A/N: Second and immediately final chapter! I hope you liked it! Please let me know, because I have an idea for a Frank/Von one and an Elizabeth/Frank one. Let me know which one you like most! Or maybe I should do them both?

Disclaimer: I do not own All Saints. Never have and never wil…

Chapter two

A few days passed by. Von arrived early for her shift every morning, so she was able to spend a little time with Ray before she had to begin working. And everyone could see how both Von and Ray bloomed in each other's company.

Ray was healing amazingly quick. If he continued like this, he would make a full recovery. They kept an eye on him non-the-less, though, because he still needed a lot of rest.

And of course everyone was trying to find out how exactly he and Von knew one another. What kind of a relationship they really had , or had had. But when they asked him about that, he mere said:

"You should ask Von that."

And they did, fruitlessly. She only told them she wasn't ready yet to talk about it. Many times she added a plea for them to understand, or to at least respect the choice she had made. After getting the same answer a couple of times, the nurses and NUM of Ward Seventeen decided enough was enough. When time was right, she would tell them.

Wednesday morning Ray was allowed to leave the hospital. Von had changed shifts so she could help Ray get to her house, where he would be staying as long as he needed to. Together they left the Ward, and Von drove them both home.

When they got there, she ushered Ray inside. She insisted he sat down on the couch and took it easy while she got suitcase, containing the only belongings he had, out of the car and into her spare room.

It only took her ten minutes to het said room ready to be used. She took the liberty to hang his two shirt and the few pants he had brought with him in the closet, hoping he would take the hint she did not want him to leave any time soon.

A little while later they were both sitting on the couch. Silence lingered between them, but it was not in the least uncomfortable. Suddenly, though, Ray broke the silce.

"You're sorry as well?" he asked.

Von looked right into his eyes and nodded.

"Yes. Very much so."

"How come?"

"Because after you, I did not allow men into my heart anymore. I fought to keep them away, I didn't want to get to know them because I was afraid of getting hurt again. But most of all, I…"

She was looking at her knees now, hesitating to go on. But she found the courage to do so after a few moments.

"But most of all because I still loved you. Still love you."

She didn't dare looking at him, fearing his reaction. He remained quiet. She became more and more nervous as the minutes passed by. She needed to know.

It was no surprise that her heart missed a beat when he cupped her chin and turned her face towards his.

"I'm sorry, too…. My heart bled when I saw you through the window of that train, tear-stained and eyes red and swollen. I wanted to go back, but I kept telling myself I was only imagining this. I did not have any other feelings for my best friend's widow than friendship, I shouldn't and couldn't have. It was wrong. Now I understand I hurt you more than I could have ever imagined. And John wouldn't have wanted me to do that. How can I ever make up?"

Smiling broadly after hearing Ray say all of this, she said:

"You just have."

She put her arms around his neck, and when his arms closed around her, she felt safe in a man's embrace for the first time in many years.


The driveway was full of parked cars of friends, and not everybody had yet arrived. Outside, in the garden, were those who had. And in the living room, Ray was watching them.

He was feeling a little nervous, but apart from that he was doing great. Von had invited everyone over today, and they were about to inform them of their relationship, both that of the present and the relationship of the past.

More people were arriving and making their way to the garden. At five past seven Von walked in.

"Are you ready?" she asked him.

He nodded. He got up and took her hand in his. When the others saw them coming out hand in hand, all pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place.

Ray now stood behind Von, his arms securely around her waist. Von placed her hands over his. Because they all saw them like this, an explanation was only needed when the question arose why Von had reacted the way she had.

And that is why Von told them a story. A story only Terry had heard before, and not completely.

She explained to them how Ray had helped her through the difficult time after her husband's death. How after nearly a year and a half they had fallen in love. But both of them had thought this was wrong. How she had changed her mind when Ray had left by train and had disappeared from her live without telling her where he was going.

At this point in the story Ray's arms closed even more firmly around her, as if he was wordlessly trying to tell her he would never leave her again.

Von continued, telling them how much she had missed Ray, and that that had been the reason she had never completely trusted man anymore.

The all listed with great interest. This story shed a completely different light on the woman they worked with every day. They also got to know her past, something she had always kept hidden.

When she was finished, Terry raised her glass.

"Let's bring a toast. To love lost and found again."

All the others lifted their glasses as well and repeated after her. Von and Ray looked at each other and felt happier than they had been those long, passed years.

And that happiness never abided. Not even for a second.