SEVEN
Nov. 7th: 0630 hours
Lieutenants Cochlan and MacAllister were walking slowly towards the jeep waiting to take the soldier back to his outfit. It's starting to look like an Army base again," the woman noted, "rather than a 'used tent' sale."
"Be it ever so humble," the man quipped. He smiled at the young woman who was struggling with her crutches in the mud. "True be told, I'd rather be walking the boards, along Sydney's harbor, right about now."
"Me, too. And I've never been there. Anything would be better than this gumbo." MacAllister replied with a grin. She checked her watch. "I've got rounds in a few minutes. Thank you, Mitch, for all your help."
"Glad I was here to help." Cochlan reached for a tendril of the red hair that so fascinated him. He played with the strand for a few seconds before leaning towards the woman, intent on kissing her. She smiled up at him in shy invitation.
They were interrupted by a shocked, "Well, I never!" Pulling away from each other, guiltily, the two looked over to see Lieutenant Parnelli staring at them. Instead of giving them some privacy, the woman continued to glare at them.
"Bloody.…!" The man swallowed his expletive. "Next time, Sarabeth, we are going to spend some time alone!" He growled.
"Oh, we are, are we?" She challenged with an arch of an eyebrow.
He glanced at her face. Her slight smile encouraged him. "Too right, we are."
"I don't know, Outback," she added with a grin, "Every time we get together, someone starts shooting at us; first it was bullets and now, artillery shells. Next, they'll probably be lobbing elephants at us."
"No worries, Texas. We'll just toss Jumbo some peanuts and go on picnic." The man answered with a grin of his own before becoming more serious, "Keep dodging bullets, Sarabeth." Cochlan instructed as he climbed in to the jeep. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"You keep dodging those bullets, too, Mitch." The woman told him with all earnestness. "And hurry back."
"You can count on that."
MacAllister waved to the soldier as his transport sped away. "Ausies!" she snorted affectionately and hobbled towards the post-op ward. She completely ignored the other nurse standing nearby.
Nov. 7th: 0800 hours
"You know," Major Winchester commented with his familiar New England accent, "you really do really look like an angel from this angle." He observed as he looked up at the nurse who was sitting beside his hospital bed.
"And you are still groggy from the sedatives." MacAllister replied with a grin. "Since we're waiting for Goldman to bring you a breakfast tray, and, since you are a captive audience..." Winchester groaned as he caught her impish grin. "What kind of shoes does a cowboy buy?"
"I'm not strong enough this," the man protested.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Sure you are."
He sighed in resignation, "Very well. What type of shoes does a cowboy buy?"
"Saddle shoes, of course."
Winchester rolled his eyes in response.
"What kind of shoes does a lazy baker wear?" Sarabeth asked before he had a chance to recover.
"Haven't I been pun-ished, enough?"
With a laugh, she shook her head, "Don't be a heel. I've only just be-tongue."
"Have a care, woman. I know how to remove that tongue," the surgeon warned. There was no menace behind his words, however.
"Lazy bakers wear loaf-ers," she responded. "What kind..."
"Enough," his tone was long-suffering. "I yield."
"Oh, all right. I'll let you off the hook; but only because I hear Major Houlihan in Klinger's office. And," she listened carefully to the helicopter that was approaching, "Crockett's here, too."
"I am thankful for any reprieve," the man responded with a smile, "even if it does arrive wearing combat boots."
"Ah, come on Major; as Father Mulcahy says: jocularity is good for the sole." The Texan couldn't resist one last shot. "Campbell, take over." MacAllister turned her patient care duty over to the other nurse. "I suspect Major Houlihan is going to want a full report. And so will Crockett."
"Howdy, Major Houlihan," standing outside Potter's office, Lieutenant MacAllister greeted the head nurse of the 4077th. "Welcome back." She smiled at her commanding officer and older brother, as well, "Howdy, Colonels."
The older woman nodded her greeting. "I would have been back sooner but I had to wait for the roads to be cleared. Colonel Potter tells me we've had some injuries here."
"Yes ma'am. The most severe: Major Winchester--with shrapnel above the left knee, Sergeant Rizzo--with burns to the right shoulder, Private Starr--with a fractured right radius. And," she hesitated and glanced at her sibling before continuing, "Lieutenant Kellye--with a concussion and sutures."
"Kellye?" Colonel MacAllister asked in sudden concern, "She's hurt?"
"She's going to be OK." Sarabeth hurriedly assured him. "She's still got a horrible headache and some bruising. But she is going to be all right, brother mine." She noticed some of the tension leaving his shoulders at her confidence.
"I have to talk to Colonel Potter, now," MacAllister directed. "After that, I want to talk to you---and Kellye."
""We're not going anywhere," the woman replied with an affectionate smile for her brother. She turned to the other nurse, "Major, I have the surgery reports ready, if you would like to review them."
"Yes, I want to see them. Please excuse us, Colonels," the head nurse spoke. The women headed towards the post-op area. "I notice you're back on crutches again…."
"Lordy, Sarabeth! I have been so worried about you!" Crockett MacAllister declared. He was holding his sister in a tight embrace. The two were in the nurse's office in the medical storeroom. The door was closed to keep their conversations private.
"I am so glad to see you, big brother!" She answered, holding him onto him tightly, as well. "That was awful!" She wiped away her tears. "Don't tell Fannin I was crying. I hate it when he calls me a cry baby."
"He better not." Her brother threatened. He started pacing in the small area. "Dammit, little sister! It was bad enough to find out that any of the MASH hospitals were selected as the target. And then to find out it was yours." He turned to her, exhaustion and worry etched in his normally good-natured features, "I don't reckon you'd accept a transfer."
"Nope," the younger MacAllister shook her head."What do you mean a hospital was 'selected as the target'? By whom?"
The colonel took a long, deep breath, "I'm more tired and rattled than I thought. You should never have heard that."
Making a zipping motion across her mouth, the woman said, "For now and for always, Crockett. You know that."
"Yes, I do know that, little sister." The man searched her face carefully before continuing, "That shelling was from a Chinese outfit that had gotten through the lines. They had planned to hit you with artillery for about an hour, or until they ran out of ammo—to 'soften' you up. And then send a patrol in to…" He stopped abruptly.
The anger that he was keeping tightly controlled was trying to spill over, again. He started pacing in the small room. "A squad caught them before they could carry out their plans. They claim they didn't know their target was a hospital. They're saying it was a mistake. Most of the people at HQ believe them."
"But you don't."
"I'd like to believe that it wasn't deliberate. However, there are some rumors, backed by some very good intelligence, that a new player is waiting to get into the game. This sounds more like his vicious style of warfare. So, I'm wondering…" The older MacAllister shrugged and added, "Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't get here any sooner to check on y'all but…"
"You were busy," his sister finished for him. And that explained his tiredness. He and Fannin had probably patrolled outside the perimeter of their camp all night long—just to make certain they were safe. She hugged her oldest sibling again. "I love you!"
"Now, big brother, listen to me," the younger Texan directed. She placed a hand on his arm to stop his relentless movement. "I know you promised Mama that you would look after me; but, I release you from that promise."
"Sister mine, you can't do that."
"Yes, I can, brother mine. That's one MacAllister promise that you don't have to keep. I'm here because I choose to be. It's my decision and my responsibility. Whatever happens, if anything ever happens, it's my decision. You did your best to make me change my mind. So now, it's on my shoulders. Not yours. You hear me?"
He didn't reply.
"Crockett Allen MacAllister, you'd best listen to me!" Sarabeth insisted and lifted an eyebrow at him in warning. "You hear me?"
He arched an eyebrow back at her in reply.
"You want to arm wrestle for it?"
At these words, her brother grinned, "You'd lose. And then I'd have to explain to Mama how I broke your arm." He nodded in reluctant agreement. "I hear you, Sarabeth. But that doesn't mean I'm going to break that promise, either."
"I don't really expect you to. Just," she gazed at him in loving concern, "try not to worry about me so much, OK?"
"I can try to do that," the Texan replied. He gave his sister another hug. "Reckon I'll go see Kellye, now."
"Yes, go see Kellye," Sarabeth instructed. "We moved her cot over to my tent to give her a chance to rest. Go talk to her, hold her hand, make her laugh and let her make you laugh, too. Get some sleep, if you can." With a mischievous smile, she added, "Watch out for Ernie."
"Ernie?" MacAllister asked, "That little brown and white dog you adopted?"
"Or he adopted me. I'm not sure which." She grinned, "Since the rains started, he has moved in my tent. He makes all the rounds to get scraps and then come back to the ranch house to spend the night."
"So, he's become a pooch mooch?" The older MacAllister also grinned.
"He has. He also doesn't take too kindly to being disturbed from one of his naps.
Therefore, I'm fixing to let you two males snarl at each other to decide who is top dog. I'm betting on Ernie, by the way."
Crockett asked, "And why is that?" Some of his weariness was slipping away as he responded to his sister's teasing.
"Because, big brother, as far as I know, you don't lift your leg and pee on someone's pants leg when you're riled." Sarabeth smirked. "He's won two arguments that way, already."
"With whom?" He asked with amusement returning to his voice.
"Parnelli. Both times."
The Texan roared with laughter. "I like that dog more and more." He tenderly kissed her forehead. "Don't worry; little sister. I reckon there won't be a bone of contention between the two of us. I'm going to see Kellye." As he headed out the door, he turned, "Fannin's sleeping out in his chopper, if you want to see him. But he's been acting meaner than a rattle snake with a tooth ache. So approach him carefully."
Lieutenant MacAllister hobbled into Corporal Klinger's office. "Howdy, Detective," she called to the man, "Do you reckon you have time to perform another job for me?"
"For you, lady," the man reached for his special brown hat, "Detective Sam Klinger, is always at your service."
"Thanks." She smiled but added seriously, "This may go under the heading of hazardous duty, however."
"I understand," the man replied. "Do you need some one bumped off?"
"No, just given a wake up call. My brother, Fannin, is asleep in that helicopter up there and I can't get up the hill on crutches. Would you get on the radio and tell him his little sister wants to see him and he had best get down here to talk to me."
"That's all? That doesn't sound dangerous to me."
"You don't know that particular brother of mine," she warned. "If he gets to cussing you too much, tell him, I said, 'pretty please'."
Soon afterwards, inside the helicopter, two men prepared to take off. "Did she try to release you from your promise, too?" One brother asked with his slow drawl.
"Yep," was the laconic reply from the other brother.
"And, are you going to forget that promise?"
"Nope. Are you?"
"Nope."
The Texas brothers grinned at each other.
"We're burning daylight. Let's go."
