Danielle put her hand on Delphine's shoulder as they stood looking at the door.

"Last chance to pull out," she said, with just a bit of a smile.

"Oh, you think I'm going to take the coward's way out, eh?" Delphine glanced at her, then fitted the key in the lock. "Not while I have you here. You're my safety blanket." She gave a quick wink and opened the door.

Inside, it was not so different than when she had left. Her lawyer had arranged for a cleaning service to come and fix things up. The Nazi officer's personal effects had been removed. There were just a few differences: a stuffed grey chair in the living room, new spackling and paint, the table in the kitchen had been moved and covered with a white tablecloth and the good chinaware was gone, while the faint but distinct whiff of cigar smoke intruded here and there, quickly dissipating.

Of course, her father's wireless was gone. She wondered where they had moved it. It could be as close as the main police station, or as far as Berlin. There really was no telling.

Danielle walked beside her, taking things in silently. When she saw the bar she walked over and examined it.

"Ah," she said, pulling out a bottle, "still some good cognac. Care to join me?"

Delphine let a brief smile flit across her face and shrugged.

"Might as well."

They each took a glass.

"To you," Danielle toasted, "and to making a home for yourself."

Delphine raised her glass, but her lips quirked.

"To you," she said, "and to the end of the Nazis. We should all be able to find homes for ourselves."

Danielle gave a nod in agreement and they clinked glasses. The cognac was golden and warm, and breathing out the faint burn of the alcohol made Delphine feel more present, somehow.

They walked from room to room. The cleaning had been thorough. A valuable painting was missing from the sitting room. Really, it was surprising that so many artworks were still there. The man who'd stayed there must have liked them, and had some pull.

There were none of her compacts or lipsticks in the bathroom, none of her mother's perfumes on the vanity in her room. But grandfather's table clock was still there, and working, and she noticed with approval that the bedclothes, and even the mattress, were new.

"Your lawyer's efficient," Danielle commented, glancing into the opened closet. There were a few dresses hung inside. "Yours?"

Delphine looked at them, her face impassive.

"Yes. I wonder if someone wore them."

"Hmm. Does it matter? Everything's been cleaned."

Delphine pursed her lips.

"No. I suppose it will be good to have more to wear."

The dresses looked incredibly fine and expensive compared to what she had been wearing recently. It was both something of a relief and jarring, seeming vain and unnecessary.

Danielle put her hand on Delphine's shoulder again.

"It must seem so strange, being back here. So much, yet so little has changed."

"Mmm," Delphine nodded. Tapping her finger on her chin. "I think I will have some more beds moved in. There are a lot of people who still need a place to stay, especially with so many refugees returning here."

Danielle stood beside her and gave her a little squeeze with one arm.

"This is true." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "And what about your convalescing houseguest?"

There was a change in Delphine's expression that Danielle couldn't quite place. It flickered across her face often when the American woman was mentioned. It contained a certain distraction, a warmth, but also a brief tinge of fear, as if Delphine didn't want to linger on her own thoughts, and needed a distraction.

"Oh, well, I suppose I won't bring in more lodgers until she's well. It shouldn't be long, but I don't want to jeopardize her health. She needs some peace and quiet."

"And you?"

Delphine looked at her friend.

"Of course. We could all use some peace and quiet, couldn't we?" She took another sip of her cognac and moved to the window, taking in the cityscape. A column of smoke caught her eye, and she could see some damage to the buildings near it. Some areas were still cleaning up from the bombing, the final, petulant, retreating blow from the Germans.

"Although, I don't think I'll feel at home until I can get back to my parent's house in the country," she mused. "Also, I won't feel peace until the Germans are out of France… out of other countries, all the way back to their old borders."

Danielle sat on the bed, crossing her legs.

"I agree. Things aren't nearly over, yet, or nearly safe. I would also like to see justice for those who have suffered, as much as one can have, and reparations from those criminals who…" her lips tightened, and she seemed to be quelling some emotion inside her. "I want justice, not retribution. But it's hard not to get carried away."

Delphine turned back to her.

"Yes," she acknowledged, drawing her own curtain over her more painful memories.

"Do you think I might visit your country house, someday? I haven't been out of the city in years, and I would love to see where you spent your childhood."

"Of course," Delphine smiled. "I would love to have you there. It's that kind of thinking that gives me hope, you know? If I can just envision France back to normal, healed… and sharing old feelings of happiness and comfort with my, my new family, like you."

Danielle met her smile with her own.

"The feeling is mutual," she said, then paused. She cocked her head.

"And will you be taking our other friends there? Such as Cosima?"

Delphine looked a bit puzzled.

"Well… yes, yes of course. If… if she's still here. She may have to… she may want to go back to her own home, or she may have duties elsewhere."

Danielle did not miss the veil of sadness that briefly fell over her good friend's eyes.

"Has she talked about that?"

"No, not really, yet…" Delphine caught her bottom lip in her teeth, a vertical line appearing between her eyebrows.

"Does she make you nervous," Danielle asked, and Delphine subtly drew back her head, as if both bemused and caught out.

"No, I adore her. Why would I be nervous?"

Danielle thought for a moment, and then shrugged slightly with a small smile.

"I don't know. But I can tell you, I like her, very much. I'm glad you two have been spending time together. I can't always be around you as often as I would like now, what with the things I must do. It's nice to know someone else is… looking after you."

Delphine seemed to contemplate this. The hand holding her cognac was now crossing her body, while the other, arm propped at the elbow on the perpendicular forearm, reached up to toy with the pins and stray hairs at the back of her neck.

"What about… you and Scott? I'm glad you've found someone to care for you like that. Is it serious? Have you talked about what might happen?"

Danielle sighed and tipped the last of her cognac into her mouth.

"Scott is… he's a wonderful man. The way in which he can be gentle and romantic, yet strong as he is loyal, it reminds me of my husband… although his charms are… less urbane? More simple, perhaps? He doesn't have the… quickness of thought and personality that my dear Noel had. Scott is…" her fingers traced a line on the bedspread, "smart, sweet, but very… solid, underneath. You understand?"

Delphine nodded and sat down by her friend, giving her her full attention.

'But, it's nice, yes. I find myself… I did not expect to become as attached to him as I have." She licked her lips, tilting her head to the side for a moment. "But, these are times of war. I can't make any promises, know what will happen, even from one moment to the next. Especially with someone from another country whom I barely know."

The two women looked at each other, comfortable communicating just with their gazes, both a little sad.

"That's very understandable," Delphine finally said. She reached out and laid her hand over her friend's. "But I believe in you, your brain and your strength. You, as much as I have been, are like the cat with nine lives. I know you will do things that are important, things which may take you away for a while, but I truly trust… I feel we will meet again, more than once. That we will both return to the city and spend days having lunch, talking, or nights acting like happy fools. We've forged a connection, you and I. After what we've been through, I don't think anything could really separate us."

Danielle smiled softly and turned her hand over to hold Delphine's. Maybe she had her doubts based on the fickleness and cruelty of life, but Delphine could tell she felt the same way.