 
"Are they?" He asked. 
"Proven to be a leading cause for lung cancer, or so I'm told." The older man replied. William only replied with a small: "Huh", before putting the cigarette back into the case and leaning back against the railing. He seemed to get lost in thought, staring at the Thames below them and the old buildings lining the shores of the river. He thought back to the last time he'd looked at those shores, all rubble, dust and broken walls after The Blitz. Yet here they stood, like it never happened. There was a long, contemplative silence wherein William was deciding if it was an appropriate time to share something with the Captain. He eventually decided it was.

"You know...My parents were caught in the Blitz. Maude was the only family I had left." He said, catching The Captains off guard. 
"Oh... I had no idea, William. I'm sorry." He said lamely. He was only now realizing how little he knew about William. How little William must have known about him. Nothing in their conversations ever went beyond army- or war related topics or surface level chit-chat. They knew every little detail about each other, down to how they both liked their tea, but the personal stuff, the meaningful stuff, had always been danced around. He'd learned more about Havers in the last day than he had in the entire 4 years they'd spent together in the army.

"She had a hard time adjusting to our parent's deaths. We inherited the house, but I was already deployed by then, so Maude lived there with her husband Paul for a while, working underground resistance communications. That was, until he got drafted to the front lines of France." He chuckled as he remembered Paul. "He was a good guy." He paused, letting his words float in the air between them for a long minute. A minute during which the Captain was going crazy trying to find the right words to say.  Havers continued to talk, needing to get the crushing weight of guilt off his chest in some way or another, and who would understand better than Theodore? 

"The guilt is the worst part." He said, his voice was strained, the words coming out in a higher pitch than they normally would. He was unable to look the Captain in the eye.
"It was just her and me left. We only had each other." He said. 

"And I-... She never got to see me come home."  

The Captain contemplated for a second, before finally finding the courage to say something.

"You know, William..." When Havers didn't reply, he decided to continue. 
"When the war ended, I went home. I went back home to my mother. Hadn't heard from her in a while and all, but... The house was gone. A German plane had crash landed near it and the house had caught fire. Being the old lady that she was, she couldn't get out in time." He paused as he pictured the scene again, his old home in complete and utter ruins, his mother nowhere to be found. He'd later found her at the local cemetery, an awful plain stone that had been quickly overrun by the local fauna. 

"I went back to an empty home, I'd just missed her by a few months. But I missed the funeral, everything. I hadn't even known she passed. I suppose the telegram must have gotten lost in the chaos somewhere. But I never managed to shake the guilt of not being there." 

William looked up at him, his eyes red but his cheeks remained dry, as they had that morning. 
"I used to just tell myself to bury those feelings. Like I always did. And that worked, for a while. But after a couple of decades, you know- it starts to pile up." He said, hoping to lighten the tone a bit. William had been sad enough for today. And so had he. He was done feeling sorry for himself.

"But William, I've realized... It's not the solution to continue blaming yourself for things you have absolutely no control over. These feelings- this guilt I mean- I'm not saying you're not allowed to feel it, but you can't change the past. You can only try to find solace in the little things... like the fact that Maude had a loving family of her own, a happy life." 
William nodded slowly, breathing out softly. The sun had set completely now, and his breath formed a small cloud of air that swirled between them in the warm light of the lantern that shone brightly between them. 

"We all experience loss and guilt, Will. But life goes on. Maude did, and you must too." He paused for a moment, before adding, "You still have your life, I highly encourage you to live it without regrets." There wasn't any malice in it, or jealousy. Just pure, unadulterated advice that he'd spent decades wishing someone had told him before he died. He would always live with those regrets, those missed chances. But he would be damned if let his William follow the same path. 

"Thank you, Theo." William said, earnestly, he looked like he was thinking it over. They stood in silence for a few more seconds, before something else came to the Captains mind. Something that had been on his mind for a while, but that he wasn't sure if he should share with his Lieutenant. What if he would find it weird? But, whether it was the weirdly magnetic pull Havers always seemed to have on him- making him spill way more than he intends to, or the effects of his own speech riling him up- he decided that this would not be another regret in his (after)life. 

"You know, I went to visit." Said the Captain finally, breaking the silence. William turned to look at him, mainly in surprise.
"What?"
"I went to visit. When I got the letter informing me of your... you know. I made up a lie so I could travel down to Tunisia. Captain's business and all that. I wanted... Well I guess I don't really know what I wanted to do. I just needed-" He cut himself off for a moment, not quite managing to get the words out. 

"I just needed to see...you." He paused for a moment. When William didn't reply, he continued. 
"I didn't know what I was expecting. It was just a simple cross over some freshly moved dirt. I guess I am wondering now if you were there then."  William shook his head softly.
"I don't remember anything from after I died. I don't think I've ever really been a ghost." They once again fell into silence, as they continued to enjoy the magnificent view on their own little corner of the Tower bridge together.
"I did wonder, you know. If you would be around somewhere. After I died, I kept thinking-hoping, that I might meet you again." He couldn't help but notice the smile that grew on William's face when he said that. It made his non proverbial heart skip a beat. 
"But I also knew you'd died in another continent, and since you stay where you die..." he let out a short laugh at his own confession. "It's rather silly I must say, but I was worried you'd be stuck on a battlefield forever. Even worse than never getting to see you again was the idea that you might be in the horrors of war forever. So I just wanted to say I am- incredibly happy that you're here to prove me differently, William." He said. 

William looked at the Captain, holding his gaze firmly. He'd always look away after a few seconds, scared of the brief feelings of intimacy that only came from that kind of gesture. But the sincerity with which the Captain spoke made William feel like this was something that wasn't easy to admit to the older man. Theodore had always been a very private person, making a point to never discuss his feelings with anyone. William supposed that was good as a Captain, showing no weaknesses in front of his men, but he couldn't help but wonder what mental toll it had taken on him as a person. 

The Captain hadn't looked away either, and was still holding William's gaze with determination. This was probably the most open, the most raw they'd ever been with each other over all the years they'd known each other, it seems like neither of them wanted to pretend any longer to be immune to feelings, good or bad. Havers finally broke eye-contact, looking around them and scanning the bridge for people- an action that the Captain copied. There were several people walking up and down the bridge, and his face fell for a second, before he remembered the street from before, where nobody cared if two men were holding hands. Surely it would be fine...

"You know our hug yesterday..." William said suddenly. There was a second of hesitation before he continued softly. 

"I rather actually think I could use another one, Theo."

He didn't need to ask twice, because a second later he was enveloped by the taller man, his head buried firmly in the Captain's chest, everyone else in the world forgotten.
Just the two of them in one single moment of peace and happiness. 

Chapter Text

Alison left the Captain and Havers alone for a while as she answered the phone to Mike, who she could hear swear softly on the other end of the line. She could hear a ruckus in the background as well, the unmistakable grinding and grunting laugh that could only be Robin, and the hiccupping chihuahua that definitely belonged to Julian. 

"Hello, Alison?" Mike all but yelled before she could even greet him. She could hear the annoyance in his voice.
"Mike?" She answered
"Yes, hello? Alison" He asked again. Alison rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face. Her husband could be such a dork. 

"Mike! What's wrong?" She yelled back, grabbing his attention. He sighed shortly from the other side. 
"These pricks have been making this day much harder than it has to be. They keep messing with the lights. The decorators are scared to death. No pun intended."

Alison rolled her eyes. Typical, the ghosts hadn't had all that much to do lately, and even though they'd had some events, the ghosts were restless. Especially Julian and Robin, she guessed a person could only take that many games of chess on any given day- even if they were dead and had technically nothing better to do. She could hear Julian speaking up in the background.

"Alison! We scared off this decorator bloke earlier- right pansy-"
"Yehs! We make light go on and pansy go AHHHHHHH!- It was funny." Robin interrupted him, a sentence that Alison could barely make out. 
"Put me on speaker please, Mike." Mike complied, putting his wife on speaker and holding the phone up to the empty room. 
"Right, guys. I need you to stop harassing the workers, we've been over this. Remember last time?" Alison said sternly. 

Julian laughed as he remembered. "Ah yes, the yoghurt incident. Marvellous." 
"No! Not marvellous, the poor guy. Listen, we can't miss out on the money these guys are paying us, so the least we can do is let the decorators do their job in peace." She continued. 

She could almost see them roll their eyes as they sighed, honestly- they were like children. "But we boreeeeed." Robin's voice came through the phone. 
"Tough luck, play some chess or something. I gotta go now, but if Mike has to call me again I swear to god there'll be no TV for a week! And I'll hide the chessboard!" 

"You wouldn't dare." Julian scoffed, his politician voice seeping through. "We'd just bother you more if we didn't have TV or chess." God he was infuriating, but he was also kind of right. Curse politicians!

"Just-... Behave!" Alison snapped. Mike raised his eyebrows and hesitantly brought the phone back to his ear when she fell silent. 
"Thanks." He said, looking around the room- specifically the ceiling. Just before he hung up Alison could hear Julian muttering "We're down here you nonce."

 She couldn't help but chuckle as she put her phone back down. She hoped her warnings would help, but with those two you never knew. She turned around and started to make her way back to the two men she left by the bridge, but as she got closer she saw the two men in what seemed to be a serious conversation. They were talking softly, frowns on their faces. She didn't want to ruin the moment- god knows she'd unintentionally done that before, so she halted in her tracks and softly backed up, giving them a little more time to talk. Being out of a familiar setting may make it easier for both of them to open up, especially the Captain, who had been inside of Button house for so long. 

She quietly walked back down the bridge, finding a good spot where she could barely see them and they couldn't see her, and waited for them to finish their conversation. 

The ride back to Button house was mostly silent. Both men had had a lot to process for the day, and Alison was exhausted as well, dragging them around London all day. Captain especially, wasn't very talkative. 

He'd been contemplating not only his feelings towards his mother, who he hadn't thought about in ages- but also his feelings towards a certain former Lieutenant. He'd never really allowed himself to feel close to anyone at work, not in a superficial way, but Havers had managed to slip through the tight barricade he'd formed around himself and gotten closer to him than anyone else in the house. He was now realising there may have been a reason for it, an underlying desire for him to be as close to Havers as he could get, without it being out of the ordinary. He thought back on all the interactions he'd ever had with Havers, every accidental touch that used to startle the living daylights out of him, every stolen glance from across the room, every hour spent together when there wasn't really a reason to. He had always repeated to himself that it had been strictly professional, but every day he was realising more and more that he had been lying to himself. 

He had always known there was something wrong with him, he had never been interested in any woman, and he could never see himself romantically involved with anyone but men. It was a fact that he had never really let himself dwell on too much, especially in the beginning. He'd hoped that if he would just ignore those feelings, maybe he would get over them someday. But as he grew older they only grew stronger... And then the war started, and he hadn't let himself have the time to think about anything else. But no matter how deeply he buried those shameful feelings, he could never escape the thoughts that would float through his mind every day. 

You're not normal. 

All these people around you, how would they look at you when they find out your secret? 

Don't let anybody get too close, they might notice something.

You'll lose everything, you'll be shunned. You'll lose your job.

Those thoughts plagued his mind for so many years, making him feel like he was alone in the world. Like he was the only person who had these feelings towards the same sex. He contemplated if that was why he could never seem to get close to anyone else Button house- both in life and death. It was only since Alison arrived that he'd began to open up more, especially after witnessing the breath of fresh air that was Claire's marriage to her wife. It had made him realise that maybe he wasn't alone in his feelings. But Claire's wedding paled in comparison to the street Alison had taken them through tonight. It had taken him off guard, just having a nice conversation with Havers and all of a sudden seeing all these people like him- just going about their evening like they had not a care of shame of their feelings, being unapologetically proud of their feelings towards the same sex. It was something the Captain could have never imagined 75 years ago, and he was now finally realising it was okay to let go of the ropes that he tied his wrists with all those years ago. To let go of the shame he felt when he accidentally let himself think about his feelings towards other men. It was okay to feel the way he did, in fact- millions of people did, and there wasn't anybody who would judge him for it- let alone persecute him. 

There wasn't any reason he should continue to be ashamed of his feelings, so, a little voice in his head told him that maybe it was time for him to stop being in denial about them. But it was hard to change that mindset after so many years spent repressing his feelings towards other men, of living in hate of his own feelings. Since he died he had stopped caring about things like love- it wasn't like it mattered anymore- so he had slowly accepted the fact he had always been attracted to men, but the residual shame he felt anytime the subject was brought up had been persistent. 

As they both sat in the backseat of Alison's car, he stole a glance at his Lieutenant- who was staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts- and wondered what he thought about same sex couples.  "Two men getting married... quite marvellous"  He'd said earlier that night. The look on his face had been one of surprise and neutrality, and the lack of any negative reaction led the Captain to allow himself to believe that Havers would have no qualms with same sex couples. But... would he accept the fact that his once untouchable captain was a homosexual as well? Would he think less of him? Is tolerance the same thing as acceptance?

The Captain hated the fact he was overthinking the situation so much. He'd taken note of Haver's reaction, but he had been hard to read. His expression had been neutral, but there had been a hint of a smile, a proud twinkle in his eyes. Still, it was more confirmation than the Captain had ever had from Havers- or maybe the only one he ever caught. And their hug... He'd never been comfortable hugging anybody, but the way William just seemed to melt into him, fitting perfectly against his chest, gave him a high he never wanted to get down from. The fact that Havers asked for another hug... from him. It made him unreasonably happy. 

As they arrived back at Button house, they were all welcomed by the other ghosts, all chattering excitedly.

"Well silly! Tell us all about it. What's it like out there?" Pat asked, finally managing to calm down the others enough to ask a clear question. The Captain breathed in, ready to answer, when William piped up from beside him with a broad smile on his face. He immediately held in his own words to let the man speak, a small smile growing on his face. Pat started leading the party inside as Havers spoke.

"Oh yes! Very much an enlightening experience. Did you know there's still black cabs driving around? And they look a lot like they used to. That's pretty much the only thing that hasn't changed, haha. The buildings are-" 

The Captain stopped listening halfway through when Pat and Havers stepped inside, he hung back, letting the others go inside first. Last in line was Julian, who stopped before heading in, giving the Captain a pointed look. As annoying and rude as he could be, he was quite good at reading people. 

"You alright? What rained on your parade today?" He said, drawing out the 'your'.  Captain rolled his eyes briefly at the tone before sighing. 
"Yes, perfectly fine Julian, look- today has been a very long day..."
"I can see it on your face mate. You look like you've seen a ghost." He said, chuckling at his own joke. 
"Yes... well, it has been a rather fruitful day." The Captain replied. 
"Oh? Learn new things did ya?" Julian asked. The Captain hesitated a bit before replying. 
"Yes, especially about Haver's past. It was quite a sad story actually. I pity him." Julian looked surprised, but pressed on. 
"Can imagine. But, nothing else?" 
"Alison took us through this street. There were... a lot of homosexuals there." A look of recognition flashed across Julian's face, followed by a smug grin. 
"Ahhh, you went through Dalton Street. Great place, nice cafés. Tell me- is the hot dog stand still there? Those hot dogs were the best food in London I tell you." He said, wringing his hands together. The Captain gaped at him for a moment before recollecting himself. 
"You know it?" He asked in disbelief. 
"Oh yes! We'd go there sometimes, get in a bit of practice, you know how it is. People there were always willing to think outside the box more, hehe, I've had some great threesomes there- most of them involving swings." 
"You've slept with other men?" The Captain asked, sceptical. 
"Mhm, yeah. On occasion. I'd say it's always in one's benefit to share... knowledge and technique between men, learning new moves and all. It wouldn't be fair to the women, eh? Never trying something new?" He said, wiggling his eyes suggestively.

The Captain sputtered, having not seen this coming at all. 

"So, you're a homosexual?" He asked, not quite knowing what else to say. But Julian- to the Captain's dismay- shook his head. 
"Wouldn't say I'm really gay. I don't like labels anyway. Women, men, others- I’ve probably tried it. But I like to keep my options open, keeps life exciting. Wouldn't you agree, Cap?" 

When the Captain didn't reply, he moved towards the older man and gently gave him a comforting pat on the side of the arm. "You know it's okay to not say homosexual right? You sound like Liza Minelli in the 70s. Just say gay." he added. The Captain rolled his eyes at this, but just as Julian moved to go inside, the Captain cleared his throat, stopping him in his tracks. "Julian." 

Julian turned around, eyebrows raised. The Captain remained silent for a second, heart seeming to hammer in his chest. If it could. A thousand thoughts were shooting through his head, but would he ever get a more perfect moment than this? To have someone alone like this? Would he ever get another opportunity to say it out loud? To admit it to Julian, to confirm it for himself? The words were out before he could stop them. Three little words that he had been denying himself for decades. He regretted saying the words as soon as they left his lips. 

"I am gay." 

He braced himself for disgust, anger, betrayal or laughter. But Julian pursed his lips, before a smile spread across his face. "Good. See? Sounds much better than homosexual. So old-fashioned." He said, turning back around as if the confession wasn't the biggest revelation of his life. To him it probably wasn't. 

"You aren't surprised? the Captain said, walking after the MP into the now-empty foyer of the house. Julian scoffed. 
"Nah, I have a radar for stuff like that. I had you down from the first time we met. There isn't a straight man in the world who has stared at my legs as long as you did that day." 

The Captain couldn't escape the faux heat that crept onto his cheeks and he cleared his throat in discomfort. "Well-" He started saying, before Julian interrupted him. 

"It's fine though, the women here aren't my type anyway hehe." He said jokingly, realising how uncomfortable the Captain was and trying to lighten the mood. It worked a little, as the Captain relaxed a bit, even giving a small laugh. He turned serious then, a feat that seemingly was a rare occurrence for the former politician.

"Thank you for telling me, Captain. It can't have been easy, going through it alone. But I'm here for you, if you want to talk about it." He said, adding "as a friend of course." with a reassuring smile. The Captain felt relief wash over him. He had never expected Julian to react in this way, let alone tell him about his own... experiences. It was a weight off his chest he hadn't even realised he was carrying, but it felt amazing. To be able to admit it out loud to someone else, and to himself. It was probably the hardest thing he’d had to say out loud up until this point in his life (and death), but the feeling of relief that washed over him at the moment had made it worth it. If Julian could accept him of all people, surely the others wouldn't care either? And Havers... he wouldn't, would he? 

Instead of getting caught up in that downward spiral once again, the Captain snapped himself back to reality and nodded to Julian, saying "Thank you, Julian. That means a lot to me.", hoping to convey how incredibly grateful he was that the MP had accepted him this readily, without any judgement or hate. "But, I would greatly appreciate it if you could... treat this information with confidentiality. It's rather... sensitive information you see." He added, not wanting everybody to know just yet.

Julian nodded, thankfully understanding, before wringing his hands and pointing inside, suggesting they find the others. The Captain nodded and followed the man inside. Julian could be a bastard sometimes, but he did have his nice moments. He was probably a good guy, under all that bravado and big mouth of his. He could be understanding...when he wanted to be. Once inside, they found everyone in the drawing room, sitting around William, who was telling them all about Churchill's war rooms. In his excitement he was late to notice the Captain. 

"-I even spotted a photograph of the Captain and me. We were younger then, it used to be one of my favourite photographs. We both looked so handsome." He said with a fond smile. Alison took a mental note to get the picture she took with her phone printed out and framed for him. 

There was a sharp intake of breath from behind him, and William turned around to find the Captain there with Julian. He felt his cheeks heat up, and prayed to god it wasn't visible on the outside. He had not just called the Captain handsome in front of him, god. He awkwardly smiled and scooted over a bit to make more space for the Captain to sit next to him, which he did, avoiding eye-contact for a few seconds before stealing a tentative glance, catching his own gaze. It made Haver's heart skip a beat. 

"Well! Thank you William for that exciting talk!" Pat said, breaking the silence. He took a moment to note the way the two men were looking at each other, before continuing. 
"Now, in honour of Captain's and William's trip, we will scrap our usual Happy Hour club for 'Where if I would go today if I could' today. Who wants to start?" 
"Where on earth could I find such inspiration other than right here, looking into Alison's eyes?" Thomas said dramatically, making Julian scoff. "You're daft mate. I'd not want to spend another second here longer than I have to. Catch me on the next flight to France and finally get myself a fucking tan. Ciao!" 

"Ciao is Italian, you dimwit" replied Thomas. 

Kitty sighed dreamily. "I'd want to visit Paris, I've been told it's such a romantic city." 
"Bah! Paris? That filth? I haven't been there since they built that horrendous metal beast there. Atrocious, it ruins the view of the entire city." Fanny replied, her nose in the air in disgust.
"Metal beast? Bigger than bear?" Robin asked excitedly. Fanny nodded stiffly. "Yes, Robin. Quite a bit bigger." 
"Hehe, I bet I could kill it." He replied. 
"I's would go to ehm- the moon probably. Like the spacemen." Mary said, ignoring Robin's rasping laugh. 
"That's nice Mary! Thank you!" Pat said, stepping back up in the middle of the room like he usually did.

"Anyone else want to share?" Pat said, looking around the circle expectantly. 

"Well... I would personally like to go to Newquay. " Said the Captain, instantly sparking a discussion and cries of "You can already leave, you tosser!", a fact that he had in fact, still not gotten used to. In the midst of the discussion, he felt Havers lean over, and he held his breath as the other man fell into his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "I think Newquay sounds lovely Theo, maybe we could go there together someday. We could use the fresh air, don't you think?" 

And if he hadn't been dead already, he surely would have died of happiness right there.

Chapter Text

The following days were spent very much the same. William was learning more and more about modern times with each new day, and time and again Alison found herself amazed at how fast the former Lieutenant managed to grasp new concepts and adjust to them. He'd only been here for around a week now, and he had successfully used most electronic devices alone more than once, but as the days moved on, he couldn't help but feel like a burden to Alison and Mike. They had been so incredibly lovely to him, and he hadn't done a whole lot for them except eat their food and be in their way. 

He'd resolved to find something more useful to spend his time on. He had been spending most of his time in the garden, researching the best flowers to plant in the middle of winter, and then planting Pansies, daffodils, witch hazel-a flower he had been warned firmly by the Captain, to never name in front of Mary- and snowdrops.

He's pretty sure the reason the pansies hadn't started growing yet was because he'd seen Mike accidentally stumble into the flower bed while washing the windows a few days ago. But he'd hoped there might still be a chance they would find their way to the surface.

William had taken up most of the duty of restoring the garden to its former glory. A feat that- during the war, he had taken up as well. It felt great to be back there, even it was often times quite cold in the garden. He didn't mind much, he liked the fresh air- and most of all, the company. The Captain had helped him with the garden, though he hadn't been much help at all. He was great at decorating though, so they made quite the team.

It all started when William remembered a sudden confession on a certain London bridge and had playfully asked his friend "Would you happen to know a decorator that lives nearby? I'd greatly appreciate his expertise and company while I renovate the garden." He'd watched the twinkle in the Captains eye as he agreed to help, and they'd started the very next day- the Captain absolutely revelling in his ability to actually touch or move any given piece of debris or junk lying around. They'd been going for only a few minutes when William sighed loudly. 

"I can't believe the state of the garden, it used to be magnificent. Look at all the debris! What on earth happened here?" he said, for once not hiding his disappointment. He'd greatly admired the restorations Alison and Mike were doing inside the house, and couldn't help but feel like they had neglected the garden a bit. Maybe it was because they hadn't seen it in its glory days. 

"Yes well, very unfortunate indeed. One of our prototypes exploded here recently. A small error on my behalf I'm afraid, burying it underneath the garden." The Captain replied, all of a sudden finding the grass beneath his shoes very interesting. William did his best to stifle his laughter, but gave up halfway through.

"Was there nobody to persuade you from your more outrageous ideas after I left?" William said, teasing. The Captain laughed, a short but clear sound that bounced off the walls of the house behind them. 

"Of course there was. But I am being generous when I say that they were not half as quick or perceptive as you. No, I wouldn't take their advice on what colour tie I should wear for the day." That made William laugh again, he could imagine the strife the Captain caused his new lieutenants. He had had first-hand experience with the stubbornness of the Captain, but at least the man had listened to him. Lord only knew what pity he felt for the poor lad that came after him. 

"I suppose I should be glad you think that highly of me, Theodore." He replied as he loaded some Tulip bulbs from the wooden crate that stood next to them, into the freshly turned earth. 

"There isn't a man who I think more highly of than you, William." He said, not taking his eyes off the other man. William did his best to stifle the blush that had undeniably started to form on the back of his neck, and buried his hands in the soil, pressing the loose earth onto the bulb. Ever since that day in London, the Captain had become more and more bold in his statements of praise and affection towards him, not that he minded, of course. And every single time William's face would heat up immensely. He still wasn't sure if it was because the older man had finally come to accept that the military regime of suppressing any and all feelings had become painfully unnecessary, or if there was another reason he might have realised it was time to stop denying his feelings. 

It was an awkward stage they found themselves in now, at least  that was the way William experienced it. While he'd been sure of his feelings towards men, it had taken him quite some hours of contemplative thoughts to come to terms with the fact that he would no longer have to feel ashamed of it. It was a great feeling, but he had yet to tell anyone about it. The Captain however, that was a whole other can of worms. It was becoming increasingly harder to understand the difference between friendship and... something more, especially with the way the Captain would make certain comments towards him. But it was hard enough figuring out his own feelings regarding his sexuality, and now he had to figure out the Captain's as well? 

It was driving him absolutely crazy trying to decipher the signals, but it was like he was driving in traffic, and every three feet there was another traffic light- and every traffic light was giving him another signal. And the signals weren't even the standard signals- and also they were broken, so now they were just all flickering in different directions. And it was all very confusing. 

He thanked the Captain - resisting the urge to wink for good measure, and they both got back to their tasks with a concentration and intensity that could only come from military training. A training either of them had yet to shake.

You know what they say: You can take the man out of the army, but you can't take the army of the man. 

All of a sudden, the Captain stopped, just watching William diligently planting different flowers with a care he hadn't seen with many men, and remembered something. "I say- Havers." He said, emptying his hands of the pieces of exploded wood from the tree that had fallen over during the limpet mine explosion. William paused, his hands still pressed into the loose dirt as he turned to look at the Captain. 

"You have quite the green thumb, isn't there a flower shop in town?" He said. He'd remembered Mike used to bring flowers from the shop over if they needed last minute flowers for parties, or if he and Alison had an anniversary. It has greatly surprised him to see the familiar card dangling from the bouquet after so many years when Mike brought one home for the first time. 

"I know you told me you were looking to get a job somewhere. And I thought- you know, they might need personnel there. I know it may not be as grand as the army, but-"

"No! That's a wonderful idea Theo. Thank you! I already met the owner last time, she is such a sweet lady. I could go and ask?" He said. 

"You've met the owner?" The Captain asked, surprised. 

"Oh yes, I went into town a few days after I got here and went in to see the shop. I recognised it from... you know, before. The lady there gave me the Gardenias, actually, the ones in your room." He replied.

"Ah! The white flowers. Yes, they're magnificent, truly brighten up the room you know. Playful, yet elegant. And they are still not wilting. Quite marvellous" 
William smiled at the Captain's enthusiasm, an enthusiasm that told him he probably had no idea what the meaning behind the flowers was. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

"Yes... but what if she doesn't? What if I'm not qualified? I can't exactly state 'Lieutenant in His Majesty's British Armed Forces from 1936 till 1944'  under previous work experience now can I?  What if she starts asking questions? And besides, I'm sure there would be people who are better suited for it than me."  

But the Captain huffed, seemingly annoyed that Havers would think so low of himself.

"William, if I may be so bold. I have yet to see any man who is more capable performing any task as you are. I have worked with hundreds of men over the years, and I have never had... the pleasure, of working with someone as qualified- for any given job, as you. And if that lady has any common sense she would be wise to see that. Besides, look at what you did to this garden! To our garden back in the army! No, I'm convinced there isn't a man alive with thumbs more useful than yours." 

William almost choked at the last part, but he managed to stay calm and collect his thoughts on the subject. He was about to reply, when someone chimed in from behind the low hedge. 

"I'd go for it mate, you never know." Humphrey’s voice said casually as they peeped over the knee-high hedge. There was a moment of silence where both ex-army  men took a look at each other, before they cried out in unison "Since when have you been there?" 

If Humphrey could, he would have shrugged. William laughed it off and declared he should get himself cleaned up if he were to really go do this. Once he'd made his way inside, Humphrey spoke up again. 

"Smart fellow, that Havers of yours. Quite the gardener." He said. The Captain hummed in agreement, seemingly daydreaming. 

"Yes, I’m glad he’s decided to take up his hobby again. I remember when he kept the garden when we served here. It used to a hobby then too, but he never really had as much time for it as he wanted. He'd tell me everything about upkeep and soil though. Of course I never managed to keep anything alive after he left. Quite a shame. But I have no doubt he knows everything there is to know about flowers."

"Then you know about the Language of the flowers?" He said, his own mind wandering off to his wife. The Captain's head snapped in his direction, his eyes narrow. 

"The what? " He said, his voice low. 

"Well, each flower has their own meaning and phrase. A language if you will. Quite useful for dropping hints to a loved one- or overcoming a French-British language barrier. You know, the usual stuff." 

The Captain gaped at the decapitated head as if he'd just seen a ghost, before barking out a sarcastic laugh. 

"No. I didn't, Humphrey. Thank you for sharing that!" He said, raising his voice slightly in disbelief. He was genuinely thankful to Humphrey, but how had he never heard of this before? He knew he wasn't the romantic sort of guy, but if Humphrey knew, it surely must have been around for a while. He stood up in frustration, turning around and stomping back into the house, muttering angrily to himself along the way. 

"God! Why does nobody ever tell me these things? How stupid can you be? An entire language..." His words faded as he walked off and Humphrey remained where he was. He gave a tired sigh. 

"You're welcome." 

"Now, Mary, those are called DVD's. I don't know what it stands for, but I think it has the word Digital in there somewhere." Pat's voice sounded, as he pointed at a disregarded Friends DVD that was laying on the kitchen table. Mary nodded thoughtfully, searching her thoughts for comparisons to remember it better. 

"Oh! Like the tape with the spinning eyes!" She replied proudly, remembering last week when Alison found a bunch of those things in the attic and played them with Mike, they had turned out to be a bunch of wedding and party tapes from the 70s and 80s. One had even featured Pat's friend Maurice. 

Pat gave her an amusing smile, and a nod. 

"Yes exactly! Like the Videotape. You're really getting the hang of this Mary! Now, DVD's came after the Videotape, I personally haven't used them, but Julian-"

Pat quit talking when a loud bang interrupted them. It was the kitchen door that had slammed closed loudly, and a few seconds later they found out why. The Captain had stormed in angrily, seeming to find great solace in the fact that he could now slam doors closed, and making use of every opportunity to do so. 

"Why has nobody ever told me flowers have meanings?" he said, not waiting to hear what the other ghosts were planning to say. He looked between the two impatiently, as if it were their fault. Pat huffed, offended. 

"Look mate, it's not our fault! I only know the language of the flowers because we studied them in the scouting. Well it was only the poisonous flowers, but the book also had the normal ones, and I just found it interesting really." Pat said, rambling on. When he finally fell silent, Mary spoke up as well. 

"The flowers spoke to me once... They said it was going to rain. And it did." 

There was a full five seconds of silence as both men stared at her, dumbfounded- before the Captain regained his senses and snapped back to Pat.

"Patrick, there used to be a book here on flowers. I can't remember the title, but Havers used to read it. Have you ever seen it?" 

Pat shook his head. "Not that I can recall, Cap. But, me and Mary can help you search? We can talk about DVD's and search at the same time, can't we Mary?" Pat suggested, giving Mary a small bump with his elbow.

Mary nodded in agreement. "Yeees, we will search for the flowers so they can talk to us. Maybe it will rain tomorrow and we won't even see it coming..." 

"Right, let's get to searching!" Pat said, leading the trio out of the kitchen but almost bumping into Kitty, who was just planning on coming into the kitchen. 

"Searching? What are we searching?" Kitty said, looking from Pat to the Captain, to Mary. 

"Oh, you see, the Captain is searching for a book on flowers and-" 

"Oh gee! You're searching for a book! OH! It can be like a treasure hunt! I'll join you! Where do we start?" Kitty said excitedly, bouncing up and down, happy to have found a little something to do. They all looked at the Captain, since he was usually the one to give orders. He rolled his eyes and pointed down the hall. 

"The library, perhaps?" He said matter-of-factly. There was a murmur of agreement before the four ghosts made their way down the hall and into the library, on their quest for The Language Of The Flowers. 

A few hours later, after William had cleaned up- and picked out Mike's most presentable looking blazer that was suitable for a job interview, he managed to find a really old bike in the shed, just behind a tent that looked suspiciously like the tent he would have his soldiers put up as practise nearly 80 years ago. 

The bike hadn't looked any younger, but it still rode fine. The breaks were a bit iffy, but he could always just lower his foot if he needed to break. He'd be fine. He rode his way down the driveway, onto the paved road that lay beyond it, and as he rode through the beautiful countryside he realised how much he'd missed it. The open fields, the cows gently grazing. Nothing had changed much about cows in over 75 years, he appreciated that. The grass was dewy, as it was most evenings in December, and his breath made little clouds that flew back in his face as he drove up the hill surrounding the outskirts of the village, and it wasn't until he got gleefully speeding down the hill that he realised he had no breaks. He started panicking and tried everything to slow down, but it was all rather futile. He eventually lost his balance trying to brake, and crashed into the ground- right shoulder first. It all happened before he knew it, really. And he was almost there too! He got up with a hiss of pain and cradled his shoulder. Mike's jacket was completely ruined! How rude, ruining clothes that weren't even your own! He sighed as he checked the rest of himself, luckily the pants were still okay, but the bike was now completely wrecked. The wheel had a dent in it, and the fork was almost entirely snapped in half. Havers sighed again as he picked it up and started dragging it along. He hadn't gone two seconds before he heard a car pull up behind him, and he saw a guy in a somewhat small black car pull up next to him. As he was wondering why the guy was driving so slow, the window rolled down and William found a handsome face smiling at him from behind it.

"Hello! You look like you've made quite the tumble. Are you okay?" The man asked. He was young, probably William's age, and William found himself smiling back automatically, the car was still driving softly beside him as he walked, so he stopped to reply. The car followed.

"Yes, faulty brakes I'm afraid. Those unfortunately don't mix well with steep hills." He jokingly replied. The man laughed, and pointed down the road they were on. 

"Are you going to the village?" he asked. 

"Yes, I am." Havers replied. The man grinned. 

"Great! Me too, need a lift? Your bike can go in the back if you want." Havers hesitated for a moment, but it was getting rather late, and he had no idea when Leonie's closed.

Once he got his bike in the back of the car, he stepped into the car, once again struggling to put on his seatbelt. The man didn't seem to notice, instead holding out his hand with a smile. 

"David Bloomsbury. But most people call me Dave. Nice to meet you." 

"William." He replied, adding "Havers" as an afterthought too. David was a very charismatic man, and even though they'd just met, William found himself talking incredibly openly with the guy. 

"So, William. I haven't seen you around before, what brings you to Effingham?" He asked, starting the car again and driving off. 

"I was soliciting for a job. I'm now wondering if I still look presentable enough though." William replied, laughing softly and picking at his torn jacket. 

"A job! That's lovely mate, and you look fine by the way, you should just explain what happened, the people here are very nice- usually. Where in town were you going?" Dave asked. 

"The flower shop on main street. Leonie's Peonies." 

"Get out of town! I live there! Well, above it actually. Nah, that's actually mental." Dave said, excitedly, slapping William softly on the chest. 

"I'm glad you won't have to make a detour then." William replied with a smile. This guy was really something else. But incredibly charming. 

After only a few short minutes, they arrived at the shop and Dave helped William get his bike out of the trunk. "Thanks for the ride, Dave. I surely would have been late if it hadn't been for you." William said. 

"Don't mention it, mate. Let's go then!" Dave replied, gesturing inside and opening the door for the other man. He nodded a thanks and walked inside, instantly being recognised by Eileen while he saw Dave slip up the tiny staircase to the second floor, where presumably, his apartment was. 

"Oh! You're back! Welcome dear. What can I help you with today?" She greeted him. William smiled at her motherly tone and quite nervously managed to get his words out. 

"I was rather wondering if you- I mean, I was wondering if you are perhaps looking for some help. Around the shop. As a job- I mean, I'm looking for a job." He laughed nervously. This wasn't going smoothly at all. But Eileen wasn't deterred and waited patiently for him to finish. 

"I mean, I'm wondering if you are perhaps looking for any staff to help you out- because I'm currently looking for a job." He finally managed to say. Eileen smiled and put a gentle hand on his upper arm, leading him towards the back. 

" I'll see what I can do for you. But why don't we have a cup of tea first, huh? You look like you've had quite the rough afternoon." She said, smiling. Havers copied her smile and sighed a bit in relief. He should have known how sweet Eileen was. 

"I would love that, yes." 

Chapter Text

As William stepped outside, the cold wind greeted him instantly. He fumbled the heavy blue leather-bound book in his hands, being careful not to damage it. Eileen had given it to him to study- not that he really needed a copy of The language of flowers; he knew most of them by heart- but he supposed it couldn't hurt to catch up. He'd had a copy of it once upon a time; back at Button house, but he'd smuggled it home on one of his leaves to show his nephew, and never returned it. 

He shot a glance at his destroyed bike- sighing in defeat as he realised he wasn't going anywhere on it. He hesitated for a moment, considering going back and asking to use Eileen’s telephone to call Alison, but he realised he had no idea what her number was. As he was contemplating his options, he heard a voice from behind him. 

"Already done then?" Dave's voice rang out. William looked up in the direction of the sound, and found Dave hanging out of his window, looking down on him. He must have looked quite silly, staring at his broken bike like he was. 

"Yes, we had a lovely talk. It would seem I will be around more starting Monday." Havers replied, a grin spreading across his face at the thought of finally being productive. Dave smiled back, giving him a happy thumbs up. 

"That's great! We'll be colleagues then! I run the shop for my nan Mondays through Thursdays. I didn't even need to put in a good word for you, respect mate." He said. 
William's mouth fell open. "Eileen's your nan?" He asked. He hadn't seen that coming at all- a fact that in hindsight, had been glaringly obvious. 

"Sure is! I get my dashing looks from her, hadn't you noticed?" Dave replied, shooting him a little wink. William gave a little laugh as he felt the back of his neck heat up. He was lucky it was cold out and his cheeks were already red. 

Dave was silent for a moment, taking a long look at the bike, and then at William. 

"I suppose you need a ride home then?" He asked. William grimaced and followed Dave's gaze to the bike. 
"Yes it would rather seem so. I don't think that's going anywhere soon." He replied. Dave gave a short laugh as he sat up. 
"Give me a second then, I'll get my keys." Before William could say anything else, he had slammed the window shut and disappeared inside. A few seconds later a side door in the building opened and Dave popped out with a sly smile, jingling his keys happily. 

"Let's get going then."

---

The ride home was nice. They'd talked the entire ride there about everything and nothing all at once. He found Dave to be an incredibly interesting person. A person whom- despite the early stages of their acquaintance, he found it easy to share his stories with. Dave just had this calm and relaxed air to him, like he didn't have a care in the world. Havers envied him, it was a way of life he'd often wished for himself- but despite the various relaxing activities he'd tried over the years, he never seemed to be able to shake the tension on his mind. Living in the middle of a war will do that for you. He'd snapped back to reality when Dave spoke up.

"Geez I forgot how beautiful it is over here. I don't usually come over to this side of the country." He said, looking around as the sun set over the seemingly endless fields, painting the skies with a mix of blue, orange and pink hues, add to that the puffy clouds, and the entire thing looked like a delicate oil painting. It was breath-taking.

"You know, there's quite a few beautiful paths through the fields around here, maybe we can take a walk down them sometime." William, suggested. He waited with baited breath for the other man's reply. He didn't want to scare the guy off from a potential friendship by coming off too strong. He really liked Dave, and having a friend outside of Button house might do him some good. But his worries were unnecessary, because Dave smiled brightly and nodded a second later. 

"Sure! I need to get out more anyway, it's a crime to live so close to these amazing sights and take them for granted." He laughed, turning off the paved road onto the gravel road that led to Button house. 

---

"Attention, all! This mission is of vital importance." The Captain said, straightening his back authoritatively. With the help of Pat, Kitty and Mary, he'd managed to get all the ghosts at the same place and time, and now had their full attention- for a while at least. Thomas was already staring out the window absentmindedly.

"Now. I propose we divide and conquer. Pat, I'm putting you in charge of the left wing, you can take Kitty, Robin and Julian. I shall check the right wing with Fanny and Thomas." He said, pointing at the various ghosts as he called them out. At the questioning look Mary was giving him, he sighed. He admired her a lot, but without the ability to properly read, he was afraid her talents were of better use somewhere else. "Erhm, and of course- Mary. You can be... the lookout." He continued, not wanting to make her feel left out. At the command, a smile appeared on her face, and she clapped her hands together softly in delight. 

"Right. Now that we all have our commands, I shall explain our target. It is a book. Appearance unknown, but the title is 'The language of the flowers.'. It is imperative I come to be in possession of it. Any questions?" 

Kitty raised her hand. 
"That means important, Kitty." The Captain said shortly. Kitty smiled, looking around at the others as she shrugged nonchalantly and lowered her hand. 

"Right. Operation Dahlia is a go. Good luck everyone. We meet back here at 1900 hours for a debrief." 

Everyone dispersed; Julian, Kitty and Robin following Pat towards the left wing, and Fanny and Thomas following the Captain towards the right- leaving Mary standing alone in the middle of the sitting room, looking around in confusion. She lifted a finger upwards shyly. 

"Right, I's will look out then!" 

---

"There is no bally way you are reading them that fast, Thomas. Get it together and search please." The Captain called out from behind a bookcase in the crowded room. They had been searching for a few hours now; without any luck. They'd made their way from the dining room to the sitting room, both rooms that hadn't held a lot of books; but currently found themselves in the study. The study, together with the library, held the most books in the house. And that meant a deep dive into the many, many shelves. Thomas was honestly growing a bit bored of it. He sighed deeply. 

"I'll have you know I have much better things to do, you know." He said, reluctantly starting over. Fanny laughed at that from where she was inspecting another bookcase. "You mean like annoying Alison?" 

"What is annoyance, but proof of the persistence of my love?" He said, raising his arm towards the ceiling dramatically.

"Good lord." 

Fanny sighed at the poet's dramatics and went back to her shelf. The Captain rolled his eyes and continued scanning his own shelves- that is, until a scream startled him out of his trance. "Someone's coming!" Kitty was yelling, running by and pulling everyone from their concentration. Thomas left almost immediately, following Kitty down the hall to the big windows that oversaw the front yard. Fanny tried not to show interest, but after a few seconds she cracked. 

"I'd better go and see if our visitors are behaving themselves." She said, trying to play it off. She hurried off quickly, joining the quickly growing crowd in front of the windows, excitedly chattering about the car. 

---

Dave had stopped the car in front of the door, pausing for a moment to glance at William as he struggled with his seatbelt. He was an odd man, but meeting him even for the first time it was clear the man had not a single bad bone in his body. Dave found him incredibly charming, and there was this... quality about him that made him believe they would get on splendidly.  But today was not the time to get into it, for now he was just glad to have made a new friend. Lord knows it was hard enough in a small town like this. Once William had freed himself from the clutches of the car, he copied him in getting out- to help William get his bike out of the trunk. As the other man put the bike against the wall next to the door, Dave gave him a short wink and a pat on the shoulder. 

"So, I'll see you on Monday then?" He said, grabbing the book from the front seat where they'd left it and handing it to William. William took it and gave him a short 'thanks'. But before Dave could make a move to turn around and get back in the car, William held up his hand.

"David! How... would you feel about that walk this weekend?" He asked, a little hesitantly. 

"Sure, I'm free this weekend! I'll give you a call then?" He said, pulling out his phone to exchange numbers.

"Oh..." William said, looking at the device with a sheepish smile. "I don't have a phone..." 

Dave's eyebrows raised in surprise. William supposed it was rare to find someone who didn't own a phone these days.

"Wow! A traditionalist! I respect it man. I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way then. Should I pick you up at 10? Saturday?"

William agreed happily, and Dave gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder before getting back into his car and driving off. 

William, shifting the heavy book from one hand to another so he could reach the door, gently pushed open the creaky door to an audience of seven curious ghosts staring at him. 

---

"It's Mister Havers!" Kitty said, spotting the man inside the small black car that had been parked in the driveway. "Who's the other one?" Thomas asked instead, noticing he wasn't alone in the car. 

"Oh! He's made a friend! Maybe he'll come inside!" Kitty said, not being able to hide her excitement at the possibility of a new person coming round to Button house. 

"Ha! I should hope not. Look at him, he's wearing sweat pants" Fanny said, scrunching her nose. Robin perked up at this, confusion on his face. 

"Sweaty pants?" He repeated, but it fell on deaf ears, because both men had gotten out of the car and were currently struggling to pull a very much destroyed bicycle out of the trunk of the car. 

"Ah! His bike is broken, this young man probably gave him a lift. How nice of him." Pat pointed out. 

"Yeah, or he's trying to get in his pants." Julian huffed, looking around at the group, who in turn gave him annoyed looks. The Captain in particular seemed annoyed. "What? It's a classic. You know, I once had a little Flip and Dip with this lass that I picked up on-"

"He's coming in!" Kitty yelled, interrupting him and rushing from the window to the front door. Robin, Pat and Thomas followed suit, with Julian behind them- sulking about the fact that he didn't get the chance to finish his story. Fanny and the Captain were last, stepping into the foyer as William closed the door and looked at them all in surprise. 

"Well, this is a warm welcome." He said, giving them all a polite smile. 

"Who is the man? In the black carriage?" Kitty asked immediately, having tried to contain her curiosity but having miserably failed. William stepped inside further, putting his stuff on a table next to the stairs and hanging his coat on the coat rack that stood next to the door. The Captain noticed it was as destroyed as the bike. 

"Oh, Dave? He's a friend I made today. I had a bit of an accident with the bicycle. Riding down a hill without brakes was not one of my brightest ideas it seems." He said with a chuckle, leading the ghosts into the sitting room. 

Mary, who had still been wandering around the house- looking out, took that moment to walk through the wall of the foyer. She still wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking out for, but the Captain had seemed really serious, and she'd heard the others look for some sort of book, so she'd wandered around, looking out. She stood there alone for a moment, looking around- but there wasn't anybody near. There was, however, a thick blue leather book laying on a small table near the stairs. She walked over, trying to make out what it said. She'd been practising with Alison, who had told her to read as much as she could, any words she could find. 

"F...l...o...w....e....r....s, followers?" She read out, frowning. But then it clicked. 

"Oh! Flowers!" She said proudly, looking around to see if anybody had seen, of course nobody had, but she smiled anyway. 

"I do like flowers." She sang, bouncing on her heels softly and wandering off again, she still had more looking out to do. 

---

"So, why did you get on the bike?" Pat asked, curious. 

"I was going into the village, the Captain encouraged me to get a job at the local flower shop." William replied, giving the Captain a thankful smile. A smile that the other man returned. 

"Yes, William. How did it fare? I should hope the mission was successful." He asked. He was pretty sure it had ended well, William had always been terrible at hiding his disappointment, but he seemed properly chipper, so he hoped for the best. This was only confirmed when a huge smile spread across the man's face. 

"Well, you're looking at an employed man, Captain." He replied, holding out his hands as if to show himself off. The Captain gave a little laugh, pointing at him with his swagger stick with pride- like he used to do before. 

"Jolly good! I knew you could do it. Can't think of anyone more qualified." He said, failing to stop his voice from wavering with nerves at the compliment. 

"Thank you, Captain." William replied, his making eye-contact for a second that seemed to

"So, how it go?" Robin asked.

"Well, I went into the shop and the lady- Eileen, was bally nice. We talked for a good while about black tulips. They're in season now, you know." William answered, preparing to tell them all about his very eventful day. 

The weather was indeed amazing that Saturday at 10 am, the sun was shining down on the British countryside happily, reflecting William's mood. He'd not gone for a proper walk since he went into town to explore two weeks ago. Dave had sighed as well, lamenting that he'd never made enough time for walks- but that he totally should. The man was now excitedly talking away, about nothing in particular. William couldn't believe they were going to be colleagues. It was funny how life would turn out sometimes, what are the chances he would run into his future colleague before even getting the job? 

They'd stopped next to a group of snowdrop flowers, Dave bending down to admire them from up close, and William following him. He turned his attention back to the other man, who was talking about how he'd always been interested in flowers, and about how he always used to help Eileen when he was little. He'd very quickly discovered Dave was a very open person, who had no problem sharing everything about himself with practical strangers. But Havers found he didn't mind. He could use some more friends who weren't... dead. 

"I'd get bullied for it at school sometimes, they said only girls liked flowers, but I never paid them any mind. I always had great friends that supported me. I guess that's why I felt so comfortable coming out at a young age." He paused for a second there, taking a quick glance at William- who was frowning in confusion. 

"Coming out? Out of where?" He asked hesitantly. Dave laughed, as if it was silly he didn't know. It must be a modern thing he had no idea about. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, but Dave managed to laugh the awkward silence away- a fact William was very glad for. 

"Out of the closet Bill. I'm gay." He said, shooting him another wink. William opened his mouth slightly, letting out a small "Ah, I see." before Dave continued. 

"Well anyway, I'd always loved flowers- so my nan asked me to move out here with her when I was 17. She lives just round the corner, so the apartment above the shop is completely mine." 

William was listening as Dave rambled on, but his mind had stayed on the fact that Dave talked so openly about his preference in his men. It was exhilarating. It also gave him an opportunity, one that he had been longing for for a long time- to ask questions. He waited until Dave was done talking before tentatively breaking the silence. 

"Wasn't it hard?" He asked. Dave looked at him, not immediately grasping the meaning of the question.  "Coming out? I mean." William elaborated. He watched as Dave's gaze fell and he absentmindedly plucked a leaf from a nearby bush to keep his hands busy.

"Yeah... in the beginning it was. But like I said, I had very supportive friends. The hardest part was my family. My dad... He'd made jokes or stupid comments in the past, so I was hesitant to tell him- but was fine with it, hasn't made any jokes since. My nan was actually the first person I ever told, that's why we're so close." He let out a short laugh at the memory. "She said she'd had her suspicions for a few years too, apparently it was quite obvious." He said. 

William smiled, Eileen was indeed a sweetheart. Of all the people, he supposed she would be the easiest to share such a secret with. 

"I told my mum next, and then my friends. They make jokes too, sometimes, but it's never in bad faith. They're great. Once you're over that initial threshold it gets easier, really. " 

William was silent for a moment, contemplating. They continued on in silence for a few more minutes, following the dirt path that ran along the grassy fields. 

"You know... I'm-..." William began. He wanted to say it. He needed to say it. This was his chance, it was just the two of them, when was he ever going to have a more perfect moment than this? To admit it to a friend, to himself? Just say it- say it, say it! 
"I'm not really interested in women myself." He said finally, holding his breath. His heart was hammering so badly he was worried he was going to have a heart attack. But Dave gave him a small smile, nodding. 

"Am I the first person you told?" Was the only thing he asked, shooting him a teasing smile. William let out a laugh, mostly to let out his nerves. It seemed to help a bit as the awkward atmosphere he'd created around himself cleared. 

"Yes- I, I'm afraid I haven't had the same supportive group of people as you had... Where I come from- It's not really accepted." He replied thoughtfully, pausing to think of the least conspicuous way to talk about his past without giving away the bit about literal magical time-travel. Dave's expression was one of sympathy. 

"I'm sorry Will. That must've been hard. I'm glad you told me though, we can support each other now." He gave him another charming smile, kicking at a small pebble down by his feet. 

"Yes, it's silly, we've only just met but here I am sharing my deepest secrets with you." William said, giving a small laugh to make the statement look like it held less weight. Dave went along with it.

"No, I agree. Sometimes it's easier to share difficult things with strangers instead of people you're close to. I totally understand mate." He replied. Dave was silent for a few seconds as he continued to abuse the pebble, but then turned to look William right in the eye. And despite them being in the middle of the open fields, with nothing of mass even remotely close by, the world suddenly seemed to get smaller.

"So... If you've never really come out, do you have any.... like, experience?" Dave asked, tentatively. His tone had a hint of tease to it, but it made William's heart skip a beat at the thought anyway. 

"No- No, not really" He managed to sputter as he kept eye-contact with the man. There was a slight hesitation, where Dave seemed to pause- as if asking for permission as he leaned forward slightly. William knew what was happening, but he didn't have it in him to stop the other man- he wanted this. Before he knew it, Dave was on him, pressing his lips softly to his own. 

Once William was over the initial shock at the fact that he was actually-finally kissing a man... He was finally freely expressing himself. Guilt settled in his stomach. He knew deep down his heart wasn't- and would never be in it, at least not with Dave. Not like this. But- he decided, it didn't matter who it was at this moment. He'd spent so long repressing his feelings, and now all at once it seemed to spill out- and it felt amazing.  William deepened the kiss after a moment, putting his hands on the back of Dave's neck. The kiss went on for only a few seconds, but to Havers they felt like hours. He could only breathe softly as Dave pulled away, once again a charming smile on his face. 

"Well then... now you have." He said simply. William couldn't even find the right words to reply, his mouth was still parted slightly in a small smile and his eyes were wide. Dave stood deadly still for a moment, taking his eyes off of William and focussing on his feet instead for a moment with a small laugh, before looking up again and resuming his slow pace. William followed silently. 

Finally, Havers spoke up. "Thank you, David. That was- I mean it was... I-" He didn't actually know how to finish the sentence, and so he trailed off awkwardly. But Dave chuckled. seemingly knowing exactly what William was trying to say. 
"If you're not looking for anything serious that's fine, Bill." He said earnestly, there wasn't a single hint of malice in his voice, and Havers couldn't be more thankful.

"Ah, I see. Thank you, Dave. I mean- it's just that my life right now... it's kind of complicated. And my feelings even more so." 

Dave's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and a knowing smile appeared on his face. 

"There is someone, isn't there?" He said, bumping his elbow into William's side teasingly. William only nodded, his mind wandering off towards the Captain. No matter how hard he tried to forget the man, every other person he had ever tried to show interest in would always subconsciously be compared to him. And nobody ever came close. 

"I've known him for what feels like decades. He's my best friend." He paused for a second, trying to think of the best way to put it so that he wouldn't have to get into the whole time-travel thing, Dave would probably think he was crazy. 

"But... I've been stuck dancing around him for years, never actually getting confirmation of his feelings, may they be positive or negative. And for years I've been wondering if I am simply misunderstanding him, or if he wants this just as badly as I do. And then I wonder why he feels like he can't share his secrets with me. I would never judge him, and it pains me to know that he can't see it." He admitted. Dave bit his lip and grimaced at that. 

"That's quite the situation, yeah. I'm sorry Bill." They crossed a small bridge in between meadows, and crossed into a section where that was full of livestock. Cows curiously followed them as they made their way across the sandy path. 

"Have you ever considered he isn't sure of your feelings?" Dave said suddenly. 

"I've thought about it yes, but despite my dropping continuous hints over time- he does not seem to pick up on any of them. It's hard trying to figure out if it's because he hasn't picked up on them or if he just isn't interested." It was the first time he'd ever spoken about this to anyone, and William felt a huge weight being lifted off his chest as he shared his troubles. Dave really seemed to understand, and even if he didn't, he at least was an amazing listener. 

"But then again, he was raised in the same place as I was. It wasn't accepted, so I get why he would feel hesitant." William added on. Dave nodded with understanding, and pondered the situation for a moment before he responded. 

"Well, I don't think there's anything I can say that's going to really help you except that you've just got to find out. Situations like these are always sensitive, but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." He said, thinking back on his own experiences with dating. It hadn't always been easy, especially when he hadn't been sure of someone's sexuality, but the only way he'd ever found out is by asking. 

"And I know that's incredibly corny..." He said with a laugh. "But it's true, Will. You'll never know if you don't take the chance. Believe me, you'll end up wasting your chance." 

William nodded in agreement, kicking at a pebble of his own. 
"You're right. But I can't just say it... I'll have to wait for the perfect moment-"
"That's a fad, mate. No such thing as the perfect moment. There will never be a moment perfect enough. So promise me, next time you're ready- just ask." Dave said, dead serious. William pursed his lips, hesitating. But Dave's gaze was steady, piercing into his own eyes with a determination he couldn't say no to.

"I promise." He replied. And it was a promise he fully intended to keep. 

Chapter Text

The ghosts were gathered in their usual room, the sitting room next to the foyer, and Pat was happily chatting away about different kinds of hotdogs. It was a subject none of them really knew what he meant by, except Julian, and where Kitty had in a very concerned way asked if it was actually a dog. It had taken Pat over 5 entire minutes to explain that no, it wasn't actually made from dogs.

"And you can cook it in water, but you can also roast them over a nice, open fire! Like a long marshmallow, but a meaty one." This earned him a groan from Fanny and the Captain. ("Was it really necessary to phrase it like that?"). 

"Well anyway, you squirt on some mustard and ketchup." Pat tried to continue his talk, before getting interrupted again by Julian. "And pickles! Can't forget the pickles." Kitty responded by pulling a face. "I don't like pickles." 

"What be a pickles?" Mary asked, at the same time that Julian continued with a; "You know, I once knew a secretary that got a pickle stuck up her-" 

"Fanny!" Pat yelled, cutting off Julian. He let out a nervous laugh and he quickly added; "I believe you wanted to talk about the importance of dinner etiquette? Sounds fascinating!" 

Fanny gleamed as she stood up and began her talk on the absolute, vital importance of melon spoons at the dinner table. 

They all sat silently, listening to Fanny talk about different kinds of spoons, until they heard the front door opening softly. Alison was back from the grocery store. Mary perked up and looked back into the foyer. When she saw Alison stumble by, she jumped up from the couch excitedly and ran towards her. "Ohohoh! Alison be back! We was reading about the flowers today, remember?" She asked, reaching the poor woman who was currently trying to haul three heavy shopping bags full of groceries into the house. 

"Yep! Mary, give me a minute please?" 

"No-ho! Controlling time be witchcraft." She replied quickly, horrified- a little cloud of smoke appearing above her head. Alison frowned, temporarily pausing halfway through the door. 

"No, I mean like- wait a minute so I can finish getting the groceries inside." 

"Oh! In that case you's can have one minute." Mary said simply, spinning around and heading towards the library and softly humming a song to herself.

---

"So... This can be used by everybody?" came the amazed cry from the kitchen. It was a rainy afternoon, and by Mike had been sat in the kitchen all morning, trying to gather content for Button House's new website. He hadn't had much luck. He had rearranged their entire pantry in a desperate attempt to avoid having to actually get started on the website, and he suspected Alison would have his head for it later, but by the time Havers had stumbled into the kitchen by accident- he had his hands in his hair in frustration. 

Havers, for a lack of any other useful activities to do- had accepted Mike's invitation to sit down and help him think of some good content. So now here they were, with William's mind absolutely blown, and Mike trying to hold in his laugh. 
"Yeah mate, as long as ya pay for the internet." 

"Marvellous." William replied. Mike hadn't really realised how strange it must be for a man out of time to get used to the concept of the internet, and to be honest he hadn't really gotten close enough to the former lieutenant to find out either. The man had been staying with them for close to two weeks now, and with the hectic party planning going on, he'd had so much on his mind- the decorators, the finances, the touring... But now that they were sitting here in the kitchen he'd finally have some time to get to know the man a little better. 

"So, how does it work? Exactly? And how are there no wires?" Havers asked, gesturing vaguely at the screen. He'd tried to ask Alison about it when they went to London, but she'd struggled to explain fully. He had been amazed at the GPS then- as she'd called it- but the scope of the bigger picture had been lost on him. Mike uncrossed his arms from where they were resting on his lap in an excited way. He'd never been much of a technology buff, but he knew the basics- and he'd never pass up the opportunity to share his expertise. 

"Okay, so. The laptop runs on a battery- they're pretty small nowadays- and the way it's connected to the internet is through the wi-fi. The wi-fi uses radio frequencies to transmit information to our router- which is like a general station that is connected to our internet service provider through a cable." 

"Ah! Radio frequencies is a concept I get at least." William said with a smile, amazed. He'd done a lot of experimental work through radio back during the war, as a lieutenant you'd have to be quick with any kind of communications, and radios had never been the Captain's strong suit. 

"Awesome! Okay so then our provider connects us to the broader internet through servers, which are like big rooms full of machines and cables. I'm gonna be honest and tell you that I know absolutely nothing about those." He laughed. He'd googled some pictures as he explained it, with William still captively looking on. 

"Amazing. So, everyone is connected to those servers?" 

"Well, not everyone. There are multiple server points across the world and they all connect to each-other. That's why we call it a world-wide-web." Mike briefly debated getting into VPN's, but decided against it. That could always come later. 

"Can you also talk to others through your laptop?" William asked.

"Yeah! That's kind of the main purpose. There's blogs, newspaper articles, forums, movie sites, social media websites, anything you can imagine, there is a website for it." 

"Ah! A site for the web! Clever." William replied gleefully. His excitement was contagious, so contagious in fact, that the men lost track of time for hours- Mike telling William everything he knew about the inner workings of the computer and the internet on a surface level. And though William understood very little of the specifics, he had quickly grasped the concept of an interconnected network. He was probably the most impressed by Youtube. "You know, back in 1944 there was no such thing as rewatching a picture. You couldn't buy a copy and play it at home, we didn't have home-televisions. If you'd missed it at the theatre the chance was slim you'd ever get to see it. Unless they'd ever get the tape back at the theatre. It's extraordinary." He said. 

Mike's mouth almost fell open. He couldn't even imagine not being able to see a movie whenever you wanted to. But he supposed it was true, back then there weren't even VHS players. Heck, there weren't even televisions in 1944. His thoughts were interrupted by William, who pointed to the screen and asked; "Would the wizard of oz be on there?" Mike smiled and nodded. "For sure. That's a popular movie. I've had to play it before- on request." He gave a chuckle before pulling up a streaming site- but paused. 

"Would you like to try?" He asked, giving the laptop a little push in Havers' direction. His eyes grew a little wider as he put his hands on the table near the keyboard. He hovered over it for a few seconds, taking an uncertain look at Mike. Mike tapped a key a few times to demonstrate. "Just like a typewriter." He said, removing the letters again. "Try searching on Wizard of Oz. And when you're done press Enter." 

William nodded and gently pressed down on the letters. He didn't go fast, or efficiently- and he'd almost burst out of his skin with excitement when he noticed you could remove letters without a trace. "That's much better than any typewriter." He'd remarked playfully. Once he'd typed the name of the movie he pressed enter like Mike had instructed, and watched in wonder as multiple movie posters appeared in front of him instantly. He recognised one in particular. "That one!" He said, pointing at it. 

Mike nodded shortly, leaning in a little closer. 

"Okay so, if you put your finger on the little pad down here, you can move the mouse and click it. Kinda like an extension of your finger 'suppose." He demonstrated by putting his finger on the touchpad and moving the little arrow around. William followed his example, but was a little excited and kept pressing down top hard, pressing everything but the movie. Eventually he got there though, and the movie started playing. He was ecstatic. 

"Look at the quality Mike! I've never seen a moving picture this clear! Incredible. And the colours! Absolutely bloody magnificent." Mike had gotten up to get some tea for the both of them, leaving William alone for a few minutes. Minutes he spent trying to close the movie again- which he successfully managed to do much more quickly than he thought he could. Maybe he could get used to this. They'd have to get back to that sometime, but now wasn't the time to watch a movie. There was an entire web to explore- and they'd have the entire afternoon. 

---

"Alison, can you perhaps spare me a minute of your time?" A clipped voice sounded through the library, where Alison was currently trying to fix a string of tinsel that had fallen down for the 300th time this week. She looked behind her and found the Captain standing there, rigidly and tense. 

"Of course Cap, can you give me one minute?" She asked, still struggling with the string in a very unladylike way. She was lucky Fanny wasn't anywhere near at the moment, she would have gotten her ass handed to her. When she finally climbed down from the very wobbly ladder she turned to the Captain with a smile. "What's up, Cap?" She asked, dusting off her hands on her trousers. The dust that she kicked up tickled her nose and she couldn't help but sneeze. Not even a second later she saw the Captain grimace as well, his eyes watering and nose scrunching before letting out the loudest bloody sneeze she'd ever heard. 

"That's new." She simply said after a moment of stunned silence by the both of them, where he seemed just as surprised as she was. He straightened his back again though, and shook off the feeling as he turned his steady gaze back to her. 

"Yes, well- it would seem I've been experiencing a plethora of new things lately." He said, stiffly. Alison's interest was peaked by that. She walked over to the leather clad sofa that sat in the small sitting room next to the library and patted the seat next to her for the Captain to sit down. He did, sitting down next to her awkwardly- his swagger stick resting on his knees. He was clutching it so tightly you'd have thought his life depending on it. Well- figuratively that is.

"What do you mean Cap?" Alison asked, making eye-contact with him. He didn't look away, but his eyes were wide- and he cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.

"Do you... do you remember that time the church was here last summer? With the talk groups?" He started, hoping to god she would remember where he was going with this. To his relief, she nodded. 

"Yeah, when the roof was broken. We held that talk for Kitty." She recalled. The Captain nodded. 
"Yes. You asked me then... You asked whether I had something I wanted to share." Something clicked for Alison then, and she relaxed a bit. 

"Yeah... You got interrupted right? I'm sorry I never followed up on that. What was it you wanted to share?" She asked, hesitantly putting a hand on his knee, still amazed by the fact that she could. He gave a small smile too, looking at her small hand on his knee. 

"Yes, that is erhm- What I wanted to say... In light of recent events- I've realised... that is- my affections..." He fell silent then, seemingly unable to physically get the words out of his mouth. He wanted to say it. At least to Alison. He was ready to share it, even if it was only with one person. Havers coming along out of the blue like that had for him lately caused all of his old feelings to resurface. He'd managed to distance himself from the man, all the little things he used to do that used to make his ears and neck color a dangerous shade of red, all the late nights that could have been so much more if they'd had the courage for it. Over the years he'd maybe come to doubt the things he felt for his lieutenant back in the 40's, but seeing him again- his wonderful smile, his ability to keep calm in any situation no matter what- it captivated him in a way that was worse than before. Seeing William again was like coming across water in the desert, like feeling the sun on your skin after a long and harsh winter, like coming home after being away for a long while. And it has gotten to the point where he could no longer deny it. Not to himself, not to anybody else. He was irreversibly, helplessly, hopelessly and undeniably in love with William Havers. He felt Alison squeeze his knee encouragingly, and he looked back up at her. She gave him a somber smile, probably already knowing exactly what he was going through. He realised that now, she'd probably known for a while, with all the little comments he would subtly make sometimes. He suspected it wouldn't be a surprise to Julian and Robin either, he'd seen their glances at his comments sometimes. 

"I have... recently made peace with the fact that my affections- that they do not lie with women." He finally managed out. He couldn't bring himself to look at Alison, and he felt her hand give his knee a comforting little pat. "Well I mean, I guess I kind of knew that." She said, scooting a little closer to him. He could feel her gaze burning into the side of his face. He finally mustered up the courage to look back at her, she was smiling at him. 

"I know this is super cliché, but I'm glad you decided to tell me. I know it must have been incredibly hard." 

The Captain smiled, and then shortly after that burst out laughing, it felt good, it released some of his nerves. 

"No, you're right there. It's taken me quite some time to get over the feeling that it was wrong somehow. And realising your feelings and accepting them are two very different things, as I have realised a long time ago." He said, still fiddling with his swagger stick nervously. Alison nodded thoughtfully, suddenly getting emotional. She tried fanning out the tears in her eyes at the thought of the man struggling with accepting his feelings alone all these years, and feeling like there was something wrong with him when loving someone-anyone, was one of the most normal things in the world. She let out a small sigh as she let go of his knee and grabbed his hand instead. He couldn't help but get a bit emotional himself, and he was afraid his voice would betray him if he'd even attempt to reply, so he said nothing- but did give Alison a watery smile. 

"God..." Alison said, wiping a runaway tear off her cheek. "Like I said, I had my suspicions. But it wasn't my place to get involved. Feelings like these are something so personal that I didn't feel it was my place to meddle. But really, I'm happy that you've come to me. I hope you've realised there is absolutely nothing wrong with loving a person of the same gender, Captain." The man nodded, clearing his throat in an attempt to swallow down his own tears. 

"Yes, I have. In no small part thanks to you and Mike. Showing me how the world has changed... I'm thankful for it, truly." He replied. Alison let out a laugh, relieved that her efforts had paid off. 

"Me too Cap. Me too." She said, hesitating a moment before letting go of his hand and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. He was caught off guard of course, and was stiff for a few long seconds, before relaxing and putting his arm around her shoulders a bit awkwardly. But in that moment he didn't care about the slight awkwardness of it all. The weight on his chest had been lifted after 80 long, long years, and that was something nobody was going to take from him anymore. Now there was only one other person he'd needed to tell, and it was going to be the hardest one of them all. 

Chapter Text

Havers had been in the library after he had returned home from work. It had been a slow day today, but he did manage to sell an old lady some gorgeous roses. He'd been working at the flower shop for around two weeks now, and Eileen had graciously agreed to pay him weekly, at least until he had managed to get a little money saved up. Dave really helped him as well, picking him up and dropping him off for every shift. He'd also managed to fix the bike, but he liked spending the time with Dave. He really was incredibly lucky to have these people in his life. And he was also happy to finally have some money in his pocket. 

William was reading a book- The Lost Decade. It was a fictional book about time-travel. Captain had actually discovered it in the library last week, and recommended it to him. He thought it may lead to some clues as to the way it was possible for William to travel through time. So far it had been a great read, but a little concerning in its similarities to his own situation. Annie, the main character, had been about to pass away- but suddenly found herself ten years in the future. It was getting a little uncomfortable, how similar it was. He'd just been about to finish the 10th chapter when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. At first he assumed they would just walk past, but they continued down the hall, and a minute later Mike had popped his head around the corner. A smile appeared on his face. 

"Ah, there you are! Been looking for you for like ten minutes! Which doesn't sound like a lot, now that I'm saying it out loud... Anyway-" He gave a small chuckle as he walked into the room further and took a seat next to William, leaning back so he could reach something out of his jean pocket. It was one of those phones that you had to touch with your finger, like the pad on the laptop, which is something that was still a little bit confusing to William, but he supposed it couldn't be that hard to get used to. He'd managed to make the laptop work last week too, as well as the days following it. He still had a little trouble starting up and locating the net from time to time, but when it was all set he managed to find his way around pretty well. Though Mike still laughed at him whenever he said please and thank you to Google. ("It's common courtesy, Michael!") It was all in good fun of course. Surely he'd someday tire of the pleasantries. 

"So listen, I was going through some boxes this morning, and I found a box with older tech... stuff. So I found my old iPhone. It's not the latest model, but it still works fine. And you know... since you did so well with the laptop last week, I thought you might want to take a look at it, see if you can work with it." He said, handing Havers the phone. He took it and examined it, trying to find out how to turn it on. He pressed a few random buttons until the screen lit up, a photo of Alison and Mike of what seemed to be a few years ago, they both look a bit younger, and a lot less tired. 

"Wow, yes it would be great actually, thank you Mike. I've been meaning to get one, it would save me a lot of hassle for work." He said, holding the phone tightly. It felt kind of frail, like it would break into a thousand pieces if he were to drop it. Mike gestured to come closer, but changed his mind and scooted over to William a second later. "Yeah! That's what I thought. Okay so, that's the power button, and on the other side is the volume buttons. The middle button is the home button, it takes you to the 'home' screen. I'll need to do a factory reset later, but then I'll add mine and Alison's numbers for you." He began, immediately and excitedly launching into a pitch on the mechanics of the phone. 

"L-i-l-y, Lily" 

"Yeah, good job Mary! You're getting so good at this!" 

"I tries." Mary replies, proudly. She had been trying. Alison had been leaving the book she found in the foyer open in her room over the past few days, and she'd been making use of her eternity to practise reading the names of the flowers. So far she'd successfully managed to read the entire page on Magnolias and Marigolds on her own, flowers that- to her surprise had very lovely meanings. She'd always loved flowers, picking them with her son when he was younger. They used to pick poppies and mayflowers whenever they used to bloom in the fields next to their house. Her and Alison together had gotten up to the 'L' now, almost getting through the entire book.

"Alright, I gotta go help Julian set up Pong on the laptop, but do continue Mary! It's really going great." She said again, grabbing her jacket from where she'd dumped it on the chair next to the window half an hour ago, and leaving the room.

Mary tried reading a few more passages, but kept getting distracted by almost everything. She stood up and walked out of the room, almost bumping into William on the way out. William had been on his way to the garden, his face buried in one of those devil boxes Alison and Mike always carried around with them. 

"Ah, Mary! Hello." He said, putting the box away and stepping back a bit, just in case he'd accidentally move through Mary and make her sick. 

Mary replied with a short hello, but remained silent. William stood there in silence for a second, but then popped his lips together and spoke up. "I was just going to the garden to check on the tulips, would you care to join me?" He suggested, pointing down the hallway in the direction of the garden. 

"Oh, yes! I love them pretty flowers." She replied happily, following him as he continued down the hallway. 

...

"These Black Tulips should be able to withstand the cold, but the winds we've been having this week have really been testing them. They're very delicate flowers, you know.." Havers was explaining when they stood next to the flowerbed. It was indeed a windy day, as it had been for the past couple days. Mary opened her mouth to reply that "They do seems delicate", but another voice spoke up from behind them. 

"A shame, they're the second most beautiful things in this garden." They both spun around to find the Captain standing there. Havers gave the man a little smile and a polite greeting. 

"Yeah, quite beautiful. Black tulips means power and strength." Mary said, happy to share her newly acquired knowledge. The Captain gaped at her with an open mouth. 
"Extraordinary, Mary! I didn't know you knew about flowers!" William said enthusiastically, flashing her a wide smile.

"Oh yes! Me and Alison been readin' all bout flowers from the flower language book." She said, waving a hand around vaguely. What she meant by the gesture was lost on both men though. But the Captain's mind was nowhere near Mary's eccentric hand movements. 

"You've been reading what?" He asked in disbelief. 

"Flower language." Mary replied, unsure why he would get so worked up about it. 

"The language of flowers?" He asked again. Mary shot a look to William, confused. William himself was lost as well, so all he could do was give her a shrug. 

"Yea." She eventually replied. And if she'd looked closely she would have seen the Captain's eye twitch heavily. He was silent for a few short seconds, before clearing his throat and bouncing on his feet, seemingly having collected himself from whatever brainfart he had just experienced.

"Jolly good." He simply said, promptly turning to William. 

"I should go inside. Find Alison, she probably needs help with the- with the... with something. At ease. Yes. Afternoon." He said, maintaining eye-contact with the confused ex-lieutenant. He took a small step back, breaking eye-contact for a moment, before pausing like he was going to speak up again, but seemingly decided against it and turned back to walk hastily inside.

William and Mary were left standing outside, both equally confused. 

"Huh. Strange. I don't think I've ever seen him that flustered." said William, turning to Mary. She shook her head though. She'd seen him react worse.

"Nahh. I once seen him watch The Crown." 

Once the Captain was inside, he bolted towards the main staircase that lead to the second floor. Mary's room was right at the top of the stairs, and though he could technically open the door now, he didn't want to waste any more time and walked straight through it. He couldn't believe he had been looking for the book for over a week and that it had been in here all along. He looked around frantically, searching the room, until his eye landed on the thick, leather-bound book on the small lounge set table below the window. He stalked over to it, crossing the room in just two strides. The book was flipped open, currently displaying the Lobelia and Lotus flowers with pretty illustrations and a short text elaborating their meaning. The Captain took the pages, flipping back to the 'G', It didn't take him long to find the Gardenias, the same exact flower that was still happily blooming in his own room, its white flowers lighting up the room like they had been doing since William gave them to him. 

He was almost scared to look, he was sure that whatever meaning the flowers had, William was aware of it. It was a double-sided coin, and the Captain wondered agonizingly if the meaning behind the white flowers would be positive or negative. Fanny had told him she'd once rejected a suitor with a carefully selected bouquet. He wondered if this would be the same situation. He finally mustered up the courage to take a peek, heart seeming to hammer in his chest. If he had indeed, still had a heartbeat. He tentatively let his finger glide over the paper as he read the page. 

- 

The gardenia is an exotic flower originally from Asia, specifically China. It belongs to the Rubiaceae family. The scientific name for gardenia is the following: Gardenia jasminoides. These flowers are full of personality and are eye-catching, especially because of their “bright” green colour and leaves, among other aspects. Although roses are best known for their beauty, gardenias aren’t far behind. Their beauty is known almost everywhere throughout the world.

Meaning: You’re lovely, Secret love

-

"Good lord" He mumbled to himself, letting his hand fall back beside him. He stood there for a moment, contemplating his entire (after)life. His hands were shaking softly as he closed the book, taking a step back as he put one of his hands on his mouth in shock. William did love him. He had loved him. For goodness how long they had been playing this game, running away from their feelings, orbiting around each other like planets on the same path, steadily going in circles but on opposite sides- always seeing each other, but never to meet. While all this time, they could have been so, so much closer. 

Secret love... 

Secret love... 

Secret love... 

Secret love... 

The words could not stop playing in his mind as he stumbled back out of Mary's room, and into the hallway. He had to go to Havers. He had to tell him- 

He had to tell him what? How was he even going to go about this? He knew he needed to do something, but how was he going to bring this up, out of the blue? It was absolutely maddening. He groaned in frustration, putting his hands to his forehead. He needed to tell Havers, but he needed a plan de campagne- and after a few minutes of nervously pacing up and down the hallway, he had just the thing.

William was reading again, coming to the last page. It was an easy read, he had breezed through it, but the contents of it concerned him greatly. Annie had travelled in time like him after dying, but as the book continued it had been revealed that she had needed to fulfil her last wish. Her dying wish had been to get closure with her first love, and she did just that, but as the end of the book drew closer Havers wished he had stopped reading. Annie had gotten her wish, but in doing so completed her mission, and as she finally completed her goal, she was sent back to the moment of her death. 

The book ended on a bittersweet note, with both lovers reuniting in heaven, but Havers felt his stomach sink. He'd only just got here. He couldn't bear the thought of not having the Captain anymore. Of being able to be free to be who he was. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the Captain, who had come stumbling into the room, looking frantic. His eyes were soft, emotional. He'd rarely seen the look before, but he knew there was something important on the man's mind. He put down the book- which he'd still clutched tightly after finishing the last page- and stood up in concern. 

"What's wrong, Theo?" William said, softly. The Captain pursed his lips, putting his hands behind his back. Despite trying to hide it, William could see him picking at his swagger stick erratically. He was nervous. The Captain wasted no time in getting to the point. 

"The letters. That we found in the library." He blurted out. His eyes went a little wide as he did so. The Captain's letters? The letters that were still tucked away under the potted plant in his room? 

"What letters do you mean?" William replied, playing dumb. He didn't know if the Theodore knew about the letters that he'd taken from the sitting room, but he honestly hoped he didn't. He'd explicitly told Alison to destroy them, and though he hadn't read them, he didn't want it to seem like he had. 

"The letters Alison found in the library. The ones I wrote to you after you...well..." He trailed off for a moment, waving his hand around in an attempt to make his point clear. William opened his mouth to ask why the Captain would be asking about them, but the Captain held up his hand to stop him from talking. 

"I know you have them. Robin told me he saw you take them, back then." He said. William's mouth fell open, his mind at a loss and racing a million miles an hour. He sputtered for a moment, trying to find the right words to say- but the Theodore was faster yet again, speaking up in a soft tone. 

"It's okay. I don't mind. I'm assuming you haven't read them yet. Otherwise you- never mind. What I'm saying is-"

"I haven't read them. I haven't." William said, interrupting him. He paused a moment, his eyes finding William's and giving him the most emotional look he'd ever seen. There was a small pool of tears in his eyes, and his lips were pursed tightly in hesitation. He finally found the courage to finish his sentence though, leaving William speechless. 

"You can. If you want. I would actually- I'd like you to read them, William. Very much so." He said, letting out a pained breath, as if the confession had physically hurt him. There was a pregnant silence for what seemed like an eternity, where William was processing this new information, trying to figure out this sudden change of mind. The Captain, who had nervously been holding his breath the entire time, gave a small shake of his head. 

"But of course, if you don't want to that's also very well-" 
"No! No, Theo. I'd love to. Thank you. I just didn't know you knew I had them." He said sheepishly, feeling a blush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks. He placed a hand in his neck to try and rub it away. 

The Captain gave a small relieved chuckle, breaking eye-contact to look at the tips of his shoes instead. "Like I said, Robin told me after he'd seen you take them." 

"I would never read them if I knew you didn't want me to, Theo. I just- couldn't bear to think of them getting thrown away." William said. The Captain sighed contently at this. 

"I know, Will. I know." 

William had arrived in his room a dozen minutes earlier, and was currently sitting on his bed, the faded letters in his hands. He had been staring at them for over 10 minutes, looking at the way his name had been written so delicately on the envelope. Whatever these letters contained, it was obviously highly sensitive information, and though he now had the Captain's explicit permission to read them, he still needed to gather the courage to do so. His fingers traced the thick lines, and he gave a little chuckle at the handwriting. It was so like Theo, straight and to the point, the strict way of the military seeping into even his way of writing. 

He finally pried open the first envelope, noting the big letters 'RETURNED TO SENDER', and found a single sheet of paper in it, which was a shorter kind of letter. It only managed to fill about half of the paper. With shaking hands he read the first sentence.

Lieutenant Havers, 

there have not been a great deal of things happening at Button house since your departure, but I must say that things have not been the same without your command. I greatly miss your expertise in the management of these excitable young men, and I must say your replacement has not shown the same care with them as you have. I hope your trip over to Tunisia went well, and that you have settled in nicely. 

I look forward to your correspondence, 

Captain Browne

It was a fairly simple letter, but the fact that it was dated a few days after he left made William smile. He went on to the next letter, and opened it gently. This letter was a little longer than the previous once, and read;

Lieutenant Havers, 

Though the previous letter has seemingly failed to reach you, I wish to try again with another one. Since the last time I wrote Button house has been on edge lately. Tensions have been rising due to the increase in work and regrettably, bomb threats. We've had a few air raids, but we are fortunate as to not take any serious damage. The men have been restless though, and the new Lieutenant seems to be a bit overwhelmed. He's young, but he shows spirit, so I have faith that he will one day grow into his role a bit more. I will be lucky if he becomes half the lieutenant you have been to me. They do seem to get younger and younger as this blasted war goes on. I wonder how long it will be before they start letting underage boys sign up, like they did in the great war. 

I must say that I have greatly missed your presence around Button house, and to be frank with you, I have long regretted the manner in which we parted. There are a great deal of things I wish I could have told you, things that are not suited for postal correspondence. I hope to one day tell you these things, so my hope is that we can keep in touch when you return from the vast Africas. 

Hoping this letter reaches you well, 

Theodore Browne.

The next letter was the shortest one yet, with only a few lines reading; 

Lieutenant Havers, 

My last two letters seem to have not reached you through fault of the international postal system, either that or you have deliberately sent them back. In the case of the former, I wish to say it pains me greatly to have missed the chance to establish contact with you. In the case of the latter, I shall have you know that one word from you will silence me on the subject forever, and that should you wish it, I will cease communications immediately. 

Captain Browne.

There was a lump starting to grow in William's throat. None of these letters had ever reached him, and with each letter he could feel Theodore growing more desperate. How agonizing must it have been for the man. And though he knew it was not his fault he never received the letters, He desperately tried to swallow it down as he put down the letter and picked up the next one. 

William, 

I so long to know how it fares for you on the front lines, and I sincerely hope you have found solace in the fact that you're doing what you've been dreaming of. I have much admiration for your choice to fight alongside your fellow soldiers, and I pray that you and the rest of your squad will remain unharmed for as much as possible out there on the unforgiving fields.

I hope this letter will reach you at last, and that you are able to write back. I am curious to hear from you. 

Thoughts and prayers,

Theodore Browne

It pained him to read, but there were still a few letters left in the pile. However when he picked up the next letter, he saw it hadn't even been sent. This letter was crumpled, like the Captain had tried throwing it away, but had decided against it. He opened it gently, trying not to rip the delicate paper as he did so. 

Dear William, 

Today I got the news I have been dreading to receive for the entire time you have been away from me. News that has shocked me to my core and has left me feeling empty. And although I know it is futile to write to you still, I feel like this will be my only way to ever let you know of the things I have been wanting to tell you for a long time. 

You have always been a good friend to me, a friend the likes of which I have never had before, and although I will never get the chance to tell you again, I wish to tell you that I have on occasion felt that I might want to be closer to you. Perhaps closer than I ought. I know the subject is an unspoken crime, but I cannot help my feelings, and I fear that if I do not out them somewhere, I might never find peace with them. I perhaps might never find peace with them, but in any case I felt that I wanted you to know about them. 

I want to thank you, William. For your service, for being fearless and fighting for the greater good. For being my lieutenant, for being my constant companion over these troublesome years, and for being the closest thing to a friend that I have ever had the pleasure of having. For always making me feel like I could be myself with you, for letting me open up to you- although it must have not seemed like I did, I know I tend to be a private person, but I like to imagine you have gotten to know me well enough to see through that. You have helped me greatly, not only in private matters, but also on the operations within Button house. I daresay I would have lost my head on multiple occasions had it not been for you. Thank you for being my friend, and perhaps even more.

I know it might be selfish to spill these feelings out like this at once, and I do not know what your feelings are on the subject, but I do know you will never again return to Button house, to me. And it pains me to think of the fact I will never see you again. And so I wish to tell you that I pray to god every day that I will one day be reunited with you- if even for a moment, so that I could perhaps find out if you have ever felt the same, and tell you that I will never love a person like I have loved you. 

All my love, and may we see each other in another life.

Yours, 

Theo

William felt tears run down his face, and he used the sleeve of his dark green hoodie to wipe them away quickly, not wanting to take his eyes off the letters that were dancing around on the pages. He could feel his heart breaking into a thousand pieces at the thought of the Captain having to move on after his death. He had also gasped as he read the confession, it was finally a confirmation that there had been something more going on. More tears sprung into his eyes as he realised his feelings- while maybe not reciprocated yet back then, were certainly at least present within the Captain as well. And the way they had only grown closer over the past few weeks has told him the feelings hadn't changed. He picked up the second to last letter, prying it open. 

William, 

it has been over a year since I lost you, and although I am beyond pleased to tell you that we have successfully won this horrid war, it pains me to lose yet another piece of memory of you. Button house has been ordered to cease its operations, and so next month it will be time for me to leave here permanently. The rooms we used to spend our time in, the memories I have here with you, it pains me to have to leave them behind. I would almost wish to stay here forever, but I know I cannot. It will be returned to its rightful owner, who plans to turn it into a boarding school. 

We have recently been rewarded several war medals, but they have felt empty to me when I think of you, and all the other men who have not lived to receive them alongside us. And although I appreciate the sentiment of appreciation for winning the war, I cannot say I will ever wear them with pride. Not when I can only see what- who we lost. 

Ever since the incident I have not seemed to be able to enjoy anything as much as I could with you, and it has had quite the impact on my health. The doctors are at quite the loss, and cannot do much to treat an illness they can't identify. I do not mind as much though, I am sure I will all pass soon. I am still, and will forever be an army man, and there will be no need for theatrics. And should I not be fine, I will find solace in the fact that I will see you again. 

Yours forever, 

Theo

There was only one letter left, and fearing the worst, William pried it open. He had known the end to this story, the Captain is still a ghost after all- but reading it in real-time was something he hadn't been prepared for. He sniffled, trying to keep his tears to a minimum- it made it impossible to read anything. It was once again a shorter letter. 

My dearest Will, 

I fear that my health has continued to decline since the last time I found myself writing to you. The doctors have still made very little progress in diagnosing anything of value, and thus have been unable to properly treat whatever it is that ails me. Perhaps I am simply ill from missing you as much as I do, and  I suppose dying of a broken heart is not a medically recognised term- but I do not know how else to describe it. How pathetic it must look to the world, a captain that survives two wars and then dies at home of an unknown illness, weak, sad and alone. I cannot seem to get over the irony and shame of it. 

I do not know if I will be able to get through this illness. Maybe- deep down, I don't even want to. But at least I will be able to find solace in the fact that should I not recover, that I will be able to see you soon. 

Yours for a while still, 

Theo

As he finished the last letter, William sighed deeply and let his hands fall into his lap defeatedly. It was heart-breaking to read Theodore's final inner thoughts, especially when he knew it hadn't, in fact, ended well. It was a harsh realisation, knowing that the Captain hadn't expected to get stuck as a ghost at Button house forever. William sat there for a moment, almost paralysed. But then he snapped back to reality and jumped up from the bed in a hurry, wiping away the tears that had freely fallen down his face. He was sure his face was red and puffy, but he found that he didn't care. He all but flew out of his room and down the hall to look for the Captain, almost running through Julian, who was just coming up the stairs. 

"Where are you going in such a hurry? Did Mary send the Devil on your heels? Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s real!" He called after him, snickering at his own joke. William ignored him, hastily walking towards the sitting room, which he found empty. The kitchen, too- was empty, save for Mary and Robin, who he didn't want to disturb in whatever it was they were doing. Last on his mental list was the library, which he prayed to god was where he would find Theodore. 

He did. 

The Captain stood squarely in the middle of the big windows, watching the slow drizzle of rain outside with a sombre look on his face. His posture was rigid, undoubtedly nervous about the fact that someone he cared deeply about had been reading his deepest darkest secrets and feelings, letting another person see a side of him that he hadn't shown anyone in a very long time. William let out a strained breath he hadn't realised he was holding, and stalked through the room, the sound of his boots on the hardwood floor making the Captain turn around in surprise. 

"William-" He started to say, startled. William could barely hold back his tears, and when he spoke his voice broke. 

"Theo. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you. I can't imagine what it must have been like, I-" He paused, getting choked up, he tried swallowing it down as he looked right in the Captain's eyes. He could see the older man's eyes getting foggy as well, but he'd tried keeping his face straight. 

"I love you too, Theodore. So much. Always have, and I always will." The Captain didn't even give him a second, before letting out a teary laugh and enveloping him in the tightest hug he'd ever gotten- clinging to William like a lifeline, and then tentatively placing a small happy kiss to the side of his temple. 

"I can't tell you, William, how much I feel the same." He replied, finally allowing himself to let the tears flow freely. 

Chapter Text

After William's confession, the relationship between the Captain and William had not changed a whole lot. It was quite awkward for them, the idea that everything should change just because they admitted their feelings- when they were fine how they were at the moment. Neither of them had the need for more affectionate gestures right now. It was still hard for the Captain to express himself, and if William was being honest, he wasn't the most comfortable being physical either. But they'd agreed they wanted to see where a relationship could bring them, which was a big step forward after such a long time having spent avoiding their feelings. They were currently sitting in the kitchen, since Alison had banished them from the sitting room because of the decorators. William was having a bowl of yoghurt for breakfast as they talked things over about the previous day. 

"You know William, I've had a long time to think about things, about my feelings. But without you being here- If you hadn't come I would have never taken a deeper look at myself. I guess... deep down I've always known I was different- but there had never been a real reason to admit that to myself. Not until you came back." 

William gave a happy smile, he was on cloud nine today, as it seems the Captain was. The older man hadn't always been open about feelings, his own even more so, but now it seemed like floodgates were open, and he wasn't able to stop. William guessed that was what happened when you pent up your feelings for over 75 years. 

"Yes but Theo, those were different times. There was a war on. We had different things to worry about. I've always respected your never ending ability to lead, even if you had your own struggles, and even if I had to help you out sometimes-" He began with a chuckle. 

"But back then... there wasn't any room for feelings, and certainly not for people like us. I understand, Theo." He said, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder in comfort. The Captain leaned into it with a smile.

"Even so. I always got the impression you loved more freely, no matter who it was. I've always admired that in you." He replied. 

"I don't think I loved any more freely than you, Teddy. I've just always been worse at hiding it." William said simply.

"Mhmm." Hummed the Captain in reply, smiling at the nickname. 
"Teddy. You've not called me that in a long time." He remarked, with a suggestively raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I vaguely recall a night of moonshine and poker. You didn't like it then." Havers joked, poking the other man in the chest teasingly. 

"Mhm, I did. I just didn't like the others hearing it. I don't think they even knew my actual name." The Captain replied with a smile. William laughed at that, pushing the empty bowl and spoon away from him on the table. 

"I believe much has changed, then. I don't think anyone here knows your name."

The Captain rolled his eyes at that, but William pressed on. 

"Maybe you should tell them soon, I'm guessing they're dying to know- oh dear- no pun intended, as they would say on the Inter-Net." He said, a blush forming on his cheeks that he quickly tried to laugh away. The Captain had never seen him look more beautiful. 

"We've got plenty of time to tell them." The Captain replied, sitting back into his chair. 

Williams smile wavered a bit a that, and he broke eye-contact as he looked back at the empty bowl on the table, deep in thought. 

"Yeah..." he replied. And though the Captain hadn't noticed it, but the ex-lieutenant wasn't so sure at all. 

Havers had been under a lot of stress lately. A stress caused primarily by the fact that he still wasn’t sure what brought him to the year of 2019. Sure, he’d had the Captain’s book, but that ending had only made him worry more. What if he truly would be sent back to die after he completed his mission? No- he wouldn’t allow himself to. He couldn’t leave the Captain, not again. His stress levels had not been helped by the constant buzzing of other people around Button house. Not only was the date of the party coming closer and closer- making Mike and Alison more anxious, but it also caused the house to be swarmed by people making preparations. The only thing that kept his mind off things was the Captain. Oh, the Captain. William had never been happier in his life than he was at this moment. The admittance of feelings that he had been waiting for so long, the happiness of finally being able to be open with each other in ways they had never been able to be before. It was simply blissful. 

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his place in this world was temporary. A worry that, no matter his other stresses, would constantly nag at the back of his mind. Every minute that he spent here, talking to people from the future, using technology from the future, going to his job in the future, he couldn't help but wonder if he might someday just disappear from it- sudden as the day he appeared in it. 

Everything had been going so incredibly well, William despaired the hypothetical day he would return to the past, to a world at war. It was horrible, the not knowing. That’s why he was currently sitting in his room- on his bed. His legs were perched up to his chest, his chin resting on them, staring at the portable telephone in his hands. He had been searching the Inter-Net for help, but it had been quite overwhelming, the amount of information on it was seemingly never ending- plus, he'd accidentally come across some very inappropriate sites that had quite frankly traumatised him for a good few days. But he'd relented, and continued looking anyway. But there wasn't a lot to go on sadly, and most of the information he did find on the Inter-Net seemed to have been fabricated. They were more so written as fictional stories instead of actual helpful pieces of information.

He sighed in frustration as he left yet another useless page, having gotten no further from where he started that morning. He was just about to give up, when his eye caught a headline, its words a stark contrasting blue against the bright white of the background. 

Strange but true: I travelled through time.

This week I talk to George (34), who claims to be
a time-traveller from 1899. We talk about his fa… read more

It seemed to be an article of a man called George sharing his story with a reporter for the website. It was a website dedicated to strange and unexplained phenomena, and though Havers could see other questionable headlines on the site linking to aliens and bigfoot, he decided to give George's story a chance- and he was invested in it before he knew it. 

...

I: What is your story George? Can you tell me a bit about your early life?

G: I was originally from 1899, I was a young man then, not yet used to the world. I always knew there was something different about me, but at the time I couldn’t figured out what. My family was always secretive, my father was always leaving for long periods of time and then returning in strange clothes- only to write in his journals for days, journals I was never allowed to read. I used to ask about them, but his answers were always short and dismissive. 

That was, until the summer of 1899. I was 16 at the time, engaged to be married at 18. But I was curious about the world. I'd wanted to see what was out there, so one day- I just decided to leave home and travel. I had a little over than a year before I would have to return to settle down forever. I didn't even get that far from home though, I got tired within a few hours and decided to rest in a field. It was a sunny day you see, so I laid down... and fell asleep, dreaming of the places I'd wanted to visit, but wishing I'd had more time to do it in. 

I woke up only a few minutes later, a little nauseous- to the rain splashing on my face. It was very confusing, you know. Only minutes before the sky had been completely free of clouds, but now it was entirely enveloped in dark clouds. I looked for my stuff, but aside from the clothes on my back, everything was gone. I was very confused at that point, and just decided to walk back towards the nearest village. To my utter surprise I found the small village I'd passed not even an hour earlier, now a bustling town full of strange looking carriages- moving without horses! And people wearing strange clothing. I hadn't realised it then, but I'd travelled through time. [he chuckles] 

I: So, what was the strangest thing about travelling through time?

G: Well, the entire situation took some getting used to. It took me a long time to adjust to the new world. It was 1972 where I ended up, if I remember correctly. A very loose time, compared to what I was used to. But I'd made some friends there, who helped me get on my feet. A couple living in the town took me in, they were so lovely. I remember the guy was building his own communications station in his backyard, it was simply extraordinary. He was good with his hands, I think he did a lot of outdoor activities. 

 I: They do seem very lovely. But, how does traveling through time work? How do you do it? 

G: Well, I don't know if there are any other travellers out there. It may be different for them, but personally I picture the place I want to go, or the person I want to see, and I channel my all into it. It has to be my biggest wish at that moment, to go to that place or see that person. I mentally bring myself over to that place, and when I open my eyes, I will be there. It's hard to explain, even after so many years. But it's truly something unlike anything else I've ever experienced.

I: Amazing! I might try that myself later! But, how long did you stay in the 70's for?

G: Oh, I only stayed there for only three months. I quickly discovered that if I focused on a destination or person really hard, I could travel across time and space towards them. It was quite an exciting time to be frank with you [he chuckles again], once I got control of my ability I bid the couple goodbye and left to travel, like I'd always wanted. I never looked back. I did feel guilty for leaving my fiancé, but I am guessing she minded just as little as I did- we were never a good match. I did contemplate going back to her, but I'd grown much older by the time I felt ready to settle down, and I feared I would not have been able to explain my sudden older age to her. [he laughs]. 

I: So, you never again returned to 1899? Why is that?

G: No. I contemplated going back for my parents, but this ability had made me see what my father had been doing all these years- and I knew he would understand what had happened to me. I would never be able to live back then again, because I'd realised things about myself in the future- where I'd found a world that was much more accepting than I could ever have dreamed of. A world where I could be whatever I wanted to be, and love whoever I wanted to love. I travelled around a lot for a good 10 years, seeing all manner of places and times- before landing here 7 years ago, when I was 27. It was 2012 at the time. That's when I met my husband. I'd never felt more at home anywhere than with him. It took me a long time to tell him about my ability, but once I finally did he believed me straight away. We got married three years later, and I've never been happier. 

I: And where are you now in your life? Any plans for the future- well, your personal future?

G: I haven't travelled much since I met my husband, only little trips. We go together sometimes. And it's only him, I can't bring anybody else, funny isn't it?- it seems my love for him is so strong I can't leave him behind. [he laughs]. But I am happy where I am, and maybe that was the purpose of my ability anyway, at least that is the way I look at it. At the lowest point in my life I received a gift that made me able to turn my life around, and I used it to do exactly that. I have no real use for it anymore, since I'm already the happiest I could possibly be. And that to me, is the most important thing.

...

The article ended shortly after, but William had read enough. He was reeling from the man's story, and he dug deeply into his mind, trying to remember if there had ever been a time where he'd seen a member of his family acting strangely. His father had always been the dull kind of type, as had his uncles and aunties, but there had  always been something he was curious about in his family. But it wasn't his father's side of the family, it was his mother's. She had always been an outspoken, free kind of woman, that spoke her mind- probably more than any woman of her time should be doing. It had never stricken him as odd at the time, he was much too young- but now that he had the gift of hindsight he realised she had been ahead of her time. Or behind her time. 

The thought crossed his mind before he realised it, and things started falling into place for him. The strange phrases his mother would sometimes use ("Will darling, can you get your father a Bevvy?") , the way she would continually struggle with simple things like stockings, dresses, and gramophones when he was little, the way she would hum tunes so strange he'd wondered what kind of instrument could make them. The way she once accidentally slipped up back in the 20's and called The Great War, World War One... Like she knew a second one was coming. It could just be a coincidence, or his mother could have simply been an eccentric woman, but if she'd truly come from the future his heart ached for her. She would have had the knowledge of the future, but still chose to live in a time where she knew there would be two world wars. Had Maude known? His father? Had his mother assumed they wouldn't inherit her ability? Was it even real at all?  

William shook his head free of the millions of questions that were racing through his mind as he re-read the article again and again, specifically the part where he describes how to travel through time. William wondered if it was really that easy, and if he could do it too. Was his leap through time a one-time thing? Was he like George? He still had no way of knowing if this story was true, or if it was yet another fictional story on the vast Inter-Net, but he supposed it could be worth giving it a shot.

How hard could it be? 

It- as it turns out, was very hard. He had been trying to follow George’s advice for a few days now, but there had been very little happening. There was one time he believed for fraction of a second that he travelled between rooms, but that was simply because Mary had entered the room when he had his eyes closed. She did continue to laugh for two consecutive days at his screams though. An action that the other ghosts were all too happy to join in on, except of course for the Captain.

It was exhausting though, the concentration he was wasting on this time-travel technique, and a little voice at the back of his head was telling him this was futile. He should just quit, the story probably wasn’t real after all. He had trouble hiding his disappointment though, so much so that the Captain noticed.

“Are you quite alright, Will? You seem like you’ve had a rough few days. Don’t tell me it’s the decorators. I’ve told Alison to avoid the second floor early in the morning-“

“No, it’s not that…” He hesitated, deciding whether or not to tell the Captain about the article he’d read. But he decided against it. It was embarrassing enough that he was even trying it, from a random story he wasn’t even sure was true. No, he decided to keep it to himself for now.

“I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, I’m afraid.” He replied instead, folding his arms across his stomach in the process. It wasn’t even untrue, he had been feeling a bit queasy lately, but that probably had more to do with the lack of sleep and unbalanced meals. The Captain frowned, putting a hand against his forehead. “I don’t think you’ve got a fever, but if you’re feeling unwell you should go lie down for a while. You can take my room. It’ll be less noisy.” He said, gently putting a hand on his upper shoulder and starting to guide him out of the door in the direction of his room.

“Yes, I think I will. Thanks, Teddy.” William replied, falling in step with the older man and following him towards his room. Once there, the Captain nodded, giving William a soft smile and a quick kiss on top of his head, pulling back to find the younger man blushing. He took his leave shortly after with a fond smile, leaving William to rest. Theo’s bed was soft, neat. It creaked dangerously, as if it hadn’t been used in ages. He supposed it hadn’t, really. The covers were soft and warm, but he didn’t use them, instead choosing to lay on top of them. He hadn’t realised how tired he was until his head hit the soft cushions. Cushions that shouldn’t be able to- but somehow definitely did smell like Theo.

He drifted off, the smell of the cushions reminding him of the Captain, and he smiled lovingly as he remember the last time he slept in the man’s bed.

A loud bang startled him awake, it echoed through the house loudly, and William flew up from where he was lying down on the bed. The morning sun shone brightly in his face from where he was sitting on the bed, its heat much stronger than it seemed to have been all month. More loud bangs followed, and he instantly recognised the sound, there was only one thing in the world like it.

Gunshots.

Chapter Text

Gunshots?

How would there be gunshots? What was happening?

Before William could even think about all the possible explanations for the gunshots, there was another bang, but this time it was a rapid-fire banging on the wooden door of the bedroom. A door that, was looking a little less banged-up than it did last night…

Williams heart was racing as he stumbled out of the bed, almost falling the floor in his hurry and grabbed the doorhandle, pulling it open. His eyes widened as he opened the door to a bustling hallway, where he looked right into the face of a uniformed man, who had been in the middle of knocking on his door. “Ah, I thought you were on leave, Lieutenant. What are you doing in the Captain’s room?” He stated, and Havers could only gape as he took a glance down the hallway and saw other soldiers coming out of the rooms next to him, ready for another day of training.

The soldier in front of him, Bart Wilson- if he remembered correctly- was still looking at him questioningly. “No, not quite.” He replied, still in a daze- but ignoring the question about why he was in the Captain’s room on purpose. He’d actually done it. He’d travelled through time… again.  George was telling the truth! Oh, he could jump from excitement. But Bart was now frowning at the man, obviously very confused as to why his lieutenant was acting so strange.

“Oh yes, erhm. Could you perhaps tell me the date, Private Wilson? It seems to have slipped my mind.” He asked, trying to be conspicuous about it.

“10^th of July, sir. ” He replied shortly, strictly. Oh how he hadn’t missed the strictness of the military.

“The year?” He asked again.

“1943, sir?” Bart replied, unsure but unquestioningly. He quickly waved the formalities off. “Thank you, Bart. At ease, please.” He said, ignoring the funny look the man gave him as he walked out of the room past him, his confused gaze followed his lieutenant down the stairs- where he lost sight of him. How odd. He thought, but then shrugged. Lieutenant Havers had always been a little odd.

July 10^th, 1943. Havers had indeed been on leave then, almost two weeks. He’d been in London then, with Maude and Stephen. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart at the thought of his family. He continued down the stairs and found himself in a warzone, both in-and outside of the house.

He’d forgotten what a mess it used to be inside the house. There were boxes, wires, and people everywhere. Pieces of equipment were scattered around, in a way that was both organised as well as messy- people were moving newly acquired boxes of ammunition into the garden and moving chairs to fit in rows in front of a small desk at the front of the room. It was chaotic beyond belief, and he wondered how he ever even managed to have any control over the lot of it. He stood in the middle of the room dumbfounded and looking around in awe. He hadn’t been here in so long now, and the memories hit him hard. The people hurrying by were shooting him strange looks as he continued to walk through the house, making his way over to the command room. His heart skipped a beat as he heard the familiar barking of orders, and he looked into the sitting room to see the Captain.

He was still alive…

He felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he watched the man manage the troops that were practising with the new batch of revolvers, he looked tired, somehow even older than he had as a ghost. It didn’t take long for the Captains’ gaze to land on him, and his eyebrows raised in confusion. He turned his attention back to the men, and called out; “Take five!”, and then quickly walked over to the man. William noticed that Mary was there too. She was hovering over in the corner opposite of rest of the soldiers with a curious look, talking to herself. The Captain followed his gaze, confused. He couldn’t see her.

“Lieutenant Havers, what are you doing here? I thought you were on leave?” He asked, starting to walk away from the rest of the troops, who were now whispering amongst themselves, looking at William.

“And what in god’s name are you wearing? What’s a Pink Floyd?” He followed up, his brow furrowed as he took in Havers’ outfit. He had been wearing Mike’s black Pink Floyd band tee, with a maroon coloured zip-up hoodie over it, and jeans that were just a little too tight on him. William couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the man’s confusion, and was ready to blurt out a flirtatious joke or put a loving hand on the man’s shoulder, but then his heart skipped a painful beat as he realised this man in front of him had no idea what the future would hold for him.

He was entirely oblivious to the pain and suffering that awaited him, and had no idea of the person he’d become in the next couple decades. All the growth his Captain had experienced after his death, all the things he’d learned, the things he’d seen. This man had seen none of that. He still looked at the same strict haircut, the same precisely cut moustache, the same piercing blue eyes- but it felt like a completely different person.

“It’s erhm, it’s a… well, it doesn’t matter. At any rate, I’ve had a bit of an argument with my sister, and decided to come back to cool off for a few days. I’ll go back eventually I think, but I need to take my mind off things.” He hoped the lie would be convincing enough, and for a moment the Captain pursed his lips in a doubtful manner- but then he nodded shortly. “Very well Havers, get changed then. Attire like this is entirely inappropriate.” He said, turning around. Once upon a time Havers wouldn’t have looked further into the statement, but this time around he did not miss the blush that had crept up the back of the Captain’s neck. And he smiled softly, before turning around and making his way up the stairs again to his own room.

Now… what to do next?

It was strange, being back in the chaos of war. He was surprised how fast he’d gotten used to a peaceful world, but now that he was back here, in his old uniform, once again experiencing first-hand how terrible the conditions were back then, he realised he’d taken his freedom for granted.

He knew he couldn’t stay for long though, his other self would return around the 16^th of July, so he would need to be gone before that. The problem was, that he didn’t actually know how to get back. Like theoretically he now knew, but this time jump happened more by accident than on purpose. He needed to make sure he was gone when his younger self returned, otherwise… well he didn’t really know what would happen, but William supposed it couldn’t be anything good. Besides that, there were several risks, the biggest of which was the fact that he was terrified of doing anything out of the ordinary and changing the course of history.

The thought had briefly crossed his mind to confess to the Captain, to prevent his suffering all these years. But then maybe he wouldn’t have died so soon, and the Captain back home in 2019 would cease to exist. Maybe he wouldn’t even be a ghost at all. And if he did, he’d be a totally different person. William shuddered at the thought- his Captain wouldn’t be his Captain if it hadn’t been for all the things he’d lived through and experienced. It would be selfish to try and change history, and so he tried his best to make as little impact as he could when he walked back onto the Captain’s office, now smartly dressed in uniform.

“Hello Th-, Sir. Apologies for the delay this morning. May I ask about an update on Project Guildford?” He asked, unsure where exactly they’d left off at this particular point in time. The Captain shot him a suspicious look, but took a pile of papers out of his desk and handed them to him. “I haven’t done much since the beginning of your leave, since I’ve been left in charge of the troops in your absence, but I got a little more work done. Read it through and report back to me when you’re finished.” He said, stealing a secret glance when he thought William was distracted by the stack of papers. But William did notice, and lifted his eyes to meet the Captain’s. He quickly broke eye-contact and resumed his work, signing different- probably important papers.

“Yes sir.” William replied, nodding once and walking out of the room slowly. As he was about to shut the door, he heard the Captain call out; “Havers?”  He said, halting the younger man.

He peeked back in, a surprised look on his face. The Captain was still writing, not looking up as he resumed. “I don’t want you here too long. There is a war on. You shouldn’t leave your family in anger. You never know…” he paused for a second. “You never know when you stop hearing from them.” He finished, looking up over his reading glasses with a serious expression, his pen temporarily halted from where it had been aggressively scribbling against the paper.

William nodded, surprised. But then he remembered the words the Captain had spoken on the bridge in London all those days ago.

“I went back home to my mother - Hadn't heard from her in a while and all, but... The house was gone - I hadn't even known she passed - I never managed to shake the guilt of not being there…”

He was talking about his mother. He hadn’t heard from her, and he now knew why. It was a horrible thought, but she was probably already gone by now. He’d said only found out once the war was over, and it took everything inside of William to not tell the man. All he could do was swallow down the lump in his throat and nod solemnly.

“Yes sir, I won’t be long.” He replied. The Captain gave a little wave, dismissing him and he closed the door, letting out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. He grabbed the pile of papers tightly, bringing them over to a nearby communal study where he found a bored looking Thomas, who was lamenting the fact the Havers could not hear his poems- which he clearly could. He tried his best to not crack up at the man’s antics- but he more than once had to cleverly disguise a laugh with a fake cough before the regency ghost gave up and left him to read through the documents in peace. For the first few minutes of silence it went well, it was nice, looking back over their plans like this. Though it was strange seeing them only half completed, when he was used to seeing most of them already realised. He familiarised himself with the files for a few hours, before making his way back to the Captain and getting to work once again.

This went on for a few days, but no matter how great it was to be back at Button house in its hay-day, and no matter how great it was to see the Captain so in his element, so alive, every day that passed reminded William that this was no longer his time. This Button house was no longer really his Button house, his old room was no longer really his room. This Captain wasn’t really his Captain. Though this was his original time, he no longer felt at home. He felt like an imposter, taking over the life of another man temporarily. And that is- combined with the added stress of potentially changing the future- why he decided after only two days that he wanted to leave.  

He stepped into the brightly lit office, the office that he’d spent days and days and days in and had spent so many hours in that he’d lost count of them. He found the Captain sitting behind his desk as usual, but this time he wasn’t doing anything in particular. He was just staring out into the empty space in front of him with a tired gaze, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Havers had never known why the Captain got like this, but now he did. And it broke his heart a bit to not be able to do anything about it.

“Sir?” He said, softly, trying to shake the man out of his trance. The Captain jumped, not having heard his lieutenant come in, and he gave an embarrassed laugh as he realised it was just Havers.

“Ah, Havers. It’s you. What can I do for you?” He said, his voice was monotone and calm, but Havers noted that he quickly put some papers beneath another pile of papers, as if to hide them from him. He wondered if those were also letters to him. Ones the Captain did manage to get rid of in time before his death.

Havers realised he had been standing in the middle of the room, in total silence for a maybe a little too long, because the Captain had craned his head in confusion and anticipation. He hadn’t said anything, but it was clear he suspected something was going on with his lieutenant.

“I’m leaving, Sir.” Havers began, getting heavy flashbacks to their conversation when he’d decided to leave for the African front. “I’ve cooled off sufficiently, and decided to follow your advice and go back to my sister for the rest of my leave.” He continued, making sure to hold eye-contact with the Captain. The Captain’s eye got a little twinkle of happiness then, one of the few tell-tale signs that once told Havers exactly how the man was feeling. At this time he was a hard man to read, but over the years Havers had managed to crack his code a bit, and this twinkle in his eye meant he was pleased. His lips pursed underneath his moustache before he replied.

“Good. I suggest you leave tomorrow, there won’t be any more trains going into London at this hour anyway.”

William nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, Sir. For everything.” He said, finding it hard to find the right words to say. This might be the last time he ever saw the Captain alive again, and he just couldn’t seem to want the moment to end.

“You should get some rest. You’ve got quite the trip tomorrow, Lieutenant.” The Captain reiterated.
“Yes, quite.” Havers agreed again, thinking of a way to touch the Captain one last time. He was absolutely dying to give the man the biggest hug he’d ever gotten, but this Captain would never accept it. Not at this point in his life. So instead, he settled for a handshake. He held out his hand, letting it hover over the man’s desk determinedly. The Captain regarded it in confusion for a second, and then let his eyes fall onto Havers’. They didn’t normally used to shake hands at this point in their lives, so William supposed it must be strange for the other man. But then the Captain grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. His hand was warm, firm and hard with years of hard labour. Exactly how he remembered it, but nothing like how the ghost felt.

They shook hands for a few seconds before the Captain pulled back and sat back in his seat, watching as William wordlessly turned around and walked back over to the door.

“Oh and Captain?” He asked, turning back to face the other man. He’d realised something important, something he hopefully could sort out with just a few words.

“When I return later this week, I would appreciate if you wouldn’t bring this visit up again. Wouldn’t want to be reminded of my nasty family feud every time.” He said, hoping to God he actually wouldn’t.
The Captain gave a short nod, “You have my word, Havers.” He replied.

His other self would be really confused if his Captain would started going on about his fight with his sister, when there had been no such fight at all. So he nodded, and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Later, he sat on his bed, concentrating hard on travelling back. He really needed his journey back to be today, it would be so odd of him to say goodbye to the Captain and still be there the following day. He tried to relax, finding it difficult to focus on one time. He tried thinking of Alison, and Mike, of 2019… But when he opened his eyes he found himself in the same war-bound room. He could still hear the soft chatter of the soldiers downstairs. He swore under his breath and closed his eyes again, frustratedly. It had been kind of fun to be back again, but he wasn’t planning on staying here a minute longer- he had gotten too used to a peaceful world. He’d already lived through the war once, he wasn’t planning on doing it any more. At least he should have been thankful he hadn’t landed anywhere else- like that at that ambush in Tunisia… He shuddered as he thought about it, but then felt the temperature change dramatically. Dread filled his stomach.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a desert. He was standing on a sandy hill, surrounded by nothing but rocks, sand and the occasional dried up plant. To his right was an all too familiar, abandoned town. He stared at it as he felt his heart start to race with anxiety. He turned around, and could see that to his left was a group of men, loading ancient-looking munition and gathering bombs and canisters of what he presumed to mustard gas. He gasped as he realised he was standing in full view of the men, and promptly dropped down onto the ground- hoping to god they hadn’t seen him. He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down. He needed to get out of here- now. He closed his eyes, trying to think of Button house, of anywhere else he could go to- but he couldn’t. All he could think about was the group of men that he could currently see moving cautiously through the village. He flicked his gaze towards the group of men on his left, who hadn’t seemed to notice anything, neither him nor his past self in the village, and he frowned in confusion. He looked back at his squad, who was nearing the point of where they were ambushed the last time. Had he remembered wrong? He thought- sitting up ever so slightly so he could see the village better. No, he was sure it was any second now that the men had noticed his squad. He peeked over the hill, his heart racing and his stomach filled with dread as he could only look onto the events that were about to unfold…

but nothing happened.

His mind was reeling, and he turned around in confusion, once again glancing back to his left-
Where he promptly made direct eye-contact with one of the men of the other party.

There was a second of silence, before the man realised what was going on and gave a loud scream, scrambling for his gun. It only took a second before bullets were lading mere centimetres from William’s head. He couldn’t hold in the scream that left his mouth, as he put his arms in front of his head and crawled backwards, over the hill. He was temporarily out of range for the men, but he could hear them screaming and running towards him. He looked around wildly, trying to find cover, and found a large rock. He was done for if he couldn’t leave now, he needed to get out of here, right this second! He panted as he ran for the rock, crouching behind it and watching as the men appeared over the hill, guns blazing and shouting at each other. He could hear them getting closer, and closer as he closed his eyes and desperately tried to think of another place to be.

The men had stopped shouting, but William had no doubt they would find him any second now. And as he was starting to accept that this was going to be his last moment, he could hear one of the men give a short shout, after which he could hear the group’s footsteps retreating towards the village. He could feel the blood drain from his face as he peaked from behind the rock and saw the men barrelling towards the village, having undoubtedly spotted his younger self. Oh god.

He watched. He watched as the men threw the gas bombs into the narrow streets, and he watched himself and Richard struggle in the thick mist, even after the rest of his men opened fire on their attackers. And even as his squad successfully managed to down the men, the cloud ominously remained- looming over them. He watched as they silently waited, all gunfire ceased for the moment. Williams heart was racing against his ribcage painfully, but he couldn’t find it in himself to breathe. That was, until he watched Richard stumble out of the thick gas cloud, coughing heavily and pointing back, presumably towards William’s younger self.

His squad had tried. They tried to find him. He could see them struggling to thread the street around the gas for a few minutes, before one of the men stepped up and gathered the group. They had to move on, it was military policy. There might be more opposing forces around who have heard the commotion. William watched as they realised they would have to leave him behind, their shoulders slumped and their postures tense. He longed to tell them he made it out, longed to tell them he was okay… But he couldn’t. He could only watch from behind his cover as his men solemnly turned around and hurried out of the town. He let himself fall back down, back against the cold stone as he pressed his palms into his eyes in defeat.

He stayed there behind that rock for what felt like ages, his breath laboured as he tried to calm himself down.
Had it been him this whole time?
Was his future self the reason the men had discovered his squad?
How could he have been so stupid?

He took another shaky breath when he heard a sudden knocking sound, and he looked up in surprise. Where was that coming from? He took a look around but there was nothing near him that could have made the sound. He concentrated on it, closing his eyes. Just then he felt the temperature once again shift and felt the hard rock in his back disappear. He gently took his hands from his face and was surprised to find himself once again in his room at Button house. It was dark now, but he could still make out that the room was once again dusty, old and beat-up. Downstairs he could hear Mary and Robin chattering away happily, and he finally released the breath he had been holding.

He let out a pained cry as he heard the knocking again, a soft yet constricted knocking that he recognised as the Captains’. along with a soft; “William, are you okay?”.

He scrambled to get up, and was at the door faster than the man could finish his sentence and pulled the door open with shaking hands. Tried sprang into his eyes once he realised he was finally back safely. He breathed shallowly as he stared at the Captain and tried to fight the anxiety that was still plaguing his mind. He felt sick to his stomach as he saw Theodore took a hard look at his clothes.

“Will? What’s wrong? Why are you in your uniform?” the Captain asked, looking at the way the other man stood trembling before him, tears in his eyes- and instantly knowing something was very, very wrong. William could only shake his head, tears now hopelessly running down his face as he furiously tried to wipe them away with one violently shaking hand.

“I, I was there… There were the men- and it was the ambush- I couldn’t… It was me all along.” He started, fumbling his words in his state of shock. The Captain’s heart ached as he looked at the man. The horror on his face- he’d seen it before, thousands of times. It was a look of shock only brought on by war. And he understood instantly.

“You went back.” He asked. But it was more of a statement. William said nothing, but continued to stare at the Captain’s chest, refusing to make eye-contact. Theodore had no idea what had the man in such a state of shock, but he decided he couldn’t let him go through this alone. He wrapped his arms around William and held him tight. William obviously needed it, as he let his head fall into the Captain’s chest and sobbed. The older man was a bit out of his depth, but rubbed William’s back comfortingly and put his chin on the other man’s head. “You’re okay, Will.” He said, trying his best to calm him down.

When the sobs stopped, the Captain leaned back, looking William in the eyes. “I suppose you could do with a nice cup of tea?” He asked, still holding on to the man’s shoulders tightly. William nodded, still shaking, and let himself be guided to towards the kitchen. This was going to be a very long evening.  

Chapter Text

William and Theodore sat at the Kitchen table, William with a glass of water and a cup of tea, and Theodore with an empty cup that both men pretended had tea in it as well. They had been sat there, in silence for a dozen minutes, with William still reeling from his trips to 1943 and 1944. The air was tense as the Captain tried to figure out how to approach the conversation, but so far he’d failed to come up with any opening, so he’d said nothing. The silence was broken when William spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Theo.” He said defeatedly as he put his hands around his cup to try and warm them up a bit. The Captain put his own hand over Williams’ warmly- it was meant well, but his hands were cold as ice, sending a shiver up William’s arms.

“It’s okay Havers. Will you tell me what happened?” Theodore asked, his own nerves sky-rocketing. Whatever happened, it obviously hadn’t been good. He’d never quite seen his Lieutenant this shellshocked. William sighed to calm his racing heart, taking a small sip of his tea before beginning; “I went back, Teddy.”

The Captain’s eyebrows raised slightly, but that he wasn’t all that surprised- he’d pieces together that much. But William continued.  “I found this article, of someone like me. According to him we can travel through time at will, so I wanted to try it out…” He said, pausing briefly. When the Captain made no comment he continued.

“But I can’t seem to control it. Twice I jumped through time, and neither of those times I ended up where I wanted to be. I-… I ended up in ’43, back at Button house. I was lucky the other me was on shore leave back then.” He said. The Captain pursed his lips for a moment, deep in thought.

“The fight with your sister.” He said then, after a pregnant pause.
“You remember?” Havers asked, surprised. He should have known though, he had changed history by going back. It was strange though, seeing the consequences of his actions a few hours ago like this. The Captain now had memories of a fictional fight that he was told about over 75 years ago, when for William it had been hours.

“Yes. You told me to not talk about it again. I thought it was strange. I knew you were acting strange.” He replied.
“I needed a cover. I never actually had a fight with my sister, luckily. I’m sorry to have lied to you, Teddy.” William said, giving the other man a small smile. The Captain shook his head. “It’s been ages, Will.” He said, “Though I suppose not for you.” He continued. William remained silent for a few more seconds, staring at the cup in his hands.

“It was strange. You were there, but you weren’t… you. I wanted to tell you everything, but I couldn´t. So I wanted to go home. Here. I missed the real you. But… but when I tried-“ He said, getting choked up, Theodore put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed encouragingly.

“My mind wandered off… To the ambush. And when I opened my eyes I was there. I was back there Teddy.” He said, his voice breaking as his eyes welled with tears again. The Captain had to swallow down the lump in his own throat at seeing his former lieutenant so broken.

“And it was me that started the ambush. The opposition saw me. And when I tried to take cover, they discovered my past self and his squad instead. It was all my fault-“
“No.” The Captain said when William trailed off again, staring at his cup of tea in shame.
“William you can’t blame yourself for a situation you had no control over. You didn’t instruct those men to attack your squad. There is nothing you could have done.”
“But, I could have-“
“Nothing has changed, Will. Everyone made it out alive, didn’t they? Including you. It already happened once. If you had changed anything you wouldn’t be here right now. You wouldn’t have jumped through time for the first time and ended up here. You would have continued about your life, growing old and dying somewhere. I would have lost you.” He said, hoping his words would reach the former lieutenant. He still seemed lost in thought. He calmed himself down, he’d gotten worked up. But William nodded, agreeing silently. He grabbed the Captain’s hand looking him in the eye.

“Thanks Theo. I know I couldn’t have changed anything. But it was just- it was hard being back there. I hadn’t realised how big of an impact it had on me. I guess I never really had time to process what happened back there, with all the confusion that came with my arrival in 2019. I’m sorry I gave you such a fright.”

The Captain shook his head. “Don’t apologise Will,  if there is anyone here that knows how you feel- it’s this old walrus. You’re welcome to come to me anytime, you know that right?” He said. William nodded gratefully.

“Yes… Thank you Teddy. But I think I might go to bed now. I need to gather my thoughts for a minute.” He replied.

The Captain agreed, walking William upstairs to his room, and sighing when the other man give him a soft kiss on the cheek and closed the door. His heart ached for the man. William, on the other side of the door collapsed onto the bed, absolutely exhausted. Talking to the Captain was nice, but he had the feeling the man couldn’t really understand. He needed to talk to someone who understood was he was talking about. Someone who had maybe had a little more experience in the action of time-travel…

The next day, after waking up early from a restless night sleep, William was on Mike’s laptop, looking through the same article again, in hopes of finding something- anything that could lead him to contact George. But he still hadn’t quite figured out this Computer stuff yet, so he was having trouble finding anything. That was when Alison entered the living room, a box of excess decorations in her hands.

“Oh! Hi William. I didn’t know anyone else was up this early.” She said, shooting him one of her bright smiles.

“Good morning, busy decorating?” William replied, gesturing to the box. She put down the box on the table next to him, and took a look at the laptop.
“Yeah! They’re nearly done decorating, so I’m starting to clear out the boxes now. Have you and Mike been practising again? He says you’re getting quite good.” She says, gesturing to the laptop and grabbing a chair, flopping down on it tiredly.

“I think he has too much faith in my abilities. I’m afraid I still get quite lost on the world wide web. Like now.” He said, shooting her a shy smile. She waved him off. “Nonsense! What is it you’re looking for?” She asked, scooting her chair closer so she could take a peek at what was on the laptop.

“I’m looking for the contact information of the man interviewed for this article. I need to speak with him, quite urgently.” William said, pushing the device closer to Alison. She grabbed the mouse and shook it, trying to find the cursor on the screen.

“I don’t know if that’s on here Will. Private information isn’t usually spread around on the internet. Confidentiality and all.” She said, scrolling through the website and clicking around for a while, William looking over her shoulder curiously.

“I’ve got a phone number here, of the woman that wrote the article. I suppose we could try that?” She suggested, pulling out her phone. But she paused then, frowning.

“Why do you want to talk to this man so badly, if it’s okay to ask?” She said, a curious look on her face. William gave a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his arms.

“Well, if I were to believe this article… This man can do the same thing as me, travel through time- I travelled back in time yesterday…”
Alison’s face lit up.

“Wow William! That’s incredible! It’s not a one-time thing?” She said, surprise written across her face.

“No, according to George here we can travel anytime, anyplace. But I can’t seem to control it very well. I have a lot of questions, and I feel like he’s the only person that has answers.” William continued, looking back at the laptop.
Alison pursed her lips, determined as she looked back at the laptop as well, and copied the number onto her phone.

“We’re getting you to this George person, if it’s the last thing I do.”  She said, giving him a firm smile as she pressed ‘Dial’.

The lady on the phone had been incredibly nice, and Alison had completely won her over with her compliments on the website and the article. (“Nobody is immune to compliments, Will.” She’d said).

“I really can’t give you anything like a full name or phone number, I’m afraid.” The lady had said. “But I can give you an email address? If that would help at all?” It would, because once they’d gotten the email address it was easy to contact George. They’d sent the e-mail out together on Monday, and by Wednesday they’d had a reply. William was the one to open it. George had invited him over at his house in Brighton, which was only an hours’ drive away from Button house.

That was why, on Thursday, he was stood in front of a small bungalow, gathering his nerves on the steps that lead to the front door. Alison had driven him, having been meaning to take a hike on the beach with Mike to get out of the house anyway.  He glanced back towards the car, watching as Alison gestured for him to ring the bell.  He picked at his nails nervously, taking a deep breath to calm down before he took a step forward and did just that. All too soon he heard the footsteps from behind the door, and the door flung open- revealing a middle-aged man. The article had described him as 34, but the man in front of him was at least in his mid-40’s. His temples were beginning to grey and Havers could see smile lines beginning to form around the man’s eyes. He was tan, undoubtedly having spent quite a few days in the sun somewhere- or sometime.  

“Hello! You must be William, right?” He said, cheerily looking between William and the car behind him.
“Yes, William Havers.” William replied, returning the smile.  

The man gave Alison and Mike a quick wave before opening the door wider and offering William a hand.
“George Davies. Nice to meet you.” He said, allowing William to step inside.

The hallway was tiny, odd. The hallways were filled with pictures. Pictures that, on first glance seemed to be normal holiday pictures, but when he looked closer he noticed that the Eiffel tower seemed a bit too new, and that a certain sphynx still had a nose in their pictures. He smiled softly as they walked into the living room, which had a small seating area, adjacent to a small kitchen.

“Sorry you had to come all the way here, this is our vacation home. Our house in London is currently under construction. Those pesky sewer lines have to be renovated, you know how it is.” George said, offering William a cup of tea. He accepted, pouring in some milk and sugar.

“No, it’s no trouble actually. We’ve been meaning to visit the beach. At least the others have. I was just happy to be able to talk to you. I really do have a lot of questions, relating to the article…” He said, suddenly finding it awkward to talk about. George however, seemed to be having no qualms talking about it at all. He gave a small chuckle as he flopped down onto to soft couch in the living room, inviting William to sit down as well.

“The Time-travel? Mhmm, yes it can be confusing. You mentioned in your e-mail that you had an interest in it. What did you mean by that?” He asked, sipping his own tea. William stirred the little spoon in his tea absentmindedly.

“I… I can do it too. Travel through time.” He replied, only taking a quick glance at the man once he’d finished talking. The man, who had been hanging back into the cushions lazily moments before, was now sat up straight with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You can? How peculiar. So, when are you from William?” He stated, a hint of intrigue lacing his voice. He leaned back again, still staring at William.
“1944, originally. Well, that’s when I travelled for the first time.” He said, shooting the other man a shy smile. George chuckled as he remembered his own first time.

“Ah! World War Two!” He said enthusiastically. “I went there myself once, but hadn’t the guts to stay for long. Much respect. Did you serve?” He asked, curiosity written on his face. William nodded in reply before speaking up.
“Yes, I served at Button house, near Guildford. Lieutenant of Special Ops.”

“Ah! Interesting! Button house? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Probably not, we worked on top secret operations. Needed to keep it quiet.” William replied with a slight chuckle.

“I can imagine! Uncertain times- as I’m sure you’re aware. But… tell me more about the first time you jumped- that’s what I like to call the whole time-travel thing. Saying time-traveller makes me feel like a fictional character.” He stated as he gave a small chuckle. William laughed. It did sound fictional.

“Well, after Button house I served in Tunisia for a bit, on the front line… But we got ambushed… I nearly didn’t survive, but that was how I travelled through time the first time. I landed here, in 2019.” He said softly.

“Ah, I’m sorry to hear. It must have been terribly disorienting, especially when you weren’t expecting to make it out alive. Did you get the headaches as well? I remember not being able to think straight for the first few days. ” George continued. William laughed at this at the memory of his first few days at Button house.

“Yes, I did. Especially since there were a lot of gaps in my memory. I thought my head was going to burst” He replied with a smile. He finally relaxed a bit, leaning back a little bit more into the big cushions and once again sipping his tea as he continued to chat with George. It was so nice to talk about these things with someone who understood. George had tucked his knees up to his chest and put his hand underneath his chin as he looked at William, highly interested in his story.

“So, you saw interview on the internet, and realised you weren’t alone? And now you have questions, am I correct?” George stated, almost teasingly.

“Yes. It seems you’re perfectly correct.” Havers replied, “I didn’t know it could be a regular occurrence though, I thought it was a one-time thing. After I found your interview I had so many questions, so that’s why I wanted to talk to you in person.”
George nodded thoughtfully in response.

“I must say I was quite surprised to hear to hear from you. It has been a long time since I did the interview, at least for me. Me and my husband spent a few years in 2052, in Cuba. It must have been a little over 10 years since I did the interview, so I’d nearly forgotten about it.” He laughed, continuing; “But, enough about me! Tell me more about you! You said you had questions. I will try answer any questions I can.”

William pondered for a moment, thinking of the his most pressing questions, absentmindedly stirring his tea.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask; how are you able to control it? I can’t seem to get any control over when I end up. I recently… landed in a place I’d rather not have.” He began, trying to avoid the details. They probably weren’t important to George anyway- but the other man was quick to reply.

“Well, it’s not so much about having control over it. It’s very hard to get an exact date and time to travel to, since the act of jumping is tied to your memories and emotions. It takes you to the time you picture, so the most important thing you can do is be focused. It may not be exact, but if you concentrate you will end up the closest to where you need to be.” He said. William was silent for a moment, taking it in. George tilted his head, looking at William- somehow knowing there was something on his mind.

“Why? Where did you end up? If you don’t mind me asking of course.” William looked at him, debating whether or not he was ready to tell him- but decided he needed to. He had so many questions he needed answers to. He convinced himself to get the words out.

“I went back to the day of my ambush on accident… the day I almost died. I wanted to jump back to 2019… But I got distracted. I went back-“ His voice broke for a bit, but he kept himself strong, biting through it.

“All this time I thought the ambush was waiting for us, but when I landed there I was spotted by the opposing party. It was my fault the party discovered my past self. I couldn’t even stop it… It was my fault all along.” He said, feeling a huge burden lifting off his shoulders as he said the words out loud. George sighed at the confession, his face turning serious in a matter of seconds.

“Listen William, time is a fickle thing. It flows, it changes, but in a lot of ways, it stays the same. It has taken me a long time and jumps through time to learn that the best thing you can do is live in the present. I have tried to change the past before, and it never ends well. Either nothing changes at all, or it changes in ways we can’t control… Time has a funny way of fixing itself. It’s important to remember that we are just visitors at the places we travel.”

William shook his head at this, “But I could have warned my men-“  He began.

“No, listen- William. You should look at time… like it’s an onion. It has layers. Everything you do, a future you has already done before. You having lived through the ambush in 1943 means a future you has made the same mistake before you, and past you will make it after you. There is nothing you could have done that wouldn’t have messed up your entire timeline. The past is in the past. Your future has already happened. The only thing we can do is move forward in our own timeline and let time happen to us.”

William pursed his lips. George was right. He remained silent for a second before he spoke up. “Does it ever get easier?” He asked. George stared ahead, not looking at William.

“The jumping does. Over time I’ve learned how to use my ability well, but like I said, time is a fickle thing. There are certain things you have to be careful of. Time isn’t easily changed, but I’ve seen it happen before. Have you ever heard of the Mandela Effect?” George asked, finally switching his gaze to William again. William frowned, staring back at the man in confusion.

“Never mind, well. There are certain things you don’t want to do. For example… You shouldn’t get to know famous historical figures. They say you should never meet your heroes, but some of these people were absolute dickheads… What more?” He said, pausing to think.

“Oh! You should bring era-appropriate clothes, especially when travelling to the earlier centuries. Those people don’t take well to strange things. I almost got burned at the stake… Multiple times. One time even with my husband.” He chuckled. “I thought I was safe when we got out of there, but Frankie was just about ready to murder me himself upon arriving back home.” William laughed along, imagining a very angry husband coming back from almost being burned at the stake for wearing a band tee and sneakers.

“Yes, I did get some strange look when I visited 1943 in my Pink Floyd t-shirt.” William agreed with a fond smile. George laughed, setting his mug down on the coffee table. Then he shot up, pointing a finger in the air, a finger that he- a second later, pointed at William.

 “Oh! And one more piece of advice, you don’t want to run into yourself.” He said, a slight shudder running over his back as he did so. William frowned, tilting his head in confusion.

“Why? What happens when you run into yourself?” He asked. George pursed his lips for a moment, contemplating the best way to say it.

“Well… I’ve gone to the same time multiple times, but I’ve always made sure to keep a distance… When you get too close you sort of… merge.” When William didn’t reply, only staring at him with an open mouth, he gave a slight chuckle and continued.

“I’ve had it happen once before- back when I didn’t have much experience in jumping through time. It was a very strange sensation- one that I don’t recommend at all, in fact. I went sometime in the 70’s, a time I’d apparently been before. But I don’t think the universe meant for there to be two of you at the same time, so one minute I was standing on one side of the street, staring at myself, and the next minute I was on the other side, where the other me had been standing. My conclusion is that we merged, and that because I was the most recent self- and thus already had the memories of my past self, I merged with my past self. I didn’t lose anything of my original timeline, but it was still a disorienting situation- It was like my present selves consciousness was sucked into my past self’s body- I’m sorry if it’s confusing, but it’s the best I can do.”  He explained. William had closed his mouth, but he was till dumbfounded. “So, I would advise you highly to never go back to your childhood, you might get stuck as a child. I’ve heard a story about that once, from someone else. Can’t say it seemed pleasant. The best thing you can do is keep a list of all the dates and places you’ve visited.”

“How strange.” He managed to say. “I must say I am quite confused, but- I… It’s all a lot to take in. I can’t imagine it getting any easier.” He said, giving a shy laugh to hide his embarrassment. But George waved him off dismissively.

“You’ll get used to it. It’s easy as riding a bike.” He said, standing up, gesturing for William to do the same. William followed his example, putting his own mug on the table and standing up. George put his hand on Williams shoulder.

“It’s all about experience. The more you travel, the easier you can jump. Look!” He said, pointing behind him. William looked behind the man, and was shocked to find himself looking at the Big Ben…. Well, at least half of it. It was still under construction.

“Wow…” William said breathlessly. He watches horse-drawn carriages go by, it’s drivers blissfully unaware of the strange travellers currently standing on the side of the road. Small raindrops fell softly onto his hair and clothes, the cold wind biting into his skin, making him shiver. George had made it look so easy… Before he could blink, they were back inside George’s living room. The older man hadn’t even broken a sweat- figuratively of course. He couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face at the thought of jumping through time that easily.

“I can’t believe it can be that easy!” William said excitedly, bouncing on his heels happily.

George sat back down, with William doing the same, still shocked how easily George managed to jump. He looked like he barely even needed to think about it. George laughed at William’s excitement.

“You’ll get the hang of it Will. Would you like to try? Try to take me with you?” He suggested, his tone playful- yet serious. It was like a mentor teaching a new pupil.

“I… I don’t know, I’m still new to this George.” William replied hesitantly, taking a small step back and holding his hands up. But George wasn’t having it, shaking his head. “Nonsense, practise makes perfect, William. Better to try now, while I’m here right?” He insisted. William nodded, he did have a point. If anything were to go wrong like last time, at least George would be able to get them out of there.

“Alright… I’ll try again.” William replied, taking a deep breath. George smiled triumphantly, running a hand through his hair. “Great! Okay, what’s important when taking someone with you when you jump is that you’ve got to be touching that person, otherwise they won’t travel with you. So put your hand on my shoulder-“ He said, grabbing William’s arm and putting his hand on his shoulder.

“Now, close your eyes and concentrate. Pick a place you’d like to go, but let’s start easy… Pick something familiar.” William did, thinking of a place- and picturing it in his mind. He takes a deep breath, concentrating. He feels the air around them change, the warm temperature being replaced by a humid cold wind that softly blew in his face. He opened his eyes to George, who was looking around in wonder, the man shot him a proud smile.

“Well, look at that! Well done, Will!” He said, enthusiastically as William took his hand off the man’s shoulder with a shy smile. He was absolutely gleaming.

“Where did you take us?” George asked, taking in the scenery. It was a busy street in what seemed to be a small town. People were scattered about the street, enjoying the day. Next to them was a small bakery, where people were going in and out at a rapid pace. It seemed to be the late 1920’s from what he could see.

“Ah… see that house across the street?” Havers replied, pointing at a small cottage across from where they were standing, it’s walls crooked but well looked after, and its small garden lavishly decorated with tens of different kinds of flowers.

“My grandmother’s house. I haven’t seen her since she passed away suddenly when I was a teenager. I miss her dearly. I used to love helping her with those flowers.” He said, smiling fondly at the house. Just then, an older woman passed them on the street- his very own grandmother. She fumbled with her bags, trying to get the keys from her pocket. William hesitated, glancing at George. When he didn’t stop him, he stepped over and gently spoke up. “Let me take those… Ma’am.” It was strange, having to pretend he was a stranger. She looked up, surprised, but then shot him one of those kind smiles he’d always remembered her with.

“Why, thank you young man. That’s very thoughtful of you.” She replied, handing him her bags. He couldn’t help but notice the chocolates she always bought for him and his sister being amongst them. He smiled, watching as she opened the front gate to the house and then the front door. He followed her through the garden to the front door, taking a look at the flowers that filled the garden.

“Those are some very pretty flowers ma’am. You must take good care of them.” He said, flashing her a smile. She laughed, waving him off. “Oh, those wouldn’t bloom half as prettily if it hadn’t been for my grandson helping me out. He has a real green thumb that boy.” She replied, taking back her bags from where William held them out for her.

“Thank you for helping me out, young man. Too many young men wouldn’t bother nowadays. Your grandmother must be a lucky woman.” She said, tutting. William grinned, loving the irony of it all. “Yes, she taught me well.”

She put the bags down in the hallway, taking off her coat as she replied. “I’ll make sure to teach my grandson manners as good as yours.”

“Yes… you should ma’am. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it later.” He replied. “Take care, ma’am.” He said, trying to withhold from enveloping the woman in his arms as bid her goodbye. She returned the goodbyes and gently closed the door as William made his way back over to George, who was smiling at the house in front of him with a fond smile.

“You know, I think that’s the best part of this ability. Getting to revisit people that are no longer around.”

And William couldn’t help but agree.

Chapter Text

There was only one week left to the party, and the pressure had started building at Button house. The house was now nearly all decorated- and the past week had been uneventful for them, a fact that Alison couldn’t be more grateful for. There weren’t a lot of uneventful days at Button house, but the ghosts now had William to entertain them alongside her, and she’d made it very clear she didn’t want to be bothered while planning this event. Luckily they’d listened for one, which meant they would only bother her when William was at work or if they needed her specifically for something. It was simply blissful, having some time for herself- and Mike. They’d finally gotten to have a movie night a few nights ago, just the two of them, and Alison had slept through the entire week without being disturbed at 9 AM by over enthusiastic Kitty’s or Poetry-reading Thomas’s.

Julian had been dreading the event, probably more than anyone. The fact that a big company had chosen to rent out the entire house to throw an extravagant party was something that was all too familiar to him, so much so that he’d brought it up during one of Pat’s clubs. It was good that the others had managed to calm him down somewhat, but he still felt more uncomfortable as the day of the event drew nearer. Kitty on the other hand, couldn’t be more excited. They’d spent the last few days all collectively sighing at the hyper girl’s imaginings of the party, and what she would wear if she could, and what food there was going to be.

It was a good time for everyone, but most of all for William and Teddy- who had been spending most of their time in the garden together. Though the cold December winds could be a bit mean sometimes, the sun was out most days, which was unusual for England this time of year- but neither of them had complained about it. The weak sunrays gave off just enough warmth for them to sit comfortably on a little bench with a cup of tea on the backside of the house, facing the garden where William’s flowers had now fully started to bloom.

“The garden really does look lovely, William.” Theodore commented, taking a look at the black tulips that had started to peek their heads above the surface of the cold dirt. William gleamed at the compliment, a blush forming on his cheeks- which were already rosy from the cold wind. He gently leaned in a little closer to the man, letting his head fall onto his shoulder and brushing his hand against the Captain’s. His hands were cold, and strangely felt a little too smooth, texture less. But William didn’t mind, and after a second he wound his fingers through Theo’s- whose breath hitched a little at the action. For one, blissful moment it was just them, enjoying the sunrise together in a world where nobody else existed. Theodore never wanted it to end. But then William replied;

“Thank you, Teddy. But without Dave’s advice I don’t think I would have got them to grow as they have.” He replied- to which the Captain frowned and looked at him.

“Dave?” He asked, confused. He’d never heard that name before, at least not that he knew of. He released William’s hand, putting it firmly back on his swagger stick.

“Oh, haven’t I told you about Dave yet? He’s my co-worker at the flower shop. But he’s become a very close friend to me.” He said. The Captain watched as a fond smile grew on William’s face, and his heart dropped a bit. “You know,” William began again, looking back at the Captain. “He’s like us. You know…” He faltered, unsure of the best way to say it. He was still kind of uncomfortable saying it out loud, but he also wasn’t sure what word to use. Homosexual? – Too old fashioned… Gay? – Meant something completely different in his time…

“He isn’t interested in women.” He eventually settled on. The Captain’s figurative heart jumped at that. A hint of jealously instantly wormed its way into his head, planting a seed that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much he convinced himself there was probably nothing going on between the two men. Havers had confessed his feelings towards him just a few days before. He wouldn’t have done that if he’d been interested in this Dave.

“Ah, that’s splendid. Jolly good.” The Captain said, trying to hide the fact that he didn’t think it was splendid at all. But Havers seemed to buy it, because he turned back to the garden briefly, before checking his watch. It was nearing half past 11, which meant Dave was going to be here any minute to pick him up from work.

“You could meet him? He’s an amazing chap. He’s coming to pick me up for work in a few minutes.” Havers replied, pulling at the soft sleeves of his hoodie. He hadn’t liked most of the modern clothes, but these hoodies he could live with. It was like wearing a pyjama and a jacket at once- he could see why Mike loved them so much. He’d begun to dress more casually over the last few days as well, having already gone through most of Mike’s dress shirts. And although he didn’t like most of the clothes per se, he had gotten more comfortable in them.

The Captain didn’t reply, but he had a far-off look in his eye, staring past William onto the driveway of the manor. That’s when William’s phone began to rang, startling both of them. He quickly fished the phone from his pocket with a sheepish smile. “So sorry… Oh, speak of the Devil.” He said jokingly, flashing the Captain the screen stating   ‘Dave’ in bold letters. “Is it okay if I take this?” He asked the Captain, who quickly shook his head. “No, no. Go right ahead. Can’t keep young David waiting.”

William fumbled with the touch screen a bit, but managed the pick up the phone, a smile appearing on his face as he presumably heard Dave’s voice. The Captain zoned out, it wasn’t exactly good manners anyway to listen to someone’s telephone calls. His mind wandered off to the man, what kind of person he was, why William seemed to taken with him. They must have gotten close at work…

“Alright, see you in few minutes then. Goodbye.” William said, bringing the phone down from his ear and frantically pressing the button to stop the call. When it left the call screen, he looked back to the Captain. “He’s a few minutes later.”

The Captain huffed at this, mumbling; “Wouldn’t have been necessary to telephone over that.”
William either didn’t hear it or ignored it, stepping towards the back door of the manor.

“Well… I’ll guess I get ready then.” Havers said, excusing himself with a quick smile at the Captain, who didn’t seem to hear him, lost in his own thoughts. After getting inside and gathering his things he could only just make out the shape of a car pulling up in the driveway through the big windows in the study. He grabbed his coat of the rack and hurried outside, just about spotting the Captain before turning to Dave, who was standing outside of the car with one of his bright smiles aimed directly at William.

“Bill! How is it man?” He asked, opening his arms- expecting a hug. Dave loved hugs, as William had come to find out over the past couple of weeks. It was still a bit strange to Havers, who had grown up in a time where it was taboo for men to hug… well anyone. Let alone another man. But he couldn’t say he hadn’t gotten used to it, Dave gave the best hugs. He gratefully accepted the hug and shot Dave a friendly smile, greeting him back.

“So, you ready for today? Got a big delivery of pots coming.” Dave said teasingly. It was always hard work when they had to unpack deliveries, but usually they would put on some music and have a nice talk while doing it.

“Well. We should get going then, we’re not getting any younger.” William replied, jokingly.

The Captain was still at the edge of the garden, watching them as they got into the car. Before William got in, he shot him a quick loving smile, giving a little wave. After that they were off,  driving through the gates and off towards the village.

He decided he didn’t want to go inside just yet, and absentmindedly walked over towards the driveway, soon finding himself at the edge of the property and instinctively hesitating- before realising there was no more need. He crossed it without a second thought, slowly walking down the small road. He didn’t have a destination, he just let his feet carry him wherever- his mind was somewhere else anyway.

The Captain sighed, feeling an ache starting to form in his chest as he remembered William’s words from earlier.

“We’re not getting any younger.”

He wouldn’t. He’d grow old someday, he still had his entire life ahead of him. The possibilities were endless for him. He could accomplish his dreams, career goals, hobbies… He’d be able to grow as a person, beat his record lap around the house with a bit of training, no cold air needed. And it was something that the Captain would never be able to partake in.

He’d begun to doubt if someone else, maybe someone like that Dave might make William happier. It felt like he was an impostor. Like he’d been hired for a job where there were dozens of people more qualified for than him. Dave would be able to grow old alongside William. They’d be a nice, normal couple- living their lives in tandem, learning and developing together. And although jealously burned the back of his mind at the thought of Dave being with William, he couldn’t shake the feeling that in the long run Dave would be able to give William more than he ever could.

Yes he could touch things now, but the fact remained that there was no air leaving his lungs, no blood pumping through his veins, no heart beating in his chest. How could he possibly get into a proper relationship if didn’t even have a heart? How would it even work? Other people would never be able to see him… Havers would look like a crazy person anytime they’d go out together.

He had spent so long wishing for William that he had never stopped to think what might happen after he’d gotten him. And no matter how much he might have wished otherwise, one of them was still very much alive, while the other was decidedly not. Could he be so selfish to keep playing charades? To keep pretending that one of them was literally no longer a real person? That their relationship wouldn’t be incredibly dysfunctional? That it could never realistically work?

He sighed deeply, trying to relieve some of the heavy feeling on his chest.

It didn’t work.

“Well, I’ve got to be honest and tell you that I’ve never really liked Poetry. I preferred getting on with my electronics. Most I’ve read were the manuals for the radios I built, but those were hardly poetic.” Pat stated, in response to the question what their favourite poetry was. Thomas had brought up the idea for a poetry club last week- an idea that wasn’t instantly welcomed with open arms, but that he had insisted on every single day since. So Pat- being the good guy he was, decided it was best to just get it over with.

Thomas gave a dramatic gasp, offended.

“You must be pitching the gammon. You mean to say you’ve never heard good poetry?” He asked, putting his hands to his side and staring Pat down. Pat glanced around the room, seeing the other rolling their eyes already.

“Well… yeah- kinda.”  He replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly. Thomas fumed at this, huffing offendedly as he turned up his nose.

“Well sir, I shall take that to mean you find my poetry appalling.” He said, turning around and starting to walk off, presumably towards the lake. Pat hesitated for a second, debating whether or not to go after him. He turned on his heels a few times, before running after the regency ghost. “No Thomas, that’s not what I meant!-“ “Poppycock! You made your sentiments quite clear…”

As the voices disappeared down the hall, the others remained in the library, silent. That was until Julian spoke up. “Well. That was certainly an interesting turn of events. Well, as the Captain would say: Any other business? Yes. This party.” He said, using his hands to emphasize his problem in that very MP way he always does. The others could only groan in anticipation of what was coming.

“Oh come on Julian, you know Alison want this to go well-“
“-Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah! No! This house is a democracy, you know. She is not Rémi. She’s not alone on this world. This is not Without Family-”
“Oh for goodness’s sake Julian. We are not helping you mess up Alison’s party.” Kitty snapped, obviously annoyed. Her mind had instantly gone to the last time when the Coopers had almost sold the house. Fanny hummed in agreement from across the room, giving Julian a stern look as she did so.

“Yes. And I better not see you planning anything. This is a very important event, with very important people coming. I’ll not have you ruin the first high-class party this fine house has seen in decades. I’ll be keeping my eye on you, young man.” She said, standing up and promptly leaving the room. Kitty followed with a huff, after which Robin and Mary walked out as well. Julian remained, rolling his eyes to himself.

“Very well… challenge accepted.” He mumbled, fixing his tie and coat with a sly smile before leaving the room as well.

Havers had been at work all day, moving boxes of the new stock with Dave. The man hadn’t been kidding when he said it was a big delivery. But, he still had great fun unpacking everything and putting it away in the small storage unit behind the shop. They’d made a bet who could unload the most boxes the quickest- a bet that Dave had naturally won. He’d been doing this for years. But Havers had given him a good run for his money, it was a close call.

When he finally stepped back into the house after Dave dropped him off, he tiredly let himself fall onto the couch, utterly exhausted. He stayed there for what felt like hours, just breathing into the cushions and enjoying the peace and quiet- until he heard footsteps coming down the hall and into the sitting room and then a surprised; “Ah! Will!”

He looked up from where his face was buried in the cushions, seeing Pat standing next to the sofa. He bounced on his feet and gave him a small wave, giving him one of his signature happy smiles as he bent down a little to get on Haver’s level.

William sat up, facing the scout leader with a curious look, shooting him back a smile.
“Hi Pat, what’s up?” He said, a bit awkwardly. He’d picked the phrase up from Dave last week, but hadn’t really had the chance to use it yet. Pat paused for a bit, seemingly debating the best way to phrase whatever he was going to say.

“Have you seen the Captain anywhere?” He asked eventually. William shook his head, he hadn’t seen him since that morning when he left with Dave.

“No I haven’t. You haven’t seen him all day?”

Pat shook his head in response. “No, I thought he might have told you something. It was his turn to pick the movie tonight, and he’s never missed it before.” He said, glancing out the window, as if he were to find the Captain miraculously there. William stood up, grabbing his coat from where he’d thrown it across the edge of the sofa.

“You’ve checked the house?” William asked Pat, who nodded. “Yeah, positive he’s not inside. I’m getting a bit worried though, you know… maybe he got sucked off…”

William choked on his breath at the words, launching into coughing fit as Pat stood there sheepishly, miming a pat on William’s back as he rode it out. “Sorry, I meant moved on. Seems Mary’s been rubbin’ off on me.” He said with a small laugh. William nodded, giving a weak chuckle as well, before putting on his coat- glad to have an excuse to leave the awkward air in the room after that misunderstanding.

“I’ll see if I can find the Captain outside then, I might know a place or two.”

Pat nodded, raising his hand. “Thanks Will! I hope you’ll have more luck than me.”

 William trotted through the long hallway, taking in the setting sun through the small window above the front door as he reached the foyer. He slipped out the door, taking in the fresh air as he did so- somewhat grateful for the cold. He crossed the gravel, the grass (he was lucky didn’t notice him walking across her precious lawn), and made his way over to the side of the house, where the gardens led out to the lake and the woods behind it. It used to be a getaway place for the Captain. Whenever he had things to think about Havers would find him at the lake. Standing there for hours consumed by thoughts, watching the sun reflect onto the muddy waters.

Havers had the sneaking suspicion he would be there, suspicions that were confirmed when he saw the familiar straight back, swagger stick clenched in both hands behind his back. His face was grim, his eyes narrow, and he hadn’t spotted William until he was standing close enough to read out and touch the man.

He jumped a little, when he finally realised he wasn’t alone- spotting someone from the corner of his eye. His stick flew from behind his back as a defence mechanism, but once he realised it was only William, he relaxed a bit- a relaxation that didn’t last long, because he tensed up again almost immediately.

“Oh- hello Havers. Didn’t expect to see you here.” He said, composing himself ever so slightly- never one to like looking like he isn’t in control of any given situation. William gave him a small smile, trying to make him feel more at ease.

“Pat told me nobody had seen you all day. We were a bit worried.”

The Captain shot him a glance, eyes squinted and tried his best to give him a smile. It didn’t seem to convince his ex-lieutenant of its authenticity though, as the man’s smile fell and his brow furrowed. It was hard, seeing the man concerned like that. But his realisation from earlier that day had broken something in the Captain. Where before he was looking forward to every future smile William would shoot his way- every day they would spend together in the future… would now be barred by the knowledge that William would grow old and die alone. From the moment he realised there was no future for them he had made up his mind. Just because he couldn’t life his own life any longer, didn’t mean he couldn’t- in good consciousness- let William live his. William would be better off without him

“Ah, thank you Havers. I’ve just been enjoying the weather.” He said shortly, attempting to distance himself from the man, both mentally by acting coldly and physically by taking a few steps back. It was already so much harder than he’d anticipated as he glanced back at his former lieutenant and he saw the man was already staring at him, puzzled. He didn’t take the hint though, because he stepped closer, and grabbed the Captain’s hand.

“Teddy, if there’s something wrong I-“ He began. He could tell there was something on the Captain’s mind. He’d been like this before, and it was usually something he felt like he couldn’t share, something he couldn’t figure out by himself but was too stubborn for to ask for help with. William tried stepping closer again, and grabbed the Captain’s hand like he’d done that morning, but this time the man shook his head slightly and pulled his hand back.

William’s face fell as he awkwardly stepped back, looking at the Captain with a hurt expression.
“No, no. Everything’s absolutely fine Havers.” The Captain began, trying to at least stop him from worrying while he still could. He wanted to take a step back from William, give him the chance to explore his relationship with this… Dave. See the world with a person that could give him the life he deserves. But he and William had only just grown closer… he’d have to do it slowly- act as if he’d lost interest- or Havers would never believe him. Maybe it would be easier too, for the both of them, to drift apart ‘naturally’.
 
His non-existent breath hitched as he took yet another step backwards, away from Havers.
“Well, I’ll head inside then.” He said shortly, promptly turning around and walking back towards the house, leaving William standing next to the lake with an open mouth.

Chapter Text

Five days passed, and the party was fast approaching. Julian had been suspiciously absent, and the other ghosts had made sure to keep an eye on him as best as they could, but still there was an unrest among the ghosts. The clubs continued, but besides Julian there was another person suspiciously absent. The Captain.

He had been moping around for nearly a week now, not really partaking in any activities or clubs, and avoiding most of the ghosts- but William in particular. Any time they two ex-soldiers would be in the room together Havers would try and strike up a conversation, or reach out for the man- but all he would get was a short reply or an avoidance of his affections. William was growing increasingly frustrated, finally managing to catch Pat one day.

“Pat. Can I ask you something?” He asked, halting the man from where he was about to leave the library after one of his clubs.

“Of course Will, what is it?” He replied, turning to face the ex-lieutenant.
“Have you noticed the Captain acting strangely?” He asked. Pat nodded.
“Yeah, after you talked to him last week he’s been acting distant. He’s been like that before, but never this long.” He said. William pursed his lips in thought. Pat seemed to guess what he was thinking, softening up a bit.

“I’m sure he’ll be back in no time. He just gets into his own head sometimes.” He said, trying to cheer William up. William chuckled softly, despite the situation.
“Tell me about it.” He replied, thinking back to all the times he’d gotten like this back in the day. Pat met his eyes, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with him, but if there’s anyone here that I’m sure he’ll open up to- it’s you. You should go and talk to him.” He said, gesturing towards the door. William nodded, determined. Things had been going so well lately, and the last couple of days felt like they were right back where they started. He had to do something. And Pat was right, the only way he was going to know what was wrong was by asking the Captain himself.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to do this.”
“Nah, it’ll be fine luv. These things take a few days tops.”
“Mike, the ground floor needs to be provided with new sprinkler heads. How are we going to do that in two days?” Alison replied frustratedly.

“Listen, I think Obi might know a guy… He knows guys?” Mike suggested, feeling a bit out of depth himself.
“The only thing we need to do is replace the heads, the actual system is still good for a few years. We can sort out the type sprinklers tomorrow and install them the day after. Just in time for the party.” He continued, giving Alison a little squeeze on her thigh. She sighed, trying to let out her nerves as she bit her fingernail. She often did that when she was nervous, a trait she’d picked up from Donna Holland at summer camp when she was 9.

“I hope so Mike.”

She didn’t see Julian, just peeking from behind the corner of the entryway with a sly grin on his face.

William found the Captain in his bedroom, sitting on the bed in thoughtful silence and staring at his reflection in the big mirror that sat on the dresser to his left. The door had been open, much to the annoyance of the older man- partly in fact that he couldn’t physically close it.

Havers silently walked up to the door, giving it a light tap to let the Captain know of his presence. The older man jumped a little, having been lost in his thoughts. When he whipped his head around though, and he recognised the person in the doorway, he gave him a small smile in service of a greeting.

William took that as his sign to enter, and made his way into the room. He sat down next to the Captain, dipping the bed in a way the other man hadn’t managed to in years. They were both silent for a few seconds, before William spoke up.

“Are you quite alright, Theo?” He asked. The Captain nodded shortly, following it up by a soft; “Yes, quite good thank you.”
But William wasn’t convinced, and so he tried to press further.

“I haven’t seen you around much. Is there something on your mind?” He said, his soft tone slowly waning off.
“Not really, you know how tiring Pat’s clubs can be.” The Captain replied nonchalantly.
“There haven’t been that many clubs though, right? But I still haven’t seen you much.”
“Well- I, erhm… I’ve been busy patrolling the grounds. We had a break-in last month you know.”
“You’ve been patrolling all day, every day?”
“As it happens, mostly I have yes.”
“Really? Because it seems you’ve been avoiding me. If there’s anything wrong you can tell me, Teddy.” William said, getting more and more worked up. The Captain’s refusal to admit something was bothering him was infuriating. The man was obviously struggling with something, something he refused to share- at least with William, and he just couldn’t understand why.
“There is nothing wrong Havers. That’s enough.” The Captain said, sounding more cross than he’d meant to. He just really wanted Havers to drop the subject.

“Yes! It’s enough, Teddy. I’ve had enough of this nonsense. I need you to tell me what I’ve done wrong.” He said, frustratedly.

“Havers-“ The Captain tried to say, but William cut him off.

“Stop calling me Havers! I thought we were past that, Theo. All these years we’ve spend going around in circles, tiptoeing around each other like idiots. And now I finally have you… and for no reason- this entire week you have spent avoiding me and acting indifferent.” He’d opened the gates now. All the pent-up frustrations of the last week were coming out, and he wasn’t able to stop. Why wasn’t he able to stop?

“It’s not-“ The Captain tried to say again, but William wasn’t having it.

“These games, this dance, I’m sick of it. If there is something going on or something that you’re struggling with I want you to tell me- or so help me god I will not leave you alone until you do.”

“You don’t understand Havers… I want to-“ He said, trailing off at the end.
“But what? Theo, I want to be with you. Every day with you is wonderful, I have never been happier in my life than I was these past few weeks. Being here with you, finally being able to be who we are, together. To live our lives-“

“Except I can’t do that, can I William? We both seem to have forgotten that I’m dead.”  The Captain spat, finally giving in to shut William up. And it worked, because Havers looked at him silently, his mouth still open from where he was ready to continue his own rant. The confession seemed to break a dam for the Captain though, and everything began to spill out.

“You can go and live your life. You are free to go and grow older, to travel, to live your life. And I will be stuck. I can’t grow older, people won’t be able to see me. I may be able to leave the house now but to where? There is no future for me. There is no future for us. But there can be for you. With that Dave fellow perhaps.”

Both men remained silent for a second, both their minds racing. William especially, who had been listening to the Captain finally spilling his heart out. His mind was blank for a few seconds as he tried to process what the man just said. But then the confusion was replaced by frustration and anger. He had somewhat forgotten that Theo technically was no longer a real person. But he wasn’t any less real to him. He still loved him the same.  

“Dave? I don’t love Dave, I love you, you idiot!” He almost yelled, his eyes growing a bit watery. Did the Captain really think that low of himself?

“And do you think you just get to decide that on your own? Without even asking me? How is that fair Theo?” He said loudly, not caring who heard. His face was probably turning tomato-red in the heat of the moment. But the Captain seemed to be in a state himself, not really hearing anything and growing more angry himself. He tapped his right heel onto the floorboards in protest and tightened the grip on his swagger stick, like he usually did when he found himself in an uncomfortable situation.

“Fair? Do you want to talk about fair? How is it fair that I’m still stuck here, after more than 70 years, forced to watch the world and the people I love go on without me in it? Watch people live their lives while mine was taken from me-“

“If you’re so bothered by the fact that you’re still stuck here, wouldn’t it be better if you just went? Why do you insist on spending time with me at all, instead of finding the reason you can’t move on?”  Havers said finally, spewing anything he could think of in his anger. It made him both deaf and blind to anything Theo was trying to imply, so to William it sounded like he regretted the fact that he was still bound to Button house, a fact that had led to their reunion. It stung, knowing the man would rather have moved on than have been reunited. But, at William’s words the look on the Captain’s face changed instantly. His frown fell, and he opened his mouth slightly as he took in what exactly William meant and his anger seemed to fade at once. Seeing this, William’s anger dissolved as well, instantly being replaced by shame.

They were both silent for a few moments, wherein the Captain finally broke eye-contact and stared at the floorboards beneath their feet.

“I have found it.” He said pointedly, stopping himself from saying more. But Havers realised what he’d meant to say. There was a moment when neither of them said anything, they just continued to stare at each other, both men knowing the unspoken words that hung around the room, like a dark suffocating cloud that brought nothing but the truth, no matter how painful;

“It’s you.”

When William didn’t reply, the Captain wordlessly turned around and left the room, leaving William standing there alone. Almost as soon as the other man had turned around William wanted to scream; “Stop! I’m sorry! That’s not what I meant…” but somehow nothing managed to leave his lips as he watched his Captain leave the room. He kept standing there, in the room- with nothing but his thoughts and regrets to keep him company. Theo’s words kept replaying in the back of his mind, like a broken record.

There is no future for me. But there can be for you.

In his anger he hadn’t really listened, but now the silence of the room forced him to take in the words better he realised the Captain hadn’t meant to imply he hadn’t wanted to meet him. He’d not stated it literally, but on further thought William realised the Captain had obviously been struggling with the fact he would forever be stuck at the same age, in the same place- and he hadn’t wanted to burden William with the same fate. He’d seemed destroyed by the fact that he could never again live his life the way he wanted to, the way he quite frankly deserved.

And yet… he’d stayed. He’d straight up admitted he’d found the reason he had been stuck at Button house and he’d still stayed. If William was the reason Theo wasn’t able to move on he could have done so nearly a month ago, but yet he hadn’t. He’d stayed with William, existing in blissful ignorance until reality sank in and ruined his chance of a happy life, their chance to be together, to be happy.

But William knew the Captain probably didn’t see it that way. He’d probably convinced himself that if he’d managed to distance himself from William it would be easier for him to leave him behind, and though William didn’t agree with the approach in the slightest, he could now understand a little where the man was coming from. If the situation was reversed he wouldn’t want to keep a loved one tethered either. But the fact remained that William didn’t care. He wanted to enjoy the man’s company, no matter how long it may last.

His train of thought was interrupted by a scream from downstairs, followed by a lot of shouting and ruckus. William perked up, finding the strength to poke his head out of the room. Listening closer, he could hear Thomas and Pat shouting. Shouting… Shouting… Captain. They were yelling for the Captain.

William’s eyes widened and he flew out of the room, down the stairs and towards the sound of the commotion. As he reached the landing of the stairs he could see shadows dancing on the walls, illuminated by a bright light that was coming from the drawing room. William strode over, just managing to peek around the corner, and seeing the ghosts crowded around someone- it was the Captain. He was glowing and had gone strangely see-through, becoming less and less visible by the second. William’s heart sank, and he felt his entire body go numb. He heard someone yell ‘No!’, it might have been one of the ghosts, but judging by the way all heads in the room turned towards him- including the Captain’s- it was him.

He stumbled forwards, watching helplessly as the Captain started to disappear before his very eyes. He tried reaching out, trying to grab the Captain. Trying to hold onto him, trying something- anything to stop him from leaving. He saw the Captain look at him, and he stared back with tears in his eyes. His knees were weak and he felt sick to his stomach. It wasn’t working- he wasn’t staying. There wasn’t anything he could do, and in that moment the only thing he could think of was the last thing he’d said to the older man.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just went?”

And as William continued to plead with any god he could think of to let him stay. Please just stay… but the Captain faded away slowly, maintaining eye-contact the entire time. All William could do was mouth his last words, praying that the Captain would understand.

“I’m sorry.”

There was a beat, and then Theo’s gaze softened, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a miniscule smile.

“Me too.”

And then he was gone.
And so was the strength in William’s legs. He collapsed onto the floor, empty.

Theo was gone.

Chapter Text

William was still on the ground, shivering. He had a sick feeling in his stomach- the image of the Captain fading away burned into his mind. He could hear the other ghosts crowding around him, still flabbergasted at the events that had transpired. But William didn’t have it in him to pay them any mind. All he could think about was the fact that his Captain was no longer here. He was truly gone now…

After what felt like hours of sitting defeatedly on the floor, empty eyes staring at the spot where the Captain had been, he could hear the ghosts fussing as Robin alerted them of a car in the driveway. They ran off, leaving William alone for a few blessed minutes. A few minutes later however, they all came charging back into the room, Alison and Mike in tow. Alison, who had been at Obi’s trying to get a hold of sprinkler heads (-turns out, he did know a guy, or girl as it happens. Rebecca had given them a splendid deal on a nearly new batch of the sprinklers.), had been swarmed by a panicked group of ghosts at her car, all talking over each other as soon as she opened the car door.

She’d tried to calm them down long enough for one of them to tell her what happened, but the best she could make out from Pat was something about the Captain. They ushered her inside, Mike following along with a confused look on his face. Once inside the house, she entered the drawing room and found William there, a traumatised look on his face and tearstains down his cheeks. And she knew. Her heart dropped as she took in the broken man, who hadn’t even noticed her presence. She slowly approached, a lump forming in her throat. She kneeled down next to the former lieutenant and softly put a hand on his shoulder.

“William.” She whispered, barely managing to get the words out. He finally turned his head to look at her, eyes red and puffy.
“He’s gone.” He said, not bothering to say any more. But Alison didn’t need any more. Her own eyes filled with tears as she realised she didn’t even get to say goodbye. The Captain had always been a bit of a stern and distant person, but over time he’d become almost like a father-figure to her. Despite his walls, she’d always had the feeling he’d done his best to let her in, and he’d always looked out for her in a way a father would. And she didn’t even get to say goodbye…

She flopped down completely next to William, pulling him into a hug. To comfort him, but secretly she just needed the comfort herself. It may have been selfish, but William didn’t seem to mind at all- burying his face in Alison’s shoulder with shaking shoulders.

William was grateful for Alison, someone tangible to share his sorrow with, as he thought back on the Captain. They’d finally been happy… and now he’d messed it all up. He never should have gotten angry. He should have listened. Theo had been sad, and William had mistaken it for indifference. His anger blinded him so much he couldn’t even stop to place himself in the Captain’s shoes, to see how his anger had only made him more defensive. And he’d hurt Theo and their relationship in the process, possibly more than he could even try to fix. This entire situation had gotten so out of control both their frustrations had gotten the better of them and it had caused them to say things they didn’t mean. He wished he could go back and redo it…

… But he could.

He could go back and redo it. His eyes flew open with a gasp as he broke away from Alison. She gave him a teary-eyed surprised look, sitting back as she watched him scramble upwards.

“I need to fix this.” He mumbled, promptly turning around and leaving the room. Alison clumsily stood up behind him, shouting after him; “William? Where are you going?”  But he paid her no mind, his mind was set on one thing; Fix this mess.

This entire fight had been nonsense, and he never should have lost his temper at a man that was clearly hurting. He reached the top of the stairs, and check his watch. 67 minutes since he’d stood exactly in this spot, about to talk to Teddy. He closed his eyes and took a slow and deep breath- thinking of this exact place about an hour ago. Please let this work… He prayed to any god who was willing to listen.

His eyes shot open when he heard footsteps coming up the hall, and he opened his eyes, expecting Alison to have come looking for him. He was on the balcony above the staircase, back pressed against the railing. He scrambled upwards and listened for the footsteps- but they weren’t Alison’s. They were his own footsteps. They continued down the hall as William’s heart began to race. What had George said again? Something about merging? Would that actually work? Would he-

He didn’t have time to overthink more, because the footsteps had continued onto the stairs, and were now halting on the platform on the other side of the stairwell. Past him had discovered him standing on top of the stairs- giving him a look of absolute disbelief. Their eyes crossed, and past him opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, William felt a violent and quick pull towards the man, and before he could realise what was happening he felt a wave of nausea come over him and he doubled over in a mix of pain and cold shivers. He barely managed to open his eyes again- and found himself on the other side of the stairs. The spot he’d been standing moments before was empty, and he’d taken the place of the other William on the platform in between the stairs. His heart was racing a million miles an hour, and though he was elated his plan had worked, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the nerves of the whole out of body experience he just went through- but he couldn’t say this feeling was something he wanted to repeat soon. George had been absolutely right when he’d said it wasn’t a nice feeling at all.

Still nauseous and dizzy he continued his way up the stairs, once again walking up to the Theo’s room with baited breath. He paused, not daring to take a look inside. He closed his eyes, breathing in slowly to calm his nerves. Would he really be there?

He gathered his courage, and took a stap forward, managing to peek around the corner where the door was once again propped open. There he was. The Captain was once again sitting on his bed, staring numbly at the wall. William gasped softly, tears springing into his eyes at the sight. He was still here… He actually had a second chance. He couldn’t quite believe this was real- that he actually had a second chance to not screw this up. Only moments ago he’d watch his best friend and love of his life disappear forever, and here he was, sitting on the bed. His teary gasp, though it had been soft, had alerted the Captain, and he turned around like he had earlier- giving the same small smile in greeting.

William hesitated for a second, probably thinking too much about what he was going to say next, but the Captain was looking at him questioningly, and he knew he couldn’t keep standing in the doorway like an idiot. So he cleared his throat shortly and stepped into the room, with shaking legs- once again sitting down next to the Captain.

He took a short breath to even out his nerves before speaking up.

“Are you quite alright, Theo?”
The same short nod, followed by a soft; “Yes, quite good thank you.”
“I haven’t seen you around much. Is there something on your mind?” He said, making sure to keep his tone steady this time, following their previous conversation along diligently.
“Not really, you know how tiring Pat’s clubs can be.”
“There haven’t been that many clubs though, right? But I still haven’t seen you much.”
“Well- I, erhm… I’ve been busy patrolling the grounds. We had a-”
“A break-in last month, I know.” William finished for him, finally diverging their conversation from where it’d headed the last time. The Captain stared at him with raised eyebrows, obviously surprised to hear William knew what he was going to say. William gave him a little shrug in apology, but then his eyes softened as they met Theo’s. He could see they were sad. He hadn’t noticed the absolute devastation and inner turmoil behind them. He remembered earlier, when he’d started to lose his temper.

“Really? Because it seems you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I know you’re lying, Theo.” He simply said instead. Nothing more, nothing less. But it was enough for the Captain to flick his eyes to William’s in surprise, his eyes cloudy and his shoulders slumping in defeat.

“I know you don’t think you’re good enough. That a relationship could never work between us. But I’m here to tell you that I don’t care. I cannot explain to you how much I want to be with you, no matter what state of life you’re in. Even if we had to stay indoors for the rest of time. I’d gladly do so if it meant I could do it with you.” He said, maintaining eye-contact. His eyes hoping, pleading with Theo to understand that there was nothing left in this world that would take him away from William again. He’d allowed it once, and it had been the worst hour of his life.

He continued; “Yes there are some complications, but there is nothing in this world that could stop me from falling head over heels for you every time you smile, or talk about tanks… or bounce on your heels the way you always do.” He said, watching as the corners of Theo’s lips curved into a teary smile.

“But… the world won’t see it that way.”
“Blast the world, Teddy! Blast it! You are my world.” William proclaimed loudly, startling the Captain.
“Yes! You are mine, William. B-but… don’t you mind? People can’t see me when we’re out together. We won’t be able to grow old together. I’m not even really alive.” Theo replied eventually, reminding William of their first conversation.

“I can’t grow older, people won’t be able to see me. There is no future for me.”

It was clearly one of his biggest regrets, not being able to give William the life they’d always secretly dreamed of. Of a picked fence, a small garden where they’d grow flowers and vegetables, maybe a dog- or cat (they hadn’t decided yet. Cap had always been a dog person, but Havers was decidedly more of a dog person.) running around somewhere. It was a picture that was just out of reach. The thought of going back in time crossed William’s mind, but he quickly decided against it. Yes they would be together, but everything Theo had worked towards, all his personal breakthroughs would be lost. The old Theo would never admit his feelings so openly. And certainly not when there was an active war on. The world wasn't ready for them then. No, he couldn’t bring himself to go to the past. And besides, he really wasn't keen on repeating the whole merging situation again.

But…

“What if you were?” William whispered finally, an idea having wormed its way into his head. A ridiculous idea. An idea so out there, so impossible… that it might just have a chance of working. A smile grew on his face as he grabbed Theo’s hand and squeezed it excitedly. 

“What?” Came the confused reply from Theodore, who was looking at him, his head adorably tilted in confusion. It made William smile even wider. He didn’t answer the older man, his eyes turning serious despite the persistent smile that wouldn’t disappear from his face.

“Teddy… I need you to tell me the exact date you died.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure it’ll fit?” Alison asks, concerned.
“Ha! That’s what she said.”
“I’m sure it will.” Mike said at the same time.
“Julian!”
“What did he say?”
“You don’t want to know.” Alison sighed defeatedly. “Just screw the sprinkler in, Mike. Before you fall over.”
Mike huffed.
“Ye of little faith. I’m a handyman now.” He replied, screwing in the sprinkler successfully to demonstrate his point. Alison couldn’t help but smile.
“Well at least be- careful!” She said, as he climbed down the ladder and it shook dangerously.
“You know this house… or something in it- is actively trying to kill us.”

Mike grinned, firmly back on the ground. “At least I’d be able to see your friends then.” He replied, putting the hammer in his back pocket and looking up at the ceiling. “Hi Julian.”
“Still just down here, mate.” Came the sarcastic reply, along with a little wave. Alison gestured to where Julian was standing, Mike following along. After a moment of looking blindly around the room, he looked back up at the ceiling. “At least this system comes with a central activation system. It even has a little remote.” He said, flashing Alison the little white remote he’d buried in his pocket.

“We still need to figure out where to put the main alarm. But...” She said finally, looking up at the ceiling as well, where there was now a brand new sprinkler decorating the plaster.
“One down, twenty-two to go.”

“What? The date I died? Why on earth-“ The captain began, voice full of confusion. William bit his lip, a feat that would give Theo a heart-attack if indeed, he still had a heartbeat.
“I have an idea- it’s… Nevermind. Do you remember the date?”
The captain stared at him for a moment, before squinting his eyes and releasing a breath.
“18^th of December.”  He replied. Haver’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Your death day was last week? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The captain shrugged. “Well…normally it’s tough, but this year you were here- so that made it somewhat more bearable.” He paused for a moment. “And besides. I’m not fond of the rest of them knowing. None of them know the exact date anyway.”

William released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. The confession made him realise even more how private of a person Theodore was, and how lucky he was he’d been inside the high walls he’d managed to build around himself. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, before William stood up- determined.

“Teddy, there’s something I’m going to try. I can’t explain right now, but I need you to trust me.”
The captain was still confused, but there was nothing on God’s earth he wouldn’t trust William with, so he firmly nodded. William gave him a reassuring smile and turned around, leaving the room. Muttering to himself as he did so;

“I’ll make sure we get our happy ending.”

“Well, that’s the last of them. See? Told you it would work out.” Mike said with a smirk, screwing in the last sprinkler and climbing down the ladder. Alison rolled his eyes playfully, hating to admit he’d been right.
“Yes you did, don’t rub it in mister handyman.”

“All that’s left to do before tomorrow is fix the activation systems. Easy-peasy… squeeze the lemon.”
“Pretty sure that’s not how that expression goes.” Alison remarked, leading Mike into the kitchen for a cup of tea.
“Well, it does in my head so-“ Mike replied pointedly, walking around a pile of boxes that lined the wall of the kitchen and grabbing them both cups from the cupboard.

“We need to bring those to the attic as well.” Alison remarked, her eye falling on the Ghost board Mike had still left in the kitchen, that was now hidden behind the boxes.
“And we should probably move the board as well.” She added. Mike frowned at that.
“This will be a restricted area. They won’t even come here.”
“Well they might… The door won’t lock anymore so they can just waltz inside whenever. Might be a bit weird if someone walks in and sees it. They’ll think we’re crazy.”

Mike scrunched his nose in agreement, putting his hands in his side.
“But it’s heavy…” he complained.
“I thought you were the handyman.” Alison replied, shooting him a playful raise of her eyebrow.
“Yeah… you got me there.”

“Oh, hello Alison!” sounded a faux-happy voice from the other side of the kitchen. Alison turned around, despite already knowing who the voice belonged to.
“Hi Julian.” She replied, a bit confused. He was standing in the doorway, not doing anything in particular but watching them intently. She waited a few seconds, seeing if he was going to do anything before speaking up.

“Can I help you with anything?” She asked, when he made no move to do so. He pursed his lips, waving his hand dismissively.
“Well, you know… Just watching. Don’t mind me.” He said in a stilted way. Alison frowned. Strange.
But, she shrugged it off and turned back around, getting back to Mike and their freshly brewed cups of tea. When she checked back a few minutes later to see if he was still there, the doorway was devoid of any half-naked MP’s.

She sighed with contempt as she sipped the hot drink, relaxing a bit.
“God, I never thought we were going to be able to finish in time. But we totally did it Mike. And not just the sprinklers, everything.” She said, a smile growing on her face. Mike hummed in agreement.
“We worked hard though. But they do pay well. Won’t have to do any other events for like three months after this. We can focus on ourselves and the renovations some more. It’ll be nice. We can play scrabble.”

Alison turned to look at him.
“You hate scrabble.”
“I hate scrabble with my sister. I like playing against you. I can win against you.” He replied, causing Alison to let out a loud laugh.
“How many points do you think Handyman will go for?” She remarked, finishing her cup of tea and standing up to put it in the sink, and then walking over to the pile of boxes. She watched as Mike did the same and came to stand next to her, looking at the boxes with a sigh.

“Well… after you.” Mike said, picking up one of the boxes from the top of the pile. Alison grabbed a box too and made her through the house to the attic, Mike in tow. They continued to empty the kitchen of boxes throughout the entire afternoon, with minimal ghost interference- apart from the time they made their way into the attic and found Humphrey’s head behind one of the chairs and had to call over Kitty to go put him downstairs, and the time that Pat had come to ask Alison to change the channel because Julian kept switching the tv over to the news when he was trying to watch National Geographic.

When they’d brought up the last boxes, all that was left was Mike’s ghost board. It had been collecting some dust over the last few weeks, but it was still an impressive feat for someone who couldn’t even see the ghosts. It had pictures for the more recent ghosts from when they were alive, little drawings for the ghosts who weren’t alive for photography yet (crudely drawn by Mike, who was sadly no Picasso, but he’d done his best.), and notes and newspaper articles, detailing mainly Julian, Pat’s and Cap’s deaths. It was actually adorable how much work he’d put into it, and with a little help from Alison as translator for the details, he’d actually managed to find quite a lot of information on the internet.

Alison swatted the board a bit, trying to get the dust off it and went to stand on one side, gesturing for Mike to stand on the other side of it. He did, grabbing his side and the both of them heaved it up and started lifting it through the house, up to the attic with a lot of panting and swearing. The stairs especially were a feat.

“God I think this is the heaviest board in the history of all boards.” Alison groaned when they were halfway up the stairs. Mike nodded in agreement, trying to catch his breath. He was not taking this all the way up into the attic. “I don’t think I can survive another flight of stairs. Can’t we just put it there?” He asked, gesturing to the first door in the hallway. “The Captain’s room?” Alison asked, sounding unsure. She looked up at the hallway, where at that exact moment a door opened swiftly, revealing a serious-looking William. He sped out of the room, barely making an effort to greet them as he sped past them down the stairs- lost in thought. Alison raised her eyebrows, not being used to William acting strange. But she didn’t have time to think much about it, because the Captain had come out of his room as well, and was watching them with curiosity.

“Ah! Captain! Would it be a problem if we put this board in your room for a few days?” She asked, putting her hand on the heavy board as emphasis.

“Well I… If it’s only for a few days-“
“Great! Thank you!” She said immediately, already leading Mike towards the room.
“You will remove it after a few days, right?” She heard the Captain yell from the hallway as they parked the board against the wall with a sigh of relief.
“Of course Cap! Just until the party’s over. Thanks!” She said, shooting him a smile. Mike stood there, a bit awkwardly trying to decipher where the invisible man was stood.
“Yeah, thanks man.” He piped up, giving a little smile and wave… at the ceiling. The Captain rolled his eyes and left the room, causing Alison to chuckle. They walked back to the kitchen, washing their dishes and putting them away as the finishing touch.

“Well I think that’s everything then. We’re all set for the party tomorrow.” Alison said, flopping down onto one of the kitchen chairs.
“Yeah- wait… Where’s the sprinkler remote?” Mike asked suddenly, looking around the kitchen and petting his pockets to try and find the device.
“I could swear I put it right here on the dresser when we walked in.” Mike said, searching the dresser.
“It’s all right for now Mike. We can search for it after tomorrow. It can’t just vanish. In case of emergency we still have the central activation system. It’s going to be fine.” Alison replied, not wanting to have to spend more time searching for something that they weren’t even going to need. Mike hummed in agreement.

“Yeah… We probably won’t need it.”

The Captain stormed into the sitting room, looking around frantically. He spotted someone else there, but not the person he was looking for.

“Ah, Julian! Have you-“ He started to say, before his eye fell to the small white device that the man was currently hovering over. “What’s that?” He asked instead, temporarily distracted. Julian had jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly tried to hide the little remote.
“Oh it’s just you.” He replied, relaxing a bit, before continuing; “Nothing of importance… what were you going to ask me?” trying to chance the subject. The Captain wanted to ask further, but he had more pressing issues at the moment, mainly trying to find a certain ex-lieutenant. So he dropped it for the moment and straightened his back.

“Yes. I was wondering if you’d happened to see Haver- William, that is.” He asked instead. But Julian shook his head.
“Nah mate, hasn’t been here. Why, had a bit of a lover’s quarrel did ya?” He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. The Captain rolled his eyes as he turned back around and went to leave the room.

“Don’t worry mate, make-up sex is always better than regular sex!” Julian yelled after him.

Havers had, in fact, not been in the sitting room- or any other room for that matter. He had been in the garden, evening out his breathing as he tried his best to concentrate. He needed to go back. December 18^th would be too late, but he could go a few days or even a few weeks before. But he needed to concentrate.

He closed his eyes, thinking of Teddy, the way he loved him, the way he would try everything in his power to fix their situation for the sake of their future. He just needed to go back to December 18^th. Preferably a few days before that. He breathed out, and felt the air around him change. A feeling that he was beginning to get used to. He quickly opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings. He found himself standing in an open street, small snowflakes floating softly from the sky, chilling him to the bone. There were houses to the right of him, old looking cottages with big windows and large gardens. Wherever he was, it wasn’t Button house.

He wasn’t quite sure where he was, but a quick inspection of the house next to him told him he was on Roedean Way. The air was cold, the wind harsh, causing shivers to travel up his arms as he struggled to get his telephone out of his pocket. He tapped the little map icon and typed the name in on Maps. Mike had shown him how to use the app last week, after William had once again gotten lost on his way to town. After a few seconds of loading he got his answer. He was in Brighton. Right near the sea. If he closed his eyes he could hear the waves crashing against the sand, and smell the saltiness of the dry air through the snowflakes.

He jumped when he heard the unmistakable sound of a door slamming shut, and he swiftly turned towards the sound. A figure walked out, one arm full with a bag and a coat, his other pressing a phone to his ear. He walked fast, as if he was in a hurry, unlocking a car that was parked right next to William. William could only stand there awkwardly, watching as the man approached, still talking on his phone.

“Yes Darling, I know. But I still don’t think it’s a good idea…  Yes I’ll hurry… Well it’s only a 10 minute drive. Don’t worry, I’ll be on time.” The figure said, awkwardly locking the gate behind him as he continued, his back to William.

“No this is not like last year. I was there, remember? I always find a way to be on ti-” He said, finally turning around and promptly freezing in his tracks 5 feet away from William. He was looking right at himself.
“I’ll call you back.” The other him said, dazed- hanging up his phone without another word. They both stood frozen for a full, before William promptly squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the worst…

But nothing happened.

“What are you doing here?” Finally came the hurried reply, hushed. He felt two hands on his shoulders, guiding him away from the view of the windows of the house, behind a large tree that lined the edge of the property. William was still stunned, barely managing to think- expecting that any time he would get merged with the other him.

“God I should have remembered. How could I forget? I’ve lived through this. Good lord-” The other him mumbled again, and William finally found the courage to open his eyes.
“H-how…” Was all he managed to get out. The other him grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Well… I mean if you travel a lot you tend to forget the details… It’s not really that unco-“
“No, I meant how did we not… you know.”
“Oh! Merge! Yes! Good question, can’t answer. Spoilers I’m afraid. ” He replied quickly.
“What do you mean? How is that possible? George said… and spoilers? Wait, what date is it?” William asked, confused.
“Ah, well. George doesn’t know everything apparently. And it’s December 10^th. 2028.”
“2028?! Wha-“
“Shh! Don’t want my entire street to know about this… incident.” His future self said, again in a hushed tone- stealing a glance back towards his house.
“You live here?!” William replied, looking back at the house in disbelief.
“Yes! No! Look! I’ve already said too much. You need to leave.” Other him said, ushering him away from the house and onto the street in front of it. “I’ll drop you off myself if I need to. I know where you were going anyhow.”

“No, I can handle it. Probably. But about this merging thing-” William replied.
“No! No more spoilers. You’re going to have to find out for yourself. I had to, the me before me had to, you’ll get to- we’re all pricks. Now please leave. I have a play to attend that is starting in…” He paused to shove his bag and coat up his arm to see his watch. “Twenty minutes. So goodbye, good luck and safe travels.” He said, bringing his finger over to William’s shoulder in one steady sweep, and sending William into a dizzy frenzy. He blinked, and suddenly found himself in front of Button house. He looked around bewilderedly, confused. His mind was reeling, tens of questions

Did his future self just send him back by a single touch?
How is it possible they didn’t merge? When would he find out how to do that?
Was that really his house?

The older man, still standing on the snow-lined street, heaved a sigh of relief as he shoved his coat back over his arms and fished his car keys and phone, immediately dialling back the person he’d been calling.

“Hello? Darling?” He said, pressing the phone to his ear as he unlocked the car and climbed inside.
“Hi! What was that about? Why did you hang up all of a sudden?”
“Sorry sweetheart, something came up. But I’m on my way now, I’ll make it to your play.”
“You better. See you in a few.”
“See you, Rebecca love.”
“Yeah, see you dad.”

William walked along the driveway, his modern sneakers crunching the gravel as he did so. The weather was better than it had been in the future. It was a cold morning from what he could see, but the sun was peeking through the tall trees, warming him up a little bit. He was still cold from standing in the snow without a coat. As he arrived at the little square in front of the house, his eye immediately fell onto the armoured vehicle parked in front of the door. His heart jumped.

He was back in 1945. His future self really did remember where he needed to go.

William wasted no time striding over to the front door and opening it, stepping inside to what seemed like an empty building. The army equipment had all but gone completely from the rooms of the house, and the personnel that was normally bustling around was nowhere to be found. He walked into the kitchen, hoping there was still a calendar there like there had been for the entirety of his stay at button house. He smiled when he gaze landed on the faded calendar, days crossed off until December 11^th. Exactly one week before would be dead. William couldn’t escape the shiver that ran down his spine at the thought. Somewhere in this house he would find Teddy, still alive.

He made his way over to the sitting room, looking around at the equipment in wonder. The war must have only recently ended, if Button house had already been discontinued as a station. Part of him was sad he never got to experience the end of the war, see the relief on the faces of every person in Britain as they realised they were once again safe. Maybe he would be able to, later in life. But for now there were other things to do, because a weak cough pulled him out of his thoughts.

He followed the sound, taking the hallway down from the kitchen into the house, over to where the sound was coming from. It was the Captain’s office. He stood there, in front of the door, like he’d stood a million times before- but this time was different. He knew this time he couldn’t screw up. He knew that on the other side of this door was a sick Captain, thinking his former lieutenant had died in Tunisia.

There was a soft ticking sound, which William recognised as the sound of a typewriter, a strange sound. He’d never seen Teddy use his typewriter before- he’d always preferred good old-fashioned pen and paper. He wondered what had changed his mind. He put his hand on the handle, opening the door softly, just in time remembering he forgot to knock. He softly let his knuckles land against the door- holding his breath as he heard the typing abruptly stop.

“Come.” Came the short reply. It was soft, defeated. Devoid of any authority or spirit. Like he’d lost every sense of his identity when the war ended. William supposed he had. He wondered why he got it back when he became a ghost. He opened the door, wishing away his nerves as his mind flashed to his strange outfit. He really should have changed before he left. The moment the door opened enough for William to poke his head through, the Captain froze. His eyes went wide as saucers, his mouth open in disbelief. He looked as worn as he sounded. There were bags under his eyes, his skin was pale and the usually strong hands were shaking where they were placed on the typewriter. Next to the typewriter William noticed a pen and paper, the words on the paper shaky and unreadable.

Ah, that’s why he was using the typewriter.

William in turn had in his nerves, forgotten what he was going to say, so  both men were staring at each other in silent disbelief. Devoid of anything else to say, he settled on a simple; “Hello, Theo.”

The Captain shot up, his chair almost toppling over from the force of it. His eyes beginning to tear up as he continued to silently stare at the man.

“Havers.” He said, disbelieving.
“I’m hallucinating.” He said, putting his hands to his temples, trying to get himself together. William’s heart ached for the man.
“You’re not, Theo. I’m really here.” He said, stepping closer to the desk, hoping to get the other man to believe him. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and gently squeezed it. The Captain jumped back as if he’d been burned, his gaze flicking back to William. Then his gaze fell onto his desk, and he frantically scrambled for a pile of letters, shoving them into a drawer.

“No. I saw the letter. You… you were-“ He was interrupted by a coughing fit, his entire body shaking and his forehead sweaty.
“Missing in action. Yes.” William finished, taking a breath. This was it. This was the moment. After this he couldn’t go back. He needed to get this right.

“You’re sick.” He stated. The Captain looked back up, still stunned. He nodded shortly, solemnly.
“Yes… The doctors don’t know…” He trailed off, not really knowing how to finish the sentence. He didn’t know what was real or not. Havers couldn’t possibly be standing in front of him. He’d gone to Tunisia. He’d seen the grave… He was surely going mad, whatever was causing him to be sick was making him delirious as well.
“I don’t think I have long.” He finally stated, not knowing what else to say.

“Listen to me Teddy.” He said, and he watched as the Captain’s breath hitched at the nickname.
“I did go missing… I went somewhere. A place where medicine are advanced beyond belief. A place that’s open-minded. Where you can be whoever you want to be.” He paused, looking at the Captain’s face as he said it. The man had gone even paler than before, and his hands continued to shake.

“What?” He asked, confused. William pursed his lips, once again putting his hand on the Captain’s shoulder. The man looked at it, and then back at William. His eyes held a sadness he had never seen before, and it absolutely wrecked William. This was a man who had nothing left to live for, and who would completely give up on life not even seven days from now.

How pathetic it must look to the world, a captain that survives two wars and then dies at home of an unknown illness, weak, sad and alone. I cannot seem to get over the irony and shame of it. 

“Do you trust me, Theo?” He said, shaking of the Captain’s words. The Captain said nothing for a moment, still seeming unconvinced that this was actually real. His mind was reeling, he felt sick to his stomach, even moreso than usual. The hand on his shoulder felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and the heat of it seemed to burn his clammy skin. He surely was hallucinating, Havers coming in to tell him he was still alive? Telling him he went to some… place where far away? It was absurd!

But…

He pressed his lips together, trying to keep his vision form swimming. As he gave his lieutenant a firm nod.

What did he have to lose? 

Captain closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then suddenly a wave of dizziness came over him, he doubled over, his hands over his churning  stomach as he closed his eyes. He felt Havers put his hands on his back, helping him back up. In the distance the Captain could loud music being played. He’d never heard music being played that loudly, he wondered vaguely what kind of gramophone could produce music that loud. When he finally got over his sudden wave of sickness and dizziness he stood back to his height, opening his eyes.

It was dark.  Was the first thing he noticed. They were still in the same hallway they’d been in seconds earlier, but it seemed to be more worn, decayed. The loud music was, as he now saw, accompanied by flashing lights from the main rooms of the house, and the voices of tens of people sounded through the music. He shot William a quizzical look, who could only shoot a grin back, unable to keep himself from smiling.

“Welcome to 2019, Theo.”

Chapter Text

Julian watched as the guests had started arriving, a scowl on his face. The fake smiles, the formal pleasantries- they were all scenes he was all too familiar with. He’d lived through countless parties just like this, eventually meeting his end at one. It annoyed him to no end, Alison deciding to go through with the party.

Alison and Mike had been welcoming them with open arms, distributing floor plans and giving them a voucher for a discounted stay in the future. (that had been Pat’s idea, which he was still proud of.) Julian finally huffed and gave up, making his way from the foyer towards the main room, which in this case was the biggest room- the sitting room. It had been decorated lavishly with baubles, holly, tinsel, stockings, mistletoe and other random Santa heads and figures.

He found Kitty and Mary there, discussing the guests from a safe distance near the fireplace, looking around in wonder at all the women in their neat suits (which included trousers). Pat was hovering over a group of teens, who were having a heated discussion about the match between Manchester and Liverpool that had taken place that weekend.

Thomas was nowhere to be found, but he was probably sulking around somewhere. Robin was weaving around the guests, trying to find his place in the crowd. Their chess table had been temporarily moved upstairs, and so his usual spot was concerningly empty. Julian stormed through the room, scoffing and almost running straight into Fanny, who he had managed to avoid for most of the day. She gave him a weary look, still unconvinced he wasn’t up to something.

“You better not be planning anything.” She said, pulling a characteristically Fanny face. Julian rolled his eyes and raised his hands. “I’m not! It’s a little hard when you can’t really touch most things.” He replied, getting defensive. She hummed, giving him one last look before her eye fell on something behind him and her mouth fell open in disgust.

“Young man that table is a vintage! Use a coaster!” She futilely called out, pointing her finger and stomping over. Julian took the opportunity to slip out of the busy room, avoiding Alison and Mike- who had welcomed their last guests and were getting ready to host a speech. And though he would normally always stick around for a good speech, he had better things to do right now.

He made his way over to the kitchen, where he’d hidden the little white remote the day earlier. The remote to the sprinkler system. A devious grin spread onto his face as he warmed up his finger. This was going to be fun…

“Welcome to 2019, Theo.” William said, as Captain tried desperately to get his breathing back under control. He did feel a little better, but the loud music made him want to put his hands over his ears. He was still not feeling great, the sickness making him shiver from the cold and sweaty from the heat at the same time.

“2000? And 19? Surely this is a joke… I expected better from you Lieutenant. The war may be over b-“
“No, I’m telling the truth, Theo. Look!” He said, scanning a nearby room and finding a television in it. Leading the Captain into it, he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. He watched the Captain’s eyes grow as large as saucers at the sight.

“What in the bally hell-…” He began, cutting himself off. William couldn’t help but grin at it, despite the tired look on his face, this was still the same man he’d come to know so well over the past few years. William grabbed the Captain’s upper arm, turning off the TV with his free hand and leading him out of the television room, and down the stairs.

The Captain was hesitant, not wanting to be any closer to the loud music than necessary, but followed William regardless. William, who felt like he had been holding his breath the entire time, was growing more anxious by the second. His decisions had led him to this point, a point where he could not get back from- he’d already brought the Captain back to the future, and told him more than he probably ought to have told. There was no bringing the man back to the past now.

He was still leading the Captain down the hallway, on his way to the library, where he knew he would find… The Captain. His Captain- Theo. God, this was getting confusing. He held his breath as they neared the library, and when he finally rounded the corner and could take a look into the room, he could see the Captain there in the windowsill, looking out into the night with a firm expression- as if he were deep in thought.

This was it.
If his plan didn’t work now, he would be screwed.
But there was no going back anymore, the past Captain was already here- and so was the present Captain.
He had to do this. Now.

He tried to swallow down his wildly beating heart to get in enough air, and cleared his throat, causing Theo to turn his head towards him. His heart skipped a beat at the look on his face. How this man could be the same man as the worn Captain who was standing beside him, just on the other side of the doorframe was still a mystery to William.

Theo raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t seen William at all since their conversation that afternoon, and by the way he’d stormed off he’d expected the ex-lieutenant to need some more time to cool off. He was about to open his mouth to ask what was wrong, when William beat him to it.

“Theo.” He said, his eyes briefly flickering from him to something on his right, just outside the room. “I want you to see somebody.” He eventually continued, and he stepped aside, pulling into view…

Himself?

What?

What had William done… Had he actually gotten his past self? Was he truly that desperate to be with a living version of him? A sick, lonely and pathetic version of him-

His past self had stumbled into view, locking eyes with Theo immediately, his mouth falling open in disbelief. Neither of them quite knew what to say, but neither of them would have the time- because according to William’s recollection…

Theo felt a sudden pull as a wave of dizziness hit him- a wave like he hadn’t experienced in decades. His head was spinning, and the muffled music from downstairs painfully pounded through his skull. He brought his hands up to his eyes, trying to get his bearings, but it didn’t help much. He felt nauseous, his stomach seeming to coil with every slight movement he made. He instinctively brought his arm up around his stomach and doubled over in pain. The lights were all of a sudden too bright, the sounds too loud but yet muffled, and he felt heavy. His knees started to shake as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that he was standing now, while he had been sitting in the windowsill moments before. He was hot and cold at the same time, feeling a cold sweat break out on his brow. Then there was a warm pair of hands on his back as he doubled over in pain. He distantly heard William calling out his name, but he lacked the energy to respond to anything else than the onslaught of sensations that suddenly flooded his system.

His knees finally gave out, and he felt himself fall- but before he could hit the ground, he felt arms wrap around him, lowering him down gently. The hands were on his shoulders then, and then on jawline. He slowly tried to open his eyes, letting the bright lights of the corridor blind him temporarily. With a start he realised he was panting, chest heaving with deep breaths trying to get air into his lungs. All he could see was the blurry shape of William in front of him as he rested his back against the wall of the corridor.

“Oh my god,”
“Oh that doesn’t look good.” A voice mumbled, one he vaguely recognised as Thomas. William shot them both a quick look, unable to keep the smile from his face.

“Theo! Theo…. Theo” William began, trying to get the man’s attention. “My plan worked.” He continued- but to Theo it was muffled, like there was cotton in his ears. The sound of William’s voice calmed him down a bit though, so he concentrated on it. On his voice, his hands on his jawline… He kept panting, unable to stop like he usually would. He barely noticed two other blurry shapes stepping into the corridor, moving towards them quickly.

“You merged with your past self, Theo… I was right.” Looking back at William, Theo was suddenly aware of the way he could feel his heart jump. And jump again. And again, falling into a comfortable rhythm once again as he finally got his breathing under control. His vision swam as he realised it wasn’t just a random jump, but a beat. A heartbeat.

“You’re alive!” William said, a broad smile growing on his face as he threw his hands around the former ghost briefly, before sitting back. The Captain was still in a state of shock, barely managing to register what was happening when he felt another wave of dizziness come over him…

…and it all went black.

Alison led Mike out of the foyer, and pressed a pile of cards into his hands. “No I can’t do it. There’s so many of them!” She said, stealing a glance into he room, which was packed by now with important people, who no doubt could speech and toast like anything. Mike held up his hands, doing anything he could to not take the cards from her.

“How am I supposed to give a speech to people who speech for a living?” She asked again, shooting Mike a nervous look. He wrapped his arms around her, placing a soft kiss on her head.
“You’ll be fine love, remember the tv-interview? You did fine there.” He said, to which Alison rolled her eyes.
“Oh the Butt Ho interview you mean? Yeah, that went splendidly.” She remarked, causing Mike to let out a small laugh. She shot him a dirty look, and he quickly stopped.
“Look, Obi’s not made your outfit today, you’ve got the cards… You’ll be absolutely fine! I believe in you.”

Alison nodded, taking a deep breath. She nervously made her way into the room, taking a quick glance around at the amount of people she was about to address, and took another deep breath before clearing her throat loudly, watching as the heads of every single person in the room turned towards her. Her breath hitched for a moment with nerves, but she swallowed them down and opened her mouth.

“Hello everyone, first off I want to thank everybody for coming to Button house, and-“
“Alison!” Came a panicked voice through the thick silence. It was Thomas, who was on the other side of the room, standing beside a distraught-looking Julian. She tried to ignore him, continuing on with her speech.

“And I hope everyone managed to find it okay-“ She continued, before being interrupted by Thomas once again, who was apparently in such a hurry that he risked the nausea of walking through people to get to her faster.
“Alison!” She could see there was something seriously wrong now that he was up close, his panicked face spoke volumes. “You need to come right now, there is something wrong with the Captain!” He said, gesturing towards the back of the room. A heavy weight settled in Alison’s stomach as she realised the situation couldn’t be good.

“Ehm… I want to pass the word to my husband Mike for the explanation of tonight’s eventsthankyou-“ She sputtered out quickly, stepping back and pressing the pile of cards into Mike’s hands with a knowing look.

“What the hell?” he mouthed, and she could only gesture wildly, hoping he got the message. She hurried off, a frantic Thomas following her through the crowded room over to the other side, trying to ignore the funny looks people were sending her as she made her way through the crowd.

“Right…. So…. Tonight drinks and snacks will be-“ She heard Mike start as all heads turned towards him instead.

Thomas had been at his usual place in the library, sighing. There was yet another party full of people he wouldn’t be able to show off his poetry to. All the people being in the same small place freaked him out as well, not because he didn’t like the people, but because someone would always inevitably pass through him making him sick. He’d been there less than fifteen minutes however, before the first guests had found their way into the small library and began talking very boring business plans.

“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Thomas cried, standing up with a huff. “What does a poet have to do to get a little peace and quiet around here?” He lamented, leaving the room through the wall and finding himself in the hallway that lead to the kitchen.

His complaining was interrupted by a familiar grunting, the sound that a certain MP made when he was trying to exert himself by touching something. Bored, Thomas wandered over- wanting to see what the man was up to. Knowing him, it couldn’t be anything good.

“What are you doing?” Thomas asked suspiciously, peeking around the doorframe at the other man. Julian visibly jumped, obviously not expecting anyone to be in the kitchen. He shot a look back at Thomas and seemed to relax a bit, grabbing at his chest as if he’d had a heart attack- the irony of which was not lost not him.

Thomas stepped further into the kitchen, spotting the remote instantly. A frown grew on his face.
“What are you planning now ?” He asked, annoyed. Julian huffed.
“Bold of you to assume I am doing something.”

“Isn’t that the remote for the sprinklers?” Thomas asked again, pointedly. Julian gaped at him in disbelief.
“How would you know? You weren’t even there yesterday.”

“Well contrary to popular belief I am not stupid… And also Alison asked me this morning if I’d seen a small white remote just like that.” He said, pointing at the device. Julian groaned, rolling his eyes upwards in frustration. After he’d collected himself he once again faced Thomas.

“You shouldn’t bother her now. We’ll tell her we found it later.” He suggested, hoping to god Thomas would buy it. Luck didn’t seem to be in his favour however, because Thomas’s gave him a suspicious look and shook his head.
“You’re planning something aren’t you?”

“No, I am not. Mp’s honour, you know how it is.” Julian tried.
“Well why don’t we ask Alison then.” Thomas said, a devilish smile growing on his face. Julian kept a poker face, nodding in faux agreement.

“Fine.” He whispered, with the best fake smile he could muster. His plan of setting off the sprinklers at Alison’s speech was miserably and direfully spoiled. Well… maybe he’d have a chance later. He cursed inwardly as Thomas led them out of the kitchen into the empty corridor. They walked a little ways down in silence, before a panicked voice distracted them from their mission.

“Oh my god.” Julian said, his eyes on the two figures sitting together on the floor of the corridor.
“Oh that doesn’t look good” Thomas remarked at the same time, watching as the Captain was struggling on the floor, his face pale and sweaty- he didn’t know they could be sweaty, strange… The Captain was panting, gasping for a breath that he shouldn’t need, and his eyes were unfocused.

“Theo! Theo…. Theo! My plan worked.” William was saying, trying to keep the Captain from slumping downwards. He seemed beyond excited, a broad smile on his face that he didn´t quite seem to be able to wipe off. He glanced at Thomas, and then looked at Julian, seemingly not really knowing what to say to them, so he simply turned back to the Captain, who had grabbed William’s sleeve tightly in his delirium.

“You merged with your past self, Theo… I was right.” William said then, trying to get the Captain’s attention, watching as the man finally started breathing more evenly, and his hands stopped shaking as bad. Thomas and Julian could only watch on in confusion as William uttered his next words.

“You’re alive.”

Thomas gasped in shock, faintly hearing Julian do the same as they stared at the Captain with an open mouth, all thoughts frozen for a good few seconds. But then the Captain’s head lulled, going even paler than he already was and his eyes rolled back into his head. They watched as the indescribable happiness on William’s face turned to shock and fear.

“No, no no no no, Theo come on. Teddy wake up.” He said in a panicked tone.

“His name is Theo?” Julian suddenly said, having it be the only thing he could properly process. He looked at Thomas, who could only shrug. He hadn’t known either, the Captain was a very secretive man. The sound however, made William’s head shoot up, once again reminded that there were other people there.

“Well don’t just stand there! Get Alison!” He yelled at them, spurring them into action. Thomas was the first to run off, with Julian hot on his heels, speeding down the hallway like a life depended on it. It may very well do. Thomas eventually reached the sitting room, where most of the people had gathered for Alison’s speech. Julian arrived a few seconds later, standing behind Thomas and scanning the crowded room.

“You’re not gonna get through that, mate.”
“Well we’re just going to have to. You saw the Captain, there’s something seriously wrong.” Thomas shot back.
“I’m not going through them. Can’t you just call her over?” Julian replied, a little annoyed at the amount of people. His first plan had failed miserably, and now with the Captain like this it hit even closer to home. He wasn’t keen on reliving the night of his death, so he decided then and there he would do anything in his power to make sure the Captain got help. But he really didn’t want to have to go through these people…

“Alison!” Thomas shouted, and both of the ghosts watched her gaze snap over to them as she pretended she couldn’t hear them- continuing on with her speech.
“She’s ignoring us.” Thomas hissed angrily. Julian rolled his eyes.
“Well, duh. She’s giving a speech. You don’t disturb someone during a speech.” He paused for a second, thinking.
“Now go disturb her.”

Thomas pulled an indignant face. “What? Why me?”
“She’ll listen to you! Now go!” He said, shoving the other ghost forward- right through the first row of people. He heard Thomas gag violently on the other side of the human wall, and thanked god it wasn’t him.

Thomas continued to make his way toward Alison, waves of nausea hitting him with every person he had to pass through, but he tried to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach and finally reached Alison, who was now in the middle of her speech.

“Alison!” He said again, glancing back towards Julian for a split second, who gave him a thumbs up, and then looking back at Alison. “You need to come right now, there is something wrong with the Captain!” He couldn’t express enough how badly he needed her to believe him, but somehow the look on his face must have convinced her, because she stammered out a quick excuse and pressed the pile of cards she was holding into Mike’s hands.

“This better be real Thomas or I swear to god-“ She mumbled softly, avoiding his gaze to try and look as normal as she possibly could. She started making her way through the crowd, Thomas following behind her, grateful for the fact he didn’t need to pass through anybody this time.
“Yes! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. There’s something seriously wrong with the Captain, he’s all sweaty and pale and-“
“I didn’t know ghosts could sweat” Alison said, finally stepping out into the hallway and letting Thomas and Julian lead the way.

“We can’t.” Thomas replied, shooting her a serious look. She didn’t reply, but hurried along the dark corridor, until she could finally see William who was hunched over the Captain, calling his name (was it Theo? How had she never known?)

“Theo, wake up- wake up… come on.” He kept calling, his own face pale with panic. Alison’s heart started hammering loudly in her chest as she kneeled beside the pair, softly putting a hand on the Captain’s upper arm. He felt hot to the touch. “What’s wrong with him?” She asked William, who was now looking at her through teary eyes.

“He… I- I went back to before he died, and I took him with me. There can’t be two of you at the same time, so the most recent you gets merged with the past you- which is what happened. Cap merged with his past self… Which means he’s alive… but still sick. And the merging seems have only made it worse… I-I don’t know what to do.” He said in a rushed breath, hands shaking softly.

Alison needed a moment to get her mind around the story.

Cap was alive? How was that even possible?

She shot a look back at the man, whose chest was now rising and falling softly in a way she had never seen it do before. She grabbed his wrist, frantically feeling for a heartbeat- that she found mere seconds later. Irregular and weak, but there nonetheless.

“We need to get him to a hospital.” She said, standing up and patting down her pockets for her car keys. She could slap herself in the face when she realised she’d left them in the kitchen.

“Can you get him up? She asked William, who promptly nodded. Alison nodded back firmly.
“Good. Meet me at the car in two minutes.”

“Alison?” Mike asked, walking upstairs determinedly. After finishing the speech and letting their guests enjoy the rest of their evening, Mike had quietly left the sitting room and had gone to find his wife. He’d already checked every room downstairs, none of which held Alison, and so he was now making his way up the stairs to look on the second floor.

There was no doubt in his mind it had something to do with one of the ghosts, but who and what was still a mystery to him. He checked the corridor, which was dark and empty- he really needed to fix the light in there. Mentally adding the task to his to-do list, he checked the first room- stepping inside and flipping on the light.

It was the Captain’s room- the light illuminating the dusty dressers, old bed and of course…

The ghost board.

The ghost board that was… blurry?

Mike stepped a little closer to it,  rubbing his eyes in confusion. He really did need to remember to wear his contacts more often- but no… the entire board was readable, except for the article about the Captain.

Mike watched as the big black letters danced around the page, growing sharper and fuzzier every few seconds, declaring boldly; 'Two-time world war veteran dies mysterious death at Button House,'. But, before he realised what was going on, the letters had begun to change, spelling out a new headline, with a new article- and although the paper remained the same old yellowed torn page, this time it read something drastically different.

'Two-time world war veteran vanishes mysteriously from Button House,'

Mike could only blink in confusion, staring at the article in front of him- before letting out loud scream.

“ALISONN!!”

“So? What’s going on with him?” William asked, nervously- glancing towards the bed that currently held an unconscious Theo.

They’d all but flown to the hospital, arriving there in record-time and wasting no time hauling the unconscious former ghost into the emergency room. The personnel, after recovering from the small shock of two people carrying in an unconscious man who looked like he’d stepped right out of the second world war, had ushered them into a small room- instantly getting to work in trying to find out what was wrong.

Alison and William couldn’t do anything but wait. After what felt like days, but was probably only a few hours, a doctor gently approached them, clenching a board which undoubtedly had the results in his hands.

“I won’t worry you any longer” He said, shooting them both a reassuring smile, a gesture that gave William a little hope. He wouldn’t be this cheerful if the results had been bad.
“We’ve found clear signs of Sepsis, we discovered an old wound that looks like it has begun to get infected recently. Luckily it hasn’t affected any major organs yet, so it’s nothing we won’t be able to fix with antibiotics. You brought him in just in time though, any longer and it might have infected his lungs.”

William finally felt like he could breathe again, and instantly sighed with relief, letting his head fall into his hands. He felt Alison put her hand on his back comfortingly.

“So, he’s going to be okay?” She asked the doctor, hopefully. It was only when he gave her a reassuring nod that she released her own sigh of relief.

“He’ll be fine. Like I said, we were lucky we caught it in time, the chance is low that he’ll have any long-term symptoms. Not entirely impossible of course, but I’ve personally never seen it. We’ve sedated him for now, but he’s reacting well to the first dose of antibiotics, and though we do need to keep him for observation tonight, he will be free to go home tomorrow with a prescription for the next week or so.” The doctor says, showing both Alison and William his little results board. The scribbles and numbers made very little sense to either of them, but they nodded and smiled nonetheless- just because they could.

Captain was going to be fine.
He was alive, and he was going to be fine…

William felt like he was in a dream. It didn’t feel real. It felt like he was going to be waking up any minute now, and he would be right back at his room in Button house, where the Captain was still a ghost, and they were still unsure of their future. But now…

They could go anywhere, do anything. Even grow old together. Or get a house by the sea…
The very thought of it made William shake with happiness, and as he walked back into the room where Theo was still peacefully sleeping- there was not a doubt in his mind that their future would be filled with nothing but quick love-filled glances from across the room, flourishing cottage gardens near the sea, and trips to faraway places and times…

And it would never be anything less than perfect.
Because they would be there doing it- together.

THE END

edit: the amazing @14panda4 made some incredibly cool fanart for this chapter!! 🤩