Chapter 15:

Hogan fluttered his eyes open and took a minute to remember where he was again. Seeing all the tubes and wires he was connected to still, it all came back to him instantly. He was still in the hospital, and his belly still felt tight and ached tremendously. He slowly turned his head to the right and looked out his room's window. The sunlight outside told him it was either midday or some time in the afternoon. What the exact time was he was too tired to figure out. He made his eyes back to the yellow wall in front of him and gently rubbed his still swollen middle as he tried to think of a way to contact Stalag 13. He needed to speak to Klink. He needed to let his boys and Kalina know that he was alright and trying to get better as fast as he could. But where was his room phone, and how did he get access to it?

He felt himself starting to drift off again, when the sound of approaching footsteps made him wake up again. Hogan turned his head to the left and spotted Dr. Bossler and Dallwitz entering to check on him. When they saw he was awake and aware of his surroundings, both medics gave him a wide grin. "Well, well, well," Bossler said, tucking his clipboard underneath his arm. "Looks like you're finally stabilizing, Colonel. I think it's safe to say you're gonna make it."

Hogan gave a fatigue smile, then swallowed to try and soothe his dry throat. "I'm glad to hear it," he said raspy. He swallowed again. "Where are my boys? And Kalina?...Where are they?"

"Don't worry about them, Colonel," Bossler said reassuringly. "I'm sure they're back at Stalag 13 safe and sound. You just focus on getting better now."

"I need to talk to Kommandant Klink," Hogan insisted meekly. "I need my boys...and my little girl to know I'm okay."

Bossler frowned. "I wouldn't exactly say you're okay just yet; you've almost crashed on us three times since arriving in Stuttgart. One time I almost called it on you. Your abdominal wounds are healing as well as expected, but that bronchitis of yours is still pretty severe. Focus your strength on getting well, Colonel. You can speak with your friends later, I promise you."

"Please," Hogan begged. "I can rest easy after knowing they're safe...Tell them I'm okay...I need them to know." He let out a labored breath of air, the tightness in his belly with each breath not helping his inflamed lungs any.

Bossler's heart ached for the man. He wanted to help him, but he was more concerned for Hogan's current health state. He was recovering slowly, yes, but too much stress and worry on him could send him into a relapse. And the last thing Hogan's body needed was another set back. Cardiac arrest. Respiratory distress. Internal bleeding in his abdomen. All of them were something Bossler was not certain if Hogan could handle a second time around. But if knowing his friends were safe and telling them he was getting better little by little each day put him at ease, then the medic could not decline the request.

"If I called Stalag 13 and spoke with your kommandant regarding your concerns, will that lift some weight off of your shoulders?"

Hogan nodded faintly.

Bossler let out a heavy breath of air, then nodded in approval. He turned to Dallwitz. "Get Kommandant Klink of Stalag 13 on the phone. Tell them it's a priority one call coming from Stuttgart," he ordered.

"Jawohl, mein Doktor," Dallwitz said, and walked over to the nightstand on Hogan's left where the telephone sat.

A slight twinkle came to Hogan's eyes as he smiled back at his assigned physician, both of his hands resting on top of his swollen belly. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Bossler looked up from grabbing the receiver and gave his patient a warm smile in return. "No problem, Colonel," he answered. The old medic placed the receiver to his ear and waited for the line to go through. This is a good man, Bossler thought to himself. An American, yes, but a very good man. A good man with a big heart. And while he waited for Klink to pick up on the other line, he hoped that he would not only put Hogan at ease, but his friends at ease with some good news, too.

Klink fumbled with a pen on his desk mindlessly, while Burkhalter communicated with the four Gestapo men he had called in to track down and find Williams. The kommandant carelessly threw his pen onto his desk and let out a depressed sigh, when his office phone began to ring furiously. Going into red alert, Klink quickly picked up the phone and nearly dropped it several times as he placed it to his ear. "Colonel Klink speaking, Heil Hitler," he said hastily. Hearing the man on the other end identify himself and his location, Klink sprung to his feet and covered the receiver with his hand as he made his gaze to Burkhalter. "It's a Dr. Bossler calling from Stuttgart," he reported. He placed the phone back to his ear as Burkhalter and the four Gestapo men circled around Klink's desk.

"I have a prisoner of yours here, a Colonel Robert Hogan," Bossler began. "He's recovering from his injuries slowly, but he wishes to speak with his men and a little girl I only know as Kalina. Would you be able to put them on the line for a moment?"

"Hogan," Klink gasped, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Dr. Bossler, may I speak to him for just a minute or two?"

"I would advise against that only because Colonel Hogan is still very weak and tires out easily. I want him to save his strength for his men and Kalina. Could you get them on the phone so he could speak to them please? He'd like to inform them personally that he's getting better."

"And as much as I would love to do that, Doctor, I beg to inform you that Hogan's men and my daughter are currently in Stuttgart themselves trying to find Colonel Hogan and someone we suspect may want to end his life. A Sergeant Jack Williams is his name."

"Here in Stuttgart, huh?"

The statement causing him to become more awake, Hogan slightly tilted his head to the right as he looked up curiously at the old medic.

"Do you happen to know where they're staying in Stuttgart, Kommandant? Perhaps I can try calling them directly and getting in touch with them that way," Bossler suggested.

"Oh certainly. They're at the Hermann Goering Hauserhof in Downtown Stuttgart."

Bossler nodded as he gestured with his finger to Dallwitz to write the hotel's information down. "Very well, then," Bossler answered. "I shall contact them the minute I am finished with this call, Herr Kommandant. As for when Colonel Hogan will be well enough to travel back to Hammelburg, we will have to see how he does for the rest of today and tomorrow. It could be another week or two, though, before he's healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital. I will keep you informed on his condition for the rest of his stay here."

"Please, Herr Doktor, contact me whenever you so wish to. Oh, thank you so much for calling. Heil Hitler."

Bossler hung up the phone and turned to Dallwitz, who stared at his commander completely dumbfounded. "Well," Bossler said. "One down, one to go."

"But, Herr Doktor, I do not understand," Dallwitz remarked. "If Colonel Hogan's men and little girl are not at Stalag 13, how will we locate them at a place so big as the Hermann Goering Hauserhof?"

Bossler grinned. "Let me handle the logistics, mein Freund." He turned his gaze to Hogan as he picked up the telephone again. "Just get the Colonel here ready for a few friendly faces to arrive. I think they'll want to see him as much as he does."

Hogan smiled back, the slight twinkle returning to his eyes. He then turned his head back to facing the front of him, closed his eyes, and let out a content breath of air. His boys. His sweet little Kalina. He would be seeing them again in a few hours after weeks of being apart. And with that knowledge in mind, his body relaxed, and he waited for the other line to pick up.

"Alright, ma'am. 'Ppreciate your time," Newkirk said, with deep disappointment. He hung up one of the three telephones in the hotel room and shook his head. "Bloody hell, that was my last one on the list, and no sign of the Gov'nor anywhere in that place."

"At least you have not been on hold for the last 25 minutes," LeBeau remarked snippy, turning his head over his shoulder. "I am ready to just hang up and declare that he is not here either."

"You can't hang up," Kinch insisted, coming to the Frenchman's side. "What if you hang up, and the Colonel's a patient there?"

"What kind of hospital leaves you on hold for 25 minutes!" LeBeau exclaimed.

While Carter, who was on the telephone in between the two queen sized beds, continued to converse with a hospital receptionist, Newkirk again shook his head and pulled out a cigarette to light. He took a drag on it before speaking. "This is bloomin' crackers, mate. The luck we're at, we'll never find him in time!"

Kalina sat quietly at the table drawing when Newkirk had his outburst. She looked up at her friends with wide-eyes, and her lip began to tremble at the idea of never finding Hogan. To come all the way to Stuttgart for nothing and lose Hogan forever this time. To fail him completely and let Williams win the sick battle he came back to Germany for in the first place. Not able to handle that possible future, Kalina broke down and started to cry at the idea of losing Hogan again.

Seeing her distress, Kinch made his way over to the little girl's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders for comfort. "Don't cry, kiddo," he said. "We're gonna find him; just you wait and see. We'll be surrounding his bedside and visiting with him before you know it. Besides, what would Colonel Hogan say if he saw you crying on an assignment like this?"

While Kalina gave the sergeant a small smile, LeBeau propped his head up with his fist as he stared somberly at the telephone before him. When it began ringing angrily, he pushed it away towards Kalina. "You answer it; I am too upset to talk to another person." He grumbled.

Kinch, Newkirk, and LeBeau walked over to a corner next to the window and had a huddle as Kalina stared hesitantly at the ringing phone. She looked up at her friends and quickly realized that none of them were going to pick up the call. She licked her lips, and picked up the phone, praying that it was one of the hospitals calling back reporting they had made a mistake.

The little Klink picked up the receiver and placed it to her ear. "Kalina Klink speaking. Heil Hitler," she answered timidly. She was nowhere near prepared for the voice she heard on the other line. So much so that she had to tighten her grip on the phone to keep it from crashing to the table. It seemed almost like a dream to her, and she could hardly get herself to believe it was real. Tears filled her eyes, her heart ached both from yearning and overwhelming joy, and she sniffled. "Colonel Hogan?...Is that really you?" She croaked.

On the other end of the phone, Hogan held his room phone to his ear with one IVd hand, while the other rested on top of his swollen belly. His breathing was a tad labored still, but he gave a fatigue smile at the sound of the little girl's voice. "It's me, sweetheart...I'm here." he said. He started rubbing his belly. "A little sore, and it hurts to breathe a bit still, but I'm alright."

It was then Kalina lost all control of her emotions. She began bawling uncontrollably. "Colonel Hogan...Colonel Hogan, I miss you!"

Kinch, Newkirk, and LeBeau completely abandoned their huddle and sprinted to Kalina and the phone, while Hogan tried to calm his littlest member.

"Bloody hell, is that the Gov'nor on the line?" Newkirk gasped.

"Where is he, ma petite?" LeBeau asked, with urgency.

Kalina could not hear them. Her attention was focused solely on the voice coming over the phone. A voice she thought she would never hear again, yet yearned for every single day for the last couple of weeks. "I wanna see you." She sobbed.

Hogan smiled again. "Is Kinch there with you? You won't have to miss me much longer after I speak with him."

Kalina nodded, not able to say it verbally. She continued to cry.

"Don't cry, honey," Hogan said. "You'll get to see me very soon."

Kalina again nodded and handed off the phone to Kinch, while Newkirk hugged the little girl, and he and LeBeau tried to calm her.

Kinch gratefully took the receiver and placed it to his ear. "Colonel?" He asked. When he heard the voice confirm his identity, a wide grin spread across his face. "Man, is your voice a sound for sore ears. Are you alright, Sir? We heard you took some nasty shots to the gut."

Hogan gave a tired smirk. "My lungs didn't get such a great bargain, either," he answered.

"Where are you, Sir? I don't care if I have to drag Hochstetter by the arm, we'll get there as fast as we can."

It was then Hogan's expression became puzzled. "Hochstetter's there with you guys?"

"It's a long, kind of humorous story we'll tell you once we get to you. But where are you, anyways?"

"I'm at Stuttgart Red Cross Hospital. It's downtown and the biggest hospital in the city. Got about ten floors, you can't miss it."

"I got him!" Carter shouted, finally hanging up the phone he was on.

"A little too late on that, mate," Newkirk said, looking back over his shoulder.

"Red Cross Hospital, I think that's about six minutes from here by car," Kinch said, trying to map the drive in his head.

"There's a parking garage attached to the hospital," Hogan instructed. "You can park there for about four hours for a small fee...I'm on the 7th floor, west wing. Just ask the nurse for my room number when you get here."

"Got it. Hang in there, Colonel. We'll be over in six minutes flat." Kinch replied, rapidly writing down Hogan's directions.

Another smile returned to Hogan's face. "I look forward to seeing all of you."

"I think we can times that by five here, Sir. See you in a little while." Kinch hung up the phone, tore the notepad paper with instructions from the pad, then turned to the others. "You guys ready to see Colonel Hogan again?"

"Oh boy, I was ready five years ago!" Carter cheered, straightening out his cap.

"Lead the way, mon ami," LeBeau said, hardly able to stand still.

Kinch folded the piece of paper and stuffed it into his jacket pocket before heading for the door. "Let's get going, then. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be with Colonel again," he said.

The group of five practically sprinted out of the room, nearly knocking Hochstetter over, who was coming to see if they had any luck in their phone calls. The major watched them make their way to the elevator, when he stopped them with his boisterous yelling.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" He hollered, causing Hogan's friends to stop two feet in front of the elevator. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Stuttgart Red Cross Hospital," Kinch said, pushing the 'down' button. "We found Colonel Hogan."

"You found him, how?" Hochstetter prodded.

"We'll tell you later, but we need a ride to the hospital. Colonel Hogan says we can park there for a few hours for a small fee. And call some back-up; Williams might be lingering around in the nearby area." The radioman explained, as the elevator beeped and opened its doors. The flyers hurried inside, Kalina taking up the rear. She turned around and gestured for Hochstetter to follow.

"Come on, Major Hochstetter. I want a parking spot closest to the building!" She cried.

Hochstetter snarled and grumbled something as he dug in his coat pocket for his car keys. "General Burkhalter's head will roll for this." He stormed over to the elevator and marched inside before the doors closed again.