A/N: I realise that I changed my Penname... and then changed it back
again. This is largely due to hackers, it's a long story. But I am back
to Becca T, and sticking with it. Enjoy the next chapter and keep reading!
Chapter Twelve: A Plan Of Action
~~
Not even bothering to tie his boots, Hawkeye slipped into them and threw his robe around him before running across the compound to Colonel Potter's tent, the letter still in his hands. On finding that he was not there, he decided that the next best place to look was his office, and so he sprinted across the compound again, desperate to share the news with someone.
He burst into the room to find not only Colonel Potter sitting at his desk, but also a tired-looking Margaret in a chair, and Klinger standing to the side of the door, midway through his explanation that he couldn't find Hawkeye. "Colonel," Hawkeye said breathlessly, taking a brief moment to compose himself before continuing, "I've found it."
"Found what?" Colonel Potter asked him, seeing Hawkeye's clumsily dressed form and dishevelled hair and wondering what on earth had happened.
"It, Colonel," Hawkeye stressed, trying to make Colonel Potter understand what he was talking about. "The reason why, the cause, the problem..."
The penny dropped, and Colonel Potter realised that Hawkeye had figured out what had been the cause of BJ's less than normal characteristics over recent weeks. "Well, what is it?"
Hawkeye wordlessly handed him the letter that he had read only moments ago, and whilst Colonel Potter was reading it, a rather irritated, sleep- deprived Margaret asked, "Colonel, just what is this sunrise surprise meeting about?"
"Just a minute, Major," Colonel Potter said, holding up his hand, and not taking his eyes off of the paper for one second, just as Hawkeye had done. They widened as he read, as things suddenly began to fall into place. He finished, and read it again, only slower this time, making sure that he took all the facts in, and then he quietly said, "this explains it."
"Colonel, would you please explain what is going on?" Margaret said, this time with more concern in her voice. She knew that something was amiss, as for a start Hawkeye was not his usual, jocular self, and both Colonel Potter and Klinger were unusually quiet and solemn, and this mass out-of- character gathering had her wondering exactly what it was that was happening.
Margaret's voice brought Colonel Potter back to reality, and so he began. "Of course, Major, I'm sorry," he apologised, forgetting for a moment that he had called this small assembly for a purpose, and so he took a moment to plan his approach, and then began the explanation.
"All right, this meeting is to discuss Captain Hunnicutt," he began, not at all sure if he was going about it the right way, but in any case he continued. "As you may or may not have seen, BJ has not been himself lately, to say the least. Hawkeye has noticed that he has been drinking more frequently, and apparently for more than just pleasure, and I was informed by Igor this morning that he has not been to the Mess Tent for about three weeks now."
"What?" Margaret gasped, whilst Hawkeye could only stare as realisation dawned.
"Cutting a long story short, I think that BJ might be suffering from depression, something that I half suspected, but now I think that Igor has confirmed it for us, as apparently BJ has no desire to eat. Well, whatever it was, both Pierce and I wanted to find out why there has been this recent change in behaviour, and I think that we can all agree this ought to do it."
He handed Margaret the letter to read, and Klinger peered over her shoulder. She sighed as she reached the end, before handing it back. "Poor guy," she murmured, knowing how he felt, "why didn't he tell anyone?"
That's what I'd like to know, Hawkeye thought to himself.
"Questions like that can be answered later," Colonel Potter said, not wanting to go into that right then. "The plot thickens, because the Aid Station has bugged out, and that leaves us with way of no contacting BJ for the moment. Once we do get in touch with him, I want him pulled out of the exchange and brought back here."
"I think we should called Dr Freedman," Klinger said quietly, not having a lot of input into the discussion up to that point.
Colonel Potter nodded, already having decided this in his mind, but so as not to discourage Klinger he said, "good thinking. As soon as we've got in contact with Captain Hunnicutt, I'd like you to call him, Klinger."
"Hey, hold it, he's not nuts," Hawkeye said defensively, feeling as though BJ was about to get treated as though he belonged in a room with rubber walls. In his heart, he knew that talking to Sidney would probably do him the world of good, but it still felt strange.
"I never said he was," Colonel Potter said evenly, "but you and I both know that Sidney is the best thing for him right now."
"If he didn't talk to us, what makes you think that he'll open up to Dr Freedman?" Margaret asked, raising a point she had been touched upon earlier, the fact that BJ had kept the entire thing inside him.
Colonel Potter had considered this, too, but he told Margaret what he had himself concluded, and said, "Sidney has been trained for this, plus now that we know what we're dealing with it should be easier to help BJ. We've all seen Sidney work, and I think you'll agree that he definitely knows what he's doing."
No one could argue with that. They all took a moment to be silent, to work through their own personal thoughts and try and comprehend what they had all just heard. It was true that BJ had by no means been himself lately, but they had always seen him as the one that could help, and the one with no problems. And now the tables had turned, BJ was the one that needed help, a lot of it, but he hadn't asked for it, and so no one had been able to give it to him.
"Right now, I can't confirm that it is depression," Colonel Potter said to them, "it could be something else entirely, but that's what it looks like from where I'm standing. It also looks like we've got an added extra, in that he hasn't been eating. The symptoms add up."
"He's lost weight, and he's gone from being the camp's practical joking king to being serious and unhappy," Hawkeye said, deciding to share what he knew so that the pieces could be slotted into the puzzle, "and his sleeping routine has been off."
"He's been irritable," Margaret added.
"As I said, I'm fairly sure that's what we're dealing with," Colonel Potter said, looking at his watch with irritation and thinking that he should have received the phone call about the Aid Station by then. "Folks, for the sake of BJ, I want you to keep this hush-hush for the moment, the last thing he or anyone else needs is a scuttle bug like this making its way around camp."
"Understood, Colonel," they said, all agreeing that this was the best procedure.
Colonel Potter was weighing up whether to let Father Mulcahy in on the situation when the phone in Klinger's office rang, and he was out of his chair in a split second to answer it. Whilst he was out of the room, the group talked amongst themselves.
"I can't believe I never saw it before," Hawkeye said to himself, still trying to grasp the situation. He was supposed to be BJ's best friend, but he couldn't do a single thing to help him. He couldn't find out what was wrong until then, and only because he stumbled upon the note. Before then, he couldn't get it out of BJ, and even now that he knew, he wasn't qualified to help, or whatever that meant. He'd let BJ down.
"Don't blame yourself," Margaret said soothingly, knowing exactly what Hawkeye would be doing right then. "No one knew what was happening inside him, no one is to blame for not being able to do anything."
"The signs were all there, I should have seen them and figured it out sooner," Hawkeye insisted, trying to take the blame for what had happened, because he felt he needed to, to try and justify that someone was to blame and that it should be him.
"Captain, you're a great doctor, but you don't look for stuff like that," Klinger said, trying to reassure Hawkeye that it was not his fault.
"I'm supposed to be his best friend, though, and in doing that I'm meant to look out for him and make sure he's all right."
"Which can't be done unless he let's you," Margaret promised him, getting tired of Hawkeye's self-pity when he was not currently the issue, "Face it, you can't blame yourself, and that's the end of it."
Hawkeye would have interjected had Colonel Potter not walked into the office, ashen faced following the phone conversation with the Major at the Aid Station. "The Aid Station crew managed to bug out away from the shelling," he said slowly, his colour still not returning to his face.
"That's good, right?" Hawkeye asked uncertainly.
"The CO of the outfit told BJ to come back here, because the fighting got too dangerous," Colonel Potter continued, his voice trying to remain steady. "Hunnicutt followed until he was due to turn off and head our way, but he turned too early." Colonel Potter swallowed and in a hoarse voice said, "He's heading straight for the shelling."
~~~~
Chapter Twelve: A Plan Of Action
~~
Not even bothering to tie his boots, Hawkeye slipped into them and threw his robe around him before running across the compound to Colonel Potter's tent, the letter still in his hands. On finding that he was not there, he decided that the next best place to look was his office, and so he sprinted across the compound again, desperate to share the news with someone.
He burst into the room to find not only Colonel Potter sitting at his desk, but also a tired-looking Margaret in a chair, and Klinger standing to the side of the door, midway through his explanation that he couldn't find Hawkeye. "Colonel," Hawkeye said breathlessly, taking a brief moment to compose himself before continuing, "I've found it."
"Found what?" Colonel Potter asked him, seeing Hawkeye's clumsily dressed form and dishevelled hair and wondering what on earth had happened.
"It, Colonel," Hawkeye stressed, trying to make Colonel Potter understand what he was talking about. "The reason why, the cause, the problem..."
The penny dropped, and Colonel Potter realised that Hawkeye had figured out what had been the cause of BJ's less than normal characteristics over recent weeks. "Well, what is it?"
Hawkeye wordlessly handed him the letter that he had read only moments ago, and whilst Colonel Potter was reading it, a rather irritated, sleep- deprived Margaret asked, "Colonel, just what is this sunrise surprise meeting about?"
"Just a minute, Major," Colonel Potter said, holding up his hand, and not taking his eyes off of the paper for one second, just as Hawkeye had done. They widened as he read, as things suddenly began to fall into place. He finished, and read it again, only slower this time, making sure that he took all the facts in, and then he quietly said, "this explains it."
"Colonel, would you please explain what is going on?" Margaret said, this time with more concern in her voice. She knew that something was amiss, as for a start Hawkeye was not his usual, jocular self, and both Colonel Potter and Klinger were unusually quiet and solemn, and this mass out-of- character gathering had her wondering exactly what it was that was happening.
Margaret's voice brought Colonel Potter back to reality, and so he began. "Of course, Major, I'm sorry," he apologised, forgetting for a moment that he had called this small assembly for a purpose, and so he took a moment to plan his approach, and then began the explanation.
"All right, this meeting is to discuss Captain Hunnicutt," he began, not at all sure if he was going about it the right way, but in any case he continued. "As you may or may not have seen, BJ has not been himself lately, to say the least. Hawkeye has noticed that he has been drinking more frequently, and apparently for more than just pleasure, and I was informed by Igor this morning that he has not been to the Mess Tent for about three weeks now."
"What?" Margaret gasped, whilst Hawkeye could only stare as realisation dawned.
"Cutting a long story short, I think that BJ might be suffering from depression, something that I half suspected, but now I think that Igor has confirmed it for us, as apparently BJ has no desire to eat. Well, whatever it was, both Pierce and I wanted to find out why there has been this recent change in behaviour, and I think that we can all agree this ought to do it."
He handed Margaret the letter to read, and Klinger peered over her shoulder. She sighed as she reached the end, before handing it back. "Poor guy," she murmured, knowing how he felt, "why didn't he tell anyone?"
That's what I'd like to know, Hawkeye thought to himself.
"Questions like that can be answered later," Colonel Potter said, not wanting to go into that right then. "The plot thickens, because the Aid Station has bugged out, and that leaves us with way of no contacting BJ for the moment. Once we do get in touch with him, I want him pulled out of the exchange and brought back here."
"I think we should called Dr Freedman," Klinger said quietly, not having a lot of input into the discussion up to that point.
Colonel Potter nodded, already having decided this in his mind, but so as not to discourage Klinger he said, "good thinking. As soon as we've got in contact with Captain Hunnicutt, I'd like you to call him, Klinger."
"Hey, hold it, he's not nuts," Hawkeye said defensively, feeling as though BJ was about to get treated as though he belonged in a room with rubber walls. In his heart, he knew that talking to Sidney would probably do him the world of good, but it still felt strange.
"I never said he was," Colonel Potter said evenly, "but you and I both know that Sidney is the best thing for him right now."
"If he didn't talk to us, what makes you think that he'll open up to Dr Freedman?" Margaret asked, raising a point she had been touched upon earlier, the fact that BJ had kept the entire thing inside him.
Colonel Potter had considered this, too, but he told Margaret what he had himself concluded, and said, "Sidney has been trained for this, plus now that we know what we're dealing with it should be easier to help BJ. We've all seen Sidney work, and I think you'll agree that he definitely knows what he's doing."
No one could argue with that. They all took a moment to be silent, to work through their own personal thoughts and try and comprehend what they had all just heard. It was true that BJ had by no means been himself lately, but they had always seen him as the one that could help, and the one with no problems. And now the tables had turned, BJ was the one that needed help, a lot of it, but he hadn't asked for it, and so no one had been able to give it to him.
"Right now, I can't confirm that it is depression," Colonel Potter said to them, "it could be something else entirely, but that's what it looks like from where I'm standing. It also looks like we've got an added extra, in that he hasn't been eating. The symptoms add up."
"He's lost weight, and he's gone from being the camp's practical joking king to being serious and unhappy," Hawkeye said, deciding to share what he knew so that the pieces could be slotted into the puzzle, "and his sleeping routine has been off."
"He's been irritable," Margaret added.
"As I said, I'm fairly sure that's what we're dealing with," Colonel Potter said, looking at his watch with irritation and thinking that he should have received the phone call about the Aid Station by then. "Folks, for the sake of BJ, I want you to keep this hush-hush for the moment, the last thing he or anyone else needs is a scuttle bug like this making its way around camp."
"Understood, Colonel," they said, all agreeing that this was the best procedure.
Colonel Potter was weighing up whether to let Father Mulcahy in on the situation when the phone in Klinger's office rang, and he was out of his chair in a split second to answer it. Whilst he was out of the room, the group talked amongst themselves.
"I can't believe I never saw it before," Hawkeye said to himself, still trying to grasp the situation. He was supposed to be BJ's best friend, but he couldn't do a single thing to help him. He couldn't find out what was wrong until then, and only because he stumbled upon the note. Before then, he couldn't get it out of BJ, and even now that he knew, he wasn't qualified to help, or whatever that meant. He'd let BJ down.
"Don't blame yourself," Margaret said soothingly, knowing exactly what Hawkeye would be doing right then. "No one knew what was happening inside him, no one is to blame for not being able to do anything."
"The signs were all there, I should have seen them and figured it out sooner," Hawkeye insisted, trying to take the blame for what had happened, because he felt he needed to, to try and justify that someone was to blame and that it should be him.
"Captain, you're a great doctor, but you don't look for stuff like that," Klinger said, trying to reassure Hawkeye that it was not his fault.
"I'm supposed to be his best friend, though, and in doing that I'm meant to look out for him and make sure he's all right."
"Which can't be done unless he let's you," Margaret promised him, getting tired of Hawkeye's self-pity when he was not currently the issue, "Face it, you can't blame yourself, and that's the end of it."
Hawkeye would have interjected had Colonel Potter not walked into the office, ashen faced following the phone conversation with the Major at the Aid Station. "The Aid Station crew managed to bug out away from the shelling," he said slowly, his colour still not returning to his face.
"That's good, right?" Hawkeye asked uncertainly.
"The CO of the outfit told BJ to come back here, because the fighting got too dangerous," Colonel Potter continued, his voice trying to remain steady. "Hunnicutt followed until he was due to turn off and head our way, but he turned too early." Colonel Potter swallowed and in a hoarse voice said, "He's heading straight for the shelling."
~~~~