AN: Thank you, gorgeous reviewers. Special thanks to lostineden for a bit of help when I got stuck.

Frank's getting impatient and, if possible, even twitchier. A murmuring crowd is gathering, and if he doesn't get out of here quickly someone might stop him, "March it, you three! We need to make it to headquarters by tomorrow."

Hawkeye turns to look at him, incredulous, "On foot? You could at least steal us a jeep, Frank."

"Quiet, you wiseapple," Frank cocks his gun, "Move it!"

Hawkeye takes a quick look at his fellow hostages. Margaret's apparently quite drunk and also determinedly not looking at him or anybody, and BJ is staring at Frank with annoyed perplexion. The idiot has finally cracked it. Hawkeye really doesn't like the way Frank is waving his gun around, he makes eye contact with BJ and silent understanding passes between them, "Hey Frank, have you got the safety on on that thing?"

"Of course I have, what do you think I am?"

"Well…"

Margaret elbows Hawkeye in the ribs. Now was the worst time for winding up Frank.

Hawkeye's pleased that he can still get some reaction out of her.

Frank's already limited patience is wearing thin, "MOVE IT!" he all but screams.

Margaret looks at the men and shrugs, before starting to walk towards the outskirts of camp. BJ and Hawkeye look at each other again before BJ runs in front of her to take the lead and Hawkeye slips in behind her. As he does he notices a terrified looking Radar run past. They might make it out of this one after all.

Margaret's unimpressed with the men taking over, "Hey!", she doesn't need a man to lead her.

BJ turns to her, "Just don't want you tripping over in the dark Margaret, you've had a bit to drink.

She grumbles something inaudible but doesn't make a move to lead again, How dare he, how dare they! All she'd wanted was a nice, quiet, inebriated night in her tent. She hasn't realised that the reason Hawkeye's moved in behind her is so that there's someone between herself and Frank and his gun. She's too busy concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, because she doesn't want to even consider what Frank in this state is capable of.


"Colonel Potter?" Radar shakes him awake, "Sir, sir, you've gotta come quick. Sir!" Radar hates waking the Colonel up, but in this case he's got no choice. One of the nurses had come running into his office after she'd heard Major Burns have words with Major Houlihan, and she'd said that he'd had a gun. Then on the way over here he'd seen Major Burns waving it at the Captains and making them come outside of their tent.

"Radar, what in Sam Hill is the matter?"

"Major Burns has a gun, sir, he's holding Major Houlihan and Captains Pierce and Hunnicutt hostage, sir, something about them being communists."

Colonel Potter sits up and curses, "That Burns! Call the MP's, quick," he sighs, "Why couldn't that moron wait one more day to chuck a psycho, Sidney will be here in the morning!"

"Uh, yes sir, right away, sir!" Radar says, already rushing for the door on the way to the phone.

By the time the Colonel arrives on the scene, he sees Frank trying to make Hawkeye, BJ and Margaret march out of camp, "Where the hell is he taking them?"

Frank's apparently getting snippy at Hawkeye who keeps placing himself between him and Margaret even when tries to get him to swap places with her, "Get out of my way, Pierce!"

"Oh no, there's no way you get to point the gun at everybody's favourite Major," Hawkeye stops having noticed the arrival of the Colonel. Margaret looks wide eyed.

"Hold it right there, Burns!"

Frank gasps, "Colonel Potter, I knew it, you're one of them too! This whole camp is infested. Filthy, rotten communists!

The Colonel watches Frank waving his gun around in the air, the fool is seemingly unaware that it's even in his hand, "I sure hope that safety's on!"

But Frank isn't listening. Hawkeye's watching too, he's waving the gun around more than ever. Frank's about as good with safety as he is with surgery. He continues watching Frank's hand and then adjusts his position between Frank and Margaret to make sure he's covered her completely.

"Dammit, where are those MP's!"

"MP's? you'll need a lot more than MP's to stop me, old man."

"Now watch who you're calling old…"

At that moment two MP's and Klinger with his guard rifle come running into view and Frank starts yelling, "No, don't come any closer, they're mine, mine, do you hear me!"

Frank's gun goes off as he gesticulates. Some of the nurses scream, but Margaret can be heard above all of them. For a moment it's not clear whether she's going to leap over Hawkeye and strangle Frank, but she stays put. She'd probably try and kill him.


His arm is on fire. That idiot actually managed to shoot him. Hawkeye can't decide whether the fact that it was an accident makes it better or worse. He looks over at Margaret who has impressively managed to find some clarity in her haze. She's task oriented, jaw set firmly. Determinedly not looking at him. She takes BJ's shirt from him and presses it firmly into his wound. He screams as white spots cloud his vision. Her face is still hard but he sees her eyes glistening. He wants to reach out to her, touch her face. Now is probably as good a time as any, she's unlikely hit him if he's already wounded. Wincing, he slowly lifts his good arm and gently brushes her cheek. She freezes on contact. The only acknowledgement is the involuntary trembling of her lips. She ducks her head quickly before anyone can see her shed a tear, all the while keeping the pressure on his wound. They're as complicated as they've ever been.


The Colonel's struggling to keep his anger in check, "Burns, you imbecile!" He's about to say more but the MPs take advantage of the commotion and pull a stupefied Frank away and put him in handcuffs. The man's only lucky they don't have a straight jacket handy. As they take him away, Colonel Potter looks over to the Nurses still gathered nearby, "Kellye, get the OR ready, I'll go scrub up. Baker, take over from Major Houlihan."

Margaret's head shoots up at this, "But sir!"

"Negative, Houlihan. You're too close to the patient," she opens her mouth to say something but he quickly cuts her off, "and you've had a few too many cc's of alcohol." Her mouth snaps shut again. "Hunnicutt, take her somewhere and make sure she's okay. We've got this covered."

Margaret's face is stony. BJ gives her his arm and helps her up. He briefly considers taking her to the Officer's Club but instead leads a silent Margaret back to the Swamp, if only because it's quieter there, and hell, maybe he'll even get her to talk.