No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred. Copyright belongs to others and no infringement is intended.

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Hogan heard the door to his cell open but ignored it. The sound of heels clicking towards him as he lay facing the wall also did not rouse him. He knew what was coming, and he didn't want any part of it.

"Good morning, Colonel Hogan."

Hogan kept his eyes closed and continued breathing evenly.

"Colonel Hogan, it is time to have a talk." Still no response. "I have seen your records, Colonel. I am aware of your strength of resistance." Hogan didn't move. Captain Eichberger turned toward the guard at the cell door and told him to leave until he was called. The guard obeyed, and Eichberger came back to stand at the cot. "There. Now we can speak privately."

"What do you want, Eichberger?" Hogan asked wearily.

"I just want some intelligent conversation," the German answered lightly.

"You mean you talk, and I listen," Hogan said. "We've gone through this same routine for the past five days. I've told you everything I'm going to, so you might as well give up."

Eichberger smiled at the back facing him. "Colonel Hogan, when will you learn that I never give up?"

Hogan lapsed into silence. Eichberger seemed comfortable with the quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Hogan, can I confide in you?"

Hogan opened his eyes but did not move.

"I realize you have no reason to believe me at this stage, Hogan, and I am still not quite sure what you are capable of, but I need to trust you, and so I will."

Hogan said nothing. He could feel Eichberger move in closer, almost on top of him, and saw the man's shadow on the wall in front of him. What kind of game was he playing?

"I needed to be sure you had not been broken, Colonel, before I dared tell you this. I can see now that I should not have worried." Hogan listened to the hesitation in Eichberger's voice but did not comment. "Colonel Hogan," the man nearly whispered, "I have been sent to Stalag 13 to help you."

Hogan involuntarily gave a small start. He quickly tempered the urge to react and instead said as calmly as possible, "You have a funny way of showing it."

"What did you expect me to do, expose myself and risk being executed along with that idiot Klink?" Eichberger moved in until he was practically leaning on Hogan. "Please, Colonel Hogan, you must believe me. I am here to help you."

Hogan turned stiffly onto his back, his sore body protesting every inch of movement. Eichberger watched as Hogan visibly tried to control his pain, and when he looked closely he could see the American's brow glistening with the sweat of effort and discomfort. Hogan grimaced, panted, trying to settle his unbandaged right hand, which had lately given way to a ferocious, pure-white agony whenever he moved his arm too quickly. He missed the protection of the splint that Wilson had used on it, and now regretted moving at all. "What do you want from me?" Hogan asked through gritted teeth.

"I want to save the operation."

Hogan took a minute before responding. He knew that pain could cloud his judgment, and so he waited until he felt more under control before he came up with an answer. "I don't know what you're talking about." Hogan felt at a distinct disadvantage. His hand was demanding his full attention, which made it difficult for him to study Eichberger the way he wanted to. Were there any clues in his demeanor about his sincerity? Anything in his eyes, in his stance? Hogan knew he should be looking for confirmation, but right now he couldn't find the focus he needed to do it.

"The sabotage operation, Colonel Hogan," whispered Eichberger, close to Hogan's ear. "Headquarters is expecting us to save it if we can. That's why I am here."

Hogan frowned and looked at Eichberger. London had said they would send no one. This had to be a trick.

Didn't it?

"You've got the wrong guy." Hogan shook his head slowly.

Eichberger knitted his brow. "Of course, you have no reason to trust me," he said, not angrily. He stood up. "You are in pain. I have left your wounds untreated too long. I will send in the camp medic to look after you; Sergeant Schultz has been begging me to do as much for the last five days anyway," he said with a slight smile. "You have done well here, Hogan—even the Germans are on your side."

"Schultz does his job. He's a good German soldier."

"And a humanitarian. Something that has always stood you in good stead, I take it."

Hogan shrugged mentally. Physically he couldn't cope with any unnecessary movement.

"We will talk again, Colonel. Keep in mind what I said. I will find a way to prove myself to you."

"There's nothing to prove," Hogan said. "You're barking up the wrong tree."

"I don't think so, Papa Bear," Eichberger said in a low voice.

Only Hogan's eyes responded, and even then, only for a second.

"We shall save the operation, and we shall save you. Orders from above, you know." Eichberger turned and called for the guard. "I will send the medic, Colonel Hogan. Perhaps that will help convince you that I mean what I say. Get some rest. There is much work ahead, for both of us."

The guard appeared and unlocked the cell, and Eichberger walked away without looking back.

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"Oh, this is a great little infection you've got raging now," Wilson said crossly, as he tried to make quick work of replacing the bandages that had been stripped off of Hogan's hand days earlier. "It's spreading right up your arm. I thought I told you to keep the dressings on."

"I did." Hogan's voice was muffled through the towel Wilson had stuffed into his mouth for him to bite down on. "This was—someone else's idea." He hissed the words into the cloth and squeezed his eyes shut.

When Wilson had first lifted the wounded right arm, Hogan had let out a loud cry of pain. The medic immediately noticed the violent redness around the wrist and the inflamed skin of Hogan's forearm and gave the Colonel a towel to bite down on as he worked. Now, as Hogan endured the agony of treatment and redressing, Wilson tried to keep up his usual banter in an effort to distract his patient from what he was doing. "Always great when an untrained person thinks he knows best about these things." He paused just long enough to monitor Hogan's physical reactions. The Colonel was taking groaning, gasping breaths, and his face and hair were damp with perspiration, but he was coping, and so Wilson continued. "Well at least you're back in camp now, right? What made the tyrant have a change of heart about you being cleaned up?"

Hogan fought to concentrate on what Wilson was saying. "You wouldn't believe it," he answered. Wilson finished his work and rested Hogan's arm down in his lap. The tension in Hogan's body seeped away, and Wilson eased the towel from between his clenched teeth. Hogan laid his head back against the wall of the cell with a moan, exhausted from the experience, feeling very little when the medic worked on his other wrist and his abdomen.

"Try me," Wilson prompted. He pulled out a syringe and filled it with antibiotics to fight the infection that had driven Hogan's temperature up. "Somehow, nothing you say strikes me as impossible any more."

Hogan let out a weak laugh. "Sorry to destroy your sense of reality."

Wilson shook his head. "That's okay," he said. "Keeps me interested. Who'd have thought being a medic could be this fascinating?"

Hogan felt the cold prick of the needle. Thank you, he thought gratefully. He was too worn out to say it.

"Come on," Wilson persisted, "what's so unbelievable?"

Hogan opened his eyes and took a brief look toward the bars of the cell. There was no guard there, but he was still wary of speaking about this in case someone was listening in. Wilson picked up the cue and investigated, then came back to Hogan's side. "No one here, Colonel. The guard seems to have left."

Hogan raised one eyebrow. "Interesting. I haven't been out of someone's sight since I got here." He took a minute to rally his strength and then said, "Eichberger came by this morning and told me he's been sent by Headquarters to help me."

Wilson's eyes widened. "He what?"

"He said he's been ordered to help save the operation."

"But I thought London said no one was coming!"

"They said there would be no replacement Papa Bear. That could just mean that they want me to stay where I am. That didn't rule out anyone else showing up. And that's another thing—he called me Papa Bear."

Wilson stared at Hogan. "Are you sure?"

"I may be sick, but I'm not delirious," Hogan answered. "He was quite clear about it."

"So he knows about you."

"He knows, or he suspects and he's trying to flush me out so he can get all of us. Tell the boys to see what they can find out about Eichberger's background. Maybe Klink will know something. I'm not letting on to anything unless I know he's on the up and up."

"What do you think, Colonel?" Wilson asked.

Hogan let his eyes drift shut. "I don't know. He swears he's on the level. Said he would let you in today as a way of proving his story. He's moved the guard away after his specific order that I wasn't to be left unattended. It all looks good, but I don't see him waving an American flag yet. All of this could be a lovely trap, and I'm too cynical to fall into it."

Wilson nodded. "A character trait that has saved your skin countless times, no doubt."

"No doubt."

"Come on; you need a drink." Wilson pulled out a bottle of water he had brought with him and held it to Hogan's lips. The Colonel swallowed greedily then leaned back again. "You up for a shave?"

Hogan opened his eyes, surprised. "Hm?"

"A shave. Do you want a shave? Le Beau said you'd probably be irritable without one, and you are looking pretty scruffy. I've got the stuff right here."

Hogan closed his eyes again. "Probably couldn't stay awake through it, sorry."

"No problem. I'm used to working on people who are unconscious—asleep is easy. Come on, let's take advantage of Eichberger's good nature while we've got it. Lie down here, and I'll look after the rest. It's probably the only chance I'll ever get to have the last word in a debate with you."

Hogan smiled and let Wilson help ease him into a reclining position. He fell asleep as he felt the soap touch his cheeks, relaxing for the first time in a week. Whatever was coming, at least he was safe for now.