AN:Okay, so, this story is vaguely shippish. Yes, I do indeed ship Martha/Ilse. But it isn't anything too wild.

As others formed a line to give their condolences to Herr and Frau Stiefel, Ilse's eyes wandered back to the gravesite they had just left, to the small figure huddled beside it. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. She could go back, no one would miss her, no one would even notice. She adjusted the hems of her skirt, making her way slowly over, and sat on the ground next to the girl already there. The grass was cool, damp from the recent rain, but she didn't mind. She simply sat there in silence, waiting for some kind of reaction from the girl beside her.

She could see a dark hand raise from the corner of her eyes, watch the path it followed as it swiped at stubborn tears streaming down a smooth, round cheek. She could feel those large, dark eyes lock on her, feel the tension in them without even looking. She could hear how ragged Martha's breathing was. She wanted to pull her close, kiss her, tell her that everything was okay, but she didn't. This wasn't the place. Besides, she didn't think she had the nerve, bold as she was.

Finally, Martha broke the silence. "He's gone." Her voice came out hopeless, broken. She almost sounded abandoned. Ilse could only nod in response. The silence stretched between them again. Ilse counted the seconds in her head, glancing over at Martha when she reached the minute mark. She looked so broken, more broken than Ilse had ever seen her. Ashamed to look so broken,,,

Martha broke into a fresh round of sobs, hiding her face in Ilse's shoulder. She could feel the girl's tears on her skin now, warm and sticky. "He's gone," the other girl repeated through a sob as Ilse wrapped her arms around her.

She began to rub Martha's back gently as she leaned in to whisper comfortingly in the girl's ear. "Gone to sing with the angels," she said gently, planting a kiss on Martha's cheek. No one would find that strange. "Looking down on us right now," She shifted slightly now, fixing one of Martha's braids. "Missing us I bet, but he's alright now Martha. He's found peace…"She let her words fade, rubbing Martha's back once more. Neither girl said anything else, just sat there, Ilse watching the sun glide across the sky and disappear.