Part 2

Hawkeye laid in the corner of the tent only half conscious. The beatings took a lot out of his malnourished body. He looked up to see the tent flap open. "Oh no, not again," he thought to himself. Then he saw the diminutive body of Radar O' Reilly enter the tent. "Radar?!"

"Holy cow, what've they done to you?" Radar whispered anxiously.

Hawkeye wasn't even able to crack a joke. "You've gotta get out of here. Didn't they see you?" Hawkeye's speech was a little slurred.

"No, the guard outside is asleep and there was no one else in sight. I've gotta get you out of here."

"But.." Hawkeye began. Just then, the guard woke up and, noticing the tent flap open, went inside to investigate.

"Ahh!" Radar screamed seeing the guard draw his gun. Radar dove for cover and hit the pole in the center of the tent, collapsing the tent. Confusion ensued as they scrambled to get out from beneath the tent. Radar pulled Hawkeye out and the pair headed for the woods as soldiers began to emerge from the hut. They never looked back as they made their way for the road.

Finally the pair emerged from the woods. "Oh no! The jeep's gone!" Radar exclaimed. "I guess we'll have to make it back to the camp on foot," Hawkeye said. "You gonna make it okay in your condition?" Radar asked visibly worried. "Yeah...I'll be fine," Hawkeye replied as he was catching his breathe. "Let's hurry."

They followed a path parallel to the road in the woods on the opposite side hoping to avoid detection. Hawkeye limped a little and leaned on Radar. Several times throughout the night they stopped so that Hawkeye could rest.

They continued their silent trek through the woods until near daybreak. "Wait a second, I hear something!" Radar whispered as he came to a sudden stop. Seconds later Hawkeye too heard a rustling in the edge of the woods near the road. As the noise came closer, they hid behind some brush. The pair sat, the sound of their hearts beating almost drowning out the sound of the twigs snapping. Louder and louder the noise grew until a Korean voice was heard. A hand moved away some of the brush which had been acting as their cover and Radar screamed.

"Incoming wounded! Sorry folks, but there's more than enough for everyone." The announcement made the hearts of the doctors and nurses sink even deeper as they continued to work on the wounded who had been arriving steadily since the crack of dawn.

"Nurse, I didn't ask for a clamp, I asked for more suction!" Frank exclaimed.

"But, sir, you did ask for a clamp."

"Problems again, Major?" Charles inquired sarcastically. This O.R. session was only Charles's second brief one at the 4077th, but he already felt that Frank was an incompetent surgeon.

"Nothing I can't handle, bub."

"If you need anything at all, let me know…like perhaps a surgeon to operate while you continue to stand there and watch..."

"You think you're so smart just because you save more lives," Frank replied to Charles's insult.

"Would you two stop fighting? You'd think there was a war going on," B.J. remarked.

"You just be quiet and mind your own business. With Hawkeye gone, there's no one to laugh at your snide remarks," Frank angrily commented. Immediately B.J. and most of the O.R. staff turned to stare at Frank. Frank looked down at his patient and pretended to concentrate on his work. Hawkeye was greatly missed by the staff of the 4077th.

"Please don't shoot!" Radar screamed, his body shaking like a leaf. The past ten hours or so had been sheer terror for Radar, but he had been comforted by the hope of bringing Hawkeye home. He had always looked up to Hawkeye and here he was coming to Hawkeye's rescue. Now, staring helpless at a Korean dressed in military garb holding a gun, his hope was all but gone.

The Korean moved more of the brush to the side to get a better look at the pair. Radar's eyes were wide, his mouth open in shock. He held his hands up, as if that would somehow provide protection. Hawkeye sat in a heap beside him, still hurting. The run through the woods was too much for his malnourished body. He had no energy left to fight back.

Hawkeye's eyes looked at the Korean with a glassy stare. He had fought the war for so long and now he was tired of it. Part of him was ready to give in. "Well, I guess this is one way of getting out of Korea," he thought to himself. Jokes were always his best defense.

"Is one of you Corporal O'Reilly?" the Korean inquired.

"Ah!" Radar yelled, trying to hid his face. Hawkeye's eyebrows furrowed as he wondered how this man would know Radar's name. Then the truth dawned on him.

"I'm Sergeant Young. I'm with the Military Police. We've been looking all over for you."

There was a great look of relief on the faces of Radar and Hawkeye when they realized they weren't being captured…they were being rescued.

Klinger rushed into the O.R. "Sir, it's the MPs! They've found Hawkeye and Radar!" Everyone in the O.R. cheered. Between patients Potter rushed with Klinger to his office. Potter enveloped Radar in a hug as soon as he entered the office. "Thank God! I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm glad to see you again too, sir."

"Don't ever go running off like that again," Potter said as he wiped away a few tears. "You scared me to death!"

"Sorry, sir, I just felt I had to go."

"I know, son, I know."

"Glad to see ya back in one piece, kid," Klinger interjected, "and to bring back Hawkeye too..."

"Where is Hawkeye?" Potter asked.

"Major Houlihan took him to post-op," Klinger answered.

Col. Potter and Radar followed Klinger into post-op to see how Hawkeye was doing. "Great Caesar's ghost, are you alright?!" Potter exclaimed upon seeing Pierce's condition. Hawkeye was sitting up on one of the beds as Margaret finished her short examination of him. Hawkeye had two black eyes and scars all over his body.

"I'm fine. I've had hangovers which were worse."

Col. Potter was glad to hear Hawkeye crack a joke. "I'm so happy to see you again. We were afraid we had lost you!"

"Attention! Attention!" the PA speaker crackled to life, "more wounded arriving in the compound. First come, first serve, doctors, so hurry."

"I'll be back as soon as possible to see how you're doing," Col. Potter said before he hastily made his way for triage.

As Radar turned to leave post-op, Hawkeye called after him, "Radar, there's something I've gotta show you." A coughing spell made Hawkeye pause. Covering his mouth with his right hand, he held his stomach with this left hand. "The soldiers who were holding me talked a lot," he continued, "and while I couldn't understand all of it, I did jot most of it down. I know a little Korean, so I translated some of it and hopefully you'll be able to translate the rest of it. The one name they mentioned was all too clear though." Wincing in pain, Hawkeye pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and began to flatten it out.