Per Ardua Ad Astra // G. Lee

III

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.