Wow. I didn't realize this was the last chapter until I got towards the end and didn't have any more to write. So...yeah, just wow. Thank you to everyone who has decided this story (and On the Front Line) was worth reading/following/favoriting/reviewing. It's been a pleasure! So, one last final time I will say that even after all this time and effort and thought and writing, I STILL do not own M*A*S*H or any of the affiliated characters.

Chapter 9: The Not-So-Late Captain Pierce

One or two days later - Andi couldn't tell; she was too jet lagged and wasn't very good with the time change anyway - Andi landed in the airport and immediately started looking for a jeep.

"Of course," she said crankily when she couldn't find an available car. The airport had to put in a call, that thankfully worked, to the 58th for someone to come and pick her up. The 4077th was having problems with its phone lines. The lateness of the hour prevented the unit from picking her up immediately, and she had to wait until morning.

Just like on the plane, she spent the entire wait going over what she knew: Hawkeye was not dead. He was not dead. There was a mistake. The army made mistakes all the time, and this was one of them. He was not dead. She continued to repeat the words over in her mind, and finally closed her eyes, exhausted.

First, he was holding her, like he always did, his arms wrapped around her. Then she was looking into those clear blue eyes, and he was kissing her. Then he was speaking to her. The arms...the lips...the voice...everything was almost real. She was walking with him, to the tree they had basically claimed as their own. Holding hands, talking and laughing. Suddenly, he stopped, which caused her to stop. His hand had gripped hers tighter, then had completely let go.

She turned around and gasped when she saw him. He was laying on the ground, his entire body shaking in a seizure. She was about to throw herself to the grass to stop him from hurting himself when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see Hawkeye again, trying to get her attention with one had, and pointing to his throat with the other. She looked behind her, and found the seizing Hawkeye was gone. She turned back to the suffocating Hawkeye, who was on his knees on the ground, holding his throat, turning a sickly shade of blue. He mouthed words and pointed behind her. She turned again and saw another Hawkeye walking towards her, perfectly fine, but concerned by the fear on her face. She wanted to run to him, but found herself unable to move her legs. Just as he started to pick up his pace, a shot rang out. He stumbled to the ground. Her legs finally obeyed and she ran, collapsing next to him. She blinked and found herself in her scrubs in the O.R., with Hawkeye on the operating table. She was trying to get a bullet out of his chest, but she couldn't reach it; every time she attempted to extract it, the bullet would move to a different spot. She started to cry in frustration as she heard an unrecognizable, monotonous voice echo in her mind, "He's gone..."

Andi woke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes darted about, dazed and confused, looking for the seizing and suffocating Hawkeyes that had haunted her. She let out breath when she regained her wits.

She left the building and waited for another hour before a jeep pulled up to the airport. And in it, she was too tired and scared to comment on, was Rick.

"Yeah. Colonel Hollis sent me. Again. Are we going to your stinking M*A*S*H unit, or what?"

"Radar, please," Hawkeye begged the young man. Radar's pet skunk had died, and he was in no mood to do much of anything. "I know you're upset, but right now, please, don't let anyone into the office. I'm on the phone with my dad."

Radar sighed after a moment. "Fine. What should I say if someone asks for you, or something?"

"They can't!" Hawkeye called over his shoulder from the doorway. "I'm dead."

The jeep skidded to a halt on the road, and Andi nearly flung herself from the car. She ran over to the first person she saw. "Radar!" she called to the man. His head was hanging in sorrow. Her stomach's knot tightened again. "Radar! Where's Hawkeye? I need to talk to him!"

The young man looked up, tears from his pet's death all over his face. Andi's eyes started to water and she shook her head. "You can't."

Andi covered her mouth, shaking her head. Radar remained lost in his own little world, not noticing the way Andi covered her mouth and shook her head in horrified realization.

"Quit crying dad, it's okay," Hawkeye said over the phone. "Really. I needed a new set of clubs anyway."

"I know, I know," Dan replied, wiping his eyes. "Has this mess been sorted out yet?"

"No, I'm still dead as far as the army is concerned, but they're working on it," he explained. "Listen, Dad, can I ask you a favor? You think you can start sending me my allowance again? Just for a little while. I'll let you know how much."

Dan laughed. "It's really good to hear your voice, you know."

Hawkeye smiled. "It's good to hear your voice too. And is Andi there?" he asked, hopeful.

Dan's smile fell. "What do you mean?"

"Andi." Hawkeye's brows furrowed. "She said she met you."

"Yes, yes, I know Andi, but I mean why would she be here?"

"She said she visited you a lot," Hawkeye said, confused.

"Well, yes, she did," Dan replied.

Hawkeye caught a word. "Wait. Did? As in past tense?"

"She heard you were dead. She caught a flight back to Korea. You mean she's not there with you?"

"No," Hawkeye said, starting to worry. "I thought she was still in the States." He put his head in his hand. What was it with that girl and disappearing in transit? "Did she say she was coming here?"

"Yes," Dan replied, nodding even though his son couldn't see.

"All right, I have to go. I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize, son, just go get her." The line clicked off. Hawkeye, eyes wide, stared at the phone for a moment, not believing the words had been said by his father.

He ran out of the building. "Radar! Did Andi get here?" he asked, looking around everywhere.

"Andi? Oh, yeah, she just got here a few minutes ago."

"What happened?"

"She asked to see you, so I told her she couldn't." Hawkeye cursed under his breath. "You told me to!" he defended himself, confused.

"Radar, when you weren't here, I was accidentally pronounced dead. Andi thought, and now thinks, that I'm dead. The problem is that I'm not dead! Which way did she go?"

"Uh, that way?" Radar said, pointing towards the fields, not quite remembering.

Hawkeye took off running. He'd barely made it ten feet before he slammed into BJ, who was emerging from the Swamp.

"Hey," BJ said, raising one eyebrow to his friend. "You get through to your dad and Andi?"

"Dad, yes. Andi, no. She caught a flight here, and Radar can tell you the rest." He continued running towards the fields.

BJ turned to the young man and raised his eyebrows inquisitively. Radar briefly explained, and finished with an innocent, "I didn't know!"

"It's okay, Radar," BJ said as they saw the tip of Hawkeye's head disappear below the crest of the hill. He smiled to himself. "I think it's all okay."

Andi didn't want to talk; she didn't want to know how, when, where, or anything. She ran to the tree, the tree that was once her protective place. She bent over a little, practically gasping for air as she hyperventilated, one hand wrapping around her stomach and the other on the tree for support. The knot inside of her had tightened so much, and she felt like she could barely breathe. The entire jeep ride, she had repeated the words over and over again: He was not dead. But it did no good, it didn't matter. She thought of BJ, and Potter, and Daniel, all going through the same thing...

"Andi!"

Her eyes flew open. She wanted to, needed to see the face that matched the voice. But she knew she was crazy for hearing a dead man saying her name, and she wasn't ready to face that. It was no different from the one in her dreams. And, when she had turned to see that one, she had found three Hawkeyes, all dying or dead. "Andi!" it called again, louder, closer.

"No," she whispered, her forehead resting on the tree trunk.

"ANDI!"

Something was wrong; the voice was out of breath, impatient, and accompanied by rapid, pounding footsteps. She couldn't fight it any longer. She turned to the source, and barely had time to register that it was Hawkeye before his lips came crashing down on hers. He had briskly walked the last few steps, slowing down just enough so that his momentum only pushed her back a little, pressing her against the tree.

After a moment, she pushed him away, and looked at him, studying his face. "Y-you're not dead," she said breathlessly, tears still falling. He shook his head and kissed her again, then pulled her into his arms.

"Of course I'm not dead," he said into her hair. "You'd kill me, remember?"

"What happened?" she asked, giddy but still extremely confused.

"The army made a mistake. What else is new?"

"Radar?"

"He was on leave. He didn't know anything." He shook his head. "Don't you love the army?"

Andi laughed in the midst of all her tears. She didn't care that it looked like she was having some sort of conniption. "What is it with the army and screwing things up?" she mumbled, still clutching to him.

"When you figure that one out, be sure to tell me," he said, placing a hand under her chin and tilting her head up. He kissed her again. Somewhere in the distance, BJ wolf whistled.

Not entirely sure how much I like this ending - feels a little rushed and I can't tell if it's climactic-rushed or just rushed-rushed. Maybe it seems like that from all the scene changes. Anywho, this was it! Thank you all again so much for coming along for the ride. Hope you enjoyed.