"Linda?" I asked, knocking on the door. "It's Hawkeye. Can we talk?"

Instead of a voice, silence answered me. "Linda, I know you're in there."

"Congratulations." I could hear the venom in her voice. She was livid. I just hoped there was a chance for me to explain myself before she began hating me forever.

"Can I please come in?"

After a beat, I heard movement inside and the bolt in the door slid free. I pushed the door open and walked in.

Linda stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed and a look of loathing on her face. In her eyes, I was everything wrong with humanity, and being there made me feel like she was right.

"So, is it true?" she asked.

"You mean am I the dog everyone thinks I am?" I asked, trying to liven the mood.

It didn't work.

"No jokes, Hawkeye," she replied. "Just answer me."

I sighed. "I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me what happened with Sherry. I want to hear it from you. And if you lie to me, I swear-"

"I won't lie," I said. "But you'll let me defend myself, right?"

"Of course."

"May I?" I asked, gesturing towards her bed.

"That depends on if you mean sit in it or spend the night," she said coldly.

"Oh, come on, Linda. I've been on my feet for ten hours, can I please sit?"

She pointed to Sherry's unused bunk. "You'll be more comfortable over there. You're more familiar with the territory."

"You know you're being very unfair," I said, pulling the desk chair out and sitting. "Whether or not you hate me after I explain myself is up to you, but at least let me tell my side of the story before you tar and feather me."

She raised an eyebrow. "So tell it."

I jumped right in. "Sherry and I met when she first came into camp. She was bright and cheerful and intoxicating to be around. I couldn't get enough of being with her. I'd invite her over to the swamp, we'd have drinks, a few laughs, and we would talk about anything and everything."

"Like how much you loved her?"

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, taken aback.

"Sherry told me that you said you loved her. That's the only reason why she let you..." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "That's the only reason she was with you."

"I never said anything like that," I said defensively. "Sherry assumed a lot of things about me that I never told her. That's one of the reasons I stopped seeing her."

"So you never told her that you 'Had never felt this way about anyone'? You never said anything like that to her?"

"Sure, I said that, but that's not the same as 'I love you'. She may have gotten that idea but I never used those words."

"Don't try to get around what you said by arguing semantics with me," she said fiercely. "Did you do anything to try and straighten her out? To tell her that you didn't love her and that all you were interested in having was 'a few laughs', as you so eloquently put it."

"Yes I did!" I screamed. "I told her every day that I wasn't interested in a home in the suburbs and a border collie like she was, but she never got it. When I finally realized that she wouldn't be dissuaded, no matter how hard I tried, I stopped seeing her."

"I don't know if I can believe you, Hawkeye," she said, her eyes flashing with a ferocity that made my blood run cold.

"What's this really about, Linda?" I asked, venturing into dangerous territory. "Is this about Sherry, or is this about something else?"

She was silent for a moment as she turned away from me. I wasn't sure if I had made her even angrier at me or if she was calmer now.

When she spoke again, her voice was steady, but was as intense as a hurricane.

"You've changed so much since you've been here. I've noticed just how much and it scares me." She turned to face me, her face eerily devoid of any emotion. "I guess what I am afraid of is that you have changed so much that the things Sherry said are actually true. That you will be my friend only until a new batch of women comes driving in and then you'll forget about me. If that happens, then I'll really be by myself, completely alone."

"You're not alone, Linda," I replied softly. Despite her anger, I pulled her into a tight embrace. "I swear to you that nothing like that will ever happen." I let her go just enough that she could see the seriousness in my face. "Do you understand me? You are not just a novelty. I really care about you."

"And I care about you," she said. "But I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"Would you ever do something like that to me? Charm me into bed and then leave me, just like that?"

"Linda, you know I wouldn't."

"I know," she said, dryly. "I just had to ask."

"Do you not believe me?" I asked, letting her go. "Do you think that I'm really that awful?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration. "The last time I saw you, back in the real world, you were living with someone that you claimed to love. Now, I come here and they tell me that you're a scoundrel who corrupts every nurse he sees."

"Wait a minute," I said. I was trying not to get angry at her, but it was hard not to protect myself from her accusations. "I am not a scoundrel. Sherry approached me. And, if I remember correctly, she approached me with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a ring on her finger."

Linda stopped cold. "What?"

"Haven't you noticed the ring on her finger? She's married. Her husband is some kind of contractor in Montana."

Linda was silent. She looked like her legs had been kicked out from under her.

Without so much as a warning, she lashed out. Her hand flicked faster than I could follow and before I knew it, half of her papers and books were on the floor and she was sitting in a heap on her bed.

"What's wrong with this place?" she cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why can't anyone be straight with me?"

I sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "We're a crooked bunch."

"I'm serious, Hawkeye," she said, shrugging my hand off. "The nurses hate me because I like being friends with the officers. So they give me a reason to hate my best friend here and then I find out that it's nothing but an act to drive me insane. I've already embarrassed myself by cracking under the pressure; do I need to go screaming headlong into the minefield to prove that I can't take this anymore?"

She buried her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Linda." I replied softly. "I should have told you about what I'm about here. I should have told you how this place can change you. I should have warned you..."

Dropping my head in shame, I thought to myself, I failed her. "I was only trying to help. I wanted you to feel welcome, so I introduced you to my friends. I didn't realize that it would alienate you from everyone else." I laughed angrily. "I'm such an idiot."

I felt her hand on my shoulder and looked into her face. Her tears weren't even dry, but she was consoling me.

"It's not you, Hawkeye," she said gently. "It's just this place..." she trailed off. "I appreciate how you took me in and gave me a place to feel welcome. You made the effort to make this place bearable. Thank you for that." And then, she leaned in and gave me a kiss.

My heart seemed to leap out of my chest into my throat and do a dance with my vocal chords. Despite the earnestness of the situation, I smiled.

Luckily, she smiled back.

"You're welcome," I replied.

I walked into the Swamp with such a bounce in my step that it made BJ look up from his letter and eye me cautiously.

"Have you been into the medicine cabinet again, Hawk?" he asked.

"Why in the world would you ask me such a thing?" I replied, the grin on my face answering his question.

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe because your smile is so big it's meeting at the back of your head."

"Well, it's just the idea that I helped a friend in need, BJ." I flopped down onto my cot. "It's so rewarding."

"I'm guessing Linda forgave you," BJ said.

"She forgave me like you wouldn't believe."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you saying you helped a friend in need, Hawk?"

"It wasn't like that," I replied. "No, it was more like, 'Thank you for being a friend Hawkeye' and then she kissed me."

"She thanked you. For what?"

I sat up. "That's not the punch line, Beej. She kissed me. Right here." I pointed to my lips. "I can still feel her lips on my skin. It was heaven."

"So, what did she thank you for?"

BJ wasn't getting the picture, but I dropped it. "She thanked me for introducing her to my friends and making her feel welcome here. The nurses have done such a good job of making her an outcast; she appreciates me for being a friend."

"And she kissed you?"

"Yeah, right here." I pointed to my lips again. "It was just a small kiss, nothing fancy, but I couldn't breathe afterwards."

"I'm late for post-op," BJ said suddenly, jumping out of his cot and running towards the door. "I'll see you later."

"Didn't you already do your post-op for the day?" I asked, but he was already halfway across the compound by the time I turned around.