It was a cool, crisp day as they walked out of the OR. Hawkeye and B.J. had just finished 12 straight hours of surgery. It also had been one of their slower days. Hawkeye Pierce couldn't wait to go back to his cot, close his eyes and tune out the world.

"Ah, to be in war-torn Korea in the fall. How nice. How long have we been here, Beej?"

"By my calculations, way too long. An eternity, perhaps," B.J. replied, almost not really caring due to utter exhaustion. All he could think about was getting back to the Swamp, lying down on his cot, closing his eyes, and becoming unconscious for another twelve hours. It made the time go faster. He always felt a dull ache when exhausted like this and it made him miss his wife, Peg, even more.

Just then, they heard Klinger's voice come over the PA system. "Captain Pierce and Major Houlihan, please report to Colonel Potter's office."

"I've been summoned," Hawkeye announced and turned toward the CO's office just before he entered the Swamp.

"What did you do this time, Hawk?" B.J. kidded with him. His bunkmate seemed to be a frequent visitor to the colonel's office for one reason or another.

"Nothing, but if I did do something, I'm not telling. I can't reveal all of my secrets," Hawkeye grinned slyly at him and walked toward the Colonel's office. He was hoping for a short meeting and then back to the Swamp to become unconscious for several hours. He usually liked to unwind with a martini after longer shifts in the OR but today he just needed sleep.

"Would I really want to know what your secrets are?" B.J. shouted to him, before entering The Swamp.

Hawkeye entered Klinger's office and found him in his usual spot near the phone, talking to God knows who, making a deal or pursuing some sort of scam. He was intent on getting the message he needed off the phone and didn't notice Hawkeye walk in. He continued through to Colonel Potter's office and found that Margaret had already arrived.

"What a surprise," Hawkeye thought to himself. "She would be early for her funeral." He didn't mean that in a cruel way. It was just that her punctuality was something that never changed about her.

They each were having a drink, and Colonel Potter invited him to have one. "Sure, Colonel. A scotch would do."

"Coming right up. Now then, we'll get down to why you're here," Col. Potter figured it was time to get down to business.

"Yes, Colonel, enlighten us. Why are we here?" Hawkeye couldn't resist being sarcastic at times like these. He was tired. Tired of the war, the pain, the exhaustion.

"Pierce, would you let the Colonel talk? I have better ways to spend my time, other than listen to you shoot your mouth off," Margaret responded, clearly getting angry with him, as she usually did. Some things never changed. She inwardly fumed. Why did she always let him get her upset? Just once, she would like to ignore him and whatever stupid thing came out of his mouth.

"A call came in earlier today from an aid station, located right in the heart of the action at the front. North Korean soldiers moved in unexpectedly and killed some of the wounded and two of the doctors. Right now, they have one surgeon working round the clock." Colonel Potter stopped and looked at them, hoping to see some sort of reaction. Since none were forthcoming, he decided to continue, "So after giving this some thought, I volunteered both of you to go to help out."

"Of course, Colonel. I'll go," Margaret immediately said. There was never any question in her mind. She was dedicated to the army and proudly served her country when and where needed.

Hawkeye was not as quick to respond to his request. Thoughts raced through his mind, "Go to an aid station again... What if we get hurt again and/or killed?" He was never thrilled with the idea of moving CLOSER to the front, farther away from the front wouldn't bother him as much, especially after their last adventure together when they went to the 8063rd.

"Pierce?" The colonel broke through his thoughts of his imminent death. "I need you both to go. You can do the job that needs to be done. Look, Pierce, you have traveled together before, you know each other really well and can make this work, especially with the pressure of being at the front. I am just not comfortable sending out two others from here who haven't done like this. This is a tough decision for any commander to make."

Hawkeye finally agreed. "OK, Colonel. I'll go, but the bill for this house call..." He was starting to feel nervous about going on this imposed "trip". There were also some things he left unsaid about the last adventure he took with the Major and it still bothered him.

"Just go get ready. I need you to go as soon as you can. Klinger will get you a jeep, and one of you will need to pack a gun," Colonel Potter added. He knew what reactions he would get, but he hoped one of them would do it. He had spent too many years in this man's army to not bring a sidearm when traveling into dangerous territory.

Many years ago, he had a friend like Pierce. The friend was not around for very long. The enemy attacked and his friend refused to shoot his gun until it was too late. To this day, he still had a hard time understanding men like Hawkeye Pierce. So against shooting a gun that they are willing to let themselves be shot and killed. After spending most of his life in the army, he just didn't understand that way of thinking anymore. He had known too many soldiers like Hawkeye in his lifetime.

"Certainly, Colonel. I'll take one," Margaret volunteered. Colonel Potter was relieved. Pierce would end up listening to her, if they found themselves in trouble. He also knew that Pierce wouldn't let anything happen to her. That was the unique dynamic between them and that was one of the reasons he felt comfortable sending them off on this journey. If push came to shove, they would protect each other and that was based on having a deep respect for one another. Yes, he felt comfortable sending them, but he feared what awaited them. It was never easy to send people into danger but this was the army and danger was to be expected.

"Ok, then. Call us when you get there," Colonel Potter was hoping to reassure them as he watched them leave his office. "Damn, I hate making these decisions," he silently thought to himself as he watched them head back to their respective tents.

As they drove along, Hawkeye was unusually quiet. It unnerved Margaret to witness this. Usually, Hawkeye Pierce was the most talkative person in any given situation. She wondered if he remembered their last ill-fated trip together, but then again, when was their last fun trip together? Was that the reason for his silence? She began to feel more and more uncomfortable.

They drove a little further down the dirt road. The aid station was up on the left. An old beat-up shack would have been a better description. No windows, a roof that was barely still there, and bombs exploding everywhere around them.

Getting out of the jeep, he was reminded of their other trip together when they went to help at an aid station. This building was in similar shape to the building they found during their first trip with no real ceilings or walls. Make-shift tables were set up to do very basic surgery for the doctors. Dirt and blood all over the floor. An aid station was not the place for beauty.

"Hi, I am Captain Hawkeye Pierce and this is Major Margaret Houlihan," Hawkeye introduced them to the doctor that greeted them as they walked into the station.

"I am Captain Jerry Smith. Nice to see you both. We definitely need any help you can give us. We are down 2 surgeons and we are thrilled to see you both," Captain Smith began leading them around the main rooms of the stations. Not much was left of the building but there was at least some room to work for now.

"Great neighborhood, wouldn't you say? Should we try to find a good restaurant for dinner?" Hawkeye tried once again to lighten the mood. Part of him wasn't kidding about finding a good restaurant. He would have loved that idea but it wasn't the right time to think more about it.

Shells continued to go off. Bombs exploded sounding as though they were right outside the building they were in. They had never experienced this kind of action before as it was more intense than their first experience. As they continued to treat the wounded that kept pouring in, the noise almost didn't seem to matter. What mattered was saving the lives of the young soldiers. For a moment, Hawkeye was able to forget where he was and why he was there. Margaret stood closer to him than she usually did. He found that he enjoyed having her so close. He did have to agree with Col. Potter that they did make a good working team.

"Suction...Clamp...come on, let's go. We have 3 more guys waiting in line after this guy," Hawkeye found that he wanted to work at a faster pace. By now it was early afternoon and he had been up and working for way too many hours. Nerves, anxiety, call it what you will. The North Koreans were closer than he had ever seen during his stay in Korea. He also knew that he had to just get these soldiers prepped for the 4077th or another MASH unit. No fancy needlework was needed. Just open and close and hope for the best. He was now nearing absolute exhaustion and knew that he could pass out in a bit. They just had to finish the last few for today.

After the last casualty was finally done, he sat down against the wall and closed his eyes. He felt someone lean up against him. He opened his eyes to see Margaret looking up at him.

"Here. Take some food. We haven't eaten anything since leaving camp earlier today," she offered him something from a can. "Want some water too?"

He would take anything at this point. He was starving. He realized at that moment that he hadn't eaten since they left the camp.

"Thank you, Major," he smiled at her, grateful for their moments of connection and friendship. As time had gone on, they truly started looking out for each other. They were the only two that had been in camp since the early days. Those early days were when they hated and barely could tolerate each other.

Listening to the shells going off around them, they ate without speaking for a few minutes.

"How are you holding up?" She knew how tired he was right now and was concerned about him if this pace kept up over the course of a few days.

"Doing ok. I'll make it as long as you are by my side," As he looked down at her, he half-expected her to yell at him. He knew she might take his comments in ways he didn't mean. She was his rock right now even though she didn't know it and he knew he needed her right now.

She smiled at him. "As long as we keep it our little secret. I wouldn't want people back at camp to gossip about us."

He knew she cared deeply about what people around camp thought of her and if he was honest with himself, he also didn't really want to be the focus of the gossip either. He knew his reputation as a womanizer but in recent months, he had stopped chasing the nurses so much. He knew why but wasn't ready to discuss anything with her just yet.

Finishing up their meager dinner, he stood up to clear a space for them to sleep. There was an older, ragged blanket and a lumpy pillow available to them and a tiny room near the back of the aid station. No actual windows but holes in the wall from the shells and a door that led out to where they spent the afternoon operating. He shut the door to give them some semblance of privacy for whatever amount of time they had before the next batch of wounded came in.

"Major? Can we share the blanket and pillow tonight? Let's just try to get some sleep?" He asked, hoping she would be ok with a little bit of cuddling tonight. He needed it but didn't want to come right out and ask her for it. They did better if they let their bodies speak for them and not their mouths. Plus if he didn't ask, she couldn't say no. So he just did it and waited to see her response. She cuddled up next to him closer. He put his hand in hers under the blanket and they held hands for a few minutes. He could hear her soft breathing and knew she was asleep. He relaxed a little once she was asleep. Even though he knew it wasn't his responsibility to keep her safe, he wanted to make sure she was ok.

A loud knock woke them up a few hours later. "Major, Captain?"

Quickly moving apart, they both stood up and went towards the door.

With the wounded now in front of them again, he realized that he was feeling uneasy because of his fear that something horrible was about to happen.