Blessed in Life and Death: A M*A*S*H Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Shayla was pleased that her brother had finally accepted her decision and was now even helping her to achieve it. She gladly let him help her and before long she had everything she needed for every possible situation and was on the jeep with Hunnicut about to set off.  Pierce had helped them load the equipment and was now at the final wrench of watching them physically leave the safety of the camp and enter the danger zone of a war ridden country. He hesitated beside Shayla as she sat in the jeep, something wasn't right, he wanted to lift her off the jeep and demand that she was not going but he couldn't.

"Well, then, good luck...and keep safe." Hawkeye said feeling there was some unspoken irony in his words as he uttered them. He leaned into the jeep and kissed Shayla on the cheek.

"Thank-you Ben, I appreciate it." Shayla replied leaning out the jeep to return his kiss. They held each other's gaze for a second, each understanding the other's thoughts but knowing that because of their contradiction they could not help each other. Hawkeye broke the gaze moving around the jeep to Hunnicut who was at the wheel. 

"Good luck and came back whole." Hawkeye said giving no emphasis on his joke.

"Don't worry Hawkeye, we'll be fine, all we have to do is get there, find Frazer Green and get back with him. Nothing to it, we'll be back before dinner."  Hunnicut tried to comfort his friend, hating that he was in so much distress over the situation.

"Yeah, I suppose." Pierce said unconvincingly.

"Look I'll keep an eye on her, alright?" Hunnicut offered, Hawkeye nodded and with that they said their goodbyes and Hunnicut drove off.

Pierce stayed rooted to the spot as he watched them leave the haven of the camp into the land of Korea in which numerous dangers lay. It was only when he could no longer see the edge of the jeep did he finally turn and head back inside to complete the surgery supply list check.  

Meanwhile Margaret Houlihan had been watching on, she had seen Pierce kiss Shayla and vice versa and she gave an angry sigh. She had specifically told him not to get involved and he had ignored her. Well, more words would have to be had when she had the time. Right now she was tied up in work, tending to patients and seeing to the nurses.

Hunnicut drove cautiously into the site. It was obvious this was the place. A cave had been reduced to rubble and there was evidence of choppers having landed and taken off from the surrounding area. Their journey had been overall quite quiet, they had exchanged a few conversations regarding family and small anecdotes had been told but other than that they had travelled in silence.

"Look, over there! I think I saw something move!" Shayla exclaimed pointing towards the rubble.

Hunnicut edged closer to the debris and stopped the jeep. Both jumping out of the jeep, they ran in the direction Shayla had pointed to. Being careful of the loose rocks and stones they picked their way through the rubble and quickly located their missing patient.

Lieutenant Frazer Green was, considering, in a very positive way. He was conscious and talking perfectly well, he explained how he had been missed. The blast had blown him away from the rest of the troop and the impact had winded him causing him to be unable to shout out when help came.

The Lieutenant's foot had been caught under the rubble and, bearing the pain miraculously well, he believed it to be broken.  Shayla and Hunnicut cleared the rocks and freed his foot; examining it they concluded that Lieutenant Green was correct in his diagnosis.

"I'll go back and get the equipment bag. We can then bandage it up and get you something for the pain. Shayla you stay here keep him company, I'll be back soon." Hunnicut said standing up and making a careful dash back to the jeep.

"How did you find me?" Frazer Green asked, hoping that conversation might take his mind of the pain that was growing worse now there was no pressure on it.

"Your nephew, William, he wanted to know how you were doing, asked me to look into it. I couldn't find you on any records and nobody had seen or heard of you throughout the doctors and nurses so I took very good educated guess and assumed you must still be here." Shayla explained.

"Ah, William, such a caring boy, lucky to have him in my troop I guess...AW!" Frazer's face scrunched up in pain as he tried to move himself.

"Don't try to move, here, let me help." Shayla stood up and grabbed the Lieutenant's arms steading him as he attempted to get more comfortable.

"I'm back. Right, let's get your foot seen to." Hunnicut announced himself dumping the equipment bag down beside his patient and opening it, rummaging around he pulled out the correct items that he needed.

"Shayla, can you straighten out the leg so I can bandage it properly? Now I'm going to give you a small injection, it's not much but it will numb the pain until we can get back, were we can make a full assessment of the damage and see what needs to be done, alright?"

Shayla followed her orders immediately, while the lieutenant simply nodded in response. Hunnicut quickly gave him the injection and then began to get down to the work. With Shayla's help he managed to bandage the foot sufficiently and in record time.

  "Right, do you think you could stand? We'll help of course." Hunnicut queried securing the last part of the bandage tightly. The Lieutenant nodded again knowing full well there wasn't much of an option.

Taking an arm each Shayla and Hunnicut assisted Lieutenant Green to his feet or more accurately to his working left foot.

"My rifle, I shouldn't leave without it. It's up there on that large rock." Frazer jerked his head in the direction of the rock, Shayla followed his eye-line and spotted the rifle perched on top of the raised rock.

"I don't think you need to..." Hunnicut began, his aim to be getting back to the jeep and back to the camp as swiftly as they could.

"I'll get it, I can see it." Shayla said already transferring the weight of Frazer onto Hunnicut.

"Alright, hurry though." Hunnicut agreed being in no position to argue with her.

Shayla scrambled onto the rock, as she reached for the rifle it slipped further away from her hands causing her to climb higher onto the rock until she was standing on it, only then was she able to grab the rifle. She raised it up to show Hunnicut and Frazer that she had it and turned to face them.

The sound of a gunshot filled their ears, it took a while before any of them realised where it had come from and where it had hit.