Based on 'Best of Enemies' with a twist.
In the actual episode Hawkeye is stopped by a North Korean solider and forced to help treat his wounded friend, unsuccessfully. Once he helps bury the soldier with the North Korean, Hawkeye returns to camp never having gone to on R&R.
Now in this version, all that remains the same is Hawkeye heading out to R&R, the rest you'll find out as the plot develops.
Was intending this to be a one shot but it seemed a little wordier than I wished.
This is a little indulgent because I'm an angst girl at heart and I wanted to write something that makes me happy. :P
BJ Hunnicutt woke with a start as Charles Winchester's voice cut through his sleep.
Then he remembered the previous days triumph over Charles and the Colonel at bridge and the win from that bet being breakfast in bed. As BJ rolled over he was presented with a tray from the mess tent with his breakfast, Charles' displeasure at having to bring his bunkmate breakfast clear as day.
But a bet was a bet and the last 12 hours of sleep had been exactly what Hunnicutt had needed.
He sat up on his bunk and devoured his breakfast while Charles continued to complain across the other side of the tent. BJ mostly tuned out the complaining, enjoying how well rested he was feeling. He noticed then that Hawkeye's bunk was still as it'd been left last night. "Hawkeye not back yet?"
"Doesn't look like it, does it," Charles snapped as he left the tent.
After breakfast and a shower, BJ went back to the Swamp. Hawkeye should be back soon enough and he'd have tales from his trip to share. BJ went back to the last letter he got from Peg and started to re-read it.
"Klinger?"
"Yes Colonel?"
"Has Captain Pierce arrived back from R&R yet?"
"No, sir."
"See if you can trace any of Pierce's movements. I'd like to know that one of the checkpoints may have seen him heading this way."
"Yes, Sir."
It was lunchtime before Klinger had managed to find out anything about Hawkeye's whereabouts and it wasn't exactly good news. He found the Colonel in the mess tent.
"Ah Sir, I have an update on that matter we were discussing earlier."
"Spit it out, Klinger."
"You don't want to hear this privately first?"
"I'll only have to tell these folk anyway. How bad can it be?"
"Well..."
"What's this about, Colonel?" Margaret asked.
"Pierce is late back from R&R." Potter filled in.
"Ah no doubt doing his best to tarnish the reputation a little further of the 4077th." Charles scoffed. He'd heard enough of Hawkeye's antics on leave before.
"He didn't make it to the checkpoint, Colonel. They're sending some people out between the first checkpoint and here to search the area. They'll let us know the minute they find something."
"Damn, that's not what I wanted to hear. Klinger, get back to the office and don't leave the phones until you hear something."
"Yes sir."
The others started discussing it at the table, worry clear.
"There's no point getting into a state about these things. Could be a perfectly logical explanation."
"Well Colonel if he didn't make it to even the first checkpoint he didn't get too far away." Margaret reasoned. "And seeing as he left early yesterday, if he were able too, don't you think it would have been smarter to have walked back here if he had jeep problems."
"Major, speculation like that will only up everyone's anty. We're all worried but there's nothing any of us can do right now but sit tight and wait."
Hawkeye Pierce had a splitting headache.
A rifle to the back of the head would do that to a man, he found. His heart was beating so fast he felt it could explode through his chest, he was surprised the group of North Koreans who were holding him didn't tell him to shut up he was sure it was beating so fast.
One of the Koreans had a gun trained on him the whole time while the others heatedly shouted at one another. They'd dragged him to what he'd assumed was their make shift hospital, a dire building with a group of wounded. They gave him a knife that was in no way suitable for surgery and then pushed him before the first body, expecting him to save the wounded man. He cut and tried to help, looking through the bag of useless tools they had but most of what he needed wasn't in the bags they had. So rather than trying to save, he tried to prolong, to keep death at bay while these men decided what exactly they'd do to him. He already knew he'd not get back to the 4077th so easily.
When he'd finished on the last of the men, they shoved him to one side against a tree and talked together, voices harsh and shouting.
He sagged against the base of the tree. Whatever they were going to do, he couldn't change. He was exhausted. R&R had been much needed and now this? His eyes drifted a little before he was pulled to his feet. They shouted at him and expected him to understand and it wasn't until they dragged him forward that he understood they were trying to take him with them, wherever they were going.
The end of the gun kept poking into his ribs. When he accidentally turned in the wrong direction he was hit in the back so hard it dropped him to his knees. Several more blows reigned down on him before a reprieve. He was pulled back up and shoved in the direction they wanted him to go.
They seemed to walk for miles. Pierce's feet were sore from but stopping wasn't an option. Neither was refreshments apparently as he had nothing to eat or drink. Food wasn't the problem, even though his legs were getting a little weak, but the lack of water and the warmth of the day were getting to him. He couldn't tell if dizziness was due to the hit to the head or lack of water.
Whatever it was, it didn't matter to these men. They directed him into some deep woods, another hut, like the last one, a few injured men they wanted him to help. It was dark by the time they got there, he had to work with a lantern lighting the hut.
A couple of the men here were a lot worse off than the last injured men he'd seen. They needed a lot more care than he could give them from the small bag of tools he had. One of the men had a badly infected wound, the smell of it rose bile in Pierce's throat and before he knew it, he'd pitched to one side, away from the injured Koreans and was vomiting on the ground. As soon as he'd finished he was dragged back towards the injured men and he was expected to work on them to save their lives. And he knew it was the only way he'd save his own.
He scoffed inwardly at himself. This wasn't going to end, he knew. Not until he ran out of will power to keep going. When he dropped from exhaustion or lack of water, they'd leave him to die and find the next guy to replace him. Hawkeye felt like he was simply putting band aids on serious wounds. Nothing he was doing would really help these men. None of the wounds were superficial.
The next one was the worse he'd seen. The head injury so severe he could see the brain. It was a miracle the man was even still breathing.
Hawkeye shook his head at the men, tried to move on to the next casualty, but they pulled him back.
"There's nothing I can do for him," Hawkeye protested willing them to understand him. He tried again to move and was again pulled back. Two of the Koreans spoke to one another and after what sounded like a heated debate, they seemed to decide that beating Hawkeye into it was the answer.
They hit close to his back, where they'd hit before and all Hawkeye could do was cover his head and wait it out, grunting in pain as each blow landed with bruising force.
The sound of the shot being fired barely registered. He didn't feel it. And when the second one sounded and the beating stopped he realised it wasn't the North Koreans who were shooting. One of the others barely got his gun up before he was taken out. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by dead and dying men.
There was a hand on his shoulder, voices he should understand speaking to him but everything was so hazy.
"Here, give him this," one of the American GI's said, handing over a canteen of water.
Held in front of his face, Hawkeye took it in shaky hands and took a slow sip. He heard one of the men say something about shock before they helped him get to his feet.
"Don't worry, we'll get you back where you belong in no time," one of them said.
"Pierce, that you?"
"Scully?" Hawkeye asked, unsure.
"Yeah it's me. What the hell happened?"
"Never mind that. I need to get back to camp before they think I'm missing. I'm on R&R for 24 hours. I don't want them to worry."
"Call off the search, Colonel. I present you with one Captain Pierce," Klinger announced as he held open the door for Pierce and Scully before leaving things to the CO.
"Pierce! Where the heck have you been? You didn't pass any checkpoint."
"No, I didn't get that far."
"Jeep trouble?"
"Yeah." Hawkeye supplied. Waiting for more the Colonel looked at him expectantly but Pierce added nothing.
"Sit down boys, lets have a belt."
Potter pulled out three glasses and poured each of them a shot. He handed one to Pierce. "Didn't catch the name son,"
"Scully, Sir." he said, accepting the glass with a nod of thanks.
They all took a shot before Potter refilled. "So what's the story then, Pierce?"
"No story, Colonel. Um, I went on R&R had some Jeep trouble and I ran into Scully while I was there and he …. came back to camp with me. You know, to make sure I didn't get into any trouble. Any more trouble. Other than the Jeep, you know."
"We hit Rosie's bar on the way back." Scully added.
"Right."
Potter nodded. "So, what time did you get back to camp then, Pierce? If you left here so early but never made it to the checkpoint."
"I couldn't say Colonel, I wasn't really watching the time."
"Fair enough. But before dark, yes?"
"Sure." Pierce answered but sounding less than sure himself.
"So even though you were in Rosie's bar all night and this morning, when Klinger went over there this morning and asked and Kim said she'd seen no trace of you all night, that was a mistake I take it?"
"Right." Pierce replied, his eyes were serious, no humour in them.
Potter took his glass and drained it, Scully did likewise. Potter filled his and Scully's glasses up again before he leant forward towards Pierce. He held Pierce's gaze before commenting. "Fall over and bang your head, Pierce? Look like you've got a concussion."
The statement was enough to make Hawkeye break eye contact and get up. "Are we done here?" he demanded, voice taking a hostile tone.
"Dismissed, Pierce." Potter said. He watched as Hawkeye stalked out the room. Once Hawkeye was clear, Potter turned to Scully. "You want to tell me the truth here, son?"
"Colonel..."
"I can make it an order."
"I'm about as military as Pierce is. I guess it's why we get on so well. I can't break a promise to him, Sir, I wouldn't want too." And with that, he followed in the same direction Pierce had just left.
TBC