"Some for DeGaulle and some for Roosevelt..."

"LeBeau…"

"Go on." LeBeau steadied the mug of soup for Hogan. "Now a sip for Churchill and one for Stalin."

"Louie…" Hogan's growl dissolved into a laugh. "If you don't stop bothering me, I'm going to dump this all over you."

"More than you already have?" LeBeau chuckled softly. "And I thought the others had dangerous duty today."

"Very funny." Hogan drained the mug with a flourish. "There. Now I've let you pester me into showering and eating. When are you going to tell me about this new major?"

"Major? What new major?" LeBeau smiled innocently. "You have a fever, mon Colonel. I know nothing of any.."

"Corporal…."

"Ok." LeBeau grew serious. "Major Anders is a pig. If the Gestapo came for him, the whole camp would dance for joy."

"That bad, huh?" Hogan leaned back against his headboard. "What'd he do that's so horrible?"

"He says the French are cowards, the English are fairies and you do not want to know what he says about the Negroes."

"I can guess. There are plenty like him in the Army." Hogan frowned. "He's been hard on Kinch, huh?"

LeBeau snorted.

"What's his beef with Carter? This isn't some nonsense about him being Sioux, is it? Carter could pass for an Aryan."

"Oui, but he cannot pass for a killer." LeBeau couldn't resist a small smile. "His last commander promised him he only had to blow up bad guys."

"He didn't argue with Anders, did he?"

"Argue, non. Refuse a direct order, oui."

"Carter!" Hogan sighed. "I swear one of these days I'm giving him to the Navy."

"Major Anders says he's going to have him court-martialed."

"He's not court-martialling anyone." Hogan grinned mischievously. "Though I might let Little Deer stew for a bit."

"This Anders has no sense of humor, mon Colonel. He will have his revenge on Andre."

"Not while I'm still alive." Hogan patted LeBeau's shoulder. "Don't worry. I've got everything under control."

LeBeau resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. He would follow his Colonel to the gates of Hell and beyond, but even he had to admit that Hogan didn't present much of a threat at the moment. True, he was finally able to carry on a coherent conversation, but showering had been a major feat for him. If he was no longer lying at death's door, he had only managed to crawl a few feet away. The thought of the man falling into enemy hands while he was so weak was enough to make LeBeau shudder.

"LeBeau? You ok?

LeBeau shoved away the sight of Hogan in Hochstetter's hands. "There is something I must tell you, Colonel."

"What's that?"

"I…" LeBeau took a deep breath. It was too late to turn back now. "When you were in the cooler…when Kinch was sick and Kommandant Klink came to see you…."

"You were eavesdropping on me, weren't you?"

LeBeau nodded reluctantly.

"Did you really think I'd gone traitor?"

"Je regrette, mon Colonel. I should never have doubted you."

"Serves you right for sneaking around like that." Hogan laughed gently. "You idiots are supposed to be spying on the Krauts, not me. I should have Klink toss all of you into the cooler until the end of the war."

"All of us?" LeBeau shook his head. "The others weren't there, Colonel. Only Schultz."

"You may have been the only one lurking in the cooler that day, but you're not the only spy I've had trouble with." Hogan sighed dramatically. "It's getting so Carter is the only one I can trust. And that's just because he can't keep a poker face around me."

"But…." LeBeau broke off as Hogan tensed. For a moment he thought the officer was going to be sick, but then he realized that Hogan was reacting to the sound of heavy boots on the porch. He'd seen the behavior before – in his Resistance comrades who'd survived Gestapo interrogations. He hurried to check the other room. "It's the Kommandant."

Hogan nodded, hurriedly fabricated a carefree smile.

"Colonel." Klink nodded a greeting as he entered the bedroom. "You're looking better today."

"That's all LeBeau's doing. He's spent most of the morning trying to make me presentable."

"He still has some work to do." Klink felt Hogan's forehead. "Your fever is down."

"I suppose that means you're kicking me out into the cold." Hogan broke into a martyred diatribe. "It's bad enough you make me march halfway across Germany, but now…"
"You'll continue to stay here, Colonel."

"You just wait until…" Hogan paused, genuinely surprised. "You're not kicking me out?"

"Your fever is down, but you're still too ill to be back in your barracks."

"Oh…uh…well…Thank you, Kommandant. "

"Ja." Klink waved away Hogan's gratitude. "I would only have to deal with the inevitable squabbles between you and Major Anders."

"Yeah. About him." Hogan winked at LeBeau. "Now that I'm back, isn't it time you shipped him out?"

"Colonel Hogan, it may surprise you to learn this, but I have better things to do with my time than shuffle Allied officers from camp to camp. You'll just have to learn to get along with the Major."

"Can't get permission for another transfer, huh?" Hogan grinned at Klink's obvious annoyance. "Anyway, I'm going out of my way to be nice to him. Didn't I send Carter, Newkirk and Kinch out on his work detail today?"

"Yes, you did. And why you did – and why they went – I don't know. And I don't want to know." Klink met Hogan's eyes. "I want my camp to be orderly again, Hogan. Is that clear?"

"Of course, Kommandant." Hogan smiled innocently. "Trust me."

"Trust you." Klink scoffed.

"Look what I have to put up with." Hogan addressed LeBeau. "And while the Grim Reaper is hovering above my bed, no less."

"I feel sorry for any Reaper that has to deal with you." Klink stepped away from the bed, then doubled back. "Oh, Hogan -- you'll be glad to know that Schultz didn't find any tunnels in Barracks 2."

"I didn't know he was looking for any. Was he on a scavenger hunt?"

"You were mumbling about a tunnel while you were feverish. I told him to investigate."

"A tunnel?" Hogan shrugged. "I must have been talking about the one I was working on back at Stalag 3. I only had a spoon to dig with, but I'd already gotten 6 inches deep by the time the Reds showed up. I would've tunneled my way out in 2, 3 years tops."

"I see. Then it won't bother you to learn that I've doubled the guards in the woods."

"You have no faith in me, Kommandant."

"That's very true." Klink searched in his coat pocket. "By the way, the Red Cross sent this while you were gone. I suggest you put it on – especially if you're planning any foolhardy escape attempts."

"I tell you…." Hogan froze as Klink held out the replacement ID tags. "But Hochstetter…"

"I requested a new set from the Red Cross." Klink frowned as the American closed his eyes and bit his lip. "Hogan? Are you alright?"

"Don't touch him." LeBeau blocked Klink as he attempted to draw closer. "You animals have done enough to him."

Klink brushed LeBeau away.

"You will not go near him." LeBeau set his jaw and clenched his fists.

"LeBeau." Hogan shook himself back to reality, took the tags from Klink. "Thanks, Kommandant. I appreciate it."

"Ja….I …" Klink watched awkwardly as Hogan slipped the chain around his neck. "Hochstetter is gone and his replacement has no reason to suspect you of anything. We shouldn't have any more trouble from the Gestapo."

Hogan nodded as he pulled LeBeau away from the German. "You won't have any more trouble from my men either."

"Let us hope not." Klink glowered at LeBeau. "Or there will be reprisals."

"You have my word." Hogan fingered his dog tags absently. "I want peace and quiet right now as much as you do."

"He should rest." LeBeau barely maintained a civil tone. "He's still very sick."

"Of course." Klink nodded formally. "Colonel."

Hogan did his best to bid Klink a normal-sounding good-bye.

"Filthy Bosch. He will not touch you again."

"LeBeau…"

"He has no right. He did nothing when Hochstetter came for you and now he thinks he can make up for it by replacing your dog tags." LeBeau cursed the absent German. "He's no better than the filthy animals who raped and looted Paris."

"Look, I know how you feel…"

"No, you don't. No one is marching down the streets of Washington."

"Ok, you're right." Hogan sought a more conciliatory tone. "But we need to keep Klink in power and on our side in order to keep the operation going. In order to free Paris. Right?"

LeBeau grudgingly agreed. "But he is still an animal and I will never trust him."

"Fine." Hogan used his command voice. "As long as you don't antagonize him."

"Oui. For Paris. And for you."

"Good." Hogan settled into a more comfortable position. "Now, Corporal – tell me what happened to Major Hochstetter."

LeBeau did his best to distract Hogan from the topic by fussing with his blanket and offering to make him more soup. His evasion only made Hogan more suspicious.

"LeBeau." Hogan caught the Frenchman's arm. "What did you guys do?"

LeBeau tried to avoid eye contact, but Hogan lifted his chin until they were face-to-face.

"I'm waiting, Louie."

"Ah, oui." LeBeau took a seat on the bed. "It's a long story, mon Colonel."

* * *

LeBeau stepped onto the porch, carefully propped the door open an inch.

"How is the Oberst?" Langenscheidt glanced over from his post.

"Sleeping." LeBeau held a finger to his lips. He leaned over the railing, hoping to avoid any further discussion with the guard. On a good day, he found coexisting with Germans difficult. Today, he found it nearly impossible.

"The Kommandant will be glad when he's feeling better." Langenscheidt didn't seem to notice that he was being ignored. "He felt awful about what Hochstetter did."

"Not awful enough to stop him."

"How do you stop the Gestapo?"

"With a gun." LeBeau tried to rein in his anger. Alienating the German corporal would accomplish nothing and could ultimately affect the success of their missions. It'd also earn him another lecture from the Colonel.

"Hey, Louie."

LeBeau glanced up, chagrined that he hadn't seen his friends approaching. Letting his emotions cloud his perceptions could be lethal in their line of work.

"How's the governor?" Newkirk grinned as he took the steps. "He kick you out?"

"He's sleeping." LeBeau tried to sound nonchalant. "How'd the work detail go?"

"As well as could be expected." Kinch shrugged. "Anders does know his job."

"Guess that's why Lon…." Carter broke off with a quick glance at Langenscheidt.

Kinch frowned at Carter, who had the sense to look apologetic. "Let's go inside. It's too cold out here for chit-chat."

"Right." Newkirk shoved Carter towards the door.

LeBeau eagerly joined the others in the living room. "Well?"

"We planted the bombs." Kinch whispered. "They should go off during roll call tonight."

"Good." LeBeau took in his friends' somber expressions. "Did anything go wrong?"

"That Anders is a piece of work, he is." Newkirk glanced towards the closed bedroom door. "The Colonel bloody well better be up soon – before I punch the blighter in the mouth."

"Boy, he's right. Kinch had to keep putting his hand over Newkirk's mouth to keep him from talking back to the Major." Carter turned to the radioman. "I don't know why you didn't get mad. It's not right all the things the Major said about you."

"It's nothing I haven't heard before." Kinch sounded exhausted. "You learn to keep quiet if you want to stay alive."

"Kinch!" Carter looked horrified. "You don't think the Major…"

"No." Kinch mentally shook himself. "Never mind. I'm just tired and feeling sorry for myself. Everything'll be fine once the Colonel's back in charge."

LeBeau followed Kinch's gaze to Hogan's door. So much depended on the Colonel. Like the others, he fully expected the officer to rise from his bed any moment and continue with business as usual. He felt like a Judas for voicing the fear that had been nagging at the back of his mind. "We must be prepared….Colonel Hogan may not be himself…"

"What do you mean?" Carter had to be reminded to keep his voice down.

"I just…" LeBeau saw the same guilty concern in Kinch's eyes. Newkirk stared stubbornly at the floor. "I've had friends who were tortured. Afterwards, they were….different. They jumped at loud noises or if you touched them unexpectedly…"

"Well, nothing's wrong with Colonel Hogan." Carter laughed nervously. "Boy, you won't catch him being scared. Not even a little."

"No one's saying he's afraid, Carter." Kinch kept a wary eye on the bedroom door. "We just might have to give him a little more space, that's all. Just try to remember that he's been though an awful lot lately. Even when his wounds heal, he may still be hurting inside."

"There's nothing wrong with him." Carter shook his head adamantly. "There isn't."

"Carter…." Newkirk sighed loudly. "What's the use? You can't expect someone from Bull Frog to understand a bastard like Hochstetter."

"Oui. Leave him be." LeBeau forced himself to his feet. "I'll make dinner."

"I'll check on the Colonel." Kinch looked as though he wanted to say something to Carter, but he merely shook his head and disappeared into the bedroom.

"I'm having a quick soak." Newkirk ducked into the bathroom.

"He'll be ok. You'll see. Nothing stops the Colonel." Carter suddenly realized that he was alone and abandoned his monologue. He sat in the awkward silence for a moment, before a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Newkirk! No fair! I called dibs on the tub."

If Newkirk heard him, he expressed absolutely no remorse.

* * *