Chapter 14:

(Present day)

"So Kalina was your miracle baby," Hogan said, a grin spreading across his face. "That explains the extra twinkle in your eyes every time her name is just mentioned to you."

Klink lit up like a Christmas tree as he pictured his perfect daughter. Her smile, her laugh, her gifted talent for playing the piano. The way she treated everyone with kindness and always willing to help someone in need. She had been that way since she was a tiny girl, and Klink could not have been more proud of the beautiful and intelligent young lady she was growing up to be. She was his everything. His only reason he got up in the morning and carried on through another day in this hell called a second world war. He shook his head as he continued to smile.

"She is truly, 100 percent the love of my life. My entire world is her. I don't know how I got so lucky to have her for a daughter, but I wouldn't trade her for anything or anyone on this entire earth...She truly is a little angel from Heaven. My whole heart. My whole life."

Hogan's smile widened more as he heard the kommandant describe what Kalina meant to him. A love that only a father could know. A love that only a father could experience. He wanted that too, someday. He wanted a little one to love and be proud of. He wanted a little girl to snuggle and rock to sleep at night, gently kissing her tiny little head as he sang to her and promised to always love and protect her with his life. She was merely a dream for him at that point, but he sure hoped that the war would soon come to an end so she could become a reality instead.

"I can only imagine," he finally answered. "I sure hope I'm lucky enough to have a little girl of my own one day. Dress her up in little pink ribbons, sing her to sleep at night, kiss every little skinned knee and elbow when she falls...I want to go through all of it. Even the horrible teenage years I know will come...I just hope this war ends soon so I can have her before it's too late. Before I'm too old to have children of my own."

"It will be worth the long wait, Hogan," Klink said, with a nod. "Trust me on that; your little boy or girl will be worth every second of your day waiting for."

Hogan gave a bittersweet smile in response, knowing that his time was running short to become a father. He never voiced that fear to anyone. Not even his own family. Not being able to be a father was almost as frightening to him as losing a loved one. But he put that fear to the back of his head and continued on with his questions in regards to Klink's life. It was a much more positive distraction than listening to the whistling winds and thudding rain from outside.

"So uh...when did Janine start getting sick? Was it before or after Kalina's birth?"

"Before," Klink answered. "About five months before Kalina arrived. She started seeing this strange man in our room at night that caused her to constantly scream in terror. I'd wake up and have to hold her for hours as I tried to calm her down and promise her no one else was in the house...Unfortunately, that hallucination only became worse and worse. Soon she was seeing him everywhere she went and was so terrified of seeing him she refused to let me leave her alone. I finally took her to see a doctor, and...that's when I was told the bad news."

"You mean that Janine had schizophrenia," Hogan finished knowingly.

Klink nodded sadly. "Ja," he said. "There was nothing Dr. Klaussner could do, though. She was just going to get worse and worse until she would need to be admitted for psychiatric care. Something that was a lot more humane back then than what the Nazis consider 'psychiatric care' these days." He used his fingers as quotation marks to emphasize his point.

"What was the day Kalina was born like? Warm or cold? Happy or stressful?"

"Oh, it was cold. Very cold, for that matter. A snow storm hit Hammelburg that day, and although it wasn't bad, it was definitely something that you didn't want to be stuck out in all day. As for whether it was happy or stressful, it was a strong mix of both. I was stressed because of Janine's fragile psychiatric state, but...after I held Kalina in my arms and saw her little face...all of my troubles were suddenly gone. Nothing in the world was wrong. It was the best night of my life."

"How'd you find out your wife was in labor?"

"I got a phone call from Dr. Klaussner while at work." Klink shook his head as he went back to that eventful day. "I remember being so jumpy whenever the phone rang. Kalina was supposed to be born on the 19th of February...but apparently my little girl had other plans. So it wasn't until three days later that my life changed forever."

"I'll bet you were nervous as all get-out when she wasn't born on time," Hogan remarked.

"Oh, you have no idea," Klink said, with a small chuckle. "I think I might have been panicking more than Janine was."

Hogan smiled, picturing the German colonel wringing his hands and pacing like he did whenever he'd been in a bad situation. "Did the doctors ever tell you why Kalina was born late?"

Klink nodded. "Apparently, that's perfectly normal for a woman's first child. I just wish they had told us that beforehand, but…well, you know."

"Nobody ever thought they'd have to worry about it." Hogan finished.

"Exactly," Klink confirmed.

"That makes sense. So what were you doing when you finally got the call?" He asked. "Were you just getting ready to clock out or what?"

"I had just arrived to work a few hours earlier and was working on a pile of documents sitting on my desk from the previous night. The night shift bookkeeper had made over a hundred errors in the night reports, so I had to fix those before moving onto my reports...I won't ever forget how much it was snowing that day. You could hardly see a thing outside. Never did I expect my daughter to be born during such a horrible, horrible blizzard."

(Hammelburg, Germany - February 22, 1928)

Snow blinded the entire city of Hammelburg with a thick wind of white. Men were doing all they could to keep their hats from flying off their heads. Women were shielding their eyes as they tried to scan if it was safe to cross the street. One army officer's newspaper was blown out of his hands and taken away in the wind to some unknown destination. People were entering their homes and businesses covered from head to toe in snow, the flakes clinging to their coats and scarves as if they were hanging on for dear life.

While everyone outside tried to stay warm and dry, Klink sat in his office at work flipping through a bunch of sales reports and revenue sheets. One would have found it immensely boring, but it was actually a little fun to Klink. It was like trying to crack codes or solve a jigsaw puzzle to him. His boss found him a bit crazy for the enthusiasm Klink displayed for his work, but he did his job right and was a reliable employee unlike the night shift bookkeeper he currently had. Edmund was his name; and he was as bad at keeping track of things and adding numbers up as a cat was at trying to swim. Klink would come to work some mornings and have to correct the mistakes in Edmund's reports, but it did not seem to bother him. He did as he was told, then proceeded to do his daily work.

The phone was ringing consistently that morning in the outer shop. Bertram was continuously talking to someone on the other line regarding late deliveries, missing job applications, or someone failing to show up for an appointment. Klink had no idea who the other persons were, but he assumed that everything that was stressing Bertram out was because of the snowstorm. Certainly there were worse storms than the one currently passing through Hammelburg, but the wind chills it brought were definitely a concern to the public.

Klink was currently flipping through a report on the recent stocks update, when his office phone began to ring. He snapped his gaze to the phone and froze for a long moment, not able to do anything but stare at it. No one ever called his work phone. Not even his wife or Schneider. As much as he yearned to know the identity of the caller, his brain begged him not to answer at the same time. He finally drew in a deep breath, slowly picked up the angry phone, and placed the receiver to his ear.

"Pflüger's Toy Shop, Wilhelm Klink speaking," he answered, in a very businesslike tone. He waited for a few seconds to hear what the other person was saying, then abruptly shot to his feet, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "Now?! But I'm at work...Yes, yes, I know it doesn't work like that, Doctor, but what about...Oh never mind, I'm on my way." Without another word, Klink hung up the phone and quickly pulled on his coat and scarf, slipped on his leather gloves, then grabbed his keys and stormed out of his office and straight for the front door.

Bertram, who had been sorting through packages and frustrated that he was missing some merchandise, caught Klink out of the corner of his eye and started running after him. "Wilhelm!" He cried. "Where do you think you're going? It's not even your lunch break yet!"

"Janine's in labor, I have to get to the hospital. No time to talk," Klink answered, and was stepping outside when Bertram stopped him again.

"Yes, but what about your car? I thought your friend was coming to get you after work because your car's in the shop."

"Oh, I'll find a taxi. No big deal. Danke, Herr Bertram. Auf wiedersehen." Klink walked out into the blizzard and took off to the right, leaving Bertram alone and wallowing in his own misery.

The store owner sighed and shook his head. "Great," he grumbled to himself. "Now I have to call Edmund in to do a double shift...I need a drink."

Hours had passed, and it was approaching 8:45 p.m. Klink paced aimlessly back and forth across the waiting room floor, while the snow and wind continued to blow through the city's nightlife. He was pacing so frivolously that the other man waiting with him thought he would cause a rut in the floor. Klink was worried. Terrified. Everything had happened so fast that he had had hardly any time to process anything. Hell, he did not even remember half of his day at that point. It was all covered in a thick fog of anxiety. Anxiety that was on the brink of driving him mad.

Klink had not been informed of anything in hours and was trembling with fear and nagging questions. How was his wife? Was she alright? Was their baby alright? Why had someone not come and talked to him yet? What was taking so long? His list could have gone on and on and on. The faster the questions came, the faster he paced back and forth. He felt like his brain would explode if his thoughts kept on at their rate. Like every question in his mind was trying to finish a marathon run. Abruptly, a man's voice brought him back to reality.

"Can I have that?"

Klink shook his head and looked at the middle-aged man sitting in a chair, who was waiting for news regarding his brother falling off a ladder and breaking his back in several places. A tall, dark haired individual with black framed glasses and wearing an expensive Italian suit and leather shoes. Someone far beyond his social circle, and he was surprised the man was talking to him at all.

Klink raised his eyebrow quizzically. "Have what?" He asked.

"You're smoking my pipe," the man said, unamused.

Klink looked down at his right hand and saw he was clutching a smoldering tobacco pipe to the point his knuckles were turning a bit white. Blushing with embarrassment, he immediately handed it back to the stranger.

"Sorry," he remarked. "I'm just very nervous right now."

He forgot what the man had responded with, but he resumed pacing back and forth across the room and was about to march up to the reception desk, when Klaussner came out from a double sided door and made his way towards the antsy father-to-be. When Klink noticed him, he rushed to the doctor's side while gripping his hands together in almost a prayer-like form.

"Dr. Klaussner, what is it? What happened, is everything alright?" He spouted all at once.

When the older man continued to look at him blankly, Klink's heart sank and instantly knew what had happened. His wife's progressing schizophrenia. Something had gone terribly wrong during delivery.

"Please tell me it wasn't the schizophrenia," he pleaded.

Klaussner closed his eyes and shook his head. "I wish I didn't have to tell you that. Childbirth must have been awfully traumatic for your wife...She went into a state of psychosis as soon as it was over and began thrashing out at my team of doctors. It got to the point we were concerned for her safety and our own...I'm afraid we have sedated her and are sending her up to the seventh floor to the psychiatric ward for specialized treatment. It's only safe for you and your new daughter."

Klink closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. His poor Janine. Why could he had not have been with her through it all, he wondered. Maybe things would have gone differently had he been allowed inside the room with her and supporting her. Now her schizophrenia had gone into full blast, and there was no turning back.

"My poor Janine," he said, meek. "Maybe had I never gone into work and been here with her she might have…" He trailed off the minute he remembered the last part Klaussner had said. He turned to look back up at the doctor with his eyes gaping and could hardly breathe. "...Daughter?...Did you just say I have a daughter?"

Klaussner's frown turned into a small grin. "It's a girl, Wilhelm," he answered.

Klink's eyes glistened in the light with unshed tears and seemed to beam as much as the sun.

"A girl?...I...I have a little girl?" He asked, shaking.

"I will take you to her if you wish," Klaussner said.

"Is she alright? Is she healthy? All ten fingers and toes?"

The doctor chuckled. "And a good pair of lungs along with it. Follow me."

Klink did just as he was told and walked behind Klaussner to the nursery down on the fifth floor. He opened the main door and allowed the new father to step inside and sit down in a chair near the viewing window.

"Just wait right there, and I'll bring her to you," Klaussner said, before strolling off to one of the plastic cribs.

As Klink sat there dreaming about meeting his new baby, he looked at the other little baby boys and girls squirming around and making noise. Some made a little cry, some needed the nurse to come over and check on them. Either way, he could not help himself but to smile. He was finally a father like he dreamed of. He finally had a baby of his own to love. A little baby girl that he would love and protect forever and ever. A daughter. A little tiny daughter. He was so happy enough already that he could cry. He had no idea what would happen when he actually got to meet her. To hold her close in his arms and never let her go.

Soon his dream became reality, and Klaussner brought over a tiny little person in his arms wrapped in a very light pink blanket. He gently lowered her down into Klink's arms and waited until he had her secure and tight.

"Wilhelm, may I introduce to you your new little daughter," Klaussner said, a smile on his face spreading from ear to ear.

Klink grabbed her in his arms and looked down at her teeny tiny face. He was bawling the second he saw her. He had never loved someone more in his entire life and felt as if a gaping hole inside him had now been filled. She had a little round head, a tiny nose, and was wearing a white long sleeved footed onesie. She yawned silently, then stuck out her tongue before going back to sleep.

"You're so beautiful," Klink sobbed, grinning through his tears. He gave her a soft kiss on the head, grabbed a hold of her small hand, and barely shook it, when the baby's little blue eyes opened a crack. She looked up at her father and stared at him for a long while, wondering who he was exactly.

Klink smiled down at her. "Hi...hi...How are you?" He cooed.

The baby stuck out her tongue a second time and moved her head closer to his chest. She opened her eyes back up and looked at him again. She did not make a single sound. She did not make a single cry. All she did was stare at him and seemed at peace. She felt safe in the man's arms and sensed a goodness about him. Though not able to perform the expression yet, she did her best to smile back at him. She got another kiss on the head, and Klink brought her closer to him. He never wanted to let her go. He would protect her with his entire life and always make sure no one touched a single hair on her little head.

Klink sniffled and thought of the right thing to name her. It was so simple, but the meaning described his new daughter so well.

"Kalina," he softly said. "Kalina Mary Klink...That's what I'll name you...my little flower."

Kalina's eyes opened and closed a few times before she fell back to sleep. Her father continued to rock and smiled down at her. His new little buddy. His best buddy.

"You're such a sweetie," he cooed. "I love you, baby girl." He again cried a few tears of joy and gave Kalina another kiss on the head. He held her close, put his head against her tiny one, and started to gently rock her to sleep.

About an hour later Klaussner took Klink to a vacant room on the sixth floor in order to have some privacy with his daughter. Klink sat in a blue chair with some oriental pattern on it and looked down at Kalina peacefully sleeping in his arms. Once and a while she would squirm and make a few grunts, but then she would settle down again. The new father was constantly kissing Kalina's small forehead and rocked her as best as he could in a stationary chair. The snow and wind continued to howl outside, but it could not have been any more perfect for Klink. The whole night was perfect in his eyes. There could have been a hurricane outside, and Klink still would have thought it was wonderful. Maybe it was cold and nasty outside, but he was in absolute heaven as he looked down at his baby girl.

Not once did she ever cry. Not once did she ever fuss. Occasionally, she would open her eyes and stare around the room, desperately trying to figure out what was causing the whistling noise she heard, then fell back to sleep and nuzzled the side of her face against Klink's chest. She would earn another kiss on the head, or her father started talking to her on a numerous amount of topics. She could not understand any of it, but Klink could tell she was listening very carefully to whatever it was he was saying.

Lost in his own little world, Klink failed to notice Schneider and Tauscher stop in the doorway carrying balloons and a fuzzy pink teddy bear. Schneider knocked on the door frame to grab his friend's attention, and Klink looked up to his right and smiled wide. He gestured for his friends to enter the room, and they followed as directed. The two military officers stopped a few feet from the right side of the chair, looked down at Baby Kalina, and they silently cooed at her.

"Aw Wilhelm," Schneider said. "Sie ist ein kleiner Engel." (1)

"Until she starts crying," Tauscher commented, getting a light whack in the chest from the major. Tauscher began to rub his collar bone area and glared at his friend. "Ow. Watch it with that thing, or I'll toss you outside in the snow."

Schneider crossed his arms. "I would listen to you, but you're wearing the wrong uniform," he answered, with a teasing look.

"Very funny," Tauscher remarked sourly.

Klink rolled his eyes and shook his head as he gazed back down at Kalina and started rocking her side to side again. He rubbed his finger against her little cheek, causing Kalina's head to turn in its direction and open her mouth as if she were searching for a bottle.

"What's her name, mein Freund?" Schneider asked, his attention back on the tiny newborn.

"Kalina Mary Klink," Klink said, his eyes never diverting from Kalina's sight. "Mein kleines Blumenmädchen." (2)

"Such a beautiful baby for such an ugly night in Hammelburg." Tauscher replied.

"Could be worse," Schneider answered. "I hear it's freezing rain and sleeting in Dresden."

"I would rather be in sunny Barcelona," Tauscher said.

Schneider turned to the captain and stared at him for a long moment. "Ingo, you hate Spanish food."

"Well it doesn't mean the beautiful frauleins there have to suffer from the crime, now does it?"

Klink lightly chuckled, then made his gaze back to his daughter, who was now awake and again staring up at him. She reached out a tiny hand and rested it on her father's chest, who took it in his hand and gently kissed it. He lifted Kalina up to lay on his chest, rested his head against hers, then swayed her back and forth. His baby girl was the most perfect thing in existence. Klink loved her with all his heart could possibly hold, and he realized at that moment he never needed anything more after that. There may have been many things in the world a person could want, but for Klink, the sweet little angel he held in his arms was his world.

(1) Sie ist ein kleiner Engel - "She's a little angel."

(2) Mein kleines Blumenmädchen - "My little flower girl."