Hilde took a deep breath before stepping into the kitchen for dinner. Duo had left her alone a few minutes ago to finish changing, so he was already sitting down. As her petite frame broke through into the intense yellow light of the kitchen, they all stopped to look at her.
"Hilde?" Gretchen questioned, "You have worn that in years."
"So I've heard," Hilde replied bluntly. She took a shaky step forward and nearly fell, causing Hans to jump up and catch her.
"Maybe you shouldn't be walking around right now." He suggested with concern.
"No, no, I'm fine." Hilde insisted. But even as those words came out of her mouth, she felt a wave of nausea come over her.
"Maybe a little food will help, sit down." Gretchen said. Hilde obliged willingly and sat down between Duo and Hans. Gretchen began piling food on her plate.
"What…what is all this…?" Hilde wondered, staring at the strange concoction.
"It's your favourite," Gretchen replied, looking at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Sauerkraut."(1)
"Um…" Hilde wasn't so sure she would like it. But just to please the woman who'd taken her in, she took a tentative bite. Immediately her face scrunched up and she resisted the temptation to spit out the sour, bitter mess. She heard Duo snort beside her, apparently amused at her reaction.
Hilde glared at him for a moment. "What's the matter, dear? Don't you like it?" Gretchen asked.
"Maybe I could just have a hot dog or something."
"Well, I never would have expected your tastes to have changed!" Gretchen gasped. "Hans, is that normal?"
Hans shrugged, "Sometimes amnesiacs convince themselves they don't like certain things before they try them. It's a brain thing.
"Oh…well I an make you something else." Gretchen promised.
"Thank you," Hilde bowed her head nervously. 'Dammit! You're already screwing up!' She cursed herself. 'I'm never going to fit in here', she sobbed inwardly, 'What if I've changed so much that they kick me out? What if they start to hate me?'
As she mused, she felt a hand fall on her back. She stopped and looked up. "Don't worry about it babe, you never really liked that stuff anyway." Duo winked at her. Hilde could only blink. Duo's attempt at comforting her had succeeded and she smiled.
"Well, I called Mr. and Mrs. Nexing as soon as you woke up honey. They can't wait to come see you."
Hilde stopped eating and looked at up her. "Excuse me? Who are they?"
"Oh! I'm sorry! You've lost your memory. They've been our next-door neighbours for years! Mrs. Nexing babysat you when you were still in diapers!"
Duo glanced at Gretchen, and she frowned. "I'm sorry," She sighed, "I'm afraid I may be moving a bit too fast for you, honey. It's just that I'm so happy you're finally back."
"Back…?"
"Yes, you know, awake and all that. Maybe sometime you'll start to remember what happened to you, hm?" She was so openly optimistic about everything. But Hilde doubted if she'd ever recover her lost memories.
"Well Gretchen, dinner was excellent as usual," Duo said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to be late for work." He stood up and glanced at Hilde for a moment. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but then decided against it and walked out of the kitchen.
Hilde watched him, unsure of what to say or do. Duo was already a mystery to her. It was like he was wearing a mask of false happiness, but every so often she caught a glimpse of the real person underneath, the one who had some sort of secret that was eating away at him. He left promptly, leaving Hilde with her parents.
"Come on Hilde," Hans said as he stood up and wiped his mouth. "There's a movie on TV I wanted to see."
~***~
Chief inspector William Cornwell was still pouring over mounds of evidence from the Macintosh abduction. His head was pounding and his throat dry, but he was getting a lot of money from this case. He had to solve it, and fast.
The most interesting piece of evidence he'd acquired was the remains of a small dart. He had a lab working on testing the residue left on it. But until he got the results, he would have to work on other things. Mr. Macintosh had already told him of someone who'd used to work for him as a security guard. He made a likely suspect. He knew the grounds and security systems well enough to get past them; the problem was, the man had to be over fifty, and there was no way he could pull off a kidnapping scheme on his own.
Other than an accomplice, he had almost everything he needed to arrest him. The main thing right now was to find him. Cornwell had traced his suspect through five name changes, before he finally lost track of him. How was it possible that some old guy could outrun the police for so long?
"Where the hell are you, Hans Schbeiker?"
~***~
"Oh! The Nexings are here!" Gretchen said happily as she opened the door for her friends. An elderly couple stepped in and greeted her warmly. They were a kind looking couple, both with graying hair and friendly smiles.
"So young Hilde is awake again, is she?" Mrs. Nexing asked as she searched around the hall. "Where is she?"
"She's watching television with her father. Come in, come in, and meet her."
They both smiled as Gretchen showed them to the living room and tapped Hilde on the shoulder. "Hilde, this is Mr. and Mrs. Nexing. I know you don't remember them, but they've been waiting to see you."
Hilde stood up and smiled politely at the couple. "Hello, it's very nice to meet you." She expected only a handshake form them, but Mrs. Nexing brushed her hand away and gave her a suffocating hug. "Oh we've missed you dear! We were all so worried!"
Hilde smiled uncertainly and yawned as the woman pulled away.
"Why, you've worn her out Gretchen!" Mr. Nexing accused laughingly. "You shouldn't be walking around so much, my dear."
"You're probably right," Hilde agreed with a smile. "I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight."
"Alright, see you in the morning." Gretchen said.
"Yeah…" Hilde made her escape from the over-friendly people and somehow managed to make it all the way back up to her attic room. She stumbled into bed and was asleep almost instantly. She'd had an exhausting day.
~**~
"Do you really think this is right?" Mrs. Nexing asked shakily.
"Of course it is," Hans replied firmly, "It's our right to have her here."
"But…she was so happy there…"
"She only thought she was happy." Gretchen snarled, bordering on tears. "She's better off here, where she belongs."
"Well, you could at least send her to a hosp…"
"No! No hospitals!" Hans cried. "They might…they might figure something out."
Mr. Nexing sighed, "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Hans. It's not right."
Hans glared at the man, rising up out of his chair as he spoke. "You have to! I'm not letting her leave this place! If you ever dare to go to the police I'll…"
"Hans…?"
Hans stopped in mid-sentence and looked up. Duo stood in the doorway, looking wearily at them. "You guys shouldn't talk so loud. She'll hear you." He told them. "I could hear you guys practically all the way down the street."
"Duo's right," Hans sighed as he took his seat again. "Maybe you guys should go."
The Nexings nodded as they got up. "Don't worry Hans, we wont go to the police." Mrs. Nexing assured him.
Hans nodded and showed them out of the house. "Duo," He sighed once they'd left. "Remind me again why I'm doing this?"
Duo smiled, "Because she's your daughter." He winked before he headed upstairs.
When he had finally made his way to the attic room, he saw that Hilde was already fast asleep. She was curled up with her knees brought up to her chest, hugging a pillow. She looked so comfortable there, her chest rising and falling as she took each breath. Duo sighed as he looked at her. Carefully he took a step forward and studied her face. She looked so at peace while she was sleeping, no longer afraid. The space next to her looked so inviting, and, as her fiancée, he had every right to occupy it. Still, he decided he'd be better off if he just slept on the couch. He kicked off his shoes and peeled off his shirt before he stumbled back down the stairs. Gretchen and Hans had already gone to bed, so he didn't disturb anybody when he came down.
Duo lay down on the hard couch, a broken spring pressing into his lower back. He stared up at the ceiling, and for the thousandth time wondered if they were doing the right thing. Surely there was some other way…sighing, he finally fell asleep, his own guilt haunting his dreams.