-CHAPTER 1-
It was a quiet evening at the M*A*S*H 4077. The temperature was below freezing and everyone was bundled up. While the enemy was attacking, the 4077 had been swamped with casualties from the front lines. Staff had been running on more than double shifts just to allow each doctor and nurse some time to rest. A few of them had taken to pulling extra shifts just to give the others a chance to get more sleep.
Captain BJ Hunnicutt and Captain Benjamin 'Hawkeye' Pierce didn't mind working extra shifts together. They shared The Swamp with their small yet feisty friend Samuel Bradley and the weasel that was Major Frank Burns.
The night had finally died down enough that everyone could relax somewhat. They were doing everything they could do to stay warm in the cold night air. Samuel (Sam), being the lanky 22 year old he was, had shoved his cot up against Hawkeye's. He usually got much colder than the others. Hawkeye and he had taken to doubling the cots for proximity to more heat. Hawk was practically a heater himself (although he didn't seem to think so).
Sam had the tendency to dig down deep in his blankets, trying to find the center of the warmth. Hawkeye didn't mind though. He got extra heat at night. Sometimes they would use Sam's corner in winter to store miscellaneous items. Frank Burns always grumbled about how it was 'against army regulation' but a simple list of things going on between 'Hot Lips' Houlihan and Frank shut him up.
So it was that Radar O'Reilly came in to awaken Hawkeye for his shift. Radar was well aware of where everyone slept and knew that Sam always slept furthest from the door. Radar secretly knew, from what Sam had told him in confidence, that it was because he felt uneasy being so close to the door if something should happen.
Reaching out, Radar grasped Hawkeye's shoulder, shaking it slightly.
"Hawkeye? Hawkeye wake up." he said quietly.
Hawkeye shifted slightly, mumbling something about five for minutes. He dug down deeper in the blankets and went still. There was a shift next to Hawkeye as well before the bundle in the blankets stilled.
"Hawkeye it's time for your shift in post-op." Radar said a little louder. He shook Hawkeye's shoulder again.
"Radar if you don't remove that hand, I'll have it surgically removed and re-attached in a less desirable spot." Hawkeye mumbled.
"C'mon Hawk." Radar shuffled over to BJ's bunk.
Behind him, Hawkeye stood up. Sam immediately pulled Hawkeye's blankets to his cot, taking the Captain's pillow to put under his own head. Hawkeye didn't mind. The pillow would be warm when he got back. Sitting on the corner of the cot, pulling on his boots, he shivered in the freezing air. Goosebumps rose on his skin and stood at attention.
Hawkeye, Hunnicutt, Radar and even Sam looked up sharply as Frank came barging in. The icy wind caught the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"Can't you be quieter?" Sam asked. He glared at Frank, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"Oh can it kid." Frank snapped.
"Oh let the kid sleep Frank. He's been up longer in the past two days than you have in the past two months!" Hawkeye said.
Burns spit a few unkind words unfit for repeating. Sam rolled his eyes and put his hands behind his head.
"I don't think I'm gonna get back to sleep now." he sighed.
"Go get a cup of coffee. That'll put you to sleep for a while." Hunnicutt joked.
Rolling his eyes, Sam grabbed his heavy coat and quickly bundled up. During the winter, Sam slept in his work pants rather than his pajama pants. It took less time to get ready in the freezing cold. It also kept him warm at night.
"I think I'll see if the kitchen has any of that overly processed hot chocolate collection left. It burns the stomach but knocks me out instantly." he announced.
He stretched his arms over his head. A hot flash of pain sliced through his side like a lightning bolt. He hissed and huddled down as if to protect his body from harm.
Hawkeye looked at him with a frown.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Sam waved him off.
"Must be a cramp in my side or something. It's gone now." he said, feeling the pain dull away. He stood up straight and sighed. The pain had brought about a harsh thumping heartbeat.
Looking at Hawkeye and BJ who were still staring at him in worry, he rolled his eyes.
"Don't you two need to be in post op right now?" he asked.
BJ jumped as if he'd been pinched and continued tying his shoes. Hawkeye started fiddling with his gloves, trying to get his coat sleeves to fit over the ends. His eyes continued to follow Sam around, narrow suspicion filling them. Radar excused himself with the simple explanation of needing to re-type the daily report and soon disappeared out the door. Frank had ignored the conversation and was happily snoring in his bed, a lump under thick blankets.
Sam used the moment to slip out of the Swamp. Hawkeye watched him go and looked to BJ.
"That didn't seem suspicious to you at all?" he asked him.
BJ shrugged and adjusted his coat.
"You've known him longer than I have. I've never seen him act that way before." he mentioned.
"Get to work and quit worrying about the runt!" Frank yelled, having been awakened by their talking. His voice was muffled as he hadn't bothered coming out of his lump.
"Swallow your face you parsnip!" Hawkeye snapped as they left the tent.
"I wish Trapper was here. No offense. He could just always get Sam to open up."
BJ waved him off, signaling the comment caused him no harm.
The wind blew harshly against the two, the cold threatening to seep into their bones. They were in a blackout phase. Every window was covered with dark curtains or black fabric. The unit grounds were ominously darker than the average night, or what could pass for average in a MASH unit. They were stopped by Igor who was on guard duty. They gave him the password of 'Caribbean' and were able to continue on to post op. The stove was heated until it was very hot, giving off heat the minute they walked in. The patients had to stay warm as they healed. Colonel Potter had ordered all extra blankets be sent to post op to help and benefit the patients. Hawkeye began checking charts, Nurse Baker assisting him. Everything was quiet except the howling wind and the murmurs filled with patient statuses and medical lingo.
Major Houlihan was still on shift. She sat at the small desk in the room, filling out forms for various patients.
"Hello my dear Margaret." Hawkeye said in a sing song voice. He bent down to kiss Margaret.
"Get away you pig!" Margaret yelled, pushing him away forcefully. She grabbed her papers and headed to the supply room, huffing and mumbling about the two captains.
"I'm so sick of this wind!" BJ complained as the wind continued to howl outside, shaking the building walls.
-4077-
Sam gripped his coat tighter around his form, his lungs tightening with each breath. He couldn't feel his fingers which seemed frozen to the edges of his coat. He could hear the howling whistle through his ears. He was looking for Igor who had conveniently disappeared, most likely having gone in search of Zale for a drink. Sam didn't mind.
"I enjoy playing hide and seek in the freezing old." he said to himself sarcastically.
!CRACK!
Sam froze instantly and spun quickly on his heel. Although only getting a few hours of sleep, he was fully alert. He couldn't see much, having to squint in the stinging wind and the tears in his eyes. He didn't dare move. There was a light crashing in the foliage. Sam took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. He scanned the darkness for any movement but the inky blackness gave nothing away.
Out of nowhere came a Korean man, dressed in what seemed like rags. He was shouting something in Korean. Behind him, shots were going everywhere. Dust flew from trees and rocks as bullets singed off them.
The man saw him and began waving his arms. His mind went blank and his legs refused to cooperate. Sam could only watch in horror as the man approached him at top speed. Another loud shot cracked and the man stiffened like a mannequin before tumbling...right onto Sam. Sam felt himself falling backwards, the air knocked from his lungs. His head knocked harshly against the ground. He was a bit dazed and his vision blurred but he blinked quickly to clear it. The man on top of him wasn't moving.
"Help!" he called. His voice was strained and wheezy. He took a difficult breath, as much as he could, and yelled again. Others were already coming out, a result of hearing gunshots.
-4077-
Inside pre op, Hawkeye and BJ were immediately alerted to the several gunshots and the haggard calls for help.
"Those were gunshots." BJ said. Hawkeye's eyes widened.
"That was Sam." he added before the two of them dropped what they were doing to respond to the calls.
Running out of the building, they were immediately hit by the cold air. There was a fleeting thought of forgetting their coats but their concern for Sam was more powerful. They came across a still bleeding man, possibly dead, lying across an equally still Sam.
"Get that man up!" BJ yelled. He moved to check on the Korean man while Hawkeye checked on Sam.
"Ow." Sam mumbled, reaching a hand back to the back of his head. He hissed. Bringing his hand back around, he noticed that it glistened with blood. Sam kept staring at it, not quite realizing it was his own blood. Hawkeye wasted no time in grabbing Sam by the shoulders and pulling him up.
"BJ, get some supplies. Sam took a nice knock to the head!" he called out. The two of them trudged in the cold towards the building. Hawkeye kept a hold of Sam's left arm with his left hand, his right arm wrapped around his shoulders and gripping Sam's right shoulder to keep him upright.
"Hawk, my head hurts." Sam slurred, reaching up to feel his head. Hawkeye wouldn't allow it though and reached up to still Sam's hand.
"Don't touch it. We don't want to make it worse." he said.
BJ met them inside post op.
"The man's dead. Some of the nurses say it was a sniper and that the gunfire stopped after the man fell." he reported. He looked to Sam.
Sam grumbled to himself and hissed. His hand that wasn't gripping the corner of the table he leaned against flew to his side. All three of them stopped, the taller two looking down at the shortest.
"M-must have just been a bruise from the man landing on me. He did try to catch himself on the way down." Sam stuttered. He shakily reached down and pulled up his shirt. He felt his teeth chatter as the knife sharp wind cut through his abdomen. Even outside post op, the freeze was sinking in. He sighed unconsciously in relief as they all took in the bruise on his side.
"What in tarnation is going on?!" called out Colonel Potter as he flew into the room. He still wore his fatigues, and to top it all off, he was bundled up in his winter coat. Hawkeye briefly remembered the Colonel had the shift before them.
"Sniper. Dead Korean. Busted up Sam. You know, a usual night in Korea." BJ reported.
BJ laid out supplies such as gauze, stitching material (if needed), and medical tape.
Hawkeye and BJ helped Sam sit on one of the tables.
"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick." Sam mumbled.
Hawkeye started to look around, switching hands that was holding Sam and glancing behind him. They had come to the OR specifically because of supplies.
"Get a bucket!" he ordered.
BJ was ready with a trashcan and thrust it under Sam's chin. Sam couldn't hold it in any longer and threw up.
That was when Klinger came running in. He was wearing one of his favorite blue dresses with a matching hat. The only army attire he wore were boots. With stockings. He had obviously been on guard duty but had handed off his weapon to the next shift.
"Hey kid what happened?!" he asked.
Sam leaned up from the trash can and took an offered rag from Potter to wipe his mouth.
"Snipers. Where were you Klinger? You're-." he was cut off when a sharp pain went though his head. Hawkeye waited for him to stop moving before he placed the gauze back on his head.
"You could have warned me!" Sam grumbled to Hawkeye, gripping the rag tighter.
"It was a change in shift. I didn't know there were snipers out there!" Klinger complained. He adjusted his dress and hat.
"An intermission from Gone with the Wind?" Hawkeye asked.
"The second half." Klinger remarked.
Hawkeye took the bloodied piece of gauze away from Sam's head and took a proffered antiseptic soaked gauze from BJ. He carefully put it against the cut. Sam hissed but didn't move. The room became quiet as Hawkeye finished the ministrations. It wasn't so much longer before he was finished and Colonel Potter approved the work. It wasn't that he didn't approve of or doubt Pierce's work. It was just that he cared greatly about Sam, like he was family and he wanted to be sure that he would be okay.
"I want to take a look at those ribs before you go." BJ said, blocking the door before Sam could dart out.
"I'm fine Beej." Sam insisted.
The twinge in his side had long since disappeared but he was getting worried about what it was. The doctors had enough patients to worry about and he didn't want to take up their time.
"Sam, you may have internal bleeding." BJ tried to justify.
"From a man falling on me? It's just a bruise!" Sam started to say more but as he stood up from the table, Radar's voice came calling through the darkness outside.
"Choppers!" he yelled.
Sam put his hands up in surrender and disappeared out the door.
Hawkeye shook his head.
"He's gonna be the death of me yet. Alright, let's get going!" he called.
-TBC-
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