Tino turned to stare at Berwald. "Gilbert? Who is he?" he asked, still feeling shocked from the explosion.

The Swede felt like he got caught in a bear-trap, but there's no time to make excuses! "I need to go to those flats! You go find Peter and bring him back! I'll call you later!" With that, he immediately ran out the room, seizing his car keys as he descended down the stairs instead of taking the time-consuming elevator.

Beeping, the car unlocked as Berwald opened the door, dove inside and suddenly sped off down the road. His heart raced, and he knew he's going to be in trouble for not wearing his seatbelt, but screw it!

The ambulances have already beaten him to the scene as expected, but it was total chaos. The area was quiet before this happened, but now there are a lot of spectators milling near the scene behind a line of policemen. Berwald parked the car quickly and ran out to greet one of the officers, which happened to be Arthur himself. The Englishman raised his eyebrows in surprise when the taller man stormed over to him.

"Mr Oxenstierna! What a surprise!" he exclaimed. When Berwald tried to push past, the policeman stepped in front of him, arms outstretched. "No, you cannot go past!"

"Gilbert is in there!" Berwald ranted and tried to run past again, but Arthur seized his lower arms with a glare. Berwald could easily overpower him, but right now he's glaring at Arthur as a warning. "Let me go!"

"I can't! It's my duty to protect the public!" Arthur countered. Suddenly the other male stepped back and charged past him, bumping shoulders and managing to run to the blazing building. The front doors were already opened (or blasted open) so the Swede immediately went inside. But as soon as he went inside he stumbled and tripped over a body lying on the floor. He did not notice it at first because of the haze of smoke milling in the air and obscuring some of his vision, but when he peered at the face of the unfortunate victim, he recognised the person as the old woman who shouted at Gilbert for making a racket when he took Berwald to his flat for the first time. She's dead now.

The Swede quickly jumped to his feet and pressed his arm against his mouth and nose as he ascended the stairs towards the thicker clouds of smoke, shouting above the racket of the fire alarm for Gilbert or anyone who are still stuck behind.

"Gilbert!" he cried out with a muffled voice as he advanced on up to the second floor. Doors have been left open from people who escaped in a panic earlier and he carried on shouting for Gilbert. His eyes were stinging from the heated smog lingering in the air and he felt his throat dry up the longer he remained on that floor.

Just as he took a step forward, he realised now why it is really hot. Through the dark smoke he could see gigantic flames towering to the ceiling, burning fiercely. Berwald quickly stepped back and shielded his face when an inferno rushed towards him and he fell back to the floor out of instinct to protect himself. He couldn't get through to get to Gilbert's flat. He doesn't even know where he exactly is right now and he feels as if he's been trapped inside an oven in the middle of the desert.

Behind him, loud footsteps slammed against the stone ground along with muffled yells of the firemen and firewomen as they charged up the stairs with the fire hoses. They weren't switched on yet, but then one of the workers immediately pulled at Berwald's arm to yank him to his feet, pulling him behind them.

What happened next was a blur as Berwald got whisked outside the building and he fell to his knees, staring at the ground while coughing into his hand, tears streaming down his face. He can hear the sound of the hoses going off inside the building while some flames died, but the top half of the block is still completely ablaze like a gigantic candle. But the more he focused his hearing with his eyes shut, the more screams he can detect from inside the block…

A person dressed in a white uniform knelt down in front of him, quickly asking questions, but their words blurred in his mind. All thoughts were focused on nobody else but Gilbert.

"G-Gilbert…" Berwald croaked, rubbing his eyes and knocking his glasses off. The woman in front of him nodded and touched his arm lightly. She was petite and short with her hair pulled back into a bun. She picked up his glasses for him.

"Come with us to the hospital and we'll get you something for your eyes and hands. You have been burned, sir," she stood up and held his lower arm, guiding him to a waiting ambulance. The fabric material of his shirt sleeves have been completely scorched and they fell off into small charred bits while he stumbled along, feeling weak. The Swede allowed the young woman to walk him into the back of the vehicle, where she quickly ordered the driver to drive.

The ambulance zoomed away from the council area with no sign of the fire calming down.

Activity buzzed within the hospital as bodies of the dead and living are transported inside through A&E. Berwald's case wasn't as bad as he originally thought, as his hands and lower arms only sustained first-degree burns and his breathing test was passed as clear. His eyesight has not been compromised in any way though a doctor handed him a note explaining what eyedrops he'll need.

But Gilbert… he has not heard anything about him, but the kindly woman who helped him said that she'll report to him if she hears anything about him. Berwald silently doubted her while he sat outside one of the many wards, he just feels like there's nothing anyone could do. With a fire as fierce and gigantic as the one in the flats, what hope is there of recovering someone or anything?

A glass of water appeared in front of him and he blinked before looking up at the woman, who gave him a reassuring smile, but it seemed hesitant. "I have good news, sir. We have your friend, but…"

Berwald's heart almost leaped at the news and he stood up quickly, looking at the woman.

"But… she's in pretty bad shape. Without using technical jargon, I'll get to the point." She sighed softly, "…The fire personnel found her crushed under some rubble that had been weakened, causing a lot of internal bleeding. She's fine now, but the baby didn't make it."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter...