Talking doesn't always help
BJ and Hawkeye sat in the swamp, BJ watching Hawkeye carefully, waiting to see when he'd be ready to talk.
Charles had waited until Hawkeye had calmed down and BJ had him in the swamp before he disappeared. He'd been a good friend tonight to both of them and BJ would remember that.
Hawkeye let out a loud sigh as he moved from the chair to his cot and laid down. "You know, this morning everything was normal. Now, I don't know what the hell's happened." He said quietly.
BJ moved from his cot onto the chair that Hawkeye had just vacated. "Let's start at the beginning and try to make sense of it all. Did you talk to Gaby about what we were talking about?"
Hawkeye looked a little confused for a moment of two before he caught on to what BJ meant. "Oh... about er, ruining things for her, no, no. I didn't speak to her at all, not until we were at the Officer's club and she turned up. But she brushed me off straight away. I thought maybe she'd had a rough time in OR, but she was just really distant."
"For no reason at all?" BJ said.
Hawkeye suddenly seemed to get very mad again. "No, I'll tell you why, because of Margaret!" He stood up and started moving round the tent.
"How do you know it was Margaret?" BJ asked
"Because that's what she said. She didn't even deny it at Rosie's. She told her that I was some cheating, dirty old man." Hawkeye sat down heavily on his cot almost like he'd been deflated. "Maybe it was for the best. I guess she just told her the truth, right?"
"No, it wasn't fair for her to say those things." BJ reassured. Hawkeye always made a good show of his self-confidence, but like most people underneath it all was a very insecure person. "If Gaby's smart she'll make up her own mind, not listen to idle gossip."
"I think she's already made up her mind. You know why I was so bothered about hurting her was because I felt something different about her. I don't know if it's love, but a strong bond at least. Doesn't take much to ruin things, does it?"
There was suddenly a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Gaby Rose walked nervously into the tent, looking at her surroundings.
"Please sit down." Father Mulcahy said, indicating to the chair just inside the door.
"Thank you father." She said. "I'm sorry to come by at this time of night."
"Oh, don't be sorry. My door's open all hours of the day and night." He said. He moved over to the other chair in his room and sat down. "Now, how can I help you?"
"I have a problem and I didn't know who to go to, I don't know many people here yet. I guess it may not be something that you can help with."
"Well, you can give me a try. I'll be as helpful as I can."
"Um, well, I guess it started when I first arrived here. I made a very special friend and I've been told that the person has a reputation. I don't want to ruin things for myself here, I like it here and I care a lot for this person. I've noticed that there's been some strained relationships since I got here. I don't know what to do about it, Father."
"I can see that this could be quite a dilemma. It's never easy being new to a place like this. The best advise I can give you is to follow your heart. If it makes you happy and it feels right, let it lead you to the right path. I know it's not much help, but sometimes it's the best thing we can do."
"Gut instincts." Gaby repeated to herself, finding strange comfort in the words.
Margaret hand shakily gripped the glass of scotch in front of her and she drank it straight down. She placed the glass back on the desk and sat quietly.
Colonel Potter sat on the other side of the desk observing the young nurse.
"Well, Margaret, do you feel like telling me what happened at Rosie's tonight?" He asked. Although he'd been there, he'd only seen what had happened after it really kicked off. The cause of it was his main concern.
"I'm not sure myself, Colonel." Margaret replied quietly.
"Give it your best shot." He encouraged. When she didn't speak, he picked up the bottle of scotch and poured himself a drink. "You know, I can think of a hundred reasons why you and Pierce would fight, but I can't think why you'd ever hit him, major." He emptied his glass and refilled it automatically.
"I think I'm a little tired." Margaret said, not sure why she really reacted the way she did.
"I don't buy that, Major. I tell you what. Go back to your tent have a good sleep. Maybe tomorrow, you won't be so tired that you forget what you've done."
"Yes sir." She stood up and went to the door. Before leaving she looked round at the man sitting there. Holding onto her emotions as much as she could. "I really am sorry." She whispered.
"I know you are." He replied as she left the room.
Colonel Potter left his office and was heading towards his tent when he saw a lone figure in the mess tent.
He headed over there and joined the only soul in there. He picked up a cup and filled in with coffee as he sat down.
"Tough night." Colonel Potter said.
Charles nodded his head in agreement. "Going to be a long one too I think." He added.
"Where is he, the swamp?"
"Yes. He wasn't happy at all. He calmed down a bit before I left him with Hunnicutt." Charles added.
"He's in good hands. Not sure what to do with Margaret, though." Potter said. "She goes back a long way with Hawkeye. This may sound unfair, but if they stay at a stand-off, she'll be the one who loses out."
"How do you mean?" Charles asked confused by what Potter was getting at.
"Well, Margaret by her very nature is a tough lady. She's always been tough on people and can be extremely hard to get on with. If it comes down to popularity, she'll lose. I'm not implying she's friendless but that the army girl in her will come out and she'll push everyone away. She's come a long way that girl. Be a real shame for her to throw all she's done away for a fight with Pierce."
"Especially as he seems to be one of the most influential aspects in making her change her ways. Maybe I could talk to her tomorrow." Charles ventured. "I think that given the circumstances maybe someone close to Pierce, such as yourself, will only make her dig her heel in more."
"Good point, but I hate to seem like I'm taking sides in this. I better go see if Hawkeye's alright too. Don't want him to think the worse. Get some sleep soon, Major."
"Yes, colonel. You too."
Colonel Potter knocked at the door before entering the swamp. Hawkeye seemed to tense up just from looking at him.
He was still mad as heck and it looked as if poor BJ wouldn't get much sleep either.
"Mind if I take a seat? He asked.
"Sure thing, Colonel." BJ answered. He poured himself a Martini and offered one to the colonel, who declined the offer. Hawkeye wasn't drinking either.
"So, you have any idea what happened at Rosie's bar tonight?" He asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Hawkeye said rubbing a hand across his face. He felt tired to his very core. "I don't even wanna think about it. Every time I think about it, it still makes no sense and it's driving me crazy." He said, frustrated.
"You should get some sleep, son. You look like you could use it." Potter said, sympathetically.
"Wish it were that easy." Hawkeye said. He stood up and stretched before going to the door.
"Where are you going?" BJ asked, getting up to.
"The VIP tent. I won't be getting any sleep tonight but that doesn't mean that you and Charles shouldn't." With that, he left, ignoring BJ when he called after him.
BJ and the Colonel watched him as he opened the door to the mess tent and told Charles to go home, before making his way to the VIP tent.
BJ sat back down again.
"You get anything out of him?" Potter asked.
"I think he's in love." BJ replied.