Sackett scribbled away at his desk, only one ear attuned to the other two in the room as they politely argued with each other.

"So, you mean to say you are weeks away from having any possible intelligence for me?"

"Yes, sir."

"And New York is still silent."

A hesitation. "He'll come through, sir."

Or rather, Sackett silently revised his summation, Tallmadge was reluctantly reporting their painfully slow progress, while Washington made his displeasure known. It was in moments like these that Sackett immensely enjoyed being a civilian.

Tallmadge finally excused himself, having to attend to his other duties as a dragoon unit commander. Sackett continued with his letter, discreetly asking yet another friend to relay names of any patriots who could help spy out Philadelphia. So far, he and Tallmadge both had come up empty.

Washington had not left, and out of the corner of his eye, Sackett could see the general turn in his direction. The commander finally broke the silence. "What's wrong with Major Tallmadge?"

The question surprised him, but Sackett answered easily. "Why, nothing at all. These things just take time, sir. He's quite capable."

He heard the slow, steady footfalls, but he didn't stop his writing as the general approached his desk.

"Is he sick?" the general clarified.

"Not that I'm aware."

Washington paused. "Would you agree that it's a pleasantly warm day outside?"

"Quite, sir."

"Then why," Washington's voice sizzled as he clipped out each word, "is he shivering?"

Inwardly Sackett was impressed by the observation; Tallmadge had only allowed a few of the tremors to escape when Washington had arrived. "Most likely he's cold," he answered glibly, too engrossed in his work to register Washington's unamused glare. "Of course," he continued, "he did fall into the Delaware last Christmas. I doubt the cold from that has ever entirely left him."

There was a deep silence for a while. "And the reason he doesn't have a proper coat?"

Sackett snorted. "Now that I couldn't tell you."

After that Washington said no more on the subject, shifting the conversation to Sackett's potential source in England.

A week later, Tallmadge appeared in a long, warm woolen cloak – one of the many new supplies that had finally reached Morristown. Sackett simply smiled and returned to his scribblings.

...

A/N: 2.5 showed Ben in a gorgeous cloak that we've never seen before, so I just had to write a father/son explanation for its appearance. Hopefully, it wasn't too sappy.