Radar knew something was wrong before he heard the screaming. The phone fell from his hand, landing on the floor with a thud. The phone was their only
connection to the world outside of the 4077 and if the connection was broken, there would be big trouble. But at that moment he didn't care. He ran into the OR
and grabbed a mask, gasping when he saw the wounded solider, waving a sword.
Everyone was frozen in place, some with their hands above their heads, some with their hands at their sides. Even Hawkeye and Major Burns stood perfectly
still; guys who should have been the bravest ones in the room.
Potter stepped foreword as slowly as possible. "Now, son, just put the sword down and we'll discuss this rationally."
"The hell with rational!" the soldier yelled. "You killed my best friend! You killed him! Now I'm going to kill everyone in this room! "
Margaret put her hand over her mouth and began to cry as BJ moved close to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Son… Listen to me, please.." Potter started.
"Listen to you? Nertz to that!" Burns yelled. "The man has a sword! And it's a big one!" He added, his voice rising an octave.
"I see that, Burns but thanks for clarifying!" Potter shot back.
The soldier took a step foreword, making everyone gasp. "I'm warning you!"
"And you really expect him to be rational?" Frank yelled.
"Frank, stay out of this, all right? Radar get on the horn and call Sidney! Tell him we need him here on the double!" Potter ordered.
Radar barely heard Frank's snippy remark and he raced into the radio room, retrieving the phone from its' place on the floor. His hand was shaking as he sat
down in his chair and put the phone to his ear.
"Sparky? Get me Sidney Freeman on the phone on the double!" Radar shouted. "Tell him to get down here as fast as he can! We've got big trouble here!". By
now his hand was shaking so badly that he barely heard Sparky asking him if he was all right and he returned the phone to the base, not realizing that he'd
hung up before he could talk to the psychiatrist.
He peeked into the window of the OR as best as he could and then pushed the door open. The soldier was still there, waiving the sword around like crazy. He
made eye contact with Potter and nodded, understanding Potter's instructions to go into the office and wait for him. But he feared for his friends in the OR. What
if something happened to them?
He grabbed his teddy bear and hugged him tightly as he headed outside to wait for Sidney. It wasn't long before the jeep pulled up and Sidney jumped out.
Radar had never been so happy to see anyone in his life-at least at the 4077.
"Radar, I got your message! What's happening?"
"It's awful, Sidney! There's a guy-a patient with a sword in the OR! He's scaring the heck out of everyone! I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself and everyone
else! I don't know what to do!"
"Okay, Radar, just calm down. Everything will be fine. I'll talk to him."
"Okay, but hurry! I don't know what he's doing! Hawkeye and Colonel Potter were trying to calm him down but-Oh please hurry!"
Radar ran toward the OR and stood by the door as Sidney pushed it open and went inside. A sea of bodies poured out, their screams and cries resonating in
Radar's ears. He didn't know what to do so he stayed where he was. To go into the OR would be a big mistake. He pressed his ear to the door and could hear
Sidney talking to the soldier, trying to calm him down. But then he heard something else.
Heart pounding, he squeezed his bear and walked back into his office to sit down. The sound was still there, floating from the hallway. Carefully he pushed the
door open and walked into the hallway. Sitting in the chair beside the OR was Nurse Kellye crying into her hands.
Radar stood for a moment, unaware of what to do. She looked scared-scareder than anyone he'd ever seen in his life. He couldn't just stand there and do
nothing. Quietly he walked over to her and stood by the empty chair.
"Um, Nurse Kellye? Is it all right if I sit down?"
She lifted her head. "Radar…"
"Yeah, um, I was wondering if it's okay if I sit here."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Thanks.." He sat down and looked at her, unsure of what to do. She turned her head and covered her mouth with her hand. Slowly he reached out and touched
her shoulder. And it was that simple gesture that made her fall against him, sobbing into his jacket. There was nothing left to do but to put his arm around her
and rub her shoulder.
He spoke calmly. "It's scary. It's real scary, I know. But don't worry. Sidney will calm him down. He 's just upset. It's understandable, but if it makes you feel
better, I was scared too;real scared."
She lifted her head and looked at him. "You, Radar? I didn't think you were scared of anything! You ran through that minefield to save that girl."
"Well, sure! I couldn't let anything happen to her. But I was still scared. Heck I'm scared all the time! I just try not to show it."
The door of the OR opened forcefully, causing Radar and Kelly to jump in surprise. Kelly grabbed Radar even tighter than before. They watched as Sidney walked
out, followed by Hawkeye, BJ and Potter.
"I-is everything all right now?" Radar dared to ask.
"It's fine. Thanks, Radar."
"But what about the-."
"He'll be fine too. Sidney gave him something to calm him down. He was just scared."
"Oh… Where did he get that sword?"
"No idea." Potter said. "But that was a damn scary moment, wasn't it? Kellye, you all right?"
She blotted her eyes. "I think so. I should get back to my patient."
"You look shaken. Why don't you rest for a while?"
"But Dr. Pierce, what about-."
"We'll take care of it. You need your rest." BJ said.
"Colonel Potter, is it okay if I take Nurse Kellye back to her tent?"
Potter smiled. "That's a fine idea, Radar. But give me a second to talk to Kellye alone, will you?"
Kellye's eyes widened. "Whatever I did Colonel Potter, I'm sorry! I-"
"You're not in trouble. In fact, I should commend you. I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I'm better, thanks to Radar."
"Well, we can talk later. Radar, get Kellye to her tent, please."
"Um, yes sir."
He reached for her hand and smiled . "Come on, I'll get you home."
"Thanks, Radar."
"I'll be back in a minute, Colonel Potter."
"Take your time."
"Radar, just a minute." Hawkeye said. He walked over to Kellye and kissed her cheek.
"What was that for?"
"For your bravery."
"I wasn't brave. In fact-."
"Captain Pierce is right. You were really brave." Radar said. "Come on, we'd better get you to your tent."
Kellye linked her arm through Radar's and they walked across the camp. He knew that she was thinking about the soldier with the sword. Frankly so was Radar.
When they neared her tent he stopped.
"Well, here we are."
"Can you stay here for a minute? Please?"
"Oh, sure. After all, I promised to get you back safely and technically you're not back yet."
She opened the door and almost immediately was engulfed in hugs and cries from a dozen nurses, each of them asking her if she was all right. They hardly
noticed that Radar was there.
Feeling slightly dejected he closed the door of the tent and returned to his bunk.
"You all right, Radar?" Potter asked when he passed through the radio room.
"I'm fine, Colonel. But I'm more concerned about you. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen, the way you talked to that soldier. Weren't you scared?"
"More scared than I've ever been in my life."
"Wow…"
"Get some rest, all right? I'm going to do the same."
"Goodnight, Colonel."
"Goodnight son."
Alone with his bear, Radar carefully made his way to Post op. He pushed the door open and laid down on his bunk. What a night.
(The next morning)
Kellye walked slowly through the line, unable to avoid the chatter throughout the mess tent about the soldier with the sword who had scared them all. And when
she turned she saw Radar sitting by himself, shoveling forkfuls of scrambled eggs into his mouth. She walked over to him and smiled.
"Is this seat taken?"
He looked up in surprise. "Oh… hey… No. No one's sitting here. Have a seat."
She sat down next to him. "Thanks, Radar."
"Hey, are you okay? That was pretty scary last night."
"I'm better now. Might take a few days before I get over it, but I think I'll be all right."
"If not, you can always talk to me or I can even call Sidney again."
"I'll be all right. What about you?"
Radar shrugged. "Well, I guess I'm used to things like that. Not guys with swords, but every once in a while we get a disturbance like that in the OR. I think it's
scarier for the patients and the doctors and nurses."
Kellye hugged him and kissed his cheek, causing him to look at her in disbelief. "Gee, what was that for?"
"For being so brave. Thank you , Radar. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there."
"It's just part of my job. I was just following orders."
"No you weren't. You were being your wonderful self."
Radar blushed. "Well, thanks… Oh, and if you ever get scared like that again, you can borrow my bear."
She gasped as tears sprang to her eyes. "Radar…"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I just-."
She kissed his cheek again. "That's the sweetest offer I've ever heard. Thank you. I-Oh, I'd better go. The nurses want me to sit with them. That's okay, isn't
it?"
"Well, sure."
"You can come and sit with us if you want."
"No, I'll just stay here. Thanks, though."
"Bye, Radar."
"Bye."
He watched as she walked over to the table of nurses, all of who smiled at him. And when he looked over at Hawkeye and BJ sitting at an adjacent table, they
raised their glasses to him.
"Well, done, Radar" Hawkeye said. "Well done."
~Fin~