Annabelle's Story – Mirandabelle

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Disclaimer: MASH is the property of 20th Century Fox, and I do not own the actual idea or storyline. I lay no claim to any of the characters, with the exception of Annabelle Dawson, who is my own creation.

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Annabelle's Bio: Annabelle Felicity Amy-Jane Dawson was born 4th July 1926. She grew up in Portland, ME and since graduating high school has spent most of her time at nursing college, and specific front-line training in various Forts on the East Coast. Annie is the oldest from a large family of 12 siblings aged 25 through to one. These include a twin brother, Jack who is fighting somewhere in Korea. It is September 1951 when Annie arrives at the 4077th.

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Chapter One: This Is Korea (Part I)

I got off the plane in a place called Kim Po. This was my first real time on Korean soil, a brief change of planes in Seoul didn't really count, and I looked around for where I belonged next. A young man came up to me and saluted.

"1st Lieutenant Annabelle F.A.J. Dawson?" I returned the salute.

"That's me." He offered his hand and I shook it.

"Seargent Jonathon Sanders, Colonel Blake asked me to pick up a nurse here. You must be the one; you're the only lady here. 4077th MASH?" I nodded, glad for a friendly, albeit unknown face.

"Yes, that's me, I thought I was going to be picked up by a Corporal O'Reilly?" He lifted my bag, effortlessly I noticed. I had been struggling with it the whole trip over. I watched with envy as he slung it onto his shoulder and then picked up my other suitcase.

"Yes, when Colonel Blake found out I was doing a mail round he decided he wouldn't submit you to Radar's driving skills just yet." I chuckled and followed him to a helicopter. It, like most of my surroundings was a dull, dusty shade of olive drab.

"Radar?" I asked, I had to, 'Radar' was such a unique nickname, and far more exciting than Annie, my most common childhood nickname, not to mention less embarrassing than my mother's pet name for me – Cherub – which I detested vehemently.

"Oh Radar O'Reilly can hear things before they happen, he's only about your height, and has glasses, so that's how he compensates. Ever flown in one of these things before?" I think Sanders noticed my recoil at the height comment, and changed the subject hastily. I wasn't tall; 5'2" if I stood up straight, and was proud to be just who I was but still disliked any comments about being so little. Seeing he meant no harm, I continued on naturally.

I shook my head, "No, never I'd never even been on a plane till I came out here." It was true, I was well travelled if the entire eastern seaboard counted, but I had always taken busses or trains. The plane was far from joyful; my stomach was well and truly empty from the first shaky flight across from Boston to San Francisco. I had managed to eat something again at the airport, but the paper bag that had been provided between Frisco and Seoul was full long before we'd arrived.

He helped me into the chopper, "Watch the mail bag there. Don't worry, you're with the best darn pilot this side of Korea." We took off and in about 20 minutes I was in the place I would soon call home.

"Welcome to the four-oh-seventy-seventh Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. Best care anywhere." Two Majors, one female, the other male greeted me after Sgt. Sanders had helped me off the chopper. I saluted instantly and they shared pleased smiles.

"1st Lieutenant Annabelle F.A.J. Dawson." I dropped the salute and offered my hand.

"Major Margaret Houlihan, ranking nurse. This is Major Burns, second in command." Major Houlihan shook my hand while Major Burns made no effort. "Pleased to meet you, come and we'll introduce the Commanding Officer of this outfit. Radar, take the Lieutenant's bags." A small man my height came up and took my bags. "Lieutenant Annabelle Dawson, Corporal Radar O'Reilly." Radar saluted.

"Nice to meet you ma'am." I saluted back.

"Likewise Corporal." Major Houlihan smiled directly at me as we turned and walked away from the chopper pad.

"I've heard a lot about you. 25 and a First Lieutenant, you'll be the second in command of the nurses. After myself, you're the highest-ranking woman in this outfit. I hear you've had specific training." I kept walking; the Majors flanked me while Radar, carrying my bags scuttled behind.

"Yes, I graduated from high school when I was 18, and went to nursing school. I spent four years there and when I was 22 I graduated and I spent '49 and '50 at various Forts along the East Coast receiving specific war nursing skills. When the war broke out here, I was told that I would be front-liner but then I was decided I'd be too green and so I was sent to the MASH unit that was closest to the front. You're 3 or 4 miles I hear."

Major Houlihan nodded, "Very good you'll be a fine addition to this outfit, and you'll have you..." A Seargent whistled as I passed him.

"Watch your mouth!" Snapped Major Burns who had previously not said a word. Major Houlihan continued talking.

"You'll have your own tent. We may move some other nurses in there but at present it's your own." We went into the CO's tent and the pilot who had flown me here left as we approached the desk.

"Colonel Blake this is the new nurse, 1st Lieutenant Annabelle Dawson." I saluted and he returned it. I realised then that there were two other men in the room. All three men had glasses, which were at various stages of emptiness. I wasn't silly and could tell that it wasn't iced tea they were drinking, I was surprised, as it was barely lunchtime but decided to get to know them better before I made any serious conclusions about the men.

"I'm Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, CO of this madness, the outfit not the war." He seemed harassed by the whole situation, but at the same time jovial and easy-going, almost fatherly. He offered me his hand and wrapped my small one in his large, warm palm.

"Good thing too, otherwise we would have shot you and gone home!" quipped one of the two men. He had sandy, curly hair, and eyes that twinkled brightly at me.

"And these two men are doctors Pierce and MacIntyre." He added slightly grudgingly. I saluted them, Major Houlihan murmuring a few pleased words in Major Burns's ear about my formality, and both men shook my hand.

"Annabelle, can I call you Annie?" I nodded; I often had to be called twice if anyone used my rank.

"Yes Doctor, nearly everyone else does." The sandy-haired doctor smiled and stood up, I looked up as he did so, I had to. He was tall, 6 foot 3, if not taller still.

"John MacIntyre. Call me Trapper. Say Annie, were you at a lecture at Boston Mercy back in '45, there was a sweet little cookie there asked everyone to call her Amy-Jane?"

The other doctor, still sitting down spoke up, "Amy-Jane, 16?"

Trapper shook his head, "No, 18 or 19."

"Ooh, what a cookie."

"Yeah." Even Colonel Blake looked dreamy at that.

"Anyhow Annie, I was there, but is there any chance that cookie was you?" My face reddened a little bit. Wanting to 'let my hair down' I had demanded that I be called Amy-Jane, two of my three middle names and had tried to be as flirtatious as any of the other girls. I preferred to forget that phase, even thought I had avoided doing anything that I would regret.

"The same cookie, I was the one with the questions. I was still 18."

Trapper smiled, "I liked your style, you argued everything that Matron said, and everything you said was so self- assured and right." I smiled, I remembered a young doctor, he had been then no more than the age I was now, with the same messy hair and brightly sparkling eyes, a prankster if you ever saw one.

"I remember you, I never liked your style. You were trouble." He laughed and Major Houlihan spoke up.

"Colonel, I'll have her shadow Major Burns and I for a few days. Just to get her into the routine, she can start her shift on Monday?"

Colonel Blake nodded, "Whatever you like Major." He seemed kind of put out by Major Houlihan's telling him what was happening, rather than asking him.

The other doctor, slightly shorter than Trapper and with darker, straight hair stood up, "Come now Margaret is that really necessary? Does she have to be turned into a Ferret-Face-ette? Though with a cute face like this, it'd be hard." He cupped my chin in his hand and I awkwardly removed myself from his grasp. The smell of the whiskey had been overpowering and I didn't like the way he looked me over as though I was something in a shop or there for his amusement only.

Major Houlihan interrupted, "Nurse if you'll come with Major Burns and I, we'll show you around the camp and let you get settled in." Major Houlihan saluted and left. Major Burns and I followed.

An hour later, I was in my tent, trying to come to get used to my new surroundings when there was a knock on the door and the person marched in.

"So... cookie," It was Dr Pierce, "18 and wanting to be called Amy-Jane, you must have been some dish then. But you're even more gorgeous now." There was another knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I called, knocking was a new privacy level for me, having shared a bedroom with my sisters growing up, and constantly having them, or any number of my brothers barge in whenever the urge took them.

"Major Burns, I'm starting a shift in a few minutes and Major Houlihan suggested I take you with me."

"Come in Major, I'll be just a minute." I sat down and reached for my hairbrush. Major Burns entered and while I quickly pulled my hair back, he and Dr Pierce talked, the animosity between them obvious.

"What are you doing here Pierce, this is a lady's tent?" He asked sniffily. While I didn't like Doctor Pierce at all, I could tell things weren't going to run smoothly between Burns and I either.

"I'm fully aware of that and seeing as I'm obviously the only man here I'll go and continue trying to make a lady friend later."

Frank gave a thoroughly inelegant snort, "Nurse Dawson is a respectable and responsible young lady. I'm sure she's not interested in your type of cretin."

Pierce appeared hurt, "Now, now, I'm sure she's cottoning onto me just fine." He took my hand, "My tent for a poker game say 1700 hours?" I removed my hand from his grasp.

"No thankyou doctor, I'd really rather not." Gambling was something Mom had never encouraged, and firmly against my Catholic beliefs.

Burns chased him out of the room. "Out!" I sighed and kept brushing my hair. Maybe it wasn't so different from home after all.

The last thing I heard before Major Burns slammed the door was the only endearing thing I'd heard come out of Pierce's mouth so far. "You're so cute when you're angry Frank." I turned around in time to see Frank blow a raspberry at the closed door.

Rather indignant and ruffled, Frank badly played the cool disciplinarian, telling me that if I were to be harassed by either Pierce or MacIntyre, I was to report to him. I agreed, mostly to get him off my case, and we went to Post-op. Only half the beds were filled, one of them by a nurse. I went over to her, and said hello.

"Hi, I'm Lt Baker." She offered me her hand, I shook it and smiled.

"Annie Dawson, what'd you do?" She laughed, "I discovered a fox-hole meant for Major Burns there. My ankle was sprained pretty badly. Boy did Hawkeye get burned for that! No pun intended!"

I chuckled, not really knowing why it should be funny that Hawkeye, whoever he was should have dug a foxhole for Major Burns. "Well, I hope it gets better soon."

She smiled, "Thankyou Lieutenant,"

I smiled back and stood up, "Call me Annie, just cause I'm the second in command for the nurses I don't want to be different from you guys."

Major Burns was calling, "I see you met Lieutenant Baker, one of the brighter sparks in the outfit. Now your shift in Post-Op will involve..."

I checked the patient's charts confidently, I had only been in the room for 15 minutes, but I could sense that Burns was beginning to feel slightly inferior to me. "Doctor, isn't this is quite a lot of Penicillin?"

Major Burns looked over my shoulder, "No not at all." Trapper and Doctor Pierce had been following us, whether to inspect my nursing skills or my behind I wasn't sure, but either way at my query and Frank's obvious surprise Pierce came up behind me and took the chart from my hand.

"Jeez, Frank are you trying to make this man's blood 50 percent penicillin?" He asked, a true passion for medicine already obvious in his manner.

"Doctor Pierce I have been practising for 12 years, I am your superior officer and this man is my patient I say what happens to him.

Pierce was serious now, "Frank, halve that dose or I'll go over your head." Frank gave another inelegant snort. Pierce motioned to Trapper and the two men marched into Blake's office, I followed them, curious and received a wink from Baker.

"Henry, Frank's trying to drown a patient in Penicillin again." Pierce dropped the chart on Henry's desk, right onto a child's brightly coloured painting.

"Watch it Hawkeye, that's Bloomington Gallery work there, isn't my Janie wonderful?"

Pierce nodded, "She's a beautiful artist, I'm sure she has her dad's artistic skills."

Trapper grinned, "Yeah, like the time the latrine blew up on you, and you wore the seat around your neck!" Pierce hooted with laughter, while I chuckled politely having no idea what was going on, and Henry turned his attention to the chart.

"Nurse Dawson, I'm going to give this to you, see that this patient's dose is halved."

I nodded, "Yes Colonel," He wasn't finished though, and continued talking.

"Frank, check with me or Hawkeye before you give a dose that big again."

Frank sulked visibly. "Yes Colonel." Henry beamed now that the serious work was over.

"Frank you're dismissed, I want to talk to Nurse Dawson, Pierce and MacIntyre alone." Frank grumpily left the office, and nearly walked into Radar.

"Colonel Blake sir there's an aid station on the phone, 3 miles from here." Colonel Blake had already picked up the phone.

"Trapper, stand up," Pierce chided, "Give the lady a seat." Trapper groaned, lifted his legs and put his feet on the desk.

"Here, sit on that," he motioned to the 'bridge' his legs made.

"Is that an order doctor?" I asked, my eyes sparkling, hoping he'd get I meant to joke. He smiled, he could tell "sirs" "ma'ams" and salutes were no more than part of my training and not the true me.

"Yes Annie, it is." I rested my self lightly on his legs and the three of us waited for a few minutes while Henry talked.

Henry hung up the phone, "Radar! Get me an ambulance, a driver, corpsmen, a jeep and supplies."

Radar was there, "They're on their way sir." I jumped, his sudden appearance had

"You'll get used to it Annie," Trapper said, I stood up and he moved his feet back to the floor, sighing as his muscles relaxed. "Come here," I approached him and he pulled me onto his lap. I sat stiffly perched on the edge of his knees, and he leaned forward into me, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Now ladies, and ladies, may I have your attention." I looked at Henry. "First of all, Nurse, I hate using that term, it makes you seem distant, do you have a nickname?"

I smiled, "I was christened Annabelle Felicity Amy Jane. I have so many nicknames I can't count them all."

Henry smiled then too, "Annie will do me, and you can call me Henry. Everyone else does."

Pierce chuckled, "That's only if we're in a good mood with him! And you can call me Hawkeye," I could live with that. I didn't like him but I saw no reason to be snotty like Burns appeared to be.

I smiled, "Last of the Mohicans?"

He looked surprised, "How'd you guess?"

I laughed, "My brother Jack read that, I gave it to him when we turned twenty, there was a week there when he wanted to be called Hawkeye."

Hawkeye smiled, "It was the only book that wasn't medical my dad ever read, what do you mean by when we turned twenty?"

I smiled again; Hawkeye's smiles were infectious. "I'm a twin."

Henry cut in, "Can we swap life-stories later, we've got a mission and I think you three are up for the job. That aid station has patients coming out their ears. They want someone to do a pickup on the really bad wounds and patch up the minor ones. Radar's getting you a jeep, ambulance, supplies and a driver so go get your med bags, helmets and you three are going to go get them."

"Henry, you're not seriously thinking of sending Annie there are you?" Hawkeye was surprised, I wasn't, this was what I was trained for.

"It's going to be a good experience for her, I'd have sent Baker if she wasn't laid-up. No names mentioned. Hawkeye."

I spoke up then, "I was meant to be a front-liner nurse anyhow, with my training but it was decided I was too green at 24, most of the other women who'd had my training had done WWII. They were all much older than me."

Trapper looked unhappy. "Are you trying for good experience or to scare the pants off her?" Hawkeye chuckled, eyeing me appreciatively. Apparently he approved of the idea of me with my pants down.

Henry looked surprised, "I thought you two didn't believe in censorship, and besides, I wouldn't have said she could go if I didn't think she'd be okay. We have a very strong-willed girl here. Besides, Korea isn't all fun and games. I want her to see what it's really like, get her used to it right away rather than have her faint or vomit in the OR at the first sign of blood." Trapper and Hawkeye resigned "Okay, go get ready before I have to kick your butts into gear."

"It's still a harsh reality check if you ask me..." Trapper mumbled as we left and soon we gathered outside.

Radar had found Igor, an enlisted man to drive the ambulance and he was sitting behind the wheel while we said goodbye. There were also two corpsmen waiting.

"Lieutenant, just stick right with Pierce and MacIntyre and you'll be okay, they'll look after you, won't you Captains?" Major Houlihan had taken my hand and gave it a squeeze before letting go. Already one of her team, I could tell I was to be scolded, instructed, fussed over and worried about the same as any of the other nurses.

Trapper chuckled, grabbed her and kissed her. "Margaret my dear, if I don't come back, see that our children get a good education." She gasped angrily before Hawkeye moved in for the kill, kissing her too. I was surprised to see this, and even more surprised to see the slightly breathless Margaret afterwards.

"If I don't return make sure my boy Radar gets a proper talk on the birds and the bees, I was going to tell him when he turned twelve, but just in case."

Henry smirked, "Trapper, I'm asking you to look after Annie for me real good okay. Annie, stick right with him."

Trapper and I nodded, "I'll take the most excellent care of our new nurse." He put his arm around my shoulders, "Hey Radar, she's tiny, you've got competition." It was true; Radar and I side-by-side were a close match.

Radar looked irritated, "Cut it out you guys."

Henry laughed, "Annabelle, just whatever you do stick right with Trapper and Hawkeye, do everything they say... well everything within reason. No joke you goons!"

I laughed and Hawkeye began talking, "Don't you worry Lyssie, you're in the best hands this side of Korea, and this is for luck." He took hold of me and kissed me. I fought him off quickly, and made a hasty retreat to the jeep, my cheeks burning, while Hawkeye and Trapper received some last instructions.

"No funny business okay, if she gets worried, reassure her, but no monkeying around! I'm a bit worried about sending off our newest, youngest, unmarried nurse with you two goons, but I think she'll come in useful. No hanky-panky." Hawkeye and Trapper nodded, cracked a poor joke which I couldn't hear and fought over who was driving.

"Trapper, you can drive a golf ball, drive a man crazy, drive me up the wall, drive me around the bend, drive in, drive through, drive out, drive around and drive a knife right through my heart, but you will never drive when I'm in the jeep." Trapper resigned and we left.

I squawked and grabbed Trapper, after the first few seconds on the bumpy road, Trapper had climbed into the back with me to act as an anchor, as I was not yet used to the rough roads and had all the stability of a sack of potatoes.

"Hawkeye slow down!" Trapper called, "Annie nearly got thrown out of the jeep!" Hawkeye sniggered but did slow down. Normally the 3 miles would have taken us no more than 10 minutes or so, but we had to take a roundabout route, to avoid minefields and woods.

I fell silent, and Trapper looked at me, "Penny for your thoughts Annie?" I looked up at him, trusting him as I saw the friendliness in his eyes.

"Hawkeye" I whispered, blushing and dropping my voice. My face had remained pink ever since he'd kissed me, and as I thought about it anew, the colour in my cheeks deepened immeasurably.

"Oh, he kisses everyone, and if he has his way, he'll get a lot more from you." Trapper kept his voice low and we hunched together in the back of the jeep.

"No… you probably don't see, I've never been kissed before." It was true; I had found no true interest in any of the boys I had been to school with, not even my closest friends, Johnny and David.

Trapper nearly shouted, "Annie, you're joking, never?

I shook my head, "Never ever, well, never from a man who wasn't my relative... well except for just then."

Trapper looked very surprised, "So that means you're a vir… don't worry, I shouldn't really say that."

I smiled as Hawkeye pulled up in the aid station, "Yes, I'm a virgin, I'm proud of it, don't worry." Hawkeye heard that and gasped as the ambulance pulled up behind us.

"You, with a face like that?" I blushed then as someone came up to us. I didn't really want this to be the topic of conversation, so quickly and firmly I took him by the hand, pulling him to face me. This shocked him into silence and he met my eyes.

"Drop it Hawkeye," I said and fortunately he did just that, as we were lead to the wounded.

I had expected worse to be honest. I found it reasonably easy to help both the doctors, and when they found a simple case, which needed just a few stitches and could go back to the frontline, and they left him with me. I saw a few pretty gruesome sights, limbs hanging on by little more than skin, but a few deep breaths, counted by Hawkeye as I worked kept the last meal I had eaten in Seoul down.

"Nurse," The corpsman, Igor was calling, I ran to him, "There's blood in this guy's mouth, he's choking," I bent down and felt gently down his side, there was broken ribs on his left and so I rolled him onto his right, blood and saliva flowed from his mouth, glad for the rubber gloves I was wearing, I cleared his airway and as I listened to his laboured breaths, I thought there was a punctured lung, knowing this was beyond my help, I shouted.

"Doctor… hey! Trapper!" I called Trapper came running "This guy's got a breathing problem, there's blood in his throat, and his ribs on his left are broken." I told him quickly what I'd found.

"You did good to roll him off his ribs, and clear his mouth," Trapper listened with a stethoscope, "This lung's punctured, I think that all four ribs that are broken are in there, what happened to him?"

One of the corporals at the station came up, "Thrown by a shell blast. Is he bad doctor?"

Trapper nodded, "He will be if we don't get him back real soon, is there a chopper you can get him on?"

The corporal shouted a few words and a Seargent came up, "Captain, there's a chopper headed to Seoul in two minutes, if you stick him on that the pilot will do a drop-off at your MASH."

Trapper nodded, "Corpsmen!" I realised we'd been shouting ever since we'd arrived, the sound of gunfire and shelling was everywhere. The corpsmen carried the patient to the chopper. "Good call Annie, your experience is going to come in handy here. Check him out for me, he looks touchy."

I bent over the private, "Am I okay?" He asked. His voice was tight, stressed, but not pained. I knew he'd already been given morphine, but didn't understand why he was so anxious. It wasn't until I had actually taken a look at the wound, which was high up enough on his thigh for me to see everything, did I understand his nervousness. I checked the wound over unblushingly, and my confidence got him to relax.

"Yes, just shrapnel in your leg, you'll be fine," He smiled, relieved for that news. Then he suddenly seemed to remember that he was just a young boy after all, being faced by an unmarried young woman.

"Is everything else there?" He grinned cheekily.

I grinned back, "Yes, you'll be a father someday, now just relax, and yell out if it hurts while I bandage it." I quickly bandaged the man's wounds, which covered most of his upper thigh. Hawkeye came over, "Shrapnel." I said, "There's no serious nerve or artery damage he's relatively minor." Hawkeye's sweaty face looked down at mine.

"Annie you're a lifesaver - literally. Trapp told me about the lung case." He checked the patient, "Nice call, check him out, and I'll be with you in a second." He helped Igor carry him to the nearly full ambulance while I went over to the next patient, my eyes focusing on the body a few yards away, I didn't see the empty stretcher and I tripped and fell headlong in a puddle. I heard Trapper's laugh as I pulled myself up again and crawled to the soldier.

"Annie!" He cried, throwing both arms around my neck, wincing painfully as he did so.

"Jeremy! Jeremy! Oh my god, are you okay? I never thought I'd see you!" I hugged him and kissed his face, which was as muddy as mine.

"Annie, what are you doing?" Embarrassed I let Jeremy go and he fell back to the ground, I realised there was blood on my uniform, his blood, not mine. He had a bullet in his shoulder. Trapper ran up and sprinkled sulphur on his wound before bandaging his shoulder tightly to his chest.

"Annie, who's this?" I smiled, and took Jeremy's unwounded hand.

"Trapper John MacIntyre, doctor, he'll look after you. We'll have you at the 4077th where I work in no time. Igor! Come and get this one, and take special care of him." Igor and another solider who I'd recently stitched up, put him on a stretcher and carried him off.

"Annie, what do you mean by hugging wounded?" Trapper asked.

"If he was your brother..." was all I said as I stood up and found the puddle again. Trapper helped me to my feet; I was covered in mud, head to toe. The puddle had been knee-deep and more than generous on the sloppy mud.

"It's a good look on you. He's your brother, but you called him Jeremy, not Jack." I bent over a patient, partly to be useful but more so to hide the tears glinting in my eyes.

"I have five brothers, and Jack, Jeremy and Joseph are in Korea." Trapper nodded, interested but busy.

"I can take this, go help Hawkeye." I ran over to Hawkeye.

"Oh, taking camouflage a little far aren't we?" He quipped. He was joking I could tell, and trying to get me to relax, but more concerned about the life slipping away in front of him.

"Yes doctor," I bent down and helped him fix up the patient we were working on.

We were back on the road and once more Trapper was holding me down, although Hawkeye was driving slower this time, when we saw a some troops walking towards us. We stopped when they flagged us down.

"Can you take a look at this foot?" Their leader asked, Hawkeye jumped out of the jeep, and it was a simple matter. He got back in and we'd just started the engine when there was an almighty whistling and an explosion, the ground seemed to shake and the troops hit the ground. I don't know who said more unsavoury things, Hawkeye, Trapper or I as I was yanked out of the jeep and pulled under it while more mortars dropped around us. I was so scared; the front had been bad but for some reason, when we were two miles back from it, I guess I didn't expect to get shelled.

"Annie, it's okay." Trapper had put his arm over me, I didn't realise that I was shaking and crying. I was terrified and as the shelling stopped, Hawkeye ran out, Trapper kissed my muddy- blonde curls "It'll be okay Annie, we'll need your help out there." and then he ran out to a fallen man too. I took a deep breath and followed.

"Annie, get my med bag from the jeep, we'll patch them up and put them on the ambulance." The ambulance had stopped when the first shell hit and now the corpsmen were resettling patients dislodged by the blasts. Another mortar fell and I jumped as it narrowly missed the road.

"Hang in there Annie, go and check him out." Trapper squeezed my hand tightly as I gave him his bag. He pointed at a solider and I scrambled over to him.

"I'm going to be okay aren't I?" he asked, I reassured him, despite the fact that I was shaking.

"You'll be fine, we'll get your bleeding fixed and you'll be at a MASH in a few..." I jumped as a mortar fell and the blast threw three men.

"Annie, get him," Hawkeye called, I saw that he and Trapper had already taken the other two men. I tied the bandage off and motioned to Igor, running to take the man thrown by the blast. I rolled him over and my stomach instantly came to my mouth. His face and stomach was half gone, and burns covered his chest - he was dead. I crawled a few feet and threw up my breakfast.

I heard Hawkeye, "Trapp, can you take her?" Trapper was behind me in a second, holding my hair back while I brought up my lunch as well. I continued to retch, but it was mostly just saliva now.

"Oh sweet Jesus," I murmured and nearly collapsed, Trapper just caught me before I fell face down in my own vomit. He rolled me back onto his lap, his right arm cradling my head, while his left hand began rubbing my stomach in slow circles.

"Come on men, let's keep moving!" The leader of the group called to his men, most of them got off the ground, some struggling up with help. Three men never left the ground, while eight would go along with us, two of those to die during the night.

"Christ that's awful," I was sweating and crying, my tears leaving tracks on my bloodstained and muddy face. Hawkeye came over and I saw his disapproving glance at Trapper's hand, which still continued its unhurried circles over my abdomen.

"Amy Jane, are you okay?" Hawkeye bent down beside me.

"Oh my god, it was terrible, so bloody awful." I sat up a little, both men hurrying to support me, their arms coming under my back comfortingly. I felt warm, supported and safe in their arms and my tears soon stopped, but the nausea remained

"I know Annie honey, I know, but it's like your first time of anything, you'll get used to it after a few more times." Trapper continued soothing me, his arm tightly around my shoulders and his hand still on my stomach.

"Sir, do you want us to ahead?" Igor was there, obviously nervous and unwilling to linger.

"Yes, if you beat us in, tell Henry we'll be right behind you." Hawkeye stood up and offered me his hand.

"Annie, do you think you can stand up?" I shook my head weakly.

"We've really got to get going though with that load of wounded we've got though, they'll need our help." I tried to stand and fell on Hawkeye.

"Easy does it," Hawkeye caught me.

"Okay, steady now," Trapper righted me and helped me take a very shaky step. Even though Igor had taken him away, a dint in the grass and bloodstains remained where the man I couldn't save had lain. I retched again, my empty stomach bringing up nothing. I was still shaking and Hawkeye rolled me onto my back. Trapper slid his arm under me and lifted me.

"You okay Annie?" He asked as he carried me back to the jeep. Hawkeye stretched out in the back and Trapper lay me against him.

"It's so goddamned awful, the inhumanity of it all." Hawkeye sighed as I leant against him and shifted me into a more comfortable position between his legs, putting his arms around me, his hands and voice soothing as Trapper started the jeep.

"Honey, this is Korea."