Okay, guys. This is the 54th chapter of this story!
Now, I don't think this chapter will be that long either since I don't think there's a purpose to making it too long in the first place. Nonetheless, I'm gonna try to write this chapter out as best as I can.
Anyway, for this chapter, the 4077th is suffering from a blood shortage, blood donations are set up for the enlisted men and the nurses, the senior medical staff will work on giving blood up, and some other stuff will occur. How will things go regarding the blood donations at the M*A*S*H 4077? Find out right now!
IN COLONEL BLAKE'S OFFICE - 10:26
It was a new day at the M*A*S*H 4077. Everyone was pretty much occupied with something to do, and there weren't any major complaints at the moment. In particular, Henry was in his office, having just about finished filling out any paperwork that needed his signature. That has been a rumor going around that they could be expecting some casualties in a bit. But Henry didn't know if whoever spread that rumor was putting them off, or if it was 100% true.
For now, Henry decided to just take it easy, as he was drinking some coffee from his orange Illini mug, and not worrying about anything else. Sadly, that moment came to an end when someone knocked on his door, and then entering the office was Radar. And by the look on his face, he had some urgent news that he had to share with the Colonel.
"Uhhhh, sir? Cuse me, sir?" Radar got his attention. "You busy sir?"
"Ah, no Radar. What do you think?" Henry sighed. "What's wrong? Any casualties on the way?"
"Oh no, not yet sir. At least from what's been told," Radar shook his head.
"Any other paperwork that I need to sign," Henry groaned. "As if I don't do enough of that already in this field hospital."
"Uh, worse sir," Radar remarked sheepishly.
"Well, what is it?"
"Uh, you know blood supply we had?"
"Yes, sirree. It was checked just the other day. Why do you ask?"
"Well, uh, sir? It's empty Colonel." Radar answered reluctantly.
Henry then looked at him as if he had gone deaf. "Wait a second there Radar. Did I just hear you correctly? Did you say that we're out of blood in our blood supply?"
"I'm as shocked as you're sir," Radar murmured. "Blood's dried up. Only couple o' pints leftover."
Henry groaned and put his hands on his desk. "Well ain't that the horse's patoot? Why did it have to be our sector that runs out of blood? If it were army ammunition we were out of, I'd say it'd be hunky-dory. But for a man to not have any blood? That's 'really' hitting below this man's belt. I'm telling you, I don't know what we're gonna do about it."
"Uh, blood d'nations might be it," Radar made a suggestion. "D'you think it'll be good?"
"Welp, it doesn't look like we have any other option," Henry sighed. "I can't come up with anything else. If this doesn't work, then this might be the final kick in the caboose. We might as well try anything at this point, so what the heck."
"Very good sir," Radar commented.
"My only concern here is making sure there's enough blood for the patients that come in here," Henry admitted. "If we have ourselves a blood shortage, then there won't be much we can do to give blood to the wounded. If that makes sense."
"I think it makes a ton of sense," Radar admitted.
"So, until we get some of the men in this outfit to donate blood, we haven't got a whole lot to use," Henry groaned. "I just have to know what could happen that will make things worse?"
Radar was just about to say something but stopped himself when he heard the incoming choppers approaching the unit, along with some ambulances.
"Uh oh. Choppers. Incoming choppers," Radar uttered before leaving Henry's office. "We got wounded."
I guess I was right. Things have gotten worse with the wounded we're getting right now, combined with our blood shortage. Henry thought in aggravation. I guess that rumor was true.
Henry sighed as he got up from his desk and heard Radar deliver the announcement on the P.A. system.
"ATTENTION! ALL PERSONNEL! WE GOT CASUALTIES, BY CHOPPERS AND AMBULANCES! ALL SHIFT REPORT TO OR! REPEAT! ALL SHIFTS REPORT, ON THE DOUBLE!"
"Alrighty. Let's get this over with," Henry groaned as he walked into Radar's office. "If we're lucky, we might not need that much blood for this batch."
"Whatcha want me to say? To senior staff medical sir," Radar wondered. "Should they know 'bout shortage o' blood too?"
"Well yes, Radar. Of course. They should know about it." Henry said. "But let me tell them about the blood shortage. You just tell them that I want to speak with them...regarding the lack of blood our unit has."
"Yes, sir," Radar said. "Tell em 'bout you wantin' to speak wit' them sir. 'Bout blood shortage."
"Very good Radar," Henry sighed. "Welp, I guess I better get scrubbed up for OR. Just round up the whole gang to meet me in Post-Op after the surgery sessions in OR are finished."
"On it, sir," Radar got up and walked out the door.
Once the company clerk was gone, Henry decided to leave for the scrub room, hoping that they can get by this session with only a small amount of blood on their hands. He could only hope that blood donation could be the solution they need to resolve this problem...
LATER ON; IN POST-OP - 13:12
"Well folks, I suppose you all know why I gathered you here today, right?" Henry started.
The gang had already been rounded up after the session in OR was completed. They were standing in front of Henry near that desk was the senior medical staff, along with Father Mulcahy, who wondered if there was anything he could do to contribute in this instance.
Nobody argued about it, so they just decided to go along with it. Otherwise, they were informed about a blood shortage that had happened at the 4077th, and they were pretty curious about it.
"Uh yes Colonel," Andrew spoke first. "It's about the blood shortage we're experiencing currently, isn't it?"
"Yup. That's prezactly it Major," Henry started pacing while keeping his pants up. "Our blood supply's been drained out on us. Almost every last drop of blood we had before has been emptied."
"Swell. A hell of a lot of good that'll do the casualties," Hawkeye huffed. "We suppose to tell them to stop bleeding until blood donors show up and provide for us, just so we could save more lives?"
"That's just the thing, Pierce," Henry continued. "We need every man in this outfit to donate blood to use for any further casualties that we get. This means all officers and enlisted personnel will be donating."
"Well, why would we have to donate more blood for?" Frank protested in annoyance. "I thought we already had a full tank of blood just the other day!"
"Gee, I dunno Frank," Henry huffed while rolling his eyes. "Maybe someone from the black market snuck into the 4077 and stole every ounce of blood we had."
"That has to be it! Only someone from the black market would've snuck into our perimeter and break into our blood supply and stole all the blood we had on hand," Frank declared.
"Wow," Trapper blinked before retorting. "And here I thought Dracula wanted to set up a blood bank near the front, using some of our blood supply."
"Now don't get snotty with me McIntyre," Frank snapped. "It's how all black marketeers operation, in and out of our sector!"
"If I may say something, I think that for someone to have stolen our blood, they would have snuck into our supply," Margaret spoke up. "The thing is, the door should've been locked in between the time we last checked on them and now."
"Yeah. The door was locked, wasn't it," Andrew wondered. "And if it was, how could they have broken in?"
"Must've been someone good with a crowbar," Hawkeye deadpanned.
"Either that or a stick of dynamite," Trapper said dryly.
"Uh, if they used a stick of dynamite, the whole camp would've heard it," Andrew pointed out. "Dynamites make a loud noise when they explode."
"Andrew has a point," Margaret agreed. "A dynamite would've set the camp into a state of panic."
"And that wouldn't be good for some of us in this outfit," Hawkeye quirked before looking towards Frank. "Isn't that right Frank?"
"You think that this is a joke, don't you Pierce," Frank sneered. "Well, a stick of dynamite is a very dangerous situation buster!"
"Enough to blow one's head off," Hawkeye rolled his eyes.
"Why you..." Frank growled.
"Okay, let's knock it off. Who took the blood isn't important," Henry got them to stop. "The important thing here is that we need to get some donors to donate some blood for some of the patients."
"You know, I already donated blood to this cesspool last month," Hawkeye retorted.
"He means everyone Pierce," Andrew told him in annoyance. "That includes all officers and enlisted men."
"I know Frank is long overdue for donating some blood," Trapper snorted.
"Not on your life, McIntyre," Frank argued. "I'm conserving my blood for something important. No one is taking any of my blood."
"What about the time that we took your blood in your sleep," reminded Hawkeye.
"Unwillingly," Frank added in aggravation. "And you gave it to that P.O.W, who came in here with hepatitis."
"To think that Frank was gracious enough to give up a pint of his blood," Hawkeye said sarcastically.
"Well, I for one must insist that everyone in this camp can give up and donate some blood for the patients." Margaret huffed, wanting to get everyone back on track.
"Anything I can do to help out Colonel?" Father Mulcahy asked, wanting to give some assistance.
"Why yes, Father. There is," Henry thought of something. "How about gathering all the enlisted personnel with some nurses to the mess tent, so they can donate some blood to add to our blood supply?"
"I would be honored to help out sir," the Father accepted. "It would be a lot of help to the sick and wounded souls that have been treated in OR."
"Congratulations Father," Trapper praised him in a dry tone. "You've been promoted to 'vampire' again."
"So I have Trapper," Mulcahy said sheepishly.
Without saying anything else, Father Mulcahy gathered up a couple of nurses before leaving to round up all the enlisted men so they could donate some blood.
"Alright. In the meantime, what are we gonna do about the officers," Andrew queried. "It's safe to say that we need to donate blood too."
"Well I refuse to give up any of my blood," Frank protested. "You aren't taking any of my blood!"
"Frank, how would you like it if we stole another pint of your blood in your sleep," Hawkeye threatened.
"It wouldn't cost you a penny," Trapper added.
"Alright, that's enough guys," Andrew got them to stop. "We have a blood shortage, and we need to do something to resolve it."
"Don't I know it," Henry rolled his eyes as Radar came into Post-Op. "Now I'm gonna have to figure a way to gather up more donors just to give us some of their blood."
"At this rate Henry, you'll likely to open a blood drive with the number of customers you'll get," Trapper deadpanned.
"Well Geez Louise, haven't I gotten enough to worry about," Henry complained. "I mean where am I gonna find some blood donors?"
"'Cuse me, sir?" Radar spoke up.
"Not now Radar," Henry told him impatiently.
"Sir?"
"Radar, whatever it is, it can wait."
"Sir? I got regimental on the phone."
"Unless you got regimental on the phone," Henry realized that Radar already said that. "Well, that's one less thing that I have to worry about."
"Should I tell 'em to hold?" Radar queried.
"Nah, I can talk with them about our situation," Henry sighed before walking out of Post-Op to head for his office.
"Meanwhile Radar, you might want to head to the mess tent where Count Father Mulcahy is," Hawkeye suggested. "He's gathering up all enlisted personnel to donate blood."
"Sure hope this'll help with a blood shortage," Radar stated.
"We hope so too Radar," said Andrew. "But I think you should go to the mess tent."
"Right," Radar nodded before walking out of Post-Op, straight for the mess tent to donate some blood for the blood supply.
"Alright. So that's been taken care of," Margaret sighed in relief.
"Yeah," Andrew agreed. "So I guess the only thing we can do now is to wait."
"You said it, darling," Margaret said, giving him that flirtatious look.
No one said anything else, as they spent several minutes thinking about this predicament, and if there would be a proper resolution to it.
Eventually, the silence came to a stop when Nurse Kelleye came over with something to share with Hawkeye.
"Doctor Pierce? Come quick," she instructed. "One of our patients wants to speak to you."
"Which one? I happened to have operated on at least a platoon of casualties," Hawkeye queried.
"The Turkish one," she revealed. "He had gone into shock in OR."
"He was also the one who had a blood clot," Trapper remarked. "And he needed to be given plasma."
"Yeah, I remember that one," Hawkeye said. "What does he want?"
"He wants to thank you for saving his life," Kelleye told him. "He wants to show you his appreciation for your hard and dedicated work."
"Well, ah what the heck," Hawkeye shrugged. "I could never keep an adoring fan of mine waiting."
"Hey, Hawkeye? You might as well plan a first date with him," Trapper suggested in a dry and teasing tone.
Hawkeye could only roll his eyes at that as he followed Kelleye over to where the Turkish soldier was staying currently. He was wearing a Turkish army uniform and based on the pins on his left collar and his shoulder, it was clear that he was a Captain.
"Captain? This is Dr. Pierce," Kelleye introduced Hawkeye to the Turkish soldier. "He's the one who operated on you and saved your life."
"Howdy do stranger? You gave us quite the scare in OR when you went into shock," Hawkeye greeted as he approached the side of the bed, with the others walking over to watch. "You were in good hands though. Your blood clot has been taken care of, and you'll be up and on your feet in no time."
The Turkish soldier lifted his head and looked at Hawkeye straight in the eyes. "Listen, Dr...uhhh..."
"Pierce. Call me Dr. Pierce," Hawkeye explained. "I'm Benjamin Franklin Pierce. My first and middle names were named after an American polymath who flew a kite in the middle of a thunderstorm. But the gang calls me Hawkeye. My father named me after the character in The Last of the Mohicans. It was my dad's favorite, and the only one he ever finished reading. Ah, but enough about me, what can I do for you?"
"Uh, listen, Dr. Pierce," the Turkish Captain got to the point. "I want to say thank you, for saving my life. I am forever in your debt."
"Ah, there's no need for that. I am in eternal debt with everyone I've saved," Hawkeye said. "But I'll be sure to send a $500 check to your Turkish brigade. I hope you can accept American money, but I suppose you could exchange it for Turkish money."
"You are a clever one, doctor," the Turk admitted. "But seriously, I've got to repay you somehow for your hard and dedicated work."
"No thanks are necessary. Just rest up and don't do anything physical with your legs for a couple of days," said Hawkeye. "That's the least you could do for me."
"I'll be sure to think of something to repay you, fine doctors. You'll see," the Turkish soldier insisted. "You'll appreciate what we could give as a contribution to this field hospital."
"Well, if you insist," Hawkeye sighed. "But in the meantime, just rest. You can think about what you can do for me later. Okay?"
"It's fine by me," he nodded slowly.
"Great," it was then Hawkeye had something else that he wanted to ask. "By the way, I checked your dog tags earlier. Are you a Captain Mehmet?"
"Evet," the Turkish soldier confirmed while nodding. "That is who I am."
"Very well then, Mehmet," Hawkeye said. "You rest yourself up. You're in good hands with the doctors and the sweet nurses who are stationed here. You have nothing to worry about."
"I truly appreciate it, doctor," said Mehmet as he lied back down to rest.
"No thanks are necessary," Hawkeye said one last time before walking away to let the Turkish soldier rest.
"Seems to be doing just fine, isn't he," Trapper questioned.
"Yeah," Hawkeye nodded. "He seems to be forever in my debt for what I've done."
"In other words, he's grateful," Andrew stated. "And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."
"I know that Andrew," Hawkeye sighed. "But what can he do for us that could be beneficial for the 4077th?"
"Perhaps he could send you a Turkish postcard every month," Trapper gave him a dry suggestion.
"I still think that this was a foolish operation," Frank snorted in disgust. "I will never understand how these Turks remain a part of the UN; which is what we're a part of."
"Well, don't be upset Frank," Hawkeye told him snidely. "You only feel that way about the Turks because of that one crazy Turk who came through our outfit that one time."
"He called Hawk a damn good Joe, took Radar's outfit that he was given, and left with one of our jeeps," Trapper stated. "Couldn't ask for a better alliance than that."
"That Turk also had to be sedated," Frank reminded them. "And because of that Turk, Colonel Blake got sedated instead."
"Even then, I don't think a mountain of sedatives could keep him down," Andrew said. "And to think he was so desperate with going back to the front, no matter how wounded his left shoulder was."
"Yeah," Margaret rolled her eyes. "In any case, we still have to figure out our blood shortage situation."
"Why don't one of us head to Transylvania and find some volunteers to donate blood," Hawkeye suggested dryly.
"Yeah. That's not gonna do a lot of good for us," Andrew deadpanned. "We'll just have to wait for something to happen."
"Darling, you always come up with the most sensible ideas," Margaret complimented.
"I know dear," Andrew smiled shyly. "I just do what I can."
With that, no one else said a word as they were wondering what they should do about the predicament they were in, in regards to the blood shortage. They could only hope that something could come up for them...
IN COLONEL BLAKE'S OFFICE - 15:23
"Well yes sir. Yes, sir, we need some blood," Henry spoke to someone from regimental on the phone. "Well uh...w-well see if there's anybody in our neck of the woods whos willing to spare some blood for us."
It was clear that Henry was having trouble with getting through to regimental on how desperate they are with needing blood for their outfit. Still, he had to try something, since they needed as much blood as they could get.
"Huh? Come again? What do you mean there's no one available near our sector?" Henry said over the phone. "Well uh...what about the 8063rd? Don't they have any blood to spare? Huh? What? Oh...Oh...they're out of blood too. Ain't that the horse's patoot? And what about the other M*A*S*H units near our area? No blood either? Damn. That is a kick in the caboose. Are you sure there's no blood to spare? Right...Alrighty, I guess there's nothing to be done about it. I don't know what we should do about it."
Henry allowed whoever was speaking through the phone to wrap things up with him. There's no doubt that he wasn't gonna get anything out of this, let alone some blood that they could use for their casualties.
"Welp, I guess it can't be helped. I-I mean if you say so...yes. Yes. Yeah, I'm having some of the personnel in this outfit donate blood," Henry wrapped up the call. "The Chaplin's gathering up the enlisted men, and as for the officers...uh-huh. Yes. Righty-o, I'll be sure of that. Welp, thanks anyway. Sure. Alrighty, I hope to hear from you guys soon. Okay. Fine. Take care and goombye."
With that, Henry hung up the phone, as he put the speaker down and sighed. It was then Hawkeye and Trapper found the right time to enter his office and find out if he got any help in regards to blood donations.
"Hey Henry," Hawkeye greeted. "Any luck on getting more blood to our unit?"
"No dice Pierce," Henry sighed and shook his head. "There's not a single M*A*S*H unit in Korea that can donate blood, let alone have any blood supply to loan to us. It seems that the other units in the area are struggling with their blood shortage."
"Terrific," Hawkeye huffed exasperatedly. "It's bad enough that our unit is short on blood. But now other units in Korea are struggling with a shortage of blood supply. What are we gonna do about the patients? Tell them that we can spare a few pints of blood since we're short on it?"
"I don't know Pierce," Henry groaned. "I don't even think that having all the enlisted men donate blood for our blood supply will be enough to fill up half of what we did have for blood."
"Let's not forget the officers in this outfit Henry. Not to mention the entire nursing staff," Trapper reminded him. "Of course, that means Frank will have to donate blood too."
"That ought to be fun," Hawkeye retorted. "Getting Frank to give up some blood will be like saying that Frank is a good surgeon, or having him operating on a North Korean, or worse; a Chinese soldier."
"Don't remind me," Henry moaned. "But what can I do? The only way we could save up enough blood for the casualties would be to have everyone in this man's outfit donate."
"Well, when you put it that way, this outfit could use a few vampires," Trapper snorted. "In any case, we'd have to get Frank to donate, even if we have to force him to."
"I'd like to suggest giving him a sedative so he won't put up a fight," Hawkeye suggested.
"Alrighty. I think we all know where we stand with our blood shortage," said Henry as he stood up. "And since regimental is not being helpful in this predicament, we'll have to resolve this problem ourselves."
"Maybe to lessen the pain, we should get ourselves a drink," Hawkeye remarked. "It might help us to forget about the struggles that we're going through, not to mention make me think less about giving up some of my blood."
"I might get myself a doggy bag for some of the blood that'll come out of the scotch bottle," Trapper said dryly. "Either that, or I'll use the scotch bottle itself."
"Yeah, I think a drink is what the doctor ordered," Henry stretched his arms. "Why don't we get going while we wait for the enlisted men to donate some blood."
"Let me draw us a picture to express how I feel about that without using a thousand words," Hawkeye insisted. "It might make this a little more bearable."
"Gee, I'm quite touched by that Hawkeye," Trapper deadpanned sardonically. "Let me express myself by puking in the nearest doggy bag that I can find."
Nonetheless, they didn't say anything else as they left the office and headed straight for the Officer's Club. The enlisted men might be busy with donating blood. But that didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy a bottle of scotch or two, right?
In any case, they knew that this was going to take a while. So they all have to be patient with this situation. And they were gonna drink their scotch slowly, just to get time to pass by faster...
IN THE MESS TENT - 16:03
While they were in the Officer's Club, Father Mulcahy was in the mess tent with several of the nurses as they were holding a blood donation there. The enlisted men were standing in a single file line, waiting for their turn to come up to donate. Several of them had already donated blood for them to use, and they decided to hang around in the mess tent for the time being.
Father Mulcahy was courteous enough to give those who already donated some orange juice as a refreshment for having donated in the first place. Truth be told, he was grateful for those who have already donated for a worthy cause.
"I am impressed. This is very good of you all, especially those who have already donated," the Father admitted. "Now for those that have already donated, just relax, and have some orange juice. You all helped out a worthy cause for all these poor souls that come here wounded. You deserve it."
Nearby, on one of the tables, we see Klinger lying on the surface, looking like a vampire who was sleeping in a coffin. This wasn't the first time he's done this, but he was willing to do it again, even if there wasn't a Section 8 in it for him. Father saw this for himself and smiled while shaking his head.
"Ah, Klinger," he told him. "How good of you, to donate some blood again."
Even then, Klinger did feel a slight bit of annoyance by this. "This is ridiculous. A million miles from home, laying on a table like a centerpiece, and somebody siphoning me for blood. And this isn't the first time I've done this either. And to think that I have B positive blood."
"Yes Klinger, but you still did it," the Chaplin remarked. "Regardless of your personal feelings about the matter."
"Well how could I not," Klinger sat up, doing an impersonation of Bela Lugosi. "I must give blood, or die!"
"Oh Klinger," Father Mulcahy had to shake his head at this. "Don't get up too fast. And don't talk too much. Donating can make you dizzy."
"I know," Klinger deadpanned. "I brought along a pair of low heels again."
"I see," Mulcahy sighed as he watched Klinger lie back down.
"Uh, Father? Father, you busy," Radar was in line, having gotten the Father's attention.
"Oh, uh, hello Radar," Mulcahy greeted him as he walked over to him. "How may I help you, fine son?"
"Well, I'm donating blood today," Radar uttered. "And, uh...well, I was wondering, if it's bad or not..."
"Oh, not at all Radar," the Father shook his head. "Everyone's doing it. So it is a noble and worthy thing to do."
"Good Father. Good," Radar sighed. "Cause I've got blood type B. If any casualties need B type of blood, I've got it."
"I'm sure there's someone who wounded that's blood type B Radar," Father Mulcahy assured him. "You don't have anything to worry about."
"Well, it's also cause I'm not fond of needles," Radar admitted. "Not even when I was in Ottumwa. My mom is not fond of needles either. Says she's B-type blood, while my uncle Ed is A-type blood."
"You say your mother isn't fond of needles either," Mulcahy was curious. "Is there...any reason why?"
"Well gee Father. Mom's got high blood pressure," Radar told him. "She gets stressed the higher blood pressure she gets. Blood sugar acts up in that problem."
"I see. Well, don't worry about it too much, my fine son," Father Mulcahy reassured. "You have nothing to worry about. Besides, the nurses here are good with their jobs. Your spirit is in their hands' Radar."
"I know Father," Radar sighed. "Just hope this goes quickly. The faster, the better."
"Perfectly understandable Radar," the Father said. "Well, I'll be nearby if you need anything else. I'll be seeing you."
"Yeah. See ya 'round Father," said Radar. "And thanks again."
"It was my pleasure," Father Mulcahy told. "You can believe that, young son."
After he said that, Father Mulcahy walked away to check on the other enlisted men who had already donated blood to see how they were doing. All while Radar waited in line to donate some of his blood for the supply that they desperately needed.
He hoped that it would be quick and painless and that there will be enough blood by the time all the enlisted men, nurses, and all the officers give up some of their blood. The only thing he could do is wait...
OUTSIDE IN THE COMPOUND - 7:41
It was a new morning at the 4077. And outside, we see the Turkish soldier; Captain Mehmet being loaded up into an ambulance on a stretcher, with Hawkeye and Trapper accompanying him so they could send him off to his Turkish brigade. He was given enough time to recover, and he was fit enough to be sent back to his unit.
"Well congratulations Mehmet, I've got good news for you," Hawkeye told him. "You've made a fine and speedy recovery, and you are well enough to be sent back to your unit."
"Doctor, I can't thank you again," Captain Mehmet said.
"Well don't. You've thanked me enough," Hawkeye insisted.
"I'm sure that if there's something I can do to repay you, fine doctor, I'll be willing to do it," the Turkish Captain told him. "You won't regret it."
"Try not to get yourself injured again," said Hawkeye. "It'll do all of us, most of all yourself, a lot of good."
"Now if only we had a solution to the blood shortage we're experiencing," Trapper retorted. "I think all of the enlisted men have donated already, but there are the nurses and officers."
"Uh, right," Mehmet said slowly, keeping that in mind for a way to repay the unit for saving his life. "I'll be sure to give your regards to my sergeant Attias for what you've done. And that you doctors do such fine work."
"Sure," Hawkeye shrugged. "Just take care of yourself."
"So long Mehmet," Trapper waved. "And don't go running in the middle of the war again."
"Your sense of humor is very much appreciated doctors," Mehmet admitted whiled being loaded into the ambulance. "Thanks again for everything."
"Don't mention it," Hawkeye responded as the door to the ambulance closed up. "Seriously, no need to mention it."
After the ambulance was loaded up with the Turkish soldier inside, the ambulance started to drive off, to deliver him back to his Turkish brigade at his unit. Hawkeye and Trapper only waved farewell as it drove off. As soon as the ambulance was out of sight, the two Captains stopped waving and put their hands down.
"Well, there he goes, back to where the war is going on," Hawkeye admitted.
"You don't suppose he's serious about wanting to repay you for what you did," Trapper wondered. "I mean, all you did was save his life when he went into shock."
"Not to mention suffering from a blood clot," Hawkeye sighed. "And that's what I'm afraid of. All the patients that come through here have been grateful in one way or another, and I'm not sure if we should have anymore of them showing us how grateful they are. Just being able to go back home is more than enough of a way to repay us."
"Tell me about it," Trapper deadpanned. "I don't know if I can handle having a big package sent to you from one of the patients that you save."
"Me either," Hawkeye moaned. "Saving lives here is part of my job, and no matter how much of the sewage dump this place is and how much it stinks, it's in my blood."
"If only you could share that blood with the rest of us," Trapper snorted. "In any case, calling this a sewage dump is too easy. If you ask me, it's more of a hell hole."
"I know," Hawkeye shook his head.
It was at that moment where Andrew had come to the area, having seen the ambulance loaded up with the Turkish soldier in it. Accompanying him was Margaret, who had seen parts of the Turk Captain being sent on his way too. It was Andrew who got their attention.
"Hey guys," he greeted. "Was that the Turkish soldier who was just loaded into that ambulance just now?"
"I thought maybe it was a Korean," Hawkeye said sardonically. "If you mean Captain Mehmet, then yes. He just left in the ambulance."
"We decided to give him a farewell present," Trapper was also being sarcastic. "We were also hoping on sending him a package, wrapped up in a paper bag."
"Sure," Andrew rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I have heard that all the enlisted men have donated blood. Now we need the nurses and officers to donate blood."
"Would that also include Margaret's blood?" Hawkeye asked amusingly.
"You keep your nose out of my blood and on your own," Margaret told him sternly. "Everyone else is expected to donate today."
"We're just waiting for Radar to tell us how much blood we got from yesterday's donation." Andrew pointed out.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there's enough to open a blood bank." Hawkeye huffed.
"Anyone could be promoted to 'vampire'. The more blood that is added to our supply, the better it is for our patients," Trapper shrugged.
"No kidding there," Andrew sighed. "Now there's just the matter of getting Frank to donate some blood. How are we gonna do that?"
"I'll be sure to get the sedative so he won't give us any problems," Hawkeye suggested.
"You think that's gonna work, Pierce?" Andrew raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, or we could get Frank tied to the bedpost while donating," Hawkeye huffed. "At least he won't be able to run."
"And we know how good he is at running," reminded Trapper.
"Yeah," Andrew rubbed his chin. "You once said that Frank has AB negative type blood, didn't you?"
"Did we? I thought it was AB positive," Trapper rolled his eyes. "What do you think we meant?"
"That he was AB negative," Andrew deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "With any amount of luck, we might get enough blood if everyone stationed here donates."
"We'll find out in a bit," Hawkeye murmured as Radar came to the scene. "At this unit of M*A*S*H, anything is possible."
"Uhhh, sirs," Radar got their attention before noticing Margaret. "And ma'am? Got something to say."
"Alright Radar, out with it," Andrew encouraged. "How are things set for our blood supply so far?"
"Well sir," Radar looked at the clipboard he was holding. "From yesterday's donations, we got half of 2 dozen that's required. So far, there are 12 outta 24 bottles o' blood that has gotten. All from yesterday."
"I see," Andrew rubbed his chin in amusement. "Well, in that case, we might get enough from everyone else having to donate today."
"I sure hope so Andrew," Margaret sighed. "We need all the blood that we can get."
"Including Frank's," Hawkeye added in a teasing manner.
"Yes, Pierce. Even Frank's." Andrew moaned.
"So Radar, when are the officers expected to donate blood anyway?" Trapper queried.
"Well, all officers an' nurses are expected to donate, beginnin' at 1000 hours," Radar read from the clipboard. "Might take place in few days, dependin' on how much blood we get outta it."
"That might be enough to get us by a couple of days," Andrew wiped his forehead. "All the nurses are donating, along with all the officers, including Father Mulcahy."
"Right," Radar nodded. "Colonel Blake's orders are nurses donate blood first. And this includes Major Houlihan."
"I'm well aware of that Corporal," Margaret told him. "I am fully responsible for my nursing staff."
"And I guess all the officers who are men will donate afterwards," Andrew pointed out. "Which also includes Colonel Blake."
"Ah, this I gotta see," Hawkeye seemed amused. "I have to see how Henry will react when donating some blood."
"Hopefully it's not as dramatic as getting Frank to donate blood," Trapper added dryly. "That's gonna be something."
"Never mind that guys," Andrew spoke up. "The most we can do at the moment is be patient with this whole procedure and allow the nurses in this outfit to donate like they're supposed to. Right, dear?"
"You know it, darling," Margaret said, smiling at him.
"And who knows," Hawkeye shrugged. "This scenario might span over a couple of days for us to get the right amount of blood."
"I'll be sure to get the popcorn for when the show can begin," snorted Trapper.
"Just remember that you two are also expected to donate blood," Andrew informed. "That means you should remain sober when donating."
"And that means no drinking any of that liquor that you two bozos enjoy drinking," Margaret said sharply.
"Trust us you two," Hawkeye gave them a snide response. "We haven't forgotten. We would dream of missing out on a first date with donating our blood away."
"Yeah right," Andrew only rolled his eyes, not saying anything else as they decided to wait for the blood donation to begin.
They were unaware of the surprise that was coming their way that would show up to the M*A*S*H 4077 soon enough...
A couple of days have passed since then. And as expected, everyone else was donating their blood to add to the blood supply that they desperately needed. By this point, every single nurse stationed in the outfit has donated some blood, including Margaret.
With that taken care of, all of the male officers were expected to donate blood next. For the most part, the majority of the officers didn't give any grief or complaints about having to donate any blood. With the cooperation that they've been getting from many, things went straight forward with the blood donation.
Currently, we see Henry standing outside of the mess tent, having donated some blood just some time ago. Accompanying him was Father Mulcahy, who had also donated some blood away just recently. Both of them were exhausted from doing so, but they were relieved on top of that.
"Welp, I dunno about you Father, but I'm glad that's over," Henry sighed. "The last time I ever donated blood was when they had a blood donation at the clinic in Bloomington Illinois."
"I can see that," Father Mulcahy remarked sheepishly. "Well, I think it was a blessing for us to do this good deed of the day."
"I know what you mean Father," Henry wiped his forehead. "And to think that all of us had to donate blood to add to our blood supply."
"But it'll be worth the lives we'll end up saving when they require blood," the Father said. "That's something that we should be gracious about."
"That's true," Henry admitted. "I just hope this'll be enough."
"All of us can pray that it'll be enough," Mulcahy said.
It was then Andrew came out of the mess tent, having just donated some blood. He also seemed relieved that he got this done and over with.
"Hey guys," Andrew got their attention. "You've already donated some blood, didn't you?"
"Well Major, let's just say that the needle only stung a little," Henry informed him. "But other than that, I've done my donation of blood for the day."
"And I have donated some blood as well," said Father Mulcahy. "I think it's safe to say that we should have enough blood for our blood supply."
"Maybe. Of course, I just got done with donating too," Andrew admitted. "I'm glad that it's been taken care of."
"I know what you mean Major," Henry sighed. "I just hope the amount of blood we get from the other officers will be enough to cover our shortage."
"Yeah," Andrew rubbed his chin, remembering something. "Speaking of officers, does anyone know if Pierce and McIntyre have donated already?"
"Why yes, they have," Father Mulcahy admitted. "I have seen them here a while ago, donating blood for a good cause. But I have no idea where they went. All they said was that they were planning on getting another officer in our outfit to donate some blood."
"They're probably getting Frank to give up some of his blood," Andrew assumed. "I had a feeling that they would be doing that."
"Yeah," Henry agreed. "I just hope that with Frank's blood, we'll have enough to cover our blood supply."
"And even if it isn't, surely a miracle might occur that'll help provide us with the blood supply that we do need," Father Mulcahy commented.
"We've had stranger things take place at the 4077th before," Andrew admitted as Margaret walked out of the mess tent. "If you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised by it."
"Hey," Margaret got their attention. "I just wanted to let you know that most of the officers have donated blood already."
"That's good to know," Henry murmured.
"But I was 'really' impressed with how Andrew donated some of his blood willingly," she looked at Andrew. "Seriously Andrew, you kept a straight and brave face when you did that."
Andrew couldn't help but notice the flirty look on her face he smiled sheepishly. "Uh y-yeah. I certainly was brave and willing to donate voluntarily, wasn't I?"
"Yes, you were," her tone became a little more seductive. "But I'm not surprised since you are a brave strong man."
Now Andrew was blushing as he stuttered in a silly manner. "Yup. That would be me. Your big strong man."
"Your also my fiance, darling," Margaret then kissed him on the cheek. "I hope you remember that."
"Believe me, I haven't forgotten," Andrew murmured, with that goofy grin on his face. "And you are my fiancee, dear."
He took notice of the kiss mark that she left behind, courtesy of her pink lipstick. Just seeing it got him in a good mood. Neither Henry nor Mulcahy decided to say anything about this as silence plagued them for a few minutes.
Suddenly, they snapped to when they heard some grunting and arguing coming from nearby. It was shown to be Hawkeye and Trapper, who was dragging Frank to the mess tent against his will. That would explain the grunting since he was not willing to go along with this.
"Pardon us for intruding," Hawkeye declared as he and Trapper dragged Frank to the entrance while the others moved out of the way. "But Trap and I have an eager volunteer here to donate blood."
"Frank graciously decided to donate blood to help fill up the blood supply that we need," it was clear that Trapper was being sarcastic with that tone. "And besides, Frank is long overdue for a blood donation."
"You aren't taking any of my blood," Frank gripped. "It has rights! I refuse to donate some of it!"
"Oh come on Frank! We're doing it a favor," Hawkeye argued. "We're taking it away from you."
"But don't worry Frank," Trapper remarked with faux sympathy. "It'll only hurt a lot."
"No," Frank yelled as he tried squirming out, to no avail. "I won't go!"
"Ah, quit with the griping Frank. They give balloons," Hawkeye huffed. "You even get to pick the color of your choice."
"They also give out free lollipops for those who donate blood voluntarily," Trapper added dryly.
"You two bozos," Frank sneered. "You try to butt in ahead of me."
"That's why your our leader," Hawkeye snorted sarcastically.
"And your an inspiration to us all," Trapper retorted, also sounding sarcastic.
Andrew could only roll his eyes at this as he intervened. "Alright. That's quite enough you guys. Now just make sure that Frank donates a little blood."
Hawkeye and Trapper could only huff since they were planning to do that anyway while Frank grumbled under his breath as the two Captains dragged him into the mess tent.
"Welp. I don't mind telling you, but sometimes, Frank has to be the biggest horse's patoot in this compound," Henry admitted.
"Well, we shouldn't be complaining now," Andrew commented. "I'm pretty sure they'll get some blood from Frank, one way or another."
"Probably," Margaret rolled her eyes. "Though I guess we shouldn't worry about it, Andrew."
"Yeah," he smiled in her direction.
"Hey," Father Mulcahy noticed a vehicle entering the compound and was driving near the mess tent. "I think that's a truck."
"Yeah, that's a truck alright," Andrew confirmed. "But what I don't get is why is a truck entering our compound for?"
"Don't I know anything," Henry complained. "Like why we haven't gotten any supplies of blood sent to our medical unit?"
"Hey wait a minute," Andrew got a good look at the side of the truck and noticed something; The writing on the side wasn't written in English but in Turkish. "That truck belongs to a Turkish unit."
"A Turkish unit?" Margaret raised an eyebrow.
"Or to be more precise, a Turkish brigade," Andrew clarified before looking again. "But what would a Turkish truck be doing at the 4077th?"
"Whatever the reason might be, we're about to find out in a momentito," Henry remarked.
It didn't take long for the truck to stop. There was a whole platoon of Turkish soldiers in the back, and coming out of the driver seat was a Turkish soldier. Judging by the stripes on his sleeves, it was clear that this soldier was a sergeant. The moment he got out, he stood right in front of the group and gave them a salute.
"Greetings, 4077th," he introduced. "I'm Sergeant Attias of the Turkish brigade. I come here on behalf of the captain who is stationed with us; Captain Mehmet."
"Captain Mehmet? You mean the Captain who went into shock," Andrew started to piece it together. "And it was Captain Pierce who saved his life."
"Yes. The very one," Sergeant Attias confirmed. "Where is Dr. Pierce? I would like to formally thank him for saving one of my men."
"Well you see sir, he's in the mess tent with McIntyre, trying to get Major Burns to give up some of his blood," Andrew explained.
"I see," Attias had a thoughtful look on his face.
"Anywho, is there anything I can do for you folks since you're here?" Henry offered with that sheepish smile.
"We understand the 4077th M*A*S*H needs blood," Attias got to the point.
"Well it's written in big red letters," Henry let out a nervous laugh. "Very hard to miss."
"Wait, you and your troops want to donate blood to the 4077th? And how did you find out about it?" Andrew had to ask. "Did Captain Mehmet tell you about our blood shortage?"
"To answer your simple questions Major, yes," Attias nodded. "All of those are correct. My men and I want to contribute to saving the life of our captain. And it was Mehmet who told us all about it."
"Well gloriosky," Father Mulcahy sounded grateful. "This was impeccable timing you folks. We are gracious of you donating some of your blood to our unit."
"Yes, sirree, this is what the doctor ordered," Henry agreed.
"I don't believe it," Margaret admitted.
"Neither do I. But it's as plain as day," Andrew told her. "Anyway, Pierce and McIntyre should be out here with you guys in a minute. You guys will go after Major Frank Burns."
Attias wanted further clarification on that, but before he could say anything, he heard a ruckus going on in the mess tent.
"Hey! You two stay away from me," Frank was heard hollering. "You're not touching me, you vampires!"
"Lighten up Frank. We just have to jab a needle in you, and you've donated your blood," Hawkeye was heard snorting.
"So just stand still so you can give us your blood," Trapper was heard retorting.
"Not gonna happen," Frank barked. "The last thing I'm gonna give you two ghouls is any of my blood!"
"Ghouls?" Hawkeye had huffed. "That's a nice thing to call us vampires."
"No kiddin'. And this is the thanks we get for taking a pint of your blood in your sleep," Trapper said sardonically.
"Believe me, Frank, this won't hurt at all," Hawkeye stated.
"Leave me alone!" Frank barked as he then walked out the door, exiting the mess tent.
"Well, there goes our number one patient," Hawkeye stated sarcastically.
"So much for getting some AB-type negative blood," Trapper snorted. "Hey, who are they?"
"Either they're Korean refugees, or they're a platoon from a Turkish unit," Hawkeye took a dry guess before getting their attention. "Excuse me good sir, but who may you be?"
"I'm Sergeant Attias, of the Turkish brigade," Attias greeted. "Would you happen to be Dr. Pierce?"
"Close," Hawkeye remarked. "I'm Captain Pierce. But I'm a civilian who was drafted out here. And this here is Captain McIntyre. We're both doctors."
"Ah, a pleasure to meet you, doctor," Attias got to the point. "You saved the life of Captain Mehmet, and for that, we're grateful."
"Oh, you're from Captain Mehmet's unit," Hawkeye had a smirk on his face. "My, word does travel fast."
"Everyone needs to take gossiping as a hobby," Trapper shrugged his shoulders while giving that face.
"Pierce and McIntyre, Attias wants to repay your work by donating some of their blood to the 4077," Andrew explained. "They heard about it from Mehmet, and they want to do this as thanks."
"Well, usually thanks aren't necessary. But we are honored to have new donors who are foreign," Hawkeye proclaimed. "We already got reservations for you guys."
"Our doors are open until 2100 hours," Trapper announced. "Your table is ready. Our special tonight is tomato juice."
"Well, this might resolve our blood shortage," Andrew admitted with a smile.
"Okay men, let's donate our blood to the 4077th M*A*S*H!" Attias commanded his Turkish troops.
As a result, they all shouted in Turkish, showing how willing they were to donate blood to the compound.
"If you kind folks will just step this way," Hawkeye opened the door and motioned for them to enter one by one. "We'll be in there momentarily to help with the blood donation."
"Better than doing it in the sunlight, since it doesn't take kindly to vampires," Trapper commented with a smirk on his face.
"Very well," Attias nodded. "Alright men, let's go!"
The troops nodded as they all entered the mess tent one by one to get ready to donate blood. The others were all pretty shocked by this surprise.
"Wow," Andrew blinked as Hawkeye and Trapper went back inside behind Attias. "I never thought that the Turkish brigade would volunteer to donate blood to our unit."
"You know, I think this might be the resolution to our blood shortage," Henry admitted.
"I think this was a blessing," Father Mulcahy admitted. "A gift bestowed upon us for being so patient and understanding with thy Lord."
"That's pretty much a good way to sum it up Father," Andrew laughed sheepishly. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about blood shortage after this."
"You said it, Andrew," Margaret laughed.
Nothing else was said as the Turkish brigade waited to donate their blood to the 4077 as a personal thank you for what one of the doctors did for their Captain. It would appear that this was what they were waiting for all along. And now their problems with the lack of blood supply were pretty much over...
LATER ON - IN COLONEL BLAKE'S OFFICE:
"Well gang, I called you to my office for a very good reason," Henry paced back and forth behind his desk. "Do any of you know what it is?"
"Huh? Would it have something to do with the blood supply?" Andrew guessed as he was there along with Hawkeye, Trapper, Frank, and Margaret.
"Yes, sirree, Major. That's prezactly what I'm talking about," Henry pointed out as Radar entered his office with a clipboard. "Now that Turkish brigade that showed up and donated blood to our unit was what we were hoping for. Anywho, I suppose it must've crossed your minds as to what we have for blood supplies, right?"
"Well, actually Henry, it may have crossed our minds at least once," Hawkeye stated.
"Just leave out the Henry Blake Cliche Festival talk and tell us what we have for blood supply," Trapper deadpanned.
"Alrighty. If you clowns will quit the wisecracks, I got it written on this clipboard that I checked earlier," Henry said as Radar was now standing right beside him. "Radar!?"
"Got clipboard here sir," Radar got his attention while standing right next to him.
"Thank you, Radar. I can always count on you for anything that I may need," Henry thanked him while taking the clipboard. "Now, folks, this might come as a doozy, so just sit on your keisters. Ahem, after the Turkish brigade donated blood to our unit, as we stand, we currently have at least 4 dozen supplies of blood. It's more than what we required for our unit."
"Four dozen supplies of blood? Holy mackerel," Andrew blinked in surprise.
"And we didn't need Frank to donate blood after all," Hawkeye said snidely.
"Guess you're off the hook this time Frank," Trapper told him.
"Hmph!" Frank huffed. "I wasn't worried. I knew all along that another unit in our sector would donate some blood for the good of this military post."
"Keep talking like that Frank, and you'll be in the cavalry for sure, you naughty devil you," Hawkeye teased.
"And Frank," Henry cleared his throat. "Let me remind you that we aren't a military post. We're a field hospital."
"Which is property of the United States Army," Frank added.
"Well, we can't argue with that." Andrew shrugged.
"Well I for one am grateful that our blood supply has been filled up, and we got plenty of blood supply for the casualties," Margaret proclaimed. "Which is more than what was necessary."
"Better to take a gift from the horse's mouth," Hawkeye stated. "This means that we'll save more lives while using the right blood types for certain patients."
"Let's hope they don't need an AB-type negative, since that's hard to come by," Trapper added.
"Unless we convince Frank to donate," Hawkeye shrugged.
"Forget it," Frank refused, crossing his arms.
"Well, you can't win 'em all," said Hawkeye.
"You earn a few, you lose a few," Trapper had said.
"Okay, let's cut it out, Captains. The point is, we got plenty of blood, and there's no reason why we shouldn't give our casualties the right blood types." Henry stated.
"I guess good things do come to those who wait," Andrew laughed heartily. "We were patient, so then this happens."
"You said it, Andrew," Margaret smirked.
"Uhhh, sir? Need clipboard anymore?" Radar queried.
"Oh. Well no. I think I've just about covered everything with this clipboard," Henry told him, giving back the clipboard. "That'll be all Radar."
"Yes, sir," Radar obliged.
"I say this calls for a drink," Hawkeye suggested. "To toast for how we recovered our blood supply with fresh new blood."
"I'll drink to that," Trapper agreed.
"Me too," Henry smiled.
"Well I don't see a reason for us drinking at all," Frank argued.
"Neither do I," Margaret admitted.
"Yeah, I won't drink either," Andrew shook his head.
"It's a tie, 3 against 60," Trapper said dryly.
"Uh, Radar? Tell me, what do you think," Hawkeye got the company clerk to stop. "Would you care to drink with us? You can drink grape nehi if you like."
Radar was about to say something, but before he could, he heard something in the distance. When it got closer, he recognized the sound. They were choppers. And he knew what that meant.
"Uh oh. Choppers," Radar uttered as the others heard it too. "Guys. Choppers. Incoming choppers! We got wounded arriving by choppers!"
Radar ran back to his office to give a particular announcement through the P.A. system.
"ATTENTION! ALL PERSONNEL! INCOMING CASUALTIES! COMING BY CHOPPERS! ALL SHIFTS REPORT TO OR! ON THE DOUBLE!"
"Well, it didn't take long for the action to start up again," Andrew grunted as his facial expression soured.
"That's how I feel Major," Frank complained. "We just donated blood, and now we get more casualties!"
"Frank, when are you ever gonna learn," Trapper deadpanned. "The war never stops for anybody."
"I thought that you would've known that by now," Hawkeye retorted.
"Well, I guess we shouldn't be complaining," Margaret complained. "We have plenty of blood supply to help with the casualties."
"Okay doke, let's get a move on. The war is back on schedule," Henry sighed. "Use up as much blood as we possibly need for the casualties. Let's get this over with."
"Yeah. We knew this would happen anyway," Andrew said as they all left the office to get ready to perform meatball surgery in OR. "So let's just get by this session."
"I know how you feel darling," Margaret said. "Whenever chance I get, I love working with you in OR."
"Me too dear," Andrew chuckled. "It goes to show that we have gotten close, in and out of OR."
"Yup," she gave him another kiss on the cheek. "That's probably why I love you so much."
"And I love you so much too," Andrew gave her a grin. "Ready to do this together."
"Whenever you are," Margaret gave Andrew that flirtatious look again as they left to get ready for OR with the rest of the medical team.
They were fortunate to have more than enough blood supply for the casualties. It was better than not having enough blood supply, or worse, not having blood at all. So this worked out for everyone. In any case, another session in OR was about to get underway. To those stationed at the 4077th, this was just another average typical day in Korea...
END OF CHAPTER 54...
Yeah, that's it for this chapter. I do hope you tried to enjoy it even with its short length and not having much to add to it.
This chapter and the previous chapter are not the best chapters that I've written for this story. Not because of the shorter lengths, but because I don't see them as being as on par with previous chapters. I'll try to make future chapters a little more interesting than this. I hope you understand this.
Anyway, the next chapter is gonna be something interesting compared to this chapter. For the next chapter, Margaret's younger sister is revealed to be coming to the 4077 for a visit, and Margaret makes sure everyone is prepared for her arrival. I'm still thinking for the reason, though it'll have something to do about needing to be kept busy since her and Margaret's mother got arrested for shoplifting once again. How will this turn out? How will Margaret's sister react when she sees Andrew for herself? And will any other mishaps occur when her sister is staying at the 4077 temporarily? Find out next time!
Now, only leave a review if you want to. Nothing else to say about that!
Otherwise, I got nothing else to say. So until next time, take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks again for reading everyone!