Margaret sat still, looking at the place where her son had just been. She smiled, remembering the time when children weren't even a possibility in the plan she had for her life. Sometimes it's good to be wrong. She realized. She now had two beautiful children, and a loving husband. She couldn't be happier with the way her life turned out. She scooted her chair back in and picked up her pen.

I smiled as a saw a bunch of wildflowers (well more like pretty weeds) hanging on the inside of the door. There was a little note attached to them. I untied it and chuckled as I read: "Mornin' Princess. I hope you actually got some sleep last night, wounded tomorrow, bright and early. Have a nice day. –Hawk P.S. Everything is going to work out. I promise!" He could be very sweet if you looked past the obscene humor and crude pranks. As I was getting dressed I realized for the first time (consciously anyway) how much I pushed people away. I could be downright cruel at times, rude to say the least. I though about all the people in camp, most of them could have been very good friends if I had actually treated them humanely.

I got dressed and walked outside toward the mess tent. I saw my nurses all sitting and laughing about some great joke. I always felt left out when I was around them. I suppose it was my own fault but it still hurt. I was feeling fairly confident with myself, so after getting my tray of slop I walked toward the table they were sitting at. I sat my tray down on the end and Kellye scooted over so I could sit down. I could feel everyone staring at me. The silence at the table was excruciating. I stared at my food, feeling incredibly stupid for sitting next to them. I looked up and they were looking at one another uneasily. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hawkeye stand up and start walking toward us. I prayed that he wasn't coming to hit on the nurses. I couldn't handle that right now.

"Hello ladies." They all mumbled something in response. I'm sure their normal greeting would have been much more enthusiastic had I not been there. "I have some good news." His eyes were twinkling with amusement. "We have agreed to have a dance here in the mess tent tonight at seven." All the nurses' reactions were the same. The smiles on their faces were huge. I felt heat rising up my neck and settling behind my eyes. Tears threatened to spill. A dance sounded like a terrible idea. Not only was I in a horrible mood, but I also knew that if I went I would be sitting by myself in some corner the entire night. I hated any celebrations we had at the 4077. I never felt a part of the fun, no matter if I tried or not. I stood up and began to walk outside. I scrapped the food off my tray and placed it in a growing heap of used trays. Hawkeye followed me out.

"Are you coming to our dance Hot Lips?" I felt like crying, I was not in the mood to deal with Pierce. I had cried enough last night. I tried to steady my voice.

"Leave me alone Pierce."

He smiled and leaned over trying to look at my face. "I'm sorry your majesty. I will not take my leave until you have promised to escort me to the dance tonight." I looked up surprised. Was he actually asking me to go with him? "I promise you'll have a good time." I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah sure, I'll go with you." I chuckled and added, "So long as there is no 'party' after the dance."

"Of course not Major." He replied in mocked horror. He bowed and walked away, calling over his shoulder "Be ready at seven, and don't be late!"

Kellye walked up behind me, tapping me lightly on the shoulder. "Are you coming tonight Major?" I smiled and nodded, still watching Pierce walk toward the swamp. I turned and saw Kellye's large grin, a very mischievous grin.

I laughed, noting the question in her face. "Yes, I'm going with Captain Pierce." Kellye looked toward the other nurses who were coming out of the tent.

"Would you like some help with you hair?" She asked. I was stunned! Was she actually offering to help me? I nodded skeptically. "Alright, come on over around six." She smiled and joined the other nurses starting toward their tent. As an after-thought, Kellye turned. "Would you like to join us Major? We were about to play a game of poker." The other nurses glared at her. I honestly don't blame them. In fact I applaud them for their restraint.

I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to go with them. Oh I wanted to go so badly, but my head was telling me to stay back, that they hated me and were only inviting me to be polite. Oh well, I didn't care.

"Yeah sure, I'd like that." The expressions on their faces were of complete astonishment. "Let me run to my tent and grab some money." Kellye laughed. "Actually Major you should grab some nail polish, make up and silk stockings, but don't grab the stockings unless your feeling lucky." I smiled.

"I'll be there in five minutes."

I had a wonderful day. The nurses quickly warmed up to the idea of me joining them. We played several different card games and talked for hours. Dear sweet Kellye, if it wasn't for her I probably would have spent the day moping in my tent. Nurse Able convinced me to borrow a dress of hers. I don't know how they all managed to have dresses with them but they did. It had been so long since I had worn real clothes. I had been in khaki-green for years. Kellye did my hair…it looked horrible. When Able saw it she couldn't stop laughing. Thank God after she stopped crying she re-did it for me. At seven thirty Hawkeye knocked on the door. He had apparently been looking for me since seven…Opps. I did enjoy seeing the look of utter amazement on his face when he saw me with the rest of the nurses. He had put on his tuxedo! I was extremely thankful for the simple cotton dress I was wearing. After telling the other nurses to hurry up, he led me outside. On the way over he was very quite. He was starring at me the whole time. I suppose I did look different. When I walked into the mess tent I was stunned! They had red, black, and white streamers everywhere. Blown up surgical gloves were hanging in various spots, they even had black table cloths! All the men were wearing their dress uniforms. It really looked like a dance.

"How did you manage it?" I asked Hawkeye in amazement. He smiled.

"That's our little secret."

I had a wonderful time that night. I felt slightly self-conscious with all the stares I was getting; especially when I was dancing with Pierce. (This was most of the time.) I tried my best to ignore them though and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I loved being so close to Pierce. I was rapidly discovering what the nurses saw in him. I distinctly remember the last dance. We were attempting to swing dance to My Blue Heaven. We were botching it horribly. Pierce is a rather good dancer…I however am not. I tripped over a bench and Hawkeye fell on top of me. We were laughing and tried pathetically to untangle ourselves. Hawkeye reached over and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. He smiled and was about to say something, however I looked up and noticed a very somber Radar standing next to me.

"Uh Sir? I...uh...I mean…uh…Ma'm…er…Major? Um your hus…Uh I mean…Lt. Col. Penobscott is here to see you."