Captain Hann

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 7

Moffitt finished bandaging Hitch's various injuries and leaned back. The pinched look of his face told of the toll the task had taken.

"How is he?" Troy hovered anxiously over the pair watching every move Moffitt made.

"He's lost a lot of blood." The Brit replied tiredly. "They didn't give him any water so he is suffering from dehydration as well. He was weak from the pain and the blood loss before the beating. I've done all I can."

"Can we move him?"

"We have to Troy. There may be internal injuries from the beating. We need to get him to a hospital where a real doctor can take care of him."

Troy chewed on his lip and stared down at his unconscious driver. "All right, call Tully and we'll head for the base."

Moffitt nodded, his face showing his relief at the order. He wiped the blood from his hands as he climbed into the jeep.

"I'll take Hitch." Troy decided. "You and Tully can act as guards. Let's try not to draw any attention to ourselves."

Tully came in from standing guard when Moffitt called and stopped next to Troy's jeep. "How's he doing?"

"Moffitt did his best." Troy answered. "The rest is up to him."

Tully nodded and chewed on his matchstick. "We going home?"

"Yeah, as fast as we can while still avoiding trouble." Troy answered with a nod.

"Okay."

Tully led the way, picking the easiest route for Hitch. Hitch was still unconscious when they pulled through the gates of the base. Their first stop was the hospital. Troy didn't care about the urgent call to return to base, his men came first. As it turned out, the call had been an overreaction to a German sighting that didn't amount to anything.

"Hey."

Tully's voice was the first thing that registered when Hitch regained consciousness two days later. "Hey yourself." He grinned weakly. "Nice shot."

"You remember that?" Tully asked in surprise.

"It's the last thing I remember." Hitch answered with a nod. "I was bracing for that kick and it never came." Hitch paused, looking at Tully. "Thanks."

"Any time." Tully answered with a smile.

"I didn't think you were going to make it in time." Hitch mumbled with his head down. "I saw Captain Tieger leaving but I didn't think I'd still be alive when you got back." The admission seemed to sap all of his strength and Hitch closed his eyes.

"We weren't going to leave you Hitch."

"I know." Hitch answered after a minute. "But I didn't think I could last very long. I figured you'd come back to find me dead."

Tully growled deep in his throat.

"I wouldn't have blamed you." Hitch continued. "There were too many Germans there to fight."

"We would have come anyway." Tully argued.

Hitch sighed. "I know, but I didn't want that."

"You'd have come back for any of us."

Hitch smiled. "Yeah, I would have."

"I think Doc was ready to clobber Sarge."

"Why?" Hitch asked in surprise.

"Because Sarge was thinking of coming in before Captain Tieger left. Doc was worried that Troy would do something rash."

"Not Sarge."

Tully smiled.

"I'm glad he decided to wait. If you had come in while Captain Tieger was there you would have had to fight him too."

"He let that other captain beat you." Tully sounded disappointed in the German officer.

"I don't think he wanted to. His men looked mad about it too." Hitch paused to catch his breath. "Some of them tried to bring me water but that other captain wouldn't allow it. I think Captain Tieger argued with him about me too."

"Like Dietrich?"

"Yeah, he wanted to help but he couldn't."

Tully shook his head. "I'll be glad when this war is over. Good men have to take orders from the bad ones. It's not right."

"Just another thing to hate about war." Hitch agreed. "There is one part about it I like though." Hitch closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

"There is?" Tully huffed. "What could you possibly like about it?"

"I met you, Sarge, and Doc." Hitch mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

"Yeah." Tully agreed. "There is that." He picked up his paperback and began to read.