Chapter 8:

(Present day)

Hogan sat there for the longest amount of time, his jaw hanging from its hinges, his heart breaking into a million pieces. He could see it still even today; the pain it had caused Klink to say 'goodbye' to his Annika. How much he had loved her and grieved for her after she left for Brazil. It had to be horrible to plan on proposing to someone only to have that someone tell you they were moving across the ocean to another country. He could not even comprehend how he would feel if his Maggie had to move away to a different state or country. She was the best thing to ever happen to him; losing her would literally destroy him entirely. He finally closed his mouth and shook his head, the only sound coming from the raging winds and down-pouring rain outside the building.

"I'm so sorry, Kommandant. I mean that, really...I couldn't imagine how I would feel if the same were to happen with me and my Maggie. Just being away in the service and stuck in a prisoner of war camp is enough to make me scream. To have her move away across the States or even out of the country, though…" He shook his head again. "I really am so sorry you had to go through that, Sir."

A beaming smile grew on Klink's face, his eyes twinkling from the single lamp light illuminating the dark living room. "Danke, Hogan...but, had Annika never moved away, I never would have met my wife...I wouldn't have Kalina, either," he answered, just the sound of his daughter's name making him light up like sunshine.

Hogan smiled back. "So how did you meet her, anyways? How'd you finally meet the love of your life?"

Klink chuckled as he remembered that night vividly. Like it had just happened a few days ago. "Rudi and my other best friend, Captain Ingo Tauscher of the Navy," he started. "We were at a Christmas party at a bar one night, and the two of them were more drunk than imaginable. Ingo had just gone through an ugly divorce, and I was still grieving over Annika. So Rudi decided it would be a great idea for us to have a guys night out."

(Hammelburg, Germany - December 24, 1923)

Live musicians stood on stage singing their hearts out with either Christmas music or popular German hits of the new decade. Snow gently fell outside onto the sidewalks of a bustling Hammelburg, while boisterous laughter and the clinking of glasses rang throughout the entire bar that Christmas Eve.

At the bar table, a drunk Captain Ingo Tauscher, a man of about six feet tall with light brown hair and lime green eyes, was shamelessly flirting with other girls there and poorly singing to the jingles being sung while he took grateful gulps of his beer mugs.

Schneider was somewhat drunk, enough to sing poorly too, but was much more alert and aware of his surroundings than Tauscher was currently. He felt bad for the navy captain. Tauscher had just ended his eight year marriage after catching his wife cheating on him with another man in the navy. A somewhat stable marriage that resulted in two little boys, who he would now get to see every other weekend instead of everyday after coming home from work. Yes, he was upset about his divorce from someone he thought he would spend the rest of his life with, but it was losing his little boys that really got to him. In result, Schneider had decided that he and Klink would take Tauscher out that night to forget all their troubles and just enjoy themselves with live music, lots of laughter, and plenty of drinks.

And while Schneider and Tauscher belted out Christmas jingles or songs being performed, Klink casually sipped his drink, trying to be the responsible one out of the three of them. Besides, unlike his best friends, Klink was in no kind of mood to party. He felt empty. Depressed. Ugly. And above all else, he felt completely and utterly alone. It had been over two months since his older brother got married in an over-the-top ceremony at a gigantic church in Dusseldorf, and since the wedding he had felt more lonely than ever. Wolfgang did not even barely acknowledge him most of the night. He had been more of just a decoration than a best man. He had been nothing more than a publicity stunt. But it was when he watched his brother and new sister-in-law have their first dance that sent him down a spiral of depression.

As he had silently watched in the back of the hotel ballroom, the image of his brother and Monika was soon replaced with him and Annika dancing instead. Smiling at one another with eyes that expressed how much they loved each other. Joy radiating off of their bodies as they made the room theirs and zoned out everyone else there watching them. It had caused him to run out of the hotel and into the streets, where Schneider had found him leaning against a lamp post and sobbing uncontrollably. They left the reception right then and there, not alerting anyone of their departure, and went to a nearby restaurant to have a couple of drinks and something to fill their empty stomachs. Klink had not been the same since.

He took another drink of his brandy, then turned his long face towards the stage, where a group of men were singing a Christmas carol with a few orchestra players behind them. Not even the sound of Christmas cheer and music could brighten his spirits. He just sat there and stared at them blankly, his expression appearing as if he had just lost Kurt all over again. He closed his eyes and let a tear come down his cheek before he let out a shaky sigh. Klink took another drink and looked around the bar for something. Anything to make him feel just remotely better. It was Christmas Eve. How could he be upset on Christmas, when it was one of his favorite holidays ever? Not even he was exactly sure how to answer that question.

He looked at a group of police officers having a toast and laughing hysterically about something in a booth, then he made his eyes towards a couple on the floor dancing and having the time of their lives. It made him feel even more miserable than before. As Klink was about to pay for his drink and walk home to his apartment, he caught something, someone out of the corner of his eye. Curious, he cautiously made his gaze in the same direction and felt his heart stop at the sight before him.

Sitting at a table about 20 feet away from him with two other girls was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. She wore a long-sleeved maroon dress with a lace collar, had long brown hair, and the most gorgeous brown eyes one could ever possess. She was laughing with her friends and sipping on some sort of wine or champagne in between talking. She was basically glowing like an angel sent down from Heaven above. An angel Klink had desperately needed to pull him out of the thick funk he had fallen into.

His heart began pounding furiously, his hands were shaking as butterflies fluttered in his stomach. His throat was going dry, and he felt at one point like he could hardly breathe. It was love at first sight; something he had never experienced before in his entire life. Klink tried to get to his feet and walk over to her, but he could not get himself to budge. He could hardly think straight anymore. All he could hear were a hundred violins playing as the woman brushed her hair back, her eyes sparkling like two perfect stars in the night sky.

Sensing someone was staring at her, the woman did a double-take as she saw Klink staring at her, his gaping mouth slowly turning into a beaming smile that made his blue eyes twinkle. Without even thinking, a smile came across her face, finding something about the stranger endearing. His kind eyes, his smile, the way he looked at her like she was a real human being and not some play toy like several guys she had dated in the past treated her. She could soon feel her heart beginning to flutter, her palms sweating, a wave of happiness so strong that she felt it pulse throughout her entire body. Yes, he did not have much hair or look like any of the men she had dated before, but it made her that much more attracted to him. He seemed loving and caring; intelligent and someone she could have a decent conversation with. Someone that would treat her like a person instead of some sex doll. She was in love. She was in love, and she did not even know the man's name.

She made a start to rise from her seat, but it was like she was super-glued to the chair suddenly. She could not move. Her limbs were locked in place. What if he rejected her? What if he laughed her off? She saw the two military officers he was hanging out with; if he was associated with an air force major and a naval captain, then he certainly had some sort of high rank in society. She was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family out in the country. Maybe he would not even acknowledge her presence once she approached him. Yet she yearned to go to him. To learn his name and talk to him a bit. She wanted him to take her in his arms and have a little stroll down the streets of Hammelburg as snow gently fell down onto them. All she could do was stare at him dreamy-like.

Schneider looked over from laughing at a joke Tauscher had told him, when he spotted Klink in some sort of happy trance, not even appearing to acknowledge him anymore. Curious, he turned his gaze in the direction his best friend was staring in, saw the same girl he was looking at, and felt a wide grin come to his face. He looked back at Klink. "You like her, don't you," he said.

Klink's smile grew bigger as he continued to look at the girl. "I think she's an angel," he answered, still not completely with reality again.

"Well don't just sit there; go over there and talk to her, mein Freund," Schneider encouraged.

It was that that was able to pull Klink back into the real world. He snapped his gaze at his best friend and glared at him with astonishment. "Are you out of your mind? I can't just go up to a girl like that. Look at her," he remarked, the last part gesturing in the girl's direction.

"And why can't you?"

"Rudi, don't be ridiculous. A girl like that wouldn't date me in a million years...She'd probably just laugh me off and dismiss me before I got a chance to talk."

"Really; then why does she keep looking at you while smiling so much?"

"She's looking at me?" Klink quickly made his eyes back to the table and found the girl hanging her head timidly, a wide grin plastered from one side of her face to the other. It did not go unnoticed by her friends, and they began to prod at her like Schneider did with Klink.

The blonde one, Anja, made a puzzled expression at the sudden change in her friend's behavior. "What are you staring at, Janine?" She asked. She then turned her head in the direction Janine was looking in and found her goo-goo eyeing Klink, who was smiling back at her and gazing at her in the same way. Anja looked back at her friend, and a mischievous grin came to her face. "Janine Ackermann, you've been struck by Cupid's arrow."

Janine did not respond. She simply cocked her head to the left and continued smiling at Klink. She had never felt such a way about any other man before in her life. Klink seemed different to her. He did not seem to be a cocky airhead solely concerned with looking good in the public's eye. He did not appear to be some playboy that secretly had seven mistresses hanging around his arm. He looked genuine. Honest. Cute. And his eyes...his beautiful blue eyes that made her heart scream to go to him. It was also her first time realizing just how attractive a man in a monocle could look. She gave a dreamy sigh and kept praying that he would come to her and end this torture once and for all.

"How about that tall captain over there, though," Janine's other friend, Edith, purred. She even made a soft roar in his direction, waving her hand like it was a tiger paw. "I love a man in a navy suit."

"Well don't just sit there and stare at him all night; go over and say 'hello'." Anja squealed, hardly able to contain her excitement.

Janine shook her head at the comment, then turned to her friend with an appalled look. "I can't just go over there. Look at who he's hanging out with. Besides, a man like him, he's probably already betrothed to someone." She replied.

"Excuse me, do you see a wedding ring on his hand? No? Alright then. Now go make your move on him before somebody else decides to snatch him up."

"Ooooo," Edith cried. "And while you're at it, try scoring me some points with that captain, too. Damn, I'd love to see him with his shirt off."

Janine looked over to Klink to make sure he was not listening to them, then lowered her voice as she said, "I can't just walk over there randomly. What do I say to him; Guten Abend, I love your eyes?"

"Look, if you don't get up and go talk to him, then I'm going to," Anja remarked, getting to her feet and brushing off her pink dress. "Mama could use a military man in her life." She was about to make her way towards Klink, when Janine shot up to her feet and yanked her back by the arm.

"No!" She yelped.

"Oh good; you're up!" Anja replied, then pushed Janine towards Klink. "Now let's get going."

"What do you think you're doing?!" Janine exclaimed, her eyes wide with embarrassment and horror. "I can't just go over there! Anja!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bar, Schneider saw Janine being forced her way over, then pointed at her as his face began to brighten. "Look, Wilhelm! She's coming over here." He took Klink by the hand, yanked him off of his stool, then began pushing him towards Janine. "Come on. If anyone deserves some happiness in life, it's you."

"Rudolf Schneider, what do you think you're doing?" Klink demanded, a panicked shrill slightly emerging from his voice.

"Saving your life from utter depression, now enough arguing."

Klink and Janine both continued to struggle with fighting off their friends and finally came to a halt when they bumped into each other halfway. Once the two of them were standing face to face, Schneider patted Klink on the shoulder.

"There. Was that so hard?" Schneider earned a hard glare back from Klink, making him smile wider than back down. The retired colonel got another pat on the shoulder. "Good luck," he said, then made his way back to Tauscher.

"Go get him, girl. You got this," Anja said, with encouragement. Her response was Janine closing her eyes and sighing, her face beginning to flush with embarrassment.

"Why don't you just put a paper bag over my head?" Janine whimpered. Great, she thought. Now this guy really would think she was a freak.

Ignoring her friend's hovering shame, Anja gave her two thumbs up and returned to the table with Edith, leaving Klink and Janine alone for the very first time. Janine finally shook her head and sighed again. "I am so sorry; my friends can be quite invasive sometimes...I didn't mean to cause you any trouble," she said, trying all she could to save herself from the turmoil her friends had possibly just put her in.

"No, no, you're fine," Klink answered, quickly trying to soothe the woman's clearly visible embarrassment. "My friends over here aren't any better, it looks like." He paused for a moment, not sure what to start with. He cleared his throat and asked her awkwardly, "Uh...how are you doing?"

Janine simply stared at him for the longest amount of time. Her skin of embarrassment quickly shedding off of her, her dark eyes began to light up again, and she gave Klink a small smile. "You...you don't think I'm weird?" She asked him.

"No, never," Klink remarked. "I…" He swallowed a knot in his throat, the fluttering in his stomach quickly returning to him. "I think you're beautiful."

Janine gave a timid smile and ducked her head down for a moment to try and hide her bashfulness. "Well...I could name another beautiful person in here tonight...but I don't know his name yet."

Klink furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion. "Who?" He asked.

Janine silently laughed and shook her head. "Well if you don't know, then I'll never find out," she answered teasingly.

As he realized she was referring to him, a bright smile spread across Klink's face, the nervousness he felt inside him slowly melting away. "Wilhelm," he said, with a courteous nod. "Wilhelm Klink is my name."

"Janine Ackermann. Pleasure to meet you, Wilhelm."

Klink briefly looked over to an empty table, then made his gaze back to Janine. "Would you, would you like to sit down?" He asked, gesturing to the vacant table. "Get a drink or two?"

Janine's grin widened twice in size as she nodded eagerly. "I'd like that," she said.

The duo walked a few feet over to a table seated for two, and Klink pulled out the chair for Janine to sit in. Once certain she was comfy, he walked to the other side of the table and sat down in the second chair, both of them continuing their conversation as they waited for a waiter.

"So," Klink began. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a florist at a little flower shop not too far from here. And you? What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a…" Klink trailed off as he realized just how embarrassing his job might be. He hung his head and answered softly, "I'm a...bookkeeper for a toy store."

To his surprise, he was not greeted with laughter or teasing. He looked back up and found Janine genuinely interested in what he was saying. She even gave him a friendly smile. "So you're good with numbers," she replied. "I like a man that's good with math. It means they're smart...You look smart. And kind. With a good sense of humor, too."

Klink blushed and chuckled softly. "No, just a few lame jokes here and there."

Janine smiled wider. "I like lame jokes. Tell me one," she said, while a waiter stopped by and gave the two of them a glass of water.

"Alright," Klink said, trying to think of one. He remembered one he had heard while serving in the Great War and could not help himself but smile as he told it. "What do women and hand grenades have in common?"

Janine furrowed her eyebrows together, deeply trying to think of an answer. Finding none, she shook her head and looked back at Klink. "I have no idea," she said.

Klink smirked before answering. "When you pull the ring off, your house goes away."

Janine sat there with a blank expression on her face for a few seconds before covering her mouth with her hand, poorly fighting off the snickers escaping from her. She finally could not take it anymore and started giggling shamelessly. She shook her head, still trying to calm down. "I'm sorry, that's just really funny," she finally said, giggles galore.

"You think so?" Klink remarked, his face lighting up like the Christmas lights outside in the streets. "Perhaps you would like to hear the rest of them, then. Maybe over dinner sometime?"

Janine's eyes twinkled again, and she gently placed her hand over one of Klink's hands and squeezed it lightly. "I'd love that," she said sincerely.

The two of them sat there in silence, neither one of them doing anything other than gazing into each other's eyes. Nothing else surrounded them except for the faint sound of Christmas music playing in the background. That was until they were brought out of their trance by the sound of someone whistling loudly. Klink and Janine turned their attention to the bar counter, where Tauscher was holding another glass of beer and waving his finger around in the air in some sort of celebrated cheer.

"That a boy, Colonel!" The drunk captain cheered.

"Oh, shut up," Klink answered back teasingly.

Janine silently giggled, then she made her gaze back to Klink and began talking to him again.