Author's Note: This story starts when the members of the 4077th are saying goodbye. It's in the "Help From a Teenager" series and it will really only make sense if you've at least read "It Takes a Teenager to Tell" and "The Youngest Army Nurse". Enjoy!
"Saying Goodbye"
By: Corka
The war was finally over and everyone was happy. The night before, the entire 4077th had a party in the mess tent. This morning, everyone was saying goodbye. After Cora O'Lanny had said goodbye to all of the nurses, she went over to join Hawkeye and Margaret with little Cora to say goodbye to everyone else. While Hawkeye and Margaret were saying goodbye to Colonel Potter, O'Lanny was saying goodbye to Major Winchester. It was kind of an awkward moment for her since she never really talked to him besides the time when she told him how she played the flute. "Major." She started.
"Cora, I know we never really 'hit it off', but I do admire you very much with your bravery of coming and staying here, yet still being able to continue with one of your passions." He looked at the flute case that was in her hand that the 4077th had given her for Christmas. "I would really like you to have this to remember me by." he handed her an envelope that had a few sheets of paper in it. "A few of my favorite flute compositions are in there. I'd like you to take it. You have more use for them than I do."
She opened the envelope and looked inside. "Thank you Major." She put her flute case down by her bag and gave him a hug.
"Please, it's Charles." He was always trying to get her to call him that, but she always stuck with Major.
"See ya Charles." O'Lanny shook his hand. His eyes were suspiciously moist as she did so as well. Hawkeye and Margaret switched places with O'Lanny to say goodbye to Charles as O'Lanny went to say goodbye to Colonel Potter.
"I'm gonna miss you Colonel." Tears built up in her eyes.
"I'm gonna miss you too." Tear were also in his eyes. "I hope you have as good of a life as I know you will. You're going to be real happy now, I know that for sure."
"Yes sir. I know. I'm just a little nervous to back to school."
"You'll do fine." He gave her a reassuring look.
"Thanks." She gave him a big hug and tried to put everything that happened at that moment into a memory. O'Lanny could never remember any of the times she had hugged her own grandfather since sh was only two when her only grandparent that was still living had died.
"I think Sophie would like to say goodbye to you." He tried to laugh a little with unsatisfying results.
"Yeah, I think I want to say goodbye to her too." O'Lanny smiled and walked over to where Sophie was tied up, waiting for her rider. She petted her nose and hugged the horse that had given her a lot of comfort and had given her many fun rides as well. "I'm gonna miss you too, Soph. Sometimes, the only person that a girl wants to talk to isn't even a person at all, well you know what I mean. That person is a horse, and I loved having you to talk to." O'Lanny hugged Sophie again with tears running down her face, "I'm gonna miss you so much. You have fun at the orphanage. Those kids will really love you." She petted her one last time, made sure she got a good look at her to remember her by and told the horse goodbye.
O'Lanny wiped the tears away and went back to join the rest of the humans and waved to Charles as he rode away in the garbage truck. Margaret had little Cora in one arm and the other hand on O'Lanny's shoulder as they watched, with tears in their eyes, as Hawkeye and BJ gave a solute to Colonel Potter before he left. Then, it was time for Hawkeye, Margaret, Cora, and O'Lanny to leave. BJ walked with them up to the chopper pad and helped them strap their stuff to one of the litters. O'Lanny would take the other one on their way to Kimpo Air Base. Then it was time to say goodbye.
O'Lanny sat on the litter she would be riding on as she watched Hawkeye and BJ, and soon Margaret and BJ say goodbye. When they were done, O'Lanny walked over to say goodbye to him herself. "I know it's hard for you to say goodbye. Well, it's hard for me too. But, at Camp Foster in Okoboji, there was always a motto for the last night when we would all say goodbye to each other." She had tears in her eyes again, and so did BJ. "You never say goodbye, because that means it could be permanent." Her voice cracked from the oncoming tears. "You always say 'See ya later' because, you can never break a promise, and this way…you're promising to see the other person again later." She broke out into a full fledged sob and BJ grabbed her too him and hugged her.
"O'Lanny," he was finally able to say something after he swallowed the lump in his throat the best he could. "I'll see ya later."
"See ya." She tried to put a smile on her face and it sort of worked. Hawkeye and Margaret both had tears in their eyes after that. Pretty soon though, it was time for them to get in the chopper, and take off.
Before the chopper rose, BJ yelled to Hawkeye, Margaret, and O'Lanny, "I'll see ya later, I promise, but 'till then, I left you a note!" They all looked confused because they couldn't really understand him that well over the chopper, but when they rose up into the air, they understood what BJ had said. 'Goodbye' was written in stones. Margaret started crying and Hawkeye wrapped his arm around her and his daughter. O'Lanny closed her eyes and tried to picture what her new life would be like. As much as she saw, she knew it would be good.
The End