AN: I apologize for the odd breaks in between lines, my computer appears to have formatted this file in an odd manner that I'm far too lazy to attempt to undo. Please bear with me.

Chapter Six

The mess tent hushed with anticipation as Klinger strode in, movie reel tucked under his arm.
"Wonder what it's gonna be this time?" muttered B.J. to Harry.
"My money's on Godzilla. I think there's a slight possibility there's one we haven't seen yet."
Sure enough, the reel started up and a moment later the words, "First-born of Godzilla" flashed across the screen.
Lara smiled as Harry's arm discreetly slipped around her shoulder. She leaned into him, feeling comfortable instantly. They seemed to fit together so well, his warmth was as soothing as his voice, which in itself was kind and melodic. She took a quick peek at his face in the dark, the way his hair fell over his eyes, the three-day old stubble adding mysterious shadows to his meticulously carved features. She found it flattering and yet strangely intimidating that he had taken to her so immediately. She had never fancied herself with a man like Harry Townsend. They had spent most of the afternoon together after the milk incident in the mess tent. He had given her a rather intimate tour of the compound, culminating in an up close and personal view of the supply room. He had spun her around the instant they were inside and pressed his lips against hers, and she had felt her stomach twist up almost instantaneously. Their lips seemed to fit like a jigsaw puzzle and the way that his tongue traced the ridges of her mouth made her gasp.
He had pulled away and smiled. "Now you'll have to come to the movies with me."
She had been able to do little else but smile and nod. "Does everybody here fall in
love with you?"
"Only the smart ones."
And now she was sitting with him, and he has his arm around her and she could hear the whispers of other nurses behind them.
"It's not fair," she heard Ginger whisper. "She's only been here a day."
"That's why he's taken to her, she's fresh meat," murmured Janice Able.
Harry, who had also heard, turned to Lara. "Is that true? You're fresh meat? Let's
take a taste and find out." He bent and started nibbling on her neck, causing her to giggle. Her entire body tensed up and her heart sped up as his lips worked magic all over her skin.
"Look, I don't mean to interrupt this little interlude, but I'm rather interested in
the first-born of Godzilla."
They both turned to look at the speaker, who was speaking in a deadpan voice and staring hard at the screen. "It was quite a scandal. The child was born out of wedlock. Shotgun wedding. Mother didn't show, she was too busy destroying Tokyo."

"Well thanks for ruining the ending," Harry replied, straightening up.
Lara straightened herself on her chair and turned to look at the stranger. It was a man, average height and build, with hunched shoulders and jet black hair parted on the side. His face was round and his nose was long, his eyes a clear blue. She glanced at his collar, but there was nothing there signaling his rank.
"Hello," she greeted. "I don't believe we've met."
He barely glanced at her. "Hawkeye Pierce. But my friends call me Benjamin Franklin."
She laughed and B.J. leaned over. "Boy, they don't make you nurses like they used to."

"What?"
"Well he used to have to give a girl a few martinis before she'd laugh at his jokes."

"Back in the good old days," Harry said, slipping his arm back around her. "Stay away from her, Hawk, first come, first serve."
Hawkeye didn't reply. Lara glanced at him again as everyone's eyes went back to the screen. His face, illuminated in the light from the movie, seemed unnaturally craggy
and his eyes, expressive and deep, were staring emptily at the screen, his muscles tensed as if nothing could penetrate his hardened exterior.
She allowed him one more glance before settling back against Harry's shoulder.

She was unsure of what to make of the place. It was dirty and cold and basically primitive, but she had been expecting as much. What had struck her the most about the 4077th was the camaraderie between all of the staff. It seemed most were barely clinging to sanity, and yet they had all found ways to alleviate it. For the swamp rats, it was drinking. For the nurses, it was their weekly gossip and chocolate fondue sessions. And for Harry? As he had put it, "A good book, a good woman, and a good cry every now and then."

She was a little unsure of what was going to happen when the first casualties came in. She was confident of her abilities, but nervous at the same time. It wasn't going to be easy. She had read about these MASH units in the papers. Sometimes they handled a thousand patients in a month. Meatball surgery, meaning they couldn't waste time making the wounds look pretty. The boys came in and out like they were on a conveyor belt, and the surgeons could be on their feet for a full 24 hours. All the other nurses were battle-hardened, if you could use the term. They knew the drill, and they were prepared for anything. She was not, and because of that, she was afraid.
About halfway through the film, the man named Hawkeye suddenly stood up. They were sitting close to the doors, and he just slipped out without saying anything.
B.J. and Harry looked at him and then at each other and sighed, not speaking.

And then, Lara suddenly felt a very strange urge to follow him. She felt silly for she hardly knew the man, but something was compelling her to go. She waited a few minutes, then excused herself to go to the latrine.
Stepping outside of the tent was like leaving winter hibernation. The cool air
made her feel rejuvenated and yet exhausted all at the same time. She began to drift towards the latrines, craning her face upwards and admiring the clear Korean skies as she went.
"You'll hurt your neck doing that," said a calm voice from the shadows. She jumped and spun to see Hawkeye perched on a crate in between Major Houlihan's tent and the VIP tent.
"Ah. Just needed a little fresh air. You?"

"I hate monster movies," he said dryly, gesturing towards the mess tent. "Give me
nightmares. I can never sleep."
She laughed and joined him. "Why haven't I met you yet?"
"I've been places. Mostly not here."
"Well I can't imagine why you would want to leave. This place is practically the Ritz."
It'll get better. You really get to know the vermin on a personal level and then you
realize they're just flesh-eating, filthy vultures like the rest of us."
"Oh dear. I hope the people aren't that bad."
He smiled. "No, they're not. Everyone's more or less a good egg. We all have our off days, but when it comes down to it, we're a family."
She nodded and they sat in silence for a while, admiring the stillness of the compound, illuminated every once in a while by flickers of light from the movie tent.

"Are you a surgeon?" she asked finally.

"Nope. But I went to a convention once and they drafted me."

"Really? Same thing happened to me."

He smiled, but the sad droop in his eyes didn't lift. "I'm sorry if I seem a little down," he finally said, acknowledging his mood. "I'm usually much more annoying."

She nodded. "That's what Harry told me. Here I was expecting this loud-mouthed, obnoxious-"

"Only on Saturdays."

"-quick witted, anti-establishment drunkard, and what do they give me?"

"Good point. Let's write to our Congressmen."

They laughed together and the sound seemed to echo all around the still compound.

"So have you seen much of the place?" he asked.
"Harry showed it to me."
Hawkeye smiled bitterly. "He seems to have made quite an impression."
Lara smiled and blushed. "Yes, he has."
Hawkeye nodded. He was sitting with his elbows on his knees, his head hanging slightly.
Lara studied him a moment. "I hope you won't mind if I pry a little, but something seems to be bothering you."
He lifted an eyebrow. "You're perceptive."
"Well, I'm just new to this place and I haven't seen any action yet, but it seems to me like this place isn't going to be much fun. Sometimes when people are under a lot of stress they need to talk to somebody-"
He held up his hand. "Don't try to talk to me about stress, lady. I've been here since day one. I helped put this place together. I've patched up so more guys in a month than I would in an entire year at home. Maybe in my entire career. You won't understand what it's like to stand knee deep in entrails day after day until it happens. Then we can swap sob stories."
She lowered her head in embarrassment and the silence was awkward. Finally Hawkeye sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry. I try to make it a point not to snap at the new kids."
She nodded and looked up. "Well that's very gracious of you," she said in a hard tone.
He was looking at her with narrowed eyes. "What were you expecting to find here, Lara? Were you expecting to make a difference? Were you thinking you were gonna be a hero? Because you're not. It doesn't matter if you're here or not, they'll still come. You could drop dead where you're standing and they'll still come. And it'll break you, Lara, sooner or later it'll break you. So when it does, you come and find me and then I'll tell you what's bothering me. Until then, kindly reserve judgment until you know what the hell you're talking about."

And then he walked away, leaving her alone. She watched his back retreat into the night and she was astounded, despite the verbal onslaught she had just taken, to feel herself itching to run after him again.

She got up and went back into the mess tent where Harry was waiting. "That was fast," he murmured into her hair as she slipped into his arms again.