I started writing this years ago, and after 3 moves, just found it in my files. I'd like to thank Gunney for all of the great suggestions with some of this. This story takes place very, very early in the first season; right after the pilot. This is my first Hogan's Heroes fan fiction. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

I don't own Hogan's Heroes and I'm not making any money writing this.

Off Balance

Chapter 1

The last full moon in the autumn of 1942 was brilliant and robust in a cloudless sky, inviting all forest creatures under its watchful eye to one last exploration before winter arrived. The wind was shifting from playful to powerful, and the temperature had begun to plummet. But the moon's invitation could not be ignored as it brightly illuminated the German countryside. Long, dancing shadows were cast from the mighty trees over leaf covered ground that made up the forest surrounding Stalag 13.

Like the fulltime inhabitants of the forest, three intrepid men were also out seeking provisions for the long winter ahead. Tonight's air drop from London was eagerly anticipated since it was to be larger than usual; containing an ironic assortment of emergency medical supplies as well as explosives and ammunition, just in case future air drops were canceled due to foul winter weather in the upcoming weeks. Unfortunately, the supply laden crate had been blown off course due to the strengthening winds, making Kinch, Newkirk and Carter travel farther and search longer for it than anybody had planned.

The silhouette of a parachute briefly passed across the rotund face of the moon. The nocturnal forest denizens did not notice, but there were more than only three pairs of watchful eyes cast upwards following the parachute's unpredictable descent.

This supply delivery method was still in its infancy, so Hogan was testing the boundaries of what was possible. His men were too. They all requested that beautiful women be included in the air drop; each man listing which vital statistics they preferred. Kinch was looking for a tall goddess who loved jazz, Carter a cute country girl with freckles and a great set of legs, Newkirk fancied a bombshell who had a great sense of humor, while LeBeau was hoping for une femme courte et belle who was as insatiable a romantic as he. Hogan allowed his men's flights of fancy, but did nothing to encourage them by describing the type of woman he would prefer. He tried his best not to think of women, because it reminded him of yet something else he volunteered to go without, or at best, to endure lengthy periods of unavoidable abstinence, when he accepted his current mission. However, that did not stop Hogan from requesting, among the other supplies, for London to include explosives and detonators at the same time, as well as fragile replacement parts for their radio. It was this unusual air drop that Kinch, Newkirk and Carter were searching for in the forest.

"Blimey, Carter! Watch where you're goin'. I've lost count 'ow many times you've stepped on me foot or bumped into me since we left camp." Newkirk griped as he pushed the young sergeant out of his personal space.

"Gee sorry, Newkirk. The wind's really picking up something fierce and it's blowing the parachute in 10 different directions at once. I'm trying to keep my eye on it."

"What I'd like to know is 'ow you ever earned the name, Little Deer That Runs Swift and Sure Through Forest. * The only thing you're runnin' through tonight is me!"

"Will you two knock it off? We're on a mission, not a stroll in the park. We're supposed to be professionals, which means we're supposed to be quiet," Kinch looked directly at Newkirk, "and careful." Kinch then looked directly at Carter in order to drive home his point.

"It's too easy for things to get messed up out here because of stuff we can't control, like this crazy wind. It's blown the chute way off target. So let's concentrate on finding it and getting back to camp without any trouble, okay?"

The moonlight enabled Kinch to see the hurt expression on Carter's face and the surprise on Newkirk's face. They reminded him of his two younger brothers when they got caught misbehaving. Breaking the tension, Kinch couldn't stop himself from saying, "Now don't make me separate you two."

That was enough to make everybody grin.

"Right, Dad!" With that, Newkirk smirked and gave Carter a brotherly shove in the direction he last saw the parachute take.

5 minutes later…

"Hold up, fellas," Kinch whispered. "Searching this way is getting us nowhere. Let's split up and look for it. We'll meet at the northwest corner of that bombed out factory in 30 minutes. See it over there at 2 o'clock?"

Close to the edge of the forest was a looming skeleton of charred brick walls with menacing, jagged gaps revealing where windows once looked out onto the trees. It was all that remained of a once productive munitions factory that Hogan and his men "visited" earlier that fall. Now it was a silent labyrinth of slanted walls, twisted metal, and rubble.

"If we haven't found the supplies by then, we'll have to head back to camp and hope that nobody else finds them till we try again tomorrow night. The Colonel would hand me my head on a platter if we missed morning roll call."

"Sounds like a plan to me," agreed Newkirk as he briskly rubbed his hands together desperately trying to warm them.

"The last thing I want to do is come back out 'ere tomorrow night freezin' me arse off while dodging patrols; especially with Carter tripping over every ruddy stone 'n root between 'ere 'n camp. Blimey, Carter. You've been as subtle as a bloody brass band tonight, you 'ave. Need me to 'old your ruddy hand?"

"Newkirk, lay off Carter. Nobody's gotten lost or hurt yet, so no harm done. I bet that the supplies landed in that bombed out factory, so let's go search in that area." Kinch gave Carter a quick pat on the back for encouragement then noiselessly headed out of the trees.

Unfortunately, Carter silently agreed with Newkirk's unsolicited assessment of his performance so far tonight, so he decided not to tell his companions that he managed to break his watch the first time he fell. He quickly calculated that he'd have to count 1,800 "Mississippis" to keep track of time in order to make it back to the rendezvous point in a half an hour. Satisfied that he did the math correctly, Carter followed Kinch out of the forest, silently counting.

"One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi…"

"Aw, Kinch. Why'd ya have to go 'n say nobody's gotten hurt yet?" Newkirk complained as he followed his two companions out into the open. Kinchloe's choice of words didn't help ease Newkirk's anxiety about the way tonight's mission was going. He hoped that it was not an omen of trouble to come.

They split up to search the ruins, not realizing that a keen set of amber colored eyes had been watching them since they arrived, and unfortunately the falling parachute had also captured the attention of others.

* Little Deer Who Runs Swift and Sure Through Forest was introduced in Season Three. This story takes place very early in Season 1, between the black and white pilot and the first episode in color. I'm sorry, but I took literary license with the time line. I just couldn't pass up using it.