Another day, another chapter:) I love the Christmas hols! I'm not going to prattle on too much up here, but I will say this: This was the hardest chapter I've ever had to do and it put me through a lot of pain! But more on that later...

Disclaimer: I disclaim this, and everything else!

It was a bloody mess in that bar. As soon as Raine walked down the stairs he could see nothing but carnage. The air stank of smoke and strong liquor. The German woman had gunned down the young man he had negotiated with, Wilhelm. It was a shame, but he understood it had to be done. No one but their people were allowed out of this tavern. In fact, it was probably better she had done it. He felt sorry for the poor guy, and this way he didn't break his word. Bridget had done the shooting, not him.

Looking around, he could see that Hicox was obviously dead. His body was lying in too awkward an angle for there to be any life left in him. His neck had snapped. It was probably for the best. Raine had no idea what had gone down, but it had certainly been messy. The others piled in after him one by one, with the exception of Omar and Kagan, who had been instructed to get the truck and hurry back.

"Sakowitz," Raine called out, not looking back at the men. "You and Zimmerman grab the Kraut and get her out of my sight."

Bridget didn't have time to protest, Zimmerman and Sakowitz moved in and pulled her up from where she lay, leg covered in blood. She let out a gasp of pain, prompting them to be more careful with her. After all, they needed to be as quiet as possible. Zimmerman picked her up and Sakowitz helped them to ascend carefully up the stairs, waiting just until Omar was in sight before they ran for the truck.

"Lieutenant!" came Donny's voice from behind Raine, who was checking behind the bar for any unfortunate survivors. He spun around to see what the commotion was all about.

"It's Wicki," Donny called over. He was crouched beside his fallen comrade, too afraid to touch or move him. "He's alive."

Raine moved quickly over to where Wicki was lying, shielded behind the spiral staircase. He would never have admitted it, but his heart actually missed a beat. He hadn't dared hope any of his men would be alive.

Wicki looked bad. There were two bullet wounds on the right side of his torso, and another on his left side underneath his stomach. The wound on his stomach was bleeding substantially more than the ones on his chest. His breath was little more than a rattle in his chest, and though his eyes were open it was clear he could barely focus them. Instinctively, Raine pulled off the scarf around his neck and pressed it against the worst wound, placing pressure on it and hoping to stem the blood flow. Too much blood had been lost already.

"You son-of-a-bitch," Raine exclaimed, unable to disguise his happiness. These wounds were bad, but Wicki was alive. "We're gonna fix you up real good."

"Sir!" came Hirschberg's voice then. "We've got another live one!"

Turning around, both Donny and Raine looked up to see Hirschberg propping up a clearly disorientated Ellis. Her eyes were glazed as they blinked over and over again, as if she couldn't see at all. Hirschberg put his hand behind her head to try and steady her, but pulled it away when he realised it was bleeding profusely, darkening her blond hair and covering his hand.

"Hear that?" Raine turned back to Wicki, who was not looking too responsive at all. "Your girl's alive." All Wicki could do was cough violently. Raine hoped he had heard him. People with enough motivation to stay alive often survived against the odds.

"His girl?" Donny asked, puzzled.

"Mind your own damn business, Donny," Raine snapped back quickly.

"Oh…" Donny suddenly understood. His girl. That actually made a lot of sense. And it certainly explained a few things. But now wasn't the time to think about that sort of thing.

"He's alive too!" came Utivich's voice from behind them all. All heads immediately darted up to see.

To their collective surprise, Stiglitz was sitting up after being deathly still only moments ago. His head bled also and he was clutching his left shoulder tightly, blood trickling through his fingers. No one could speak with astonishment.

"My arm fucking hurts," Stiglitz growled in German, as if he didn't care about the chaos which surrounded him or that his colleagues had all turned as white as ghosts.

"You…" Utivich began, sounding timid. "…you okay?"

"I look okay?" Stiglitz replied, not even bothering to look away from his injured arm.

"Fair enough," Utivich knew when not to push his luck, especially with the angry German.

"Well, I'll be…" Raine couldn't believe it. He wasn't the type to get religious, but this was a miracle if ever he saw one. His men were alive, so was Ellis. How they had managed it was beyond him.

"Sir," came Sakowitz's voice above them. "Truck's here."

"Hirschberg, you bring Ellie," Raine ordered, springing immediately into action. "Utivich, you help Stiglitz. Donny, you and me's gonna get Wicki out of here. And be careful!"

Hirschberg moved fast, picking up the injured woman in lightning speed and moving over to the stairway. For a small man, he was strong.

"Utivich, you and Stiglitz go first, you'll be faster," Hirschberg called over to Utivich.

"Okay," Utivich approached Stiglitz, who was standing up slowly. "Here, let me help…"

"Don't touch me," Stiglitz shot back, getting up and moving towards the stairs, still clutching his arm tightly. Utivich backed off immediately. Stiglitz's head was pounding and his ears were still ringing. He felt a little breathless as well, but he was not going to show it. He moved quickly up the stairs, not even bothering to look back, just wanting to get out of there and to get the bullet out of his shoulder. Utivich followed behind, throwing a bewildered look at Raine.

As the two men moved, Raine and Donny each threw one of Wicki's arms around their necks and pulled him from the ground. He groaned in pain. Raine made sure to keep pressure on his wound as they waited for Utivich and Stiglitz to get a move on. Wicki turned his head and cast his blurred eyes on Ellis' shape. She was alive. He had managed to get her down in time. He felt so weak and sore that he could have almost cried with the relief.

"Don't worry," he croaked softly to her in German, unable to even think in English anymore. "We're getting out of here." He doubted she could even hear him.

The journey was rocky and bumpy, and try as the Basterds might they could only do some much to prevent their friends from being jilted back and forth. It was one of these jolts that finally brought Ellis back to reality. Breathing in deeply, the shapes all around her turned into familiar faces. She saw that Utivich and Zimmerman were propping up Wicki, Utivich holding a bloody rag to his stomach. He looked awful. He was breathing heavily and he looked so pale that his lips were almost blue. He was covered in blood and sweat, and yet he was shivering as though cold.

She felt dizzy and her head throbbed painfully, but she meekly tried to move closer to him. Sakowitz, who was keeping hold of her, tried to force her to sit back again. She hit his arm feebly and he let go, seeing her determination to be set free. Unable to walk amidst all the bumps shaking the vehicle, she crawled the few short feet in between her and Wicki, pushing past the legs in her way.

"How is he?" she asked Utivich once she had managed to get beside them. Her head was still spinning and she still felt weak, but she wasn't going to let anything stop her now.

"He's breathing," Utivich told her, unsure of what else he could say. He was in bad shape, but he was alive.

"Wil?" she spoke softly to him, touching his face with her hand to try and get his attention. His skin felt like ice. "Wil, can you hear me?"

"I knew you'd be okay," he wheezed in German, smirking when he opened his eyes to see her there. "You're bleeding…"

"So are you," she retorted, trying to at least fake a laugh. She was so close to tears that her eyes stung. She responded to him German, aware that everyone could hear them, but still wanting some privacy.

"My coat is somewhere…" he tried to say, he made as though he might try to sit up, but he didn't have the strength.

"I'll get it for you," she replied, looking over to where the Basterds had thrown all their stuff in the truck earlier.

"No," he muttered. "In it… it's for you…"

"I don't understand," the twists the truck was making were only making her feel more woozy.

"Rachel," he rasped. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think that…" A cough interrupted his line of speech. It sounded so guttural and painful.

"Don't worry," she reassured him, placing her hand upon his face again, her thumb gently tracing up and down his cheek. "We'll be there soon."

She had no idea where they going, or whether they were going to get there anytime soon, but she told him so anyway. Her eyes were beginning to blur again.

"You said you loved me…" he started again, as if struggling to remember it.

"Only after you told me you loved me," she smiled. Despite her smile though, her tears had begun to fall, silently running down the sides of her face. He wanted to reach out and touch her face as well, but he couldn't move and there was no use in trying. He wanted to lean forward and wipe away one of those salty tears, or to kiss her cheek and to taste it. Even in the darkness and the cold, bloody and bruised, she was still the angel he had always seen her as.

"Rachel?" he tried to speak again. She tried to reply, but the dizziness filled her head once again and her vision cut out completely. Once again she fell into the dark haze she had been before, only prevented from hitting the floor by the quick arm of Utivich.

"What the Hell is this?" Omar asked, as they all bundled into the large former farmhouse. "This don't look like no doctor's place I ever been to." He eyed up the cages of several dogs who were now very awake and barking loudly.

"Of course it does," insisted Donny, hitting the back of Omar's head, as though he was some sort of stupid school kid. "It's got an operating table and everything."

"A strangely small operating table," Utivich informed them, propping up the wounded comrade he was helping Kagan to carry. "And posters and diagrams of dogs and cats all over the walls. Oh yeah, and a fucking zoo in the corner."

"Godammit!" yelled Raine, laying down a wounded Bridget roughly on the floor. "This ain't no doctor, Kagan. It's a fuckin' vet."

"It said 'doctor' outside," Kagan insisted defensively. "And I can't read no French words."

"Shit!" exclaimed Raine. "Now what we supposed to do?"

This whole thing had been a disaster from start to finish. He had two men dead back there, not even able to take their bodies, and now they didn't even have a doctor to help their wounded.

"A vet's kinda like a doctor," Donny offered. "For animals, but I mean he's gotta be able to do something."

"Sir, we don't have much choice," Zimmerman agreed, already clearing off the operating table.

"Please!" cried Bridget from the floor, her leg feeling as though it were on fire.

"You don't talk till we talk to you!" Raine yelled down at her.

Just then the door at the opposite end of the surgery flew open, and a small, wizened old man stood there trembling with a shotgun in hand. He didn't speak, he just stood their pointing an unsteady barrel at them. He looked ancient and rather fragile. It wasn't ideal in a doctor, but it was ideal for intimidation.

"Who speaks frog?" demanded Raine. He knew a couple of the boys knew some phrases, although they were mostly just asking directions and saying pleases and thank you's. They had avoided civilians as much as possible, purely for everyone's safety, so he had no idea how much French any of them actually spoke.

"I got this," Donny pulled out his own handgun and pointed it directly at the cages of dogs. Horror spread across the old man's face and he instantly put down his weapon.

"Non, non," he pleaded. "S'il vous plaît!"

"I'll do it," Donny warned him.

"Stop it!" Bridget cried out again. "He doesn't understand what you want. I speak French, I'll tell him!"

"Well, then parlé," Raine told her brusquely. "And make it fast."

Ellis didn't know how or when she had gotten there, but when her eyes and mind could focus again she realised she was lying on some sort of sofa. She was in the living room of a house she didn't recognise with her head pounding. She sat up quickly, trying to see what was going on, only for a stabbing pain to zip up the side of her neck. She fell back again, clutching both her head and neck.

"Whoa, whoa!" came a familiar voice. "Take it easy."

Opening her eyes again she saw that Utivich had knelt down beside the sofa she was on, his hand now behind her back giving it support.

"We're outside Nadine," he informed her in a calm voice. "We got you guys out of the tavern and we're now getting you all help."

"We're with a doctor?" she croaked.

"Sort of," he replied, not strictly lying.

"Where are the others?" she asked him. "What's happening?" She felt too disorientated to make sense of what he had just said.

"Calm down," Utivich reassured her. "They're with the doctor right now. But he's seen you and says you took a pretty nasty hit to the head."

He didn't want to tell her that half her face was now bruised or that blood was now matted into her blonde hair. She had been through enough tonight without taking a blow to the ego. Soon enough, she'd catch sight of her reflection and find out for herself.

"Doc says you're okay" he continued, his voice still soft and low. "He doesn't think you're concussed. Just bruised and beat up all over. You don't need stitches or anything though."

One side of her body was aching with pain from her rough landing on the tavern floor, and her brain felt like it was about to burst through her skull. She could taste blood in her mouth.

"Where are the others?" she asked him again, trying to right herself again. Despite the pain, she found that she could sit up and move, if not somewhat slowly.

"I'll take you," he helped her up this time. "They'll probably want to ask you some questions anyway."

They began to slowly move towards the surgery, Utivich carefully keeping her supported so she didn't fall. She didn't object, within three feet she already felt dizzy. She definitely would need his help walking. They made it as far as the door of the room before the pain in her neck came back and she had to stop.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "No rushing."

"Thank you," she replied. "And to think, I thought you were such a pig."

"I kind of was," he shrugged slightly. "But hey, best buddies now, aren't we?"

"Oh yes, absolutely," she joked as well, ignoring the pangs in her broken body. "I always knew a good friend when they carried me home from the bar."

And with that, he helped her to move forward again. Down the hallway they went, before entering a small room full of chairs, which could have only been some sort of waiting room. She spotted several pictures on the wall of children running with dogs, or old ladies sitting by firesides with a cat on their laps. She decided to say nothing. Obviously finding a doctor was a little bit too ambitious at this time, a vet was going to have to do.

"You should sit down," Utivich offered, leading her to one of the chairs. She didn't object. It felt like her body would give way underneath her if she didn't rest it now. Just then, Raine and Donny both came through the door of the surgery.

"Good," Raine declared once he had spotted her. "You're up, then."

"I am," she nodded, slowly, trying not to hurt her neck anymore. Both the men came forward towards her, pulling over chairs to sit on as well.

"Now, Ellie," Raine began, cautiously looking her over. "I know you probably ain't feelin' the best right now…"

"Not really," she replied. "And I'm certain I look worse." Her throbbing head was making her ill tempered. She didn't want to take it out on Raine, or anyone else, but she didn't have much control over it either.

"That bein' said," Raine conceded, trying to be tactful. "We need to know what went on down in that basement. The German woman told us somethin' and we need to be sure she ain't lyin' to us."

"What did she say?" Ellis asked.

"You tell us. If she's bein' straight, the stories will match up."

"Maybe we should wait," Utivich tried to say. "She's only up now."

"I'm fine," she insisted, trying to concentrate on sorting through the images in her head. She knew what had happened, but right now the events were jumbled all together with no order or framework to distinguish them.

"We ain't got much time," Raine reminded Utivich.

"There were Germans," she began, not able to remember even what they looked like. "One of them had become a father, I think. Then all of a sudden there was a Gestapo major there. He wouldn't leave and so the Englishman asked him to. He bought drinks and…" She wasn't sure what had occurred next if she was totally honest. "I don't know… He must have done something, because the Gestapo major took out his gun and that's when it all happened."

None of them spoke for a moment. The story matched, so von Hammersmark was telling the truth. Ellis watched each of their expressions curiously, not sure whether what she had told them had been of any use at all.

"All right, then," Raine finally spoke, standing up and looking at both Donny and Utivich. "Kino is still a-go."

"Are you serious?" she asked him. "How can it still be on? Surely our cover has been completely blown."

"Anyone who knows anything about the mission is either here or dead," Raine informed her.

"How is anyone is any sort of shape to attend a premiere?" she retorted, standing up as well. "I'm surprised that any of us survived at all."

"You just need a little cleaning up," Raine coolly replied. "And some make-up and whatcha know -good as new."

"Me, Raine and Omar are gonna go instead," Donny told her, sounding ready for action already. "We're gonna make like we're Italian so no one will know the difference."

"You're not serious," she exclaimed, almost laughing. "Do you really think that will work? Italians? And how the Hell am I supposed to walk, let alone sing?"

"You're just a little banged up," Raine dismissed her. "Just take it easy and you'll be fine. Do you really care if they think you sound like shit?"

She didn't respond. It was a fair point.

"And you can't just call the whole thing off?" she tried again.

"Sorry," Raine told her. "But the stakes just got a whole lot higher. We do this we end the war. Full stop."

"Hitler's gonna be there," Donny interred, sounding almost giddy. "We're gonna get the son-of-a-bitch himself."

"What?"

"Adolf his self," Raine confirmed. "So no matter what might happen, we gotta take a crack at it."

She didn't reply. How could she reply? The magnitude of what had just been said, and even downplayed, was just too great. Hitler himself. The man who was the leader and figurehead of man's inhumanity was going to be there. The self-styled god amongst men and hope for an 'improved' human race was coming out to play with the petty bourgeois at movie premiere. The physical incarnation of evil, and the cause of all her suffering, and so much more was going to be there. Fear and uncertainty had to be pushed aside. There was no more room for them. They had always intended on killing as many people as they could in that cinema, but now… Now they could narrow it down significantly.

The war could end completely. It could end and things could be fixed. Well, fixed to a certain extent. People wouldn't have to hide anymore. They could be free. It didn't matter what happened to them. All that mattered was what would happen to him.

"Okay," she replied, trying not to let her voice tremble too much. She needed to have as strong a resolve as these men. She had little illusion as to what very well might happen to her in this situation, but she would have to grit her teeth and accept whatever happened next.

"All right, then," Raine replied quietly. Poor girl, he thought. What had they done to her? If he hadn't talked her into doing what they wanted she needn't have heard about Kino at all. But he wasn't going to patronize her either. If she was in this, she was fully in. She was capable of putting her head down and doing what needed to be done, she had proven that. And now he would trust she would do the same.

"Where's Wicki?" she asked him then. "I want to see him."

Raine didn't respond. In fact, he didn't even move, his eyes still right on he face. The smirk vanished from Donny's face, leaving an almost anxious expression there instead. His eyes darted over to where Utivich stood, before looking away from them all entirely. Utivich could only manage to take a sharp intake of breath.

"Ellis…" Utivich began.

"I don't care how bad he is," she told him. "I want to see him right now." And it was true. She didn't want to be spared any pain in seeing him hurt, she just wanted to see him alive. He had looked awful in the truck, but just the sight of him had made her heart feel as though it would burst. They couldn't just boss her around and then deprive her of this one thing. It didn't matter if the whole world knew about them anymore. She didn't care. She just needed to see him

"Is he being operated on?"

"Wicki died on the way here, Ellis," Raine informed her. His voice was firm and businesslike, but his expression looked a lot wearier and a lot sadder than that. "He was dead by the time we got here."

"That's not possible," she could feel her muscles freeze inside her and her heart begin to beat increasingly fast and hard in her chest. Why would he lie like that? It couldn't be true, it just couldn't. She had spoken to him in the truck, he had been alive. He looked sick, but he was always so strong. How could he have died?

Before she could say or think anything else, her lungs gave out. She couldn't breathe. She was choking. She desperately wanted air to fill her lungs so she could scream or cry or at least say something. But her airways completely closed and she couldn't even breathe anymore. She gasped and landed back down on the chair, her weak grip trying to prevent her from falling off completely. Her eyes watered only slightly, not even letting her cry now. Her body rejected what she had been told so violently that she felt it just might kill her too.

"Shit," exclaimed Raine, moving forward to make sure she didn't fall. "Donny, get the doc. We're gonna need something."

Utivich came forward as well, putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her up, just as he did moments when bringing her down here. It had been in the truck that they had all realised just how close Wicki and their Mata Hari really were. Most of the Basterds hadn't understood what they were saying, but they could see the way they were together. Stiglitz who did understand had looked away, as though there was nothing happening, uncomfortable and unwilling to listen. The German woman had already been crying in her pain, but her sobs had faded away as the two spoke, giving them reverential silence, allowing only quiet tears to pour down her face instead. Utivich had only then fully understood what was between Wicki and Ellis, but this took him off guard. He had never seen grief literally rip through someone before. She was still only recovering from the night's events and now this had broken her down all over again. It hadn't been just a 'thing'. They had been in love. He could do nothing and say nothing.

Donny reappeared quickly, pulling the unfortunate vet behind him. The man was obviously confused and a bit frightened, but upon laying eyes on the hyperventilating woman he immediately changed his expression to one of concern.

"Can't breathe" Donny tried telling him. But the man only shook his head, not comprehending. Head injuries could lead to seizures, or maybe she had a bruised lung he hadn't checked for earlier, she might even have gone into shock. He wasn't used to treating people, how on earth was he supposed to know what to do now.

"Je ne sais pas…" he tried to tell them, hoping it wouldn't land him in trouble.

"Where's the woman?" Raine asked, realising Bridget would be the only one able translate appropriately.

"She passed out," Donny replied, still holding on to the vet's collar. He felt almost powerless in this situation. He didn't know how to deal with an upset woman. Did anyone?

"Triste," Utivich made an attempt at explaining to the vet, gesturing toward a shaking Ellis. He hadn't done very well in French at school, but at this moment he had to try something. It was the only word he could think of that related to this right now. Triste. A horrible way of simplifying it, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Triste?" the vet repeated, still looking confused. He gave another look at the gasping woman before a look of understanding crossed his expression. Sad. She was in shock, but not from her injuries. This was grief. She needed something to calm her down.

"Je comprend," he nodded.

"Good," Raine shouted. "Now move it."

Donny released the man from his grip, and he hurried back inside his surgery. Quickly rummaging through various bottles on his shelves he found it. She needed to be calmed down, but these drugs were for animals, not people. He needed something strong enough to sedate, but not so much that might kill her. The tiny bottle he held now held the stuff necessary to do that, although she would have to be kept an eye on just in case she drifted off. He grabbed a nearby syringe and filled it with the sedative. Running back out, he went straight over to Ellis, Raine moving back automatically to let him through. Taking her arm he managed to inject her, although her arm tried to pull away instinctively.

At first it had no effect, she still choked and spluttered, her body shaking in Utivich's grip. But as the seconds passed she became stiller and stiller. Her breathing ceased to be gasping, and instead became a tired sounding wheeze. Any strength that had been n her arms and legs ebbed away, and Utivich's hold became the only thing keeping her upright.

"Not so hard," the vet tried to explain to Raine in heavily accented English. "But no sleep."

His English was terrible but he hoped the Americans would understand what he meant. The sedative was made for creatures much smaller than the young lady and so it wouldn't knock her out completely, but they still needed to make sure she didn't lose consciousness. It was dangerous giving drugs not meant for humans to her, but there was little else he could do now.

"Merci," nodded Raine, hoping the vet meant what he thought he meant. "Donny, you get her upstairs to the room."

"What about the suits?" Donny asked, reminding Raine that there was still a mission to think about.

"I'll wake the Kraut up," Raine reassured him. "One way or another. You just get your ass back down here ASAP, and we'll get movin'. Utivich, go with her and make sure she don't go dyin' on us."

Utivich merely nodded. Raine knew as well as being probably the smartest, he would be the most sensitive. There was nothing he could do or say, but he would be the most likely to shut up and listen to her. From having a wife of his own, Raine knew that's what a woman generally wanted in such situations. Utivich wouldn't be dumb enough to try and cheer her up or try to philosophise. He wouldn't tell her to get a hold of herself either, which would be even worse. She just needed to get it out of her system straight away so she could function for the mission, which was now less than twelve hours away.

Without another word Utivich helped her up, as Donny moved forward and gingerly picked her up and began to move down the hallway. Utivich followed behind, his stomach in knots. Wicki was gone, they all knew it, but no one had mentioned it or even showed signs of acknowledging it. He had been their fellow Basterd for so long and now he was gone, lying on the floor of the vet's office. It seemed so cold, and so cruel, but they had had no other option. He had been one of them. They had all made it so far, staying alive against every odd. But now one of them was gone and it almost seemed unreal. They couldn't handle it, and so they made it out like it didn't happen. For all their efforts one might even think that Wicki had just gone off momentarily and would be back soon.

But then she had asked, and they had been forced to admit the truth. And she had reacted just like anyone would when faced with the loss of a loved one. Utivich wasn't ashamed to admit that it had scared him, just like he had seen it had shaken Raine and even Donny. Zimmerman was married, and Kagan and Sakowitz both had girlfriends back home. Omar had a girl he used to harp on and on about too, although eventually that had stopped, probably from the soreness of being apart for so long. Raine was married as well, although he never talked about his wife. Would any of their women act any differently if faced with the same news? What about their parents? Or their siblings or friends? What about their kids?

They used to never have to think about it. Pushing any apprehensions out of their minds the second they had popped in. But now the three men who had witnessed Ellis' grief wouldn't be able to think about anything else. It was easy to put yourself out there for the one's you love, Utivich realised, but it's probably not easy for them to let you go.

Donny didn't speak as he moved up the stairs, looking ill all of a sudden. Like Utivich he had just been faced with a painful truth and he didn't like it. He had always hated it when girls cried. What were you supposed to do? Whenever he saw the waterworks he had been filled with a sudden need to get the Hell out of there. It's not that he didn't care, but he just didn't know what to do. He hated feeling so powerless. He liked Ellis, and Wicki had been his friend, and deep down inside him there was a pang of guilt for being so useless to both of them. He hadn't been able to help Wicki, and now all he wanted to do was get away from her.

But he would make it up to both of them. He was going to make it up to everyone he knew, and even those he didn't. He swore to himself that he was going to stop all of this suffering right at the source. Tomorrow night he would go to that premiere and he would end this war. No more Jews being killed or sent to death camps, no more soldiers dying for nothing, no more hiding and no more running for anyone. He was going to make sure that Adolf Hitler died the death he deserved to die. He didn't care who or what had to be taken out of the way. He was going to finish this once and for all.

Utivich moved in front of Donny and Ellis once they were on the upstairs landing, moving to one of the bedroom doors.

"Not that one," Donny hissed, as the Little Man went over to the doorway. "That Frog's kids are in there, and his broad's in the other one. We gotta stick her in the one we put Stiglitz."

"We can't do that," Utivich whispered, moving back over to Donny. He prayed that she was once again too disorientated to understand what they were saying. "It's not fair on her."

"We don't got a choice," Donny told him flatly.

"Don't be an asshole, Donny," Utivich pleaded almost. "It's just going to remind her. We'll just take her down to the couch again."

"I'm not being an asshole," Donny snapped back in a low voice. "How do you think the other guys are gonna feel seeing her like this? They know their buddy is gone, and I ain't gonna keep reminding them."

He made a good point. The others had lost Wicki too, and to be made endure more of that pain was not going to help them. They needed to be focused for a mission which had just become a whole lot more precarious.

"Shit…" he finally conceded.

"Yeah, it's shit, I know," Donny sympathised. "But you just gotta keep her calm, okay?"

"Okay."

He now moved over to the bedroom where an injured Stiglitz had put to rest after the vet patched him up. He wasn't fit for Kino anymore, barely able to lift his arm and two of the disks in his back needing to be put back into place. He had been knocked out to give him some rest anyway. Knowing Stiglitz, he would probably still be up for the mission anyway, despite however his body might protest. Ellis was in for a rough time though, and having to be on form tonight was certainly not going to make it an easier on her.

Donny carried her over to the bed and put her down as carefully as he had picked her up. She just lay there, her eyes open and occasionally blinking with bewilderment, her breathing shallow. Utivich sat down on the end of the bed, as Donny left the room as fast as he could. Utivich was left in the semi-darkness and quietness of the room, an unconscious Stiglitz in the bed on the opposite side of the room, and the catatonic Ellis just beside him. He buried his face in his hands and tried to breathe in deeply, searching for some inner strength that he knew he would need.

Important note! (please read).

This chapter was originally VERY different from this. It was very harsh and very brutal. But then I read all your lovely comments and reviews, and you made me feel like absolute shit. I felt SO GUILTY! The reason that there's a couple of things in this chapter that are quite far-fetched is that, because you all made me feel so wracked with guilt, I had to drastically change the chapter. In the original version, Stiglitz's survival makes a lot more sense, but because of the changes I made it a bit more 'miraculous'. The ending of chapter 25 was meant to be quite ambiguous, but instead I ended up writing something very misleading, and as a result I deceived you all, which was horrible and I'm sorry.

So i changed this chapter. I had done a very mean thing, and I realised that you all deserved much better then emotional cheap-shots. The end result is the same as the original version, but I chose to give Wicki and Ellis one last moment before he died. That wasn't originally the plan, but your comments broke my heart and so I added it in. When the entire fic is finished I might pop in the original at the end for you to see for yourselves what a mean bitch I had been.

So Wicki is gone. I'm so, so sorry. Please don't hate me:( He's a hero and he saved all of their lives, and so it's the only way he could go in the end. I'm so glad and proud that you all liked Wicki and Ellis together, and that I was able keep him a character that people really cared a lot about (as demonstrated by your lovely comments). Thank you so much guys, truly and sincerely.

But PLEASE don't hate me!