Oooooo I can't wait to write this!!

Enjoy! :)

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Jack wakes up to the smell of something absolutely delicious.

He also wakes up on a matress. Not a cot, not a cold ground of cement, not the forest floor. A soft, warm, matress, with a pillow and a blanket.

I have no idea where on Earth I am.

He tries sitting up. The only problem is that he sits up too fast and he gets dizzy. He has to wait for his vision to clear before he gets a clear view of where he is.

It appears he's in a small house. A house with cute designs on the walls, a sofa in the living room, the kitchen just behind the living room, and then there's the bed that he's sleeping on. There's a woman cooking in the kitchen, and a man sitting on the sofa, reading a paper.

Jack squints at the date, trying to make it out. It's too far away to tell.

He also realizes that he's in fresh clothes. He feels grateful for that; before now, he had been in the same clothes for ... he doesn't want to think about how many days.

He feels like he should alert his captors/saviors (he doesn't know which yet) that he's awake. Yet his throat is dry, and he can't say anything.

Lucky for him, the man looks up from his paper, sees that Jack is awake, and smiles at him. "Good morning, our dear guest!"

Our dear guest?

The man chuckles; he must have noticed the look of confusion on Jack's face. "Would you like to know the story of how you ended up here?"

Mutely, Jack nods vigorously. And just where is here?

The man turns around and call to the woman in the kitchen. "Noemi! Our guest is awake!"

The woman--Noemi--claps her hands in delight. "How wonderful!" she beams. "And your food is ready!"

Jack perks up a little at the mention of food.

She brings him a tray with more food on a plate than he's seen in a week. There's bread and butter, there's marmalade and honey, cheese--fondue, and hot chocolate. She sets a glass of water next to him too. He could cry from happiness.

The first thing he does is drink all the water in the glass. He coughs, and then clears his throat. He looks up at Noemi. "Thank you." She smiles and nods.

"Pardon me," Jack asks sheepishly, "But ... who are you? Where am I?"

The man smiles. "I am Bruno, and this is my wife Noemi."

"You are in the little village of Gimmelwald, in Switzerland," Noemi adds.

Jack starts. "Switzerland?"

So he did manage to miraculously walk out of the country.

"What a sight you were!" Bruno exclaims. "All alone in the forest, passed out, obviously in need of nourishment. You certainly gave me a surprise, that's for sure! I just knew I had to bring you home with me, so that Noemi and I could nurse you back to health."

Jack studies them. He looks at Bruno's kind green eyes and his dimple with his smile; he looks at Noemi with her sparkling dark eyes and smile that says safety. They are an older couple; with graying/silvering hair, and probably could be old enough to be his parents. Most of all, he notices how amiable and hospitable their aura is. And so he relaxes.

"What ... what day is it?" he asks curiously.

"Tuesday, November 5th, 1918," Noemi answers. "You arrived last night. Poor little starving thing."

So he hasn't lost that much time.

"Do you ... usually take in lost American soldiers wandering hopelessly in the forest?" Jack asks, still incredibly curious. "Or do you wait for them to be asleep first so you can take them in unbeknownst to them?"

Bruno and Noemi laugh at that. Jack offers a sheepish lop-sided grin. At least he hasn't lost his humor.

"The war years are very hard, for many soldiers," Bruno tells him, a little more somber. "There are so many soldiers out there who come from everywhere, end up everywhere, who are lost, and who are alone. It makes my heart break knowing that we won't be able to rescue them all."

It takes Jack a moment to remember that Switzerland has remained neutral in this war. Out of the kindness of their hearts, this couple has decided to take in soldiers who are worn down by the war, in desparate need in care.

"And even though it's been years since we've had children of our own in this house," Noemi says, taking away Jack's empty water glass to refill it, "our parental instincts are still inside us. We are always happy to take care of those who need someone to nurture them." She pats Jack on the head in a motherly fashion as she heads to the kitchen. As Jack sips the hot chocolate, he knows that it's more than just the hot chocolate that is making him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"You are welcome in our home as long as you need, my son," Bruno tells him, smiling. "You must rest, you must eat food, you must get nourishment."

Jack nods gratefully. He takes a bite of the bread. "Thank you. For everything."

Bruno smiles. "It is our pleasure."

Noemi comes back with more water. Just like the first time, Jack drinks it all, but slower this time. Now that he's hydrated, he's more focused on eating food.

He misses his friends. He wishes they were here. It might not exactly be home, but it's something. And they would all be here together.

He wishes he could see Mush insisting that he help cook in the kitchen and Noemi turning him down.

He wishes he could see Bruno getting Spot to come out of his shell, wishes he could see Race and Noemi talking a lot (in probably more languages than one). 

He wishes David were right here beside him on this mattress, so they could keep each other warm, so they wouldn't be alone.

If only they could have met Bruno and Noemi.

He has no clue how long he'll be here, but he knows that he's going to enjoy all the time he spends here.

He closes his eyes as he continues to eat the delicious food.

He could get used to this.

And so, for the first time in a long time, he lets his mind be preoccupied with something other than the strifes of war.

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Two days later

David and Sardinia are talking about everything and nothing right now. It's the only way that they feel like they can pass time efficiently as they sit idle. And even though David has given in to drinking tea, Sardinia still doesn't trust it. Especially since the British put milk in it; which, according to him, means that they don't understand the point of tea.

As they continue to talk by a window in the mid-evening light, one of their officers comes up to them and hands David a letter. He looks at it in surprise. He looks at the officer, question marks written all over his face. 

"I don't have any answers about who that's from or where it came from," he tells David flatly, then walks away.

David and Sardinia exchange glances, then shrug.

"So ... who is it from?" Sardinia asks curiously.

"I don't know." David looks at the return address in the top left corner. It's from ... Switzerland? 

"Apparently someone from Switzerland is trying to contact me," David says, puzzled. Carefully, he opens the letter, not being able to stand the suspense anymore.

He almost drops it when he recognzies Jack's handwriting. While he doesn't drop it, he does end up gasping.

"What?" Sardinia urges.

It's a short letter, but seeing those words on the page in Jack's handwriting ... it speaks in volumes.

"It's from Jack," David says excitedly. He can hardly believe it. He starts reading.

Dear David,

You have no idea how happy I am that I remembered what squadron you were a part of, and where you would be staying. Hope this reaches you in quick time.

I can't explain everything in this letter--that would take too long. Just know that I am alive and well, and I hope you are the same.

As you could probably tell from the envelope,  I'm in Switzerland right now. Don't worry, I'm okay.

So you see the village in the return address? Yeah, that's where I am right now. If you aren't off on some important mission right now, if this is something that is plausible in the very fast-approaching forseeable future, I would really like it if you came to get me.

Love,

Jack

David puts the letter down, still in disbelief, not knowing what to think.

He's 36 years old, used to sell newspapers, and he writes like THAT.

And for some reason, that gets him to laugh. Laugh of relief that Jack's okay, laugh of exasperation at Jack.

"What is it?" Sardinia urges again, dying to know what's going on.

"Oh, Jack," David says dryly, stroking the letter with his thumb, "What have you done this time?"

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I really liked writing that.

Bruno and Noemi are original characters and I already love them with all my heart.

...Can the rest of the story be just ... Bruno and Noemi and Jack...? Please....? haha.

So. Jack is in Switzerland. David is in England. David can fly a plane. You all see what I'm saying?

I'm grinning right now. This chapter was so fun.

It also sent me on a quick internet-scouring crisis when I realized I didn't know much about Switzerland's food or what first names might be used or what village he might be in haha. But honestly? I love learning new things.

...Yes, I know we've established that haha.

Anyways. What did you all think?

Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who loved the wholesome-ness of the chapter, and the note that the chapter ended on haha)