It took a few days before Chris started to talk again. His first spoken word was the day after Flagg left and during the week he slowly became more talkative.

His nightmares were still there. This past week he had several smaller ones and one very big one which woke up the whole tent but besides the nightmares Chris seemed to be doing better until Rader went on R&R.

The moment the clerk left, Chris became even more clingy than he had been these past days, which irritated Hawkeye immensely. He couldn't get mad at the boy but it was driving him on the wall. It made him feel like such a failure and it worried him a lot about how the boy would react when they finally went back to the USA.

Hawkeye knew the child was just missing his friend but every time the clerk went away for a few days Chris went a bit crazy. The boy was already following him around but now with Radar gone, Chris even had trouble letting him go to the latrine on his own. The child normally waited outside without crying but now it seemed like he started sobbing as soon as Hawkeye was out of sight.

Of course Hawkeye wasn't planning on going to the latrine together with his son, so he had to be stern, but it was difficult. It felt like they were going several steps back instead of going forwards.

Right now he was in a busy operating room and he felt Chris's eyes burn. The boy didn't lose sight of him. The O.R. was a madhouse, they were stacked with wounded. Everywhere he looked, he could see pain and suffering. With every patient he treated, it seemed like two more would appear in its place. They worked non-stop, trying to help as many as he possibly could, but it was an uphill battle.

"Give me the Rib spreader." He said to Margaret, his helping nurse.

"Rib spreader" Margaret said at the same moment everything went dark.

A loud complaint erupted through the room.

"Come on with the lights!" Hawkeye said but he got interrupted by Margaret, who because of the darkness accidentally spread the spreader with his finger between it.

"OW! Margaret!" He yelped.

He heard a small gasp and felt Chris grab a hold of his coat. Of course his son came running up, thinking he was really hurt. "You've caught my finger in the spreader!" he said painfully.

"I'm sorry, Doctor!" She said as she immediately loosened the spreader.

The Colonel let out a loud sigh and snapped. "I thought that damn generator was supposed to be fixed."

Hawkeye freed his finger with a painful hiss and said. "I'm okay." Just to make sure Chris knew he was fine. He hoped that the boy would get back to his chair but the small tremble he felt, told him otherwise.

"Klinger!" The colonel yelled blindly. "Where are you?"

"Hiding from you, sir." The man yelled back.

"Get some candles and fix the generator!" The Colonel yelled loudly. "If it's kaput, crank up the auxiliary."

Klinger ran outside in order to complete the Colonel orders, while at the same time more people came in to help, so now each operating table had someone standing by with a big lantern.

"How's the digit, Pierce?" The colonel asked.

"Throbbing along nicely, thank you." Hawkeye answered.

"I said I was sorry!" Margaret snapped.

"Colonel?" Hawkeye started. Chris was still leaning against him and it was nearing his bedtime soon. He knew Chris wouldn't want to go, but a light out wasn't enough reason to keep the boy awake.

"Permission for a ten minute break, to bring Chris to bed and while I'm at it, any nice nurses around who need to be tucked into bed?" Hawkeye jokes.

"Daad!" Chris said with an annoyed groan.

"Ohh, hush." Hawkeye said. He still had this patient to work on, but the most urgent ones were finished and resting.

"Granded, Pierce." The Colonel said. "Ten minutes only."

Suddenly they heard a strange rattling sound followed by a loud bang. Klinger walked in with probably a defeated look on his face and explained that the camp's generator had broken down and that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fix it.

The colonel sighed and ordered the man to find a replacement somewhere and fast.

"Damn! I'll be glad when Radar gets back." He complained loudly.

Just like Hawkeye suspected, it turned out that Chris wasn't happy with being sent to bed. It wasn't that dark inside since Hawkeye had opened a flap in the tent's ceiling, letting some moonlight in.

"B-but dad!" The boy said with a stubborn expression as Hawkeye lifted the sheets of the boy's bed and gave him a 'Jump in' gesture.

"The lights don't work and it's dark" Chris mumbled softly, he was wearing his pajama bottoms and a shirt his dad wore. Since his nightmares he's been wearing his dad's shirts and it seemed to help even though he thought it was a bit childish.

"That's perfect for sleeping." Hawkeye countered.

"But I want to stay close." Chris tried pleading again.

"No," Hawkeye simply said which turned Chris's expression to a frown and it looked like he wanted to throw a tantrum so Hawkeye interrupted quickly.

"Christopher, don't make me punish you." Hawkeye tried.

"Dad!" Chris gasped as he turned bright red.

"Chris my arm is getting tired, jump in." Hawkeye said.

"But..." Chris started but Hawkeye interrupted him. "Now Chris," he said sternly.

Tears appeared in the boy's eyes and with a small sniff he finally climbed into bed.

"Don't cry, kiddo." Hawkeye said while he tucked the boy in. "It's not that dark with the moon shining in and I'm completely fine except for my throbbing finger so there is no reason for you to be upset."

"But the nightmares." Chris mumbled as his dad gave him a kiss on the top of his head.

"If you have a nightmare, you come to me, okay?" Hawkeye said reassuringly.

"I miss Radar." Chris mumbled.

"I know, Kiddo. He'll be back soon." Hawkeye said as he tried to reassure the boy but Chris's bottom lip trembled and he sniffed.

"Come on kiddo, don't cry" Hawkeye said as he pulled his son into an embrace.

Chris pressed his face against his dad and let out a sob "I-I don't want to be alone." He added sadly.

"I know kiddo, but you're not alone. I'm only a few feet away and people are patrolling around camp. You are definitely not alone." Hawkeye said soothingly.

Chris sniffed and took a deep breath before he nodded. There wasn't anything he could do to convince his dad to let him stay up and stay close and he didn't want to risk the chance of getting punished. He had more change if he sneaked out in the middle of the night to patrol around camp. He needed to see if his friends were still there.

After his dad said goodnight and left, the nagging scared feeling rose up again. He hated this feeling. It always started the second his dad was out of sight and he didn't know how to stop being so scared. He yawned widely and lifted Cinderella on his cot.

The little chicken made a happy sound and made herself comfortable as Chris petted her gently.

At one moment he must've fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he woke up by the sound of BJ and Charles walking in silently. He was a bit disappointed that his dad had the first shift but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He heard BJ climb onto his cot and Charles fall down on his as he yawned again.

He waited a while until he was sure that both of them had fallen asleep. He then slowly got out of bed, making sure not to make any noise as he walked towards the door. He gave the door a gentle push and let out a surprised high squeak when he heard BJ behind him say. "Chris, where are you going?"

He felt his face burn as he turned back around to face the man. "L-Latrine?" He mumbled. He felt his face grow hotter. He just lied to BJ.

"Uh Uh. Then why were you sneaking?" BJ asked after a yawn.

Chris fidgeted with his dad shirt he wore and mumbled "I-I'm s-s-sorry"

"You shouldn't lie to me, young man," BJ said. He didn't sound mad but it was clear the man wasn't happy.

"Yes, sir," Chris quickly added. "I'm s-sorry,"

"Go to bed, okay." BJ said clearly. "If you go back to sleep, I'm willing to forget this ever happened."

The boy didn't waste any time getting back to his cot.

"Don't worry about Hawkeye." BJ added sleepily. The man sounded relieved and thankfully not angry at all. "Last time I saw him, he was singing the seven dwarfs song, while carrying his lantern around Post-op."

Chris quickly climbed under his sheets, Jostling Cinderella a little and let out a sigh. He didn't want to go to sleep. His fear was gnawing on him and it had reached a bit of a peak. He needed to see if his dad and friends were fine. He knew it wasn't logical to feel this way but he couldn't help it.

Charles snored loudly and BJ his breathing started to slow and became more heavy while Chris just lay on his back waiting. He tried pushing his fear down, but he missed Radar and it felt like his fear was a lot worse than normal. It was still pitch black outside and he saw several little people with lights walking outside the tent from the corner of his eye. He could hear some of them softly, which made him a bit at ease, knowing he wasn't alone.

BJ's breathing turned slowly into snoring and Chris felt a pang of hope. He could try again. He would be definitely in trouble if his dad found out but he would do anything to ease this nagging terror which had a hold of him.

He got up silently and stopped for a second after Cinderella made a complaining soft cluck, just to make sure everyone was still asleep.

Nothing seemed to move or make a sound so he slowly made his way towards the door. He let out a relieved sigh as he slipped outside of the tent.

He didn't know how late it was but the moon was shining high in the sky, illuminating the compound. He did his best to stay in the shadows as he made his way over to post-op. It was weird with all the lights off, but he saw several lights moving in the building.

As he came closer he waited till most of the moving lights were away from the door before he reached up to look through the small window of the door. He thought it was easier this way instead of opening the door a little to look through but the first thing he saw was a hand quickly getting closer. The door collided hard with his face with a loud thud. He couldn't keep the "Ow!" out as he landed on his butt on the ground.

"Chris?" Klinger asked as the man looked confused at the child sitting on the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry kid! I didn't see you there."

Chris could only nod. He wanted to get away and crawl back into bed before his dad found out but the next thing he knew was that someone pulled him up and dragged him inside.

He was guided to a chair near the end of the room and his dad sat him down and gave him a stern look.

Hawkeye looked at his nervous guilty looking son with disappointment. He wasn't really angry, he had anticipated this or something like this but his kid didn't need to know that. This was still something Chris wasn't allowed to do. This stalking around wouldn't be so funny when the boy became an adult and Hawkeye really wanted to prevent that from happening.

Tears appeared into the child's eyes as Hawkeye looked over the bump on the boy's forehead. It had been a hard smack but thankfully the door hit his forehead and not his nose. It would be red for a while.

A concerned Klinger hovered next to them. "I'm so sorry, Sir," Klinger said.

"I didn't see him there. I wasn't trying to hurt your kid, I promise."

"It's okay Klinger. Chris wasn't supposed to be there in the first place." Hawkeye said as he gave his son another stern look. "Isn't that right, Chris?"

Chris gulped before he mumbled a "Y-yes, Sir." This was a disaster and not at all how it was supposed to go. Maybe he wasn't as good at sneaking around as he thought. He looked up at his father with pleading big eyes, he would do anything to save his hide.

"That's going to be a bump," his dad said after the man looked him over. "Could've been worse." He then patted his knee and said "Let's get you back to bed."

Chris nodded as his face burned bright red, he hoped his dad wouldn't punish him so it would be better to listen to the man. With a sigh he got up as his dad told the nurse he needed a couple of minutes.

With a firm hand on his shoulder, his dad guided him back towards the Swamp but stopped at the door and turned him around to face him and asked.

"Tell me the truth. You didn't have a nightmare and you are out of bed to go on patrolling around camp, did you?"

Chris again turned bright red as he looked into the stern expression of his father and said.

"Y-yes s-sir."

It wouldn't help to lie now, his dad already knew the truth. The man nodded before grabbing his bicep and turning him around. He let out a gasp at the sudden movement before he felt a sharp pain across his bum as his dad gave him a firm smack over his pajama bottom. He let out a soft but high yelp and looked at his dad sadly.

"Don't look at me with those big sad eyes, you earned it." Hawkeye said as he guided the boy inside and to his cot. "Now you are going back to bed and you are going to stay there until at least 6:30, is that clear?" He said in a stern whisper.

"Yes, s-sir." Chris said sadly as he climbed back into his bed. Cinderella flapped her wings in outrage as she again got jolted out of her position of rest.

Hawkeye sighed and quickly picked up the little bird and dropped her back into her crate.

"I'm sorry" Chris mumbled and sniffed as he pulled his blanket close to his chin as he looked at his dad with sad pleading eyes.

BJ groaned and mumbled sleepily. "Don't tell me Chris still went outside."

"What?" His dad asked the sleepy doctor and Chris felt his stomach drop while a cold shiver went through his body. He totally forgot about his previous encounter with BJ. If his dad found out he lied to BJ, he would definitely get another smack, if not a whole spanking.

"He tried sneaking out earlier but I stopped him." The man explained.

"Chris? Is that true?" Hawkeye asked as he sat down on the boy's cot next to the boy.

Chris looked at his dad with big pleading eyes and gulped before he said.

"Y-yes sir." he saw the irritation flash over his dads face and he still had to tell the man about him lying.

"A-and I-I lied. I'm s-sorry." he added in a tiny voice.

"Excuse me?" Hawkeye asked in a voice angrier than Chris wanted. "Did you just say you lied to BJ?"

"Y-yes sir" Chris forced himself to say it while he let out a sniff and wiped his eyes quickly. He knew lying was something his dad didn't approve of.

The man let out an angry sigh and made a turn around gesture which filled him with dread.

"Turn over," Hawkeye added.

"Papa!" Chris squeaked in a higher voice than normal. He lowered himself slowly onto his bed while pulling the blanket to his chin. Wishing he could disappear like this. Disappear out of this situation.

"Christoper, on your stomach." Hawkeye said in a sternly whisper to the crying boy.

The boy let out another sob as he quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve making Hawkeye feel guilty even before he punished the boy. I hated this but he couldn't let the child get away with lying, what kind of father would he be if he did.

"B-but d-dad" Chris tried softly but he saw his dad's expression change from stern to angry.

"Now!" Hawkeye snapped.

Chris flinched at the angry tone before he with a defeated sigh, slowly turned around to lay on his stomach. He sobbed softly as he buried his face into his pillow.

"I-I'm sorry" He mumbled quickly as he felt his dad's hand rest on his back, holding him in place.

His dad ignored his crying and sobbing as he removed the blankets and with one swift movement pulled his pajama bottom down.

Chris gasped at the sudden cold breeze against his backside as his dad pulled his briefs down as well.

His face was burning hot as he pressed it against his pillow, if he couldn't see anything he could pretend this was not happening. Unfortunately he couldn't ignore the harsh smack that followed.

The slap took his breath away as again a sharp pain erupted on his cheeks. He yelped as the second and third smack slap followed and started sobbing.

Hawkeye hissed a little from pain as he with his bandaged finger pulled up and rearranged the boy's briefs and pajamas before he put the blanket back over the sobbing boy. He'd made sure not to use his hand with his hurt finger to smack the child but he had the feeling he still hurt his finger more than he hurt the boy. He knew this was more than enough punishment to ensure Chris would behave but he hated punishing his kid also because he knew the child did these things because he was afraid.

Chris quickly turned back around and let out an heartbreaking sob. He sat up straighter, hating the burning feeling his bottom provided and grabbed his dad around the waist. He buried his face against the man as he cried.

"I'm s-sorry!" he sobbed as his dad put his arms around him, holding him tight.

"It's okay Kiddo. You've been punished and forgiven." Hawkeye whispered gently. His kid was being a bit dramatic but he knew Chris was extra emotional now his friend was away on R&R.

Chris just continued his sobbing while mumbling over and over again how sorry he was.

"Calm down, Kiddo. It's okay." Hawkeye tried again. "I forgive you."

It still took several minutes for Chris to calm down enough for Hawkeye to leave. He wanted to stay so badly but his patients needed him more. With one last kiss on the boy's head he left to continue his work.

Chris was still sniffing softly after his dad left. He hated getting punished and he felt absolutely terrible for lying to his friend. He wanted to apologize but BJ already started snoring and he was so tired as well.

He was almost asleep as he heard a little chicken jump up and down next to his cot. He quickly helped Cinderella on his cot and fell asleep soon after.

The first thing Chris did the next day was tell BJ he was sorry but the man said he had already forgiven him and promised him they were still friends but Chris still felt like he had something to make right.

They still hadn't found a working generator and without electricity things stopped working. So during breakfast all of the food out of the refrigerator was being served and it was a lot. The colonel stood near the serving line and kept ordering Igor to fill up every plate with as much as he could.

Chris stood between Charles and his dad as Igor eagerly filled their food trays. Charles looked on with horror at all the food getting stacked on his tray.

Potter walked back to the beginning of the line to welcome the korean locals he invited to eat with them and Charles quickly put back most of the food on his tray.

Hawkeye did the same and helped Chris get rid of some as well before they went to a free table.

They sat down next to BJ. Hawkeye tried holding his fork but his finger was making it difficult.

"There's one advantage to having a bum finger: I can't pick up the fork." He said.

BJ grinned and said. "You don't have to. This food comes when you call it."

Chris looked down at his tray. He had sausages, meatloaf, bacon and pork chops and that was just his meat section. He also had spinach, brown beans, green beans, corn, kale and carrots. Not to mention the bread and eggs. He looked at his dad with pleading eyes, he couldn't eat all of this, he still felt anxious about Radar being gone and it made him a bit nauseous.

"You don't have to eat all of it, just eat a little." Hawkeye ensured him as a korean family joined them on the table. The family didn't say anything, they probably couldn't speak english but they sure seemed to enjoy the food so Hawkeye passed his tray to them while he said. "The sad thing is, one man's poison is another man's meat."

After breakfast they went back to the Swamp. BJ had to work his shift while his dad decided to get some more sleep. So Chris was sitting on his cot doing his schoolwork. He didn't really need to do some but he was bored. There wasn't much to do besides his schoolwork even though it was boring at times. The good thing about this was that he went quickly through his work and according to his dad he would be just as good as other kids his age in no time and that really made him proud.

He petted Cinderella who was sleeping on his lap. The little bird got all his leftover vegetables on top of her normal feed and she had a wonderful time perusing through her eating options. Now she was tired and she seemed happy being stroked softly.

Besides his dad's soft snoring he heard something else outside the tent on the compound, something that sounded a bit like Radar. He perked up and listened closely and heard a voice. It felt like a little shock going through his body as he recognized the voice of Radar. He picked up Cinderella and dropped her back into her enclosure before running outside.

"Ooh! Jeez. I've had it." Radar said after he jumped out of the back of a cargo bike, driven by a Korean local. The clerk pulled his duffle bag out and grimaced as Chris barrels into him, grabbing him around the waist. The clerk smelled like sweat and was covered in dirt and dust and his duffle bag smelled like a perfume store but Chris was so relieved that Radar was back that he couldn't stop himself from crying as he hugged his friend tightly.

Radar looked a bit shocked at first but then gently patted the boy on his back.

"I missed you too Chris." He said with a smile. He had the most terrible trip getting back at the 4077th and it was nice to know he was being missed.

"Come on, Chris. Don't cry. I hate it when you cry." The clerk mumbled gently but it didn't help any. Chris just sobbed with his face pressed against Radar's dirty shirt.

Radar tried soothing him for a couple seconds but a nurse saw them and yelled loudly. "Hey, look! It's Radar! Radar is back!"

People came rushing out from all over the place, almost running towards the clerk. In a matter of seconds Radar was surrounded by a horde of personnel. Several people clapped him on his shoulder as they cheered.

Chris got jolted and pushed around, but he refused to let go. His friend had been gone for a while, and he was desperate for any connection to them. He needed to feel that his friend was safe, and that they were still in his life.

"Radar!" They heard a happy colonel calling out. "Welcome back, son."

"Thank you, sir." Radar replied a bit flabbergasted. Apparently he was really missed by everyone in camp. The colonel grabbed his hand and started shaking it as he said.

"I think I missed you even more than I miss Mildred but you got back in the nick of time." He clapped the clerk on his shoulder with an ecstatic smile.

"While you were away, both our generators went AWOL." The man said.

Radar sighed loudly and said. "Oh, jeez. I should've stayed at the airport."

At that moment Klinger heard the good news and came running calling out.

"Radar,Radar, Rader!" People jumped out of the way as the man ran up. "You've come back to me! Ah, thank you, thank you!" he said as he grabbed the clerk around the waist while pushing Chris out of the way. The boy groaned but refused to let go, even when Klinger lifted them a little in his enthusiasm. "Let me carry you to your office." Klinger continued. "The phone awaits."

Klinger started pushing the man towards the office but Radar stopped and pushed him back and said angrily

"Now, wait just a doggone minute! I just got back, for criminy sakes! I want to get something to eat and take a shower."

He said as he tried to get away from the group but the Colonel stopped him.

"No time for the shower, son. Besides, you can't shower while the lad is hanging on to you like his life depends on it." The colonel said with sympathy. "It will take awhile for the boy to let go of you. He missed you, you know. And the only grub we got is C-rations. We'll deliver 'em to ya." the man added. He didn't want to beg but he would if it would convince the clerk to go back to work right now and find them a generator.

Radar sighed and tried again. "Colonel, I'm tired and I'm hungry, and I smell like my cow Betsy before a show." He took a few difficult and angry steps toward the shower, dragging the boy with him as Chris still refused to move away but the Colonel stopped him again.

"I don't know what the big deal is anyway." Radar tried again. "A generator's only a three-call finagle. I mean, a couple boxes of toilet paper here, a canned ham there, there'll be all kinds of trucks rolling in with generators."

He tried to take another step but the colonel put his hands on both his shoulders and said. "Well, if it's that easy, no sense putting it off."

"Ohh,gee." Radar let out with defeat. "Okay."

The crowd erupted with cheers as Radar made his way over to the clerk's office. Walking went difficult with the boy around his waist but Chris didn't listen to any of Radar's complaints. He didn't even know if Chris could hear him or not, the child was sniffling softly and ignored everything he tried.

They walked into the office and Radar's mouth fell open as he saw how messy Klinger made his office. There were files everywhere, some random on the floor while several stacks of papers filled his cot, desk and cabinet.

"Oh, my gosh." Radar gasped. "Oh! Look what you've done to this place! You shamble-ized it!"

Klinger shrugged and said to his defense. "I didn't get a chance to tidy this morning."

"Get out of here, Klinger!" Radar snapped.

"But..." Klinger tried but Radar interrupted him.

"Go! Go! Get away from me before I get physically emotional." The clerk snapped.

"Okay, okay." Klinger said. "Boy, you sure don't act as sweet as you smell."

"Out!" Radar yelled back.

"I'm out!" Klinger yelled back before he turned and left.

Radar let out a tired sigh and mumbled. "Jeez, you go away for a little R&R, and this place goes to heck in a handbasket." he said as he threw his hat on his desk,

He sat down with difficulty. Chris loosened his grip a little to let the man sit down before moving his arms around the clerk's neck.

"Come on, Chris. I need to work, can't you cling to me any other time?" Radar asked but Chris just shook his head no and sniffed.

Radar just sighed and grabbed the phone.

Some time later Hawkeye woke up and noticed immediately that something was wrong.

Chris wasn't there while the boy hadn't let him out of his sight for weeks. His son was allowed of course to roam the camp alone when he was sleeping but Chris had been clingy for a while now so this was a bit of a surprise.

He trusted his kid, but he couldn't help but worry about the boy as well. He put on his red bathrobe and left the Swamp. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and the reason why became clear when he went into the Clerk's office.

He saw Radar on the phone, while Chris was hanging around the man's neck.

"Radar! You're back!" Hawkeye said with a big smile. "Hey, kiddo." He added to the sad boy as he walked up to them and clapped the clerk on his free shoulder as Chris was still clinging on to the other one.

"Hey Hawkeye. Sorry I don't have much time to chat." The clerk said. The man seemed very busy trying to reach someone on the phone with limited movement.

"Is Chris bothering you?" Hawkeye asked. It seemed like the clerk wasn't happy with the small boy hanging around his neck and even though he knew Chris missed his friend, the child should still learn that you can't force affection from people.

Radar sighed and mumbled. "Yes, but he won't listen to me." He hated to get Chris into trouble but the truth was he was cranky, tired, dirty and he hadn't had time to deal with a child.

Hawkeye tapped Chris on his shoulder and said. "Chris, you heard the man. You have to let go."

Chris let out a small sob. He didn't want to let go, he still needed to calm his nerves about missing his friend.

"Christoper." Hawkeye said sternly. "Let Radar go." He gently tried to pull the boy's arms away from the clerk but Chris shook his head and grabbed Radar tighter.

"Christopher, I said now!." Hawkeye snapped as he tried with a little more force to pull Chris away but the boy started crying louder and refused to let go. He almost pulled Radar off his chair in his attempt to pull the child away from his neck.

Radar sighed, looking very tired as he told the phone. "Hold on, Sparky, I can't hear you"

Hawkeye sighed and said "Last warning, young man." but Chris didn't seem to hear him so he put his hand on the boy's shoulder and with regret lifted the other one to smack the boy's behind.

The moment he felt his dad's hand on his shoulder he got nervous, that wasn't a good sign. He hadn't had time to think about it as he felt a harsh slap. He let out a small yelp as his bottom instantly burned sharply and his hands flew to his backside.

"No Sparky, that wasn't me. We have a child on this Mash remember." Radar explained on the phone.

Hawkeye saw his chance to grab the boy and pull him away from the busy clerk. He turned the boy to face him and gave him a stern look. The boy sniffed and looked absolutely heartbroken.

"Don't you look at me like that." Hawkeye said sternly. "You should be happy, I'm not putting you over my knee." Hawkeye said. He saw the child's wet glossy eyes go bigger and the boy's face flushed more than it already did.

"B-but d-dad.." The boy mumbled.

"No buts!" Hawkeye snapped. 'Your butt is the only butt at risk here! You should have listened to me."

Chris started crying harder so Hawkeye pulled him close with a tired sigh. "You can't force people to stay close, Kiddo." He said gently. "You should respect other people, especially adults. Understood?"

Chris grabbed the red bathrobe tighter as he nodded.

Hawkeye moved them both over to Radar's cot and sat down. Chris was still crying as he sat down and snuggled closer to him and Hawkeye knew it would take a while before the boy calmed down.

They sat like that for over an hour before Hawkeye decided they needed to get something to eat. He had to drag Chris away from the clerk but thankfully he didn't have to discipline in order to get his son to listen.

After dinner, Chris quickly returned to Radar with the promise that he would let go if Radar asked him too. Hawkeye knew he wouldn't prevent the child from staying close to the clerk but he hoped Chris would listen. He needed Chris to listen, this was a pretty serious problem if the boy continued this behavior.

He collected the boy several hours later to bring him to bed and thankfully Radar assured him that Chris had behaved perfectly.

Chris looked at him nervously so Hawkeye didn't believe everything went as smooth as they wanted him to believe but he was happy his son was trying.

It took at least thirty minutes for Hawkeye to get the nervous child into bed and of course Chris refused to go to sleep so it took another hour before the boy finally slept. He sighed tiredly, this parenting thing felt like he was riding a rollercoaster. Of course his son had more problems than a normal boy his age had but it seemed like Chris had a lot more emotions as well. He hoped that now Radar was back, things could calm down again.

That hope stayed until during the late evening the Colonel entered the Swamp with difficult news. Radar's uncle passed away.