Disclaimer: The characters used in this story do not belong to me, but
they belong to M*A*S*H and its companies. I am not making a profit from
this story.
Title: Against All Odds: Many Unhappy Returns
Chapter 1
The sun was fading that evening in Korea. It drifted behind threatening storm clouds, casting shadows over all the world below. Two people were unaware, away in their own world. Trapper John McIntyre and Margaret Houlihan lay side by side on the grass, talking and sharing their innermost thoughts.
Having gone through so much since the passing of his dear wife and children, Trapper found that Margaret was his rock, and someone he loved with all his heart. He could lean on her at any time, and she knew exactly what to say or do to help him.
"Are you cold?" Trapper asked her. "Hey, you're shivering." He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.
"Thank you," she replied, moving closer to him.
Their best friends at the camp were Hawkeye Pierce and BJ Hunnicutt. Hawkeye had been Trapper's best friend from the start, and then BJ arrived sometime later and became an instant companion to the tent mates.
The relationship between Trapper and Margaret was not ordinary. They began as work colleagues, progressed to dislike each other and eventually became a couple. Margaret and one Major Frank Burns had always seen themselves as the perfect partners, but Margaret saw much more in Trapper than she ever did in Frank. There was the courage that Frank had lacked, the honesty, loyalty and stability, knowing that Trapper would be there for her whatever the problem.
Frank was a tense subject for both parties to talk about. For Trapper, he was someone to be compared to, and Margaret, because it was a part of her life that she would sooner forget. Still, there were times when it had to be talked about.
"It didn't feel real. Like a whirlwind romance, fast, unfeeling," Margaret explained. "When I'm with you, we take our time and talk more. It's not just our hearts, but more than that."
Hawkeye decided that the two were good for each other. Margaret would always be there for Trapper, no matter what, and Trapper would keep Margaret's feet on the ground and stop the Army way of life from going to her head.
"I wonder if Henry's found his present yet," Trapper mused, a grin forming on his face.
Margaret rolled her eyes. "What have you done to him now?"
"Well, you know, Henry's been different, sort of off, since we removed his appendix. So, to cheer him up, we found him a new one, and put it in his fishing hat where he is sure to find it."
Margaret laughed. "You three don't change. I'm surprised that Henry hasn't been shipped home in Klinger's Section 8 truck with all the stuff you've done to him." Although Klinger was less persistent about getting out of the army since his ordeal with the bus, it was still a standing joke within the camp.
"Well, we've been limited, since Frank left, of people to be the butts of our jokes. Henry is definitely the best one to play them on, and Radar comes in a very close second."
Margaret nodded, and the two went back to thinking for a minute. "It was right for you to stay in the Swamp, and not move into mine. Apart from the fact that its against the rules, not that the rules have stopped you before, but you three have got one of the strongest bonds of friendship I've ever seen. Especially you and Hawkeye," she added.
"Hawk's my best friend, the best I could ever have. He's been there for me from Day One, and visa versa." Trapper thought to those times. One of those times was when he tried to adopt Kim, the cutest boy in Korea. When that had fallen through, Hawkeye was there for him.
"BJ is like another pea in your pod. Did I hear that it was his idea to hang Klinger's underwear from the flagpole?"
"Yeah, it was," Trapper laughed. She was right, of course. BJ was not all that different from Hawkeye and himself. Full of quips, remarks and practical jokes on one side, and a highly skilled surgeon on the other.
There was another moment of silence between Margaret and Trapper. The couple were happy just to be in each other's company, occasionally sharing their thoughts. In actual fact, the couple were generally happy. Their love was deep, meaningful, and not fast-paced like other relationships they had been in.
The silence was only broken by a sudden rush of activity that seemed to arrive at once. The faint rumble of choppers could be heard, followed by an announcement on the PA system. "Attention all personnel. Incoming wounded. Both shifts to OR immediately. That's both shifts, it's gonna be a long one."
Margaret and Trapper were on their feet in seconds. It seemed that the announcement broke the clouds above, and the rain began to pour from skies above.
"Incoming rain, too," Trapper noted. He was about to sprint towards the OR when he witnessed a sickening sight in the sky. A chopper was in difficulty, and crashed not far from the minefield.
There was no hesitation in Trapper's mind as he raced to the site of the almighty blast. The remains of the chopper were still in flames, and there was nothing that could be done for the patient that had been riding on the side of aircraft. Instead, Trapper turned his attention to the pilot, who bad been thrown some distance away from the helicopter.
"Can you hear me?" After checking the damage, Trapper decided that he needed attention to the shoulder and chest, as well as treatment for burns. "You're going to be fine," he promised him. A stretcher arrived and the casualty was taken away. Trapper ran towards the OR, ready to start operating on some of the victims of war.
The OR was an example of an organised frenzy that evening. The wounded kept coming and coming, and the doctors kept mending them. One of the first patients to be operated on was Corporal Mark Seeley, the pilot in the chopper crash.
Trapper took care of this operation, mainly because it worked out that way. He secretly hoped that he would operate on him, because he was the one who had brought him and he wanted to see him through.
Radar entered the OR halfway through the session. "Sir," he began, talking to Henry Blake.
"We aren't giving out freebies today, Radar. Come back next week," Henry joked, lightening the tense mood.
"Sir, I was clearing up your desk and you still haven't opened that letter you received over a month ago. It's addressed to just you, privately, so I really can't open it. I know you can't open it now, but I still thought I'd remind you."
"Is it important, that letter?"
"Looks like it is," Radar reported.
"Well, put it on my desk or some other place I can't find it."
"Okay, sir."
"Brilliant, Henry. We'll win the war by ignoring all of our important mail," Hawkeye quipped.
"Oh boy," Trapper groaned. He was still working on Seeley, and the operation was not going as he had hoped.
"What's wrong?"
"I may need to amputate his arm. I mean, when this guy came it didn't look this bad, but now." Trapper trailed off.
Hawkeye peered over the patient, and pointed Trapper in the right direction. "There, he'll be flying choppers in no time," Hawkeye promised him.
After the session of surgery, BJ and Margaret sat in the Mess Tent, recovering from the gruelling hours in the O.R. They sipped stale coffee, praying for no taste.
"Tough day," Margaret murmured, half a question and half a statement.
"What day is it?" BJ asked. "I lost them all inside my patients."
"If that's the case, we probably lost about a month or two in OR."
"That many?" BJ was genuinely surprised. "I couldn't have done even a handful of them."
"That's because you had all the cases that took the time and blood. Don't doubt yourself, Beej, you're a great doctor."
BJ looked up and smiled. "I can see why Trapper fell in love with you." As Margaret blushed, BJ continued. "I can see a lot of Peg in you. You know exactly what to say to help someone."
Margaret shrugged. "Guess that's why I became a nurse."
"What. is. that?"
"You groaned, sir?"
"Radar, do you think I'm a bad commander, or even a bad person?"
Radar thought for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't really think I deserved an appendix in my fishing cap. Awh, look at that, there's bits of guts all over the place! It's stuck to one of the hooks!" Radar looked away, not really happy to see that so soon before breakfast.
Henry had just found the present from the three captains, and he was less than impressed. "Captains, times three. Take your pick. Well, Radar, this is the final straw."
"You're gonna bring them up on charges, sir?" Radar asked incredulously.
"I'm gonna do better than that, Radar."
The young corporal gasped. "You're gonna get them in front of a firing squad?"
Henry rolled his eyes. "No, no, no. I'm not Hitler, you know. No, my plan is better than that." Henry had it all figured out. For a long time, he had been the butt of almost every practical joke in the camp. The time had come to pay back the jokers.
Radar wondered what Henry had in mind. Double Post-Op duties? Enlisted work? Banned from R&R until further notice? Or worse. the job of cleaning the latrines? No, Radar thought. Henry was not that sort. But then, he did have that look in his eye. The last time he had that look. come to think of it, he had never had that look in his eye!
"All right, Radar. Listen to this. I know it breaks every rule in the book, and some rules that aren't even in the book, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Here's what we're gonna do."
BJ left the Mess tent long after Margaret had gone to bed. He was unusually restless after the surgery, so he decided to write to his wife and daughter. By the time he eventually finished, it was close to sunrise.
He crept back into the Swamp, trying not to wake Hawkeye and Trapper. As he sat on his bed, untying his bootlaces in the dark, he did not notice the shadowy figure creep through the doorway. By the time he felt the hand over his mouth and the pinprick in his back, it was too late. BJ could not help but slip into numb darkness.
Title: Against All Odds: Many Unhappy Returns
Chapter 1
The sun was fading that evening in Korea. It drifted behind threatening storm clouds, casting shadows over all the world below. Two people were unaware, away in their own world. Trapper John McIntyre and Margaret Houlihan lay side by side on the grass, talking and sharing their innermost thoughts.
Having gone through so much since the passing of his dear wife and children, Trapper found that Margaret was his rock, and someone he loved with all his heart. He could lean on her at any time, and she knew exactly what to say or do to help him.
"Are you cold?" Trapper asked her. "Hey, you're shivering." He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.
"Thank you," she replied, moving closer to him.
Their best friends at the camp were Hawkeye Pierce and BJ Hunnicutt. Hawkeye had been Trapper's best friend from the start, and then BJ arrived sometime later and became an instant companion to the tent mates.
The relationship between Trapper and Margaret was not ordinary. They began as work colleagues, progressed to dislike each other and eventually became a couple. Margaret and one Major Frank Burns had always seen themselves as the perfect partners, but Margaret saw much more in Trapper than she ever did in Frank. There was the courage that Frank had lacked, the honesty, loyalty and stability, knowing that Trapper would be there for her whatever the problem.
Frank was a tense subject for both parties to talk about. For Trapper, he was someone to be compared to, and Margaret, because it was a part of her life that she would sooner forget. Still, there were times when it had to be talked about.
"It didn't feel real. Like a whirlwind romance, fast, unfeeling," Margaret explained. "When I'm with you, we take our time and talk more. It's not just our hearts, but more than that."
Hawkeye decided that the two were good for each other. Margaret would always be there for Trapper, no matter what, and Trapper would keep Margaret's feet on the ground and stop the Army way of life from going to her head.
"I wonder if Henry's found his present yet," Trapper mused, a grin forming on his face.
Margaret rolled her eyes. "What have you done to him now?"
"Well, you know, Henry's been different, sort of off, since we removed his appendix. So, to cheer him up, we found him a new one, and put it in his fishing hat where he is sure to find it."
Margaret laughed. "You three don't change. I'm surprised that Henry hasn't been shipped home in Klinger's Section 8 truck with all the stuff you've done to him." Although Klinger was less persistent about getting out of the army since his ordeal with the bus, it was still a standing joke within the camp.
"Well, we've been limited, since Frank left, of people to be the butts of our jokes. Henry is definitely the best one to play them on, and Radar comes in a very close second."
Margaret nodded, and the two went back to thinking for a minute. "It was right for you to stay in the Swamp, and not move into mine. Apart from the fact that its against the rules, not that the rules have stopped you before, but you three have got one of the strongest bonds of friendship I've ever seen. Especially you and Hawkeye," she added.
"Hawk's my best friend, the best I could ever have. He's been there for me from Day One, and visa versa." Trapper thought to those times. One of those times was when he tried to adopt Kim, the cutest boy in Korea. When that had fallen through, Hawkeye was there for him.
"BJ is like another pea in your pod. Did I hear that it was his idea to hang Klinger's underwear from the flagpole?"
"Yeah, it was," Trapper laughed. She was right, of course. BJ was not all that different from Hawkeye and himself. Full of quips, remarks and practical jokes on one side, and a highly skilled surgeon on the other.
There was another moment of silence between Margaret and Trapper. The couple were happy just to be in each other's company, occasionally sharing their thoughts. In actual fact, the couple were generally happy. Their love was deep, meaningful, and not fast-paced like other relationships they had been in.
The silence was only broken by a sudden rush of activity that seemed to arrive at once. The faint rumble of choppers could be heard, followed by an announcement on the PA system. "Attention all personnel. Incoming wounded. Both shifts to OR immediately. That's both shifts, it's gonna be a long one."
Margaret and Trapper were on their feet in seconds. It seemed that the announcement broke the clouds above, and the rain began to pour from skies above.
"Incoming rain, too," Trapper noted. He was about to sprint towards the OR when he witnessed a sickening sight in the sky. A chopper was in difficulty, and crashed not far from the minefield.
There was no hesitation in Trapper's mind as he raced to the site of the almighty blast. The remains of the chopper were still in flames, and there was nothing that could be done for the patient that had been riding on the side of aircraft. Instead, Trapper turned his attention to the pilot, who bad been thrown some distance away from the helicopter.
"Can you hear me?" After checking the damage, Trapper decided that he needed attention to the shoulder and chest, as well as treatment for burns. "You're going to be fine," he promised him. A stretcher arrived and the casualty was taken away. Trapper ran towards the OR, ready to start operating on some of the victims of war.
The OR was an example of an organised frenzy that evening. The wounded kept coming and coming, and the doctors kept mending them. One of the first patients to be operated on was Corporal Mark Seeley, the pilot in the chopper crash.
Trapper took care of this operation, mainly because it worked out that way. He secretly hoped that he would operate on him, because he was the one who had brought him and he wanted to see him through.
Radar entered the OR halfway through the session. "Sir," he began, talking to Henry Blake.
"We aren't giving out freebies today, Radar. Come back next week," Henry joked, lightening the tense mood.
"Sir, I was clearing up your desk and you still haven't opened that letter you received over a month ago. It's addressed to just you, privately, so I really can't open it. I know you can't open it now, but I still thought I'd remind you."
"Is it important, that letter?"
"Looks like it is," Radar reported.
"Well, put it on my desk or some other place I can't find it."
"Okay, sir."
"Brilliant, Henry. We'll win the war by ignoring all of our important mail," Hawkeye quipped.
"Oh boy," Trapper groaned. He was still working on Seeley, and the operation was not going as he had hoped.
"What's wrong?"
"I may need to amputate his arm. I mean, when this guy came it didn't look this bad, but now." Trapper trailed off.
Hawkeye peered over the patient, and pointed Trapper in the right direction. "There, he'll be flying choppers in no time," Hawkeye promised him.
After the session of surgery, BJ and Margaret sat in the Mess Tent, recovering from the gruelling hours in the O.R. They sipped stale coffee, praying for no taste.
"Tough day," Margaret murmured, half a question and half a statement.
"What day is it?" BJ asked. "I lost them all inside my patients."
"If that's the case, we probably lost about a month or two in OR."
"That many?" BJ was genuinely surprised. "I couldn't have done even a handful of them."
"That's because you had all the cases that took the time and blood. Don't doubt yourself, Beej, you're a great doctor."
BJ looked up and smiled. "I can see why Trapper fell in love with you." As Margaret blushed, BJ continued. "I can see a lot of Peg in you. You know exactly what to say to help someone."
Margaret shrugged. "Guess that's why I became a nurse."
"What. is. that?"
"You groaned, sir?"
"Radar, do you think I'm a bad commander, or even a bad person?"
Radar thought for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't really think I deserved an appendix in my fishing cap. Awh, look at that, there's bits of guts all over the place! It's stuck to one of the hooks!" Radar looked away, not really happy to see that so soon before breakfast.
Henry had just found the present from the three captains, and he was less than impressed. "Captains, times three. Take your pick. Well, Radar, this is the final straw."
"You're gonna bring them up on charges, sir?" Radar asked incredulously.
"I'm gonna do better than that, Radar."
The young corporal gasped. "You're gonna get them in front of a firing squad?"
Henry rolled his eyes. "No, no, no. I'm not Hitler, you know. No, my plan is better than that." Henry had it all figured out. For a long time, he had been the butt of almost every practical joke in the camp. The time had come to pay back the jokers.
Radar wondered what Henry had in mind. Double Post-Op duties? Enlisted work? Banned from R&R until further notice? Or worse. the job of cleaning the latrines? No, Radar thought. Henry was not that sort. But then, he did have that look in his eye. The last time he had that look. come to think of it, he had never had that look in his eye!
"All right, Radar. Listen to this. I know it breaks every rule in the book, and some rules that aren't even in the book, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Here's what we're gonna do."
BJ left the Mess tent long after Margaret had gone to bed. He was unusually restless after the surgery, so he decided to write to his wife and daughter. By the time he eventually finished, it was close to sunrise.
He crept back into the Swamp, trying not to wake Hawkeye and Trapper. As he sat on his bed, untying his bootlaces in the dark, he did not notice the shadowy figure creep through the doorway. By the time he felt the hand over his mouth and the pinprick in his back, it was too late. BJ could not help but slip into numb darkness.