Major O'Brien (A MASH 4077 fiction)

Margaret's Engagement (5:3)

          Catherine hid in the telephone booth, waiting for someone at MASH 4077 to answer her call. She had never cared much for loud parties, even when she did drink. Now that she had been sober for four months, she disliked them even more. The only reason for her attendance was in support of her colleague, Major Houlihan. The two nurses had been in Tokyo, Japan for the past week checking up on the follow-up care of patients from the 4077th. When the two women weren't with patients, Margaret had been schmoozing and dining with brass while Catherine spent time with her dear friend, Charles. The two had an on-going chess battle. While they played, Catherine would sip Nehi sodas and Charles nursed on cognac, his favorite liquor. Catherine had barely seen Margaret until she was told about the party and then, while being plastered on the wall at said party, Margaret asked Catherine to place the call for her.
"MASH 4077, Corporal O'Reilly," she heard Radar pick-up, "Tokyo? I can't hear ya! Wait a minute," he said before Catherine heard and felt a sharp, high-pitched whistle. She jerked the phone away from her ear and chuckled.
"Radar! It's me, Major O'Brien!" the nurse said loudly, "was that you making that noise?"
"Major O'Brien? Oh, I'm sorry about that, it clears the static," the Corporal replied.
"Is the Colonel in? Major Houlihan wanted to speak to him," Catherine told him, "Yes ma'am. I'll get the Colonel right away."
"Thanks, Radar. How's home?" She asked, not wanting to rejoin the party yet. "Oh, good, ma'am. The Captains keep asking when you'll be back and if you're
bringing them anything," the young man replied. Catherine laughed.
"I think we'll be back tomorrow and yes, you can tell them I did get them
something."
"Oh, that's swell."
"I also got you something," she interrupted the young Corporal.
"Oh! Really? Thank-you! I'll go get Colonel Potter, ma'am." There was a quiet pause and then Catherine heard a muffled,
"Tokyo, sir. Major O'Brien."
"Potter here. Hello, Major. How's it going?" the older man asked.
"Hello, Colonel. It's been...eventful. Major Houlihan wanted me to get you on the phone, but she's busy at the moment," Catherine replied, glancing at the other major, who was heavily kissing a tall, brunette man in uniform, while others cheered them on.
"What about the medical follow-up you both were sent there for?"
"Oh, Major Houlihan and I checked on the progress of numerous patients that our MASH has operated on and made notes. I'm sure Major Houlihan will have a meeting about our findings when we get home," Catherine said, feeling the door to the booth open and saw Major Houlihan behind her, "I'm going to pass the phone now, but it was good to speak to you, Colonel." Catherine passed the phone and walked out of the booth, almost running straight into General Tumwater, but was thankfully pulled out of the way by the tall brunette Catherine had seen locking lips with Major Houlihan.
"You okay?" He asked her. Catherine straightened her brown dress uniform. It was itchy and the heels hurt Catherine's feet. She longed to be back in her fatigues and Jack Purcells.
"Yes, thank-you..." she had no idea what the man's name was.
"Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscott. I knew your fiance, Lieutenant Colonel Black. He was a good soldier and a good man. I'm so sorry for your loss, Major O'Brien," the Lieutenant Colonel said, shaking Catherine's hand. A lump crawled its way up, into Catherine's throat at the mention of Alex.
"Thank-you, sir. Will you let the Major know I went to my room to pack for our trip home?" She had to get out of there before she lost it. Being back in Tokyo and around all of her and Alex's acquaintances had been hard enough, let alone hearing everyone's sympathy for her dead fiance, "oh and congratulations on the engagement, sir. Major Houlihan will make a wonderful wife." The Lieutenant Colonel smiled and let go of Catherine's hand, letting her finally escape from the stuffy room. The door to her temporary quarters had barely shut when she started sobbing, tearing at the buttons on her uniform, which seemed to be strangling her. When she was down to just her slip, Catherine clawed at her upper arms, continuing to sob. The grief continued to wash over her. It had been six months and Catherine had experienced some happiness by being at the 4077th, but she wasn't any closer to being "okay" then when she had left Tokyo the first time. She slid to the floor and spent the rest of the night crying in between thinking of sweet memories of a tall brunette and the love they had once shared.
As the Majors' jeep pulled up, Catherine saw Hawkeye and B.J putting an orange. Sadly, she was pretty sure the jeep pulling into camp had squashed their game.
"Margaret. Catherine," B.J said hello as the two surgeons walked up to the jeep. B.J wore a gray sweatshirt with the sleeves cut short, to his elbows, and his fatigue pants. Hawkeye wore his reddish-purple bathrobe over his fatigue pants and t-shirt. Margaret chuckled, but Catherine blankly stared at the hospital. All she wanted to do was drink and she knew exactly who to do it with.
"The fighting 4077th. Somehow it's not the same place I left," Margaret said.
"Is Radar in his office?" Catherine asked over her shoulder, not really listening for an answer before she hopped out of the jeep, bags in hand, and headed towards the main office. Hawkeye and B.J exchanged glances over their friend's new mood, but said nothing. Margaret didn't seem to notice; too caught up in her own happy news. Catherine walked into the office and greeted Radar by digging into her suitcase and pulling out a case of Nehi Cola and Coca-Cola.
"I know Grape Nehi is your favorite, but I got you a couple cases of some of my favorites. Mind sharing?" Catherine asked. Radar smiled and shook his head, grabbing a bottle. He didn't mind sharing with the Major. Catherine grabbed a bottle, popped the top off on Radar's desk and started chugging the luke-warm, carbonated beverage, Radar looked at her while he slowly sipped on his cola.
"Major, are you okay? Do you want to sit down?" He asked. Catherine finished the bottle and grabbed another, repeating her earlier technique, and sat down on Radar's bed. She didn't talk for a long time, just drank colas until there were no more left and her stomach was cramping from the sugar. She honestly wished it wasn't soda.
"She's in here, sirs. She hasn't moved since the Majors got back an hour ago," she heard Radar's voice and then a sandy, brown-haired man and black-haired man came into her view. Catherine knew she had to talk; had to explain her bizarre behavior. She swallowed heavily, fighting down the nausea and started talking slowly.
"I assume she told you about Lieutenant Colonel Penobscott," she said and saw the two surgeons nod, "I met him at their engagement party last night. He apparently knew Alex. I thought...I thought I would be okay. I have been feeling better since coming here. Then, he told me at their engagement party, how sorry he was for me and my loss. He knew Alex and what a great man and soldier he was. I couldn't breathe. I still...can't breathe. I feel like I'm drowning. I just want it to all go away. I want to be numb. I...I want to drink and I want to die," Catherine finally gasped out amongst her fresh tears.
"Sirs, what do we do? Major Houlihan wants to have a staff meeting about their Tokyo trip in half an hour," she heard Radar say, but it sounded like she was in a well and could barely make out what he said. She felt something touch her mid-thigh, the pressure beginning to pull her slowly from the dark.
"...therine, we're gonna help you, okay? Beej, grab her bag..." the voice came and went. She was vaguely aware that Hawkeye was picking her up. Catherine wasn't aware that Hawkeye had carried her to the showers until the cold water shocked her system, making her gasp and grab onto Hakeye's shoulders.
"Hawkeye? What...how..." she couldn't make a full sentence; she was too cold.
"You came back from Tokyo and drank Radar's gift," Hawkeye started, but the mention of the soda triggered the nausea that Catherine thought she had pushed aside until it came racing back up her throat. She ran outside of the showers and threw up on an already dead-looking bush. Hawkeye found her there and walked her slowly to her tent, where B.J was waiting at her desk, looking through her records. Hawkeye handed her a towel, which she wrapped around her body and sat on her bed with.
"How long has it been since he passed?" B.J asked her.
"Six months. Six long months," Catherine replied.
"It'll take time. You may never fully forget the pain. My dad still talks about my mom and I was a kid when she passed," Hawkeye told her.
"I thought I was better, since I've been here. It hasn't hurt this badly since I left Tokyo."
"Catherine, you're not just mourning what you had, you're mourning what could
have been. And you're holding yourself together pretty well if you ask me," B.J said to her. Hawkeye nodded in agreement.
"Do ya'll...can I talk about him with you guys? Not now, just sometimes," Catherine asked, staring at the floor, before looking up at her two friends. The two men nodded and stood to leave,
"Hot Lips called for a meeting about your Tokyo trip. We'll meet you there?" B.J asked as they walked to the door. Catherine nodded as B.J left, but Hawkeye hung back.
"You really scared us. Are you going to be okay?" The man asked her. Catherine smiled gently at him,
"Maybe not for a while, but I'm trying to be," she told him truthfully. Hawkeye took her hand in his, squeezing it. The pressure calmed Catherine as he slipped out of her tent. She shook her head and held onto her stomach, which still rolled with nausea. "Think I'll switch to coffee," she mumbled to herself.
It didn't take long for Catherine to dry off and get dressed. She dug into the back of her wardrobe and pulled out a folded-up, blue-jean carhartt shirt and slid it on over her tan, army t-shirt and green fatigue pants. The shirt hung low on her hips and bagged over her wrists, but she let it, pulling it tight around her body. She sniffed the sleeves and smiled. Alex's cologne still lingered ever so slightly. Catherine took her engagement ring off of her dog tags and stuck it in the right breast pocket, buttoning the pocket closed. She pulled her long, auburn curls into a pony-tail before walking to the Mess Tent for the staff meeting.
"Major O'Brien, could you fill in the doctors about the rest of our patients?" Major Houlihan asked her. Margaret had just finished discussing the overall health of the patients in Tokyo that had come from the 4077th. Catherine stood at her seat and fiddled with the hems of Alex's shirt on her wrists.
"Sure, Major. One of our previous patients, a Lieutenant Turvey, required emergency surgery while he was in Tokyo. It seems that the lead surgeon removed part of his colon and did not exteriorize it. The Lieutenant developed peritonitis. I also believe that a couple of other patients who underwent the same surgery with the same surgeon also developed similar complications," Catherine told the group. Major Burns had come into the Mess Tent during the middle of her speaking and had forced Radar to move over so he could sit next to Major Houlihan.
"And which of us was responsible for that?" Colonel Potter asked Catherine as she sat back down, Hawkeye on her right side and B.J on her left. Catherine's eyes widened; she hated tattling on people, but knew it would help other patients in the future.
"Uh, it was Major Burns, sir," she replied.
"Well, that's one on me," Major Burns replied, grinning and then sipping his cup of coffee.
"Well, he's certainly being a good sport about it," Hawkeye told B.J and Catherine.
"I'd say," B.J replied. Catherine leaned towards Hawkeye and whispered in his ear,
"Why is he so happy? Does he know, yet?" She asked. Hawkeye ignored the shiver that crept down his back from her breath on his ear.
"He has no idea. We tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen," Hawkeye whispered back. Catherine sat up straight and put a hand on her forehead.
"I think I need to lie down," she groaned.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Burns?" Colonel Potter had asked the man while the two officers had had their private conversation.
"Colonel, exteriorizing takes time. I'm a busy man. I've got things to do. I'm sorry," the Major replied. Margaret's eyes widened at Frank's response.
"Major Burns, he nearly died," she said. Major Burns turned to look at her,
"Well, I said I'm sorry. You don't have to make a federal case out of it." Catherine couldn't just sit by and let the man gloss over the point.
"Major Burns, a man's life was at stake. As a doctor, you took an oath to do no harm. Whatever else you have going on can wait if it means the patients leaving our hospital have had the best of care we can give them," she chastised. Major Burns guffawed at the strength the nurse showed towards him. B.J and Hawkeye clapped.
"One of the great public speakers of our time," B.J said.
"My student council could have used someone like her," Hawkeye added. "From now on, it's strictly by the book," Colonel Potter cut in, "this happens again, it goes on your record."
"Okay. I thought this was going to be a fun meeting," Major Burns replied. Everyone at the table collectively groaned softly.
"Dismissed," Colonel Potter told them.
"Let's go in the den and watch t.v," Hawkeye told everyone as he smacked the table. Catherine stood up and walked to Radar, who had been taking minutes of the meeting.
"I owe you so many Grape Nehi's, Radar. I'm so sorry I drank your gift and then...cried on your bed," she whispered to him. Radar smiled at her,
"It's okay, Major. I hope you're doing better."
"I am, thank-you for getting help." The two walked to join Colonel Potter, B.J, and Hawkeye at the coffee station. They were all waiting for Margaret to tell Frank her "good news".
"Oh Margaret, I could hardly contain myself. When's my promotion coming through?" Frank asked her. The woman couldn't wipe the wide grin off of her face, even as she replied,
"You're not getting promoted, Frank."
"I'm not?"
"No," she assured.
"But what about the good news?" He asked. Margaret started waving her ring-fingered hand under his face. "Look."
"What?" Frank didn't see the ring.
"Look! Look." Margaret shook her hand more aggressively, trying to draw his attention to it.
"Is there a bee on me?" Frank asked. Catherine hid her face in Hawkeye's back.
"I can't look, it's too horrible," she mumbled.
"Frank, I'm showing you my engagement ring." Frank finally saw the tiny rock on the gold band around Margaret's ring finger.
"What?" he asked quietly.
"I'm going to be married," Margaret replied.
"Get ready to duck. He's liable to explode," Hawkeye said to the group of on-lookers. Catherine peeked out from behind him, using the taller men as cover.
"Do you like it, Frank?" What do you think?" Margaret asked.
"Does she really not remember that they were knocking boots only a couple of weeks ago? How on earth is he supposed to feel? Happy?" Catherine asked, making the group of men look back at her because of her...frankness. Frank took a second to answer,
"I think it's lovely," he told Margaret.
"I think I'm gonna faint," Radar whispered.
"Me too," Catherine replied.
"Really?" Margaret asked the man, staring at the ring herself.
"Have I ever lied to you? Congratulations," Frank said.
"Oh, I'm so happy, Frank."
"If you're happy, I'm happy," Frank said, shaking Margaret's hand as he stood up. The group watched him walk to leave the Mess Tent. He ripped both of the screened tent doors off of their hinges as he left, then calmly walked away, hands behind his back. Margaret didn't even notice. The group of onlookers let out a collective breath.
"Well, that worked out all right," Hawkeye comments. Catherine came out of hiding and sighed.
"I like the shirt, Catherine," B.J was the first to say something to her about it. She smiled,
"Thank-you, B.J. It was my fiance's. Well, it belonged to Alex. It helps me feel better." And the shirt did help. It helped Catherine feel warm and peaceful as she spent the rest of the afternoon and night roaming around the camp, visiting patients, and eventually in her tent as she wrote her weekly letter to Charles. She didn't want to tell Charles about her break-down, but she also knew that he would want to know. The man had seen Catherine in far worse states and had been there to yank her from even the darkest of pits.
By the next morning, patients were coming in and Catherine had left the blue-jean shirt in her wardrobe, not requiring its assistance anymore.
"How's Burns taking it?" Colonel Potter asked the two captains as they all scrubbed and prepared for surgery. Catherine was braiding her hair to tuck under her scrub cap.
"Pretty hard. He was clucking like a chicken last night," Hawkeye replied, while putting on his mask.
"Well, that's not so bad," Potter commented.
"Nine straight hours?" B.J asked. Catherine whistled in amazement. "Well, we can use the eggs," Potter replied, making Catherine chuckle.
"I pity the first enlisted man he sees," Hawkeye said, "he'll eat him alive." Major Burns came into the changing room and said "hello" to everyone multiple times. His calmness scared Catherine and she hoped she was assisting another surgeon.
"A lot of pressure on his cork. I think he's ready to pop," Colonel Potter said. Catherine slid next to B.J and started scrubbing.
"I'll see that he gets the kiddie scalpel, the one with the rubber blade. Catherine can assist him, too. Burns likes her," Hawkeye replied. Catherine groaned under her mask.
"Just keep an eye on him," B.J said to her as they scrubbed, "if anything goes wrong, Hawk or I will step in."
"Hey B.J, Hawkeye, I got penicillin from the guy at regular price," Radar said while coming into the scrub room, "it's all good stuff too. Look at that," he showed them the box. Frank burst into the room through the changing room curtain,
"Just a second. Black Market, huh? Regular price, huh?" He asked. Catherine knew that Major Burns would jump on Radar for not being "military efficient" and ordering supplies from Supply. Catherine saw the fear on Radar's face.
"Yes, sir," Radar replied.
"Good work, soldier. You may have saved lives," Frank said and gently touched his knuckles underneath the Corporal's chin. Catherine thought the boy was going to pass out.
"He touched me," he said.
"You want to press charges?" B.J asked him. Catherine finished up and headed to set up her instrument tray the way she liked it. She was nervous about working with Major Burns, but realized that he was hurting. Hopefully, he'd remember that he was married and get over the Major soon.
"And what a physique. Shoulders like this. Dancer's legs and a cute, little behind," Margaret bragged. Catherine rolled her eyes. Even though she wasn't facing the major, all she was hearing about was Donald Penobscott. It was annoying to Catherine and from the look on the surgeon's face, painful to Frank.
"That can be cured nowadays with a tushy transplant," Hawkeye commented, making Frank laugh along with Catherine.
"He's got medals all over his chest," Margaret didn't seem to get the hint.
"Must be tough to get his shirt on," B.J said.
"A wimp he is not. He's all man," Margaret droned on and on.
"Major Houlihan, please. Not everyone wants to hear every detail about your
fiance and his body," Catherine said.
"And some salt, please, for Frank's wounds, compliments of Major Houlihan," Hawkeye added.
"Captain Pierce, must you comment on everything I say? And Major O'Brien, Donald told me about the death of your fiance. My condolences if the pain and grief is still fresh, so my happiness is hard for you to stomach," Major Houlihan quipped. Catherine dropped the instrument she had on the tray with a clang! as the entire O.R went silent. She hadn't told anyone other than the two captains about the loss of Alex, let alone the fact that she had been engaged. Now, everyone in camp would know about it or hear about it if they weren't in the room. Catherine's face paled and she swore she could see through Frank to the wall behind him.
"Do you have to keep babbling about your tin soldier?" She heard Hawkeye ask the major, trying to deflect from the bombshell that had just been dropped.
"Major Burns, can you handle this while I step outside for a moment?" Catherine whispered to the surgeon in front of her. Frank nodded.
"Kellye, take over for Catherine while she gets some air," B.J said. Catherine couldn't move fast enough.
"It happens only once in a lifetime..." she thought she heard Frank say just before she threw up all over Uijeongbu. When she was finished emptying her stomach of its contents, she stared out into the Korean countryside. She didn't want to go back into the O.R and endure the staring or the questions about Alex and their almost marriage and what had taken him from her. She just wanted to be able to heal and move-on.
"You okay?" she heard B.J ask and felt his hand touch her shoulder. Catherine nodded,
"Like I said before, I will be. I just didn't expect everyone to know my business in a matter of minutes. I wanted to be able to talk about Alex on my own terms."
"Major Houlihan was wrong to talk like that in the O.R. And what Frank said? I think he's wrong. I think it can happen more than once in a lifetime," B.J replied, "I didn't know your fiance, but do you think he'd want you to grieve for him for the rest of your life?" Catherine knew the answer to the question immediately. Her and Alex had had many talks about what might happen if the war took them away from each other permanently.
"Sweetheart, if anything were to happen to me...because of this damn war...don't be sad forever. Promise me that, okay? Find a guy almost as good as me and let him be good to you." Catherine had laughed when Alex said that. She didn't know if she'd ever find a guy "almost as good" as Alex, or even close. She didn't know if she wanted to ever find a guy at all, but she did want to be happy.
"He would want me to live my life and be happy. We were having drinks this one night, in a public ba...maybe I should skip the details," Catherine saw B.J raise an eyebrow at her, "but he told me not to be sad forever if something were to happen to him."
"Your fiance..."
"Alexander, you can call him Alex," Catherine interrupted.
"Alex...sounds like our kind of guy," B.J said. Catherine smiled,
"He would have liked you and Hawkeye, and your still." She stretched her back just as Hawkeye came out of the hospital, rubbing his eyes.
"How's Major Houlihan?" B.J asked him.
"She'll live. She's a grown woman; semi-," Hawkeye replied. Catherine's eyes widened.
"What happened to Major Houlihan?" she asked.
"Frank stabbed her finger with a scalpel. I don't know if it was an accident or if he did it for himself, or maybe even for you," Hawkeye told her. The trio started walking back to their tents.
"I'm glad she's alright," Catherine said, "and remind me to buy Major Burns a drink," she finished, making the two doctors laugh.
"How are you doing?" Hawkeye focused his attention on Catherine. Catherine looked at B.J, who gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'm okay. One day at a time, right?" she replied. Hawkeye nodded at her, "well gentlemen, this is where I bid you adieu. Good night," she said as she slipped into her tent. It wasn't long before she was in her pajamas and fast asleep on her cot.
Despite hearing loud voices and a crash from Major Houlihan's tent in the middle of the night, Catherine wasn't too concerned until the next morning. Since she had skipped out on a shower after surgery last night, she had decided to take one early in the morning. It had been quiet and the water in the shower was hot. It helped Catherine wash away the previous day's emotional turmoil. Dressed in her silk, teal bathrobe, she walked back to her tent, only to see Major Burns walking into camp, leading a Korean family, with his gun. She quickly walked over and stood next to Hawkeye, who was gathered with B.J, Radar, and Colonel Potter. The group was watching Frank with wary eyes.
"Well, Major, if you had asked, I could've come and washed your back," Hawkeye flirted. Catherine rolled her eyes but smiled,
"I'm perfectly capable of washing my own back, Captain."
"Bully," he teased. B.J chuckled at the pair until the Colonel gave the trio a disapproving glance.
"Hup, two, three, four," the group heard Burns say as the family walked up to them, "hup, two, three, four. Company, halt. Halt! Did you hear me?" Burns called out to the family, who had brought a large ox along with them. "Major Burns presenting prisoners of war to be interrogated, sir!"
"War prisoners?" Colonel Potter asked angrily.
"A band of enemy guerillas for questioning, sir," Burns continued.
"Major, this family is no more guerillas than you or me," Catherine said to him, although she was ignored.
"They tried to trick me; masquerading as a Korean family having a meal," as Major Burns explained, B.J, Hawkeye, and Catherine walked to check on the family. Catherine joined B.J in checking on the children, her smile making them smile.
"Oh, that old ploy," Hawkeye said, "what tipped you off, Frank?"
"Oh, they're not very clever. They looked a little too much like a Korean family eating a meal," Burns replied.
"Midgets, right?" B.J asked while he was holding the young boy's hand. Catherine was braiding the young girl's hair gently, causing the mother to even smile at the nurse.
"Radar, see if they need medical attention. Then get them a good meal," Colonel Potter said as Radar also said the same thing, half of a second before the Colonel. Catherine listened in fascination. No wonder they called the young clerk "Radar".
"I think they may need clothes too, Colonel," Catherine commented.
"...and some extra provisions and some hay for the ox. Right away," Radar cut the major off, knowing exactly what she was going to say before she said it.
"Burns, I want you in my office. Pierce and Hunnicutt, I'd like you to be there, too," the Colonel said. Catherine said goodbye to the family and wiggled her fingers at B.J and Hawkeye before walking to her tent to get dressed. She pulled on her green, fatigue pants and a gray t-shirt. After she braided her long, auburn hair into two dutch braids, she walked to Radar's office to see if she could eavesdrop on the conversation with the four surgeons.
"Well, why did you let 'em go? There could've been a medal in it for me!" Burns exclaimed. Catherine stood at Radar's desk, listening.
"Hey Radar?" she asked the young corporal.
"Yes, Major?"
"I think a call from home may do the major some good. It helped when my brother and sister-in-law called after Alex died," she whispered to him. Radar nodded and started the call to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Catherine stood at the door to the office, listening to the conversation.
"Section 8?" she heard Frank holler and saw him swing his rifle towards the other surgeons. The doctors raised their hands up, nervous about what he might do.
"Radar? Any time right about now would be great," Catherine whispered. Radar motioned for her to open the door for him.
"Um, there's a phone call for Major Burns," he said. Catherine came up behind him.
"Here, Major Burns, I'll hold your gun for you, if you'll let me. Then, you can take your phone call."
"Who is it?" Major Burns asked the two at the door.
"I don't know, sir. It's long distance," Radar replied. Major Burns reluctantly handed Catherine the rifle and stepped to the phone. She immediately tilted the barrel away from the surgeons and made sure the safety was on before setting it on the floor, against the wall behind the door. Radar put a hand on his chest as he let out a breath. As the men listened on the other phone in the Colonel's office, Catherine walked to Frank and put a hand on his shoulder. As the major's phone call became more emotional, he gripped Catherine's hand in his own and leaned his head against her arm.
"Well, you're right, mom. What do I care? I can always find a new friend," Major Burns said. Catherine felt his shoulders slump in exhaustion, "Yeah. I am kinda sleepy. Nighty-night," he mumbled and slumped forward, fast asleep. Catherine grabbed the phone from his hand,
"Mrs. Burns? Thank-you, ma'am. Good-bye," she said and hung the phone up properly. The three doctors and Radar came out of the office and Catherine smiled at them.
"Thanks, Major. Boys, can you get him back to the Swamp?" Colonel Potter asked.
"Do we have a choice?" B.J asked as the two surgeons lifted their bunkmate. "Come on, Frankie, time for beddie-bye," Hawkeye joked.
"I'll get the doors for you guys," Catherine told them as she opened the office door and held it open until the officers walked through it.
"Mom, can I have a glass of water?" Frank asked and the two captains looked at Catherine, who rolled her eyes.
"Sure, Frank, I'll put it by your bed," the major said before the group walked to the Swamp.
In the coming days, Major Houlihan continued to spout pointless dribble and praise about her fiance. Catherine wasn't as upset when she heard this talk and for the most part, the people in the camp didn't ask about Alex, just nodded their heads in her direction, silently offering condolences. She missed him with a passion, but as each day passed, the grief was slowly dissipating. She would always love Alex.
"Can we join you, Major?" A voice asked and Catherine was snapped from her thoughts, looking up to see Hawkeye, B.J, and Frank with their trays full of breakfast food. She was munching on toast and sipping the hot coffee.
"Of-course, captains, and major," she replied. Margaret was at the next table over with a couple of the other nurses, bragging about none other than Lieutenant Donald Penobscott.
"Oh, good morning Major Houlihan," Burns said.
"Good morning Major Burns," Houlihan replied.
"Morning, Princess," Hawkeye commented to Houlihan, "and good morning to you, gorgeous," he added, looking at Catherine. She felt her blush redden her cheeks. "Listen, Pierce, why don't you and I go out on the town tonight, hmm?" Burns asked the captain.
"Well, this is so sudden, Frank. I don't have anything to wear," Hawkeye replied jokingly.
"Oh, I mean get a couple of nurses, go over to Rosie's Bar, have a little fun, hmm?" Frank clarified.
"Sounds good to me," Hawkeye replied. Suddenly, Catherine felt the major shift to look at her. She was sitting next to him with B.J on her other side.
"How about it, Catherine? Would you be my date to Rosie's Bar tonight? We've worked really well together in the O.R lately," Frank softly said to her. Catherine choked on her coffee, spitting the mouthful she had back into the mug. B.J patted her back, helping her not to choke.
"Uh, sure...Frank. We should all go out," Catherine replied, hoping the other doctors would chime in.
"Major O'Brien is a little young for you, isn't she Major Burns? No offense, Major," Houlihan commented. Catherine turned scarlett and sank lower in her seat, cowering next to B.J.
"Oh, I don't know. I thought a little youth might be nice for a change," Frank said and Catherine began to slide under the table.
"Get me out when the war's over," she commented to B.J, who promptly hoisted her back into her seat.
"I think the convoy just took a direct hit," he commented and Catherine covered her face with her hands.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll just go finish my letter," Major Houlihan said and left the Mess Tent.
"I really got her on that one, didn't I?" Frank said, chuckling. The three surgeons started chuckling and Catherine looked at her regurgitated mug of coffee regretfully. As her blush slowly faded, the four officers kept laughing together.