John Price had never really dared think what his life would be once he retired. His career had been his sole drive for so many years of his life that it was almost scary to imagine doing anything else. Yet, now the time had come and gone, it didn't seem so scary anymore...

Nestled among rolling acres of the English countryside, the cottage he'd purchased after his honourable discharge from service sat like a forgotten gem. It's thatched roof golden beneath the warm afternoon sun. Wisteria and ivy curled almost lazily in its climb up the beige stone walls, their tendrils creeping over the weathered wood of the forever-open shutters on the windows. The chimney, stout and ever so slightly crooked, puffed out faint wisps of grey smoke; the sign of a crackling fire within.

A wooden gate stood at the bottom of his front garden, a tad ajar, creaking softly in the pleasant breeze. A narrow gravel path winding all the way to the cottage's front door, lined with lavender and wild daisies. Bee's humming contently as they fly amongst the flowers; their droning song blending in with the distant bleat of sheep from the farmlands nearby.

A few miles down the old dirt road at the edge of John's property, the hedgerows simply brimming with blackberries ripe for the picking, lay a small town with red-bricked houses and a sleepy marketplace that spoke volumes of the quiet, unhurried life he'd taken to. The church spire standing tall above it all, its bells occasionally chiming out over the valley, calling to the farmers and townsfolk alike to mark another passed hour.

This was the life that the ex-Captain had served his country so mightily for. And after retiring at the respectable age of thirty-eight, he found himself very much enjoying his quieter life.

It was a peaceful life, nothing like the horrors he'd been witness to out in the field, and while he knew that same darkness still lurked out there somewhere; John found his days brighter now he was home with you.

"Baking again, sweetheart?" John asked with a fond smile tugging at his lips, coming up behind you in the kitchen; arms wrapping around your waist and guiding you to softly sway from side to side as his chin fell onto your shoulder.