A/N: Here's chapter four. This the longest chapter yet, and I hope it's good. Please, read and review! Reviews help me improve my writing. Thanks! Hope you enjoy.
Meanwhile, back in the infirmary, Hogan was beginning to awaken. Wilson immediately sent Kinch to go get the others, including the Germans. Carter sat down in the chair next to his CO's bed.
Hogan groaned, coming out of the anesthetic. "Ohhhh, what happened?"
Carter leaned forward. "Colonel, are you okay?"
"I don't know...why am I in here?" Hogan asked, looking around the room groggily.
"Schultz told us what happened. You were hit on the head with a hubcap while trying to protect Klink," Carter explained. "Boy, that was brave, Colonel! You protected a German-"
"Carter!" Hogan said loudly, then winced, reaching his hand to his head.
Wilson stood next to the bed. "I had to put eight stitches in your head, but you should be fine in a few weeks."
"I still don't...Oh, now I remember," Hogan said. He was still groggy from the anesthetic. "Is Klink okay?"
"Klink's just fine. It's you that you should be worried about. You were the one that took the blow to the head," Wilson said, a little sharply.
"We sent Kinch to get the others," Carter informed Colonel Hogan. "They should be here soon."
Inside the Kommandantur, Klink was getting very annoyed talking to Hochstetter. The Gestapo Major had come to question Klink about General Hoffman's capture.
"I'm telling you for the last time, Major, I had nothing to do with it!" Klink exclaimed, throwing up his hands.
Hochstetter leaned across the desk. "Then why was Hoffman driving your staff car, Klink?"
Klink shrank back, covering his nose. "You have bad breath, Major Hochstetter."
"WILL YOU FORGET ABOUT MY BREATH, KLINK! I'M TALKING ABOUT HOFFMAN'S CAR! STOP BABBLING ABOUT UNIMPORTANT MATTERS-" Hochstetter stopped as they saw Langenscheidt in the doorway, looking uncomfortable.
"Kommandant Klink, Sergeant Kinchloe sent me to tell you that Colonel Hogan is awake," Langenscheidt said, quickly.
"A prisoner gives you orders, Corporal? And why should Klink care if Hogan is awake or asleep?" Hochstetter asked, turning from the nervous German corporal to Klink.
Klink frowned. He didn't want to tell Hochstetter about Hogan, but it looked like he had to, now. "Hogan has been under anesthetic," Klink explained.
Hochstetter raised an eyebrow. "Anesthetic?" he echoed. "Why?"
"Because he was hit on the head and the medic had to put a few stitches on him, that's why!" Klink was getting annoyed.
"How dare you shout at the Gestapo, Klink! And I want to know every detail about this matter, Klink! Who hit Hogan on the head, and why?!" Hochstetter yelled back.
Klink wasn't about to go into the full story with Hochstetter, and besides, he was anxious to see Hogan himself. "Major Hochstetter," Klink said, standing. "For your information, Colonel Hogan was making a fool-hardy escape attempt, he was captured, and when he fought back, one of the guards hit him over the head."
"That sounds very suspicious, Klink," Hochstetter narrowed his eyes at the German Colonel. He was about to question him further, when the phone rang.
Klink reached for his phone, glad for the interruption. "Hallo?!" He said, his voice several pitches above normal.
The voice on the other line crisply informed him that Hitler was calling for Major Hochstetter.
"Oh - the Führer?!" Klink asked, stunned. He quickly handed the phone to Hochstetter, for the first time not really wanting to talk to Hitler at that moment.
"Ja, Mein Führer?" Hochstetter asked, turning away from Klink.
Klink observed Hochsetter stiffen at what the Führer was saying, and within seconds, he knew why. The shouting could be heard throughout the room.
Hochstetter held the phone away from his ear. "I-I was on my way, mein Führer! I just stopped at Stalag 13 to question Colonel Klink-"
Klink could hear Hitler's voice respond. "WHO?!"
Langenscheidt put a hand over his mouth to cover his smile.
Klink scowled.
"Colonel Klink, mein Führer," as much as he hated to, Hochstetter was going to have to remind the Führer of Klink's perfect record. "You know, the only prison camp Kommandant with a perfect no escape record?" The major glared as Klink grinned and stood straighter.
"Oh, that Klink. Hochstetter, I don't care who you're talking too, JUST GET OVER HERE AT ONCE!"
Hochstetter grabbed his gloves as he finished talking. "Ja, mein Führer! I'm on my way!"
He hung up the phone, then immediately grabbed it again, and yelled into it, "Heil Hitler!"
Klink snickered at Hochstetter.
"BAH!" Hochstetter shouted at Klink and ran out the door.
"Whew!" Klink sank down into his chair. "I'm glad he's gone."
"Colonel Klink... remember Colonel Hogan?" Langenscheidt reminded Klink, in his usual quiet way.
"Oh! Just a moment," Klink jumped up and grabbed his coat and hat, putting them on as he went out the outer office, in time to see Hochstetter's car roar out the gates.
He crossed the compound and passed the barracks until he arrived at the infirmary. Hesitating for a second, he quickly realized that he didn't know exactly what to say, except express his gratitude. Well, that should be easy enough, he thought, walking inside.
Hogan didn't see Klink until he was standing right next to his bedside, opposite the other prisoners.
"Colonel Klink! You startled me," Hogan said, after Klink cleared his throat.
"Colonel," Klink acknowledged.
Hogan, sensing that Klink wanted to talk to him privately, nodded to his men, and they quickly filed out. He turned back to Klink.
"Colonel Hogan," Klink started, now realizing that this was going to be more difficult then he thought. "Colonel, I don't really know how to say this, but-" Klink cut himself off, hoping Hogan would help him in this.
Hogan waited patiently, knowing what Klink was trying to say, but he wanted to let Klink say it on his own.
"Well, just, thank you, Hogan," Klink finally said.
"For what?"
"For saving my life out there, Hogan," Klink said, his gratitude clear in his voice.
"Well," Hogan chuckled, I don't know if I actually saved your life. If that whatever-it-was had hit you instead of me, it probably would have done only the same amount of damage. And as you can see, I'm still here."
"Yes, Hogan, but you still shielded me. It could have been something bigger, that could have killed you or me. I just wanted to say thank you," Klink insisted.
Hogan smiled. "You're welcome, Commandant." Then he added with a grin, "You would have done the same for me."
Klink was taken aback by that statement, unaware that Hogan was mostly kidding. Would he have done the same?
But before he could say anything further, they were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Schultz.
"Herr Kommandant, General Burkhalter is on the phone for you," Schultz said.
"Danke, Schultz," Klink said, partially glad for the interruption. He rose, then turned back toward the American Colonel. "Get well soon, Colonel, and that's an order!"
"Don't worry, Kommandant, I will," Hogan responded, giving Klink a mock salute.
Klink smiled, returned the salute, and strode out.
A few minutes later found him in his office on the phone, being chewed out by Burkhalter over his whole involvement in the Hoffman matter.
It took Hogan about a month to recover from his head injury. During that time, Hogan wasn't allowed (under Wilson's orders) to go on any missions, so he was glad when the medic finally declared him fit to go on several (albeit not very excruciating) missions. Also during that time, Klink was cleared of having any involvment in the whole matter with the Gestapo General.
It was a week after Hogan's third mission back that Klink summoned Hogan to his office to have a little talk with him.
"Hogan, I wonder if you were aware of the fact that this is a prison camp," Klink stated, while Hogan smirked inwardly.
"Well, if it isn't, you wasted a lot of guards and barbed-wire fences," Hogan chuckled.
Klink, at that time in the morning, was not in the mood for the 'Hogan wit.' "That's very amusing. Ha, Ha, Ha!"
"Nothing like a good laugh, is there, sir?" Hogan commented.
"Look, Hogan, I'm going to get to the point. This is not a country club. You and your men are not members, you're prisoners!" Klink loudly informed the American Colonel.
Hogan looked slightly suspicious. "You're leading up to something."
"I have been very unhappy with the way you and your men have been falling out at roll call every morning-" Klink paused slightly as Hogan sighed and hooked his thumbs in his jacket pockets. "-Always yawning, half asleep. I won't tolerate it." He slammed his hand down on his desk and went back to signing some paperwork from Berlin.
"At a time like this, you're letting a little trifle like that upset you?" Hogan asked, knowing that he could get the better of Klink again.
"What do you mean, 'at a time like this'?" Klink questioned, confused.
Hogan leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk. "Colonel may I remind you there's a war going on?"
Klink raised a fist slightly. "Hogan..."
"I mean, just look. More food rationing in Berlin, longer work week, conscription of more labor volunteers," Hogan had moved around to the side of Klink's desk until he was standing next to him, showing him off of a newspaper what was happening. "And you sit here and talk to me about a little thing like a roll call?"
Klink felt bad for a moment. "I'm sorry, Hogan. I didn't..." Suddenly he realized what he was doing. "Hogan, you're doing it to me again! I warn you."
"All right. I'll give the fellas a little pep talk about falling out in the morning." Hogan decided to go along with Klink, this time. As he turned toward the door, an article in the paper caught his attention. "Hey, I see you're going to a party, sir."
Klink looked up from the paperwork. "What?" He asked, blankly. "I'm going to a party?"
"Right here," Hogan showed Klink the newspaper. "Field Marshal von Leiter is returning to the place where he was born-" Hogan read. "That's our little town right here-to attend a giant birthday celebration given in his honor. Guest list is over six hundred."
Klink took the paper as Hogan walked back around to the other side of the desk.
"Huh! Well, I guess you'll be getting out the old dress uniform, huh, sir?" Hogan asked, standing just behind Klink's cigar container.
Klink hadn't remembered being invited, but he didn't really want Hogan to know that. "Yes, I suppose I will. Hmm. Tommorow evening, huh?" He bent over the article, studying it.
Hogan shrugged. "Well, you know that from the invitation."
Klink looked up, glared at Hogan, then averted his eyes.
"You're not invited," Hogan stated, quietly.
"That's ridiculous," Klink looked up. "In a little town like this, how can they invite 600 people and leave me out; The Kommandant of the prison camp?" He said, trying as much to convince himself as much as Hogan.
"But they did," Hogan said, rubbing salt in the wound. "You didn't get an invitation."
Klink ignored the statement. "I will be invited. Don't you worry." He adjusted his position in his chair, and moved toward a stack of envelopes on his desk. "It must be in the morning mail."
"Mm-hmm." Hogan agreed.
Klink started to shuffle through the mail. "The invitations always arrive the same day the party's announced... in the papers. It's standard... procedure," his voice grew discouraged as he lay down the last envelope.
Hogan tried to cheer him up. "Maybe it'll be in tomorrows mail."
Klink knew Hogan too well for that. "You're just trying to cheer me up."
"No, I mean it. You just wait and see," Hogan did really feel sorry for Klink.
"That could be it. That must be it," Klink rose from his chair and walked around to the other side of the desk. "Yes, that is it. It will be in the morning mail." Then he turned on Hogan. "And you let me worry for nothing."
"Sorry, sir."
They both turned at a knock at the door, and Klink told Schultz to come in.
"Yes, Schultz, what is it?"
The big sergeant closed the door behind him and turned toward Klink. "Herr Kommandant, Major Pruhst to see you."
A/N: The dialouge for the second part of this chapter comes directly from the 6th season episode, "Hogan's Double Life." I'm incorporating it into this story. Thanks for reading, and again, reviews are welcomed!
Chapter Five coming soon.