for louise and faith, my two beloved fellow passengers as i tirelessly tried to finish this crazy story.
and with all my love.*
Elizabeth knelt at the grave of her parents, Johannes standing beside her trying to take it all in. For the older sister, as she lost herself in prayer, it was the only way she could keep updating her parents on what all had gone on since before they were imprisoned. For the younger sister, however, it was simply a visiting to the parents. She could only remember their voices, but that was about as much as she could get from them. Her heart broke as she watched her older sister, then looked to the gravestone. Finally her gaze took in all the cemetery. In another couple of days Anneke's parents would be finally given a proper funeral, with Rebekah's parents' funeral following right after. The thought of it overwhelmed Johannes a little, as she'd never seen a funeral, and she didn't really remember anything from that of her parents'.
She closed her eyes, fighting tears as she looked back to her older sister. Elizabeth finally stood up and, wiping a tear or two from her face, looked to her younger sister.
"...what is wrong, Johanne?" Elizabeth asked.
"I just don't understand... why people have to die" Johannes replied looking to her with a sigh. "I don't... I just don't get it, you know?"
Elizabeth nodded. "I know, kleine Schwester. I know."
"And when it's time for Anneke and Rebekah's parents to be buried..." Johannes started, but couldn't finish.
"Not now, Johanne" Elizabeth interrupted. "Let not the sorrow be near on such a day as this." With a warm hug she helped her younger sister out of the cemetery and towards the Spacelab, where the rest of the gang awaited them.
"How are Mother and Father, Eliza?" Florian asked as the sisters entered the Meeting Room.
Elizabeth sighed. "They're doing just fine, Florian."
"You know, I still can't believe what happened to Anya's parents" Karl said somberly.
"Nor I for Reki's" Wolfgang chimed in, holding onto his girlfriend in an embrace. She looked up sadly, then hugged him tightly.
"We are all the family these girls have now, guys" Ralf said quietly from where he stood, in the back corner, his gaze fixed out the window to the cemetery in the distance. "Just as they are all the family we have." He then lowered his head as a few tears fell from his eyes. Then, with a sigh he lifted his head back up and fixed his gaze to the cemetery again. "After this, we have two funerals to be strong for. And we know this is going to be the hardest time that we can ever face.
"But, for now... at least... another family will be born. Let us rejoice for that" he finally said, looking to the rest of the gang. Johannes nodded.
"He is right" she said softly, "we'd better get going for Alessandro's adoption ceremony. We have to be there in 15 minutes."
En route to the main Clandestinian Rebellion HQ, Karl held Anneke in his arms as she took a decent nap. She'd been napping for the better part of the afternoon and, like Johannes, didn't wish to fall asleep mid-ceremony. The Mensch-Maschine looked out the window for a moment as they past the cemetery, and a tear or two fell from his face as his eyes caught four open caverns of earth, side by side. His heart sank as he knew whose graves were those, and his eyes quickly darted to Wolfgang, who held Rebekah to him. Rebekah's eyes caught Karl's and, for a moment, he reached out and held one of her hands tightly, mouthing "I'm so sorry, Reks."
"Danke, Karl" Rebekah whispered back with a sad, but grateful, smile. Wolfgang nodded his thanks.
Karl then let go of her hand and held on tightly to Anneke again, planting a tender kiss on her forehead. It was only a matter of time before he and the rest of the gang would put four dear souls to their final rest. But for now the thought of it all subsided as he looked at his beloved, then straight ahead as the gang arrived at the HQ.
"Everybody's here!!" Alessandro cheered as the Mensch-Maschinen and the Quartet walked into the Meeting Room of the HQ. Elizabeth's eyes met those of Gregorio, and her jaw dropped.
"Süße Mutter des Gottes…" she said, as Johannes looked to her, then to Gregorio. But the former guard walked to her and gave her a big hug with a smile.
"Yes, I am back in the neighborhood!" he said with a grin. "And I take it you've all met my wife Andelina?"
"Wait--WHAT!?" Rebekah asked in shock.
"So you mean... wait... Andy is...?" Anneke asked, trying to take it all in.
"Gregorio, you smart bastard!" Wolfgang laughed, hugging his old friend. "What are you doing here home in Düsseldorf?"
The guard smiled. "Andie and I are going to be parents again. To make up for the one we lost." His smile faded. "We couldn't allow Alessandro to be without parents, not if he's in need of a good family."
Wolfgang's eyes filled with tears. "Wait--you two are adopting Alessandro!?"
Gregorio nodded as Andelina joined him at his side and her face met Rebekah's. "You again!" she said with a grin.
"Andy!!" Rebekah cheered as she ran to hug the elder Clandestinian.
Gregorio meanwhile looked to Elizabeth. "How is your younger sister, Miss Korinn?" he asked.
Johannes peeked at him from behind her sister. "That sounds like Gregorio, Elizabeth" she chimed in.
"That's because it is Gregorio!" Elizabeth laughed. "He and Andelina are adopting Alessandro today!"
The young Italian Mensch-Maschine meanwhile ran into the arms of his soon-to-be parents, hugging Andelina tightly as Gregorio beamed with pride. The boy then turned to Johannes with a grin. "I'm so happy you all can be here" he said. "If not for you guys...!"
The ceremony, led by the General of the Düsseldorf Chapter of the Rebellion, went off perfectly, the entire gang--Mensch-Maschinen, Quartet, Fritz and Henning, Andelina's friends Faith and Ingo, and of course the proud family--celebrating the simple joy of belonging to a family. Alessandro, Andelina, Gregorio, Faith and Ingo were all accepted into the Düsseldorf Chapter by the General. And in turn, Elizabeth was named Captain of the Chapter, with Anneke as First Lieutenant, Rebekah as the Nurse. And Johannes herself was given the title of Chaplain-in-Training, which amused Elizabeth but it was fitting--for if not for her hope the gang would not have hung tightly to the fight for the freedom and safety of Eastern Europe.
After the proper Inquisition, the taking of vows and the signing of the documentations, the General "by the power invested and granted by the Solemn Court of Germany and the Clandestinian Union" declared Gregorio, Andelina and Alessandro a family, and that by right the child had every proper reason to have a family. The family got into a group hug, which was added by the rest of the gang. Johannes, with tears in her eyes, looked to Alessandro, who beamed at her.
"Miss Johannes!!" Alessandro said. "I have a family!! My wish for a family has come true!!" His eyes then met Florian's, and the two shared a smile that could only mean that, had Florian not allowed the boy along, this would not have been. And all the while the gang relished in the group hug.
Then Anneke caught a glimpse and, towards a distance, she turned her face to meet the ghostly figure of Andelina's daughter.
"Rinalee" she whispered, "you've come to bless us again, haven't you?" The young girl simply smiled and nodded in reply. No words were needed.
Anneke smiled back at her, as Karl looked to her. "What is it, Anya?" he asked quietly.
"Rinalee gives us her blessing, is all there is to it" she replied softly, smiling back at him as everyone prepared for the party which followed immediately. And everyone had their fill of cheer, and more than enough to go around.
Back home Anneke lied down on her bed with a sigh, looking out her window in her upstairs bedroom. If there was one crazy thing she and her three best friends had in common, it was that their bedrooms all looked alike in structure--wide windowsill bench, a few steps to the left of their beds, and at the other side of the rooms were the doors and, beside the doors, their desks. Closets at the wall opposite the bed. To the direct left of the bed was the bedside table, then the dresser. What was different were the pictures that graced the walls, the portraits on the desks, the colors that reflected their personalities.
Exhaustion had finally overtaken her as she sat up on the bed and took her coat off, leaving on only her sleeveless gray dress. Placing the coat on the foot of the bed she lied back down, facing the window. The braids had all been undone--first thing when she got home--and while she was happy that Alessandro had a family, it was still hard to take in the fact that she couldn't tell her parents in time that she'd loved them, that she was thankful for being there for her when they could. They'd been working class parents, working so hard to take care of her daughter as she bravely faced the world, for the most part, on her own. When the Darkstrom took over, after she and the girls were captured, there wasn't much else she could do--she didn't even get to say good-bye to her parents. She didn't get to tell them she loved them that final time before she was transported. Finally she closed her eyes, trying to sleep, tears of regret filling her eyes.
Karl had searched all over the house for Anneke, and finally he checked the bedroom, and became still when he entered the room. His face was fixed to the open window, then to the still figure on the bed. He knew she'd been exhausted from all the festivities of the day, he just never realized how much. But it all sank in the moment he looked at her, resting after a long day, as if nothing else mattered but sleep. With that he closed the door to the room and sat down on the side of the bed, turning to face her.
Anya he thought to himself, you've gone through so much in this life, haven't you?
Lying down behind her he took her into his arms, holding her tightly. They hadn't spent a lot of time together since the return to her home, with Fritz's birthday and Alessandro's adoption. But the time between it all, she'd spent the better part of her days with Rebekah at the HQ, settling the documentations and the funerals for their parents. Karl was with Wolfgang trying to figure out how else to console the girls, for they themselves hadn't really felt the pain of losing their own respect parents. But for Karl, the most important person in the world to him was in his arms, and so help him God if he couldn't see to it that he was there for her at every moment, every second that she needed him.
Except, inasmuch as she needed him, they'd been so apart because of all that had gone on, that he realized just much they truly needed each other. With that he held her to him even tighter, kissing her right ear.
Anneke opened her eyes, knowing that Karl was with her, and she turned to face him. And for a moment as their eyes met, all was still. And then finally she spoke.
"I've missed you, Karlos" she whispered, still lost in exhaustion.
"As have I, Anya" he whispered back as she held him to her.
"I have no idea what to make of all this anymore, Karlos" she whispered as she kissed the top of his head. "So much has happened... I never thought I could suffer such pain and still survive. I never thought what would've happened if I ever lost my parents. And now... I'm just... alone." Her eyes fixed to the picture of her with her parents--an impromptu, lighthearted portrait of her only family by blood. It was the last picture she'd taken of her parents before she was deported to Lisbon, the last picture of her parents alive.
"Anya, you're not alone" Karl whispered back, kissing along the scar on her neck. "You have Elizabeth, Johannes and Reks. You have Florian, Ralf and Wolgang. You have Andelina, Gregorio, Rinalee and Alessandro. You have Fritz and Henning.
"Anya... you have me."
Anneke was quiet for a moment as she looked at the picture again, then to him. He was right--she wasn't alone, even as the pain of losing her parents was getting to her. For now, she was in the sweeter company of the man she loved, and God forbid she'd dare to let her pain get in the way of this very moment. Not while he was with her now, and not while the next at least 48 hours were to be the hardest time she'd have to face.
"Karlos" she whispered, "I love you."
But Karl lifted his gaze to her face, took her face in his hands, and smiled. "I know, Anya, and I love you just as much but, no."
Anneke raised a brow. "Beg pardon--?"
"Not another word tonight, Anya" he whispered as he kissed her full on the mouth, and she finally understood why--that her words would only keep her somewhere in her misery. He didn't want to see her in such sorrow, not while he still had a moment to simply spend time with her. He then rolled onto his back so that she was on top of him and, breaking the kiss for a moment looked her in the eyes.
Outside the lanterns of the houses would be aglow, a lantern for each of the girls that remained alive through the chaos of the Darkstrom. Rebekah would take care of her lantern, then to that of Anneke, and then for Elizabeth and Johannes. Wolfgang would light four candles on the metal table in the living room of Rebekah's home, one for each of the parents soon to be buried. Florian and Ralf would keep their respective girlfriends company, the gang would soon reunite for the funerals, and that was to be their darkest hour.
But, not tonight. Not now.
"Angel," Karl spoke quietly, "not another word be said tonight, please. All I wish is that tonight, let's just... let's just be. All I want to do is to just love you tonight." He then held her face in his hands again and kissed her forehead. She then looked at him, how his eyes simply held that one plea. And then, she smiled softly. She couldn't say another word, didn't dare to. That one smile was all the affirmation he needed as their lips met again, her arms wrapped around him and his hands fighting the buttons on the back of her dress to take into his senses all of her, simply nothing more than to love her and for them to drown in that sweeter love that not even death could destroy.
Tonight, they would make up for some lost time...
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