8th/ 9th September 1940

Mary and Bert looked unbelievingly at the orphan: did they understand this correctly? Mary's concern that Bert might become homeless immediately shifted to Elizabeth; because to her it actually happened. Sure, she used to spend the nights on Bert's sofa, but her real home was still the orphanage.

"Miss Fisher didn't...", Elizabeth said before she had to break off and let herself sink onto the sofa. She kneaded her hands so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"If only I 'ad been there!" She jumped up again and walked around the room, "then I could 'ave 'elped! But I was selfish and cowardly! And now? There are injured and dead. Dead! The children still 'ad their whole life t' live!" She kicked against the stony frame of the fireplace, her voice trembled and she had tears in her eyes. They had never seen the young adult so angry and upset! And to be honest, neither of the two knew what to say.

It was Mary who spoke: "You were not selfish-"

"What else, huh!?", she scolded at Mary.

"You saved the little boy, for example… you were there for Bert and me. Without you and your courage we would probably still sitting in the cellar like frightened rabbits."

"None of this's yer fault, Lizzy...", she let Bert talk, "as Mary already mentioned, ya were there for the baby and us. Ya just can't be everywhere at the same time and 'elp everyone. Especially not at war! It sounds 'ard, but you have t' put up with it." His voice contained an emotion that Elizabeth could not interpret. It was something... profound. Almost as if he spoke from experience.

Liz let the words sink in and nodded: "Maybe you're right...", small tears were gathering in her eyes again, "I just can't believe it..."

Bert exchanged a look with Mary and when she nodded, Bert went to Elizabeth and hugged her. And at that moment, she started crying bitterly. Yes, Liz missed the people from the orphanage and she felt very sorry for the children (even when she didn't knew them very well), but her unspoken thoughts were about Mary, and especially Bert. What if she lost those two? Homelessness would not really matter to her; but the thought of losing Mary and Bert frightened her.

"You can live 'ere, by the way..."

She looked at him: "Really?"

"Of course... But ya 'ave t' sleep on the sofa first. But I promise you I'll get a bed so it's more comfortable for ya."

He could not really finish the sentence when Elizabeth embraced him heartily again. Mary's heart opened at the sight and she smiled sadly. She still found it amazing in some ways that they were almost the same size.

The rest of the day was... strange, but quiet: Mary wanted to check if everything was alright with Uncle Albert. However, Bert and especially Elizabeth insisted that they accompany her. On the way to Albert, the sky was gradually closing with clouds and it was not as warm as the days before. But still it was about 21 degrees celsius. And especially Elizabeth got into a sweat, as she inquired about every injured who ran into her or lay on the floor.

When they returned to the flat in the afternoon, Elizabeth took a nap, while Mary and Bert sat together on the sofa, looking at a portfolio of his last year's artwork. Later, he also drew a quick sketch in his sketchbook: Elizabeth and Mary, at the moment where they stared at the cellar door the previous day. However, he did not want that the two women saw the picture.

In the evening, the three then prepared dinner together. In fact, only Mary and Bert cooked because Elizabeth still had no talent. The latter took care of the table and the dishes. To put everything in a cozy atmosphere, she lit candles and distributed them in the living room. As it had cooled noticeably, she also lit the fireplace, noting that it was a relatively small flame so as not to destroy the atmosphere.

The food, which consisted only of pasta and sauce, tasted very good despite everything and satisfied her. Because they have not eaten for about thirty-six hours.

Then the late evening came and Elizabeth fell asleep around ten o'clock. Subconsciously, Mary and Bert shifted bedtime as late as possible, because they both knew they needed to share the bed.

Yes, the tension between them was barely there and yes, they had kissed each other in the morning. But was this closeness right after all that time? What neither of the two knew was that the other one was really longing to finally sleep together in one bed, to feel the closeness and above all the heartbeat of the other.

At one point, they finally got over to sleep. However, at first they were still a few inches apart. This changed as they snuggled together in sleep and Bert put his arm around her delicate waist.

Elizabeth woke up in the middle of the night and could not sleep again. She lay down on her left and right side, on her stomach and on her back. After fifteen minutes, she decided to to go for a walk, so she trudged through the dark apartment and looked for her coat in the closet. Yes, she could have made a small flame so she could see better, but she did not want to wake Mary and Bert.

However, as she barely saw anything, she did not open the closet that contained the coats and jackets but the closet that for years was inexplicably taboo for her. Coincidentally the increasing crescent moon shone through the window, illuminating the closet so she could inspect its contents. What she saw left Elizabeth petrified, her jaw dropped slightly, and she had to swallow first. On the back wall hung a complete uniform of the war! It was everything there, even helmet, belt and shoes! She let her gaze wander over the shelf and she recognised a stack of letters, a book and a hip flask. On the ground there was a backpack and a suitcase. Once again she looked at the uniform as she noticed something. Carefully and with a frown, she turned the uniform in her direction and as the dark side lit up, her eyes widened in disbelief: on the left sleeve was a white bandage with a red cross on it. "Bert was a medic?" She murmured questioningly, and her thoughts were just starting to assemble the pieces of the puzzle as an icy voice made her startle:

"What are you doin'!?"

Now I'm curious what you say about the ending :3 And I think some things from the previous Parts make sense now xD

As always I hope that you enjoyed the chapter :)

I appreciate every review! :D