Finding The 4077th

Giving Aid

It was a bright morning outside the Swamp as Chris was excitedly spiraling around his dad, Trapper was sitting on his cot and clipping his toenails with surgical scissors.

Hawkeye was talking into a recorder, with a tape that he planned on sending his dad. Because a member of the 4077th MASH stole a tape recorder from a Tokyo PX and later gave it to a nurse as a "carnal bribe"; the nurse then gave it to Father Mulcahy in what Hawkeye called "a gin-induced fit of remorse"; in turn, Mulcahy quickly gave the recorder to Hawkeye because he didn't want anybody to think he was taping confessions.

Hawkeye was just talking about stuff that happened around camp these days, with a very excited Chris, who was letting his dad know he wanted to say something as well. But Hawkeye shushed him and resumed what he was saying.

Like yesterday! When a Turkish soldier kept yelling CHINLI!
The half-naked man didn't want to be helped with his shoulder and didn't want to be sedated also, he only wanted to fight the Chinese. The man escaped and Hawkeye and Radar found him hiding in the kitchen and now wielding a meat cleaver.

As the Turk was swinging an ax he found in the kitchen, Hawkeye tried to calm him, by acting like a wild man himself, as he copied the behavior of the Turkish man, he made it clear they were going to send him back to the front.

Hawkeye gives the Turk Radar's uniform and a glass of prune juice spiked with chloral hydrate. He then instructs Radar to drive away with the Turk until he passes out, and then bring him right back to camp for surgery. It didn't work as Radar drank the wrong juice and the Turk was the one bringing an unconscious clerk back.

Hawkeye laughed out loud as he told that to the mic, he paced around their tent.

“Chris didn't even get a panic attack as the man was swinging an ax.” Hawkeye petted the boy over his head, he was very proud of his kid, there he was, a barely dressed angry yelling man, and Chris stayed out of his way as he looked on with big eyes. No panic attack but he seemed a bit flushed.

The boy looked up at his dad, as he recalled the man. The man was half-naked and swerving a big knife. It really surprised the boy that he didn't was more afraid of the man. He felt fear of course, but also some light excitement. He couldn't place it right now, it was a strange feeling.

But Chris still wanted to say hi to grandpa, so he dropped his thoughts and tried getting his dad's attention again.

The boy had called his grandfather about three times after the first difficult attempt. And he started to get used to the man.

Daniel Pierce was a doctor himself and even though he didn't have experience with psychology, he knew how to listen, and be patient with people. So the second phone call went slow but was nearly panic free. It also helped that Hawkeye wrote to his dad, about some of Chris's triggers.

The child stood in front of his dad as Hawkeye tried to walk around him as he was talking into the recorder with a big smile, he made it a little game by dancing around the small boy, who in turn tried to step in front of his day with a slightly irritated expression.

“Not five feet away from me I see Trapper John McIntyre cutting his toenails. He sells them to the tourists as war souvenirs.”

Chris tried to say something as well, but his dad kept saying he would get his turn, he was just starting to be a bit impatient about it as he tried again to get his dad's attention. Hawkeye kept pushing Chris gently out of the way, but the boy was insistent and kept walking in front of his dad pulling his clothes to get his attention.

Hawkeye put his hand on the child's head, brushing through his blond hair, he again tried to gently stir the boy away from him.

“Chris, hush,” The doctor told the boy for the tenth time before he continued, he had to fight back a smile when the boy actually pouted.