Disclaimer- The necessity of this word should be disclaimer enough.


The song in this fic is Please Remember. The bits in the *'s are the lyrics. This fic is implied H/T,although it wasn't meant to be, so if you can't handle that, don't read and if you do read don't complain coz you've been warned!


Remembrance

I didn't even say good-bye,' was his only thought as he sat waiting. But as the plane took off his mind began to work furiously.



The swine brothers.

Are you two together?
In all kinds of weather.

And then the tricks.
There is no Pioneer Aviation.
Not so loud my count.
Mind if I dab along?

Trapper released a shaky sigh as the clouds started to float past his window.
I didn't even say good-bye.'


*Time,
Sometimes the time just slips away,
And youre left with yesterday,
Left with the memories*


He knew it would have been impossible to wait. There were other planes of course, but he had a seat booked and the army was not happy to alter it's plans for anyone. Regardless of how desperately they wanted to see their friend one last time.

Ten minutes was probably all the time he would have needed; Hawkeye was already late back. He was willing to bet anything the jeep he had seen tearing up the road was Hawkeye, the crazy driving certainly seemed to match.

If only I could have waited. The army brought us together with no warning at all, and now it's torn us apart in exactly the same way.'


*I, I'll always think of you and smile,
And be happy for the time I had you with me,
Though we've gone our separate ways,
I wont forget so don't forget the memories we made*


He smiled at the stewardess' polite enquiry and told her he was going home. She seemed satisfied and discreetly slipped him a tissue so he could dry the tears that had suddenly sprung up in his eyes. But he knew it wasn't the thought of seeing his family that was affecting him, but the thought of never seeing Hawkeye.

He rooted round in the small bag he had taken to his seat and sighed with relief as his fingers found what they were looking for. He pulled out the slightly battered photo album and grinned as he remembered how frantically Frank had worked to put it together for General McArthur.

He flipped through the pages until he found the page he wanted. Hawkeye hadn't known that the picture was being taken and Trapper thought it was all the better for the naturalness of it. In it, Hawkeye was laughing and Trapper found himself chuckling as he remembered that infectious sound.


*Please remember, please remember,
I was there for you and you were there for me,
Please remember, our time together,
Time was yours and mine and we were wild and free,
Please remember, please remember me*


He continued to look through the pictures as the plane continued to carry him further and further away from those in them. Each picture promoted memories and the hours seemed to pass quickly.

Until he came to a picture of Hawkeye, then time seemed to stand still. Trapper would be willing to swear he spent most of the flight staring at Hawkeye's face, despite time's evidence to the contrary.


*Good-bye,
There's just no sadder word to say,
And it's sad to walk away,
With just the memories*


As soon as he steeped through the doorway his two little girls flew in to his arms, closely followed by his wife. All four of them were crying, but not even Trapper knew for sure whether he was crying for his family, or his loss.


*Who's to know what might have been,
We leave behind,
A life and time,
We'll never know again*


The next few weeks were impossibly hard. He'd wake up thinking he heard the call for wounded and expecting Hawkeye to be by his side as usual. He talked endlessly about the people he'd left in Korea. He wrote a letter a day to Hawkeye and received a reply to each. It wasn't until Hawkeye asked after his family he realised he hadn't spent any time with them.

And so he put the photos away in the attic and forced himself to write only after he had received and read a reply.


*Please remember, please remember,
I was there for you and you were there for me,
I'll remember,
Please remember me*


In time, with nothing to keep them fresh, the memories faded. He no longer compared everything to Korea. Instead, he compared Korea to everything, and found he was happier for it. The only thing he found to be beyond compare was Hawkeye.

There was a lot that reminded him of Hawkeye, and he was always getting letters from him, but Korea was a long way away.


*Please remember, please remember,
I was there for you and you were there for me,
Please remember our time together,
When time was your and mine and we were wild and free,
They'll remember, please remember me*


The war ended, but the letters continued. And that was all he got, letters. No matter how much more he wanted, he made himself make do with letters. Hawkeye seemed to understand. He hoped Hawkeye understood. He had always understood before.

Whenever Trapper had needed to talk, or shout, or cry, or drink, Hawkeye had been there for him. He had never believed people as selfless and caring as Hawkeye existed outside of movies. For the first two weeks Trapper had listened to Frank and ignored all Hawkeye's attempts at friendship.

But then Hawkeye had somehow sewn Frank in to his cot. The first inkling Trapper had had of how go a person Hawkeye really was had come when he saw him collapsed on his cot laughing helplessly as Frank tried desperately to get out of bed.


*And how we laughed, and how we smiled,
And how this world was yours and mine,
And how was no dream was out of reach,
I stood by you, you stood by me*


The next few years in Korea Hawkeye was the only thing that kept Trapper from going mad. Every joke, every trick, every drinking spree, it all added up to equal Trapper's sanity. And he wanted so much to tell him, to let him know how much he had meant to him. But Hawkeye had a life of his own, eve his letters were less frequent now, and Trapper had no right to interfere in that.


*We took each day, enjoyed the time,
We wrote our names across the skies,
We ran so fast, we ran so free,
I had you and you had me*


7 years,' thought Trapper. 7 years and I have yet to say good-bye.'

A noise from outside made him jump and sent him running to investigate. A car had just pulled up and as Trapper reached the street the driver got out.



Trapper! You see, I remembered!


*Please remember,
Please remember*