"Good morning Mrs Pierce." Major Winchester held the door open for me. I
rolled my eyes and joined the chow line.
"Major, please would you call me Annie, or at least Captain?" I sighed; he was the only one in this camp who called me Mrs Pierce, except Colonel Potter and that was when he was being teasing.
"I could not call you by your Christian name Mrs Pierce, as I do not think it is right to take such liberties with a married woman, especially as her husband, no matter how impolite and cretinous he may be is constantly present." I rolled my eyes again as my 'impolite and cretinous husband' cut ahead of me.
"Please, would you at least call me Captain?" I asked as BJ and Margaret moved down to let us take a seat.
"I did not choose to be part of the army, therefore, I shall not acknowledge it." I shared an exasperated look with the Colonel who gave me a 'hang in there' smile.
"Pass the salt," I asked generally, not sure where it was. Winchester had it and he gave it to me.
"Thankyou Charles," I smiled, calling him by his first name in hope it would inspire him to do so with me.
"My pleasure Mrs Pierce." I groaned, Charles was the one person in the camp I could stand less than anyone. He constantly treated me condescendingly; not understanding how I often worked longer hours than I should, fought exhaustion and was generally what Hawkeye would call 'a tough nut.'
"I'm going for a walk," I stood up and left, I was getting irrationally irritated and decided I'd better cool off.
"Want company?" Hawkeye asked I shook my head.
"Not right now, but if I'm out for more than 10 minutes, come get me, I have a shift to get to." I left, not waiting for his response.
"Well, we're sending a group of soldiers back home and you'll be with them so you'll be - ooh pardon me - you'll be back in Colorado with your kid sister in no time." I interrupted my own sentence with a yawn.
"I can't wait, little Lucy is going to be all grown up!" He was barely 19, and his little sister, not yet 7 years old, was waiting for him to return.
"Excuse me," I yawned again, unusually tired.
"Mrs Pierce," Winchester approached me as I yawned again.
"Yes Major?"
"Would you like to finish up a few minutes early? I can manage by myself until your replacement comes."
"Charles, I'll be fine, 10 extra minutes won't kill me." I said.
"Well, if you're sure Mrs Pierce."
"Perfectly Major, and please, call me Annie, even the patients do."
"I can't allow myself to become too familiar with a married woman."
"Jesus Christ!" I gave an aggravated whisper and stood up crossly.
"Very well Mrs Pierce, if you feel that way." Charles removed himself from the scene before I lost my cool totally.
"Damn Charles," I fumed two or three days later. Hawkeye and BJ rolled their eyes over my head as I started raving again.
"Why can't he just treat me like who I am?" Hawkeye laughed then, but stopped at my hurt glare.
"How do you want him to treat you? He treats you like a young lady, and that is after all what you are. At least I'm assuming that's what you are." Hawkeye reasoned.
"Yes, but I'm not some delicate thing who needs constant supervision to make sure I'm eating and sleeping right. If he asks me one more time if I'd like to finish my shift ten minutes early for a little more sleep I am going to scream. I would like to think I am a reasonably independent young woman who can decide when she needs to eat and sleep." BJ sighed, and looked at Hawkeye.
"You try," Hawkeye said, knowing he wasn't having much luck reasoning with me.
"Listen Anne, you are a VERY independent young woman, he's just not used to women like you who look after themselves so well." I relaxed at that, BJ made a little sense. Only a little mind, not much, but enough to have my sense of humour restored.
"He's also not used to seeing a married couple like us where you directly disobey me. He's still stuck in the time where women meekly follow their husbands around, and do their laundry and cook and clean, and run to do their bidding," Hawkeye said, when BJ started singing.
"Body all aching and racked with pain. Tote their barge,"
"Shift their bale." Hawkeye finished the line of the song.
"Get a little drunk and you land in jail." They sang together. I laughed and continued the next line.
"But I get weary, sick o' trying. Cause I'm a-tired o' living but I'm a- scared o' dying and old man river, he just keeps rolling along. You and me, sweat and strain, body all aching and racked with pain. Tote that barge, lift that bale, get a little drunk and you land in jail. But I get weary, sick o' trying. Cause I'm a-tired o' living but I'm a-scared o' dying and old man river, he just keeps rolling along." We finished together, and received a round of applause from a very surprised OR. We remembered where we were and resumed our previous tasks.
"C'mon Anne, sponge here," BJ said and we continued working.
"But Annie, he really thinks like that." Hawkeye continued.
"Okay so what if he does think that way? I don't and when I ignore you completely, you know I don't mean it, and so does everyone else."
I laughed, remembering how Hawkeye had asked me over breakfast to darn his socks, and I had refused, telling him to do it. We'd had a pretend fight, boosting the morale of the entire camp, which was rather low as we'd been pretty tired lately. Everyone except for Charles had found it hilarious especially when at lunch Hawkeye was seen sewing.
"And I know that half of the stuff you do is just an act. But I think he thinks if you're treated like a girl, you'll behave like one." I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"Right, that's going to work. I spent better part of my childhood and teenage years cooking, cleaning, sewing and acting like a girl, I think it's time for a change." Hawkeye nodded.
"Anne, clamp," BJ's voice brought me back to reality.
"Clamp." I handed it to BJ and yawned as Charles came in the room. I tried to hide my yawn; I was tired, but was determined not to let Charles see it.
"Wake up Anne, suction." BJ called and I obeyed tiredly.
"Sorry Beej, I just haven't had much sleep." I yawned then, just the mention of sleep made me even tireder than I was.
"When you're finished here, go have a nap." BJ said and I shook my head.
"Anne, you've just worked a 25 hour shift, you must be exhausted."
"This is the last few patients, I can hang on till they're done." I protested and then added in an undertone so as not to let Winchester hear. "And I don't want Winchester thinking he can treat me like a baby."
"Anne, look at you, you're exhausted, and you shouldn't even be in here like that anyhow." My right arm was out of plaster however, I was assisting one handed as my wrist was tired and Hawkeye had put it in a sling to give it a rest.
"I know, I'm sorry, I guess I'm just determined not to let him get to me." I apologised as BJ closed the patient.
Charles strolled up and down the OR, he wasn't really needed as Potter and Hawkeye had already taken the last patients.
"Mrs Pierce, you look exhausted," He began, anxiously.
"I am, but I'm perfectly all right thankyou Major." I insisted.
"Would you like me to take over?" He asked politely. I snapped then and started yelling.
"NO! I'm not a baby or even a little girl I am a young woman and I can look after myself! If I am tired I decide that MYSELF, if I want to finish my shift a little early, I arrange it with the nurse who relieves me MYSELF! I may BE a girl but it doesn't mean I have to BEHAVE like a girl. I may APPEAR delicate but I have been through a lot more than most people would give a 26-year-old credit for! I am used to long hours and no food. Correct me if I'm wrong but I would say of the female members of the staff, I am more used to it than anyone else!"
"Too right, she works harder than a woodpecker in a petrified forest! Annie does harder and longer hours than most of the other staff here," Potter put in.
"Thankyou sir. I work as long as I know I can operate safely. I DO NOT need someone else to tell me when to go to bed. I have spent 26 years learning my limitations and I think that I OF ALL PEOPLE should know them by now! Now would you STOP treating me like a GIRL and start treating me like the INDEPEDNANT WOMAN that I am?" Winchester was rather surprised and stood there open-mouthed while I fumed.
BJ began to clap slowly, glancing around at the other people and they began clapping too, thoroughly amazed at the scene.
"I'm terribly sorry Mrs Pierce." Winchester murmured, his face an embarrassed red. He turned and walked from the OR, while people still clapped.
"And it's Annie for god sakes, not MRS PIERCE! Jeez, what have I got to do to get through to him?" I ripped off my mask and gown, throwing them on the floor and storming off. I was allowed to leave, well no one stopped me at any rate, and I headed straight for my bunk, going to sleep for nearly 12 hours solid.
"Captain Annie ma'am?" Radar knocked on the tent door a long sleep later. Someone let him in and I slid off my bunk to meet him.
"Colonel Potter would like to see you and Major Winchester in his office right away ma'am." I gave a tired sigh.
"Thankyou Radar," I reached for my pants, as I had been sleeping in a too big T-shirt.
"I'll tell him you'll be right over." Radar spoke over me.
"Tell him I'll be right over, exactly." I waved my hand tiredly as Radar left the tent.
"Yes Colonel?" I entered the office without knocking. Winchester, damn his Bostonian hide, was already there.
"Aah, Pierce, first and foremost I am speaking on behalf of the rest of the camp when I say I would sincerely hope I never have to see another display like that in the OR again." I blushed and bowed my head slightly.
"I'm sorry, Colonel, I shouldn't have caused such a scene. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that Major." Winchester nodded his acceptance of my apology.
"I also believe I speak for the camp when I say that was a damn fine display of self-pride, and standing up for yourself I've seen in a long time!" I laughed then I had to.
"Thankyou Colonel," Colonel Potter smiled deviously then.
"Anyway kids, the 8063rd are overrun with patients, most are too beat up to move yet and they want as many medical supplies and staff as we can spare. With all our patients stable and being moved out tonight, we can spare everyone except a cutter and a nurse to hold fort. We're even taking corpsmen and cooks, they need all the help they can get." I swallowed, having a reasonable idea who the 'cutter and nurse holding fort' were going to be.
"Guess who's staying behind?" Colonel Potter smiled, eyeing us both we glanced at each other, catching on almost immediately.
"No, I can't stay here with her!"
"I can't stay with Winchester!" We protested together.
"I'll go insane!" We finished in unison and Potter nodded, smiling.
"That's why, you're going to have to spend at least 24 hours together, alone, you'll have to learn to get on." I sighed, and prepared to argue.
"Annie, don't start, you two are staying, that's an order!" Potter ordered, but didn't use his ordering voice.
"Sidney told you to didn't he?" I suddenly caught on and Potter looked guilty.
"I got him on the blower after you had that little scene you caused in the theatre. I asked him how to go about things and he said that time together where you're all you have for company would be the best." Winchester gave an annoyed sigh and I looked in the vague direction of Tokyo.
"Thanks Sidney I owe you one, just wait. Now Colonel when do you leave?" I muttered before turning my attentions back to my CO.
"ASAP. Now you two go and assist the preparations, but I don't want to see you two together, not even in the same 5 feet if you can help it, until you have to be tomorrow. Dismissed" Potter dismissed us and prepared to make the worst of things, we joined the teams who were packing equipment.
"Ha! That is brilliant, good on you Colonel, I wish I'd thought of it!" Hawkeye clapped Potter on the shoulder, laughing so hard, tears rolled down his cheeks.
Everyone had seen or heard the shouting I'd done and thought that it was a huge joke that I would be staying at least one whole day in the presence in the company of my nemesis and only my nemesis.
"Well, I hope those two will just learn to behave and get on in the time we're gone." Potter smiled, the final preparations for the trip were complete and everyone was grabbing a quick meal.
Winchester and I were ignoring each other as much as possible and Potter was fully aware of it, he didn't care though, he had instructed us to avoid going too near each other until we had to and we were following his orders to the letter.
"Well, Annie, we'd better go, so I think that I need to say a private goodbye to you." Hawkeye took my hand and pulled me away from the crowd.
"You haven't got time for that Pierce," Potter instructed as I followed him willingly.
"Okay, here's the short version." We wrapped our arms around each other, kissing so long that we only broke up when BJ pulled Hawkeye backwards into his jeep.
"See ya Annie," Hawkeye murmured, I nodded breathlessly. BJ looked kind of hopeful and I laughed when I heard Potter's voice.
"For god sakes just give her a hug Honnicut!" He obeyed and I hugged him back tightly.
"Take good care Anne. If you kill him, I know a great place to hide the body, just ring through and I'll tell you." I laughed as BJ climbed into the jeep and every member of the camp drove off, leaving Winchester and I to battle it out.
"Major, please would you call me Annie, or at least Captain?" I sighed; he was the only one in this camp who called me Mrs Pierce, except Colonel Potter and that was when he was being teasing.
"I could not call you by your Christian name Mrs Pierce, as I do not think it is right to take such liberties with a married woman, especially as her husband, no matter how impolite and cretinous he may be is constantly present." I rolled my eyes again as my 'impolite and cretinous husband' cut ahead of me.
"Please, would you at least call me Captain?" I asked as BJ and Margaret moved down to let us take a seat.
"I did not choose to be part of the army, therefore, I shall not acknowledge it." I shared an exasperated look with the Colonel who gave me a 'hang in there' smile.
"Pass the salt," I asked generally, not sure where it was. Winchester had it and he gave it to me.
"Thankyou Charles," I smiled, calling him by his first name in hope it would inspire him to do so with me.
"My pleasure Mrs Pierce." I groaned, Charles was the one person in the camp I could stand less than anyone. He constantly treated me condescendingly; not understanding how I often worked longer hours than I should, fought exhaustion and was generally what Hawkeye would call 'a tough nut.'
"I'm going for a walk," I stood up and left, I was getting irrationally irritated and decided I'd better cool off.
"Want company?" Hawkeye asked I shook my head.
"Not right now, but if I'm out for more than 10 minutes, come get me, I have a shift to get to." I left, not waiting for his response.
"Well, we're sending a group of soldiers back home and you'll be with them so you'll be - ooh pardon me - you'll be back in Colorado with your kid sister in no time." I interrupted my own sentence with a yawn.
"I can't wait, little Lucy is going to be all grown up!" He was barely 19, and his little sister, not yet 7 years old, was waiting for him to return.
"Excuse me," I yawned again, unusually tired.
"Mrs Pierce," Winchester approached me as I yawned again.
"Yes Major?"
"Would you like to finish up a few minutes early? I can manage by myself until your replacement comes."
"Charles, I'll be fine, 10 extra minutes won't kill me." I said.
"Well, if you're sure Mrs Pierce."
"Perfectly Major, and please, call me Annie, even the patients do."
"I can't allow myself to become too familiar with a married woman."
"Jesus Christ!" I gave an aggravated whisper and stood up crossly.
"Very well Mrs Pierce, if you feel that way." Charles removed himself from the scene before I lost my cool totally.
"Damn Charles," I fumed two or three days later. Hawkeye and BJ rolled their eyes over my head as I started raving again.
"Why can't he just treat me like who I am?" Hawkeye laughed then, but stopped at my hurt glare.
"How do you want him to treat you? He treats you like a young lady, and that is after all what you are. At least I'm assuming that's what you are." Hawkeye reasoned.
"Yes, but I'm not some delicate thing who needs constant supervision to make sure I'm eating and sleeping right. If he asks me one more time if I'd like to finish my shift ten minutes early for a little more sleep I am going to scream. I would like to think I am a reasonably independent young woman who can decide when she needs to eat and sleep." BJ sighed, and looked at Hawkeye.
"You try," Hawkeye said, knowing he wasn't having much luck reasoning with me.
"Listen Anne, you are a VERY independent young woman, he's just not used to women like you who look after themselves so well." I relaxed at that, BJ made a little sense. Only a little mind, not much, but enough to have my sense of humour restored.
"He's also not used to seeing a married couple like us where you directly disobey me. He's still stuck in the time where women meekly follow their husbands around, and do their laundry and cook and clean, and run to do their bidding," Hawkeye said, when BJ started singing.
"Body all aching and racked with pain. Tote their barge,"
"Shift their bale." Hawkeye finished the line of the song.
"Get a little drunk and you land in jail." They sang together. I laughed and continued the next line.
"But I get weary, sick o' trying. Cause I'm a-tired o' living but I'm a- scared o' dying and old man river, he just keeps rolling along. You and me, sweat and strain, body all aching and racked with pain. Tote that barge, lift that bale, get a little drunk and you land in jail. But I get weary, sick o' trying. Cause I'm a-tired o' living but I'm a-scared o' dying and old man river, he just keeps rolling along." We finished together, and received a round of applause from a very surprised OR. We remembered where we were and resumed our previous tasks.
"C'mon Anne, sponge here," BJ said and we continued working.
"But Annie, he really thinks like that." Hawkeye continued.
"Okay so what if he does think that way? I don't and when I ignore you completely, you know I don't mean it, and so does everyone else."
I laughed, remembering how Hawkeye had asked me over breakfast to darn his socks, and I had refused, telling him to do it. We'd had a pretend fight, boosting the morale of the entire camp, which was rather low as we'd been pretty tired lately. Everyone except for Charles had found it hilarious especially when at lunch Hawkeye was seen sewing.
"And I know that half of the stuff you do is just an act. But I think he thinks if you're treated like a girl, you'll behave like one." I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"Right, that's going to work. I spent better part of my childhood and teenage years cooking, cleaning, sewing and acting like a girl, I think it's time for a change." Hawkeye nodded.
"Anne, clamp," BJ's voice brought me back to reality.
"Clamp." I handed it to BJ and yawned as Charles came in the room. I tried to hide my yawn; I was tired, but was determined not to let Charles see it.
"Wake up Anne, suction." BJ called and I obeyed tiredly.
"Sorry Beej, I just haven't had much sleep." I yawned then, just the mention of sleep made me even tireder than I was.
"When you're finished here, go have a nap." BJ said and I shook my head.
"Anne, you've just worked a 25 hour shift, you must be exhausted."
"This is the last few patients, I can hang on till they're done." I protested and then added in an undertone so as not to let Winchester hear. "And I don't want Winchester thinking he can treat me like a baby."
"Anne, look at you, you're exhausted, and you shouldn't even be in here like that anyhow." My right arm was out of plaster however, I was assisting one handed as my wrist was tired and Hawkeye had put it in a sling to give it a rest.
"I know, I'm sorry, I guess I'm just determined not to let him get to me." I apologised as BJ closed the patient.
Charles strolled up and down the OR, he wasn't really needed as Potter and Hawkeye had already taken the last patients.
"Mrs Pierce, you look exhausted," He began, anxiously.
"I am, but I'm perfectly all right thankyou Major." I insisted.
"Would you like me to take over?" He asked politely. I snapped then and started yelling.
"NO! I'm not a baby or even a little girl I am a young woman and I can look after myself! If I am tired I decide that MYSELF, if I want to finish my shift a little early, I arrange it with the nurse who relieves me MYSELF! I may BE a girl but it doesn't mean I have to BEHAVE like a girl. I may APPEAR delicate but I have been through a lot more than most people would give a 26-year-old credit for! I am used to long hours and no food. Correct me if I'm wrong but I would say of the female members of the staff, I am more used to it than anyone else!"
"Too right, she works harder than a woodpecker in a petrified forest! Annie does harder and longer hours than most of the other staff here," Potter put in.
"Thankyou sir. I work as long as I know I can operate safely. I DO NOT need someone else to tell me when to go to bed. I have spent 26 years learning my limitations and I think that I OF ALL PEOPLE should know them by now! Now would you STOP treating me like a GIRL and start treating me like the INDEPEDNANT WOMAN that I am?" Winchester was rather surprised and stood there open-mouthed while I fumed.
BJ began to clap slowly, glancing around at the other people and they began clapping too, thoroughly amazed at the scene.
"I'm terribly sorry Mrs Pierce." Winchester murmured, his face an embarrassed red. He turned and walked from the OR, while people still clapped.
"And it's Annie for god sakes, not MRS PIERCE! Jeez, what have I got to do to get through to him?" I ripped off my mask and gown, throwing them on the floor and storming off. I was allowed to leave, well no one stopped me at any rate, and I headed straight for my bunk, going to sleep for nearly 12 hours solid.
"Captain Annie ma'am?" Radar knocked on the tent door a long sleep later. Someone let him in and I slid off my bunk to meet him.
"Colonel Potter would like to see you and Major Winchester in his office right away ma'am." I gave a tired sigh.
"Thankyou Radar," I reached for my pants, as I had been sleeping in a too big T-shirt.
"I'll tell him you'll be right over." Radar spoke over me.
"Tell him I'll be right over, exactly." I waved my hand tiredly as Radar left the tent.
"Yes Colonel?" I entered the office without knocking. Winchester, damn his Bostonian hide, was already there.
"Aah, Pierce, first and foremost I am speaking on behalf of the rest of the camp when I say I would sincerely hope I never have to see another display like that in the OR again." I blushed and bowed my head slightly.
"I'm sorry, Colonel, I shouldn't have caused such a scene. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that Major." Winchester nodded his acceptance of my apology.
"I also believe I speak for the camp when I say that was a damn fine display of self-pride, and standing up for yourself I've seen in a long time!" I laughed then I had to.
"Thankyou Colonel," Colonel Potter smiled deviously then.
"Anyway kids, the 8063rd are overrun with patients, most are too beat up to move yet and they want as many medical supplies and staff as we can spare. With all our patients stable and being moved out tonight, we can spare everyone except a cutter and a nurse to hold fort. We're even taking corpsmen and cooks, they need all the help they can get." I swallowed, having a reasonable idea who the 'cutter and nurse holding fort' were going to be.
"Guess who's staying behind?" Colonel Potter smiled, eyeing us both we glanced at each other, catching on almost immediately.
"No, I can't stay here with her!"
"I can't stay with Winchester!" We protested together.
"I'll go insane!" We finished in unison and Potter nodded, smiling.
"That's why, you're going to have to spend at least 24 hours together, alone, you'll have to learn to get on." I sighed, and prepared to argue.
"Annie, don't start, you two are staying, that's an order!" Potter ordered, but didn't use his ordering voice.
"Sidney told you to didn't he?" I suddenly caught on and Potter looked guilty.
"I got him on the blower after you had that little scene you caused in the theatre. I asked him how to go about things and he said that time together where you're all you have for company would be the best." Winchester gave an annoyed sigh and I looked in the vague direction of Tokyo.
"Thanks Sidney I owe you one, just wait. Now Colonel when do you leave?" I muttered before turning my attentions back to my CO.
"ASAP. Now you two go and assist the preparations, but I don't want to see you two together, not even in the same 5 feet if you can help it, until you have to be tomorrow. Dismissed" Potter dismissed us and prepared to make the worst of things, we joined the teams who were packing equipment.
"Ha! That is brilliant, good on you Colonel, I wish I'd thought of it!" Hawkeye clapped Potter on the shoulder, laughing so hard, tears rolled down his cheeks.
Everyone had seen or heard the shouting I'd done and thought that it was a huge joke that I would be staying at least one whole day in the presence in the company of my nemesis and only my nemesis.
"Well, I hope those two will just learn to behave and get on in the time we're gone." Potter smiled, the final preparations for the trip were complete and everyone was grabbing a quick meal.
Winchester and I were ignoring each other as much as possible and Potter was fully aware of it, he didn't care though, he had instructed us to avoid going too near each other until we had to and we were following his orders to the letter.
"Well, Annie, we'd better go, so I think that I need to say a private goodbye to you." Hawkeye took my hand and pulled me away from the crowd.
"You haven't got time for that Pierce," Potter instructed as I followed him willingly.
"Okay, here's the short version." We wrapped our arms around each other, kissing so long that we only broke up when BJ pulled Hawkeye backwards into his jeep.
"See ya Annie," Hawkeye murmured, I nodded breathlessly. BJ looked kind of hopeful and I laughed when I heard Potter's voice.
"For god sakes just give her a hug Honnicut!" He obeyed and I hugged him back tightly.
"Take good care Anne. If you kill him, I know a great place to hide the body, just ring through and I'll tell you." I laughed as BJ climbed into the jeep and every member of the camp drove off, leaving Winchester and I to battle it out.