*See Parts 1-2 for Warnings*
© 2000 MCLPart 8
A knock on the swamp's door was Hawkeye's cue. He knew it was the company clerk with the news he asked for. Hawkeye got up and opened the door, seeing the short child-like Radar standing there with a sort of smile on his face. Hawkeye gave BJ a nod to keep Chelsea busy and went out, closing the door behind him.
Hawkeye and Radar walked off, and Radar was bursting, dying to tell Hawkeye what he'd found out. "Okay this is far enough. What's the poop?" Hawkeye asked, looking back at the swamp. Radar couldn't hide it. He was happy, but sad at the same time. Hawkeye saw the look and knew it. "Well?" Hawkeye asked again, the suspense was beginning to bug him.
"No family in Korea, no family in the states. She's an orphan, Hawkeye. Her father was a major Connor Irwin. He was killed at the front by enemy fire. She's alone Hawkeye." Radar said sadly, looking down. Hawkeye felt bad for her, but he felt happy too.
"Thanks Radar. Now if the damn war was over.." Hawkeye replied, putting his hand on Radar's shoulder. Radar nodded. "I gotta get back to my office Hawk, but if Chelsea wants to play, you can let her come and see me, okay?" Radar said, and Hawkeye smiled.
"Sure Radar." Hawkeye replied, and Radar gave one of his famous smiles, the ones that make you want to hug him, and walked back to his office with his hands in his pockets. Hawkeye smiled and walked back to the swamp.
Hawkeye came back in and saw BJ, playing cat's cradle with Chelsea. Chelsea smiled and took the string onto her own hands from his. "I did it!" She giggled. BJ laughed and saw Hawkeye standing there, with a smile that said it all.
Hawkeye gave him a thumbs up and BJ knew what he was saying. BJ replied with a nod and a smile, and then turned back to Chelsea. "Hawkeye's back. You can ask him now." BJ said and Hawkeye came over and sat down.
Chelsea let BJ take the string from her hands, and she turned facing Hawkeye. "Hawkeye?" Chelsea asked, wrapping BJ's blanket around her. Hawkeye looked at her. "Can I have some clothes my butt won't stick out of? It gets cold back there!" Chelsea said, and Hawkeye laughed out loud.
"Hawkeye? what's wrong?" Chelsea asked, worried. She didn't realize how funny what she'd asked was. Hawkeye waved his hand at her. "No..you didn't do anything." Hawkeye said, trying to calm down. Chelsea nodded an okay. "Yeah, I'll work on it. Radar can help out with that. For now, you wanna wear something of mine?" Hawkeye asked and Chelsea looked at him with a smile and nodded.
"Okay, let's see..I got a shirt that I accidentally shrunk and Radar might have pair a pants that...hmmm..I'll be right back, okay? You stay right here." Hawkeye said and Chelsea felt safe with BJ, and nodded okay. Hawkeye left the Swamp and found Radar.
"How's everything, Radar?" Hawkeye asked, and Radar looked at him."Nomore naked pictures Hawkeye. My camera's rusty." Radar said, knowing yet again Hawkeye wanted something. Hawkeye laughed.
"Radar, you got any extra pants?" Hawkeye asked.
"What?" Radar asked.
"They're for Chelsea, I'm trying to find her some clothes small enough to cover up her, well as she put it, her cold tush." Radar smiled. Chelsea was like a little sister to him.
"Yeah." He opened his footlocker and took out 2 neatly folded stacks of clothes. "Here ya go.I was gonna give em to chairity anyways, I send em to my mom and she gives them to the Salvation Army." Radar replied as he handed the clothes to Hawkeye.
"Thanks Radar." Hawkeye said as he left. Radar smiled and nodded. He was glad he could help Chelsea out.
Hawkeye's next stop was Klinger. He found him, wearing sailor girl's dress. "Klinger, can you make these fit?" Hawkeye asked, showing Klinger the top pair of pants. "They'll make me look fat!" Klinger protested. "Not for you, for Chelsea. She needs them ASAP." Hawkeye said and Klinger nodded. "Sure. I'll have them to you later. Does she need anything else?" Klinger asked, taking the clothes. "Umm..Little um..you know..And I need shoes for her. She loves overalls." Hawkeye replied and Klinger nodded. He understood that Hawkeye was trying to say.
He agreed to get and or make the clothes Chelsea needed, including the little under things. Hawkeye thanked him and was about to go back to the Swamp when the PA announced incoming casualties. Hawkeye heard and ran back to the swamp, and checked on Chelsea. He was relieved to see she was asleep again, and then he ran to meet the choppers, praying that Chelsea would be okay while he was gone.
Chelsea woke up 2 hours later and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and saw Hawkeye's red robe on the foot of the bed. "That keep my butt warm." Chelsea said as she slid down from the bunk, picked up the robe and slid her casted arm into the sleeve. Then she closed it, wrapping around herselfand tying the belt in a bow. "That's better. Now.." Chelsea looked up from the belt and saw her worst fear. a North Korean boy was slinking about camp, a knife very visable in his belt. Chelsea recicnized him, he'd been the one who had shot her, shoved the gun at her, beat her and one that had joined in 'hurting' her.
CHelsea held in a scream as se threw herself to the floor, beside the bunk. Chelsea began to softly cry, as she lay as still as she could. It wasn't easy to lie still, she was shaking apart. The boy passed and Chelsea got up, running from the Swamp, dragging the mile-too-long robe with her. She tripped and fell over it as it became tangled around her feet, but she got right back up and ran into Radar's office, then right into post op.
"Hawkeye! HAWKEYE!" CHelsea screamed, crying, scanning the room with her eyes for the person she was screaming for. Chelsea accidentally ran into Radar, who ran in hearing her screaming, and knocked her down. Chelsea sat there and cried in fear.
"I'm sorry, Chelsea! What's wrong?" Radar asked, scared himself, by the screams. "They're here, they're here an their gonna kill me! HAWKEYE!!" Chelsea said, screaming the Captain's name again. Radar helped her up and sat her up onto a post-op bed.
"You mean the bad guys that hurt you?" Radar asked. "Yeah! I need Hawkeye!" Chelsea paniced, realizing she'd wet herself again. She'd soaked her clothes and his robe. "Aw, Hawkeye's gonna be mad, I wet his robe!" Chelsea said as she looked down and saw the dark red, wet spot. Chelsea cried harder and Radar asked a nurse to stay with her as he threw on a white mask and ran into the OR.
Hawkeye had just finished when Radar came barreling in. "Hawkeye, It's Chelsea.." Radar barely got her name out and Hawkeye took off his bloody gloves and scrubs and went with Radar to Post OP where a nurse was sitting with Chelsea. "Chelsea? What's wrong?" Hawkeye asked as he came over and sat down. Chelsea grabbed his neck in a hug and cried on his shoulder. "Chelsea, did Ferret Face yell at you? I'll re-arrange his face if he did." Hawkeye asked, meaning Major Frank Burns.
"No..the guy..the soldier who..he's here! I saw him! He's gonna kill me Hawkeye, I seen him do it before..Iffin you run away he finds you an skins ya alive! I'm SCARED!!" Chelsea yelled into his shoulder. Hawkeye looked around worried, and patted her, trying to comfort her trembling away. Radar sent MP's to search the camp, and the soldier was arrested as he searched the VIP tent. After the soldier was in custody, Hawkeye took Chelsea back to the swamp.
Hawkeye sat down on his bed and sat her beside him. Chelsea sniffed, getting a little cold from being wet. "I'm sorry I wet your robe, BJ told me how much you like it...Please don't be mad." A calmed Chelsea said. Hawkeye smiled. "Remember when you wet your bed before? And I told you you weren't alone?" Hawkeye asked, and Chelsea nodded. "Well. I was wearing that robe most of the times it happened." Hawkeye said, and Chelsea smiled.
"Hello? Anybody home?" Klinger knocked on the Swamp's door and called. "Cometh Inith Klinither." Hawkeye said in a funny voice and Chelsea laughed. Klinger came in holding a stack of clothes in each arm. "I have a present for you." Klinger said as he sat next to Chelsea, in a chair by the bed. Chelsea smiled. "Really? Me?" She asked. "Yeah. See?" Klinger said, holding up some of the newly mended clothes from Radar. "I made you some fanny covers." Klinger said, as she took them and hugged them, hardly believing her eyes.
"They're jus like Hawkeye's an BJ's an yers an everybody's! Thank you Mr. Klinger!" Chelsea said happily as she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. Hawkeye smiled as Klinger hugged her back. "What all have you got there? Looks like half of Macy's department store." Hawkeye asked, seeing something else he hadn't told Chelsea about.
"I have shirts, pants, under pants, under shirts, socks, and..these." Klinger said, holding up a small pair of Converse All-Star sneakers like BJ usually wore. Chelsea's eyes lit up. "WOW! Thank you!" Chelsea said as she was handed the rest of the clothes. There was also a smalls pair of combat boots, just like the MASH personel wore too. "Hawkeye, I wanna try em on!" Chelsea said. Hawkeye and Klinger put a blanket up around her to give her some privacy. They looked away while Chelsea dressed herself.
"Okay! I'm done!" Chelsae said after a few moments of clothes rustling. Hawkeye looked down and took away the blanket. "Ta-Da!" Chelsea said, revealing her new green fatigues. Her smile was priceless."I look like the 4077th people now! An my butt's not cold!" Chelsea danced around happily. She was wearing a long sleeved button down shirt, a t-shirt, pants and socks--all army olive green. Her feet were clad in her black Converse All Star high top sneakers too. Chelsea stopped and giggled.
"I know what I'm missin. Those tags." Chelsea said, realizing she didn't jingle when she walked. She pointed to Hawkeye's silver dog-tags. Hawkeye looked down at what she was pointing at and Klinger held out his hand. "Ah, but you're not." He said, pulling a set of silver dog tags from his purse. He put them in Chelsea's hand and she looked at them.
"I can't read..I used to pretend to..but I can't really." Chelsea admitted as she held the tags she cherished, but couldn't read. Hawkeye was about to say something to Chelsea when Bj came in and saw her first. "You sure look cute." BJ said and Chelsea looked up. A tear was running down her face, and BJ picked her up carefully. He sat down with her on his lap. "What's got you so upset? Got a belly ache? You can tell me." BJ said and Chelsea shook her had no.
"She can't read, Beej." Hawkeye said, as Chelsea looked down at her tags. BJ nodded and tapped Chelsea on the shoulder. She looked up at him and sniffed. "It's not a sin, you know. You can learn." BJ said as he hugged her. "Yeah but who's gonna show me? You an Hawkeye're bizzy wit hurt people." Chelsea asked. "You'll learn from all of us. Okay?" Hawkeye said and Chelsea nodded okay. "Okay. But will you read me my tags, BJ?" Chelsea asked.
"Sure." BJ replied, taking them from her hand. He read them to her, which only made her smile more proudly at hearing it said her last name was Pierce. BJ smiled at her as he slid the necklace over her head. Chelsea smiled and hugged him. "I love you, uncle BJ." Chelsea said and BJ smiled again. "Right back atcha honey." Bj replied, and Chelsea smiled as she climbed down.
"Hawkeye..can I..call you.." Chelsea stammered as she looked at the floor. "What Chels?" Hawkeye asked. "Daddy. I wanna call you daddy, Hawkeye!" Chelsea answered as she ran over and grabbed his legs. Hawkeye looked stunned as he put his hand down on top of her head. He bent down to her and she looked into his eyes. "Was I bad? For askin?" Chelsea asked. "No, no Chelsea, I'm just shocked a little. You weren't bad." Hawkeye said, as he picked up his emotions and held in his feelings.
"You want to call me daddy huh?" Hawkeye asked, smiling a little. "Uh huh." CHelsea replied, Hawkeye saw how much this meant to her. "Okay, I'm sold. Hello Miss Pirece, you can officially call me not Hawkeye, but Daddy. Congratulations." Hawkeye said, and Chelsea hugged him tight. "Thank you daddy!" Chelsea said happily. Hawkeye smiled and so did Bj.
"No problem. Now I have one rule." Hawkeye said as Chelsea let go of him and looked over at BJ first. "yeah?" she asked as he nodded and let her know it was okay. "You can't come into the OR when I'm working. It has to stay sterile in there and that's why I have to wear special clothes when I go in. When the PA says incoming wounded, I want you to stay right here in the Swamp. Sometimes you can stay with Radar, but that's only if he's not busy. Deal?" Hawkeye said and Chelsea nodded.
"But what if I need you?" Chelsea asked, looking a little afraid. Hawkeye thought a moment. "Okay if it's really an emergency, and I mean a real one, you grab a white mask and put it on before coming in." Hawkeye said and BJ puled one out of his pocket. "Like this, Chelsea." He said, holding it up. "Okay, I will. I promise." Chelsea said and Klinger wiped his eye. Chelsea saw and walked over to him.
"Don't cry, I'm okay now, honest." Chelsea said and he smiled. "I know you are. If you need me, anytime, just yell. Everyone else does." Klinger said and Chelsea smiled. "Hokay. Thank you for the clothes." CHelsea said as he got up and went to the door. He turned and winked as he left.
"Daddy Hawkeye and Uncle Bj. Who'da thought." BJ said and Chelsea giggled. "Can i go an see Radar daddy?" Chelsea asked and Hawkeye noticed BJ had a big smile across his face. "Sure. But come back before dark unless you hear the PA or someone comes for you." Hawkeye said and Chelsea nodded as she turned and ran out the door.
TBC
