Chapter 55
Uijeongbu Korea; July 19th, 1953
Peace talks continue in Panmunjom! It seems for the first time in the past three years, an end to this bloody battle may be in sight!
"Yeah I'll believe it when I see it….." Ellie Marie muttered to herself, shooting a dark look at the radio on the corner of the desk.
"Hey G….we're making the call." Klinger said, sticking his head into the Post Op from his office, "you wanna come in?"
"Not really….but I will anyway." She replied.
She got up and walked into the office, where her fellow senior officers were crowded around Klinger's desk, save one.
"Is he on yet?" Margaret asked anxiously leaning closer to Klinger.
"Will you give me a minute!" Klinger snapped back, "They're getting him! Who wants to talk first?"
"I will…." B.J. said reaching out for the phone, he put it to his ear and after a moment began to speak with an overly upbeat voice, "Hawk? It's B.J.! How you doing?" His expression faltered slightly at the response. "Well….listen. Sidney's the doctor." Ellie Marie heard indistinct shouting on the other end of the phone, and B.J. shifted uncomfortably, "Look um….Father Mulcahy wants to say hello!" He finished quickly, shoving the phone to the priest.
"Hello Hawkeye!" Father Mulcahy said, "Is there anything we can send down to you? Anything you might need? Oh……yes, well uh perhaps…." He looked at Ellie Marie hopefully, extending the phone but she pointedly shook her head and crossed her arms, "right….umm…perhaps Colonel Potter could." He shoved the phone into the Colonel's hands.
"Pierce, we miss you here!" Colonel Potter said, "….uh huh…..Oh hey! Have you heard the latest? Truce talks are on again! And they must be serious about peace this time because the fighting's gotten a lot worse. They're trying to grab more real estate before they sign, you know? Lots of casualties……right. Uh, Pierce, Margaret won't rest till I put her on the phone. Just hold on a second!"
The Colonel turned to Margaret and they had a quick and silent scuffle as she protested but then finally took the phone from his hand.
"Hawkeye?" She said, in a nervous and overly bright tone, "How are you feeling?….Oh you know same old stuff. This and that…ups and downs. What can I say….Well it was great talking to you. You just take care of yourself. Klinger wants to say hello!" She shoved the phone away from her like it was a poisonous animal and Klinger grabbed it before it hit the desk.
"Hey what's happen Captain?" Klinger said lightly, "Don't know what they're talking about, you sound perfectly fine to me. How is it there? Crazy about the place?"
"Give me that!" Colonel Potter snapped, yanking the phone back, "Pierce? It's me again. Don't worry about Klinger, you know how he is. You just focus on getting better, and getting back here so we can get ready to go home! We're all making plans. I can't wait to get back stateside and work in a real hospital, with sanitary conditions and regular shifts, and plain old ordinary diseases. B.J. said he's gonna make a ring out of his first kidney stone."
Everyone around the phone gave a loud burst of awkward, forced laughter.
"You just take care of yourself. We all miss you here." The Colonel finished, and Ellie Marie heard Hawkeye's shouted response as clear as day.
"THEN GET ME OUT!"
The Colonel stood there in stunned silence for a moment with the receiver still to his ear, before Ellie Marie heard another voice start speaking.
"Oh hey Sidney." Colonel Potter said, "He sure doesn't sound like it……yeah she's right here." He held out the phone to Ellie Marie, who took it this time and held it to her ear.
"Hey Sidney." She said.
"Hey there Captain Klinger." He replied, "How you holding up?"
"I've been better. But I'm not cracking up yet as far as I know. How's your patient? Any progress?"
"Hard to tell." Sidney said, "He's still stuck on the beach trip itself, anytime we get to the trip back he starts to get very vague."
"Well keep trying Sidney." She said, "If anybody can get him through this it's gonna be you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. How about the rest of you? You guys getting each other through it?"
"As best we can." She assured him, "It's not the kind of thing you ever get over, but everyone else seems to be coping."
"Well they have a brilliant psychiatrist to be right there with them." He said, "I always knew they'd be in good hands. Just make sure you take care of yourself as well. If you ever need me, I'm just a phone call away."
"Thanks Sidney." She replied, "I'll talk to you soon." She handed Klinger back the phone and he placed it on the receiver.
"So?" Margaret asked.
"He says there's still not much change. He won't talk about the trip back from the beach, and he won't acknowledge that anything is wrong."
"He sounded better at least." Klinger commented.
"He was more relaxed than me…." Colonel Potter agreed.
"And you!" Margaret said, snapping at Klinger, "making cracks about being crazy about the place!? What is wrong with you?"
"Hey!" Ellie Marie said sharply, "Get off his case! He was the only one treating him in a way that could have actually been helpful!"
"He essentially called him crazy!" Charles pointed out, "How is that helpful?"
"I know none of us like to use the word, but Hawkeye flipped out and attacked Ginger when she was trying to anesthetize a patient because he thought she was smothering him. And then drove a jeep through the side of the O club and almost killed two people." Ellie Marie said, "That's pretty crazy behavior. What he went through, hell what we all went through two weeks ago, no human being should ever have to endure, but talking to him all bright and happy isn't going to help!"
"So what do you suggest?" B.J. countered angrily, "that we just make a joke out of it? Hawkeye Pierce the town looney?"
"What I suggest is that you stop making calls to Seoul every other day just to tell him you hope he's feeling alright!" Ellie Marie shot back, "Because platitudes don't fix anything and they're obviously just aggravating him further! Let Sidney do his job, and see if he can unscramble whatever is going on in Hawk's head. And while you're at it….I know none of you want to hear this, but maybe prepare yourself for the fact that this was just too much, and that the guy who walked out of this camp on our beach day, might never be walking back in again." She gave them one more glare and then stormed back into the Post Op.
"Can you believe her?" B.J. said, watching her go, "She acts like he's a lost cause and we should all just forget about him."
"Hey! Get your ears checked Captain!" Klinger said sharply, "That ain't what she said at all. She's just being realistic about the situation."
"Well excuse us, if we aren't all able to shut down our emotions and act like everything that's happened over the last few weeks has no effect on us." Margaret retorted, "We all went through hell, and one of our closest friends might never be the same."
"She went through it right there beside you, Major." Klinger shot back, "just because she puts on a brave face and acts strong, doesn't mean it doesn't bother her. She's been having nightmares every night, waking up screaming. She just doesn't want to burden you guys, when you've already got so much on your plates!"
"Oh….." Margaret looked at him in surprise, "I didn't know…."
"Yeah you wouldn't, would you?" Klinger replied, "all I'm saying is. She's just as worried about Captain Pierce as any of us. So give her a break."
"We will son." Colonel Potter said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry we've been so hard on your little missus. Truth is, she's not saying anything different than what Sidney said when we sent Pierce in. We're just not as used to hearing it from her."
—————
Ellie Marie gasped, and tried to stifle her scream as she thrashed awake, pushing against the horrible images that threatened to pull her back down.
"Shhh, it's ok. I'm here, you're safe." Klinger's arms wrapped tightly around her, pulling her in close. She breathed in his familiar scent and willed her heart to stop pounding frantically as she took in her surroundings.
"What was it this time?" He asked gently, stoking her hair, she'd realized within a few days of the start of the nightmares that saying them outloud helped them feel less real.
"It was me….." She said quietly, "I was the one who had to do it."
"Oh baby….I'm so sorry."
"Don't call me that!" She snapped, pushing away from him and sitting up on the bed.
"I'm sorry." He apologized quickly, "I forgot."
She softened and looked down at him with a sad smile.
"I should be the one apologizing." She said, "biting your head off for calling me something you've called me since the day we got together. It's stupid."
"It is so far from stupid." Klinger assured her, brushing his hand across her cheek, "you got nothing to apologize for, ever."
"I just keep seeing it." She said quietly, "over and over again. That tiny little body, the mother's face…..I can't make it stop."
"I know sweetheart….God I know…." Klinger sat up and pulled her against his chest again.
"She killed her baby Max…..she smothered it to death right in front of us and there was nothing we could do! We all just sat there and watched it, we watched her kill her baby!" Tears began to fall from her eyes.
"We had to….." He said, holding her tightly, "the Chinese patrol was ten feet away from us! It's unthinkable, but if she hadn't done what she did we'd all be dead right now."
"It was just crying…." She sobbed, "it didn't know any better! It was just a baby. It was cold and hungry and it didn't know any better…she came to us for help. We were supposed to be bringing them both to safety!"
"I know…." Klinger whispered against her hair, "I know…."
"And Hawkeye telling her to shut it up…..God, he has to know it wasn't his fault. He didn't mean that, we all know he didn't."
"Doesn't seem like that matters much one way or the other…." Klinger pointed out, "whether he knows it wasn't his fault or not he can't live with it."
"Yeah…." Ellie Marie agreed.
She sat quietly in his arms for a few more minutes, grounding herself in the safety and comfort he always provided, before taking a deep breath and leaning back so she could look at him.
"How about you gorgeous?" He asked, cupping her face in his hands again. She took another deep steadying breath and closed her eyes.
"I'll be fine.' She assured him, "It's never going to be ok. But it's one of those things you just have to learn to live with. Like the Rinaldi thing. No one ever said we would get out of here without scars. Sometimes the worst ones are the ones you can't see. I'm doing ok overall, it's just….at night, when the dark things start to creep up. Thanks for always being here to help me beat them back, doll face."
"Of course," Klinger said, giving her a firm kiss, "There's nowhere else I'd ever wanna be."
———
"We gotta do something about all these refugees!" Colonel Potter said, as he waded through the sea of people that now filled the compound, "We're not zoned for this! Klinger, have a detail build a pen for all these animals back behind Rosie's"
"On it sir!" Klinger said.
"Hey Colonel." Ellie Marie walked over to him, with a little boy slung on her hip. "Does this look like pellagra to you?"
"Sure could be." Colonel Potter said, examining the boy, "Let's line these folks up for physicals. Klinger!"
"Already on it sir! We can use the V.I.P. tent." Klinger answered, before turning to Ellie Marie, "Hey ba—Ellie, you and the father speak the best Korean, can you round everybody up and tell them the doctor wants to give them an exam?"
"You got it." She said, walking off to find the Father.
"What's the latest P.O.W. count Sergeant?" Colonel Potter asked, as he looked at the makeshift holding cell they'd made next to the enlisted barracks.
"We got ten new guys this morning." Klinger replied.
"It's getting pretty crowded in there." Colonel Potter observed, "We're gonna have to let out the seams on that barbed wire…..Alright, I'll check those guys out once I'm done with the refugees. I tell ya what….we'd better get peace fast. Sneaking up on it is killing us…"
There was suddenly a loud crash as a tank took out the enlisted latrine and plowed towards the center of camp. Ellie Marie just had time to yank a young Korean woman out of the way before she was crushed.
"What's the matter with you!?" She screamed, "You drive that thing like it's a lethal weapon!" Then she saw the bloody man slumped over the top of it unconscious, "Oh….corpsman!!"
———
"The driver said his tank broke down," She explained to the Colonel as they worked on him in the O.R., "When the crew were repairing it, they were fired on."
"Scalpel." Colonel Potter said, and she handed him one.
"He was the only one who made it back to the tank."
"He's lost a lot of blood." Colonel Potter said with a sigh, "Sponge."
"Sponge." She replied, handing it to him.
Attention all personnel! We're patched into Armed Forces Radio for a special broadcast. Sounds like a big one folks!
Ellie Marie looked over at the Colonel as the radio crackled to life, and her heart seemed to jump into her throat.
This is Robert Pierpoint in Seoul. I've just returned from outside the newly built conference hall in Panmunjom. The hall is a symbol of the renewed hope of peace. It is almost finished, and you can still smell the greenness of the wood. Two years of constant disappointment have made skeptics of us all. However, the word from Panmunjom today is that an armistice agreement may be reached at any hour. While one of the bloodiest battles of the war rages on, it seems peace is finally within our grasp.
"YEE-HEE!" A loud whoop came from the other side of the O.R. doors.
"Sounds like your husband has a few opinions about the good news." Colonel Potter said with a smile.
Klinger came bursting through the door, and even with the surgical mask he had held over his nose and mouth she could see he was grinning ear to ear.
"Did you hear that gorgeous?" He said excitedly, "We're gonna be home in time for our first anniversary."
"Don't count your chickens yet love…." She cautioned, "it's not done until the signatures are on the paper."
"Nah…this is it." He countered, "I can feel it. You better get ready to start planning, cuz we're celebrating our first anniversary with the biggest wedding party Toledo has ever seen!" Ellie Marie laughed and shook her head.
"I like you and I love you Sergeant." She said.
"I like you and I love you Captain," He replied, "and I sure can't wait to take you home."
Once they'd finished with their patient and she'd gotten changed back into her regular uniform Ellie Marie walked out into the compound to finish helping with the refugees. She found that the Father had done a wonderful job of getting them organized and waiting patiently outside the V.I.P tent. She had just decided on heading to the mess tent to grab a late breakfast, when she noticed Charles walking up the road from the direction of the officer's latrine in his bathrobe, followed by a group of five men in Chinese uniforms, carrying musical instruments and pushing a motorcycle.
"Joining the Communist Party marching band Charles?" She asked with a smirk.
"Hardly….." He replied, "I have been under the weather, and sparing you the sordid details, have been frequenting the latrine through the majority of the night. On my most recent visit, when I exited I found these five."
"They're musicians…" Ellie Marie observed.
"Yes I saw that…" He replied, he turned to address the men, "Alright gentlemen!" As soon as he spoke to them they smiled brightly and said something furiously in Chinese, before beginning to play 'Oh Susanna'.
"No. No!" Charles said, trying to stop them, but a crowd began to get her and applaud them.
"Don't you think a portable radio would be more convenient?" Klinger asked, walking up next to Ellie Marie.
"Sergeant, I believe these gentlemen have surrendered." Charles said pointedly, "Let's get them inside and get them processed."
"Alright, right this way boys!" Klinger said, motioning to the men who nodded happily and followed behind him, still playing.
"Not too much solid food right away Max." Ellie Marie reminded him, "they probably won't be able to hold it down."
"I'll make sure this motorcycle doesn't escape." B.J. said, walking over and grabbing it.
"Well Charles, I feel like there's gotta be some sort of medal for capturing five Chinese soldiers in your bathrobe." Ellie Marie teased, and he rolled his eyes at her and walked away.
———
"I know a tank isn't supposed to be in a medical zone!! Why do you think I'm calling!?" Klinger yelled down the line in his office, he covered the receiver and looked over at Ellie Marie, "boy I swear it's like all the bozos at I-Corps share one brain cell and you never know when you're gonna get the guy who's using it that day." He held the phone back up to his ear, "Well if you aren't the guy I need to talk to can you go get him?? Thank you!"
"Klinger, get off the phone! I need to send a telegram!" Margaret snapped, storming into the office. Suddenly a shell exploded close enough to shake the building.
"Boy that one sounded close!" Klinger said, looking out the window in alarm, "Hello?"
"Klinger my telegram!"
He held up a hand to quiet her.
"Well tell them we need someone out here ASAP! We're getting overrun with refugees and P.OW.s and this tank is making us an even bigger target!" He snapped, slamming down the phone.
"Klinger!!" Margaret insisted.
"Working on it Major!" He said, grabbing a notebook and pencil, "Go…"
"This goes to Robert Harrell, Chairman of the Board, Mercy Hospital, Boston Massachusetts." Margaret said, "Dear Uncle Bob."
"Wow…your uncle runs a hospital?" Klinger said, looking up in surprise.
"He's not really my uncle."
"Oh….that kind of uncle. Got it." Klinger said with a smirk.
"I've been calling him that since I was a kid! Now be quiet!" She snapped, "Dear Uncle Bob."
"Sergeant, get on the phone to I-Corps!" Colonel Potter barked, coming in from the compound.
"Colonel please!" Margaret said, "Have known Major Winchester two years. Stop." She continued.
"I've got North Koreans up to my southern border and I want them out of here!" Colonel Potter said hotly.
"I've got a call in already Colonel….they said they'll be here as soon as they can." Klinger said. The Colonel cursed angrily.
"Will you listen!" Margaret snapped at Klinger, "Have worked with Major Winchester for two years. Stop. One of the best surgeons I've ever known. Stop."
"Stop!" Colonel Potter shouted at her, "Klinger get on that phone and tell I-Corps that tank is still sitting out there and this is not a parking lot!"
"He just did, sir!" Ellie Marie shot back at him, "he can't make them move any faster than they want to, he's just a Sergeant! If you want to light a fire under them, why don't you go get on the phone yourself and throw your bird around!!"
"What she said…..sir." Klinger agreed.
"His two years here equals ten years at any stateside hospital." Margaret continued.
"Klinger….can you at least—" Colonel Potter began again but Margaret pushed him out of the way and grabbed the notepad from Klinger's hands.
"Let me read that." She said.
"Don't you have a piece of paper around here somewhere that says I'm in charge?" Colonel Potter said to Klinger, glaring at Margaret.
"Colonel I'm on my way to the orphanage. I'm taking them some sulfa and I need your initials." Father Mulcahy said, walking through the door.
"Fine." Colonel Potter replied, grabbing the paper, "You know Klinger that tank has—"
"And some aspirin." The Father cut across him, handing him another paper.
"The potential to be a—"
"And some penicillin."
"Padre! We need a few drugs here too!" The Colonel said, pointedly.
"Just had to try…." Father Mulcahy said with a smirk, as he headed back out.
"Now sign it…Love to you and Aunt Betsy. Margaret." Margaret said, handing the paper back to Klinger.
"Major Houlihan!" The Colonel snapped in frustration.
"You know it's very hard to think in here with all this noise!" She shot back hotly.
Ellie Marie walked out of the office and directly into a scene that was even more confusing. B.J. was sitting outside the swamp with what appeared to be the rest of the yellow paint that had been left from the painting of her tent walls, putting a coat of it on the motorbike he'd commandeered from the Chinese prisoners, and Charles was sitting a few feet away with said prisoners and appeared to be conducting their music.
"Is that….Mozart?" Ellie Marie asked, recognizing the tune.
"Yes!" Charles said brightly, "I was pleasantly surprised to discover they are classically trained!"
"This place is getting weirder and weirder by the day…." She muttered.
Later that evening, as she finished washing the last of her dinner dishes, she looked around her tent and gave a long sigh. After the ridiculousness of the past forty eight hours, there was something almost soothing about making herself a peanut butter sandwich in her own tent and then washing the plate. The door opened, and Klinger walked in looking haggard.
"Hey dollface." She said with a smile, "long day?"
"Oh my god G…." He replied, rolling his eyes, "you got no idea….that three ring circus with the Major earlier was nothing, my day pretty much kept going that way non stop. I had to finally beg the Colonel to let me come get a couple of hours of shut eye, before we get back at it again in the morning."
"Still can't get anyone from I-Corps up here to get the tank?"
"I can't even get anyone on the phone now!" He said, "Colonel wants us to drive down to Seoul first thing in the morning so he can look them in the eyes while he yells at them."
"Sounds like you'd better get some rest then." She said, "Have you eaten? We don't have a lot but I could make you a PbJ."
"That'd be great." He said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed and take his boots off, "Thanks baby." He stopped and looked up apologetically, "Oh jeez…I'm sorry. With all the craziness I forgot."
Ellie Marie looked over at him and smiled tiredly. She put down the jar of peanut butter she'd been holding and walked over to him, tipping his head up and kissing him softly.
"It's ok…." She said, "I think I'm ready for you to start using it again."
"Yeah?" He questioned with a smile.
"Yeah." She confirmed, "I've missed it." He slipped his arms around her, holding her close.
"Why the change?" He asked, "not that I'm complaining."
"I think all this insanity has actually helped me start to come through the other side of this thing," She explained, "I haven't had time to think about it. That combined with the fact that it seems like we might actually be going home soon, I dunno. When I got back here tonight, for the first time in weeks, I felt…ok. Like myself again. Like things we're actually going to be alright."
"They are baby…." Klinger said, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her, "they're gonna be better than alright. I love you so much."
"I love you too." She said, kissing him back, "You know….those adorable little refugee kids definitely helped too." She added, as she stepped away from him and went back to making his sandwich, "did you see that little guy with the red hat? The way he was following me around like a shadow?"
"Yeah he was adorable." Klinger agreed with a grin.
She put his plate on the table, and he walked over and sat down to eat. She sat in the chair next to him and he reached over to pick up her hand with his free one.
"I loved watching you with those kids." He said, "You're going to be such an amazing mom."
"Now you know how I feel everytime Father Mulcahy brings the orphans around and you turn into a kid magnet!" She teased, and he chuckled appreciatively.
"Max…." She continued, running her thumb along the back of his hand, "I wanted to say thank you. I know I've been a mess the past couple weeks, and you've been…..well you've been absolutely amazing. You took care of me every step of the way. I never would have gotten through it without you."
"G that's what I'm here for." He said gently, "for better or worse remember? Partners till the end."
"I know…" She said, "I just feel bad because you went through it too, and I've been making it about me. I feel like I wasn't there to support you, and I'm s—"
"Nope." He cut her off, "Don't you dare apologize. I told you before, you got nothing to apologize for. I'm ok, it was awful, but I'm handling it. There's gonna be stuff in life that's harder for one of us than the other, and we'll take turns being the strong one. It was my turn this time, never say you're sorry for needing me baby. Cuz I'm never sorry that you do."
Ellie Marie got up from her seat and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him firmly.
"I love you Maxwell Q. Klinger." She said.
"And I love you Eleanor Marie Klinger." He replied with a smile.
———-
Another shell exploded just outside of camp rattling the dishes in the mess tent. Ellie Marie looked over her shoulder and glared.
"I'm really getting tired of the, when it rains it pours, mentality around here." She said, "refugees, P.O.W.s, triple the casualties, and a tank in the middle of the compound drawing fire….it's a little excessive."
"That's war for you…." Margaret said, "can't just let it end quietly, they have to get in their last few days of horror. Has Klinger made any progress on getting that giant bullseye out of here?"
"He and the Colonel left for Seoul an hour ago." Ellie Marie told her, "Colonel Potter was hesitant to leave with all the casualties that have been coming in, and us already being down a surgeon, but he didn't think Klinger would get anywhere without his bird to back him up."
"He's probably right." Margaret agreed, "let's just pray things stay relatively calm around here on the surgery front until he gets back.
"WHA-HOO!" A loud whoop sounded behind them from the compound, they turned to see B.J. sprinting toward the mess tent, he ripped open the door and slid onto the bench in front of them beaming.
"California, here I come!!" He shouted.
"What's gotten into you?" Margaret asked.
"I'm getting out of here! I'm going home!" He said gleefully.
"Home?" Margaret questioned, "What are you talking about, you're going home?"
He held out a piece of paper, and Margaret took it from him.
"Captain B.J. Hunnicutt…..San Francisco?" Ellie Marie read over Margaret's shoulder, she looked up at him in surprise. "That doesn't seem possible.
"Seems real possible to me." B.J. said with a grin.
"Hang on B.J….they wouldn't send a surgeon home without informing the commanding officer and arranging his replacement, which Colonel Potter would definitely have told me about prior to you getting your orders." Margaret explained, "this has to be a mistake,"
"Probably is." B.J. agreed, "but look, we all make mistakes. I'm more than happy to forgive and forget. Besides, this makes up for the mistake they made when they drafted me in the first place."
"Suppose you call I-Corps and confirm it." Maragret suggested.
"Suppose we call I-Corps and they deny it?" B.J. countered.
"You're right. This calls for blind faith and fast feet." Ellie Marie agreed with a grin.
"Look B.J. the last thing I want to do is keep you from your family, you know that." Margaret said, "but this doesn't seem fair to everyone else! A lot of these people have been here longer than you have."
"Maragaret, who would mind??" B.J. asked, "Here. I'll put it to a vote." He stood on the bench and addressed the whole tent, "Folks! Can I have your attention? My little daughter…" He dug in his pocket and pulled out a picture, "My little daughter Erin is having her third birthday next week! I haven't seen her since she was just a baby. Here…pass that around." He handed the picture to Ginger who was sitting closest to him, "A few minutes ago I got my orders to go home!" The tent erupted with cheers, "Now I realize that some of you have been here longer than me, but if there's no objection, it would sure mean a lot to me and my little girl, if I could be there to wish her a happy birthday in person. What do you say?"
Everyone gave another loud cheer, and B.J. sat back down with a triumphant smile.
"B.J. we can't run a hospital without surgeons!" Margaret persisted, shaking her head, "Colonel Potter isn't going to just let you hop on a plane without having someone to replace you! We're already down one surgeon as it is."
"Ok, so what you're saying is I need to find a first class replacement for myself before the Colonel and Klinger get back."
"I mean that's fair Margaret…." Ellie Marie commented, "You can at least let him try….."
"Fine…." Margaret conceded, "We'll hold off calling I-Corps, and if you find someone I guess it's bon voyage…."
"Margaret, you're an angel!" B.J. said, leaning across the table and kissing her cheek.
Suddenly a shell exploded so closely the flash knocked them back.
"Everybody under the tables!" B.J. yelled, grabbing Ellie Marie's arm.
"Those P.OW.s are locked up out there like sitting ducks!" Father Mulchay yelled, running for the door.
"Father come back here!" Margaret shouted after him.
The phrase 'sitting ducks' suddenly jogged Ellie Marie's memory and she jumped up as well, ripping her arm out of B.J.s grasp.
"The kids went down to feed the animals behind Rosie's!" She gasped, and she too took off running.
"ELLIE!" B.J. bellowed after her, "Since when do we decide an active assault is a good time to go running round the compound!" He snapped.
Another shell rocked the compound landing just a few meters from the P.O.W. shed.
"FATHER!" Margaret screamed, and she and B.J. ran into the cloud of smoke.
The barbed wire fence had been blown apart in one section and the Father was lying on the ground next to it.
"I've got him!" B.J. yelled to Maragret, "Get the rest of those guys out of here!"
"Corpsman!" She yelled, and several men ran to help her get the P.O.W.s to safety.
Father Mulcahy was able to walk, so B.J. helped him back to the mess tent and sat him down on a bench.
"Father are you alright?" He asked.
"What?" Father Mulcahy said, "I can't hear you!"
"It's ok Father….you might have a little damage from the explosion." B.J. said, "We'll get you inside and have a look." Another shell rocked the compound.
"WE SURRENDER ALREADY! JUST TAKE THE DAMN TANK!" B.J. shouted at the sky.
"B.J.!!" A voice shouted from the compound.
"Good Lord what now….." He grumbled, running back out the door.
Bigalow was coming up the road with two corpsmen who were carrying someone caked in blood.
"Oh god no…." B.J. murmured, as they got closer.
"Ellie!" Margaret screamed, running to meet them.
"She was getting the kids out of the animal pen when it hit." Bigalow said with a strangled sob, "She shielded the one boy with her body."
B.J. dropped to his knees to examine her. Blood caked the left side of her head and neck, spreading downwards across her left side. He put his fingers quickly to the unblemished side of her neck.
"Her pulse is good." He said quickly, "We need to get her into pre op right now and get her cleaned up and prepped so I can see what's going on. Margaret, can you handle that?"
"Of course." Margaret said, "corpsman go get a litter!" They ran off towards the building.
"I'll go get scrubbed in and get Klinger." B.J. said, but then he stopped and cursed loudly, "Klinger!" He said, "he's in Seoul!"
"B.J. we don't have time!" Margaret said desperately. He spun on the spot and put his hands on his head. "Ok……ok. Bigalow, go get Charles and have him scrub in. I'm going to get Klinger and the Colonel."
"B.J…."Margaret began, but he cut her off.
"We don't know how bad she is, Margaret! God forbid the worst happens. I'm not going to let her slip away while her husband is sitting in Seoul with no idea! So get her inside and get her prepped, and Bigalow! Go get Major Winchester!" After he finished speaking he turned and took off running for the motor pool.
———
As Ellie Marie came to, she was confused by the onslaught of sensations around her. The last thing she remembered was grabbing the little boy and crushing him tightly to her chest, and then the entire world turned inside out. She registered the feeling of a cool cloth on the side of her neck, but then the pain hit her like a freight train. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire, and her head was pounding like a drum. She tried to gasp but as she inhaled another stab of pain shot through her side. She slowly opened her eyes, and the ceiling swam above her. She was rocked with a wave of dizziness so extreme she was afraid she would vomit. She blinked a few times and grabbed the sides of the bed she was laying in to steady herself, the room came back into focus. Margaret was standing over her, and her face flooded with relief when their eyes met.
"Ellie, oh thank god." Margaret said, putting a hand on her cheek, "How are you feeling? Where does it hurt?"
"My side…." Ellie Maire rasped, she struggled to get enough air to speak, "can't get a good breath."
"Alright…"Margaret nodded quickly, "We're going to get you fixed up ok? Your head doesn't look too bad, but you may have a concussion. You've got some shrapnel in your shoulder but we can clean that out easily, and we'll figure out what's going on in your chest. You just hang in there. Kelly! Get her a dose of morphine!"
"No!" Ellie Marie grabbed her wrist. Margaret's words brought everything back into perspective. Suddenly her pain was a distant thought, the only thing that mattered to her was making sure that Margaret understood.
"What do you mean no?" Margaret said in confusion, "You're in pain!"
"Margaret, listen to me." Ellie Marie said, pulling her closer. Her head still felt jumbled and she knew she wasn't going to have long before she went unconscious again, but she had to make Margaret understand, there was nothing more important, "I need you." She said, "I need to be able to trust you to fight for the things I want when I can't. Please."
"I don't understand…."
"No morphine." Ellie Marie continued, "and no surgery unless it's absolutely necessary. You take care of the shrapnel with a local. Don't open me up unless my life depends on it."
"Ellie why…." Margaret said, looking at her in bewilderment, "we just want to make sure you're ok."
"I'm not the priority, Margaret." Ellie Marie said, holding her gaze, "Do you hear what I'm saying? I'm.not.the.priority. Please…" She picked up Margaret's hand and placed it on her abdomen.
"Oh god….." Margaret said, realizing what she meant, "Oh Ellie no…how long?"
"Five months." She replied, her vision was starting to blur again.
"Ellie!"
"I know!" She said, "I know Major. Look you can bust me down to Lieutenant or dishonorably discharge me for lying for all I care when this is over, but for right now I need your word that you will protect my baby, and not do anything that would put her in danger. Please Margaret!" Margaret stared at her for another moment seemingly unsure but then she sighed heavily and nodded.
"Alright Ellie." She said, squeezing her hand tightly.
"Swear it." Ellie Marie said desperately, "Even if you have to fight the doctors on it!"
"I swear…." Margaret nodded, "Does Max know?" Ellie shook her head.
"No one knows except me….and now you. Oh and Margaret"
"Yes?"
"I want B.J." Ellie Marie said, "He's a father, I trust him to do what I'm asking."
"Ellie he's not…." Margaret began to explain, but Ellie Marie had already lost consciousness again.