Over the Brink
Over the Brink
A/N: This is a MASH fan fiction that takes place beginning at the episode 'Welcome to Korea.' It is AU from the beginning of the episode. For anyone who doesn't know, this is the episode where BJ joins the 4077th and Trapper leaves. I do not own MASH, in fact I wasn't even born when it aired, but I sure wish I was. Oh yeah, I have no problem with slash stories but this isn't one.
Chapter One: Departures
Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce was the most dejected man you would ever see as he stepped out of the freezing cold shower. The one man who had kept him sane through insanity was gone. The one man who was always there with a shoulder to lean on or a listening ear had left. The one man whom he would have gone to hell and back for walked away. And this one man did all these things without saying good-bye. The worst part was that Hawkeye could understand why. Anyone would do anything to get out of this place. If you got onto an elevator, Korea was one level below hell. At that moment Hawkeye decided not to make things difficult for his friend by forcing an awkward farewell. He'd give Trapper a call when he got back to the States.
Just as Hawkeye was drying off his wet clothes Major Frank "Ferret Face" Burns stepped into the showers. "Pierce, Radar is too busy helping me to go and get our new surgeon. We need you to go and pick him up. I'm warning you though, if you pull ANY nonsense or try to corrupt our new doctor, Margaret will rip you limb from limb." Hawkeye snorted at the part about Margaret but Frank just glared and sauntered away.
Inwardly Hawkeye grinned. Ferret Face didn't even realize what an opportunity he had just given Hawkeye. A new surgeon and a two-hour jeep ride to convince him that practical jokes are the key to survival at MASH and that Frank Burns is an idiot.
Ninety minutes later Hawkeye was cruising down a pothole filled road in a stylish army jeep. He was going fairly slowly; after all, he had no place to be. Up ahead he could faintly see the outline of the huge army base in Kimpo. He vaguely wondered if they had an officer's club there. It was a beautiful day so Hawkeye began humming an old American song.
Glory, Glory Hallelujah
My CO hit it with a ruler
The lady turned red and my CO dropped dead
And that was the end of Margaret's head.
He wasn't completely sure but he thought he might have replaced a few words unintentionally. Oops.
After a long half hour had passed he pulled up in front of the arrivals building. Outside waited a clean-cut man with light brown hair. He was rather tall. The first thing that Hawkeye noticed though was how young he looked. "This kid's going to be in for the shock of his life," he muttered to himself as he got out of the jeep.
Hawkeye jogged over to where the new surgeon was waiting and grinned as disarmingly as he could. He stuck out his hand. "Dr. Hunnicutt, I presume?"
The man nodded slowly, "Call me BJ. And you are…"
"I'm Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce, Chief surgeon at the 4077th MASH. But you can just call me Hawkeye. I'm your ride back to hell." BJ did a double take at the description and then shrugged. "Whatever you say."
Hawkeye grabbed BJ's suitcase waving off his protests. "Hey, I'm your tour guide. Don't complain; this will be the last valet service you'll get until the end of the war." Together they walked back to the jeep and got in. As they drove away they heard the faint sound of shelling in the distance. Hawkeye sincerely hoped it was in the other direction. With their luck though it would be on the way back to camp. After all, they were both unlucky enough to get drafted weren't they?
"So, where ya from BJ?" Hawkeye asked with a touch of curiosity.
"Mill Valley, CA… the nicest town on the west coast," BJ proclaimed happily. "What about you?"
"Sweet, wonderful, beautiful Crabapple Cove, Maine!! There is nothing that I would not give to be back there!" At this point Hawkeye began murmuring the song 'Home on the Range' growing progressively louder.
BJ was looking understandably nervous. "Ummm… Hawkeye," he said very gently, "Would you prefer if I drove?" Hawkeye glanced at BJ in surprise. "Am I scaring you?" He asked frankly, "Cause I promise I'm not a resident at the giggly home just yet."
BJ was embarrassed. Of course he wasn't. Hawkeye was just letting off a little steam. An awkward silence fell upon them but barely five minutes passed before the jeep came to a bumpy halt. A huge bang rung out and BJ was tossed from the jeep rather violently. His suitcase flew and landed next to him.
"Dammit," yelled out Hawkeye, "The tire blew!" He glanced next to him and seemed to realize that BJ wasn't there. He turned around and paled dramatically. Grabbing the medical bag he jumped out of the vehicle and rushed to his new friend's side. At first BJ appeared to be unconscious but he roused himself as Hawkeye approached. Immediately he sat up. He almost seemed annoyed when Hawkeye pushed him back down before he could protest.
Hawkeye quickly examined BJ visually. His ankle was at a weird angle and he was bleeding from a fairly severe cut in the head but it didn't appear to be anything too serious. It certainly wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He found a stick lying by the side of the road and used it along with bandages from the medical bag to splint BJ's ankle and wrapped a sterile cloth around his forehead tightly. Only after asking BJ if he was injured anywhere else did he help him slowly sit up. BJ told him that it was only bruises.
"Alright BJ," murmured Hawkeye, "If you're sure." Having determined that his friend was all right he was looking around for potential snipers. Seeing none he propped BJ up against his luggage and quickly changed the tire. As they drove away Hawkeye finally made the connection between the refugees they had seen pass them minutes before and the explosion. "Damn guerillas," he exclaimed, "Who do they think they are, firing on doctors?!"
BJ coughed to get Hawkeye's attention. "Are you all right?" were the first words out of Hawkeye's mouth. "Yea I'm fine," replied BJ, "I was just wondering; is it always this quiet around here or is this just an off day?" Hawkeye laughed loudly, "How should I know?" he grinned, "I camp out close to my job to avoid the commuter traffic." BJ started to laugh but winced and put his hand to his head. It came away red. Hawkeye noticed and pulled the jeep over quickly.
"It hasn't stopped bleeding," Hawkeye observed after examining the injury. "I think that you might need some stitches. BJ nodded. "Maybe. Head wounds bleed a lot but this is excessive. Either way it will hold until we get to camp." They exchanged a glance and Hawkeye drove onward.
As it turned out Hawkeye's suspicions about the shelling they had heard leaving Kimpo were proven correct. They drove right into a unit of Americans that was being heavily shelled. Hawkeye's instincts were right on target. He grabbed the medical kit and pulled BJ out of the jeep and into the ditch. Not two seconds later the jeep exploded into a fiery inferno. Unfortunately a nearby soldier was caught in the blast. His head was torn clean off his shoulders and the blood soaked BJ's shirt.
Hawkeye immediately jumped into action following the shouts of "Medic!" throughout the field. He applied pressure bandages, gave out morphine and just offered the injured soldiers a little bit of comfort. In a few cases there wasn't much he could do but he sure did his best. The fighting ended with a Chinese retreat after about fifteen bloody minutes. It was another twenty before all of the injured were loaded into choppers and flown off to the 8063rd.
Now Hawkeye had time to concentrate on other matters. The CO of the unit that they had helped lent Hawkeye another jeep and told them not to worry about returning it. "The army's always replacing combat jeeps." He had told them. We'll get another. I understand they're harder to come by in the medical units. Hawkeye merely nodded and smiled in acknowledgment of the major's kindness. He quickly drove back to where he had left BJ hoping to God that he was alright.
What Hawkeye found he would remember for the rest of his life. BJ was sitting on the ground covered in someone else's blood shaking. A pool of vomit completely surrounded him. Miraculously his luggage, which had been thrown clear of the jeep, was not seriously damaged. BJ's head injury had grown slightly worse though and now would definitely need stitches. He was also understandably in fairly severe shock.
Hawkeye didn't know what to say. What do you say when a young man is exposed to the brutal horrors of war for the first time? He quickly loaded BJ's luggage into the jeep and crouched at his side. "Come on buddy," he said very softly, "Let's get you back to camp and cleaned up." BJ mutely allowed Hawkeye to move him gently into the jeep and settle him in the front seat. His eyes never left the head of the decapitated soldier.
As they resumed the drive towards camp BJ no longer spoke. Hawkeye understood the need for quiet and remained silent. BJ was the first to break the silence as they finally approached camp. "Is that it?" he asked incredulously.
A/N So what do you think? This is my first MASH story and I can't say that I have all of the details right. While I have seen all of the episodes I am not an expert on the Korean War. I cannot say that I got all of the locations or military terms correct but I sure tried. Review… please!