If you recognize it, it is not mine.

The following chapter contains references to the episode The Most Unforgettable Characters and 38 Across.

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"I made up with BJ as you told me to. So what are you now starting with Klinger?" Hawkeye rushed out of the operation room to catch up with Claudia. She was just throwing her whites away and then stepped to the sink to wash up.

"I don't want to talk about it." She retorted, drying her hands.

Before she had the chance to bolt out of the door, Hawkeye stood in her way, laying his palms gently on her shoulders. "Hey. Talk to me."

His touch sent shivers up and down her spine, still she didn't relent. "I'm fine." Pressing her lips into a thin line, she sent a cold look his way. And then, after roughly brushing his hands off, she sprinted out of the room. She half-expected Hawkeye to run after her, so she wasn't that surprised to hear him yelling.

"You won't get rid of me so easily."

She didn't even turn around after his voice, just hoping she got to her tent in time to lock the door in front of Hawkeye. There was no longing for a conversation inside of her. She just wished to burrow into a pile of blankets and stay in her cot indefinitely. Unfortunately Hawkeye managed to slip his hand between the tent structure and the door, preventing Claudia from closing it.

"Don't." Claudia said, raising a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Claudia, you've always been there for me when I needed you. Why won't you allow me to do the same for you?" He sat down on the chair closest to the table, undoing the face mask he had forgotten to ditch on the wash room.

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "It's nothing."

"Then that nothing is really driving you crazy, huh?"

He watched her take off her jacket and shirt and change into a more comfortable tank top with MASH 4077 written across the chest area. His thoughts took a detour at that time, but he was still very much interested in what was going on with her. She seemed on edge even before the long stint and then she laid into Klinger without much of a reason. That wasn't her.

Taking of her uniform pants, she rummaged in her closet for some shorts and put them on. But she didn't stop the arguing. "Please go help Radar practice his magic! Maybe he'll make you disappear and then I'll finally be able to get some peace and quiet around here."

"Claudia, does this have something to do with Sidney calling you this morning?"

"And how the hell do you know that?" It was then that she finally met his piercing eyes and stopped pacing.

"I have my sources. So what did he say?"

"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. Now will you please leave my tent?" She sat down on the bed, hugging her knees.

Hawkeye had to fight with himself not to leave, because her stare was so cold it was scary. But he knew she didn't want him to leave. At least he hoped he read her right. He crossed the distance between them and sat next to her. "Is it about those prisoners of war?"

"How do you know THAT?" She turned to face him as she spoke, emphasizing the last word.

There was a lot of anger in her, Hawkeye could clearly see that, but there was also something else he wasn't sure about. It might have been guilt or sadness or some other combination, but there was definitely something else there. He wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on her shoulder.

"Potter told me after you almost took my head off for staying behind."

"I wondered why you calmed down so quickly then."

"Tell me."

He thought she wanted to shrug him off, but she just moved to remove her boots so she could get into bed. He stood up to make way for her to lie down and then he covered her with a blanket. She kept watching him in silence as he got rid of his boots and climbed onto the bed. He wanted to assure her he was there to comfort her, so he laid himself on the blanket instead of slipping under it.

"I was helping Sidney with the POWs." Claudia whispered and Hawkeye wondered whether it was because she did not want to talk about it or because she was tearing up. Soon enough he got his answer, though. "And one of the men I was helping with, the one who was most often the subject of our calls, just killed himself. He turned eighteen last month."

Finally her outburst made sense. Two days ago Klinger was prepared to fake-set himself on fire in hope Potter would discharge him instead.

"So yes, I need some time to deal with this." Claudia said, the tone of her voice frosty.

"You don't need to deal with this alone."

"Hawkeye…" Her voice ended up as a little sob.

He brought her closer to his body, snuggling into her shoulder. They stayed like that, just silently listening to each other's heartbeat until they both fell asleep. Those ten hours of sleep were the only ones they spent together over the next day or two.

Claudia was still feeling down, Hawkeye could tell even from his operation table. After that batch of wounded was sorted, Claudia was tasked with finding transport for the possible POW swap and he buried himself in The Times crossword. Then, when the swap was confirmed, it was necessary to prepare all the enemy prisoners that were going to be transported and make sure their health wouldn't deteriorate during the long journey.

After he was informed that Tippy was on his was, he tried to catch Claudia and ask her if she was going to be his emergency. He wasn't sure how they'd make it look convincing, but she was the best chance. However, she was in the next village helping with a difficult labor when the admiral decided to tour the Post-Op. Fortunately she got back right after the trucks with burned civilians rolled into the camp, because they needed every able person then. Even Klinger was walking around rattling with all the machinery he ate.

Every shift in the OR is horrible, but when you are dealing with civilians, some of them babies, and on top of that with serious burns, it sneaks under your skin really easily. The smell of burnt flesh is something that never leaves one's mind. The healing process is long and painful and there aren't many medical procedures to rush it along. Just thoroughly clean the wounds, apply the dressing and hope all goes well.

Frank was displaying atrocious bedside manner, not knowing how to deal with suffering patients, some of them still holding their little children, afraid to hand them over. Thankfully Father Mulcahy was near and pitched in.

Altogether they were at it for almost eight hours. And then came the slap in the face in the form of the Seoul radio announcement branding Hawkeye a war criminal for performing a life-saving operation on an enemy soldier. He may not have let it show at the time, but it really hit him right in the heart. Later in Claudia's tent he let it all out, telling her how the exact patient thanked him for operating. For once it wasn't the poor quality of the booze that left disgusting bitter taste in his mouth.

The only remotely good thing that happened was the admiral knowing the five letter word for bedbug, so he actually finished the crossword for once. Claudia wasn't that overly impressed when they were celebrating at Rosie's.

"I can't believe you're proud of that."

"I have never finished The Times crossword before." He gave her a beaming smile, ordering another round. It landed in front of him in a blink of an eye. He smiled, sliding one of the glasses towards Claudia and then taking another one for himself.

"Well, you didn't finish this one." Claudia raised her glass and took a sip. "The whole 4077 with the help of some admiral did."

"Now you're bugging me more than that Yiddish bedbug did." Hawkeye took a big gulp and made a funny face at her.

"You're always free to leave, you know."

"I am? Then I'm going. Crabapple Cove, here I come."

"You'd leave me, bastard?" Claudia bumped her shoulder against his, raising her eyebrows.

"Of course not." He pressed a wet sloppy kiss on her cheek. Originally he aimed for her mouth, but he didn't expect her to turn right then.