It was the middle of the night as Hawkeye grabbed his pillow to bury his head under it. He would do anything to muffle the sound of Charles wheezing and sniffing. Their bunkie had a cold and was keeping everyone awake with his moaning and complaining. Not to mention his sneezing and coughing.
Chris sighed softly next to him. The boy had drifted off to sleep a couple of times, only to wake up startled when Charles started coughing.
Hawkeye sighed. Maybe it was better this way. Chris had a terrible nightmare last night so maybe this was a blessing in disguise. The boy woke them up screaming and he was drenched in sweat. He even had trouble breathing for several minutes before Hawkeye finally calmed him down enough.
The nightmare took Hawkeye and probably Chris too by surprise. The last time Chris had a nightmare that bad was before BJ decided to let his mustache grow. And now a couple weeks later BJ had a full mustache and Chris had besides some small nightmares, quiet night until last night. Not that he would blame the mustache, sometimes there just wasn't any reason that triggered a severe nightmare besides the boy's traumatic past.
Charles groaned loudly, snapping Hawkeye out of his thoughts. "If only I could breathe. "The man moaned loudly.
"Oh, if only I could sleep! " Hawkeye snapped back.
Charles continued complaining as he got up and gulped some cough syrup and gurgled loudly.
"Oh good! He's drowning." Hawkeye said sarcastically as he sat up. No point in trying to sleep with al this going on.
The door of the Swamp opened when Charles spit loudly in his bucket, the Colonel walked in.
"Same to you Winchester. " The Colonel said. He looked around at the sleepy doctors and started explaining about a meeting he needed to go to the next day. Which means Charles would be the Commander for the time he was away.
"Charles in command?! " Hawkeye asked. His hair was sticking out to the right and he looked very sleepy. "That's like giving captain Bligh his own fleet"
Chris yawned widely and sat up. He was so tired but everyone kept making noise, and on top of that he had a headache and a sore throat.
Charles ignored Hawkeye and turned towards the Colonel and said. "Colonel, I'm touched that you thought of me, but it's out of the question. "
"That wasn't a request, it was an order. " The colonel replied.
Charles sniffed loudly before he said. "And under ordinary circumstances I would be happy to comply, but my sinuses are clogged and they're ready to burst!" He grabbed the Colonel's hand and put it with the back against his forehead. "Here. Feel that."
Potter quickly pulled his hand back. "Eww! Major. We don't know each other that well. " he said with disgust as he wiped the back of his hand off on his shirt. "Okay, Major. You're off the hook. " He sat down on Hawkeye's cot and looked at Hawkeye. "Pierce, you're temporary C.O."
"I'm who? " Hawkeye asked.
"There goes the war." BJ added from the other side of the Swamp.
Chris giggled softly, he was still sleepy but couldn't sleep if everyone kept talking. And besides, he really wanted to listen to this. If his dad was Commander he and Radar would need his help tomorrow and he loved feeling helpful.
"Ohh, no! No, you don't! I'm unfit for command." Hawkeye said with a shocked expression.
"You have a cold? Hang ail? Warts? " The Colonel asked.
"And scurvy." Hawkeye added. Anything to get out of this arrangement.
"You're still it!" Potter explained.
"What about BJ?" Hawkeye tried.
"I don't want it," BJ quickly added from under his blankets.
"That's good enough for me." Potter said as he turned toward Hawkeye again. "You've got seniority, Pierce."
"But I'm a coward! My insignia is a cringing chicken." Hawkeye tried to explain, but it only resulted in getting a giggle from Chris. "I don't know how to give orders."
"That's all right. No one around here knows how to take 'em. "Potter told Hawkeye while patting his knee with sympathy and added. "Don't worry. Radar knows the routine."
The Colonel got up and told Pierce he should be up at 0600 hours. With a last "Night, boys." He left.
"Hawkeye, I'm truly happy for you." BJ said. The man looked tired as well.
Chris grabbed his alarm clock and started adjusting it to 05:30 hours. His dad would probably sleep through it all if he didn't put on an alarm.
"So am I," Charles added. "It's like one of those westerns where the town drunk becomes sheriff." He laughed and took a gulp of his cough syrup.
"All right, Here's my first command. You, bubble-cheeks." Hawkeye said as he pointed his finger angrily to Charles "Get your steam room and your gargle out of here and into post-op on the double!"
"I will not!" Charles said.
"You will for your Commander!" Hawkeye said as he stood up and closed the distance between him and Charles.
"Ten-hut! " The man snapped. "Hut, hut, hut, hut, hut, hut, hut!"
Charles quickly got up to get away from the man almost screaming in his face. "I will to get away from my Commander."
"Good! Left, left! Right, right!" Hawkeye snapped and followed behind him to the door, making sure the man went away.
Charles left and it became quiet again after Hawkeye went back to bed.
Chris sighed tiredly, they didn't have long to sleep if they needed to get up before 6, but he was happy to be able to help Radar and his dad tomorrow. His dad the Commander. He hoped everything would be fine, he knew you needed to work with a lot of paperwork and Hawkeye wasn't organized at all.
Hawkeye started snoring softly in the cot next to him and Chris started to drift asleep as well.
The next morning Chris awoke by his alarm clock and got up. He yawned deeply as he got dressed. His headache was still there and his throat felt like sandpaper. He ignored it as he went over to Hawkeye to nudge the man. Hawkeye groaned and tried to push him away as he mumbled "Let me sleep. "
"Dad! You need to wake up! Radar is counting on you!" Chris said as he kept pushing his dad gently. Hawkeye finally sat up and said. "I know! I've wanted to sleep through this whole Commander thing."
Chris gasped. "But Radar needs your help. " He mumbled.
Hawkeye looked at the shocked expression of the boy and decided to get up. He knew that if he didn't, Radar and Chris both would try to wake him and the clerk could be a lot more creative with his methods than his son.
Hawkeye didn't really look awake when he stepped out of bed and put on his red bathrobe. He gave Chris a quick hug and yawned widely "Morning Kiddo." he mumbled before walking to the door.
"Dad! You aren't dressed. You're the Commander today. Don't you need to be dressed?" Chris said softly. He knew his dad wasn't happy with this arrangement but Radar needed them.
"Ohh yeah..." Hawkeye mumbled and walked back to his chair. He picked up his captain's hat and put it on his head. "So! Now I'm fit for command."
"But dad... " Chris tried but Hawkeye made a dismissing hand movement and headed out the Swamp.
Chris quickly followed him, his dad looked silly which was probably what the man wanted but it irritated him a bit, and of course the lack of sleep and his continued headache didn't help at all. Radar took this stuff seriously and so did the Colonel. Chris had worked with the clerk more than enough to know what needed to be done. And acting silly wasn't it. He didn't want to let this unit down, but he simply couldn't control his dad.
After a quick breakfast with several cups of coffee, they went to Potter's office and heard Radar whistling happily before they entered.
"Ah, welcome to your new job, sir!" Radar said as he heard them enter. The clerk turned around and saluted. His smile slowly disappeared when he looked at their new Commander wearing just his underwear, red bathrobe and captain's hat. His hand lowered slowly in disappointment.
Chris mouthed a heartfelt "I'm sorry" to his friend as Hawkeye leaned against the door.
"Now I know why they shoot people at sunrise. Who wants to live at 6:00 in the morning?" Hawkeye said as he walked inside.
"Hey, Hawkeye, you're not even dressed." The Clerk tried.
"I have my bars on, don't I? " Hawkeye said as he showed them his bars pinned to his bathrobe.
"I know, but it doesn't look good... " Radar tried again. "you know, for the guys."
The clerk nervously followed Hawkeye as he sat down at the desk. He looked at the pile of papers in front of him and said. "From now on... "
Hawkeye grabbed the nameplate with his name on it. The one Radar so carefully put on the desk this morning for their new Commander. "I want the middle of this desk kept clear. " With one swipe he swept all the paper off.
"Dad!" Chris gasped as he looked with shock at the falling papers around him.
"Hey" Radar said indignant as he quickly got down to pick up the pieces of paper scattered around the floor. Chris quickly got down to help him.
Hawkeye put his head tiredly on his arms on the now empty desk and said. "Don't disturb me until lunch. Lunch is disturbing enough." He glanced at the clerk and his son on the ground who were busy picking up all the papers and said. "How am I doing so far? "
Radar shot him an angry glare while Chris looked utterly disappointed. Hawkeye almost grinned but managed to keep a straight face. His kid looked adorable like this, not that he wanted Chris to be disappointed in him, but it was still cute. That look of Chris was the same one he got when he hugged the boy while still wearing his bloody scrubs, ruining the boy's clothes. Or when he acted disorderly sometimes.
"Come on." Radar said to the almost sleeping doctor on the desk as he got up with the papers. Chris handed him some more. "Will you please be serious once?" The clerk said as he waved the pile of paper in front of Hawkeye's closed eyes. "We've got work to do here."
Hawkeye sat up right and yawned. He adjusted his captain's hat and said. "All right. The first order of the day is a drink." as he walked over to the booze cabinet. "Where's the key?" Hawkeye asked as he noticed the cabinet was locked.
"With the colonel, I'm happy to say." Radar mumbled. At least that was one problem avoided.
"Potter took the key?" Hawkeye said as he turned back towards the clerk. "He doesn't trust me?"
"Well!" Radar stood a bit taller, he wasn't about to be intimidated by the larger man. "If you were him and he was you, would you?"
Hawkeye grinned and said. "That's catchy. Set that to music right away."
Radar looked confused before he got irritated and Chris sighed loudly. He felt annoyed at his dad, the man was purposely making fun of this and his lack of sleep only made it worse.
Hawkeye sat back down on his temporary desk and he threw his hat on it. He leaned back and said "Radar, cut an order."
Radar immediately grabbed his pencil and notebook.
"The officers club bar will remain open daily from 0500." Hawkeye announced. Radar wrote it down quickly.
"And it will never close." Hawkeye added. Radar gave him a glare, finally noticing the man was joking. He tore the paper of his notebook and crumbled it.
Hawkeye grinned at the disproving look from the clerk. Even Chris looked at him with a frown.
"Chris, you promised me that you were going to help out in the kitchen today. " Hawkeye said to the boy who shook his head quickly.
Hawkeye sighed and said "Remember last week when I gave you the choice to work in the kitchen or help The Father with his donations?" He asked, remembering it had obviously been an easy choice for the child, but Chris hadn't helped out in the kitchen for almost a month now.
"Yes, sir. " Chris said, he remembered that. He and Francis visited everyone in the camp asking for donations, even the patients.
"And I said then, you can go and help The Father but then you have to help out in the kitchen next time. " Hawkeye continues. He saw the pout appear the moment Chris remembered the conversation.
"But dad... " Chris whined softly. He really didn't want to do kitchen work, that would take him hours. Not to mention Igor, the man wasn't fun to work with whatsoever.
His dad gave him a stern look and said. "You eat here, don't you? So it's only fair that you help out sometimes. And besides, you promised. "
"I'm not allowed in the kitchen." Chris said quickly but Hawkeye just snorted a little. "Nice try. But you're allowed in the kitchen just not unsupervised and you know it. This is completely different than sneaking in the kitchen on your own."
Chris sighed, his headache has gotten worse by now, and the prospect of working in the kitchen wasn't helping. "But I don't want to do kitchen work." He mumbled softly as he looked pleading at his dad.
Hawkeye's irritation raised a little. He tried to stay calm and he knew his lack of sleep didn't help with his patience. "Chris, you will do what I say, and I don't want to hear another complaint out of you. Understand? "
"But dad!" Chris tried again. His eyes are big, trying to beg his dad to reconsider. "I don't want to work with Igor. He's annoying and mean and... "
"Enough!" Hawkeye snapped, cutting him off mid sentence. He crooked his fingers, calling his son closer.
Chris gulped at the angry look his dad gave him but quickly made his way over. Hawkeye positioned him in front of him as he shyly looked at the floor. He felt a tap on his chin from his dad, requesting eye contact. He slowly looked up and saw his dad definitely looking angry.
Hawkeye moved his face closer and gave his son a stern look. "Christopher" He started, he kept his voice stern and low in order to give his son some privacy with the clerk in the room.
"Igor is an adult, and if he's mean to you or if he's bothering you I like to hear about it but you will be polite to him, If I hear otherwise you will be in serious trouble with me, understood." Chris's shoulders dropped at the angry tone in his voice and tears swelled up in those big blue eyes as the boy mumbled a "Yes sir."
Hawkeye kept eye contact and pointed his finger at the sniffing boy as he said. "Now, I don't want to hear anymore complaints from you, young man. Do you understand me? If you need me to smack your fanny to motivate you, I will. "
"No!" Chris gasped. "Don't. I'm sorry." Chris whispered back urgently, his voice higher than normal. He felt his face burn and was suddenly very aware of his friend trying to occupy himself in the background.
"So, no complaints? " Hawkeye asked as he leaned back a little, easing up on the boy.
"No, Sir. " Chris responded rapidly. No way he wanted to get into trouble over this.
"Good, " Hawkeye said before he kissed the boy on the top of his head. "Now, go on then. I have to work soon, so I'll see you during lunch. "
Chris nodded but didn't move. He looked up at his dad nervously. "But I want to stay close. " Chris mumbled, barely a whisper. He had to try, he didn't feel that good and he wanted to cling to his dad, at least a little.
Hawkeye's expression turned stern again and Chris immediately regretted saying anything.
"Was that a complaint? " Hawkeye asked.
"No, sir. " Chris said as he shook his head quickly.
"Good, Now go. Those potatoes have to be done in a couple of hours." Hawkeye said with a smile. His dad brushed his hair with affection before he nudged him playfully to get him to move. "And if Igor is mean to you, let me know. I'll put a stop to it. "
Chris nodded before he sighed deeply and went on his way to the kitchen. He kicked a small rock to the side with a huff. He didn't want to work in the kitchen, but apparently he didn't have a choice. Thankfully his headache was getting better, only to be replaced with a stuffy nose.
Entering the kitchen, he was greeted with the grumpy expression of the cook. Igor was cleaning the dishes loudly in the background, the clinging of the plates and the utilities thumped through his head like rocks.
"Good morning." Chris said politely.
"Morning. " The cook rumbled back. "You're here to help? "
"Yes, sir. " Chris replied quickly.
"Good lad. Come with me. " The cook said as he walked over to the table. Chris followed him quickly and couldn't help but smile a little. The cook seemed happy with him helping, even calling him a good lad. So it couldn't be that bad. He loved helping.
The cook collected a big cooking pot and put it on the table before he lifted a big bag of potatoes and dropped it on the ground nearby. The work was simple, fill the pot with peeled potatoes, the cook explains.
"Yes sir. " Chris said as the cook handed him a knife. The loud banging of pans and pots being washed stopped. "Is it safe to give the kid a knife. " Igor said. "He's just a dumb kid, can he even peel potatoes? "
Chris glared at the man but thankfully the cook didn't take what Igor said seriously, he just turned around and left to do his own work. Mumbling something about Igor being stupid. He smiled and resisted the urge to stick out his tongue, his dad definitely wouldn't be happy if he was disrespectful to the man. But he was really tempted. He started working quickly.
His headache has gotten less but the loud noise of the kitchen made it hurt all over again, he sighed deeply as he peeled potato after potato. Not only was the sound bothering him, the smell started to get to him as well. It wasn't a nasty smell, just the smell of food cooking but his stomach didn't seem to like it. He tried to ignore the feeling, concentrating on peeling and slicing the potatoes.
He was so concentrated on his work and keeping his stomach calm, that he didn't notice Igor walking past him. The man was carrying trays to clean and wasn't watching where he was going when he walked into the table, dropping a tray.
Chris jumped up as the tray fell with a clatter to the floor. He felt a sharp pain and noticed he cut his thumb. Blood swelled up from the small cut and Chris felt a wave of nausea.
Igor wasn't even aware of the boy as he picked the tray up and continued on his way.
Chris was breathing heavily, feeling sicker than before. He could feel tears stinging his eyes, which he quickly wiped away. He couldn't allow himself to cry. Not here, not now. After wiping his face again, he went over to the cook and asked if he could go to his dad because he cut himself.
The cook looked over the cut briefly and nodded.
"See! I've told you the kid couldn't be trusted with a knife." Igor commented.
"Shut it." The cook snapped to the enlisted man before he turned to the red eyed boy. "Go see your dad, we'll manage here."
Chris nodded and hurried out of the kitchen. He hoped his dad wouldn't be disappointed. He tried to do the work but his headache and upset stomach kept draining a lot of energy.
He found his dad in post op, sitting down next to a scared patient, trying to remove some of the man's stitches.
"Papa?" He asked softly. He was holding his bleeding thumb in order to stop it from bleeding. It wasn't a deep cut but as he was feeling a bit sick it made everything worse. He felt like crying.
Hawkeye looked up at the soft voice of his son. He knew in an instant the boy was nervous. Chris often used Dutch when he was upset and the title "Papa" was used when the boy felt vulnerable, sleepy or really scared.
His son looked at him with sad big eyes. He seemed a bit flushed and his eyes were red, he looked like he'd been crying. "What's wrong, Kiddo." He asked the boy concerned.
Chris leaned his forehead against the doctor's shoulder with a relieved sigh and felt his fear reduce to the back of his mind now that he was near the man he trusted. He still couldn't help the pang of guilt he felt every time he called Hawkeye, Papa. Dad was a much easier title even though it meant the same thing.
"I've cut my finger and Igor is being mean." Chris mumbled sniffing. He wasn't crying but he was close to.
"Let me have a look." Hawkeye said as he looked at the cut over. "It's nothing, Kiddo. You'll be fine. What did Igor do, this time? "
"He said to the cook, that it's not safe for me to work with a knife as I'm just a dumb kid. " Chris mumbled and sighed sadly.
Charles sneezed loudly in the background, the man was sitting on a chair with a blanket over him.
Hawkeye snorted a little as he resumed removing the stitches from the patient and said. "Igor is the king of stupidity. I never met a man more idiotic. "
Chris let out a tired giggle before Hawkeye continued. " I don't want you repeating any of it to Igor as Igor is an adult and older than you, and you need to respect people older than you. But I don't have that problem and I'm telling you that man is plain stupid. So don't worry about what he thinks, okay? " He was definitely paying the enlisted man a visit later. He knew Igor was a bit afraid of him and with good reason. He had some not so nice things in store for him. Things involving the man's underwear and superglue.
Charles moaned loudly and snapped "Klinger. More water. "
"I'm a little busy, Major. " Klinger said as he walked past.
"Now, you insubordinate dessert riff!" Charles wheezed.
Klinger turned to the sick doctor with anger. "Riff? " He closed the distance between them and said, "With all due respect, sir, may a pregnant camel give birth in your bunk. "
Hawkeye was ready to explode, he couldn't even do the simple work with all these distractions. The patient was struggling because he was scared and people kept yelling and his son was still holding a tight grip on his arm. It worried him a little that Chris was still so clingy. Normally he was only clingy when he was upset, and he hoped Igor didn't upset the boy too much.
Charles moved a bit away from the angry man with the pearl earrings and snapped. "Levantine thug!" before he started wheezing and got up. He walked over to a bed and dropped down before he yelled "Can someone bring me some water!"
Pulling out the last suture Hawkeye had enough."Klinger, get that wheelchair over here and roll him out of here!" He snapped.
Klinger grinned and said "Your command is my wish, oh temporary king of the hill. " He rolled the wheelchair closer.
"Pierce!" Charles snapped as he sat up, a blanket wrapped around him. "You order me in, you order me out." He said, wheezing. "Make up your mind. Where do you want me? "
Hawkeye was tempted to say something about a minefield but decided to put him back into the Swamp. He reassured the patient that everything was fine before he turned toward his kid. Chris was still hiding his face against his shoulder and he wondered if the boy was sleeping. He tapped the boy and Chris looked up. "And I treated your wound so you can go back to the kitchen, okay?" he said to the boy before he gave the child a kiss on his forehead. He immediately noticed the boy was warmer than he should be.
The wheelchair with a wheezing Charles rolled past and out of the building just as Radar came in. The clerk quickly jumped out of the way as Klinger raced past.
Chris wanted to nod but his dad put a hand on his forehead keeping him still. "You're burning up, Kiddo. How are you feeling? " His dad asked him concerned.
"Excuse me, sir, I hate to bother you... " Radar started.
"Then don't! " Hawkeye snapped. His patience was almost gone by now and everything was going south.
"Well? " He asked his son. The boy had red eyes and looked tired.
Radar spoke up. "Sir, you haven't done your status reports."
"Not you! I'm talking to Chris." Hawkeye snapped.
"I've got a headache and my stomach feels bad." The boy mumbled quickly.
"But, sir. Every morning you gotta fill out your DD-5 and your DD-5-As." The clerk continued urgently.
"I DD-do?" Hawkeye asked half minded. He didn't care at all about paperwork. He brushed Chris's hair away affectionately. "Why didn't you tell me you felt sick? I don't want you to hide being sick. " He asked the boy.
Chris looked dead tired and his face flushed. "I wasn't hiding it, I promise. It wasn't this bad earlier. " He sighed and added "I'm sorry."
"But sir! " Radar started again. The clerk seemed a nervous mess.
"Radar, put all that garbage on my desk. I'll ignore it later. " Hawkeye said, and he was met with two disappointed faces. Chris wore the same shocked expression as the clerk.
"But the pile on your desk is almost as high as me. " Radar said.
"Well, how bad can that be? " Hawkeye asked.
Radar shot him an angry glare and threw up his arms before he left.
"Dad, those DD-5s are important." Chris tried.
"Hush!" Hawkeye said as he guided Chris to a bed to sit down. He positioned the boy in front of him and fished a thermometer out of his pocket and held it in front of Chris.
Chris flushed red and glared. He didn't want his dad to fuss over him, especially not with other people around, it was embarrassing.
Francis walked in before Hawkeye had the chance to put on his stern face. "Uh, Hawkeye?" The priest asked.
Hawkeye sighed, he was getting crazy like this. "Whoever said it was lonely at the top? " and turned towards The Father.
"All right, Father. What's your problem?" Hawkeye turned back to his son and gave Chris a stern look. "Open up."
Chris shook his head as the priest started explaining about needing blankets. It was getting colder soon and they didn't have enough as it is.
"Chris" Hawkeye tried in a warning tone. He really didn't have the patience for this.
"And we really do need them. " The priest continued.
Hawkeye sighed and asked "Need what?" as he looked away from his stubborn child to pay more attention to the man talking to him.
"Blankets" The priest explained.
"Alright, I'll get you those blankets." Hawkeye said as he turned back to his child. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy sternly. Chris was a little flushed and looked back with glossy eyes. "Christopher, open up. " Hawkeye said, still giving a stern look.
"It's embarrassing." Chris mumbled sadly. He looked ready to fall asleep any moment.
The priest interrupted their staring contest by saying. "And remember, patience is a virtue."
"And you're taxing my virtue. " Hawkeye said as the smiling priest left.
He turned towards his kid and gave him a light warning smack on his thigh.
The boy jumped up with a soft "Eep" and Hawkeye mentally rolled his eyes over the dramatics of his son. Chris looked completely shocked and very sad, but Hawkeye didn't have the time to drag this out any longer. "Now Chris. And believe me, I can make this way more embarrassing than it could be. I also have a rectal thermometer if you want to do this the hard way. "
The boy gasped widely in shock and burned bright red. Hawkeye grinned and quickly placed the thermometer under the boy's tongue. "That's better."
Chris started sniffing softly and leaned his head against his dad's stomach. This was so unfair and embarrassing. He felt terrible and very tired. It wasn't fair that his dad was being difficult. He wanted to be mad but Hawkeye kept gently petting his head and it felt really nice.
"Come on, Kiddo. It isn't that bad." Hawkeye said.
They sat like that for a while until Hawkeye collected the awful thermometer from his mouth and said he was running a fever.
Chris sighed and snuggled closer, just wanting to stay like this for a while but his dad had other plans. He stepped away and guided Chris out of post op.
"You will go straight to bed, you're burning up and I don't like it. I'll go to the kitchen to explain that you are sick." Hawkeye explained as they walked towards the Swamp. He held both hands on the boy's shoulders to guide him. Chris looked like he could drop down any minute.
"No! Papa." Chris gasped softly. "Igor will say I'm faking, to get out of kitchen duty."
Hawkeye snorted and continued their way. "That will only prove that Igor is incapable of thinking. I'm a doctor, Kiddo. I would be a very bad doctor if I get tricked by kids pretending to be sick. "
"Ohh yeah. I forgot." Chris mumbled, making Hawkeye laugh.
They entered the Swamp and Hawkeye gave the boy a gentle push and told him to get dressed in his pj's. He had planned on putting Chris to sleep but the boy started crying and begged him to stay. So Hawkeye decided to keep him close.
So after a short detour to the kitchen which included Igor telling him Chris was probably faking it, they ended up back in Potter's office. So here he was, yelling on the phone with HQ, while Radar stood smugly at the side. Chris was curled up on a chair with his blanket and Wally.
"Are you telling me I don't get the blankets until I fill out the requisition?" Hawkeye snapped loudly at the phone.
Radar stood to the side and nodded smugly, he knew how this works and tried to tell the doctor, but Hawkeye hadn't been listening.
"Fine, Yes. I'll write them right away. What else? " Hawkeye growled, listening to what I Corps had to say. "Oh, yeah. The DD-5-Ds."
"Center pile! " Radar said as he eagerly shoved the papers closer and held out a pen for Hawkeye to finally sign them.
Hawkeye glanced at the clerk briefly and said to the phone. "Right. Those are in the mail. "
"Hey!" Radar said shocked. "You can't lie to I corps! "
Hawkeye turned to him "Shhh! You'll wake up Chris." he said but also showed the clerk that he had his fingers crossed before he turned back to his phone call. He tried for a couple of minutes to motivate I corps to send those blankets until they started yelling and he had to admit defeat.
Hawkeye sighed looking at the clerk and said. "This wouldn't have happened if you just handed me those files instead of piling it on my desk. "
"You told me to pile them on your desk! " Radar snapped back.
"Shhhh! " Hawkeye snapped back. "Won't you let a sick boy sleep. "
Radar looked with slight guilt to the sleeping boy, Chris only stirred and a soft groan escaped him. Hawkeye thought the boy looked adorable like this, curled up in a chair with his stuffed rabbit and blanket. He wasn't really afraid that Radar would wake him, it was just an easy way to get the clerk to shut up. Radar was pretty protective of the child as well, and a good friend to the boy.
He didn't have any more time to think about it as the intercom alerted them about incoming wounded. Hawkeye cursed under his breath, making sure Chris didn't hear it. "Great, just great. " He gently woke the boy up and explained that he had to work. Chris would go to the Swamp and stay in bed. He saw Chris wanted to protest and interrupted him before he could. "This is not up for discussion, you go. End of story. Understood?! " Hawkeye said sternly. He didn't have time for any of this.
"Yes, Si..." Chris started but yawned widely before he could finish. He wanted to tell his dad that he wanted to stay close, but he knew that he couldn't because he was sick. It wasn't safe for the patients. And besides, he was way too tired to argue.
Hawkeye gave him a quick kiss on his forehead and asked the clerk to bring Chris to bed.
Radar nodded and said. "Yeah, of course I will. But sir. We've got a problem. Don't yell, but you know that jeep that just came in? It just went out again with BJ in it."
"What! I've got a lot more casualties coming in. " Hawkeye snapped. "Why! "
"You wouldn't yell! "The clerk replied back. "BJ is helping the buddy of the guy who just came in. They left him at the aid station so he's going to get him. "
"Great! This is fantastic! "Hawkeye said sarcastically. He was very close to losing his mind over this.
"Just, get Chris to bed and come and see me."Hawkeye said as he deflated a little. "We're going to be very busy soon. "
The triage was chaotic, they were short two men including Potter. And the time in the O.R was even worse. Everyone was working fast and efficient in order to keep everyone alive. Even Charles was operating on a patient while sniffing and complaining. They weren't sure how much longer it would take but they had been here for hours and the patients just kept coming.
It was late in the evening when things finally calmed down again. BJ appeared soon after the O.R session was finished and Hawkeye couldn't do anything but yell at his friend. He was so angry, so worried and above all highly overworked. BJ yelled back about him being the worst Commander, and an even worse friend. The argument went on like this until Hawkeye had enough and left in order to calm down. Hawkeye decided to finish some paperwork, so he went to Potter's office. He felt incredibly guilty about not doing it sooner. Because of him being a clown, several soldiers had to do without a blanket tonight and they definitely didn't deserve that.
Several hours had passed when Hawkeye got interrupted by the Colonel. Hawkeye jumped up, relief flooding his senses. His relief was quickly replaced by anger as he neared their commanding officer. Hawkeye exploded as soon as he saw Colonel Potter's face. He just couldn't help himself as he started to shout at Potter. He was mad at him that he had to take care of this unit all by himself.
Potter didn't say a word, but went straight to his liquor cabinet and took a bottle out of it. He took two glasses and filled them as Hawkeye continued his rampage about this place.
"Can we water down that temper tantrum?" Potter asked the heated surgeon in front of him. He gave the man a glass of scotch.
"I don't want to. "Hawkeye snapped back. He knew he was being unreasonable but he couldn't help it. "I like being mad. "
"But you're not in charge anymore. I am. " The Colonel said patiently.
"That's another thing! " Hawkeye continued after he downed his drink in one go. "You could at least let me have the key to the liquor cabinet!"
"Are you kidding? Look what you're like sober. " The colonel said as he filled the doctor's glass again. "Down this one. We'll take the bottle with us. " Things needed to be talked out soon.
Hawkeye complained loudly while they walked over to the Swamp.
"I'm back. "The colonel said as they entered. "I've brought you a snort! " He said as he showed the scotch to BJ, who got a big smile and grabbed a glass.
Chris stirred and Hawkeye walked over, feeling the boy's forehead. He sighed relieved. Chris didn't feel as hot as he did earlier, which was a very good sign. He had been worried as Chris had slept a lot today.
"Dad? " Chris mumbled sleepily. "Yeah, Kiddo? "Hawkeye responded. He ran his fingers through Chris's hair soothingly, the boy smiled softly in response. "I've missed you." Chris mused softly as he snuggled against Hawkeye.
That sentence hurt a lot more than he wanted to admit to anyone. It felt like he neglected his sick child, who had needed him. But the whole unit had needed him too. It just broke his heart sometimes. How could he abandon his son, who had gone through hell because he had decided to become a doctor. "I've missed you too, Kiddo. We'll go home soon" he promised.
He would make sure of it.