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Chapter Text

Wing Commander Gwilym Lee walked into the village pub and sat down at one of the tables near the door. He and some of the other officers of his Squadron had a rare night off, and they were going to spend it getting as drunk as possible without getting an official reprimand. Gwilym knew his limits, of course. He’d joined the RAF at 18 and had learned his way around drinking in the force the hard way. Now, as the most senior officer out that night, he knew he had to be the responsible one. He was pulled from his daydreams by some of the younger officers sitting down at his table, drinks in hand. He thanked them, and took a sip from his pint. He had no idea which beer the boys had bought him, but he liked it. He looked over to the bar to see what beers they had on offer, and then his eyes met hers. He stopped breathing for a moment. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but it was more than that. She was smiling, laughing with her patrons, but she had sad eyes. Eyes that told him there was something more to her than just a pub landlady. He didn’t know how long they were there, eyes locked. It was her that pulled away first, startled from her daze by an irritated man trying to get served. It was a few more seconds before Gwilym was pulled from his.

“Just ask her out, sir” one of his junior officers said. Gwilym said nothing, he just gave the younger man a stern look.

She was on Gwilym’s mind for the rest of the night. As he sipped his pint, he could only think of her. He wondered what made her so sad, he wondered why she ran a pub in a small village, when she could probably have a better career. He wondered what was keeping her in such a small place, when she deserved the world. Maybe he could show her the world.

The other officers kept badgering him, egging him on, telling him he should just ask her out. It wasn’t that simple, of course. His career in the RAF was his life, and he knew that whoever he dated and eventually married would have to understand that. He would go wherever the force took him. Maybe she would understand, as far as he knew, that pub hadn’t changed hands in the nearly 20 years he’d been at the base on the outskirts of the village. He was sure he’d probably been in there before, seen her before, but this time was different for some reason. He knew he needed to talk to her before the night was over.

As last orders was called, Gwilym knew this was his final moment. Before he even knew what he was doing, he was walking towards the bar. He caught her eye and smiled.

“What can I get you, Wing Commander?” She asked, walking towards him. He was immediately impressed. She knew her RAF rank insignia.

“Your phone number” He found himself saying, with a smile. She grinned back and grabbed the pen that was in her hair and a napkin from the bar. She scribbled her number on it and gave it to him with a smile.

“I hope to see you again, Wing Commander…” she trailed off, realising she didn’t know his name.

“Lee. Gwilym Lee, Miss?” he asked.

“Margaret Coleman” She replied. He quickly rested his hand on hers, before he turned on his heel and walked out the door, grinning like an idiot.

The next morning, Margaret was woken by her phone vibrating on her bedside table. She picked it up to see a text from an unknown number:

‘Dinner tonight? Wg Cdr Lee x’

She smiled widely as she quickly fired off a reply.

‘If I can get someone to cover the pub, you’re on. Margaret x’

This made Gwilym smile very widely indeed, prompting some funny looks from the other officers in the mess. He couldn’t wait until that evening.

————

Margaret paced nervously up and down the bar as she waited for Gwilym to turn up. She couldn’t believe she’d have to let him down when she so desperately wanted to go for dinner with him. She hoped he’d turn up soon, otherwise she might wear a hole in the floor with her pacing. Just as she stopped and looked at the door, he walked through it, looking more attractive in his uniform than she’d ever seen a man look. Her heart fell when she saw his smile.

“Ready?” He asked as he reached the bar. She smiled weakly.

“Gwilym, I’m so sorry” She said quietly, feeling like she might cry.

“What?” He asked, suddenly worried he’d done something wrong.

“I…I… look, come upstairs and I’ll explain. It’s a long story” She replied, walking around the bar, and dragging him upstairs.

As they walked into the flat above the pub, Gwilym immediately knew. There were toys and schoolbags scattered about. She had children.

“You have children?” He asked as they sat down on the sofa.

“I do. 2 girls. I should have told you yesterday” Margaret replied as she fiddled with her skirt nervously.

“No, it’s okay. I get that it’s hard for you to tell someone you’re hopefully interested in as you’re worried you’ll scare them off” Gwilym said calmly, resting his hand on hers. She seemed to calm down a little at his touch, which made Gwilym’s heart soar.

“Something like that. I found some kids from the village to cover me at the pub, but I couldn’t find a babysitter for the girls” She explained. They sat there quietly for a few minutes, taking in their situation and working out what they were going to do next. It was Gwilym who broke the silence.

“Tell me about them”

“Who?” Margaret asked, daydreaming.

“The girls” Gwilym replied, looking at her with complete adoration in his eyes.

“Rose and Daisy. Look, I need to get back to the pub but if you hang around I’ll tell you all about them later. Is that ok?” Margaret asked nervously. Gwilym surprised her by pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“I’d like nothing more”

————

Margaret and Gwilym spent the evening in the pub, behind the bar. Margaret poured wine and took orders as Gwilym pulled pints. Every now and then, their eyes would meet and they would smile at each other. Gwilym hadn’t imagined, of course, that some of the other boys from his Squadron would be going to the pub that evening. He hadn’t noticed them until one came up for the bar to pay for their round.

“6 pints of bitter, sir” the young man said, smirking at his superior officer. Gwilym just rolled his eyes and served his subaltern. All the while, Margaret grinned at him from the other end of the bar.

Before they knew it, it was last orders, and they were closing up the pub. Margaret was aprehentious. She knew this meant she and Gwilym would be having their chat about the girls pretty soon, and she would reveal her past to him like she had to nobody else. As soon as the tables were wiped and the doors were locked, Margaret grabbed Gwilym’s hand and led him up the stairs to the flat, with them sitting exactly where they’d sat earlier. Gwilym looked at the photographs on the mantle. They were all of Margaret and her girls. No man in sight. Margaret saw him looking and took it as her opportunity.

“He’s dead” She said simply, handing him a mug of tea. Gwilym looked at her, confused.

“Who is?” Gwilym asked. He was fairly sure he knew what she was on about, but he wanted to be sure.

“The girls dad. My late husband, Alexander” Margaret clarified, gesturing for Gwilym to sit down next to her. He tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and breathed a sigh of relief when she leant her head on his shoulder. He noticed the photos on the arm of the sofa next to her.

“I’ve never told anybody what I’m about to tell you in so much detail, so forgive me if I falter” Margaret said. Gwilym nodded, and let her speak.

“Alexander and I married young. We were 21, and in love. We were still in love at the end, of course. I had the pub, and he helped me run it. My parents died when I was young, so it was just me and him. 8 years ago, little Rose came along and was the light of our life. We weren’t sure if we were able to have children. We’d been trying for years and years and we’d had years of nothing before Rose. Then, 8 months later, I got pregnant with Daisy. She was born 4 months before Alexander died. We were living down the road at the time. He was walking home from the pub when a drunk driver knocked him down. He was rushed to hospital and was on life support for a few days, but we knew there was no hope. A nurse looked after the girls whilst I made the decision. I sat and held his hand as he slipped away. I’d cried myself out by that point. I drove myself and the girls home, and didn’t move for hours. I allowed myself until the funeral to wallow in pity, but after that the pub was back open and we moved in here. It’s been us three ever since” Margaret said, quietly and steadily, voice never faltering. She handed Gwilym the photographs. Her wedding, when she was pregnant with the girls, the girls as babies. A photo of Alexander holding both of them.

“That’s the only photo I have of Alex with both of them” She said, peering over at it with a smile.

“You’re incredibly brave” Gwilym replied, matching her volume.

“I’ve made my peace with it. It’s time to move on” She said. They both knew what this meant, leaning in towards one another, before they were startled apart by a deafening rumble of thunder.

“3, 2, 1…” Margaret whispered, smirking in the direction of the girls bedroom. As if on cue, Rose and Daisy came running into the room, and made a beeline for their mother.

“Did the thunder scare you?” Margaret asked the little girls in her arms. They both nodded in reply. The girls then clocked Gwilym.

“Mummy, who’s that?” Rose asked, peering at him from behind the stuffed rabbit in her arms.

“That’s Mummy’s friend Gwilym. He works up on the air base” Margaret explained. Rose and Daisy looked at each other, and crawled into Gwilym’s arms. He was surprised for a moment, but soon wrapped his arms around the little girls in his lap. He smiled at Margaret, and she smiled back. Daisy extracted herself from Gwilym’s hold, but Rose stayed there, burying her face into his uniform as the thunder and lightening carried on outside. They stayed there until the weather subdued, and the girls fell back asleep. They carried them to bed, and tucked them in with a kiss on the forehead. Margaret watched from the doorway as Gwilym said goodnight to the girls. In such a short time, he’d become incredibly fond of them. He was incredibly fond of their mother, so it seemed only right.

The clock struck 3am, and Gwilym realised he should be making his way back to the base. He’d gotten permission from his commanding officer to be out as late as he wanted, explaining that he had a date and he didn’t know what was going to come of it, but he didn’t want to push his luck. He grabbed his uniform jacket and cap, and walked to the door.

“Margaret, thank you. I had a wonderful time” he said as he did up his jacket and put his cap back on his head.

“Sorry we didn’t go for dinner” she replied.

“This was much better. Thank you for letting me meet your daughters” Gwilym said, whispering the last part.

“I didn’t really have much choice” She laughed.

“But still, thank you”

Before either of them knew what they were doing, Gwilym’s lips were on Margaret’s. It was chaste, and quick, but perfect.

“Goodnight Wing Commander” She whispered, blushing.

“Goodnight Mrs Coleman” He replied, just the same.

Chapter Text

Margaret was woken by her daughters jumping on her bed, far too early. They crawled underneath the covers and cuddled up to her. Margaret knew something was up when the girls looked at each other, clearly conspiring something.

“What do you want?” Margaret asked. The girls rolled their eyes and sighed. They got their dramatics from their mother.

“Mummy, when are we going to see Gwilym again?” Rose asked, looking at her mother with a sweet smile on her face.

“Why? Did you like him?” Margaret asked. The girls nodded enthusiastically. Margaret smiled. She liked Gwilym a lot, and she wanted to girls to liked him too. She wanted him to stick around.

Margaret and the girls spent all morning in bed, playing games and talking. Margaret liked to have mornings like this with her daughters, it helped her make sure they were happy and healthy and that everything was alright. During the morning, Margaret fired off a text to Gwilym.

‘The girls asked when they were going to see you again. They like you x’

She forgot all about it until she checked her phone whilst the girls were eating their lunch.

‘I like them too. I like you x’

‘I like you too x’

Margaret put her phone in her pocket and tried to suppress the girlish smile threatening to break out onto her face. Little did she know, Gwilym felt like a kid with his first crush when Margaret texted back, saying she liked him too.

Margaret and the girls stared out of the window as they heard planes from the base go over, wondering if Gwilym was up there flying. Little did they know, of course, that he was up there wondering if they were watching. When he landed, he sent a text to Margaret.

‘can I come over this evening and see you all? x’

He thought his heart would burst out of his chest when Margaret replied that dinner would be on the table at 6.

He was welcomed at the door by Rose and Daisy, who told him that Mummy was in the kitchen. He thanked the girls and made his way through, taking off his cap and smoothing down his hair before he entered the room.

“Hello” He said quietly, not wanting to scare Margaret. She turned around and smiled at him.

“Hello, Wing Commander. Did you fly today?” She asked, gesturing for him to sit down at the table. They sat down, facing each other, as Margaret poured each of them a glass of wine.

“I did. Did you see the planes go over?” Gwilym replied, sipping his wine.

“We did. We wondered if you were up there” Margaret said, gesturing towards the sitting room where the girls were playing.

“I wondered if you three were watching” He said quietly, almost embarrassed. Margaret smiled at him and dished up their dinner. She was fascinated with why such a gentle man was in the armed forces. They sat there eating in relative quiet, just taking in the presence of the other person.

Gwilym was taking in the sadness still behind Margaret’s eyes, though it had lessened since she’d told him about Alexander. He took in her figure, her face, her beauty.

Margaret was taking in the lines around Gwilym’s eyes, evidence of his dedication to his job. She took in his stature, his noble profile, his handsomeness.

They put the girls to bed after dinner, and Margaret’s heart melted as she watched Gwilym carry a sleeping Daisy to the girls bedroom. Margaret walked into the sitting room, and saw Gwilym, jacket off, tie off, top button undone. She walked over, straight into his arms. They stood there for a while, swaying to whatever song was playing on the radio. It was all a little bit too domestic for Margaret, and she began to cry quietly in Gwilym’s arms. He pulled her closer and pressed gentle, comforting kisses to her head. Eventually, the song changed to something more upbeat, and the pair sat down on the sofa, so close it was almost impossible for Margaret to be closer, unless she sat on Gwilym’s lap.

It was Margaret who made the first move, leaning up to kiss Gwilym gently. Their lips moved in sync for god knows how long. They were entirely wrapped up in each other, mapping the unfamiliar territory. It wasn’t long before Gwilym pulled Margaret onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He was sure he’d never been happier.

They both woke up the next morning in each other’s arms, pleasantly sore. It was only then that Margaret wondered whether Gwilym was meant to have gone back to base the night before, instead of to her bed.

“I took a few days leave. Even if nothing came of last night, there’s nothing like your own home” Gwilym explained, leaning down to press a kiss to Margaret’s forehead. She figured now was as good a chance as any to ask Gwilym about the Air Force.

“What planes do you fly?” She asked, moving her pillow so she could comfortably sit upright.

“Typhoons now, I used to fly Tornados as well but that changed when I moved base. We only have Typhoons here” Gwilym replied, putting his arm around Margaret’s shoulder.

“How fast do they go?” She carried on, suddenly more interested in aircraft than she’d ever been.

“Mach 1.8” He replied quickly, brain slipping into work mode.

“And in layman’s terms?” she asked, confused.

“1381 miles an hour. 1.8 times the speed of sound” He said, laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You look very cute when you’re confused. Your eyebrows knit together in frustration” He said, looking at her in complete adoration. He couldn’t believe his luck. A few days ago, he’d been sure he’d be on his own forever, married to his work. Now, in her bed, in her life, he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. Ever. He thought he probably loved her, though he decided it was perhaps a bit early to tell. He was certainly infatuated with her. Her, and her daughters. They filled his every waking thought, and most of his sleeping ones too. He’d always wanted to be a father, and he was fairly sure he wanted to be a father to these little girls. They’d been through so much in their short lives, and had a mother who adored them to the end of the universe, and he wanted to be the father who did the same. He hoped Margaret would let him.

Both Gwilym and Margaret were pulled from their thoughts by a couple of little knocks on the door. They quickly pulled on some clothes, and Margaret opened the door. Behind it stood Rose and Daisy, clearly surprised that Gwilym was in there.

“Gwilym!” they shouted in unison as they took a running jump at the double bed. They landed in the middle, and launched themselves into Gwilym’s arms. Margaret was glad they responded well to Gwilym. She wanted him to be a permanent fixture in their life, and in hers. They’d discussed everything the night before, their families, their pasts, what they wanted for their futures. What was clear was they wanted each other. Both of them had dreamed of their future, asleep in each other’s arms for all of time. Margaret had never felt so at home in somebody’s arms. Not Alexander’s, not anybody’s. She’d certainly never seen her daughters so comfortable with anybody else before. She realised she was probably in love with him, but perhaps it was a bit early to tell. She hadn’t had a relationship since Alexander had died, but she decided she was ready.

“Mummy…is Gwilym your boyfriend?” Rose asked, looking at her mother. She knew exactly what she was doing, of course, but she played innocent.

“I don’t know, are you my boyfriend Gwilym?” Margaret asked, looking over at Gwilym. Gwilym smiled.

“If you’ll be my girlfriend, Margaret?” Gwilym replied, looking hopefully at her. She nodded, and he leant over to kiss her quickly. The girls covered their eyes, before cuddling up in between their mother and her new love.

————

The next month was spent in a whirlwind of weekends, overnights, dinner dates, school runs, and aeroplanes. Gwilym spent every weekend and most week nights in Margaret’s flat. He dropped the girls to school, and picked them up. He took them around the base one Saturday, and took them back to their mother with them both wanting to be RAF pilots when they grew up.

Finally, after a month, Gwilym was able to take Margaret out on a proper date, without the girls. When they’d been for dinner before, Rose and Daisy had been there. As much as Gwilym adored the girls, he really wanted to take Margaret to an expensive restaurant, wearing his smartest uniform, and her in her prettiest dress. That occasion, thankfully occurred.

When Gwilym turned up at Margaret’s flat to pick her up, he was stunned by what he saw. Margaret wore a red 1950s style dress, with a pinched in waist and flared skirt. He’d never seen a woman look more beautiful than Margaret in that dress. She twirled on the spot as he got out of the car and walked over to her.

“How do I look?” She asked, walking over to him. She gently kissed him and got into the passenger seat. Gwilym closed her door and walked around the front of the car, getting in the other side. They looked over at each other briefly, both blushing, before Gwilym broke from her gaze, looking straight ahead and driving away.

Arriving at the restaurant, Margaret felt very fancy, arriving on her Wing Commander’s arm to a restaurant she was sure she’d never be able to afford if it wasn’t for Gwilym’s officers pay. They were sat in a quiet corner, away from prying eyes. Gwilym wanted everything to be perfect this evening. He was sure this evening would be a defining moment in their lives. He wanted it to be. They ordered their food, and settled into their conversation.

“This month, Gwilym, has honestly been the best month of my life” Margaret confided, bashfully.

“Margaret, I have never been happier than with you” Gwilym replied, equally sweetly.

“Gwilym, I love you” Margaret said quickly. She hadn’t expected to say it, but she did. She meant it, she really really meant it. Gwilym was surprised. He thought he’d be the one to say it first. When Gwilym didn’t say anything, Margaret felt she had to explain herself.

“You’ve become such an important fixture in our lives and I finally feel a release from the grief I’ve been stuck with for years. You make me feel like a new woman and I couldn’t be more grateful. I…I just really really love you” She said, quietly. Gwilym took her hands in his.

“Margaret, I’ve been in love with you since our eyes met across the pub the day I asked for your number” Gwilym confessed. Margaret looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

“You have?”

“I have, Margaret. You’ve given me a family, you’ve given me two perfect little girls I consider my daughters, and you’ve given me love. I thought I’d be married to my career, but now I have a chance of one day being married to you” He said, leaning over and kissing her to punctuate his sentiment.

Their moment was unfortunately interrupted by the arrival of their food, which was quickly scoffed in an effort to get back to their conversation.

“Margaret, I know we’ve only been together for a month, and this sounds insane, but I cannot imagine spending my life with anybody else but you” Gwilym admitted. He knew he sounded entirely mad, but he didn’t care. He wanted to make sure Margaret was on the same page as him.

“Gwilym, I want to spend the rest of my life with you too” Margaret replied. Gwilym felt himself relax, and he quickly caught the waiter’s attention.

“Yes sir?”

“A bottle of champagne, please” Gwilym ordered. Margaret’s eyes widened.

“Champagne?” She asked, surprised.

“We’ve just started the rest of our lives, darling. Calls for a celebration, I reckon” Gwilym said, leaning over to kiss her one more time.

Chapter Text

11 Months Later:

Margaret’s eyes fluttered open, and she was delighted to find she wasn’t alone. She rolled over, and put her arm around a sleeping Gwilym’s waist. She lay there for a while, wondering how she got so lucky, and what she did to deserve somebody like Gwilym. It wasn’t long before he woke.

“What are you thinking about, love? I can practically hear your brain whirring” He whispered groggily, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

“Just how lucky I am” She replied, leaning up to press a kiss to his neck. Before anything could get more heated, as much as they wanted to, the door opened and two little girls came running in. As usual, they took a running jump at the bed, and landed in between the two adults. Daisy settled against her mother, whilst Rose did her very best to sit right on top of Gwilym. He didn’t mind, of course. He loved the little girls like they were his own, and as a result they knew they could get away with anything, so long as Mummy didn’t find out.

That day was going to be a special one. It was Gwilym and Margaret’s 1 year anniversary, for one thing. For another, Gwilym had a plan. A plan that rested heavily on the RAF boys coming through. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, of course, they were his men and his friends and he was frequently called upon to trust them with his life.

————

That evening, Gwilym sat rather nervously in the Pub he had begun to consider home. Home was wherever Margaret and the girls were, of course, but more often than not, it was the Pub. He sipped the pint the RAF boys had bought him. Margaret tended the bar with one of the girls from the village, whilst Rose and Daisy sat on Gwilym’s lap. He’d got them in on his plan. They’d not let it slip either, as far as he knew. He knew they wouldn’t. They were good kids and they’d do anything for their mother. When he’d asked them, he knew they wouldn’t say no.

—

“Now girls, I need to ask you something very important” Gwilym said, sitting down on the edge of Daisy’s bed, looking at both of the girls.

“Yes?” They replied in unison.

“Well, at the weekend, I’d like to ask Mummy to marry me, and I wanted to make sure you two were alright with that” He asked, looking nervously at the little girls in front of him, worried what their reaction may be.

“Yes! Yes! Please be our new Daddy!” Daisy said, crawling over to Gwilym. He wrapped his arm around her as she sat next to him.

“Well, Mummy needs to say yes before that, but you two wouldn’t mind if I stuck around forever?”

“No! We want you to!” Rose replied, getting up to join her sister in Gwilym’s arms.

—

The pub was quiet. The only people in there, apart from the usuals, were the RAF boys. It was perfect. Not too many strangers, so Margaret wouldn’t be uncomfortable being the centre of attention. He decided the moment was right. He whispered something to the girls, and they ran over to their mother. As they dragged her around from the bar, one of the RAF boys handed Gwilym a small velvet box. He stood up, wiping his palms on his trousers, as Margaret arrived in front of him. She stood there, holding onto Daisy and Rose’s hands. Gwilym picked up the little box from the table, opened it to reveal an antique diamond ring, and sunk to one knee. Margaret’s mouth dropped open, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“Now Margaret, I’m going to have to speak quickly otherwise I’ll start crying too. All I’ll say is you are the love of my life, and I don’t want to spend my life with anybody other than you and the girls. Will you do me the greatest honour imaginable, and will you marry me?” Gwilym said, eyes filling with tears.

“Say yes, Mummy! Say yes, Mummy!” The girls shouted as Margaret stood frozen, crying.

“Yes! Of course!” Margaret said, after what seemed like forever. It had, in reality, only been about 3 seconds. This was all it took for Gwilym’s resolve to break and for the tears to go streaming down his face. Margaret took his hand to help him up from the floor, before she flung her arms around his neck and joined her lips to his. The assembled crowd cheered as they parted. Gwilym took the ring from the box and slipped it onto Margaret’s finger.

“I love you” Gwilym said, looking at Margaret like she was the entire world.

“I love you too” Margaret replied, running her fingers through Gwilym’s hair.

“What about us?” Rose asked, holding onto her little sister’s hand.

“Yes, we love you too”

—————

Gwilym and Margaret married on the base three months later, not wanting to wait longer than that to be husband and wife. Wing Commander and Mrs Lee celebrated with family and friends, their daughters acting as bridesmaids. The day before the wedding, Gwilym signed the papers to officially adopt Rose and Daisy as his. The four of them walked out of the on-base chapel, the girls either side of their parents. Gwilym’s squadron formed a guard of honour, and his commanding officer had stood in and walked Margaret down the aisle.

It was mere weeks after the wedding when the Squadron was posted to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

“Darling, I understand if you don’t want to leave England and the pub and take the girls out of school, but I have to go” Gwilym explained, fiddling with the stem of the wine glass in his hand.

“If you’re going, Gwilym, we’re coming with you” Margaret replied, giving him a ‘Paddington’ long, hard stare.

“If you’re sure, love” He replied, placing the wine glass down on the coffee table.

“I am. We’re moving to Cyprus” She said, moving over to kiss him gently.

—————

Cyprus was hot, Gwilym thought. He did, however, think the sight of Margaret in sundresses and sandals was hotter, so naturally it wasn’t long before Margaret found that she was pregnant.

“So here’s baby…wait a second, that’s baby 1, and this is baby 2” The doctor said as he moved the ultrasound wand over Margaret’s abdomen.

“2?” She asked, looking at Gwilym.

“2. Congratulations, Mrs Lee. You’re expecting twins” The doctor replied, smiling at the obviously shocked couple.

By the time they got home, they were both still muttering ‘twins’ every now and then. They were greeted by the girls running out to meet them.

“How did it go, Mummy?” Rose asked.

“Now, you mustn’t be alarmed, but Mummy is having twins” Margaret replied. She wasn’t going to beat around the bush - she knew the girls were old enough to understand what was going on.

“Twins? There’s going to be 2 babies?” Daisy asked, looking at Gwilym.

“Looks that way munchkin. You two mustn’t think the new babies are going to replace you”

“It’s better you’re having twins, really, otherwise you’d be fighting over who got to cuddle the baby” Rose replied. There was never any doubt in the little girls minds that Gwilym loved them just as much as he would the new babies, even if he wasn’t their real dad.

—————

Blossom Ceinwen and Myrtle Rhiannon Lee were born 6 months later at RAF Akrotiri. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon when Margaret’s waters broke, and it was a short labour. She thought she may have broken Gwilym’s hand with how hard she was squeezing it, but he promised her she didn’t.

Rose and Daisy had been right - they would have fought over who got to cuddle the baby had their been only one. That evening, Margaret sat holding Blossom, and Myrtle was settled in Gwilym’s arms when Rose and Daisy were brought to visit. They held and cuddled their little sisters, and sighed in relief when they found out they had sisters and not brothers.

They were the perfect little family Gwilym had always dreamed of, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.