Sarah gasped again. He’d finally said the words she’d so wanted him to say. ‘Danny. I’m so glad. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Why wouldn’t I? Your heart condition makes no difference to me – it’s part of you and that’s all there is to it.’

It was Danny’s turn to look sheepish. ‘I should have known you’d say that. I was too afraid to ask you. I should have trusted you in that, like I do in every other way.’

‘Yes, Danny, you should,’ Sarah said emphatically. ‘We trust each other about everything, don’t we?’

Danny nodded. It was true. He could say anything to this woman, knowing she wouldn’t be shocked or horrified or let him down. ‘There is something else,’ he said quietly.

She looked at him intently.

‘All those boffins down there, they came from all sorts of backgrounds, had all manner of connections. I happened to mention why I’d ended up in my line of work, you know, not being able to join up for the other services, and why. One of them had a brother who was a doctor based at a big hospital down that way. He got me sent there on a day off, for tests.’ His hand began to shake a little as she held it. ‘He said I’m not as bad as they first thought. My heart will never be normal, but there’s new medicine being developed all the time. Basically, unless I’m really unlucky, it’s actually not very likely I’ll pop my clogs any time soon, after all.’

‘Danny, that’s wonderful.’ Sarah could feel her eyes were brimming with tears. No matter what she said, the fear of suddenly losing Danny at a moment’s notice had been there since she’d first found out about him, almost at the beginning of the war. She knew she’d love him, no matter what – but to have the unexpected gift of a proper future with him, not one curtailed by the threat of illness or untimely death, was more than she had ever hoped for.

‘Well, I think so.’ He grinned widely, the tension broken, and then they were standing and rushing into one another’s arms, kissing as if they were making up for lost time and celebrating the time they now could look forward to together.

A noise from the hallway upstairs startled them and they pulled apart, just as Tommy came sleepily into the room. ‘Hello, Sarah,’ he said, taking her familiar presence for granted. ‘Oh, good, you’ve made toast. Don’t you want all of yours?’ he asked, noticing the pieces they’d left forgotten when the conversation became too important. ‘I’ll have it then.’ He swept the remaining pieces on to one plate and began to munch them eagerly, completely oblivious to the scene he’d just interrupted.