Chapter 40
Uijeongbu Korea; November 11, 1952
"How's he doin?" Colonel Potter said gently, taking a seat next to Ellie Marie in Post Op.
"One oh four and a half." Ellie Marie said.
"Damn….that's gone up hasn't it?"
She nodded.
"Uncle Yusef! Don't go out tonight!" Klinger gasped, trying to sit up in the bed, "It's dangerous! They know you stole the melons!"
"Shhhh…it's ok love." Ellie Marie said quietly, as she pushed him back down.
"Poor fella…fever's got him crazy. What do you think's causing it?" The Colonel asked.
"He was complaining about lower right abdominal pain last night." Ellie Marie said, brushing his hair back from his forehead, "I thought maybe appendicitis, but he had some back pain too."
"Maybe it's his kidneys." The Colonel suggested.
"Uncle! Beware of someone in a hat!" Klinger gasped, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Well that's always good advice…" The Colonel said with a smirk.
"Uncle listen!" Klinger continued, "The grandmother, she knows! She read your fortune in the dust balls under the bed!"
"Someday I've got to meet your new extended family…." Colonel Potter said to Ellie Marie and she smiled appreciatively.
"Hey, how's your heated hubby?" Hawkeye said, walking up the aisle with Margaret and B.J.
"Sizzling right along." Ellie Marie replied.
"We've got his lab reports right here." Margaret said, handing her a file.
"What's this?" The Colonel asked, "You're all on the case?"
"Well, he's our puppy too." B.J. said.
"What's it say Ellie?" Colonel Potter asked.
"His white blood count is up, red count is low, and there's pus in his urine."
"Sounds like a kidney infection with gram negative sepsis." Hawkeye said.
Sorry folks. This afternoon is temporarily postponed. Wounded in the compound.
"Grandmother! You put a curse on my turnip!" Klinger gasped.
"Colonel, I'm gonna get some blood cultures and do an I.V.P. to see if there's any obstruction in his urinary tract before I come to surgery is that alright?" Ellie Marie asked.
"That's fine Ellie." He said, "if it ends up being too crazy out there I'll have Margaret come get you."
"You're not gonna find anything Ellie. It's a kidney infection." Hawkeye said.
"Oh says you." Margaret snapped, "just let her do the test!"
"You know he'd be perfectly fine right now if you hadn't cursed his turnip!" Hawkeye shot back at her.
Ellie Marie finished running Klinger's tests and left the lab to join everyone who was still doing triage. She walked around the side of the building and saw Father Mulcahy administering last rights to a dead soldier, and sitting next to him on the ground was Klinger.
"Max! What are you doing out here?!" She said running over to him.
"Ellie, thank goodness!" Father Mulcahy said, "can you please take him back inside?"
"I've got him, Father." She said, bending down and pulling Max to his feet, he stood up and looked at her.
"Baby…..is he dead?" He asked, pointing to the guy on the ground.
"Yeah love….he is." She said gently, "now let's get you back inside, you're really sick."
"Well who does wanna die? You heard her, it is what it is kid!" Klinger said to no one in particular.
"You're not going to die…." She said to him, putting a hand on his face, he was still burning up.
"I didn't bring up dying…Weston did." He pointed at the dead soldier.
"Weston is dead!" Father Mulcahy said over his shoulder.
"Don't tell me! Tell him!" Klinger retorted.
"Come on Corporal….let's get you back to bed." She said, pulling him back towards the Post Op doors.
———-
"Rake retractor." Hawkeye said.
"Rake retractor." Ellie Marie confirmed as she handed it to him.
"Where's all this blood coming from?" He muttered to himself. "You better run the bowel again. I might have missed something." Charles, who was across the table from them, nodded.
"Right. Colonel, as soon as you're free we need you over here." He said.
"On my way." The Colonel said, walking over. "What can I do to help you folks?"
"Help me clamp off these bleeders." Hawkeye said, "There. Look, another perforation. They're hard to find but they're there. I must have run the bowel too fast….I was worried about the chest."
"You had to prioritize the chest Hawk…" Ellie Marie said.
"Don't worry Pierce, we got it." The Colonel said, as he and Charles worked.
It took them another forty five minutes to get the soldier stable and moved to the Post Op, when Ellie Marie brought him in she looked over to where Klinger was asleep but still thrashing fitfully.
"How's he doing?" She asked Kelly.
"His fever is still high but it hasn't risen. He's been in and out of sleep. You wanna go sit with him for a while?"
"More than you know…." Ellie Marie said with a sigh, "but sitting next to his bed isn't going to make him better and there's a lot that needs done around here. This is part of that whole, my job comes first, thing, whether I like it or not. Besides." She smiled at Kelly, "I know he's in good hands."
"I'll come get you if anything changes." She said, giving Ellie Marie's arm a squeeze, "hey, would you mind taking this to Father Mulcahy?' She asked, holding up a small brown bag, "It's Private Weston's personal effects."
"Of course." Ellie Marie said, as she took the bag from her.
————
"One wallet, brown." She handed it to the Father.
"One wallet, brown." He repeated, writing it on the paper. "Any money it it?"
"Yeah hold on." She counted it quickly, "Twenty three sixty,"
"Twenty three sixty." He wrote down.
"One picture." She said, "Aww… look at that fresh sweet face, she's adorable."
"One picture." The Father said, he took all the items and placed them in the box.
"Did you ever have any sweethearts when you were in school Father?" Ellie Marie asked.
"Yes, I did actually." He responded, "in fact when I was twelve, I was a spin the bottle champion."
"Father Mulcahy!" Ellie Marie said incredulously, and he chuckled.
"No matter where Patricia Dugan sat, I could always put the right English on that bottle to make it point to her." They both laughed.
"She has six children now." He said.
"Sounds like you put some ideas in her head when she was twelve." Ellie Marie teased with a smirk. He smiled shyly and shook his head.
"One ring." Ellie Marie said, taking it out of the bag.
"One ring." He wrote it down.
"Six is what we're aiming for." Ellie Marie said.
"Hmmm?"
"Six kids….that's how many Max and I agreed on." She explained, "I still think I might be able to talk him into eight though."
"Really?" Father Mulcahy said, raising his eyebrows, "I had no idea you were intending to have such a large family."
"Oh yeah….Max and I have always both wanted big families. Even before we were together. And I honestly can't think of anything better than having all those little versions of both of us running around. It's really kinda beautiful how it works out isn't it Father? You find someone who is your perfect partner, and then if you're really lucky you get to actually create human beings that are part you and part them. It's like its own little miracle, if you think about it."
Father Mulcahy smiled warmly at her.
"It absolutely is." He agreed.
The storage room door flew open and Kelly ran in.
"Ellie you gotta come, he's getting worse!" She said.
Ellie Marie tore through the office and back into the O.R. where Klinger was thrashing and yelling.
"I'm not here! I'm someplace else!" He said, looking around wildly.
"Easy love…it's ok." She said, putting a hand on the side of his face.
"I'm not here! I can't find my fingers!" He said, looking down at his hands.
"Shhhh…it's alright." She sat down and put her arms around him, pulling his head so it rested on her shoulder.
"My hands are coming off! I can't find my fingers!" He whimpered desperately.
"Shhhhh….I've got you." She said gently.
"We've gotta get his temperature down." Colonel Potter said, from the end of his bed.
"Excuse me. There are sick people in here recovering from surgery." Charles said sharply, walking up to the bed.
"And what do you think he's doing, taking a damn holiday?" Ellie Marie snapped at him, as Klinger struggled in her arms.
"I am just saying, how do we know he isn't an infection risk.?" Charles replied.
"Relax, here's his ticket of admission." Hawkeye said, holding up a small glass vial, "a kidney stone. He passed it about ten minutes ago, and his blood culture shows gram negative rods."
"Thank god…." Ellie Marie said, kissing Klinger's burning forehead, "there Charles. He's not contagious. Can you please allow him to be treated in peace?" She added shooting him a glare.
"I gave him some I.V. acetaminophen about twenty minutes ago to get a jump on that fever." Hawkeye said, "should start taking effect soon."
"Quite a stone." The Colonel said, holding up the jar, "Practically Mount Rushmore."
"It's got the faces of three Lebanese presidents on it." Hawkeye agreed.
"I'm almost glad he was completely out of it when he passed that thing." Ellie Marie said.
"You know Ellie he's gonna be pretty sore for a while. You're gonna have to exercise some restraint." Hawkeye teased.
"Contrary to popular belief, I can keep my hands off my husband if the situation calls for it." She said, giving him a pointed look.
"No she can't." Klinger mumbled.
"Hey you…." She said, looking down at him. He smiled.
"Hey baby." He replied.
"Hey there Corporal…glad to see you." Hawkeye said.
"Glad to be seen by you." Klinger said.
"How you doin son?" Colonel Potter asked.
"Great….Wonderful. Hey…what are you doing in Miami sir?"
"Ok, so he might not be completely back yet…" Ellie Marie muttered, and Hawkeye grinned.
"Some weather down here huh? I'm glad I brought my trunks." Klinger continued.
"Start him on streptomycin, one gram every 12 hours," The Colonel said to Ellie Marie, "Push the fluids, and keep him off the beach."
"Yes, sir." She said with a laugh.
——-
"How's Hicks?" Ellie Marie asked a few hours later, as Hawkeye came back over to where she was sitting next to Klinger's bed.
"Physically I think he's gonna be ok." Hawkeye said heavily, "we patched up all the holes. Unfortunately we can't patch up the one left by Weston, they were best friends."
"God that's tough….." Ellie Marie said.
"Yeah….I just keep thinking about it….if I was in his shoes? If it were B.J….. I don't think I'd ever be ok again." Hawkeye said quietly.
"What do you expect? How would you feel if you lost your best friend?" Klinger said suddenly.
"Max….hush." Ellie Marie said, putting a hand on his arm.
"One second baby," He said to her, and then turned to the empty cot next to him, "Look Weston, be reasonable." He said, "I don't know how you feel being dead, but it scares the daylights out of the rest of us."
"Maxwell…you are the love of my life, and I know you're sick." Ellie Marie said quietly, "but I'm really gonna need you to shut up. Right now." She looked quickly over to where Private Hicks was lying across the aisle.
"Oh hey gorgeous." Klinger said, looking at her like he just realized she was there, "Listen I'm really thirsty. Can I get a glass of water?"
"Of course." She said, she kissed his forehead and then went to get him one.
"Colonel….he's been on antibiotics for eight hours and not only has his temperature not gone down, it's gone up a degree." She said quietly, as she poured the water, "I'm starting to get scared."
"It takes time for a fever to break Ellie." The Colonel said encouragingly, "He's gonna be ok."
"Ok? Colonel he's burning to a crisp!" Ellie Marie said, "If this fever lasts another eight hours he could be looking at permanent side effects."
"Okay, just to be safe, we'll start him on sulfadiazine." The Colonel said.
"Instead of looking for another medication, you should be looking for another cause." Charles said from the desk.
"Either way we have to get his fever down." Ellie Marie said.
"My point is, that just because your diagnosis was correct, doesn't mean mine can't also be." Charles stated.
"What caused this isn't important right now! We need to get his fever down!" Ellie Marie repeated angrily.
"Alright everyone hold your horses." The Colonel said, "Let's give the antibiotics time to work. In the meantime—"
"Time to work??" Ellie Marie cut across him, "My husband is frying like a piece of bacon!! By the time that medication works, they're gonna be serving him in the mess tent as a club sandwich!"
"At ease Captain." The Colonel said pointedly, "I know you've got a lot more invested seeing as that's your hubby lying down there, but please do not make the mistake of thinking that everyone in this room is not just as worried, or cares any less about Klinger's well being. Now. What I was trying to say is, cold packs. Are going to be our best bet."
"What's the discussion here?" Hawkeye said, walking up to the group, "He already passed the stone. Things should be improving."
"They should, but they're not. His temperature went up again." Ellie Marie.
"So maybe we should do another culture." Hawkeye said.
"Of course you would suggest that. Because you obviously have stones in your brain." Charles retorted, "there is a secondary issue here! It's obvious!"
"Look! I don't care!" Ellie Marie snapped, "do another culture! Run whatever tests you want! Colonel Potter and I are going to the kitchen to get cold packs and try to get my husband's fever down because I don't know if any of your vast medical training has mentioned it, but if it raises another degree. HE COULD DIE." She stomped towards the doors at the end of the ward, and outside.
"Ellie…." Colonel Potter said, as he followed behind her towards the kitchens.
"I don't wanna hear it Colonel!" She snapped at him, but then instantly regretted it. "I'm sorry sir…."She said, "I didn't mean to take that out on you. You're the one actually trying to help me."
"At the risk of getting another swipe taken at me, Pierce and Winchester are on your side too. They wouldn't be in there arguing about what's best for the boy like that if they didn't care so much about him."
"I know….." She said quietly, and then suddenly all the stress and fear and worry of the last day and a half came crashing down on her, and before she could stop herself she started to sob.
"Awww….honey." Colonel Potter said gently, wrapping his arms around her and putting her head against her his shoulder, "I know…." He patted her back, "I know how scary it is. About a year after Mildred and I got married, I had to rush her into the emergency room. Acute appendicitis. I was already in medical school at the time, I knew exactly what was wrong with her. Knew it was an easy fix, but I was still about to lose my mind. I'd take going through pain a million times over having to sit there and watch it happen to someone I love."
"It's just….with the court martial, and now this." Ellie Marie said, "we've only been married for a month. I feel like the universe is trying to take him away from me….." She took a long shuddering breath, "I know that sounds stupid."
"It doesn't sound stupid." The Colonel said, "but it also doesn't mean it's true. That husband of yours for all his oddball ways, might just be the scrappiest, toughest young man I've ever met. He's not going anywhere without a fight. So let's get these cold packs, and get back to Post Op, and you can just tell the universe to go to hell, ok?" She looked at him and smiled.
"Ok." She agreed.
——-
"What's his temperature?" Hawkeye asked.
"One oh one." Ellie Marie said, wiping the sweat from Klinger's brow, "it's coming down."
"Thank God…" Hawkeye sighed in relief, "You were right, those ice packs were just the trick."
"Thank you again Colonel." Ellie Marie said, squeezing his hand where he sat on the other side of Klinger's bed.
"Anytime Ellie." He said with a warm smile.
"You know we were so busy arguing about what caused it, we never got around to the obvious solution." Hawkeye said.
"Yeah I noticed that." Ellie Marie said.
"You did? Why didn't you say something?" Hawkeye quipped.
"I will actually murder you!" She snapped at him."
———-
"Alright, what else do we love?" Hawkeye said, standing up on one of the chairs at her dining room table.
"How about dirt? Do you love dirt?" Klinger asked with a giggle.
This had been going on for over an hour. In celebration of Klinger's recovery B.J., Hawkeye, Charles and Colonel Potter had come over to their tent with several beakers full of the still's contents and they'd been systematically toasting every good thing they could think of. All in all Ellie Marie found it was a pretty pleasant way to get plastered.
"Are you kidding? Dirt is my life!" Hawkeye responded.
"All right to dirt!" B.J. called from his spot lying on the couch, as he lifted his martini glass.
"And to the army that lets us eat it, drink it, breath it, and salute it!" Hawkeye added, and they all took a sip of their drinks.
"Now what?" Charles asked from his spot leaning on the counter.
"Rats are nice." B.J. said.
"Some of my best friends…." Klinger agreed.
"And not just to their cute little bucktooth grins…and pointy little ears.." Colonel Potter said, he was sitting in the couch by B.J.s feet, "but to their charming fleas."
"Without whom we wouldn't live in the shadow of plague." Ellie Marie added.
"Ah! Plague! I'll drink to that!" Hawkeye said, putting back another swig.
"Are you people….historically aware of what caused the great plagues of Europe?" Charles said, "Are you…..historically aware of that?" He hiccuped.
"No Charles…." Eliie Marie teased, leaning towards him from her place in Klinger's lap, "not historically….no."
"War." He said.
"Really?" She said, propping her chin on her hands in mock fascination, Klinger chuckled.
"See, one city would attack another, and they'd burn their buildings down."
"Mmm hmmm."
"And the rats would scurry…"
"Cute little guys…" B.J. interjected.
"And spr—" Charles burst into giggles, when he looked at Ellie Marie's over dramatic expression of interest which in turn made her and Klinger laugh.
"And spread their plague bearing fleas!" He continued, still chuckling, "throughout the rest of the population!"
"To war!" Ellie Marie said, raising her glass.
"The fountain of all loveliness." Hawkeye agreed, and they drank.
"To shrapnel! And the skittish dance it does inside bodies." B.J. said.
"To the blood that drips into our boots and stains our socks with those sweet magenta polka dots." Hawkeye said quietly.
"To butchery." Charles murmured.
"Mayhem." The Colonel added.
"Brutality of every shape and kind." said Ellie Marie. They all drank.
"Gentleman…." Klinger said, standing up and wobbling, "I am going to stagger to my bunk….which thankfully. Is right there." He pointed at the bed.
"Well then I guess that's our cue to head out." B.J. said, as he sat up slowly.
"But first one more toast." He held up his glass.
"To Klinger!"
"To Klinger!" They all echoed.
About ten minutes later, once everyone had left and she'd cleaned up, Ellie Marie climbed into her bed and wrapped her arms around her husband.
"How ya feelin doll face?" She said quietly.
"I'm good." He said sleepily, "Happy to be back here with you."
"I'm happy to have you back." She said, kissing him softly.
"Hey baby….what ever happened to Weston?" He asked sleepily.
"Weston? The kid who died?" She asked.
"Yeah…did he get what he wanted? Is he ok?"
"What are you talking about, Sweetheart?"
"Weston. Are his folks ok? Where is he? Is he gone?"
"Yeah Max….he's gone…."
"Oh…..ok. I just needed to know. He was a good kid."
"Alright…" She said, still very confused.
"Goodnight baby." He murmured, "I love you."
"I love you too."
She tucked her head against his chest, and his breathing became slow and even as they both fell asleep.