Finding The 4077th

First Birthday

Chris was so excited. He'd been hectic all day and even the day before. He knew his dad was slowly getting aggravated with him but he couldn't help it, his birthday was tomorrow, isn't that the greatest thing ever. It would also be five days before Christmas, so everyone was trying to be nice to each other and were already starting to get into the spirit.

He just hadn't convinced his dad to allow him a pet, but he was secretly hoping he would get one tomorrow. It would be a long shot but still. His dad at one point had enough of all his begging and arguments and put a stop to it. He wasn't even allowed to talk about animals, especially not pets, not even Radar's pets.

It didn't dampen his mood as he was just too excited. Today he would be making his own birthday cake together with a real baker. The soldier was only mildly wounded and could only use one arm but that didn't matter as Chris was overjoyed. He would basically make that cake all by himself, with only some supervision.

The soldier was a nice guy as well, his name was Kevin and he had brown hair and warm brown eyes. He also had a nice smile that made Chris want to prove himself to the man. He had spent some time with him when his dad was putting his arm in cast. That was when they found out the man was a baker, at least the man had worked in a bakery for years and he knew how to make a cake.

Chris was still a bit nervous about being alone with a stranger, but he already knew Kevin a bit and that made it easier.

His dad was still working in the O.R and had been there for hours already. The man had already explained that he probably wouldn't have the time to help with the cake today and tomorrow the baker would be shipped off. They did have a short breakfast together but other than that he was too busy. Chris checked in with him around the hour or so, just to see if he was alright. Most times he just peeked through the door window, as he didn't want to scrub so long everytime he wanted to check in. But seeing his dad was enough to keep the gnawing feeling of fear away.

Chris put on his gloves to protect his hands from the cold. It was still cold outside but not as cold as a couple weeks ago. His long-johns were off and finally washed as well. Those things were pretty disgusting after a while but his dad had been very clear that he needed them on, until he said so. He still wore a thick sweater and jacket but he was long-john free at last. 

Chris smiled as he walked over the compound. He had just visited Francis, the priest had a speech on most days, but not a lot of people showed up, so Chris tried to attend them as often as he could. He just wished the priest would talk about something else besides God. The man really seemed to like God, it was all the man talked about. He couldn't care less about a God, but Francis was a friend so he would go, no matter what the man talked about. He felt a burst of excitement as he neared the kitchen and almost skipped the last few steps, it was time to make his birthday cake!

Hawkeye was exhausted. They were working for almost twelve hours straight and they still weren't close to being done. Two truckloads of wounded arrived in the middle of the night, on top of the ones they were already working on from the evening before. He sighed deeply. He hated this so much, all this dead and useless destruction. And to top it off, he didn't have time to help his son with his birthday cake. It had been something Chris was looking forward to, his son wanted to do it together. He didn't care much about baking or cake, he never baked anything in his life, but he wanted to give his kid a birthday to remember. Which he would be doing right now if not for all the dying people wanting his attention. Maybe if they were lucky, he would be able to help with the frosting but at this rate, he wasn't sure.

He was also excited for tomorrow. He couldn't believe Chris had been with them for more than over a year. He actually had turned ten in the first couple of months he had arrived in the 4077th, but at the time they hadn't even known his name or age. So he was feeling a bit guilty for not celebrating the boy's tenth birthday.