I don't own MASH.
Jackie took a deep breath as she continued to clean the kitchen floor on her hands and knees. She stopped for a moment and wiped the sweat from her brow.
She glanced up at the stove for a moment, keeping an eye on timer there. Dinner would be ready soon and she still needed to finish the floors, set the table and wash the dishes from dinner.
Her parents had been furious when she had returned, complete with a dishonorable discharge for Jack. She had been berated, yelled at and then punished.
Unfortunately her punishment meant the loss of jobs for nearly everyone in her parents' home. She had become the maid, the cook, the butler, the gardener, everything.
The timer dinged and she stood up as quickly as she could, nearly slipping on the wet floor. She took a deep breath before moving over to the stove. She quickly took the sauce off the stove and kept moving until dinner was ready to be served.
She moved into the dining room and went about setting the table. Three diners and three places set. She wasn't allowed to eat at the table anymore. Her brother had been staying at a friend's place and was coming home tonight.
She was moving so quickly she never registered the body at the doorway until she turned to head back into the kitchen. She froze at the sight of her brother.
The same brown hair, same blue eyes. If their genders had been the same she was sure they would have been identical. His broader frame and slightly taller height being the major differences between them.
He was looking at her with a firm gaze, as if seeing her for the first time.
"Jack?"
He took a couple steps forward and grabbed her softly. She looked at her brother with confused eyes. "Jack?" she said, her tone growing more concerned.
He moved her top slightly and his eyes narrowed. Jackie turned to the see what her brother was staring at and froze.
Her injury, her scars. She took a step back from him and covered it quickly. "I have to go."
"Jackie..." He followed her into the kitchen. She didn't look at him as she went about grabbing the plates to take to the table.
As she went to pass him, he reached out an arm and blocked her path. "Jackie..." he said softly. She paused and looked up at him. "You got hurt."
"Jack, it's nothing."
"It's not nothing," he said firmly. "You got hurt...because of me."
She ducked under his arm. "It's nothing."
He followed her into the dining room again. She quickly went to work setting the table. Jack opened his mouth to say something when their mother waltzed into the room. She took one look at Jack and smiled.
"Jack! My dear child, you are home!"
She rushed over and pulled him into a hug. Jack returned it, but kept his eyes on Jackie. She didn't even look up at their mother's entrance.
His mother pulled back before turning to Jackie, instantly her smile disappeared. "Jackie, set an extra place at the table. We are expecting another guest."
Jackie nodded before walking back into the kitchen. His mother turned back to him and Jack focused on her.
"Mom, what is going on here? Why are you treating Jackie this way? Did you know that she was injured?"
His mother rolled her eyes. "Yes, how annoying. I cannot believe that she did this to you. Dishonorable discharge. Ugh!" She threw her hands in the air.
"Did you not hear me?" Jack said firmly. "She was hurt, severely. How can you treat her this way?"
His mother raised an eyebrow at him. "We have always punished her this way, but this time we had to be a bit more...forceful. After all, she ruined your life and our reputation."
"My life is fine," he said firmly. "And I don't give a damn about your reputation. My sister was injured, could have died, because I was scared. Scared to serve in the Army myself. I deserved to be discharged dishonorably."
His mother was staring at him with wide eyes. He had never spoken to her like this and she was in shock.
"Well!" she said firmly. "I will see you at dinner then." She turned and walked out of the room.
Jackie walked back in and continued to set the table. Jack walked around the table and stopped her, forcing her to turn and look at him.
"Listen to me, Jackie," he said firmly. "Do you know a Dr. Winchester?"
Jackie froze, her eyes widened. "What?" she said softly.
"Dr. Charles Winchester," Jack said slowly. "Do you know him?"
Jackie's pulse started to skyrocket. "Why..." she took a deep breath. "Why do you ask?"
Jack smiled. "He contacted me."
Jackie took a step back, her eyes even wider. "What!" Jack raised an eyebrow at her tone. Jackie didn't notice. She turned from her brother and ran a hand through her short hair. She looked nervous and worried.
He took a step forward and touched Jackie's shoulder. Jackie turned to him with those wide eyes. "So, I'm guessing you do know him," he said with a smile.
Jackie took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, he helped me heal after I was injured."
Jack chuckled. "Jackie, I'm thinking there is a lot more to that story." They both turned when they heard the doorbell. Jackie took a step back. Without the butler, it was now part of her job to answer the door when someone came calling.
"I have to get that," she said turning from him. "We'll continue this discussion later."
"I'll hold you to that," he said firmly.
Jackie walked to the door, smoothing out her skirt her mother required her to wear. Personally, she hated it.
She took a deep breath before turning the knob and opening the door.
A woman was standing there. She had brown hair up in a bun and a pair of bright blue eyes. She was standing before her smiling at her. Jackie smiled politely, just like her mother taught her.
"Who may I ask is calling?"
"You must be Jacquelyn."
Jackie's smile faded and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Have we met?"
The woman opened her mouth to respond when she heard her mother speak from behind her. "Welcome!" She walked up and sent a subtle glare to Jackie. Jackie moved aside and opened the door farther, letting the woman into the house.
She walked with an elegance that Jackie had only wished to have. She kept a polite smile when speaking softly to Jackie's mother. Jackie shut the door before looking at the woman again. She was still speaking with her mother, but this smile was a polite society smile, not the real smile that she had given her when she opened the door.
She narrowed her eyes at this. Who was this woman?
She took a deep breath before walking down the hallway and finish setting the table. Whoever that woman was, she would figure it out later. She had to get dinner on the table.
She was busy washing dishes. Dinner was going along smoothly for the moment and she wanted to get a head start on these dishes before she made herself a sandwich for dinner and going to bed.
She was just about to start on the smaller pot she used to make the sauce in when she heard it.
Her mother's bell.
They were summoning her.
She dried her hands quickly before walking into the dining room.
Her father was sitting at the head of the table, his face severe like always when he looked at her. Her mother was sitting to his right with a smirk on her face. Jack sat next to her, only he had a full blown smile on his face. Across from her mother was the woman who had arrived earlier.
Again, she had that true smile she had had when she first arrived. Something was going on here.
"You rang Mother," she said calmly.
"Yes, your Father has something he wants to inform you of."
Jackie turned her eyes to her father. He stood and looked at her with a pair of eyes just like her own, only colder. Jackie stood tall. After sending his daughter to war in place of his son, nothing this man could say would hurt her.
"Jacquelyn, you will be married."
Jackie didn't doubt that. He had been looking for a way to get rid of her since the day of her birth. Charles floated into her mind again. He had been there since she left Korea, been there since Jack had mentioned being contacted by him. She had never thought she would see him again, be able to pursue whatever they had started in Korea.
However, she would now always wonder, what if.
"I understand, Father." She said, her voice calm, nearly emotionless.
"This is going to be your mother-in-law," he said, gesturing to the woman next to him.
That explained how she knew her name. They must have arranged this quite some time ago.
However, she glanced at the woman, based on the woman's age then that must mean that her husband would be a reasonable age for her to marry, not an old man that they had tried to marry her to before.
Jackie nodded at the woman, still not showing any emotion in front of her family. She turned her gaze back to her father, who was still standing.
"Pack your bags," he said firmly. Jackie nodded and turned to leave the room. "You will be traveling with her back to your future home in Boston."
Jackie froze. Boston?
She turned back slowly, her eyes wide. She looked at the woman again, really looked at her this time.
Those eyes! They were the same as Charles' eyes. Was it possible? Was this...?
"Hurry along now!" Her mother said firmly. "Mrs. Winchester will want to get going as quickly as possible."
Jackie's heart started to pound, her eyes widened in shock. Charles' mother?
She turned and smiled at Jackie. "We will be happy to welcome you into our family."
Jackie glanced at her parents, but they were not even acknowledging her now. She looked at Jack, who was still smiling at her as if he knew the deepest secrets in her heart, which he very well might know.
Jackie nodded at Charles' mother before turning and walking out of the dining room, down the stairs to her small bedroom, and started packing in a daze.
What the hell was going on here? Charles' mother here? Taking her back to Boston? Marry Charles? Was she dreaming?
"Jackie?"
She turned, her eyes focusing on her brother at the door. He was smiling. He stepped into the room and sat on her bed next to her open suitcase.
"My little sister, all grown up and going off to be married. Couldn't believe it when Dr. Winchester called me about you."
She had forgotten about Charles contacting Jack. "Why did he do that? Why contact you and not me?"
His smile grew wider. "He wanted me to know what you did while you were being me. He told me what happened, how you saved my...your entire unit by staying calm under pressure and calling in medical assistance, even though it meant you would be discovered. He told me that you were one of the bravest people he had ever met. He wanted me to be sure I knew that."
Jackie turned from her brother back to her small dresser. Although most of the clothes was already in the suitcase, she made a show of grabbing more to cover her flushing face.
"He also wanted me to tell you something." She looked over her shoulder at him. Jack stood and walked over to his sister, she turned to face him fully.
"He wanted me to tell you that you were right."
"About what?"
Jack smiled. "He didn't say. Just wanted me to tell you that you were right."
Jackie blinked at those words. Right? What about? She didn't know. She looked back up at her brother, who was still grinning at her. Slowly though, his smile faded until he was looking at her with a serious expression on his face. Then he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, the clothes in her arms trapped between them.
"I'm sorry," Jack said. "I should have realized sooner what was going on when we were younger. I should never have allowed Dad and Mom to send you off to war. That was my mess and I should have cleaned it up, done my time."
Jackie pulled back, her clothes falling to the floor as she grabbed her brother's shirt. "No! You could have died."
"You could have too."
Jackie took a deep breath before wrapping her arms around her brother and hugging him tightly. "There was nothing for you to forgive," she said. "You are my twin. Either way, I would have been lost without you."
He returned the hug, holding his twin sister tight. The two stood there in a strong hug for several moments before they pulled back, smiling at each other. Jack then took a look at the clothes on the floor and the suitcase on the bed with a wide smile.
"Now, do you need any help packing?"