Alex and Hawkeye were behind the curtain in the back corner of the Post op. Hawkeye was meant to be on duty, but there was only one patient there, and he was fast asleep. A herd of 100 North Koreans rushing past, each playing drums wouldn't have woken him. Jefferson had walked in while they were talking, and stopped to listen. She knew it was meant to be a private conversation, but she couldn't help it. She liked hearing the tidbits of information here and there, it let her know what was going on around the camp. She never passed on the information, though, that was the other nurses job.
'Hawkeye, remember the day I left?' Alex asked.
'Yeah, why?' Hawkeye said.
'Um, what about the night before that?' Alex asked. Although she couldn't see them, Jefferson thought Alex sounded very nervous.
'Unforgettable,' Hawkeye insisted.
'Remember how we, um, finally found enough time to ourselves in the supply room?' Alex asked. Hawkeye must have nodded, because Alex continued. 'A couple of weeks after that, I started feeling sick in the mornings. Turns out I was pregnant.'
Too late, Jefferson realised she shouldn't be listening, but she couldn't leave without Alex and Hawkeye suspecting she was listening in.
'What? You were pregnant?' Even with her ears blocked, Jefferson could hear every word as it grew louder. 'I'm a father? Where is the baby now? What did you name it?' Hawkeye was sounding happily excited now.
'I had an abortion before it was too late,' Alex said.
'You what?'
'I had an abortion. I was going to write you, but I could never find the right words. When I found out I had ended up here again, I figured it's be the best time to tell you,' Alex pleaded. Hawkeye stormed out from behind the curtain without giving Jefferson a second look, and he slammed the Post op doors angrily behind him. Alex limped out slowly, a few tears running down her face. She stopped in surprise when she saw Jefferson standing there, red faced.
'I guess you heard all that,' Alex muttered. Jefferson nodded, not sure if she should comfort Alex about it, or pretend nothing happened. 'I'd appreciate it if you didn't say a word about this to anyone,' Alex said before turning away, her figure hunched over, upset and unhealthy. Jefferson nodded again, even though Alex couldn't see her. The nurse stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, then walked out the door that headed towards the OR and Colonel Potter's office. There had to be something she could do.
'Alex?'
Alex turned over on her cot beside the door. She'd been moved into a tent with three other nurses, Jefferson and two others, though she didn't know where any of them were at that time.
'Alex, can I come in?' BJ asked again. Sighing, Alex leant over and opened the door a few centimetres to let him know she was there.
'Come in, BJ,' she said.
'What's wrong?' BJ asked, letting the door shut behind him.
'Nothing,' Alex muttered.
'Don't lie, Alex. I know something's bothering you,' BJ coaxed, sitting on the cot.
'If your wife, Peg, had an abortion, what would you say?' Alex asked him.
'What?' BJ asked in surprise. Alex burst into tears again.
'He doesn't know what it was like for me! What if I had had the baby? I would have gone home, then what? Lived with my sister while she worked and I stayed at home? Is that what he wanted?'
'Alex, calm down,' BJ said, laying a hand on her back as her body shuddered with crying. 'Start from the beginning, what happened?'
'I was pregnant with Hawkeye's baby a while back,' Alex hiccuped, sitting up. 'I had an abortion, but didn't tell him till just before. He stormed off, didn't let me explain.'
'Pregnant?' BJ couldn't believe his ears. Alex just nodded.
'Damn Hawkeye. Afraid of commitment, but the moment the woman backs down from something, it's not good enough for him,' Alex said, getting angry.
'Calm down,' BJ said. 'Do you want me to talk to him?'
'Talk to him? But would he listen?' Alex asked.
'I'll make him listen,' BJ said. Alex nodded slowly.
'BJ,' she said as he opened the tent door. 'How did you know I was here?'
'One of the nurses told me you were upset,' BJ replied. He didn't mention that he had forgotten which nurse had told him, but Alex knew it had to be Jefferson that had said something.
'Thanks, BJ,' Alex managed a smile as BJ went to talk to Hawkeye.
Kooshball: I don't know what abortion laws were like back then, another thing I probably could have researched but didn't.