Kooshball Note: Hey, if you guys are fans of my "Not a TV show" and Kitty Kat Chan's "What the Hell is Going on?", me and Kitty have written a joint fic called "Give A Reason", found at the account, Koosh and Kitty once you're done reading this. Leave a review and keep an eye out for updates.

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'A toast,' Alex said, lifting her glass up. She was in the Officer's club a few nights later, sharing a drink with Charles. The bandage on the back of her hand had been removed just a couple of hours before, and Alex now had a small, almost invisible scar on the back of her hand.

'To what?' Charles asked dryly. 'To this mouldy, festering corner of the war?' Alex paused.

'To this mouldy, festering corner of the war,' she agreed. She sipped her wine with a smile as Charles shook his head.

'You are very strange at times,' he said. This made Alex smile even more.

'Surely not all of this is bad?' she asked, motioning around the officer's club. 'Cheap booze, free entertainment,' (one of the nurses was singing as Father Mulcahy played on the piano) 'and good company.' Alex gave a sly smile at this. 'Maybe a trip to the supply room after all this,' she said. 'You did want to go there a few weeks ago.'

'Unfortunately, my Alexia, I have post op duty.' Charles stood, somewhat hurriedly. He loved Alex, but occasionally her forwardness startled him into remembering she wasn't the sort of people he was used to. 'Business first.'

'Love second,' Alex finished for him, sounding slightly disappointed. She stood up as well, and Charles leant forward to give her a peck on the cheek.

'I will see you when I get off post op duty,' he promised.

'When will that be?' Alex asked.

'Six hundred hours.'

'Ok.' Alex definitely sounded upset this time. She liked being with Charles and being treated like royalty, especially in this hell hole of a war. 'Why are you on duty for so long?' she asked. 'I thought you only had to be on duty for three hours, usually.'

'I traded with Pierce and Hunnicutt for favours,' Charles explained. 'I did not realise I would be on duty for so long.' He sounded annoyed, ripped off. Which, Alex reasoned, he probably had been.

'I'll probably be in the Swamp when you get off,' she said. Charles nodded, then walked off. Alex sat down for a while, staring at the officer club's door, wondering what she would do that night.

'Hey,' a voice said, making her jump. A martini was placed in front of her, and Alex looked up into Hawkeye's blue eyes as he sat down.

'You wouldn't be stalking me, would you?' Alex asked teasingly. 'First the coffee in the mess tent a week ago, now a martini, just seconds after Charles leaves.'

'Just keeping you company,' Hawkeye insisted. 'Penny for your thoughts?' he asked after a moment.

'I've spent so many hours in here,' Alex said, looking around. 'I always took it for granted.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' Hawkeye said in surprise. Alex looked at him, and smiled.

'So what big favour did Charles ask you for him to be on duty so long?' she asked.

'I'm not allowed to tell,' Hawkeye said.

'Come on,' Alex said. 'Tell me.' Hawkeye shook his head with a grin. 'What if I guess it?' Alex asked. 'Then will you tell me?'

'Nope,' Hawkeye said.

'You're so mean,' Alex said, sipping her drink and her eyes dancing with fun.

'You're never like this usually,' Hawkeye said.

'Like what?' Alex wanted to know.

'Like you were when you were here at the 4077th and Henry was still CO,' Hawkeye said. 'You were always so cheerful and bright. It's good to see you like this again.'

'I guess the war gets to me sometimes and I can't act like that all the time,' Alex said, glancing away. Hawkeye laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

'Hey Klinger, how about a scotch?' Hawkeye yelled out as he took his hand away, a few moments later.

'One for me, too,' Alex added. Klinger looked up from the bar, and came over with two drinks a moment later.

'Hey kids, having fun?' Klinger asked, putting the glasses on the table. Alex bit her lip as she stared at her friend.

'Uh, Klinger?' she said quietly, tugging her ear lobes. Confused, Klinger put his hands to his ears to find a pair of earrings.

'I guess I miss the dresses sometimes,' he mumbled sheepishly as he pulled them off quickly. Alex smiled.

'So do I,' she whispered, winking.

'Thanks, Klinger,' Hawkeye said, seemingly undisturbed by the earrings as he picked up his scotch. Maybe he just hadn't noticed them. The Lebanese walked back to the bar, and Alex wondered if she was the only one to notice the low heels and stockings he was wearing under his uniform. She smiled to herself, but didn't say anything to Hawkeye.

'So, what was the favour you did Charles?' Alex asked. Hawkeye just grinned at her.

'Uh-uh, I'm not telling you,' he teased. Alex was about to say something else, but the crackling of the PA system cut her off.

'There's a bunch of wounded coming into the compound, folks. Let's get cracking.'

'What a war,' Alex mumbled, standing up and pulling her jacket on before following Hawkeye out into the compound.

Wounded at night seemed worse than during the day. Doctors, nurses and corpsmen all running around seemed like shadows jumping to and fro, and it was impossible to keep track of one person's movements. She'd lost Hawkeye within moments. Alex stopped to check over a soldier on a stretcher beside a jeep.

'So, what happened?' she asked them, reading the tag.

'It was meant to be a surprise attack on the enemy,' the solider replied. He sounded no older than eighteen. 'They knew we were coming.'

'Poor kid,' Alex said, trying to sound sympathetic before moving on. 'You're not too bad, just sit back and relax.' The boy nodded in the dim light, and Alex turned to the next patient.

'Doctor,' she yelled out after reading the tag. 'Doctor!' she yelled louder and more impatiently when she went ignored.

'Sorry, Major,' Colonel Potter said, bending down beside her.

'This guy's pretty bad,' Alex said to him. 'Does he get a table first, or are there worse off than him?'

'Have a corpsman take him in,' Potter said. 'You go in and scrub up. Work with Jefferson today, she's on Pierce's table.'

'Yes sir,' Alex said, standing up and going inside to pre-op. She would be scrubbed within ten minutes.

The surgeons had already scrubbed and were elbow deep in blood when she arrived in OR. Alex went to Hawkeye's table, glanced over Jefferson's shoulder and asked 'So what's this guy in for?'

'Scalpel,' Hawkeye said to Jefferson. Alex waited for him to finish cutting. 'Belly wounds,' he said. 'Shrapnel pretty close to some major arteries and organs.' He looked up at Alex. 'You know, the usual.'

'Great,' Alex muttered, watching him work. 'It's going to be a hell of a long night.'

Jefferson yawned.

'Hey, keep your eyes open, Jefferson,' Hawkeye said. 'Alex, will you close?'

'Come on, take a few hours sleep,' Alex said, shouldering her friend gently out of the way. 'That'll teach you for staying up late last night.'

'We've been operating for hours,' Jefferson yawned. 'I don't know how you guys do it.'

'We accepted the half hour breaks,' Alex said. 'Come on, go rest a half hour or so.' Nodding, Jefferson walked off. 'How much longer will this go on?' she asked, directing her question at Potter.

'Buck up,' Potter said. 'We're all tired, but the wounded can't keep coming forever.'

'Be one hell of a war if it did,' one of the other nurses mumbled.

'Klinger, need another patient,' Hawkeye said loudly. Alex resisted wiping her brow with her arm.

'How long have we been at this?' she asked.

'Too long,' Charles replied from behind her.

'When does BJ get back from his break? I could do with one,' Hawkeye said.

'No can do, you just had one. Just hang in there,' Potter said. 'How's that arm, Alex?'

'Steady as a rock,' Alex replied, looking at the Korean man Klinger and Father Mulcahy was carrying in. 'Hey, this guy doesn't appear to be in South Korean army or villager uniform,' she said. As Klinger and Father Mulcahy put the man down, Alex's eyes went wide. Hawkeye had seen as well.

'Get down!' he yelled as he ducked. Alex threw herself onto the floor, managing to accidentally knock Charles and Klinger down as well.

That was about the same moment the hand grenade in the Korean's hand went off.