Chapter 6
Potter couldn't stop pacing. He felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest. The snow had come out of nowhere and the colonel knew it had come from the direction that his surgeons had gone. All he could think about was if all three of his men were still alive. It was all he could think about. A chill went through his body, glancing up, he allowed a few snowflakes to fall on his face before looking around as if he heard a jeep pulling up. The wind was howling and he doubted he would hear a jeep if it pulled up right next to him.
"Colonel. I got some information on that man that Wallings had with him!" Radar yelled as he ran to Potter. There were a few different sizes of paper in his hand. Someone of them threatened to blow away. And yet Radar kept a hold on all of them.
"Paul Bennett. Assumed AWOL from his unit under Colonel Collins. Stand up guy, brave, no history of trouble at home." he reported, handing the papers to his commanding officer.
Potter looked them over quickly, sighing.
"So we have a dead captain, a dead Korean, and 3 missing men. What next?" he asked, thinking out loud.
As if by a miracle the faint noise of a jeep horn filled the wind. Potter was sure he gave himself whiplash the second his head turned towards the noise. His sharp yet glasses covered eyes picked up the slight line of green that passed through the sheer white blowing snow. The white frozen water was coming down harder. Most personnel were beginning to bundle up as the temperature was dropping quickly and was causing some sharp moments of ice blowing through.
Potter ignored them and went running toward the direction of the speeding jeep. His hear began to beat quickly, almost bursting out of his chest. Radar had headed in the opposite direction, calling a few orderlies to help. He also ran to post-op where Houlihan was sure to still be.
Margaret was giving orders to a nurse when Radar found her.
"Major! There's a jeep coming! It might be the captains!" he said excitedly before disappearing back out the door. Houlihan looked up sharply.
Anything could have happened in the tense time that the trio had been gone. She looked to Nurse Baker and told her to take over in charge while she went to see what she could do. She grabbed her jacket and scarf and pulled them on while running out the door.
Meanwhile, Colonel Potter slid to a stop at the edge of the road. The jeep pulled closer, revealing BJ behind the wheel and Hawkeye with Sam in the back. Potter was instantly concerned as Sam was practically the color of the down-coming snow. It was in stark contrast to the red blood that covered Hawk's jacket and hands. BJ motioned to the front of the OR and kept driving way over any speed limit. Potter didn't waste any time getting to the OR. Klinger was already there, handing his sentry duty off to an enlisted man. He was jumping practically from foot to foot, trying to stay warm. While it was an automatic reaction to the weather, Klinger didn't seem to notice.
From around the building, Margaret booked it, almost as pale as Sam just from looking at him.
"What happened?" Potter asked over the howling wind. Hunnicutt shook his head and hopped out of the jeep and hightailed it back to where Hawkeye was hunched over Sam. The doctor was practically frozen over the younger boy.
"Hawkeye! C'mon buddy, get up. We need to get Sam inside." BJ yelled. He gripped Hawkeye's shoulders and began to pull the captain up. Hawkeye didn't complain as Klinger and Margaret grabbed him around the sides and helped him out of the jeep.
Hunnicutt moved forward with Potter to Sam's side.
"That creep Wallings stabbed him. I shudder to think that he was trying to cut the appendix out." Hunnicutt said darkly, lifting the coat slightly to allow Potter to view the wound. Potter knew his face was turning green. He had seen many wounds on many young men and yet it made him feel so confused as to what to do. It was like he had forgotten all his medical knowledge.
"My god." he whispered.
He allowed Hunnicutt to put the coat/bandage back on the wound and called for a litter.
"Get him in there easily and gently boys. He's already frozen to the touch." he instructed as they watched Sam be taken into the OR. BJ turned to Potter.
"His appendix may have burst or been punctured. The best I could do is bandage it and Hawkeye kept as much pressure o it as he could on the way back." he reported to him. Potter sighed.
"Who's going to operate on him?" he asked.
Hunnicutt paused and looked at his hands.
"I think you better Colonel." he answered, glaring sadly at his shaking hands.
4*0*7*7
Hawkeye stared at the ceiling of post-op. His pounding headache had dulled to a slow ache but still reminded him it was there. He looked to the clock. It was almost three hours since he had been looked over by BJ. Even when he asked BJ about Sam, Hunnicutt would only talk about the captain's headache. Hawkeye was beginning to get agitated. That was bad because it just made his head hurt worse.
"Margaret!" he called, getting the attention of Major Houlihan. Margaret turned to him and dismissed the nurse she was talking to. She could tell that Hawkeye wasn't happy.
"Someone better tell me about Sam before I start beating some heads together." Hawkeye threatened.
He pushed himself up to a sitting position. Margaret rushed forward to help him. As she adjusted his pillows to hold him up, he glanced around. He'd never been on this side of the hospital. His view was a lot different. It made him feel vulnerable.
"You need to rest Hawkeye. That concussion isn't going to go away if you keep pushing yourself." Margaret warned.
Hawkeye growled.
"Then I'll just find him myself." he said and started to get up. Margaret was quick to hold him down. Hawkeye tried to push her off but his muscles ached. Margaret struggled to keep a hold of him and not make his headache worse. Thankfully Hunnicutt and Frank Burns walked in at that very moment and noticed Hawkeye struggling. They both ran forward. Burns grabbed Hawkeye's arm on Margaret's side while BJ got the other one.
"Hawkeye stop struggling! You'll only make your head worse!" Hunnicutt yelled, trying to hold the other captain.
"Pierce contain yourself! You almost hurt Margaret!" Frank exclaimed.
"Shut up Frank!" both Hunnicutt and Margaret ordered at the same time.
Hawkeye panted lightly before collapsing back on the bed, a thin sheet of sweat on his forehead.
"I just need to see Sam. I need to make sure he's okay." he whispered. Margaret came over with a wet towel and carefully wiped his forehead.
Hunnicutt took Hawk's wrist and checked his pulse.
"The colonel's finishing up with him now." he said, finally look up to Hawkeye.
"It's all my fault. I've known Sam for so long. If I had noticed something was wrong...then he would have been in post op sooner and not around that creep Wallings." Hawkeye said dejectedly.
His gaze turned upwards. He felt so guilty that he had gotten his young friend into all this. Sam had been his closest friend for so long in this war. When they had first met, Sam had been this shy, lost, and lonely boy who did his job and socialized hardly at all. Hawkeye and Trapper John had taken the boy on as a pet project. Since then, they had been inseparable. Then Hunnicutt had come int o the picture. It had been an instant connection that had grown into a permanent friendship. Although Hunnicutt hadn't been around as long, he too had learned to read Sam's moods and actions. But still he wasn't as good at it as Hawk.
"Hawk, it's not your fault at all. We all know how stubborn Sam is. And he's and expert liar. He could get by anything." BJ tried to console.
Hawkeye shook his head quickly.
"I'm supposed to protect him! He's relied on me and I let him down!" he said.
"Oh quit sniveling Pierce!" Burns reprimanded...right before BJ punched him in the face. Frank fell over an empty cot and landed on the floor. He jumped up, holding his jaw.
"You're going on report Hunnicutt!" he complained.
"Frank get out of here before I knock you out myself!" Margaret exclaimed. Frank looked shocked.
"Margaret, you're supposed to be on my side!" he yelled.
When Margaret didn't reply, he let out a grunt and disappeared out into the freezing evening.
"Hawk?" BJ called.
Hawkeye opened his eyes which he didn't know he had closed and looked blearily at the other captain.
"I just need to see him Beej." he half whispered.
As if the Colonel had heard him, Potter came in with the orderlies carrying Sam. The boy was pale and still and it all frightened Hawkeye more.
"How'd it go Potter?" Hawkeye asked quietly. Potter adjusted his glasses.
"It was touch and go. His appendix burst right as we pulled it out so that was a relief. There was no peritonitis but we did extra irrigation just in case. The knife wound was slightly worse. The edges of it were jagged so we had to clean up the edges first before we could put in stitches. Thankfully no organs were punctured so stitching any muscle was easy. He does have a fever so we have to keep an eye on him." Potter summed up.
Hawkeye's muscles relaxed but a throb still followed his heartbeat. His eyes were beginning to become heavy.
"Beej..." he mumbled, not letting his eyes close just yet. Hunnicutt gripped Hawkeye's shoulder firmly yet gently.
"Go to sleep Hawkeye. I'll keep an eye on him."
TBC
