'Hawkeye!' Alex hugged Hawkeye hard.
'BJ, this is Alex. Alex, BJ Hunnicutt, my new partner in crime,' Hawkeye said as Alex let go.
'Martini?' BJ asked.
'You two sit down, I'll work the Still,' Alex said, pouring drinks. A few minutes later, she sat down after giving BJ and Hawkeye their martini's.
'She makes them better than you, Hawk,' BJ joked as he drank deeply.
'No I don't. Maybe you've let the gin sit there for a while longer than you do usually,' Alex said, sipping it quietly. 'Dani been around yet?'
'No, but she was winking at Radar, maybe hoping for a date, or something,' Hawkeye said.
'Wouldn't give Klinger a second look, though,' BJ grinned.
'So, BJ, you married? Single? Divorced? Widowed? What?' Alex asked. 'If it was either of the last two, you don't have to tell me about it.'
'Married, with a little girl called Erin,' BJ said, going through his pocket. He handed a small photo to Alex and she looked at it.
'She's beautiful,' Alex said as she handed the photo back.
'So, what's the word back home?' Hawkeye asked.
'Not much,' Alex said lazily. 'Nothing you wouldn't have already heard about.'
'What about you? Are you married, or what?' BJ asked. Alex looked up sharply, a look of pure hatred in her eyes.
'A guy once promised me marriage. He died and I found out he already had a fiancée. I haven't really looked around for another guy, but my mother keeps bugging me about it,' Alex said.
'I thought you were over him,' Hawkeye said.
'I am. Just annoys me when I think about him now. I gave him anything he wanted, and the. . . rat lied to me,' Alex said, spilling a little of her martini. Suddenly, the door to the Swamp opened. Frank came in and stopped halfway through the door.
'YOU!' he yelled.
'Hi, Frank,' Alex said.
'Frank's an old flame of hers,' Hawkeye said to BJ.
'He is not, I thought we've been through this,' Alex snapped.
'What are you doing here?' Frank asked.
'I got bored at home, decided I need to be almost blown up to make me feel not so bored,' Alex replied. Radar came bumbling into the tent behind Frank.
'Uh, Alex? There's no room in the nurse's tent. We have to move either you or Dani somewhere else,' Radar said. He moved beside Alex and started whispering to Alex. 'Do you know your sister winked at me? She's got me really scared!' he hissed. Alex laughed.
'Yeah, she'll do that. Tell her you're married, she'll leave you alone. Radar, leave Dani in there, and I'll come stay in the Swamp, if I'm allowed,' Alex said.
'That's not allowed!' Frank yelled.
'Unless Potter died, I don't think you have the right to say that, Frank,' Hawkeye said.
'Unless you want me staying in Major Houlihan's tent, and believe me, I'll be spending a lot of time in there, there isn't anywhere else for me to stay,' Alex said, sitting back and watching Frank's face turn a little white. He turned and left, and Alex saluted his retreating back.
'So, what did your parents say when you got home the first time?' BJ asked Alex.
'Well, dad's dead, but my mom was happy to see me. Wouldn't leave me alone, carried on about me not eating enough in the army,' Alex gave Hawkeye a secretive look. 'But she was glad to see me. Thought she'd lose me after Isaac died. She was worried when Dani and I signed up again, but I told her we didn't get hit by bombs all that often.'
'Where is Dani?' Hawkeye asked.
'Probably got some poor kid cornered somewhere in the supply room,' Alex said, closing her eyes blissfully.
'Come on, we better go see the Colonel about your living arrangements,' BJ said, getting up from his cot.
'Why bother? Frank will tell Margaret I'm staying in here, and she'll go see Potter, then he'll come see me. No need to get up,' Alex said, opening one green eye and looking up at BJ.
'Lazy,' Hawkeye said, pulling her up. They left the Swamp, and halfway to the Colonel's office, Alex stopped.
'Who owns the horse? Radar doesn't still have his little zoo, does he?' she asked, pointing to the brown mare in a rough pen.
'Colonel Potter's. Radar gave it to him after we found it in the middle of no-where,' Hawkeye said. They went into the Colonel's office, and Potter looked up.
'Yes?' he asked.
'No room in the nurse's tent for me, and I'm asking permission to sleep in the Swamp,' Alex said, saluting. Potter glanced at Hawkeye. He knew what the surgeon was like.
'I suppose you may stay there. Any misbehaving, and I'll send you to Major Houlihan's tent,' Potter said sternly, but he gave Alex a quick smile.
'Thanks, sir,' Alex said. Suddenly, Margaret and Frank burst in.
'Colonel, I will not allow one of my nurses sleep in a tent with HIM!' Margaret said, pointing at Hawkeye.
'Major, not a lot can happen with BJ there, can it?' Potter asked.
'Or Frank,' Hawkeye added.
'And it's either the Swamp or your tent, Margaret,' Alex said. Margaret started protesting, Frank, Hawkeye and BJ were yelling, and Colonel Potter just sat there with all the noise around him. Suddenly, Dani came in, adding to the confusion.
'Who's she?' Frank demanded.
'I'm Dani. Alex's sister. She's told me about you. You're Ferret Face,' Dani said, sticking her tongue out. Hawkeye and BJ began to laugh, while Alex blushed. She pulled on Dani's arm and lead her to the outer office.
'Danielle, don't mess with these people! They'll make your life a living hell,' Alex said.
'Come on, Alex, it's just a little fun,' Dani said, grinning.
'This is not school. You cannot treat the higher ranking officers like dirt, like you did your teachers, they will get you back for it. Do I make myself clear?' Alex growled.
'Fine, I won't treat them like I do my teachers. But you have to let me have a little fun,' Dani complained.
'Look, I'll introduce you to the enlisted men later, and you can clean them out in poker. You don't behave, and I'll tell the whole camp how good you are, and you won't be able to get a cent out of them,' Alex threatened.
'Fine,' Dani said. 'You owe me, though.'
'Hawkeye will invite you to do some pranks with us later, if you don't muck around,' Alex said. Dani's face light up. Hawkeye's pranks were somewhat of a legend to her.
'Alright. And I'll even give you a ten percent cut of my winnings if you don't say a word,' Dani said. Alex nodded.
'But there are a few I don't want you playing,' Alex replied. 'Come on, better get this all sorted out,' she said, nodding towards the office. She and Dani went in, where everyone was quiet.
'Uh, Major Burns, Margaret, this is my little sister, Dani,' Alex said, trying to look cheerful. Dani grinned evilly at the two Majors.
'Hello, Ferret Face, Hotlips,' she said, saluting politely. Alex kicked Dani in the leg, and Dani didn't say another word.
'I don't want to hear another word about Alex's living arrangements, understood?' Potter asked. Everyone nodded and he waved them out the door. 'Those two kids are going to give me a hard time,' Potter said, looking through his desk drawers for his headache tablets.
'BJ, this is Alex. Alex, BJ Hunnicutt, my new partner in crime,' Hawkeye said as Alex let go.
'Martini?' BJ asked.
'You two sit down, I'll work the Still,' Alex said, pouring drinks. A few minutes later, she sat down after giving BJ and Hawkeye their martini's.
'She makes them better than you, Hawk,' BJ joked as he drank deeply.
'No I don't. Maybe you've let the gin sit there for a while longer than you do usually,' Alex said, sipping it quietly. 'Dani been around yet?'
'No, but she was winking at Radar, maybe hoping for a date, or something,' Hawkeye said.
'Wouldn't give Klinger a second look, though,' BJ grinned.
'So, BJ, you married? Single? Divorced? Widowed? What?' Alex asked. 'If it was either of the last two, you don't have to tell me about it.'
'Married, with a little girl called Erin,' BJ said, going through his pocket. He handed a small photo to Alex and she looked at it.
'She's beautiful,' Alex said as she handed the photo back.
'So, what's the word back home?' Hawkeye asked.
'Not much,' Alex said lazily. 'Nothing you wouldn't have already heard about.'
'What about you? Are you married, or what?' BJ asked. Alex looked up sharply, a look of pure hatred in her eyes.
'A guy once promised me marriage. He died and I found out he already had a fiancée. I haven't really looked around for another guy, but my mother keeps bugging me about it,' Alex said.
'I thought you were over him,' Hawkeye said.
'I am. Just annoys me when I think about him now. I gave him anything he wanted, and the. . . rat lied to me,' Alex said, spilling a little of her martini. Suddenly, the door to the Swamp opened. Frank came in and stopped halfway through the door.
'YOU!' he yelled.
'Hi, Frank,' Alex said.
'Frank's an old flame of hers,' Hawkeye said to BJ.
'He is not, I thought we've been through this,' Alex snapped.
'What are you doing here?' Frank asked.
'I got bored at home, decided I need to be almost blown up to make me feel not so bored,' Alex replied. Radar came bumbling into the tent behind Frank.
'Uh, Alex? There's no room in the nurse's tent. We have to move either you or Dani somewhere else,' Radar said. He moved beside Alex and started whispering to Alex. 'Do you know your sister winked at me? She's got me really scared!' he hissed. Alex laughed.
'Yeah, she'll do that. Tell her you're married, she'll leave you alone. Radar, leave Dani in there, and I'll come stay in the Swamp, if I'm allowed,' Alex said.
'That's not allowed!' Frank yelled.
'Unless Potter died, I don't think you have the right to say that, Frank,' Hawkeye said.
'Unless you want me staying in Major Houlihan's tent, and believe me, I'll be spending a lot of time in there, there isn't anywhere else for me to stay,' Alex said, sitting back and watching Frank's face turn a little white. He turned and left, and Alex saluted his retreating back.
'So, what did your parents say when you got home the first time?' BJ asked Alex.
'Well, dad's dead, but my mom was happy to see me. Wouldn't leave me alone, carried on about me not eating enough in the army,' Alex gave Hawkeye a secretive look. 'But she was glad to see me. Thought she'd lose me after Isaac died. She was worried when Dani and I signed up again, but I told her we didn't get hit by bombs all that often.'
'Where is Dani?' Hawkeye asked.
'Probably got some poor kid cornered somewhere in the supply room,' Alex said, closing her eyes blissfully.
'Come on, we better go see the Colonel about your living arrangements,' BJ said, getting up from his cot.
'Why bother? Frank will tell Margaret I'm staying in here, and she'll go see Potter, then he'll come see me. No need to get up,' Alex said, opening one green eye and looking up at BJ.
'Lazy,' Hawkeye said, pulling her up. They left the Swamp, and halfway to the Colonel's office, Alex stopped.
'Who owns the horse? Radar doesn't still have his little zoo, does he?' she asked, pointing to the brown mare in a rough pen.
'Colonel Potter's. Radar gave it to him after we found it in the middle of no-where,' Hawkeye said. They went into the Colonel's office, and Potter looked up.
'Yes?' he asked.
'No room in the nurse's tent for me, and I'm asking permission to sleep in the Swamp,' Alex said, saluting. Potter glanced at Hawkeye. He knew what the surgeon was like.
'I suppose you may stay there. Any misbehaving, and I'll send you to Major Houlihan's tent,' Potter said sternly, but he gave Alex a quick smile.
'Thanks, sir,' Alex said. Suddenly, Margaret and Frank burst in.
'Colonel, I will not allow one of my nurses sleep in a tent with HIM!' Margaret said, pointing at Hawkeye.
'Major, not a lot can happen with BJ there, can it?' Potter asked.
'Or Frank,' Hawkeye added.
'And it's either the Swamp or your tent, Margaret,' Alex said. Margaret started protesting, Frank, Hawkeye and BJ were yelling, and Colonel Potter just sat there with all the noise around him. Suddenly, Dani came in, adding to the confusion.
'Who's she?' Frank demanded.
'I'm Dani. Alex's sister. She's told me about you. You're Ferret Face,' Dani said, sticking her tongue out. Hawkeye and BJ began to laugh, while Alex blushed. She pulled on Dani's arm and lead her to the outer office.
'Danielle, don't mess with these people! They'll make your life a living hell,' Alex said.
'Come on, Alex, it's just a little fun,' Dani said, grinning.
'This is not school. You cannot treat the higher ranking officers like dirt, like you did your teachers, they will get you back for it. Do I make myself clear?' Alex growled.
'Fine, I won't treat them like I do my teachers. But you have to let me have a little fun,' Dani complained.
'Look, I'll introduce you to the enlisted men later, and you can clean them out in poker. You don't behave, and I'll tell the whole camp how good you are, and you won't be able to get a cent out of them,' Alex threatened.
'Fine,' Dani said. 'You owe me, though.'
'Hawkeye will invite you to do some pranks with us later, if you don't muck around,' Alex said. Dani's face light up. Hawkeye's pranks were somewhat of a legend to her.
'Alright. And I'll even give you a ten percent cut of my winnings if you don't say a word,' Dani said. Alex nodded.
'But there are a few I don't want you playing,' Alex replied. 'Come on, better get this all sorted out,' she said, nodding towards the office. She and Dani went in, where everyone was quiet.
'Uh, Major Burns, Margaret, this is my little sister, Dani,' Alex said, trying to look cheerful. Dani grinned evilly at the two Majors.
'Hello, Ferret Face, Hotlips,' she said, saluting politely. Alex kicked Dani in the leg, and Dani didn't say another word.
'I don't want to hear another word about Alex's living arrangements, understood?' Potter asked. Everyone nodded and he waved them out the door. 'Those two kids are going to give me a hard time,' Potter said, looking through his desk drawers for his headache tablets.