Jo�an grabbed him by the wrist and easily sliced through the rope binding them together. Then she carefully did the same for the rope on his ankle. The man still watched her. He looked like he had expected something else� �You free now��
�What?� He had expected something different, much different.
She was desperate to get away from the body, least she had to look at it again. She tugged on his arm until he got the idea to stand. �I show you way to road.� She all but dragged him past the body and outside, eager to leave and afraid to return.
He finally snapped out of his mood so that he could follow her instead of being dragged dumbly along. His ankle hurt and he paused long enough to look at the raw skin. Must have happened sometime during the time Ian was shot. He wanted to go back for the medicine bag�Bj�s�but Jo�an refused to go back. He didn�t blame her and pressed the matter no further.
No more words passed between them until they finally reached the dirt road. An awkward moment of silence built until Jo�an finally broke it. �Here road,� she pointed out the obvious and felt stupid for doing so.
�Yeah, road.� Not the most intelligent response either. �Jo�an�why don�t you come with me back to the 4077th?�
�Your people not like my people,� she explained.
�What are you going to do now then?� he asked, a touch of disappointment in his voice. Maybe he should try to reason with her or beg her to come with him, even though he knew it would do no good.
She shrugged. �Wait for harvest. Enough food for winter.�
�It�s not safe for you to stay there.� He tried the reasoning approach.
�No place safe, but it is my home.� His eyes were drilling intensely into hers, and she had to force herself to look away before she got lost in the blue pools.
�Jo�an?�
�If hurry you can make back before night�Goodbye, Hawk eye.� She gave a final look into his eyes, then turned to go.
�Wait, Jo�an. Please wait!�
Tears sprang to her eyes, but she didn�t slow down�
His eyes stung with unshed tears as he watched her walk away, hoping that she would turn around, knowing that she wouldn�t. Then she was gone. Alone once more, he hurried off in the direction he knew the 4077th to be.
***
Colonel Potter was signing a stack of papers that Radar brought to him. The boy would grab each paper was it had been signed, uncovering the one beneath. When the clerk suddenly paused, breaking the perfect rhythm, Potter looked up at him. �Almost got a double John Hancock on this one�Radar, what�s wrong?�
The boy remained rooted to the spot.
�Choppers?�
Without an explanation, Radar ran from the office, Potter following worriedly behind him.
The sun was just starting to set, and Radar ran towards the figure, the sun at his back making him a tall shadowed silhouette. Colonel Potter, lagging behind, saw Radar reach the stranger, and they both sank to the ground, tightly holding each other. When he got close enough to make out the man�s features, he saw the last person he thought he would ever see again. �Pierce?� he said, sounding unsure of himself.
The Colonel and Radar immediately started shooting the same questions at him. Hawkeye held up his hand, silencing the babbling, then asked one of his own, �Where�s BJ?�
Glances were exchanged and the two fell silent.
He looked from Radar, who sat next to him, then up at Colonel Potter. When he still got no answer, he stood and turned to the Colonel. Radar remained on the ground looking miserable. �Where is he?�
�We don�t know. Look, come to my office and we�ll see if we can�t straighten things up a tad.� It had been a busy day, and he was grateful that most of the unit was asleep in their tents. Hawkeye seemed a little jumpy, though he hid it well.
Radar scrambled to his feet and followed closely behind the two men, not wanting to lose Hawkeye a second time, and glad that at least one of the captains was alive.
***
Hawkeye sank into a chair. He almost reclined his feet up on the desk, but wanted no questions asked about his health, nor the infected ankle.
�Up until just now, we all thought you were dead, son.� Colonel Potter said the words softly as he sat in his own chair and leaned his elbows on his desk. He wondered if this was some dream. He had never expected to see the Captain ever again.
�I haven�t been gone that long. Why?�
Radar handed an envelope to Potter, who then handed it to Hawkeye.
With shaking hands, the Captain reached into the envelope and pulled free the dogtags. He ran his thumb over the raised letters, his face unreadable, but tears in his eyes.
�These are your tags, Pierce. It doesn�t mean that BJ��
Hawkeye reached to his neck and pulled BJ�s tags into sight from where they hid under his shirt, silencing the Colonel.
Radar�s mouth popped open, wanting to ask what he already knew, but remaining silent. He did share a look with Colonel Potter.
The silence hurt his ears. He excused himself, then ran outside. The compound was silent, dead silent. He ran to the Swamp. It�s door was loud enough to wake anything except for Frank Burns�a small miracle. Hawkeye collapsed, not in his bunk, but in BJ�s. He figured that it would be the first place his friend would return to if--not if, when--he came back. He had to have faith, to hope BJ was still alive. He didn�t think he could go on if he wasn�t�
Hawkeye scanned through the dust from where he lay, trying to see where his friend had fallen. �BJ!� he hollered the name�.