A/N: First and foremost, NEVER let me promise you guys a deadline again. I am so sorry that this took over a month to get out but life happens and often gets in the way. Secondly, I am so ready to be done with this story so I am honestly working on getting to the end.

Chapter 16 – A Trusting Trio

They had infiltrated the house after me to ensure all girls were gone and all Nazis were dead and scalped.

"How many?" asked the man with the scar.

"18 for her," said a younger soldier as he gestured towards me and my seat on the ground.

"We found three others cowering in the corners," said a shorter boy from behind him.

The man with the scar nodded and motioned for the guys to pack up so they could head out. He turned towards me and squatted so that we were at eye level with each other.

"Now normally I'd say you owe me 79 more scalps but you're a lady and we don't want you to be doin' these sorts of things." He stood and offered me his hand. "Can you stand?"

I stood slowly with a little help from him. The other soldiers circled around and watched as I waivered.

"Easy there." He placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "You've lost a lot of blood," he said pointing to my ear and shoulder.

I nodded. My comprehension of the English language was beginning to slip from my conscious, as was my comprehension of everything else.

"Hey, Donny!"

"Yea boss?"

"I think our little German might need some help getting back to camp," he said before he started to walk away with the others. The world began to fade in and out as I felt my feet lifted from the ground. There was little discussion on the way to their camp. They had settled for a night or two deep within those woods.

When the world stopped blinking and I was finally able to fully open my eyes and take in my surroundings, we were at that meager camp. The sun was setting through the trees and the chill in the air had deepened. I was sitting by the fire with a scratchy blanket draped over my shoulders.

My ear was dry and patched to my head with a small bandage. My arm and shoulder were wrapped tightly and secured in a makeshift sling so that I would not be tempted to use them.

"Are you feeling any better?" One of the men asked me in my native tongue.

I nodded and yawned.

He laughed and handed me a small loaf of bread. "I'm Wilhelm," he said extending his right hand.

"Ada."

"Yea, you're Landa's woman ain't ya?" came the voice of the American leader from behind me.

Hans. It seemed like forever since I left him or even thought about him. "I'm not his anything."

The man introduced himself as Lt. Aldo Raine and took a seat along with Wilhelm and me. The rest of the guys were figuring out who would stand guard first shift and who would sleep for now, each parting in their separate ways. A blonde, who I soon realized was the bane of Gestapo officers, Hugo Stiglitz, joined us at last before night finally fell.

Aldo was no doubt curious as to what my story was and how exactly I'd gotten wrapped up with a man like Hans. He tried to respect my wishes and avoid the topic at first but his curiosity got the better of him. Leaving the grotesque and more personal details out, I spent the next hour or two reciting to them everything that had happened with as much dignity intact as possible. Their questions were posed at the awkward moments which helped me push past them and onto the next event.

I didn't realize just how much had happened, how much I had changed and how much it all weighed down on me until everything was out in the open. It was a great relief and I could not imagine myself telling three finer people than those three men. I grew to trust them more quickly than anyone in my life.

"And now I'm here."

"That's a pretty excitin' story," said Aldo. "What's next?"

"That's a good question," I said. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I guess some part of me didn't think I'd make it this far."

A friendly silence fell among us and though Hugo hadn't said much through the night, he was there listening. He was the first to bid us goodnight but before he left he said to me, "Wherever you want to go, we'll get you there safely." I looked to the other two men. Wilhelm nodded with a light smile and Aldo just fondled his chin.

"Thank you."

"We appreciate what you did today little lady but see the thing is we don't want you having to do things like that. You got anywhere to go? Any other family or friends?"

"No," I said. "But I had thought about going back to Regensburg. My only qualm is that Hans knew I loved it there. Should he come looking for me… well I'm not sure whether or not I'm ready to think about all of that."

Aldo nodded in understanding. "It's too dangerous for you to stick with us. I'll send Stiglitz or Wicki with ya when you make a decision."

"Thank you," I said as he stood and retreated towards his men who were standing guard.

Wilhelm and I stayed by the fire a little longer. We talked about our childhoods and life when it was simple. It helped distract me for the moment but soon he informed me that he was growing tired and that Aldo left me his tent for the night. He steered me towards the tent and bid me goodnight.

Upon entering, I saw little Max curled into a ball and fast asleep on one of Aldo's sweaters. The poor pup- my mind had been elsewhere the entire day but he seemed content to sleep someplace quiet. Sometime in the middle of the night he woke up and moved to snuggle closer to my chest.

My thoughts had strayed towards Hans several times that night. I wondered if I had done the right thing. Would I ever see him again? Did I really want to? What was best? Eventually all of my thoughts led to one thing: Regensburg. It seemed inevitable that I would end up there. I loved that city and its beautiful cathedral. However, if I did not wish to be found I would have to make sure to avoid certain things like mechanic shops and Nazis in general. Only one other thing was made certain that night. I was going to disguise myself. If he was looking, I didn't want to make it easy. I wanted to do something daring, something bold and something so that he wouldn't recognize me at first glance if he ever got one.

Before we officially set out that morning, I tracked down Aldo and shook him from his light slumber. His back was braced against a tree and he looked at me with puffy, sleep-deprived eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you again."

"For what?"

"For offering me your tent for the night. For all your hospitality. For listening. And not killing me," I said.

He laughed. "You leaving this early?" He looked up to the tree tops, judging the time.

"I didn't wish to impose or be a bigger burden."

"You ain't no burden," he said. "I suppose I should be thankin' you for your performance yesterday. You saved us a little grief, taking all them lives."

I shook my head and stared down at my hands. I could feel him staring me down, regarding my reaction. I had doubted my actions a few times the night before, as to whether I had done the right thing. I still couldn't believe I had gotten out alive.

"Is there anything else you need?" he asked. "I can wring Landa's neck for ya, if you'd like... should I ever get the fine chance of meetin' 'im."

"No," I said, looking up at him with a small smile. "No. In fact, I'd rather with you wouldn't kill him."

"Well I can't guarantee that what with him being the enemy and all."

"I understand," I said. My disappointment must've shown in my eyes because the next thing he did was stick his hand out for me to shake.

"I won't kill him," he said. "But I can't say the same for the rest of the boys."

"That's all right. I couldn't ask anything more," I said and took his offered hand.

Aldo stood and helped me to my feet. He guided me down the hill towards Wicki and Stiglitz.

"Take care of her, boys," he said and gave my back a final, gentle push away from his camp. I turned once more to remember his face but saw that he was well on his way to doing something else. A strange man, perhaps but a kind soul, indeed.

The journey to Regensburg was grueling. The food we had was meager and I still felt weak. Both Wilhelm and Hugo travelled with me. Aldo thought it was a necessary precaution and said that he didn't mind loaning me his men for a few days since they were going to lay low after my attack on the house in the woods.

When we first arrived, they took me to a doctor and advised me to let them do all the talking. I happily agreed and was fixed up with medications and new bandages promptly.

"Where will you go?" asked Hugo.

"I don't know," I said. "But I think it would be best if I didn't stick to one place for long."

A nod was his only response. He stepped back as I looked to Wilhelm.

"Take care of yourself," he said. "And little Max, here."

"I'll do my best."

"Here," he said, handing me his scalping knife.

"Won't you need this?"

"I'll just take Donny's," he said with a laugh. "Besides, it may just come in handy."

They both said their goodbyes to Max and I, then were on their way and seemingly out of my life just as quickly as they came. I hugged Max to my chest softly. First, we needed a place to stay. Second, it wouldn't hurt to come up with a new name. Third, I needed a physical disguise. I started making a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish. I'd need a new life story, a source of income- the list kept growing.

For now, I was glad to be back in Regensburg.

I do have another fic in the works. It's a two-parter. As to whether or not Hans will be involved is uncertain. The first part is a drama/tragedy Harry Potter (which of course would make any crossover completely AU). The second part would be the crossover but it's between three choices. I'm leaning heavily towards one because it makes the most sense and time line wise would be closer and easier to blur lines.

Here are the three choices: 1) Harry Potter/Inglourious Basterds, 2) Harry Potter/ Hellboy II, 3) Harry Potter/Lie to Me. In each version the OC from the first part would have a slight romance (very slight from the looks of it thus far) with either Landa, Nuada or Lightman respectively. Personally, I'm leaning toward Hellboy.