Hey there, Fang here.

As promised, here is chapter 1 of the epilogue to "Unspoken Promises". This fic can be read on its own, but I would appreciate it if you haven't read the previous one, to read that one first. Well, enjoy this!

"And for the love of all that's holy-"

Alfred shook his head as he walked through the hospital corridors in dismay, but his entertained smile broke though to what he really though. Though he knew the path to Arthur's room by heart (Ever since the first night, all those months ago.) anyone could probably figure it out just from the heated cursing from inside the room.

"-you if you do not stop touching me!"
Alfred cracked open the door, and did almost laugh at the scene playing in the hospital room.

Arthur was leaning against the headboard of his bed, while a nurse was trying to coax him into the waiting wheeled contraption next to the bed. A doctor was kneeling in front of him, checking the bandages on his legs where the southern ports had been bombed, and even going so far as to request rewrapping them, much to Arthur's chagrin. Alfred stood leaning against the door frame, wanting to burst his gut with laughter.

The somewhat –inexperienced-in-the-ways-of-Arthur-Kirkland doctor was reaching to take off the somewhat strange article of clothing that Arthur wore on his torso, which happened to be a brown leather bomber jacket that looked a few sizes too large. Arthur's eyes went wide, and he twisted away from the doctor's hands even as the man was nervously explaining he just wanted to check the healing process of the burn. The turning movement of Arthur's was not the smartest idea, for as soon as it happened, Arthur was panting, his right and hovering over the left side of his chest.

The already nervous doctor instantly sprang to his feet in surprise, while the woman just calmly turned Arthur until he was lying straight again. The grimace of pain was still there, but his breathing had evened out.

Alfred finally decided it was time to intervene. He walked over into the middle of the somewhat chaotic scene, tapping the young doctor on the shoulder and watching him jump out of his skin.

"Dude, there is a time when you just gotta leave Artie alone…" he smiled good-naturedly. The doctor visibly began to calm down, though his little twitch continued to persist. Arthur, hearing his little brother's voice, cracked his eyes open and struggled to sit up on his own. The nurse at his side rushed to his aid as he started falling again, as did Alfred. Minor cursing spilled from Arthur's lips, and both Alfred and the nurse rolled their eyes.

Hey, I think I'll have better luck with him…" Alfred murmured to her. She nodded gratefully, and left the room along with the confused doctor.

Once the two were gone, Arthur shrugged Alfred off and moved to try and get into the wheelchair himself, albeit reluctantly. But, seeing as he only had one working limb, Alfred eventually took the initiative and lifted the Brit easily into it. Arthur glared at him.

"Well, I can't say it's good to see you again…"

"Hello back, bro! Ready to go home?"

"You wouldn't bloody believe it." Arthur sighed. He shrugged off Alfred's offer to zip his jacket and tried to do it with just his good arm, failing miserably. Even so, when Alfred offered again, it was the same answer, and Arthur just left the jacket open. Alfred rolled his eyes, and pushed his brother out of the hospital room.

"You wanna take one last look at your temporary home?"

"No."

"Aw, but you might not see this place ever again!"

"And good riddance to it." Arthur's eyes were locked straight ahead. "That room wasn't a home, it was a f*ucking h*ell -hole. I intend to forget about everything that happened in that room, so no, I don't want to 'take one last look.'"

Alfred, without a word and face fallen, shut the door to the room promptly, and drove Arthur out to the waiting room. The nurse who was in the room before was behind the desk, and when she saw the two brothers, she flagged them down and handed Alfred a parcel.

"Mr. Jones, I presume you'll be acting as caretaker for Sir Kirkland?"

"Yeah, I got permission from my prez, so totally nothing to worry about!"

The nurse smiled at Alfred's exuberance, and pointed at the package in Alfred's hands.

"In there you will find his pain killers; at the most, he can take one every six hours. You will also find his sedatives, in care the nightmares get too-"

"Wait, Nightmares? What the #!*% type of nightmares-"

"I don't like being talked about like I'm not there!" Arthur finally cut in. Alfred patted Iggy's shoulder in apology.

"Thanks, lady. Iggy here'll be in no trouble with the hero around!"

Arthur scowled, and motioned for Alfred to turn him towards the woman.

"Ah…well…I know I can be a bit…well, stubborn…so…thank you kindly- for putting up with me…"

The nurse leaned down and hugger her country the best she could without disrupting the finally healing injuries. Arthur's eyes widened at the unexpected show of affection from her, and while his face turned pink, he awkwardly tried to return it with his good arm.

The nurse stood up once again, a gentle smile on her face.

"No sir. It's us who should be thanking you…you endured all that for us. There is no way we could ever repay you."

The lady, who had had such a strong and uptight attitude only a moment before, had mist clouding her eyes as her mouth smiled her gratitude. Arthur just stared, and then closed one of his eyes and rubbed the back of his freshly cut, if still incurably messy, hair.

"Well, er…I guess we should be leaving now…" Arthur managed out clumsily before turning his head away to try and cover his embarrassed face. Alfred, with a wide grin to her, obligingly steered him out of the building and, for the first time in four months, out into the open air.

Arthur took a deep breath, almost as if the outside could vitalize him somehow. The sun was already up, and cast a golden glow on everything, including Arthur's pale face, making him look more alive than he had been just seconds before. Arthur looked stunned; did he never expect to see beyond the four hospital walls, Alfred wondered?

On their way back to Arthur's house, Alfred took a left turn, making sure that they drove around London instead of through it. Right no would not be a good time to sight-see in the capital city, and Arthur knew that better than anyone. Even so, he continually stared at the ruined city as they were driving, his face masking any sort of physical or mental pain. The only sign of his past anguish that he might have been feeling was conveyed only by his hand hovering about his heart. Alfred reached over and laid a hand on Arthur's shoulder in deepest sympathy. Without any comment, Arthur turned to face the front, eyes staring straight ahead, emotionless.

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS:

Ah, more brotherly concern...I'm never gonna get over that...and the whole thing about Iggy's legs not in the best of health is somewhat historically correct. After the bombings of London stopped for the most part, Germany turned its attention to the ports, namely, the southern ones. You can figure out where Iggy was hurting during those...

Yeah, I know it's somewhat short, but it was the best place to stop it...I don't expect this fic to be more than 3 chapters long.

I will write a fic in which I don't torture Iggy, I swear! It's just so easy...

Hope you liked the story (so far) and review, or Iggy won't have any tea...

-Fang