Okay readers, here is the third chapter of this story.

Now the first two chapters, this chapter, and the next three chapters or so are simply comedic in some form, as well as being lighthearted since it's mainly about Andrew getting used to the 4077. But later chapters will divert from that and include more than just some kicks and laughs.

One other thing, I decided to shorten the title of this story. This is because I feel that the name of it doesn't seem to sit well with what I'm going for, so now it's just 'A New Face to the 4077'. It might change depending on how it goes, but I just want you guys to know about this.

Now for this chapter, Andrew is awoken to a record player playing opera music in the middle of the night, some more interactions are shown, Klinger tries to pull another Section 8 stunt, and some other stuff. How will this go? Find out now!


DOWN AT THE SWAMP - 2:38

It was the middle of the night in South Korea and everyone was sleeping away at the 4077. And Andrew was no exception. Just because he joined the outfit recently doesn't mean he shouldn't get a good night's sleep, especially after the kind of day he had. So the major was getting some pleasant sleep in...

...Or so he had hoped.

At that moment, a certain record player was turned on, and from it was playing some loud opera music. Hawkeye and BJ woke up to this, and they knew what this meant. Andrew, on the other hand, wasn't expecting this as his eyes shot open. He thought that he was just hearing things and had hoped that this was a dream.

He pinched himself to make sure of it. Turns out it wasn't a dream at all. He was in bed, at the Swamp, at the 4077, in South Korea, in the middle of the night. He had no idea where the heck that was coming from, or why it was happening in the middle of the night, but one thing was for sure.

It was annoying, and he was trying to sleep.

"What the hell is that noise," Andrew yawned grumpily. "Where is it coming from?!"

Hawkeye and BJ were awake since they couldn't sleep either. Understanding his irritation, since they too were trying to sleep, both of them answered his question individually.

"I've got three words for you Andrew," BJ answered first. "Charles' record player."

"Yeah, let's just say that Winchester likes to disturb our pleasant dreams by letting out some sopranos with his noisemaker," Hawkeye retorted. "Keeps us up on certain nights, thinking we are in an Opera house. Pretty soon, he'll be wanting the Rockettes to visit!"

This got Andrew's attention as he shot up and saw who was back. Winchester had returned to the Swamp quite some time ago, and apparently, he decided to play his record player. He didn't know why, but he was going to find out.

Leaping out of bed, he stormed over to Winchester's bed, in his pajamas, where he was shown hovering over him as he got his attention.

"Winchester," Andrew had to shout, only because he wouldn't hear him over the record player. "What do you think you're doing!? Don't you know it's 2:38 in the morning in South Korea!?"

This got the major's attention, as Andrew crossed his arms and tapped his right foot, demanding an answer.

"Well Major Peterson, I'll have you know that I'm spending some time listening to some culturally bound records on my record player," Winchester huffed. "And this is the finest set of music to have ever been set forth to this culturally barren wasteland! It's several leagues above what you do-goers call traditional music!"

Andrew turned to the record player and listened to it for a moment. It was just as Hawkeye described it. A bunch of high notes were heard in an operatic fashion. And Andrew was not pleased by it.

"Sounds more like a wolf getting caught in a bear trap," Andrew deadpanned before turning the record player off, getting Winchester to sit up.

"What in hindsight have you done!? I was listening to that," Charles shot an angry look at Andrew.

"And I was trying to get some sleep," Andrew fired back, standing his ground. "How do you think I can have pleasant dreams with that racket going on?!"

"How dare you?! That racket of which you speak of is one of the most etiquette forms of art out there," Winchester snapped. "And I was playing it just so I can get some shut-eye!"

"I don't care if it was the symphony orchestra being played on that thing," Andrew sneered. "I prefer to sleep with silence, something that I can't get with that thing going off!"

"I do not have the time to put up with this childish nonsense," Winchester spat. "I shouldn't be lectured by the likes of you as to what is appropriate with sleeping and what isn't!"

Andrew felt his left eye twitch a bit as he shot his hands out. "What do you have against me, Winchester!? Is it because I'm a major? Is that it?"

"Major, I can assure you that as much as I dislike you, your rank has nothing to do with it," Charles answered calmly before raising his voice again. "It just so happens that this record player and my opera records are the only culturally-bound possession I have on hand in this godforsaken cesspool! It's the only thing keeping me from succumbing to this madness that is A HELL HOLE OF A M*A*S*H UNIT!"

"And I'll have you know that some of us can't sleep with that godforsaken racket that your playing," Andrew was on the verge of screaming, seeing that this major wasn't making this easy for him. "And I'm not the only one who lives in this tent Winchester. Our two bunkmates happen to live here too you know, and they are just as upset about that noise as I am. And I wouldn't be damned surprised if that record player could actually be heard throughout the ENTIRE COMPOUND!"

"I do not have to sit here and have this idiotic argument with you," Winchester glowered at him. "Now would you kindly buzz off so I can put a cease to this debate!?"

"The feeling is mutual Winchester," Andrew stepped back a couple of feet while glaring at him. "I'm trying to sleep. Hawkeye and BJ are trying to sleep. And the rest of us at the 4077 are trying to sleep. So do us all a favor and CLAM UP THAT NONSENSE!"

"It's you who is speaking nonsense Peterson," Winchester howled as Andrew stormed back to his bed. "I HAVE MY RIGHTS! I DEMAND SATISFACTION!"

Then out of spite, Winchester turned his record player back on, turning it up to full blast this time. Andrew wasn't up to dealing with the major any longer so he just got back into bed and laid down.

"GOODNIGHT WINCHESTER!" Andrew yelled before putting the pillow over his head and pressing the sides tightly against his ears.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU PETERSON! I'M NOT LISTENING!" Winchester shouted back before laying back down.

Andrew could only grit his teeth as he pressed the pillow harder against his ears to block off the noise. And he wasn't the only one who was mad. The volume was loud enough to reach all parts of the compound. Hawkeye and BJ were berating Winchester for that noise as they were throwing pillows at him, and some of the other personnel in the other tents were complaining about the noise.

The new major had a lot of trouble sleeping through the night because of Winchester. This wasn't how he expected his first night sleeping on the compound. This was going to be a problem for him the following morning...


IN THE MESS TENT - 7:46

To say that Andrew didn't get a goodnight's sleep after the whole argument he had with Winchester would be an understatement. And it was true. Andrew felt very groggy upon waking up the next morning. Despite having some specks in his eyes, Andrew rubbed them out, and shaved his face, and took a shower in the shower tent. Afterwards, he put on his uniform, and then he decided to head to the mess tent to get some breakfast. He could use a cup of coffee to get by today too.

Standing in line, he had a single tray in his hand, as he waited to be given breakfast. There stood before him was Igor, the camp's local cook who was at the officer's club last night.

"Good morning sir," he said to the major. "Feeling a bit sleepy?'

"Just get me my breakfast, will ya," Andrew grumbled.

"Right away, major," and so he took his tray and put what appeared to be breakfast on it, before giving Andrew a fully loaded tray with breakfast. "There you go, sir."

"Gee, thanks," Andrew murmured before walking along.

As soon as he got a mug of coffee, he decided to find a place to sit. Now staying true to his nature, Andrew went over to a deserted table where he sat down. From there, he sipped his coffee once or twice before taking a look at the grub that was on his tray. What he saw next got him to cringe.

There was something about this meal that didn't sit well with him. For starters, it smelled back. It also looked sloppy and disgusting. And he was pretty sure that it tasted terrible too.

What the heck is this stuff? Andrew thought. Is this supposed to be breakfast? Or was this fished up from the dumpster?

From there, Andrew took a spoon and scooped some of the stuff, and put it into his mouth. Needless to say, it was as terrible as it looked, as he started spitting it out in disgust.

"Bleck! This stuff tastes horrible," Andrew wasn't afraid of being honest. "God, what is the stuff that they serve here, anyway?"

Andrew put his spoon down and decided to sip some more of his coffee. He lost his appetite thanks to this dreck that they call food. Deciding to forget about the meal, he was thinking back to last night. Why did Winchester have to create such a fuss with him? Couldn't he tell that he and the others were trying to get some sleep? And why did the major have such a problem with him?

Major Peterson figured that it had something to do with no longer being the only major in the Swamp since he came here. Andrew could only rub his eyes out and try to get by today. It was a good thing that he was sitting alone currently. He wasn't trying to be mean or anything, but Andrew was always one to enjoy some time by himself. He hardly had any friends back at home, and he only had a small number of friends here.

Several other thoughts clouded his head, as he hoped that something would happen today that'll perk him up and get him in a better mood than he is right now. Maybe Radar, Klinger, or even the head nurse Margaret would do something to get him in a good mood. All he could do at the moment was wait and see what would happen.


Suddenly, he found himself cut out of his thoughts when a voice got his attention.

"Ahem, pardon me for interrupting your train of thought, major," that voice came from Father Mulcahy, who had approached the table. "But I can't help noticing that you are sitting alone at this table. May I sit down right here?"

Andrew saw him pointing to the left seat next to him. Andrew got a hold of his head and nodded slowly.

"Sure, go right ahead," Andrew granted his permission, seeing that the Chaplin wasn't giving him any problems.

Father Mulcahy took his seat with the tray in his hand and got comfortable. Andrew took a quick look and he saw that the Father was eating the same stuff that he was given. He took another look at his own tray and had made a decision. Since the unit's priest was sitting here, he felt that it wasn't any harm to ask him about the grub that is on his tray.

"Uh, excuse me, Father Mulcahy," he started. "I really have to ask, but what is this stuff that they served on my tray?"

"Oh?" The Padre looked at his tray and realized what he was talking about. "Oh, I see that you have found out about the slop that they serve in the mess tent at this M*A*S*H unit, right?"

"Yes. I have," Andrew confirmed this to be true. "Do they always serve stuff like this here?"

"Well, that depends on what kind of mood you're in," the Chaplin answered. "But thou have faith in me, young one. It might grow onto you eventually. In other words, I suppose you'll get used to it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Father," the major sighed as he tried to consume some of the dreck on his tray, to no avail, while Father Mulcahy resumed eating, not saying anything else.

Suddenly, storming into the mess tent was Hawkeye and BJ, who went and got their breakfast. As soon as they did that, they saw the table that Andrew was sitting at with Father Mulcahy sitting in the left side seat next to him. Not saying a word, the two captains helped themselves and sat down at that particular table sitting across from the major and the Chaplin; BJ was sitting across from Father Mulcahy, and Hawkeye was sitting across from Andrew.

Andrew wasn't too pleased by them just sitting here like they own the place.

"Oh gee, sure! Go on ahead and just sit down at this table with no trouble at all," Andrew said sarcastically.

Both of the captains were taken aback by his tone. They had no idea what that was all about.

"Wow. What side of the bed did you wake up on," Hawkeye retorted.

"I think you should know. You were there," Andrew deadpanned. "Why did you decide to sit here anyway?"

"Well we figured that you could use some company," BJ stated. "Especially after what happened last night."

"Yeah, there's an old saying; misery loves company," Hawkeye chimed.

"Right," Andrew rolled his eyes. "In any case, I usually prefer to sit and eat alone. I tend to enjoy my meal in solitude."

The captains were confused by this, seeing that Father Mulcahy was sitting right next to him.

"In that case, why is Father Mulcahy sitting here?" BJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well because he asked me if he could sit here."

"Oh, forgive us for seeming so rude, dear sir," there was a lot of sarcasm in Hawkeye's voice. "Would it be alright if we sit at the same table as you?"

Andrew could only pinch the bridge of his nose. "Well, it's too late for that, seeing that you are already sitting here."

"Goodness, why are you being such a grouch this morning?"

"Don't you remember Hawk," BJ reminded him. "It was those lousy opera records of Charles that kept him up last night, so he didn't get any sleep from it."

"I beg your pardon," that came from Winchester, who came to the table with his tray and took a seat next to Hawkeye. "My opera records are anything but lousy."

All Andrew could do was give Winchester a dirty look. On top of the argument he gave him last night, he decided to help himself to this table too. And unlike BJ and Hawkeye, Charles paid no attention to Andrew.


Suddenly, another voice got their attention. This time it was Margaret, who approached the table with a single cup of coffee and headed towards the empty seat on the right side of Andrew.

"Good morning doctors, Padre and Major Peterson," she said to the captains, Father Mulcahy and Andrew respectively. She made sure to call Andrew 'Major Peterson' since she was talking to Andrew and not to Charles.

She then cast Winchester the stink eye before saying. "And Mr. Extremely Loud Sleep Disturber."

I guess Margaret must've heard that record player going off at full blast too. Andrew thought to himself as Winchester was giving the head nurse a cold gaze in return.

Margaret brushed this off and turned her attention to Andrew while grinning. "Anyway Major Peterson, would it be alright if I take this seat next to you?"

This got Andrew to smile in delight. He was about to say "Of course Major Houlihan. You are more than welcome to sit here."

But before he could get his comment out, Hawkeye put a damper on it.

"Well if it isn't Miss Sensitive Blonde, coming to sit at our table," that comment made Andrew frown as Margaret shot him a cold look.

"Excuse me? And what is that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms in disapproval.

"Exactly what we say, Margaret," BJ told her. "It also happens that Andrew would prefer to eat his breakfast in solitude."

"I wasn't asking you goons for permission! I was asking Andrew Peterson!" She snapped at them.

"Save your breath for someone who cares, Margaret," Hawkeye retorted. "Or in your case, your very own prince who wants to crawl into your skirt."

Margaret had a very shocked look on her face. She was entirely insulted by that. All she wanted was to know if Andrew would be alright with her company. She did not ask for this. She had even seen Andrew smiling at her question, but Hawkeye and BJ just had to ruin it for her.

"Why...you...you..." Margaret growled before shouting. "YOU...ANIMALS!"

With that, Margaret stormed out of the mess tent with the cup of coffee in her hand, wanting to finish it in her tent. Andrew was jaw-dropped by this, as he didn't want Margaret to cut and run. She was right. She was asking him. Not the two doctors sitting in front of them. Turning around, Andrew cast the both of them a sharp glare of his own.

"Now why did you have to do a thing like that!?" He was clearly agitated by this.

"Well you see Peterson, we were just giving her our usual greetings," Hawkeye answered. "We act like this every morning."

"I don't care how you usually act towards her! That wasn't very nice," Andrew sneered. "I didn't have a problem with Major Houlihan sitting here! You didn't have to drive her away."

"Relax Andrew," BJ told him. "We were just doing you a favor."

"Yeah, remember your desire for loneliness and solitude," Hawkeye added.

Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose again as he countered back. "That doesn't mean that I would drive people away from the table that I'm eating at, especially if someone like Margaret Houlihan wanted to sit here in the first place!"

"My, aren't we a bit touchy this morning," Hawkeye retorted in response. "Did you get some of your feathers ruffled or something?"

"UGH!" Andrew grunted loudly. "I don't have to put up with this!"

With that, Andrew picked up the tray of slop and tossed it right into the trash can in disgust. From there, he stormed out of the mess tent in the opposite direction that Margaret went in, leaving his cup of coffee behind. Combine that fiasco with the lack of sleep that he had, he was definitely not in a good mood for this nonsense.


As soon as he was gone, Hawkeye and BJ were left in a puzzled state until the former decided to ask the appropriate question.

"Now what was that all about?"

"Well, from the looks of it, it seems that Andrew was unhappy with how we drove Margaret away," BJ answered quickly.

"I think I caught on fast Beej," Hawkeye deadpanned. "But how were we suppose to know that he wanted her to sit at this table?"

"Well, to be quite frank Captains Pierce and Hunnicut," Father Mulcahy intervened. "Major Peterson did seem quite interested in having Major Houlihan sitting here next to him. I could've sworn that he was smiling when she asked him if she could sit here."

"Indeed," Charles snorted. "And it would seem that you two moronic boobs stepped in and made sure that Houlihan took off from here."

"Can it Charles! You are the last person to be talking," Hawkeye brought up, reminding him of what happened last night.

"Ahem, yes well, I rest my case," Winchester went back to eating, not saying anything else about the matter.

"Huh. Well come to think of it," BJ remembered something from last night. "Margaret did seem a bit touchy when she snapped at us in the officer's club last night."

"Not to mention how she went off on Charles for his behavior in OR," Hawkeye brought up.

This caused Charles to simply cough, not saying a word about that instance. Suddenly, Hawkeye decided to sniff the air, and he concluded.

"I smell something in the air, and it's not the lousy food that they serve here," he announced.

"Hawkeye? What are you getting at," BJ queried, having a feeling as to where this was going.

"I'm getting at the fact that there may be more to Margaret being sensitive when it comes to Andrew than just some 'simple respect'!"

It didn't take long for the other captain to piece together what the chief surgeon was getting on about.

"Hawk, do you mean...?"

"Yes. I do Beej," he nodded. "And from how Andrew just snapped at us for driving her away, I think he's willing to return the gesture."

"Oh come on Hawkeye, let's not jump to conclusions," BJ shook his head at what his friend was implying. "For all we know, Margaret might just be helping him fit into our outfit."

"And maybe to help him fit into the same roof as her," Hawkeye retorted, crossing his arms.

"Look, whatever is up with them is their business. And for that matter, we should lay off," BJ insisted. "I say that we should stay out of it."

"Alright, alright fine. I'll stay out of it," Hawkeye huffed as he crossed his arms. "I still think there's more to it than just respect."

BJ could only shrug at that as the captains decided to resume eating. Nothing else was said amongst the four of them...


Meanwhile, Andrew was walking away from the mess tent, in an attempt to calm down. The nerve of those guys. Thinking it was alright for them to drive off Margaret when he was happy to have her join them. It did make him upset, but he didn't bother to make a cold case out of it.

As he continued walking, we see Corporal Klinger heading in the direction, almost knocking Andrew over.

"Whoa! Klinger," Andrew got him to halt as the corporal turned to face him. "Try to be careful not to run into anybody."

"Sorry Major Peterson sir," he saluted. "I'll try harder not to bump into you next time!"

Andrew then took a look at what Klinger was wearing. He was wearing a dress. But what surprised him was that it was the same type of dress that Cinderella wore.

"Uh, Klinger? Why are you wearing the same dress that Cinderella had on?" He queried, feeling he knew the answer to it.

"It's my next Section 8 scheme sir!" He answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must visit Colonel Potter to try to convince him, sir!"

With that, Klinger then took off as he headed towards Sherman Potter's tent. Andrew just stood there while rubbing his chin. He was thinking for a moment, but then he shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk.

Andrew ended up reaching the tent that belonged to Sherman Potter. And he was about to walk past it when he heard a bellow come from inside.

"OUT! OUT KLINGER! OUT!" That sounded like Colonel Potter, which got Andrew's attention as he took a peek from behind the cracked open door.

He saw that Colonel Potter was still in bed, in his pajamas when Klinger came barging in. Apparently, he decided to get some extra sleep since Winchester's record player kept him awake all night. He was pretty sure of it, considering the grumpy look on the colonel's face.

"But your royalness, my dearly beloved Prince Charming has called upon me," Klinger told him. "And he begs me to be sent back home to Toledo, where we will get married, and live happily ever after!"

Colonel Potter gave him a sharp look, not believing Klinger's latest sob story.

It's too early for this nonsense... Potter thought to himself before saying to Klinger.

"Klinger, not only does that sound ridiculous, but it's not even a believable attempt at getting out of the army this time."

"Oh please let me go back to him, your majesty," Klinger cried. "My lover is begging for my return!"

Colonel Potter thought about it for a minute. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to believe this malarkey.

"No dice Klinger," he shook his head.

"Come on Colonel, my fair prince wants me back," Klinger told him. "You know you want to."

"Get out of here," Potter motioned his head towards the way out.

"Your mouth says no, but your eyes say yes," Klinger egged him on with a smirk on his face.

"And my boot says GET! GET!" Potter barked, showing him his left foot that had one of his boots on for emphasis.

"But sir..."

"Allow me to rephrase myself, corporal," Potter cut him off with a threat. "If you don't get out of my tent right now, you're gonna have an imprint of my boot placed on your hind!"

"As you wish, your highness," Klinger accepted defeat. "I will return!"

With that, Klinger stormed out of the tent as Andrew got out of the way in time. Although that attempt was rather silly, there was also something amusing about it. Just thinking about it allowed him to smirk in amusement, as he decided to walk away.

As he did so, he started to think back to last night. Is it possible that Winchester would try to blast his record player again? Andrew did not have any earplugs on hand to be able to help block out the noise. He then thought back to what Radar told him when he first arrived in this unit. Many tents resided here, aside from the tents that some of the doctors and nurses are staying in. There was also the VIP tent, tents for doing laundry and taking showers in, and there were also several tents with supplies in them.

Wait, that was it! It was true that Andrew didn't have anything to use as earplugs, but he was confident that one of the supply tents did. And since he wanted to get some sleep tonight, and not to argue with Major Winchester, he felt that it would be a good idea to find something for his ears. It was a brilliant idea.

Yeah. There should be something in one of the supply tents that I can use.

With that in mind, Andrew wandered off to find one of the supply tents in the unit...


IN ONE OF THE SUPPLY TENTS:

The major managed to find one of the supply tents nearby. Once he had entered, he saw that there was no one here. Feeling satisfied with this, Andrew takes a look around to see if there's anything here that could be used as a substitution for earplugs. After a few minutes of searching, he stumbled upon something that caught his interest.

Cotton balls.

Surely they could make a perfect substitute.

I'll just take two of them and I'll use them as earplugs. Andrew thought as he went on ahead and grabbed two cotton balls. I don't think it should be any trouble if I take these with me back to the swamp...

With that, he started to walk away from that shelf. Suddenly, he came to a stop when he heard someone else enter the supply tent. Feeling a bit cautious, Andrew looked in all directions to see who it was, without uttering a peep.

Seeing that there was no one here, Andrew decided to turn around and head back to the entrance. Unfortunately, he didn't see where he was going when he ran into someone.

"WHOA!"

As soon as he shook his head, he looked to see who he just ran into. Turns out it was only Radar, which got Andrew a little curious.

"Radar?" He asked.

"Huh," Radar looked up and saw who it was. "Major Peterson?"

"Yeah," Andrew nodded. "Radar, what are you doing in here?"

"Oh uh," the company clerk started to answer. "I was just checking to see if all the supplies are present and accounted for, sir."

"I see," Andrew rubbed his chin in understanding.

"Now I should be the one to ask, what are you doing in here Major?" Radar queried.

"Well, I was only in here to find something," he proclaimed. "I needed to take two cotton balls to use as earplugs for tonight, so I can get some sleep."

"I see," Radar said. "Is there a reason why you need them?"

"Well yes. I would like to be able to sleep tonight with nothing but tranquility," the major explained. "I don't know if you noticed, but last night Charles was blasting his record player very loud."

"Oh yes, I get what you're saying," Radar understood. "It can get very irritating, especially when he blared it last night when people were trying to sleep."

"No kidding there," Andrew agreed. "Well Radar, I've got what I wanted, so I should be going now."

Andrew made his way towards the exit. Before he could leave, he then remembered to tell Radar something, since he was in there. As such, he came to a stop and turned to face him one last time.

"Oh, and one more thing Radar," he started. "If you need me for anything during the night, feel free to tap me on the shoulders and shake me awake, since I won't be able to hear you."

"Got it, sir."

"Also, unless you also need Hawkeye and BJ along with me, please make sure you don't wake them up when getting me up."

"Okay. But why don't you want me to wake up Captains Pierce and Hunnicutt?"

"I snapped at them earlier today when I was trying to eat breakfast."

"You did?" Radar was afraid to find out the reason for this, but he asked of it anyway. "What did they do?"

"Let's just say that I was unhappy with how they drove off Major Houlihan when she just wanted to sit at the table that I was eating at," Andrew said simply.

"Oh, I get it," Radar understood what he was saying. "Yes, I won't wake up the captains unless I really need them."

"Thank you very much Radar," he smiled. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all, sir," the company clerk said.

"Well, I'll see you later, Radar," Andrew said before turning to the exit.

"Right," Radar spoke up. "See ya, Major Peterson."

Satisfied with the talk, Andrew left the supply tent with the two cotton balls in his hands. He figured that he could stay at the Swamp for a bit unless something else came up. Perhaps he wouldn't be in a bad mood for the duration of the day. He could only find out how it goes from here...


LATER THAT EVENING - IN THE SWAMP:

The day had come and gone at the 4077. Some casualties needed to be treated, although there weren't as many as there were yesterday. The session in the OR didn't take that long. Overall, the day didn't seem too bad despite having started in a bad position. In the swamp, all four of the personnel were in their beds sleeping.

Surprisingly, Winchester didn't blast his record player this time. Nonetheless, Andrew wasn't taking any chances with him, so he put both cotton balls that he took from the supply tent, and stuffed them into his ears.

He was sleeping peacefully. It was entirely tranquil in the Swamp. Suddenly, we see Radar entering the Swamp as he slowly creaked open the door. Once he was in there, he tiptoed silently to avoid waking the Captains, while heading to Andrew's bed. He saw that Andrew had those cotton balls shoved into his ears. On instinct, he started to shake him awake.

"Sir. Excuse me, sir," he whispered while shaking him. "Excuse me Major, but I need you to get up."

The shaking did the trick, as Andrew started to yawn and pulled out the cotton balls from his ears. He then looked at the company clerk who was responsible.

"Yes Radar," the major whispered. "What do you want?"

"Uh, sir," he muttered softly. "You are needed in Post-Op right away, Major."

"Uhhh Post-Op," Andrew struggled to keep his eyes open. "What am I needed there for?"

"It's Major Houlihan," he whispered into his ear. "She needs you to help her."

"Houlihan?" That got Andrew to shoot his eyes opened as he whispered. "What does she need me for?"

"Oh? Well, it seems that the patient that you worked on earlier today has gone into shock," he proclaimed in a barely audible voice, which only Andrew could hear. "She needs you to help her with the patient."

"Alright, sure," Andrew sat up and wiped out his eyes before standing up. "Just let me get into my clothes for a second. This won't take long."

"Okay sir," the company clerk murmured as Andrew got into his clothes.

Once he did, the two of them walked out silently so they don't draw attention from Hawkeye and BJ. As soon as they were outside the Swamp, and after they closed the door quietly, the two of them rushed on over to Post-Op, where Margaret was waiting for Andrew...


DOWN IN POST-OP:

It didn't take that long for it to be taken care of, at least a good 20 minutes or so, but they pulled it off. Andrew was able to do some quick thinking by not only applying an epinephrine autoinjector as instructed, but also used a spare towel that was clean, and applied enough pressure on the bleeding area. Currently, Margaret had one of her spare nurses inspect the patient while Andrew was also in the same area.

"Alright nurse, how is he doing," the head nurse asked about the patient's condition.

The nurse, in particular, gave her all the details. "Well, thanks to Major Peterson's quick thinking, the area of the patient that was bleeding had stopped, and all he needs is rest, then he will be okay."

"Very good nurse," Margaret said. "You are officially relieved from this detail. Dismissed."

"Yes Major," the nurse obliged as she walked away.

"Alright. I'm glad that was taken care of," Andrew had already washed his hands up upon doing that task while wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"I'll say," Margaret complimented. "You really came through with your quick thinking and such."

"Well, it was nothing really," Andrew seemed to be a little flattered by it.

Margaret figured that he was being modest again, so she decided not to say anything about it. Now that he was with the head nurse, Andrew decided to bring up something with her.

"Hey, Major Houlihan," he got her attention. "I would like to apologize for how Captains Pierce and Hunnicutt drove you off earlier when you just wanted to sit at the table that I was sitting at."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Major. It wasn't your fault," Margaret insisted. "Those two goons are oftentimes getting under my skin, especially Hawkeye Pierce."

"I noticed that," he rubbed the side of his right arm. "Uh, if it'll make you feel satisfied Major, I told them off earlier about what they did, and how they didn't need to do that. I was perfectly fine with you sitting there."

"I figured that much, seeing that you were smiling when I asked if I could join you," she admitted. "I also heard about how they pulled two minor pranks on you when you moved into the Swamp."

"Yeah," he looked down upon remembering that. "I wasn't too thrilled by that."

"Neither was I," she revealed. "When I overheard them talking about it in the officer's club, I chewed them out for doing that to you."

"Yeah...about that," he smiled sheepishly while looking at the head nurse. "When they came back to the Swamp later that night, I ended up giving them a taste of their own medicine. In other words, I pranked them back just to get even with them."

"You did?" Margaret found herself laughing. "I wish I could've been there to see it."

"Yeah," the major felt something when she started laughing; something positive. Therefore, he found himself laughing a little too, albeit lightly. "The joke was really on them. You really should've seen how Hawkeye reacted when he found that rubber fake rat in his pillow."

"I'll bet," she then decided to bring up. "I didn't think you were capable of doing anything like that."

"Well, yeah I am," Andrew said modestly. "But I usually won't do it to anyone unless someone pranks me first as I did to Hawkeye and BJ the other night."

"Trust me, there were many times where Pierce and Hunnicutt would pull a prank on me when it wasn't funny," Margaret told him. "But there were several occasions where I pulled my own pranks on those two as payback."

"Oh, wow," Andrew was starting to picture in his head how the head nurse pranked those two captains. Just thinking about it made him smirk a little. "Anyway, I don't have plans on pranking anyone else unless they do something to me. And I wouldn't try to pull a prank on you Major, unlike Pierce and Hunnicutt."

"To be honest, I wasn't thinking of pranking you either," she admitted.

They were silent for a few minutes or so when Andrew had something else that he wanted to ask the head nurse.

"So uh anyway, I've been meaning to ask," he started. "Are we friends?"

"Of course we are," she didn't hesitate to answer that one as they exited the post-op ward.

"I'm your friend?"

"How could I not see us as friends," she admitted. "You're nice, sweet, considerate, modest, you never give me any trouble, you help out when it's needed, and you're just down to earth."

Not to mention your charming and handsome. Those comments were kept quiet since she didn't need to say them.

"Anyway, to tell you the truth, I saw you as a friend before you asked me that."

"That's good to know, Major Houlihan."

"Listen, you don't have to keep being so formal," she advised him. "Since we're friends, you can call me by my first name Margaret, okay?"

"Well...okay," he decided to go along with it. "But only if you are willing to call me Andrew."

"Fine by me," she shrugged as they came to a stop, as Andrew was in front of the Swamp. "Oh, by the way, I just want you to know that my tent is just across the Swamp that you're staying in. So you are more than welcome here if you need anything."

"Well, I will strongly consider that," he smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she told him. "Well, goodnight Andrew."

"Yeah, goodnight Margaret," he returned the gesture as they both headed into their respective huts.

In Andrew's case, he had to be quiet while getting into the Swamp, up until he got straight to his bed. From there, he slipped into the blanket, got himself comfy, and went right to sleep. He was happy to know that he and the head nurse were friends and that they don't need to be so formal because of that.

Despite all the flaws that existed down at the 4077, Andrew was starting to feel comfortable here. He could only hope that it'll grow onto him some more after so much time has passed.

To him, things were starting to look up here...


END OF CHAPTER 3...

That's it for this chapter. I hope that you guys like how this story is going so far.

Yeah, Andrew called out Winchester for playing that record player loudly in the middle of the night, as well as chewing out the two captains for driving off the head nurse, all while remaining a pretty modest and easy-going person, for the most part. I hope I haven't been doing badly in that department.

Anyway, for the next chapter, Andrew continues to get comfortable in the 4077, and some other stuff takes place. What will happen next? Find out, next time readers!

Just like before, any constructive criticism that you may have for this story should be given to me politely and nicely. And any positive reviews can be left here too.

Aside from that, I got nothing else to say here. Until next time, I hope things are starting to get interesting in this story! And on that note, thanks again for reading guys!