The ETIA Files: Across Time and Space

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to War Horse, either the play, the book or the film. I only own my OCs.

This story is dedicated to a very dear friend of mine, and her gorgeous little niece born only a short while ago. I won't write her name here, but she knows who she is.

10:59 am, 11th November 2014

Jim stared down at the white tombstone before him. The cool winter breeze lifted the golden curls on his brow, grown out from his former military haircut. His dark coat cleaved to his body, now strong and recovered from the bullet wounds that almost claimed his life, over a century ago.

It had been a remarkable two years since his rescue and relocation in the 21st Century. His and Louisa's marriage went from strength to strength, and their business was booming. One of their foals was even short-listed to compete in the next Olympic Games in 2016. Their life was good.

But today was the hundredth anniversary of the First World War, the first Remembrance Day in the centenary. Jim glanced down at the red poppy on his lapel, and inhaled tightly.

It was a remarkable world they lived, nowadays. At once both more free and more restrictive than the one he'd been born to. More tolerant and more censorious than ever. Wars raged and people died; people loved and lived; people suffered and strove for freedom. Were it not for Louisa, Jim knew he'd have been lost long ago. He shuddered to imagine his life without his endlessly forbearing and brilliant wife. He had no doubt it would have been naught but a nightmare of shadows and bitter regret.

He'd recovered most of the movement in his arm and shoulder, even enough to ride again. Jake was given a regular work-out, alongside his wife's favourite horse, a plucky, fiercely brave mare called Sissi.

They'd kept in regular touch with Jack Stewart over the years. ETIA still existed, but Jack, who'd replaced the former CO only six months before, had put a stop to the retrieval missions for good. He often came to the stud farm on weekends to visit his friends and goddaughter.

Yes, Jim had much to be thankful for. As he stared down at the grave of his most constant friend, and the man who'd made everything possible, he couldn't feel anything but gratitude. As he knelt down and placed a small bouquet of poppies at the foot of the tombstone, he felt the first drops of rain against his forehead.

"Thank you, Jamie," he whispered. "Be at peace."

And he hoped, with all his heart, that he was. A soft noise drew him to his feet, just as a artillery gun sounded in the town, and outside the crowd gathered around the memorial cenotaph lapsed into silence.

Jim silently went to join his wife and daughter, as Louisa's hand clasped his and little Vivian Mariah Nicholls reached out to her father. He took her and soothed her restless cries at the cannons, repressing his own reaction to them, even two years after he'd last heard the sound of weapons fire. He pressed his lips against the bright red curls of his daughter's head, as Louisa's hand squeezed his in silent sympathy. He clung to it, to her, and the cold sting of her wedding ring against his fingers.

The gun salute ended, and the Last Post rang out across the cemetery. Outside, the gathered crowd paid their respects to the fallen who died to protect their country. Beside Jamie Stewart's grave, Jim paid his last respects to the friend who had given his second chance at life.

As the minute's silence elapsed, Jim breathed freer. He looked down at Louisa, who only smiled understandingly, and leant up to kiss his cheek as Vivian rested her head against his lapel, plucking and fiddling with the scarlet paper of the poppy beside her cheek.

Finis

A/N: As you will have guessed, there is more to the story and ETIA is not finished with me yet. There will be five more stories in this series, and with the next three directly linked to this one.

Full Circle will follow the journey of Jane Caledon, Louisa's former MI6 agent friend who was MIA at the end of this story, and her encounter with a haunted, depressed Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Stewart.

The Once and Future Queen, and Come Back To Me, will follow the exploits of Lieutenant Kat Hewson, the granddaughter of Louisa and Jim, and her entanglements with Henry V.

Seabound will follow the story of Lieutenant Commander Isabelle Jamieson of ETIA, and her attempts to protect Lieutenants Hornblower and Bush at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars.

The Greatest Story Never Told will tell the continuing story of Agent Sally Sparrow, our favourite would-be companion from 'Blink', and the moment her path collides again with the Doctor, although not the Doctor she remembers.

Thank you one and all for your support over the course of writing this story. I really appreciated each and every one of your reviews, and look forward to writing more for the ETIA Files in the future. See you then!