"Good afternoon Ms. Denson," the mailman walked into the shop and laid his bag down by the door.

Melody popped up from below the counter to great the newcomer, "Good afternoon, Albert. Scorcher outside today, isn't it? Would you like a glass of water?"

"If you don't mind." Melody went to the back while Albert sifted through his mailbag. "While I'm here, I might as well drop off your mail for both your business and your home. Makes one less stop for me, and my bag a little bit lighter." Albert traded Melody her mail for the glass of water, "Thank you."

Melody sifted through the mail, most being bills and ads for local shops. She stopped at one that had a stamp signifying it went through a military postal station. She looked at the sender's address and noticed that it was from Delilah. She turned to Albert with an excited grin on her face, "It's a letter from Del!"

"Well then I'll leave you to it. You'll have to tell me how she is when I come around tomorrow, and thanks again for the water." Albert left and Melody sat and tore the letter open.

Hey mom, how's it going back on the home front? I'm doing well, and they have me

doing some important clerical work that I can't go into detail. Let's just say

I'm a very trusted individual. I've made a new friend the other day as well.

I was on a delivery when I saw one of our supply planes go down, so I rushed

over to help. Come to find out it was a woman pilot, which there aren't many,

transporting some medical supplies. Don't worry, I wasn't in a fire fight.

Her plane was hit miles away and limped near me. Her name is Victory

and she's promised me a ride in a plane when she gets a new one.

She's also a really good singer and did a performance at the base I'm at as

thanks, as well as putting in a recommendation for me to get a medal for bravery.

She did bring up something that I wanted to run by you. Victory says that

they are having a hard time getting medical supplies to the frontlines and

it's causing the soldiers to die of sickness more than war itself. I was thinking

that maybe you could use your "experience" and pass on some helpful information.

They could really use it here.

Melody stared at the last paragraph and pondered about what could be done. She did live in a lot of the places the US was fighting in. She reached up to the top shelf behind her and started pulling old books down. One of her trips to China led her to the town of Ningbo. She hoped to see her shop still under the control of the Liu family, but found out it had gone under in the in the early 1700s. Oddly enough the book store was still thriving and she found her old manuals in a bargain bin, minus the one she made for Chinese plant life. She started flipping through and marking off ones she thought would be beneficial. When she was satisfied, she grabbed the phone and called Katie. "Hello, Katie? This is Melody. I was wondering if you could call your husband and have him stop by the shop before he comes home. I might have something he might be interested in."

After several hours, Melody was putting on the finishing touches as Jack walked through the doors. "So, Katie tells me you have something for me. Seems a little cryptic, but she told me to go anyways and pick up some sleep aids while I'm here."

Melody grabbed a bottle from under the counter and placed it next to the stack of papers. "I got a letter from Delilah today, and she told me something very concerning. It seems those that are fighting are succumbing to disease and infection more than they are from bullets and bombs."

Jack gave Melody a concerned look, "I'm not sure how she got that information, but it has come up a couple of times in our briefings. But what does that have to do with my visit here?" Melody pushed the papers closer to Jack, forcing him to read them. He looked them over and scratched his head. "I'm still confused. All I see is a bunch of names I can't pronounce that I can only assume are plants according to your descriptions, and then instructions on how to mix them."

"These are the same instructions I use to make most of what you see in this shop. They're not as effective because I add other ingredients to make them more potent in smaller doses for home use; but these are crude makeups that can be used in a pinch in say, a survival application. And they're all separated by location too."

Jack looked them back over and his eyes grew as big as saucers. "My god, this might be what we've been looking for all this time. Our supply runs have been hit constantly, but a simple booklet is easy to transport with every batch of new recruits. I have to get this to the Major. Can you call my wife and tell her I'll be late?"

"No problem, Jack."

A month went by and Melody was sitting on the porch as a black sedan with a star on the side pulled in front of her home. Melody could feel her heart pounding, seeing these vehicles pull up to friends' houses with nothing but disturbing news. It was made worse by seeing Jack step out of the passenger seat. She shot up with a worried look on her face, but Jack was quick to shoot her a smile and signaled her to relax. Jack reached for the back door and opened for an older gentleman with a military officer uniform with more ribbons on his chest than there was room. Melody could also make out two stars on each side of his shoulders. They approached the porch and Jack was the first to speak.

"I saw the look on your face, but you can relax. As far as I know Delilah is perfectly fine. This is General Mason and he would like to talk to you about the pamphlet you made."

Melody let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank God. Please, have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?"

General Mason raised his hand, "None for me. I plan to be brief since I have many more stops to make today. I want to discuss about your medicinal pamphlets you made. I had it ran through some of our scientists and they say they had never seen anything like it. These mixtures have never been heard of, and yet they say the creations will do exactly as you described. How did you come up with these?"

"I traveled a lot when I was younger, and then more so when I wanted to expand the knowledge of my business. I'm from across the sea, and a lot of other countries did business with ones our men and women are currently in. I heard they needed help, so I thought this was the least I could do."

"And for that, we'd like to thank you." The General nodded towards Jack, and Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. Melody took it, opened it, and her mouth dropped in shock.

"I think there has been some kind of mistake."

"No mistake, this is the standard fee we pay to every military contract. We obviously can't distribute your information without proper compensation."

"But you just handed me a check for $20,000! I wrote down some information and you all did the rest of the work. You're paying me like I designed a new weapon to win the war."

"But you may very well just have. We've already had medics on the field test these on soldiers and they have quickly recovered and went right on fighting. The best weapons we have are boots on the ground, and your medicines are helping us keep them in the fight."

Melody fell back into her chair while staring at the check. "With this money, I can expand my business to other places. Turn it from a single store into a franchise."

The General stood from his seat and put his hat back on, "And I know of a lot of good men and women that'll be looking for work once this is all over, and I'm sure they'd be happy to work for someone that looked out for them."

-o-O-o-

As she had said she would, Melody invested the money and started opening new stores around the area. It wasn't long until Charming Pharmaceuticals had become a statewide known store. And as the general had said, some coming back from the war were asking if they could either work or help run one of her many stores, and as long as they knew what to do, she was more than happy to let them. Delilah had also sent her letters saying no one would believe the person who made the pamphlets was her mother, until Melody sent Delilah several signed copies to hand out. Her last letter was shortly before the war was announced to be over, stating Melody needed to have the tea ready, and make sure to set out an extra cup for a guest. She assumed that Delilah had weaseled her way in getting Victory to come by, but she was never expecting who had actually came.

Melody heard a knock at the door and was overjoyed when she saw Delilah standing there, smiling in her uniform. Melody's eyes welled up with tears as she reached out and brought Delilah in for a tight hug.

"Too tight, mom; too tight."

"Nonsense. This isn't tight enough, don't you think for one second I'm letting you go."

"Then it's going to be very hard for you to meet the person I brought with me."

Melody let her go, "That's right, your guest. I'm guessing you brought that Victory person you always talked about. Where is she?"

"HE is right here. Mom, I would like you to meet Leon; my boyfriend."

Melody turned to the man Delilah had pulled into the doorway and saw a tall blonde haired man standing with a nervous look on his face. "Not what I was expecting, and will definitely want to hear more about this." Melody stuck her hand out to greet him, "But for now, it's a pleasure to meet you Leon."

Leon took her hand and shook it, "Guten tag, Ms. Denson." Leon's face went from nervousness to discomfort as he felt his hand being crushed in Melody's hand. "You have quite the grip Ms. Denson."

"Delilah, please explain; and do it quickly before he has to learn to do things with his left hand."

Delilah grabbed Melody's arm and yanked it away, "Mom, quit embarrassing me."

"We spend nearly a decade fighting the Nazis, and you bring one home?!"

"I am no Nazi," Leon spoke up with a look of disgust on his face. "If you wish, I would gladly explain."

"Fine, let's all go to the kitchen. You have until I finish my tea to persuade me." They went inside and Melody filled all three cups with the fresh pot of tea she made. Melody took a small sip and set the cup back on the saucer, "Tick Tock."

Delilah crossed her arms in frustration while Leon reassured her it would be alright. "My name is Leon Richter, and I was part of the German army. However, while I fought for that side, it was not long before I despised why we fought. My intention was to fight to protect my homeland, but when I found out we were fighting to spread a hateful message, I couldn't stand for it any longer. I couldn't just desert, or I would have surely been executed; but I did find another way. I passed intel to the allied forces of where SS strongholds and concentration camps were located. I was on an American base when I head of Hitler's death, and cheered along with them."

Melody nodded and turned her head towards her daughter, "And how do you fit in this mix?"

Delilah took a deep breath to calm herself, but still carried an irritated look. "On one of his trips back to an allied base, I found him while I was transporting some documents. I grabbed the pistol they let me keep in the jeep and took him prisoner. It wasn't until after the half hour chewing out I got from the captain that I could have messed up the biggest mission ever. Since I was already part of intelligence communication, I was put in charge of him as 'punishment'. We eventually got to know each other and started adding secret messages to each other through our communications."

Melody looked down at her empty cup and handed it to Delilah, "Could you get me some more please. Remember, two scoops of sugar." Delilah rolled her eyes and snatched the cup as she went to the kitchen. Melody made sure she was out of earshot before she turned back to Leon and spoke to him in what she could remember of the German language. "For now I'm going to believe you. I've been around long enough to tell when someone is lying, and you aren't. However, if I ever find out otherwise, or you hurt my little girl, nothing that happened in those camps will compare with the hell I'll bring down on you. Understood?" Leon nodded with his face now drained of any color. Delilah came back and looked between them with confusion. Melody reached up to her with a smile, "Thank you, sweetie."

Melody eventually warmed up to Leon, and she treated him as if he was her own son. Within a year, Delilah and Leon were planning their wedding. Leon had taken a job as a realtor while Delilah juggled working at Melody's shop and attending university. In the summer of 1948, Delilah and Leon traded their vows off the coast of Chesapeake Bay, having their reception at the same building Melody and Stephan had their first date. While the rest of the guests were dancing around, Melody sat with the two newlyweds at their table.

"I am so happy for the both of you. It makes me feel proud that my little girl found someone of her very own, and someone that will treat her right." They both thanked her for her sentiments. "Which is why I want you two to have this," Melody reached into her purse and pulled out a box. Delilah took it and saw a set of keys inside.

"What are these?"

"Well, one key would be to the shop, and the other is to the house."

Delilah and Leon looked at each other in astonishment, with Delilah answering back, "But mom, both the store and house is yours."

Melody shook her head, "Not anymore. I'm planning on expanding my company out west, and I can't do that from here. It was hard enough getting it to cross the state lines. I have some contacts from the other franchise holders that are willing to help start up ones where they live. As for me, I'll just bounce around from town to town until I hit the other coast."

"And when do you plan on doing that Ms. Denson," Leon asked.

Melody gave Leon a sly smirk, "We didn't just go through this whole ceremony for you not to call me mom. As for your question, I actually have the car packed. And for the stuff I can't bring, it's been placed in a storage locker until I can settle down again. Tomorrow morning, you two start your new lives, and so do I." Melody stood up and kissed them both on the forehead, "But for now, we celebrate."

-o-O-o-

The moment Melody left, she went from state to state meeting up with the contacts she was given and started up new stores. Most of the people she met had the old military pamphlets, which she would sign and then give them the information they would need to make the marketable variety. By the time she made it to the west coast, she had countless stores opened in every state to settle down and to make a distribution factory, and her new headquarters. She kept in touch with Delilah and was happy to hear that everything was going well and that she had kids of her own, which she included pictures. The years went by in the blink of Melody's eye and her grandkids had kids of their own. Then news took a sour turn when Delilah wrote that Leon had died from cancer, and then Delilah was hospitalized herself. Melody packed a suitcase and took the first flight she could to see her.

When she arrived, Melody hailed a taxi and rushed over to the hospital. She ran up to the desk, out of breath, and asked where Delilah Richter was staying. The nurse at the desk told her, and Melody made her way to the room. As she walked down the hall, she caught a glimpse of some familiar faces in the waiting room. Inside was the family she only knew as photographs. She stared with longing in her eyes before she made her way to Delilah's room. She walked in and saw a person she barely recognized. Her little girl was now a frail old woman. Melody grabbed a chair and set it next to the bed. It took all of her strength just to reach out to her, fearing the slightest touch would break her.

Delilah stirred at the touch and smiled at Melody. "Well if it isn't the fountain of youth herself. It's been a long time, mom."

"Indeed it has. I'm sorry I couldn't come out more."

"I understand. It would look really weird for Leon to see you so young, especially after our kids got up there in age. I see you backed off on the aging makeup."

"Not much need to keep up appearances when you don't stick around the same place for long. So, have they said what is wrong with you?"

"Yeah, but it's some long name I can never remember. It's on the medical chart."

Melody reached back and pulled it off the bed end. She flipped through it and found the cause, but couldn't understand it herself. Next to it, in parenthesis, it listed a common cause for the disease. "Radiation poisoning. At what point were you anywhere near radiation?"

"I guess I'm not releasing much government secrets now. Because of my work in intelligence, I worked a lot missions that were very hush hush, including one known as the Manhattan project. I was actually back in the states for a good six months before I came home; I just couldn't write much because of the sensitivity of the mission."

Melody sighed, "You promised me you'd be safe."

"No, if I remember correctly I said I'd come back safe. I didn't find out about this until Leon died. Some of the intel he brought back was from the German's own nuclear project." Delilah gave off a fierce cough that startled Melody. Delilah calmed her panic and ushered back to sit down. "It's fine, it happens all the time. Besides, it's not like it can go on much longer." Delilah gave off a weak laugh that stopped abruptly. Delilah's voice started to quiver and a single tear rolled down her face. "Mom, what's it like to die?"

A knot formed at the pit of Melody's stomach as she took in those words. "I…I don't know. That is, I don't know how to answer the question to help you. Every death I had was violent and sudden. The only thing I can think to come close is my time in the Sahara where I was in a constant state of dehydration. If I ever felt mine, they were excruciatingly painful, none of which I would wish on my enemies. But I've never had anything as slow as yours, so I don't know how to help." Delilah began to cry more and Melody squeezed her hand harder. "Believe me when I say I would trade everything to take your place."

Delilah choked back the rest of her tears and smiled, "I guess I just have to look on the bright side. I'll be with Leon once again. Maybe I can ever introduce him to Eric."

"That's my girl." Melody stood up and kissed Delilah on the cheek. "I'll be here if you need me. Just head back to sleep." Delilah nodded and closed her eyes. Melody walked out and headed to the waiting room. She pressed a button on the coffee machine and watched as it dropped a small paper cup and began to pour. Even after it finished, Melody continued to stare down at the steaming cup of coffee. The image of the cup began to blur out of focus as Melody's eyes filled with tears. She placed her back against the machine and slid down to the grown, placing her head between her knees and sobbed. "Please, don't take my little girl away. Take me instead. Do you hear me Hecate? Alter the deal. Let her live a little longer and let me take her place." Melody was startled out of her pleas when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She saw a little girl recoil from the sudden movement, and then hand Melody the blanket she was holding. Melody took the blanket as if on autopilot, and grasped it tightly.

"Susie, what are you doing?" A woman rushed over and grabbed the little girl. "I'm so sorry miss. She's always been one to want to cheer anyone up."

Melody wiped her eyes and stood up, "No, it's alright. It's a good trait to have." Melody leaned closer to the little girl and handed her the blanket back, "Thank you." The little girl took the blanket back and tucked it deep into her chest.

The woman reached her hand out, "My name is Diane, and this little helper is Susie. We're family of the woman in room 418."

Melody's eyes went wide. Delilah was in room 418. She looked closer and could see that the woman looked exactly like one of the pictures of her great grandchildren, but now grown up. "It's good to meet you."

"This is the rest of my family," she turned and gestured to the rest of those sitting in the room, now all turning their gaze to Melody and waving. "Why don't you come sit with us. It looks like you could use some company." Melody smiled and nodded as she was ushered over to an empty seat. They talked amongst each other, sharing stories about their past, some of which Melody remembered from the letters Delilah wrote. When Melody shared her past, she made sure to keep things vague and left out knowing anything about Delilah. They continued to talk until they all fell asleep in the waiting room.

Melody was woken up by the sound of someone coming in and trying to wake up the family. She opened her eyes and saw a doctor shaking the one named Hector, Melody's first grandchild.

"Sir, I have some news pertaining to Mrs. Richter. I don't know if you want the whole family to hear or tell them later."

"Wait." Hector got up and started to shake everyone awake. Melody sat up, but tried to not look like she was intently listening. "Now you can tell us all."

The doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to inform you that Mrs. Richter passed sometime in her sleep last night. If it is any comfort, she died peacefully. I'll leave you to grieve, and when you're ready I'll be ready to talk about final preparations."

The family grieved in their own ways, some quietly comforting those that were crying at the top of their lungs, while others went to a corner and prayed. Melody buried her head in her hands and silently did a combination of the three. When she was able to compose herself, she got up and approached the family. "My condolences. From what I heard from you all last night, you all were a family with such love. I just wish the same could be said about mine."

Diane stood up and wrapped Melody in a hug. "Thank you. And I hope everything goes better with your little girl."

Melody's heart sank. She wanted to tell all of them the truth, but she knew she couldn't. Even if she could, this would not have been the time to do it. "Yeah, me too." Melody bid them farewell and got a room at a nearby hotel where she curled up into a ball and cried uncontrollably for hours.

-o-O-o-

The family had apparently already set up arrangements for the worse, because the funeral had taken place less than a week after Delilah's death. Melody stood away from the procession under a tree, hiding herself with its shadow. Her solace was short lived by the appearance of someone she hadn't seen in ages.

"About time you didn't screw up someone's life."

Melody took a swing at the figure before immediately regretting it when her fist made contact with the tree. Melody covered her mouth to keep from yelping out loud and held her hand close to her as it healed the newly formed lacerations. "Can we not do this now? You can twist the dagger tomorrow, but for now just let me have this moment."

The specter made a mocking gasp, "Is that all you see me as? Just someone out to torture you?" Melody shot her other self a glare, "Fair enough, but it's you who makes me so. Only you have the power to make it stop."

"And how do I do that?"

"When you learn to let go." With those words, the specter drifted away.