Nobody reviews my story. Anyone with lesser resolve or disdain would have quited long before. I won't. I am enjoying writing it. So yeah, if you don't review, it stings a bit but not a whole lot, really. I am sticking to the storyline and the format. Will probably post more frequently this week, I think. But no promises. Things will start rolling a little after Thanksgiving. Maybe a little dramatic but I need something solid to make it dramatic, both in the OR and outside. Final touches, really.
Anyway, happy-reading-and-not-reviewing!

Chapter 46

I sat up and held my head in my hands. The person was too polite to walk in on his own. I checked my watch. It was not yet 3pm which meant it was someone I probably did not care to see right now. Still holding my head, I called the person in anyway. It really was too cold outside.

"Hello Hawkeye. Am I interrupting someth...Are you alright Hawkeye?" That was Father Mulcahy. I remembered our encounters from the day before. He was the only one I had not apologized to. And that was because he was the only one who had not yet tried to make me feel bad about my stunt from the day before.

"Yes Father. I am fine. Just woke up and still trying to synchronize myself with the rest of the war. How are you doing?" I looked at him. He was looking slightly concerned. That was good. That meant he would not try to make me feel bad.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, Hawkeye. But maybe now is not entirely a good time." He peered at the wreck Frank had just created. I decided to get this over with too. This whole 'make-Hawkeye-feel-bad' routine was really starting to annoy me now. Wasn't a man entitled to his craziness anymore?

"Didn't they teach you in school, Father? Its now or never. Have a seat and say what you have to say."

"I saw Major Burns left your tent in a huff. And all this clutter?"

"I was trying a new décor and Frank did not like the idea."

He laughed a little at this before turning serious again.

"Tell me Hawkeye, is everything alright? Did Major Burns hit you?"

"Frank? Hit me? Father, I am a pacifist but trust me, I know how to run away from a fight. He did not hit me. It was just a ...never mind. You wanted to talk about something? Want to make a confession? You know I haven't been ordained yet." He laughed again. It was hard to say if his laughter was a real thing or something done out of courtesy. But now was not a time to ponder this question.

"No Hawkeye. I was just a little concerned about a few things and needed your help with them."

"If you wanna tell me that what I did yesterday was stupid, well, I have to admit it was. And I am sorry. And that almost everybody I have met since morning has chastised me about it. So don't worry, I won't do it again."

"Well...Hawkeye. That was part of what I wanted to talk about."

"Okay..."

"Pardon me for intruding like this, Hawkeye. But I feel you are not in very good spirits."

"Well, Father. Yeah. There was this whole hepatitis thing and then some personal problems. I am fine now. Insanity left me last night!"

"I figured that BJ was out of sorts last few days as well and...well, the reason why I came was, if you need someone to talk to, I am here. I prefer you pulling pranks and cracking jokes rather than sulking... and going off like you did yesterday. Makes my life easier." And with that he winked. I was not sure I understood what he really meant but the part that he came to say was clear. I felt a genuine rush of gratitude for our priest.

"Same goes for you too, Father. Feel free to come and confess. I am here to hear." I winked right back at him.

"I will remember that next time." He smiled before continuing, "You need help with the cleaning up?"

"No Father. Thats OK. Thanks for stopping by!"

"Alright then. I have to go oversee the Thanksgiving preparations. Get some rest, Hawkeye. You look awful."

"Yes Father." I smiled before he left the tent.

Frank had created a real mess. Up until now, his retribution was almost always composed of something sneaky and stupid. By doing what we did to him, he had suddenly risen to our level, not to mention, raised the ante and that change of status required a specific strategy to deal with. I decided to go to Post-op again. I had probably ripped a stitch or two with my fall too.

BJ was listening to a patient's chest and bowel. An orderly was standing next to him. Probably it was time for patient to take a walk. I sat on BJ's chair and silently waited for him to get done with his work. There was plenty of paperwork on his desk. I knew Frank was diligent about paperwork. So was BJ. But somehow, BJ did not share Frank's fetish for paperwork. And it was showing. The notes were in typical doc-scrawl, undecipherable to a normal eye. I started shuffling through them to see what it had been like and if they had discovered some new way to treat an old problem. It did not take me all that long since BJ was enjoying a relatively quiet morning today.

"These kids leave after Thanksgiving."

"So besides being injured, they also have to endure our feast?" I asked somewhat sardonically. BJ gave me an almost smile.

"I thought you were going to sleep."

"So did I till Frank decided to go on a date."

"Date?"

"Yeah, thats my idea. He was humming. And shaving. Which reminds me, he asked me if I had used his razor. The idiot! How could I?"

"I did."

"I told him that and he still trashed my stuff."

"Trashed? How?"

"By throwing it down on the floor? And thats after he woke me up with that nasal tune he was trying to hum, off key I am pretty sure." I shook my head in disgust and felt boulders move inside my head.

"What happened?" BJ asked nonchalantly.

"He shoved me. I think I struck my head to something. Now its achy all over again, twerp!"

"Lemme see. There is a torn suture. It cut through the edematous scalp. No oozing. What about your shoulder?"

"Its fine. Beej, I think Frank has a case of self esteem."

"Not a case, no. Maybe a sixpack but a case is too big for him." He smiled.

"What if he does to us what we do to him? Besides what he usually does to us?"

"Hmmm. Thats scary, Hawk." And he snickered and I joined him.

"I was thinking of leaving him alone for the time being."

"Chicken!"

"Well, I am still waiting for the glue but in the mean time, how about some truce?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, BJ. I am very serious. I think he might be losing it completely. He is being a little more, how do I put it? Aggressive? Nastier? lately."

"Cummon Hawk, you are reading too much into this. Relax. Remember who he is, really. And you need a stitch in time to save rest of the nine. You don't want to be late for your date, do you?"

"OK. Yeah. You are right. Maybe I have become paranoid. He once broke our still too, back in the day. In a way, it was a favor, really. That still was so rudimentary. We got to build a whole new one after that." I started walking towards suture room with BJ.

"How is Brendt in OR?" I asked BJ once he was finished with the suturing.

"Skillful. Perceptive. Smart. You would like her." He handed me a bottle of Aspirin.

"What makes you think I don't already?"

He just grinned before heading back to post-op.

"Hey, use them carefully. Your liver is still trying to get better, alright."

"I went to med school too, ya know!"

"The hell you did." He said before disappearing behind the swinging door.

I, too, returned to Swamp to get a little more spruced up. Whoever said there was anything called enough preparation?