AAAAND FINALLY MEDIC YESSSSSSSSS

I'M SO HAPPY THE TEMPORARY SOLDIC IS HERE I'M DKSF';ALGKA'L;FKDSL';GK

Also dell sadtimes oh no

oh well helmets holding hands weeeeee

i'm sorry i came bcak from an exam and this was the first thing i worked on wheeeee

"Please tell me I did not just help a criminal, Slim." He sighed, and Jane's eyes widened. "I do not have the time for this mess. I've got kids to take care of."

Jane slowly raised his hands, silently wishing he had his duffel bag, the pistol in his hand, his trusty shovel in the other one, ready to fight off… a lonely man with a bad leg.

Jane paused, hesitation clear on his face, and Dell faltered slightly, confusion etched on his.

Dell was just fighting for himself—it was only natural, after all. Everyone was still hung over the war, and there were still those kinds of people around, those who were worse than all the people who led the war. Jane knew that too, and he knew that look in the man's eyes all too well.

He had seen them before, in cornered civilians, pressed up against destroyed walls of bombed buildings, next to the dead and dying, blood-paint on the walls, death and smoke the smell of the air.

"I did not kill anyone." Jane declared firmly, gently pushing the barrel of the gun to the side, away from him, his eyes trained directly at Dell's, conveying all the truth he could muster in them. "I am not a murderer. I am a soldier. A soldier of the United States of America—we are not murderers."

He pulled the barrel aside and gently led Dell to lower the gun, and the man sighed, as Jane eased him back into his seat.

"I… I'm sorry, Sergeant. I'm really—I'm," he shook his head. "You know what it's like; there have been too many people I've lost, I can't," Dell found it difficult to express himself, much to his confusion; he never had problems like this before.

"I understand." Jane simply said, and Dell shook his head, sighing.

"I'm sorry." He insisted, and silence fell over them for another long moment, before he spoke again. "What do you plan on doing now?" he asked.

"I don't have anywhere to go." Jane simply replied, and the man gave him a small smile.

"Why don't you stay here at Teufort, then?" he asked, putting the shotgun down on the floor next to him. "Start over a new life."

Jane raised an eyebrow at him, and the man shrugged. "All the other soldiers wished for nothing more." He looked down at his coffee, gently smiling. "You can stay here—well, of course, you gotta earn your upkeep." He chuckled. "But you can stay in my house, if you need it. I'd imagine it would be real hard if you had to stay in the inn for your entire time here."

"You don't mind me being here?" Jane asked, and Dell nodded.

"I could use a friend," he smiled, and a small smile on Jane's lips mirrored his. "And, if I may, I think you could use one too."

Jane couldn't help but smile a little wider.

"Affirmative." He replied, and with a grateful nod, the two of them settled into their breakfast for a rather lovely morning.

Serene, even.

"Right," Dell spoke up, "I think I should take you around town, get you registered," he said, as he got up from his seat. Jane did the same thing, and watched him pick up his dishes. He mirrored the man's actions. "The little miss at the local clinic'll get you sorted out." He smiled, gesturing for Jane to follow him to the back of the kitchen, where the sink was. "Let me just clean up here, is that alright?"

"Affirmative," Jane replied, nodding slightly as he put down his own dishes in the sink next to Dell's, before stepping away, standing there awkwardly, unsure on what to do.

Dell chuckled. "You could take a look 'round my house, if you like." He told the man. "It's not much, but you'll be calling it home for now."

Jane nodded, and headed back upstairs, back into the room given to him. Quickly he looked over his things—the officers' wallets, his dog tags, his badges—they were all still there, of course. Nothing to worry about; but he was still thinking about his duffel bag as he stepped outside. He looked around the small landing of the second floor (which overlooked the first floor's living room) and looked at the other two doors. One was the bathroom, the one at the end, and the other one must be Dell's room. Deciding not to pry, Jane headed back down again.

The living room was simple—a square carpet was in the middle, a banged-up television on one side, and a couch faced it on the other side. There was a large ceiling light above his head that was currently off, the windows looking outside open with day-curtains moved aside to allow sunlight in. Jane could see the outside of the small home—a proportionately small village all along a single cobblestone road.

Beneath the landing was the kitchen, where the table was, and at the back wall was the stove and sink. To his left were two more rooms, the one closer to outside visible through a glass window that had wooden blinds pulled up above it.

It was a small shop, with wooden shelves that had toys on them. There was a counter at the end, and behind it was a doorway that possibly led to the room behind it, denoted by the other door next to it.

"You're a toymaker?" Jane spoke up, walking up to the window to peer in the shop. It had its own window leading outside, but it was closed with its own set of blue-painted wooden blinds, casting the shop with a shadow, but Jane could still make out what was on the shelves.

"Oh, yeah," Dell replied, looking over his shoulder to smile at Jane. "I make toys for the kids, but I'm a mechanic too. When people get stuff broken-up, I fix it."

"I'm guessing the room behind it is your workshop?" Jane pointed at the door next to it, and Dell stared at it one long moment, before lowering the plates he was washing with a tired sigh.

"It isn't." he replied, washing his hands clean of soap before wiping them dry. "C'mon, Sergeant. I'll show you what's inside." He told him, hobbling up to the door on his cane, before turning the knob with his free hand and pushing the door open, flicking the light on.

Jane's eyes widened as a soft light flooded the room.

It was a small room, one just right for a child. The walls were painted a baby pink hue, fading into a purple gradient across the ceiling. Little yellow stars dotted the ceiling around a ceiling light that was glowing a soft white. There was a dresser on one side, small enough for a little girl and next to it was a little white vanity, the mirror absent from its frame, and instead wrapped in newspaper, resting on the table. There was a door at the other end of the room, and Jane saw a window on the left, leading to the toyshop. It was right across the bed frame, still unpainted and unfinished, a light layer of dust still undisturbed on it, as bits and pieces of its woodwork lay propped up against it.

"The workshop's over there," Dell spoke up quietly, pointing at the door on the far end of the room.

Jane didn't say anything, but nodded reverently, and ushered Dell gently back outside.

Dell's hands were shaking, and his eyes shone with tears that threatened to fall. Silently, all Jane could offer him was a comforting squeeze on the man's shoulder.

"… I'm sorry." He simply said, and Dell laughed sadly.

"Thank you mighty, Sergeant." He nodded at him, before heading back to the sink, his steps clearly more careless and suddenly so much more laboured than before, as a sense of sadness washed over Jane, the soldier watching him hobble back to the sink with apologetic eyes.

He shook his head, and followed after the man, picking up a rag hanging from the towel rack above the sink, and began to wipe the dishes.

Dell looked up at him, his eyes widening slightly, and he offered the man a weak shrug.

"My home, as much as yours." He simply reasoned, and at this, Dell's smile widened a little more, as if those words were enough comfort for him, and with a brighter smile, he turned his attention back to the dishes he was washing.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, but neither man had chosen to speak about it.

They carried on with their chore for a long, quiet moment, and Jane's mind wandered back to the times before when he would help his mother and sister clean up after Sunday dinner, laughter and the sound of clinking wares behind them as he stood next to his mother at the sink, wiping plates, just like he was doing—and he was happy then, before all the bombs fell and the dishes broke and everyone was screaming, and there was fire everywhere, burning, breaking, killing—

"Jane!"

The soldier's eyes widened as the sound of a shattering plate broke his train of thought. Dell grabbed his shoulders and shook him, and he blinked down at the shorter man.

"Your hands were shaking." The man said, gesturing down between them to show the remains of a plate Jane had been wiping. Dell pulled the rag away from Jane's hands to reveal a rather nasty gash on his palm from the broken plate, clicking his tongue in disapproval as Jane's hands trembled violently. "Calm down, Slim. It's just me. You're alright. You're home." He softly said, taking hold of the man's hands in his own calloused ones, carefully avoiding the wound on Jane's hand and giving them a reassuring squeeze.

The soldier stared at him for a long moment, and the man patiently waited for him.

"Sergeant Doe?" he repeated, "You're home. You're okay. Alright?"

"… Affirmative." Jane replied, slowly, and Dell smiled at him. "… I'm home."

Home. How foreign it sounded, yet in this tiny house, in this tiny village, it seemed so right.

"Good." The man nodded, "Wash that clean upstairs, and we'll head over to the clinic. Now all the more reason to go there," Dell chuckled, before ushering Jane away.

After he had finished cleaning his wound, Dell was already at the door, waiting for him.

"Ready to see Teufort properly this time?" he asked, and Jane nodded.

"After you."

The air was cool and crisp, and still smelled of the rain that fell the night before. It was nearing autumn now, Jane thought, the weather was only going to get colder. As he and Dell walked through the town, Jane took his chance to look around his new home—the houses were small, yet cosy, built next to each other along a single cobblestone road. Children were here and there, running around chasing each other and stray pigeons, their parents calmly looking on as they went about their day.

They passed by a central square (more of a circle, really, but Jane said nothing about it) with a fountain in the middle, and a building relatively larger than the others around it.

"Oh, that's the city hall. Mayor's in there." Dell spoke up next to him, and Jane nodded as he watched a young lady in a purple blouse and skirt step out of the building to wave at Dell. "G'morning, Miss Pauling!" he called, smiling as she came up to him. "School's about to start."

"Yes, it is," the young lady smiled, nodding; "I'm still long away from finishing preparations—so many children!" she laughed.

"I'm sure you can do it," he smiled at her.

"I have to do it!" she grinned, "I'm the only teacher!" she chuckled, before turning to look at Jane. "Oh, hello," she greeted. "I don't think I've seen you around." She offered him her hand for a handshake. "Caroline Pauling. I'm the schoolteacher."

"The only schoolteacher," Dell chuckled, and Miss Pauling smacked his shoulder lightly to reprimand him.

"Sergeant Jane Doe." Jane replied, taking her hand and shaking it stiffly. "Your accent sounds familiar—are you American?"

She paused for a moment, before nodding. "Yes." She replied, smiling, before turning to look at Dell. "Well, I've got to go—it's nice to see you today, Mr. Conagher."

"Nice to see you too," Dell replied, and with a small wave, Miss Pauling walked away. Grinning, he turned to look at Jane. "She caught your eye?" he asked, nudging his arm, but the man shook his head.

"She hesitated." He said, looking at Dell, "When I asked her if she was American."

"Ah, well, I'm sure she has her reasons," Dell dismissed, before pulling on Jane's arm. "C'mon, now, Slim, we've got to get to Dr. Vogler."

"German?" Jane asked, as the shorter man led him to a white-walled building not too far away from the town hall. "Don't tell me he's a—"

"No, no, Dr. Vogler's not like that," Dell waved him off, knocking on the door, before opening it. "Elise? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Jane didn't know what he was going to see, but he did know what he was expecting—the Germans weren't the best people in the war at the time, and the wounds still ran deep in him, as a frown began to cross the retired soldier's face, a loud insult ready to launch on his lips. He had expected some stout little man with pale blonde hair and blue eyes and with a beard just like Hitler's come down from the stairs—

Most definitely not a beautiful woman with long black hair tied in a braid that rested on her shoulder, with cool blue eyes behind slim wire-rim glasses and reddish lips and pale pink cheeks. Jane immediately froze in his place and his jaw dropped slightly as Dell ushered him inside as the woman pulled on a white lab coat with short sleeves, crossing her arms and quietly watching them as Dell closed the door behind him.

"Elise, this is Sergeant Jane Doe." Dell introduced, and the doctor held out her left hand for the man to shake. "Jane, this is Doctor Elise Vogler. She's the town doctor."

"Hello." Elise curtly said to him, but Jane couldn't help but stare at her forearm—rather, the tattoo that blazed on it like a burn on her pale skin: 13541. He hesitated, but relented and took the doctor's soft hand in his.

A strange bubbling sensation rose in his chest as he grew flustered at the touch, stiffly shaking her hand, and pulling away like he had been burned.

Dell's sneaky grin beside him was not helping.

"Elise, he came into town yesterday and he wants to stay. I was hopin' you would do a physical of him and get him in the town records?"

The woman turned to look at Dell, and nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line as she thought. "Jawohl." She nodded, turning away to approach her desk, pulling out a piece of paper. "I see he has a wound on his hand?"

"Jane." Dell nudged him, and the soldier stiffened up his back.

"Ma'am, I got injured upon breaking a porcelain item in this civilian's home." Jane replied automatically, and Dr. Vogler raised a fine eyebrow.

"Almost there, Slim," Dell chuckled, "He broke a plate and cut himself. Could you patch him up, Elise?"

"… Of course." The doctor eyed Jane, a small smirk of amusement playing on her lips, and Jane pointedly kept his gaze away from her. "Let me just—"

"Dr. Vogler!" a man's gruff voice cut through the air, and the door flew open to reveal a black man with an eye patch over his left eye. "There's a wee problem," he said, a little more calmly now, and Jane realised the man had a thick Scottish accent.

"Tavish," Dell spoke up, surprised. "What's goin' on?"

"Your little girl," he said, and Jane's eyes widened to see the man step inside, with a bunch of blankets in his arms. They were wrapped around a little child, who seemed to be shivering violently despite the amounts of blankets around them. Dell's eyes widened and Jane sat back out of his way to allow the man to rush forward to the one-eyed man to take the bunch of blankets from his arms.

"Tavish, what happened?" Dr. Vogler spoke up, and the Scotsman sighed.

"Saw her this morning, curled up outside the pub, shivering like a wee little pup in the rain!" the man told her. "When I felt her forehead, she was burning up!"

Dr. Vogler's eyes widened and she turned to glower at Dell, much to Jane's surprise. Why on Earth would she be angry at Dell, of all people?