The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter Two
Rosie's Bar was crowded and noisy when Alex walked in later that night. She was still feeling shaken from her experience in the O.R., but when BJ had suggested she come to Rosie's Bar to meet more of the personnel she couldn't refuse.
She stood awkwardly in the door for a minute, before she noticed BJ waving her over to a table in the corner. She grinned and headed over. Reaching the table she stopped abruptly when she saw Major Houlihan there. The Major was clearly not pleased to see her, but before she could do anything, Hawkeye had pulled her down into a chair. Deciding to make the best of the situation, Alex tried to smile warmly at her adversary.
"Nice to see you again, Major."
"I saw your incident in the O.R." Blinking, Alex felt her jaw drop. So much for being nice, she thought. Across the table from her, BJ groaned.
"Come on Margaret, don't start that up." But Alex wasn't going to let anyone else speak for her. Suddenly, she felt herself get infuriated by the Major's cold look.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't perform up to your ridiculous expectations within the first 12 hours of my arrival Major. I'm sure someone like you would be able to just jump into the war and stare into the faces of dying teenage boys and not give a damn, but I can't! And maybe you consider it your duty to intimidate all of the new personnel, but let me tell you, it didn't seem at all dutiful to me. It just seemed like someone bitchy and desperate for authority!" Fuming, Alex stood up and walked to the bar. Behind her she could hear stunned silence from the table, followed by loud laughter from the two men.
Standing at the end of the bar, Alex's ears perked up as she heard the soft tones of a piano. Looking over, she saw someone leaning over the piano keys. Feeling her anger drain away with the music, Alex walked over softly and stood next to the piano, listening. When the song finished, the player look up. She saw that it was a shy looking man.
"That was wonderful." Alex told him.
"Thank you, my daughter." He replied.
"Oh, are you the chaplain?" Alex enquired.
"One and the same. I'm Father Mulcahy. And you must be Alexandra Richardson." He extended his hand.
"Alex." She said, shaking his hand firmly.
"And what religion do you follow Alex?" Alex laughed at the bluntness of the question, but it was understandable considering his job. Pulling up a chair next to the piano, she sat down uncomfortably as she tried to phrase her answer delicately.
"I don't follow a religion, Father."
"An atheist?" He shifted uncomfortably. "Well then I guess my services won't be of much use to you."
"I'm afraid not. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."
"Of course not. I pride myself on accepting people of all faiths." He smiled warmly at her. "How did you come upon atheism? If you don't mind me asking."
"My parents raised me as one. I've never believed in a Supreme Being, so the idea is completely foreign to me. I experimented a bit with religion when I was 14, but I couldn't give myself over to the idea completely. So an atheist I remained."
"I see. Well, perhaps you will still join us for service sometimes. It would be a nice way for you to meet more people."
"That's true Father, thank you." Alex whipped her head around when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Seeing it was BJ, she sighed with relief. "Thank goodness it's you. I thought you might be Major Houlihan."
"That's actually why I'm here. Let's go for a walk." Nodding, Alex stood up and they walked out of the tent.
Walking through the camp, Alex wondered when BJ was going to broach the topic of her rage at the Major. She didn't have to wait long; within minutes, BJ inhaled sharply and began to speak.
"As funny as it was, you can't yell at Margaret like that you know. She's stuffy at first, but if you get to know her, you'll see she really is a good person." He paused. "All three of us were shocked to see you get that mad, we-"
"I know Beej," Alex interrupted, "I have a very quick temper. It's a weakness of mine. When I get mad I speak before I think, and it gets me in trouble. My Dad warned me that I wouldn't get away with it in the army and that I'd have to watch myself. Clearly I took his advice." She grimaced, remembering what she'd said. "I guess I should apologize to her. Maybe then I can find some way to connect with her and make her realize I'm not a horrible person."
"No time like the present. Come on, it's getting dark anyway."
As they turned to head back in, they were startled by a cry in the dim light.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
"Klinger it's only us!" BJ called. "Alex, meet Klinger."
"As well as I can in the dark." Alex joked. "Nice to meet you Klinger."
"Right back at you Alex. You may proceed."
Alex squinted at Klinger on her way by and then turned to BJ.
"Beej, was he in a dress?" BJ laughed.
"Klinger is trying his hardest to get a discharge with a section 8, which means he's trying to prove that he's insane. He's been trying for so long it's hard to know who the real Klinger is. I sometimes wonder if he even remembers."
"It must be difficult to want something that badly and never get it."
"I suppose." BJ agreed, as he opened the door to the bar for her.
The minute she stepped in, she was swooped up by Hawkeye, who pulled her to the centre of the room for a dance. Halfway through the dance, she noticed Major Houlihan leave the club and sighed, realizing she would have to put off apologizing until tomorrow. Soon, she was caught up in the fun of dancing. Hawkeye was surprisingly graceful on the dance floor, despite his tall frame. She also enjoyed dances with some of the other men, and even tried to entice Radar to dance with her, but he blushingly refused. When she made it back to her tent later, she was exhausted, but much more comfortable than she'd been hours earlier.
Alex woke up the next morning slightly disoriented. After a moment she remembered where she was, and everything she had experienced the previous day came flooding back. Frighteningly, she couldn't remember a lot of names. She'd always been bad with names, but she would feel like a fool trying to interact with people she couldn't address properly.
Shrugging off the problem for when she was outside the safety of her tent, Alex tossed the covers off her cot and walked the few feet across the room to her locker of clothes. She had observed yesterday that the dress code was pretty lax, for which she was grateful. Slipping into the olive drab pants and tan shirt she had a feeling she'd become very familiar with, she headed out into the bright sunshine and silently greeted the camp.
It was still pretty quiet. A slight chill still hung in the air, and she shivered lightly against it. The only movement came from the doctors and nurses changing shifts. Everyone was speaking in hushed tones and the idea that such peace existed in the middle of a war zone amazed Alex. Glancing around, she finally recognized the path to the mess tent, and headed towards it, hoping that breakfast would be ready.
The mess tent was as quiet as anywhere else in the camp. Only a few people were inside, most of them huddled in small groups, sipping coffee and muttering to each other. As Alex stood in the doorway observing, she felt someone come up behind her, and, turning, she came face to face with the short boy she'd tried to dance with last night. Her head hurt trying to remember his name, but he just shyly grinned at her and reminded her that he was Radar. Sighing with relief, she smiled back at him, and followed him into the line for food.
Soon, they were sitting at a table and Radar was telling her about his animals.
"Once a stray dog bit me and I had to get rabies shots. But for the most part the animals are great."
"What kind of animals do you have?"
"Gee, all kinds! I've got rabbits and gerbils, all kinds of animals. I have a mouse that Hawk and Trapper raced against the Marine's mouse. And once I saved a lamb from becoming pork chops, but I had to ship it away." Alex laughed at the idea of Radar shipping a lamb out of the camp. She was glad that the little guy had gotten over his shyness. He was launching into a story about one of the animals he'd found when the door of the mess tent swung open and Alex felt her mouth go dry as Major Houlihan walked in. She watched the Major get a cup of coffee and sit down at a table before she decided to make her move.
Excusing herself, she stood up and took her own cup of coffee over to the Major's table.
"Um, Major, could I speak with you?" she received a cold look in response, but Alex was determined to get through this time. Awkwardly, she sat down across from the Major.
"Listen, I really want to apologize to you for what I said last night. It was very disrespectful and you didn't really deserve it." More silence followed. Taking a deep breath, Alex swallowed her pride and continued talking.
"It's embarrassing to admit it, but my temper is one of my faults. I'm afraid you bore the brunt of it, very quickly. Yesterday was a long, intimidating day for me and my comments to you were a result of that. I'm sorry."
"Your apology is accepted Captain. Good day." Once again, Alex was left with her jaw dropped as the Major stood up and walked out of the mess tent. Biting her lip, Alex quickly followed her.
"Major! Yesterday when you first came to my tent I said that I was happy to meet another woman in the camp. I still am. Major please listen to me!" with an exasperated sigh, the Major came to an abrupt halt.
"Fine. Since you insist that you have something important to say, say it!"
"Major, you and I are in the unique position of being the two females in this camp with any form of authority. I'm the only female surgeon, and you're head nurse. Isn't there some way we can get along? I'd really appreciate having you as a friend. You've been the only female officer for so long. Does it not come as a relief to you that now there is someone else who will be experiencing the same things?"
"No, it isn't a relief. You come waltzing in here, fresh from the States and expect everyone to sit in the palm of your hand. Well they won't! It takes a commanding presence to have any authority here. And you are significantly lacking in "commanding" presence!" As the Major turned to walk away, Alex felt something click. Before she could help herself, she let out a hoot of laughter. It was the wrong thing to do. Instantly, the Major was facing her again, eyes wild with anger.
"What's so amusing Captain?"
"Major, you're jealous!"
"I beg your pardon? How dare you suggest such a thing. I have no reason to be jealous of you!"
"You think I'm going to take over your position. You're worried about losing the honour of being the only female officer. Now you have to share the spotlight and that bothers you. And what makes you even more nervous is the idea that you might lose some authority too." When her opponent went dangerously silent, Alex knew she had struck a nerve. She hurried on.
"Major, I'm no threat to you. Honest! Yes we now have to share the role of being female officers, but I don't want to steal any of your power. I'm not here to usurp you. It was never my intention to knock you off the pedestal of power you are so clearly on. All I want is to get along with you. I respect you so much for what you do in this unit, can we make that a mutual respect, and maybe friendship?" There was no response.
"I can't argue my case anymore. I've said my bit, the next part is up to you. Please, just think about it?" Turning quickly, Alex walked back to her tent.
Grabbing her robe and shower supplies, she headed off to the showers. As she passed by the swamp, she peered in at Hawk and BJ, passed out on their bunks. Shaking her head at them, she continued on her way.
After her shower, Alex decided to make her way to post-op and see how everyone was doing from yesterday. By this time the rest of the camp was awake and buzzing with activity, but post-op remained fairly quiet. Anyone who could eat was just receiving breakfast as Alex stepped in. Her eyes sought out the 17-year-old she'd worked on yesterday, Private Estman. She knew he wouldn't be eating after the mess of shrapnel she'd taken out of him. When she found him, she quickly strode to his bed, and realized he was still asleep.
His medical chart hung at the end of his bed and she picked it up. Her eyes scanned along it. The chart said he was 19 but his body said otherwise. He was clearly younger then he claimed. He was unmarried, and an only child. She shook her head. His poor parents must be worried sick, she thought.
Further study of the chart showed that he was being discharged because of the wound. Alex sighed with relief. She wouldn't have to broach the subject of him being underage. As she looked up to study his face again, she found herself staring into his eyes. Startled, she recovered quickly and smiled down at him.
"How're you feeling Private?"
"Sore ma'am."
"Well that's understandable, you aren't in here because you scraped your knee." Her attempts at a joke were rewarded with a smile, and Alex pulled a stool up beside him. "Now soldier, I have to inform you that you've been discharged because of this injury."
"I get to go home?" The look on the boy's face broke Alex's heart.
"Yes. You'll see your mom sooner then you thought." Alex paused for a moment. "And lucky for you, the next time we have a war you won't need to lie about your age to enlist." Estman's big eyes stared back at her, and his face turned red as he realized she'd caught him. Patting his shoulder reassuringly, Alex smiled again.
"Take care of yourself Private. I'll check up on you later."
Alex finished checking up on the rest of her patients in post-op, occasionally giving instruction to the nurses. Generally things were smooth. She'd just decided to head to her tent and write a letter home when the P.A. crackled.
"Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded on the chopper pad. Both surgical shifts report to O.R.!" Sighing, Alex found she was quickly realizing that life got put on hold for wounded at a regular basis.
Soon she was in the tiny room outside the O.R. pulling on surgical gear once again. Hawkeye and BJ came in, followed closely by the surgeon who'd harassed her the previous day. Alex cursed her bad memory; she could only remember him as "Ferret-face."
"Well Captain, I certainly hope you've gotten a hold of yourself since yesterday's incident!" With a smirk, Frank turned and started pulling on a white shirt. Alex shook her head. This was getting old, fast.
"I'm sorry for my slip up Major. It's so hard to follow in the footsteps of someone like you." Sarcasm was about all Alex could manage, she wasn't used to finding quick retorts. Fortunately, Hawkeye was there to assist once more.
"Frank, how many times have I told you? You can't insult someone who's better then you. Which means you can't insult anyone."
"Which is just as well." BJ added, "Insults are about all that come out of your mouth, and I definitely would rather you be seen and not heard." Alex gasped. Frank's face turned bright red. But Hawkeye wasn't done.
"You're generous mon ami. I would eliminate the 'seen' part too."
"You two ninnies think you're so special! Well I happen to still be of the opinion that women can't be surgeons!"
"We know, Frank. Now can it before my hand slips in O.R. and accidentally sews your mouth shut!"
"Shut up Pierce!"
"I asked you first!" Hawkeye's hands were balling up into fists. A fight was brewing, and Alex quietly put her arm on Hawkeye's.
"Hawkeye, leave it alone. I'm all right. He's not shaking my confidence again. Thank you, but just let him go." Frank had taken the opportunity to giggle nervously and rush into O.R. Taking a deep breath, Hawkeye relaxed, and the three remaining surgeons finished scrubbing up.
Five hours later, Alex sat on a bench outside O.R. She'd been working non-stop, and BJ had told her to take a five-minute break. Sipping a cup of very strong coffee, she reflected on what the O.R. was like. BJ joked, Hawkeye sang, and Frank complained. Major Houlihan tried to run a tight ship, but often lost her temper at the two off-the-wall doctors. The nurses were wonderful. They didn't seem to resent her. In fact, Nurse Able, who was working with Alex, had mentioned how inspiring it was to see a woman doctor in the camp. As Alex thought of this, she realized she'd better head back in.
The heat of the room, and the smell of blood and sweat in the air hit Alex like a wall. She paused in the door and gathered herself; she was not going to wimp out this time. Walking into the room once more, she called for new gloves, and stepped up to her patient.
Nurse Able handed her the x-rays, and Alex studied them carefully. She counted the fragments, and then counted again to be sure. Fifteen. Fifteen pieces of metal were scattered across the man's left shoulder. She'd have to cut through a lot of muscle to find it all, and she'd have to stitch it all back up again just right, or the man would lose the use of his shoulder. Tuning out Hawkeye's rendition of "Who Could Ask for Anything More?" she got started.
"Scalpel."
"Scalpel." Alex focussed herself, and dug in. She carefully lined the scalpel up with the pre-existing wound, and sliced further to give herself more space to work in. A mess of blood met her. She couldn't see a thing.
"Suction. We need to clear all that area up." Nurse Able was right on it, and soon the area was clean.
"Forceps." All right you sucker, you're not going to keep bleeding on me she thought, as she clamped off a small vein. With the bleeding contained, and the area clear, she could start her search.
"Probe." Carefully, and ever so slowly, Alex started gently seeking out the pieces of metal. Twenty minutes later, she'd retrieved them all.
"Give me some of that 4-0 silk. We'll have this guy out of here in no time now." With just as much care, but greater speed, Alex stitched up her patient. Grinning proudly, she announced her completion, and joined Hawkeye in a song.
Surgery lasted two more hours. Starving, Alex started to follow BJ and Hawkeye to the mess tent when she saw Frank hanging around outside Major Houlihan's tent. Hanging back, she saw him grab a hold of the Major's arm as she tried to head into her tent. She could see them struggle, but it wasn't until the Major started raising her voice that she realized Frank wasn't going to stop. Casually she walked over.
"Frank, I will say this one last time, let go of me or I will scream!"
"But Buttercup, I'm so lost without you! I need you to hold me! I need to hold you!"
"Frank, if I have to tell you one more time that I am engaged and off-limits I'll punch you."
"But-"
"Come on Frank lay off." Alex finally piped up.
"You little sneak! Get away from here!"
"Uh, no. Frank I think it's you who needs to get away from here. The Major does not appear to be enjoying your company." Frank let go of the Major's arm, but started to whine. "Frank, snivelling is never attractive, get out of my sight."
"How dare you speak to a superior that way! I'm telling Colonel Potter on you!"
"So long as you leave." With a final spiteful glance, Frank stomped away. Alex started to walk back to the mess tent; she didn't want to really talk to the Major again.
"See you around Major."
"Captain Richardson!" Alex stopped and slowly turned around.
"Yes, Major?" Alex watched as the blond woman swallowed and took a deep breath.
"Would you like to eat together in the mess tent? We could go over tomorrow's duty roster…and become better acquainted."
Gently, Alex smiled.
"I'd like that a lot."