This is a WHN for the Episode "Heritage" no copyright is intended and I am only borrowing the characters and do not own any of them. This is the third episode of my series "Combat! - Variations." Lt. Hanley and Pvt. Kirby star with guest appearances by Sgt. Saunders, Pvt. Brockmeyer, Pvt. 'Doc' Walton, cameo appearances by Pvt. Little John, Pvt. Billy Nelson, Pfc. Paul 'Caje' Le May and even Captain Jampel stops in for a brief visit. Hope you enjoy...Now, On with the Story!

Chapter 1

The explosion took out the old winery the Germans were using as an observation post just as Corporal Velasquez had predicted. The winery collapsed in on itself burying any Germans on site as well as the wounded Corporal who had locked himself in one of the cellars before setting off the explosion. Debris was scattered all over with rock being thrown through the air several feet. Once everything had settled and the dust cleared there was utter silence…Corporal Velasquez had completed his final assignment.

At Lt. Hanley's warning Kirby ran toward an outcropping of rock for cover but didn't think he was going to make it when something struck him from the side with enough force to knock him off his feet. Kirby heard the sound of an explosion as his head hit the ground then everything went dark.

Hanley could see it was going to be close and in an effort to get them both to safety dove at the smaller man pushing him toward an outcropping of rock for protection, rolling away as the explosion went off, felt the impact of stones and rocks as they rained down on his back, he felt the hard impact of something glancing off his forehead then nothing.

When Kirby woke it was daybreak taking a few minutes to get his bearings realized he was lying flat on his back, testing each limb was relieved to find everything working properly, other than some tenderness around his ribcage and a headache he seemed to be alright. A memory of Lt. Hanley yelling for him to take cover, something knocking him to the ground and then an explosion had him jumping to his feet. Eyes scanning the immediate area Kirby located Lt. Hanley lying face down covered in debris, one green clad arm flung above his head, a short distance from where he stood.

"Lieutenant!" Kneeling beside the still figure he clasped the exposed wrist checking for a pulse relieved to find one. Making sure the Lieutenant's face was clear, Kirby started removing the rocks and in a short time had uncovered the unconscious man.

Kirby did a quick examination of Hanley's back, shoulders and legs {nothing seems broken} gently he rolled the Lieutenant over. The man's face was pale, blood flowed from a cut above his left eyebrow near the hair line, checking for damaged ribs Kirby was relieved to find none but as he pressed on Hanley's left side the man let out a soft moan. Opening the Lt's shirt for a better look, found dark bruising covering half the ribs on his left side, fingertips brushing lightly over the bruise, felt some swelling {That's going to be painful for a while from the looks of it} After replacing the Lieutenants shirt and jacket Kirby began tending the head wound as he was finishing up, Lt. Hanley came to.

"Hey Lieutenant." You with me?

Hanley's eyes opened slowly but closed quickly when the light increased the pain in his head.

"Know how ya feel Lieutenant" (leaning over the man he tried to block out some of the sunlight).

Green eyes glanced up at Kirby but couldn't bring him into focus, blinking didn't help just made his head hurt worse, with a groan decided focusing wasn't that important and started to close his eyes.

"Hey now Lieutenant, don't go out on me" (tapping the man gently on the cheek)…"You need to stay awake." (Holding up two fingers)…How many fingers do you see?

What? Hanley said softly.

"Come on Sir"…How many fingers?

Blinking slowly trying hard to focus, he responded. "Four."

"Not quite." Here's our situation, are you listening? (Seeing Hanley was having trouble staying awake he tapped the man's cheek again)

"Yeah, yeah am listening."

"Ok, you have a cut over you left eye which was bleeding pretty good but I took care of it…for the moment it looks alright, from what i can see you're pupils aren't exactly even so there's a good chance you have a concussion.

What about you, Kirby?

"I have a headache but everything else is working like it should." "Unfortunately, we're in the middle of German territory, have a three day walk to get back to our Platoon and we have to avoid enemy patrols on the way."

Groaning, Hanley closed his eyes. "So, in other words, it's going to be a long three days."

"Yeah, Lieutenant that's about the size of it"

As Hanley tried to sit up he felt dizzy and for a moment thought he'd be sick, quickly lying back he closed his eyes, waiting for the nausea to pass. "What hit me?"

"Don't know Sir but whatever it was hit ya pretty hard. You want to try standing?

Not sure if it was a good idea or not, he was still seeing two Kirby's and his head was pounding. "Let's give it a try."

Kirby stood up and clasping the hand Hanley held out, pulled the man to his feet.

You ok Sir? "You're really pale."

Hanley tried to ignore his queasy stomach as he stood. "I'll be alright Kirby, right now we need to find our weapons and packs then we need to get moving."

"No problem Sir, you take it easy, I'll have our gear in no time." (With a grin he went to search)

Watching as Kirby moved around the area Hanley shook his head, decided that wasn't such a good idea as the headache increased and his vision blurred {I need to sit down} looking around found a small boulder and warily made his way over to it, massaging his left side as he sat, head in hand {it's going to be a hell of a walk back to base}.