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"Warden? Hey Warden, you awake?"

It seemed like there were equal parts excitement, concern and amusement in the safe cracker's voice. Garrison frowned and decided whatever it was could probably wait. He shifted with a groan and tried to turn away from the intrusion to his rest. "Go away Casino."

"Come on, babe, open your eyes. You'r not gonna believe this…" ...and you been asleep too long and the corpsman says you need to wake up and get somethin' in you, the groups explosive expert thought to himself.

He was being shaken by a hand on his shoulder now. It was gentle but persistent. Didn't look like Casino would be going away any time soon. Craig sighed and tried to pull his eyes open. He blinked around at his surroundings but it took a moment for what he was seeing to register, as soon as it did he pulled his head up off the pillow. "Where are we?"

"Do you believe this?" The east coast con gave the all too familiar room a wave of his hand. "Our guys moved up and secured the town so fast the medics back at the aid station decided to bring everybody into town this morning. They say as fast as the front line's movin' this little burg will be a 'rear area' by tomorrow. They even think the field hospital will probably move in here too, maybe as soon as tonight. So all you gotta do is lay there and wait, babe, and the docs will be makin' a house call."

The Warden glanced at the bed that sat next to the window. It was empty now, but by the state of the bedding it was obvious someone was using it. "Where's Actor, is he alright?"

"Oh, sure! He's still a little goofy but he's gonna be OK. Chief and Goniff took him back over to that park."

They'd taken turns actually, just like they'd done since they got back to their own side. Actor was still dizzy and confused but according to the corpsman who was looking after them it was OK for him to be out of bed as long as he didn't get too tired. It took a pair of them to keep track of the loopy con man though, so when he wanted a change of scenery two of them would push him around in the wheelchair, or walk with him, while the third hung around the room and watched out for the Warden.

Garrison needed more than just a little seeing to by the medics when they got him to the aid station. Along with no blood and short rations on plasma and penicillin the German doctor hadn't had enough in the way of supplies to do a good job of stitching him up, that's why he'd busted open and started bleeding at that check point. The way it looked to Casino he figured the Warden lost another quart of the red stuff in the car before they finally got back to the American side. The medics cleaned everything up and stitched the wound closed, then proceeded to do what they could to fill him up with plasma and saline. Their own supplies were limited, and they had to hold most of the stuff in reserved for the expected battle casualties. Once his blood pressure was stable a corpsman explained, just like the Kraut doctor had, that all they really had to do was let him sleep, fill him up with water, and get him to eat when he could handle solid food and he'd rebuild the blood he'd lost in time. All of them offered, but the medics wouldn't take their blood….it was too soon after the last time they were tapped and by the time they were ready again, he wouldn't need it.

Casino figured if sleep really equaled blood the Warden shoulda been about topped up by now, he'd been out since they reached the aid station yesterday morning, and he'd slept right on through the transfer back to the hospital in San Gorgonio.

Garrison relaxed back against the pillows and waited for the dizziness to fade and the pounding in his head to go away. "How's the battle going?"

"Like I said. Our guys moved up pretty fast. Artillery blasted the north side a town and that road Giordano took." Casino was glad to know the information they provided had played a big part in that. They were able to pin point the part of town where the barracks and storehouses were. When the artillery came in that's where it landed, leaving most of the town standing. He figured the poor slobs that lived here already had enough to deal with, no sense blasting their homes and businesses to bits if it could be avoided.

"Did they catch him?"

"Not yet. They got a couple dozen prisoners penned up in the park…" He'd gotten close enough on one of the trips out with Actor to do that little head count. For some reason he couldn't really understand Casino found he was glad when he didn't see Kurt or the doctor milling around inside that wire cage. "…That kid from the last check point's down there." He frowned when the Warden just closed his eyes and nodded his head. "How 'r you feelin' anyway? And don't give off with that 'fine' crap again, OK?"

It took him a minute to give his answer. "Feels like the room's moving.... My head hurts... "

"It should. The medic said you'r still about half empty. Here, drink some a this." The corpsman had left strict orders on the subject of getting this concoction into the Warden. It was some sort of tonic or other that was supposed to help in the blood building department. Casino slipped his arm behind the Lieutenant's neck and shoulders and lifted as he offered the cup.

"What is it?"

There was a suspicious note to the Warden's voice but Casino could hardly blame him, the liquid in the cup had a….well, a distinctive odor. But he did his best to sell it. "Juice. Booze. Tea made from old socks! What d' you care!? Come on," he cajoled. "It's s'posed to be good for you."

It seemed like there were fumes coming off the surface of the cup's contents. "I don't want it."

"What d' you mean, you don't want it!" Casino snorted a laugh and inched the cup closer. "I'm still in charge here and I say you want it…"

Garrison went from eyeing the cup to staring at the man leaning over him. "You're in charge!?"

"Who else? You'r flat on your back and Actor's still two bricks short of a load…"

"Wait a minute! I give the orders around here." The Warden insisted, but there wasn't much force to back up his claim.

"OK." Casino sat the cup on the stand next to the bed and pulled his supporting arm from behind the Lieutenant's head. Stepping back he planted his fists on his hips and threw down a challenge. "Get up on your feet and give me an order. Come on! I'll take it,,,, I won't even complain about it. I promise." He actually couldn't wait for the chance to hand the reins over again, but he knew there was no way that was going to happen, at least not today.

He gave it a halfhearted try but he couldn't even manage to sit up. Garrison relaxed back against the pillows. "Alright, …. You're in charge."

"See?" He stepped in close and lifted the Warden up again and offered the cup. "Now follow orders for a change and drink this stuff, will ya?"

It was a struggle and only half of the contents of the cup were consumed before Garrison gagged and finally pushed Casino's hand away. "That's enough. I'd rather have the head ache."

"Come on! Don't be like that. It's not that bad." He urged the mug on his injured commander again.

"Then you drink it." Garrison reached up, wrapped his hand around the man's wrist and pushed the offending cup away from his face.

"Alright…. I will!" He took a pull just to prove how bull-headed the Warden was being and immediately started looking for someplace to spit it out. The sink was only a few steps away in the corner of the room, but it still took him almost too long to get there. Casino turned on the taps and dumped the rest of the cup's contents down the drain then spent a moment more as he rinsed his mouth out. He carefully washed the cup, filled it with clear water and returned to the bedside.

"Jeeze! That's disgusting!" he mumbled to himself. "You gotta feel better after drinkin' that swill!" Slipping his arm under the Warden's neck and shoulders he raised him up again, the cup held close in his other hand.

Garrison stiffened and fixed him with a suspicious stare. "What's that?"

"For cryin' out loud! What's with you, anyway?! It's water, now drink it down, will ya?"

It didn't smell like anything but after that last batch of witches' brew he didn't think he wanted to take any chances. "I don't want it." he said with as much authority as he could muster.

'Jeeze! Are we gonna start that again?! You'r worse than Stefan aren't ya? Now stop givin' me so much trouble and do as you'r told."

Garrison smiled at the thought of Casino's youngest brother and the stories the family had told about Casino's roll in helping to bring him up. He finally relented and drank off the water the safe cracker was offering. It went a long way to wash the taste of the other stuff out of his mouth.

"Finally!" He slipped his arm from behind the Warden and returned to the sink to refill the cup.

"You're not really in charge, you know. I still give the orders around here." Garrison mumbled from the bed.

"Yeah, sure." Casino rinsed his mouth again and took another moment to top up the cup before turning back for the bed. He sat the mug down on the stand next to the cot, settled on the chair and issued an order he knew would be obeyed without argument, Garrison had already faded out. "You just get some more sleep, Warden." Slouching further down in his chair he propped his feet up on the end of the bed, crossed his legs, and promised quietly in his own drowsy mumble. "Maybe I'll let ya start givin' orders again tomorrow." By the time the others rolled in five minutes later he was sound asleep, just like the Warden.

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The door to the room swung open and a young man called out "Hey I got a message from a Major Reynolds here."

As soon as the door moved Chief shifted his position from resting against the wall near the window to a spot at the end of Actor's bed where he'd be between the door and the rest of the group. His right arm was held down by his side, a little behind his back and the knife was already in it, the blade ready.

"Keep it down, mate" Goniff hissed

The private stopped with a jerk as he remembered where he was. "Sorry!" The young man glanced back down at the paper in his hand. There was no specific recipient listed, he'd just been told to haul it over here and hand it over to the head guy of this group. "Well who do I give it too? Who's in charge?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Goniff shoved off his chair, the game of solitaire he was currently cheating his way through immediately forgotten as soon as he noticed Chief's knife. He laid a hand lightly on the young man's shoulder and waited until he turned to face him. Together they considered their teammates. The Warden and Casino were already dead to the world when they brought Actor back almost an hour ago and as soon as they'd gotten the con man back in his bed he'd followed them off into dreamland. All of them remained soundly asleep despite the intrusion.

The message bearer just held the paper out and waited for someone to take it.

Chief took a deep breath and let it out, folded the switchblade back into it's harness and then glanced up at Goniff with a slight smile. "Flip you for it?"