2

She left her tent and immediately headed for the OR. She had been looking forward to at least a few hours by herself before she'd have to get back to reality. She went into pre op and began washing her hands next to a handsome dark haired man. He looked at her and grinned. Adrienne glanced at him and smirked. She enjoyed attention from a cute guy. What self-respecting woman wouldn't?

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she replied.

"What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" he asked, trying to be suave.

"Either I'm here to operate, or someone gave me the wrong directions to the Officer's Club."

The dark haired man frowned. "You're a doctor?"

"Uh huh," Adrienne replied as she finished washing her hands and began drying them with a towel a nurse handed to her. "Captain Adrienne Jacobson. I'd shake your hand, but I'd have to get sterile all over again and I doubt the war would wait for me."

"Hawkeye Pierce."

The notorious Captain Pierce. Now, where is the other one?

"Your parents were cruel enough to christen you Hawkeye?"

Hawkeye was about to answer when Henry came in.

"Pierce, I see you've met our new surgeon," Henry said as another man came in, this one with curly hair.

"Who's our new surgeon?" he asked as he took his sunglasses off and put them in his shirt pocket.

"Captain John McIntyre, Captain Adrienne Jacobson," Henry introduced them.

There's the other one. They stared at each other for a moment. Adrienne wasn't quite sure if it was attraction or curiosity, but she knew for sure he was cute as hell.

"Hi Captain John McIntyre."

"Hi. Call me Trapper."

"What is this, the nickname club?" Adrienne asked.

"Wait 'til you meet Ferret Face," Hawkeye replied.

She wondered for a moment who-or what-the hell Ferret Face was, then shrugged it off. A nurse helped her with her gloves, gown and mask and she stepped into the OR. She sighed. Why did there have to be casualties in war? Of course, no casualties would defeat the whole purpose of having a war, but it would have made her job a whole lot easier.

The other doctors joined her, shaking her from her thoughts. Klinger and a corpsman placed a soldier with a leg wound in front of her. All would have been normal if Klinger hadn't have been wearing a nurse's uniform complete with cape.

"Nice uniform," Adrienne commented.

"Thanks!" Klinger grinned.

"Is that one size fits all?" she inquired. "I've been invited to a costume party in Seoul next week."

Klinger flung the cape off his shoulders with what is usually called dignity and left with the corpsman. They passed another nurse who had an air of authority about her. Good, a person for Adrienne to make fun of.

"Oh, Major," Henry said. "This is our new surgeon, Captain Jacobson. Adrienne, this is Margaret Houlihan, our head nurse."

"Hello, Doctor," Margaret nodded politely.

"Major," Adrienne responded. Oh yeah, great come back, she berated herself.

"Frank's on triage, I assume," Hawkeye said as each doctor took a patient and began operating.

"Yep," Henry replied. "He volunteered. Like he always does."

"Frank?" Adrienne asked.

"Ferret Face," Trapper supplied.

"Colonel, I protest to these attacks on Major Burns!" Margaret yelled.

"Yes, but does he protest to your attacks on him?" Hawkeye said, making Margaret gasp angrily.

Adrienne smirked. She had a feeling she was going to like him.

"Get this patient into pre op!" Frank Burns yelled at Radar and Klinger in the bus that had transported the wounded from the front to the unit.

"Yes, Sir," Radar replied as he and Klinger lifted the patient and carried him out of the bus.

Frank paused when he came to a particular patient. "Corporal!" he screamed at Radar.

Radar and Klinger stopped abruptly.

"Sir?" Radar replied innocently. He knew what Frank was about to say.

"There is a North Korean in there," Frank seethed.

"I know, Sir," Radar replied.

"We are not here to patch up the enemy," Frank continued, "but to defend our country against the Communists and wipe them out once and for all! We're here to help Americans, not North Koreans-" Klinger looked at his watch. "-They sent one of their own to infiltrate us and take this unit over, don't you know that? What kind of idiot do you think I am, Corporal?"

"I wouldn't know as much about that as you would, Sir," Radar said, then he and Klinger continued carrying their patient to pre op.

It was a full house in the OR, with all the tables taken. Hawkeye and Trapper were working on a chest wound, Henry on a kid full of shrapnel and Adrienne on a head wound, with Margaret assisting.

"So, Adrienne, are you married?" Hawkeye asked.

"He won't date married women," Trapper added. "Something to do with morals. I wouldn't know anything about it."

"Nope, divorced," Adrienne replied as she threw a sponge on the floor. "I have a boyfriend, though. At least, I did when I left. He said he'd remain celibate for me, you know. Which, judging by our relationship, would've lasted, oh... two hours."

Everyone in the room laughed, with the exception of Margaret.

"Is it absolutely necessary to discuss your personal life in surgery?" she asked with annoyance.

"Someone asks me a question, I answer," Adrienne said.

"It's your honesty that offends her," Hawkeye supplied.

"Ah..." Adrienne nodded. She was beginning to understand Margaret. Army brat. She could tell the Major was GI all over. It was rather obvious.

"How long have you been in the Army, Adrienne?" Henry asked. His nurse handed him a wound retractor.

"Almost seven years. My first stepfather, a four star General, bet me I wouldn't last a year. I showed him! Of course, that victory died the second I got here."

"Who's your stepfather?" Henry looked up. "I might know him."

"Michael Washington."

Henry pondered for a moment. "The name doesn't sound familiar..."

"Ever been to Las Vegas?"

"No."

"That's why."

"You're from Las Vegas?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yeah," Adrienne replied as she began to stitch her patient up. "New York, originally. Mom moved us there when she married Michael."

"What's your life story, Adrienne? Where have you been and what have you done?" Hawkeye inquired.

"You got three days?"

"Possibly," Trapper said.

"OK. Let's see..." Adrienne began. "I have 4 sisters, Jessica, she's my twin, Helen, Sarah and Rachel. All younger, Jess by 20 minutes. I had an older one, Francine, but she died, along with my mother and second stepfather, David, in a car accident. I was in the car, too. As a result of my injuries, I can no longer have children."

"I'm sorry," Trapper said sympathetically.

"I've accepted it now. It was a long time ago, you know? Anyway, we were devastated by Frannie and David's deaths, of course, but not so much my mother's. She wasn't a very nice person, considering she was drunk all the time. Come to think of it, she wasn't nice when she was sober, either. I was 16 when that happened and I'd already graduated from high school and been to Harvard. I was pretty sure no one would go to a 16-year-old doctor-"

"Wait," Hawkeye interrupted her, "16??"

"Oh," Adrienne said with a sigh. She really hated telling people she was a bona fide genius. She felt like she was boasting. "I have an IQ of 189," she explained dismissively.

"Holy cow!" Henry exclaimed.

"It's nothing really," Adrienne tried to play it down.

"Nothing?" Trapper said. "You're twice as smart as any of us!"

"And four times smarter than Frank!" Hawkeye added.

"I was just about to say that," Trapper said.

"It was obvious really," Hawkeye replied.


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