Casidy stood in Major Hoolahan's tent. "I don't appreciate you talking to a superior officer like that, especially since you're one of my nurses. I want to see better than that out of you from now on," Margaret said.
Casidy nodded her head. "Yes, Ma'am... Permission to speak freely, Ma'am?"
Margaret nodded her head. "But of course, Leuitenant."
"I am in a bit of a dilemma, Major. I don't know anyone here other than my brother, and I really need someone to talk to."
Margaret patted her hand on the bed next to her. "Sit down. I'm glad to offer you an ear."
Casidy sat down next to her and took a deep breath. "Well... ma'am... I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but at the same time, I feel like I am doing something right. I honestly don't know what to do. I know that my brother won't approve, and neither would our parents, but I just can't help myself. I felt myself fall as I saw him, and just couldn't catch myself."
Margaret knew it. She had felt the same thing when she fell for Frank. "I think that I know how you feel. I felt it for Frank when I met him. I just can't keep my hands off of him."
"I really feel something for Trapper. But he's a married man. I know that its wrong. But its not physical. We just sat and talked. It was nice. He was so open and honest with me. He didn't try anything. He joked about it a little, but didn't try anything. He's probably not really interested in me at all. Just thinks that I'm useful to talk to," Casidy said. She shifted her feet around, frowning down at them.
"I doubt seriously that he just wants to talk to you. To be perfectly candid with you, Trapper usually just loves them and leaves them. He doesn't chat them up. I think that you've got something that no other nurse has. I think you've got him by the heart... or at least the mind," Margaret said.
Casidy looked over at Margaret. "Do you really think that he likes me? Not just a friend," she said.
Margaret shrugged. "I can't tell you for sure. I can just tell you what I know of Trapper and from my own experiences. The only one that can tell you whether or not Trapper likes you is Trapper himself. You may just have to ask him if you really want to find out."
Casidy nodded her head. "That's what I'm petrified to do. He's married. What if he says yes, but isn't interested in anything except for a fling in Korea... I've never..." she felt her face flush. "You know..."
Margaret smiled. "Been with a man?" she filled in the big blank that Casidy had left.
"Yes, ma'am." she answered, more than a little bit embarassed by her answer.
"Call me Margaret, you're the closest thing that I've got to a friend here in camp. I think that you're a lovely girl so far. It is a big shock to me that a sweet girl like you would fall in with Trapper, but he seemed a bit different earlier this afternoon. He didn't hit on a single nurse during the small number of causalities that came in this afternoon. You might be a good influence on him," the Major said.
"Oh... alright Margaret." The sound of that was strange to Casidy's ears at first, but she was glad that she had found a woman at camp that she could talk to. "I think that he's quite sweet. He seems very fond of his little girls. I think that the side of him that you guys are used to seeing is not the one that he showed me..." she said with a wistful smile.
Margaret saw how the girl looked when she spoke about Trapper. The girl was smitten with him in a bad way. She couldn't blame her. He did have something about him that was special. But he didn't do it for her.
"I want to thank you for letting me speak to you about this. I honestly feel a lot better. I'm not more sure about anything, but I feel better knowing that at least I've gotten to talk about it. I think that I need to get back to my tent... I've got the late surgical shift with Hawkeye and Trapper," Casidy said.
Margaret nodded her head and smiled. "I'll see you later Casidy. It was good talking to you."
Casidy got up and saluted Margaret before leaving the tent. She walked back to her tent with a little bounce in her step.