M*A*S*H 4077 By Taylor Froelich and Sammi Simonar

Day 2: M*A*S*H Compound, Post-Op, 0300 Hours

Day 2: M*A*S*H Compound, Post-Op, 0300 Hours

Eventually, at three in the morning when all the other patients had drifted off long ago, Dr. Pierce came over and gave Jess a sedative so she would at least sleep.

Her burn wasn't bad at all compared to Dalli, who might not wake up for weeks, but the injury and stress had taken its toll on her, and she was exhausted.

Jess had always been a fragile girl, even the smallest injury could leave her off her feet for a few days, and she was almost always one of the first kids in the orphanage to get sick if the flu was going around. She had a weak immune system and wasn't very strong, sometimes she got even sicker than the youngest of the Korean girls.

By the second day, the doctors said that Jess was able to move around and go visit the other girls, but she barely left her bed because then she could be next to Dalli, who had literally not moved since the doctors had settled her in in the cot.

Since the orphanage had burned down, all of the orphaned girls had nowhere to stay, even though Father Mulcahy was trying his hardest to get funds to rebuild the orphanage. Meanwhile, most of the girls who weren't bedridden in post-op were crammed into the nurses and Major Houlihan's tents, seeing as how they were the only women on the M*A*S*H compound. Colonel Potter wouldn't allow any of the young girls to stay in the male soldier's and officer's tents, and post-op was too full of wounded soldiers for the girls to sleep in there.

"Dalli, don't leave me, please," Jess pleaded silently with her unconscious cousin.

A doctor walked up behind Jess and put his hand on Jess's shoulder, and she jumped slightly. She was still jittery after her burn.

"Relax," the doctor started, "I'm Captain B.J. Hunnicutt. I'm guessing this is your sister? And what's your name?" he asked her kindly.

Jess was getting nervous, and starting to feel alone because her cousin, the only person she'd had to take care of her since she was little, wasn't really there.

She boldly retorted, "No, I'm her cousin. My name is Jessica Willems, but everyone calls me Jess."

"Jess is a beautiful name," Captain Hunnicutt said and then asked, "How does your arm feel?"

"It's still a little sore," Jess replied, sitting on the edge of her cot.

As Captain Hunnicutt was re-bandaging Jess's arm, Captain Hawkeye Pierce came into post-op and began checking on other patients. Hawkeye gradually made his way over to Dalli. Jess watched cautiously as Pierce changed Dalli's bandages as well and then came over by Hunnicutt and Jess.

"So you're the blond haired girl with braids?" Hawkeye asked with a smile, "Jessica Willems, is it?"

"Yeah, that's me, but I prefer Jess," she replied, not so afraid anymore because he seemed like a nice person.

Captain Pierce nodded and went to the other side of Jess's cot, saying with a grin, "Well I see you've met Captain B.J. Hunnicutt. Captain Hawkeye Pierce," he introduced himself, holding his hand out for Jess to shake.

Pierce and Hunnicutt had struck up a conversation with Jess when the doctor with the Bostonian accent, Winchester, came into post-op.

Jess immediately recognized him and started to get defensive. "You were the one that pulled my cousin away from me," she said, her voice sounding almost like her cousin's as she glared at him with a stare that was also only used by her cousin.

"My dear, she was covered in blood and scratches," Winchester replied matter-of-factly.

"Winchester, leave the girl alone," Hunnicutt interfered.

Winchester just glared at Hunnicutt before stomping away.

Jess had a feeling that her and Winchester weren't going to get along as well as her, Pierce, and Hunnicutt were.