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So Here It Comes ...

Chapter 9

Somehow, despite my fear of not being able to sleep, I slept. This may have been one of the rare few nights when I had nothing to drink and still I slept. Even the dreams left me alone.

By the by, I felt shaken by the earth quake. Everything was moving. I could hear loud noises, like boulders falling off the face of a cliff. And then there was lightening.

I must have said something. Maybe I screamed. I am not sure. My ears were ringing and my heart, racing. And then I woke up. It was Radar. He was trying to wake me up. And he had succeeded, at my peril, of course.

"WHAT? What? Owww", I could not help it. I did not know what hurt worse, my head or my gut.

"Hawkeye! Are you awake? " Who else but Radar to ask such a question. I wanted to say something witty but nothing came to mind.

"No, I am still asleep. Why? Something wrong with my patients? Or do we have new casualties?" With that I looked at the other bed. Gracie was still asleep. No new wounded, I presumed. But then, Frank being asleep did not mean anything. He slept through everything anyway.

"Somebody wants to see you. In my office!" Radar informed me. And lowered his voice while doing so.

"Radar! If its a nurse, tell her your office is the last place I wanna be seen in with a girl. And tonight is the last night I wanna be with a girl. Tell her to postpone our date!"

With that, I leaned back on the pillow, ready to go back to sleep.

And I was shaken again. And not very nicely. Reminded me of my childhood when Dad would wake me like this. I hated it!

"Go away Radar! I don't wanna see a face that belongs to anything on this camp! I know you are cute and cuddly and tiny and portable but for the last time, LET ME SLEEP."

"HAWKEYE! It might be an emergency! Its is an LIP waiting for you in my office. Remember the family that took care of you when you had that accident?" I looked at him again, quizzically. Why would he want to see me again?

"Of course I remember. They are the ones who caused the accident to begin with! What does he want?" And where is my robe? I knew I had to go see him and then try and make out what he was trying to say. "Any ROK guys around in the camp? I am not good at Korean sign language." There! Left arm, right arm. Done. Now where are my boots? I knew I should have showered in them. The blood was all congealed inside. Damn it!

"I will check around. But they won't like it if I wake them up so late. I think he wants you to go with him anyway."

"Of course he does. I am known for making house calls! And I also love being awakened like this. By YOU. Find a Korean soldier and bring him in. And if there's more than one, pick the senior most. By the way, what time is it?" I had two reasons behind asking for the senior most person. One was obvious. His seniority. Why should I bother a lower rank when I had a senior one to torment? And maybe he knew better English than the rest, though that was not as important.

"2 AM. I am sorry Hawkeye but he seemed desperate and had a note written by you telling him to come to 4077 and find Cap'n Pierce whenever he needs help." I was already feeling guilty for being mad. Of course if he was here at this hour, he must have walked twenty miles. And that also meant that whatever the problem, we were already fighting against the clock.

"I knew I should have torn that note on my first house call when I delivered the baby...No good deed goes unpunished! Anyway, get a Korean soldier. And get a jeep ready just in case. And see if you can scrounge some food and medicines, antibiotics." With that I left the Swamp. What hurt me the worst was watching Ferret Face sleeping like nothing happened. If I had a mouse trap handy...And then I took a double take.

"Radar, wh..."

"He is waiting for you in my office." Came the reply. It seemed like he had said something about his office but still...Thinking of Radar, that kid amazed me. Exceptional hearing I could understand, having been there myself, but this...mind reading? Even his dirty glasses could not explain this ability. I could do wonders with that talent. Think of all the women...

He was sitting on Radar's cot. I hoped he woke Radar with just as much gusto as Radar did me. The old man looked shrunken. I kinda knew that he was not even remotely responsible for care of the baby so what he was doing here was beyond me. The moment he saw me, he started pulling on my robe, ordering me out.

"Hold it, Kemo Sabe. Let Radar get Tonto first, alright? What happened?" Then re-realized that he understood even less English than I understood Korean and that was saying something. Whatever he said probably made less sense to me than what I had said, to him.

Finally Radar arrived in which time, this guy had tried to abduct me three times. I was not going to fight it the 4th time.

"No Korean soldiers in the camp, Hawkeye. What should I do now?"

"Alright then. Get me a lucid soul . I cannot drive in this state!"

"A What? And you asked for the jeep, Hawkeye. You don't remember?" The same tone again. Like I was forgetting things.

"I do, Tiny Tim, I do. I cannot drive myself though. Unless you have switched sides and joined hands with Frank and want me dead or worse, maimed? Get me someone who is not as wasted as I am and can drive a jeep. Got it? Now hurry! I won't be able to keep his hands off of me the fourth time." I gave Radar a one-arm hug before pushing him out of his office.

"Would an MP do?" He asked, looking at me from behind those dirty glasses.

"Anybody whose feet can reach the pedals and a body with at least six hours rest is good. If I don't return before morning call, you have my permission to bug out!"

"Oh Hawkeye." Radar laughed his cute little laugh and shuffled out. I smiled too. His laughter was contagious, the little fink, I thought as I saw the door close behind his retreating figure, or figurine. This reminded me of my early days when I was telling Dad about Radar and his exploits and his ability to read minds. I wondered if he could read mine right now. That is, if he could find it in the first place. Maybe thats why he had a little trouble reading mine lately.

"I heard that!", suddenly the door opened a little and I saw Radar's face before it disappeared again.

"RADAR!" But he was already gone.

'Some day!' , I thought while waiting for Radar to return then decided to go get some supplies before leaving for the Center for Breaking and Resetting GIs, Ouijangbou Chapter. Writing for Radar where he might find me, I left the note to the Korean fella, hoping my speaking real slow English made him understand that he was to wait here while I got meds and such.

The jeep was parked outside and was already stocked with food and supplies.

And why did he ask if an MP would do? Considering it a futile exercise in cognition and intellect, I left it to the wise old little soul responsible for making the arrangements. My mind wandered to the possible scenarios awaiting me. Scariest of all was that one of the kids, or worse, the baby needed me. My experience with kids was limited to the rotations in residency and then the few surgeries we had to perform on kids injured during the war. Surgery was straightforward. What if one of the kids had some medical problem? What if the family had some medical problem? What if it was contagious? I knew he wouldn't have walked twenty miles if it was not something he could take care of through his herbal remedies and such.

Radar's voice broke my reverie. I was glad to hear him.

The MP, a corporal, saluted me. Does this guy even know who I am? I decided to ignore the offense.

"Lets get rollin'. Get my host." I parked myself in the backseat, considering a little shuteye till we got to the old man's hut.

Not helpful. I had all but slept out. It had been almost three weeks before I was ushered to deliver the baby. They named him something-Joe. I was honored. I knew there was a Benjamin back home whom I had delivered. But this was the first time Joe was used to name a baby in my honor.

When I got there, it was a relief to see that mom and baby were alright. So was the hostess. And the bull. That left the only possibility that it was one of the kids. Not a landmine injury, I hoped. And rejected the thought even as it came. If it were a land mine, they would have needed Father Mulcahy and not me. It had to be over five hours before that happened. I was saved from further speculation because the kid was lying in front of me. He was in pain. Why couldn't the idiot old man bring him to the camp was beyond me. I knew he had a bull. Probably a cart too. And then only did I see the girl lying next to the little guy. She had a broken leg, from the looks of it. She was trying to be brave about it. I looked at the old man for some explanation.

Examination revealed an advanced appendicitis in the boy. He had a mass and a raging fever. The girl had a fractured tibia and some scrapes and bruises. Questions would come later.

Giving them adult doses of antibiotics and not-so-adult doses of morphine, and starting both of them on IV fluids and splinting the leg, I asked MP to load the kids in the jeep with me while I tried to explain to the family about what happened. It was an exercise in futility and soon as the corporal place the girl on front seat, I hopped in the backside. It was time to get out of Dodge!