Mid-March, 1944, Small Austrian Town

Lukas was starting to feel well enough to try walking again. He knew his leg was starting to feel a bit better, and he knew he needed to start using it, or else the muscles would only get weaker. It made him uneasy to even think about walking on it, but every morning Elizaveta would come in and help him stretch his muscles in it before leaving for her sunrise walk.

He breathed a deep sigh as he sat at the edge of his bed. His mind was telling him that he really didn't want to do this, but he knew deep down that he really did want to. There was nothing more that he wanted to do so badly. All he truly wanted was to walk again so he could return to his family and the man he loved.

"Do this for him," he told himself, thinking of his beloved Mathias. Though he still had no idea what he looked or sounded like, he knew one thing. He was deeply aware of how Mathias made him feel, and that was enough to give him the final push that he needed to rise to his feet and take two steps forward.

Lukas's deep blue eyes widened in surprise. He was walking! Even if it was more of a shuffle, he was still doing it without the crutch! He was really moving all on his own! It was all him! Lukas let out a gleeful laugh. He was so proud of himself!

Roderich opened the door to Lukas's room. "Lukas?" he asked. "Is everything all right?" He then noticed where Lukas was and saw the crutch lying on the bed. "Did you walk over there?"

"Yes!" Lukas excitedly told him. "I walked, Roderich! I made it over here by myself!" He was practically beaming. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"Indeed it is," Roderich said, walking over to Lukas's bed and grabbing the crutch. "But just remember one small thing, Lukas. Baby steps. Just take it all one day at a time. Don't rush yourself."

Lukas accepted his crutch from Roderich and huffed out in annoyance. "I don't want to wait forever," he groaned. "I just want to be back in England already. I want to be back with Mathias and my family. I want to meet Mathias already. There are things I need to do. They all think I'm dead, Roderich! I need to prove to them that I'm not!"

"What you really need first is a haircut," Roderich sighed. He examined Lukas's hair that long and shaggy, hanging in waves down past his shoulders, his bangs clipped back by a gold hairclip in the shape of a cross. "Where did you get that hairclip anyway?"

"This?" Lukas asked, reaching a hand up and touching it fondly. "My father gave it to me before he died. It was passed down through the generations of the Bondevik men." He sighed and pulled his fingers away from it. "I guess this means I'll be the last one to inherit it…" His mouth pulled down at the edges into a frown. "Am I a bad person for not having an heir?"

Roderich shook his head. "You're not a bad person at all," he said. "Maybe one day you can pass it on to a descendant of someone who really touched your life in a special way."

Lukas smiled to himself. "Maybe," he softly said. "You never know." He thought back. "If only I could remember the people I knew. Most of the people I knew in Norway were really old, so they're probably all dead by now. I don't really know many people who would have children for me to pass it on to. I suppose there is always my little brother, but he isn't a Bondevik…" He thought really hard about it. "I'm sure I'll find someone to pass it to, though."

"I'm sure you will," Roderich assured with a smile. "Why don't you take a rest and sit for awhile?"

"No, I'm fine," Lukas said. "I want to do a little more walking. I'll take my crutch in case if I need it, but I just want to try it for awhile Roderich. Please? I just really need this. I want to get back home soon. I'm not being ungrateful for your care, but my loved ones need me."

"I completely understand," Roderich said. "If I were in your position, I would want to get home as well. I will help you to the best of my abilities." He nodded to Lukas. "Let's go for a walk around the interior of the house."

Lukas grinned at him. "Thank you, Roderich!"

"Don't mention it," Roderich said, "especially to Elizaveta."

.

Elizaveta came home a little after sunrise and came to Lukas's bedroom. "Good morning, Lukas," she sang to him. "How are you today?" She flicked her tawny hair behind her shoulders and sat at the end of his bed, grabbing his feet. "Time to do more stretches."

Lukas groaned. "I don't want to," he said, pouting.

"You're going to have to if you want to walk again," Elizaveta scolded. She pulled one of his feet out and began stretching it. "That's just something you have to do whether you like it or not."

Lukas cringed, clenching his jaw. "I hate it," he grumbled through clenched teeth. He bit his lip as he felt the muscles pull in his calf, immediately tasting the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

Elizaveta looked up as blood dribbled down his chin. "Stop biting your lip, Lukas," she scolded. "You should know better. One day, you just might bite all the way through it, and that won't be fun."

Lukas crossed his arms and pouted, grumbling to himself in Norwegian. He cursed everything before remembering how good it felt to walk earlier, but then remembered that he promised Roderich that he wouldn't tell her.

"Liz, may I practice walking today?" he asked her, stretching his muscles in his legs with her. He cringed and sucked in his breath, but he knew he had to do it. If he didn't, there was no way he would ever walk alone again.

"Lukas, we've talked about this," she stated. "I'm not comfortable with you walking when Roderich is not around, and he's not home right now."

"I'll be fine, I promise," Lukas said.

"And what if you're not?" Elizaveta asked, eyeing him curiously. "We both know that your right leg is weaker than your left. What if you fall down? I'm not strong enough to pick you back up, Lukas."

"Then I will lie on the ground until Roderich comes home," Lukas said. "It's a sacrifice that I am willing to make."

Elizaveta clicked her tongue at him in disapproval. "Fine, Lukas. Have it your way. But you're not going to practice your walking until we're finished with your stretching, got it?"

"I understand you perfectly," Lukas answered with a smile. He eagerly cooperated with Elizaveta, hoping to finish with his stretches in a timely manner. He wanted to show her how he could walk.

"All right, Bondevik," Elizaveta said when they had finished stretches. "Show me what you think you can do." She sat back on the bed and propped herself up on her arms. "Walk for me if you can."

"Prepare to be amazed," Lukas said, smiling widely. "I'll show you that I can walk. Just you wait." He sat on the edge of his bed and placed his weight evenly on both feet as he had done earlier that day. Taking a deep breath, he stood up on both feet and began to shuffle across the floor. It was a little more painful than before since he had just stretched, but he felt exhilarated. There wasn't a better feeling to him than proving someone like Elizaveta wrong. He turned to face her, a smirk resting on his lips. "How was that?"

She was speechless for a moment. "Lukas, you walked!" she exclaimed. Elizaveta rose to her feet and hurried over to him with the crutch. "You really did it! I'm so proud of you! You're amazing!"

"Thank you," Lukas laughed, smiling. "It's really nothing."

"What are you talking about 'nothing'?!" Elizaveta demanded. "You walked, Luke! That is a huge accomplishment! I'm so proud of you!" She hugged him tightly. "You're amazing, Lukas! You really can do anything you put your mind to!"

"Of course I can," Lukas confidently stated, taking the crutch and leaning on it, grateful to be able to take the weight off of his right leg. "I'm glad that I've made some progress in these last few months."

"Of course!" Elizaveta cried out. "You're wonderful, Lukas! Never let anyone ever tell you again that you can't do something! Do you understand me? Not even me! Because you can do anything! Anything, Lukas!"

"I get the point you're trying to make," he laughed. He used his crutch to hobble back over to his bed and sat back down. "Although I can probably only shuffle about ten paces for the time being, it's still a start."

"And that's all you need right now," Elizaveta told him. "A start."

"I love your positivity," Lukas told her, smiling. "You make everything seem more simple than it really is."

"Of course I do," she said. "If I thought negatively, then we'd be in trouble."

.

May, 1944, Small Austrian Town

"This is so difficult!" Lukas grumbled under his breath. "The ground is so uneven!"

"It's your final test, Lukas! If you can do this, then you're free to go home!" Elizaveta encouraged from twenty feet away. She clung tightly to Roderich's arm.

"Why did I let you encourage him to do this?" Roderich sighed to her. "He's going to fall."

"No he won't," Elizaveta softly told her husband. "He won't fall if we believe in him, darling. All he needs is this final push." She smiled widely as she watched her Norwegian friend. "Come on, Lukas!"

Lukas wandered through the forest ahead of him. Elizaveta told him he couldn't use anything for support. He only had to go touch the oak tree up ahead and come back. He could do it. His deep blue eyes focused on the oak tree ahead of him as they scanned the foliage ahead. He could do this. He really could.

"Come on, Lukas," he muttered to himself. "If you can do this, you're free to go and see Mathias and your family. Everyone will know you're not dead. You can keep walking. Everything will be fine. Keep going, Lukas. Prove yourself to Roderich and Elizaveta. They believe in you, so you can believe in yourself." He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at the tree. "You've made it this far. You can't fail now."

Lukas charged on ahead and touched the tree. This time, he turned around and focused on Roderich and Elizaveta, who both stood in the clearing. His legs carefully stepped over the underbrush that wanted to ensnare his feet. He knew that he could do this. He made it there, so he knew he could make it back. His heart began to race as he got closer and closer to his friends with every step.

Elizaveta clutched Roderich's sleeve tightly. "Darling, he's going to do it!" she excitedly whispered to him. "He's coming back! He's going to make it!"

Lukas reached the end of the clearing and walked out of the woods and right up to Elizaveta and Roderich. "One ticket to England," he told them, smiling.

"We'll have Gilbert smuggle you in," Roderich said with a smile. "You did it!"

"We're so proud of you!" Elizaveta squealed to him. "Congratulations, Lukas! We'll have you ready to leave by morning! Tonight, we'll celebrate!"

Lukas smiled widely. "I did it! I really did it!"

.

Mid-May, 1944, On a Boat to England

"Don't tell me you get seasick, kid," Gilbert grumbled to Lukas. "You're going to get the bottom bunk. I'll go get you a bucket."

Lukas sat on the bottom bunk with his head between his legs, suddenly remembering a time that was similar to this. He remembered being on a boat to England with someone else and being seasick. He remembered that person getting him a bucket as well. Was it Mathias?

Gilbert came back with the bucket just in time for Lukas to vomit into it. "Awe, geez, kid," he groaned. "If I had known you got seasick like this…" He sighed. "Guess there isn't any other way, though…"

When Lukas had finished vomiting, he looked up at Gilbert. "What's the plan for when he get there?" he asked.

"You get straight to the point, don't you?" Gilbert laughed. "Well, we are going to stay a night at a hotel so you can recover, and then I'll give you directions to your base."

Lukas nodded. "Yeah, that works."

.

One Week Later, London, England

Mathias was stopped by Alfred as he was walking out of the base one afternoon. "What do you want, Alfred?" he asked.

"Where are you going?" Alfred asked him.

"Why does it matter?" Mathias asked, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you really do care."

A hurt expression crossed Alfred's face. "That's not true, Mathias," he slowly said. "I really do care. I'm sorry that I'm not always available to talk. It's just that."

"It's just that the one you love is still alive," Mathias snarled at him. "I get it."

Alfred, having nothing else to say, stepped aside. There was no way he would ever be able to argue with something like that. He knew that Mathias really did have a point there. Arthur wasn't dead, but Lukas was… "Go ahead then," he slowly said.

"Thank you," Mathias said, storming out of the base. He ran off into the woods and into the clearing. Once he got there, he laid down and finally let the tears flow freely, like he did every time he went there. That was the only place he knew he could mourn the loss of Lukas after the funeral. He still carried Lukas's funeral picture with him.

"Lukas," he softly said to the picture. "Now that you're gone, who's going to take care of Emil? First you, then your mother four months later. Now Emil has no one…He's with Aunt Sigrid for now. Please, by some miracle, please come back to me. I will never let you leave me again. Just please come back to me, Lukas. I love you. I need you. Come back to me."

.

Lukas walked around the entire city, getting lost everywhere he turned. Gilbert's directions weren't too specific to him. It turned out that he did have to use his crutch as he hobbled around after the first hour of walking, his right leg hurting too badly to function properly anymore. He sighed and sat on a bench, thinking over Gilbert's instructions once more.

As soon as he thought he had them memorized once more, he got up and began his search again. He sighed. Of course it had to be a hot day, of all days. His eyes scanned all of the street signs that he passed until he found the proper one to turn at. And when he stood in front of the building, no memories came flooding back, like he wanted them to.

A little down the way was a small, wooded area. Something inside of him was telling him to go there. He couldn't explain what was telling him to, but he knew that he needed to go to the wooded area. That was all he could focus on.

His feet turned him in the direction of the woods as he began walking toward it almost automatically. What was so important about it? Why did he need to go there so badly?

Before he knew it, he was walking through the woods and ended up in a clearing with a man whose back was turned to him. Lukas suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity as he heard the man singing to something.

"Would my every prayer begin and end with just your name?" the man sang softly.

Something inside of Lukas told him to sing with this man, yet he felt uncertain about it for a split second. What if the man got mad? What if this man wasn't familiar with him? There were so many what-ifs, but Lukas decided to go for it.

"And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare?" Lukas sang to him.

The man suddenly froze. He then turned and faced Lukas. His hair was blonde and spiked. He had the cleared blue eyes that Lukas had ever seen. Could this man be Mathias? Was he the reason why Lukas knew that song?

Before Lukas could finish all of his thoughts, the man ran to him and embraced him, crying. His lips pressed against Lukas's and everything else went away for a moment.

Yet at the same time, everything also came back. All of those flickers of memory came rushing back into Lukas's head. That lock that was once dwelling in Lukas's mind was suddenly broken and the memories flooded his mind as he kissed that beautiful man. The more Lukas kissed Mathias, the more he remembered and the more he knew and understood about himself from the past six years. And once all the memories came back was when he finally broke the kiss off.

"Would all this be true if I didn't care for you?" Mathias whispered to Lukas.

Lukas's eyes flooded over with tears. "Mathias!" he cried out, clinging to his Danish lover. "I've missed you so much! You have no idea!"

"Words can't even begin to express how much I've missed you," Mathias assured. He cradled Lukas's head into his shoulder. "I thought you were dead." His eyes brimmed over with tears. "Please don't ever scare me like that again…"

"I didn't mean to," Lukas sobbed. "But I was taken care of, I can assure you of that…" He then pulled away and looked up at Mathias. "How are my mother and Emil?"

"Emil is just fine, but your mother…" Mathias went quiet and Lukas got the hint. He held Lukas up as his legs gave way beneath him. His arms held his lover as he shook with sobs of defeat. "I'm so sorry," he softly said. "It's hard... I know it's hard, Lukas. It's okay to cry like this."

"What's going to happen to my baby brother?" Lukas sobbed. He grabbed fistfuls of Mathias's shirt as he cried. "He needs someone!"

"He has Aunt Sigrid, Berwald, and Tino for right now," Mathias softly told Lukas. "Maybe you could raise him after the war."

"I can't do it on my own," Lukas softly said. "I can't handle kids. I really can't."

"Then I'll help you," Mathias told him. "We may not be the perfect family, but I think we'll do."

Lukas looked up at him with admiration in his eyes. "You would do that?"

"Lukas Bondevik, when I told you I loved you, I meant it," Mathias told him. "Even if we can't be married, I'll still love you and do anything for you. We'll think of your little brother as our kid. Just imagine it, Lukas, us raising a little boy together."

The Norwegian man smiled. "That sounds pretty wonderful," he mused. "You've got yourself a deal, Mathias."

Mathias smiled. "Then it's settled. You're stuck with me after the war."

"But you know what?" Lukas said. "I don't think I'll mind that at all."

.

The End.