Chapter 56
Uijeongbu Korea; July 21st, 1952
The wheels of B.J.s jeep screeched as he skidded to a stop outside of the I-Corps building in Seoul. He didn't even want to think about how fast he'd been driving to make it there in less than an hour. He charged up the steps and slammed open the door. The secretary at the desk jumped violently and glared up at him.
"Excuse me! Do you want to explain why you're barging through——"
"Colonel Potter!" He cut across her, "Colonel Sherman Potter! He should have gotten here within the last hour! It's an emergency!"
"Last door on the left!" She said in alarm.
B.J. ran down the hallway and threw open the furthest door.
"Captain you don't seem to understand—-" Colonel Potter stopped mid sentence and looked away from the thin man with coke bottle glasses sitting across from him and Klinger.
"Hunnicutt?" He said, "What are you doing here?"
"You gotta come back." He said, still trying to catch his breath, "Shelling hit the camp."
"Casualties?" The Colonel said, as they both jumped up from their seats.
"Plenty." B.J. confirmed, and he turned his gaze to Klinger who's face immediately drained of color.
"Ellie got hit." He said.
"God no….please tell me she's not."
"She's alive." B.J. assured him, "Charles and Margaret were prepping her for surgery when I left."
Klinger shoved past him running for the door, and Colonel Potter turned back to the man behind the desk.
"This is exactly why we need that damn tank gone! Get someone out there pronto!" He yelled, and followed Klinger out the door. He was already in the jeep turning over the ignition.
"Move it Sergeant." B.J. said, shoving him over, "You're in no state to be driving."
Klinger hopped into the back seat as Colonel Potter jumped in the passenger side and they took off again.
"God…." Klinger moaned, putting his head in his hands, "If anything happens to them….I swear to god I'll never forgive myself…."
"Them?" Colonel Potter said, shooting him a look, "Them who?"
Klinger looked up at him with a tortured expression, and he suddenly understood.
"Oh son……why?" He said heavily, shaking his head.
"Colonel, you can read me the riot act if you want. I know I deserve it, but believe me, there's no way you can be harder on me than I'm already being on myself." Klinger said.
"What's going on?" B.J. asked, glancing quickly over at them.
"Ellie's pregnant." Colonel Potter explained.
"What??" B.J. said, "How long?"
"A few months at least. As far as I can figure." Klinger said, his head still in his hands.
"What do you mean as far as you can figure?" Colonel Potter asked, "Shouldn't you know?? You were there when it happened!"
"She didn't tell me." He said, "I just figured it out. She doesn't even know I know. I guess she wanted to keep it a secret as long as she could."
"So how'd you figure it out then?" B.J. asked.
"Come on Captain….she's my wife. If a husband can't put those pieces together after a few months, he's really not paying attention."
"Fair enough." B.J. agreed.
"I can't believe this…." Klinger muttered, "I can't believe me….how could I let her stay here?? I shoulda sent her home the second I suspected. I kept my wife and baby in a damn war zone just cuz I didn't wanna be away from her. What kind of selfish bastard does that? If anything happens to them…." His voice caught as he dropped his head back into his hands.
"Hey…." B.J. said sympathetically, "this isn't all on you. Like you said, Ellie didn't even tell you. She obviously wanted to stay here too. So much so that she kept this a secret from you. She kinda put you in an impossible situation. I'm not blaming her, I get why she did it. I'm just saying, there were no easy choices here."
"You chose to support your wife's decision, son." Colonel Potter said, turning to put a hand on his shoulder, "I can't say I'm too pleased about the situation, but I also can't say I don't understand where both of you were coming from. Let's just get back and make sure your family is ok. Then we'll take it from there." Klinger looked up at him through tearful eyes and nodded.
———
"Where is she?" Charles demanded, storming through the Post Op doors.
"They just took her into X-Ray." Margaret said, "She was having trouble breathing and I wanted to see if it was a broken rib or potentially something more serious."
"Her other injuries?"
"Contusion over her left temple and a scalp laceration, both minor, though she appears to have a concussion. Shrapnel in her left shoulder, but again it's minor."
"Alright." Charles nodded, "I'll go scrub in to get started on the shrapnel when she gets back. I'm going to open her up to do a quick assessment as well, x-rays as you know are not full proof, I'll need you to assist. Get the anesthesia ready."
"Charles wait." Margaret said, "Unless the x-ray shows internal bleeding that needs addressed, she doesn't want to be put under.
"What are you talking about?" He said, looking at her in bewilderment, " As I just stated, X-rays are not full proof. A routine exploratory surgery poses no risk to her, and has the substantial benefit of knowing we've checked everything and she is completely stable!"
"Her stability is not her top priority." Margaret explained, "She specifically asked that we not do anything that would risk the health of her baby, unless absolutely necessary to save them both."
"Risk the health of her….." Charles' eyes widened, and he sunk heavily onto the bench against the wall, "Good God….." He muttered, "Do you know how far along she is?"
"She said about 20 weeks." Margaret replied, sitting down next to him. He sighed and rubbed his face over his hand.
"That's not far enough along that the fetus would be viable without her." He said, "which means the safety of the baby is reliant on the health of the mother. I'm going in."
"No. You're not." Margaret said flatly, "She said she didn't want it, and it is her choice!"
"She is not coherent and able to make that choice for herself!" Charles snapped back, "I am her doctor, I need to do what is in the best interest of my patient!"
"Patients!" Margaret reminded him, "and Ellie Marie made her choice while she was coherent! She made me promise to put the safety of her child first, and that's what I'm going to do!" Charles glared at her, and then sighed heavily.
"Where the hell is Klinger?" He asked angrily, "It seems he should have a voice in this as well. That is his wife, and his child lying in there!"
"B.J. is on his way to bring back him and Colonel Potter from Seoul." Margaret told him, "but even if he were here, it wouldn't matter! As long as that baby is inside her, the only person who gets to make those decisions is Ellie Marie."
"We've got her back Majors" The corpsman said, as they brought the litter back in, "here are her x-rays. Looks like a little bit of a good news bad news situation. Her breathing issues are definitely being caused by a cracked rib, which is good as far as how serious it is but will definitely make for a rough recovery."
"Was there any evidence of internal bleeding?" Margaret asked quickly.
"No Ma'am. Only wounds are the shoulder and that cut on her head, her blood pressure stayed stable the whole time we had her. Think that bump on her head just knocked her out good."
"Thank God…." Margaret breathed, "let's get her in and put a local in her shoulder so we can hopefully get it cleaned out before she comes around."
Charles gave her one more reluctant look before sighing and following her into the O.R.
An hour later they had finished and gotten her tucked safely into a bed in the Post Op. The majority of her left side was now wrapped in plaster, and her arm was tucked tightly against her body in a sling. Another bandage covered the left side of her forehead into her hair line and an angry purple bruise spread across her temple and down to the top of her cheek bone.
"Well….She definitely looks worse than she is…." Charles said with a sigh, "for how close Bigalow said she was to that shell detonation, her condition is nothing short of miraculous."
"Were you able to detect the fetal heart rate when you checked her vitals?" Margaret asked quietly.
"Thrumming along steadily." Charles replied, "the little one seems to be just as resilient as its amazing mother."
"Thank god…." Margaret breathed.
"Ellie!"Klinger's gasp rang out through the room as he ran down the aisle and threw himself on his knees next to the bed, running his hands across her face and arms as if trying to make sure she was still there, he turned to them, "Is she ok?" He asked, his voice trembling.
"She's going to be fine." Charles assured him, and he slumped forward in relief.
"She took a hard hit to the head, but there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. We removed minor shrapnel from her shoulder, and she has a cracked rib, but all in all she was very fortunate."
"And the baby?" Klinger asked. Margaret's eyebrows shot up.
"You know?" She asked in surprise.
"Yeah…."Klinger confirmed.
"The baby is fine as well Max…" Charles said gently, and Klinger fell forward, his head resting against Ellie Marie's side, as he shook with tears of relief and happiness.
———
"I still can't believe you knew." Margaret said a few hours later. They were all keeping a vigil around Ellie Marie's bed, waiting for her to wake up, "She was so sure you didn't."
"Yeah well…..she's not near as good of a secret keeper as she thinks she is…" Klinger said affectionately, brushing a strand of hair back from Ellie Marie's face, "she was moody, and extra emotional. She was getting more and more tired and alternating between eating everything in sight and me having to force her to eat for days on end, not to mention….well to put it delicately, from the first time we….got horizontal, as it were, I noticed you could set the international clock by this girl…if you catch my drift. So when a certain visitor hadn't shown up in a couple months, I kinda started to get suspicious."
"You kept track of that?" Margaret said in disbelief.
"Of course I did…." Klinger picked Ellie Marie's hand up and kissed it, "she's my wife."
"Darn right…." Ellie Marie looked up at him sleepily, "Good to see you Toledo."
"Hey Sleeping Beauty..." Klinger leaned down to kiss her forehead, "Welcome back. Heard you were trying to tango with some mortar shells while I was gone."
"Yeah, don't think I'll try that again." She agreed with a smirk, and then winced, "Geez Louise…..my head!"
"That's probably going to last a few days I'm afraid." Charles said, "you gave yourself a nasty concussion."
"Pretty sure it was the shell that gave it to me actually." She retorted. "But I'm ok? Everything…..is ok?" She looked pointedly at Margaret.
"You are both fine." said Charles, "and your cat is out of the bag."
"Or kitten as the case may be." B.J. added with a smirk.
"Oh….." Ellie Marie looked around at all of them, "so….all of you know?" They nodded. She turned to look at Klinger.
"Max?"
He grinned back at her.
"Oh Max….I'm so sorry!" She said, tears filling her eyes, "That's not how I wanted you to find out! I just thought….if you knew, you'd feel like you had to send me home, and I didn't want to put that on your shoulders. You don't know how much I hated keeping it from you!"
"Baby relax….I get it." Klinger said, putting a hand on the side of her face, "besides….I've kinda known for a while. I just figured you'd tell me when you were ready."
"You have?"
"Yeah."
"And you're not mad?"
"Mad?" Klinger leaned in to kiss her and shook his head, "G I've never been so happy in my life. We're having a baby!" She nodded, pressing her forehead to his and letting out a small hiccuping laugh, before turning to look at the Colonel.
"Colonel…." She said quietly, "I know I let you down. You only gave us two rules when we got married, and here I am breaking the second one. I'm so sorry. I know I've put you in a bad position, you too Major. I wasn't really sure until about the middle of April and then….I don't know, I just kept hoping that things might end, that Max and I could just go home together before anyone had to find out, but I know I pushed it way too long…..I'm so sorry."
"It's alright Ellie." Colonel Potter said, taking her hand and squeezing it, "Lord knows I understand the desire to stay close to your husband, and it looks like you might have ended up timing things just right after all. Let's see how things play out with these peace talks. If, God forbid, they fall through again, then we'll have a talk about what our next steps should be. For now you just get some rest."
"Do you think I could do that in my own bed?" Ellie Marie asked.
"Don't see why not." The Colonel replied, "Sergeant, go grab that wheelchair and let's get your wife back to your tent."
"One moment." Charles said, "before we take the mother-to-be off to her respite, there is something I believe she might like to hear."
Charles handed her his stethoscope. She put it in her ears as he pulled back the blankets and gently placed the bell against her stomach.
"I heard it right around here about an hour ago." He said, moving towards the top right side of her stomach. After a second of just muffled stomach sounds, she heard it, the rapid pattering came through clear as day. She gasped, putting her hand over her mouth as tears came to her eyes.
"What? What is it?" Klinger said, looking at her in alarm. She pulled the earpieces out and handed the stethoscope to him. He placed it in his ears, and after a few seconds, his eyes went wide with wonder.
"Is that….our baby?" He asked, looking up at her. She nodded through her happy tears.
"Yeah dollface. That's our baby."
———-
"What about Katie?" Ellie Marie asked the next day. She was sitting in Klinger's desk chair with her feet propped up. Her headache was almost gone, but her ribs still felt like someone stuck a knife in them, though she was doing her best to ignore it.
"Katie Klinger?" Klinger said, raising an eyebrow, "We add one more K in there and she's gonna get lumped in with a pretty bad crowd." Ellie Marie laughed, and then immediately groaned, clutching her side.
"Ugh….don't make me laugh Toledo. It hurts!"
"Besides, what makes you so sure it's a girl?" He pointed out, "if we've got a boy in there he's gonna be pretty peeved when he hears you were calling him 'she' the whole time you were pregnant."
"Only if you tell him." She retorted, "but it doesn't matter, because she's a girl." She patted her abdomen affectionately, "we've gotten pretty close over the past few months."
"Klinger, you find me a surgeon yet?" B.J. said, walking in from the compound.
"Don't you read the papers?" Klinger said, "There's a lot of fighting going on! All the spare doctors are over in Kumsong."
"Not all of them." B.J. countered, "I happen to know that Artie Jackson is just sitting in Tokyo with nothing to do."
"You know Artie Jackson?" Ellie Maire said in surprise.
"Yeah we were in med training together. How do you know him?"
"We were both on Allgood's team at Tokyo General." She said, "He's a riot."
"Sure is…." B.J. said, "and he could easily continue being a riot right here in Uijeongbu."
"Alright….I'll ask him." Klinger said, reaching for the phone.
"Don't ask him! Tell him!" B.J. retorted, "I wanna go home!"
"Boy what a lucky guy…." Klinger muttered as B.J. walked back out the door, "I'd give anything to be on my way back to Toledo. Taking you to get your first Packo's dog with everything on it….chili sauce dripping down my arm….."
"Telling your folks some pretty exciting news?" Ellie Marie said with a smirk.
A shell detonated just outside in the compound, shaking the building.
"Of course here's nice too…." Klinger said with an eye roll. Rizzo came running in from the compound, just as Colonel Potter came running out of his office.
"Colonel we gotta do something about that tank!" He said, "Patrol is havin' no luck finding the bombers. As soon as they fire off three rounds, they must pack up and change locations!"
"Just got the word from I-Corps." Colonel Potter said, "I am specifically ordered not to touch that tank, and it may be days before the owner comes to get it."
"Why don't you just tell 'em this is a hospital?" Rizzo asked, "as long as that tank's here we're a target!"
"Boy…..you must think I'm the biggest dunce since the monkey wrapped his tail around the flagpole!" Colonel Potter snapped, "Don't you think that's what I did tell them?? I'll take care of my job Sergeant! You go take care of yours!"
"Yes sir!" Rizzo said, saluting quickly and running back out.
Klinger dropped the letter he was about to add to one of the mail piles, and looked up as if something had just occurred to him.
"Holy Toledo….that's it. How did I not think of this before??"
"What's up love?" Ellie Marie asked.
"I know what to do about the tank!" He said, he ran over and stuck his head in Colonel Potter's door, "Colonel I've got an idea but it's gonna take a few hours. Meet me in the compound at 2100 ok?"
"Klinger I'm up to my eyeballs with this tank nonsense…I don't have time for one of your schemes…." The Colonel said tiredly.
"My scheme is to alleviate that exact issue, oh wise and benevolent one." Klinger responded with a wink, "just be there."
Ellie Marie ended up joining him in the middle of the compound at the appointed time, half because she didn't feel like staying in her tent alone and half because she was genuinely curious what he was up to.
"Klinger, this better be good." Colonel Potter said, trudging up to them, "my dogs are barking and all I want to do is sit down and put them up.
"It's worth it sir, I promise." Klinger replied, "I heard what Rizzo was saying today about how we're a hospital and the tank was making us a target, and it made me think of something my Uncle Jameel used to say. If you want to hide in the desert, you gotta look like sand."
"Son…..it's been a very long day. I don't need to hear a bunch of Lebanese fairy tales right now."
"Sorry Colonel…." Klinger said, "but we had to do this under cover of darkness." He turned to a large tent with a Red Cross on top of it that now occupied the center of the camp. "Tah dah!"
"Tah dah what?" Colonel Potter asked, "What's this tent doing here where the….the tank used to be! Klinger you sly dog you!"
"And to make extra sure, there's a big Red Cross on the roof!" Klinger said with a smile.
"You know….we just may fool 'em with this one…." The Colonel said, shaking his head in admiration.
"It's an old Bedouin trick." Klinger explained, "My Uncle Jameel was a camel rustler back in the old country."
The next morning Ellie Marie decided to sleep in, owing to the distinct lack of shelling happening outside her tent. When she finally decided to make her way out into the compound it was creeping up on noon. She looked up and saw B.J. giving Father Mulcahy a quick hug, he had his rucksack swung over his shoulder and as she watched he ran towards the chopper pad with one of the pilots. At the last minute he saw her standing there and changed course.
"Hey put this is the chopper for me would you?" He said to the pilot, "I'll just be a second." He tossed the man his bag and ran over to her.
"El, I got a flight last minute, I'm leaving." He said.
"Leaving?" She said in surprise, "You're leaving now??"
"Yeah…"He said quickly, "Hey…can you talk to Hawkeye for me? I tried to leave him a note, but there's just too much to say."
"Oh..I mean yeah of course Beej." She stammered, "but…we wanted to give you a big send off! Margaret and I were planning a party. We ordered silly mustaches for everyone!" B.J. laughed and pulled her into a hug, being careful of her left side.
"Take care of yourself Ellie Marie." He said fondly, "and you and Klinger better be ready to bring that baby of yours out to meet Peg and Erin!" The chopper whirred to life on the pad.
"Go! go!" She said, pushing him away from her.
"Love ya!" B.J. called over his shoulder as he ran for the chopper.
"Back at ha Hunnicutt!" She responded.
She watched the helicopter rise in the air, and fly away until it was speck, then she turned and walked slowly back into the office. Klinger was standing at his desk holding a letter.
"Whatcha got?" She asked.
"Letter from I-Corps….." He said, "Captain Hunnicutt's orders just got rescinded. What do I do? Should I tell the Colonel?"
"No need," Colonel Potter said, from the doorway of his office, "unfortunately Colonel Potter is suffering a temporary bout of hearing loss. Don't think he's going to be hearing anything for the next few hours." Klinger grinned.
"Understood sir."
An explosion happened just outside the door, blowing out the windows on the side of the building. Klinger grabbed Ellie Marie and threw her behind him.
"I thought we had this under control!" Colonel Potter shouted.
"We did!" Klinger said, "Even I was fooled by that tent! I almost delivered mail there this morning!" A second explosion.
"Well it didn't fool them!" Colonel Potter pointed out, "They know that tank's here someplace! They ain't seen it drive out in the daytime and they ain't heard it drive out at night!" The third explosion detonated.
"Okay that's three." Colonel Potter said with a sigh, "Get I-Corps on the phone and tell them to kick some ear!" He stormed back into his office. Klinger jumped into his desk chair and grabbed the phone.
"Hello Sparky? Get me headquarters, I-Corps…..I-Corps? This is M*A*S*H 4077th, tank towing please….Who's this? Ok good. Hang on, Colonel Potter wants to say a few obscene words to you Captain." He covered the receiver and leaned towards the Colonel's door, "You're on Colonel!" He called, and then put the phone to his ear one more time to check he'd picked it up, before dropping it back on the receiver.
"You ok gorgeous?" He asked, standing up and wrapping his arms around her. "I still wish you'd rest more."
"Max I slept in till noon! I can't stay in bed all day, I'll go crazy. You know that."
Klinger sighed and looked down, putting a hand against her stomach.
"You know if you end up just as stubborn as your mother I'm really gonna be in for it…." He said, and Ellie Marie giggled.
"Walk your wife over to the mess tent for a cup of coffee?" She asked.
"Always." He replied, and he slipped an arm around her waist as they walked out the door.
They walked through the compound towards the mess tent and as they passed the Swamp, Ellie Marie heard raised voices coming from it.
"In the middle of an operation you rubbed your nose like it was some kind of good luck charm!" Margaret shouted.
"I do not rub my nose!" Charles shot back.
"You're in love with your nose!" Margaret shot back, "what do you do with it at night? Put it in dresses and take it to bars!?"
"How dare you!?" Charles growled.
Ellie Marie stopped walking and looked over at Klinger in confusion.
"Did we just jump back two years in time?" She asked.
"God I hope not….." He muttered.
Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded! Get 'um while they last!
"Probably not gonna hear that too many more times…." Klinger commented, as they headed back the way they came.
"One can hope." Ellie Marie said.
"Ellie Marie you're off duty!" Margaret said sharply, as they all jogged over to the incoming ambulances.
"Come on Major! We're already down to two surgeons! We can't afford to have anyone sit out." Ellie Marie argued. Margaret looked at her hesitatingly, but then rolled her eyes.
"Fine." She said, "but you're on light duty. Triage assessment only, and you're on anesthesia in the O.R."
"Yes Ma'am." She said, and she ran over to the first bus and climbed on, she moved to the back to start triaging injuries, "this guy is superficial." She said quickly, "get him to pre-op and make him comfortable. Get that chest wound prepped and tell Major Winchester he's first."
"Yes Captain." Baker said, moving off the bus with the patients. Ellie Marie looked up and received a shock as Hawkeye climbed onto the bus as Baker got off.
"Hey stranger." She said, "when did you get back to town?"
"About two minutes ago." He replied, "not the biggest fan of my welcome party though." He looked up at her, "What happened to you?"
"Played keep away with mortar."
"You shouldn't do that. It's bad for your health."
"So they tell me." She replied, he walked over next to her and helped her examine a patient.
"Possible perforated bowel." He said, "we should get him two units and keep him stable."
"Alright." She said, she looked sideways at him, "you ok?"
"I'm here." He said with a sigh, "Which means Sidney thinks I'm good enough. Colonel told me about B.J……"
"He wanted to leave you a note…." She told him gently, "but he said there was just too much to say…."
"Yeah….that sounds about right." He sighed.
———-
"Jacobson was supposed to be here yesterday! Where is he!?" Colonel Potter barked into the phone that Klinger was holding up to his ear as he operated, "What do you mean you rescinded his orders?? I told you Hunnicutt left the country! Listen….I am talking to you from my O.R.! I need a surgeon so bad I don't have time to leave the room to tell you how bad I need a surgeon!! There are skirmishes all over the place. We're working on boys right now who've retaken Chorwon four times in the past couple of days!….Good! You do that!…..I'm done Klinger. Slam the phone down for me."
"Yes sir!"
"They're gonna do what they can….." Colonel Potter said with a sigh.
"Ok Hawk….he's under." Ellie Marie said, from her spot as the anesthetist.
"Yeah…right." Hawkeye said, staring blankly down at the patient.
"Hawk….how're you doing?" She asked gently.
"Fine…." He said quickly, shaking his head slightly and grabbing the scalpel from Ginger, "I mean what could be wrong? I'm about to stick my hands into a kid who's insides look like raw meatloaf….I just found out my best friend went home without leaving me so much as a damn note….."
"He felt terrible about that…." Ellie Marie assured him.
"Trapper left without leaving a note too you know." He muttered, "Starting to wonder if it's the war that stinks or if it's just me."
An hour later, he closed his last patient and sighed.
"Well you did it." Ellie Marie said, giving him a small shrug.
"Yep….not sure if I should be proud of myself or disappointed."
"You holding up ok?" Margaret asked, walking over to them.
"All things considered." He replied.
An explosion shook the room, and several people screamed.
"Most things considered." He amended.
"There are double sandbags in O.R." She assured him, and they all ran to brace themselves against the far wall as the second explosion hit.
"You know it's true what they say…there really is no place like home." Hawkeye quipped, as the third explosion rattled the windows.
"Okay that's three, let's see if there's any damage." Colonel Potter said, standing up. Another explosion hit so close that the blast knocked him to the floor.
"That was a hell of a short intermission!" Hawkeye said, as he threw an arm over Ellie Marie, "I didn't even have time to buy an orange drink!"
"I thought we had a system here!" Ellie Marie said angrily, "They fire three rounds and move on!"
"Wait….what happened to the pattern they had of firing three rounds and moving away?" Father Mulcahy repeated three people to her left. She and Hawkeye both looked at him blankly.
"Good question….again." Hawkeye said.
"Aren't those idiots afraid of being spotted?" Margaret asked.
"Guess they figure the tank is worth the risk." Colonel Potter said, "or maybe they brought in a second mortar squad." Another shell detonated "or maybe a third."
"Well the mortar merrier." Hawkeye mumbled, another shell went off and one of the windows blew out, causing several more screams.
"Ok boys and girls, time to do something intelligent." Hawkeye said shakily, "Since I seem to be the only intelligent person here…I nominate me." He jumped up.
"Pierce! Take your seat!" Colonel Potter barked.
"Uh….sorry…."Hakwye said, nervously pacing back and forth, "I can take umbridge. I can take the cake. I can take the A train. I can take two and call me in the morning! But I cannot take this sitting down! Now if you'll excuse me…." He turned and ran out of the O.R.
"PIERCE!" Colonel Potter bellowed, jumping up to follow him, Ellie Marie, Margaret, and Father Mulcahy got up as well.
"Hawkeye what's the matter with you!?" Father Mulcahy shouted, as Hawkeye charged across the compound towards the tank.
"COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Colonel Potter shouted, but Hawkeye ignored him, climbing up and jumping inside it.
"What is he doing?? He doesn't know how to drive that!!" Margaret screamed, but sure enough the tank whirred to life. He spun it slowly in a circle and they watched as he plowed it wildly over the newly built enlisted latrine and directly across the dry creek bed at the bottom of the camp. Once he'd gotten it into the open field beyond he jumped out and took off running, barely getting out of the blast radius before one of the mortars obliterated it. Everyone in the camp gave a huge cheer as they came running out of the main building.
'We're saved!!" Klinger shouted.
"I don't know why I always have to take out the trash….." Hawkeye mumbled as he walked back up the hill and towards the Swamp. They all watched him pass in shock.
"I'm wondering if his discharge may have been a little premature…." Margaret murmured.
"I'll put in a call to Sidney." Colonel Potter agreed.
A few hours later, as they were all exiting the main building after having cleaned the O.R. Hawkeye walked up to them and smiled.
"Friends….in honor of my heroic saving of all of your butts. I'd like to invite you all to Rosie's, to toast my gallantry! And remember….I'm in a very fragile state, so if you say no I might cry."
"Oh…."Margaret looked awkwardly from him to Ellie Marie and back, "see the thing is Pierce….." Hawkeye looked between them with confusion.
"What?" He said.
"Smooth Margaret….." Ellie Marie said pointedly, rolling her eyes.
"Well I didn't know what to say!" Margaret said defensively, "it's not like you can take him up on the offer!"
"Margaret….have you failed to notice I've been hanging out with you all in both Rosie's and the O Club for months?" Ellie Marie pointed out, "I've gotten pretty good at faking it."
"….guess I didn't think about that." Margaret said apologetically.
"Can somebody please tell me what's going on here?" Hawkeye asked impatiently, "Why can't you drink?"
"Ummm…." Ellie Marie looked cautiously at the others, she wasn't entirely sure how the news would affect Hawkeye, especially considering everything he'd been through, but she didn't see any way around telling him now, "because the surgeon general discourages it for women in my current condition?"
Hawkeye looked at her in confusion for a few more seconds, and then realization dawned on his face.
"You're pregnant?" He asked quietly, staring at her like he couldn't process the revelation. She shot a quick nervous look over at Klinger, Charles, and Margaret.
"A little?" She replied.
Hawkeye stared at her without moving. Just when she was starting to worry that he might have gone into some kind of shock he moved, catching her off guard as he swept her up into a hug so enthusiastic he lifted her off her feet. He was shaking slightly and she realized a moment later that he was laughing. He spun around in a circle circle with her and she started to laugh too, but then winced as her ribs protested.
"Easy there Captain, she's still pretty banged up." Klinger warned, but he was smiling. Hawkeye put her back down on her feet, but cupped her face in his hands still grinning from ear to ear.
"You're pregnant!" He said again almost gleefully, "You're sure??"
"We heard the heartbeat yesterday." She said, "So yeah, we're pretty sure."
"Oh my god…." Hawkeye said, he looked over at Klinger, "get over here Sergeant." He reached out and grabbed Klinger by the shoulder pulling him in so he could hug them both, "Oh my god….." He repeated with a sigh, "Oh you have no idea how much I needed to hear that."
"So I take it this is good news?" Ellie Marie teased, looking up at him with a smirk.
"Good news?" Hawkeye said, "It's a damned miracle is what it is! You made life! In the middle of all the blood, and horror and death. You actually made a life! Alright now we really have to celebrate!" He let them go and was now bouncing with excitement, "to Rosie's! Drinks are on me, and it's club soda and Shirley Temples for you missy."
"Hold that thought." Colonel Potter said, walking down from the office, "we've got an issue brewing over yonder." He pointed towards the orange streaking the sky behind them.
"Since when do you have a problem with a sunset Colonel?" Klinger asked, "That one's a beauty, even if I do say so myself."
"It would be, if it were setting over there." He pointed to their left.
"What do you mean?" Klinger asked.
"Ever since I've been around, the sun's always set in the west."
"So then what is that?" Charles asked.
"Once saw the same glow in the Ardennes forest." Colonel Potter said, "next day there wasn't a forest. Klinger, you better get on the phone to I-Corps…..again. If that fire is headed our way, we're headed out."
———-
"Get those wounded on the bus!" Margaret yelled forty five minutes later, "and bring that truck over here for the P.O.W.s!"
"And we need a vehicle for the refugees!" Colonel Potter added, "They're coming with us!"
"Klinger, did I-Corps say what started it?" Hawkeye asked.
"Incendiary bomb." Klinger answered, "fire's coming right at us."
"Of course…." Hawkeye muttered, "because the regular bombs weren't exciting enough."
"Max! Did you get?—-" Ellie Marie asked.
"All our personal stuff is packed in the foot locker and already in the back of the lead jeep." He assured her. She looked down the road to where their tent was, "it's just a tent baby." He said, wrapping an arm around her, "if we lose it we'll just paint another one."
"I know…." She nodded, "as long as we've got each other we'll be fine."
"You betcha." He said, kissing her quickly before he ran off to help load up one of the supply trucks.
As Ellie Marie spun around to help load up the refugees a horn blared. The truck they'd brought in for them sped down the road narrowly missing her. All of a sudden strong arms yanked her backwards.
"Hey! Watch it. We don't need anymore casualties around here!" Hawkeye yelled at the truck driver. He looked down at her. "You ok?"
"Yeah I'm good. Thanks." She said, She tried to step back but Hawkeye didn't let her go. "Umm…Hawk?" She said, looking down at his arms that were still firmly locked around her, "You think maybe you could let me go?"
"You'd think I could….." He said nervously, "but uh…..apparently that's not the case. I'm trying to, but my brain isn't having it."
"Ok….." Ellie Marie said calmly, she looked around and assessed the situation, "Well then let's take this step by step. You can't let me go, and we'll get that figured out, but do you think maybe can we move? If we move together?"
"I don't know…." He said, "Let's give it a try." He took a step backwards, pulling her along with him, "Hey look at that." He said, as they shuffled awkwardly to the side of the bus where they were out of the way.
"Alright." Ellie Marie said, "Now let's just talk this through. You got any feelings attached to why you can't let me go?"
"Not sure…." He said, looking down at her, "I saw you in danger and just kind of acted….now when I think about letting go of you….my chest starts to get tight."
"Everything ok over here?" Colonel Potter said, leaning around the bus and raising an eyebrow.
"Oh fine…." Hawkeye replied lightly, "just working through a brand new irrational fear that's apparently popped up. Remember when my biggest fear was tight spaces? Those were the days…."
"And you're alright too Ellie?" The Colonel asked carefully,
"I'm good." She replied, "He's calm and talking it through with me, we'll get it worked out in a minute."
"What she said." Hawkeye agreed. Colonel Potter still looked hesitant but he walked away after giving them one more look.
"So our C.O. is worried I'm gonna go postal and try to murder the pregnant lady….." Hawkeye muttered, "That feels great, let me tell you."
"He doesn't think that." Ellie Marie assured him, "it's just his job to be careful. But let's go back to what you just said to him. Irrational fear?"
"Yeah." He confirmed, "I realized as I was talking, I'm holding onto you because I need to make sure you stay safe ." He explained, "Not sure where it came from. I know logically that if I let go of you, a shell isn't going to drop out of the sky on your head, and a jeep isn't going to materialize out of thin air and crush you, but that's also exactly what's going to happen! So I need you to stick with me." She sighed and shook her head.
"Hawk……" She said gently, "at the risk of bringing up something that's probably still a touchy subject, have you thought about the fact that I might not be the one you're feeling overprotective of?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well….I can't help but think you might be feeling a little bit of protective transference for somebody a lot smaller, and a lot more helpless, who just happens to be currently attached to me." Hawkeye looked down at her and then slowly closed his eyes and sighed.
"The baby…." He said, shaking his head, "of course it's the baby. I don't know why I didn't think of that….Ok…. so then what do you propose we do about this? Because I have a feeling our current arrangement is going to get old pretty quickly, not to mention impractical. I also have a feeling Klinger might have a few objections."
"Right…." She agreed, "So let's talk it through, if I promise to stick by your side while we load up, do you think you might be able to let me go?" She asked.
"Ellie I can't ask you to do that…." He said.
"You didn't." She pointed out, "just answer the question."
He closed his eyes again and seemed to be thinking about it.
"Stay where I can see you." He said after a few seconds, "if I can see that you're safe, I think I'll be ok."
"Done." She agreed, "do you need me to ride with you?"
"I'm not going to do that….you should be with your husband."
"Hawkeye….."
"Yes please."
He took a deep breath and slowly let her go.
"Ok…." He said, "baby steps. We've got this."
It took them several hours to reach their new camp site, and when they did it was close to midnight. Ellie Marie could hear the sound of running water, but it was too dark to see where it was coming from.
"Alright folks!" Colonel Potter said, "Mess tent is going to be set up in a half hour, we're sleeping there tonight, and stuffing as many bunks in as we can! Refugees are welcome to sleep in their truck or make their own arrangements."
Klinger drug their trunk over to two of the dozens of cots that were crammed into the mess tent end to end a little while later. Ellie Marie sank down on one and sighed, removing her boots and massaging the arches of her feet. Hawkeye plopped down on the cot next to hers.
"This cot taken?" He asked.
"Nope….all yours." She replied.
"Look I'm gonna do my best to get a handle on this thing…." He said quietly, "I'm sure once we get the tents set up, Klinger's not gonna appreciate me trying to sleep at the foot of your bed."
"What's Klinger not going to appreciate?" He asked, walking back over with two blankets and pillows.
"Hawkeye is having a little bit of a…..peculiar reaction." Ellie Marie explained, "He thought I was in danger earlier and it triggered something."
"What kind of something?" Klinger asked.
"Apparently I've become obsessively protective of your unborn child…." Hawkeye said, "I kinda flip out if your wife is out of my line of sight. Sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Klinger asked with a shrug, "Makes total sense to me."
"It does?" Hawkeye said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well yeah….I mean something really bad happened to a baby, that you couldn't stop. I guess it kinda makes sense that you'd see protecting our baby as a way to, I dunno….balance it out? Or something?"
"Maxwell Klinger…….that might be the most insightful thing you've ever said." Hawkeye replied, looking at him in admiration, "look how much being a father has changed you already."
"He's a Baba actually." Ellie Marie corrected with a smile, leaning over to kiss him.
"So it really doesn't bother you that I'm essentially stalking your wife?" Hawkeye asked him.
"Nah, why would it?" Klinger said with a shrug, "The more people looking out for her the better."
"You're quite the man Max…."
"Nice to see you're finally figuring that out." Ellie Marie teased.
The next morning they all began to set up the camp. Ellie Marie had to admit the location was absolutely picturesque. They'd driven around the foot hills that bordered their original camp to the west and had set up at the edge of a pine forest, on the bank of the Yalu River right next to a small dam with a waterfall. Ellie Marie watched fondly as Klinger stood at the top with several of the Korean boys teaching them how to skip stones.
"You don't know how lucky you are kid…" She said quietly, wrapping her arms around her abdomen, "you're gonna have the best Baba in the entire world."
"Morning Mrs. Klinger." Colonel Potter said, walking up beside her, "Camp's really coming together isn't it?"
"Sure is, sir." She confirmed, "Oh and by the way. Max got the phones working about an hour ago. I-Corps called, they said our new surgeon should be here within the hour."
"It's about time!" The Colonel said, "Did he catch the guy's name?"
"Nope." She replied, "but I'm betting that's him now."
A chopper had flown overhead and was landing in the flat patch of grass just south of their camp. They looked up curiously as a tall man with sandy blond hair hopped out of the passenger side. Even from far away his bushy mustache was unmistakable. B.J. looked up at both of them and sighed heavily.