M*A*S*H 4077th: Nurse Pierce

Chapter 11: Fade Out, Fade In (Part 1)

Arrow stayed with Radar at the chopper pad until the sun peaked over the mountains. She wanted to be back in her tent before Hawkeye and BJ woke up. But she wasn't. She was caught by Colonel Potter instead. He'd come up to see why one of his soldiers seemed more nervous than a jumping bean.

Major Burns was long overdue in returning to camp. Radar had already sent in the Daily report saying the man in question was back.

"You've been here all night?"

"He went to the latrine at 0400 hours," Arrow replied. Radar eyed her like a child who'd been tattled on. "What? You were gonna tell him the same thing. I just wanted to get the first word in so no one could ask me what I was doing up here when I should be resting."

Potter acknowledged that Arrow was right. He did indeed intend to ask her what she was doing out all night when she was on her way off the patient roster.

Arrow left after being ordered to her tent. Eyes were on her as the early risers exited their tents, latrines, showers, etc. Everything she had told Hawkeye had spread through the camp by way of the nurses, as it was all in her camp medical record.

She had told Sydney everything. Since his visit wasn't entirely official, he didn't have to write a report on her. At first, doing so didn't seem like a good idea because she felt that what really happened was just for her family. She didn't know that the people with whom she shared a camp, would eventually become that. What really happened would have to go public if only to get the stares and false conclusions to come to an end.

Not even Hawkeye knew the whole story. All he knew was what appeared in the late Colonel Blake's notes and what Arrow had told him.

The mess tent was waiting for her. Arrow grabbed a tray and stepped into the line... As usual, the food was lousy, and the stares were both subtle and obvious.

Still, she remained silent. Everyone thought the worst after half of her story had made its way through the many camps.

Ambulances arrived, preventing the meal now in front of Arrow from passing her lips. Like all the nurses and doctors, she abandoned her tray to scrub up.

Just as Hawkeye had declared all those months ago, Arrow was walking about with no pain. Her papers, however, were still lost. This wasn't a concern of hers at that very moment. Her concern was the operating room and who was going to stand in for Burns. None of the nurses knew how to perform an operation. All they knew was stitches, sponges, and handing instruments to the doctors.

"Did I hear correctly that you and BJ arranged for Major Burns' R&R?" Arrow asked, mentally questioning their motives for being nice to someone that unlikeable.

"It was either that or go bonkers."

"I could see that," she replied, not wanting to push the subject anymore. Arrow didn't want to be distracted from her work. Such a task in itself was difficult when working at the same table as a man who loved the sound of his own voice.

Little did she know, Margaret was going to assign her to the new surgeon's table.

~***~***~

The new surgeon had finally arrived. It was just in time to perform a life-saving operation. He was initially to be a placeholder until headquarters could find someone to replace Frank.

"Charles Emerson Winchester the third," was the prideful introduction he gave to Arrow and Radar who greeted him at the entrance.

"Corporal Walter Eugene O'Reilly, Company Clerk."

"Maxine. But everyone here calls me Arrow. I'll be working your table for the duration of your stay... Winchester... That's a big name in Boston."

"You've heard of us?"