Alma awoke with a start, the sun was shining bright outside. She was still laying on the couch, her leg all bandaged up. She looked at her wrist but her watch wasn't there. She looked around her and saw the room empty.

She began to stand but her leg gave out and she took the medical equipment on the table down with her. She her footfalls rushing in as she groaned out.

"You all right, Fräulien?' She jumped up and stared at the man who just called her Fräulien. "Hey, it's okay, my name is Wilhelm Wicki. I volunteered to stay behind until you woke up."

Alma struggled to twist onto her back. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Damn near two days."

"What?!" She jumped up, pushing herself up with the couch, "I've been asleep for two days and you didn't wake me up?" She screeched out in pain from her leg, Wicki wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Calm down, I can take you wherever you need to go."

"You gonna carry me?" She pushed herself away from his hold.

"No, they left me a car, I can get you back to Paris in little under an hour." Alma breathed out.

"Fuck." She held her head in her hands. "Yes, please, I'd like to go back to Paris now. Thank you."

Wicki nodded, ushering her to the car parked outside.

After driving in silence for twenty minutes Alma groaned. "What the fuck am I going to tell Dieter?"

Wicki watched her from the corner of his eye.

"Why don't you tell him the truth?" Alma scoffed.

"If I told him the truth he'd kill me in a second, I know that."

"You could tell him you got robbed?" He suggested.

Alma thought about it for a second, "What of the last two days, how do I explain that?"

Wicki shrugged. "Hospital." Alma thought about it and smirked gently.

"Yeah...that's not a bad idea..."

"Here. Drop me off here." She told Wicki quickly and he slowed to a stop.

"You sure you'll be okay?" She nodded, handing him a piece of paper.

"Make sure this gets in the hands of Aldo, and no one else." He nodded, promising. "And thank you, again."

Alma slowly exited the vehicle and limped to the side walk. She waved at Wicki as he turned around and left. Alma used the wall as support. Her leg hurt but it was more stiff than anything. Honestly her fingers hurt the worst.

She was about a block from her apartment, she figured optimistically that Dieter would not be there waiting for her in a worried panic. She hoped he didn't break her door down.

When Alma opened the door to the stairwell she sighed. Living on the fifth floor suddenly had it's downsides. She struggled against the railing, working her way up. When she reached her door she pulled her keys out of her pockets, one-handed.

The keys jingled as she attempted to find the right one. She suddenly heard foot steps behind the door before it was yanked open. Standing there, disheveled and sleep deprived, was Dieter.

"Alma!" He pulled her in for a hug and she groaned out in pain. "Are you okay? What happened?" He looked her up and down.

"I um - I was robbed when I was coming back from the bookshop. I've been in the hospital for the past two days..."

"Oh my god, Alma. Come here." Dieter put his arm around her shoulder and lead her to the couch. "Did you see who did this to you?"

"No." She shook her head, "But he only took my watch, not really worth the two shots to the leg I'd say."

"Oh my god." Dieter muttered, his face in his hands.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, okay?"

"How can I not?" He smiled sadly at her, running his fingers through her hair.

"No one could have predicted it, Dieter, it was just an unfortunate accident." Dieter nodded, holding her hand.

"If you remember anything about the man that did this to you, tell me." Alma shook her head.

"I will."

A month later.

Dieter watched Alma walk around her bedroom, picking up random clothing items, muttering to herself. He smiled, amused by her agitation.

"This place has been a mess since I got shot - this is mine, mine..." She mumbled, picking through the clothes and tossing them aside one by one. "This is yours, mine, yours..." She threw his wool socks at him, his undershirt, tie. Dieter caught each and tossed them back over the side of the bed.

"Liebling, Alma, please calm down. You are going to irritate your wounds." Alma turned to him.

"I can't think with this mess, now that I can finally walk I can get all the pent up energy out of my system." Dieter smirked.

"I can think of a few other ways to get it out of your system." Alma smirked at him.

"Not until I finish cleaning the bedroom, then the kitchen, the bathroom, and make a run through the bookshop." Dieter groaned, turning around and snuggling into the blankets. At his frustration, Alma paused and dropped the shirt.

She approached him, slowly. She laid herself gently on the bed next to him, only she laid opposite of him; her feet next to his head, his feet next to her head.

Dieter brushed the tip of his finger over her toes and the tops of her feet. Alma smiled, humming to a silent tune in her head. His finger trailed higher to the pale circle on her shin, tracing around it. He sat up and moved his finger to the second healed wound on her thigh.

"You are so strong, Alma." She smiled and shrugged.

"Have you ever been shot?" She asked.

"I have not." Alma was slightly surprised, but at the same time she wasn't.

"It doesn't hurt that bad." Dieter scoffed. "What?"

"Why are you always like that?"

"Like what? Honest?"

"Modest." Dieter gave her a sad smile. She returned it. After a moment she shrugged, looking at the ceiling.

"I've always been like this, I guess...I'd always did really well in school but I never told my parents...they always thought I was an average student. I actually got scholarship to Oxford but I turned it down..."

"Why?"

She shrugged again, "I didn't particularly have a plan at the time...It seemed like a waste of time to me when I had no real direction. I like what I do now...did you go to university?"

Dieter nodded, "Best in Germany, father wanted it and what father wanted, he got." Alma looked at him. "I liked school, I liked being the best one in the class."

Alma's eyes widened and she laughed, "Oh were you?"

Dieter smiled and nodded. "Better than you, I would wager." Alma slapped his arm.

"Dieter?"

"Hmm?"

"Is that why you have such a high position in the military?"

He pondered for a moment, "Yes, somewhat...I worked my way up."

"Have you ever met...him?" Dieter looked at her, tilting his head to the side.

"Once. And it was for thirty seconds." He chuckled.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What was he like, Dieter?"

He thought for a moment, running his fingers through her hair. "He was shorter than I expected."

Alma laughed out load, Dieter quickly followed.

"Now come here," Dieter pulled her body closer to his. "I want to fuck you into the mattress until you cannot speak."