During the next day, Hogan's condition had improved so much that he was later in the day returned to his cell. But there was a slight improvement; the lightbulb had been changed to a working one. He also got pills to take with water for the next few days from his doctor, to fight off the last symptoms of his bout of pneumonia. To his surprise several canteens with fresh water were standing on the side in his cell. Must have been an order from the doctor, Hogan mused, so he could take his medicine. Still feeling a bit tired, Hogan grabbed one of the water bottles, opened it and swallowed two of his pills, swilling them down with the cold water. Then he put the canteen aside and lay back down on his uncomfortable cot, trying to get some more rest, recharging his batteries so to speak.

He must have completely dozed off, because the next thing he remembers clearly, is hearing the loud opening of his cell door, which woke him up. Getting up into a sitting position, Hogan turned to the door and was surprised to see a young man in the uniform of the US Navy standing there. In one hand he held a briefcase and in his other was a clothing bag, usually used for uniforms. Seeing Hogan's obvious confusion, the young man stepped forward, put both the briefcase and clothing bag aside and introduced himself with an easy smile. "Colonel Hogan, Sir. I am Lieutenant Hermann from the Judge Advocate General or JAG for short. I am your legal representative in your upcoming court martial, Sir. I also brought a new uniform for you with me, along with a shaving kit. And of course, your case file. We will go over this together to plan a strategy, if that is alright with you, Colonel Hogan?"

Overwhelmed a bit, Hogan slowly got up and shakily stood on his feet. Both men came to attention and saluted each other. Lieutenant Hermann realized his client was about to keel over, so he rushed forward and helped him to sit down again on the concrete bunk. Seeing how pale he was, he asked, "Are you alright, Sir? Or shall I get a doctor for you, as you don't look too good right now, colonel?"

Thanking the Lieutenant, Hogan waved his offer off, "No need for that, Lieutenant Hermann. I just got up a bit too fast just now. I will be okay. Just give me a minute or two."

Accepting the colonel's words, Hermann then put his attention to the clothing bag. He opened it and revealed a complete daily dress uniform for an American Air Force Colonel, even the shoes. Hogan was taken aback at this gesture. He was certain that they would just let him walk around in the drab prison garb, which he changed into as he was released from the infirmary. Hermann sensed Hogan's insecurity and said gently, "If you would prefer it, Sir; I could leave while you change into your uniform. Just let me know, Sir."

Standing up again, more slowly this time around, Hogan walked to the other side of the cell and told Hermann, "You can stay, Lieutenant. After three years living in close quarters with fourteen other men and group showers, as well as strip searches in between, I don't have a problem with undressing in front of others. I lost that shyness a long time ago. You can even watch me if you like; I wouldn't mind."

Not waiting for an answer, Hogan quickly started undressing, getting rid of the moth eaten prison pants and shirt, throwing both aside in a wide arc. Then he stepped closer to the hook in the wall on which the open clothing bag was hanging, stark naked and with a smug grin on his handsome face. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw how the Lieutenant tried to not to be seen while watching and failing. No longer able to keep quiet, Hermann decided to ask, "Colonel Hogan, if you don't mind me asking, but how did you get injured? Was it in some battle, as they all look recent?"

While stepping into his boxer shorts and dress pants, Hogan replied, "Those injuries are not from a battle, Lieutenant. I can't tell you how I really got injured as it is all classified. All I can say is that I was hurt by the Germans and as you can see, they are all still healing."

Hermann accepted the explanation, "Thank you for letting me know that, colonel. And I know that everything that is classified has to stay classified; so I won't pry any further, Sir."

Nodding in thanks, Hogan continued with the dressing. He now slipped into his shirt, buttoning it up to the top and even tying the tie around his neck. Then he took the socks and shoes and sat down on his hard bunk to put both items on. After he had tied the shoelaces, he got up and took the final piece of clothing out of the bag: the leather bomber jacket. He put his arms into the sleeves and immediately he felt more secure and more like himself again. This jacket really was like a second skin to him and it defined clearly to all outsiders who they were dealing with. Turning to the young Lieutenant, Hogan smiled at him, "Thanks for bringing me this uniform, Hermann. Now I feel more like my true self again. All I need now is a shave to feel even better. But without a mirror that's not possible."

Hermann then said, "Well, Sir; If you would allow me, I can shave you and I promise I will be extra careful with the left side of your face, as I can clearly see that it is still bruised and swollen."

Again nodding in thanks, Hogan sat down once more and waited for Hermann to prepare for the shave. He took the shaving kit, opened it and grabbed the shaving cream and the brush to put it on. Seeing no bowl to use, Hermann knocked loudly on the door and told the guard to bring him a bowl with water, as well as an empty one. The guard did as asked and brought both bowls back to the cell. Hermann took them and the cell was closed again. Now Hermann prepared the cream and then with the brush and bowl in hand, he walked over to the seated colonel and started to evenly lather his face with the cream. Then he took the razor and a small towel and carefully began the process of shaving off the stubble from the colonel's face. A few minutes later he was done and wiped the last remnants of the shaving cream from Hogan's chin. He looked at the colonel and meant, "Now you look presentable again, colonel. Your face and chin are again as smooth as a baby's bottom. The ladies will fawn over you like crazy, sir."

Feeling carefully along his cheeks and chin, Hogan was satisfied and said so to Hermann. "You did a good job, Hermann. This might be an occupation for you; if you ever want to leave the military." Pausing a moment to think, Hogan then went on, "Now let's get to business. You are here as my legal representative. So let's talk about what you got. I need to know what I am accused of, before I can think of talking my way out of it. Or at least, I need to able to defend myself, my actions. So show me what you have and we can go from there."

Doing as ordered, Hermann grabbed the briefcase and after opening it, showed Hogan all the papers he had accumulated about his case. There was even his personal file among the stack, although it had gotten bigger since the last time he had seen it, shortly before he headed over to England.

For the next hours, Hogan and Hermann went through the papers, taking notes and going through all possible outcomes, trying to come up with the best strategy to win. Knowing from his own little investigation that the colonel is an excellent tactician, Hermann let him take the lead, just giving a nudge here or there in the right legal direction. In the end and after near five hours of planning; Hermann collected all the papers and put them back into the briefcase. He shook hands with Hogan and told him, "Don't worry too much, Sir. I think we have a good case here and with those witnesses on our side, I am sure that we can win this one. I will see you in a week in the court room. Try not to get into any trouble until then, colonel. And get well soon, sir."

With those words said, Hermann knocked on the cell door to be let out and left without a glance back. Hogan, who was totally knackered now after going over those papers for hours, just took two more of his pills, drank some water and lay back down. He turned onto his left side and closed his eyes, trying to shut out the light from the ceiling and within mere moments, he was out. His exhaustion, as well as his still healing injuries and the bout of pneumonia took their toll on his weakened body.

That was how General Butler found him two hours later when he came to visit his protégé. He stepped into the cell and told the guard to close the door as softly as possible. The guard did as ordered and Butler had to smile at seeing Hogan like this. Even from where he stood, Butler could hear the even and regular breaths from his surrogate son. Coming closer and peering down at the sleeping form, Butler hadn't had the heart to wake Robert. He looked like he really needed the rest, so he would wait. He grabbed the rickety chair, propped it up against the opposite wall and sat down, prepared for a long wait. To occupy his time, he took out the card and notes written by Robert's men and started reading them aloud. He truly hoped that even though asleep, Robert would hear him.

So Butler took the first of the notes to read and looked surprised at seeing the name at the end of the message: Wilhelm Klink. Confused, Butler went through the other messages and found another one with a German name at the end. This one ended with Hans Schultz. But by reading the words written by these men for his protégé, Butler was sure that they cared about his well fare just like he did. So putting his own thoughts aside for now; he started reading the message from Klink.