Denny Brosch at a table in the back corner of a tavern. His mind wandered to his partner, Maria Ross. He thought about her often these days. He still couldn't believe she was gone, but her bracelet had been on the scorched remains, and the dental records had matched up.
I'll kill you Mustang, you bastard, he thought for the millionth time. Since Ross's death, he had realized how important she had been to him. His life seemed empty and boring without her by his side.
Suddenly, a man ran into the building and yelled for the barkeep to to turn the radio to a certain station. After a brief argument, he complied. The voice of a man and the Fuhrer's wife came on. Several people in the tavern ran over to the bar to listen, Brosch included.
"And now, a word from one of our soldiers," the man on the radio announced. A woman started speaking, and Brosch's voice caught in his throat. She sounded like – but that was impossible; Ross was dead. Still, he couldn't help but feel hopeful. He'd recognize that voice anywhere. His eyes teared up and he smiled. Somehow, Ross was still alive!
There was talk of negotiating with the rebels. When it was time to pick someone to go in and carry out the negotiations, Brosch volunteered instantly. Maybe the woman who had spoken on the radio would be there, and he had to know if it really was Ross.
Brosch followed behind two soldiers bearing large shields. They stopped a few feet away from the doors of the radio station and Brosch stepped out from behind them. He raised his hands to show that he was unarmed, and slowly walked forward. His mouth dried suddenly. Suppose he got shot before he could complete his mission? He had to find out if Ross was somehow still alive.
He walked through the open door and paused, eyes locked with a large man with a gun. When the man didn't make a move to shoot, Brosch continued. He turned towards a group of people and stopped dead in his tracks. There at the front stood Maria Ross, smiling at him. She really was still alive!
His look of shock changed to glee and he leaped towards her, arms stretched wide. Her smile changed to an expression he couldn't quite describe. Startled? Panicked?
He crushed her to him in a tight hug. She hugged him back and pressed her face against his chest. She hadn't realized until that moment how much she'd missed him. She'd felt bad letting him believe she was dead, but she couldn't risk having the wrong people find out. She tilted her head back to tell him this, but his lips captured hers before she could say anything.
Eventually Brosch pulled away, then he stepped back and blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I –" he began.
"It's okay," Ross cut him off. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, and smiled up at him. "Sorry I couldn't tell you before, but I'm alive!"
"But Mustang – "
"Had it all planned. He made a fake body to burn and put my bracelet on it. It's thanks to him I escaped."
Brosch stared at her for a minute, then pulled her back into his embrace. "Please don't leave me alone ever again"
"I won't. I'm back to stay."
Right, so that's the end :) What do you think? Please review! I love getting told what I did good with, or what needs some improvement. A little extra tidbit at the bottom if anyone's interested.
A few days later, Brosch and Ross walked down the street, side-by-side. Brosch reached into his pocket and closed his hand around a bracelet. He was supposed to have given it to Ross's parents when he had to tell them that she had died, but he hadn't been able to part with it. It had been all he had left of her. He stopped walking. "Hey, Maria, I've got something for you," he said.
Ross stopped and looked back. "What is it?" she asked.
"Close your eyes and hold out your hand." She did, and he pulled the bracelet out of his pocket and clipped it on her wrist. "There."
Ross opened her eyes. She looked down at her wrist and gasped. It was her bracelet. A little burnt, but still. She grinned up at Brosch.
"Hawkeye gave it to me after you died. I thought you might like to have it back," he said, blushing. "That sounded weird, didn't it?"
Ross stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she said.