Potter summoned Hawkeye to his office.
"Do you mind telling me what that was about back there?"
"I guess I just had a funny way of showing that I'm just as baffled as the next guy about Klinger's disappearance."
"Well next time keep it to yourself. The last thing we need is for a rumor to get started. Although it's hard to keep something like this quiet I suppose. Where do you think he could be? Just between friends- do you think he deserted us? I mean he has pulled this before, you know. But he came back. I had known even then he would. My gut tells me he's in trouble. Don't say anything because I don't want to start a ruckus. If Radar thought something was up, why, nothing would get done around here, bless his soul. " He said as he sat down at he sat down as he sat at as his desk. "Coffee?"
"No thanks. I've been up 32 hours and I plan on catching a few hours of sleep. But let me know when he shows up, will you. All jokes aside, it's not the same without the little lady around." Hawkeye said as he made his way to the door.
Across the field, the woman had stopped to rest, clutching her stomach. Klinger had never paused to guess how far along she was. It was hard to tell. The Koreans were a tiny race. She could have been anywhere from four to six months along. It didn't really matter at this point; the little one didn't have a chance of survival. Labor had not started although Klinger fully expected it at any moment. He just didn't have the heart or the words to tell her although she was quite sure he knew what was going to happen. There was so much he wanted to ask her. Was this her first baby? Where was the father? How did she get here? What was she going to name the little one?
She had to stop to catch her breath.
"My name is Max." he smiled and pointed to himself. "Max."
"Match." She stated .
"Match." He took her hand, but she pulled away. That was too much, too soon. "What's your name?"
"Oooh." She rubbed her stomach. "Water."
"I'm sorry. There's no more water. Just hang on, kiddo. We're almost there." Klinger looked around, as if he could find a nearby source of water. Of course, he had no such luck.
"Do you need to rest? Come on, let's set you down." He stopped and tried to get her to rest, but she refused. She furiously clung to his left arm, which was ready to give out for Klinger.
You're a brave one, I'll give you that. You have the strength of a dozen men.
Unfortunately she was bleeding again. He wondered how much longer she could last like that. He knew that the baby wouldn't last more than a few hours.
"Come on, we need to stop now." He paused as he switched her to his other side. "I really think you ought to rest for a half hour…"
"No Match. No rest."
If she could keep going then he certainly could. They were maybe an hour away.
. If they could make it another hour they would be home free. The sounds of gunfire didn't exactly help to reassure either of them. She was clinging to him for dear life, both metaphorically and literally. She did not once take her hand off of her stomach, as if she could will her child to live.
"Water." She begged.
"No more." Klinger shook his head.
"Water." She reiterated. "Water."
"No more!" And then he looked down, and saw the sad truth. The five months along woman's baby had dropped, suggesting that labor was on it's way. The question was if they could make it back to camp on time for the actual labor to begin. From the looks if things, Klinger was mentally preparing to deliver a stillborn child. The water she had been asking for was not to drink- her water had broken. Klinger was going to deliver a baby.