THE FIRST YEAR: 1953-1954

Chapter One. Home to Boston.

Charles held his hand over his heart as he watched Margaret drive off, waving to him. They locked gazes as long as they could until her jeep drove around the bend, out of sight.

He'd told her to get packed and be ready to leave when the first transport became available. The Army wanted to withdraw the women as soon as possible, which suited Charles well. He couldn't bear the thought of something unexpected to occur while his pregnant fiancee was still at the camp.

He had already called "their hotel" that they'd had in Tokyo over the July 4th holiday, to make arrangements for their arrival. She would wait there for him, and from there they would be (finally!) flying home to Boston by way of Honolulu, Seattle and Chicago.

Concerned for Margaret's condition, Charles had booked two airline tickets for their journey to Boston, foregoing the military transport they could have used instead. Another benefit of paying their fare home was that they did not have to wait until they could get passage on the next transport plane out of Japan. Commercial was so much easier and less fraught with complications and delays, after all.

Charles took a deep calming breath to soothe his agitation and excitement. He was agitated at seeing her leave, without him there to protect her during this chaotic transition between war and peace, yet also excited about the prospect of going home and introducing Margaret to his world.

He'd already contacted Honoria when the armistice had been declared official. He was pleased to hear that his parents were out of the country, enjoying a summer vacation in Europe. They were not expected to return for another two weeks. He wasn't entirely sure what going from the war zone of Korea back to genteel Boston society would have been like with the added tension of his parents meeting Margaret. Having that buffer of two weeks, with just Margaret, Honoria and himself at the mansion, was infinitely preferable.

By the time Mother and Father returned, he and Margaret would both be well into their wedding arrangements and relatively settled in. More importantly, he thought, Margaret will have had a chance to become more assured in her new surroundings and lifestyle. He was confident Honoria would understand and help her get settled in to what it would mean to be a part of the Winchester family.

Later, when Charles learned of his own "unique" transport out of Korea, he had to smile. It was apropos that he'd leave this garbage heap in a garbage truck, Sgt. Rizzo grumbling the usual bayou nonsense in his ear. As Charles looked at the camp for the very last time, he decided it had not been all bad. He'd saved lives, made lifetime friends, and met the love of his life and the mother of his child.

He pointed forward. "To Kenpo, Rizzo, and don't spare the horses!" he yelled gleefully.

Hours later, he was back in Tokyo, travel bag in hand. He'd sent their luggage on to the airport to be stored until their flight the following afternoon.

The hotel clerk handed him his key. "Here you are, Dr. Winchester. Please let us know if we may be of any assistance to you."

Charles was outside the door to their suite, listening. He heard nothing. Probably asleep, he hoped. He very carefully opened the door and looked around. He found her curled up under a light blanket in the bedroom suite, snoring softly.

His heart gave a startling thump as he knelt by her side, watching her sleep. He wanted so very much to touch her, caress her soft platinum hair and see her beautiful blue eyes, but he didn't want to disturb her very-important sleep. She was now almost two months along in her pregnancy. The fatigue caused by her condition, combined with the arduous trip from Oijongbu to Tokyo, had surely exhausted her. He would leave her be and let her sleep as long as she possibly could.

He quietly returned to the living area and carefully closed the door to their bedroom. He sat down at the desk and opened his briefcase. This would be an excellent time for him to go over their various papers, letters he'd kept with him from home and other documents.

He'd become so engrossed in his work that two hours later, when Margaret opened the bedroom door, he jumped back, startled.

"Darling!" she exclaimed, running to him.

He took her into his arms where he'd longed to have her these many hours, and they stood there, simply holding one another for a time.

They separated enough to enjoy a deep, passionate kiss.

Charles wrapped his arms over her shoulders once more, relieved to be with her once again. "Oh, my love, when you were waving goodbye, I had such fear that I would never see you again during this chaotic time! It was agony to be separated from you!"

She sighed into his chest, feeling safe and secure in his enfolding arms, taking in the scent of him as she loved to do. "I forced myself to think about what lies ahead, flying to Boston and meeting Honoria for starters."

Mention of his sister made Charles leave off the thoughts on "what might have been" and think ahead to their arrival in Boston. He smiled down at her. "Are you nervous about meeting Honoria, Margaret?"

She laughed, "Yes, a little, because I know how important she is to you."

"She is a dear, Margaret, and I'm hoping you two will hit it off. But, of course, I cannot force anything. You'll see. She's utterly charming and quite well-versed in a variety of topics."

"What does she do?"

"Do?"

"Yes, 'do,' as in work? Career?"

"Oh, well," he said, pausing. He thought a moment. What DOES she do? he wondered. "Primarily, she works for Winchester Foundation functions, helping Mother organize events and charities, fund-raising balls, such as that."

"She went to college?"

"Of course she did."

"What did she major in?"

"English literature."

Margaret paused and considered her next question.

Charles felt a little uncomfortable with Margaret's interrogation about his sister. Seeing Honoria from Margaret's point of view disturbed him. He imagined Margaret thought such a role, for a young adult woman, was a waste of time and material. Margaret had been active in a work and career life before she turned eighteen, and had immediately started Nursing School and pursuing her own impressive military career.

"She does more than that, Margaret. Because she does not NEED to work, she fills her days and weeks with a lot of volunteering. For example, she works in various nearby libraries, helping them with their collections of classical literature and music."

Margaret could tell Charles was getting upset, and defensive, about her questioning. She had a little sister herself, but not nearly as close a relationship as he enjoyed with Honoria. She wisely decided to put additional queries on hold for later.

She smiled up at him. "I see. And she's very fortunate to have a big brother who cares so much about her."

"Yes, she is," he smiled back, kissing Margaret lightly on the mouth to halt any further questions for now. She'd have plenty of time to learn more about his sister once they got to Boston.

"Did you rest well, Margaret? Would you like to go out somewhere for dinner tonight, or stay in and order room service? It's entirely up to you!"

She moved in closer to him, rubbing her hands over his chest and shoulders, looking up into his blue eyes. "I rested just fine. Considering we'll be starting the very long process of getting home tomorrow, I thought we could order in and," she paused, looking significantly toward the bedroom, "take advantage of those nice long hot showers again!"

He snuggled his lips on the tender nape of her neck, and muttered, "And that lovely king-sized bed!"

Charles held Margaret on his lap as she slept. They had been traveling for well over a day now. They were on the final leg of their journey, Chicago to Boston. When they boarded, he was pleased to see the First Class section was equipped with extra-wide seats, so Margaret could comfortably nap one more time before they arrived at Logan Airport. She slept more soundly in his arms they learned early in this anfractuous journey, so as soon as she showed signs of fatigue he'd pulled her into his lap to sleep.

He leaned his head back, gazing out the window at the darkly moonlit clouds. He checked his watch once again, happily set to Boston time. He'd despaired at ever seeing this day, this hour, and it had finally arrived. He was going home.

The flight from Chicago to Boston was blessedly the shortest portion of their itinerary, and soon, to Charles' perspective, the announcement of final approach had been made. He awoke Margaret, and she took the chance to use the rest room one more time before they had to fasten their seatbelts.

She freshened up and returned quickly, and they got settled in for the landing. Charles' heart was racing in anticipation of seeing Honoria and Boston again after two years in Japan and Korea. The final seconds, as they descended to the tarmac, were the longest yet.

"Almost there, darling, and Honoria will be there waiting!"

His eyes were so happy and full of excitement, she couldn't help but laugh in response. "Yes, we're almost there!"

He looked out the window as the Boston cityscape became partly visible. He sighed happily, overjoyed to see his city again. Tokyo was nice, but he loved Boston. He couldn't WAIT to give Margaret the grand tour of the city, Cape Cod, the Vineyard, Massachusetts and all of New England. There would be plenty of time for that once she got to know Boston well!

The plane had finished taxiing to the main terminal, the gangway had been set in place, and the two waited in line to exit. Charles had to keep from running across the short distance of tarmac to the waiting area when he spied his tall sister standing on tip-toe, looking for her big brother and his lady.

"Margaret, there she is, come ON!" He had to force his long legs to slow down, to keep from running ahead of her.

She laughed, and waved him on. "I'll see where you go, you go on ahead!"

Charles gave her a quick kiss and ran as fast as he could with two carry-on bags. As he separated from the crowd, Honoria spotted him.

"CHARLES!" she yelled, waving furiously.

Margaret saw a tall, slender woman with shoulder-length, soft brown hair. She was wearing a lovely navy blue and white dress with tastefully matched accessories. Margaret smiled as she saw Charles drop their bags and pick up his little sister, both with arms wrapped tightly around one another's necks. He swung her around, and she was laughing and crying at the same time.

"Oh, Ch-charles, I am s-s-so very happy to s-s-see you!" she said in his ear, the tears streaming down her face. She had her big brother back, alive and well after the ordeal he'd endured for two years.

He held the back of her head and snuggled against her neck like he used to do when she was a toddler, and he was trying to get her to laugh. "I know, dear sister, I know." He was so overwhelmed that he let his own tears fall, not caring if anyone saw. He was home, safe and alive, and he was with his sister once more.

He heard Margaret clearing her throat behind him. He released his sister, keeping one arm around her thin shoulders, and wiped the residual tears from his eyes and cheeks. He held out his other hand to Margaret, drawing her to them.

"Honoria, I'd like you to meet Margaret Houlihan."