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 WARNING: This story includes sexually explicit material.

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   The Time of Her Life by Vickie Morgan

   PART FIVE

   Over the next few months Bill spent all his spare moments thinking up
ways to spend his next twenty-four hours with Verity.  He thought up plan
after plan, trying to think of things she had never had a chance to
experience before.  He found that he missed her just as much as before but
it was different this time.  Now he knew why she had left he wasn't
tormented by theories of where she was or who she was with.  Instead when
he missed her he could look at her photograph and remember the time they
had enjoyed together.  His flat was filled with reminders of her now. 
Everything he did, whether he was sitting by his pond or mopping the
bathroom floor, evoked memories of Verity.

   At last it was Halloween.  Bill had ensured that he got plenty of sleep
beforehand so he could enjoy the twenty-four hours as much as possible.  As
the station clock struck midnight, he was stood on the platform near the
spot where he had last seen Verity.  Because he was looking for her, he
spotted the first faint shimmer that gradually firmed into her outline. 
Her eyes were closed and she swayed for a moment as her body took form and
substance.  Then she opened her eyes and smiled at Bill.

   "I'm back," she announced.  "Since I missed out on my good-bye kiss, can
I have two hello kisses instead?"

   "You can have all the kisses you want," Bill said, sweeping her into his
arms.  He held her tight, convincing himself that she was real flesh and
blood and not a figment of his imagination.  "Welcome back," he said,
showering kisses over every inch of her face.

   "It's so nice to have you right here waiting for me," Verity told him.
"Thank you for being here again."

   "It's my pleasure," Bill assured her.  "Come on, give me that bag and
let's get out of this depressing place."

   "That's fine by me," Verity said.  "Are we going to your flat?"

   "We can do," Bill replied.  "I did have another plan though.  If you
hate the idea it doesn't matter, but I thought I'd give you the option."

   "What's the plan?" Verity inquired.

   "How would you like to go on holiday?" Bill asked.  "My uncle has a time
share in the Canary Islands we can have the use of.  A plane leaves from
Newcastle airport in just over an hour that can take us there.  It will be
hot and sunny and since it's a timeshare I can book now to make sure I'm
there to meet you in February 2000.  But if you hate the idea, there's lots
of other things we can do."

   "No, I love it," Verity told him enthusiastically.  "It's a wonderful
plan.  But what am I going to do for clothes or a passport?  I don't have
any kind of birth certificate you know."

   "I know it's not strictly legal but I borrowed a passport from my
cousin. You look vaguely alike, same height, same colouring.  They don't
look that closely at the pictures so I think we'll get away with it.  If
they do spot anything, we'll just say we picked up the wrong passport by
mistake," Bill said.  "And I've brought you stacks of summer clothes so you
should be able to find something you like.  I even remembered your red
bikini that you left in my car.  So what do you say?  Do you fancy the
idea?"

   "Let me see, do I want to go on an aeroplane, something I've always
dreamed of doing, so I can spend the day under a hot sun with the man I
love?  You have to ask me if it's something I fancy doing?" Verity asked
teasingly.  "Come on, if we miss that flight I'll be devastated.  You have
the best ideas, Bill!"

   Verity was bubbling over with excitement all the way through their
journey.  The airport fascinated her and she wasn't the least bit
frightened during the take-off.  Bill managed to convince the cabin crew to
let her have a tour of the cockpit, which thrilled her.  When they landed
it was still dark but by the time they reached the apartment complex and
unpacked the sun was up.  Bill had to persuade Verity to stop and have some
breakfast before they headed out to the beach, she was so eager to get
going.

   They were among the first tourists on the beach and they wandered along
the water's edge until they found a small cove they liked the look of. 
There was a small stone circle, just big enough for the two of them.  Once
inside, they were sheltered from the wind and curious eyes.  They spent the
whole day there until sundown.  They played in the waves and built
sandcastles on the beach.  Verity hadn't wanted to bother with sunblock but
Bill insisted, not wanting her to get burnt.  When she found it meant that
he regularly rubbed the cool liquid all over her skin she soon warmed to
the idea and insisted on making sure he was protected from the sun too. 
Inevitably they would end up making love, the sun and their exertions
coating their bodies with slippery sweat.  Then they dived in the ocean to
clean up and had to reapply the sunblock.

   Bill had brought Verity a selection of dresses to choose from, and he
took her out to the best restaurant on the island.  They had a wonderful
evening that was the perfect end to their day.  As it approached midnight,
they walked back down to the beach and chose a spot for Verity to disappear
from.

   Verity had been anxious that something would happen to prevent Bill
meeting her on the beach over three years later.  Bill had carefully
planned things though and everything worked out exactly to schedule.  He
had even managed to find a flight that landed back in Newcastle just before
midnight on February 29th.  They had another wonderful day in the sun, then
they found a quiet corner of the arrivals lounge and Verity disappeared.

   On the following Halloween, Bill was late to meet Verity for the first
time.  There had been an accident on the motorway and he had been
considerably delayed.  He ran into the arrivals lounge of Newcastle
airport, over half an hour late.  They had arranged to meet at the coffee
shop should they miss each other for any reason, so Bill headed straight
there.  He was relieved to spot her immediately, but then his heart sank as
he noticed she was quietly crying into her tea.

   "Verity, darling, I'm so sorry I was late," he said, taking her hand. 
"I didn't mean to be and I'm going to make sure I never am again."

   "It's not that," Verity replied, tears still trickling down her face. 
"I just know you are going to hate me."

   "Verity!" Bill protested indignantly.  "I can't think of anything you
could possibly do that could make me hate you.  What are you talking
about?"

   "This," she said, and stood up.  Bill's jaw dropped open as he took in
the swell of her pregnant stomach stretching her dress.

   "This is a practical joke, right?" he asked unsteadily.  "You've stuffed
a pillow or something up there."

   "No," Verity told him sadly.  "This is a real baby.  I didn't know this
could happen."

   "Neither did I," Bill said.  "If I had known I'd have taken
precautions."

   "It's not your fault, Bill," Verity reassured him.  "I did have a period
one day, back in 1964.  I should have been more careful.  But it's my
responsibility, not yours, Bill."

   "You know, I never thought I'd be angry with you Verity but I am now,"
Bill said.  "You are the woman I love, that baby is as much mine as yours,
the result of our love.  How dare you say I have no responsibilities?"

   Verity smiled at him through her tears.  "That's exactly why I love you
Bill," she confessed.  "I've been sat here thinking you would be so upset
and I forgot what a wonderful, caring man you are." She suddenly stopped
talking and gripped the table, her face contorted with pain.

   "Verity, are you OK?" Bill asked, putting his arm round her.  "Here sit
down.  What's wrong?  Is the baby kicking you?"

   "Not exactly," Verity told him.  "It's a contraction.  My waters broke
almost the moment I got here and the contractions are getting more
frequent. The baby is trying to be born."

   "What!  Right now," Bill demanded.

   "Believe me, it was as big a shock to me as it is to you," Verity said
wryly.  "What are we going to do, Bill?  I can't go to a hospital.  How am
I supposed to fill in the paperwork?  Date of Birth, February 29th 1900,
that's going to go down well."

   "Don't panic," Bill said, producing his mobile phone.  "One of my
sisters-in-law is a midwife.  I'm going to phone her and get her to meet
us. It's going to take at least half an hour to get to the flat, do you
think you can last that long?"

   "I think so.  But Bill, I'm not full term.  It's only been eight months.
And who knows what happened to the baby when I disappeared.  What if
there's complications?" Verity asked.  "I don't want our baby to suffer
because of me."

   "If there's complications we'll deal with them when they happen," Bill
replied firmly.  "If necessary, we'll go to the hospital and just lie on
the forms.  But worrying is not going to help anyone.  Now I'm going to
bring the car round to the entrance and I'll meet you there.  Can you
manage to walk there OK?"

   "I'll be fine," Verity said bravely.  "If I get another contraction I'll
just sit down on someone's suitcase until it passes.  But Bill, please
hurry."

   It was the most nerve-wracking journey of Bill's life.  He drove as fast
as he dared.  He had put Verity in the back and in his mirror he could see
her biting her lip as the contractions increased in frequency and
intensity. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic in the early hours of a
Tuesday morning, not even on the A1.  When they reached his flat, his
brother and his sister-in-law were already waiting.  Between the three of
them, they managed to get Verity inside and settled on the bed.

   Bill hoped he never had to go through such a terrifying time ever again.
He refused to leave Verity's side but stayed with her throughout.  He put
cool cloths on her forehead and let her squeeze his hand until the bones
creaked in protest.  The sight of Verity's blood turned his stomach but his
sister-in-law seemed confident enough.  Halfway through his parents arrived
with an aunt who had assisted at lots of births.  Bill knew he would have
lots of questions to answer later but for now his family were just being
supportive.  Eventually, after several stressful hours, he heard a weak cry
and his sister-in-law held up his newborn child.

   "It's a girl," she announced.  The babe was wiped and wrapped in a warm
blanket and passed to the exhausted Verity.  Bill looked down in wonder at
the pink wrinkled face, unable to believe that he had just become a father.

   "Are there any complications?" he asked anxiously, looking at Verity's
pale face.  "Are they both OK?"

   "Everything looks fine," his aunt reassured him.  "It was a long labour
so it's natural for Verity to be so tired.  And the baby is slightly
smaller than normal but you did say she was a month early.  It would be
advisable to get them checked out by a doctor, just in case."

   "No doctors," Verity murmured, cuddling her child.  She rested her head
against Bill's chest with a sigh and smiled up at him.

   "Don't worry," Bill told her.  "I'm going to take care of everything."
He looked up to see his aunt and sister-in-law regarding him
disapprovingly. "It's complicated," he said defensively.

   "What about your cousin Wasim?" his Dad suggested.  "He's almost a
doctor.  He'd be better than no one."

   "Yeah, thanks, Dad," Bill said.  "Would you mind giving him a call for
us?"

   "Right, and now the rest of you need to get out too," his sister-in-law
said firmly.  "The new mother needs to rest and regain her strength and no
doubt the baby could do some peace as well.  If you just sit in that chair
for a moment, Verity, we'll get this bed changed and then you can settle
down for a nap."

   Verity passed him their daughter while she moved as instructed.  Bill
held the tiny bundle containing his child as carefully as possible,
terrified that he would drop it.  Then the baby's eyes fluttered open and
looked directly at him.  Bill looked back in wonder, immensely flattered
when she blew a few bubbles.

   "She smiled at me," he announced proudly.  "Verity, she looked at me and
smiled.  She's got your wonderful smile."

   "And your beautiful eyes," Verity said.

   "What are we going to call her," Bill asked, tenderly placing the baby
in Verity's arms.

   "How about 'Dawn' in memory of that morning at Washington Monument,"
Verity suggested.

   "You old romantic," Bill teased, smoothing a lock of Verity's hair back
from her face.  "I'd like to call her 'Hope' as well."

   "Why Hope," Verity asked.  "I like it, it's a lovely name but why did
you pick it?"

   "Because this miracle has given me hope that your curse may be broken,"
Bill told her.  Verity cast a worried glance at the members of his family
that were still lingering.  "Don't worry, I'm going to have to tell some of
them all about it anyway," Bill said.  "But don't you think that this may
change things.  It all started with your birth at the beginning of this
century and now you've had a child right at the end of the century.  And
unlike your poor mother, you gave birth surrounded by a loving family and I
love you and the baby.  Surely that's enough to break any curse."

   "Do you think it's possible?" Verity asked uncertainly.

   "Yes, I do," Bill said firmly.  "And so will you, if you just think
about it.  Now I know you hate to sleep, but this time you need to rest. 
I'll stay until you doze off and I'll wake you up in a couple of hours as
you'll both be hungry by then."

   As he had expected, Bill faced a barrage of questions from his family.
He told them as much as he thought they would understand.  When most of
them had left to see what they could find in the way of baby clothes and
equipment, Bill took his Dad aside and told him the full story and his
plans.  Although he was concerned for both Bill and Verity and Hope, his
Dad was amazingly supportive and understanding.

   The day passed quickly with Bill's family arriving with gifts and
congratulations.  Verity was overwhelmed by their kindness and Hope was
soon ensconced in a cradle, wrapped up in a pair of pyjamas much too big
for her and an embroidered blanket.  Bill couldn't keep the proud smile off
his face ashe watched his family welcome Verity and Hope into their midst.

   Finally, everyone went home and Bill and Verity were alone with their
new daughter.  Bill sat in the big armchair, Verity sat on his knees
holding Hope in her arms.  As the hands on the clock approached midnight
they both grew silent.

   "I'd best get ready, just in case," Verity said eventually.

   "No," Bill said holding her tight.  "The curse is broken, you just have
to believe that."

   "But what if it isn't," Verity asked.  "What if you're wrong?"

   "If I'm wrong, then whatever happens to you will just have to happen to
me and Hope too," Bill said firmly.

   "Bill, no," Verity protested.  "I'm not going to risk that, not for you
or Hope."

   "So what are we supposed to do?" Bill asked.  "A little girl needs her
mother, especially when she's not even a day old.  And what happens as she
grows up, how is she going to have any kind of relationship with you when
you'll miss most of her childhood?  You can't tell me that's what you want.
And what about me?  It tears my heart out each time you leave and it feels
like half of my soul is missing until you return."

   "So what are you planning on doing?" Verity inquired.

   "Nothing, since I'm convinced Hope has broken your curse," Bill told her
calmly.  "But if by any chance you do go, well Hope and I will be coming
with you."

   "Bill, are you absolutely sure?" Verity asked.

   "More sure than I've ever been of anything in my life.  I love you,
Verity, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, not waiting for
you."

   "Oh Bill, I love you too." They shared a long lingering kiss, and then
Verity rested her head on his shoulder.  Bill wrapped his arms around his
family and held them close as he watched the clock strike midnight.

   Copyright Vickie Morgan, 2000 E-mail artemis55@hotmail.com Website,
still in the process of being completed:
http://members.tripod.com/VickieMorgan/

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