They sat in Colonel Potter's office.

"Pierce, I am proud of you. You made the right decision. Instead of allowing everyone to get killed, you chose to take a stand, and it wasn't an easy one for you to take."

"The Major forced me to decide which stand to take. Colonel, those were people I killed. How do I live with that?" Hawkeye was now having serious doubts about his earlier actions. With Margaret lying there hurt and the North Koreans literally breathing down their necks, at the time, he felt there was no other alternative.

"Son, look at it this way. You saved one life, perhaps several. That is why you did it. Not for the glory, not for the praise you received. You did it to save the life of someone you care about, and the lives of the wounded and others that were there. There's nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about."

"No, but why does it feel so awful that I did the 'right' thing?" Hawkeye asked him.

"All I know is that sometimes we are placed in situations where we need to choose the lesser of two evils. What you did today was a true act of bravery, and I don't say this often, Hawkeye, but I am proud of what you did. Damn proud. To be honest with you, I never thought you would ever do what you did, but by killing those soldiers, you saved the lives of countless others," Colonel Potter told him. "Why don't you pay the Major a visit in Post-Op? I am sure she'd appreciate it."

"I don't know if I am ready to see her yet," Hawkeye confided in him. "She was the reason I picked up the gun in the first place." He knew that was the main reason he picked up the gun but there were other reasons he did what he did and he couldn't reconcile those reasons yet in his mind. He didn't want to even think they were a possibility.

Meanwhile in Post-Op...

"BJ?" Margaret called to him. He was making his rounds in Post-Op, and she was still recovering from her wounds. She woke up feeling refreshed and much better this morning. She was happy about that because for the past few days, she had been in pain and not really in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Yes, Margaret? What can I do for you? It is nice to see you smiling this early in the day," BJ came right over to her. She was looking better and better each day. The color was returning to her face. He felt terrible about the ordeal that she and Hawkeye had to go through. He also knew that it was long from over, as he watched his bunkmate throughout the last few days.

"Can I ask a question?" She began. He nodded, so she felt OK to continue. "It's about Captain Pierce."

"OK, so what do you want to know?" BJ knew where the conversation was heading, and he knew he couldn't offer too much more than she already knew.

"Well, since we have been back, he has avoided me, ignored me, even when he is on duty here. He even tries to get others to deal with me. It is like he is scared of me, for crying out loud," Margaret couldn't hide her impatience with him. She was tired of it. She knew he could hold a grudge, but for this long? She had never seen him like this. Deep down, it was really starting to bother her and deeper down, it saddened her. She thought they were good friends. How could she have been wrong about that? They have been through so much together that it was hard to imagine they wouldn't make it through this.

"Well, Margaret, you aren't far off. He did something I never thought he would do when he shot that gun to save your life. Now, you are now the painful reminder of what he did. You also are someone he so deeply cares about, but he can't figure out a way to deal with it. So instead of dealing with you right now, it is easier to ignore you. Just give him time. He is confused, and just needs the time and space to work it out. He always figures things out, right?" BJ smiled at her as a way to cheer her up. He felt awful that there was no more he could do. He and Hawkeye had already spoken about this several times, and he concluded he should allow Hawkeye the time he needed to work it out. BJ was fairly confident that his bunkmate would come around, although he wasn't sure when it would happen.

Margaret was in her tent thinking about everything for the hundredth time. The moment had arrived. She left her tent and walked over to the Swamp.

"Hawkeye?" Margaret said as she knocked on his tent door. Without waiting for him to respond, she walked in and looked at him. He looked defeated. His eyes didn't have the same spark she usually saw in them. She hadn't seen him crack a smile in the week they had been back at the 4077th. She was beginning to feel terribly concerned about him. Now that she was up and around again, she decided to try and end the silence once and for all.

"I want you to know that what you did out there is something I never thought I'd ever see you do, and I owe my life to you. You saved me. If you hadn't pulled the trigger when you did..."

He quickly interrupted, "Major, first of all, I did it because I was ordered to. And secondly, I killed people, not North Koreans, not Americans, but people. They were people, God damn it!" He gulped his drink and slammed his glass down on the nearest table, and began to pour another.

"No, stop, Hawkeye," she grabbed his arm to stop him from pouring more. He pushed her away from him. "If it makes you feel better, I would have done the same thing." She was really hoping she could reach him and something in her was sad that she couldn't. She looked into his eyes and they were vacant.

"That's the point. You didn't do it, I did. I have to live with it and you don't. Margaret, this isn't doing either of us any good. Please leave."

"Damn it, Pierce! Do I have to get down and kiss the ground you walk on? You saved my life. You saved other people's lives. Doesn't that count for something? Anything at all? Or don't we matter as much as the soldiers who were trying to kill us? Why can't you get out of your self-pity and self-centeredness and see that other people were affected by this and not just you?" With that, Margaret turned around and stormed out of the tent. She had her say. Let him deal with it. She was so frustrated and fed up with his attitude towards her. She decided to try and not let it bother her, as she headed to the Post-Op for her rounds. Once there, she grabbed the door and slammed it behind her. Everyone in Post-Op looked at her, some in disbelief of what she had done. She saw Major Winchester on duty and approached him.

"Well, Margaret, it is nice to see that we can tell time," he said in an arrogant tone of voice. He was not amused that she was late for her rounds, which meant that he would be interrupted in his routine.

Margaret glared at him. Of all days, why was it today that she would be stuck working with him? "I'm sorry I'm late, Major. I had something to take care of," she answered him in an equally snobby voice, not caring in the least to confide in him.

"Well, I know that dealing with Hawkeye Pierce ranks right up there with meeting the President of the United States, but I would appreciate it if you could show some consideration. We have work in here to do, too," Major Winchester would not let her forget this one.

"What I do on my time is my own business, MAJOR. When does it become your business?" Margaret persisted. She was so angry and frustrated, and now this. Could this day get any worse?

"When you stroll in late and have the nerve to make me cover for you. Furthermore, back in the Swamp, I never hear the end of this thing between the two of you. That's all Pierce will talk about. Honestly, I don't care," Major Winchester went back to his appointed rounds.

She didn't realize that she could feel even worse about all of this but knowing that Pierce was also tormented by this and that they weren't coming to any resolution pained her deeply. "Damn him," she muttered to herself as she picked up a clipboard and walked through Post-Op.