((I'm sooo sorry for not updating for such a long time. But I promise I'm back now, otherwise you have permission to drag me back to my computer to write another chapter, or just review/pm))

He jumped out of bed, the blanket falling of the bed on the ground. Luke and Thomas were celebrating with a bottle of some kind of liquor. Alfred had no idea how they had gotten that bottle, liquor was strictly forbidden on board of the ship. But that didn't matter now.

Ludwig seemed a bit less excited than Gilbert and the rest, but he acted along, drinking with the others to their return to America. Outside of the cabin, they could hear other celebrating Americans, singing mocking songs about the Germans.

They had to pack quickly, the ship would leave the same day again to pick up even more POWs in Europe, bringing them back to their homes. There wasn't much to pack, just some small things, like a hidden medal or stolen stuff, nothing much bigger than a hand palm.

Stepping off the ship, Alfred could see the American flag waving in the wind. A feeling of braveness and proud went through his veins.

Gilbert had to hurry to catch the subway to get to the city. There he would start his new life. Alfred handed him a small piece of paper with his address, if he ever got into trouble and had to get out of New York. Just before the doors of the subway closed, Alfred saw Gilberts sign of fighting in the war, a scar over his eye, a permanent reminder to never return there.

Ludwig and he would go to the train station, there they would catch the train that would bring them to Alfreds family. Till so far, his family didn't even know Ludwig existed. And knowing he couldn't fool his family, he would have to tell the truth about the heritage of Ludwig. If his name wouldn't do that for him.

After a few hours in the train, it was almost completely empty, just a few other passengers, looking almost staring at the two homecoming soldiers. Litting a cigarette, Alfred thought for a few moments, handing Ludwig the lighter. ''It's best if you tell my family the truth, they will find out either way'' he said, soft enough to prevent any eavesdroppers hearing anything.

Ludwig didn't seem really calm about that prospect, for the last few months he had been hated by almost every new person he saw. Ludwigs bruises of the beatings had healed in a short period of time, but Alfred knew that there were deeper scars beyond superficial marks. The war had scarred them all, but when a few could try the best they could to forget it, Ludwig would have to be on his toes for ever when in the cave of the lion.

Early in the morning, they arrived at the trainstation where Alfred had gotten on the train many years ago, going to fight in the war in Europe. What a difference, here in America they had said that the war was a good thing, a noble thing. But you only realized the truth about war when you were in the middle of one, when the bullets killed fellow soldiers right next to you.

There wasn't anyone on the station, nobody knew that they were coming home. Alfred looked back at Ludwig, who seemed even more nervous than at first. A short flashback reminded Alfred that his father had a gun in the cabin in the kitchen. It was risky, but he would have to take the chance.

Walking back the road to the house he had left alone, he could see a few figures in the front of the farm, playing with a ball or something like that, until a dog started barking. So Jack was still alive, Alfred thought happily, he had missed that dog.

The figures stopped and looked at the road, although they were still far away, the children seemed to know who was walking there. The first one to reach him was the dog, he had grown old since Alfred had last seen him but he was still heavy and strong enough to jump at him and knock him down to the ground. Jack ignored Ludwig completely, like he wasn't even there.

The second one was John, greeting his elder brother happily, but at the same time glancing at the unknown soldier next to him. ''Where have you been, we all thought you were dead'' John asked, not letting go of Alfred, afraid of losing him again. ''You went get rid of me that easily'' Alfred grinned, ruffling through Johns hair, before walking back to the house.

The twin boys were next to greet him, they were even more suspicious about the other one. ''Who are you?'' one asked rudely, staring at him. Before Ludwig could even open his mouth to answer, the other half of the twin added a few words to his brother comment. ''You look like a Kraut'' Alfred grinned when seeing the startled expression on Ludwigs face. ''You didn't manage to keep up that pretext for long, huh?'' he chuckled. His grinning became even worse when he saw the helpless look on Ludwigs face.

''It'll be fine'' he tried to assure him, pushing him against his shoulder, before walking to the door. His siblings had been making such a noise, that his mother had walked to the door to check what was wrong. She froze when she saw her long lost son. ''Mother…'' Alfred said softly, before hugging her, not letting her go for at least a minute.

Ludwig was standing a few meters back, a bit uncomfortable, while the children were trying to figure out who he was and where he came from. ''Who's that?'' his mother whispered to Alfred, also curious about the stranger.

''Ehm… mom… this is… ehm… Ludwig'' he said, hesitating about telling the truth. His mothers face turned to stone, staring at Ludwig. ''That's a German name, isn't it?'' she asked, her voice as ice cold as her face.

((And again, you got all permission to drag me to the computer to make me write another chapter. But reviews would also help a lot!))