Chapter 6:

Hours went by, and it was a little past 5:00PM. Hogan, his men, Kalina, and Schultz gathered at the recreational hall to add the finishing touches for Klink's surprise birthday party. Newkirk and LeBeau were trying to figure out where to hang the banner, Hogan and Kalina checked in on everyone to see how they were doing, Schultz and Kinch sorted through presents and put them in a neat pile, and Carter worked at the food table setting up glasses of expensive brandy and on the other side glasses of root beer for the youngest guest.

The colonel and teenager scanned the area for anything that might be out of place or missing, when Kalina looked up at her friend with both curiosity and concern.

"Colonel Hogan, how's our…'guest' downstairs doing?" She asked, in a soft whisper.

"He seemed better this morning after taking that medicine last night." Hogan replied, just as soft.

"You think this'll work?"

"All the guards are in camp making sure we don't do something to your father at his party. Kinch'll take von Wagner out the emergency tunnel when he, Carter, and LeBeau set up for their jazz performance of "Sing, Sing, Sing", and he'll be in London before Hochstetter can do anything about it."

Kalina nodded, her nerves easing back down.

"Gut...I just have one more question," she said.

"What's that?" Hogan asked.

"Shouldn't someone be keeping look out for Papa?"

"Shoot. I almost forgot. Good thinking, hon." The colonel turned his head to the left and looked at Carter. "Carter! Come over here!"

The sergeant in calling finished what he was doing and hurried to his commander's side.

"Yes, Colonel?" He asked.

"Stand at the door and keep lookout for Klink. He shouldn't be leaving work for the night until about 5:30. He thinks Kalina learned a new Clara Schumann song and wants him to hear it," Hogan said.

"You got it, boy! Sir."

Carter took off from the duo and sprinted towards the door.

"Hey, Colonel. Come here and tell us where we should put this," Newkirk said.

Hogan and Kalina made their way to the Englishman and Frenchman. When they got there, the colonel noticed something odd about the banner. He looked at it more closely and was stunned at the sight.

"Happy Baby Shower?" Hogan asked.

"They ran out of 'Happy Birthday' banners," LeBeau said, shrugging his shoulders.

"'Cause nothing will say 'Happy Birthday' to Klink more than finding out he's having a baby he has no knowledge of."

"Kommandant Klink is having a baby?!" Schultz exclaimed.

Hogan rolled his eyes, shook his head, and looked back at the two corporals.

"Just hang it over on the wall above the presents. Maybe he won't notice if we're lucky," the colonel answered, crossing his arms.

"Righto, Gov'nor," Newkirk said, and he and LeBeau got to their feet and quickly made their way over to Kinch and Schultz.

Kalina looked up at Hogan, her facial expression a bit disturbed.

"Happy Baby Shower?" She questioned.

"I don't have any idea myself." The American replied.

Kalina turned her eyes off to the side with a worried expression.

"Hey, Colonel. What's the code word for Klink coming?" Carter asked, looking back at his commander from the door.

"Uh...turtle," Hogan said, it being the first thing to come to mind.

"Oh. Turtle, turtle, turtle!" The sergeant cried.

"Everyone, get ready."

Schultz and Hogan's men surrounded the colonel himself and Kalina, as they waited for the guest of honor to arrive.

As Klink opened the recreational hall door, he grew suspicious as to why there was a record of Frank Sinatra playing. When he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, his eyes grew to the size of saucers and went into shock at the sight before him.

"Surprise!" Everyone cheered.

"Happy Birthday, Herr Kommandant!" Schultz cried, with glee.

Klink's eyes twinkled, genuinely touched by the gesture. He had never had anyone before willing to organize a surprise birthday party for him. Balloons, streamers, presents, music, and a big birthday cake and glasses of brandy all for him.

"What's all of this?" He finally managed to ask, still staring in awe.

"It's your birthday party, Kommandant," Hogan said.

"And it was all me little mate's idea." Newkirk added.

The German officer turned to his daughter and felt his heart melt.

"You did this all for me?" He asked.

"Happy Birthday, Papa!" Kalina replied, beaming.

Klink's smile widened and gently rubbed the girl's cheek with his thumb.

"Well, what do you want to do first, Kommandant?" Kinch asked.

"After all the paperwork I've done all day, a drink would be very nice right now," Klink answered.

"Carter, grab the man a drink," Hogan said.

"You got it, boy! I mean Colonel." The sergeant replied, full of energy, and hurried to the refreshments to grab one glass of brandy.

The kommandant looked over to the table with presents and noticed the banner hanging above it. When he read what it said, he stared at it and raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Happy Baby Shower?" He read out loud.

"Just in case you ever have another baby, Sir," Hogan answered.

"Hogan, I don't plan on having anymore children anytime soon."

"Could you perhaps tweak that idea? I always wanted a little sister." Kalina requested.

Klink shook his head with an amused grin and made his way over to the table to retrieve his drink from Carter.

About half an hour went by, and Carter and LeBeau set up the stage for their performance as everyone else danced, and Kinch left for the tunnels to sneak von Wagner out of camp.

Hogan walked up the steps leading onto the stage and made his way over to his friends.

"How's everything going?" The colonel asked, soft.

"Kinch just went to get von Wagner about three minutes ago, Colonel," LeBeau said, putting together a trumpet.

"Good. It should take about ten minutes for him and von Wagner to meet up with Otto. Once the general and Otto head off for the submarine, it should take less than eight minutes for Kinch to get back to camp and return to the party before anyone notices he's missing." Hogan remarked, looking down at his watch for a moment.

"Hey, look at Schultz," Carter said, somewhat amused.

The three Allied soldiers looked over and watched both amazed and entertained at the fluffy sergeant's dance skills to the current jazz song playing.

"Schultzie's got some moves." LeBeau commented.

"Remind me to have him on my jazz dancing team next year," the American officer answered.

"Where's Klink?" The young sergeant asked.

"Over there dancing with his little partner," Hogan said, with a grin.

The three smiled at the sight of Klink spinning his daughter around and swaying back and forth with her on the dance floor.

So far Klink's party was going as well as could be. There was just one more thing that needed to go successfully in order for Hogan to officially ease the tension in his shoulders: General von Wagner getting out of camp and to the submarine.

Kinch lifted the top of the fake tree stump up and checked for the coast being clear. Satisfied with his observations, he silently climbed out of the tunnel and hid behind the thick pine trees near the forest. Once the search light went past, von Wagner, in civilian clothing, repeated the same process as the sergeant and made his way quietly over to the man's hiding area.

"Alright, you got your papers, General?" Kinch asked.

"Yes, Sir," von Wagner said.

"Good. Now let's get going. Night Owl will be waiting for us."

The two men stealthily wandered through the forest to their destination and checked for any unwanted visitors. It took about twelve minutes to make it to the rendezvous point, but the two finally saw the underground leader and sprinted to his side.

Hogan paced back and forth across the stage. His anxiety was spiking up gradually as the minutes went by. It was 6:30PM. Kinch was supposed to be back ten minutes prior, and he had yet to reappear. The longer he was gone, the more the officer worried. His men having such keen eyes were able to sense that about their commander.

"Don't worry, Colonel. I'm sure Kinch will be back in a few more minutes," LeBeau said.

"He was supposed to be back here by 1820 hours. Where is he?" Hogan replied, his eyes never leaving sight of the floor.

"Maybe he got held up by a Gestapo patrol and had to go into hiding," Carter suggested.

As the colonel was about to answer, the three heard quick footsteps coming their way. It was Kinch with his alto saxophone.

"Kinch, where have you been? You nearly made an old man out of me!" Hogan demanded, firm.

"Sorry, Colonel. I got back here with no problem, but I couldn't get my saxophone strap working the right way," the staff sergeant said sincerely.

"What about von Wagner? Did you two get to the rendezvous point alright?"

"Otto and von Wagner are in route to the sub right as we speak. He's to radio message Baker the minute he gets in the submarine and leaves for London."

"Very good. Now you three hurry up with your warm ups. Newkirk's running out of jokes for his stand up act."