The light was peeking over the horizon by the time Hawkeye walked through the hospital's double doors. Wearily he crossed the parking lot to his car and slumped into the driver's seat. The drive home seemed longer than usual, but he'd never been so glad to see his home. Between the trip to Denver and the par for the course all night session at the hospital, he could have slept for three days straight. But he had a feeling that he moment he arrived home, ready for some rest and relaxation, he'd be summed to return to the hospital yet again. But such was the life of a surgeon.
Amazingly when he arrived home, the phone remained silent, for the time being, anyway. He took advantage of the rare free time to shower and change into comfortable clothes.
Peacefully content, he flopped onto his plush recliner, shivering at the chill in the apartment. He reached for the quilt that lay across the arm of his sofa and smiled at the memory when it surfaced. It was a gift from Sherman's lovely wife, Mildred. Hawkeye had only met Mildred once but it only took one look to see why Sherman loved her so much.
Radar's letter lay open on the coffee table, waiting for him to read it. He picked it up and glanced at it. The words getting married jumped out at him, and he laughed. Imagine, Radar O'Reilly, getting married! Hawkeye could only picture what kind of wedding it would be; barnyard animals, the entire O'Reilly family… probably not the kind of wedding that Radar and his bride (whomever she was), had dreamed of.
Suddenly had an idea. A brilliant, beyond brilliant idea. He put the letter down and sighed. He'd need time off from work; a lot of time. But the hospital owed him in ten fold. After all, since he'd returned to civilization and a "real job", his free had dwindled to almost nothing He picked up the phone and called the hospital.
"Dr. Hogenson, please."
"Dr. Hogenson? Yeah, it's Hawkeye. Listen, I need to take a leave of absence. It's really important."
"Why? It's a… well, it's a family matter."
"How long? At least a month. Look, I'll call you when I'm ready to come back to work. Yes, I appreciate it sir. Very much. Thank you."
He hung up the phone and smiled. Eagerly he searched for his address book and quickly made a list. He had a lot of phone calls to make. His phone bill was sure to go through the roof, but in the end, it would be more than worth it.