4

In the meantime, Susan had become friends with Radar. They spend a lot of time together and the little company clerk proudly strolled around the camp due to the fact that he had finally gotten himself a girlfriend. If only Major Winchester hadn't been there.......poor Radar!

Since the faithful blunder in pre-OP a few days ago, Charles ran, very noticeable, after Susie. He paid close attention to her and seemed totally infatuated with her. Susan was in the seventh heaven and poor little Radar with his teddy bear, was soon forgotten. Although I maintained, that Winchester's sudden interest for my friend were based on the three letters he had heard us say in pre-OP, she nevertheless went on a picnic with him.

I just had washed my hair to get ready for my date with Hawkeye, when Susie came back from her rendezvous with Winchester. High on love and smiling, she fell to my neck: "Nicky, I'm so glad. I told him! Now I am rid of our secret!"

I dropped the comb I held in my hand, pushed Susan away from me and stared at her open mouthed and speechless. After a while, I found my voice again: "Y O U D I D W H A T?!???"

"You heard me", she said blushing. "I've told Charles our complete story!" - she was smiling again: "I can't tell you how glad I am, that I've told somebody of our fate! And Charles was so snuggling and sweet......."

"Are you crazy? Tell me, you're only playing with half a deck......HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!" I yelled and had to sit down on the bed. I thought I was going to faint again. "Now please tell my everything!"

Susie sat down on the bed beside me and started spilling her guts: "Well, he picked me up right on time and we sat our picnic up real romantic - right behind the motor pool. Oh boy, he brought an awful lot of expensive food along. All this noble stuff was sent to him by his family in Boston. I believe the wine is to blame for my chattering away..... I'm not kidding, the wine must have inspired me......., hi hi".

She giggled again, sat cross-legged and with a gushing expression, she went on: " While we were eating, he began, between his pompous Shakespeare-quotations, to get me talking about these strange diseases, we had mentioned earlier and I impressed him with my knowledge on HIV infections and I showed off even more on the Hepatitis-C area..... Hey, speaking of, I hope, you keep this in mind, if it should come so far with Hawkeye....."

"Are you nuts," I cut Susie short and was shocked by her wild imagination. "Come on, there's no HIV at this time. But who knows about Hepatitis C.....?!"

"That's right," Susie considered . "There probably was Hepatitis C in those days, but they had no way of proving it. But it doesn't matter now! All right, where were we??"

" At the picnic!" I helped on.

"Ah, yeah," Susan continued: "Can you imagine, that Charles never asked me how we came to know so much about these modern diseases??"

I jumped from the bed and tore my hair while yelling: "I should have known , that nothing good would come from anticipating time and revealing future events. You could even have talked about the moon landing!"

"Hey, we're here in a TV-series, not in real life!" Susie mockingly reminded me.

"Ha ha, is this reality or fantasy then?!" I said desperate. "O Lord, maybe we're really right in the middle of it. Perhaps we're even live on the air right at this moment. At home they will be able to see us. How we rack our brains over it and maybe they can hear what we're discussing. We have probably already mixed the complete action of the series up......" my imagination ran wild.

"Of course!!" Susie rotated her eyes and said ironically: "We'll become great stars and heroes, should we get out of here alive......I'll tell you, I don't want to think about it any more, I don't even understand what's going on any more!"

Alarmed, I suddenly realized something dreadful: "I'm a dead girl! Do you know what pops into my mind right about now? Oh shit, dear God, should we really be live on the air tonight and if they are able to watch us at home......." I didn't even dare to pronounce it.

"T H O M A S," Susie whispered the name of my boyfriend with a huge grin . She was actually very amused. "And you are flirting and smooching with Hawkeye!"

"Oh boy, this could mean big trouble," I realized and with a contemptuous gesture continued: "Who cares, Thomas doesn't even like M*A*S*H and without me he would never watch it!"

"Ha ha, hi hi, and your boss will be killing himself with laughter just at this moment," Susan pitched up the thread and thought of my Doc at home, "because he is watching M*A*S*H!"

"Please stop it," I laughed. "it's all a bunch of nonsense! Let's stop all this chimeras! By the way, where were we now??? Oh, yeah, tell me more about Charly!"

"Okay, then he, in a very clever way, tried to cross-question me and, well, it all became so complicated, that I didn't have any other choice, than to tell him the whole truth, about how we ended up here." Susie looked at me with her most innocent look.

"Did he buy it," I asked, burning with curiosity.

"Well, I'm not sure," Susie said with doubt in her voice. "I honestly can't tell you! He seemed to be more interested in our part of time and where we came from. In particular the medical progress...."

Again I cut her short: "I hope you didn't tell him about the medical and technical wonders, that will occur the next 50 years. He could make a big career with that kind of knowledge."

"Well, I only told him a little bit," Susan admitted. "He was so fascinated by computer engineering, especially modern radiology. But he also seemed interested in the success and future life of the series and in television generally."

I showed the white of my eyes and wringed my hands: "Oh no, not this again! I believe that all the safety devices of my brain are going to burst soon! I don't understand anything any more," I was confused and muddled, just like in the beginning. I let my arms sink and shrugged my shoulders: "What do you mean?? Are Charles and the others then actors or real doctors and nurses?!"

" Well, who pestered me whole last night and kept saying, how great Doc Hawk were and what an honor it was to have assisted him," Susie unnervingly asked. Okay, she was right. What a stupid question!

Susie giggled: "Laugh away! I've had almost the same thoughts, just forgot to tell you! You know, a few days ago, I made a little test in the mess tent. I just wanted to see, what would happen if I asked Radar for an autograph......" The amusing expression on Susie's face, made me giggle as well, and she continued: "First he looked at me as if I was be a sheep in uniform, but then he, without any comment and in his childish handwriting ,scrabbled his 'Radar O'Reilly' on a napkin." Amused I shook my head, but Susie wasn't done at all: "Wait a minute! It gets much better! I even gave it a try with Potter, but he, promptly and absolutely serious, answered, that Radar was responsible for such a paper war."

We looked inquiring at each other and then Susie said: "Well, as I understand it, these guys here doesn't realize, that they are only in a TV-series. The Camp and the war is the cruel reality to them.....I don't get it any more," she said with a tired sigh. "An hour ago, Charles was so caring and sweet, to have embraced and tried to comfort me........."

"And then he kissed you as well," I interrupted Susie with a big grin.

"Please Nicky! Charles Emerson Winchester the Third doesn't do a thing like that at his first rendezvous. He has more style and isn't such a womanizer as your Hawkeye!"

That was the keyword! I jumped from the bed. My date!

"Oh boy, I'd almost forgotten him! I had to dry my hair in a hurry!"

Hawkeye took me out for candlelight dinner at Rosie's Bar. Later, he had arranged it with wine, music and candle lights in the supply room - everything which makes a woman's heart beat harder.

Tightly embraced, we danced to the rhythms of "Happy day's are here again....". Hawkeye had just started to nibble on my neck, as someone knocked at the door. "Hush, we're not here," he whispered in my ear.

"Hawk, are you in there?" It was BJ's voice: "Hawkeye, it's urgent!"

" I only call my discharge an urgent reason to disturb us at dessert," he called at the door, then, in a more friendly tone continued: "Beeeej, come on, come in! What's the matter?"

"Thought I would find you here. Potter is fuming, 'cause you didn't answer. He has called for an officers meeting three times!"

"Physical absence is sometimes better than presence of the mind!" Hawkeye promptly answered. "We were at Rosie's! What are you saying, a meeting?! Now, at this late time? Isn't any private life allowed in this hell hole ?!"

BJ laughed: "What, privacy in the army!?! Come on, we're only waiting for you! Potter asked for an urgent meeting with Hot Lips, Father Mulcahy and us."

"What has Winchester been up to?" was Hawkeye's first conjecture as he kissed me for goodbye. At the door, he turned around, came back, grabbed me in his arms and once more gave me a passionate kiss:

"Don't budge an inch, no further than the wine bottle! We'll carry on right where we were interrupted! I'll be back in no time, honey."

Before the one glass of wine I had could effect me, Hawkeye came back again. At the most, he was away for half an hour.

The sight of his serious expression when he entered the room, made my heart sink immediately, because I instinctively knew, that we, Susie and I, must have been the reason for this extraordinary meeting. Winchester?! Of course, that's why he was excluded! He must have been babbling about Susie's confession.

Hawk stood in front of the mattress I was sitting on. His hands deeply buried in his pockets and he looked seriously at me. The air was charged with suspense. His professional look showed, that he was no longer the womanizing seducer, but the concerning doctor.

"Think, it's time for some brain surgery!" he started and bent down looking encouraging at me: "I think, it's time to tell me your problems!"

For one moment I was speechless.

"What's the matter?", I asked determined: "Why did Potter want to see you in such a hurry?"

He kneeled on the mattress and sat near me, almost at eye level: "Charles told an unbelievable story from your friend!" His incredible blue eyes under the concerned frowning examined me critically: "Nicky trust me! You must relieve yourself from this trauma! Whatever terrible has happened to both of you, don't repress it any longer. Talk about it! Come on! What do you remember? Let's go! Spill it !"

The lump in my throat grew. I couldn't withstand his piercing and critical eyes any longer. Something touched me - I was on the verge of crying.

"Okay, then we'll try it the harsh way!" Hawkeye, with a laughing undertone, threatened "then I'm going to beat it out of you!"

I had to laugh: "YOU!! You wouldn't dare it! The great humanist, healer and lady-killer....."

"Yes, indeed!" He grinned cheeky and grasped me by the waist and began to tickle me, until we rolled together onto the mattress. He pressed me down with the weight of his upper body and forced my arms down with his hands. His face was very close to mine and I wondered, if this wasn't just another of his ways of seduction. For a moment he held me in this "sweat box", then tenderly caressed my hair: "I only want to help you ," he said soft voiced.

His piercing eyes and soft voice caused an urgent wish, to finally get rid of my secret. His clever method of treatment finally got to me and I sat determined up: "Okay, here comes the whole truth, even if it sounds ridiculous! I remember every little detail. I never had amnesia or a trauma, I am just a TV-junkie! Actually I live in the 21.st century and in 20 years from now, in 1972, a TV-series about your M*A*S*H-camp here will be produced......................."

Hawk sat facing me and listened with an astounding expression. His forehead wrinkled, until I told him what it had meant to me, to have worked with him and to sit here besides him. I made a huge sigh of relief. Oh boy, Susie was right, it was so much better to have told it to someone!

The last minutes, he had been listening with his elbows propped up, his fingers thoughtfully at his mouth and was still lost in thought, when I reached the end of my tale.

"You don't believe me, do you?!" I asked anxious, at his silent thoughtfulness.