Chapter 1

Finding a safe place

It is Korea, 1950, and the personnel of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is milling around, keeping themselves busy in between sessions in the O.R.

Captains Trapper John McIntyre and Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce are playing golf when one of Trapper's shots lands in the minefield and blows up.

Hawkeye is bored out of his skull, after a couple of weeks in this hellhole, he was losing himself to dirt, dried blood, and rodents around here. He was starting feeling down, working without accomplishing anything except saving the lives of the soldiers, who in return got sent back to the front to kill some more and to get wounded again.

The busy hours in the O.R seemed to go on forever and when there was nothing to do, the minutes crawled by, being so bored that watching the cockroaches is entertaining. So killing time and killing landmines was a win-win situation.

Hawkeye is just about to start his round of golf, he is trying to outmatch Trapper by hitting the next landmine. Swinging his club he heard Radar calling.

"Attention all personnel, incoming choppers. I repeat, incoming choppers"

Radar acquired his nickname because he was seemingly endowed with ESP, appearing at his CO's side before being called, anticipating his needs, and even finishing his sentences. He also had superhuman hearing, as he was able to hear incoming helicopters before anyone else could.

And incoming choppers meant wounded people, so, playtime was over and surgery began.

Dropping his club, he immediately rushed over for triage, picking the right order for them to be operated on. The people with the most severe wound went first, minor wounds could wait.

He felt so much anger toward the war, every time he saw the wounded, Most of them were just kids, barely 18 years old, and they shouldn't be killed or be killed at al. Their families wanted them home, and it was killing Hawkeye to see them hurt or worse, to see Dead win sometimes.

Everyone rushed to the chopper pad and started to get the wounded inside the O.R. Each person has his function and purpose, working like a well-oiled machine together.

Two more busses rode in after the choppers, this was usually the case. A lot of people got hurt in wartime, not just the soldiers but civilian people just as much.

This time however it was a group of soldiers from the front, there is a battle going on trying to siege a bridge. Not that Hawkeye cared about some bridge, he thought the whole war was one tremendous waste of time and lives. He didn't become a doctor for this useless violence. But here he was, patching kids back together.

He rushed to the first bus to start triage. The first man he checked was already dead so he put a tag and moved on.

He couldn't afford to get sad or angry, he was needed right now and people were dying. Even though it killed him a little every time.

The next guy is more in shock than hurt, he only got a wound on his shoulder.

"You're going to be fine, I will personally hand you, your private nurse and everything" Hawkeye got a shaking smile for that one, and that made him a bit happy, trying to make the soldier and himself forget just for a couple of seconds where they are.

He handed the guy over to the nearest nurse giving his instruction to have him seated. He needed to wait till the severe causes were helped.

Moving to the next patient, Hawkeye noted that this man was not as lucky as the guy before him.

The soldier had some really bad chest and belly wounds. And needed immediate attention to those. The soldier made some weird dry gurgling sound.

Hawkeye quickly started to stop the bleeding, pressing new sterile gauze over wounds after he removed some of the blood-soaked older ones.

The wounded soldiers first got to battalion 8, or a medic who was present at the front, and there they would be made ready and stable enough to travel. But they didn't have time or the resources to stop the bleeding completely, just enough to get them stable and transferred to the nearest mash unit.

He didn't notice the little boy standing a foot away from him, hiding in the darkness of the bus, keeping quiet and making sure he didn't get noticed.

The child was glad the sounds of the war were further away here. But he didn't like all these new people, he didn't trust any of them. He knew people to be cruel. So he decided to watch the new man who entered the bus, he was instructed to stay with this soldier a couple of weeks ago and he did just that, he would not misbehave and get people angry with him. He just hoped this new man would leave soon.

Hawkeye knew this man had a big chance of dying, but he refused to accept that. Not after at least trying everything he had. He eyed the man's face, normal-looking, young as well. But they're always too young to be coming here.

"This guy needs to go first, he can't wait! I'll take him. Get him on a table as soon as possible!" Hawkeye shouted

Jumping a little at the sudden shout, the boy tried to get his fear and panic under control. That was scary! He didn't expect that. His small damp hands shook a little and he felt his insides go cold when he felt the eyes of the man on him. He was seen! And he looked straight at him, the man's eyes were gentle and blue. Still, that meant nothing, he knew for a fact people could not be trusted.

At the movement of the jump, Hawkeye finally notices the little boy.

There he was, just a step to his right, hidden in the shadows between the seats. The child was looking right at him with big blue eyes, he got the deer in the headlight look at the moment.

With pale skin and hollow cheeks, this child did not look healthy, and he was way too skinny for Hawkeye's liking.

The little boy looked terrified, and Hawkeye felt a pang of sadness for him, such a sweet-looking child here in the middle of all this blood, violence, and killing. He also was very filthy, dirt and dried blood covered multiple body parts. A big dirt spot on his left cheek.

He looked like he was about 7 or 8 years old. A simple dirty and slightly torn "used to be" white t-shirt and brown pants were everything the kid wore. He didn't even wear shoes. A lot of red flags waved in Hawkeye's mind, he knew this kid needed help.

With blond hair and blue eyes, this kid was not a Korean child. He could of course have been born in this country by non-Korean parents but by the looks of it, the parents were gone a long time, noting how skinny the child was.

"I got him," Margaret the head nurse said. Snapping Hawkeye out of his thoughts. She quickly and effectively got the patient on a stretcher and started moving him toward the O.R.

"Hey, are you hurt? Hawkeye said, putting his attention back on the child. The boy remained quiet and just looked at him with fear but also a hint of curiosity. Hawkeye felt really uneasy about this, something was so wrong with this.

"What are you doing here? Did you come with that man?" Hawkeye pointed to the man who was being moved to the O.R.

The boy briefly looked at the patient riding away, then back to Hawkeye, he started to get more nervous, what did this guy want from him? He needed to follow the soldier but he was afraid of this man looking at him.

He decided he isn't brave enough to run so he would wait and see what would happen. His body trembled, he knew he had no control whatsoever over things that would happen, but he learned to stay out of trouble by not being heard or seen.

The child didn't react at all, he kept looking at Hawkeye with big blue eyes. He just seems to be in shock or something like that. Hawkeye didn't know any psychology but he'd seen that look before on some of the soldiers.

"I don't have time for this," Hawkeye mumbled to himself.

"Stay in the neighborhood! I'm going to check you over and make sure you are not hurt, okay? But first I'm needed."

Without another word, Hawkeye turned and jogged to the scrubbing area. He wondered about the kid though. What was an American child doing in the Korean war? And at the front at that. How did he end up here?

The boy watched the doctor go. A surge of fear flared through him, he was instructed to stay with that man on the stretcher, but the doctor intrigued him a little. Now that the man walked away, he had a feeling of wanting to stay close to him, a fear of being left alone.

He quickly and quietly left the bus and followed behind the man, making sure to stay a few feet away from anyone. He didn't want any trouble, and most people meant trouble.

Running into the room and putting away his Hawaiian print t-shirt, Hawkeye turned around and almost ran over the boy, who he didn't notice followed him here.

The boy quickly moved out of the way with big scared eyes.

The boy almost panicked when the doctor turned, and he almost ran into the man. Jumping out of the way he felt his heart go wild like crazy, that was close! He wouldn't know what the man would do if he was angry and he didn't want to find out.

" What's your name?" Hawkeye tried just as Trapper walked in to change as well.

The boy felt a cold shiver go down his spine as a new man entered the room. This one looked at him with curiosity in his eyes.

" What's this kid doing here? " Trapper asked

" I don't know, I found him on the first bus, but he is not saying or doing anything. Hawkeye said while giving the boy a questioning look, trying to get some sort of reaction from the boy.

Hawkeye noticed the child got a shade paler after Trapper entered the room, and now he got the scared wildlife look again.

Hawkeye got up after he was completely in his scrubs, walked to the sink, and turned on the water.

The child immediately followed Hawkeye to the sink, staying at a safe distance from the man, but watching every move he made.

The child looked at him but other than that remained quiet.

Hawkeye started to wash his arms and hands, getting ready to operate on the man, he looked at the little boy who was watching him.

Hawkeye stuck out his tongue making a rude sound trying to get the boy to laugh, but it had a whole different effect than Hawkeye wanted.

The child made a startled sound and took a step back. Fear was constant in his eyes but some confusion shone through as well.

The poor kid looks terrified, Hawkeye thought

At the sound, the child's heart almost stopped, what on earth was that? His fear subdued a little after the man smiled, so at least he knew it was not an angry face he made.

Hawkeye had briefly looked the child over earlier and he did not seem to be hurt. "Are you hurt?" Hawkeye asked anyway.

The boy didn't want to speak, he couldn't even if he wanted to, he was just too afraid. He didn't want any sort of reaction from these people. So he just kept quiet, not daring to move.

"Where do you think the kid came from?" Trapper said now standing next to the other man and starting to wash his hands and arms in the same matter. Hawkeye just shrugged.

" What on earth is this child doing here? " Margaret said.

The little boy got a shade paler and moved out of her way.

This woman looked and sounded angry. The boy felt scared, he didn't know if the woman was angry at him, so he just kept quiet and stayed at a safe distance.

"This is no place for a child, where did you come from?" she demanded while she helped the doctors to their gloves, trying to keep everything sterile and clean.

The child remained silent, fear written on his face.

"We don't know Margaret, I found him on the first bus, he is not saying anything but I do think he understands us." Hawkeye said "he came in with that guy I think. Pointing his head to the O.R But I don't know for sure. " He said before his mouth mask was put in place.

"He's dirty," Margaret said, making a disgusted face.

"Margaret! He is just a little boy, I will get him clean after this, don't you need to get the patient ready or something." Hawkeye replied slightly angry at the nurse, he thought he saw a flash of hurt in the kid's eyes at her words, the boy didn't need that right now.

Margaret huffed and left the room with an angry stride. And with one last worried look towards the kid, Hawkeye followed the nurse and made his way to the operation room.

He wanted to help the child, but the soldiers had priority, so the boy needed to wait. Hawkeye couldn't wait for this O.R session to be over, not that he would rush anything, he needed to be quick but thorough.

He wanted to get the boy to be fed and clean though, he already started to care about the child. The kid must have had a difficult life if he was so scared of everything.

Hawkeye always wanted kids of his own later in life with the right woman but she had yet to arrive. He thought that after the war he could start thinking of starting a family. If of course the right woman would be found. He would be turning 29 on his next birthday and he knew he still had plenty of time to start a family, but this boy got his protective fatherly instincts triggered.

He didn't notice the boy followed them to the O.R as well.

Margaret was getting the patient under anesthesia when he saw the child. The boy looked terrified and it was getting to Hawkeye's heartstrings. But he couldn't afford to be emotional right now, so he pushed the feelings down. The child was dirty and could contaminate the whole O.R.

"Can someone please get this child out of here" he demanded loudly.

The boy jumped a little at the stern loud voice of the man, looking at the man to see his expression he calmed down a little as the man did not look angry. Even though the boy only saw the doctor's eyes above his mask, he saw that they looked friendly.

"Let me," Francis Patrick Mulcahy, commonly known as Father Mulcahy said. He is the US Army chaplain assigned to the 4077th. He's a soft-spoken man who also helped the orphans in the area.

The child saw the smiling blond man with glasses coming his way, his heart racing as the man came nearer.

As The Father walked toward the boy he made sure he kept his body language friendly and reassuring, so as to not startle the boy. He noted immediately that this was a traumatized child. He saw the same look over and over, in some of the orphan's eyes, the horrors of this war are very traumatizing for children.

"Come with me, you look like you would like something to eat. Don't you? We can go to the mess hall if you're hungry. " he said reassuringly.

The man was now only a foot away from the boy, panic stepped in and took control of his body making the child jump hastily back. The blond man however kept taking steps forwards.

The boy kept a steady distance from the man, quickly stepping back every step the Father made. He was back in the scrubbing room within seconds.

"I think you should eat something, but I got the feeling you wouldn't listen to me anyway." Francis offered with a gentle smile, just to make sure the child wouldn't think he was angry or disappointed.

" If you don't want to eat, how about a shower? Or a latrine break?"

No! No no, I need to stay with that man. The child thought, as shook his head just barely, but enough to be understood.

Francis smiled, letting the boy know he was happy with the communication.

"If you don't want to go elsewhere, you have to wait here, you are not sterile and you could hurt the patients" Francis explained

He doesn't seem to be hurt, Francis thought.

The boy simply kept quiet looking a bit irritated even. Francis sighed.

"Can you understand me, why don't you say something?"

The boy stiffened at the question, he knew enough basic English to understand some words and sentences but he didn't dare to make a sound.

After getting no reaction at all from the boy Francis started to get down to eye level with the child.

To close, to close!! The boy thought before his nerve got the best of him and he hastily moved around the man back to the O.R.

Hawkeye saw the boy enter the O.R again. He sighed.

The kid probably wanted to stay with the soldier, but if the kid wanted to stay he needed to be scrubbed and clean while wearing the right clothing to be able to sit in the O.R without contaminating the patients.

Hawkeye quickly formulated a plan, any plan, because time was not to be wasted.

Francis quickly followed the boy into the O.R. He walked in on Hawkeye telling Margaret to keep the patient steady to get him under while he walked to the boy. Hawkeye approached the boy with his hands up to keep his gloves from getting contaminated with bacteria. He herded the kid the same way as The Father did while remaining quiet.

The child panicked a little, Oh no! The doctor man was heading his way, his breathing hitched as he watched the man step in front of him. He stepped backward till they stepped into the scrubbing area.

Going to the sink Hawkeye turned on the water, then he pointed to the boy "you" he said gently then pointed at the sink and said "wash". Hawkeye assumed he would be answered with a blank stare from the boy not really sure the boy understood them, but instead he looked with amazement as the boy jumped into action and started cleaning his hands.

The boy knew what that meant, thinking a second to look for soap but didn't dare to disobey for a second longer, the boy hastily started rinsing his arms and hands.

So he does understand me, Hawkeye noted. "Don't forget your face, you got some smudges" showing the spot on his face.

He pointed to the soap "And use soap!" Hawkeye said and the child complied.

"You need to scrub higher, till your elbows," he said and showed the kid.

The child obeyed the man perfectly, he felt relieved to be clean again, it's been so many hours since the last time he washed himself. At the front, they eat en clean between the battles but this battle had been going at a steady pace for hours. There wasn't a lot of wounded on their side, but he didn't know for sure, he just stayed at the soldier's side, just like he was told to, even after he saw the man get shot in the belly.

Hawkeye called for a nurse and told her to get him ready to enter the O.R.

The nurse approached the scared child gently and slowly got him a clean army t-shirt to wear and scrubs on top of that. She rolled up the sleeves and gently put on the gloves. And the mask was placed and fastened behind his head. The child was so scared it was shaking a bit, but he accepted the help of the nurse, or maybe he just was too scared to object.

After he was ready the child was guided back to the O.R and placed on a chair they got placed for him.

Letting out a breath of relief that he was able to stay with the man once more. He knew he had to stay with the soldier, but he wanted to stay more with the doctor. This was the first man in, as long as he could remember, who didn't hurt other people. The boy knew that would change, they all did. Harming, stealing, destroying, and killing was normal, but this doctor was not. And the child was amazed by the people around him who were trying to help these soldiers. He couldn't remember people helping other people.

Hawkeye just opened the man op with his scalpel when he saw the kid enter the room. The poor kid looks so small in these big clothes, the mask almost sliding off his face. He felt a stab of affection for the kid.

He knew an operating room is not a good place for a child, but the kid was scared and must be connected to this guy for some reason. They didn't look related in any way, but until the boy or the soldier spoke, he couldn't know. And Hawkeye just hoped he could get this man stable enough to tell him about it. Hawkeye wanted answers, and the child must be worried for the man, sadness filled Hawkeye because he just didn't know if the man would make it.

The small boy stayed in the O.R the whole time, he didn't follow the guy he came in with to the recovery room.

Francis asked the child a couple of times about a latrine break, after the first two times of saying no, the third time the boy gave a tiny nod.

The child knew the words bathroom break and latrine and he needed to go badly, but he was a bit afraid of leaving the doctor. After the third time, he finally nodded, needing to go badly.

"Follow me, " Francis said and motioned for the boy to follow.

The boy looked at Hawkeye as if he was determining the man would still be here when he came back.

" I will be here the whole night to entertain my fans, " Hawkeye said making a motion to the patient. And giving his best smile, even though the mask hide it, his eyes showed.

The boy made up his mind and followed The Father out of the O.R.

The father led the child to the latrines. Which were basically holes in the ground with little wooden sheds over them.

"Here you go, you just do your business, and I will be waiting here.

Maybe after that, we could get you something to eat." Francis voiced hopefully giving the small boy a reassuring smile.

But the child quickly shook his head with a scared expression.

No way! He was not leaving the doctor.

"No to eating, but are you going to use the latrine? " Francis smiled with a motion to the latrine in front of the boy.

The boy held up his gloved hands with a questioning look.

" Oh that's silly of me!" he chuckled, helping the boy out of his gloves.

"You need to wash them again later okay? "

The boy nodded and looked at the latrine, he seemed to think about it. Slowly he crept closer and decided it was safe, so he went inside.

The Father waited patiently thinking about the boy. He knew some orphanages in the neighborhood if the child didn't have any living parents left, but a non-Korean or a mixed-blooded child would not have a good life there. They were considered the outcasts of society and often got harsh treatment everywhere they went. That would not be a good option, maybe some farmers around the mash unit wanted to adopt him. But with the war going on, it was unlikely considering most people didn't have enough food as it is. The best option was getting the child to the states, but how were they going to do that? No known parents or family.

"You're sure you don't want to eat something?" Francis asked after the boy reappeared.

A tiny shake of his head was the only answer Francis got before the child quickly ran back to the O.R.

When Francis entered the scrubbing area he saw the child washing his hands. He smiled and nodded in approval. The boy immediately seemed relieved after that nod.

After The Father helped the boy with new gloves he led the child back to the O.R and the chair that they had placed for him hours earlier.

Hawkeye saw the boy enter and smiled at the kid.

The child gave no reaction at all, he just watched the doctor work, unmoving as though he was afraid it was not allowed.

After Hawkeye finished with the man, they transported him to the recovery room. He was stable at the moment, but he was still not sure if he will survive. The man was still sedated and healing from the multiple operations. He asked the nurse who was bringing the next patient in, to notify him as soon as the first man woke up.

After the last patient was done, Hawkeye groaned and started to peel off his surgeon gloves. After dressing back in their civilian clothes Trapper and Hawkeye left the O.R building, the young child following. The child was wearing a clean army t-shirt the nurse earlier gave him, which of course was way too big, but at least it was clean.

He wanted the child fed and showered, for the O.R he only cleaned his face, neck, arms, and hands.

Walking out of the O.R Trapper was flirting already with a nurse who amazingly flirted back, she must be new he thought.

He looked at the child who was walking next to him, Hawkeye tried to say something to the boy but was interrupted by Major Frank Burns and Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan.

"Pierce! Hold on" Burns called out.

"Oh lay off Frank, I just had a long day in the office,"

Hawkeye said. He had enough to worry about, he wanted to get the child fed and looked over. He was starting to feel a bit protective of the small boy. He also needed to fix some better pants for him if he could.

"Your conduct in there was not only unbecoming of an officer, it was equally reprehensible as a medical man!" Burns declared angry.

Talking about the jokes Hawkeye threw at frank during the session. They were often about Frank and the way he worked or even talked, maybe more about him talking, he says a lot of stupidity.

"Frank, I happen to be an officer, only because I foolishly opened an invitation from President Truman to come to this costume party. And for my ability as a doctor if you seriously question that, I'm afraid I just have to challenge you to a duel."

Hawkeye replied. Trapper standing next to Hawkeye with an arm over a nurse replied. "Swords or pistols " giving the nurse a goofy grin. The nurse gave Trapper his arm back and left. he watched her go, not caring.

" I was thinking of specimen bottles, at least 20 paces." Hawkeye gave Frank an angry serious look.

" There are ladies present." Frank prompted.

Hawkeye looked around seeing the boy, seeing Trapper as well, but no ladies. He turned back towards Frank and acted startled that there was a lady present.

"Ohh sorry baby." Hawkeye said, not looking sorry at all.

Margaret's face turned even angrier than before. " Major to you, " she said sternly. Knowing she did outrank him in this army.

"Why sorry, Major baby." Hawkeye replied while turning to leave. He gestured to the boy to follow but Frank had something to say.

"You're both a disgrace to this outfit!"

"Aww come on, Frank!" Hawkeye started to get irritated, turned toward Frank and said.

" We've all had 12 hours straight of meatball surgery in there. My brain is sending me urgent rest telegrams. And I still need to look over this kid" Pointing to the boy who was waiting patiently but almost bolted at the pointed finger. It broke Hawkeye's heart to see that much fear in a small child.

Hawkeye turned his attention back to the terror couple.

"You must be tired too, after all that malpractice you put in."

" You're dismissed." Margaret said, not giving Frank the time to respond.

" Thanks mother, We gotta get up early anyway and fix MacArthur's hernia. " Hawkeye said sarcastically

"Come on Mary!" Hawkeye said to Trapper bumping shoulders together and holding his head high while turning around and heading to the mess hall. Trapper imitates the gesture, turning as well.

The boy hurriedly followed the doctor.

He didn't understand the whole conversation but he knew that he wanted to go with the doctor and leave the two angry people behind.

Opening the door of the mess hall, Hawkeye noticed that the boy stopped walking, he appeared to be frightened to enter the new building. He looked at Hawkeye waiting for the man to say or do something.

" Come on, it's safe. The only thing that could kill you there, is the food itself. You also have to wrestle with the rats for the good pieces of food, if you want to survive." Hawkeye smiled at the kid, letting him know he was only joking.

" It's okay" he tried again in a soothing voice, reassuring the child. "I promise Okay, I will keep the mean people away, even if I have to beat them off me with a stick."

The boy gave a light nod making up his mind and stepped forwards, Hawkeye held the door open and walked through after the boy and almost ran over the kid, who again stood still. Hawkeye grabbed the kid's shoulder just in time to steady him and prevented the kid from falling flat on his nose.

Entering the building the boy stopped at the sight of so many unknown people here and it scared him immensely. Not even a second later he felt himself being pushed and held steady by his shoulders by the doctor.

Panic filled the child, he didn't dare to move, afraid of getting hit or hurt any other way.

Hawkeye felt the small body stiffen at the physical contact, and the breathing speed up, the boy took a hitching breath.

" It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, I just wanted to make sure you didn't fall. " Hawkeye gently stirred the child to a less crowded spot. Because the mess hall is where everyone eats, there were quite some people sitting together on the lang tables eating and talking.

The boy let himself be stirred by the man, he didn't dare to disobey even if he wanted to.

While not letting go of the boy Hawkeye sat down on the bench and positioned the kid to look at him. The kid's face was a bit flushed and again, the wildlife look in his blue eyes. Hawkeye's heart broke a little at the sight of it.

Making calming sounds and moving his hands up and down gently over the child's upper arms. He was happy the child seemed to calm down a little.

The boy was stiff but accepted the touch, he didn't dare to object, but it also made him feel a bit safer and calmed him down a little. The sound that the doctor was making stirred up some vague memories of better times. The boy couldn't remember though, he had that often, thinking he was remembering something only to have it blocked before it could materialize into something.

" You're okay, it's fine. The smell is quite a shock, isn't it? I promise it's not only the food but the people too, and the latrines if the wind blows from the east." Hawkeye said

He looked around for Trapper and found him standing in the food line. Trapper carried three food trays and was having an argument about it with Igor who was the one serving the food. Getting irritated, Trapper points Hawkeye out for Igor, which was a nervous thing to watch, juggling the trays. But finally, he was allowed the three full trays.

Hawkeye got the boy calmed down a little, his breathing was back to normal just like the color on his face.

"Yeah you're doing fine. It's okay I promise. Please sit here and your food will be served."

Hawkeye said with a soothing tone while making room for the boy to sit.

The boy complied and sat down next to the doctor, he was a bit scared to be so close, but the man seemed to want him to be sitting there. So it would be best to listen to the man. The man still seemed nice and the boy was a bit astonished by that.

"Can you tell me your name? Hawkeye asked the boy.

The boy looked at him with a blank expression.

Hawkeye knew something was wrong, he'd seen that look on some of the soldiers who came around here.

Hawkeye also noted that the child had that blank look mostly when asked about himself. They would need a psychologist for this, but without knowing the connection between the kid and the soldier, they couldn't call in a man, if the soldier was a family member or something like that.

Trapper appeared carrying the three food trays. He placed one in front of the child, gave one the Hawkeye, and took a seat himself.

The small boy looked at the food, he was so hungry but he didn't dare to touch any of it. He looked at the doctor and he got a nod.

"Well, eat up!" Hawkeye told the child.

The boy felt relieved to be allowed to eat, it's been a while. He learned to eat properly with chopsticks, but this was different. A memory wanted to resurface but got blocked before it had a chance.

He tried the utensils and found out he knew how to use them already.

He was so hungry but he didn't trust anyone here so he ate slow and steady, keeping watch on the people around them.

Hawkeye and Trapper started eating their food also, he was happy the child was eating, the boy was way too skinny. After this he would show the showers to the lad, giving him a chance to get completely clean, then Hawkeye would have a chance to check the boy for injuries.

Radar approached the three.

" Hawkeye, Hawkeye. Am I glad to find you!" the smaller man stopped near the child.

" Hey, you must be the kid everyone is talking about," Radar smiled.

"I'm Walter, but you can call me Radar, everyone does."

He held his hand out for the child to shake.

The boy jumped at the hand appearing before him and almost leaped off the bench, moving the whole table with him. The conversations around the mess hall faded to some murmurs for a second before people resumed the chitchats.

Hawkeye put his hand on the child's shoulder, the boy's face had turned pale and he started to breathe faster. Hawkeye needed that back to normal first.

" It's okay, he's not going to hurt you, kiddo. Please don't take it personally Radar, he's just scared of everyone."

"Ohh, uhh well okay, but just so you know, I wouldn't even hurt a fly, I love animals. But I understand if you are afraid, everyone is afraid once in a while. It happens" Radar said while shrugging his shoulders with an optimistic smile.

The child relaxed a little more, partly because of the comforting touch from the doctor, but also because the smaller man with glasses seemed nice. Not that he would trust the man, but for now it was okay, he was fine.

" It's still really nice to meet you, we don't get a lot of kids around here. I will show you my animals if you like them later, do you like animals?" Radar said cheerfully with a smile.

" Radar! First, he needs a shower and we need to find out where he came from! "

Hawkeye stated. "And you should eat more!"

Pointed again at the food of the boy and the child obeyed.

" Ohh that's gonna be difficult, I just talked to private Elms, you know the one with only the shoulder wound" Radar shattered

"Yeah? I know Radar, what did the man say, get to the point." hawkeye said excitedly

" Ohh, he said that, private Walker. That man from which you thought the kid came in with but didn't know for sure if the kid came with that man, you know, that man. " Radar stated

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "Radar! You're running away from any point you ever had to make, just say it."

"Well private Walker bought the kid in a small brothel. About two weeks ago"

Radar was barely understandable, he spoke so rapidly.

"WHAT! That's outrageous " Trapper said at the same time as Hawkeyes " How on earth is that even possible!"

The boy got very quiet and didn't dare to move, how did he get into a situation being surrounded by three men and two of them were shouting? He needed to be more cautious next time. His body trembled uncontrollably.

" We're living in 1950, you can't buy people, didn't we have a big war over that, did people forget or something, and are his parents there? " Hawkeye asked.

" Yeah, stuff like that doesn't just happen, not even in Korea. Right?"

Trapper added.

"I don't know, Al Elms had to say about it, that the kid was bought two weeks ago, the boy didn't have a name or not that they know of, well because he's real quiet you see, and didn't tell any name. They started calling him Christopher." Radar said.

At the sound of that name, the kid's eyes darted to Radar. He knew that name, he needed to pay attention if that name was called, they meant him with that name!

"Well at last we know a name, don't we Chris? Hawkeye said, being curious about the nickname. Chris immediately looked at the doctor, getting a rewarding smile in return.

"But why to take him away from his parents, or weren't his parents there?" Hawkeye asked.

" He said that Walker said the boy had no parents and was lost. Walker was trying to get the kid to an orphanage, but the kid refused to go."

Radar said

Hawkeye looked at Chris, and Chris looked back with big blue eyes, curiosity, and a lot of fear present.

How did this boy get here, and what should they do with him? He couldn't keep the kid, they are in a war zone. And an orphanage was not a good idea, knowing how the Korean society was against non-Korean and mixed-blood children.

He would not be happy here. Sadness filled Hawkeye at the thought. The child already seemed to be through a lot, he didn't want to add to it. And maybe Chris had some family in the states, but to find that out, they needed to know where he came from.

"I can write to my wife, maybe we could adopt the boy, I know she would be open to it." Trapper replied thinking in the same line as the other doctor.

Pierce felt his anger flare, he didn't want Trapper to adopt either, even though it would be a great solution. He didn't want to admit to himself why he was feeling angry.

"You can't adopt!" Hawkeye said a bit harsher and louder than intended.

"We first need to find where he came from, maybe he got a family. And besides, he follows me around."

"I gotta go guys, talk later okay?" Radar said before leaving.

" How do you know he follows you and not me, I was there with you the whole time, " Trapper said playfully.

" I found him first, " Hawkeye said in a very childish way, he even stuck out his tongue.

Chris looked at Hawkeye with confusion, why is that man doing that, it seemed so weird for someone to do that, and still, some distant memory wanted to appear for a second but got blocked again, some feeling Chris could not place remained in his mind a couple of seconds before disappearing.

"Well, I don't think Walker is going to wake up soon, so let's get you to the showers" Hawkeye stood up from the bench to put away the trays, Chris immediately stood up as well and followed. Hawkeye turned towards Trapper and said," Told you so" made a face at the other man and left the building with Chris on his heels.

Nearing the men's showers Hawkeye noted that Chris stopped walking. He looked at the youngster.

" What's the problem? " Chris looked scared all of a sudden.

" It's okay, see." he opened the door and stepped in, he held the door open to let Chris take a look inside.

Chris slowly stepped to the door and peeked inside. He saw nobody, there were only three shower stalls. Chris looked underneath the short wood walls, the stalls were made of, to check for people who could be hiding. Hawkeye's heart broke a little at the sight, he resisted the urge to give the child a big hug. The man knew he needed to take small steps with Chris, as scared as he was.

Chris didn't see any feet or legs so nobody was hiding in there, he stepped inside. He doesn't know what kind of room this was, but the doctor, which people called Hawkeye apparently, wanted him inside so he did.

After Chris entered, Hawkeye walked to one of the stalls and turned the water on.

Chris almost got a heart attack, he had never seen anything like this before, he looked in amazement at the steam coming from it, instant hot water was not something he knew. but still, it seemed a bit familiar, it puzzled Chris why he would feel that way. Touching the water carefully.

"Okay, in there you go, don't forget the soap " Pierce made a motion towards the soap.

Chris knew what that meant and he, eager to obey, walked into the shower stall fully with clothes. Hawkeye quickly grabbed the boy's t-shirt and pulled him back before he had the chance to step under the water.

He felt the boy turn rigid with the unexpected touch, he got stiff as a board but didn't make any noise. Hawkeye noted he got pale, and his blank stare returned. Hawkeye sighed inwardly at himself for not thinking about explaining, Chris needed a lot of things explained, he didn't seem to know a lot about American living, and he was pretty impressed with the shower.

Chris was shocked about the sudden thought, he thought he did what he was supposed to do, but now Hawkeye seemed angry with him. Christopher knew what to do in situations like this, he got real quiet and waited for the unavoidable pain of punishment. Not daring to even move a muscle.

"Chris, it's okay. Hawkeye said in a soothing voice. Sliding his hands over the boys' shoulders up and down for comfort. He turned Chris around to face him, and gave the boy a big smile. Letting him know he was truly not angry with him. " I'm not mad, kiddo. But you don't want to get your clothes wet, do you? "

Chris looked at his clothes, he didn't think of that, he was so used to doing what he was told.

"You need to learn to think for yourself kid, I will try to help you with that, okay? "

Chris looked at the man, he saw honesty but didn't trust that. how is he going to do that, for a second Chris felt fear because Hawkeye wanted something he didn't know he could provide. He often lost his thinking and got blank. It just seems to get blocked and fall away.

"You don't need to be scared, I'm not a bad guy. I promise I'm not mad either " Hawkeye explained

He took hold of Chris his new t-shirt and pulled it over his head gently. Chris looked scared still, but he had his normal color back and his eyes watched every move with clarity.

" Are you going to remove your pants yourself or do you need help?" Hawkeye knew Christ probably didn't need help with undressing but he wanted to at least offer.

Chris his small hands opened the old worn pants and he stepped out of them. Chris felt his face start to burn, even the tips of his ears burned, this was embarrassing. He didn't wear any underwear, the pants and shirt were all he had.

"Don't worry, I'm a doctor, you got nothing on you, I haven't seen you before. You don't want to know how many buts I have seen during my internship of becoming a doctor." He laughed "I've seen so many wrinkled old butts, it's not even funny anymore." while distracting Chris with his talking, Hawkeye checked the boy's body for bruises or wounds. Besides the few scratches and small wounds, the boy also had some yellow old bruises, but not a lot. He did see some scars and one of his lower ribs seemed a bit crooked.

"Will you let me look at that?" Hawkeye asked Chris. Chris didn't know what Hawkeye meant by that but he didn't get the time to panic about it, as Hawkeye gently put his hand over the small torso.

" Does this hurt?" he asked Chris while gently adding pressure to the small rib. Chris didn't give any indication of pain. The rib was a bit crooked but nothing seemed to be loose so nothing was broken at the moment, the rib was probably already healed. He needs to get an x-ray to be sure.

Deciding that could wait he opened the stall door once again and made a motion towards the water. "Okay you jump in, and I will wait here. After that, we're going to the Swamp."

Chris was happy the man seemed pleased and stepped under the spraying water and Hawkeye closed the stall door, Christopher was so small that only his feet and legs were visible underneath the wooden short walls of the stall. Hawkeye handed Chris the soap noting he couldn't reach it on his own.

Chris took the soap happily, the water felt great and he was tired of feeling dirty. A sigh escaped.

Hawkeye was speaking in the background but the water made it difficult to hear, and besides that, Chris was tired, he wanted to stop thinking for a minute.

Bang!*

A loud bang echoed through the room, Chris almost slipped and banged his head, but Hawkeye was quick enough to hold his arm out and catch the boy around the collarbone.

" Hawkeye, I'm sorry, but private Walker didn't make it. He was there one second and next he was gone. I'm sorry hawkeye" Radar announced sadly. Being the one slamming the door.

Hawkeye felt his anger rise and before he knew it, slammed his hand on the wood.

"Darn it! I thought I had him, I thought he was safe!"

He put his hand on his head and gave a tired sigh.

He looked at Chris, who looked startled.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I'm not mad at you, I promise you"

He gave Christopher a gentle smile, making the boy calm down a little.

"You did everything you could have done, Henry even said that."

Radar said with a sad expression

Hawkeye let his arm fall beside him.

" I know, but maybe I needed to do more. Radar could you look through his possessions for me? I want any information about Chris."

"Already did, I found a little notebook, but it's not a lot. I placed it on your bunk."

"Radar, you are like the teddy bear I never had, I could hug the stuffing out of you right now."

Radar looked at the man horrified.

"If I can be selfish, would you also find me some pants for Chris to wear? Any shorts or small pants, you can ask the nurses or maybe find a local tailor. Maybe he can borrow some of yours, you both got the same size."

Hawkeye said with a grin.

"Ohh, boy that's real nice! asking a favor and insulting me at the same time, and stop making fun of my height. It's not funny."

Radar said agitated while leaving the room with a huff.

Now they needed a plan, Chris needed a place to stay and be a normal kid, he was supposed to have fun and enjoy this time in his life, you're only a child once.

The best option was the states but to do that, someone first needed to adopt the boy, which would be tricky not knowing if the parents are still alive. Christopher needed to talk first, and that wouldn't be easy either because he was repressing some kind of memories. That blank stare appeared every time he asked about Chris, his parents, his family, or his name. And to help Chris they needed professional help, he would call Dr. Sidney Freedman, a psychiatrist who got frequently summoned in cases of mental health problems. But for Sidney to work with Chris, they needed time, and to get that Hawkeye had to do something fast. He didn't want Chris in an orphanage, he would do anything to prevent that, even adopting the boy himself.

He planned to talk to Henry later.

Chris walked out of the shower stall with a towel around his waist looking dead tired.

First I need to get him to bed, I will get a spare bunk bed in the swamp. Second, they needed Sidney, he needed to work with the child to find out what happened.

He handed Chris his clothes back and took the towel to dry the boy's hair, without thinking.

Chris almost had a panic attack when Hawkeye ruffled his hair with the towel, he relaxed the moment he knew what the man was doing. It felt familiar, but he couldn't remember.

After Chris got dressed they walked to the Swamp, getting inside hawkeye noted immediately that there already was a second bunk.

Chris looked around the room, there were four beds, two of them on his right, placed a foot apart from each other. And in the further corner Trapper sat on a bunk as well. Between those bunk beds stood a device Chris didn't know. The last bed was on his left, which was empty at the moment.

He looked at the nearest bed, he was so tired. He was full and clean and it made him sleepy, and it's been a long time since he slept.

Trapper shrugged his shoulders and said. "He kept following you, I thought he would sleep here for a while as well. And I heard about Walker. Do you already know what you are going to do with him?"

"Wel, first Chris needs to get some sleep." hoping Trapper got the hint about not wanting to discuss it with Christopher present. He gave Chris a clean boxer to wear instead of his pants and laid out the blanket and pillow before gesturing for Chris to lay down.

The t-shirt Chris wore fell to his knees, so he could keep his modesty while changing. After putting on the boxers Chris got into bed, and hawkeye pulled the blankets up to tug him in. "Goodnight," he said, brushing Chris's hair.

Trapper handed Hawkeye a homemade martini from their still and sat down next to him.

Chris felt his eyelids close on their own, he was so tired, it has been so long since he slept in a bed. It was so soft and he even felt safe, Hawkeye and the rest of this place didn't hurt him yet, and he sort of liked the small reassuring touches, they made him feel protected and cared for. He also started to like the man. With a sigh, he fell asleep.

Pierce watched the small boy sleep.

"You want to keep him," Trapper announced with a twinkle in his eye.

"No, I don't! They wouldn't let a single man adopt a child anyway."

Pierce grumbled

"Normally no, but this is not normal, the little fellow follows you everywhere, he's sticking like glue. Maybe if we find his family though."

Trapper rambled on, while Hawkeye picked up the little worn notebook from his bunk, he almost forgot about it.

He started reading, ignoring Trapper for a moment.

The handwriting was reasonable, a bit stirred up at some points.

Date: September 1, 1950

I found a small child in a brothel near one of the fighting zones. The woman there said he was an American and he was lost, she told me his parents died and he lost his family. He is about 9 years old but he looks younger. I had to buy him, I don't know why I needed to spend money, but I didn't want to leave the child behind. They told me he didn't have a name and because I was taking him with me, I called him after my father Christopher.

Date: September 2, 1950

Getting Chris to listen is not a problem, leaving him alone is, he follows me everywhere, and I'm worried about the upcoming battle. Maybe I could find a safe building near the front, or find a family for him.

Date: September 4, 1950

I don't know what I was thinking, now I got a small boy at the front during battles. I tried to leave him at a nearby building and told him I would be back for him, but he followed me back to the front, and now we are sitting in a foxhole together and there's a lot of shooting going around.

Date: September 6, 1950

We won the battle, killed some of the gooks myself, and lost a couple of men on our side as well. Chris seems to get a weird look in his eyes sometimes, maybe he got hit on the head or something. Or maybe he's just stupid.

Being an orphan myself, I don't have any living family members. So I'm running out of options, it's quiet now the fighting has stopped but who knows for how long. I tried to take Chris to an orphanage but he followed me back, I sent him there 3 times already.

Date: September 10, 1950

I tried almost everything to get Chris out of here, but nothing is working. I don't know what to do at this point, the army can't do anything because they don't know if it's an American child. They said to find out about the kid's parents, but Chris is not speaking. And I don't have time to. The fighting will start soon again.

Hawkeye closed the book and threw it back on his bunk.

Drinking his gin martini in one go.

"Bad?"

Trapper asked looking up from his magazine.

Hawkeye threw up his arms. "At least we know not to count on the army's help in this, they don't help because Chris is maybe not American, and his parents should be found first. And Walker didn't have any family members, so that's also a lost cause."

So what they must do is find where the boy came from. But to do that, Chris has to talk and he doesn't because he is suppressing something. So basically, I need to talk to Blake, the colonel needs to turn a blind eye for a while so that Sidney has time to help him.

"I have to talk with Henry and call Sidney," he said before he left.

After a while, Sidney Freedman was called and the man agreed to come over during the next few days. He was dealing with a serious case at the moment so he needs a couple of days before he can visit.

Henry Blake agreed also to turn a blind eye, at least until Sidney got a look at him.

Hawkeye was sitting on top of Radar's desk talking with him about available local tailors for child clothes when the door opened almost silently to reveal a scared-looking Christopher, he looked around and looked relieved when he spotted Hawkeye on the desk.

Chris stood there in his, too-big clothes, to prevent his boxers from falling to the floor, Chris had hold of it with his little hand. It looked adorable but still needed to be fixed.

Hawkeye motioned Chris closer. Chris quickly obeyed.

Having Chris in front of him, Hawkeye picked up the stapler.

"Ohh come on Hawkey, don't use my stapler! I'm responsible for that, you know! " Radar tried but Hawkeye was quicker and got the stapler out of reach.

" If you offered one of your underwear, it would fit him perfectly." Hawkeye said grinning at the enlisted man. Radar gave Hawkeye a disgruntled look.

He pulled Chris's shirt up a little, but seeing the scared look of the boy hawkeye said "Don't worry I'm just gonna fix this boxer and then get you back to bed" he looked Chris in the eyes holding contact he said, "Is that okay?"

Chris gave a tiny nod, but he didn't know exactly what the man was doing, he was scared of course but hawkeye wanted this so he would accept what was going on.

Hawkeye smiled letting him know the nod was appreciated. He folded the boxer at the right size and stapled the fabric together.

"So that's better, at least for now, Radar, please let me know when you found a tailor, better yet, just sent the tailors straight to the Swamp, I will handle it "

Hawkeye said, guiding a sleepy child back towards the Swamp.

Like the notebook said, leaving Chris alone for whatever reason was proving to be difficult.

Entering the swamp, Hawkeye lifted the covers, and Chris quickly went under them. Hawkeye decided to stay till the boy was asleep, he looked exhausted.

Dead tired himself Hawkeye dropped face first on his bunk. His emotions were in an uproar, a whirlwind of different feelings ran through his head. He moved his head so he could look at the boy, an unruly mop of blond hair sticking out of the blankets.

Hawkeye wanted to keep the boy, he knew it wouldn't be possible but he wanted to. It felt great to care for someone around here which did not involve a lot of blood and death.

He liked being a dad apparently, but maybe it was his surroundings, seeing so much death and hurt. That caring for a small child seemed like a blessing.

First, they needed to find out where he came from.

With that as his last thought, Hawkeye fell asleep.