I do not own M*A*S*H characters. I wish I did as I love writing about them. Thanks for the reviews. Please stop by again, chapter two should be up tomorrow. If it's not yell at Mary!!! ;-) PLEASE REVIEW!! Tell me my mistakes!! I've gone through this a couple times, but you never know! Comment, I love to read your thoughts. -Aimee
Thank you, Kelly, for mentioning my "major" mistake!! (giggle giggle). I really am such a blond sometimes. I was discussing army titles with my mother at the moment I wrote that and made a boo-boo. Now rectified. Thanks again!!!! Pleas review, it helps me out and reminds me there's a reason I'm actually writing. Love to hear from you! -Aimee
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Dear Cutie-Pie, How are you my darling? I miss you already. I realize I will see you in two weeks, for our wedding, but I can't help but miss you. I am so excited, I have called and the bouquet shop says they have the flowers on order and they will be in and set up in the country club. Invitations were mailed out two weeks ago, and I have received R.S.V.P. from almost everyone. I have to say though, Klinger told me in person. But I suppose that would be obvious. Lil' Suzie is fine, she misses you too. She keeps pacing around the phone and insists we take long walks to occupy our time, while I am not busy with wedding arrangements. I miss you very much and it won't be much longer before you can never get rid of me! I love you, my darling! XXXXXXOOOOO
Love, Margaret
Margaret sighed to herself as she folded the letter and pressed it to her lips. I love you, my darling. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine him; what he was doing at that very moment.
It had been almost two years since her thirty-fifth birthday. Margaret never would have thought then, that she could be in love in less that two years. Or that person would love her too. She was putting the final touches on their wedding. The final adjustments for her dress and the adjustments to the rings. She still hadn't seen her ring, but her fiancé said it was almost finished be corrected to her ring size. The ring had belonged to his great-great grandmother and she was excited that she would wear this token of love that had been passed down through more than three generations. So much had happened over the past twenty months. And to think that horrible birthday she spent alone, she wondered what she would do and where she would go.
* * *
Margaret had decided she needed to move on, leave Korea and Frank behind. She needed something to distract her from the painful memories of her days in Korea. A place to go. Sitting around in her apartment wasn't very fun and she couldn't get rid of painful memories while staring at her army uniform in the closet. Or her pictures from Korea on the walls. She had no where to escape. Sure she would take a walk now and again. Sometimes she would go to Golden Gate park and feed the ducks. Other times she'd go to the public library and read a book. But nothing could take away the haunting memories. What she needed was something to make her forget. A job seemed like the solution. The only problem was Margaret had only been good at one thing- Following doctor's orders. And she didn't think she could go back to a hospital.
Maybe I could work at a veterinary clinic, Margaret thought. So the next morning she took the cable car to Prince Street and got off in front of a building that had a bronze dog outside the door. She walked into the building. Cla-ang went the bell on the door. "One moment." called a voice from the back.
Margaret looked around, the waiting room was empty. She walked over and stood in front of the desk and waited.
A tall man with dirty blonde hair emerged from the back room, she was wiping his hands on a towel and didn't look up until he heard Margaret gasp. "Hunnicut!" He dropped the towel and looked at her. "Hot lips!" He said, gaping at her. She sudden become very self conscious. She began to run her fingers through her hair, she had had cut it shorter and in the rush of excitement of a new job she hadn't covered it, as she normally would, and the cable car ride had blown it. She straightened it as best she could and she looked over Captain Hunnicut. BJ looked the same, except he had grown mustache. Everything was the same except for his eyes. His once brilliant sparkling gray eyes seemed to lose their shine. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you that, Margaret. I, I just, I mean, I certainly wasn't excepting you." Margaret, too, tried to find words. "Hunnicut, BJ, I certainly wasn't excepting you either. How long have you been in San Francisco?" "Well, to tell you the truth I don't live here. I'm just substituting a friend of mine. Hey, since no one is here, would you like to sit in the back and talk?" Margaret nodded. And BJ went to the front door and clicked the lock, and changed the sign in the window to say, lunch break.
They retreated behind the counter to the office. "I didn't know you knew anything about animals, BJ," Margaret said. "Well, that's OK then, since I didn't see an animal- you didn't bring one did you?" BJ said as he handed her a mug and proceeded to fill it with coffee. "No, Actually I am here inquiring, whether or not an army nurse can work as a nurse in a veterinary clinic." BJ pointed to a chair and then nodded, "I believe you can, but you'd have to wait to talk to the Doctor who owns the clinic." He turned to get himself a mug. "I take it, then, that you don't want to work in a hospital?" Margaret stared down at the coffee and watched the steam rising. "I don't really have a choice. I think if I worked at a hospital, I may have a nervous break down." BJ blinked and stared down at his coffee mug. "I know how you feel. I can't imagine it was like for you. But operating on the soldiers, even while I was still in Korea, even when I knew the choppers would be coming soon, with new patients. I wanted to escape. So many people don't realize how hard it is for doctors-"
"Or nurses," Margaret interrupted. "Or nurses- how hard it is for them to lose a patient. Or run out of morphine. Or anesthetic, but still having to operate, to save a persons life. Tough times, and I can't escape the screaming voices that haunt me. The boys who cried for their mothers." A tear slid down Margaret's cheek. "I thought I was the only one who felt this way." BJ looked her in the eyes, "Oh, Margaret, maybe you understand why Hawkeye always made jokes. He found it a way to escape the pain. Even in the worse times. He could always make me laugh. He made me forget." Margaret finally understood. "You all joked in the infirmary, to take away the pain. I, I always thought…" "You always thought, the same way Frank did, that laughter and joking around made you clumsily and hindered you and didn't help." Margaret blushed, because he hit the nail on the head, or at the mention of Frank's name.
"I take it you haven't heard from Frank?" BJ said quietly, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just meant-" Margaret smiled, "I understand what you meant, I look back and I realize Frank was a womanizer, just as bad as Pierce," she laughed bitterly, "I was to blind to see." BJ smiled sweetly at her, he reached across the table and held her hand, "He was a wolf in an army uniform, the worst kind." Margaret laughed. "Thank you, Hunnicut." "Your welcome, Houlihan."
She spent the next half and hour with BJ Hunnicut, reminiscing, about receiving the Purple Heart, and what they were doing now. Hunnicut was living in L.A. with his wife and two children, and expecting another. "My wife is hoping it's a girl, and my son and I are hoping it's a boy." Margaret smiled, but her heart ached. BJ sensed her pain and invited her to come and visit some time. She scribbled her address for him, and they told each other they would keep in touch. Margaret left the veterinary clinic, in a better mood, so she wasn't alone. All this time, others felt the way she did. As she climbed on the cable car she decided she would return in another week and talk to Dr. Cooper about a job as an assistant.
* * *
"Well, Miss Houlihan, this is an impressive résumé, but I must admit to you," Dr. Cooper said leaning back into his leather chair. He was an older man with white hair and a white mustache. Margaret felt her heart plummet, she wasn't going to get the job. "I would love you have you work here-" "Doctor, I really need a job, and I'll clean out cages, even." "Miss Houlihan, it's not just cleaning out cages, or operating on animals. Quite frankly, because this is a city, not a lot of people have pets. And I don't have a lot of business. I have the occasional hurt animal, but mostly it's just a check up. I would be happy to put you on as a part time worker, but there isn't enough work for two people. I haven't had a patient for," he picked up a clip board from his desk, "Hmm, three days."
Margaret nodded, understanding. "I see, well, Dr. Cooper, if you could take me part time, I would be very interested." Dr. Cooper smiled, "Perfect. So many times when people ask for jobs here they don't give me a chance to offer part time. Would it be alright if I called you the days I would need you? Usually people call ahead for surgeries." Margaret gave him her phone number. "I'm usually at home, if you can't reach me at this number, you can call this number, it's my land lord, he will leave me a message on my door." Dr. Cooper write down both numbers. "Very good, thank you Miss Houlihan. I look forward with working with you." He shook her hand and walked her out of the office.
