Gilbert's Point Of View

"Yes! I found the apple tree!"

As the awesome me climbs the tree, I hear a soft whimper and a gasp. I look around for the source of the noise. I'm about to give up when a few meters away, a clump of bushes rustle. I let my curiosity get the better of the awesome me. I finally find out what was making the noise. It was none other than Elizaveta.

Elizaveta's Point Of View

I can feel the pain of my cuts and bruises as I finally stop moving. I can't move any more, the pain is too much. I examine the slash on my stomach. It doesn't appear to be deep, but the blood is seeping through my rag of a shirt. I'm trying to think of what else to use when I hear it.

"Kesesese!" Gilbert's laugh, dang it!

I look up to see him starring at me with that stupid smirk of his.

"Vell if it isn't Elizaveta. Kesesese!"

"Shut up Gilbert, why don't you just leave me alo-"

Gilbert's Point Of View

I watch as Elizaveta stops in the middle of her sentence with a gasp of pain. Now I notice her face is pale and covered in sweat. Her hands are covered in blood and so is her shirt. I can tell she is in deep pain and it looks like she is about to lose consciousness.

Elizaveta's Point Of View

I feel my head becoming lighter and lighter. I start seeing dots swimming in my vision. The last thing I see before everything goes black is a pair of garnet eyes.

Gilbert's Point Of View

I notice she is about to fall and quickly catch her. I pick her up bridal style and start running for West's house which is luckily near by. I get to the door and kick it in, knowing I will pay for it later. I yell for West to bring a medical kit fast. I hear him thunder down the stairs as I lay her down. He stops when he sees her laying limp on the table.

"Vhat happened?!"

"I don't know; I found her this vay."

"Vhere is she hurt?"

"Her arms are cut and bruised, I think her ankle is hurt, and she has a bump on her head."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I know of. She has a lot of blood on her hands and shirt."

"Gilbert, lift up her shirt."

"Vhat?!"

"Not like that! There is a lot of blood, she is probably hurt there,"

I do as he says, and I find a long gash on her stomach. It isn't very deep, thank heavens. I can't believe how beat up she is. Elizveta isn't weak. She is very strong, especially when she has her frying pan. Just thinking about it brings back horrible memories. So how could anyone hurt her? Why would anyone hurt her?

"GILBERT!"

"Vhat?"

"Pay attention! If you're going to pass out, go ahead and leave."

"I'm too awesome to pass out, what do you need my help with?"

Time Skip to 30 minutes

"Is she going to be ok now?"

"Ja, the stitches will hold, and she didn't lose too much blood."

"Vhy would someone do this?"

"I don't know vhy, but let me tell you this: whoever did this is going to pay and feel the pain 10 times worse than she did. They will regret this and wish they were dead."

I look at my bruder, thinking what he might be thinking. I know he trusted and respected Elizaveta and cared for her like a sister, thanks to Feliciano. Oh no, Feliciano! He was going to flip when he saw her.

"West, what are you going to do about Feliciano?"

"Vell, I guess we just tell him."

"Are you nuts? He is going to flip!"

"Who is going to flip?"

I turn to find Feliciano walking in to the kitchen. I can tell from West's expression that he knew he was coming in. I watch as he finally looks at the table after staring at us. A dismayed and confused expression crosses his face as his knees buckle and he starts to fall. He nearly hits the ground before West catches him. He turns toward me.

"I'm going to go put him in his room. You should look for her some clothes to wear when she comes to."

"Ok." I turn but West's next words stop me.

"Gil, don't worry too much. She will be fine. She's strong willed. Plus, she got patched up just in time. If you hadn't found her when you did she wouldn't be here."

I smile at his words. I know he is trying to cheer me up, but I can't help but worry. Yes, the awesome me can worry. I glance towards Elizveta once more before leaving. I go to my room in the basement. After a lengthy search for clean clothes, I finally find some decent clothes for her to wear after tearing through everything in my room. I go upstairs and place them on the table beside her. It's unsettling to see her like this. I sit in the chair with my back to the hall. I look at her face and her hair. She still has a flower in her hair, which makes me remember that day long ago. I'm still watching her when I hear a cough from behind me. I turn to see West with two beers in his hand. He hands me one and takes a swig of his. We sit in silence for a few minutes before he breaks it.

"You love her, don't you?"

"No," I look away, feeling a slight blush dust my cheeks.

"Ja, you do. I can tell."

"How?"

"Easy, you look at her the same way Feliciano does to people he cares a lot for."

"I look at her like Feliciano does you."

He sighs a little when I say that.

"I still don't see why people say that."

"Kesesese!"

"Why don't you just admit it?"

"Because it saves the pain."

"Pain?"

"She loves Roderich, not me. She chose him, not me. Besides, she doesn't even vant to be around me anymore."

"Wow."

"Yep. l I'm going to bed. Wake me if she gets up."

Elizaveta's Point Of View

I wake to find I am lying on a table. I turn to find clothes placed beside me, and that I have been bandaged up. Even my ankle is wrapped up. I sit up, wincing at the pain, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I slide off the table and manage to land on my good ankle. I hobble out of the kitchen and start looking for a bathroom. I barely make it down the hall when I notice I am breathing hard. I go toward the wall to help support myself, but instead I end up sliding down to rest. As I rest, I look around to see where I am. There are no pictures or flags on the walls to give me an idea. Then it all comes back: Gilbert laughing at me when he found me. He must have brought me to West's house.

"You should rest."

I turn to see him leaning against the door to the living room. Watching me. I'm probably still pale and look like I've been in a train wreck. I realize I haven't answered him.

"I am resting." I give him a smile.

He just shakes his head causing some of his bangs to fall which he slicks back.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Vhat are you doing, anyways?"

"I was looking for the bathroom to change, but it wore me out."

"I see. You need to take it easy, ok? Here, let me help you."

i take the hand he offers me and he pulls me up like I'm weightless. He then takes me down the hall to the bathroom.

"Do you vant me to vait?"

"No, it's ok. I'll holler if I need you, ok?" I give him a weak smile.

He turns to leave, but I grab his arm.

"Hey, West? Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. If it's ok, Feliciano vants to see you."

"Sure, just let me make myself presentable. I look like a train wreck."

"Ok."

Gilbert's Point Of View

I wake to the sound of laughter coming from upstairs. Wait, laughter? She's awake! Grrrr! He didn't wake me up! I go to the mirror to see how bad my bed head is when I stop. Of course he didn't wake me. She doesn't want to see me, that's why. I'm turning to return to my bed when I hear the door open and the sound of boots.

"Vhat do you vant, bruder?"

"You told me to wake you up when she vas awake."

So he was going to wake me up. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to judge. Oh vell.

"How is she?"

"I'm going to be honest. She is still weak from her wound. She puts a smile on her face, but I know the difference. She needs rest. Lots of it."

"I see. Is she talking to Feliciano?"

"Ja."

"Then she will heal up in no time."

"Vhy do you say that?"

"She cares for him like a brother. Plus, he makes anyone smile or feel better. He is like a little ball of sunshine."

He gives a small smile at this. He looks at me then gestures with his head at the stairs.

"Do you think it's ok?"

"Vhat are you going to do, avoid her the whole time?"

"I could try."

"Gilbert, don't. You saved her. She at least has that to thank you for."

"Ok. I'll go upstairs, but only because the awesome me needs a drink."

We go upstairs together. I walk to the kitchen to get that drink, along with one for West. I then walk into the living room.

"Anyone else vant a drink?"

I avoid looking at Elizaveta while handing West his drink. Feliciano asks for wine. I look to Elizveta, knowing I can't avoid it. She still looks pretty bad but she is cleaned up. She keeps playing with the end of my shirt she is wearing. I wait a second longer before I leave for the kitchen. I get Feliciano's wine and decide to make myself something to eat before I go back downstairs. I go to the fridge and see it is filled with pasta and wrust. I take out some pasta and wrust and decide to make myself something like spaghetti. I just popped it in the oven when I hear a small gasp. I look to see Elizaveta using the wall to support herself. Her breathing is ragged and there is a little bit of sweat on her face.

Elizaveta's Point Of View

I struggle to make it to the kitchen. It's sad that just a walk down the hall makes me this tired. I spot a chair close by. Ok, I can do this. I follow the wall then stop to catch my breath. I look up and see Gilbert watching me. I look back down at the floor, concentrating, and I push off of the wall to stand. Big mistake.

Gilbert's Point Of View

I watch as she lets go of the wall. She takes a step, then falls. I reflexively jump forward and manage to catch her. When I do, I realize she is burning up. I pick her up and call West. He enters the kitchen and sees her limp in my arms.

"She has a fever."

"Maybe it's her ankle. Follow me."

I follow him as we go downstairs. He tells me to lay her on the bed. He then goes into the back room and comes back with some supplies. He looks at her ankle and shakes his head, then looks at me.

"Vhat is it, bruder?"

"Her ankle is broken. I'm going have to pop it back in. I need you to hold her leg for me."

I go and hold her leg as he rolls up her pant's leg. He looks at it then before I can blink, I hear the poping noise. I look to be sure and he nods. He hands me an ice pack to hold on her ankle as he wraps it. After her ankle is wrapped and she has a cool cloth on her face for the fever, I look to my bruder. He has double checked her bruises and cuts. He then looks at me.

"She should be good now."

"Bruder, vhat are we going to do?"

"For now, we'll monitor her and help her. We need to figure out what happened. Where did you find her?"

I realize I never told him. "She was near that huge apple tree."

"I see. vhy would she be there, though."

"Vhat do you mean?"

"Gil, that apple tree is between our house and Vash's."

"Do you think he did this?"

"No, if he did there would be bullet holes."

"Then who?"

West left after he had double checked everything again, leaving me with Elizaveta. I pull a chair up and sit beside her. I put my hand to her cheek, and it's not any warmer but it's not cooling either. She turns toward me when my hand touchs her cheek. Then she says my name. I thought she was awake, but she wasn't. I'm wondering what she is dreaming about when she says "why?" I feel something wet and realize she is crying. In my entire awesome life I have never seen her cry. I am about to wake her up when she says something that grabs my attention. "Why did you leave, Gilbert?" I can't help but wonder what she is talking about while she continues." I thought you were going to save me." When she says that, more tears fall. Wondering what she is dreaming about, I wake her up. Only then do I realize my mistake.

Elizaveta's Point Of View

I wake to find Gilbert staring at me.

"What are you staring at?"

"You've been crying."

I feel my face and find that it's wet.

Gilbert's Point Of View

Without thinking, I take the cloth that was on on her forehead and wipe her tears away. I look to see her face is red.

"Is your fever getting worse?"

I place a hand to her forehead, only to see her face redder. Is she blushing? No, of course she isn't. It's probably just the fever. Hmm, should I ask her? She probably won't answer.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do vhat?"

"You wiped away my tears and you felt my forehead."

"I was just trying to be nice."

She gives me a puzzled look before slowly shaking her head.

"Vhat is that for? I may be awesome,but I'm not cold hearted."

"Never said you were, Gil-Gil"

I look at her when she says that. Did she really just use my old nickname? It's probably just the fever talking; no need for me to hope.