(As with Chapter 3, you can read this as is, or go to the other site for the PWP version which now includes Chapter 4)

Medical Complications - part 5

It was just as well that Charles and I took advantage of the opportunities afforded us that night, because Hell came riding in next morning, right after the Colonel got back from the 8063rd, and stayed for several weeks.

Or was it months?

It felt like forever.

I don't know how the Doctors kept going. Just when you'd get one wave of pre-op patients down to a manageable number, another bus would arrive, or the helicopters would clatter in, or a couple ambulances would pull up in the compound. My boots were sticky with a mix of mud and blood, the autoclave broke down under the strain of continuous use so we had to use alcohol from the Still to sterilize the instruments, and 3 boys died without even making it out of Pre-Op. At least there were enough nurses that Major Houlihan could order one of us to take a break occasionally - every couple days, felt like - but the Doctors just had to go on and on. There wasn't even time for them to take bathroom breaks, and I knew the situation had become really serious when I helped Hawkeye urinate into a specimen bottle while he continued to put some kid's insides back together - and Captain Quip just thanked me!

The work wasn't finished either when we eventually got to emerge from OR. Post-Op was crammed full, and more cots had been set up temporarily in the Mess Tent. Any patients who could be moved were being shipped out as fast as the buses could carry them.

Klinger phoned someone named Sparky to establish what day it was, and of course it turned out to be my day for an early turn in Post-Op.

Hawkeye was in there doing the rounds, alternating vast yawns with his usual stupid banter, and boasts about his brilliant surgical skills.

"Course, it's not just surgery I'm good at," he confided to me, as I sat down at the duty station and picked up the notes which Major Houlihan had left there. The Captain came and sat on the edge of the desk and twittered on, apparently unconcerned that I was ignoring him. "What am I saying, 'good'? I'm terrific!" He leaned closer, and I threw the notes onto the table, folded my arms and looked up at him, hoping he could read the boredom in my expression. No such luck. ''Why do you think I'm Chief Surgeon?"

"Gee, let me think... Because Major Winchester wasn't at the 4077th when you were appointed.'' It wasn't a question, and I could tell by the way his mouth pursed for a second that I'd annoyed him. I grinned. "That's what needles you about the Major, isn't it? If he'd been here instead of this Frank Burns I've heard about, he'd be Chief Surgeon, not you."

Hawkeye snorted. "What annoys me about Charles is that he's pompous and arrogant."

I shook my head .in disbelief. "Arrogant? Have you ever listened to yourself, Captain Ego?"

''Then there's my natural wit and charm," he continued, as though I'd not spoken.

"Sorry, did you say 'witless smarm'?" I retorted.

"Not to mention my other attributes." He waggled his eyebrows, suggestively.

I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, Captain, your attributes are not worth mentioning." I picked up the notes again and began to check through them before adding, wickedly, "If I can hold it in one hand, I'm not interested."

"Now that was below the belt," he said, getting off of the desk. Praise be, seemed he'd finally taken the hint! "Guess I'll just have to find someone else to love."

He went for a wander around, turning a deaf ear to my observation that he was so much in love with himself there'd never be room for anyone else in his heart. At least Charles was only arrogant about his abilities as a surgeon, he didn't assume he was God's gift to women, as Hawkeye did.

Yep - Charles was the one with the genuine charm.

-

Over the next few days, I noticed too how he fretted over one of the men he'd operated on. The guy had taken some shrapnel near the bowel, and there was serious risk of infection. But even so, I was a little surprised to see how much extra time Charles put in to monitoring his condition - and how conscientious he was too in checking on all the patients, when he was on duty in Post-Op.

The Charles Winchester I'd known in Tokyo wouldn't have spent that much time on the Wards, that was for sure. I didn't say anything to him, since I doubt he was even aware that he'd changed. But I liked what I saw. I thought it made him even sexier, and once most of the patients had been discharged, and the camp had gotten back to what passed for normal, I wasted no time in demonstrating that to him.

-

The weeks passed, and although there was no chance of developing a routine, given that no two days were the same, we did manage to fall into kind of a pattern. Casualties would arrive, get patched up, get nursed back to health and leave. Once they'd gone, and assuming another wave of wounded hadn't arrived, Charles and I would find somewhere to play out our rage and frustration and lust and passion and sheer need to demonstrate to ourselves that we were still alive and able to feel. Living daily with death, or the threat of it, does that to you. There's no room for dancing around the niceties. You just don't need them.

Mostly we had to make do with a spare mattress in the Supply Room, occasional forays into the VIP tent, or snatched moments in The Swamp. But after I'd assisted Charles in OR while he rerouted and exteriorized a colon (using a technique that was new to me) the Colonel presented us with two nights together in Seoul. Not that that was the way the Colonel regarded it, I'm sure. He just needed a surgeon and a nurse to show that new procedure to the Doctors at the Military Hospital. I guess Potter chose Charles because of his experience in demonstrating new surgical techniques. I wasn't sure why Major Houlihan had recommended that I be the accompanying nurse, but this was one assignment I had no complaints about.

-

As I was packing my bag, and wishing I had something a little more romantic than khaki to slip into, there was a knock on the door and Klinger sidled in.

"Cinderella, you shall go to the Ball!" he announced, without preamble. And from behind his back, he produced an exquisite little negligée, all sheer material and black lace.

"Why… where… it's beautiful!" I managed, once I'd gotten over the surprise. "Does this mean the Major wasn't kidding me when he told me you used to wear dresses?"

"It's true," said Klinger, looking kinda wistful. "You shoulda seen my blue satin number with matching purse and shoes. But I gave it up as a lost cause when I was dumb enough to start getting commendations noted on my file." He held up the negligée with a sigh. "So it's goodbye to all this. But it'll look better on you anyway."

"Thank you, Max, I really appreciate it," I said, taking the garment from him. Then, curious, "So how'd you get your commendations, if you weren't looking for them?"

He shrugged. "Helped the Father get some penicillin once, and ended up getting shot at. Then the Major went and commended me for helping him out with some Greek soldiers who needed medical attention miles from anywhere. Well – not exactly miles as it turned out, but anyway… I didn't do anything I wanted a Scout Badge for. I wanted to get out of the army!"

"And here you've ended up a Sergeant." I brandished the negligée. "With a magic wand!"

"Just make sure you're home before midnight," he laughed, as he went out. "Oh. Jeep'll be ready in five minutes."

Major Houlihan was waiting by the jeep as I handed my bag to the driver. "Remember you're representing the best MASH Unit anywhere," she said to me, pulling my hat a little straighter.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Remember when to salute, remember to call the Major 'sir' – and don't forget that making physical contact with a superior officer is against regulations!" She suddenly grinned and winked at me, and I realized she had known exactly what she was doing when she selected me to accompany Charles on this trip.

I could have hugged her for it, but settled for giving her a salute and a broad smile instead. "Don't worry, Major. There won't be anything there that I can't handle," I replied, and climbed into the jeep while she tried very hard not to laugh.

A few moments later, we were on the road to Seoul.