Hawkeye was the first to arrive back at the camp. Dust was still settling and people were running by so quickly he couldn't reach out. Margaret burst beside him, breathing heavily. For some reason, he could hear her sharp intake of breath over the din. "What the hell?" she panted, looking around wildly, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand and clutching Hawkeye's arm with the other.

His eyes finally settled on Charles, who was standing half in and half out of The Swamp, dressed in his bathrobe and wearing only one slipper. He'd obviously been roused from a deep sleep.

"Charles! What's going on?" Margaret yelled. Charles just gave her a gimlet glance and drew the bathrobe tighter around his waist. "I guess he didn't hear me," she mumbled.

Finally, Potter emerged from the dust. "Damn, am I glad to see you two. A couple of shells hit the minefield and all hell broke loose. Far as I can tell no one's hurt bad, just some folks stunned by the noise and a few fragment injuries. Thank God," sighed Potter, before he rushed away. Hawkeye and Margaret looked at each other. You just can't get too comfortable when there's a war on.

After an afternoon digging out shell fragments and treating earaches, Hawkeye mourned his lost picnic with Margaret. He headed out again to the tree and found her sitting under it once again. She patted the ground.

"Join me? The food's gone but I have a couple of beers, you know, to take the edge off," she smiled. Hawkeye plopped on the soft ground and accepted a bottle. It was only slightly lukewarm.

They sat silently until dusk, watching the sky turn from blue to pink. Margaret yawned at one point. She laid her head on Hawkeye's shoulder and he draped an arm around her back.

The stars were very bright that evening. They cast enough light for Hawkeye to see Margaret's hands in the gloom. They were clasped tightly, tensely.

"The night before I had to leave Crabapple Cove I went down to the beach and sat on my favorite rock. I wanted to remember, I guess, because I knew when I'd come back things would be different. The sea hardly changes, neither does the town, but I would be different. I guess I didn't know how different," he said softly.

"I would have thought you'd be on the beach with a girl or two," said Margaret.

"Nope. I wanted to be but my father insisted I come along and pick out a new clotheswasher. That took all day. We only have one appliance store in Crabapple Cove and it took all day to choose between the three washers they had in stock."

"I hope you got a Maytag," said Margaret. Hawkeye shook a little internally.

"We did. My dad says it works like a charm."

"I plan to get one when I get settled down. I've never had one before. And a dishwasher. And a really nice car, maybe a Buick," she said.

"I hope you get everything you want, Margaret. You're always welcome in Crabapple Cove, you know that. Come on up and eat lobster til you burst."

She lifted her head and he kissed her cheek. "Come on. It's getting cold out here. Let's go get more booze," she offered, scrambling to get up.

In the Officer's Club, the crowd was light. Most were exhausted from all the excitement of the day. BJ and Klinger were playing cards with Potter at the bar. Hawkeye noticed BJ and Potter winking at each when he walked in with Margaret.

"Hey, over here!" called BJ. "Come watch me beat Klinger."

"Fat chance. I got three bucks riding on a hot hand," said Klinger. Potter coughed in the haze of cigar smoke.

Igor brought out some Scotch and Father Mulcahy brought in some radishes, still warm from the dirt. They all ate and talked but Margaret never left Hawkeye's side. Peppy swing music blared from the jukebox, but no one had the energy to Lindy or jitterbug.

But then "Moonlight Serenade" came on.

"Shall we dance, Major?" Hawkeye didn't wait for an answer. They joined a few other couples near the jukebox. At first they danced cordially, aware of the room. As the song went on, Margaret hooked an arm around his shoulders and he pulled her close. Her cheek was firmly pressed against his shoulder. Hawkeye dropped a kiss on top of her head and felt Margaret's breathing increase. His heart felt like it would burst from his chest. He didn't see BJ and Potter smiling in the corner, card game forgotten.

When the song – and the song afterward ended – they stepped apart. The small crowd was thinning. "Margaret, I'll walk you home," he mumbled. She looked dazed, but took his arm. BJ yelled something but Hawkeye didn't hear it.

Outside the stars were even brighter in their intensity. Just looking at the sky, you be anywhere, even back on a rugged Maine beach with a full moon and the waves crashing at your feet. It was only when you looked down that the olive drab rose, but it never quite blotted out the night.

"Beautiful tonight," she said slowly.

"It really is," he agreed.

They were at her door.

"I ahhhh," they both said, turning to face each other.

Margaret swallowed. Hawkeye could hear the dull thud of his heartbeat.

He thought of the night in the hut. He thought catching her crying over the dog. The arguements. Frank. Donald. They way her hair illuminated softly in the moonlight. The cracked doorframe and the small scar on her forehead.

And he kissed her. Softly.

She kissed him back, softly. There was no joke to play, no fear, no imminent death. Just them, under the stars.

Margaret stepped back and smiled. Hawkeye could see a glimmer of tears in her eyes and beyond that, a faraway look.

"Goodnight," she said, grasping his hand.

"Goodnight," he said back, and watched her walk in, shut the door and click on the light.

BJ was in front of The Swamp, sipping a martini and staring at the sky. Hawkeye nodded at him and sat down, accepting a glass.

"Everything go okay?"

Hawkeye smiled and nodded. This was new. The tornado, while unexpected, changed a lot of things. Whatever it is that he and Margaret had now would change. Deep down, he hoped and prayed this would work.

"It's a beautiful night," said BJ.

"It's a beautiful world," smiled Hawkeye, as he leaned back to stare at the heavens.