Hello there everyone! This is my first MASH story. I've seen the whole series on re-runs throughout the years but recently started watching again since it became available on Netflix. So, please read on and let me know what you think. I love reviews.
Also, here is the traditional disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with MASH. I just really like it. [And I might have a slight crush on Alan Alda.]
Change
Chapter One
The whole journey had been a long one, but she'd expected it. After all, it wasn't a decision she had made on a whim. Joining the Army's medical corps during the Korean War was the only logical thing to do and she could follow in her father's footsteps.
The driver let her know that they were only about ten minutes from MASH unit 4077. It was the outfit that had the highest percentage of lives saved and they got almost all the wounded. It was exactly where Elizabeth wanted; no, needed, to be.
She was grateful to have an end in sight for the ride, though. She'd been on a train from Chicago to San Diego and then on a plane from California to Seoul. Then she'd gotten on one of the military buses that was taking her to the MASH camp.
Elizabeth had no idea if anyone at the camp knew she was coming – well, aside from the colonel. She knew there would be some issues – she was a woman who had enlisted in the Army and she was part of an even smaller number of women who had started to practice medicine. Her father, an Army man himself, had secured her position as major – not that the title even mattered to her. She just wanted to help in whatever way she could.
Her friends back home told her she was crazy. She knew they'd never understand and she hadn't even tried to explain herself. Elizabeth had heard it all before. It was ridiculous and unheard of that she attended medical school, but once she set her mind on something, she never gave up. Her friends from college, on the other hand, were content to study to catch a husband and then let them defend their country. Elizabeth laughed and thought of her best friend, Suzie who was back home – she probably had already knitted her half a dozen scarves to send to her.
Doctor Elizabeth Lawrence didn't fancy herself an Army brat, despite what other people told her. She had spent her fair share of time at various camps in the US with her dad. And while she hadn't visited any out of the US until now, she knew she'd be sharing showers and a tent with strangers (but they wouldn't be strangers for long). The ground would be dirt and the food was going to be awful. She was grateful for her adaptable nature and lead stomach.
The bus pulled to a stop and Elizabeth reached to grab her things. She said a silent prayer that the unit would respond positively to a female doctor joining them and after smoothing her wrinkled uniform, she exited the bus with her duffel bag.
Elizabeth stepped onto the dry dirt and she realized how hot it actually was. She was beginning to sweat through her dress uniform.
"Doctor Lawrence," a jovial voice said to her.
She looked up and smiled. She recognized the man immediately, despite her not remembering how many years it had been since she'd seen him last.
"Colonel Potter," she replied. "It is so nice to see you again," Elizabeth saluted.
He saluted her back. "Lizzie, welcome to MASH 4077. Do you still go by Lizzie?"
Elizabeth laughed. "I sure do, Colonel."
"I'd like to apologize for not having a big welcome committee. I am letting most of 'em get some shut eye while they could. We just took care of fifteen wounded overnight," Colonel Potter explained.
She waved it off. "I didn't expect one anyway. It's not like I'm the Queen of England, despite the fact we share a first name."
A short young man in glasses dashed out from a nearby building.
"Colonel, helicopters are approaching. And ambulances."
He came to an abrupt halt in Colonel Potter and Elizabeth's presence.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No problem, Radar. Radar, this is Major Elizabeth Lawrence, our newest doctor. Lizzie, this is Corporal Radar O'Reilley."
Radar saluted. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
"Oh, please, call me Lizzie. And the saluting is unnecessary," she said while she saluted him back. "What were you saying about the helicopters?"
He turned back to Elizabeth. "We have two helicopters and a couple of ambulances coming in," Radar told them.
Colonel Potter nodded. "Well, Lizzie, looks like you'll be getting right into it. You ready?"
Elizabeth smiled. "Always," she said.
"Let's go," Potter said. "Radar, go call everyone. Lizzie, follow me. You can stow your gear in my office for the time being."
Radar took off in the direction of the office at a run, Potter and Elizabeth following behind.
By the time the rest of the surgical staff had joined them, Elizabeth was stripped down to her tank top [mostly because it was so hot, but she also didn't want to dig for anything else in her suitcase] and was scrubbing up. She was alone in the scrub rom with her mask already on.
"Nurse, you know that is not proper attire for an Army base and especially not for an operating room," Major Margaret Houlihan told her upon entering the room.
"Isn't that what our fore-fathers fought for? The right to bear arms?" Hawkeye laughed. "You go right on ahead, Nurse…?" he trailed off because he realized he had no idea who was behind the mask.
"Well, it is certainly what my father fought for, Major," Elizabeth said in a clipped, yet respectful tone in reply to Margaret. "And I'm actually a doctor."
BJ and Hawkeye smiled while Frank Burns scowled at her.
"You're a woman!" Frank exclaimed.
"Very good, Frank. Now, what are BJ and me?" Hawkeye deadpanned.
"I'm a man, too, ya know," Frank pouted.
"Are you sure?" BJ asked.
"I think I just saw his nose grow."
"It's okay, Frank, you can admit it. Geppetto told us all – you're wooden. He wishes he would have carved you a chin while he was putting you together, though," Hawkeye laughed.
"You really shouldn't take that, Frank," Margaret hissed.
"I can fight my own battles, Margaret," he hissed back.
"Seems to me you were just standing there," Margaret replied.
"Welcome to the 4077, doctor," BJ smiled.
"I'm BJ Hunnicut. This here is Hawkeye Pierce," he introduced them.
"I'm Elizabeth Lawrence. It's nice to meet the both of you. I'd shake your hands but I'm already scrubbed."
"We have a whole war to introduce ourselves."
"I'm Major Frank Burns. I'm also a surgeon," he frowned.
"Because that's what the diploma said when he won it out of a claw machine," Hawkeye laughed.
"And I'm Major Margaret Houlihan. I'm in charge of the nurses," the blonde woman introduced herself.
"It's nice to meet you all. I look forward to getting all of you when we're done in here," Elizabeth said.
"Incoming," a voice shouted.
"Let's go," Potter said to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had lost track of how many men she had operated on.
She rolled her neck while she waited for the next one to come in. Some men were better than others, but it was all basically the same – all of them had been hit by enemy sniper fire.
Her tank top was stuck to her back and chest – soaked with sweat. Her already minimal make up had run of her face and was not on the surgical mask she wore.
"Are you doing all right?" Colonel Potter asked her from across another patient.
Elizabeth nodded. "I'm fine, Colonel Potter."
Klinger came into the OR, helping carry in another man on a gurney. He and an orderly set the injured man down in front of Elizabeth.
"What do we have?" Elizabeth asked Klinger.
"Possible concussion; was knocked down and banged his head pretty hard. Also took a bullet to the left calf. Uh, here," Klinger pointed out.
Elizabeth inspected the wound on the young man's calf. It had gone straight through from back to front; she hoped it hadn't shattered the bone. After moving the gauze, a fresh well of blood appeared on the skin's surface.
"Nurse, please put pressure on that," Elizabeth told the closest nurse.
The nurse got to work and Elizabeth moved from the man's feet up to his head.
"Can you tell me your name, soldier?" she asked while she examined his eyes with a penlight. She nodded with approval. "Pupils are equal and responsive," she told the nurse. It was pretty safe to say that the man didn't have a major head injury.
"Are you an angel?" the young man asked in a quiet voice.
Elizabeth smiled behind her mask. "I'm far from an angel, soldier. I'm your doctor. Elizabeth Lawrence. What's your name?"
"Eric Kennedy," he replied.
"Well, Mr. Kennedy, we're going to put you out and when you wake up, your leg is going to hurt a whole lot less."
BJ and Hawkeye spared a quick second to watch her. They were beyond relieved that she was more than capable in surgery – they lucked out that she was more than just a pretty face.
"Are you sure you aren't an angel?" Hawkeye asked in response to her incredibly pleasant bedside manner.
"Believe me, Doctor Pierce, I am no angel."
He wore a wide grin behind his surgical mask and he and BJ shared a knowing look before returning their focus to their respective patients.
…
All in all, the OR was running for a solid fifteen hours. Everyone was tired, dirty and hungry. But they had managed to save each and every one of the twenty men that had come in this time.
The sun was already high in the sky by the time they all had emerged.
"Not quite the first day you had imagined, I'm sure, right, major?" Colonel Potter asked her.
"I had actually expected a lot worse, Colonel. My father had tried to warn me about these Army hospitals. But he wasn't lucky enough to have had you all working on him. That's probably why he still has the limp."
"Is that what he told you?" Colonel Potter smiled.
Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Yes. He told me he was wounded during the war by a German sniper."
The crowd stood around waiting for Colonel Potter to confirm that as the official happenings.
"Your father's best friend shot him in the patoot when they were horsing around on guard duty one night," he laughed.
Elizabeth looked at him with eyes full of disbelief.
"Lizzie, I was there," he laughed. "Shame on General Lawrence for not telling his only child the truth," he smiled happily and laughed.
Elizabeth started to laugh as well.
"Wait, your father is General Gregory Lawrence?" Margaret asked as she put the names together.
Elizabeth nodded. "One and the same. Do you know him?"
"Hot Lips likes to meet all the generals," Hawkeye answered for her.
Margaret rounded on the dark haired man. "You watch your mouth, you, or I'll have you court martialed for sexual harassment of a superior officer," she warned, her finger pointed into his eyes.
Hawkeye smiled and put his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, Major. Please forgive me."
"That's better," Margaret replied. "And in reply to your question, Major Lawrence: yes, I have met him, but just in passing a couple of times. He was always so friendly. And always talking about his Martha back home. She must be so happy to have him stateside again."
Elizabeth smiled and Colonel Potter put his hand on her back in support.
"Uh, yes. We're all happy he's back in the states," Elizabeth told them.
Colonel Potter sensed it was time for them all to get some rest.
"Radar?!" he called and looked around. After the ten seconds it took for him to spin around, the young man was at his elbow.
"Yes, sir?" Radar asked.
"How do you do that?" Colonel Potter asked.
"Do what, sir?" Radar replied.
"Nothing," the colonel shook his head. "Listen, Radar, please take Lizzie and her things to her tent, set her up with a tour on the way through."
"I took the major's things to her tent and I can give her a tour of the camp while I walk her there, sir."
The two of the men said everything at once. Elizabeth liked the way they were so efficient with their work.
"All right, Corporal. Lead on," Elizabeth said to Radar. "I look forward to talking with you all later, if that's all right. I was hoping to grab a shower, and maybe some food."
"Well, we have showers. No food though. Food-like substitutes are aplenty," Hawkeye told her.
Elizabeth giggled, the tiniest bit, before turning her attention back to Radar.
"Right this way, ma'am," he told her.
The colonel, BJ, Hawkeye and Margaret all watched them walk away towards Elizabeth's new quarters. They all distinctly heard her tease Radar.
"I told you to call me, Lizzie, Radar," her voice carried from afar. "I don't think I'm old enough to be a 'ma'am'," she said. Her laughter carried around the corner from the tents as the two of them disappeared.
Frank, who had remained un-stereotypically quiet during the whole thing, scowled.
"Watch it, Frank. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to make faces? If the wind changes, you'll get stuck like that," BJ told him.
"Well, I don't know BJ. It seems like an improvement on the old face he wears all the time," Hawkeye told his friend.
"Hardy-har-har," Frank fake-laughed. "Just keep joking, buckos. Letting a woman do a man's job? Especially a surgeon? Ridiculous!"
"I know they'll start to think they should have the right to vote and all of that will all just lead to chaos and anarchy," BJ told the man.
"And war. Oh, wait…" Hawkeye trailed off.
"Margaret…" Frank whined. "Help me. Tell them that women can't be surgeons."
"Excuse me?" Margaret rounded on her once-lover. "I, for one, am happy to see a woman joining us in the OR. It's good to see a female stepping up. I'm sure we can all learn a lot from her."
"I hope to find out," Hawkeye said under his breath.
"I just don't think a woman should have that kind of responsibility. I'm shocked that you allowed this, colonel," Frank whined some more.
"Listen, Burns. We all listen to your jabber about…well, it seems like just about everything. But this time, you're even more out of line than usual. I didn't just allow Lizzie to come here, I welcomed her here. We're the best MASH unit there is and we'll be even better with her joining us. So, you can either like it, or lump it. But I don't want to hear that you're griping about her anymore. You understand me?" the colonel said in a strict voice that he usually reserved for the most serious of situations.
Frank Burns slowly nodded. He was just going to have to learn to deal.
"All right, dismissed," Potter said to everyone.
Hawkeye and BJ turned to head back to the swamp. They were going to catch some shut eye before anything else came in.
"What do you think of the newest addition?" BJ asked her.
"I think it's a girl," Hawkeye smiled. "And I think it's wonderful."
…
Author's note: So, what do you think of my first chapter? Please let me know if I should continue with this.