Chapter 8:

Hogan sat in his desk chair going over piles of maps and codes to memorize. It was more than tedious since he kept getting distracted by his thoughts. He kept worrying about Gracie. Did she make it to London safely? Were her new parents treating her well? Was she being loved and cared for? He sighed, when he was brought out of his mind by a knock on his quarter's door. He did not answer and continued on with the current map in front of him as best as he could. Another knock came on his door. Slightly irritated at this point, Hogan slowly rose to his feet and went to go answer the door. He saw that Kinch, Carter, Newkirk, and LeBeau were all standing there with blank expressions on their face.

Puzzled, the colonel decided to ask his four men what they were disturbing him about...especially after giving the order he was not to be disturbed.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" He asked, his tone drained and monotone.

"Message from London, Colonel; sounds awful important," Kinch answered, handing his commanding officer a blue slip of paper.

Hogan gratefully took the note from the radioman and read it carefully. He sighed in response and handed the note back to Kinch.

"They want me to fly out there tomorrow night," Hogan said.

"What for, Colonel?" Carter asked, acting dumbfounded.

"I don't know; it said 'Have Papa Bear ready tomorrow night at 2200 hours; important information awaits in London'."

"Sounds mighty important if they're planning on flying yah into London, Gov'nor." Newkirk added.

Hogan let out another sigh. He did not feel like going to London, especially when knowing Gracie was there. He would have the urge to find her and find out how she was and where she was. But he knew that he had a job to do regardless of his personal feelings, and he had to set them aside. He nodded sadly.

"Kinch, tell them message acknowledged and received. I'll be ready tomorrow night at the regular meeting spot," he said softly.

"Right, Colonel," Kinch answered, and made his way out the door. The remaining three remained behind and further entered Hogan's quarters.

"What's wrong, Colonel?" LeBeau asked, with a frown.

"You seem upset about something," Carter said.

"I'm fine...I'm just...tired is all," Hogan answered.

"We're sorry to prod on you, Colonel; we're just worried about you is all." The young sergeant replied.

"Well, don't be; now unless something urgent comes up, you will leave me alone in my quarters," the officer ordered harshly.

"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau answered quietly.

"Yes, Colonel," Carter said.

"We're here if yah need anything, Sir." Newkirk added.

The three of them walked out of the office and gently closed the door behind them. Once they were gone, Hogan sat down on his bed and let out a heavy breath of air. He buried his face into his hands and just sat there silently for what felt like eternity. After taking a few deep breaths, he got up to look out his window. He looked at the other prisoners wandering around in the compound playing sports or socializing with others. It slowly made him remember how the past few days he had held Gracie in his arms while doing the same thing; talking to her, rocking her, showing her the sight of Stalag 13. He took in a deep breath and exhaled it shaky. He turned his head up to the sky and closed his eyes, praying that wherever it was Gracie was now she was happy and safe there.

"I wish Colonel Hogan would talk to us," Carter said, sitting down at the table with his friends. He grabbed his coffee cup and fiddled with it in his hands. LeBeau sat with an empty coffee cup in front of him, and Newkirk with a cigarette in between his fingers. The Englishman lit it with a lighter and let out a long drag as they continued talking.

"Colonel Hogan's not gonna show us nor tell us his emotional state unless we were Gestapo and tortured it outta 'im. Even then he'd still refuse to talk," Newkirk stated, matter of factly.

"I just wish there was something we could do," LeBeau said, propping his head up with his arm.

There was a brief moment of silence before Kinch emerged from underground. He banged the mechanism to hide the tunnel entrance, then sat down next to his friends at the table and looked at all of them.

"London knows what to do now," he reported. He saw the sad looks on his friends' faces and frowned. "Kicked you guys out?"

"Big time; didn't get in one word before the Gov'nor decided to throw us all out," Newkirk answered, taking another drag.

"He'll get around eventually; I think this visit to London will be good for him," the staff sergeant said, hopeful.

"You think this plan will work, Kinch?" Carter asked.

"I hope so...at the moment, that's the only answer I have for us."

The next day came and went, and night soon arrived. Hogan, dressed in his service uniform, flew out to London at expected schedule and actually arrived twenty minutes earlier than his expected. The colonel was taken to Allied Headquarters and met up with his commanding officer, General Berkman, and his assistant, Lieutenant Irving Johnston. When Hogan arrived, the three men all shook hands and walked with him to a private room that looked more so like a break lounge.

"Robert, it's good to see you again," Berkman said, with a fatherly smile.

"General, Lieutenant," Hogan nodded, giving each one his best salute.

"I assume you are here on the request given to Sergeant Kinchloe last night?"

"You assume correctly, General. Is something going on that's a threat to the Allies?"

"None whatsoever,"

"A new questioning method from the Gestapo,"

"Negative,"

"What about a new military tactic by the Luftwaffe we should be aware of?"

"Alls well that ends well."

Hogan raised one of his eyebrows, perplexed in thought.

"General Berkman, I assume whatever reason you've called me here for is of greater importance. But if it's not a questioning method, a new military tactic, or a direct threat to the Allies, then what exactly is your reason for me being here?" He prodded.

The general gave a small smile and turned to Johnston. After exchanging nods, the young lieutenant left the room, leaving Berkman and Hogan to themselves. He turned around to face the colonel again and gestured for him to take a seat on one of the plush, maroon red sofas. They were made of velvet and possessed an appealing design on them in brown threading.

Hogan sat down on one and was handed a cup of coffee to drink while he waited. Berkman sat down in a chair off slightly to his right and began conversing with him.

"How are your boys back home doing?" He asked casually.

"They're alright; they're worried about me, but they always do when I go on these kinds of missions." Hogan lied. He knew the real reason why his men were worried about him, but did not feel his commanding officer needed to hear about his personal conflicts regarding Gracie. He had an image to keep up and wanted to remain professional with the general despite having a near father-son relationship with him.

Berkman eyed the colonel as if he knew he was hiding something. He knew what was bugging his subordinate and had been the one contacted by Kinch regarding the matter. He decided to drop it and carried on with business.

"What about that kommandant of yours? Still giving him grief?" He asked, taking a sip of his own coffee.

Hogan softly smirked.

"It's like you have to ask, General." He responded.

Berkman chuckled in response, knowing Hogan all too well. He knew the colonel was more than giving poor Klink grief; he was making sure he kept the German's life a living nightmare to the best of his abilities. As he was about to reply with an answer, Johnston opened the door and gave a silent nod at him. Berkman returned the gesture, acknowledging his unspoken cue. He turned back to Hogan.

"Colonel Hogan, I must order you to close your eyes for a moment," he said, rising to his feet.

The colonel looked at his commander again with a quizzical expression.

"Why?" He remarked.

"You'll see in a moment," Berkman promised.

Hogan sighed and closed his eyes as told.

Once certain he was not peeking, the general waved to Johnston, who gestured his hand outside the lounge to someone. Two people came in: a man and a woman. Both were wearing trench coats and looked like they were in their mid-20s'. The woman was holding a little baby in her arms wrapped in a soft yellow blanket with a teddy bear on one of the corners.

The general had a grin grow on his face, then turned back to the colonel sitting before him.

"Alright, Robert; you can open your eyes now," he said.

Hogan at first hesitated to follow orders, wondering what it was he would open his eyes to. Giving into his curiosity, he slowly fluttered them open and gasped. He got to his feet and stood there in shock for a brief moment before a wide smile made its way to his face.

"Gracie?" He cried.

The baby turned her little head from looking up at her mama to Hogan, smiled once recognizing the familiar face, then began making little coo noises.

He walked closer to the woman carrying her, and his smile grew wider.

"Colonel Hogan, thank you so much for the gift you've given us," Lora said sincerely.

"My wife can not bare any children, so we were immensely grateful when we heard about our little Gracie." Winston added.

Hogan blushed a bit and nodded.

"Was no trouble at all...I'm just glad to see Gracie made it here safe and sound," he answered.

"Would you like to spend a few moments with her, Colonel? We were told how you felt regarding our daughter," Lora stated.

Hogan turned to look at his commander.

"How did you manage to do all of this?" He asked.

Berkman chuckled.

"I received a little phone call from your men regarding how sad you were that Gracie was gone. They thought seeing her safe and being well cared for would make you happy again," he said.

The colonel smirked and shook his head.

"I'm gonna kill those guys," he joked.

"We'll leave you two be for a moment," Berkman said, with a slight bow.

Lora gently placed Gracie into Hogan's arms, smiled at the colonel, then she and her husband followed the two American officers out of the lounge. They closed the door behind them, leaving Hogan and Gracie to themselves.

Hogan slowly sat back down on the sofa and looked down at Gracie's sweet face.

"Hey, you; how are you? Liking London so far?" He cooed.

Gracie smiled and cooed, moving her head towards the colonel's chest briefly, then back to where it was originally.

Hogan chuckled and continued to rock her.

"I missed you, little bit. Was worried sick about you...whether you got here safely or not. Looks like I left you in good hands, though," he said softly.

The baby cooed in response.

Hogan smiled.

"I'm glad you got such loving parents. I have a feeling you're gonna really like them...I suppose I should tell you 'hi' from the guys back in Germany...Don't worry, they're all right; Carter's still explosives crazy, but that's nothing unusual."

For the next twenty minutes, Hogan talked to and rocked Gracie. He told her how things were going, how Klink and Schultz were holding up, what he was going to do regarding the fact Klink thought he was expecting twins, and how someone by the name of General Burkhalter was coming for a visit in the next couple of days. He then further went on to tell her who the burly general was and why he was grateful for her getting out of Germany before then. He was in the middle of singing to her the Army Air Corps song, when the door opened, and Berkman came in with Gracie's parents.

When he noticed they had company, Hogan looked up and smiled small. He slowly rose to his feet and gently handed Gracie, who was now asleep, back into her mother's arms. The colonel took his hand and gently rubbed the back of Gracie's head, then leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He smiled once more before waving 'bye' to Gracie.

"You stay out of trouble now," he said, taking a hold of her tiny hand.

Hogan then shook hands with both Winston and Lora, and the couple left the room with Johnston. As soon as the door had closed behind the trio, Hogan turned around and smiled at his commander.

"Thank you, General," he answered. "This meant quite a lot to me."

Berkman nodded.

"Anytime, Robert; I am always one radio frequency away. Now we better get you back to Stalag 13 before your Colonel Klink loses his mind." The general replied.

Hogan chuckled.

"Oh, believe me," he said. "He's already lost his mind. He thinks I'm expecting twins."

"Twins! You?!" Berkman gasped.

"It's a long story I'll tell you about on the way to the airport."

Berkman, still slightly irked by what he was hearing, gestured for the door, and the two of them walked out of Headquarters and began their way to the airport.

It was 2:30AM when Hogan got back to Stalag 13. He made it back into the tunnels safely, and he took off his dress uniform to put on his pajamas. After getting settled in for the night, he jumped up into the upper bunk in his room and crawled in to sleep for the night. He opened his eyes again after a short while, when he heard the fake bunk rise and people going down the ladder leading to the radio room. He got up, silently jumped down into his slippers, tied his white bathrobe around him, and exited his quarters. He made his way towards the bunk Kinch and LeBeau shared and climbed down the ladder leading into the tunnel network.

Kinch, Carter, LeBeau, and Newkirk were surrounding the radio table, all of them faking to be asleep when they saw Hogan return to camp and enter his barracks. Having it bean dark above, they were not able to tell whether he had been smiling or was still upset. All four of them, dressed in uniform, stood there conversing with one another about what might have happened.

"How do yah think it went, Kinch?" The Englishman asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Really, mon ami; you're smoking a cigarette at three in the morning?" LeBeau retorted disapprovingly.

"Excuse me, last time I checked, you were not listed as me mother on my birth certificate."

LeBeau shook his head, his eyes looking towards the ceiling, then returned his attention to the radioman.

"I don't know, but I for one am worried sick about Colonel Hogan. What if this whole thing didn't work? What if he still isn't happy?" Carter asked.

"Carter, don't let those feelings get to you; I'm sure everything went fine," Kinch answered coolly.

"Me mate Andrew makes a point there, Kinch; what do we do if this whole shenanigan of ours didn't work?" Newkirk remarked, taking another drag.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there...hopefully that'll be never," LeBeau answered.

"We could always consider Newkirk's idea of kidnapping a baby. Bring it here for Colonel Hogan to have and raise as his own," the young sergeant suggested, pondering his thoughts.

"Andrew, I said that was a ruddy joke. Now, why would I risk putting the Gov'nor, us, and the entire operation in danger to perform such a ridiculous task?" The Enlishman exclaimed.

"And how do you think Hochstetter would act if he were to find out about it?" The Frenchman added.

"Well, at least I'm trying to think of something to make him feel better," Carter argued.

Hogan appeared in the entrance to the radio room and smiled at his four men. They were so consumed with their own conversation, they did not even notice him standing there watching. Curious as to what they were discussing so late into the night, he decided to listen a little more before letting them know he was present.

"What do you mean 'trying to make him feel better'?! Isn't that what Kinch's plan was supposed to do?" LeBeau remarked.

"You act like as if we don't care for the Gov'nor," Newkirk accused.

"Well, you would be willing enough to do such a crazy idea for Colonel Hogan if you cared," Carter said back.

"Il est fou!" LeBeau cried. (1)

The four of them started arguing and shouting over the other, when the colonel himself chimed in.

"I think you all care about me," he rang over his men.

The four men fell silent and turned to find Hogan leaning against the tunnel with a smile on his face. His arms were wrapped around himself, and his brown eyes once again had their usual twinkle they had once held.

"Colonel," Kinch said. "We didn't mean to wake you, Sir."

"I tell yah, Colonel, it was Carter over here that started all the ruddy ruckus." Newkirk said, pointing fingers.

"Well, forgive me for trying to make our commanding officer happy like he deserves to be," the technical sergeant remarked, crossing his arms in frustration.

Hogan chuckled softly, then walked over to Carter and gently patted his shoulder before turning to all four of them.

"Thank you for tonight. It's just what I needed to feel better again," he said, from his heart.

"No problem, Colonel," Kinch answered.

"Glad it all worked out well." Newkirk added.

The colonel smirked abruptly, then shook his head.

"How come whenever I tell you guys to stop worrying about me you go and do the exact opposite?" He questioned.

"We care about you, Colonel," LeBeau answered.

"If you're upset, then we are as well," Kinch said.

"We just wanted to help you somehow, Colonel." Carter added.

Hogan smiled.

"Well, I'm honored to have such a loyal crew that cares about and are willing to do something so outrageous to satisfy me." Hogan responded kindly.

"Anything for you, boy! I mean, Colonel." Carter quickly corrected himself.

"Hey, did Gracie by chance get to say 'hi' to Mavis for me," Newkirk wondered.

"I don't know; she didn't say," Hogan answered, grinning from one ear to the other.

"Wait a minute, Colonel...what are you gonna do about tomorrow? General Burkhalter's coming for the inspection, and Klink still believes you're expecting baby twins," Kinch said.

"Kinch, you boys don't have to worry about that," Hogan said, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. "I've got a little idea up my sleeve."

(1) Il est fou - "He's crazy!"