A few minutes later Haley packed his uniform into a big plastic bag. She rummaged through the bags to make sure that she wouldn't burn anything he probably wanted to keep. When she reached into the right bag of his jacket she could feel a piece of paper. It was very worn, dirty and torn.

She took a deep breath when she realized that it was a picture of her, one of the posters Lucas had fixed on the outside of the Cafe to show people that she was his singer.

Haley looked to the bathroom. He must have taken the picture before they met, before they got married. She closed her eyes briefly and packed the jacket and the boots into the plastic bag. She put the bag beside the chimney und nodded to herself. She wouldn't burn it without him.

She placed the poster on the nightstand und knocked on the bathroom door. „Can I come in?"

„Sure."

She sat down on the side of the bath tub and looked at him. He had changed the water in the meantime. Without all the dust and dirt he looked more human.

She put her hand on his cheek and smiled at him when she saw that he closed his eyes. She felt nervous and she knew, she couldn't hide it. He was back and she was very happy about it, but even if they had been married for more than four years now, he still was a stranger. A stranger who had written beautiful letters, letters she fell in love with. But she knew war did change people, it was unforgettable. But she couldn't say how and if the war had changed him.

„Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Nathan opened his eyes and looked at her. She was afraid, he could see it in her eyes. „I know you have a lot of questions. But… not now. I just want to be here… with you. It that okay for you?"

„Of course", she nodded. „Whatever you want." She smiled at him and touched his beard lightly. „I could give you a shaving."

He laughed. He knew the beard and the long hair made him look way older than he was. One look into the mirror had made it clear. And both – the hair and the beard – were memories of the war, memories he didn't want to keep. „Yes. You know, at the beginning it was okay, before we were on the way for weeks. We had a barber and… everything we needed. But the last months weren't so funny anymore."

Haley nodded. She took the shaver and pushed the little stool behind the bath tub, to sit down. She put one hand under his chin, so he could lean his head back onto her shoulder. „I still can't believe you're back."

„Neither can I."

She started the shaving and she enjoyed the minutes she was so close to him and could feel his closeness, his warmth and the safety. Without the beard he looked a lot more like he did when she first met him. But without the beard his face looked even more tired than before. His long-haired-look reminded Haley of the character in a novel she was reading. She laughed. „Now you look a little like Robin Hood." Her fingers passed through his wet hair. „We take care of that tomorrow."

Nathan took her hand and looked to her wedding ring. He remembered when she opend the door and her left hand leaned against it. He noticed the ring immediately. „I lost it."

„What?"

„My ring", he answered and shook his head. „I'm sorry. I don't know when it happened. One day it was lost."

„That doesn't matter." Haley knelt beside the bathtub and put her hand on his cheek. „It's just a ring."

„I kind of saw it as a bad sign when I realized that I lost it", Nathan said quietly and still looked to the golden ring on her hand. „As if a force majure tries to tell me, it's over. That you're gone."

Haley remembered the little chapel and how she had thought exactly the same when the building burned down. „It's just a ring. You're back, nothing else matters." She leaned forward to kiss him. „Nothing else matters."

"I can't believe you're still here", he whispered on her lips.

"I told you I will wait", she replied and closed her eyes. „Everything's gonna be okay. We're together."

Nathan still looked at her. He wanted to believe her more than anything. But the tension between them was obvious. She seemed to be very nervous. Was it because she was happy he was back? Or was it because she didn't expect him to come back? Maybe meanwhile she had different plans than being his wife. Life could change, feelings could change. It was her who showed him that even 24 hours could change everything. He was afraid and it was hard to hide it.

"Are you okay?" she asked and winked nervously when she realized that he kept looking at her.

„Yes, sorry, I… I'm hungry and tired. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?"

"Of course." She nodded and stood up. She had a bad feeling. She had dreamed about this moment, the moment they became a family, husband and wife and someday mother and father. But since he was back he seemed to be more far away than before. She heard a lot of stories about soldiers who came back from war and had changed a lot. Whenever she heard these stories she promised herself, that if he would come back to her, she would be patient. Whatever he needed, she would give it to him. „I heat up some food."

"Thank you."


Haley blinked dozily. She could hear the rain which drummed against the windows. It was dark in the room. She thought about the war, the moment when she heard that it was over and she thought about Nathan and when he would come back. And if he ever would come back… back home, to her.

She turned around and stretched her arm out. He was there, she could remember it. He stood in front of the door, he sat in the bath tub, she gave him a shaving. But all she could feel was the empty bed beside her. A cold pillow. She was wide awake, her heart raced. Was it just a dream? Again? „O no, please, God."

She turned on the light on her nightstand and turned around. The bed was empty, but it was used, someone had been lying there. „Nathan."

"I'm here."

She looked through the dark room and saw him in front of the window, as if he would watch the rain. She knew he couldn't see anymore. She had stood at this window for hours and now he stood there and looked at her.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked.

She crawled over the bed and went to him. Without saying one word she embraced him and put her head on his chest. „Thank god, thank god", she whispered. „I thought it was only a dream again."

Nathan took her head between his palms and looked at her. She kept her eyes closed and her chin leaned against his chest. He could feel her breath. „Everything is fine."

Haley kissed his breast and leaned her forehead against him. It wasn't fine. It should have been fine because they were back together, aber he didn't lie beside her, he woke up and left her alone in the bed. She touched the scar under his breast. „Does it hurt?"

"No", he answered and looked at her.

She touched his face while she answered his look. „Are you okay?"

Nathan could see the fear in his eyes, the care.

„I mean… are you really okay?" she repeated her question. „Why did you wake up? Did you have a nightmare? Or did you see pictures?"

"Pictures?" he asked bemused.

"Yes, they… they told us that some soldiers had mental illness after they came back from war because of what they had gone through. They said that this men had nightmares and couldn't sleep very well and… sometimes they started to drink to forget and they became… well…"

"Violent?" he finished her dialogue.

"Yeah."

„Are you afraid of me?"

Haley shook her head. „No, I didn't mean it that way. I…"

Nathan put a finger on his lips to silence her. He took her hand and went to the armchair. After he sat down he pulled her onto his lap. She buried her face on his neck and fondled his chest. He didn't want to talk about it but if he needed to to take the worries away from her he would. It seemed to be very important to her to talk.

"You don't have to come home to become mentally ill", he said while his fingers played with her curls. „There were a lot of young men who were really naive about war. And when the battles started they were shocked. They saw blood and mutilated bodies. Some broke down, some ended up in a state of shock and some started to drink to forgot, yes. We were afraid but we didn't really talk about it. Most of us had nightmares. Sometimes I could hear their cries of fear at night."

Haley looked at him. "Did you cry, too?"

"Sometimes", he nodded and hunched his shoulder. He answered her look and wished he would have more beautiful memories about the last four years. But the only really good thing he remembered was the day he left her. It was still the best day of his life. "At the beginning we were friends. At the beginning we didn't see a lot of the war. But then… Many soldiers died, sometimes by my side. At first I was shocked about it but then it became routine and then… I stopped caring about the others. That was the moment I cried. When I realized that I didn't care about the others anymore. It didn't matter who died, friend or enemy, I took notice of it and moved on. When the battles were over and you were still alive, you were one in a million. If you were dead you were a hero who died fighting for peace and for his country. A lot of these guys were awarded for their courage. They said it would make it easier for the families. I don't really believe that. I'm sure every mother and every widow would exchange that stupid thing for even one little moment with the boy who died."

Haley striped away his hair and closed her eyes briefly. „Thanks for not being brave."

„Sometimes it seemed as if they wanted us to die", Nathan continued. „They didn't, but… it was weird. We weren't a unit anymore. Some gave up, some committed suicide. And the one who wanted to survive needed something to survive for." He smiled at her. „Thanks for giving me something to believe in. I survived for this moment."

She nodded and tried to hide her tears. „Me, too. I stayed fort his moment."

Nathan leaned forward to kiss her. He leaned his forehead against hers and enjoyed the moment. „How are you?"

Haley put her hand on his cheek. „I'm fine. Most of time we didn't hear anything about the war. Only if I… if I saw a soldier or someone told us something or there were new lists with all the victims. I tried not to think about it, especially the last year when I didn't get any letters anymore. The Cafe is very popular and Lucas is very busy in keeping it open. It works very well. I have a lot of fans or… we do have a lot of fans."

"We?"

"You and me", Haley laughed and kissed his nasal tip. „I have written some songs … about us, about my feelings and people love these songs. Some were asking me about the man in my songs and some of them keep asking about you and if I got some news. Some came into the Cafe just to ask me about you."

„Did you ever think about giving up?" he asked and shook his head. „That's not a trick question."

Haley looked down. „Sometimes. I had an offer to go on tour, a theatre tour. I thought it was a little inappropriate at war, but… they were very successful and asked me to come with them. That was two years ago. Whenever my mind got the upper hand I thought about giving up. But… I always listened to my heart and so… I stayed."

Nathan nodded and smiled at her. Even in this dark light her big brown eyes beamed. „It was hard to keep the trust. Especially when I didn't get any letters anymore. They told me it was problematic with overseas because of the war, but… after a few months I started to get worried. If you have time to think about it, you can easily lose your mind. I was really scared you changed your mind and stopped waiting. And I was also scared you probably fell for someone else and left town with him. Or you left alone because you realized that I'm still a stranger and that I was wrong to mar…"

"I love you", she interrupted him and looked in his eyes. „I love you, Nathan. I do. I know every letter by heart, every single word. I trusted you, I knew you are a fighter, I knew as long you can, you will come back. I fell in love with that man. With my husband. I was very … no, I am very proud to be your wife, Nathan Scott. You make me brave. I love you. I always will."

He tried to answer something but no words seemed to be right, so he decided to kiss her. It took a load off his mind. She took it away, every little doubt he had… He remembered the first letter she ended with I love you. It was also the last letter he got. But now she said it, he heard it, with her voice. She said I love you.

Haley answered the kiss, which became very passionate. He was back, finally. She could feel how his body relaxed, she could feel how he let her in.

He started kissing her neck and she felt relieved and sighed. She touched his cheek and required another kiss, which left them both breathless. „You're back… you're home."

„Home", Nathan repeated her words.

„I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too", he whispered on her lips. „Every day, every hour, every minute."

She moved closer to him, her lips touched his lightly. "I want you. I want to be with you." She saw how he closed his eyes when she started to kiss his face and she could feel his hands under her nightdress.

"Well… it was… it has been a really long time."

"Yeah", Haley answered and looked at him. "I know, I was there, too, remember?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Right, I remember."

Nathan stood up and carried her to the bed. He was with her… nothing else mattered.

THE END