Something Lonesome About You (Hawkeye Pierce x Reader)

Meeting The Camp

"You can't go. I forbid it."

For hours now I watched my parents bickering about the choice I made without their consent.  One year ago I finished medical school and my residency.  The prestigious school I did my residency at asked me to stay on full time.  I would be one of few female surgeons there.  We celebrated the good news.  For two years I lived on my own, learning so much at the hospital. For a small town girl, this big city held so much opportunity.   I was states away from home when my brother called.  He told me he had been drafted.  Halfway through his first year of college, a lifetime ahead of him, and he was eager to serve his country.  Always patriotic to the core.  Two and a half weeks later I received a call from my father. A stoic, but melancholy, tone in his voice.  My brother was killed in action.  Boy did they make him dying for this war seem worth it.  He was going to be returned so we could bury him.  They said he was to receive the highest honors.

I flew home the day after receiving the news.  A recruitment center in my home town was where I stopped before heading home.   I gave them my name, experience as a doctor, and demanded I be sent over.  All I could think of was that I didn't want the other families with children to go through this.  Of course I was convinced that had I been there, he would still be alive.  They were desperate for more help near the front lines and they had just the place to send me.   Only a handful of surgeons worked there and they were always busy.   Which brings us back to my parents arguing.

"I leave tomorrow. I asked to be sent out as soon as possible. They need the help."

"How can you do this to us? Our son isn't even home yet and you're leaving?" My mother was in hysterics.

"I have to do this.  I can help save lives over there."

"You can save lives here," my father interjected.

"I don't want anyone else to have to lose a son, brother, or father.  What if I can keep-"

"You should leave it to the professionals.  The men who know what they're doing."

"My decision is final.  I'm doing this in honor of my brother. At least he'd be proud of me."

A few days later, I was on a plane before my parents woke up.  I didn't want to say goodbye.  Also my plane would be landing the next day in Seoul.  It was going to be a long flight.  Uncomfortable too from the stiffness of the uniform.  The only reason they could move me out so quickly was because I was getting stationed at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.  Outside of Uijeongbu I would be joining the crew of the 4077th.  I was eager to meet the people I'd be working with.  What kind of people they were and experience they had was beyond me.  Hopefully this would make me a better person, and surgeon, in the end.

A hand shook me awake.  A delivery was being made to my new home. I was to hitch a ride in the truck.  There was no time for formal introductions.  With my single suitcase in hand I jumped in the front next to the driver. The closer we got to our destination the more you could hear of the war.  Some explosions seemed so close.  The truck would swerve.  When we passed I could see the dirt settling on the ground.  White knuckled I held on to the metal as the truck urgently headed toward the M*A*S*H unit.  By the time the truck stopped I felt like I had melded into the seat.  The back door swung open.  People seemed eager to get their supplies.   My hand pushed the door open.  I stepped onto the dusty ground, grabbing my suitcase I looked around at my new home.  Thousands of miles away my family was probably burying my brother.  A young man with glasses called my last name. I looked over at him, he held himself in a very nervous manner.

"Colonel Potter wanted me to get you as soon as you arrived. And you've arrived, so..."

"Yeah," I was a little shaken by the drive.  What the hell have I gotten myself into?