" Flowers...are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values all the utilities of the world."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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After the events of Chuck's wound, things seemed to settle down again, as talks of the Pacific finally swirled around, overlying the wounds Easy Company had substantially taken.

Catherine, though, took trips with Tab up to visit Chuck in their off time - he was one of the first NCOs she had met, and a close friend, one of her NCOs.

Other days the company trained relentlessly for the Pacific, exhausted in the end by it all. It was truly exhausting all of it, but the thing that made it more exhausting was the fact they were all still waiting to see if what Hazel had written into the New York Times would make it to the paper. Each newspaper that came, the group huddled in a circle to score the paper for it. It still hadn't showed. But they would wait until it did.

In August most of the men and the women had been moved out to tents in the large valley underneath the mountains, the glorious Alps that surrounded them with the light blue sky and the soft breeze.

But it also meant even more decisions were being made on who was staying and who was leaving - the war in the Pacific was dwindling, further and further away from a large conflict - the US had dropped two atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th - now they were just anticipating the surrender of the Japanese.

But it meant Ronald Speirs was staying in the Army despite it all.

But Hazel was happy for him, for the man, the leader, the brother who had supported her ever since her return, since he had become their faithful CO.

She'd always adore Ronald Speirs.

" Jesus Christ Tab, he's not going to overreact, you're the one overreacting." Lizzie said, adjusting the collar of her uniform.

" Oh really? Says the one fussing over her collar." Tab said and Lizzie jabbed at his shoulder.

" Asshole," she muttered, " it's hot and it's itchy, I'm going to be fussing over my collar." Tab chuckled as they approached the building of offices for the officers. Lizzie and Tab arched their necks up towards it before glancing at each other.

" Good luck with this," Lizzie said," hopefully he'll be understand enough."

" If he's anything like Hazel, I have a feeling he will be." Tab said and Lizzie smirked.

" I'll be out here," she said with a little wave as Tab stepped inside, leaning up against the outside doorway, her eyes watching the Austrian streets bustle with life.

Last night, she had told Tab about her hyperactivity disorder - she had willed herself to. Because he had seen her have that mental breakdown where she just felt she couldn't comprehend it all, she couldn't cope, she couldn't gather herself together, and Tab had seen it happen in front of him. And she had told him everything as they sat side by side at the docks. And Tab had listened to every word she had said.

Sure, Tab and her had fought tooth and nail over quite possibly the DUMBEST thing, but they got along most of the time, and they could make each other laugh and they just got each other. And the thing she really hadn't expected was for Tab to look at her and tell her that there was nothing wrong with her and that they simply were all just human. She had thought about it all night afterwards.

Lizzie looked up watching Alton More smoothly appear out of the offices with a smirk upon his face.

" What are you smirking about?" she asked him and Alton grinned.

" I might've just escaped death itself." he said and Lizzie quirked up a grin.

" Please tell me that by death you mean Ronald Speirs." she said and Alton laughed.

" I might just have Hitler's own photo albums back in barracks, and just lied to Speirs about it." Alton said and Lizzie snorted.

" I always knew you were one to get away with stuff," she said, remembering the motorcycle joyride with him and Don.

" Hey, what do you say that tonight, you, me and Don head out for a ride for old times' sake." he said. Lizzie felt her heart break a bit.

Don had been informed a few nights back that he was being sent to Paris, to escape the oncoming war, to hopefully get out of the nightmare this war had warped them in. And she was happy for him, everyone was, especially after all the pain and grief he had to go through. But she would miss, just like everyone else would.

An original Toccoa man, leaving behind the company who was his family.

" I'd love to, really, for old times' sake." she said looking up at him. Her eyes welled with tears. Everyone was leaving, being split apart and the war only brought that. It hurt to really, truly think about.

" Hey, it'll be okay," Alton said bringing her into a much needed hug," we'll turn up the radio on it, get Don singing, it'll be fun." Lizzie laughed, giving him a tight squeeze.

" Smokey would've been happy to see that," she said as she pulled back and Alton laughed.

" Yeah yeah, he would've wouldn't he?" he said and Lizzie nodded.

" Right after mess, there's a stock pile of 'em right near the barns, we'll take it and run." Alton said and Lizzie grinned.

" Sounds like a deal," she said as the two shook hands with one another and Alton grinned, before giving the official Lizzie Elliot - Fake Salute which had spread throughout the company and turning, heading off down the street. Glancing over she watched Tab appear from the door.

" How'd it go?" she asked, turning to him.

" I'm back to Staff-Sergeant," he said with a nod, looking out towards the sunshine ridden roads, " I think it's better for me anyway. Speirs didn't have an issue either." Lizzie smiled softly.

" I didn't think he would," she said as the two began walking," like Hazel, she only wants what's best for human kind, I feel Speirs is like that with this company, his men and women, the exact same." Tab glanced at her and nodded.

" I agree," he said. Tab smiled at her and she grinned.

That day, Hazel hadn't expected to see Winter, Lip and Nixon driving up right in front of her, both their eyes set on her own.

" Hi, sirs." she said as she approached them. The trio smiled, almost as if they were in sink.

" There's something we'd like you to come with us and see." Winters said. Hazel smiled, adjusting her cover before accepting Lip's hand as she climbed up into the back of the jeep. They were driving towards the field where all the captured Germans were, and as they approached she could see the mass of men that were there.

Pulling in under the bright shining sun, its afternoon haze dawning on the men, Hazel watched as Lip jumped out and to the ground. Then she noticed Joe, slowly approaching and saluting Lip with a nod. Hazel grinned as she met his joyful eyes. They were shining.

Hazel's eyes then focused on the German officer approaching Lip and their quiet conversation with one another. Hazel scooted up to the edge of the vehicle behind Winters as if she were a small child, her eyes glowing wide with a soft brightness, a soft glee.

A happiness, seeing a war so horrid as this one slowly coming to an end.

The German approached and clicked his heels together before nodding to Winters. Winters arm redirected the General to Lieutenant Lipton. Hazel smiled softly.

" With your permission, I would like to address my men briefly." the German said with a slight smile upon his face.

" That would be fine, General." Lip said in his soft spoken voice. The German then nodded to Lip before turning and nodding to Winters and Nixon.

Then he noticed the woman right behind him and gave her a soft nod as well.

She nodded back.

Just as the General turned away, Hazel's eyes caught upon something she felt she hadn't seen in a long time.

It was Captain Sobel, walking right past them, and ignoring the trio in the truck. The man he was talking to saluted Winters. Sobel did not and Hazel narrowed her eyes. As Winters saluted the man back, Hazel couldn't help but notice how Winters eyes stayed on Captain Sobel, just as Nixon and her own did. Sobel had the nerve to look away.

" Captain Sobel." Winters said his voice firm as Hazel watched him, with a proud smile.

" Major Winters." Sobel said with a slight nod.

" Captain Sobel," Winters said firmly again. Nixon and Hazel watched as the Captain stopped in his tracks.

" We salute the rank, not the man." Winters said watching Sobel with authoritative eyes, soft and gentle eyes that held power.

Sobel, in the soft silence, gently turned to Winters, the Major who had seen Easy through high and low, and saluted him, watching eyes the entire time.

Winters immediately saluted, bringing up his hand, without even blinking to watch Sobel and salute him back. Sobel then dropped the salute and left with frozen features.

Hazel couldn't help but smirk at the look Joe gave him as he left, the smirk crawling across his own face as he glanced back at Winters. Hazel watched Joe's eyes as he slowly stepped towards the jeep as the German General started speaking, his voice prideful, calming to his men, full of almost a warmth, a love and a passion.

As Joe slowly placed his weapon down, Hazel leaned up against the edge of the jeep from the back, a soft grin on her face as she met Joe's eyes with a warm look, an emotional one at that, as if she couldn't really believe she was here, sitting with the sun on her face, near the end of this horrid war, the love of her life right beside her, his aura soft and more gentle and calming than anything.

" Liebgott?" Winters said as Hazel nestled in between Winters and Joe with a soft grin. Joe leaned up next to Hazel looking towards Hazel and Winters who watched him.

" Men, it's been a long war, it's been a tough war." Joe said and Hazel immediately felt that swell of tears overwhelm her entire system. Softly biting back her lip, she forced a tiny smile on her face. The German spoke again, his voice....proud....powerful for this men.

To see their leader, even in surrender, standing with pride in the end of defeat.

" You've fought bravely, proudly for your country." Joe said and Hazel looked down with a tear filled smile as she sniffled a bit, wiping at the corner of her eye.

" You are a special group." Joe said, and Hazel softly put a trembling hand to her mouth, all she could think of was Easy. Her boys. The men she had fought this war with, they were her special group. All these regiments were special groups.

" You've found in one another a bond..." Joe said softly," ...that exists only in combat, among brothers...who've shared foxholes..." Hazel listened to the German General's voice turn emotional and sentimental, which made her heart ache.

" Held each other in dire moments...who've seen death and suffered together." Joe said gently. Hazel softly looked at her hands and softly clenched them together, forcing herself to look up towards the General that spoke with so much pride.

" I am proud to have served with each and every one of you." And Hazel could hear the smile on Joe's lips and with tear filled eyes she looked up at Joe, lips quivering out a smile as she watched him.

So much love, adoration, admiration, and passion.

Her heart felt so at peace.

Hazel watched then as the German General, stood with a soft, proud face watching the men he had served with. A tiny smile on his face, a prideful one, as he was still filled with the passion, with the drive, with the motivation, even in defeat.

" You deserve long and happy lives in peace." Joe said and Hazel nearly about let the waterfall boil over but she held herself. Hazel slowly leaned forward and placed a hand on Joe's shoulder and he softly glanced towards her, practically glowing with a real smile on his face.

One of the realest she'd ever seen.

A proud, prideful smile.

They were all thinking of Easy, all of them.

Winters, Nixon, Speirs who had made a show, Joe, Hazel. Each of them, man, woman, Major, Captain, CO, Sergeant, Private. They all felt it, each and every one of them.

This war, it had changed all of them, but standing here right now simply as humans, connected by bonds that were indescribable was probably what made war all worth it, the fear, the grief, the tears, the pain and suffering of others lost, the will to risk your own life for the man or woman next to you. It made it worth it.

Despite the death, the wounds, the injury, the constant mental battle of life or death, the ones who had sacrificed themselves for Easy were the true heroes, the ones who had despite it all, loved this company fearlessly and died in combat for them. The ones who were hit and live despite it all, would want the members who were still here, still fighting to be happy, to feel a happiness that hadn't been felt in a while. Each member would want that of Easy and of the Virago women - of Easy Company.

When Hazel and Joe walked back together, they passed by Lizzie, Alton and Don going out on their final drive together around Zell Am See, smiles and cheers from the vehicle. Joe softly looked towards Hazel in the golden light.

" You okay?" he asked her. The airfield had gotten Hazel more emotional than she thought it would, after all this war, all this fighting, and end what was made her finally break down to the bare bones of her very being. An end.

Never in her life had she experienced something truly end and for good. It was always something ongoing, continuing. But this was an end, an end to it all. Hazel nodded, managing to keep the waterfall at bay with a proud smile upon her lips.

Gently taking Joe's hand in her own, they continued walking forward.

" You know that feeling? When you finally for proud for the actions you've taken through something? Actions a year ago you would've regretted?" Hazel whispered as his thumb softly brushed against her warm skin.

" I finally felt proud of what I did to survive in this war," she whispered with a nod," like what I did was worth it - all of it. Like it finally wasn't a mistake that I did what I did, just hearing that General speak those words." Joe looked down at her, as their feet gently padded along the ground, the soft surface of the cobblestone beneath their feet, clicking lightly with each tap, as they padded forward, the golden hues of the sun encasing them whole, in a soft and welcoming embrace.

Lizzie, Alton and Don had driven throughout the town of Zell Am See before stopping on a ridge that looked out towards the lake, as the darkening night clouds above moved towards the slowly setting sun, a soft breeze ruffling the hair on their heads, where they finally felt a sense of relief, a warmth....hope.

Lizzie softly looked over towards Don and Alton, tender smiles on both their faces - they didn't even have to talk with one another to feel bonded.

Just watching the sun set on an old chapter, to rise to a newer one tomorrow was the only comfort they all needed.

For a moment, Lizzie wished it could stay like this forever, the sunset bathing her in light and comfort, where she wasn't listening to the sounds of war, the cries of the wounded, or the screams of death. Where she wasn't worrying about life back home or life here, where there seemed there was no existence of time in this little world, where it simply felt like time had frozen and it was just Lizzie, Don, Alton and the softly setting sun in front of them.

Lizzie though felt her emotions so much more than she ever had before. She finally felt like there was hope, like there was an end in sight for all the horror they had faced, where there was maybe even a chance that this war would end with no one else in Easy Company destroyed by the horrid conflicts war had intermingled inside it's deadly thwarts of terror. Where maybe light had finally decided to peak through, shining light over darkness, letting it be known that even in darkness there was a soft and gentle light waiting to emerge.

Maybe these cracks inside Lizzie were what she needed to allow the light inside her glow even stronger than before. It's maybe why a person needed cracks in them, a little broken, a little disheartened. It's maybe why everyone always had darkness before the light.

And why darkness was so important for the light to then shine.

For the stars to shine.

For the moon to shine.

Maybe the darkness of war, was the happiness Lizzie needed in this moment to truly feel like what she had done and experienced was what finally allowed light into her broken pieces. And those broken pieces would soon mend, she had to believe they would.

The following morning, Donald Malarkey was to be leaving Easy Company - a company who had brought upon the most joy and grief he would ever get in his entire life. And now he was leaving, for good. A company who loved him for who he was, a company who didn't try to change him for who he was, a company that loved him for him.

As Hazel stood there hugging him with tears streaming down her face, all she could remember were the words of the German General and Joe's translation - they were truly a special group, connected by these bonds, these memories, the moments where all they had were one another and no one else to comfort in the night.

Hazel felt her throat swell as she tried to hold in the cry that waned to shake her entire body as Don and her stood in the hug for a while, just holding one another. When Hazel finally pulled back, she was the one to wipe away Don's tears that streaked down his face, she was the one to tell him softly as she gripped his hands that they'd see each other soon, real soon, after this war, this nightmare - all of it.

Catherine and Don's hug was just as tear filled, but Lizzie and Don's was the most emotional of all as the two held onto one another for dear life and that's when Hazel heard the sob that escaped Don's mouth into Lizzie's shoulder, gripping onto her.

The grief in his cry hurt more than anything, the grief, the pain, the relief, all of it, it all hurt so much to even listen to. But they held one another steady in the emotional waterfall, gripping onto each other tightly, yearning for the comfort who understood you, who could hold you and just be there for you.

When Don had hopped up into the jeep for Paris, Hazel could barely wave as she bit back her trembling lip, hot tears trailing down her cheeks, watching the red tuff of hair upon his head slowly crawl further and further away from the sight in front of them.

Hazel needed time alone that afternoon after Don's departure. Hiking in the mountains in search of a tiny white flower that had followed her throughout the war was what she was in search of. Climbing up through the hillside, her feet crunching softly against the ground, sweating the tiniest bit as the higher peaks above her adorned bright, white, coated snow, the radiant sky above them, a welcome change, a brightness of the day. Hazel smiled softly.

Hazel continued trailing forward, her eyes peeled as her search for the tiny white flower only grew. Each tiny speck she kneeled beside to hold between her fingers and watch with an innocent eye, before softly placing it down in the dirt again, saying a quiet sorry for picking it from the ground, a quick, short death that she would never wish on an innocent flower. Hazel walked down the dirt path, open fields on either side of her, the welcoming breeze enough to calm her senses as she looked around at the grassy atmosphere of the land. The warmth that was in her heart was incomparable to anything she felt before.

The Edelweiss flower had been the thing since Day One of jumping into this war that had never failed to follow her relentlessly whenever she would see the green eyes of the German soldier. He had an Edelweiss adorning his collar, a older one.

But now as Hazel slowly crouched beside the tiny Edelweiss flower, she softly plucked it from the steam with a sad look before gently standing and holding out the tiny flower in front of her. The soldier with the green eyes had hiked the Alps for a very flower like the one in her grasp - he had gotten it, and almost a year later, Hazel had one of her very own right in her tiny palm. Her eyes curiously watched the tiny flower, as it lie in the palm of her hand, unchanged by war.

The flower had always grown this way through war, no matter what hit it, touched it or who picked it. It continued to grow the same for everyone. And it never failed to be the strong-willed flower it had always been. It never stopped growing, being the epitome of the beauty of something so innocent in a world full of hate, growing for no one but itself.

Hazel softly shut her eyes and moved her head to the sky, as the warm breeze continued to was over her. Letting out a sigh only to take another deep breath in, filling her lungs with fresh mountain air calmed her nerves, settling them down for the time being, finally where she felt a relief unlike any other.

A freeing from her worries and fears and sorrows with that tiny flower that had started this entire war for her.

Now, she stood with it in her grasp, with an entirely different meaning. There was beauty in the devastation of what a war provided. This flower just like so many others was living proof of that.

And for a moment it was Hazel and the tiny flower in her grasp, with a bird fluttering above - maybe the stars would not be her only comfort.

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literally all these ending chapters are so freaking emotional i can't even deal with it, honestly, i'm just so overwhelmed with emotions and such :( i remember first writing this story with these characters all those months ago and to see them here now, in the ways they've grown and developed and changed, it just, it brings me peace as an author which i'm not sure how to even describe :) and thank you all for continuing to always be apart of this story, i appreciate it more than you can imagine! <3