'Well, concussion, and some minor wounds, but she'll be ok,' Potter said,
standing up.
'What about the 8063rd? They get the help they needed?' Hawkeye asked.
'They ended up helping themselves and only just bothered sending back word just before,' Potter said in an annoyed voice. 'Anyway, I'll leave you and her alone.' Alex nodded as Potter and Hawkeye left the bedside.
'Dani, are you ok?' Alex asked. Dani looked up. Her sister's face was streaked with dust, tears and dry blood.
'I'm still not exactly sure what happened,' she said faintly.
'You were caught in a bomb blast, got a cut in your head, and your arm. Hawkeye brought you to the fox hole we found. As soon as we could, we brought you back here and had you fixed up,' Alex replied.
'Who operated on me?' Dani asked.
'Margaret and Potter. I played the Blood Bank,' Alex told her. Dani noticed the small white Band-Aid on Alex's forearm.
'Did BJ or Hawkeye explain what happened the other day?' Dani asked nervously.
'Yeah,' Alex looked embarrassed. 'But Potter had suspicions which he shared with me, and it made me jump to conclusions.'
'We'll tell you if I get something in my eye next time,' Dani said.
'I don't want you to be in Korea any more, not with the war on. It's too dangerous. We're going to get you home, somehow,' Alex said after a little while.
'Alex, it's only a couple of scratches. I'll be fine,' Dani said. Outside the tent, there was the sound of feet. Alex groaned.
'Please not more wounded,' she said. Frank, and Hawkeye came into Post op, followed by Klinger and BJ hauling a stretcher with a soldier on it, with red hair.
'I'm not going to operate on him!' Frank shouted.
'He doesn't want anyone else to operate on him! What else can we do?' Hawkeye yelled back. BJ glanced over to the two Dustin girls, almost begging Alex to come over.
'What's wrong?' Alex asked, standing up. Dani tried to sit up, but Alex gave her a look to tell her to sit still.
'This guy just came in and asked for Major Burns to operate on him. Didn't want anyone else to,' Klinger began.
'Frank's refusing,' BJ added, almost unnecessarily.
'Why are you refusing to operate on him if he needs help? He's American, isn't he? He's on our side, isn't he?' Alex demanded.
'A very patriotic American soldier at that, your favourite sort, Frank. This guy refused to stop fighting when he was badly injured a few days ago, that's why it's so bad now,' Hawkeye said. 'Look, he's even a Major like you! You don't have to worry about operating on lower personnel scum!'
'I'm not operating on him!' Frank said, folding his arms.
'Why?' Alex said, moving around Frank so she could see him better. The soldier in the stretcher was about twenty five, and his eyes were hazel in colour. Through the dirt and grime on his face, Alex could just see red freckles.
'Do you know what this man is?' Frank asked loudly, pointing at the startled man. 'He is a homosexual! A queer!'
'So was Isaac!' Alex yelled as loud as she could after a moment's shocked silence. Suddenly, she realised what she said, turned, and ran from the tent. Hawkeye, BJ, Frank and Klinger turned to Dani.
'Don't look at me, I'm not saying anything,' she said, before throwing her blanket over her head.
'Look, Doctor Hunnicutt here is willing to operate on you, even if Frank isn't,' Hawkeye said, glaring at Frank when he said it. He nodded to BJ, and ran out after Alex. Hawkeye looked around after going outside, he had no idea where he could find Alex If she didn't want to be found, usually no one could find her. He stopped on of the nurses going past.
'Did you see where Alex went?' he asked.
'I saw her going into the showers,' the nurse replied. 'She looked really upset about something.' Hawkeye thanked the nurse and headed towards the showers. He opened the door, and looked in the first stall.
'Someone's in here, if you don't mind,' Alex said, half joking, half annoyed.
'Are you ok?' Hawkeye yelled, sitting on the ground on the shower beside Alex.
'Seeing that soldier, he's so much like Isaac, it's not funny. A Major, red hair, about the right age, too. It was just a little too much when I found out he was a little different to most men,' Alex said.
'Well, the good news is, BJ is going to operate on him. Frank doesn't have to go near him,' Hawkeye comforted. Alex sniffed.
'I want Dani to go home. I don't care how, but she has to get back to the States,' Alex said.
'We'll ask Colonel Potter. He might have some ideas on how to get her home without breaking army rules,' Hawkeye said. Alex nodded.
'Did you have any idea about Isaac?' Alex asked after a little while.
'No, it's very well kept secret to be kept secret this long,' Hawkeye replied.
'It's why the doctors at the MASH unit wouldn't operate on him. He died because they refused to help him,' Alex told Hawkeye. She stood up. 'I need a martini,' she said.
'I'll come too,' Hawkeye said, also standing up. They went to the Swamp together, and Alex collapsed onto her cot. Hawkeye poured her a glass of gin, and handed it to her. Alex swallowed a mouthful quickly, and stared up at the Swamp tent roof.
'When will the war be over, Hawkeye?' she asked.
'I don't know. Tomorrow. The day after. The day after that. Hopefully soon,' Hawkeye replied. He was watching Alex carefully, she was quick to run off usually.
'Can we go see Potter now? The sooner Dani's home, the better I'll feel,' Alex said, getting up again. Hawkeye sighed, but got up too.
'Alright,' he said, following Alex out of the Swamp.
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
'No, I can't think of anything to get your sister out of the army the way you want to,' Colonel Potter said, sitting behind his desk.
'Give her a section eight, anything,' Alex pleaded.
'Look, I'd love to, but I can't,' Potter said. 'That's that.' Hawkeye pulled Alex out of the office before she could argue.
'I think it's time you and your sister met Sidney Freedman,' he said.
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
'Ok, I understand. I suppose I could come down, and help,' Sidney said on the phone.
'Thanks, Sidney, I knew you'd help,' Hawkeye said on the other end.
'I owe you big time,' a female's voice added in the background, which Sidney assumed must have been Alex. Sidney put the receiver down, and walked out of the room. Hawkeye had explained the situation to him carefully, and asked him to be in their little scheme. Sidney felt it wouldn't be right to refuse, the girl Hawkeye had described had her whole life in front of her, and her older sister didn't want it taken from her. It was fair that he help.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the line at the 4077, Alex began pacing the outer office.
'You sure we can trust him?' she asked Hawkeye for the sixth time.
'Sidney's a great psychiatrist. Helped hundreds of people all over the war, managed to get some sent home too.' Hawkeye replied. 'He'll help us get Dani sent home.'
'What about Ferret Face?'
'What about him?'
'Won't he have something to say about this all?' Alex stopped pacing and sat on Radar's bed after moving his teddy bear out of the way.
'Usually, yes, but we'll get him out of the way while Sidney's here,' Hawkeye said.
'Thanks, Hawkeye,' Alex said gratefully. They walked into Post op, where Klinger and another corps man were holding a stretcher with the red haired man on it again. Frank was standing there, trying to get them to move him to the bed closest to the outside door.
'That's an order!' Frank told Klinger and the other man.
'Yeah, well I want him in the bed beside me,' Dani was saying.
'What's going on now?' Alex sighed.
'Frank's moving the Major to the coldest part of the tent,' Dani said quickly.
'Lieutenant Dustin wants to have him beside her,' Frank said.
'Why can't the Major go there?' Hawkeye asked, pointing to the cot beside Dani.
'Because I said so,' Frank replied. Hawkeye groaned quietly, and motioned Klinger to put the red haired Major on the cot beside Dani.
'Frank, it doesn't matter where he stays, he's there now,' Alex said.
'I'm the superior officer here!' Frank yelled in a high pitched voice as Dani stuck her tongue out at him.
'Together, we make a higher ranking one,' Dani said as Klinger and the other man left gratefully. Frank stormed out, probably to go complain to Margaret as BJ came in.
'He wasn't too bad, should be back in the war in about a week,' he said, pointing to the Major asleep on the cot. 'Major Davids his name is.' Alex and Dani both shuddered involuntary.
'Even the last name is similar,' Alex said.
'If this was some cheap war story, he'd really be our brother, who hadn't really died, but had his identity stolen, or something,' Dani added.
'Yeah, well it isn't,' Hawkeye reminded them.
'What about the 8063rd? They get the help they needed?' Hawkeye asked.
'They ended up helping themselves and only just bothered sending back word just before,' Potter said in an annoyed voice. 'Anyway, I'll leave you and her alone.' Alex nodded as Potter and Hawkeye left the bedside.
'Dani, are you ok?' Alex asked. Dani looked up. Her sister's face was streaked with dust, tears and dry blood.
'I'm still not exactly sure what happened,' she said faintly.
'You were caught in a bomb blast, got a cut in your head, and your arm. Hawkeye brought you to the fox hole we found. As soon as we could, we brought you back here and had you fixed up,' Alex replied.
'Who operated on me?' Dani asked.
'Margaret and Potter. I played the Blood Bank,' Alex told her. Dani noticed the small white Band-Aid on Alex's forearm.
'Did BJ or Hawkeye explain what happened the other day?' Dani asked nervously.
'Yeah,' Alex looked embarrassed. 'But Potter had suspicions which he shared with me, and it made me jump to conclusions.'
'We'll tell you if I get something in my eye next time,' Dani said.
'I don't want you to be in Korea any more, not with the war on. It's too dangerous. We're going to get you home, somehow,' Alex said after a little while.
'Alex, it's only a couple of scratches. I'll be fine,' Dani said. Outside the tent, there was the sound of feet. Alex groaned.
'Please not more wounded,' she said. Frank, and Hawkeye came into Post op, followed by Klinger and BJ hauling a stretcher with a soldier on it, with red hair.
'I'm not going to operate on him!' Frank shouted.
'He doesn't want anyone else to operate on him! What else can we do?' Hawkeye yelled back. BJ glanced over to the two Dustin girls, almost begging Alex to come over.
'What's wrong?' Alex asked, standing up. Dani tried to sit up, but Alex gave her a look to tell her to sit still.
'This guy just came in and asked for Major Burns to operate on him. Didn't want anyone else to,' Klinger began.
'Frank's refusing,' BJ added, almost unnecessarily.
'Why are you refusing to operate on him if he needs help? He's American, isn't he? He's on our side, isn't he?' Alex demanded.
'A very patriotic American soldier at that, your favourite sort, Frank. This guy refused to stop fighting when he was badly injured a few days ago, that's why it's so bad now,' Hawkeye said. 'Look, he's even a Major like you! You don't have to worry about operating on lower personnel scum!'
'I'm not operating on him!' Frank said, folding his arms.
'Why?' Alex said, moving around Frank so she could see him better. The soldier in the stretcher was about twenty five, and his eyes were hazel in colour. Through the dirt and grime on his face, Alex could just see red freckles.
'Do you know what this man is?' Frank asked loudly, pointing at the startled man. 'He is a homosexual! A queer!'
'So was Isaac!' Alex yelled as loud as she could after a moment's shocked silence. Suddenly, she realised what she said, turned, and ran from the tent. Hawkeye, BJ, Frank and Klinger turned to Dani.
'Don't look at me, I'm not saying anything,' she said, before throwing her blanket over her head.
'Look, Doctor Hunnicutt here is willing to operate on you, even if Frank isn't,' Hawkeye said, glaring at Frank when he said it. He nodded to BJ, and ran out after Alex. Hawkeye looked around after going outside, he had no idea where he could find Alex If she didn't want to be found, usually no one could find her. He stopped on of the nurses going past.
'Did you see where Alex went?' he asked.
'I saw her going into the showers,' the nurse replied. 'She looked really upset about something.' Hawkeye thanked the nurse and headed towards the showers. He opened the door, and looked in the first stall.
'Someone's in here, if you don't mind,' Alex said, half joking, half annoyed.
'Are you ok?' Hawkeye yelled, sitting on the ground on the shower beside Alex.
'Seeing that soldier, he's so much like Isaac, it's not funny. A Major, red hair, about the right age, too. It was just a little too much when I found out he was a little different to most men,' Alex said.
'Well, the good news is, BJ is going to operate on him. Frank doesn't have to go near him,' Hawkeye comforted. Alex sniffed.
'I want Dani to go home. I don't care how, but she has to get back to the States,' Alex said.
'We'll ask Colonel Potter. He might have some ideas on how to get her home without breaking army rules,' Hawkeye said. Alex nodded.
'Did you have any idea about Isaac?' Alex asked after a little while.
'No, it's very well kept secret to be kept secret this long,' Hawkeye replied.
'It's why the doctors at the MASH unit wouldn't operate on him. He died because they refused to help him,' Alex told Hawkeye. She stood up. 'I need a martini,' she said.
'I'll come too,' Hawkeye said, also standing up. They went to the Swamp together, and Alex collapsed onto her cot. Hawkeye poured her a glass of gin, and handed it to her. Alex swallowed a mouthful quickly, and stared up at the Swamp tent roof.
'When will the war be over, Hawkeye?' she asked.
'I don't know. Tomorrow. The day after. The day after that. Hopefully soon,' Hawkeye replied. He was watching Alex carefully, she was quick to run off usually.
'Can we go see Potter now? The sooner Dani's home, the better I'll feel,' Alex said, getting up again. Hawkeye sighed, but got up too.
'Alright,' he said, following Alex out of the Swamp.
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
'No, I can't think of anything to get your sister out of the army the way you want to,' Colonel Potter said, sitting behind his desk.
'Give her a section eight, anything,' Alex pleaded.
'Look, I'd love to, but I can't,' Potter said. 'That's that.' Hawkeye pulled Alex out of the office before she could argue.
'I think it's time you and your sister met Sidney Freedman,' he said.
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
'Ok, I understand. I suppose I could come down, and help,' Sidney said on the phone.
'Thanks, Sidney, I knew you'd help,' Hawkeye said on the other end.
'I owe you big time,' a female's voice added in the background, which Sidney assumed must have been Alex. Sidney put the receiver down, and walked out of the room. Hawkeye had explained the situation to him carefully, and asked him to be in their little scheme. Sidney felt it wouldn't be right to refuse, the girl Hawkeye had described had her whole life in front of her, and her older sister didn't want it taken from her. It was fair that he help.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the line at the 4077, Alex began pacing the outer office.
'You sure we can trust him?' she asked Hawkeye for the sixth time.
'Sidney's a great psychiatrist. Helped hundreds of people all over the war, managed to get some sent home too.' Hawkeye replied. 'He'll help us get Dani sent home.'
'What about Ferret Face?'
'What about him?'
'Won't he have something to say about this all?' Alex stopped pacing and sat on Radar's bed after moving his teddy bear out of the way.
'Usually, yes, but we'll get him out of the way while Sidney's here,' Hawkeye said.
'Thanks, Hawkeye,' Alex said gratefully. They walked into Post op, where Klinger and another corps man were holding a stretcher with the red haired man on it again. Frank was standing there, trying to get them to move him to the bed closest to the outside door.
'That's an order!' Frank told Klinger and the other man.
'Yeah, well I want him in the bed beside me,' Dani was saying.
'What's going on now?' Alex sighed.
'Frank's moving the Major to the coldest part of the tent,' Dani said quickly.
'Lieutenant Dustin wants to have him beside her,' Frank said.
'Why can't the Major go there?' Hawkeye asked, pointing to the cot beside Dani.
'Because I said so,' Frank replied. Hawkeye groaned quietly, and motioned Klinger to put the red haired Major on the cot beside Dani.
'Frank, it doesn't matter where he stays, he's there now,' Alex said.
'I'm the superior officer here!' Frank yelled in a high pitched voice as Dani stuck her tongue out at him.
'Together, we make a higher ranking one,' Dani said as Klinger and the other man left gratefully. Frank stormed out, probably to go complain to Margaret as BJ came in.
'He wasn't too bad, should be back in the war in about a week,' he said, pointing to the Major asleep on the cot. 'Major Davids his name is.' Alex and Dani both shuddered involuntary.
'Even the last name is similar,' Alex said.
'If this was some cheap war story, he'd really be our brother, who hadn't really died, but had his identity stolen, or something,' Dani added.
'Yeah, well it isn't,' Hawkeye reminded them.