I had to delete this. Hopefully its better now.

I do not own Hogan's Heroes or any of the characters.

One month ago…

The mission had gone well. Another train had been blown up, and the Gestapo guarding it were too confused to chase the saboteurs. The mood was cheerful as Hogan and his men made their way back to Stalag 13.

Newkirk walked next to Carter, following the colonel. LeBeau was scouting ahead and behind for any possible patrols. The forest was quiet in the aftermath of the explosion, the only light was a faint orange smudge above the tree to the north.

And a faint blue glow from some bushes off to Newkirk's left.

As he caught sight of the glow, he stopped walking and stared at it. Carter went about five more steps before he realized the Englishman wasn't with him. Turning, he asked, "Newkirk?"

Hogan heard, and he also stopped and looked back. "What's up?" he called.

Still staring at the glow, Newkirk called, "I found something, Colonel." He started towards the bushes.

Hogan retraced his steps until he stood next to Carter. "Be careful, Corporal. It could be a trap."

Nodding, Newkirk reached the bushes. Kneeling, he pushed aside the branches obstructing his view, revealing the source of the glow. Eyes wide, he gave a low whistle.

Carter was shifting from foot to foot, his curiosity mounting. Just as he was about to speak, Hogan put a hand over his mouth, just knowing that, in his excitement, the young sergeant would forget caution and talk louder than was prudent under those circumstances. Thus, it was the colonel who asked, "What is it?". Then he removed his hand.

Shooting his CO a sheepish look, Carter added in an exaggerated whisper, "Can we see it?"

Motioning them over, Newkirk continued to gaze at the object.

"It's a small cube," he said.

His companions crouched next to him and gazed at the thing that held their friend's attention.

That object was a small blue box. It seemed to glow with an inner light, and by that light they could make out strange glyphs etched onto its sides.

The men were silent for a time, then Carter said, "I wonder what those symbols are?"

Hogan chuckled. Just like Carter, he thought. Instead of asking "What is it?", "Why is it here?", or "How did it get here?", he wants to know about the decoration!

Newkirk's eyes never strayed, but a small grin lit upon his face as he, too, had that some thought. He started to pick it up.

"Hold on, Newkirk," Hogan said. "What if its dangerous?"

Now the corporal turned to face his CO. "Sir, its a box," he pointed out. "'ow could the Krauts booby-trap it? Its too small!"

"But its still a fair size," chimed Carter.

Newkirk rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, exasperated. "Stand back if you want, but I want a closer look at it." Again he reached for the box.

As soon as he touched it, shock spread across his face. Then he yanked his hand away, swearing.

"What happened?" Hogan asked, eyeing to box warily.

Newkirk paused long enough to say, "The bloody bugger shocked me, gov'nor! It shocked me!" Then he went back to massaging his hand and continued cursing.

"Well, it is kinda cold out," Carter observed.

"Maybe it is, but it didn't just twinge my hand; my whole arm feels like I used it as a lightning rod!"

"Okay, tone it down, Newkirk. Remember, we don't want to announce our presence to every German in the area. So keep quiet."

"Yes, sir."

Suddenly, they heard footfalls behind them. Spinning, they all looked to see LeBeau sprinting in their direction. In the distance, shouting and gunshots could be heard.

Panting, the Frenchman skidded to a stop and said, "Patrol, mon Colonel, from the west. They may have seen me, but I didn't wait to find out."

Hogan already had his gun out. "Okay, let's move," he ordered. Silently, the prisoners of Stalag 13 melted into the shadows and resumed their flight back to camp.

It was only when they were walking down the tunnel that Hogan, Carter, and Newkirk remembered the blue box. But when Newkirk returned from searching for it the next day, he reported no trace of it. The cube had disappeared.

Nine days ago…

"One of our contacts in the Underground needs a new part for their radio. Any volunteers?"

Carter looked up. "Colonel, didn't we just send them a new piece?" he asked, referring to last week when they had to smuggle out a bit of radio equipment using Freddy the chimpanzee.

Hogan grimaced and shook hi head. "This is someone else. It seems all our contacts received their radios two years ago and their warranty is just now beginning to expire."

"Oh, bloody 'ell!" Newkirk threw down the cards he had just dealt himself. "Is this what London wants up to do now? Become ruddy repairmen?"

"Easy, Newkirk," Hogan soothed. "It won't be for long. You'll see: within a month we'll be back doing reconnaissance and sabotage again."

Still muttering, the RAF corporal dealt another round of cards to the players.

Hogan glanced at his and gave a mental wince. That's not good.

Predictably, Newkirk won the game. Pocketing his winnings, he looked over at the colonel and said, "Sir, I'll deliver the piece. I need to get outta here for a while anyway. Startin' to feel a wee bit cramped lately."

"Okay, Newkirk. You leave tonight."

**********

A while after Newkirk left, Kinch walked over to where Hogan sat.

"Colonel?"

The senor POW glanced up, then patted the spot next to him. He waited for Kinch to settle himself before asking, "What's up?"

"News over the radio, sir."

"From London?"

"No, local station. There was a news bulletin saying that the Hammelburg zoo finished catching all the escaped animals--with one exception."

Hogan frowned. "Am I going to like this?"

Shaking his head, Kinch replied, "Not a bit."

Scowling, the colonel asked, "Will you tell me, or do I have to guess? Come on, sergeant. Out with it!"

Looking his commander in the eye, Kinch said, "A tiger managed to get through the search zone. Witnesses say they've seen it traveling in this direction. A little over an hour ago, there was a sighting of it not two miles from camp."

Hogan's face went pale. "Any way of getting to Newkirk in time?"

Again, Kinch shook his head. "No. He's long gone."

"Any chance of their not encountering each other?"

"If there is, it's a mighty slim one."

They sat in silence a long time after that.

**********

Newkirk hurried through the woods. He had met an agent who would get the radio part to the contact.

"Piece o' pie" as Andrew would say, he thought, grinning. Carter never said "cake", no matter how many times the others would correct him. Been meaning to ask 'im why he does that.

A chill breeze swept by him, causing him to shiver and clutch his coat tight around his body. Bloody German winters! It had been weeks since the temperature had been above fifty degrees, and it was dropping steadily each day. Newkirk was not looking foreword to when it started snowing. Then we'll all freeze our bloody tails off whenever we go out on a mission, not to mention whenever we leave the barracks! No, he was not looking foreword to winter in Germany at all.

As he walked, he gradually got the feeling that he was being watched. Cautious, he took his gun from where he had hidden it in his coat. Gripping it tightly, he peered into the woods around him, half expecting to see a Gestapo patrol. But he saw nothing.

He ducked under a tree to escape the wind, if only for a moment, and stood there, shivering, still searching for hidden figures in the shadows.

The sense of being watched hit him again, stronger now. Tense, he crouched down, ready to defend himself if necessary.

Then he heard the growl.

Instantly, Newkirk froze. The growl rolled through the air through him. It froze him where he stood as nothing else had ever done before. Fear started to creep up his spine.

It sounded close, way too close. After a minute, he pinpointed it.

Swallowing, he looked up.

Two yellow eyes glared down at him from the branches of the tree. The creeping tendrils of fear threatened to overwhelm him and he felt like screaming, but he could only stand there, terrified. Staring into those eyes, Newkirk couldn't see anything else. Then they blinked and he caught a glimpse of orange and black. Despite his paralysis, he managed to choke out one word.

"Mum."

Then he bolted.

Running flat out through the dark woods, he heard a roar as the tiger leaped after him. Mind blank with fear and panic, Newkirk ran faster than he though possible, but it wasn't enough. With another roar, the great cat leaped, paws outstretched. One of those paws caught his leg and he went sprawling. His gun, forgotten the moment he saw the beast, flew out of his hand.

Scrambling to get up and keep running, the Englishman screamed as the tiger sank its claws into his side. He grabbed at the paw and feebly tried to pull it off him, to end the pain. All he could think about was a film he had seen as a child, in England, of some lions hunting a herd of antelope. Again he saw the lions bring down a lagging buck, but now the lion was the tiger and the buck was him, Newkirk, and again and again he saw the tiger bringing him down. Again and again…

Then the tiger froze, and slowly settled to the ground, as though about to go to sleep. Confusion entered his mind as to why this was, but then he moved and the pain was back. The claws were still dug into his flesh.

Wincing, he quickly pulled the paw off him, then shakily got to his feet. Pain exploded throughout his body as he tried to walk, and as he clasped his injured side, he felt a warm, sticky wetness. Refusing to look at the damage the tiger had done to him, he instead glanced over at the cat itself. It was still lying were he'd left it, but it was twitching. Panicked at the thought of it coming after him again, he ignored the lancing pain in his side and took off as fast as he could toward Stalag 13.

**********

Hogan was pacing back and forth in the barracks, hoping and praying that the tunnel entrance would open and Newkirk would emerge, safe, saying the mission went without a hitch. But he hadn't come back yet, and it would be a while before he did. Yet Hogan still couldn't help worrying.

The men watched him, anxious. They had all heard the news about the tiger and they worried with their colonel. But they had to wait, just as he did, to see what would happen.

Minutes passed slowly. Hogan paced. LeBeau and Carter started a half-hearted game of gin rummy. Kinch tried to read a book. Olsen and Baker just sat on their bunks, worrying in silence.

Half an hour passed. Where is he? Hogan thought frantically. He should've been back by now.

Then, just before the clock chimed the hour, a tap was heard below the tunnel entrance. As one, the men of Barracks 2 abandoned what they were doing and rushed to open it, but Hogan beat them to it. He tapped the trigger and the bunk rose. A man climbed up and into the room.

"Newkirk!" Several of the men exclaimed, but they all fell silent as the corporal turned towards them. His face was pale and scratched, one side of his jacket shredded. His right arm was pressed to his left side as he tried to stem the flow of blood that seeped from the wound below.

"I guess we didn't need to tell you of the tiger after all." Hogan whispered.

Newkirk managed a grin said cheerily, "No, you didn't need to, gov. We met and had a nice little chat, we did. So," he went on to the room at large, "Could anyone us a cup o' coffee?" He didn't wait for an answer, as his eyes rolled up and he would've fallen if Kinch hadn't regained his senses enough to catch him.

There was silence for a moment, then Hogan broke it by quietly saying, "Somebody get Wilson."

**********

Wilson finished bandaging Newkirk's side, then got up. Turning, he beckoned Hogan. He followed as the doctor headed toward his office.

Once the door had shut, Wilson turned to him and said, "He'll be all right." Hogan sighed in relief. "The cuts were pretty deep, but I've stitched them up. I'll have to recommend him to Klink for light work, though."

Running his fingers through his already-disheveled hair, Hogan murmured, "Klink. What story can I tell him that he'll believe?"

Wilson shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Thanks, doc. You can go now. I think we can take it from here."

Opening the door, Hogan followed Wilson out of the room.

A group of men had gathered around the bunk where Newkirk lay. Because the corporal would never be able to climb to the upper bed where he usually slept, Carter had offered to let him use his lower one. As he approached, Hogan could hear him talking to the men. He had woken while Hogan and Wilson had been talking.

"...thought I was lunch meat for sure. It was bloody lucky the tiger dropped when it did."

"But how did you manage to knock it out?" asked LeBeau.

"Blimey, I don't know!" Newkirk sounded exasperated. "I was too busy trying to get it off me! I can't remember much...I think."

"All right, boys, get going." Cut in Wilson. "This man needs rest. Doctor's orders."

Grumbling, the men went to their own bunks to prepare for bed. Nodding to Hogan, Wilson left the barracks.

Hogan went to stand next to where Newkirk lay. "I'm really sorry we couldn't get to you in time," he said softly.

Newkirk looked at his CO and saw the guilt in his face. "Its alright, Colonel. You couldn't have known." He grinned suddenly. "Besides, I've gotten my excitement. Now I won't mind being so cramped!"

Hogan smiled, but before he could speak, the door banged open and Sergeant Shultz walked in. Newkirk quickly hitched his blanket up around him to hide the bandages. "It is now nine o'clock! That means lights out, everybody, lights out!" He turned, then, and saw spied Newkirk and Carter. Walking over, he asked, "Colonel Hogan, unless I am mistaken, or forgetful, which is doubtful, but isn't Carter supposed to be on the bottom bunk and Newkirk on the top?"

Looking as though he were seriously considering what Shultz said, Hogan peered at the two men on their (opposite) bunks. "No, Shultz, I can't see anything wrong. Carter has always been on the top bunk and I can't ever remember Newkirk ever being anywhere but on the bottom."

"But I could have sworn..."

"It's true, Shultzie," Newkirk added. "To be honest, I've never liked heights. Gives me the willies, they do."

Shultz looked confused. Finally, though, he gave up on it. Glancing at Hogan, he said, "Good night," then left.

As the door shut, Hogan again looked at Newkirk. "You sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, gov. Stop worrying about me and get some sleep yourself. You looked bushed."

"That I probably do," his CO replied. "Very well. Good night, corporal."

"Pleasant dreams, Colonel."

Hogan walked back to his room. The lights in the barracks went out, plunging them into darkness. Newkirk gazed at the bottom of Carter's (for now) bunk. Then he closed his eyes and slept.

The dreams began.