Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ９８ － ＶＥ】

Chapter 98 - VE

Bavaria was beautiful. Gorgeous. Made Peggy's day being able to see the scenery.

Apparently, before his suicide, Hitler had ordered the SS to Berchtesgaden to make it their last stand. Peggy never figured him one to be sentimental. She was intrigued but also reluctant to see how the heads of the Third Reich lived. However, that would have to wait. Because the SS had decided to block the roads. Like that would stop the Allies now.

Except, at the moment, it had.

They were in a big long line, sat in their trucks, waiting for the engineers to arrive. And it was boring. It was ages before they got going again.

The town itself was eerie. The only noise was the gentle wafting of white flags in the breeze. There was no sight nor sound of Berchtesgaden's inhabitants. Hence eerie. It was abandoned.

But it would make sense.

There was no denying you were a Nazi if you were found. Funnily enough most people wanted to live.

Here, Peggy didn't have so much as a problem with looting as she has elsewhere. Those that lived here didn't deserve all the extravagant things they owned. Not when they supported, when they believed...

She sighed.

This could be stressful.

And she sighed again, stood in the empty street. Lighting a cigarette she closed her eyes and wondered what her friends would find. Maybe she'd be selfish and shallow, perhaps even vain for once, and pinch and pilfer fine clothes and jewels. She'd dress up and feel a little bit more human. A little bit like she was allowed to live, and love herself. Like maybe she deserved nice things.

So then Peggy began to drift from house to house looking through wardrobes. There were so many lovely dresses, in the end, she ended up piling them up along with shoes in the back of one of the trucks, and then swearing she'd destroy anyone who damaged them.

"Hey Peggy, found a string of pearls for you. You said you wanted one."

She eyed Martin warily, and froze for a minute.

No she couldn't have them.

Because they were the sign of a grown up woman, gifted from a mother to her daughter.

And her mother did not love her.

She didn't need another constant reminder.

"I can't take those. They're supposed to come from a mother, from parents at the very least."

"I can get Lip or Doc Roe to give them to you if you'd like?"

Peggy breathed out a laugh, though she wasn't feeling happy, and shook her head.

"I gave up on ever having a set when my dad died. It'd be wrong for me get one now."

He didn't understand. No one did. She didn't know how to explain in a way they'd understand. She didn't want the Nazi pearls.

The officers were in a hotel at the top of a hill, and Peggy went to seek them out. She found More asking to take the Eagle's Nest, and she thought why not? Sounds like it could be a laugh.

So instead of going to talk to the officers, she left skipping along side More, ready to run up the hill.

And it was quite a way, but it was exhilarating. She whooped and hollered and screamed as loud as anyone else did, and she was free and happy. Don Malarkey dragged her up the hill behind her, having taken her by the hand at the bottom and grinned before taking off.