A Rainbow of Fears
It had been fifteen hours since they had returned from Rainbow Bridge and they had spent that time in the O.R. working on the wounded american GI's that the Chinese doctors had willingly turned over to them. Now, the weary surgeons were looking forward to getting some much needed rest.
"This is the longest day that I've had in weeks." Hawkeye Pierce declared as he flopped wearily onto his cot.
"I know what you mean. I'm glad that we didn't lose any of the casualties." Trapper John McIntyre agreed as he stepped over to the still and poured two martinis and handed one to his friend.
"Yeah. Hey, Trap, are you okay? I can't help but get the feeling that there's something else on your mind except blatant exhaustion."
"I dunno. I just can't help but think about what happened back there when we realized that Frank had stupidly brought a gun with him, before we found out that the thing was smaller than a water pistol. The looks on those guys faces just scared me." Trapper admitted, taking a long drink from his martini.
"What do you mean?" Hawkeye inquired, exhaustion dulling his mental capacity at that particular moment.
"It's just when those guys pulled their guns on us, the only thing that I could think about was my wife and my two girls. All I was thinking was what if these guys decide to kill us right here. What if I never get to see my girls grow up or ever hold my wife again. I dunno, Hawk, it just brought the rottenness of this damn war slamming down on me full force and I can't get it out of my head."
"I understand, Trap. I was scared too, though I didn't let on either. But what you need to do is to remember that it's all over now, we saved all those kids, everyone is back safe and we're headed for R&R in Tokyo in a few short hours. I don't know about you, but I could sure use a quick nap before we leave."
"That's the thing, I'm completely exhausted but I'm not sure I can relax enough to actually fall asleep. I tried to nod off on the bus on the way back but every time I tried to close my eyes all I kept seeing was those chinese guys with their gun barrels pointed at us." Trapper admitted, rotating his head tiredly.
"I know. But we need to at least try to sack out for a couple of hours before our chopper arrives to take us to Kimpo for our flight to Tokyo. I've got it. Trap, I'm gonna try something that my dad used to do when I was a kid when I had nightmares and couldn't get back to sleep."
"Oh, God. You're not gonna sing, are you?"
"No." Hawkeye said, cracking his eyes open to glare at Trapper, who laughed in response. "Seriously, lie back on your cot and try to get comfortable."
"Okay. Now what?" Trapper asked.
"Now what you need to do is close your eyes and what I want you to do is to picture yourself being in a positive place. Imagine you're back in Boston with your wife and you're taking your daughters to the beach like you always tell me you like to do. You're playing with your girls in the ocean, throwing them into the waves and hearing them laughing. You're building sandcastles with them and lounging with your wife. The sun is warm and the sound of the waves slapping on the beach is very soothing. It can carry you away from the fear and gloom of this place." Hawkeye said, keeping his tone soft and soothing. He paused and shook his head, smiling, as the sound of Trapper's soft snoring drifted across the room to him, a sure indication that his friend was at last sleeping peacefully. Taking the last swig out of his martini, hawkeye began feeling drowsy, his eyelids slid shut of their own accord and he followed trapper into dreamland, the martini glass teetering in his limp fingers.
An hour later, Henry walked casually into the Swamp to let the two weary surgeons know that their flight to Tokyo had to be delayed until the following morning. He opened the door and stepped inside.
"Hey guys. Your flight to…." Henry stopped in mid sentence as he noticed his two top surgeons locked in the respite of slumber.
"Ah well. It's nothing that can't wait until they've had a chance to rest up. No need in waking them for something trivial after what they've been through today." Henry thought to himself as he moved quietly across the tent and pulled a blanket lightly over the sleeping forms of his friends, bending to gently tug the martini glass from Hawkeye's limp grasp. He then turned quietly and slipped out of the Swamp, leaving the two slumbering surgeons to their rest.