Chapter 1

The white jeep pulled into the airfield on a bright sunny Monday morning. Sitting behind the wheel was a dark haired woman with blue eyes and fine features and a rounded face. She wore a green surplus military field jacket over a white blouse, blue jeans and a pair of boots. She was most nervous. Not just because of a new career change but also for the secret she held. She parked the jeep before the hangar. She climbed out, grabbed her briefcase and headed into the hangar glancing at the sign above that read: Santini Air.

She looked about as she walked in and noted the aircraft sitting in the hangar. She loved to fly. It was her passion but not her first career. Her first career is in medicine. She was a surgeon and was very good at it but would rather be flying in the air than on the ground in an operating room.

"Hello!" she called.

A young woman soon approached. She wore mechanic's overalls and had blonde hair and blue eyes. Caitlin O'Shannessy heard the jeep and came to see who it was. "Can I help you?" she asked wiping her hands off on a rag.

"I'm here to see, Dominic Santini. I'm Blake Houlihan. I have an interview for a pilot job." she replied.

"I'll get him." she turned knowing that Dom was looking to hire a pilot for the business. She turned and found Dom was already walking towards her with Stringfellow Hawke in tow.

Dom grinned upon seeing Blake. "Dr. Houlihan." he cheered. He held out a hand. "You are Margaret's daughter."

She nodded taking his hand, "Margaret is my mother. She told you that she knew you in Korea."

He beamed. "I knew well." Dom failed to mention the affair he had with the head nurse when the war ended. "How is she?"

"Great!" she stated. "She's working as the head nurse in L.A. General."

"It would be great to see her again." he told her.

Blake looked at Dom. She had seen a photo of him when he was much younger and a chopper pilot on Korea. He still looked much the same but older with graying hair and a few wrinkles. She noticed the pot belly and the red shiny ball cap and green satin flight jacket. Her eyes then settled on the handsome pilot behind Dom. He was tall, had brown hair and square jaw and hazel eyes. He wore a leather flight jacket over a flannel shirt and tan trousers with work boots. She smiled, "Hi."

"Hi." String replied. He knew all about Dom's life as a medical chopper pilot in Korea and the camp he would frequent with the nurses he enjoyed. He heard all about "Hot Lips" Houlihan and wanted to meet the daughter.

Caitlin asked, "You are a doctor?"

She nodded. "I'm a medical doctor and licensed pilot. I need a break from medicine." she confessed for it was not her passion.

"A doctor could come in handy around her." she stated. "I'm Caitlin O'Shannessy."

Dom cheered. "Cait here used to be a cop."

"That's a tough job. I worked E.R. for a few years. Saw some of what you guys would deal with." she recalled.

Cait gave a nod. "E.R. could pretty tough too."

Dom asked, "Did your mom tell you about the war and the MASH unit she worked in?"

She nodded, "My godfather is Dr. Pierce."

"Hawkeye!" he grinned. "Boy, he still owes me money from a poker game."

"I can imagine." she agreed. "He just moved out to California. His dad died and he relocated out here. He knows the head surgeon at the hospital. Trapper John."

Dom beamed as his memories came back. "I remember Trap. He still owes me money too." he laughed.

She nodded, "I can imagine. My other godfather is also out here. He's a doctor too. Dr. Hunnicutt."

"B.J.!" Dom grinned. "And he owes me money too."

String asked. "Do all the doctors from that old MASH unit owe you money, Dom?"

"Most." he shrugged. "I beat Rizzo at cards too. He used to cheat like the dickens." He looked at Blake. "Let's take you up and see how you do in a cub." He motioned towards a small yellow two seat plane.

She beamed. "I love to fly old birds."

String asked "You are a doctor but you would rather be a pilot and go flying?"

She nodded, "Love to fly."

"I'll take ya up." he told her rather amused.

Caitlin stood beside herself as she looked at Dom and then looked at Blake. She saw similar features in the face structure. She began to wonder if perhaps they were connected.

"Sounds great." she agreed. Her day could not get any better. She would go flying and the a handsome pilot to boot.

Short Time Later

While String and Blake flew about the airfield, Caitlin decided to talk more to Dom about his old military days. The pair stood outside the hangar talking as they watched from the ground.

"You knew her mom?" Caitlin asked.

He nodded. "The boys called her 'Hot Lips'."

"You were close to her?" she asked knowing.

He blushed. "Towards the end. Captain Pierce was having some mental issues. Tell ya, that war nearly broke him. I was flying in the last of the wounded. Met up with Margaret in the officers club. She was really worried about Hawkeye. She divorced her husband who cheated on her. We had a bit too much to drink. Had a one night thing. The war ended, the unit closed. Margaret went with the other nurses. Last I ever saw her."

"You love her?" she pressed.

"Not like that. We just found comfort in each other. She loved Dr. Peirce. I can tell you that much." he stated.

"You have a lot of respect for Pierce?" she noticed.

"He saved my life when I took a bullet flying." he told her. "He and Margaret operated on me. Got back on my feet and kept on flying them boys to the MASH units." Dom stated. "You should have seen the 4077th. What a zoo! They had this one guy who would run around in women's clothing trying to get a section eight. Radar was psychic; could us choppers coming in before anyone else. Colonel Potter had his horse there. Colonel Blake…" he tailed off and gave a heavy sigh.

"Colonel Blake?" she asked.

"He died right after he got discharged and was on his way home. Plane went down." he told her. "I bet Margaret named her after her old Colonel."

"Could be." she agreed. "Blake is a rarer name for girls."

He smirked. "Least she didn't name her Frank."

"Frank?" she wondered why he even mentioned the name.

"Burns." he stated. "Horrible doctor."

Caitlin paused and added. "Her name is Houlihan. Her mother was named Houlihan. Why wasn't she named after her father?"

He shrugged. "With Margaret…who knows who her father could be…." he tailed off in thought.

Caitlin nodded, "Right."

Dom paused. "She kind of has that Santini face, doesn't she?" He puckered, "Her mother was a hot blonde. She has hair like what I had. Real dark."

"Yes." she nodded with a cocked eye. "Mother is a nurse. Has three god fathers, all doctors and is a doctor herself but would rather fly."

"You don't think?" he began to wonder.

"She's not a hot blonde, Dom." she stated frankly.

Later that Day

Blake drove her jeep into the parking lot of the medical practice. She climbed out and found the name on the door was changed. She rolled her eyes as she read the new name of the practice. "Hunnicutt, Houlihan and Pierce. Family Medicine." She gave a heavy sigh as her godfathers wanted her to join them in their medical practice as a career. She opened the door and stepped inside. She spied the front desk and a familiar face.

Maxwell Q. Klinger had returned to the states with his Korean wife and family and eventually settled down in California. Klinger found a job as a male receptionist working for Hawkeye and B.J. who had now gone into private practice. He wore a casual dress shirt and tan slacks. His hair was slightly gray and his brown eyes sparkled. He grinned. "Blake. How did it go? You meet your father?"

She came up to the desk. "I did. Nice guy. I do look like him."

"Heck, I could have told you that." he cheered. "Everyone loved Dom. He was one of the few chopper pilots who would risk everything for those boys."

"He's a nice man." she agreed. "I need to see either Hawkeye or B.J. for a physical. I can't do my own." she explained.

"You taking that job?" he asked her.

She nodded hard. "Yes!"

"But both Dr. Hunnicutt and Dr. Pierce want you to work here." he countered.

"I said I would work only part time." she rebutted.

He stated. "But you are a great doctor. You were raised by doctors. You spent all that time in medical school."

"I want to do something else now." she insisted.

A familiar face popped into the reception area. Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce heard her voice. His dark hair was slightly gray, he was clean shaven and wore a blue dress shirt, dark blue slacks and a white lab coat. He grinned. "There she is! Dr. Houlihan. Ready to see your new office." he was eager to show her around.

"I'm taking the pilot job, Dad." she stated outright. It became apparent that Hawkeye was her verbally adopted father in her young eyes. Out of her three godfathers she only called Hawkeye "Dad" and the others "Uncle" or by name.

"Part time." he countered. "Two days a week. Don't let your medical license go."

"Okay." she gave a heavy sigh. She felt as if she was being pulled between two worlds. The world of aviation which she loved and the world of medicine of which she was familiar and wanted.

Klinger stated. "Too bad you can put flying and doctoring in one."

She looked at him and blinked in thought. "Sure I can. I can fly a medical chopper."

Hawkeye countered. "But you cannot fly and doctor at the same time."

"I'll find a way." she miffed. "I need a physical for Santini Air. Can you do my physical, Dad?"

"Sure." he agreed. "You tell your mom yet?"

She shook her head. "No. I thought it would be best to not bring it up."

"You should tell her you met your biological father." he insisted.

She rolled her eyes. "I think she has gone on with her life. I mean, she's not dating or looking for a man and she's happy. Why bring him into the picture now? I just wanted to meet him. That's all. I'm not even going to tell him."

Hawkeye countered. "You should tell him. If I was your biological father, I would want to know."

"You are my father as far as I am concerned." she insisted. "Now, I need that physical and an eye exam."

He waved her to come back. "This way, Doctor Stubborn."