It was well after lights out, when Hogan hung up the headset of the radio blowing out a deep breath. His debriefing with General Butler had been rough, but he was able to bring the General around to his way of thinking. His commander hadn't been happy about the news of François's death, but was grateful for the plans to the rockets. Painting François as a collaborator, intent upon exposing the operation was the final nail in the miserable Frenchman's proverbial coffin. His mind wandered back over the incidents of the last two weeks, and how close they came to losing Carter, Tiger, and him. Hogan would never forgive François for those actions. He reached up with his left hand gently massaging the area around his split lip that was beginning to itch.

He didn't blame Tiger for anything that had happened; she was just as much in the dark as they had been. Without her sleuthing, they wouldn't have known the extent of the danger that lurked around her husband. Her husband. That still didn't set well with Hogan. His own internal set of morals and beliefs continued to rage a war over their relationship, and he wondered if he could continue in whatever it was, they were. When he looked at her, his heart was filled with conflicting emotions, guilt, pride, anger, confusion, but it always settled on one very strong emotion, love. There was no denying that he loved her like no one else in the world. His heart broke over what he'd learned of her married life. No woman deserved to be treated as she was. He stood then began pacing the length of the emergency tunnel. Tiger was...a survivor. He couldn't think of her as a victim, she'd overcome tremendous odds and made herself strong. That took courage and determination only a fighter could muster. He would settle the question of the marriage not being over when they started a relationship, but it would take some time and soul searching. Time was something he had plenty of until the war was over. He climbed the ladder to the hut, then hit the side of the bunk bed to lower the cover hiding the entrance.

"How did it go, sir?" Olsen asked standing near his bunk.

"They weren't happy, but finally understood the situation," Hogan said taking a seat at the common table. LeBeau handed him a cup of coffee.

"Will there be any consequences for Tiger?" Kinch asked sitting across from Hogan, half holding his breath in worry. He'd spent many hours today pounding his punching bag working out his anger with the traitor.

"No, they understand it was in self-defense. And how close the operation came to being exposed," Hogan answered taking a drink of his coffee. He winced when the hot liquid made contact with his split lip. Kinch let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Ol' London needs to be more careful with who they send us. That be twice now they've put the operation at risk with shoddy intel," Newkirk said hitting his hand on the table.*

"There's a war on, some risk is to be expected," Hogan gave him a look that made the Englander back down. "We have to be careful and keep our guard up. Speaking of which, there's a few things we need to change."

"Like what sir?" Carter asked sitting up in his bunk.

"Vetting new guards for one," Hogan watched the young man. "We let not one, but two Gestapo agents slip through our security net, and they got very close to shutting us down with a firing squad. We've become too complacent believing that we could tame any German guard assigned here. All new guards will go through a long process before they're cleared. Over the next week, I want everyone to come up with something new we can use to test the guards. Plus we're going to start tossing the guards' barracks on a more regular basis, not just the new guards, but everyone's rooms. Who knows what all we've missed. I believe that if we'd looked through the Gestapo brothers' room more than once we would have found them out."

"That's going to be risky, getting caught going into the guards' barracks would have bad consequences," Newkirk shook his head.

"What if we're in there for a reason like making repairs or something?" LeBeau asked.

"That's a good idea, I'm sure we can come up with something," Kinch said thinking through the possibilities.

"You two work on that," Hogan ordered.

"What else do we need to do, sir?" Olsen asked.

"François took a weapon from our arsenal,and we never knew. That can't happen again. The weapons locker needs to be secured in such a way that we have easy access but any guests don't. I want a lock put on it, and a schedule for checking it when we have guests. Olsen and Carter, that's your assignment." Hogan ordered looking at both men.

"Yes, sir, we'll take care of it," Carter answered.

"How are you feeling, Andre?" LeBeau asked having been a mother hen all day.

"Really good. Wilson said that I should start going out to roll call in the morning," he replied grinning.

"That's good to hear," Hogan had a smile on his face.

"I don't know about roll call, I'd avoid that as long as possible," Newkirk teased.

"I think I have. Klink is getting impatient with me. Have we heard yet if they found the body?" Carter asked.

"Yes, Klink received a phone call this afternoon asking if he'd heard anything about a shooting. Hochstetter sounded pleased that his men had found the body. He didn't have anyone in custody for the killing of Waechter, but was confident he would soon," Kinch said turning towards Carter.

"Bloody good luck with that. At least it will keep him busy and away from the underground for a while," Newkirk said.

"Still we should be careful for a while. They're not going to let this go easy and if he thinks someone is hiding in the woods, they'll be full of Gestapo," Hogan warned. "Gentlemen, unless there's anything else, I'm going to bed." He heard goodnight from everyone in the barracks as he closed the door, explaining the good news to Tiger.

Two days later, everyone was gathered around the dog pen entrance in the tunnel. "Are you sure you have to leave so soon, luv?" Newkirk asked giving Tiger a hug.

"Oui. It's time I get back to my people. There's still much to do," Tiger replied giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll miss you," Carter said hugging her goodbye.

"You're always welcomed here," Kinch said, sad to see her leave.

"Oui, always," LeBeau kissed her on both checks, "Be safe."

"I will, don't worry," she replied.

"Fellas, would you give us a moment," Hogan asked standing behind Tiger. His men said goodbye once more then left to go upstairs to facilitate her exit into Schnitzer's truck.

Tiger turned wrapping her arms around Hogan's waist. "You will be careful?"

"I promise," he placed a kiss on the top of her head. When will I see you again?" he asked with a lump forming in his throat.

"I need time," she looked up at him with mist in her eyes. She needed to reconcile in her own soul killing François.

"I know and I'm not pushing. Take all the time you need, just know that I'll be here waiting for you," he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. The doghouse rose signaling it was time for her to leave.

"Merci, I know," she said looking into his eyes. Then she reached down picking up her backpack, as Hogan helped her climb up the ladder.

When the doghouse closed, he ran a hand over his face trying not to shudder, wondering if he'd ever see her again. He didn't know how many more daggers through his heart he could handle; slowly he started walking back towards the hut.

Tiger climbed into the back of the truck with the dogs. As the truck pulled away from the front gates, she stole one last look wondering if after everything that had happened, if she'd ever be able to stomach going back into the tunnels of Stalag 13. She honestly didn't know when, or if, she'd ever see Hogan again. Was this goodbye forever?

~Finish~

* Episode – How To Catch A Papa Bear