Stupid - John Shelby (ON HOLD)

15. Harry was it? •

After a few days the women and Finn realized that something was wrong. Even though the boys were happy to be home, they seemed to have trouble adjusting to their old life. It was on day two that Vin had noticed Jamie didn't sleep, she would wake up at night, hearing his footsteps as he walked around in his room.

"I don't know what to do to be frank" she said in an exhale, speaking to all the women in the  kitchen. Polly and Ada had stopped by the Lynn household that afternoon for some tea. Jamie was spending some alone time with his daughter and the other boys were at the garrison.

"Me neither.. they all wake up screaming in the middle of the night" Polly muttered in obvious concern.

"They wake up screaming? Because of their dreams?" Vin asked in horror. Her and Mary didn't experience this with Jamie, maybe because he hardly slept at all.

"Well I assume, they won't actually tell me why they wake up or what they are dreaming about" Polly explained and Mary nodded in agreement, she had probably also tried to speak to Jamie without any luck.

"Well, I think we just have to be a little patient" Mary said, calming the women down. "They have only been home for two days, that's hardly enough time to make up for four years, they'll come around" Vin nodded in agreement and the others seemed pleased with the explanation for now. When the tea was finished the girls started to clear out. Mary and Polly went to join the boys at the garrison. This left Winifred and Ada, an opportunity both of the girls had been waiting for. They hadn't been alone in almost three days and there was a lot to talk about now that the boys were home.

As the door slammed shut Vin opened her mouth immediately. "So, tell me everything! How does it feel to have a full house once again?" She looked at Ada with excited eyes.

"To tell ya the truth, it's fucking strange" Ada began with wide eyes. Vin could tell from the way she twisted her bracelets that Ada had a lot to get off her mind. "They have changed a lot you know, and I can't decide if it good or bad"

"How have they changed?"

"Well for start, Tommy is... I don't know how to describe it, but he doesn't smile anymore. He's very serious and have been spending all his time in the shop or at the Garrison". Vin wrinkled her eyebrows at this. It was hard to imagine Tommy not smiling while surrounded by his friends. "And Arthur, he is usually himself, you know, loud and loving. But he's spent most time since getting back being drunk out of his mind, and when he is really out of it he starts to talk about brain ghosts and that he's a monster" Ada also had a crease between her eyes now. It was hard for her to see Arthur drink his ghosts away. Vin took her hand and squeezed it showing her best friend that she would help her every step of the way. "John is like a mix between the two I guess... He also doesn't smile as much, though a lot more than Tommy, and he drinks a lot too, he almost got in to a fight at the bar yesterday, and that riled Arthur up so Tommy stepped in and soothed the situation" Vin didn't wan't to react so much by the news about John, but she couldn't help the worry she felt in her heart.

"It'll be fine Ada, like mum said, they have only been home for a couple of days. They probably just need some more time to adjust" She tried to convince herself just as much as she did Ada. "I just got to ask you though.. How did it feel to see Jamie?" Vin tried to change the subject, for both sakes. She was surprised though, when Ada almost didn't react at all.

"Honestly, I was mostly happy for him" She said, and a little smile was creeping up her face. Not a smile that suggested she loved him, but one that said she cared about his wellbeing. "There will always be a piece of me that belongs to him, but after seeing him being reunited with his daughter, I'm just happy he has that. I feel like i'm ready to give my heart to someone else" Vin let out a silly little screech of happiness and stood up to walk around the table to hug her best friend.