Disclaimer: You guys know that I don't own MASH even though I wish I did. I only own Bill, Lorraine's husband.
NB: Just to give you some background, Lorraine married Bill kind of like Margaret married Penobscott. Lorraine's father introduced them and they fell in love. Bill is a Major and Margaret has met him once. I know you guys wonder why Charles isn't in the picture. Well, I've decided that Charles is at a conference in Tokyo when Lorraine is brought in. No one could contact him. He knows that Lorraine is married.
Margaret's injured friend and realisation
Margaret was busy assisting Hawkeye in surgery. This session was a gruelling 23 hours. They'd had worse, but each session seemed more painful than the last.
H: "Rake retractor."
M: "Rake retractor."
H: "Clamp"
M: "Clamp"
H: "Suture"
M: "Suture"
"Margaret, I think we're finished with this young man." Margaret could only smile. This was quite a paradox considering the terrible situation they were all in. Smiling was the only salvation along with any other joking or banter between the doctors and nurses.
The MASH 4077th was not the typical military hospital. It was quite the opposite actually. However, their Regular Army Commander, Colonel Potter, allowed this because the medical team worked at its best without the military parades and other formalities. Their success rate was 98. This in itself showed how well they all worked together.
"Now Margaret darling, why don't you join me in the Swamp for a little fun?" Hawkeye said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Quit it, Pierce… I only see you in a PROFESSIONAL capacity ONLY!"
Margaret couldn't help but get lost in thought at that moment. That statement had not been particularly true. No, they were not a couple or anything similar, but Margaret had turned to Hawkeye many times for a bit of comfort, for a cry. She was only ever truly honest with him. He somehow managed to break down Major 'Hot Lips' Houlihan and turned her into Margaret Houlihan; no rank, no olive drab and no hiding behind military protocol. At those moments, Margaret was a wonderful, caring woman with A LOT of passion. Every kind of passion: Anger, Laughter, Dedication. She loved being a nurse, but she no longer loved being in the army. This was a change brought about by the two and a half years in combat and by Hawkeye. He was the most unmilitary man in the world, but his dedication to his patients taught her that to be a dedicated nurse, she didn't HAVE to be in the army. She could be a civilian nurse and do just as well.
"Hawkeye, Margaret, would you please come to my office after the OR session?" Potter made this sound like a request, but it was actually an order. Colonel Potter realised early on in his command that these people, being used to Henry Blake, would not be ordered around like in regular army camps. These people would follow a 'request', but not an 'order'. "Sure Colonel," Margaret and Hawkeye replied at the same time.
12 HOURS LATER IN COLONEL POTTER'S OFFICE
"Margaret, Hawkeye…" Colonel Potter looked very worried and they knew something was terribly wrong. "Colonel, what's going on?" Margaret was the first to ask.
"Captain, Major. The 8063rd has been completely overrun by the Chinese. They have lost many of the wounded… and Captain Lorraine Anderson has been severely injured. She's being transferred here. She might not make the flight, but if she does, Margaret, I know you girls are best friends, I want you and Hawkeye to be with her. Hawkeye will operate and you WILL NOT be assisting… Let me finish… You can take care of her in Post-Op." Margaret sat there in absolute shock. Colonel Potter did all he could do, he gave her a bottle of scotch.
"Does she have a chance Colonel?" Potter just gave a weak smile, hoping to give her hope.
"There's always a chance Margaret."
AROUND SIX HOURS LATER IN MARGARET'S TENT
"Hawkeye, what's gonna happen to Lorraine?" Margaret was pacing nervously. The operation had turned out well considering the damage, but she was touch and go.
"I think that if we keep an eye on her and she rests, she'll be ok. Unfortunately, she can't have children. I couldn't help her." Hawkeye was rather upset. He knew that most women dreamt of having children and he could not help one woman live that dream.
"I know and she'll be devastated. Maybe I should go and sit with her until she comes around."
Hawkeye gave her a warning look. "I've told you, BJ's on Post-Op duty and he said that he would send for you if Lorraine seemed to be waking up. There's no point in you being there. You need some rest because we have more casualties coming in at dawn." Margaret nodded and Hawkeye kissed the top of her head.
When Hawkeye left, Margaret could only sit on her bed and worry about her best friend. "Does she really have a chance? The belly wound she had was a huge mess… I hope she'll be ok… I guess with Hawkeye as her doctor, she'll be fine. How am I going to break the news to her that she can't have children? She recently married. How will Bill take it? I only wish that this had never happened." Margaret was a crying mess all night. Unfortunately, the North Koreans had other ideas in regards to sleep. SORRY FOLKS, INCOMING WOUNDED. COME AND PICK FROM A WIDE SELECTION WHILE THEY LAST. Margaret got up from the bed and ran out. She had a job to do and she was going to do it.
IN OR
Margaret was assisting Hawkeye at HIS request. Margaret suspected his reasons for requesting her, but she had to ask him anyway.
"Hawkeye, why did you request me?"
"Well Miss Houlihan, you are the best nurse in Korea for one," then he whispered to her, "I also wanted to make sure that you are ok." Margaret just smiled. They all kept working for another 25 hours in the adverse conditions they faced everyday.
AFTER OR
Margaret went to sit with Lorraine as soon as the OR session had ended. She still hadn't woken up, but she was stable. Her physical condition had improved since the day of the operation. Margaret sat there with her hand in Lorraine's when she felt her stir.
"Lorraine, are you awake?"
Lorraine opened her eyes and focused on Margaret. "Hey Mags, how do I look?"
Margaret could only hug her friend at first, but a few seconds later she turned into Major 'Hot Lips' Houlihan and responded. "Well, physically you are doing well. You were out for quite some time, but you were lucky that you made it here alive and that Hawkeye, uh, Captain Pierce, operated on you when he did. Your belly wound was pretty bad though…"
Lorraine sensed something more was wrong, but before she could ask Hawkeye showed up. He had Post-Op duty then. "Hi Captain Anderson, I'm Captain Pierce. I operated on you and I'm glad to see you nice and awake." Hawkeye smiled.
"Thank you for saving me Captain."
"It's all part of the service in this cesspool. There's also lice and dysentery included in the price." Hawkeye grinned and walked over to another patient.
"Margaret, you looked worried before. What do you wanna tell me?" Lorraine really knew her friend well and she did not like Margaret's 'worried' moments.
"Um, ok… I'm gonna tell you this as a friend, not as a nurse or Major in the US Army… Well, the belly wound you had was so severe that… you can't have children…" Margaret looked own, but could feel her friend sobbing. "Hawkeye did everything he could, believe me… He could do nothing."
Lorraine suddenly became very still and looked directly at Margaret. "What am I going to tell Bill? He's going to be so angry. Maybe he'll divorce me because I can't have any children. I couldn't handle that Margaret, I couldn't. I love him!"
Margaret just held her friend's hand. "It'll be ok. If he loves you, he'll stay. If he leaves, he's not worth the effort… Believe me, I know."
"Thanks Margaret."
A FEW DAYS LATER
Margaret was sitting in her tent crying. She cried for her friend and she cried because there was nothing to be done about her having children. Suddenly, there was a knock.
"Who is it?" Margaret wiped her tears away and tried to sound like Major Houlihan.
"It's me, Hawkeye. Can I come in?" Margaret got up and opened the door.
"What is it Hawkeye? Is Lorraine ok?"
"Margaret, she's fine. I came to see you. Are you ok? You've had a tough time. You've seen your friend almost die and then you told her about being unable to have children. You must be upset." Hawkeye knew he was right. Margaret's face was flushed and her eyes were puffy.
"Captain, I'm fine. I'm a nurse, I can take it." Hawkeye knew that she was lying. Whenever she called him 'Captain' she was hiding her feelings.
"Margaret, please talk to me. It's unhealthy to keep your emotions bottled up like that."
A few minutes later, after much persistence on the part of Hawkeye, Margaret broke down. She managed to tell him all her worries. "Here's the thing Hawk, watching Lorraine almost die and then telling her, a newly married woman, that she can't have children, is not easy. She's my best friend. At 15 we stole her father's medal and turned them into earrings! She was the closest friend I ever had in the army when I was growing up. She was the person I knew best and the only person who ever got to know me. I never hid my feelings from her because she could read me too easily, much like you can Hawkeye. Then, after telling her the news that could ruin her marriage, I began to think… You know, about the time I thought I was pregnant and how I HADN'T wanted to be. Now I think of how selfish I was. All Lorraine wanted was children and she can't have them… I still can and all I'm worried about is my career. Now all I want is to find a man that loves me and wants to have children with me. It's a lot to ask, but I only wish I had it." Margaret had begun to cry during the ordeal. Hawkeye held her in his arms while she sobbed quietly. Even though she let him see her feelings more than anyone else, she still hid her crying from him.
A few moments later, Hawkeye asked, "Margaret, have you ever thought that you already know this man that loves you and wants to have a family with you?" Hawkeye pulled her back and looked at her directly.
"Who Hawk?" After a while she understood.
"You, you want to be with me? You want to have a family with me? Why didn't you tell me?"
Hawkeye simply said, "I was scared that you didn't feel the same and that I would be rejected."
Margaret stared at him told him a truth that she had wanted to say for some time now. "Hawkeye, I love you and I have loved you for a while."
Hawkeye couldn't believe it. This wonderful, amazing woman loved HIM! "Margaret I love you too… Do you think this could work?"
Margaret smiled. "We can make this work."
AFTERNOTE
Lorraine eventually went back to the 8063rd and told Bill her news. He was shocked at first, but he decided that he loved Lorraine too much to let her go. They decided to adopt a little Korean girl who lived at Sister Theresa's Orphanage. Margaret helped them through Father Mulcahy. After the adoption, Lorraine applied for a transfer to a US base. Through influential generals 'known' to Margaret, the transfer was approved and Lorraine returned to the US with her daughter.
Hawkeye and Margaret, after a lot of work, made their relationship work. Just before the end of the war, Hawkeye proposed. Margaret decided that she would resign her commission and live in Crabapple Cove. She would work at Portland General as Head Nurse while Hawkeye was Chief Surgeon there too. Their life, riddled with troubles, was the best life both could have chosen.