When the truck reached the base, it drove right through to the hospital, halting at its entrance. Butler, Hogan and his men jumped from the back and without waiting for permission, went right in. Some of the personal must have been informed about their arrival, because two nurses immediately flanked Hogan and guided him into one of the exam rooms, closing the door after them. His men and Butler took seats in the comfortable waiting area, not too far from the admin desk at the front. Twenty-five minutes later Hogan emerged from the exam room, still flanked by the nurses, but with a bright goofy smile on his face. The nurses, both young women, were obviously admiring him from head to toe and Hogan reveled in it. He loved their attention. For a short while, he was able to forget about the horrors of the war going on.

When the small group reached the waiting area, his men and Butler stood up. Baker asked for them all, "So what's their verdict, colonel? Are you allowed to leave with us and head over to the barracks or do you have to stay here?"

Looking from one nurse to the other, Hogan wanted to know, "What do you say, ladies? Shall I tell them or shall I just keep quiet about it and instead enjoy some quality time with you two beautiful women? Right here, right at this hospital…right now." The last words were spoken breathily into one of the nurse's ears, making her blush. The soft timbre of that strong baritone sent shivers up her spine; shivers of anticipation. Judy and her colleague Cindy were both looking forward to the promised evening with the stunningly handsome American colonel. They didn't mind his recent battle scars, and they had also promised to not ask him about them. Hogan was glad about that. He also looked forward to a nice, quiet and entertaining evening with these two lovely ladies, who were still clinging to his arms.

With an even wider grin, Hogan turned to his men and Butler. "To answer your question, Baker; I am allowed to leave, but I will return later in the day for a nice double date with these ladies." Gazing at the nurses, but addressing his men, the colonel said, "General, guys…may I introduce to you my two lovely personal nurses, Judy and Cindy." His men gave them a friendly greeting. Knowing they would land in hot water for even trying it, they kept their lewd comments and wolf whistling to themselves. Butler grinned at seeing the easy way his protégé handled his men and the current situation. It proved to him once again that Robert Hogan was a brilliant tactician, able to adapt to any given situation within mere moments.

Once the two nurses had finally excused themselves to get ready for their evening with the gorgeous officer, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

Seeing he had their full attention now, Butler gave them some more news, which he got not only from Prime Minister Churchill, but also King George himself. "Gentlemen, I have some more news for you and it regards your commanding officer, Colonel Hogan." Nodding to Robert, he went on, "I got a call this morning from Churchill. He of course, let me know that you got a general pardon, but he also told me something else. King George has invited you for an audience at Buckingham Palace, Robert. This is an honor that is seldomly given to non-British people, so you are allowed to feel special. Just don't ask me as to why you are invited, but the King insisted on you coming, accompanied by your loyal men. And please, you all have to wear your dress uniforms." That got him groans and words of protest, mostly from Newkirk and LeBeau, but Hogan quieted them with one pointed, intense look. The protests stopped and the men waited for Butler to go on, which he did then. "You my dear Robert will of course wear your new dress uniform, as the one you are currently wearing has the wrong rank insignias on it."

Again he stopped in his talk and held up a hand, halting any words of protest from Hogan, knowing his adopted son too well. "You have been a colonel long enough; you deserve the promotion and it is a double promotion. I have this letter here from the promotions board of the USAAF and it declares that you had already been promoted to Brigadier General at the time you were shot down over Hamburg. Had you returned from that mission, you would have been grounded as is the general rule, for any officer above the rank of colonel. Therefore you are now, officially promoted a second time; this time to Major General. Congratulations, Robert. You are now a two-star general." Standing back, he stood at attention and shouted, "Ten hut!" All of his men stood at attention and saluted Hogan, all with big smiles on their faces. They were happy for their commander and they wanted to celebrate with him.

Hogan returned the salute and waved them off. "At ease, men. You know I don't care about ceremony or any of that, so I won't mind it if you still call me 'colonel'. I have been addressed as one for so long; it feels like a part of my name." Looking at the happy faces of his men, Hogan then meant, "Sorry, guys. Your celebration has to wait a bit. This evening I am booked, so we will postpone this party to a later date. And after that audience with King George, we may get some time to ourselves to just enjoy the sights of the city. What do you say to that, guys?"

LeBeau spoke up, "Sounds magnifiqué, mon colonel. Whenever you want to have that party, just let me know, so I can make a nice meal for all of us in our barracks room."

Newkirk added, "You have to make plenty of whatever you plan on making, Louis. Don't forget, ol' Klink and Schultz are there too. And Schultz eats enough for at least three men."

That comment resulted in another fit of laughter from Hogan and his core team. Butler saw this as his opportunity to ask Robert about these two men and he did so.

Clearing his throat; Hogan explained to the General how and where they met the two men and what they are to them. He also explained that while they should have been enemies to them, they never really were. Schultz always looked away when Hogan and his men did their monkey business and Klink more than once managed to keep Hogan out of Gestapo custody. In return, Hogan had ensured that both men stayed at their posts at Stalag 13, saving them from a position at the Russian Front.

General Butler listened intently to Hogan's words and when asked, assured his protégé that he will personally see to it that the two Germans will get jobs in London, perhaps as a liaison between captured Germans and the Allied officers interrogating them. Shaking hands with all of Hogan's men and then taking the former colonel into a hug, Butler told them to be ready in about a week for their audience with King George. He also let them know that a staff car will pick them up around early noon and drive them to London and to the Palace. Hogan promised the general they will be ready by then and the men said their goodbyes. With a last wave to the five men, Butler exited the building. Looking to his core team, Hogan announced, "I don't know about you guys, but I am thirsty and in need of an ice-cold beer or two. Let's see what the officer's mess around here has to offer for war heroes. Come on, let's move out."

With happy cheers, Newkirk, Carter, LeBeau and Baker followed their commander out of the hospital and after asking a passing corporal for directions, the men were on their way to the officer's mess hall. The walk in the fresh air did Hogan a world of good. He enjoyed the warmth of the sun's rays on his skin and took as deep breaths as he could manage with his hurting and sore throat. His men also enjoyed the walk in the sun, feeling free for the first time in years. When they reached the officer's mess, a stoic looking MP blocked the entrance as his four men wanted to get in. Hogan turned around and seeing just across from him the enlisted men's mess hall, he quickly changed direction and headed there instead; his men right behind him. Without allowing anyone to stop him, Hogan walked inside and took a seat in a corner table, joined immediately by his loyal men. A corporal came over and took their order. He was astonished at seeing a high-ranking officer in the enlisted men's mess, he didn't comment on it and just got the officer's order. As soon as the beer mugs were set on the table, the men picked them up and drank a toast. First to them all being finally free men again and on friendly soil and then they drank to their commanding officer's health and to congratulate him on his overdue promotion. Hogan thanked his men and after a few cold beers, paid the tab and they left the mess hall.

Again they decided to go on foot to the barracks in which they were living in. Ten minutes later they went inside and headed to their room. Newkirk softly knocked on the door and after hearing a 'Come in' from the other side of the door, he opened it and stepped in; followed by his mates and Colonel Hogan. Schultz and Klink were sitting at the common room table and were playing a round of cards. Seeing who entered they shared room, both Germans jumped up from their seats, big smiles on their faces. Schultz just grabbed Hogan in a bear hug; holding onto him like a father would to a long-lost son. Only when Hogan made it clear that he needed air to breathe, did Schultz let go of him and stepped back. Klink also hugged Hogan and clapped him on his back. "It is so good to see you alive and fairly well, Colonel Hogan. When we heard what was about to happen to you, we couldn't believe it. I always feared that Major Hochstetter would cause your death one day, but never your own side, Hogan."

Smiling slightly, Hogan replied, "It's all in the past now, so I'll let bygones be bygones. I am looking forward to a bright future in the Army Air Force. Heck, I even got promoted, will you believe that?"

The former kommandant knew then that Hogan managed to get the promotion he always wanted while serving his country; a promotion to general. Even though he was a bit jealous; Klink held out his hand for Hogan to shake. "Congratulations are in order then. And if I know someone, who deserves such a promotion, it is you, Colonel Hogan."

Schultz stepped up to the two officers and meant, "Didn't you mean to say General Hogan, Colonel Klink?"

That earned the former guard snickers from the men and Hogan and the typical harrumphing sound of his former Kommandant, together with his usual gesture of his fist sticking in the air. All that was missing from the picture was the riding crop tucked under Klink's arm. That got the men laughing out loud. Having a good sense of humor, Klink laughed along with them. Yet he did look a bit disapprovingly at Hogan, who only shrugged his shoulders, playing the innocent.

Then another louder knock at the door, interrupted their little fun. Hogan walked up to it and after a moment's hesitation, opened it. On the other side stood a young fresh-faced private, not older than nineteen. He saluted and handed Hogan a clothing bag, followed by six more of them; all labeled clearly with a name tag. The private told him, "These are your dress uniforms, sir. General Butler ordered me to deliver them to you. Oh and he also asked me to remind you of being ready for your audience with the king in five days' time, Sir. Have a nice week, general."

With those words, the private saluted again, did an about face and left hurriedly. Hogan closed the door and handed the clothing bags to his men, Schultz and Klink. Then he grabbed his own and looked around for his berth.

LeBeau waved him over to a double bunk on the far side of the room, near the window. Folding screens were standing to one side, ready to be moved to give the occupant of these bunks a medium of privacy. "This will be your bunk, mon general. You can choose which one you want to use. The upper and lower ones are both yours, sir."

Thanking LeBeau for his help and setting his bag down on the lower bunk, Hogan started to move the folding screens in position. LeBeau assisted him and then went to his own berth to have a look at his dress uniform. Should anyone of them need any altercations done on their uniforms, Newkirk was more than ready to help out, seeing that he had been the tailor for the Traveler's Aid Society.