A/N: I do not own the M*A*S*H characters. This is a work of fiction.
No infringement upon copy write was intended.
Please be gentle on me, this is my first fan fic. Reviews are welcome, and please feel free to submit suggestions. This story is dedicated to one of my best buddies, LadyAvalon02. You don't let me get away with anything do you? Thanks for all those times you encouraged (or forced, whatever) me not to drop a story. Good luck with Georgie, Paulie, and Ben!
* * *
"Whose she?" Trapper inquired, tilting his head a little to indicate a stunning young woman standing beside a jeep outside of Henry's office.
"I don't know, but I hope she's here to stay." Hawkeye replied looking up from his martini glass.
"Amen, I could spend a lifetime getting to know that body."
"You're sick! Don't you two have any respect for anything?" Frank exclaimed from his corner of the Swamp.
"Of course we do Frank, we respect good booze and easy women." Trapper replied.
He and Hawkeye clinked their glasses in a triumphant toast as Frank stormed out of the swamp grumbling disgustedly.
"Good one Trap."
"Why, thank you Hawk."
"You've certainly hit your stride. That's the fifth time in three days Frank's run out on us."
"It's a gift. I'm gonna go see if our new friend needs someone to show her around our humble little compound."
"Too bad the maid didn't come today. We don't want her to get the idea that we live like pigs."
Trapper flashed his world-famous smile and strolled over to the beautiful young woman who was now talking to Radar.
"Do you need any help with your bags Ma'am?"
"No thanks Radar. I can carry them myself. You could point me in the general direction of my tent though, if you don't mind."
"I'd be happy to do that for you." Trapper offered politely.
"Thank you, Captain." She responded, obviously pleased.
He lifted her bags from the back of the jeep before she had a chance to object, and began walking in the direction of her tent. "I don't believe I caught your name back there." He said as she fell into step beside him.
"Captain Casey McGuire." She greeted. "And yourself?"
"Trapper John McIntyre."
Casey laughed good-naturedly. "Ya'll aren't much for formality here, are you?"
Trapper turned to her for a moment and replied honestly. "No, I guess we aren't. I'll warn you now Casey, regular Army types usually don't last long around the 4077th."
"That's good to hear. I'm not a regular Army type, I'm a Marine. I think I can handle just about anything ya'll can throw at me."
"I like you." Trapper announced with a twinkle in his eye and an approving smile. "You've got spunk and you know how to handle yourself."
"Thank you. It's nice to know I'm making a good impression on my first day."
"You're gonna get along great with the rest of the camp." He assured her as he placed her bags on her cot. "How would you like a guided tour of the camp?"
"I'd love it."
"Good, come on. Our first stop is the Mess tent. I have good news and bad news regarding this destination. Which do you want first?"
"Let's go ahead and get the bad news out of the way first."
"Ok, the bad news is that after eating in there you may need medical attention. The good news is that you're surrounded by doctors, nurses, and corpsmen who are immune to its effects."
"Thank the Lord." Casey commented entering the Mess tent and following him through the line.
"What is this?" A man in front of them asked in a disgusted yet thoroughly amused tone.
"The orange stuff is refried beans and the green stuff is peas." Igor replied.
"Let me guess, these beans have been refried through the generations since the Civil War."
"This is disgusting. It's got to be against even the Army's regulations." Trapper quipped as Igor filled his tray with food.
"Hey, don't blame the server. I didn't cook it. If you want to complain go to the cook." Igor replied defensively.
"We might just do that." Trapper threatened jokingly.
Trapper and Casey walked over to a table and sat down across from the man who had been in front of them in line.
"Casey, I would like to introduce you to one of the finest surgeons in Korea, and one of my best friends in the world. Hawkeye, this is Captain Casey McGuire of the United States Marine Corps."
"It's nice to meet you Hawkeye." Casey greeted happily.
"It's always nice to meet a beautiful woman. So, what's a Marine doing in a M*A*S*H unit?"
"I get asked that all the time. The answer is, I'm a nurse. I've been working in Tokyo since I was called over here, and when they told me they were shipping me off to a M*A*S*H unit, where my skills would be better appreciated, I requested a transfer here because of your record and reputation."
"You know, you're not the first Marine we've had here. You should meet my girlfriend. The two of you would get along great. She's a stubborn Jarhead much like yourself."
"That was awfully rude of you." Casey joked. "How do you know all Marines are stubborn?"
"I'm dating one." He replied matter-of-factly. "If the men in combat are anything like the women in relationships I wouldn't be surprised if we won this war in not time flat."
Just as Casey was about to make a wisecrack about Hawkeye's remark an announcement began blaring over the PA.
"Attention all personnel, attention all personnel. Incoming choppers, I repeat, incoming choppers. All available staff to the OR."
"Damn!" Hawkeye exclaimed slamming his fork down on his tray. "Welcome to the 4077th. Not the best way to start your first day, but it's easiest if you jump in head first."
"Come on Casey, I'll show you to the OR so you can scrub up." Trapper sighed dejectedly.
He placed his hand lightly between her shoulder blades and ushered her through the door and towards to hospital ahead of him.
"This is our world Case." Hawkeye announced grimly, indicating the many stretchers lying in the middle of the compound.
"The average age of these boys is nineteen. Some never make it to twenty." Trapper added laying his hand on one of her shoulders.
"They're not boys." She corrected softly. "If they're old enough to die for other people's freedom, then they're old enough to be considered men."
"How right you are." Henry sighed from behind them.
"Oh, hello Henry. Casey McGuire, this is our commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake." Trapper said.
"Now what was that for?" Henry exclaimed feigning indignity. "You two never use rank. What's the big idea?"
"You don't use rank around here?" Casey queried.
"Not unless it's absolutely necessary." Hawkeye informed her.
"Well then, it's nice to meet you Henry." She beamed holding out her hand.
"The feeling's mutual." He assured her with an interested gleam in his eye.
"Now Henry, we have wounded to tend to before you start wooing her." Trapper teased.
"Yeah, Henry, we saw her first!" Hawkeye added sticking his tongue out.
"Alright get over here and help with triage, McIntyre. Hawkeye, take Casey in and get scrubbed up so you can help in the pre- op." Henry ordered.
* * *
"I can't believe they expect surgeons to work under these conditions!" Frank whined after twelve hours of surgery.
"Frank, quit complaining. Twelve straight hours of surgery is bad enough without having to listen to you." Hawkeye replied from across the room.
"We can't even get decent assistants." Frank continued, receiving an icy glare from Margaret. "Except for you, of course, Major."
"Most of these boys wouldn't survive if we didn't have the expert assistance of our nurses, Frank. Keep that in mind before you insult them again." Henry warned.
"Yes Sir." Frank whimpered.
"Klinger, we need another unit of whole blood over here!" Hawkeye called.
"I'll be right there, Sir." Klinger replied.
"I'm done here." Trapper announced. "Bring in another contestant."
Klinger and another corpsman rush in with a badly wounded young soldier. "This one's bad, Captain. He's got multiple chest and belly wounds."
"Hawk, are you almost done over there?" Trapper called to his friend.
"Close for me would you, Sugar?" Hawkeye asked his nurse.
"Yes Doctor." She replied, winking at him.
"What do you need Trap?" He moaned sleepily.
"I'm gonna need your help with this kid. He's got some pretty bad chest wounds and you're the best thoracic surgeon in Korea. Casey, could you assist? This'll be good experience for you."
"I'll see what I can do." Hawkeye sighed distractedly, examining the wounds. "Put him under. Let's get this over with."
"I object to this Colonel!" Frank protested. "They cannot risk a soldier's life to teach a new nurse the ropes!"
"Frank, worry about your own patient! Casey is one of the best nurses over seas! That young man is in good hands." Henry snapped back at him.
Ignoring Frank's grumbling they began working feverishly to save the young man lying before them. After twelve more hours and four pints of blood Trapper closed the last incision and ripped off his gloves.
"Casey, are you ok?" He asked her worriedly.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just exhausted. Ya'll did fantastic work."
"We only did what was necessary to keep that kid alive." He replied modestly.
"It was incredible."
"We're done here, bring in another one." Trapper called.
"Trapper, Casey, go take a break. Ya'll have been on your feet for twenty-four hours. You're the only two who haven't left the OR since the casualties started arriving." Henry observed.
"Alright Henry. Come on Casey. How about we go get some coffee?" Trapper yawned, turning to Casey.
"I think I'm too tired to swallow." She mumbled jokingly.
"She wasn't joking about being tired." Hawkeye announced as Trapper stepped forward to catch Casey's sagging figure.
"No, she certainly wasn't." Trapper agreed scooping her into his arms and moving to leave the OR.
"Here, let me get that for you, Sir." Klinger offered holding the doors as Trapper carried Casey out and set her gently on a spare stretcher.
"Sweet dreams, Casey. You did good work." He whispered as he sat down next to her and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Klinger held out to him.
Please be gentle on me, this is my first fan fic. Reviews are welcome, and please feel free to submit suggestions. This story is dedicated to one of my best buddies, LadyAvalon02. You don't let me get away with anything do you? Thanks for all those times you encouraged (or forced, whatever) me not to drop a story. Good luck with Georgie, Paulie, and Ben!
* * *
"Whose she?" Trapper inquired, tilting his head a little to indicate a stunning young woman standing beside a jeep outside of Henry's office.
"I don't know, but I hope she's here to stay." Hawkeye replied looking up from his martini glass.
"Amen, I could spend a lifetime getting to know that body."
"You're sick! Don't you two have any respect for anything?" Frank exclaimed from his corner of the Swamp.
"Of course we do Frank, we respect good booze and easy women." Trapper replied.
He and Hawkeye clinked their glasses in a triumphant toast as Frank stormed out of the swamp grumbling disgustedly.
"Good one Trap."
"Why, thank you Hawk."
"You've certainly hit your stride. That's the fifth time in three days Frank's run out on us."
"It's a gift. I'm gonna go see if our new friend needs someone to show her around our humble little compound."
"Too bad the maid didn't come today. We don't want her to get the idea that we live like pigs."
Trapper flashed his world-famous smile and strolled over to the beautiful young woman who was now talking to Radar.
"Do you need any help with your bags Ma'am?"
"No thanks Radar. I can carry them myself. You could point me in the general direction of my tent though, if you don't mind."
"I'd be happy to do that for you." Trapper offered politely.
"Thank you, Captain." She responded, obviously pleased.
He lifted her bags from the back of the jeep before she had a chance to object, and began walking in the direction of her tent. "I don't believe I caught your name back there." He said as she fell into step beside him.
"Captain Casey McGuire." She greeted. "And yourself?"
"Trapper John McIntyre."
Casey laughed good-naturedly. "Ya'll aren't much for formality here, are you?"
Trapper turned to her for a moment and replied honestly. "No, I guess we aren't. I'll warn you now Casey, regular Army types usually don't last long around the 4077th."
"That's good to hear. I'm not a regular Army type, I'm a Marine. I think I can handle just about anything ya'll can throw at me."
"I like you." Trapper announced with a twinkle in his eye and an approving smile. "You've got spunk and you know how to handle yourself."
"Thank you. It's nice to know I'm making a good impression on my first day."
"You're gonna get along great with the rest of the camp." He assured her as he placed her bags on her cot. "How would you like a guided tour of the camp?"
"I'd love it."
"Good, come on. Our first stop is the Mess tent. I have good news and bad news regarding this destination. Which do you want first?"
"Let's go ahead and get the bad news out of the way first."
"Ok, the bad news is that after eating in there you may need medical attention. The good news is that you're surrounded by doctors, nurses, and corpsmen who are immune to its effects."
"Thank the Lord." Casey commented entering the Mess tent and following him through the line.
"What is this?" A man in front of them asked in a disgusted yet thoroughly amused tone.
"The orange stuff is refried beans and the green stuff is peas." Igor replied.
"Let me guess, these beans have been refried through the generations since the Civil War."
"This is disgusting. It's got to be against even the Army's regulations." Trapper quipped as Igor filled his tray with food.
"Hey, don't blame the server. I didn't cook it. If you want to complain go to the cook." Igor replied defensively.
"We might just do that." Trapper threatened jokingly.
Trapper and Casey walked over to a table and sat down across from the man who had been in front of them in line.
"Casey, I would like to introduce you to one of the finest surgeons in Korea, and one of my best friends in the world. Hawkeye, this is Captain Casey McGuire of the United States Marine Corps."
"It's nice to meet you Hawkeye." Casey greeted happily.
"It's always nice to meet a beautiful woman. So, what's a Marine doing in a M*A*S*H unit?"
"I get asked that all the time. The answer is, I'm a nurse. I've been working in Tokyo since I was called over here, and when they told me they were shipping me off to a M*A*S*H unit, where my skills would be better appreciated, I requested a transfer here because of your record and reputation."
"You know, you're not the first Marine we've had here. You should meet my girlfriend. The two of you would get along great. She's a stubborn Jarhead much like yourself."
"That was awfully rude of you." Casey joked. "How do you know all Marines are stubborn?"
"I'm dating one." He replied matter-of-factly. "If the men in combat are anything like the women in relationships I wouldn't be surprised if we won this war in not time flat."
Just as Casey was about to make a wisecrack about Hawkeye's remark an announcement began blaring over the PA.
"Attention all personnel, attention all personnel. Incoming choppers, I repeat, incoming choppers. All available staff to the OR."
"Damn!" Hawkeye exclaimed slamming his fork down on his tray. "Welcome to the 4077th. Not the best way to start your first day, but it's easiest if you jump in head first."
"Come on Casey, I'll show you to the OR so you can scrub up." Trapper sighed dejectedly.
He placed his hand lightly between her shoulder blades and ushered her through the door and towards to hospital ahead of him.
"This is our world Case." Hawkeye announced grimly, indicating the many stretchers lying in the middle of the compound.
"The average age of these boys is nineteen. Some never make it to twenty." Trapper added laying his hand on one of her shoulders.
"They're not boys." She corrected softly. "If they're old enough to die for other people's freedom, then they're old enough to be considered men."
"How right you are." Henry sighed from behind them.
"Oh, hello Henry. Casey McGuire, this is our commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake." Trapper said.
"Now what was that for?" Henry exclaimed feigning indignity. "You two never use rank. What's the big idea?"
"You don't use rank around here?" Casey queried.
"Not unless it's absolutely necessary." Hawkeye informed her.
"Well then, it's nice to meet you Henry." She beamed holding out her hand.
"The feeling's mutual." He assured her with an interested gleam in his eye.
"Now Henry, we have wounded to tend to before you start wooing her." Trapper teased.
"Yeah, Henry, we saw her first!" Hawkeye added sticking his tongue out.
"Alright get over here and help with triage, McIntyre. Hawkeye, take Casey in and get scrubbed up so you can help in the pre- op." Henry ordered.
* * *
"I can't believe they expect surgeons to work under these conditions!" Frank whined after twelve hours of surgery.
"Frank, quit complaining. Twelve straight hours of surgery is bad enough without having to listen to you." Hawkeye replied from across the room.
"We can't even get decent assistants." Frank continued, receiving an icy glare from Margaret. "Except for you, of course, Major."
"Most of these boys wouldn't survive if we didn't have the expert assistance of our nurses, Frank. Keep that in mind before you insult them again." Henry warned.
"Yes Sir." Frank whimpered.
"Klinger, we need another unit of whole blood over here!" Hawkeye called.
"I'll be right there, Sir." Klinger replied.
"I'm done here." Trapper announced. "Bring in another contestant."
Klinger and another corpsman rush in with a badly wounded young soldier. "This one's bad, Captain. He's got multiple chest and belly wounds."
"Hawk, are you almost done over there?" Trapper called to his friend.
"Close for me would you, Sugar?" Hawkeye asked his nurse.
"Yes Doctor." She replied, winking at him.
"What do you need Trap?" He moaned sleepily.
"I'm gonna need your help with this kid. He's got some pretty bad chest wounds and you're the best thoracic surgeon in Korea. Casey, could you assist? This'll be good experience for you."
"I'll see what I can do." Hawkeye sighed distractedly, examining the wounds. "Put him under. Let's get this over with."
"I object to this Colonel!" Frank protested. "They cannot risk a soldier's life to teach a new nurse the ropes!"
"Frank, worry about your own patient! Casey is one of the best nurses over seas! That young man is in good hands." Henry snapped back at him.
Ignoring Frank's grumbling they began working feverishly to save the young man lying before them. After twelve more hours and four pints of blood Trapper closed the last incision and ripped off his gloves.
"Casey, are you ok?" He asked her worriedly.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just exhausted. Ya'll did fantastic work."
"We only did what was necessary to keep that kid alive." He replied modestly.
"It was incredible."
"We're done here, bring in another one." Trapper called.
"Trapper, Casey, go take a break. Ya'll have been on your feet for twenty-four hours. You're the only two who haven't left the OR since the casualties started arriving." Henry observed.
"Alright Henry. Come on Casey. How about we go get some coffee?" Trapper yawned, turning to Casey.
"I think I'm too tired to swallow." She mumbled jokingly.
"She wasn't joking about being tired." Hawkeye announced as Trapper stepped forward to catch Casey's sagging figure.
"No, she certainly wasn't." Trapper agreed scooping her into his arms and moving to leave the OR.
"Here, let me get that for you, Sir." Klinger offered holding the doors as Trapper carried Casey out and set her gently on a spare stretcher.
"Sweet dreams, Casey. You did good work." He whispered as he sat down next to her and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Klinger held out to him.