Chapter Seven - …Gone to flowers, every one. (Epilogue)

The group walked in silence back to camp. When they got there, Schultz stopped the Colonel. He had tears in his eyes.

"Colonel Hogan, that was beautiful. Here." He handed him back the chocolate bars. "I wouldn't feel right taking them. It wouldn't be appropriate."

Hogan and Newkirk smiled. They were both touched.

"Thanks, Schultz." Hogan said, taking them back. "We'll get you next time, then."

"Newkirk, I am sorry about your brother. I'm sure he was a very nice man. Just like you." Schultz said. Newkirk patted him on the back.

"Thanks, Schultzie. That means a lot." He said. And it did mean a lot. Especially considering it came from a German, a man who was supposed to be his enemy.

Newkirk turned to Hogan.

"It's funny, isn't it?"

"What is?" Hogan replied, as they walked back to Barracks 2.

"I don't hate him. And I don't hate Klink, not really. I feel…I feel like I should hate them, because they're Germans, and my brother was killed by Germans. But I don't hate them. Is that wrong?"

"There's no right and wrong in cases like that, Newkirk." Hogan assured him. "But it's my considered opinion, that the less hatred there is in the world, the better off we all are."

Newkirk nodded.

Kinch met them at the door to the Barracks.

"Just got off the radio with London, Colonel. They have a top priority mission for us." He read the mission transcript. It involved breaking into Klink's safe and getting a few papers to a contact outside the camp.

"The only one who can get into that safe is you, Newkirk." Hogan said. "Would you be up to it?"

Newkirk didn't even need to think about it.

"I can do it, sir. Don't worry about me." He answered as he lit himself a cigarette.

Hogan smiled. "I thought you might say that." He pulled out a map, and they started planning the mission.

As the weeks passed, the group went back to business as usual. But every now and again, Newkirk got the chance to escape to the little clearing in the woods. It had become a place of reflection for him. Whenever he was feeling stressed or upset, he was leave the chaos of his job, and just sit there.

And eventually, as the weather started getting (ever so slightly) warmer, Newkirk noticed that the forest floor in that particular area was changing. Flower buds were poking up through the dirt, and a few days later, they had all blossomed into beautiful flowers. There were so many, that they engulfed the grave almost entirely.

And Newkirk was reminded that even though the world was at war, and he was a prisoner, and even though people were constantly being killed at way too young an age, there was still beauty left in the world.

A/N - The End! Thanks for your comments! I really enjoyed reading them :)