Several weeks passed by, and there wasn't a soul at the 4077th who didn't notice the change in both their Head Nurse and Chief Surgeon. Margaret Houlihan was slowly shifting back into Major Houlihan, and the nurses were complaining about something new every week. She wasn't a tyrant, as she had been that first year, but her temper was short with most people and even shorter with one in particular. She was still reeling from Hawkeye's misstep and, though they worked well in OR, it was rare to see her hanging around him off duty anymore.
Hawkeye, for his part, had reverted back to the playboy he'd been when Trapper was around. He hit on all the nurses relentlessly, desperate to try and find some solid ground in the torrent. He'd almost recovered from losing Margaret's friendship when Radar left unexpectedly.
"Why can't people say a simple goodbye around here?" he ranted at BJ after coming into the Swamp to find Radar's teddy bear lying innocently on his cot. The bear now held a place of honor on his shelves, but Hawkeye was drowning himself in whatever horrible concoction that came out of the still.
"He tried, Hawk," BJ said sympathetically. "We just got bombarded at the worst possible time. And he did stop by OR to wave goodbye." Hawkeye remembered pausing in his procedure to salute the young corporal, a military act he'd only presented a handful of times in sincerity.
"Yeah, well," Hawkeye really had no other argument, so he settled back on his bunk and downed the drink in one swallow. "Just like mother used to make. I'll have another, Jeeves." BJ poured him another, grimacing as Hawkeye gulped that one down, too.
"Take it easy, champ." Hawkeye rolled his eyes and set the glass down on the table. BJ watched him close his eyes and take deep breaths, and wondered if his friend was fighting back tears. He'd seen his friend display every passionate emotion under the sun, but he'd never seen him cry.
"You alright, Hawk?"
"I'll be fine, just…leave me alone for a while, huh?" BJ nodded, knowing his silence was enough confirmation.
The weeks passed by and Hawkeye slowly returned to normal. He left the nurses alone (for the most part), and BJ felt relief that he was finally getting his best friend back. Things between him and Margaret were still awkward, but they were okay as long as someone else was there with them. BJ had made the mistake of trying to leave them alone in the Swamp to work things out, and returned to find Hawkeye trashing his side of the tent as Margaret stormed away in a fury.
As Thanksgiving approached, Potter called everyone into the mess tent for a meeting. As per usual, Margaret joined Charles on one side of the table as Hawkeye and BJ sank down onto the bench across from them. Father Mulcahy joined them a moment later, taking a seat next to BJ.
"Alright everyone," Potter banged the sugar on the table. "I called you all here for some good news. I just got off the horn with I-CORPS, and there's a temporary cease fire on. Looks like we're in for a quiet Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow." Cheers went up, and Potter held his hands up. "Hold your horses." They settled down and he took a deep breath. "Now, it so happens that the 8063rd is short a nurse and a surgeon due to a cold bug, so I'm temporarily assigning Majors Houlihan and Winchester to assist them."
"So it's gonna be a really quiet Thanksgiving," Hawkeye joked, earning him a glare from Margaret and a scathing sneer from Charles.
"Don't get all primped up, Pierce, I have an errand for you two, too. It seems the Korean Battalion Aid in Kunsan needs some help as well, and being the fair, magnanimous leader I am, I decided to let you two handle that. Everyone leaves tomorrow morning, bright and early. And I wanna see smiles on those faces!" Everyone groaned their compliance, and Potter grinned. "That's more like it."
"Colonel," Father Mulcahy stood up with him to talk about his holiday plans. The four remaining officers watched them walk out the door before turning to each other.
"So much for a quiet holiday," Hawkeye sighed. "Come on, Beej, we better go pack." They all split up to get ready for the morning, and Margaret watched curiously as Hawkeye said something quickly to BJ then jogged to Klinger's office instead of the Swamp. The look on BJ's face was enough to spark Margaret's interest, and she quickly maneuvered through post-op to find out what was going on. When she arrived at the double doors that led to Klinger's newly acquired office, she peered through the windows. Hawkeye was on the phone, waiting by the looks of it, and she was about to walk in when she heard her name.
"Yeah, Major Houlihan and Major Winchester, they'll be coming out there tomorrow." The person on the other end said something and Hawkeye shook his head. "No, I don't want to talk to your CO, he already knows about it. I just want to make sure you guys aren't gonna bug out from underneath us again. The last time we made that little trip there was no welcoming committee." He listened again, and Margaret was torn between feeling indignant at his audacity or touched by his concern.
"Yeah, okay, I was just checking. Have a happy Thanksgiving. Bye." He hung up the phone and stood, forcing Margaret to duck back into post-op, but not before she heard Hawkeye telling Klinger to keep that phone call to himself. She checked on a few patients to give him enough time to get back to the Swamp, then she left to go pack.
If Margaret had been aware of what awaited her back at her own camp, she might have stayed one more night at the 8063rd. A salmonella outbreak wasn't exactly the welcome home she was expecting, but almost immediately her training kicked in and she commanded her two troops as efficiently as she could.
Between changing sheets, cleaning bed pans, and escorting patients to and from the latrines, Margaret hardly noticed the time flying by. Despite one altercation with a pompous Major, she felt confident that they would make it through this epidemic. It wasn't until lunchtime came and went that she noticed the absence of Hawkeye and BJ.
"Klinger," she shook the clerk gently, watching as his eyes opened groggily. He still looked a little green, but she hoped he was coherent enough to answer a few questions. "Klinger wake up."
"I don't want to go to school today, Mom." His speech was mumbled and his eyes were unfocused, but Margaret couldn't afford to wait. Adopting her best commanding tone, she shook him a little more harshly.
"Corporal, eyes open soldier!" He snapped into focus and sat up a little straighter in bed, and Margaret had to lean away quickly to avoid a collision of heads.
"Major?"
"Yes Corporal, I apologize for interrupting your rest, but Colonel Potter is completely unconscious and I need to know how long ago you spoke to Captains Pierce and Hunnicutt. They aren't back yet and I need to know when I can expect some help." He thought for a moment, then checked the clock.
"Oh my gosh," he exclaimed, "that was over six hours ago. Battalion Aid said they'd be here in three to four. You haven't heard from them?" Margaret's heart skipped a few beats, but she didn't show any outward sign of her concern.
"No, I haven't, but I'm sure they're fine. Pierce probably took a shortcut." Klinger chuckled a little at that and flopped back down onto the bed.
"If they're not here by nightfall, you should report them missing." His speech was beginning to slur again, so she just covered him up and patted his shoulder.
"We'll see," she said softly, but he'd already drifted back to sleep. She stood and walked back into post-op, all the while trying to convince herself that they were alright.
Hawkeye glared at BJ for the millionth time since he'd wrecked and gotten them completely lost. His glare softened for a moment at the thought of the last time he was lost in the wilds of Korea, and he promptly giggled to himself. BJ shot him a worried look, but Hawkeye ignored him. It was his fault they were lost – let him wonder.
"Ralph, you still with us?" he looked back at their traveling buddy. The North Korean soldier was still following obediently, his rifle slung on his shoulder and his hands raised up every time they looked back at him.
"We've got to be getting close to something," BJ said unnecessarily. "A town, a village…hell I'll settle for a hovel." The antibiotics they were carrying were getting heavy, but they couldn't risk resting now and getting stuck outside after dark. Neither of them had a watch, but high noon had come and gone a while ago. If they didn't find help soon, they were going to have to start searching for a place to spend the night.
Hawkeye's mind wandered back to the last time he was stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Granted, the last time his traveling companion was a little easier on the eyes, but BJ didn't talk quite as much. Of course, right now Hawkeye could have used the distraction.
As he got lost in thought, he began wondering what Margaret was doing at that moment. She and Charles were probably back from the 8063rd by now – at least he hoped they were. Was she concerned about their absence or was she too inundated with sick people? Was she looking for them or even thinking of them? They hadn't been on the best terms recently, but Hawkeye hoped that she would be at least a little worried about him. He'd faced death a few times today, and each time he survived hope swelled a little in his heart. He had to get back to the 4077th if for no other reason than to talk to Margaret, apologize to her, and try to get her to be his friend again. God forbid, if something did happen to him, he'd hate for her last memories of him to be of anger.
He sighed heavily, berating himself for such morbid thoughts. He sent up a silent hope that she wasn't dwelling on such things right now. BJ glanced sidelong at him but didn't say anything. Hawkeye saw him open his mouth a few times to start, but each time he shut it again.
As they came round a bend in the trail, they spotted an overturned cart. His eyes noticed the figure trapped beneath it, and his training kicked in. He and BJ rushed to help the poor old farmer, enlisting Ralph's help to pull the man from under the wreckage.
Two hours later they were careening down a dirt road on a motorcycle that he was certain even the Side Tricks wouldn't be seen on. Ralph was hanging on for dear life on the back while Hawkeye sat helpless in the side car. They'd managed to get very sketchy directions to Uijeongbu, and Hawkeye had to scream a few times over the whipping wind for BJ to make the correct turns.
Finally they found the road that led home, and as they roared into camp Hawkeye almost laughed at the sight before him. Charles was hanging linens up on a line, and BJ couldn't stop in time. There was a flurry of white as sheets flew, and Hawkeye breathed a sigh of relief as Margaret's voice screamed across the compound.
"Did you bring the antibiotics?" She ran to the motorcycle, and Hawkeye couldn't help the joke that slipped from his mouth.
"Margaret, did you miss me?" His tone was mocking, but the look in his eyes wasn't. Her return glare wasn't hard, and Hawkeye saw something in her eyes that made the hope inside him grow a bit more. She had been worried, though she'd probably never admit it even to him. He also saw how tired she was and realized for the first time she was probably running the whole show herself. She and Father Mulcahy unloaded the medicine and rushed to deliver it as Hawkeye and BJ got out and stretched.
"Get over to post-op, post haste," Potter commanded. He was upright, which probably meant the worst of the illness was over. But the two doctors hurried over anyway, dragging their Korean tagalong behind them.
Dusk was settling over them as they left post-op. Ralph had been taken to the VIP tent by some MP's, and a Korean translator had explained everything to the young man who seemed so happy to be in the hands of the enemy. Hawkeye and BJ showered quickly, ate a semi-decent dinner – minus any turkey – and collapsed exhausted in the Swamp. BJ was face down and snoring by the time Hawkeye found enough energy to roll over. He used his momentum to stand up, his hands fumbling for his jacket and shoes.
Margaret and Charles had been ordered to bed almost immediately after they'd returned, so she was probably sleeping comfortably. But his thoughts from before kept gnawing at him, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He walked quickly and quietly to Margaret's door, knocking softly. There was no answer and her light wasn't on, but Hawkeye just shook his head and opened the door.
She was asleep, as he knew she probably would be. She didn't even stir when he stepped inside, and the fading twilight cast just enough light into the room for him to make his way over to her bed and sit down. Her hair was still up from her running around before, and he wondered briefly if she'd even showered or eaten anything before she laid down.
"I wish you'd talk to me," he whispered. "I miss the way things were." He brushed a stray lock of blonde hair away from her face, resisting the urge to trace the contours of her cheek with his fingers. Slowly and carefully, he reached over and freed her hair from the knot, smiling at the sigh she released automatically. She'd toed her boots off by her bed, but hadn't bothered actually turning down the covers. He debated almost a full minute before remembering how cold the nights got in autumn.
"Margaret, I'm going to get you under the covers. Please don't wake up and kill me." It took several minutes and a lot of maneuvering, but finally she was snugly underneath the blankets. She hadn't woken up at all, and Hawkeye marveled at her ability to keep up her normal pace while being so physically depleted. Her body was catching up now, it seemed, and as complete darkness fell over them Hawkeye leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight, Margaret." And with one last look at her shadowed face, he slipped out of her tent quietly.
Next up: "Bottle Fatigue"