Welcome to the 4077

Inspired by M*A*S*H

By B

As the jeep pulled into camp, Alison Walker’s eyes glanced ahead of her, the tents and the red cross all coming into view. She’d been in a few M*A*S*H* units before… but her last station was at Tokyo General, as a surgical nurse. She’d been sent back into the field because she had specialties as a field medic that couldn’t be wasted in Tokyo…

While waiting to come to the 4077 with the rest of their nurses, since all of them had bugged out under the threat of an air raid, Ali had met the head nurse, a strict but… seemingly kind woman named Margaret Houlihan, a major… and she’d also made a friend. Another new nurse was transferring in, and she had made fast friends with the new face, the two jitterbugging and laughing with one another as they talked and awaited the jeeps and transports back to camp…

Ali had overheard that their Officer’s Club was feeling the blues when it came to music… all old stuff… so she had convinced her new friend, a Lieutenant by the name of Delilah Adams, to help her buy all new records as a kind of… welcome to the camp party gift for themselves… and they had. All new records to dance to, all kinds of sharp new music.

Ali’s eyes took in the men running joyfully to the jeeps, their faces broken into grins, and she sank into her seat, her eyes wide. It was one thing being surrounded by a bunch of women, but… a bunch of men was another thing…

“HEY, welcome back girls!”

“LADIES ARE WE GLAD TO SEE YOU!”

“WE MISSED YOU GIRLS!”

Lila laughed as she peered out the side of their transport vehicle, hoisting her duffle bag up as Ali stared out, her face paling. “You ok, girl?”

“They’re… jumpy.” Ali muttered as Lila nodded.

“Well, yeah. Their nurses have been gone for days, doll. They ain’t seen a pretty face in a WHILE!” Lila grinned as Ali nodded. “C’mon!”

As Lila helped Ali to her feet, her curly brown hair flowing over her shoulders, she hoisted her duffle over her shoulder… or went to, rather. The damn thing snagged, caught on her seat… She tugged again, grunting… and she gave it a firm pull… and smirked as it came loose… but as soon as it did, she went back, her eyes widening as she threw her arms out, tripping on the seat and throwing an arm out to Lila. “OH!”

“Ali!”

Lila went to grab her, but she missed by a hair… Ali cringed, waiting for the ground to meet up with her…

And felt herself caught in a pair of arms.

She blinked, taking a deep breath, and glanced up, the face connected to said arms smiling at her broadly. “Hey, you gotta be careful, gorgeous… that first step’s got a hell of a punch.”

The man set her on her feet, watching as she nodded, and he peered at her, his face confused. “Hey, I don’t know you.” He said, taking a hand and twining her curls with one finger, inspecting her with a growing smile. “But I want to.” He grinned. “TRAP! I think Margaret came with a birthday present!” he called out, Ali’s eyes wide.

‘Oh, I’ve been here all of a minute and the wolves have swept in…’ Ali thought in a panic, waiting for this ‘Trap’ to come up… but Lila’s laugh caught her attention. Next to them, a curly-haired man with broad shoulders had hoisted Lila into his arms, the woman grinning as she clung to him playfully, shaking her head.

“HEY, HAWK! We got a new nurse!” the other man grinned as the one he’d called Hawk pointed at her.

“That’s why I called you, Trap, but I think we got a 2 for 1 deal.” Hawk said, grinning as Trap nodded.

“Where’s Margaret!? I gotta thank her for bringing gifts back! HEY!” Trapper said, Lila laughing as Hawk snickered.

“Trapper, she’ll make it so you never see her again, you’d better watch it!” he called, then grinned at her again, giving her a better chance to take in his features. Black hair, parted to one side… his smile was devilish… but it was playfully so… and his eyes were like the ocean… she wanted to get lost in them… “You look shell-shocked.” He grinned as she shook her head, pointing at her duffle bag where it had landed in the dirt as he handed it back to her, grinning.

“N-no.” she said, taking a breath.

“You do speak!”

“Of course I speak!” she said, sticking her tongue out as he grinned.

“Oooh, I got a tongue… can I get a name?” he asked as she snorted… then nodded.

“C-Captain Alison Walker… Surgical Nurse… Field Medic…” she said as he blinked and nodded.

“Impressive… You’re a field medic?” he asked as she nodded.

“Yeah. I trained for it when I joined the Army Nurse Corps…” she said. “Wanted to be a doctor… a surgeon…” she said quietly as he stared.

“You’d still be in school right now if you’d gone down that path by the looks of you… Why didn’t you?”

“…I’m a woman.” She said, sighing. “No school would accept me.”

“Damn… I’m sorry…” he said, taking her duffle for her as he spoke. “We could use more good doctors… male or female…” he said as she blinked. “Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce… You can call me Hawkeye… I’m the chief surgeon here.” He said as she sucked in a breath, her eyes widening.

“Oh!” she said, her face reddening. She peered around, then found Lila… still with Trapper… who was grinning at Margaret Houlihan… who was fussing at him as Lila tried to pry herself free. “Uh-oh…” she said, Hawkeye rolling his eyes.

“I think MY friend is going to get YOUR friend in trouble.” He said with a laugh as she nodded, chuckling and handing her duffle back over with a snort. “Look, when you two get settled in, you see that tent in the middle of the compound?? That’s ‘The Swamp’… come by for some drinks.” Hawkeye said, his eyes locking on hers as she nodded.

“…Ok.” she said, smiling at him.

“Good. Now…” he said, then darted over, grabbing Trapper by the arm and speaking. “Would you let her get settled before you try dragging her to the supply tent, Trap?!” Hawkeye laughed as Trapper shook his head frantically.

“No! I like that one! Girl’s got a right hook like a damn boxer!” Trapper said, his eyes wide as he stared at a laughing Lila, who was tugging at her duffle bag.

“I’ll deck you again, you letch!” she laughed as he grinned.

“Talk dirty some more… and keep doin’ it with that southern accent, gorgeous… Where’re you from?” he asked as she rolled her eyes, smirking.

“Georgia.”

“Oh, like the peaches…”

“And I taste like one too.” She said quietly as Trapper flushed… then gripped her duffle bag tighter, Hawkeye pulling him with a laugh.

“If I propose right now, would you accept?”

“TRAP YOU’RE MARRIED!” Hawkeye laughed as Trapper howled.

“SEMANTICS, HAWK!”

“LET GO!”

Finally, Hawkeye freed Lila from the man’s grip, letting her trot closer to Ali as the curly-haired man grinned. “Come by later, gorgeous! I’ll buy you a drink!”

Margaret followed Lila over, rolling her eyes as Hawkeye nudged the man, laughing and shaking his head. “Those two are NEVER going to grow up.” She said as Lila snorted. Ali blinked at her, her eyes curious. “Captain, Lieutenant… we have a tent available in officer’s country that you can share… it’s a two-bunker… you wouldn’t get other roommates unless we had a shortage.” She said as they nodded. “Understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“I expect you both to report to my tent at 07:00 for your duty rosters! Dismissed. Go see Colonel Blake and get settled in.” Margaret said, snapping a salute to them as they nodded and gave her a salute. “And girls?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Watch it around those two? They’re trouble.”

Ali nodded, biting her lips, but Lila had to hide her grin. “Yes, ma’am.” Lila said, the two turning and heading off to the Colonel’s office.

~*~

Ali blinked at the painted door, her eyes curious… Lila was already knocking, a big grin on her face as Ali bit her lip.

“Come on in!”

Lila opened the door, motioning for Ali to follow, and Ali took a few cautious steps in… and glanced around.

A huge distillery was on the side of the tent, between the two cots on the right as you walked in… on the left, it was neat and clean… on the right, well… they’d picked up hastily, but it was still a pigpen. Dirty laundry scattered the floor, as well as old magazines, playing cards, poker chips…

“Hey, girls!” Trapper called, holding out a glass as Lila happily took it, her eyes lighting up.

“Is it ‘shine?” she asked as Trapper’s face lit up.

“I think I’m in love.” Trapper grinner broadly. “You drink moonshine, huh?” he asked as Lila gulped the liquid in the glass, chuckling.

“Drink it?? Baby, my Daddy MAKES it… Peach and strawberry ‘shine. It’s delicious.” She grinned as he nodded.

Ali, however, was staring at the still, where Hawkeye was fiddling with it, pouring liquid into a container. Her eyes lit up, and with a grin she walked over, peering at the contents of the filter… and leaning over to look at it. “…your filtration system’s weak.”

Hawkeye glanced over, his eyes wide. “Huh?”

“Your filtration system. It’s too weak…” she said, taking the container of liquid from him and sniffing it… then sipping the contents… clearing her throat. “Yeah… it’s not bad, but you could get a MUCH smoother blend with better filtration… My Daddy’s still had thicker shirts than yours has… are those socks?” she asked as he nodded, stunned. “Mm… Add shirts… Padding would help… I may have a few old bras I could donate to the cause.” She said, blushing slightly as he grinned.

“…You know stills?” he asked, his eyebrows through the roof as she bit her lip, smiling.

“My father… used to travel a lot. He had a still, and he kept it nice… and the contents STRONG… I never DRANK it, but I did get taught how to maintain it… for future references.”

He grinned further, grabbing a martini glass and pouring it to the top, sloshing an olive in and offering it over as she smiled and took it. “How’re you settling in? You look less frazzled.” Hawkeye smiled as she sipped the drink.

“Oh… so far everything’s… well… is the smell by the mess tent normal?” she asked quietly as he blinked.

“Wind coming from the west?”

“Yeah…”

“Ah… It was the breeze off the cesspool… you get used to it, unfortunately.” He said as she grimaced. Her eyes glanced down… and she picked up a magazine… It was one she knew… because she had the same one delivered to her every month… but he snatched it with wide eyes, his face frantic.

“WHOOPS. Thought we put all of those awa-”

“HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!” she said, her eyes on the book as she snatched it back, Trapper and Lila’s conversations pulled over to them as she flipped through it, peering through it, his eyes wide. “My copy’s held up by the post… I’ve been shuttled around so much over the last week or so to get to here, I don’t know WHEN I’ll see mine! I’ve been looking forward to that issue for weeks!” she said as he blinked… “Supposed to have Judith Nicolette in this issue… she’s downright gorgeous…” she said quietly as his eyes went to the size of saucers, watching her flip through the pages, her eyes searching, then her face going appreciative as she flipped open the centerfold and peered. “Yep. That’s DEFINITELY a fantastic specimen to photograph…”

“…YOU read Nude Volleyball Monthly?!” he asked incredulously as she blinked, glancing over as her eyes were drawn from the book, then nodded.

“…Yeah.”

“Hawk, I think we’ve found your soulmate.” Trapper grinned as both blinked over at him, Ali’s cheeks burning…

“A-Actually, I’m seeing someone…” she said, her eyes looking down as Hawkeye blinked, his face slightly disappointed. “…having some problems lately… but still…” she said as he stared.

“Relationship troubles?” he asked as she blinked, closing the magazine quietly, then nodded.

“…He’s acting strange…” she said as he nodded, giving her his full attention. “…I called to tell him I’d arrived safely at my last stop… I could have sworn I’d heard a woman in the room…” she said quietly as he stared. “B-But, he had said that was coming from the next room… I don’t know.” She said.

“You buy that?” Hawkeye asked as she blinked, then sucked in a breath.

“…I don’t know… I want to… but a big part of me is screaming at me not to…” she said, biting her lip and tugging at some of the skin. “… I’m always getting cheated on…” she muttered as he sighed. “I don’t WANT to believe it when it looks like it’s happening again… but…”

“As a man… listen to that big part of you… that sounds fishy.” Hawkeye said, watching as she nodded, biting her lip and frowning. “Is that why you’ve been so quiet?”

“Huh? Oh… yes… and no.” she said, chuckling. “Nerves…”

“New place.” He grinned.

“That too. I… I’m nervous… homesick… and… honestly, before Lila… I was lonely.” She said as he stared. “I hadn’t made many friends… Steven… t-that’s my boyfriend… doesn’t like going out with people… says we don’t need to…” she said quietly as he blinked, frowning.

“That doesn’t sound healthy…” Hawkeye said, his head tilting to the side slightly as she nodded.

“H-He meant well… I think…” she muttered as he stared, then nodded, smiling slightly. “H-He said he was… protecting me from people who want to take advantage…” she said as he nodded again.

“Mm… Well, as someone who has taken advantage of plenty of pretty nurses in his day… he may have had a point… but in my opinion, hiding you away was the wrong way to do it. You need friends.” Hawkeye grinned as she smiled. “We work best around here as a family… as friends. When we all get along, everything runs smoothly.”

“I-I know… It’s one of the reasons we had a f-fight about 3 months ago… and a few months before that, actually… He got mad… I…” Her hand darted to her face subconsciously, wincing, but her voice went cheery. “I moved past it… and I need people… at least a few… I can’t… be alone all the time. It was hurting too much. I’m… I’ve always been social. I was raised around groups of people. It’s hard to explain.” She said as he nodded.

“No, no… I understand. Some people need social contact. It’s a healthy trait.” He grinned. “I love meeting new people.”

“Y-You do?”

“Yeah. You learn something new about the world through every new person you meet.” Hawkeye said with a smile as she nodded, laughing.

“Exactly! It’s like a window to the four corners of the world… a magic carpet almost! You can learn SO MUCH about different cultures just from talking to new people! I love that!” Ali grinned as he smiled broadly.

He was about to speak again, but the announcement caught him…

“Attention- All Personnel! Incoming Wounded! Surgical Staff report to O.R. on the double!”

Hawkeye sighed, setting his glass down with a glare. “And the war marches on. Sorry, ladies… this isn’t the welcome we had in mind…”

“No, but it’s what we came here to do.” Ali said, running her hands through her curls as she worked them up into a bun, twisting them up skillfully.