Phew! I did it! I sincerely hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 9

Newkirk watched as the guards stood there talking to each other. Then one of them walked off, while the other leaned against the wall of the barn; supposedly there to keep watch. The guard pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and just stood there puffing away, all the while gazing out toward the trees.

Newkirk crouched back down behind the bushes, and tried to think. Hogan had told him to go back to camp if something went wrong, and he was pretty sure he could find his way there; he'd paid close attention to the path they'd followed on their way out to the barn. But, how could he leave; at least without knowing what was happening? I've got to 'ave a look, he decided, then I'll scarper, and head back to the Stalag.

Summoning his courage, Newkirk rose slowly, keeping a close eye on the guard who was still up near the front of the barn. The man seemed to be lost in a daydream, so Newkirk silently crept up to the back of the building. He hunched down and put his eye up to the hole in the barn wall, just like he'd seen Hogan do earlier. He could see LeBeau and Carter standing near the bales of hay with the girl that Hogan had mentioned, and directly in front of them stood Hogan and Kinch. They were all looking straight ahead at something, so Newkirk strained to see what had their attention. Just then he saw him; a mean-looking German Major, staring at his prisoners with a cruel smile plastered on his face…and pointing a gun at them!

Suddenly, like a slap in the face, Newkirk's memory came flooding back. His eyes widened and he let out a gasp, and then he lost his balance and fell backwards, sitting down hard on the ground below him. His mind was reeling, and he sat there for at least a minute, trying to regain his senses. At last his thoughts settled down, and, at that moment, one thing became perfectly clear to him; he had to save them.

Thinking quickly, Newkirk got up and walked to the end of the barn. He peeked around the corner, and saw the guard still standing in the same spot. He bent down and grabbed a handful of rocks, and threw them at the bushes where he'd been hiding just a few minutes ago. The guard heard it, and started walking toward the noise to investigate. Newkirk pressed his back to the wall, and as the guard passed by him, his attention still on the bushes, Newkirk leaped out and grabbed the man from behind, placing one hand over his mouth, and wrapping his arm around the man's throat; effectively cutting off his airway. The guard struggled for a moment, and then went limp. Newkirk released him, letting him drop to the ground.

A quick check revealed that the guard was out cold. Newkirk quickly stripped him of his uniform, and changed into it. He picked up the guard's rifle, and headed for the door to the barn. When he got there, he banged on it loudly, and yelled in German, "Major, you're wanted outside, now!"

Keeping his gun pointed at Hogan, Major Steiger stepped backward until he was up against the door. "I'm very busy right now!" He yelled, sounding irritated. "What do you want?"

"There's a Major Hochstetter out here, and he wants to have a word with you," Newkirk said loudly, "He said he's been ordered to take care of the prisoners himself."

That voice is very familiar, Hogan thought to himself.

"What?" Steiger shouted, turning his head to the side so his ear was adjacent with the crack in the door, "That weasel? By whose authority?"

"General Hoganmuller told him to take over," Newkirk informed the Major.

Hogan shot a glance at Kinch, who was looking back at him, his eyes wide. It was Newkirk!

"General Hoganmuller?" Steiger asked, suspiciously. "I've never heard of him!"

"That's what Major Hochstetter told me to tell you," Newkirk replied. "He's out here right now if you want to speak to him."

Major Steiger opened the door a crack and peered out. He saw a Gestapo guard on the other side, and pulled the door open a little further. "Major Hochstetter is here?" He asked, trying to look past Newkirk.

"Jawohl, Herr Major," Newkirk answered, "He's around the side of the barn, waiting in his car."

Steiger contemplated for a moment. "Very well," he said at last, "I will go and talk to him. You, come in here and guard these prisoners." He swung open the door to let Newkirk in.

Newkirk entered, glancing quickly at Hogan. He knew the Colonel recognized him.

"Watch these men very closely, Sergeant," Steiger said to Newkirk, noticing his rank on the uniform he was wearing. "I should be back soon." The Major lowered his gun, and, as quick as a wink, Newkirk had his rifle pointed at the Major's head.

Steiger's eyes widened. He started to bring his weapon up, but before he could raise it an inch, Newkirk cocked the rifle and shouted in English, "Easy there, mate! I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

Steiger could tell that Newkirk meant business. He lowered his gun and tossed it to the floor. Newkirk motioned for him to back up, and after he complied, the Englishman bent down and retrieved the weapon. He held it out to Hogan, who came up and took it from him.

Hogan couldn't contain himself any longer. "Newkirk!" He exclaimed happily, "You're here!"

Newkirk smiled wide. "Where else would I be, Colonel?"

Hogan was grinning from ear to ear. "I see you got your memory back as well."

"Funny thing, that," Newkirk told him, "Must 'ave been when I saw the Major 'ere threatenin' you with his gun; it all just came back to me."

Hogan looked puzzled. "I thought I told you to go back to camp if anything went wrong."

"What, and miss all the fun?" Newkirk replied, and then added, "Colonel, if I start listenin' to you, we'll never win this bleedin' war!"

Hogan chuckled. Yep, Newkirk's back, all right!

Carter, who had been watching the entire scene unfold before his eyes, finally spoke up. "Newkirk!" He said, beaming, "Boy, am I glad to see you! I thought you were on your way home, buddy…oh, but you won't have to leave now, will you? I mean, since you got your memory back, you should be able to stay; since there's no reason to send you back to…"

"Carter," Hogan interjected, "We'll discuss this later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, Colonel." Carter responded, but he still had a huge smile on his face.

Newkirk just grinned. Then he looked over at LeBeau, and the person who was standing next to him. "'Ello, ello; who's this?" He queried, raising his eyebrow. "I see we 'ave a lovely Fraulein 'ere," he said, trying to sound gallant, "And what is your name, miss?"

LeBeau put his arm around her. "Her name is Gretchen," he told Newkirk, a smug expression on his face, "And she's with me."

Gretchen, who had finally realized that their ordeal was over, turned to LeBeau and exclaimed, "Oh, Louie, you were so brave!" She threw her arms around him, and planted a big kiss on LeBeau's cheek. LeBeau looked at Newkirk, smiling satisfactorily, and added, "See?"

Newkirk shook his head. "Now, how do you like that?" He replied to the room at large, "I save the lot o' you, and Louie gets the girl!"

That got a good laugh out of the men.

Just then a figure appeared in the doorway; it was Fritz Schuman. He caught Hogan's eye, and the Colonel walked over to greet him.

"What are you doing here, Fritz?" Hogan asked him

"Well, Colonel Hogan," he answered, "After we took care of our former, 'agent', we thought we would come out here and help you if we could. But I see you already have everything under control."

Hogan smiled. "Well, we'd appreciate it if you could take care of this Gestapo Major for us," he motioned toward Steiger, "I'm sure he would enjoy a nice trip to London, don't you?"

Fritz smiled back. "We would be more than happy to, Colonel Hogan. And we have already apprehended the guard that was on his way to pick up the car, not to mention the one that's unconscious behind the barn."

Hogan glanced at Newkirk, who just shrugged. "That's great, Fritz," He said, turning his attention back to the underground leader, "I don't know what we'd do without you!"

"And us, without you and your men, Colonel," Fritz responded. "Now, I'm guessing you have to get back to your POW camp," he added, "So you better be on your way. I'm sure I'll see you again, soon." He held out his hand, and Hogan shook it warmly.

Hogan then turned to address his men. "All right, fellas," he stated, "You heard him…let's get back to the barracks." He moved next to Newkirk and put his hand on the Corporal's shoulder. "You, too," he said to him, grinning.

"So, Newkirk," Kinch finally spoke up as they started their trek back through the woods, "Do you remember how you lost your memory in the first place?"

Newkirk frowned. "I'm still not clear on that one, mate," he answered.

"Colonel," LeBeau said, looking at Hogan, "Didn't you tell us that Newkirk tripped and fell, and hit his head on something?"

"Yeah, Colonel," Carter piped up, agreeing with LeBeau, "I remember you saying that, too, when we found out Newkirk had amnesia, and he was greeting us like he'd never seen us before. That was sure strange, wasn't it? I mean, I never knew anyone who lost their memory, so when he…"

"Yes, Carter," Hogan cut in, sounding exasperated, "We all remember that."

"So, Colonel, what did 'appen, exactly?" Newkirk asked him.

"Well," Hogan looked at him uncomfortably, "We were trying to get away from a German patrol,"

"I remember that part," Newkirk interjected.

"And I was running back to get you," Hogan continued, "When you stepped out in front of me, and I, uh, knocked you down."

Newkirk looked at him in disbelief. "You knocked me down, Colonel?"

"Accidently, of course."

"You mean to tell me, you're the reason I lost me memory and almost 'ad to go back to London?"

"Yeah…I'm, ah, really sorry about that, Newkirk."

"I'm sorry, too, Colonel," Newkirk retorted, "Sorry my amnesia didn't last one more day…I could 'ave been sittin' in me favorite pub by tomorrow night, havin' a pint or two, and meetin' up with a couple of birds I know…"

LeBeau smiled and gave Newkirk a nudge with his arm. "You wouldn't enjoy it, you know," he said teasingly, "You'd miss us too much."

Newkirk looked at LeBeau and smirked. "Not a chance!"

Hogan slept like a rock for the first time in three days. Maybe it was because he'd been exhausted from the previous night's activities, or maybe it was the fact that he didn't have to worry about Newkirk's amnesia anymore Whatever the reason, when he heard LeBeau tapping on his door to wake him for roll call, he felt like he'd actually gotten a good night's sleep. He jumped down from his bunk, and put on his uniform. When he was dressed, he went out into the main barracks. He noticed that all of the men were in various stages of getting ready; except for one…Newkirk was still lying on his bunk with his eyes closed. Hogan walked over and reached up, shaking Newkirk's shoulder gently with his hand.

"Newkirk, time to wake up," Hogan said, wondering how he could sleep through all the noise the men were making.

Newkirk opened his eyes and looked at Hogan. "Oh, 'ello," he responded, a curious expression on his face, "And who might you be?"

Hogan froze. It wasn't possible, was it? Could Newkirk's amnesia have come back? "Don't…don't you know who I am, Newkirk?" he stammered, not wanting to believe it.

"Sorry, mate, you don't look familiar," Newkirk answered, "And by the way, could you tell me where I am?"

Carter, who was standing near the end of the bunk, had heard what Newkirk said, and his eyes grew wide.

"Colonel!" He exclaimed, looking worriedly at Hogan, "Newkirk's got amnesia again!"

"What?" LeBeau called out from where he was standing by the stove. "That's not possible!"

Kinch came over to join them. "Are you sure about that, Andrew?" He asked, "I've never heard of something like that happening before."

Hogan held up his hand. "I'll take care of this," he informed them. "Now, Newkirk," he said, looking directly at him, "Why don't you come down here and get dressed, and I'll have our medic take a look at you, okay?"

"Whatever you say, mate," Newkirk answered. He jumped off the bunk and immediately started looking around. "What should I wear?"

Carter grabbed Newkirk's uniform off the bed post. "Here you go, buddy," he said, handing it to Newkirk.

Newkirk quickly changed, and looked once again at Hogan. "Now what, mate?"

"Now I want you to come into my quarters and have a seat, and I'll send one of my men to get Sergeant Wilson." Hogan felt like he was having déjà-vu. He started walking toward his office, gesturing to Newkirk to follow. As he reached the door, he said, more to himself, "I sure hope Wilson can fix this!"

"And if he can't," Hogan heard Newkirk say behind him, "Does that mean I can go back to London after all, Colonel Hogan?"

Hogan whirled around, and instantly saw it; that glorious, irritating, all-too-familiar mischievous Newkirk smile. The one he hadn't seen in three days; the one he thought he'd never see again.

And all he wanted to do at that moment was wipe it right off Newkirk's face!

"Newkirk!" Hogan roared, "I can't believe you're joking about this! Don't you know how serious this is?"

Newkirk just smiled wider. "I'm just gettin' you back for knockin' me down in the first place, Colonel, and startin' this whole bloody mess!"

Hogan was beside himself. "Why, I oughtta…"

"Newkirk!" LeBeau shouted from behind him. "How could you tease us like that? Don't you know how worried we were about you?"

Newkirk turned around. "And what about what I've been goin' through?" He shot back.

"Oh? And what is that?" LeBeau snapped.

And that's when they all started to talk at once.

"…not knowin' who I am, or what's goin' to 'appen to me…"

"…liked you better that way…"

"…not to mention listenin' to Carter jabberin' on for three days straight…"

"…you wait a minute! I was only trying to help…"

"…not very nice, Newkirk! You should apologize…"

"…and you didn't seem to mind at the time…"

"…guys? I think you better cool it; we've got roll call any min…"

Hogan watched his men arguing. He was about to step in and put a stop to it, when suddenly he leaned back against the door to his quarters, letting a huge smile spread across his face.

Yep, things were certainly back to normal!

. . .

The End

A/N: You didn't really think I'd send Newkirk back to London, did you? What fun would that be? :D

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