Radar had been in the supply tent when the shooting started, one lone sniper wrecking havoc within the normally quiet compound. By the time he found an extremely upset Colonel Potter, the ground shook when the jeep exploded. Someone yelled that someone was near the jeep when it burst into a ball of fire.
It was Jessie. He knew it.
Her shock and fear rolled over him like a heavy blanket, and he tried to focus on it to find her. But, he could not enter the compound. The fire and the shooting made it virtually impossible to venture out. Frustrated, all he could do was try to focus on Colonel Potter's barked orders without panicking.
For once, the Army worked in their favor. There was a platoon nearby who dispatched a group to take care of the sniper. After another furious blast of gunfire, all was silent.
Ever resourceful, the 4077th jumped into action. Unfortunately, this was not the first sniper attack they had experienced.
Colonel Potter issued orders, everything from calling I-Corp to complain about the shoddy lack of protection to ordering new building supplies to repair the tents and other facilities that had been damaged.
Not a procrastinator by nature, Radar generally followed orders quite well. But this time, the first chance he got, he stole out into the compound to find her. He couldn't concentrate until he knew.
The fire was almost out by now, a bucket brigade of orderlies hard at work extinguishing it. The bullet struck the extra gas can on the jeep causing the inferno.
Radar wanted to ask someone if they knew where she was, but everyone bustled about, busy getting the camp back in order. He had to catch someone.
No, I haven't seen her. Have you tried the mess tent? OR? There were a couple of wounded in the compound at the time, so maybe she's in OR. Hey, did you hear someone almost bought it when the jeep exploded?
Radar hated that last comment, practically taking off in a blind run towards OR.
********************************************************
"Look, guys, I'm fine! See?" Jessie practically pirouetted around the gurney in pre-op.
Her bravado was mostly an act, but she still didn't want them fussing over her any more than they had to.
Charles took the hint. "I think she's just fine, Hunnicutt," he sniffed.
"See, the Major believes me! What'll it take to make you believe me?"
B.J. looked doubtful. "How many fingers am I holding?"
She rolled her eyes. "Two, if my first grade attendance serves me correctly."
He grinned while Charles shook his head and went to the next patient, all victims of the sniper attack and explosion.
"Didn't know you Texans could even read."
"We had to count our cows, so cipherin' was one of the first subjects we learned." Jessie found it soothing to fall into the old pattern of obnoxious comments that the nurses always had with the doctors. Anything to calm her nerves.
She sat outside after the explosion just long enough to compose herself before struggling into the nearest building, which happened to be pre-op. Covered in soot and blood, the nurses immediately assumed she had been seriously wounded. That's how she found herself trying to convince B.J. otherwise.
"I still want to take a look at this place on the back of your shoulder. It could get infected with . . . well with . . ." he motioned towards her filthy jacket.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
"Go on into OR, and Hawkeye'll take care of you."
She removed her jacket, not wanting the gory thing any longer, and complied. Hawkeye and Charles had set up a makeshift bandaging facility in OR. Wearing only the tank top and flannel pants she was soundlessly sleeping in earlier, - boy that seemed like eons ago! - she settled on the first gurney she saw and waited for her turn.
Since most of the wounds were not serious, it cleared out quickly.
"Ah ha, saving the best for last, I see." Hawkeye examined the wound on her back. "Hurt any?"
"Yeah, some." The adrenaline was wearing thin, and exhaustion was close.
"Well, it doesn't look like there's any shrapnel left in there, so I'll clean you up, bandage you, and you'll be on your merry way."
"Great. Just peachy."
He stopped collecting bandages and antiseptic long enough to look at her.
"Jess, you sure you're OK?"
She opened her mouth to tell him to mind his own business for the second time that night, but stopped. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Strangely enough. Or scarily enough, maybe. But, yeah, I'm OK."
Although she couldn't see him while he worked on her shoulder, he looked at her like he understood. "After awhile, this place doesn't get to you . . ."
"And that gets to you," Jessie finished.
"You catch on fast."
"Unfortunately."
******************************************
The only person in pre-op was B.J., scrubbing his hands in the sink. Bloody towels and clothes were strewn about the normally neat room, but none of the mess quite sunk into Radar's mind, especially after he honed in on one article of clothing tossed haphazardly on the floor.
He picked it up gingerly, praying it did not belong to who he thought it did.
It was torn, but the lieutenant's stripes were obvious. There was some hope it wasn't hers until he saw 'Callahan' almost obscured by blood and what looked suspiciously like something he didn't even want to comprehend.
But, it wasn't supposed to happen like this. The nightmare . . .
Radar didn't realize until then how certain he was about the nightmare he had been plagued with since Jessie's arrival.
He started to shake.
"So, what's the verdict on the sniper, Radar?" B.J. hunted for a clean towel. He had his back to the corporal and didn't notice his obvious distress until he did not reply. "Radar? You OK?"
Radar took as deep a breath as he could, trying not to panic. Or cry. He couldn't stand to cry in front of B.J. He clutched the filthy piece of clothing to his chest, oblivious to the stains. As crazy as it sounded, he could have swore he smelt her perfume from the gore-covered jacket.
B.J. didn't realize what obviously had Radar so upset. "Are you hurt?"
"I . . . um . . . was looking for . . . for . . ." He couldn't quite get it out. He didn't want to hear the final verdict, couldn't stand to have those words spoken that would make her just plain gone.
It finally dawned on B.J. "She's in there." He motioned towards OR. "Hawkeye's
working . . ."
Knowing she might still be alive, and that Hawkeye was trying to keep her that way, spurred him into action. Despite the fact it had been drilled into his head that he did not enter OR without a mask, he slammed through the door, expecting the worst and not truly knowing if he could handle it.
But, he didn't quite understand the scene before him. There were no bodies laid out on table, white-clad nurses and doctors scurrying about. Nothing like that at all.
Hawkeye turned around at the sound of the door banging loudly into the wall as he was finishing the sutures on the cut on Jessie's shoulder.
She turned her head slightly, but could not tell who it was, not wanting to wiggle as long as Hawkeye had a needle in his hands.
"Good Lord, Radar, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
Radar didn't quite know what to do. He had convinced himself that she was either seriously injured or dead – B.J. said she was in OR, so what was he supposed to think? - and his panicked mind attempted to put the brakes on his wildly beating heart. So, for a moment, all he could do was just stand there.
When Radar didn't reply, she knew something was amiss. She tried to turn around now that Hawkeye was finished with the stitches. "Be still! I can't put my finishing touches on this delicious skin of yours with you moving around like a jumping bean!"
She turned, despite Hawkeye's protest, long enough to catch the look on Radar's face, seeing him jump when B.J. put his hand on his arm, almost as if he was jolting him back to reality.
Before she could open her mouth, Radar was gone. Tossing the jacket on the floor where he found it, he fled into the compound.
"What in the world was that all about?" Hawkeye groused, trying to get Jessie to be still. He finally threw up his hands in disgust. "I give up! Go! Vamoose! Get an infection for all I care!"
As Jessie nudged her jacket with the toe of her equally-filthy boot, she tried to comprehend what exactly was going on . With all the shocks she had to her system, her brain almost seemed as if it wouldn't fire correctly, and she had no answers.
Hawkeye walked up behind her. "Beej, what in the world was wrong? Do we need to corner the little guy and browbeat it out of him?"
B.J. cleared his throat. "He came in here a few minutes ago and made a beeline for her jacket here. After he saw it, I think he thought . . . well . . .you know."
She shut her eyes against a headache beginning in her temples. "This has been one royally screwed up day."
"He ever stop by to see you earlier?" B.J. asked.
She shook her head.
"You know, you look like you could use a nap. Maybe a shower first, but then definitely a nap. I'm pretty good with both, you know." Hawkeye never was one to mince words.
"Yeah, I know. And no, I don't want company." She had to find Radar and figure out what in the world was going on. Physically, her life had been in danger, but that seemed easier to face than someone she wasn't quite sure where she stood. But, she had to eventually.
Without a word, she left OR. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. When her attention strayed to the smoldering remains of the jeep, she looked away.
*************************************
Radar felt like a coward. When he first saw her and realized she was fine, his first instinct was to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. And he had never felt like that before. Ever. Honestly, he didn't even know if he knew how to kiss a girl senseless, but that's what he wanted to do. Probably something close to what they were doing the other night before the choppers showed up, he guessed.
But, the thought of even approaching her, especially in front of Hawkeye and BJ, was too daunting. And who was he kidding? He couldn't even get her to talk to him after one little bitty kiss, so what made him think she would even let him try again? He was never one to dwell on the fact that he was by no means a lady's man, but once – just once! – he would like to know that he could in fact win the girl he wanted.
That's what he had to do. Suck it up and count his losses. Jessie was way out of his league. Just like every other girl in this camp. Maybe, just maybe, he could save enough pride and not come out of this looking like an idiot.
He picked up a stack of papers on his desk and absently rifled through them, finally tossing them down restlessly. A couple even fluttered to the floor, but he didn't stop to pick them up.
A light was on in Colonel Potter's office, so he needed to stay up in case he needed anything. But, it was hard to concentrate at 2 in the morning during a normal day, let alone this day.
************************************
During a quick shower, Jessie debated what to do.
She would tell him she was sorry. She had to! Look how they had already screwed everything up without actually seeing each other! She couldn't – no, she wouldn't! - allow herself the luxury of love in this hellhole she volunteered for like an idiot. She could finish her stint, go home to Texas and be the perfect genteel lady she never was before she lost her mind. She would not think about how kind and caring and funny and just plain cute he was. Nope, she wouldn't do it. They would just be friends, no matter what argument he tried to come up with.
That's what she'd do. But, she had to find him first.
After towel drying her hair and throwing on a drab T-shirt with equally drab pants, she started her search.
"How many wounded did we have?"
Radar knew the answers by heart. "Seven, sir. None serious."
"What about any structural damage?"
"One of the nurses' tents is shot up pretty bad, and the explosion messed up one side of pre-op, but I'll get on the phone to I-Corp in the morning and order some replacement supplies."
"Good work, Radar." The Colonel sat his own notes on his desk in a neat stack and pulled off his reading glasses, studying his clerk for a moment.
Radar knew what was coming and cringed.
"Heard one of the wounded was Lieutenant Callahan. How's she doin'?"
Radar shrugged, hoping he looked nonchalant. "Just a shoulder wound, I guess."
"You guess? You don't know?"
Radar stuck out his chin defiantly. "No, I don't know." And that hurt the most to admit. She had come to mean more to him than anyone, but it had all fallen to pieces around him without him knowing what to do about it.
Col. Potter looked like he wanted to argue for a moment. Instead, he blew out a breath. Youngsters. "Get some sleep, Radar. Not long until morning."
"Yes, sir." Radar clumped to the door, wishing he could sleep the rest of the war away. Preferably at home. Away from blood and death and snipers and green eyes haunting him in his sleep.
*****************************************
Jessie barged in his office, trying one last time. If she didn't find him here, it would have to wait until morning. Or whenever he decided to finally speak to her again.
At the sight of the cluttered room, she made a face. Boy, he certainly took avoiding her to the extreme, and she wondered where in the world he was this late.
She briefly thought of asking Col. Potter where he was, but decided against it. It would be like talking to her father. There would be questions, and she honestly didn't know if she could answer them.
When Radar barged through Col. Potter's door, she jumped.
When he saw her, he immediately halted, staring.
Strangely enough, he looked like he had something to say as well, but couldn't quite get it out.
Tell him. Tell him, damn it! Her just as exhausted brain demanded she do what she told herself she would. But, she kept seeing his panic as he stood in the doorway of OR earlier clutching her blood-covered jacket. And, the way he managed to find her and let her sob her fears away the night the little girl died. Don't forget how he was just plain there for her from the very beginning.
Needless to say, her heart just wasn't listening.
A couple of steps, and their lips met. They clung to each other, taking up where they left off after the night in her tent.
Hands fumbling through each others' hair and clothes – just like the two teenagers they really were, despite the terrible situation they found themselves in – they managed to fall through the swinging door right onto the floor of Colonel Potter's office.
The Colonel didn't even seem to be fazed by the sight of his company clerk and one of his nurses lying in tangled heap on the floor of his office. He removed his glasses as they both struggled from the floor, trying his best not to smile.
"Radar, you posted the weekly duty roster yet?"
"Y-yes, s-sir," he stuttered, straightening his fatigues.
"Jess, honey, I assume your wound won't keep you from your work, will it?"
"Uh, no. Sir. I . . . uh . . . I have tomorrow off, anyway." Just how did so many of my shirt buttons come undone in such a small amount of time? Mortified, she longed to edge out of the room.
The Colonel nodded and put his glasses back on, returning to his paperwork. "Radar, I suggest you take tomorrow off. After the way it's been around here lately, you could use a break."
Radar was speechless. The Colonel had never given him a day off for any reason. "Are you sure . . ."
Colonel Potter glanced up, one eyebrow raised. "Are you telling me you can't find anything at all to occupy yourself for one 24 hour period?"
Radar turned and even darker shade of red and couldn't quite meet the Colonel's eye.
"That's what I thought." He waved his hand and returned to his paperwork. "Carry on . . . er . . . dismissed, both of you."
Jessie didn't need to be told twice. She practically shoved Radar out of the office. Once they were safely on the other side of the door, they stared at each other for a moment and burst out laughing.
Colonel Potter smiled to himself from behind his closed door, the sound of their laughter fading as they made their way to her tent.
Ahhh, to be young again . . .
**********************************
"You did not!"
"Did so!"
"Liar! The Mississippi's too wide for athletes to swim across, let alone normal folks!" Jessie crossed her arms in defiance as she sat cross-legged at the foot of her cot.
Radar met her gaze just as defiantly. "Maybe down where you are. But up where I am, it's not even as wide as this tent. So, I did swim across it! So, there!"
Jessie stuck out her tongue at him as he laughed. "Just for that, I'm not going to share the rest of my brownies." She hugged the tin closer to her chest.
"Well, OK." He started to throw the blanket back where he had settled into her cot. "I'll just go to the mess tent, then Colonel Potter or Major Houlihan or someone will catch me, and I'll have to go back to work . . ."
"Oh, lay back down, silly." Jessie held out the tin, wincing a bit. "I'm not going to let you starve. You know that."
He saw the shadow pass over her face. "How's your shoulder?"
"Hawkeye said it wasn't all that bad. Just twinges every now and then."
"Should you let him look at it again?"
Just the idea of facing Hawkeye, B.J. or anyone who knew that she and Radar had been holed up in her tent since last night made her sigh. "It'll be alright. Plus," she swatted his leg through the blankets, "you didn't seem so worried about my shoulder last night. And this morning."
He couldn't help but blush. Even her vague references left him tongue-tied. Actually, she looked lovely sitting cross-legged at the end of her cot, wearing nothing but his shirt . . .
She grinned. "You men are all alike."
He tore his gaze away from where a bit of cleavage was visible from the haphazardly-buttoned shirt. "You weren't exactly not wanting . . . it, either, you know."
Now, it was her turn to squirm. It wasn't like her to be so forward. And despite being inexperienced, his eagerness more than made up for it. "I guess it's just this place. To quote Hawkeye, 'you gotta find comfort where you can get it.'"
Radar put his hands behind his head. "That's alright. I didn't mind."
"I bet you didn't!"
"So, when did Hawkeye tell you that?"
She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "The night you were supposed to meet me here . . . wait, was that just last night? Jeez, it seems like such a long time ago!"
"I guess we skipped the talking part, didn't we?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
She reached out her hand, and he intertwined his fingers with hers. She didn't have to say anything at all concerning what they needed to discuss. He just knew.
*************************************
No tar and feathering, please! I through myself upon the mercy of your reviews!