Chapter 4

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Lt. Colonel Margaret Houlihan briskly strode the grounds of Fort Ord Army Base in California, where she was currently head nurse. She loved her job, but her general attitude had recently been worsened due to the arrival of the one person she least wanted to see: Colonel (formerly Lt. Colonel) Donald Penobscott.

He had been transferred just over a month ago, and was determined to make Margaret 'give it another go' with him. Needless to say, she wasn't willing at all. She had an uneasy feeling that it was more than a coincidence he was transferred to the same unit.

"Margaret, how pleasant to see you again." She cringed at the sound of his voice, hoping to get home before he noticed her.

"We haven't talked in a long time, why don't we have dinner tonight, you know, do a little catching up."

"Colonel," she replied, "I do not wish to waste anymore of my time with you. Now, if you'll excuse me," she started to walk around him, but he grabbed her arm in a vice-like hold and pulled her out of sight.

"Margaret," he hissed, "I believe that I asked you to dinner."

"And I believe," she struggled to remove her arm from his grasp, "that I said no."

He let go of her arm, pushed her away, only enough to make her stumble, and walked off.

"Next time things won't be so easy, Houlihan."

Margaret rubbed her arm where he had pushed her, mentally discouraging a bruise from forming. She walked back to her small housing on base, trying to look as though nothing was the matter. "Houlihan's don't cry, she thought to herself, "and Hawk wouldn't want me to let this guy get to me again."

She smiled, in spite of herself, at the thought of Hawkeye, and settled on a mental picture of him, imaging what he'd say if he were there.

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Caitlyn hunched over in the passenger seat of Carlye's car, clearly unhappy to be there. Carlye had been chatting along happily for the past half-hour, and they still had another one to go before they arrived at the shopping mall in Portland.

"Female bonding my toe," Caitlyn mumbled under her breath, still staring sulkily out the window.

"Oh, stop being a Grumpy Gus. We'll have fun, Cait," Carlye's cheery mood was enough to make anyone nauseous, and Caitlyn was getting more and more sick of it by the moment.

"I really like your Dad, Caitlyn. We go way back, you know."

Something inside Caitlyn's small reserve of self-control sprang a leak.

"Why didn't you tell him that one of the last two times you dumped him?" Caitlyn spat, glaring icily at Carlye.

"That was a mistake, we were both too young for anything to work out then. The point is."

"Well, was your ex-husband a mistake too then?" Cait's original plan had been to not reveal that she knew about her ex-husband until she had to, but anger overtook her common sense.

Carlye screeched the car to a halt on the side of the road and glared over at Caitlyn.

"Oh, God, she's going to kill me." Caitlyn thought beginning to look for something to knock Carlye over the head with.

"You actually think I want to be here, don't you Pierce," Carlye spat this out in a venomous tone, one of which Caitlyn had never heard from her before, "If I had any choice I'd be back home, but you know what?"

Caitlyn timidly shook her head no, trying to avoid looking directly at Carlye.

"Penobscott pays better than any hospital I could get a job at. Now quit asking questions and play nice for Daddy- if anyone, and I mean anyone, finds out about what I just said, it's your neck kid."

Carlye swung the car back onto the highway, and neither of them spoke for the rest of the drive.

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"Colonel, sir" a nervous young lieutenant by the name of Horace Wiloughby approached the now seething Colonel Penobscott, "I have information from Sergeant Kelster. It's about the, ahm, the..." Wiloughby lowered his voice, "The 'Plan' sir."

Mere minutes later, Penobscott had found a secluded area on base where the two could talk without being overheard.

"What is it, Wiloughby, has Houlihan made any complaints?"

"No, not that sir, but it."

"GET TO THE POINT!" Penobscott bellowed, causing the birds to flee from the trees surrounding them.

"Sorry, sir. Sergeant Kelster and I both received calls from a kid named Pierce."

"And."

"This Pierce kid was calling from Maine. So she was one of, you know, those Pierces."

Penobscott nodded.

"She was looking for Houlihan."

"Damn it!" Penobscott slammed his fist on the picnic table they were seated at; "Flagg assured me that that Breslin woman would be enough to keep Pierce occupied."