A FRIEND IN NEED

Mill Valley, California

She'd found the bottle hidden underneath their bed. There were still a few dregs of whiskey at the bottom. Peg thrust it in her husband's face. B.J. winced, partly out of guilt, partly from the hangover he still had.

"Well?" Peg asked, calmly but firmly. "Do you have anything to say about this?"

B.J. wanted to come up with an excuse, something that would make things right again, at least for a while. It had worked in the past, when he'd first come home. But that had been more than a year ago, and the demons that had made him seek solace in booze with Hawkeye in the Swamp were twice as strong here, without him.

"Peg…I'm sorry." It was a lame apology, and he knew it, but he also knew he'd run out of things to say.

"B.J., I've tried to be patient. I know how horrible it was for you over there. I know people drank a lot more than they would have back home. But this has got to stop. I'm sorry, but I can't have Erin around you while you're still doing this to yourself."

B.J. stared at her, the pain of the hangover replaced by a sudden, sobering realization. "You're leaving," he said. It was stated calmly, matter-of-factly, the way he'd learned to do with the thousands of soldiers he'd treated.

"Do you think I want to?" Peg's eyes were moist. "But this can't go on. You need help, and I don't know how to give it to you."

B.J. held his head in his hands. "We had it so good," he said, his voice almost a whisper. "How the hell did I screw it up so badly?"

"You started drinking." Peg stood up. "I'll let you stay in the house while I take Erin over to my sister's in Alameda. I'll come back…when you're ready."

B.J. nodded. He knew he needed help...he desperately wanted to talk to Hawkeye, but that would be out of the question as far as Peg was concerned. As she left, B.J. sat on the edge of their bed, staring down at the floor. God, he needed a drink so bad…

Boston, Massachusetts

"How long will you be gone?" Louis asked.

"I'm not sure-a week, maybe."

Louis sighed. "I know Hawkeye asked you to do this, but…"

John McIntyre kissed her on the forehead. "It'll be OK," he said. "B.J.'s a good guy at heart-when it comes to family men, he's the real deal."

Louis looked at him. "You are, too," she said. "I know, you got 'Lonely' in Korea…but I was willing to overlook that because I knew you'd come back. So get out of here, you big lug. I can take care of things until you come home."

McIntyre grinned. His wife had been a lot more understanding about his behavior than a lot of other women would have been. But she was right-their marriage was intact, and would stay that way come hell or high water. B.J.'s was in trouble-and the guy deserved a chance to save it.

San Francisco, California

The hospital was a newer one, originally built for WW2 veterans with psychiatric problems and now being used for Korean vets as well. B.J. seemed morose when John first saw him, but grinned as he entered the room.

"Hey, Trapper," B.J. shook his hand. "I'd offer you some hospital food, but I don't want to kill your appetite for dinner."

"This place doesn't look so bad," John commented. "How are they treating you here?"

B.J. shrugged. "Well, it's not the Four Seasons." His mood became more serious as he sat down on the bed. "I guess you know why I'm in here."

John nodded. "Sydney gave me the Reader's Digest condensed version. How's Peg taking it?'

"Well, she's not thrilled with her husband being in the nuthouse. But a gin and sleeping pills cocktail isn't exactly a normal nightcap."

John looked at him. This man, so decent, thrown into one of the most indecent situations imaginable…he remembered when Hawkeye had told him about his own breakdown. It made him grateful that his sanity was as intact as it was. "So…wanna talk?"

B.J. shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm not going anywhere."

This is how it begins, John thought. This is how friends help each other when they really need it. It would take time, but B.J. would be whole again. For his family's sake, John would help this man who had become Hawkeye's closest friend after he left.

That's what friends were for, after all.

THE END