A/N: And now the Epilogue:

One month later…

The mood among the prisoners was a mixture between excitement and sadness; just like it was the past years. Today was New Year's Eve, and it always took a toll on the emotional well-being of the men held captive. Especially on those who were prisoners for a really long time or for a really short time. Those in between handled it mostly the best. One of those prisoners was Jout. It was his second New Year's Eve as a prisoner, and he was one of the excited ones. He had not such a big problem with the day; unlike his boyfriend. For Newkirk it was the fifth celebration behind a barbed wire fence and far away from his mother and sister. The whole day he was in a sour mood, snapping at everyone who was a bit cheerful in his vicinity.

It was around 2100 hours that Jout slowly made his way from the Rec Hall to his barracks. The Rec Hall was packed with almost every prisoner of Stalag 13, everyone celebrating the last few hours of 1944; all hoping that it was the last year that ended while the war was going on. One of the few prisoners missing was Newkirk; and that was something Jout wanted to change. He had to be careful while walking to his barracks, his knee still not fully healed. But the last month was a month of progress for Jout; a month of returning to his old self. He had abandoned the crutches a couple of days ago, now being able to put his whole weight on his left leg. But what pleased Jout the most was that despite the high possibility, he had regained full functionality of his left hand. The only thing reminding him of his stay with the Gestapo was a white scar across the back of his hand and palm; well, it was not the only thing. There were the scars on his stomach and knee too. And of course there were the nightmares that sometimes ripped him out of his sleep. But over the course of the last month, they became less and less, now only tormenting him occasionally. That was just something he had to get used to; the price of war. However, for Jout, his stay with the Gestapo was not just bad. It had given him a new friend. Emil and his family had arrived safely in England two days after they had left the tunnel, and now they lived peacefully in a small flat in London. Like he had promised Hogan, Emil told the Allied High Command everything he knew about the Gestapo; names of members, methods of retrieving information, committed atrocities. And like Hogan had promised him, Emil was not arrested. And not only that, but the General who had questioned him, a General Gallagher, helped him to find a flat and a new job. General Gallagher told Jout that Emil was completely surprised, not knowing about the friendship that connected the American general with his friend in Stalag 13. Jout really had to laugh when he learned about that, thinking to himself that he definitely had to clear that up when he met Emil again.

When he arrived at the barracks, Jout opened the door and immediately caught sight of the moody Brit, finding him sitting at the common table and playing solitaire. Newkirk did not seem to notice him and therefore, Jout quietly walked over to him and put his hands over the other man's eyes. "Who am I?" he asked, his voice betraying his joyful mood.

Newkirk pushed his hands away and growled, "Leave off, Josh! I'm not in the mood for 'at."

Jout sat down on the stool next to him, not being deterred by Newkirk's harsh and annoyed tone. "Ah, come on! You can't spend New Year's Eve all alone and moody."

"As ya can see, I can," Newkirk stated. He continued playing solitaire and asked, " 'ow can ya be so damned 'appy today?"

"Why shouldn't I be happy? I've always liked New Year's Eve, and I surely won't let the Krauts take that away from me," Jout said. "And you should be happy too!

Newkirk grunted. "Why should I be 'appy?"

"Well, it surely will be the last time you spent New Year's Eve apart from your mother and sister," Jout pointed out.

" 'at's what we 'ave said the past years too." Newkirk took a drag on his cigarette. "Still, it's the fifth time while I'm in this stinkin' camp."

"I know, but the last years the Allies were not miles away from the German borders," Jout said. "Besides, I want to celebrate New Year's Eve with my fiancé. And wouldn't my fiancé be an idiot to deny me this wish if we came real close to never celebrating it together ever again?"

For the first time since the start of their conversation, Newkirk turned his head to look at his boyfriend, seeing a broad grin on his face. "Are ya really playin' this card?" Jout's grin grew broader as he nodded. Newkirk sighed and stubbed out his cigarette. "I can't believe ya tryin' to blackmail me with yer torture."

Jout rose to his feet and pulled an annoyed Newkirk with him. "Ah, come on, Peter! I wouldn't call it blackmailing, just reminding you that there was a big chance I might not have been here today." Jout circled his arms around Newkirk's waist and pulled him closer. "You know, I thought today was a good occasion to tell our friends that we're engaged."

Newkirk put his own arms around Jout, never able to be angry at his boyfriend for a long time. He began to gently rub Jout's back while he asked, "You want to tell them?"

Jout nodded. "Sure I want. After all, we've been engaged for about two months now, and I'm certain this engagement won't break. So why wait any longer?"

" 'ey, I'm not against the idea. Just wasn't sure if ya wanted to tell them since ya never said a word."

Jout bit his bottom lip. "To be honest, it kind of slipped my mind telling them." Upon seeing the questioning look on Newkirk's face, Jout quickly explained, "You see, after asking you to marry me, I almost died from the infection. And then I was too busy trying to repress my memories about the torture to think about telling our friends about our engagement. And later I never thought about because we knew and were happy. But now I want to tell them."

Newkirk listened silently to Jout's explanation, a smile finding its way on his face. "Alright, luv, ya convinced me to follow ya into the Rec 'all."

Jout's eyes light up and he leaned forward to give Newkirk a quick peck on his lips. Before the Brit knew what was happening, he already found himself on the way to the celebration. When he stepped into the building, Newkirk saw that the party was already in full swing; music was playing, men were dancing or talking with each other, and many had drinks in their hands. Jout led him to a table on the far-end wall were his friends were standing and chatting.

As soon as LeBeau spotted them, he exclaimed, "Oh, see who got the life of the party to the party!"

Everyone had laugh at the Frenchman's exclamation; even Newkirk could not suppress a small laugh. He threw his hands up in defence and said, "I know, I know, I wasn't the most cheerful person today, but Josh convinced me to get out of me 'idin' place."

"Good thing to hear, Newkirk," Hogan said as he handed the Brit a cup of alcohol-containing punch. On a day like this, Klink had allowed the prisoners to consume alcohol as long as the celebration would not go out of hand. Hogan had promised him this, but he was not so sure of this promise could be kept. But Hogan did not care; if the party did indeed go out of hand, they could worry later about that. Now it was all about having a good time.

Newkirk accepted the cup gratefully and poured the drink down, a grimace covering his face immediately as the burning liquid washed down his throat. "Blimey, is this stron'! Who made this?"

A chuckle escaped Carter's lips as he raised his hand. "That would be me."

"Carter, sometimes ya scarin' me," Newkirk said.

Everyone had to laugh again, already having had a few drinks themselves. While LeBeau and Baker inquired once again what Carter had put in the drink, who refused to speak since it was a family secret, Jout shot Newkirk a questioning glance that was answered by a slight nod.

Jout cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, guys, there is something Peter and I liked to tell you." When everyone looked at him, Jout looked at Newkirk, a smile on his lips. Peter got the hint and announced in a low voice, making sure that no one else was able to hear what he was saying, "We're engaged!"

Just like when Hogan had told his men that Marie and he would be getting married after the war, Jout and Newkirk were greeted with four shocked faces.

Hogan was the first one to overcome the initial shock, a broad smile circling around his lips. "Congratulations to you two!" he exclaimed, pulling his brother into a hug. Then he went on to give a hug to a startled Newkirk, who had never thought his commanding officer would react like this when telling him he intended to marry his little brother.

Immediately after, Jout and Newkirk were congratulated by their three other friends. When everyone had wished the couple luck and happiness, Jout explained, "We know that we can't get married officially, but we still want to have a ceremony. And we have hoped you guys will be there."

"Of course we will," LeBeau declared.

"That will be a lot of weddings to attend," Baker announced, "Carter and Mary-Jane, Colonel Hogan and Tiger and now you two."

"Well, at least we have something to look forward to," Hogan stated.

The others agreed and toasted on it, a joyful atmosphere spreading among the men. They went back to chatting and laughing, all enjoying the end of an eventful year. When Jout looked at Hogan, he was greeted by a wink and a big smile. Yes, time might not heal all wounds, but time and good friends could help to make wounds and scars tolerable. And luckily for Jout, he had a whole bunch of good friends who he could always count on. And was that not the greatest gift of all?

A/N: Here we are: another major story finished in the Jout universe. I want to thank all my faithful readers as well as those who favourited this story/me as an author for the support. Without you, this fandom would not be the same and I wouldn't be half as motivated to regularly upload chapters. And since this chapter plays on New Year's Eve, I found it only fitting to end this story on New Year's Eve. I wish you all a successful 2019, and may whatever you hope for come true.

Seeing that this story came to an end now, I want to use this opportunity to inform you that I will take a break from posting new stories. But don't worry! There are more stories planned in this universe; I just want to concentrate on some other projects. However, I will not leave you completely while I'm working on those other projects. I will try to sometimes upload one-shots or shorter stories to bridge the time until the next big story starts. So once again, I would like to thank everyone who joined in on this journey and hopefully we will start a new one together soon.

Until then, yours in service,

Icyglass431