Chapter 5: Oh…shit…

A.N. Finally! I'm so sorry! -grovels at readers feet- I have a good explanation……my work got burned. I had a notebook for all my writing, and my brother lit it on fire. I cried. Really really hard. But I got a new notebook and I wrote extra long. For this chapter. Also I don't own MASH but I do own The Sallas family.

When Talea, Father Mulchady, and Radar walked in almost everyone was sitting for dinner. Hearing a buzz of chatter made Talea remember, that she barely knew anyone here. She was alone, again. She was about to turnabout and walk back to her tent, faking not being hungry, when Radar turned to face her.

"You must be starving Talea, lets go get some food." He said this all with a grin she couldn't refuse.

"Ok." Was her quiet response as she followed him over to where the food was. Radar grabbed two trays, handing one to Talea.

"Oh gracias, Corporal." Talea said, accidentally slipping back into her native tongue.

"You speak Spanish? That's amazing!" Radar complimented, while piling on his plate what was supposed to be some "green" salad.

"Ah, yes, Spanish is my native tongue. I learned English in elementary school as a second language."

"Oh I see. Well I only know one language." Radar told her with a laugh. Talea smiled at his laugh, and with her tray in hand looked around. Where am I supposed to sit? Maybe I should eat in my tent as I usually do. She started going towards the exit when Radar grabbed her arm.

"Hey where are you going, Talea? The table is this way." Before Talea could refuse she felt herself being pulled off in the other direction.

"But where am I supposed sit Corporal?" Talea asked politely.

"You can call me Radar like everyone else does, and I thought we could sit over there, since your new and all." Radar stated pointing at the table in the far left. Sitting at the table was Hawkeye, BJ, and the Padre on one side, while on the other side was Potter, Hotlips, and Frank, upon seeing Frank both Talea and Radar felt a spark of anger return. This man better not majorly piss me off again; especially if I'm eating. Talea thoughtas they reached the table. Frank was the first to see and speak to them.

"What is that frea-girl doing here Corporal!" Franks face had started turning red from the embarrassment and anger about earlier.

"Well Frank, she is human, she needs to eat sometime." BJ stated bringing a forkful of mashed potatoes to his mouth.

"And even if she isn't human, what's wrong with her being here Frank?" Hawkeye asked oh-so-innocently, knowing exactly what was making Frank mad.

"Yeah, Burns, what's making you so red in the face?" Potter asked. Frank gave Talea a look, which she returned with a sarcastic-like raised eyebrow.

"Nothing." Frank muttered going back to his food. Radar sat down next to Potter, while BJ and Hawkeye made a spot in between them.

"You can sit between us, Talea. We won't bite you, and even if we do you'll probably bite us back, huh?" Hawkeye chuckled at the last part after saying it. Talea gave them a weary look before cautiously taking a seat in between them. Radar dug into his food, listening to the conversations at the table. Frank and Hotlips were talking to each other quietly, most likely plotting something. Potter was reading a horse magazine that had just been sent in recently. He remembered giving it to the Corneal and how happy he was that he got it for Sophie. Looking across the table he saw Hawkeye telling a joke about a blonde and a scratch and sniff card. When he was finished everyone, including himself, laughed, except Talea. She was looking off into space and playing with what little food she had grabbed. He couldn't see any of her emotions; it was just a blank façade. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, so he was about to speak up.

"Talea, are you alright there?" Before Radar had a chance to speak, Potter beat him to it. Talea jerked up being surprised, while everyone else stopped talking to look.

"Oh, uh, what?"Was Talea's slow reply.

"You were staring off into space, like an astronaut. You alright?"

"Oh I'm fine sir. Just tired I guess. Maybe I'll just retire to my tent." She got up and picked up her tray.

"But you haven't even had a bite yet. The food may look weird, but it still tastes alright." BJ chimed in.

"No, no I'm just not hungry. It's not the food. I just-!"

"But you have to eat something." Potter said, going to grab her arm to pull her back down. Her eyes widened and she jerked her arm away before Potter could grab her arm. When she had jerked away, her tray had tipped sending food onto, can you guess, Frank. He stood up so fast flailing his arms, hitting Margaret straight in the face knocking her onto the floor. All anyone could do was gape before laughing their assess off. Margaret and Frank, who recovered from their own problems, gave Talea a deadly glare and stalked out together. Talea showing no emotion started putting the mess back on her tray not looking at anyone. While everyone was starting to sober up from the entertainment, Talea slipped out into the night, feeling worthless.

Potter had seen Talea slip out and sighed, "I just don't understand why she won't socialize with the rest of us. The last time I saw her she was this happy little girl, and now she's this quiet grown up women."

"Well corneal she's probably still adjusting here; I mean she's only been here one day. She should be fine in a couple days." Hawkeye stated with a shrug as he dug into his food.

"No Hawkeye. I think it may be something more than just adjusting. I can't explain it but I sense something amiss with her." Father Mulcahy stated with a confusing yet stern voice.

"What do you mean Padre?" Potter leaned in trying to decipher what the Father was talking about. Father Mulcahy put down his fork and leaned forward as well, making everyone else left at the table lean in as well.

"It is everything about her, the way she talks, acts, even dresses! It's trying to send a message, a sign if you will. And when you look in her eyes, she's guarding herself, all the time. Its not natural!"

"Father you sure your not over reacting? I mean of course she's guarded, she's an army brat." BJ pointed out.

"It's just not natural BJ!"

"Alright you two take it down a notch. I think we should Talea a few days to get adjusted before we go into this any deeper, alright?" Potter stated as he went to stand up. All of a sudden it went from a sunny warm day to a rainy dark night in what seemed like a few seconds. Everyone looked up at the ceiling for a moment before starting to clear out. After saying their goodnights, everyone ran for their tents, trying to dodge the raindrops on the way. Radar was running for his cover when he almost passed Talea's tent. He stopped for a minute looking at it wondering, Is she ok? I wonder if I should go see. I mean she's still new here and all I shou-BOOM! Radar's thoughts were interrupted by the thunder, which made him remember he was standing in the middle of the rain getting soaked. I'll go see her in the morning. Radar promised himself running to his tent, where the warmness would greet him and comfort him.

It was pitch black and still raining even after the few hours ago when everyone retired for the night. All except one. Opening the door slowly a figure creeped out into the night, heading towards the officers club. The shadows blended with this figure, making them seem invisible to the naked eye. Moving steadily towards the door of the officers club, a slim hand out in front to guide the rest of the body to the door. When reaching the door the hand grabbed the doorknob and pulled, with unsuccessfulness. Swearing underneath her breath she reached into one of the pockets on her jacket pulling out a lock picking kit. Masterfully picking the lock after several times she was successful, pulling the door opened with ease. Standing up Talea took a look around, making sure no one had seen her, then with a quick step stepped into the club and shut the door behind her, blocking out the darkness.

A.N: Ok I'm sorry it's so short. I just had to get something up! Lol well review please. Rosa