No, it was impossible. He couldn't hold in the laugh this time. It'd be criminal to do so. It's a good thing his hands were on his head and he took to heart the role of acting POW or else he would have doubled clear over and slapped his knees and maybe clutched his stomach. As it was, the laughter was short lived and Hawkeye was sure to keep it from ringing too loud. All in all, most of it was silent but his ears burned red and his gasping for air and letting it hiss out ought to be audible enough.

The girl should be in pain. Hearing her heavier steps were good. Pain that could be felt was better than pain so far gone it wasn't. Her adrenaline had begun to wear off, he figured. And if she stayed next to him he'll slow his pace but still- he won't turn to look at her.

"Different!" There's the trace of a chuckle in his voice still. There were crow's feet at his eyes. It was such a task to not let his hands down. "I think we might be related. Hot food- good food. Not powdered slop. I want a real mattress straight out of the newest edition Sears catalog. I want a fan if it's hot and a coat if it's cold. --I take that back, I don't want a damn fan. Air conditioning!"

A week without someone trying to kill them all.

"And television. I hear- I hear those are all the rage. I'm a man of simple pleasures."

He made four hundred a month. He owed the Army twenty-two thousand. When the hell was he going to get a television? --why the hell was he thinking about television? His legs would soon give out if Ellie's didn't. "How much longer do we need to walk? We going the right way? I left my compass back in Korea. It pointed East instead of North, so we went longer than we should have thinking West was South. Either that or the sun rose the wrong way every day, which I wouldn't blame it for. I ask because I'm old and I don't think I could keep up if it'll be much longer." He really had to look at her foot.