Battlefield - March 06, 2000 - 0739 hours

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Fahlcon crouched low to avoid gunfire and approached the man on the ground hidden behind a slope clutching his shoulder. He laid his M-16 down and pulled open the ripped part of the man's shirt where the bullet had plunged through. Blood dampened his entire shoulder and there was sign of infection.

"What's your name, soldier?" Fahlcon asked.

"Hans. Hans Gruber," the man answered with a weak voice, but a just as strong Danish accent. Fahlcon swung his rifle on his back and checked the surroundings before pulling Gruber up by his good shoulder.

"Come on, there's a chopper not too far from here," Fahlcon told him. Half carrying him, he managed to get Hans to the helicopter and he was flown away from the battlefield.

Hospital - 0843 hours

Hans laid back in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to think of anything but the pain in his shoulder. Luckily, the surgery was successful, and the bullet, along with all the infected tissues, was removed.

Don't think about the pain, Hans told himself. Pft, I wish. That's like saying let's not think about ponies when the pony is kicking you in the face.

Interrupting his thoughts, his nurse came for the first visit since surgery ended an hour ago.

"Good morning, Mr. Gruber. I'm Nurse Taylor. How are you feeling?" she asked beaming and coming to a stop by his bed.

What had she just said? Hans was too overwhelmed to answer. He was in a daze. She was gorgeous. Her hair was long, blonde, and had more waves than the Pipeline Beach in Oahu—hair that fell over her shoulders like a waterfall of sunshine. Her beautiful, extravagant blue eyes put the waters of Cancun to shame. Her smile lit up the room like—

"Mr. Gruber? Are you okay?" she asked with a look of concern, interrupting his reverie.

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry, I'm fine," Hans answered abruptly, snapping out of it.

Nurse Taylor smiled again and began checking over him. She listened to his heart, changed his bandages, and took his temperature. Hans couldn't take his eyes off of her for a single second. She was so gentle and precise. In a word, she was an angel. After taking notes on his chart, she returned to her place by his bed and hugged the clipboard to her chest.

"Everything appears to be normal. Is there anything you need, Mr. Gruber?" she asked.

"No. I'm fine," Hans answered softly. He discretely glanced at her left hand—no ring. Hans smiled and his eyes followed her out. The feeling going through his heart and soul now greatly outweighed any pain that he'd been feeling that morning. It was a feeling he'd never truly felt before in his entire life.

He was in love.

Hospital - March 07, 2000 - 1208 hours

After keeping him overnight for observations and running final tests that morning, Hans was scheduled to be released. Before he departed, however, he just had to see Nurse Taylor again to say goodbye, and have a shot at asking her out for coffee. He found her checking another patient's charts down the hall.

"Oh, hello, Nurse. Taylor," Hans greeted casually. Nurse Taylor looked up from her charts. In the times that she'd come to visit to check on him—or the times Hans rang for water just to have an excuse to talk to her—the two had become acquainted. They seemed to enjoy each other's company.

"Hello, Hans. I told you, please, call me Amanda," she replied with her million-dollar smile. Hans hadn't realized he was staring in silence until Amanda asked if something was wrong.

"Oh, nothing. Um, I must ask—"

He was interrupted when a man came from seemingly nowhere and planted a small kiss on Amanda's lips. Hans' heart sunk.

"Hey, babe. Who you talkin' to?" the man asked.

"This is Hans, the man I told you I treated yesterday. Hans, this is my boyfriend, Jim," Amanda introduced, gesturing to Jim with her hand.

Jim extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

In the time he and Amanda had spent together, she had given no indication that she was in a relationship. Hans half-heartedly accepted his hand and they shook.

"Likewise," he said slapping on a smile, though his heart had sunk so deeply into his gut it seemed to have taken his soul with it.

"I'm sorry, what were you going to ask me, Hans?" Amanda asked, realizing he'd been interrupted. Hans forced a smile.

"Never mind, I already know the answer," Hans answered glancing at Jim. "Goodbye, Amanda—Jim," he said with a nod toward both of them. He then left without another word.

Military Base - 1305 hours

Hans was greeted with warm smiles and pats on the back upon his return to base. Once he arrived with his unit, his commanding officer, Captain Leeland, cut his target practice short so his shoulder could heal fast and easy. After taking a few minutes to gather his thoughts, he started for mess hall.

Upon his entering, the man who had saved him on the battlefield caught his eye. He hadn't thought about him since he'd met Amanda. It occurred to him that he didn't even know his name. He decided that now was as good a time as any. After grabbing a tray of food, he approached his table, where he conversed with another soldier. When their eyes locked, the man gave him a curious look.

"Don't I know you?" he asked.

Hans sat down across the table from him.

"Yes, that's what I came over here for. You saved my life yesterday. I came to thank you," he explained.

"Oh, that's right! How's that shoulder?" he asked admiring his arm in its sling.

"Better, thanks to you. I never caught your name?" Hans inquired. The other man extended his hand across the table.

"Alexander Fahlcon. My friends call me Skipper. You're—Hans, right?" Skipper asked.

"Yes. Hans Gruber," Hans confirmed with a nod, taking Skipper's hand and shaking it. "Nice to officially meet you."

Skipper smiled.

"Likewise."

Hospital Parking Lot - March 19, 2000 - 1034 hours

For the past couple of weeks, Hans and Skipper had become good friends, even though Hans envied Skipper's many successes and medals he'd earned in battle. They'd discussed much about their past lives and what led them to join the military; however, Hans had left out the little detail of his life in which Amanda resided in his heart and memory. In fact, he was on his way to meet her for coffee at that very moment. Almost every morning he didn't have a mission or other engagement to attend to, he and Amanda had coffee. Hans had tried to stay away since she was already in a relationship, but he just couldn't. He loved every aspect of Amanda, right down to her adorable right-sided dimple.

When he arrived at the front of the hospital building, he saw Jim and Amanda behind a column, barely visible behind the shrub, making out. Unable to watch, he went inside and decided to wait for her by the front desk.

Much to his shock and surprise, Amanda came out of the break room with another nurse, laughing about something.

"Amanda?" Hans said bewilderedly. Wasn't she just outside with Jim? Then again, he didn't see her face, and much of what he had seen was blocked by the shrub.

"Oh, hello, Hans. Is something wrong?" she asked apprehensively. Hans opened his mouth to tell her, but found himself unable to. He just couldn't hurt her—he couldn't bring himself to cause her that kind of pain, no matter how much he wanted her. He glanced at the door just as Jim and the woman entered as if nothing happened between them and went their separate ways.

"No, I'm sorry," he answered. "I was just wondering if you were ready to go for coffee?"

Amanda smiled and looked at her watch.

"Sure. My break will be over in half an hour, so we should get going."

— § —

Once they'd returned, Amanda and Hans exchanged their goodbyes and Amanda left to start her new rounds. Before Hans turned to leave, he saw Jim going into the break room—alone. Feeling a wave of infuriation at his disloyalty to someone as perfect as Amanda, he followed him.

Just as Jim reached for a Styrofoam cup, he saw Hans enter the break room.

"Hey, Hans! What's—"

Hans cut him off by gripping his collar.

"You listen to me. I saw you this morning with that other woman. I will tell you this once, so you'd better listen good. You have found yourself the perfect woman. She's smart, funny, spontaneous, beautiful, caring, and wonderful in every way. So if you break her heart, I will break your face. Understood?" Hans threatened. Jim bobbed his head up and down spinelessly. Hans satisfactorily released his collar with a push and turned on his heel, but froze in shock.

Amanda stood in the doorway with her jaw open, glancing back and forth between the two men.

"I'm—not sure how much of that you heard," Hans said scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"I heard it all, Hans. I saw you come in here and followed out of curiosity. Did you really mean all of those things you said?" she asked, her expression softening. Jim stood straighter with his fists clenched and his teeth gritted.

"Are you really gonna listen to this guy?" he asked indignantly.

"Shut up, Jim. I had a feeling you were cheating on me. I just didn't want to see it," she told him sternly. "Did you, Hans?" she repeated stepping closer to him. Jim scoffed angrily and stormed out.

"Of course I did," Hans answered softly, gazing deep into Amanda's eyes. Amanda smiled and closed the remaining distance between them, gently taking his collar in her hands and slowly pulled his lips closer to hers until they met.

Hans stood frozen for a moment in disbelief of reality, but the electricity of her lips against his brought him away from his thoughts and he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tighter against him.

This moment was nothing like he'd ever imagined it.

It was a million times better.

England - September 28, 2001 - 1547 hours

"Do you, Amanda Taylor, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?" asked the Pastor.

"I do," Amanda replied without hesitation, beaming with anticipation.

The Pastor smiled and turned to Hans.

"And do you, Hans Gruber, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"

Hans locked eyes with his bride to be.

"I do," he answered with a smile.

"Then by the powers vested in me, by God, and the city of London, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride," Pastor announced.

Hans turned to Amanda and pulled back her white veil, took her by the waist and pressed his lips to hers. As the Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream began to play, the friends and family stood and clapped, throwing rice as the newlyweds receded back down the aisle.