Trapper cursed under his breath as the jeep smashed over yet another series of deep potholes and large rocks. A call had come in that morning from the 8063rd MASH, they wanted to swap surgeons for a couple days to catch up on each other's surgical technique. Trapper had been nominated to go, Henry couldn't go, being the commanding officer as no one wanted Frank in command. No one really wanted Frank to be the one to represent their unit. Hawkeye had an upcoming three day pass and to go to Seoul, and so did one of the nurses. Trapper tried to swerve to miss another mass of potholes when a bigger problem was introduced: shelling. Macintyre slammed on the brakes as a shell exploded in the middle of the road less than a hundred feet ahead of him. "Oh that's just great!" Trapper shouted to himself as he grabbed his medical bag and jumped out of the jeep. "These jeeps can hardly take the road as it is. They can't drive through shell holes." He flung himself down under a tree half a dozen paces from the road, hopping that the trees would be enough protection from the shrapnel. The shelling was getting worse by the minute and he had absolutely no intention of trying to drive anywhere while it was going on. Suddenly the explosion of a shell sounded particularly close followed almost immediately by a second explosion. Trapper curled up as tight as he could to protect his head. When he looked up again, his stomach sank; the jeep had been hit. His transportation had been reduced to a twisted, black smouldering mess. He got to his feet but kept doubled over and ran further into the trees. Another shell fell away to his left, as he threw himself to the ground again he felt a burning pain in his arm. He looked and saw that his left arm was now bleeding. He got up again and ran further until the trees were thick, he dropped to his knees and pulled some forceps out of his bag. He pulled out as much of the shrapnel as he could and then tied a pressure bandage around it. Trapper reached for a syringe and a vile of morphine but stopped before filling the needle. "Nope, can't do that. That stuff'l put me half asleep and I'm gonna have to get moving as soon as this shelling stops. I guess I'm just gonna have to deal with it." He put the needle and drug back into his bag and curled up against the tree.
The shelling lasted for almost four hours and it was getting dark. Trapper stood up and leaned against the tree he had been sheltering under. He slung his bag over his shoulder and started walking back towards the road. However, whether it was the shelling, blood loss, or the failing light, he got turned to far to the right and was walking parallel to the road instead of towards it. It continued to get darker and Trapper finally accepted that he was lost and decided to look for a place to spend the night. He saw an evergreen tree with boughs coming down nearly to the ground; all the way up it was thick with needles. "Good as place as any I guess." He crawled underneath the boughs where they were thickest above him and pulled out a can of C-rations.
Meanwhile, at the 4077th there was a meeting in Colonel Blake's office. The doctor from the 8063rd had barely gotten there due to the shelling. And when a call came from the 8063rd wondering if anyone was coming from the 4077th it was panic time. Frank and Margret even acted worried. "Hennery, Trapper left hours ago, even if he drove slow because of the road he would be there by now." Hawkeye exclaimed while leaning with both hands on his Co's desk. "I know, I know." Hennery answered. "Maybe he just stopped somewhere to wait for the shelling to quit." Klinger suggested. "No, it's been over for almost three hours. He should have been there by now, or be back here. Hennery, we've got to do something!" Hawkeye was clearly becoming more frustrated and worried by the second. "Yes sir" Radars voice came just as Hennery opened his mouth to call for the corporal. "Radar, get a hold of the MP's. Tell them to start looking for Macintyre as soon as possible." Hennery ordered and Radar quickly left the office. "Hennery is that all?" Hawkeye obviously wasn't satisfied. "Well what are we supposed to do Pierce?" Frank objected. Hawkeye was about to give one of his normal retorts about how Frank should go practice tap-dancing in the minefield but Father Mulchahy cut him off. "Captain, I'm afraid that humanly, there just isn't much more that we can do. We can't very well go out and look for him ourselves, surely wounded will be coming soon?"
"That's right Father. There's been heavy fighting to try and get hill 73, we can't do anything more." Hennery solemnly confirmed. "Now look, everyone just go get some rest if they can. We won't do those wounded kids any good if we turn into zombies." Hennery continued. Slowly everyone filed out of Hennery's office and went to their tents.
Trapper woke up cold and stiff and with a throbbing arm. He drug himself out from under the tree and looked around. It was just barely light out; he looked down at his watch but couldn't make out what it said. Having no other options he started walking again, he walked for about an hour before he noticed something. The scenery had drastically changed, instead of the trees that were native to Korea; he was surrounded by tall spruce, poplar and some other trees that he didn't know the name of. He looked back but there was no indication that he had been in anything but this type of scenery. He shrugged and kept walking, being no expert on nature he didn't bother trying to come up with an explanation. He didn't know what good an explanation would do anyway, he couldn't eat it, drink it and he couldn't ride it back to camp. No matter what the explanation was he would have to keep walking.
"Majors Burns and Houlihan, Captain Pierce and Father Mulchahy, please report to Colonel Blake's office immediately." Radar's voice came over the PA speaker around 11:00am. "What's up Radar?" Hawkeye asked as he came into the outer office behind Burns. "Uh, I don't know exactly. The Colonel got a call from some MP's about ten this morning." Radar answered. "MP's? It must be about Trapper!" Hawkeye exclaimed and dashed into the inner office ahead of Frank. Despite Hawkeye's badgering, Hennery wouldn't say anything until everyone was there. When everyone was there, Hennery finally told them what was going on. "Listen guys, I really don't know what to say or how to say it that'll make this in any means easy. So I'm just gonna say it. The MP's found a jeep that had been bombed. They could just make out the serial number on the back bumper. It was the one that Trapper was driving; they even had a demolitions man look at it. He said that it took a direct hit to the hood, there wouldn't be much if anything left of anyone in the front seats." Hennery could hardly speak the last sentence as tears welled up in his eyes. Hawkeye was the first to break the silence. "That doesn't mean that, that, whatever it is that you're trying to say it means! Did they bother to look around?" Blake regained a bit of his composure and looked up at the people, his friends, gathered around his office. "Pierce, they did look around. But they couldn't find any sign of him." Hennery stopped again to swallow a lump in his throat before continuing. "Trapper's dead."
The sun was starting to cast long shadows through the trees as Trapper made his way through them. His arm was pounding, he hadn't eaten since last night, he only had one can of C-rations left. And now that it looked like he might be out here for a while, he wanted to conserve whatever he had. He had just stumbled past a large tree when he felt something on his neck. He almost reached to brush it away thinking it was a tree branch, but immediately froze when he realized that it had the cold feel of steel. "You make a great deal of noise, even for a human" came a melodic voice from behind him. "Yeah, well, I never claimed to be graceful." Trapper answered, not having any better idea on how to respond. "You are not from here; your cloths and your speech are unfamiliar to me. Who are you and where are you from?" The voice questioned. Trapper hesitated, all he was required to tell this guy was his name, rank and serial number. "I'm Captain John F.X. Macintyre, 259709901."
"That's your name, now where are you from?"
"That's all I'm required to tell you, international law I believe." He instantly regretted that answer as the steel quickly moved from the back of his neck to his throat, and it was definitely very sharp. "Where are you from?" The voice demanded again.
"Ok, ok. That's what they taught me to say, it wasn't my idea. I'm from the States."
"Where?"
"The States, you know, United States of America?"
"No, I don't know. Where is it?"
"What do you mean 'no'?" Trapper burst out before remembering the knife at his throat. The pressure of the knife intensified on his throat and Trapper hardly dared to breathe.
"Turn around" the voice demanded.
"Ok, uh, you think that you could let me? I mean, move that potato peeler away from my neck?"
His captor didn't oblige immediately, but after a short pause, the knife moved back an inch or to from Trapper's neck. He slowly turned around and when he saw who his captor was his jaw dropped. Standing there, right in front of him was something he couldn't believe. The person was tall, almost as tall as Trapper, he had long blond hair that went past his shoulders, a long white handled knife in his right hand, a bow and arrows strapped to his back and his clothing looked like something out of a mid-evil movie. Bright blue eyes looked Trapper up and down "I ask you again, where are you from? And look me in the eye when you answer." Trapper stared the person in the eye and told him again "I'm from the States." The person seemed to mull over this for a second or two before finally replying. "I do not understand your answer, but I can also see that you are not lying. Perhaps it is some distant land that is not known to my people? Maybe Mithrandir would know, or Estel. But that may wait, I see you are injured." To the relief of Trapper he sheathed his knife. "I am Legolas of Mirkwood. I apologize for the greeting, but there are many enemies about here."
Trapper nodded, he just couldn't think of any reply.
"Let me have a look at your arm, how bad is it?"
"Huh? Oh, I caught some shrapnel in it. It isn't too bad considering."
Legolas came forward and gently held Trapper's arm, he carefully loosened the bandage just enough to see under it. "I don't have supplies with me, I am afraid that I can do little for you. Come, I left my horse just beyond that thicket," he gestured behind himself to a thick bunch of trees. "Since you are in Rohan, I shall take you to Rohan's lord, and also to Aragorn. He is a skilled healer and I am certain he will be able to easily tend to your arm." Legolas started to walk forward and looked back over his shoulder to make sure that Trapper was following. When they came to the thicket, Legolas walked up to a white horse that stood waiting patiently. There was not saddle, bridle, not even a halter on the animal and Trapper wondered where it had been put. But Legolas didn't go for any gear; he simply sprang onto the beasts' back and offered his hand down to Trapper. He didn't accept, he was busy looking at the creature on top of the horse. "There's something that I can't figure about you Legolas. Actually, there's allot of things that I can't figure in general, but one in particular."
"Oh, what is that?"
"Who are you? I know your name is Legolas, but I just don't get it. There's some sort of air about you that seems different."
Legolas laughed, "Of course there is! As there is with all my kindred, I am an Elf." Trapper simply stared at him. Legolas laughed again. "Come" he said, "we must be off, and it is not safe to stay here too long." He stretched his hand out to Trapper again. When Trapper was on behind Legolas, the horse moved forward at no more than a word. Trapper didn't recognize the language, but guessed that if Legolas was an Elf, then he would be speaking Elvish. Trapper tried to blame it on blood loss, but somehow that didn't seem any more helpful, or believable. "If anything" Trapper thought, "I think I'd prefer that this is really happening. At least it means that I'm not loosing my mind."
About fifteen minutes of riding at a quick walk and they came over the top of a ridge, across a plane in a narrow valley between the mountains a single rocky hill was raised. On and immediately surrounding it was a small city. A wooden wall surrounded it and on the very top of the hill was a large building. When they got near the gate, Trapper saw many soldiers in chain mail, all with swords at their sides, most of them wore helmets and some carried shields. Legolas noted how curious their gaze was to his passenger. He didn't stop until they reached the foot of the stairs of the Golden Hall. With a word the horse stopped, Legolas dismounted, and waited for Trapper to dismount. "Come, this is Edoras, the capital of Rohan. King Theoden is within his halls, you shall see him first, though he will surely let you be tended to before questioning you much." Legolas led the way up a set of wide steps that had been cut into the ground.
Nearer the hall, they became steeper, stone steps which Trapper was beginning to have difficulty climbing. He wished miserably that he could go back to the 'Swamp' and crawl into his cot and never come out. He felt like he could hardly lift his head, never mind climbing a bunch of stairs and then being interrogated by the king of who knows what country. Trapper suddenly became aware of an arm going around his ribs and his left arm being pulled over someone's shoulders. He looked over and saw that Legolas must have noticed his difficulty. At the top of the stairs Legolas removed his arm from around Trapper. "Can you walk?" Trapper nodded. "Yeah, it was just the stairs. Thanks." Legolas gave a faint smile before proceeding. They came to a large wooden door and stopped in front of it, Trapper noticed the looks he was getting from the guards. "We must speak with King Theoden" Legolas told them, they nodded and with another glance at Trapper, pushed the doors open. Just inside the doors closed again. At the far end of the hall there was a group of people, some were standing, some were sitting at tables, and one was sitting on a chair upon a dais. As they approached, the conversation died down and all of them waited for the duo to get closer. When they were near to the steps of the dais, they stopped, Legolas bowed, but Trapper was to busy looking around to notice. "What have you brought back with you Legolas?" The man from the dais asked, bringing Trappers attention back to what was happening. "My lord, this is John MacIntyre, I came across him wandering in the land while I was out for a ride." Legolas answered.
"Oh? What business have you in the Mark?" Theoden addressed Trapper. Trapper suddenly realized how unbelievable his explanation would be. These people were literally from another world, they obviously didn't have guns, or any kind of vehicles. They had never heard of America, or at least Legolas hadn't, Trapper felt his stomach start to tighten. He looked up at Theoden who was still waiting for an answer. "I was lost, I didn't mean to be in your land." Theoden eyed him closely. "Your speech is strange, John Macintyre. Where are you from?" Trapper flinched slightly. "Well sir, I'm from a place called America." Théoden's expression turned to confusion and he looked over at another man that had white hair and a long white beard. He met Théoden's glance and shook his head, Theoden looked back to Trapper. "I have never heard of this place, where is it?" Trapper hesitated, before he could reply Legolas cut in. "My lord, forgive me for interrupting, but he is injured. His arm needs to be tended to, it looks like it happened a day ago at least." Theoden looked back to Trapper and finally noticed his arm in the bandaged that was by now brown from dirt and dust. "Yes, of course." Theoden said slowly. "My lord Aragorn, would you tend to him?"
"Yes, have supplies brought to my quarters." The man that Theoden had addressed stood up and strode towards Trapper. He also was quite tall, he had dark hair that came down to almost to his shoulders and a stern weathered face. "Come, I will see what I can do for you."
"Legolas, who is that?" Gimli asked his friend when Trapper and Aragorn had left the room.
"I don't know" the Elf replied. "It is just as I said, I was coming back from my ride when I heard something. I went to investigate and found him stumbling along, it is obvious enough that he is not from here, so I waylaid him."
"But what is this America that he speaks of? I have never heard of it, have you Gandalf?" Theoden looked again to the Wizard.
"I have not, I do not know that there has ever been a place by that name. Unless, perhaps it is the name of a village only."
"I do not believe that is the case" Legolas said. "When I stopped him I had a knife at his throat. I did not recognize the name either so I asked him again. I am sure that he would have told me the name of the country rather than just a village."
"If the blade of Legolas Greenleaf is at your neck it is certainly good motivation." Gandalf chuckled.
"He also looked me straight in the eye when he told me, there was no trace of a lie. Whatever, or wherever this America is, it is truly his home." Legolas added.
"Yes," said Gandalf. "I searched his face when he said that too, he was telling the truth. But it still remains that he is from somewhere."
Aragorn was just finishing bandaging Trapper's arm when a knock came on the door. "Come" Aragorn answered. The door opened and a young woman stood in the doorway. "My lord, my uncle bit me to come and show John to a room, once you are finished."
"Very well Eowyn. We are nearly finished." Aragorn completed tying the sling around Trapper's neck. "There, done."
"Will you require anything further my lord?" The woman asked Aragorn.
"No, that is all Eowyn. But John may welcome a meal and drink?" Aragorn replied.
"Yes, there is food and drink in his room." The woman motioned for Trapper to come with her and he followed her a few doors down the hall where she stopped at an open doorway. "My name is Eowyn" she said while she stood aside for Trapper to enter the room. "John MacIntyre." He held out his hand out of habit. Eowyn looked down at his extended hand for a moment before taking it in her own. Trapper shook it gently and released her hand. He then realized by her puzzled expression that they must not do that here. "Oh, sorry, habit. That's how we greet people where I'm from." Eowyn smiled. "That's all right, it is a good way to greet someone. There is food and drink in the room, will you be requiring anything more?"
"No, that's great, thanks."
Eowyn turned and walked down the hall, she soon rounded a corner and was lost from sight. Trapper went inside and closed the door behind him. There was some soup and bread as well as a large mug on a small table near a bed. He didn't know which he wanted to do more: eat or sleep. He decided to eat, he finished quickly and then pulled the covers back and laid down on the bed. He pulled the thick covers back over himself. "Ah, this is allot better than those lousy army cots." He said quietly to himself as he laid his head down on the pillow.
Hawkeye felt sick to his stomach, he had been up all night arguing with himself. Trapper was alive; sure, he was on his way back here, or to the other MASH outfit. Any minute now he would show up, he made it out of the shelling. But everything was stacked against it, it had been almost two days since Trapper left. Over twenty-four hours since they found his jeep that looked like it had been through a paper shredder. Hawkeye was standing in formation with the rest of the camp; they were all here to pay their respects to Trapper. A few people got up to give a short speech, Hawkeye was one of them. No one could make a very long speech; they just couldn't keep the tears back. Not even Margret could hide them. When it was finished, Hawkeye made a bee line for the still. He poured a glass of gin and dropped down on his cot. Hennery came in a few minutes later. "Peirce," he said as normally as he could, but his voice still cracked. "Is there anything that I can do?"
"Not unless you can bring Trapper here. I can't believe that he's gone, and Danmit! All we could give him was a memorial; we don't even have a body to give him a proper funeral!" Hawkeye's voice rose with each syllable. He looked up at Hennery standing in the door. "I'm sorry Hennery," Hawkeye lowered his voice. "It's not you, I just, can't believe it."
"I know, I can't either. But look, if there's anything, I mean anything that I can do for you, my tent flap's always open."
"Yeah, ok, thanks Hennery. But I don't think that there's anything right now, I think I just need to be alone for a while."
"All right Pierce, whatever you say." Hennery tipped his hat as the turned and left. Hawkeye refilled his glass, before he sat down, he walked over to Trapper's bunk. He thumbed through a few of his friend's things, he didn't think it would be possible but his gut tightened up even more at a certain article. A small cardboard box, inside were dozens of letters, some written in a straight and pointed pen, several others in crayon. "Who's gonna tell his wife and kids?" Hawkeye said aloud. He picked up one of the crayon letters and started to read.
Trapper woke up feeling much better, he was surprised when he realized that his arm hardly hurt at all. Whatever it was that that Aragorn put on it sure worked well. He swung his feet onto the stone floor on which his army boots made a hard thud. He sat on the edge of the bed for a while and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and walked to the door, he opened it just as Legolas was reaching to knock on it. "Maer aur, mellon nin. (Good morning, my friend)" The Elf said as he bowed slightly. Trapper was once more unsure of how to react. "Uh, good morning?" Legolas laughed. "You do not know any Sindarin? I suppose you wouldn't. Yes, good morning John. Come, breakfast is waiting in the hall." Trapper followed Legolas down the hallways until they came back to the great hall that Trapper had first been brought into yesterday. Food was set out on the tables along each wall most of the people were standing against the pillars. Some of them were smoking pipes. Legolas motioned to a table where most of the food and pitchers were, there were a few people still sitting at the table, but there was still plenty of room so Trapper sat down. He put some fruit and bread on the plate in front of him; Aragorn went over to Legolas and started talking quietly to him in some strange language. Trapper finished just as a door opened and Theoden came in, followed by Eowyn, Gandalf and another man. Theoden sat on his throne while the others found a place either standing or sitting at the tables. "Master John, I should like to know how you managed to come here. It is plain that you have not lied to us when you told us where you were from, but there has never been any such place in Middle-earth."
"Well sir, I really don't know." He started slowly; he really hadn't been able to think much about his explanation. "I was trying to get somewhere when, uh, the road got dangerous. So I went of the road to find some shelter, but I guess that I got further away from the road than I should have. When I tried to go back I couldn't find it, so I just started walking in what I thought might the right direction. I stopped for the night and not long after I got going the next morning, the scenery changed quite a bit. But I'm no expert on landscape, and I didn't know what else to do so I kept going. It wasn't long after that Legolas found me and brought me here." Trapper hopped that would be a good enough answer. It didn't look like it was going to be. "You say the road became dangerous, what was the danger?" Theoden asked. "I'm afraid that gets hard to explain" Trapper admitted. "You see, sir, I've never been one for believing in this kind of thing. And it doesn't make any sense, but I would swear that this is just a different world altogether. And if it is we have things in my world that you don't have here, and some of those things have to do with me being here." Trapper sighed. "You see, there's a war going on in my world, I'm a doctor. Right now I work out of an army medical camp; I was supposed to go to another similar camp. These guys always wanna keep tabs on the other's surgical procedures. I was on my way there when some shelling started." Trapper stopped at the mention of 'shelling', from the expressions around him, the term was obviously not known here. "One of the weapons that we have in my world are big metal things, you can project them miles from where you are, and when they land they explode. We call that shelling."
"Is that what caused the injuries on your arm then?" Aragorn asked.
"Yeah, I tried to take cover in the woods but one got me before I got very far. When these things blow up they spray little metal fragments all over the place."
Aragorn nodded, Trapper had told him last night that he had pieces of metal in his arm, which Aragorn did a good job of removing. He didn't press for answers about what happened, and Trapper hadn't offered any.
"You said you were a 'doctor,' what is that?" Eowyn asked.
"A doctor, that's a sort of a healer." That seemed to be a good answer.
"Well, I have never heard of such a thing before, but I do not find it too difficult to believe that you are from another world. Now the question is, how do you get back. If you are a healer, then you are surely needed in a war. And also I am sure that your own people will be getting anxious about you soon." Said Gandalf. Trapper felt like slapping himself, of course. How could he have forgotten about them? He's been missing for two days, and in the middle of a war that's a bad sign. Hawk and Hennery, Radar, and all the rest must be out of their heads right now. The others seemed to be able to read his expression. "Legolas, can you get back to the place where you found John? Perhaps if you can, I could retrace his steps and find this road he was meant to be on." Aragorn suggested. Legolas looked over at Aragorn "of course I can get back there. And that should work, yes. We could start this afternoon."
It was around 1:00 that afternoon and a small group was riding out from Edoras. Legolas was in front, followed by Trapper, Aragorn and another man from earlier who had been introduced as Eomer. Trapper was given his own horse, despite the fact that he told his escort that he didn't know how to ride. Thankfully the horse he was given was extremely well behaved, in fact the mare knew what to do better than Trapper did. Guided by Legolas, it wasn't long before they reached the place where Legolas had found Trapper the day before. Here they dismounted and tied their horses, all but Legolas tethered them to nearby trees, Legolas left his horse loose as always. Aragorn now took the lead, stooping down now and then to observe Trappers tracks. Suddenly Aragorn stopped; he looked about the ground in front of him. Then he turned and looked at the tracks he had been following and back ahead of him again. "What is it?" Legolas asked noticing the Ranger's actions. "His tracks just disappear. There is no sign of his tracks past his point." Legolas came up to his friends' side and looked around. "So they do." Trapper came up behind the Elf, "great, now what?" Trapper muttered under his breath. "We shall simply have to get you used to our world. It looks like you may be here for a while." Legolas replied. Trapper looked over at him, he thought that he had said it quietly enough for no one to hear; apparently Elves have good hearing. "So it seems" Eomer agreed. "I don't suppose---" Legolas began but stopped abruptly and looked away to their left. "What is it Legolas?" Aragorn asked in a whisper. Legolas didn't answer immediately; he stood as if listening for a moment before he turned back to Aragorn. "Orcs."
"We must get back to the horses and get out of here, if they are many we do not have the numbers to fight." They all turned and made their way back to the horses as quickly and quietly as possible. No one bothered to tell Trapper what these things 'orcs' were, so he just played along and followed the group. The got to the horses and had just mounted when a harsh cry went up from the bushes a short ways away. Legolas pulled his bow and an arrow from their places on his back in one movement, he had the arrow fitted before the bow was in front of him and almost instantly had aimed and released the arrow. A sharp twang came from the string, a moment later another harsh cry, then silence. "That first cry was a call, if I know anything of orcs." Said Aragorn. "There were more with that one and they will be here soon. Let us go swiftly." Legolas replaced his bow and they all checked their horses to a gallop as they fled back to Edoras.
"Colonel, I'm worried about Pierce." Hennery looked up in surprise, that wasn't a remark usually heard coming from Major Margret Houlihan. "So am I" was all he found to reply. "Sir, I thought that you gave him a three day pass, didn't that start today?" Margret asked.
"Yeah, it did, but he cancelled it. Said he didn't feel like going to Seoul."
"Sir, might I suggest calling in Major Freedman? Maybe he can help, I think we could all use some help."
Hennery looked at her again. "Major, it's unlike you to be acting so concerned about Pierce."
"Yes sir, but this isn't exactly an everyday experience. Macintyre and I weren't really friends; there were times when I wished he would get his jaw broken. But, I never wanted him to be dead."
"Hey, did you say call in Sid Freedman?"
Margret nodded.
"Well now that's a great idea Major. I'll do that right now. Radar!"
"Yes sir." Radar's voice came about the same time his name was being called. "I'll get a call into Seoul to Dr. Freedman."
"I want you to get on this right away" "Yes sir, I'll get on it right away." Margret rolled her eyes as Hennery and Radar said the same things, Hennery giving the orders which Radar somehow already knew. Radar exited and Hennery sat back down behind his desk. "I'll tell ya Major, I sure hope that Sid can help Hawk some."
Back in Edoras, the news had been given that they could find now way to get Trapper home, so now he had to learn how to take care of himself here. Trapper remembered what Theoden had told him when they got back. "We will be going to Helm's Deep very soon. I gather that you don't know how to handle a sword John, but you may have to learn. Even if you don't come to Helm's Deep, it is possible that Edoras will be attacked." So now, Trapper was dodging blows and trying to deal attacks while to and from Eomer, while Aragorn stood off to the side giving him pointers on how to sword fight. They had been at it for about two hours. "That had better be enough for now." Aragorn finally said when Eomer put his sword to Trappers chest again. Trapper lowered his blade and handed it to Eomer. "That wasn't very long, Aragorn" Eomer said as he put the practice blades away. "No, but his arm is still not fully healed. It will do no good if he strains it too much."
"You sound like Elrond" Legolas said coming up behind Aragorn.
"Im caro al. (I do not)" Aragorn said in a way that sounded like a protest. Legolas only laughed at Aragorn's response. "Come John, I need to change your bandages anyway." Trapper followed Aragorn back to his room where supplies were waiting. Aragorn carefully untied the old bandages and started to rinse the wound with hot water. "I have a question, just what are orcs?" Trapper asked. Aragorn stopped working for a moment and looked up at Trapper. "They were once Elves, then the first dark lord Morgoth took them and tortured them until they became foul and evil creatures. And now by devilry they can be spawned like flies, they serve now Sauron and Saruman. Saruman has gone even further by some witchcraft and crossed the orcs with the wild men of Dunland and created the new breed known as Uruk-hai." Trapper shuddered as Aragorn told him this. He had seen allot of punishment dealt to the body, but he couldn't imagine anything that could possibly change them. He hadn't actually seen any orcs yet, but just from the cries they heard earlier, it didn't sound like Aragorn was exaggerating in his description. "You said you were a healer John?" Aragorn asked as he continued working. "Yeah, surgeon to be exact." Aragorn cast a puzzled glance up at him. "What is a surgeon? I have not heard that term before."
"Well, I operate. Like what I'm doing now in the war, men get brought in that have been shot or have shrapnel in them. Me and the other doctors I work with cut them open and remove the shrapnel, sew up anything that's bleeding where it shouldn't be and sew the kids together again. It's not pretty work, but in my world there's a high demand for it, especially now." Aragorn looked up at him with wonder. "Then you are certainly missed where you are from. I can treat many things, and among all races would be considered a skilled healer, but it sounds as if you do far more than I. You certainly must be a man of great skill John."
"Well thanks, but no more than what you do I'm sure. And you can call me Trapper."
"Trapper, very well." He continued working for a while until he had the arm fully re-bandaged and in a sling. "There, now I believe that the evening meal will be ready soon. You might as well be on your way there, I will clean up here, it won't take long."
"Thanks Aragorn" Trapper said as he got up and strode towards the door.
"Trapper."
"Yeah?" Trapper stopped in the doorway.
"I also believe that you shall have to decide which your desire is; most of the population of Edoras will be going to Helm's Deep soon. And since we cannot find how to get you home, you will either have to come with us or stay here. Either choice presents it's share of danger, if you come with us you will certainly see a battle, but you will not be alone. If you stay here you might be attacked, but if you are, there will be very few soldiers to help."
"Yeah, ok." He continued out the door and down the hall.
As it turned out, Aragorn was right, Theoden presented Trapper with his choice of ether staying in Edoras or going to Helm's Deep. "In truth, I think that it may be best that you stay here" Gandalf advised. "You are still injured and do not know how to handle a sword. What practice you had this afternoon will avail you little against the host of Saruman." Trapper thought about his choices for a moment. "You're probably right Gandalf. But if you or anyone else don't mind, I'll go with you." Theoden raised an eyebrow. "I have no objections if that is what you wish to do, I did leave the choice up to you after all. But it was not the one I expected you to take."
"You said that you're going into a battle, true I don't know the first thing about fighting. But I do know the last thing, you end up with wounded. I'm a doctor; you'll be needing one of those by the end."
"I daresay we shall" said Theoden. "Very well then John. You shall come to Helm's Deep with us, we leave tomorrow morning."
"Hi Hennery." Sidney Freedman greeted the commanding officer of the 4077th. "Hi Sidney." Hennery replied. "Come on in." The two men walked into the Colonel's office, Hennery headed straight for his liquor cabinet. "What'll you have Sid?"
"Nothing Hennery, thanks." Hennery poured himself a glass of brandy and sat down behind his desk across from Dr. Freedman.
"I'm sorry to hear about Trapper." The psychiatrist said solemnly.
"Yeah, thanks Sidney. Wow, you know, I just can't believe it, how could this happen?" Hennery looked up at Sidney who got up and came around the desk and placed a hand on Hennery's shoulder. "And I'm the one that sent him out there." Hennery said to himself, but Sidney heard it. "It wasn't your fault, Hennery. It was a fairly routine call, you didn't force him to go out there, you didn't tell the enemy to start bombing that road."
Hennery sighed. "I know that, I guess. But, I just wish that there was some real answers. I mean, we've all made it through some shelling before, why couldn't it be just one more time?"
Sidney spent over two hours with Hennery Blake, doing his best to make the Colonel feel a little better. When Blake finally started to feel a little better, he sent Sidney over to the 'Swamp' to see Hawkeye.
"Hi Hawk."
Hawkeye looked up from a piece of paper he was reading. "Hello Sidney. Hennery call you?"
"Yes, he told me what happened."
Hawkeye whipped his eye with his sleeve, "you know what this is?" He asked, holding up the paper he was reading.
"No."
"It's one of Trapper's letters from home, from one of his five-year olds that still doesn't know that daddy's not coming home." He set the paper on the table next to the still. "Who's gonna write them? How's anyone tell someone that? 'Yes madam, he died bravely, serving his Uncle Sam to the last' and all the rest of that military crapolla." Sidney didn't say anything as Hawkeye vented his frustration and grief. "Hawkeye, why don't you write them?" Sidney proposed when Hawkeye had finished. "Me? Sidney, I can barely deal with this myself, let alone trying to write a letter telling a woman with two five-year olds that she's now a widow."
"Sometimes it helps to write it down."
"Sidney, I just--" Hawkeye stopped and looked away for a minute, tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes and he could feel a lump reforming in his throat. Sidney sat down beside Hawkeye on his cot. "I think Trapper would have liked you to be the one to tell them. You were about the best friend he had here Hawkeye." Hawkeye put his head in his hands and cried.
They had been riding for what seemed like forever, Trapper was riding near the front with officers of Théoden's court and some of the others Trapper had met during his stay in Edoras. Legolas and Gimli were on his left, Aragorn was to his right, but Gandalf had left to go look for help. Trapper was glad that Aragorn knew his stuff when it came to doctoring, his arm hardly hurt at all anymore and was now usable and out of the sling. They rounded a corner and a large stone castle reared up in front of the company. "So that's Helm's Deep?" Trapper said aloud.
"Yes, the fortress of Rohan." Aragorn answered as he looked back over his shoulder at the line of men riding behind them.
Trapper wasn't looking behind; he was staring at the stone fortress looming up in front of them. It was huge; he wasn't surprised that Theoden had decided to make a stand here instead of at Edoras. They had just come down into a valley when a horn rang through the air behind them. "What was that?" Trapper asked in surprise. "The Uruk-hai are behind us. We shall have to hurry to make it to the walls." The company rode on now in haste, inside the walls they dismounted. Trapper stretched, he was glad to be out of the saddle. He wasn't used to riding and it had been quite a long journey from Edoras and he felt very stiff. "Probably would only have taken half a day in a jeep." Trapper complained to himself. He wandered up some stone stairs and came up on the wall. He could see a mass of black coming up the way they had ridden just minutes before, he could hear the beats of thousands of heavy booted feet pounding on the ground. Trapper suddenly felt like he had just realized the gravity of his situation, he now questioned his choice in coming here and mentally kicked himself for it. "I should have listened to them, they knew what to expect better than he did." He looked around, his gut tightened when he saw how many children were assembled, many that looked as young at ten. "My lord" Trapper was startled out of his thoughts to see a soldier standing in front of him. "Yeah?"
"King Theoden told me to get you fitted for amour and a weapon before the battle begins." Trapper's eyes flashed. "What do you mean armour and a weapon? I said I would come to help after the fight, I didn't say anything about during."
"Yes, I understand that. But if they do somehow break through the wall, you will need a means of defending yourself."
"Oh. Yeah, I hadn't thought of that." The soldier motioned for Trapper to follow him. "This way my lord." Trapper followed him to the armoury. Many shelves that he guessed had recently supported weapons and such were now nearly empty. The soldier removed a shirt of steel rings and handed them to Trapper; he took it and pulled it on over his shirt. It was heavy and felt quite constraining, he couldn't believe that men could actually fight in this stuff, and most of them were wearing more than this. Next the soldier handed him a sword and scabbard. A horn sounded and the soldier looked up. "I am sorry my lord but I must be away now. Can you manage alone now?" "Yeah, go ahead. Thanks." Trapper answered absent mindedly. The soldier bowed slightly and hurried out of the room. Trapper tied the leather belt around his waist, the sword attached to it made an awkward weight on his left hip. He heard some commotion so he went out to see what was going on. He came out onto the wall and saw that there were thousands of black specks on the ground below rushing towards the walls like flood waters. Arrows whistled upon the walls and Trapper heard screams as some of them found their mark. "Ladders!" He heard Aragorn's voice come from the lower circle, the wall Trapper had heard referred to as the Deeping Wall. He looked and saw that there were tall ladders being raised up against the walls. The black specks were climbing up them like ants. Trapper was frozen where he was until he saw that the Uruk-hai were steadily working their way along the wall to where he was. He slowly started walking away from the archway leading back to the armoury, when he came to the stairs leading down to the Deeping Wall, he stopped again. He finally got a glimpse of what these Uruk-hai looked like, he could understand the fear and hate that so many seemed to have towards these things. The screams were now frequent, thankfully the arrows had stopped for the most part, the fighting was now more brutal. Trapper ran from where he was to the aid of a nearby soldier who had killed an Uruk-hai but had been badly injured in the action. Trapper was at his side and checked his injuries; he had a deep gash in his side, at least four inches deep. Trapper helped him further up the stairs where it was a little safer. He reached under the armour he wore and ripped a piece off his shirt, he tied it as tightly around the man's side and then helped him further away from the battle. Another soldier was now at the top of the stairs. "Hey" Trapper shouted as he got nearer. "Where can I take this guy?" The soldier didn't stop to answer, he just pointed in the direction he was coming from as he hurried by. "Thanks, I appreciate it." Trapper said sarcastically as he struggled up the stairs with the wounded and by now nearly uncurious man leaning against him. Trapper found a small room around the corner, in it was some medical supplies. Trapper almost had to carry the man in and let him down to the floor. Trapper hurriedly looked for some bandages and water; he found them and came back. The man was slumped over with his head to his chest. Trapper checked for a pulse, then stood up and put the supplies back on the table; it was already too late.
He found a bag and filled it with as many supplies as he could and turned to go back out. Just then a massive explosion shuddered through the fortress, Trapper dropped to his knees and put his free hand over his head. He got up and hurried back out, there was now a huge hole in the wall through which the Uruk-hai were fighting. "Retreat!" The command was being shouted across the whole fortress, everyone dashed to get further within the fort.
Trapper was in what he guessed was normally the throne room here, but now it was the final corner that the defenders had to retreat to. The door shuddered a little harder each time under the frequent thuds from the battering ram. Trapper looked around, there couldn't be more than two dozen soldiers left here, some supposedly had retreated to some caves but that wasn't for sure. Now, almost everyone left here was propping tables, boards, chairs or whatever else they could find to help brace the door. Many of the men were leaning against it themselves, but they were getting thrown back each time the ram landed against the other side. "The fortress is taken, it is over." Trapper walked back towards Theoden, he was talking with Aragorn. "What can Men do against such reckless hate?" Theoden asked in a despairing tone. Aragorn looked up to the small window high up in the wall as the first light of dawn started to shine through. "Ride out with me." He said at first quietly, when Theoden looked up at him he repeated it louder, "ride out and meet them."
"For death and glory."
"For Rohan, for your people."
"Thanks for coming Sidney." Hennery said as he walked out of his office with the psychiatrist. "You're welcome Hennery; I wish I could have done more."
"Awe, Sid, you talked to almost everyone in the outfit, I know you helped most of 'em allot. And besides, you're only human yourself and Trapper was your friend too."
Sidney Freedman only nodded sadly and climbed into his jeep.
Trapper and Aragorn worked around the clock taking care of the wounded; for the most part Aragorn was in charge. Trapper was unfamiliar with most of the herbs that they used here, but Aragorn told him that he was glad to have such capable hands to help. "My lord Aragorn!" A man exclaimed from the doorway, he was carrying another man who was obviously badly wounded. Aragorn had just finished bandaging a deep cut on an arm; he rushed over to the man that called him. "Bring him over here" Aragorn instructed to the man supporting the wounded one. Aragorn helped lay the man out on a table where he checked the severity of the wound. He looked up at the face of the injured man; he couldn't have been much more than twenty. Aragorn sighed and took a step back from the table and turned away, a sad look on his face. Trapper had been watching, when he saw Aragorn's reaction, he got up and went over to the Ranger. "What's going on?" He asked. Aragorn sighed again. "That wound is too deep, there's just nothing I can do." Trapper looked to the unconscious, wounded man lying on the table and back to Aragorn. "Mid-evil medicine." Trapper muttered under his breath. "Aragorn, you want a crash course in surgery?" Aragorn looked at Trapper. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that this is the kind of thing that I'm trained for."
"You can do something for him? Wonderful! What do you need me to do?"
"Find some place clean for that kid while I get the stuff I need out of my bag I'll need you and one other person to assist."
Aragorn took off like a shot to find an area to operate and Trapper dug frantically in his medical bag to find the supplies he would need. "Most of it's not here" Trapper said to himself. He looked through his supplies; he only had the barest necessities of surgical equipment, two vials of locals, stethoscope, pain killers, and a small container of alcohol. "Ready" Aragorn's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Good" he answered. Trapper gathered up the supplies and followed Aragorn to where the patient was laying on a table, still unconscious. "Okay, go over to the other side of him, I'll need you to hand me things." Trapper instructed Aragorn. "You got another person to help?"
"Yes, Legolas will help." Aragorn pointed to the Elf standing at the far end of the table.
"Okay good. Aragorn, you need to was your hands in this, you'll be handing he stuff. Legolas, you take this, and get a chair. You'll be keeping check on his vital stats." Trapper handed Aragorn the container of alcohol and handed the stethoscope to Legolas. "You put these in your ears and this put this part against the vein on his neck." Trapper explained to Legolas how to use it. Legolas placed the pieces in his ears and Trapper held the other piece against his own neck so Legolas could hear what a pulse was supposed to sound like. "If it gets too slow tell me." Legolas nodded and examined the device that he was holding; obviously amazed that something could magnify sound that much. Trapper quickly washed his own hands in the alcohol which Aragorn had poured into a basin. Trapper quickly showed Aragorn all the instruments he had, and told him the names. "Okay, let's go."
The environment and few tools that Trapper had brought hadn't made it a particularly easy operation, but so far it had been successful; there had been no complications in the surgery, and the patient was now recovering. But he wasn't quite safe yet, Trapper had given him a shot of penicillin, but he was still worried that the man might get an infection. Aragorn had also gotten a crash course in surgery as Trapper had allowed him to actually do some of the operating, under supervision of course. Trapper was truly impressed with how quickly Aragorn had caught on. He couldn't pass himself off as a surgeon now, but Trapper was considering trying to teach him a bit more about it. "A couple more demos and he might be better than Frank." Trapper muttered to himself. He was lying on a cot in a quieter corner of a room. Trapper had lost track of how many casualties he and Aragorn had treated, but it was allot. Both of them were exhausted by the time they finished helping with the wounded, not that they were the only ones there to help, but they were kept busy. Trapper had been offered the chance to get some rest which he happily accepted, but Aragorn wanted to talk to Gandalf before resting. Trapper awoke to the realization that he had slept wrong and now had a sore spot in his neck. He sat up on the cot and looked around: Trapper figured it must have been about six in the morning. There rising sun emitted a subtle glow from the east, the moon was still visible, but most of the natural light was coming from the stars. Trapper laid down again and stared up at them, one in particular caught his eye. One that was brighter than the others that he hadn't noticed before whenever he did do some star-gazing. Not that astrology was ever anything that he was particularly interested in, but sometimes he liked to just stare up at the twinkling silver lights. He finally decided that he had better get up, since he didn't feel like he would be able to get back to sleep, and figure out what he could do to help out.
Hawkeye groaned as he lowered himself onto his cot. There had been a big offensive to get a ridge, and the casualties started to pour in; as was the case all too often there seemed to be no end of the wounded. But to most of the surgical staff, this only served as another reminder as to how much they would miss Trapper. Knowing anything about H.Q., they wouldn't be getting a replacement surgeon until three years after the war was over. Hawkeye cracked an eye open when he heard the door slam shut to see Frank come into the tent. "Do you have to do that Frank?" Hawkeye complained when Frank started shaving. "It wouldn't occur to someone of your calibre that a person might want to shave to feel clean would it?" Frank answered and continued shaving. "Date with Hot Lips tonight have we?" Hawkeye didn't move, but was starting to feel a little bit better for the moment; bugging Frank seemed to have that effect on people. "That's Major Houlighan! And I am a happily married man, I do not date!" Frank retorted. "Oh, I just assumed, I mean, I saw her getting all spiffed up earlier." Frank shot him an angry look. "What do you mean, spiffed up?" He asked, trying to act like he didn't actually care, and failing. "You know, hair, nails." Frank had just finished shaving and started rubbing the excess shaving cream off his face, ever harder as Hawkeye spoke. When he was done that, he stormed out of the tent. Hawkeye watched the Major walk over to Margret's tent and look around before hastily entering. It wasn't that Hawkeye had to watch to know what Frank was up to, it just amused him.
"Trapper!" Trapper turned to face the voice of Eomer. "What's up?" He asked when Eomer was closer. "I have good news! Some scouts have found a place that might lead back to your world!" Trapper's jaw almost dropped. He had given up hope that he would ever be able to get back to Korea, or subsequently back home. "Are you sure?" Eomer nodded. "That's great! Where is it?" Eomer explained where the scouts had found an area where the landscape changed drastically, far more than what was normal. It wasn't any where near where Trapper had entered Middle-earth, but from what he had been told, Eomer thought it was hopeful. "We'll take you there first thing tomorrow morning. It's getting late now." Eomer told him.
Trapper was standing on the wall; the setting sun was almost even with his eyes. "Trapper?" He turned to see Legolas standing a few paces away from him. "Yeah?"
"I am told that you may be returning to your own land soon."
"I hope so."
"I would like you to take this." Legolas held out his fist. Trapper extended his left hand and Legolas dropped into Trapper's palm a small gold medallion on a chain.
"It is the emblem of my people." Legolas said as Trapper held it up by the fine golden chain and stared at it in the fading light.
"Wow, thank you." Was all he could find to say. He looked up at the Elf, Legolas smiled slightly.
"May you remember your time here, mellon nin."
Trapper placed the chain around his neck. "You bet I will. This is gonna be something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Later that evening, Aragorn also came to Trapper. "I wish I could learn more from you." Aragorn told him as they sat across from each other at the small table. They had just had supper together and were now sipping on some of the finest ale that Theoden could supply, Aragorn puffed at his pipe. "I wish I could learn more from you." Trapper replied. Aragorn gave him a sidelong look. "Hey, nothing we have works as good as your herbs do. At least not for speeding healing."
"But yours goes far beyond my knowledge."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Trapper took another sip of ale. He had started to realize that leaving here didn't just mean going back to his own world; it would mean leaving these people who had so quickly become his friends. Several moments of silence passed, before either spoke again. "Take these with you when you leave." Aragorn broke the silence before sliding a small parcel across the table. Trapper opened it to find a small leather bag containing seven long leaves. Beneath that, a short knife. Trapper drew the blade from the black sheath, it looked like silver and completely untarnished. "The leaves are athelas, important healing herbs that are used here. The knife was forged by the Noldor in the first age. As tokens of our friendship, short as it has been."
"Thank you. I wish it could have been longer."
Aragorn smiled. Trapper was finding the upcoming parting ever harder to deal with.
Early the next morning, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Eomer and Trapper headed off to the place the scouts had discovered. They rode up to within a few paces of the area marked off by the scouts, they then dismounted and walked the remaining distance. Just as had been reported, the scenery suddenly changed. "Hey, this looks familiar." Trapper said as they walked a short distance. The small company came to the top of a ridge, and at the other side in the valley, green tents and cammo netting were clustered together. "That's it!" Trapper exclaimed. "Very well then, this is indeed your home?" Aragorn asked glancing back and forth between Trapper and the strange camp below him. "Yeah, that's it." Trapper answered, more solemnly this time now that the parting had come. "It is. I don't suppose you would come down for introductions?" Trapper asked. The others laughed a little. "I don't believe that would be wise, my friend. We had best return to our own world as soon as possible, lest the entrance disappear like it did to you." Eomer answered. "Yeah, I guess you've got a point there." Trapper replied. "Well, I guess this is it. Thanks for all your help."
"You are most welcome. Keep yourself well." Aragorn said.
"Navear ar galu, mellon nin. (Farewell and good luck)" Legolas told him.
After farewells, Trapper stood still and silent while the others moved back down the ridge the way they had come. Then they simply disappeared; Trapper's jaw dropped slightly. He sort of expected something like that, but seeing it still shocked him a bit. He stood there staring after them for a while, when he heard choppers coming towards the camp. Then the familiar voice over the speaker, "attention all personnel! Incoming wounded. All surgical shifts report to the O.R!" Trapper turned back towards the camp, the choppers landed on the pads, people were running about to prepare for the casualties, ambulances rolled up to the choppers. Trapper jogged down the hill towards the camp. By the time he got there, everyone had already entered the O.R. or pre-op. Trapper walked into the scrub room and pulled off his coat and hung it on a peg. "Trapper!" He turned to see Margret standing wide eyed near the sinks. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can't believe you're alive! We thought you were dead!" She cried. "Yeah, I was afraid ideas like that might be going around by now." He replied as he returned the hug. "Later though, you've got casualties." He pulled out of her embrace. She stared at him in amazement, she hadn't expected such a calm, no, sober reply from someone like Trapper John Macintyre. "Will you run this over to the swamp? Make sure it gets taken care of." He handed her the bag that had previously carried medical supplies, but now carried the gifts from Aragorn. The pendant from Legolas was still around his neck. "Yes, I'll take it over there. What's in it?"
"Some stuff that's kind of special to me."
Margret nodded and headed out the door with the bag.
"Thanks Major." Trapper said to her back as she left. He quickly pulled a surgical gown over his cloths and scrubbed up, then stepped into the operating room. He paused for a moment by the door, listening to the orders for various instruments or materials. Just then, Hawkeye's voice rose above the others, he had obviously been talking quieter to Frank and was raising the volume of the conversation. "Really Frank? Is that what you're over here for? I thought we were over here to keep the generals out of the unemployment office."
"How dare you slander the United States Army?" Frank burst out. "It's not bad enough that you're constantly out of uniform and curl up next to your still every night, but you have to dish out all this verbal, abuse to the finest association in the country! You, you, you slacker you!" Trapper chuckled quietly, Frank's insults were always good for a laugh. "Watch your language Frank. I can't allow bad language in front of Captain Pierce. I promised his mother." Trapper finally spoke up. The following silence was so intense that you could have heard a butterflies' wing beat as everyone unanimously stopped what they were doing and stared at Trapper. He almost laughed out loud at how stunned everyone was, but on the other hand, it made him feel like crying. 'Uhuh,' Trapper thought. "Just like Margret, they all thought I was dead.' He took a deep breath and released it again. "Trap, is that really you?" Hawkeye asked as he stared unbelieving at his friend. "Yep, it's me. I'm ok. I'll explain everything later." He walked up to a table where a wounded soldier had just been laid. He held out his hand for a nurse to pull a glove over. Slowly everything started rolling again, instruments were called for, people bustled in and out.
It wasn't too long of a haul in the O.R., something that everyone was always thankful for. Hawkeye and Henry met Trapper in the scrub room. Both gave him a hug before Trapper had a chance to say anything. "Trap, mind telling us where the hell you've been?" Hawkeye asked when he finally released Trapper from the embrace. Trapper didn't answer right away, he just smiled. Trapper glanced back and forth from Hawkeye to Henry and let out a sigh. "You'll never believe it." He finally answered. "Try us." Henry prompted. "Well," Trapper continued as he started pulling off his surgical gown, gloves and mask. The other two followed his example, but still paying close attention for an answer. "I was on my way to the 8063rd and the shelling started. I couldn't keep driving so I parked the jeep and tried to take cover in the trees. The jeep got hit, so I started walking. I ended up in another world in this place called Rohan and there were a whole whack of weirdoes there and they helped me get back and here I am." Trapper explained in the most nonchalant way he could. Hawkeye and Henry only stared at him in disbelief. "Come on Trap, you can do better than that." Hawkeye complained. Trapper looked up at him before he started scrubbing. "Actually, I can't. Sorry Hawk, but it's the truth."
Practically everyone in the camp tried their best to get the story out of him, but that was the only story that Trapper would give anyone. Everyone eventually gave up and made up their own versions of what happened, none of which Trapper bothered to deny. That night gave way to a large party in the officer's (and enlisted) club, which lasted long into the next morning. "Trapper." Hawkeye hissed into Macintyre's ear.
"Yeah Hawk?"
"Glad you're back."