HOPE'S CALLING- CHAPTER 14- MUSICAL BEDS
Hawkeye pointed Hope's wheelchair in the direction of the mess tent. "Wait Hawkeye, I've changed my mind. Please take me to the nurse's tent. My need for sleep just overruled my need for breakfast."
"O.K, you got it." When they got to the nurse's tent, he was secretly glad no one else was there. He wanted a chance to be alone with Hope for a few minutes before she fell asleep. Hope sighed, held her head in her hands and said, "Hawkeye, I'm a dope. I can't stay here. I have a top bunk. You could help me get up there, but how the heck would I get down by myself without breaking my neck."
"Yeah, you're right. You can't stay here. Let's put you in Post-Op. There are hardly any patients in there right now. You'll be fine there unless we get a bunch of wounded."
Once they were in Post-Op he picked her up out of the wheelchair and held her a little longer than was necessary. Hope looked up at him. "A girl could get spoiled being carried around like this." She snuggled against his chest and sighed. He laid her on the bed and kissed her gently. "If this is spoiling you, then sign me up. Now go to sleep."
"Hmm…o.k. Hawk…." She was asleep before she could finish saying his name. He was almost out the door of Post-Op when he turned around, grabbed a chair and sat down beside Hope's bed. There were a lot of things he could be doing with his free time, but nothing seemed more important than watching her sleep at the moment.
Unlike Hope, Father Mulcahy chose food before sleep. When he entered the mess tent, he thought he could eat two of everything on the steam table. However, the reality of the way the food looked overtook desire and he opted for coffee and toast. Klinger had walked over to the mess tent with him. "You go sit down Father and I'll bring you your food. What'll you have?"
"Oh just a cup of mud and a shingle." He smiled at Hope's name for a cup of coffee and toast. "I mean a cup of coffee and toast."
"Coming right up." As Klinger walked away, Colonel Potter joined Father Mulcahy at the table. "Padre, I hope you're headed for your bunk after you eat. What you need right now is some shut eye."
"Colonel, you don't have to tell me twice. My bunk is where I'm headed after I eat my gourmet breakfast." Once Klinger came back with the toast and coffee, Mulcahy practically inhaled it. He felt kind of woozy when he stood up to leave. Colonel Potter grabbed his arm. "Let me walk with you to your tent."
Once they were at the chaplain's tent, Colonel Potter turned to leave, Mulcahy stopped him. "Colonel when I've had a few hours sleep under my belt, I need to talk to you."
"Sure, come see me anytime. You know my tent flap is always open."
When the priest lay down on his bed, he thought surely he would instantly fall asleep. But the same thought spun around in his mind like a broken record, "How could I have fallen in love with Hope? It just wasn't supposed to happen. Not to me. Not to a priest." Finally, sleep won over that thought and for a few hours at least, he had peace from the broken record in his head.
Hawkeye spent two hours watching Hope sleep. For someone in a deep sleep, she didn't stay very still. She would alternate between curling up on her side, her hands balled up in fists tucked up under her chin, and laying flat on her stomach with her face down pressed into the pillow. How could she breathe like that? All this movement was punctuated with little sighs. It was endearing, but how could anybody sleep in the same bed with her? He smiled and thought, "I'd sure like to try."
When he heard the sound of choppers, he whispered, "damn!" Hawkeye knew Hope couldn't stay in Post-Op. All the beds would be needed soon. He scooped her up and whispered, "Hope, I'm sorry, but we've got to play musical beds." She opened one green eye and grunted," O.K." and snuggled into his chest. Without a second thought, he took her to the Swamp and laid her on his bed. He hated to leave her there because there was no telling how long it would be before he could get back to her, but that was the best he could do in a hurry. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had no choice.
Once Hawkeye was gone, Hope settled into his bed. She tossed and turned, making a "rat's nest" out of the sheets and blanket. She pulled his pillow into her arms and hugged it like a stuffed animal. The twenty-five year old nurse looked like a little girl.
Fortunately, the O.R. session only lasted four hours. BJ and Charles returned to the Swamp before Hawkeye to find his bed occupied by Hope. Charles pointed at Pierce's bed. "How on earth did she get here?" BJ shrugged. "I saw Hawkeye taking her to the nurse's tent after I put the cast on her ankle. How she got here is anyone's guess."
As if on cue, groans and mumbles emanated from Hawkeye's bed. Hope sat up rubbing her face with her hands opening one eye, then the other. When she saw BJ and Charles sitting there watching her, she stammered, "Uh…Where am I? Don't think I'm in Kansas, I mean Post-Op anymore."
BJ chuckled, "Hawkeye must've brought you in here when we got in some wounded. Guess he thought there might not be room for you in Post-Op. He shouldn't have worried, there weren't that many, you could've stayed there."
"Well, I'm stuck here until somebody moves me. I'm not exactly mobile."
Hawkeye stumbled in and started to flop down on his bed until he heard Hope squeak, "Hey! Remember me? The girl you dumped on your bed?" He gingerly sat on the edge of the bed and whispered in her ear, "How could I forget?" His breath tickled her neck and she fought not to squirm in front BJ and Charles.
"Um, Hawkeye? Do you have flood insurance on this bed?" Hope laughed. He shot her a puzzled look.
An urgent need trumped her pride and she said, "Could you carry me to the "little girls' room?"
"Yeah, yeah." He scooped her up and carried her to the latrine. Before she went inside she told him, "While I make this pit stop, could you find me a wheelchair? As much fun as it is for me to be carried by you, your back might protest before too long."
Hawkeye gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Don't go anywhere. Be right back."
When he returned with the wheelchair, he found Hope leaning against the door to the latrine. "Hope how did you manage to get out of there and be standing upright?"
"Hawkeye, have you ever heard of the "scoot and crawl"? It's a new dance move I invented. Think it'll catch on?" She grinned at him as she sat down in the wheelchair. "Back to Post-Op? BJ said that there weren't that many casualties, so there would be room for me there."
"Yep, that's where we headed."
"Good, I hope I can stay there a while. Playing "musical beds" is losing its appeal."
Well maybe Hope has a place to lay her head without having to move again too soon and Father Mulcahy will have a chance to talk to Colonel Potter. Thank you Dear Readers for joining me on this journey! Please review.