Finding The 4077th

Small Spaces

It was the middle of the night when Chris startled awake. Something felt wrong, he was having a bad dream and it made him feel uneasy but that dream didn't wake him up. He absent-mindedly petted the small sleeping branham in his arms. His dad didn't like it when Cinderella slept in the bed with him, but Chris told him she jumps up on her own. Which was a small lie, but he liked sleeping with the fluffy little chick.

*BANG*

A loud explosion rang through the compound, making the tent shake. Several things fell down but Chris couldn't think about anything else as fear immediately grabbed a hold of him and he simply stopped thinking. The only thing he knew of was that he needed to find his dad.

He jumped out of bed wildly. Little Cinderella let out a surprised cluckle as she was jolted up right. The blanket dropped over her but Chris was already out the door. He ran barefooted as fast as he could towards the post-op, where his dad was working at the moment. Another explosion went off near camp and it made him whimper in fear. He was only wearing his pajamas and it was still very cold outside but he didn't notice it, he didn't even notice the hard rocks underneath his bare feet.

He almost collided face first against the door but he was quick enough to remember how to use his hands.

He pushed the door open without slowing down and immediately saw his dad. Hawkeye and BJ were trying to calm down the patients who were also very scared because of the constant shelling and explosives.

Hawkeye looked up as he heard the door slam and wasn't surprised to see Chris run towards him. He definitely didn't blame the boy for being scared, Chris had spent some time at the front and Hawkeye couldn't imagine what the boy had seen during that time.

What did surprise him is that he just realized Chris had grown a little. He wasn't much higher but his limps started to seem a little too big for the rest of his body. Maybe it was the goofy way the boy ran at him but he just suddenly noticed that.

Several more explosions could be heard as Chris launched himself at his dad. He grabbed the man's waist tight and buried his face close. He didn't want to see or hear anything that had to do with explosives. He hated those. His breathing was fast and shallow and he trembled heavily.

Hawkeye felt a rush of affection towards the scared boy and put a protective arm around him. He tried to keep everyone calm but explosions sounded like they were coming from two different directions. Meaning they were probably in the middle of a crossfire.

“All right everyone, Take it easy. I'm sure they don't mean it.“ BJ said with a nervous smile.

“We're safe as long as they keep aiming at us.“ Hawkeye added jokenly as he comforted Chris by stroking his hair. “It's okay, Kiddo.“ He mumbled soothingly.

“How about we get some coffee?“ BJ asked, he was trying to sound casual but his voice trembled a bit. Chris couldn't feel anything besides his own fear but he knew the adults were scared too.

“Good idea!“ Hawkeye added, trying to sound carefree. “I'm getting sleepy.“ He said seconds before a louder explosive went off. Very close to the tent where they were.

The building shoke and Chris grabbed his dad tighter as he whimpered softly.

“Nothing to worry about.“ BJ said quickly as he and Hawkeye prepared to leave in order to find the Colonel. “Happens all the time.“

“Yes, this will all blow over!“ Hawkeye added with a shaky smile. He had an arm around his trembling child as he guided him into the clerk's office. The shelling hadn't stopped and the constant loud bangs made it impossible to think. He only knew that he had to try to keep the patients and his kid calm. He just wished he could calm himself as well.