This vignette (hopefully the first in a series) is set when it has been determined that the guys are keeping Lizzy, but really haven't gotten used to her yet.

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Although Hogan had been in the confines of Stalag 13 for the D-Day invasion, he'd later seen footage of the preparation. Endless lines of cargo ships ready to make a move on Hitler's Fortress Europe, the sky blackened with aircraft…

This is what had been necessary to help win the war; that much transportation was apparently also what was needed when preparing one's house to accommodate a single 20 pound toddler, Hogan mused.

As he struggled under the weight of all the items Lucy Carter had deemed necessary for raising a child, he'd kept quiet. What could he possibly know about kids that she, mother of three (one on the way) didn't? But, as Lucy added another item, he finally decided to speak up.

"Are you sure we're going to need a bath thermometer? Can't Newkirk just stick her in and if she screams, we'll know it's too hot?"

The look on Lucy's face was a very clear no, so he shut up and continued to follow her through the Cleveland Department store.

Hogan never really thought he'd find himself in the baby section of this store, but there were a lot of things he had been doing in the last few days that he had never considered before, mainly because a few days ago his friend and house mate Newkirk had decided to keep the admittedly cute toddler that had wandered into their yard.

At first, Hogan had been completely against the idea. He still was, actually. Somewhat. But whatever his feelings, the kid was now permanently stationed in his house.

The first few days, he kind of avoided Lizzy. That got tough when his other friends learned about her, and subsequently wanted to see her.

Their reactions to the news had been mixed.

"A kid? You guys got a kid? Who'd you steal her from?" That had been Carter.

"Mon dieu! I don't envy you, mon Colonel. Enjoy the sleepless nights." That had been LeBeau.

"Lot of responsibility you guys are taking on. Even more than running an espionage ring in Nazi Germany." That had been Kinch.

"You guys can't let a toddler eat fried chicken and sleep on a couch!" That had been Lucy, who, after seeing the way Hogan and Newkirk were caring for their new ward, took it upon herself to see that they had all the proper equipment to care for a young child.

That was how Hogan found himself trailing behind Mrs. Carter, arms full of items deemed necessary for kid-rearing.

"You guys will need a crib, one of the new kind that folds into a small bed. Lizzy will be more comfortable in that than the one she had, and it'll be easier when you make the transition to a big girl bed. That should be fairly soon; she'll be growing fast."

Alright, he understood that. Made sense, though he didn't see why Lizzy couldn't keep sleeping on the couch in the spare room. Newkirk had said she only fell off twice, but kids are springy, right?

Shopping for the kid was something Hogan hadn't even taken into consideration when Lizzy came into the picture. He figured, when he gave the subject any thought, that Newkirk could use the stuff Lizzy's mom had for her in her old house. Unfortunately for them, the kid-friendly items in Lizzy's old house were few and far between, not to mention old and in pretty poor shape.

His house had only come with one or two bowls and cups that looked sturdy enough for a young child, so Lucy added a set of soft plastic silverware with plates that had bunnies on them for Lizzy. The knives that came with the bunny stuff were ridiculously blunt, as Hogan was wont to point out when Lucy added them to his ever-growing armful.

"You expect her to cut her food by herself?" Lucy had said with a tone of voice that implied she was surprised Lizzy had survived as long as she had.

Hogan didn't question any more of Lucy's purchases.

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It was with a full car and empty wallet that Hogan finally returned home to Huntingburg.

He struggled getting the bags out of the trunk of his car, and wondered for a moment why Newkirk wasn't the one who had to go on this ridiculous shopping trip, but then he remembered that if he hadn't been the one to go, he would have had to stay behind with Lizzy. Alone.

There were some challenges he wasn't ready for just yet.

Somehow, he managed to get everything they had bought that day into the house in one trip, because almost getting a hernia from carrying too much stuff was always better than having to make more than one trip from car to house.

He somehow managed to get the front door open with his foot, then promptly dumped everything on the floor in the kitchen.

Even completely winded from such a laborious task, Hogan's senses were still highly alert, and he heard Lizzy coming before he saw her.

The small figure bounded into the kitchen, clad in a yellow sundress that was a few sizes too big, but this fact did not seem to bother the girl. She stopped short when she saw Hogan standing there in the kitchen.

He noticed that even though she seemed comfortable around him when he'd first met her, Lizzy had been wary of his presence as of late. He suspected it might have something to do with the fact that she didn't see him too much, with him avoiding her and everything.

That had been the original plan: Newkirk wanted her, he could have her and she would stay out of Hogan's way. But the fact that she lived in the same house made that nearly impossible, as he was finding out.

The two stared at one another for a few moments, but Lizzy's curiosity at the contents of the boxes at Hogan's feet got the better of her shyness and she walked over to peek in.

Hogan watched as the little girl pulled out a box and opened it to reveal the bunny plates and silverware.

"I love bunnies," she remarked, closing the box and putting it back.

Operation so far successful…

Next, she took out a soft blanket that had little happy looking birds on it.

"Love birds best," she said, tucking the blanket under her arm as she continued to peek through the bags.

Hogan also heard Newkirk's approach before he saw him.

"Lizzy? Are you hidin' in the washing machine again, because last time you got stuck and-"

Newkirk spotted the little girl before he could finish that sentence.

"There you are, Liz. Back from the supply run mission?" The last part of the question was aimed at Hogan.

Hogan nodded, watching as Lizzy turned to Newkirk and held up the bird blanket.

"See the birds, daddy?" She pointed to the box on the floor, "also bunnies."

"Very nice, Liz," said Newkirk, squatting down to be closer to her level and taking a look in the bags.

Since when had she started calling Newkirk that? Hogan felt a twinge of unexpected guilt that he couldn't pinpoint exactly when Lizzy had gotten so attached to Newkirk, but, if he was brutally honest with himself, he also kind of felt bad he hadn't spent enough time around her to pick up a similar fond term.

Darn kids and their sentimentality.

"So...want to put her crib...bed...thing together?" asked Hogan, gesturing to one of the many boxes in the pile.

Newkirk looked up. "'Put together'?"

"Yeah," said Hogan, picking up the box of the crib thingy and putting it on the table. He opened it to reveal what appeared to be thousands of tiny pieces of what hopefully would be a bed when it was done.

"The box says 'some assembly required.' How hard can that be?"