1.1 Chapter Four
2 Korea, 1952
"Captain, wake up!" Somebody was shaking Hawkeye Pierce out of a semi- decent night's sleep and he didn't care who it was, he was going to kill him anyway. He'd been having a dream about a beautiful Mexican girl named Marguerite.
"Sir? Captain Pierce? Wake up!" At that moment he knew exactly who it was. No one else on the planet called him sir.
"Go away, Radar. Can't you see I'm trying to catch some Z's? The helicopters keep chasing them away. I can't say it's my favorite sport, but- "
"There are three people here and we don't know where they came from." Radar was pulling at him and if Hawkeye had had no will power at that moment the company clerk would have been rendered armless. "Colonel Potter and Corporal Klinger went to the Mess for dinner and when they came back to retrieve something they found two men and a woman lying on the floor, unconscious."
"What?" Mexican girl or no, Hawkeye was interested now. He sat up straight.
"They were taken to Post-Op for examining, sir. Captain Hunnicut is seeing them now, sir." Radar snapped to attention as Hawkeye stood up.
"Then what do they need me for? BJ's a big boy. He can go to the bathroom all by himself now. Hey, we even got him a big boy bed." He sat down again.
"No!"
"What do you mean, no? It's oak wood and we painted it red because that's his favorite color."
"Sir, begging your pardon, you really need to see this." He looked rather frightened.
"Why? Do they have the word Commie tattooed on their forehead? Are there horns coming out of their heads? What?" Hawkeye was usually a very happy-go-lucky guy, but not when there was a young woman as well as a full night of sleep waiting for him on the other side of his pillow. But he could tell that Radar was not going to give up. "All right, all right. But the next time I'm counting sheep, I'll be sure to catch one, slaughter it and make a nice dinner out of it."
A large gasp came from the animal-loving Radar, but Hawkeye patted him on the head.
"I'm getting up, aren't I?"
******************
Radar had been right about one thing. He really did need to see this. The three people lying on cots in Post-Op weren't like anything he'd seen before. Well, they were people of course, but the woman and the younger of the two men were wearing strange clothes. But they were American and they had the ID to prove it. However, their birth dates told Captain Pierce that something was fishy. Two of them were supposedly born after the war and one of them would only be two years old right now! Hawkeye resolved that they were all mad as a Hatter and would have to be put away. Working for the 4077th had finally worn them down. He guessed that it was inevitable. Seeing nothing but blood and guts for three years can inevitably take its toll.
As he looked over the three unconscious bodies he couldn't help thinking that the woman was incredibly beautiful. She was a brunette and relatively tall with, he guessed, brown eyes. He couldn't tell behind her closed eyelids.
The man in the cot next to her was determined, if the identification they had was correct, to be her father. He was a rather handsome man, but he had a stern decorum about him that told him to be wary of him.
The third man must have been the woman's lover or husband or something. They didn't share the same last name, but there was no other explanation as to why he was with them.
But really, there was no explanation as to why any of them were here and why they would lie about their birthdays. No one would believe that they were born in 1974 and the young woman certainly didn't look like she'd been born in 1874, that was for sure.
"Pierce?" A female voice came from behind. He turned. It was Margaret.
"Hey. Want to come join the party?" Hawkeye indicated the chair on the other side of the bed. "We're playing charades. I think that their word was possum because they've been playing dead for hours."
Margaret chuckled a little. "You know, Pierce, you take these things in stride. While others stand around worrying, afraid to go and face what troubles them, you go to the source of the problem and see it for yourself." She put a hand on his shoulder. "They'll wake up soon, you'll see. And then, we can find out the truth and get on with our lives."
Hawkeye shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that. I mean, what if they aren't who they say they are. That's highly likely considering the fact that if they are the older man over there should be wearing a diaper and I'm not going to check."
"Maybe they're hiding something. Or maybe, and this is a big maybe, maybe, they're telling the truth." She patted him on the shoulder and then she was gone.
Hawkeye mulled this over a bit before getting up himself and walking out the front door. He walked over to Colonel Potter's Office and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Potter asked. His voice sounded distant.
"It is I, master." Hawkeye grinned. "What do you wish of me?"
"Come in, Pierce." He did as he was told.
When he got inside he saw his CO sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. He looked thoughtful and far off.
"I take it you've been to see the 'patients'?" He asked, not looking up at Hawkeye.
"I can assume the same for you," was his only answer.
Finally the Colonel rose. He began to wander around his desk and as he did his mind took a stroll with him. "I don't like it, Pierce. This is more suspicious than a bowl of week old chili."
"Very colorful choice of words, sir. I think that's what was served for lunch today." Hawkeye cracked, trying to lighten the mood.
Potter stopped dead in his tracks and turned with the quickness of a twenty-year-old. "Pierce, this is serious business. Until those three wake up we have no clue as to who they really are and what they are doing here. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think that any of this is really all that funny!" He stamped his foot. "Is that clear?"
Hawkeye pretended that the meaning of life was stamped onto the top of his boot and refused to tear his eyes away from it. "Yes sir."
"Now, go. And tell Radar to get in here. I need to make some-"
At that moment, Radar himself rushed in. "You needed to see me, sir?"
"I need you to-"
"I'll go make some calls, sir." He started out again.
"Don't you want to know who I want you to call?"
"Colonel Riley at the 4075th and Dr. Sidney Freeman, sir."
"Go ahead." After Radar had left, he added, "Sometimes I want to scream when he does that."
"I know how you feel, sir."
2 Korea, 1952
"Captain, wake up!" Somebody was shaking Hawkeye Pierce out of a semi- decent night's sleep and he didn't care who it was, he was going to kill him anyway. He'd been having a dream about a beautiful Mexican girl named Marguerite.
"Sir? Captain Pierce? Wake up!" At that moment he knew exactly who it was. No one else on the planet called him sir.
"Go away, Radar. Can't you see I'm trying to catch some Z's? The helicopters keep chasing them away. I can't say it's my favorite sport, but- "
"There are three people here and we don't know where they came from." Radar was pulling at him and if Hawkeye had had no will power at that moment the company clerk would have been rendered armless. "Colonel Potter and Corporal Klinger went to the Mess for dinner and when they came back to retrieve something they found two men and a woman lying on the floor, unconscious."
"What?" Mexican girl or no, Hawkeye was interested now. He sat up straight.
"They were taken to Post-Op for examining, sir. Captain Hunnicut is seeing them now, sir." Radar snapped to attention as Hawkeye stood up.
"Then what do they need me for? BJ's a big boy. He can go to the bathroom all by himself now. Hey, we even got him a big boy bed." He sat down again.
"No!"
"What do you mean, no? It's oak wood and we painted it red because that's his favorite color."
"Sir, begging your pardon, you really need to see this." He looked rather frightened.
"Why? Do they have the word Commie tattooed on their forehead? Are there horns coming out of their heads? What?" Hawkeye was usually a very happy-go-lucky guy, but not when there was a young woman as well as a full night of sleep waiting for him on the other side of his pillow. But he could tell that Radar was not going to give up. "All right, all right. But the next time I'm counting sheep, I'll be sure to catch one, slaughter it and make a nice dinner out of it."
A large gasp came from the animal-loving Radar, but Hawkeye patted him on the head.
"I'm getting up, aren't I?"
******************
Radar had been right about one thing. He really did need to see this. The three people lying on cots in Post-Op weren't like anything he'd seen before. Well, they were people of course, but the woman and the younger of the two men were wearing strange clothes. But they were American and they had the ID to prove it. However, their birth dates told Captain Pierce that something was fishy. Two of them were supposedly born after the war and one of them would only be two years old right now! Hawkeye resolved that they were all mad as a Hatter and would have to be put away. Working for the 4077th had finally worn them down. He guessed that it was inevitable. Seeing nothing but blood and guts for three years can inevitably take its toll.
As he looked over the three unconscious bodies he couldn't help thinking that the woman was incredibly beautiful. She was a brunette and relatively tall with, he guessed, brown eyes. He couldn't tell behind her closed eyelids.
The man in the cot next to her was determined, if the identification they had was correct, to be her father. He was a rather handsome man, but he had a stern decorum about him that told him to be wary of him.
The third man must have been the woman's lover or husband or something. They didn't share the same last name, but there was no other explanation as to why he was with them.
But really, there was no explanation as to why any of them were here and why they would lie about their birthdays. No one would believe that they were born in 1974 and the young woman certainly didn't look like she'd been born in 1874, that was for sure.
"Pierce?" A female voice came from behind. He turned. It was Margaret.
"Hey. Want to come join the party?" Hawkeye indicated the chair on the other side of the bed. "We're playing charades. I think that their word was possum because they've been playing dead for hours."
Margaret chuckled a little. "You know, Pierce, you take these things in stride. While others stand around worrying, afraid to go and face what troubles them, you go to the source of the problem and see it for yourself." She put a hand on his shoulder. "They'll wake up soon, you'll see. And then, we can find out the truth and get on with our lives."
Hawkeye shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that. I mean, what if they aren't who they say they are. That's highly likely considering the fact that if they are the older man over there should be wearing a diaper and I'm not going to check."
"Maybe they're hiding something. Or maybe, and this is a big maybe, maybe, they're telling the truth." She patted him on the shoulder and then she was gone.
Hawkeye mulled this over a bit before getting up himself and walking out the front door. He walked over to Colonel Potter's Office and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Potter asked. His voice sounded distant.
"It is I, master." Hawkeye grinned. "What do you wish of me?"
"Come in, Pierce." He did as he was told.
When he got inside he saw his CO sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. He looked thoughtful and far off.
"I take it you've been to see the 'patients'?" He asked, not looking up at Hawkeye.
"I can assume the same for you," was his only answer.
Finally the Colonel rose. He began to wander around his desk and as he did his mind took a stroll with him. "I don't like it, Pierce. This is more suspicious than a bowl of week old chili."
"Very colorful choice of words, sir. I think that's what was served for lunch today." Hawkeye cracked, trying to lighten the mood.
Potter stopped dead in his tracks and turned with the quickness of a twenty-year-old. "Pierce, this is serious business. Until those three wake up we have no clue as to who they really are and what they are doing here. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think that any of this is really all that funny!" He stamped his foot. "Is that clear?"
Hawkeye pretended that the meaning of life was stamped onto the top of his boot and refused to tear his eyes away from it. "Yes sir."
"Now, go. And tell Radar to get in here. I need to make some-"
At that moment, Radar himself rushed in. "You needed to see me, sir?"
"I need you to-"
"I'll go make some calls, sir." He started out again.
"Don't you want to know who I want you to call?"
"Colonel Riley at the 4075th and Dr. Sidney Freeman, sir."
"Go ahead." After Radar had left, he added, "Sometimes I want to scream when he does that."
"I know how you feel, sir."