At the end of the first week Sara was able to walk again and they gave her a small cot in the corner of The Swamp (Much to Franks disgust) Around the cot they built a wooden frame and nailed army blankets across the frame to make a canopy, these blankets could be rolled down anytime and Sara could have her privacy. For the first few days she kept to herself, the only thing she carried with her was a small diary, though she called it her journal because diary sounded to girlish.
Then she started to talk, After she had talked to Hawkeye it was Trapper, she explained it was him because "He joked around and didn't try to ask me questions." Then it was Father Mulcahy until she told him that if he was going to try to give her absolution or some catholic thing like that should wouldn't talk, she was Anglican and proud of it. After that it was Henry, then Radar. The only person she refused to talk to was Sidney Freedman,
"If I wanted a shrink to talk to me," Sara had begun one day, "I would talk to him, but I don't therefore I won't." By the time they finally had coxed her into talking to him, the doctor had decided that maybe it was best he talked to her like everyone else had, and not give her some stupid reason why everything was going to be alright. Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan had talked to Sara, but they were quickly forced to leave the post-op by Henry because they were making her nervous.
"Don't worry about Hot lips and Ferret face," Hawkeye told her, "They're just mad because you didn't leave the first time the general came."
"Yeah they're party poopers" Trapper said.
It was a rainy Tuesday, casualties had finally stopped coming in for the time being, everyone at this point was using their free time for either sleeping, drinking or gambling. But in this rare time Hawkeye and Trapper invited Sara, who had officially become a "Swampgirl" to the officers club where they would buy her a drink, much to her dismay and saying repeatedly over, "But I'm underage!" Never the less they managed to drag the helpless girl into the officers club where everyone welcomed her warmly.
At the piano sat Father Mulcahy, tinkering away trying to compose a tune. Klinger sat at the bar talking with a nurse about hair and make-up, Henry Blake was trying desperately to shake off Frank and Margaret who were still protesting Sara becoming a "Swampgirl".
"Take a seat," Hawkeye said as they reached the bar, "Give us three of your best non-alcoholic beverage please!" The bar tender just stared at Hawkeye, Sara and Trapper.
"Are you sure she can't drink all that?" He asked as he put a glass he was shining back on the shelf.
"One for each of us!" Trapper said, smiling. The entire officers club went quiet, Did Trapper just say He and Hawkeye were going to have non-alcoholic drinks? Yes they did, Henry stumbled over to the bar where they sat.
"Alright, what have you two been smoking?" He asked, "Anything then the average and im gonna court marshal your you-know-what's to the moon."
"Honest Henry, we haven't smoke anything, we just want to try something that wont rot out our brain cells." Hawkeye told him as he took a sip of a virgin margarita placed in front of him, "Yecch, I'll take rotting brain cell's any day." Hawkeye leaned over the counter and picked up some bottle of alcohol and poured half of it into his glass, "Ah" he sighed when he took a drink, "Much better." Everyone started talking again, apparently both men were just insane and forgot to say "Extra alcohol please." Sara sipped her's and smiled, this was one wacky place she was staying at, she had no idea it was about to get even stranger. Who should walk into the officers club but Klinger. Sara didn't notice him at first until he sat down on the stool next to her.
"Oh Sara, this is Klinger. Klinger this is Sara." The girl stared at him for a moment before turning to look at Hawkeye, "Did you forget to tell me something?"
"Im trying to get a section 8 dishonourable discharge." Klinger told her, "Im trying to convince everyone I'm insane." Sara just smiled nervously and started to sip her drink again.
-This place is wacked- she thought -everyone here has flipped their lids- That made her
smile.
"Do you thing you'll be able to help us in surgery?" Trapper asked as Klinger moved over and Trapper sat down on the left side of Sara.
"Me? Geez I don't know, wouldn't Ferret Face have something to say on that?" Sara asked, Frank spun around at hearing his nickname and became angry.
"Are you trying to corrupt another person Pierce?" He asked.
"Oh Frank you know I don't corrupt anyone!"
"Yeah....right." Frank replied, he glared at Sara who just put on an innocent look and sipped her drink again. Ferret Face turned around in a huff and went back to Margaret and Henry at the table they were sitting at.
"Sure you could help out!" Hawkeye said as he downed his martini, "It's bound to get more busy in surgery and we can use all the hands we can't get."
Sara thought about this for a moment before replying, "I'll help anyway I can for the time being. I go back in two weeks so Im not sure how much help I can be..."
"Ah you won't leave if we have anything to say about it." Trapper commented as we ordered another martini. Father Mulcahy was trying to play an old Frank Sinatra tune on the piano but was about an octave off.
"Father try bringing it down and octave!" Sara said to him across the room, The father did and had 'Fly Me to The moon' perfect.
"Thank you daughter." father said as he began to play Frank Sinatra tunes.
"I think you just saved us all from getting hearing aids hearing." Hawkeye whispered to her as the unchained melody of Frank Sinatra floated softly through the officers club.
"I think I'm going back to The Swamp," Sara told them, "You certainly have a nice place here." Trapper and Hawkeye said goodbye as got another drink.
Outside the rain fell heavily, lightning crashed over head and the wind slashed through the camp at top speed.
-Perfect- Sara thought, -better make a run for it- And so the girl made a dash towards The Swamp, trying desperately not to get drenched in the downpour. Once she reached the Swamp, Sara went to her cot and took out her journal and stared thoughtfully at it, the pages were full of words that would never come from a lady...but then Sara was hardly a lady. Some of the entries were brutal some of them seemed to be full of pain and sorrow. Despite her best efforts, tears filled Sara's eyes, she tried to blink them away with little effort.
-Oh god- Sara thought, -this is what's become of me, some sobbing baby?- The girl just shrugged off her thought and sighed, life was too complicated to cry over. Quietly Sara began to sing to herself, a song she had heard one time. Logically it was raining to hard and she was to far away from anyone to hear, but of course someone did hear.
Radar was in the middle of a beer when his ears perked up, someone singing but who? Sara was singing.
"Hey Radar what is it?" Hawkeye asked, "More casualties?" Radar just shook his head.
"Someone's singing," He told them, "I think it's the kid." Hawkeye and Trapper gave each other looks of confusion before getting up from the bar and racing back towards the Swamp, outside the Swamp door they put their ears to the walls and listened. A strong soprano voice was clear through the walls, Sara was indeed singing.
Somewhere....there's a place where I can be,
safe from all the horror of the world.
Somewhere...there's a place where all the pain is gone,
Somewhere, I can live free from my soul
I don't know where I'm going to,
Don't know where I've fallen to,
Don't know what I can depend on now,
I'm all...alone.
A group of nurses and enlisted men had circled around the tent, listening to the small girl sing. Some of the nurses were even crying, Hawkeye and Trapper just stared in disbelief at the beauty of Sara's voice.
...and when I'm all alone,
and there's nothing left to live for,
I know wherever I am,
faith will keep me strong,
I have faith that your love,
will keep...me strong...
The singing stopped, quietly everyone left the vicinity of the Swamp and went back to what they were doing, for a few more minutes Trapper And Hawkeye just stood outside in the rain, in wonderment and almost a slight fear, the song was so sad. Was this the feelings of Sara? In a way they almost hoped it wasn't, because if it was, they only had a small idea of what Sara had really gone through.
A few minutes later Trapper and Hawkeye entered the Swamp, didn't say a word and went straight to bed, they had a lot to think about.