A Winchester Romance

by Margaret Houlihan

Note: The characters belong to 20th Century Fox and any other characters that I created belong to me.

Korea, March 28, 1953. It is still bitterly cold at the 4077, but Margaret is enjoying her and Hawkeye's new twins. Maggie and Ben are now a month old and since their birth, Hawkeye and Margaret are closer together than ever before. While the parents are on Post Op duty, the twins are looked after by Charles, B.J. and Colonel Potter taking turns. When everyone is in the O.R., Klinger looks after the twins. Because Klinger is pulling double duty, he requests that he has an assistant clerk.

"Colonel Potter, I need to ask you something", said Klinger

"What is it, Klinger?" asked Colonel Potter

"Well, you know how hard it is to do my duties and babysit the twins at the same time, I was wondering if I could get an assistant to share the duties", replied Klinger

"Klinger, I noticed that you do a great job with the twins and I'm glad you've brought this up. I think it would be an excellent idea. Put me through to I-Corps and I'll see what I can do", answered Colonel Potter

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!" said Klinger

"You're welcome, and you deserve it!" answered Colonel Potter

Klinger places a call to I.C.O.R through Sparky

"Colonel, I have I-Corps on the phone", said Klinger

"Colonel Potter here. What's my problem? General, I have a very busy company clerk who's stressed out. He needs an assistant! Great, you have someone you're willing to send! What's the name? Lieutenant C. J. Barnes will be here tomorrow! Thank you, General. Goodbye!" said Colonel Potter speaking to the General on the phone

"What did the General say, sir?" asked Klinger

"The General is sending a Lieutenant C .J. Barnes and he speaks very highly of this person. Lieutenant Barnes will be here tomorrow!" answered Colonel Potter

"Great! I can't wait", replied Klinger

The next day, Charles and B. J. were walking out of the Swamp. They notice a jeep pulling up with a beautiful dark brown haired, hazel eyed woman with an average figure.

"Hunnicutt, did I. C. O. R. order any new nurses here?" asked Charles

"I don't know, Charles, let's ask the little lady what she's doing here", answered B. J.

They walk over to the jeep and approach the woman. The woman smiles at both doctors.

"Excuse me, but are you a nurse assigned here permanently?" asked Charles

"Oh, no. I'm the new assistant company clerk. I'm Lieutenant Catherine Josephine Barnes, but please call me Cathy Jo. Do you know where I can find Colonel Sherman Potter and Sergeant Max Klinger? I'm supposed to report to them and give them my personal file", said the woman

"Hi, I'm B. J. Hunnicutt and this is Charles Emerson Winchester the third. We're surgeons here at the 4077 and we welcome you here", said B. J. as he smiled at Cathy Jo

"Well, it's nice to meet you both", said Cathy Jo as she shook hands with both doctors

"Follow me, Cathy Jo, over to Colonel Potter's office", said Charles as he smiled at Cathy Jo

Cathy Jo, Charles, and B. J. walk over to Colonel Potter's office where he and Klinger were having a drink.

"Colonel Potter, may I present Lieutenant Catherine Josephine Barnes. She's Klinger's new assistant!" said B. J.

"Nice to meet you, Catherine. Welcome to the 4077. I'm Colonel Sherman Potter", said Colonel Potter

"I'm Sergeant Max Klinger. It's always a pleasure to meet a pretty lady like you here!" said Klinger

"Oh, please call me Cathy Jo. That's what my family and friends all call me back in Massachusetts. Here's my personal file", said Cathy Jo as she handed Colonel Potter the file

"Well, it says that you're 25, single, been in the army for two years, you majored in Business at Harvard and you have no criminal record", said Colonel Potter as he read the file

"Pardon me, but did I hear that you're from Massachusetts. What part?" asked Charles

"I'm from Plymouth. Do you know anyone from there?" replied Cathy Jo

"No, I'm from Boston", answered Charles

"Well, it's nice to know I have someone from my state here that I can talk to. Say, where are the rest of you from?" asked Cathy Jo as she smiled at Charles

"I'm from Hannibal, Missouri", said Colonel Potter

"I'm from Toledo, Ohio", said Klinger

"And I'm from Mill Valley, California", said B. J.

Just then, Margaret, Hawkeye, and Father Mulcahy enter Colonel Potter's office.

"Colonel, who is this young lady?" asked Margaret

"Hello. I'm Lieutenant Catherine Josephine Barnes, but call me Cathy Jo. I'm 25 and I'm from Plymouth, Massachusetts. I have three younger siblings. There's Elizabeth Anne, Matthew Lucas, and Jonathan Mark. The boys are identical twins. My parents names are James and Mary and they gave me and my siblings names that were either royal or religious names because my family's Catholic", replied Cathy Jo

"It's nice to meet you, Cathy Jo. I'm Margaret Houlihan-Pierce, you can call me Margaret. I'm the head nurse here at the 4077!" said Margaret

"I'm Hawkeye Pierce, Margaret's husband! I'm the chief surgeon at the 4077 and Margaret and I have twins. Their names are Maggie and Ben", said Hawkeye

"I'm Father Francis Mulcahy. I'm the chaplain here at the 4077. It's nice to meet you, Cathy Jo and I hold church services for all denominations in the mess tent on Sundays. I also hold private confessions in my tent if you're interested", said Father Mulcahy

"It's nice to meet you all. Hawkeye and Margaret, I can't wait to meet your twins. Father Mulcahy, you might be interested to know that I went to an all female Catholic school. The nuns were the best teachers anyone could ever want. By the way, where are you three from?" asked Cathy Jo

"Well, Cathy Jo, both of my parents were in the army, so I'm an army brat and I don't really have a hometown", replied Margaret

"I'm from Crabapple Cove, Maine", answered Hawkeye

"And I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania", said Father Mulcahy

"Well, I guess I should get settled into my quarters. It's nice talking to you all", said Cathy Jo

"Lieutenant, you'll be staying in the nurses tent, if you don't mind. Allow me to take your bags for you", said Klinger

"No, I don't mind bunking with the nurses and thank you, Sergeant. Say, aren't you the man who dresses like a woman to get out of the army. If you are, can I borrow some of your dresses?" asked Cathy Jo as her and Klinger were leaving Colonel Potter's office

"Yes, but I gave up wearing dresses a long time ago! And sure, you can borrow my dresses anytime", said Klinger

"Oh, by the way, what duties am I assisting you on?" asked Cathy Jo

"Well, I look after Hawkeye and Margaret's twins while they are in surgery and it doesn't give me much time to do my regular duties. You don't mind helping me look after babies, do you?" asked Klinger

"Oh, I just love children and I can't wait to have some of my own someday. Klinger, I'd be delighted to help you look after babies after all, I did babysit my twin brothers when I was younger. This is going to be more exciting working here than at I. C. O. R.", replied Cathy Jo as she got into her tent

Cathy Jo gets settled into the tent and meets her bunkmates who are Nurse Bigelow and Nurse Kellye. They get along just fine and they don't mind sharing a tent with a clerk. The next morning, Cathy Jo went to the mess tent to get a bite to eat. She notices Charles sitting with Klinger, Father Mulcahy, Colonel Potter, B. J., Hawkeye, Margaret, and the twins.

"Mind if I join you, Charles", said Cathy Jo smiling at Charles

"Not at all, Cathy Jo. Tell me, did you sleep well last night?" asked Charles as he smiled back at Cathy Jo

"Oh, I slept really well, even though the wounded kept pouring in. Say are these the twins. They're such darlings. I can't wait to start babysitting them. I used to look after my twin brothers, so naturally I can handle two babies", said Cathy Jo

"Cathy Jo, this is Maggie and Ben. Maggie is five minutes older than Ben. All of the baby supplies are in our tent", said Margaret

"Thank you, Margaret. I'll take them to the office with Klinger and me so you can visit them while you and Hawkeye are on duty. I'll take a bag of baby supplies with me", answered Cathy Jo

"You've got a big day ahead of you. Are you ready to get started?" asked Colonel Potter

"Yes, Colonel, I'm always ready. I'll take the twins and meet you over there. Bye!" said Cathy Jo as she leaves with the twins to head over to the office

"Well, what do you all think of her?" asked Colonel Potter

"She's a very nice girl. From her records, she's seems very responsible", answered Father Mulcahy

"She doesn't seem to shy away from a conversation", replied B. J.

"I think she's a perfect sitter and clerk and I think she's pretty", said Hawkeye

"Well, I think she's gorgeous. I wonder what her interests are?" said Charles

"Charles, do you have feelings for the girl?" asked Hawkeye

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't", said Charles in a snooty way while trying not to blush

"I think you do have a crush on her. You were calling her name out in your sleep", replied B. J. jokingly

"I never had feelings for any girl like I have for Cathy Jo. I think she's special", said Charles

"Charles, you're still a bachelor. Just ask her out to the Officer's Club for a drink or are you too shy to!" replied Hawkeye

"I'm not shy. I'll go ask her out", replied Charles in a snooty way


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