Finding The 4077th

Even as the sun was shining, the wind was howling loudly and it seemed like even with all of the tent closed, they weren't getting any relief from this cold harsh weather.

Hawkeye rubbed his hands together. He was freezing! Even with all these layers of clothes, including his army blanket he was still cold! He couldn't seem to stop shivering and he sat so close to the small furnace in front of him, they were almost hugging, kissing even. BJ sat huddled next to him and had just like him a blanket around him and just as many layers of clothes he could wear.

And there, pressed in the middle sat a very happy Chris. The boy was lucky, he still fitted into his long-johns he got from his grandpa and last week a gift arrived from the Netherlands. It was another pair of sturdy hand knitted long underwear his grandmother made for him. Like actually handmade! That woman was a saint, and Chris was definitely the warmest person in this camp. Maybe even the warmest child in Korea. Of course he still needed two pairs of socks, a dark blue wool hat and a thick orange scarf, but the underwear made all the difference.

Chris wasn't even shivering, and he definitely didn't seem to mind all the cuddling and huddling they were doing. Hawkeye pulled the warm boy closer in his embrace. He couldn't hug the stove so this was the next best thing in order to stay warm.

BJ automatically moved closer as well, pressing them more together. They had been sitting like this, under their army blankets the moment they were off duty and had returned to the Swamp. But even with the extra layers and the small burning stove in front of them, they couldn't seem to get warm.

Chris heard the wind howl and the teeth clatter from his dad next to him. He wished he could do something more to help them, BJ and his dad both kept shivering. He wasn't just concerned about his dad, the whole camp had the same problem, including the soldiers out there… outside. Thankfully it wasn't busy at the moment, and they hadn't seen so much as one wounded in a couple of days. Chris just hoped they were okay in this cold.

The only one who didn't seem to be affected by the cold was Charles. Which apparently was a reason for his dad and BJ to be irritated about.

“The fire is going out.“ BJ mumbled.

Hawkeye glared from under his blanket at Charles. “There's a dead log to throw on it. Look at him. Charles, why aren't you freezing like the rest of us?“

Charles looked at them smugly, and sighed, like it was a bother to answer.
“Because I have your suffering to keep me warm. “

“He is cold. “ BJ said, as he pulled his blanket closer, he couldn't seem to stop shivering. “He has to be cold. He's just doing the hot act to spite us. “

Charles smiled at them condescending before he spoke. “Actually, gentleman, I am not altogether unaffected by this arctic blast, but I refuse to huddle around a fire like you two cringing pack wolves. “

“Pack wolves?! “ Hawkeye asked with faked outrage. “I've never been so insulted in my life. “ He looked at BJ and both of them turned to Charles and started barking and snarling loudly like two angry wild wolves.

Chris laughed at suddenly being jolted and at the disapproving look Charles was throwing their way. The jolting didn't take long as the two doctors quickly huddled back against him. They sat like this for a couple of minutes until his dad pulled him closer, which BJ didn't appreciate. “Hey, why are you hogging the kid?“ The doctor asked.

“Maybe because he's my kid. Get your own!“ Hawkeye said laughing as BJ tried to pull the giggling boy closer.

They were sitting so close it didn't really matter which side he got pulled too, but Chris was definitely not complaining, this was fun! He knew the two were only joking and they weren't really mad at each other.