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This next installment of my series picks up just a few days after my previous story. As of right now the SOT episode "Fighting Back" is now in full swing; and the very first scene of this chapter picks up right after a scene straight from that episode's beginning. So this means we aren't too far from seeing Kim Sutter finally join the gang. Meanwhile, you'll also notice this story will be crossing over with a very classic TV series M*A*S*H of which I've recently watched it's final episodes and was inspired. I hope you all enjoy this story and the exciting things it has in store!

YESTERDAY'S DREAMS

Chapter One

Trent Malloy couldn't quite push all of the cobwebs from his mind as he sat across from Carlos trying to figure out why the past few month's expenses were currently not looking very good for them. It wasn't until Butch wandered over and took over with his keen advice that the investigating pair realized how green they really were in this business. With Butch's advice in mind, Trent and Carlos hung up their metaphorical hats for the night and went their separate ways.

A smile twisted at Trent's mouth as he headed home in his own blue beauty knowing full well where Carlos was headed. Katheryn was meeting him at Reunion Tower for dinner. Carlos had been planning this night for days since returning from his harrowing small town conundrum and wasn't about to let anything stop him from going through with it.

Finally able to let himself think during the drive home, Trent remembered what had happened several nights ago…

"Can we talk?"

Trent couldn't quite figure out what he was feeling let alone figure out the look of shock that was probably on his face. Part of his was angry. Another part of him was elated. And still another part of him was completely stunned.

Katheryn was the first of them to break out of the shock and wrap Molly in a huge welcoming hug. The two girls smiled and cried a little. By now Trent and Carlos were on their feet, lingering oddly behind Kath to get in on the hugging action themselves.

After Carlos welcomed Molly with a brief embrace, Molly turned to Trent. It was an awkward dance as she eased into his space and wrapped her arms around him. He wanted to take her in his arms and not let go. But he was too late. She had already stepped back and was studying his face now. Both Carlos and Katheryn looked on eagerly with uncertainty as to what was running through their best friends' minds.

The din of C.D.'s was too much for his crowded mind, and Trent suggested they take a walk outside through the Stockyards. Hand-in-hand Carlos and Katheryn led the way out with Trent and Molly trailing behind.

Kath caught a glimpse at the couple before turning back to Carlos as they crossed the quiet sunset street. "I had no idea she was coming."

"I know," Carlos nodded. "You would've told us if you had. I hope everything's okay."

"Yeah. Me too."

"So," Trent cleared his throat, uttering his first words to Molly while they walked by several shops behind Carlos and Katheryn. "Why are you back?" Immediately he regretted how harsh that had sounded.

"Well, the apartment I applied for fell through. Or rather it went to another person. I guess I could have looked at others. But I didn't have the heart. I guess it was fate's way of saying I didn't belong there."

"Hey, don't say that. You would have fit in well. You light up any place you go to."

Molly blushed, issuing a smile. "I don't know about that."

"It's true," Trent reiterated, also flashing a smile. He wasn't sure if it would be welcome or not. But he gently guided his hand into Molly's. To his surprise, she accepted the gesture, their eyes immediately meeting as their skin touched. "I'm truly glad you came back," Trent said while he still held her gaze.

"Me too," Molly replied in a glazed over tone and quickly looked away to Carlos and Katheryn. "So why don't he just ask her to marry him already?"

Trent chuckled under his breath. "Trust me. He wants to. I'm sure he'll get the guts one of these days."

The two couples spent the rest of the evening in nearby shops until making their way back to C.D.'s for a late night dinner. They stayed there well into the night talking and reminiscing, reliving their good times together with an equal helping of laughter and tears. By the time they all went home, it was as if no time had passed since any one of them had left the city.

"So how's the bookkeeping going?" Katheryn asked in between bites of her salad, gazing across the dark room as the scintillating lights of the Omni Hotel from below the tower caught her eye.

Carlos took a sip of his drink and let out a long sigh. "A pain in the butt to be honest with you. Butch says we need some help. He has a surprise waiting for us on Monday too."

"You should just let me handle it," Kath insisted for the fortieth time that week.

"Kath, you said yourself you wanted to get back into the street work more and put in more time at the H.O.P.E. center. There's also Alex's wedding. You're going to be a bridesmaid. And what about Tandy's first tournament next month? You promised you'd help her with that. And…"

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Katheryn laughed. "I get the point. And you're right. You need someone that can stay at the office regularly and not be disturbed. And God only knows answering phones isn't my best quality."

Carlos squeezed Kath's hand from across the table. "Hey, I still love you."

Kath blushed. "And I love you too. Now eat. We don't want to be late."

"Late for what?"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

Carlos deadpanned.

"Roscoe needs help transferring some donations from the church to the H.O.P.E. center."

Carlos' heart sank. "And you had to promise to do that tonight? This is our date night."

"I know," Kath replied penitently. "I remembered literally right before I left the apartment an hour ago."

"Alright." Carlos surrendered. He had had this night planned out perfectly. But it apparently wasn't meant to be. Far be it from him to mess with charity work for his own selfish desires.

But Katheryn could see how much Carlos was upset and reached for his hand this time as their eyes met. "Hey, I'll call Roscoe and ask if I can go over in the morning. I'm sure he won't mind."

"No it's okay."

"No," Kath set her napkin aside and fumbled in her purse for a few coins. "This is our night, she reminded him. "Just give me a moment at the trusty payphone…wherever it's at."

While Kath was gone, Carlos looked nervously behind him. And assuring himself it was safe, he reached inside his coat pocket and drew out the tiny ring box he had been keeping safe for about three weeks now. He flipped up the lid and held the ring next to the shimmering candlelight. Immediately a smile swept over him, carrying him deep into his imagination and what it would look like on his future wife's hand.

The waitress' voice scared him half to death as he turned to brush her away nervously, handing her an empty plate or two to hide the fact he had just jumped out of his skin.

As soon as the waitress was gone, Carlos returned to the ring box and gave it one last smile before tucking it away again lest another close call end his perfect plans for good.

"Well, that's settled," Kath announced with a breath of satisfaction as she settled back into her seat and began munching on her food again. By the third bite, she realized how quiet Carlos had gotten and noticed he was playing with the lone silverware next to his plate full of food.

"Carlos? Is everything okay?" Kath quizzed.

Carlos' brows perked up along with the rest of himself as he flashed a smile to reassure. Suddenly, he felt as if it was now or never, cleared his throat, reached in his pocket, and with a swift motion opened the box in front of the woman he loved. "Katheryn Beaumont, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

It was a good thing she had stopped eating or else Kath would have choked on her food as she swallowed hard, her mouth gaping open slightly as she processed the moment. Then shaking away the shock of it all she quickly answered to the affirmative and sprung from her seat to wrap Carlos in her arms. They quickly exchanged a few passionate kisses, drawing some curious glances and echoes of applause as the two became completely lost in the moment. Before she could fully realize it, Carlos was slipping the beautiful engagement ring on her finger.

In the aftermath of the evening as the two lovebirds walked to their cars, she watched the sparkle beneath the moonlight and realized how much Carlos had considered what she liked. It was perfect. But she almost didn't care about it. Her heart and mind rushed with joy, realizing how happy she was that she would get to spend the rest of her life with this man by her side. It was worth everything they had gone through to get to this very moment.

Four white tents dotted the dusty landscape. Each one was significant in size and house two of the team members at a time. The fourth one served as both the dining room and meeting hall every evening for the six team members to discuss the day's finding. So far they had spent three weeks on the former foreign battlefields and had not yet found anything exciting.

Murphy had unearthed a few dolls left over from children who had died at the hands of North Korea. Rivera located a staff of booze that was a few years old. Collins was elated to find some cigarette butts which he insisted had managed to not disintegrate since the war. Reed was tickled pink about the foliage he was collecting for a possible sale to a botanist he knew. And Lee was simply ready to go back home. It was hot, boring, and unbearable pain-staking looking for something that he had no idea what it would look like until they found it.

Lastly, their fearless leader Flores wouldn't let them give up. He was the one that had recruited this mission in the first place. And he was bound and determined they wouldn't leave South Korea's fields without something to make his company back home proud of.

"Yeah," Murphy scoffed over his campfire beans as he passed the salt to Collins. "The only reason you want to find treasure over here, Flores, is because you know the big man will hand out promotions soon, and you have to be the first in line."

"Maybe," Flores hissed. "And what do you care? All you've been doing is wandering the roads while the rest of make Swiss cheese out of Korea."

"Gentlemen, please," Collins interjected. "Let's not let our emotions overtake our common sense. It's perfectly normal that we might be a little agitated after three weeks out here alone. But it will be worth it in one way or another." He beamed a little brighter. "At best we learn a lot about ourselves to take home to our workplace."

Lee shook his fist in Collins' face. "I swear to God, Collins, if you make another happy ass comment like that, I'll make Swiss cheese out of your face."

"Alright!" Collins threw up his hands, shrinking back a bit. "I promise I'll shut up. I'm just trying to help."

Flores chuckled. "If you want to help," he nodded across the room towards a shovel, "then get to digging."

"I will!" Collins announced resolutely and marched over to the shovel. He glanced at the clock which had just struck 8 p.m. and smiled, "I'll see you chumps in the morning."

At approximately four in the morning, only Murphy had had enough strength to sit by the mess tent to watch Collins digging away at the soil like some lunatic. Numerous bets had already been placed on the little guy's success or failure. Lee had the most on the line since he was the only one to say he'd actually find something. Truth was he just wanted to get out of there, and it was a small hope he was clinging to.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Murphy jumped in his sleep, stirring himself awake. "Collins, stop," he mumbled gently through a yawn until he realized where he was and why he was still clutched to the entrance of the tent still half asleep. As his vision cleared, he could see Collins crouched on the ground next to a rather large hole, banging away with his shoe at some antiquated padlock on a large army green storage container.

Realizing what this could mean, Murphy clamored for his boots and charged across the small space, falling down next to his comrade. "Is it? Is it buried treasure?! Finally!"

"Hey, don't get to happy. This lock is jammed. There isn't any way we'll be getting this open without a key."

"No, step back," Murphy instructed and kicked the box in. It did far more damage to his toe than it did to the lock as was proven by the man's scream.

The other men soon heard the commotion and came stumbling from their beds, passing a pain-filled Murphy limping back to his tent on the way to see what Collins had found.

"What do we have here?" Flores beamed. "My! My! You've actually struck the motherlode!"

"Not really, sir," Collins frowned. "The lock is bolted shut."

Flores caught a glimpse of Murphy nursing his foot next to the mess tent. "Yeah, I can see that. I tell you what. You've done some good work men. Let's get some rest. We can open it in a few hours."

"What?!" most of the men cried out in unison.

"We could be on plane for the states in a few hours if that box has what we came for in it!" Lee pointed out rather emphatically. "Let's open it now."

"Yeah!" Murphy chimed in from a few yards away.

"Alright," Flores lifted his hands in surrender and returned a few moments later with a freshly-sharpened pickax. "Step aside, men. This could get ugly."