Chapter One
(DISCLAIMER: I do not own M*A*S*H although I wish I could. There is no slash in this, just good old bromance and best friends.)
It was a cold evening at the M*A*S*H 4077. The temperature was below freezing and everyone was bundled up. While the enemy was attacking, the 4077 had been swamped with patients from the front lines. They had been running on more than double shifts just to allow each doctor and nurse some time to rest. A few of them, such as Hunnicutt and Pierce, had taken to pulling extra shifts just to give the others a chance to get more rest.
Captain BJ Hunnicutt and Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce didn't mind working extra shifts together. The two of them were the best of friends. They shared "The Swamp" with their other best friend Sam "Echo" Bradley and their main enemy, Major Frank Burns. They tolerated him, pulling practical jokes and giving sarcastic remarks. It was what kept them sane.
The night had finally died down enough that the doctors could relax. They still worked in shifts but they were longer so the others could get enough sleep. They were doing everything they could to stay warm in the cold night air. Echo, being the normal 18 year old he was, was sharing a cot with Hawkeye. He was so small and lanky that he would always be colder than the others. Hawkeye and he had taken to sharing a cot to double body heat and double the number of blankets as well. Echo, who didn't always like being called that as he liked Sam better, had the tendency to dig down deep in the blankets, trying to find the center of the warmth. Hawkeye didn't mind though. He got extra heat throughout the night.
Sometimes they would use Sam's cot in the winter to set miscellaneous items on. Frank Burns always grumbled about how it was against army regulation but a simple list of things going on between Frank and Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan instantly shut him up.
So it was that Radar O'Reilly came in to awaken Hawkeye for his shift. Radar was well aware of where everyone slept and knew that Sam always slept on the side farthest from the door. Radar secretly knew, from what Sam had told him in confidence, that it was because he trusted Hawkeye to protect him just in case something were to happen.
Reaching out, Radar grasped Hawkeye's shoulder, shaking it slightly.
"Hawkeye? Hawkeye, wake up." he said quietly.
Hawkeye shifted slightly, mumbling something about five more minutes. He dug down deeper in the blankets and went still. There was a shift next to Hawkeye as well before the bundle in the blankets stilled.
"Hawkeye, it's time for your shift I post-op." Radar said a little louder. He shook Hawkeye's shoulder again.
"Radar, if you don't remove that hand, I'll have it surgically removed." Hawkeye mumbled.
"C'mon Hawk." Radar shuffled over to BJ's bunk. Behind him, Hawkeye stood up. Sam immediately grabbed the blankets back up, taking Hawk's pillow and putting it under his own head. Hawkeye didn't mind. The pillow would be warm when he got back. Sitting on the corner of the bed, pulling on his boots, he shivered in the freezing air.
Hawkeye, Hunnicutt, Radar, and even Sam looked up sharply as Frank Burns came barging in.
"Can't you be quieter?" Sam asked. He glared at Frank, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
He groaned.
"Oh can it kid." Frank grumbled.
"Oh let the kid sleep Frank. He's been up longer the past two days than you have been up in the past few months." Hawkeye announced.
Burns released a few unkind words unfit for repeating. Sam rolled his eyes and put his hands behind his head.
"I don't think I'm gonna get back to sleep now." he sighed and reached under the bunk. He had stashed a box of grape Neehi under there in an extra blanket to keep them from freezing. He shared them with Radar quiet often. He would save any money he got and when he had enough, he would go to Rosie's bar and buy as many as he could.
Pulling one out, he opened it and smelled it. He always smelled his drinks. Whenever he made Hawkeye or BJ a drink, the stuff he refused to drink, he would make sure it smelled okay; or as okay as the still liquid could ever smell.
"Go get a cup of coffee. That'll put you to sleep for a while." Hunnicutt joked.
Rolling his shoulders, Sam downed the rest of his drink and grabbed his heavy coat. During the winter, Sam slept in his work pants rather than his pajama pants. It took less time to get ready in the freezing cold. It also kept him warm at night.
"I think I'll see if the kitchen has any of that overly processed hot cocoa collection left. It burns the stomach but keeps me warm." Sam announced.
He stretched his arms out again. A hot flash of pain sliced through his side. He hissed and huddled down as if to protect his body from harm.
Hawkeye looked at him with a frown.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Sam waved him off.
"Must be a cramp in my side or something. It's gone now." he said, feeling the pain dull away. He stood up straight and sighed. Looking at Hawkeye and BJ who were staring at him in worry, he rolled his eyes.
"Don't you two need to be in post-op right now?" he asked.
BJ jumped as if he'd been pinched and continued tying his shoes. Hawkeye started fiddling with his gloves, trying to get his coat sleeves to fit over the ends. His eyes continued to follow Sam around.
Radar excused himself with the simple explanation of needing to re-type the daily report and he soon disappeared out the door. Frank had ignored the conversation and was happily snoring in his bed. Sam used the moment of silence to slip out. Hawkeye watched him go and looked to BJ.
"That didn't seem suspicious to you at all?" he asked him. BJ shrugged and adjusted his coat.
"You've known him longer than I have. I've never seen him act that way before." he mentioned.
"Get to work and quick worrying about the runt!" Frank yelled, having been awakened by their talking.
"Swallow your face you parsnip!" Hawkeye snapped as they left the tent.
"I wish Trapper were here. No offense. He could just always get Sam to open up."
BJ waved him off, signaling the comment caused him no harm.
The wind blew harshly against the two, the cold threatening to seep into their bones. They were in a blackout phase. Every window was covered with curtains or black fabric. It was to ensure that the enemy wouldn't attack.
They were stopped by Igor who was on guard duty. They gave him the password of Caribbean and were able to continue on to post-op.
The stove was heated until it was very hot. The patients had to stay warm as they healed. Colonel Potter had ordered all extra blankets be sent to post-op to help and benefit the patients. Hawkeye began checking charts, Nurse Baker assisting him. Everything was quiet except the howling wind.
Major Houlihan was still on shift. She sat at the small desk in the room, filling out forms for various patients.
"Hello my dear Margaret." Hawkeye said in a sing song voice. He bent down to kiss Margaret.
"Get away you pig!" Margaret yelled, pushing him away forcefully. She grabbed her papers and headed to the supply room, huffing and mumbling about the two captains.
"I'm so sick of this wind!" BJ complained as the wind continued to howl outside.
4*0*7*7
Sam gripped his coat tighter around his form, his lungs tightening with each breath. He could hear the howling wistle through his ears. He was looking for Igor who had conveniently disappeared, most likely having gone in search of Zale for a drink. Sam didn't mind.
"I do my best thinking in the freezing cold." he said to himself sarcastically.
!CRACK!
Sam spun quickly. Although only a few hours of sleep, he was fully alert. He couldn't see much, having to squint in the stinging wind. He didn't dare move. There was a light crashing in the foliage. Sam took a deep breath, preparing for the worst.
Out of nowhere, a Korean man, dressed in what seemed like rags. He was shouting something in Korean. Behind him, shots were going everywhere. Dust flew from trees and rocks as bullets singed off them.
The man saw him and began waving his arms. Sam could only watch in horror as the man approached him at top speed. Another loud shot cracked and the man tumbled...right onto Sam. Sam felt himself falling backwards, his head knocking against the ground harshly. He was a bit dazed and his vision blurred but he blinked quickly to clear it. The man on top of him wasn't moving.
"Help!" he called.
Others were already coming out, a result of hearing gunshots.
4*0*7*7
Inside post-op, Hawkeye and BJ were immediately alerted to the several gunshots and the calls for help.
"Those were gunshots." BJ said. Hawkeye's eyes widened.
"That was Sam." he said before the two of them dropped what they were doing to respond to the calls.
Running out of the building, they were immediately hit by the cold air. There was a fleeting thought of grabbing their coats but their concern for Sam was more powerful. They came across a still bleeding man, possibly dead, lying across an equally still Sam.
"Get that man up!" BJ yelled. He moved to check on the Korean man while Hawkeye checked on Sam.
"Ow." Sam mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He hissed. Bringing his hand back around, he noticed that it glistened with blood. Same kept staring at it, not quite realizing it was his own blood. Hawkeye wasted no time in grabbing Sam by the shoulders and pulling him up.
"BJ! Get some supplies ready! Sam took a nice knock to the head!" he called out. The two of them trudged in the cold towards the building.
"Hawk, my head hurts." Sam slurred, reaching up to feel his head. Hawkeye wouldn't allow it though and reached up to still Sam's hand.
"Don't touch it. We don't want to make it worse." he said.
BJ ran back up.
"The man's dead. Some of the nurses say it was a sniper and that they stopped after the man fell." he reported. He looked to Sam. Sam mumbled something and hissed. All three of them stopped, the two taller of the three looked down at the shortest.
"M-must have just been a bruise from the man landing on me." Sam stuttered. He shakily reached down and pulled up his shirt. He felt his teeth chatter as the knife sharp wind cut through his abdomen. He sighed unconsciously in relief as they all took in the bruise on his side.
"What in tarnations is going on out here?!" called out Colonel Potter as he jogged out of his tent, bundled up in his winter coat.
"Sniper. Dead Korean. Busted up Sam. You know, a usual day in Korea." BJ reported as they entered the building. BJ had already laid out supplies such as gauze, stitching material (if needed), and medical tape.
Hawkeye and BJ helped Sam sit on one of the tables.
"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick." Sam mumbled.
Hawkeye started to look around.
"Get a bucket!" he ordered.
BJ was ready with a trash can and put it under Sam's chin. Sam couldn't hold it in any longer and threw up.
That was when Klinger came running in. He was wearing one of his favorite blue dresses with a matching hat. He had obviously been on guard duty but had handed off his weapon to the next shift.
"Hey kid what happened?" he asked.
Sam leaned up from the trash can and took an offered rag from Potter and wiped his mouth.
"Snipers. Where were you Klinger? You're-" he was cut off when a sharp pain went through his head. Hawkeye waited for him to stop moving before he placed the gauze back on Sam's head.
"You could have warned me." Sam grumbled to Hawkeye, gripping the rag tighter.
"It was a change in shift! I didn't know there was a sniper out there!" Klinger complained.
He adjusted his dress and hat.
"An intermission from Gone with the Wind Klinger?" Hawkeye asked.
"The second half." Klinger remarked.
Hawkeye took the bloodied piece of gauze away from Sam's head and took a proffered antiseptic soaked gauze from BJ and carefully put it against the cut. Sam hissed but didn't move. The room became quiet as Hawkeye finished the bandages. It wasn't too much longer before he was finished and Colonel Potter approved the work. It wasn't that he didn't approve of or doubt Pierce's work. It was just that he cared greatly about Sam, like he was family, and he wanted to be sure that he would be okay.
"I want to take a look at those ribs before you go." BJ said, blocking the door before Sam could dart out.
"I'm fine Beej." Sam insisted.
The twinge in his side had long since disappeared but he was getting worried about what it was. He was beginning to think it was his appendix. The doctors had enough patients to worry about and he didn't want to take up their time.
"Sam, you may have internal bleeding." BJ tried to justify.
"From a ma falling on me? It's just a bruise!" Sam tried to say but as he stood up from the table, Radar's voie came calling through the darkness outside.
"Choppers!" he yelled.
Sam put his hands up in surrender and disappeared out the door.
Hawkeye shook his head.
"He's gonna be the death of me yet. Alright, let's get going!" he said.
TBC
(A/N: Ahhh M*A*S*H...one of my favorite shows. I've been writing this story since like 2012 and have about 6 chapters written. Enjoy! Please review!)