Author's Note: I don't own the characters. I know that it is June and a random time for a holiday fanfiction, but here it is anyways! I love reviews!!!!!!
A cold thanksgiving rain fell on the mess tent at the 4077th as BJ tried in vain to cut a bite of the turkey on his plate.
"You know, we could use these to fill the pot holes in the compound," Hawkeye joked.
"I bet it isn't even real turkey," BJ sighed and dropped his fork and knife on the plate with disgust.
"Aw come on fellas," Father Mulcahy pled as he sat down. "Igor tried to make this festive."
"Next time he shouldn't try so hard," Hawkeye muttered.
"You think you can do better!?" The angry cook snapped, having over-heard the conversation.
"I could," Klinger called out from the other end of the table.
"Oh please," Charles chuckled.
"I must say I agree with the major," Margaret shook her head.
"Put me in charge of Christmas dinner and I promise you won't regret it."
"I may not, but my stomach sure will." Charles joked.
"Aren't you busy enough," Colonel Potter demanded.
"Colonel, it can't be any worse than this," Hawkeye pointed out as he gnawed on his dinner. "I say let him try."
"I'm in for letting Klinger try," BJ agreed.
"If it means you aren't yelling at me about the cooking…" Igor crossed his arms.
"The day'll already be shot," Charles frowned. "Let the man try."
"Sounds like majority rules then," Colonel Potter conceded.
Klinger grinned and everyone turned back to their dinners.
"Hey Beej, didn't you get a letter from Peg?" Hawkeye reminded his friend.
"Oh yeah," BJ's eyes lit us and he pulled out the letter from his wife. He skimmed the letter. "Oh Peg doesn't know if she put the tree up this year," BJ reported. "She is thinking of taking Erin to her parents.
Hawkeye watched BJ read the letter and saw his face fall. "What's the matter?"
"Erin was upset when Peg told her Santa would be visiting soon. She cried all afternoon."
"What kid doesn't love Santa Claus?" Klinger asked.
"Apparently, last year, she asked the shopping mall Santa to have her daddy home for Christmas and when I wasn't there the next morning…" BJ explained, obviously troubled.
"Oh poor Erin," Margaret sighed.
"I just wish there was something I could do to help her believe." BJ frowned.
Klinger suddenly dropped his fork. "Choppers."
Sighing, the surgeons pushed their trays away and made their way to pre-op.
Later that evening, Klinger, BJ, Hawkeye, and Potter were playing cards and Father Mulcahy was watching intently.
"I'm in," BJ threw a dollar in the pot.
"I fold," Klinger sighed crossly.
"Three hands in a row," Hawkeye shook his head and poured a fresh drink for everyone. "Not good Klinger."
"I'm gonna go broke if I keep playing."
"I could help," Mulcahy offered.
"Thanks, Father, but that wouldn't be right."
"I think I'll fold too," Potter stroked his chin as he looked over his cards. "Hey fellas, this'll age me, but what is everyone's favorite Christmas memory?
Everyone fell quiet in thought.
"Christmas cookies," Hawkeye spoke up first. "My Mother would be in the kitchen for weeks before Christmas cooking all kinds over wonderful things. Sometimes she would let me help or taste things. I would help as much as any five-year old could. It was too cold to play outside and Dad was there putting up the tree and we'd sing, but best of all were the Christmas cookies, the ones with little sprinkles…" He teared up and turned away from the group.
After a few moments, Klinger spoke softly. "The winter of '39 it seemed there was blizzard after blizzard in Toledo. Pop was in Cincinnati doing some business before the holidays. Christmas Eve came and he was still was gone. Mom sent us to bed assuring us he would be home in the morning. My sisters and brothers and I woke up the next morning and he was still missing and it was snowing again. Mom was worried sick. That whole day, nobody dared to mention Pop. We didn't even think about the presents under the tree. That night we went to bed and again Mom sat up. I remember creeping out of bed and sitting on the staircase watching her sit in the living room just staring into the fire. I know I dosed off because the next thing I knew there was a cold blast of air on my face and I jumped awake to see the front door wide open and Mom was in Pop's arms. I yelled to my brothers and sisters and ran to Pop's side. At two in the morning, Mom made a pot of coffee and brought out a plate of doughnuts and we opened presents and, we celebrated Christmas right then and there."
"My favorite Christmas was the first one after I got out of the seminary," Father Mulcahy smiled at the memory. "After ten years, being back home with my family was the best feeling in the world."
After a long pause, Hawkeye spoke up. "A man of few words," Mulcahy smiled and nodded.
"Mine is easy," BJ grinned. "Five years ago, Peg and I were too broke to make the trip to either of our parents so we stayed home. I don't recall what I got for Peg that Christmas, but I will never forget what she gave me." BJ smiled into space.
"Well, what was it!?" Klinger demanded.
"Peg had knitted a bib that read 'I Love Daddy' after I opened it, she told me she was having Erin."
"Ahh," the Colonel grinned.
"So what about you Colonel, you brought it up," BJ asked.
"I've seen a lot of Christmases," Potter said thoughtfully. "I have wonderful memories of childhood Christmases full of laughter and joy, dark Christmases during the depression, happy Christmases with Mrs. Potter, but the best Christmas was the year I was stationed in a village about fifty miles north of Paris in the Great War. It was a one tent medical operation that makes some of the med stations on this front line seem like the Mayo Clinic. It was cold and quiet when all of the sudden we heard footsteps coming towards us. They were heavy, booted steps so we knew it was no civilian. For a bunch of doctors, we stood guard over the door as best we could." Potter stopped and grinned at the young men sitting around him, entranced by his story.
"Well," Klinger demanded, ""What happened?"
"Who was coming?" Hawkeye asked.
"Well, the steps stopped outside the tent and one of the boys went over and opened the door. A German solider collapsed from cold and exhaustion right there. It was Christmas eve so of course we brought him in and put him to bed. He slept most of the next day and woke up around dinner. It had been a dismal quiet day. None of us were too much in the Christmas mood as we sat around enjoying what we knew would be a short lived quiet. The soldier had a bag with him, that he'd been awful protective of. He went to pull something out of it. Boy, were we all on guard."
"What did he pull out?" BJ asked with large eyes.
"We were all pretty worried. The soldier knew a bit of English and must have seen the looks on our faces, he slowly pulled out a box and showed us what he'd been guarding. Fudge, from his sweetheart back home. He shared his fudge and we shared our coffee and spirits with him and somehow managed a conversation. Before we realized what was going on, the German soldier stood, smiled at us like he could have been any one of our buddies, then walked out the door and disappeared in the falling snow. In the distance we could hear gun fire and we knew Christmas was over."
The men all sat in silence thinking about past Christmases, well into the night.
The next day started as calmly as the previous one ended, but around lunch time, things took a turn for the worse. Klinger was pacing in front of his desk with a phone receiver firmly attached to his ear.
"No, no Sparky," Klinger shook his head, watching for Potter to arrive. "I don't need any aspirin or engine oil, I have these things to offer in trade…" Klinger shook his head at Sparky's response. "Turkey…you know…gobble gobble," Klinger stopped pacing when Potter walked in. "Come on Sparky, I know you can do it,"
"Everything okay son?" Potter asked as he warmed his hands.
"Just fine sir," Klinger grinned, and returned to his conversation with Sparky. "Yeah, well I'm not Radar. I need it here in two weeks……yes in time for Christmas." Klinger hung up and went straight to his other work without a word to Potter.
"These people are counting on a good Christmas dinner," Potter started.
"And that is what they'll get; now I have a lot of work to get done."
"You've been working around the clock for quite a while now. I don't know where it came from but don't over do it."
"Yes sir," Klinger said, without looking up.
Over the next two weeks, packages started showing up left and right and Klinger was more protective over the mail than ever. The day a large barrel arrived the whole camp was buzzing. Hawkeye and BJ tried to get whatever information they could from Klinger about the barrel and Christmas dinner, but Klinger wouldn't budge. Luckily for him, he was able to use the phone a lot as an excuse.
Each night after camp was silent he went into the locked storeroom in the mess hall that Igor was letting him borrow. The room was over flowing with packages of all sizes and shapes. Klinger was really enjoying planning the grand Christmas surprise for his friends. He knew this Christmas was one none of them would ever forget. On the night before Christmas Eve, Klinger locked himself in the storeroom one last time. The barrel was one of the first things to arrive and Klinger had read and reread the letter that came with it so many times, it was almost memorized. Radar's family sent a massive care package. Klinger knew Radar and Sparky stayed in touch and he assumed Sparky had told Radar the trouble he was having finding a turkey. The barrel held three turkeys, all at least twenty pounds. The O'Riely's also sent frozen cranberries and eight dozen potatoes packed in sawdust. Mrs. O'Riely wrote the letter explaining how Radar was in Des Moines now, but still spoke of his friends at the 4077th. She wanted to repay some of the kindness that was bestowed on her son and she hoped they would have a good Christmas dinner. Klinger pocketed the letter. He knew the others would want to hear it. The next package was actually a series of boxes filled to the brim of all sorts of cookies; sugar, chocolate, gingerbread, nutmeg and raisin. In the first box that arrived was a dozen cookies covered in sprinkles. A letter was attached from Daniel Pierce, Hawkeye's father.
"Dear Klinger,
I have heard so much about you from my son's letters, but I still can't picture a grown man in an evening gown. I guess seeing is believing. I have contacted Peg Honeycutt and Colonel Houlihan and the five of us (Erin Honicutt included) will be able to arrive on Christmas Eve at your request. I understand you will have transportation to bring us from Seoul to your camp. I sent some cookies ahead. When the girls in Crabapple Cove heard that Hawkeye's favorite Christmas memory was cookies they all set to baking. Twelve dozen or so should be arriving over the next few days.
Sincerely,
Dr. Daniel Pierce M.D.
Klinger was giddy with the knowledge that his friends' families were all so close. He turned and looked at the piles of gifts that were scattered everywhere. Many were from the Winchesters which surprised Klinger as he read the tags. Charles apparently told his sister and parents about his camp mates because there was a gift for each doctor, nurse and personnel member at the 4077th. Mrs. Winchester mentioned that she had spoken with as many families as she could and everyone was eager to come. She'd also spoken with Father Mulcahy's sister, Jane, who was so moved by everything that she was personally paying for several families to fly. Mildred Potter and the Klingers were stopping in Hawaii and bringing Kelley's family over. Klinger smiled to himself when he realized that not only were his friends in Korea becoming a family, but their stateside families were becoming a giant family. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Klinger jumped a mile. Poking his large nose out, he saw it was Colonel Potter.
"Oh hey Colonel!" Klinger slipped out.
"Klinger, I just wanted to make sure everything was in order for tomorrow." The weary Potter sat down on a bench outside the store room. He'd obviously just come from a grueling evening in OR.
"Everything is just fine sir," Klinger said with a grin. "Don't you worry about a thing."
"Alright son, just wanted to remind you how these people are counting on you."
"I know Colonel," Klinger was starting to get annoyed with his commanding officer's lack of faith.
"Is there anything I can help with? Or Igor?" Potter asked.
"Nope, just stay clear of the mess hall!" Klinger replied.
"Alright," Potter stood and stretched. "Well, I need to get back to OR, the wounded just seem to keep coming."
Klinger nodded, happy to see that his Christmas present to the camp was already in full swing. He'd made a deal with the CO of the 8063rd that they would take all of their wounded until exactly 8:00 on Christmas eve morning and then the 8063 would take all of the 4077th until 10:00 at night on Christmas day. He didn't want the nurses and doctors to have to work while their families were visiting.
After Potter left, Klinger went out the back door of the mess tent into the woods and quietly cut a Christmas tree. He drug it back and set it up in the mess hall. Next he took all the berries he'd found over the past few days and strung them with needle and thread. Hours later, he stepped back to admire his handy work. The tree was gorgeous, covered in berries and pine cones. Next he set all the presents that people had sent under the tree. Some had to be stacked on the tables and benches. The whole floor in the corner of the mess tent was covered in packages. Stiffelling a yawn, Klinger checked the time and started preparing the turkeys. Then while they roasted, he started peeling potatoes. Normally he hated the job but tonight all this work made him happier than he'd been in months. He put the potatoes in giant vats of cold water and moved on to his next task. His mother sent him five pounds of popping corn. Klinger first popped some to add to the tree. The rest, he filled bed pans with and set them on all the tables. He'd had a tough time sneaking them out of post-op without major Houlihan seeing him.
Looking through the supplies he'd traded for in the black market, he tried to figure out what needed to be done next. His eyes fell on the most priceless treasures. He'd traded two silk dresses, a hat and a magazine for what filled the two crates. He carefully lifted out nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, cream, and eggs. "Eggnog," he grinned. He looked back in the crate and pulled out a small flask filled with golden liquid. "Spiced eggnog courtesy of Charles!" Normally, Klinger knew Charles would have been furious with him for going through his personal belonging and taking some of his treasured liquor, but he knew Charles would forgive him this once; at least Klinger hoped he would.
The sun was starting to rise when Klinger jumped awake. He realized that he'd only dozed off for a few minutes, but he knew he still had so much to do. He listened and heard the noise in post op and knew that everyone was still working. Klinger had worried when there was a slow down around four in the morning, but decided that it was best that the doctors got a couple hours of sleep before everyone started arriving. Now the gathering area outside pre-op was quiet and empty, though he knew that wouldn't last. Klinger looked around the mess tent and tried to think of anything else that would make the day more special. Potatoes and real gravy sat on the warm stove, pounds and pounds of sliced turkey was sitting in the oven. Popcorn and cookies were on every table. There were bowls of steaming vegetables he'd bought or traded from local farmers, cranberries were sliced and sitting on chilled plates and baskets were full of bread just waiting to be warmed at the last minute. Klinger had twisted Rosie's arm into helping him drag the piano from her bar over. The eggnog was mixed and chilling. Everything was perfect. At ten o'clock sharp, jeeps started pulling into the compound. It was funny to see so many jeeps filling the camp so quietly. Several buses also arrived and a few people came by chopper. Klinger and the early arrivals encouraged everyone to be as quiet as possible. The family members milled around the compound quietly introducing themselves. Klinger easily spotted Mrs. Potter and vice versus. She walked up and congratulated him on doing such a good thing. She knew her husband would be equally pleased when he found everything out.
"Thank you very much Mrs. Potter," Klinger smiled. "I'll have everyone put their luggage in the tents after everyone comes out, but what's this?" Klinger pointed at the large box at Mrs. Potter's feet.
"Pies," Mrs. Potter said proudly. I carried this box with me for the last five days and not a single broken pie."
Klinger peeked in the top of the tall box. "Oh wow," he exclaimed. There were ten pies, resting safely in the box. He quickly took them to the mess tent, and then assembled everyone. First he explained that between post-op and all the tents, that there were enough beds for everyone, and explained that everything would be figured out later. Then he went to get the doctors and nurses and everyone in post-op and everyone fell silent in their excitement.
Things in post-op were wrapping up beautifully with Klinger's timetable. Klinger walked in as calmly as he could.
"Hey everyone, don't get to comfortable. You probably heard the jeeps roll in."
"Not more wounded," Charles wined.
"We've been going at it for 16 hours," Hawkeye moaned.
"At least we have Klinger's dinner to look forward to," Margaret sighed. "If we'll even get to eat it."
"Merry Christmas everyone," BJ said sarcastically.
"I know it's tough people, but chins up." The Colonel attempted to keep spirits up.
Klinger led the gang out to the compound and for all of ten seconds there was deafening silence that could be cut with a knife. Everyone stopped as if frozen.
"Mom!?" one of the nurses right behind Klinger whispered in disbelief.
"Daddy!" one child called out.
With that, the two groups ran to each other in tears and laughter.
After a good ten minutes of families explaining what Klinger did to make this happen, Colonel Potter stood up in one of the jeeps and everyone quieted down a little.
"I think I know who is responsible for all of this," Potter said with a tear in his eye. "Klinger, come on up and take a bow."
Klinger left his family's side and went and stood next to Potter. Everyone clapped and cheered.
"I know things have been tough for everyone, both here and stateside." Klinger spoke. "I just wanted to fulfill everyone's Christmas wish. For the nurses who've been quoting Little Women's opening line about Christmas, I assure you there are more gifts than I could count. We have cookies, some even have sprinkles, we have music, and for those most desiring family," Klinger glanced in BJ and Peg's direction and saw Erin in BJ's arms. "We have family. Now, while you all were in surgery and post-op this morning, I tacked up a note with each family's name on it that will explain the fine accommodations we have for this evening." Klinger grinned and everyone laughed. "You all can do whatever you want but at noon come to the mess hall, and not a moment sooner! There we will do introductions and dinner. My Christmas present to you all is no wounded for the next twenty four hours. You are free to relax and enjoy the holiday." Klinger exclaimed.
"How did you…?" Margaret asked.
"Made a deal with the 8063…you know how busy you've been lately, well they shifted their patients to us and now I've shifted ours to them. They'll arrive in while to get the wounded in post-op and we are free and clear!"
"You're something else son" Potter chuckled.
Klinger jumped down and was greeted with another round of applause. He joined his family again and everyone wandered around camp. Colonel and Mrs. Potter approached the Klingers after a while.
"Mrs. Klinger, you can be quite proud of your son," Colonel Potter grinned.
"I am, thank you,"
"Klinger, I can honestly say that I am impressed with all of this," Potter gazed around.
"Wait till you see dinner." Klinger winked. "I have a few final things to do…"
"Do you need help?" Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Klinger both asked.
"Oh no, but I will leave you all for now and see you at noon," Klinger, gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek and rushed into the mess tent.
He quickly put the pies to warming, set up the food and snuck his last surprise in the back door. Pierce, Winchester and Honeycutt were gladly helping the 8063rd load the patients in post-op into jeeps and a line was starting to form outside the mess tent. When it was finally noon, Klinger got everyone to quiet down so Father Mulcahy could say a prayer before the masses went in to dine.
"It's been a real tough year for everyone, both here and stateside." The preist said in his gentle voice. "But I think you all will agree with me when I say that things are a bit more bearable that we are with friends and family on both sides. On this most happy Christmas day I thank God for each and every one of you and for everything each and every one of you does. God, in the midst of all this blood and hate and war, help us to remember the birth of the tiny baby Jesus Christ. What he came for and what he died for. Help us all to live by his example as Max Klinger has done today. Please Lord, watch over and bless the people living in all of Korea and the world, bless the poor orphans and all of our families as they have traveled a great distance to make this day a bit more bearable. Bless all the soldiers who are in the field. Bless also President Truman and the First Lady and all of the leaders everywhere. Bless the officers who are working in Imjin to bring peace and an end to this war. Finally bless this food and fellowship that we are about to partake in. Help it to nourish not only our bodies but our spirits as well. Amen!"
"Amen!" Everyone chorused.
"Before we go in, I have a few things to say," Klinger held the crowd back a few minutes more. "First, Father, not to step on your toes but a little post script to your words, Bless the O'Riely family, for much of what you are about to see and assuming they haven't eaten it all, I have invited a few extra guests from down the road. Klinger threw open the door with a flourish and Mulcahy poked his head in and laughed. There in two somber lines were the local orphans and two Sisters. As people started filing in, the children started singing Christmas carols in rough English. Everyone was amazed at the spread of food, the tree and the gifts and people kept coming up to Klinger, thanking him for a most wonderful Christmas miracle.