Even as the sun was shining, the wind was howling loudly and it seemed like even with all of the tent closed, they weren't getting any relief from this cold harsh weather.
Hawkeye rubbed his hands together. He was freezing! Even with all these layers of clothes, including his army blanket he was still cold! He couldn't seem to stop shivering and he sat so close to the small furnace in front of him, they were almost hugging, kissing even. BJ sat huddled next to him and had just like him a blanket around him and just as many layers of clothes he could wear.
And there, pressed in the middle sat a very happy Chris. The boy was lucky, he still fitted into his long-johns he got from his grandpa and last week a gift arrived from the Netherlands. It was another pair of sturdy hand knitted long underwear his grandmother made for him. Like actually handmade! That woman was a saint, and Chris was definitely the warmest person in this camp. Maybe even the warmest child in Korea. Of course he still needed two pairs of socks, a dark blue wool hat and a thick orange scarf, but the underwear made all the difference.
Chris wasn't even shivering, and he definitely didn't seem to mind all the cuddling and huddling they were doing. Hawkeye pulled the warm boy closer in his embrace. He couldn't hug the stove so this was the next best thing in order to stay warm.
BJ automatically moved closer as well, pressing them more together. They had been sitting like this, under their army blankets the moment they were off duty and had returned to the Swamp. But even with the extra layers and the small burning stove in front of them, they couldn't seem to get warm.
Chris heard the wind howl and the teeth clatter from his dad next to him. He wished he could do something more to help them, BJ and his dad both kept shivering. He wasn't just concerned about his dad, the whole camp had the same problem, including the soldiers out there… outside. Thankfully it wasn't busy at the moment, and they hadn't seen so much as one wounded in a couple of days. Chris just hoped they were okay in this cold.
The only one who didn't seem to be affected by the cold was Charles. Which apparently was a reason for his dad and BJ to be irritated about.
"The fire is going out." BJ mumbled.
Hawkeye glared from under his blanket at Charles. "There's a dead log to throw on it. Look at him. Charles, why aren't you freezing like the rest of us?"
Charles looked at them smugly, and sighed, like it was a bother to answer.
"Because I have your suffering to keep me warm. "
"He is cold. " BJ said, as he pulled his blanket closer, he couldn't seem to stop shivering. "He has to be cold. He's just doing the hot act to spite us. "
Charles smiled at them condescending before he spoke. "Actually, gentleman, I am not altogether unaffected by this arctic blast, but I refuse to huddle around a fire like you two cringing pack wolves. "
"Pack wolves?! " Hawkeye asked with faked outrage. "I've never been so insulted in my life. " He looked at BJ and both of them turned to Charles and started barking and snarling loudly like two angry wild wolves.
Chris laughed at suddenly being jolted and at the disapproving look Charles was throwing their way. The jolting didn't take long as the two doctors quickly huddled back against him. They sat like this for a couple of minutes until his dad pulled him closer, which BJ didn't appreciate. "Hey, why are you hogging the kid?" The doctor asked.
"Maybe because he's my kid. Get your own!" Hawkeye said laughing as BJ tried to pull the giggling boy closer.
They were sitting so close it didn't really matter which side he got pulled too, but Chris was definitely not complaining, this was fun! He knew the two were only joking and they weren't really mad at each other.
"I've got one! " BJ said with mock outrage. He moved over Chris and developed the laughing boy completely under his blanket.
"Eeek! " Chris let out a laugh as it got suddenly dark around him. He giggled loudly as he pushed BJ away, trying to get out from under the blanket. BJ let him go without struggle as Hawkeye slowly pulled him back in his direction.
"Well, let her fly over, this is a great vacation spot this time of season. " Hawkeye said as he put two arms around his son. A little fun couldn't hurt in these difficult times.
BJ started his counter attack but the intercom interrupted him, alerting them about an incoming supply truck. Thankfully it was only one truck because going outside was torture. Everyone was asked to help out to manage the truck quicker, so BJ and Hawkeye resultant got up.
With their blankets wrapped around them, they went outside ready to fight the icy wind.
Chris felt the harsh cold wind hit his face as he jogged to keep up with his dad. His hands and face were so cold, but he couldn't really complain. The rest wasn't that cold, while his dad and BJ seemed to be freezing.
The men were running hunchbacked against the wind as fast as they could. The more people helped, the faster they could get back inside.
Charles didn't seem to mind the cold at all, and walked with his head held high, while the rest of the camp seemed to be struggling, huddled with blankets.
Chris was closely following his dad. He always loved supply drops as he was allowed to help during those events. Not with the heavy things, like carrying boxes of supplies but more with helping sorting and to do the administration things. He and Radar needed to go through all the things delivered and had made sure they were at their right spot and the right amount.
Outside they met with Margaret, who was also dressed in everything she could find and wear, jumping up and down trying to stay warm. "Lovely day, isn't Margaret?" BJ asked.
"The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing. " Hawkeye added. " Just listen to those birds dropping off the trees. "
"How could it get this cold?" Margaret asked with despair clearly in her voice. She kept hopping up and down.
"Actually..." Charles interrupted smugly. " You're only as cold as your mind allows you to be."
"How does that work? " Chris dared to ask. He was always cautious when speaking, especially asking things but he was curious about why the doctor wasn't cold.
"It's a philosophical problem." Charles replied, like it was obvious.
"Philosophical!" Margaret shrieked. "My hands are so frozen, I'll have to chisel them out of these gloves."
Someone from the supply truck called out for Winchester, he had a package.
Chris shrugged, he didn't know what Charles meant, he didn't even know what a philosophical problem was but he did know Radar needed his help soon, so he pulled his dad's sleeve gently in order to get the man's attention, but his dad didn't notice him. Hawkeye was watching Charles as the man unpacked his package from mom and dad.
"Ohh, look. It's a polar suit." Charles proclaimed loudly, holding the green thick jacket up for everyone to see. "They shouldn't have... But then again."
Chris felt Hawkeye's irritation rise and the man mumbled angrily under his breath, something Chris couldn't hear.
"Aww. Just what you needed, Mr. Mind-over-matter." Margaret snapped before she walked away.
"Don't stay out too late, children. Come in before it gets too cold." Charles said arrogantly. With a huge smile he added "Polar suit! " Before he turned and walked away.
"It will look great on you, Charles." Hawkeye said between clenched teeth. The sarcasme in his voice was so clear there wasn't any doubt to what he meant. "Wear it in good health. "
As Charles rounded the corner Hawkeye turned to BJ as he said. "Tonight we poison his food."
Chris pulled again on his dad's sleeve and even added a soft "Dad?" to it. He didn't understand why everyone was angry at Charles and it made him nervous. The not knowing part was scaring him a bit. He just hoped nobody would be mad at him, he wasn't wearing a polar suit but he knew he wasn't as cold as the rest of the camp and for some reason people got angry because of it.
Hawkeye noticed a pull on his sleeve and looked at his son. The boy looked worried. He quickly decided it was better to change the mood. It wasn't Chris's fault that Charles didn't know how to share or even have some compassion towards his freezing colleagues.
"Sorry, Kiddo!" Hawkeye said as he ruffled the boy's hair. He was trying to sound carefree and happy and apparently he did as he saw the worry disappear from the boy's face.
This cold was definitely getting to him and he didn't want Chris to worry more than he already did. "You can go and help Radar." Chris didn't need to ask anything, Hawkeye knew Chris always helped during deliveries, especially if Radar needed his help.
"Daaad... " Chris whined softly as he straightened his hair. 'Really?! His hair!' He thought with slight irritation, his dad was always messing up his hair or clothes and it was annoying.
Hawkeye just grinned and quickly gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head, messing up his hair again.
Chris shot his dad an angry glare but the man only laughed so he went to look for Radar.
While combing his hair with his fingers he walked across the compound. He knew where to find his friend and found Radar in the storage tent. The clerk was already writing things down and counting all items. Radar looked up at the soft "Hi Radar." and relief flashed over his face.
"You want to help? " Radar asked hopefully.
Chris got a huge smile and said. "Of course!" He giggled as Radar quickly thanked him and handed him a clip board with the list and a pencil. Chris knew what he needed to do, but Radar always explained again.
Just as the clerk started explaining about the right amount of toilet paper they needed to have, he stopped mid sentence.
Chris immediately started to feel nervous. Radar was hearing something. Which probably meant wounded soldiers.
"Choppers!" Radar gasped. "Chris, can you handle the inventory? You can ask Klinger to do one last sweep when you're finished. Just to make sure you didn't miss anything. "
Chris nodded quickly, and Radar was already out the door as Chris said. "I'll handle it." He felt a bit hurt that his friend thought someone needed to check his work but he understood it was important. He wouldn't miss anything, he knew how this worked. The supple truck should have sent enough to match this list in front of him on the clipboard and now he just needed to count.
He still felt nervous, wounded people in this type of weather seemed so cruel. He hoped his dad could help, meanwhile he would do his job and help out. It made him feel proud to be trusted to do this alone. And this also gave him time to come up with a plan. A plan to convince his dad for a pet. He only had a couple of weeks because according to his dad, his birthday was coming up.
He was so excited, he couldn't remember the last time he celebrated his birthday, if he ever did at all, but he did celebrate several other birthdays since he got to the 4077th and he loved them. There was going to be decorations and cake and even gifts. He didn't remember a lot from his parents at all, but he could imagine himself sitting in front of a birthday cake. He just didn't know if it was a memory or just his imagination.
He sighed as he started working on the next row to inventories. He really wanted a pet but his dad was being stubborn. He could take care of a pet all on his own, his dad wouldn't even need to help. Of course his dad wouldn't even consider the idea. Maybe he could find a pet and keep it hidden from his dad. But that would be very unfair to the animal. Most animals needed some sort of space to walk around in.
He finished with his work pretty quick but he hadn't come up with a plan to convince his dad for a pet. He found Klinger and asked the man if he could check his work.
He giggled as Klinger told him he did an amazing job. The man was always exaggerating, especially when it came to what Chris had done. The man pretended everything he did was the most amazing job ever and he couldn't say he minded.
Klinger clapped him on the shoulder. "You did it perfectly, Kid. The place never looked more organized "
Chris resisted rolling his eyes, because that would be rude but he knew he didn't organize anything. Still, the compliment was nice to hear.
After Klinger gave his okay he went over to post-op. His dad and the other doctors were busy with the triage. Normally that would be done outside but as it was too cold everyone was already inside.
He walked by Colonel Potter and Radar just as the man told Radar to steal the heaters from the tents in order to put them near the patients.
Radar didn't look happy with that order at all. "Sir! Last time I did that, they hid my glasses in the meatloaf!" Radar explained with clear concern.
"Then do it when we are in the O.R" Potter said before he moved away to the next patient and problem he needed to solve.
Radar jumped into action and noticed Chris before he headed outside. "You did the inventory already? "
Chris nodded proudly. "Klinger said it was perfect." He knew Klinger didn't look at the list and barely looked around the room, but he did say it was perfect.
"That's great, I knew you could handle it. " Radar said, making Chris beam with pride before the clerk became nervous. "Can you do me a favor though! Don't tell your dad I'm the one who took his heater. He'll be mad, okay. "
"Of course!" Chris said without hesitation. He wasn't about to snitch on his friend. Not that it would matter. His dad would probably know anyway. Radar was the only one who did the Colonel's bidding and he was also the one who stole the stove last time.
Radar still looked relieved at the promise of silence. He thanked Chris and was out the door the next second.
Chris found his dad on the other side of post-op, working together with Margaret. They were busy with a wounded man. Chris didn't see any clear wounds on the man but his skin had a weird color. Especially his hands, his hands were red but his fingers were even worse, they were white with several dark, almost black spots. It didn't look healthy. He walked up to his dad and leaned with his back against the man's side. He knew he wasn't allowed to be in the way of the working adults but his dad didn't mind him hanging around a bit.
Hawkeye put an arm round his son as he gave Margaret instructions to give the man some morphine. As Margaret made the syringe ready, he heard Chris ask softly about the soldier's skin. The boy looked up at him nervously and Hawkeye gave him a huge smile back. He wanted to encourage any questions. He knew Chris still had problems asking things, the child stayed scared to make noise. So any type of question was good, but especially medical ones. It was good to know these things.
He ruffled the boy's hair gently and got a disapproving look from his son. Hawkeye grinned before he turned serious. "Well, Kiddo. This is what we call frostbite. " At the confused look from the boy he continued. "Meaning his fingers got so cold his blood can't move through them. But that isn't the biggest problem. You see... " Hawkeye explained as he pointed to the black spots on the top of the fingers. " These darker spots are the problem. You know how we got cells in our body? You learned that already. "
Chris nodded eagerly so Hawkeye continued. "Well the moisture in those cells froze and became crystals, damaging the cells." Hawkeye sighed sadly. "There's a lot of damage done but we will do the best we can." He couldn't bring himself to tell Chris the man would be losing parts of his fingers. The black parts were already dead and they would be trying to save the white parts of the man's hand but he didn't know how much of it was savable.
Chris looked sadly at the man. It must be terrible hurting your hands like that. He wished he could help more.
At that moment Charles walked by dressed in his polar suit. Margaret stood up with an angry glare and turned towards the man. "How can you wear that big thick suit in front of all these frostbite patients!" She snapped angry.
Chris's heart sank, he was also wearing warm clothes and he didn't want Margaret or the rest of the camp to get mad at him. She was right though, these people are so cold they are hurting and it made him feel guilty. Maybe he should take his long John's off. People couldn't get mad if he wasn't wearing them.
"It's a little bulky, but I think I can manage." Charles replied haughty before he just walked away.
"Why don't you keep this man company while his morphine is kicking in? " Hawkeye asked the boy. Chris's constant fear of strangers was slowly getting better, it wasn't gone, especially with strange men but he was a lot less scared of the soldiers coming in. They were wounded and couldn't do much which was a great way for the child to practice and Chris provided a great distraction for the soldiers as well. Especially when the pain meds needed to kick in.
Chris pushed down his guilt and nodded. He sat in the chair next to the bed the soldier was carried over and looked at the confused expression of the man. He loved talking to the patients, some had really interesting stories to tell. This man however seemed very tired.
"Just make sure his hands stay wrapped, okay? "
Hawkeye said before he kissed the top of the boy's head. He went to the next patient. He was so proud of the boy, Chris was still scared but loved to help so much he pushed through it.
"You're a kid! " The drugged soldiers said confusedly to the boy. Chris nodded happily. "I'm Chris. What's your name? "
The man just looked confused and said. "Why are you a kid? "
Hawkeye smiled, he stood close enough to hear the conversation. The soldier seemed dazed and confused, meaning the morphine was working. And of course he didn't expect to find a child at a MASH unit. The pain the man was in should get less any minute now and then the man could sleep.
"Huh..." Chris said, confused. What kind of question was that?
"Why are you an adult?" He countered.
The injured man blinked a few times before his eyelids fell shut. A soft snoring sound could be heard the next second. 'Well that was a short talk.' Chris thought as he moved over to the next bed.
Chris had entertained some soldiers before going back to the Swamp. Everyone was asleep now and his dad was still working in the O.R. So he decided to read some comics. He wasn't needed right now anyway. At the Swamp he noticed Radar had already taken their heater. He sighed, his dad wouldn't like that. People seemed so angry all the time, which made him think back to Charles. He didn't want people getting angry with him so he started to undress to remove his warm long-johns.
The O.R session took a couple of hours but they managed to stitch everyone back up. Hawkeye changed back into all his layers of clothes and wrapped himself up in a blanket before running out the door to the safety of the Swamp.
He rushed inside slamming the door shut behind him. He jumped up and down a couple times before he sat down at his spot in front of the stove. "Hey, Kiddo. " Hawkeye said after he sat down next to Chris. First thing he noticed was that there wasn't a stove in front of him. " That little fink! " Hawkeye snapped but immediately noticed Chris trembling next to him. The boy felt cold.
"Chris, why are you shaking?" Hawkeye asked him as he turned the boy to look at him.
"I'm c-c-cold." Chris said. His chattering teeth made him stutter, as he looked up at his dad.
"I can see that you're cold. My question is why? You shouldn't be this cold at all." Hawkeye said as he held the child's face in his hands gently and looked into his eyes. Chris felt incredibly cold and couldn't stop shivering. He saw the quilty expression of the boy before Chris mumbled "I'm s-s-sorry. I'v-v-ve t-t-took t-t-them off."
"Your long John's?" Hawkeye asked as his gaze went over the tent. He found them on the child's cot next to his. "Why would you do that? " Hawkeye snapped angry as he grabbed them.
Chris's eyes got big as his dad snatched the clothes from his bunk and turned towards him. The man looked a lot angrier than he would've thought. He mumbled again that he was sorry. He felt like crying and couldn't look his dad in the eyes.
"Why are these off?" Hawkeye asked angrily as he quickly pulled Chris standing and started to undress him in order to put them back on. He felt pissed. There wouldn't be any good reason to take them off. If Chris found them too dirty, he was in some bad luck. He knew they needed to be washed but that wasn't worth freezing over. The boy wore those long-johns for a couple of days now. "...I d-d-didn't wa-want p-p-people g-getting mad at m-m-me for wearing them." Chris replied sadly, still not wanting to raise his head. The silence grew thick and Chris could feel his dad fuming as the man removed his shoes.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. " Hawkeye snapped. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is! "
Chris gulped. The last thing he wanted was an angry dad saying he was being dangerous. That could mean a spanking with the slipper. Tears filled his eyes and he sniffed loudly.
Hawkeye didn't wait for an answer, he pulled the boy's pants down and off. Grabbing the first warm long-john, he wasted no time putting his son's feet through it. Chris had to grab his shoulder for balance but didn't say a word. He was shaking from the cold badly.
"I should put you over my knees for this." Hawkeye mumbled angry, making Chris sob softly. "I just told you about frostbite, and the next thing you do is undress in this cold!"
The boy's crying broke his heart but he was too pissed to care at the moment. His son had no survival skills whatsoever. He raised the first warm piece of clothes over the boy's legs but before raising it further, he quickly pulled the boy's brief down for a second and gave a harsh slap on the small white cold bottom with freckles.
Chris let out a squeak and started crying louder but Hawkeye had already lifted his briefs and longjohns and was now pulling the sweater over his head to put the rest on. "I-I'm s-s-sorry" He mumbled between sobs and his chattering teeth.
Hawkeye pulled his arms through the sleeves and was already closing the buttons. "You can bet your ass I will be smacking it with the slipper next time you decide to try to freeze to death." Hawkeye snapped. He was still angry. His son was freezing and he didn't know what reason the child had for doing something like this.
Chris cried softly as his dad started dressing him in the second one. He was so cold and it was all for nothing. That smack had really hurt and he did this because he didn't want people mad at him and now his dad was super mad.
His dad didn't say anything else, but made quick work to dress him up. He got his two pairs of socks on and his thick brown jeans. Next he got two sweaters with a jacket and a woolen cap, two pairs of gloves and a scarf to top it off.
After Chris was completely dressed again Hawkeye sat down and pulled the sniffing boy into his lap. He quickly put the blanket around them and pulled the cold trembling boy close in his arms.
Chris was still sobbing softly but felt relieved he wasn't going to get punished any further. He was also very glad he was feeling warmer. This felt nice. Being hugged and not being cold anymore.
Hawkeye waited till Chris stopped shaking from the cold before he asked for an explanation. The boy wiped his eyes and said softly. "I d-didn't w-want people getting m-m-mad at me." He sounded very sad so Hawkeye tightened his hug. He didn't know if the stuttering was because of the cold or the boy's nerves but he didn't care.
"Why would people get mad at you? Did someone say something?" Hawkeye asked. "Was it Igor? "
Chris shook his head. "No, b-but e-everyone seemed so mad at C-Charles b-b-because he is w-wearing warm clothes." He mumbled softly.
Hawkeye sighed. Of course Chris thought people would get mad at him. Chris always thought everyone was just waiting to get mad, especially at him. "Ohh, Kiddo. You misunderstood." He started explaining. "Nobody is mad because Charles wears warm clothes. Everybody is mad because the man doesn't need that polar suit as much as the wounded soldiers in post-op and he's refusing to share. He only has that suit because he got money. You however are a child and you are in far more danger to freeze to death than any adult here. Or to get frostbite." He hugged the boy tighter. "Furthermore nobody fits in your clothes. Maybe except for Radar." He said with a small laugh.
Chris let out a tired soft giggle. Radar would never fit. He felt so stupid now, why hadn't he thought of that, it sounded so logical now that his dad was explaining it but he just couldn't see it before. So stupid.
The door opened and an angry cold wind blew through the tent as BJ quickly entered.
"Rats! He did it again! the little thief" BJ snapped as he noticed the stove was missing. "this time, I'm hiding his glasses in the latrine! "
Chris gasped shocked. "You wouldn't!"
"While he is wearing them." BJ added.
Charles came in, letting a cold gust of wind inside.
"Why is it so cold in here? " The man asked. "Is the stove out again? "
"Yeah out the door! " Hawkeye said.
"That is outrageous! " Charles snapped.
The only heater left was the one inside the mess hall, so as quickly as they could they ran over there. Chris had a tough time keeping pace but he wasn't that cold anymore. His face felt cold but it wasn't like he could cover up his face completely. He didn't have a mask like that. Radar did though, his mother made him a complete knitted face mask with holes for his eyes and mouth. It looked warm but also scared him to death when he first saw Radar wear it. It was completely black with white borders around the eyes. It looked so weird, he would rather be cold than to wear something like that.
Everyone in camp seemed to have the same idea about the stove, so the whole unit was found in the mess tent. Chris wanted to sit next to his dad but Hawkeye moved towards two nurses and sat between them. "As a doctor, I can assure you we'll be a lot warmer if we press our bodies together." He said as he put his arms around each nurse. "So line up, people. Girl, boy, girl and the rest of you are on your own. " He said with a grin. Chris rolled his eyes, he didn't understand at all why his dad kept bothering the ladies. He sat down between Francis and the colonel. The colonel handed him a cup of choco. It wasn't hot, it was only a bit warm but he still liked it. His dad always complained about this army stuff but he loved this choco.
"All right," Hawkeye shouted to get everyone's attention. "Let's take it from the top. One, two, three... " and he started singing loudly. 'We're having a heat wave. A tropical heat wave. " Some people joined in but not many. "Good! Hawkeye continued. "Now only the men! The temperature's rising. It isn't surprising." some men including BJ joined in even though they didn't seem happy about it.
"Now the nurses!" Hawkeye yelled. "She certainly can can-can. " Some of the nurses made some effort.
Chris smiled over his chocolate milk. This was kinda fun.
"Good! Ladies who will meet me later in my tent, let's hear it." Hawkeye shouted but he was met with only silence.
BJ laughed. "You certainly know how to kill a party, don't you? "
One second everything was fine the next they heard a loud explosion outside. Everyone jumped up. Hawkeye immediately collected Chris, if they were getting bombed he wanted the boy as close as possible.
A second explosion went off, and they rushed outside. Outside they found Klinger who was the guard for today. The man had his hands over his ears and screamed loudly. "Enemy attack!"
Chris had a firm hold on his dad's waist, he almost forgot how scary bombs could be. It had been a while since they were bombed.
Hawkeye, BJ and Colonel Potter tried to see what was wrong with the man but another explosion made them all drop to the ground. Hawkeye held his body over that of his son, shielding him for any shells.
Another shell exploded. "What's out there? " Hawkeye asked. "It's our mine field. " Colonel Potter said.
"Ours? " BJ asked.
"They shouldn't go off like that until we tell them to. " Hawkeye added. He slowly got up and looked over at his son. Chris looked pale and scared but other than that he seemed fine.
"they'll be popping all night. I've seen it before." the colonel explained. "The frost in ice contracts the ground. The pressure sets them off. "
They quickly guided Klinger inside, to see if he needed medical help. Soon they found out Klinger couldn't hear a thing they said.
"I can see your mouths moving, but I can't hear any words." Klinger explained desperately.
"If this is a scam, I'll nail your sorry hide." Potter said.
Hawkeye stood up and stood behind Klinger. He had two small metal bowls and smashed those two together. A loud clang filled the room but Klinger didn't even flinch. It was clear the man was deaf.
"There's a chance it'll clear itself." BJ said.
"Inner ear concussion." Hawkeye added.
Klinger jumped up, frustrated that he couldn't hear anything.
Chris moved a bit away from the man, he liked Klinger but he couldn't help being afraid.
They managed to calm him down by giving the man a mirror, so he could see himself talk.
"I can't believe it. Look at me. I'm deaf! " Klinger yelled. The man couldn't hear how loud he was. "Why couldn't they just leave me at home, and I wasn't bothering anyone. "
Klinger kept up his loud speech, until BJ with the help of a nurse managed to sedate him.
Thankfully there weren't a lot of mines going off in the next couple of hours, only a couple during dinner and by the time they had the projector ready for movie night, most mines had already gone off.
Chris sat happily between Radar and Colonel Potter in the mess hall. The tent was transformed into a movie theater. Well he thought so, as he never really been to a theater. So he'd imagine it would look something like this. Rows of wooden benches in front of a white sheet.
His dad was watching a patient at the moment. The soldier was so cold, his life was in danger and nothing they did so far had seemed to help, so Hawkeye was worried and wanted to stay close. Chris understood that even though he would like it if his dad could watch this with him.
The Colonel was a good replacement, the man was very excited about this movie, especially the lead lady. Chris watched with amazement as the lead lady figure skated across the ice. She and a big group of dancers were wearing lovely sparkling dresses and everything looked magical. Even the guys had white sparkling suits. He would definitely want a sparkling suit when he was older. Then he could be just as handsome as these men.
The ice skating itself was so beautiful, he couldn't figure out how they did that but he absolutely loved to watch.
Charles and Margaret sat behind them but Charles kept talking during the movie, something about gloves but Chris didn't pay any attention to them. The white sparkling suits and dresses had him mesmerized.
The colonel hushed the two bickering adults behind him loudly before he turned back to the movie. The lead actress started a pirouette and Chris watched with glee how she spinned around.
"How does she do that without throwing up? " Radar asked softly.
Chris just shrugged. He definitely didn't know.
After the movie ended he and Radar went over to post-op in search of his dad. They found Hawkeye next to the patient. The man looked so worried that Chris felt a bit guilty for not being here sooner. He put his arms around his dad's neck and Hawkeye hugged him briefly.
They needed to do something about this patient and fast or the man wouldn't survive.
"You go back to the Swamp, Kiddo. It's close to bedtime for you. " Hawkeye said to Chris.
Chris nodded but didn't let go until his dad explained he needed to help this man. They were going to try to emerge him in warm water but that idea came with a lot of risks.
Hawkeye still made some time to put Chris to bed. Radar was looking for some sort of tub and then the clerk still had to fill it with warm water so he had a couple of minutes to put his kid to bed. He told Chris about Klinger who would be fine. And that everything was fine. The bombs had stopped completely so there wasn't anything that could scare him. He gave the boy a kiss on his forehead. The boy was still wearing most of his clothes, even the two pairs of socks. It was just too cold to sleep without them.
Hawkeye sighed as he went on his way back to Post-op. It's been a long day and a lot has happened but overall it's been a typical day for the 4077th. He just hoped this cold would be gone by the time of Chris's eleventh birthday.