Wow, I didn't realize how long this was. Well, enjoy! Almost at the end!

Chapter 9: Chaos

Out of all the goodbyes, the formal was Andi's least favorite. It was basically a replica of the informal good-bye party they had thrown her the previous night, but the laughter and drinks were replaced by handshakes and salutes. She did exchange smiles with Father Mulcahy, Klinger, and Margaret, and hugs with Radar and Henry, but the only thing that truly made it bearable was when Hawkeye and Trapper arrived in their bathrobes.

"So you can pick us out when you turn and wave," Trapper explained when she hugged him.

"Whenever I think of you, I'm going to see a red bathrobe," she told Hawkeye.

"As you should. It's my best look," he replied. "Make sure you keep in touch. I won't be going anywhere."

She nodded and climbed into the jeep. It drove down the road away from the camp. Turning around, she laughed, because she could pick out the red and yellow bathrobes.

It was barely a half hour after Andi left that the shelling started. Being only three miles from the front, the unit was hit hard with both shells and massive inflows of wounded.

"Keep it moving!" Hawkeye shouted in the O.R. above the explosions. "We're short a doctor!"

"Sir!" Radar came running in, addressing Henry. "I checked. It's ours and theirs, but no one is going to stop. And it's not just us, Sir. The other unit a few miles out is being hit, and a bunch of roads all over."

"Roads?" Hawkeye asked, thinking of Andi and her long drive to the airport. "Radar, can you still get in contact with check points?"

"No, we lost contact just a little after I got off the line with Sparky."

His mind was no longer on his patients; it was only because surgery was second-nature to him that Hawkeye did not kill someone.

It felt like hours before Andi could finally lift her head, breathe clearly, see something other than dust and smoke, and hear herself think. She didn't know how long ago she, the driver, and a few others from the check point had thrown themselves to the ground. All she knew was that it was over, for the moment.

They had gone through the first and second checkpoints without a problem, but were told at the third that, due to shelling, no one was allowed past. No exceptions, especially not for plane rides. The airport, a few miles ahead, was getting hit - no planes could come in or out. The stern Major highly advised them to turn and go back to where they had come from; a shelling was imminent. Without other options, and for safety's sake, they had turned around and just made it back to the second checkpoint when shells fell like hail stones.

Now it had stopped, and Andi was regaining her senses. The first thing she could do was smell the metallic aroma she knew too well; blood had a distinct scent. Then she could see all around her. Men, at least ten, lying on the ground, crying out in agonizing pain, clutching injured limbs.

This, Andi knew, was the front line. This was war, something she had never experienced at the 58th and had only gotten a taste of at the 4077th. Taking a shuddering breath, she ran for the man nearest to her.

"I just got some shrapnel in my arm. I'm fine, go check on someone else," he said.

Relieved to see the check point medic running around too, Andi went to the next man. Between the two of them and the uninjured men, the four badly wounded soldiers were helped over to the most protected area. Andi extracted pieces of shrapnel from arms and legs. She did all she could for the serious injuries, but until a bus came, they could not be transported.

The lapse in shelling allowed Andi and the driver time to hop in the jeep and get back to the 4077th. If the next checkpoint base was as bad, the M*A*S*H would have more wounded than they could hold, and they were missing a surgeon.

Andi had been right: the pre-op was full, the post-op was full, the O.R. was full. The wounded couldn't be left outside, so Rosie's, the mess tent, and any other available buildings were used.

Hawkeye couldn't remember how many he'd operated on, but it was infinitesimal compared to how many there were waiting to go into surgery. They were coming faster than the three surgeons could get them out. They were so desperate, Hawkeye didn't know if he'd rather have Frank there or not. But he did know he'd give almost anything to have Andi back.

Much later, Hawkeye was on the verge of needing to prop his eyes open with tooth picks.

"How long have we been in here?" Trapper asked, obviously feeling the same way as Hawkeye.

"Twenty hours," Radar responded. "There aren't that many soldiers left, and no more came in. The shelling stopped a while ago."

At the twenty-third hour mark, Trapper and Hawkeye were finally able to collapse on their cots.

"Thank you for your help, Lieutenant," the leader of the aid station, Nick, said loudly, trying to get words out over the occasional shell. It was late afternoon of the day after Andi had left the 4077th and she was ready to collapse. After twenty-five hours of surgery, her adrenaline rush was finally slowing down. "I hope I can repay you somehow."

"I'm not allowed to accept personal checks," she responded, "but if you have an empty cot, consider it payment enough." Nick nodded, led her to a cot, and she was out within seconds.

The next morning, Hawkeye awoke in a cold sweat. All he'd seen when he closed his eyes was Andi's body, bruised, broken, and bloody. He couldn't stand not knowing if she was okay.

"Radar!" He shook the young man. "Radar, wake up!"

"What?!" he shouted as he started away. Then he caught sight of Hawkeye. "Sorry. I dreamed my mother was trying to wake me up. It's like being pecked to death by ducks." He shuddered.

"Sorry," Hawkeye said hurriedly, "but I need your help. Can you get in contact with the airport?"

"What time is it?" Radar asked, getting up.

"Same time it is there. Can you do it?"

Radar put his glasses on. "Yeah, just a minute." He got the phone and pressed buttons and turned dials. "Hey, Sparky, it's Radar...No, it's stopped for now...Really?" He turned to Hawkeye. "He says we can expect more shelling today."

"I don't want a weather forecast, Radar. The airport!"

"Right, sorry. Hey, Sparky, can you get me to the airport?...Yeah...Kim Po...Yeah...Great, thanks." He lowered the phone for a minute. "Why am I contacting the airport?

"I don't know if Andi's okay. Just ask for her. She should be there."

"Okay...Yes? Hello? Hi, this is M*A*S*H 4077th and -are you guys still getting hit?...Holy Smokes! Oh, can you find out for me if there's a Lieutenant Andrea Lennox there?...Thanks." He looked at Hawkeye. "They're still getting shelled."

"So I gathered."

"-Yeah, I'm here...Oh. Uh, okay...right. Thanks." He hung up the phone and slowly turned to Hawkeye. "Apparently, they're getting hit pretty hard. All flights in and out have been postponed. He checked and said there's no Andrea Lennox there. But he said he'd contact us if he finds anything else."

"What does that mean?"

Radar hesitated. "They, uh...They haven't finished identifying the dead."

Hawkeye stared at him for a moment, then patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Radar." His face was expressionless. He heard the words, but they made no sense. When the two walked out of the building, Trapper, seeing his friend in his solemn state, immediately went to Radar.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"He had me call the airport to find Andi."

Trapper waited for him to continue. "And?"

Radar looked down at his feet. "And there's a chance she might be...you know..." He didn't want to continue. Trapper put a hand on the young man's shoulder; he understood.

They spent the day healing more wounded. The shelling continued but not to the degree of the previous day. Hawkeye didn't say much, and Trapper didn't press the subject.

"Go ahead, Hawk," Trapper said. "I'll finish up here." Normally, the dark haired surgeon would have argued, but Trapper's face said he knew about everything, and Hawkeye didn't have a choice.

"Thanks," he said, exiting the O.R. and washing up. He took off his scrubs and left the building, heading back to the Swamp for a possible nap.

"Hawkeye!"

He stopped in his tracks. That voice. He knew that voice. It was the one he'd been needing to hear all day. He turned to find the source and hurried over to where she was getting out of the jeep they'd sent her off in two days earlier. He helped her out, seeing that she was a little bruised, a little bloody, maybe even slightly battered, but definitely not broken.

Andi barely had both feet on the ground before Hawkeye grabbed her and pulled her to his chest. She could have cried in joy; finally, some safety was offered to her.

"Come on," he said, protectively wrapping an arm around her and leading her to the Swamp, "tell me what happened to you."

With some liquid courage to calm her, Andi sat next to Hawkeye on the cot and told of her problematic trip - of not being allowed to the airport, of helping at the checkpoints and stations.

"Hawk, what's going on? Why are we still getting hit?"

"You tell me and we'll both know," he said. "Radar said we can expect more today, and probably tomorrow. Today's lighter. Not many wounded. But at least you're here. We've been down a surgeon."

It was evening when Trapper entered the tent, looking exhausted. "Have you-Andi!" Immediately his face brightened, and he gave Hawkeye a meaningful look as he hugged Andi. "You guys hungry? Mess tent's open because the shelling stopped for now."

Hawkeye looked up. "Good riddance."

I know there was a lot of bouncing back and forth in this chapter, lemme know if it was okay or confusing! Any and all thoughts are always welcome!