Rated M.
If you recognize it, it is not mine.
The following chapter contains references to the Army-Navy Game (Season 1) and the book MASH FAQ by Dale Sherman.
Please review.
They froze in their tracks, holding their breaths. Claudia pushed Hawkeye off herself and slowly started to get up, when he stopped her.
"Where the hell are you going?"
"To turn off the light." She said with tone that left no space for discussion and threw his hand off her shoulder.
"Good. I don't want you to see me scared." He watched her half-crawl and half-crouch towards the door and followed her example. After he heard the switch flicked, she turned to him again.
"Well, you are really cute when you're scared."
"Then you're about to see me at my cutest, I fear."
She stood up and peeked carefully out the window, taking in the layouts of the camp. Hawkeye stood up right after her, but stayed glued to the wall, just staring at her in total silence. She came back from the window, parking herself next to his body. She grabbed his hand, trying to reassure him.
"What?" He frowned while he spoke as softly as he could. She shot him a confused look. "I can hear you think."
"Yeah." She admitted, exhaling loudly. "Stay here." With that she tiptoed towards the other window and looked out. When she retraced her steps, she bumped into him. "I thought I said stay."
"I am not a dog." Hawkeye protested.
"Of course not. Dog is a man's best friend." Her voice was playful, or to be exact as playful as circumstances permitted.
"So? Hawkeye is a woman's best friend." A smile appeared on her face, but she suppressed the loud chuckle that normally came with it.
"I haven't seen anyone injured outside, so everyone made it inside. But I am worried about the nurses. I told them to get something to eat."
"Why would you do that? That's more dangerous than a sniper." Hawkeye interrupted her possible monologue. She simply ignored him.
"But I don't see anyone in the mess tent, which is good, because that's a dangerous place to be right now. The Colonel and Radar will be in the office, Frank and BJ will be in Post-Op, the enlisted men too, right?"
Hawkeye nodded.
"That's where everyone should be right now. Didn't anyone mention wanting to go someplace else before you went over here? Think, Hawkeye."
"No, I mean, Klinger and Igor just arrived with some sandwiches. A patient wanted his bandage loosened… Nothing special."
They both sat down, close together, with their backs to the wall. Hawkeye snaked his hand around her shoulders, bringing their bodies even closer. He could feel her relax into the contact, letting her head fall on his shoulder and sigh in content. Another two shots cut through the quiet. She pressed herself into his body, needing the sensation to ground her.
The PA system suddenly creaked and came to life. "Everyone stay inside. HQ will send help first thing in the morning. Damn. Stop."
"That's an odd ending to an announcement." Hawkeye noted.
"Something's happening. Check that side, please." Claudia asked and headed towards the exit, wanting to check that direction.
"I see nothing. Do you..? Claudia?"
He heard another set of shots and the PA system starting again. "Kuchio! Kuchio!"
"Huh?" Hawkeye's voice got unnaturally high during that exclamation. He rushed back to where Claudia was previously, but was met with empty space. His heart almost stopped. Where did she go? He felt like the whole world was standing on his chest, preventing him from taking a proper breath. Just as he started panicking, she emerged again in his line of eyesight with a little lifeless body in her arms.
He grabbed the door, opening it for her and swiftly closing it up right after her. After discarding her weapon, she carefully laid the child down. For a moment, she looked into Hawkeye's eyes, noticing where he looked.
"It's not mine." She said about the blood dripping from her uniform. "We need to stop the bleeding, she's losing too much blood."
Hawkeye forced his mind to focus on the wounded child, evaluating the injury and deciding what they need to take care of the case. He took a bottle of alcohol, packages of sterile bandages and sponges from the nearest shelf, putting them down next to their patient. Claudia held her hands up, letting Hawkeye pour alcohol over them and accepted the sponges he handed her afterwards.
"You don't have blood type O, do you?" She asked hopefully.
"Nope. And I guess you don't have it either." Hawkeye said, knowing the answer, even before she shook her head.
"I think I have the bleeding under control for now, but I have to keep my hands here. Will you deal with the chest?"
"Sure." He disinfected his hands and got a retractor out to try to get a better look at the situation. After inspecting the state of the lungs, he moved to the heart, obviously worried. Claudia was with him too many times in OR not to be able to tell when it was serious. But when he lowered the instruments in his hands and reached for the ampule with morphine, that's when it hit her.
"What are you doing?" She didn't need to control her voice because of the sniper, she was barely able to whisper.
"Her lungs are a chopped up mush and the heart is barely there. I am sorry, Claudia."
"NO!" Her eyes watered with tears as he drew the morphine into a syringe. "We can try to irrigate with saline, remove the bullets and wait."
"Claudia, it will just cause her more pain."
"WE CAN'T JUST GIVE UP!" This time she raised her voice in desperation.
"Shush. You're scaring her."
Claudia looked down at the face of the little girl. She was crying, gasping for air and staring alternately at her and Hawkeye. Her short black hair were sticking together by dried blood and her kind brown eyes were barely opened. Claudia crawled towards the jacket she dropped on the floor earlier on, bunched it up and gingerly slid it under the girl's head.
"Everything's ok. Don't be scared. Ssssh." Claudia was lightly caressing her cheek, comforting the child. The Korean girl stirred a bit when Hawkeye injected her with morphine. "No, no. It's fine."
Hawkeye disposed of the syringe, cleaning the blood-soaked material that was on the floor as well. Then he sat down and listened to Claudia quietly singing to the girl in her arms. He didn't recognize the language, it probably was her mother tongue, but it sounded beautiful.
It was obvious how hard it was for Claudia to prevent the tears in her eyes from falling, and it was breaking his heart. Claudia has gone quiet after a while, pressing her fingers to the young girl throat in search for a pulse. When she failed to find one, she caringly lifted the small arms and crossed them over the girl's chest. Then Claudia's fingers lightly pressed down the girl's eyelids, letting her finally rest in peace.
"Claudia?" Hawkeye tried to capture her attention. After about thirty seconds, she looked away from the dead body and slowly shifted her gaze towards him. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, falling from her jaw down on her t-shirt where it diluted the bloody stain. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Hawkeye took her hand and led her to the shelf, then poured alcohol over her hands. Most of it ended in a bed pan he positioned under her hands, but a few drops landed on the floor. He handed her a towel and then got a sheet to cover the little girl's body.
Trying to forget, they retreated to the other side of the tent, taking a few blankets and the food and drinks with them. Hawkeye blacked out all the windows and then sat next to Claudia, taking her into his arms. The warm embrace made her eyes flutter open.
"I thought you were dead when you ran off out there." Hawkeye confessed, running his hand up and down her back. He planted a soft kiss in her hair and inhaled her scent, glad he finally smelled something other than disinfection and blood.
"She wasn't more than six years old, Hawkeye."
He started gently rocking them like a baby, holding her close. Her lithe body started trembling in a way that revealed she was crying. "Yeah, I know, Claudia. I know. But you provided her comfort in her final moments. You didn't let her die alone, outside on a dusty road."
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing any good." She admitted her doubts.
"Claudia, look at me. Claudia?" She hesitated, but in the end complied. She met his amazing blue eyes that stared kindly at her as he lightly stroked her cheek. "I promise you, you are."
Another bomb shook the ground and they both jumped up a little while staying closely intertwined.
"Wow - that was close! For a moment there I thought we are going to have interchangeable parts." Hawkeye let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and looked over Claudia's body to make sure she wasn't hurt. He knew he'd certainly noticed if some fragments made it inside, but somehow that wasn't enough. He needed to be absolutely sure that Claudia was okay.
He needed to put her hands on her head, caressing her, lightly letting them slip onto her shoulders and then continue stroking her sides before wrapping his hands around her waist. She whimpered in enjoyment as their bodies collided, her lips searching his. He was happy to oblige, pressing them lightly to hers, teasing her with his tongue.
She was arching her body into his, gripping back at his body in fiery lust. Finally she let herself sink down onto the army blanket they laid out, impatiently pulling him down on top of her. They stopped the kissing only to draw short breaths and then instantly resumed it again. It was like they both yearned for reassurance that someone was left in the world who actually cared.
Hawkeye lifted himself off her body and slid his hand under the fabric of her shirt, running his fingers slowly across her flat stomach. She closed her eyes to concentrate properly on his touch, little squeaks echoing around. Hawkeye grinned against her lips, proud of how quickly was Claudia coming apart because of his actions.
He wasn't able to control himself any more than she was. His brain was refusing to move to separate their lips, even though his head was spinning due to the lack of oxygen. In the end it was Claudia who twisted her hands in his hair and pushed him a few inches away so both could take a breath. They were both gasping furiously, trying to catch a breath while lovingly staring into each other's eyes.
"Oh Claudia." He whispered, pressing a little kiss to her forehead. "My Claudia."
It took a while until they got their breathing under control, but then Hawkeye noticed the remnants of tears on Claudia's face and it really threw him off. With the tip of his fingers, he gently traced the now drying river that once flowed down her cheeks. It was tempting to ignore it, but somehow he couldn't. As much he was attracting to her, as much as his whole being was screaming for him to continue, the attraction got overridden by how much he adored her.
She couldn't help but notice the change in his behavior and an inquiring look appeared on her face, focused on him. He suddenly looked sadder, enveloped in deep thought as he laid down next to her on his side, watching her. She frowned, baffled by this. "What is it, Hawkeye?"
"I just… When I saw the evidence of the tears you cried only a few minutes ago, I realized you need a friend much more than a lover right now."
"What I need is you, Hawkeye." Claudia sat up quickly to be able to see him better, before continuing. He was now lying flat on his back, following her eyes with his. His dark hair were a mess, sticking into all directions after their passionate embrace. "Doesn't matter how you want to call yourself."
She started tracing his lips with her forefinger and watch them twist into a smile. Hers followed the example, slowly whispering his name. Another shell went off nearby and it temporarily disrupted the romantic feel of the atmosphere. Hawkeye quickly covered Claudia with his own body, pressing her into the floor. A cloud of dust dropped from the ceiling covering everything in sight.
"You okay?" Hawkeye asked, lifting himself up. Claudia turned to him, nodding and giving his body the once-over. Thankfully he appeared to be unharmed as well. Then they both sat up, staying as close together as they possible could during the movement. Shaking with fear, they hugged each other tightly, her hands in his hair and his around her waist.
"OK. We're okay, Hawkeye." Claudia said quietly under her breath. She knew the situation just worsened drastically, because the last attack came from the other direction. They were being bombarded from both sides now. But she didn't want to draw attention to that, there was nothing they could do about it anyway. "Hey, you're a little dusty." She began brushing the dust off with her hands, first from his hair and arms, then from his torso and legs. Then she tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear and leaned forward to kiss him. When she was about to pull away, he cupped her cheek and tenderly held her in place, prolonging the kiss.
His lips tasted sweet, like a strong herbal liqueur and were moving slowly against hers, not rushing anywhere. He obviously wanted to savor every sensation of her skin against his, every kiss and every caress. He wanted to remember exactly how she tasted, how her muscles flexed when she gripped him and held him close, how she moaned into the kisses they shared when it all became too much. He wanted to learn by heart all of the places she liked to have teased, her likes and dislikes, all the little sounds she made during love-making.
His heart made a few somersaults when he pulled her on his lap and she sat astride him with enthusiasm, cuddling up close. He leaned back against the wall, watching her face. Her pupils were dilated so much he barely saw any blue, and they were aiming straight at him, drinking in his image. He bent forwards and captured her lips again. His hands slid to her behind, pressing her down onto him roughly.
She tore off her lips from his and threw her head back, moaning loudly. He turned his attention to her exposed neck, sucking greedily at the sensitive skin, his teeth every now and then nibbling at her ear. In response she started rocking her hips back and forth, grinding them against him, the sweet friction driving them both insane.
Suddenly her hands flew to his belt, and as she was unbuckling it, he closed his eyes and hold his breath. He wanted her so badly, it practically hurt. Her finely sculpted body was the ultimate distraction from the hell they'd been thrown in. Every one of their moves was fast, fevered and forceful. In all of his escapades, Hawkeye had never felt so close to someone.
After lowering his trousers and shorts just as little as was needed, she teased him with her hand, making his hips involuntarily jerk upwards with every torturously slow stroke. At the same time her lips never left his. It was so maddening Hawkeye worried he would go off in seconds if it continued. He therefore seized the offending hand, putting in on his shoulder and earning a baffled look from her. But she understood in a minute, seeing how worked up he was.
He ran his hands up and down the shape of her body, feeling every inch of her curves over her fatigues, squeezing and stroking her urgently. Claudia was incredibly responsive, moaning seductively into his ear and thrusting to meet his touch. Sometimes in between all of this, Hawkeye finally managed to get rid of her belt and unzip her trousers. Spreading her legs wider, Claudia granted his hand access and cried out when he began teasing her.
He immensely enjoyed watching her writhing over his lap, feeling the vibrations her body was producing as she was closer and closer. In the end she slapped his hands away in order to be able to wiggle out of at least one leg of her trousers.
Their union was intense, sending waves of heat and pleasure through both of their bodies. While moving up and down, Claudia sometimes drove his back quiet aggressively to the wall, scraping it a bit, but in the heat of the moment, he couldn't care less. His hips were periodically thrusting upwards, meeting hers in a frenzied effort to get to the finish line.
When her body began to body began to twitch and convulse, her eyelids became too heavy to stay up and she collapsed on him as a shivering mess, moaning loudly in his ear, he felt his own orgasm arrive. The sight of pure bliss written across her face combined with the sensations of her body against his would be too much for anyone.
After they completely shattered in each other's arms, they spent what seemed like eternity just lying still on the scratchy military blankets, their bodies still intertwined. It was like their two individual bodies just melted together, not ever wanting to be separated again.
"Mmmm….Claudia." Hawkeye started running his hands up and down her back, drawing circles and other shapes with his fingers. He even wrote his name once, all satisfied and happy. His whole body was still pulsating with need, he needed to be close to her, to hold her and never let go.
He looked at her face, planning on kissing her again, but what he saw stopped him in his tracks. She was crying. "Claudia, what happened? Did I hurt you?" He asked, worried about the answer.
"No, sweetie, you didn't." She shook her head decisively, swiping away the tears with the back of her hand. "There is something I need to tell you."