This challenge story is also an epilogue to "Request Permission to Escape." The first line comes from the story "Brothers in Arms" by Zoey Traner.

The Hauserhof, one of Hammelburg's oldest taverns, was especially busy for a weeknight. That was good news as far as Carter was concerned, because more people meant that it would be easier for him to fade into the background. He had made a scene the last time he was here and, to be honest, he probably shouldn't be back so soon, but, gosh darn it, he needed to come back.

He had a point to make and he couldn't make it by staying safely behind in camp.

Besides, this night he had no intentions of getting caught.

He quickly sat down in a chair vacated by a departing customer. He hoped Mady would hurry. With the bar this busy, he doubted that he would have a table to himself for long. Luckily, a couple of minutes later she wandered over to clear the table.

"Ein bier, bitte," Carter said as the pretty barmaid grabbed the dirty mugs.

Mady froze and then gently set her load back down on the table before looking him in the eye. "Your accent has improved."

Carter grinned. "I'm not trying to get caught tonight."

"You shouldn't be here," she whispered, concern for him evident in her voice. "It's dangerous."

Looking longingly into her eyes, he said softly, "I couldn't stay away. Not when I could come visit a girl like you."

Mady blushed. "I have a break in fifteen minutes. Meet me outside and we'll talk." Then she turned all business as she finished clearing off his table and then delivered him his drink.

As Carter nursed his beer, he felt a little guilty about lying to Mady. He did think she was pretty and he did care about her. But he wasn't the lovesick suitor that he was pretending to be. He had other reasons for coming this night.

He took his time finishing his beer and paying his bill. Stepping outside, he tried to look natural as he watched the street and waited for Mady to join him. When the young lady managed to take her break, she seemed almost disappointed to see him. "I had hoped that you had left."

"Not before getting a chance to thank you for that kiss," Carter said as he returned the favor with a swift peck on the cheek.

Mady raised a hand to touch the spot where his lips touched her skin. "You're sweet."

Carter couldn't help but fall for that smile. He offered her his arm and the two of them started walking down the sidewalk. An American and a Norwegian meeting in the middle of Nazi Germany; what were the odds? Summoning up his courage, Carter asked the question that had been bothering him. "I couldn't help but wonder – how did a pretty girl like you end up in the middle of Germany?"

"A pretty girl or a Norwegian girl?"

"Both."

"Are you familiar with Lebensborn program?"

Sensing an undertone of harshness in Mady's voice, Carter fell back on formality. "No, ma'am."

"It's a breeding program. We Norwegians look like Hitler's idea of the ideal German. So when the SS came recruiting, I doubted that they would take no for an answer. I fled and ended up here. I figured they had already picked through this area."

"That's horrible!"

"It could have been worse. I am safe, but many of my countrymen are not."

Carter admired the courage of the young woman on his arm. It must have been difficult to flee her home and take refuge in the land of the enemy. But he feared that Germany was not as safe as she thought it was. "I understand why you left. But you're not safe here either. What will happen when the war ends and you're stuck in Germany? I don't think many of your countrymen will understand."

"I fear you are right. Enough time has passed that I could probably go live with my relatives north of Dovre, but I'm stuck here."

"No you're not," Carter said as he pressed a large wad of cash into her hand.

Mady gasped when she saw the amount. "I can't take your money!"

"Why not? It's fake. I can always print more."

Mady looked at him critically. "An American prisoner who can pass as a German even when you don't want to. You have access to counterfeit money and appear to have no fear of the Gestapo. You are more than you seem, Andrew J. Carter."

"Most people are."

"Who are you, really?"

"That's a dangerous question, Mady."

"Then I won't ask." Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Carter wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. When they broke apart, Mady squeezed his hands. "Thank you, Andrew. For everything." Then without another word, she turned and walked away.

It pained Carter to see her go. He wanted to follow her and make sure that she got back to her family safely, but he had to trust that she was a smart girl who would take advantage of the opportunity he had given her. He needed to return to Stalag Thirteen, for the best thing he could do for her was to make sure that he did his part to end this war as quickly as possible.

Carter took his time returning to camp. He travelled a roundabout route just in case he was followed, but more so because he enjoyed the privacy and the chance to think. He wasn't sure what his friends' reactions would be once he returned to camp. It would be best if they believed what he wanted them to: that he was getting over Mary Jane by getting a leg over a local girl.

It was late by the time he climbed down into the familiar tunnels. Reaching out a hand, he touched the wall. This was not his home. But it would have to be his station for a little while longer. Escape had never actually been an option.

Kinch was still awake and he looked up from the radio as his wayward friend approached. "How was your date?"

Carter smiled as he sat down on a stool. "Nice. She's a good kisser, you know."

Kinch grinned. "The boys will be jealous if you say that too loud."

"Hey, the Colonel doesn't have to be the only one to have a little fun around here."

"No, but Colonel Hogan isn't going to give you passes every week just so you can court a lady."

"I know. That's why I gave her the money from my escape kit so she can go back to her home."

"Ah," Kinch said, "that's why you kept up that charade."

Carter forced himself not to react. Sometimes Kinch was too perceptive for his own good. "It was a last minute decision."

The look on the radioman's face told Carter that Kinch didn't believe him. That hunch was confirmed by his friend's next question, "Who is Mary Jane?"

"I told you, my girl."

"I almost believed that. And the truth is I did. But then you overplayed your hand. You shouldn't have smirked when you quoted Schultz tonight."

His carefully crafted story was starting to fall apart before his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Carter, we both know that you aren't dumb."

That comment triggered something within him and, before Carter realized what he was doing, he was on his feet. Feelings that he had tried to kept hidden rose to the surface. "Really? That's not what the rest of the camp thinks. Did you hear Carter forgot the compass? Hope Carter doesn't blow up the whole camp. Watch and laugh as Carter makes a mess of things. A guy gets tired of it, you know…the comments, the jokes. I thought that if you guys believed that I might leave you, maybe you'd me treat better while I'm here."

Kinch didn't say a word and simply listened. He knew there was truth to Carter's words and that what his friend needed most was an empathetic ear.

"Though they are right since I managed to foul this up too," Carter murmured. "Now I'll never hear the end of it." He never should have asked Mary Jane to send him that letter.

"Carter," Kinch said gently, "no one else needs to know."

"What about the Colonel? Do you think he knows?"

His friend paused for a moment before answering, "I don't think Colonel Hogan ever would have let you leave if he hadn't believed that you would come back."

Oddly enough, even though Kinch's reply didn't answer his question, the declaration that his CO had faith that he would do the right thing was comforting. So Carter took a deep breath and figured that it was time to come clean. "Mary Jane is a good friend who married one of my cousins right before I shipped out."

"Let me guess: a cousin who just happens to be an air warden."

"Yeah. I guess I wasn't very creative."

"I'd disagree. You managed to fool us pretty good. You had me quite convinced of your devotion to your girl for awhile."

Carter grinned smugly. Now that Kinch knew the truth, he couldn't resist rubbing it in a little. "Look, there's something you outta learn. And the sooner you learn it the better off you're gonna be. Friends are like balloons. When they get too full of themselves there's nothing like a successful prank to let out some air and bring them back down to earth."

There was that sudden awkward moment of shock as Kinch processed his countryman's words, but it was followed quickly by the loudest, deepest belly laugh that Carter had ever seen his friend make. "Carter," Kinch said, once he could breathe again. "I'm glad you're here."

Even though it had betrayed him earlier, Carter didn't care. At that moment, there was nothing in the world that could have wiped that smirk off his face.