It was the day after Hawkeye had left. I was in my tent, reading. There was a knock at the door. I set my book down and went over to the door, calling "Who is it?"
I opened the door. It was Radar.
"Hi Radar."
"Hi Belle. Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Could you help me give Hoppy his medicine?"
"Hoppy?"
"Oh, he's my rabbit. You see, he has an eye infection."
"You have a rabbit in a MASH unit?"
"... Yeah."
"Whatever you say."
He took me around the back of Henry's office. I saw a hutch with two white rabbits nosing around in it.
"There's two?" I had never thought I'd see fluffy white rabbits in a place like this. It was kind of comforting.
"Yeah, that one's Carrots."
"Hoppy and Carrots. Those certainly are rabbit-y names."
"Hawkeye said I should have named one Hawkeye Jr."
"Hawkeye knows about them?"
"Yeah, he's the one that normally helps with Hoppy. In fact, he helped me get the medicine."
I smiled. That sounded just like Hawkeye. He had a big heart underneath it all. That's why he was such a good surgeon.
"Are you okay?" Radar snapped me out of my daydreams.
"Of course!" I stammered. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You just seemed... You like Hawkeye, don't you?"
"What?!"
"It's okay, I won't tell anyone!"
I shook my head. "Let's just get to Hoppy."
At lunchtime, Frank and Margaret came over to sit with Henry, Radar, Trapper, and me.
"Life's been so much easier without Pierce," Frank commented.
"Really? I"ll have to start trying harder," Trapper said.
"He ought to just stay in Tokyo," Margaret said.
No, I protested silently. He shouldn't.
"I'm sure we could get by without him," Frank agreed.
Not true.
"After all, you're a good enough surgeon for the both of you." Margaret was getting that lovey-dovey look in her eyes.
Wrong. And nasty. Can't they be romantic somewhere else?
Trapper rolled his eyes. "Some people have no self control."
"I hope you're not talking about me!" Margaret looked angry. "You and Pierce have the least self control that I've ever seen!"
"Yeah," Frank added. "I've seen animals with more self control than you two!"
"Animals?" Trapper repeated. "Are you sure you weren't looking in a mirror?"
Frank and Margaret got up and left.
And they thought life was easier without Hawkeye.