Forbidden Love

Chapter Four

Father Mulcahy stood up and stretched his legs, grateful for Colonel Potter's patience. The man should receive an award for the patience he had to possess in order to be in charge of a unit, especially when he got pulled into listening to stories such as the one he, Father Mulcahy, was telling.

Colonel Potter himself simply watched and waited for the good priest to continue talking. He didn't have long to wait. After stretching his legs, Father Mulcahy sat back down and began talking again.

FLASHBACK

Father Mulcahy walked though the darkened compound after having visiting one of the patients in Post Op. He was sure he was the only one left up and so he was surprised to see Ellen near the basketball hoop shooting baskets. Once he reached the rock boundary line, he stopped and watched. Only when she felt someone behind her did Ellen turn around.

"Hello there father," Ellen bounced the ball and caught it before walking over to where the priest stood. "Want to play?"

"Why not?" Father Mulcahy accepted the ball she held out to him and stepped inside the circle.

END OF FLASHBACK

"I only meant to play for a few minutes." Father Mulcahy stopped talking about the past and looked at Colonel Potter. The kind hearted colonel nodded. He understood all too well as he'd heard similar sentences spoken through his many years of serve in the army.

"But, time slipped away." Colonel Potter said when man called Francis Mulcahy stopped talking.

Father Mulcahy nodded and admitted that was the case.

BACK TO FLASHBACK

"I think I best stop." Father Mulcahy laughed as Ellen and he finished another friendly game; they'd been seeing who could get twenty-one points first. She'd beaten him a number of times and he her.

While the two had played, they'd swapped one story after another with each other. Some of the stories had been funny, others had been more serious; still, they'd all been interesting. "Yeah, if we don't both get some sleep, we'll hate ourselves in the morning." Ellen agreed as she started to step over the rocks only to find herself tripping. She would have fallen, only Father Mulcahy reached out and grabbed her before she did. As he brought her back up the two unexpectedly found their faces inches away from each other.

Up to that point both Father Mulcahy and Ellen had been in denial when it came to the feelings that had begun to grow between them since her second visit to his tent. However, with Ellen in his arms and their faces so close, those feelings forced themselves to the front. Before either one took time to really think about it, they were not only holding onto each other but they were also kissing.

For Father Mulcahy's part he felt like the rug had been pulled out from under his feet as the taste of Ellen's sweet lips sent what felt like lightning bolts through him. Before he'd entered the priesthood Father Mulcahy had kissed a couple of girls, and it had never been like this. Without half thinking, he slid his tongue inside Ellen's mouth and allowed the kiss to deepen.

Ellen couldn't believe she was letting a priest kiss her, or that she was returning the kisses with just as much passion as she felt rolling off him. When had the two of them become close enough to let this happen? She didn't know but she continued holding on, as she found herself wanting more.

Francis Mulcahy couldn't believe the fire that was starting to burn inside of him. A part of him cursed his mortal flesh and told him to stop. The other part pulled Ellen closer as he ran his hands up and down her back, a movement that reached inside her and pulled out a slight moan. It was the moan, and the fact that she also slid her arms up his back that, somehow, reached through the fire and asked the good priest one thing. "Do you love her enough not only to lay with her, but also to marry her?" It was that question that broke through the kiss and had the good father pulling back simply because he didn't know.

His pulling back was something that Ellen Chapin did not fight, as she knew the two of them had no business doing what they'd just done.

"I…I'm sorry." Father Mulcahy stammered, embarrassed at what he'd just done.

Ellen said nothing at first, a part of her wishing he hadn't pulled back and the other chastising herself for thinking such a thing in the first place. "Don't be," she said when she finally found her voice, "we're both at fault. I think I best back to my tent." She hurried off, knowing if she didn't she'd try to get him to kiss her again. For his sake, she didn't want to chance anything more than a kiss happening.

END OF FLASHBACK

"I took a walk after that." Father Mulcahy shook his head. "I take my vows seriously, Sherman. Once I took them, I never held or kissed a woman, never let myself get close enough to one to even want to do such a thing." He let out another sigh as he took another deep breath, "but, somehow, without really realizing it, Ellen and I had formed a bond that allowed us to cross that line. I needed time to think; time to give myself a pep talk as it were, to remind myself who and what I was. I must have wandered around for a good hour. When I finally got back," Father Mulcahy looked at Colonel Potter, "I headed straight for the showers."

"It didn't do much good did it?" Colonel Potter asked the question already knowing the answer.

Father Mulcahy shook his head. "It helped for that night, but no, in the long run it did no good at all." He then yawned and asked if Colonel Potter would be available tomorrow as he was just too tired to continue. It was a request that Colonel Potter was gracious to fulfill.