Alex woke up with her head pounding. She could remember most of last night, which was probably a good thing, but the parts she wanted to forget were wedged in her mind, clear as a plane of glass. She groaned and sat up, glancing at the other nurses asleep on their cots. Marple and Crystal had left not too much longer after Alex told them about what happened at her last post. Jefferson and Kellye had been insistent on continuing the celebrations without them, however, for a few hours at least. There was no sign of Baker having been in the tent since sometime yesterday, but Alex didn't care about that. She got up, a hand held to her head as pain rushed through it. Picking her way across the messy tent, Alex decided that the one thing she wanted at that moment was coffee.

Going outside was even worse than standing up. Shielding her eyes against the light, she stumbled across the compound, heading in the general direction of the mess tent. It took her a moment or two to figure out how to open the door when she reached it, and she staggered in, sitting down for a moment at one of the tables to recover.

'Coffee?' someone asked her after a few minutes of sitting there with her head resting in her hands. Alex nodded, deciding maybe alcohol was the cause of her problems, not the solution. She'd have to cut back. Alex wasn't even sure she recognised the voice offering to get her a coffee.

'You come here often?' the person asked her a few minutes later as they put a mug in front of her. She couldn't help but smile, realising that there was only one person it could be.

'Thanks, Hawkeye,' she said, sipping at her coffee.

'You said something about a promotion last night?'

'Yeah.'

'So now you're a Captain.'

'Not quite. Try Major.'

'What? How'd that happen?'

Alex flinched. 'Hey, keep it down. My head doesn't need any yelling this morning.'

'But how did you make Major? The army hasn't changed their regulations again, has it?'

'Yes, Hawkeye. Captain is now a higher rank than Major.' Alex cringed again. Even sarcasm hurt this morning. 'I got promoted twice.'

'How does that work?' Hawkeye wanted to know.

'Ask BJ or Potter,' Alex explained. 'I can't be bothered explaining it this morning.' There was a long pause as Alex sipped her coffee with her eyes closed, waiting for Hawkeye to say something.

'I suppose that's what you were doing last night,' he said. 'Celebrating with the nurses.'

'Mmm,' Alex replied. Another pause.

'I'm sorry about last night,' Hawkeye said. 'It wasn't what it looked like.'

'It's ok,' Alex said.

'No it's not,' Hawkeye said. 'You deserve an explanation.'

'No, I don't, Hawkeye,' Alex said, sounding as forceful as she could without aggravating her headache too much. 'We're not dating any more, remember? If you want to date Margaret or the other nurses, then fine. Just like if I want to date Charles, I can.'

'What!' Alex cringed again. 'Sorry,' Hawkeye said.

'Something happened in Tokyo,' Alex explained. 'And now Charles wants to see me more often.'

'He can't,' Hawkeye said stubbornly.

'Why not?'

Hawkeye was stuck for an answer. 'Because,' he said childishly after a moment.

'So it's ok for you to start dating again, but not for me?' Alex asked.

'Exactly.'

'Please don't make it any harder than it already is,' Alex pleaded.

'How am I making it harder?' Hawkeye wanted to know.

'I'm still having trouble getting over you, when you seem to have forgotten me just like that,' Alex said. She gave a small, bitter smile. 'I'm just the forgettable woman.'

'You're very unforgettable,' Hawkeye said. Alex gave a short, bitter laugh, ignoring the pounding in her head for a moment.

'Do you know how many relationships I've been in?' she asked. 'Every single guy I've dated has gone on to marry someone else, or date a million more people, without giving me a second thought. I must be pretty average for them to do that.'

'If you were average, Charles wouldn't want to see you,' Hawkeye said, sounding slightly upset. If you were average, I wouldn't love with you, he thought.

Alex didn't hear the upset undertone of his words; her head was still trying to get around drinking her coffee and listening at the same time.

'Maybe,' she said. There was a pause as Hawkeye thought about what to say next.

'I hope everything works out for you,' he said finally, laying his hand over hers. She looked up and smiled at him.

'Thanks,' she said.

Alex was in the Swamp later on, sitting on Charles' cot with the Major beside her. Charles was muttering something quietly into her ear, and she was sitting there, listening. Her eyes were closed, and there was a look of content on her face. She loved poetry, and Charles seemed to know many beautiful poems. Beautiful like her, he told her. Alex would always smile at this, and then ask him politely to continue with the poetry.

Hawkeye walked in while they were doing this, with his towel over his shoulder. Charles stopped whispering for a moment, and slid his arm away from Alex's waist.

'Don't mind me,' Hawkeye said, putting his towel on a hook near his cot.

'He knows about us,' Alex added to Charles.

'Oh.' His arm slid back around Alex's waist. Hawkeye noticed, but didn't say anything about it.

'You're much more reasonable when you're hung over,' he commented to Alex instead. 'Our discussion this morning didn't end up with one of us storming off.' Alex smiled.

'I don't like yelling when I have a hang over,' she said. 'Anyway, I should be helping Kellye and Jefferson clean up our tent. We made a pretty big mess, and Baker will be on our backs about it until it's spotless. I'll see both of you later, ok?' She gave Charles a quick peck on the cheek, stood up and left the tent, probably looking happier than she had for a long while.

'Hey, Charles?' Hawkeye said. 'I know we don't always see eye to eye on stuff, but can you do me a favour?'

'What?' Charles asked cautiously.

'Take care of her,' Hawkeye said.

'Ugh, how did we make such a big mess in one night?' Alex asked.

'Where are Crystal and Marple? They could be helping,' Jefferson complained.

'Hey, you guys aren't going to treat me any different now I'm a major, right?' Alex asked. 'I mean, I'm still the same person to you, aren't I?'

'Of course you are,' Kellye said. She gave Alex a salute, and Alex threw a pillow at her.

'Cut it out,' she said. 'If I didn't act military when I was a lieutenant, what makes you think I'd be military as a major?'

'Sorry, Alex,' Kellye said with a grin. 'I'm just joking around.' There was a sharp knock on the door, and the three nurses looked up.

'Yo?' Alex said, opening the door. Margaret was standing there, a soured look on her face.

'Colonel Potter told me of your promotion,' she said. 'Congratulations.' There was something in her tone that suggested she wasn't happy with Alex's new rank.

'Is there a problem, Major?' Alex asked.

'No, Lieutenant—I mean, Major,' Margaret said. 'However, this means you will be moving into my tent.'

'What? Why?' Alex demanded. Jefferson and Kellye paused from cleaning to listen.

'You're a major now, and are no longer required to sleep in the nurse's tent,' Margaret said.

'Look, Margaret,' Alex said patiently. 'I wouldn't move in with you when there wasn't room in the nurse's quarters, what makes you think I'll be moving in there when I have an empty cot here?'

'It's regulations, Dustin!' Margaret yelled. Alex, Jefferson and Kellye all cringed with the noise.

'I'd rather stay here. Hell, even moving back into the Swamp would be better for me,' Alex said. 'And I know you'd rather I stayed out of your tent as well. You like your privacy, Major, and I'm not going to be the one to intrude on it. We can go see Colonel Potter about it, if you like, but I'm going to stay here, whether he orders me to move into your tent or not.'

'You are impossible!' Margaret yelled. Alex nodded happily after cringing from the pain again.

'I try my hardest,' she said. 'Margaret, I know you're scared of my taking over your post, but I am honestly no different to what I was a few days ago. Watch.' Alex stood up straight and gave Jefferson and Kellye a steely look. 'Double bedpan duty if you don't clean this tent up within the next ten minutes,' she ordered.

'Get off it, Dustin!' Kellye said, throwing an abandoned pretzel at her.

'See?' Alex said, turning back to Margaret. 'I can't order all of the nurses around like you do. You've got superiority, and you get things done. I'd get walked all over if I were to become Head Nurse.'

'If you think I'm angry about that--' Margaret started, but Alex held a hand up.

'If you really want me to move into your tent, and risk this,' Alex motioned to her own tent, 'then fine. I will bring my belongings over by thirteen hundred hours.' She closed the door firmly in Margaret's face, and then sat down on her cot, slightly pale. 'I can't believe I just told off Margaret Houlihan,' she said weakly. 'I am so demoted!'