It was nice to see the joy and laughter that Dietrich typically associated with Hitch's family return to that house. In a way, it was like nothing had happened, but as much as Dietrich wouldn't have minded pretending nothing happened, he knew that wasn't the case. He knew there was one last step to take the following morning, but after that, he hoped that would be the end of it.

The night came to end sooner than Dietrich would have liked as Hitch and Molly chose to leave when Zach started getting tired, as the last thing they—or anyone—wanted was for the toddler to express his exhaustion through a tantrum. Dietrich stayed for another hour or so, then decided to head to his hotel for the night.

"Hans, don't forget to come by before you go home to take some cheesecake with you," Irena said.

"Thank you, Irena. Goodness, you are giving me cheesecake and Molly is giving me chocolate pie and vanilla pudding. I will be set for a while," Dietrich replied.

Irena smiled at him. "Oh, that's not all. There will be something else for you. White chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts."

"That sounds delicious." Dietrich raised an eyebrow. "Are you not making anything for Hitch?"

"Hans—" Irena reached up to poke Dietrich's forehead, "Stop it. Yes, I will be making things for Mark, but I don't get to see you very often, so take your gifts and enjoy them."

"Oh, alright." Dietrich grinned. "I will see you at some point tomorrow, then. Good night."

"Good night, Hans. Wait, wait—" Irena jogged up to him before he could open the front door, and gave him a hug. "Thank you again for all your help. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I had let myself stay angry at Mark."

"You are welcome, Irena. I already know you will call on me again if you ever need assistance, so I do not feel I should tell you that my door is always open to you." Dietrich gave Irena a hug in return, then left the house, heading to a bus stop where he would be taken back to his hotel.

In the morning, Dietrich had a quick breakfast in the hotel's cafeteria before walking to Cordie's apartment. His happiness from the previous night faded as he began wondering how Cordie was doing. When he reached her apartment door, he knocked, then stood quietly. He hoped the lonely young woman was doing alright. Part of him still felt bad about shocking her and shouting at her over her behavior, but he also felt it was something that had to be done.

A small sense of relief came over him when the door opened and Cordie was looking up at him. Dietrich offered a warm smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Cordie said. "You… talked to Mark?"

"I did, and he is willing to speak to you."

"Okay." Cordie looked at the floor, then back up at Dietrich. "Did you have breakfast?"

"I did."

"I take it you don't want another cup of coffee, then?"

"I would be alright with a second cup."

Cordie gave him a mildly confused look. "Really? You always say—"

"I know. I always say 'no' with some excuse. For that, I apologize. Today is a new day, and will hopefully be the start of some badly needed changes in your life. I did say yesterday that you need friends. Well, friends have coffee together."

"I didn't think you considered me as a friend, after… everything I did, and the fact that you only spent time with me to learn the truth for Mark."

"At first, no, I did not consider you a friend. That has changed, as I want to see you change, grow, and be happy. What sort of person would I be if I shunned you? That will not permit you to change, not easily."

Cordie nodded. "Alright. You can come in." She waited until Dietrich was inside before closing the door. "Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, please." Dietrich sat at the kitchen table when Cordie brought two mugs of coffee. "Thank you." He took the mug offered to him and sipped from it. "Dark roast?"

"Why, yes. Not your preference?"

"Actually, I quite like it, but I do generally prefer a light or medium roast."

"Thanks." Cordie glanced down at her own coffee before looking back at Dietrich. She seemed to want to say something, but held back.

Dietrich, patient as ever, looked out the window, watching the rest of Wilmington wake up. People were walking about in the streets, going to work, running errands, managing things within their own lives. Dietrich turned back to Cordie, finally asking, "Is everything alright?"

"Oh… I was just thinking. That's all."

"About what?"

"About… you."

Dietrich had a feeling he knew where this was going. He quietly let out his breath. "What is the English phrasing here…? You… have a crush on me. Is that right?"

"Yes, and… I do."

"Well, I was not lying when I told you that I have things in my life that I must sort out before I go searching for romance. No, it is not some excuse I am making up to avoid you. Perhaps if things were better, I would be willing to explore whether or not we are truly a good match. For now, I am not." Dietrich set his mug down, swallowing anxiously before turning over his wrists to let Cordie see the scars on them. "Do you see these?"

"Yes. What happened?"

"Eight years ago, I was drowning in my own head. I thought I had nothing left to live for. One night, I… I smashed a wine bottle against a counter, took one of the shards, and… and slashed open my wrists. Fortunately, some friends of mine—well, I did not see them as friends at the time—were able to get me to a hospital and treated. Things are better now, and, yes, even Hitch helped with my recovery. But, even though I want to live, even though I have things to live for, people who care about me, sometimes my thoughts will become dark and heavy. Sometimes, I feel like I am responsible for every death under my command during the war. Sometimes, I cannot get out of bed, or bring myself to eat. Sometimes, I just lay awake, staring into nothingness and feeling completely worthless. Sometimes, it becomes so heavy and so painful that I simply sit down and cry until I have no tears left. Eight years ago, that was nearly every single day. Now, it can still come back, and I have to fight it. I have gotten better at fighting it, but I do not yet feel that I can fulfill the obligations of a romantic relationship and fight so hard against my depression at the same time. To make matters worse, it is entirely unpredictable when it will rear up. The only times I can predict when it will come back are anniversaries." Dietrich was quiet for a moment, feeling drained from describing all of that. "If any of that scares you, or you do not think you can handle it, we cannot be together."

Cordie said nothing in response. She nodded a little. "I never would've guessed, just looking at you, though you do look melancholic."

"You would not be the first to say that." Dietrich turned his wrists back over, then picked up his coffee. "That is on top of your own problems. You need to find your way first before you start looking at getting into a serious relationship, and so do I. That does not mean we cannot be friends. Friendship is a little different, but just as rewarding."

"I hope so."

"It will be, if you give it a chance."

When they finished their coffee, the two left the apartment for Hitch's home. The night before, Molly agreed to bring the children over to Noah and Irena's so that the adults would be able to talk without interruptions, so she was still out by the time Dietrich and Cordie arrived. Dietrich noticed the border collie was sitting on the porch, and the dog didn't look quite as friendly as he usually did until Dietrich approached it, saying, "She is with us this time."

The collie backed down, permitting Dietrich and Cordie to walk onto the porch. Dietrich didn't have to knock as Hitch was waiting for them, opening the door before he had a chance to raise his hand. Hitch's face was pale, but he tried to put on a brave and cordial expression as he opened the screen door.

"Hello, Mark," Cordie said.

"Hi," Hitch replied. He looked at the porch floor, closing both the main and screen doors behind him. "You're not going to hit me again over not remembering your face, are you?"

"No."

"We are going to keep things civil here," Dietrich said. He sat in a chair close to the collie, reaching down to pet the dog.

"We'll… do our best," Hitch said. He sat on the porch swing, while Cordie took another chair. They said nothing for a while, then Hitch looked at Dietrich. "Can we… talk alone for a bit?"

"Sure." Dietrich stood, going inside the house. Several of the windows were already open, but he tried not to make himself visible. He went into the kitchen first. He hadn't eaten much for breakfast at the hotel, and since Molly had given him permission, he decided to raid the refrigerator and have a slice of chocolate pie. With whipped cream, of course. Dietrich then headed back into the living room, sitting close to a window without being seen from the outside.

"…It was a very stupid thing for me to be doing," Hitch was saying. "I knew Sarge and the others didn't like it, but apart from Anah, no one really got on my case about it."

"Anah?" Cordie asked.

"Oh. Moffitt's talking cobra. That's a long story. Anyway… nothing back then was serious, and we were both drunk that night, so let's just… move on."

Cordie was quiet for a few moments. "I would like that. It's… th-this is strange, that's all."

"At least I can agree with you on that."

More silence, followed by Cordie asking, "You're… happy?"

"Yeah. You mean, with Molly?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I'm happy. I love her. Actually love her. I don't want anyone else." Hitch let out a sigh. "No, you weren't different. You weren't special. No one was. If I was capable of looking at things more maturely, and if we weren't drunk, maybe things would be different. Life didn't pan out that way, though, and you getting angry and telling my mother about it, along with breaking my car, wasn't the way to go."

"Hans… already brought that up."

"Ah. Still, I-I'm not a vengeful person. I don't want to see you lose a chance at living a decent life. We can leave it at that. If you need help, I'm willing to help."

"Thanks. Right now, apart from this talk, I don't need anything. Not yet. Hans is right. I can't be throwing myself at everyone who's even just a little bit nice to me."

"No. Becoming paranoid isn't a good idea, either. You'll learn how to read people, though."

The conversation stopped when a vehicle pulled into the driveway. A door opened and closed, then Dietrich heard Molly's voice saying, "So, this is Cordie?"

"Yeah," Hitch said.

Molly said nothing for a moment. "You're lucky I believe in giving people second chances," she said to Cordie. "I can't say I like the idea of you turning our car into a death trap."

"I know," Cordie replied. "I didn't know about the children."

"Fair enough. You know now. I don't know what Mark or Hans have told you so far, but know this—I will give you a chance as long as you don't break any of our trust."

"You won't have to worry about that."

"Alright, then. I'm going to put my purse away and join you two in a moment. Would either of you like some iced tea?"

"Sure. Thanks," Hitch said.

"Where's Hans?"

"Inside. We wanted to talk alone."

Molly entered the house, finding Dietrich on the couch with his plate of pie. "I was saving some of that to go with you when you go home. How much did you have?"

"Just this one slice," Dietrich said. He put another forkful in his mouth. "I left plenty."

"I certainly hope so." Molly opened the refrigerator to inspect the pie. "Oh, alright. Did you not have breakfast?"

"A very small breakfast."

"Would you like anything else? I made pancakes earlier."

"I might have room for one. Or two." Dietrich brought his empty plate into the kitchen.

"Sit at the table, though," Molly said, pulling out a chair. "Don't need syrup being dripped all over the carpet."

"That implies that I am a messy eater."

"Accidents happen. Sit." Molly reheated two pancakes before placing them on a clean plate and setting them in front of Dietrich. "Butter, too?"

"Yes, please."

Molly dropped a pad of butter on both pancakes before drizzling maple syrup overtop of them. "Did Mark tell you that collie has decided to stay with us?"

"No. I saw it on the porch, though," Dietrich replied.

"Yep. He's chosen us, and we had a difficult time choosing a name until coming home last night and seeing that he tracked sand all over the porch. So, naturally, we're calling him Sandy."

"That is cute, if I must be honest. I am glad that dog has a place to stay now. You and Hitch will be good owners."

Molly smiled and nodded. "I've been looking forward to having pets of my own since moving out of my parents' home." She then poured glasses of iced tea, placing one in front of Dietrich before carrying the other three outside on a tray.

Dietrich was still interested in listening to the conversation, so he took another bite from the pancakes before standing and going over to the window.

In spite of her earlier sternness with Cordie, Molly became a lot friendlier with her as time went on. Eventually, the two women decided to have a private talk of their own, so Hitch went inside, all smiles.

"Well, this has gone better than I thought it would," he said.

"Good," Dietrich said. "How do you feel, then?"

"Better. A lot better." Hitch's smile faded a little. "What happened was still really embarrassing, but… I think we can look past the stain on the floor now."

Dietrich smirked. "Indeed you can. Now, if only it were easy to help Troy and Moffitt look past their own issues the same way."

Hitch nodded. "I think they have a lot more in their pasts to deal with in comparison to me."

Dietrich nodded in agreement. "Yes. They will remain a challenge, but I will do my best to help them."

"So will I, and I know Tully will, too." Hitch's smile disappeared completely, and he glanced toward the front door before turning back to Dietrich. "So, does Cordie still… like you?"

"I think she still finds me attractive, yes, but I told her this morning that I am not ready for any romantic relationship. I doubt she is ready for one, either."

"It's funny how you have good advice, but aren't ready yet."

"I think the right person for me will enter my life when the time is right."

"So, you're not going to go out looking for anyone?"

Dietrich shook his head. "It will happen when it happens. I do not think Cordie is that person for me. It is… hard to describe. I can feel she is not it. But, I hope she can heal, and I hope she finds a good gentleman who she can madly love, and will madly love her in return."

"I hope so, too." Hitch squeezed Dietrich's shoulder. "I still don't know how to thank you for all your help."

"No need to worry about that," Dietrich said, his grin returning. "Well, there is one thing you could do."

"Oh?"

"Try not to tell Moffitt that I actually like that collie."

Hitch gave a broad smile of his own. "I'll try."

At what felt like the last minute, Dietrich changed up his plans, and decided to head to Wyoming instead of home in Germany right away. He said his goodbyes and received all his treats before getting on his flight, then spent the entire time thinking about what had happened over the last several days.

The weather was lovely when he landed in Wyoming. There were some signs that autumn was approaching in fields beginning to turn orange with pumpkins of various sizes. The trees in orchards were beginning to sag with apples ready for picking, and the fields of corn stretching out as far as the eye could see were just about ready for harvesting.

Dietrich had all his luggage with him when he walked up to Troy's front porch. He set his suitcase and the tins of treats down before knocking. Shauna was drying her hands with a towel while opening the door, and smiled when she saw him. "Hello, Hans. What a pleasant surprise! Come in!"

"Thank you, Shauna," Dietrich said. "I am not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, not at all. I'll go get Sam. Have a seat in the kitchen. Help yourself to anything in the fridge."

Dietrich watched Shauna disappear to the back porch, and heard her calling for her husband. About a minute later, Troy entered the kitchen, his clothing covered in huge smudges of dirt. He still tried to hug Dietrich. "Hey, buddy," Troy said right before giving him a tight squeeze.

"Hello, Troy," Dietrich grunted. "You could not have changed your clothes before this greeting?"

"No. Besides, you got dirtier than this in North Africa."

Dietrich let out a heavy sigh. "That does not mean… never mind."

"At least you're acting like you. When Shauna said you showed up without calling ahead, I thought something was wrong."

"No, nothing is wrong," Dietrich said. "I just came from visiting Hitch's family in North Carolina."

Troy frowned. "Does this… have anything to do with the phone call I received from his mother last week?"

"It might."

Troy went silent, pulling out a chair so he could sit. He sighed, looking down at the table. "Well? What happened?"

"Before you get worried, everything is alright now. What happened was quite… interesting, to say the least."

"I can imagine."

Dietrich gave Troy a curious look. "You sound upset."

"Hitch's mother sounded really upset."

"She was, initially. Very upset. I could not exactly blame her, though she and Noah took their anger further than what was necessary."

Troy nodded, continuing to look at the table. He then turned to Dietrich. "Do you think I failed to do my job when I never stopped Hitch from sleeping around?"

"No. You were his sergeant, not his chaplain or his father."

"Still. It's not exactly a secret that doing stuff like that can have serious consequences—"

"And Hitch got lucky. Extremely lucky. So much so that I am not sure it can be attributed to luck alone." Dietrich noticed an expression of shame on Troy's face. "I will not deny that in a way, it was irresponsible, and I know you have a rather touchy relationship with being considered irresponsible because of what happened between you and your mother. It is over now. Everyone made it out alive, healthy, and largely unburdened. There is no reason to dwell on it."

"If you say so."

"Yes. I do say so." Dietrich went on to tell Troy the details about what happened, about Cordie and her misplaced belief that Hitch would honor a drunken promise that he had no memory of. He talked about the seemingly mysterious border collie following him and Hitch around, along with the fact that the dog likely saved their lives by pointing out that the car had been sabotaged, ending with how Hitch and Cordie were able to make amends, hopefully setting her on a better path.

Troy was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. "Well, at least it all ended on a good note."

Dietrich nodded. "Fortunately." His gaze shifted to the table, then went back to Troy. "She seemed to want a relationship with me, which I was a bit uncomfortable with. I had to tell her the truth about my depression and what happened a few years ago. I even said if it scares her or she does not feel she can handle it, we cannot have a romantic relationship. She never said anything in response to that."

"Yeah. I know that's the biggest hurdle with you. Did you mention the prophecy?"

"No. I never had a chance to, nor did I want to explain it. Along with that, how can I explain it when I have no clue what is going or happen, where it will happen, or how?"

Troy nodded, looking thoughtful again. "Moffitt and I found wives even though we don't know what's going to happen. Hell, we found wives even though we're both dealing with combat fatigue, among other things. I haven't fully gotten over what happened between me and my family. Moffitt hasn't gotten over what happened to his brother. We still found people that we love so much that we decided we're going to spend the rest of our lives with them. What don't you feel ready for?" He held up his hands. "I'm not trying to be an ass and push you into doing something you're not ready for. I just want to know what's wrong so I can help."

Dietrich frowned, clenching his fists while trying to think. "I doubt it is something I can explain in words."

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"I think you're more lonely than you might think. I've seen you whenever I visit or when you come here to visit—you look very worn down and tired at first, but after spending some time with another person, you perk up a little."

There was a part of Dietrich that really didn't want to agree with Troy, but he also knew, deep down, that Troy was right. "That… That does not mean that finding a relationship will fix anything."

"No, but it's something I think you should be aware of. I know you feel like you need to have more things together before you try."

"Yes."

"Okay. Fair enough." Troy thought for a moment. "The right person could always come along before you think you're ready."

"If that happens, it happens. I will figure it out."

"Alright. I'll stop asking."

"Thank you." Dietrich drew in a breath, trying to think of how to change the topic. "I met Hitch's new baby."

"Nice," Troy said. His gaze suddenly became distant and distracted.

"Are you… alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Go on."

Dietrich shrugged, knowing getting answers out of Troy wasn't the easiest thing in the world. He was too tired to try that day. "Zach is two, now, and… a handful. I complimented Hitch on his ability to handle a toddler. I want children of my own someday, but I hope I will have toddlers like Jules. Quiet. Cooperative."

"Hasn't that partly been due to the fact that Jules gets sick frequently?"

Dietrich paused. "I think you are right."

"Dietrich, kids are active and a little wild at that age. That's normal."

"I imagine you were worse."

"Yeah. I was known for somehow getting on the roof, used my dad's ashtray to draw on the walls, eating plants in Mom's garden, somehow let the horses out of the stable, and used a big patch of mud in the yard as a swimming pool."

Dietrich's jaw had dropped. "All in the same day?"

"No. I wasn't that bad."

"With you, that would not be very surprisingly."

Troy sighed and rolled his eyes before roughly tousling Dietrich's hair. "Anyway, if you want kids one day, you're going to have to deal with them at all stages. They don't stay cute, quiet babies forever."

"I am aware of that. I think I can handle it. At least I know that… I will not make the mistakes that my father made."

"I know I won't, either," Troy muttered. "If we actually do have a kid someday."

"You and Shauna—"

"We're trying. Nothing yet."

"Ah. I will say a few prayers for you, then."

"Thanks." Troy still looked lost for a moment, then said, "Oh, what happened to that collie?"

"Hitch is keeping him. The dog's name is Sandy now."

Troy grinned. "Moffitt's going to be oh-so happy when he learns that."

Dietrich gave a grin of his own. "Between you and me, I am looking forward to his reaction."

It was October when Dietrich next returned to North Carolina, along with the others, for Troy and Shauna's wedding anniversary, as Irena insisted on hosting. After piling his plate high with all manner of sweet treats, he went to the back porch to watch Moffitt greet Raccoon. Of course, everyone else was aware of Sandy now, but they kept him hidden until this moment, just to see Moffitt's response.

Hitch was smiling and trying not to giggle as he went over to the back door, holding Sandy's collar. "Moffitt's going to be so mad," he said.

Dietrich made a sound of agreement. "Give him a moment with Raccoon first."

"Hello, Raccoon!" Moffitt said as the eastern diamondback slithered up to him. "I missed you!" He put the big rattlesnake on his lap.

Hitch waited another minute before opening the back door just a little, and letting go of Sandy's collar. He continued holding back his laughter as the collie ran over to Moffitt.

"What the—oh, bloody hell!" Moffitt scrambled to his feet, taking Raccoon with him as he tried to escape the dog. "Where did this smelly creature come from?! Go away!"

"I just bathed him!" Hitch called.

"It's yours?!" Moffitt looked horrified. "I'm ashamed of you!" He took a nervous step back when Sandy approached him. "Go on, shoo! Please don't lick me!"

Hitch let out a heavy sigh. "Hey, at least he's better behaved than the stray in North Africa. Sandy! Sit, boy!"

The collie sat without a second thought.

Moffitt only looked vaguely impressed. "Well, you're right. That horrible little thing in North Africa was a menace. A filthy little menace."

Dietrich glanced at Hitch. "That dog was not that bad."

"Moffitt seems to think we found a single-headed Cerberus." Hitch called Sandy back, crouching to give the dog affection. "Maybe one day Moffitt won't be so stubborn when it comes to dogs. He doesn't know what he's missing out on."

"I am missing out on nothing!" Moffitt said. "Dogs make terrible pets."

Dietrich couldn't help smiling a little. It was hard to take Moffitt seriously with Raccoon hanging over his shoulder, before the viper pulled back to climb up Moffitt's head. He then turned to Hitch, his smile fading. "So, how did things go with Cordie after I left?"

"They went well," Hitch said. "She was getting along well with Molly. They met for tea every Sunday for a while. Cordie was getting better. Seemed happier. Last week, while I was at work, Molly got a phone call from her. Apparently, Cordie decided to leave North Carolina."

"Why would she do that if things were going well?"

"She said that she feels like she has the courage to seek her purpose in life now. I hope she's right." Hitch glanced up at Dietrich. "Have you been thinking about her at all?"

Dietrich shook his head. "Only when wondering about how you are doing. Beyond that, I have not been yearning to see her again. Why? Did she bring me up at all?"

"No. Unless she just didn't say anything to us, I think she decided you weren't the one for her."

"I would hope so."

Hitch gave Dietrich a look. "Maybe it's just me, but… you weren't curious at all about how things could've gone?"

"No. I told you, I told Molly, and I told Troy—I am not ready. Cordie didn't seem willing to discuss what I brought up with her about my depression."

"That's a lot for someone to take in the first time."

"I know. Regardless, I was not interested. That is final."

"Okay. Do you want me to not ask about stuff like this anymore?"

"I would prefer it." Dietrich looked down at the porch railing, becoming lost in thought. He wasn't sure what would finally convince him to start dating, though he certainly didn't want to be pressured into it. He worried about being hurt. He worried about making a bad decision. He worried about things going well, but the reveal of his depression and past suicide attempt driving someone away. He worried about being looked at as weak or an invalid because of his depression. Sometimes those worries would get out of hand, and Dietrich could think of nothing else, no matter how hard he tried.

When he wasn't thinking about his worries, his mind would turn toward several blurry dreams he had been having. There was rain. A lot of rain. He could make out the figure of a woman with short hair and green eyes. There wasn't much more than that, but he had the same dream a few times, and each time he asked himself what it meant, if it meant anything at all. Was it someone who would come into his life eventually? Did he just need to wait and see what would happen? He felt he did, as he had learned from dealing with various aspects of his prophecy not to doubt his own dreams, or the dreams of others when they chose to share them with him.

Dietrich could be patient, though. He would wait for the right person, but he couldn't help wondering if someone out there was waiting for him. Someday, he told himself, he would find her.