Thank you to all who reviewed and also, I'd like to take a second to thank everyone who nominated so many of my works for Papa Bear Awards. It's quite an honor! Thank yous to all who help me write too, especially Drago and LadyJaye and Karama. My friend River puts up with entirely too much nonsense as well. You guys are the best.

On to more story without further A/N

Chapter 12

Hogan woke up to Olson's concerned face hovering over him. "Sorry sir, he's gone. Rope's untied and I don't know when he got out. The chair was gone from the door." As Hogan slid off of his bunk and dressed, Olson continued. "LeBeau is already out trying to find him and we've checked the roof of each building, and Kinch is checking the tunnels."

"Damn. Where was our barrack's guard? Wait, it's Schultz tonight, was he sleeping again?" asked Hogan irritably. "Use the tunnels and get the other barracks to check, maybe he wandered into the wrong barracks and went to sleep under another bunk."

"Yes sir." Olson paused on the way to the false bunk. "I'm sorry but... it's below freezing out there. What if..."

"Don't borrow trouble. Just find him." Hogan watched as Olson hurried down into the tunnel. Cracking open the door, he found Schultz standing guard. "Psst! Schultz? Hey, when were you gone?"

The chubby guard pointed to himself. "Me? I have been on duty the entire time, Colonel Hogan. I take my responsibilities very seriously." When Hogan merely raised an eyebrow, Schultz deflated a little. "I might have been standing guard in a slightly different post than right here... but only for a very short time and only to warm up."

Hogan sighed and slipped out to stand next to him, zipping up his flight jacket as he did. "Yeah, so you left your post for coffee in the guard's messhall. When?"

"I think that it sounds better the way I say it." Hogan's glare made Schultz waver. "It was only half an hour ago... maybe an hour." He paused to think. "Could have been maybe two hours ago..."

"Thanks Schultz, you're a wealth of information. You let Newkirk out and now he's been outside in a nightshirt for two hours. He's probably dead already thanks to you." said Hogan harshly.

"No! The Englander is missing again? He told me he would go back inside!" said Schultz.

Hogan shot a sharp look at the guard. "What do you mean 'go back inside'?"

"Corporal Newkirk came out but only for a moment, he said." Schultz was frowning. "It is not my fault, Colonel Hogan. He said he was going right back inside. He was not asleep."

"That's just great Schultz." Hogan was already stepping back inside. "Okay, he could have left the barracks two hours ago, we need to find him now. I'll get Schultz to start the guards searching the compound. Williams..." A lanky young Air Force private was already putting his coat on. "Go check the emergency tunnel entrance and see if it's been used." Hogan reached to take Carter by his coat sleeve and shoved him at the door. "Carter, take one of the guards and start searching the offices, both messhalls and the supply huts. If you find him in one of them, make up a good excuse as to how he got in too." Carter ducked out through the door, closely followed by Hogan.

Schultz immediately tried to stop Carter, protesting. "You cannot be out of the barracks, Carter! You must be inside until roll call!" Scultz was beginning to stomp his foot as he tugged at Carter's sleeve.

Hogan smoothly drew Schultz around to face him. "Oh Corporal Schultz? Can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

"It's Sergeant Schultz, you know this, Colonel Hogan. Why-why-why do you call me corporal?" Schultz leaned closer. "Have you heard something?"

"I heard the Kommandant gets really angry when his prisoners go missing because their barracks guard left his post. He also happens to frown upon guards that let the prisoners out 'just for a moment'." Hogan's arms crossed and he nodded to himself.

Schultz released Carter, his attention fully on Hogan. "But but but he would not know." He began to plead. "Colonel Hogan please, you would not tell him?"

Hogan mused it over. "Well, I could be persuaded to not mention it... if you let us look for Newkirk."

"Jawohl Colonel Hogan, but roll call will be soon." Schultz looked worried. "I must go and wake up the guards for the morning shift." He started across the compound. "I will tell them at formation that the Englander is sleepwalking somewhere and to help find him."

"Good idea." Hogan stood at the door for a few moments. The eastern sky had the barest hint of light beginning. Roll call was not far off. He shivered and wondered if this would be a morning of tragedy. The snow on the ground crunched where it had frozen. LeBeau's small form was in sight only briefly, caught by the edge of a searchlight as he darted towards the dog pen.

Inside the guard barracks it was even more silent until Sergeant Schultz walked in shouting. "Everybody up. Everyone for morning shift, formation is in fifteen minutes. Up up up! No complaining. Prisoner roll call is in thirty minutes!"

There were numerous complaints as the German guards roused themselves and began to dress. In the midst of the usual morning grousing there was one strange voice.

"Where the bloody 'ell am I?" asked Newkirk in confusion. His light colored nightshirt stood out starkly as he climbed out of an empty bunk. "Oh..." He gazed around at the surrounding guards in various stages of undress. "Oh bollocks!"

Hogan was just listening as Olson reported all of the barracks had been searched and Newkirk still hadn't been located. The loud shouts in German caught everyone's attention. Hogan peered at the building that was beginning to resemble a hornet nest. "What's going on in the guard barracks?"

LeBeau rushed up to watch. "Well, don't look at me, mon colonel, I wasn't checking the barracks."

Olson glared at him. "I wasn't checking their barracks! Just our barracks! He can't possibly have snuck into there! Not asleep!"

Hogan sighed as two of the guards dragged one slight figure in a nightshirt out of the door to their barracks. "Evidently he can." He looked around at the two. "Well at least he was in a warm spot."

"Oui. But now its a bit hot." LeBeau practically pushed Hogan towards the commotion.

Trotting across the compound quickly, Hogan lightly smacked one guard's hands off Newkirk. "Hands off, Fritz! Let him go." He waved off the shouting. "Look, you guys can put Newkirk in the cooler and then you can all go explain how one prisoner in a nightshirt made it past all of your posted sentries and into your barracks without anyone stopping him. Or even seeing him." Hogan's gaze took in the suddenly apprehensive looks from the guards. "Well? Go on then. Go tell Klink you allow unescorted POWs to walk right into your barracks. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Nein..." said Schultz as he huffed his way up to the group. "Nein, just take him back to the barracks, please Colonel Hogan!" He turned on the guards, snapping irritably at them in German. "Get ready for formation! Dummkopfs! How do you let him get into the barracks!?"

Hogan took his man by one arm and hustled him across the compound, his eyes returning to the kommandantur watching for any signs of the kommandant. "Let's get you inside, change for roll call." Once they reached the barracks, Hogan sent out others to call the searchers back into the barracks. "Are you okay?"

Newkirk blinked at him. "Yessir." He was already changing as the others came back in and fussed at him. "Bugger off."

LeBeau crowded up next to him. "How did you get into the guards' barracks?"

"For the last bloody time, I don't know what I do when I'm ruddy sleepwalking! I'm asleep!" Newkirk was half exasperated and half scared now. He'd thought being shaken awake by Mueller was frightening but he'd never woken up in a barracks full of nothing but angry, scared German guards either.

Despite everything, roll call went just as it always did, with the prisoners harassing the guards and the guards threatening the prisoners and Klink demanding his reports. Eventually the prisoners settled down and Klink got his report. Then the kommandant stepped forward and there was a collective sigh of resignation when it was apparent that Klink was making a speech.

"Today, I need a volunteer work party to unload the supply trucks." Klink waited while the prisoners moaned and shouted about the likelihood of them volunteering. "I realize that you Allied soldiers have little desire to assist your captors, however superior we may have proven to be..." He paused again and Hogan noted a sly gleam in the German officer's eyes. Klink was definitely up to something. "But today, there will be a reward of sorts after the supply trucks are unloaded. The last truck holds your Red Cross packages."

The prisoners hoots and jeers immediately switched to cheering. Hogan snorted slightly to himself as he stepped forward and casually waved them quiet. "Thank you, Kommandant. I'm sure that I can find some volunteers to help with unloading the trucks, as long as our Red Cross packages are intact this time."

Klink's smug smile didn't waver at the Colonel's insinuation. "I can assure you that none of my guards would steal anything from your boxes."

Newkirk coughed softly. "And they're at the bottom of the stack so they can't get to the bloody things..."

The scattered laughter died out when Hogan held up a hand. "In that case, Kommandant, I will find a work crew." He waited until Klink dismissed them and then held up his hands to settle the excited queries and offers from dozens of POWs. "Okay okay... we'll make two work crews of ten people each. If there's more than twenty volunteers, draw straws to select the men." The Colonel left the details of that to Kinch who quickly gathered the dozens of volunteers to one side and made up straws, which no one would allow Newkirk to hold.

End Chapter

Now why wouldn't someone want Newkirk holding the straws? He's as honest as the day is long. Heh. *coughs uncomfortably* It seems my pants have spontaneously caught fire...