Athena Project [ M*A*S*H ]

T*W*E*N*T*Y*F*I*V*E

Two days of "Colonel" Hawkeye, and Nellie was starting to hope for Potter back. It wasn't that the camp didn't run smoothly. But she found herself missing the man himself. His sturdy presence, even if she didn't interact with him much, seemed like a rock in the ever-changing MASH unit. Besides, she'd had enough of Charles's constant complaining about being passed over for leadership.

Hawkeye and Klinger had explained to the staff that the Colonel had been needed at Tokyo General Hospital. Briefly Nellie's thoughts drifted to Major Lauren Huntsman, one of the other Athena Project women. She had been stationed at Tokyo General. Besides him going for a sick friend, they hadn't heard much else.

"C'mon Major!" 

Nellie turned. Bigelow's voice forced her from her thoughts and back to the current challenge. She'd been roped into shooting a basketball. The ball careened into her chest and she grabbed it with a grunt. "My turn?"

"Yeah."

Frowning, she went to pawn the ball off on someone else. But Kellye, Gwen, Shelley, and Bigelow stood there with arms crossed.

"Fine." She put her feet in the proper position and vaulted the ball forward. It hit the backboard. "Damn!"

Shelley laughed. "You weren't kidding. You're not very good at this."

"You could have the courtesy to let me fail in peace."

Kellye smirked as she took the ball. "Is that an order?"

Scoffing, Nellie nodded. "I have half a mind to make it one."

The ball zipped through the net with a gentle woosh. The other nurses cheered, and Nellie just bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. But a few moments later, an odd chorus of voices caused them all to turn. Just as BJ and Hawkeye walked by, they found what could only be described as a horde of Korean children walking into camp following an older, white woman.

"We're looking for some doctors!" she said quickly.

"What a coincidence. We're looking for some patients." The smile that had settled on Hawkeye's face only grew as more kids came in. 

BJ asked what the matter was. The others moved over, quickly checking the children for injuries. The youngest looked about four and the oldest maybe thirteen. Nellie stood before a girl on the older end of the spectrum. As Nurse Betty Halpern, they learned her name was, explained, the children were refugees from a village which had been shelled a few days prior.

"I'm taking them south to safety, but we had to hide out in some farmland and they got scratched up somethin' bad." 

Nellie held out her hands, palms up. The girl's face never changed from resolute stoicism. Her brown eyes looked into her own blue ones. Nellie cracked a smile. The girl flinched back as she pushed her hair back and checked her neck. Several cuts trailed down the girl's skin.

"We need to inoculate them for tetanus."

Nurse Betty looked at them and frowned. "Is that really necessary?"

Hawkeye agreed with BJ's assessment. With a nod and a smile, Nurse Betty turned to the kids and spoke in Korean. The language sounded like a song to Nellie's ears. She'd admired it since coming to Korea. Together with the doctors and several nurses, they took the children to the Mess Tent.

The children followed Nurse Betty like ducklings. Before long they were situated in the Mess Tent and BJ went to find Charles to get their supplies ready. By now, a dozen of the nurses crowded into the tent to help, along with Father Mulcahy.

Nellie stayed quiet, watching them. She had never felt entirely comfortable around young children; they always behaved in ways she didn't expect. Her mother had laughed when she'd explained this. Apparently her mother hadn't known what to do with Nellie as a child either, given her penchant for acting contrary to most girls her age. And of course, the behavior had only been egged on by her dad and brother.