Alice by heart one-shots

Nothing comes or goes without a shadow

Alice lay in her cot staring at the shadows around her. She had woken up because she felt like she was boiling and she couldn't sleep even now, two hours later. Sometimes she thought she could hear Alfred speaking to her or holding her hand, but she knew it was just the fever talking. She'd see him soon however, if there was a God, if there was something after death. She coughed, the fit of coughing resulting in bloodstains on her white sheet, the same sheet that Alfred had wrapped his pale shaking body in not long ago. Alice had been struck by the same sickness that Alfred had died from. She just couldn't stay away from him, it was like the universe had meant for them to be together. She'd wanted to be there for him, to try and help him get better. And now she was alone. She'd gotten notes from the other members of the tube but Nurse Cross had been even more strict about letting anyone near her. At this moment as another coughing fit wracked her body the only person she wanted here was Alfred. She wanted them both to be healthy and alive and she wanted the bombing to never have happened. She wanted to see him again, in that loveliest garden on a golden afternoon and to hold him and for him to hold her. As her coughing subsided she called for him in the darkness.

"Alfred"

Her voice was hoarse and her throat felt swollen, as though it was closing up like a flower in winter. She was so cold. Her fingers were shaking as she curled up and wrapped the sheet tighter around her. She closed her eyes and was just dozing off when she heard a voice.

"Alice"

She sat upright and nearly fell back as her head started to spin. She would have fallen back if it weren't for someone catching her and keeping her steady. She turned to face him.

"Alfred"
"Alice"

She fell into his arms and she laughed and cried. He held her and pet her hair. He kissed her head and whispered "Oh Alice, my sweet Alice" He held Alice's face in his hands and he whispered "I'm sorry! Oh Alice I'm so sorry!" He went back to kissing her head as she asked "Why are you sorry Alfred?" He took her hands in his and she sat up and looked at him. "Alice" he began "You're gone. You're dead. I got you sick and now you never get a chance to live again! You never get to become a writer, you never get to see the world, you never get t-" Alice cut him off with a kiss. "Alfred it's not your fault, we were wandering around in the rubble for weeks after the bombing, that's what got me sick" She held his face in both her hands and kissed him again. "I love you Alfie, and now it's just us. No more fear that a bomb will come and we won't wake up. No more stale, sick air in our lungs. No more ticking clocks that will strike at midnight and tell us our time is up." Alfred gave a watery laugh and smiled at her. "You always did want more time. And now we have endless amounts of it." Alice smiled, a few tears falling from her eyes. "We can spend forever in that loveliest garden of ours." Alfred brushed a tear from Alice's face and held both her hands in his. "Are you ready to go there Alice?" Alice nodded. "Let's go there, together." They stood up and Alfred took Alice's hand in his, guiding her towards the bright sun of their loveliest garden. The two stepped into the bright sunlight, their shadows falling back behind them and into the dark, as they embraced in the timeless world of the garden.

*Sorry for the late upload everyone! I had some family stuff and I started a theater camp last week so I've been too busy to write!*