A/N: So I just re-read the first chapter to this fic. It was terrible! Makes me wonder why any of you stayed with me. I went back and made some minor adjustments.

Well here it is. I'm not fully satisfied but it's better than it was. I certainly hope it was worth the journey and that you all enjoy.

Should you be interested, I've already posted the first chapter of that two-parter I mentioned earlier. It's called 'The Arrangement.' Thank you all so much for your reviews and patience. It has been a treat.

Chapter 18- Unknown

The extremes that Aldo had gone through to notify me about Hans were not fully realized until I was sitting in the car with Max in between us. He had driven out here alone and regarding the hour, who knows how long he had looked for me. It did not quite make sense as to why he went through so much trouble to tell me about Hans. After all we had only met once and briefly at that. With all that had happened between then and now, I found it hard to believe he remembered me.

"How are Hugo and Wilhelm?" I asked.

"You been living under a rock?" he asked.

"No?"

"Ah well I suppose I'm exposed to a lot more information you aren't but still I thought you would've heard."

"Heard what?"

"They died in an underground tavern one night not too long ago. There was a fight," he said. "I told them I was against fightin' in a basement."

"Like a bar fight?" I asked, wrinkling my brow. I did not know them well but if anyone of them were to get into a bar fight I figured it would be that burly Donny fellow.

"No, like a gun fight," he said. "They were meeting up with someone but a few Germans got in the way and they were exposed." Aldo shook his head. "Two of my best men gone in the blink of an eye."

"You still got that uniform?" he asked before we drove out of the Regensburg city limits.

"No," I said. "I threw it out long ago. Just extra baggage and goodness knows I don't need any more of that."

"Shame," he said. "Would've loved to see the look on his face."

I snorted in some form of humor and protest. Looking out of the window, I saw Regensburg fade away from vision in the misty twilight hours of the early morning.

"What've you been up to all these years?" he asked, no doubt trying to lighten the mood.

I shrugged. "Just trying to get by… trying to survive. I've been doing pretty well if I may say so but something is missing."

"Missing?"

"It's hard to explain. I mean I have Max, a place to stay, an honest income but I feel like I've been living someone else's life. Does that make sense?"

"Were you unhappy in Regensburg?" he asked. "You could have picked up and moved wherever you wanted."

"Things are easier said than done, Aldo. You know that."

"Yea, I know," he said. "So what was the problem?"

I shrugged again. "Just didn't feel like me. I didn't feel like I was in the right place at the right time or that I was where I was supposed to be in life. I didn't fit. I didn't feel like I had any sure purpose or future. It was like I was just there… existing."

Aldo grunted in response.

"So what about you?" I asked. "What have you been up to?"

He laughed. "Well let's just say that I picked up where you left off and kept on truckin'."

We made small talk throughout the 3 hour drive. Occasionally I would begin to nod off in the silence but the warm light of the rising sun would always persuade me to open my eyes. Aldo seemed to appreciate the silences more often than not. I'm certain he received little time for himself during the war.

We arrived at the American camp by route of a dirt road that was not frequented by vehicles. It was much larger than I had anticipated and I was impressed how they had remained hidden. Of course, I was not sure how long the camp had been there and now that things were over I was certain it did not matter so much if they were seen. Well within the woods, there were large green canvas tents set up in a large cluster. It almost had the look of a small town with soldiers constructing the roads by their footfalls upon the dirt as they ran orders and documents to and fro. Aldo drove around towards what I would have considered the back of the camp and parked the jeep behind a particularly large tent that was squeezed in between two large trees.

"We're here."

"Here?"

"The hospital," he said as he exited the car and ran around the front to open my door. I did not wait for him to round the front of the car. I jumped out just before he reached me with Max at my side.

"Hospital?"

"Yea. Your Hans is in there," he said as he led me to the entrance of the tent.

"Hospital?" I repeated. "Aldo!"

He went to grab my arm but I jerked away from his grasp. "Go on," he said, frowning. He pushed me forward a bit and gestured to take Max but I refused. I turned away from him and looked at the large slit created by the two unsecure folds of the canvas. Afraid of what state I would find Hans in on the other side, I hesitated for a moment. He was a live but what had Aldo called him last night? Broken? It was Max that charged in first, with a loud bark. I released his leash from my grasp and slowly followed.

The atmosphere inside the tent was cold. The little sunlight pouring through the green canvas gave the entire space a sick, unearthly feel. There were a several cots and a few chairs. In the center was one long table that I assumed was used for necessary surgeries or more severe treatments. The place looked sterile enough and smelled of rainwater and alcohol.

My eyes immediately searched for Max whose head was being patted by Hans, just to my right. He was so still and quiet sitting there next to the entrance that had Max not been with me, I would have passed him by. A small smiled formed as I watched Max's tail wag furiously. How odd that he seemed to remember Hans so well but my ghost of a smile quickly faded as I saw the bloodied bandage on his forehead. I looked towards Aldo through the slit in the tent as an annoyed huff escaped my lips. He took that as his cue to enter. I walked over towards Hans, refusing to look him in the eyes as I felt him looking at me.

"Aldo! You said you wouldn't hurt him."

"No, I said I wouldn't kill 'im," he said. "Our bargain is intact."

"Bargain?" asked Hans.

I looked at him for a moment from his scar to his eyes then to his lips and back again. "Aldo, may we have a moment?"

He nodded. "You gonna be all right?"

"Yes," I said. "I'll be fine." I waited and watched as Aldo turned and retreated back out into the morning before I turned back to Hans.

He said nothing and only stared at me, grimacing as I fingered his wound. I muttered a quick apology and reached over for the clean bandages and alcohol on a nearby table. I held a cotton swab to the top of the alcohol and turned the bottle upside down, making sure to soak the cotton.

"You should have told me, you know," I said while setting the bottle back down. "Instead of letting me find out like that."

I watched his fingers grasp the corner of his seat, turning white as I cleaned his wound. His eyes watered a little from the stinging but still he said nothing. He did not seem mad but instead I felt as though he was choosing his next words carefully.

I tossed the bloody swab aside and bandaged his forehead as tenderly as he had redressed my numerous injuries so long ago. I allowed the tip of my finger to find the edge of his bottom lip and slide along its plump form, recalling the once familiar feel of his soft lips. This time, however, they were bordered by day old stubble. It was something I had never seen on Hans nor imagined, yet somehow it suited him.

I caught his eyes and let my hand fall into my lap. I struggled to find the right words. There were so many things that I felt needed to be said but I did not know how. I looked away for a moment, trying to form a coherent sentence in my mind. It was not that he could still crawl under my skin with a single look. I had long ago grown past that weakness. Instead, my emotions had been so mixed on the thought of seeing him again that I had not given much thought as to what words would be exchanged.

"Growing up," I began, "as a young girl you're often told that true love is like magic. It's just like in fairy tales where it happens at first sight and lasts unconditionally… happily ever after." I looked up into his eyes and saw that he was listening intently. "It wasn't until I left those years ago that I finally realized what true love really is. True love hurts. It makes you infuriated and confused and frustrated and sad. Yet at the same time that you feel all those things you're still excited and curious and hopeful yet terrified all at once. True love makes you feel pain and pleasure."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm in love with you, Hans. More than I could have ever imagined. I didn't expect it and I wasn't looking for it but you found me." I paused for a moment, unable to read his expression then tried to lighten the serious mood. "That and I find the fact that you can speak multiple languages fluently, incredibly attractive."

He laughed lightly at this. "I always knew that would be good for something."

I was surprised at his jest and though I did not expect to hear him gush out any feelings in return to my speech, he seemed satisfied with what he had heard.

"I'm very proud of you," he said. He gave my hands a squeeze with one of his large palms but he did not let go as I had expected. "Where have you been?"

"Regensburg," I said, happily. I was rather thankful for the change of subject. "I saw you several times. It took all of my will power to remain hidden."

"I like this," he said, gesturing to the hair. "But it isn't you."

I nodded. "I think I'm ready to return to normal."

The conversation died almost as quickly as it had started. There were so many questions we both had and things left unsaid. It was a struggle to find a place to start and part of me wondered why I had come at all. Perhaps some things were better left unsaid and unknown. Nantucket.

As though he could read my thoughts, he asked the very question that had been on my mind.

"Why did you come here, Ada?"

I shook my head. I tried to pick at my fingernails in an attempt to avoid his gaze but he still held my hands firmly. "Because?"

"Because why?"

"Because I had hope," I said. "Hope that somehow things could go back to the way they once were."

"Is that what you want?"

"I guess," I said with a shrug. "What about you?"

"I'm leaving the country."

"Oh?"

"Don't act ignorant, Ada. I know you know," he said. "Nantucket Island, Massachusetts."

"America."

"Yes," he said. "America."

"That's so far away."

" Across an entire ocean," he said. "You'll get used to it."

"What do you mean?"

"It won't seem so different once we settle in," he said and a smile lit up his face as shock and confusion remained on mine.

I should have known that he would not ask me. Hans did not ask. When he wanted something, he took it. To him, there was no question that I was coming along. It was a game, as always, to watch me struggle with my words, wondering if this was the last time I would see him. Butt-chinned asshole.

"Why do you want me to come with you, Hans?"

"It isn't a question of wanting," he said. "It's a matter of needing. I need you there, Ada."

"Why do you need me there?" I asked, prodding further. He paused for a moment and I grew frustrated with his silence. "I need to hear you say it."

I stood from my seat next to him and stepped away. I shook my head in disbelief. He really was horrible. "I'm not going until you give a little, Hans. You need to make a decision."

I turned towards him as I heard him rise from his seat and realized that he had already made his decision. As I stood before him with my hands on my hips, he merely stared back with a smug look on his face. It was infuriating how much he knew me. Even though I felt I had grown and changed, he could still read me like a book. He knew I could not say 'no' and that I would not turn down the offer of starting fresh, someplace free and far away.

Life after the war seemed as normal as life could get. I held down a job teaching the German language to young American students and Hans enjoyed basking in the glory of the title he had somehow managed to give himself. War hero. He had been eager to tell me what he had done, proud of his never failing intellect. I think that seeing me so fascinated by his wit was an added bonus.

The island life was quiet and not too warm in the summers. He had done well; securing a fine home and helping me raise our family.

I did not see Aldo again until a week after Hans's funeral, some years later. I was fifty-five years of age. Our children, being grown, had all retreated back to their families and I could not believe my eyes when I saw the American Lieutenant standing on our front porch. I nearly fainted at the sound of his voice.

"Hey there, little lady," he said. He did not stay long but had only stopped by to pay his respects on my behalf. "'Cause you know I couldn't really care less about that Kraut Colonel," he said.

"He was Austrian, Aldo," I said, finding a bit of humor in his obstinacy.

"Same thing."

As I watched Aldo walk back to his car and back out of our driveway, I remember feeling lost and alone for the first time in a long time. More than thirty years had passed since that fateful day. This was the start of a new chapter in my life and for a moment I closed my eyes and saw the image of that country road. I realized then that that road is a road that we all must walk down in our lives, perhaps some more than others, when things are unfamiliar and unknown. However, this time around I knew that life would be waiting on the horizon.