Chapter 3: Beginning The Road To Recovery
Four hours later, BJ was sitting quietly at the small desk in the back of the ward, lost deep in his thoughts. It was when the nurse came in for the next post op shift that he was brought back to reality.
"Captain. You're off duty now. Do you know who has the duty this shift?"
"Hawkeye was supposed to have it." BJ said quietly.
"Do you want me to wake him?"
"No, let him sleep, Kellye. He's been through the wringer and he sure needs the rest. Besides, if you wake him up he'll just go off and worry himself into a frazzle about Father Mulcahy's condition. This way we can keep an eye on both of them at the same time."
"What are we going to do about this shift in Post Op?" Nurse Kellye asked, looking at her watch.
Before BJ had a chance to respond, however, the conversation was interrupted when Corporal Radar O'Reilly peeking his head quietly into the ward from the office area just beyond the doors behind them.
"BJ, I alerted Colonel Potter and he said to tell you that he's on his way over and he'll take over post op and do Hawkeye's shift."
"Thanks, Radar." BJ said, amused. He couldn't help but smile at the young man's ability to seemingly read people's minds before they even spoke to him.
Five minutes later, Colonel Potter walked into the post op ward and regarded BJ with a half smile that didn't begin to mask the worry in his eyes. He toured the ward slowly and stopped when he reached the end of the room where two of his officers rested.
"Has there been any sort of change at all?" Potter asked.
"No. I wish there were. He's been unconscious the entire time I've been on duty. I've been hoping he'd start to show signs of coming out of it but no such luck yet."
"Okay. So what's with Pierce?"
"When I came on duty four hours ago, I walked in and found Hawkeye asleep in the chair next to Father Mulcahy's bed. I woke him and, knowing there was no conceivable way I was going to be able to convince him to go back to the Swamp to go to bed, I helped him lay down on that spare cot there. He's totally exhausted." BJ explained, pulling the blanket up from the end of the bed and spreading it over the sleeping surgeon.
"We're going to have to keep a pretty close eye on him for the next couple of days as well. No telling what kind of effect what he witnessed today is liable to have on him. According to Winchester, Pierce was standing in the doorway of pre op looking to see if the compound was clear and saw the Padre take a hit." Potter observed, glancing momentarily at the still form of the young chaplain lying on the bed before turning back to BJ. "Look, Hunnicutt, you aren't going to do any good standing around here. Why don't you go on back to the Swamp and try to get some sleep. I'll send Radar to come and get you if anything changes."
"Yes, sir. I think maybe I'd better." BJ yawned. He was fading from the long day coupled with his post op shift and his eyelids were sinking slowly. As BJ left the ward, Potter sank into the chair his subordinate had just vacated and sighed heavily, wondering how things had managed to go so wrong so quickly.
When BJ got back to the Swamp after his shift in post op, he found Charles sitting on his cot listening to phonograph records and staring outside with a haunted, far away look in his eyes. He seemed not to notice BJ entering the tent, but upon hearing the him getting a drink from the still, the white collar major turned to face his haggard bunkmate, the stress on his face making him look years older than he had when he left the tent that morning.
"Here, have a drink, Charles. I know it's not as uptown as what you normally drink but after the day we've had, we can both use it. Trust me, it'll settle your nerves." BJ offered, pouring another martini and handing it to the other man.
"Considering the events we've witnessed here today, Hunnicutt, I think I will accept your offer. Thank you." Charles said quietly, lifting the glass to his dry lips and taking a long, deep drink from it. "I believe you just came from post op. How's Father Mulcahy holding up?"
"Well, when Potter took over for me and I left the ward, he was still unconscious. He hasn't come around at all yet and I'm a little concerned. It seems to be taking him a while to come out of it."
"Yes, it does seem that way doesn't it. Wait a minute, Hunnicutt. You just said that Potter took over for you in post op? I thought Pierce was supposed to have the duty tonight. Is he all right?"
"I guess he's okay. He's exhausted though. When I took over this evening, I found Hawkeye sound asleep in the chair next to Father Mulcahy's bed. After I finished my rounds I woke him and he filled me in on his condition. Hawk could barely keep his eyes open but I knew there was no way I was going to convince him to come back to the Swamp short of my sedating him and physically hauling him here, so I had Kellye set up the empty cot right next to where he was sitting and once he got settled he was out before his head hit the pillow. What concerns me though is the psychological aftermath from what happened today. Potter told me that he was standing in the door of pre op when Father Mulcahy went down and he saw the whole thing. My God, who knows how deep of an impact that's going to have. I mean, the man's already lost one close friend because of this damn war and to nearly lose another one may be too much even for Hawkeye. Charles, we're going to have to come together here and help him through this." BJ explained, killing his drink and pouring himself another.
"That we shall. The horrified look on Pierce's face when he turned around after I grabbed him to keep him from dashing back out into the compound is something that I believe will remain burned in my memory for the rest of my days. If there is any way that I can support him as we all work through what has happened, I'll do it." Charles vowed, placing his glass down and going to lie down on his bunk.
"I'm sure that'll mean a lot to him. Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep. This has been a very long day and it's starting to take it's toll. Hopefully we'll hear something about Father Mulcahy at some point. Potter promised that he'd send Radar to get us if anything changed." BJ said tiredly, resting heavily on his cot and closing his eyes.
It was about 3:00 the next morning when Father Mulcahy began to show signs of regaining consciousness. Making her rounds, Nurse Kellye was walking by the bed when she heard a faint moan and turned her head just in time to see the unit's beloved chaplain stir and open his eyes for the first time since he had been injured the previous day, squinting against the faint light.
"Colonel Potter!" Nurse Kellye called out, moving back from the bed as the commander rushed over to her. "He just came around."
"It's okay. Just take it easy, Padre. How are you doing?" Potter asked, his voice filled with a combination of concern and relief.
"Where am I? What happened?" Mulcahy asked groggily, turning his head in Potter's direction.
"You're in post op. While we were working triage yesterday, we drew a barrage of sniper fire. You took a bullet in your shoulder, Father. Hawkeye had to operate. It was scary there for a while." Potter explained, wincing sympathetically as the young clergyman grimaced in pain from the wound to his shoulder. "Just relax. We'll give you something for that pain. Kellye, let's give him a shot of morphine."
Potter remained by his chaplain's bedside as Kellye injected the morphine into the port in the IV line. As the drug began to have its desired effect, Mulcahy felt the gnawing pain in his shoulder subside and he slowly started to relax. He felt as though he were floating, a drowsy feeling gradually pulling him in. Potter placed a hand on his arm and adjusted the blanket over him as his eyes lost focus before closing completely, a deep sleep drawing the wounded priest into its healing embrace.