Spring

Normalcy

Hogan never thought he would live to see the day that things would be back to normal in the camp. But that day had finally arrived. The barracks had all been rebuilt, along with most of the other buildings. The Germans had moved back into the area and were denying any knowledge of the disastrous bomb test the previous year. The Underground was beginning to pick up the pieces of their operation, but it would be a long time before they were up to the same level of activity they had known before the earthquake. It would take time, but they were a tough, determined people, and Hogan was confident that it would happen. For his part, their mission was slowly beginning to take shape again.

The tunnel system would be much tougher to rebuild, because they would have to work their way around the debris that was buried in various areas of the camp. A bonus to that, however, was the fact that they could use some of the buried debris as shoring for the walls. Carter's lab had been completely buried in the earthquake, and for safety, they had blocked off that part of the tunnel. Carter had done an inventory of the items they were able to salvage, and was reasonably sure was nothing buried there that would give them any unpleasant surprises in the future. They were hard at work rebuilding another lab for him, this time set off by itself but accessible from Barracks Two, with two separate entrances and reinforced walls. It had already been christened "Carter's Lair," the same name given to his old lab by Newkirk.

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Another slice of normalcy came at breakfast. Hogan was struck by the fact that things were very much the same as they had been on that fateful morning nearly a year ago. They were enjoying a great breakfast, and Carter? Well, he was reading a message out loud from Hilda. She would be returning very soon from London where she had been helping her sister Helga since the birth of her twin sons. The heroes had helped her slip through the channels and get to her sister. Klink simply believed she had gone to visit family in Dusseldorf. He had been receiving weekly messages from her via London.

Newkirk was seated by Carter, grinning in anticipation. London had also notified him they would soon be sending a specialist to fit him for a prosthetic leg. Hogan had fulfilled his promise to Newkirk, and the Londoner wouldn't be going anywhere until they were all liberated, which, with the way the war was going, might be sometime soon. Life was good.

After Carter finished with the message, they got to talking about their families. They enjoyed sharing memories of growing up in their various homelands. Carter had kept them entertained many a time with his antics as a child.

Kinch asked Andrew, "I know you've mentioned your brother. Older or younger?"

"Oh, I've got a big family. I have one older brother, Sammy, and Sarah, my older sister, and four younger brothers."

Hogan grinned. "Your parents had four more after you? Brave."

Newkirk chuckled. "Or crazy."

LeBeau, not to be outdone, quickly put in, "or how you say, 'gloutons un punition'."

Kinch laughed and automatically translated, "Gluttons for punishment."

Andrew smiled and retorted, "Actually, none of my brothers are anything like me. His expression

saddened. "Except that Sammy went into the Air Corps, too. He was shot down. My parents got the visit and his gold star two years ago."

Hogan, who had known this from Carter's file, put his hand quietly on his shoulder. He had also known how close the two had been. No one said anything for a minute.

Carter looked at his friends. "Thanks, guys." He reached over to Newkirk's pack of cigarettes, snagged one, lit it and left the barracks quietly. They knew he was likely headed to the small, tough patch of grass that had survived against all the odds, just like him.

One of the projects that Hogan was most pleased with was the joint one they had embarked on, which was a memorial to the men they had lost. It was a large stone, which had actually rolled into the compound during the earthquake and made itself at home right near the front gate. The unique feature of this particular stone is that it had one large nearly flat vertical surface. Newkirk had a special affection for this particular stone, as it was the one beside which he had proposed to his beloved Leticia.

It was Corporal Langenscheidt, who had lost his brother Franz, a military scientific technician, during the earthquake who first came up with the idea of carving the names of all the dead on the stone. It was not a professional job, but it was heartfelt, and in its own way, beautiful. At the top were the simple words, carved in both English and German: "Futility & Tragedy: Rest in Peace, Brothers" Underneath was the date, April 17, 1943. And then all the survivors took turns chiseling the names into the stone. It was an arduous task, undertaken with great respect, and it took nearly an entire year to complete. There had been nearly 750 prisoners plus 200 guards at the time of the earthquake. Only about half survived that terrible day.

Epilogue: Reflections

Hogan sat on the bench outside the barracks reflecting on the events since the earthquake; all they had lost, and all they had gained. It had been a time of great joy mixed with great sorrow, and yet, a time of great growth as well. He could not even begin to imagine what life had in store for them next.

Kinch stepped out the door, a familiar slip of paper in his hand. "Message from London, sir."

Hogan took it absently, not noticing Kinch's eyes were dancing madly. As he read, Hogan' eyebrows raised, and he looked up at his second in command. He then scratched his chin. "Wait here, Sergeant. I'll be right back."

Hogan hurried over to Colonel Klink's office and returned in a few minutes with a box in his hands. Kinch smiled when he saw what Hogan carried. Together they walked back into the barracks and Hogan solemnly placed the box in front of Newkirk, who was busy dealing another in the endless hands of rummy. He looked up, confused. "What's this, Guv?"

Hogan smirked. "Well, it's customary for a man to hand out cigars when he finds out he's gonna be a father, isn't it?" He handed the stunned Englishman the message from London confirming that Leticia Magrita Newkirk was indeed five months pregnant, and doing very well, indeed.

Though Peter was stunned into silence, Andrew was not. "Hot dog, I'm gonna be an uncle!"

And the whole barracks broke into cheers and backslapping, which brought Peter out of his shock.

He stared over at Hogan uncertainly for a moment. And Hogan smiled, "Life, Peter. Life."

~The End~

*Ref. the episode "Klink vs. the Gonculator."