Things returned back to normal in the 4077th. Sidney's talk with Hawkeye must've worked as his nightmares seemed to be stopped, and Chris was very relieved about that. He wished to never see his dad in such a panicked state. It really scared him and he had felt so powerless that he couldn't help his dad feel better.
But he also felt a bit sad. He was always talking to Sidney and his nightmares never stopped. He asked his dad about it because his dad knew everything and the man told him he just had a lot more to process. And Chris felt a little better about it but he still wondered. He didn't want to be weak, most of the men passing through the unit were very strong and it was a bit intimidating. His dad refused to hear Chris call himself weak or stupid, but sometimes he couldn't help himself from thinking it. And on top of that he really wanted to belong and to be normal.
But things weren't all bad as he was overjoyed to be allowed back in post-op, and spent most of his time there when his dad was working. He just loved helping his dad and the patients. A lot of the men just wanted to talk and someone to listen to them and Chris was happy to oblige. He listened for hours and the patients seemed to like that.
Margeret was also in high spirits these days as her fiance would be coming soon to the 4077th and everyone should know about it as she was counting down the days. There wasn't a day going by without her telling everyone about her handsome fiance.
During breakfast Hawkeye invited Chris to play some basketball and the rest of the table wanted to join in. Radar offered to play referee and was running around with his whistle as Klinger dribbled the ball.
Chris loved playing with the adults as they are very competitive with each other. And he could push back as hard as he wanted. He didn't want to appear weak so he tried his very best. His dad tried to block Klinger from his left while Chris tried on the man's right, but of course he was too small and Klinger scored easily.
Francis quickly caught the ball but the Colonel slammed into him grabbing it.
Radar blew his whistle loudly "You fouled him, Colonel!"
The Colonel stood up straight and said. "Radar, you wanna reorganize the entire filing system?"
Radar looked shocked for a second before he turned to the priest and said. "Jump ball!"
"Isn't it unusual for the ref to change his call?" BJ asked as they went back into position. Chris again took a stand to block the Colonel from shooting, not that it would help but he loved it anyway. He never scored unless his dad lifted him or something. He was just really bad at this game, but he didn't care one bit. He was just happy that everyone was having fun.
"Not if he's a corporal." Hawkeye mumbled back.
"Colonel, I believe you're standing on my foot." Francis explained making Chris giggle.
"It's only a friendly game, Father. " the Colonel said.
Radar blew his whistle and the game was on. Chris tried to get the ball but the Colonel easily shoved him off and jumped way higher than him to hit the ball. Chris almost fell flat on his face but his dad steadied him quickly as the rest ran after the ball. The Colonel had possession of the ball again and tried to make a shot as a jeep rode in.
They didn't notice the man stepping out of the jeep as several people tried to wrestle the ball away from the priest, who had claimed it from the Colonel the moment before. Radar whistling loudly but without success.
Chris saw the man walk up to them and he quickly stepped a bit behind his dad to hide, he immediately forgot they were playing a game. The boy looked up to the new man. He had dark hair and a broad chin. He wasn't as handsome as Margaret said but he wasn't ugly either. The man also didn't look mean or angry. Chris sighed, he was just nervous with new people, but it couldn't hurt to be on the safe side.
The man introduced himself to the Colonel as Lt. Col. Penobscott.
The Colonel passed the ball to Radar as he shook the man's hand, and started introducing everyone. He even introduced Chris, so the boy gave a small nervous wave to the man. He didn't want to get any closer to the new guy than he was right now.
As the Colonel introduced Radar, the clerk threw Donald the ball so he had his hand free to salute him. Penobscott caught the ball with ease.
At that moment Margeret walked uit her tent and the man immediately dropped his suitcase, gave the ball back to the clerk and rushed over to his fiance. Everyone stopped and stood by to watch the two hug and then kiss passionately.
Chris made a face at the kissing adults. 'Blehh, that's disgusting. Why would anyone want to do that?'
"Ohh, wow. They must really like each other." Radar said.
"Then how come they close their eyes?" BJ jokes.
With their game forgotten they all went to the mess hall for some coffee. Well, the adults got coffee, Chris liked his orange juice better.
After a while, Margaret entered the mess hall as well as her fiance and they explained they wanted to get married as soon as possible. Which meant they were having the wedding here on the 4077th and in less than 48 hours.
Everyone cheered and seemed overjoyed. The rest of the day people seemed in high spirits. The cook spent hours baking a cake. Radar made sure all the documents were in order and helped with planning everything. While Chris was helping Francis with making some decorating. He loved to help and he definitely loved to make decorations. And Francis really seemed to like his help.
Later that night the Swamp was packed with several drunk people. Including Colonel Potter, Frank, BJ, Donald, Hawkeye and of course little Chris, who didn't have to go to bed on his bedtime either as his dad explained they were having a stag party. Chris didn't really understand what a stag party was but his dad was clearly too drunk to explain better. Not that Chris cared, he was just happy to be included in this. It was great to see everyone so happy, and the stories were always fun to listen to. Everyone was having a blast, everyone except for Frank. The man was having mood swings and it worried Chris a little.
After a couple of hours and a lot of drinks later Radar asked the Colonel permission to get sick outside. The man granted his request and the clerk quickly left the Swamp. Without thinking Chris followed him. He didn't want his friend getting sick, and maybe Radar needed help.
Radar didn't make it far and fell facedown on the dirt. Chris tried to catch him in time. He quickly grabbed the clerks shirt, but the clerk was heavier than he thought and he dropped down like a log, pulling the boy who had a hold of him with him.
They landed with a loud thud.
Chris quickly got off his friend and kneeled down near the man's face. He reached out to hold the man's shoulder and shook gently. "R-Radar?" he tried carefully. He hoped he didn't hurt the man by falling on him.
" I don't want another slice of cake, Ma." The clerk mumbled.
"R-Radar? Are y-you okay?" Chris shook the man's shoulder a little firmer.
"No, I didn't steal that cow. I swear... She just followed me home." Radar mumbled before he let out a loud snore. He stopped moving at all and Chris slowly started to panic. This wasn't good! His breathing sped up as he tried to get Radar up again. Thankfully Colonel Potter walked out the Swamp, staggering towards them.
Chris jumped up and ran to him. "R-r-radar is not getting up!" he said with a higher panicky voice than normal. The Colonel put a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Or to keep himself upright, Chris didn't know. It did make him feel better so he wasn't complaining. "Ohh that's alright son." The man said as Chris led him to the fallen clerk.
"You see, Radar is just drunk. Nothing to worry about." The Colonel said. He let go of Chris and grabbed the clerk under his arm to lift him up. "Uncle Edd?" Radar asked confused as he swayed slowly from left to right.
"No, son. Colonel Potter. Let's get you to bed."
At that moment Hawkeye staggered out of the Swamp.
"Chris, there you are!" Hawkeye slurred his words a bit. Chris looked at his dad with big eyes, and realized he had forgotten about the wandering off rule. Thankfully his dad didn't seem very upset. Chris quickly walked over and got pulled in a big hug. "Dad, R-Radar fell down, do you think he's okay? " he asked softly.
Hawkeye snickered softly as he led him back inside and gave him a sloppy kiss on his forehead. "Daaad!" Chris whined as he wiped his forehead making Hawkeye giggle uncontrollable. "Yeah, Kiddo. Radar just had too much to drink."
Chris looked around the Swamp and noticed Frank and Donald were sound asleep. They joined a giggling BJ, who tried to pick up the unconsciously drunk Donald.
Chris pulled on his dad's sleeve. "Dad, how do you know? You didn't see him?"
"Chris." His dad said as he guided Chris toward his bed. "I've seen how much he drank. It's my professional opinion that Radar is drunk."
*Thud!*
BJ's laughter almost masked the groaning from the unconscious man on the floor. Apparently BJ had dropped him.
"Papa? What are you guys doing?" Chris said before he yawned widely.
His dad burst into laughter before he replied. "Well, first I'm going to put you to bed. But then!" He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and laughed again at the confused expression from his child. Chris didn't know what his dad was planning but the man seemed very excited. He had that gleam in his eye that he got everytime he was about to unleash a prank.
"We are going to put our dear Donald completely in cast from the waist down." He laughed again. "And tell him his legs are broken."
Chris looked at him like he was crazy. His kid often didn't get his jokes.
"I don't understand." Chris said, 'How could that be funny? It just seemed uncomfortable and mean.' He thought.
"It's funny. Because there are certain things people want to do when on a honeymoon, which requires functional legs. " Hawkeye tried as he opened the blankets for Chris to get in. The child was already in his pj's for the night as Chris changed around his bedtime but didn't want to go to bed during the stag party.
"Can I help?" Chris asked softly. He didn't want to go to bed, and with his dad drunk maybe the man could be convinced. He wanted to stay close to Hawkeye. Radar falling down had scared him a bit, his dad had also drank a lot, so there was a lot that could go wrong.
"You can go to sleep. That would help." Hawkeye said with a grin, still holding the blankets up.
"Daaad" Chris whined softly but he still climbed in.
"Chris, it's two in the morning, you already stayed up during the party, and you're exhausted." Hawkeye explained as he lifted the blankets to his pouting son's chin.
"P-please?" Chris tried again as his pouting didn't seem to work.
Hawkeye laughed before he said "No! Go to sleep." He kissed the boy's forehead and brushed his hair affectionately. He mumbled a goodnight before he joined BJ in his task of getting Donald to post op.
Chris was already slowly drifting off to sleep with soft laugher and giggles of the two doctors in the background. There was a thud when the two doctors dragged the unconscious man out of the Swamp, probably hitting Donald against the doorframe. Chris heard the door slam shut and the voices fade away before it got quiet.
Chris was really tired and slowly drifting, but his mind started questioning. He was worried about his dad, the man was drunk. He and BJ, both were drunk and that could mean they needed help. Or they could get hurt. If Radar fell down so easily, his dad could too. And he just wanted to be close. Some of the darkness seemed to close in as he realized he was without his dad. Frank was there sleeping, but that made him even more scared and lonely.
His worries started to fight with his sleep, making him uncomfortable and anxious.
'Maybe he should look around. If he stayed at a distance his dad probably wouldn't notice him.' Chris thought as he sat up. He yawned deeply while he tried fighting his sleep. His dad did say no, so he could be in trouble if his dad found him out of bed. But what if Hawkeye needed his help later? The boy got out of bed and tiptoed over to the Swamp door. Making sure not to wake up Frank. The man was almost unconscious as well except for the loud snoring. He carefully peeked a glance outside and saw that everything looked deserted.
He made his way over to where his giggling dad disappeared too. Staying in the shadows and out of sight from everyone. Now that he knew everyone was keeping an eye on him, he knew he needed to avoid them as well. The sound of laughter became louder as he sneaked towards Post-op. There he found his dad and he sighed relieved. His dad was completely fine and apparently he and BJ were having a blast. He and BJ were plastering a cast around Donalds leg, they already had the other one done.
Chris was hiding next to the door, completely hidden away in the shadows so he could stay unnoticed for a while. And he would've stayed unnoticed if he had taken into account the fact that he was so tired. The laughter and conversations from his dad normally helped him to go to sleep and he was slowly starting to drift off.
Chris abruptly woke up as he hit his head on the door frame with a thud. He steadied himself before he fell to the floor completely but the thud his head made against the door was loud.
"Christopher!" Hawkeye called out. There wasn't anyone else who would spy on them in the middle of the night. Or it could be Chinese soldiers, and if that was the case, they could be in danger. Not that it was a big possibility, but he still would like to know sooner than later.
The boy didn't move and kept quiet, maybe his dad would forget about it. Or maybe he could quickly sneak back to the Swamp and pretend to go to sleep.
Hawkeye stood up straight and tried again in a sterner voice "Christopher. Front and center!"
Chris jumped up startled and quickly made his way over to his dad. Hawkeye sounded way too angry to defy and he didn't want to provoke the man anymore than he already had. He just had to face the music at this point, hoping his dad would be lenient.
Hawkeye sighed relieved when his son stepped from the shadows and made his way over to him. The chance of Chinese soldiers had been a small one but it was still good to see his son, even though he wasn't happy with the boy's disobedience. Chris looked very nervous and was fidgeting with his pajama shirt he wore.
The boy stopped in front of him and looked at the floor. With a sigh, Hawkeye quickly looked over the bump on the boy's head. It was a small one so the boy would be fine. With that behind them Hawkeye's anger returned as looked at his nervous son. This was the second time today the boy was outside and even after he said no.
Hawkeye got a stern expression before he grabbed the back of the boy's neck making Chris squeak softly. He turned the boy to the side and bended him forward a little.
"Young man! What did I tell you when you asked to help?"
Chris didn't like this position at all and his hands automatically went to his bottom to protect it against the smack that was probably coming soon.
"Christopher. " Hawkeye started to get more irritated. It was late and his drunk state was slowly turning towards exhaustion. "Put those hands away and answer my question." He felt a soft sob more than he heard it before Chris slowly removed his hands.
His eyes started to water and his hands went back to the front of his shirt to fidget. "I'm s-s-sorry" Chris mumbled softly "y-you said n-no."
*Smack*
Chris jumped and squeaked a little but Hawkeye didn't let him move away and held him in place. The smack wasn't a hard one and he was more startled than really hurt, but this was so embarrassing. And on top of that, BJ was still in the room. He felt himself blush and even his ears started burning while tears jumped into his eyes.
"Then why are you here?" Hawkeye asked sternly.
Chris let out a sob and mumbled. "I-I wanted t-too help."
Another smack followed after that before Hawkeye released him. Hawkeye turned the boy to face him and looked sternly into those sad blue eyes. His son looked completely exhausted and he wanted the boy in bed as quickly as possible.
"I've already said no to you helping, so don't even think of using that as an excuse." Hawkeye said as he gave his son a stern look.
"Y-yes sir" Chris said softly. He wanted to look away but he knew his dad wanted him to look at him.
"We're about finished here." BJ voiced. Chris looked a bit confused at the unconscious Donald who was now from the waist down completely casted. Weren't they just doing his leg? Maybe he slept longer than he thought before he smacked his head against the door frame.
"Right. We're not finished with this discussion, Mister. " Hawkeye said sternly to his son before he turned to BJ with a grin. "Now we'll quickly take him back before he wakes up"
Chris wiped his eyes quickly, he didn't like the sound of that. He hoped his dad wasn't too mad at him. He didn't care for more smacks.
BJ laughed as Hawkeye wheeled in a hand truck. They both struggled with getting the big unconscious drunk man onto the device. It took a while but with some luck and a lot of laughter they finally managed and they wheeled Penobscot to their tent.
Inside the Swamp they rolled Donald over to the extra cot that was installed just for him and dropped him face down on it. Hawkeye laughed uncontrollably as BJ tried to turn him over. Together BJ and Hawkeye turned the man to sleep on his back.
Chris quickly and quietly went to his own cot and crawled under the covers. He pulled the blankets over his head and kept quiet. Maybe if he pretended to sleep his dad would forget all about him wandering around at night. But this was the second time today and he knew his dad wasn't happy about it. He heard his dad and BJ laugh in the background for a couple of minutes before he heard footsteps toward his bed. The footsteps stopped close to him.
"Chris, I know you aren't sleeping." He heard his dad say. The man sounded stern again, making Chris dread the upcoming conversation. He didn't want to anger his dad further so he sighed defeated and poked his head out of his blankets. He looked up at his dad and saw with disappointment that he looked mad. He still had some small hope his dad wouldn't punish him further, but judging the look on his father's face made him lose all hope.
Hawkeye looked at the glossy big blue eyes of his son. He didn't want to do this, but he was angry about his kid wandering around at night. Especially after he told the boy no.
"Turn around." Hawkeye said. He saw the boy's eyes get big as tears filled them.
"P-Papaaa" Chris whined softly as he pulled the blankets higher to his face. He wanted to hide or run but knew he couldn't. BJ was already snoring on his cot, but what if he heard.
"Now! On your stomach." Hawkeye snapped. He was getting very impatient and he was very tired at this point. He knew he needed to make a point with the child as this was the second time Chris was outside in the middle of the night and he just wanted this to be over with.
Chris burned bright red as he let out a louder sob but slowly turned over to lay on his stomach. He buried his face in his pillow and let out a sob.
Hawkeye didn't waste any time and removed the blanket uncovering the boy's small behind. The boy let out an embarrassed squeak as Hawkeye pulled his pajama bottom and briefs down. Two sharp smacks sounded through the Swamp.
"Ow!" Chris whined softly as he felt the smacks hit and the sting made his bottom burn. He started crying louder. Hawkeye put his briefs and pajamas back as they were and Chris quickly turned back around getting his butt away from his dad.
He looked up sadly at his dad and was relieved to see that the man wasn't angry anymore.
"No means no, Mister." Hawkeye explained but he sounded a lot more gentle than he did before.
Hawkeye looked down at his crying son as Chris sniffed loudly and nodded. He gave the boy a smile as he brushed his blond hair affectionately.
"It's okay, Kiddo. You're forgiven and I still love you." Hawkeye assured him softly. Chris looked up curiously, tears streaming from his blue eyes, "Really?" he must be the worst behaved kid in the whole world to get spanked as often as he did. And it was embarrassing.
"I promise." Hawkeye told him, pulling the boy into his arms. Chris immediately wrapped his arms around his neck sobbing.
Hawkeye smiled again and kissed the top of the blonde head. After a few minutes, Chris's sobs quieted down slightly and he pulled back slowly. The boy wiped away a tear which rolled down his cheek.
"Now, it's very late, so let's go to sleep." Hawkeye whispered as he tugged his son in, raising the blankets towards the boy's chin. He was very tired himself and wanted nothing more than a few hours of sleep.
It didn't take long before Chris was sleeping soundly and Hawkeye crawled into his own bed. He was also asleep within minutes.
The next day, the mess hall was transformed into a wedding chapel. Which was like the normal chapel but with more white decorations. Chris was glad to see it turned out great, he was proud of helping Francis, and the priest had thanked him numerous times.
It was completely packed as everyone seemed to be present and they were sitting ready for the ceremony to start.
Chris was wearing a very neat blouse and felt pretty handsome. It was his favorite color and it matched his eyes perfectly even if he says so himself. Several people even told him he looked handsome, which made him proud. He looked over to Klinger who was wearing a beautiful light blue dress. It had a soft fabric and even some lace. He wished his blouse had some lace, or flowers like that dress but he wasn't going to say it out loud. People didn't really like that stuff.
Klinger wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and Chris saw the beautiful nail polish the man wore. He felt a pang of jealousy which turned to sadness after a moment. He was a bit upset that he couldn't wear nail polish like that. It was also a light blue color and it would've matched his blouse as well.
Radar started playing the music and people stood up to watch Colonel Potter walk Margaret to the altar. Klinger was already crying. Donald stood ready with the Father, he was still cast from the waist down.
Hawkeye and BJ were snickering at the irritated look Margeret had when she looked at the cast. She made it quite clear earlier when she got the news, that she didn't find it funny at all. They had told her Donald had broken both his legs and that news was not appreciated. She screamed and threw her brush at the doctors. Hawkeye snickered as he quickly dodged the object and now he and BJ were still snickering about it. Chris didn't get the joke but he wasn't about to interfere. Most people in this camp knew his dad's jokes and it always turned out fine.
Radar was playing the wedding music but he got a bit carried away before the priest put a stop to it. They sat down again as Francis started his speech.
Chris yawned deeply and got a nudge from his dad to make him stop. Chris gave the man an annoyed expression but only got a stern expression back so he kept quiet. He was still tired and was feeling a bit more cranky than normal. The music was loud and he couldn't focus on the speech. And it wasn't fair that his dad was allowed to snicker and he wasn't allowed to yawn.
They were almost at the end of the speech when Radar heard
Something. "Oo.. no. Wounded!" the clerk mumbled as he ran out the tent. People got up and immediately started to leave, ready to get back to work. Rushing over to the choppers.
The priest quickly collected the I do's from the couple and married them. Margaret gave Donald his kiss before she ran out to help with triage.
Hawkeye told Chris to behave and with a forehead kiss left the boy to his own wits. The tent was empty in minutes with only Donald and Chris remaining.
"You can't just leave me!" The man called out.
"I-I'm still here." Chris replied softly.
The man, startled by the small voice, tried to look around him and lost his equilibrium. He was swinging his arms around wildly and started to scream as he slowly tipped over.
Chris jumped into action and tried to save the man but he was too late. Donald smacked down with a bang. So all Chris could do was look with big eyes as the man on the floor started calling for help. His panic started rising and his breathing sped up, this was not good. The man was way too big for him to get on his feet and the rising panic made thinking difficult so he didn't know how to help.
Thankfully Klinger entered the tent. "Well, I look at you!" The man said happily. "shouldn't you wait till the honeymoon?" the man joked. He started lifting the other man. "Just joking off course."
Chris quickly left the tent, he didn't know if the man would be angry or not but he wasn't staying there to find out. He entered the Swamp and collected his schoolwork, better to do something useful. He climbed on his cot and opened his books only to find out he couldn't concentrate at all. He kept yawning and just couldn't focus, so he picked out a comic to read.
A couple hours later he was awoken by his dad. Chris didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep.
"Come on, Kiddo. Time to wake up. Margeret is leaving for her honeymoon and is saying goodbye." Hawkeye explained softly as he got Chris to stand. Hawkeye straightened out his clothes, and made sure his shirt was in his pants and brushed his hair quickly with his fingers. Chris just yawned as his dad guided him towards the choppers.
They had Donald already secured on the stretcher on the side of the chopper where he could be transported while laying down. Margeret said goodbye to everyone, Hawkeye wanted to sneak in a kiss but Margaret was a quick thinker and evaded him in time. BJ got a goodbye handshake and she ruffled Chris's hair affectionately. Chris quickly brushed his hair back the way he wanted it as Margeret hugged Colonel Potter tight. She seemed really happy and couldn't stop from smiling. Frank got an awkward handshake before she climbed in the chopper.
The moment she was in, Chris's breathing sped up. She was leaving and things could go wrong when they did. His body started trembling a bit. BJ started shouting about Donald's legs and that they weren't broken, but Margaret didn't seem to hear him over the sound of the chopper.
Hawkeye put a comforting hand on Chris's shoulder. He felt the boy starting to tremble the moment that chopper lifted off the floor and it worried him. He knew his kid had problems with people leaving or just having people out of his sight. And he didn't really know how he could make the boy feel better. "It's okay. She'll be back. It's just a couple of days." He tried to reassure him.
Chris nodded as he got his breathing under control. He really wanted to believe his dad's words but not everyone who left came back. And that terrified him. Hawkeye guided him back to the Swamp. As they walked away Chris saw Frank staying behind, watching the chopper fly away. The man looked completely heartbroken and Chris felt sad for him, but he understood how difficult it is losing people.