Berwald opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the morning light, running a hand through his hair and sitting up. The sunlight drifted through the window, highlighting the bedroom and making it appear grey in the early morning before the sun had fully risen. Specks of dust floats before his eyes. It was a new day and Berwald tried to feel hopeful. Maybe today would be the day he woke up…

He looked over to where Tino lay sleeping, where he had lay sleeping for weeks now, fighting the infection that plagued his body. The immediate danger was gone now, thanks to Dr Wang.

Berwald recalled sitting on a wooden stool, head in hands, as the stern man told him exactly what the red, swollen marks around Tino's wound meant and how they could be treated. Berwald did not leave Tino's side when Dr Wang cleaned the red, slowly-healing, gash, and then explained to Berwald how to make sure it would not get worse whilst promising to visit daily to treat him with medicine. Tino, meanwhile, was unaware of all of this, due to the fever brought on by the infection which left him unconscious and in the fleeting moments when he would wake, suffering confusion and hallucinations, thrashing feebly and sweating, sometimes crying out in pain or fear. It broke Berwald's heart to see him like this, but at least he was alive, and would hopefully stay that way. The process of healing was slow and uncertain, but eventually Dr Wang declared that he would make a full recovery, though when he would regain consciousness was unknown as Tino was exhausted and weak from a lack of food and energy. The sooner he woke up, the tired doctor informed them, the sooner Tino could get good food and drink into his system to recover. There had been some attempts to feed and hydrate him, in those rare moments when he was half aware of where he was, so he was getting some of the energy needed to heal, but what the man really needed was a solid meal.

Berwald could not thank Dr Wang enough for his work. The man just modestly shrugged it off, claiming that he was simply doing his job and it was important to him to do everything in his power to make sure his patients survived; he got paid more when they did that. From the look in his eyes when he spoke, Berwald guessed Dr Wang had seen many deaths in his lifetime, perhaps even lost someone close, definitely seen people he'd tried to save pass away from injury or disease, and could understand that helpless feeling of watching people suffer and not be able to save them. Watching them struggle and fail whilst being powerless to do anything but hope.

Berwald shook his head to get rid of the memories and stood up, pulling on clothes ready for another day that would involve him trying to carve toys out of wood, but instead checking up on Tino every ten minutes until he eventually gave in and spent the rest of the day keeping a silent vigil next to him.

Still, he had to try to carry on, at least until Tino woke up. Sighing, he made his way into the kitchen to find that Erikur, who was eating slouched in a wooden chair, was the only one up. The boys must already be in school, and Arthur and Aleks were lying in.

"Hey Ber," greeted Erikur, "still no change?"

Berwald shook his head and sat down.

"Hang in there, old man," soothed Erikur, "he's just taking his time, that's all."

Berwald nodded, looking at the plate of food in front of him but not eating.

"It's just…" he sighed, "he was so ill 'nd I'm scared it was too much fer him."

"I doubt there is anything 'too much' for our Tino," argued Erikur, absent-mindedly feeding pieces of mackerel to Mr Puffin.

…

Tino blinked a couple of times, taking in his surroundings through his hazy vision. How had he ended up in his and Berwald's room? The last thing he remembered was lying in the freezing mud, dying next to Berwald. He tried to recall the details; he'd been injured, and Berwald had saved him from drowning and they… kissed? Tino's eyebrows knitted together as he tried to remember. Yes, they definitely kissed. Tino even told Berwald of his feelings… and Berwald returned them? Tino hoped so. Well, he was still here, right? So it wasn't like Berwald hated him enough to leave him to die in the mud…

So he'd survived the events of… how long ago was that night? Tino shakily pulled himself up into a sitting position, and looked down to find his chest wrapped in clean bandages. So, he was healing fine, apparently. Out of the corner of his eye, Tino spied a group of glass bottles on his bedside table. He picked each one up and studied the labels. They were for treating infection. So his condition had been direr than he'd originally thought. Now he had no idea of how long he'd been out.

There was also a small piece of chocolate and a jug of water. Where they for him? It was the sort of thing Berwald would leave out for him, probably for when he woke up, so Tino felt no guilt pouring himself a glass of the clear liquid and downing it before biting off a piece of sweet chocolate. Tino loved sugary things, so this was a nice- if rare- treat.

He swung his legs over the side of his bed and slipped into his boots, so his feet wouldn't get cold on the floor as he tried to figure out what had happened. he didn't like how exposed he was, clad in only the shorts of his undergarments, and quickly pulled his pyjama shirt on, which he found lying at the end of his bed.

Tino wasn't sure he was awake enough to face people yet, so began to search the room. Nothing seemed out of place; his painting books and adventure novels were all in the right place, next to Berwald's Dickens' and Twain's. There was a pile of magazine's and newspapers on the desk and Tino rifled through them, only reading the headlines: 'Serial killer arrested!' 'Local heroes join forces with police!' 'Composer set free after innocence proved!' 'Latest victim fighting for life in hospital!'

So they caught him then, thought Tino, staring at Gilbert's sneering face on the front page of a paper, the man in chains being led away by police. A few other familiar faces popped up in the different papers, each accompanying a different tale from a survivor: Berwald, Aleks Arthur and Erikur standing in front of the shop under the printed word 'heroes', though none of them looked too pleased at being called that; Ludwig and Eduard posing proudly in their police uniforms, with a shiny medal pinned on each of their coats; William with his children, also dubbed a hero, as were Toris and Feliks; Roderich, Elizabeta and little Franz also had their own article, probably detailing Roderich being pardoned and his family's near abduction; surprisingly, Florenza and her stage group also appeared on one of the papers; but the most shocking of all was Tino's own face, not staring up at him, as his eyes were closed, but haunting enough. He was lying in a hospital bed, pale, sickly, dark rings around his eyes and he was covered in sweat. The bandages covered his infected wound, thankfully, but he still looked pretty terrifying.

There seemed to be nothing else helpful in the room, so Tino decided to try his luck downstairs.

…

"I guess we should be starting to open up, right?" suggested Arthur, who had joined Berwald and Erikur in the kitchen.

"You're right," mumbled Berwald, though he really did not want to. Running the shop just didn't seem right without Tino's chatter and jokes, the man constantly popping into his workroom throughout the day to make sure he was happy, not bored and not overworking himself.

"Hey look who I found wandering the hallway!" exclaimed Aleks, entering, dragging a laughing Tino behind him.

"You're back!" cried Erikur, jumping up.

"About pissing time," joked Arthur.

Berwald stood up slowly, too shocked to speak.

"Hey Ber," Tino gave a warm smile, "miss me?"

Berwald pulled Tino into a tight hug, tears trickling down his face.

"More th'n anything," he replied.

"Ah now, don't start the waterworks," chided Tino, chuckling.

Berwald nodded, pulled away and sat down, heaping a large pile of food onto a plate and shoving it in front of Tino, who plopped down next to him. His chubbiness had all but vanished over the past weeks, fat reserves and even some muscle disappearing to fuel his ailing, starved body.

"Eat," he ordered, "yer weak from hunger."

"Darn right I am," mumbled Tino through a mouthful of bread, "I could eat a horse right now. Thank you for the chocolate, by the way. So how long was I out?"

"A good few weeks chap," Arthur filled in, "it's December now."

"Holy shit,' gasped Tino, accidentally spraying Berwald with spit and bread; "I didn't miss Christmas, right?'

"Nope," replied Erikur, "it's only the sixteenth."

"Ah, good," Tino frowned, "still a long time though."

"You did h've an infection though…" reasoned Berwald.

"I guessed as much," Tino thought for a few moments, "so you caught Gilbert then?"

"Yup," confirmed Erikur, "right after you two went over, all hell broke loose, seriously. We all made some sort of silent agreement to charge the bastard, and he saw and bolted realising he messed up big time, but he was trapped on the bridge 'cause some massive freaking Turkish bloke shows up with all his actor mates! Apparently one of the girls with them was a lady friend of Ludwig's and he'd offended her or something, so they were all goin' over to yell at him, but one look kinda explained the situation and Ludwig shouted at them who Gilbert was. So they joined in on our side. Even with their help we had a hard time getting him. The little shit weren't gonna go without a proper fight, so was just slashing that knife of his everywhere. Aleks wouldn't let me near the man, but it was still scary as hell. Al got nicked in the face," he indicated to the thin scar on Aleks' cheek, "so did William, Feliks and some of them actors." He shrugged nonchalantly, "but nothin' serious, mind you," he paused for breath. "It was only when Captain eyebrows, the two peelers, Elizabeta, William and some massive great Dutch guy all jumped him at once that we were able to subdue the man and get his knife so he couldn't hurt anyone."

"I see…" Tino sat listening, taking everything in; "he must have been pretty strong if it took so many of you to get him."

"Either that or he was desperate and completely insane," commented Aleks.

"He seemed pretty unhinged to me," agreed Tino, shuddering at the memory.

"Well, it's all behind us now," said Arthur, looking as haunted as the rest of them.

"So what happened to him?" asked Tino, "was he executed?"

"Hanged last week," Aleks confirmed, "oh, we should warn you that it's best not to bring the subject up around Ludwig. Naturally, he's still distraught and it's best not to mention it. Gilbert was pretty much his best friend. But everyone's been helping him so he's getting better… it's just slow going."

"Of course," Tino finished eating and stood up, "so should we open the shop then?"

Berwald nodded, frowning, "y' sure you can manage?"

"Yes," Tino smiled and walked out. He wanted to have a few moments alone in the shop, his shop, before the others came down. It looked pretty much like how he had last seen it, but there was a gloomy presence in the air like the room itself had mourned his absence. It appeared dustier than when he'd left it; had the others not noticed? Had they're been too upset to? The toys were still there, a few news ones too, but not many. He could tell which ones were new at a glance; they were slightly shoddier, made by a troubled hand. The morning sunlight filtered in through the large windows at the front and Tino unlocked the door, flipping the sign hanging on it from 'closed' to 'open'.

"Here, case yer thirsty," Tino turned around to find Berwald standing at the foot of the stairs holding a cup of coffee, just like he had been the day everything started…

"Thank you," replied Tino, walking over and taking the cup, drinking deeply.

"…Love you," Berwald whispered to him, averting his eyes and blushing.

"Love you too," Tino beamed at him, blushing back and stroking the taller man's coarse hair.

"Um, hello?' the pair turned to look at Ludwig walking in the front door, and Tino went over to greet him whilst Berwald disappeared into the workroom.

"How can I help you today?" he asked.

"Tino? You're better then?" he gave a small smile, "actually, I'm here to buy some playthings."

"Really?" What did he need toys for?

"Yes, do you have anything that's safe for newborns and little babies?" he inquired, looking at the displays.

"Hmm," Tino scratched his chin as he thought, "well the stuffed toys are probably the best choice for newborns at they don't have small parts and are very soft… why do you need baby toys?"

"For the baby."

"What baby?' asked Tino, looking around.

"Ludwig and Florenza's baby!" exclaimed Erikur, chuckling as he bounded down the stairs.

"Oh, is it December 1889 or something?" asked Tino, "because last time I was awake they didn't."

"No, silly," laughed Erikur, "Florenza and Ludwig are going to have a baby. Florenza's pregnant!"

"Florenza's pregnant?" asked Tino, eyes darting from Erikur to Ludwig, who nodded, blushing and grinning with joy.

"Oh wow when is the baby due?" asked Tino.

"Around July, if I recall correctly," Ludwig informed him.

"So, have you got a name for them?" asked Tino, leading Ludwig to the shelves containing stuffed toys. When Ludwig didn't reply, Tino looked over at him, frowning.

"No names yet, huh?"

"Well…" Ludwig was avoiding Tino's gaze, focusing his attention on his large hands instead.

"What?"

"Look… I know he was a horrible person, but…"

"You want to name your child Gilbert?" Tino raised an eyebrow, giving a small, understanding smile.

"…he was my brother," Ludwig tried to explain, "and I know he did terrible things but he never used to be like that, I swear. The guy looked after me when I was little and my parents were busy and he pretty much made me who I was today. I just want the old Gilbert to be remembered. So other people can know that wasn't his only side. I'm not excusing him, far from it, but…"

"I get it," said Tino, "and has Florenza approved the name choice?"

"Yes, she understands the bond between siblings well."

"And if the baby's a girl?"

"We do not know yet," Ludwig told him, "though quite a few of Florrie's friends have been asking to name it after them."

"So how is she anyway?" asked Tino.

"Good. She and the other actors are using their reward money to get noticed, pay for posters and leaflets and other advertising, so they're becoming more popular now."

"They got reward money?"

"We all did," Erikur explained, "thank God, or we'd never have been able to afford a doctor."

"So you waste-"

"Don't even finish that sentence!" ordered Erikur, "it was a unanimous decision and you've have done the same for any of us. Besides, Aleks needed stitches for his wound too."

"I see," Tino helped Ludwig pick out a few stuffed toys for the unborn baby, mainly dogs, cats and birds, before wrapping them up in colourful paper, as they were supposed to be a Christmas surprise for Florenza.

"So are you getting married then?" he asked as he worked.

"This February," replied Ludwig, "I wrote a letter to my parents informing them of such yesterday. I am not sure if they will approve of Florenza, but I don't particularly care. Still, a bit of good news is what everyone needs right now."

"You're right about that," agreed Tino, "are we invited?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Ludwig, "would you mind lending us Peter and Lars to be ring bearers? We were going to have Florenza's little brother Salvatorio do it but he keeps going on about how he's too 'grown up' to, so he's in charge of food and walking Florrie and the aisle with her other brother, Lovino."

"Yeah, sure, I'm certain they'll love to be ring bearers."

Ludwig thanked him and left; Tino didn't see any more customers around so he went to check on Berwald, who was carving away at a tiny ship.

"Saw Ludwig just now," he said.

"I know," Berwald briefly looked up from his work to give a small smile.

"A baby and a wedding," Tino whistled, "he seems to be getting his life back on track."

"Happy for him."

"Me too," Tino agreed, "lord knows we all need a bit of good news."

"Is being alive not good enough?" asked Berwald, frowning.

"Yes but," Tino sighed, "a lot of people have died these past months and those left behind are struggling to come to terms with it, you know? I could see what happened with Gilbert's tearing Ludwig up inside; he feels so much grief and guilt right now. Aleks and William are trying to put on a brave face for their families but I think those wounds are too big to heal any time soon." He sat down on his stool, picking at a splinter sticking out of his desk. "What we all need is some hope. We all need to feel normal, happy, if only for a few hours," he thought for a moment, "I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Get some paper, Ber, we have invitations to write."

…

Yes, yes, I know. This chapter is long overdue and I'm sorry.

So, only one chapter to go, it appears. But I have other story ideas so please keep an eye out for those, if you want. Now how would everyone feel about a sequel to this with the main pairings as SeaWy, KugelDonia AmeBel, LatUkr and Thaiviet? So basically the kids in this story as adults, plus some more characters not featured in this?