Thanks for all the great review!
After a few hours of talking quietly with Hawkeye Sidney quietly departed from the tent when Hawkeye finally passed out on the bed. It was an exhausting evening for both of them filled with intense emotion, mostly anger and a terrible sadness that Sidney hadn't seen in Hawkeye before. Even more so then after Henry Blake's death.
Winchester stopped him on his way out of the swamp.
"How is...er...how Captain Pierce?" The major asked vaguely, unsure of how to express his concerns for his roomate.
"We had a breakthrough tonight. A small one but one nonetheless. He had finally accepted Captain Hunnicut's death and acceptence is one of the hardest things to do." Sidney replied with a smile. "I wouldn't wake him though. He's passed out because of the liquir."
Winchester rolled his eyes.
"Yes, well that isn't very surprising is it?" He sighed then. "Very well, thank you for your help Dr. Freedman. Of cours you will be staying here for a while?"
"As long as I am needed I'll be staying." Sidney promised Charles before he went off to Colonel Potter's office to discuss Hawkeye's progress.
Winchester walked quietly into the tent and sighed as he saw the broken stilll and Hawkeye sprawled out on his bunk, his head face down on his pillow.
After pausing in contemplation Charles finally wen tto Hawkeye's bunk. Gently he rotated Hawkeye to the right position and threw the blanket over Pierce's body and then headed towards his side of the tent. He glanced at the sleeping Hawkeye and the empty side of BJ's old plaec. Closing his eyes he quickly turned on Mozard and opened a book of Shakespear in hopes of escaping this hell if only for a little while.
Potter poured a glass of brandy to Sidney as they both sat down.
"How was your session with Captain Pierce?" Potter asked while trying to hide the deep concern in his voice.
"We made a larger breakthrough then I thought we would." Sidney replied while taking a sip of his drink and then told the Colonel of Hawkeye's breakdown and the throwing of the still which shocked Potter greatly.
"How long will it take for him to heal?"
Sidney sighed.
"That will depend on Hawkeye. One cannot put a time limit on the healing of the mind."
The Colonel nodded.
"Of course, I know. It's just that we're desperate for a surgeon. Thank God for Winchester. But still with Captain Hunnicut and Pierce both out of commision...we're in a dire state right now Sid."
Freedman nodded understandingly.
"Have you requested for a new doctor?
Potter nodded.
"Yes but there are non to spare. General Clayton promised me a new surgean but I just don't know." He sighed, clearly showing his distress. "I just don't know anything anymore."
Sidney smiled.
"Who does?"
With that in mind both of them finished their glasses in silence.
Trapper John McIntyre walked into his house after a pleasent non exciting day at his free clinic where his major case was an ear ache. He loved it. So much better then meatball surgery any day.
"Daddy!" His little girls, Katie and Beth, shriekd and smothered him with hugs and kisses. Laughing he threw them up in the air a couple of times before he went to the mail in the kitchen and sat down to look at it. Normal routine, he forgot what a bliss that was. He groaned he saw a letter from the army. Finally he sighed and decided to read it though he knew it wouldn't be a good thing.
"Hey honey, how was work?" His now pregnant wife came into the kitchen while smiling but frowned at her husband's face. "What's wrong?"
Trapper looked up, his eyes filled with different kinds of emotions. Filled with anger and sadness and disbalief.
"They're sending me back." He said flatly and she stared at him in shock as he hadded dully "They're sending me back...back to Korea."
I know now they can send you back now even after you served, there's 20 year thing in there or something with the fine print of course, but I'm not sure if they could in the 1950's but I'm going to pretend they can for this story :)