Author's Note: This story was written in March of this year but never posted. I was once known in this fandom as ANM88, but left the site due to family/personal problems as well as issues that were going on in another fandom. Hogan 51, my original pen-name on this site, is the pen-name I am using from now on.
Disclaimer: Hogan's Heroes and its characters belong to CBS/Paramount. No profit was made in the writing of this story.
Free
The stars twinkled in the night sky. The full moon lit up the ground below, lighting the way for the German guards of Stalag 13 to see as they made their way around the camp, making sure all was in order.
It was believed that all of the prisoners in the camp were fast asleep in their bunks. But one lone figure stood in the darkness of his office with the window open as he stared out at the star filled sky.
Much to his gratitude none of the Germans were paying attention to Barracks 2. If they had, they would have immediately told the senior POW officer to close the window.
Colonel Hogan would have given his usual wisecrack joking remarks before doing as they asked, but deep down he would long for that window to be open to allow his mind to escape the wired confines of the camp.
So many times before, Hogan would stare out at the stars above and let his mind wander back to Connecticut. It was a peaceful and happy time for the senior POW officer. He was free, even if only in his imagination.
He wished it could last forever. But it never lasted more than twenty minutes, for that was usually when Schultz would catch wind of the opened window and would promptly tell Hogan to close it before they both got into trouble.
Hogan sighed and rested his head on the wooden window frame. It was nights like these that he was grateful neither his men nor the Germans were around. It was nights like these that his interior self revealed itself.
On the surface, Colonel Hogan played a strong front. He joked, he laughed, and he smiled. But it was all a mask to hide how he truly felt inside.
Inside he missed being free. He wanted to be home and to live the life he once did before the start of the war.
It was a part of himself he dare not allow his men to see for if they did, they would know that he wasn't as strong as he appeared. They would know that he too had a weak spot. He couldn't allow that. He was Papa Bear and Papa Bear could not have a weakness. He had to be strong, not only for his men but for their whole operation. Not being strong could result in his death, or worse the death of one of his men.
Still, as Hogan's eyes stared at the sparkling stars above, he couldn't help but let himself long for that freedom that felt so far away. He had been a prisoner of war for two years and often wondered how much longer the war would last or if he or his men would even be around to see the end of it.
A knock on the door brought the man out of his thoughts. He promptly closed the window and then acknowledged his visitor to enter.
"Colonel," Kinch greeted his CO. He was surprised to see his commanding officer awake and standing near his bunk. "Is everything all right?"
Hogan nodded somberly. "Yeah. Just couldn't sleep. What's up?"
"London is on the radio. They want to speak to you and say it's urgent."
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," Hogan replied. He grabbed his jacket and hat. Putting them on, he opened the window a bit and peeked outside at the stars one last time.
He didn't know when, but he knew that someday, somewhere, he and his men would at last be free. Until then, it was back to being the strong Papa Bear that his men and London so greatly depended on.
THE END