M*A*S*H: What If... Colonel Potter Died Before The War Ended?
Radar ran into The Swamp and shook Hawkeye awake. Hawkeye sat up groggily and looked up at Radar.
"Radar, I'm trying to sleep. Unless there are choppers out there, I don't want to be woken up until the next war." Hawkeye said.
"It's Colonel Potter." Radar said.
"What does he need?" Hawkeye asked.
"I went to go wake him up, and... he won't wake up." Radar said, on the verge of tears.
"Oh god." Hawkeye said, getting up and grabbing his robe as he ran out of the tent.
Hawkeye stood over Potter and started to check him over. His head dropped and he knelt next to the bed.
"Go get everyone." Hawkeye said.
"He's..." Radar started.
"Get everyone here, on the double!" Hawkeye said and Radar ran out of the tent.
Radar returned with B.J., Charles, Margaret, Father Mulcahy and Klinger.
"What's the big idea getting us up this early?" Margaret asked.
"He's dead." Hawkeye said.
"What?" B.J. asked.
"He's dead!" Hawkeye said louder.
"Oh my god..." Father Mulcahy said.
"How?" Margaret asked.
"Must've gone in his sleep." Hawkeye said, with tears in his eyes. "Radar, get on the phone to I-Corps. Tell them... that Colonel Potter... passed away."
The group sat in Colonel Potter's tent, after they had moved his body to Post-Op. Charles was the first to speak up.
"While, I would normally take relish in gaining command of this camp, I do not believe that I am a suitable replacement for Colonel Potter. Therefore, until I-Corps tells us differently, I want you to be in command, Pierce." Charles said.
"I can't do that. I don't want to be in command." Hawkeye said.
"Someone has to." B.J. said. "And it's gotta be one of you."
"Fine. I'll do it." Hawkeye said. "That's probably what he would've wanted, right?"
"About the funeral arrangements. I know we're sending his body back to Mrs. Potter, but I was hoping we could do something to celebrate his life here." Father Mulcahy said. "Perhaps you guys could come up with a eulogy for it."
"Yeah, we'll do that Father." Margaret said. "Such a sweet man. I can't believe he's gone."
"Do we know the cause yet?" Klinger asked.
"Not yet." B.J. said.
"I'm going to miss him." Radar said.
"We all are, Radar. We all are." Margaret said.
Father Mulcahy stood at his make shift pulpit, looking out at the mess tent, one of the only times the entire camp showed up to one of his services.
"Hello everyone. We are gathered here today, to mourn the loss of another commanding officer of this unit. But unlike Lieutenant Colonel Blake, Colonel Potter died of natural causes. I don't think that I'll ever be able to hear anyone call me Padre again without hearing his voice. If any of you would like to say a few words about our beloved Colonel, the pulpit is yours." Father Mulcahy said.
Hawkeye walked up to the podium, in his full dress uniform, out of respect for the Regular Army Colonel they were having the service for.
"Colonel Sherman T. Potter, what can I say about him? When he first arrived, I was intending to just carry on as I had with Henry. As long as Frank wasn't in command, I was happy. But... Colonel Potter was regular army, and he wasn't in the mood for shenanigans. Potter was a fantastic surgeon and an even better guy. He was the grandfather that we all wish we had. I still remember, the first time he saw the still, I thought he was going to do what Frank did with it that time Henry was transferred to Tokyo. Frank took the still, but Potter, he told us how to improve it's yield." Hawkeye laughed. "Godspeed, Sherman."
Hawkeye sat down and Margaret walked up to the pulpit, wiping tears away from her eyes. She looked out at everyone and started sobbing. B.J. walked up and walked her back to her seat. Charles replaced her at the pulpit.
"My relationship with Colonel Potter has been a troubled one. We have never saw eye to eye, but he was a capable officer and his surgical skills were unmatched. At first glance he seemed like an old codger who's only expletives are something to the like of "cow cookies" or "mule fritters". But he was so much more. And while I never thought I'd say this, I'm going to miss him." Charles said.
Later Hawkeye was sitting at the C.O.'s desk in his robe, while Klinger was helping box Potter's effects from the office. Radar ran into the office.
"Hawkeye! There's a call from I-Corps for you!" Radar shouted.
"Tell them I'm not here." Hawkeye said.
"Hawkeye!"
"Fine, fine." Hawkeye said, picking the phone up. "Hello?"
"Yes, is this the commanding officer of the 4077th M*A*S*H?"
"Yeah. I'm Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce. May I ask who's speaking?"
"Brigadier General Barker. I have been made aware that your C.O. has passed away." Barker said. "You have my condolences."
"Thanks."
"Anyway, the fact of the matter is figuring out who gets permanent command of the unit. Now, I have on record that the highest ranking officer there is a Major Winchester."
"Yeah. That's correct."
"Then why is he not in command?"
"He didn't want to be in command. Plus, I'm Chief Surgeon. It just made sense at the time."
"I want to ask you, in your honest opinion, does the 4077th need an outside commander, like we did with bringing in Colonel Potter to replace that horse's ass Frank Burns?"
"I think we can manage on our own."
"Then I guess you're staying in command then."
"I guess so."
"Good luck, Captain Pierce."
"Thanks."
The End