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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"Colonel Hogan, I have thought about what you said."
Hogan was surprised a couple of days later after roll call by Sergeant Schultz. He turned and squinted in the early rising sun. "What did I say, Schultz?" Hogan asked.
Schultz watched Hogan's men filter away before answering. "You said I should think about whether I want to know where you were and where the Kommandant is."
"Oh, that," Hogan said, trying to sound offhand. "So, what do you think, Schultz?"
"I think I do not want to know."
"That's a very sensible decision, Schultz," Hogan answered. "The less anyone knows, especially you, the better for everyone involved."
"I do not want to know where he is, but I do want to know if he is safe."
Hogan rubbed the space between his eyes, then ran his hand across his face. Despite his decreasing doubt about Eichberger, he was still close-mouthed about Klink to the Captain. And telling Schultz anything that the Sergeant might spill in an unguarded moment was a chance Hogan didn't like taking. But no harm could possibly come from him telling Schultz that Klink was out of harm's way, could it? "It's okay, Schultz. He's safe."
"When did you last see him?"
"Schultz," Hogan said strongly, "you may not want to know some of this."
"I don't, Colonel Hogan, I don't. But the Kommandant was my commanding officer for a long time, and I worry about him."
"I know," Hogan relented. "And he's asked about you, too."
"He has?" Schultz asked, obviously pleased. Hogan didn't want to tell him it was in connection with Schultz's knowledge of the prisoners' activities that the Sergeant's name came up. "Oh, that is so nice."
Hogan smiled without teeth. "Yeah, nice," he agreed, non-committal. "Look, Schultz, don't tell anyone else about this, will you?"
Schultz smiled sagely and put a finger to his lips. "I know nothing, Colonel Hogan. Nothing!"
"I was hoping you'd say that," Hogan replied. "Now make sure you keep it that way."
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Schultz approached Sergeant Carter, who was busy doing laundry outside the barracks, humming happily as he scrubbed and then hung the clothes on the makeshift clothesline strung up between buildings. "Laundry day, Carter?" observed the guard.
"Sure is, Schultz. You know, with Colonel Hogan back there's more than ever. Officers like their clothes done just so. Not too much starch, extra crisp collars—you know the routine," Carter replied.
"I leave all of that to my wife," Schultz said. "I could never do laundry. I could only do toys."
"Oh, yeah, that's right—you told us you had a toy company before the war, didn't you? Here hold this." Carter handed a dripping shirt to the German, who fumbled to hold it properly before finally giving up and leaning his rifle up against the building so he could stop from getting himself completely soaked. Carter put the wooden wash bucket he had been using on the ground and replaced it with another that he had waiting, filled with clean water. He took the shirt back from Schultz and plunged it into the new bucket. "Thanks, Schultz."
"Ja. Ja, I bring my own laundry back home whenever I get there. I don't think I would have survived as a prisoner of war myself," Schultz admitted, watching Carter warily in case he asked the guard to do more washing duties.
"I was always domesticated," Carter said cheerfully. "I like doing this kind of work. It gives me time to think, you know?"
"I do not want time to think," Schultz responded. "I would rather forget everything at the moment."
Carter paused to look directly at the guard. "Been pretty tough, huh?"
Schultz nodded. "Colonel Hogan says the Kommandant is safe. But I worry about him. And I worry about Captain Eichberger, because I do not trust him—you will not tell anyone that, will you, Carter?" Carter shook his head. "He seems nice but I just don't like him. Maybe because I miss Kommandant Klink. And I worry about you boys. And Colonel Hogan. He is not the same as he was before."
Carter shook his head again. "Don't worry about us, Schultz. And don't worry about Colonel Hogan; he might be a little different now, but we're working on him." He paused. "How would you feel if you couldn't go home again, Schultz?"
Schultz looked surprised at the question. "Couldn't go home?" he asked.
"Yeah. I mean, Colonel Klink isn't here, and he hasn't been seen around here. I wonder what it's like for him... wherever he is."
Schultz nodded understanding. "Oh. Ja. It would be very frightening. But he would be strong, I think. He could survive where he had to. Me? I would want to go home. I do not always get along with my wife, you know," Schultz said, knowing full well that the men had witnessed some rather strong encounters between himself and his wife. "But I would still need to be there, for her and for my kinder. Someone would need to be here to look after them. It would be too frightening for some of my littlest ones if I was not here, Carter. You know I already do not have my brother here." He got a sudden look of fear on his face. "You are not thinking of sending me to England with Ludwig!" he whispered fiercely.
"No, Schultz. Just curious," Carter answered, wringing out a shirt and hanging it on the line.
"Oh," Schultz said, relaxing and almost laughing. "You had me worried. I almost thought you were going to tell me that Colonel Klink was in your tunnel...and that I had to go down there with him!"
"I would never tell you that, Schultz," Carter said.
Schultz kept smiling as he turned to continue his rounds. "Sergeant Carter, you are a good boy. And I will not worry about you any more. But, Carter, please work on Colonel Hogan. I miss hearing him laugh. Even for an enemy, it is sad to see a man so changed."
"We will, Schultz." Carter watched thoughtfully as the guard started to walk away. "Oh, Schultz!" he called suddenly.
Schultz turned back to the American. "Ja?" he replied.
Grinning sheepishly, Carter said, "You forgot to take your rifle."
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"It'll be a relief when we can finally tell people what we did here," Newkirk was saying later that afternoon, as he and Le Beau and Kinch relaxed for a few minutes in the sun bearing down on the camp. It wasn't terribly warm, but any sunshine was a welcome diversion, since as of late they felt like they were spending all their time underground.
"Yeah. Right now my letters home sound pretty boring," Kinch admitted. "It's always so tempting to give my family some kind of inkling that I'm actually still fighting."
"I am just glad that I do not have any children yet," Le Beau put in. "They would think all their daddy did is stay in the kitchen! 'What did you do in the war, Papa?' 'Oh, ma petite, j'ai cuisiné pour les boches.'"
"Well, one day it'll be different, mate," Newkirk predicted. "Then you can tell your kids you blew things up for them, too."
"Look out, here comes Schultz," Kinch warned.
The group started breaking up as the guard approached. "Out and about a bit today, eh, Schultzie?" Newkirk said.
Schultz sighed as he stopped beside the prisoners. "I am always on my rounds, Englander. You know that I have my work to do."
"What kind of work do you have to do today, Schultz?" asked Le Beau.
"The Kommandant wants me to inspect all the barracks and make sure that everything is in order. We are having company in the next day or two and he wants everything to be perfect. And that means no monkey business," he added, with as serious a look at his charges as he could muster.
"Visitors, Schultz?" Kinch probed. "Who's coming?"
"That I do not know. What I do know, is that if anything is out of place, Captain Eichberger has said it will be my responsibility. So you are going to raus, and make sure that your quarters are neat and tidy."
"Yeah, we'll get to it, Schultz," Newkirk said with a stretch.
"Yes," Schultz added. "You will get to it now! Come on now," he ordered, his voice suddenly turning him back into a guard. "Schnell!"
"Aw, Schultzie, when did you turn into a Kraut, anyway?" protested Newkirk, as the others grumbled along with him. Still, he pulled away from the wall and headed inside the barracks, to make sure everything they didn't want visitors to see was hidden from view.
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"Sergeant Schultz, is everything in order?" Eichberger asked.
"Jawohl, Herr Captain. The barracks are in perfect condition, and the camp is looking quite spiffy, if I may say so," Schultz added, with a touch of pride.
"Very good. Go get Colonel Hogan for me; I want to tell him that some old friends are coming to town." He dismissed the Sergeant and followed him out the door. Schultz couldn't help but shudder when he heard Eichberger's order to Hilda: "Hilda, please get Major Hochstetter and General Burkhalter on the phone and tell them that I will be glad to have them in camp first thing in the morning."