For once, Alex obeyed an order. She stayed in Tokyo for another month and a half, getting edgy about the rumours in the newspapers. According to Stars and Stripes, horrendous war crimes were being committed in these last few weeks, and her heart jumped every time there was an article on a MASH unit. However, Charles managed to send her telegrams every few days so she would know everyone was ok. It took all her strength not to catch a plane or chopper back to Korea.
She didn't hate him for sending her to Tokyo like he did, she just wished he could have trusted her enough to take care of herself at the 4077. She respected Charles enough to listen to him when he told her to stay in Tokyo, though she had managed to call him back the next day to yell some more before apologising for her behaviour. The call had been cut short, however, so she wasn't sure if he'd heard her apology or not.
Finally, on the twenty seventh of July, just over two months since Alex arrived in Tokyo for her physical, the radio reported the end of the war. However, when she tried to put in a call, Alex found it was impossible to get a call through to the 4077th.
'I need to get through!' she yelled at the poor operator. 'That's my family!'
'I'm sorry, but I can't get anything through, not even telegraphs,' the operator said.
'Is anything coming through from Korea?' Alex asked hopefully.
'No, I'm sorry, ma'am,' the operator said. Alex scowled.
'Don't call me "ma'am". I haven't been a Major for over a month,' she snapped.
'Sorry, ma'am—I mean, Miss Dustin,' the operator said hurriedly.
'It's ok,' Alex said, on the verge of tears. 'I just don't know if anything's happened to them or not.'
'I will put a call through to you first as soon as anything happens,' the operator said sympathetically.
'Thank you,' Alex said, hanging up. She paced her room a moment, then stared out the window. Charles was paying for her hotel room until the end of the war, even though she had tried to insist on finding a different option. She felt so guilty about her outburst at him when he finally told her what had happened to Hawkeye, and was touched that he would still do something like that for her.
Alex suddenly went to her closet, and began pulling things out of it. She shoved them into a suitcase she'd bought herself there to replace the flimsy duffel bag she'd arrived with, and made sure she had packed everything. It was past checking out time at the hotel, but Alex didn't care. She needed to get back to Korea, and now.
Hawkeye looked sullenly around the compound. The tents were dismantled, the wounded were gone, Klinger and his new wife had left an hour ago, the Still destroyed, probably forever, and now they were all going home. It was the one thing he had wished for since he had first arrived, so why did he feel so empty?
BJ was doing a final check over his motorbike, maybe twenty yards away. He hadn't wanted to say good-bye to Hawkeye, even though he knew how much it would mean to him. It just seemed so… final. Happy with the bike, he looked up to see a jeep bumping along the road towards him. A red haired woman jumped out before it had completely rolled to a stop, and BJ just looked at her with his mouth open wide. Hawkeye was also looking, but hadn't shown any signs of reaction.
'The war is over!' Alex yelled, throwing her arms around BJ's neck.
'I know. What are you doing here?' he asked, hugging her back. Hawkeye came towards them, breaking into a run as he neared them. Alex pulled away from BJ and allowed Hawkeye to bowl into her, knocking them to the ground.
'What the hell are you doing here?' Hawkeye asked her, not caring they were in danger of rolling into a mud puddle.
'Charles! CHARLES!' BJ was yelling, running towards where he saw the Major last. Alex tried to pick herself up, but it was difficult to do so with Hawkeye clinging to her.
'I heard the war was over and I couldn't get through to the camp. I had to come,' she said. 'Had to pretend to be an important officer to get through, but it's not like they can do anything to me now. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Seoul?'
'Sidney said I should come back,' Hawkeye said as they both stood up. Charles was running towards them now, having emerged from behind a jeep. Alex ran to greet him, leaving the two former Captains to just watch them embrace.
'You were meant to be in Tokyo,' Charles told Alex sternly as he hugged her tight.
'You know me,' Alex mumbled. She pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes ashamedly. 'I'm sorry I was so unreasonable when you tried keeping me there,' she said.
'It's alright, Alexia,' Charles said, pulling her close to him. 'All I care is that you are safe.'
'I know,' Alex replied. Hawkeye and BJ both ambled up.
'I never thought I'd see you here again,' BJ said.
'I could say the same,' Alex replied. She hugged both Hawkeye and BJ again. 'I've missed you,' she said.
The remaining personnel of the 4077th had started to gather around them, and Alex found her closest friends and hugged them all tightly.
'Where's Klinger?' she asked, pulling away from Jefferson and Kellye. 'Why isn't he here?'
'He's off with his new wife, looking for her family,' Potter replied.
'Soon Lee and Klinger?' Alex asked. She smiled warmly. 'I always thought he'd propose to her. She's the luckiest Korean to come out of this mess. I'm going to hate never seeing him, again.'
'There's always back in the States,' Kellye said. 'Jefferson made sure he had a copy of your mother's address written down.' Jefferson just smiled at her friend as Alex gave her another hug.
'So I guess everyone is about to head off, then,' Alex said. There were a few nods and affirmative noises from the group. Alex looked around at what effectively had been her family for the last three years. 'I'll miss you all so much,' she said.
Alex took the addresses of a few people so she could keep in touch with them after the war, including Margaret's, Colonel Potter's, and all of the nurses. When she came to say goodbye to Hawkeye and BJ, however, she was stuck for words.
'So what's going to happen to you now?' BJ asked her as she bit her lip and looked at them.
'I've got to sell the house Isaac and I shared, then I don't know what,' she said. She glanced at Charles. 'Anything might happen after that,' she said.
'Well, you're welcome to stay with me and Peg anytime,' BJ said, getting a final hug from her. When Alex pulled away, she looked at Hawkeye.
'Keep in touch?' he asked her.
'Of course,' she said, going over his address in Crab Apple Cove in her head again. It was written down on a piece of paper in her pocket, but she had the feeling she'd never forget his address, even though she planned never to use it. She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. 'It's been great knowing you, Hawkeye,' she said. She hugged him briefly, and pulled away. BJ was shaking Charles' hand. Hawkeye moved to the balding man, took his hand, then whispered something to him. Charles looked startled for a moment, and he glanced at Alex.
'Alright,' he said finally, looking slightly unhappy with whatever it had been Hawkeye suggested. Hawkeye went up to Alex and kissed her hard on the lips. When they pulled away, Alex blinked a few times, as if unsure about what had happened.
'Goodbye, Hawkeye,' she said finally, deciding to ignore the kiss. Hawkeye was making this goodbye more difficult than it needed to be. 'I'm sorry if I screwed everything up for us.' She turned away, and Charles wrapped and arm around her shoulders. Together, they got into the jeep Alex had arrived in, packed with all of their belongings, and the driver started it up. She never even looked back.
Hawkeye and BJ watched them drive away.
'Come on,' BJ said to Hawkeye. 'You've got a chopper to catch.'
'Mmm,' Hawkeye grunted, trying to memorise the red head nurse with her pale right eye, her distinguishable limp, and the long pale scar she had for as long as he had known her. Then, he tried to forget her.
It didn't work.
-Guy walks past with a sign that reads "The End Comes Tomorrow"-
(And by tomorrow, I mean whenever I can be bothered posting the last chapter.)